9 6 21 STfe Hiftory of the French 
carried on this Trade for many Years, and after paying a 
Part of the Profits* fuffered all the reft to pafs immedi- 
ately into his own Coffers, or into thofe of the Directors, 
is an abfurd and ridiculous Calumny, equally repugnant to 
Reafon and to Fad, as well as utterly inconfiftent with 
the exprefs Words, and dired Intention of the eleventh 
Article of the Edid of 1725, in which, after declaring 
the Company of the Indies to be a Society for promoting 
the Trade of the French Nation, to that Part of the 
World, under the Protedion of the King, and the Ad* 
miniftration of their own Diredors, his Majefty proceeds 
thus : 44 Our Will and Pieaftire is, that it fhall remain, 
44 conformable to its Inftitution, a Company purely for 
44 - Commerce, applying itfelf folely to the Support of that 
“ which is confided to its Care, and endeavouring by its 
44 Wifdom and Oeconomy, to contribute as much as is pof- 
l<t fible to the Welfare of our Subjeds interefted therein * 
fo that the Funds of the faid Company of the Indies , 
sc fhall be, and remain for ever employed in the Main- 
44 tainance of the faid Commerce, and to no other End 
44 or Purpofe whatfoever.” 
Such is the Defcription of the Situation of the Eajl-In- 
dia Company, as laid down to us by one of the ableft Pens 
in France , who tells us befides, that both the Security and 
the Intereft of Money placed in this Company, are much 
better than when employed in the Purchafe of Lands in 
France * for, fays he, with refped to Security, the Pur- 
chafer of Lands has nothing more than his own and his 
Lawyer’s Knowledge to dired him in the Affurance of 
his Title, and he can very rarely purchafe at fuch a Price 
as to make more than five per Cent, of his Money, after 
which he runs very great Hazards with refped to baa Te- 
nants, being forced to lay out large Sums in Repairs, be- 
fides rifquing the Inclemency of Seafons, which may put it 
out of the Power of his Tenants, how honeft foever, to pay 
him pundually his Rent, and to the full * fo that he may ve- 
ry often be at a Lofs for a Subfiftance, and not know where 
to borrow Money, tho’ at the fame Time a landed Man 
of fo much a Year* whereas, he who lays out his Money 
in the Adions of this Company, has double their Intereft, 
paid him regularly and conftantly every half Year, with- 
out having any Reafon to be apprehenfive of his Capital, 
or ever being in Danger of wanting Money by an unlucky 
Turn of Affairs. 
We may eafily judge from this Reprefen tation of the 
prefent State of the Company’s Affairs, that they are in a 
far better Condition, or at leaft were fo at the breaking- 
out of the prefent War, than ever, and more likely to 
produce confiderable Profits to the Nation, and to the 
Company, than ever. But on the one Hand, the natural 
Impatience of the French , unable to bear being put off for 
above twenty Years together with fair Words and fine 
Promifes * and on the other, their Apprehenfions that ei- 
ther the king would never fuffer them to enjoy this Com- 
merce at all, or elfe would deprive them of the Fund they 
already pofTeffed, and leave them to the precarious Divi- 
dends arifing from Trade, has conftantly kept their Adi- 
ons, I will not fay below the real Value, but much below 
what they would have been efteemed worth in this, or in 
any other free Country, efpecially after remaining for fo 
many Years in fo ftrid and regular a Courfe of Payment. 
But their continual Jealoufies as to the true Intention of the 
Crown, and as to the future State of their Affairs, has 
conftantly kept them in a precarious Situation, in fpite of 
the wifeft Meafures the French Minifters were able to take, 
the large Sums purchafed by Foreigners, the frequent E- 
dids in their Favour ; and which is ftill more extraordi- 
nary than all the reft, the regular coming and going of 
their Eaji-India Fleets, and the vaft Sums of Money 
brought in by their publick Sales. 
Yet fo far was this from contributing to make the Peo- 
ple eafy, whofe Fortunes were engaged in this Undertak- 
ing, that they pretended it adminiftered fufficient Caufe 
for all their Apprehenfions and Complaints. If, faid they, 
the Commerce of the Indies be ours, if all this Money 
that we receive belong to 11s, if all the Improvements 
that have been made for fo many Years are legally and in- 
difputably our Property ; and if thofe who dired and ma- 
nage all thefe are only Truftees for us, .or rather our Ser- 
Eaft-India Commerce, See. Book I. 
van ts, why ftiould we be kept fo much in the Dark, why 
not have it in our Powers to call thefe People to an Ac- 
count, or why not receive from Time to Time fonie Part 
of the Profits by way of Addition to the Dividends alrea- 
dy made us ? It was in vain to tell them that all thefe Pre- 
cautions were taken for their Sake, that the Company 
owed its Reftoration to this Method of managing their Af- 
fairs, that they had vifibly overcome by thefe Means moft of 
thofe Difficul ties which had been found infuperable by former 
Companies, and that this happy Progrefs of their Trade 
ought to make them perfedly content with regard to the 
Manner in which it was carried on, and give them entire 
Satisfadion as to the Integrity of fuch as direded their 
Affairs. 
It was in vain, I fay, that thefe Arguments were ufed 
or that Scheme of their Circumftances which the Reader 
juft now perufed, fubmitted to their Confutation, ' the. 
Proprietors remained firm to their old Opinion, and their 
Sufpicions could never be got out of their Heads, till that 
very Mifchief fell upon them which they had fo Jong ap- 
prehended, I mean, the Sufpenfion of their Dividends, 
which, however, produced that general Account for ‘which, 
they had fo long clamoured. But before we come to 
fpeak of this, it will be requifite to relume the Hiftory 
of the Company’s Affairs in the Indies , and to give a 
fuccind View of the real Improvements of their Com- 
merce, which will both fupport what has been already 
laid, and render the Clofe of this Sedion more intelli- 
gible. 
14. At the Time the Company of the Indies was form- 
ed in France , their Affairs in that Part of the World had 
taken a very bad Turn * for their fovereign Council, which 
had been eftablifhed at Surat, was fuppreffed, moft of their 
Colonies funk to nothing, many of their Fadories in the 
fame State, and the reft declining in fuch a Manner, as 
that little better than an entire Extindion could be exped- 
ed, and that too in a very fhort Space of Time. This 
was undoubtedly a very melancholy Situation for the Ser- 
vants of the Company to be in, who, while they medi- 
tated nothing more than how to obtain a Paffage Home 
to Europe , and an Indemnification for the Debts contrad- 
ed in the Indies , at leaft with refped to themfelves, 
were furprized by the Arrival of three Ships, not only la- 
den with the richeft Merchandize of Europe , but alfo with 
very large Quantities of Silver* fo that they were imme- 
diately in a Condition to difeharge a great Part of their 
Debts, which if it did not reftore if, at leaft revived their 
Credit, and gave them fome Degree of Reputation in the 
Indies. It is requifite, that the Reader lhou'ld know how 
this ftrange Alteration happened, and the Secret is no 
more than this. When the Regent executed his Scheme, 
the Company of the Indies being the principal Machine 
made ufe of, there confequently came into the Hands of 
that Company a confiderable Part of the Plunder of the 
Publick, which enabled the Diredors to fit out thefe three 
Ships in the Manner before-mentioned, not only with the 
Confent, but to the great Satisfadion of the Government, 
inafmuch as it made a Shew of Trade, and thereby kept 
up the Spirits of the People, and gave a Reputation to 
the Company at Home. But this, however, did not lad- 
ion g, for Reafons we fhall quickly ftiew. 
This Treafure was not employed in Commerce, but in 
difeharging the Debts contraded by the old Company at 
Surat, at Camboya , at Bengal , and other Places * fo that the 
Returns made to France were but very inconfiderable, in 
Proportion to the Cargo fent out. But this was not all ; 
for, before thefe Returns arrived, the Syftem, as it was 
called, was entirely over-turned * fo that taking all Things 
together, the Company, in the two fucceeding Years, 
1721 and 1722, were not able to fend fo much as a An- 
gle Ship to the Indies , which expofed them to the Con- 
tempt and Scorn of the trading Nations in Europe , and 
fubjeded fuch as were in their Service in the Indies , to 
the Infults of the Englijh and Dutch , who did not fail to 
reprefent them to the Indians as down-right Bankrupts, 
without either Effeds, Money, Credit, or Refoiirces. We 
may therefore truly affirm, that in the Year 1723, the Af- 
fairs of this Company were in the loweft and moft de- 
plorable Condition, 
The 
