Upon thefe Grounds, a Report has been lately railed, 
as if the Priviiedges of this Eaft- India Company would 
be buffered to expire next Year, when their Charter de- 
termines, which, no doubt, would be agreeable, not on- 
ly to the French and Banes , but to the Maritime Powers, 
who find this Company detrimental to them, by the Sale 
of its Commodities from the Indies, over all the North , 
tho* they do not interfere with them much, by their Man- 
ner of carrying on their Trade in the Eaft. The Com- 
pany, however, are faid to have prepared a very long and 
curious Reprefentation to the Senate* in order to ward off 
this Blow, and to procure the renewal of their Priviiedges 
for fifteen Years more, in which they infill, that this ve- 
ry Application is a fufficient Motive for obtaining their 
Requeft, and fatisfying all who are [to be fatisfied, byrea- 
fon of the Advantages rebuking from their Commerce. 
For, as they obferve* very little, and indeed, fcarce 
any of the Returns made by the Company have been dif- 
: C O N C L 
A FTER having thus deduced the Hiftory of the 
Eaji -India Commerce from the earlieft Accounts 
that are preferved of it, down to the prefent 
Times, and purfued it through all the feveral Nations 
amono- whom it has flourilhed, there is nothing now left 
fo me to do, but to perform the Promife I made of fhew- 
ing that the common and received Notion, that, taking 
all Things together, this Commerce ! is highly prejudicial 
to the Europeans in general, is very ill grounded, and no 
better than an erroneous Opinion, taken up for Want of 
thoroughly examining, or, at leall, of peifeCtly underftand- 
incr the Sulfa.' But to place this Matter in a clear Light, 
it will be firft of all neceffary to ftate the Objection fully 
-and fairly, that it may appear we know what we are 
about, and do not pretend to judge of what we have not 
thoroughly confidered. . 
The Objection then, when fet in the itrongelt Tight, 
will Hand thus. It is an inconteftable Maxim with refpeCt 
to Commerce, that Silver is the oniy true and certain 
Meafure of Wealth and as we export yearly vaft Quan- 
tities of Silver from Europe for Indian Goods and Manu- 
factures of little intrinfick Value in themfeives, and which 
are all in a ffiort Time confumed here, it follows that the 
Trade from Europe to the Indies , mull be a lofing Tiade 
to the former, fince we export Bullion and import Bau- 
bles ; wherefore, if the European Princes and States would 
ferioufiy and impartially confider this, instead of encou- 
raging the letting up new Eajl-India Companies, they 
would abolifh the old, and fecure the Wealth of their Sub- 
jects, by banifhing a Commerce fo deftruftive as this is, 
out of their Dominions. This then is the Objection that 
I am to overturn, and, I muff confefs, that fo far as I am 
acquainted with the Matter, I am the firft who have 
thought it poflible to overturn it ; but, however, no Truth 
is Ids a Truth for being new, and the Argument from 
Authority againft Reafon and Experience, is fo little agree- 
able to the Genius of the prefent T imes, that if I have tne 
latter in my Favour, I have no great Reafon to be in 
Pain about the former. But, however, to make the Road 
the eafier, it may not be amifs to premife fomewhat as to 
the Origin of this Notion. 
When fome ingenious Perfons undertook the Defence of 
the Eaji- India Commerce in particular Countries, and 
found themfeives prefled with the firft Part of the Objec- 
tion, that the Nation was itnpovenfhed by the Exporta- 
tion of Silver, they, to fhorten the Difpute, agreed that 
this might be true, as to the Commerce to the Indies in 
general, and yet was no fufficient Argument to prove 
this Trade prejudicial to any Nation in particular, becaufe, 
if that Nation, by exporting to others a certain Propor- 
tion of their Returns from the Indies , brought in. from 
the Balance of that Trade, a much greater Quantity of 
Silver than they carried out, then it was plain, that tho 
pofed of in Sweden ; fo that if the Proprietors of the Com- 
pany are Gainers thereby, as they mult be, 01 they Would 
not be defirous of having their Charter renewed* this Gain, 
whatever it is, mull be drawn out of other Countries, and 
as the Proprietors refide in Sweden, mull confequently be 
fo much clear Gain to the Nation. What the Iffue may 
be of this Reprefentation, and how far the Senate may be 
prevailed upon thereby, Time will fhew /, but we may 
venture to affirm* that if popular Notions fhould get the 
better upon this Occafion, and the Swedijh Company (hall 
be buffered to expire with their Charter next Year, it is 
highly improbable, that any Attempt of this fort , fhould 
be again made in that Country, where, at the Beginning, 
it can only be undertaken by Foreigners, and where, al- 
ter fuch an Example as this would be, no foreign Mer- 
chants would be fo indiforeet as to undertake it, for fear 
of being treated a feeond Time in this Manner. 
U S I O N. 
Europe in general might iofe by this Trade, yet it mighty 
and indeed mull be, highly beneficial to the particular Na- 
tion by which it was carried on ; becaufe it proved the 
Means of producing a Balance in her Favour, which other- 
wife fhe could never have obtained. I do allow, that in 
arguing thus, they argued very right *, but, I prefume to 
fay, that, in giving up this Point, they did what was fre- 
quently done, that is, they argued right from wrong 
Principles ; and, as I do not blame them for taking this 
Method, becaufe, with refpeCt to their Subject* it was 
the fhorteft and moft expeditious Method they could take ; 
fo, I hope no body will blame me, if, after taking fo much 
Pains, and entering fo deeply into the general Hiftory of 
this Commerce, I declare abfolutely, that this Point ought 
not to have been given up, and that there is no better 
Foundation for afferting, that the Trade to the Indies in 
general is prejudicial to Europe , than for maintaining that 
it is difadvantageous to thofe particular Nations, filch, for 
Example, as England and Holland , and who manifeftly 
owe their Wealth and Maritime Power to their Succefs 
in this Trade. 
In the firft Place then* I fay, that it is the fame thing 
with regard to Europe , as with regard to any particular 
Nation in Europe , as to the total Balance of Commerce; 
and if a lofing Commerce be abfolutely requifite on one 
Side to produce a lucrative Commerce on the other, then 
the Lofs fuftained by that Commerce, is no good Argu- 
ment againft it. But moft evident it is, that fince the 
Europeans have carried on an extenfive Trade to the Eaft- 
Indies , their Manufactures, Shipping, and Commerce in 
general, have been very much extended ; fo that from the 
time the Portugueze difeovered the Paflfage by the Cape of 
Good-Hope , the Face of Europe has been entirely changed, 
and we have grown infinitely more confiderable in compa- 
rifon of other Parts of the World, than we were before. 
But, to come cloferto the Objection as to the Point of export- 
ing Silver. If the Commerce to the Eajl-lndies has drained 
us of many Millions ofintrinfick Wealth* as I readily admit 
it has, I defire to know how we came by them ? The 
Anfwer will be at every Reader’s Tongue’s End, from 
America and the Weft-Indies. But then* give me Leave 
to afk again, How came we to find out thefe ? The An- 1 
fwer to this will unriddle the whole Myftery, fince every 
Body knows it was by fearching out a new Palfage to the 
Eaft-Indies. If therefore, by carrying on the Commerce 
of the Eaft-Indies , we have fallen upon another Com- 
merce* which not only fuppiies Silver fufficient for the 
Eaft-India Trade, but likewife brings in annually an im- 
menfe Treafure befides, what Pretence is there for faying 
that Europe in general has been, or ever can be* a Lofer 
by carrying on this Trade ? It appears from hence* that 
Providence excludes thefe narrow Notions, and by divid- 
ing the Treafures of this World in fuch a Manner as to 
make 
