The Sun.
London, England, 1830-02-22 00:00:00

EAST INDIA COMMITTEE.

We have already mentioned that the House of Com-
mons' Committee upon East India Affairs had last week
altered their days of sitting from two days to three days
each week for the better despatch of buiiness, and ale.o
that on Thursday they entered upon the inquiry into the
nature of the Canton trade, or, in plain terms, of the
tea-monopoly, which is the great bone of contention on
the present occasion. Several witnesses are in attend-
ance to give information on this subject, but the principal
witness is Charles Majoribanks, Esq., a member of the
factory at Canton. This gentleman was examined at great
length on Thursday, and he produced a number of docu-
ments of the Committee. lie described the manner in
which the Canton trade is conducted,—namely, through
the agency- of Hong merchants, seven of whem are at this
moment the sole medium of communication between the
Company and the Chinese ; tl:at the Chinese being from
their institutions an anti-commercial people, the trade if
thrown open would be liable to constant interruption, and
the very circumstance of such an opening would, in his
opinion, cause the Chinese to raise the prices of their teas;
that the better sort of black teas would not be so plentiful
as at present, and that more of inferior qualities would be
then manufactured.

The Company hare at present the choice of every leaf of
black tea sent to Canton, and are -without competition. In
green teas, the Americans do compete to a certain extent
with the Company. He gave an interesting description of
the process of the manufacture, mode of inspection, &c.,
&e. by the agents fur Europe, and likewise furnished a full
documentary statement of the American trade in China,
from which it appeared that that traffic had considerably
diminished of late years, and when he left in December,
1528, only twelve ships from the United States had arrived
during the whole of that season.
Mr. Marjoribanks was decidedly of opinion, that the
Americans were great losers in their dealings with the
Chinese, in proof of which, he mentioned that a
Mr. Thompson, of Philadelphia, had said before Congress,
that " he had employed ; capital of 800,000 dollars in the
China trade, six or seven ships, and had paid duties to a
larger amount than any other merchant or individual in
the United States ; adding, that he was at that moment a
bankrupt." He believed that Howqua, the principal
Hong merchant, had been engaged in trade with America
on his own account ; but he (Howqua) had informed Mr.
Marjoribanks that he had given it up as totally unprofitable.
He gave a detailed account of the circumstance of a
Sicilian sailor being given up to a Chinese on a charge of
murder by Americans, and that after a mock trial the
poor man was executed—a circumstance deeply disgrace-
ful to American character, and which they attempted to
palliate by saying that the sailor, not being a citizen of
the United States, they did not think proper to interfere
to protect him.

That the principal American agent was so disgusted at
the above as to resign his situation; that the American
character, and indeed foreigners generally, had been
greatly lowered in the estimation of the Chinese by the
above circumstance. That there had been some inter-
ruption to the trade, some caused by the Chinese, and
some by the Company. In 1814, a combination was
entered into by sonic of the merchants in order to form a
co-hong, which by the firmness of the Company was
prevented.

That the Company were the only party allowed by the
Chinese Government to address authorities in the Chinese
linguage ; indeed, the East India Company were the only
power acknowledged by the Chinese authorities.
That in the year 1820 a Chinese was killed on board a
country ship, and that the Mandarins came on hoard Eng-
lish ships to inquire respecting it ; that fortunately, as it
would appear, a butcher on board one of the ships had
that day committed suicide, and the Mandarins, consider-
ing it as a sure sign that he was the murderer, went away
satissed, and no more was beard respecting this circum-
stance.

That some of the members of the East India factory
were conversant with the Chinese language, and spoke it
fluently. That Dr. Morrison spoke it as well as he did
English, and so desirous were the East India Company
to diffuse a knowledge of the native tongue, that they had
already expended 12,0001. upon the Doctor's Dictionary,
which was popularly used by the Javanese in their coun-
try, the characters being the same, although the language
was different. The highest praises were bestowed upon
the services of Dr. Mu/risen, as a good enthusiastic in-
defatigable man ; that the purposes of his mission to China
had failed : lie was greatly respected by all who knew him.
That Chinese of high rank often visited the Company's
factory, and that there had been occasion when the Com-
pany's agents had personally visited tile Viceroy, on which
occasion it was a rule never to speak on business, such an
allusion was considered highly indecorous by the Chinese
in their visits of ceremony. That the son of the Viceroy
had been entertained on board one of the ships. That the
amount of the tonnage of the East India Company, and
the country trade, was nearly equal. For some years the
Company's had, however, greatly predominated.
That tLe country trade was principally in opium to the
amount of 14,000,000 dollars, and there was, besides, a
great illicit trade in that poison.
Mr. Marjoribanks gave a very detailed account of the man-
ner in which woollens were disposed of to the Chinese,
who, upon the faith of the East India Company's seal,
sent the bales unopened to the remotest parts of China,
which would, he thought, cease to be the case were the
trade thrown open, as then inspections, frauds, &c., would
creep in.

That the principal article of imports of the Company
into China were from India, and that the Company, in
their English consignments to China, had considered more
the interests of English manufactures than their own, often
sustaining considerable losses ; and that the China mer-
chants assured the Company that they were not gainers by
their transactions.

He Entered into long details upon the general mode of
transacting business in China, tending to show the appa-
rently insurmountable difficulties there were in the way of
free trade.

This is the substance of the evidence already given before
the Committee upon the Canton trade. A considerable
number of witnesses remained to be examined upon this
point clone.

We are sorry to find that Lord MILTON has
for the last ten days laboured under severe indisposition,
but his Lordship is now approaching to convalescence, and
is expected in London in the course of a few days.--
Lee Is 3fersury.

DIVIDENDS.—By an account laid before the
House of Commons, it appears that the number of persons
to whim a half-year's Dividend on the various British
Funds due on the 10th October and sth January last,
was as follows :

Not exceeding 5/....83,609 Not exceeding 300/....4,912
10/....42,227 ----------- 5001.-3,077
501.-97,307 lOOO/....1,555
1001.-26,316
2001....15,209 Exceeding 20001. 161

Total 274,823

M. CIiABERT.—The following note was re-
ceived by the Editor of the Lancet, on Monday last:—
" M. Chabert requests Air. Wakley will give him that sa-
tisfaction which is due to a gentleman, for the recent ma.
provoked, malicious, and unjust attaeks against his cha-
racter.—Saturday noon—Thomas-street, Waterloo-road,
Lambeth."

COUNTY FIRE-OFFICE.—An Annual Ge-
neral Meeting of the Proprietors of this Office took place
on Thursday, at which Earl FERRERS presided. After
the reading of the accounts had been gone through, and
a return (if 20 per cent. voted to all parties insured, one
of the Directors took occasion to remark that this was the
twenty-third Anniversary of the establishment, and they
had never vet failed to return at least 20 per cent. This
was !Bore than had been done by any other Office, for a
continued series of years, even when the premiums were
much higher, and the means of improving them at interest
better than they now were. These returns had naturally
caused the public to give a preference to the County Fire-
office, which, as naturally, was not agreeable to the Ma-
nagers of the Offices which made no.returns ; and this led to
an agreement among those Offices, about Live years ago, so
to reduce the premiums that they should have mo profits ;
when, consequently, there could be no returns. This rash
expedient had completely failed in its object. No increase
had taken place in the business of the Offices which had
devised it. They had uselessly sacrificed some score
thousands of pounds upon it, and nearly a third of the
Offices had been actually ruined or broken up through it.
But the County File-Office had " rode on the whirlwind"
unhurt, and continued to return 20 per cent. How this
was done had puzzled a great many. The secret appeared
to the speaker to consist in a steady application of the
principles of industry and economy. They had no jobs—
no influential interests to feed:" For the first thirteen
years the Board of Directors and Auditors had acted quite
gratuitously, ar.d now the annual allowances for the whole,
they saw by the accounts, amounted only to 2731. It
this were corn! Aredwith the rate at which the Directors of
some of the new Ere Offices paid themselves for their
services, even from starting, some light would be thrown
on the different results to the shareholders is one office and
another,