Star.
London, England, 1813-01-20 00:00:00

EAST INDI4 HOUSE.

RENEWAL OF THE CHARTER.
Yesterday an adjourned Meeting of the Proprietors
of East:lndia Stock was held, for the purpose of
considering the important subject of opening the Ex-
port and Import Trade to India to certain of the
Ontports, in common with the Port of London.—
The Meeting was numerous and highly respeCtable.
Sir H. how, Chairman of the Court of Direc-
tors, stated that the present adjourned General Court
had met to take into farther considetation the docu-;
'ments width had been laid before the last Getteral
Court. A more important subject had never come!
before them, both as it related to the Company and ;
to many thousands connected with the Company, I
and also to the nation at large. The discussion,
therefore, cif this great question requited all the wis-
dom, all the temper, and all the moderation that
could be bestowed on it. Not only the Company,
bun all adventurers in trade, were concerned in this
great question, which, if it were thrown open, would
be productive of nothing but ruin to the Company,
and to this the greatest city in the world. If by re-
moving this great commerce from the port of Lon• ,
don the revenue of the coentry should fail in a con-
siderable
degree, as it undoubtedly would, that de-
ficiency must be made up by new imposts, and new I
taxes. Having said so much, he hoped they would ;
lend the Directors their opinions, in order to guide!
them in the very important duties which they had to
perform. He also hoped, that at the same time they
shetve.i their firmness, they would also shew their
moderation. He must also inform them, that the
Gentlemen behind the bar had seen nothing to alter
the opinions which they had formed on this grand
question since the-last time they met. lie said this
because out of doors a negeciation had been mentio-
ned going on between Government and the Court
of Directors ; but he could assure them that they
had never any where else heard any such thing.
Mr. WitaltaN trusted that this would not be trea-
ted as a party question, and that no asperity might
be mixeJ with it, because he was persuaded that it
was one on which the most honourable minds might
differ. For his own part, he was not prepared to
throw any censure on Ministers ; for he was aware,
that in the steps they were about to take (though so
I inimical to every Stockholder's interest like himself)-
they were, nevertheless, actuated by the most impar-
tial wish to do their duty to the n'aion in general.—
, Still lie thought the only conclusion to be drawn be-
tween the Company and the Petitioners against its
present advantages, *as, not for compromise, but
for decision and resistance. The first proposition
made to the Court of Directors was— [Here the
worthy Gentleman, after a considerable pause, was
obliged to sit down.]
Mr. Davis said they had before them the great
national question, whether the exports and imports
to and from India should be removed from the port
of London, or be continued where it now is ?—His
opinion was, that it would be most disadvantageous
to the City of London, and be of no material bene-
fit to the Outports. He (Mr. Davis) had made four
voyages to India—he had been an Eastslndia agent
and merchant—and, from the advantages of know-
ledge derived in those situations, he believed that the
exports exceeded the demand for European goods in
India, and that the greatest consumption of them was
effected by the climate. He'appealed to any of the
principal shippers, if they thought the export trade ;
worth carryiag on ? Much had been said abroadi,
about the price of freight on board the Company's
' ships ; and that West Indiamen would just answer !
the purpose as well. But, although they might be
able to bring home pepper and hogsheads of sugar
from the West Indies, they were not calculated to
import indigo and plece•goods from the East ; they
were not even fit to go round the Cape of Geo('
Hope. This was the knowledge that the Liverpool
and Bristol Merchants had of the matter. 11 Mini.'
sters knew these things, he wasisure they would not
listen to the petitions which had been presented
against the renewal of the charter.. It was true they
ought to attend to the people, bat not entirely give ,
way to those who were comparatively ignorant on ;
the subject. He spoke not this out of disrespect' to
any particular body. To shewahat the demand foal
' European goods was small in India. he instanced ,
the case of the Romney, in That ship had
about seBooo worth of goods on board, intended for
the Madras and Bengal markla t but, on her arrival

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•••m....ww.•••• :;•%.T. 7,=:. % '7—.-
1 7 i...;_s_
tte Madras., Lord Heleart, the dornner, Ordered!: .
True?. There WAS no demsnd fur the goods; di
. aptain watelikely to be ruired ; several expedient
u‘v=ea tried to get rid. of 11;$ goods for him, and a •
lasiit was done by a 10,tery. at the head of the C •
. . ,-
eettption to which stood the name of Lord Hobert
..r.Pap tit this investment was enmposed of goods fr. .
I,lPieffield, Bilminham, and Manchester. This chew
eil them was a greater influx of European goods int.
..the Indian markets than they can bear. He was di
ailsocate of a safe trade, nut a speculative cnee a • •
;Lois certainly the interest and advantage of this
country to have a par trade as much as possible: '
F. a great increase of flak one year. and a m
dial proportienate, diminution the next, was certai• -
livery hurtful to the reveittie of the country.
Mr. WAYMAN wished to move a set of Resole
dory, on which he had intended to enlarge, bdt li
feeliogs, some how or other, would not permit him.
A set of Resolutions were then read, tinTr4 to
sepport the Company's exclusive trade; and on t i
first Resohnion being-moved and seconded,
Mrs Hunts hoped that he should not be consider .
too presuming it he offered his opinioti ; nevertheless
r he telt some anxiety when he looked round him, and
I saw so many persona there, Le more adequate Vis t
' task of discussing this important questiov. His net
oa this subject (as all of them, and particularly the
nation, was deeply concerned in it) was, that it should
be discussed I..rgely and dispassionately. And this
he more particularly wished, as on a former occa-
sion he had observed a disposition to come to a haslet
decision on the subject, and was that which ma., •
him recommend a longer attention to this very hue
portant question. However, he was now inclined to
take very different views of it from those of et
worthy Gentirrnan behind him (Mr. Davis.) Any
man who had carried on the trade with lndia fors
year, or even for a month, might thew that at a pare
titular time the markets were overstocked with. Ea•
ropean goods; but let him also shewsvhen eley were
in want cf European articles, Theseothstn,lneett hot
insulated facts, aNd they should therefoee go for no.
e eig. On a former occasion he had to thank an
Hon. Director for correcting him, when taking too
general a view of the subject. He would now there'
fore. confine himself to as short a view as possible.
Some persons considered him as the enemy of the
Company, but he declared himself its sincere friend;
and his motives for coming forward on the prtient
occasion were three-fold. Fiist, be bad the greatest
veneration fur the services of the Company. nerd
were no Governments that he knew which deserved
more praise for the protection ofliberty and property
than theirs. The establishments of Bengal were
much supei ior to any in the colonies under the Brie
tish sicanutions in the West. Nor could he allow,
that the military glory of our Indian arms was at all
j surpassed by that of the mother country, great as it
was. Far be it from him, therefore, to wish for ash]
innovation in the Government of India. He Wished
to see no radical change in the establishments in In•
dia whatever—his second motive for wisbir.g well to
the Company was self-interest, he being himself a
Preprietorpf India Stock. His third, bee ills:: bows
ever insulated he now was from commercial pursuits,
he had still a duty, as a subject, to poi( rm. If, ai
he thought, the Company's commerce and marine
might be augmented and improved, that would be
an additional reason for his recommending to theist
that which he was about to do. The Correspondence
re.42ecting the renewal of the present Charter come
menccd in 1305. Ministers at first proposed no Ma•
terial change, but at last they proposed throwing the
trade open to certain of the out pot ts ; and, secondly,
to take the Company's military force under their own
direction. To the first part of those propositions, he
was sorry to say, that the language and answer of
the Court of Directors was such as must fail to cone
vince, however specious it was. On the second point ,
their arguments were equally strong and conclusive.
It was, therefore, no wonder that Ministers had given
up that, which had been so forcibly proved would
indeed be decidedly ruinous to the Company. In,
stead of acting as they had done, he would have tee
commended to the Court of Directors to ask Minis-
ters how far they were prepared to guarantee the
payment of stock and dividends to the Ploprietoes,
in case of any of these alterations being carried into
effect. But the Directors had thought otherwise ;
and, in one case, had even thrown down a sort of dee
fiance to Government, by neatly saying that they
were determined to adopt a certain line of conduct
whatever arguments Ministers might produce against
it. In consequence of this determination, they had
given nothing but a set of opinions, in answer to the
strong and able arguments produced by Miuistersaeo
Lord Buckinghamshire, amongother things. had told
them, that from all that could be gathered from those
most concerned, on both sides oithe question, there
was no dread of a loss of revenue to the country. He
(Mr. Hume) feared that the Deputies from Sheffield
and Birmingham had so steeled and tempered the
minds of Ministers, that they would now be proof,
so far as to allow the Merchants of Leadenhall-street
to make but little impression upon them. Had the
Court of Directors acted as they did with Mr. H.
Dundas, hi 1793, they would have much better ,
pleased him and the country, as their conduct would
then have sliewn attention and consideration. The
part that Lord Buckinghamshire had taken in the core
respondence had been greatly mote to his credit than
that of Mr. H. Dundas; it had been fair and boa.
nourable, and, in his opinion, did.not deserve that ob•
loquy which had been endeavoured to be cast upon it.
In 1795, such was the state of commerce, that the
merchants could hardly get remittances to Lur ;p!.
on any terms; and that consequently threw the trade
I into foreign channels. To remedy this, it was at that
time proposed to open the trade. In I 793, the &Milt
I merchants exported to the amount of se181,710; ant
1
iitatorually increased, ull, ii. 1793, it amounted to
OM. But at that time the trade to the Conti.
IMa began to slacken, andthey saw a new enemy Kt