EAST INDIA COMPANY

A famous joint stock a ociation originally established to carry on the trade between this country and the East Indies, or rather with the countries to the eastward of the Cape of Good Hope. It was constituted by royal charter in 1600, and continued, notwithstanding repeated eiforts to open the trade, to enjoy the exclusive privileges originally conceded till 1688. At that period the power of the crown to restrain the freedom of trade without the sanction of parliament having been denied, a rival a ociation obtained an act of parliament in its favour; but after a variety of negotiations, which it is unuece ary to specify, the two cor376 EAST INDIA COMPANY. por a tions were joined in 1702 under the name of " Ths United Company of Merchants trading to the East Indies; " an appellation which has been continued to the present day. In 1708 the United Company was secured by parliament in the exclusive privilege of trading to all places eastward of the Cape of Good Hope to the Straits. of Magellan; and this privilege, with some modifications, was confirmed and prolonged by succe ive acts of parliament down to 1814. By tlie act 53 Geo. 3. c. 133., pa ed in 1813, the East India Company's charter was renewed for twenty years; but it then received some important modifications, by which a restricted intercourse was permitted to all British mercliants with the whole of the Company's Indian po e ions; the monopoly of the trade between England and China being, however, retained in the hands of the East India Company. These conce ions paved the way for the act of 1833, by which, though the Company's charter was prolonged till 1854, not only was the monopoly of the China trade abolished, but an end wholly put to the Company's original character of a commercial a ociation. But it is not as a commercial a ociation so much as a great territorial power, that the East India Company has become so distinguished. The first establishments of the English in India, as of other European nations, arose out of the alleged nece ity of providing armed factories or strongholds, where the adventurers might warehouse their goods, and reside in safety for the purpose of carrying on their intercourse with the natives; but the factories speedily degenerated into fortifications, and the garrisons into armies. For a while the power of the English and French was pretty nearly balanced in India; but the talents and victories of the famous Lord Clive gave us a decided superiority over every competitor, foreign or native, and extended our sway over some of the largest and finest portions of the Mogul empire. The policy of Clive, whether it were really approved by the succeeding governors-general of our Indian dominions, or were forced upon tliem by nece ity, has, some few short intervals excepted, been steadily followed up; and with such signal succe , that our Indian empire comprizes at present the whole of Hindostan from the Himalaya Mountains to Cape Com or in, with a population of above 120 millions! The most exaggerated accounts have been at air times current in Europe of the extraordinary wealth of India, and of the importance of the commerce with that part of the world. After the victories of Lord Clive, the most sanguine expectations began to be entertained, not only of a vast increase of trade with India, but that we should draw from her an immense amount of surplus revenue, or tribute. Perhaps it is not going too far to say that these expectations have been entirely disappointed. Great abuses existed in the govermnent of the Bengal provinces when conquered by Clive; the servants of the East India Company making large fortunes by the oppre ion of the natives and the ruin of the country. But, notwithstanding the eradication of the abuses in question, the immense additions that have since been made to our empire, and the oppre ive taxes laid on the natives, it is not very clear that England has hitherto derived any direct revenue from India. The distance of the country, and the totally di imilar language and customs of tlie people, are very great obstacles to our governing it with the economy nece ary to make it yield any considerable amount of surplus revenue. The East India Company always contended that the profits made by their monopoly of the China trade were nece ary to enable them to conduct the government of India. But, though there are strong grounds on which to impeach the accuracy of this statement, still it is abundantly clear that the surplus revenue we have derived from India, supposing there has been any such, has been comparatively inconsiderable; and quite trifling, indeed, compared witli our own anticipations, and with the notions entertained by others of its magnitude. Until 1815and 1816, when the continued fall in the price of cotton goods, caused by the astonishing discoveries and inventions of Ark wright, and the other founders and improvers of the cotton manufacture, enabled us to export cottons to India and to undersell the natives, the trade between this country and India was of the most limited description. Previously to tlie opening of the trade in 1813-14 the total amount of the exports of all sorts, including the important item of military stores, by the East India Company and by private traders in the Company's ships, did not amount to 1,400,000/. a year; and even on this a considerable lo is believed to have been incurred! But such has been the increased demand for British cottons, that the value of those exported to India amounts, at present, to above 2,500,000/. a year, and the whole of our exports to her to near 4,000,000/. Even this, considering the vast extent of India, is but a trifling export; it is, in fact, le than half the amount of our exports to the United States. The restricted amount of our commerce with India may, perhaps, be in some degree ascribed to its having [s. 389]