Add Mss 13818

STATEMENTs relative to the trade between Europe, India and China in general, and the English East India Company's trade in particular, 1792. [13,818].

NB: This document, going through the import and export statistics of the European companies, refers a lot to a series of Appendices; unfortunately these don’t appear at the back of the volume so I don’t know where they are. Comments in square brackets[ ] are my additions. Details in the tables do not appear in table form in the original, some detail here has been simplified.

p.4:

‘The Exports of Europe to India are annually about 37,454 Tons, costing £2,393,611, and may be classed under the following Heads:’

First: Foreign Companies, vizt
Dutch, French, Danish, Portuguese regular Ships as P Appendix No. 1 of foreign trade: / 18,048 Tons
@£55 P Ton (Med. Price) = £992,640
Second: Clandestine Trade, vizt
English commerce carried on under foreign Flags as P Appendix, No. 3: / 10,255 Tons
@£60 P Ton = £615,300
Third: Private Trade in English Company’s Ships carried by Commans& Officers licensed & unlicensed, on an Average of 10 years to 1790 as P Appex 5 & 6: / 4,258 (Goods for sale: 2748, Stores 2145)
@ abt£70 P Ton = £364,070

p. 5

Claims that all English trade taken together (including clandestine and private forms) accounts for half of the European whole. What’s more, ‘The Exports of Foreign Companies are low priced from the principal part of them being composed on Iron, Lead, Pitch, Tar, Spears, Anchors &c, bulky Articles low in value as in Appendix 2.’

Of Ostend: ‘Indeed, that port [Ostend] is now considered as much an English Port as the Port of London, both for Exports to India, and Imports from it.’

pp. 6-32. Long discussion of English exports to East Indies.

pp. 32-36:

‘The foregoing statement of the European Export Trade proves as uncontrovertable facts:

1st: That the consumption of European Goods in India has been increasing regularly of late Years and continues in a like progressive state.

2nd: That the English Company from having the greater part of their Tonnage out (say 3/4ths of its) freight free and the remainder of only 5 per ton and other advantages, can afford to send out Goods themselves, or allow the merchants to do it on Company ships on much lower terms than any other can afford to do.

3rd: That of from 35,000 to 40,000 Tons of Merchandise, stores included, which appear to have been exported from Europe annually, the English Company notwithstanding their monopoly, have only taken to their share 2748 Tons of Goods & 2145 Tons of Stores, and that even the Iron Ballast of their ships to India & China together has in the last six Years ending in 1790 (when their Exports have been so much increased beyond any former period) exceeded the whole of the merchandize belonging to the Company to either of those Countries separately.

4th: That the Company so far from furnishing even stores for their own use had been in the practice of purchasing them abroad from the clandestine Traders & apparently at a most exorbitant price.

5th: That though the Americans export daily from London to India without interruption; yet out English Merchants from being precluded to do so, send their Goods via Ostend, which subjects them not only to two P Cent Charges more than the Americans for transhipping, but also renders their Insurance insecure, unless done abroad, owing to the Trades being illegal.

6th: That a number of our best Seamen have been transferred from England to Ostend in consequence of the Company’s monopoly.

7th: That the Court of Directors had formed excellent plants relative to encreasing the Exports … but had not followed them up by practice.

8th: That the general idea entertained of the consumption of woollens being decreased in India does not seem justified by experience even taking our Exports of them as a criterion but that the Company had lost their proper share of this trade by not attending to the qualities, and not furnishing one half of the quantities indented for. Owing to this the merchants for woollens in India had gone where they could depend upon being supplied with quantity and qualities according to their desire.

9th: It also process (to a mercantile certainly at least) that if our Company allowed the English merchants to send Goods out on the Company’s ships only on the same terms as they can send them out on the Ostend and foreign Ships, that in place of the present 4258 Tons of licensed and unlicensed Goods which go on the English Company’s ships annually 20,000 Tons would be sent, much to the advantage of the Company and the Nation.

10th: That by employing 20,000 Tons of large ships of 1200 Tons each, in place of small ships of 750 Tons they would save £107,783 P Annum.

11th: That as the Company’s ships could always take in more Cargo in Exports than the Company allotted for them, if there appeared in future a necessity to lighten the ships from being too deep, they should be lightened by taking out the Goods clandestinely shipped, and not the Company’s as heretofore has been the case.

12th: That the Export of Bullion had hitherto proved a Benefit to the Company and to the Nation, in place of a detriment as by some supposed.

13: … That the real profits on the Exports during these six years amounted to £89, 011 and £47650 on a medium of the last two years.

p. 36

Says that although the company have erred in not increasing export of manufactures, not allowing trade in them, and by not allowing merchants to remit their fortunes in goods, they should not be individually censured as the Court has many talented individuals with much mercantile knowledge; this clever minority get silenced by majority however. Proceeds to go through a series of occurrences where this has been the case and the sensible minority have been overlooked/overruled.

p. 38

‘Since the unnecessary and destructive evil of secrecy has been withdrawn from the Company’s affairs, and that the purchases here have been made in general by public in place of private Contract, the qualities of those made by public Contract have been better, and the piece much more moderate (vide appendix 30) this has also been useful in preventing jobbing, and it has assisted to raise the Company’s credit.’

p. 41

‘The high freight of the Companys present ships is in a great degree occasioned by the sale of the Command, or as it is usually termed the Good will, which has rose lately to £11,000, and whose rate of sale on an average may be computed at £8,000 at least. This Practice has originated with the acting owner who is generally styled the ships Husband, and who sold it to the Captain who obtained the command when the ship was first taken into the service. After the sale the Command becomes the transferable property of the Captain, who when he leaves the ship, is supposed to have an undoubted right to sell the Command to the highest bidder, and if he dies, the same right goes to his Heirs.’

This says that the success of the current system very much depends on the honesty of the ship’s husband – they often, however refuse to take up the ‘good will’ at full price when a Captain wants to give up his command of an East Indiaman. Often, they have been forced to give up their obligation, of several thousand pounds, for next to nothing. Argues this system re: the husbands needs to be much more tightly regulated.

Allied with this, is also the problem of East Indiaman commander positions being sold at exorbitant prices.

China Trade

p.45

Property imported by the Foreign Companies from China in the Six Years ending in 1785 occupied on an average annually (Appx No 32) [of] 13,525 Tons. Property imported principally by the English under Foreign Flags, and styled Clandestine Trade, in these six years on an average, occupied annually (Appendix No 32) 2,625 [Tons]. Property imported by the English Company occupied in these six years on an average annually (Appendix No 33) 7,837 [Tons]. [Therefore 23,987 Tons in total].

pp. 46-49

Says European trade, and also the share of the English within that, has gone up since the Commutation Act. As private trade of officers and commanders not accounted for in above tonnage stats, says that previous to the act, English Company and their officers supplied nearly half the Exports made to China. Since the act then, exports of woollens and tin to China have increased.

p. 54

‘The Company have ever valued it [the Tael] in their books at 6 [shillings]/8[pence]pr Tale’.

pp. 57-58 –> details on profit of Company’s export trade in years since Commutation Act. This increased year on year. They reckon the ‘profit on Exports to China [is] £50,000 Pr Annum, and in a progressive state’.

Imports from India to Europe

p. 58:

‘The imports from India to Europe in late years have amounted to about 34,600 Tons annually of which the Gross Sales may be estimated at £7,331,569, and classed under the following Heads:’

Foreign Companies Vizt.
Dutch, French, Danish and Portuguese regular ships, as P. appendix No. 46
[Of this:]
Danes £365,023
Portuguese 338, 430
Dutch 1,176,810 [some annotations which are unclear here]
French 877,520 / 19,106 Tons
£144 [pr Ton]
Sale value = £2,757,763
Clandestine Trade or English Commerce carried on under foreign Flags as P app No. 3: / 8000 Tons
£250 [pr Ton]
£2,000,000
English Company on their own account as P appendix No. 47, 48, 49, 50: / 6662 Tons
£294 ½
£1,962,095 (Tons average of 8 years, sale average of 10 years)
Private Trade belonging to the Commanders & officers of the English Company No. 53: / 581 ½ Tons
£694
£403,565 (average of seven years)
Privilege Goods ship’d by Merchants in India at freight on the English Company’s ships No. 53 / 300 Tons
£694
£208,146 (average of seven years)
[Total] Tons: 34,649 ½ costing £7,331,569

p. 59-

‘The foreign Imports in general are not so valuable as the Imports of the English owing not only to the coarsest quality of piece Goods, but also to the large proportion of saltpetre and pepper which they bring.’

Goes on to describe the trade of each of the companies, including the Dutch, Portuguese, Danish, Swedes, French and Americans in more detail.

This seems a bit of a strange comment:

p. 75:

‘In a reference to the Exports to India in page 2 d. it will appear that the Clandestine Trade (alias the English private trade carried on under foreign flags) originated in 1777, with only one Ship of 700 Tons. That is had regularly increased until 1791; when was as P appendix 3, twenty two ships burthening 10,255 Tons outward bound which were arrived by Clandestine, exclusive of 12 ships from France, the major part of which might also with propriety be arranged under the same description.’

pp. 75-76

‘From the report of the Committee of Directors in February 1791 as P appendix 58 it appears that the average price for which the privilege Goods (consisting of Piece Goods and Drugs) sold during the last three Years ending in 1791 was £694 P Ton. Though the clandestine traders do not by any means bring such a large part of their cargoes in coffee, pepper, saltpetre, and low-priced articles as the Foreign companies, yet as they sometimes do, & as these articles are, of course, of less value than the privilege Goods, we shall with the same view of being within the mark, estimate the Ton of clandestine trade at £250 or little more than one third of the value of the privilege Goods. In such case the 8000 Tons of Returns in question must realize say at £250 P ton, £2,000,000 P annum.’ [This comment refers to table above].

p. 76

‘This trade is going on with rapid progress and owing to the unfortunate use made by the Company of their monopoly, every prejudice that can arise from the rivalship [?] of a contraband commerce, managed with the superior ability of our countrymen, is felt to the great detriment of the Company, and to the still greater detriment of the State.’

Interesting comment on remittances:

‘The English merchants abroad did not feel the want of remittances so much previous to our coming into possession of such extensive territory. Fortunes acquired in India were then but few, and in general so small, that if they could not find a remittance through the necessities of our Company at China, they were sure of a sufficient one through foreign companies, both reasonable and secure.’

Basically continues to say that with the ‘Dewannee’, fortunes became so large that there was no longer an efficient remittance channel that could be used, and clandestine trade grew; criticises the Company for not allowing remittance in goods on board Company ships for a moderate freight charge earlier.This state of affairs corrected by the India board of control in 1780s.

Private Trade

p. 110:

‘The private trade belonging to the captains and officers of the Company is a privilege which the Company allow them to bring home freight free of 54 tons on ships from India of 755 tons and upwards, and those of a less burthen in proportion.’

‘The Gross sales of the private Trade amounted on an average of 7 years ending in 1791, as P. No. 53, to £403,565 P. annum & occupied about 581 tons, valuing £694 P. ton. The above is exclusive not only of the privilege Goods from India, and the private Trade from China but also of illicit Trade. It has decreased lately contrarily to all our other Trades except that of the privilege Goods, but the reason is obvious. The private trade it is true, pays no freight, but the fact is that the Company’s other charges even without freight exceed three times over any other freight in Europe. Their 7 P C. with 1/3 P Ct Fees on £694 amounts to £50.17.10 P ton.

Argues that such restrictions need to be lifted to prevent private goods being sent elsewhere in Europe.

p. 119:

Gives a nice little example of sending some indigo from Bengal both to London and Ostend: the charges laid on by the Company are so much that it would make much more sense to convey goods to the continent:

‘The result is that the nice Observer of the Law receives £2062.11.3, while the less scrupulous Gentleman receives a proper Return of £2229.2.6; and what makes it still more striking is that the Indigo sold higher in London by … 3 & 4/7 P Cent than it did at Ostend. What a strong inducement is here held out for breaking the Law.’

Pp. 119-120

Also says that sales are often quicker at Ostend than they are in London – you could be waiting months for a return.

Gives further examples, pp. 121-125, of other commodities and how the private trade in them could be further encouraged if the Company would only relax the rules and lower duties.

pp. 127-128

‘The tonnage employed from China to Europe previous to the Commutation Act in Britain of September 1784, appears in No. 31, 32, & 33 of Section 2nd on Exports to China to have accounted to about 23987 Tons.’

‘In the same section we find that this Trade continued to advance in its usual progressive state until 1790, when the Chartered Tonnage employed amounted to 27679 Tons, of which the English had then become possessed of a share equal to 19,109 Tons – The value of the whole Returns from China to Europe previous to the Act appears to have amounted to about £3,974,458 P Annum – The Imports of the foreign Companies at that period appear to have sold at about 30 P Cent less than ours P Ton, although their Gains were much greater than that of our Company which was caused by our Duties being so exorbitantly high, as to enable them to undersell us at every Market by our Teas being in general of superior Quality, and by the proportion of our Raw Silk being greater.’

p. 130:

‘On these statements another observation is necessary, in regard to the Private Trade, which is, that it much exceeded what appears in the first statements, as there was at that period so much smuggling.’

There follows an extended description of the differences made by the act in terms of the Company’s profits, the amount of private trade and the quality of tea.

p. 139:

‘In the end of 1789, after much difficulty on the part of those who wished to send out a Judge of Teas to superintend the Purchases, a Mr. Arthur was appointed with a Salary of £1000 Pr Annum for 3 Years. In No. 72 will be seen the difference in the first Investment sent home in 1791 under his inspection.’

‘The Qualities of these Teas were so superior to the former that since then there has been an end to Complaints and they appear to have given an immediate saving to the Company, of £137,793.5.9 besides the further saving noticed on the Congou [?] of £61,982 – 11 – 5.’

p.141

‘Of course the Company’s China Trade is better managed than any other part of their Commerce. It requires attention and not capacity to continue the improvement of it, as the Company have no rivals. The Chinese Merchants form a complete monopoly, which from having the strong hand of Government to protect it, can only be combatted on our part by a similar monopoly.’

pp. 142-143

‘In [Appendix] No 74, we will find a particular statement of the Duties collected at China on the European Trade from each respective Nation, as also their respective Tonnage, including the English India Traders for 10 Years ending in 1780. From it the Duty appears to have amounted in these 10 Years to 8,203,335 Tales, or at 3 Tales to a pound Sterling £ 273,444 Pr Annum. From it we also find that the ships of the different nations paid (on an average of the years 1776, 1777 & 1778) in the following proportion for each ship Vizt.’