Messrs. Phillippe van der Geesen and Josué van der Poosten to be his proxies, and they took their seats accordingly on the 31st of the same mouth.

The public prints were crowded with details of the brilliant fêtes which succeeded each other at Batavia, on the elevation of the stadtholder; and his installation as governor-general of India. The former of these joyful events was solemnized on the 30th of May, 1748, the anniversary of the conquest of Jacatra; on which occasion, also, the chief magistracy of this famous city, makes its annual changes. The latter was celebrated on the 22d of June, 1750, one year after a general peace in Europe. All these events furnished the baron Imhoff with opportu nities, which he did not neglect, of displaying the magnificence of his taste, and demonstrating his attachment to S. A. S. who created him lieutenant-general of infantry, in 1748. But this great man now approached the end of his brilliant life-He died the 1st of Nov. 1751, and was interred on the 5th, with princely pomp.

After his death many very interesting particulars reached Holland, which we here insert: without, however, vouching for their authenticity in every respect.

According to private letters, dated Batavia, 14th July, 1751, it appeared, that some time previously another revolt had broke out at Java, in a certain district which they do not name, supposed to have originated in a circumstance as singular as it was mysterious.

"A certain Indian potentate, "unqualified by age and infirmity "to hold the reins of government, "abdicated his throne in favor of

were compelled to fly. They "burnt all their huts, got posses

tam, and celebrated the victory. "Since which, many of the ene"my's chiefs have delivered them"selves up; and offered their ser"vices to the Company. Tran"quillity thus restored, I reim"barked my ships' company, and "sailed for Batavia."

The whole town was on the alert -The regulars were sent off in parties to clear the suburbs; and the towns - people mounted guard on the forts. The enemy were much harassed; and their force considerably diminished by these repeated checks.-A letter, dated 24th of Sept. 1751, brought by the ship Fidelité, stated "Notwithstanding his defeat, "their chief, Klay Tappy, had "by no means given up his re

sentment against the Dutch."After the battle of the 24th, he "retreated, with 400 men, to "mount Monara, where he has "intrenched himself; but it is "rumoured that an engagement "took place the day before yes66 terday; and that the Dutch, joined by the well-disposed Bantams, made an attack on the "mountain at three different places in the same moment, "by which manoeuvre they soon "became masters of the moun"tain, with the loss of one man "killed, and 12 men wounded."The enemy left all their artil"lery behind, 3 sets of colours, " and some arms.-The moun"tain is said to be now occupied "by 60 European soldiers; 300 "East-Indian ditto, and 200 Ban

"tam ditto. They add, that there were four other chiefs engaged " in this affair, one of whom was "killed-two were deserted by "their own people, and the fourth "joined the general flight, with "600 men.-A reward of four "thousand crowns is offered for "the latter, dead or alive.”

But, by another letter, dated the 19th December, brought from the Cape of Good, Hope to England, the position of things in Java bore no favorable aspect for the Dutch, whose victories were gained at a vast expence of treasure and bloodshed. The letter says, "That the

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king of Bantam had gained a de"cided superiority over them, had "cut off all communication with "their factories at Lampon, and

was in possession of that district. "That a Chinese priest, who had

escaped from the massacre at "Batavia, commanded 12,000 "men, the greater part Japanese; "and had twice put the Dutch to "flight;-that, notwithstanding, "the Dutch had been so ably rein"forced, as to enable them to take "their revenge on the enemy, by "attacking them again; and with

success. They could not, how

ever, prevent the rebels from "setting fire to their magazines, "which, at the time, were full of spices, and other merchandise, ready to be exported to Eu"rope."

Such are the reports which appear to contain more of truth than splendor in the cause. The rumour will be now remembered which was spread to the prejudice of the baron, whom they accused of having stolen their queen, as stated in the first letter; but we cannot speak directly on that head; and perhaps it is as well to be silent.

treat fully of objects so important, and of such magnitude, would require a range of information and accuracy of detail, which can only be expected from great practical experience, aided by the most liberal communications from the public offices of government, in their commercial, revenue, and marine departments. The records of the custom-house are in most countries, except Bengal, open to the inspection of individuals; but this source of information being inaccessible to us, the amount of foreign trade must be assumed from other data:

Although Bengal possesses a considerable extent of sea coast, (from the Subunreecka to the Rajoo river, about 340 miles) she has but few good harbours; her situation nevertheless is well adapted for foreign commerce. Occupying an intermediate station in that vast portion of the globe, usually denominated the East Indies, her access is rendered easy to the remotest shores of Africa, Asia, and America.

On the west, and contiguous to Bengal, lies the great peninsula of Hindustan. To the numerous ports and settlements on both coasts of this peninsula, particularly the coast of Coromandel, Bengal carries on a constant, extensive, and profitable

VOL. 5.

commerce, which may properly be colled her home, or coasting trade. On the east she borders on Assam, and touches the dominions of Ava. The former she supplies exclusively with salt; and from the latter receives all her teak timber for shipbuilding and domestic use. The bay of Bengal, embracing the west end of Sumatra, and washing the coast of Malaya, affo ds a direct communication through the straits of Malacca to China and the eastern isles, where the opium, saltpetre, and piece goods of Bengal are always in great demand. With the Persian and Arabian gulfs, as well as the eastern coast of Africa, Bengal likewise maintains commercial intercourse, though many obstacles have in late years supervened, to impede her commerce in that quarter.

Calcutta, the political and commercial capital of British India, as well as the emporium of Bengal, is situated on the Houghly river, or western branch of the Ganges, about 100 miles from the sea, and accessible to ships of all sizes, at all seasons. From Calcutta, foreign imports are transported with great facility by the Ganges and its subsidiary streams, to the northern nations of Hindustan; and the consumption and exports of Calcutta * A

are

are readily supplied through the numerous rivers which intersect Bengal in every direction, and to which her prosperity has been as cribed, not only as they facilitate communication and conveyance, but likewise as they contribute to the fertility of her soil.

The elegant villas that adorn the banks of the Houghly, and the southern aspect of Calcutta, impress the mind of a stranger, on his approach, with high ideas of the opulence of this great city; but the shipping that crowd the port point out to him the true source of its splendor. Numerous and magnificent houses, erected within a few years, are undoubted proofs of prosperity, and the great population and extent of the place (still rapidly increasing) with the busy and animated operations of the harbour, indicate an active and thriving commerce. I am happy to yield my unqualified assent to this obser⚫ vation; and it is with no small degree of national pride, that I can safely ascribe, in a great measure, these beneficial effects, to the spirited exertions of British merchants resident in India. Exclusive of the company's exports, it is to their individual efforts, that Bengal owes her shipping and her commerce.

In tracing the rise and progress of the maritime trade of Bengal, since it fell under the sway of Great Britain, I cannot for want of materials extend my researches further back than the year 1773. The accompanying abstract, compiled from the port list of arrivals and departures, will shew the number and the tonnage of vessels which have imported and cleared out from Calcutta, or the river Houghly, for the years 1773, 1783, 1791, 1792, 1793, and 1794, distinguishing the nations to which they belong, or

whose colours they assume: and annexed thereto, will be found a statement for the years 1783, and 1793, shewing the different ports from whence the ships of those years arrived, and those to which they were bound.

My intention in compiling this abstract, is to shew the rapid increase of the maritime commerce of Bengal, since the year 1783; and more especially the increase of the country trade, or that which is carried on, to and from ports in India. I shall confine my observations principally to the years 1783 and 1793 the former, the first year of peace after the American war; and the latter, the year when the present war commenced, intelligence of which reached Bengal on the 4th of June.

In 1773, the reader will perceive that only 160 sail of vessels entered the port, whose aggregate burden was 44,497 tons; and no more than 108 vessels, carrying 33,470 tons cleared out; of the former 102 sail, burden 28,872 tons, were country ships, under English colours; and of the latter 95 sail, burden 25,080 tons, were of the same description. Ten years afterwards, at the close of the American war, we find the tonnage inward increased to 64,510 tons, on 149 vessels; and the departures were 114 sail, carrying 49,225 tons. But this increase was only apparent, for the war having detained an unusual number of the Company's ships in India, it will be perceived that they constitute a large propor tion of the arrivals and departures of that year, many of them being employed in carrying stores to the different presidencies, and in the coasting trade: to these must be added, transports and men of war, The country shipping under Eng

lish colours, which arrived and sailed in 1783, only amounts to 128 sail, carrying 44,865 tons; whereas, in 1773, their numbers were 190, and burden 53,952 tons; which exhibits a decline of this tonnage, in consequence of the war, in the proportion of one fifth nearly and we are persuaded that the captures made by the enemy, during that unfortunate contest, might be stated at a much larger proportion. Our fleets in India, in that disastrous period, although numerous, powerful, and well appointed, afforded but little protection to the commerce of the country. Not a single frigate, in my recollection, was ever detached as a convoy to merchant ships in the country trade; nay, I have heard it frequently asserted, that ships of war, sailing from Bengal to join the fleet on the coast of Coromandel, have rejected all applications for protection to merchantmen pursuing the same voyage; notwithstanding they were laden with grain for the supply of our armies in the Carnatic, where famine was then raging with all its horrors. I am not competent to say, how far the detention of a frigate, a few days, for the purpose of a convoy, might have been injurious to the public service; but the merchants here, in the loss of property, and the famished inhabitants of the coast, in the privation of food, felt severely this inattention to trade, and complained bitterly on the occasion. Nor did they fail to observe, that, for other services, that which did not appear to them of any importance to the public welfare, but undertaken solely for the purpose of acquiring prizemoney, frigates and sloops of war were readily detached. Smarting under repeated and heavy losses, they could neither perceive the

utility, nor applaud the zeal, which prompted the aid of a frigate and sloop of war, to assist this government in the reduction of the defenceless Dutch factory at Chinsurah, in 1781, the capture of which afterwards furnished a subject of so much litigation.

The daring activity of Mons. Suffrein, at this juncture, made a striking impression. No change of monsoon induced him to quit the bay of Bengal; and during the absence of our fleet, in their annual visit to Bombay for refitment, and to avoid the storms that prevail at the autumnal equinox, he swept the seas, destroyed our trade, and intercepted the supplies from this to the other presidencies. A ship of the line and two frigates, which he stationed off the Sand Heads, or entrance into the Houghly, at one time nearly shut up the port, at another made many valuable captures, carrying back an ample supply of all sorts of provisions and stores, which neither his own resources, nor those of his allies, could have furnished. From the abundance of Bengal, both friends and foes drew their supplies; and, however much the loss of what fell into the enemy's hands might have been regretted, it was a fortunate circumstance, that, during the whole of that war, from a succession of favourable crops, the great exports of grain created no enhancement of price; or, at least, not greater than is experienced in the ordinary fluctuations of the market.

We shall pass over the years 1791 and 1792 without further observation, than to remark, that from 1783 to 1791, the general trade of Bengal had increased from 113,735 tons, the total of arrivals and departures in the former year, to 244,035 tons of shipping, which * A 2 imported