FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   104   105   106   107   108  
109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   >>   >|  
their superior dexterity, from their knowledge of the country and of business, and from their extreme industry, vigilance, and parsimony, are generally an over-match for Europeans, and indeed are, and must ultimately be, employed by them in all transactions whatsoever, will find it very extraordinary that they did not by the best offers secure this dealing to themselves. It can be attributed to this cause, and this only,--that they were conscious, that, without power and influence to subdue the cultivators of the land to their own purposes, they never could afford to engage on the lowest possible terms. Those whose power entered into the calculation of their profits could offer, as they did offer, terms without comparison better; and therefore one of the English bidders, without partiality, secured the preference. The contract to this first bidder, Mr. Griffiths, was prolonged from year to year; and as during that time frequent complaints were made by him to the Council Board, on the principle that the years answered very differently, and that the business of one year ran into the other, reasons or excuses were furnished for giving the next contract to Mr. Mackenzie for three years. This third contract was not put up to auction, as the second had been, and as this ought to have been. The terms were, indeed, something better for the Company; and the engagement was subject to qualifications, which, though they did not remove the objection to the breach of the Company's orders, prevented the hands of the Directors from being tied up. A proviso was inserted in the contract, that it should not be anyways binding, if the Company by orders from home should alter the existing practice with regard to such dealing. Whilst these things were going on, the evils which this monopoly was in show and pretence formed to prevent still existed, and those which were naturally to be expected from a monopoly existed too. Complaints were made of the bad quality of the opium; trials were made, and on those trials the opium was found faulty. An office of inspection at Calcutta, to ascertain its goodness, was established, and directions given to the Provincial Councils at the places of growth to certify the quantity and quality of the commodity transmitted to the Presidency. In 1776, notwithstanding an engagement in the contract strictly prohibiting all compulsory culture of the poppy, information was given to a member of the Council-Gene
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   104   105   106   107   108  
109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

contract

 

Company

 

Council

 
quality
 
trials
 

existed

 
monopoly
 

engagement

 

orders

 

dealing


business
 

things

 

Whilst

 

regard

 

vigilance

 
industry
 

prevent

 

formed

 

parsimony

 
pretence

prevented

 
Directors
 

generally

 

remove

 

objection

 

breach

 

naturally

 
existing
 

binding

 

proviso


inserted

 

practice

 

commodity

 

transmitted

 

Presidency

 

quantity

 

certify

 

Councils

 

places

 

growth


notwithstanding

 

information

 

member

 

culture

 

strictly

 

prohibiting

 
compulsory
 

Provincial

 

superior

 

knowledge