a flat, barren, scorching sand, so near the
sea, that in bad weather the walls are endangered by the mighty surges
rolled in from the ocean. As the soil is barren, the climate is so
intensely hot that it would be altogether uninhabitable, were not the
heat mitigated by the sea breezes. On the land side it is defended by
a salt water river, which, while it contributes to the security of the
place, robs the inhabitants of one great comfort, by obstructing
the springs of fresh water. The fort is a regular square, the town
surrounded with walls well mounted with artillery, and the place,
including the Black Town, is very populous. Madras, with several
villages in the neighbourhood, was purchased of the king of Golconda,
before the mogul became sovereign of this country. The governor of this
place is not only president of Fort St. George, but also of all the
other settlements on the coasts of Malabar and Coromandel, as far as the
island of Sumatra. He lives in great pomp, having inferior judges, who
pass sentence of death occasionally on malefactors of any nation, except
the subjects of Great Britain. All the company's affairs are directed
by him and his council, who are invested with the power of inflicting
corporal punishment, short of life and member, upon such Europeans as
are in the service, and dispose of all places of trust and profit. By
virtue of an act passed in the course of this very session, the military
officers belonging to the company were permitted to hold courts-martial,
and punish their soldiers according to the degree of their delinquency.
In a word, Madras is of the utmost importance to the company for
its strength, wealth, and the great returns it makes in calicoes and
muslins. Towards the latter end of the last century, the English company
had a flourishing factory at Masulipatam, standing on the north side
of the river Nagundi, which separates the provinces of Golconda and
Bisnagar, in the latitude of sixteen degrees and thirty minutes; but now
there is no European settlement here, except a Dutch factory, maintained
for carrying on the chintz commerce. At Visgapatam, situated still
farther to the northward, the English possess a factory regularly
fortified on the side of the river, which, however, a dangerous bar
has rendered unfit for navigation. The adjacent country affords cotton
cloths, and the best stripped muslins of India. It is chiefly for the
use of this settlement that the company maintains a