500

Hamilton’s account or the east indies.

bought three thoufand yards of blue cotton cloth about a groat per yard value, andbought them needles and thread, and gave them about iooolb. weight of cotton forquilting, and fo every man was his own tailor.

But finding my charges would be very great in maintaining fuch a number of men,and in carrying them paffengers would take up too much room in my {hip, which I couldmuch better employ in carrying China goods to Surat , I went to my old friend Shawban,with my confidant the linguift, and held a confultation how we might compel my bre-thren to be humane, and force them to take their quotas of the poor diftreffed men, andwe fell on the project to write to the noble and juft chungtock at Hockfew before men-tioned, to get an order from him, that no (hip ihould have liberty to lade their goodsaboard, that did not firft take their quota of the fhipwrecked men. We went to theteytock, and acquainted him with our defign, who much approved of the projeft, andhe feemed furprized, that any of thofe fhips durft go into our King’s dominions, whohad denied to affift, not only his fubjects, but immediate fervants. He was very hu-mane, and fent the poor feamen prefents of pork and hpckfew, (a ftrong fermented li-quor like our ftrong ale), for me to diftribute among them, and thofe prefents he fre-quently fent.

I provided a prefent to accompany my letter to the chungtock, to the value of 40pounds fterling, and got the beft fcribe in the place to write my letter, laying down themifery the poor men were in, and how eafily and juftly they might be relieved by fuchan order.

I fent my letter and prefent by an exprefs, who returned in fixteen days with a fatif-faftory anfwer, and an order to the hapoa, to fuffer no goods to be lhipped off withoutconfulting me. The hapoa came to my faftory, and congratulated me on the honourthat the chungtock had done me, and promifed to obey his orders in relation to {hip-ping goods off.

A gentleman who was fupercargo of the (hip Dorrel, bound directly from Amoy toEngland, was the firft that was denied a permit to {hip goods off. He had fent for the{hip’s boat to carry off fome chefts of filk, but the waiters ftopt them from putting theminto the boat, on which the linguift was fent for to know the reafon ; and he told thefupercargo, that the hapoa had received orders to let no goods be lhipped off withot con-fulting me firft about taking a quota of the man of war’s men; on which my antagoniftsheld a council, and refolved to continue obftinate, and that fupercargo before mentionedcame early next morning to my houfe. When my fervants informed me that he wasin the court, I went and invited him in. I gueffed his errand by his countenance, andalked him to fit down, but he refufed. I afked him if he would drink any coffee or tea,but he would not. He then, in a fret, alked me if I was governor of his affairs. I an-fwered, no, nor .did I know how he could alk me fuch a fimple queftion. He fv/orethat he found I was, and that if I were in another place than Amoy, I durft not adt asI had done, and fwore again, that not one man of them Ihould be entertained on boardthe Dorrel. I told him, that I durft do any thing that was honeft and juft, and was al-ways ready to defend what I had fo done; but as to his taking his quota of the Ihip-wrecked men, he muft comply with it, if he had a mind to fave his paffage to Englandthat feafcn. He ftill continued curfing himfelf if he took any of them, and went awayin a very great huff, which I little regarded.

It was, and I believe is, ftill the cuftom on board the Englilh Company’s {hips, fotthe captain to give a remonftrance and a proteft thirty days before the expiration of theterm for their departure, to the fupercargo or fa&or for the company, according as it isftipulated by charter party. Accordingly the captain of the Dorrel gave in his proteft

about