270 IIISTOKY OF TN'DTA. [Book J J.
A.D. 1035. .statute, ordinance, proclamation, piovision or restriction, or other matter oi- thing whatsoever, to the contrary iiereof, in any wise notwithstanding," The passage now quoted is curious, not only as evincing the king's determination strenuously to support the new association, but as displaying the extent to which he was prepared to stretch his prerogative, and to set at nought all the other powers of the state when they were suj)posed to interfere with any of his favourite projects.
Depressed At the date of the second proclamation, the ships fitted out fcjr the first
state of the . . ^ ^ • i o
Company, voyage of the association were already at sea. When they arrived at Surat, the president and council, who had not previously been informed of the license which had been granted, were surprised above measure, and utterly at a loss how to proceed. They had been preparing to take advantage of the an-ange- ment which had been made with the Portuguese, and had partly completed theii- investment with a view to it. Now, liowever, they found themselves forestalled, and virtually excluded from their most hopeful market. This disappointment was the more severely felt in consequence of the general .stagnation of trade, which had been produced by the recent famine and pestilence ; and also of a very violent proceeding on the part of the Mogul emperor, Shah Jehan, wlio, on learning that a vessel bearing his flag had been plundered by a pirate under English colours, had imprisoned the leading members of the Siu-at factory, and refused to release them till they engaged to pay a very heavy fine. Under these circumstances, trade was for a time almost entirely suspended. "While thus overwhelmed by adversity, the Company had the additional dissatisfac- tion to learn that Courten's vessels had made a prosperous voyage, and arrived in England with cargoes which would yield the adventurers a very profitable return. In a letter addressed to their servants at Surat, the governor and Company thus express themselves : — " Wee could wish that wee could vindicate the reputacion of our nation in these partes, and do oiu^elves right for the losse and damage our estate in those partes have susteyned ; but of all these wee must beare the burthen, and with patience sitt still, untill we may find these frowning tymes more auspicious to us and to our aflfayres." Attempt to For scvcral subsequent years the Company remained in a very depressed joint stock, state. At one time the rivalship of Courten's association, at another time the encroachments of the Dutch — who, no longer satisfied with their ascendency in the Eastern islands, were ambitious enough to aim at the establishment of it in all the leading ports of India — absorbed all their thoughts, and formed the subject of various petitions, in which they implored the government to inter- fere and save them from impending destruction. Their importunity at last obtained a favourable hearing; and the privy council recommended, as the most eflfectual remedy, that the hcense to Courten's association should be with- drawn, on the understanding that a new joint stock should be formed, on a scheme sufficiently large and liberal to promise a great extension of the trade.
