188 THE COMPANY AND THE KING tipned Parliament, and thenceforward boldly laid its grievances before the Commons. But Parliament regarded the Company as the crea- tion of the royal prerogative, and was by no means ardent on its behalf. It forbade the reprinting of the Amboyna Book against the Dutch, although Courten's A SCENE IN THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY, WESTERN INDIA. a Red Sea Pyrate " captain was at length lodged in prison, in 1642. To the Commons, indeed, the Company seemed one of the secret sources of money which had helped Charles to do without their constitutional sup- plies. The Company now threw itself on their mercy, and in 1646 attempted to re-incorporate itself on a Par- liamentary basis, under the form of an " Ordinance for the Trade,' ' which practically re-affirmed the provisions
