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By which it appeared there was an increase of affets to the amount of

Deducting the increafe of affets, therefore, from the above increase of debts, the Company's property in India was lefs by

Which was not to be attributed to any ruinous ftate of their general property, but folely to a variety of temporary caufes.

£. 9,403

240,944

Having now gone through the whole of the ftatements relative to the condition of the Company's affairs abroad, he reverted to an examination of

THE HOME ACCOUNTS.

But, before he did this, he begged leave to remind the Committee, that when he firft undertook to bring an annual accouut of the Eaft India Company's Finances before the Houfe, he confined himself to the detail of their affairs abroad, and was not refponfible for their concerns at home. By the renewal of the Charter in 1793, he was induced to extend his survey, because it became neceffary to determine, from the furplus of their territorial revenues, their affets and extent of capital, how much they could conveniently contribute to the exigencies of the State, for the peculiar privilege of fuch benefits by the renewal of their Charter. As the Home Accounts were immediately under the care and infpection of the Directors, it was but reasonable to suppose them accurate, and confidering the nature of events, they would demonftrate that the general ftate of the Company's affairs at home were as favourable as could be well expected.

The fales of the last year had exceeded the preceding year in more than a million of money, and confequently it could not be expected that they fhould be by any means this year fo productive. They had exceeded the eftimate, however, notwithftanding the immenfe fale of Dutch Goods last year according to Act of Parliament, and the increase of sale of private goods enlarged by certain indulgencies provided by the Legislature, which together amounted to half a million more than the average of the three preceding years, and exceeded the average of estimate of last year in the fame amount.

The aggregate amount of fales was

£.8,252,309

exceeded laft year .153,814

The fales of Company's Goods were estimated at and actually amounted to

6,088,300

6,153,310

Which produced a greater fum than was eftimated of

650,10

The

The receipts on fales of Company's Goods were estimated at

And the actual receipt was

Which was lefs than was eftimated by

£. 6,406,300

6,370,077

36,223

148,000

The Charges and Profit on Private Trade eftimated at
And actually amounted to no more than
Which left a fmaller fum on the charges and profits of
private trade than was eftimated, of

GENERAL RESULT.

The balance expected to remain at the end of the year
was computed at
And the actual balance, after discharging a Loan from
the Bank, and receiving upwards of 600,000l. in
Company's Bonds, as the payment for Goods

Which would be better than the estimate by

ESTIMATE, 1797-8.

The receipt for the fales of Company's Goods for 1797-8, were estimated at

The receipt on private trade goods being only a balance of the last sale, no eftimate could be made of that article.

The refult of thefe accounts was, that after paying the inftalments on the Loan to the Public, deriving the aid of increase of capital in one million, the deficiency, on the 1st of March 1798, was expected to

amount to

DEBTS AT HOME.

The debts at home in March, 1796, were

In March, .1797, were

The increase of debts at home therefore was

138,957

9,043

118,848

333,807

214,959

6,555,116

1,836,320

7,474,700

7,916,459

441759

Which was occafioned principally by Bills of Exchange, and by freight and demurrage. By the fale of Dutch goods alfo, under the Act of Parliament, the Company was accountable to Government hereafter, and their debts at home were confequently rendered greater. Some other articles however had tended to diminish it, fo that the balance was pretty equal.

ASSETS.

The affets at home and a-float on the ift of March,

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Deducting the increafe of debt therefore from the.
increase of affets, the state of affairs at home in
1797, appeared to be better by

This led him to combine the affairs at home with
CHINA AND ST. HELENA.

The balance laft year in favour of the Company in

10,742

China and St. Helena was

581,174

And this year

337.713

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543,904

243,461

300,443

Deducting therefore the balance at China and
St. Helena lefs this year than the preceding
The nett increase of affets were

Which left an increase of debt to the amount of

473,663

The Committee therefore would perceive by a comparifon of the accompts prefented this year, with the estimate on which the arrangement of 1793 was formed, that his defcription of the flourishing ftate of the company's finances was perfectly juft. For although the charges of Bengal, Madras, and Bombay, had exceeded the estimate of 1793 in more than one million, the revenues were alfo near a million more, and the actual amount of the revenue, during fuch an extraordinary increase of expence and difficulty was only 402,8051. lefs than the eftimate of 1795-6.

COMPARISON of ACCOUNTS prefented this year with the ESTIMATE on which the Arrangement of 1793 was formed.

Actual Amount,

Eftimate.

Actual.

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Bengal, Madras, and Bombay

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1795-6. worse than

Eftimate.

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Charges of ditto

6,963,625 7,866,094 more 902,469
5,188,125 6,493,399 more 1,305,274

Revenues more 1,775,500 1,372,695 lefs

Supplies from Bengal

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Receipts from Sales of Imports, and from Certificates

Surplus

350.000 453,605 more 1,513,577 1,307,296 lefs than Est.

£

103,605

206,181

The estimated furplus of 1796-7 was 1,584,0081. which exceeded the estimate of 1793 by 70,431l.

SALES AND RECEIPTS.

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He had now he hoped proceeded through all the statements. fatisfactorily to the Committee, and begged Gentlemen to obferve, that although there appeared to be a decreafe in the ftate of the Company's affairs they were notwithstanding as favourable and as flourishing as the moft fanguine perfon could with, or any one had reafon to expect. Some of the caufes of a diminution of revenue he had pointed out last year, one of which was a diminution in the fale of various articles, particularly that of opium during war; and the other, which was the most material and important, was the increafed amount of charges, on account of the increased military arrangements in the various fettlements abroad. He wifhed any perfon however who doubted his affertions, or might be difpofed to doubt them, to compare the prefent ftate of the Company's affairs with their former condition, when their folvency was a matter of public difputation. In the year 1783, on accout of the height to which party had run, every thing relating to their affairs was delufive. In 1786 the debts of the Company amounted to 4 millions beyond the affets; fince that time they had indeed increased their capital 3,740,000l. but against that was to be placed the fum of 3,330,000l. as the expences of carrying on the war with Tippoo, and in the capture of the French and Dutch Settlements in the Eaft Indies. In the year 1796, it would be found that the affairs of the Company had been made better by the fum of 11 millions, than they were in 1786. He had every reafon to fuppofe that the Company's affairs would rather improve than suffer any deterioration; for however Gentlemen might talk of the capital being in danger, he could affure them, that the affets of the Company exceed their debt by the fum of 6 millions. In regard to his affertion of the flourishing state of their affairs abroad, he begged leave to mention two circumstances which would prove him to be right. One was an increased revenue on the fale of falt to the amount of 200,000l. per annum, though the natives paid a lefs price for that neceffary article than formerly, which not only proved the flourishing state of the Company's finances to enable them to reduce the price, and yet derive a greater revenue from the general confumption, but an increased population alfo. The other was a necellary regulation in the cuftoms of feveral articles in the ports of India, by which the high price of cuftoms on the specific article was reduced, the individual benefitted, and the Company's revenues greatly increafed by the increase of imports and of exports. Thefe improvements in their affairs were exclufive of their capital of India ftock, for it appeared by the statements, that the affets abroad, exceeded the debts to the amount of 660,000l. and 10 H 2

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