LETTER III. TO Mr Nathaniel Tenche, IN ANSWER To a PAPER published by him, Entitled, Animadversions upon Mr. George White 's Reflection on the Answer of the East-India- Company, to Mr. Samuel White 's Two PAPERS;  
WHEREIN The Arbitrary Violences Committed by the said Company on the LIVES and ESTATES OF THEIR Fellow-Subjects and Strangers;  
TOGETHER WITH The present sad Condition of their AFFAIRS in INDIA, are occasionally intimated.  
— Pulchra Laverna,  
Da mihi fallere, da justum sanctúmque videri,  
Noctem peccatis, & fraudibus objice nubem.  Sic orat N. T. ex Horat. Epist. Lib. 1.16. 
LONDON, Printed, 1689.   

Mr. Nathaniel Tenche,  
SIR,  
YOU have made me sensible, that 'tis my great misfortune to have utterly lost myself in your favour, by my presuming to publish some Papers relating to the East-India Company; and I must confess I have since given farther cause to irritate your Indignation against me, by my so long delaying to render those acknowledgements are justly due to your Judicious, Candid, and gentle Animadversions: But may it please you, Good Sir, to pardon my dilatoriness for this once, and I faithfully assure you, I will be more expeditious for the future, when You or any of Your Brethren shall give me the like obliging Occasion: In hopes of which your favourable Indulgence, I will now humbly offer my grateful Sentiments of what occurs material in your Paper that lies before me.  
I find, Sir, you have taken very great offence at the endeavours I have used on behalf of my deceased Brother: But you are pleased to be more particularly incensed against my Reflections on Davenport's Diary, and the Publisher's Preface, which has provoked you to that degree, that you seem astonished at the Presumption of so inconsiderable a Person, as I am in your Opinion. Now whether you look on me with this disdain and Scorn, either in respect to my disparity with your Deputy, who is very worthy, or your more worthy Self, I will not inquire, and shall only answer this your Argument, with a Sentence I lately met with in a very good Author: Tantus quisque est, Quantus apud Deum, & nil amplius.  
It imports not therefore here so much to examine, What I am, as What I have done, Why I did it, and How you have animadverted upon it.  
Now the matter of Fact is truly and briefly this:  
My Brother, who went to India in your Companies Service, stayed therewith leave, not only, never did you any disrespect, or disservice; but contrarily made himself considerably useful to you. Notwithstanding all this, which might justly give him a claim to your greatest Favours, was, upon your late assuming a Despotic Power and Sovereign Authority, Robbed by your Servants of above Twenty Thousand Pounds, and lost as much more by means of your most unjustifiable hostile attempts at Mergen.  
Under all which provoking Oppressions I first sought Relief by a private Address to your Committee, in as respectful and humble terms, as might become your most submissive Servant. I need no witness of this, while I writ to your worthy Self, who was present, and heard the answer made me by him, who wears the Name of your Governor, That 'twas the Opinion of your Court, that what their Servants had done was justifiable.  
Being thus convinced, that neither Justice nor Mercy was to be found amongst you, I proceeded to make my Applications to our Honourable Representatives in Parliament, presenting them with the true state of our most deplorable Case: And I happened suddenly after to meet a good Friend of mine, that is a Member of your Committee, who was pleased to offer to me, That if it suited with my liking, he would use his interest with your Deputy to accommodate the matter, which, I readily accepted. But his endeavours were fruitless, for at next meeting he told me Sir Josiah had taken other Measures; and what those were, appeared soon after, in his publishing your Friend Davenport 's foresaid Diary, with a Preface in the Name of the Company.  
Thus did your Deputy pursue the practices of his Predecessor Catiline, in trying to secure the ills he had already done by attempting greater; and his guilty Conscience being unable to make the least plausible Defence against the articles of Complaint, he endeavours to smother the whole matter by scandalous Recriminations. So I have heard of some desperado Villains, who set fire to their Neighbour's Houses, That, in the Confusion, they may have the more convenient opportunity to rob and plunder them.  
In these Circumstances stood the Affair; and I presume there is no honest man living, but will agree, That 'twas a Duty highly incumbent on me, both in respect to my deceased Brother, and his young Children, that were fallen under my Care, to endeavour to expose the venomous Malice, and frustrate the wicked Designs of our Enemies. On which account I pub 〈…〉 occasioned you the trouble of Animadverting on them. Which your Herculean Labours, I now come to consider.  
In the three or four first Paragraphs you are pleased to pour out your wrath upon me in a most Magisterial Style for my daring to speak truth of your Deputy, your General, and your Company in expressions suitable to their Merits. Now, Sir, as I said nothing then, which I am not now ready to justify, so I dare lay it before any unprejudiced Person in the World, who will but consider the provocations I lay under; Whether I could possibly exceed the liberty that is allowed to losers, while I kept within the bounds of truth. Besides, Sir, you know I had to do with a Man, who, as I then told you, had passed with impunity through a long Course of Transgressions, and was thereby hardened into a Conceit, that he was above the reach of Censure: So that all I did, or could, say; was not only excusable, but necessary to awaken him out of his dreams of Despotic Power, and convince him that the Lives, Liberties, and Estates of his Fellow Subjects could no longer be bought at the rate of 10000 Guinea's per Annum to the Crown, with the additional bulky Sums, that stand registered in your Books under the Title of Secret Services.  
This, Sir, is what I hope may serve in my defence, for whatever, those Oppressions, which would make a wise man mad, may have extorted from me. And now, if 'twould not be too bold, I would take leave to ask, How it comes about, that you can, with a Salvo to your Justice and Prudence, commit that very thing, which, in the same breath, you condemn as so great a fault in me? But I must confess, this may seem an impertinent Question; for I, who know, that your Company has of late not only Robbed, but Killed too, with more security, than others could Look on, ought not to wonder, that their Animadverter can take upon him to complain of a Mote in my Eye, before he plucks the Beam out of his own.  
The next to be observed is your laudable endeavours to support the Credit of your Friend Davenport, and invalidate the Testimonies I have exhibited concerning him and his History: wherein you have quite lost the Character you assumed, and from a pretended Animadverter, are degenerated into a base Perverter of Truth, having entirely laid aside your Sincerity, and betaken yourself to Trick and Artifice. And this I perceive is the Masterpiece you most value yourself upon; For you seem to be very much affected with a Conceit, that you have at once baffled all my Evidence. But after all your vainglorious boastings, your Sophistry is still to slight to deceive any but those of your Fraternity, that are alike inclined and qualified with yourself, as will be fully evinced by a brief Examination of the Methods you have taken in this Evil Design.  
YOU lead up with two very 〈…〉 wilful Errors: For first you say, I do in the beginning of my Paper cha●●● your Friend Davenport with Murder, Rapine, and Perjury, wherein you very insidiously misplace my words that you may the better confound the Sense: for if you look over it again, you'll find, That I there conjoined Murder, Rapine, and Ingratitude, and tell you 'Tis no strange thing, That those, who are guilty of such Crimes, should have recourse to Perjury for Protection: Now if you do really misapprehend my meaning in those Metonymies, I will faithfully explain myself in other words. And suppose I had begun thus: 'Tis not to be wondered at, That He, amongst you, who has destroyed the Lives and Estates of so many Men, and has not spared even those, who have most highly obliged him, should try to cover his evil Actions, and secure the fruits of his Depredations, and Piracies, by the Perjuries of His and Your Friend Davenport.  
In the next place you say I declare, That your aforesaid Friend forged his whole Narrative, wherein you abuse me again, and fallaciously interpose the word, Whole, which you not where find on that occasion in my Paper, nor did I ever intent so. No Sir, your Friend Davenport has Cunning enough for a Committee-Man, and knows exactly well how to interweave Truth with Falsehood, that the Stuff may go off more currently. And as there are some things in't, which, I am sure the Editor, as well as the Animadverter, could wish expunged, [I mean the Account he gives of those considerable Concerns of my Brothers, which were afterwards pyrated by your Companies Servants] so what I before intended, I now reaffirm, That, That black part, of it which 〈◊〉 the Editor to make it public, and You to second him in it, Was dictated and 〈…〉 Revenge.  
After you have laid this false foundation, you go on with a Confidence becoming your Cause, and pronounce Sentence against me, That I have not made the least proof of my Affirmations concerning your Friend and his Narrative; and to help make out this, you have taken the pains to winnow all my Witnesses, and pass your Judgement on their Affidavits, wherein you have given the World a Specimen of your Parts and Principles, which the Sequel will further discover.  
What I undertook to prove, was, First, That that vile Wretch Davenport was one of the most notorious Rogues in nature, and so esteemed by all honest Men, that ever had the unhappiness to be concerned or acquainted with him: They are my very words; and to make this good, I have ●●●●uc'd Six credible Witnesses, who were acquainted with his Person, his Practices, and 〈◊〉 Reputation, in sundry parts of the East and West Indies, and here in England; and do all depose, that in every of those Places he was guilty of such horrid Crimes, and wore such an infamous Character, that no honest Man alive would attempt to palliate or disguise such enormous Villainies, much less in any manner to take the part of such a Miscreant; only your superabounding Charity, Mr. Animadverter, has inclined you to indulge him with easy Censures. For the worst you will say of him is, That he may be thought to be none of the best Men: But in other places you are pleased to suppose, He may be a good Evidence, and tax my Witnesses with assisting to defame him; and That, what they say, is to be looked upon as Calumny. But what is most observable, is, The ingenuous Contrivance, you have to evade the Force of all their Depositions, in objecting, That they come not up to the Point, in that they do not particularly prove, That his Whole Narrative was forged at the encouragement of Elihu Yale at Madrass. So that it seems you have taken up an Opinion (I suppose in respect to your Friend Davenport) That those who will not, like him, Swear more than they know, What they do know, and Swear to, shall signify nothing: For this is the very Case, and these Witnesses have fully performed what I produced them for; but I never told you, I would bring those, who knew him only in New or Old-England, or at Tonqueen, Bengal, or Siam, to make Oath, That his Narrative (which some of them, perhaps, never heard of) was wholly false, and forged; or positively to swear, What encouragement he had in it at Madrass (to the Name of which place, some of them were Strangers, and all of them here in England when 'twas done). No, Sir, 'tis only your Friend can do such Miracles at swearing, and yourself, I think, are almost as expert at Shamming; as you have shown us by this sly Trick of yours; wherein, I will not adventure to judge how well your Wit served you, but 'tis certain, your Honesty was absent on some other occasions.  
Having therefore by my foresaid Witnesses, proved this Friend of yours to be Rogue enough in general; It now comes to be enquired into, whether I have by any other Testimonies given sufficient proof, That he has committed Perjury in his foresaid Narrative, by forging his malicious Stories to wreak his Revenge on my Brother, for chastising him according to his Demerits; Which was the second thing I undertook. And for this, I bring Five more credible Persons, who all positively Swear, That to their certain knowledge, several things in his said Narrative, are false and scandalous Lies. They all likewise depose, That he was at Siam, (as in all other places) esteemed a must treacherous Villain. And Three of them affirm, That my Brother had some time before, publicly whipped and imprisoned him for his Rogueries, in revenge whereof, they verily believe he forged those Calumnies against him. And now let us see, by what Legerdemain you try to shift off these Evidences.  
Why, one of them is a bold interested Affidavit-Man, and you make so bold with him, to say, he is almost, if not altogether, forsworn; which is a Point I'll leave him to dispute with you, and will trouble myself with no further answer to that, and your other scurrilous Aspersions, on those, who have in this Affair, been Friends to Truth and Me, than to tell you, That they are all of them in some respect, and some of them in all respects, far your Betters.  
Another of these Witnesses you are pleased to object against, for That he was Phaulkon 's and Mr. White 's Dear Friend, and besides that Crime, he Swears not so much to particulars, as would bear Weight in a Court of Judicature.  
And the Three others, you knock down at once by affirming, They were Deserters from your Companies Service: Which, by the way, is such a groundless Forgery, that I cannot forbear to reprehend you for it in your own Language, and Declare, That you are therein a Villainous Calumniator, and the Lie remains upon you.  
So I pass on to the Third thing I affirmed, which was, That your Friend Davenport was encouraged and abetted in his Villainous Proceed against my Brother, by Elihu Yale at Madrass. And this I readily confess is not positively asserted in any of the Depositions; nor is it essential to the main matter of the truth or falsity of the Narrative, But 'tis nevertheless true, and I have made it sufficiently appear to any reasonable Man, by the Intimations I have given. But if you will still be pleased to doubt it, I refer you to any intelligent Person, that came home formerly on the Beaufort, or since on the Bengal, who were at Madrass, when the Curtana returned, and they will acquaint you, That when your Friend Davenport was, at his arrival there, scorned and shunned, as a most detestable Villain, by every one that had any regard to their Reputations: He was yet highly caressed, and admitted to many private midnight Audiences by the Honourable Yale; And afterwards had the favour done him, (by the way of your Court of Justice) to force about a Hundred Pounds from my Brother's Correspondent, on no other Evidence, but his own single Oath, That my Brother was so much his Debtor. And, as to the reason I assign for these Endeavours of Yale's, in respect of the guilt that lay upon him for his Treacherous Dealing with the King of Siam in a parcel of Jewels; If you doubt of that, I commend you to no other Person, than your worthy Deputy for farther Satisfaction, who in a Letter of his to his said Creature, tells him, in relation to this Affair, That 'twas a very ●●●●k Business, but he would bring him off of it. Which joyful News did so transport Elihu, Tha● 〈◊〉 could not forbear to communicate it to his Companions, and so it came to the Cognizance of an honest Gentleman there, who has writ my Brother the Account of it. And by the same good hand I am likewise acquainted how your Friend Davenport after all his meritorious Services, took his last leave of Madrass, which, because it may be of use to you in your next Animadversions; I will transcribe Verbatim, and so conclude this Vile Subject.  
AND now to make an end with this brave Fellow Davenport, I will tell you after all how he went off from this Place. Mr. Robert Freeman having formerly been so kind to him at Metchlepatam, to credit him with about fifty Pagodas, and thinking it just to be repaid, gave a power to Mr. Philip Noden to receive the same, if he met him in his Voyage to Pegu, as he happily did; But found Davenport so ill provided, that he could not comply: Which Mr. Noden at his return acquainted Mr. Freeman with: Who, to secure his Debt afterwards, endeavoured to attach the Money in Court out of what Davenport had recovered of your Friend Mr. Lucas on your Account. But Davenport, whose faculty seldom failed, for a Legerdemain Trick, had one ready for that, and publicly declared in Court, and made offer to make Oath, That he had paid the said Debt before to Mr. Noden (who was then gone a Second Voyage to Pegu) and that he had a full Discharge for it, which was unhappily lost with his other Papers at Mergen, and being then in great Credit, and deserved favour with our Great ones, for what good Service he had done against you and Captain Weltden, and what other turns he was to serve: Our Judge, with as unparallelled Wisdom, as Justice, took Davenport 's Word in his own Cause, and instead of allowing Mr. Freeman to secure his Debt, gave Davenport your Moneys in Mr. Lucas 's hands, as you have been before acquainted. But as the old saying is, Murder will out, and he that is a Knave is commonly discovered to be a Fool; it happened by good Providence Mr. Noden arrived here from his Second Pegu Voyage, and had detected the Villainy, and offered Perjury of Davenport, which he conscious of, durst not stay the discovery, but before Mr. Noden could get ashore, slipped off privately, and got on board a Portugueze Ship then just ready to Sail for Bengal, and so we lost this honest man's good Company, which hath so convinced our very Judge; That after so many Nine days are over, he does now begin to See, and cannot forbear saying to almost everybody, I do now in my Conscience believe this Davenport is a very Rogue indeed.  
HAVING thus evacuated your Encomiums on your Friend, and your Animadversions on my Evidence, I will now take a brief View of the fine work you have made with my Reflections on the Editors Preface.  
And first concerning your Companies War with Siam; You take notice that I gave it the name of a wicked thing, and said, I would publish a Narrative to prove it so, which, you there at first promise to answer; But it seems you afterwards better bethought yourself, for at the close of your Paper, you acknowledge I have published such a Narrative, and say, 'Tis not proper for you to reply to't, but that I shall have a full answer in due time before my Superiors; A most Ingenious Animadversion, which in plain English signifies neither more nor less, than, That, Since you have perused my Paper, you find it impossible to make any plausible Defence for that most unjust and irrational Proceeding.  
You next observe, That I am much offended at the Editor's endeavours to disparage and lessen my Lord Phaulkon, and that I exposed that ridiculous Objection, of his having been formerly a poor fellow and Steward's Mate of a small Ship, which I now again tell you, savours more of the Philosophy and Morals of a Porter, than a Man that pretends to Despotic Power.  
As to my Lord Phaulkon's declaring himself to be of the Church of Rome (wherein, by the way, he was baptised and educated under his Parents who always were of that Communion), 'Tis true, I passed it over in silence, as not accounting so malicious an impertinence worthy any answer. But I confess there are some other heavy Charges the Editor has exhibited against him; which I could no way excuse or palliate, as, That he not only made curious presents of great value to the Pope and the French King, But (what is worst of all) to the late King James and his Queen also; which, though I own to be a most unpardonable Crime in him, yet I must needs say, I think the Editor was not very proper Person to be his Accuser, because you know, There is a certain Man in the World, whom he loves as well as he can possibly do himself, That has presented the said late King with several 10000 Guineas, for no other end than to facilitate his obtaining a most illegal and Arbitrary Power over the Lives, Liberties and Estates of his fellow Subjects.  
The next thing you offer at, is to try if you can frame something that may look like a Justification of your Companies late exorbitant Actions: And all you have to say is, They are warranted by their Charter; whereto I need give no other answer, (considering I writ to who I perceive is so well read in our English Chronicles) than to tell you, That if they amongst you, who did first procure, or have since put in practice those illegal Powers, had their due deserts: They would not be the first Traitors, that have been Tied up for making use of the King's Authority to oppress their Fellow-Subjects. And here to bring this matter the more home to you, I will tell you of a passage at Court, as I had it from a Person of great worth and good intelligence.  
When your faithful Deputy had by his Golden Arguments convinced the late King and some of his Ministers, That 'twas indispensibly requisite he should have a Commission to execute Martial Law over those, to whom he has lately given the new Name of The Companies Subjects under the King: His Majesty sent for the Lord Chancellor, and ordered him to let such an Instrument pass the Broad Seal; And (though you know he was not noted to he over tender of the people's Rights) yet he seemed very much surprised at so strange a thing, and made answer, That it could not be done; urging it as a most intolerable Violation of the Law, and using many arguments to dissuade the King from it, till at length he was told, Well, I will hear no more against it, but it shall be done, which charmed him into Passive Obedience; and when he next went to Court, being asked, whether 'twas accordingly executed; He replied, Yes Sir, and Your Majesty may now hang Sir Josiah Child when you please, For he has committed Treason in persuading you to this thing: Ergo Cave.  
The next thing that displeases you is the freedom I take to admonish the Editor of the Traitorous Notions he has infused into his new made General, and the friendly Advice I gave him to refrain such dangerous Extravagancies, by the Example of a Citizen, that was hanged in Edward the Fourth's time for a much more pardonable Presumption; For if that unhappy Man fooled away his Life, by saying, His Son was Heir to the Crown; though he only meant his own House, which was known by that Sign, and so seems more guilty of Vanity than Malice: Of what punishment shall we Judge him Worthy, who has not only assumed to himself, but delegated to his dependants, A Despotic Power and Sovereign Authority? And yet you are pleased to say I brought in that Story by Head and Shoulders, and that it has no allusion to the matter; And very angry you are with me for it. But however you chanced to be then so much out of humour, I cannot doubt, but when you think of it again, and consider Rightly, you will make me a return of thanks, for that seasonable Advice, and suitable Instance.  
Together with these your respects to the Editor, you make yourself also an Advocate for his new made General, and accuse me of slandering him in styling his Actions Little less than High Treason, without instancing in any particular, wherein he has assumed an unwarrantable Power. Which strange passage inclines me to believe you scarce ever gave yourself the trouble to read over that paper of mine you have undertaken to Animadvert upon: Or otherwise, I could not in my own Justification omit to treat you once more in your own Style, and tell you the Lie remains upon You: For if you please to take the pains to look over it again, You will there find a brief Intimation of the Piracy and Felony he committed on the Estate of Captain Valentine Pynes, in the Seizure of his Ship and Goods to amount of about 3000 l. And since you give me this Occasion, I will call no other person than your own good Self, to witness against him in that matter; For I hear you was one of the Select Committee upon this Business, and I have had some general Notices how the affair was managed, As That you never vouchsafed the Captain the favour of a hearing (which by the way I must tell you, was a method of proceeding, that would better have become Turks than Christians) But after you had considered the merits of the Cause, according to your good pleasure, you let him know your Despotic Determination, That upon his giving an Authentic full Release to Your General, and all his Confederates, you would condescend to restore him 1300 l. NOW what I argue from this, is, That either you do therein tacitly confess your General had done him wrong, or else, you cannot excuse yourself from doing wrong to the Company, in giving him so much Money, which was lawfully theirs. This is impartially the state of the Case; And so I leave you to vindicate your Celebrated Probity and Piety, from those Imputations, to which, this unhappy affair has rendered you obnoxious; and when you take the matter in hand, I pray go through with it, and let us also know, why you gave him neither more nor less, than the just Sum of 1300 l. Because I'm sure he can make it fully Evident, That he was at first robbed of double that Amount, besides the vast Prejudice that accrued to him by those inhuman Usages of your New made General, in being so long deprived of the Use of his Stock, and put out of that beneficial way of Business he was placed in.  
Your next Objection against me, is, That I seem to justify those, that, you are pleased, to term the Rebels at St. Helena, and you adventure to affirm, That 'twas fully proved, before the Honourable House of Commons; That the poor People there were guilty of a Horrid Rebellion: Which is so notorious a Falsity, that I will, in kindness to you, Suppose you were not present at that Hearing, but have been abused and led into this Error by your Faithful Deputy, who did at that time make his Parts and Innocence equally apparent. But the Real Truth, is, That, instead of a pretended Horrid Rebellion there, it appeared to be a most Horrid Murder, contrived and carried on by some of your Brethren here, who were therefore numbered amongst the most Execrable Criminals, and by a Vote of the Honourable House excluded from the general Act of Indemnity now depending: Nor will our Land be purged from the crying Gild of Blood, till He, or They, who projected and perpetrated those barbarous Murders, be brought to condign punishment. Let me therefore here, Sir, offer you the Advice of a Friend, who wishes well to his very Enemy, and persuade you, if you were not at the bottom of this black business (as I think you did not then move in that Sphere, wherein you have since made yourself so eminent) That you will not now be tempted to defile your hands with Blood, and so bring the Curse of God on Yourself and your Posterity.  
You next inveigh against me for alleging, That your Company was indebted vast Sums to the Merchants in Surrat, at their leaving that place, and say, 'Tis notoriously false; for upon search of the Companies Records, you find they owed no such vast Sums, and that little they did owe, they were not only able, but ready and willing to pay, even during the War. Now what Records you were permitted to peruse, or what you call a vast Sum, I can't tell; but this I still affirm, That, when your General gave them the Go-by, your Company was really indebted to the Merchants there, above 300000 l. sterl. And besides many other Proofs I can make, I refer you for further confirmation of this particular, to the Books made up by Bartholomew Harris at Surrat, Anno 1686. And then as to what you offer, of the Companies readiness to pay it during the War; I can only answer you, that there are some Men in the World have arrived to that high degree of Assurance, That they can glory in their very Shame. And for an Example, I will tell you the truth of this thing, which is, That after your new made General, had, without any previous Declaration of War, possessed himself of about Twelve Surrat Ships richly laden, he did in September and October, 1687. send word to the Companies Creditors, That he was now ready to pay them, bidding them take notice, That if they did not come or send to Bombay, to receive their Money; the Interest should cease: To which the Merchants made answer, They lent their Money in Surrat, where it ought to be repaid them; and the current Discourse amongst them on this occasion was, That, Lency intended to pay them with one band, and rob them with the other. Vae vobis!  
And now I come to your new-coined Proverb, of Purchasing the Whetstone, wherewith you think you have sharpened your Answer to my Affirmation, That your General did by a base Fraud trapan the Surrat Ships into his Snare, in giving them the Security of the Companies Passes, and afterwards making Prize of those very effects. Which, I said, I could prove by a Gentleman of good Worth and Credit, that had it from your Deputy's own Mouth: But you say, I find upon enquiry, there was no such thing uttered by the Deputy Governor to any Man, and that's all one, as if you had said, I asked the Deputy, and he denied it, which, I think, is one of the bluntest Answers that ever was pretended to be whetstoned. For, pray Sir, consider, what a fine World we should live in, if every Criminal that pleads Not Guilty, should therefore be acquitted? But here to put you upon bringing this matter to a speedy issue, because you somewhere threaten me, That my Slanders shall be examined more judicially, I will give the advantage of an Action against me, in affirming positively, That your Deputy, Sir Josiah Child, did relate that matter as I asserted it, in the sixth Page of my Reflections, and I will prove it so. And now the World will judge him Innocent or Guilty, as he either prosecutes me for a Scandal, or by silence, gives consent to the truth of my Allegation against him.  
The next thing that presents itself, is, the prospect of just such another Rarity as, Homer's iliads in a Nutshell, being no less matter crowded into one single Clause, than a full Catalogue of all the Right Honourable Companies Dominions, Territories, Sovereignties, Islands, Forts, Cities, Towns, large Factories, and other Buildings. And now that the Verity, as well as the Validity of your History, may be the more conspicuous, I will insert the whole Paragraph, and humbly offer you my opinion concerning the import thereof.  
[That Argument alleged by the Author of the Companies Defence, to justify, That it is requisite they should have in India a Sovereign power, over all People under their Government, as the Dutch have (although at the same time some of them be respectively their fellow Subjects, in England and Holland) because of those Towns and Dominions they have there, in Sovereignty under His Majesty, remains invincible; Notwithstanding all the slight insinuations of this Gentleman, That they have but one Town called Madrass (which every body that knows any thing of the English concern in India, knows to be false) they having besides the said City of Madrass and Fort St. George, two entire Islands Bombay and St. Helena, and two Forts, Towns, and Sovereignties, upon the West Coast of Sumatra, Viz. Bencoolen, and Indrapoora; with sufficient Territories belonging to both, as much as the Company did desire, or is requisite for the Good of England: The like Town, Fort, etc. at Carwarr on the Coast of Mallabar: The like at Retora, in the Queen of Attingas Country; And by this time, the Company hope, and have given Order for the like Fort, etc. to be erected in the Gingee Country; And the Town of Chuttanuttee in the Bay of Bengal, granted to the Company for a Bank sall, upon making the Peace with the Mogul, after the last War. Beside large Factories, and other Buildings at Coddolore, Port Novo, Conimere, Metchlepatam, Pettipolee, Maddapolam, Vizagapatam, Ballasore, Hughley, Cassambuzar, Malda Dacca, Pattana, Rajamaul, Tonqueen in the Kingdom of Tonqueen near China, Amoy on the Coast of China, Broach, Calicut, Tillichery, Suratt and Swally, on the Coast of India, and Mallabar; And in Persia at Gombroon, Shyraz, and Spahaun, as also at the ancient City of Balsora, far up the great River Euphrates, now under the Dominion of the Grand Signior.] Thus far You.  
And I pray let me eke it out a little farther with this Distich, 
And sundry fine Castles they have built in the Air,  
As useful and strong as any stand there.  Which my Poetry matches exactly well with your Prose; for they are both alike, fantastical Chimeras. And here, Sir, I must deal plainly with you, that you may no longer be deceived yourself, nor others by your Misreports; for indeed, you have in this passage manifested, That you are grossly ignorant of the true state of your Companies Affairs in India, and that you have been imposed upon by Somebody, to write as you are bid: For I declare, and will prove, That the major part of what you have asserted, is either directly false, or very vain and frivolous.  
First, as to Fort St. George, and your City (as you will have it) of Madrass, you may if you please call it by Twenty several Names; but I assure you, of my own certain knowledge, 'tis all one and the selfsame thing; and in my opinion, 'tis the most important Settlement the Company have yet attained in all India, which by a continued good management, would have arrived to be a considerable Emporium. It first began to flourish under the Government of Sir William Langhorn, who found it without one Ship belonging to the Port, but left it with a considerable Fleet, and by his judicious Conduct, and indefatigable Industry, the Inhabitants and Trade did in his time correspondently increase, as it afterwards proceeded under his Successors, till about six. Years past, when those fatal Orders were sent out by your Committee, and strengthened with more powerful Mandates in private Letters from your Deputy, whereby that great Work is since destroyed and ruined, which with so much Wisdom, Art, and Care, and by such laudable Endeavours and Adventures, had been brought to so good effect, I mean, Your Tyrannous Oppressions of the Inhabitants with most unjust and intolerable Taxes and Impositions, which has put a general Damp and Discouragement on all, and driven many away from the place, most of the Portuguezes of account and value being already removed to the neighbouring Town of St. Thoma, to put themselves under the protection of the more merciful Mahumetans, and the rest are preparing to follow; not is there any hope of their returning, unless the late profound Project of erecting a Court of Aldermen, and conjoining them therein with the Hebrew Merchants and the Heathen Merchants, should overcome all other difficulties, and invite them to resettle in your new made City. I could here also tell you how much the Arbitrary Violences committed in your called Court of Justice, has contributed to the general Dissatisfaction; for I positively affirm, and oblige myself to prove such Decrees and Sentences passed there by your temporising Judge, Sir John Biggs, that render him as void of Sense, as Law and Conscience. And here likewise I could make an enquiry, to which I am sure you can give me no rational Answer; If I should ask What honest Policy there was in sending out the foresaid Hebrew Merchants? (For so I hear your Deputy has lately christened the Jews) and he, I confess, is the only Man alive can tell us what Advantage has accrued by giving them the opportunity to thrust our Countrymen out of the Diamond Trade. But alas, there has many more such kind Offices been done the English there, and I must not omit one amazing thing, that came lately to my knowledge, 'Tis The new-fashioned Poll-Money, of 12 l. a Head, that is by your Despotic Power demanded of every Person before he is permitted to embark for his Native Country; and was accordingly forced from those who came lately on the Bengal Merchant, for which the Honourable Elihu gave them Receipts, as appears by a true Copy of one I transcribed from the Original:  
Fort St. George, October the 11th. 1688.  
Received then of Mr. Tho. Goar the Sum of Twenty Six Pagodas, for account of the Right Honourable Company; Being for permission to take his passage on Ship Bengal Merchant, for England.  
per Elihu Yale.  
Nay with such inhuman Rigour is this exacted, That Mr. James Harding, who went out in the Company's Service, and so continued several years, but afterwards by his fault and misfortune together fell to decay, was denied leave to return home to his relations on that Ship, because of his inability to pay that Barbarous Taxation, and so is detained there in a most indigent Condition. This I have from so good a hand, that I dare aver the truth of it: And now I challenge you out of all your Reading and Conversation, to produce an Instance of the like prodigious Insolence, and unnatural Cruelty.  
As to your Island of Bombay, 'tis according to its name, a very good Harbour, and so may be occasionally useful, as well when we return to our old honest Trade of Merchandise, as it hath lately been to your Company in those felonious Violences they have acted on the Mogul 's Subjects by surprising their Ships: And I doubt not but by a prudent Management, and good usage of the Inhabitants, and those, who would thereby be invited to resort thither, 'twould render such an Income to the Public, as might countervail the charge of keeping it. But if you entertain any such idle Notions, as That by all the strength and power you have, or can have there, you will prevail to remove the Mart of Trade from Surrat to that place, you are but in a Dream, and Embrace a Cloud for Juno: And let me here tell you, you will find all your vain Dependence on your Force, and your no less foolish, than wicked aspire to Territories and Dominions in those Parts, not only to fail your Expectations; But, if the Government here does not speedily and effectually interpose to prevent it, You will thereby serve the Nation such a Dog Trick, as the Dog served himself in the Fable, by an entire Loss of that noble and beneficial Commerce.  
The next is the Island of St. Helena, which, methinks, you should not mention without a deep Sigh, and a shower of Tears, for the many horrid Murders committed there, by your Companies means and directions. And then, as to the Place, because you foist it into the number of those, you would have to be understood of considerable Trade and Business in India, lest you should have been so misinformed, I must tell you the Truth, That, 'tis a small spot of Earth on this side the Cape, which, in the first Designation, was intended for nothing else, but an Inn, for the Ships to bait at in their return; Nor had your Company the least pretence to any Trade there more than in Butcher's Meat, till about Six years since, they sent over a bloody Villain to Butcher Mankind.  
And now I come to your two famous Forts on the West Coast of Sumatra, Bencoolen, and Indrapoora, where you say you have two Towns, and sufficient Territories, as much as the Company did desire, or is requisite for the good of England: But I must first answer you, that instead of boasting of what you have there, Your Company has Cause to be ashamed of the Occasion, that put them upon settling at that place, which was by the irreparable Prejudice they did the Nation in throwing themselves out of their most commodious Settlement at Bantam, as I have already proved in a Paper I formerly published▪ And now as to those your new Residences on which you bestow such Rhetorical Flourishes, I must tell you, They were formerly excepted in Charter parties, as Places so notorious for their unhealthiness, that it looked like Death to all, and proved really so to most of our Countrymen, who were so unhappy to go to them. Nor has it since fared better with those you have employed thither in your late Expeditions; for the Soldiers and Factors have died as fast as they could be sent, and no one Ship has remained any time in Port without the loss of many Seamen, and some by a general Mortality have been quite disabled, which has verified the Old Saying, That every Corn of Pepper costs a Drop of English Blood. Then as to your Strength and Grandeur there; you say you have two Forts, and I will tell you of what Force they are; That at Bencoolen has about twenty Guns mounted on a Bank of Earth, and by last Advices had about Ten Europeans and thirty Blacks remaining alive; but that at Indrapoora has no Force at all. You talk also of two Towns; but those, at my Poetry told you before, stand in the Air: and as for your Sovereignty, 'tis only in your Conceit; for your abode there is but durante beneplacito, and the Natives can dislodge you whenever they please.  
But now we come a second time to the place, where you have purchased the Whetstone, which has set your Tools on such an edge, that you sharp upon us to some purpose: In telling us, That the Company have ordered a Fort to be erected at the Town of Chutanutte in the Bay of Bengal, which was granted to them for a Bank sal, upon making the peace with the Mogul after the last War. And here 'tis very observable to see how luckily it falls out, That your Friend Davenport should so occasionally (as I before intimated) return to that place in the very nick of time to serve you in the Government of your new Garrison there. Nor can I here omit to take notice of those false Rumours have been industriously spread abroad both by Letters and Discourse, to contradict this good news of yours: in telling us, That your affairs in the Bay were all still in a most dreadful confusion, and that instead of erecting Forts, the Government there does utterly refuse to readmit your Servants till full satisfaction is rendered for the Murders and Depredations they have committed. For thus the ill people at Madrass write by the Bengal Merchant, and the Rochester; and those ill people that are come home on both those Ships say the same thing: Which makes me believe they are all in Combination against the Right Honourable Company, being envious at their wise Management and successful progress of their Affairs: Nay, I doubt they are Interlopers in their hearts, and I wish it be not at last found out, That they have received as large Bribes from the Dutch East-India Company, as those did who lately petitioned the Parliament against you: For I will not doubt but their are all malicious Flams, and yours the Real Truth; Only for the confirmation of my faith in this point, I desire you will be pleased to resolve me At what time the First War ended, because you here mention the ending of the Last War? And pray let me know, Which of the Wars we must call This that still remains on foot, and is now so vigorously prosecuted?  
And thus having visited all your Forts, Towns and Territories, I now come to your Large Factories and other buildings; And I begin, as you do, with Coddolore and Porta Nova, where your Company never had any Factories or other Buildings, but what they Rent; and about two years since, they quitted those places, as they likewise have withdrawn from Metchlepatam, Pettipolee, and Maddapollam; As for Ballasore, Hugley, Casambuzar, Malda, Dacca, Pattana, and Rajamall, they all depend on your War or Peace with the Mogul, And therefore when you have resolved the Inquiries I made in the close of the preceding Paragraph, we shall know whether they stand or are fallen; And the like of Broach, Swalley and Surrat. At Amoy on the Coast of China, you have had no settled Factory for some years past, and have lately farmed out that Trade to a sort of Interlopers at the rate of 10 l. per Cent. And as to the Three Factories you spoke of in Persia, if you had known the true Story of your Companies affairs in that Kingdom, you would ha' been ashamed to give that intimation; For I'm sure that for twenty years together they negotiated no Merchandise worth naming at any of those places. But to their Eternal Infamy they have irrecoverably lest their just Right and Title to a moiety of the Customs at the Port of Gombroom, which was granted to their Predecessors, for assisting the Persians to retake Ormuz from the Portugueze.  
And as to the Ancient City of Balsora, which you let us know is far up the great River Euphrates, your Company have not I'm sure had any settled Factory there for many years past, nor made any use of that Port, till the Modena was lately sent thither on the Honourable Design of taking the Surratt Ships.  
AND now I have given you this fair Account of things, which I will justify before all Opposers, I appeal to your own self, whether you have not been basely betrayed by him that was Your Dictator, who took advantage of your being so great a Stranger to these Affairs, and so put upon you to publish what he pleased. But we are all thus subject to be abused, when we will be meddling with what we do not understand; Not that you are therefore the less qualified to be a Member of the present Committee; But (as the Case now stands) rather the better accomplished, For your ignorance is the Mother of your Devotion to your worthy Deputy, and has created in you a Venerable Esteem for him; Ay, And 'tis that likewise has inspired you to declare, That, since you have searched more narrowly into his Conduct of the Companies Affairs, and are more experienced in the affairs of India, you have found nothing but what is Prudent, Just and Honourable. And I pray when you writ again remember that you add Generous also, which, above all, he highly deserves at your hand for that magnificent Present of 50 l. per Cent. he has lately bestowed on you and your Brethren. There want not some Envious Detractors we know, who repine at your prosperity, and would fain persuade us to believe he has done this to secure what he could of a desperate stake, and to be beforehand with your Creditors, because he is conscious to himself, That all the Effects the Company have in the whole World cannot near discharge their vast Debts at home and abroad, besides the great Demands that many injured persons make, and still cherish some hopes of reparation. But let them all say what they will, notwithstanding this astonishing Dividend, with the loss of the Nathaniel, and the Dismal news of War and Confusion in India; Stock is still really worth as much as 'twas before. Ask John Sewell else.  
And now it only remains, That I take notice how much you stomach it, that I should intimate, There are some of your Brethren of the Committee, who hold their Places on condition that their Consciences are at the Deputy's Command. Which you say you take to be a Reflection on yourself, and so by the way I cannot but observe, That Gild does oft make strange Discoveries. But what is still much more observable, is that ingenious Innuendo, whereby you would bring it about, That I am guilty of a Scandal against those Noble Peers, who are pleased to condescend to sit among you. But hold Mr. Animadverter, This sly Trick won't serve the Turn you design it for, but rather gives me an opportunity to do myself the honour of letting the World know, I have had the happiness of a more Gentlemanlike Education, than to be ignorant of that humble Respect and Deference due to the Dignity of those most Honourable Personages. And if it would not make you sick with Envy, I could further tell you, There are several Noble Lords in the Kingdom that do not disdain sometimes to admit me to their Conversation: so that I will not doubt but 'twill suffice to take the Sting out of this your malicious Suggestion, That I here solemnly declare and protest, It has been as far from my Thoughts to design the least Detraction from any of those Noble Peers that permit their Names to be inserted in the List of your Committee, as 'tis from my Intentions to rake in the Dust of my dead Father. And now I have taken this Occasion to tell you how much I am a Gentleman, you shall likewise know I am a free born Englishman too, and will not be afraid to tell You and the rest of your Fraternity that are my Fellow-Commoners, I say my Fellows (for though you may be Older, or Richer, or more Cunning, yet the Law has included us all in the same Classis) That every one of you, who takes upon him to justify the illegal Violences in seizing my Brother's Estate, and is not really and readily inclined to make entire Restitution thereof, is therein a most dishonest Man. Nay, that I may further convince you how much I slight your Judicial Menaces, I will be more plain and particular in declaring, That Sir Josiah Child, your Deputy, Mr. Nathaniel Tenche himself, and Sir Ben. Bathurst, who wears the Name of your Governor, are, all Three of you, in case you persist to justify those Depredations, Guilty of Aiding, Abetting, and assisting Pirates and Robbers, and of receiving and detaining plundered Goods. So take it amongst you.  
And now I close all with those Words of mine, which you borrowed in the beginning of yours: and I affirm, That the profligate Age we live in has not produced a greater Prodigy of Villainy, than to see a Man, who would fain be thought to be Somebody in this World, and makes a show of sanctimonious Preparations for a better, and is withal arrived even to the Age of Must-Die: Yet that under all these Circumstances He should appear a public Patronizer of the most flagitious Crimes, and employ his Time and Talon to assist in the Opression of injured Orphans; Which I recommend to your quotidian Consideration, immediately before your Matins and Vespers; and remain  
YOURS, Not as You deserve, George White.