Page:History of India Vol 7.djvu/21

 WOOD AND IVORY MOSAIC IN THE GOLDEN TEMPLE AT AMRITSAR. CHAPTER I THE "SEPARATE VOYAGES" OF THE COMPANY 1601 - 1612 THE weakness in the constitution of the English East India Company made itself felt from the outset. Its capital proved insufficient for a single voy- age; additional calls amounting to four shillings in the pound had to be levied from the subscribers and in some cases to be enforced by warrants of committal from the Privy Council. In the midst of these troubles the governor, Thomas Smythe, fell under suspicion of complicity in the Earl of Essex's rebellion, and was thrown into prison. The deputy-governor's health broke down under the strain of fitting out vessels and coer- cing defaulters, and an ad interim governor had to be suddenly chosen on April 11, 1601. Finally, however,