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 interests of employers at whose hands they were so handsomely treated. But such, we fear, must have been the case, towards the close of the last century, and that to a large extent, or the Court would not have deemed it necessary to issue such stringent regulations for their suppression. Happily the class of men, and the high character of the families to which, as a rule, they belonged, who entered the service in later years, combined with the rigorous enforcement of the Company's regulations, brought about a different state of things, and put an end to a system which ought never to have prevailed in the best paid maritime service in the world: and did we not feel bound to record such instances of wrong and ingratitude, as these official documents too clearly reveal, we would gladly omit altogether the notice of acts which reflect great discredit on a class of men otherwise deserving our respect and our gratitude for the invaluable services they, on more than one occasion, rendered to their country.

But the liberality of the Company was not confined to the most ample remuneration to their commanders and officers while in active service. It extended to them in their retirement, and provided for those of their widows and children who required its aid. In 1800 the Court of Directors resolved that every commander, officer, seaman, or other person who had served in any of the Company's ships, or any of its freighted vessels, for eight years, and who had regularly contributed to what was known as the "Poplar