Page:History of the Indian Archipelago Vol 3.djvu/286

 270 COMMERCE WITH I need hardly insist upon a political maxim so well understood, as that the less he meddles in the internal details of the affairs of the colony, and the more those details are committed to the intel- ligence and interests of those who are chiefly con- cerned, the better chance there will be of their be- ing well conducted. His principal and most im- portant occupation will consist in maintaining the foreign relations of the colony. No control ought to be attempted over the independent governments of the neighbourhood, but a friend- ly and equal correspondence maintained with them. Above all things, the imposition of treaties requiring exclusive privileges, or exemption from duties, ought to be avoided. It is evident, that th6 greater the revenue that a native sovereign derives from his intercourse with strangers, the stronger will be his motives to protect their com- merce, and encourage their resort to his country. An European merchant, trading more cheaply than an Asiatic one, ought not to grudge paying the same duties. Besides, to the bigoted nations of Asia, innovations of all kinds are odious, and of themselves quite enough to excite distrust. The most suspicious of all innovations are those which trench, or seem to trench, on the personal interests or prerogatives of the sovereign. In such a magistrate, a thorough knowledge of the customs, usages, and institutions of the sur-