Page:History of the Indian Archipelago Vol 3.djvu/346

 SSO INTERCOLONIAL COMMERCE. only precluded all access to other nations, but rigid- ly interdicted the free trade of" their own merchants. "While they declaimed against the measures of re- taliation pursued by the Japanese, they forgot the gross injustice of their own policy. Every offer of fair trade on the part of the former was disdain- fully rejected by them. Whenever the commodi- ties of the country were offered to them at the market rates, they complained of this as a breach of engagement. By Imhoff's account, abundance of copper might be had at the rate of Is. a pound, probably near the market price ; but the Dutch refused to have it unless they could get it at little more than 7d., or 5d. less than it was worth. The Japanese, of course, reduced their supply first from an unlimited quantity to 25,000 piculs, and ultimately to the pittance of 7-500 piculs. Tuten- ague, brass, and camphor, were all successively ten- dered to them by the Japanese at the market prices, which were much below the prices of the same commodities in China, but they were always rejected. At the same time, as will appear by the statements already given, they put the most exor- bitant charge upon all they sold to the Japanese. Black pepper, which the Japanese obtained when the English and Chinese traded freely with them, at Gd.a pound, the Dutch sold to them at Is. J ,'d., and cloves at a far more exorbitant rate. AVhcn orders were given, on the pait of the Japanese, for