Page:The English Historical Review Volume 36.djvu/215

 and to bring back in gold the investment from that sum. (c) 'Privilege' of a separate venture, in goods both ways. The amount of each of these grants to each member of the council of 1722 was as follows:

The Company's stock on the four ships amounted to £141,828, at least nine-tenths in silver, which consisted of 80,000 duccatoons and 360,000 pillar dollars, in so far as the accounts disclose the amounts used for buying the return investment. For the season 1724, owing to the fear tha't China might be in a disturbed state in consequence of the death of the Emperor Kanghi, only one ship was dispatched to Canton, having on board two supercargoes. This number was never considered sufficient for a council, and to make it up to three the captain of the ship was added to it. The rewards were in the same form as in 1722:

The Company's stock on board was £50,369, at least nine-tenths being in silver. Under the permission Mr. Pitt carried to Madras gold which realized 32,783 pagodas (£14,752), and Mr. Nicholson 6,483 pagodas (£2,916), each paying to the Company 3 per cent, as freight.

In 1721 all the supercargoes of four ships were given the 'allowance' and the 'privilege', but, in lieu of the 'permission', they had the option of paying a definite additional sum (in the case of the chiefs £1,000 each) into the Company's stock on board, and on this the court guaranteed them 80 per cent. profit, subject only to the ship's safe return to England. This we may assume, then, to have been the value of the 'allowance' given to the supercargoes, since in all cases they were subject to no charge for freight, demurrage, or factory charges. The