[Sidenote: State of trade in the Carnatic.]
Such is the actual condition of the trade of Bengal since the
establishment of the British power there. The commerce of the Carnatic,
as far as the inquiries of your Committee have extended, did not appear
with a better aspect, even before the invasion of Hyder Ali Khan, and
the consequent desolation, which for many years to come must exclude it
from any considerable part of the trading system.
It appears, on the examination of an intelligent person concerned in
trade, and who resided at Madras for several years, that on his arrival
there, which was in the year 1767, that city was in a flourishing
condition, and one of the first marts in India; but when he left it, in
1779, there was little or no trade remaining, and but one ship belonging
to the whole place. The evidence of this gentleman purports, that at his
first acquaintance with the Carnatic it was a well-cultivated and
populous country, and as such consumed many articles of merchandise;
that at his departure he left it much circumscribed in trade, greatly in
the decline as to population and culture, and with a correspondent decay
of the territorial revenue.
Pages:
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93