the rude examination of a cargo in detail by the native officers,
the depredations to which it is thence liable, and the
irregular exactions o f the revenue officers, to be such serious
impediments to the operations o f commerce, that a still
higher rate o f impost, levied in a less exceptionable manner,
would be greatly preferred. I f urged with prudence,
it is not at all improbable that the native Governments may
be induced, as well from the apparent as the solid advantages
of such an arrangement, to accede to it. With this
view, his Lordship in Council would suggest the advantages
o f establishing, in lieu o f all others, one simple impost
in the form of a duty upon tonnage or measurement—a
mode o f proceeding which, it is believed, is not inconsistent
with the established usages o f those countries. Any trifling
inequality which might arise in practice from the adoption
of this principle, would be much more than compensated by
the exemption from vexatious interference which it would
secure;
10.—In conformity with the principles now laid down,
adapted to the people among whom you are to appear, and
the relative situation o f the British Government in India,
in regard to them, you will be furnished with letters to the
Kings of Siam and Cochin China, in the terms o f the English
drafts which accompany these Instructions.
11-— With regard to the practical details which may
arise out of the principles above stated, and which must be,
in a great measure, contingent upon the knowledge you obtain
in the progress of your mission, his Lordship in Council
relies on your judgment and experience, and necessarily
commits the conduct o f them to your discretion, to be regulated
according to circumstances.
12.—Although Government is not inclined to contract
formal treaties, lest the native Powers to'whom you are
now deputed should capriciously imagine their independenee
or their prerogatives compromised by such engagements
; yet, his Excellency in Council is sensible o f the
great advantage which would result from obtaining from
the Cochin Chinese or Siamese Government official and
authentic records o f such concessions as they might be induced
to make to the freedom and security o f commerce,
either in the form o f letters from the Sovereigns to the Governor
General, or from their Ministers to yourself, in the
character o f an edict addressed to their subjects.
13.—A s his Lordship in Council conceives that, after
the first establishment o f a friendly intercourse with Siam
and Cochin China, the extension and improvement o f our
amicable relations with these states will be greatly promoted.
by the maintenance o f epistolary communication,
you will see the propriety o f encouraging a correspondence
respectively on the part of the Sovereigns with the head of
this Government, and on that o f his Ministers with the
subordinate Governments of India, especially with the Government
o f Prince o f Wales’s Island, and the Chief of the
settlement o f Singapore. This will have the salutary, effect
o f impressing the native. Governments with a conviction
that our traders resorting to their ports have the constant
protection of their own Government, while it will not be
accompanied by any of the inconveniences that may result
from an attempt to exercise a more direct control.
14.— The Governor-General in Council calculates on
your being able to proceed from hence, at the very latest,
by the 1st of November. I t is to be hoped you will reach
Siam, which will be the first object o f your attention, about
the middle of December; touching at Prince o f Wales’s I s land
and Singapore for necessary information and assistance.
I f, as Government has reason to hope, your reception by
the Court o f Siam be friendly, it is not proposed to limit
your residence there to any specific period, but to leave it