An Account of Fort St. George, on the Coast of Coromandel, in the Eaft-Indies. F Illuftrated with a fine Perspective View of that City. ORT St. George, or Madrafs, or, as the natives call it, China Patam, is a colony and city belonging to the English Eaft-India Company, fituated in one of the most incommodious places I ever faw. It fronts the fea, which continually rolls impetuously on its fhore, more here than in any other place on the coaft of Coromandel. The foundation is on fand, with a falt-water river on its backfide, which obftructs all springs of fresh water from coming near the town; fo that they have no drinkable water within a mile of them, the fea often threatening deftruction on one fide, and the river, in the rainy feafons, inundations on the other. The fun, from April to September, is fcorching hot; and, if the fea-breezes did not moisten and cool the air, when they blow, the place could not poffibly be inhabited. The reafon, why a fort was built on that place, is not well accounted for; but tradition fays, the Gentleman, who received his orders to build a fort on that coaft, about the beginning of King Charles the Second's reign, after his reftoration, for protecting the Company's trade, chofe that place to ruin the Portuguese trade at St. Thomas's. Others, again, alledge, and with more probability, that the Gentleman aforefaid (which I take to be Sir William Langhorn) had a mistress at St. Thomas's, of whom he was fo enamoured, that it made him build there, that their interviews might be the more frequent and uninterrupted: But, whatever his reasons were, it is very illfituated. The foil about the city is fo dry and fandy, that it bears no corn; and what fruits, roots, and herbage they have, are brought to maturity by great pains and much trouble. If it be true, that the Company gave him power to fettle a colony in any past NUMB. CIX, VOL. XVI, of that coaft, that pleafed him beft, I wonder that he did not chufe Cabelon, about fix leagues to the fouthward, where the ground is fertile, and the water good, with the conveniency of a point of rocks to facilitate boats landing; or why he did not go nine leagues farther northerly, and fettle at Policat, on the banks of a good river, as the Dutch have done fince; where the road for fhipping is made eafy by fome fand-banks that reach three leagues off fhore, and make the high turbulent billows, that come rolling from the fea, fpend their force on those banks, before they can reach the fhore. The foil is good, and the river commodious and convenient in all feafons: Now, whether one of thefe places had not been more eligible, I leave to the ingenious and thofe concerned to confider. However, the war carried on at Bengal and Bombay, by the English, against the Mogul's fubjects, from 1685 to 1689, made Fort St. George put on a better drefs than it wore before; for the peaceable Indian merchants, who hate contention and war, came flocking thither, because it lay far from thofe incumberers of trade, and near the diamond-mines of Golconda, where there are many times good bargains to be made, and money got by our Governors; the Black merchants, reforting to our colony, to fecure their fortunes, and bring their goods to a fafe market, made it populous and rich, notwithftanding its natural inconveniencies. The town is divided into two parts: one, where the Europeans dwell, is called the White Town: It is walled quite round, and has feveral bastions and bulwarks to defend its walls, which can only be attacked at its ends, the fea and river fortifying its fides. It is about four-hundred paces long and one hundred and fifty broad, di N vided vided into streets pretty regular; and Fort St. George ftands near its center. There are two churches in it, one for the English, and another for the Romish fervice. The Governor fuperintends both; and, in filling up vacancies in the Romish church, he is the Pope's Legate à latere in fpiritualities. There is a very good hospital in the town, and the Company's horse-stables are neat; but the old College, where a great many Gentlemen factors are obliged to lodge, is badly kept in repair. They have a Town hall, and underneath it are prifons for debtors. They are, or were a corporation, and had a Mayor and Aldermen, chofen by the free Burghers of the town; but that way is now grown obfolete, and the Governor and his Council or party fix the choice. The city had laws and ordinances for its own preservation, and a Court kept in form; the Mayor and Aldermen in their gowns, with maces on the table, a Clerk to keep a register of tranfactions and cafes, and Attornies and Sollicitors to plead in form before the Mayor and Aldermen: But, after all, it is but a farce; for by experience I found, that a few pagadoes, rightly placed, could turn the fcales of juftice to which fide the Governor pleafed, without refpect to equity or reputation. In fmaller matters, where the cafe on both fides is but weakly fupported by money, then the Court acts judiciously, according to their confciences and knowledge, but often a gainst law and reafon; for the Court is but a Court of Confcience, and its directions are very irregular, and the Governor's difpenfing power of nulling all that the Court tranfacts puzzles the most celebrated Lawyers there to find rules to juftify fuch conduct. They have no martial law, fo that they cannot inflict the pains of death any otherwife than by whipping Only for piracy they can hang; and fome of them have been fo fond of that privilege, that Mr. Yale hanged his groom, Cross, for riding two or three days journey off to take the ais But in England he paid pretty well for his arbitrary fentence. And one of a later date, viz. the orthodox Mr. Collet, hanged a youth, who was an apprentice to an Officer on board a fhip, and his mafter, going a pirating, carried his fervant along with him; but the youth ran from him, the first opportunity he met with, on the ifland of Jonkceyloan, and informed the mafter of a floop which lay in the river there, that the pirates had a defign on his floop and cargo; and went armed, in company with the mafter, to hinder the approach of the pirates, and was the first that fired on them; yet that merciful man was inexorable, and the youth was hanged. The power of executing pirates is fo ftrangely firetched, that, if any private trader is injured by the tricks of a Governor, and can find no redrefs, if the injured perfon is fo bold as to talk of Lex talionis, he is infallibly declared a pirate. The Black town is inhabited by Gentows, Mohammedans, and Indian Chriftians, viz. Armenians and Portuguese; where there are temples and churches for each religion, every one being tolerated, and every man follows his proper employment. It was walled in towards the land, when Governor Pitt ruled it. He had fome apprehenfion, that the Mogul's General's in Golconda might some time or other plunder it; fo, laying the hazard and danger before the inhabitants, they were either perfuaded, or obliged, to raife fubfidies to wall their town, except towards the fea and the White town. The two towns are abfolutely ruled by the Governor, in whofe hands the command of the Military is lodged; but all those affairs belonging to the Company are managed by him and his Council, most part of whom are generally his creatures; there have been, however, fome Gentlemen who have been in that poft, as well as fome private Gentlemen who refided at Fort St. George, George, men of great candour and honour; but they feldom continued long to be favourites. One of the gates of the White town looks towards the sea, and it is for that reafon called the Sea-gate. The Gateway, being pretty fpacious, was formerly the common Exchange, where merchants of all nations reforted, about eleven o'clock, to treat of bufinefs in merchandise; but that custom is out of fashion, and the Confultation-chamber, or Governor's apartment, ferves for that use now; which made one Captain Hart, a very merry man, fay, That he could never have believed, that the Sea-gate could have been carried into the Confultation-room, if he had not seen it. The Company have their Mint here for coining bullion that comes from Europe, and other countries, into rupees; which brings them in a good revenue. The rupee is stamped with Perfian characters, declaring the Mogul's name, year of his reign, and fome of his titles. They alfo coin gold into pagadoes of feveral denominations and values. There are alfo schools for the education of children; the English for reading and writing English; the Portuguese for their language and Latin; and the Mohammedans, Gentows, and Armenians for their particular languages; and the English church is well endowed, and maintains decayed Gentlewomen in good housewifry, and good cloaths and palankins. The diamond- mines are but a week's journey from Fort St. George. Some cuftoms and laws at the mines are: When a perfon goes thither on that affair, he chufes a piece of ground, and acquaints one of the King's Officers, who stay there for that service, that he wants fo many covets of ground to dig in; but, whether they agree for fo much, or if the price be certain, I know not: However, when the money is paid, the space of ground is inclofed, and fome centinels placed round it. The King challenges all ftones that are found above a certain weight, I think it is above fixty grains; and, if any ftones be clandeftinely carried away, above the ftipulated weight, the perfon guilty of the theft is punished with death. Some are fortunate, and get eftates by digging, while others lofe both their money and labour. The current trade of Fort St. George runs gradually flower, the trader meeting with disappointments, and fometimes with oppreffions; and fometimes the liberty of buying and felling is denied: And too often, when the Governor's fervants bid for goods at a public fale, fome who have a mind to bid more durft not; others, who had more courage, and durft bid, are browbeaten and threatened; and I was informed that a bargain of Surat wheat was taken out of a Gentleman's hands, after he had fairly bought it by auction; fo that many trading people are removed to other parts, where there is a greater liberty and lefs oppreffion. The colony produces very little of its own growth or manufacture for foreign markets. They had formerly a trade to Pegu, where many private traders got pretty good bread by their traffic and industry; but the trade is now removed into the Armenians, Moors, and Gentows hands, and the English are employed in building and repairing of shipping. The trade they have to China is divided between them and Surat; for the gold and fome copper are for their own markets; and the grofs of their own cargo, which confifts in fugar, fugar-candy, allum, Chinaware, and fome drugs, as Chinaroots, galangal, &c. are all for the Surat market. Their trade to Perfia must first come down the famous Ganges, before it can come down St. George's Channel, to be conveyed to Perfia. They never had any trade to Mocha, in the product and manufactures of Coromandel, before the year 1713, and Fort St. David fupplies the goods for that port; fo that Fort St. George is an emblem of Hol N 2 land Land fupplying foreign markets with foreign goods. The colony is well peopled, for there are supposed to be eighty thousand inhabitants in the towns and villages; and there are generally about four or five-hundred Europeans refiding there, reckoning the Gentlemen, merchants, feamen, and foldiers. Their rice is brought by fea from Ganjam and Orixa; their wheat from Surat and Bengal; and their fire-wood from the islands of Diu, a low point of land that lies near Matchulipatan; so that an enemy, that is fuperior to them in feaforces, may eafily distress them. Mr. Lockyer, in his account of this place, tells us, that the adminiftration is vested in the Governor and Council, which confifts of fix grave Merchants in the Company's fervice; and, though thefe Officers have but fmall falaries, yet the perquifites and advantages, they derive from trade, are fo confiderable, as to enable them to make a good figure, while they live there, and carry home, notwithstanding, very large eftates. He feems to differ from other writers, as to the properties of the foil and climate; and therefore it may not be amifs to attend a little to his account: The inhabitants, fays he, enjoy as perfect health, as they do in England; which is plainly discovered in their ruddy complexions, which few of our other fettlements can boaft. The heats, in fummer, are the greatest inconvenien cy they labour under, yet I never heard of any ill effect from them. The delicious fruits, that the country abounds with, are a great help in this extremity; nor are they wanting to themselves in other respects, bathings and wet goneys being often applied with fuccefs to the relief of the panting. It feldom lafts above four or five hours in a day; when, the feabreeze coming on, the town feems to be new-born. The Governor, during the hot winds, retires to the Company's new Garden for refreshment, which he has made a very delightful place of a barren one. Its coftly gates, lovely bowling-greens, fpacious walks, teal-pond, and curiofities, preferved in feveral divifions, are worthy to be admired. Lemons and grapes grow there; but so much pains is neceffary to bring either to maturity, that a bunch of one, or a fingle fruit of the other, will stand its owner in five fhillings, before it is ripe. The Governor feldom goes abroad with lefs than threefcore or fourscore perfons armed, befides his English guards to attend him; he has two union flags carried before him, and country mufic enough to frighten a ftranger into a belief the men were mad. Two dubashes attend to cool him with fans, and drive away the flies, that otherwife would moleft him. He is a man of great power, refpected as a Prince by the Rajahs of the country, and is in every refpect as great, fave that these are for themfelves, this has masters. When a perfon of note dies, the funeral is folemnifed with the greatest magnificence. The Governor, Council, and Gentlemen of the town attend; nor are the fair fex wanting in their duty to their deceased country. men. The executors are liberal, in all refpects, to exprefs a juft concern for their friend; whence the ceremony is performed with all that is neceffary for the interment of a Chriftian. The burying-place is at the farther end of the Black town, adorned with many stately tombs in honour of the dead; fome with lofty fpires, carved into different fancies, after the Indian manner; others, in a lower sphere, gravely exprefs the merits of the perfon, for whose fake they were erected; and all, in general, have the most curious workmanfhip in India bestowed on them. Moft of the powder expended in the garrifon is made on the island, about gun-fhot from the town. It has not the force of that which comes from England, for no other reason than not well incorporating the ingredients. They |