§ A Petition of the united company of merchants of England trading to the East Indies, was brought up and read; setting forth,
677§ "That the loans of very large sums of money have heretofore been raised in India on the credit of the petitioners, for the defence and protection of the British possessions there, by the terms of which loans the creditors were entitled to the option of being paid off in India, or by bills of exchange to be drawn upon London, and upon and in consequence of such obligations becoming duo, bills to the amount of 13,104,924l. have been drawn, since the year 1807, upon the petitioners, payable in London; and the sum of 10,902,924l., part of the said sum of 13,104,924l. has been discharged by the petitioners; and 2,202,000l. residue thereof, now remains outstanding; and the larger part of the bills drawn for the same will become due previous to the month of March 1814; and that, for the purpose of enabling the petitioners to pay the said bills of exchange which they have so discharged, to the amount of 10,902,924l. they borrowed exchequer bills of the public to the amount of 1,500,000l. in pursuance of an act of 50 Geo. 3, for granting to his Majesty a sum of money to be raised by exchequer bills, and to be advanced and applied in the manner and upon the terms therein mentioned, for the relief of the united company of merchants of England trading to the East Indies; and the petitioners also raised a sum of 2,500,000l. upon reduced 3l. per centum annuities, and consolidated 3l. per centum annuities, respectively transferable at the Sank of England, in pursuance of an act of 52 Geo. 3, for advancing 2,500,000l. to the East India Company, to enable them to discharge part of the Indian debt; and that, by another act of 52 Geo. 3, to amend an act of 50 Geo. 3, for granting a sum of money to be raised by exchequer bills to be advanced and applied in the manner and upon the terms therein mentioned, for the relief of the united company of merchants of England trading to the East Indies, it is enacted, that it shall be lawful for the commissioners of his Majesty's treasury, or any three or more of them, to carry to the credit of the petitioners, in repayment of the sums advanced under the provisions of the said act of 50 Geo. 3, any sum or sums of money which should have been advanced or disbursed by the petitioners, in the East Indies, for his Majesty's navy, or any public services; and that the petitioners compute, that after allowing, in account, such sum as the petitioners are indebted 678 to his Majesty for the loan of the said exchequer bills, that the sum of 2,294,426l. at the least is now due to the petitioners, in respect of money which has been advanced or disbursed by the petitioners, in the East Indies, for his Majesty's navy and other public services; and that by virtue of an act of 37 Geo. 3, to enable the East India Company to raise money by further increasing their capital stock, and to extend the provisions now existing respecting the present stock of the Company to the said increased stock, the petitioners are now authorised to raise money by increasing their capital stock by the sum of 2,000,000l.; but the petitioners have not raised any money in exercise of the powers contained in the said act; and that the petitioners are now authorized by law to raise money in England, upon bonds, to the amount of 7,000,000l.; and they have now issued bonds to the amount of 5,409,325l. and are at liberty to issue further bonds to the further amount of 1,590,675l. and by an act of 5l Geo. 3, to enable the East India Company to raise a further sum of money upon bond, instead of increasing their capital stock, and to alter and amend an act of 47 Geo. 3, relative thereto, it is provided, that when the petitioners shall have raised, under and by virtue of the said act of 37 Geo. 3, and of the said act of 47 Geo. 3, and of that act, such sums of money as together should amount to the sum of 4,000,000l. sterling; from thenceforth it should not be lawful for the petitioners to raise any further sum of money upon bond; and all money, which from thenceforth should be raised by increase of capital stock, under and by virtue of the said first mentioned act, should be applied in discharge of the said bond debt, until the said bond debt created by virtue of the said act of 47 Geo. 3, or of that act, together with the money to be raised by increase of capital as aforesaid, should be reduced to the sum of 4,000,000l. sterling; and that, upon an estimate of the probable receipts and payments of the petitioners in England, including amongst the receipts the said sum of 2,294,426l. so due from the public to the petitioners, as hereinbefore mentioned, it appears that it will be advantageous and necessary, to the concerns of the petitioners, that they should be authorized to raise the sum of 2,500,000l. on loan, in a different manner from that in which they may now raise money, for the 679 purpose of enabling them to discharge the said bills of exchange, to the amount of 2,202,000l. drawn in liquidation of the Indian debt, to provide for their other current payments, and to enable the petitioners, as circumstances may render it advisable, to reduce the amount of their bond debt, without increasing their capital stock; and that, on account of the intricacy of the matters necessary to be considered, and the want of advices from India relative to pecuniary concerns of the petitioners, they were unable to make out the estimates of the sum due by the public to the petitioners, or of the sum which it is requisite for them to be enabled to raise, until the time limited for presenting petitions for private bills was expired; and the petitioners therefore most humbly pray that leave may be given to present a Petition, praying that the House will be pleased to direct the payment of the said sum of 2,294,426l. so due by the public to the petitioners, as herein-before is mentioned, and to grant to the petitioners such relief, in the premises, as to the House shall seem meet."
Ordered to be referred to a Committee.