Page 159 - INDIANNAVYV1

HISTORY OF THE INDIAN NAVY. 127
is also related of him, as showing his amiable disposition, that
as soon as his worldly prospects improved, he journeyed to his
native town in Wales and inquired after a young woman with
whom he had been brought up as a child, and had interchanged
vows of constancy. On learning tliat she had proved as fickle
as himself, he made her some presents he had brought with him
and befriended her husband.
In the year 1747 Mr. James entered the Bombay Marine, and
he was found to be so enterprising and zealous an officer, that,
in 1749, he was promoted to the rank of commander and
appointed captain of the ' Guardian' of twenty-eight guns.
Having been sent with the ' Bombay' of the same force, and the
'Drake,' bomb-ketch, to convoy a valuable fleetof seventy coasters
from Bombay to a point a little to the northward of Goa, he fell
in with Angria's fleet of sixteen grabs and galivats, mounting
from four to twenty-two guns each, and crowded with men.
The enemy iujmediately bore up to attack the convoy, of
which they expected to make an easy prey ; but Captain James
quickly formed a line with his three vessels between Angria's
fleet and his convoy, to whom he made signal to run southward,
and the whol(? reached Tellicherry in safety. An action now
commenced and was vigorously contested for more than two
hours, when one of Angria's largest galivats was sunk, and
several others much shattered, with heavy loss in killed and
wounded. The whole fleet now bore up for Gheria, closely
pursued by Captain James's squadron, and suffered much in
the retreat; while the loss in the Marine vessels was small.
The squadron returned to Bombay, and the joy caused by this
signal defeat of Angria's fleet was very great. Captain James
received the thanks of Governuient and of the merchants, and a
short time after, was promoted to the raidv of counnodore and
commander-in-chief of tlie l>ombay ^Marine, It a])j)ears from
the records, that he hoisted his broad pennant as such, on board
the ' Protector,' of forty-four guns, in the year 1751.
A squadron was also employed at this time at Surat, where,
the Mogul Emperor's officers were striving one against the other,
one party aided by the Dutch, and another by the P]nglish.
Here the vessels were of nmch service, as their force gave a
great pre[)onderance to the British party. Other ships of the
Bombay Marine were employed against the pirates in the Gulf
of Cambay and coast of Kattywar, and tliey captured and
destroyed several vessels of these freeboters, afl^ordingatthe same
time ample protection to the trade to the northward of Bondiay,
A strong squadron, under Commodore James, was kept cruising
on the coast of the southern Concan and Canara, and kept
in check the piratical craft of Angria, who did not dare again to
attack the ships of the Marine. Matters remained in this state
until the year 1755.