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138 HISTORY OF THE INDTAX NAVY.

monsoon, got into favonrable weather to the southward, and
arrived on tlie Coromandel coast, to the surprise of the whole
settlement, after a voyage nearly as short, in point of fact, .as
was ordinarily made during the fine weather of the north-east
monsoon. It was at that time a feat unexampled in the naviga-
tion of those seas. Pennant, in the first volume of his
" History of Hindostan," says that, in effecting the passage, the
Commodore crossed the Equator in the meridian of Bombay,
and continued his course to the southward as far as the tenth
degree of latitude, and then was enabled to go as far to the
eastward as the meridian of Atcheen Head, the north-west
extremity of Sumatra, whence, with the wind which then
prevailed in the Bay of Bengal, he could with ease gain the
entrance to the Hooghly, or any part of the Coromandel coast.
This track is laid down in Arrowsmith's old map of the world.
The voyage thus completed, w^as of great benefit to the Englisli
community on that coast, for Commodore James not only carried
the first intelligence of the outbreak of hostilities with France,
but at the same time brought five hundred soldiers to the assist-
ance of the Presidency of Fort William. By this timely
accession to their strength, Admiral Watson and Colonel Clive
were enabled, in March, 1757, to capture Chandernagore from
the French, and thus not only struck a heavy blow at their power
in the East, but also ruined their trade. In the succeeding
September, Commodore James, when in command of the
'Revenge,' was stationed otf Pondicherry, in company with
H.M.S. ' Triton.' While cruising off here they were chased b^'
a superior squadron of French ships.
In the year 1759, the Commodore returned to England, and
having purchased a property at Eltham, called Park Farm, with
the proceeds of his share of the booty captured at Gheria,
Severndroog, and other places, married a Miss Goddard. Soon
after his arrival in England, the Court of Directors presented
him with a magnificent gold-hilted sword, on the blade of which
was a record of his achievements, but it was not until the 25th
of July, 1778, that His Majesty the King graciously rewarded
his eminent services with a baronetcy. Commodore James was
at once elected to a seat at the Board of Directors, and successively
rose to the honourable posts of Deputy-Chairman and Chairman,
the latter of which he filled for twenty years. He was also returned
to Parliament as Member for West Looe, a Cornish borough,
and was conspicuous in the House up to his death, as an advo-
cate of the Company he had served so long in a less peaceful
arena. Honours were bestowed freely on Sir William James
during the closing years of his life, and he was nominated a
Governor of Greenwich Hospital, and elder brother and Deput}'
Master of the Trinity House. His energies were ever actively
employed in extending the greatness and influence of the