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HISTORY OF THE INDIAN NAVY. 65

seamen on board, attacked the guard placed over these boats,
and brought most of" them back to Pjonibay.*
In the following year (I67i») the Court of Directors, in a review
of their affairs at Surat during the past sixteen years, resolved
to reduce the charges for the factory in that city, and the civil
and military establishments at Bombay, which were to be hence-
forth limited to an annual charge of 71,900 Rs, while the fiictories
at Carwar and Rajahpore were to be represented by native
agents. The small Marine force w^as likewise reduced to a point
that rendered it utterly incapable of taking the offensive against
the powerful ]\Iahratta or Mogul fleets. These reductions
caused great dissatisfaction at Bomba}', which was placed in a
position of extreme danger, owing to the threatening conduct
of Sevajee, who had now collected a fleet of twenty grabs and
forty galivats. It cannot, however, be a matter for surprise that
Sevajee was incensed against the English for permitting the
Mogul fleets to have shelter and protection in Bombay harbour,
thus, at the same time, evading an encounter with his own
powerful fleet, and making a neutral port their base of operations.
He, accordingly, directed his admiral to occupy Kenery, a small
and uninhabited, but well-wooded, island, situated about two
and a half miles from the mainland, and thirteen from Bombay,
being just discernible from the deck of a ship lying in the
* The following wild freak is told of a Mr. Thorpe, described as " an ensign in
the Company's Navy :"
Mr. Thorpe, having quitted the harbour of Bombay in his manchua, (a) was
one day cruising oti' Danda Rajapoor, and there descried a vessel belonging
to the Seedee's fleet making towards him. The Seedee's people had taken hiin
for a Malabar pirate, and he did not choose to undeceive them until they came
pretty near. Then his colours were run up to the masthead, and they, perceiv-
ing their mistake, began to sheer ofi"; but Thorpe was determined not to let them
On
oti' so cheaply, so he invited some of the Seedee's crew to pay him a visit.
their coming on board he charged them witli a design of seizing the Honourable
Company's manchua. They stoutly declared that they had no such intention,
but he nevertheless, with most reprehensible cruelty, ordered tlie hands of two
of the men who had come on board, to be fastened beliind their backs, and in
this condition they were hoisted up to the vessel's yard. They soon admitted
that their captain had intended to make the manchua his prize, wliich was pro-
bably the truth. Acting upon information thus unjustifiably wrung from hie
victims. Ensign Thorpe made the captaiu and two of his men prisoners, and con-
tinued his cruise down the coast. This afl'air involved the English in no little
trouble, for the Seedee demanded satisfaction, and of course sent in an exagger-
ated statement of losses sustained. He maintained that he had been robbed of
two tJiousand six hundred rupees, but the iiotnbay Government declared that
only forty rupees were in his vessel ; and excited his indignation by offering to
restore that sum. The oflending ensign, we are further informed, was deprived
of his commission, but afterwards re-instated.
(a) Manchua, for manchava, a small vessel of ten or twelve " candies." Other
cratt used on the coast of India are, shybar or sliehar, a large vessel ; balloon for
balyauv, a state barge ; prow for parav, a small boteUa or batille, seldom exceed-
" ketch or dorisli, meaning "one and a half," from having
ing tliirty " candies ;
a main and mizen masts. (Hamilton's " History of ilindostan," vol. i. Paper
by J. Vaupell, in tlie Seventh Volume of the JJombay Geograpiiicai Society's
Transactions.) Grabs and galivats have already been described.
VOL. I. F