Page 208 - Merchants and Mandarins China Trade Era

194.
In 1834 they actively began to pursue this goal.

IV

On April 21, 1934 the East India Company s charter
1
officially ended at Canton. From that day all British trade

was thrown open to private merchants, of whom there were now

11 77
five major houses and assorted unattached traders. To
11
replace the authority the Company formerly had exercised over

English trade at Canton, the British government despatched
Lord Napier as Chief Superintendent of Trade. His duties,

as representative of the British government at Canton, were

both commercial and political. Lord Napier was not only to

oversee all aspects of English trade at Canton, but also he

was to treat with the Chinese government on any matter that

concerned China and Great Britain. In Lord Napier's view this

latter function included putting the trade between the two

countries on an equal basis. On this point he fully repre­

sented the desires of the free traders and industrialists in

England and especially the private English merchants at Canton.
1
The latter group had been pressuring the East India Company s

Select Committee at Canton since 1829-30 to force the Chinese

to change the regulations and restrictions of the "Canton sys-

tern. 11

77
John Forbes ranked the major British houses in terms
of volume of business at end of 18.34; Jardine, Matheson & Co.;
Turner & Co.; Dent & Co.; Whiteman & Co.; Fox, Rawson & Co.
Letter, J.M. Forbes to J.P. Cushing, Dec. 22, 1834, Forbes MSS.
The most important unattached 11 merchants were Thomas Beale
11
and James Innes.