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dated the 15th March last, for ceasing to buy any more Silk until our further
pleasure shall be signified.
8. You complain of the Colours of the Cloth by the Resolution being
.very indifferent, for want of a proper proportion of Scarlets. This you have
mentioned in former letters, and to which you had very proper answers, that it
was originally your own fault, by indenting to Bombay for tho fine Colours
in a greator proportion than ever was allowed before, and to which wo now
attribute the great romaius we have, of what you call improper Colours. It lias
boon usual to send such a quality of fine Colours, as would enable you to dispose
of all the Cloth, if you had acted in a manner always practised in tho Gulph,
to sell a proportion of all Colours with the fine. You most know, that tho
Scarlets and all tho line Colours cost much more than tho common Colours,
which you ought to regard in tho Sale ; and in future must not deviate from
the custom formerly practised.
Your loving friends,
JOHN PURLING, & CO.
London j
The loth November 1771.
CXCVI.
Extract from a letter of the Agent and Council at Bassrah to the Court of Directors, dated
22nd April 1773.
“We leave this (letter) in order to be forwarded to you by the first
Plague breaks out
opportunity that offers, it is purposely to iuform you that the plague having ^ft^ofAgencj*1*
broke out in Bussora just after we last addressed you which was the first of
this month, the Agent and some of your Honours’ Servants retired to Belvoir
about 4 miles from Bussora, and the rest shut themselves up in the Factory
in town, hoping that in a short time the summer setting in would put a stop
to this calamity, in the m ean time the Drake and Tiger were stationed at
Belvoir and all communication was stopt with the country people—the disorder
since that time has continued to rage with unrelenting vigour, One thousand
and upwards have been daily carried off by it, and contrary to our expectation,
and the opinions of several here, the heat instead of cheking has rather in
creased it. In this calamitous situation, the contagion spreading around us
even to our very doors, the provisions which we had laid in for our subsist
ence beginning to fall short, and no method of recruiting them without
running the greatest risque at the same time of receiving the contagion, our
Domestics too having all left us; we have unanimously thought it the most
prudent and eligible method, a9 well for the preservation of our own lives,
as that those of the people belonging to the two Vessels, to leave the place and
retire to Bombay, from whence we can return at the opening of the season in
case we hear that the disorder has ceased our stay here could answer no one
good purpose, no business whatever can be transacted, nor would it be prudent
at any rate to havo any communication with the Country people for these 6
months at least, your Honours have no outstanding debts of any consequence,
and as wo have recommended tho oaro of your Factory after having sealed up
the Godowns etc. to the Government here, and havo besides appointed Coja
Netrua and Coja Miroar two respectable Armenian Merchants, your Vakeels,
