Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB
[blocks in formation]

The Past and Present State of the Tea Trade of England and of the
Continents of Europe and America, &c."

418037

1868

Martin, Robert Montgomery,.

LONDON:

PARBURY, ALLEN, AND CO.

LEADENHALL STREET.

LONDON:

Printed by J. L. COX and SON, Great Queen Street,

Lincoln's-Inn Fields.

0167135 G.

TO THE

PROPRIETORS OF EAST-INDIA STOCK.

GENTLEMEN :

THE deep interest which you have at stake in the prosperity and continued connection of the eastern and western empire of Great Britain, has induced me to do myself the honour of dedicating to you the following pages.

The experience derived from passing one-third of my life in the Asiatic hemisphere, as an officer in his Majesty's Service, or as a private individual; the knowledge obtained by visiting every quarter of the globe, and nearly all the foreign possessions of this country, and the relinquishment of my profession several years ago for the purpose of

acquiring an intimate knowledge of the commercial and political power of England, aided by an ardent desire to contribute my mite towards promoting the happiness of my fellow creatures, are my credentials for appearing before the public in order to aid in obtaining a dispassionate consideration of the momentous questions about to be submitted to the determination of Parliament.

With this object in view, I have analysed every disputed topic relative to the home and foreign affairs of India, aiming as much as possible at impartiality, for I am free to avow, that the evidence elicited by the Select Committees of Parliament has weakened previous impressions on my mind; and, without diminishing my respect for those who pertinaciously adhere to priority of opinion, that testimony has at least necessitated me to scrutinize more narrowly my own thoughts, and to deliberate more calmly on the wisdom or expediency of several proposed measures.

In a stormy period like the present, when men are almost compelled to form quick and energetic decisions, it is impossible to avoid being in some

« AnteriorContinuar »