Page:History of India Vol 7.djvu/27

THE SECOND "SEPARATE VOYAGE " 7 two voyages amounted to only £8002, and the coin or specie to no less than £32,902, we may understand how strong the argument appeared. Gerard de Malynes laid his finger on this " canker of the commonwealth.' ' He compared our export of bullion for spices to " the sim- plicity of the West Indians " " in giving the good com- modities of their countries, yea gold, silver, and precious SIGNATURE OF QUEEN ELIZABETH. (Harleian Ms. No. 285.) things for beads, bells, knives, looking-glasses, and such toys and trifles. ,, • While the political economists condemned the nature of the trade, the Crown grew more and more dissatisfied with its petty results. The East India Company, like the Levant and Muscovy Companies, had weathered the storm of popular indignation which led Elizabeth in 1601 to abolish most of the monopolies; as so distant a trade manifestly demanded a strong corporate body vested with exclusive rights. But the accession of James I opened the door to moi^e subtle influences, and an expelled member of the Company, who was also a courtier, worked them for his own ends. Sir Edward Michelborne, a soldier-adventurer of good fam-