THE said Company say, That they believe the Petitioners and others might send such a Ship as they mention, on an Interloping Voyage to India, but know not to what Value the Cargo might amount, because no part of it ever came into their hands or the hands of any of their Servants, to the Companies knowledge, though they have heard the Cargo was consigned to one Boucher and others, whom the Company had put out of their Service for breach of their Trust, who were Men of Expensive Lives, took upon them to be Persons under a Publick Character, and as such, without any Commission from His Majesty assumed a Chargeable Equipage, and addressed themselves to the Great Mogul's Court to make a Treaty of Commerce, and procure a Phirmaund for the New Company, as they called the Inter­lopers. By the charge of which Attempt and the weight of their own great Debts before con­tracted, they were reduced to such Necessities, as disabled them from making any returns of the said Cargoe.

The said Company have likewise been informed, That if the said Boucher, and the rest, had been in any condition to load the said Ship with the returns of her Cargoe, she might have come out of Surrat River while the Kings Ship Phoenix was on a Voyage to Muscat, as well as after the Phoenix was come away for England, as the China Merchant did.

The Company have also been informed, That the Judges of Admiralty appointed by His Majesty's Commission, as well as by the Company, did according to their duty condemn the Ship Adventure, and make demand of her from the Governour of Surrat to the use of his Majesty and the Company, but have not heard that she was delivered by the said Governour, nor any part of her Cargoe.

The Company have further heard, That Captain Goodlad died of a Lingering Feaver, and that Mr. Pettit, one of the Petitioners Factors was taken in an East-India built Ship by the Sangana's (being Native Pyrates) his Ship blown up, and himself wounded, of which wounds he dyed on shoar in the Sangana's Country. And Mr. Boucher their other principal Factor that had the whole Cargoe in Possession, as the Company have heard was alive when the last Ship came from Surrat. VVhat the Petitioners mean by the scandalous suggestion of Poyson or whom they suspect, the Company do not understand, having never heard one word of any such doubt or suspicion from Interlopers or others before they saw it in the Petition.

To the Charge of advising his Late Majesty to send one of His Majesties Ships of VVar to suppress the Interlopers of India, as he did to the African Coast to preserve the Royal Compa­nies Interest from such injurious Attempts: The Company think it is enough to say, It was their Duty Humbly to inform his Majesty of the Disease, the Contagious Nature, the dange­rous Symptoms and Prognosticks of it; His Majesty's own greater VVisdom and Foresight di­rected the Remedies he found most necessary to conserve the reputation of this Nation, and the Trades, Dominion, and Naval Power of this Kingdom in those remote parts of the VVorld.