It is well known, you opposed the encrease of dividend to 10l. _per cent._ in September last, and that you opposed it, upon the principle of it's being improper and improvident, from the state of the account, then produced by you to the general court. You have frequently declared since, you thought this measure of raising the dividend to 10l. _per cent. inexpedient_ and unwarrantable, as the company have not discharged their debts--you opposed the resolution of increasing it to 12l. 1-half on the 6th of May, in no other manner, but by producing in court the same state of the company's affairs, upon which you opposed the increasing it to 10l. _per cent._ in the month of September, and declaring the state of affairs was not altered since that time; from whence it was to be understood that there was, in your opinion, no better reason for dividing 6l. 1-4th in May, than there had been, for dividing 5l. _per cent._ in September. On this principle, and on this principle alone, you called in the aid of the legislature, to assist you in preventing the mischief, that must be produced by such improper and improvident dividends, and on this principle alone the parliament interposed to support you--you proved to them you could not divide 6l. 1-4th, you proved too, by the same arguments, that you could not divide 5l. nay, that you could not divide at all; for I may with confidence affirm, that not a single argument was advanced to prove the dividend of 6l. 1-4th to be improper and improvident, that did not extend to prove the dividend of 5l. _per cent._ or any dividend at all, equally so. I am warranted to go farther. If the company would not, in your opinion, be in a condition at Christmas to divide 6l. 1-4th, when the homeward-bound ships should have arrived, there was much less reason for suffering you to divide 5l. _per cent._ at Midsummer, while the ships were still upon the seas, the annual account unsettled, and the state of your affairs in India unknown. And yet, after this it seems, we are to suppose the legislature did not intend to prevent you making the 5l. _per cent._ dividend declared to be due the 5th of July. We are to suppose, that they did not intend to hinder your dividing after the rate of 10l. _per cent._ at Midsummer, when any dividend at all was proved improper and improvident, but that they intended to hinder your making a dividend after the rate of 12l. 1-half _per cent._ at Christmas, when future arrivals, and future accounts, might make such a dividend proper and expedient.