But whatever may be in that matter, it is sufficient for the present argument, to shew that none of the debts due by the Company, over and above their bonds, fall within the prohibition of the statutes which have restrained the Company's power of borrowing under seal; none of the Company's creditors have complained of the late increase of dividend, the Directors alone and their faction have objected to it, and have pretended as their excuse that they deemed it illegal to make any increase of dividend while the Company owed any debts beyond the six millions in bonds and annuities. They have not urged the argument as a matter of inexpediency merely, for that argument would have appeared too groundless when the payment of all these creditors must in every way take place almost immediately, but they have put the argument on an objection of illegality, founded upon the statutes which restrain the Company's power of borrowing; and indeed if the objection of the Directors had arose from inexpediency alone, they could not have been justified in making so violent and obstinate an opposition to the sentiments of the Proprietors, nor could they be justified as honest men in endeavouring to shake the very foundation of the Company's credit, and to injure its stock, in order merely to save the Company from paying a sum of 40,000_l._ more or less, in February next. But indeed upon the footing of the Directors argument that the Company can never divide if they have other debts besides their bonds and annuities, no dividend can ever take place, for the Company cannot carry on their trade in a proper manner without contracting such debts as the price of goods purchased on credit, and the freights of ships employed by them. It is proper therefore, after having premised this general view of the statutes which restrain the Company's power of borrowing, to consider these statutes more particularly one by one, to see if we can discover any pretence for that doubt which the Directors have affected to entertain concerning the Company's power of borrowing.