Travels in India (Tavernier) 156.1.6

156.1.6

The Company freely borrows all the money of those who are willing to lend it, and gives them 25 per cent interest, but the commanders and other officers take care not to lend it the full amount which they have amassed, because they may be asked by what means they have gained so much money, and be obliged to render an account ; for some of them, as I have said, on their return to Holland take with them from 400,000 up to 500,000 livres. I dealt then with one of these notaries of Batavia who had about the value of 11,000 guilders of these “statements” at 82 per cent, and on the following day, the transfer having been completed, I paid for them. As I was taking these papers to my lodging I met the Avocat Fiscal, who asked me what papers they were which my servant carried. I told him they were “statements” which I had just purchased at a certain price, to which he replied that it was a little too dear, and that he knew of some amounting to 6000 guilders, at a cheaper rate ; these I obtained with his assistance at 79 per cent. I sought to buy more, but more were not to be found, for a ship’s captain who was returning had bought for himself alone some to the amount of upwards of 100,000 guilders; many other persons had also done so, and the whole amounted in value to more than 400,000 livres.