Bombay Governor who tried to put down the coast pirates by active measures.
Though his expeditions against them had been uniformly unsuccessful, he
had taught Angria that the Company's trade could not be attacked with
impunity, and his ill-success was entirely due to the worthlessness of his
instruments. At his departure, salutes were fired from every gun ashore
and afloat, except from Matthews' squadron, which did not fire a gun. As
he sailed down the coast, accompanied by the _Victoria_ and _Revenge_,
loaded with stores for Carwar and Anjengo, he was attacked by Angria's
squadron, but beat them off. Off Anjediva he came on the Kempsant's grabs
plundering a ship, which he rescued. One of the grabs was taken and
another driven ashore; and so he was gratified with a small success over
his inveterate enemies, as he bid farewell to the Indian coast.

As soon as Matthews had returned to Bombay, after the Alibagh fiasco, he
applied himself to what, to him, was the principal reason for his coming
to India, viz. private trade. For the Company's interests he did not care
a button; in fact, anything that injured the Company found an advocate in
him. As for the pirates, if they did not come in his way, he was not going
to trouble himself much about them. To enrich himself by starting a
private trade of his own, was his one object, and, with this end in view,
he sailed for Surat. With him he took Mrs. Braddyll and Mrs. Wyche, with
sundry chests of treasure, in spite of Phipps' remonstrances: the estates
of both having been attached by the Council. In Surat he tried to raise a
large sum for a venture in the China trade; but the arbitrary conduct of
the King's officers had raised so much distrust among the native merchants,
that he was unsuccessful. Within three weeks he was back again in Bombay,
and was at once involved in an angry correspondence with the Council. Not
confining himself to an acrimonious exchange of letters, he affixed at the
sea gate an insulting proclamation. Phipps ordered it to be removed, on
which Matthews wrote that, if it were not at once replaced, he would