CHAPTER XVIIIBlue coat boys tampered with—The two trials—Insuring tickets—Curious Lotteries—Lever Museum and Pigot diamond lotteries—Little goes—Stories of winning numbers—Decline of Lotteries—The last—Its epitaph—Modern lotteries.Twicein the year 1775 were the blue coat boys, who drew the tickets from the lottery wheels, tampered with; and the following accounts are taken from theAnnual Registerof that year:“1 June. A man was carried before the Lord Mayor, for attempting to bribe the two Blue Coat boys, who drew the Museum[57]lottery, to conceal a ticket, and bring it to him, promising he would, next day, let them have it again, when one of them was, it seems, to convey it back privately to the wheel, but without letting go his hold of it, and then produce it as if newly drawn; the man’s intention being to insure it in all the offices against being drawn that day. But the boys were honest, gave notice of the intended fraud, and pointed out the delinquent, who, however, was discharged, as there is no law in being, to punish the offence.”“5 Dec. By virtue of a warrant from Sir Charles Asgill, was brought before the magistrate, at Guildhall, the clerk of an eminent hop factor in Goodman’s Fields, upon suspicion of being concerned with a person, not yet apprehended, in defrauding a lottery office keeper, near the ‘Change, of a large sum of money. This matter being undertaken by the Commissioners of the Lottery, the Solicitor of the Treasury appeared against the prisoner, and for him attended, as Counsel, Mr Cox.“The first witness examined was the lottery office keeper, he said, that about a fortnight ago, the prisoner insured No. 21,481 six times over for the subsequent day of drawing; that the conversation he had with the prisoner at that time, and the seeming positiveness there appeared in the latter, that the ticket would come up, caused him to enquire at other lottery offices, when he found the same number insured, in the prisoner’s name, at all the principal offices about the ‘Change; that the ticket was drawn the first hour of drawing the subsequent day. This, with his former suspicion, alarmed him, and he immediately went to Christ’s Hospital, and saw the boy who drew the ticket; that he interrogated him, whether he had clandestinely taken that number out of the wheel, or whether he had been solicited to do so, which the boy positively denied; that, observing that he answered rather faintly, he importuned him to divulge the truth, which, after some hesitation, produced an acknowledgment of the fact.“The next witness was the Blue Coat boy. He said that, about three weeks ago, the person who is not in custody, and whom he had known before he went to the Hospital, took him to a Coffee House, where they breakfasted together; that he wanted to know of the witness, whether it was possible to get a ticket out of the wheel; to which the latter answered, No. That being, afterwards, solicited for the same purpose, by him, to secrete a ticket, he, at length, promised to do so; that, accordingly, he took two at one time out of the wheel, gave one to the person who called it over, and put the other in his pocket; that the person who induced him to do it was then in the gallery, and nodded his head to the witness to signify when was a proper time; that, after the witness came out of the hall, he gave the ticket to the person who sat in the gallery, and who was then waiting for the witness in the Guildhall Yard; that the next time the witness drew the lottery, the person before mentioned returned him the ticket, which the witness put in the wheel, and drew out the same day; that he did this three severaltimes, and received from the person for whom he did it, several half guineas; that he has heard the prisoner’s name mentioned by him, but never heard the latter acknowledge any connection between them in insurance; and, never before, saw the prisoner.“The prisoner acknowledged he insured the ticket 79 times for one day. The mother of the person who was not apprehended, was next examined; she proved an acquaintance between her son and the prisoner; but denied any remembrance of ever hearing the latter mention anything relating to insurance. The prisoner was discharged.“It is said that the person who absconded, got about £400 by the above fraud; and would have got £3000, had he been paid in all the offices where he insured.”But, that such a fraud should not be perpetrated again, the Lords of the Treasury, on 12th Dec. 1775, issued an Order, of which the following is an extract:“It is therefore ordered, for preventing the like wicked practices in future, that every boy, before he is suffered to put his hand into either wheel, be brought by the proclaimer to the managers on duty, for them to seethat the bosoms and sleeves of his coat be closely buttoned, his pockets sewed up, and his hands examined; and that, during the time of his being on duty,he shall keep his left hand in his girdle behind him, and his right hand open, with his fingers extended: and the proclaimer is not to suffer him, at any time, to leave the wheel, without, first, being examined by the Manager nearest him.”They also “requested of the Treasurer of Christ’s Hospital, not to make known who are the twelve boys nominated for drawing the lottery, till the morning before the drawing begins; which said boys are all to attend every day, and the two who are to go on duty at the wheels, are to be taken promiscuously from amongst the whole number, by either of the secretaries, without observing any regular course, or order; so that no boy shall know when it will be his turn to go to either wheel.”À proposof insuring lottery tickets, Horace Walpole writes to the Countess of Ossory, 17th Dec. 1780: “As folks in the country love to hear ofLondon fashions, know, Madam, that the reigning one amongst thequality, is to go, after the opera, to the lottery offices, where their Ladyships bet with the keepers. You choose any number you please; if it does not come up next day, you pay five guineas; if it does, receive forty, or in proportion to the age of thetirage. The Duchess of Devonshire, in one day, won nine hundred pounds. General Smith, as the luckiest of all mites, is of the most select parties, and chooses the numeros.”On Jan. 6, 1777, two Jews were brought before the Lord Mayor, charged with counterfeiting a lottery ticket; but, as they brought plenty of false witnesses, they were acquitted. But one, Daniel Denny, was not so lucky on Feb. 24, the same year, for he was convicted of the same crime. TheAnnual Registerfor this year says:“The following is a true state of the different methods of getting money by lottery office keepers, and other ingenious persons, who have struck out different plans of getting money by the State Lottery of 1777.“First, His Majesty’s Royal Letters Patent for securing the Property of the purchasers.“Secondly, A few office keepers who advertise ‘By authority of Parliament’ to secure your property in shares and chances.“Thirdly, Several schemes for shares and chances, only entitling the purchasers to all prizes above twenty pounds.“Fourthly, A bait for those who can only afford to venture a shilling.“Then come the ingenious sett of lottery merchants, viz. Lottery magazine proprietors—Lottery tailors—Lottery stay makers—Lottery glovers—Lottery hat makers—Lottery tea merchants—Lottery snuff and tobacco merchants—Lottery handkerchiefs—Lottery bakers—Lottery barbers (where a man, for being shaved, and paying threepence, may stand a chance of getting ten pounds)—Lottery shoe blacks—Lotteryeating houses; one in Wych Street, Temple-bar, where, if you call for six penny worth of roast, or boiled beef, you receive a note of hand, with a number, which, should it turn out fortunate, may entitle the eater of the beef to sixty guineas—Lottery oyster stalls, by which the fortunate may get five guineas for three penny worth of oysters. And, to complete this curious catalogue, an old woman, who keeps a sausage stall in one of the little alleys leading to Smithfield, wrote up, in chalk,Lottery sausages, or, five shillings to be gained for a farthing relish.”In 1782 an Act was passed, whereby lottery office keepers were to pay a licence of £50, under a penalty of £100 if they did not do so.Sir Ashton Lever disposed of his Museum by lottery in 1758 by Act of Parliament, and another Act was procured to dispose of, by lottery, a large diamond, the property of the deceased Lord Pigot, valued at £30,000. This lottery was drawn on Jan. 2, 1801, and the winner of the prize was a young man, name unknown. It was, afterwards, sold at Christie’s on May 10, 1802, for 9500 guineas. It was again sold, and is said to have passed into the possession of Messrs Rundell and Bridge, the Court jewellers, who are reported to have sold it to an Egyptian Pasha for £30,000.But, in the latter part of the eighteenth century, a system of private lotteries, called “little goes” had sprung up, and they are thus described in theTimesof 22nd July 1795:“Amongst the various species of Gaming that have ever been practised, we think none exceeds the mischiefs, and calamities that arise from the practice of private lotteries, which, at present, are carrying on, in various parts of the town, to very alarming extents, much to the discredit of those whose province it is to suppress such nefarious practices, as they cannot be ignorant of such transactions. ‘The little go,’ which is the technical term for a private lottery, is calculated only for the meridian of those understandings, who are unused to calculate and discriminate between right and wrong, and roguery and fair dealing; and, in this particularcase, it is those who compose the lower order of society, whom it so seriously affects, and, on whom, it is chiefly designed to operate. No man of common sense can suppose that the lottery wheels are fair and honest, or that the proprietors act upon principles anything like honour, or honesty; for, by the art, and contrivance, of the wheels, they are so constructed, with secret springs, and the application of gum, glue, &c., in the internal part of them, that they can draw the numbers out, or keep them in, at pleasure, just as it suits their purposes; so that the ensurer, robbed and cajoled, by such unfair means, has not the most distant chance of ever winning; the whole being a gross fraud, and imposition, in the extreme. We understand the most notorious of these standards of imposition, are situated in Carnaby Market, Oxford Road, in the Borough, Islington, Clerkenwell, and various other places, most of which are under the very nose of Magistracy, in seeming security, bidding defiance to law, and preying upon the vitals of the poor and ignorant.“We hope the Magistrates of each jurisdiction, and those who possess the same power, will perform their duty on behalf of the poor, over whom they preside, and put a stop to such a growing, and alarming evil, of such pernicious and dangerous tendency; particularly as the proprietors are well-known bad characters, consisting of needy beggars, desperate swindlers, gamblers, sharpers, notorious thieves, and common convicted felons; most of whose names stand recorded in the Newgate Calendar for various offences of different descriptions.”11th Aug. 1795.“On Friday night last, in consequence of searching warrants from the parochial magistrates of St James’s Westminster, upwards of 30 persons were apprehended at the house of one M’Call, No. 2 Francis Street, near Golden Square, and in the house of J. Knight, King Street, where the most destructive practicesto the poorwere carrying on, that ofPrivate Lotteries(called Little Goes). Two wheels, with the tickets, were seized on the premises.Upon examination of those persons, who proved to be the poor deluded objects who had been there plundered, they were reprimanded, and discharged.“The wives of many industrious mechanics, by attending these nefarious houses, have not only been duped out of their earnings (which ought to have been applied to the providing bread for their families), but have even pawned their beds, wedding rings, and almost every article they were possessed of, for that purpose.”Here are two anecdotes of the winners of the great prize, which was, usually, £20,000, from theTimes:27th Dec. 1797.“Dr B., a physician atLime(Dorset), a few days since, being under pecuniary embarrassment, and his house surrounded by bailiffs, made his escape by a window, into a neighbour’s house, from whence he fled to London. The furniture was seized, and the sale actually commenced, when it was stopped by a letter, stating that the Doctor, upon his arrival in London, found himself the proprietor of the £20,000 prize. We guarantee the truth of this fact.”19th Mar. 1798.“The £20,000 prize, drawn on Friday, is divided amongst a number of poor persons: a female servant in Brook Street, Holborn, had a sixteenth; a woman who keeps a fruit stall in Gray’s Inn Lane, another; a third is possessed by a servant of the Duke of Roxburghe; a fourth by a Chelsea carrier of vegetables to Covent Garden; one-eighth belongs to a poor family in Rutlandshire, and the remainder is similarly divided.”In 1802, old Baron d’Aguilar, the Islington miser, was requested, by a relation, to purchase a particular ticket, No. 14,068; but it had been sold some few days previously. The baron died on the 16th of March following, and the number was the first drawn ticket on the 24th, and, as such, entitled to £20,000. The baron’s representatives, under these circumstance, published an advertisement, offering a reward of £1000 to any person who might have found the said ticket, and would deliver it up. Payment was stopped.A wholesale linen draper in Cornhill (who had ordered his broker to buy him ten tickets, which he deposited in a chest), on copying the numbers for the purpose of examining them, made a mistake in one figure, and called it 14,168 instead of 14,068, which was the £20,000 prize. The lottery being finished, he sent his tickets to be examined and marked. To his utter astonishment, he then found the error in the number copied on his paper. On his demanding payment at the lottery office, acaveatwas entered by old d’Aguilar’s executors; but, an explanation taking place, the £20,000 was paid to the lucky linen draper.Although these lotteries were a great source of revenue to Government, and, consequently, relieved the taxpayer to the amount of their profit, it began to dawn upon the public that this legalised gambling was somewhat immoral; and, in 1808, a Committee of the House of Commons was appointed, to inquire how far the evil attending lotteries had been remedied by the laws passed respecting the same; and, in their Report, they said that “the foundation of the lottery system is so radically vicious, that your Committee feel convinced that under no system of regulations, which can be devised, will it be possible for Parliament to adopt it as an efficacious source of revenue, and, at the same time, divest it of all the evils which it has, hitherto, proved so baneful a source.”Yet they continued to be held; but, when the Lottery Act of 1818 was passing through the House of Commons, Mr Parnell protested against it, and, in the course of his speech, suggested that the following epitaph should be inscribed on the tomb of the Chancellor of the Exchequer: “Here lies the Right Hon. Nicholas Vansittart, once Chancellor of the Exchequer; the patron of Bible Societies, the builder of Churches, a friend to the education of the poor, an encourager of Savings’ banks, and—a supporter of Lotteries!”And, in 1819, when the lottery for that year was being discussed, Mr Lyttleton moved:1. That by the establishment of State lotteries, a spirit of gambling, injurious, in the highest degree, to the morals of the people, is encouraged and provoked.2. That such a habit, manifestly weakening the habits of industry, must diminish the permanent sources of the public revenue.3. That the said lotteries have given rise to other systems of gambling, which have been but partially repressed by laws, whose provisions are extremely arbitrary, and their enforcement liable to the greatest abuse.4. That this House, therefore, will no longer authorise the establishment of State lotteries under any system of regulations whatever.Needless to say, these resolutions were not passed, but the Lottery was on its last legs, for, in the Lottery Act of 1823, provision was made for its discontinuance after the drawing of the lottery sanctioned in that Act. Yet this was not adhered to, and a “last lottery” was decreed to be drawn in 1826. Its date was originally fixed for the 18th of July, but the public did not subscribe readily, and it was postponed until the 18th of October, and, on that day it was drawn at Cooper’s Hall, Basinghall Street. Here is an epitaph which was written on it:In Memory ofThe State of Lottery,the last of a long linewhose origin in England commencedin the year 1569,which, after a series of tedious complaints,Expiredon the18th day of October 1826.During a period of 257 years, the familyflourished under the powerful protectionof theBritish Parliament;the Minister of the day continuing togive them his support for the improvementof the revenue.As they increased, it was found that theircontinuance corrupted the morals,and encouraged a spiritof Speculation and Gambling among the lowerclasses of the people;thousands of whom fell victims to theirinsinuating and tempting allurements.Many philanthropic individualsin the Senate,at various times, for a series of years,pointed out their baneful influence,without effect;His Majesty’s Ministersstill affording them their countenanceand protection.The British Parliamentbeing, at length, convinced of theirmischievous tendency,His Majesty GEORGE IV.on the 9th of July 1823,pronounced sentence of condemnationon the whole race;from which time they were almostNeglected by the British Public.Very great efforts were made by thePartisans and friends of the family toexcitethe public feeling in favour of the lastof the race, in vain:It continued to linger out the fewremainingmoments of its existence without attention,or sympathy, and finally terminatedits career unregretted by anyvirtuous mind.In 1836 an Act was passed “to prevent the advertising of Foreign and illegal lotteries,” but circulars still come from Hamburg and other places. In 1844 an Act was passed “to indemnify persons connected with Art Unions, and others, against certain penalties.” Still there were minor lotteries and raffles, and the law was seldom set in force against them, any more than it is now when applied tocharitable purposes; yet in 1860 one Louis Dethier, was haled up at Bow Street for holding a lottery for £10,000 worth of Twelfth Cakes, and was only let off on consenting to stop it at once, and nowadays the lottery is practically dead, except when some petty rogue is taken up for deluding children with prize sweets.CHAPTER XIXPromoters and Projectors—Government loans—Commencement of Bank of England—Character of a Stock Jobber—Jonathan’s—Hoaxtemp.Anne—South Sea Bubble—Poems thereon.Weare apt to think that company promoters and commercial speculation are things of modern growth, butProjectorsandPatentees(company promoters and monopolists) were common in the early seventeenth century; and we find an excellent exposition of their ways and commodities in a poetical broadside by John Taylor, the Water poet, published in 1641. It is entitledThe complaint of M. Tenter-hooke theProiector,and Sir Thomas Dodger, thePatentee. Under the title is a wood-cut, which represents aProjector, who has a pig’s head and ass’s ears, screws for legs, and fish hooks for fingers, bears a measure of coal, and a barrel of wine, on his legs respectively, tobacco, pipes, dice, roll tobacco, playing cards, and a bundle of hay slung to his body, papers of pins on his right arm, and a measure for spirits on his left arm, a barrel and a dredger on the skirts of his coat. With his fish hook fingers, he drags bags of money. This is Tenter-hooke, who is saying to his friend Sir Thomas Dodger, who is represented as a very well dressed gentleman of the period:“I have brought money to fill your chest,For which I am curst by most and least.”To which Sir Thomas replies:“Our many yeares scraping is lost at a clap,All thou hast gotten by others’ mishap.”If any aske, what things theseMonstersbe‘Tis aProjectorand aPatentee:Such, as like Vermine o’re this Lande did crawle,And grew so rich, they gain’d the Devill and all.Loe, I, that lately was aManof Fashion,TheBug-beareand theScarcrowof this Nation,Th’ admired mightyMounte-bankeofFame,The JugglingHocus Pocusof good name;TheBull-beggerwho did affright and feare,And rake, and pull, teare, pill, pole, shave and sheare,NowTimehath pluck’d theVizardfrom my face,I am the onely Image of disgrace.My ugly shape I hid so cunningly,(Close cover’d with the cloake of honesty),That from theEasttoWest, fromSouthtoNorth,I was a man esteem’d of ex’lent worth.And (Sweet SirThomas Dodger,) for your sake,My studious time I spent, my sleepes I brake;My braines I tost with many a strange vagary.And, (like a Spaniell) did both fetch and carryTo you, suchProjects, as I could invent,Not thinking there would come a Parliament.I was the greatProjector, and from me,Your Worship learn’d to be aPatentee;I had the Art to cheat the Common-weale,And you had tricks and slights to passe the Seale.I took the paines, I travell’d, search’d and sought,Which (by your power) were into Patents wrought.What was I but your Journey man, I pray,To bring youre worke to you, both night and day:I foundStuffe, and you brought it so about,You (like a skilfullTaylor) cut it out,And fashion’d it, but now (to our displeasure)You fail’d exceedingly in taking measure.My legs were Screws, to raise thee high or low,According as your power didEbbeorFlow;And at your will I was Screw’d up too high,That tott’ring, I have broke my necke thereby.For you, I made myFingers fish-hookesstillTo catch at allTrades, either good, or ill,I car’d not much who lost, so we might get,For all wasFishthat came into the Net.For you, (as in my Picture plaine appeares)I put aSwine’s faceon, anAsses eares,The one to listen unto all I heard,Wherein your Worship’s profit was prefer’d,The other to tast all things, good or bad,(As Hogs will doe) where profit may be had.Soape,Starch,Tobacco,Pipes,Pens,Butter,Haye,Wine,Coales,Cards,Dice, and all came in my wayI brought your Worship, every day and houre,And hope to be defended by your power.SirThomas Dodgers’Answer.Alas goodTenter-hooke, I tell thee plaine,To seeke for helpe of me ‘tis but in vaine:MyPatent, which I stood upon of late,Is like anAlmanackethat’s out ofDate.‘T had force and vertue once, strange things to doe,But, now, it wants both force and vertue too.This was the turne of whirlingFortune’swheele,When we least dream’d we should her changing feele.ThenTime, and fortune, both with joynt consent,Brought us to ruine by a Parliament;I doe confesse thou broughtst me sweet conceits,Which, now, I find, were but alluring baits,And I, (too much an Asse) did lend mine eareTo credit all thou saydst, as well as heare.Thou in theProjectof theSoapedidst toyle,But ‘twas so slippery, and too full of oyle,That people wondered how we held it fastBut now it is quite slipp’d from us at last.TheProjectfor theStarchthy wit found out,Was stiffe a while, now, limber as a Clout,The Pagan weed (Tobacco) was our hope,InLeafe,Pricke,Role,Ball,Pudding,Pipe, orRope.Brasseele,Varina,Meavis,Trinidado,SaintChristophers,Virginia, orBarvado;Bermudas,Providentia,Shallowcongo,And the most part of all the rest (Mundungo[58])That Patent, with a whiffe, is spent and broke,And all our hopes (in fumo) turn’d to smoake,Thou framdst theButterPatent in thy braines,(A Rope and Butter take thee for thy paines).I had forgotTobacco Pipes, which areNow like to thou and I, but brittle ware.Dicerun against us, we atCardsare crost,We both are turn’d upNoddies,[59]and all’s lost.Thus fromSice-sinke, we’r sunke belowDewce-ace,And both of us are Impes of blacke disgrace.Pinspricke us, andWinefrets our very hearts,That we have rais’d the price ofPintsandQuarts.Thou (in mine eares) thy lyes and tales didst foyst,And mad’st me up the price ofSea-coaleshoyst.Corne,Leather,Partrick,Pheasant,Rags,Gold-twist,Thou brought’st all to myMill; what was’t we mist?Weights,Bon[60]lace,Mowstraps, new, new,Corporation,Rattles,Seadans,[61]of rare invented fashion.Silke,Tallow,Hobby-horses,Wood,Red herring,Law,Conscience,Justice,Swearing, andFor-swearing.All these thou broughtst to me, and still I thoughtThat every thing was good that profit brought,But now all’s found to be ill gotten pelfe,I’le shift for one, doe thou shift for thyselfe.The first loans to Government, in a regular form, took the form of Tontines, so called from their inventor Lorenzo Tonti. A Tontine is a loan raised on life annuities. A number of persons subscribe the loan, and, in return, the Government pay an annuity to every subscriber. At the death of any annuitant, his annuity was divided among the others, until the sole survivor enjoyed the whole income, and at his death, the annuity lapsed. As an example, a Mr Jennings, who died in 1798, aged 103—leaving behind him a fortune of over two millions—was an original subscriber for £100 in a Tontine: he was the last survivor, and his income derived for his £100 was £3000 per annum. Our National Debt began in 1689—by that, I mean that debt that has never been repaid, and dealings in which, virtually founded Stockbroking as a business. The Bank of England started business on 1st Jan. 1695, and, from that time, we may date the methodical dealing in Stocks and Shares. Ofcourse there were intermediaries between buyer and seller, and these were termed “Stock brokers.” They first of all did business at the Exchange, but as they increased in number their presence there was not desirable, and they migrated to ‘Change Alley, close by. These gentry are described in a little book, published in 1703, called,Mirth and Wisdom in a miscellany of different characters.[62]“A Stock Jobber“Is a Rational Animal, with a sensitive Understanding. He rises and falls like the ebbing and flowing of the Sea; and his paths are as unsearchable as hers are. He is one ofPharaoh’slean kine in the midst of plenty; and, to dream of him is, almost, an Indication of approaching Famine. He is ten times more changeable than the Weather; and the living Insect from which the Grasshopper on the Royal Bourse was drawn, never leap’d from one Place to another, as he from one Number to another; sometimes a Hundred and a half is too little for him; sometimes Half a hundred is too much; and he falls seven times a Day, but not likeDavid, on his knees, to beg pardon for former Sins, but to be made capable of sinning again. He came in with theDutch, and he had freed us from as great a Plague as they were, had he been so kind as to have went out with them. He lives on the Exchange, but his Dwelling cannot be said to be the Place of hisAbode, for heabidesno where, he is so unconstant and uncertain. Ask him what Religion he professes, he cries,He’ll sell you as cheap as any Body; and what Value such an Article of Faith is of, his Answer is,I’ll give you as much for a Debenture, as the best Chapman thereabout shall. He is fam’d for Injustice, yet he is a Master ofEquityin one particular to perfection, for he cheats every Body alike, and isEqualin all his Undertakings. The Den from which this Beast of Prey bolts out isJonathan’sCoffee House, orGarraway’s; and a Man thatgoes into either, ought to be as circumspect as if in an Enemy’s country. A Dish of tea there, may be as dear to him as a good Purchase, and a Man that is over reach’d in either, tho’ no Drunkard, may be said to have drank away his Estate. He may be call’d a true Unbeliever, and out of the Pale of the Church, for he has no Faith. Is a meerTolandistin secular Concerns, at the very minute that he is ready to take up any Goods upon Trust that shall belong to his Neighbour.St Paul’sCathedral would be a Mansion-House fit for a Deity indeed, in his Opinion, did but the Merchants meet there; and he can give you no subtantialler a Reason for likingSalter’s Hallbetter than the Church, than because of its being a House of Traffick and Commerce, and the Sale being often held there. He is the Child of God in one Sense only, and that is by reason of his bearing His Image, but the Devil in many, for he fights under his Standard. To make an end of a Subject that is endless; he has the Figure of a Man, but the Nature of a Beast; and either triumphs over his Fellow Adventurers, as he eats the Bread of other People’s Carefulness, and drinks the Tears of Orphans or Widows, or being made himself Food for others, grows, at last, constant to one place, which is theCompter, and the fittest House for such an unaccountable Fellow to make up his Accounts in.”Jonathan’s was, especially, the Coffee House which stock jobbers frequented. Addison, in the first number of theSpectator, says, “I sometimes pass for a Jew in the assembly of Stock Jobbers at Jonathan’s”; and Mrs Centlivre has laid one of the scenes in herBold Stroke for a Wife, at Jonathan’s: where, also, was subscribed the first foreign loan, in 1706.There was a Stock Exchange hoax in the reign of Queen Anne. A man appeared, galloping from Kensington to the City, ordering the turnpikes to be thrown open for him, and shouting loudly that he bore the news of the Queen’s death. This sad message flew far and wide, and dire was its effects in the City. The funds fell at once, but Manasseh Lopezand the Jews bought all they could, and reaped the benefit when the fraud was discovered. In 1715, too, a false report that the Pretender had been taken, sent the Funds bounding up, to the great profit of those who were in the secret of the hoax.About this time the demon of gambling was rampant, every one wanted to find a short road to wealth; naturally, there were plenty of rogues to ease them of their money, but the most colossal stroke of gambling was the South Sea Bubble, the only parallel to which, in modern times, is the Railway Mania, in 1846.The South Sea Company was started in 1711, to have the monopoly of trade to the South Seas, or South Coast of America, a region which was, even then, believed to be anEl Dorado. As a trading company it was not successful, but, having a large capital, it dealt with finance. On 22nd Jan. 1720, a proposal was laid before Parliament that the Company should take upon themselves the National Debt, of £30,981,712, 6s. 6-1/2d. at 5 per cent. per annum, secured until 1727, when the whole was to be redeemable, if Parliament so chose, and the interest to be reduced to 4 per cent., and “That for the liberty of increasing their Capital Stock, as aforesaid, the Company will give, and pay into his Majesty’s Exchequer, for the purpose of the Public, and to be applied for paying off the public debt provided for by Parliament, before Christmas, 1716, the sum of three millions and a half, by four equal quarterly payments, whereof the first payment to be at Lady Day 1721.” On April 7, the South Sea Company’s Bill received the Royal Assent, the £100 shares being then about £300.On April 12, the directors opened their books for a subscription of a Million, at the rate of £300 for every £100 Capital, which was immediately taken up, twice over. It was to be repaid in five instalments of £60. Up went the shares with a bound; yet, to raise them still higher, the Midsummer dividend was to be declared at 10 per cent., and all subscriptions were to be entitled to the same. This plananswered so well, that another million was at once raised at 400 per cent.; and, in a few hours, a million and a half was subscribed at that rate. The Stock went up higher and higher, until, on the 2nd of June, it reached £890. Then, so many wanted to sell, that, on the same afternoon, it dropped to £640. The Company set their Agents to work, and, when evening came, the Stock had been driven up to £750, at about which price it continued until the bank closed on the 22nd June.Very soon, a third Subscription was started, at the rate of £1000 for every £100, to be paid in ten equal payments, one in hand, the other nine, quarterly. The lists were so full that the directors enlarged it to four millions Stock, which, at that price amounted to £40,000,000. These last subscriptions were, before the end of June, sold at about £2000 premium; and, after the closing of the transfer books, the original Stock rose to over £1000 per cent. At the same time, the first subscriptions were at 560, and the second at 610 per cent. advance.This set every one crazy, and innumerable “bubble,” or cheating, companies were floated, or attempts made thereat. Speculation became so rampant that, on June 11, the King published a Proclamation declaring that all these unlawful projects should be deemed as common nuisances, and prosecuted as such, with the penalty of £500 for any broker buying or selling any shares in them. Among these companies was one “for carrying on an undertaking of great advantage, but nobody to know what it is.” Another was “for a wheel for perpetual motion, one million”; and another “for the transmutation of quick silver into a malleable fine metal.” Society was, for a brief time, uprooted.The apogee of the Company had been reached: from this time its downfall was rapid. The Stock fell, and fell. The aid of the Bank of England was invoked, but it came too late; goldsmiths and brokers began to abscond. On December 12, the House of Commons ordered that theDirectors of the South Sea Company should, forthwith, lay before the House an account of all their proceedings; and, on Jan. 4, 1721, a Secret Committee of the House was ordered to report upon the Company. Then Knight, the cashier of the Company, absconded; and a reward of £2000 was offered for his apprehension. On Feb. 15, the Parliamentary Committee made their first report—and a pretty one it was—bribery all over the place, and especially among the members of the Government. The bubble was pricked and thousands were ruined. Certainly, the fortunes of those directors, who had any, were seized for the benefit of the swindled, and only a small percentage of their wealth was allowed them for their subsistence. Finally, it was settled that the £7,000,000 which the Company stood pledged to pay over to the Government, should be remitted, and every Shareholder should receive £33, 6s. 8d. on £100 Stock: all else being irretrievably lost. Over the misery entailed on the avaricious public who were gulled, it is best to draw a veil, and use the episode as a warning.Swift wrote a poem 60 verses long, onThe South Sea Project, 1721, from which I extract the following:“There is a gulf, where thousands fell,Here all the bold adventurers came,A narrow sound, though deep as Hell,—’Change Alleyis the dreadful name.Nine times a day it ebbs and flows,Yet he that on the surface lies,Without a pilot, seldom knowsThe time it falls, or when ‘twill rise.Subscribers, here, by thousands float,And jostle one another down;Each paddling in his leaky boat,And here they fish for gold, and drown.·······Meantime, secure on Garraway cliffs,A savage race, by shipwrecks fed,Lie waiting for the foundered skiffs,And strip the bodies of the dead.”There were street ballads, of course, such asThe Hubble Bubbles, A Ballad, by Mr D’Urfey, and one which I givein extenso. ASouth-SeaBallad: or, Merry Remarks uponExchange AlleyBubbles. To a new tune, call’dThe Grand Elixir: orThe Philosopher’s Stone discovered:InLondonstands a famous Pile,And near that Pile, an Alley,Where Merry Crowds for Riches toil,And Wisdom stoops to Folly:Here, Sad and Joyful, High and Low,Court Fortune for her Graces,And, as she Smiles, or Frowns, they showTheir Gestures and Grimaces.Here Stars and Garters do appear,Among our Lords, the Rabble,To buy and sell, to see and hear,TheJewsandGentilessquabble.Here crafty Courtiers are too wiseFor those who trust to Fortune,They see the Cheat with clearer Eyes,Who peep behind the Curtain.Our greatest Ladies hither come,And ply in Chariots daily,Oft pawn their Jewels for a Sum,To venture’t in the Alley.Young Harlots, too, fromDrury Lane,Approach the’Changein coaches,To fool away the Gold they gainBy their obscene Debauches.Long Heads may thrive by sober Rules,Because they think and drink not;But Headlongs are our thriving Fools,Who only drink and think not:The lucky Rogues, like Spaniel Dogs,Leap intoSouth SeaWater,And, there, they fish for golden Frogs,Not caring what comes a’ter.‘Tis said that Alchimists of old,Could turn a brazen kettle,Or leaden Cistern into Gold,That noble, tempting Mettle:But, if it here may be allowedTo bring in great with small thingsOur cunningSouth Sea, like a God,Turns nothing into all things.What need have we ofIndianWealth,Or Commerce with our Neighbours,Our Constitution is in Health,And Riches crown our Labours:OurSouth SeaShips have golden ShroudsThey bring us Wealth, ‘tis granted,But lodge their Treasure in the clouds,To hide it ‘till it’s wanted.O,Britain! bless thy present State,Thou only happy Nation,So oddly rich, so madly Great,Since Bubbles came in Fashion:Successful Rakes exert their Pride,And count their airy Millions;Whilst homely Drabs in Coaches ride,Brought up to Town on Pillions.Few Men, who follow Reason’s Rules,Grow Fat withSouth SeaDiet;Young Rattles, and unthinking Fools,Are those that flourish by it.Old musty Jades, and pushing Blades,Who’ve least Consideration,Grow rich apace, whilst wiser HeadsAre struck with Admiration.A Race of Men, who, t’other DayLay crush’d beneath Disasters,Are now, by Stock brought into Play,And made our Lords and Masters:But should ourSouth Sea Babelfall,What Numbers would be frowning,The Losers, then, must ease their GallBy Hanging, or by Drowning.Five Hundred Millions, Notes and Bonds,Our Stocks are worth in Value,But neither lye in Goods, or Lands,Or Money, let me tell ye.Yet, tho’ our Foreign Trade is lost,Of mighty Wealth we vapour,When all the Riches that we boast,Consists in Scraps of Paper.CHAPTER XXFirst mention of the Stock Exchange—Attempt at hoax—Daniel’s fraud—Berenger’s fraud—Bubbles of 1825—The Railway Mania—30th Nov. 1845 at the Board of Trade—The fever at its height—The Marquis of Clanricarde pricks the bubble.In1734 an Act was passed (7 Geo. II., c. 8) entitled “An Act to prevent the infamous practice of Stock jobbing,” which provided that no loss in bargains for time should be recoverable in the Courts, and placed such speculations outside the Law altogether. It was a dead letter, but was in force till 1860, when it was repealed.The first mention of the Stock Exchange as such, is in theDaily Advertiserof Thursday, July 15, 1773. “On Tuesday, the Brokers and others at New Jonathan’s came to a Resolution that, instead of its being called New Jonathan’s, it is to be named the Stock Exchange, which is to be painted over the door.” And here they abode until, in 1801, the Stockbrokers laid the first stone of a building of their own: having purchased Mendoza’s boxing room, the Debating Forum of Capel Court, and buildings contiguous to that site.On May 5, 1803, an attempt was made to hoax the Stock Exchange, which was partially successful. On that day, at half-past eight in the morning, a man, booted and spurred, and having every appearance of having come off a long journey, rushed up to the Mansion House, and inquired for the Lord Mayor, saying he was a messenger from the Foreign Office, and had a letter for his lordship. When he was told he was not within, he said he would leave the letter, and begged the servant to place it where the Lord Mayorshould get it the moment of his return; which duly happened. The letter ran thus:“Downing Street, 8A.M.“To the Right Hon. the Lord Mayor,—“Lord Hawkesbury presents his compliments to the Lord Mayor, and is happy to inform him that the negotiations between this country and the French Republic have been amicably adjusted.”Thinking it genuine, the Lord Mayor published it, and wrote to Lord Hawkesbury, congratulating him; but the forgery was soon exposed.Meanwhile, Consols opened at 69, and, before noon, were over 70, only to fall, when the truth came out, to 63. Of course, all transactions, that day, were made null and void. Although £500 reward was offered, nothing was ever heard of the perpetrators of this swindle.Under date of Aug. 20, 1806, theAnnual Registersays: “A most atrocious fraud was committed on a number of gentlemen at the Stock Exchange, it being the settling day, by a foreign Jew, of the name of Joseph Elkin Daniels, who has, for a long time, been a conspicuous character in the Alley. Finding that, in consequence of the great fluctuation of Omnium, he was not able to pay for all he had purchased at an advanced price, he hit upon a scheme to pocket an enormous sum of money, and with which he has decamped; £31,000 Omnium was tendered to him in the course of Thursday; in payment for which he gave drafts on his bankers, amounting to £16,816, 5s., which were paid into the respective bankers of those who had received them, to clear in the afternoon. Having gained possession of the Omnium, he sold it through the medium of a respectable broker, received drafts for it, which he cleared immediately, and set off with the produce. On his drafts being presented, payment was refused, he having no effects at his bankers.”A hue and cry was raised after him, and he was soondiscovered in the Isle of Man, whence he could not be taken without the Governor’s consent. This was obtained, but there were so many similar rascals taking sanctuary in the Island, that it was not deemed prudent to execute the warrant in the daytime, and Daniels was arrested at night. Great was the uproar in the morning when the rogues found their companion had gone, and an indignation meeting was held to protest against the violation of their rights. He was brought before the Lord Mayor on 16th Sept., but, owing to some technicalities, he was let go, although he had to make his appearance at a Commission of Bankruptcy.In 1814 there was an attempted fraud on the Stock Exchange, which was the most daring ever perpetrated. It was executed by one Charles Random de Berenger, a French refugee, and an officer in one of the foreign regiments. It was alleged that, with him, were associated Lord Cochrane, the Hon. Andrew Cochrane Johnstone, and several others. It appears from the evidence on the trial, that, early in the morning of the 21st of February, a gentleman, dressed in a grey greatcoat over a scarlet uniform, on which was a star, knocked at the door of the Ship Inn at Dover, and said that he was the bearer of very important despatches from France. This gentleman, all the witnesses swore, was Berenger.He sent a letter, signed R. Du Bourg, Lieut.-Colonel, and Aide-de-Camp to Lord Cathcart, to Admiral Foley, the Port Admiral at Dover, advising him that he had just arrived from Calais with the news of a great victory obtained by the Allies over Bonaparte, who was slain, in his flight, by the Cossacks, and that the Allied Sovereigns were in Paris. Berenger posted up to London, which he entered, having his horses decked with laurels, in order to make a stir. It was felt on the Stock Exchange.Omnium, which opened at 27-1/2 rose to 33; but, as the day wore on, and no confirmation came of the news, they receded to 28-1/2. Business in that Stock was done, that day, to the tune of half a million of money. Lord Cochrane and others had, previously, given instructions to sell Omniums for them, on the 21st ofFebruary, to an enormous amount. One deposed that, on that date, he sold—ForLord Cochrane£139,000Omnium”Cochrane Johnstone120,000do.”do.100,000Consols”Mr Butt124,000Omnium”do.168,000ConsolsAnd he further deposed that he always considered that any business he did for Mr Butt was to be placed to Lord Cochrane’s account.Another stockbroker sold for the same three gentlemen £565,000 Omnium. Another had sold £80,000 on their account, and yet another had had instructions to sell a very large sum for the same parties, but had refused.In the end, Lord Cochrane and Mr Butt were condemned to pay to the King a fine of a Thousand Pounds each, and J. P. Holloway Five Hundred; and these three, together with De Berenger, Sandon, and Lyte, were sentenced to imprisonment in the Marshalsea for twelve calendar months. Further, Lord Cochrane, De Berenger, and Butt were to stand in the pillory for one hour, before the Royal Exchange, once during their imprisonment. This latter part of their punishment was, afterwards, remitted. Lord Cochrane’s name was struck off the Navy List, he was expelled from the House of Commons, his Arms were taken down from his stall, as Knight of the Bath, his banner torn down, and kicked ignominiously out of Henry VII.’s Chapel in Westminster Abbey.By very many he was believed innocent, and, on his seat for Westminster being declared vacant, he was enthusiastically re-elected. He escaped from custody, was captured, and had to serve his time. On June 20, 1815, he was told his imprisonment was at an end, if he would pay the fine imposed upon him; and, on July 3rd, he reluctantly did so, with a £1000 bank note, on the back of which he wrote:—“My health having suffered by long and close confinement,and my oppressors having resolved to deprive me of property, or life, I submit to robbery, to protect myself from murder, in the hope that I shall live to bring the delinquents to justice.”On the very day he was released, he took his seat again in the House of Commons; and, in 1832, he received a “free pardon,” was restored to the Navy List, gazetted a rear-admiral, and presented at a Levée!The year 1825 was remarkable for the number of bubble companies which were floated or not, and for the dreadful commercial panic which ensued, during which over seventy banks collapsed in London, or the country. Over £11,000,000 were subscribed to foreign loans, and £17,500,000 to different companies. In Parliament there were presented 439 private bills for companies, and Acts were passed for 288. Horace Smith sings of them thus:“Early and late, where’er I rove,In park or square, suburb or grove,In civic lanes, or alleys,Riches are hawked, while rivals rushTo pour into mine ear a gushOf money making sallies.‘Haste instantly and buy,’ cries one,Real del Monte shares, for noneWill yield a richer profit;Another cries—‘No mining planLike ours, the Anglo-Mexican;As for Del Monte, scoff it.’This, grasps my button, and declaresThere’s nothing like Columbian shares,The capital a million;That, cries, ‘La Plata’s sure to pay,’Or bids me buy, without delay,Hibernian or Brazilian.‘Scaped from the torments of the mine,Rivals in gas, an endless line,Arrest me as I travel;Each sure my suffrage to receive,If I will only give him leaveHis project to unravel.By fire and life insurers next,I’m intercepted, pestered, vexed,Almost beyond endurance;And, though the schemes appear unsound,Their advocates are seldom foundDeficient in assurance.Last, I am worried Shares to buy,In the Canadian Company,The Milk Association;The laundry men who wash by steam,Railways, pearl fishing, or the schemeFor inland navigation.”In 1845 began the most wonderful era of gambling in modern times, the Railway Mania, which rose to such a height that it was noticed on Oct. 25. “During the past week there were announced, in three newspapers, eighty-nine new schemes, with a capital of £84,055,000; during the month, there were 357 new schemes announced, with an aggregate capital of £332,000,000.”On 17th Nov.The Timespublished a table of all the railway companies registered up to the 31st October, numbering 1428, and involving an outlay of £701,243,208. “Take away,” it said, “£140,000,000 for railways completed, or in progress, exclude all the most extravagant schemes, and divide the remainder by ten, can we add from our present resources, even a tenth of the vast remainder? Can we add £50,000,000 to the railway speculations we are already irretrievably embarked in? We cannot, without the most ruinous, universal and desperate confusion.”TheAnnual Registerfor 1845 gives a graphic account of an incident in the Railway Mania. “An extraordinary scene occurred at the office of the Railway Department of the Board of Trade, on this day (Sunday, 30th Nov.), being the last day on which the plans of the new projects could be deposited with the Railway Board, in order to enable Bills to authorise them, to be brought before Parliament, in compliance with the Standing Orders.“Last year, the number of projects in respect of whichplans were lodged with the Board of Trade, was 248: the number, this year, is stated to be 815. The projectors of the Scotch lines were mostly in advance, and had their plans duly lodged on Saturday. The Irish projectors, too, and the old established Companies, seeking powers to construct branches, were among the more punctual. But, upwards of 600 plans remained to be deposited. Towards the last, the utmost exertions were made to forward them. The efforts of the lithographic draughtsmen and printers in London were excessive; people remained at work night after night, snatching a hasty repose for a couple of hours on lockers, benches, or the floor. Some found it impossible to execute their contracts; others did their work imperfectly. One of the most eminent was compelled to bring over four hundred lithographers from Belgium, and failed, nevertheless, with this reinforcement, in completing some of his plans. Post horses and express trains, to bring to town plans prepared in the country, were sought in all parts. Horses were engaged days before, and kept, by persons specially appointed, under lock and key. Some railway companies exercised their power of refusing express trains for rival projects, and clerks were obliged to make sudden and embarrassing changes of route, in order to travel by less hostile ways. A large establishment of clerks were in attendance to register the deposits; and this arrangement went on very well until eleven o’clock, when the delivery grew so rapid, that the clerks were quite unable to keep pace with the arrivals. The entrance hall soon became inconveniently crowded, considerable anxiety being expressed lest twelve o’clock should arrive ere the requisite formalities should have been gone through. This anxiety was allayed by the assurance that admission into the hall before that hour would be sufficient to warrant the reception of the documents. As the clock struck twelve, the doors of the office were about to be closed, when a gentleman, with the plans of one of the Surrey railways, arrived, and, with the greatest difficulty, succeeded in obtaining admission. A lull of a few minutes here occurred;but, just before the expiration of the first quarter of an hour, a post chaise, with reeking horses, drove up to the entrance, in hot haste. In a moment, its occupants (three gentlemen) alighted, and rushed down the passage, towards the office door, each bearing a plan of Brobdingnagian dimensions. On reaching the door, and finding it closed, the countenances of all dropped; but one of them, more valorous than the rest, and prompted by the bystanders, gave a loud pull at the bell. It was answered by Inspector Otway, who informed the ringer it was now too late, and that his plans could not be received. The agents did not wait for the conclusion of the unpleasant communication, but took advantage of the doors being opened, and threw in their papers, which broke the passage lamp in their fall. They were thrown back into the street; and when the door was again opened, again went in the plans, only to meet a similar fate. In the whole, upwards of 600 plans were duly deposited.”Mr Francis, in his “History of the English Railway,” says: “The daily press was thoroughly deluged with advertisements; double sheets did not supply space enough for them; double doubles were resorted to, and, then, frequently, insertions were delayed. It has been estimated that the receipts of the leading journals averaged, at one period, £12,000 and £14,000, a week, from this source. The railway papers, on some occasions, contained advertisements that must have netted from £700 to £800 on each publication. The printer, the lithographer, and the stationer, with the preparation of prospectuses, the execution of maps, and the supply of other requisites, also made a considerable harvest.“The leading engineers were, necessarily, at a great premium. Mr Brunel was said to be connected with fourteen lines, Mr Robert Stephenson with thirty-four, Mr Locke with thirty-one, Mr Rastrick with seventeen, and other engineers with one hundred and thirteen.“The novelist has appropriated this peculiar portion ofcommercial history, and, describing it, says, gravely and graphically: ‘A Colony of solicitors, engineers and seedy accountants, settled in the purlieus of Threadneedle Street. Every town and parish in the kingdom blazed out in zinc plates over the doorways. From the cellar to the roof, every fragment of a room held its committee. The darkest cupboard on the stairs contained a secretary or a clerk. Men who were never seen east of Temple Bar before, or since, were, now, as familiar to the pavement of Moorgate Street,[63]as the Stockbrokers: ladies of title, lords, members of Parliament, and fashionable loungers thronged the noisy passages, and were jostled by adventurers, by gamblers, rogues and impostors.’“The advantages of competition were pointed out, with the choicest phraseology. Lines which passed by barren districts, and by waste heaths, the termini of which were in uninhabitable places, reached a high premium. The shares of one Company rose 2400 per cent. Everything was to pay a large dividend; everything was to yield a large profit. One railway was to cross the entire Principality without a single curve.“The shares of another were issued; the company formed, and the directors appointed, with only the terminal points surveyed. In the Ely railway, not one person connected with the country through which it was to pass, subscribed the title-deed.“The engineers, who were examined in favour of particular lines, promised all and everything, in their evidence. It was humorously said, ‘they plunge through the bowels of mountains; they undertake to drain lakes; they bridge valleys with viaducts; their steepest gradients are gentle undulations; their curves are lines of beauty; they interrupt no traffic; they touch no prejudice.’“Labour of all kinds increased in demand. The price of iron rose from sixty-eight shillings to one hundred andtwenty per ton. Money remained abundant. Promoters received their tens and twenties of thousands. Rumours of sudden fortunes were very plentiful. Estates were purchased by those who were content with their gains; and, to crown the whole, a grave report was circulated, that Northumberland House, with its princely remembrances, and palatial grandeur, was to be bought by the South Western. Many of the railways attained prices which staggered reasonable men. The more worthless the article, the greater seemed the struggle to obtain it. Premiums of £5 and £6 were matters of course, even where there were four or five competitors for the road. One Company, which contained a clause to lease it at three and a half per cent., for 999 years, rose to twenty premium, so mad were the many to speculate.“Every branch of commerce participated in the advantages of an increased circulation. The chief articles of trade met with large returns; profits were regular; and all luxuries which suited an affluent community, procured an augmented sale. Banking credit remained facile; interest still kept low; money, speaking as they of the City speak, could be had for next to nothing. It was advanced on everything which bore a value, whether readily convertible, or not. Bill brokers would only allow one and a half per cent. for cash; and what is one and a half per cent. to men who revelled in the thought of two hundred? The exchanges remained remarkably steady. The employment of the labourer on the new lines, of the operative in the factory, of the skilled artisan in the workshop, of the clerk at the desk, tended to add to the delusive feeling, and was one of the forms in which, for a time, the population was benefited. But, when the strength of the kingdom is wasted in gambling, temporary, indeed, is the good compared with the cost. Many, whose money was safely invested, sold at any price, to enter the share market. Servants withdrew their hoards from the savings banks. The tradesman crippled his business. The legitimate love of money became a fierce lust. The peer came from his club to his brokers; theclergyman came from his pulpit to the mart; the country gentleman forsook the calmness of his rural domain for the feverish excitement of Threadneedle Street. Voluptuous tastes were indulged in by those who were previously starving. The new men vied with the old, in the luxurious adornments of their houses. Everyone smiled with contentment; every face wore a pleased expression. Some, who, by virtue of their unabashed impudence, became provisional committee men, supported the dignity of their position, in a style which raised the mirth of many, and moved the envy of more. Trustees, who had no money of their own, or, who had lost it, used that which was confided to them; brothers speculated with the money of sisters; sons gambled with the money of their widowed mothers; children risked their patrimony; and, it is no exaggeration to say, that the funds of hundreds were surreptitiously endangered by those in whose control they were placed.”The Marquis of Clanricarde, in a speech, spoke very boldly as to the status, social and financial, of some of the subscribers to Railway Companies. Said he: “One of the names to the deed to which he was anxious to direct their attention, was that of a gentleman, said to reside in Finsbury Square, who had subscribed to the amount of £25,000: he was informed no such person was known at that address. There was, also, in the Contract deed, the name of an individual who had figured in the Dublin and Galway Railway case, who was down for £5000, and who was understood to be a half-pay officer, in the receipt of £54 a-year, but, who appeared as a subscriber in different railway schemes, to the amount of £41,500. The address of another, whose name was down for £12,200, was stated to be in Watling Street, but it appeared he did not reside there. In the case of another individual down for £12,500 a false address was found to have been given. Another individual, whom he would not name, was a curate in a parish in Kent; he might be worth all the money for which he appeared responsible in various railway schemes, but his name appeared for £25,000in different projects, and stood for £10,000 in this line. Another individual, who was down for £25,000, was represented to be in poor circumstances. A clerk in a public company was down for upwards of £50,000. There were several more cases of the same kind, but he trusted that he had stated enough to establish the necessity of referring the matter to a committee. There were, also, two brothers, sons of a charwoman, living in a garret, one of whom had signed for £12,500, and the other for £25,000; these two brothers, excellent persons, no doubt, but who were receiving about a guinea and a half between them, were down for £37,000.”
CHAPTER XVIIIBlue coat boys tampered with—The two trials—Insuring tickets—Curious Lotteries—Lever Museum and Pigot diamond lotteries—Little goes—Stories of winning numbers—Decline of Lotteries—The last—Its epitaph—Modern lotteries.Twicein the year 1775 were the blue coat boys, who drew the tickets from the lottery wheels, tampered with; and the following accounts are taken from theAnnual Registerof that year:“1 June. A man was carried before the Lord Mayor, for attempting to bribe the two Blue Coat boys, who drew the Museum[57]lottery, to conceal a ticket, and bring it to him, promising he would, next day, let them have it again, when one of them was, it seems, to convey it back privately to the wheel, but without letting go his hold of it, and then produce it as if newly drawn; the man’s intention being to insure it in all the offices against being drawn that day. But the boys were honest, gave notice of the intended fraud, and pointed out the delinquent, who, however, was discharged, as there is no law in being, to punish the offence.”“5 Dec. By virtue of a warrant from Sir Charles Asgill, was brought before the magistrate, at Guildhall, the clerk of an eminent hop factor in Goodman’s Fields, upon suspicion of being concerned with a person, not yet apprehended, in defrauding a lottery office keeper, near the ‘Change, of a large sum of money. This matter being undertaken by the Commissioners of the Lottery, the Solicitor of the Treasury appeared against the prisoner, and for him attended, as Counsel, Mr Cox.“The first witness examined was the lottery office keeper, he said, that about a fortnight ago, the prisoner insured No. 21,481 six times over for the subsequent day of drawing; that the conversation he had with the prisoner at that time, and the seeming positiveness there appeared in the latter, that the ticket would come up, caused him to enquire at other lottery offices, when he found the same number insured, in the prisoner’s name, at all the principal offices about the ‘Change; that the ticket was drawn the first hour of drawing the subsequent day. This, with his former suspicion, alarmed him, and he immediately went to Christ’s Hospital, and saw the boy who drew the ticket; that he interrogated him, whether he had clandestinely taken that number out of the wheel, or whether he had been solicited to do so, which the boy positively denied; that, observing that he answered rather faintly, he importuned him to divulge the truth, which, after some hesitation, produced an acknowledgment of the fact.“The next witness was the Blue Coat boy. He said that, about three weeks ago, the person who is not in custody, and whom he had known before he went to the Hospital, took him to a Coffee House, where they breakfasted together; that he wanted to know of the witness, whether it was possible to get a ticket out of the wheel; to which the latter answered, No. That being, afterwards, solicited for the same purpose, by him, to secrete a ticket, he, at length, promised to do so; that, accordingly, he took two at one time out of the wheel, gave one to the person who called it over, and put the other in his pocket; that the person who induced him to do it was then in the gallery, and nodded his head to the witness to signify when was a proper time; that, after the witness came out of the hall, he gave the ticket to the person who sat in the gallery, and who was then waiting for the witness in the Guildhall Yard; that the next time the witness drew the lottery, the person before mentioned returned him the ticket, which the witness put in the wheel, and drew out the same day; that he did this three severaltimes, and received from the person for whom he did it, several half guineas; that he has heard the prisoner’s name mentioned by him, but never heard the latter acknowledge any connection between them in insurance; and, never before, saw the prisoner.“The prisoner acknowledged he insured the ticket 79 times for one day. The mother of the person who was not apprehended, was next examined; she proved an acquaintance between her son and the prisoner; but denied any remembrance of ever hearing the latter mention anything relating to insurance. The prisoner was discharged.“It is said that the person who absconded, got about £400 by the above fraud; and would have got £3000, had he been paid in all the offices where he insured.”But, that such a fraud should not be perpetrated again, the Lords of the Treasury, on 12th Dec. 1775, issued an Order, of which the following is an extract:“It is therefore ordered, for preventing the like wicked practices in future, that every boy, before he is suffered to put his hand into either wheel, be brought by the proclaimer to the managers on duty, for them to seethat the bosoms and sleeves of his coat be closely buttoned, his pockets sewed up, and his hands examined; and that, during the time of his being on duty,he shall keep his left hand in his girdle behind him, and his right hand open, with his fingers extended: and the proclaimer is not to suffer him, at any time, to leave the wheel, without, first, being examined by the Manager nearest him.”They also “requested of the Treasurer of Christ’s Hospital, not to make known who are the twelve boys nominated for drawing the lottery, till the morning before the drawing begins; which said boys are all to attend every day, and the two who are to go on duty at the wheels, are to be taken promiscuously from amongst the whole number, by either of the secretaries, without observing any regular course, or order; so that no boy shall know when it will be his turn to go to either wheel.”À proposof insuring lottery tickets, Horace Walpole writes to the Countess of Ossory, 17th Dec. 1780: “As folks in the country love to hear ofLondon fashions, know, Madam, that the reigning one amongst thequality, is to go, after the opera, to the lottery offices, where their Ladyships bet with the keepers. You choose any number you please; if it does not come up next day, you pay five guineas; if it does, receive forty, or in proportion to the age of thetirage. The Duchess of Devonshire, in one day, won nine hundred pounds. General Smith, as the luckiest of all mites, is of the most select parties, and chooses the numeros.”On Jan. 6, 1777, two Jews were brought before the Lord Mayor, charged with counterfeiting a lottery ticket; but, as they brought plenty of false witnesses, they were acquitted. But one, Daniel Denny, was not so lucky on Feb. 24, the same year, for he was convicted of the same crime. TheAnnual Registerfor this year says:“The following is a true state of the different methods of getting money by lottery office keepers, and other ingenious persons, who have struck out different plans of getting money by the State Lottery of 1777.“First, His Majesty’s Royal Letters Patent for securing the Property of the purchasers.“Secondly, A few office keepers who advertise ‘By authority of Parliament’ to secure your property in shares and chances.“Thirdly, Several schemes for shares and chances, only entitling the purchasers to all prizes above twenty pounds.“Fourthly, A bait for those who can only afford to venture a shilling.“Then come the ingenious sett of lottery merchants, viz. Lottery magazine proprietors—Lottery tailors—Lottery stay makers—Lottery glovers—Lottery hat makers—Lottery tea merchants—Lottery snuff and tobacco merchants—Lottery handkerchiefs—Lottery bakers—Lottery barbers (where a man, for being shaved, and paying threepence, may stand a chance of getting ten pounds)—Lottery shoe blacks—Lotteryeating houses; one in Wych Street, Temple-bar, where, if you call for six penny worth of roast, or boiled beef, you receive a note of hand, with a number, which, should it turn out fortunate, may entitle the eater of the beef to sixty guineas—Lottery oyster stalls, by which the fortunate may get five guineas for three penny worth of oysters. And, to complete this curious catalogue, an old woman, who keeps a sausage stall in one of the little alleys leading to Smithfield, wrote up, in chalk,Lottery sausages, or, five shillings to be gained for a farthing relish.”In 1782 an Act was passed, whereby lottery office keepers were to pay a licence of £50, under a penalty of £100 if they did not do so.Sir Ashton Lever disposed of his Museum by lottery in 1758 by Act of Parliament, and another Act was procured to dispose of, by lottery, a large diamond, the property of the deceased Lord Pigot, valued at £30,000. This lottery was drawn on Jan. 2, 1801, and the winner of the prize was a young man, name unknown. It was, afterwards, sold at Christie’s on May 10, 1802, for 9500 guineas. It was again sold, and is said to have passed into the possession of Messrs Rundell and Bridge, the Court jewellers, who are reported to have sold it to an Egyptian Pasha for £30,000.But, in the latter part of the eighteenth century, a system of private lotteries, called “little goes” had sprung up, and they are thus described in theTimesof 22nd July 1795:“Amongst the various species of Gaming that have ever been practised, we think none exceeds the mischiefs, and calamities that arise from the practice of private lotteries, which, at present, are carrying on, in various parts of the town, to very alarming extents, much to the discredit of those whose province it is to suppress such nefarious practices, as they cannot be ignorant of such transactions. ‘The little go,’ which is the technical term for a private lottery, is calculated only for the meridian of those understandings, who are unused to calculate and discriminate between right and wrong, and roguery and fair dealing; and, in this particularcase, it is those who compose the lower order of society, whom it so seriously affects, and, on whom, it is chiefly designed to operate. No man of common sense can suppose that the lottery wheels are fair and honest, or that the proprietors act upon principles anything like honour, or honesty; for, by the art, and contrivance, of the wheels, they are so constructed, with secret springs, and the application of gum, glue, &c., in the internal part of them, that they can draw the numbers out, or keep them in, at pleasure, just as it suits their purposes; so that the ensurer, robbed and cajoled, by such unfair means, has not the most distant chance of ever winning; the whole being a gross fraud, and imposition, in the extreme. We understand the most notorious of these standards of imposition, are situated in Carnaby Market, Oxford Road, in the Borough, Islington, Clerkenwell, and various other places, most of which are under the very nose of Magistracy, in seeming security, bidding defiance to law, and preying upon the vitals of the poor and ignorant.“We hope the Magistrates of each jurisdiction, and those who possess the same power, will perform their duty on behalf of the poor, over whom they preside, and put a stop to such a growing, and alarming evil, of such pernicious and dangerous tendency; particularly as the proprietors are well-known bad characters, consisting of needy beggars, desperate swindlers, gamblers, sharpers, notorious thieves, and common convicted felons; most of whose names stand recorded in the Newgate Calendar for various offences of different descriptions.”11th Aug. 1795.“On Friday night last, in consequence of searching warrants from the parochial magistrates of St James’s Westminster, upwards of 30 persons were apprehended at the house of one M’Call, No. 2 Francis Street, near Golden Square, and in the house of J. Knight, King Street, where the most destructive practicesto the poorwere carrying on, that ofPrivate Lotteries(called Little Goes). Two wheels, with the tickets, were seized on the premises.Upon examination of those persons, who proved to be the poor deluded objects who had been there plundered, they were reprimanded, and discharged.“The wives of many industrious mechanics, by attending these nefarious houses, have not only been duped out of their earnings (which ought to have been applied to the providing bread for their families), but have even pawned their beds, wedding rings, and almost every article they were possessed of, for that purpose.”Here are two anecdotes of the winners of the great prize, which was, usually, £20,000, from theTimes:27th Dec. 1797.“Dr B., a physician atLime(Dorset), a few days since, being under pecuniary embarrassment, and his house surrounded by bailiffs, made his escape by a window, into a neighbour’s house, from whence he fled to London. The furniture was seized, and the sale actually commenced, when it was stopped by a letter, stating that the Doctor, upon his arrival in London, found himself the proprietor of the £20,000 prize. We guarantee the truth of this fact.”19th Mar. 1798.“The £20,000 prize, drawn on Friday, is divided amongst a number of poor persons: a female servant in Brook Street, Holborn, had a sixteenth; a woman who keeps a fruit stall in Gray’s Inn Lane, another; a third is possessed by a servant of the Duke of Roxburghe; a fourth by a Chelsea carrier of vegetables to Covent Garden; one-eighth belongs to a poor family in Rutlandshire, and the remainder is similarly divided.”In 1802, old Baron d’Aguilar, the Islington miser, was requested, by a relation, to purchase a particular ticket, No. 14,068; but it had been sold some few days previously. The baron died on the 16th of March following, and the number was the first drawn ticket on the 24th, and, as such, entitled to £20,000. The baron’s representatives, under these circumstance, published an advertisement, offering a reward of £1000 to any person who might have found the said ticket, and would deliver it up. Payment was stopped.A wholesale linen draper in Cornhill (who had ordered his broker to buy him ten tickets, which he deposited in a chest), on copying the numbers for the purpose of examining them, made a mistake in one figure, and called it 14,168 instead of 14,068, which was the £20,000 prize. The lottery being finished, he sent his tickets to be examined and marked. To his utter astonishment, he then found the error in the number copied on his paper. On his demanding payment at the lottery office, acaveatwas entered by old d’Aguilar’s executors; but, an explanation taking place, the £20,000 was paid to the lucky linen draper.Although these lotteries were a great source of revenue to Government, and, consequently, relieved the taxpayer to the amount of their profit, it began to dawn upon the public that this legalised gambling was somewhat immoral; and, in 1808, a Committee of the House of Commons was appointed, to inquire how far the evil attending lotteries had been remedied by the laws passed respecting the same; and, in their Report, they said that “the foundation of the lottery system is so radically vicious, that your Committee feel convinced that under no system of regulations, which can be devised, will it be possible for Parliament to adopt it as an efficacious source of revenue, and, at the same time, divest it of all the evils which it has, hitherto, proved so baneful a source.”Yet they continued to be held; but, when the Lottery Act of 1818 was passing through the House of Commons, Mr Parnell protested against it, and, in the course of his speech, suggested that the following epitaph should be inscribed on the tomb of the Chancellor of the Exchequer: “Here lies the Right Hon. Nicholas Vansittart, once Chancellor of the Exchequer; the patron of Bible Societies, the builder of Churches, a friend to the education of the poor, an encourager of Savings’ banks, and—a supporter of Lotteries!”And, in 1819, when the lottery for that year was being discussed, Mr Lyttleton moved:1. That by the establishment of State lotteries, a spirit of gambling, injurious, in the highest degree, to the morals of the people, is encouraged and provoked.2. That such a habit, manifestly weakening the habits of industry, must diminish the permanent sources of the public revenue.3. That the said lotteries have given rise to other systems of gambling, which have been but partially repressed by laws, whose provisions are extremely arbitrary, and their enforcement liable to the greatest abuse.4. That this House, therefore, will no longer authorise the establishment of State lotteries under any system of regulations whatever.Needless to say, these resolutions were not passed, but the Lottery was on its last legs, for, in the Lottery Act of 1823, provision was made for its discontinuance after the drawing of the lottery sanctioned in that Act. Yet this was not adhered to, and a “last lottery” was decreed to be drawn in 1826. Its date was originally fixed for the 18th of July, but the public did not subscribe readily, and it was postponed until the 18th of October, and, on that day it was drawn at Cooper’s Hall, Basinghall Street. Here is an epitaph which was written on it:In Memory ofThe State of Lottery,the last of a long linewhose origin in England commencedin the year 1569,which, after a series of tedious complaints,Expiredon the18th day of October 1826.During a period of 257 years, the familyflourished under the powerful protectionof theBritish Parliament;the Minister of the day continuing togive them his support for the improvementof the revenue.As they increased, it was found that theircontinuance corrupted the morals,and encouraged a spiritof Speculation and Gambling among the lowerclasses of the people;thousands of whom fell victims to theirinsinuating and tempting allurements.Many philanthropic individualsin the Senate,at various times, for a series of years,pointed out their baneful influence,without effect;His Majesty’s Ministersstill affording them their countenanceand protection.The British Parliamentbeing, at length, convinced of theirmischievous tendency,His Majesty GEORGE IV.on the 9th of July 1823,pronounced sentence of condemnationon the whole race;from which time they were almostNeglected by the British Public.Very great efforts were made by thePartisans and friends of the family toexcitethe public feeling in favour of the lastof the race, in vain:It continued to linger out the fewremainingmoments of its existence without attention,or sympathy, and finally terminatedits career unregretted by anyvirtuous mind.In 1836 an Act was passed “to prevent the advertising of Foreign and illegal lotteries,” but circulars still come from Hamburg and other places. In 1844 an Act was passed “to indemnify persons connected with Art Unions, and others, against certain penalties.” Still there were minor lotteries and raffles, and the law was seldom set in force against them, any more than it is now when applied tocharitable purposes; yet in 1860 one Louis Dethier, was haled up at Bow Street for holding a lottery for £10,000 worth of Twelfth Cakes, and was only let off on consenting to stop it at once, and nowadays the lottery is practically dead, except when some petty rogue is taken up for deluding children with prize sweets.
Blue coat boys tampered with—The two trials—Insuring tickets—Curious Lotteries—Lever Museum and Pigot diamond lotteries—Little goes—Stories of winning numbers—Decline of Lotteries—The last—Its epitaph—Modern lotteries.
Twicein the year 1775 were the blue coat boys, who drew the tickets from the lottery wheels, tampered with; and the following accounts are taken from theAnnual Registerof that year:
“1 June. A man was carried before the Lord Mayor, for attempting to bribe the two Blue Coat boys, who drew the Museum[57]lottery, to conceal a ticket, and bring it to him, promising he would, next day, let them have it again, when one of them was, it seems, to convey it back privately to the wheel, but without letting go his hold of it, and then produce it as if newly drawn; the man’s intention being to insure it in all the offices against being drawn that day. But the boys were honest, gave notice of the intended fraud, and pointed out the delinquent, who, however, was discharged, as there is no law in being, to punish the offence.”
“5 Dec. By virtue of a warrant from Sir Charles Asgill, was brought before the magistrate, at Guildhall, the clerk of an eminent hop factor in Goodman’s Fields, upon suspicion of being concerned with a person, not yet apprehended, in defrauding a lottery office keeper, near the ‘Change, of a large sum of money. This matter being undertaken by the Commissioners of the Lottery, the Solicitor of the Treasury appeared against the prisoner, and for him attended, as Counsel, Mr Cox.
“The first witness examined was the lottery office keeper, he said, that about a fortnight ago, the prisoner insured No. 21,481 six times over for the subsequent day of drawing; that the conversation he had with the prisoner at that time, and the seeming positiveness there appeared in the latter, that the ticket would come up, caused him to enquire at other lottery offices, when he found the same number insured, in the prisoner’s name, at all the principal offices about the ‘Change; that the ticket was drawn the first hour of drawing the subsequent day. This, with his former suspicion, alarmed him, and he immediately went to Christ’s Hospital, and saw the boy who drew the ticket; that he interrogated him, whether he had clandestinely taken that number out of the wheel, or whether he had been solicited to do so, which the boy positively denied; that, observing that he answered rather faintly, he importuned him to divulge the truth, which, after some hesitation, produced an acknowledgment of the fact.
“The next witness was the Blue Coat boy. He said that, about three weeks ago, the person who is not in custody, and whom he had known before he went to the Hospital, took him to a Coffee House, where they breakfasted together; that he wanted to know of the witness, whether it was possible to get a ticket out of the wheel; to which the latter answered, No. That being, afterwards, solicited for the same purpose, by him, to secrete a ticket, he, at length, promised to do so; that, accordingly, he took two at one time out of the wheel, gave one to the person who called it over, and put the other in his pocket; that the person who induced him to do it was then in the gallery, and nodded his head to the witness to signify when was a proper time; that, after the witness came out of the hall, he gave the ticket to the person who sat in the gallery, and who was then waiting for the witness in the Guildhall Yard; that the next time the witness drew the lottery, the person before mentioned returned him the ticket, which the witness put in the wheel, and drew out the same day; that he did this three severaltimes, and received from the person for whom he did it, several half guineas; that he has heard the prisoner’s name mentioned by him, but never heard the latter acknowledge any connection between them in insurance; and, never before, saw the prisoner.
“The prisoner acknowledged he insured the ticket 79 times for one day. The mother of the person who was not apprehended, was next examined; she proved an acquaintance between her son and the prisoner; but denied any remembrance of ever hearing the latter mention anything relating to insurance. The prisoner was discharged.
“It is said that the person who absconded, got about £400 by the above fraud; and would have got £3000, had he been paid in all the offices where he insured.”
But, that such a fraud should not be perpetrated again, the Lords of the Treasury, on 12th Dec. 1775, issued an Order, of which the following is an extract:
“It is therefore ordered, for preventing the like wicked practices in future, that every boy, before he is suffered to put his hand into either wheel, be brought by the proclaimer to the managers on duty, for them to seethat the bosoms and sleeves of his coat be closely buttoned, his pockets sewed up, and his hands examined; and that, during the time of his being on duty,he shall keep his left hand in his girdle behind him, and his right hand open, with his fingers extended: and the proclaimer is not to suffer him, at any time, to leave the wheel, without, first, being examined by the Manager nearest him.”
They also “requested of the Treasurer of Christ’s Hospital, not to make known who are the twelve boys nominated for drawing the lottery, till the morning before the drawing begins; which said boys are all to attend every day, and the two who are to go on duty at the wheels, are to be taken promiscuously from amongst the whole number, by either of the secretaries, without observing any regular course, or order; so that no boy shall know when it will be his turn to go to either wheel.”
À proposof insuring lottery tickets, Horace Walpole writes to the Countess of Ossory, 17th Dec. 1780: “As folks in the country love to hear ofLondon fashions, know, Madam, that the reigning one amongst thequality, is to go, after the opera, to the lottery offices, where their Ladyships bet with the keepers. You choose any number you please; if it does not come up next day, you pay five guineas; if it does, receive forty, or in proportion to the age of thetirage. The Duchess of Devonshire, in one day, won nine hundred pounds. General Smith, as the luckiest of all mites, is of the most select parties, and chooses the numeros.”
On Jan. 6, 1777, two Jews were brought before the Lord Mayor, charged with counterfeiting a lottery ticket; but, as they brought plenty of false witnesses, they were acquitted. But one, Daniel Denny, was not so lucky on Feb. 24, the same year, for he was convicted of the same crime. TheAnnual Registerfor this year says:
“The following is a true state of the different methods of getting money by lottery office keepers, and other ingenious persons, who have struck out different plans of getting money by the State Lottery of 1777.
“First, His Majesty’s Royal Letters Patent for securing the Property of the purchasers.
“Secondly, A few office keepers who advertise ‘By authority of Parliament’ to secure your property in shares and chances.
“Thirdly, Several schemes for shares and chances, only entitling the purchasers to all prizes above twenty pounds.
“Fourthly, A bait for those who can only afford to venture a shilling.
“Then come the ingenious sett of lottery merchants, viz. Lottery magazine proprietors—Lottery tailors—Lottery stay makers—Lottery glovers—Lottery hat makers—Lottery tea merchants—Lottery snuff and tobacco merchants—Lottery handkerchiefs—Lottery bakers—Lottery barbers (where a man, for being shaved, and paying threepence, may stand a chance of getting ten pounds)—Lottery shoe blacks—Lotteryeating houses; one in Wych Street, Temple-bar, where, if you call for six penny worth of roast, or boiled beef, you receive a note of hand, with a number, which, should it turn out fortunate, may entitle the eater of the beef to sixty guineas—Lottery oyster stalls, by which the fortunate may get five guineas for three penny worth of oysters. And, to complete this curious catalogue, an old woman, who keeps a sausage stall in one of the little alleys leading to Smithfield, wrote up, in chalk,Lottery sausages, or, five shillings to be gained for a farthing relish.”
In 1782 an Act was passed, whereby lottery office keepers were to pay a licence of £50, under a penalty of £100 if they did not do so.
Sir Ashton Lever disposed of his Museum by lottery in 1758 by Act of Parliament, and another Act was procured to dispose of, by lottery, a large diamond, the property of the deceased Lord Pigot, valued at £30,000. This lottery was drawn on Jan. 2, 1801, and the winner of the prize was a young man, name unknown. It was, afterwards, sold at Christie’s on May 10, 1802, for 9500 guineas. It was again sold, and is said to have passed into the possession of Messrs Rundell and Bridge, the Court jewellers, who are reported to have sold it to an Egyptian Pasha for £30,000.
But, in the latter part of the eighteenth century, a system of private lotteries, called “little goes” had sprung up, and they are thus described in theTimesof 22nd July 1795:
“Amongst the various species of Gaming that have ever been practised, we think none exceeds the mischiefs, and calamities that arise from the practice of private lotteries, which, at present, are carrying on, in various parts of the town, to very alarming extents, much to the discredit of those whose province it is to suppress such nefarious practices, as they cannot be ignorant of such transactions. ‘The little go,’ which is the technical term for a private lottery, is calculated only for the meridian of those understandings, who are unused to calculate and discriminate between right and wrong, and roguery and fair dealing; and, in this particularcase, it is those who compose the lower order of society, whom it so seriously affects, and, on whom, it is chiefly designed to operate. No man of common sense can suppose that the lottery wheels are fair and honest, or that the proprietors act upon principles anything like honour, or honesty; for, by the art, and contrivance, of the wheels, they are so constructed, with secret springs, and the application of gum, glue, &c., in the internal part of them, that they can draw the numbers out, or keep them in, at pleasure, just as it suits their purposes; so that the ensurer, robbed and cajoled, by such unfair means, has not the most distant chance of ever winning; the whole being a gross fraud, and imposition, in the extreme. We understand the most notorious of these standards of imposition, are situated in Carnaby Market, Oxford Road, in the Borough, Islington, Clerkenwell, and various other places, most of which are under the very nose of Magistracy, in seeming security, bidding defiance to law, and preying upon the vitals of the poor and ignorant.
“We hope the Magistrates of each jurisdiction, and those who possess the same power, will perform their duty on behalf of the poor, over whom they preside, and put a stop to such a growing, and alarming evil, of such pernicious and dangerous tendency; particularly as the proprietors are well-known bad characters, consisting of needy beggars, desperate swindlers, gamblers, sharpers, notorious thieves, and common convicted felons; most of whose names stand recorded in the Newgate Calendar for various offences of different descriptions.”
11th Aug. 1795.“On Friday night last, in consequence of searching warrants from the parochial magistrates of St James’s Westminster, upwards of 30 persons were apprehended at the house of one M’Call, No. 2 Francis Street, near Golden Square, and in the house of J. Knight, King Street, where the most destructive practicesto the poorwere carrying on, that ofPrivate Lotteries(called Little Goes). Two wheels, with the tickets, were seized on the premises.Upon examination of those persons, who proved to be the poor deluded objects who had been there plundered, they were reprimanded, and discharged.
“The wives of many industrious mechanics, by attending these nefarious houses, have not only been duped out of their earnings (which ought to have been applied to the providing bread for their families), but have even pawned their beds, wedding rings, and almost every article they were possessed of, for that purpose.”
Here are two anecdotes of the winners of the great prize, which was, usually, £20,000, from theTimes:
27th Dec. 1797.“Dr B., a physician atLime(Dorset), a few days since, being under pecuniary embarrassment, and his house surrounded by bailiffs, made his escape by a window, into a neighbour’s house, from whence he fled to London. The furniture was seized, and the sale actually commenced, when it was stopped by a letter, stating that the Doctor, upon his arrival in London, found himself the proprietor of the £20,000 prize. We guarantee the truth of this fact.”
19th Mar. 1798.“The £20,000 prize, drawn on Friday, is divided amongst a number of poor persons: a female servant in Brook Street, Holborn, had a sixteenth; a woman who keeps a fruit stall in Gray’s Inn Lane, another; a third is possessed by a servant of the Duke of Roxburghe; a fourth by a Chelsea carrier of vegetables to Covent Garden; one-eighth belongs to a poor family in Rutlandshire, and the remainder is similarly divided.”
In 1802, old Baron d’Aguilar, the Islington miser, was requested, by a relation, to purchase a particular ticket, No. 14,068; but it had been sold some few days previously. The baron died on the 16th of March following, and the number was the first drawn ticket on the 24th, and, as such, entitled to £20,000. The baron’s representatives, under these circumstance, published an advertisement, offering a reward of £1000 to any person who might have found the said ticket, and would deliver it up. Payment was stopped.A wholesale linen draper in Cornhill (who had ordered his broker to buy him ten tickets, which he deposited in a chest), on copying the numbers for the purpose of examining them, made a mistake in one figure, and called it 14,168 instead of 14,068, which was the £20,000 prize. The lottery being finished, he sent his tickets to be examined and marked. To his utter astonishment, he then found the error in the number copied on his paper. On his demanding payment at the lottery office, acaveatwas entered by old d’Aguilar’s executors; but, an explanation taking place, the £20,000 was paid to the lucky linen draper.
Although these lotteries were a great source of revenue to Government, and, consequently, relieved the taxpayer to the amount of their profit, it began to dawn upon the public that this legalised gambling was somewhat immoral; and, in 1808, a Committee of the House of Commons was appointed, to inquire how far the evil attending lotteries had been remedied by the laws passed respecting the same; and, in their Report, they said that “the foundation of the lottery system is so radically vicious, that your Committee feel convinced that under no system of regulations, which can be devised, will it be possible for Parliament to adopt it as an efficacious source of revenue, and, at the same time, divest it of all the evils which it has, hitherto, proved so baneful a source.”
Yet they continued to be held; but, when the Lottery Act of 1818 was passing through the House of Commons, Mr Parnell protested against it, and, in the course of his speech, suggested that the following epitaph should be inscribed on the tomb of the Chancellor of the Exchequer: “Here lies the Right Hon. Nicholas Vansittart, once Chancellor of the Exchequer; the patron of Bible Societies, the builder of Churches, a friend to the education of the poor, an encourager of Savings’ banks, and—a supporter of Lotteries!”
And, in 1819, when the lottery for that year was being discussed, Mr Lyttleton moved:
1. That by the establishment of State lotteries, a spirit of gambling, injurious, in the highest degree, to the morals of the people, is encouraged and provoked.
2. That such a habit, manifestly weakening the habits of industry, must diminish the permanent sources of the public revenue.
3. That the said lotteries have given rise to other systems of gambling, which have been but partially repressed by laws, whose provisions are extremely arbitrary, and their enforcement liable to the greatest abuse.
4. That this House, therefore, will no longer authorise the establishment of State lotteries under any system of regulations whatever.
Needless to say, these resolutions were not passed, but the Lottery was on its last legs, for, in the Lottery Act of 1823, provision was made for its discontinuance after the drawing of the lottery sanctioned in that Act. Yet this was not adhered to, and a “last lottery” was decreed to be drawn in 1826. Its date was originally fixed for the 18th of July, but the public did not subscribe readily, and it was postponed until the 18th of October, and, on that day it was drawn at Cooper’s Hall, Basinghall Street. Here is an epitaph which was written on it:
In Memory ofThe State of Lottery,the last of a long linewhose origin in England commencedin the year 1569,which, after a series of tedious complaints,Expiredon the18th day of October 1826.During a period of 257 years, the familyflourished under the powerful protectionof theBritish Parliament;the Minister of the day continuing togive them his support for the improvementof the revenue.As they increased, it was found that theircontinuance corrupted the morals,and encouraged a spiritof Speculation and Gambling among the lowerclasses of the people;thousands of whom fell victims to theirinsinuating and tempting allurements.Many philanthropic individualsin the Senate,at various times, for a series of years,pointed out their baneful influence,without effect;His Majesty’s Ministersstill affording them their countenanceand protection.The British Parliamentbeing, at length, convinced of theirmischievous tendency,His Majesty GEORGE IV.on the 9th of July 1823,pronounced sentence of condemnationon the whole race;from which time they were almostNeglected by the British Public.Very great efforts were made by thePartisans and friends of the family toexcitethe public feeling in favour of the lastof the race, in vain:It continued to linger out the fewremainingmoments of its existence without attention,or sympathy, and finally terminatedits career unregretted by anyvirtuous mind.
In 1836 an Act was passed “to prevent the advertising of Foreign and illegal lotteries,” but circulars still come from Hamburg and other places. In 1844 an Act was passed “to indemnify persons connected with Art Unions, and others, against certain penalties.” Still there were minor lotteries and raffles, and the law was seldom set in force against them, any more than it is now when applied tocharitable purposes; yet in 1860 one Louis Dethier, was haled up at Bow Street for holding a lottery for £10,000 worth of Twelfth Cakes, and was only let off on consenting to stop it at once, and nowadays the lottery is practically dead, except when some petty rogue is taken up for deluding children with prize sweets.
CHAPTER XIXPromoters and Projectors—Government loans—Commencement of Bank of England—Character of a Stock Jobber—Jonathan’s—Hoaxtemp.Anne—South Sea Bubble—Poems thereon.Weare apt to think that company promoters and commercial speculation are things of modern growth, butProjectorsandPatentees(company promoters and monopolists) were common in the early seventeenth century; and we find an excellent exposition of their ways and commodities in a poetical broadside by John Taylor, the Water poet, published in 1641. It is entitledThe complaint of M. Tenter-hooke theProiector,and Sir Thomas Dodger, thePatentee. Under the title is a wood-cut, which represents aProjector, who has a pig’s head and ass’s ears, screws for legs, and fish hooks for fingers, bears a measure of coal, and a barrel of wine, on his legs respectively, tobacco, pipes, dice, roll tobacco, playing cards, and a bundle of hay slung to his body, papers of pins on his right arm, and a measure for spirits on his left arm, a barrel and a dredger on the skirts of his coat. With his fish hook fingers, he drags bags of money. This is Tenter-hooke, who is saying to his friend Sir Thomas Dodger, who is represented as a very well dressed gentleman of the period:“I have brought money to fill your chest,For which I am curst by most and least.”To which Sir Thomas replies:“Our many yeares scraping is lost at a clap,All thou hast gotten by others’ mishap.”If any aske, what things theseMonstersbe‘Tis aProjectorand aPatentee:Such, as like Vermine o’re this Lande did crawle,And grew so rich, they gain’d the Devill and all.Loe, I, that lately was aManof Fashion,TheBug-beareand theScarcrowof this Nation,Th’ admired mightyMounte-bankeofFame,The JugglingHocus Pocusof good name;TheBull-beggerwho did affright and feare,And rake, and pull, teare, pill, pole, shave and sheare,NowTimehath pluck’d theVizardfrom my face,I am the onely Image of disgrace.My ugly shape I hid so cunningly,(Close cover’d with the cloake of honesty),That from theEasttoWest, fromSouthtoNorth,I was a man esteem’d of ex’lent worth.And (Sweet SirThomas Dodger,) for your sake,My studious time I spent, my sleepes I brake;My braines I tost with many a strange vagary.And, (like a Spaniell) did both fetch and carryTo you, suchProjects, as I could invent,Not thinking there would come a Parliament.I was the greatProjector, and from me,Your Worship learn’d to be aPatentee;I had the Art to cheat the Common-weale,And you had tricks and slights to passe the Seale.I took the paines, I travell’d, search’d and sought,Which (by your power) were into Patents wrought.What was I but your Journey man, I pray,To bring youre worke to you, both night and day:I foundStuffe, and you brought it so about,You (like a skilfullTaylor) cut it out,And fashion’d it, but now (to our displeasure)You fail’d exceedingly in taking measure.My legs were Screws, to raise thee high or low,According as your power didEbbeorFlow;And at your will I was Screw’d up too high,That tott’ring, I have broke my necke thereby.For you, I made myFingers fish-hookesstillTo catch at allTrades, either good, or ill,I car’d not much who lost, so we might get,For all wasFishthat came into the Net.For you, (as in my Picture plaine appeares)I put aSwine’s faceon, anAsses eares,The one to listen unto all I heard,Wherein your Worship’s profit was prefer’d,The other to tast all things, good or bad,(As Hogs will doe) where profit may be had.Soape,Starch,Tobacco,Pipes,Pens,Butter,Haye,Wine,Coales,Cards,Dice, and all came in my wayI brought your Worship, every day and houre,And hope to be defended by your power.SirThomas Dodgers’Answer.Alas goodTenter-hooke, I tell thee plaine,To seeke for helpe of me ‘tis but in vaine:MyPatent, which I stood upon of late,Is like anAlmanackethat’s out ofDate.‘T had force and vertue once, strange things to doe,But, now, it wants both force and vertue too.This was the turne of whirlingFortune’swheele,When we least dream’d we should her changing feele.ThenTime, and fortune, both with joynt consent,Brought us to ruine by a Parliament;I doe confesse thou broughtst me sweet conceits,Which, now, I find, were but alluring baits,And I, (too much an Asse) did lend mine eareTo credit all thou saydst, as well as heare.Thou in theProjectof theSoapedidst toyle,But ‘twas so slippery, and too full of oyle,That people wondered how we held it fastBut now it is quite slipp’d from us at last.TheProjectfor theStarchthy wit found out,Was stiffe a while, now, limber as a Clout,The Pagan weed (Tobacco) was our hope,InLeafe,Pricke,Role,Ball,Pudding,Pipe, orRope.Brasseele,Varina,Meavis,Trinidado,SaintChristophers,Virginia, orBarvado;Bermudas,Providentia,Shallowcongo,And the most part of all the rest (Mundungo[58])That Patent, with a whiffe, is spent and broke,And all our hopes (in fumo) turn’d to smoake,Thou framdst theButterPatent in thy braines,(A Rope and Butter take thee for thy paines).I had forgotTobacco Pipes, which areNow like to thou and I, but brittle ware.Dicerun against us, we atCardsare crost,We both are turn’d upNoddies,[59]and all’s lost.Thus fromSice-sinke, we’r sunke belowDewce-ace,And both of us are Impes of blacke disgrace.Pinspricke us, andWinefrets our very hearts,That we have rais’d the price ofPintsandQuarts.Thou (in mine eares) thy lyes and tales didst foyst,And mad’st me up the price ofSea-coaleshoyst.Corne,Leather,Partrick,Pheasant,Rags,Gold-twist,Thou brought’st all to myMill; what was’t we mist?Weights,Bon[60]lace,Mowstraps, new, new,Corporation,Rattles,Seadans,[61]of rare invented fashion.Silke,Tallow,Hobby-horses,Wood,Red herring,Law,Conscience,Justice,Swearing, andFor-swearing.All these thou broughtst to me, and still I thoughtThat every thing was good that profit brought,But now all’s found to be ill gotten pelfe,I’le shift for one, doe thou shift for thyselfe.The first loans to Government, in a regular form, took the form of Tontines, so called from their inventor Lorenzo Tonti. A Tontine is a loan raised on life annuities. A number of persons subscribe the loan, and, in return, the Government pay an annuity to every subscriber. At the death of any annuitant, his annuity was divided among the others, until the sole survivor enjoyed the whole income, and at his death, the annuity lapsed. As an example, a Mr Jennings, who died in 1798, aged 103—leaving behind him a fortune of over two millions—was an original subscriber for £100 in a Tontine: he was the last survivor, and his income derived for his £100 was £3000 per annum. Our National Debt began in 1689—by that, I mean that debt that has never been repaid, and dealings in which, virtually founded Stockbroking as a business. The Bank of England started business on 1st Jan. 1695, and, from that time, we may date the methodical dealing in Stocks and Shares. Ofcourse there were intermediaries between buyer and seller, and these were termed “Stock brokers.” They first of all did business at the Exchange, but as they increased in number their presence there was not desirable, and they migrated to ‘Change Alley, close by. These gentry are described in a little book, published in 1703, called,Mirth and Wisdom in a miscellany of different characters.[62]“A Stock Jobber“Is a Rational Animal, with a sensitive Understanding. He rises and falls like the ebbing and flowing of the Sea; and his paths are as unsearchable as hers are. He is one ofPharaoh’slean kine in the midst of plenty; and, to dream of him is, almost, an Indication of approaching Famine. He is ten times more changeable than the Weather; and the living Insect from which the Grasshopper on the Royal Bourse was drawn, never leap’d from one Place to another, as he from one Number to another; sometimes a Hundred and a half is too little for him; sometimes Half a hundred is too much; and he falls seven times a Day, but not likeDavid, on his knees, to beg pardon for former Sins, but to be made capable of sinning again. He came in with theDutch, and he had freed us from as great a Plague as they were, had he been so kind as to have went out with them. He lives on the Exchange, but his Dwelling cannot be said to be the Place of hisAbode, for heabidesno where, he is so unconstant and uncertain. Ask him what Religion he professes, he cries,He’ll sell you as cheap as any Body; and what Value such an Article of Faith is of, his Answer is,I’ll give you as much for a Debenture, as the best Chapman thereabout shall. He is fam’d for Injustice, yet he is a Master ofEquityin one particular to perfection, for he cheats every Body alike, and isEqualin all his Undertakings. The Den from which this Beast of Prey bolts out isJonathan’sCoffee House, orGarraway’s; and a Man thatgoes into either, ought to be as circumspect as if in an Enemy’s country. A Dish of tea there, may be as dear to him as a good Purchase, and a Man that is over reach’d in either, tho’ no Drunkard, may be said to have drank away his Estate. He may be call’d a true Unbeliever, and out of the Pale of the Church, for he has no Faith. Is a meerTolandistin secular Concerns, at the very minute that he is ready to take up any Goods upon Trust that shall belong to his Neighbour.St Paul’sCathedral would be a Mansion-House fit for a Deity indeed, in his Opinion, did but the Merchants meet there; and he can give you no subtantialler a Reason for likingSalter’s Hallbetter than the Church, than because of its being a House of Traffick and Commerce, and the Sale being often held there. He is the Child of God in one Sense only, and that is by reason of his bearing His Image, but the Devil in many, for he fights under his Standard. To make an end of a Subject that is endless; he has the Figure of a Man, but the Nature of a Beast; and either triumphs over his Fellow Adventurers, as he eats the Bread of other People’s Carefulness, and drinks the Tears of Orphans or Widows, or being made himself Food for others, grows, at last, constant to one place, which is theCompter, and the fittest House for such an unaccountable Fellow to make up his Accounts in.”Jonathan’s was, especially, the Coffee House which stock jobbers frequented. Addison, in the first number of theSpectator, says, “I sometimes pass for a Jew in the assembly of Stock Jobbers at Jonathan’s”; and Mrs Centlivre has laid one of the scenes in herBold Stroke for a Wife, at Jonathan’s: where, also, was subscribed the first foreign loan, in 1706.There was a Stock Exchange hoax in the reign of Queen Anne. A man appeared, galloping from Kensington to the City, ordering the turnpikes to be thrown open for him, and shouting loudly that he bore the news of the Queen’s death. This sad message flew far and wide, and dire was its effects in the City. The funds fell at once, but Manasseh Lopezand the Jews bought all they could, and reaped the benefit when the fraud was discovered. In 1715, too, a false report that the Pretender had been taken, sent the Funds bounding up, to the great profit of those who were in the secret of the hoax.About this time the demon of gambling was rampant, every one wanted to find a short road to wealth; naturally, there were plenty of rogues to ease them of their money, but the most colossal stroke of gambling was the South Sea Bubble, the only parallel to which, in modern times, is the Railway Mania, in 1846.The South Sea Company was started in 1711, to have the monopoly of trade to the South Seas, or South Coast of America, a region which was, even then, believed to be anEl Dorado. As a trading company it was not successful, but, having a large capital, it dealt with finance. On 22nd Jan. 1720, a proposal was laid before Parliament that the Company should take upon themselves the National Debt, of £30,981,712, 6s. 6-1/2d. at 5 per cent. per annum, secured until 1727, when the whole was to be redeemable, if Parliament so chose, and the interest to be reduced to 4 per cent., and “That for the liberty of increasing their Capital Stock, as aforesaid, the Company will give, and pay into his Majesty’s Exchequer, for the purpose of the Public, and to be applied for paying off the public debt provided for by Parliament, before Christmas, 1716, the sum of three millions and a half, by four equal quarterly payments, whereof the first payment to be at Lady Day 1721.” On April 7, the South Sea Company’s Bill received the Royal Assent, the £100 shares being then about £300.On April 12, the directors opened their books for a subscription of a Million, at the rate of £300 for every £100 Capital, which was immediately taken up, twice over. It was to be repaid in five instalments of £60. Up went the shares with a bound; yet, to raise them still higher, the Midsummer dividend was to be declared at 10 per cent., and all subscriptions were to be entitled to the same. This plananswered so well, that another million was at once raised at 400 per cent.; and, in a few hours, a million and a half was subscribed at that rate. The Stock went up higher and higher, until, on the 2nd of June, it reached £890. Then, so many wanted to sell, that, on the same afternoon, it dropped to £640. The Company set their Agents to work, and, when evening came, the Stock had been driven up to £750, at about which price it continued until the bank closed on the 22nd June.Very soon, a third Subscription was started, at the rate of £1000 for every £100, to be paid in ten equal payments, one in hand, the other nine, quarterly. The lists were so full that the directors enlarged it to four millions Stock, which, at that price amounted to £40,000,000. These last subscriptions were, before the end of June, sold at about £2000 premium; and, after the closing of the transfer books, the original Stock rose to over £1000 per cent. At the same time, the first subscriptions were at 560, and the second at 610 per cent. advance.This set every one crazy, and innumerable “bubble,” or cheating, companies were floated, or attempts made thereat. Speculation became so rampant that, on June 11, the King published a Proclamation declaring that all these unlawful projects should be deemed as common nuisances, and prosecuted as such, with the penalty of £500 for any broker buying or selling any shares in them. Among these companies was one “for carrying on an undertaking of great advantage, but nobody to know what it is.” Another was “for a wheel for perpetual motion, one million”; and another “for the transmutation of quick silver into a malleable fine metal.” Society was, for a brief time, uprooted.The apogee of the Company had been reached: from this time its downfall was rapid. The Stock fell, and fell. The aid of the Bank of England was invoked, but it came too late; goldsmiths and brokers began to abscond. On December 12, the House of Commons ordered that theDirectors of the South Sea Company should, forthwith, lay before the House an account of all their proceedings; and, on Jan. 4, 1721, a Secret Committee of the House was ordered to report upon the Company. Then Knight, the cashier of the Company, absconded; and a reward of £2000 was offered for his apprehension. On Feb. 15, the Parliamentary Committee made their first report—and a pretty one it was—bribery all over the place, and especially among the members of the Government. The bubble was pricked and thousands were ruined. Certainly, the fortunes of those directors, who had any, were seized for the benefit of the swindled, and only a small percentage of their wealth was allowed them for their subsistence. Finally, it was settled that the £7,000,000 which the Company stood pledged to pay over to the Government, should be remitted, and every Shareholder should receive £33, 6s. 8d. on £100 Stock: all else being irretrievably lost. Over the misery entailed on the avaricious public who were gulled, it is best to draw a veil, and use the episode as a warning.Swift wrote a poem 60 verses long, onThe South Sea Project, 1721, from which I extract the following:“There is a gulf, where thousands fell,Here all the bold adventurers came,A narrow sound, though deep as Hell,—’Change Alleyis the dreadful name.Nine times a day it ebbs and flows,Yet he that on the surface lies,Without a pilot, seldom knowsThe time it falls, or when ‘twill rise.Subscribers, here, by thousands float,And jostle one another down;Each paddling in his leaky boat,And here they fish for gold, and drown.·······Meantime, secure on Garraway cliffs,A savage race, by shipwrecks fed,Lie waiting for the foundered skiffs,And strip the bodies of the dead.”There were street ballads, of course, such asThe Hubble Bubbles, A Ballad, by Mr D’Urfey, and one which I givein extenso. ASouth-SeaBallad: or, Merry Remarks uponExchange AlleyBubbles. To a new tune, call’dThe Grand Elixir: orThe Philosopher’s Stone discovered:InLondonstands a famous Pile,And near that Pile, an Alley,Where Merry Crowds for Riches toil,And Wisdom stoops to Folly:Here, Sad and Joyful, High and Low,Court Fortune for her Graces,And, as she Smiles, or Frowns, they showTheir Gestures and Grimaces.Here Stars and Garters do appear,Among our Lords, the Rabble,To buy and sell, to see and hear,TheJewsandGentilessquabble.Here crafty Courtiers are too wiseFor those who trust to Fortune,They see the Cheat with clearer Eyes,Who peep behind the Curtain.Our greatest Ladies hither come,And ply in Chariots daily,Oft pawn their Jewels for a Sum,To venture’t in the Alley.Young Harlots, too, fromDrury Lane,Approach the’Changein coaches,To fool away the Gold they gainBy their obscene Debauches.Long Heads may thrive by sober Rules,Because they think and drink not;But Headlongs are our thriving Fools,Who only drink and think not:The lucky Rogues, like Spaniel Dogs,Leap intoSouth SeaWater,And, there, they fish for golden Frogs,Not caring what comes a’ter.‘Tis said that Alchimists of old,Could turn a brazen kettle,Or leaden Cistern into Gold,That noble, tempting Mettle:But, if it here may be allowedTo bring in great with small thingsOur cunningSouth Sea, like a God,Turns nothing into all things.What need have we ofIndianWealth,Or Commerce with our Neighbours,Our Constitution is in Health,And Riches crown our Labours:OurSouth SeaShips have golden ShroudsThey bring us Wealth, ‘tis granted,But lodge their Treasure in the clouds,To hide it ‘till it’s wanted.O,Britain! bless thy present State,Thou only happy Nation,So oddly rich, so madly Great,Since Bubbles came in Fashion:Successful Rakes exert their Pride,And count their airy Millions;Whilst homely Drabs in Coaches ride,Brought up to Town on Pillions.Few Men, who follow Reason’s Rules,Grow Fat withSouth SeaDiet;Young Rattles, and unthinking Fools,Are those that flourish by it.Old musty Jades, and pushing Blades,Who’ve least Consideration,Grow rich apace, whilst wiser HeadsAre struck with Admiration.A Race of Men, who, t’other DayLay crush’d beneath Disasters,Are now, by Stock brought into Play,And made our Lords and Masters:But should ourSouth Sea Babelfall,What Numbers would be frowning,The Losers, then, must ease their GallBy Hanging, or by Drowning.Five Hundred Millions, Notes and Bonds,Our Stocks are worth in Value,But neither lye in Goods, or Lands,Or Money, let me tell ye.Yet, tho’ our Foreign Trade is lost,Of mighty Wealth we vapour,When all the Riches that we boast,Consists in Scraps of Paper.
Promoters and Projectors—Government loans—Commencement of Bank of England—Character of a Stock Jobber—Jonathan’s—Hoaxtemp.Anne—South Sea Bubble—Poems thereon.
Weare apt to think that company promoters and commercial speculation are things of modern growth, butProjectorsandPatentees(company promoters and monopolists) were common in the early seventeenth century; and we find an excellent exposition of their ways and commodities in a poetical broadside by John Taylor, the Water poet, published in 1641. It is entitledThe complaint of M. Tenter-hooke theProiector,and Sir Thomas Dodger, thePatentee. Under the title is a wood-cut, which represents aProjector, who has a pig’s head and ass’s ears, screws for legs, and fish hooks for fingers, bears a measure of coal, and a barrel of wine, on his legs respectively, tobacco, pipes, dice, roll tobacco, playing cards, and a bundle of hay slung to his body, papers of pins on his right arm, and a measure for spirits on his left arm, a barrel and a dredger on the skirts of his coat. With his fish hook fingers, he drags bags of money. This is Tenter-hooke, who is saying to his friend Sir Thomas Dodger, who is represented as a very well dressed gentleman of the period:
“I have brought money to fill your chest,For which I am curst by most and least.”
To which Sir Thomas replies:
“Our many yeares scraping is lost at a clap,All thou hast gotten by others’ mishap.”If any aske, what things theseMonstersbe‘Tis aProjectorand aPatentee:Such, as like Vermine o’re this Lande did crawle,And grew so rich, they gain’d the Devill and all.
Loe, I, that lately was aManof Fashion,TheBug-beareand theScarcrowof this Nation,Th’ admired mightyMounte-bankeofFame,The JugglingHocus Pocusof good name;TheBull-beggerwho did affright and feare,And rake, and pull, teare, pill, pole, shave and sheare,NowTimehath pluck’d theVizardfrom my face,I am the onely Image of disgrace.My ugly shape I hid so cunningly,(Close cover’d with the cloake of honesty),That from theEasttoWest, fromSouthtoNorth,I was a man esteem’d of ex’lent worth.And (Sweet SirThomas Dodger,) for your sake,My studious time I spent, my sleepes I brake;My braines I tost with many a strange vagary.And, (like a Spaniell) did both fetch and carryTo you, suchProjects, as I could invent,Not thinking there would come a Parliament.I was the greatProjector, and from me,Your Worship learn’d to be aPatentee;I had the Art to cheat the Common-weale,And you had tricks and slights to passe the Seale.I took the paines, I travell’d, search’d and sought,Which (by your power) were into Patents wrought.What was I but your Journey man, I pray,To bring youre worke to you, both night and day:I foundStuffe, and you brought it so about,You (like a skilfullTaylor) cut it out,And fashion’d it, but now (to our displeasure)You fail’d exceedingly in taking measure.My legs were Screws, to raise thee high or low,According as your power didEbbeorFlow;And at your will I was Screw’d up too high,That tott’ring, I have broke my necke thereby.For you, I made myFingers fish-hookesstillTo catch at allTrades, either good, or ill,I car’d not much who lost, so we might get,For all wasFishthat came into the Net.For you, (as in my Picture plaine appeares)I put aSwine’s faceon, anAsses eares,The one to listen unto all I heard,Wherein your Worship’s profit was prefer’d,The other to tast all things, good or bad,(As Hogs will doe) where profit may be had.Soape,Starch,Tobacco,Pipes,Pens,Butter,Haye,Wine,Coales,Cards,Dice, and all came in my wayI brought your Worship, every day and houre,And hope to be defended by your power.
SirThomas Dodgers’Answer.
Alas goodTenter-hooke, I tell thee plaine,To seeke for helpe of me ‘tis but in vaine:MyPatent, which I stood upon of late,Is like anAlmanackethat’s out ofDate.‘T had force and vertue once, strange things to doe,But, now, it wants both force and vertue too.This was the turne of whirlingFortune’swheele,When we least dream’d we should her changing feele.ThenTime, and fortune, both with joynt consent,Brought us to ruine by a Parliament;I doe confesse thou broughtst me sweet conceits,Which, now, I find, were but alluring baits,And I, (too much an Asse) did lend mine eareTo credit all thou saydst, as well as heare.Thou in theProjectof theSoapedidst toyle,But ‘twas so slippery, and too full of oyle,That people wondered how we held it fastBut now it is quite slipp’d from us at last.TheProjectfor theStarchthy wit found out,Was stiffe a while, now, limber as a Clout,The Pagan weed (Tobacco) was our hope,InLeafe,Pricke,Role,Ball,Pudding,Pipe, orRope.Brasseele,Varina,Meavis,Trinidado,SaintChristophers,Virginia, orBarvado;Bermudas,Providentia,Shallowcongo,And the most part of all the rest (Mundungo[58])That Patent, with a whiffe, is spent and broke,And all our hopes (in fumo) turn’d to smoake,Thou framdst theButterPatent in thy braines,(A Rope and Butter take thee for thy paines).I had forgotTobacco Pipes, which areNow like to thou and I, but brittle ware.Dicerun against us, we atCardsare crost,We both are turn’d upNoddies,[59]and all’s lost.Thus fromSice-sinke, we’r sunke belowDewce-ace,And both of us are Impes of blacke disgrace.Pinspricke us, andWinefrets our very hearts,That we have rais’d the price ofPintsandQuarts.Thou (in mine eares) thy lyes and tales didst foyst,And mad’st me up the price ofSea-coaleshoyst.Corne,Leather,Partrick,Pheasant,Rags,Gold-twist,Thou brought’st all to myMill; what was’t we mist?Weights,Bon[60]lace,Mowstraps, new, new,Corporation,Rattles,Seadans,[61]of rare invented fashion.Silke,Tallow,Hobby-horses,Wood,Red herring,Law,Conscience,Justice,Swearing, andFor-swearing.All these thou broughtst to me, and still I thoughtThat every thing was good that profit brought,But now all’s found to be ill gotten pelfe,I’le shift for one, doe thou shift for thyselfe.
The first loans to Government, in a regular form, took the form of Tontines, so called from their inventor Lorenzo Tonti. A Tontine is a loan raised on life annuities. A number of persons subscribe the loan, and, in return, the Government pay an annuity to every subscriber. At the death of any annuitant, his annuity was divided among the others, until the sole survivor enjoyed the whole income, and at his death, the annuity lapsed. As an example, a Mr Jennings, who died in 1798, aged 103—leaving behind him a fortune of over two millions—was an original subscriber for £100 in a Tontine: he was the last survivor, and his income derived for his £100 was £3000 per annum. Our National Debt began in 1689—by that, I mean that debt that has never been repaid, and dealings in which, virtually founded Stockbroking as a business. The Bank of England started business on 1st Jan. 1695, and, from that time, we may date the methodical dealing in Stocks and Shares. Ofcourse there were intermediaries between buyer and seller, and these were termed “Stock brokers.” They first of all did business at the Exchange, but as they increased in number their presence there was not desirable, and they migrated to ‘Change Alley, close by. These gentry are described in a little book, published in 1703, called,Mirth and Wisdom in a miscellany of different characters.[62]
“A Stock Jobber
“Is a Rational Animal, with a sensitive Understanding. He rises and falls like the ebbing and flowing of the Sea; and his paths are as unsearchable as hers are. He is one ofPharaoh’slean kine in the midst of plenty; and, to dream of him is, almost, an Indication of approaching Famine. He is ten times more changeable than the Weather; and the living Insect from which the Grasshopper on the Royal Bourse was drawn, never leap’d from one Place to another, as he from one Number to another; sometimes a Hundred and a half is too little for him; sometimes Half a hundred is too much; and he falls seven times a Day, but not likeDavid, on his knees, to beg pardon for former Sins, but to be made capable of sinning again. He came in with theDutch, and he had freed us from as great a Plague as they were, had he been so kind as to have went out with them. He lives on the Exchange, but his Dwelling cannot be said to be the Place of hisAbode, for heabidesno where, he is so unconstant and uncertain. Ask him what Religion he professes, he cries,He’ll sell you as cheap as any Body; and what Value such an Article of Faith is of, his Answer is,I’ll give you as much for a Debenture, as the best Chapman thereabout shall. He is fam’d for Injustice, yet he is a Master ofEquityin one particular to perfection, for he cheats every Body alike, and isEqualin all his Undertakings. The Den from which this Beast of Prey bolts out isJonathan’sCoffee House, orGarraway’s; and a Man thatgoes into either, ought to be as circumspect as if in an Enemy’s country. A Dish of tea there, may be as dear to him as a good Purchase, and a Man that is over reach’d in either, tho’ no Drunkard, may be said to have drank away his Estate. He may be call’d a true Unbeliever, and out of the Pale of the Church, for he has no Faith. Is a meerTolandistin secular Concerns, at the very minute that he is ready to take up any Goods upon Trust that shall belong to his Neighbour.St Paul’sCathedral would be a Mansion-House fit for a Deity indeed, in his Opinion, did but the Merchants meet there; and he can give you no subtantialler a Reason for likingSalter’s Hallbetter than the Church, than because of its being a House of Traffick and Commerce, and the Sale being often held there. He is the Child of God in one Sense only, and that is by reason of his bearing His Image, but the Devil in many, for he fights under his Standard. To make an end of a Subject that is endless; he has the Figure of a Man, but the Nature of a Beast; and either triumphs over his Fellow Adventurers, as he eats the Bread of other People’s Carefulness, and drinks the Tears of Orphans or Widows, or being made himself Food for others, grows, at last, constant to one place, which is theCompter, and the fittest House for such an unaccountable Fellow to make up his Accounts in.”
Jonathan’s was, especially, the Coffee House which stock jobbers frequented. Addison, in the first number of theSpectator, says, “I sometimes pass for a Jew in the assembly of Stock Jobbers at Jonathan’s”; and Mrs Centlivre has laid one of the scenes in herBold Stroke for a Wife, at Jonathan’s: where, also, was subscribed the first foreign loan, in 1706.
There was a Stock Exchange hoax in the reign of Queen Anne. A man appeared, galloping from Kensington to the City, ordering the turnpikes to be thrown open for him, and shouting loudly that he bore the news of the Queen’s death. This sad message flew far and wide, and dire was its effects in the City. The funds fell at once, but Manasseh Lopezand the Jews bought all they could, and reaped the benefit when the fraud was discovered. In 1715, too, a false report that the Pretender had been taken, sent the Funds bounding up, to the great profit of those who were in the secret of the hoax.
About this time the demon of gambling was rampant, every one wanted to find a short road to wealth; naturally, there were plenty of rogues to ease them of their money, but the most colossal stroke of gambling was the South Sea Bubble, the only parallel to which, in modern times, is the Railway Mania, in 1846.
The South Sea Company was started in 1711, to have the monopoly of trade to the South Seas, or South Coast of America, a region which was, even then, believed to be anEl Dorado. As a trading company it was not successful, but, having a large capital, it dealt with finance. On 22nd Jan. 1720, a proposal was laid before Parliament that the Company should take upon themselves the National Debt, of £30,981,712, 6s. 6-1/2d. at 5 per cent. per annum, secured until 1727, when the whole was to be redeemable, if Parliament so chose, and the interest to be reduced to 4 per cent., and “That for the liberty of increasing their Capital Stock, as aforesaid, the Company will give, and pay into his Majesty’s Exchequer, for the purpose of the Public, and to be applied for paying off the public debt provided for by Parliament, before Christmas, 1716, the sum of three millions and a half, by four equal quarterly payments, whereof the first payment to be at Lady Day 1721.” On April 7, the South Sea Company’s Bill received the Royal Assent, the £100 shares being then about £300.
On April 12, the directors opened their books for a subscription of a Million, at the rate of £300 for every £100 Capital, which was immediately taken up, twice over. It was to be repaid in five instalments of £60. Up went the shares with a bound; yet, to raise them still higher, the Midsummer dividend was to be declared at 10 per cent., and all subscriptions were to be entitled to the same. This plananswered so well, that another million was at once raised at 400 per cent.; and, in a few hours, a million and a half was subscribed at that rate. The Stock went up higher and higher, until, on the 2nd of June, it reached £890. Then, so many wanted to sell, that, on the same afternoon, it dropped to £640. The Company set their Agents to work, and, when evening came, the Stock had been driven up to £750, at about which price it continued until the bank closed on the 22nd June.
Very soon, a third Subscription was started, at the rate of £1000 for every £100, to be paid in ten equal payments, one in hand, the other nine, quarterly. The lists were so full that the directors enlarged it to four millions Stock, which, at that price amounted to £40,000,000. These last subscriptions were, before the end of June, sold at about £2000 premium; and, after the closing of the transfer books, the original Stock rose to over £1000 per cent. At the same time, the first subscriptions were at 560, and the second at 610 per cent. advance.
This set every one crazy, and innumerable “bubble,” or cheating, companies were floated, or attempts made thereat. Speculation became so rampant that, on June 11, the King published a Proclamation declaring that all these unlawful projects should be deemed as common nuisances, and prosecuted as such, with the penalty of £500 for any broker buying or selling any shares in them. Among these companies was one “for carrying on an undertaking of great advantage, but nobody to know what it is.” Another was “for a wheel for perpetual motion, one million”; and another “for the transmutation of quick silver into a malleable fine metal.” Society was, for a brief time, uprooted.
The apogee of the Company had been reached: from this time its downfall was rapid. The Stock fell, and fell. The aid of the Bank of England was invoked, but it came too late; goldsmiths and brokers began to abscond. On December 12, the House of Commons ordered that theDirectors of the South Sea Company should, forthwith, lay before the House an account of all their proceedings; and, on Jan. 4, 1721, a Secret Committee of the House was ordered to report upon the Company. Then Knight, the cashier of the Company, absconded; and a reward of £2000 was offered for his apprehension. On Feb. 15, the Parliamentary Committee made their first report—and a pretty one it was—bribery all over the place, and especially among the members of the Government. The bubble was pricked and thousands were ruined. Certainly, the fortunes of those directors, who had any, were seized for the benefit of the swindled, and only a small percentage of their wealth was allowed them for their subsistence. Finally, it was settled that the £7,000,000 which the Company stood pledged to pay over to the Government, should be remitted, and every Shareholder should receive £33, 6s. 8d. on £100 Stock: all else being irretrievably lost. Over the misery entailed on the avaricious public who were gulled, it is best to draw a veil, and use the episode as a warning.
Swift wrote a poem 60 verses long, onThe South Sea Project, 1721, from which I extract the following:
“There is a gulf, where thousands fell,
Here all the bold adventurers came,
A narrow sound, though deep as Hell,—
’Change Alleyis the dreadful name.
Nine times a day it ebbs and flows,
Yet he that on the surface lies,
Without a pilot, seldom knows
The time it falls, or when ‘twill rise.
Subscribers, here, by thousands float,
And jostle one another down;
Each paddling in his leaky boat,
And here they fish for gold, and drown.
·······
Meantime, secure on Garraway cliffs,
A savage race, by shipwrecks fed,
Lie waiting for the foundered skiffs,
And strip the bodies of the dead.”
There were street ballads, of course, such asThe Hubble Bubbles, A Ballad, by Mr D’Urfey, and one which I givein extenso. ASouth-SeaBallad: or, Merry Remarks uponExchange AlleyBubbles. To a new tune, call’dThe Grand Elixir: orThe Philosopher’s Stone discovered:
InLondonstands a famous Pile,
And near that Pile, an Alley,
Where Merry Crowds for Riches toil,
And Wisdom stoops to Folly:
Here, Sad and Joyful, High and Low,
Court Fortune for her Graces,
And, as she Smiles, or Frowns, they show
Their Gestures and Grimaces.
Here Stars and Garters do appear,
Among our Lords, the Rabble,
To buy and sell, to see and hear,
TheJewsandGentilessquabble.
Here crafty Courtiers are too wise
For those who trust to Fortune,
They see the Cheat with clearer Eyes,
Who peep behind the Curtain.
Our greatest Ladies hither come,
And ply in Chariots daily,
Oft pawn their Jewels for a Sum,
To venture’t in the Alley.
Young Harlots, too, fromDrury Lane,
Approach the’Changein coaches,
To fool away the Gold they gain
By their obscene Debauches.
Long Heads may thrive by sober Rules,
Because they think and drink not;
But Headlongs are our thriving Fools,
Who only drink and think not:
The lucky Rogues, like Spaniel Dogs,
Leap intoSouth SeaWater,
And, there, they fish for golden Frogs,
Not caring what comes a’ter.
‘Tis said that Alchimists of old,
Could turn a brazen kettle,
Or leaden Cistern into Gold,
That noble, tempting Mettle:
But, if it here may be allowed
To bring in great with small things
Our cunningSouth Sea, like a God,
Turns nothing into all things.
What need have we ofIndianWealth,
Or Commerce with our Neighbours,
Our Constitution is in Health,
And Riches crown our Labours:
OurSouth SeaShips have golden Shrouds
They bring us Wealth, ‘tis granted,
But lodge their Treasure in the clouds,
To hide it ‘till it’s wanted.
O,Britain! bless thy present State,
Thou only happy Nation,
So oddly rich, so madly Great,
Since Bubbles came in Fashion:
Successful Rakes exert their Pride,
And count their airy Millions;
Whilst homely Drabs in Coaches ride,
Brought up to Town on Pillions.
Few Men, who follow Reason’s Rules,
Grow Fat withSouth SeaDiet;
Young Rattles, and unthinking Fools,
Are those that flourish by it.
Old musty Jades, and pushing Blades,
Who’ve least Consideration,
Grow rich apace, whilst wiser Heads
Are struck with Admiration.
A Race of Men, who, t’other Day
Lay crush’d beneath Disasters,
Are now, by Stock brought into Play,
And made our Lords and Masters:
But should ourSouth Sea Babelfall,
What Numbers would be frowning,
The Losers, then, must ease their Gall
By Hanging, or by Drowning.
Five Hundred Millions, Notes and Bonds,
Our Stocks are worth in Value,
But neither lye in Goods, or Lands,
Or Money, let me tell ye.
Yet, tho’ our Foreign Trade is lost,
Of mighty Wealth we vapour,
When all the Riches that we boast,
Consists in Scraps of Paper.
CHAPTER XXFirst mention of the Stock Exchange—Attempt at hoax—Daniel’s fraud—Berenger’s fraud—Bubbles of 1825—The Railway Mania—30th Nov. 1845 at the Board of Trade—The fever at its height—The Marquis of Clanricarde pricks the bubble.In1734 an Act was passed (7 Geo. II., c. 8) entitled “An Act to prevent the infamous practice of Stock jobbing,” which provided that no loss in bargains for time should be recoverable in the Courts, and placed such speculations outside the Law altogether. It was a dead letter, but was in force till 1860, when it was repealed.The first mention of the Stock Exchange as such, is in theDaily Advertiserof Thursday, July 15, 1773. “On Tuesday, the Brokers and others at New Jonathan’s came to a Resolution that, instead of its being called New Jonathan’s, it is to be named the Stock Exchange, which is to be painted over the door.” And here they abode until, in 1801, the Stockbrokers laid the first stone of a building of their own: having purchased Mendoza’s boxing room, the Debating Forum of Capel Court, and buildings contiguous to that site.On May 5, 1803, an attempt was made to hoax the Stock Exchange, which was partially successful. On that day, at half-past eight in the morning, a man, booted and spurred, and having every appearance of having come off a long journey, rushed up to the Mansion House, and inquired for the Lord Mayor, saying he was a messenger from the Foreign Office, and had a letter for his lordship. When he was told he was not within, he said he would leave the letter, and begged the servant to place it where the Lord Mayorshould get it the moment of his return; which duly happened. The letter ran thus:“Downing Street, 8A.M.“To the Right Hon. the Lord Mayor,—“Lord Hawkesbury presents his compliments to the Lord Mayor, and is happy to inform him that the negotiations between this country and the French Republic have been amicably adjusted.”Thinking it genuine, the Lord Mayor published it, and wrote to Lord Hawkesbury, congratulating him; but the forgery was soon exposed.Meanwhile, Consols opened at 69, and, before noon, were over 70, only to fall, when the truth came out, to 63. Of course, all transactions, that day, were made null and void. Although £500 reward was offered, nothing was ever heard of the perpetrators of this swindle.Under date of Aug. 20, 1806, theAnnual Registersays: “A most atrocious fraud was committed on a number of gentlemen at the Stock Exchange, it being the settling day, by a foreign Jew, of the name of Joseph Elkin Daniels, who has, for a long time, been a conspicuous character in the Alley. Finding that, in consequence of the great fluctuation of Omnium, he was not able to pay for all he had purchased at an advanced price, he hit upon a scheme to pocket an enormous sum of money, and with which he has decamped; £31,000 Omnium was tendered to him in the course of Thursday; in payment for which he gave drafts on his bankers, amounting to £16,816, 5s., which were paid into the respective bankers of those who had received them, to clear in the afternoon. Having gained possession of the Omnium, he sold it through the medium of a respectable broker, received drafts for it, which he cleared immediately, and set off with the produce. On his drafts being presented, payment was refused, he having no effects at his bankers.”A hue and cry was raised after him, and he was soondiscovered in the Isle of Man, whence he could not be taken without the Governor’s consent. This was obtained, but there were so many similar rascals taking sanctuary in the Island, that it was not deemed prudent to execute the warrant in the daytime, and Daniels was arrested at night. Great was the uproar in the morning when the rogues found their companion had gone, and an indignation meeting was held to protest against the violation of their rights. He was brought before the Lord Mayor on 16th Sept., but, owing to some technicalities, he was let go, although he had to make his appearance at a Commission of Bankruptcy.In 1814 there was an attempted fraud on the Stock Exchange, which was the most daring ever perpetrated. It was executed by one Charles Random de Berenger, a French refugee, and an officer in one of the foreign regiments. It was alleged that, with him, were associated Lord Cochrane, the Hon. Andrew Cochrane Johnstone, and several others. It appears from the evidence on the trial, that, early in the morning of the 21st of February, a gentleman, dressed in a grey greatcoat over a scarlet uniform, on which was a star, knocked at the door of the Ship Inn at Dover, and said that he was the bearer of very important despatches from France. This gentleman, all the witnesses swore, was Berenger.He sent a letter, signed R. Du Bourg, Lieut.-Colonel, and Aide-de-Camp to Lord Cathcart, to Admiral Foley, the Port Admiral at Dover, advising him that he had just arrived from Calais with the news of a great victory obtained by the Allies over Bonaparte, who was slain, in his flight, by the Cossacks, and that the Allied Sovereigns were in Paris. Berenger posted up to London, which he entered, having his horses decked with laurels, in order to make a stir. It was felt on the Stock Exchange.Omnium, which opened at 27-1/2 rose to 33; but, as the day wore on, and no confirmation came of the news, they receded to 28-1/2. Business in that Stock was done, that day, to the tune of half a million of money. Lord Cochrane and others had, previously, given instructions to sell Omniums for them, on the 21st ofFebruary, to an enormous amount. One deposed that, on that date, he sold—ForLord Cochrane£139,000Omnium”Cochrane Johnstone120,000do.”do.100,000Consols”Mr Butt124,000Omnium”do.168,000ConsolsAnd he further deposed that he always considered that any business he did for Mr Butt was to be placed to Lord Cochrane’s account.Another stockbroker sold for the same three gentlemen £565,000 Omnium. Another had sold £80,000 on their account, and yet another had had instructions to sell a very large sum for the same parties, but had refused.In the end, Lord Cochrane and Mr Butt were condemned to pay to the King a fine of a Thousand Pounds each, and J. P. Holloway Five Hundred; and these three, together with De Berenger, Sandon, and Lyte, were sentenced to imprisonment in the Marshalsea for twelve calendar months. Further, Lord Cochrane, De Berenger, and Butt were to stand in the pillory for one hour, before the Royal Exchange, once during their imprisonment. This latter part of their punishment was, afterwards, remitted. Lord Cochrane’s name was struck off the Navy List, he was expelled from the House of Commons, his Arms were taken down from his stall, as Knight of the Bath, his banner torn down, and kicked ignominiously out of Henry VII.’s Chapel in Westminster Abbey.By very many he was believed innocent, and, on his seat for Westminster being declared vacant, he was enthusiastically re-elected. He escaped from custody, was captured, and had to serve his time. On June 20, 1815, he was told his imprisonment was at an end, if he would pay the fine imposed upon him; and, on July 3rd, he reluctantly did so, with a £1000 bank note, on the back of which he wrote:—“My health having suffered by long and close confinement,and my oppressors having resolved to deprive me of property, or life, I submit to robbery, to protect myself from murder, in the hope that I shall live to bring the delinquents to justice.”On the very day he was released, he took his seat again in the House of Commons; and, in 1832, he received a “free pardon,” was restored to the Navy List, gazetted a rear-admiral, and presented at a Levée!The year 1825 was remarkable for the number of bubble companies which were floated or not, and for the dreadful commercial panic which ensued, during which over seventy banks collapsed in London, or the country. Over £11,000,000 were subscribed to foreign loans, and £17,500,000 to different companies. In Parliament there were presented 439 private bills for companies, and Acts were passed for 288. Horace Smith sings of them thus:“Early and late, where’er I rove,In park or square, suburb or grove,In civic lanes, or alleys,Riches are hawked, while rivals rushTo pour into mine ear a gushOf money making sallies.‘Haste instantly and buy,’ cries one,Real del Monte shares, for noneWill yield a richer profit;Another cries—‘No mining planLike ours, the Anglo-Mexican;As for Del Monte, scoff it.’This, grasps my button, and declaresThere’s nothing like Columbian shares,The capital a million;That, cries, ‘La Plata’s sure to pay,’Or bids me buy, without delay,Hibernian or Brazilian.‘Scaped from the torments of the mine,Rivals in gas, an endless line,Arrest me as I travel;Each sure my suffrage to receive,If I will only give him leaveHis project to unravel.By fire and life insurers next,I’m intercepted, pestered, vexed,Almost beyond endurance;And, though the schemes appear unsound,Their advocates are seldom foundDeficient in assurance.Last, I am worried Shares to buy,In the Canadian Company,The Milk Association;The laundry men who wash by steam,Railways, pearl fishing, or the schemeFor inland navigation.”In 1845 began the most wonderful era of gambling in modern times, the Railway Mania, which rose to such a height that it was noticed on Oct. 25. “During the past week there were announced, in three newspapers, eighty-nine new schemes, with a capital of £84,055,000; during the month, there were 357 new schemes announced, with an aggregate capital of £332,000,000.”On 17th Nov.The Timespublished a table of all the railway companies registered up to the 31st October, numbering 1428, and involving an outlay of £701,243,208. “Take away,” it said, “£140,000,000 for railways completed, or in progress, exclude all the most extravagant schemes, and divide the remainder by ten, can we add from our present resources, even a tenth of the vast remainder? Can we add £50,000,000 to the railway speculations we are already irretrievably embarked in? We cannot, without the most ruinous, universal and desperate confusion.”TheAnnual Registerfor 1845 gives a graphic account of an incident in the Railway Mania. “An extraordinary scene occurred at the office of the Railway Department of the Board of Trade, on this day (Sunday, 30th Nov.), being the last day on which the plans of the new projects could be deposited with the Railway Board, in order to enable Bills to authorise them, to be brought before Parliament, in compliance with the Standing Orders.“Last year, the number of projects in respect of whichplans were lodged with the Board of Trade, was 248: the number, this year, is stated to be 815. The projectors of the Scotch lines were mostly in advance, and had their plans duly lodged on Saturday. The Irish projectors, too, and the old established Companies, seeking powers to construct branches, were among the more punctual. But, upwards of 600 plans remained to be deposited. Towards the last, the utmost exertions were made to forward them. The efforts of the lithographic draughtsmen and printers in London were excessive; people remained at work night after night, snatching a hasty repose for a couple of hours on lockers, benches, or the floor. Some found it impossible to execute their contracts; others did their work imperfectly. One of the most eminent was compelled to bring over four hundred lithographers from Belgium, and failed, nevertheless, with this reinforcement, in completing some of his plans. Post horses and express trains, to bring to town plans prepared in the country, were sought in all parts. Horses were engaged days before, and kept, by persons specially appointed, under lock and key. Some railway companies exercised their power of refusing express trains for rival projects, and clerks were obliged to make sudden and embarrassing changes of route, in order to travel by less hostile ways. A large establishment of clerks were in attendance to register the deposits; and this arrangement went on very well until eleven o’clock, when the delivery grew so rapid, that the clerks were quite unable to keep pace with the arrivals. The entrance hall soon became inconveniently crowded, considerable anxiety being expressed lest twelve o’clock should arrive ere the requisite formalities should have been gone through. This anxiety was allayed by the assurance that admission into the hall before that hour would be sufficient to warrant the reception of the documents. As the clock struck twelve, the doors of the office were about to be closed, when a gentleman, with the plans of one of the Surrey railways, arrived, and, with the greatest difficulty, succeeded in obtaining admission. A lull of a few minutes here occurred;but, just before the expiration of the first quarter of an hour, a post chaise, with reeking horses, drove up to the entrance, in hot haste. In a moment, its occupants (three gentlemen) alighted, and rushed down the passage, towards the office door, each bearing a plan of Brobdingnagian dimensions. On reaching the door, and finding it closed, the countenances of all dropped; but one of them, more valorous than the rest, and prompted by the bystanders, gave a loud pull at the bell. It was answered by Inspector Otway, who informed the ringer it was now too late, and that his plans could not be received. The agents did not wait for the conclusion of the unpleasant communication, but took advantage of the doors being opened, and threw in their papers, which broke the passage lamp in their fall. They were thrown back into the street; and when the door was again opened, again went in the plans, only to meet a similar fate. In the whole, upwards of 600 plans were duly deposited.”Mr Francis, in his “History of the English Railway,” says: “The daily press was thoroughly deluged with advertisements; double sheets did not supply space enough for them; double doubles were resorted to, and, then, frequently, insertions were delayed. It has been estimated that the receipts of the leading journals averaged, at one period, £12,000 and £14,000, a week, from this source. The railway papers, on some occasions, contained advertisements that must have netted from £700 to £800 on each publication. The printer, the lithographer, and the stationer, with the preparation of prospectuses, the execution of maps, and the supply of other requisites, also made a considerable harvest.“The leading engineers were, necessarily, at a great premium. Mr Brunel was said to be connected with fourteen lines, Mr Robert Stephenson with thirty-four, Mr Locke with thirty-one, Mr Rastrick with seventeen, and other engineers with one hundred and thirteen.“The novelist has appropriated this peculiar portion ofcommercial history, and, describing it, says, gravely and graphically: ‘A Colony of solicitors, engineers and seedy accountants, settled in the purlieus of Threadneedle Street. Every town and parish in the kingdom blazed out in zinc plates over the doorways. From the cellar to the roof, every fragment of a room held its committee. The darkest cupboard on the stairs contained a secretary or a clerk. Men who were never seen east of Temple Bar before, or since, were, now, as familiar to the pavement of Moorgate Street,[63]as the Stockbrokers: ladies of title, lords, members of Parliament, and fashionable loungers thronged the noisy passages, and were jostled by adventurers, by gamblers, rogues and impostors.’“The advantages of competition were pointed out, with the choicest phraseology. Lines which passed by barren districts, and by waste heaths, the termini of which were in uninhabitable places, reached a high premium. The shares of one Company rose 2400 per cent. Everything was to pay a large dividend; everything was to yield a large profit. One railway was to cross the entire Principality without a single curve.“The shares of another were issued; the company formed, and the directors appointed, with only the terminal points surveyed. In the Ely railway, not one person connected with the country through which it was to pass, subscribed the title-deed.“The engineers, who were examined in favour of particular lines, promised all and everything, in their evidence. It was humorously said, ‘they plunge through the bowels of mountains; they undertake to drain lakes; they bridge valleys with viaducts; their steepest gradients are gentle undulations; their curves are lines of beauty; they interrupt no traffic; they touch no prejudice.’“Labour of all kinds increased in demand. The price of iron rose from sixty-eight shillings to one hundred andtwenty per ton. Money remained abundant. Promoters received their tens and twenties of thousands. Rumours of sudden fortunes were very plentiful. Estates were purchased by those who were content with their gains; and, to crown the whole, a grave report was circulated, that Northumberland House, with its princely remembrances, and palatial grandeur, was to be bought by the South Western. Many of the railways attained prices which staggered reasonable men. The more worthless the article, the greater seemed the struggle to obtain it. Premiums of £5 and £6 were matters of course, even where there were four or five competitors for the road. One Company, which contained a clause to lease it at three and a half per cent., for 999 years, rose to twenty premium, so mad were the many to speculate.“Every branch of commerce participated in the advantages of an increased circulation. The chief articles of trade met with large returns; profits were regular; and all luxuries which suited an affluent community, procured an augmented sale. Banking credit remained facile; interest still kept low; money, speaking as they of the City speak, could be had for next to nothing. It was advanced on everything which bore a value, whether readily convertible, or not. Bill brokers would only allow one and a half per cent. for cash; and what is one and a half per cent. to men who revelled in the thought of two hundred? The exchanges remained remarkably steady. The employment of the labourer on the new lines, of the operative in the factory, of the skilled artisan in the workshop, of the clerk at the desk, tended to add to the delusive feeling, and was one of the forms in which, for a time, the population was benefited. But, when the strength of the kingdom is wasted in gambling, temporary, indeed, is the good compared with the cost. Many, whose money was safely invested, sold at any price, to enter the share market. Servants withdrew their hoards from the savings banks. The tradesman crippled his business. The legitimate love of money became a fierce lust. The peer came from his club to his brokers; theclergyman came from his pulpit to the mart; the country gentleman forsook the calmness of his rural domain for the feverish excitement of Threadneedle Street. Voluptuous tastes were indulged in by those who were previously starving. The new men vied with the old, in the luxurious adornments of their houses. Everyone smiled with contentment; every face wore a pleased expression. Some, who, by virtue of their unabashed impudence, became provisional committee men, supported the dignity of their position, in a style which raised the mirth of many, and moved the envy of more. Trustees, who had no money of their own, or, who had lost it, used that which was confided to them; brothers speculated with the money of sisters; sons gambled with the money of their widowed mothers; children risked their patrimony; and, it is no exaggeration to say, that the funds of hundreds were surreptitiously endangered by those in whose control they were placed.”The Marquis of Clanricarde, in a speech, spoke very boldly as to the status, social and financial, of some of the subscribers to Railway Companies. Said he: “One of the names to the deed to which he was anxious to direct their attention, was that of a gentleman, said to reside in Finsbury Square, who had subscribed to the amount of £25,000: he was informed no such person was known at that address. There was, also, in the Contract deed, the name of an individual who had figured in the Dublin and Galway Railway case, who was down for £5000, and who was understood to be a half-pay officer, in the receipt of £54 a-year, but, who appeared as a subscriber in different railway schemes, to the amount of £41,500. The address of another, whose name was down for £12,200, was stated to be in Watling Street, but it appeared he did not reside there. In the case of another individual down for £12,500 a false address was found to have been given. Another individual, whom he would not name, was a curate in a parish in Kent; he might be worth all the money for which he appeared responsible in various railway schemes, but his name appeared for £25,000in different projects, and stood for £10,000 in this line. Another individual, who was down for £25,000, was represented to be in poor circumstances. A clerk in a public company was down for upwards of £50,000. There were several more cases of the same kind, but he trusted that he had stated enough to establish the necessity of referring the matter to a committee. There were, also, two brothers, sons of a charwoman, living in a garret, one of whom had signed for £12,500, and the other for £25,000; these two brothers, excellent persons, no doubt, but who were receiving about a guinea and a half between them, were down for £37,000.”
First mention of the Stock Exchange—Attempt at hoax—Daniel’s fraud—Berenger’s fraud—Bubbles of 1825—The Railway Mania—30th Nov. 1845 at the Board of Trade—The fever at its height—The Marquis of Clanricarde pricks the bubble.
In1734 an Act was passed (7 Geo. II., c. 8) entitled “An Act to prevent the infamous practice of Stock jobbing,” which provided that no loss in bargains for time should be recoverable in the Courts, and placed such speculations outside the Law altogether. It was a dead letter, but was in force till 1860, when it was repealed.
The first mention of the Stock Exchange as such, is in theDaily Advertiserof Thursday, July 15, 1773. “On Tuesday, the Brokers and others at New Jonathan’s came to a Resolution that, instead of its being called New Jonathan’s, it is to be named the Stock Exchange, which is to be painted over the door.” And here they abode until, in 1801, the Stockbrokers laid the first stone of a building of their own: having purchased Mendoza’s boxing room, the Debating Forum of Capel Court, and buildings contiguous to that site.
On May 5, 1803, an attempt was made to hoax the Stock Exchange, which was partially successful. On that day, at half-past eight in the morning, a man, booted and spurred, and having every appearance of having come off a long journey, rushed up to the Mansion House, and inquired for the Lord Mayor, saying he was a messenger from the Foreign Office, and had a letter for his lordship. When he was told he was not within, he said he would leave the letter, and begged the servant to place it where the Lord Mayorshould get it the moment of his return; which duly happened. The letter ran thus:
“Downing Street, 8A.M.
“To the Right Hon. the Lord Mayor,—
“Lord Hawkesbury presents his compliments to the Lord Mayor, and is happy to inform him that the negotiations between this country and the French Republic have been amicably adjusted.”
Thinking it genuine, the Lord Mayor published it, and wrote to Lord Hawkesbury, congratulating him; but the forgery was soon exposed.
Meanwhile, Consols opened at 69, and, before noon, were over 70, only to fall, when the truth came out, to 63. Of course, all transactions, that day, were made null and void. Although £500 reward was offered, nothing was ever heard of the perpetrators of this swindle.
Under date of Aug. 20, 1806, theAnnual Registersays: “A most atrocious fraud was committed on a number of gentlemen at the Stock Exchange, it being the settling day, by a foreign Jew, of the name of Joseph Elkin Daniels, who has, for a long time, been a conspicuous character in the Alley. Finding that, in consequence of the great fluctuation of Omnium, he was not able to pay for all he had purchased at an advanced price, he hit upon a scheme to pocket an enormous sum of money, and with which he has decamped; £31,000 Omnium was tendered to him in the course of Thursday; in payment for which he gave drafts on his bankers, amounting to £16,816, 5s., which were paid into the respective bankers of those who had received them, to clear in the afternoon. Having gained possession of the Omnium, he sold it through the medium of a respectable broker, received drafts for it, which he cleared immediately, and set off with the produce. On his drafts being presented, payment was refused, he having no effects at his bankers.”
A hue and cry was raised after him, and he was soondiscovered in the Isle of Man, whence he could not be taken without the Governor’s consent. This was obtained, but there were so many similar rascals taking sanctuary in the Island, that it was not deemed prudent to execute the warrant in the daytime, and Daniels was arrested at night. Great was the uproar in the morning when the rogues found their companion had gone, and an indignation meeting was held to protest against the violation of their rights. He was brought before the Lord Mayor on 16th Sept., but, owing to some technicalities, he was let go, although he had to make his appearance at a Commission of Bankruptcy.
In 1814 there was an attempted fraud on the Stock Exchange, which was the most daring ever perpetrated. It was executed by one Charles Random de Berenger, a French refugee, and an officer in one of the foreign regiments. It was alleged that, with him, were associated Lord Cochrane, the Hon. Andrew Cochrane Johnstone, and several others. It appears from the evidence on the trial, that, early in the morning of the 21st of February, a gentleman, dressed in a grey greatcoat over a scarlet uniform, on which was a star, knocked at the door of the Ship Inn at Dover, and said that he was the bearer of very important despatches from France. This gentleman, all the witnesses swore, was Berenger.
He sent a letter, signed R. Du Bourg, Lieut.-Colonel, and Aide-de-Camp to Lord Cathcart, to Admiral Foley, the Port Admiral at Dover, advising him that he had just arrived from Calais with the news of a great victory obtained by the Allies over Bonaparte, who was slain, in his flight, by the Cossacks, and that the Allied Sovereigns were in Paris. Berenger posted up to London, which he entered, having his horses decked with laurels, in order to make a stir. It was felt on the Stock Exchange.Omnium, which opened at 27-1/2 rose to 33; but, as the day wore on, and no confirmation came of the news, they receded to 28-1/2. Business in that Stock was done, that day, to the tune of half a million of money. Lord Cochrane and others had, previously, given instructions to sell Omniums for them, on the 21st ofFebruary, to an enormous amount. One deposed that, on that date, he sold—
And he further deposed that he always considered that any business he did for Mr Butt was to be placed to Lord Cochrane’s account.
Another stockbroker sold for the same three gentlemen £565,000 Omnium. Another had sold £80,000 on their account, and yet another had had instructions to sell a very large sum for the same parties, but had refused.
In the end, Lord Cochrane and Mr Butt were condemned to pay to the King a fine of a Thousand Pounds each, and J. P. Holloway Five Hundred; and these three, together with De Berenger, Sandon, and Lyte, were sentenced to imprisonment in the Marshalsea for twelve calendar months. Further, Lord Cochrane, De Berenger, and Butt were to stand in the pillory for one hour, before the Royal Exchange, once during their imprisonment. This latter part of their punishment was, afterwards, remitted. Lord Cochrane’s name was struck off the Navy List, he was expelled from the House of Commons, his Arms were taken down from his stall, as Knight of the Bath, his banner torn down, and kicked ignominiously out of Henry VII.’s Chapel in Westminster Abbey.
By very many he was believed innocent, and, on his seat for Westminster being declared vacant, he was enthusiastically re-elected. He escaped from custody, was captured, and had to serve his time. On June 20, 1815, he was told his imprisonment was at an end, if he would pay the fine imposed upon him; and, on July 3rd, he reluctantly did so, with a £1000 bank note, on the back of which he wrote:—“My health having suffered by long and close confinement,and my oppressors having resolved to deprive me of property, or life, I submit to robbery, to protect myself from murder, in the hope that I shall live to bring the delinquents to justice.”
On the very day he was released, he took his seat again in the House of Commons; and, in 1832, he received a “free pardon,” was restored to the Navy List, gazetted a rear-admiral, and presented at a Levée!
The year 1825 was remarkable for the number of bubble companies which were floated or not, and for the dreadful commercial panic which ensued, during which over seventy banks collapsed in London, or the country. Over £11,000,000 were subscribed to foreign loans, and £17,500,000 to different companies. In Parliament there were presented 439 private bills for companies, and Acts were passed for 288. Horace Smith sings of them thus:
“Early and late, where’er I rove,
In park or square, suburb or grove,
In civic lanes, or alleys,
Riches are hawked, while rivals rush
To pour into mine ear a gush
Of money making sallies.
‘Haste instantly and buy,’ cries one,
Real del Monte shares, for none
Will yield a richer profit;
Another cries—‘No mining plan
Like ours, the Anglo-Mexican;
As for Del Monte, scoff it.’
This, grasps my button, and declares
There’s nothing like Columbian shares,
The capital a million;
That, cries, ‘La Plata’s sure to pay,’
Or bids me buy, without delay,
Hibernian or Brazilian.
‘Scaped from the torments of the mine,
Rivals in gas, an endless line,
Arrest me as I travel;
Each sure my suffrage to receive,
If I will only give him leave
His project to unravel.
By fire and life insurers next,
I’m intercepted, pestered, vexed,
Almost beyond endurance;
And, though the schemes appear unsound,
Their advocates are seldom found
Deficient in assurance.
Last, I am worried Shares to buy,
In the Canadian Company,
The Milk Association;
The laundry men who wash by steam,
Railways, pearl fishing, or the scheme
For inland navigation.”
In 1845 began the most wonderful era of gambling in modern times, the Railway Mania, which rose to such a height that it was noticed on Oct. 25. “During the past week there were announced, in three newspapers, eighty-nine new schemes, with a capital of £84,055,000; during the month, there were 357 new schemes announced, with an aggregate capital of £332,000,000.”
On 17th Nov.The Timespublished a table of all the railway companies registered up to the 31st October, numbering 1428, and involving an outlay of £701,243,208. “Take away,” it said, “£140,000,000 for railways completed, or in progress, exclude all the most extravagant schemes, and divide the remainder by ten, can we add from our present resources, even a tenth of the vast remainder? Can we add £50,000,000 to the railway speculations we are already irretrievably embarked in? We cannot, without the most ruinous, universal and desperate confusion.”
TheAnnual Registerfor 1845 gives a graphic account of an incident in the Railway Mania. “An extraordinary scene occurred at the office of the Railway Department of the Board of Trade, on this day (Sunday, 30th Nov.), being the last day on which the plans of the new projects could be deposited with the Railway Board, in order to enable Bills to authorise them, to be brought before Parliament, in compliance with the Standing Orders.
“Last year, the number of projects in respect of whichplans were lodged with the Board of Trade, was 248: the number, this year, is stated to be 815. The projectors of the Scotch lines were mostly in advance, and had their plans duly lodged on Saturday. The Irish projectors, too, and the old established Companies, seeking powers to construct branches, were among the more punctual. But, upwards of 600 plans remained to be deposited. Towards the last, the utmost exertions were made to forward them. The efforts of the lithographic draughtsmen and printers in London were excessive; people remained at work night after night, snatching a hasty repose for a couple of hours on lockers, benches, or the floor. Some found it impossible to execute their contracts; others did their work imperfectly. One of the most eminent was compelled to bring over four hundred lithographers from Belgium, and failed, nevertheless, with this reinforcement, in completing some of his plans. Post horses and express trains, to bring to town plans prepared in the country, were sought in all parts. Horses were engaged days before, and kept, by persons specially appointed, under lock and key. Some railway companies exercised their power of refusing express trains for rival projects, and clerks were obliged to make sudden and embarrassing changes of route, in order to travel by less hostile ways. A large establishment of clerks were in attendance to register the deposits; and this arrangement went on very well until eleven o’clock, when the delivery grew so rapid, that the clerks were quite unable to keep pace with the arrivals. The entrance hall soon became inconveniently crowded, considerable anxiety being expressed lest twelve o’clock should arrive ere the requisite formalities should have been gone through. This anxiety was allayed by the assurance that admission into the hall before that hour would be sufficient to warrant the reception of the documents. As the clock struck twelve, the doors of the office were about to be closed, when a gentleman, with the plans of one of the Surrey railways, arrived, and, with the greatest difficulty, succeeded in obtaining admission. A lull of a few minutes here occurred;but, just before the expiration of the first quarter of an hour, a post chaise, with reeking horses, drove up to the entrance, in hot haste. In a moment, its occupants (three gentlemen) alighted, and rushed down the passage, towards the office door, each bearing a plan of Brobdingnagian dimensions. On reaching the door, and finding it closed, the countenances of all dropped; but one of them, more valorous than the rest, and prompted by the bystanders, gave a loud pull at the bell. It was answered by Inspector Otway, who informed the ringer it was now too late, and that his plans could not be received. The agents did not wait for the conclusion of the unpleasant communication, but took advantage of the doors being opened, and threw in their papers, which broke the passage lamp in their fall. They were thrown back into the street; and when the door was again opened, again went in the plans, only to meet a similar fate. In the whole, upwards of 600 plans were duly deposited.”
Mr Francis, in his “History of the English Railway,” says: “The daily press was thoroughly deluged with advertisements; double sheets did not supply space enough for them; double doubles were resorted to, and, then, frequently, insertions were delayed. It has been estimated that the receipts of the leading journals averaged, at one period, £12,000 and £14,000, a week, from this source. The railway papers, on some occasions, contained advertisements that must have netted from £700 to £800 on each publication. The printer, the lithographer, and the stationer, with the preparation of prospectuses, the execution of maps, and the supply of other requisites, also made a considerable harvest.
“The leading engineers were, necessarily, at a great premium. Mr Brunel was said to be connected with fourteen lines, Mr Robert Stephenson with thirty-four, Mr Locke with thirty-one, Mr Rastrick with seventeen, and other engineers with one hundred and thirteen.
“The novelist has appropriated this peculiar portion ofcommercial history, and, describing it, says, gravely and graphically: ‘A Colony of solicitors, engineers and seedy accountants, settled in the purlieus of Threadneedle Street. Every town and parish in the kingdom blazed out in zinc plates over the doorways. From the cellar to the roof, every fragment of a room held its committee. The darkest cupboard on the stairs contained a secretary or a clerk. Men who were never seen east of Temple Bar before, or since, were, now, as familiar to the pavement of Moorgate Street,[63]as the Stockbrokers: ladies of title, lords, members of Parliament, and fashionable loungers thronged the noisy passages, and were jostled by adventurers, by gamblers, rogues and impostors.’
“The advantages of competition were pointed out, with the choicest phraseology. Lines which passed by barren districts, and by waste heaths, the termini of which were in uninhabitable places, reached a high premium. The shares of one Company rose 2400 per cent. Everything was to pay a large dividend; everything was to yield a large profit. One railway was to cross the entire Principality without a single curve.
“The shares of another were issued; the company formed, and the directors appointed, with only the terminal points surveyed. In the Ely railway, not one person connected with the country through which it was to pass, subscribed the title-deed.
“The engineers, who were examined in favour of particular lines, promised all and everything, in their evidence. It was humorously said, ‘they plunge through the bowels of mountains; they undertake to drain lakes; they bridge valleys with viaducts; their steepest gradients are gentle undulations; their curves are lines of beauty; they interrupt no traffic; they touch no prejudice.’
“Labour of all kinds increased in demand. The price of iron rose from sixty-eight shillings to one hundred andtwenty per ton. Money remained abundant. Promoters received their tens and twenties of thousands. Rumours of sudden fortunes were very plentiful. Estates were purchased by those who were content with their gains; and, to crown the whole, a grave report was circulated, that Northumberland House, with its princely remembrances, and palatial grandeur, was to be bought by the South Western. Many of the railways attained prices which staggered reasonable men. The more worthless the article, the greater seemed the struggle to obtain it. Premiums of £5 and £6 were matters of course, even where there were four or five competitors for the road. One Company, which contained a clause to lease it at three and a half per cent., for 999 years, rose to twenty premium, so mad were the many to speculate.
“Every branch of commerce participated in the advantages of an increased circulation. The chief articles of trade met with large returns; profits were regular; and all luxuries which suited an affluent community, procured an augmented sale. Banking credit remained facile; interest still kept low; money, speaking as they of the City speak, could be had for next to nothing. It was advanced on everything which bore a value, whether readily convertible, or not. Bill brokers would only allow one and a half per cent. for cash; and what is one and a half per cent. to men who revelled in the thought of two hundred? The exchanges remained remarkably steady. The employment of the labourer on the new lines, of the operative in the factory, of the skilled artisan in the workshop, of the clerk at the desk, tended to add to the delusive feeling, and was one of the forms in which, for a time, the population was benefited. But, when the strength of the kingdom is wasted in gambling, temporary, indeed, is the good compared with the cost. Many, whose money was safely invested, sold at any price, to enter the share market. Servants withdrew their hoards from the savings banks. The tradesman crippled his business. The legitimate love of money became a fierce lust. The peer came from his club to his brokers; theclergyman came from his pulpit to the mart; the country gentleman forsook the calmness of his rural domain for the feverish excitement of Threadneedle Street. Voluptuous tastes were indulged in by those who were previously starving. The new men vied with the old, in the luxurious adornments of their houses. Everyone smiled with contentment; every face wore a pleased expression. Some, who, by virtue of their unabashed impudence, became provisional committee men, supported the dignity of their position, in a style which raised the mirth of many, and moved the envy of more. Trustees, who had no money of their own, or, who had lost it, used that which was confided to them; brothers speculated with the money of sisters; sons gambled with the money of their widowed mothers; children risked their patrimony; and, it is no exaggeration to say, that the funds of hundreds were surreptitiously endangered by those in whose control they were placed.”
The Marquis of Clanricarde, in a speech, spoke very boldly as to the status, social and financial, of some of the subscribers to Railway Companies. Said he: “One of the names to the deed to which he was anxious to direct their attention, was that of a gentleman, said to reside in Finsbury Square, who had subscribed to the amount of £25,000: he was informed no such person was known at that address. There was, also, in the Contract deed, the name of an individual who had figured in the Dublin and Galway Railway case, who was down for £5000, and who was understood to be a half-pay officer, in the receipt of £54 a-year, but, who appeared as a subscriber in different railway schemes, to the amount of £41,500. The address of another, whose name was down for £12,200, was stated to be in Watling Street, but it appeared he did not reside there. In the case of another individual down for £12,500 a false address was found to have been given. Another individual, whom he would not name, was a curate in a parish in Kent; he might be worth all the money for which he appeared responsible in various railway schemes, but his name appeared for £25,000in different projects, and stood for £10,000 in this line. Another individual, who was down for £25,000, was represented to be in poor circumstances. A clerk in a public company was down for upwards of £50,000. There were several more cases of the same kind, but he trusted that he had stated enough to establish the necessity of referring the matter to a committee. There were, also, two brothers, sons of a charwoman, living in a garret, one of whom had signed for £12,500, and the other for £25,000; these two brothers, excellent persons, no doubt, but who were receiving about a guinea and a half between them, were down for £37,000.”