Ashworths, was useless; & I gather from E Ashworth's letter today that all is in a fair train. I have also been hard pressed to send off Robertson Gladstone's letter which grew to a terrible length on my hands. Believe me faithfully, R. C. MIDHURST 27 Dec 1854 MY DEAR WALMSLEY I have received a letter from Mr. Coulthard which I prefer answering to you, though the purport of my reply is of course equally intended for him. He makes a comparison between our scale of premiums & those charged by the "London" & the "North British" for industrial policies, & finding ours much the highest he infers that we could afford to give an increased remuneration to the agents for procuring business. The comparison would be worth something if we knew that those offices had been doing a business in the industrial branch, & had found it pay. But I suspect the scale of premiums in their tables merely runs nominally down to the smaller sums of £10 & £20, & that they have rarely issued any policies for those amounts. This is a very different question to whether, as in our case, a large industrial business would be profitable. We are bound I think to follow the calculations of our actuaries in this matter. Still I am always disposed to view with respect Mr. Coulthards suggestions; & we seem to be in that position which naturally makes us all look about us for some remedy. It is clear that if the industrial business falls still-born for want of canvassers, something must be done to meet the case, or we must abandon the undertaking altogether. Have you escaped from the deadlock at all since I left you? I mean is there any sign of life in any quarter, or are we still literally without another policy? My wife joins me in the kindest regards to Lady Walmsley Yourself & Ada, & the best wishes of the Xmas season & believe me Very truly yours R. COBDEN SIR JOSHUA WALMSLEY M P Apropos of Grach-It has occurred to me that it will be well not to go too far without consulting the other directors. If I recollect rightly you, Mallaby, & I were the only parties present when it was resolved to have the 3 months trial of his cooperation. It will of course be necessary to give all the other Directors a voice in the matter before we finally decide, & the sooner they are individually consulted the better. I mean this merely to prevent jealousy. I have no doubt as to the desirability of having Grach for a Director. And nobody will I suppose object if you state your wish to have him at the Board on the ground that he lives always in Town, & I will be a constant attendant at the meetings & will insure you a quorum which you would otherwise sometimes not be able to secure. P. S. Whittys article which you sent me is very good. I have not yet been to see the Estate at Hazlemere. But I am sorry to say I have ascertained beyond doubt that it is clay where the house stands. The weather is like April today here, & the birds are twittering & the flies buzzing. But I expect we shall have to pay a penalty for it yet. MY DEAR WALMSLEY MIDHURST I Apl 1855 Notwithstanding the very confident tone of our friend Lindsay respecting the proposed purchase of the Life Business of the Cattle Assurance Company, the more I reflect on it the more do I think the proposal worthy of consideration. Admitting even the force of his objection against our being a party to a loan of £10,000,— may not some other mode of carrying out the negotiation be devised? The first & preliminary matter for consideration is as to the value of the business offered.—If it really be as Mr. Riley says a Life Assurance business amounting in premiums to about £700 to £1000 a year, that is of itself of a value easily estimated in pounds shillings & pence by actuaries. But I attach hardly less value to the other part of the offer viz. to transfer to us the services of nearly 1000 agents extending all over the agricultural districts. This, although not easily reduced to a money valuation, would be of immense advantage to us. It would put our Society forward a couple of years at least;-for at the rate at which we are going on I don't think we should get that in two years. Assuming then that all that Mr. Riley reports from the Cattle Company be found verified on closest investigation (without which we should of course not take a further step) then the course I should suggest for your consideration is this. Make up your mind how much IN MONEY it would be desirable to pay for the business. Let us suppose £1500 for arguments sake. Then the question would arise--how could that bonus of £1500 be made available for raising £10,000 to be lent on loan for five years at 5 per Ct. to the Cattle Company. Here arises the question as to the security they can give. Mr Riley says the Company as a corporate body & the directors, individually & collectively would all be joined in the bond,& that some of the directors, whose names he mentioned are men of large property; amongst others the Chairman, who has loaned £10,000 to the Company at 10 per Ct. & who is alleged to be a man of large property, would join in the security for borrowing the money to pay off himself. Now assuming all this to be bona fide, don't you think that with a bonus of £1500 from us, we could find persons in the money market to lend £10,000 at 5 per Ct in such a necessity? Why inclusive of the bonus it would pay an interest of upwards of 8 per Ct. for 5 years. In my opinion if we find every thing to be as reported by Mr Riley we might carry out the transaction by some means or other, & I hope you will talk the matter over with Mr Mallaby when you see him. At all events don't let us drop all further inquiry in the spirit in which Lindsay met my remarks Believe me truly Yours SIR JOSHUA WALMSLEY R. COBDEN. MIDHURST 29 JULY 1855 Private MY DEAR WALMSLEY I spoke to Wilkinson about a subscription to the Kossuth fund-but found him disinclined. He spoke of the guarantee which he had given in conjunction with Gilpin for a sum of money owing by Kossuth & which he will have to pay. He seemed sore & not to be softened & so I fear we shall have no success in that quarRecurring to the Subject of a Director for the Safety, I am of opinion that Bull would be a better man than Burton. His business is a wholesale one, & I believe a good deal of it in the West of England where he sends travellers. He must therefore have a wide connexion in all the Towns & might turn it to account. I wish you would try to see him, before Blythe makes any forward proposal to Burton. I have no objection as you may suppose to the latter on account of his being a retail dealer. But it may appear to the world & to some of our own sleeping partners as a proof of weakness if we do not find a merchant or wholesale trader to join us. This is between ourselves. If you see Ryley or hear from him I should be glad to know what he proposes, & if there be anything new at the Safety I shall be glad to hear it. I shall remain till friday. The sooner you move to the hills the better. Kind regards to Lady Walmsley & all yourself from Mrs. Cobden & myself & believe truly yours RD COBDEN MIDHURST 14 Oct 1855 MY DEAR WALMSLEY I got your letter & quite agree as to the propriety of having a Board meeting. I will come up any day when you can muster a quorum. The last months business & that of Oct. till now is not encouraging. I do not care for our moving slowly, but a certain speed is necessary to insure success at all. The war & the lately excited frenzy on the fall of Sebastopol have I suppose been interfering with business of every kind. The increased taxes leave people less to spend & less to save. When I see you I should like to talk upon a little matter which although trifling in itself I have always attached importance to. I mean putting forward in circulars, prospectuses, &c. the name of an Actuary as well as Secretary. It looks to my eye more business like—especially as Mr. Courthard with all his undoubted merits is not known to the trade. For in a business of such keen competition we suffer in our standing if we do not appear before the assurance world with a staff possessing technical knowledge & experience. I say this without at all differing from you as to the value of Mr. Courthard's services. I only want to see a business established in which they may have full scope. The enclosed page from the Athenæum will shew that other affairs do not lose sight of this little point. Will you be good enough to tell me what is the law respecting the last call. Mine is not paid up. It is the worst moment to get hold of money without sacrificing in the process. But I wish to comply with the law. As I understand it the Board must give notice to defaulters & then a certain time forfeits the shares if unpaid. Is the notice compulsory? I hope you have all returned well Ever yours R. COBDEN. MY DEAR WALMSLEY MIDHURST 10 Novr. 1855 I have written to Colonel [James William] Fitzmayer, who is returned to Woolwich from the Crimea, to ask him to come & see me. He has not replied yet, & I hardly know for a day or two when my letter may reach him. But it has struck me that it would be agreeable to your son (who is going out) to meet him; & I merely write to say that if I can bring them together I shall be happy. When does he leave Worthing? Ever yours R. COBDEN. What a sad affair this is of poor Locke. There seems to be a fatality hanging over the members of the Safety Board. Have you any tidings of him? MIDHURST 21 Nov 1855 MY DEAR WALMSLEY, You are right in returning again from this to Chester, for it is the nearest railroad but do not make up your minds to remain only a couple of days. It is a dull season & we have little to tempt people to stay, but still we hope to detain you & Lady Walmsley for more than 48 hours. Mind, we can accommodate all comers, & therefore do not leave your young ladies behind, if it be agreeable to them to accompany you. I got the enclosed yesterday from Col Fitzmayer. You will see he talks very freely & it is of course in confidence. You can hand it me when you come. I would advise you to come direct from Chester here by the turnpike and then you can return over the Downs and through Goodwood park. This will be the best plan as affording a view of the sea in descending the South Slope. We have 80 acres of wood about the house, but I fear there is nothing better than rabbits for you to shoot. However I have a good double-barrelled gun belonging to my brother which you can try if you like I remain truly Yours RD COBDEN MIDHURST 24 Mar 1856 MY DEAR WALMSLEY My mind is frequently occupied with the "Safety," & I am more & more puzzled about it. I shall hope to pay in my second £500 soon, but what can we do to improve our prospects of making some return for our money & troubles? I am afraid we are deficient in a vital element of success-management. Can anybody be found with talent & experience & character who would devote himself to the success of the concern & who with such names as your own, Locke, Lindsay, Brassey, &c &c to work behind, could give us some assurance of success? It must be a man thoroughly master of the business, & with energy enough to surmount the tremendous competition we have to encounter, I dont know such a person but perhaps he might be found. I mean of course a gentleman in character & manners. I have no wish to part with either Mr. Coulthard or Mr. Ryley, but the only chance of being able to continue to find a permanent post for them is to put the business on a different footing of management. You & I & Williams cannot manage it, & we have nobody at present who combines all the qualities of a manager necessary for success. In my opinion a few hundreds a year extra for a manager who had resources for creating a business would be of little consequence. What we want is such a man, if he can be found who would work partly on the plan of “ no cure no pay." I throw out this vague suggestion, but it is only another way of saying "something must be done." I hear from Bright to day that he is going on well. With kind remembrances from my wife to Lady Walmsley & all Your circle. I remain Very truly Yours R. COBDEN MIDHURST 27 Mar 1856 Confidential MY DEAR WALMSLEY I am sorry to hear of the sickness in your household. These East winds poison everything & almost pinch the life & spirit out of us. My wife will not return to Town with me, but I expect to see her later in the season. To be so completely at a dead stand still as to have to look back again to Clarke for a chance of moving forward strikes me with despair. I know nothing of him beyond what you know, I have not heard or seen anything of him of which you are not cognizant & yet I feel quite convinced I am not mistaken in saying that he is himself in extremes, that he turns to us as a drowning man catches at a straw, that he wants a loan to keep his head above water & he would like to be able to say that he is connected with our office, as a recommendation elsewhere. Believe me it would be trusting to a broken rod if were to lean on him & his brother in our difficulties. They have both run the gauntlet of even fourth rate offices & could bring us neither credit nor aid of any kind. We want a totally different connection, one who can introduce us into the secret of doing respectable business. The industrial branch with which alone Clarke ever pretended to have any special acquaintance we have ceased to rely upon. I speak to you about him without reserve & in the strictest confidence as I am bound to do; but not wishing to have any altercation with him, & still less to injure him I must beg you not to mention what I write to Mr. Coulthard. We can talk over the other point when we meet. My adieu MY DEAR WALMSLEY. GLYN GARTH NR BANGOR 10 Nov. 1856. Depend on it we can't go on without additional directors as well as a clever manager & I am inclined to think that one or more amalgamations is an equally necessary step to give us the assurance that we are fairly launched. Bright as you know goes abroad this week & cannot be reckoned on for a year I am grieved to |