notwithstanding this, we all thought ourselves fully
competent to negotiate or discuss any
undertaking, no matter how large, or no matter how
intricate were the various ramifications which
had to be considered ere we decided the question.

After we had been some little time at work,
and our credit was pretty well established, one
of the small South American republics applied
to us for a loan of two millions sterling. That
is to say, the government in question did not
ask or expect us to put our hands in our pockets
and make over this amount to them; nor yet
was it deemed likely that we should sign a
cheque on our bankers for two millions, and
send it to them in a registered letter. What
they wanted was that we should "place the
loan" on the London and foreign markets for
them, and this we undertook to do on certain
conditions. These were, first, that our
commission should be two per cent on the whole
amount if we succeeded and "floated" the
undertaking, and one per cent if we failed in
so doing. Thus, whether the loan came off or
not, we were certain of a commission of at least
twenty thousand pounds, or if the loan was
taken up, of double that amount. In the second
place, the loan, if it succeeded, was to be paid
half in cash, and half in acceptances of our
company, which were to be renewed every six
months. And lastly, the customs revenues of
the republic were to be made over to us as
security, and we were to put men of our own
into office as receivers of customs, until the loan
was paid off. The loan was to be issued to the
public at seventy-five, or, in other words, for
every hundred pounds worth of scrip in this
loan, the subscribers would only have to pay
seventy-five pounds, and every half year a certain
number of these bonds—which were to be
decided by lottery—were to be redeemed at par.
Thus, let us say that Mr. Jones subscribes for
one thousand pounds in this loan; he will only
have to pay seventy-five per cent for the sum,
or seven hundred and fifty pounds for one
thousand pounds' worth of bonds, and he would
receive interest at the rate of six per cent upon
the thousand, not upon the seven hundred and
fifty pounds. Moreover, let us suppose that at
the first or second drawing of lots to decide what
bonds of the scrip is to be redeemed, he was
fortunate enough to have one, two, or more of
his numbers turn up, he would then receive
one hundred pounds for each seventy-five pounds
he had laid out. The mere chance of being
fortunate enough to secure such a prize, was of
itself quite enough to attract plenty of
subscribers. Our company showed its complete
confidence in the undertaking by subscribing
largely to the loan on its own account. But as
the directors knew that all the shares for the
company could be paid for in our own
acceptances, there was but little of our capital
which could be risked, no matter how much of
the loan we—acting as a corporation—should
take for ourselves.

The loan floated, there was no possible doubt
about it. At the very favourable terms which we
had offered it to the public, the two millions had
been subscribed for at once. Of this gross total
some three hundred thousand pounds belonged
to our company; and although we paid for them
in renewable bills of our own, no sooner was
the scrip issued than we made use of it to raise
more money as we wanted it. Thus our bills
really often procured for us exactly double the
value of the sum they represented upon paper.
If we wanted funds, we often placed as security
in one of the joint-stock banks the bonds, or
coupons, we held of the loan, the bank manager who
advanced the money little thinking that the scrip
he was taking as security was based upon no
better foundation than bills which bore our own
signature and no other. In short, the signature
and seal of the company was the foundation of
more transactions than most people dreamt of.
We were always able to purchase any amount
of shares upon our own acceptances at three or six
months, and these shares could be always quickly
turned into cash when we required it. In fact,
it was a system of founding credit, or getting
credit, upon our own bills or notes of hand, and
real security beyond our own signatures we had
none whatever, although the fact was never
fully understood by the public. This sort of
business suited us. The paid-up capital of the
company was never laid out at all, but was kept
at interest with our banker. The capital we
worked upon was what we made by our own
bills, and of this we created as much as ever we
wanted. What wonder, then, if our profits were
large? In measure as we required money to
work with, we, so to speak, coined it, and this
gave us interest at a high rate, with interest
upon interest, almost as much as ever we
required. Our concern did not belie its name.
We were rightly called a House and Land
Company, for it was on such securities that we
professed chiefly to lend, and as to being a "Finance
and Credit" affair, we certainly worked on
credit, for the whole basis of our scheme was to
make others take on credit paper bearing our
signature, and pay us very highly for taking it.
The loan for the South American republic we
carried through, and a most profitable business
it was for us in every way. The English public
took up the full amount of two millions, so that
there was little or nothing left to place on the
French or other foreign markets. As I said
before, the fact of obtaining for seventy-five
pounds scrip of a recognised government for
one hundred, proved a temptation which few
people could withstand. Moreover, after six
months' time a certain portion of the scrip
would be paid off at par, and every bond-
holder had a chance of obtaining this great
piece of good fortune. Then, again, the
payments of each shareholder had not to be made
at once, and what will nine men out of ten not
do on credit when they can obtain it? When
an individual applied for shares in the loan, he
had to deposit five pounds, a similar sum when
the shares were allotted to him, and as much
more a month later. After this, he had to pay