Chronicles and characters of the stock exchange

by of the Bank of England John Francis

From butcher he turned sheriff’s officer, revived every past iniquity, invented new frauds, and spent his money in buying lottery-tickets, to which pursuit he was passionately attached. He robbed the broker whom he employed, alike of his mistress and his money; and with the latter bought the place of city marshal. The citizens, however, discovered that his character was scarcely equal to his impudence, and refused to maintain their bargain.

Every moment he could spare was passed on the Stock Exchange, where his pursuits were marked by a singularly bad fortune. Every speculation went against him; he never drew a prize in the lottery; and, finding there was a chance of his becoming penniless, he added forgery to his long list of crimes. The fraud was discovered, the penalty was paid at Tyburn; and James Bolland adds another to the many proofs of the truth of the old adage.

A century ago was the hanging century; and a great fraud was committed towards its close on the East India Company. The leading witness—the only witness who could prove the guilt of the accused—was accustomed to visit a house in the neighbourhood of the Bank, to be dressed and powdered, according to the fashion of the day. Shortly before the trial came on, a note was placed in his hands, informing him that the attorney for the prosecution was desirous of seeing him, at a certain hour, at his private residence, in or near Portland Place.

At the time appointed, the witness proceeded to the house; the door was opened, and the footman, without asking his name, ushered the visitor into a large room, where, discussing some wine upon the table, sat a group of gentlemen, in earnest conversation. “There is a mistake,” exclaimed the new-comer, thinking he had been shown into the wrong room. “No mistake, Sir,” interrupted one, in a determined tone, while the remainder sat quietly, but sternly, by. Unable to comprehend the scene, and, in some alarm, the visitor prepared to leave the room. “There is no mistake,” repeated the same person, unostentatiously stepping before the door. “I am,” he continued, “brother to that gentleman who is to be tried for forgery, and against whom you are the chief witness. Without your evidence he cannot be convicted; the honor of a noble house is at stake; and your first attempt to escape will lead to a violent death. There is nothing to fear, if you remain quiet; but all whom you see are sworn to detain you until the trial be over, or,” he added, after a pause, “to slay you.” The witness was a sensible man; he saw the determined looks of those around, and thought it best quietly to acquiesce.

In the mean time great surprise was excited in the city. That the missing man had been inveigled away was universally believed; and every endeavour was made to track him. Whether the calmness with which he bore his confinement deceived his jailers is not known; but it is certain that he effected his escape from the house, although not so securely but that his captors were after him before he could get out of sight. A mob collected; his pursuers declared he was an insane nobleman, and that they were his keepers. The mob shouted with delight at the idea of a mad lord; and the unfortunate man was on the point of being again confined, when a chariot drove up. The inmate, a lady, desired the coachman to stop, and listened to the counter statements of the pursued and his pursuers. Remembering the current story of a missing witness, she opened the carriage, he sprung in, the door was closed, and the lady, to whom he told his story, ordered her coachman to drive with all speed to the Old Bailey. It was the last day; the case, which had been postponed, was being tried; and the missing witness was just in time to place the rope around the neck of the unhappy forger.

In the memorable year 1815, a member of the Stock Exchange found that, notwithstanding all his exertions to save his credit, his name stood every chance of gracing that blackboard on which so many appeared during the eventful period. Melancholy and meditating, he wandered forth, scarcely knowing the direction which he took, until from London Bridge he gazed gloomily upon the “dark flowing river,” half doubting whether its depths would not be his best abiding-place. In this mood he was hastily greeted by a voice he knew; and, turning round, was rapidly informed of news which at once turned his thoughts back to that world he had felt inclined to quit. The stranger had just arrived from the spot where the great battle of modern history had been fought; and the ruined jobber become the depositary of a secret which at once restored his spirits. Hastily learning all the particulars which might affect him, he retraced his steps, found the price unaltered, and the news, therefore, unknown. Without hesitation, he made large purchases of stock. All that was to be procured he bought; and, as the secret which had that morning sent him gloomily away was not even guessed, he was able to purchase very largely. He availed himself of his opportunity; and ere long had cause to congratulate himself on his good fortune, as, when the news arrived, the price rose sufficiently to clear all his difficulties, and leave him a profit of £20,000.

The morals and the manners of the Stock Exchange are difficult to treat. Morals too often fade before money-making; and manners are regarded as unnecessary in the same eager pursuit. Nor is Capel Court an exception. When the fate of a jobber depends on the turn which the market may take,—when sorrow or success hangs upon a word,—when family, friends, and fortune are in the balance, and a rumored falsehood may sink or save,—it is not in humanity to resist the temptation; and it has, unhappily, become too general a practice to stop at no invention, and to hesitate at no assertion, which may assist the inventor. From this cause the Stock Exchange is rarely mentioned with that respect which it merits, as the theatre of the most extensive money transactions in the world. Public opinion punishes the many for the few. The great mass of its members have not power to disseminate an untruth. The brokers, bound not to speculate on their own account, have no interest in doing so; the small jobber cannot influence the price; many are too high-minded to avail themselves of dishonorable methods; and it is, therefore, to a particular class that the Stock Exchange owes its false reports, its flying rumors, and its unenviable notoriety. Capel Court is, indeed, a complete anomaly. There are men of high character and station in its body; there is every endeavour made by its executive to abolish all which tends to make it despicable; the greatness of its dealings are unequalled; some of its members are members of the senate; others are honorable in spite of the temptations which surround them; it is consulted by chancellors, and taken into the councils of ministers; peace or war hangs upon its fiat; and yet the Stock Exchange is seldom named, out of the city, but with contempt; and a Stock Exchange man is, like the moneyed man in the early reign of William, despised by the landed, and looked down upon by the mercantile, aristocracy. One reason, perhaps, for this is, that the great mass of their transactions are without the pale of the law. All their time-bargains—and the Stock Exchange might close to-morrow if these were abolished—are illegal. They are, strictly speaking, gambling dealings, which our judicature refuses to recognize; and the dealers are gamblers, whom the legislature will not acknowledge.

The tricks which are resorted to are numerous. The penniless speculator can enter into transactions which may retrieve his fortunes, or consolidate his ruin. It is said to be a not uncommon trick for two persons to agree together in the following manner:—one buys and the other sells for the account to the largest amount for which each can procure credit. One must lose, and the other must gain. One becomes a millionnaire, the other a defaulter. The former receives a large amount, the latter is declared on the blackboard. A division of the spoils is afterwards privately effected; and the gainer pursues his avocation in the funds, while the loser becomes a prosperous gentleman.

The public cannot be too decidedly warned against the dangers to which they may be exposed in legitimate transactions. On one occasion, a merchant having requested his broker to purchase a certain amount of stock, and having concluded the business, was surprised in the evening to hear his broker announced as a visitor. Some remark being made, the latter stated that a dispute had arisen with the jobber about the price which was in the receipt, and he should be glad to take it with him as an evidence of his correctness. Knowing that a stock receipt is in itself of no value, the buyer readily complied. His visitor thanked him, and from that moment was never heard of. The receipt was false, the names were forged; and, secure in the possession of all evidence against him, the broker sought a foreign land in which to enjoy his unrighteous gains.

If the morals of the Stock Exchange be as described, its manners are as curious. It is not long since the papers reported a limb broken in sport. The writer has perused in the journals occasional duels which have arisen from the “fun” of the members; and the courtesies of life are wanting if a stranger ventures among them. When this is the case, instead of the bearing of gentlemen, the first discoverer of the intruder cries out, “Fourteen hundred fives!” and a hundred voices reëcho the cry. Youth or age is equally disregarded; and the following description of what occurred to an unhappy visitor will attest the truth of that which has been asserted:—