Chapter VIII: Early Part of Eighteenth Century (2)

The year 1720 is memorable in the history of England, as seeing the abnormal growth and consequent explosion of the greatest swindle of comparatively modern times, and one of the most colossal frauds of any time, the South Sea Scheme, which has been best known since as the South Sea Bubble. Its story has been told so often, and in so many ways, that it is hardly necessary to dwell upon it here; but as, though nearly every one has heard of the scheme, there are but few who know anything about it, we may as well give once again a short _résumé_ of its business operations. It was started by Harley in 1711, with the view of paying off the floating national debt, which at that time amounted to about £10,000,000. A contemporary writer says: “This debt was taken up by a number of eminent merchants, to whom the Government agreed to guarantee for a certain period the annual payment of £600,000 (being six per cent. interest), a sum which was to be obtained by rendering permanent a number of import duties. The monopoly of the trade to the South Seas was also secured to these merchants, who were accordingly incorporated as the ‘South Sea Company,’ and at once rose to a high position in the mercantile world. The wondrously extravagant ideas then current respecting the riches of the South American continent were carefully fostered and encouraged by the Company, who also took care to spread the belief that Spain was prepared, on certain liberal conditions, to admit them to a considerable share of its South American trade; and as a necessary consequence, a general avidity to partake in the profits of this most lucrative speculation sprang up in the public mind. It may be well to remark in this place, that the Company’s trading projects had no other result than a single voyage of one ship in 1717, and that its prominence in British history is due entirely to its existence as a purely monetary corporation. Notwithstanding the absence of any symptoms of its carrying out its great trading scheme, the Company had obtained a firm hold on popular favour, and its shares rose day by day; and even when the outbreak of war with Spain in 1718 deprived the most sanguine of the slightest hope of sharing in the treasures of the South Seas, the Company continued to flourish. Far from being alarmed at the expected and impending failure of a similar project--the Mississippi Scheme--the South Sea Company believed sincerely in the feasibility of Law’s Scheme, and resolved to avoid what they considered as his errors. Trusting to the possibility of pushing credit to its utmost extent without danger, they proposed, in the spring of 1720, to take upon themselves the whole national debt (at that time £30,981,712) on being guaranteed 5 per cent. per annum for seven and a half years, at the end of which time the debt might be redeemed if the Government chose, and the interest reduced to 4 per cent. The directors of the Bank of England, jealous of the prospective benefit and influence which would thus accrue to the South Sea Company, submitted to Government a counter-proposal; but the more dazzling nature of their rival’s offer secured its acceptance by Parliament--in the Commons by 172 to 55, and (April 7) in the Lords by 83 to 17; Sir Robert Walpole in the former, and Lords North and Grey, the Duke of Wharton and Earl Cowper in the latter, in vain protesting against it as involving inevitable ruin. During the passing of their bill, the Company’s stock rose steadily to 330 on April 7,[32] falling to 290 on the following day. Up till this date the scheme had been honestly promoted; but now, seeing before them the prospect of speedily amassing abundant wealth, the directors threw aside all scruples, and made use of every effective means at their command, honest or dishonest, to keep up the factitious value of the stock. Their zealous endeavours were crowned with success; the shares were quoted at 550 on May 28, and 890 on June 1. A general impression having by this time gained ground that the stock had reached its maximum, so many holders rushed to realise that the price fell to 630 on June 3. As this decline did not suit the personal interests of the directors, they sent agents to buy up eagerly; and on the evening of June 3, 750 was the quoted price. This and similar artifices were employed as required, and had the effect of ultimately raising the shares to 1000 in the beginning of August, when the chairman of the Company and some of the principal directors sold out. On this becoming known, a widespread uneasiness seized the holders of stock; every one was eager to part with his shares, and on September 12 they fell to 400, in spite of all the attempts of the directors to bolster up the Company’s credit. The consternation of those who had been either unable or unwilling to part with their scrip was now extreme; many capitalists absconded, either to avoid ruinous bankruptcy, or to secure their ill-gotten gains, and the Government became seriously alarmed at the excited state of public feeling. Attempts were made to prevail on the Bank to come to the rescue by circulating some millions of Company’s bonds; but as the shares still declined, and the Company’s chief cashiers, the Sword Blade Company, now stopped payment, the Bank refused to entertain the proposal. The country was now wound up to a most alarming pitch of excitement; the punishment of the fraudulent directors was clamorously demanded, and Parliament was hastily summoned (December 8) to deliberate on the best means of mitigating this great calamity. Both Houses proved, however, to be in as impetuous a mood as the public; and in spite of the moderate counsels of Walpole, it was resolved (December 9) to punish the authors of the national distresses, though hitherto no fraudulent acts had been proved against them. An examination of the proceedings of the Company was at once commenced; and on Walpole’s proposal nine millions of South Sea bonds were taken up by the Bank, and a similar amount by the East India Company. The officials of the Company were forbidden to leave the kingdom for twelve months, or to dispose of any of their property or effects. Ultimately various schemes, involving the deepest fraud and villany, were discovered to have been secretly concocted and carried out by the directors; and it was proved that the Earl of Sunderland, the Duchess of Kendal, the Countess Platen and her two nieces, Mr Craggs, M.P., the Company’s secretary, Mr Charles Stanhope, a secretary of the Treasury, and the Sword Blade Company, had been bribed to promote the Company’s bill in Parliament by a present of £170,000 of South Sea stock. The total amount of fictitious stock created for this and similar purposes was £1,260,000, nearly one-half of which had been disposed of. Equally flagrant iniquity in the allocation of shares was discovered, in which, among others, Mr Aislabie, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, was implicated. Of these offenders, Mr Stanhope and the Earl of Sunderland were acquitted through the unworthy partiality of the Parliament; but Mr Aislabie, and the other directors who were members of the House of Commons, were expelled; most of the directors were discovered, and all of them suffered confiscation of their possessions. The chairman was allowed to retain only £5000 out of £183,000, and others in proportion to their share in the fraudulent transactions of the Company. At the end of 1720, it being found that £13,300,000 of real stock belonged to the Company, £8,000,000 of this was taken and divided among the losers, giving them a dividend of 33⅓ per cent.; and by other schemes of adjustment the pressure was so fairly and wisely distributed, that the excitement gradually subsided.” It will thus be seen that the South Sea Bubble was, after all, not more disastrous in its effects than many modern and comparatively unknown speculations.

It is singular that the South Sea Bubble led to little--almost nothing--in the way of advertisements. When we think of the columns which now herald the advent of any new company, or for the matter of that, any new idea of an old company, or any fresh specific or article of clothing, it seems strange that at a time when the art of advertising was fast becoming fashionable, no invitations to subscribe were published in any of the daily or weekly papers that then existed. Just before the consent of Parliament was obtained we find one or two stray advertisements certainly, but they have no official status, as may be judged by this, which is from the _Post Boy_, April 2-5, 1720:--

⸸*⸸ Some Calculations relating to the Proposals made by the South Sea
Company and the Bank of England, to the House of Commons; Showing the
loss to the New Subscribers, at the several Rates in the said
Computations mention’d; and the Gain which will thereby accrue to the
Proprietors of the Old South Sea Stock. By a Member of the House of
Commons. Sold by J. Morphew near Stationers Hall. Pr. 1s. Where may
be obtained Mr. Hutchison’s Answer to Mr. Crookshank’s Seasonable
Remarks.

In the _Daily Courant_ of April 4 is also the following, which shows the immense amount of the stock possessed by private individuals. The reward offered for the recovery of the warrant seems ridiculously small, let its value be what it might to the finder:--

Lost or mislaid, a South Sea Dividend Warrant No. 1343 dated the 25th
of February last, made out to John Powell Esq. for 630_l_ being for
his Half Years Dividend on 21,000_l_ stock due the 25th of December
last. If offered in Payment or otherwise please to stop it and give
Notice to Mr Robert Harris at the South Sea House, and you shall
receive 10s Reward, it not being endorsed by the said John Powell Esq.
is of no use but to the Owner, Payment being Stopt.

The only official notification in reference to the Bubble is found in the _London Gazette_, “published by authority,” of April 5-9, 1720. It is the commencement of a list of Acts passed by the King, and runs thus:--

_Westminster, April 7._

HIS Majesty came this Day to the House of Peers, and being in his
Royal Robes seated on the Throne with the usual Solemnity, Sir William
Saunderson, Gentleman-Usher of the Black Rod, was sent with a Message
from His Majesty to the House of Commons, commanding their Attendance
in the House of Peers; the Commons being come thither accordingly, His
Majesty was pleased to give the Royal Assent to

_An Act for enabling the South Sea Company to increase their present
Capital Stock and Fund, by redeeming such publick Debts and
Incumbrances as are therein mentioned, and for raising Money for
lessening several of the publick Debts and Incumbrances, and for
calling in the present Exchequer Bills remaining uncancelled, and for
making forth new Bills in lieu thereof to be circulated and exchanged
upon Demand at or near the Exchequer._

The advertisement then goes on to state what other Acts received the royal assent, but with none of them have we anything to do. In the _Post Boy_ of June 25-28 there is a notice of a contract being lost, which runs thus:--

WHereas a Contract for the Delivery of South Sea Stock made between
William Byard Grey, Esq. and Mr. William Ferrour is mislaid or dropt:
If the Person who is possess’d of it will bring it to the Wheat-Sheaf
in Warwick-Lane, he shall have Ten Guineas Reward, and no Questions
ask’d.

And in the issue of the same paper for June 30-July 1 we find this, which refers to the Company on which all the South Sea directors’ orders were made payable:--

FOund at the South Sea House Saturday the 17th of June a Sword-Blade
Company’s Note. If the Person that lost it will apply to Mr.
Colston’s, a Toy Shop at the Flower-de-Luce against the Exchange in
Cornhill, and describe the said Note shall have it return’d, paying
the Charge of the Advertisement.

These are, however, only incidental advertisements, which might have occurred had the Company been anything but that which it was; and so we have only to remark on the peculiar quietness with which all rigging operations were managed in those days. One of the paragraphs quoted in a note a short distance back will, however, account for the fact that advertisements were not found in the usual places.

The growth of the disgusting system which permitted of public combats between women is exhibited in several advertisements of 1722, the most noticeable among them being one in which a challenge and reply are published as inducements to the public to disburse their cash and witness a spectacle which must have made many a strong man sick:--

CHALLENGE.--I, Elizabeth Wilkinson, of Clerkenwell, having had some
words with Hannah Hyfield, and requiring satisfaction, do invite her
to meet me upon the stage, and box me for three guineas; each woman
holding half a crown in each hand, and the first woman that drops the
money to lose the battle.

ANSWER.--I, Hannah Hyfield, of Newgate Market, hearing of the
resoluteness of Elizabeth Wilkinson, will not fail, _God willing_, to
give her more blows than words, desiring home blows, and from her no
favour; she may expect a good thumping!

The precaution taken with the half-crowns to keep the hands clenched and so prevent scratching, shows that even these degraded creatures had not quite forgotten the peculiarities of the sex. And that there is piety in pugilism--even of this kind--is proved by the admittance that the Deity had to give his consent to “the ladies’ battle.” But Mesdames Wilkinson and Hyfield sink into insignificance when compared with the heroines of the following, which is cut from the _Daily Post_ of July 17, 1728:--

AT _Mr. Stokes’ Amphitheatre_ in Islington Road, this present Monday,
being the 7 of October, will be a complete Boxing Match by the two
following Championesses:--Whereas I, Ann Field, of Stoke Newington,
ass-driver, well known for my abilities in boxing in my own defence
wherever it happened in my way, having been affronted by Mrs. Stokes,
styled the European Championess, do fairly invite her to a trial of
the best skill in boxing for 10 pounds, fair rise and fall; and
question not but to give her such proofs of my judgment that shall
oblige her to acknowledge me Championess of the Stage, to the entire
satisfaction of all my friends.

I, Elizabeth Stokes, of the City of London, have not fought in this
way since I fought the famous boxing woman of Billingsgate 29 minutes
and gained a complete victory (which is six years ago); but as the
famous Stoke Newington ass-woman dares me to fight her for the 10
pounds, I do assure her I will not fail meeting her for the said sum,
and doubt not that the blows which I shall present her with will be
more difficult for her to digest, than any she ever gave her asses.
_Note._--A man known by the name of Rugged and Tuff, challenges the
best man of Stoke Newington to fight him for one guinea to what sum
they please to venture. _N.B._--Attendance will be given at one, and
the encounter to begin at four precisely. There will be the diversion
of cudgel-playing as usual.

Pugilism was evidently a much valued accomplishment among the lower-class ladies in 1728, and there is no doubt that Mrs Stokes and Mrs Field were considered very estimable persons as well as great athletes in their respective circles. There is, moreover, a suspicion of humour about the reference to the asses in the reply of Mrs Stokes. In the happily-named Rugged and Tuff we see the forerunner of that line of champions of the ring which, commencing with Figg and Broughton, ran unbroken up to comparatively modern days. Other advertisements about this period relate to cock-matches and mains, sometimes specified to “last the week,” to bull-baiting in its ordinary and sometimes in its more cruel form of dressing up the beasts with fireworks, so as to excite both them and the savage dogs to their utmost. Perhaps brutality was never so rampant, or affected so many phases of society as it did in the first half of the eighteenth century. Slavery was considered a heaven-born institution, not alone as regards coloured races, for expeditions to the Plantations went on merrily and afforded excellent opportunities for the disposal of any one who happened to make himself objectionable by word or deed, or even by his very existence. The wicked uncle with an eye on the family property had a very good time then, and the rightful heir was often doomed to a slavery almost worse than death. Apropos of slavery, we may as well quote a very short advertisement which shows how the home trade flourished in 1728. It is from the _Daily Journal_ of September 28:--

TO be sold, a Negro boy, aged eleven years. Enquire of the Virginia
Coffee-house in Threadneedle street, behind the Royal Exchange.

Negroes had in 1728 become quite common here, and had pushed out their predecessors, the Moors and Asiatics, who formerly held submissive servitude. This was probably owing to the nefarious traffic commenced in 1680 by Hawkins, which in little more than a hundred years caused the departure from their African homes and the transplanting in Jamaica alone of 910,000 negroes, to say nothing of those who died on the voyage, or who found their way to England and other countries.

[28] This is Partridge the almanac-maker, who was fortunate enough to
be mentioned in the “Rape of the Lock.” After the rape has taken place
the poem goes on to say--

“This the _beau monde_ shall from the Mall survey,
And hail with music its propitious ray;
This the blest lover shall for Venus take,
And send up prayers from Rosamunda’s lake;
This Partridge soon shall view in cloudless skies,
When next he looks through Galileo’s eyes;
And hence the egregious wizard shall foredoom
The fate of Louis and the fall of Rome.”

It would seem, therefore, that the guiding spirits of the _Tatler_,
fancying that he had received undue publicity in a favourable manner,
were disposed to show Partridge that all advertisements are not
necessarily adjuncts to business.

[29] An advertising trussmaker of that day.

[30] A specimen advertisement of one of these inventors appears in the
_Postman_ of January 6-9, 1705:--

SINCE so many upstarts do daily publish one thing or other to
counterfeit the original strops, for setting razors, penknives,
lancets, etc., upon, And pretend them to be most excellent; the first
author of the said strops, does hereby testify that all such sort of
things are only made in imitation of the true ones, which are
permitted to be sold by no one but Mr Shipton, at John’s Coffee House,
in Exchange Alley, as hath been often mentioned in the Gazettes, to
prevent people being further imposed upon.

An opposition notice appears shortly afterwards in the _Daily Courant_
of January 11:--

THE _Right Venetian Strops_, being the only fam’d ones made, as
appears by the many thousands that have been sold, notwithstanding the
many false shams and ridiculous pretences, as “original,” etc., that
are almost every day published to promote the sale of counterfeits,
and to lessen the great and truly wonderful fame of the _Venetian
Strops_, which are most certainly the best in the world, for they will
give razors, penknives, lancets, etc., such an exquisite fine, smooth,
sharp, exact and durable edge, that the like was never known, which
has been experienced by thousands of gentlemen in England, Scotland
and Ireland. Are sold only at Mr Allcraft’s, a toy shop at the Blue
Coat Boy, against the Royal Exchange, &c. &c.

[31] Both oculists of some renown, who advertised largely.

[32] On January 1, 1720, the _Daily Courant_, and other papers, quote
South Sea Stock at 127¾, 128⅝, to 128. Bank 150¼. India 200, 200½, to
200. The quotation for Thursday, April 7 (in _Daily Post_, Friday,
April 8), is, “Yesterday South Sea Stock was 314, 310, 311, 309, 309½,
to 310. Bank 145. India 223.” On the 27th May it was 555, and Bank was
205 (_Post Boy_, May 28). It then fell a little, but in the _Daily
Courant_ of June 2 it is quoted at 610 to 760, Bank 210 to 220, India
290 to 300. The _Daily Post_ of Wednesday, June 8, contains the
following puff for the scheme: “’Tis said that the South Sea Company
being willing to have all the Annuities subscribed to their Stock, now
offer forty-five years’ purchase for those which have not yet been
bought in.” And again: “The Annuities which have been subscribed into
the South Sea Stock are risen to a very great height, so that what
would formerly sell but for £1500, is now worth £8000.” In the _Post
Boy_ of June 23-25, we find this: “Yesterday South Sea Stock was for
the opening of the Book 1100. 1st Subscr. 565, 2d Subscr. 610, 3rd
Subscr. 200. Bank 265. East India 440.” On Friday, June 24, the _Daily
Post_ says, “We hear that South Sea Stock was sold yesterday at 1000
per cent., and great wagers are laid that it will be currently sold
before the opening of the Books at 1200 per cent. exclusive of the
Dividend.” It is several times after this quoted at 1100, but never
over. These compilations show that a higher rate was attained by the
stock than is given in the article quoted above, or is generally
believed.