THE ROMANCE OF BANKING

Otago Witness, Issue 2809, 15 January 1908, Page 86

THE ROMANCE OF BANKING

don would present a bagger scope for has operations, "he established his principal office, there. The earn© phenomenal sueBt Howasd Dobiemal. cess which characterised his work in ManT ___ Chester attended him in London. All JMo. Vii. , „ . alert for opportunities that would conduce Jfbe Peninsular wan was at its heiglxt, advantage and! profit, he readily jqiT the drain on the English exchequer ht - ap at a discount all of WelHngkas oontintiooa aauL kea^y- Politicises .jjj.affcs &6 COUld prOCUr*. With. with oancern the largely inereas- characteristic acumen, he then offered them ing demand: upon the financial . resources Q ov^ nm)Sn t at par and lent the pi the nation, while capitalists hesitated moXLe y f OT their redemption. This action, jbo Invest- in the- Government stocks that wihile y. was> o f course, productive of great trom time to bim© -were placed on the —qQ^ to him, was deeply appreciated by BMCl»fc to provide- the sinews* of war. thfi Q ovecamwl t, who at once realised Wellington's drafts for large stuns were wsce w ith a financier arnvmg from th© seat of operations at a q{ oonsiderablu courage and enterprise, tjme when the Exchequer sras practically realised a-leo that he was exactly the depleted " of funds. There could . be no maj^ required' by the exigencies of the Repudiation of them if England was to mes <j<he ctjnnection between Nathan. jmaintain her- financial prestige. The posi- g^th^md and the Ministry became from tion was becomdng acute. The one who mosfc intimate, aoid his future iftyed the position was Nathan Roths- p^fion as a national financier was child, tha son of Anslem Rothschild, the afterwards admitted that txankfort banker. Nathan Rothschild thig oo^jeefcjon was i n ©very way a most liad left Frankfort before the death ot pro fitable one, and contributed largely to his father, and had opened a business at hig fufcure success. Manchester «s a banker and money-lender. Has success in that city was both marked The ambitious designs of .Napoleon and rapid, and at the end of five years Boneparte continued to expand. His lie had acquired a. fortune of nearly a object was the subjection of the world, ouarter of a million. **eeliAe thai Loa- I and he approached very near the attain-

ment of this object. The whole surface of the commercial world was disturbed, , as was the world of nations. Fortunes ' were lost and made during those disturbances, but to the man with energy , and courage the chaotic conditions prevailing presented opportunities for moneymaking which were little short of marvellous. Nathan Rothschild was exactly this class 'of man, and soon saw how these international struggles could be made to 'contribute to his advantage and profit. He saw how responsive the Stock Exchange was to the news that came from time to time from the seat of war. If the 'news was adverse to the British arms the value of stocks fell proportionately ; if the news was of a favourable character values would at once jump. But Rothschild also saw that news which reached , England in the ordinary way became instantly public property, and all specula- , tors an the Stock Exchange were therefore on an even footing. From his standpoint this was not desirable, and he exercised his fertile brain to see if he could not devise something more advantageous to himself — something that would place him in a better position than others, fo bring this about he hit upon the expedient of using carrier pigreons to fetch m him the vaaying reports of the battles. These pigeons were taken by his numerous agents, who followed in the wake of the British army, and from hour to hour were released by them, carrying under their wings full particulars in cipher of any defeat or victory. He was therefore the first to become apprised of' the events that were transpiring, and could regulate his actions accordingly. His position on the Exchange became, of course, enhanced by tactic® such as this. Other speculators watched him closely, and took their cue from him. If he sold his stock they would naturally conclude he was in receipt of adverse news from the seat of war by his winged messeneers, and they would at once rueh. their stock on to the market. If on the other ' hand he started' to buy up stock, they assumed that good news had arrived, and- they, too, would buy. They failed, however, to j rightly estimate the inordinate love of j money which characterised Nathan Rothschild. With him it was not only a question of accumulating wealth in the- ordinary way ; it was also the acquisition of profit at the expense of others by means that were scarcely equitable. The years rolled by, and Nathan Rothschild's financial prestige extended in a remarkable degree. His connection with the Government continued, and by virtue of it his monetary operations expanded j daily. The closing scenes in the military life of Napoleon Boneparfce were fast approach- ] ing, and the whole civilised world -watched i in breathless expectation. The fate of j Europe hung on a thread, and. the nations looked with concern upon the movements ! of the allied armies which were to check for ever the progress of this modern Alexander the Great. That fateful 18th of June dawned upon a scene of awful grandeur on the field of Waterloo. There lay the various battalions which in a few j short hours would be struggling in < mortal combat. Lives, hopes, reputations, and careers would in that conflict be irrevocably 'lost, but it was destined that from the ruins there should rise a future of comparative national tranquillity. On an eminence- commanding a view of the battlefield stood the Duke of Wellington, surrounded by his brilliant staff. In the vicinity stood also Nathan Rothschild, whose influence with the Government had secured him the privilege of being there. His presence there was not due to military ardour or patriotic enthusiasm. These were not factors in ] his composition. His sol© interests were centred in the effect the day's doings would 'have upon the value of stocks and i bonds which he held so largely.

His anxious glance would rest on the face of the- Duke of Wellington as he tried to glean what his hopes were as to the coming struggle. Then he would sweep with his glasses the outlying forces of the enemy, and tremulously wonder. All through thatr-d'ay, with its varying and uneertazn results, he hovered' in the vicinity of the staff, watching the flying horsemen as they carried orders from the Commander-in-Chief to his generals, and wondering how it would all end. At last there appeared to be wavering on the part of the French which ultimately developed iitito a panic-struck retreat, and at sunset Rothschild had the gratification of knowing that the French were absolutely conquered and the all-ed armies victorious. Jumping on the horse- he had in readinoss, he galloped from the battlefield. His interest in the battlefield was now over, and,his only desire was to get back to London in the shortest possible time. He reached Ostend, and was appalled to observe that a storm was raging in~the Channel. The waves were lashed to fury, and he could at first induce no fisherman to faoe the voyage across. He fumed: and threatened wat-hout result, and as he contemplated the possibility of the news of the victory reaching London before him, he was in a state of the greatest consternation. Once more he appealed to the fishermen to carry him across. He offered 500 francs to the one who would take him to the English coast. He increased the offer to 1000 francs and then to 2080 francs before any response was obtained, and' then one of the men agreed to undertake the trip, well knowing that it might mean a sacrifice of his life. Arriving at Dover after a • tempestuous and risky passage, he discharged his obligation to the> fisherman, and hiring a "coach and four drove madly to London, eatk-fied in the conviction that he was the only one in England possessed of the knowledge of the British victory. His sudden reappearance on the Stock" Exchange created a buzz of excitement, for it was known that he had beep for two or three weeks "with the British

army, and it was naturally assumed that he would be in possession of the latest information relative to the progress of hostilities. It was just this assumption he was counting upon. With- a gloomy countenance calculated to convey a wrong impression on his observers, he took up his position at the Exchange and ostentatiously offered large quantities of his stock for sale. The effect was instantaneous. The news spread that Rothschild was getting rid of his stock. He must be in possession of information of the defeat of the allied armies. If the news warranted him in selling out, it would also justify others doing the same thing. A panic arose ; the market was flooded with all kinds of securities at a reckless discount.

This was exactly what Rothschild was aiming at, and now was his opportunity. He had scores of secret agents, whom he had authorised to buy up everything they could secure in the way of stock. A day or two after official news was received* in England of the battle of Waterloo. A revulsion of feelmg took place. The stock and securities which through the machinations of NathaD Rothschild had been rushed on to the market at a ruinous discount jumped to a big premium, and by his questionable ruse he cleared a profit of about a million pounds.