[PDF]Depredations; or, Overend, Gurney & Co., and the Greek and Oriental steam navigation company

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Robert E. Gross
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A Memorial to the Founder (

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DEPEEDATIOIS;


OVEREND, GURNEY, & CO.,


GEEEK & OEIENTAL STEAM NAVIGATION
COMPANY.


STEFANOS XENOS.


PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR,

AT

No. 9, ESSEX STREET, STRAND.
J 8 G 1).

[_>'iecund JEditiOn.}


FEINTED BY
TAYLOR AND FRANCIS, RED LION COURT, FLEET STREET, LONDON.


Gross Colfection
Bus. Adm. Lib,

HE
GrSX26


PREFACE.


Whoever may attentively peruse this little volume
will perceive that it was impossible for me to enter
into an explanation of my transactions with Messrs.
Overend, Gurney, and Co. without first giving some
account of the formation of the Greek and Oriental
Steam Navigation Company, and its existence for
three years previously to the period at which I en-
tered into relations with the great Lombard Street
capitalists. Such account was indispensable to the
clear understanding of the after-narrative.

With regard to the conversations recorded in this
volume, the accuracy of which may be questioned
by the sceptical, I ought, perhaps, to offer some ex-
planation. In the first place, I have, during many
years, been in the habit of taking notes and keeping
a diary of all important transactions in which I have
been engaged. Secondly I never destroy letters or
documents; so that, in case of necessity, I have
authorities to which I can refer, and, if need be,


7337


IV

produce. And, thirdly, as far as I am personally
concerned, I can always rely on my memory, which
is singularly clear and retentive, particularly — though
possibly I am not singular in this respect — in cases
where I have been wronged and ill-treated. I can
then recall correctly, not alone the words of my
opponents, but every look, and movement, and ges-
ture that have aggravated the wrong-doing by which
I suffered. Of the conversations reported here, I can
conscientiously say they are substantially what the
speakers expressed ; and they would be literally the
same, but that many of these conversations were
originally uttered in Greek, and not a few in broken
English. It was, therefore, necessary that the one
should be translated and the others corrected before
going to press.

Despite the care with which I have always guarded
my business documents, I had, in 18G5, the mortifi-
cation to lose a case containing many important papers,
amongst others, Mr. Edwards's letter in reference to
the yacht, and the original of the printed circular to
which I refer at page 217. It was in removing some
of my furniture from Petersham Lodge that this mis-
chance occurred. A diligent but fruitless search was
made when the loss was ascertained. (See Appendix,
No. 24.) The absence of some of these documents


has not alone delayed the publication of this volume,
but obliged me to suppress all allusion to many im-
portant points, about which I was quite clear, bat
would not mention without being in a position to
produce corroborative proofs.

In further authentication of the correctness of that
which is set down in the following pages, it may not
be amiss to mention that this history of the Greek and
Oriental Steam Navigation Compa"ny, which I find
myself obliged to hurry into publicity, formed origi-
nally portion of a work which was not intended to see
the light for many years. It was written whilst the
facts were fresh in my memory — whilst the words still
vibrated in my ears.

In publishing this little volume, I feel that I am
making my defence at the bar of public opinion. I
hope my auditory will remember that I was put upon
my trial without notice or warning. Should it be
urged against me that I make free with the names of
other men, let it not be forgotten that my name was
not spared. What I say is spoken solely in self-
defence. With the materials at my command, I might
have sent forth to the world a sensational volume.
Had I sought a succes de salon. I might have garnished
my narrative with savoury morsels of scandal, with
piquant allusions to many an operatic Zephyrina and


VI

di-amatic Eucharis ; I might have told tales of Pretty
Horsebreakers and capricious Anonymas ; or I might
have hinted at certain titled Calypsos, at whose bid-
ding some of our good City men entered the commer-
cial lists, and there fought the most desperate combats.
And I might, indeed, on the other hand, have talked
of many patient Griseldas, who, whilst their husbands
lavished thousands on worthless rivals, stinted them-
selves in martyrizing economy, trying to counterbalance
reckless extravagance. With all these accessories I
have dispensed, contenting myself with an unvarnished
narrative of dry facts. Were the century a few years
older, had time toned down the memory of the present,
I might, in a more voluminous work, have laid before
the public more realistic views of the great panorama
which is daily being revolved in this GEE AT
PANANTHROPOPOLIS.


CONTENTS.


I.

The First Chartered Steamers .

1—1

II.

The First Ownership . . . .

8

III.

Profits and Contracts . . . .

. 14

IV.

The First Clouds

. 20

Y.

The Galway Steam Company

. 26

VI.

A Commercial Perseus . . . .

. 34

VII.

My Agents

. 38

VIII.

A Grave Mistake

. 46

IX.

Disappointment

. 50

X.

The Ultramarine Powder . . . .

. 54

XI.

The First Mortgages . . . .

. 58

XII.

The Miniature Court of Louis XIV. .

. 64

XIII.

A Perilous Position ....

. 72

XIV.

Messrs. Overend, Gumey, and Co.

. 79

XV.

My First Financer ....

. 84

XVI.

My Second Financer ....

. 91

XVII.

The "British Star" . . . .

. 100

XVIII.

The Penelope

. 105

XTX.

Deeper in the "Water

. 113

XX.

My Third Financer ....

. 119

XXI.

How Eighty Thousand Pounds were Lost

. 125

XXTI.

A Breach of Faith ....

. 131

XXIII.

Zachariah Pearson ....

. 140

XXIV.

"Who is entitled to a Commission ?

. 152

XXV.

My Fourth Financer

. 157

XXVI.

Remortgaging the Steamers

. 163

XXVII.

A Second Breach of Faith .

. 169

XXVIII.

A Third Breach of Faith . .

. 174

XXTX.

Criminal or Not ? . . . •

. 182

Vlll


CHAP.

PAGE

XXX.

Polities ......

.

187

XXXI.

The Election of Prince Alfred .

.

193

XXXII.

My Illness .....

.

198

XXXIII.

Eeleasc of Petersham Lodge

.

207

xxxiy.

The Insolvency of Messrs. Overend,

Gurney,

and Co

.

210

XXXV.

The Storm .....

.

219

XXXVI.

A Challenge . . . .

.

227

XXXVII.

The Settlement ....

.

232

XXXVIII.

Idleness ......

236

XXXIX.

Announcing to Messrs. Overend, Gur

ney, and

Co. thcii- Insolvency .

.

241

XL.

The Philhellenic Committee

.

247

XLI.

The Stock Exchange . ...

.

255

XLII.

Messrs, Overend, Gurne-y, and Co. a

Limited

Compa,ny

262

XLIII.

Battle between the Jews and the Greek

s ,

267

XLIV.

The Angio-Greek Steam Navigation and Trad-

ing Company ....

273

XLV.

The Consulate ....

286

XLVI.

Depredations .....

293

XLVII.

The Eats and the Pig .

295

XTVIII.

Conclusion .....

304

The City of London

307

Appendix

337

CHAPTER I.

THE FIRST CHARTERED STEAMERS.

In" the year 1856 I was running a line of sailing vessels
from London to the Levant and Black Sea. The chief
import and export trade of England with that part of
the world is in the hands of the Greek houses of Eng-
land; and I must say my line of packets enjoyed a
marked and special patronage, and was yielding a
lucrative return. Whilst I was running several small
clippers to the Levant, Messrs. Smith, Sundius, and Co.,
with Mr. A. G. Kobinson, were running steamers on the
same line. These gentlemen had to contend with a
brisk competition on the part of the Liverpool lines, as
well as with some London steamers; but as the outward
and homeward freights for steamers were, in those
days, three times greater than at present, their profits
must have been enormous.

Having maturely reflected on these facts, and see-
ing that the export trade between London and the
Levant had nearly reached 7000 tons per month, I
resolved to substitute steamers for my sailing packets.
In entering into competition with the established
steam o^vners, I determined to profit by the errors
they were committing, and avoid them. Amongst
these I shall mention two which were a cause of daily
complaint. In the first place, merchants, after having
announced their goods to their correspondents, were

B


not always able to find room for them on board the
steamers ; and secondly, merchants who applied to the
steam owners and agents withm the last few days of
the steamer's stay in London, were often obliged to
pay 10s. or even £1 per ton higher freight than those
who had shipped first. This latter custom had enabled
the owners of the steamers to take a very high tone.
Ov^dng to these difficulties in shipping, there were
incessant complaints from Constantinople, Smyrna,
Odessa, and other Levantine towns. Disagreements
were constantly occurring between London merchants
and their foreign consignees, and in more than one
instance commission agents had lost their appoint-
ments on suspicion of incapacity, or worse.

This condition of things, combined with a promise
of efficient support on the part of the shippers, had
naturally great weight in inducing me to turn my line
of sailing packets into steamers. But to start a line
of steamers requires a large capital. I applied to
Messrs. Lascaridi and Co., of 32, Bucklersbury ; that
firm came to my assistance. The Messrs. Lascaridi
had two steamers, the Aleppo and the Beyrout. Mr.
George Lascaridi, whose name recurs frequently in
these pages, was at that time the sole representative
of the London house of Lascaridi and Co, This
gentleman placed the above-named steamers in my
hands. We ran them conjointly with the James
Brown and the Britannia. The two last-named steam-
ers entailed a small loss in the first voyage, owing to
our having miscalculated their carrying capacity. The
company thus started in May, 1857, I called " The
Greek and Oriental Steam Navigation Company." As
soon as the above-mentioned charters had expired,
we time-chartered the Hercules, Milo, and Admiral


Kanaris, at 22s. 6d. per ton per month, belonging to
Mr. Edward Gomiey, of Sunderland, now M.P., and
others. Thus the Greek and Oriental Steam Naviga-
tion Company sprang into existence in 1857*.

The steam power of the company consisted, at first
starting, of five vessels — the Beyrout, the Aleppo, the
Hercules, the Milo, and the Admiral Kanaris. In
addition to these we had several sailing vessels. We
were able to keep up a brisk competition with Messrs.
Smith, Sundius, and Co., and others, as we enjoyed the
exclusive ! patronage of the Greek houses of London
and Manchester.

It is a recognized commercial truth, that on a time-
charter the charterer seldom gains. That there should
be a loss in our case was an inevitable consequence of
the position in which my partners and I were placed.
Neither Mr. George Lascaridi nor I had any experience
in the management of steam property. Our steamers
were of small power, and consumed enormous quanti-
ties of coal ; and, above all, unfortunately we had paid
an extravagant price per ton for the charter of these
steamers. Then there was no organization amongst
our agents ; abuses crept in, and we had no check on
their expenses. Neither had we any control over the
captains and engineers, who, with a view to benefiting
the owners of the steamers, navigated slowly ; so that,
in spite of the splendid freights I had secured, and the
great support of the shippers, we again lost several
thousands of pounds.

Mr. George Lascaridi, having the large business
of his own firm to attend to, threw on my shoulders


* The Hercules was chartered in 1857 ; the Milo and Admiral
Kanaris in March, 1858.


all the work and the responsibility of the Greek and
Oriental Steam Navigation Company. He supplied the
capital, I, through my friends, found the cargoes ; but
Mr. Lascaridi requested me to keep the name of my
capitalist secret, for fear of injuring the credit of his
firm. Owing to the observance of this secrecy, a certain
amount of mystery, in the eyes of the commercial
world, hung about the Greek and Oriental Steam
Navigation Company.

About the year 1857 I began to understand some-
thing of the nature and value of steam property. I
was educated by the Greek Government in the mili-
tary school of Evelpides. I had studied there eight
years, destined to become an officer in the Royal
Engineers or the Eoyal Artillery. Owing to these
early studies, I found no difficulty in mastering a
knowledge of the mechanical structure of steamers.
A long acquaintance with military discipline made the
inspection of the staff of the steamers a kind of plea-
sure to a man whose first love was not commerce, and
whom the political aspect of his own country had driven
to England to engage in the labyrinthian perplexities
of trade.

Having gone closely into details, I discovered to
my great confusion that, of the £50,000 which we
had paid the charterers for freights, £20,000 would
have gone as profit into our pockets had we been
the owners of the steamers. I found that the entire
expenses of a steamer of that description for each
voyage was £3500; this deducted from £6000, the
gross freight, left a net profit of £2500 per voyage.
Each steamer made four voyages in the year, so that
here was a net profit of £10,000 per annum on a
maritime property that only cost £16,000. It was


evident that by eighteen months' work a steamer
would pay for herself. The important point was to
find the cargoes. This I was in a position to do
abundantly through my large connexions. My friends
gave me the preference and the first refusal of their
goods. I drew the attention of Mr. Lascaridi to all
these points, and urged upon him the necessity of pur-
chasing our own steamers. But he was discouraged
by the losses we had sustained, and was besides over-
burdened with other large transactions, so that he
seldom came to my office. In fact, there was no
written contract between us, nor had we ever entered
into a thoroughly good verbal understanding. Add
to this, that the Greek and Oriental Steam Navigation
Company was to expire at the expiration of the charter-
parties of the three steamers — the Hercules, the Milo,
and the Admiral Kanaris. The Beyrout and the
Aleppo I had been compelled to take out of the line
after a couple of voyages, as being too small for the
service.

Such was the position of affairs when several
brokers, seeing the extensive business of the office, the
credit of the Greek and Oriental Steam Navigation
Company, and the great support it received from the
Greek merchants, offered to sell me steamers on long
credit. I went to Liverpool in the month of March,
1858, and there bought on credit, for £22,000, the
General Williams, of 1152 tons register and 160
horse-power. In payment I was to give the bills
of the Greek and Oriental Steam Navigation Com-
pany. The General Williams was in trust for the
orphans of the late owner, and the trustee, Mr.
Panton, of Sunderland, and the builder of the steamer,
Mr. A Leslie, of Newcastle, who had an interest in the


6

vessel, wished to have the bills endorsed with another
name. I tried Mr. Lascaiidi; he at first positively
refused, but after several days' discussion he decided
upon accepting instead of endorsing the bills, and he
would do this only on condition that the steamer
should be registered in his name or in that of his
nominee. He would at the same time give me a letter
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