.MzIw.NDY3
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by the [steamer] China 11 Welfield Place 14 March [18[’62 Friday night Dear Ann
Your letter of 19/22 ult[im]o [19/22 February] by the Teutonia, so lone on the way, reached me at last, yesterday afternoon, just as I was leaving the office to come to dinner, accompanied by W[illia] & Fontaine: and I did not open it until they left us, soon after din- -ner to take their T[ea] with Mr. Henry Loundes.
I then found within the envelope, a letter also of the 22nd from Mytton, for which be so good as thank him. –
Yesterday morning, being earlier than usual in my departure for town, I steered for Myrtle St. & No. 12 Bloom St., at which I called. Mrs. Williams, (whose husband lives with her, as the boys, tell me, in that house) admitted me. Her appearance & man -ner, accorded well with their report, that she is kind, civil, & attentive. – I told her I had 2 nephews living there, she said they were gone out for the day – which was just what I expected; - & then, not of my request, she shewed me their 3 apartments. I took a hasty glance at each. – they seemed to me, neat, clean & sufficient in all respects; where= =upon being satisfied, I wished good morning, & about 25 minutes afterwards found me entering Cropper Hodgson & Co[mpany]s office. – The two lads were there, con- =versing with Mr. Hodgson in his room: Presently Fontaine came out, & was leaving the office, with -out looking in upon me; when I went after him; & at my own suggestion, I took him to Isaac Low & Co[mpany]s, & introduced him to Mr. John Wood; & then Fonatine remained (I know not how long) to have further talk with him. – I did not [see...?] anything
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of William or anything further of Fontaine, until the both called on me by my own appointment about 4.40 -, when I kept them waiting for 15 minutes whilst I closed my letter by the [steamer] Nova Scotian to Matthew contain =ing Rathbone Bro[ther]s two letters of introduction & a short note to me from Mr. Sam Rathbone, who had talked with me on the subject & then had dic- =tated these 2 letters – on of which is to Birley
Shanghai
Worthington & Co[mpany] Hong Kong, [‘Hong Kong’ struck-through & the other to Birleys & Co[mpany] Shanghai [struck-through] Hong Kong.
On my way to the office I caught a sight of Mr. W. Rathbone Sen[io]r, in Church St. as he was talking with a lady in an open carriage, & I stood some distance lower down the St., waiting until I could accost him, when we walked down together , are in arm, until we enter Rathbone Bro[ther]s Co[mpany’s office 12 Water St. fronting Mrs. Drinkwaters workhouse, or the site of it. – We there found Mr. Gair, who told me Mr. Sam R[athbone] was out, but that it was a good day to see him, & so it was fixed that I should call again for that purpose at 2 p.m. It was then 11 1/4 a.m. & then it was (& not as before described) that I went to Cropper Hodgson & Co[mpany]s.
As I walked down town with MR. Rathone Sen[io]r, he asked to tell him, candidly, what I thought of the conduct of the Country towards America. – I said that as regarded the Gov[ernmen]t [underscored] I considered it had been everything that I, as a Unionist, could expect or desire, that at one time I was dissatisfied with the acknowledgement of the rights of the C[onfedeate] S[tates of] A[merica] as belligerents; but on reflection, I withdrew that objection, because that course had stripped
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the question of difficulties, as otherwise the U[nited] S[tates] might have been viewed as [...ble] to G[reat] B[ritain] for acts committed by the C[onfedeate] S[tates of] A[merica] – But I said I did not concern the people at large actuated by the same feelings of justice & fairness; & that if it had been put to the vote, whether the Blockade should be respect =ed or not prior to the Gov[ernmen]t announcements, I thought that there would have been a sweeping neg= =ative against the Blockade. – Mr. Rathbone said he differed with me entirely; for that if you dis= =carded the feeling in the L[iver]pool & Manchester ex- =changes, he considered that in all the rest of the country, the people coincided with the Government by an overwhelming majority. – I did not con= =cur in this, & cited the London Times; but said that the result of all my observations & inquiries had been from a very early period of my stay in this Country that the farther you got from men engaged in commercial pursuits & the high =er their station in society, in the [main or more?] you approached the House of Lords & the Throne, the more just & fair in all particulars did you find the views of the American question.
Mr. Rathbone took much the same view of the London Times as Mr. Hamilton’s brother in law Dr. Markham, when he answered my objections, by remarking – “the Times is not England.” –
Our discussion was terminated on reaching the steps of his office in Water St.
I fell in yesterday, for the first time, with our friend & fellow traveller, Mr. [Cassin?] of Apalachico =la, [Florida?] & we had about 10 minutes talk. He was very friendly. He said he was opposed to succession
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it
at its commencement, but had acquiesced in ^ afterward. He seemed now to want Peace simply, & not to care whether it was with or without Re-union.
T-day we have 3 days later news to 1st March form N[ew] York by the [steamer] Kangaroo, & I expect to get letters by her, on reach the office tomorrow.
Last night I was reading Jeff[erson] Davis’ inaugural as given in full in yesterday’s Times. – I cannot but admire its graceful & dignified style; [underscored] tho’ I do not care a straw about its matter. [underscored] – Today we have extracts (by Kangaroo) form his subsequent Message.
Bishop Polk [CSA General Leonidas “Bishop” Polk] is reported as having evacuated Colum- =bus, [Kentucky] & retired with his force to an island 45 miles lower down the Missi[ssippi] [River]; & the C[onfederate] S[tates of] A[merica] forces at Murfrees- =boro [Tennessee] are reported as surrounded by Gen[era]l [Don Carlos] Buell with 2 days given them to deliberate on unconditional surrender: - & I hope they did surrender without a fight. – All seems fair & promising for a descent upon N[ew] Orleans: - & there seems a prospect of a movement at last upon Manassas [Virginia]; - but that must depend mainly upon the weather. – There is said to be a dis= =cussion in the C[onfederate] S[tates of] A[merica] legislation as to the propriety of burning up all the Cotton & Tob[acc]o. It reminds reminds [struck-through] me of the story told by Bill Johnson of Seacombe sailing boat, when it was [welladen?] [well laden?] with new potatoes, & it was noted that some of the baskets should be thrown overboard to save the lives of those on board, when his first essay was at once arrested by the [?] owner objecting. – “Nay. Bill, them’s mine!” [‘them’s mine’ underscored] – The local circum =stances of the So[uth] Ca[rolina] Sea-Island planters, & their own personal character, are both so different, I think, from those of the planters at large through =out the South, that I have no apprehensions of the Cotton & Tob[acc]o being burnt; tho’ they undoubtedly
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would be, if it even true that there is the same intensity of feeling of So[uth] against No[rth] as of the U[nited] S[tates] at large against G[reat] B[ritain] in [17]’76. –
If this feeling existed to that degree, there would be no more Cotton planted this spring than is needful to preserve fresh seed. – As it is, I think, the U[nited] S[tates] success in Tenn[essee]: will serve as an incen= =tive to the majority of planters to plant a full crop of Cotton; because they will be calculating upon the South being compelled to submit.
Our stake in Surats, by the sale of 90 at 5 5/8d yester =day & today, is now reduced to only 152 bales; & I am inclined to let them all go at that price.
it
Mr. Hodgson told me this morning that ^ will probably be 6 weeks before he leaves Cropper Hodgson & Co[mpany]. – His partners are to buy him out; & he wants more than they are willing to pay. – I presume he names this period as necessary to close up shipments of Cotton & other articles to the U[nited] S[tates] – Yesterday morning he told W[illia]m of his intention of retiring shortly.
Today he told me that there is talk of Mr. Josh= =ua Dixon being appointed to succeed his father as paid director at the Bank of L[iver]pool. – I think it would be a good appointment, & that Joshua would like to fill it.
Fontaine is not inclined to be at all commun =cative to me. True, he shewed me that letter from Walker: - otherwise he imitates the snail withdraw= =ing itself into its shell. – It is otherwise with W[illia]m. He told me today that F[ontaine] is consulting Richard Lowndes as to how far his parole is binding upon him, now that he is in this Country, & Richard is to look over some books [underscored] on the subject. –
I have not seen Horatio Hughes since Fontaine’s
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arrival. He has a cold, & it has prevented his com= =ming to the office for the last 3 days. – I think it far better that he should speak to Fontaine instead of me, as to the propriety of his turn= =ing his mind to employment on this side of the At- =lantic. – The simple fact of my being a Unionist [underscored] would be quite sufficient to indispose him to take my advice, & to persist all the more obstinately in his idea of returning to N[ew] O[rleans], sooner or later.
William says that if he were to advocate your plans for F[ontaine], & urge him thereto, it would only beget a quarrel between them. This Horatio must be the party to broach this matter to Fontaine.
I think Tobin’s China scheme very unpromi-
sing. The only encouragement I have for imag
=ining it may perhaps result in final success, is from its being his own choice, & in its having been so strongly opposed by you & me & Matthew; -so that, in this respect of obstinacy on the one side, & opposition on the other, it re= =mind me of our cousin M[atthew] F[ontaine] when he had set his mind upon entering the Navy.
But Tobin is indolent, & our cousin the ex= =act reverse: and we [underscored] have good [underscored] reasons against Tobin’s scheme, for we see entirely all its extreme difficulties & disadvantages, whereas M[atthew] F[onatine]’s pa- =rents had no [underscored] reasons except that of having already lost one son in that service. Theirs was a blind & ignorant opposition, but ours is the
of
result of a pretty thorough knowledge & ^ common sense.
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One of the reasons Mr. Sam Rathbone gave for houses in China requiring only “made[underscore] men” as their clerks, was that they had not time to devote to teaching them in counting house work, because life in China is short. – [‘life....short’ double underscored] This matter of cli= =mate is one that young people are commonly inclined to overlook. But we [underscored] ought not to overlook it. – If the alternatives were China or N[ew] Orleans there would, I suppose, be little to choose between them as to climate; but I do not see why Tobin should go to China to avoid his being attracted to N[ew] O[rleans], even if he must betake himself to trade. – If he goes he will have my best wishes, tho’ I think him very wrong & very silly. –
15th Office. – I have Matthew’s letter by the [steamer] Kangaroo, but none from you. – I suppose you directed to Welfield Place, which, on the whole, is not as good a plan as care of Cropper Hodgson & Co[mpany]. – It is only when steamers letters are delivered first thing in the morn[ing] (which was not the case today) or when delivered early on Sunday morning, that the Welfield Place direction secures earlier delivery, but on the whole the odds are greatly in favour of care of C[ropper] H[odgson] & Co[mpany]. –
I called at E. Heath & Co[mpany]’s this morning, & thus did not reach the office till noon. – I have not seen or heard of either of our 2 nephews today.
I have today closed sales of our Surats by taking 7 5/8 for the re[main]ing 152 bales, & as prices today are better & the demand good, I offered a lot of 76 Uplands at 12d.
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(which would be fully 1/4d if not 3/8d above the prices I sold at 8 days ago) but my demand is a shade above their value to-day – say 1/8d or 1/16d. –
I feel much in the mood of selling out every bale, for I am sick & tires with this endless per= =plexity whether to hold or sell
Yours affectionately Rutson Maury
