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Per Aspera ad Astra From the Suspension of Payments to the Arrangement of 1815

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Abstract

In the previous chapter we left the entrepreneurs, headed by Borski, in a state of great anxiety. Through their spokesman, they had agreed at the end of 1808 to take a further 4,109 bonds, and they had been given until Ist July 1809 to decide whether or not to accept the balance of 4,000. We also learned that, of the 13,109 bonds which the entrepreneurs had accepted up to that point, less than 4,500 had been placed. During the opening months of 1809 the situation was, if anything, even worse. The threat of war in eastern Europe led to a virtual absence of buyers, and the price fell from 86 in January to 82 in April, in which month the conflict between France and Austria finally broke out.1

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References

Chapter Eight Page 227

  1. Letter of 28th January 1809 to J. Williams Hope, London. Letter of 21st February 1809 to R.Melvil, St.Petersburg, R., 47. Letter of 23rd March 1809 to J.Williams Hope, London. Letter of 4th July 1809 to the Committee for Foreign Loans, St.Petersburg, A XXVII, 120.

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  2. Letter of 11th April 1809 to the Committee for Foreign Loans, St.Petersburg, A XXVII, 61. Of the 4,109 bonds contracted in December 1808, only six or seven hundred had been sold by the following April.

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Page 228

  1. Letter of 1st June 1809 to J. Williams Hope, London. Letter of 11th/23rd June 1809 from the Committee for Foreign Loans, St.Petersburg to Hope & Co. Amsterdam. On 1st June 1809, 6,588 of the 13,109 bonds taken over had been sold, and 6,521 remained unsold. From the proceeds of the sale, cf 3,452,000 had been paid. Hope & Co. provisionally advanced cf 3,069,000.

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  2. Letter of 4th July 1809 to the Committee for Foreign Loans, St.Petersburg, AxxVII, 120.

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  3. Letters of 17th and 21st July 1809 from P.C.Labouchère, Bagnères, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam. Letter of 10th August 1809, from P.C.Labouchère, Bordeaux, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam. Letter of 8th September 1809 from P.C.Labouchère, Paris, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam.

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Page 229

  1. Letter of 12th September 1809 to the Committee for Foreign Loans, St.Petersburg, A xxVII, 161. Hope asked for flax, hemp, potash, tallow, linen fabrics, iron, copper and linseed-products which Melvil had also purchased. The Company opened discussions with Bergien concerning the purchase of 190,000 poods of P.S.F. iron from Yakovlev. It was willing to pay 180 kopecks per pood, at a rate of exchange of 15 stuivers, or another price at another rate of exchange, provided that the sum in guilders was the same. The Company reserved the freedom to meet the cost of purchase without resorting to drafts on St.Petersburg; in other words, with roubles provided by the Russian government. Letter of 29th September 1809 to Bergien & Co., St.Petersburg, A xxVII, 170. Letters of 22nd September 1809 from P.C.Labouchère, Paris, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam, and of 12th/24th October 1809 from Bergien & Co., St.Petersburg, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam.

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  2. Letter of 1st/13th November 1809 from the Committee for Foreign Loans, St.Petersburg, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam.

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  3. It was reported that an attempt had been made in Genoa to obtain a loan of 6 million Genoese lire, and others in Paris, Hamburg and Frankfurt. It may be assumed that these were undertaken after 1st July 1809, the date on which the clause in the contract with the entrepreneurs which referred to competition lapsed. Letters of 13th March 1810 to Guryev, St.Petersburg, A xxVII, 318, and of 23rd May 1810 to Count Nesselrode, Paris, A xxVII, 357.

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  4. Letter of 6th January 1810 to the Committee for Foreign Loans, St.Petersburg, A xxVII, 249.

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Page 230

  1. The rate of exchange of the rouble kept roughly in step with the ratio between the paper rouble and the silver rouble. On 18th February 1810, Porter reported that 285 paper roubles could be obtained for 100 silver roubles. Taking the par value of the rouble at 40 stuivers, this does indeed give an exchange rate of 14 stuivers to the paper rouble. Letter of 18th February 1810 from W.Porter, St.Petersburg, to J.Williams Hope, London. Letter of 30th November 1809 to Nicolas Clary, Paris, A xxVII, 209. Letter of 16th December 1809 from Melvil & Co., Amsterdam, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam. Letter of 16th February 1810 to Bethmann Bros., Frankfurt, A xxVII, 298. Letter of 27th February 1810 to Guryev, St.Petersburg, A xxVII, 315.

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  2. Letters of 12th/24th January and 8th/20th February 1810 from Guryev, St.Petersburg, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam. Amburger, Geschichte Behördenorganisation, 208, 210. Letter of 13th March 1810 to Guryev, St.Petersburg, A xxVII, 318. Letter of 23rd May 1810 from P.C.Labouchère, Amsterdam, to Count Nesselrode, Paris. The Company required a commission of 2½% on the operation which it had proposed.

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  3. Letter of 8th/20th May 1810 from Guryev, St.Petersburg, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam. The Court was willing to pay Hope & Co. the 2½% commission for which they had asked, and also to meet the stamp duty on the new vouchers relating to the bonds.

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Page 231

  1. Ukase of 27th May/8th June 1810 issued by Czar Alexander 1, and concerning the loan in assignats opened in Russia. Land sales would be permitted for a period of five years. The principal sum would be one hundred million roubles, and this would be spread over five tranches of twenty million each. The first tranche would carry interest at 6 % and be redeemed in 1817. It was a condition of the entire loan that interest and principal would be paid in silver roubles. Payment for the bonds could be effected in assignats or paper roubles and at the advantageous rate of two paper roubles for one silver rouble. Where land belonging to the State was sold, payment could be made in bonds; this facility was also extended to foreign buyers. The assignats surrendered would be burnt, and the issue of new assignats would cease. Every Russian merchant who was a member of the First Guild (the association of large merchants) was permitted to purchase land on condition that payment was made in bonds of the new loan. This group, however, was prohibited from buying land from private individuals. The purchasers of State land were to enjoy manorial rights in respect of the estates so purchased, but remained in their own class and thus did not share the rights of the nobility. Payment for manorial assets purchased from the State could be effected in five annual instalments, interest being added. This provision was probably introduced in order to facilitate the purchase of land by noblemen. The first tranche, of 20 million roubles, was to be opened for subscription on 15th July 1810.

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  2. Letter of 13th March 1810 to Guryev, St.Petersburg, A xxVII, 318. Letters of 8th/20th, 18th/30th May and 4th/16th July 1810 from Guryev, St.Petersburg, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam. Letter of 6th June 1810 to R.Melvil, Amsterdam. During July and August, the rouble stood at about 11¾ stuivers in Amsterdam. The cf 863,000 was remitted from St.Petersburg by the house of Antoine Colombi. The temporary elimination of Rall must almost certainly be seen as a gesture to propitiate Hope & Co.

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  3. Letters of 17th June, 14th, 25th August, 8th and 25th September 1810 to Guryev. St.Petersburg, A xxVII, 382, 406, 415, 421, 437. Vandal, Napoleon Ier et Alexandre Ier, 11, Ch. XI, passim.

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  4. Letter of 14th August 1810 to Guryev, St.Petersburg, A xxVII, 406.

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Page 232

  1. Guryev agreed to Labouchère’s terms, but he refused to extend payment of interest up to the end of the year to bonds which would be redeemed in the course of 1811 or subsequently. Letter of 24th August 1810 to Count Nesselrode, Paris, A xxVII, 416. Letter of 26th August/7th September 1810 from Guryev, St.Petersburg, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam. Letter of 24th September 1810 to the Prince Arch-Treasurer, Amsterdam, A xxVII, 438. Approval was given on 25th September.

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  2. Hope & Co. were on good terms with the Russian envoy to the Kingdom of Holland, Prince Sergei Dolgorukov. Letter of 28th September 1810 to Guryev, St.Petersburg, A xxVII, 445. Prince Alexander Kurakin had suffered serious injuries when fire broke out at a Court function which he was attending. The brother of Prince Alexander, Prince Alexei, who was just then in Paris for the purpose of conveying the czar’s congratulations to Napoleon upon his second marriage, later took charge.

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  3. Letters of 28th September, 13th, 27th October, 3rd, 6th, 17th and 20th November 1810 to Guryev, St.Petersburg, A xxVII, 445, 468, 483, 490, 495, 497, 503. Letter of 22nd November/4th December 1810 from Bergien & Co., St.Petersburg, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam. Letter of 31st December 1810 to W.Borski, Amsterdam, A xxVII, 547. It is conceivable that, as previously, the balance of the bonds were sold to a consortium headed by Borski. However, no clear details are available.

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  4. Letter of 23rd November/5th December 1810 from Guryev, St.Petersburg, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam.

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  5. Crouzet, Blocus continental, n, 592-594. Vandal, Napoleon Ier et Alexander Ier, 11, 443-446.

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Page 234

  1. Crouzet, ibid., 596-602. Vandal, ibid., 489-490, 493-494, 510-511. The newly elected successor to the throne, the former French marshal Bernadotte, privately promised the English that Sweden would interpret very broadly indeed the application of the Continental System.

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  2. Vandal, ibid., 530-531.

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Page 235

  1. Letter of 24th November 1810 from P.C.Labouchère, Amsterdam, to J.Sillem, Hamburg, A xxVII, 510. Letter of 22nd January 1810 from P.C.Labouchère, Amsterdam, to Matthiessen & Sillem, Hamburg, A xxVII, 561.

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  2. Letter of 8th December 1810 to Guryev, St.Petersburg, A xxVII, 516, 524. Letter of 8th January 1811 from P.C.Labouchère, Amsterdam, to Count von Stackelberg, Vienna, A xxVII, 555. The other Receivers were P.I.Hogguer and J.Hodshon. S.L.A.Keyzer and J.du Bois, of Amsterdam, also suspended payments. Labouchère attended to Von Stackelberg’s private claims against De Smeth. Von Stackelberg was the Russian envoy in Vienna. In addition to the returned remittances, Rall & Severin had a claim of about cf 300,000 against De Smeth’s estate. Letter of 5th January 1811 to Prince Kurakin, Paris, A xxVII, 552.

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  3. Letter of 3rd/15th December 1810 from Prince Alexei Kurakin, Paris, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam. Letter of 22nd December 1810 to Guryev, St.Petersburg, A xxVII, 537. Letter of 22nd December 1810 to Prince A.Kurakin, Paris, A xxVII, 535. Letter of 28th December 1810 from Prince A.Kurakin, Paris, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam. Letter of 31st December 1810/12th January 1811 from Guryev, St. Petersburg, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam. Hope advanced Prince Kurakin a sum of cf 20,000 upon his personal responsibility pending official approval. Guryev allowed Hope to draw on Russian funds held by Matthiessen & Sillem. The Company was subsequently informed that Kurakin could draw up to cf 80,000. Letter of 5th February 1811 to Guryev, St.Petersburg, A xxVII, 568. Letter of 5th February 1811 to Prince A.Kurakin, Paris, A xxVII, 570.

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Page 23

  1. Letter of 29th December 1810 to Guryev, St.Petersburg, A xxVII, 542.

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  2. A number of bankruptcies in Riga were among the causes of Croese’s difficulties. Rall was involved in Croese’s bankruptcy to the extent of cf 220,000. Hope acted for Rall in these matters. Letters of 24th January/5th February and 28th February/12th March 1811 from A.F.Rall, St.Petersburg, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam.

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  3. Letter of 18th May 1811 to Guryev, St.Petersburg, A xxVII, 5. Letter of 20th May 1811 from P.C.Labouchère, Amsterdam (?), to Baguenault, Paris. Letter of 20th June 1811 from P.C.Labouchère, Amsterdam, to John Hope, London. Following the death of Henry Hope, John Williams Hope ceased to use his second Christian name.

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  4. Letter of 11th June 1811 from Melvil & Co., Amsterdam, to P.C.Labouchère, Amsterdam.

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Page 237

  1. Letters of 22nd July and 19th August 1809 to Matthiessen & Sillem, Hamburg, A XXVII, 133, 146. Letter of 20th August 1809 from Bethmann Bros., Frankfurt, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam. Letter of 1st October 1809 from P.C.Labouchère, Paris, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam. Meyer was appointed to a post in the Ministry of Finance in St.Petersburg in January 1811, whereupon he resigned from Meyer & Bruxner.

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  2. Letters of 25th July, 25th August and 19th September 1809 from Matthiessen & Sillem, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam.

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  3. Letter of 21st November 1809 from Matthiessen & Sillem, Hamburg, to P.C.Labouchère, Amsterdam. Letter of 8th December 1809 from Matthiessen & Sillem, Hamburg, to Henry Hope &Co., London. Letter of 5th December 1809 from P.C.Labouchère, Amsterdam, to Henry Hope & Co., London.

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Page 238

  1. ‘Notes diverses,’ ‘Notes,’ ‘M,’ ‘R.’

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  2. cf 137,287.8.0 in 1810, compared with cf 955,100.0.0, in 1809. ‘Notes.’ Crouzet, Blocus Continental, 11, 576, 634.

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  3. ‘Notes.’ In the case of tar, 17 % was added to the selling price to cover transport, storage, replenishment, registration fees (½% of the selling price), brokerage fees (also ½%), additional charges (1%), del credere (2 %) and commission (2 %). For tar, the charges were appreciably lower, totalling less than 10 %. For iron, they represented only 3 % of the selling price. The stock of linseed held by Meyer & Bruxner was sold at a loss of 5 %. It had, however, suffered a decline in quality owing to overheating.

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Page 239

  1. Letter of 20th June 1811 from P.C.Labouchère, Amsterdam, to John Hope, London.

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  2. Letter of 11th June 1811 from Melvil & Co., Amsterdam, to P.C.Labouchère, Amsterdam.

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  3. Letter of 27th July/8th August 1811 from Meyer & Bruxner, St.Petersburg, to P.C.Labouchère, St.Petersburg. Crouzet, Blocus Continental, 11, 654-655, note 12, 655.

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  4. ‘Notes,’ ‘Notes diverses.’

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Page 240

  1. ’state of Operation R.M. on 30th November 1811.’ Labouchère placed an order with Brandt Rodde & Co. in Archangel for purchases within narrow margins. Because of its eccentric position, Archangel escaped the Russian government’s strict control over foreign ships, and thus ample supplies of colonial produce could be relied upon there. Moreover, the difficulties surrounding onward transport to other European countries were greater there than, for example, in St.Petersburg or Riga. The Archangel house was unable to meet the limits laid down by Labouchère, namely 10,000 poods of top grade Georgian cotton at 10 roubles per pood, 100,000 poods of white Havana sugar at 20 roubles and 100,000 poods of brown Havana sugar at 14 roubles, the prices in all cases being based on the St.Petersburg rate of 10 stuivers to the rouble. Letters of 29th July/10th August and 6th/18th September 1811 from P.C.Labouchère, St.Petersburg, to Brandt & Rodde, Archangel. From the time of Labouchère’s arrival in Russia, remittances totalling cf 270,000 had reached Amsterdam. 2 To meet the payment due on 1st January, a total of cf 1,450,000 could be remitted in the months of August to December 1811 without influencing the rate of exchange. The limits were cf 450,000 in August and September, cf 250,000 in October, cf 200,000 in November and cf 100,000 in December.

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Page 241

  1. Memorandum from P.C.Labouchère, enclosed with his letter to Guryev of 24th July/5th August 1811.

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  2. Note from the Russian minister of finance, undated.

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  3. Letter of 24th August/5th September 1811 from Guryev, St.Petersburg, to P.C.Labouchère, St.Petersburg.

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Page 242

  1. Letter of 25th August/6th September 1811 from P.C.Labouchère, St.Petersburg, to Guryev, St.Petersburg. Letter of 1st/13th September 1811 from Guryev, St.Petersburg, to P.C. Labouchère, St.Petersburg.

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  2. Letter of 26th August/7th September 1811 from P.C.Labouchère, St.Petersburg, to John, Thomas and Henry Philip Hope, London.

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  3. Letter of 19th August 1812 from P.C.Labouchère, Kassel, to W.Borski, Amsterdam.

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  4. Letter of 11th/23rd September 1811 from P.C.Labouchère, Riga, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam. Letter of 4th October 1811 from P.C.Labouchère, Berlin, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam. Letter of 7th October 1811 from P.C.Labouchère, Leipzig, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam. Letter of 11th December 1811 from P.C.Labouchère, Amsterdam, to Guryev, St.Petersburg.

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  5. Contract of 11th December 1811 between Willem Borski and Hope & Co.

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Page 243

  1. Letter of 25th December 1811 to W.Borski, Amsterdam, A XXVII, ii, 128. Letter of 29th December 1811 to D.Berck and N.Entrop Muller, Amsterdam, A XXVII, ii, 129. Letter of 16th/28th August 1812 from J.Sillem, St.Petersburg, to J.Hope, London. Letter of 13th February 1812 from J.Hope, London, to P.C.Labouchère, Paris. Borski bore no responsibility for the bonds transferred to him or for the five payment warrants which he had issued in favour of A.E.Hope.

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  2. Letter of 2nd January 1812 from P.C.Labouchère, Amsterdam, to De Ribeaupierre, St.Petersburg.

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Page 244

  1. Letter of 11th December 1811 from P.C.Labouchère, Amsterdam, to Nesselrode, St.Petersburg. Nesselrode had returned to Russia in October 1811. Waliszewski, Règne d’Alexandre Ier, 1, 354.

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  2. The metallic bonds, which totalled 217,600 roubles, were divided as follows: Ro. 15,000 in the name of P.C.Labouchère Ro. 79,251 in the name of John Hope Ro. 12,800 in the name of W. and J.Willink Ro. 12,800 in the name of N. and J.P. van Staphorst Ro. 38,400 in the name of D.J.Voombergh Ro. 59,349 in the name of Willem Borski Letter of 10th January 1812 to J.Sillem, Amsterdam, A xxvIII, 15. On 14th April 1812-probably as a precaution-a redistribution of metallic bonds, totalling Ro. 219,178.8. (equivalent to cf 400,000 at a rate of exchange of 36½ stuivers) was made, namely: Ro. 15,000 in the name of P.C.Labouchère Ro. 79,251 in the name of David Berck Ro. 12,800 in the name of W. and J.Willink Ro. 47,749 in the name of W.Borski Ro. 50,000 in the name of W.Borski, plus a balance of Ro. 1,578.8. Letter of 14th April 1812 to Gouryev, St.Petersburg, A xxvIII, 65.

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  3. Vandal, Napoleon Ier et Alexandre Ier, III, 296, 412.

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Page 245

  1. Ibid., 295-296. Letter of 26th February 1812 from P.C.Labouchère, Paris, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam.

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  2. Talleyrand’s financial straits were such that, among other steps, he was obliged to sell his books. He had had eighty works auctioned in April 1811. On 31st January 1812, Napoleon bought Talleyrand’s house in the Rue de Varennes for Fr. 1,200,000. Thus, when Talleyrand sold his library to Labouchère, the worst of his financial problems were behind him. It is difficult to understand why he accepted Russian bonds as payment, since at that moment their value was largely speculative. Letters of 13th February and 24th June 1812 from J.Hope, London, to P.C. Labouchère, Paris and Amsterdam, A v, 119; of 15th May 1812 from P.C.Labouchère, Amsterdam, to J.Hope, London; of 18th August 1812 from Hottinguer & Co., Paris, to Harman & Co., London; of 23rd September and 28th October 1812 from Harman & Co., London, to J.Hope, London; and of 18th February 1813 from Hottinguer & Co., Paris, to Hope & Co., London. G.Lacour-Gayet, Talleyrand, 11 (Paris, 1930), 297, 300, 301, 304. Hottinguer, in Paris, was responsible for despatching the books. Talleyrand did not wish them to be sent in his name, since this would attract the attention of the newspapers in England. At his request, and against payment, Talleyrand received 52 volumes of the ‘Annual Register’ covering the years up to 1808.

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Page 246

  1. Infra, Appendix D-x.

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  2. Letter of 1st May 1812 from J.Sillem, Königsberg, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam. Letter of 3rd May 1812 from J.Sillem, Königsberg, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam. Letter of 8th May 1812 from J.Sillem, Danzig, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam.

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  3. Letter of 13th May 1812 from J.Sillem, Mitau, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam. Letter of 7th/19th May 1812 from J.Sillem, Mitau, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam. Letter of 11th/23rd May 1812 from J.Sillem, Riga, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam. Letterof 17th/29th May 1812 from J.Sillem, St.Petersburg, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam.

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  4. Letters of 13th February and 8th May 1812 from J.Hope, London, to P.C.Labouchère, Paris.

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Page 247

  1. Letters of 15th May and 1st June 1812 from P.C.Labouchère, Amsterdam, to J.Hope, Paris. John Hope’s aversion to continuing the business increased following the discovery that, by manipulating the entries of bonds and vouchers, the cashier, Elinck Sterck, had embezzled 240,000 guilders. In 1809, he had speculated with 5,000 Spanish vouchers, but just then the payment of interest on the bonds had been suspended, sending the price down. To cover his loss, he had speculated first in Dutch shares and later in Russian bonds. From the last of these malversations, there remained 61 bonds. Thanks to A. van der Hoop’s keen eye, these frauds emerged when, under the new partnership, old and new business were separated for accounting purposes at the end of 1811. John Hope urged that the man be prosecuted, but Labouchère preferred to merely dismiss him in order to protect the name of the Company. A similar case, albeit on a smaller scale, had occurred at the house of Molière in The Hague. There, a clerk, who had meanwhile left, was found to have embezzled 10,000 guilders. Labouchère contributed one thousand guilders to a collection for the old Molière who, at the age of 77, lived in rooms with his daughter and had scarcely enough to eat. Letter of 24th June 1812 from J.Hope, London, to P.C.Labouchère, Pyrmont, A v, 118.

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  2. Meyer & Bruxner had received a number of receipts and had already spied out the land. Letters of I9th/31st January 1812 from Meyer & Bruxner, St.Petersburg, to W.Borski, Amsterdam, and of 5th/17th March 1812 from Pichler & Co., St.Petersburg, to A.v.d. Hoop, Amsterdam.

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  3. Letters of 2nd, 16th and 20th May, and 16th June 1812 to J.Sillem, St.Petersburg, A XXVIII, 79, 86, 93, 116. Letters of 17th/29th May and 29th May/10th June 1812 from J.Sillem, St.Petersburg, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam. Letter of 1st August 1812 to John Hope, London.

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Page 248

  1. Letter of 18th/30th June 1812 from J.Sillem, St.Petersburg, to Hope & Co, Amsterdam

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  2. Letter of 25th June/7th July 1812 from J.Sillem, St.Petersburg, to P.C.Labouchère, Pyrmont. Letters of 25th June/7th July and 28th June/10th July/from J.Sillem, St.Petersburg, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam. Sillem was able to send his report to Hope through the assistance of an ambassador who was leaving St.Petersburg following the declaration of hostilities.

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  3. H.T.Colenbrander, Inlijving en opstand, 2nd edition (Amsterdam, 1941), 251. G J.Renier, Great Britain and the establishment of the Kingdom of the Netherlands 1813–1814: A study in British foreign policy (The Hague, 1930), 223.

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  4. Letter of 5th/17th July 1812 from Guryev, St. Petersburg, to J.Sillem, St. Petersburg. Sillem carried evidence of ownership of cf 550,000 of the principal repayment of cf 800,000. Of this, cf 150,000 was to be paid in July, cf 200,000 in August and cf 200,000 in September.

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  5. Letter of 25th June/7th July 1812 from J.Sillem, St.Petersburg, to P.C.Labouchère, Pyrmont.

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Page 249

  1. Letter of 18th August 1812 from P.C.Labouchère, Kassel, to A.v.d. Hoop, Amsterdam. Letter of 19th August 1812 fro, P.C.Labouchère, Kassel, to W.Borski, Amsterdam.

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Page 250

  1. Letter of 19th August 1812 from P.C.Labouchère, Kassel, to W.Borski, Amsterdam.

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  2. Letter of 5th September 1812 to John Hope, London.

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  3. Letters of 5th and 8th September 1812 from P.C.Labouchère, Frankfurt, to A.v.d. Hoop, Amsterdam. Letter of 8th September 1812 from P.C.Labouchère, Frankfurt, to W.Borski, Amsterdam.

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Page 251

  1. Letters of 10th and 20th September 1812 from J.Hope, London, to J.Sillem, St.Petersburg, A v, 133, 139. Letter of 24th September 1812 from J.Hope, London, to Guryev, St.Petersburg, A v, 140.

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  2. Letter of 25th September 1812 to J.Hope, London. Letter of 19th September 1812 to J.Sillem, St.Petersburg, A XXVIII, 17.

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  3. ’speech given on behalf of Hope &Co. by A.v.d. Hoop at the meeting on 17th September 1812.’ ‘Resolutie van de algemeene vergadering van geïnteresseerden in de Russische leeningen,’ held in the Doelen on 17th September 1812.

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Page 252

  1. Letter of 11th September 1812 from P.C.Labouchère, Frankfurt, to J.Sillem, St.Petersburg. Letter of 22nd September 1812 from P.C.Labouchère, Frankfurt, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam. Letter of 29th September 1812 to P.C.Labouchère, Frankfurt, A XXVIII, 176. Letter of 7th November 1812 from W.Borski, Amsterdam, to Hope &Co., Amsterdam.

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  2. Letters of 22nd and 29th September 1812 from P.C.Labouchère, Frankfurt, to A.v.d. Hoop, Amsterdam. Robert Voûte had been appointed Director of the Central Fund by Napoleon. In this post he was responsible to the Intendant of Finances, Gogel, who in turn was responsible to the Govenor-general, Lebrun. Colenbrander, Inlijving en Opstand, 56. Letter of 29th September 1812 to P.C.Labouchère, Frankfurt, A XXVIII, 177. 30th September 1812: requests to the Duke of Rovigo and the Emperor of the French, A XXVIII, 181, 183.

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  3. Letter of 14th/26th November 1812 from Guryev, St.Petersburg, to J.Sillem, St. Petersburg. Letter of 15th/27th November 1812 from J.Sillem, St.Petersburg, to P.C.Labouchère, Frankfurt. Letter of 31st December 1812 from P.C.Labouchère, Frankfurt, to A.v.d. Hoop, Amsterdam.

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  4. Letter of 31st December 1812 from P.C.Labouchère, Frankfurt, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam. Letter of 9th January 1813 to P.C.Labouchère, Frankfurt, A XXVIII, 277. The managers decided not to publicize the fact that Labouchère had been refused a passport to enter Russia.

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Page 253

  1. Letters of 24th October, and 3rd, 14th and 28th November 1812 to J.Sillem, St.Petersburg, A xxvm, 194, 209, 221, 232. Letter of 29th October 1812 to J.Hope, London.

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  2. Letters of 12th and 21 st November, and 1st December 1812 to Count von Stackelberg, Vienna, A XXVIII, 219, 229, 240. Amburger, Geschichte Behördenorganisation, 446, 447.

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  3. Letter of 10th December 1812 from M.Bethmann, Frankfurt, to A.v.d. Hoop, Amsterdam. Bethmann anticipated that the price would fall to 25-26 in January, and this he regarded as the limit. In fact, the price varied between 37 and 41 in January.

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  4. Letters of 10th July and 28th September 1812 from J.Hope, London, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam, A v, 123, 142. Letter of 29th September 1812 from J.Hope, London, to D.Berck, Amsterdam, A v, 145. Letter of 1st August 1812 to J.Hope, London. Letter of 22nd September 1812 from P.C.Labouchère, Frankfurt, to A.v.d. Hoop, Amsterdam.

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  5. Infra, 426. Letter of 28th February 1813 from D.Berck, Amsterdam, to J.Hope, London. Berck went so far as to say that, if necessary, he would draw on London.

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Page 254

  1. Letter of 28th February 1813 from D.Berck, Amsterdam, to J.Hope, London.

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  2. Letter of 28th February 1813 to J.Hope, London. Labouchère also dissociated himself from any reimbursement of travelling expenses. Letter of 1st March 1813 from W.Borski, Amsterdam, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam.

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  3. Letter of 18th February 1813 from Baring Bros., London, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam. Letter of 21st February 1813 from S.P.Labouchère, Rotterdam, to A.v.d. Hoop, Amsterdam. Letter of 27th February 1813 to Baring Bros., London, A XXVIII, 316. Letter of 22nd March 1813 from Harman & Co., London, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam. Letter of 31st March 1813 from Hottinguer & Co., Paris, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam. Letter of 22nd June 1813 to Baron Voûte, Paris, A XXVIII, 372. The issue of the ‘Moniteur’ dated 31st March 1813 contained a report of the expulsion of Borski and S.P.Labouchère.

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  4. Letter of 11th/23rd October 1812 from J.Sillem, St.Petersburg, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam. Nevertheless, a further cf 93,239.4.0., representing sales of goods, was credited to the account H. of Melvil & Co. during the course of 1812.

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Page 255

  1. 30th November 1812: Report on Operation R.M.Sillem succeeded in getting Wolff & Schlüsser to reduce their exhorbitant charges of Ro. 4,960.4 by Ro. 4,000 by threatening to publish their charge account alongside that of Blessig in a Dutch newspaper. Letter of 8th/20th November 1812 from J.Sillem, St.Petersburg, to R.Melvil, Amsterdam. The loss on the tar shipped by Becker amount ed to cf 56,030. Depreciation of cf 200,000 was applied to Operation R.M. during 1810. In 1812, cf 65,000 of this was restored under the head ‘excess depreciation of profit and loss,’ grootboek 181 o: Account7/16, our account R.M., 199, grootboek 1812:Account 7/16, our account R.M., 117. A further cf 93,239.4 was transferred via Melvil & Co. in 1812 (note 4, page 254). This represented remittances from Blessig, Meyer & Bruxner and Benecke & Co. of Hamburg; the last-named served as an intermediary for some remittances from Russia. In addition, Meyer & Bruxner remitted Ro. 69,757 to Baring Brothers in 1812. The former had also placed a sum of Ro. 29,120 at the disposal of Sillem upon his arrival in St.Petersburg. During 1812, this house sold 40,065 poods of Demidov’s iron, the net proceeds totalling Ro. 171,505.89, and 141 bales, or 420,000 arshins, of crash, which netted Ro. 75,065. Of the stock of metal, 17,345 poods of Demidov’s common bar old sable iron, 37,134 poods of Yakovlev’s broad iron, 200,884 poods of P.S.F. common bar old sable iron and 1,438 poods of copper then remained. Sillem received a commission of 2 % on the sums remitted to Holland since his arrival in Russia.

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  2. Letter of 28th November 1812 to J.Sillem, St.Petersburg, A XXVIII, 232. Letter of 28th November 1812 to Guryev, St.Petersburg, A XXVIII, 237. Letter of 17th/29 January 1813 from J.Sillem, St.Petersburg, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam. It was not until 16th March 1813 that Guryev wrote to say that he recognized the duty to repay the cf 800,000 furnished in bonds; repayment, plus interest, was effected in twelve monthly instalments. Hope’s connexions in England were of great value in this matter for, thanks to the English subsidies, it suited the Russian government to pay through Harman & Co. Grootboek 1814: Russian Crown, 19.

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  3. Prince Dolgorukov was reported to be particularly concerned about the Dutch prisoners of war. As mentioned in note 2 on page 232, Prince Dolgorukov had been his country’s envoy to the Kingdom of Holland until 1810. Among the persons about whom Sillem was asked to enquire were Von Kretschmar, Joseph Charles le Bas, Charles Augustin le Bas, Morard de Galles, Joachim Rendorp, Colonel Wagner, De Pontecoulant and De Noinville. In July 1813, Sillem wrote to say that the correspondence concerning prisoners of war could better be entrusted to a Russian house because difficulty with the language hampered his contacts with the war and police departments.

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  4. British and Foreign State Papers, edited by the Librarian of the Foreign Office, 1 (London, 1838), 58, 63.

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Page 256

  1. O. Karmin, ‘Autour des négociations financières Anglo-Prusso-Russes de 1813,’ Revue Historique de la Révolution et del’Empire, XI, 1917, 177–197, XII, 1917, 24-49, 216-252. C. K. Webster, The foreign policy of Castlereagh, 1812–1815, 1 (London, 1931), 133. F. de Martens, Supplément au Recueil des Traités, v, 1808–1814 (Göttingen, 1817), 568-570, 577-579. It was agreed at the Reichenbach Convention that paper money, to be known as ‘argent fédératif,’ would be issued to a value of 5 million pounds sterling. Half of this sum was to be repaid by England, 2/6th by Russia and 1/6th by Prussia. Of the 5 million pounds, Russia would receive two-thirds and Prussia one-third. Grave doubts concerning the ability of Russia and Prussia to repay this money, coupled with the insistence of the Prussian statesman Von Stein that England alone should guarantee the paper money (something which that country was unwilling to do), resulted in the ‘argent fédératif’ plan being dropped. Instead, England, in the supplementary convention of 30th September 1812, undertook to pay out half of the original sum, i.e. 2 1/2 million pounds sterling. This took the form of bills of credit which could later be exchanged for inscribed stock payable in cash, plus 6 % interest. Two-thirds of the bills went to Russia and one-third to Prussia. Memoir of the Public Life of the Right Hon. John Charles Herries, in the reigns of George III, George IV, William IV and Victoria, by his son Edward Herries, C.B., 1 (London, 1880), 88.

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  2. Letters of 26th November and 31st December 1812 to J.Hope, London. Letters of 28th November 1812, and 9th January, 20th March, 1st June and 12th June 1813 to J. Sillem, St.Petersburg, A XXVIII, 232, 270, 332, 362, 365. Letter of 17th January 1813 from P.C.Labouchère, Frankfurt, to A.v.d. Hoop, Amsterdam.

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  3. Letter of 17th January 1813 from P.C.Labouchère, Frankfurt, to A.v.d. Hoop, Amsterdam. Letter of 12th June 1813 to J. Sillem, St.Petersburg, A XXVIII, 365.

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  4. Letter of 22nd June to Baron Voûte, Paris, A xxvm, 372.

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  5. Letters of 4th and 14th August 1813 from Von Stackelberg, Vienna, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam.

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  6. Letters of 26th August and 9th September 1813 to Von Stackelberg, Vienna, A XXVIII, 411, 412.

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Page 257

  1. Letter of 10th November 1813 from Von Stackelberg, Vienna, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam. Letter of 11th November 1813 from Von Stackelberg, Vienna, to P.C.Labouchère, Frankfurt.

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  2. 1st November 1813: Confidential report by the prefect of the Zuyderzee département to the minister for home affairs. H.T.Colenbrander, Gedenkstukken, VI (The Hague, 1911), 478-479. The Rothschilds had been similarly watched by the French secret police in 1812, because they were suspected of having connexions with a relative, Nathan Mayer Rothschild, in London; Mollien, however, had protected them. E.C.Conte Corti, Der Aufstieg des Hauses Rothschild (Leipzig, 1927), 131-132. After Holland had been liberated, Labouchére, in company with Bethmann, made efforts to persuade the new government of the Netherlands to adopt a conciliatory policy which would include allowing those who had served Napoleon to continue in office and, if possible, reaching a compromise with the emperor himself. These semi-diplomatic attempts at mediation aroused the same sort of irritation and suspicion in the agent of the future King William 1, Hans von Gagern-who had discussed the matter with Labouchère and Bethmann in Frankfurt in late November and early December 1813-as they had aroused in De Celles a month earlier. H.T.Colenbrander, Gedenkstukken, VI, 1981; Gedenkstukken, VII(The Hague, 1914), 371, 388.

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  3. Letter of 23rd November 1813 from P.C.Labouchère, Frankfurt, to Von Stackelberg, Vienna. Letter of 1st December 1813 from Von Stackelberg, Vienna, to P.C.Labouchère, Frankfurt. Letter of 10th December 1813 from P.C.Labouchère, Mannheim, to Von Stackelberg, Vienna. Letter of 15th March 1814 to A.Baring, London. Sillem was somewhat surprised by the unexpected draft. Letter of 4th/16th November 1813 from J. Sillem, St.Petersburg, to Hope &Co., Amsterdam.

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Page 258

  1. Waliszewski, Règne d’Alexandre Ier, 11, 203. Letter of 13th November 1813 from P.C.Labouchère, Frankfurt, to Guryev, St.Petersburg. Letter of 15th November 1813 from P.C.Labouchère, Frankfurt, to J.Sillem, St.Petersburg. Letter of 28th November 1813 from P.C.Labouchère, Mannheim, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam. Napoleon had also stayed with Bethmann in 1813. Conte Corti, Aufstieg Rothschild, 453.

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  2. Letter of 15th January 1814 to Guryev, St.Petersburg, A XXVIII, 454. Letter of 1st January 1814 to J.Sillem, St.Petersburg, A XXVIII, 452.

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  3. Letter of 25th March 1814 from J.Sillem, St.Petersburg, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam.

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Page 259

  1. Letter of 7/19th February 1814 from Guryev, St.Petersburg, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam. Letter of 11th February 1814 from M.v. Bethmann, Frankfurt, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam. Letter of 25th March 1814 from J. Sillem, St.Petersburg, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam. Letter of 18th March 1814 from De Gervais, Amsterdam, to P.C.Labouchère, London. Karmin, ‘Autour des négociations,’ 251-252. De Gervais was to work under the supervision of Nesselrode. Under Article 4 of the supplementary convention of 30th September 1813, the Russian and Prussian representatives were made responsible for ensuring that the credit of their respective countries was not harmed by the issue of the bills of credit. Prussia sent the well-known classicist and historian Barthold Niebuhr to Amsterdam as its representative. He had tried unsuccessfully to negotiate a loan for Prussia with Hope & Co. in 1808, and since then had demonstrated a clear dislike of the Company, and especially of P.C.Labouchère.

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  2. Letter of 24th February 1814 from P.C.Labouchère, London, to De Gervais, Amsterdam. Letter of 25th February 1814 from P.C.Labouchère, London, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam. Letter of 26th February 1814 to J. Sillem, St.Petersburg, A XXVIII, 478.

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  3. Letter of 22nd February 1814 from P.C.Labouchère, London, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam.

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Page 260

  1. Letter of 25th February 1814 from P.C.Labouchère, London, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam. Letter of 4th March 1814 to D.Berck and N.A.Entrop Muller, Amsterdam, A XXVIII, 481.

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  2. Letter of 22nd February 1814 from P.C.Labouchère, London, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam.

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  3. Letter of 23rd February 1814 from S.P.Labouchère, Rotterdam, to A.v.d. Hoop, Amsterdam. Letter of 24th February 1814 from S.P.Labouchère, Rotterdam, to A.v.d. Hoop, Amsterdam.

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  4. Letter of 12th March 1814 to De Gervais, Amsterdam, A XXVIII, 489. Letter of 1st March 1814 to Bethmann Bros., Frankfurt, A XXVIII, 481.

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  5. Memoir Herries, 85. Letter of 10th/11th March 1814 from P.C.Labouchère, London, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam.

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Page 261

  1. Letter of 7th/8th March 1814 from P.C.Labouchère, London, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam. After 1807 the Mint in Utrecht became the official Mint. Enno van Gelder, De Nederlandse Muntert, 165, 167.

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  2. Letter of 7th/8th March 1814 from P.C.Labouchère, London, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam.

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  3. Letters concerning purchases of money: of 28th February, 4th, 8th, 12th, 18th and 24th March, 1st, 4th, 9th and 20 th April 1814 to De Gervais, Amsterdam, A XXVIII, 480, 483, 486, 489, 491, 493, 494, 495, 496-498, 507; of 12th May 1814 to De Gervais, Paris, A XXVIII, 519.

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  4. Letter of 25th February 1814 from P.C.Labouchère, London, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam.

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  5. Letter of 7th March 1814 from P.C.Labouchère, London, to D.Voombergh, Amsterdam. Labouchère felt that the machinations of the speculators could be brought to an end by making it compulsory to produce the covering bond when making a payment in matured vouchers.

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Page 262

  1. Letters of 25th March, and 5th April 1814 from J.Sillem, St.Petersburg, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam. Letter of 18th March 1814 from De Gervais, Amsterdam, to P.C.Labouchère, London. Letter of 1st April 1814 from P.C.Labouchère, London, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam. Letter of 23rd April 1814 to J. Sillem, St.Petersburg, A XXVIII, 509.

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  2. Letter of 9th April 1814 from De Gervais, Amsterdam, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam. Letter of 9th April 1814 to De Gervais, Amsterdam, A XXVIII, 498. Letter of 12th April 1814 from P.C.Labouchère, London, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam. Memoir Hernes, 87, 89. Conte Corti, Aufstieg Rothschild, 139-140.

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  3. Letters of 22nd March and 5th April 1814 from P.C.Labouchère, London, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam.

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Page 263

  1. Letter of 29th April 1814 to De Gervais, Amsterdam, A XXVIII, 515. Letter of 7th May 1814 to J.Sillem, St.Petersburg, A XXVIII, 517. Letter of 26th April 1814 from P.C.Labouchère, London, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam. Memoir Herries, 89, 237.

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  2. Ibid., 238, 239.

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  3. Letter of 17th May 1814 from P.C.Labouchère, Paris, to De Gervais, Paris. Letter of 17th May 1814 from De Gervais, Paris, to P.C.Labouchère, Paris. Memoir Herries, 90, 240.

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Page 264

  1. Letter of 19th June 1814 from P.C.Labouchère, London, to Nesselrode(?) Letter from G. Harrison, Secretary to the Treasury, to William Hamilton, Under-Secretary of Foreign Affairs, in reply to Count Nesselrode’s note of 14th May 1814. Although this letter is only a reply to a note from Nesselrode, Harrison requests Hamilton to make its contents known to Castlereagh, who had passed notes from both the Russian and Prussian governments to the Lords Commissioners. We may assume that the notes from the governments were almost identical. It is scarcely conceivable that the Lords Commissioners would have agreed to general measures relating to the bills of credit of the Russian and Prussian requests had differed widely. Memoir Herries, 92, 240.

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  2. The documents ratifying the peace treaty were exchanged prior to 15th June, and thus redemption of the bills of credit would have had to commence on 15th July at the latest. Letter of 7th June 1814 from De Gervais, Amsterdam, to P.C.Labouchère, London.

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  3. Letters of 31st May and 7th June 1814 from De Gervais, Amsterdam, to P.C.Labouchère, London. De Gervais announced in a Frankfurt journal that, during a period of two months, facilities would be provided in Berlin and Königsberg whereby the assignats could either be exchanged for payment orders on the Russian Treasury, or for the first one-third in cash at the rate of 29 Prussian talers to 100 roubles or for 2-month drafts on London; for the second one-third in 9-month, 7% bonds in Prussian talers at the rate of 30 talers to 100 roubles; and for the final one-third in similar bonds with a life of 18 months and bearing interest at 7%. Assignats in circulation in Germany were not allowed to be sent to Russia, lest this caused a further decline in the value of the rouble. Memoir Herries, 95. The low rate of exchange of the rouble produced such a demand for drafts on London that the exchange rate of the rouble there was adversely affected.

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Page 265

  1. Letters of 7th, 10th and 14th June 1814 from P.C.Labouchère, London, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam.

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  2. Letter of 17th June 1814 from De Gervais, Amsterdam, to P.C.Labouchère, London. Herries, representing the British Treasury, subsequently took over the agreement between Rothschild and the Russian government providing for accelerated payment of the first six monthly instalments, and also a second transaction relating to the last eight instalments. The assignment brought the British government a sizeable financial advantage, but we may assume that Rothschild also fared well. Memoir Herries, 93. R. Ehrenburg, Grosse Vermögen, ihre Entstehung und ihre Bedeutung (Jena, 1902), 65. Conte Corti, Aufstieg Rothschild, 151-152.

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  3. Letters of 26th and 28th July 1814 from P.C.Labouchère, London, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam. Letter of 8th October 1814 from P.C.Labouchère, Paris, to A.v.d. Hoop, Amsterdam. Letter of 22nd October 1814 to J.Sillem, St.Petersburg, A XXVIII, 583.

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Page 266

  1. Letter of 23rd July 1814 from De Gervais, Amsterdam, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam. Letter of 25th July 1814 from Sir Geo. Burgmann, Amsterdam, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam. This concerned the monthly instalment due on 15th January 1815. This was paid through Rothschild. Letter of 13th December 1814 to Salomon Mayer Rothschild, Amsterdam, A XXVIII, 616. Letter of 17th December 1814 to De Gervais, Berlin, A XXVIII, 617.

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  2. Letter of 26th July 1814 from P.C.Labouchère, London, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam. Labouchère’s disappointment over the cf 500,000 advance is understandable. However, during their meeting in Paris in May, De Gervais had made it clear that he did not intend to repay this advance with bills of credit. Letter of 17th May 1814 from P.C.Labouchère, Paris, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam.

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  3. Letter of 22nd October 1814 to J.Sillem, St.Petersburg, A XXVIII, 583.

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  4. Letter of 27th December 1812/8th January 1813 from J.Sillem, St.Petersburg, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam.

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  5. Letters of 17th/29th June, 22nd July/3rd August and 9th/21st September 1813 from J.Sillem, St.Petersburg, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam. Sillem sold a further 300 raven-ducks in September 1813, but apart from these the market was totally dead.

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  6. Letter of 4/16th November 1813 from J.Sillem, St.Petersburg, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam.

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Page 267

  1. Letters of 18th February/2nd March and 10th/22nd April 1814 from J.Sillem, St.Petersburg, to P.C.Labouchère, London. During Sillem’s absence, his brother, Johann, took charge of affairs.

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  2. Letter of 21st April/3rd May 1814 from J.Sillem, St.Petersburg, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam. Letter of 24th May 1814 from J.Sillem, Altona, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam. Letters of 7th and 10th June 1814 from P.C.Labouchère, London, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam. Letter of 13th June 1814 from De Gervais, Amsterdam, to P.C.Labouchère, London.

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  3. Letters of 14th and 21st June 1814 from P.C.Labouchère, London, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam. On 19th June, Labouchère had a meeting with Nesselrode, who repeated his assurance that the Dutch investors could fully rely upon the loyalty of the czar. Guryev had said something similar to Sillem, but he had not elaborated on this. Concerning the festivities in London: H. Nicholson, The Congress of Vienna, a study in allied unity 1812–1822 (New York, 1946), 113-116.

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Page 268

  1. Letter of 5th July 1814 to Guryev, St.Petersburg, A XXVIII, 540. To meet the czar’s expenses during his stay in Holland, Hope & Co. advanced 6,000 ducats at cf 5.14 to the ducat. Grootboek 1814: Russian Crown, 19. Renier, Great Britain, 198.

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  2. Letter of 11th July 1814 from P.C.Labouchère, London, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam.

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  3. H.T.Colenbrander, Ontstaan der Grondwet, 11 (RGP, Kleine Serie 7, The Hague, 1909), 32-33. Colenbrander, Gedenkstukken, VII, 62, 79-82, 85-87, 90, 161. H.T.Colenbrander, Vestiging van het Koninkrijk, 1813–1815 (Amsterdam, 1927), 178-182, 186. Renier, Great Britain, 260, 261, 295. The question of interest payments by Russia had arisen in negotiations between the allies prior to the first Peace of Paris (Cf. page 248). Russia had made it a condition of her signature to the treaty of Chaumont (9th March 1814), under which the allies entered into a 20-year pact to oppose France, that England and Holland should assume responsibility for her debt in Holland. Castlereagh had then rejected the ultimatum. Under the final clause of the protocol of 21st June 1814, Nesselrode could press the claim.

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  4. Letter of ist August 1814 from P.C.Labouchère, Rotterdam, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam. Letter of 4th/14th September 1814 from J.Sillem, St.Petersburg, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam. Letter of 15th October 1814 to J. Sillem, St.Petersburg, A XXVIII, 579.

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Page 269

  1. Letter of 25th September/7th October 1814 from J. Sillem, St.Petersburg, to R.Melvil, Amsterdam. The deal concerned P.S.F. iron from Yakovlev. Michailov offered 40,000 roubles in cash and the balance in proportion to the deliveries of the iron, spread over 7 months and with interest at ½% per month. Letter of 8th/18th November 1814 to the widow of W.Borski, Matthiessen & Sillem and Bethmann Bros., A XXVIII, 605. The market revived following the sale of the 200,000 poods of iron. Sillem put this down to commercial jealousy. A more probable explanation is that others also commenced to speculate on a resumption of trade with America in the next shipping season.

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  2. 6th/18th November 1814: Purchase and Sale Accounts of Schlüsser & Co., St.Petersburg, covering 2,950 pieces of raven-duck at Ro. 36 and 500 pieces of Flemish linen at Ro. 45¾. 12th/24th November: Sale Account of Cramer Bros., St.Petersburg, covering 1,930 pieces of raven-duck, of which 1,830 were sold at Ro. 36 and 100 at Ro. 34 (owing to deterioration of quality). 13th/25th November 1814: Sale Account of N.D.Bothlingk, covering 1,516 pieces of Flemish linen at R0.45¾ and 1,904 pieces of raven-duck at Ro. 36.

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  3. The purchasing costs of 238,000 poods of Yakovlev’s P.S.F. iron, 9,725 poods of Demidov’s iron and 1,428 poods of copper totalled cf 395,518, converted at a rate of 17 stuivers to the rouble. The selling price, after deducting costs, was cf 403,223, based on the fixed rate of 10¼ stuivers to the rouble. Ignoring the loss of interest, the profit was thus 2 %. The raven-duck and the Flemish linen had in 1809 together cost cf 135,116, based on a rate of 17 stuivers. In 1814, at a rate of 10 stuivers, they fetched cf 159,078, after deducting costs. The profit on these, ignoring loss of interest, was therefore 20 %.

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Page 270

  1. Letters of 15th and 25th October 1814 to J.Sillem, St.Petersburg, A XXVIII, 579, 589. Letter of 27th October/8th November 1814 from J.Sillem, St.Petersburg, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam. The cf 800,000 was furnished in the form of a letter of credit from Salomon Mayer Rothschild on Braunsberg & Co. of Amsterdam. This was made out in favour of Guryev and transferred by his endorsement to Hope & Co. 30th December 1814: Acknowledgement of receipt of cf 800,000 from Braunsberg & Co. Sillem received letters of introduction to 12 houses, namely Meyer & Bruxner, Colombi Zea & Co., Livio Bros. & Co., Amburger & Son, Stieglitz & Co., Ph.Stieglitz, Bagge & Co., Blessig & Co., J.A.Krehmer and Messrs.J.Krause; J.D.Drachenhauer & Co. and B.J.Zuckerbäcker Klein & Co., in Riga were the only houses outside St.Petersburg Sillem characterized a number of these houses: J A.Krehmer bit off more than it could chew, and would have lost heavily in 1814; Ph.Stieglitz was not a businessman, and had no opportunity to do anything abroad; Zuckerbäcker Klein & Co. had been successful in recent years and was worth retaining by reason of the honesty, energy and intelligence of the manager; but it was necessary to keep a tight rein on the house because the partners still had the unfortunate habit of exceeding their capacity. Letter of 25th October 1814 to J.Sillem, St.Petersburg, A XXVIII, 589. Letter of 10th/22nd November 1814 from J.Sillem, St.Petersburg, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam. Hope informed Sillem that there was little demand for linen goods in Holland, but that prices were high on account of the small stocks. Little linseed was being sold, but not much was arriving either. Significant quantities of copper had been sold to Belgium, Germany and France during 1814, but strong competition from the Hamburg market adversely influenced sales in Amsterdam. The broker whom the Company employed in this sector was not particularly active, and for a commodity such as copper, which was not sold every day, this was a considerable handicap. Letters of 25th October and 1st November 1814 to J.Sillem, St.Petersburg, A XXVIII, 589, 596.

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  2. Letters of 14th and 20th October 1814 from P.C.Labouchère, Bordeaux and Nantes, to A.v.d. Hoop, Amsterdam. Letter of 15th October 1814 to J.Sillem, St.Petersburg, A XXVIII, 579.

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  3. Renier, Great Britain, 297. Colenbrander, Vestiging, 209-213.

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Page 272

  1. Renier, ibid., 298. Colenbrander, ibid., 213.

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  2. Letter of 28th April 1815 from P.F.Lestapis, Amsterdam, to P.C.Labouchère, London. Letter of 4th May 1815 from P.C.Labouchère, London, to Count Lieven, London. In their calculation of 15th April 1815, the partners put the balance of the principal sum at cf 84,300,000. In fact, 2000 bonds out of the total of 88,300 had been redeemed in 1803 and a further 2,700 in the years 1811 and 1812, so that 83,600 remained. In calculating the principal sum, Weeveringh, Geschiedenis Staatsschulden, 11, 673, took no account of the redemption of 2,000 bonds in 1803.

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  3. Letter of 9th May 1815 from P.C.Labouchère, London, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam.

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  4. Letter of 16th May 1815 from P.C.Labouchère, London, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam.

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  5. At this time Talleyrand, who was in Vienna, kept Labouchère informed about political developments. His letters contain no reference to the unreliability of the Belgians. Letters of 6th, 9th and 23rd April 1815 from Talleyrand, Vienna, to P.C.Labouchère London. Letter of 31st March 1815 from P.C.Labouchère, London, to A.v.d. Hoop, Amsterdam.

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Page 273

  1. Letter of 13th/25th June 1815 from Count Lieven, London, to P.C.Labouchère, London. Early in 1816, 2 million francs were remitted to Hope from Paris by Rothschild and Gontard; a further 2½ million francs followed in the second half of the year. From these funds, two drafts each of cf 456,250 were issued for the dowry of the Grand Duchess Anna Paulowna, who married the Crown Prince in 1816. According to the marriage contract of 1815, the grand duchess received a gift of 1 million roubles (N.Japikse, De geschiedenis van het Huis Oranje-Nassau, 11, The Hague, 1948, 164). Observing that the rate of exchange of the rouble was then about 10 stuivers, the sum remitted was nearly twice that referred to in the marriage contract. Letters of 24th January/5th February, 6th/18th March, 22nd April/4th May, 31st May/12th June, 1st/13th July, 5th/17th August and 30th September/12th October 1816 from Guryev, St.Petersburg, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam. Letters of 2nd, 8th, 15th and 26th March 1816 from De Gervais, Paris, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam.

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  2. ‘Avis’ dated 9th November 1815, issued by Hope & Co. Vouchers which had matured on 1st January 1813 participated in a ballot for cf 100,000, those maturing on 1st January 1814 in a ballot for cf 75,000, those which had matured on 1st January 1815 shared cf 50,000 and those which fell due on 1st January 1816 shared cf 25,000. At the request of a large numner of bondholders, the bonuses were divided into lots of cf 1,000 in order that as many holders as possible could benefit. Letter of 13th November 1815 from A.Brinkman, Amsterdam, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam. Stamp duty on the 18,000 new bonds was limited to 9½ stuivers. The ‘Conseiller de Collège,’ Perovsky, visited Amsterdam, for the purpose of countersigning the bonds. Because they were given in the form of bonds, the bonuses served to increase Russia’s debt to cf 101,600,000. The sums of interest capitalized were: Over 1812 at 5% cf 4,104,000 interest on interest from 1.1.13 to 1.1.16 cf 615, 600 Over 1813 at 5% cf 4,180,000 interest on interest from 1.1.14 to 1.1.16 cf 418,000 Over 1814 at 5 % cf 4,180,000 interest on interest from 1.1.15 to 1.1.16 cf 209,000 Over 1815 at 5 % cf 4,180,000 interest on interest Of this sum, cf 18,000,000 was met by the issue of 18,000 new bonds. The Russian Court also had at its disposal 1,307 bonds which, with interest on interest, arrears of interest and two bonuses, were worth cf 1,576,135. (The ballot on 1st June 1811 had reduced the number to 1,289). After the payment of the balance of cf 136,600 plus Hope’s commission of 6½% on cf 18,000,000, i.e. cf 1,170,000, there remained cf 269,535 or 269 bonds plus cf 535. ‘Compte Général,’ enclosed with Hope’s letter of 15th June 1816 to Guryev, St.Petersburg

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  3. Letter of 11th December 1815 from J.v.d. Poll, C.v.d. Oudermeulen, J.Bondt, J. de Burlett and J.v.d. Mandele, to Hope & Co., Amsterdam.

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  4. Letter of 12th December 1815 from A.v.d. Hoop, Amsterdam, to J.v d.Poll, cum suis, Amsterdam.

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Page 274

  1. Weeveringh, Geschiedenis Staatsschulden, II, 872-873.

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  1. Rijksuniversiteit te Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands

    Marten Gerbertus Buist

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© 1974 Martinus Nijhoff, The Hague, Netherlands

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Buist, M.G. (1974). Per Aspera ad Astra From the Suspension of Payments to the Arrangement of 1815. In: At Spes non Fracta. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-8858-6_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-8858-6_8

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