I50 RECORDS OF OLD TIMES 



hall was crowded, many ladies being present. I may 

 remark that we were all astounded at the statement 

 of our chairman, and — our shares rose 500 per cent.! 

 Our original 5/. shares were sold readily at 25/. each, 

 and were still rising in the market. It was then 

 agreed to bring out the German company like the 

 French, at 75,000/. in 5/. shares — 50,000/. for us, and 

 25,000/. for establishment and working capital. 

 In forty-eight hours after our prospectus was 

 issued 67,000/. was subscribed. Now began our 

 troubles, and I venture to think we were most 

 cruelly and unjustly treated. It appeared that in 

 our prospectus for this German company there was 

 a statement to the effect that the German patent had 

 been granted, which, in fact, it had ; but our solicitor 

 was not aware at the time that the instrument, after 

 being granted, had to lie at the office in Berlin 

 for six weeks before it could be ratified, so as to 

 give anyone an opportunity of lodging an objection 

 to the specifications. As we felt perfectly confident 

 there could not be any valid objection to it, we pro- 

 ceeded to allotment, as the whole capital had been 

 applied for, and a premium of 2/. a share was at 

 once offered. A friend of my brother's, a man well 

 known on the Stock Exchange, one Ffarrington 

 Bellairs, asked me to obtain him an allotment of a 

 hundred shares, and when they were allotted he paid 

 the deposit and received the shares. It now appears 

 that certain wreckers on the Stock Exchange, who 

 are always found when necessary, had discovered 

 the fact as to objections to the German patents. A 



