Oct. r, 1897.I 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
227 
more letter (D), lived for a space of well-nigli 
tliirty years, and came to its end only last year. 
After Cambridge, Mr. Martin Leake made 
A TOUK ABROAD. 
Tlie Crimean winter was .spent in Rome. There 
he met the late iMr. A. 11. Baillie who^ was travelh 
ing witli his mother and sisters. Larly in 1855 
Mr. A. H. Baillie returned home to go out to 
Ceylon, wliere, subsequently, he and Mr. W. M. 
Leake were on very friendly terms as Proprietor 
and Agent. Messrs. Lightfoot and Benson, after- 
wards Bishoj) and Archbisho[(, were there also. 
Mr. Leake had known them at Cambridge; and 
with Mr. Benson, as being then a young liugby 
master, there was a connecting link. Mr. Martin 
Leake helonged to the Artists’ Club for the winter; 
there he met Mr. Leighton just about to exhibit 
attlie Royal Academy !iis first picture, the “ Pro- 
cession in tlie Streets of Florence,” about which all 
Rome was talking. With three others he walked 
through the length of the Volscian Hills from 
Albano on to the rail at Capua, saw no brigands 
though warned to expect, them— people all very 
kind and civil. P’rom Rome Mr. Leake went 
to Naples, saw a fine eruption of Vesuvius, to 
Sicily (ascended Etna), to Leghoin, Florence, 
Bologna, Padua, Venice, thence to Trieste, 
Vienna, Halzburg and the Tyrol, Munich, Prague, 
Uresdcn, Berlin, Hamburg and home. 
Next we come to Mr. Leake’s 
APPRENTICESHIP AS ENGINEER. 
An interesting item, as bearing on present contro- 
versies is the expenditure by London Dock Com- 
pany in 1855-59 on construction of Shadwell Basin. 
To make this comparatively small area of Dock the 
Company spent about £1,UU0,0U0 steiling, half the 
sum being expended in buying up and pulling 
down streets of houses. The Dock Companj’s 
shares fell under this expenditure from par to 
below 6', and have never risen again, aimul- 
taneously the present Victor ia Dock, just below 
Biackwall, was being made, G. P. Bidder being 
Engineer, by an independent Company on the Itssex 
marshes where land was still cheap, and the London 
Dock subsequently bought up this much larger and 
more convenient 'Dock in self-defence, adding to 
it in 1878 and 1879 the Rojal Albert Dock, the. 
largest Dock of all. Sir A. M. Rendel is still 
Engineer to the London Dock Company as his father 
was 40 years ago. It was at yiiadwell, in I860, 
that Mr. W. Martin Leake first met his old friend 
and once partner, iMr. G. D. B. Plarrison. Early in 
1857 Mr. G. D. B. Harrison went out to Ceylon as 
one of Capt. Moorsom’s staff for the Ceylon 
Railway. 
At Elswick Mr. W. M. Leake saw the sacond 
Armstrong Gun made. This gun was taken to 
Woolwich to practise against the Royal Artillery. 
Its performance was such as to make absolutely 
necessary an immediate and com])lete revolution 
in big guns. It will be remembered that Mr. 
Armstrong was put in charge of the tVoolwich 
Arsenal and given a free hand to the great 
discontent of Whitworth. Such a weapon as the 
Armstrong gun of that date, the bore with 40 
spiral grooves and a shot with lead lining, has 
long disappeared from the scene. 
Leith. — One of the pleasantest years was spent 
in Edinburgh in August 1858 to August 1859, 
Unbounded hospitality awaited the Southron, 
especially one who was able and willing to play 
cricket, rackets and to row. The late Lawrence 
M.ercer, once Manager of the Ceylon Co., Ltd., 
-was then tiecretary of the St, Andrew’s Boat 
Club, and there was a lively time generally. 
G. Itobertson, trie Resident Engineer of Leith 
Dock.?, was eldest son of Lord Benhohn, one rf 
the Judges, so the Assistant Engineer did not 
want for introductions. 
In 1859, while at Leith, Mr. W’. Martin Leake 
received an invitation from his okl fellow-pupil, 
Mr. G. D. B, Harrison, 
TO JOIN HIM IN CEYLON 
where. Sir H. AVard being Governor, money was 
being freely spent hy the Government on Irrigation 
Works, &c. The ofiei', seeming to be a promising one 
as regards prospects, was accepted, and in October 
of that year Mr. W. Martin Leake sailed Irom 
Southampton for Galle. Alas! for the luture pios- 
pecis — by the middle of 18(30 !Sir H. Ward left 
Ceylon tor Madras, and ISir C. MacCanhy came 
out with orders to stop all expenditure that 
could be dispensetl with, and then at once set in the 
period of “ parsimony ” so ably reduced to practice 
by that most economising and worthy of public 
officers, Mr. William Charles Gibson, who hail 
succeeded the new Goi einor as Colonial Secretary'. 
The young Irrigation (Jontraclor.? were plainly told 
that they need look for no more work; and there was 
nothing for it but to wind up, realize prolils, 
and look elsewhere for occupation. So ended the 
short-lived firm of Messrs. Harrison and Jjcake. 
One evening in the latter half of 18bU and 
1861 Mr. G. D. B. Harrison and Mr. W. M. 
Leake, dining at the Galle Face Hotel, Colombo, 
met Mr. John Anderson and femily on their way 
to Galle homeward-bound, Mr. J. Amieison 
having been ordered lionie for health’s sake with 
injunctions never to return. 'Ihis sudden depar- 
ture had, it seemed, ([uite upset the plans of 
his uncle, Mr. John Gavin, whom he was to 
have joined as pai tner in the Firm of Keir, 
Dundas & Co. Mr. Simon Keir had already 
arranged to retire from that Firm, and Jilr. G. 
H. Dundas, who was at home, was anxious to 
retire if some one could be fouml to take his 
place, so that Mr. Gavin was likely to become 
the sole survivor of the three old partners. Ne- 
gotiations were at once opened w ith Mr. Gavin 
which resulted in a very few days in Mr. G. D. 
B. Harrison taking an active shaie in the work 
of the Firm, while Mr. W. M. Leake went home 
for a few months’ holiday. The upshot was that 
on 1st July, 1862, Mr. G. H. Dundas retired from, 
and Mr. G. D. B. Harrison and Mr. AV. M. 
Leake were admitted as partners into, the Firm of 
KEIR, DUNDAS & CO., KANDY. 
A few words on the vicissitudes of fortune of 
the once famous Coffee Finn maybe interesting, 
and perhaps useful as a warning, in the present 
days of unclouded prosperity in Tea. I’robebly 
no Ceylon Firm has ever liad a brighter time 
than Messrs. Keir, Dundas & Co. enjoy ed dm ing 
the ten years, 1854-64. In tlie former year its 
dealings were on a liumble scale ; in the latter 
all three partners had retired on handsome for- 
tunes leaving to their successors a well-secured 
and apparently most valuable agency business. 
In 1864-66 came a time of trouble enougli lo 
try to the utmost the strength of the hirm. 
First, the failure in Colombo of Messrs. AATlson, 
Ritchie & Co., w ith whom many joint ventures 
existed, iniolved considerable liam.ities; tlien in 
quick succession in London of two houses, Charles 
Joyce A Co. and Kelson, Tritton A Co., to whom 
sums were due ; and lastly, several natives to 
whom advances had been made, siiccumbeu in 
the general linancial disturbance that accompanied 
the close of the American Civil AVar, and culnu. 
