The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1899-03-16
Quick Interest There is in Mo-
ney Getting.
SOME NOTABLE SPECULATIONS
The Ancient South Sea Scheme
Floating England'S Debt
The "Black Friday

NEW YORK ClT1.-Ine mania lor
speculation that has recently character
lied the stock market invites attention
to some other great periods OF
the same kind in different countries.
Civilized men and women, whatever
their pursuits or habits, have always |
shown a quick interest in any scheme
of money-making.
| Investments in stocks attract the
most attention, but il is no less fact
that in all branches of mercantile bust |
ness there is constant tendency TO
embark in speculative movements. In
this city I remember many notable
speculations in cotton, dry goods,
coffee, tea, sugar and other merchan-
disc. One merchant imported black
pepper by the cargo and controlled the
lentire spice market. Another MANN.
c.. d. Borden-bought 100000 pieces in
the Fall River print market and then
Icurtailed production. A speculation in
the oil of peppermint forced it to an
lenOrmous price. The growing crop
was ploughed over, but il came up and
oil unexpectedly reached the market,
when the price broke and ruined the
lspeculators. Dutch spectators destroy
ed the nutmeg trees in Java, but birds
carried the seeds from other islands
and a new crop was thus produced.
A rapid glance may be taken at the
South Sea scheme originated in En-
!; gland by Harley, Earl of Oxford, in
HILL, and the Mississippi scheme pro-
|: jected by John Law in France, in I'LL
two of the greatest speculative bub-
IL In hn Loot inc inr1 al
: debt of England amounted to 100000
900, which was taken up by number
of merchants, to whom the Govern
ment agreed to guarantee for certain
period the annual payment of 100000
being 6 per cent. interest. This sum
was to be obtained by rendering perma-
Inent a number of import duties. Mo-
nopoly of the trade to the South Seas
|. was secured to these merchants, who
: were incorporated as the South Sea
COMPANY" Extravagant ideas of the
richness of South America were foster
= ed by the company, and the shares rose
day by day. In 1717 the company ad-
vanced 6 100000 more to the Govern
} ment. A claim that Spain would per-
NIT it to share in the South American
trade proved unfounded, and in Ills a
war broke out with Spain. In the
r Spring of 1920 came another dazzling
q. proposition in regard to the debt
which was accepted, though the Bank
lof England submitted a counter propo'
lsitiOn and Walpole and other long
headed leaders protested against 1t
The shares rose to $50 in April, to 55(
in May and $50 in June, and finally
reached 1000, falling to 400 a month
later. A mania for gambling seized the
m
e lorganized. After a time there came
e lalarm and panic. Directors sold out
and many capitalists absconded to Sc
lcure their ill-gotten gains. Parliament
WAS hastily convened and measure:
taken to punish the authors of the pub
l. lie calamity, for it was shown that lat
r lterly the company had not beer
honestly conducted.
Law, in the Mississippi scheme pro
(posed to develop the then French pro
vince of Louisiana and the country
S bordering on the Mississippi. TIL,
,. Compagnie des Indies Occidentales wa.
incorporated, with a capital of 200 ,00'
shares of 500 livres each. The share:
were eagerly bought. In 1719 the com
pany obtained the monopoly OF tradin!
to the East Indies and the South Seas
Fifty thousand additional shares wer,
lcreated, for which there We're 800 90,
. applicants. All classes now gave wa!
to a rage for speculation, and tn
shares rose to an enormous price
Laws house was besieged by appli
- lcants of both sexes and all ranks
\ Trade in Paris was greatly stimulated
I The great increase OF paper circula
| ton caused some spectators to TAX
alarm. Paper and shares were convert
ed into gold that was secretly sent {,
England and Belgium for security
Gold and silver became scarce am
there was run on the national banl
and the Mississippi stock began to fall
Law was now a Councillor of Stat
and Comptroller-General of Finances
s. but could not restore public credit
The bank stopped payment in July
1920, with which the company had be
fore been amalgamated. Law fed from
France and the storm. \ share in tn
scheme fell TO twenty-four livres
Much of the paper in circulation wa
cancelled, and the rest converted int
'rentes" at a great loss. John Lay
was born in Edinburg April y
1911, and on March 81, 1929, died il
Venice where he lived during his las
years, poor and forgotten.
Francis Barring, James Rothschil
ana others combined In speculation
~ to purchase all the sugar in France an
). the stock in the colonies OF Martiniqu
and Guadalupe. The French sugar re
finers refused to buy at the advance
price, and sugar began to arrive tina
had been struggled into the Frenc
from the neighboring English colonie:
There was a sudden decline in price
rs and failure OF some of the operators
ne Nicholas Biddle, who in his day wa
considered the first financier in Amer
lea, when President OF the Unite
States Bank organized a great specu
lation in cotton. In 1887 he sent per
sons to Charleston and New Orlean
81. to buy enormous quantities OF cotfor