Читать книгу Life of Sir Henry Parkes - Charles E. Lyne - Страница 18

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A few months after the events which followed Mr. Parkes' resignation from the Legislative Assembly in 1856, the Empire was in difficulties. The commercial department of the paper had not been successful. Its literary character had been excellent throughout, and it had exercised an important and beneficial influence upon the community; but from one cause and another the journal, from a pecuniary point of view, had not been carried on profitably.

Probably Mr. Parkes' election to the Legislature had so drawn him away from his duties at the Empire office that he was prevented from giving to the office that supervision which, in any such case, to be of use must be unremitting. His work on the Empire was that not only of an editor but also of a proprietor, and it needed constant attention. Not being a practical printer he was open to the many evils, attended by loss of money or business, which a man trained to the printing trade can, in most instances, with little difficulty avoid. His only chance of escaping them was by regular attendance in his office, and active personal acquaintance with everything going on there. Even then he must have been to a large extent at the mercy of others directly charged with departments of work which he could not well understand.

He had received some assistance in money from friends when the paper was started, and almost from the first the business columns of the journal obtained a fair share of advertisements. The paper steadily advanced in circulation, and the price of it was fourpence. But through most of its career the cost of production was very great—for a considerable period as much as £100 a day—and there was a constantly increasing amount of book debts. Money owing to the office did not come in as it ought to have done. The general public regarded the paper with high approval, but, as is frequently the case, many of those with whom it had business relations showed little concern as to its means of existence. Consequently, instead of progressing satisfactorily in this most material part of a great newspaper enterprise, it went backward. At different times it was found indispensable to seek pecuniary assistance from persons willing to lend money to enable the paper to overcome its difficulties, and these appeals had met with a prompt response. The great good the paper was doing was recognised, and there was seen no reason why, when it had surmounted the obstacles never absent from the first years of a large newspaper business, it should not return a satisfactory profit.

But as time went on it was found from certain circumstances, unforeseen, that the hope of the ultimate pecuniary success of the journal was delusive. Where there are a number of creditors in an estate it is not always that they act in unison. It is not unusual to find one or two whose opinions as to a proposed course regarding the property concerned are opposed to the opinions of the rest; that, while a large majority are disposed to assist to the fullest extent of their power, the small minority are doggedly determined to do the very opposite. So it turned out to be in this case.

At the time when Mr. Parkes retired from the Legislative Assembly in 1856 the liabilities of the paper amounted to fully £50,000, a very large sum to ordinary eyes, but not so to the eyes of those who know what the liabilities of great newspapers sometimes are. This £50,000 included a mortgage for £11,000, and the mortgagee pressing for payment, the matter went into the Supreme Court. Very soon possession was taken of the property for the mortgagee, and the paper was advertised for sale.

In this condition of affairs Mr. Parkes called a meeting of his creditors, and explained the situation to them. To a certain extent the result was satisfactory. It showed that most of the creditors were satisfied of the integrity and the ability of the proprietor of the paper, and of the ultimate success of the journal. They were willing to agree to Mr. Parkes' proposals, and to wait. But this general decision on the part of most of those to whom the paper was indebted was made abortive by the one or two creditors who had taken up an antagonistic position, and who had declined to give away.

At this point the whole staff of the paper abandoned their work; and for a few days the very appearance of the paper was jeopardised. A new staff could not be obtained, and for a time the situation seemed a hopeless one. But in his extremity there were a few persons who came to the aid of the editor, and with their assistance the paper appeared day by day,— not, certainly, in its usual complete form, but sufficiently complete to pass current; and in that way this new difficulty was surmounted. The staff did not leave from hostility to Mr. Parkes. They were careful to explain that their relations with him, up to the period of the present embarrassments, had always been cordial and satisfactory; but as at this time some arrears of wages were due to them, and as it had been explained to them that inasmuch as the mortgagee had taken possession of the property they must look to him for payment of what was due to them, and he had declined to pay them, they left the office.

The condition of affairs now became very critical. The prospect of being able to go on under such a load of difficulties as had accumulated was very slight; yet every consideration urged that a strong effort should be made to prevent complete disaster. The six years of incessant labour in the establishment and the conduct of the paper had been too great, and in their effect upon the community too beneficial, to be lightly set aside. The paper had done signal service under the old order of government; it was doing equally good service under the new. Meetings were held by persons interested, chiefly from patriotic motives, in the well-being of the journal, to consider what was best to be done; and it was determined to take steps to to pay off the mortgage. The money was raised by subscription; the mortgage was redeemed; and the pressing trouble which had threatened the existence of the paper under Mr. Parkes' management was removed.

So far this was satisfactory, especially to the paper's many friends; but the relief of the journal from the mortgage debt does not appear to have been brought about with Mr. Parkes' consent. In 1868 he alluded to the matter in a speech in the Legislative Assembly. "There was a mortgage on the paper," he explained, "of some £11,000, to Sir Daniel Cooper, and a number of persons proposed to take it up from that gentleman, but in a manner to which I objected. I stated my objections in writing, and was never a consenting party to the transaction, except in endeavouring to work it out after it was done. I wished to be left alone to deal with my estate as other people do with theirs." Though requested to name persons who might assist in the movement he had declined to name anyone, not believing that any good could result from the course that was being taken. He did not approve of what was being done, and declined to be a party to it. An explanation, similar to this, he also made when, as far as he was concerned, the publication of the paper came to an end in 1858.

A letter written at the time by Mr. Parkes to one of the most earnest and active of the friends who brought assistance to the embarrassed journal, indicates very forcibly his feelings on the subject. The letter bore date "Saturday afternoon, March 21, 1857", and was as follows:

My dear Mr. Montefiore,

After I saw you yesterday I again had much trouble with parties connected with the office, which occupied my attention nearly the whole afternoon. In the evening I saw Mr. Jones, and had a long conversation with him on the subject of my unfortunate affairs. Thus, much of my time was consumed, and I was left in a frame of mind little fitted to think of what you desired me to think of. I cannot but feel that the Empire has few friends who would render the extraordinary assistance required, and I cannot think of any I should, be justified in naming. Since Mr. Jones left me I have spent some anxious hours endeavouring to realise the future, in case your arrangements with Mr. Cooper were to be completed. It is clear I should live in a new world of thought and feeling—my relations with men entirely changed—the public men of the country all standing in an altered light, some whom I have hitherto regarded as opponents or with indifference now assuming the character of benevolent protectors—my very existence depending on the wealth of a gentleman who a few weeks ago told me to my face that he would rather 'crush' the Empire than suffer personal annoyance from his connection with it. It were unwise not to ask myself calmly and searchingly am I strong enough to bear all this—to outlive the moral imprisonment to which I should be consigned—my judgment and my integrity alike distrusted and myself suspecting everyone. In ordinary cases this might be borne,—if the ends in view were only the accumulation of money. But I should be expected to maintain a high ground of independence, to infuse fire and vigour into the political life of the country, to appear at the door of my own dungeon every morning as a spirited defender of freedom. I am not seeking to conjure up gloom and difficulty, but to ascertain by the severe light of reason what would in reality be my future position, and what would be my prospect of surmounting my difficulties with a new burden of so irksome a nature placed upon my back, and with only one motive to action—the hope of paying my debts—in the place of all those warm and stirring ones which animated me in my past struggles. The obstacles that stood before me on the first of January appear to me now of tenfold greater magnitude; the spirit that sustained me then I feel is now half extinguished. The public canvass of my affairs which has taken place will sit upon my energies like a hideous nightmare; and I know too well the natural action of the public mind not to foresee that the idle sympathy which has been created will be transient and will dissipate itself in a chilling mist of pity and suspicion. This kind of public support of a public journal, believe me, will prove as perilous as the clasp of those shrubs which in most cases destroy the tree to which they cling. The public—that monster of a thousand conflicting passions—ought to be compelled to respect a public journal, not asked to look upon it with commiseration. Looking at the frightful extent to which my difficulties have been aggravated and complicated by recent occurrences, and the deadly blow which has been struck at the prestige of the Empire throughout the world, my confidence for the first time forsakes me, and I feel I ought to let you know the state of almost despair in which I find myself. I have sent for Mr. Wilshire with the view of making a last appeal to him to take the thing into his own hands. That is the only way which I can see to carry the paper through its troubles. The help which you and other friends, by your great kindness and the great waste of your time which it has caused, have succeeded in raising, would be just sufficient to drag me to the dust—to affix to the Empire the stigma of dependence on eleemosynary aid, but, I seriously apprehend, as it would be rendered on conditions subversive of my self-respect, it would be utterly insufficient to save me from destruction. I reveal to you these apprehensions because it is right that you should know them. I do not wish them to be interpreted as my final decision in a matter of such high moral concern to me, and in which I feel myself in such a fearful state of doubt and difficulty. But I beg that you will do nothing without letting me know the distinct conditions to which I am to be subject, as I am most anxious not to deceive you by undertaking what would be too much for my strength hereafter. With a thousand thanks for the trouble you and all have taken, Believe me, Yours truly, H. PARKES.

The haunting fear so well expressed in this letter, that in the new circumstances of its existence the paper could never again be what it had been, was far from being groundless. The Empire did not long survive the period of its fallen fortunes. The mortgage being paid off, the man in possession departed, and for a time the paper went on in most respects as formerly. Expenses were curtailed where it was practicable to do so, and the business arrangements generally were improved, largely with the object of obtaining money, the total amount of which was very considerable, from persons indebted to the office as subscribers or advertisers. But these efforts did not meet with success, 'the money did not come in as it ought to have done; the expenses of the paper were beyond its income; liabilities pressing upon it could not be materially reduced. The publication of the journal was henceforth, until it ended, a continuous struggle; the great burden of the paper's difficulties causing it to rapidly lose, with no prospect of ever regaining it, its old familiar garb of high literary ability, far-reaching criticism, comprehensive information, and public usefulness.