Mr. Geach, who naturally expected to be appointed the manager, he was
left out in the cold, and the appointment fell upon Mr. Bassett Smith.
This gentleman had been a clerk to the firm of Gibbins, Smith, and
Co., until their stoppage, and he afterwards was manager of a bank at
Walsall, which appointment he threw up when he came to the District
Bank. He held his position as manager here for many years, but was
eventually induced to retire; He certainly was not a great banking
genius. He was led more by impulse and feeling than by sound business
judgment and coolness, and he often made mistakes in his estimate
of the customers. Some--whom he liked--would "get on" easily enough,
while others, equally worthy of attention, might ask in vain for
slight accommodation. Nor was his manner judicious. I was in the
bank one day, when a highly respectable man brought some bills to the
counter to be placed to his account. The clerk took them to Mr. Smith,
who was near the counter; he turned them over in his hand, and giving
them back to the clerk, with a contemptuous gesture, said, loud enough
to be heard by everyone there, "No!--a thousand times no!" Had the
customer been a swindler he could not have been treated with greater
insult and contumely. It was a fortunate thing for the bank when Mr.
Barney became manager. From that time the bank has assumed its proper
position. Under its new designation of the "Birmingham and Dudley
District Banking Company" it has taken rapid strides. There is every
reason now for thinking it is highly prosperous, and is likely to have
a future of great use and profit. The new premises are an ornament to
an ornamental part of the town, and are very conveniently arranged;
but to people with weak eyes, the light from the windows, glaring in
the face as one stands at the counter, is most unpleasant, and some
steps to modify its effect might be judiciously taken.
Immediately after Mr. Bassett Smith had been appointed manager of the
District Bank, some gentlemen, amongst whom Mr. Gammon, of Belmont
Row, was very prominent, thinking that in all fairness Mr. Geach
should have been elected, seeing that he was the originator of
the scheme, and had done the greater part of the preliminary work,
determined to form another bank. There was to be no mistake this time,
for Mr. Geach's name was inserted in the prospectus as the future
manager. He was at this time only 28 years of age. He had been
resident but a very few years in the town, but had already the
reputation of being one of the most able young men in the place. His
manners, too, were singularly agreeable. On the faith of his name, the
public readily took up the necessary number of shares. So great was
the energy employed, that in seven weeks from the opening of the
District Bank, its competitor, the Birmingham and Midland Bank, had
commenced business.
Having been so long in the office of the Bank of England, in Union
Street, the young manager naturally thought it the best locality for
the new bank; and as there was a large shop vacant in that street, a
few doors below Union Passage, on the right-hand side going down, it
was taken, and in these temporary premises the bank commenced, on the
23rd of August, 1836, its prosperous and most useful career.
Mr. Robert Webb was the first Chairman of the Board of Directors; Mr.
Thomas Bolton, merchant, of New Street, was one of the most active
members. Mr. Samuel Beale, after a time, joined the board, and was
very energetic. He soon formed a friendship for the manager which only
terminated with life. Mr. Henry Edmunds, who so recently retired
from the post of managing director, but who still holds a seat at the
board, was sub-manager from the opening; and Mr. Goode, who now fills
the manager's seat, went there as a clerk at the same time.
The tact and energy of the manager, and the shrewd business capacity
of the directors, soon secured a very large business. In a very short
time the building now held by the Conservative Club, which the bank
had erected a little higher up the street, was occupied, and here the
business was conducted for more than twenty-five years. The building
included a very commodious residence for the manager, and here Mr.
Geach took up his abode with his family.
During the preliminary disturbances in 1839, which culminated in the
Bull Ring riots, Mr. Geach received private information one afternoon,
which induced him to take extra precautions for the safety of the
books, securities, and cash. While this was being done, the clerks had
collected a number of men and some arms. They also obtained, and took
to the roof, a great quantity of stones, bricks, and other missiles,
which they stored behind the parapets. The men were so placed, that
by mounting an inner stair they could ascend to the roof, from which
spot, it was proposed, in case of attack, to hurl the missiles upon
the mob below. News was soon brought that the mob was congregating
in Dale End and that neighbourhood. At the request of some of the
magistrates who were present, Mr. Geach started off for the barracks,
galloping through the mob, who threw showers of stones, brick-ends,
and other disagreeable missiles at him, and shouted, "Stop him," "Pull
him off," "He's going for the soldiers," and so on. His horse was a
spirited one, and took him safely through. He reached the barracks and
secured assistance. He then came back by another route to the bank,
and the expected attack was averted. There is no doubt that
his energetic conduct that day saved the town from violence and
spoliation.
It is not my intention in this paper to sketch the character of Mr.
Geach. I have now only to deal with him in reference to the bank,
which he so ably managed, and in which down to his death he felt the
warmest interest. About 1839 or 1840 he began to engage in commercial
transactions on his own account, and these growing upon him and
requiring much of his personal attention, he, about 1846 or 1847,
resigned his position as manager, and was succeeded by his old friend
and colleague, Mr. Henry Edmunds. Mr. Geach, however, though no longer
engaged in the active management, was appointed managing director,
and in this capacity was generally consulted on all the more important
matters.
Mr. Edmunds is a man of altogether different type to his predecessor.
Mr. Geach had been bold in his management, to a degree which in less
skilful hands might have been perilous to his employers. Mr. Edmunds's
principal characteristic, as a manager, was excessive caution. But,
although so utterly varying in character, both men were peculiarly
fitted for their post at the time they were in power. Boldness and
vigour gave the bank a large connection, and established an extensive
business. Caution and carefulness were quite as essential in the times
during which Mr. Edmunds guided the destinies of the bank. In that
speculative period of twenty-five years, his prudence and cool
judgment were valuable qualities, and they served good ends, for the
"Midland," under Mr. Edmunds, was pre-eminently a "lucky" bank. He had
no occasion for the more brilliant qualities of his predecessor; the
bank was offered more business than it cared for; and his caution
and hesitation saved his directors much trouble, and his shareholders
considerable loss.
As in process of years the business increased, the old premises were
found to be too small, and the directors contemplated enlargement.
Some energetic spirits on the board advocated the erection of a new
building. It was debated for some time, but it finally resulted in
the erection of the present palatial banking house at the corner of
Stephenson Place. It is no secret that Mr. Edmunds disapproved of the
step, and, indeed, at the dinner given to celebrate the opening of the
new premises, he expressed, in plain terms, his opinion that they
had made a mistake, and that they had better have remained where they
were.
Be that as it may, the business was removed to New Street in 1869, at
which time, I believe, Mr. Samuel Buckley was Chairman of the Board of
Directors. One can imagine the satisfactory feelings of his mind as
he reflected that within a very few yards of the magnificent bank,
of which he was then the head, he, comparatively unknown, took years
before a situation in the warehouse of a merchant, Mr. Thomas Bolton,
which then stood on the site of the Midland Hotel. In this business
Mr. Buckley rapidly rose in the estimation of his employer, becoming,
first his partner, and subsequently his successor. The business, when
the old premises were required for other purposes, was removed first
to Newhall Hill, and finally to Great Charles Street, where it is
still carried on as Samuel Buckley and Co.
Shortly before the removal to New Street, Mr. Edmunds began to wish
for a less laborious position. Following the precedent in Mr.
Geach's case, he was made managing director, and Mr. Goode took the
well-earned position of manager. This arrangement existed until about
twelve months ago, when Mr. Edmunds retired altogether from the active
administration of the business. He retained, however, a seat at the
board as one of the ordinary directors. On this occasion, the board,
with the sanction of the shareholders, to mark their sense, of his
admirable judgment and unceasing industry, voted him a retiring
pension of L1,000 a year. His portrait now hangs in the board-room at
the bank, near that of his friend, Mr. Geach. May the walls of this
room, in the future, be adorned by the "counterfeit presentment" of
successive managers as good and true as these two, the pioneers, have
proved themselves!
Mr. Goode's qualifications for the post he occupies are not only
hereditary, but are supplemented by the experience of more than forty
years in this bank, under the able guidance of the two colleagues who
have preceded him. His acute perceptions and great financial skill
qualify him admirably for the post, whilst his undeviating courtesy
has made him very popular, and has gained for him "troops of friends."
Notwithstanding the enormous increase in the business of the town and
neighbourhood, there was no other bank established in Birmingham for
more than twenty-five years. One reason, probably, was that, by a
clause in an Act of Parliament, it was made incumbent upon all banks
established after it became law, to publish periodical statements of
their affairs. This seemed to many shrewd men to be an obstacle to
the success of any new bank, although it was felt that there was ample
room for one. The passing of the Limited Liability Act opened the way.
It was seen that by fixing the nominal capital very high, and calling
up only a small portion of its amount, there would always be so large
a margin of uncalled capital, that the periodical publication of
assets and liabilities could alarm no one. Taking this view, and
seeing the probability of a successful career for a new banking
institution, a few far-seeing men--notably the late Messrs. John
Graham and Henry Clive--soon attached to themselves a number of
influential colleagues, and at the latter end of 1861 the prospectus
of the Birmingham Joint Stock Bank was issued. Mr. G.F. Muntz was
chairman, Mr. Thomas Short, vice-chairman, and Messrs. John Graham,
H. Clive, R. Fletcher, J.S. Keep, W. Middlemore, C.H. Wagner, and W.A.
Adams were directors. The capital, to the required extent, was eagerly
subscribed. Mr. Joseph Beattie, of London, was appointed manager,
and the bank opened its doors, in Temple Row West, on New Tear's Day,
1862.
The directors, at their preliminary meetings, had come to some very
wise resolutions, having for their tendency the creation of public
confidence in the good management and complete stability of the new
venture. One of these was that no one of the directors could at any
time, or under any circumstances, overdraw his account at the bank.
Recollections of what had been done aforetime showed the public
the wisdom of this step, and the shares became consequently in good
demand, and soon reached a fair premium. The directors, with great
judgment, had made a large reserve of unallotted shares, and now
that they had become a popular investment, they offered them to large
traders at par, on condition of their opening accounts at the new
bank. Other inducements were held out to attract business, and in a
very short time the bank was doing at least as large a business as
some of its competitors.
The appointment of Mr. Beattie was a most judicious one. He is,
unquestionably, a very able man of business; and his untiring energy
and perseverance are very remarkable, even in these days of hard work.
Under such management, and with so good a board of directors at his
back, it is no wonder that the bank now occupies a foremost place
amongst its fellows.
The Worcester City and County Bank is the last, but it bids fairly
to become by no means the least, amongst the banks of the town. The
parent bank was established in Worcester in 1840. It was a prosperous
and successful local bank of no great celebrity until the failure of
Messrs. Farley and Co., of Kidderminster, in 1856. The directors
then opened a branch establishment in that town, which was successful
beyond expectation. Encouraged by this, they afterwards opened
branches at Atherstone, Bridgnorth, Bromsgrove, Cheltenham, Droitwich,
Evesham, Ludlow, Leominster, Presteign, Malvern, and Tenbury, and in
1872 they resolved to establish a bank at Birmingham. Lloyds and Co.
had just removed from Moilliet's old premises in Cherry Street, to
their new bank, in Ann Street, and, rather unwisely, left the old
place in Cherry Street to be let to the first comer. The Worcester
company became the tenants, and opened their bank in 1872, under the
management of Mr. J.H. Slaney. This gentleman retired in about twelve
months, and was succeeded by Mr. James Leigh, the present manager of
the Birmingham Banking Company. When he accepted his present post, Mr.
F.W. Nash took the helm. The bank seems, in the short time it has been
established, to have been very successful, for the premises, after
having been twice enlarged, are, it is said, now too small; and it
is understood that a plot of land in Ann Street, near the corner of
Newhall Street, has been secured, and that Mr. F.B. Osborne is engaged
upon plans for the erection, on this site, of a new banking house,
which will be no mean rival to those already in existence, adding
another fine architectural structure to the splendid line of edifices
which will soon be complete from the Town Hall to Snow Hill.
There only remains one more bank to mention, and I cannot remember its
name. It was opened some ten or twelve years ago in the tall building
at the west corner of Warwick House Passage, now occupied by Mr.
Hollingsworth. It was under the management of Mr. Edwin Wignall, who
had been sub-manager at the District. It had but a short life. The
careful manner in which the stone pavement of the vestibule and the
steps leading from the street were cleaned and whitened every morning,
and the few footmarks made by customers going in and coming out,
gained for it the name of the "Clean Bank," by which title it will
be remembered by many. The business that had been collected was
transferred to the Midland, and the New Street bank was closed.
My sketch of the Birmingham Banks is now complete. It is very
satisfactory to reflect that in the long space of sixty-three years
over which it ranges, there have been only two cases in which the
creditors of Birmingham banks have suffered loss; and really it is
greatly to the credit of the good old town that these losses have
been, comparatively, so insignificant. In the bankruptcy of Gibbins
and Co., in 1825, the creditors received 19s. 8d. in the pound. In the
more recent case--that of Attwood and Co.--they received a dividend
of 11s. 3d. Both these cases compare favourably with others at a
distance, where dividends of one or two shillings have not been
infrequent. The banking business of the town is now in safe and
prudent hands, and there is strong reason for hoping that the several
institutions may go on, with increasing usefulness and prosperity, to
a time long after the present generation of traders has ceased to draw
cheques, or existing shareholders to calculate upon coming dividends.
As I stood, not long ago, within the splendid hall in which the
Birmingham and Midland Bank carries on its business, my mind reverted
to a visit I once paid, to the premises, in the City of Gloucester,
of the first county bank established in England. Perhaps in all the
differences between bygone and modern times, there could not be found
a greater contrast. The old Gloucester Bank was established in the
year 1716, by the grandfather of the celebrated "Jemmy Wood," who died
in 1836, leaving personal property sworn under L900,000. Soon after
his death, I saw the house and "Bank," where he had carried on his
business of a "banker and merchant." The house was an old one, the
gables fronting the street. The upper windows were long and low, and
were glazed with the old lead-framed diamond-shaped panes of dark
green glass. The ground-floor was lighted by two ancient shop windows,
having heavy wooden sashes glazed with panes about nine inches high by
six wide. To the sill of each window, hung upon hinges, were long deal
shutters, which were lifted up at night, and fastened with "cotters."
There were two or three well-worn steps to the entrance. The door
was divided half-way up: the upper portion stood open during business
hours, and the lower was fastened by a common thumb latch. To the
ledge of the door inside, a bell was attached by a strip of iron
hooping, which vibrated when the door was opened, and set the bell
ringing to attract attention. The interior fittings were of the most
simple fashion; common deal counters with thin oaken tops; shabby
drawers and shelves all round; one or two antiquated brass sconces for
candles; a railed-off desk, near the window; and that was all. In this
place, almost alone and unassisted, the old man made his money. I
copy the following from "Maunder's Biographical Dictionary:" "In
conjunction with the bank, he kept a shop to the day of his death, and
dealt in almost every article that could be asked for. Nothing was too
trifling for 'Jemmy Wood' by which a penny could be turned. He spent
the whole week in his banking-shop or shop-bank, and the whole of the
business of the Old Gloucester Bank was carried on at one end of his
chandlery store."
Now-a-days we go to a palace to cash a cheque. We pass through a
vestibule between polished granite monoliths, or adorned with choice
marble sculpture in _alto-relievo_. We enter vast halls fit for the
audience chambers of a monarch, and embellished with everything that
the skill of the architect can devise. We stand at counters of the
choicest polished mahogany, behind which we see scores of busy clerks,
the whole thing having an appearance of absolute splendour. Prom Jemmy
Wood's shop to the noble hall of the Midland, or the Joint Stock, is
indeed a long step in advance.
It has often occurred to me that it would be a wise plan for bankers
to divide their counters into distinct compartments, so that one
customer could see nothing of his next neighbour, and hear nothing of
his business. The transactions at a bank are often of as delicate a
nature as the matters discussed in a solicitor's office; yet the one
is secret and safe, and the other is open to the gaze and the ear of
any one who happens to be at the bank at the same time.
In closing this subject, I wish to express my thanks to Mr. S.A.
Goddard for his assistance. His great age, his acute powers of
perception, and his marvellously retentive and accurate memory,
combine to make him, probably, the only living competent witness of
some of the circumstances I have been able to detail; while the ready
manner in which he responded to my request for information merits my
warmest and most grateful acknowledgments.
JOHN WALSH WALSH AND THE ASTON FETES.
No one possessing ordinary habits of observation can have lived in
Birmingham for anything like forty years without being conscious of
the extraordinary difference between the personal and social habits of
the generation which is passing away, and of that which has arisen
to succeed it. Now-a-days, as soon as business is over, Birmingham
people--professional men, manufacturers, shopkeepers, and, indeed, all
the well-to-do classes--hurry off by rail, by tramway, or by omnibus,
to snug country homesteads, where their evenings are spent by their
own firesides in quiet domestic intercourse. A generation ago, things
in Birmingham were very different. Then, shopkeepers lived "on the
premises," and manufacturers, as a rule, had their dwelling houses
in close proximity to their factories. Business, compared with its
present condition, was in a very primitive state. Manufacturers worked
at their business with their men, beginning with them in the morning
and leaving off at the same hour at night. The warehouse closed, and
the work of the day being over, the "master" would doff his apron,
roll down his turned-up shirt sleeves, put on his second-best coat,
and sally forth to his usual smoking-room. Here, in company with a
few old cronies, he solaced himself with a modest jug of ale, and,
lighting his clay pipe, proceeded with great solemnity to enjoy
himself. But, one by one, the _habitues_ of the old smoking rooms have
gone to "live in the country," and the drowsy, dreary rooms, becoming
deserted, have, for the most part, been applied to other purposes;
whilst in many of those that are left, the smoke-stained portrait
of some bygone landlord looks down upon the serried ranks of empty
chairs, as if bewailing the utter degeneracy of modern mankind.
The room at the "Woodman," in Easy Row, is an exception, for it still
maintains its ground. It is a large, well-lighted, and well-ventilated
apartment. Its walls are adorned with a number of good pictures, among
which are well-executed life-size portraits of two eminent men--James
Watt, the engineer, and Sir Joshua Reynolds, the father of the
English school of painting. In this room, years ago, when the sunny,
courteous, and humorous "Jem Onions" was the host, a number of notable
men used to assemble. Here you might meet men who at that time, or
since, have been known as mayors, alder-men, and councillors. Here,
"Blue-brick Walker" first propounded his scheme for superseding the
"petrified kidney" pavement. Here "Wedding-ring Edwards," in his
quaint, sententious manner, growled out brief epigrammatic sentences,
full of shrewdness and wisdom, most strangely seasoned with
semi-contemptuous sarcasm. Here Isherwood Sutcliff, with his
well-dressed, dapper figure, and his handsome Roman face, was wont to
air his oratory; and here occasionally he, placing his right foot
upon a spittoon, would deliver himself of set orations; most carefully
prepared; most elegantly phrased; copiously garnished with Byronic
quotations; and delivered with considerable grace and fervour. These
orations, however, having no basis of thought or force of argument,
and, indeed, having nothing but their sensuous beauty of expression to
recommend them, fell flat upon the ears of an unsympathetic audience,
composed mainly of men whose brains were larger and of tougher fibre.
Here, too, came occasionally the mighty and the omniscient Joe Allday,
and when he did, the discussion sometimes became a little more than
animated, the self-assertive Joe making the room ring again, as he
denounced the practices of those who ruled the destinies of the town.
Here one night, lifting his right hand on high, as if to appeal to
Heaven, he assured his audience that they "need not be afraid." He
would "_never_ betray the people of Birmingham!" Here, too, last,
but certainly not least in any way, might almost nightly be seen
the towering figure of John Walsh Walsh: his commanding stature;
his massive head, with its surrounding abundant fringe of wavy hair,
looking like a mane; his mobile face, his bright--almost fierce--eye;
his curt, incisive, and confident style of speech, showing him to be,
beyond all question, the most masterful and prominent member of the
company.
He was born at Mansfield, in Nottinghamshire. His peculiar double
patronymic was the result of a curious mistake made by one of the
sponsors at his baptism. Being asked in the usual way to "name this
child," the poor man, in his nervousness, gave, not only the intended
name of John, but inadvertently, the surname also; and so the infant
became John Walsh Walsh, a name which its owner used to say was worth
hundreds a year to him in business. "Anybody could be 'John Walsh,'
but 'John Walsh Walsh' was unique, and once heard would never be
forgotten."