Chapter 375 Treasury Bond Underwriter

"Arthur, let me introduce you to Mr. Francis Thornhill Baring, a member of the House of Commons and the current chairman of the Public Works Committee."

In a small cafe on Oxford Street, Arthur looked at the gentleman in front of him who had a friendly smile at a young age and even had a hairline that was a bit out of place, took off his gloves and shook his hand.

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Baring. Although this is the first time I meet you, I have been using your products for many years."

Baring laughed at Arthur's joke and said, "It's always a pleasure to be recognized by customers. If you didn't ask for additional public debt, I believe I would be happy to keep you for dinner."

Baring, for the English in the 19th century, this is a surname that cannot be avoided since birth.

Whether you like it or not, you will always use their family's products in your life.

As for the reason, it is also very simple, because they are a bank, and the banking business is very large, and they also have the right to issue banknotes in England.

Of course, unlike those small banks in the corners, the reputation of Barings Bank is strong enough, and it is even more popular than the banknotes issued by the Bank of England.

If you want to say which banker in the City of London dares to compete with the Rothschild family, then the first person that everyone will think of is definitely the brother of the gentleman in front of him-Alexander Baring.

And not only the British believe in their credibility, even the French, their mortal enemy across the Channel, and the North American rebels of Britain also recognize the strong strength of Barings Bank.

When the Americans bought the land in Louisiana from France, this transaction was handled by Barings Bank. They provided the Americans with financing services worth millions of dollars, and finally, after charging a service fee of 12.5%, they paid the Americans 10 million US dollars for the land purchase to Napoleon.

Although their actions once attracted the investigation of the cabinet and the accusation of domestic public opinion, this group of Barings who were accused of collaborating with France and traitors finally passed the financial review of the parliament smoothly.

Not only that, they even became the largest underwriter of British government bonds during the Napoleonic Wars.

Tongfamen not only did not affect the British cabinet's trust in them as always, but also made them highly praised by the French.

Because of this, after the failure of Napoleon's restoration, Barings Bank naturally provided a large amount of loan business to France, which could not afford the huge war reparations.

At that time, Mr. Talleyrand, the French negotiator, even declared: "The loan provided by Barings Bank is a strong guarantee for European peace."

And the representatives of Britain, Austria, Prussia and other countries at the Vienna Conference also believed that if Barings Bank did not provide guarantees for the French government, then the treaty on the negotiation table would be almost the same as waste paper.

In this regard, the French could only sigh: "There are six major powers in Europe today: Britain, France, Russia, Austria, Prussia and the Barings family."

In this way, the Barings not only gained good reputation with this reparations loan, but also took the opportunity to make a profit of 720,000 pounds.

Of course, although the Barings family only opened a bank, it does not mean that they have no interests in other industries.

As a banker who controls the largest liquidity in Britain and maintains good relations with many countries, the Baring family has long controlled the lifeline of transatlantic trade between Britain and the United States by providing liquidity loans.

And they have an advantage that the Rothschild family can hardly match - they are not Jews, but Germans who immigrated to Britain from Hamburg in the early 18th century.

Just like the history of the Rothschild family, the founder of the Rothschild family, Mayer Rothschild, was just a small antique dealer in Frankfurt at the beginning.

Johanna Baring, the founder of the Baring family, was a Hamburg trader who sold cheap linen from the German countryside to Britain and then sold cheap wool from Britain to Germany.

And these two German old men have one thing in common, that is, they gave birth to several good sons.

The five sons of the old Rothschild are in charge of a family branch respectively.

The eldest son Amschel stayed in his hometown of Frankfurt.

The second son Salomon came to Vienna to start business for Rothschild in the Austrian Empire.

The third son, Nathan, made a name for himself in London and became the most powerful branch of the Rothschild family.

The fourth son, Carl, came to Naples on the Apennine Peninsula and made great achievements in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.

The fifth son, James, is currently one of the favorites of King Louis Philippe of France, and Rothschild's Paris branch is the most important financial tool for him to maintain his rule.

As for Bahrain, it is naturally no less impressive.

The eldest son, John, is determined to go into politics, while the second son, Francis, has shown amazing talent in business activities.

Relying on the accumulation of his father, Francis started from dyes, rouge, diamonds and other industries. In the process of operating the real industry, Francis discovered the importance of financing and decisively began to move from the real to the virtual.

In 1763, he established the world's first private commercial bank, John and Francis Bahrain, despite opposition from his family.

And because of his good relationship with the then Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger, he obtained a position as a manager of the East India Company for his family. With the support of the Prime Minister, the Bank of Bahrain began to expand its business network significantly.

But just like all boring family histories, after getting rich, everyone always wants to get some power in politics.

But unlike the Rothschilds who repeatedly hit a wall, Barings didn't have the burden of Jews, so they just had to solve the money problem.

And the Mr. Francis Thornhill Baring in front of Arthur was the greatest achievement of the Barings in the political field. And the price the Barings paid for this parliamentary seat, apart from some daily interactions at the level of human relations, was a negligible three thousand pounds.

In Arthur's opinion, this price, it should be said, was indeed quite cheap, almost catching up with Disraeli.

And he finally understood why Disraeli was so anxious to meet Baring.

As long as the Barings family, the largest underwriter of British government bonds, was dealt with, it would be halfway done.

Moreover, Arthur felt that Barings should have no reason to hinder the issuance of this government bond. After all, as an underwriter, the more they issued, the more money they made, right?

Of course, all problems have a premise, that is, they should not be so high that the British government cannot pay them back.

Everyone found a corner to sit down, and Arthur took off his hat and asked with a smile pretending to be relaxed.

"Benjamin, you are so anxious to call me here, I thought it was a formal meeting with the Central Health Committee and the Public Works Construction Committee? It turned out to be just a private chat among friends?"

Disraeli corrected him: "Arthur, haven't you heard that saying? Hold small meetings for big things and big meetings for small things. The real decision-making is done under the table. If you wait until the public to know the situation, it will be too late. The superficial things are just a procedure."

Bahrain took out his pocket watch and took a look: "Are Russell and Dr. Barry not here yet? If they are not here, we may not be able to handle the affairs of the Health Committee."

When Arthur heard this, he suddenly looked at Disraeli, and soon he saw Disraeli nodded slightly.

For his action, Arthur just smiled.

He had understood that it seemed that Balin had not been a problem for a long time. The real problem still needed to be determined by the latest report from the Health Committee.

As expected, Balin had just put his pocket watch back into his pocket when he spoke.

"Let me put it bluntly, Mr. Hastings. In fact, I personally have always been in favor of renovating major cities across the country, not just Liverpool, but also Manchester, Birmingham, Newcastle and London.

In recent years, due to the rapid expansion of urban scale and the influx of a large number of people, the degree of dirtiness in cities has increased almost exponentially. And those narrow and dirty streets will not only become a breeding ground for diseases, but also add a lot of law enforcement troubles to police officers like you.

Since I took office as chairman of the committee, I have been looking through past work reports. The work report submitted by the London Regional Survey and Survey Statistics Bureau, which is under your jurisdiction and should now be renamed the London Police Intelligence Bureau, is very forward-looking.

According to the statistics you submitted, the violent crime rate and the possibility of assaulting police officers in narrow streets are much higher than normal area. If we can solve this problem, it will undoubtedly be very helpful to reduce the loss of public property caused by crime.

However, at that time, the transformation initiative I proposed was rejected by the House of Commons because of its high cost. At that time, the MPs believed that the cost of transforming the urban area was much higher than recruiting a few more policemen. But now, the situation has obviously changed.

The transformation of the urban area is not only related to reducing the crime rate, but also a necessary means to effectively prevent the occurrence of cholera. I am not afraid of you laughing at me. In fact, according to the reported cases of the Central Health Committee, the government's attempt to block cholera outside the English Channel through customs quarantine and isolation in accordance with the Quarantine Act of 1825 has actually failed. "

Although Arthur had guessed it before, he still felt quite funny to hear the bankruptcy news from Baring.

After all, the Parliament's tough quarantine control has only been in place for more than a month. Even if it is to surrender to the unstoppable decline in trade volume, it is too fast.

Arthur asked, "What do you mean? The quarantine control is going to be cancelled?"

"That's not the case. After all, there are differences between the government and the parliament, so the quarantine measures should still be implemented, but the standards will definitely be significantly lowered."

Disraeli continued, "The harm of cholera cannot be ignored, but most MPs think that at least we are not dead yet, so there is no need for amputation. And now public opinion is indeed radical in criticizing cholera control. If the quarantine continues, the loss of fiscal revenue will be coupled with the substantial increase in public health expenditures. My God, this year's fiscal deficit will break through the sky."

Arthur stirred the coffee cup with a spoon. He was more concerned about how to implement it than the MPs' high-sounding speeches.

"So, to what extent will the restrictions be relaxed?"

"It is not clear about other places at the moment, but a new draft of restrictions for London has been drawn up."

Bahrain said: "Ships arriving in London will stay in Sandgate Bay, Deptford, on the south bank of the Thames for 10 days. During this time, the authorities will send a doctor on board to instruct on cleaning and sanitation regulations. During the last three days of the quarantine period, the ship will be opened under supervision, the space between decks will be ventilated, and all crew members' clothes and sheets will be washed and dried."

When Arthur heard this, he took a sip of coffee and said, "It does sound much softer than before. The quarantine period is only 10 days, and the traders will be happy."

Disraeli waved his hand and said: "In fact, Parliament is still criticizing the latest policy for being conservative, and many people advocate lowering the quarantine period to five days. After all, cholera usually develops quickly, and five days is enough to identify whether the sailors have No more infectious diseases.”

A few people were chatting when suddenly, the tinkling wind chimes sounded.

Immediately afterwards, they saw two middle-aged gentlemen with haggard faces pushing open the door of the coffee shop and walking towards them.

Those were the two medical commissioners of the Central Board of Health: William Russell and David Barry.

As early as last year, these two doctors were selected by the British government as medical experts to go to St. Petersburg to investigate the cholera pandemic in Russia and learn from the Russians' prevention and treatment experience and lessons.

But now it seems that they obviously didn't learn it very successfully, or perhaps they learned it very successfully, but they just announced that the feasible prevention and control methods in Russia could not be copied to Britain in full.

The newspapers were full of the famous words of MP Pollitt Thompson in the House of Commons - if the mandatory precautionary recommendations were given to any British gentleman, taking into account the traditional habits of the British, the British would obey these rules for a week at most .

After waves of public opinion attacks, the Central Health Commission officially declared its collapse in the past few days. In the reorganized committee, the isolation and control faction headed by Russell and Dr. Barry lost all power.

Not only that, most of the congressmen were also kicked out by the committee, and a large number of doctors with experience in front-line practice took their place.

The newly appointed chairman of the committee, Edward Stewart, advocated that the formulation of anti-cholera measures should follow the principles of avoiding conflicts, respecting civil rights, and ensuring social stability and its own structure.

The Health Commission also declared: "The coercive measures commonly implemented in the European continent are the source of all evils. As long as they start from medical professional capabilities, supplemented by practical measures, rely on good judgment and emotional and moral support, they can Avoid interactions that may endanger the lives of others. In most cases, as long as proper cleaning and ventilation regulations are followed and the environment is kept sanitary and in good condition, cholera rarely spreads within the home unless the disease is particularly predisposed. "

The fact that the committee made such a U-turn of almost 180 degrees is enough to show the great differences of opinions and the fierce struggle within the committee.

And it can be seen from the desperate looks of Dr. Russell and Dr. Barry that they must have been treated badly recently.

Balin looked at the haggard looks of the two doctors and suggested, "Why don't you two have a cup of tea first?"

Russell covered his mouth with one hand and seemed to be retching: "Thank you for your concern, Mr. Baring. But now we can't swallow anything. If you must let me eat something, you might as well go and get the health committee's certificate for me." Let the guys cook it.”

Barry's hair was wet. He sat down and took a deep breath: "You don't know, it's like hell in the committee right now. I can guarantee you that once the control is relaxed, there will definitely be an explosive increase in cholera cases." "

When Disraeli heard this, he couldn't help but raise his eyebrows: "But what should we do? Doctor Barry, do you know how tight the finances are already?"

Barry said helplessly: "Of course I know the difficulties, but this is not caused by isolation, but due to the debt owed in the field of public health for so many years. Mr. Disraeli, let me give you an example and you will know. According to Leeds Local Health The committee reported that there was a complex of 34 houses with 57 rooms and 340 residents, but there were no paved roads or sewers. In the past month, we had removed 32 of the houses. 75 loads of excrement were shipped out, and before that, the excrement had not been cleaned for 30 years.”

Russell complained: "What is this? The situation in Leeds is not bad. The Edinburgh Health Board reported that they had just spent 280 pounds and hired more than 30 scavengers to carry out a comprehensive inspection of the streets and cul-de-sacs in the old town. As a result, more than 3,000 trucks of filthy garbage were removed from houses, basements and open spaces. In this case, it would be a disaster if cholera didn't break out! God knows what they are doing in normal public health management. If you don’t care, when the cholera breaks out, the quarantine measures will be too tight. Is this the fault of us professional doctors?”