Page 147 - Merchants and Mandarins China Trade Era

133.

IV

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Russell & Co. of Canton began as the Canton branch
of a group of Providence merchants in international trade.

Edward C. Carrington, who had been the American Consular-agent

at Canton before the War of 1812, joined with Cyrus Butler,

Benjamin Hoppin and Thomas C. Hoppin to adventure in cargoes to

China. As more American merchants were establishing resident

agents at Canton, in 1818 this group contracted with Samuel

Russell of Middletown, Connecticut, to be their agent at Canton.

Russell arrived in the spring of 1819, hired a clerk, and formed

Samuel Russell & Co. His agency did commission business for his

Providence partners, and he invested in ventures on his own.

The Hong merchants Houqua and Kingqua secured the majority of
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vessels consigned to Russeli.

At that point in the China trade conditions were very

unstable. American merchants, in the midst of the post-war

economic expansion, transacted an increasing share of their

trade on credit. The use of credit also traveled to Canton, but

the Chinese merchants still preferred to deal for cash. With

the depression that followed the Panic of 1819 the Chinese

resisted even further the substitution of credit for specie.

Many of them had their own debts to pay. On the other side,

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At present there is no history of Russell & Co. extant.
Robert Bennet Forbes about 1878 undertook to write one and corres­
ponded with as many partners and former partners of the house as
he could to collect all the information possible. He never wrote
the book, however, and persuaded William C. Hunter, a former part­
ner and author of a hook on China, to undertake the project.
The papers of those merchants in Russell & Co. and of the house
itself are now scattered.
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Agreement of Partnership for Samuel Russell & Co., Dec.
26, 1818, Forbes Family MSS.