Page 155 - Merchants and Mandarins China Trade Era

141.

accompanied by Samuel Russell, sailed for Boston.

Immediately the volume of Russell & Co.'s business

surged upwards. The following years were increasingly hectic

for the partners. All the work fell into the hands of only two

men at Canton, namely Low and Heard. Not only did they have

the added consignments of Perkins & Co. 's business, but the

Canton trade itself was expanding. At the end of 1832 Heard

wrote to Samuel Russell that another partner was necessary.

Another worry for the Canton partners was the fear tha� Russell
& Co. was gaining the reputation as the private consignee of

Perkins & Co. A partn�r besides John Murray Forbes would

visibly help to dissuade other consignors from viewing Russell &
72
Co. as a private adjunct of Perkins & Co. At this time a

major share of the house's business was through Europe and

India, a great part of which was financed by some portion of

the "Boston Concern." Along with the Perkins business had

come a special relationship with Baring Brothers & Co. of

London, Europe's greatest bankers. (One of the Baring part-

ners had married a Sturgis.) Their financial backing gave

enormous stability to Russell & Co., especially in terms of

credit.

Soon after Heard wrote to Russell suggesting partners

be increased, Low fell ill with a respiratory malaise and went

down to Macao, where the air was reputedly better. This devel­

opment required Heard to manage Russell & Co. alone at Canton.

72
Letter, W.H. Low to S. Russell, Oct. 8, 1831, Russell
& Co. MSS. Letter, A. Heard to S. Russell, Dec. 13, 1832, Heard
MSS.