The Diary of Heinrich Witt Volume 8
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The Diary of Heinrich Witt Volume 8 Edited by Ulrich Mücke LEIDEN | BOSTON Ulrich Muecke - 9789004307247 Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 02:14:59PM via free access [1] Volume VIII Commenced in Lima on the 22nd February 1879 by Mr. James Bryson. [2] [_]ence in Lima. Friday, 21st of January 1876. I was up at an early hour, and in the water by half past seven. My wife was so well that she called her sudden improvement a real miracle. Before I left by the 9 train Garland and Enriqueta had arrived. By 3 O’clock I was at the meeting of the Directors of the Insurance Company “Lima”. Moscoso Melgar presided. The gerente Elizalde asked what was to be done with pagarées of various people which would shortly fall due. Peña said, “Get the money”; I replied, “That is more easily said than done, and after some talking we came to the natural conclusion to authorize the gerente to do the best he could in conjunction with the Director de Turno. Moscoso Melgar was chosen President, Michael Carrol Vice. Before we had risen I was called to the Banco de Lima. Lembcke presented himself, and laid before us the closing entries in the books, which could not be made without the authorization of the Directory. Several decidedly bad debts were written off to Profit and Loss account, to the debit of which account were likewise carried heavy sums for premiums paid and commissions charged by the London Bankers, and for charges – in Spanish “Gastos Generales” – not less a sum than S/59,000 of which more than S/10,000 for patente and stamp duty, and S/9600 to the two gerentes. The question was also raised whether shares in other banks, such as the Hipotecario, Perú, etc. which the Banco de Lima had been obliged to take at par, should be left standing at par, or be valued. I was decidedly for the latter course, and the majority agreed with me, but in order somewhat to diminish the fresh loss arising from this valuation, I had to give way so far as to value them some per cent above their actual market price. Then Lembcke left, and a long discussion began respecting dividend. We all agreed that in reality there was no profit, and that no dividend ought to be given, but that prudence obliged us to swerve a little from this straight road, and we finally resolved to give 4 1/2% for last year, Cucalon being of course opposed to it. Then Barrios presented a motion to the effect that we should not admit Lembcke’s resignation. This again gave rise to a long debate and with the exception [3] of Cucalon and Bernales who voted for a provisiona[_] ger [. .] who had left the room, the remainder, viz.: Castillo, Barrios, and Armero, Sagastabeyta and I, gave our adhesion to a motion of Aliaga, which merely said that as the relation between the bank and the Salitrera was now exactly the same as it had been all the time that Lembcke had been Gerente, our negotiations with the Salitrera were no motive for Lembcke’s resignation and consequently he might withdraw it. © koninklijke brill nv, leiden, ���6 | doi ��.��63/9789004307�47_00� This is an open access chapter distributed under the terms of the prevailing CC-BY-NC LicenseUlrich Muecke - 9789004307247 at the time of publication. Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 02:14:59PM via free access 2 the diary of heinrich witt Aliaga had first written “la renuncia se debe retirar”, which was altered into “se puede”. Now a few words containing a copy of this motion, approved by the majority, were addressed to Lembcke. It was 6 when we broke up. I took a quick and cold dinner; then Bryson came, and by 10 I was in bed. Saturday, 22nd of January 1876. Once more up early. By the 8 O’clock train to Chorrillos, then a sea bath, breakfast, and back by 11 train. My wife was up: she felt well but extremely weak. In the evening whilst Bryson was reading to me, Enriqueta called me out, and told me that she had heard from the mother or her black servant girls, who had just come from Chorrillos, that my wife had had, in the course of the day, a dispute with the cook Achipe. I, afraid something might be wrong, went down by the 8.45 train. Enrique went with me. We found my wife, Doña Angela, and Felicita quietly conversing. There had certainly been a row with Achipe, but he had been pacified by Mariquita giving him not less than 8 Soles for tomorrow’s marketing. When at 10.30 we retired to rest, her diarrhoea again came on, which we attributed to the annoyance which the dispute with Achipe had caused her. Sunday, 23rd of January. I had again to call Dr. Aranda, and his medicines, I feared mere palliatives, had a calming effect upon my wife, who however remained in bed the whole day. I bathed, after breakfast Alejandro talked with me for a long time. Then came Guillermo with his wife Eliza; and from 2.30 till 5 I made several calls: upon General Pezet and family, where nobody was in; upon Doña Fidelia, Minister La Torre’s wife, who gave herself great airs; upon Jose Canevaro, where of course rocambor was being played; Garland, Anibal de La Torre, General Aparicio, Admiral Montero, made up the party [4] [. .] with Don José, always very polite; his wife [. .] gone to her sister Mercedes, whose husband, George Elster, just returned from Europe, was again suffering from asthma, a complaint of which he had been completely free whilst in Europe. With Macandrew and his lady I remained a long while. About fifteen minutes I was with Doña Isabel Elias. Ruden was not in. My last visit was to Corso, the brother of the vocal; this vocal and his wife, Dr. Pró, and the other Corso’s wife were together. I stayed with them a considerable while, and was much pleased with them all. To our dinner, which was well cooked, but not so abundant as eight Soles warranted, sat down Guillermo and Eliza, Enrique, I, Doña Angela, and Felicita Velarde. The evening passed quickly enough. The young folks went out to hear the retreta – the military band – play on the malecon. I for the greater part was in my wife’s bedroom. The temperature, though this was the first day of La Canicula (dog-days) was uncommonly cool. Alejandro sold to Manuel Candamo silver bars at S/14 the mark which, I was told, gave in Europe an exchange of 29 to 30d the sol. Ulrich Muecke - 9789004307247 Downloaded from Brill.com10/07/2021 02:14:59PM via free access Volume 8 3 Monday, 24th of January. I was up at six, before seven in the water, and in Lima by half past nine. In the evening a meeting of the shareholders in the Banco de Lima took place. A good many were present; I was in the chair, to my right the secretary Pedro Bernales, to my left, John Gallagher. At 8 the proceedings commenced. The calling over of the names, and the reading of the last “acta” went off quietly. When I was on the point of stating in a few words, the object of this extraordinary meeting J. M. Cardenas intruded with a written motion of his own signed by many shareholders. What it was about I did not know. After a violent debate, which degenerated into a row, the motion was not admitted, because according to statutes in an extraordinary meeting only those points could be treated on, for the discussion of which the shareholders had been convened. I gave a short account of what we had done with the Salitrera “Esperanza”, and after some detailed explanations given by Dr. Aranivar we passed to the second point: the resignation of the gerente Lembcke. The actas treating on his resignation and his letters were read to the shareholders and after a great deal of loud and violent [5] talking I proposed to the shareholders whether the [. .] should be voted publicly or secretly, that is to say, whether each present should give his opinion, yes or no, by word of mouth or write it on a piece of paper. The majority in favor of the latter way of proceeding was no more than ten. I then asked the shareholders to give their votes in the manner agreed upon – whether they admitted Lembcke’s resignation or not: two hundred and odd were for the affirmative, four hundred and odd were for the negative. Consequently I declared in a loud voice that Lembcke continued to be gerente of the Banco de Lima. It was eleven when we broke up, and Cardenas’ affair was again left untouched. At home Garland and Enriqueta were in bed, but still awake. They had come in from Chorrillos, and told me that they considered my wife to be very unwell, and we decided to call in Dr. Middendorf. In the forenoon of this day the Supreme Court had voted unanimously that Schutte & Co. had to pay to Francisco Garcia Calderon the remuneration of S/20,000 offered by the former and refused by the latter. The Juez de 1a Instancia had sentenced that this remuneration was to be 10% upon two hundred and odd thousand pounds sterling; amount paid by Balta’s administration to Schutte & Co., Guano Consignees to Germany, in cancelment of all their claims.