Containing some memoirs of past personnel PRINTED RV WHITTALL COMM.:NV, LIMITED AT MORTLAKE; PRESS, COLOMBO ▪ CONTENTS PAGES FOREWORD INTRODUCTION . PAST PERSONNEL I-10 INTERLUDE- Forbes & Walker (incorporating R. Gordon & Co.) .. 10-15 INCORPORATION-FORBES & WALKER, LTD. 15-17 EARLY HISTORY 17-18 BUSINESS HISTORY — (a) Tea .. 18-20 (b) Rubber 20-21 (c) Shares . 21-22 (d) Freight 22-23 (e) Exchange 23-24 (f) Coconut Oil and Sundry Produce • 24 MATTERS OP GENERAL INTEREST- Colombo Brokers' Association 25-26 Colombo Brokers' Association and the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce 27 Merchants and Brokers .. 27-31 Taxation .. 32-34 Clerical Staff 34-35 Subordinate Staff 36 APPENDIX A '- Partners, Directors and Assistants of Forbes & Walker, Ltd. • • 37 APPENDIX B '- Clerical Staff •• 38 APPENDIX C '— Export Duty and Cesses on Commodities mentioned on Page 34 .. 39-43 • FOREWORD It has always been my intention and modest ambition to write a history, and my memoirs, of Forbes & Walker, Ltd., from its earliest beginnings, before I leave Ceylon, in the hopes that the history, as far as it goes, may be of interest to succession and possibly provide the basis for a complete history, when the time comes (as I hope it may come) for the Finn to celebrate its centenary. I think this may have been the intention of Colonel 0. B. Forbes and the late Mr. R. H. Horne, for the latter, before his death, took over and enlarged upon some very useful notes obtained from the former, without which this history could not have been compiled. Colonel Forbes had obviously also, some time or another, made an attempt to ascertain the early history of the Colombo Brokers' Association {possibly for one of the newspapers) and in this it is apparent that he was assisted by Sir Thomas Villiers, to whose book " Mercantile Lore " frequent references in this history are made. I do not hold myself responsible for any inaccuracies or misstatements and, where I am uncertain of my facts, I have qualified my remarks accordingly. I have, however, endeavoured to substantiate facts and dates from various authorities, such as " Mercantile Lore ", Ferguson's Directories and the Minutes of the Colombo Brokers' Association and Ceylon Chamber of Commerce. I trust that, for the benefit of future historians, I have managed to establish the fact that Forbes & Walker started 1st August, r881. These notes, in their present form, are " not for publication "; if any of the past personnel (now living) happen to read them and take exception to any of my remarks, I would ask for their indulgence, for I have felt that the ' lighter side ' of broking life should be introduced, particularly when describing past personnel. Most of this history was written in the latter half of 1953, as I thought I would be leaving Ceylon finally in April, 1954. My departure was, however, postponed owing to the illness and the subsequent sad passing away of Mr. D. M. Mackie, who was to have taken over from me. I have, however, brought the history up to date as far as possible. I am indebted to Mr. F. N. Sudlow and Colonel 0. B. Forbes, our oldest two living past heads of the Firm, who were good enough to survey my draft. Colonel Forbes was able to fill in a number of missing blanks and has made some useful corrections and suggestions. N. D. DRURY, Colombo, December, 1954. HISTORY OF FORBES & WALKER, LTD. 1881 - 1954 I NTRODUCTION We are informed in Sir Thomas Villiers' book " Mercantile Lore " that Forbes & Walker was established on 1st August, 1881. Unfortunately, there is no actual record of this, but there are two pointers which can only lead us to suppose that the date is substantially correct. The first is that 0. B. Forbes, the son of the Founder, was able to produce a Cash Book, almost certainly the first in use, which showed the brokerages earned 1-8-81 to 31-7-82 and for the two following years. The second is that the prefix numbers to our contracts obviously follow the life of the firm and must have started from No. i/r. The prefix number today is 74. From this we might immediately jump to the conclusion that the firm had been in existence 74 years and started in 1880 but, in later years, to work in with the firm's financial year,' we numbered according to fiscal years, i.e., starting from 1st April instead of, as previously, from at July in each year. The original numbering was from 1st August. Thus, the last contract made by the Founder on 7-3-22 to which reference will be made later, was 41/5004. The prefix numbers to contracts changed to 65/I on 1-7-45 and ran until 31-3-46 when on 1-4-46 the prefix was changed again to 66/1 and so on up to the present. It would be gratifying to be able to claim earlier descent, but, as it is already in black and white in Mercantile Lore ", it might be better left as it is. It is logical to assume that James Forbes and George Chapman Walker " got together " in, say, June or July, 1881 and started business proper from 1-8-81 from which date they started keeping books and numbering the contracts they put through. Furthermore, the writer has scrutinised 2" Ferguson's Directories " from the year 1871 onwards and the information contained therein definitely adds weight to the argument that Forbes & Walker started business in the year 1881. PAST PERSONNEL James Forbes was born on loth November, 1851. There is no record of when he actually arrived in Ceylon, but it was probably not earlier than 1875 and certainly not later than 1876. He was trained as a Tea Taster in the office of 3Gow, Wilson and Co., London and first went 'planting in Ceylon. To quote from'" Mercantile Lore " he became an Assistant in 'Somerville & Co., in 1878 and a salaried partner in 1881. In this year he also started Forbes & Walker (see Footnote 2). It is believed that he parted with William Somverille as a result of a dispute to found Forbes & Walker in partnership with George Chapman Walker. It was actually on the 28th February, 1932 that, to fit in with the Ceylon Income Tax year that the Partners, at a Meeting, decided to make up the firm's half yearly accounts as at 31st March and 3oth September. 2" Ferguson's Directory " year 1881-1882 James Forbes is shown as being a member of Somerville & Co. under personnel and their addresses. Forbes & Walker, however, appears for the first time in the same publication under " Agents and Merchants of Colombo " Produce and Exchange Brokers—Partners James Forbes and George Chapman Walker, whilst the only other broking firm mentioned Is Somerville & Co., Produce and Exchange Brokers, with W. Somerville as sole partner. ;Authority, Sir Thomas Villiers' " Mercantile Lore ". Chapter on Somerville & Co., Ltd. Page 223. 0. B. Forbes cannot substantiate this statement and nor can Gow, Wilson & Stanton, Ltd., London, which Company was not formed until 1908. Previous to that it was a Partnership of Gow & Wilson ; if James Forbes was a member of that firm, it must have been in its earliest days. Mercantile Lore " chapter on Forbes & Walker, page 135, states that he came to Ceylon in March, 1876, and went planting on Hunasgeria, Wattegama. Ferguson's Directory year 1876-78 (i volume for the 2 years) shows him as Superintendent " Gorala Ella ", Iflatale. The same volume informs us that " Gorala Ella ", was a part (or division) of Ellevakellay (Hunasgeriya) ; the proprietor was J. Boustead and the agents Lee Hedges. A coffee estate consisting of 28o acres, 184 acres cultivated, of which 40 acres was grass. The Superintendent the year before James Forbes arrived was W. Cock. 0. B. Forbes was always under the impression that his father came out to Ceylon at the age of 21, which would make the year as early as 1872, but there is no mention of his name in Ferguson's Directory before 1876. 5In the chapter dealing with Somerville & Co., (" Mercantile Lore ") Sir Thomas Villiers tells us that William Somerville was joined by James Forbes in 188o and he goes on to state that in 1882 J ames Forbes founded, in partnership with G. C. Walker, the firm of Forbes & Walker. This is not consistent with his chapter on Forbes & Walker, where it is stated that the firm was established 1.8-188 r. 6 1n the same chapter (Somerville & Co.) we are informed that the firm was started by William Somerville in 1887 on the failure of the firm of Fowlie, Richmond & Co., to which firm he came out as Assistant in 1872. On the other hand, Ferguson's Directories for the years 1871-1875 show that he was an Assistant in Fowlie Richmond & Co., but, in the volume 1876-1878 (embracing two years) he is shown as the sole partner of Somerville & Co., Produce & Exchange Brokers, with an assistant, W. M. Fiuchan. 2 HISTORY OF FORBES & WALKER, LTD. On 21st November, 1878, he married Miss Caroline Delmege, a sister of A. A. and T. T. Delmege, partners of the firm of Delmege Reid & Co. " Jimmy " Forbes (as he was always called) had several sons, the eldest being Robert Wallace Forbes, who was born in 1879, joined the Firm 1-9-1899 and was a partner from 1905 to 1914. He married a daughter of the late Sir William Mitchell, proprietary owner of the firm of Darley, Butler & Co. ; Admiral Sir Charles Morton Forbes, who was C.