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British industries and foreign competition
British industries and foreign competition Author:Andrew Williamson Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III. Cobden's Business Career. His First Partnership—A Boundless Vista—Dissolution of Partnership in 1839—Elected Member of Parliament for Stockpor... more »t, 1841—Enters into Partnership with His Brother in 1839—In Difficulties—Friends come to His Assistance—Firm dissolved in 1846—National Testimonial of 75,000—Investment in Illinois Railway Shares—Again assisted by Friends in 1858— Unfortunate Purchase of Land in 1835—Again in Pecuniary Difficulties in 1860—Friends present Him with 40,000—His Character—Goes to convert the Nations of Europe—His Account of his Mission—Its Dismal Failure—Member of Parliament for the West Riding—His Opinion of the Whigs —Negotiates the French Treaty of 1860—A Bad Treaty for England. Mr Morley says,' History shows, that Cobden was amply justified in laying down the principle, that the affairs of a nation come under the same laws of common sense and homely wisdom, which govern the prosperity of a private concern.' (Life, Vol. I. p. 99). In other words, the record of the man who claims to be a statesman and political economist, should at least show, that in the management of his own business, he had not conspicuously failed. Let us see what Cobden's record as a business man was. Cobden was born at Dunsford, West Sussex, on BRITISH INDUSTRIES, ETC. 65 the jd June, 1804. In 1819 he entered his uncle's warehouse in London, where he remained till the year 1825, when he was promoted to the position of traveller for the firm. In 1828, with two partners, he started business on his own account, for the sale, on commission, of Manchester calicoes. Having decided, in 1831, to set up print works on their own account, they took over an old calico print work at Sabden, in Lancashire, and so sanguine of success was he, in the great industrial centr...« less