" And, in this state of mind,
Mr. Baring refused, afterwards, to be one of the promoters of the
Pacific scheme, a refusal which led Mr. Glyn to hesitate to sign the
legal papers without his friend and colleague. It was an anxious time
for me; for on my head rested the main responsibility. One circumstance
somewhat sustained me. On "the 10th December, 1862, at Thomas' Hotel,
the Duke had read to me a private letter from Mr. Gladstone to him,
containing these words. Words of which I was allowed to make a note"
Your Pacific scheme would be one of the grandest affairs ever achieved,
and I hope it will be completed in your time. It shall have my hearty
support." Alas! however, Mr. Baring was right.
The first official interview with the Governor and Court of the
Hudson's Bay Company was at the "Hudson's Bay House," Fenchurch Street,
on the 1st December, 1862. The room was the "Court" room, dark and
dirty. A faded green cloth, old chairs almost black, and a fine
portrait of Prince Rupert. We met the Governor, Berens, Eden Colville,
and Lyell only. On our part there were Mr. G. G. Glyn (the present Lord
Wolverton), Captain Glyn (the late Admiral Henry Glyn), and Messrs.
Newmarch, Benson, Blake, and myself. Mr. Berens, an old man and
obstinate, bearing a name to be found in the earliest lists of Hudson's
Bay shareholders, was somewhat insulting in his manner.
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