IN point of significance and comprehensiveness, few trade terms. can compare with the time-honoured title of merchant.' The word runs through the entire sphere of buying and selling, and is tacked on to the humble dealer in rags as well as to the lordly trafficker in gold. Пy a fagots et fagots. From the towering commercial heights whereon the De' Medici family gained treasure and power, to the lowest rung of the merchant ladder, there is a vast and profound space. At one end we touch the borderland of kingly dignity and influence; at the other we are only one remove from the beggars who solicit alms from us in the street. In many notable instances the successful merchant-prince has himself travelled over the entire space, beginning as a penniless beggar-boy, and ending as a titled millionaire. The trading annals of England have frequently recorded, in slightly varied forms, the story of Dick Whittington, and at no period of our commercial history could we point to so many men as now, who have worked themselves up from the humblest positions to opulence and rank. This is essentially the era of self-made men; and the best part of the world's greatness is of their making. The vast commercial houses, which have been built up by the well-directed energy of our chief merchants, throw the enterprises of previous

times into the shade. These men have not only made their own fortunes, but, by opening up fresh markets in various parts of the world, have been the means of spreading wealth in many directions, giving better employment to the labouring classes, affording an encouragement to inventive genius, and always acting as the true pioneers of commerce. They have explored the universe in the interests of industry, and, through their intervention and by their direction, the looms and spindles of England have been kept running from year to year, and, in spite of the periods of trade depression, which have now and then intervened, have yielded both individual wealth and general prosperity.

Foremost amongst these merchant-pioneers have been the men who have taken part in originat ing and developing the great mercantile house of A. & S. Henry & Co., whose operations extend over all parts of the civilised and uncivilised globe, and whose well-known establishments at Manchester, Bradford, Huddersfield, Glasgow, and Belfast embrace every branch of our textile industries.

The Henrys are an Irish family, a fact which may have some bearing possibly on the circumstance that the present head of the firm, Mr. Mitchell Henry, sits in the House of

Commons as the representative of an Irish county constituency. The first of the Henrys to make a name in the commercial world was the late Mr. Alexander Henry, who was born in the north of Ireland in 1766, emigrated to America in 1783, settled in Philadelphia as a clerk, and subsequently became one of the most successful merchants in that city, retiring with an ample fortune in 1807. His career in the City of Brotherly Love was at once eminent, useful, and unostentatious. For many years he was one of the ruling elders of a leading Presbyterian church in Philadelphia, and in all philanthropic and educational movements and institutions he took a lively interest, and assisted them nobly by his pecuniary contributions. He was one of the men who helped to lay the foundations of Philadelphia's commercial power. At the time of his settling there, a desperate attempt was being made to establish the textile industries in Philadelphia, and had it not been for the efforts of a few such energetic men as Alexander Henry, the probability is that the manufactures which have since risen to such importance in that city would have drifted elsewhere. As it was, Mr. Henry had the satisfaction of seeing the city of his adoption extend its industrial power at the same time that his own private commercial undertaking was making rapid headway; and when he retired in 1807, and left the active management of the business to younger hands, the name of Henry had become a revered and honoured one in the commercial history of the United States.

The name, however, was destined to acquire a still wider influence in the years to come, for another Henry-also called

Alexander Henry, and the nephew of the eminent merchant of Philadelphia-had entered upon a commercial career, resolved to follow in his uncle's footsteps. This young man, brought up under the care of his uncle, inspired by a desire to emulate him in his personal virtues and public zeal, and possessed of a strong inclination to launch forth into new commercial ventures, soon found active employment for himself. America was yet in its infancy as far as regarded commerce, and young Henry's aspirations required a wider sphere of operation, if they were ever to win fulfilment; so in 1804 he came over to Manchester, and began business in Palace-street, retaining the American connection, and making it his chief object to bring the United States into closer commercial contact with England. His business increased beyond his anticipations, and he found it necessary, before long, to remove to larger premises, in Spear-street. He now took his younger brother, Mr. Samuel Henry, into partnership, and the firm of ' A. & S. Henry' soon became one of the leading houses in Manchester.

The factory system had not yet been completely built up, and the era of great 'cotton lords' had hardly been entered upon. The power of the steam-engine was beginning to spread into all departments of industrial labour, and the inventions of Arkwright, Crompton, and others were rapidly revolutionising the trade, which had Manchester for its centre. The means of production were being multiplied a thousandfold, and it was for the merchants of the large manufacturing towns of the North to find customers for this increased supply of fabrics. Into this allimportant work Messrs. A. & S. Henry threw themselves with their

whole energy. They sent their envoys out to the remotest parts of the earth in quest of races and peoples desirous of being re-clad, devoting their attention chiefly, however, to the North American continent, in the various cities whereof they quickly established an extensive and profitable connection. Messrs. A. & S. Henry were the leaders, so to speak, in the English trade with America, and for many years they were the chief exporters of manufactured goods to that country. Their house came to be known as the American house; though in later years many other American houses have sprung up in Manchester and Bradford. The Henrys did not confine their operations to dealing simply in Manchester cottons, but gradually laid themselves out for the supplying of all descriptions of fabrics-cottons, woollens, worsteds, silks, and what not-and opened branch warehouses in all the principal commercial centres of this country. At Leeds they placed themselves in the midst of the heavy woollen district; at Huddersfield obtained full command of the fancy cloth trade; at Bradford gained ready access to the makers of worsted goods; at Belfast were put in direct communication with the manufacturers of Irish linen; and at Glasgow were able to obtain a firm footing amongst the various producers of Scottish textiles. At each of these places managing partners were established, with separate and distinct interests, but all responsible to, and in direct connection with, the parent house at Manchester, which retained, and still retains, the supreme control over all the concerns. With these numerous fields to draw upon, and with an ever-increasing connection abroad, no wonder that the firm prosper

ed. The amount of personal supervision given to the business affairs of the house at this time by Messrs. Alexander and Samuel Henry was something marvellous; early and late they were to be seen at their posts, and there was not a single detail of the trade to which they did not pay attention. Frequent voyages had to be made between this country and America by one or other of the brothers, and long and dreary must the voyages have seemed to them, eager and ardent as they were. In those days the average time of passage was thirty days, but occasionally, by stress of weather or other circumstance, the vessels were retarded, and one time Mr. Alexander Henry was seventy days in going over. Mr. Alexander Henry crossed the Atlantic upwards of thirty times, but never made the voyage after the introduction of steamers.

In 1836 Mr. Henry built the present large warehouse in Portland-street, Manchester, in order to keep pace with the firm's increasing operations. By this time they were doing a greater trade with America than any other house, and their business with foreign countries generally was much augmented. So matters continued, without any particular incident occurring, down to the year 1840, when, by a terrible disaster which took place in America, the house had a gloom cast over it that was not easily dispelled. On the night of the 13th of January 1840, Mr. Samuel Henry was a passenger on board the American palace-steamer Lexington, sailing from New York to Providence. The ship took fire, and all the passengers and crew, with the exception of some two or three individuals, lost their lives. Amongst those who perished,' said Hunt's (N.Y.)

.

Merchant's Magazine of February 1840, there was no one more generally beloved and respected than Samuel Henry, Esq., of Manchester, England. .. In his business intercourse with his fellow-men, rigid uncompromising integrity marked his character. No one knew better the true requirements of a merchant, or the generosity becoming a man; and throughout his life he ever maintained the strictest consistency of high mercantile principles and the most generous liberality. During the commercial distress which affected every class in the country for the past three years, Mr. Henry was here, yielding relief and assistance to those whom misfortune had crushed; and there are many, in this city and elsewhere, who will bear testimony of his open confidence and generous forbearance, when they were most needed and appreciated. Indeed, in all his business transactions there was a free honest spirit, a manly straightforward course of conduct, which won the esteem and confidence of all with whom he came in contact.'

When the news reached England, it was remembered that on the same night that Mr. Samuel Henry met his death so lamentably in America, his elder brother, Mr. Alexander Henry, was one of the guests at a Free-trade banquet given in Manchester. Both brothers had been stanch advocates of the principles championed by Cobden and Bright, and were prominent members of the AntiCorn-Law League. In 1846, Mr. Alexander Henry was returned to Parliament, unopposed, jointly with the late Mr. William Brown, for South Lancashire, for which constituency he continued to sit during Lord John Russell's Parliament, taking an active interest in all measures having for their

VOL. XXXVII. NO. CCXXVII.

He was

object the promotion of commerce and the advancement of education. He steadfastly adhered to the principles of reform, which he had had the courage to avow at a time when they were unpopular, and lived to see and take part in the passing into law of many of his favourite schemes. one of Cobden's most attached friends, and a great admirer of Kossuth. On the two occasions when Kossuth formally visited Manchester he was received by Mr. Henry as his personal guest. On the first visit, the Hungarian patriot was welcomed with acclamation by the people of Cottonopolis; on the second visit he found the tide of popular favour turned against him, in consequence of the part he was supposed to have taken in connection with certain political intrigues; but his friend, Mr. Henry, stood manfully by him, and received him with as much warmth as ever. Mr. Henry was no mere 'fair-weather friend;' when once he had made up his mind that a man was worthy of his trust and confidence, and satisfied himself that his motives were such as honour and justice would approve, he was not the one to desert him in the hour of trial and distress. Although he attended assiduously to his parliamentary duties, Mr. Henry never relaxed his interest in the great business which he had been mainly instrumental in creating; he was still frequently to be seen at the Manchester warehouse busying himself with all that was going on, and assisting his partners with the best advice and experience. He continued to exercise a controlling influence over the affairs of the firm until his death in 1862, when the sorrow which fell upon the house of A. & S. Henry & Co. was shared in by the people of

GG