Colonial Trusts Corporation, at 31 Palmerston Buildings, Old Broad Street. It could have been this connection, rather than an interest in public health, which explained Offley Shoreâs interest: he and the Corporation had a business relationship that would soon deteriorate into a bitter financial dispute. The resulting court case would ruin the Shore family finances for the second time, and tear the family apart.
Chapter 6
âComplicated questions were pendingâ
The Colonial Trusts Corporation Limited was an early entrant into the sub-prime lending market. Established just two years before the public health meeting, it
âundertook to invest money lent to it on the security of land in the colonies, and to pay a liberal rate of interest
.â But although it was a new company, the Corporation was not starting from scratch. It had taken over the business of the Colonial Securities Company Ltd, gaining a â
good substantial business ... an influential connection, and ... the services of an experienced staff
â at home and abroad. Ten thousand shares in the new Corporation were issued in 1871; and a board of Directors was appointed, chaired by the Right Honourable Viscount Bury KCMG, MP. Lord Bury, who was also Under Secretary of State for War, would later chair the public health meeting on the companyâs premises, at which Offley Shore was present: a first indication of a connection between the doctor and the Corporation.
In 1873 the Corporation declared a dividend of 10% for the year; in 1874 the dividend was 12%. That was the year in which the Corporation started selling debentures, or municipal bonds, of counties, towns and other municipalities in the province of Ontario, Canada,
âat prices yielding between 6% and 7%, payable in sterling in London
.â It promoted the debentures in classified advertisements in local newspapers across the UK and Ireland, from Dublin to Liverpool, and Hampshire to Norfolk.
In these prosperous times for the company and its shareholders, Dr and Mrs Shore and family spent a long summer holiday at Southsea, on the south coast of England. The Southsea Visitorsâ List was published regularly in the Hampshire Telegraph and Sussex Chronicle, with readers invited to fill in a card, available at the post office and other public places, if they wished to advertise their presence in the town. The Shore family indicated that they were visitors at number 1, Eastern Parade, from early July to mid October 1875. Florence was ten years old, Offley was twelve and Urith was eight.
They were in many ways privileged children â the family was well-off, they learned horse riding and languages, and Urith at least learned to play the piano very well. They also travelled in Europe from a young age: in 1872, the children were in Dresden with âMiss Boweâ, probably a governess. Portraits of the three children with Miss Bowe show Offley at nine years old, serious and curly-haired with the straight nose and high forehead of his father. Florence at seven has masses of long blonde hair held back by a band; she has a firm chin and a slightly anxious look. Urith is five, still with baby roundness to her face, with long brown hair worn loose like her sister. When Florence was 14, she visited Holstein in Prussia, saving amongst her possessions until her death an envelope addressed to her there. Many years later, one of the childrenâs aunts would write about their childhood â
⦠of the lovely, gay little people they were â of the proud Mother and Grandmothers, how well Flo rode, how eager and alert Offley was â¦â
But there were shadows over their childhood. Offley would later tell his sister-in-law that
âwe were often promised candy and ponies on a holiday, and then told at the psychological moment that it wasnât forthcoming and the promise was only an exercise in fortitude! So we soon ceased to cry at disappointments! Thatâs the
Chapter 6
âComplicated questions were pendingâ
The Colonial Trusts Corporation Limited was an early entrant into the sub-prime lending market. Established just two years before the public health meeting, it
âundertook to invest money lent to it on the security of land in the colonies, and to pay a liberal rate of interest
.â But although it was a new company, the Corporation was not starting from scratch. It had taken over the business of the Colonial Securities Company Ltd, gaining a â
good substantial business ... an influential connection, and ... the services of an experienced staff
â at home and abroad. Ten thousand shares in the new Corporation were issued in 1871; and a board of Directors was appointed, chaired by the Right Honourable Viscount Bury KCMG, MP. Lord Bury, who was also Under Secretary of State for War, would later chair the public health meeting on the companyâs premises, at which Offley Shore was present: a first indication of a connection between the doctor and the Corporation.
In 1873 the Corporation declared a dividend of 10% for the year; in 1874 the dividend was 12%. That was the year in which the Corporation started selling debentures, or municipal bonds, of counties, towns and other municipalities in the province of Ontario, Canada,
âat prices yielding between 6% and 7%, payable in sterling in London
.â It promoted the debentures in classified advertisements in local newspapers across the UK and Ireland, from Dublin to Liverpool, and Hampshire to Norfolk.
In these prosperous times for the company and its shareholders, Dr and Mrs Shore and family spent a long summer holiday at Southsea, on the south coast of England. The Southsea Visitorsâ List was published regularly in the Hampshire Telegraph and Sussex Chronicle, with readers invited to fill in a card, available at the post office and other public places, if they wished to advertise their presence in the town. The Shore family indicated that they were visitors at number 1, Eastern Parade, from early July to mid October 1875. Florence was ten years old, Offley was twelve and Urith was eight.
They were in many ways privileged children â the family was well-off, they learned horse riding and languages, and Urith at least learned to play the piano very well. They also travelled in Europe from a young age: in 1872, the children were in Dresden with âMiss Boweâ, probably a governess. Portraits of the three children with Miss Bowe show Offley at nine years old, serious and curly-haired with the straight nose and high forehead of his father. Florence at seven has masses of long blonde hair held back by a band; she has a firm chin and a slightly anxious look. Urith is five, still with baby roundness to her face, with long brown hair worn loose like her sister. When Florence was 14, she visited Holstein in Prussia, saving amongst her possessions until her death an envelope addressed to her there. Many years later, one of the childrenâs aunts would write about their childhood â
⦠of the lovely, gay little people they were â of the proud Mother and Grandmothers, how well Flo rode, how eager and alert Offley was â¦â
But there were shadows over their childhood. Offley would later tell his sister-in-law that
âwe were often promised candy and ponies on a holiday, and then told at the psychological moment that it wasnât forthcoming and the promise was only an exercise in fortitude! So we soon ceased to cry at disappointments! Thatâs the
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