Early career Horatio Bottomley

1 career

1.1 first steps
1.2 publishing entrepreneur
1.3 hansard publishing union

early career
first steps

bottomley gave apprenticeship, , after series of humdrum jobs found work in offices of city firm of solicitors. here picked working knowledge of english legal procedures, , carrying workload far exceeding normal duties of office junior. uncle s encouragement learned shorthand @ pitman s college, skill helped him better job larger legal firm. came closer contact holyoake circle, acted unpaid assistant in group s publishing activities. met bradlaugh, encouraged young man read more , introduced him ideas of charles darwin, thomas huxley , john stuart mill. bottomley influenced bradlaugh, whom considered political , spiritual mentor.

in 1880 bottomley married eliza norton, daughter of debt collector. bottomley s biographers have tended regard early, unambitious marriage mistake on part; not equipped, intellectually or socially, him advance in world. in same year, bottomley left job become full-time shorthand writer walpole s, firm provided recording , transcription services law courts. competence impressed employers sufficiently them, in 1883, offer him partnership, , firm became walpole , bottomley. bottomley emerged adolescence maturity began show signs of characteristics in evidence in later life: greed fleshly pleasures, thirst fame, spontaneous generosity, combined charm that, according biographer julian symons, tempt banknotes out of men s pockets .

publishing entrepreneur

bottomley s association bradlaugh had awakened interests in publishing , politics, , in 1884 launched first entrepreneurial venture, magazine called hackney hansard. journal recorded business of hackney s local parliament —essentially debating society mirrored proceedings @ westminster. advertisements local tradesmen kept paper mildly profitable. bottomley produced sister-paper, battersea hansard, covering borough s local parliament, before merging 2 debater. in 1885 formed catherine street publishing association and, using borrowed capital, acquired or started several magazines , papers. these included, among others, municipal review, prestigious local government publication; youth, boy s paper on alfred harmondsworth, future press magnate lord northcliffe, worked sub-editor; , financial times. last-named set rival financial news, london s first specialist business paper, had been started in 1884 harry marks, former sewing-machine salesman. in 1886 bottomley s company acquired own printing works through merger printing firm of macrae , co., , after absorption of advertising , printing firm, became macrae, curtice , company.

at age of 26, bottomley became company s chairman. advance in business world attracting wider notice, , in 1887 invited liberal party in hornsey candidate in parliamentary by-election. accepted, , although defeated, fought strong campaign won him congratulatory letter william gladstone. business affairs proceeding less serenely; quarrelled partner douglas macrae, , 2 decided separate. bottomley described quixotic impulse led him let macrae divide assets: printer, , journalist—but took papers , left me printing works .

hansard publishing union

sir henry hawkins, judge before whom bottomley appeared, , acquitted, on fraud charges in 1893

undismayed loss of papers, bottomley embarked on ambitious expansion scheme. on basis of lucrative contract print hansard reports of debates in westminster parliament, @ beginning of 1889 founded hansard publishing union limited, floated on london stock exchange capital of £500,000. bottomley boosted company s credentials persuading several notable city figures join company s board of directors. these included sir henry isaacs, lord mayor-elect of london, coleridge kennard, co-founder (with harry marks) of london evening news, , sir roper lethbridge, conservative mp kensington north. board approved purchase bottomley of several printing businesses—he used intermediaries disguise considerable personal profits these transactions. persuaded board give him £75,000 down payment publishing firms in austria negotiating, although firms not acquired. these outgoings , other expenses absorbed union s capital, , few significant revenue streams ran out of money. nonetheless, without statement of accounts, in july 1890 bottomley announced profit year of £40,877, , declared dividend of 8 per cent.

the funds dividend payment raised debenture of £50,000. end of 1890 many city figures suspicious of hansard union, , calling bottomley s swindle . despite bottomley s outward optimism, in december 1890 company defaulted on payment of debenture interest , in may 1891, amid growing rumours of insolvency, debenture holders petitioned company s compulsory winding-up. in same month bottomley, had taken @ least £100,000 company, filed petition bankruptcy. under examination official receiver, not money had gone, , professed total ignorance of company s book-keeping. after further enquiries, board of trade instituted prosecutions fraud against bottomley, isaacs , 2 others.

the trial began in high court of justice on 30 january 1893, before sir henry hawkins; bottomley conducted own defence. observers case against him seemed impregnable. established that, through nominees, bottomley had repeatedly bought companies far less prices approved hansard union directors, , had pocketed difference. bottomley did not deny this, insisting use of nominees accepted commercial practice, , actual profits had been smaller reported; expenses, said, had been enormous. helped in case slackness prosecution presented evidence, , failure call key witnesses. further helped indulgence hawkins showed him, , own convincing oratory. essence of argument was victim of machinations official receiver , debenture corporation, had been determined win prestige bringing bottomley down , wrecking company. on 26 april, after hawkins had summed massively in favour, bottomley acquitted, along other defendants.