This article was downloaded by: [Perpustakaan Nasional Republik Indonesia (PNRI)] On: 08 July 2013, At: 19:25

Publisher: Routledge Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK

Accounting History Review

Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rabf21

Paul and Mackersy, accountants, 181834: public accountancy in the early nineteenth century
Thomas A. Lee
a b a b

University of Alabama, USA

University of St. Andrews, UK Published online: 13 Oct 2011.

To cite this article: Thomas A. Lee (2011) Paul and Mackersy, accountants, 181834: public accountancy in the early nineteenth century, Accounting History Review, 21:3, 285-307, DOI: 10.1080/21552851.2011.616719 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/21552851.2011.616719

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the Content) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content. This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/termsand-conditions

Accounting History Review Vol. 21, No. 3, November 2011, 285307

Downloaded by [Perpustakaan Nasional Republik Indonesia (PNRI)] at 19:25 08 July 2013

Paul and Mackersy, accountants, 181834: public accountancy in the early nineteenth century
Thomas A. Lee
University of Alabama, USA and University of St. Andrews, UK

The purpose of this paper is to present a contextualised history of a Scottish public accountancy rm in the rst half of the nineteenth century. The minute book of a private dining club identies the employees of Paul and Mackersy, Accountants of Edinburgh from 1818 to 1834, and national archives provide data on the rms client services as well as the careers and other activities of its partners, clerks and apprentices. The study also observes nancial matters consequent to the deaths of Lindsay Mackersy in 1834 and William Paul in 1848. The paper uniquely reveals the structure and operations of a leading training rm in the early period of the modern history of Scottish public accountancy, its strong association with the legal profession and landownership, the contemporary jurisdiction of public accountants, and the potential for practitioners to fail despite their elite professional status.

Keywords:

bankruptcy; landowners; lawyers; professionalisation; public accountancy

Introduction On Wednesday, 6 December 1826, at a tavern in the Old Town of Edinburgh, six young men sat down for dinner. The group comprised an accounting clerk and ve current and former apprentices of a public accountancy rm partnered by William Paul and Lindsay Mackersy as Paul and Mackersy (PM), Accountants.1 The purpose of the meeting was to form the Paul and Mackersy Club (PMC) and meet annually for supper and conversation. Membership of the club was restricted to PM clerks and apprentices, and, except for 1840 and 1842, it met annually until 1844, with a nal meeting of reminiscences in 1856. The primary purpose of this paper is to present a history of PM from 1818 to 1834 principally by using the minutes of the PMC (182656) in conjunction with various National Archives of Scotland (NAS) les which are referenced below under primary sources. The history of the structure and operations of PM is observed contextually through its partners, clerks, apprentices and client services. The papers principal contribution to accounting history is its observation of PM as a leading training rm in the early nineteenth century i.e. at a time when public accountants were effectively a subset of the Scottish legal profession and not subject to associational regulation, and before their practice jurisdiction expanded beyond traditional legal boundaries into areas such
Email:

leeatom@aol.com

ISSN 2155-2851 print/ISSN 2155-286X online 2011 Taylor & Francis http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/21552851.2011.616719 http://www.tandfonline.com

286 T.A. Lee as corporate audits. The study is based on a general argument made by Cooper and Robson (2006) that, in order to better understand the historical process of professionalisation and regulation in accounting, it is necessary to consider the role and inuence of the individual rm in these matters in addition to the conventional focus on professional associations. The paper starts with a review of existing detailed research of public accountancy rms in the rst half of the nineteenth century in Scotland and England before examining PM as a prominent training rm of its time. Analyses include PM partners, apprentices and clerks, client services and nancial matters consequent to the deaths of the partners. The paper concludes with several observations of PM as a public accountancy rm and on practitioner failure in an emerging profession. Early public accountancy There has been relatively little detailed research published about Scottish public accountancy prior to the associational formations in the middle of the nineteenth century. Mepham (1988, 4960), for example, provides brief biographies of 96 Edinburgh accountants of the eighteenth century, at least 26 of whom he reports as practising lawyers. Several others combined accountancy with occupations such as banking, insurance, merchanting and teaching. Indeed, Mepham (1988, 49) is doubtful about which of these men actually practised as accountants. Brown (1905, 181202), on the other hand, reports seven accountants publicly listed in Edinburgh in 1773 and 17 in 1805, provides brief descriptions of several prominent Edinburgh accountants of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, but does not refer to the nature of their practices (Brown 1905, 193 6). These accountants include a number of subjects in the current study, such as William Paul. The only prior publications of a recent nature relating to the detail of Scottish nineteenth-century public accountancy rms are Walkers (1993) study of Lindsay, Jamieson and Haldane (LJH) in Edinburgh, and Shackleton and Milners (1996) study of Alexander Sloan (AS) in Glasgow. However, although LJH originated in 1818, Walkers analyses start in 1845 i.e. shortly after the main period of this study. In the case of AS, the rm was founded in 1867, almost three decades after the closure of PM. There is also relatively little detailed research on early nineteenth-century public accountancy in England. Worthington (1895, 1225) provides a review of the early history of English accountants using Holdens triennial directory 18224 to identify practitioners in London at that time i.e. accountants (39), accountants and agents (20), accountants and auctioneers (10), and accountants and arbiters (four). In total, Worthington identies 73 London rms (including 11 partnerships), 34 of which combined accountancy with non-accountancy services. In a history of Price Waterhouse and Company (PWC), and using Samuel Lowell Price, one of the PWC founders, Jones (1995, 268) includes a brief description of English public accountancy in the 1830s and 1840s. Price was apprenticed to a Bristol rm of accountants, auctioneers and agents from 1837 to 1842 before working as an accounting clerk in its London ofce. In 1848, Price partnered William Edwards at a location proximate to the London bankruptcy courts and Jones surmises from this that bankruptcy services were important to Price and Edwards. The most detailed research of an early English accountancy rm is that of Cornwell (1991, 1993). He explores the history of the Bristol practice of Robert Fletcher from its foundation in 1816. In particular, Cornwell (1993, 155) observes Fletcher transitioning from predominantly bankruptcy appointments to general accounting services. For example, in 1821 his total fee income of 1,210 was divided 25% accounting and agency services (17 clients), 19% executorships and trusteeships (11 clients) and 56% bankruptcy administrations (17 appointments) (Cornwell

Downloaded by [Perpustakaan Nasional Republik Indonesia (PNRI)] at 19:25 08 July 2013

Accounting History Review

287

Downloaded by [Perpustakaan Nasional Republik Indonesia (PNRI)] at 19:25 08 July 2013

1993, 158). By 1828, the percentages (and cases) of total fee income of 1,423 were, respectively, 56% (65), 33% (21) and 11% (11). Fletchers clients at this time included a tobacco manufacturer, a shipyard and a newspaper, and he held an agency for a major insurance company (Cornwell 1993, 156). By 1838, Fletcher had three bankruptcy administrations and his accounting clients included two collieries, a brewery and a bank (Cornwell 1993, 159). Cornwell (1991, 289) also reveals some detail about Fletchers services e.g. bankruptcy administration included debt collecting and asset sales, executorships included rent collecting, and accountancy included recordkeeping, currency translating, and investigations. Fletchers staff in the 1820s and 1830s typically comprised three full-time clerks, a part-time clerk, and a full-time administrator, all of whom worked an eight-hour day, six days a week, at a charge-out rate to clients of one shilling per hour or as a percentage of assets realised or debts collected (Cornwell 1991, 323). The total staff in the 1840s ranged from six to 10 individuals (Cornwell 1991, 103). The client list by 1856 included 45 trusts, one bankruptcy administration and 60 general accountancy clients (Cornwell 1991, 1078). Immediately before the formation of PM in 1818, 47 public accountants were listed in practice in Edinburgh (including William Paul and Lindsay Mackersy) (Oliver and Boyd 1818, 204). The Edinburgh Almanac (Oliver and Boyd 1818, 198204) also identies these accountants as an explicit sub-section of a legal community in Edinburgh of 936 professionals. In descending order of professional status, the community comprised 308 Advocates, 393 Writers to His Majestys Signet,2 84 Solicitors of the Supreme Courts, seven Agents and Solicitors Not Incorporated, 62 Advocates First Clerks, 35 Solicitors of the Commissary and Sheriff Courts, and the 47 Accountants. As Kedslie (1990, 3948) concludes, accountants were a small but signicant subset of the legal profession and provided accounting and legal services as bankruptcy trustees and judicial factors. The importance of this court-related role is evidenced later in relation to PM client services.

Paul and Mackersy In order to construct the PM history, the minutes of the PMC (182656) were used to identify the rms two partners, 13 apprentices and ve clerks with more than six months service between its formation in 1818 and dissolution in 1834. It is possible there were other apprentices and clerks who did not join the PMC. However, the minutes indicate no rejected membership applications in this period and histories of nineteenth-century public accountants in Edinburgh do not reveal PM apprentices or clerks other than those in this study (see Brown 1905; Kedslie 1990; Lee 2006; Stewart 1977; Walker 1988). When the PM partnership dissolved in 1834, the surviving partner William Paul formed a new partnership as Paul, Moncreiff and Mackenzie (PMM) Accountants, with former PM apprentices William Moncreiff and John Mackenzie. In terms of partners, clerks and apprentices, the PM rm hierarchy, revealed in the PMC minutes, is consistent with Scottish public accountancy training rms of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries as identied by Mann (1954) and Walker (1988, 11857) i.e. a relatively few partners and clerks supported by a larger number of apprentices. A public accountancy apprenticeship in Scotland in the nineteenth century typically lasted ve years, although it could be reduced to three or four years if there was prior university education or legal training. Apprentices paid an indenture fee and provided a cautioner to guarantee observance of contractual conditions. The fee funded the apprentices salary over the contracted period, thus ensuring an apprenticeship was a relatively costless source of employee labour for accountants such as Paul and Mackersy. The PM

288 T.A. Lee structure, however, is different from the English practice of Robert Fletcher at approximately the same time because Fletcher had no apprentices (Cornwell 1991, 32). The popularity of William Paul and Lindsay Mackersy as employers is evident from the existence of the PMC. Dining clubs of this period were social groups that usually restricted membership to males with backgrounds and occupations associated with the upper middle class (e.g. writers, artists, musicians, military ofcers and lawyers).3 The PMC history has been previously presented by Dunlop (1967). The club was formed initially to celebrate completion of PM apprenticeships and restricted its membership to indentured apprentices and accounting clerks with more than six months service with PM. Annual attendance was expected and nes were levied for non-attendance or inappropriate behaviour (PMC 182656, 19). Because the PMC was a social club, its minutes are typically routine and repetitive, and provide no insight to contemporary public accounting practice. However, they do form a window to the social lives of relatively privileged young men in the early nineteenth century e.g. a typical PMC meal consisted of beefsteak, bread, potatoes, cheese, beer and whisky nes were either three or six shillings depending on the type of transgression, and a silver snuff horn was purchased and inscribed for six pounds and thirteen shillings (PMC 182656, 5, 1617). When Mackersy died in 1834, PMC members decided to restrict club membership to former PM employees (PMC 182656, 35), effectively ending its long-term viability. The last regular meeting in 1844 refers to William Pauls poor health (PMC 182656, 49). Overall, the PMC minutes portray a Victorian gentleman culture with an emphasis on etiquette and good manners.

Downloaded by [Perpustakaan Nasional Republik Indonesia (PNRI)] at 19:25 08 July 2013

PM partners In order to explain the importance of PM as a training rm in early Scottish public accountancy, it is useful to start with the social backgrounds of its partners. Both men were well-connected to the traditional and inuential professions of divinity and law. The senior partner William Paul (17861848) was born into a well-known Church of Scotland family with strong connections to landownership.4 His parents were the Reverend William Paul (17531802), minister of one of Edinburghs leading churches, St Cuthberts and Susan Moncreiff (17521828), daughter of the Reverend Sir William Moncreiff (170567), Perthshire landowner and minister of Blackford Parish Church, and sister of the Very Reverend Sir Henry Moncreiff Wellwood (17501827), also a Perthshire landowner and minister of Blackford and then St Cuthberts, and Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1785. William Pauls four younger brothers had careers in emerging and traditional professions of the early nineteenth century. Robert Paul (17881866) was, successively from 1810 to 1866, Accountant, Secretary, Manager and non-executive director of the Commercial Bank of Scotland (Anonymous 1846, 75), and a director of several major insurance companies (including the Scottish Widows Fund and Life Assurance Society and the Scottish Equitable Life Assurance Society).5 Henry Paul (17911860) trained as an accountant in Edinburgh before practising in Glasgow (Mann 1954, 297). He was the leading founder and rst General Manager of the City of Glasgow Bank in 1839 before retiring to become a gentleman farmer several years before his death in 1860.6 Archibald Paul (17921813) was a junior army ofcer who died young. The Very Reverend Doctor John Paul (17951873) was Church of Scotland minister at Straiton in Ayrshire and then St Cuthberts where he became Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1847. He married Margaret Balfour (180760), daughter of James Balfour of Pilrig

Accounting History Review

289

(17741860), an Edinburgh landowner and Writer to the Signet, and sister of Robert Balfour (181869), an apprentice of William Paul in PMM.7 The Paul brothers were educated at the Royal High School in Edinburgh. William Paul probably trained with an Edinburgh lawyer before entering public accountancy. He was a cousin of Sir James Wellwood Moncreiff (17761851), an Advocate who was successively Sheriff of Clackmannanshire and Kinross-shire, Dean of the Faculty of Advocates, and a Court of Session judge. Sir James was the father of PM apprentice and PMM partner William Moncreiff and related by marriage to PMM apprentice Robert Balfour. In 1819, William Paul married Eliza Deans, a daughter of Captain, later Vice-Admiral, Robert Deans, and the couple had three daughters and two sons William Paul Stothert Paul (182168), an Advocate, and Robert Deans Paul (182543), a University of Edinburgh student. It is not known when William Paul entered public accountancy. He is not listed as a public accountant in 1817 prior to the formation of PM (Oliver and Boyd 1817, 179). However, he was appointed auditor from 1813 of John Menzies, Cashier and Land Factor for the estates of Alexander, fourth Duke of Gordon (17431827) (National Archives of Scotland [NAS] 1500 1905, GD44/51). This client service to the Gordon estates continued through the PM and PMM partnerships. The PM practice location was in Edinburghs New Town initially at 25 Duke Street and then at 17 Howe Street. Paul was an elder of his fathers church of St Cuthberts and active in the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland as representative elder for Brechin in Forfarshire (Scotsman 22 April 1820, 135) and Dunbar in East Lothian (Scotsman 10 April 1833, 4). He was also a member of an 1830 Commission of the General Assembly presented to King George IV and Queen Caroline (Scotsman 25 August 1830, 541). Other public appointments included membership of a committee of Scottish nobles and lawyers formed to petition Parliament on banking reform proposals affecting Scotland (Scotsman 4 March 1826, 144; Caledonian Mercury 4 March 1826). Paul was admitted to membership of the Highland Society of Scotland (Caledonian Mercury 17 January 1829).8 Less is known about Lindsay Mackersy (17951835).9 He was born at West Calder in West Lothian to the Reverend John Muckersy (later Mackersy) (17571831), Church of Scotland minister at West Calder, and Katherine Wallace (17721817). The Reverend Muckersy published several books including a French translation and a Latin grammar text, and received a degree of Doctor of Divinity from the University of St Andrews in 1819. His second wife, and Lindsay Mackersys step-mother, Jean Cook (17731865), was a daughter of the Reverend John Cook (d. 1815), Professor of Humanity and Moral Philosophy at the University of St Andrews. Lindsay Mackersy had three brothers. John Mackersy (17891871) assisted his father as a lay preacher before emigrating in 1829 as a Church of Scotland minister with 1,220 to purchase land for a manse and church at MacQuarrie in Tasmania (Finlay 1967). He joined his brother James Mackersy (17941828) who had previously invested 1,000 in land there. John Muckersy is credited with establishing the Presbyterian Church in Tasmania. Lindsay Mackersys twin, William Mackersy (17951875), became a Writer to the Signet in Edinburgh. Lindsay Mackersy was educated at West Calder, presumably trained as an accountant in Edinburgh (possibly with William Paul), and did not marry. He was listed for the rst time as a public accountant in 1818 when he formed PM with William Paul (Oliver and Boyd 1818, 204). At that time, Mackersy was 23 years of age and Paul 32 years. Nothing is known of Mackersys private interests other than as a founding council member in 1820 of the Phrenological Society of Edinburgh (PSE 182070; Scotsman 22 December 1820, 406).10 The Societys other founders were all professional men, providing indirect evidence of Mackersys middle-class social connections in Edinburgh.

Downloaded by [Perpustakaan Nasional Republik Indonesia (PNRI)] at 19:25 08 July 2013

290 T.A. Lee PM staff Details of PM partners and staff are summarised in Table 1. Following William Paul and Lindsay Mackersy as partners, individuals appear chronologically according to the dates they joined PM. The rst PM staff in 1820 comprised a clerk and three apprentices and the nal new employees in 1834 a clerk and an apprentice. Three clerks started employment aged 14 years. The remaining two clerks were 19 and 32 years when rst employed. The age of PM apprentices at the start of their contracts ranged from 1211 to 20 years, with an average age of 16.6 years.12 The employment tenure of PM clerks ranged from one to 20 years (average 7.2 years) and that of apprentices from one to 17 years (average 7.1 years). Social distinctions between PM clerks and apprentices are proxied in Table 1 by paternal occupation. All ve clerks had fathers in Walkers (1988, 26974) middle- or lower-occupational categories (i.e. respectively, farmer, insurance company manager, printer and engraver, land factor and postmaster). In contrast, 11 of the 13 apprentices had a father in one of the two highest categories of landowner or professional. The remaining two apprentices had farmer fathers. Six of the 18 PM clerks and apprentices came from Edinburgh, three from Central Scotland, ve from the North of Scotland, and four from the South of Scotland. In other words, including the two partners, only 40% of PM personnel were born in the city in which they worked. However, 15 of the 20 PM personnel completed their careers in Edinburgh. These data reect the occupational attraction of Edinburgh in the early nineteenth century as a city offering prosperity from a successful career in nancial services or the professions (Lee 2006, 1021). Only one of the ve PM clerks had a career in public accountancy practice. Following three years with PM and PMM, George Marquis (180275) returned to Aberdeen in 1837 and practiced there until his death (Lee 2006, 2446). He was a founder of the Society of Accountants in Aberdeen (SAA) in 1867 and SAA President in 1871. The other four PM clerks became, respectively, Secretary to the Edinburgh Committee of the Free Church of Scotland, General Manager of the Edinburgh Life Assurance Company, an accounting clerk and Land Factor for the estates of the Earl of Cawdor. This contrasts with six of the 13 PM apprentices who became public accountancy practitioners in Edinburgh, four who were either insurance or bank chief executives, and three who became farmers or land factors. Two of the latter men practised as public accountants before committing to the land. The most famous PM apprentices were William Spens (180768), General Manager of the Scottish Amicable Life Assurance Society and a founder of the Faculty of Actuaries in 1856; James Jobson Dickson (181191), a leading Edinburgh public accountant and a Society of Accountants in Edinburgh (SAE) founder (Lee 2006, 11920); William Thomas Thomson (181383), General Manager of the Standard Life Assurance Company and rst President of the Faculty of Actuaries (Lee 2006, 33941); John Mackenzie (18121900), PMM partner, General Manager of the Scottish Widows Fund and Life Assurance Society and then Treasurer of the Bank of Scotland (Lee 2006, 21217); William Moncreiff (181195), also PMM partner, Accountant of Court from 1865 to 1889, and an SAE founder (Lee 2006, 2639);13 and Patrick Brodie (181767), General Manager of the British Linen Bank. Two other PM apprentices, George Todd Chiene (180982) and Andrew Paterson (18131900) joined the SAE in 1855 (Stewart 1977, 62, 138). No information on PM apprentice contracts can be found. However, the Missive of Indenture for PMM apprentice Robert Balfour with William Paul is a rare example of such a contract in the early nineteenth century (NAS 14851892, GD69/278). Dated 1835, it provides information that the apprenticeship was for four years starting in 1835 (following the death of Lindsay Mackersy) with an indenture fee of 150 payable to William Paul by Balfours father and cautioner, James

Downloaded by [Perpustakaan Nasional Republik Indonesia (PNRI)] at 19:25 08 July 2013

Downloaded by [Perpustakaan Nasional Republik Indonesia (PNRI)] at 19:25 08 July 2013

Table 1. Paul and Mackersy partners and staff 181834. Year of birth 1786 1795 1804 1806 1804 1802 1809 1809 1807 1809 1815 1813 1811 1812 1813 1810 1811 1812 1817 1802 Year joined PM 1818 1818 1820 1820 1820 1820 1823 1823 1824 1825 1827 1827 1829 1829 1829 1829 1830 1832 1834 1834 Year left PM 1846 1834 1825 1840 1825 1825 1830 1828 1832 1830 1834 1832 1834 1846 1834 1830 1846 1833 1842 1837

Name Paul, W. Mackersy, L. Callender, W. Gray, W. Horsburgh, R. Marjoribanks, G. Dickson, W. Reid, J. Spens, W. Chiene, G. T. Ewart, P. Paterson, A. Dickson, J. J. Mackenzie, J. Thomson, W. T. Stables, W. A. Moncreiff, W. Sinclair, H. M. Brodie, P. Marquis, G.

PM position Partner Partner Apprentice Clerk Apprentice Apprentice Clerk Clerk Apprentice Apprentice Apprentice Apprentice Apprentice Apprentice Apprentice Clerk Apprentice Apprentice Apprentice Clerk

Paternal occupation Minister Minister Solicitor and accountant Farmer Farmer Landowner Insurance company manager Printer and engraver Doctor Landowner and naval ofcer Senior civil servant Schoolmaster Minister Landowner and Writer to the Signet Portrait Painter Land factor Landowner and judge Landowner Farmer Postmaster

Birth place Edinburgh Central Scotland Edinburgh North of Scotland South of Scotland South of Scotland Edinburgh Edinburgh Central Scotland Central Scotland Edinburgh South of Scotland Edinburgh South of Scotland Edinburgh North of Scotland North of Scotland North of Scotland Central Scotland North of Scotland

Final location Edinburgh Edinburgh Edinburgh Edinburgh North of Scotland Australia Edinburgh Edinburgh Edinburgh Edinburgh Edinburgh Edinburgh Edinburgh Edinburgh Edinburgh North of Scotland Edinburgh Australia Edinburgh North of Scotland

Final occupation Public accountant Public accountant Public accountant Secretary, church organisation Land factor Farmer Insurance company manager Accounting clerk Insurance company manager Public accountant Public accountant Public accountant Public accountant Bank treasurer Insurance company manager Land factor Public accountant Farmer Bank manager Public accountant

Accounting History Review

Sources: GRO (15131901); Lee (2006); PMC (182656).

291

292 T.A. Lee Balfour, Writer to the Signet.14 Balfour was to be paid half-yearly according to the scale of remuneration used in Pauls ofce. If the standard practice of the time was adopted by Paul then Balfour received an average annual salary of approximately 38.15

PM stafng and services Table 2 outlines PM staff and client services identiable in the public record from 1818 to 1834. Data relating to personnel are taken from Table 1 and data on client services are derived from bankruptcy and trusteeship les in the NationalArchives of Scotland (NAS), and from notications in the Edinburgh Gazette (181855), Scotsman (181748), Caledonian Mercury (182048), and Aberdeen Journal (183848).16 Details and references to each client or service are also given in Appendix 1. The data in Table 2 and Appendix 1 are biased because they exclude services and clients not publicly recorded. William Paul and Lindsay Mackersy practised in 1818 and 1819 without clerks and apprentices. From 1820, however, this situation changed. PM had between one (18202 and 18313) and three clerks (182330) and between two (1826) and eight apprentices (1829, 1830 and 1832). Total personnel peaked at 13 in 1829 and 1830 and averaged nine between 1820 and 1834. The average number of apprentices between 1820 and 1834 was ve. Due to lack of information about other rms, it is difcult to determine how typical this structure was during the period. However, when describing a large Edinburgh rm later in the nineteenth century, Walker (1988, 133) states it had two or more partners, a head or managing clerk (who was frequently a recently qualied CA who had trained with the rm), a cashier, perhaps four or ve clerks, a junior trotter or messenger, and a number of apprentices of whom one was usually considered to be the senior (emphasis

Downloaded by [Perpustakaan Nasional Republik Indonesia (PNRI)] at 19:25 08 July 2013

Table 2. Paul and Mackersy partners, staff, and client services 181834.
Manager and Large Small director estate estate and Year Partners Clerks Apprentices Total Bankruptcies Trusts Audits positions sales property sales Total 1818 1819 1820 1821 1822 1823 1824 1825 1826 1827 1828 1829 1830 1831 1832 1833 1834 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 6 6 6 8 9 10 7 9 9 13 13 10 11 9 11 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 3 2 2 1 1 1 3 5 6 9 6 7 8 10 12 13 17 13 16 16 17

1 1 1 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 1 1 1 2

3 3 3 3 4 5 2 4 4 8 8 7 8 6 7

3 4 6 5 5 7 7 8 9 8 7 7 8 10

1 1 1 1

1 1 1 1 1

1 1 2 2 2 3 4 4

1 1 1 2

1 2 3

1 1

Sources: Table 1 (personnel); Appendix 1 (client services).

Accounting History Review

293

Downloaded by [Perpustakaan Nasional Republik Indonesia (PNRI)] at 19:25 08 July 2013

in original). Given the gradual development of public accountancy as a profession in the early nineteenth century in Edinburgh, it is reasonable to suggest that PM was a relatively large training rm of its time. It was double the size of that of Robert Fletcher in Bristol in the 1820s and 1830s (Cornwell 1991, 323). Table 2 also provides a summary of PM client services between 1818 and 1834. These services emphasise the strong relationship between the accountancy and legal professions that persisted through the nineteenth century and which was crucial to the associational foundations in mid century (Walker 1995). Central to the PM client portfolio were audit and accounting services provided by William Paul for the estates of the Dukes of Gordon, major landowners in Scotland. Paul and Mackersy supplemented this core of their practice with a series of court appointments for bankruptcies, estate trusts and trust audits. They also held positions as corporate directors and managers. Other services included a public expenditure audit, administration of sales of large landed estates (usually in conjunction with leading rms of Edinburgh lawyers),17 sales of small landed estates and residential properties in Edinburgh and elsewhere, and sales of nancial instruments such as liferents. William Paul also held appointments with charitable organisations in Edinburgh in the late 1820s and early 1830s. As previously mentioned, the PM portfolio of client services outlined in Table 2 is skewed to services advertised in newspapers and led in public records. Nevertheless, because of its focus on court appointments such as bankruptcies and its relative lack of focus on audit services, it is dissimilar in nature and composition to that observed in the early years (i.e. 185967) of the Edinburgh practice of LJH, which also originated in 1818 (Walker 1993, 134). It is also inconsistent with the trend of services observed in the Bristol practice of Robert Fletcher in the 1820s, particularly with respect to bankruptcy services (Cornwell 1993, 1558). What the PM portfolio of services does reveal, however, is the rms strong association in the 1820s and 1830s with the legal profession and landownership i.e. through estate management, property sales, and bankruptcy and trust administration. Specic PM client services The following comments relate to certain of the PM services listed in Appendix 1. For example, as previously mentioned, William Paul was auditor of the accounts of the Cashier and Land Factor for the estates of Alexander (17431827), fourth Duke, and George (17701836), fth Duke of Gordon, throughout and beyond the PM partnership (NAS 14671949, GD46/4; NAS 1500 1905, GD44/43, 44, 51, 53). Specic services included audits of cash and crop accounts, obtaining legal services, and purchasing wine for the Gordon family. Paul travelled from Edinburgh to the Gordon estates in the north of Scotland six or seven times a year and used clerks and apprentices to conduct the audits. In 1826, he claimed 108 for fees, 11 for clerical and apprentice time, and 76 for legal and travel expenses and wine purchases. Services to the Gordon estates were provided during the brutal displacements of the Highland Clearances in which, despite increased rents and farming efciencies, the growing debts of the Gordon family resulted in the sale of large tracts of land in the 1820s and 1830s (Richards 2008, 317).18 The bankruptcy of Edinburgh sail and rope makers Bell and Sword was administered by William Paul in 1821 as trustee of the separate estates of the partnership and each partner (NAS no date, CS44/11, 81). The 1822 bankruptcy of Borthwick and Goudie, Dunbar cotton weavers, involved four administrations by Paul with Lindsay Mackersy and Edinburgh accountant John Spence (d. 1838) (NAS 14951947, CS96/326-332). These were completed by Paul in 1836 following Mackersys death. The bankrupt partners were brothers William and Bruce Borthwick and George

294 T.A. Lee Goudie from Dunbar. Partnership debts were 63,191 and recoverable assets 14,200. At its peak, Borthwick and Goudie employed 30 individuals in its factory at Dunbar and exported to Europe, Canada, West Indies and South America. The partners had speculated unsuccessfully in herring and wheat, and the rms losses were funded by loans from the East Lothian Banking Company. This bank was formed in 1810 by local farmers and its cashier was William Borthwick. It was declared bankrupt and closed in 1822 with an asset deciency of 66,006 administered by Lindsay Mackersy from 1822 to 1826 (NAS 16701852, CS271/67958, 70910). William Borthwick ed to America with personal debts of 5,259 (NAS 14951947, CS96/327). In 1823, PM was responsible for the 8,000 sale of 7,334 acres of land with shing rights at Wester Greenyards in Ross and Cromarty (Scotsman 24 and 26 December, 821 and 335). The purchaser was Major Charles Robertson of Kindeace, an army ofcer whose wealth came from family businesses in the West Indies and India (Richards 2008, 223).19 Lindsay Mackersy was appointed joint trustee in bankruptcy with James Auchinleck Cheyne (17951857), Writer to the Signet and accountant, on the failure of the Fife Banking Company in 1826 with an estimated asset deciency of 91,000 (NAS 16641868, CS228/A/9, MC/14). The administration lasted beyond the death of Mackersy in 1834. The banks branches were taken over by the National Bank of Scotland and creditors were partially repaid by a call of 30,000 on shareholders who were mainly local farmers and had unlimited liability for the banks debts. In 1829, the Fife Banking Companys joint cashier, Ebenezer Anderson, who had submitted false accounts of prots for several years to his board of directors in order to justify dividend payments, was declared an outlaw and bankrupt, with Lindsay Mackersy as trustee (Edinburgh Gazette 1829, 3718, 16). PM also administered bankruptcies of Edinburgh lawyers. In 1828, William Paul was appointed trustee for the estate of William Inglis of Middleton (d. 1830), Writer to the Signet and banker, and Deputy Secretary to the Prince of Wales (NAS 14951947, CS96/841, 4789, 4790). Inglis ed to France to avoid prosecution and had recoverable assets of 7,355 and debts of 101,610. He was socially well-connected and retained his Signet membership (Melville et al. 1936, 202). This was also the case with James Swan, Writer to the Signet, who was bankrupted in 1834, with Lindsay Mackersy and then William Paul appointed as trustee (NAS 14951947, CS96/970, 2344; NAS 16701852, CS71/65578; see also Melville et al. 1936, 339). In addition to his legal practice, Swan was an insurance underwriter, dairyman and cowman. The size and complexity of bankruptcies administered by PM is illustrated in the 1833 appointment of William Paul as joint trustee of the estate of William Shand of Arnhall in Kincardineshire, an Edinburgh merchant and trader, with Archibald Gibson and William Scott Moncrieff, Accountants of Edinburgh (NAS 14951947, CS96/47664780).20 Shand had been manager and owner of sugar, coffee and pimento plantations in Jamaica from 1791 to 1823 and had creditors in several English cities as well as in Jamaica. The bankruptcy involved the identication of assets and creditor claims in several jurisdictions and was eventually completed in 1848. PM was selling agent for large landed estates in Scotland throughout the 1820s and 1830s. For example, in 1829, William Paul acted for Donald MacLeod (17451834) of Geanies near Tain in Ross-shire, Advocate, Sheriff Depute of Ross-shire, and a major landowner (Scotsman 16 August 1829, 526). The sale of between 6,000 and 7,000 acres at Geanies was unsuccessful. Consequently, in 1832, following further advertisements of the estate, a portion consisting of 3,860 acres with an annual rental of 1,300 was offered by Paul to the public as a tontine of 76,000 (i.e. 3040 shares at 25 each) to repay a loan to the Commercial Bank of Scotland managed by Pauls brother, Robert Paul (Scotsman 25 and 28 April 1832, 1 and 1).21 William Paul was to be the tontines

Downloaded by [Perpustakaan Nasional Republik Indonesia (PNRI)] at 19:25 08 July 2013

Accounting History Review

295

Downloaded by [Perpustakaan Nasional Republik Indonesia (PNRI)] at 19:25 08 July 2013

secretary. The gambling nature of the tontine reects the saleability of the estate. More realisable in 1833 was the estate of the Lordship of Lochaber, comprising 153,853 acres of land, woods and shing rights in the north of Scotland, and with annual rentals of 5,796 belonging to the debt-laden Duke of Gordon (Scotsman 17 April 1833, 1). The sale was administered by Paul and Mackersy and completed in 1833 (Lenman 2001, 293). William Paul provided a report in 1831 to the Commissioners for City Improvements in Edinburgh on a funding crisis in 1830 that had caused the cessation of public works in the city (Paul 1831; see also Youngson 1966, 133202, particularly, 1828). The works included bridges, public buildings and gardens, and sites for city churches. Pauls report was an audit of a prior report in 1831 by Edinburgh accountant, Robert Christie (17911865) (Lee 2006, 1079). Christie (1831, 1415) had reported total expenditures and contractual commitments of 119,963 by cessation of the projects. This was accompanied by a funding decit of 47,611 for amounts due to property vendors, building contractors, and banks. He recommended three property tax assessment options to raise the 122,577 requested by the Commissioners to fund the decit and further works (Christie 1831, 16). Paul was asked by the Commissioners to review Christies gures and propose funding options for a requested 60,361 (approximately one-half of the budget given to Christie). Paul reduced Christies decit by 2,000 and recommended annual property tax assessments until 1844 to raise total funds of 72,042 (including 11,681 to cover possible compensation claims by existing tenants) (Paul 1831, 7). Following the reports by Christie and Paul, and appropriate legislation, the Commissioners assessed additional property taxes of 65,000, received loans from banks and central government of 95,000, and restarted an amended building programme in 1833 (Youngson 1966, 1878). The PM partners held managerial appointments in various organisations between 1820 and 1834 (Oliver and Boyd 182034). For example, William Paul was a member of the Committee of Proprietors in Scotland of the London-based Atlas Assurance Company and a director and auditor of rates for the Standard Life Assurance Company. Both companies were major insurers at that time (Cockerell and Green 1994, 123, 179). Lindsay Mackersy was the General Manager of the North Berwick Insurance Company. Paul was also a member of the management committees of religious and charitable organisations such as the Edinburgh Bible Society and the Edinburgh Religious Tract Society, joint auditor of the Society for the Support of Gaelic Schools, and a director of the Edinburgh and Leith Seamens Friend Society. It is presumed that some or all of these appointments involved the provision of accountancy services. Death of Lindsay Mackersy Lindsay Mackersy died intestate at Edinburgh in 1834 and PM ceased to exist. His estate was administered by his younger brother, William Mackersy, Writer to the Signet. Details of the estate were recorded in the Edinburgh Sheriff Court inventories in the Records of Her Majestys Commissary Ofce (NAS 18081996, SC70/1/51, 61, 67) and are summarised in Table 3. The 1835 column relates to the rst statement of account prepared after Mackersys death in 1834. The 1841 and 1847 columns reect two separate revisions of the 1835 gures following negotiations with William Paul and Mackersy family members regarding Lindsay Mackersys share of the PM business capital and debts due him by individual family members at his death. It is unclear when the Lindsay Mackersy estate was nalised and distributed. It was initially reported in 1835 as a combination of realisable assets of 1,754 and less-realisable and contested PM capital and family claims of 4,129. There was no heritable property and no debts. Subsequent

296 T.A. Lee

Table 3. Lindsay Mackersy intestate estate 183447. 1835 Assets Cash Government securities Shares Personal possessions Realisable assets PM capital PM ofce equipment Sundry debts due Contested assets Recoverable estate 617 690 157 290 1,754 2,823 35 1,271 4,129 5,883 2,823 35 1,319 4,177 5,931 1841 617 690 157 290 1,754 1,000 35 105 1,140 2,844 1847 617 690 107 290 1,704

Downloaded by [Perpustakaan Nasional Republik Indonesia (PNRI)] at 19:25 08 July 2013

Notes: The 1835 and 1841 gures combine the balance of Mackersys share of PM capital as recorded in PMs books at 31 December 1833 and an estimate by the executor of Mackersys share of PM prots for the eleven and one-half month period to his death on 12 December 1834. The 1847 gure is an agreed revision of the 1835 and 1841 gure as stated in the executors statement of that date. The 1835 and 1841 gures include 1,339 stated by the executor as recorded in PMs books at 31 December 1833 and due to Mackersy from his fathers estate and from his brothers John and William Mackersy. The 1847 gure in the executors statement reects no recoverable amount for these items.

declarations of his estate in 1841 and 1847 indicate problems in determining the recoverable value of contested assets and William Mackersy sought Court of Session approval twice in 1845 to extend the administration of the estate (NAS 183955, CS275/7/81, 189). The rst matter of contention was the PM capital account representing Lindsay Mackersys share of PM equity at his death. This was eventually agreed in 1847 at an estimated 1,000 due from William Paul. Paul was in poor health at this time and it is not known what his involvement was in negotiations with William Mackersy. The second matter of contention relates to amounts that Lindsay Mackersy had recorded in the PM books by 31 December 1833 as due to him from his fathers estate and from his brothers John and William Mackersy. With respect to the debt due from John Mackersy, it is possible this related to the 1,000 he took to Tasmania to found a church there. According to the inventory statement made by William Mackersy in 1847, these claims were irrecoverable, in dispute and being abandoned. In combination, the revisions reduced the Mackersy recoverable estate to 2,844. The reason for reducing Lindsay Mackersys share in the PM capital from 2,823 to 1,000 in 1847 is unknown. It could have been that the partnership books at the end of 1833 did not accurately record Lindsay Mackersys capital at that time or that there had been a considerable partnership loss between then and his death. The nal amount of 1,000 was agreed approximately six months before William Pauls death and, as discussed later, Paul was insolvent at this time. Thus, Lindsay Mackersys executor would have been fortunate to receive the 1,000 from Paul. Also of relevance to this analysis and assuming an equal partnership in PM, the gure of 1,000 suggests the PM equity at Mackersys death was 2,000. This amount is signicant as an approximate measure of the value of an early nineteenth-century public accountancy rm in Scotland. Also of relevance to this study is the nding that the PM records included business and private family transactions relating to Lindsay Mackersy.22

Accounting History Review William Pauls death and bankruptcy

297

Following Lindsay Mackersys death, William Paul continued to practice as a public accountant until his death in 1848, principally in partnership with former PM apprentices William Moncreiff and John Mackenzie as PMM from 1835 to 1843. His identiable professional services within PMM are given in Appendix 2. For example, he continued to audit the accounts and became a trustee of the fth Duke of Gordons estate (NAS 14671949 GD46/4; NAS 15001905, GD44/43, 44, 51, 53). He also continued the bankruptcies of William Inglis (NAS 14951947, CS96/841, 4789, 4790), William Shand (NAS 14951947, CS96/476680), and James Swan (NAS 14951947, CS96/970 and 2344; NAS 16701852, CS271/65578). In 1836, he was appointed trustee in the bankruptcy of David Ross (17991848), Advocate (NAS, 1495 1947, CS96/1727, 2344). In 1838, Paul was responsible for the sale of 1,790 acres of land at Eildon in Roxburghshire for 29,000 (Scotsman 13 January 1838, 1). A new client service started in 1839 with the otation and Edinburgh share subscription of the City of Glasgow Bank managed by Pauls brother, Henry Paul (i.e. 50,000 shares at 100 each) (Scotsman 5 January 1839, 3), followed by the 1841 otation and interim management of the City of Edinburgh Reversion Company (i.e. 4,000 shares at 25 each) (Scotsman 23 January 1841, 1), and the 1842 otation and Edinburgh board directorship of the City of Glasgow Life Assurance and Reversionary Company (Scotsman 21 September 1842, 1). Paul was also a board member from 1843 of the Experience Life Assurance Company (Aberdeen Journal 31 January 1844) and the Commercial Bank of Scotland (Anonymous 1946, 70). William Paul died in 1848 at Belleld near Dalkeith outside Edinburgh. His death was reported in the Edinburgh Gazette together with notication of the need to replace him as trustee in bankruptcy for Robert Hill, a landowner (Appendix 3 contains details of this and consequent matters). The Gazette later intimated the need to replace Paul as trustee in bankruptcy for William Shand of Arnhall. These notications appear routine and result from the death of a public accountant who was administering bankrupt estates. However, in February 1848, the Gazette announced the bankruptcy of William Pauls estate (NAS 183956, CS279/2034). The trustee was William Wood, a leading accountant in Edinburgh (Lee 2006, 3549) who made various intimations about the estate in the Gazette between 1848 and 1850 when a nal dividend to William Pauls ordinary creditors was declared. It is unclear what caused Pauls bankruptcy. However, in letters and statements associated with the bankruptcy, it is evident his business transactions had been dealt with for several years by his former PMM apprentice Robert Balfour (NAS 183956, CS279/2034). In particular, there is a letter from Paul to Balfour in 1843 giving Balfour permission to make payments on behalf of Paul. Balfour apparently prepared two statements of Pauls affairs in 1844 and 1846 but neither appears to have survived. The petition for bankruptcy of William Pauls estate was made by an ordinary creditor and family relation, William Stothert, a landowner in Kincardineshire, for a debt of 1,105 and with the explicit agreement of Pauls surviving children. Four accounts of the bankruptcy were reported by William Wood between 1848 and 1850 (NAS 183956, CS279/2034). These enable a summary of the estate to be made in Table 4. Pauls preferred creditors were the Commercial Bank of Scotland (managed by his brother Robert Paul) for a debt of 849 and bankrupt estates administered by Paul prior to his death (e.g. William Shand and James Swan) for 472. The total deciency of assets was 2,133. Ordinary creditors of 2,504 received a rst dividend of 12.5% or 313 and a nal dividend of 2.3% or 58, both in 1850. No mention is made in the surviving documentation of heritable property or Pauls partnership capital in PMM. It is presumed he had no claim to a share of the latter rm.

Downloaded by [Perpustakaan Nasional Republik Indonesia (PNRI)] at 19:25 08 July 2013

298 T.A. Lee

Table 4. William Pauls bankrupt estate 184850. Amount recovered 21 11 1,699 18 1,749 57 1,692 1,321 371 2,504 2,133

Inventory of assets Practice records and accounts Copyright in manuscript Share in private school Life policies Cash Total recovered assets Administration costs Funds available for creditors Preferred creditors Funds available for ordinary creditors Ordinary creditors Deciency of assets

Downloaded by [Perpustakaan Nasional Republik Indonesia (PNRI)] at 19:25 08 July 2013

Given the intimations of his bankruptcy in the Edinburgh Gazette, it appears William Pauls creditors were unwilling to have the administration conducted as a private extra-judicial administration which was a procedure permitted under the Bankruptcy Act 1838. The embarrassment caused by the bankruptcy can only be speculated. William Paul was the son of one of Edinburghs leading ministers and highly regarded as a public accountant. He held several Court of Session appointments at his death despite his ill health and was associated for several decades with the estate of one of Scotlands most prominent noble families. He had been entrusted with the sale of several other signicant Scottish landed estates. His brother, Robert Paul, was a leading banker in Scotland and another brother, the Very Reverend Doctor John Paul, had been Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in the year prior to Pauls death. The bankruptcy of Pauls estate is not reported in any of the relevant histories of the early Scottish public accountancy profession (e.g. Brown 1905, 181202; Kedslie 1990, 1549; Stewart 1977, 130).

Summary and conclusions This study provides a unique observation of the structure and client services of a leading Scottish public accountancy rm in the early part of the nineteenth century. The PM history has been constructed from archival sources and provides knowledge about the rms partners, staff and client services, as well as issues relating to its partners estates. It therefore adds to the existing literature pertaining to the professionalisation of modern public accountancy prior to the introduction of regulating associations and the gradual establishment of public accountancy practices with jurisdictions other than those relevant to the long-standing relationship between Scottish lawyers and accountants e.g. with respect to corporate audit services. The study is comparable in its detailed research of client services offered by a single rm to those of Walker (1993) and Shackleton and Milner (1996) but covers an earlier period. It is, however, comparable in terms of time to Cornwells (1991, 1993) studies of the Bristol public accountancy rm of Robert Fletcher and it is within this contrast that the following commentaries are largely made.

Accounting History Review Social background

299

Downloaded by [Perpustakaan Nasional Republik Indonesia (PNRI)] at 19:25 08 July 2013

Walker (2002) argues that English accountants by 1851 were at the lower margins of the middle class and had lifestyles incompatible with other professionals of the time. Without relevant evidence from Cornwells (1991, 1993) studies, it is impossible to say whether this was true of Robert Fletcher and his staff. However, it is inconsistent with the evidence of PM partners and staff in the current study. In terms of paternal occupations as dened by Walker (1988, 26974), PM partners and apprentices fall within the highest social status categories and the history of the PMC suggests a compatible social lifestyle. Only the PM clerks fall into Walkers lower social status categories and, even then, most clerks relate to the middle commercial categories. However, the PM history is constrained by limitations of the archives accessed. In particular, use of the PMC minutes means the study does not include part-time staff who may have been employed by PM (as was the case in Cornwells study). Elite group The social backgrounds and professional careers of the PM partners and apprentices suggest they formed an elite occupational group with access to the highest levels of the social strata. Through family connections, client services of the PM rm, and individual professional careers, they interacted with nobility and major landowners in Scotland, as well as with members of established and inuential professions such as the church and the law, and leading commercial organisations such as national banks and insurance companies. The effectiveness of William Paul and Lindsay Mackersy as professional trainers in this setting is evident from not only the successful professional careers of many of their apprentices and clerks but also the existence of the PMC. In contrast, there is no evidence from Cornwells (1991, 1993) studies of Robert Fletcher and his staff that the latter were as elite in the occupational sense attributed here to PM. Instead, PM partners and apprentices in particular conform to the general professional stereotype described by Coreld (1995, 237) prior to 1850 i.e. they contributed signicantly as professional men to the growing prestige of the middle class in the early part of the nineteenth century. Accountants and lawyers The portfolio of identiable PM client services emphasises the close relationship between Scottish lawyers and accountants that prevailed throughout the nineteenth century. Whether in the form of bankruptcy administrations or estate realisations, William Paul and Lindsay Mackersy typically provided services explicitly in combination with lawyers. In addition, William Paul appears to have specialised in the administration of the estates of bankrupt lawyers. The social and economic importance of many of the identiable PM engagements reects the high standing of the rms partners as professional men of their time. In contrast, evidence of a strong relationship between English accountants and lawyers is more ambiguous in the case of Robert Fletcher (Cornwell 1991, 1993). Bankruptcy administrations declined signicantly for Fletcher, although executory accounting services increased. The history of PM, however, is generally consistent with Walkers (2004) research of the later nineteenth century in which the mutual dependency of English accountants and lawyers prevailed despite media portrayals of hostile competition for insolvency services, and Edwards (2010) study of the success of local rms of accountants prior to the formation of professional associations in England by social networking with the governing elite of the locale. In the case of PM, mutual dependence is evident in client services such as

300 T.A. Lee bankruptcies and estate sales which involved landowners and lawyers. More generally, the PM engagements emphasise the signicant role that public accountants played within the Scottish legal system of the nineteenth century and their established position as part of the legal profession in Edinburgh matters that were at the heart of associational foundations in the middle of the century (Walker 1995). Size and complexity of rm

Downloaded by [Perpustakaan Nasional Republik Indonesia (PNRI)] at 19:25 08 July 2013

Throughout its existence, PM employed a team of accounting clerks and apprentices large enough to enable its partners to accept a portfolio of client services that frequently took several years to complete (e.g. as in the case of bankruptcy trusteeships). These services reect not only the complexities of the estates concerned but also involvement with multiple legal jurisdictions. However, the considerable time it took PM to complete specic bankruptcy administrations also underscores the later frustrations of English merchants and lawyers that led to bankruptcy law reform in Scotland in the middle of the nineteenth century (Walker 1995). The large majority of PM staff comprised apprentices with the potential to replenish the practitioner community on successful completion of their apprenticeships. In contrast, the staff of Robert Fletcher identied by Cornwell (1991, 1993) was much smaller than for PM and comprised clerks throughout its history. Other services Although legally-based client services appear to have dominated the work portfolio of PM, the rm was also involved in a range of nancial services requiring managerial and actuarial competencies in addition to those of accounting and law. These other services include insurance company management, landed estate management, operating banks while in bankruptcy administration, and investigating the funding of public works. In these circumstances, it is unsurprising to nd PM apprentices developing careers other than in public accountancy (e.g. in insurance and banking management). It is equally unsurprising to nd that the mixed menu of professional activity in a public practice of the early nineteenth century persisted well into the twentieth century in Scottish Chartered Accountancy more generally (MacDougall 1954, 97110). In other words, the client services of PM reect a multi-service portfolio that enabled professional accountants to enter a range of occupational jurisdictions and competencies, and successfully compete with other professionals such as lawyers, actuaries, and estate agents. Professional failure The history of PM particularly reveals individual failure as well as success in the inter-connected public accountancy and legal professions of the nineteenth century. Delays in determining a value for the share of PM capital of Lindsay Mackersy following his death and the post-death bankruptcy of William Paul suggest signicant nancial issues associated with these professionals. Two of these issues are of interest here i.e. an indication of the capital value of a prominent Scottish training rm in the early nineteenth century, and the paradox of professionals responsible for administering bankrupt estates unable to prevent their own bankruptcy. The latter point is particularly apposite in the context of a Victorian Age in which, because of conict between the principles of Christianity and capitalism, money and nancial wealth constituted a taboo subject

Accounting History Review

301

that was typically accompanied by fear of possible bankruptcy, disgrace, beggary (Herbert 2002, 190).23 Regulation This study predates the formation of the professional associations that eventually began to regulate public accountants in Scotland (Lee 2006) and it was therefore a period of self-regulation for public accountants. Adapting the general thesis of Cooper and Robson (2006) with respect to the more recent inuence of practice rms on accountancy professionalisation and regulation, it is not unreasonable to suggest that any failure of a leading and self-regulating rm such as PM or a leading practitioner such as William Paul in the rst half of the nineteenth century would have a reected badly on the accountant community as a whole. Pauls post-death bankruptcy had the potential to embarrass not only his family but also his former apprentices and clerks, clients, and professional colleagues in both the accountancy and legal professions. Overall conclusions The primary contribution of this history of an early Scottish public accountancy rm is its portrayal of a professional practice in a period that has been relatively under-researched. In this respect, it reveals evidence of professional relationships, initiatives, successes, and failures of public accountants as they emerged from a long-standing relationship with lawyers to become members of an independent, inuential, and regulated profession. More specically, the PM history observes the close relationship in terms of social background and client services between Scottish accountants, lawyers and landowners in the early nineteenth century that was vital to the success of later stages of the professionalisation process, such as the formation of professional associations in the middle of the nineteenth century (Walker 1995). In making these observations, this study also emphasises the importance and potential of archival research in accounting history. In the absence of complete archives, it is possible to identify separate fragments from several archives and use these fragments to reconstruct the past of public accountancy e.g. as in histories of early public accountancy rms other than PM. Acknowledgements
The Paul and Mackersy Club minute book was discovered in 1992 by the writer in the basement of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS). The writer is grateful for permission granted then by the ICAS Librarian to use the minute book for future research. The minute book can be consulted at the ICAS Library. The writer is also grateful for the helpful comments and suggestions of two reviewers and the editor.

Downloaded by [Perpustakaan Nasional Republik Indonesia (PNRI)] at 19:25 08 July 2013

Notes
1. Work performed by accounting clerks and apprentices was essentially the same and often mundane and routine (Walker 1988, 1336). Any difference in professional status was in the relationship that an apprentice had with his master i.e. an apprentice had the opportunity to join his master in a small community of professional practitioners if he was successful in completing his indentured service. 2. Signet denotes the Crown Seal for Scotland used on relevant state and legal documents. 3. See Timbs (1866) for London clubs and Birrell (1980, 589) and Chambers (1868, 14957) for Edinburgh clubs. 4. Information about William Paul is derived from Brown (1905), Edinburgh Academy (1914), Edinburgh and Leith Post Ofce Directory (ELPOD 181855), General Register Ofce (GRO 15191901), Lee (2006), Melville et al. (1936),

302 T.A. Lee

Moncreiff and Moncreiff (1929), Oliver and Boyd (various dates), Pigot and Company (1825), Royal High School (RHS no date), and Scott (186870). A memoir of Robert Paul was published by Bell (1872). The City of Glasgow Bank failed in 1878 due to fraud by its senior managers (Couper 1879). Henry Paul ceased to be General Manager several years before his death in 1860. Robert Balfour was a member of an inuential Edinburgh family of landowners, merchants, lawyers and ministers (Lee 2006, 5673). The Society existed to preserve the traditions of Highland Scotland that were under attack due to a century-long rural displacement of Highlanders by landlords seeking higher rents and prots from efcient sheep farming (Richards 2008). Details of Lindsay Mackersys life are derived from Brown (1905), Edinburgh Academy (1914), ELPOD (1818 55), GRO (15131901), Melville et al. (1936), Lee (2006), Pigot and Company (1825), PSE (182070), and Scott (186870). Phrenology was a controversial branch of medicine, in which doctors used the shape of the human skull to determine intelligence and character. The entry age of Peter Ewart (181541), son of the Deputy Clerk of Chancery in Edinburgh (the court records ofce), as 12 years has been veried in GRO (15131901). This compares with 16.8 years for Edinburgh public accountancy apprentices between 1837 and 1854 (Walker 1988, 125). The Accountant of Court was an ofcer of the Court of Session responsible for supervising court appointments relating to bankruptcies, trusts, and judicial factories. Walker (1988, 12930) reports the average indenture fee for nine Edinburgh apprentices between 1837 and 1855 as 120. According to Walker (1988, 1313), the standard practice for remunerating apprentices prior to the 1850s was repayment of the indenture fee in increasing installments of salary over the apprenticeship period. References to the Caledonian Mercury and Aberdeen Journal have no page number as these do not appear in the digitised les. Many of these sales were part of a general trend during the period caused by agricultural instability in the Highlands of Scotland. In order to remain solvent, long-established landowners attempted to raise rents payable by their tenants (Lenman 2001, 2906; Richards 2008, 13552). When this failed, they sold parts of their estates to southern Scots or English who had amassed fortunes from commercial activities related to manufacturing industry and global trade and who wished to invest and develop efcient sheep farming in the depopulating Highlands. William Paul was one of several Edinburgh accountants involved directly or indirectly with landed estates during the Highland Clearances (see Walker 2003 for a detailed study). In 1854 as part of the Highland Clearances, Robertson was responsible for the brutal eviction of tenant families on his Greenyards estate (Richards 2008, 3437). Archibald Gibson (17941869) was an SAE founder (Lee 2006, 14851) and William Scott Moncrieff (17661846) was father of SAE founder John Scott Moncrieff (181189) (Lee 2006, 26974). A tontine was a company formed with share capital and the expectation that, when an individual shareholder died, his or her shares passed to the surviving shareholders. Eventually, all the shares would belong to a single surviving shareholder. William Mackersy was declared bankrupt in 1849 (NAS 183956, CS279/1741). The various intimations in the Edinburgh Gazette describe Mackersy as a banker and builder as well as a Writer to the Signet, suggesting his bankruptcy may have been due to nancial or property transactions. The bankruptcy was completed in 1868 and William Mackersy retained his Signet membership (Melville et al. 1936, 242). William Mackersys grandson, William Robert Mackersy (1863-1933), Writer to the Signet, was censored for professional misconduct in 1909 and removed from Signet membership for professional misconduct in 1924 (Melville et al. 1936, 421, 423). The monetary values in this paper are expressed as they appear in archival sources. They have not been systematically translated into modern equivalents because of issues relating to the accuracy of price indices comparing personal consumption, saving and investment, and lifestyle over long periods of time. However, selected data are converted here to 2009 prices for illustrative purposes. For example, using a retail price index of consumables from 1830 to 2009 constructed by Ofcer (2010), the 2009 equivalent amount for the 1,000 share of PM capital agreed for Lindsay Mackersy in 1847 (Table 3) is approximately 67,000 in 2009 terms and the 1850 asset decit of 2,133 for William Pauls estate (Table 4) is 182,000. The equivalents using an average earnings index provided by Ofcer (2010) from 1830 to 2009 are, respectively, 722,000 and 1,645,000 in 2009 terms. The 108 fee from Paul to the Duke of Gordons estate in 1826 is worth 7,820 in 2009 using a retail price index, and 87,000 using average earnings.

5. 6. 7. 8.

Downloaded by [Perpustakaan Nasional Republik Indonesia (PNRI)] at 19:25 08 July 2013

9.

10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17.

18. 19. 20. 21.

22.

23.

Accounting History Review References Primary sources

303

Downloaded by [Perpustakaan Nasional Republik Indonesia (PNRI)] at 19:25 08 July 2013

Aberdeen Journal. 183848. https://auth.nls.uk/ldc/goto.cfm?rid=59. Caledonian Mercury. 182048. https:/n/nauth.nls.uk/ldc/goto.cfm?rid=59. Christie, R. 1831. Report to the sub-committee appointed by the committee of twenty-one of the wards of police of the city of Edinburgh regarding the pecuniary situation of the Commission for Improvements in the said city. Edinburgh: Caledonian Mercury Press. University of Edinburgh Library, P81/4. Edinburgh Gazette. 181855. Edinburgh: The Stationery Ofce. http://www.edinburgh-gazette.co.uk. Edinburgh and Leith Post Ofce Directory (ELPOD). 181855. Edinburgh: various publishers. General Register Ofce (GRO). 15131901. Births, marriages, deaths, censuses, wills and testaments 15131901. Edinburgh: National Archives of Scotland. http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk. National Archives of Scotland (NAS), Edinburgh: No date. Court of Session extracted processes. CS44. 13301904. Miscellaneous documents connected with the lands and estate of Billie, Berwickshire. GD267. 14671949. Papers of the Mackenzie family, Earls of Seaforth (Seaforth Papers). GD46/4. 14851892. Papers of the Balfour family of Pilrig, Midlothian. GD69. 14951947. Court of Session: productions in process. CS96. 15001905. Papers of the Gordon family, Dukes of Gordon (Gordon Castle Muniments). GD44. 16191863. Court of Session: unexhausted processes, 1st arrangement, Drysdale ofce. CS232. 16641868. Court of Session: unextracted processes, 1st arrangement, Adams-Dalrymple ofce. CS228. 16701852. Bill Chamber processes, old series. CS271. 18081996. Records of HM Commissary Ofce, Edinburgh. SC70. 18191971. Royal Institution for the Encouragement of the Fine Arts in Scotland. NG3. 183955. Bill Chamber: processes in actions of suspensions and interdict. CS275. 183956. Bill Chamber: sequestration petitions (unconcluded processes nos. 12917). CS279. Oliver and Boyd. 181734. New Edinburgh almanac and national repository. Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd. Paul, W. 1831. Report to the Commissioners for the City Improvements regarding the present pecuniary situation of the Commission. Edinburgh: Caledonian Mercury Press. University of Edinburgh Library, P81/7. Paul and Mackersy Club (PMC). 182656. Minute book of the Paul and Mackersy Club. Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland Library, Edinburgh. Phrenological Society of Edinburgh (PSE). 182070. Records of Phrenological Society of Edinburgh. Edinburgh. University of Edinburgh Library, GB 0237 Gen. 608. Pigot and Company. 1825. Pigot and Companys new commercial directory for Scotland. London: Pigot and Company. Royal High School (RHS). No date. Royal High School of Edinburgh (various matriculation and library records). Edinburgh: Edinburgh City Chambers. Scotsman. 181748. https://auth.nls.uk/ldc/goto.cfm?rid=115.

Secondary sources
Anonymous. 1946. Our bank: the story of the Commercial Bank of Scotland Ltd 18101846. Edinburgh: Thomas Nelson and Sons. Bell, B. 1872. Memoir of Robert Bell, F.R.S.E. late Manager of the Commercial Bank of Scotland. Edinburgh: John MacLaren. Birrell, J.F. 1980. An Edinburgh alphabet. Edinburgh: Mercat Press. Brown, R. 1905. A history of accounting and accountants. Edinburgh: T.C. and E.C. Jack. Chambers, R. 1868. Traditions of Edinburgh. Edinburgh: Robert Chambers. Cockerell, H.A.L., and E. Green. 1994. The British insurance business: a guide to its history and records. Shefeld: Shefeld Academic Press. Cooper, D.J., and K. Robson. 2006. Accounting, professions and regulation: locating the sites of professionalisation. Accounting, Organizations and Society 31, nos. 45: 41544. Coreld, P.J. 1995. Power and the professions in Britain 17001850. London: Routledge. Cornwell, S.V.P. 1991. Curtis Jenkins, Cornwell and Co.: a study in professional origins 18161966. New York, NY: Garland Publishing. Cornwell, S.V.P. 1993. The nature of a Bristol accountancy practice during the 1820s: some comments. Accounting, Business & Financial History 3, no. 2: 15564.

304 T.A. Lee

Couper, C.T. 1879. Report of the trial before the High Court of Justiciary: Her Majestys Advocate against the directors and managers of the City of Glasgow Bank. Edinburgh: Edinburgh Publishing Company. Dunlop, A.B.G. 1967. Accountants clubs. The Accountants Magazine 71, no. 729: 11621. Edinburgh Academy. 1914. The Edinburgh Academy register: a record of all those who have entered the school since its foundation in 1824. Edinburgh: T. and A. Constable. Edwards, J.R. 2010. Researching the absence of professional organisation in Victorian England. Accounting, Business and Financial History 20, no. 2: 177208. Finlay, L. 1967. Mackersey, John (17891871). In Australian dictionary of biography 2, 1734. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press. Herbert, C. 2002. Filthy lucre: Victorian ideas of money. Victorian Studies 44, no. 2, 185213. Jones, E. 1995. True and fair: a history of Price Waterhouse. London: Hamish Hamilton. Kedslie, M.J.M. 1990. Firm foundations: the development of professional accounting in Scotland 18501900. Hull: Hull University Press. Lee, T.A. 2006. Seekers of truth: the founders of modern public accountancy. London: Elsevier. Lenman, B.P. 2001. From the union of 1707 to the franchise reform of 1832. In The new Penguin history of Scotland: from the earliest times to the present day, ed. R.A. Houston and W.W.J. Knox, 276354. London: Allen Lane. MacDougall, E.V.H. 1954. A history of the Chartered Accountant in Scotland from the earliest times to 1954. Edinburgh: Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland. Mann, J. 1954. Glimpses of early accountancy in Glasgow. The Accountants Magazine 58, no. 6: 297306. Melville, A.P. et al. 1936. The Society of Writers to His Majestys Signet. Edinburgh: T. and A. Constable. Mepham, M.J. 1988. Accounting in eighteenth century Scotland. New York, NY: Garland Publishing. Moncreiff, F., and W. Moncreiff. 1929. The Moncreiffs and Moncrieffs: a history of the family of Moncreiff of that ilk and its collateral branches. Edinburgh: T. and A. Constable. Ofcer, L.H. 2010. Five ways to compute the relative value of a UK amount, 1830 to present. http://www. MeasuringWorth.com. Richards, E. 2008. The Highland clearances. Edinburgh: Birlinn. Scott, H. 186870. Fasti ecclesiae: the succession of ministers in the parish churches of Scotland from the Reformation, A.D. 1560, to the present time. Edinburgh: William Paterson. Shackleton, J.K., and M. Milner 1996. Alexander Sloan: a Glasgow chartered accountant. In Shaping the accountancy profession: the story of three Scottish pioneers, ed. T.A. Lee, 81151. New York, NY: Garland Publishing. Stewart, J.C. 1977. Pioneers of a profession. Edinburgh: Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland. Timbs, J. 1866. Club life in London during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. Privately published. Walker, S.P. 1988. The Society of Accountants in Edinburgh 18541914: a study of recruitment to a new profession. New York, NY: Garland Publishing. Walker, S.P. 1993. Anatomy of a Scottish CA practice: Lindsay, Jamieson and Haldane 18181918. Accounting, Business & Financial History 3, no. 2: 12754. Walker, S.P. 1995. The genesis of professional organisation in Scotland: a contextual analysis. Accounting, Organisations and Society 20, no. 4: 285310. Walker, S.P. 2002. Men of small standing. Locating accountants in English society during the mid-nineteenth century. European Accounting Review 11, no. 2: 37799. Walker, S.P. 2003. Agents of dispossession and acculturation. Edinburgh accountants and the Highland clearances. Critical Perspectives on Accounting 14, no. 8: 81353. Walker, S.P. 2004. Conict, collaboration, fuzzy jurisdictions and partial settlements: accountants, lawyers and insolvency practice during the late nineteenth century. Accounting and Business Research 34, no. 3: 24765. Worthington, B. 1895. Professional accountants: an historical sketch. London: Gee and Company. Youngson, A.J. 1966. The making of classical Edinburgh: 17501840. Edinburgh: University of Edinburgh Press.

Downloaded by [Perpustakaan Nasional Republik Indonesia (PNRI)] at 19:25 08 July 2013

Accounting History Review Appendix 1. Paul and Mackersy client services 181834
Client (partner) St Bernards Place, Edinburgh (WP) Cupar Grange, Perthshire (WP) Fourth and fth Dukes of Gordon (landowner and Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland) (WP) Bell and Sword; Andrew Paton Bell; John Sword (rope and sail makers) (WP) Edinburgh, Leith, and Burntisland (WP) Edinburgh, Leith, and Burntisland (WP) Borthwick and Goudie; George Goudie and Company; Bruce Borthwick and Company (weavers) (LM) East Lothian Banking Company of Dunber (WP) Andrew Lawrie (occupation unknown) (WP) Rose Street, Edinburgh (WP) Date 1820 1820 182034 Service Sale of tenement, houses, and legal literary property Sale of large landed estate Audit of Cashier and Land Factor Three bankruptcies Sale of shops and houses Sale of shops and houses Three bankruptcies Archival source

305

Downloaded by [Perpustakaan Nasional Republik Indonesia (PNRI)] at 19:25 08 July 2013

1821 1821 1822 182234

Caledonian Mercury 28 September 1820 Caledonian Mercury 12 October 1820 NAS 14671949, GD46/4; NAS 15001905, GD44/43, 44, 51, 53 NAS, no date, CS44/11, 81 Caledonian Mercury 22 January 1821 Caledonian Mercury 29 April 1822 NAS 14951947, CS96/ 32632

18226 1823 1823

Bankruptcy Bankruptcy Sale of apartment

NAS 16701852, CS271/67958, 70910 NAS 16701852, CS271/64469 Scotsman 29 January 1823, 68; Caledonian Mercury 30 January 1823 Scotsman 24 and 26 December 1823, 821 and 335 NAS no date, CS44/39 Edinburgh Gazette 1825, 3309 NAS 16641868, CS228/A/9 and MC/14 NAS no date, CS44/114, 126 Scotsman 22 December 1827, 1 Oliver and Boyd 182734 NAS, 14951947, CS96/184 Scotsman 16 August 1828, 526 Scotsman 23 August 1828, 550 NAS 14951947, CS96/841, 4789, 4790 Edinburgh Gazette 1829, 3718 Scotsman 25 March 1829, 189 Oliver and Boyd 1829, 315 Edinburgh Gazette1830, 3912 (continued )

Wester Greenyards, Ross and Cromarty (WP and LM) William Maxwell Morison (printer and publisher) (WP) General William Wemyss (landowner) (WP) Fife Banking Company (LM) Edward Boyd of Mertonhall (underwriter and cattle dealer) (WP) Marthrown, Kirkcudbright (WP and LM) North Berwick Insurance Company (LM) Henry Stephens (cattle dealer) (LM) Sale of Geanies, Ross-shire (WP) Middleton House, Linlithgowshire (WP) William Inglis (Writer to the Signet and banker) (WP with William Wood, Accountant) Ebenezer Anderson (Accountant and merchant) (LM) Glespin, Lanarkshire (WP and LM) Atlas Fire and Life Association (WP) Mousewald estate (WP and LM)

1823 182330 1825 182634 182632 1827 182734 182734 1828 1828 182834

Sale of large landed estate and shing rights Bankruptcy Trust Bankruptcy Bankruptcy Sale of small landed estate Manager Bankruptcy Sale of large landed estate Letting of property Bankruptcy

1829 1829 182934 1830

Bankruptcy Sale of large shooting estate Committee of proprietors for Scotland Sale of large estate

306 T.A. Lee Appendix 1. Continued

Client (partner) Middleton House, Linlithgowshire (WP and LM) William Robertson of Kindeace (landowner) (WP and LM) Balmadies, Forfarshire (WP and LM) Home Robertson of Paxton (landowner) (trustee William King Hunter) (WP) Donald MacLeod of Geanies (Advocate, Sheriff Depute of Ross-shire, and landowner) (WP) Report to Commissioners for City Improvement, Edinburgh (WP) Spalding Trust (trustees John Forman, Writer to the Signet, and Alexander Forman, Accountant) (WP) Geanies, Ross-shire tontine (WP and LM) Canongate, Chessel Court, and New Street, Edinburgh (WP and LM) Portobello and Canongate, Edinburgh (WP and LM) Lordship of Lochaber (WP and LM) William Shand of Arnhall (merchant and trader) (WP with Archibald Gordon and William Wood, Accountants) Standard Life Assurance Company James Swan (Writer to the Signet, dairyman, and cowman, Meadowbank; and underwriter, Edinburgh) (WP and LM) Robert Hill (landowner) (WP) York Place, Edinburgh (WP and LM) Date 1830 1830 1830 183033 183034 Service Sale of house, pastures, and woodland Sale of life interest on estate and life policy Sale of large estate Audit of trustee accounts Trust Archival source Scotsman 28 April 1830, 268 Scotsman 7 August 1830, 500 Scotsman 2 January 1830, 4 NAS 13301904, GD267/27/206 NAS 14951947, CS96/22830

Downloaded by [Perpustakaan Nasional Republik Indonesia (PNRI)] at 19:25 08 July 2013

1831 1831

Audit of funding for city improvements Audit of trustee Accounts Sale of shares Secretary of tontine Sale of shops and apartments Sale of various properties and shares Sale of large estate Bankruptcy

Paul 1831; Youngson 1966, 133202 NAS 18191971, NG3/6

1832 1832 1832 1833 18334

Scotsman 25 and 28 April 1832, 1 and 1 Scotsman 21 November 1832, 1 Scotsman 17 October 1832, 1 Scotsman 17 April 1833, 1 NAS 14951947, CS96/ 476680 Oliver and Boyd 18334 NAS 14951947, CS96/970, 2344; NAS 16701852, CS271/65578 Edinburgh Gazette 1834, 5716 Scotsman 16 July 1834, 1 and 27 December 1834, 1

18334 1834

Director and Auditor of Rates Bankruptcy

1834 1834

Bankruptcy Sale of dwelling house

Appendix 2. William Paul client services 183548

Client (partner) Fifth Duke of Gordon (landowner and Lord Keeper of Great Seal of Scotland) William Inglis (Writer to the Signet and banker) (with William Wood, Accountant) Donald MacLeod of Geanies (Advocate, Sheriff Depute of Ross-shire, and landowner Date 183548 Service Audit of Cashier and Land Factor; trustee for estate Bankruptcy Archival source NAS 14671949, GD46/4; NAS 15001905, GD44/43, 44, 51, 53 NAS 14951947, CS96/841, 4789, 4790 NAS 14951947, CS96/228 30; NAS 16191863, CS232/M/86 (continued )

183548

183542

Trust

Accounting History Review Appendix 2. Continued

Client (partner) William Shand of Arnhall (merchant and trader) (with Archibald Gordon and William Wood, Accountants) David Ross (Advocate) Date 183548 Service Bankruptcy Archival source NAS 14951947, CS96/476680

307

183648 183748

Bankruptcy Bankruptcy

Downloaded by [Perpustakaan Nasional Republik Indonesia (PNRI)] at 19:25 08 July 2013

James Swan (Writer to the Signet, dairyman, and cowman, Meadowbank; underwriter, Edinburgh Eildonhall, Roxburghshire College of Elgin City of Glasgow Bank City of Edinburgh Reversion Company

1838 1838 1839 1841

City of Glasgow Life Assurance and Reversionary Company Experience Life Assurance Company Commercial Bank of Scotland

18426

18436 184346

Sale of large landed estate Sale of garden Flotation and share subscription in Edinburgh Flotation and share subscription Interim committee Flotation and share subscription; member, Edinburgh Board Director Director

NAS 14951947, CS96/1727, 2344 NAS 14951947, CS 96/970, 2344; NAS 16701852, CS271/65578 Scotsman 13 January 1838, 1 Aberdeen Journal 18 April 1838 Scotsman 5 January 1839, 3 Scotsman 23 January 1841, 1

Scotsman 21 September 1842, 1

Aberdeen Journal, 31 January 1844 Oliver and Boyd 18436

Appendix 3. William Paul bankruptcy 184850

Edinburgh Gazette # 5716 5720 5726 5738 Date 21.01.1848 04.02.1848 25.02.1848 01.04.1848 Action reported William Pauls death and his replacement as trustee for Robert Hills bankruptcy (also Aberdeen Journal 19 January 1848) William Pauls replacement as trustee for William Shands bankruptcy Bankruptcy of William Paul (also Scotsman 26 February 1848, 2; Aberdeen Journal 1 March 1848) Appointment of William Wood, Chartered Accountant as trustee and James Rolland, Writer to the Signet, James Souter, Writer to the Signet, and James Howden, jeweller, as commissioners Completion of William Shand bankruptcy by William Moncreiff William Pauls replacement as trustee for James Swans bankruptcy William Pauls replacement as trustee for Edward Boyds bankruptcy William Pauls replacement for William Inglis bankruptcy Delay of dividend on William Pauls bankruptcy Replacement of William Paul as trustee of William Shands estate Discharge of Robert Paul as trustee for William Paul Delay of dividend on William Pauls bankruptcy Discharge of Robert Paul as cautioner for bankruptcy of Edward Boyd Delay of dividend on William Pauls bankruptcy Discharge of William Moncreiff as trustee for James Swans bankruptcy Unstated rst dividend on William Pauls bankruptcy (also Scotsman 12 January 1850, 3) Delay of second dividend on William Pauls bankruptcy

5739 5757 5767 5773 5783 5813 5816 5819 5822 5855 5870 5928 6002

07.04.1848 09.06.1848 14.07.1848 04.08.1848 08.09.1848 19.12.1848 29.12.1848 09.01.1849 19.01.1849 08.05.1849 29.06.1849 08.01.1850 10.09.1850