This is a very early letter in the life of the Provincial Bank of Ireland.

The letter reads as follows.

To:                 Alex’r Ramsay Esq., Falkirk Bank, N.B.

From:            David Webster, Provincial Bank of Ireland, Clonmel.

Dated:            3^rd December 1825.

Sir,

                   I wrote Mr. Russel a few days ago making application for the situation of Cashier of the Falkirk Bank which I understand is soon to be vacant.  I have since learned that my application should have been through you.  I therefore beg leave to resend it, and to refer you to my letter to Mr. Russel, and as to my qualifications to Pat G Stewart Esq.,  Agent for the Bank of Scotland in Perth, and to the Bank of Scotland in Edinburgh in whose service I have been for 15 years at their office in Perth.  - My reason for leaving my situation here is that I do not find it a desirable place to bring my family to, and besides I have a great wish to return to my native Country.

                   I am, respectfully,

                                      Your most Obed. Servant

                                                David Webster.

The letter is straightforward job application.  It does however contain a number of interesting features in respect of the persons involved and the timing of the letter.  It is also interesting from a Postal History viewpoint as it appears to be an abuse of Free mail system.

Firstly the addressee is Alexander Ramsay.  He was a Merchant in Falkirk and was a Founding Partner in the Falkirk Banking Company in 1787.  It is unclear whether or not he was the Bank’s first Cashier although he was certainly the Cashier “during nearly the whole time, and at the last…” (Banking in Glasgow During the Olden Time).  He did in fact leave this post in 1825 and in the same year he was appointed as the Bank of Scotland’s first agent in Falkirk.  (See letter of 7^th January 1830).

The letter refers firstly to Mr. Russel.  I believe him to be Mr. James Russel of Blackbraes who was a Banker, Shipowner, Ironmaster and Founding Partner of the Falkirk law firm, Russel & Aitken.  He was also a Partner within the firm of James Russel & Co. and either owned or part owned coal mining workings which employed upwards of 2,000 persons by the time of his death in 1858.  I can find no reference to him having been involved with the Falkirk Banking Company although he had previously held the post as Trustee in the winding up of the Falkirk Union Banking Company which failed in 1816.  He had further banking links insofar as he was appointed as the Clydesdale Banking Company’s Falkirk Agent on 1^st November 1839.

The name of Pat G. Stewart is provided by David Webster as a reference and we are advised that Pat Stewart is employed by Bank of Scotland in Perth.  From other letters in my collection I am aware that Pat G Stewart was the Bank of Scotland’s Perth agent in 1817 and it is to be presumed that David Webster worked with him at this time.  I know that Patrick G Stewart was still employed as Agent in 1827; that his wife (Margaret Robertson) died in that year and that he was the Lord Provost for Perth in 1828.

I mentioned above that the timing of the letter was also interesting.  By this I refer to the year 1825 as this was both the year of the founding of the Provincial Bank of Ireland and the year of the closure of the Falkirk Banking Company. 

It surprised me to discover that the Head Office for the Provincial Bank of Ireland was in London and the Bank is said to have been established using English capital and Scottish expertise.  The Bank was founded with the intention of following the Scottish Joint Stock Bank model and it is likely that it employed several Scots in its “provincial” Irish branches.  Within one year of being established it was in a severe competition war with Bank of Ireland and in “The History of Banking in Ireland” (J. W. Gilbart, 1836) there is a reference to this “war” having included the Bank of Ireland's agent in Clonmel demanding the Provincial Bank of Ireland agent in that town (our David Webster) settle in gold the routine demands made on his office.  Incidentally the Clonmel office was first opened for business on 1^st November 1825 so – if he was writing his second letter to the Falkirk Bank as early as 3^rd December 1825 – he was not giving his post too much of a chance to provide him with satisfaction!  

Given David Webster’s comments “that I do not find it a desirable place to bring my family to…” when researching Clonmel I expected it to have been a pretty remote and undesirable place to live.  Having read a number of reports and histories, and viewed many images, I cannot say I agree with his comments.  The town, which is located in Tipperary, is historic in appearance and is renowned for having been the location of a significant defeat for Oliver Cromwell in 1650.  During the late 18th / early 19th centuries Clonmel developed into one of the most important commercial and industrial towns in Ireland.  Significant amounts of grain were transported by barge from Clonmel.  In 1836, the Suir Navigation Company was founded replacing all other commercial traffic on the Suir river and the deepening of the river between Clonmel and Carrick meant that larger vessels could dock at Clonmel.  In 1832 there were 23 mills, mostly owned by the Quakers.  Murphy's Stout was brewed in the town from 1798 to 1924.   Believe me, I know a bit of Falkirk’s history of the time and it would not really have compared too favourably with Clonmel!

I mentioned above that this is an abuse of the Free Mail systems.  My knowledge of postal markings is limited although I understand that from 1652 through to 1840 Government Officials and Members of Parliament were entitled to mark their postal items and to send them without the payment of postage.  This privilege was unfortunately subject to much by the way of abuse and in this case I can suggest no reason why this item was sent via the Free system.  I think the signature is Maycock and I would be delighted to hear from anyone who can clarify who Maycock was and where he fits in?

What happened to David Webster?  To my knowledge he did not return to Scotland.  I can locate him in the Provincial Bank of Ireland's offices in Sligo (1836) and Derry (1847).  If, as he suggests, he spent 15 years with Bank of Scotland in Perth, he must have commenced work with that Bank about 1810.  If we assume he was 16 at that time he must have been about 53 years of age in 1847 and I suspect that his family did move to join him and -  having spent at least 22 years in Ireland – he grew to enjoy the Country.