The value of character, though great in all circumstances of life, can never be so fully experienced by persons possessed of small capital, as by those employing much larger sums:  whilst these larger sums of money for which the merchant deals, render his character for punctuality more studied and known by others.  Thus it happens that high character supplies the place of an additional portion of capital; and the merchant, in dealing with the great manufacturer, is saved from the expense of verification, by knowing that the loss, or even the impeachment, of the manufacturer’s character, would be attended with greater injury to himself than any profit upon a single transaction could compensate.

272.  The amount of well-grounded confidence, which exists in the character of its merchants and manufacturers, is one of the many advantages that an old manufacturing country always possesses over its rivals.  To such an extent is this confidence in character carried in England, that, at one of our largest towns, sales and purchases on a very extensive scale are made daily in the course of business without any of the parties ever exchanging a written document.

273.  A breach of confidence of this kind, which might have been attended with very serious embarrassment, occurred in the recent expedition to the mouth of the Niger.

‘We brought with us from England,’ Mr Lander states, ’nearly a hundred thousand needles of various sizes, and amongst them was a great quantity of Whitechapel sharps warranted superfine, and not to cut in the eye.  Thus highly recommended, we imagined that these needles must have been excellent indeed; but what was our surprise, some time ago, when a number of them which we had disposed of were returned to us, with a complaint that they were all eyeless, thus redeeming with a vengeance the pledge of the manufacturer, “that they would not cut in the eye”.  On examination afterwards, we found the same fault with the remainder of the “Whitechapel sharps”, so that to save our credit we have been obliged to throw them away.’(1*)

274.  The influence of established character in producing confidence operated in a very remarkable manner at the time of the exclusion of British manufactures from the continent during the last war.  One of our largest establishments had been in the habit of doing extensive business with a house in the centre of Germany; but, on the closing of the continental ports against our manufactures, heavy penalties were inflicted on all those who contravened the Berlin and Milan decrees.  The English manufacturer continued, nevertheless, to receive orders, with directions how to consign them, and appointments for the time and mode of payment, in letters, the handwriting of which was known to him, but which were never signed, except by the christian name of one of the firm, and even in some instances they were without any signature at all.  These orders were executed; and in no instance was there the least irregularity in the payments.