four months of 1912 between March 7, when the tender was accepted,
and July 19 when the contract was tabled. Let us concentrate upon
that four-month period. The Postmaster-General issued no statement
whatever on the matter but on March 8 the Company sent out a circular
to its shareholders telling them the good news--but making the news
look even better than it was by omitting all reference to Clause 10,
which entitled the Government to substitute some rival system at any
time it pleased. The Postmaster-General issued no correction because,
as he said later, he had not been aware of the omission.

Immediately after, Godfrey Isaacs left for America to consider the
affairs of the American Marconi Company, capitalised at $1,600,000,
of which he was a Director. More than half its shares were owned by
the English Company. On behalf of the English Company he bought up
the rights of the American Company's principal rival, and then sold
these rights (at a profit not stated but apparently very
considerable) to the American Company for $1,400,000. To handle all
this and allow for vast developments hoped for from this purchase and
from a very favourable agreement Godfrey Isaacs had negotiated with
Western Union, the American Company was to be re-organized as a
$10,000,000 Company--two million shares at $5 each. The American
Company--whose own repute in America was too low for any hope of
raising money on that scale from the American public--seems to have
agreed to the Godfrey Isaacs plan only on condition that the English
Company should guarantee the subscription; and Godfrey Isaacs made
himself personally responsible for placing 500,000 shares. (It should
be remembered that the pound was then worth just under five dollars:
a $5 share was worth L1.1.3, or L1 1/16 in English money.)

Godfrey Isaacs returned to England. On April 9 he lunched with his
brothers Harry and Rufus--Rufus being Attorney-General in the British
Government. He told them of the arrangements he had made--arrangements
which were not yet made known to the public--and of the new stock
about to be issued, and offered them 100,000 shares, out of the
500,000 for which he had made himself responsible, at the face value
of L1.1.3. Rufus refused--one reason for his refusal being that the
shares were not a good "buy," as the prospects of the Company did not
warrant so large a new issue of capital. Harry took 50,000.

We now come to the transactions which the public was