we hold upon the Honham Castle estates, and have allowed due
weight to your arguments as to the advisability of allowing Mr. de
la Molle time to give things a chance of righting. But we must
tell you that we can see no prospect of any such solution of the
matter, at any rate for some years to come. All the information
that we are able to gather points to a further decrease in the
value of the land rather than to a recovery. The interest on the
mortgages in question is moreover a year in arrear, probably owing
to the non-receipt of rents by Mr. de la Molle. Under these
circumstances, much as it grieves us to take action against Mr. de
la Molle, with whose family we have had dealings for five
generations, we can see no alternative to foreclosure, and hereby
instruct you to take the necessary preliminary steps to bring it
about in the usual manner. We are, presuming that Mr. de la Molle
is not in a position to pay off the mortgages, quite aware of the
risks of a forced sale, and shall not be astonished if, in the
present unprecedented condition of the land market, such a sale
should result in a loss, although the sum recoverable does not
amount to half the valuation of the estates, which was undertaken
at our instance about twenty years ago on the occasion of the
first advance. The only alternative, however, would be for us to
enter into possession of the property or to buy it in. But this
would be a course totally inconsistent with the usual practice of
the bank, and what is more, our confidence in the stability of
landed property is so utterly shattered by our recent experiences,
that we cannot burden ourselves by such a course, preferring to
run the risk of an immediate loss. This, however, we hope that the
historical character of the property and its great natural
advantages as a residential estate will avert, or at the least
minimise.