Volume Six - Pre-Victorian to the Present Day - Select Aspects - The Penarth Harbour, Dock & Railway Co. dispute with Messrs. Smith, Knight & Co. . .

Railway contractors, particularly from the summer of 1864, had become dependant upon bill finance, and the main suppliers had been the finance companies and some of the new banks. The credit stringency of the autumn of 1865 led such financial institutions to become either increasingly unwilling, or unable, to maintain this activity. The consequent shortage of liquidity during the opening months of 1866 caused the failure of one railway company after another . . . . '. [537]

1867 (March) - Railway Matters - 'The Penarth Company claim £69,000 (equivalent to £5.4m in 2021) from Smith, Knight, and Co., for breach of contract. The matter is referred to arbitration.' - The Engineer [015] [499] 8th March 1867.

1867 (June) - Smith and Knight - ". . . They, (the directors of the Penarth Co.) had had a great deal of trouble about Smith and Knight. Those parties took the contract, at certain prices, according to a schedule.

After being at the work a couple of years, they found that they could not go on, owing to the advance of wages and other circumstances. The company then had to take the work themselves and found that instead of moving earth at 9d. (3.75p.) per yard, which was the contract price, it cost them 12d. (5p.) and 13d., and the other sorts of work in the same proportion.

The company, therefore, brought a bill against Smith and Knight for £100,000 for the extra prices they had to pay. But on the other hand, Smith and Knight brought a bill against the company for £100,000 or so - what for, he could not say." Cardiff Times [019] 1st June 1867

1867 (August) - 'The affairs of Smith, Knight, and Co., the Penarth Dock Contractors, have again turned up in Chancery. A case came on before Lord Justice Rolt, entitled Re Smith, Knight, and Co., ex parte John Smith and John Knight. The company was formed in the year 1864 to take over the business of Messrs. Smith and Knight, who were the contractors. Messrs. Smith and Knight were to be paid £230,000 (equivalent to c.£19.9m in 2022) for their business, goodwill, and plant, in part payment of which they were to take 20,000 shares in the company credited with £5 per share paid, this being half the capital of the company. Mr. Knight was to be the managing director of the company at a salary of £3000 a year. (equivalent to c.£259k in 2022).