To conduct his increasing business required a large floating capital, for long credits were the custom, and besides his own requirements, he had to bear the constant importunities of the Ballantynes to renew their bills.
On July 25, 1810, he wrote to them: "This will be the last renewal of the bill (L300); when it becomes due, you will have the goodness to provide for it." It was, however, becoming impossible to continue dealing with them, and he gradually transferred his printing business to other firms.

We find him about this time ordering Messrs.

George Ramsay & Co., Edinburgh, to print 8,000 of the "Domestic Cookery," which was still having a large sale.
The Constables also were pressing him for renewals of bills.

The correspondence of this date is full of remonstrances from Murray against the financial unpunctuality of his Edinburgh correspondents.
On March 21, 1811, he writes: "With regard to myself, I will engage in no new work of any kind"; and again, on April 4, 1811: Dear Constable, You know how much I have distressed myself by entering heedlessly upon too many engagements.

You must not urge me to involve myself in renewed difficulties.
To return to the _Quarterly_ No.8.Owing to the repeated delay in publication, the circulation fell off from 5,000 to 4,000, and Mr.
George Ellis had obviously reason when he wrote: "Hence I infer that _punctuality_ is, in our present situation, our great and only desideratum." Accordingly, increased efforts were made to have the _Quarterly_ published with greater punctuality, though it was a considerable time before success in this respect was finally reached.