Later, following the resignation of William Fox as the company's agent in Nelson, Bell was appointed to this position. Passing through Wellington on his way to take up the post, however, Bell found the company's director in New Zealand, William Wakefield, to be in ill health. Bell postponed his journey to Nelson in order to help manage the company's affairs, and Wakefield consequently recommended Bell as his successor before he died. In the end, however, Bell was outmanoeuvred by William Fox, who Bell was replacing as the company's agent in Nelson.