The National Register. — London, England, 1818-09-27 00:00:00

i 11.~~ kingdom to the empire at large, is now fortunately better understood than formerly. Self interest, independently of justice. points the wisdom of a liberal and enl ghteued con duct towards her.—Too long has an opposite conduct made Ireland a source of weakness instead of strength to Great Britaiss—Two of these cattle were also sold to Mr. Saul, of sireenrow, and six are to lie sent into Sumersetshire, where the nevem stock is in high repute. In early maturity there is no doubt of their superiority, and it is the general opinion that the steer will not be found inferior to other breeds in flue yoke. Tim present season happily presents its with the earliest liarvcst in memory. The grain will be good, but it is much to be apprehended that the crop throughout the island will be far elient of an average produce—the green crops are somewhat backward, yet there is reasouable ground to believe they will lee of tolerable weight iu the northern districts; but the accouuts of the hay and turnips in the southern 'tarts are very cheerless. Probably, however, the vegetation rtay this year continue longer than usual. whit* will be a great relief to the winter food. Whilst every benevolent mind runq unite In lamenting/hat any part of the empire should starer, consolation is derived by the appearance of abundance which this country exhibits. The demand fur agricultural produce must be great, and it may be presumed that much wily be spared for the supply of both extremities of the king., sham. The President now stated that he felt himself called on to repeat a remark which be had before had occasion to make-- t at it mould be highly condncivo to the interests and hap viness•cf . both masters and servants employed In husbandry, acre more attention paid to character. On hiring male servants the masted' attention is too ex clusively directed to the exteric";• of the person and muscular strength lie may be apposed to possess, with little or no enqairy, and perhaps less regard to his previous moral con duct; forgetting the extreme difference in those whose see vices are performed from a conscious discharge of their duty, which they feel they have no right to neglect, whose conduct is undormly governed by principles of•honesty and Integrity, and those who work only while they are watched. Good masters may, generally speaking, make good servants—to • possess such treasures his incumbent uu employers to deserve them. In corroboration of the truth of the maxim which induced me toast, the President had the honour to give, before the company spatted the Hall, 0 Good landlords make good tenauts"—The cup destined by this Society tor the best snauaged farm is given to Mr. Wilson, at St. Bees, and tenant to Mr. Fits. This worthy .andlord, by forbearance, indul. melee. and mom asttasist, supparted his meritorious tenant tarougli the recent trying times. which all have au severe ly • t:-.:—r:tividence has blessed his honest endeavours and his present crops promi.ie to reward his at duons straggle, and to requite his generous landlord. Although lie has not the privilege oh' a lease, yet his exertions are unabated, and will Itatitle him to the Society's reward for the best managed farm in the comity. in thus discriminating. the Society is much indebted to the viewers. In selecting for this office, it was important to choose the must experienced and most compe tent to secure a just and proper decision, for rewarding the ' most fit an•l deserving individual. Ou a future occasion might it not be advantageous to associate with such judges an equal . number of the worst farmers that could be selected. in order that such patties might have an opportunity of communicating and of seeing what is deemed commendable, and by concur. ring in rewards of the Society, become educated, and future can't dates fur those benefits and advautages capable of being devised from good husbandry. 'rhe President announced that be •hail the -is noar of in. erecting the Associated Agricultural Society us the AbLey Holum. The spirit and intelligence which distinguish that • /Society, and for which it is so remarkable, hire produce.] • appearances that excite, and improvements that command, admiration, from all who have bad the gratification of inspect. fug them. ' Whatever may have been observed as exertions on the Scheme farm this year, the President frosted they hove Merited the approbation of the meeting. The crops of grain -ere tolerably good—the cc .v clovers moat promising—the ceoksfoot pastures favourable—the potatoe crop most luxuri ant—the field of 30 acres was dressed with 5000 single-horse carts of dung—as an object of admiration to the eye of the agriculturist, iris said to be entitled to merit, btu it is no claim on others for imitation. The culture of potatoes en a great scale is ruinous to farmers. and onala to be practised but in the vkluitrof large towns, where insnitre can ad, vantageously be obtained. The executive scale on which potatoes are cultivated must be a peat injury to the best hits- Landry of the county. With respect to the turnip crop, though cvidently,in some spots, of several growths, consequent on the season, it is as clean as a farmer's eye could wish, though Lot so equal or weighty as in fernier years. The sixty acres of turnips Irons the ashesof burnt clay, thought certainly much inferior to those from the farm-yard or other manure, are yet a great and important resource, wherever they can be fed off by sheep or cattle ; as a good crop of grain may reason. ably be calculated on as a succeeding crop. Burnt clay judi ciously disposed of may become a great resource. The re claiming and bringing 300 acres of waste land into tillage and under crop in so expeditious a manner, must have been a source of infinite pleasure to every one Interested in rural improvements—the national advantage is great—the local benefit has been important, in providing employment for many who must otherwise have become harthsnsome to the public, 'though high in health and possessiug full powers to earn a snbsistence. The President, after a very appropriate and Impressive address, eoncladed by stating, that ether ditties of au impera tive nature would demand his absence, and fur a longer period than he could wish; that, though personally absent, his heart and mind would still be with the associated friends he addressed. whom he should indeed ill requite were he to stiffer his agricultural operations to become less entitled to their approbation than on the present occasion—or to be less regarded as' worthy of imitation by those interested in the general' husbandry of the county, or promoting the comforts and happiness of the people—for to them he was highly in. dcbted—from thefts lie derived the honour of his public station,•.ustelioyed by aristocratical combination. As the servant of the people he should ever be ready to attend their command., eaa, to the• best of his lodgment and power, honestly and conscientiously discharge those duties confided to In, esecuuuu. A sociSty is forming among naval officers, by means of Ruh scription, .he purpose of making good to each other such losses as may be sustained toy shipwreck.' In the army, any officer emhatkett, and oteeting• with 'loch untsforbute, bas mu anealuadc him I ., , Cov•rnment ; while in the navy the rs hive rr ! , .yel a similar iud+ll;caeey yet it is aaatt both et f Vll.4.e . wtc v.l an dual foutitti ! NATIONAL IL iserEn NORWICH UNION FIRE and LIFE SOCIETY: Friday a general meeting of- the insurers at the:Nor wich Union Fire and Life Office was held at the City of London Tavern, Bishopsgate-street, fur the purpose of receivin the report of the committee appointed on -the 27th o f July last to investigate the charges made against that office. The meeting was summoned at 12 o'clock, at which hour there appeared a very numerous and a very respectable attendance of Members. About half-past 12 the committee afinqury entered the room, when Mr. Alderman Patteson (of Norwich). proposed Thos. Bensley, Esq : to the chair. This was unanimously agreed to, and Mr..Benshiy having taken the chair, observed, that the motion was made against his will ; he should, how. ever, exert himself to discharge - the duties which it imposed upon him, It was then moved that the report of the eommittee -fliould be read, which being carried in the affirmative, F. A;Clarke was requestedlo read it. The report was extremely lung, and occuried a -con .siderable time in the rending It began by stating the heads into which it was di vided. These were chiefly—the-appointment of the committee; the Claims on the - Society ; the Constitu tion of the Society ; the State of the Life l)epartment State of the Fire Department ; the Funds; Ageuts ;. General Remarks and•an Appendix. •The Appointment of the Commillee.—Under this head the report stated, that in consequence of the several complaints from many individuals alleging that they . had not been dealt fairly with by the Society, that their claims for compensation for losses by fire, Bc. were often delayed, and in some instances altogether rerused, a. meeting of insurers was held some time back at the George and Vulture Tavern ; at which meeting a com mittee was appointed to inquire into thecomplauits, and to report thereupon. As soon as some of the proceed ings of that committee were known, another meeting was held at the .'fork Hotel, Bridge-street, on the 27th of July last, where another committee was appointed. for the same purpose, and for reporting on the nature end causes of the abuses to a general meeting. Time C/uitas upon the Society.—These the report di. videdinto three classes ; the first consisting of cases not I hitherto raid before the public ; the second of cases not satisfactorily adjusted; and the third of cases of litiga tion. .The Constitution of the Sock& —Under which it con. sidered separately, its original deeds of settlement, and the nature of the duties of several of its principal offi cers. The committee, it observed, though fully_ satis fied that great alterations and additions were called for in the constitution and management of the Society, had not yet su ffi ciently considered the subject, so as to point out the precise nature of those alterations. The Fire Department.—Under this head was given a detail of the whole sums received for premiums, &c. and of those expended in compensation for losses, a o otneies, &c from the foundation of the Society in 1797, up to the present year. The grand totals of these were-- Amount of Premiums received since 1797 Z 4.04,675 13 6 That of this tutu there had been paid, for losses by Sre agencies, &c. Leaving a balance of From mil were to be deducted several smaller items, for various purposes connected with the management ; and there remained a sum in the hands of the Society, as a fire.fund, of 100,197 0 0 This statement, as applying to the fire-fund, the committee ho wd would be considered satisfactory, though it fell short of the 50 per cent, which had been first anticipated. The average rate of profit bad been for the three periods of seven years each, as fol lows :—For the' first, the profit was at an average 18i per cent. ; for the second, 53 ; and for the third, 29 per cent. making in the whole period of 21 years, after all deductions of every kind, an average profit of 334 per cent. The reason why the last seven years were not, on' the average, as productive as the preceding, might in some degree be attributed to the great losses by tire in 1617, a number of which were caused by incendiaries. There were, in that year, three convic tions of incendiaries, and one for a fraud, on which the insurance was 20,0001. The Life Department was the next head to which the committee called the attention of the meeting, and from this part of their report it appeared, that there had been received for premiums, annuities, endowments, &c. up to the year 1818, the sum of £393423 11 1 Out of which there had been paid Leaving a balance of 4257,11) 19 9 After the most mature consideration of this department, the committee expremed the highest satisiiiction at its results. Its profits were such as were sufficient to re insure the whole of their risks in the Equitable Office, the rates of which were higher. •The report then went into a statement of the causes why this depart ment had so well succeeded. Among these it noticed the active and dili,;_;•eist conduct of the agenis, who were particularly carefal in examining those whom they insured. It pointed out the ;;ood.etrocts of having 01- sErT '7 chit surgeons, by which the risks of life insurances would be so much lessened and concluded this branch by stating, that only one instance of a life insurance had been disputed at law in the lust 10 years. It next went into a review of the advantages of insuring in the Norwich Union compared with those in the Equitable, which it stated to be the greatest of all the other So cieties. The comparison, it observed, the committee were not only piovoltedhut forced to make. This com parison wcut into a minute detail ; from which it was intended to be proved that the Norwich had the su. periority over the Equitable in every respect. The Funds of the Society were next touched upon; these were stated to have been - in March last, the suet of 366,0871. 9s. 6d. front which, however, some very small deductions were to be made for losses since. This sum consisted of various descriptions of property, such as mortgages, shares in theSouthwark bridge, and severs: kinds of stack, the great proportion of which stood iu the name of Thomas Biguold,sen. Esq. but all with a clause of trust. The next head of the report was, Agcncies—upon %vhich it was observed, that many agents hod not given any security, and of many others the security given was vety inadequate to (lie trust confided ; and though the loss sustained from these circumstances was comparatively very trifling, and though in general the agents'evere a very respectable body of melt, yet the evil was one which ought to be immediately remedied. The committee bad before stated, that a great many of the securities and stock were in the name of Thomas Bignold, sen. ) : Esq. ; they now suggested the propriety of having them transferred to trustees, aud in this the Board of Directors had fully concurred. When Mr. Bignold was applied to on the subject, he said that he should be ready to du any thing which the Directors had authority to command, if it were for the interest of the society —an answer which the committee did not think at all satisfitetory. fhe committee felt it their duty to state, that there were very great defects in the deeds of 'settlement, which should be corrected as speedily as possible , and with that view again pressed the necessity of a committee continuing to • investigate, for the purpose of devising the necessary remedies. The report then went on to state, that the committee would have felt it a very gra. tifying task to be able to exonerate any officer of the society from any charges against him, and particularly Mr. Bignold, sen. ; but they felt obliged to state, that the immediate retirement of that gentleman from hie office of secretary was indispensably necessary for the future welfare of the institution. .In conclusion, the report stated it to be the conviction of the committee, that the society, by a careful management and an alter anion of the constitutions, bade fair to raise itself to that prosperity which its warmest supporters could wish. This report, which was frequently interrupted Ly plaudits, was at its conclusion received with very lei.g aud general approbation. Mr. Patteson rose to move that the report now re a d be received, adopted, and ordered to be printed and dis tributed among the subscribers. Mr.'Alderman Thorp, on presenting himself to the meeting, was received with very general applause. He felt great satisfaction in hearing the very able report 01 the committee. He was the more happy to express this satisfaction, as it bad been insinuated that he and those who acted with him were hostile to the institution.— He could assure the meeting, that they had entertaiued no hostile feeling. The .account of the funds now laid before them must give the highest satisfaction to all of them. 'The desire of enquiring into the state cf the funds had been ascribed to the hostility of persons connected with other offices. lie - denied that the en quiry had any concern with any other office. There were 60 or 70 instances brought forward of claims against the office. They thought those claims ought to be enquired into, and he hoped that the meeting coeid not be of opinion that fair enquiry in any instance did mischief. The clai us made were answered by the con:. mittee, and their report, in fact, had justified all that had been done by him and those who had acted wita him. Their own committee had recommended a revi sion of the deed; of settlement, and an improvement of the mode of management. This was, in fact, to admit that the statement made by them (Alderman Thorp's Committee) was correct, and that prospects had been held out to subscribers which had not been realized.— lheir object had been to promote the interests of the society. They were accordingly much gratified by the report now read, which must be considered as the result of the inquiry to which they had given rise. He felt much pleasure, therefore, in seconding the motion just made. Mr. Barry said, that he considered the report able and elaborate beyond any parallel in t h e hi stor y Of . Insurance Offices, and be therefore most readily ap proved of the motion that the report should be adopt ed, with the exception of the part which referred to an individual, with respect to which he had an amen...- meat to offer to the meeting. He implored of the meet ing to dismiss prejudice from their minds, and. to judge according to reason and argument, and . not from ill temper or ill nature. In -the report there iva:r a sen tence of condemnation upon the secretary (k".•. Big nold), who had never been called be:bre the cozinitte.:. to defend himself a ainbt any accusation. I