The National Register. — London, England, 1818-09-28 00:00:00

• \, kingdeen to the empire at low fortonateily better witierstoo .1 than formerly. Self iuferiat, ittilependc . aly cf points the wisdom of a liberal and enl ghtened eon tinct towards bur.—Coo long hus au opposite conduct male Deland a soiree of vreal.ness i:sstead cf strewth t., Great Witain.—Two of these cattle were also sold to blr.Seol, of t ireenrow, and six are to le sent into Sumersetstiire, where the Derma stook is in high repute. to e.trly math+ ily there is no iloicit of their saperiQiity, and It I. NV gl•Iltral upiuiun hal the steer will flat be foiind inferilr to usher breeds in the yoke. The present season Wispily presents its with the earliest h• in memory. The vain will be good, but it is touch he eiTtebended that rreo throitglicait the island will be fir ehort• of an avero.;,n produce--the green crops are somas/ad backward, yet there is reasonable groom' to &relieve they will lie of tolerable weight in the norther districts ; bet the accounts of the hay and turnips in the southern -parts ate very diet:ries& Probably, however, the vegetation may this year coil! iiine longer than usual, which *id be a great relief iv the winter food. Whitt every benevolent tttitua stout unite ih I: .111111 e that tiny part of the einyite should 'atter, consultation is derived by the appear:meets: almailtince *Writ tilts ttitentry ealsibits. The deniald fur Stgricultural lacalnec lea t ha great, mei it may be pit:mated that nevelt nuy be :wares) for the supply olhodi eatremilles of the king. The rtritlunt nutv stated that Fcl.t cal!ed on to repeat resuark ssitich bed: td haute nJil ovvaaton to to Ike— Out It rer,uld he /Nighty conducive to the iittereats and hap p.itess of bulls olla4lers and servauti einidu)td in husbandry, .taeir 1:ore attention paid to csiiirdielar. . . Cm hiring maie servants the masters' attention it too ex clusively directed to,the anterior of dm person and mescal:is stten.^,tl► be may be eappt•ted to possess, with little or uo e at ip t ei, an ~ J perhaps regal(' to his ptcvistis moral con. sleet ; forgetting the eattV/Ue in those whoa s see. vices are- performed Croat a cottfulons discharge of their duty, falticli they feel they have uo richt to neglect, %dupe conduct is anifortuly governed by principles of honesty and int , grity, and these who work Duly svkile they ate a atelted. Good mactere May, generally speaking, make good servants—to possess suck treasures It it iticunshent op employers-to deserve them. I:OrrObOratiOn of the Milt of the IMAIIII which 'adored the toast, the President had the honour to glve, before the. ! c onysity quitted the Half " oiled lanai/111h make good tenants"—Tlie cup destined by this Society for the best niviai,sed farm k ;:,iven to Mr. Wilson, at St. Bees. and teitaut to Mr. Fox. 'This worthy landlors!, by feroeneanee. Mite!. genet', and eniinisraremeist. supported his meritorious tenant thruligh the recent trying times, which ali• have so severely Providence his blessed his honest code,' yours, :mil Ivs pi silent crops promise to reward Isis arrinnu.: .0 rogg:e, and to requite Isis gene rots hinslord. Although Ise 1, 4 1 I .ot, the privilege of a lease, yen his exertions are unabated, ars' ..4•01 • spititie Mtn to the So-lety's reward fey the he,,t inaoagrit tarot in Inc c sum y. In thus dilesiniiiisting, the. Society is much indebted to use sieved., Ist selecting for this office, It was imi:urtaiit to the Hie the most experienced and most compe tent to secure *just and proper derision, for rewarding Use ut 3st lit awl desensitise individual. On a fs'streoecittlen might is not be ativantageons to ars:iciate with such judges an equal number of dui wars/ farmers that could he selected, in order that such pa, ties might h.sve ao opportunity or romintsnicating ttoti of se ems what is Coned en amen:l,oo.e, anti by concur. rim; in revi aids of tl:•.• Society, bee me and rotate valid d ties tier those benefit.; to Advantages capable of being derilc 1 from good hits Irmdry. 's'ae Presiilent anaotniec I 'Ail: Le 1.!1.: Pic 11011 r of in. specting the .11:Nei:de:I .14 rettlit is :1 St.::ety at the Alf. of I lointe. The spirit and i;:telligeti that • Society, and for-wbieh it is so reiriar , ..o_,e, het e prottcee I appearances that excite, toll ileproveitionts that command, • .intlnattant, owns all veto have had the ,;r• ititicat ion of inspect. ing them. Whatever may have been 01)%er veil as exertioos sn the Schoosc farm this year, toe President trusted they have merited the approbatiee of :he meeting. •The crops of graia tire tolerably good—the rex' clovers ttiost• promising—the cooksfoot pastures favourable--the potitme estop most lostiri aitt—the field of LJ arises was dressed wills 50Jo earls of dung—as an object or admiration to the eye of the sterieulturist, it is said to he entitled to merit, hot it is no ciaint en otters For imitation. 'lle enure of potatoes on a event scale is ruinous to farmers. and oitaiit to he practised but in the vicinity of large towns, whine maintra can ad. vantageously be ohtnines:. The en.teitsi ye scale on which potatoes cultivated must he a gt eat injury to the best hits ( s; ry of the county. With re•pect to the turnip :rop, though cvidently,iii some spots, of several growths, conseruent on the season, it is as clean as a tnriners ere coniit wish, though not so equal or weighty as in former yems. The sixty acres of turnips front the asliesof burnt clay, 'ft:nigh certainly much inferior to those from the farm-yard or other manure, are yet a g:cat and important resource, wherever they can be fed by sheep or cattle ; as a good crop of grain may reason calcu!ated on as a sneceecling crop. Burnt clay judi ciously disposed of may become a great resource. The re elaiming and bringing 309 acres of waste land into tillage and under crop in so expeditions a manner, must have been a s••tirce of infinite plcasnre to every one interested in rural Improvements—the national advantage is great—the local benefit lies been important, in providing employment for many who must otherwise have become burthensume to the • public, though high in health and possessing full powers to earn a sit bsisten cr. The President, after a very appropriate and Impressive address, coocluded by 'whiz, that other ditties of an itnpera live nature would tlentooLl his absence, and fer a longer period than lie could wish ; that, though personally absent, 1 . -i s ( f ea r; and mind would still be with the associated (tient', he addressed, whom he should indeed ill requin- were he to sutler his agricultural operations to become less entitled to their approbation Wats on the present occasion—or to be less regarded as worthy of Imitation by those interested in the generel husbandry of die county, or promoting the comforts and happiness of the people—for to them he was highly in debted—front them he derived the honour of his public station, unalloyed by aristocratical combination. As the servant of lite people he should ever be ready to attend their coinrowt , lk, and, to the hest of his judgment and power, honestly and eonscietitiously discharge those duties confided tit Isla extut.ttutt. A society is forming among naval officers, by means of snh set iptiot., fur the pin pu.e nt matling good to each other well loses As may be siisiAined by ninny/leek. In the army, an) olficer emieii ked, and ineoting with •110 , in:sriiefitite, has an . I anee Made him by Government ; while in the navy the I 114 Vt! Cs'Vtl el 4 bunilar indulgence i yet it IS 5 ,,j b o w act AL% v.. 411 Cy 141.1 r Tin" NAstitt2tAit, NORWICH UNION FIR E ;Ad: LIFE s44i. Friday a general meeting of the insurers at the Nor wich Union Fir,: :nut Life OMee was held at the thy of Lonslon Tavern, Ilishopsg,ate-street, the the pur l /oft of receiving the report of the committee 'appointed on the lath of July last_ to investigate the charges made against that offieo. 'lle meeting was stotunoned nt o'clock, at which hour there appeare3 a very numerous and a very respectable attiodauce of Ilt.mlx . trs. ,kbout half-pau .1 the connuittee ofinlury enttztxl the. room, when _ _ Mr. Alderman Patteson (of I`4orwich) preposed Thos. Bensley, Esq. to the chair. This was uaateimously agreed to, and Mr. Bt;risleyhetiug taken the chair, observed, that the motion was made against his will ; he should, how. ever, exert himself to diecherge the duties which it irapored upon him, It was theta wend that the report of •the committee should be read, which being carried in the affirmative, F. A. Clarke was rquested to road it. The report was extremelylung, and occupied a con- Siderahle tune in the:reading. It began , by stating the heads into which it was Ili-. vide& These wens chiefly—the appointincat of the committee; the Claims on the S wiety tae Constitu tion of the Society ; the State of the Life t)epartment : State of the -Fire Depertment ; the Fuals ; Az;,:nts ; GeueralTtemarks and an Appendix. l'he Appointment qf Coninktee.—Under head' the report stated, that in comictioene:: of the -several' complaints from many individuals alleging that they : had nut been dealt tiiirly with by the Society, that their claims for compensation for losses by fire, &c. were often delayed, and in some instances altogether refused, X meeting of ins u rers was held some tine back at the George and Vulture -Tavern ; at which meeting a com mittee was appointed to inquire into thecomplaints, and, to report thereupon. As s lea as some of the proceed ings of that committee were known, anuther meeting' was held at the York Hotel, Bridge-street, on the 27th of July last, where another committee was appointed fur the •same purpose, and for reporting on the- nature and causes of the abuses to a general meetiag. The Claims u,ogn the Society.--These the report di vided into three classes ; the first consisting of .cases not hitherto laid before the public; the second of cases not satielletorily suljustel;-and the third of cuss e of litiga tion. 7'ke ConstaNaw. of th. , S2ciey—Unaer which it con.. siderci sepanaely, its err final deeds of settlement, and the nature of the duties of several of its principal offi cers. The committee, it observed, though folly satis fied that great alterations and additions were called for in the constitution and inanagetnent el the Society, bad not yet sufficiently considered the subject, su.as to point out the precise nature of those alterations. The Fire Depiiiimene.-11ntler tllis.head was given tlet:il of the ichole sums received for premiums, &c. and of those expended in compensation for Imes, agencies, &c front the foundatien of the Society in 1797, up to the present year. The grand totals of these were-- Amount cf Premiums received sinre 1797 £404,675 15 6 That of •tliii shin there had been paid, for losses by fire agencies, sta Leaving a balance of From tuts were to be deducted several smaller ittus, fur various r arpOSeS connected with the in:mac:went ; and there remained a sum in the hands of the Sreiety, as a fire•l'und, of 108,197 0 0 This statement, as applying to the fire-fund, the committee hoped would be considered satisfactory, though it fell short of the 50 per cent. which 'had been first anticipated. The average rate of profit had been ,for the three periods of seven years each, as fol lows :—For the first, the profit was at an average 184 per cent. ; for the second, 53 ; and fur the third, .29 per cent. making in the whole period of 21 years, alter all deductions of every kind, an average profit of 334 per cent. The reason why the last seven years were not, oil the average, as productive PS the preceding, might in some degree be attributed to the great losses by fire in 1817, 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 tne 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, annuitirs, endowments, &c. up to the year 1814, the sum of £393, , 343 11 1 Out of which there had been paid 136142 11 4 • Leaving a balance of 1:257,00 19 9 After the most mature consideration of this department, the committee expressed the highest satisfaction ut its results. Its profits were such us 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 di.port ment had so tvell succeedtxl. Among those it no t L e ,l the active and diiigent conduct of the amen: s, Vhf) were particularly careful in examining those whom insured. If pointed out the good e&cts of having of:i- T se a, 'ie. teve;consebe wiping tne risks of life insuranceswould he s,) reach leeemed ; and concluded this branch by stating, that ou/y ore: instance of a life. iosuraneet had been disputed at law in the last l 0 years. it next went into u review t# 'the edvaeeiges of insuring in the Norwich ljaitin compared with those in the Equitahl e which it stated to be the greatest of all the other See .eieties. The comparison, it observed, the committee • wore not only p.ovokta( bet foreed to make. This tram. .parison went into a matte detail ; from which it wait intend:AA° be proved that the Norwich had the sue 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 sent -el 366,0371. Vs Cr. from which, however, some vet? ' small deduction~ were to be made fbr losses since. .Thie sum consisted of verions descriptions of property, such as mortgages, sh;:s rain the Southwark bridge, and sever::: kinds of steck, the great proportion of which mood le the name of Thomas Biguold, Nen. F. q, but ell with. a chase of trust. The liens head of the report was, . Agencies—upon winch it was ohserved, that tnnay agents had not given any security, and of many others the security given was very inadequate to the tees:. coulided ; and though .the , loss sustained from' these circumstances was comperatively very trifling, pull though in general the agents were a very resiectuble body of men, yet the evil wassone which ought to be immediately reviedied. The committee bud before stated, that a great many of the securities mud. stook were in the name of Thomas Bignold, son., Esq..; they now suggested the propriety of having them transferred to trustees r ani 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 do any thing which the Directors bed authority to hommand, .If ,it were for the interest of theaucietY s --an answer . . ifir the committee did not think at all satislhetney. e . he committee felt it their duty to state, that there were very great defects in the deeds of es:dement, which should be corrected us speedily-as possible , and ' With that view agaia pressed the -necessity or a committee continuing to . investigate,• for the, purpese of devisisg the necessary remedies. The report then went oa to state, that the committee would have felt it a very gra tifying task to be able to exonerate :my eflisev of the sesiety freer any charges against him, and partiesiarly Mr. Bignold, ten. ; bet they felt obliged W state, that the immediate retiree:els of that gentletasie frem 1.,;:s , office of secretary was indispensably necessary for the future welfhre of the institution. de conciusion, the report stated it to be the cenvictieu of the committee, that the society, by a rareful management and an alter.. ation of the constitutions, bade fair to lithe itself to that prosperity which its warmest supporters could wish.. This report, which was frequently interrelated by pheelite, was at its conelucion received, with very Tong and general approbatian. Mr. Patteson rose to move that the report now read be received, adopted, and ordered to he printed and tributed among the subscribers. . . Mr. Alderman Thorp, on presenting himself to the meeting, was received with very general applause. lie felt great satisfaction in hearing the very able report o'.. the committee. He was the more happy to express this satisfaction, as it had been insinuated that he and those who. act e d with him were hostile teethe institution.— He could assure the meeting, that they had entertained 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 hail been ascribed to the hostility of pereets connected with other office,. lie denied that the ea quiry had any concern with any other office. These were 60 or 70 instances brought forward of clai:es against the office. They thought those claims ought to be enquired into, and he hoped that the meeting coeld. not be of opinion that fair enquiry in any instance 41:3 mischief. The del la made were answered by the cn 7...`... mittce, and their report, in fact, . had justified all tie,: had been done by him.and those who had acted with him. Their ewn committee Lad recommended a rev:- ; sion of the deeds of settlement, and an improvement of • the mode of management. This was, in thee, to aitreet 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.— t heir object had been to promote the interests of the society. They were accordingly much gratified by the i 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 ho considered the report ablc and elaborate beyond any parallel in the history of Insurance Offices, u-d he therefore most readily ap proved of .the motion that the report should be adopt ed, with the exception of tie part which referred to an individual, with respect to which he had an amend ment to offer to the mecting..,fle implored of the meet ing to dismi,s prejudice from their minds, and . tOjudge according to re:ram and argument, cod fromtort, ill temper or ill nature. In the - report there Wite a sen tence of cond.:natation upon the - secretary (Sir. Big noW, who liwi never been called before the committee to .deread. himself a auist any atcnsiatiuta. KM