The Express.
London, England, 1856-08-11 00:00:00

itte expreoo.

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MOH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.
Tear My—Worsts& M. Oa. .Altersass, M. Um.
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, LONDON, MONDAY, AUGUST 11.

IN our impression of Saturday last will be found
the report of a case heard before the LORD CHIEF
BARON at Guildford—" SALTER v. the Atheneum
Insurance Association." We have had occasion during
the last few mouths to lay before our readers some
erraordinary illuatrations of the mode in which
some of these new Insurance Companies are got up
and conducted ; bat the scandalous transactions
brought to light on this trial have the advantage of
laying bare, on the oath of one of the chief actors,
the whole arcane of fraud and deception. It appears
that in 1853 the former Directors of the Atheneum
Lite Office thought it would be extremely convenient,
as some other young companies have done, to attach a
Fire Oftlos to the concern. Of course, as usual, the capi-
tal, assets, &c., were to be kept entirely distinct, and
prudence andecononsy were promised in the prospectus,
which contained matter of the orAnary character,
the concoction of which has been brought to so re-
markable a pitch of perfection. A Mr. Salve, for-
merly a clerk in the Anchor, the founder of which
may c'aim to be the inventor of the art of "getting
up" i companies, "got se the Adaa.
Fire, for which be received 3,0001. is paid up shares,
which figured la the balance-sheet as law charges.
Mr. H. SALTER, the plaintiff in the sodas, was ap-
pointed messy', with a salary rising from 6031. to
1,0001. per annum, aid sundry other pickings. There
appear to have bee• five directors, who were also
directors of the Atheneum "Life," of which Mr.
Bonne, the "getter up" was secretary. Mr.
SALTER bad bees manager, or travelling
agent for the Equitable Fire Moe, and was
describe' by &leant ants as "a young man who
had bad great experience in consezios with inn-
ranee matters, sad who was ezappliagly clear eel
these subjects." His exceeding elearame was very
fully brought out in the course of Mr. /AIM'S cross-
erswisatic•, sad his overawe led him to state that
W (medalist operatioss of the Atheemein Fire
were by so motes usual, except in regret of their
moderation. Mr. SALTER stated t►at " many of the
Directors were wealthy nem" nevertheless, it appears
that they had no mosey until he procured it for them
Thies " wealthy NM " seem to have beets Salve,
the getter spot the Company ; the Rev. Mr. Rerrear,
who figured not king since in • trial rsepestieg same
W•stmiester Bade; a Mr. CARRINGTON Jolla., mys.
teriossly connected with certain bills, and who is net
to be found ; • Mr. HOWARD, a alll2Oll, in a
like predisaisat ; and • Mr. Henan, the soli-
citor to the company, who had been Walnut,
and is sow in MN lunatic asylum. The proses, of
raising the capital of the Company wee this : To Mr.
Berra were allotted 1,000 shares, and to each of the
Director, 2,000; but as nose of them appear to have
been prepared to pay the deposit on them, the Com-
pany lent thus the mosey for the purpose, so that,
including the shares given to Mr. Suwon, there
weed be some 12,000 shares issued, and among the
snits of the Company would appear the sues owing
by the Directors on thine share• By and bye, how-
ever, real shareholders men with wins mosey
—dropped is, and with thus premiums for
fire policies. The Directors then availed themselves
of the opportunity to increase, or rather vary,
the meets of the Company, by becoming its debtors
still further; and whenever any of them were in
want of money they seas to have borrowed it of the
Company without difficulty, sad the amount appeared
in the books as lent to the " Athsemem Life." This
operation, which had the great advantage of keeping,
the emanate in most admirable order, furnishes are
with a key to the desire which appears to have seised
ones many of these young offices for grafting another
branch of business on their life marina ; it affords
remarkable facilitke for "nuking things pleasant"
and rioting the shags' with the meets and 'UWE-
ties, so as to swell up totals to • respectable sin.
Thus in 1853 there was • proposition that
the " Fire* ease should advance 300/. to
the " Life" once, which was dose by mesas of two
cheques, for 2001. and 1001. respectively. The latter
—sot being ceased, by desire of Mr. Sorrow, the
g• etter-up"—disappeared, bat was daly paid never-
theless, and the notes were traced to within 20 yards
•f the ones, bet there the trail was lost. Mr. Ba-
um, it was stated, is now Lllowisg kis vandal, and
"getting up" another company somewhere, nowise
discouraged by the fate of the Athemeara.
Another "loan to the Attainment Life" was em-
ployed in taking up • bill to which Mr.
COT/IL, cos of the directors, and Mr. H.
SALTER, the manager, wen pafliaS; so that they
seem to have acted on the whole with • most
amiable consideration for each other's amemities,
If not for the interests of their shareholders. In
June, 1835, a meeting of the shareholders was
palled, end • statement of amounts laid before them
The flourishing condition and rapid progress of the
Company wire drily set forth, and the necessity for a
wide. spread notoriety, in order to establish it on a
broad and solid basis, wee the excess for the rather
large expenditure. A dividend of 6 per asst., which
appears to be the customary rate when these are
nothing but losses to divide, was deelared. A year later
the concern is found following the teak of so may
others of its earners, and brie* gathered under the
wings of the Winding-up Act. We ought to state that
the present Directors of the Company, who have in-
tarred the wrath of Mr. Berns for dismissing him as
soon as they discovered the strange transactions is
which be had participated, are merely the socerseere
of those whom we most call the aosomplieseaf SALTER
and Burrow, sad have dabtlass acted wisely is the
coarse they have adopted. The jury at any rate coo-
sidered that they were perked), *lifted is getting
rid of • manager whose "el sea and expertise*"
were or so very peculiar a character.
We lay this ease before oar readers set so malt
se sormant of its novelty as for the evidences It fur-
nish., of the absolute necessity for the adoption of
arse more stringent inesseres for defesdeg
the sehemee of these speculators in ems-
puke and their tools or accomplices. The
7 and 8 Viet is utterly aselesese a protection. Those
recent Companies set the Registrar at &flames and
we mold furnish • list of them, Iseloding the Mb..
arum Fire and the Trafalgar (now the Unity Gene-
rol), who have omitted to comply with the require-
men's of the Act with impunity, and the progress of
whose affairs it is impoesible that any shareholder or
polity-holder living at a distends can follow with
even tolerable accuracy. But the Atheemem did lay
• statement of aosseote before its shareholders, whisk
was doubtless audited by some ea, sad on the strength
of that statement a dividend was declared. Although
the amount of capital *apposed to be held by the
Matters was • pure &dm, and they wen evidently I