The Sun.
London, England, 1855-05-14 00:00:00

ingly, "Oh ! I see you don't hunderstand me, sir.
I don't -mean theair-of the Jed,-but-the--hair hot
the hatmosphere !" Foreigners, too, Mr. Leech
pencils off with more than the vraisemblance of
(favarni, though with more than the caricature of
Rowlandson. In testimony of which take that
" Staggerer for an Excursionist" in London, when
Bearded Monsieur with profuse gesticulation saith,
hat in hand, to honest Chawbacon, with Polly Dust-
pan on his arm, "Pardon' zn'sieu! Faut it eller h
droite, h gauche, ou en face, pour me rendre
Peek-a-peek-a-dee-lee ?" Or, better still, than
group of frowsy and hirsute foreigners, "Memo-
rials of the Great Exhibition of • 1851," pausing in
amazement by au al fresco washing-stand, with its
cleanly array of towels, soap, et cetera, under one
of the trees in Hyde Park—one crying out, "Mon
Dieu, Alphonse ! Regardez l His comrade,one. Comment
appele-t-on cette machine a?"
Fancy
the pages delight-
fully, throughaisje ne sail pas," F.
fully, as in the case
sprinkledlliof the "
" Tr
tireanist's c'est
are dr
mouth, straw in his hair, and sums scrawled
grinning]—'Gcrawled on the
who
'wall,
and his finger in his
sends a fifty-pound note for unpaid income tax to
With sketches
ftroheinChNanacteulrloer otfhethevEolxucmhee,quofer."
course,
t aboundsthe
throughout ; but one of these, ,
Freemasons' Tavern," ought, in justice to Mr.
,ake n
near
Leech, to be especially particularised.
mean, of the old gentleman,• gooseberry
_fTahoeadt,awnde
Pottle-bodied, wheezing and tight, who is calling
out agonisedly in a spasmodic trot, " Good graci-
ous ! it's striking, and they'll have begun dinner."
It were idle, however, to go on particularising. As
well attempt to define in words the distinctive
character of the grins and guffaws celebrated by
Hog:lrth's pencil in his inimitable " Laughing
Audience," as to cataloaue all the 'variable fun and
frolic squandered by tee humorous hand of Leech
over his no less inimitable "Pictures of Life and
Character." They are things to be seen and roared
over, rather than to be coolly criticised or delibe-
rately enumerated. For ourselves we have again
and yet again given them the panegyric of our
laughter. Gratitude to Mr. Leech, and good-will
to others (who may not yet have sunned them-
selves under the influence of his radiant humour),
impel us to add to that more appropriate and more
genial eulogium, this sedater tribute of sincere awl
unaffected admiration.

NATIONAL LOAN FUND LIFE
ASSURANCE SOCIETY.

The annual general meeting of this company Wag held
on the 9th inst. It was more numerously attended than
wo have seen it on any former occasion, the spacious
board room being quite filled. Edmond S. Symes,.M.D.,
the Chairman of the Company, presided.
The balance sheets and auditors' certificate were read,
as also the actuary's report, as follows :

" London, 21st April, 1855.
"Gentlemen,—Having completed the various calcula-
tions, it again devolves upon me to submit to you the re-
sults of my annual investigation of the affairs of the Na-
tional Loan Fund Life Assurance Society.
" During the past year 1,031 policies have been issued,
covering assurances to the extent of 420,1331., and yield-
ing premiums to the amount of 13,725/. 17s. 9d. per annum.
The claims paid during the year amount to 43,8171. 78.4 d ;
the expected claims during the same period, according to the
table of mortality adopted by the society, being 30,5801.
The total claims paid from the commencement of the
society to the end of the year amount to 262,8631.11 x. 7d.,
being 2,423 less than the expectation. The income of the
society arising from premiums on 5,696 policies is now
82,20 U. 7s. 11d, per annum, exclusive of extra premiums
and income front other sources, and the corresponding
amount of assurances is 2,496,3011.
_ _

" The position of the affairs of the society, calculated up
to the Ist of December, 1854, is as follows
Present value of income receivable by the
society under Life Assurancecontracts £1,120,030 3 11
Present value of income from Deferred

Annuities and Endowments
Amount of investments, as per Auditors'
Report, &c . .

4,936 16 7

148,432 6 2

£1,273,399 6 $

Present value of liabili-
ties on all existing
Life Assurances, in-
cludingcurrentclaims£l,o6B,l46 17 1
Present value of liabili-
ties on Deferred An-
nuities and Endow-
ments
Present value of Imme-
diate Annuities pay-
able by the society...
Paid-up capital
Bonus on shares impaia

26,440 3 8

60,200 19 0
51,076 10. 0
304 2 4

.21,206,168 12 1

Balance in favour of the society -.2 67,230 14 7
" After reserving the sum of 57,6951. 16s. 7d. from this
balance, the remainder will enable you to declare to non-
withdrawal policies, on the profit scale, a cash bonus of 15
per cent., and a reversionary bonus in addition to the sums
assured, varying according to age and. duration, from 20
to 60 per cent. on the premiums of all policies on the profit
scale, the same being upwards of four years' standing; and
to the proprietors a bonus of 3 per cent. in addition to the
regular interest of 5 per cent.—l am, gentlemen, your very
obedient servant,
" W. S. B. WOOLHOUSE, Actuary.
" To the Directors of the National Loan Fund
Life Assurance Society."
The following report of the directors was read by j.
Leander Starr, Esq., the manager :
"The directors are happy in having an opportunity
of submitting to the proprietors the balance she,ts of the,
past year, showing the progress and financial state of the
company, and also the annual report of our eminent
actuary.
"From these it will be seen that, despite the grave
hinderance to the success of nearly every branch of busi-
ness during the past year, both at home and abroad, by
untoward circumstances disorganising the steady march
of commercial success which had heretofore existed ; de-
spite the unusual mortality, by cholera and otherwise,
which has caused such unprecedented losses to Life As-
surance Companies, and which has called for 22,1501.
15s. 4d. of our funds to meet such claims, in excess of
the sum paid the preceding year ; our bUsiness has been
well sustained, and the result of the year's transactions
has been such as to warrant the actuary in recommend-
ing us to award a handsome bonus, both to policy-holders
and proprietors.

" Since the end of the financial year our business has
been well kept up, and the attention of the directors baa
been most earnestly engagedinsifting the whole system of
our operations, with the view of making such modifications
as the experience of the past has proved to be desirable.
Their attention has also been occupied in endeavouring
to carry out a general system of retrenchment of our
expenditure both at home and at our chief foreign
agencies, and in doing which they have been met in a
spirit of great cordiality and earnestness by our general
agents, and especially by our representatives at New
York ; and the progress, so far, has not been inconsider-
able, while hopes of further reductions are likely to be
realised in the future progress of the finance committee,
who are still pursuing so desirable an object.
" The removal of the Society's offices from Cornhill to
the Strand, and the change of name, which the directors
hope will Soon be completely accomplished, are mea-
sures bearing most favourably on the future business
and success of the institution.'
"In no period of the society's history has the busi—
ness conducted at our foreign agencies been so well man—
aged, or in detail more regular, than at this moment.
"The directors recommend, as suggested in the ac-
tuary's report, that the proprietors award 3 per cent.,
bonus to holders of shares (in addition to the regular
annual interest of 5 per cent.), and 15 per cent. cash
bonus to policy-holders (with profits, and on the non-
withdrawal scale), and the reversionary bonus, as ex-
plained by. Mr. Woolhouse.
" It will be the business of the present meeting to

elect four directors in lieu of Messrs. Elliotson, Spikes,
Tabor, and Thompson, whose term of office expires, but
who are eligible for re-election, and offer themselves ac-
cordingly, and to confirm Messrs. Hodgson and King
Church, who have been appointed directors by a speciali
court convened for that purpose, vice Messrs. Croft and
Starr, resigned.
" Also to elect two auditors in lieu of Professor
Wheatstone, F.R.S., and Professor J. Radford Young,
whose term of office expires, but are eligible, ,and offer
themselves accordingly.
" EDMOND S. SIMMS, Chairxnan.
" 142, Strand, May 3, 1855."
On the motion of the CHAIRMAN, the 'report re-

---- --- —.— __ __
ceived and adopted.
The present auditors were unanimously re-elected.
andi
Io on
bet before presentr
e P a.r -
ropriate to
E. S. Symes, Esq., M.D., Joseph Thompson, Esq.,
iiloflereAapp
Clement Tabor, Esq., John Ellaotson, Esq., M.D.,
SEltranee So-
Henry J. Hodgson, Esq., and Samuel King Church,
Esq., were duly elected, and confirmed directors of the
society.
We may honestly congratulate the management of
this company on the very general expression of coal.
The International
the
committees
deuceipi
no n
isiteino
tnon
at
ont
dhe the
futurea pn agret
tophfreot hsnpenempc
trilpor ioe
Thetnoer
Lsbm,
Parliament,eiti: tYb 'u''sievsi9;iwg : passedl
l soon
as we ever have felt, of the and we feel
success and
prosperitsyureoi
this company.

At a special general meeting of the proprietors on the
preceding day, the Chairman, on behalf of the directors, •
stated the course pursued by the directors in refutation
of Mr. Bennett's circulars, and detailed especially the
causes which led to that individual's dismissal from office;
and Mr. Bennett having replied thereto at great length,
the following resolution was passed by a very large ma-
jority of the proprietors present, no proxies having been
used on the occasion, although absent proprietors, to the
extent of over 100, had confided their proxies to the
directors :
es of the
" Resolved—That this meetine, cordially approvompolled
course which the directors have felt themselves
alcfrom the
to take in the matter of Mr. Bennett
deuce in their general administration
office of financial manager, and desires'
society:"
The meeting then voted thanks
Symes) "for his able and excellent
of the affairs of the
to the chairman (Dr.
conduct in the chair.'
tdoirncesBrd its con&

nhilsof Mr. Albert
Smith coming for a few
as well as Mr. Smith's own
There is some rumour, snaiygshtGsaligwitnah "Ascent of
ll
Mont Blanc." It will be highly successful among a
countrymen, who would alone nearly fill his sane at
each performance.
who understand English,