The Sun.
London, England, 1852-09-28 00:00:00

atilt
Ittlti

LONDON, TUESDAY. SEPTEMBER 28, 1852.

England cannot fail to appreciate the noble senti-
ments which dictated the letter in which the First
Minister of the Crown announced to the Home Se-
cretary the wishes of her Majesty the QUEEN, in
reference to the funeral obsequies of the late Duke of
WELLINGTON. Those wishes, we feel assured, will
prove in every respect consonant to the wishes of the
entire population. They evidence a touching recog-
nition on the part of the SOVEREIGN of tie eminent
services of the illustrious old warrior whose memory
is about to receive from the nation so splendid and
almost unparalleled's tribute of gratitude and admi-
ration. In every particular the communication ad-
dressed to the Right Hon. SPENCER WALPOLE, and
dated by the Earl of DERBY on the 20th of Septem-
ber from Balmoral, is worthy of the statesman by
whom it was penned, of the MONARCH whose emotions
it expressed, of the people to whose generosity it is
in a touching degree respondent, and of the distin-
guished man whose remains it is intended to honour
by an interment of very unusual magnificence.
Henceforth this memorable document will be en-
shrined in the history of the Duke of WELLINGTON
as the crowning homage offered to a career already
rendered remarkable by so many
tokens of veneration
both from the country and from the SOVEREIGN. It
will be related by the future biographers of his
Grace, that 'VICTORIA " received with grief" the in-
telligence of that death in regard to Which the PRIME
MINISTER confidently expected that the nation would
"as one man" "sympathise with her MAJESTY."
It will be remembered, moreover, by the
annalist
how admirably sensitive her MAJESTY has been in this
matter, at once of the feelings of the relations of the
deceased and of those entertained by the people at
large, and by the members of the Imperial Legisla.
ture. " Although," says the E of DERBY, speak-
ing in the name of his SOVEREIGN, ":although the
QUEEN could not for a moment doubt that the voice
of the country would be unanimous upon the subject
of the honours to be paid to the memory of the
greatest man of the age, her MAJESTY considered
it
due to the feelings of his Grace's surviving relatives
that no steps should be taken, even in his honour,
without their approving concurrence"—and accord-
ingly a communication wee at once, in the first in.
at,tuce, addr,e,ised by the Noble PREMIER to the
younger son of the departed for the purpose of as-
certaining the sentiments of his family in reference
to the public tribute proposed to be offered to his
mules" in behalf of his QUEEN and of his fellow-
countrymen. Teereupon the relatives of the late
Duke having, of course, ins antly placed themselves
wholly and unconditionally in her MAJEST7's hands,
is might have been expected not unreasonably that
the QUEEN would have forthwith issued her com•
mend* for the Preparation of the intended obsequies,
without any further d
e.ay or any additional preli-
minary. Such, however, has not been the course
pursued under the circumstances by a MONARCU ever
alive to the maghenialous sentiments of the popula-
tion. Instead of e
ft'e e-aig thus summarily
to the arrangement of the
projected cere-
monial, her MAJESTY determined, be
j once more
referring the subject elsewhere, toa-211it the nation to
porticipate more immediately in the anticipated ob-
sequies than cou'.3 otherwise hove been p„sibie
sup-
posing their authorization emaneted exclusively from
the ersonal regrets of the SOVEREIGN. That a tri-
bat; of this description was demanded by a thousand
imperative considerations the QUEEN appears to have
understood upon the instant, and without one ma_
meat's hesitation. Her chief Minister has Intimated
as much, indeed, in words that cennot very readily
be forgotten. He has said—" The great space which
the name of the Duke of WELLINGTON has filled in
the history of the last fifty years—his brilliant
achievements in the field—his high mental qualities—
his long and faithful services to the Crown—his un-
tiring devotion to the interests of his country—con-
stitute claims upon the gratitude of the nation which
a public funeral, thonp;h it cannot satisfy, at least
may serve to recognise." -Yet the QUEEN was so far
solicitous that that act of recognition should be in
every way worthy of herself, of her people, and of
the occasion, that she resolved to render it as much as
Posaiblenational and popular in its character. The

THE SUN,

manner in which this graceful and magnanimous re-
solution has been announced by the Noble Earl the
PRIME MINISTER of England is too remarkable of its
kind not to be borne in very particular and grateful
recollection. It is entitled to this especial remembrance
inasmuch as it is signally honourable alike to the
fame of the departed, to the generosity of the SO-
VEREIGN, and to her implicit confidence in the sym-
pathetic munificence of the population. " Her MA-
JESTY is well aware," said the Earl of DERBY, " that,
as in the case of Lord NELSON, she might, of her
own authority have given immediate orders for this
public mark of veneration for the memory of the
illustrious Duke, and has no doubt but that Parlia-
ment and the country would cordially have approved
the step ; but her MAJESTY, anxious that this tri-
bute of regard and sorrow should be deprived of
nothing which could invest it with a thoroughly na-
tional character—anxious that the greatest possible
number of her subjects should have an opportunity
of joining it—and anxious, above all, that such
honours should appear to emanate from the general
will, and that the two Houses of Parliament should
have an opportunity, by their approving sanction, of
stamping the proposed ceremony with increased so-
lemnity, and of associating themselves with her
MAJESTY in paying honour to the memory of one
whom no Englishman can name without pride and
sorrow." It has, therefore, been fittingly resolved
that the body of the Duke of WELLINGTON shall
remain " under proper guardianship" at Weimer
Castle until the newly-elected Parliament has as-
sembled, when the wishes of the QUEEN may receive
the final and formal approval of the people, through
the voice of both Houses of the Imperial Legisature.
Perhaps, however, the most beautiful and touching
the
ee one by
which
theich late
o f al Di
willuke
recognition by the SOVEREIGN of the eminent services
performed to the at
opfroveth
WEL-
LINGTON—perhaps h
most peculiarly acceptable to the population—is that
evidenced by her MAJESTY'S selection of St. Paul's
Cathedral as the most appropriate scene of our Great
Captain's sepulture. There, as the nation desires, he
may be interred " with all the solemnity due to the
mournfulness of the occasion," reposing by the side
of our immortal NELSON—as the PRIME MINISTER
nobly and truthfully expresses it—" the greatest
Military by the side of the greatest Naval Chief
who ever reflected lustre upon the annals of
England 1" Everything augurs admirably for the
grandeur and the glory of those obsequies which
will, assuredly, constitute one of the most
memorable and extraordinary incidents in the
reign of our Gracious SOVEREIGN. Every-
thing promises that the national funeral of The Duke
will crown by its splendour, in a becoming manner,
the honours not undeservedly showered upon him by
the MONARCH and by the Multitude, during the
greater portion of his illustrious and protracted exist-
ence. When these memorable and remarkable obse-
quies shall at length have been completed, England
will at least have the consolation of reflecting that to
one of her greatest sons she has proved herself not
altogether ungrateful. Whatever could be done by
the CROWN and by the Country, whether in life or in
death, to recognise the eminent achievements of the
departed, will then to the full have been accom
plished ! And the children of after generations will
Wen with emotions of reverence, not wholly, alas !
unalloyed with those of regret, to that great Cathe-
dral Church of St. Paul's, beneath the dome of
which will thenceforth repose, side by side, the two
most glorious warriors of the Anglo-Saxon race—
England having wisely resolved to associate yet more
intimately by the contiguity of their illustrious
tombs the kindred renown of her NELSON and her
WELLINGTON.

The principles and practice of life assurance are
now universally recognised. There are few persons
in receipt of incomes more than sufficient to meet
their daily expenditure—so far as the mere necessa-
ries of life are concerned—who do not deem it ex-
pedient to set aside a portion of their receipts for the
purpose of meeting some extraordinary demand or
emergency, for which they would be unable to pro-
vide from their ordinary resources. Even persons in
the possession of accumulated and realised property,
who are themselves placed beyond the possibility of
personal distress, so far as human foresight can make
provision for future contingencies, desire to appro-
priate a portion of their superfluities to the acquisi-
tion of additional means. The power of rendering
wives and children independent—of securing the pos-

session of an extra sum, beyond that included in the
marriage settlement, or at the disposal of the husband
or father, or, with a single man, the possibility of
entering into those sacred relations—or even the mere
desire of accumulation, although without any defi-
nite object—are sufficient to make every man of
ordinary prudence set aside or save a considerable
portion of his ordinary income.
If, however, men of property and substance are
thus provident, how much more desirable is it that
those dependent on their own exertions for support,
who owe their daily bread to their daily labour, should
exhibit similar forethought, and endeavour to secure
the means of livelihood for that period of life when
the decay of his mental or physical powers may ren-
der each incapable of " winning his ain bread."
Such persons are grossly culpable if they neglect this
palpable duty, and the acknowledged necessity of
such an appropriation is one of the strongest argu-
ments against the present unjust, oppressive, and in-
equitable assessment of the income and property-tax.
Under such circumstances, it is by no means sur-
prising that the annual savings amount to about one-
fifth, or 20 per cent. of the annual revenue. That
proportion is usually re-invested, and one of the
most popular forms—for the advantages of mutual
support and co-operation are now thoroughly appre-
ciated—is by way of " LIFE ASSURANCE." A man
full of strength and activity, confident in his own
powers, will brave every danger, so long as life
be spared, but be must succumb to the ordinary lot
of mortals. Death may approach at any moment,
and he feels that to be the chief, if not the only, con-
tingency to be guarded against.
It is unnecessary to say that many companies
have been formed to meet the general de•
'laud for " assurance facilities ;" some have
been •
In existence for many years, and have
accumulated immense property. Any establishment
indeed
conducted on just and honest principles must
have succeeded.
sprung A larger proportion have more re-
centlyinto existence, and they also, whenever
the menagemens has
been unexceptional, have
flourished, and,
generally speaking, have exhibited
greater liberality in their
dealings than the more an-
cient established eeneer,„.
An onslaught has, however, recently been made on
behalf of the seniors.
It is said that there is no sufficient
the junior branchea by or on
security for the
assured—that nothing but an ample a colossal
paid-up capital can 9 give that perfect guarantee es-
sential in such a case. These cavillers
appear to
forget that if their arguments were well founded, the
more ancient establishments should long since
have
closed their doors in a state of hopeless insolvency—the
could not have successfully encountered the dieacm._
ties enumerated, but must either have made heavy
calls on the proprietors and shareholders, or defrauded
the assurers.
We do not wish to be understood as making any
charge against the old companies. They discharge
their obligations to the very hour, pay very hand-
some dividends to the shareholders, and have large
reserved funds ready for any favourable invest-
ment. But these funde have been gained
from " the assured," and the young companies can
do the same, and become in due time as prosperous.
Nay, more, the great experience now obtained in
matters once obscure and comparatively unknown,
enable new companies to offer advantages to the
assured, and that without any loss to themselves,
which the traditions of the ancient offices, and the
I°Ruence of very respectable, but rather antiquated,
officers, prevents their rivals from sanctioning.
As
n illustration of these points, we would di-
rect attentio
nto the advertisement of a comparatively
junior conap„
Company, which will be found in another co
lama. There
We find the board of direction com-
prising a body of
entlemen of unimpeached and
unimpeachable respegt
ability, whose characters will
afford ample security
e against any unfair play or
swindling, for nothing else e can render an insurance
company insolvent. we
also find that the greatest
objection to life assurance, which has prevented
many parties from availin
its advantages—the "lit g themselves of
Y of being un-