The Sun.
London, England, 1852-03-16 00:00:00

A PENNY A DAY ! —WHAT IT CAN DO.
(From Eliza Cook's Journal,)
A penny a day is a very small suaa,—only the price
of an ordinary glass of beer or half the price of a good
glass of stout. You would scarcely expect to get much
for for a penny a day,—or that :or so trifling an araciun4
you can get anything worthy of consideration.
But everything depends upon how the penny is spent. Spend it on a glass of beer, and what do you get?
the pleasure is gone almost as soon as the beer is im-
bibed. You get next to nothing for your money. ,
Let us see. however, what a penny a day, thoughtfill'i
expended, will do towards securing a man's independence'
and providing against poverty and want.
But can it do anything worthy of notice in this way?
You shall see.
We take up a prospectus and tables of a Provident
Society, intended for the use of those classes who hav,,
e
a peony a day to spend,—and these include nearly 02.:
the working classes of this country. It is not necessftp;
we should specify any particular society, because•
the
best all proceed upon the same data,—the results of e_/i,
tensive observations and experience of health and sick„
ness,—and their tables of rates, certified by Government
actuaries, are very nearly the same. r and
Well, then, looking at the tables of these Lie)
Sickness Assurance Societies, what can a penny 5 day u?i;
1. For a penny a day, a man or woman of tiventy-s
years of age, may secure the sum of tea
a-week payable during the time of sickness for the tvh°6
of life.
eat'
2. For a penny a day (payments ceasing at sixty Y
of age), a mau or woman of thirty-one years of age Ma c,
that
secure the sum of 501. payable at death, whenever th
may happen, even though it should he the week or the
month after the assurance has been effected. of
3. For a penny a day, a young man or Womit-the
fifteen may secure a sum of 100/, the payment °' the
penny a day continuing during the whole of life, but
100/. being payable whenever death may occur.
in 9 °f
4. For a penny a day, a young man or at
twenty may secure an annuity of 2SI. per annum, (3,10
10s. per week for the whole of life, after reaching
age of sixty-five. Win
5. For a penny a day—the payment commencing of
the birth of any child—a parent may secure the suca
201., payable on such child reaching the age of f°llrte
9a
years.
0130
6. For a penny a day, continued until the child rent be
the ago of twenty-one years, the sam of 451.
star
secured, to enable him or her to begin business, or id
housekeeping. et
vi
7. For a penny a day, a young man or ola offtwenty-four may secure the sum of 1001., PsYll„-jeg
reaching the age of sixty, with the right of with ale
four-fiths of the amount paid in at any time; the '7oc•
of the payments to be paid back in event 'of death
curring before the age of sixty. old
d
Such is the power of a penny a ay . Wh°ll7°
role
have dreamt of it? Yet it is true, as any one On 13- for
by looking at the tables of the beet assurance offint4a,,a
the Working Class. Put the penny a day in the bank'it ie
it accumulates but slowly. Even there, however,'
me-
very useful. But with the assurance office, it 't to
diately assumes a vast power. A penny a daY Pa oa
by the man of thirty-one, is worth 601. to his wife noel
family, in the event of his dying next Ea for
or next year It is the combining of small saving- of
purposes of mutual assurance, by a large number*
persons, that gives to the penny its power in such emus
The effecting of a life assurance by a working nu
for the benefit of his wife and children, is an en:l°6- -
unselfish act. It is a moral, as well to roe/
ligious transaction. It is " providing for thns-steP
his own household." It is taking the right be,
towards securing the independence of his family, "ittir
the breadwinner, has been called away. This right
y.
vestment of the pennies is the best proof of praet`c—nian•
tue,—the honest forethonght and integrity of 5 ."-anj
Though too little thought of, the duty of savings:4o
making frugal investments out of the
odd pennies, 0,
incumbent obligation on a man who has voluntarily 1/8
dortaken the responsibilities of a family. The van It-
et' money is to spend frugally, and to save it wisely:'
Nat for to hide it in a hedge,
Nor for a train attendant,
But for the glorious privilege
Of being INDEPENDENT !

- .
THE COLLINS' AMERICAN STEAMSI-05'
The contractors for carrying the United States' isli
between New York and Liverpool have memorialsa
Congress for additional compensation, on the grout!,
that they have built four steamers of an aggregate I°";
nage of more than 11,000 tons; that these steamers 0/
made 28 voyages, with an average speed greater
the
has ever before been attained, surpassing that of t',o
Cunard steamers, which have been built subsequentlyn`f
them, expressly to maintain the maritime supremacy"i
England; that nearly sac-half of their present anuoil
compensation for the mail service is expended in effeeS'
ing insurances on their ships, the cost of which has beeLs
much enhatc,d by their immew.e tonnage, and the ';
pensive improvements, without which they could IL°
have competed with any hope of success with Wl'
greatest naval Power in the world; that the Govejtid:
meta of the United states has now at its We
ri,`"-or
and subject to its disposal for any purposes, wilec7as
of war or peace, four of the largest and
meanwhile tie-
little expense to the Treasury; and that the amount
...e
cruing to the Post-cfEce department from the postage:,,
the ocean steamers for the years which ended June. °l.:c
1851, and during the uarter which ended the 3031;
September, 1851, was 1,131,776 dolls. 87c., which ‘s
would have been paid to the British steamer", and would
,_,
have aided in keepieg afloat a
had it not been for the policy of
coMpotition wisei7
adopted by the Government of the United States. 1 o
pnreovhiasdionbalee BriAtislahr li.ue'oll..
The prayer of the memorial was strengthened-kin:la
dispatch from the Postmaster- General, slrate-a-aierns
shtiagthintgertmhsato,f
athsetghreeactutiutirldityli of the Collin
weekly service the year round, he had advise" .
rud•
lins to alternate with the British lines, and reco°3 a-
uch 8
ing to Congr , th ll
css e a owance of pro rata, or
roper
ditional Pay as might be considered fair and
_PAgje.
underia the circumstances. The Secretary a the to3oe
fc n Navy, in reply, has acknowledged the impor
Kew
of further mail service for the steamers between, dpg
York and Liverpool, and stated that the subject re a 00
to compensation should be referred for the considers.
of Congress. 9 0
torsd-er"12.11.
the result of the
The 'Washington Union gives the following figer" are
said to be given under oath of the bookkeeper of
0,
company. They Collins' line of steamers. They,. "the
it mot has
further prove that, if the line is to be kept up.
further assistance from Congress :
show certainly but a Flemish scoots
v;

Dolls.

steamers, ready for sea, was ...
The cash cost of the ollins' line of 71
... 2,944,142
While the present condition of the com-
pany is described as follows, namely:—
Of the whole amount or stock described
(1,132,000 dolls.) there was paid in ... 1'385,000
The Government loan was ••• ••
The company have borrowed and issued
loans for ... ... ••• —•
Their floating debt is now, exclusive of
interest, way ... ... ... ... 1,000,000

700,000

3,184,900
The company, therefore, have sunk ... 350,000
And no dividends have been paid to stockholders.
The actual average cost of each voyage
to England and back is... •• •••
The actual receipts of each voyage have
been ... •••

65,215 64

48,286 85

Deficiency each voyage ••• ••• 16,928 79
Or, for twenty voyages ... ...
338,574
following O;
eynela:--rs of the establish-
meat Cunardfi°rvsetrimx line of steamers ad of a charg ato
51h oinstfhh theth shape of portages thewith the Cu'' tru
steamersshoTwi:iengw rtiihstaeatr tshionen rPtcheoesot fUorffine vicoeenn uceo,n Bitestirnasctt e
Government received from thatthe
During
the
almßirneirßeniatr,giti
While the compensation reeeirtd by the line "36
,8
°CI
from the Government was only ...

Dolls,

The clear revenue derived by the Briti11;1----°,55000
DatGrh;:nvrgeefronrmeent...from those, steamers was,
the first four months of the year 18
the Collins' 1. h tbs
Cunard • ling was taking alternate tri.ps wit.- be
_,.,line, our Government received in postage all . he
I,‘ 00 dolls. of what it paid to the line for carrying t`i"
walls. But the British line commenced making we 02;
5512,86,.
rrt3el
trips, and the Collins' line no longir alternating with
tiro
British, the American postages tell off, as might b e,
been expected. The British line was considered the :raj
gular line, at least by the British General Post office, a D.
the American steamers were treats d as transient vesse
It is for this reason that our Post-(fiice department 1:1 '..1
given notice to the British that we require a new Post
07
arrangement with Ent land, which shall secure reor le
city, provided our steamers, by alternating with 10
British, are able to perform half the service.

Captain Austin, the new Admiralty superintend fink
of mail packets at Southampton, arrived there yesterda rot
commence the performance of his official duties. The ga r.
ollick:r will reside in Southampton, in accordance with A
cent Admiralty order. _