The Sun.
London, England, 1839-11-29 00:00:00

EVENING EDITION.

day's paper.) The Learned Gentleman was frequently
interrupted by marks of disapprobation from several
parties present.
Mr. BIGNOLD also said the Learned Gentleman had
been most grossly misinformed, and that he obtained
his information from the productions of one of the
foulest men in society.
Mr. Alderman FAREBROTHER said, that the whole
amount of the mortgages which were in the Secretry's
name, and on which, by mistake, the declaration had
not been engrossed and signed, was 6,200/.—(l-lear.)
The CHAIRMAN—Out of a million and a half.
Mr. Alderman FA REBROTHER—Yes, that was all.
Mr. PONTIFEX said the meeting would now see the
result of inquiry. Did they suppose that he would ever
have brought the charges he had if he had not known
the real state of the case ?—(Hear, hear.) No, he
would rather have suffered his right hand to have been
cut off.—( Hear, hear.) But he lamented that the Ex-
aminers had not put the whole of the facts into their re-
port. He unfeignedly begged to apologise to Mr. Big-
cold for what he had said about him on the subject.—
(Cheers.) But at the same time that he made this
apology, he felt it to be no more than justice to himself,
as a man of character, of honour, and of respectability,
to say that he had been misled.—( Hear, and cries of
" Name, name," and " No, no.") The information bad
been given to him in secrecy and in conffdence, and,
therefore, he did not feel himself to be in a position to
give up the name.—( Hear, hear )
Mr. BIGNOLD said, it was well known that there was
as much as upwards of 1,000,0001. of money which the
office had advanced at different periods on mortgages.
Those advar,ces had been made in sums of from .50/. to
110,000/., the larger securities varying from 110,000/.
down to 20,000/., and 15,000/., and on those larger
amounts he knew of no instance in which the mort-
gages had been taken in his own name—(Hear)--
a,ey had all been taken in the names of the trustees.--
( Hear, hear.) But, in the smaller amounts, the mort-
gages had been taken in his name, because it had been
considered that there were certain advantages which
would or might be derived to the office by such variance
from the practice which was universally adopted with
regard to the larger sums. But his name, in every case
where it had been inserted, had been so inserted as the
registered officer of the establishment—a fact which
was of itself, he apprehended,, a sufficient protection
against any improper appropriation on his part.—(Hear.)
One advantage which necessarily had accrued to the
office by the use of his name, had been the saving of a,
vast expense, in consequence of its being thereby found
that there would be no occasion to send abroad or to
distant parts, for the purpose of procuring the execution
of the deeds by the trustees.—(Hear, har.) So soon
as he had become aware that a pamphlet had issued in
Which this practice had been made a ground of charge
against the office, that instant be had applied to the Di-
rectors and besought them to cause matters with respect
to these deeds to be put in a proper position. A form
of declaration was then drawn up by the solicitor, which
in express terms set forth that the money had been ad-
vanced in his name in trust for the Society, and to that
declaration he had affixed his signature.—(Hear.) But
some short time after it had been contended by parties
that, in case of his death, the security might be preju
diced, upon which he had told them to do whatever
might be deemed necessary to effect the complete dislo-
cation of his name from the deeds.—(Hear, hear.)
Transfers were then engrossed on the deeds, to which
he instantly put his name.—(Hear, hear.) In refer-
ence to the bonus of 1829, he would beg to direct the
attention of the meeting to the fact that the Directors
had beers guided in the matter by the statements of the
Actuary.—( Hear, hear.) A public meeting
society had been called, at which every of the
institution might have attended. At thamterniebeetringf tlthi:ee
report of the position of the office, together with its,la-
bilities, made by the proper officer to the Directors,
in
been read to the assured. The statement put forth in
that document had been deemed satisfactory.--4
Mr. Pontifex had stated that the office was in bad odour--
Let the
(Cries of " Hear, hear," " No, no," " Yes, yes.")
meeting test the fact by the business the office had for
some some time been doing. In 1836 the number of lives
insured had been 6,640, and in the course of that year 478
had been added, making a total of 7,118. The deaths
during that year had been 176, whilst the number of
discontinued policies had been 77, and the number pa'
Hear.)
chased by the offices —(Hear, hear.) In 1837, which
he might call the first year of the disturbances—( Hear)
—the new lives insured were as many as 494, being 16
more than 1836 ; and in 1838 the number of new poli-
cies had been no less than 503.—(Hear.) So that the
total number of lives insured in the office was then
7,479.—( Hear, hear.) Now he did think that when
the statement he had just made had gone forth to the
world, it would at once have the effect of removing,
even from the mind of Mr. Pontifex himself, any impres
sion that the office was in bad odour.—(Hear, hear.)
In the Report of the London Committee, which, by the
way, it must be observed, bad been repudiated at the
meeting held in London on Friday, the office had been
accused, amongst other things, of having kept the ac-
counts in a slovenly and disgraceful manner. Now °o
such words, or words that implied such a meaning, were
Now,tobewhen the accountant had on
found inthereportofthegExe h hamtinreorusg.-- gear.'
the ac-
counts,he habut
d differed in
iffindvareiroeunsee had no
points of detail is the
classifications,
reference
e
nts
of
value, for whilst the total, as shown by the u
the office, was 5,490,0001., the accountant bad pro-
duced a total of 5,540,000/. But against that apparent
increase of 50,000/. of liability must be placed theist
crease in the premiums of 2,000/. a year ; {ors 0001.
by the office return the premiums amounted to 171,
,
by the Examiners' report they appeared to be 173,0
_OO e
b
and that increase of 2,000/. per annum was equivale
t
to the 50,0001.—(Hear, hear.) The accountant.ana
his clerks had been occupied six months in going lute,
aeo
to
the investigation of the receipts and disbursements )
the office during the long period of 28 years, in of
affi
coueres,e of
nwhhiceh
hsaevderhaeleemillnionnasblheadtopasdsiesedn?errouagohy tihne.
stance where every shilling had not been duly
entered and accounted for.—( Hear, hear.) He would
take that opportunity of saying, that in future,
with regard to the mode of carrying out the conduct of
the affairs of the Society, he should be perfectly wiping
to bend his practice to the suggestions of the Examiners.
—( Hear, hear.) It had been made a charge against
him that he had had the exclusive influence over the
money of the office, and that the money had been placed
by him in a joint-stock bank in Norwich, and further-
more, that he had permitted a balance amounting to
40,0001. to accrue. The short history of the matter
was simply this :—On the 27th of February, 1836,
the proprietors of the joint-stock bank had declined bu-
sinets, and, therefore, the balances due to all the et's'
tomers of the house, which had been secured to them by
an opulent directory and proprietary, were, down to that
day, made up in the books of the concern, and trans-
ferred on the following Monday to another bank, the
East of England Bank, which was under the manage;
ment of an increased directory and proprietary', an
a
backed by an additional proportion of opulence.
Mr. STEWARd, one of the Examiners, here said the
statement just made by Mr. Bignold was perfectly
correct.—(Hear.)
Mr. BIG NOLD then went on to defend himself agail9l_9(.t
other charges, and concluded by saying, before he
down, he would take the opportunity outd ling._
one of the statements which had been p forth inTthne
That
report of the so-called London committee.
ee
on
had advent,
report had stated that the society
Brightonne.wfa
mortgages the amount of 250,0001, in
—(Hear.) He could assert that it was not
of that sum.—( Hear, hear.) pursued by the
Mr. WALLE R condemned the conduct
London committee.
Ll length cot'
Mr. OLIVER at some considerawe the
Norwich office, and on the contents of the
report.
mented on the mismanagement of the authorEttleasultere,
arisMenr.aPmAoYn
a bygone in memory.—(Cheers.)
into sei
gN
amongst
them
et :nu Swt eod.
would
forat t
the
dfiufft
bes
ee :We
were,
Mr. Alderman FARBBROT/lER then went of
nute and extremely satisfactory history of the
.i..e
proceedings adopted by the Examiners in the taskbatlYo
oetncetd.
j:
den e concluded.be had
beenlt ha had
guidedbeen and assertediofi
the invitations he had received from the Directorss.ottur,
hwaioda
tr recently nhtal
had done
round of dinners.—(Hear, hear.) Now, that in 045
tion was basely false, and he would cry out, " Who :.0.)
the base slanderer—where was he ?—(
Where was the Editor who had dared to breathe
slander against his honour?—(Loud cheers.)
/11r. BACON here stood up, and was greeted. yul.Leus.
storm of groans, which continued for several nenu
payp-
After some remarks from Sir R. Harvey, Mr•
ter, Dr. Evans, Mr. Langslaw (who proposed %rev
which was withdrawn), and several other gentleme y
as
Mr. GODSON, M. P., assailed the proceedings' the
Loud chee e
well as the views, of the London Committee with ter
utmost vigour. He would ask the meeting
erheol
they had perfect confidence in the three gentlem
„.ri"es of
they had appointed as their Examiners ?--tt-/
k if the
" Yes, yes.") That being so, then he would A, na. )
had forfeited that confidence ?—(Cries•of
(Cheers.) If so, let every hand be held (inßean/ A
of the resolution proposed by Mr. Barthe.--
Then, were they not entitled to their "thankfas:o;
Stewar"'
addressen
and Mr. Woodruff° having severally
even diP
The Rev. Mr. Barker, Mr. Rogers, Mr. the
meeting,
The resolution was put and carried, with] s
sentients only.
the following resolution :
hat the pre
That it is the opinion of this meeting t
establishment
Mr. ROGERS then moved, and Mr. FULLYR SCCOndea
is • deciu ate to its present extensive concer :"A
1808, lna Directors and
that a joint Committee, consistingsst of four, . r r!.
sent deed of settlement, framed at its
de for
Evans, and T. Steward, do prepare a new cod
that
the future goverment of the Society ;
h they
four assurers—namely, esraynter, Farebrothe •-•
shall agree it shall be formed before Mr. Brodie
v.,
they be requested to lay the principles uron which
Tyrrell ; and in case of those gentlemen disagree'
.e
eL.I".
refer all points in dispute to Mr. Duval, -whose d