The Sun.
London, England, 1865-03-27 00:00:00

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a-e --

Economic Life Assurance Soda:

The annual meeting of this association was held on Sa..
turday last, at the offices, Bridge-street, Blackfriara ; Mr,
H. Barnett in the chair.
The SECRETARY read the advertisement convening the
meeting, and also the statement of accounts for the past
year, from which it appeared that the assurance fund
amounted to £2,291,881, which was invested as follows :
Funded property, £501,818 ; loans on policies, £104,669 ;
mortgages, £1,551,581; life interests, £52,050 ; reversion; £73,716 ; cash in hand, £7,176. With respect to the cur-
rent business of the society, the amount received on as-
surance premiums last year was £202,160 ; and from in-
vestments £94,015. The claims for the year amounted to
£201,747 ; the bonus declared last year to £56,499 ; ba-
lance and the other expenses, including £6,866 paid for
purchase of policies, brought up the grand total of pay-
ments to £277,822, leaving a balance of £18,354 on the
year's business to be carried to investments.
The CHAIRMAN, in moving that the statement of accounts
and the auditors' report be received and adopted, said that,
the accounts pretty well spoke for themselves as to the
present position of the office. There were certain discre,pan_
cies between the statement of this year and last, duc:, to the
state of the money market during the past year, a.ad to the
course of business in the City, which alwa7B more or
less affected life assurance business. Th'.7ly all knew
that there had been during the past year 4 very high rate
of interest prevailing, and a very large business had been
transacted of a speculative character -which had not always
turned out very remunerative. They could not therefore .
be surprised if the public did not feel much inclined to
invest their savings in insurance, as they Might have been
if they had more money at command. The consequence
was that the business of the company had not been quite so
large as in former years, though they had had a fair pro-
portion of proposals, namely 599, in consequence of which
493 policies had been issued, being the same number
as was issued in the previous year, but instead of those
policies assuring £438,000, as in the previous year, they
only assured £402,000. The policies for £5,000 and up-
wards which the association looked upon with peculiar
favour had diminished from 19 issued in 1863 to 11 in
1864, which would at once account for the difference in
the total amount assured. The revenue, however, had
been a little in excess of that pf the previous year, they
having made a little more out of the investment of their
capital, the interest amounting to £96,586 as against £72,000
received in 1863. There had been a large increase of loans
on policies applied for, which was plainly attributable to the
state of the money market. The ready money bonus de-
clared last year did not amount to so much as that declared
at the last quinquennial division by £lO,OOO, but that was
owing to two causes, the state of the money market and the
increase in the claims. These claims of course varied from
year to year, and last year they were higher by £20,000
than in the previous year, and the claims had been made in
consequence of the decease of a considerable number of the
older lives. There had been a great number of applications
for payment on discount, which they had, according to their
rule, invariably met when the papers were all in order.
They had paid thus in 1864 £lO,OOO, which in strictness
would not have been due till 1865 if the full term had been
allowed to run out. The total number of claims in 1864
was £150,000 on 191 policies, and the bonus accumulated
was £36,430, making together £186,400, and that sum,
large as it was, fell short of what might be expected ac-
cording to the calculations of the duration of life. (Hear,
hear.) It might be satisfactory to those who were looking
forward to leave something for their families to know that
on one policy which became a claim last year, the bonus
amounted to 89i per cent., the age of the assurer being 51,
and at the time of his death 85, which in the present days
was no unreasonable age for healthy people. Besides death
claims they had extinguished during the year 125 policies
by purchase, lapse, and other ways, decreasing the liabi-
lities by no less than £90,000. He might mention also
that as the reversionary bonus only represented twice the
amount of that portion of the ready money bonus invested
in it, that investment might bo considered a very good
one. There was a matter he felt bound to say a word
about; with reference to the negotiations with the Amicable
Assurance Society to which he-alluded to last year, and
which at that time was in such a state that he had not felt
justified in telling the policyholders much about it. At the
same time it was matter of notoriety that negotiations
had been carded on for a considerable period, and it was
with regret that he had to announce what he dared say was
generally known, that it fell through, from unfortunate
ci cumstances which they certainly had not seen when
they entered into the negotiation. The principles upon
which they proposed to take over the business of the Ami-
cable wore exceedingly simple. We only proposed to re-
quire from them cash, or at all events the true value for all
the engagements that we were to undertake on their behalf ;
and on the other hand, we proposed to give them
such advantages as the surplus of any funds that
they might have to be handed over to us, would
justify us in distributing amongst their proprietors. How-
ever, the fact was that the whole thing could not be car-
ried out without an Act of Parliament, and there the
difficulty arose, for the act unfortunately fell through,
which we did not at all anticipate at the commencement of
the affair. But it was necessary there should be universal
consent on the part of all the members of the Amicable
Office, and that_ there was a difficulty in obtaining, for
we were not prepared to make a concession which we .
thought would in any way cause detriment to the members
of this society. (Hear, hear.) The matter, therefore, fell
through, and the directors could only regret that they had
lost what they anticipated would have been a very
considerable amount of prospective remunerative business.
The Chairman concluded with a formal motion for the
adoption of the accounts.
Mr. G. K. RICKARDS seconded the motion.
In reply to a question from Mr. Mitchell,
The CHAIRMAN said that the interest charged on loans
on policies was £5 per cent., which when the high rate of
interest ruling in the market was taken into consideration
amply accounted for the increase in that item. He also .
explained that the law charges arose entirely out of the
distribution of the bonus, and was consequent upon the
examination of the claims of various parties under assign-
ments.

A PROPR/ETOR called attention to the diminution of the
business, notwithstanding that the last year was a bonus
year, whereas the year following the last quinquennial
division was marked by a great increase in business. He
inquired whether the decrease did not arise in consequence
of the paucity Of advertisements. He also alluded to the
fact that the division of last year amounted only to 59 per
cent. of the profits, while the last division amounted to 64
per cent.
The CHAIRMAN, in reply, said that they certainly did ex-
pect that the year succeeding the bonus year would give a
much greater increase in the number of assurers than it had,
and they could only account for it not having done so by
referring to the exceptional state of the money market.
With regard to the question of advertisements, it had been
under the consideration of the board. It had Men tried
some years ago, and failed. Notwithstanding that the
board spent £7OO or £BOO a year in advertising, they found
no appreciable increase in the business. At the same time,
if there was a strong opinion expressed by the shareholders
that it would be advisable to advertise more largely, the
board had no objection to meet their wishes.

Mr. BowLEY inquired how much the board spent in ad-
vertisements atpresent ?
The CHAIRMAN said they were spending literally nothing
at all in that direction at present.

Mr. BOWLEY said he had some experience of the effect of
advertisements, and seeing how other companies availed
themselves of that means of publicity, he strongly recom-
mended the board to consider the matter.
Mr. DOWNES, the actuary of the association, pointed out
that notwithstanding the apparent diminution in the bonus
per tentage it was more valuable to the participators now,
considering the advance of their age, than the higher bonus
of the preceding quinquennial division was.
Some further conversation took place as to the expedi-
ency of advertising, and eventually it was agreed that Mr.
Bowley should meet the secretary and consider with him
the best channels through which an extended publicity
might be obtained.
Tho report having been unanimously adopted, the audi-
tors were re-elected, and the proceedings terminated by a
vote of thanks to the chairman and directors.

THE FRENCH WEATHER PROPHET, M. Mathieu
de la Drome, is dead, at the early age of fifty-six,
but his secret survives him. His son-in-law learned from
his lips before his death the magic formula which will
teach him to prophesy frosts in January, high winds in
March, and sultry weather about August.
STATUES OF THE KINGS AT THE HOUSES OF PAR-
LIAIIENT.—A full-size model in plaster of Mr.
Thorneycroft's statue of Charles the First, which is to be
seven feet in height, has been placed experimentally in the
Royal Gallery, Houses of Parliament, in the position to bo
occupied by the finished work, on the east side of the door-
way leading from the Queen's Robing Room. The tech-
nical treatment of the subject is satisfactory ; the face has
rather a sculpturesque resemblance to the " Martyr" than
an actual likeness; this is to our minds a mistake in judg-
ment, causing the whole to be less interesting than it
might have been. The figure is the first of the series des-
tined for the Royal Gallery, comprising James the First, to
be carved by the same artist ; William the Fourth, George
the Fourth, both by Mr Theed, to be at the end of the
apartment opposite to those of James and Charles, George
the Third, Anne, William the Third and James the Second,
on the east side of the gallery ; George the Second, George
the First, Mary the Second and Charles the Second, on
the west side. Mr. Woolmer is commissioned to execute
the statue of William the Third. The five statues of the
Tudor Princes will be placed in the Queen's Robing Room.
The 16 sovereigns who reigned from Henry the First to
Richard the Third are to appear in the so-called "Norman
Porch" and principal landing-place. On the lower landing
place are to appear, Edward the Confessor, Harold, William
the First and William the Second. Mr. Gibson's figure of
her Majesty between two allegorical statues has long stood
in the Prince's Chamber. By this arrangement the whole
of the Sovereigns of England line the path from the Royal
Entrance to the Prince's Chamber. Where statues of
future princes are to go, unless the present order is dis-
turbed, is not reported.—Athenount.