The Sun.
London, England, 1865-08-30 00:00:00

Valuation of Life Liabilities•

A pamphlet on the subject of the valuation of
the Life Liabilities of the Royal Insurance Com-
pany has lately appeared, which, while modestly
termed by the author an Appendix to the Report,
as the actuary to the directors of that company, has,
in truth, a much wider interest. In this able
publication, of about 50 pages, not merely are the
results of the business of the particular company
disclosed, with an entire absence of reserve which
is worthy of imitation by every other life office,
brit the object of the talented author appears to
have been so to bring down to the level of the
unprofessional mind the abstruse science of the
application of vital statistics to life insurance,
that the intelligent reader may follow every step
in ascertaining the liabilities, and the application
of the profits resulting from the business of a
great and leading life insurance company.
It is satisfactory to add that the particular
business which forms the theme of this work ap-
pears to have been most gratifying in its results,
as is sufficiently evidenced by the following ex-
tract from its pages:—
" The statement of accounts for the last twenty
years shows, as a final result, the entire accumula-
tion of funds on the life assurance branch to be, on
the 31st Dec., 1864 £571,046 11 1.
" The amount required to be re-
tained to accumulate at three
per scut. iuterest tO meet the
liabilities of the company, as
shown by the laborious calcula-
tions above described, is 402,087 16 10
" The amount of profit on the last
five years is, therefore 168,958 14 3
Sufficient, even though the interest of money should
only be three per cent., to provide a reversionary
bonus of £2 per cent. per annum, to be added to
the original sum assured of every participating
policy effected previously to the Ist January, 1863,
and.. existing on the Ist January, 1865, for each
entire year that it had been in existence since the
last appropriation of bonus."

Foreign Mail Packet List.

MAILS DUE.

Australia and New Zealand, via Southampton Sept. IS.
Ditto, via Marseilles Sept. 1L
Brazil and Cape Verds, by British packet Sept. 4.
Ditto, by French packet
Cape of Good Hope, Ascension, and at. Helena Sept. 21.
China, Penang, and Singapore, via Southampton—Sept. 1.
Ditto, via Marseilles Sept. 12,
Falkland Islands

Gibraltar, via Southampton
_ .

, .
India (Calcutta), and Ceylon, via Southampton.... Sept. 1.
Ditto, via Marseilles
India (Bombay), via Southampton. Sept. 12.
Ditto, via Marseilles Sept. 4.
Mauritius, via Southampton
Ditto, via Marseilles. Sept. 4.
Newfoundland 4 1 Sept. 13.
Portugal . ..Sept. 4.
Ditto, by private ship to Lisbon..
United States and British North America, by Bri-
tish packet
Ditto, by United States packet, via Southamp-
ton _ .

Ditto, via Cork . •• •
Ditto, by Canadian packet, via Londonderry.. Sept. 1.
west Coast of Africa. Madeira, and Teneriffe Sept. 10.
west Indies and Pacific (except Bahamas, Cuba,
and Mexico
Sept. —.
Bahamas, via New York. Sept. 13
Bermuda, ditto
Sept. 27.
Cuba and Mexico
Aug.

THE WOLVERHAMPTON MURDER.—The prisoner,
Charles Christopher Robinson, has broken the silence
which he had hitherto maintained. Lying in a private ward
that had been specially prepared for him in the South
Staffordshire Hospital, he asked the officer who is placed
to guard him if Harriet (the murdered woman) was dead.
The officer replied that she was. At this the murderer ap-
peared somewhat distressed; but he followed up the inquiry
by asking, " What was done with the 18s. 6d. ?" referring
to the money that, at the time of his arrest, was taken out
of his trousers pockets. Afterwards he went off to sleep.
On awaking another officer was on duty by his bed. To
him he said, " How is Harriet ?" The officer, not know-
ing what had been said by the other policeman, replied,
" She is better." " You tell a different tale from the other
man" (remarked Robinson) ; "he said she was dead." He
was then again told that the girl was dead. Robinson then
said, "I did not know what I was about when I did it ; I
loved her as I do my own life." Having said this he re-
sumed his former quietude.

THE ATLANTIC TELEGRAPH. The Shipping
Gazette says the announcement made by the directors of
the Atlantic Telegraph Company, that it is not their inten-
tion to renew their attempt to recover the cable this year,
is considered by the underwriters interested equivalent to
a total loss, and they have settled with the insurers.
FRENCH ACADEMY OF SCIENCES.—At the last
sitting a paper was received from M. Souviren, who
proposes a method for producing ozone in sufficient quan-
tity to act as a preservative against cholera. Our readers
will remember that in a recent article of ours we recom-
mended a similar course. Another paper was sent in by
Dr. Burg, who advocates copper as a preservative from the
same disease.—M. Guerin-Meneville communicated certain
researches of his on the nature of the wood of the ailan-
thus or Japan varnish-tree, the leaves of which, our readers
are aware, constitute the natural food of a species
of silkworm. It appears that this wood, far from
being soft and of no use, is on the contrary exceedingly
serviceable. M. liaoulx, a civil engineer, finds it superior
to oak and even to elm, which is preferred by wheel-
wrights on account of its strength and flexibility. The
density of the wood of the ailanthus is 0.713, against
0.604 of elm, and 0.751 of oak ; its tenacity is repre-
sented by 32, while that of elm is 24, and that of oak only
19 ; and its flexibility is 0.033, that of elm being 0.023, and
of oak 0.027. It takes polish very well, and though very
hard it does not spoil the carpenter's tooks.—M. Coul-
vier-Gravier sent in his list of the shooting stars ob-
served during the 9th, 10th, and 11th inst., this being one
of the periods of the year in which the phenomenon in
question is most frequent. The average maxi mum was 58
per hour ; the real maximum, 75 per hour, occurring on
the 10th. On the 16th the average fell to 15 per hour; on
the sth it was 20. The phenomenon has be, en on the de-
crease since 1864, and accordingly this year there has been
a diminution of five shooting stars per hour q =pared with
the numbers marked last year.