The Sun.
London, England, 1853-06-15 00:00:00

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last annual meeting,

I ',RICE SD.

ptoradcot, every formiceonCho o
Chobham-heath,
rnm-heilaittahr,y operation,comprising,
as
willi bring u
it is intended
results far
field-dayssatisfactoryfarmoreand re vainedwsi.mpTorhtoaunt
hthaonotmhpoaserod
of
with the martial displays of continental Europe,g the en-
campment in Surrey may appear a very contemptible
affair, and
we at home here are more disposed to
though Surrey
smile at those who treat gravely a matter which
hits mainly a tthe minor comforts of our soldirs
still there is a good deal to be gathered from this
Chobham encampment which is at once consoling to our
pride and assuring when we look at the question of our
military resources. The numbers are small, certainly ;
but the men are unsurpassed by any army of the world
for size and strength, for rigid discipline, and for the
material excellence of their equipment. The House-
hold troops, horse and foot, may be rather spoiled by
a luxurious life, alternating between Windsor and
the metropolis. Let them be closely examined, how-
ever ; let foreigners go out to Chobham and see how
they look there. Their earth kitchens may be some-
what more carefully made than those belonging to the
line, their horses better provided for, and some faint
efforts at furniture in their mess-rooms ; but they are
as fine and as noble a body of soldiers as any general
could desire to wield, and one could not help feeling
some pardonable pulsations of national vanity at seeing
them yesterday a conspicuous feature of the camp. The
troops of the line, however, are the strength of the
British army, and must always be its chief pride. In
them are supposed to be happily blended the charac-
teristic spirit of three or four n itionalities, and the his-
torians of our wars affect to trace in battle the firm and
sustained courage of English regiments, the devotion of
the Highlanders, or the wild impetuosity of the Irish.
If there be truth in this view of our military force,
it is well developed at the camp, where, yesterday,
as you passed from one set of tents to another, you
heard the mother tongue spoken in unmistakeable
varieties of accent. Now a mellifluous brogue saluted
the ear, and a little beyond it was the broad dialect of
the land of cakes, while the waving tartans and plumed
bonnets appealed similarly to the eye. The Sappers
and Miners—probably the most intelligent and the best
educated men in our army—make the least external
show. They, with contingents from, each regiment,
have for some time past been preparing the ground for
the purposes of an encampment. They have sunk wells,
formed reservoirs, erected stables, and made kitchens.
These kitchens, constructed by them, are a decided im-
provement on the old form in use during the Peninsular
war, and which some of the regiments, we observe, still
practise. They economise fuel, and enable cooking to
be carried on more quickly and in larger quantities ; but,
on the other hand, they are perhaps a little more trouble.
some to construct. The experience and practise of the
camp yesterday were mainly centred on this point, for,
of course, when the men came on the ground, after their
tents were up, the first thing requisite was to
feed them, and when that was done the rain had
effectually cleared the common of spectators. It must
not be supposed that the culinary art, as practised in
the midst of war's alarms, is an uninteresting object of
study. Any thing more rude and accordant with cam-
paigning it is hardly possible to conceive. A trench is
dug with a short mud chimney at one end ; a fire is
lighted at the other, and the top of the trench being
covered over with turf, pots are stuck down into holes
made for them in this covering to boil ; this is the Sap-
pers' mode. The earth kitchen approved of by the ex-
isting regulations is a still rougher contrivance, and one's
thoughts in looking at either naturally revert with satis-
faction to sea-coal fires, ranges, ovens, hot plates, and
all the other appliances of modern gastronomy. The
Artillery, like the Sappers, are obliged to be able to turn
their hands to any sort of work more than the men of
the line, and they gave excellent evidence of their ex-
pertness yesterday by the quickness with which they
took up their position.
Chobham-common, which has been selected for the
encampment, is a wild, extensive, heath-clad tract of
land, about three miles from Chertsey. The lower parts
of it are marshy. the high grounds covered with a
scrubby dry turf. Its extent, its freedom from enclo-
sures or wood, and other considerations, on the whole,
well adapt it for the use to which it is now put. The
wet weather of the last two days has, of course, given
the troops no very favourable impression of the site ;
but, looking at it with the impartiality and coolness
which not being compelled to sleep there enables one to
exercise, it seems impossible to deny that the camp is
finely situated. A succession of swelling heights formed
into a crescent-shaped ridge runs through the centre of
the common, and upon its concave edge the encamp-
ment rests, with a northern aspect. The tents,
therefore, looked at from the north, form graceful and
regular hollow lines, advanced at each end and
receding in the centre, along the verge of the horizon.
The Cavalry, with their spacious canvas stables, occupy
the extreme right ; then the three battalions of the
Guards ; then the 42d Highlanders, the 95th, the 50th,
the 38th, the 93d, and the 23d. The Artillery and Rifles
occupy the extreme left of the position. Each regiment
keeps its boundaries distinct from the rest, and the ar-
rangement of tents is in regular order by companies,
the men in their bell tents, 15 to each tent, in front ;
the officers in the rear. Behind them, again, the
mess-room, the hospital, the canteen, the kitchen, the
stables, and the women's huts. Of course, the appear-
ance of the encampment varies with the arm of the
' service which occupies it. The Cavalry. stables and
those of the Artillery give either wing a rather booth-
like effect, but the ridge, dotted regularly wtth the
symmetrical tents of the infantry, is exceedingly strik-
ing, and the swarms of red and white coats moving about
like ants add immensely to the animation of the scene.
It was an interesting and pretty sight yesterday to see
each regiment come in upon the ground allotted to it,
the band playing at its head, and then, after a short
pause, at the word of command, all the tents raised at
once, and as if by magic. The men deserve great praise
for the expertness which they all showed in this matter.
Of course, the main interest of the encampment will
be found in the military evolutions which are to follow.
Yesterday's proceedings were entirely confined to the
ordinary details of pitching tents and taking possession
of the site, and making all needful preliminary arrange-
ments. The occasion attracted a number of the aristo-
cracy from town, and Lord Hardinge was on the ground
for some time.

NAVAL INTELLIGENCE.

PORTSMOUTH, JUNE 14.

The Victoria and Albert royal yacht, Captain Crispin,
hauled out of the fitting basin this evening, thoroughly
refitted.
The Geyser's officers and crew are not to commission
the Vesuvius steam-sloop, the crew having petitioned
the Admiralty to pay them off, which their lordships
have acceded to.
The Neptune, 120, Captain E. H. Scott, has had the
whole of her copper stripped off, and will be newly cop -
pered.
The Plumper, 9, screw•corvette, was taken out to-
day, by Captain Henderson, as the steam reserve, to
Stokes' Bay, to try her engines.
The Rolla, 6, apprentices' instruction-brig, Lieutenant
Fenwick, of the Victory, in charge, returnei last night
from a nine days' cruise to the westward.
Commodore Vanderbilt, in his fine yacht North Star,
with a large party of ladies and gentlemen of Southamp-
ton on board, having made the circuit of the Isle of
Wight, ran two or three times through the anchorage at
Spithead, to give the company a good opportunity of
seeing the fine squadron (Duke of Wellington, 131, Ajax,
60, Blenheim, 60, Hogue, 58, Edinburgh, 58, Sidon, 22,
Odin, 16) moored there. On first coining up to Spithead,
Commodore Vanderbilt fired a royal salute, of which
act of gratuitous courtesy no notice was taken until the
Commodore and his guests must have landed at or been
near Southampton. Preparations were making on the
garrison battery to return the American gentleman's sa•
lute, which he fired about 4 o'clock.

PLYMOUTH, JUNE 14.

Her Majesty's ship Queen, 116, Capt. F. T. Michell;
in the Sound, is ordered to take on board six months
provisions. She received powder yesterday.

WOOLWICH, JUNE 14.
APPOINTMENTS.

Commodore Henry Eden, Superintendent of Woolwich
Dockyard, to be Naval Aide de•Camp to the Queen, in
the room of Captain William Fanshawe Martin, pro-
moted to the rank of Rear-Admiral.

Lieutenant William E. Fisher (1845), to the Horatio,
24, screw steam guard-ship at Sheerness.
Chaplain and Naval Instructor— Rev. R. M. Inskip
(1836), to thelMagicienue, 16, paddle-wheel steam-fri-
gate, at Devonport.
Surgeon—John I. Crawford, M.D. (1843), to Horatio.
Naval Cadets—A. B. Wodehouse and H. A. T.
Phipps, to the St. Jean d'Acre, 101, screw steam-ship, at
Devonport.
Clerk's Assistant—F. J. P. Shapoote, to the St. Jean
d'Acre.
Benjamin S. Jackson, W. H. Aldham, Thomas W.
Webster, Charles Evershed, Herbert de Carteret, and
J. W. Ashton, to he masters' assistants.
Acting Gunner William Dove, of the Excellent, is
confirmed to that rank.

DEATH Or ADMIRAL ALLEN.—Admiral Allen, the
second in seniority on the reserved half-pay list,
died at Torpoint, Cornwall, on the 4th inst. He
entered the navy in 1787, was in the Penelope,
32, and assisted, in company with the Iphigenia,
32, at the capture off St. Domingo, on the 25th
of November following, of the French 36-gun frigate
L'lnconstante, after a close action of half an hour, in
which the Penelope had one man killed, and seven, in-
cluding himself, wounded. Mr. Allen, who obtained a
lieutenantcy on the 10th of December in the same year,
in the Convert, 36, Captain John Lawford, was unfor-
tunately wrecked in the West Indies, March 8, 1794 ;
was made commander Dec. 6, 1796 ; and, in the Echo,
sloop, on the Jamaica station, captured, July 3, 1799,
L'Amazon, French letter of marque, of 10 guns and 60
men. He was posted April 29, 1802. During the last
two years of' the war, Captain Allen officiated as agent
for prisoners of war at Newfoundland, His official pro-
motion to the rank of rear-admiral took place August
17, 1840. The admiral was in the receipt of a maim
for wounds of 250/.

•

BLE LIFE POLICY
N T.

company, was held on
:avern—W. Adams, Esq.,
X the advertisement calling
,tion of the minutes of the

Mr. D. ALISON, the secretary, read the following
report, and statement of the company's accounts :
"In presenting their annual report to your consi-
deration, the board are enabled again to submit a
statement showing a highly satisfactory progress in
the business of the company. The balance-sheet, and
also a statement of the receipts and expenditure
for the year 1852, and a statement and valuation
of the assets and liabilities of the company as at 31st De-
cember last, audited and certified, are presented to the meet-
ing, from which it appears that, after providing for the pay-
ment of every policy and every outstanding debt, including
preliminary expenses attending the formation of the com-
pany, the establishment of agencies, and every other ex-
penditure, there was at that period a balance of 39,3981. Os.
ld. in favour of the company. The difference between the
value of current premiums and future claims is, of course,
not yet realised ; but a low rate of interest—only 3 per cent.
—having beeiftissumed as thebasis of the calculation, and as
the rate of mortality adopted has been found to be higher than
the company has experienced, and no part of the profit to
arise from discontinued and surrendered policies has been
included in the valuation, the estimate must be regarded as
sufficiently low. The first declaration of profits (which be-
long exclusively to the assured is by your deed of constitu-
tion appointed to be made at the annual general meeting of
1854, and will be applicable to those who shall have paid
five annual premiums, thereafter the profits will be appor-
tioned annually, and the board expect that the first reduc-
tion of premiums to be declared at your next annual meet-
ing will exceed 25 per cent. In the year embraced in the
accounts now presented, 570 proposals have been received,
for the assurance of 177,6281. 25., of which 430 have been
accepted and completed, being rather more than that of the
preceding year, assuring 115,201/. 12s. 6d., and yieldig in
annual premiums the sum of 4,2631. 12s. sd. The num-
ber of policies issued since the establishment of the com-
pany, up to the Ist instant, has been 1,831, and the total
sum assured 531,115/. ls. 6d.; after deducting the policies
that have become claims, those that have expired and
those discontinued, there remain 1,347 policies, yielding
an annual income of 15,262/. 14s. 2d. The claims of
last year amounted only to 2,5501., making the total
amount of the claims from the commencement of the com-
pany 6,491/. 145., being much smaller in expectancy; tending
to show that due caution has been used in the selection of
lives. The premiums received upon expired and lapsed
policies, which no longer continue obligations on the com-
pany, have amounted to 3,2601. 16s. 4d. In appreciating
the satisfactory progress of the company and its present con-
dition, two important facts will be kept in mind ; in the first
place, that there is no proprietary body whose funds might
have been applied in loan transactions, and by that means
have increased the business of the company, but whose an-
nual dividends must be paid to some extent out of the pre-
miums of the assured, thereby diminishing their profits; and
in the second place, that the board have declined, sometimes
at the hazard of displeasing active agents, to enter into any
annuity transactions wjiich, although they would have added
to the available funds, and might have been used to in-
crease the assurance business, would have more than pro-
portionately increased the liabilities of the company, and
the recent reduction in the rate of interest has shown that
the resolution to decline that kind of business has been
salutary and advantageous. Since your last meeting great
exertions have been made by interested parties to depre-
ciate the value of the principle of indisputability, as applied
to the practice of life assurance. The steady and success-
ful progress of this company, who introduced that valua-
ble principle, without which no life policy can be a
real assurance or a complete security, and a general de-
manck on the part of the public for its adoption, have
stimulated the exertions of those who refuse to grant in-
disputable policies, and the fact of this company having
refused to recogni se a demand whichwas in fact already satis-
fied, has been seized noon as an argument against the
principle of indisputability, although the circumstances do
not warrant any such conclusion. A father, having a
pecuniary interest in his son's attaining a certain ago,
applied for an ordinary assurance on his life, payable
whenever he should happen to die, which was declined
by the company, as being a speculative or gambling as-
surance. The father thereupon made a statement as to
the amount and endurance of his interests in his son's
life, and a special assurance was granted for two years,
for which a corresponding small premium was paid.
The son attained the age to which the contingency ap-
plied, and the father received the full amount of the sum
assured against. The policy, having been applied for
and granted merely for a definite and special purpose,
and paid for as such, necessarily terminated with the
risk. In the present str to of the question, the board are
precluded from entering more fully into tho circumstances
of the case ; but it is manifest that the demand is alike
untenable and unjust, and that the doctrine of indispu-
tability is not in the slightest degree affected by it. The
directors and members cannot but feel highly gratified at
seeing the position the company has attained, and the
members are again reminded that the profits which belong
exclusively to themselves may be much increased by their
own individual exertion.

RECEIPTS.
From the Ist January to the 31st December, 1852.
Balance at bankers, 31st December, 1851 . £4,431 6 10
„ in the hands of secretary . . 16 1 5
agents . . 2,354 11. 8
ft .
Premiums on life policies . £4,263 12 5
Renewal premiums . £9,807 19 1

Interest on loans to policy-holders .
Purchase of policiei • • .

14,071 11 6
318 16 5
153 17 4