The Sun.
London, England, 1869-02-04 00:00:00

The twenty-eighth annual general meeting of the
members of this association was held last evening at
the London Tavern, Bishopsgate-street. The meet-
ing was presided over by Mr. Richard Henry Jones,
the Chairman of the Board of Directors.
The advertisement convening the meeting hav-
ing been read,
Mr. W. T. LINFORD, the secretary, read the re-
port, which was as follows :
The Board of Directors have the pleasure to present t o
the members their 28th annual report. The new propo-
sals received during the year were 1,522 for £237,500, of
which were accepted and completed 1,231, for £231,850,
being upwards of £33,000 in excess of the business of the
Previous 12 months. The remaining proposels were de-
ferred, declined, or withdrawn, or are awaiting cim2letion.
The new annual income thus created is .Z. 1,192 143. 11d.
The total income for 1833 was —From premiums, £51,011
3d.; interest on investments, £15,203 7s. Id. Total,
£77,250 43. 10d., and after provision for all claims and ex-
P'nees the balance carried to capital account was
£13,821 ls. 3 1., ; being upwards of 55 per cent. of
Vie gross income. The sum of £1,874 18s. has
bean received in purchase of immediate annuitie One
hundred and twenty policies, assuring with bonuses
the sum of £21,103 19 9 1., have become claims by death.
.1-I'is amount is less by upwards of £B,OOO than the claims
of the previous year. The assets of the association, after
revenant of £19,150 9s. 51. on account of the bonus divi-
ai°ll, amounted on the 31st of December last to £375,318
is. 3,1 The directors retiring by rotation are—Hr. Win.
"tab-hope Sawtell, Mr. George K. Birt, Mr. Richard Price,
iv" being eligible are proposed for re-election. The fol-
c) wing gentlemen, duly qualified, are proposed as auditors
for the ensuing— year:—Mr. James Richard Lloyd, Mr.
Francis Frederick Toole, and Sir. Charles Woolley. The
Board desire to direct the especial attention of the mem-
bers to the figures exhibited by the late bonus division.
33y energetic development of its resources, by watchful and
judicious investment of funds, by the utmost care in the
selection of lives, the Provident Clerks' Association was
enabled to show, as the result of the past five years'
Working ,
, a clear cash profit divisible among its members
of £51,970, producing to the individual assurers a rever-
SiOnary bonus greater by 121 per cent. than any
hitherto declared by the Association. Satisfac-
towiry as this result is the Board look forward
with confidence to still further progress. This, however,
can Only be attained if the great body of the members
numbering now upwards of ten thousand persons, will,
),(:)! their part, strengthen the hands of the Board by their
"'arty and united co-operation ; and, judging from the
Past, the Board look with confidence for that assistance iu
Promoting still further the welfare and prosperity of this
valuable association.
The CHAIRMAN, in rising to move that it be re-
ceived and adopted, said the meeting had heard the
report and balance sheet read, and as he thought it
contained such a full and concise information on
the state of the affairs of the association for the past
Year it rendered it quite unnecessary for him to
detain them for any length of time, even supposing
Ina health would permit him to do so. It was, how-
ever, exceedingly satisfactory to know, even sup-
Posing anything was wanting, that they continue to
reeeed surely and steadily in a progressive manner.
'he new business for the last year exceeded that
of the preceding by 245 polices, and by £38,250
ill amount, producing a new income of £7OO
over that of the preceding year. (Hear, hear.)
They had also a gain under another head, as their
claims
during the last year had been £B,OOO less
than
those paid the year before. With respect to
tli&r investments, they now produced them £4 13s.
6d. per cent., which he thought they would agree
withriL him was an excellent return for their money.
mem-
bers, bad in the year just closed paid no less than
'19,000 in the way of cash bonus amongst the mem-
:a:chi:mg
yet notwitaastanding that pleasing fact, they
had been enabled to add £25,000 to the capital,
their investments amount to the sum
of i 375,000. He was sure there werevnany
who had been associated with him in
the society since its commencement that must
feel the greatest pleasure when they recollect the
Position they then held, and compared it with
that they at present occupied. (Hear, hear.) They
then no doubt looked forward hopefully, but when
they compared it with their present position it
must, he thought, occasion feelings of amazement.
They had gone on year by year increasing in pros-
Perity, and he fervently hoped they would continue to
do 80. There was one paragraph he could not help
adverting to in the report ; he had always referred to
the circumstance at previous meetings, an I he would
do go at the present, and that was the assistance of the
members in increasing the business. It Lad been
satisfactory no doubt, but they must recollect that
they had no less than 10,000 members, and if each
of those were only to intro lace oce n_lw member,
n'-'e What an amount of profit that would bring to
them.
Indeed, on one occasion they had gone the
length of passing a resolution pledging themselves
t: d 0 so, and although it had led to good results,
ilior
extecittds,id not come up to the expectations of the
as many failed to carry out the spirit of
the vot,3. Ile begged to urge upon all present the
consideration of the good effects of increased acti-
vity, because it was to the great body of assurers
tgenerally that the directors looked to enable them
tk° g° en in the prosperous and successful manner
_"eY had hitherto done. (near, hear.) It was through
awinercifulProvidencethat he was amongst them that
bight- (Hear, hear.) He was thankful it was so,
because it would have been trying to him to have
because
absent from them on that :the 28th time he
had
the pleasure of meeting them ; they had always
'eV, Pleasant assemblies, because union and good
"'ship invariably prevailed at their proceedings
hear)—and he strongly hoped that such
'4or the future would always be the case. He would
hot trouble them further on that occasion, because
111itfteeldt the excitement would be too much for him,
and, therefore, he would resume his seat by formally
bloying " That the report and balance-sheet sub-
by the directors be received and adopted."
heers.) Of course he should have great pleasure
_answering the questions any gentleman present
Lnl,g_ht feel disposed to put.
to .1... he resolutions having been seconded, were put
..the meeting, and carried unanimously.
ti:lr• Rime...eel. then moved the following resolu-
tion That the best thanks of the meeting be
peezilyteoart.h,e directors for their exertions during the
(Hear, hear.) They had only to look
atthe balance-sheet to see the care that had been
exercisedia over the funds, and the advantageous way
w,..whieli their capital was invested. Their accounts
s:_re well and clearly kept, their claims had been
v 711) which bore strong evidence of the great care
I,_4lch must have been exercised in the selection of
L'eTeS to bring about such a favourable result.
_He
.13erd they would pass the resolution unanimously.
to
,--1% PACE seconded the resolution, which was put
,tnee meeting and carried unanimously.
Cnarßetaer said the directors felt much ob-
hrth° for the unanimous vote that had been passed
eir favoute He would now, with their pernais-
vflii°zl.l, tnove the re-election of the retiring directors,
Sawtell, Mr. Burt, and Mr. Price.
ottek names were put to the meeting seriatim, and
gentleman was unanimously re-elected.
Obliged ._ Bray said m
, personally he was very much
Part of to the for their confidence, and on the
hi
for 2 colleagues he also had to thank them
e_
the kindness extended to them. They were all
Yery gratifiedbeer,at the manner in which they had
e-elected.
rThe ri _
etir, \-41AIRMAN then moved the re-election of the
Wool-
ley' mg auditors, Messrs. Lloyd, Toole, and Wool-
jevera.eh °f horn were unanimously re-elected.
his
re. LLOYD said he was very much obliged for
h- ..e.lection, and he had to say the same for
"_olleagues whom, he regretted to inform the
"e'eeting
were unfortunately absent through illness.
'night
Was at once say the work of auditing accounts
Nehicirtin_e_rallY heavy, but the admirable way in
ligh the accounts of that association were kept
"ed the duty very much. 'flee details were
aliv_ys"7l3rked out, and he and his brother auditors
e•I eo _ accounts with pleasure. It
(he._
.v.ompliment to say the books were well kept.
NI:
4:1-) therel4as provident
clerks, ought to
thbooks 'well. (Ileac, hear.) However
ere wer
e wentao throw
gh
the
do which e many things that many people ought to
found
,they did not, and therefore when they
fair ee_"li.tt ought to be done, done well, it was but
.rhei'runifu recognition should be made. (Hear, hear.)
ctthat their basiswasentirely
business and were increasing, and so was their
f and that
owing to the
the rer was sound and solid ; and
wag "0 that usually followed when this
the Case
was perfect and complete sac-

MONE.Y MARKET

AND
COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE.

CITY, Two O'CLOCK.
The bank parlour meeting has not resulted in any
change in the rate of discount. Consols maintain
their yesterday's prices ; but the improvement no-
ticed yesterday in the foreign market has not been
maintained. American securities have again re-
ceded.

Consols are 93 for money ; ditto, for Ac-
count, 93/ ; Three per Cent. Reduced, 931 e i;
New T.:ree per Cents, 931 1-4 i ; Exchequer Bills
£l,OOO, 21 per Cent., 8.
Julia Stock, 101 per Cent., April, 1874, —;
ditto 5 per Cent., July, 18x0, 1121 /1; ditto 4 per
per Cent., Oct., 1883, 104

lu the Foreign Matket New Spanish Three per
Cents. receded 4, at 301 30i ; iu Greek Bonds,
at 111 12 ; and -1- in lexica❑ Bonds, at 151 151 ;
Italian Five per Cents. remain firm, at 55-81 552 ;
Turkish Five per Cents. are unchanged, at 3L) SDI ;
and the last Russian Railway Loan is 80 801.
The Honduras Loan is firm, at 86 88 ex coupon} ;
and the Egyptian Seven per Cent. Loan is 73,1 1
ex div.

In the railway share market Great Westerns
are i-; Great Nortl7ern A, ; Metropolitan, ;
ditto Extension, 1 ; Midland, ; North Western,
1 ; and North Eastern (Berwick) 1 better ; Lan-
cashire's are 4 ; Caledonian, ; Sheffield, ; and
Brighton, 1 lower. The prices arc as follows :
Caledonian, 791 80 ; Great Western, 53 1.
American Five-Twenties have improved to 761
761 ; the Ten Forties, 73 to 73,} ; and the Bonds
of 1885, 741 744.
Atlantic and Great Western Railway Deben-
tures have fallen to 37 39, and the Consolidated
Mortgage Bonds, 41 411—a fall of 11 and per
cent. respectively. Eries have given way 1 dol.,
to 941 214.
Great Indian Peninsula Railway Fours are 93
94 ex div. ; Atlantic 'Telegraph Original is marked
33 35 ; the Eight per Cent. Preference Shares 441 ;
and Anglo-American Telegraph 221 22f.
At the annual meeting of shareholders of the
London and County Bank, held this day, the re-
port was adopted, and a dividend of 6 per cent., as
recommended in the report, was declared for the
half-year, with a bonus of 21 per cent., both free of
income tax, making the dividend for the whole year
Hi per cent.

A further sum of £70,000 in gold was withdrawn
from the Bank yesterday, making a total of
£259,000.

The Swiftsure, from Melbourne, has brought
£129,000.

The Great Eastern Railway Company have given
notice to the Board of Trade for an inspectiou of
the Dunmow line, with the view to its being opened
in the course of a few weeks.

The advices from Havannah state that the par-
ticulars had been received of the defeat of the in-
surgents at Bayamo, and their flight to the moun-
tains. They are alleged to have sacked the city
before setting it on fire, and the conflagration is
stated to have lasted three days. The Diario says
that the rebel General, Jesus Perez, has offered to
surrender with all his followers provided Zan uncon-
ditional pardon be granted, and that the Spanish
general at Santiago has conceded these terms.

At the meeting of the City of London Brewery
Company yesterday, Sir James Duke in the chair,
the profits for 1868 were stated at £64,166. Of
this sum £3,000 has been written off the leasehold
properties, £4,125 has been added to reserve
(making that fund £50,000), and £20,528 was paid
as an interim dividend in August. Out of the
balance of £38,813 a dividend of 6i per cent. was
now declared, making a total distribution of 10 per
cent. for the year, and leaving £6OO to be carried
forward.

The report of the English and Foreign Credit
Company (Limited), to be presented on the 9th
inst., shows an available total of £7,189, and re-
commends a dividend of 51. per share, which will
leave £4,199 to be carried forward.
At the meeting held yesterday of the shareholders
of the City of London Brewery Company (Li-
mited) the accounts of the directors for the past
year were accepted, and a dividend at the rate of
61 per cent. declared. The retiring directors and
auditor were re-elected.

A meeting of the shareholders of the English and
Foreign Credit Company is announced to take place
on 'Tuesday next, the 9th of February, when the
following report will be submitted :—" The accounts
which the directors have now the pleasure of sub-
mitting, to the shareholders for the half-year end-
ing 31st December, 1868, show a net profit (includ-
ing the balance brought forward from the preceding
half-year) of £7,189 13s. 11d. The directors
recommend that out of this amount the usual
dividend of 55. per share be declared, and that the

'HE PROVIDENT CLERKS' MUTUAL LIFE cess. 'He would earnestly urge upon all those
ASSURANCE ASSOCIATION. present the duty of furthering the beneficent effects
of life assurance. (Hear, hear.) Instances of its
good were continually occurring, and one instance
of it had just occurred within his own knowledge.
A person had but a few days previous to his de-
parture to Australia insured his life, and he had
but just arrived in that colony, when he unfortu-
nately drowned. The money was at once paid, and
he believed that the amount of his policy
was the only asset left to his survivors. (Hear,
hear.) There was nothing that could give a man
so much pleasure as the trouble he took in further-
ing life assurance. (Hear, hear.)
The CHAIRMAN said all the labours of the direc-
tors would be neutralised without the a tsistance of
an efficient staff. He therefore had to move a
vote of thanks to Mr. Linford, Mr. Stubbs, and the
other members of the staff for their efficient services
during the present year. (Hear, hear.)
The resolution was put to the meeting and car-
ried unani.nously.
Mr. LINFORD returned thanks for the king re-
cognition by the meeting of the services of the
staff. Ile felt an additoted pleasure because the
vote was moved by the Chairman, who knew the
work that had been done, and therefore could tes-
tify that the vote had been fairly earned. For
himself, he could say that he did not believe any
life assurance office possessed a more able and zea-
loas staff than they did. There was one point in
connection with the growth of their income to
which he desired to call their attention. The
premium charged upon young lives were extremely
moderate, and the result was that while £230,000
of new policies produced only £6,200 per annum
in their office, a similar sum in another office whose
report he had that morning read produced
£9,600. This showed that the office in
question had either assured much older lives
or charged much higher premiums—probably
both of these elements contributed to the result.
If, however, their income grew with less rapidity
it was quite evident they would receive the pre-
miums for a longer period, their lives being
younger, and they would have more chance
to compensate them. (Hear, hear.) He could
give another instance to that mentioned by Mr.
Lloyd, which also occurred within his own
knowledge. An old member, who had effected
an insurance on his life, was accidentally
killed only a day or two since, in walking
home from his office, having to cross a rail-
way, and had it not been for his prudence and
foresight his wife and three children would have
been penniless. Fortunately his life policy
would be the means of alleviating in a great
measure the sorrow his death occasioned. (Hear,
hear) He begged again to thank them for their
kind recognition of their services.
Mr. LLOYD moved a cordial vote of thanks to
the chairman, at the same time expressing the
great pleasure he was sure they all felt at seeing
him amongst them, and their fervent hope that he
might long be spared to preside over the manage-
ment of their affairs. (Loud cheers).
The vote was enthusiastitally carried, and the
chairman having briefly acknowledged their com-
pliment, at the same time stated that the business
for the present year, from the Ist of January,
already amounted to 116 policies for £26,900.
-Hear, hear.) The proceedings then terminated.