The Sun.
London, England, 1869-09-27 00:00:00

REPORT OF THE DARTMOOR COMMITi'

The report of the Special Committee on ShraPnel;
Segment shell has just been issued. From a careful an`
of the whole practice, the committee are led to make
following recommendations :
1. The segment shells fitted with concussion fe'gci
alone are superior to either Shrapnel with time or Li
cussion fuses, or the segment with both fuses comb/0
The latter shell should, therefore, be retained as a CO
sion shell. nj
2. All the present service metal fuses are defective, a"
liable to premature explosions ; they should not, therefore,
be retained in the service, and immediate exPeriinellti'
should be instituted with a view of introducing an efficiell

concussion fuse.
3. Th,

adoption °

.ne committee recommend the partial
aloe,
Shrapnel shell to be fitted with Boxer's time-fuses
the proportion being GO per cent. segment to 40 Per col

Shrapnel. 9
0
4. They recommend a further trial of Lieutenant I`4r°`
" range-finder." f 2
5. They are strongly impressed with the value °;,30
howitzer for field service, and recommend the introd'itb
of a muzzle-leading piece of this nature, suitable forrto
angle firing, and capable of throwing common shell 1"-
large bursting charge; and they recommend the withdr°
of common shell from the present equipment. rsto
6. They urge the value of more careful and 4-I°lir-cat•
laying in serving field guns, and the necessity of ine,
ing the importance of accuracy as against rapidity of 1-h'er
7. They recommend that the packing of the livai,'o-3
boxes should be reconsidered, and a more simple teeth
introduced.

TIeADE AND FINANCE.

LONDON, SATURDAY E°'
The great event of the week in the financial 'Ater° :00'
presentation of a petition for tho winding-up of the :In 0
pean Assurance Company. The history of this cone- 00i
not very dissimilar to that of the Albert. In the conrewee
its career it has swallowed up no less than thirtrt tl3B
other offices. We do not intend to refer t° to of
events which have at length terminated in this stgaich
affairs, preferring to await the definite informaden Dot
will doubtless be extracted in the law courts. It Di%
be out of place, however, to inquire into the best inc 3 e
;(.1 these
averting, or rather of meeting, the suspicion vi.°—
unfortunate events have cast upon life assurance gcn„,- 0 0
The safety of our present system of life assure
ice
capable of being proved with mathematical Pr 7 101,
No business is liable to less risk, or more easily e°114;11:00
The offices are not exposed to the dangers to whie7l6
and other commercial companies are at times liaise/he
mean to sudden panics or runs—and the liabilities •01)
offices are ascertainable at any moment by fixed —e „pest°
9 141
almost preclude the possibility of error. It Wald
therefore, that only culpable negligence' or ragilglties:
tion could lead a life assurance company into a ~k• -ell
But even should misfortune—which is most nnicas
lead a concern into embarrassment, such should aP.,,P; 1
the accounts immediately, if these were stated ell
er"7;9o,
red and recognised plan. It is to the want of a propgreo
of accounts that the present difficulties are Ino.l
measure attributed, but we doubt much if figure! the OP,
recommend themselves to the public. That this '9 bi the
is evident from the last balance-sheet published t
European, where the uncalled capital is (We'll see dell
as an available asset. The following charges 011 the 014
side should have at once provoked alarm, as the
tell is obvious in the extreme : 90
1861 019'0
Proprietor's Dec.,1867. 31De!N -00.4
£182,754 Subscribed caPiw 490,'
Sundry accounts
4542595:646449 SutunedAryszauranccoucenter.". a
Life Assurance Fun..
o.* 10
£757,867 I
The capital called up was precisely the saine a soolla
above periods, and the larger amount includes °Leal
uncalled. The great diminution of the Life roe eleed
Fund would apparently attract the attention o' 10;
heedless, but beyond an unpleasant rumour tbat °'
0
been current amongst well-informed people, 0,1
nothing has been said on the subject. It w°111,,,,
very little, therefore, whether the recogiliscatec'till
accounts were instituted or not, as there wow,' -011(10°''oe
large majority of persons who would place little 'Ler apoii
upon figures, preferring rather to trust to the 03Tcoos, a
the directorate, or to other similar reconarcende , of th,o
is some satisfaction, however, to perceive that Ov-boiae'
leading offices have published the figures of thejAred tij
in full—notably•the Provident, and our unclu3lilijoif
to insurers is to avoid those offices which do not $1"
j. to
excellent example. bjee" • 0
The premium at New York has been su coati° ,
c
most violent fluctuation this week, owing to the 1000eiji:
of the Wall-street clique. The latest news'ooplete.:lt
shews that the combination has been iincen3c,i-
overthrown, in consequence of the ann
by Mr. Boutwell of the sale of fe'llr,
of gold dollars, and of the purchase of four lore&
bonds. In the meantime the premium had been Tress-0::,
the ridiculously high figure of 162 i ; but on hI33S t,i
notice being published, an immediate reaction to ti Mich
ea
the result. The New York exchange on Londo.n'
retareos
one time was nominally quoted at 104, suddenlisbipeic
to 108, a figure which will preclude the forth
er
of bullion from this side.

aer

-------_,--
The Duke of Cambridge bas returned fr°11%;(10,
many, official
duties at the gorse Glib-tif
r gb
he John. Bull states that the Bishop of
I:cliil3,,io stor
(Dr. Terrott) has resigned his see. The election
0
cessor must take place within five weeks. fat
The Orangemen of Belfast are preen that opt
"grand demonstration" on the sth of November ia tbs to
is not, however, to take any processional forch
It or
an out of-door display. ..tteet‘
It was announced officially at tProf 01,.-
leg of the Scarborough Council that the iii KM
will visit that town on the let of NonSmbefi 104'
/4
and 9) Itad Louclopboyougb.: -