The Sun.
London, England, 1869-10-29 00:00:00

BALANCE-SHEET FOR JUNE 30, 1869•

DR.—Assurance Fund—Value of gross sums assured
and bonus amounting to £7,479,190, as per valuation in
1867, £3,590,461 19s; value of gross premium income
amounting to £291,374 per annum, and re-assurances as
per valuation in 1867, £3,401,463 55.; difference, £188,998
14s. Prospective balance of general balance-sheet of
assets and liabilities for 31st July, 1867, £665,591 12s Bd. ;
gross assurance fund, £851,590 6s Bd.; less bonus distri-
buted, £60,000 ; reserve accumulated in realised assets up
to 31st July, 1867, for assurance and endowment policies,
£794,590 6s. Bd. ; ditto for annuity policies, £100,723 14s. ;
surplus accumulated in realised assets since 31st July,
1867, to this date, £323,705 4s. 4d. ; making the total as-
surance and annuity reserve fund at this date £1,219,019
ss. Shareholders capital, fully subscribed £lOO,OOO, and
paid thereon, £21,712. Claims admitted, waiting settle-
ment (including bonus), £29,759 ls. Other accounts ad-
mitted and waiting settlement in due course, 85,125 4s.
10d. Grand total, £1,275,615105. 10d.
Cu.—investments (of which particulars are given in

the printed reports distributed amongst the members)—
Government Funds, Railway Debenture and Preference
Bonds with Government guarantee, and Mortgages,
amounting in all to £1,`3;5,611 10s. 10d.
It will be seen by this statoinent that the fund wholly
available for the assurance and annuity contracts
amcunted on the 30th Juno last to £1,219,019 ss. As

£38,82-1 10s. 6d. (the amount received since July 30, 1867,
for the grant of annuities) has been ',cry nearly balanced
by £35,246 ls. Bd. (paid since that time by the society to
annuitants), the reserve now required for the annuity
fund cannot differ much from the sum reserved for that
class of coutracts in 1867. The addition to be made, if
any, to the amount of £100,723 14s. reserved for annuity
fund in 1867, could scarcely exceed the difference be-
tween the sums received and the sums paid since that
date. Therefore, assuming that the annuity fund now
requires an increase of say £4,000, thus raising the total
annuity fund to £104,723 145., it follows that
£1,114,295115. would be wholly available for the assur-
ance and endowment policies. The directors have always
bestowed much thought and care on the investmentsof the
Society; these are fully stated in the general balance
sheet. Being of opinion that some portion of the funds
of the society should be invested where the assured re-
side, on the Continent of Europe, the directors have, after
consultation and mature consideration, selected for invest-
ment some of the very test securities to be found in their
respective countries. The whole of the securities or docu-
ments representing these investments have been recently
verified by the directors, and attested by the auditors. In
consequence of the amount of labour involved in the
examination and audit of the voluminous accounts
and documents required for such a detailed statement
as the foregoing, rendered more and more intricate
by the ramifications of the society, the directors recom-
mend the shareholders to take into consideration some
suitable increase to the honorarium allowed to the auditors.
It is with deep regret that the directors, while making
their report of the occurrences of the past year, so satis-
factory in all other respects, should have to announce the
death of two of the members of the board—George Lowe,
Esq., Fellow of the Royal Society, and William Tabor,
Esq. Both these gentlemen had been connected with the
society from the very commencement, Mr. Lowe having
been first auditor and then director, and Mr. Tabor hay-
in held the position of chairman from the very foundation
of the society to the day of his death, an uninterrupted
period of more than twenty years. Their uniform integrity
of purpose and untiring devotion to the interests of the
society, together with their personal worth, gained for
them the respect, consideration and esteem of every mem-
ber of the board. The directors, after mature considera-
tion, have, in the room of the late Mr. Lowe, elected A.
Hutchison Since, Esq., who represents the interest in this
society of the late William Smee, Esq., of the Bank of
England, one of the original Trustees of the "Gresham,"
and who was one of its chief supporters in early years.
The directors have also elected William Trego, Esq., ono
of the original and largest shareholders of the society, to
be a director, in the room of the late Mr. Tabor, his
former partner. The directors recommend these appoint-
ments for confirmation by the shareholders. The
directors retiring on the present occasion are—W. H.
Thornthwaite, Edward Sol:y, F.R.S., and J. L. Hancock,
Esqrs., who, being eligible, are recommended by the
board to constitute the list for re-election. The auditors
—G. 11. Ladbury, William Whitelock, and William Webb
Venn, Esqrs., retire, and again offer themselves for elec-
don. The directors refer with much gratification to the
result of the arrangements which they have made from
time to time for the gradual development of the resources
of the society, and which, up to the present, have fully
answered their expectations. The directors anticipate
that the eat, naive and valuable organisation which has
been consolidated by them at the cost of much
time, thought, and labour, will yield its legiti-
mate fruit in an increasing amount of new
business. It must be borne in mind that the company has
steadily progressed from year to year, and arrived at its
present magnitude and sound financial position without
amalgamation, or transfer of the business of any other
company wha.soever, and solely by its own effort and
methodical course of action from first to last. Every one
of the 52,602 proposals made to the society up to the 30th
June, 1869, has been the subject of careful examination
and separate study ; of these proposals, 9,782 have
been declined as not helot; suitable risks for the
society to undertake. The boara have instructed the
actuary to investigate the rate of mortality
amongst the members assured in the Gresham Society
from its commencement. This investigation, when
complete, will elicit very important information. From
observations made by the actuary, of 14,913 years of life
exposed to risk, it appears that the Gresham mortality was
represented by 176 deaths; whereas, according to the
office experience rate of mortality upon which the tables
of this company have been calculated, the deaths to be
expected should have been 203, a result which shows that
the risks themselves are of an excellent character. The
actuarial investigation of the policies for the purpose of
awarding bonus, is now made triennially, and the result
of the next valuation will be declared at the annual

meeting in 1870. The directors have already ordered the
valuation to be commenced, and it is now in progress.

The unqualified confidence of the directors in the finan-
cial strength of the company ; in the excellence of the in-
surance risks undertaken; and the integrity, loyalty, in-
telligence, and industry of its executive at home, and
throughout the continent of Europe, determine them to
persevere in the course which has hitherto led to such
marked success, and they rely for support upon the hearty
co-operation of every member of the society.
(Here follow extracts from the valuation sheets of the
Gresham Life Assurance Society, 31st July, 1867, at a
rate of mortality in accordance with the experience of the
seventeen offices, and 4 per cent. as the rate of interest on
investment.)
The CHAIRMAN, in moving the adoption of the
report, congratulated the members upon the satis-
factory report which they had just heard read. It
would be observed that the form of the report
varied from the condensed model which the directors
had hitherto adopted, but the present, like all for-
mer reports, showed the same prosperity that had
year by year been the distinguishing feature of the
society. The balance-sheet appended to the pre-
sent report has been drawn up to meet the require-
ments set out in a bill before Parliament

last year, and although the directors did not en-
tirely agree that the calling upon all life associa-
tions to give reports in one uniform way, he
thought it right on the present occasion to adopt
the plan, and thus anticipate the good results. The
report was so full, it contained so much detail,
that it would become tedious in him to occupy their
time in pointing out any particular item con-
tained therein. They would see that they had dur-
ing the year received no less than 4,727 new pro-
posals for the sum of £1,972,244, every one of
which had been most rigidly examined ; and the
result was, the directors had declined 569, post-
poned 31, and accepted 4,127, assuring the sum of
£1,675,783. Thus they would see that, though
the directors were laudably anxious to increase their
business, they did not do so at the expense of pru-
dence. The gross income of the society from pre-
miums only amounted to no less a sum than
£335,726, of which £56,640 was for new premiums.
(Hear, hear.) They had very greatly increased
their investments during the year, and, putting
aside the shareholders capital and every known ac-
count, there remained a fund of no less than
£1,219,019, which ho thought was enough to
thoroughly satisfy the most ardent amongst them.
(Hear, hear.) He could not resume his scat with-

out referring to the great loss the society had met
with by the death of Mr. Tabor and Mr. Lowe,

both of which liwere gentlemen who had devoted
the whole of their energies to the advancement of

the society, and he was sure the regret he felt was
shared in by every gentleman amongst them. He
then formally moved the reception of the report.
Mr. ALFRED SMEE, in seconding the motion, said
their gross income of £335,000 for premiums had
been achieved by single policies, not by taking
masses. (Hear, hear.) They had always set their
faces against taking over large masses of business ;
they had invariably considered each life separately,
and their present position was the result of that
wise precaution. He did not believe that a given
number of lives would always obey the average,
and those who thought differently would i❑ the
end discover they had been following a danger-
ous fallacy. As he said before, the Gresham
well examined every life, and were governed by the
result, and not at all by what was popularly called
the average rate of mortality. The carrying out
the principle they had started with had brought
them great success, and that success they might rely
upon would not be interfered with. They had struck
out the right course at first, and to that they had
hitherto, and would for the future, steadily adhere.
They did not want to take over business that did not
pay. (Hear, hear.) They could secure enough of
that which was safely remunerative, and the large
bonus they had paid had, in fact, been a return of
the capital invested four or five times over, and the
nothingness that remained of theirs in tl,e society,
if he might so call it, was worth £3 in the open
market. (Cheers.) They had had the gratify-
ing intelligence communicated to them that
the new income this year amounted to
£56,640 ; but they must not think that

that had been accomplished without incessant
labour and thought on the part of the board ; that
he was sure would be at once conceded. (Hoar,

hear.) Ile could only urge upon all to impress
upon their friends the importance of not
delaying the duty of life assurance, and
he was sure they would see the Gresham
offered them a safe and solid security. Their
growth had been unprecedented, and whilst they
adhered to the policy which had animated them at
starting, their success, he felt quite certain, would
go on increasing. (Cheers.)
The report was then put to the meeting, and
carried unanimously.
On the motion of Mr. Toulman, seconded by
Mr. G. Tyler, the retiring directors and auditors
were re-elected.
A cordial vote of thanks having been awarded to
the chairman, the directors, and the actuary and
secretary, the proceedings terminated.

Ipm--
distanced his competitors, sawing in 7I minutes
513 feet from the rough log. Mr. Cox, of Char-
lottesville, who was about the engine all day, gave
this testimony at the coroner's inquest :
" I tried three times to get the engineer (who was killed)
to run with more water and less steam ; I did not see the
water up to two gauges at any time in tho day ; when they
were not running them there was no water in any gauge
just before the explosion I went up and examined the
water gauges and indicator; there was no water at either
gauge, and the steam at 120; in les3 than half a minute
the explosion occurred ; I had just left the engine and get
about 20 feet. . . . Any practical machinist could
have run the engine at a safe rate and given all the porter
that was needed; I was fearful all day that something
might happen, but my business called me then, and I
stayed, hoping it might get through safely."
Now let us glance at what happened to the people
whose intellect did not warn them to keep clear of
the mad engine driver, that had resited all efforts
to add water, allowing the boiler in parts to get red
hot when steam goes off like powder
The scene around the immediate vicinity of the explo-
sion was dreadful. A dozen dark pools of blood, not.
tered about, showed where men had fallen and died.
human leg, torn from the body, lay at a distance of 30 or
40 yards from the spot where the boiler had exploded-
Blood, brains, hair, and fragments of human flesh Were
sprinkled over the freshl:-sawa planks. recently cut by
the mill. In one place we saw a fragment of a body
i
which looked like it might have been the abdominal Nval
of a man lying, burnt and blackened, in the sawdust. '6'
human ear, cut from the head, had been deposited in one
of a pile of hats which had been picked up in the neigh:
bourhood. Some distance from the scene of the disastecl
were found a pair of human legs, held together by a 61'P%
of flesh, the balance of the body being missing. A. ferns;
leg, with shoe and stocking on, was found. Also the how'
less trunk of a man. Almost the entire scalp of a man Wag
found near the amphitheatre. Near the officers' quarter°
was found a piece of a man's head, comprising the fore:
head, nose, and left side of the face. A small portion
the scalp, and whiskers on the side of the face, sb(Yyr
ed
very black hair, tinged with grey. An arm, supposed to be
that of L. P. Davis, was.found over a hundred yards foul
the scene of the explosion. Within a distance of 50 yarl
on the north, west, and south-west, lay three horses, Iwie

by the explosion."
Here is the case of a German who was clearlf
wanting in intellect, which occurred in Baltitaorea
on the evening of the 6th inst., the man being pain,
John Wattenscheydt. This wiseacre shot at his wi'e'
and believing he had killed her, blew his own brains
out; but she was not injured. George Morris of Oil'
cinnati , ticket agent of Robertson's circus, was Want!'
stabbed at Richmond on the Bth inst., by Char'''.
Spain, who, it is alleged, mistook him for anotber
man. Spain must have been a " dumbfounded
o
Spaniard," and Robertson certainly was a victiro
a want of intellect. The following is a case whick;
though giving the appearance of a want of intelleeof
has frequently occurred to people with no paueitithe
brains. A young man arrived in Brooklyn on -1.0
7th instant from the country, and went to GleeP
the residence of his brother, There is no such tbil
as gas where he came from, and by a vigorous Pusit
before turning in, he blew the light out, ands,
suffocated by the escape while he slept, and such esce
allies frequently occur, simply because the ignornsc,
of another is almost incomprehensible to the inanbBe,
customed to the every-day use of anything. It °to
ginning to be recognized, that it is as well to help od
intellect of all, more especially that of travellers, bee
for this purpose a railroad company at Boston ith
established an office at its depot expressly
,srelf
the object of giving information. A leading '1;,01.,
England paper asks why is not every ticket-setbet
conductor, baggage man, porter, brakeman/ °r ° jeo,
official, employed by the transportation contl° to
constituted, ex officio, a giver of information t°
asking public ? It remarks that most of these °red
cials regard an inquiry as an insult, to be aossgeof
ungraciously, if at all ; and the amount of OA,
and trouble resulting makes life a burden to tra;t
lers, who, if they get back in safety, so far e 00,
their intellect as for the future to stay at h°
The same paper remarks— Ag 10'
"To the person not used to travelFng, who Liu- Ale%
self in a strange depot, with trains coming and &liftoff
in different directions, his trouble and perplexity
real, although it. may seem trivial to the railway rof
and the experienced traveller would be in no daub—
going astray "

Lose on

Last week we told a story of how they In' that
the French lines, and what an American ge-tot
man's intellect did for him there. We regre-b i 3
there is a growing inattention in England, Igbfaeal
leaving thick-headed John Bull to trust a grea'hoe
more than is advisable to his intellect, but we be
this much confidence in his intellect that, Wile:the
finds them a nuisance he will very soon kick
railway officials into better behaviour.

COURSE OF EXCHANGE•

Amsterdam Short ... 11 18i ••• ii ,
Do
Rotterdam l2 li ••• 25 4'
•••
Antwerp — ... 25 40 ... ‘,5 41
Brussels
Hamburgh — ... 13 11 ••• 25 2:i.,
Paris
Ditto
.11
Marseilles
Frankfort-on-the-Main ... 1201 ..' 12 60
Vienna ' ... 12 55 '" 11
Trieste — ... 12 57i '" 29„k4
Petersburg
-: . : 642892171
•...:*. 9
4;988:5
--- •••••
Copenhagen 9 20 ••• 6 k
Berlin
Madrid..
Cadi7 4Bl ••• 26 86
•••
Leghorn
•.•
Milan 26 771 "' 26 85
•••
Genoa — 26 77.1 "'';r 26 85
•••
Naples
Palermo - ••• 26 77 "I 771 ''' 26 52
Messina
Lisbon l' 5 1 "' 9'
•••
511
Oporto
•••
Rio Janeiro —

••• /..

••• '''''

New York ...... ........

Bank of England Beturilo.

An Account, tursuant Act 7th and athi6i66t9°:*
to
the
cap. 32, for the week ending Wednesda 0 anct. 27'
Y 1 c g 011
ISSUE DEPLETKENT. *lap°
Notes issued £32,879,995' Governmt. Debt•Pi:9B4l'
Other Securitiesl no
Gold Coin and 0 879,7
sill3vVrlißonai.o..; .. .. .. .............

£32,879,995 j
BANKING D.
Proprietors' Capi-
tal £14,553,000
Rest
Public Deposits
(including Ex-
chequer, Sav-
ings' Banks,
Commissioners
of National
Debt, and Div.
Accounts 3,508,435
Other Deposits 17,852,909
Seven Days and
othor Bills 570,045

3PARTMENT.
Governmt. Sea'
rities(including 45g
Dead -Weight 460., $
Annuity) ... 41 "1,9°
• • li,nsi
Other SOCUrlt.lO9.. 0,31 ,
N0te5.......... w
Gold will . 'Silver 90919°1
Coin .w.•.....

PORDE% chief Caa

£39,588,714
GEORI

A general order, issued by eoreraan, Loa ",,
a of "i
Duke of Cambridge, has been Pr°llllllgfor 13°'.
Woolwich, granting to recipients of medal° :e tie
ofbravery in saving life the privilege c't oat °3°
them when in uniform. The order statee , The
society which medals are to be. worn on the right bre3Bl;bo de'
grantswbrhaievhery
acotation, together with a statement of the Gene'
the medals is to seed go Of
he
raels'
g. ,t in
dorder that the recipient's name 031 for Or
performed, to the Aci.luti//1 be 03:
decoration
ere
~ and the necessary authority isSee
coration to be worn.
------"*.''''

BT.— - - -------
- - - - -----nLio:
E-- ,Ot'
Sett
BIRTHS•
nano, Mrs. Tom Brown, of a daughter. afords
On the 27th inst., at the 'Vicarage' bite,
1 On the 28th inst., at klayties Parlo3e
ars. Thynne, of a son. Ar
MARRIAGES.
BASSthur Bass, Esq., M.P. for East Stafforb,,,jr:i.'a 1:116"
-TuORNEWILL -On the 28th inst., at Stretlo:o(iee!
Georgina, fourth daughter of the late award ,l'
P (et
will, Esq., of Dove Cliff. 0, gadltroP
DALLEY—IJEATH—On the 27th illßt., at 0. iieo 0 ,003,
ing, Edward 'Dailey, of Wokinghank to yori‘l
eldest daughter of the late Charles Ileatl3l
Surrey.

'...7 EA TB S. NBA
001
NEWN *
of =01111=9:1 rjl.rr.. 94.'
OreLli
ORRED —On the 27th in'st., at Lucerne, C.4B°. -',, terl°°'
a
of Timmer°, Cheshire aged 62. t "
ORME—On the 24th hist', at 19, Gibson-stree 9
road, Mr. Robert Orme., aged 64. El°
Arip°lo°°'
1,031 ail / vo.
London: Printed and Published by Vir111:- isio..'"Al' 00"
of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at TON SUN Office f 0.-
in the Precinct of the Savoy, in the Cottatf °
Friday, Oct(43er 29, 180/.