The Sun.
London, England, 1857-05-23 00:00:00

TflE, S'ILVN LONDON, SATURDAY _EVENING, MA Y 23, 18574
4

METROPOLITAN COUNTIES AND GENE-
RAL LIFE ASSURANCE SOCIETY.

The Ninth Annual Meeting of the members of this
association was held on Wednesday last, at the Society's
offices, 27, Regent-street, Waterloo-place. Mr. H. P.
Fuller, one of the board of Directors, in the chair.
The manager (Mr. F. F. CAmnonx), havin'a read the
notice convening the meeting, then read the following
report of the directors, and statement of accounts :
" The directors of this society have the pleasure of pre-
senting to its members the following statement of the busi-
ness effected during the past year. The numberof policies
issued during the year has been 267, assuring the sum of
89,5301., and producing an income of 3,0111. 95., raising the
net income of the society to 18,9371. 4s. 3d. The sum to
be assured by proposals accepted, but which still await
completion, is 12,2001. The proposals declined amount to
11,6501. The members of the society will observe from
these figures, that the number of proposals declined bears
a large proportion to that of the proposals accepted, and
the directors trust that this fact will be regarded as &satis-
factory proof that they have steadily adhered to their re-
solution of conducting the business of the society with the
utmost care in the selection of lives. The success of this
cautious system of management is strikingly illustrated by
the smallness of the claims made on the society at the end
of this the ninth year of its existence. They have
amounted to 4,2721. 11s. 94., a result which the directors
are confident will be considered by the members of the
society to furnish decisive evidence of the generally healthy
character of the lives assured. The business has been con-
fined to lives resident in England, as stated in the report of
last year, with the exception of four policies issued at
Hamburg. The nation has been passing through a severe
financial crisis, the pressure of which has opposed serious
difficulties to the taking out of new assurances, and has
also caused a large increase in the number of lapsed policies
during the year. Taking into consideration the operation
of this cause, which they believe to be a temporary one, the
directors cannot but feel that the business of the past year
has been satisfactory. John Fisher, Esq., Peter Hood,
Esq., and Bonamy Price, Esq., retire by rotation as direc-
tors, but being eligible for re-election, offer themselves
accordingly. Henry Peach Buckler, Esq., and John Soper
Streeter Esa., the auditors of the society, also retire, but
being eligibia fqr re-election, fifer themselves accord-
ingly."

The CHAIRMAN said that it gave him great pleasure to
call upon the shareholders and policy holders to adopt
this report, because it appeared to him to be highly satis-
factory, from its including an aeconnt intelligible to
every one. Nothing was there set down but what a
person accustomed to figures could clearly understand.
(Hear, hear.) It was particularly gratifying to him to be
able to say, " Analyse the accounts thoroughly,"
knowing that the result would show that the directors
webt on a solid foundation. (Hear, hear.) As a proof
of his assertion he had but to refer to the fact that their
claims in the ninth year of their existence amounted only
to 4,272/. ; and he assured the meeting that the directors
would take care to keep them in moderate proportion to
the business they did, by assuring none but first-class
lives, from a conviction that safety and security were
preferable to a great show of business with insecurity.
The society was in such a sound and healthy state that
a most extensive and safe business might be built upon
it without much difficulty, and, comparatively speaking,
in a short period of time. (Hear, hear.) The directors,
shareholders, and policy-holders might exert themselves
and with safety recommend the society to the favour-
able consideration of their friends. Their liabilities up
to the end of the year amounted to only about 1,0001.
more than the - last year, whilst their income had
increased so as to enable the directors to add 4,0001.
to their reserve fund. Seeing, therefore, how they bad
increased, he thought they might go boldly to the world,
and say to their friends "here is an office on which you can
thoroughly depend, and be sure of obtaining your money
back with a considerable profit." (Hear, hear.) Every
member ought to feel a great interest in the prosperity
of the Society. They were the crew of the same vessel,
and they ought to lend a helping hand to send her for-
ward. (Hear, bear.) After assuring the meeting that
the directors would continue to act in the same cautious
and safe way they bad heretofore done, he concluded by
moving the reception and adoption of the report.
(Applause.)
Mr. KING seconded the motion. He fully sympa-
thised with all that had been said by the chairman.
with regard to the extreme care and caution with which
the directors managed the affairs of the society----(bear)
--13nt, whilst be thoroughly appreciated such a policy,
he thought it was possible to err on the side of careful-
ness. It certainly was highly gratifying to find their
claims were so small in the 9th year of their exis-
tence, and be thought it a circumstance without
precedent, in the history of such institutions. He
considered the chairman was perfectly warranted in mak-
ing the statement he bad as to the sound and prosperous
state of the society, and he (Mr. King) believed they had
great cause for congratulation in that respect. The past
twelve months had been a period of unexampled trial for
institutions such as this, but it was satisfactory to know
they were progressing favourably, for, from the report
of a comparatively old and influential company, which
had been placed in his hands this morning, lib found that
the Metropolitan Counties Society had transacted more
new business than that company during the past year
by 30 per cent. (Hear, hear.) He was satisfied that
all the chairman had stated would be fully borne out,
and that in a short time their policies and shares would
become valuable property. (Hear, hear.)
The motion was put and carried unanimously.

The CHAMMAN then said that the next business was
to propose the re-election of the retiring directors—Mr.
John Fisher, Mr. Peter Hood, and Mr. Bonamy Price.
It was not his place to make any remarks an his lAte co-
directors, but he thought it would be unwise on the
part of the meeting if they did not re-elect them.
(Hear, hear.)
The above gentlemen were accordingly re-elected.

The CHAIR;kAN said he had to propose the re-election
of a class of officers of great importance in such insti-
tutions as that, viz., the auditors'. (Hear.) Their auditors
he was happy to say were men of great integrity and
he thought it was impossible for an error to escape their
notice. He believed that two better gentlemen as audi-
tors than Mr. H. P. Buckler and Mr. J. S. Streeter, could
not be found to loek fairly and honestly into the ac-
counts and see that •all was right. It was with mach
pleasure that he proposed them for re-election. (Hear.)
The motion was unanimously agreed to.
The CHAIRMAN then proposed the usual gratuity of
20 guineas for auditing the accounts of the past year.
He hoped with the exertions of the friends of the society
to be enabled shortly to propose a larger sum as a re-
muneration of their laborious services.
The motion was unanimously agreed to.
Mi. STREETER, in acknowledging his re-election as
auditor, thanked the chairman for the kind manner in
which he had spoken of the auditors, and also the meet-
ing for the hearty manner in which they had responded
to it. It was a great pleasure both to himself and Mr.
Buckler, tc find that their conduct met with the ap-
proval of the meeting. Their object and desire was to
audit the accounts in the beat and most efficient manner
possibls, and he was happy to say that every facility
was rendered by the officers of the, society in order
that it might be done. (Hear.) It was also gratify-

ing to know that the directors and manage; were
ready to receive suggestions from the auditors ; and
the manner in which Mr. Rowlatt, the accountant, had
carried out certain views of the auditors had greatly
facilitated the auditing of the accounts. (Hear, hear,)
Mr. POUND proposed a vote of thanks to the di-
rectors. Without they bad good directors it was im-
possible to expect the affairs of the society to progress satis-
factorily. He thought the position of the society most
unmistakeably showed that they had men, as directors,
in whom they could place confidence, and without fur-'
ther remarks he would submit his motion to the meeting,
feeling confident it would meet with a unanimous re-
sponse. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. Epit.i.ND3 briefly seconded the motion, which
was put to the meeting and carried unanimously.
Mr. STREETER moved a vote of thanks to the chair-
man, and in doing so said he felt certain it was not re-
quisite that he should say one word more than to ex-
press the cordial and heartfelt feeling which all enter-
tained towards him, the great satisfaction it was to have
him amongst them, and that he might so continue for
many years to come. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. KING bad much pleasure in seconding the reso-
lution, and he took occsion to remark that it would be
well for the public to discriminate between those
societies that bad directors who had a stake in the con-
cern, and money to pay if things went wrong, and
those who had no stake in the societies to which they

belonged, and no means to pay on such a contingency
occurring. (Hear, hear.) He was happy to say that
the directors of this society had both a large stake in it

and were in a position to pay it anything wrong occurred.
(Hear, hear.)
The CHAIMIAN said that he was much gratified at
finding that anything he did as a director was thought
well of by the shareholders and policy holders of
the company. Every such person though he might
not have an equal stake in the society with him,
and an equal interest in its welfare, and he
was happy to be able again to repeat that
the society rested on a solid basis, so that every
gentleman connected with it might go amongst his
friends and say that it was as secure as security
could make it. The society was capable of being
carried to a position equal to that of any other of a
similar kind in the country and it would give the direc-
tors much pleasure to receive that assistance from those
' connected with it as would enable them to do so. (Hear.)
Sir T. N. REEVE said that they had a duty to perform
before separating which he felt certain would meet with
the unanimous approval of every one connected with the
society, viz , that of recording their thanks to their
manager (Mr. Camroux), their medical men, Mr. Rowlett,
and the other officers of the institution, for the
admirable manner in which they severally discharged
their duties. (Applause.) As a director he was able to
state that Mr. Camroux was always to be found at his
post, and that he also performed the duties of his
office in the most efficient and exemplary manner. (Hear,
hear.) The medical officers were also deserving of the
highest praise, because it was greatly owing to their
care in the examination of proposals that the society was
in its present proud position. He had also much pleasure
in bearing testimony to the efficient and ready manner in
which the duties were discharged by all the other officers
in their several capacities.
The motion having been seconded, it was carried
unanimously.
Mr. CAMEOUX (the manager), on behalf of himself
and the other officers of the institution, returned his
sincere thanks for this mark of approval on the part
of the meeting. He assured the meeting that it would
be his constant desire to do everything that could
possibly tend to promote the prosperity of the society.
With regard to the medical officers he need not say much
in their behalf, because the results of their labour were
' shown much better by the small amount of claims
, there were on the society than anything he could
say with reference to the efficient discharge of their
duties. (Hear, hear.) He also bad much pleasure
in adding hit; tooth:goy to the efficient wanner in