The Sun.
London, England, 1850-04-04 00:00:00

SCOTTISa WIDOWS' FUND AND LIFE
ASSURANCE SOC lETY.
REPORT of the PROCEDURE of the THIRTY-SIXTII ANNUAL
GENERAL COURT of this SOCIETY, held en the sth .Starch,
1850.

The Bon LORD COCKBT-RN in the Chair.
The THIRTY-SIXTH AN N UAL GENERAL COURT of this SO-
CIETY was held in Edinburgh on the sth March, 1830.
The Hon. LORD COCKBURN In the Chair.
The Manager
affairs Manager read to the Court vat ious Statements relative to the
Society's
from which it appeared
lit, That during the year 1849, the total number of Policies actu-
ally passed and issued was 600, covering Insurances to the
extent of 422,065/.lls.
2d, That the Capital of the Society at 31st December, 1849, was
• 2,167,506/. 9s. Id., having increased during the year to the
extent 0(112,957/. 16s. 2d.
3d, That the Annual Revenue of the Society at the same date was
. 300,5371. 19s. 6d.. being a decrease since last year, or sing
from the reduction in the rate of interest during the currency
Of the year.
4th, That the number of deaths which had occurred during the
Year 1849 was 111, the sums Insured under the Policies
which have emerged in consequence of these deaths, b.eine,
117,621/. lOs , or, with Benue additions, 118,82 ti. 12s. .id.
sth, That the above' sum of 117.6.221. 10s. and the number of
deaths were in the ratio of 63 per end. of is hat inbilit have
been expected, according to the tables of mortality upon
Which the Society's calculations are bases].
The accuracy of the statements read having been confirmed by
he Auditor,
The Chairman, addressing the meeting, paid, the Manager has
!tow read certain papers, and made certain statements, which con-
Zain a faithful exposition of the exact state of our affairs. He
!laving done so, I really am not aware what I can do to add either
to your information or to your consequent confidence in this Institu-
tion. Your confidence must de/ end on the " facts" youT.have heard
from 1 •
um ; and were it net the usage that the person who occupies
rthe place which I have the honour to occupy is expected to make
ine. address, I think the most judicious thing I could do would be
o maintain silence. At the same time. however, it has often oc-
curred to me
, , and it occurs to me now, that
'll,,e(lniet way, and in ordinary language, of the almost ]technical
perhaps a recaitulation
_ 't Ments made by the Manager, may sink more deeply into your
imoulds, and hi more easily carried awaY—
bar,me allow Me to recall to you a few of the le-ding facts which you
(Applause)—and there-
., now beard.—(Renewed applause.)
the
myselfrn e °of
till the
hve ielrictreoefetnhtelsve,—at least the one that leads me to consider
remark i have to make first—is one that I was not aware of
trit;,, of the sums insured, which
lf-e!"1," this Institution by our mere numbers. I do not here
w noor of nett,. is the view exhibited of the pro-
kno a -.; -se og of that soorft. our
Lookinvestments,
at.
the
It better test of a society like this being well managed,—of
o ur mere oof
numbers.ou r
se cui
gdorne of only being nd suspicion in regard to it. but that public con-
flambe: has be" always on the increase, than in the increase of the
ref its interested members—of members, I mean, who have
,',l° interest but pure selfishness—who are as anxious as men can be
y protect themselves from misconduct, in order that,
If theou 1 '1 0 sly •eetected, it may be timeously corrected. Now
. td
that in the year 1815, when the Society was instituted, we
• g with a small neat-egg ef 49 merfthers—(Laughter) —and it did
ifip:lok well for the year 1816,. that the eggs laid there were only 17.
he' enewed laughter.) I also find that during the first six years of
_ Society's existence, 212 were the sum tidal of our chickens.—
' (Laughter) And here I may observe, that the first thing that
Indices me is the great caution with which the lives must have been
laded;s for of the 49 members who were admitted in 1615, 35
S
ago, eleven still reinala upon the books, after deducting many ,
deducting many
Who surrendered their policies, and who, for aught we know, may be
living still. Then, of the 17 who joined them In the year 1815. after
and of the 21 , there are
surrenderersistill three upon the books ;
it.
e , existence, nearly GO surrendered their policies, but 49 still survive.
;‘_`9Plause.) These seem to me to have been well selected lives.—
(Hear, hear.) And the result now is that, at the end of 35 years, the
number of our members amounts
not to one thousand, nor to two,
nor. to three, nor to tour,
nor to, five, nor even to six, but to above
six thee
eund•—(A.pplaftse) We have now above six thousand in-
' !tired lives. From this tact I infer nothing but this—that, since we
.. 0
n.._4"5° many jealous but uncomplaining eyes prying into us, I pre-
...Dl that we cannot be an ill-managed body.
-e_The Business done during the year 1849, after deduction of several
, ..-o ides chat were cancelled, amounts to above 422,0011.; that is
• rh say, that layear the Insurances which we effected amounted to
6040' hsurn, The number of Policies on these insurances amounts to
one—
' ,at the the average, ever all—which, lam told, is a high
of
no less than 7001. on every policy.
above 100,p000al1.
Cait has increased during the year at is now closed y
; and the total Capital that we th
own now amounts b
to
• e 'l67's°U.; that is to say, in roand numbers, which will be far more
easilS remembered, considerably above Two Millions of money.— 1
t a Manse.)
t Ihe statement that we have above Two Millions—that is to say hat we ought to have It—would be a very idle one, if our funds
Zero It
t well invested ; many a man thinks he has,
eve It ; but when he c to grasp it it and he ought to
eldes the cl hand
.. rd, therefore, it is of vitales and all-Important u
consequencoesing to be told
n this Place, that of our investments, so far as we have discovered,
we have never yet made a single bad one.—(Applause.) 'these in- vestments are, fer the most part, laid out on real security—l mean
: within Scotland, the best country, in my belief, for real security, in
i to ; told. besides this, a large portion of our capital is invested
_n loans he members, upon the security of their policies. What
better security can there be than that ?—(Hear, hear.) A member
When he dies is our creditor, say for 1,0001. ; and he asks for a loan
:nr 300/. ; if the policy be or equal value, we lend it to him, because
We lend it to him out of his own money. With such a security we
.Plll advance it ; and we are as certain of its return as he is that he
hail claims upon us. Part of these two millions is laid out in Bank
Stock—I mean stock of the chartered Banks of Scotland and the
Bank of England, which I believe is as secureeas can be. There
'lndividual inet penny of it 'laid out In any Bank Stock of which a single
-little private life entertains the slightest doubt. A
of our capital is laid out in redeemable annuities, which,
by the law of Scotland, as we all know, fall under the class '
.ef advasices secured under real property. Some of it is laid out on
railway—mark my next word, for this first one makes many
:people tremble—(A laugh)—some ef it is laid out on railway de-
bentures.—(Applause.) Not one single sixpence of it—if there was
a farthing of it, I would tell you honestly—but not one single
farthing of It is invested in railway shares. One fact which I have
to state is one which, above all others, testifies the solidity of these
Investments; and it is, the regularity and the promptness with
which the interest on the loans is invariably paid. Wherever an in-
vestment is not met by regular payment of the interest, let the
creditor begin to tremble. Now, with us, we have never found the
least cause for fear or doubt. The interests, I understand, are
always paid almost within a day of the time. Ihe result I draw
'from all this is, that not only are these investments good, but that
they are so good, that better could not be obtained. My belief is,
that if these investments were all now thrown loose, and the Di-
rectors were required to retrace their steps, and to get good
pecurities, they could, and therefore they would, do nothing but
recur exactly to the securities that they have already obtained.—
(Applause.) The six thousand members of this society have laid
by above two millions ef as well-secured money as can be secured in
this world.
• Our annual revenue has decreased from the recent fall of interest
during the last year, but it is now above 300,509/. The sum total of
What we hare insured amounts to above Six Millions and a Half.
The deaths in 1849 are peculiarly instructive. In the first place,
they amount to 111—a great number, and to be accounted for only
if the prevalent pestilence. But yet though they amount to
e.e'L theY are only sixty-three per cent. of our calculated
ieeeablllties
—that is to say, that our system is founded on
',ee, calculation that there would be 100 death., while instead of
that there have been only sixty-three, leaving thirty-seven rm.
Cent, over and above for the security of the Society.—(Applause.)2
.) Of 4
the 111 who have died—let the upper ranks thiik of this fl; a
vlal.
have fallen by cholera. It is commonly thought i
that
this
bitten which afflicts only the poor and the destitute. I dare say it
afflicts them first, and worst, but it is by no means confined to them ;
•
for we heard it to-day stated, that of those who died from it last
Year connected with this society, one individual Wa 11 insured tor
5,00 e/., one for 4,0001., one for 3.000.1., two for 2,000/., and one fur
1,5001., and that the whole twenty•tour were insured for something
like 270001. ; and therefore you will observe that these, apparently
Periodical visitations, ought to strike a lesson of prudence on the
Minds of men in all classes.

The sums paid by us since we began in 1815, are above
1,164,0001. ; and this is a fact with which I was much struck. We
have distributed above eleven hundred thousand pounds. We have
relieved to that extent the families of those members who trusted
us and the example that was given by the manager so technically,
and with such proper brevity, of the benefits of this Institution,
made a great impression upon me, as I have no doubt it did open
the meeting. The case I refer to was that of an old member who
died abroad last year, and who had insured three times, each time
for 1,000/. Well, be dies, and he has claims upon us for 3,0001. cer•
taro. But besides that, his representatives will receive considerably
above 2,0001. as a Bonus. That, upwards of 5,000/. is secured to his
family ; and, even after paying that, the Seciety was plus nearly
1,500/.—(Applause.)
The next matter *which I have to state is, one for which I am very
grateful ; and it is, that we have had up to this day, no liti,gatioa.—
(Laughter and applause.)
Now, what I have stated arc the material facts ; and what else
need I say? It is not my business, and I am sure it would be no
Satisfaction to you, if I were to boast of the excellence of our system,
or the greatness of eur success ; and still less would it give any satis-
faction to you if [ were to do that from which every respectable So-
ciety will for ever abstain—that of attempting to raise ourselves by a
contrast or comparison, or even by an allusion to kindred Institutions.
--(APPlause.) I have stated the facts ; and having done so, I can do no
More. It is for you to judge how your affairs have been managed, and
to carry away with you those resolutions or judgments which the
tatements you have heard are calculated to produce. My inferences
are merely two. It seems to me, in the first place, that this is a Society
ha which we may have perfect confidence.—(Hear, hear.) 31y belief
as —knowing as I do something about it, although not so much certainly
manY others—is, that our confidence in it may go to this extent,
that if we were to begin our career again, with the experience which
We have acquired, I know many ways in which we might act differ-
ently, but I know no way in which we could do better.—(Applause,)
Moralists have often amused themselves by speculating about what
a Truitt would do, if he was again to become& boy, with all the expe-
Merle° erhiS' Manhood. If this Society wpfe to, do so, I serieusly
the and firmly believe afar if we were to begin our career In 1815, with
B?Perience which we bave gained between that time, and the
Year
18`''0' We should walk in the very paths, nay in the very
Vruts by which we have reached our 'present state. 31y other infer-
ee—although it is something very like repeating the same sermon
twice—is, that it is the duty of all of us to do all in our power to
7_oyagate a knowledge of this Institution, and still more to propa-
.f! a knowledge of the great duty, in this precarious life, of
preservation by insurance. Some people talk as if there were
t_rno many societies of this kind. Ido not agree with them ; and I
12'
asPerfectly certain that, if the public, and every individual in it,
Adhere
impressed with the importance of insuring their
aets,here would net only not be too litany, but it would be found'
_thenet there was perhaps a great deal too few.—(hear, hear.) The
Fere
ishing is to get the community steeped in the conviction that
thereno way in which they can practise the great duty of pru-
so :ell as by life insurance. All men are convinced that pru-
dence_ virtue, but all teen are not convinced that there is no
wren in which that virtue can be practised with so small a present
Bany ,mM-flee, contrasted with so great an ultimate reward. If you want
(.:examples of this, I can tell hre you are to find them.
fotihs
Wnohtothoaayeeekhetinr theinhere!'ouyowu muste go among the
.familles
lan], already
Ind
iiisitersi, bitted greatly beyond
and ask the
you that Instead bereaved, and amongst
.o million
wohto ni thmoney.es c iGe toy hasnto
a nsi
the breesi M what they think of life insurance. They
d of thinking it unreasonable and useless,
tWhieilirtoelnliy pang, even at the memet when they arc experiencing
TVs of life insurance, is, that the head of their house had
dot ear' rled it to a greater extent. Therefore, what you have to
Gentlemen,
ends—to urge it simply
Your friends—to is, in your various spheres, to urge this duty upon
upon these two grounds, that no man
can__avoid death, and that no man can fix its period ; but that in-
t_ff,e efe is a science which, out of individual irregularities, extracts
Zs,
not, general uniformity ; and thus converts the very precarious-
life into a method of correcting its uncertainty. These are
]le impressions made upon me ; what yours are, I leave you to say.
-(Lord Cockburn then resumed his seat amid loud applause.)
Qtr the motion of Sir James Russell, K.C.11., of Ashlesteel, seconded
.PrOfessor Miller, a vote of thanks was given to the Courts of Di-
ectoraa,ttoyetahre. Trustees and Office Bearers, for their services during
the past.
On the motion of Alexander Shank Cook, Esq., Advocate, seconded
DY the Rev: James R. Campbell, of Albany-street Chapel, the
Courts
fellows of Directors for the following year were appointed as

PRESIDENT.
The Right Hon. the Earl of ROSEBERY, K.T.
The Iron VICE-PRESIDENTS.
. Lord MONCREIFF.
Hi' Grace the Duke of DUCCLEITCH, K.G.
The Most Hon. the Marquis of TWEEDALE, K.T. and C.D.
swilzam GIBSON-CRAIG, Esq., Younger of Riccarton, M.P.
EXTRAORDINARY DIRECTORS.
Robert v, very Rev. Prlncl...M`Farlane John Ravenhill, Esq,, banker,
G. Balllle, Esq., of Cutter- Warminster.
ellere.
Thomas Beveridge, Esq., D.C.S.
James APGregor., Esq , Chairman Charles Bantle, Esq., advocate.
Of South-Eastern Ita. ilway. Archd. Davidson, Esq., Sheriff of
air John Stuart Richardson of Aberdeem,hire.
Pi trodr., Dart. William James Duncan, Esq.,
III' Right Do. the Earl London.ln. Manager 01 National Bank.
.eonard Horner, Esq., * Sir William Hamilton, of Pres•
Daniel Watney, Esq., Wands- ton, Bart.
worth,
Rev. Dr'.Robert Macnair, Paisley. land. Loudon. * The Solicitor—General for Scot-
Shuttleworth, Esq., S Archibald Alison, Esq., Sheriff
town-clerk, Liverpool. of Lanarkshire.
.4_,nthony Murray of Dollerie W.S. * George Dunda*, Esq., Sheriff of
Mitchell limes, Es 'q
, of Selkirkshira.
Parsoins Green. •

Christopher Wood ORDINARY
, jun, Esq.,
Merchant; Leith.
dames Balfour, Esq. of Pi!rig, W. S.
William Smith, Esq., of Carbeth
fluthrie.
Isa
Levee I: yley, Esq., of Manuel.
Jam 8 .Alex. Wallace, Esq,, archt.
es Alylne. Esq., W.S.
Alexander Pringle, Esq., of Whyt-
bank.
James Tytler, Esq., of Woodhouse-Ilee, W.S.