The daily morning journal and courier., 1906-08-25

ner of the globe. But there are prob ably few outside the shipping trade who, if asked, "What is Lloyds?" could give an intelligent answer to the ques- ton.
 Llovds was originally coffee house in Tower street, London, kept by a very enterprising and wideawake man, whose establishment was much fre- quented by merchants engaged in the shipping and underwriting trade. Marine insurance had been first intro~ duced into England by the Hanse mer- chants and by the Lombards, who en- joyed for considerable time prac- tical monopoly thereof. Queen Eliza beth put an end to this, however. At the time of her war with Spain says the New York Tribune, she ordered all foreign traders to quit her dominions, and not long afterwards caused Sir Thomas Gresham to devise an act, sanctioned by Parliament, establishing marine insurance on a legal basis, this being the first mention thereof in the statute book of England.
 The merchants and brokers engaged in this branch of commerce used to meet in the various coffee houses of the city and by the end of the 17th cen tury Edward Lloyd's establishment had become their favorite trysting place. In 1888 his name appears in the London Gazette in connection with an advertisement offering a reward for any one giving information to MT Edward Lloyd at his coffee house in Tower street" as to the whereabouts of a man who was wanted on charge of theft
 By 1892 his business had prospered toI such an extent that he moved to the corner of Lombard street and Ab- church Lane, all his customers follow ing him, while in 1896 he went so far as to produce a news sheet called Lloyd News, containing all sorts of informa- tion, particularly to shipping, calculat- ed to be of interest to the people who gathered each day at noon at his coffee house.
 Unfortunately, the 77th number of his paper which he issued three times a week contained a paragraph con- demning certain proceedings In the House of Lords relating to shipping, and the result was that he was arrest ed. summoned to the bar of the House, fined and compelled to abandon the publication for a time. In 1721 how ever 1t was resumed, under the title of I ct an5 haG aflnn1rpH mterruptedly from that time until the present day, being, with the exception of the official London Gazette, the oldest English newspaper in existence
 The next half century saw the grad ual specialization of the Society of | Underwriters and Merchants, which had it's headquarters in Lloyd's coffee house, into clerrly defined corporation. Lombard street was left for Pope's al- ley in ITO whence four years later Lloyd moved to the Royal Exchange, where it has ever since had it's home. | This step was immediately followed by an immense expansion of insurance | business, due in a measure to the suc- cession of wars in which England was at that time involved, Not merely ships of the English mercantile navy, but also men-of-war, and even mer- l chantmen belonging to the enemy, were all insured at Lloyds. If the risks were great the premiums were high and the scrupulous care with which Lloyds always punctually it's obliga- tions, it's triumphal issue from the or- Hav, oF cnxrapo1 Do oV1io to,. i,,c and, above all, the active role which it assumed in national and patriotic movements, all contributed to establish it's hold upon the good will of the peo- pie.
 Thus it was Lloyds which first ini- ltiated that lifeboat service which has been adopted by every civilized coun- try in the world boasting of seaboard and it was Lloyds name that figured | for $10,00O at the head of the subscrip- ton list for the building of the first lifeboat ever launched Indeed, for a | quarter of a century the entire life- boat service of the United Kingdom was maintained by Lloyds, until it was taken over by the National Lifeboat l Institution.
 Again, it was Lloyds which origin ated with a subscription of $1OOO00 in 1903 that patriotic fund which is still in existence, and which during the last 100 years has provided for the wei fare of the widows and orphans of those who had lost their lives in the naval or military service of their coun- l try besides caring for men who had wrecked their health or who had been
 crippled while fighting Englands bat. | tles
 Finally, in 1871, Queen Victoria affixed her sign manual to an act of Parliament providing for the organiza
 tion of Llloyds in it's present form. Il comprises about 500 underwriting and
 about 200 n-underwriting members besides about 500 annual subscribers The underwriters pay an entrance fee
 and an annual subscription, and, tC | place their credit beyond doubt, they are required to deposit as a minimum | $25,00O security with the committee.
 Membership of Loyds is most
 jealously guarded. Candidates mus
 come before the committee with tho
 written recommendation of six mem.
 bers, and prepared to answer all ques-
 tions of whatever kind put to them
 The election takes place by ballots, and
 for seven days previous to its occur.
 renee the name of the would-be-mem
 Der must have been posted in the so