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[¦¦? ¦ 728 THE LEADER. rCoMMERr» ,
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6 TTTTR I ¦ *^ 1 EUROPEAN ASSURANCE • fl...
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~ . „ -^ , . Gkokoe Aiexasder Hamilton, ...
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
[¦¦? ¦ 728 The Leader. Rcommerr» ,
[¦¦? ¦ 728 THE _LEADER . rCoMMERr » ,
6 Ttttr I ¦ *^ 1 European Assurance • Fl...
6 _TTTTR I ¦ _*^ 1 EUROPEAN ASSURANCE fl . _UXlurjaa . « . a . » O U x _* -a- _** _^ * j pf -j . RQCIET 7 _[¦¦!¦ ¦ ' ¦ ' ov / v / x _* ixi . • _= — I n > _w _awwttat _ppwhpat _MTTFTTNa | THE _ANNUAL GENBRAL MJEETING F- of this Society was held at its offices , No . 2 , Water- f _loo-tilace Pall mall on Tuesday last lOO-piace , . rau-mau , on xuesaay last . . I Amongst the gentlemen present were the following : _i - _ _TVTi . _Rpnrirp _Alpxander Hamilton Mr . Forster , _mp m _Tf M _^ \ _fr P W _^ _oWs Mr _' Mp _M . P _., Mr . John Moss , Mr . C . W . l _^ eynolds , Jttr . Mc- k- ¦ ConneLl , Mr . James Davidson , Mr . John Field , r . Mr . T . Y . McChristie , Mr . J . Hedgins , Lieut .-Col . ¦ _-o-,- _— - ! j ,, = _»«• ¦ _ ¦ piihprt Wsimiltnn M T B Pavn Mr _i _' : _5 , eyn _. W i _: ir tj-5 _^ 5 ° ' -IT V ? _v- _?? ' _t ? F" _¦' . . : Clement Heely , Mr . H . B . Sheridan , M . P ., Dr . EL- | more , Dr . Watts , Mr . Silver . Mr . A . C . McLaren , ? Mr . F . W . Goddard , Mr . F . P . Chappell , Mr . Beach- _> . , | croft , Mr . J . T . Vining , Mr . C . Douglas Singer , Mr . I -T Tait ( Calcutta ) , Mr . J . T . King , Mr . J . E . Bennet , ! _-. _< Mr . J . Carnegie , Mr , J . Thompson , Mr . Francis Sauire Mr Holland Harrison Mr Lester , Dr . ! Powell * Mr AC _HVwden _^ _S Reynolds _rBirming- W _? Mr Ifill _^ _AsE' Mr Sha _^ % ubHnVM _? B _^ _kwkh _^ ( BSy ) ( _1 f r PaL _^ _YWafsLl ) . Mr _Stones _?<^ _XL _\ M _, R _^ _wrZ _«\ _Tr _* p ( _St _^ k port ) , Mr ; Briggs ( Leeds ) , & c . & c The manager read the notice calling the _meeting I and the report of the _^ directors for the year ending I ¦ , the 31 st December , 1858 . 5 . ; . REPORT The directors , in presenting their report for the year isr , 8 , I have pleasure in being able to lay before the shareholders ; and members of the Society the following statement of its | ; position and prospects : — _?¦'¦ . ¦¦ > •• During the past year 1 , 415 new Life Policies t have been issued by the Society , producing „ _, ' A _^ d duriS _thesame period ; b _& new Guaran- ' I tee Policies , producing 2 , 605 7 ( 5 _»¦ ¦ ¦ r : ¦' ¦ _„ . ¦ "~ , " _Thejiewreveniie , therefore , acquired during ¦ 8 i '! y ¦ _s . x ¦ "" , : . ¦ _.-.- These amounts include the premiums on policies issued V upon the principle of combined Life and . Guarantee . I V •¦¦ The surplus _ to the credit of the Society ,, after paying V I _fSKenfa _^^^^^ % ¦ ' ¦ _| crease over the surplus of the previous year of £ 877 19 s . 3 d . f _; ¦¦ ... ; On the 31 st of December , 1858 , the revenue ofthe Society ; arising from policies then in forcei was _£ io 5 , GOO lls . ad . fe . , The cash and invested assets amounted to £ 220 , 780 9 s . I » t _« _ii « , _^ t _!^ n _^ o th _t ca | ) _/ h _^ _^ ° , _^ _: _^ fd _\ 6 r _y _^' andi 88 ubscribedforbyu _P wards ° _V _^ Osh _^^ t After _' a long'and careful _negociation , the Society has , « j f under the powers of the 164 th section of the Deed of Settle- ¦ r ment , _succeeded , in acquiring the business of the _•» European _; Insurance and Annuity Company , " the premiums derivable f from which , have addeel ' an annual income of £ 40 , 000 to the . . Society ' s revenue and a large amount of funded and real I property to its investments . « The directors deem it right to add , that they are now in treaty for the acquisition of the business of another Society , having a large revenue and a considerable invested C \ iunq . 1 i The revenue of the Society will be greatly augmented i- i by these _acqulBitions , but the annual expenditure will not - . } . be _materialfy , if at all , increased . v j , t Various circumstances have hitherto combined to prevent : ¦ j 5 . the further reduction of expenditure , to which the attention i I _^ _T _^^ _x . _^ . t _^ i _^ r . i _&^ r _t I _^ view to _tlfeiptroduction of a rigid _syaiem of economy , fro m " L which they expect the most beneficial results . f r Applications , as the _shareholder arc aware , have , from 1 I _goTornnlK' _teh _^ _tan _^ tir _' to _^ _cTc _^^^^^^^ _. f _Ino i \ . ' Society ' s guarantee in cases of Government _employes , but i W in every case the heads of departmontH , while admitting the ' _? SSS _?^ Lt _^ _inwVf _« io _^^ , _« o _l _^? _^ ril _An _« n _VJ _^ . C nio _^ _i I _^ _ScTO ta i _?^*^ ;¦ M 3 LeglBlation on this point _wae therefore ncceesary . r v T 1 > ° directors also found by experience that the _acquit- L B tl _^? L n _^^^ % w _e _% a ? i \ _loUHK ym _^ dG _^ y _^ n (\ n _™ I ' Pr _« e _^ _' _% W , o ° f _BS _^^^^^ t ? only in email assurances , intended for the convenience of V r tbo _induBti-ini _olaasoH-, lUheroforo appeared _esaentlul to the be _Amoved y _mlsuppreheiiBlon should I ! Tho aeouiBltlon of tho _buBlnosa of tho » _Mnronoan TnB ,. r I 1 _anc ? a . _WnK _^^ r ! r and incorporated under two special Acts of Farllamont , E f ! , l _M _^ _3 v _Sf r « _Mnnf « _te _^ _J _^^ I SS _^^ SS _^^^^ l _^^ S _^^^» SS | _> _;> ment _nccordiiiKly _« and a spncral Act . 22 Vlo ., _oup . xxv ., » i > received the , _Itoynl _nssont on the loth April last , und camo I _Ktr _^ _W _^ _aS _^ _doJt ed 1 _^^ 8 _^ m , « _ABBurftnce Society , " ana Ib now Jn a position io transact m \ guarantee _buelnuBB with every department of Oovonunont . M ¦ ti _^^ _hftlo _?^^ I _Fldewtf a « a _\™ tcV _&^ _uatlnol _ffiiMhS K _patlng _n large _lnoroneo in the (? uaranto « branch . Hi , _Afitor tho ordinary business of the Annual Gonoral Moot- ¦ I _, i ng 8 hftl } boconul «( lod , _thomoetJnffw _« llbodcolarodHpeoIaI , ¦ } ' ' _wArnKu _^ m , i , _rSnot _oxeeodmg £ 10 _^^ B Act of _l » _arH « nnont , _1 b now _roqntred to bo _lnorouBod to _M I- fo _^^ A , ~ so o _% no _« n _^ m _> _Wfeonih _Beottou of tho _Soolety ' _a Act m _; -your rtlrcotorH rocommond tho addition to tho _prooont k _bowdof two of the _aireotora of tho lute " Ifluropoan _Iiibui _' - ¦ L
6 Ttttr I ¦ *^ 1 European Assurance • Fl...
ance and Annuity Company , '' namely . Admiral Drinkwater Bethune , C . B ., and Henry 'Holland llarriBon , Esq . . The directors who retire from office this year , in confor- m wUh tUe _^ Qf Settlement _^^ Richard Spooner , M . I * . ; Henry Wickham Wickham , M . I ' . ; John Field , and Thomas Young _McChristle , Esquires ; and John _Parkor , _Esq-, one of this auditors ; all of whom being eligible ; offer themselves for _re-electionl :- The annual revenue of the Society bavins now reached upwards of £ 100 , 000 , with a prospect of an early increase to £ 170 , 000 , and the invested capital being above £ 200 , 000 , the Society appears to have arrived at an era in its existence , of which _advantage ought to betaken , to place it in the most prominent manner before the public . Your directors are preparedtodotheirpart , audtWfttllyreIyotttheah _« rc- uoiaers and policy-holders to aid them , by exercising their individual influence , in adding to the business of _theifoeiety , in all its branches , The solid position now attained , will also supply the numerous agents with the means of over- coming fiie _^ ompetition with which they have hitherto had to confend , and enable them to _extend the connections of the Society , in a manner commensurate with its importance and their own zeal and activity . By order of the Board , _Wimiam Ci . ei _< ani > , _J /« h _^> - and Secretary ,
~ . „ -^ , . Gkokoe Aiexasder Hamilton, ...
_~ . _„ - _^ , . Gkokoe Aiexasder Hamilton , Esq ., chairman , said ' , he hadYe _^ lltt . le to add to tIw concise , careful , and he * " _»*^ _satisfactory report which had just been read _» and the adoption ot which it was his duty tQ moye The maiu feature of the Society ' s proeeedings during the last year had been the acquisition of the business of the " European Irisur- ance and Annuity Company , " and the consequent adoptionof the namei of the ' European . " No doubt the shareholders must feel that this was a most important transaction , and it was scarcely necessary for _^^ him to . state that it required the greatest care on the part of the management . The conditions on which the directors had undertaken the respon- sibilities of that company , had had to be thoroughly considered , and the arrangement had been _concluded on terms satisfactory to both sides . 11 ns bociety lias now an income of from _^ £ 110 , 000 to _^ 120 , 000 , with assets exceeding jE 2 OO , O 0 O , and also an un- called-up capital of _jEI 60 , 000 subscribed for by no less _^ han 650 shareholders ( cheers ) . The report intimated that a negotiation with another society was now pending , and if that negotiation should to the revenue of this company . Under all eircum- stances , he was greatly gratified in being able to show the position of the Society was even better than it was at any former time on which he had the shareholders ( cheers ) . was _^ he wished to impress on the minds of all , that the means of increasing that success was a rigid adherence to economy ( hear , hear ); and that the rpal source of nrosneritv for a society "i _*^ . 1 , e . _^ eal s . ource ° l prosperity lor a society of this kind was , increase of business without increase of expenses ( cheers ) . He was glad to say , the working expenses of this year were less than any year since 1855 _ana every effort would be made to Jeep . them at _^ low a point as was _insistent with ( _= _; -- „ _Tnrninc tn thp _ftiiarftntPP _Ri-nnpli \\\ _oro emciency . _luriung to tne _guarantee uiancii , tnere was an increase in the profits there as compared with the previous year , and he trusted that soon they would prove sufficient to cover the ordinary _exnenses of the Society It was necessarv to obtain i _sTcrorpSSKo _issrss _^^ _ss the name ot the European , and to have power to guarantee the employes of Government . This Act has been obtained , but it requires that the Guarantee _^ und shall be increased from _* 10 , 000 to _^ 20 , 000 . In consequence of the junction with the European , it was felt to be desirable that two of the directors of * h _»* company should be added to the direction of this Society , and therefore two gentlemen wouldnow be proposed for election , of groat experience and re- speetability . He had formed a strong opinion up- on the state of this Society ; he had long struggled for its prosperity No _^ one was mofe _sensible than himself of the impropriety or danger of using exaggerated expressions in reference to such ftn _undertaking ; und he spoko advisedly when ho declared thatl _» n hi * fl « n opinion this _Soqiety waa ba 8 ed on a safe and satisfactory foundation ( re- peated cheers ) . He was anxious , also , to place on record the high opinion he entertained oftho effl- _S ! ? _" _^ _" _Wi qualities of tho directors , and of hUi friend , the manager . He had had , at various times , occasion to meet with many gentlemen , and many bodies pf gentlemQn , and ho could assure the _sliare _l noWors that ho never , in tho _wltolo course of his life , ha _< l had anything to do with a body of persons _whoeo business it _wae to deal vith tho property of » ° ! tho / B _^^ _thomBolvos to him to bo moro efficient , ov to have a greater desire to promote tho _iutorosta and welfUro of those for whom they were trustees , than the gentlempn _1 q whom ho had alluded ( hoar , hoar ) . One thing ho would add , they had not been mercenary , and this ho now could say without any motive _hnpntable to himself ; their _isoal and ability had really l ? oon extraordinary , anJ sm ' o ] Y tho _«^ lowa _» ce had not been a largo sum _l _, bo distributed as fees arnongst fifteen or _eightoen _Ulrectors lor tho _coiuluot of tho business
~ . „ -^ , . Gkokoe Aiexasder Hamilton, ...
of such a _comnanv - _'YhWr V > f _><>»\ _x » j . ¦• _* '" ¦ nl _^ _bSno . _tV . _!™ _VfT _* + u f _f _* . ¦ _?* _'' But lt ; was a _££ ? iS _ffi ? _tiSfrSw /? _S"" _° ? _making money _f at j , not PJf 6 ! 1 _™ _* 1 " 5 feehJig of the directors ; there had been that fine and and honourable _feeling _wWi , was characteristic of Englishmen to actwitK _oTJr ? and honourinikt _whioh w _^ ac * With ability _™* UonO _"f" ? , * J _°% * Wh _^ tV Wa sof _? purely trust na-S _^ mS _^ r l ? f _£ l « - _^ _/• _^^ _. tO Mr _* C * eland , tne manager , ne lelt bound to say Mr . Cleland _possessed a most intuitive perception as to the interests and conduct of the Society and that th < _T J ™?¦ S department could not be ' trn _^ il _?« _executive _ueparuncnc couiu not tie trusted to more efficient hands . In conclusion , he begged to move the adontion of the report ; and the lion , gentleman sat _fliv _£ ™ am ; d much cheerine- _, _genueman sat down " * _" _^ _ic _^ _g . Councillor _Hi-lx , of Ashton , seconded the ro _* n lution and said he was _delimited to h « w 1 , 2 I 5 ?" _{„„{" u ' _^ fr _, _« l " _t _, _Tw _£ i _. _oT ? ? V nave heard the luoitt statement _w Inch had just been laid before the meeting , of the position and prospects of the Society ; and being a large shareholder , as well as a successful agent , the statements he had then heard had well repaid him for comi _^ to London , There was but one statement made by the honourable chairman which he could not quite agree in , viz . —that the amount of the new business of last year , producing upwards of 15 , 000 / _^ in annual premiums , had not been satisfactory . For his own part , were it equally profitable to the honourable gentlemen , he shouldhave uked ? hat he had been aboiit to change his position for the purpose of becoming an agent for the Society in _thl country ( laughter ) , and if it had been so , lie was quite confident that he would soon have arrived at the conviction that 15 , 000 / . of new business in a year was a very large amount , and one which ought to be considered gratifying . Why , this income however small it might appear to those who were not labouring as agents , was actually more than double the amount of many of the assurance societies of the very highest character in London ( hear , hoar ) . Then as to the expenditure of the Society , he really felt greatly inclined to diflfer from the honourable chairman upon that point also . The Society had prpgrossed in a _wonderful degree since 1855 , and yet all that had taken place for the last few years had been effected at an expenditure of less than the expenditure of that year , when the income was only _^ 0 , 000 . If _^ hlt were not satisfact ory , he knew not what could be gratifying to directors and shareholders ( hear , hear ) . ' ¦ ¦ The tact was that the Society had progressed and increased in a rate quite unparalleled in the history oi'life assurance oflBces ( hear , hear ) . He for one knew of none that had made such rapid progress . The report was then unanimously adopted Admiral _Drinkwater Bethuiie , C . B ., and Henry rr iinnri Harrison Esa were then elected directors" _^ _tW _dStms _' _^ and tne directors ami auditor ictnmg m rotation , were _re-elected-Watts _; n niovinff a cordial vote ofthanks to Dr . v \ _atts , in _rnoying a cortiiai- _\ ore . _oi uianKS xo the directors _saul , he knew the duties of the directors as well as it could be expected for an outsider to be acquainted with themi , and he was convinced not only that their anxieties and labours _^ ' -. y the honour and thanks yero _;« y great , ' } 1 _f " _™ _™ _™' 1 UU _^ ' u '" l _" _3 they received were very small , and aftei the most satisfactory statements tne meeting nau tnat aa > heard , he felt quite certain the shareholders would _TSr _^ hj . i » _^ ss _^ _cssr _s pression of thaufcs to the directors ccnous ; . _rie was sure this proposal required no lcn « thenod _ouservations from liim to recommend it ( licur , hear ) . Mr . _Beynous , of Binninglmn , in a neat and . practical speech , seconded the resolution , _>> men _v as _; cordially adopted . The _Chaiumax , on the part of himself and his brother directors , returned thanks for the resolution which had been passed . He assured the shareholders that a moro anxious and indefatigabre board of directors could not bo at the head of of any society . What he was always anxious , for was that directors should have a ieoling that tney were merely tho trustees of others , and that feeiing had certainly been eminently exhibited by , the directors of this Society ( cheers ) . There ought likewise to bo frankness on all occasions ; frankness would _eecuro Confidence on tho pnrt ot tho shareholders ; that again would seeuro tho _exertions of nge » tflJ and the _^ _"T _^ Tl _^ lSl of tho institution must now depend on tho frankness of tho directors , tho confidence of tho shareholders , and the aetivily _, * _eal , and re « pect « l » my of Us _nuinorous agents , , j Tho resolution was then unanimously carried , ana tho business of tho genoral mooting concluded . An Extraordinary General Mooting whb then held for tho purposo of passing tho resolution mentioned in tho report of _tlio directors . Tho _Cuaiuman proposed a vote of thanks to tno manager , which Lolng seconded hy Mr Foster , M . l ' . _> was cordially anil _unanhnouflly carriod . Mr . _Cliolam ) returned thanks . Mr . Vikuu moved a vote of thanks totho _Chairman , which being received and passed will , i _. oolninution , tho Chairman returned thanks , and the moot'ing separated , :
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), June 11, 1859, page 20, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/sldr_11061859/page/20/
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