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4. Every successive promissory note issued by the Co. in connexion with this pol. shall be deducted from the balance of the pol. remaining in force at the time of the issue of such promissory note.

5. The reduction made on the issue of any promissory note in connexion with this pol. shall be held to have been made in accordance with the table indorsed hereon; and the delivery of the promissory note, or the production of the receipt for such promissory note, shall discharge the Co. against all parties and all claims whatsoever in respect of the amount so reduced.

6. Proof of the payment of the preceding prem. may be required by the directors before issuing any promissory note in connexion with any prem. being due and tendered for payment.

7. Every promissory note so issued by the Co. may be presented at the head office of the Co., and will be redeemed 3 days after presentation, on terms indorsed thereon; the deposit of such note with the Co. shall discharge the Co. against all parties, and from all claims in connexion with such note. 8. The age of the assu. having been admitted, and all requirements by the Co. satisfactorily complied with, this pol. is indisputable. [Signatures, etc.]

This pol. is free from all conditions, save those expressed on its face. Clause 7 is intended to free the Co. from risk, "after having once redeemed a promissory note in connexion with any pol.'

The holders of notes may, at their option, instead of surrendering them, receive the sum payable on the note by way of loan, for such time and at such int. as may be mut. agreed upon; and if the loan and int. be repaid, then the promissory note will remain in force. Four-fifths of the profits are to be divided every third year. "Not less than 50 p.c. of all prems. paid is invested in the names of the trustees in Consols, or other well-known Gov. securities."

The plan of this Co. appears on the whole to be more simple and complete than that of its immediate predecessor. It is now getting into active working order.

The very latest outcrop of the Consols idea is presented by the British Guardian Ins. Co., which was founded in 1869, under the title of the National Widows. In 1872 it took its present name. It now (1873) announces Mr. E. N. Yelland as its Gen. Man.; and at the same time also announces that

50 p.c. of the prems. paid on whole L. pol. is invested in the names of trustees in Brit. Gov. securities, for which purpose there is a quarterly audit of the income account, when the board hand to the trustees one-half of the L. assu. prem. which has been received during the last quarter. The trustees, after satisfying themselves of the correctness of the amount, forward it to the brokers, who invest the money, sending the trustees the Bank of England certificate. The account is kept in a ledger specially designed for this system, and is so arranged that any pol.-holder can, at a glance, see his position in the Co.

We shall watch with a good deal of interest the future developments and modifications of the Consols system of Ins. We ought to add that in each of the preceding schemes the prems. are payable in sterling-that is, not in any way depending upon the price of Consols.

CONSOLS INSURANCE ASSO., founded in 1858, with an authorized cap. of £50,000, in shares of £1, “and such add. sum, not exceeding with the orig. cap. the sum of five million pounds, as may be determined by the shareholders."

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The founder of the Co. was Mr. T. H. Baylis. The scheme of its bus, we have already fully explained in our art. CONSOLS INS. It is there seen that "one nominal half the amount of each person's investment must be in every case invested permanently in the Gov. Consols, in trustees' names, on behalf of the investors; while the advantages offered to the shareholders are novel, and indeed remarkable. "The plan of the Asso. was orig. prepared by Dr. Farr, of the Reg.-General's office, for the adoption of the Gov. as a national L. ins. and investment asso.' In addition to the Consols plan of ins., the Co. purported to have an "enfranchisement fund for granting loans, repayable by easy instalments, and cancelled by death;" also an "accumulation fund," under which it was proposed to receive "uniform ann. deposits," and pay the accumulated amount at the end of 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, or 30 years, or "at the death of the depositor, if it happened within the stipulated time"-the amount payable in Consols.

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The D. of Sett. of the Co. bears date 5th April, 1859. It recites, "And whereas at least one-fourth part of the cap. of the said Asso. has been subscribed for and by the parties hereto of the first part, and the number of shares in such cap. taken by them respectively is written opposite to their respective names and seals subs. and affixed to these presents." The bus. of the Co. was limited to L. ins., and "every other bus. which is now or from time to time hereafter may be transacted by any L. ins. or endowment co., or rev. int. co., or which is in any way connected with the duration of life." Qualification of directors, 400 shares (clause 70). There was to be inserted in every pol. or other instrument by which any ins. or endow. might be effected, or any risk undertaken by the Asso., a proviso expressly limiting the liability under any such pol. or other instrument, so that the funds and property of the Asso. for the time being remaining unappropriated and at the disposal of the directors should alone be liable to meet all claims and demands in respect of such pol. or instrument, and expressly negativing any unconditional liability; and also that no shareholder of the Asso. shall be personally liable upon any such pol. or other instrument, or be bound to do anything more than pay to the Asso. the amount (if any) for the time being due from him upon his shares in the Asso. (96). No other transaction whereby any loss can be incurred by the Asso. shall be entered into with any person until he shall have signed an agreement in the words and figures following, or to the like effect:

It is hereby expressly agreed between the Consols Ins. Asso. and the undersigned, that in all trans

actions with the Asso. the undersigned expressly limits his claim to the funds and property of the Asso. for the time being remaining unappropriated, and at the disposal of the directors, and that no shareholder shall be liable to contribute more than the amount for the time being unpaid on any share held by him, and that no trustee, director, shareholder, or officer of the Asso. shall incur any personal liability to the undersigned, in respect of any transaction with the Asso. (97).

The Asso. might at any time be dissolved, or amalg. or disposed of by vote of shareholders (237).

The D. of Trust for regulating the investments of the L. fund was dated 21st July, 1859. It provided for the investment of the funds in Consols, in accordance with the general plan of the scheme. Dr. Farr was appointed the first auditor, to hold office until death or resignation (clause 6). Pol. to be paid by trans. of Consols to be made by trustees upon the order of directors (8). Consols L. ins. fund not to be liable for debts or engagements of Asso. other than under L. pol. (9). Any deficiency in the Consols L. ins. fund to be made good out of the Consols capital stock. This latter fund, again, to be made good out of other capital funds and property of the Asso. So also excess of Consols L. fund to be trans. to Consols cap. stock (12). In the event of a deficiency in the Consols L. assu. fund, a statement is to be laid by trustees before the board. If such deficiency be not made good, trustees to send notice to each pol.-holder (16). General meeting to be called on any change of trustees (26). Deed might be repealed, amended, etc., by two-thirds of the directors and two-thirds of the trustees (40).

Almost immediately on its complete formation, the Co. took over the bus. of the British, Foreign, and Colonial, which had previously absorbed the bus. of the Brit. Exchequer, and had died in an attempt to acquire the Era.

The first audit report of Dr. Farr was pub. in April, 1861, made up to the 31st Dec., 1860. At this last date the Co. had in force 286 pol. (6 of these were accumulation pol.) ins. in Consols and sterling £77.458 12s. 2d. The prems. paid on these had been £3017 45. Id., and there was standing to their credit £1434 10s. in Consols. II pol. had been surrendered, and the deposits paid by the sale of £75 5s. 4d. Consols. One shortterm pol. had expired. There was only 1 pol. of ins. in sterling, for £1450. There had been no death. This was the result of nearly two years' working, including the bus. taken over. Dr. Farr says in his report:

From the signatures to the D. of Sett. it appears that £46,593 of the cap. stock have been subs. for by 421 shareholders; and this cap., besides serving to estab. the bus., augments in the early stages the stability of the Consols L Ins. Fund. The foundation of associated inexpensive local trusts

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at Bristol, Bath, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Congleton, Doncaster, and other places, by the Consols Asso., as well as the payment of the prems. through the local banks, appears to me to be well calculated to make the system known throughout the country, and by extending its basis to give it add. security. We must here notice another phase in the history of this Co.-that is, the means adopted to obtain for it publicity. The cols. of the Post Mag. were, in the first instance, made use of largely; but the then editor was conscientious in his praise or condemnation, and he would not go the lengths required. There therefore appeared on the 18th April, 1860, the first number of a new periodical called the Policy-Holder. edited by Mr. Wm. Carpenter, who had been the founder of the Brit., Foreign, and Colonial Life. The pages of this pub. were almost entirely devoted to eulogising the Consols Ins. Asso. and its founder. In order, apparently, to draw attention to its pages, a pamph. was pub., The Perils of Pol.-holders, and the Liabilities of Life Offices. Violent attacks were made upon several L. cos., which became the subject of legal proceedings. In a word, very considerable attention was drawn to the Consols Asso. by these means, as the readers of the ins. literature of that period will remember. The Policy-Holder only continued in existence some six months; but its editor sustained his crusade in favour of the Consols Co. in various other forms. In 1862 he pub., Perils of Policy-Holders, Letter No. 2. This again led to considerable controversy; and certainly by these means there could have been very few persons in the U.K. to whom the features of the Consols Ins. Co. did not become more or less known. We refer to these incidents simply historically, as a short chapter in the hist. of this Co.

In the Post Mag. for 15th June, 1861, it is announced :

The plan of action adopted by this Co. appears to be to obtain the requisite amount of cap. for guarantee purposes before adopting active means for extending the pol. bus. of the offices. That the plan has been successful to an extent that could scarcely be anticipated, at a time when there has been a severe pressure in the money market, will be inferred from the fact that up to the last board meeting the deed had been signed by 438 shareholders, as holders of 47,233 shares.

The next phase in the hist. of the Co. occurred in the autumn of this same year, 1861, by reason of its assumed connexion with the Bank of Deposit, of which Mr. Peter Morrison was then Man. Director, and by reason of no less than 6 of the directors of that notoriously insolvent inst., including the said Man. Director, being found to be directors of the Consols. The pub. of this event brought forth the following explanation from Mr. Baylis, in a letter dated 29th Nov., 1861:

In the autumn of the year 1859, the preliminary arrangements were being made for launching the Consols Asso., and as is usual in such undertakings, it was necessary to contract a temporary loan, in order to provide funds for incidental expenses. With this object in view, a negociation was opened with the Bank of Deposit, and terms were agreed upon for an advance of £5000 for a term of years, at a fair rate of int. The security agreed to be given for such advance being the debentures of the Consols Asso. It was further stipulated that some of the directors of the Bank of Deposit should join

the Consols board. On these conditions the loan was contracted and advanced, and the following gentlemen, being at that time (Aug., 1859) directors of the Bank of Deposit, were elected directors of the Consols board, viz.:-Mr. Peter Morrison, Dr. Clark, Major Adair, Rev. W. Bean, Mr. N. Dennys, Mr. F. Wells. These gentlemen signed the Consols deed for 400 shares [each], and paid up £100 each. Being thus duly qualified, they took their seats and discharged the duties of directors in a perfectly satisfactory manner, and continued to do so until recently. The loan of £5000 advanced to the Consols is not yet due. If it were, the Asso. is in a position to draw a cheque and pay the amount over to those legally authorized to receive it.

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The above-named directors all retired from the Consols board on the final breakdown of the B. of Deposit.

Before the end of this same year, some Consols shareholders at Bristol had taken alarm and were giving trouble; and also before the close of the year the books of the Co. were in the hands of the accountants, Messrs. Coleman, Turquand, & Youngs, for the purpose of a thorough investigation.

Readers who have become initiated in the mysteries of joint-stock enterprise will see in this "juncture of incidents" the beginning of the end. It was so. Early in Jan., 1862, a petition was presented for winding up the Co. by two of its shareholders. The petition came on for hearing before the Master of the Rolls on 19th Feb., but was adjourned from time to time, the managers of the Co. always asserting that no necessity for winding up the Asso. existed. Finally the matter was disposed of in June, by the Co. agreeing to a voluntary winding up.

At one of the hearings before the Court the most astounding revelations were made regarding the financial operations of the Co. It appeared that £30,000 in debentures had been issued, for which the Co. received £5000 in cash, certain L. pol. alleged to be worth £4000, and a 'Scotch heritage bond." The Master of the Rolls declared that it was impossible for the Co. to go on in its then position, and the counsel who represented the various interests all concurred.

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Vigorous attempts were made by some of the large shareholders in the Asso. to save it from liq. In March a committee of such shareholders met, and passed the following resolutions:

1. That the directors and the man. are entitled to the confidence of the shareholders.

2. That it will be for the manifest benefit of the shareholders that the Consols Asso. should be carried on, and that every shareholder should use his best exertions in advancing its bus. as much as possible.

3. That a voluntary loan of not exceeding £14,000 be made by the shareholders for the benefit of the Asso., on the security of the Scotch Heritable Bonds for £35,000 charged on the estate of Mr. Meiklam, and now belonging to the Asso., and the pol. for £9000 on the life of that gentleman, subject to the payment to the Asso., out of the proceeds of the said bonds, of the sum of £21,000 due to the Asso. on the said bonds. That the Asso. shall guar. int. on the said loan at the rate of £7 10s. p.c. p.a., being the rate of int. received by the Asso. on the amount advanced by the Asso. That all the shareholders be invited to contribute to this loan.

The shareholders did not subs., and the loan was never raised.

Pending the determination of the fate of the Co., Dr. Farr had prepared his second audit report to 31st Dec. 1861. It showed that 138 pol. had been issued during the year. 3 deaths had occurred, the pol. insuring a total of £329 8s. Consols; 55 pol. had been surrendered, and the deposits in Consols amounting to £408 15s. Id. paid; 61 pol. had been discontinued, and the Consols in deposit in respect of the same (£281 os. 7d.) had not been claimed. There were therefore in force at the end of 1861, 303 policies, ins. £71,148 125. 9d. in Consols, on which £3990 125. 10d. had been paid in cash; and the Consols withdrawable in respect of these amounted to £2014 12s. 3d. The amount of the Consols L. fund was more than sufficient to pay these.

Finally Mr. George Scott, who had been Act. of the Asso. during its brief career-the Sec. was Mr. Alexander Colvin-was appointed official man. or liquidator of the Asso. under the supervision of the Court. The pol. existing were trans. to the Provident Clerks', and a serious attempt was made to collect the assets for the benefit of a numerous list of creditors. It seems almost needless to state that the "fundamental principle of the Asso. defined by the D. of Sett., that one nominal half the amount of each person's investment must be in every case permanently invested in Gov. Consols in trustees' names," (vide orig. prosp.) had been entirely disregarded. Indeed, a considerable number of the shareholders had only paid 5s. per share. The uncalled cap. should therefore have been sufficient to have discharged long since all just debts, but this has not been the case.

In July, 1863, a call of £1 p. share was ordered by the Master of the Rolls-the shares were I only, but the Co. was unlimited. It was thought this would be sufficient to discharge the debts of £16,000-this being exclusive of the debentures issued against the Meiklam bonds, which it was proposed should be given up, on the Co. repaying the cash received, and returning the so-called securities.

A period of six years elapses, and we reach 1869. The matter of the Consols Co. is again before the Court-this time an alleged misconduct on the part of the official liq. He is removed from his office-his counsel says "he resigns." The report adds: There was another summons in this matter, "as to the apportionment of costs, which are said to be very heavy;" this however stands over until a new liq. be appointed.

In 1873-eleven years after winding up commenced-the Co. again crops up. The Court of Chancery is still torturing the foolish, or unfortunate, shareholders.

CONSTANTINOPLE. The fate of this city-which was founded, A.D. 330, by Constantine the Great as the seat of the Eastern Empire-appears to alternate between outbreaks of the plague on the one hand and devastation by fire on the other. Regarding the plague, we are told that in A.D. 746 it carried off 200,000 victims. In 1611 it is reported that a like number perished. In 1720 the Levant suffered greatly. In later years cholera has from time to time declared its presence with great severity.

Regarding conflagrations, our information is confined to the last and the present century. The following is the most complete return we are able to compile:

1729-12,000 houses burned, together with 7000 inhabitants.

1745-A fire lasted 5 days-extent of damage not recorded.

1749-12,000 houses destroyed.

1750-Nearly 10,000 more houses consumed.

1751-Nearly 4000 houses were burned.

1756-Two fires-first about 500 houses burned; and in July, 15,000 houses, and 100 inhabitants destroyed.

1761 to 1771-Four or five fires, doing great destruction during this period.

1778-2000 houses were burned.

1782-Three fires: Feb. 600 houses; June, 7000; August, 10,000 houses, 50 mosques, and 100 cornmills, etc., were destroyed.

1784-10,000 houses were burned.

1791-Between March and July of this year it is said 32,000 houses were burned! 1792-7000 houses were destroyed.

1795-A similar amount of destruction.

1799-The suburbs of Pera had 1300 houses, including many magnificent buildings, destroyed.

1826-6000 houses destroyed.

1865-A fire originated in a small two-storey building, and thence spreading, whole streets, squares, and mosques were destroyed, as well as the Gov. buildings. About 2800 houses were destroyed, and about 22,000 people left without homes !

1872-July, a fire destroyed about 1000 houses.

We are told that the arrangements for fire protection in this city are very primitive. There are two fire towers on the highest points on each side of the Golden Horn. One of these is an old Genoese fortification in Galata; the other is a Turkish structure, soaring several hundred feet above the water. In the galleries of these towers watchmen walk day and night, spy-glass in hand. On the discovery of a fire, a red ball is hoisted in the daytime, and a red lantern at night, on a flagstaff above; and the big guns on the top of Fire Hill on the Bosphorus announce its existence to the dwellers in the suburbs. Meantime from the watch-tower issue forth messengers, carrying a short pike of authority. These run through the crowded streets, yelling to clear the way, carrying to the policestations and the engine-houses the name of the quarter; at each station fresh men take up the race, and in half an hour the most distant police-station in the city can tell you where the fire is. The fire cos. come forth and carry their engines-little boxes 2 feet square— on their shoulders, the hose on their backs. With these they rush through the streets, yelling like demons. Arrived at the fire, they deposit the engine on the ground, watercarriers bring the water in great leathern bottles, and the pumps work lively and throw a very respectable stream. When the fire gets so near the engines as to be uncomfortable, they haul off a little further, and so steadily retreat before it, fighting every inch of ground. Often at a great fire you may see the grand vizier himself and other cabinet officers on the ground. The flame leaps all streets without hesitation, now whirls aloft from the taper minaret of some doomed mosque, now stoops to lick up some dingy hovel -a poor man's all. And still the engines gradually fall back before it, helpless. At length the wind dies out, the raging element stumbles at some high wall, and with all efforts cannot leap it. Elsewhere, one of the great gardens, so numerous in Constantinople, has checked it. And now the hook and ladder cos. appear, tear down a house or two, more or less remote from the scene, and the fire is done; and yet (says the Ins. Agent) F. ins. cos. do a thriving business in such a place. As is natural, the people think they do all they can to put out fires. "If a steam fire engine were presented to the Turkish Government of this city to-day, they would let it rust out rather than use it."

After the great fire of 1865, an order went forth that no more houses were to be built of wood-hence there may yet be some hope for the city.

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Many travellers who visit Constantinople consider that a fire, instead of being a scourge, should be regarded as a real blessing, as in some sort purifying one of the "plague spots' of Europe. [PLAGUE.]

Marshall, writing in 1832 of the plague, says:

The term plague or pest is so familiar to all acquainted with the geography and hist. of the Levant, Asia Minor, and Constantinople, as to render a recurrence to those parts of the world inseparable from a remembrance of the disease in question; and to treat of the latter to the extent to which it has there prevailed, it would be necessary no give an annuary of their mort. for the last 5 centuries. It appears during such a period down to the present time, to have been what it was in England from 1593 to that is, never extinct, and occasionally manifesting itself with unusual violence. CONSTITUTION (from the Latin constitutio, to set or put together). This is a term which has many significations. We shall only follow these so far as they relate to our subject.

1740,

VOL. II.

5

Thus the act of constituting; formation. State of being; peculiar structure; state of all the organs of the body. A body of fundamental laws, as contained in written documents, or estab. by prescriptive usage, which constitute the form of Gov. for a nation, state, community, asso. or so., as the Brit. Constitution; constitution of ins. asso., etc. The constitution of the body, or diathesis, denotes the particular condition of the body, com

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prising the " 'propria,' or peculiarities, as distinguished from the "communia," or generalities. These we shall speak of under HUMAN CONSTITUTION. The constitution of the air denotes that peculiar state of the air which induces epidemics, or impresses upon epidemic or sporadic diseases their peculiar character or particular occasions, and was designated by Sydenham as "bilious,' 'dysenteric," etc. This we shall speak of under EPIDEMIC CONSTITUTIONS. The Constitutions of Ins. Asso. are mainly regulated by the laws from time to time in force for governing or restricting joint-stock enterprise. This subject will be treated of under INS Asso., CONSTITUTION OF. CONSTITUTION, EPIDEMIC.-See EPIDEMIC CONSTITUTION. CONSTITUTION, Legal.—See INS. Asso., Constitution of.

CONSTITUTION LIFE ASSU. Asso., founded in 1856, with an authorized cap. of £500,000, in 100,000 shares of £5. "Int., exclusive of parti. in 10 p.c. surplus profits, guar. by D. of Sett. at the rate of 5 p.c. p.a." The founder of the co. was Mr. Francis Norton Erith, who became its Act. and Man., assisted by Mr. John White Oram, who became a director, and "Gen. Man. of Metropolitan and Provincial Agency Departments." The prosp. announced as the distinguishing feature of the co. : "The progress of life assu. developed in the principle of sustentation; or, a provision for the prevention of pol. from lapse." It further said:

The progress of L. assu. throughout the U.K., within the last quarter of a century, strikingly evidences its appreciation by the public. Exhibiting a moral elevation of principle, uniting so many and varied interests under the oneness of co-operation, L. assu. stands foremost among the most laudable exercises of civilization, and the best evidences of improvement in social economy. It is confidently affirmed that sos. based upon sound principles, revealing breadth of management, through the power of sufficient cap., evidencing the purest principle of mutuality of int. and united government, are neither too many nor too numerous as affecting the individual growth and prosperity of each. Again:

The successes of well-estab. modern offices-and the statistics of the number of persons assured and not assured-afford the completest evidence that the supply does not exceed the demand. The system of L. assu. is capable of the mightiest extension in the application of its principles, and therefore it is that a wise economy, without narrowness, and a judicious expenditure, without extravagance, command prosperity.

The Constitution Life Assu. Asso. is promoted by experience, and a just sense of the importance of well and honourably founded institutions in their commercial and relative bearings upon society. Possessing its characteristics, keeping pace with the demands of intelligence, and the requirements of the age, it aspires to confidence on the foundation of its integrity-the range of its intentions--and the amplitude of its capital.

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Ninety p.c. of the profits of the asso. were to be "periodically applied to parti. pol.holders." Male and female share-, and pol.-holders (of £100 and upwards) were to be allowed to vote at all gen. and quarterly meetings of the asso. Uniting the true principle of mut. assu. with the positive security and guar. of the joint-stock system, the stability of the asso. is at once estab." The prosp. further says:

It is provided by the Asso.'s D. of Sett. that there shall be pub. periodically, an investigation bal.-sheet, the valuations being made on the strictest principles. Ann. bal.-sheets, as ordinarily pub., do not show the real condition of a co.'s affairs; and the public remain therefore uninformed on a subject which cannot be too explicitly shown.

A board of hon. directors, resident in various parts of the U.K., for the purpose of extending the influence and power of the Asso. The introduction of a clause in the D. of Sett., enabling such board at any time to be formally constituted, by a vote of members duly convened, into a council of reference or court of arbitration upon any disputed point involving the rights of members, gives add. security to the assured and shareholder, and imparts confidence to every officer of the Asso. Four members ann. elected auditors of the Asso., who shall lay the accounts before the gen. courts, being assisted in their examination by their consulting auditor.

The "sustentation" feature is developed as follows:

A peculiar and all-important advantage is offered to the assured in this Asso., at their own option, by a provision for the prevention of pol. from lapse. This valuable desideratum is rendered immediate in case of need, by tables specially calculated upon the best data to meet the contingency; and as this provision does not require that any given number of consecutive years' prems. shall have been paid before its benefit can be enjoyed, a boon of almost inappreciable worth is conferred upon the holders of policies when so protected. It is questionable if, after a few years, any one will hold a pol. of ins. unless guarded by the principle of Sustentation, as exemplified in this So. Without such a guar. against pecuniary casualties and reverse, L. assurance can never be universally appreciated. No new appropriation of profits in any co. will long continue to be estimated by the public as of material worth, while the security is wanting which can alone make L. assu. a social and domestic duty. Experience can testify to the numbers that are deterred from assuring, through the dread of temporary inability to preserve their pols. from lapse. Moreover, it should be observed that the lapsing or discontinuance of pols. acts prejudicially on the accumulation of cap.; and upon purely commercial grounds, therefore, the great importance of the principle is apparent. Its application to circumstances as they may arise in this Asso. will be carefully administered; and any wilful misrepresentation or other fraud will vitiate the pol., and render all prems. paid upon it forfeit to the So. Rates of prem. were calculated with and without "sustentation"—the former being about 5 p.c. higher than the latter.

The co. undertook to ins. Defective Titles-"thus assisting the trans. or sale of

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