Then there was "non-forfeiture of life prems.":

All moneys paid in respect of life pol. for sums not exceeding £100 each, which may have become void for want of due renewal of the prems., will, on the decease of the parties, be refunded (less 10 p.c.) to their representatives.

Next we have "half-credit prems." and ins. against accidents: "assu. are granted to provide against disability resulting from accidents-a feature peculiarly suited to persons whose occupations are hazardous "-further details presently. It was a feature to advance in cases of persons of "humble circumstances" a portion of the sum ins. "especially to defray funeral expenses." There were a series of Life T. for the "Indus

trial classes;" and a "Savings Fund Department."

On the original prosp. Mr. J. H. James appears as Consulting Act.; Mr. C. T. Rouse, as Man. of L. Depart.; Mr. H. Brooks as Man. of F. Depart. The F. bus. was very small, the duty collected did not reach £100 for the first 3 years. In 1852 Mr. Alfred Burt become Act. and Man. of the Co. In 1853 he was superseded by Mr. John Sheridan, who threw more energy into the enterprise. Under his management Mr. F. P. F. Strousberg became "Inspector-general of Branches and Agencies."

The following is an abstract of the T. of rates (No. 17) for ins. "against inability to work, from disease or accident," showing the prems. for a £10 annu. during life :

In 1857 the So. took over the bus. of the Diadem; and 1858 the bus. of the AngloAustralian, [ANGLO-AUSTRALIAN.] [AMALGAMATION.] In 1859 the L. bus. of the So. was trans. to the British Nation; its F. bus to the State. BRITISH PROVIDENT LIFE AND GUARANTEE ASSO. LIM. [called Brit Prov. No. 2.] This Asso. was founded in 1872, upon the basis of the North London, founded in 1870. The authorized cap. of the Asso. is £100,000, in shares of £1. An ann. actuarial investiga

tion is to be made, and an ann. distribution of surplus. The Asso. is respectably constituted, but has its way to make amongst very active rivals. The proposal form of the Asso. is unique, consisting of a declaration merely, but embodying the main provisions of the ordinary life form. Mr. Geo. Tomkins is Man., Mr. C. H. A. Ross is the Sec., Mr. E. Justican the Act.

BRITISH PRUDENTIAL INS. Co. See PRUDENTIAL.

BRITISH REVERSIONARY ASso.-This Asso. was projected in 1845, but died in the bud. BRITISH SCEPTRE L. INS. Co.-This Co. was projected in 1852 by Mr. Adam Speilman, the well-known bullion broker of Lombard-street. It had at date of complete regis. 1400 shares subs. by the Palladium of France, but no English shareholders. The project did not go forward.

BRITISH SERVICE. An ins. co. under this title was projected in 1850 by Mr. Edward Curtis, sol., 24, Golden-square, Westminster. It went through several stages of regis., but finally collapsed.

BRITISH SHIELD L. INS. Co., founded in 1857, and in the same year its bus. and connexions became united with the London and Provincial Provident. Mr. James Moor was Sec. The last-named Co. became merged in the European, by reason of its amalg. with the Brit. Nation.

BRITISH SHIP.-In order to entitle a ship to the privileges of a British ship, it must be built in Gt. Brit., and belong entirely to Brit. subjects, and the master and three-fourths of the mariners must be Brit. subjects, except in case of death or unavoidable accidents. In time of war the proportion of British mariners required is generally restricted to onefourth; and the same proportion only is required in the Greenland Fishery. BRITISH SOCIETY, "Hedge-lane, Charing Cross," founded in 1711, for ins. on births and marriages.

BRITISH SOCIETY, "for granting policies on the lives of 650 persons for £300 each policy." -A scheme so described was set on foot in 1714. More details concerning it will be given under our HIST. OF LIFE INS.

BRITISH STANDARD LIFE Assu. So. [No. 1].-An office under this title was projected in 1846, by Mr. Alexander Robertson, who was to have been its Man. Director in Scotland. The proposed cap. was £50,000, in 10,000 shares of £5; the whole amount to be paid up, concerning which the prosp. said:

This affords a better guarantee to the public than a much larger nominal cap., which, though subs.

for, is unpaid, and which, if available at the formation of a co., may, by the transference of shares, become unavailable when it is required. The paid-up cap. is much greater than can ever be required by the Co.; and while the shareholders are thus relieved of all future responsibility, the public have the most complete guarantee for the faithful discharge of all obligations undertaken by the Co. On the subject of life ins. generally, there was the following:

Life assu. has been found to be one of the happiest contrivances of modern times for the relief of families from the pressure of premature death or unexpected misfortune; and it is resorted to as the means of enabling parties to enter into pecuniary trans. Great however as have been the advantages derived from life assu., it is thought that its benefits may be very largely extended, by improvements upon the mode of management, and a better application of the principles upon which its results are founded; and it is in this belief that the Brit. Standard L. Assu. So. has been instituted. There was this special feature regarding military and naval service, and foreign residence: Naval or military officers, or others, requiring to go to foreign countries, or to be engaged in actual warfare, may be assu. without extra prem., on a stipulation that a deduction will be made from the sum assu. when the same comes to be payable. By this new mode of assu. the creditors of naval or military men can render their debts absolutely certain; and gentlemen likely to be ordered abroad can borrow such money as their wants require, upon undoubted security.

"Half-credit" for seven years. And, finally, "the pol. granted by this Co. will be indefeasible and unchallengeable upon any ground of innocent mistake or error," etc. The enterprise never got fully afloat, although a respectable board was organized for Scotland.

BRITISH STANDARD LIFE AND SICKNESS CO. [No. 2], founded in Leeds in 1864, with an authorized cap. of £20,000. Mr. John Ely was promoter and Man. Director. The Co. passed out of existence in 1866.

BRITISH STANDARD INS. Co. [No. 3], founded in 1868, for the purpose of carrying on the business of life and guarantee ins., its authorized cap. being £2,000,000. Mr. J. W. N. Brooks was one of the promoters. We believe the enterprise has died out.

BRITISH SURETY Co., "for guaranteeing the fidelity of persons employed by others," projected in 1842, with a proposed cap. of £100,000, in 20,000 shares of £5. The prosp. says:

This Co. guarantees the faithful application of funds entrusted to Man., Sec., Clerks, Agents, Travellers, Stewards, Collectors, and all other persons holding situations involving responsibility; and provides surety for the fidelity of persons seeking to hold situations of trust.

The Co. further proposes as one of its principal objects, and as being likely to be attended with the most beneficial results, to afford to parties substantial inducements to adopt the benefits of life assu. -now acknowledged to be the most advantageous mode of creating from a limited income a provision against the infirmities of age, and for the support of a family in the event of death. This Co. is in no respect a life assu. so., and it will be altogether optional with persons to avail themselves of the life assu. part of the plan; but with the view and hope of inducing parties to cultivate a habit of economy and lay the foundation for a future provision, the guarantee of the Co. will be granted on more favourable terms to those who have a life pol., obtained from any life assu, co., to offer as a collateral security for their fidelity; without in the slightest degree detracting from the ann. increasing value of the life pol., the Co. will be enabled, on the strength of it, to grant their guarantees at reduced rates to the holders of such pol. [FIDELITY GUARANTEE.]

It was proposed to divide the profits of the Co. among the holders of fidelity pol. The first division to take place in Jan. 1843. Mr. Henry Stephenson was Sec. We believe this enterprise merged into the Guarantee So. founded same year.

BRITISH TONTINE, OR UNIVERSAL AND PERPETUAL MUT. Assu. Asso.—A preliminary announcement of this Asso. appeared under date 7 Jan., 1846, as follows:

Among the variety of claims to public notice on the principles of life assu. the Brit. Tontine will be found, on investigation, to be the most eligible and secure; safe in its mode of ins.; accessible to all ages; admissible to any amount, and founded solely on Gov. or real and approved securities. It is divided into classes, determinable at fixed periods, but always open and progressing; it secures not merely simple, but compound int.; it returns not merely cap., but cap., int., and profits too; it involves no forfeiture, and incurs no responsibility beyond the sum subs. It enables all on highly advantageous mut. principles to ins. either their own or others' lives for their own or others' benefit; and parents, at the birth of a child, to ins. for that child, when it shall attain to manhood, the possession of a cap. which may be wisely and usefully employed in bus., or, if invested in Gov. stock, for the purchase of an annu., secure to it an independent competence for the remainder of its days.

The orig. prosp. was entered at Stationers' Hall; but the matter does not appear to have proceeded. Mr. John Townsend was Sec. pro tem.

BRITISH UNION ASSU. ČO. LIM., founded in 1862, with an authorized cap. of £250,000, in 25,000 shares of £10. The bus. of the Co. embraced both F. and L. The prosp. had the advantage of brevity:

The Co. affords to persons, of every rank and condition in life, the greatest possible facilities for creating an immediate and certain fund for the protection of their families or dependents in case of early death, or for making a provision for themselves in old age; and the leading feature of the Co. is the combination in one office of all the improvements which have been adopted by well-estab. cos. Among the leading features: "profits equitably divided amongst good lives," "surrender values of pol. pub."

Mr. Wm.

This was one of the first ins. asso. founded under the Lim. Liability Law. Howell Preston was the founder, Mr. Charles Rutherford was Man., and Mr. W. E. Williams Sec. In 1865 the bus. of the Co. was trans. to the Empire.

BRITISH UNION JOINT-STOCK BANK, LIFE ASSU., Rev. INT., AND ANNU. Co., projected prob. about 1842, with a proposed cap. of £3,000,000, in 30,000 shares of £100. The preliminary prosp. said:

This estab. will combine the bus. of a bank with life assu., the purchase of rev., and the granting of

annu.

Hitherto these different branches of finance have been carried on separately and dis tinctly, although they form portions of one extensive and general monetary system. The previous mode of banking did not admit of their union, because the cap. of a private bank was too limited, and the connexions too confined to compass operations of such magnitude. The introduction of jointstock co. banks, similar in principle to the Bank of England, has removed this impediment.

A more detailed prosp. was to have been shortly pub. This we have never seen. We believe the enterprise did not advance. Mr. W. A. Kentish was Sec.

BRITISH UNION LIFE.-A Co. under this title was projected in 1850, by Mr. James Stephens, accountant, 3, Copthall Buildings, but it made no progress.

BRITISH UNIVERSAL LIFE ASSU., LIM., founded in 1869, with an authorized cap. of £100,000, in 100,000 shares of £1. The objects of the Co. were: To grant or effect ins. on lives by way of tontines, survivorships, and on other contingencies. To grant and secure endowments for children and others, and endowment assurances, and annuity assurances; also assu. against death or personal injury, arising from casualty or accident by land or sea; and also generally the bus. of a casualty, sickness, or accident assu. so., etc. Mr. John Phillips was the Sec. The Co. appears to have passed out of existence. BRITISH WORKMAN FIRE INS. Co., founded in 1871, with an authorized cap. of £50,000, shares of The Co. is still in existence.

in

BRITISH WORKMAN'S MUTUAL LIFE AND ENDOWMENT SO., founded in Birmingham in 1866, with an authorized cap. of £2000, Mr. Geo. Horton being the first regis. promoter. The bus. of the Co. is confined to Industrial Ins. ; and it has this special feature -that pol. of 3 years' standing bear a surrender value of 20 p.c. of the prems. paid; after which it increases at the rate of 5 p. c. up to 50.

The new bus. of the So. for the year 1871 consisted of 9913 pol. issued, yielding in ann. prems. £3630; claims by death in the year 1489; by sickness £307; surrender of pol. 108. Total pol. in force, 18,956, yielding an ann. income of £7227. There were 33 shareholders holding 1339 shares. The paid-up cap. was £1283.

We believe the So. is respectably conducted-Mr. H. Port is the Man.

BRITON LIFE ASSOCIATION, founded in 1853, with an authorized cap. of £50,000, in 5000 shares of £10-afterwards increased to £100,000, in shares of the same denomination. The first Sec. of the Co. was Mr. Edward Parsons; the Consulting Act. Mr. Thomas Walker, B. A. The bus. was very small during the first two years, viz. sums ins. £21,000 and £47,575 respectively. In 1855 Mr. John Messent became Sec., and the bus. made a marked increase, viz. to £103.450 in sums ins. In 1857 the Co. absorbed the bus. of the Brunswick L. The bus. of that year was 1062 pol. issued, ins. £219,200. The Co. had a scheme of "Building Assu. Pol.," which presented some new features. [BUILDING SO. INS.] But the characteristic feature of the Asso. was the scheme of allocating the surplus in such a manner as to render the pol. payable during the lifetime of the insured. Of this plan we shall speak more at large later.

It will be more convenient to continue the hist. of the Co. from this point under its new name-Briton, Medical, and General.

BRITON, MEDICAL, AND GENERAL LIFE Asso.-This Asso. is founded upon the base of the Briton L. Asso., estab. in 1853—the early hist. of which we have already briefly traced. The D. of Sett. of the orig. co., dated 1st Feb. 1854, was drawn in the usual form of such deeds before the application of the Lim. Liability Law to ins. asso., with somewhat restrictive provisions; such, for instance, that 7 days' notice should be given to the Board of any intended transfer of shares; and that if the Co. refused to pass the trans. it must purchase the shares (sec. 12). When the Co. was preparing to enter upon a wider sphere than had been orig. contemplated, it became necessary to remove all such restrictive clauses from its deed, and introduce some new powers. This was accomplished by means of a supplementary deed, dated 3rd January, 1861.

In 1862 the Co. took over the bus. of the New Equitable L., which had previously absorbed the Medical and General; and later in the same year it absorbed the bus. and extended connexions of the Unity General. The Asso. now assumed very largely increased proportions. The D. of Sett. was further altered by means of special resolutions, passed 16th Feb. and confirmed 2nd March, 1863. The chief of these alterations was the change of name from the Briton to the Briton, Medical, and General L. Asso. Power was taken to increase the cap. to £1,000,000. No one shareholder may hold more than 500 shares. The qualification of a director is the holding of not less than 200 shares. In this year the Co. migrated from Moorgate-street to its present commodious offices in the Strand.

The growth of the bus. of the Co. during the six years ending 1863 is shown in the following table:

1858 New Pol. 1342 Amount Ins. £262,815

1859

1860

1861

1862

1863

2328

New Prems.

£8328

£9751

£346,160

£10,023

£10,084

£15,275

£567,453

£18,372

The claims for death in the last year were 134, ins. (less re-insurances) £38,699. The assets of the Asso. reached £216,312.

The special feature of the Asso. is unquestionably its mode of appropriating the surplus -viz. applying it towards making the pol. payable during the lifetime of the ins. This result is accomplished in this wise: Each bonus is applied to extinguish a certain number of the later prems. the ins. would have to pay if he survived to the full expected period of ins. lives.

The following examples are from the prosp., and show the result of one bonus so applied, each successive bonus of course bringing the period nearer :

(1). A. B., aged 17, assu. for £300, having participated in one division of profits, is now entitled to receive his pol. at the age of 71, or sooner in the event of death. (2). C. D., aged 40, assu. for £500, is in like manner now entitled to receive his pol. at the age of 76, or sooner in the event of death. (3). E. F., aged 29, assu. for £500, has participated in two divisions of profits. At the first he had the age of 75 named for the payment of the sum assu.; and at the second, the age of 72 was named; or the sum assu. would be paid at death, should that event occur before attaining that age. (4). G. H., aged 60, assu. for £600, has also participated in two divisions of profits. At the first he had the age of 8of named for the payment of the sum assu.; and at the second, the age of 77 was named; or the sum assu. would be paid at death, should that event occur before attaining that age.

The working of the plan has been more clearly put by Mr. David Harris, late Man. of the Scottish branch of the Co., from whose clever little pamphlet we extract the following:

To make this a little clearer, suppose the case of a man, aged 25, assuring his life in the Briton, his portion of the profits would be applied to his credit at the first profit distribution in which he participates, and the age would be named for the payment of his pol. This age would, as a matter of course, be distant, in the first instance, say 73 years; but at the next and subsequent divisions, his share of the profits being treated in a similar way, earlier periods would be named, the process being again and again repeated, each time bringing the date of payment nearer to the existing age of the pol.holder. At length the last-named period will be reached, the sum assu. paid, and the pol.-holder released from payment of all further prems. Of course, the period during life when a pol. will be paid will depend upon the amount of profits periodically allocated.

He next advances an argument in support of the plan :

If a man, aged say 27, assu. his life, and should die during the succeeding 15 years, the chances are he will leave a wife and young family otherwise totally unprovided for; but, should he live to attain the age of say 53 or 55, his position may be changed materially. The family which 20 years ago were young and entirely dependent on their parents for subsistence, will have grown up, and the same care which induced the taking out of the pol. may have placed them all in positions of advancement, and enabled them to earn their own living, while the payment of the prem. on the pol. of assu. may now have become a burden on the parent, who is aged and worn out by previous activity and labour. Every one must admit the hardness of such a case. Instances of this kind are of daily occurrence amongst those whose incomes are dependent upon their own exertions; their power is lessened by the inroads which time has made upon their mental or physical powers.

The argument for avoiding the continued payment of the prem, at an advanced age of the ins. strikes at one of the most glaring defects of the present system of L. ins.

In 1865 the Co. took over the bus. of the the Britannia L., and of the Britannia Mut. ; and in 1866 the bus. of the Indisputable Ins. Co. of Scotland.

In 1868 the Asso. pub. its mort. experience for the five years ending with 1867. This we shall notice in some detail under a special heading. In the same year it adopted a simplified form of pol., which was designated "indisputable and indefeasible from the date of its issue." This pol. recites: "Whereas is now living, and it is hereby

agreed that this statement shall be the sole basis of the contract hereinafter contained." The 3rd clause is the most important:

And it is hereby declared that this pol. shall be indisputable and indefeasible; and the fact of this pol. having been issued shall be conclusive evidence of the validity thereof; and the Asso. shall not be entitled to refuse or delay payment of the money hereby assu., on the ground of any error, mistake, omission, or misstatement whatsoever, made at or before the effecting of this assu., by or on the part of the person or persons effecting the same: and it is hereby further declared, that the life assured has obtained whole-world leave, and is at liberty to travel and reside in all parts of the world without prejudicing this assu.

The Ins. Agent, reviewing this pol., said:

Any one acquainted with life assu. practice knows full well how seldom the restrictive conditions are enforced; and the opinion seems to be gaining ground that any trifling loss occasioned by their abandonment will be much more than counterbalanced by the increased business consequent on the greater simplicity of the assu. contract. This is evidently the opinion of the Briton directors.

The following T. shows the later progress of the bus. of the Asso.:

516,531
555,695

17,473 20, 191

401 171, 128

246,477

245.824

606, 143

431= 156,222

Such fluctuations as are here shown are due to the pressure of the times, and other circumstances, beyond the control of the management.

On the whole we regard this as a type of the progressive class of modern L. offices. Its bus., and still more its agency connexions, have been largely augmented by its several

amalg. Whether these have been all equally advantageous it is not our province to inquire. For the most part they have been judicious. The Asso. is under able and energetic management, with Mr. Messent still at the helm. The new bus. of each successive year testifies that the Asso. enjoys a large share of popular favour. BRITON, MED., AND GEN. MORTALITY EXPERIENCE.-In 1868 this office pub. its mort. experience extending over the five years ending 31st Dec., 1867-including in all 1165 deaths, classified under eleven distinctive causes, as shown in the following table. The ages at death in quinquennial periods are given in the original table-with a supplemental table showing the intensity of the various causes of disease to male and female. The male deaths were 963, the female 202. There is no distinction shown between the mort. of the diseased lives taken over from the Medical and General and New Equitable, or taken subsequently, and those of the ordinary class—although the sums remaining ins. on the 31st Dec., 1867, were thus apportioned:

On Healthy lives

On Invalid lives

£6,313,756
£849,584

The causes of death and proportions of males and females are stated as follows:

The proportion of violent deaths is unusually large: they include drowning, 19; rupture of blood vessels, 3; violence, I; suicide 7; other accidents, 31, total, 61. The deaths from old age were 32.

BRODIE, PATRICK, was Sec. of National Ins. Co. of Scotland from 1844 to 1846. BRODIE, SAMUEL.-Manager of Scottish Sea from its formation down to 1863. BRODY IN GALICIA. In 1801 a conflagration destroyed 1500 houses in this town. BROKEN-BACKED.-A ship is said to be broken-backed when, in consequence of being loosened from age or injury, her frame droops at either end.-Brande. BROKEN STOWAGE.-That space in a ship which is not filled by her cargo. BROKENSHIR, JOHN.-Commenced a somewhat remarkable ins. career as Superintendent of Agents for Medical Invalid, in 1846. In 1849 took a similar appointment with the Union. In 1854, became Man. of London Branch of Leeds and Yorkshire. About 1857 became Superintendent of Agents for English Widows; was after that with City of London, then with London Equitable. Was for a short time with the Colonial (No. 2), and is well known to various other offices.

Is author of two pamph. which have had a considerable circulation. 1. Life Assurance Explained, pub. 1857. 2. Practical Hints to Life Agents. BROKER.-An agent employed to make bargains and contracts between other persons in matters of trade, commerce, and navigation. Hence insurance-brokers, ship-brokers, stock-brokers, etc. Ins.-brokers occupy a very prominent position in matters of marine ins. In the U.S. a great deal of the F. ins. bus. is transacted through the intervention of brokers; and the practice is increasing in this country. A broker differs in his legal status from an agent; he is strictly a middle man negociating between the parties, and in a legal point of view often representing both; while an agent only represents the person employing him for a given purpose. The subject will be followed up under INS.-BROKERS. BROKERAGE. The per-centage paid to a broker for his trouble in effecting a sale, or in negociating any particular bus. In Marine Ins. the rate of brokerage is 5 p.c. on the premiums. BROKERAGE COMMISSION.-A term used to designate the process of "compounding" the commission allowed to ins. agents. Life ins. agents in Ĝt. Brit. are usually allowed a commission of 10 p. c. on the first year's prem., and 5 p.c. afterwards, during the continuance of the pol. Most offices will compound this rate of commission by a present payment of 25 p.c., or more, on the first year's prem. In the U.S. it is the regular practice to do so-the brokerage commission ranging up to 35 p.c. The objection to the system is that it offers an inducement to unscrupulous agents to change their offices frequently, and transfer their pol. To meet this, a new scheme has recently been propounded, by Mr. E. W. Bryant, as follows: 20 p.c. 1st year; 10 p.c. 2nd year; and 5 p.c. 3rd year. We regard this as a great improvement. In France and Belgium the

VOL. I.

26