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These cases, it is submitted, warrant the proposition that if the directors of a Co. permit a person to act as its agent in matters within the scope of the bus. of the Co., and in matters in which the directors have power to act by an agent, such person, whether irregularly appointed or not, is, as between the Co. and third parties, dealing bona fide with him, without notice of his warrant of proper authority, the agent of the Co. for all the purposes for which he is employed. But his authority does not extend beyond these limits; and the above proposition and the cases supporting it are in no way invalidated by others in which Cos. have been held not bound by acts done by their agents, when acting beyond the limits set by the nature of their employment.

In the event of an agent subs. a policy of Marine Ins. on behalf of an underwriter for a sum in excess of a limitation imposed upon him by the latter, it has been decided that the underwriter is not liable for any portion of the sum affixed to his name, even although the insured be ignorant of this particular restriction, provided it is notorious in the place where the contract is entered into that some limitation is imposed by underwriters upon their agents. This was so determined in Baines 7. Ewing, Exchequer, June, 1866, a Marine Ins. case. It is seen therefore that the saying-almost a proverb-that the principal is liable for the acts of his agent-requires a very large amount of explanation and qualification.

It is above all things the duty of an agent to keep regular accounts of all his transactions, and to pay over in due course all monies received by him on behalf of his Co. Should he mix the monies received by him on the agency account with his own, paying them to the same account with a banker, he must bear the loss of the failure of the latter. This was settled in Massey v. Banner; and he may even become liable for interest on a balance when improperly retained. Should he presume to speculate with the sums received, he will be liable to account for the profits; and such investments even in stock may be subject to a specific lien on the part of the principal. He will not, however, be liable for unavoidable losses, as the failure of a banker in whose bills he may have made a remittance, or in whose hands, in the absence of directions, he may have deposited the money received to a separate account (Massey v. Banner); or where he is robbed of the specific monies, whether the felony is committed in his house or upon his person.--Bunyon.

These rules also generally apply to agents of Friendly Societies. In the U.S. the powers of agents are much larger in some cases, as they not only accept Fire risks, but fill up blank policies supplied them for the purpose. Their responsibilities generally follow the law here laid down.

AGENTS' BALANCES -Comment is frequently made at the ann. meetings of Ins. Asso. as to the largeness of the "agents' balances" as shown by the accounts submitted. In a great measure the complaint results from the want of knowledge of the persons making it. The system upon which most Ins. offices proceed is to debit the agents at the end of each month with the renewals falling due in the course of the next succeeding month. The policy-holders have in some 15, in most 30 days' grace for payment of prems. ; and the money does not come into the hands of agents until the policy-holders take up their receipts. The agents having received the prems., should at the earliest moment remit to the office, that the accumulated sums may be placed at int. by the asso. The system could be altered by adopting a system of "renewal suspense account." AGENTS, KNOWLEDGE REQUIRED BY.-With agents of ins. asso. the proverb that "knowledge is power" applies with peculiar force. The man who knows most of the theory and practice of the particular branch of ins. which he is engaged in advocating, should, all other things being equal, be the most valuable agent to his particular Co. In add. to a general knowledge of the bus., the agent requires to know not only every point concerning his own office, but also a great deal concerning others; by these means only will he be able to make way in these days of increasing competition. It is within the scope of the present work to afford much of the general information spoken of; while it also affords much information concerning individual offices-not derived from the offices themselves, but from altogether independent sources- "never before made public." We enumerate in a separate art. the chief pub. which have been specially addressed to agents. Ins. literature generally abounds in the moral elements, but is wanting in facts. The facts will be supplied in the present work.

AGENTS, LITERATURE FOR.-Numerous pub. have of late years been specially addressed to agents with a view to their encouragement and aid. The following may be specially mentioned as among the more prominent :

1848. Agents' Hand-book of Life Assu. and a few remarks on Fire Ins.

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Life Assu. Record, intended more particularly for the use of provincial agents of assu. offices of Lond.

1849. Agents' Hand-book of Fire and Life Ins. 2nd ed.

1852. Ins. Agents' Assistant. Popular Essay on Life Assu. Gilbert Currie.

1854. Life Agents' vade mecum, and practical guide to success in Life Assu. bus. J. Baxter Langley.

1857. Insurance Guide and Hand-book. Cornelius Walford. 2nd ed. 1867. [Layton's

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and Goodsell's.}

Life Ins. Agency, Practical Instructions. John Brokenshir. 1869. Handy Book for Life Ins. Agents. H. R. Sharman.

1870. Practical Aids for Life Ins. Agents. 1871. The Life Agent, by the same author.

Ioth ed.

Philip Sayle, jun. 2nd ed. 1871.

[Layton's and Goodsell's.]

In the U.S. are some excellent pub. addressed to ins. agents; Mr. C. C. Hine, of the Ins. Monitor, pub. the following:

1. Hine's Instruction Book for Agents. 2. Agents' Advertiser. 3. Life Agents' Aid, by Henry W. Smith. 4. Agents' Monetary, Life, and Valuation Tables, by D. P. Fackler, actuary. 5. The Duties of Agents of F. Ins. Cos. in regard to losses (a most excellent publication). 6. Agents' Manual of Life Assu., by Dr. Fish.

The Messrs. Goodsell, of the Spectator, pub. the following: 1. Practical Hints to Life Agents, by an Old Workman. 2. Agents' Manual of Life Ins., English and German. 3. Life Agents' Arithmetic: an easy, clear, and comprehensive solution of the actuarial mysteries of Life Ins., by John Maurice, actuary. 4. The Life Agents' Canvassing Cupons, an excellent contrivance. Some of the works in the Monitor list are also in Messrs. Goodsell's list [Goodsell's are agents for Layton's, and vice versa]. All we have seen of the above works are clear, concise, and practical; in a word, admirably adapted to their purposes. AGES AT DEATH.-It is important, especially from a Life Ins. point of view, to know the ages of the people at their death. It is still more important to know their ages in relation to the causes of death. The reports of the Registrar-General furnish us with the most authentic general information which can be obtained. They have the further advantage of distinguishing the sex. An abstract of these Tables will be given under DEATH, CAUSES OF.

AGES in Registers of DeatHS.-It was not until 1728 that the ages of persons dying were generally inserted in the parish registers. This improvement was introduced on the suggestion of Smart, the author of the Ins. Tables bearing his name. [PARISH REGISTERS.] AGES OF INSURED LIFE.-This subject has to be divided under two heads-first, the age at which lives become ins. ; second, the age at which ins. lives die. Mr. Babbage said in his Comparative View (1826) that he found the average age at which persons then ins. was 47. Mr. Arthur Morgan said in 1834: "The lives ins. in the Equitable were found to have been admitted generally between the ages of 30 and 50, a very large proportion between 30 and 40, comparatively few under 28-30." In 1843 he said, "35 is the average period at which people ins. with us." Dr. Farr said in 1853 (12th Report Reg.-Gen.), "The average age at which ins. is effected is about 35 years.' In the U.S. the average is as nearly as possible the same. It is a healthful sign of the business when young lives ins. in greater numbers than the older ones. Such ins. indicate investment for the benefit of families.

We may offer the following details concerning the ages at which ins. lives die.

In the Equitable So. during a period of over 60 years, 1762-1828, out of 21,398 members, of whom, however, 9, 324 had discontinued their ins. mostly before they arrived at a very old age, therefore we may say out of 12,074 members, 17 reached 90 and upwards, of whom 4 died at 90, 3 at 91, 2 at 92, and 1 at 94, leaving living 3 at 90, 1 at 91, 2 at 92, and 1 at 93. Thus 10 died at 90 or over, I dis. his policy, and 6 were living.

On the occasion of compiling the data for the 17 Offices Experience Table, 1841-3, it was found that out of 62,537 lives ins., but 5 had reached the age of 90 and upwards. These were all "Irish males," one of whom was living aged 95.

The data for the New Experience Table (1869) furnishes the following details. Out of 157,993 persons ins., 95 had reached the age of 90 and upwards; of these 58 were males and 29 females of the healthy class, and 8 were males and females of diseased classes, sexes not distinguished. Of such total numbers 24 had died at the age of 90, and 5 were living at that age; 16 had died at 91 and 2 were living at that age; 13 had died at 92, and 2 were living; 12 had died at 93, I was living, and I policy had been dis. at that age; 8 had died at 94; I at 96 and 1 policy dis. ; 6 had died at 97, and I was living; I died at 98, and I at 99.

We may add a few facts about individual offices. The R. Exchange in a period of 135 years had no life which survived 96. It had a policy upon which 73 ann. prem. had been paid. The Lond. Assu. during the same period had no life that survived 90. The Equitable since the date of the preceding obs. has had one life die at 95. The Rock had a claim on age 94; the Union and Imperial the same. The Sun had a claim at 92; the Atlas and Law life the same. In the case of Annuitants and Tontineers greater ages are reached. A female life in the English Tontine of 1693 died at the age of 100, and another was living at that age. In the Perth Tontine one of the nominees died aged 122; another aged 107; of these statements there is, we believe, abundant proof. AGES OF PARENTS AS INFLUENCING THE SEX OF CHILDREN.-M. Hofacker first drew attention to this subject in the Annales d'Hygiène, 1829, and stated the result of his inquiries to be that when the mother was older than, or of equal age with the father, more girls were born than boys; but the greater the difference of age on the side of the father, the more the number of male children predominated. Mr. Sadler in his Law of Pop., 1830, pursued the same subject. M. Quetelet has also investigated the question. Mr. Samuel Brown gives in vol. iii. of Assu. Mag. a most interesting summary of the result of their several inquiries.

AGIO. Ital. Gain or profit.-The term frequently arises in connexion with Marine Ins. and foreign exchanges. Sometimes it is applied to bonuses on Life policies. AGREED. This word in a deed or pol. of ins. creates a covenant.

AGREEMENT.—A joining together of two or more minds in anything done or to be done. Also the effect of a joint-consent of two or more parties to a contract or bargain.-Law Lex. AGREEMENT TO INS.-In the Canadian Courts in 1859 a case arose in which the agent for the Times and Beacon [English] Co. gave a provisional receipt to the intended insurer, of which the substance was, "the said party to be considered ins. for 21 days from the above date, within which time the determination of the board will be notified. If approved, a pol. will be delivered; otherwise the amount received will be refunded, less the prem. for the time so ins." It was held not to be an absolute ins. for 21 days certain, but that the co. might within that period reject the risk, and give notice, after which their liability would cease."-Digest of Ins. Decisions, 1868.

AGRICULTURAL INS.-Agricultural Ins. in England ranks under three heads. I. Fire, which we shall treat of fully under FARMING STOCK INS.; 2. CATTLE INS. which we shall speak of under that head; and 3. HAIL-STORM INS. which we shall also speak of under that title.

In France, in 1857, a scheme was propounded to be called the General Bank for Agricultural Assu. It was to be divided into as many branches as there were distinct branches of Ins., viz., against Hail, against Frost, against Floods, against mort. of Animals. Each branch to have separate accounts, and dispose of its own resources. The parent Bank to be empowered by the State. The project was exceedingly well conceived. We can only notice a few of its arguments :

To annul the risks which unceasingly threaten the wealth of nations-to remedy individual injury by collective reparation-to afford by these means an immovable stability to property, and certainty to the proprietors of income-such is the object of assu.; and assuredly the principle of assu. has never given rise to an undertaking more moral, more useful, or more profitable to both public and private interests. Unfortunately, in its application, assu. has, up to the present time, shared much the same fate as the schemes which have been suggested for the redemption of national encumbrances. Simple in detail, admirable in theory, this economical and financial conception has, in practice, arrived at results comparatively insignificant. . . . The value of the wealth exposed to fire, hail, or to frost, to inundations and as regards animals, to mort.-is estimated at more than 200,000 millions (francs). Now the total sum assu, does not reach the sum of 40 millions. There remains then uninsured property amounting to more than 160,000 millions.

In restricting ourselves to the subject of Agricultural assu. we find results still more deplorable. The enterprises originated against fire and maritime risks have at least broached the subject which has suggested their operations; but agricultural assu. presents us only with unfruitful attempts or notorious ill-success. There is no assu. against frost; there is not any against inundations; and the Cos. which have undertaken ins. against hail, and the mort. of animals, scarcely cover more than 200,000 millions value.

The scheme was submitted by M. Perron to the Minister of Commerce and Agriculture in France, and by him submitted to the consideration of the Council of State; but it was rejected by the Council, the Emperor presiding. Some of its features have since become the subject of joint-stock enterprise. AGRICULTURAL INS. Co.-Another project under this title was reg. in 1859, by Mr. John W. Hutchinson, of Surrey-place, Larkhall-lane. It proposed to carry on Life, Fire, Cattle, and every other description of ins. business! Its aim was greater than its means, and it never matured.

AGRICULTURAL LABOURERS, MORT. OF.-In all nations more or less civilized, the class of men who rank highest in health is that of agricultural labourers. This class is subject to a lower rate of mort., whilst it performs more labour and consumes less of the luxuries of life than any other class. Their superior health is probably due, first, to the higher capacity for labour which they possess and exercise; second, to their spending the greater part of their days in the open air; third, to the lowness of their wages, preventing them from injuring their health by the injudicious use of luxuries and stimulants.-T. R. Edmonds, 1860. [HEALTH.] [SICKNESS.]

AGRICULTURE AND GENERAL LIFE Co., founded in 1840, with an authorized cap. of £250,000. It appears to have struggled on till 1842, when it collapsed, and has since been written down a swindle.

AGRICULTURIST CATTLE INS. Co., founded in 1845, with an authorized cap. of £500,000, in 25,000 shares of £20; subsequently altered into 100,000 shares of £5. The amount of cap. paid up was returned at £76,274. The shares were well subs., and at one time rose to a prem.

The orig. prosp. stated that the Co. was founded for the protection of Farmers and Agriculturists, by ins. against those losses to which they were exposed by disease and accident among their live stock. The first scale of rates was as follows: neat cattle, 24p.c.; young stock (under 2 years), 2 p.c.; agricultural horses, 24 p.c.; carriage horses, 3 p.c.; stallions, 5 p.c. The Co. paying three-fourths of the value in case of death. The ins. covered death "by sickness, by the slaughter of the animal in consequence of taint from any contagious or incurable disease, or by accident."

By 1848, in consequence mainly of a reckless system of management, the Co. had got into some difficulties. Mr. E. Ryley was called in to investigate the affairs. It was found that the sums ins. exceeded £2,000,000; and that there were debts actually owing amounting to £75,000. A new board of management was elected, and the rates were increased from 2 to 34 p.c. above those orig. charged; while the allowance in case of loss was reduced from three-fourths to two-thirds the value of the animal dying.

At this point some of the shareholders wished to retire. This they could not do consistently with the D. of Sett. An arrangement was, however, made in Nov. 1848, under resolutions passed at a special meeting of the shareholders specially convened for the purpose, to the effect that a call of £4 per share should be made, and that those shareholders who wished to retire should pay part only of the call, and that their shares should be forfeited for the non-payment of the rest. Under this arrangement-since known as the "Chippenham Compromise"-many of the shareholders did retire. The legality of this proceeding has since been impeached, but is upheld.

The Co. had extended its operations to the Ins. of Lives; but at this juncture its Life policies (very few indeed) were trans. to the Norwich Union L.

The Co. numbered amongst its patrons some of the leading nobility of the three kingdoms. Its income increased, and reached £30,000 p.a. ; but yet it did not gain a sound position. It absorbed the businesses of various local Cattle Ins. Asso. In 1851 it took over the bus. and connexions of the Essex Mut. Cattle, then recently formed; and in the same year another asso. in Lancashire. At a gen. meeting held in Dec. of that year, the directors were authorized to issue 25,000 of the unappropriated shares as ' preference shares," carrying int. at 5 p.c., payable half yearly. It was said at that date that the Co. had paid £300,000 in losses on its bus. The Co. at this date resumed the bus. of Life Ins., issuing a special prosp., and keeping the affairs apparently distinct. This we give an account of under AGRICULTURIST LIFE. In 1857 the Co. paid a div. of 6 p.c.

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By 1861 the Co. found itself unable to pay its debts, and it passed into liq. Mr. L. H. Evans was appointed official manager. His path was beset with difficulties from the commencement. The immediate assets were not sufficient to pay rent and salaries; and the shareholders, with many of whom arrangements had been made for their retirement, subsequent to the arrangement of 1848, refused to acknowledge any liability or pay any debt of the Co. Litigation was therefore inevitable. The first proceedings in the way of litigation brought about an arrangement with the majority of the shareholders.

There were found to be about 1500 creditors, most of them under policies. The conditions of the policies limited their holders to claim upon the funds of the Co. only, and so estab. a species of limited liability. As to bonds upon which money had been raised, and simple contract debts, there was no such limitation; therefore, the latter are to be paid in full, while the policy-holders will only receive a dividend.

On the 11th March, 1863, a call of 20 was made by the official manager-that was the whole amount of the original shares-against which was to be credited all sums previously paid thereon. It was from the proceeds of this call that the policy-holders were alone to look for payment. They have been paid 6. in the £, and may yet receive another small div. On the 21st Dec. 1866, a further call of £20 per share was made.

Against some of the shareholders who made arrangements of compromise, subsequent to the Chippenham arrangement, proceedings were taken. These have resulted in three appeals, two by shareholders, one by the official manager. By 1868 these were so far decided that the further contributions required from the shareholders could be approximated. The result was a call of £250 per share on the £20 shares, and of £62 10s. on the £5 shares.

In the course of the litigation it has been held-1. That having regard to the publicity and bona fides of the Chippenham arrangement (Nov. 1848), and to the time which had since elapsed, the validity of the retirement of those shareholders who withdrew in pursuance of that arrangement could not be disputed, and that those persons were not liable to be settled on the list of contributories. 2. That those persons who retired afterwards by arrangement with the directors, but without the knowledge of the other shareholders, were to be treated as shareholders still, and were to be placed on the list, although in some cases 12 years had elapsed since their retirement; and this view has been supported on appeal.

There is still some litigation going on, by way of appeal to the House of Lords, and there is one case pending in France, and one in the Australian courts; but practically the affairs are at a close; nor do we think any unnecessary time has been occupied in closing such a complicated business. It may be said that every legal question which can be raised in the winding-up of a Co. has been raised here. Hence it must always be regarded as a "leading case.'

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In 1871 another call was made as follows: £280 p. share on the £20 shares, and £70 on the £5 shares. In August of this year it was announced that the bal. of debt and int. due to creditors "other than policy-holders," must be forthwith paid; and then all that will remain to be done will be to adjust the rights of the contributories amongst themselves. AGRICULTURIST LIFE INS. Co.-A Co. under this title was advertised in 1847 as being worked in connexion with the Agriculturist Cattle; but it appears only to have been a branch of the last-named Co. The prosp. said:

The Directors, at the repeated solicitations of the agents, inspectors, shareholders, and a large body of the ins. in this Co., have been induced to add ins. on human lives and the other departments of a life office to their ordinary bus.. The assu. of human life not having yet been very extensively adopted in the agricultural districts, a wide field remains comparatively untrodden for the operations of this Co. To the relative positions of landowner, the farmer, and the numerous class engaged in the

cultivation of the soil, therefore, has the attention of the Directors been especially directed in the arrangement of their plans; and the rates will be found proportionably moderate.

The rates of prem. were not lower than those of other offices using the Carlisle Table. It had this special feature: "Farmers or agriculturists going out to settle in the Australian colonies, the U.S., British North America, or Canada, may be ins. at the common rate of prem." And also this very good regulation, "Proof of the date of birth will be required from a proposer, and will be admitted on the policy." Mr. Wm. Fenton was the manager. The Co. purported to have an Education Fund and Widows' Fund, each to be formed out of profits which were never realized.

AGROUND.-Aground is the situation of a ship whose bottom or any part of it rests upon the ground, so as to render her immovable till a greater quantity of water floats her up, or till she is drawn out into the stream by the application of mechanical powers.Falconer's Mar. Dict.

AGUE (class ZYMOTIC, order Mismatic).—The deaths from this cause in England present some fluctuations, and appear to be on the decrease. In ten consecutive years they have been as follows: 1858, 207; 1859, 233; 1860, 203; 1861, 149; 1862, 150; 1863, 141; 1864, 112; 1865, 117; 1866, 135; 1867, 121; thus presenting a variation of from II per million of the population living in 1858, down to 5 in 1864, and 6 for each of the three years following. Over a period of fifteen years ending 1864, the deaths have been 8 per million. With the more extended drainage of the soil, and improved sanitary regulations, this disease should continue to decrease.

The deaths in 1867 were: males 64, females 57; and they were spread pretty evenly over the different periods of life; the heaviest mortality with males being between 45 and 55. AID LIFE ASSURANCE ASSO. LIM., founded in 1870, with an authorized capital of £25,000, in shares of £5. The two principal movers in founding the office appear to have been Mr. G. S. Horsnail, who is appointed Manager, Actuary, and Sec., and Mr. W. Beck, who is appointed Solicitor. These appointments are made under the articles, and the parties cannot be removed, except for dishonesty or negligence, and then only after the same shall have been proved to the satisfaction (?) of two successive general meetings. AIKIN, DR.-He kept a register of the mortality of Warrington, Lancashire, for seven years, between 1773 and 1781, from which Dr. Price deduced the Warrington Table of Mortality. AIR, ATMOSPHERIC.-The influence of pure air in the preservation of human health has long been known; while the converse, that impure and unwholesome air produces disease and pestilence, has also long been understood, from the obvious results rather than from any scientific explanation of the why and the wherefore. Science is now beginning to perform its proper functions in the matter. We cannot enter upon details, nor can we pass the subject without some notice.

Pure air in its composition consists of about 77 parts of nitrogen, 21 of oxygen, and 2 of other matters, such as carbonic acid, watery vapour, a trace of ammonia, etc. More recent investigation has led to the discovery of two states of the oxygen of the air—ozone and antozone.

Dr. Prout, in a Bridgewater Treatise, was one of the first who had suggested the possibility of the occasional existence of extremely minute portions of deleterious matters in the air during the prevalence of epidemic disorders; and in reference to this subject, a remarkable observation occurred during the prevalence of the cholera. For more than six weeks previous to the appearance of the cholera in Lond., he had been almost every day engaged in accurately determining the weight of a given quantity of air under precisely the same circumstances of temperature and pressure. On Feb. 9th, 1832, the specific gravity of the air suddenly rose above the usual standard, and it continued so for 6 weeks. On the same day the wind, which had been west, veered round to the east, and the first cases of epidemic cholera made their appearance. Professor Tyndal and others have since followed up this line of experiment with wonderful success.

Dr. Smith and Mr. Dancer have recently examined the air of Manchester by the aid of the microscope, and have found it to be full of spores and other organic germs, the presence of which in probably all air leads, no doubt, to the phenomena imputed to spontaneous generation, and is probably the cause of the epidemic character of many diseases. The air was first washed by shaking it in a bottle with distilled water, and in a drop of the water it was reckoned that there were about 250,000 spores, and these only require to be lodged in suitable situations to spring into activity. In the quantity of air respired by a man in ten hours it was reckoned that there would be about 374 millions of these spores or organic germs.

The average rate at which the wind (air in motion) travels in England is 4 (4°125) miles per hour. The highest pace recorded was in 1850, when it was more than 44 miles per hour (4530); the lowest was in 1853, being 34 (3548) per hour. In 1856 it was 4244, nearly 4 miles per hour. 1850 and 1856 were each healthy years; 1853 unhealthy. Here is scope for further investigation.

The reports of the Reg.-Gen very frequently draw attention to the importance of these inquiries. [ATMOSPHERE.] [CLIMATE.]

AIR SHAFT, A passage through a building for the admission of air. This is an important

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