MAGISTERIAL.

Globe, Volume XXIV, Issue 2571, 4 July 1882, Page 3

MAGISTERIAL.

# OHBISTOHUKOH. TUESDAY, JtTLY 4. TBefcre J. Oilivier, Esq., R.M., and B. Westenra, J.P.] Dbcnkbnnbss. —Goo. Craw, arrested for being druafc, baring sprained his anklj, could not appear, and was remanded till July 11th. Walter Baker, who had been found by the polioe the previous night imprisoned by the neck in a paling fence at Sydenham, was charged with being drunk. He had boon convicted on Monday for the isame offenoe. _ He was now fined £l, or in default forty-eight hours' imprisonment with hard labor. Margaret Irvine and Eobt. Howe were each fined 6« , , , Pawnbbokbb'b License.—A pawnbroker a license wbs renewed to Sigiemund Oohen, of Colombo street, Ohristchurch. Affiliation. —John Lester vrs,3 ordered to pay 5s per week towards the support of an illegitimate female child, of which he was adjudged to be the father. In a similar case against J. S. McNaughten, of Tuakau, near Auckland, the defendant was ordered to pay £25 at once on account of expenoee, to pay Sb per week from date, and to find sureties for his compliance with the ordo:f, himself in :£IOO and two sureties each in £? ; 0. AiiiEaßD Fbattdtjlent BANicstrrprcr.—ln a case of this nature against 8. O C. Bennett, ■which htts been several times adjourned, Counsel for proseoution did not appear, and the case, on tho application of Mr MoConnel, .Iran dismissed. UNION INSURANCE COMPANY. The fifth annual general mt sting of the shareholders of the above company was held at the offices, Hereford street, at noon to-day. There was a good attendance, and the chair was occupied by the Hon. J. T. Peacock, the chairman of the Board of Directors. The general manager, Mr W. Devenish Meaxei, read the advertisement convening the meeting. The report and balance-aheeii, which hare already been published, were taken as read. The Chairman said, —Gentlemen—It affords my colleagues and myself grout pleasure to meet you to-day, beoause we fesl we are able to place before you a report which, looking at all the circumstances of the case, must be ■considered to be a satisfactory one., I propose to deal an usual with a tew of the item* jet forth in our report, and will first speak of premiums, which yon trill notice stand at £112,423 4s 2d, as against £104,538 la lid last year. We' have, however, on the present occasion,, stated our premiums nett—that is

, I with discounts dednoted—and in pom* oI f»ot onr gross premiums for paat year were ! £23,945 6s 5d larger than in previous year,, an ; increase 10 great as to indicate clearly that this oompany baa taken a firm hold with the insuring public. Onr losses have, as you will have noticed, been unusually heavy : In this respect we have limply had an expenenoa similar to other offioes doing a like business. Our report tells you that we have opened a branoh office in San Franoisoo. The question of doing business in America is one that has been for a considerable period before the directors—in fact we were some years ago invited to join with another company in oooupying that field. That invitation was not accepted, as we considered we should first firmly establish and consolidate our business at home before going abroad. In October last our deputy chairman was visiting Amerioa, and we requested him to advise us whether, in his opinion, it be wise for us to open in that country. Mr Stead, after his visit, expressed a favorable opinion on the subject, provided good representatives could be obtained. It was then determined that our general manager should visit America, and open business there if, after investigation, he considered such a course advisable. After spending Bonie weeks in San Franoiseo, that gentleman telegraphed to the Beard that he considered it would be judioious on the part of the company to extend operations to the Pacific slope. The next thing to be done was to obtain as representatives men of position, with thorough local knowlodg?, experience, with proved ability as underwriters. After due negotiation and fnll consideration, arrangements wore made to work our business in conjunction with that of the California Insurance Company, one of the oldest and most conservative offices in California, a oompany that has enjoyed a career cf steady auoceofl. We appointed the president and vice-president of that oompany to act as our managers, and we work in their office, in our own name, and with their agen a. This arrangement at onoe placed our oompany in a prominent position, and enabled us to commence doing business with an old ond well organised, trained and skilled staff of agents. We also appointed, as you will have seen, three gentlemen of high commercial BtandiDg to act as a Local Board of Advice. We have every reason to anticipate good results from our present arrangements. I am aware that some people consider fire insurance business in America extremely hazardous, but our general manager's report is that buildings in that oountry are certainly as gJod, if not better, than in Now Zealand, ratea are at tha places at which we are doing business higher, while fire extinguishing appliances are immensely superior to anything we have at this side of the world, for, as a rule, the salvage corps is prepared to start for the soene of a fire within nine seoonds of an alarm being given whether during the day or night. Our intention at present is to confine operations to the Pacific slope of Amerioa though one of the leading American oompanies intimated to the general manager their willingness to enter into a reinsurance treaty with us for a term of years for giving us business in the Eastern cities and States. This arrangement, if it had been carried out, would have brought us in premiums to the extent of £40,000 or £50,000 a year, but the State Laws required a deposit of £40,000 before the compact could have been completed. The directors decided to decline the offer, at all events until snob time as they had felt their ground in that portion of the new field occupied by tbem. At our last meeting, a shareholder exprc&aad an opinion that we should open for fire business in England, I stated then that the Board did not exactly coincide in that opinion, and I may tell you now that while the general manager was away he visited London, and his opinion is that that field is so fully occupied, and rates ruling there are so low that it would be inadvisible for us to attempt to do business there at present. You are aware that almost ever since we started, we have had an agenoy in London for marine business, but we accept risks only to the Australian colonies, or to places where we have agenoies. Th,e general manager advises us that our business in London is extremely well managed by our representatives. All experience goes to show that the essenoe of a conservative insurance ' business is a wide distribution of risks, provided those risks are seleoted on a sound basis, and as your directors have worked on that j principle in the past, so they intend to do in the future. The more our business is extended and risks divided, the less liable are we to suffer from local disaster, as bad times or depressed business in one portion of the world are met and compensated for by elasticity in another portion. The directors have been considering for some time whether the rapid increase in business did not demand an inorense of the paid-up capital of the company, but have not yet come to any dooision on the subject. If it is, however, decided so to increase the capital, ample notice of that fact will be given to the shareholders. On former occasions I have had to allude to the unsatisfactory position of fire rates in certain portions of New Zealand, and to report to you that we had greatly restricted business in I places where rates were on what we believed to be a non-payable basis. This matter has ' been gradually working its own cure, and in , Otago and Wellington, whioh were the plaoea at whioh the greatest disorganisation existed, offices have recently arranged to oharge ratea that will give a reasonable prospect, of profit on business done. I believe that in Ohriatohuroh dissatisfaotion has for some time exist ed, and it has been alleged by the public that they have been obarged rates disproportionate to the risk run. I have taken tome trouble to investigate this matter, and fled that in Canterbury during the past three years £102,000 haß been paid by insurance oompanies for losses. In'Ohristohnrch itself the companies have paid during the period named £46,000 for losses, while the not premiums have been in the aggregate £52,800. These figures will doubtless surprise those of you who have not given the matter much consideration, but they Bhow pretty clearly that profits in this province huve not been particularly large, especially when you consider the heavy amount companies have at risk. I also find, however, that the bulk of the losses mentioned were made more than two years ago, and I learn that tiro months since, when it wsn found that losses of previous years had been reoouped, oertain representatives of insurance companies arranged for a oommittee to bo appointed to revise rates on auoh description of risks as it was believed warranted reductions being made. That revision of rates has not yet been completed, but when the revised rates do come into operation they will, I believe, be assimilated as much as possible to those ruling at places where the fire extinguishing appliances are on a par with our own. This, of oourse, in not the place to enter into a discussion on the various schemes that have from time to time been propounded for a water supply for Ohristohuroh. But this much I will aay, that there is no doubt at all that if a good water supply were obtained, property owners would find they would bo considerable gainers, if only on their insurance premiums. I shall now be happy to answer any questions that may be put me by any of the shareholders, and beg to propose that our report and balance-sheet be adopted. Mr W. P. Cowlishaw seconded the motion, and said that the directors had, as shown by the report, carried on the operations of the company successfully. Though not showing so muoh profit as perhaps might be looked for, the shareholders must remember that they bad to pass through bad times, and thst, oomparad with other companies, the Union came out very well. The public had an idea that the fire insurance companies were making too large profits, but he desired to point out that the company during the year had risks of over tan millions of money, whilst the profit wa ; ' but some £7OOO or £BOOO. This would dispel the notion that the companies made enormous profits, and would shew that the business of fire insurance was not so profitable as was attempted to be made out. If the companies were making thirty or forty percent., then the public would bavo good oause to complain. But the reports of the companies showed that suoh was not the oase, i nd .'a some instances no profit at all was made. He congratulated the directors on their conservative policy, aDd trusted that they would oontinue to exeroise the same care as to the extension cf their business that had characterised their operations in the past. He had now pleasure in seconding the motion. Mr H. B. Nathan suggested that in future reports the marine and fire risks should be separated so as shareholders might see the respootivo risks outstanding. The Chairman said it was most satisfactory to find that so few remarks were made on the ; report and balance-sheet. With respect to Mr Mathias' proposal, though thcie were i some difficulties in the way the (tors i would consider the matter.

The motion was then pul and carried unani< mously. On the motion of Mr Lewis, seconded by Mr B. M, Morton, the retiring direotors— Hon. J. T. Peacock, Messrs G. G. Stead and W. Beeves were reelected. Mr Booth moved the re-election of Messn P. E. Wright and A. M. Olliver as auditors. Mr Dunning seconded the motion, whioh was carried.

Mr Stead, in a very eulogistic speech in reference to the talents and zeal of their general manager, proposed ajvote of thanks to the general manager, Mr Meares, the staff and agents. Mr D. Caro seoonded the motion, whioh was carried unanimously. Mr Meares responded, expressing the hope of the staff, agents, and himself thu '• next year they would have a still better repcrfc to bring before them. On the motion of Mr J. Henderson a oordial vote of thanks was passed to the directors, and the meeting terminated.