DUNEDTN INSURANCE COMPANY.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 111, 25 March 1862, Page 5

DUNEDTN INSURANCE COMPANY.

To the Editor of the Otago Daily Times.

Sic.—The letter of " one of the promoters of the Insurance Company," published in yesterday's issue, has sadly failed to answer the sound refisons given in your leader of .Saturday. Why, it would uot be for the public benefit to undertake*the risk of a local Insurance" Company.;; He refers to risks undertaken by the lo<:al institutions of Melbourne ". on wooden buildings between- the extensive districts of North 'Melbourne;? both cast of Elizabeth-street and Vest of the Flemington road ;" and as well as my infqraiation serves me it was in tins district that; foreign offices were particularly careful oftheir capital, and that the colonial offices, who afterwards took many of their rejected risks, suffered hva memorable manner. From in}' own observation I am. led to believe that the foreign offices are.willing to accept nil legitimate risks, and a company, whose business would mainly be the transaction of-the class of risks rejected by -the agents of the English offices, would soon find ample employmeutttir it's capital ; andas* the liability of its shareholders would be unlimited, it is not too much to assert that many cases of absolute ruin would be the result of tliKir wpII dispositioned bui. misdirected effort in the public behalf. The refusal of the insurance Companies to accept extreme risk as in the case of certain liounetrlwx buildings in Dunedin, will have the healthy eifect .of ensuring more stability in fiituiv tenement^ and will, of course, considerably lessen the chances of conflagration, and it is not in excess of probability'to conclude that now that Dunedin has assumed » permanent shape and substantiality, m:iny other companies, such as ;the Victoria, the Cornwall, the Royal, the European, the Hobart Town, and the Lnuni'cston, prompted by the succsfs of their predecessors,'. and-the abundance of .business-tone. done, will'alsoopen branches,, and that there wiil be ample opportunities of ejecting' insurances wherever the risk-" aivi siieh as may be taken. I tLink on reflection it will be found that no encouragement can be- distilled from the operation!) of the existing Victorian lnsurai.ee Companies. The Victoria Fire and Marine Company may indeed be.quoted against me,, but'tbe circumstances under which that association prospered nre, so to speak, sue generis, 'and may not-be'•''relied upon for the Dunedin Company, fur the Australasian ; I need not say thnt its resources are ba! limited, and that any unusual calamity would seriously crippleits operations; and as to the Colonial mid Melbourne Fire Companies, the less said the better.- I should very much discourage; any attempt to throw cold water on a project likely to ba of service,to-the town, but -the one under notice involves =o many g;avo reaponsibities to its promoters and, friends, that however unpalatable it miiy be I conceive it one's duty to advance hi 3 caveat while it is of any use to do so, and-I therefore pom f out why I hold this to he a misdirected enterprise. ~ ~.,..-.,• " V.—That sufficient foreign capital will be forthcomi n{r to meet all legitimate risks, and that as those companies"base their insurances upon sound principles, and confine their operations within legitimate bounds, the restrictions they impose as to the classes of buildings hismvible will exercise a healthy effect upon future structures, and help to establish both permanence and uniformity in building. 2. —That each shareholder in the local company would uiuldtake unlimited liability to the full extent of the capital, ami that a hazard of so grave a nature ought not to be taken. ■ ■ And Jird.^That in the disastrous event of an extensive fire and the exhaustion of the capital of the company, tin: people of -Duuedin would .he the losers by that, amount, and the result would be in eifeefc—no insurai.ee whatever. . lam, Sir, &c, , Jl. Foe to Unlimited Liability.