[ : \ } I 1/ ! \ l.l ■■-J 5 OO ^^ '•■S x;3«,,., . 74 - After Fifty Years Cornell University Library HG9800.Z9 L84 After f if tv. years ! olin 3 1924 030 202 927 ^^x.?V n g' > s' 7 <^^ The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924030202927 Dale Street 8. MooRFiELDS in 1862 LONDON AND LANCASHIRE FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY. Introductory. IFTY years ago ! The phrase arrests us. Fifty years as a period of time is but a fragment. But how much of develop- ment and change in the world's moulding and evolution does it repre- sent ! It takes us back to the early sixties— the " glorious " days of Lord Russell and of Lord Palmerston— the central period of the august Victorian era. At home, following upon the disastrous war in the Crimea, and the stormy days of the Indian Mutiny, a period of welcome peace had supervened. On the Continent, a war was raging between France and Austria, whilst across the Atlantic our kinsmen in America, with whom the interests of Lancashire, and Liverpool in particular, have always been so closely associated, were pitted against each other in a deplorable campaign, now dubbed, in mellowing magnanimity, " the recent unpleasantness." These days — the early sixties — ^hold their full measure of memorable incident, both at home and abroad. These were the days when the " Great Eastern " made her first trip from Liverpool across the Atlantic, occupying eleven days to accomplish the voyage. These were the days of blockade-running, when time after time privateers in the service of the Confederate Army, laden with arms and ammunition, eluded the vigilance of the Northern warships, and deposited their valuable freights in Chesapeake Bay, returning to this country, most frequently to Liverpool, with cargoes of cotton for the Lancashire spinners. It was at this time that the "Alabama," commanded by Captain Semmes, and built, by the bye, at Laird's yard, in Birkenhead, was, after a desperate chase across the Atlantic, sunk off Cherbourg by the Federal Navy. Stirring times, indeed ! Many of our readers will recall, moreover, the distress and misery which visited thousands of our own people — especially those in Lancashire — during the subsequent Cotton famine. As soon as peace had been firmly established at home, England settled down to a term of prosperity, and this was speedily reflected in the development of the industrial and agricultural resources of the country. Trade grew enormously, both in the Metropolis and elsewhere, and the commerce of London, Liverpool and other centres increased by leaps and bounds. Property appreciated in value, whilst business and residential houses sprang up with remarkable rapidity ; in short, the prospects of success which awaited commercial enterprise appeared at this period brighter than they had been for many years. It was in these days and under these conditions, that a company of merchants, with commendable foresight and business acumen, recognised the opportunity pre- sented for the development of Fire Insurance, restricted at that time to comparatively few Offices. Fifty years ! yes, a short space of time, but long enough to enable men to make history; and, with pardonable pride, the London and Lancashire Fire Insurance Company may claim, as the outcome of its fifty years' work, to stand to-day in the front rank of the world's commercial organisations. Historical. ROM a study of the earliest records of the Company, we learn that the idea of forming the "London and Lancashire" was first conceived in the month of August, 1861. The projector of the scheme was a London merchant, Mr. Alexander Hamilton Gunn, who appears to have had some little experience in Company promoting. Mr. Gunn was assisted in the completion of his work by a Mr. Henry E. Warren, an agreement being made between these two gentlemen under which Mr. Warren was to assume the Secretaryship of the Company as soon as it had been floated. The Company was provisionally registered on Saturday, the 12th October, 1861, the original Deed of Settlement stating that the registration was made in the name of " The London and Lancashire Fire and Life 8 Assurance Company," and that such name had since been changed to " The London and Lancashire Fire Insurance Company." The first pubHc announcements respecting the Com- pany bear the dates of Wednesday and Thursday, the 23rd and 24th October, 1861, on which days a prospectus of " The London and Lancashire Fire Insurance Com- pany " appeared in the Liverpool newspapers and also in the London " Times," which referred to the matter in the following terms: — " A prospectus has been issued of a new Fire Insurance Company, to be called the ' London and Lancashire,' with a Capital of £1,000,000 in Shares of £2^ each. The Board of Directors is very respectably constituted, and includes several Liverpool merchants. As the Company do not propose any novelties of management, it is to be presumed they rely for business in a great degree on their Lancashire connexions. At the same time, they are said to have a prospect of valuable support in the City of London." We learn that the Company was launched with a Capital of One Million Pounds, " with power to increase," and that the Capital was divided into 40,000 shares, of £2^ each, of which it was proposed to call up ;£200,ooo, on the basis of a deposit of £i per share, £x los. od. on allotment, and a further sum of £2 los. od. at three months' notice. The London establishment was at No. 79, Lombard Street, E.C., and the business of what was then the Liverpool Branch was initially transacted from three rooms on the first floor of Middleton Buildings, Water Street. The Company's first Solicitors were Messrs. Paine and Layton, in London, and Messrs. Fletcher and Hull, in Liverpool. But perhaps the most engaging feature of the pros- pectus is the survey taken by the Company's projectors of the financial conditions obtaining at that date. It is clear that the moii/ in the minds of the promoters was to afford the commercial community of Liverpool the same facilities for protection against fire as were available for the Metropolis. On referring to the " London and Lancashire's " first Minute Book, we find therein a handsomely illuminated title page, intimating that the book was presented to the Company by the promoter, Mr. Gunn. The first Meeting of the Directors was held on the 31st October, 1861, at the London Office of the Company, 10 in Lombard Street, and was presided over by Mr. Francis WUliam Russell, M.P. On that occasion, the all-important question of securing a capable Manager was discussed ; in fact, whilst the Meeting was in progress, Mr. William Palin Clirehugh (then Manager of the Queen In- surance Company, Liverpool), who happened to be up in London at the time, was summoned before the Board, and preliminary pourparlers for the transfer of his services to the " London and Lancashire " were opened up. The Meeting was noteworthy in another respect, for the Board considered, at this, their first sitting, the advisability of entering into an agreement with the " Queen " to take over the business of that Company. The " Queen " had been established three years previously, and had held its third Annual Meeting, in Liverpool, a week before the " London and Lancashire's " first Board Meeting. The " Queen's " Fire premiums were close upon ,^40,000, and the acquisition of this portfolio by the newly-formed "London and Lancashire" was regarded as an end much to be desired. In a Uttle while, the negotiations reached an advanced stage; indeed, such was the probability of the "deal" becoming an accomplished fact that announcements were made in the public press of the impending amalgamation of the " Queen " with the " London and Lancashire," whilst a provisional agreement between the two Com- panies was actually signed in February, 1862. II Before the month had drawn to a close, however, the die was cast, at a Meeting of the "Queen's" share- holders, against the proposed absorption. The decision was succinctly recorded by the " Post Magazine," on the ist March, 1862, in a paragraph reading as follows : — " The arrangement for the amalgamation of the ' Queen ' with the ' London and Lancashire ' is off, against the wishes of a majority of the shareholders. The ' Queen ' Deed required that three-fourths of the votes would only carry the question, and on going to the ballot, the num- bers poUed were — For the amalgamation, 441 ; against it, 211. The union was therefore lost." Thus fate decreed that the transaction should not be carried through, and the " Queen " was left to be wooed and won nearly thirty years later by another suitor. Nevertheless, it is significant that, so early in its career, the " London and Lancashire " should have displayed that spirit of enterprise which has characterised its policy throughout its history. At a Meeting of the London Board on the 23rd October, 1861, a date was fixed for the closing of the Share List, and, accordingly, the following announcement appeared in the London " Times " of the 2nd November : — 12 " Notice is hereby given that the Share List of this Company will close on Tuesday, the I2th November, after which the allotment will take place. The Directors consider that a deposit of £i per share and ;^i los. od. on allotment will be sufficient for the present purposes of the Company, and no further call wiU be made without three months' notice being given. " By order of the Board, " Henry E. Warren, " Secretary, j!>ro tern. " 79, Lombard Street, "Thursday, 31st October, 1861." On the 15th November, 1861, the London Board formally elected the first Chairman and Deputy-Chairman of the Company, these honours being conferred upon Mr. Russell and Mr. Alderman Dakin respectively. During the closing months of 1861, both the London and Liverpool Boards were occupied in making the necessary arrangements for commencing business. At a Meeting of the Liverpool Board, held on the 6th November, 1861, in the offices of the local Solicitors, Messrs. Fletcher and Hull, the Directors gave it as their opinion that the Company should embark upon both Fire and Life Insurance business ; doubtless, in doing so, they were influenced by the prospect of the " Queen " — with 13 its Life portfolio of more than ^^22,000 in premiums — joining forces with the " London and Lancashire." Following this expression of view by the Liverpool Board, the London Directors also resolved, on the 3rd December, 1861, that a Life Company should be con- stituted, with a Capital of ^100,000, in 10,000 shares of ;^io each, 10/- per share to be paid, it being antici- pated that in this new Company the Life business and assets of the " Queen " would be vested. On the loth December, 1861, it was decided to dispense with the services of Mr. Warren, who, by the arrangement already referred to with Mr. Gunn, had been acting temporarily as Secretary, and it was shortly after this that the connection of Mr. Gunn himself with the " London and Lancashire " was determined. A definite stage in the Company's existence was reached on the ist February, 1862, when the London and Lancashire Fire Insurance Company was com- pletely registered. Press notices appeared, intimating that the Company would forthwith make arrangements for commencing business. The London Board Meeting of the 21st February, 1862, was an important one ; the veto of the " Queen's " Shareholders to the proposed amalgamation was reported, and, at the same time, it was resolved to definitely offer 14 the management of the " London and Lancashire " to Mr. Clirehugh. The Deputy-Chairman, Mr. Alderman Dakin, also placed at the disposal of the Company some rooms belonging to him in No. 73, King William Street, " to serve as temporary offices for the immediate requirements of the Company," and it was decided to accept the offer and remove from No. 79, Lombard Street. At the Board Meeting a week later, it was reported that Mr. Clirehugh had intimated his acceptance of the post of Manager, and material progress now commenced to be made. With reference to the London Offices, the accommodation at No. 73, King William Street was evidently found to be inadequate, for the Board turned its eyes toward more commodious premises at No. 64, Moorgate Street. Not being able to secure these rooms, however, the Directors eventually resolved to take in the building adjoining No. 73, King William Street. Accordingly, in a few weeks' time, a lease of both Nos. 73 and 74 was obtained, and the Company entered into occupation of these premises. With regard to the Liverpool establishment, both Directors and Solicitors appear to have been anxious that business should be definitely commenced, and diligent search was made for suitable offices. In some correspondence which took place at this time between 15 Mr. Clirehugh and Messrs. Fletcher & Hull, Mr. Hull wrote from Liverpool, on the 3rd March, 1862, " I have taken offices in Middleton Buildings, first floor." Middleton Buildings, Water Street, Liverpool, still stand ; they form part of the offices now occupied by the Cunard Steamship Company. In these days of palatial business establishments, the following extract from a letter written by Mr. Hull to Mr. Clirehugh, dated loth March, 1862, will not be perused without some interest and amusement : "I have arranged to take the three rooms on first floor of Middleton Buildings. I have got Mr. Muir of Cook Street to chalk out on the floor his ideas of lajdng out the rooms, and he wants your orders on Wednesday morning ; and, in the meantime, I have told him to get the place cleaned down." As a final step, the Company was extensively advertised in the London daily and weekly papers, and a further prospectus was issued. The earliest official Meeting of the Liverpool Directorate took place on the 6th March, 1862, on which occasion the first Chairman and Deputy- Chairman were elected, these honours falling 16 Francis Brau n , respectively upon Mr. Francis Braun and Mr. John Edward Naylor. Before the end of March, 1862, all preliminary arrangements for commencing business, both in London and Liverpool, had been completed. An Accountant and two or three clerks were appointed to assist Mr. Clirehugh in London, whilst the Liverpool Secretaryship was offered to Mr. James Edward Gale, of the " Phoenix," who (so the official Minute reads) was selected from a number of applicants on account of his " extensive knowledge of Fire risks." Mr. Gale duly accepted the post, and assumed the duties of the position at the beginning of April, having two clerks to help him. In the same month an application for a situation as Cashier and Book-keeper was considered by the Liverpool Board, but, with praiseworthy caution, they decided not to make such an appointment " until the business increases." The 25th March, 1862, saw the issue of the first policy of the " London and Lancashire," which was taken out by Mr. J. R. Cooper — one of the Company's original Shareholders — and covered the contents of his iron- mongery premises in London Road, Liverpool. Although this policy is not, in point of fact, the earliest one now in existence, it is the oldest insurance with the " London and Lancashire," for the policy which replaced it — 17 issued at Ladyday Quarter, 1866 — is still in force. The earliest policy now valid, however, is that numbered 309, issued to Mr. John Nicholas Sale — the Company's first Representative in the Manchester District— on the 30th April, 1862. Immediately after commencing business. Represent- atives were appointed throughout the country, at such centres as Manchester, Preston, Halifax, Bradford and Newcastle-on-Tyne. These Agencies were all established, of course, through the Liverpool Office, whilst the London management exploited the South of England. Scotland and Ireland were invaded before the close of the year, and the Company's operations in some of the more important cities and towns of the United Kingdom very soon assumed such proportions as to justify the inauguration of Branch establishments. It is a significant fact, and typical of the enterprise of the " London and Lancashire " that it launched out into the foreign field during the first year of its existence. Most Offices have made it a practice to operate at home for some years before venturing upon underwriting abroad, but the " London and Lancashire " had only been transacting business a few weeks v\hen the Directors resolved to embark upon insurance in France, Holland, Germany, Jamaica, India, Australia and elsewhere. 18 The earlier prospectuses of the " London Slid Lancashire " had stated that the Company would be managed on the mutual principle, by making the Policy-holders participators in the profits, after 'an adequate appropriation for the purposes of reserve, but the Directors apparently decided, almost immediately upon commencing operations, to abandon this idea. The " London and Lancashire " has always been a loyal supporter of the Fire Offices' Committee — an organ- isation almost unique for its continuity and widespread influence — and we find an entry in the Minutes of the Meeting of the London Directors, held three weeks after the first policy had been issued, recording " the decision of the Board to act as one of the Tariff Companies." On the 29th May, 1862, a circular was issued making public the decision arrived at by the Directors on the 3rd December, 1861, in regard to the formation of a Life Company. This circular intimated that, in the opinion of the Board, the time was now ripe for its establishment, and that it would be formed under a separate Deed, and would possess independent Capital. Consequently, a few days later, the " London and Lancashire Life Assurance Company " was registered. Even if the " London and Lancashire " had not earlier justified its raison d^etre, it certainly did so in 19 the month of August, 1862, when it paid its first loss, the claimant being a London haberdasher. The cause of the fire was attributed to "an unprotected gas light in shop," and the amount paid in settlement was sixteen shiUings and sixpence. This small claim was soon followed by two losses of somewhat more importance, one for ^^248 on a Marseilles Sugar Refinery — the " London and Lancashire's " first Foreign loss — and the other for £5,000 (£3,000 reinsured) on a Liverpool Oil Mill. An unusual Minute appears in the Company's records under date of September, 1862. It was in this year, as some will remember, that the Second Great Exhibition was held in Kensington, from May to November, and the Directors of the " London and Lancashire," with a view to affording the staff an opportunity of attending the Exhibition, resolved " to allow the clerks two days' leave, and 10/6 each." A new prospectus, advertising the combined organ- isation, under the name of the "London and Lancashire Fire and Life Insurance Companies," was issued in September, 1862, from which the following extract is taken : — " The two Companies are established under different Deeds, and with separate Capital ; the advan- 20 tage, therefore, of keeping the Capital of each Company distinct is secured, whilst mutual benefit will be obtained by a unity of interests, and by the great saving of expense in con- sequence of the business of the two Companies being conducted in the same offices, and, as far as practicable, by the same management and by the same machinery of Agents." We have already noted that the " London and Lancashire " was provisionally registered in October, 1861, and the complete registration effected in February, 1862. The certificate of incorporation under the Companies' Act was not issued, however, until the 2ist October, 1862. Naturally enough, the early days of the " London and Lancashire's " first year of existence were devoted to making the Company as widely known as possible. In the closing month of 1862, " London and Lancashire " signboards were exhibited in the more prominent Railway Stations throughout the United Kingdom ; whilst Fire- marks and Calendars formed important features in the Company's advertising schemes. The business of the Company soon showed signs of expansion, and at the opening of 1863, it had reached dimensions which called for the appointment of an additional Officer, to aid Mr. Clirehugh. Accordingly, 21 in,. March, 1863, the London Directors selected Mr. S. .P. Colman — ^who had been for the preceding twelve years with the " Globe " in London — to be Sub-Manager, a position he retained until 1868. Mr. Colman was subsequently appointed Local Manager in Birmingham, which post he filled until he withdrew from business life in 1894. Having lived to see the dawn of the Company's Jubilee, he passed away so recently as March, 1912. In the Minutes of the London Board Meeting of the 26th January, 1863, it was reported that an application for shares had been received from a Mr. Edward Hodgson Harrison, of Liverpool. These shares were duly allotted to Mr. Harrison, who was elected a Director in the following year ; and, later on, this esteemed gentleman — whom many of us affectionately remember — occupied successively the positions of Deputy-Chairman and Chairman of the Company. Before the Company had been operating twelve months, it was found that the Liverpool Offices in Middleton Buildings, Water Street, were not in a sufficiently central locality, and it was resolved to take more suitable premises in Brown's Buildings, close to the Liverpool Exchange. 22 We now come to another important stage in the history of the " London and Lancashire." Having commenced business in March, 1862, the Directors issued some twelve months later, their first Report, for the nine months ending the 31st December, 1862. For the first three months during which the Company had been working, the premiums were over i^2,500 ; for the second three months, they were nearly ;^6,ooo ; and for the last three months, they exceeded ;^i6,ooo. The total premiums for the nine months amounted to ;^24,o6g, whilst the losses were £3,876, or about 16% of the premiums. It was, doubtless, gratifying to the Shareholders to find that, at this early stage, the Directors, with the usual optimism of new-fledged Companies, were bold enough to declare a dividend of 5%. On the 13th April, 1864, the second Annual Meeting was held, when it was reported that the premiums written during 1863 were £61,568, or, in round figures, an increase of 155% over those reported twelve months previously. In the Minutes of a Board Meeting held in London on the 5th December, 1864, the sincere congratulations of the Directors were offered to their colleague, Mr. Alderman Warren Stormes Hale, on his elevation to the distinguished position of Lord Mayor of the City of London, and also to their fellow-director, Mr. Alderman Dakin, upon his election to the office of Sheriff. 23 The first two Annual Meetings of the " London and Lancashire " were held in London, and the third, which took place on the 8th April, 1865, in Liverpool, at the Law Association Rooms, Cook Street. On that occasion, the Annual Report indicated that the premium income for the year 1864 had reached the sum of ^100,429. The gratification of the Directors was aptly expressed in the following extract, taken from the Report presented to the third Annual Meeting : — " The Directors believe that they can, with confidence, state that there is no instance in which the growth of a Fire Insurance Company has been so rapid as is evinced in the progress of the ' London and Lancashire.' " More premature optimism — for the losses had increased in stiU greater proportion, with the result that, whereas, for the year 1863, the loss ratio had been only 37%, it had risen, in the following year, to 67%. The experience of 1864 was repeated the next year, for although the premiums for 1865 exceeded the sum of ^£109,000, the losses sustained were £74,000, or nearly 68%. As a result, the Directors felt it necessary to institute a thorough examination of the Company's books, to ascertain the classes of risk from which the claims had chiefly arisen, and it was found that more than 80% of the losses had occurred in connection with insurances of an ordinary character. There was some satisfaction, therefore, to be derived from the 24 fact that, in the opinion of the Directors, the adverse experience was not due to reckless underwriting, but that — as the official Board Minute renders it — " the past has been a year quite exceptional in its character for heavy losses, and on good risks, and one that, from time to time. Fire Insurance Companies are liable to." In the third Annual Report already referred to, there appeared a statement that, in view of the rapidly- increasing business of the Company, the Directors had decided to secure more adequate office accommoda- tion in London, and that they had taken in hand the construction of new premises at the corner of Bishops- gate and Leadenhall Streets, E.C. The London staff duly took possession of these offices in the early part of 1866. Consequent upon the serious condition of the Com- pany's finances, by reason of the heavy losses sustained during 1865, the Liverpool Board recorded a decision on the 4th February, 1866, which demonstrated to the Shareholders the resolve of the Directors to minimise, as far as lay in their power, the expenditure incurred in the administration of the Company, and we quote in fuU the Resolution which was passed on that occasion : — " The Liverpool portion of the Board unanimously resolve not to accept any fees for the year 1866, and they trust that their London colleagues wUl see the necessity of doing the same." 25 It is an old adage— and a true one — that " it never rains but it pours," and this was illustrated in the following year, 1866, a period which included some of the darkest days in the annals of the " London and Lancashire." On the 26th November, 1866, a calamitous fire broke out in the city of Yokohama, Japan. It com- menced in a cook shop in the quarter known as the Japanese Town, and spread with fearful rapidity through the closely-packed wooden houses which crowded that district. The sparks, aided by a strong wind, were blown into the American Consulate, situate at one end of the Bund, and within half-an-hour of the first outbreak of the fire, many of the buildings in the European Settle- ments were in flames. The whole of the Japanese Town was swept away. The fire continued throughout the night of the 26th November, and it was not until three days afterwards that it burnt itself out. The damage occasioned by the conflagration was estimated at £1,000,000. AU the important British Fire Companies were involved, and the " London and Lancashire " sustained losses which, after deducting reinsurances, amounted to about ^^20,000. This was a grave matter for the Company, supervening as it did upon a period of other trying experiences, and the " London and Lancashire's " finances were, in consequence, left in a precarious condition. 26 Duncan Graham . Indeed, the conflagration inflicted such a blow as to necessitate exceptional measures, if the " London and Lancashire " were to be kept alive. The situation was carefully weighed by the Directors at the beginning of the year 1867, when it was proposed that, in order to meet their liabilities, the Board should mortgage their London property, and should also make a call upon the Shareholders. The Liverpool Directors were, however, strenuously opposed to the latter suggestion, and expressed themselves as convinced that such a step, if taken then, would imperil the very existence of the Company. It is at this period that we are first introduced to a gentleman who was subsequently to preside over the destinies of the " London and Lancashire " for some considerable time. From an entry in the first Minute Book of the Board, it appears that, at this critical juncture in the Company's affairs, Mr. Duncan Graham, of Liverpool, in his capacity as a Shareholder, journeyed up to London shortly before the fifth Annual Meeting, and sought an interview with the London Directors, at which the financial question was exhaustively discussed. There is no doubt it was in consequence of this interview, and of the fixed determin- ation of the Liverpool Directors not to make a call upon the Shareholders, that other means were found whereby the claims arising out of the Yokohama fire could be met. 27 It is singular that, even whilst the Company was under the cloud of financial difficulty, a silver lining had appeared. At the time that the Directors were considering ways and means by which to meet their responsibilities, the general position was happily being relieved by an improvement in the loss experience, and this is reflected in the following excerpt from the fifth Annual Report : — " In common with the majority of Offices transacting foreign business, the Directors regret to state that the 'London and Lancashire' were losers by the great fire at Yokohama. The amount of the Company's loss, included in the Accounts for 1866, will be rather under ^^20,000. They have, however, the satisfaction of being able to report that, during the period already past of the present year, the losses are not only considerably less than they were for the corresponding period of the past two years, but are below the normal percentage." Following the Annual Meeting (i8th April, 1867), an Extraordinary General Meeting was held, at which powers were obtained to borrow money to the extent of one-half of the paid-up Capital of the Company, and in this way the crisis was passed. By that time the Company's business in the city of Liverpool had progressed to such a degree as to 28 necessitate the removal of the Liverpool Offices to premises in what was then the New Exchange. The Liverpool Exchange Buildings — which are still in use — were erected on the site of the old Exchange, in the year 1864. The " London and Lancashire " entered its new offices in these Buildings towards the close of 1866. Almost immediately after the fifth Annual Meeting, a requisition, signed by a number of the Liverpool Shareholders, was handed in to the Liverpool Board, and duly forwarded by them to the Directors in London. This memorial had as its object a revision in the conduct of the Company's affairs, the most important of the suggestions being that, in future, the management of the Company should be in Liverpool, and that the London and Lancashire Life Assurance Company, whose Head Office was in London, should merely act as Agents, in that City, for the London and Lancashire Fire Insurance Company, taking over the latter's Offices in London upon terms to be mutually agreed upon. The requisition of the Liverpool Shareholders received very deliberate consideration, during the summer of 1867, at the hands of the Directors, and, eventually, at an Extraordinary General Meeting of the Share- holders, held in Liverpool on the 30th September, 1867, sanction was obtained for making such alterations 29 in the Company's Deed of Settlement as were necessary to carry out the re-organisation of the Company on the hnes indicated. As from the ist October, 1867, therefore, the Head Office of the " London and Lancashire " was removed to Liverpool, and the whole of the Company's assets was handed over to the care of the Liverpool Board, who thus assumed supreme control of the business and finances of the Company. In consequence of these changes, Mr. Clirehugh, who had, up to that time, been the Manager of the Fire Company, relinquished his connection therewith, re- maining with the Life Office, and Mr. Gale became the Manager of the London and Lancashire Fire Insurance Company. It may not be inopportune at this point to say a few words in respect of the city with which the " London and Lancashire " became, from that time, so intimately connected. 30 Liverpool — one of the most important seaport cities in the British Empire, and, indeed, of the world — was once merely a collection of rude dwellings, situate upon the margin of the River Mersey. Slowly at first, but with ever-accelerating rapidity, it has developed into a city of great commercial significance. The Town of Liverpool — or, as it appears to have been originallj^ called, Lyrpool — received its first Charter at the hands of King John, in the year 1207, and was made a free borough in 1229 by Henry III. These distinctions do not appear, however, to have been accompanied by any practical benefits, for we find that the town remained in comparative obscurity for the next four hundred years or more. At the end of the thirteenth century, the population was about 840 ; at the close of the sixteenth century, it was 4,000. Towards the end of the seventeenth century, however, Liverpool became the home of many London merchants, who had abandoned their operations in the Metropolis in consequence of the disastrous effects of the Plague and the Great Fire of London. The stimulus thus given to the town was soon evidenced in mercantile prosperity, and, from that time, Liverpool has never looked back. At the close of the eighteenth century, the number of its inhabitants was 77,000; by the end of the nine- teenth century, it had risen to 716,810 ; to-day it is about three-quarters of a million. 31 The town soon became the formidable rival of other British ports, more particularly in regard to foreign trade. During the eighteenth century the development of the coal resources of Lancashire, together with the inventions of the spinning-jenny and of the power-loom — ^which turned the County Palatine into one of the mammoth workshops of the world — gave a remarkable fillip to the trade of Liverpool. With the advent of the nineteenth century, there came also the invention of steam, the railway locomotive and the steamship, all of which contributed to the progress of the town. Liverpool, moreover, became the gateway of the West, and the port of discharge for the major portion of the cotton trade of the world ; in fact, it was the channel through which the textile manufactures of Lancashire were distributed to every comer of the globe. The place gained in importance, year by year ; dock after dock was constructed, fleets of liners made Liverpool their harbour ; and to-day, the maritime and commercial ramifications of the city are world-wide. Architecturally, too, Liverpool occupies a leading position amongst the cities of the world. Among the best examples are the Liverpool Exchange, which cost ^220,000 ; the Walker Art GaUery ; the Liverpool University ; the palatial Cotton Exchange, costing more than ^^300,000 ; and St. George's Hall, a magnifi- cent specimen of Corinthian architecture, considered by connoisseurs to be one of the finest buildings in Europe. 32 The riverside aspect has, moreover, during recent years, been improved by the erection of the imposing offices of the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board, and other dignified structures ; and it is when the voyager enters the city by its marine gate — the Mersey — that he obtains perhaps the most vivid impression of its wealth and natural advantages. It was in this prosperous city — the progress of which we have outlined so briefly — that, in the year 1867, the " London and Lancashire " made its home. Our frontispiece shows the site of the present Head Office, at the corner of Dale Street and Moorfields, as it appeared in those days. Resuming our history of the Company, it seems that, before a week had elapsed from the transfer of the Head Office to Liverpool, the Directors invited Mr. Duncan Graham — of whom mention has already been made — to accept a seat on the Board, and, on signifying his wUlingness to act, he was, as from the loth October, 1867, elected a Director of the Company, his appoint- ment being confirmed at the sixth Annual Meeting, in April of the following year. 33 The results of the Company's operations during 1867, although more favourable than those of the preceding twelve months, were still not satisfactory, the losses showing a ratio of 74% to the net premiums ; beyond which, there had also to be faced the liability arising out of the losses in Yokohama in 1866. It was, therefore, deemed advisable by the Directors at the sixth Annual Meeting, to make a call upon the Share- holders of ^i per share — realising i^38,325 — which sum was, however, written off in 1872. Under the circum- stances, it is not to be wondered at that, for 1867 and the four following years, the Company did not pay any dividend. From the moment when the management was trcins- ferred to the Liverpool Directorate, fortune began to smile upon the Company's underwriting transactions. The loss ratio was reduced to 57% in 1868, and to 47% in 1869, whilst considerable saving was effected in the expenditure. Towards the end of the year 1869, the Head Office of the Company was removed from the Exchange Buildings to more adequate premises at No. 11, Dale Street— the principal Insurance thoroughfare of Liverpool— in which offices the business of the Company was trans- acted for the ensuing twenty years. 34 Important changes in the Directorial personnel took place at the beginning of 1872, when, after almost ten years of conscientious fulfilment of his duties — first as Chairman of the Liverpool Board, and, later, as Chairman of the Company — Mr. Braun relinquished his post. We are fortunate in being able to introduce into the present volume a portrait of Mr. Braun, whose work and influence in the interests of Liverpool are stiU remembered. The same Board which accepted, with the deepest regret, the resignation of Mr. Braun, elected his successor. On the 8th January, 1872, the office of Chairman of the " London and Lancashire " was conferred upon Mr. Duncan Graham, who, by his notable business ability, was eminently suited to occupy such a position, and whose administration of the Company's affairs during the following twenty-nine years more than justified the choice made by his colleagues. Before the close of the first six months of 1872, the Directors appointed Mr. George Henry Float, who had acted as the Manager's confidential clerk for some years, to the Assistant-Secretaryship of the Company, a position that gentleman filled until his retirement at the end of 1889. In the August of 1872, the Directors, finding it desirable to devote more time to the increasing business of the Company, resolved that, for the future, the Board Meetings should be held weekly, instead of monthly. 35 Meanwhile, the "London and Lancashire's" connec- tions had steadily grown, and during 1872 — ^the first year of Mr. Duncan Graham's regime — the Company registered a gross income of over 5^200,000; whilst, for the subsequent twelve months, the premiums exceeded a quarter of a million. Moreover, the payment of a dividend to the Shareholders was resumed, 5% being the rate for 1872, and 7% for 1873. Another landmark in the Company's history was reached at the close of the year 1874. Mr. Gale, who had been appointed Manager in 1867, when the Head Office was transferred to Liverpool, ceased to hold that position, the post being offered to and accepted by Mr. Charles George FothergiU. This was the great stroke of fortune which affected the Company's whole future history. Mr. FothergiU was not the founder of the Company, but he founded its success. He had started his Insurance career with the "Westminster," and for thirteen years subsequently had been in the service of the "Royal;" first as Assistant Secretary in Liverpool, then in a similar capacity in London, returning to Liverpool in 1868 as the Sub-Manager, under the late Mr. John H. McLaren. The " Post Magazine," alluding to his managerial appointment in its issue of the 12th December, 1874, said : — " Mr. FothergUl brings to his new post a thorough knowledge of his business, and the selection 36 Charles George Fothergill. may be looked upon as peculiarly happy in the interests of the ' London and Lancashire.' " Mr. Fothergill at once addressed himself to the task of thoroughly investigating the Company's financial position and methods of underwriting. As a result of his work, a considerable quantity of business was jettisoned, something like ^30,000 of premium income being volun- tarily reUnquished during 1875. This pruning policy was continued during the following year, but the income of the Company was, nevertheless, maintained from other and better business untU, in 1877, the net premiums exceeded ^256,000, It was at this period that Mr. G. H. Robertson — to whom allusion is made at a later stage — ^first became identified with the Board, being elected a Director on the 5th September, 1877. At the close of 1878, it was resolved to create a new position at the Head Office with a view to relieving Mr. FothergiU of some of his duties, and to this end the Directors decided to appoint Mr. James B. Moffat — who had up to that time been Local Manager in Liverpool of the Northern Assurance Company — as Sub-Manager of the " London and Lancashire." It wUl be remembered that, when the " London and Lancashire " was quite in its infancy, the Directorate had under consideration the acquisition of another 37 Insurance Company, but the project was not carried through. Seventeen years later, as the outcome of the establishment of the Company in the United States, the " London and Lancashire," made its first move in the direction of absorbing other Companies — an achieve- ment that has, by the way, been repeated on more than thirty occasions — for, in June, 1879, the " Safeguard" of New York and the "Hoboken" of Hoboken were secured, the "Adriatic " of New York being also absorbed in the following August. These three American acquisitions resulted in the Company's premium income being augmented by close upon £80,000. A few months later — on the 12th November, 1879 — arrangements were concluded with the London and South wark Insurance Corporation, Ltd., by which the " London and Lancashire " took over the bulk of its Fire business, representing a premium income of £106,000. Following upon this purchase, the Company found it necessary, before the close of 1879, in view of the expansion of its MetropoUtan connections, to seek more adequate office accommodation, and it is a coincidence that, with the removal of the London Branch to the premises formerly occupied by the " London and Southwark " in 73 and 74, King WiUiam Street, E.C., the " London and Lancashire " found themselves once 38 more in premises they had tenanted, but to a much more limited extent, many years previously. The London business of the Company is still carried on in King William Street. Simultaneously, an arrangement was made by which the London and Lancashire Life Assurance Company relinquished the Agency of the Fire Com- pany, and the businesses of the two organisations were henceforward conducted on entirely independent lines. The history of the next decade is one of gradual improvement. Those years were not characterised by any such incidents as had marked the earlier stages ; in fact, apart from the absorption of three or four comparatively small Offices, with an aggregate annual premium of about ;{i6o,ooo, they might be described as uneventful. Despite the absence of incident, however, the connections of the Company expanded, slowly but surely, year by year. It is not surprising, therefore, to find that, at the end of 1889, the premium income had increased to £587,000, whilst the dividend received by the Shareholders had steadily risen until it had reached the substantial rate of 16%. During those days — the eighties — as a consequence of the expanding business, the Head Office staff had 39 grown to such an extent as to render it imperative that increased accommodation should be secured. Towards the end of 1889, therefore, negotiations were entered into for the purchase of the extensive block at the comer of Dale Street and Moorfields, Liverpool — formerly known as the " Royal Hotel " — and in March, 1890, the headquarters of the Company were moved to those offices. The premises occupy a prominent site at the junction of two of Liverpool's busiest commercial thoroughfares. The interior is replete with every appliance and convenience for the efficient despatch of an ever-increasing business. Coincident with the removal of the Head Of&ces of the Company to their present situation, some noteworthy changes in the management took place. Mr. Moffat, the Sub-Manager, resigned, having accepted the Managership of the Manchester Fire Assurance Company. Simultaneously, the Directors accepted the resignation of Mr. Float, who thus retired on a pension; and it was decided to fill the vacancy — indeed, the two vacancies — ^by appointing Mr. Rutter, with the title of Assistant Secretary. Towards the close of the year 1890, an arrangement was concluded whereby the Company acquired the Pacific Coast business of another American Office, the " Anglo-Nevada." The additional premiums thus secured 40 amounted to about ^^78,000, and, largely as a result of this acquisition, the premiums of the " London and Lancashire " for that year exceeded ,^700,000. The dividend paid to the Shareholders for 1890 was 20%. In 1891, Mr. Rutter assumed the title of Sub- Manager of the Company, and Mr. James Allan was selected for the Assistant Secretaryship. Mr. AUan had received his training in the offices of the " Guardian " and the " Commercial Union," and, for three years prior to his promotion to the Head Office of the " London and Lancashire," had occupied the position of Resident Secretary at its Dublin Branch. Mr. Allan has travelled extensively in the Company's interests, particularly in South Africa and Australia. In 1891, three further businesses were acquired, viz. : the London and Provincial Fire Insurance Company, Ltd., of London, and two American Offices, the " Southern California " and the " Norwalk." The year 1892 witnessed further progress in extending the Company's interests, three more "deals" being successfully negotiated. The chief of these involved the absorption of the Fire business of the General Life and Fire Assurance Company, a London Ofl&ce estabhshed as far back as 1837. Three Colonial acquisitions were arranged in the year 1894, the " London and Lancashire " purchasing the 41 business of the South African Insurance Company of Cape Town, and also the Fire connections of two Australian Offices, the " British and Colonial " of Sydney and the " National of Australasia " of Melbourne. In 1896, the Company acquired the " Mercantile " of Waterloo, Canada. In the following year the Fire businesses of "La Buenos Ay res," in the Western Hemi- sphere, and the " City Mutual " of Sydney, in the Eastern Hemisphere, were taken over ; and in 1898, these absorptions were followed by the purchase of "La Plata," which gave the Company a strong footing in Uruguay. The close of 1898 witnessed one of the significant events in the history of the Company. Mr. FothergiU, who had been in chief control for nearly a quarter of a century — and whose Insurance career had extended over half a century — reached the stage when he felt that anno domini and the consideration due to his health, made it desirable, if not imperative, that he should seek the cooler shade of an exceptionally merited retirement. During his management, Mr. Fothergill had, by his powers of organisation and administration, raised the " London and Lancashire " from a position of insecurity — one might almost say, of jeopardy — to a place in the forefront of the world's Fire Companies. The event was chronicled in the Company's Annual Report, issued in April, 1899, from which we take the following extract : — 42 Frederick William Pascoe Rutter. " The retirement, on the 31st December, 1898, of Mr. Charles George Fothergill, from the post of Manager and Secretary of the Company has already been notified. The Shareholders will fuUy appreciate the sincere regret of the Directors that Mr. Fothergill should have felt compelled by health considerations, to thus relinquish the office which he has so honourably filled for a period of over twenty-four years to the great advantage and prosperity of the Company." Mr. Fothergill was offered and accepted a seat upon the Boards of Directors in Liverpool and London, and it is a gratification to all concerned to know that he has the satisfaction of seeing the Company com- memorate its Jubilee. The Directors forthwith conferred upon Mr. Frederick William Pascoe Rutter the responsible position thus vacated. Mr. Rutter — now the General Manager and Secretary of the Company — enjoys the distinction of having spent the whole of his business career in its service at the Head Office. Bom in Liverpool and educated at the Liverpool CoUege, he joined the Company as an apprentice in 1873, and, after twelve years' graduation in the various departments, was promoted to the position of Head of the Foreign Depart- ment, which post he filled from 1885 untU the close of 1889. During that period, he travelled extensively, and this intimate acquaintance with foreign affairs was 43 closely maintained during his subsequent tenure of the offices of Assistant Secretary and Sub-Manager. At the time Mr. Rutter became Chief Officer, the Company transacted only Fire business ; its premium income was £836,000, its Reserves Funds were £994,000, and the dividend paid to the Shareholders was 24%. To-day, the premium income — derived from the various departments, viz : Fire, Accident and Marine — stands at £2,346,958, and the Reserves at £2,773,724, whilst, in this, the Fiftieth year of the Company, there wUl be a total distribution to the Shareholders of Fifty per cent, on the paid-up Capital. Consequent upon Mr. Rutter's appointment, Mr. Allan was, on the ist January, 1899, promoted to the Sub-Managership, the Assistant Secretaryship being con- ferred upon Mr. F. W. Mills. Like his Chief, Mr. MiUs has received his entire training in the service of the " London and Lancashire," in the first instance at its Bristol Branch, and subsequently at its Calcutta estabUshment. In the years 1899 and 1900, four American Offices were induced to cast in their lot with the " London and Lancashire." The most significant of these was the " Orient " of Hartford, U.S.A. Estabhshed some thirty- three years previously, it had built up a well-seasoned Fire business. At the time of its absorption, it registered a premium income of £265,000, and its acquisition considerably enhanced the already material stake of the " London and Lancashire " in the United States. 44 James Aluan . F W.Mills. A . Macdermott W. E.Blake While the Company was thus gaining in importance, its Directors and management sustained a severe loss on the 6th January, 1901, by the death of the Chairman, Mr. Duncan Graham. This gentleman first became associated with the " London and Lancashire " in the year 1867, and had taken a prominent part in its development during a period of over thirty years. Mr. Graham was a man of the highest integrity and of scholarly attainments. His recognised ability and judicial temperament inspired a confidence and respect which gave a special weight and force to aU his decisions and utterances. His death was the occasion for sincere and general regret, and at a Board Meeting held the day after Mr. Graham's decease, the Directors marked their appreciation of the loss they had sustained by recording the following Resolutions : — " That this Meeting of the Board of Directors learns with the most poignant sorrow of the death of their esteemed friend and colleague, Duncan Graham, Esq., who has been a Director since October, 1867, and for the last twenty-nine years has occupied, without a break, the office of Chairman of the Company. That this Meeting further desires to place on record its deep appreciation of the great services which Mr. Graham has rendered to this Company, having thirty years ago been largely instrumental in reviving its fortunes, and having, by the spot- lessness of his character, his high sense of honour, 45 his scrupulous regard for the interests of the Shareholders, his ability and wise counsel in presiding over the Meetings of the Shareholders, contributed conspicuously to the success which the Company has eventually achieved." The sad event was also referred to in appropriate terms in the following extract from the Company's twenty-ninth Annual Report, dated April, 1901 : — "It is with the deepest regret that the Directors place on record the loss which they and the Shareholders have sustained by the death in January last of the Chairman of the Company, Mr. Duncan Graham. Mr. Graham had been a Director since 1867, and had filled the of&ce of Chairman for the last twenty-nine consecutive years. His conspicuous ability and unwearied efforts to enhance the reputation and prosperity of the Company cannot be over-estimated." Mr. E. H. Harrison was Mr. Graham's successor in the Chairmanship of the Company, and Mr. G. H. Robertson then became Deputy-Chairman. In 1901, the Company was enterprising enough to acquire control of the Equitable Fire and Accident Office, Ltd., of Manchester. The "Equitable" possessed a Fire portfolio of some ;^i6i,ooo, from business largely 46 Edward Hodgson Harrison. composed of first-class industrial risks in the counties of Lancashire and Yorkshire. Moreover, in addition to the Fire business, the " Equitable " had an Accident con- nection of close upon ^^50,000. This, in the wisdom of the Directors of the " London and Lancashire," it was decided to retain, and as the Company had, two years previously, sought and obtained powers to transact Accident Insurance, the portfolio which thus passed over to them from the " Equitable " formed the nucleus of what is now an important department. Before the close of that year (1901) still another amalgamation took place, the " London and Lancashire " securing the business of the Quebec Fire Assurance Company, a substantial Canadian Office, established as far back as 1818. The year igoi marked an epoch in the annals of the Company's progress. As will be seen from the tabulated statistics in another part of this book, the Company in 1901 passed the "£1,000,000 a year" premium standard. For the next two or three years nothing very eventful transpired. One morning in February, 1904, however, the world awakened to learn that a serious conflagration had visited Baltimore, U.S.A., doing damage to property estimated at £14,000,000. The " London and Lancashire," in common with most British Companies, was 47 interested, the losses it was called upon to pay in respect of its liabilities amounting to £90,000. In August, 1904, the Company purchased the goodwill of an old-estabUshed Aberdeen Office, the Scottish Employers' Liability and Accident Assurance Company, Ltd., thereby materially extending its Accident clientele. No further incident of any great import occurred until igo6. During that year, the " London and Lancashire " acquired the Home connections of the " National Union," a Fire and Accident Office having its headquarters at Bedford. In 1906, also, an addition was made to the personnel of the management. Mr. A. Macdermott^ — who had hitherto been the Company's Chief Accountant — ^was made an Assistant Secretary. This Official has since been appointed Accident Secretary. The year 1906 was specially memorable by reason of two of the most awful cataclysms of modern times, viz. : the earthquakes which destroyed San Francisco and Valparaiso. The calamity at San Francisco was unexampled in its severity. The first shock was felt at thirteen minutes past five on the morning of Wednesday the i8th April, igo6, and the tremors continued at intervals for the following three hours. Almost immediately after the 48 The Companys Building, Hartford, U.S.A. first disturbance, there ensued a fire which, before long, assumed the proportions of a conflagration, and burned for three days before it was eventually subdued. It will not be out of the way, at this point, to set out some statistics indicating the magnitude of this disaster, which far transcended the previous record conflagration of Chicago in 1871. The area covered by the fire was 2,830 acres, or more than four square mUes, and the number of buildings destroyed was calculated to approximate 25,000, repre- senting damage to property of about ^^60,000,000. The number of Insurance Offices involved was 233, their combined loss being computed at ;^4o,ooo,ooo. Of this amoxmt, about one quarter, roughly speaking, fell upon the British Companies, whilst several of the American Offices were, as a result of the catastrophe, forced into liquidation. In the case of the " London and Lancashire," the claimants numbered 2,995, and necessitated the con- tinuous employment for over four months of some 25 special adjusters to arrange the settlements. As a matter of fact, the amount paid out by the Company — £1,750,000 — ^was the largest sum ever disbursed by a British Insurance Office for a single fire. The strength of an Insurance Company depends, of course, upon its Reserves, and upon its consequent abUity to meet any losses which may occur, and if proof had 49 been needed of the Company's stability, no more conclusive testimony could have been furnished than the ease with which, on this occasion, it met its liabilities. This was mainly due to the policy the Directors had pursued for many years of building up the Reserve Funds. Indeed, as one reflects upon the past, it is impossible not to mentally contrast the alarm of the Shareholders in 1866, on hearing the Company had suffered a loss of ^20,000 by the Yokohama fire, with their comparative equanimity when, forty years later, news was received that the " London and Lancashire's " net loss by the San Francisco conflagration was £1,000,000. Whilst the interested Companies were still busy with the claims arising out of the San Francisco disaster, the city of Valparaiso, in Chili, was the scene of similar seismal visitation and subsequent fire. ChUians are not unaccustomed to earthquakes, for some hundreds of more or less innocuous tremors occur annually in their country. As regards duration and disturbance, however, the two shocks suffered on this particular occasion were unpre- cedented in their severity. The first shock, which commenced at four minutes after seven o'clock in the evening of the i6th August, 1906, and continued for about sixty seconds, was followed shortly by a second tremor which lasted for two minutes. Fires ensued, no fewer than fifty-one outbreaks occurring,] and, in consequence of the injury done by the earthquakes to the water mains of the 50 city, the fires had to be allowed to burn themselves out. Outbreaks followed intermittently during the five days after the i6th August, and it is estimated that the amount of damage sustained by earthquakes and fires was over ;;^20,ooo,ooo. By far the greater portion of this was attributed to earthquake havoc, the destruction by fire only amounting to some two and a quarter millions sterling. The total loss sustained by the Insurance Companies was, in round figures, ^^2,000,000. The Policyholders brought actions in the Chilian Courts against the Insurance Companies, and, as a result of protracted litigation, compromises were ultimately agreed upon, the " London and Lancashire's " loss working out at a little under ^50,000, The following year, 1907, was full of eventful episode. Before the first fortnight had passed, a third destructive earthquake occurred. On the 14th January, a serious shock was felt at Kingston, the capital city of Jamaica, and in the surrounding districts. By the earthquake, and the fire which followed, 700 people lost their lives, and enormous damage was done to practically the whole of the business section of Kingston. The area affected by the fire comprised between 30 and 40 acres in extent, and the total damage caused has been estimated at ;^2,ooo,ooo. More than a score of Fire Insurance Companies were involved in the fire, and — as in the case of Valparaiso — 51 considerable litigation ensued in regard to the question of liability. The Companies had in their policies a con- dition stipulating that they were not to be considered liable for any loss by fire occasioned through earthquake ; consequently, they repudiated all the claims preferred against them, contending that the fire was the direct outcome of the seismic disturbance. Numerous suits were instituted by the Policyholders, and the " London and Lancashire " occupied a prominent place in the eye of the insuring public, for the Company figured as Defendants in the historic case which was tried in April and May of the following year, in the Court of King's Bench, London. This was an action brought by the Tootal Broadhurst Lee Co., Ltd. — a well-known firm of Manchester Export Merchants — for the payment of losses sustained by them at their Kingston stores. The trial, during which many Jamaican witnesses were examined, lasted twenty-three days, and resulted in a verdict for the Insurance Company. It should be mentioned that the policies which were the sub- ject of this action had been issued at the Head Office of the " London and Lancashire " — hence the hearing of the case before an English jury. By far the greater number of policies under which claims were made, however, had been effected in Jamaica, through the various Companies' local Representatives, and thus it happened that two test cases were heard in the Jamaican Law Courts, before local jurors. 52 The contention of the PoHcyholders was that one of the fires which occurred had broken out some minutes or seconds before the earthquake shock was felt, and that there would have been a conflagration even if no earthquake had happened. The verdicts in these two cases went against the Insurance Companies, and, as a result, the Of&ces paid the claims which had been put forward in Jamaica — several hundreds in number. The total amount of these fire losses, including the cost of litigation, was about ;^8oo,ooo; and of this sum, the share paid by the " London and Lancashire " was approximately ^45,000. The year 1907 witnessed two further absorptions. In April, the Company purchased the business and goodwill of the Law Accident Insurance Society, Ltd., by which some ,^300,000 was added to the premium income of the " London and Lancashire," making the Company's Accident account one of the largest in the United Kingdom. Two months later — in June, 1907 — the Company acquired the business of the Standard Marine Insurance Company, Ltd., an Office having its headquarters in Liverpool, and possessing an annual premium income of over ^100,000. This event marked a departure in the history of the "London and Lancashire," and, as had already happened with Accident business, the Company thus became a pioneer in the acquisition by the large 53 Fire Companies of Marine portfolios. A re-organisation of the " Standard's " Directorate took place, and Mr. Rutter became the Chairman. Before the year had closed, a shadow fell across the path of the " London and Lancashire." On the 24th October, 1907, Mr. Harrison — who had occupied the position of Chairman of the Board since 1901 — passed away, after a comparatively brief illness. A perfect example of the " old English gentleman," he combined a wide business experience with a most kind and genial temperament. His loss was deeply felt by his co-directors, who fittingly recorded their esteem at the Board Meeting of the 28th October, 1907, by the following Minute : — " That, having learned with great grief and sorrow of the death of their revered friend and colleague, Edward Hodgson Harrison, Esq., who had been a Director of the Company for the unique period of over 43 years, and who had for the last seven years occupied the Chair, this Meeting of the Board of Directors desires to place on record its deep appreciation of the unswerving support which Mr. Harrison at all times, in storm and sunshine, has rendered to this Com- pany, having by his honourable character and spotless rectitude upheld its high traditions, and having by his kindly and unselfish nature 54 George Hunter Robertson. endeared himself, not only to his colleagues, but to every official and representative of the Com- pany with whom he came in contact." On the 4th November, 1907, the Directors appointed Mr. George Hunter Robertson to succeed Mr. Harrison as Chairman of the Company. Mr. Robertson first joined the Board of the " London and Lancashire " in 1877. He had for many years been on the Directorates of several other important undertakings, and was one of the best known men in business circles in Liverpool, On the 1st September, 1909, arrangements were completed whereby the business of the Australian Alliance Assurance Company — a Colonial Office established in 1862 (the same year as the " London and Lancashire "), with headquarters at Melbourne, and operating in Fire, Accident, Marine, and other classes of Insurance — ^was acquired. The premium income of the " Australian Alliance " at the time of its absorption was over ^60,000. This transaction has since been followed by the acquisition of another Company at the Antipodes, the "Derwent and Tamar" of Hobart, Tasmania, and also of the " Federal " of Cape Town, South Africa. On the 26th October, 1909, death removed from the Directorate Mr. James Smith, who had been Deputy- Chairman of the Company for the short term of two years. Mr. Smith had been a member of the Board 55 since 1886. His personality and his philanthropic work gained for him on all sides affection and esteem. Under appointment dated 8th November, 1909, Mr. John Henry Clayton succeeded to the Deputy-Chairman- ship. Mr. Clayton had been on the Board since 1897. A prominent man in the cotton world, he was President of the Liverpool Cotton Association in 1906, when the present King and Queen — then T.R.H. the Prince and Princess of Wales — opened the new Cotton Exchange. Mr. Clayton is also a Director on the Head Ofiice Board of Lloyds Bank Limited; and it wiU interest many to learn that he played for England in the first International Rugby Football Match between England and Scotland, which took place at Edinburgh, in 1871. Mens sana in corpore sano ! The above record had already been set up in type when, to the profound grief of all connected with the Company, the Chairman, Mr. Robertson, was suddenly removed. Although ailing, he had — with his customary scrupulous attention to duty — been at the Company's Office on a Thursday, and on the following Wednesday, the 7th February, 1912, he passed away. His loss, occurring at such a time, was pecuUarly tragic. His 56 ^^B ^^^^^^^' ■^, '-'l^^l B wE ^^iBP-'.^.'-vj^^ •■■ .-■^'>'^^.^i.. ■ '^al^^^^^^^^B John Henry Clayton. value to the Company was duly recorded in the following Minute :— " That this Meeting of the Board of Directors records with the deepest sorrow the death of their valued . friend and colleague, Mr. George Hunter Robertson, who had been a Member of the Board for a period of 35 years, and had successively occupied the positions of Deputy-Chairman, and, since 1907, Chairman of the Company. "Mr. Robertson, throughout his entire connection with the Company, had given it his loyal and unswerving support, and the Board his able and conscientious advice, and this Meeting desires to express its deep appreciation of the services he has at all times rendered, emphasised as they were by his unfailing courtesy, unselfishness, and kindly considera- tion." The lamented death of Mr. Robertson created a vacancy in the Chairmanship, which was fiUed by the election of Mr. Clayton on the 19th February, 1912. Mr. James WUlcox Alsop, who has been a Director since 1892, was simultaneously chosen as the Deputy-Chairman of the Company. 57 "Ex post facto: et in futuro." UCH, then, is an outline of the circum- stances attending the birth of the " London and Lancashire," and of the progress it has been the Company's fortune to record during the past half-century. The attainment of a Jubilee has, since the earUest period, served as an occasion for self-examination. It marks a point of time : it sets in sharp contrast the achievements of the past and the hopes of the future : in completing one era, it inaugurates another. The Company was launched amidst the hopes and fears invariably attendant upon such undertakings. Its earlier career was, as will have been seen, a chequered one, being marked by many vicissitudes. At a certain phase of its existence, the " London and Lancashire " 58 passed through a very critical period ; but it has to-day attained a position so impregnable as to have surpassed the expectations of even the most sanguine of its founders. Having taken a retrospect of the Company's history, one is tempted to look forward ; and, so far as can be predicted, the future appears bright with promise. The " London and Lancashire " possesses a valuable heritage, by reason of its traditions, and of the position it occupies amongst the organisations of the world. But there are still greater heights to be scaled, and whilst the Company may well be proud of its past, there are no limitations to its future. Its watchword is " Progress." And, in commending this little brochure, with aU its imperfections, to the reader, we do so with the confident aspiration that — in the words of Robert Browning — " The best is yet to be." 59 LONDON AND LANCASHIRE Fire, Accident, and Year. Net Premiums. Losses, Expenses. Balance. Interest. Dividend. Reserve Funds. i i % i % i % i. i % I 1862 24,069 3,876 16.11 18,075 75.10 2,117 8.79 644 1,745 5 1,191 1863 61,568 22,583 36.68 25,145 40.84 13,840 22.48 2,058 2,784 5 13,672 1864 100,429 67,378 67.08 31,713 31-58 1,338 '.34 3,954 5,0.39 6 17,225 1865 109,373 74,189 67.83 40,066 36.63 4,882 4.46 526 5,626 6 11,829 1866 106,835 126,239 118. 16 56,550 52.93 75,954 71.09 1,612 5,741 6 68,910 1867 84,824 62,925 74.18 42,770 50.42 20,871 24.60 202 — — 89,369 1868 94.696 54,172 57-21 33,955 .35.86 6,569 6.93 822 — — 83,833 1869 105,034 49,142 46.78 38,375 36.53 17,517 16.69 32 — 67,714 1870 123,302 79,511 64.48 38,832 31.49 4,959 4.03 549 — — 63.197 1871 144,933 93,344 64.40 43,645 30.11 7,944 5.49 716 — 54,526 1872 172,492 103,839 60.20 50,884 29.50 17,769 10.30 2,164 4,791 5 2,051 1873 203,337 112,705 55-43 61,242 30.12 29,390 14.45 3,024 6,707 7 22,660 1874 250,046 161,639 64.64 79,122 31.64 9,285 3.72 3,320 2,874 3* 30,198 1875 251,125 181,869 72.42 79,159 31-52 9,901 3-94 5,104 — — 25,402 1876 240,123 160,766 66.95 74,537 31.04 4,820 .i.Ol 4,816 — — 35,043 .877 256,120 139,680 54-54 77,904 30.42 38,536 15.04 5,331 7,000 7 72,882 1878 249,082 129,953 52-17 76,173 30.58 42,956 17.25 : 8,169 10,000 { S Old } 154,596 1879 3.56,572 192,421 53.96 114,077 31.99 50,074 14.05 i 11,145 15,475 10 200,604 1880 425,207 287,862 67.70 126,241 29.69 11,104 2.61 14,864 16,997 { TO Old 5 New } 248,889 1881 424,318 333,900 78.69 125,091 29.48 S4,673 8.17 115,468 9,2^0 5 228,369 1882 489,578 34.3,171 70.09 143,403 29.29 3,004 0.62 15,240 9,260 5 241,089 1883 498,765 324,992 65.16 155,213 31.12 18,560 3.72 16,532 14,816 8 269,684 T884 490,930 .324,271 66.05 156,857 31.95 9,802 2.00 15,230 14,816 8 283,106 X885 489,779 263,058 53-71 160,842 32.84 65,879 13.44 17,396 18,520 10 347,889 1886 481,756 298,863 62.04 158,777 32.96 24,116 5.00 19,339 22,224 12 373,104 1887 479,742 270,033 56.29 163,152 34.01 46,557 9.70 19,805 22,224 12 421,551 1888 583,907 304,048 52.07 197,366 33.80 82,493 14.13 23,377 { i 22,224 7,40s 12 4t \ 499,372 1889 586,929 346,798 59.09 197,491 33.65 42,640 7.26 23,237 1 29,632 16 540,930 1890 702,180 382,646 54.50 227,766 32.44 91,768 13.06 24,920 38,189 20 622,026 1891 801,214 448,434 55-97 275,614 34-40 77,166 9.63 30,511 40,035 { 30 Old 7 New } 814,100 1892 880,473 628,593 71.39 296,644 33-69 44,764 5.08 32,245 42,550 20 676,355 1893 867,779 582,889 67.17 287,756 33-16 2,866 0.3.1 29,243 42,550 20 660,259 1894 846,213 489,513 57.84 291,443 34-44 65,257 7.72 29,510 '142,550 20 700,201 1895 847,095 450,535 53 • 19 292,384 34-51 104,176 12.30 33,001 1 42,550 20 794,828 * Interim only. t Bonus. 60 FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY. Marine Results combined. Net Reserve Year. Premiums. Losses. Expenses. Balance. Interest Dividend. Funds. i £ % £ % £ 0/ /o £ £ % £ 1896 836,165 459,590 54-97 291,775 34.89 84,800 10. 14 36,116 42,550 20 87.3,194 1897 839,970 418,579 49.83 299,383 35.64 122,008 14.53 37,104 51,060 24 973,245 1898 836,497 493,628 59.02 307,853 36.80 35,016 4.18 37,529 51,060 24 994,731 1899 841,208 449,751 53.46 301,159 35.81 90,298 10.73 39,611 51,060 24 1,073,580 1900 955,706 483,414 50.58 334,764 35.03 137,528 14.39 41,723 51,060 24 1,201,771 1901 1,173,764 594.713 50.67 414,588 35.32 164,463 14.01 44,539 57,951 26 1,267,569 1902 1,261,898 606,863 48.09 450,102 35.67 204,933 16.24 47,123 62,408 28 1,457,218 1903 1,297,962 568,471 43.80 455,249 35.07 274,242 21.13 49,095 62,408 28 1,598,147 1904 1,415,532 753,516 53 .23 485,716 34.31 176,300 12.46 55,069 67,789 30 1,847,115 1905 1,486,638 631,480 42.48 513,214 34.52 341.944 23.00 61,477 72,800 32 2,157,736 1906 1,592,037 •1,647,942 103.51 525,029 32.98 580.034 36.49 58,949 72,900 32 1,554,068 1907 1,952,839 888,623 45.50 649,136 33.24 415,080 21.26 59,515 84,520 32 1,791,375 1908 2,062,599 1,149,993 55.75 697,390 33.81 215,216 10.44 63,861 84,520 32 1,966,455 1909 2,133,567 1,141,884 53.52 725,483 34.00 266,200 12.48 71,972 84,520 32 2,171.131 1910 2,244,405 1,171,561 52.20 757,442 33.75 315,402 14.05 83,589 95,085 36 2,461,072 1911 2,346,958 1,173,877 50.02 813,872 34.67 359,209 15.31 94,862 114,410 46t 2,773.724 • Conflagration, San Francisco, Loss, ;^900,ooo. t The promised increase in the Interim \ Dividend for 191 2 will make a total V distribution during this year of I ^124,359 = 50% Comparative Summary. Year. Net Premiums. Reserve Funds. Percentage. £ £ 1862 24,069 1,191 4-94 1871 144,933 54,526 jr.6« 1881 424,318 228,369 53.82 1891 801,214 814,100 101.60 1901 1.173,764 1,267,569 107.99 1911 2,346,958 2,773,724 118. 18 6r ITontton ^ Xaticas^^e ^tt[e ^tisurante ^tJiiijiranji Board of Directors. Chairman Detuiy-Chairman C. S. AGNEW, Esq. JOHN BARBER, Esq. WILLIAM BINGHAM, Esq. WM. T. BOXWELL, Esq. JOS. B. DUCKWORTH, Esq. A. PERCY ECCLES, Esq. JOHN H. CLAYTON, Esq. JAS. W. ALSOP, Esq. CHAS. G. FOTHERGILL, Esq. HENRY HARRISON, Esq. JOHN H. HIGSON, Esq. G. THEO. VON HEYDER, Esq. J. ARTHUR SMITH, Esq. ROBT. WOOLFENDEN, Esq. London Directors. Chairman SIR ANTHONY C. S. ABDY, Bart. SIR EDWARD H. BUSK. LORD ARTHUR BUTLER. JOHN ASTE, Esq. CHAS. G. FOTHERGILL, Esq. C. C. McLEOD, Esq. E. C. MOORE, Esq. E. C. MORGAN, Esq. London Secretary— W. E. BLAKE. Assistant Secretary— F. W. MILLS. Accident Secretary— A. MACDERMOTT. Sub-Manager— JAS. ALLAN. General Manager and Secretary— F. W. P. RUTTER.