THE CITY LIFE.

Auckland Star, Volume LIII, Issue 307, 28 December 1922, Page 3

THE CITY LIFE.

THE QUESTION OF DIRECTORS. LORD HARDWICKES ACTION". (From Our Special Correspondent.) "LONDON - , October 30. Shareholders in insurance companies and policy holders are at present in a state of considerable unrest. When actuarial reports on a company's standing point for a second time to a deficiency nervousness is at least justifiable. For that reason the general meeting of the City Life Assurance Co., which took place last Friday, was one of a somewhat troubled character which did not appear to be allayed even after the deputychairman (Mr. Arthur Turner) told the shareholders that from things said in certain quarters some of them might think they were attending a funeral ceremony, but there was no corpse. On the contrary, the patient was making a rapid recovery, and would live to enjoy a nale and hearty old age. The revenue accounts of the company, he said, were the most satisfactory for several years. The life assurance funds had been increased in the aggregate by £109,973. The management charges and commissions had diminished by £72,283, and the percentage and premium income had fallen by 3} per cent., and was the lowest since 1917; the expenses were being still further reduced. Discussion centred on the fact that Lord Hardwicke had succeeded Sir Svdncv Lea on the board and had been appointed chairman, but he had since asked to delay his assumption of chairmanship till he had made himself more familiar with the somewhat intricate business of life insurance. In any case, there had been no disagreement witli the board on matters of policy, Mr. Turner declared. Without in the least reflecting on Lord Hardwicke-s personal character and integrity which are alike of the hiehest order, the incident once more brings to the front the present system of appointing directors to he great commcVcial companies. The intricacies and difficulties of modern enterprise are so (treat that the companies carrying ?hem on must fed. have dl,rector, o high business capacity. It is hard enough for good business men to control their fellow director«-an instance a case now before the public—it is askimpossibilities of men who b"" right of birth or title only may be a'npoifted directors. The day is long lilt when a guileless investing public j puts its money in a company Bimplj >«- I Lsc its directors were members of Pari liament or titled. There will of course ahvavs be some such fools, but they are not the people who have money nowad U>r& Hardwicke has indeed shown his good sense in not accepting office at once because he was unfamiliar with insurance business. What the public and shareholders in the City Life Assurance Co are questioning, and questioning loudly is the system of directorships, andl particularly' the habit of creating a larce board of imposing names instead of a smaller and really expert body of business men.