THE EUROPEAN ASSURANCE COMPANY.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 505, 31 December 1869, Page 3

THE EUROPEAN ASSURANCE COMPANY.

{From the Argus, Dec. 6.) The intelligence received by the lost English mail of the dismissal of the petition for winding up this company, together with the assurance conveyed to the local board by the London directors, of the perfect solvency of the company, has to a great extent reassured the colonial policy-holders, who had almost made up their minds to the loss of their investments. On receipt of their London advices the local directors resolved upon resuming lusiness in the usual manner, but they have intimated that they will accept no surrenders until further information has been obtained from the head office. The London directors assert in their communication to the local board/thai; v the petitions for winding up were filed in the most disingenuous manner, and without any adequate reason, and they also maintain that the society is perfectly solvent, has liquidated all the calls made upon it, and will be quite able ;o discharge all future accruing liabilities. Before the departure of the last mail for England, the colonial policy-holders met, and ippointed a committee to take such stepa as night be considered best to protect the interests of the assured. A few days before the English news was received a meeting was leld, at which the committee brought up a ■eport. In it they stated the first step taken >y them was to serve on the local directors a notice on behalf of all the colonial life-policy holders, protesting against their parting with any funds of the society under their control. They then had an interview with the local board, and learned that for some months past a correspondence bad been going on with the London office, not only in regard to the withdrawal from the Melbourne branch of the fundß derived from the coionial premiums — against which the directors here had throughout protested — but also in reference to the rumours of the company's difficulties which have lately been circulated, and which the London secretary, in writing jn the 10th September last to the managing director here, characterised as malicious slanders. The committee took the advice of counsel as to the propriety of filing a bill in equity, to restrain the local directors from permitting the funds now here, and derived exclusively from colonial premiums, to be withdrawn from their control. The opinion Df the counsel consulted by the committee, although not a very confident one, was, that such a proceeding might be taken with some prospect of success, and the meeting was asked to decide as to whether this opinion warranted them in commencing the legal proceedings suggested. The policy-holders were also asked to decide whether the announcement in the society's prospectus, that "all premiums received in this colony are invested here," and that " all claims arc paid without reference to the head office," entitled those |who bad taken out policies of assurance to seek the aid of the Court of Equity to prevent the directors here from deviating from their prospectus, or dealing with the premiums and funds now held by them in such a w»y as might put it out of their power, in case of

need, " to pay claims -without reference to the head office." It was considered advisable however, to come to no conclusion on the matter until the mail arrived, and the meeting was accordingly adjourned, without any- j thing being done. Now that more ] satisfactory intelligence has been re- 1 ceiverl, there does not seem to be any i great disposition to pres3 the matter at pre- < sent, but no doubt the colonial policy-holders ] will take some opportunity of ascertaining < whether they can establish the right they i think they ought to possess of retaining the 1 Victorian assets in the colony. The com- ( mittee, in making their enquiries, ascertained j that there are about 750 life-policy-holders i here and in South Australia. The ultimate liability of the company on these policies is ; about £450,000, and the premiums already i derived from them amount to about .£70,000, of which £30,000 has been remitted to'; the parent society. The balance is prudently invested, and would probably be sufficient, in the event of the company's failure, to pay the surrender value of the policies issued here . ___________________