All the old companies, which were once purely proprietary, divide a portion of their profits among the insured, and nothing can be fairer or better founded than an office which offers the advantage of a large paid-up capital, and divides four-fifths or nine-tenths of the profits among the insured. Still as the entire tendency of the public has been in favour of the mutual system for the last quarter of a century, as all authorities have proclaimed it to be the purest principle of Life Assurance, as innumerable instances of great success are to be found in its ranks, it follows that an attempt to revert to the pure, proprietary system would be worse than useless. But with all the advantages of the mutual system, it is probable that a small paid-up capital, with responsibility to the extent of the proprietor’s fortune, would be sufficient for safety: for there is one more point to be considered relating to the management of a mutual office, which is too often forgotten. In this the policy-holders have a vote; they know not when their lives may fall; they are eager to add to the value of their policies; and the directors feel a pressure from without which sometimes compels them to give a greater bonus than they ought. This is the prevailing tendency of the mutual principle, and argues somewhat against it. In a mixed company, on the contrary, it is the aim of the directors to maintain their investments intact; they know that what will destroy the company will destroy them as partners, and there is a moral power in operation in their case, as there is something very unlike a moral power in operation in the other. That there are enough and to spare of companies, none can doubt. That some are in a position from which their customers would justly shrink is probable; and that others would be found insolvent if strictly examined, is to be feared. But, with all this, they are indisputably beneficial to the cause they represent, as they are spreading its knowledge, and pressing its necessity, with the earnest spirit of men whose existence depends on the number of their proselytes. FOOTNOTES: [26] Letter to the Right Hon. Joseph W. Henley, M.P.--By Robert Christie. [27] The Equitable even was regarded with a very suspicious eye by the Court of Chancery soon after its commencement, and the names of bankers and merchants as directors, great in their day and generation, did not prevent the proprietors of the Royal Exchange, the Amicable, and the London Assurance corporations from predicting its failure. [28] The public is greatly indebted to Mr. Hartnoll, the avowed editor, and Mr. Pateman, the publisher of the Post Magazine, for their great exertions in the cause of Life Assurance. [29] “Assurance Companies’ Accounts,” p. 43.