JOURNAL OF INSURANCE. THE NEW ENGLAND MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY. We have received an official copy of the "Fourteenth Annual Report of the Directors of the New England Mutual Life Insurance Company," made by the Directors to the members at their annual meeting, December 14, 1857. We have been in the habit of publishing these reports for the last four years consecutively as follows: In connection with the tenth report, we presented tables of statistics showing the operations of the company from its establishment in 1843, (it was chartered in 1835,) during the period of ten years to 1853. Those tables with the statistics since published in each report, and in the one now presented, afford a complete view of the business of the company to the present time. No company has been managed with more skill, or been more successful in its operations. With a President, the Hon. Willard Phillips, with thorough knowledge of every branch of insurance, and a Board of Directors of character and integrity, it must ever be regarded as a model mutual life insurance company :- REPORT OF The directorS TO THE MEMBERS AT THE ANNUAL MEETING, DECEMBER 14, 1857. By the annexed statement of the business of our company, members will see that the whole number of policies issued, during the past year. is five hundred and thirty-two. This is the number issued on new applications, besides term of years policies, which have been extended to an additional number of years, or converted into policies for the whole life. It appears that, after deducting the number terminated, there have been added one hundred and eight insurances to the aggregate number. The amount now insured by the outstanding policies, is nine millions forty-two thousand five hundred and one dollars; being an increase of eight hundred and fifteen thousand one hundred and thirty-eight dollars and thirty-eight cents. The net addition made to the amount of the accumulated fund during the year is one hundred and eighty thousand dollars. This is a satisfactory test of the prosperous condition of the company. A large part of this increase is necessary to the sound and solvent condition of the company, because a part of the premiums on every whole life policy, on which a uniform annual premium is payable, is paid on account of future risk, enhanced every year by reason of the life being older; the probability of surviving being each year diminished. Therefore, to make a company safe, the uniform annual premium together with interest thereon, must exceed the risk for the earlier period of any insurance in proportion as it falls short of the risk in the latter part. This is illustrated by the table of premiums by comparing the premium for insurance for one year only, with that for a whole life policy on the same life. From two-fifths to two-thirds of the amount of the aggregate receipts of the company are from policies for the whole life, about one-half of which receipts during the earlier period of each of such policies must accordingly be reserved, on account of the enhancement of the risk remaining to be run by the company. An elaborate computation of this reservation is made by our company every fifth year, when a distribution of surplus is made. The next computation and distribution will be made next year. After making this reservation, there remains a liberal addition to the fund for distribution. The credit given by the company for half of the premium on a whole life policy, for a period of five years from its date, is predicated upon the fact that the risk run during that period is equivalent to only about half of the premium. The object of this practice is to afford a temporary facility for making a policy for the whole life instead of one for a certain term of years, and not to encourage insurance on credit, and members so consider it, for they generally prefer to pay the premium instead of giving a note, except in case of an occasional and temporary exigency. Excessive facility of credit is no less inexpedient and delusive in insurance than in buying and selling. The number of losses during the year ending December, 1856, was very much below the usual estimate of mortality. Every year, for some years yet to come, is expected to give an increased number of losses on a given number of policies, for the reason that the average of the ages of members will be greater. During the year ending November, 1856, sixteen lives dropped; during that just ended the number has been twenty-three, presenting a large difference. The deaths of the past year are, however, quite below the rate given by our table of mortality. The average amount insured on the lives has also been above the general average of the policies by about twenty-five per cent; being very near to four thousand dollars for each. Notwithstanding this increased amount of losses, the amount added to the accumulated fund, by reason of the increased income of the company, has been greater than in any preceding year since the establishment of the company, with the exception of the year 1856, when the amount of aggregate losses was very small. The expenses of the company, including commissions of agents and one thousand dollars paid for collecting and digesting statistical data and calculating additional tables, is a small fraction less than eight per cent on the gross receipts, and a small fraction over that rate on the net receipts. These facts show the company to be in a no less prosperous condition than on the previous anniversaries of its establishment. The item of $178,271 66, invested in real estate, presented by our Statement for this year, is for an estate on the corner of State and Congress Streets, formerly owned and occupied by the Suffolk Insurance Company. The object of this investment is to give the business of the company a permanent location, in a commodious fire-proof building, centrally situated, of easy access, with contiguous occupancies subject to the control of the company, yielding a good income on the cost. The walls of a new stone building have been put up and protected for the winter by a temporary roof. It is expected to be completed next spring. The following is a statement of the business of the company for the year ending November 30th, 1857 : Twenty-three members of the company have died during the past year, terminating twenty-six policies-of which number twenty-three, amounting to $86,350, were for the benefit of surviving families, and the three remaining, amounting to $8,000. were for the benefit of creditors. The diseases of which they died were as follows: Agents and superintendents.. 12 Miscellaneous professions.. 2 4 2 4 21 The residences of new members are as follows:-New England States, 333; Middle States, 137; Western States, 48; Southern States, 13; England, 1. The following table exhibits the business and property of the company, November 30, 1857: Premiums received on 532 new policies... Ditto, on old policies.... Received for additional premium.. Add amount received for interest, including charges for policies.... Deduct amount of premium returned on surrender of policies, or by stipulation... $51,692 79 203,574 49 1,227 60 $256,494 88 58,462 05 $314,956 98 15,611 07 $299,345 86 $118,907 35 $180,438 51 Net accumulation for the year, ending November 30, 1857.. We close the report with a list of the Board of Directors, as follows:-Willard Phillips, Chas. P. Curtis, Thos. A. Dexter, Marshall P. Wilder, Sewell Tappan, Chas. Hubbard, William B. Reynolds, George H. Folger, A. W. Thaxter, Jr., Patrick T. Jackson. POSTAL DEPARTMENT. STATISTICS OF THE United stateS POSTAL SERVICE IN 1857. From the Annual Report of the Postmaster-General of the United States, the Hon. AARON V. BROWN, made December 1st, 1857, we have condensed the following abstract of the operations of the Post-office Department during the past year :- During twenty years, extending from 1827 to 1847, the number of post-offices created was 8.146; from 1847 to 1857, half that length of time, the number was 11,444. On the 30th of June, 1827, the whole number of post-offices in the United States was 7,000; in 1837, 11,767; in 1847, 15,146; and on the 30th of June, 1857, 26,586. During the last fiscal year there have been 1,725 offices established, and 704 discontinued, being a net increase of 1,021. The number of postmasters appointed during the year was 8,680. Of these appointments, 4,767 were to fill vacancies occasioned by resignation; 1,681 by removal; 238 by death; 269 by change of names and sites; and 1,725 by the establishment of new offices. The total number of offices at this time, December 1, 1857, is 27,148, of which 368 are of the class denominated presidential, their incumbents being subject to appointment by the President and Senate. The commissions of the higher class run four years from the date of confirmation, but those of the lower are not limited. TRANSPORTATION STATISTICS. On the 30th June, 1857, there were in operation 7,888 mail routes, with a length of 242,601 miles, divided as follows:-Railroad, 22,530 miles; steamboat, 15,245 miles; coach, 49,329 miles; inferior grades, 155,497 miles. The total annual transportation of mails was 74,906,067 miles, costing $6,622,046, and divided as follows:-Railroad, 24,267,944 miles, at $2,559,847, about ten cents and five mills a mile; steamboat, 4.518,119 miles, at $991,998, about twenty-two cents a mile; coach, 19.090,930 miles, at $1,410.826, about seven cents and four mills a mile; inferior grades, 27.029,074 miles, at $1,659,375, about six cents a mile. Compared with the service reported on the 30th of June, 1856, there is an addition of 2,959 miles to the length of mail routes; 3,598,170 miles to the total annual transportation, being about 5 per cent; and of $586,572 to the cost, or 9.7 per cent. The aggregate length of railroad routes has been increased 2,207 miles, and the annual transportation thereon 2.458,648 miles, 11.2 per cent, at a cost of $249.458, or 11.8 per cent. In order to exhibit more plainly the great extension of railroad service, the increase is given separately in five geographical sections as follows:- 2,458,648 $249,458 Total...... The length of steamboat routes is greater by 294 miles, and the annual transportation by 277,949 miles, costing $131,243 additional, or 64 per cent on transportation, and 15.2 per cent on the cost. The length of coach routes has been reduced 1,124 miles, and the annual transportation 24,061 miles, while the expense has been increased $70,470, or about 51 per cent, ($10,000 less than would appear from comparing the cost on 30th June last with that reported on 30th June, 1856, the latter having been short stated by that amount.) The additional length of inferior routes is only 1,582 miles, owing partly to the fact that during the year ending 30th June last comparatively little new service of this description was put in operation. The large increase of such service reported 30th June, 1856, arose from new routes established by Congress, amounting to nearly 6,000 miles, in the northwestern and southwestern sections alone, and from other extraordinary service. On the 30th June, 1857, there were in service 406 route agents, at a compensation of $310,900; 45 local agents, at $28,488; and 1,335 mail messengers, at $160,425; making a total of $499,813. This amount, with the increased cost of service, commencing 1st July under new contracts ($120,044) added to the cost of service as in operation on the 30th June last, ($6,622,046,) makes the total amount for the current year $7,241,903. This is independent of the cost of ocean mail service. There should also be added the estimated cost of improvements made since 1st July last, (including the San Antonio and San Diego route,) $387,825. REVENUE AND EXPENDITURES. The net expenditures of the fiscal year ending June 30, 1857, including payments to letter carriers and for foreign postages, amounted to $11,508,057 93. The gross revenue for the year 1857, including receipts from letter carriers and from foreign postages, amounted to $7,353,951 76; to which sum may be added the permanent annual appropriations made by the acts of March 3, 1847, and March 3, 1851, in compensation for services rendered to the government in the transportation of franked matter, thus making the whole revenue of the year $8.053.951 76, being $3,453,718 40 less than the expenditures. In the following table we present the principal items of the expenditures and receipts : For the fiscal year ending June 30, 1858, the expenses are estimated at $12,053,247. The means at the disposal of the Postmaster-General to meet |