T swing. MOTORING. very The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis desires publicity for a memorandum he has just issued on the subject of rear lights on motor vehicles. Briefly, the Commissioner, referring to the Act of 1903, remarks that "whenever during the period between one hour after sunset and one hour before sunrise a motor-car is used on the public highway a lamp must be kept burning on the vehicle and so contrived as to illuminate by means of reflection, transparency or otherwise, and render easily distinguishable, every letter or figure on the identification plate." "It has been observed by the police," adds the Comwith owing to various causes, among which may be mentioned missioner, "that this provision is at times not fully complied (1) the obscuration of the figures or letters by the frame or bracket of the lamp, or by tyres or other accessories carried by the vehicle; and (2) the inadequacy of the light from the rear lamp or failure to place the lamp in a suitable position for the purpose to bring this matter to the attention of motorists so that any The Commissioner desires specially such defects may be rectified; and this certainly is a much more considerate course than the wholesale issue of peremptory summonses. HIS week-end witnesses a fairly general exodus of Metropolitan motor factors to attend the North of England Motor Exhibition in Manchester, which is now in full When the building at Rusholme-not a bad name from an automobilious point of view-was burned down on the 7th of last month there was some doubt as to whether an alternative site could be obtained in time to hold the fixture on the date appointed, but the difficulty was in part overcome by the engagement of the Manchester City Hall, which, although affording only half the floor space of the destroyed building, forms tolerable makeshift. The leading members of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders agreed unanimously to reduce their exhibits, and so the good folk in the Midlands and the North are saved from utter disappointment. Of course to those of us who "did" Olympia last November in characteristic manner the Mancunian novelties are neither numerous nor striking; but there are nevertheless a few exhibits in the shape of shock-absorbers, self-starting devices, detachable wheels and rims, and accessories generally that will well repay renewed attention. The list of conditions it is always useful to enumerate one or two simple Now that we have experienced something like traditional winter car exhibitors is thoroughly representative of the best that we with our Continental and American competitors can turn out; by frost and to facilitate starting the engine when a car has been expedients which may profitably be adopted to prevent damage while the tyre department includes such well-known makes as Dunlops, Continentals, Moseley, Kempshall, Michelin, Clincher, standing for some time in a chilly garage. A technical contemSpencer-Moulton, and Shrewsbury and Challiner. The exhibi- porary recommends the application of a cloth steeped in hot tion remains open daily from 10 A.M. till 10 P.M. until Saturday to easy starting, while a few drops of petrol put in the comwater to the induction pipe and carburetter as an effective aid next, January 17. From Mr. Arthur Goodwin, of Messrs. C. A. Vandervell and pression cocks is another useful plan, but the cocks should then Co., who manufacture the world-famous C.A.V. electric-light-generated. If the radiator has been emptied overnight on account be left open for a minute or two in order that a mixture may be ing installation, comes a highly striking and ornate showcard in of frost risks it may be refilled with warm water with distinct colours, the work of Mr. Val Prince. The design depicts a feminine form holding aloft a powerful searchlight, the rays immersed in hot water before the tank is filled. advantage. Petrol also will vaporise more readily if the can be from which illumine the aeroplane-studded sky and the dark places of the earth beneath, whereon motor and other means of land transit are shown in spirited relief. Messrs. C. A. Vandervell will be pleased, I understand, to distribute a certain number of these attractive pictures on application being made to them at Warple Way, Acton Vale, N.W. D. M. ALREADY warrant-holders to their Majesties King George and Queen Mary, the Yost Typewriter Company, Ltd., have now been appointed typewriter-manufacturers to her Majesty Queen Alexandra. STRAKER SQUIRE "In a word, the 15 h.p. Straker-Squire can now justly be considered to be the best car of its power and rating on the market to-day."-Society Illustrated, 1/3/13. MANCHESTER MOTOR SHOW, S. STRAKER & SQUIRE, LTD., 75 SHAFTESBURY AVENUE, LONDON S INSURANCE. NON-PROFIT AND WITH-PROFIT POLICIES. OME quite remarkable facts and tendencies in life assurance were brought out by Mr. F. J. Cameron and the speakers who discussed his paper on "Whole-life Non-profit Policies," read before the Institute of Actuaries. The subject on its technical side is one for the members of the Institute, but it has more than a passing interest for the general public and all who are concerned in insurance. During the last twenty years there has taken place a striking development in the nonprofit as opposed to the with-profit business. It is only when we come to close quarters with the question, as was necessary in considering the points raised by Mr. Cameron, that we realise Mr. S. G. Warner, of the the proportions of this movement. Law Union and Rock, had worked out some rough figures from the Board of Trade returns over the last two decades and showed that while with-profit policies have increased in numbers by 12 per cent. and in amount by 2 per cent., non-profit policies have Scottish Provident Institution increased by 94 per cent. and in amount by 17 per cent. Non-profit schemes have clearly grown in popularity by leaps and bounds. It cannot be attributed to the readiness of most men to put down a sum of money which will bring no benefits till after they are dead. The great majority of people would naturally prefer to pay a higher premium and enjoy benefits which may either go to swell their policy or at a critical time may bring relief in the shape of cash. In other words, during the years when they are paying the premiums they like to feel that they have a voice in the business apart from the periodical payment. Under the non-profit system they simply put down £10, £20, or whatever the amount of the premium, and there the matter ends so far as they are concerned. The feeling is totally different from that enjoyed when bonuses are declared and a man can say " I will take cash," leaving the policy still good for the amount originally insured for, or "I will have the amount of the bonus added to my policy and so increase the value of my estate should anything happen to me." The opinion of the experts, including Mr. Cameron himself, seems to be that the increased attention devoted to non-profit whole-life assurance is due to financial considerations. They trace it to the operation of the Finance Act of 1894, when the imposition of Death Duties made it desirable in the interests of estates, great and small, free and encumbered, to take out policies which should make good the encroachments of the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Mr. Cameron thinks that, apart from estate-duty purposes, it is very doubtful whether many people deliberately effect non-profit policies for provident purposes. We believe that is the right view. For the reasons we have given non-profit policies are not attractive, though, strictly speaking, from the business standpoint they should be more attractive as well as more simple than the with-profit policies. If a policyholder gets a £1 bonus the chances are it has cost him more than 1 in extra premiums. As a matter of fact the bonus system has its advantages as well as its superficial attractions. The extra premiums do something more than provide for participation in profits. They give an office larger sums to control, and in times of pressure, when expectancy is exceeded, they allow a larger margin for con- BOOKS, ANCIENT AND MODERN, BOUGHT, SOLD, AND EXCHANGED. tingencies than does the non-profit system. Moreover it is a fact that the mortality experienced under non-profit whole-life assurances is heavier than under with-profit schemes; the business is for some reason more speculative, and it would really seem that inquiry is necessary into the cause. Are competition and low rates the explanation? If so, why should competition and low rates be more prejudicial in the one case than in the other? All insurance is speculative: it is based on a "law" of averages which is no law, and can never be an exact science; and it is this element of uncertainty which makes us prefer the with-profit system. What, for instance, would have been the position of some excellent offices which have in recent years passed their bonus if the extra premium rates paid to secure profits had not been charged? Offices are now busy getting out the results of 1913. So far as we can gather it was a good year for insurance business. The Scottish Provident Institution is the first to afford some idea of its achievements. The office, we are informed, has had a record year. Its new assurances amounted to £1,900,000, of which £249,000 was reassured. The expansion is the more gratifying because the Scottish Provident has no agencies outside the United Kingdom. If other offices have done proportionately well, 1913 -which in so many respects has borne out the traditional character of its last two figures-will at least be remembered with pleasure in the world of insurance Monthly Catalogues Free. TOPOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL A FIRST GLANCE AT NEW BOOKS The Conquest of Mount McKinley, by Belmore Browne. Illustrated. BIOGRAPHY A Father in God: The Episcopate of William West Jones, D.D., by Michael H. M. Wood. Illustrated. (Macmillan. 18s.) The subject of this biography was Archbishop of Cape Town and Metropolitan of South Africa from 1874 to 1908, and Mr. Wood has had access to his diary and much of his correspondence for the purpose of this work. Memoirs of an American Prima Donna, by Clara Louise Kellogg. Illustrated. (Putnam. Ios. 6d. net.) Miss Kellogg (she became Mrs. Strakosch in 1887) made her first public appearance in 1861 and for more than twenty-five years she continued her professional career. The volume contains many interesting reminiscences, but the story of the Dowager Duchess of Somerset asking "Who was Tennyson?" is difficult to believe. DRAMA Our Irish Theatre: A Chapter of Autobiography, by Lady Gregory. Illustrated. (Putnam.) In this work Lady Gregory tells the story of the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, from its foundation in 1899, and of the dramatists and actors who have been associated with it. An interesting chapter deals with the efforts made in America to suppress the production of The Playboy of the Western World. LITERARY The (Putnam. 15s. net.) Describes the three expeditions (1906, 1910, and 1912) which the author made in company with Professor Herschel Parker through the wilds of Alaska to explore Mount McKinley, the highest and most inaccessible mountain in North America, rising to a height o 20,300 feet above the sea. The account is supplemented by a series of remarkable photographs. Bonds of Africa, by Owen Letcher. 12s. 6d. net.) Illustrated. (John Long. In this volume the author of Big-Game Hunting in North-Eastern Rhodesia records his impressions of travel and sport from Cape Town to Cairo in the years 1902-1912. VERSE Sa Muse S'Amuse, by Wilfrid Blair. (Oxford: Blackwell. 35. 6d. net.) Poems from the Portuguese, translated by Aubrey F. G. Bell. (Oxford: Blackwell. 3s. 6d. net.) Aids to the Immortality of Certain Persons in Ireland, by Susan L. Mitchell. (Maunsel. 2s. 6d. net.) The Living Chalice, and Other Poems, by Susan L. Mitchell. (Maunsel. 2s. 6d. net.) Philomelia, by Phyllis Gleadow. (Humphreys. 25. 61. net.) Willow's Forge, and Other Poems, by Sheila Kaye-Smith. (Macdonald. 2s. 6d. net.) net.) 25. 61. Studies in Portuguese Literature, by Aubrey F. G. Bell. (Oxford: Lyrics and Poems, by Edith Rutter-Leatham. (Macdonald. NATURAL HISTORY The Beasts, Birds, and Bees of Virgil: A Naturalist's Handbook to the Georgics, by Thomas Fletcher Royds. (Oxford: Blackwell. 3s. 6d. net.) NOVELS Old Mole, by Gilbert Cannan. (Martin Secker. 63.) Modern Lovers, by Viola Meynell. (Martin Secker. 6s.) Intimations of Heaven, by Horace E. Walker. (Elliot Stock. Little Poems, selected and arranged by E. Crosby Heath. (Macdonald. Is. net.) Madge Linsey, and Other Poems, by Dora Sigerson Shorter. (Maunsel. Is. net.) It Happened in Egypt, by C. N. and A. M. Williamson. (Methuen. 6s.) Songs in Sail, and Other Chantys, by C. Fox-Smith. (Elkin Mathews, The Rocks of Valpre, by Ethel M. Dell. (Fisher Unwin. 6s.) Lady Sylvia's Impostor, by Thomas Cobb. (Mills and Boon. 6s.) Idonia, by Arthur F. Wallis. (Sampson Low. 6s.) Mary's Marriage, by Edmund Bosanquet. (John Long. 6s.) Faith and Unfaith, by James Blyth. (John Long. 6s.) South Sea Shipmates, by John Arthur Barry. (Werner Laurie. 6s.) The Way of the Cardines, by S. P. Hyatt. (Werner Laurie. 6s.) Atlantis, by Gerhart Hauptmann, translated by A. and T. Seltzer. (Werner Laurie. 6s.) The Relations, by Mrs. Baillie Reynolds. (Mills and Boon. 6s.) The Blue Diamond, by Mrs. Coulson Kernahan. (Everett. 6s.) A Daughter's Inheritance, by Mrs. G. S. Reaney. (Heath, Cranton and Ouseley. 6s.) The King Called Love, by May Aldington. (Heath, Cranton and The Price of Conquest, by Ellen A. Smith. (John Long. 6s.) The Decoy, by the Countess of Cromartie. (Macdonald. 35. 6d. net.) Who's Who in the Theatre, compiled and edited by John Parker. (Pitman. 7s. 6d. net.) A biographical record of the contemporary stage, with an appendix of notable plays and revivals. The Catholic Directory, Ecclesiastical Register, and Almanac, 1914. (Burns and Oates. Is. 6d, net.) Herbert Fry's Royal Guide to the London Charities, edited by John Lane. (Chatto and Windus. Is. 6d.) The Catholic Social Year Book for 1914. (P. S. King. Is. net.) Willing's Press Guide for 1914. (James Willing. Is) Besides a concise and comprehensive index to the Press of the United Kingdom, this most useful handbook gives a list of telegraphic, news, and reporting agencies, lists of the principal colonial and foreign journals, and a variety of general information. Is. net.) Songs of Sunshine, by Olive Linnell. (Walter Scott. Is. net.) MISCELLANEOUS Bibliography of Road-Making and Roads in the United Kingdom, by Dorothy Ballen. (P. S. King and Son. 15s. net.) A revised and enlarged edition of the work by Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Webb, which was published in 1906. Modernities, by Horace B. Samuel. (Kegan Paul. 7s. 6d. net.) Includes ten studies devoted to "individuals who are held out as being reasonably characteristic of that modern movement of the last and present century which started with the French Revolution." The chapters on Marie Corelli and Herr Wedekind are new, but the rest are reprinted from various reviews. A Great Mystery Solved, being a Continuation of and Conclusion to "The Mystery of Edwin Drood," by Gillan Vase. Edited by Shirley Byron Jevons. (Sampson Low. 6s.) Mine Own: A Bundle of Essays, by Arthur J. Clark. (Macdonald. 5s. net.) Comprises twenty essays, on a variety of subjects, of which fourteen are reprinted from sundry periodicals. The Purpose: Reflections and Digressions, by Hubert Wales. (John The Time Spirit: A Survey of Contemporary Spiritual Tendencies, by 2s. 6d. Advice to young men and women as to their careers, with notes on various social and commercial problems. Black Ivory and White, or the Story of El Zubeir Pasha, Slaver and Sultan, as told by himself. Translated by H. C. Jackson. (Oxford: Blackwell. 2s. 6d. net.) Children of the Hills: Tales and Sketches of Western Ireland in the Old Time and the Present Day, by Dermot O'Byrne. (Maunsel. 2s. 6d. net.) A Translation of the "Bacchae" of Euripides, by F. A. Evelyn. How to Become Efficient, by T. Sharper Knowlson. (Heath, Cranton and Ouseley. Is. 6d. net.) (Werner Laurie. Is. 6d. net.) Northumberland, by S. Rennie Haselhurst. Illustrated. (Cambridge: University Press. Is. 6d.) Is one of the Cambridge County Geographies series, intended to show the geographical relationships between topography and climate, history, geology, and economics. The illustrations include several original maps. Vinton's Agricultural Almanac and Diary for 1914. (Vinton. Is.) Three Hundred Investment Terms Explained. (Financial Review of Reviews. Is.) MAGAZINES AND REVIEWS Science Progress in the Twentieth Century, 5s.; Yale Review, 75 cents; Poetry and Drama, 2s. 6d. ; National Review, 2s. 6d. ; PAOLO MARCO, Libreria, Central Station Auctions of Estates and Town Properties and Sales on Owner's Sig. BERTRUZZI, Piazza del Duomo premises in all parts of the country are held as required. BRUXELLES F. TENNANT PAIN, 60 Rue du Chemin CANNES BEST PRICES Given for Current Literature in all Branches by HOLMES BROS., 4 Manette Street, London, W. (Many Mr. C. B. FAIST, 45 Rue d'Antibes years with Mrs. C. Hindley of Booksellers' Row.) BANK OF AUSTRALASIA (Incorporated by Royal Charter, 1835). ROTTERDAM Mr. D. D. Bos, Schiedamshedyk, 196 GENEVA MM. MAVILLE & CIE, 6-8 Rue Pécolat NAPLES DETKEN & ROCHOL, Piazza Plebiscit LISBON Messrs. FERREIRA LTDA, 132-3 Rua J. C. MARQUES, 152 Rua Aurea A. R. GALVÃO, 18 Praca Duque da Ter. ceira NICE S. ESCOFFIER, 3 Place Masséna L. FAY, Librairie Visconti, 58 Rue Gioff. redo E. AYME, 51 Avenue de la Gare MONTE CARLO BERLIN strasse BALE MM. PAUL SCHMIDT (F. Festersen & FLORENCE G. P. VIEUSSEUX, Via dei Vecchietti 5 BARCELONA PABLO SCHNEIDER, 54 Rambla de Cata luna LOUIS BERGÉ, Rambla Estudios 7 LIBRERIA NACIONAL Y EXTRANJERA 72 Rainbla de Cataluna THE CLUBS CIGARETTE CO. |