Morning pleasant, time divided as usual. Evening Assembly.

I went to the Office and from thence attended the annual meeting of the Stockholders of the Suffolk Insurance Co. The President Mr. Perkins was understood to be about to give in his resignation upon which the question of continuance was to depend. There was a large attendance and a letter from him was submitted. The substance of it was that there was a deficiency in the capital Stock to the amount of twenty five per cent during the last year, occasioned by losses, that during his management of twelve years one hundred and three per cent had been paid in Dividends and that he left it now because if to be redeemed at all, it should be redeemed by younger direction. This was a doleful account particularly when an exposition of the invested capital showed that the bank stock was rather estimated at cost than at value. It was evident that there were dissenting opinions from that of the existing board of Directors but a motion was made to appoint a Committee to examine and report upon the state of the Office and this carried the majority. Adjourned to meet again a fortnight hence.

Insurance property generally is in a very bad way here and there is a movement to reduce the amount of capital concerned in it. I have always heretofore considered this my best property but such are the fluctuations of it, I shall probably have eaten up at the end twenty per cent of my investment.

Read Electra and worked upon coins. Evening alone to the second assembly which was very pleasant. Returned about midnight. Mrs. Gorham’s funeral.1