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 11 
 
 
 HON. HORACE BINNEY 
 
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 MM 
 
 EXTRACT 
 
 FROM THE MINUTES OF 
 
 THE PHILADELPHIA CONTRIBUTIONSHIP FOR THE INSURANCE OF HOUSES 
 FROM LOSS BY FIRE. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 PRINTED BY SHERMAN & CO. 
 1875 . 
 
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"33 
 
 36Hr 
 
 IN MEMORIAM. 
 
 HON. HORACE BINNEY. 
 
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 [Extract from the Minutes of “The Philadelphia Contributionship for 
 the Insurance of Houses from Loss by Fire.”] 
 
 At the Stated Meeting of the Board of Directors, 
 held at the office, No. 212 South Fourth Street, at 
 12 o’clock, noon, August 18, 1875, Dr. Charles Wil- 
 ling presented and read the following preamble and 
 resolution, viz. : 
 
 CO 
 
 
 I 
 
 CC 
 
 Since the last meeting of the Board, an event has 
 occurred, which, though in the course of nature long 
 impending, we had all fondly hoped might be yet for 
 some time delayed. On the 1 2th of August the Hon. 
 Horace Binney died at his residence, at the advanced 
 age of ninety-five years. Although for some time 
 previous to his death his official relation to this cor- 
 poration had ceased, in consequence of the resignation 
 of his position as a Director and our Chairman, yet 
 his long connection with its affairs, and the interest 
 he continued to manifest in its welfare, confer on us 
 the privilege of expressing, as a body, the very high 
 respect and honor in which he was held by every 
 member of this Board. Therefore, 
 
 Resolved: That the Board of Directors of The 
 Philadelphia Contributionship , have heard with pro- 
 found regret of the death of the Hon. Horace Binney, 
 
 \ 45160 
 
who had been associated with this corporation forty- 
 one years, having been first elected a Director, April 
 15, 1817, and resigned in 1819 ; being again elected 
 a Director, July 6, 1831, and chosen as Chairman, 
 August 7, 1844, continuing to officiate as Chairman 
 during a period of twenty-six years, until his relation 
 to the Company was terminated by his resignation, 
 December 28, 1870, this being the latest official posi- 
 tion that he maintained in connection with any public 
 body. That they cannot forget the invaluable service, 
 which, during this long period, he rendered by his 
 sound judgment and wise counsel, to which, in a very 
 great degree, the present prosperity of the corpora- 
 tion is to be ascribed. 
 
 That they desire to express the very high respect 
 and honor with which they regarded one in whom 
 great intellectual capacity, uniting with the grandest 
 moral qualities, composed a character which impressed, 
 by its power and excellence, all who came within its 
 influence. A character whose completeness was as 
 marked as it was rare. A judgment so clear and 
 searching that every subject submitted to it resolved 
 itself into its true proportions ; an imagination subject 
 to the reason, yet giving force and glow to its expres- 
 sion ; a comprehensive grasp combined with a faithful 
 accuracy in the conduct of all the affairs committed 
 to his care, and a supreme moral courage ; such, that, 
 when convinced of the right, no external influence, 
 however powerful, could for one instant deter him from 
 its assertion and maintenance The exercise of his 
 
great powers was not confined to individual gratifi- 
 cation, or the service of personal friendship ; but when 
 occasion presented, they were freely used for the 
 benefit of his country, and of the community in which 
 he lived. His fellow-citizens had learned to feel that 
 in every hour of anxiety and danger, either in private 
 or public affairs, there existed a refuge where the 
 wisest and bravest counsel might be sought, and would 
 be given. 
 
 A cultivated and elegant scholar ; a profound and 
 learned lawyer, to whom the members of his profes- 
 sion acknowledged none superior; a most accomplished 
 gentleman ; the crowning grace of his grand and yet 
 finely moulded character was the deep, sincere, earnest 
 faith of a Christian ; a faith in which lay the secret 
 of the consistency, the purity, the courage, and the 
 strength which ennobled his long and honored life. 
 
 That wdiile they mourn for themselves an irreparable 
 loss, they desire to offer their most fervent and respect- 
 ful sympathy to those who, in his departure from this 
 world, have undergone yet deeper bereavement. 
 
 When, on motion of John Welsh, Esq., they were 
 unanimously adopted. 
 
 On motion of George C. Morris, Esq., it was resolved 
 that the preamble and resolutions be entered at length 
 on the minutes, and that a copy of them be sent to 
 the family of the Hon. Horace Binney ; also that they 
 be published. 
 
 Charles Willing, chairman. 
 Jas. Somers Smith, secretary. 
 
31 Sectors 
 
 -A. TJ C3- TJ S T 18, 18 7 5. 
 
 William H. Hart, 
 
 Dr. Charles Willing, 
 Bichard P. Lardner, 
 Dr. J. Bodman Paul, 
 Adolph E. Borie, 
 Alexander Biddle, 
 
 John Welsh, 
 
 Joseph Price, 
 William Wister, 
 George C. Morris, 
 Alexander Henry, 
 Franklin B. Gowen. 
 
 Secretary and Treasurer, 
 
 James Somers Smith. 
 
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