The Sun.
London, England, 1854-01-31 00:00:00

fearful contingencies. A single hour would change
the entire prospects of a man, and convert him
from a useful subject, a creator and producer of
national wealth to an unprofitable consumer, and

consign his helpless family, who once lived in in-
dependence, enjoying some of the comforts of exist-
ence, to the tender mercies of the union workhouse.
As we have stated, no prudence or foresight could

guard against these contingencies, but the evil
might be mitigated, and reduced from the most

;errific magnitude to comparatively trivial dimen-

sions. By diffusion over a broad surface the evil

would lose its most formidable features. The loss
that would be ruinous to an individual, that would
make an independent man a pauper, would be
nothing when divided amongst a thousand, or fif-
teen hundred persons. The average of uncertainties

can be very closely approximated to. There is some
as yet undiscovered hand that regulates what we
in our ignorance are accustomed to consider merely
matters of chance. It was thus ascertained that
all common risks could be covered by a payment
of is. 6d. per 1001., or 15s, for a thousand.
Under such circumstances, the person refusing or
neglecting to insure, would necessarily be regarded
either as a fool or a madman—a reckless gambler,
who staked his very existence against a few shillings.
Some think that the Legislature ought to enforce
this act of ordinary prudence--which was merely
justice to a man's self, his family, and his fellow-
subjects—at all events, that it should encourage
the practice. But in place of that it casts ob-
stacles in the way. It more than trebles the outlay.
Where a company of unexceptionable solvency is
willing to undertake the risk on payment of Is.
6d. per 1001., it increases the demand to ss. 6d.,
that is to say, ls. stamp on the policy, and 3s.
annual charge. It may, indeed, be said that the
determininginfluence operates as 11 to 3. In
practice, no man drops a fire insurance. The
moment he has effected a policy, he may be re-
garded as a constant customer. It is the first
step that is required, and that is prevent-
ed by the stamp as well as by the an-
nual premium. The artisan who would cur-
tail his public-house expenditure by Is. 6d.
to insure 1001. on his furniture and tools,
would not devote ss. 6d. to the same purpose.
These men are shrewd calculators. They will
not pay ss. 6d. for what the premium shows to
be worth is. 6d. Government, like the covetous
dog—described in the old fable, as grasping at the
shadow—loses all by its cupidity. These men
run the risk, and many are ruined, and become
objects of charity—suppliants for the relief which
they would not require but for their own folly
and that of Parliament. Experience shows that
not one-third of the losses by fire are covered by
insurance. We may safely infer that more than
two-thirds is uninsured—thanks to the duty, for
we firmly believe that, if the duty were abolished,
the whole property of the country would be gua-
ranteed. What has Parliament to answer for,
that prevents a consummation so desirable in every
respect ? Let, then, the blot be removed from the
national statute-book—the reproach from our
eountry by the repeal of the law, or if that be
not practicable at the moment, let there be a re-
duction to 6d., as recommended in the petition of
the Unity Office. Let other associations follow
the noble example, and the great desideratum
will be attained—the property of the country
will be fully insured, and their own business
trebled, and their profits augumented in a still
arger ratio.