The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1851-09-25

was lnen tnOugnt OF the ItldllNt lHoildIlly vi
different ages, that persons were indscrlmi-
nately insured at the rate of five per cent; that
rate being charged on lives of all ages. 1t was
not till the commencement of the present CEN
fury that an attempt was made to urge the
system with effect. We find, indeed, on an
analysis of the dates Of establishment of exist
ing British life ofices-and their name is now
legion--that only eight were in operation at the
close of the eighteenth century. 1t is within the
last few years that an extensive application has
been given to assurance, and that the preten-
sions of competing offices have been pressed
upon the attention of the public.
Life assurance may be defined to be con
tract entered into by society OF company to
pay, upon the death of an individual assured,
fixed sum, in consideration of receiving stipu-
lated amount of money at once, or periodically
during the continuance of his life. The theory
is, that the premium or purchase-money paid
| by the assured shall be such as, being invested
at compound interest during his life, will pro
duce to the society fund sufficient to enable
| it, upon his death, to discharge the claim that
will then arise. The two vital elements that
enter into the constitution of an assurance so
ciety are, the theory of probabilities and the
profitable investment of the accommodating
| funds.
What is called the doctrine Of probabilities
may be thus explained with regard to fire as
surance: Having ascertained the number of
fires that have occurred in the space of nine or
ten years, the average of the whole is struck,
| and this average is assumed to represent the
probable number of fires that will happen again
| in each succeeding year, and the mathemati-
clan isin this manner enabled to ascertain and
express the probability of the event occurring
to one of a number of individuals, and to calcu-
late his proportion of the total fund to be raised
to meet the claims. The actual experience of
fire assurance offices has been found to depart
very slightly from the result which had been
| thus anticipated.
| The same theory is applicable, with even
more certainty, to human life. The doctrine
| rests, in this instance, on the well -asceraned
l fact that life, though in individual cases most
uncertain, is, in reference to a mass, regulated
| by an almost undertaking law. We cannot
n
| to die, nor can we guess at the likelihood of
our own heightened existence; but science and
| research have placed within our reach extern
4 slve and accurate materials for calculating the
ratio of mortality to the whole number. Sup
pose that it is ascertained that out of every
900 children born, 800 will live to complete
one year every child, out of the number born,
will have all equal chance of being one of the
4 800 survivors, and, consequently, 800 chances
out of 900 of existing one year; it being,
generally speaking, impossible to ascertain the
presence of causes that may predispose one
more than another to early death. The same
method, employed for every subsequent age
throughout the table OF mortality will deduce a
series of arithmetcal measures, or fractions, of
the several probabilities of every separate age
existing single year. The sum of the series
of fractions from birth to the termination of the
table expresses the expectation of life at birth or
any given age; the term 'fexpectation of life"
years which may, on superstition, be enjoyed
by mass of individuals collectively. Thus, it
is probable, according to the CARLISLE tables,
that man aged 40 will live 27 years and 7
months longer; and this probability or expec
tation is founded on the knowledge that that is
the average duration found from the deaths of
5,075 persons, all of whom were alive on their
40th birthday. Again: The bills of NOR
tality inform us that of 5000 persons in the
prime of life, GOO will die before 10 years
elapse; before other 10 years have passed
away, 700 more will have ceased to live; and
in third term of the same duration, $50 will
have gone to their final resting place; so that,
at the end of 30 years, only 1850 of the 5000
will remain. With these data, then, the statist
has comparatively little difficulty in determin-
ing the theory or law which governs the waste
of life in its various stages-in other words, in
reducing to certainty that which, without
these materials of computation, would be un-
safe conjecture. Yet another illustration may
be employed to convey slightly different est-
mate Of this element of calculation. Suppose
there were | 900 boys before u.s." says Pro-
fessor MoMIcHAEL, "al 10 years old, and the
question were asked by some one, How long
upon an average will these boys live? The
proper reply would be, That will very much
depend upon the employment which they shall
afterwards follow But it may be said, make
them all agricultural laborers; when will one
half of them be dead2 In this case, one-half of
of them will be dead 6l3 years after this;
there will then be only 500 alive. Make
them all miners; one half of them will be dead
81 years after this-l0 years sooner than the
agricultural laborers. Make then all bakers
how long will they live? One-half will be
dead 49, years after this-2 years sooner than
| the miners. Make them all plumbers, paint
ers, or GLACIERS; one-half will be dead 46s years
| after this-3 years sooner than the bakers
Make them all clerks; when will one half of
them be dead? Make them all clerks, whose
feet are never damp, whose coats are never off,
whose heaviest instrument is quill, and whose
fingers are never soiled by any thing worse
than ink-and only one-half Of them will be
alive al years after this"
| 1t appears from this calculation, commencing