, 1864-01-01
Rev. Ncnry Ward Rcecher on Life In
ANr&nce.


From the independently
Our readers will have noticed In our col
umns the advertisements Of large number
Of life assurance companies. The times seem
to make this q wise policy. It implies that
there are existing conditions which strongly
can the attention OF the community to this
subject. And we think the companies have
judged wisely. It Is in such unsettled times
that the peculiar benefit Of life assurance Is
made most manifest. Business is curtailel
and interrupted. Men arc anxious for tho
future. Thousands have families growing up
around them, whose property depends upon
the continuance Of the fathers life. Slould he
die, the income Eould cease; the children
must be Withdrawn from school; the mother
and elder children must resort to every CT
Pedieut merely to sustain the family, and in
many cases, with the utmost cxcrtion, this
cannot be done; the wife will return to her
father for support, and the children, sepa-
rated, must 60, the older to seek work, and
the younger be distributed among friends.
Such histories are Of constant occurrence.
They betal1 men the least expecting them,
and The least likely to meet them. Whilo
business is active, md prosperity gives e1-
hilarction and hope, men can hardly be made
to feel that they are within hands breadth
Of utter reverse, and that their fam1lY mar
be ecattered In month, By the death Of the
head, as brood Of chickens are scatterel
when hawk, with fell swoop, souses down
upon the mother! But hard times lead men
to think Of these things.
Now, If a man has insured sum Of one,
FIVE or ten thopsund dollars upon his life,
this anxiety and foreboding Is removed.
While he lives he can support his family. If
hc dies, there Is ample provision made for
them.
There src doubtless Thousands who had the
means Of insuring their lives two years ago,
but who arc now too poor to do It, There
are many yet able, who neglect 1t because
they do not expect to be poor, who nevcrthe-
less Will become impoverished. We arc so
deeply impressed with the Importance Of
such prudential considerations, that NC are
imIel;cd to lag the matter before our readers,
not simply as ono OF prudence, but as moral
duty.
Orcc the question was: Cau Christian
man rlghtfully seek such assurance? That
day is passed. Now the question ID: Can
Christian men justify himself in neglccting
such dutys !
1flife aseurance was mystery Of finance,
speculation, q lottery OF venture, d substi-
tute for industry pnd frugality, or in any waya
preeumptuoIs distrust Of Divine Providence,
4 good man might Well shrink from 1t. But
if be founded upon sound principles; if 1t
deal not in uncertainties, but with sober and
carefully ascertained facts, regulated BY nat
ural laws, and.1s as conformable to scientific
truths US is any ordinary business Of The me-
chanic, the merchant, the farmer, there Gun
be no Just scruples ut life assurance, and it
becomes matter Of prudence, and thus Of
duty.
Il is every mans duty to provide for his
family. lint provision must iincludc Its fn-
ture contingent condition. That provision,
In 60 far as # is material, men ordinarily seek
to secure by their own accumu1ati0nH and In
yestments. But nil these erc uncertain. Tho
man that Is rich to-day, by causes beyond lis
reach is poor tomorrow. a Tar III China,
revolution in Europe, rebellion in America,
oyer1ule ten thousand fortunes IN every COM
mcrcial community.
But, III 'ie assuronte tltrc arc no risks Of co'l-
tinqtncies Other Investments may full. 4
toGec may burn down. Banks may break,
and their stock worthless. Bonds and mort
gnges may be seized for debt, and Ill proper
j., or evidences Of property, may. fall into
the bottomlcss gulf Of bankruptcy. But
money secured to your family By life assu-
RANGES will 60 to them without fAil or inter-
ruption, provided you have used due dlscre-
ton in tle selection Of o sound and honoFa-
bic assurance company. OF two courses, one
Of which may leave your family destitute, and
the other Of which ass'tres them comforta-
bic support at your deccasc, can there be a
doubt Which is to be chosen: Can there be
u' ' y + e :
Life assurance is nothing but u mode Of
laying up money for ones family or for de-
pendants. Every prudent man that can do
1t, pre8ides, while lie is strong, for the time
when fc shall bo weak, and seeks. for the
same reason, While be is with his family. to
make provision Tor their wants when.hc shall
Ee removed. In one sense, every prudent
man makes his own leccase the basis OF
commercial action. He ought to do it. Eve
~ reason which makes it a mans duty to
provide for his family while lie is living, acts
1rS4 II. III f>ra - Fr
comfortable subsistence atter he shall have
been removed from them: -
Your affairs may bcsome involved and your
property taken for debt Your stocks and
ela1es may fall in yalne. What are bank
shares row worth in Charleston or Memphis?
But thousand dollars assured upon your
alicnatcd from your heirs; and If you have
chosen your company discreetly, is subject
to no cen mercial risks. It Is as nearly sure
rs anythinng earthly can well be.
It is to be remembered that many Of our
best insurance societies are mutual. Those
who insure are stockholders. After 4 given
nual dividend Of the profits. This may be
applied either to tic part payment Of the an-
nual premium, or to the increase Of the whole
sum assured, Some insurers have, in
course Of fifteen years, received back in diEi-
deads, payable nj death, more than the whole
sum raid from year to gear.
The last question to be answered is per-
hapa not less Important than any Of the pre-
ccding, namely: "How shall we know what
societies are sound and well mancgeds'' ~ just
as you know what banks are good and what
bad-by inqairlng, by using your common
sebsc. Just rs you find ont good doctor, q
good lawyer, a good school, good hotel.
Ask questions. Go to honest men who do
know.
We have insured onr own life in the Equi-
table Life Assurance Company, md hare thus
been made better acquainted with its a!fhirs
than those Of others. We should select it
again If we were to choose again.
The long promised collection Of Praed's
writings, with memoir Of the author, BY
the Rev. Derwent Colc,idgc, will be published
in London ere the close Of the year. With
reference to this announcement the London
Bookseller states that Mr. Praed's poems were
collected in this country by the lnte DR.. Girls
Wnld and tWo eNitinpa sold, While the Gil.