134 Mr W. Fraser on the Historic and Constitution of 



late investigation of the Highland Society have served the same purpose, at 

 least for ascertaining the rate of sickness. The return of the 73 societies re- 

 ported, shew how many weeks of sickness occurred among the free members 

 of each society in every decade or period of ten years, from about twenty to 

 upwards of seventy years of age ; and taking the average sickness of each de- 

 cade (which we gave in a former number), and assuming the allowance to be 

 L.l per week, the total expenditure to the sick would be the same as if each 

 free member had been entitled to a yearly allowance or 



'\ 



Commencing at any age at which he had entered the 

 society under 20 . 



And in lieu thereof, when he came to be 20, (or if 

 he had entered the society at any age above 20 

 and under 30) 



And in lieu of this last, when he came to be 30, (or ^ 

 if he had entered the society at any age above > 

 30 and under 40) ) 



And again, in lieu of this last, when he came to be 1 

 40, (or if he had entered the society at any age V 

 above 50 and under 60) j 



And again, in lieu of this last, when he came to be "J 

 60, (or if he had entered the society at any age v 

 above 60 and under 70) j 



And, lastly, in lieu of the latter, when he came to \ 

 l)e70 i 



, Life Annuity 

 of 



£0.379735« 



0.591569 



0.686523 



1.880576 



5.633684 



16.541704 



Which was to 



cease at the 



age of 



20 



30 



40 



60 



70 



For the 

 rest of life. 



Such is the view of the value of the annual sick allowances, or rather of a 

 contingent annuity, according to the rate of sickness in each decade, as reported 

 to the Highland Society of Scotland, given by Mr Finlaison in his Report to 

 the Select Committee of the House of Commons on Friendly Societies in 

 1825 ; and he has also given various rules and tables for ascertaining the re- 

 quisite contributions from members entering at any age to defray these al- 

 lowances, similar to those given previously in the appendix to the Highland 

 Society's Report. But as space will not admit of entering here into that pro- 

 cess of calculation, and as, at any rate, it would not perhaps be easily under- 

 stood by the class of readers for which these observations are intended, the 

 method adopted in the body of the Report of the Committee of the Highland 

 Society, which was considered simpler than that in the appendix, shall alone 

 be adverted to. 



The rate of sickness being found in the way already mentioned, and the 

 rate of mortality from an average of the Northampton, Swedish, and Carlisle 

 tables, it was calculated what L.l of annual contributions for fifty years from 



* This article lieing chiefly intendetl for those who may not be familiar with decimals, it has 

 been thought proper to give the following rule :— 



" To convert decimals into shillings and pence, double the first decimal on the right of the point 

 fdr shillings, adding 1 if the 2<1 decimal be 5 or above it. Consider the 2d and 3d decimals ('deducting 

 50 if 1 was added to the shillings), as farthings, dimuiishing this number by 1 if it be above 12, and 

 less than 37, and by 2 if it be abore 3^ The 4th decimal may be neglected."— Hty;!. Soc. Report, 

 p. 196, 107. 



