, Benefit or Friendly Societies. 83 



not only during the time the registers were kept, hut also during the previous 

 century. The celebrated Dr Price supposes a table of mortality may l>e ac- 

 curately constructed from bills of mortality, where the deaths exceed the 

 births, if the numbers and ages of the annual settlers can be determined ; and 

 in constructing the Northampton table, he computes the number of settlers 

 from the excess of deaths, and their ages from the bills of mortality. But the 

 number so computed would be correct only, if the j)opulation of Northamp- 

 ton had remained stationary during a century and a half; and the ages could 

 not be ascertained by the bills, unless the law of mortality (the very object of 

 the investigation) were previously known. Little dei)endence can be placed 

 on a table thus constructed. Indeed, it must be obvious, that a table of mor* 

 tality, t. e. a table exhibiting the proportions of deaths to the numbers living 

 at all ages, can be accurately constructed only, by means of enumerations of 

 the living and registers of deaths, each classed according to the ages." " It is 

 much to be lamented, in a country like England, where calculations on life 

 contingencies are so constantly required, that no efficient means have been 

 adopted for computing an accurate table of mortality. If fre^iuent enumera- 

 tions of the living at all ages, and registers of deaths at all ages, throughout 

 the kingdom, were obtained, not only the law of mortality for England in ge- 

 neral, but the variations of that law for different places, and for the same 

 places, at different times, and the law for each sex, might be accurately deter- 

 mined." Pages 34-84 and 85. 



May 11 Griffith Davies^ Esq. Actuary to the Guardian Assurance Company, 



states his opinion to be, that the Northampton table gives the average dura- 

 tion of life rather lower, and the Carlisle and Finlaison's tables somewhat 

 higher, than that which obtains among the aggregate mass of mankmd in Eng- 

 land and Wales; and therefore that neither are well adapted for calculating 

 payments for annuities to the members of Friendly Societies. Neither does 

 he think the experience of the Equitable would give an accurate result for the 

 persons insuring in Friendly Societies, as the Equitable insurers are, general- 

 ly speaking, in a higher rank of life, and are more select lives than those of 

 Friendly Societies. " On that account, unless the incidental expences neces- 

 sarily attendant upon the management of societies were taken into account, 

 the experience of the Equitable would be full high ; but taking into account 

 the uncertainty as to the rate of interest, and also the incidental expences, I 

 think it would be more safe to use the Carlisle table, Mr Finlaison's table, or 

 the experience of the Equitable, to determine the contributions for deferred 

 annuities." He conceives that, throughout all ages, the duration of life is 

 higher now than it was a hundred years ago, and that it has been gradually 

 increasing during that period, but morejwticularly since the beginning of the 

 present century. " All observations tend to confirm that female life, I believe 

 at all ages, is better than male, and even married better than single ;" and " as 

 another corroborative of the increased value of life within the last 100 years, 

 I think on examination of different tables, the fniitfulness of women, say from 

 the age of 15 to 50, will be found nearly the same at all periods; and in the 

 greater part, I believe of the different countries of Europe that we have tables 

 for, prior to the time Dr Price wrote, that degree of fruitfulncss was scarcely 

 adequate to compensate for the existing mortality; so that he strenuously ar- 

 gued that the population was decreasing in this country; and I believe that, 

 supposing the documents he had to reason upon to be correct, the conclusion 

 he drew was not so erroneous as it has been represented. It is not an increase 

 in the number of births, as compared with the number of bearing women, that 

 has increased the population, but the increased number of children that have 

 been reared from the birth, and passed through the different stages of life." 

 Pages 3G-38. 



Dr A. B. Granville not being aware that he should be again examined 

 before the Committee, had not 'prepared the additional information which he 

 might have done, in addition to what he had laid before the Committee in 

 1825. He stated, however, that he had been for some time preparing a sc- 

 ries of tables, and a paper for the lloyal Society, which would bear \\\yon the 

 question before the Committee. He also stated, that he had obscrve<l a very 

 decided decrease of mortality among children from one to adult age, within 



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