70 Mr W. Fraser on the History and Constitution of 



average rate or Law of Sickness among mankind, as deduced 

 from the experience of numerous Friendly Societies in Scotland, 

 and from the Monthly Reports of the whole army quartered in 

 Britain during the years 1823 and 1824. It was likewise stat- 

 ed, that another Select Committee had been appointed by the 

 House of Commons in 1827 to make farther inquiries into the 

 same subject, and other matters connected with Health and Life 

 Assurance. The Report of this latter Committee was presented 

 to the House at the close of the last session of Parliament, and, 

 along with the Minutes of Evidence on which it was founded, 

 ordered to be printed. This interesting document contains 

 much additional information on subjects of the utmost import- 

 ance to all classes of the community ; a brief detail of which shall 

 be given in the following pages. 



The Report commences with stating, that the Committee of 

 1825 having entered minutely into all matters connected with 

 Friendly Societies, the Committee of 1827 have not gone into 

 any farther investigation as to sickness, but have chiefly confin- 

 ed their attention to those points upon which the former Com- 

 mittee had come to no conclusion. The opinion, however, of 

 Messrs Finlaison and Davies, two eminent actuaries, was re- ' 

 quested as to the proper contribution required for a given bene- 

 fit during sickness ; and these gentlemen accordingly gave in 

 a report, exhibiting in a very brief form, all that is essentially 

 necessary for securing the stability of such societies as limit their 

 benefits to allowances during sickness, in old age, and at death. 

 These comprehensive rules^ which the Committee have recom- 

 mended for general use, will be given when we come to treat of 

 the rates of contributions and benefits ; but it may here be ob- 

 served, that, in giving their opinion, these actuaries had no other 

 materials from which to calculate the probable rate of sickness, 

 than those which had been before the Committee of 1825. 

 Their data, therefore, consisted of a rate of sickness assumed by 

 Dr Price— of that deduced by the Highland Society from the 

 experience of numerous Friendly Societies in Scotland — of the 

 rate assumed by the Reverend Mr Becher of Southwell, in 

 Nottinghamshire, — and of that found to prevail in the army 

 from the official returns at the Adjutaiit-Gcnerars Office. This 

 latter rate, however, we formerly remarked, could not, for the 



