1808)] | 
from Dumbartonshire, signed J. M. so 
important, that I take up my pen im- 
mediately to communicate, through the 
medium of your interesting publication, 
such remarks and observations as I have 
derived from experience, or as may have 
been the result of diligent enquiry and 
careful investigation. 
I believe the apprehension of your 
worthy correspondent perfectly well 
founded, that a greater part, or at least a 
considerable number of friendly societies 
for the relief and support of their mem- 
bers in sickness and old age, ‘are esta- 
blished on very erroneous principles, and 
without due attention to the proper cal- 
culations for ensuring the permanency 
of their beneficial effects,” This could 
not have happened had the framers of 
these several institutions been acquainted 
‘with, and carefully availed themselves of, 
the Tables of the late eminent Dr. Price, 
annexed by Mr. Morgan, to his great 
work on Reversionary Payments, pages 
473, 495, and which are, I believe, 
founded on strict mathematical princi- 
ples, regulated by a careful examination 
of the bills of mortality for a series of 
years; or had they consulted any emi- 
nent calculator sufliciently conversant 
on such subjects, Mr. Morgan, above- 
mentioned for instance, or Mr. Frend, 
actuary to the Rock Assurance Society, 
Bridge-street, Blackfriars. Anothercause 
of failure has arisen from the desire of 
the original promoters, more benevolent 
perhaps than judicious and wise, to mul- 
tiply the number of objects desirable to 
be obtained, beyond what associations of 
this sort can possibly be equal to. J. M. 
is himself in danger of this error, in the 
society he is desirous of establishing, by 
the proposal of annuities for widows: for 
with this appendage, the necessary cal- 
culations would not alone be required to 
state the probabilities of sickness, and of 
the duration of life in the persons them- 
selves, but of the number of those they 
might leave behind them; their respec- 
tive ages on becoming widows, and the 
average period of their lives, and of their 
continuingin a state of widowhood. Now, 
Sir, I will not affirm that it would be an 
absolute impossibility to make calcula- 
tions which should meet all these con- 
tingences, but of this at least I am cer- 
_ tain, that the data required on which to 
build their foundation, would render the 
undertaking extremely arduous, and that 
‘One single error might endanger the 
whole superstructure. For instance, we 
~~ , 
Hints for the formation of Benefit Clubs. 
117 
will assume, that the number of widows 
of a society of one hundred members, is 
supposed to average twenty, that they 
would become such at the age of forty, 
and require an annuity each for ten 
years, and that the calculations are made 
on this supposition: now should it hap- 
pen that the actual number should aver« 
age twenty-five, their ages on becoming 
such thirty-five, and the term of average 
allowance be twelve or fifteen, instead 
of ten years, is it not obvious that the 
sum provided for the expenditure, would 
be perfectly inadequate, and that the 
institution must fail? If, however, fe- 
male benefit clubs were generally esta- 
blished under the patronage of neigh- 
bouring ladies, this disappointment re- 
specting a provision for widows would 
create the less pain. 
A correspondent who signs himself 
W.N. in your Magazine for May, ap~ 
proves of the enquiry of J. M. aud enu- 
merates the terms of many benefit clubs 
which have fallen within his observation, 
but professes not to meet the enquiry 
relative to the precise calculations on 
which they ought invariably to be foun- 
ded. A remark or two I beg leave to 
make. This. gentleman commends the 
liberality ofa benefit club, established in 
his neighbourhood in 1754, for their 
handsome present of forty pounds to- 
wards our soldiers in Germany, and of 
one hundred and fourteen pounds for 
building a school-house. But whilst we 
give unqualified praise to the spirit of 
benevolence and charity, which dictated 
these donations, we must add, that by so 
doing, they certainly erred against the 
genuine principles of their own associa= 
tion: according to these, they ought ra- 
ther to have- disposed of their surplus 
Tmoney in granting additional aid to the 
members themselves in sickness, or smalk 
annuities in old age, than to have diverted 
it to purposes, which, however ywratitying 
to the individuals that composed the 
society, were quite foreign to the objects 
for which it was established. Againy 
W. N. mentions with approbation as 
being a recommendation of it, that in 
one society with which he is acquainted, 
the share of a free member is transfers 
able; but I do not see any superior ade 
vantage to the member thus adinitted 
over those who come in by ballot, except 
it be, that by this means he saves his 
entrance-money; but this entrance-mo- 
ney is either necessary to the stability of 
the institution, or itis not; if it is, then 
the 
