not written for the sake of the offices, but of those who 

 deal with them, I have confined myself to such points 

 as I considered most requisite to he generally known. 

 Common as life insurance has now become, the present 

 amount of capital so invested is trifling compared with 

 what will be the case when its principles are better un- 

 derstood ; provided always that the offices continue to act 

 with prudence until that time arrives. At present, 

 while 'the public has little except results to judge by, the 

 failure of an office would cause a panic, and perhaps re- 

 tard for half a century the growth of one of the most 

 useful consequences of human association : but the time 

 will come when knowledge of the subject will be so 

 diffused, that even such an event as that supposed, if it 

 could then happen, would not produce the same result. 



There are, however, one or two things to which I 

 should call the attention of those whose profession it is 

 to calculate life contingencies : 



1. The notation for the expression of such contin- 

 gencies (pp. 197 204.). This notation was suggested 

 by that of Mr. Milne, from which it differs in what I 

 believe to be a closer representation of the analogies which 

 connect different species of contingencies. Thus, an 

 annuity to last a number of years certain does not differ 

 from a life annuity in any circumstance which requires 

 a difference of notation ; nor an insurance from an an- 

 nuity certain of one year deferred till a life drops. 

 Since writing the pages above referred to, I have learned 

 that I was not the first who considered an insurance in 

 that light. Some years ago the government granted 

 annuities for terms certain, to commence at the 

 death of an individual ; but refused to insure lives : the 

 consequence was, that, by a very obvious evasion, insur- 



