MISCELLANEOUS REMARKS, 299 



the greatest obstacle to a satisfactory adjustment of 

 risks, lies in the necessity of taking into account the 

 chances of only partial loss, which would make the 

 tables (if they could be procured) nearly as complicated 

 as life tables. 



On the subject of marine insurance, nothing is 

 known to the public, as to the experience of the 

 underwriters; and, as it is not directly interested 

 in the subject, it would be difficult to create any 

 disposition to inquiry. The mercantile world, how- 

 ever, and the underwriters themselves, have a direct 

 interest in the dissemination of such information, 

 for reasons which it is no pleasant task to state, 

 both on account of their invidious character, and their 

 obvious want of connexion with the general objects of 

 this treatise. But the latter circumstance may, perhaps, 

 not be disadvantageous, since the statement of the exist- 

 ence of an imputation, coming from a quarter in which 

 there is no interest whatever, either in the continuance 

 or discontinuance of any present condition of things, 

 need not excite any disposition, except that of calmly 

 weighing whether it is necessary or not to produce a 

 refutation. 



Some years ago, I heard the following opinion stated 

 in a mixed company, in reference to a then proposed 

 attempt to render ships incapable of actually sinking, 

 however much they and their cargo might be damaged ; 

 namely, that the mercantile world would not be inclined 

 to patronise an invention which would make the seaman 

 safer than the ship. Some time afterwards, I saw an 

 article in a periodical journal, distinctly written for the 

 purpose of making its readers believe that, in conse- 

 quence of insurance, unsafe ships are allowed to be used, 

 to an extent which has caused much more loss of life 

 and property than could have been experienced if no 

 such institution had existed. Other allusions, more or 

 less direct, in various publications, have convinced me 

 that one of two things must be true, either such an 

 impression has a party who acknowledge it, or authentic 



