ON LIFE INSURANCE AND VITAL STATISTICS. 
273 
will be recognised as the only legitimate means of repressing 
pauperism and avoiding the social misery which follows it, there 
will be an unlimited field for provident investments on life 
assurance principles. 
The success many of these institutions have justly acquired 
in England, together with the confidence existing in commercial 
circles for this kind of security, makes this country stand pre- 
eminent, whilst it enables offices to establish agencies for carry- 
ing on their operations in all parts of the world. Life assurance 
is less successful, but gradually increasing, on the Continent. 
The French government endeavoured to encourage life assurance, 
and Napoleon ordered the Mayor and Cure of every commune 
to establish a societe de prevoyance et de secours mutuel. In 
1850 the National Assembly passed a law for establishing “ une 
caisse de retraite , ou rentes viageres pour la vieillesse ,” a sort 
of superannuation or annuity fund for aged persons. The 
management of most of these associations is virtually in the 
hands of the government, inasmuch as the Emperor has power 
to nominate the president, while the number of honorary and 
recipient members cannot exceed 500 without the authority of 
the prefects or minister of the interior. 
In Germany, America, and, very recently, in England, the 
governments have attempted to legislate in favour of Life As- 
surance. It would be well if employes in government and 
public offices were compelled, as in Germany, to invest a por- 
tion of their salaries in life assurance benefits for their widows 
and families. Perhaps, likewise, a more compulsory system, for 
preventing wide-spreading pauperism, may be deemed desirable 
in this country, when the plans, now failing, have been tried a 
little longer. 
The science of vital statistics, upon which life assurance is 
founded, is one of great practical interest. It was, at one time, 
based upon data that were tentative ; but it may now justly be 
considered as elevated to the rank of a science ; for, by natural 
contingencies that admit of calculation, we may predict the 
average duration of life, under given conditions, almost with as 
much certainty as an astronomer can predict an eclipse of the 
sun. The mortality tables, founded on these calculations, are 
to the science of vital statistics what the balances, thermo- 
meters, and barometers are to investigations in physics. They 
serve to measure the life-force of individuals and nations, the 
years of life being units in the scale. 
However uncertain any individual life may be, the uniformity 
of average is such that, where large numbers are concerned, a 
small fractional difference only is observed, but sufficient pre- 
cision is attained for all practical purposes. Various tables have 
been calculated, to show the average duration of human life at 
