^ Mr. Morgan on Survivorjhips. 
of £. ioo, on the contingency of C’s furviving B only, is no 
more than £. 74*. Now it is felf- evident, that this latter 
value, inftead of being lefs, ought to have been greater than 
the former, inafmuch as the probability of C’s furviving only 
one life mu ft be greater than that of his furviving two lives. 
Many additional inftances might be produced in which this 
rule, being made the balls upon which the folutions of other 
problems are founded, leads to conclufions equally erroneous. 
But thefe enquiries would be improper here ; and I fhall 
only obferve, that had the foregoing examples been computed 
from the Sweden or London, inftead of the Northamp- 
ton Table, this rule would have appeared to be ftill more in- 
correfl: than it does from thofe computations. 
When Mr. Simpson wrote his Seledt Exercifes, he was in a 
great meafure obliged to have recourfe to De Moivre’s hypo- 
thehs, for want of thofe excellent tables of the real probabi- > 
lities of life, and alfo of the values of fingle and joint lives 
which have been fince publilhed. Had he been poffefled of 
thefe, it is moft likely that his fuperior abilities would have 
direfted him to a more accurate method of inveftigation. At 
prefent there can be no juft reafon for ever recurring to this 
wretched hypothefis. The folutions of all, cafes of two and 
even of three lives may be effected without much difficulty 
from principles ftriflly true. But I muft here take my leave 
of this fubjefl, hoping that its importance may engage other 
mathematicians to the further profecution of it. 
* The true values are £. 66.038. and £. 74.884. refpe&ively* 
