322 
APPALLING CHARACTER OF INDIAN MORTALITY. 
Military Auditor General, Secretary to 
the Committee. — Transactions of the 
Asiatic Society, 1836. 
(Continued from page 255.^ 
Capt. Henderson furnishes a table of the 
Calcutta burials, Euiopean and East Indian, 
at the Park Street burial-ground. He expe- 
rienced some difficulty in ascertaining the 
births and periodical accession of strangers, 
and of separating the classes ; he therefore 
found it impracticable to prepare from such 
data “ an accurate or even approximating 
expectation of life for the city of Calcutta. 
“ It may be presumed that the accessions 
chiefly experienced, by arrivals from Eng- 
land, include between the ages of 18 and 
25, and that thenceforward unjtil the later 
ages of retirement and return to the native 
country, there is not much fluctuation in 
numbers, except in the yearly uncertain 
and temporary addition of seamen and com- 
mercial visitors. This, of course, applies to 
the European part of the community ; tire 
East Indian inhabitants being throughout 
moie permanent and stationary. Under the 
foregoing supposition, it will be found from 
the numbers exhibited in the Table that out 
of a radix of population of both classes to the 
extent of near three thousand souls of the age 
of 20 to 25, about one hundred die annually, 
or, as the real decrement shew, 3.84 per 
cent. For the next ten years the annual 
percentage is 5.49. For the ensuing same 
term, or from 35 to 45 it is 6.7 per cent. From 
45 to 55, it is 6.18, while from 55 to 65, 
(though this term is little to be relied on 
from the liequenl secession of persons 
retiring to England) the percentage is 
8.4. Out of four thousand, seven hundred 
and seventy-nine are seamen, who died on 
a visit to the port— swelling the ratio of 
decrement, it may be supposed, at the middle 
ages. It is to be regretted that this 4 able 
could not be rendered available for any use- 
ful purpose to the Committee: all that could 
be gathered from it was a picture of Indian 
mortality, probably in its concentrated, worst, 
and most appalling character.” 
Capt. Henderson does not think that the 
experience of the late life assurance institu- 
tions afforded data for guidance or a fair 
estimate of the ratio of decrement among 
the insuring classes, and proceeds to explain 
the difficulty and danger of rel3dng upon the 
results of the different offices: these he 
ascribes to the insured being chiefly debtors 
in the service ; men, it may be supposed, im- 
provident in their life and habits: a few were 
adventurers, and others had embarked in 
speculations, who, however, were neces- 
sitated unwillingly to incur the expenses of 
life insurance ; 
“ Or, as the figured Tables would sometimes 
lead to the suspicio_^n, urged into the Society 
by the appveheijsion of approaching death. 
1 hus, in the Fifth Laudable Society existing 
from 1822 to 1827 there were one hundied 
and eighty-seven lapses out of one thousand 
three hundred and ninety lives; no very 
considerable mortality it would appear at first 
sight, as it ranges under 3 per cent, per an- 
num, — but on a closer inspeciion of the Table 
it will be seen that seventy-five of the one 
hundred and eighiy-seven deaths occurred in 
the years immediately succeeding the Assur- 
ance, while the remainder of the lapses, 
one hundred and twelve in number, are 
traced to have lingered through ten years from 
tile peiiod of entrance into the Laudables. 
Such a uiisproportion of early lapses must 
have arisen from other causes than mere 
accident. 
The Sixth Laudable Table in the posses- 
sion of the Commitiee, gives only the total num- 
ber of lives and lapses without classing them 
by years of entrance or decrement; the former 
were nine hundred and ninety-six in number, 
and the deaths one hundred and eighty, or 
3.6 per cent, per annum— the common aver- 
age ; but by apportioning the presumed 
periods of lapses among the five years of the 
Laudable, the more correct yearly percentage 
would be exhibited at 3.8 9. 
1 he Oriental has existed for a longer term, 
and iias incurred engagements up to 1833, 
on so many as one thousand seven hundred 
and eighty-one lives ; out of which during 
twelve years, it suffered to the extent of 
three hundied and seventy-three lapses. But 
unless, as will be understood by the more 
accurate and certain Tables to be hereafter 
referred to, there have been some extensive 
frauds at times practised on the Society, it 
is difficult to account for the very heavy late 
of mortality it has expeiienced. It insured 
on an average seven hundred and eight lives 
yearly, losing of these with more or less regu- 
larity, more than thirty-one persons in the 
year, or an actual percentage of 4.39. Its 
greatest percentage oflapses during one year 
was 6.89, and its least 2.78. We believe 
here also some of the heaviest lapses occurred 
incertain cases shortly after the parties had 
effected insurance. 
Although the Committee were unable to 
avail themselves of the experience of the Cal- 
cutta Life Insurance Offices to form a true 
estimate of the mortality, it maybe remarked 
that the deaths exhibited by them never the 
less wonderfully bear out the factshewn in all 
the general Tables prepared from the hono- 
rable company’s different services of the 
regularly progressive ratio of danger (v/ith 
^ trifling exception only in some of the 
1 ables,) jf/’om increasing years and prolonged 
residence in India. The ratio in the Army is 
generally under 3 per cent, for the first years 
of exposure, and increases to about 3f per 
cent, at 30 : 4 per cent, at 40 : more than 4| 
at 50, and considerably higher at the next de- 
cennial period, while shortly after this time 
