We shall now proceed to give some tables of mortality, namely, the Northampton and Carlisle tables, those of the Equitable Insurance 011ice, and Mr. Ansell's Friendly Societies' table. We shall give a brief description of each.
1. Northampton Table. This table was formed by Dr. Price from the burial registers at Northampton, between 1741 and 1730. He has not distinctly describe.' the process by which he formed it. This table was for a long time the only one used by the insurance offices. It is now known to give the probabilities of life too low at the younger and middle ages. Some of this (but probably not all) is due to the increased value of life in England since the middle of the last century. This table contains both males and females in nearly equal numbers. The accordance of the Northampton Table with De Moivre's Hypothesis at the middle ages of life is remarkably close. (Price, Obs. on Rev. Paym.,' vol. p. 94.) 2. The Carlisle Table. The materials of this table were obtained by Mr. Milne from a tract published by Dr. Heysham of Carlisle, in 1797, containing the bills of mortality from 1779 to 1787, both inclusive. The proportion is ten females to nine males. From the verifications which this table has since received, it must be considered as the most correct representative of healthy life in England which exists. (Milne, On Annuities,' p. 404.) 3. The Equitable Table. The tract in which this is found is cited above. It represents the experience of the Equitable Society from 1760 to 1829, and agrees closely at the middle ages with the Carlisle table. The agreement would be a little closer in most parts but for the following circumstance. In the formation of this table it is pre sumed that all those who discontinued their insurance lived, one with another, one-half of their year of discontinuance in the society. Now (throwing aside short insurances, which are always very small in number) the modes of discontinuance are only abandonment by neglect to renew the premium, and sale to the society. In the former case the parties live the whole year of discontinuance in the society, since their intention not to reuew would be no bar to a claim on the part of their executors if their death took place during a year at the beginning of which premium had been paid; and it is well known that in the earlier history of every insurance office, abandonments were much more frequent than sales. And even in the case of sales to the office, it may
reasonably be assumed, unless proof to the contrary were shown, that they take place, for the most part, shortly before a new premium becomes due, parties frequently choosing to take the benefit of the insurance as long as they can, and to sell when a new payment is approaching. It must therefore be supposed (unless, as before hinted at. specific proof from the records of the office be produced to the contrary) that the discontinuants, or a very large majority of them, lived the whole year of discontinuance in the office. This will make the mortality a little less than that represented in the table, though not much.
There is also a point on which, if our information be correct., the method of forming this table has been inisapprehencled. Those who study the subject. are aware of the thing to which we refer (' Enc. 3letr.; article . Mortality,' part ii., § 53, note), and will therefore com prehend the following. It is, we understand, the practice of the society in question to make up the registers on the first day of January, at which period every person insured during the previous year is put down as being of the ejPee age which he had at his entrance. Now this office age means the age at the next birthday ; that is, one with another, parties do not attain their office age till they have lived half a year in the society. But on each first of January the parties insured during the previous year have, one with another, lived half a year in the ,society, ao that they are correctly stated as being of their office age when the registers are made. The preface of this very valuable table is not sufficiently explicit on this and several other points.
4. The Friendly Societies Table. The materials for this table were collected by the Society for tho Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, and were discussed by Mr. Ansell in the work cited above, which should be in the hands of every one interested in the exeellent institutions of which it treats. It embraces the history, as to mortality, of 24,323 rars of life, among the labouring classes, from all parts of England indiscriminately, and from 1S23 to 1828.