Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 2.djvu/97

Rh for insurance being about 3 per cent, per annum. The actual transactions at the present time in the purchase and grant of immediate annuities, although small in comparison with the life insurance transactions, are yet of considerable amount. It appears from the returns made under the above-mentioned Act, that upwards of 250,000 is annu ally paid to insurance companies for the purchase of annui ties, and that the aggregate amount of their liabilities under that head is nearly 420,000 a year. The Govern ment competes with the companies in the grant of annui ties ; and although its terms are on the whole very much less favourable than the companies, still in consequence of the greater security offered, the business transacted by the Government is much in excess of that transacted by the whole of the insurance companies. It appears from recent returns (see Ass. Mag., xv. 23), that the life annuities annually paid by the National Debt Office amount to about 1,000,000, and that about 600,000 is on the average annually invested with the Government for the purchase of fresh annuities. The purchase and grant of life annuities have been carried on to a very considerable extent, apparently at all times. We learn from De Wit s above-mentioned report, that the Governments of Holland and West Fries- land had granted annuities systematically for one hundred and fifty years before any correct estimate was formed of the value of a life annuity. The British Government has at various times granted life annuities, more especially on the Tontine principle, for the purpose of raising money when it was difficult to obtain the sums required for the public service by the ordinary methods. Various local bodies have at different times raised money on the security of the local rates in consideration of the grant of life annuities ; and, at the present time, the Manchester Cor poration grants annuities on favourable terms for the pur pose of obtaining funds to defray the expense of the water works belonging to the city. During the existence of the usury laws, it was very common for persons borrowing money upon the very best security to grant annuities upon their lives in consideration of a present advance. Thus, for example, if a country gentleman of the age of 40 wished to borrow 10,000 upon a landed estate, the law forbade him to pay, or the lender to receive, more than 5 per cent, interest, say 500 a year ; but the law did not forbid his granting an annuity of 1000 for his life, secured upon the estate. Speaking roughly, an annual payment of 300 would be required to insure 10,000 upon the borrower s life, and the annuity would therefore return the lender about 7 per cent, interest, in addition to the premium on the insurance necessary to return his capital. In this way the law, which was intended as a protection to the bor rower, to enable him to obtain a loan at a fixed moderate rate of interest, very often had the directly opposite effect of greatly increasing the cost of borrowing. The usury laws being now repealed, borrowers and lenders are left at full liberty to make such terms with each other as they may think best.

 

 TABLE (1). Showing out of 1,000,000 Children lorn, tlie Number of Males and Females Surviving at each Age, and the Number Dying in each Year of Life. English Table, No. 3. Males. Females. Males. Females. Males. Females. Age. ^Number Number Age. Number Number Age. Number Number Number | dying in Number dying in Number dying in Number dying in Number dying in Number dvingin alive at the fol alive at the fol alive at the fol alive at the fol alive at the fol alive at the fol each age. lowing each age. lowing each age. lowing each age. lowing each age. lowing each age. lowing year. year. year. year. year. year. X I, d, I* d, X I* d x h d x X h d x l x d x 511745 83719 488255 65774 37 282296 3352 276563 3326 74 83416 7639 93071 7724 1 428026 27521 422481 26159 38 278944 3406 273237 3350 75 75777 7483 85347 7653 2 400505 14215 396322 14023 39 275538 3465 269887 3376 76 68294 7268 77694 7521 3 386290 9213 382299 9243 40 272073 3529 266511 3402 77 61026 6990 70173 7329 4 377077 6719 373056 6596 41 268544 3596 263109 3431 78 54036 6655 62844 7071 5 370358 5033 366460 4866 42 264948 3668 259678 3459 79 47381 6266 55773 6755 6 365325 3953 361594 3815 43 261280 3746 256219 3490 80 41115 5832 49018 6382 7 361372 3310 357779 3249 44 257534 3826 252729 3522 81 35283 5361 42636 5959 8 358062 2734 354530 2724 45 253708 3912 249207 3555 82 29922 4862 36677 5496 9 355328 2297 351806 2328 46 249796 4001 245652 3591 83 25060 4349 31181 5003 10 353031 1983 349478 2045 47 245795 4095 242061 3627 84 20711 3834 26178 4490 11 351048 1776 347433 1861 48 241700 4192 238434 3665 85 16877 3328 21688 3972 12 349272 1666 345572 1765 49 237508 4292 234769 3705 86 13549 2840 17716 3458 13 347606 1637 343807 1745 50 233216 4395 231064 3746 87 10709 2384 14258 2962 14 345969 1679 342062 1789 51 228821 4626 227318 3788 88 8325 1965 11296 2494 15 344290 1781 340273 1888 52 224195 4758 223530 3832 89 6360 1590 8802 2063 16 342509 1928 338385 2029 53 219437 4885 219698 3876 90 4770 1260 6739 1673 17 340581 2112 336356 2205 54 214552 5013 215822 4246 91 3510 979 5066 1331 18 338469 2320 334151 2400 55 209539 5144 211576 4439 92 2531 744 3735 1037 19 336149 2541 331751 2609 56 204395 5281 207137 4628 93 1787 553 2698 790 20 333608 2764 329142 2819 57 199114 5428 202509 4817 94 1234 401 1908 588 21 330844 2801 326323 2867 58 193686 5584 197692 5009 95 833 285 1320 428 22 328043 2836 323456 2912 59 188102 5752 192683 5206 96 548 196 892 304 23 325207 2868 320544 2952 60 182350 5929 187477 5409 97 352 132 588 210 24 322339 2S97 317592 2989 61 176421 6118 182068 5619 98 220 86 378 142 25 319442 2926 314603 3024 62 170303 6314 176449 5835 99 134 55 236 92 26 316516 2954 311579 3055 63 163989 6515 170614 6057 100 79 33 144 59 27 313562 2981 308524 3084 64 157474 6720 164557 6282 101 46 21 85 36 28 310581 3009 305440 3112 65 150754 6921 158275 6509 102 25 11 49 22 29 307572 3038 302328 3138 66 143833 7115 151766 6731 103 14 7 27 12 30 304534 3068 299190 3163 67 136718 7297 145035 6947 104 7 3 15 7 31 301466 3100 296027 3187 68 129421 7458 138088 7149 105 4 2 8 4 82 298366 3134 292840 3209 69 121963 7593 130939 7332 106 2 1 4 2 33 295232 3171 289631 3233 70 114370 7695 123607 7489 107 1 1 2 1 34 292061 3211 286398 3255 71 106675 7756 116118 7613 108 ... 1 1 35 288850 3254 283143 3279 i 72 98919 7770 108505 7698 109 30 285596 3300 279864 3301 73 91149 7733 100807 7736 L