ever (several of them octogenarians), by the advice of an able but a very old actuary*, make a regulation which nothing can set aside but the unanimous consent of nine thousand of their own body, all copartners in the same concern, and equally interested, as far as the number and amount of their payments entitle them; with this little difference, however, that four thousand of them, who are materially injured by it, and who are deprived of the means of expressing their grievances and their dissent, were no party to the measure. Hitherto these directors have felt no scruple to make and dissolve such bye-laws as circumstances might seem to require, or their actuary point out; many of them in direct contradiction to the original deed of settlement, which, in fact, from the numerous changes, has become nearly a dead letter, and all of them at variance in their essential principles' with this new and irrevocable bye-law;-of which they appear, for the present, to be so strangely enamoured, that they certainly look upon it to be, what has been said of law in general-'the perfection of human reason.' These fifteen elderly gentlemen may be assured, however, that others, as well as the unfortunate sufferers, will be disposed to consider this measure in a very different light, amounting to a complete forfeiture of the proud title of Equitable.' One might almost suspect that some of these too potent seniors had been studying Blackstone, and relied for their justification on the dictum of that high authority, which declares law without equity, though hard and disagreeable, to be much more desirable for the public good than equity without law.' As to anything like argument or plausible grounds for the adoption of a measure so contrary to justice and to the letter and spirit of the Institution,-these are matters for which we should look in vain. The directors content themselves by referring to their actuary, to whose opinion,' they say, they cannot too much defer' while, in the same breath, they admit that it has been supposed that he is influenced by prejudices arising from longformed notions and opinions.' Mr. Morgan, as all the world knows, is an able calculator of annuities, &c., and the society is mainly indebted to his fostering care and skilful management of its concerns, more particularly in the earlier periods of its existence; but Mr. Morgan is now, we regret to perceive, far advanced in years, and old age, we know, is proverbially tenacious of its habits and opinions. He has also, as may be perceived by his various Addresses,' at all times set his heart upon a large surplus capital; he seems indeed to pride himself on the means taken to secure its accumulation, and we need hardly observe, that the auri sacra fames does not diminish with age. * Mr. Morgan has been actuary fifty-three years. He He must now, therefore, view the enormous heap got together under his auspices, with peculiar and increased delight. 'Crescit amor nummi quantum ipsa pecunia crescit.' * So anxious, indeed, does he shew himself to accumulate a hoard, which the new law' destines chiefly for the benefit of his seniors and coevals in the Society, among whom are many of the directors, who may be said to form a kind of family compact, that we doubt not some of the phrenologists will endeavour, after his death, to procure his skull, in order to discover the dimensions of the bump of accumulativeness, which must unquestionably be found thereon in its most splendid developement,' if there be any truth in the system of Gall and Spurzheim. Far be it from us to insinuate that Mr. Morgan is influenced, in the smallest degree, by personal considerations; his is the long-rooted and still growing affection for a child of his own, which, having been fostered with more than a fond father's care for fifty years and upwards, has attained its present gigantic stature. We only accuse him of recommending measures which, we doubt not, he conscientiously believes to be right and proper, but which we conceive to be just the reverse. But the subject is too serious to those concerned to be treated lightly. The object of the two obnoxious measures,—the select five thousand, and the decennial periods,-is clearly, and Mr. Morgan does not disguise it, to benefit the old members. So early, indeed, as the year 1795, he says, in his ' Address,' in his 'Address,' 'It does not appear reasonable to admit new members to an equal participation of the profits of the society with the old members, from whose annual payments these profits have been principally derived.' Certainly, not equally to participate, and it would be most unreasonable in the new members to expect that; but there is a wide difference between equally and not at all. Besides, Mr. Morgan seems to have forgotten or to overlook the fact, that most of the old members have already more than absorbed the profits derived from their annual payments, and drawn profits besides from the annual payments of that numerous class who died without any addition, though qualified, being made to their policies, as well as from many other sources; that they have, by his own account, already had from 25 to 400 per cent. added to their policies; whereas the new members, if ever admitted into the happy number, could re * A numerous Board of Commissioners, or Directors, or Committee-men, or by whatever name they may be known, or to whatever concern, public or private, they belong, are ill adapted for business; when they come in and go out by rotation, and are elected chiefly through what is termed a house-list, they are admirably adapted for jobbing; each having his turn, in rotation; and when a son steps into the shoes of his father at such a Board, or a son is elected to audit his father's accounts, one is tempted to say that things, if not mala per se, have at least an ugly appearance. ceive only some 2, or 23, or perhaps 3 per cent. added from year to year, which per centage would equally be added to those sums already apportioned to the old members. It is not true, therefore, that the profits of the society are principally derived from the old members, many of whom have occasioned very considerable losses to the society. The fact is, that while the profits are mainly derived from the interest of a fund to which the new members annually contribute their fifty per cent., and that almost without a hope of ever participating in them under the new regulation;-a regulation which, we do not hesitate to say, is founded on a principle of gross injustice, and in operation highly injurious to the families of many thousand individuals; and after the adoption of which, the directors are no longer warranted in asserting, as they still do, that the great and the leading principle of this society has ever been its equity.' 6 Mr. Morgan, to whom the directors cannot too much defer,' deems it quite sufficient to say, that although the measure [of the five thousand] excludes members, admitted since the year 1816, from an early participation of the surplus, it renders that participation more secure, and ultimately more beneficial;' he ought to have added, to the few who may survive;' for more than one-half of the excluded number will, in all probability, be dead before they are entitled, or at least before there will be added to their policies any, share of the profits to which they will have so largely contributed. Suppose, as Mr. Babbage concludes from data furnished by Mr. Morgan, that the mean age of those who assure at the Equitable is about forty-six; the probability of life at that age, by De Moivre's hypothesis, is twenty years. Now Mr. Morgan has stated, in his Address' of 1819, that 'out of the five thousand one hundred and twenty-four members that existed in 1800, not more than one thousand five hundred survive to participate in the present additions,'—that is to say, in the course of twenty years, the proportion of the dead to the living was as seven to two, which, though not quite consistent with Mr. Babbage's calculation, is a We will state an instance. A member of fifty years standing in 1820, we will suppose to have first assured at the age of twenty-two. The premium at that age for an assurance of £5000 would be £112 10s. per annum. Now the amount to which £1 per annum at 5 per cent. would increase in fifty years, is £209 35, and consequently, at this rate, the assurer's annual premium would have increased in fifty years to £23,551 875. In 1820, his additions amounting, by Mr. Morgan's account, to 401 per cent. on his policy, together with the sum assured, would be equal to £25,050; thus occasioning a Loss to the Society of £1,498 125. By the same process it will be found that an assurer commencing at the age of forty-five (about the mean) and living thirty years, will have augmented the funds of the Society to £12,616, but by having 180 per cent. added to his policy (which he would have, according to Mr. Morgan), he will be entitled to £14,000 thus creating a loss to the Society of £2,138.4. These instances are sufficient to show the fallacy of Mr. Morgan's unqualified assertion, that the profits are principally drawn from the old members. matter matter of fact that admits of no mistake; and this glaring fact alone ---- There is another evil resulting from this everlasting new law,' which Mr. Morgan, in better days, would have been the first to perceive and prevent, but which is now considered as a matter of indifference. The future prosperity of the society has received a check, we had almost said, its death-blow,-from confining the additions solely to the old members, whose policies, with the immense accumulations already on them, must, at their deaths, drain the funds of the society to a much greater extent than if the surplus profits had been spread over a larger surface, and the whole 9000 allowed, as in justice they ought, to participate in them; for the present value of the sums to be appropriated will be much greater in the old than in the young members, and the sooner will the payment of them be demanded. Mr. Morgan, indeed, must know that, in point of fact, both in strict justice and by the deed of settlement, all the members are entitled to participate in the profits of the Society, in the manner as therein provided; that is to say, by dividing the whole into classes, in such sort, that the sum to be divided amongst the second class shall be twice as much as the sum to be divided amongst the first class, and the sum to be divided amongst the third class shall be thrice so much as the sum to be divided amongst the first class; and so on, in an arithmetical progression, the sum of the terms of which series shall be the number of the said classes, and the common difference of which series shall be unity.' This was the equitable mode of division, until 1800, when it was ordered, without comment or explanation, that a careful investigation of the value of each policy of assurance be repeated once in ten years; and that in future no addition be made to the claims, nor any other mode of distribution of the profits of the society be adopted, without such investigation previously had.' Two notable reasons, however, are assigned by the actuary, for having recourse to these decennial periods. The first is, that if the intervals were shortened from ten to five years, and the same additions were repeated at each interval, the capital of the society would, after a few repetitions, be reduced twice as much in the latter as in the former case.' There really required no ghost' to tell us that; but, we would ask, what would be the difference if, instead of the same, only only half the additions were made at the interval of five years? If this argument of the worthy Actuary be worth anything, the period of twenty years would be twice as good as one of ten years, in which case The Equitable Society would be converted into a much better Tontine than it is at present. The second reason, which we gather from Mr. Morgan's addresses, for this departure from the deed of settlement, is the vast labour and difficulty of calculating the value of so great a number of policies. This, we think, will be deemed a very idle and frivolous excuse. A society with a capital of eleven millions, and a revenue of nearly half a million, might surely afford a few extra clerks, if necessary, to make these computations in somewhat shorter time than at intervals of ten years. There are young men enough, even mathematicians from Cambridge, were such deemed necessary, who would willingly accept the employment. Mr. Babbage has told us, and we very well know it, that there is no difficulty in making them. Women, we understand, are employed in the astronomical computations for the Nautical Almanack. The cost could not exceed one or two hundred pounds, if so much; but if it were as many thousands, that would be no sufficient excuse for the neglect. When the Bank of England was called upon to deduct the income-tax from each dividend, the governors pleaded the impossibility of making the calculations on 800,000 accounts, without delaying the payment of the dividends six months. Mr. Pitt knew better, and said it must be done; and it was done in a fortnight! These objections, therefore, are evidently not entitled to much weight. The only reason, or rather assertion, for the iniquitous measure of cutting off nearly one-half the members from any participation in the profits, is, that a great proportion of the new members assured their lives, as much with the view of profit to themselves, as of securing a provision for their surviving families.' Mr. Morgan had asserted the same thing before, but, as we apprehend, without the shadow of proof; but were it even so, how does that concern him or the Society? As to the impatience, of which he so often talks, for a more frequent division of the surplus, it very naturally arises, as he says, 'from the very old and the new members, the former from the fear of not surviving ten years, the latter from an eagerness to partake of profits from which they have never yet derived any benefit.' Is it, we would ask, not just and reasonable, that it should be so? And is it not another proof of the general feeling of injustice and dissatisfaction at the change of system? The society over the way in Bridge-street, called the Rock, not less flourishing than the Equitable was at the same period of its duration, finds no inconvenience, and apprehends no danger, in |