In

constitution of the latter; hence in his various pub. he fell into many errors; and was indeed too often but the tool of designing persons who employed or encouraged him. 1855 he promoted the Annuity Building and General Assu. Co.; but it fell through. In 1856 he promoted the Savings Assu. Co., with no better fate. In 1862 he pub. the Manual of Life Ins. In 1865, The Financial Position of Life Offices-a pub. full of errors of the most absurd kind. He was the author of many other pub. not bearing specially upon ins. Of these his little book called Health and Wealth was prob. best known-and deservedly so. He experienced on several occasions the injustice of the law, in the matter of prosecutions for libel. He was ultimately struck down by paralysis; and then several gentlemen connected with ins. offices, who had known his career, and judged favourably of his motives, afforded him some relief-of which he stood urgently in need. He died in Feb., 1872, aged 67 years.

BENWELL, JAMES BENJAMIN, pub. in 1821, An Essay on Interest and Annu., chiefly respecting those cases when Compounded by Instalments intercepted within Yearly, as Half-Yearly, Quarterly, Monthly; embracing a Summary of the Ambiguities averred of the Solutions on Dr. Price's and De Moivre's Principle, with a Critical Examination into the Source of them. A Brief Introduction to the Study of Life Assu., Notes, Illustrations, This little work purports to be an answer to Mr. William Rouse's Investigation of the Errors of all Writers on Annu., etc., pub. 1816. It contains some orig. ideas, and is therefore worth reading when it can be met with.

etc.

There also appeared in the Phil. Mag. (vol. 50, p. 164), Theorems for Determining the Values of Increasing Life Annu.

In 1830 he pub. New Formula in the Valuation of Annu. on Lives, etc., and Tables of Estates Certain and Lifehold.

Mr. Benwell practised as a Consulting Act., and by way of adv. at the end of his book, 1820, was the following:

The author on this occasion respectfully notifies that he undertakes the investigation of all cases relating to contingent annu., assu., revs., fines, successive lives, survivorships, etc., embracing every component diversity classed in the denomination of life contingencies, with generally every species of calculations depending on events of chance, etc., for all which, an extensive examination into those sources and works of science, where such kind of matter is dispersed, he presumes has fitted him to be entrusted with; and unless the path be illuminated by mathematic art, it is impossible successfully to pursue these researches, or discriminate in a philosophical view their importance in an organized state of community. It is well known that a maximum portion of the personal property of this kingdom is of a tenure contingent, and such is, from defective principles resorted to, ever undervalued in the stock-market, even with concomitant causes that operate so direct, these refer to minutie of circumstances well understood; thus all rev. interests are so depressed under their absolute value derived from the real chances of life; but in all negociations the public mind is recalled to the fact, that such value can alone be made the basis of them justly, and this, as fortuitous restrictions supervene, vary and fluctuate accordingly, and here to determine a fair and equitable value, the chief datum is the T. of obs., and such best suited are those of Sweden, and M. de Parcieux, of the rate of mort, as actually existing in a mixed body of life annuitants composed. The author, therefore, offers himself as arbiter in all such concerns, and solicits patronage and support in this respect. All cases in reference to be made to him, at No. 18, Aske-terrace, Hoxton, or 98, Royal Exchange, will be specially regarded.

We consider the above sufficiently unique to be preserved.

BEQUEATH.-To leave by will to another. The word is usually applied to personal property only; while devise is usually applied to real property. But the words may be

used in either sense.

66

BEQUEST.-A gift of personal property by will; a legacy. A pol. of ins. on the life of a debtor is a security for a sum to be paid; and may pass in a will under the words "debentures or debts." This was so decided in Phillips v. Eastwood, 1835. [MORTMAIN.] BERKSHIRE AND COUNTIES INS. ASSO., founded by the clergymen, yeomen, and tradesmen, of Berks and other counties," in 1709, on a scheme of mut. contribution. The asso. had some very remarkable features, which we shall give in some detail under HIST. OF LIFE INS. [CLERGY, LIVES OF.] [COMPLETE INS.] [SURRENDER VALUE.] It is prob. that similar sos, to this were estab. in other counties about the same period. BERKSHIRE, GLOUCESTER, AND PROVINCIAL LIFE AND FIRE ASSU. Co. [named in the first instance the Berks L. and F. Assu. Co.], founded at Reading, in 1824, with an authorized cap. of £500,000, in 10,000 shares of £50. The Earl of Craven, Lord-Lieut. of the county, was President. The vice-presidents, trustees, and directors, were men of position. The prosp, said:

In the hist. of our own country there never was a period in which the union and advantages of society were more effectively promoted by public inst. than the present. Among these, none surely can lay a fairer claim to extensive utility than the Inst. of Assurances, founded on provident and equitable views. The flourishing condition of the estab, of this nature already in existence, whilst it redounds to the honour of the age in which we live, furnishes the most complete proof of their salutary tendency. Upon this conviction, and on the model of the best and most approved inst. of a similar character, the present estab. has been founded.

No proprietor, "except presidents, trustees, and directors," was to hold more than 50 shares, unless by bequest, or operation of law. Directors were to hold 50, and might hold 100. The liability was restricted to the amount of shares held :

Every shareholder, as a condition for holding his shares, to assu. or cause to be assu. £50 or more in the L. depart., or £300 or more in the F., on any number of shares under 10. £100 on L., or £1000 on F., on any number of shares from 10 to 20; £150 or more on L., and £1500 on F., on any number

of shares from 20 to 30; £200 on L., or £2000 on F., on any number of shares from 30 to 40; £250 on L., or £2500 on F., on any number of shares from 40 to 50. But in default of effecting any such assu. within 12 calendar months, to pay a fine of 25. p. share. Shareholders making default in complying with calls for their subs., in pursuance of the rules and regulations to be made, or D. of sett. to be entered into, to forfeit their shares.

Persons assu. for the term of L., or against F. for 5 years, to parti. at the end of every 5 years in the profits of the Co., after a deduction of such sum for the guarantee of the cap. as the directors may think reasonable, etc. The estab. to be conducted on principles of the strictest economy.

The Co. collected in F. duty in 1824, £379; 1825, £1517. By 1830 the amount had reached £2604. In 1829 its L. bus. was trans. to Clerical, Medical, and General; and in 1831 its F. bus. to the Phoenix.

BERLIN.-Bills of mort. were pub. at an early date in this City. In 1721 the causes of death-diseases and casualties arranged under seventy-three different heads-were introduced into them. The sexton of every parish had some years before been ordered to leave at the senate-house, at the end of every week, a list of the names of all who had been baptized, married, or buried, during that week; and in the case of the buried, the age at which and the disease by which each death took place were also to be stated. These orders, however, do not appear to have been properly attended to until 1733.

In 1747 an account was taken with the utmost care, by order of the King of Prussia, of the number of inhabitants of the city, and it was found to be 107,224. In order to be more certain, a second account was taken the same year, and the number found the same within 200. By 1755 the number of inhabitants had increased to 126,661. For the five years ending 1755, the average returns were as follows :-Births, 3855; marriages, 980; burials, 5054. The pop. was estimated to the burials as 26 to 1.

Dr. Moehsen, in his Collection of Obs. for the better Illustration of the great Usefulness and Value of Inoculation for the Smallpox, pub. 1775, gives, in the second part of that work, 26 T. derived from B. of Mort. of this city, commencing with 1758 and ending with 1779. He had orig. made abstracts of the Bills between 1733 and 1753, but these were destroyed by fire.

He gave a T. showing the number of deaths in the city during each of the 17 years named, from all causes without distinction, but distinguishing the civil from the military pop. and the sexes in each case. Another T. shows the number of births-prob. including the still-born, as they are included in the deaths.

The average ann. deaths for 16 years were 4339; while for 1772 they were 8,314. In that year there were 131 sudden deaths; 98 by drowning; and 39 by hunger and misery, so returned; but prob. these causes had much to do with the increased mort. of that year. In 1776 the collected works of Herr Sussmilch, edited by Baumann, were pub., and these contained the bills of mort. for Berlin for the four years 1752-55, with much other interesting information regarding the V. statistics of this city.

In 1783 the fourth ed. of Dr. Price's Reversionary Payments was pub., and therein was contained a T. of mort. deduced from the data supplied by Sussmilch, with many incidental obs. thereon. [BERLIN T. OF MORT.] Dr. Price found that I in 26 died ann. in this city, being at the rate of 38 p. 1000; he found that half the children born alive died before the age of 2 years; and that but I in 37 of the inhabitants reached 80. He adds by way of explanation:

Berlin for many years has been increasing very fast, by a conflux of people from the surrounding country and provinces. About the year 1700 the medium of ann. burials was no more than 1000. In 50 years, therefore, it has more than quadrupled itself. In a city increasing with such rapidity, the ratio of inhabitants to the ann. deaths must be greatly above the just standard.

In 1825 Dr. Casper pub, a work, in the third part of which he treats of the mort. among children in Berlin. It contains a variety of tables showing the numbers of births in different years, distinguishing the legitimate from the illegitimate; and of the deaths that took place among them under 15 years of age. The number of deaths by smallpox, and a few other diseases of children, both before and after the introduction of vaccination, are given; but no mention is made of their ages.

In 1835 Dr. Casper pub. another work, in which was contained a T. showing the number of deaths in every year of age from birth to 104 years, completed, of males and females separately, which took place in this city during the 12 years 1818-29, amounting to 36,895 males and 32,467 females; together 69,362. This work also contained a T. of mort. [BERLIN, T. OF MORT FOR.]

An official account of the suicides in Berlin was prepared for the years 1849-50. In the

former they were 76, in the latter 104-males 81, females 23. Hanging was the popular mode, being 48 p.c.; shooting next, being 22 p.c. of the whole. The estimated pop. of the city in 1849 was 451,435; the suicide rate was therefore 01684. In 1850 pop. 466,850-suicide rate 02213. In London the suicide rate about the same period was *01560.

The mort. of the city appears to have improved of late years. We have seen it quoted on apparently good authority under 30 p. 1000.

Berlin was the first continental city to employ a steam fire engine. The engine was constructed in 1832 for the Government by Mr. John Braithwaite, C.E., of London, and it was named the Comet. There is a large force of men employed in controlling and extinguishing fires. The telegraph system, after the American plan, has been tried, but led to a great number of false alarms. In 1850 various methods were being tried for increasing the efficiency of the fire brigade, and by 1852 we learn that it was placed under the command of a chief superintendent, and consisted of 1 inspector, 4 subinspectors, 40 sergeants, and 180 firemen the last two classes composed of men belonging to the building trades-and 771 pumpers. There were 18 stations, 5 depôts, and I central

station.

The conditions relating to F. ins. are very stringent. When property is first proposed for ins., it is inspected by the police authorities, who certify that it is not overvalued, and every agent has to submit the offer of ins. to the police authorities before he can accept it. The Prussians consider that by preventing over-ins. they check the tendency to incendiarism. An inquiry is instituted by the police in every case of fire, whether there be any suspicion of fraud or not. It is compulsory in all cases. The police collect evidence, and the Attorney-General orders the arrest, if he thinks it necessary, and prosecutes before a criminal court.

In this city is pub. fortnightly, edited by Dr. Elsner, the Deutsche VersicherungsZeitung: Organ für das Gesammte Versicherungswesen, an organ for the diffusion of information statistical, scientific, and miscellaneous, on all subjects connected with ins., fire, life, marine, agricultural, etc. We believe there is also another ins. journal pub. here. Regarding the general ins. regulations and ins. offices, we shall speak of them under PRUSSIA. BERLIN, MORTALITY TABLE FOR.-In 1783 Dr. Price compiled, we believe, the first T. which had been deduced from the mort. of this city. His data, as we have said in the preceding art., were obtained from the B. of mort. for the four years 1752-55, which had been compiled by Herr Sussmilch. The T. is accompanied with the following details. The numbers born in Berlin during the four years above mentioned were, males, 9219; females, 8743; or 21 to 20. The numbers that died under 2 years of age were, males, 3118; females, 2623; or 7 to 6. The numbers that died upwards of 8 years of age were, males, 135; females, 215; or 5 to 8. The numbers that died between 91 and 105 were, males, 21; females, 55.

Dr. Price says, "Between the ages 30 and 35, and also between 42 and 52, there is an irregularity in the T. which very prob. would not have appeared in it, had it been formed from the bills for a longer term of years."

It appears that the learned Dr. constructed another T. from the bills of the parish of St. Peter, Berlin, for 24 years, and as that T. very nearly agreed with the preceding, it is not pub.

From the preceding, Dr. Price found the "prob. of living one year" to be, at birth, 1 to 1; at age 12, 123 to 1; age 25, 50 to I; age 30, 44 to I; age 40, 32 to 1; age 50, 30 to I; and age 60, 18 to 1. He also deduced from it the annexed 'expectations of life":

Age. Years. Age. Years.

Birth

18 40

201

12 354

45

183

25

27

50

161

30

254 55

14

35

22

124

333333

In 1835 Dr. Casper, the well-known German physician, pub. another T. of mort. for Berlin, making a distinction of the sexes. This T. was constructed upon 69,362 deaths at different ages-36,895 males, and 32,467 females-which occurred during the 12 years 1818-29.

The above T. is compiled from the T. in the orig. German ed., opposite p. 35; but we have arranged our columns differently, and as we think more convenient for reference. BERNOUILLI, DANIEL [son of John and nephew of James].-A Prof. of Mathematics at Basle, and greatly skilled in the science. He was born 1700, died 1782.

In the St. Petersburg Memoirs for the years 1730-31 [but not pub. until 1738] was a paper, Specimen Theoria Nova de Mensura Sortis. Therein he propounded the theory of