JOURNAL OF INSURANCE.

DOES A MAN SHORTEN HIS LIFE BY INSURING IT?

The Evening Post publishes an interesting article on Life Insurance; a question that, like most others, has two sides. There are reasons, in the view of our cotempory, for believing that insurance of this kind, with all its advantages, creates what Jeremy Bentham calls, "sinister interests," unfavorable to the longevity of the insured. The Post says:—

It is only a few months since a house in this city was burned to the ground, and the wife and three infant children of the insurer were consumed. Although strong suspicions were aroused against him, the coroner's inquest subsequently acquitted him of the charge of arson, and he was released from custody. But the horrible crime had been charged upon him, and the readiness with which the public acknowledged the possibility of its commission, showed that they had been prepared by past observation to recognise the possibility, and even the probability, of such wickedness, to gratify a lust for money.

The crime of arson is familiar to insurers against fire, and upon the same principle it need surprise no one to learn that the crime of murder is sometimes committed to secure the premium on a life insurance. The ways in which this is accomplished, though usually indirect, are manifold.

The investigations made by HENRY MAYHEW on this subject, as compiled from that gentleman's statements, are interesting and suggestive.

Mr. Mayhew, an English author of repute, who has exhibited a remarkable talent for statistics, and whose work on London Labor and the London Poor" is well known in this country, has lately had his attention drawn to the reputed large number of suspicious deaths occurring in connection with life insurance companies, and has made them the subject of a rigorous investigation. He visited and examined the officers of thirteen of the largest offices in London, and the facts and inferences which he derived from these visits are so appalling, that we are induced to reproduce them for the benefit of our readers.

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The first office which Mr. Mayhew entered, was a newly established one, as the splendor of its furniture indicated. The secretary, in answer to the inquiry how many suspicious deaths, connected with life insurance, had come under his notice, replied that he knew of none, and that he believed no such cases occurred. He had heard of a gentleman, the director of a fire office, who believed that all fires were the work of incendiaries. Another case of arson!" he would exclaim, as he entered the office the morning after a fire had occurred, "another villain has burnt his house down for the sake of the insurance money." The secretary added that, although he could call to mind no recent well-authenticated case of poisoning for the sake of the insurance money, it was quite certain that the lives of persons insured were frequently tampered with. They were encouraged to dissipation, drink, and the means of procuring drink were constantly placed within their reach, and there had been cases of men whose lives were insured, who had been urged to ride s'eeple chases by persons to whom their policies had been assigned.

At the second office visited, the secretary knew of the recent death of a gentleman in Scotland, whose life had been insured for a very large sum. Soon after the payment of the first premium, he was found dead on a moor, with the back of his head blown off. The mode in which he met his death had not been explained. The secretary assured Mr. Mayhew many times that more gambling in lives had taken place during the last two years than had ever been known before.

The third office was not a new one, but appeared to be under the direction of prudent, and even sagacious persons. The secretary remembered a very suspicious case which occurred in 1849, the year of the cholera. In the early part of that

year an application was made to insure the life of a lady for three thousand dollars, on which occasion a solicitor was referred to, who, however, did not live at the address stated. A short time after the payment of the first premium, the lady died—as it was represented—of cholera.

The Irish cases, he added, were the worst of all. As an illustration of this, he stated that recently a man had been insured in Ireland, and soon after had died. It appeared, on investigation, that the person whose life had really been insured, had never left Ireland; that he had fallen, some months previously, from a scaffold, and broken his ribs, and knew that he could never recover; and that he had been personated in London by the man who presented himself at the insurance offices, and was considered a remarkably good life to insure.

The secretary of the fourth office complained of the German cases. He knew an instance of a German, who, after insuring his life in a London office, caused a report of his death to be circulated, and was absolutely present at what was supposed to be his own funeral. On the exhumation of the coffin, it appeared that it contained nothing but stones.

The following Irish case was obtained at the fifth office :-Tim Rooney had had his life insured, and the holder of the policy was anxious, if possible, to avoid paying the premiums, and to receive the sum insured during the life-time of his assignor. Finally, a premium became due, and he found himself unable to pay it. He had still a few days' grace, when, crossing the Liffey at night, with a party of friends, he saw a body floating on the stream. He lost no time in pulling it on shore, and then, with a look of pity, exclaimed:-" Why, its poor Tim Rooney!" His friends at first thought him crazy; but when he repeated, "Sure enough, its Tim Rooney," adding, "and hadn't I to pay the next premium on his life?" the whole party were courteous enough to understand him. Accordingly, the report was circulated that Tim Rooney had fallen into the Liffey. An inquest subsequently held confirmed the fact, the news of which in due time reached the insurance office. A certificate, signed by the coroner, and testifying as to the cause of death, was soon afterwards forwarded to the office, and the money for which Tim Rooney's life had been insured was paid to the proper person. Some time afterwards the agent met and identified Tim Rooney in Dublin streets, and reproached him with being still alive. "Was not an inquest held on you?" inquired the agent. That there was," replied Tim, "and I am told that twelve men sat on my body; but I am not at all dead for all that."

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The secretary of the sixth office stated that the frauds on life insurance companies had increased considerably during the last two years. Sometimes rich men would insure the lives of mere paupers, merely as a speculation. He gave the following remarkable illustration of this practice. A man wrote some time since from the Limerick work-house to an insurance office, saying that his life had been insured for several hundred pounds; that he was in a bad state of health, and that he was prepared to give five distinct reasons why the company should not pay a farthing of the sum insured for. At present he felt that he was sinking fast, but if the company would place him in a comfortable house and feed him well, he was convinced that he should get better and live for many years. The letter also contained an earnest appeal for money, to be sent by return of post, for the purpose of prolonging the author's life and relieving the company from paying a large sum of money to the persons who had insured him. He thought that if brought to London he could distinguish himself, and live to a good old age. He appeared to have stated, in a previous letter, that he had met with a violent accident, which he now wished to explain away. My axidence," he wrote, "was a spark which fell in my eye"-after which he added that the company would do well to turn his abilities to account, as he was " a good clerk, and by profession a bricklayer."

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This extraordinary epistle was accompanied by an affidavit, acknowledged before a magistrate, testifying to the false answers which had been given to the inquiries of the insurance company respecting the writer's life. An agent subsequently went down to Limerick on behalf of another company, which had received

a proposal to insure the life of Kinna, the author of this letter, and naturally felt some anxiety to ascertain the real sanitary condition of a man who alternately represented himself as a dying man and as destined certainly to live to a ripe old age. On arriving there he was told by one of the local magistrates, that he had better mind what he was about, as they all speculated a little on life insurance down there." Finding that Kinna had left the workhouse, he naturally looked for him in the nearest tavern, where he was soon recognized and surrounded by the inmates, who exclaimed, "Here's the chap from the insurance office." They appeared, at first, inclined to kill him, but their anger soon resolved itself into thirst, and he was obliged to treat all around.

Having inquired for Kinna's address, he was told where he lived, but at the same time that he was a big man, and likely to thrash him or any one else connected with a life insurance office. The agent, nevertheless, continued his search for Kinna, and finally found him in a miserable hut. Kinna not getting an answer from the insurance office to which he had applied for money, had consented, for a small bonus, to have his life insured in another office. He imagined, however, that the agent had come from the office to which he had written to forward money to him, and accordingly represented himself as suffering the most horrible tortures from an illness which could only be cured by the kindest treatment. One symptom which he complained of especially was an acute pain in the groin, which almost bent him double. He felt unable to walk, and was convinced that he was breaking up and would soon die, unless the company did something for him. The agent persuaded him to endeavor to walk a short distance, and even prevailed upon him to accompany him as far as the bridge, where policemen in plain clothes were in attendance to check any violence which might be offered by Kinna, in case of his disapproving of any of the questions which the agent intended to put to him. At last, Kinna determined to play a bold game-pretended that he could walk no

more.

"I am sinking," he exclaimed. "Then," replied the agent, emboldened by his proximity to the bridge, "I am afraid we shall be unable to accept your life." Kinna at once saw the mistake. Without being in the least abashed, he drew himself up to his full height, and said to the agent: "Did you ever see my brother, now?" The agent replied in the negative. "You have not?" continued Kinna; "then I'm just like him, barring that I've lost my eye, I'm as good-looking a fellow as he is; and if you'd known him, you'd have known he's always had a pain in the groin, and that it's a family complaint of not the least importance at all, at all."

Kinna's life was insured for over £30,000, and being afraid to live in Limerick, he requested the agent to remove him, stating that he had been assured to so great an extent, that he felt his life was unsafe in Limerick.

At the seventh office, the secretary said that the Germans gave a great deal of trouble by their apparent recklessness of life. A German who had insured his life in this office called upon the agent at Hamburg, and informed him that he was unable to pay his premium on the day on which it became due. The agent replied that he was not empowered to grant time. The German hereupon stated that unless time were given him he would blow his brains out. The agent smiled: but the desired time not having been granted, the German blew his brains out. and his family in due time received the insurance money.

At the eighth office, Mr. Mayhew was informed that a gentleman by the name of I, being entitled to money at his father's death, had applied to the Norwich Union Revisionary Society for a loan of £8,000, which it granted, at the same time insuring his life for £25,000. The same society afterwards advanced him £13,000, and insured his life for £42,000-making the total insurance £67,000. His life was understood to have been insured in other offices for £40,000 or £50,000 more. Mrs. I and her lover, Mr. B, were in the house near St. Albans when I————— died, and immediately after his death caused his body to be placed in the coach-house.

The following facts were obtained at the ninth office : -B was a confirmed

drunkard, and knew that he had a feeble hold on life. A woolen warehouseman in Cheapside, taking advantage of this fact, got him to insure his life in several offices, and gave him a commission on every insurance he effected. In time, B got his life insured in numerous offices, and to a large amount. Before going to the insurance offices, he would be made to abstain from drink during two or three days. He had then to take a warm bath, was dressed in a suit of new clothes, and ultimately treated to a gentle stimulant. When the desired insurance had been effected, B was encouraged to drink as much as he liked. It was not long before B died. The woolen draper brought an action against the insurance company for the money payable on B's death, but the insurance company contested the claim.

M, who had spent three fortunes and needed new funds, effected in the different insurance companies insurances to upwards of £40,000, for which he had to pay an annual premium of £500. He effected a loan on the insurance, and soon after the payment of the first premium he died.

The secretary of the tenth office declined to insure the lives of wives, and in particular the lives of surgeons' wives on any account.

At the eleventh office, the manager stated, that frauds were of daily occurrence. Ireland was the great place for them. The German Jews in Frankfort had now learned the trick of insuring failing lives. It was reported among the insurance offices, that by being deceived into accepting such risks, one company had lost as much as £148,000.

The secretary of the twelfth office would not insure the life of a wife in favor of her husband, and did not think any other office would. Certainly he would not accept the life on a surgeon's wife. It was certainly true that the mortality among insured females was greater than among insured males.

At the last office the following facts were disclosed :

A Mrs. E came to the office in her carriage to effect an insurance upon Ann E, whom she described as a friend, whose life had already been insured for £3,000, for £2,500 in a second office, and £700 in a third. The medical referee was a member of the Royal College of Surgeons, and now resides near one of the fashionable squares at the West End. Three months after the insurance had been effected, Ann E. died, and it was then discovered that Mrs E has effected large insurances upon almost every member of her family, and that they, one and all, had died shortly after the proposal had been accepted. Upon her father's life (E. D.,) she had effected an insurance for £3,000 in one office, £499 in a second, and £2,000 in a third, while the life had been refused by a fourth. The lady had also effected assurances on the life of her sister Dinah F, to the amount of £24,000, but all of them had been refused. Further, the same lady had had policies granted upon the lives of almost every member of her family, and in every case the assured had died within a few months after the assurance had been effected, the certificates of death being invariably signed by the Hon. M. R. C. S., who had figured as medical referee in connection with all these cases. These circumstances were so suspicious that this company resisted the claim, and an action was accordingly brought and tried.

Sir James Scarlett, afterwards Lord Abinger, was the counsel employed by the company, while Mr. Campbell, now the Lord Chief Justice, was retained for Mrs. E, the plaintiff. Mrs. E gained the case, but the publicity given to the facts brought a volley of letters, volunteering information concerning the plaintiff. It then came to light that the lady had been the inmate of a hospital for females, the inmates of which are not remarkable for their virtue; that she was then cohabiting with an eminent baronet banker of the West End, to whom had belonged the carriage in which she had invariably called to effect the assurance, and the appearance of which had aided her materially in doing so. It is supposed that she must have poisoned more than thirty persons.

Such are the facts derived from a careful examination of some of the most important London life insurance offices. The question now naturally arises-What has been the experience of American companies? Can any one give us the facts?

VOL. XXXV.-NO. I.

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STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE, &c.

PROGRESS OF VEGETABLES AND INCREASE OF ANIMALS IN U. STATES.

E. D. MANSFIELD, Esq., the editor of the Cincinnati Railroad Record—one of the best conducted journals of its class in the United States-has an article on the "Relative Progress of Vegetable Food in the United States, and the Increase of Animals," which will interest a large class of our readers :--

The prices of agricultural produce have been for several years gradually growing higher; while, on the other hand, the prices of manufactured goods have generally declined. This rotation of prices is perfectly consistent with, and indeed is a direct consequence of, the former facts, which we have stated and illustrated in preceding articles.

We shall now proceed to inquire whether vegetable food, which is the basis of all animal life, has or has not increased in the United States in proportion to the increase of population. If it has, we at least-whatever may be the case with others have not lost ground in relation to the due support of animal life. If it has not, then all the boasts we so frequently see in the newspapers about an unlimited power to supply Europe with food, is a mistake and a delusion. While we are obliged to use the returns of the census of 1850 as a basis, we are well aware that the crop of 1849, on which it was based, was comparatively a bad one, and that the present crop (1855) is a vastly better one. Nevertheless, it is probably true, that the crops of 1854 and 1855, taken together, would not make more than an average production. Comparing, then, the crops returned in the two censuses of 1840 and 1850, and the increase with the increase of population, we shall get a pretty near approximation to the relative growth of food and population in the United States. In doing this, it is not necessary to give the smaller crops in detail, but only the large crops, which support men and animals; and with them the number of men, and the number of animals which are used as food. The latter is not indeed essential, for vegetable food of some kind is the basis of all animal life, and therefore to determine the crops is enough to determine all. But the number of animals used for food will illustrate the conclusions, and therefore we give it.

In the following table, the first column gives the number for 1840; the second, for 1850; the third, the ratio of increase; and the fourth, the variation from what ought to have existed in 1850, in order to be equal to the ratio of increased population :

Here, it will be seen, that there is a deficiency in everything except corn; that is, there is less than there should have been, in order to make the amount correspond with the increase of population.

In regard to corn, at least 15,000,000 of bushels of the increased product is