ORIGIN OF LIFE INSURANCE.

Manawatu Herald, 4 August 1896, Page 4

ORIGIN OF LIFE INSURANCE.

When the Doctrine of Probabilities of Life Gave Rise to This Vast Business. The rise of life insurance may be traced to several sources. According to Thome, Win doctriuo of probabilities developed by Pascal and Huyghens as to games of chance was applied to life contingencies by the great Dutch statesman Jan do Witt in 1671, but it was not till some time after that it was applied to life insurance. In l'> 96 thero was a hint at modern -life insurance in a London organization, and this was followed by another association two ycara after. The operators of these two seem to have passed away without giving to their successors any clear account of their plan of operations. In 1706 the Amicable Society For a Perpetual Assurance Office ,vas founded in London, "•d this is considered the first actual life *- . A "c company established. Its plan insurtu.- ' -that is, each member, withwas mutual- ~ e , paid a fixed achmsout reference to - Mia i payin ent per Bion fee and a fixed am*, '-ires. At the share on from one to three en*. -., n g wag end of tho year a portion of tho lv. divided among the heirs of deceased meu. bcrs in proportion to the shares held by each. In after years tho limitations as to age, occupation and health were added. m The Strongest Wood. An authority on such matters gives the assurance that the strongest wood which grows within the limits of the United States is that known as nutmeg hickory, which flourishes on tho lower Arkansas river. Ho says: " The most elastic is tamarack, the black or shellbark standing not for below. The wood with the least elasticity and the lowest specific gravity is the Fiscus aurea. The wood of the highest specific gravity is tho blue wood of Texas and Mexico. The heaviest of the foreign woods ore the pomegranate and the lignum vit», and tho lightest is cork. Four hundred and thirteen different species of trees grow in the various states and territories, and of the number 16, when perfectly seasoned, will sink in water. These woods of high specific gravity grow mostly in the arid regions of New Mexico, Arizona and Nevada."