THE ASSURANCE.

Southland Times, Issue 935, 17 April 1868, Page 6

THE ASSURANCE.

The recent case of death in the Provincial Hospital under an operation per. • formed in consequence of an accident on tne East Koad, with other cases of sudden death, and their resulting circumstances Bat long since reported by us, are suggestive of grave considerations. In each of these oases to which reference has been made, and in two ot which the deceased belonged to the laboring class of the community, the death of the head of the family cut off the sole means of support, and left the survivors dependent upon the spontaneous assistance of the benevolent. Cases of distress in our midst, whenever arising, have been met by a sympathetic and hearty response, and in no part of the British dominion has the sigh of sorrow been more readily listened to with an earnest desire to relieve its poignancy, and, as far as possible to remove its cause than in this Province. It is well for us, however, to take advantage of the opportunities afforded by calamities like those to which reference has been made to urge the duty and ni - cessity for efforts on the part of those on whom the obligation rests, to avert as far as possible the pecuniary distress which these calamities bring, and to place the survivors in a position of comparative independeuce of charity. It is obviously the duty of the head of a family dependent for daily bread upon his daily labor, first of all to take care of his health ; not in a physical sense, merely by attending to the conditions necessary to keep his body in health and vigor, but in the sense of assurance in one way or other, that the means of support may not be suddenly and entirely cut off by his inability to labor. Attention to this matter among the laboring classes of the community is unhappily by no means frequent, and hence it follows that a season of sickness is in the households of the working classes generally one of pecuniary embarrassment. It is the pride of most men to be independent, and an unwillingness to accept from others that which they can pocure for themselves, is in one form or other apparent with most. Hence the neglect on the part of the working man to avail himself of the benefit of society by means of which, as a matter of business and right, and without the least sense of obligation or dependence, his income may not immediately cease in the time of Bickness, becomes in a sense criminal. The same remarks apply to the principle of Life Assurance. This is a matter which hitherto has been but little understood—because but little studied — by the working man ; yet it is to him one of the greatest importance. To point out the advantage to survivors of a fund upon which they may positively depend, and the possession of which shall at least alleviate many of the miseries which follow in the train of death, and especially of sudden death, seems almost unnecessary from the prominence which they appear naturally to assume. Every man having others depeedent upon him who by his death would be plunged into the misery and wretchedness of want, should see the necessity by his own act of shielding those whom he loves as far as possible from such misery and wretchedness. The means of xloing so in a manner in accordance with the condition of the survivors, while the head of the family was alive, are happily within the reach of most. The sum necessary to be set apart from the weekly or monthly earnings to secure the payment to survivors of £100 on death of a man of twenty-five years of age is something less than a shilling per week ; and in the case of a man aged forty, the same object may be attained by a payment to a Life Assurance Society of three pounds per annum. The facility with which such sums as these may be saved from the ordinary personal expenditure of even the most frugal of the working classes is apparent. The consciousness of in this way performing a sacred duty should operate as an inducement to the self-denial which which may be necessary to carry out the purpose ot assurance when formed. A death can scarcely happen without some living person being affected by it : more often for evil than good : and no man possessing the means, or who by proper management may possess the means, and whose moral feelings have not become blunted, can calmly consider the condition of a family dependent on himself, for whom he has made no provision in the event of his death. • To the working classes especially, whose savings are necessarily but small, and with whom the process of accumulation is therefore slow, investment in the form of a Life Assurance is at once the most remunerative and satisfactory which can be made. The temptation to encroach upon small funds within our own power, however religiously set apart, is oftimes great ; and an apparent necessity is frequently yielded to which not only sweeps away the hoard, but throws a damp on the purpose of its establishment. In the case of a working man, however, making his first payment to a Life Assurance Society, should he die immediately after payment of the first premium, his widow aud children will receive the sum assured upon his life. Having affirmed the necessity and obligation on those concerued to provide for survivors, in urging lite assurance as an eligible and safe investment, without special reference to any of the Companies making it their business, it may be remarked that on the whole Societies formed on the mutual principle appear best adapted to secure to the assured the full benefit contemplated. If the basis of a Life Assurance Company be unsound, no guarantee or proprietary fund can ensure its stability. On the other hand, the equalisation of human lite n\ the aggregate is now so definitely an ived at, as to /ender the failure of a w^ll conducted office on the mutual principle almost an impossibility, while the permanence and prosperity of such an institution is further assured by the retention among the subscribers themselves of lue whole of the • profits on accumulations and investments

hv division in the shape of bonus. In the words of a late writer, "the benefits of auch a system of provision adapt them-* selves to the various exigencies .of life with peculiar effect, They have been felt in many a widowed chainbei and orphans' home— in alleviating the anxieties of many a dying parent— in fostering the spirit of self-reliance— and, generally, in moderating the cares and mitigating the calamities of life. Indeed, we hesitate not to assign a very powerful influence to Life Assurance among the institutions and elements of that higher civilisation, which in later times has been evolved and enjoyed beyond all historical precedent among all olasses of society."—(Communioated.)