matters, not the least important being " commission." This is
said to be increasing. "Commission is frequently paid to the assured himself, or divided with the agent." In France, 20 per cent. per annum is regularly paid. Mr. Bourne thinks that the dangers of infantile assurance are over-estimated by Mr. Benjamin Waugh. We hope that he is right. One Canton in Switzerland has intro- duced a system of compulsory assurance against sickness. It will cover more than two-thirds of the population at an annual expense of £20,000. We add some extracts from the latest returns of various Companies, confining ourselves to what is, after all, the most important item, "Commission and expenses of management," stated in " cost per cent. on Life Premium Income." Among pro- prietary Companies, we find : Hand-in-Hand, 10.91 ; Clerical, Medical, and General, 12.22; English and Scottish Law, 18.90; Equitable, 6.29; Equitable (United States), 23.03; Law Life, 10.31; Rock, 16-58. Among Mutual Offices : Scottish Widows' Fund, 9.94; Clergy Mutual, 6.09. Among Industrial : Prudential, 40.08; Refuge, 50.30; Wesleyan, 51.78; Blue Ribbon, 51.50; British Workman, 52-37. The discrepancies in the proportion of funds to liabilities are enormous. One great Company has assets amounting to more than a half of the aggregate sum insured ; another Company, a small one, the name of which we shall not give, has assurances in force, 4695,803, and funds, 4344,393, just about one-sixteenth !
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