It is believed that England is the only state in which the insurance of lives has never been prohibited. The Dutch, a commercial people, refused to legalize it until a recent period; and in France it was long deemed unlawful, “because it is an offence against public decency to set a price upon the life of a freeman, which is above all valuation.” Another great objection was the fear that individuals might destroy themselves to enrich their families; and though this exaggerated view of the case is provided for in modern policies, yet the following anecdote will prove that the fear was not altogether groundless. So early as the middle of the eighteenth century, the clause which excluded the representatives of suicides from a participation in the amount insured excited attention; and an office was established, which, for a corresponding increase of premium, paid the amount to the relatives of the self-murderer. One man, deeply in debt, wishing to pay his creditors, and not knowing how, went to the office, insured his life, and invited the insurers to dine with him at a tavern, where several other persons were present. After dinner he rose, and addressing the former, said, “Gentlemen, it is fitting you should know the company you have met. These are my tradesmen, whom I could not pay without your assistance. I am greatly obliged to you; and now——” Without another word he bowed, pulled out a pistol, and shot himself. The number of insurances was, at first, necessarily very limited; the mode in which the directors transacted business, the premiums they required, the determination to take none but lives which were almost faultless, the pernicious plan of occasionally resisting the payment of policies, the absence of much opposition, all tended to reduce the business. When, however, the capital of the country increased, and men looked earnestly about them for new modes of investment, the profits and the principles of life assurance were anxiously investigated, its demands inquired into, its difficulties overcome; and though from 1706 to 1806 nine offices had been found sufficient, yet from 1806 to 1846 the desire spread so rapidly, that no less than one hundred and eleven were established. In 1820, there were only twenty offices in the United Kingdom; in 1830, their number was exactly doubled; in 1840, they had again doubled; and from 1840 to 1845, they increased in the same proportion.