Rev., Dec, 1854, 14 ff.) Fires originate from criminal (_dolose_) causes most frequently when a new stage in the politico-economical development of a people is reached, which renders the buildings put up in a former and lower stage of development insufficient.] [Footnote 237b-3: A Prussian fire insurance regulation, as far back as 1720, expressly says: "everybody scruples to make the least loan on pledged houses in towns." "Every care shall be taken to make the least possible amount of loans in cities." (_Jacobi_, in _Engel's_ Zeitschr., 1862, 122.) _Leib_, Dritte Periode, etc., 1708, cites a proverb to the effect that, in Hamburg, "no house takes fire;" that is, at a time that its fire-fund-system (_Brandkassenwesen_) had as yet found few imitators, _v. Justi's_ proposition to combine the insurance of houses against fire with a loaning-bank for houses. (Polizeiwissenschaft, 1756, I, § 7, 8 ff.) In Russia, in 1815, the loaning bank was the only fire insurance company, which however assumed risks only on stone houses at three-fourths of their value in consideration of 15 per 1,000 annual premium. (_Rau_, Lehrbuch, I, 229.)] [Footnote 237b-4: _Spittler_, Politik., 441, objects to insurance that it diminishes benevolence and approximates to communism, thus hitting the dark side of all very high civilization.] SECTION CCXXXVII (_c_). FIRE INSURANCE. The present system of fire insurance has been introduced in many places by the establishment of so-called domanial fire-guilds (_Domanial-Brandgilden_), by which the country population on crown-lands bound themselves to mutually assist one another by furnishing thatch, and horse and hand power in the rebuilding of burned houses. Whatever was wanting after this was made up by gratuitous supplies of wood from the public forests, by the granting of governmental fire-licenses to beg (_begging letters_), by permission to have collections made in the churches[237c-1] etc. The next step was generally the establishment of public insurance (_Landes-Assecuranz_) only for houses,[237c-2] but with compulsory membership. This compulsion was justified by the continuing interest of the state in the payment of the house-tax, as well as by the interest of the eventual owner of the estate, and of hypothecation-creditors.[237c-3] [237c-4] The insurance of moveable property is much more recent, both by reason of the nature of the property itself, which becomes of importance only at a later date, and also on account of the much greater difficulty of carrying on such insurance.[237c-5] The thought of making this species of insurance compulsory, or of turning it over to the state, has seldom been suggested.