is

In 181 5 Joshua Milne published a mortality table which he had constructed from the mortality statistics of the city of Carlisle. England. It exhibited a much more favorable mortality than the -Northampton, and a great debate ensued as to the comparative merits of the tables. The -Northampton table had shown a much higher death rate at each younger age than the experiences of companies as to insured lives or of the government as to annuitants. As to insurances, the error was on the safe side, meaning that premiums had been higher than was necessary: while, as to annuities, the error was on the wrong side, meaning that they had been sold at too low a price.

The Carlisle table, as it accorded more nearly with actual experience on insured lives, superseded the Northampton table after a time for insurances; and a table of mortality, constructed from the experience of the British government as to annuitants, by the government actuary, John Finlaison, and published in 1823, became the standard for annuities.

In 1843 the first "combined experience" table, de-rived from insured lives, appeared. It was deduced from the experiences of 17 British life insurance offices, males and females combined, and was called in England the "17 Offices Table." In that country it never became standard, but it was adopted by Elizur Wright, Insurance Commissioner for Massachusets, as the standard of valuation in that State, and under the name "Actuaries' Table" or "Combined Experience Table" it has been in great vogue in the United States.

In 1868 Sheppard Homans, then actuary of the Mutual Life Insurance Company, of New York, published a