A letter to the members of the society for relieving the widows and orphans of medical men, in London and its vicinity. / By James Ware, Surgeon, F.R.S. Published by Order of the Court of Directors.

  • Ware, James, 1756-1815.
Date:
1810
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A letter to the members of the society for relieving the widows and orphans of medical men, in London and its vicinity. / By James Ware, Surgeon, F.R.S. Published by Order of the Court of Directors. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    to them the very moderate allowance which they at present receive from it. Here give me leave to bring to your recol¬ lection the fate of other societies, once as pros¬ perous and as promising as ours now is. Dr. Price* informs us that the number of the mem¬ bers of the Laudable Society for the benefit of widows was reduced in 1791* after having ex¬ isted 30 years, from 700 to 330. It then had 217 annuitants; and, by an improvidence in its expenditure, its annual outgoings exceeded its annual income 1740/. The Amicable So¬ ciety for the benefit of age, from a similar cause, was obliged to reduce its annuities from to 81.; and the Laudable Society, institu-% ted for a similar purpose, from 44 to 6 guineas.* * Price on Reversionary Payments, &c. 5th edit. General Introduction, page 17. 4 In the year 1690, the Company of Mercers in London adopted the following scheme.—For 100/. in one present payment, they entitled every subscriber to a life annuity for his widow of SO/. At this time money bore an interest of eight per cent. As the interest of money sunk, they sunk also the annuity, first to 25/., and then to 20/., and to 15/. Bat at last, after carrying on the scheme for above <f>