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236 WILLIAMS' CASE.
present value of a life interest subject to such superadded contin-
gency even where there may be nothing in it that contravenes any
general legal policy or constitutional provision. (l) Nevertheless,
let the superadded contingencies be what they may, they do
not prevent ascertaining the value; and therefore, they must be
valued, if required, (m) For although it has been said, that an
estate for life, depending upon the contingency of marrying and
having issue, is, in general, not the subject of estimate or calcula-
tion, (n) Yet so far as any observations have been made upon
the numbers who marry, and who do not marry, it is as easy, from
such observations, to form tables of the expectation of marriage as
of life; and both may thus be alike made the subject of estimate
and calculation, (o) It is by no means uncommon to grant annui-
ties and estates for life during widowhood, until marriage, or de-
pending on marriage and having issue; (p) yet few observations
have been made on the probabilities of marriage.
About the year 1825, Dr. Grenville, a physician and accoucheur
of very extensive practice connected with the Westminster Dispen-
sary, and several other public institutions in or near London, on
being called as a witness before a committee of the House of
Commons, stated, that his attention had been frequently directed
to the statistical questions of the increase of population among the
poor j and that therefore, availing himself of his various means of
information, he had made an analytical register in which he had
entered the information he had obtained from mothers. He exhibited a register of the cases of eight hundred and seventy-six
women, all of the lower classes, showing how many of that num-
ber had married in each year, from thirteen to thirty-nine years of
age. Considering the state of society in England, the remark
would seem to be just, that among an equal number from the
middling, or the higher classes, we should not probably find so
many as one hundred and ninety-five, or more than one-fifth mar-
ried under the age of nineteen; or so few as one-sixteenth part,
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(l) Const, Maryl. art. 54; Heathcote v. Paignon, 2 Bro. C, C. 170; Kircudbright
t, Kircudbright, S "Ves, 51.—(m) Kircudbright v. Kircudbright, 8 Ves. 64,—
(n) Ardglasse v. Muschamp, 1 Vern. 238; Wiseman v. Beake, 2 Tern. 121;
Nichols v. Gould, 2 Ves. 423; Bowes v. Heaps, 3 Ves. & Bea. 120; Baker v. Bent,
4 Cond. Chan, Rep, 398; S. C. 5 Cond. Chan. Rep. 432; Portmore v. Taylor, 6
Cond. Chan.. Rep, 101, note,—(o) 1 Price Obser. 45, 86, 88; 2 Price Obser. 105,
118,—(p) Henley v. Axe, 2 Bro. C. C. 17; Davis v. Marlborough, 2 Swan. 149,
note.
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