Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 9.djvu/817

 FRIENDLY SOCIETIES 781 might have existed in the latter half of the IGth century or the greater part of the 17th One founded in 1GGG was extant in 1850, but it has since ceased to exist. This is not so surprising as it might appear. Documents which exist in manuscript only are much less likely to have been preserved since the invention of printing than t ley were before; and such would be the simple rules and r^ords of any society that might have existed during this interval if, indeed, many of them kept records at all. How usual is it for a voluntary society of any kind to die away with the generation of men among whom it was founded ! On the whole, it seems probable therefore that the friendly society is a lineal descendant of the ancient guild the idea never having wholly died out, but having been kept up from generation to generation in a succession of small and scattered societies. At the same time, it seems probable that the friendly society of the present day owes its revival to a great extent to the Protestant refugees of Spitalfields, one of whose societies was founded in 1703, and has continued for 176 years among descendants of the same families, whose names proclaim their Norman origin. This society has distinguished itself by the intelligence with which it has adapted its machinery to the successive modifications of the law, and has very recently completely reconstructed its rules under the provisions of the Friendly Societies Acts, 1875 and 1876. Another is the society of Lintot, founded in London in 1703, in which the office of secretary has for more than half a century been filled by persons of the name of Levesque, one of whom has published a translation of its original rules. No one was to be received into the society who was not a member, or the descendant of a member, of the church of Lintot, of recognized probity, a good Pro testant, arid well-intentioned towards the queen [Anne] and faithful to the Government of the country, No one was to be admitted below the age of eighteen, or who had not been received at holy communion, and become member of a church. A member should not have a claim to relief during his first year s membership, but if he fell sick within the year, a collection should be made for him among the members. This society has only 50 members, but its funds exceed 2000. The foreign names still borne by a large proportion of the members show that the connexion with descendants of the refugees is maintained. The example of providence given by these societies was so largely followed that Sir George Rose s Act in 1793 re cognized the existence of numerous societies, and provided encouragement for them in various ways, as well as relief fr&amp;gt;&amp;gt;m taxation to an extent which in those days must have been of great pecuniary value, and exemption from removal under the poor law. The benefits offered by this statute were readily accepted by the societies, and the vast number of societies which speedily became enrolled shows that Sir George Hose s Act met a real public want. In the county of Middlesex alone nearly a thousand societies were enrolled within a very few years after the passing of the Act, and the number in some other counties was almost as great. The societies then formed were nearly all of a like kind, small clubs, in which the feature of good fellowship was in the ascendant, and that of provident assurance for sickness and death merely accessory. This is indicated by one pro vision which occurs in many of the early enrolled rules, viz., that the number of members shall be limited to 61, 81, or 101, as the case may be. The odd 1 which occurs in these numbers probably stands for the president or secretary, or is a contrivance to ensure a clear majority. Several of these old societies are still in existence, and can point to a prosperous career extending over (in some cases) more than 100 years a prosperity based rather upon good luck than upon scientific calculation. Founded among small tradesmen or persons in the way to thrive, the claims for sickness were only made in cases where the sickness was accompanied by distress, and even the funeral allowance was not always demanded. The societies generally not being established upon any Act of scientific principle, those which met with this prosperity 1819. were the exception to the rule ; and accordingly the cry that friendly societies were failing in all quarters was as great in 1819 as in 1SG9. A writer of that time speaks of the instability of friendly societies as &quot; universal &quot; ; and the general conviction that this was so resulted in the passing of the Act of 1819, 59 Geo. III. c. 128. It recites that &quot; the habitual reliance of poor persons upon parochial relief, rather than upon their own industry, tends to the moral de terioration of the people and to the accumulation of heavy burthens upon parishes ; and it is desirable, with a view as well to the reduction of the assessment made for the relief of tho poor as to the improvement of the habits of the people, that encouragement should be afforded to persons desirous of making provision for themselves or their families out of the fruits of their own industry. By the contributions of the savings of many persons to one common fund the most effectual provision may be made for the casualties affecting all the contributors; and it is therefore desirable to afford further facilities and additional security to persons who may be willing to unite in appropriating small sums from time to time to a common fund for the purposes aforesaid, and it is desirable to protect such persons from the effects of fraud or miscalculation.&quot; This preamble went on to recite that the provisions of preceding Acts had been found insufficient for these purposes, and great abuses had prevailed in many societies established under their authority. By this statute a friendly society was defined as &quot; an institution, whereby it is intended to provide, by contribution, on the principle of mutual insurance, for the maintenance or assistance of tho contributors thereto, their wives or children, in sickness, infancy, advanced age, widow hood, or any other natural state or contingency, whereof the occurrence is susceptible of calculation by way of average.&quot; It will be seen that this Act dealt exclusively with the scientific aspect of the societies, and had nothing lo say to the element of good fellowship. Rules and tables were to be submitted by the persons intending to form a society to the justices, who, before confirming them, were to satisfy themselves that the contingencies which the society was to provide against were within the meaning of the Act, and that the formation of the society would be useful and bene ficial, regard being had to the existence of other societies in the same district. No tables or rules connected with calcu lation were to be confirmed by the justices until they had been approved by two persons at least, known to be pro fessional actuaries or persons skilled in calculation, as fit and proper, according to the most correct calculation of which the nature of the case would admit. The justices in quarter sessions were also by this Act authorized to publish general rules for the formation and government of friendly societies within their county. The practical effect of this statute in requiring that the societies formed under it should be established on sound principles does not appear to have been as great as might have been expected. The justices frequently accepted as &quot;persons skilled in calcula tion&quot; local schoolmasters and others who had no real knowledge of the technical difficulties of the subject, while the restrictions upon registry served only to increase the number of societies established without becoming registered. In 1829 the law relating to friendly societies was entirely Act of reconstructed by the 10 Geo. IV. c. 56, and a barrister was 1829. appointed under that Act to examine the rules of societies, and ascertain that they were in conformity to law and to the