Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 9.djvu/820

 784 FRIENDLY S O I E T I E S upon which friendly societies should be established become better understood, the number of unregistered societies, in comparison with those registered, will become much less. It must be admitted, however, that at present progress is not being made in that direction. The classes among whom friendly societies are formed are greatly averse to any undertaking involving mental labour, and the idea of peri odical returns and of the other requirements of the statute is more alarming to them than it need be. It will be the province of those charged with the administration of the statute to endeavour, as far as possible, to combat this tendency, and by wise use of the materials in their hands to seek to show the societies that the registry office is a ready and useful auxiliary to them, and that the trouble it gives them is more than met by compensating advantages. The description we have given of the various classes of friendly societies, the number of their members, and the amount of their funds leads to the most hopeful conclusions as to their future. Though great loss has been occasioned by the failure of societies and by errors in their constitution and management, the provident habits of the people have survived all discouragement, and a fund has been accumu lated which may be loosely estimated at nearly 15 millions sterling, contributed out of the savings of the flower of the working class. On every side there is displayed a desire by the societies to increase the soundness of their position, and to reform anything that may be wrong in their con stitution. Societies The colonies, also, are following the same course. In in Vic- that of Victoria, Australia, the report of the Government toria - statist, Mr H. H. Hayter, shows that on the 31st Decem ber 1876 there were 761 branches, belonging to 34 socie ties, having 45,957 members, and assuring also sums at the death of 27,919 wives of members. The amount of -con tribution made by each member is, under ordinary circum stances, Is. weekly. Ths benefits consist of sick pay, medical attendance, and funeral allowances. The sickness experienced during the year was 52,817 weeks, or nearly 7 working days per member, the number of members sick having been 8,873. The usual sick pay is 1 per week for the first six months, reduced to 10s. or sometimes 13s. 4d. for the next six months, and to 5s. or sometimes 10s. for the remainder of sickness. The deaths were 452, or very nearly 10 in 1000. The amount paid on death of a mem ber is usually .20, and of a member s wife 10. It will be seen that the benefits are greater in amount than is usual in societies in the mother country. The total income of the societies was .163,593, and their funds amounted to 351,284. The number of societies, members, and amount of income have about doubled during 10 years, the amount of funds having accumulated even more rapidly. It may be added that the report in question gives a more complete body of statistics relating to friendly societies than has ever been attempted to be collected elsewhere. Foreign In foreign countries the development of friendly societies Countries, has been slow. Belgium has a commission royale perman- ente des socie te s de secours mutuel, originally presided over by M. Visschers, and since by M. T Kint de llooden- beke. In France, under the second empire, a scheme was prepared for assisting friendly societies by granting them collective assurances under Government security. The societies have the privilege of investing their funds in the Caisse des Depots et Consignations, corresponding to the tional Debt Commissioners; (9) reduction of fines on admission to copyholds; (10) discharge of mortgages by mere receipt; (11) obliga tion on officers to render accounts; (12) settlement of disputes; (13) insurance of funeral expenses for wives and children without insurable interest; (14) nomination at death; (15) payment without administra tion; (16) services of public auditors and valuers; (17) registry of documents, of which copies may be put in evidence. English National Debt Commission. In Germany a law was passed on the 7th April 1876 on registered friendly societies. It prescribes for societies many things which in England are left to the discretion of their founders; and it provides for an amount of official interference in their management that is wholly unknown here. The superintending autho rity has a right to inspect the books of every society, whether registered or not, and to give formal notice to a society to call in arrears, exclude defaulters, pay benefits, or revoke illegal resolutions. A higher authority may, in certain cases, order societies to bs dissolved. These provisions relate to voluntary societies; but it is competent for communal authorities also to order the formation of a friendly society, and to make a regulation compelling all workmen not already members of a society to join it. On the actuarial view of the management of friendly Act ial societies the following remarks have been supplied by rem * Mr William Sutton, actuary of the Eriendly Societies .Registry. It is in the highest degree essential to the interests of their members that friendly societies should be financially sound, in other words, that they should through out their existence be able to meet the engagements into which they have entered with their members. For this purpose it is necessary that the members contributions should be so fixed as to prove adequate, with proper manage ment, to provide the benefits promised to the members. These benefits almost entirely depend upon the contingen cies of health and life; that is, they take the form of pay ments to members when sick, of payments to members upon attaining given ages, or of payments upon members deaths, and frequently a member is assured for all these benefits, viz., a weekly payment if at any time sick before attaining a certain age, a weekly payment for the remainder of life after attaining that age, and a sum to be paid upon his death. Of course the object of the allowance in sickness is to provide a substitute for the weekly wage lost in conse quence of being unable to work, and the object of the weekly payment after attaining a certain age, when the member will probably be too infirm to be able to earn a living by the exercise of his calling or occupation, is to pro vide him with the necessaries of life, and so enable him to be independent of poor relief. There is every reason to believe that, when a large group of persons of the same age and calling are observed, there will be found to prevail among them, taken one with another, an average number of days sickness, as well as an average rate of mortality, in passing through each year of life, which can be very nearly predicted from the results furnished by statistics based upon observations previously made upon similarly circumstanced groups. Assuming, therefore, the necessary statistics to be attainable, the computation of suitable rates of contribution to be paid by the members of a society in return for certain allowances during sickness, or upon attaining a certain age, or upon death, can be readily made by an actuarial expert. To furnish these statistics the Friendly Societies Acts have since 1829 required registered societies to make, every five years, a return in prescribed form of their sickness and mortality experience for the previous five years; and other materials of the same nature have from time to time been collected and published An important provision in the Friendly Societies Act, 1875, is that which requires every registered society to make a return of its receipts and expenditure, funds and effects, in a prescribed form, to the registrar of friendly socie ties every year. Particulars of the returns received will be found in the chief registrar s reports. A still more important provision in the same Act is one which requires societies to have a valuation made once at least every five years of their assets and liabilities, including the estimated risks and contributions, and to furnish par-