Page:Farm labourers, their friendly societies, and the poor law.djvu/20

 {| subject, however, to the deduction, in each case, of the weekly contribution of 6d. In case of the death of a member, an additional levy of 1s. is made; if a member's wife dies, a levy of 6d. ; if a child, 3d. Each member pays for a pint of beer at the fortnightly meeting, which he is welcome to come and drink if he likes; if he does not, the club will drink it for him. On quarterly nights the amount spent by rule in beer is 6d; there is also something from fines (which should rather be called extra pay) for refusing to serve the office of steward, and which goes to the officiating steward.
 * 12s.||a week in sickness,||or|||10s.||with, say, 8l. burial money;
 * 6s.||„„||half- pay, or|||5s.||if with burial money;
 * 2s.||6d.a week, old-age||pay;
 * }
 * 2s.||6d.a week, old-age||pay;
 * }

The cost of the club, always supposing that no extra pints of beer are drunk, is as follows:—

Something more must, in fairness, be added for cost of a flag or two, and a few ribbons and beer; for, in truth, a member scarcely gets out of the business meeting for the pint, and our estimate of 9d. a week for the current expenses of the club will not be found above the mark. The annual club day runs into a good deal of incidental expenditure, but as it is the annual holiday of the villagers, which they would most likely have if there were no benefit societies in existence, we will not take the items into account in computing the cost, which is but little, if at all, below 2l. a year. The members are elected on the annual feast-day, and make a declaration that they are subject to no disorder or disease likely to cause them to fall on the sick-fund. If their declaration is untrue, such members are at once turned out of the club, and forfeit all that they have paid. There are many societies in which a medical certificate is required instead of a verbal declaration, and the cost of the certificate is 1s. When the member is ill, he sends to the steward, and "declares on the sick-fund." Whereupon the steward visits him, and if satisfied that the illness is such as to incapacitate the member from work, he is at liberty to pay at the end of one week from the declaration 12s., less 6d., the weekly contribution. If the steward is not satisfied, he will have medical evidence, and lay the case