6

The society proceeded to associate itself with The People's Provident Assurance Society,' to which another was shortly added, the Industrial Assurance Society,' formed for the express purpose of facilitating life assurance among the working classes by issuing policies for small amounts, and collecting the premiums fortnightly and monthly to meet their convenience. These absorptions, however, did not strengthen the popular element in the society. After the members of the original Equitable Provident had for some time paid to the society their stipulated contributions, they were apprised that they might, if they wished, join a certain other society which had a London office established for like purposes as regarded sick relief; and with respect to assurances for small sums at death, as originally offered by The People's' and 'The Industrial,' they were told that premiums would no longer be received otherwise than monthly, quarterly, or yearly, whatever the conditions might be on which they had originally joined. In a word, 'The People were effectually shut out by these arrangements; the sickness business was practically put an end to; and those who had been paying sick money into the funds, found the box as effectually closed against them as in the case of any of the rotten societies which the promoters had set out by denouncing. The probability is, that the sickness business occasioned too much trouble, and did not pay; and that the collection of small premiums on small assurances did not look respectable in the eyes of Boards of Directors and their managers; consequently 'The People' were got rid of as completely as possible, and left to the seductive promises of the next philanthropic schemer.

About the same time that the Equitable Provident was started, another society was formed entitled 'The Christian Mutual Provident Society,' now known as 'The Mutual Provident Alliance.' This is one of the best societies of its kind. Though originally brought out in connection with a religious body, that connection has ceased, and the society is now open to all. The rules are excellent, and the rates, drawn up by Mr. Neison, are amply sufficient to meet all the possible liabilities of the society. But complete though it be in all its arrangements, this society has made much less progress than it deserves; having only succeeded in issuing 32,048 policies for sickness allowance, life assurances, endowments, and annuities, during a period of sixteen years. Yet its reserved fund is not less than 65,000l. Contrast this with the reserve fund of The Friend in Need, The Liver, and St. Patrick's Societies, after taking their respective numbers of members into account, and the difference in the comparative security and solvency of the several societies will be obvious at a glance.

A vigorous

A vigorous and most praiseworthy effort was made by Mr. Ackroyd of Halifax, in 1856, to establish a Provident Sick Society and Penny Savings Bank for the working men in the West Riding of Yorkshire. An organization was set on foot with these objects; and though the Penny Bank proved a complete success, the Provident Society proved as complete a failure. Mr. Ackroyd thus explains the causes of the failure. "We found the ground preoccupied,' he says, by Friendly Societies, especially by the Odd Fellows, Druids, Foresters, &c.; and against their principles of self-government, mutual check against fraud, and brotherhood, no new and independent society can compete. Our rates were also of necessity much higher than theirs, and this was perhaps one of the chief causes of our failure.'

Even the best of the Benefit Societies have been slow to learn the essential importance of adequate rates of contribution to enable them to fulfil their obligations and ensure their continued usefulness as well as solvency. The defect of most

of them consists in their trying to do too much with too little means. The benefits paid out are too high for the rates of contribution paid in. Those who come first are served, but those who come late too often find an empty box. Not only have the rates of payment been generally fixed too low, but there has been little or no discrimination in the selection of members; men advanced in years and of fragile health are often admitted on the same terms as the young and the healthy, the only difference being in the rate of entry money. Even young lodges which start with inadequate rules, instead of growing stronger gradually grow weaker; and in the event of a few constantly ailing members falling upon the funds, they soon become exhausted, and the lodge becomes bankrupt and is broken up. Such has been the history of thousands of Friendly Societies, doing good and serving a useful purpose in their time, but short-lived, ephemeral, and to many of their members disappointing and even deceptive.

The subject of the inadequate rates of the Friendly Societies and Secret Orders has been very fully discussed of late years, and has come to be generally recognised as one of grave importance. Twenty years since, Mr. Neison's pamphlet entitled 'Observations on Odd Fellows and Friendly Societies' had the effect of forcibly directing attention to the question. He there pointed out the gigantic character of the Odd Fellows Society, till then almost unrecognised, and insisted that notwithstanding the large amount of good which the Secret Orders were capable of effecting, their organisation was built on sand by reason of the utter inadequacy of their rates. The substance of his pamphlet may be thus

briefly

briefly stated:-He held that the uniform rate of contribution paid by all the members between eighteen and forty years of age (which was by no means compensated by the slightly different rates of admission at different ages) was of itself fatal to the stability of the Odd Fellows Society; and that even had the principle of uniformity of rates been admissible, such rates were in nearly all cases fixed too low. Looking at the expectancy of sickness based upon a wide range of observations, he pointed out that whereas the annual contribution of each member, to secure 10s. a week in sickness, 107. at the death of a member, and 57. at the death of a member's wife, ought to be 11. 19s. 5d., it really was only 11. 2s. 9d. per annum, or 42 per cent. less than the terms which he conceived to be necessary to enable the Unity to fulfil its engagements to its members; and he consequently predicted the general bankruptcy of the Odd Fellows Society within a very few years.

It is probable that Mr. Neison did not sufficiently take into account certain circumstances exercising a more favourable influence upon the funds of the lodges than he represented; indeed, had he been wholly right, the Odd Fellows and other Secret Orders, instead of increasing at an unprecedentedly rapid rate as they have done since his pamphlet appeared, must by this time have for the most part gone out of existence. Nevertheless, his pamphlet proved most salutary in its effects. It was circulated by thousands in a cheap form, and very soon gave rise to much discussion at Odd Fellows' meetings. His views were in a great measure confirmed by the alarming statement made at the meeting of the Annual Moveable Committee at Newcastle in 1844, that nearly two hundred of their lodges had been compelled to close during the preceding year for want of funds. The next year, at Glasgow, the financial rules were revised; the rates of contribution were increased, in some cases by about twenty-five per cent.; the expenditure was lessened; and a separation was effected between the Incidental Fund and the Sick and Funeral Fund. These improvements were in the right direction, and were good so far as they went; but they were not enough. The revised rates again passed under the remorseless criticism of Mr. Neison, who again demonstrated their inadequacy, and the ultimate insolvency of the Order.

About this time it was discovered that Odd Fellows and other secret friendly societies were illegal associations, as coming within the provisions of the statutes relating to affiliated societies. Though above a million of the population-men, women, and children—as stated in the petition of the members of the Manchester Unity presented to Parliament in 1844, were in

sickness

sickness dependent upon the order for assistance and support; and though they were then receiving annual subscriptions amounting to about 340,000l., and paying sick-relief, funeral-money, and sums to widows and orphans amounting to above 200,000Z., the order as then constituted had no legal existence. The consequence was, that the members had no legal remedy against fraudulence or defalcations on the part of officers; they could not invest their funds with the Commissioners for the Reduction of the National Debt, and thus secure like advantages with other friendly societies; and they accordingly applied to Parliament to throw around them the protection of the law. These anomalies were for the most part satisfactorily remedied by the passing of Mr. Sotheron's Act of 1850, since which a large number of the districts and lodges in connection with the secret and affiliated orders have availed themselves of its provisions.

During the progress of the Bill in Parliament, elaborate inquiries were made as to the objects and uses, the management and financial condition, of the societies in question; and the publication of the evidence taken before Committees of both Lords and Commons had the effect of spreading a large amount of valuable information on these subjects. Greatly to the credit of the officers of the societies themselves-more particularly those belonging to the Manchester Unity-they took steps to bring their members to right views as to the principles on which they ought to be conducted, in order to place them on a sound financial footing, and enable them fully to realise the great benefits which they were capable of conferring. The publications of Mr. Hardwick have been especially valuable and serviceable in this direction, as well as those of Mr. Ratcliffe; and perhaps the best proof of the desire that exists on the part of the leading minds in the Unity to bring the organisation into a state of financial soundness is to be found in the fact that the Board of Management have authorised the publication of the best of all data for future guidance-namely, the actual sickness experience of the Order. An elaborate series of Tables has accordingly been prepared and published for their information by Mr. Ratcliffe, the Corresponding Secretary, at an expense of about 35007. In the preface to the last edition it is stated that 'this sum has not been abstracted from the funds set apart for relief during sickness, for assurances at death, or for providing for necessitous widows and orphans, but from the management funds of the lodges-funds which, being generally raised by direct levy on the members, are not therefore readily expended without careful consideration on the part of those most interested in the character and welfare of their cherished institution.'

That

That such publications have not been without good results is further apparent from the proceedings of the Annual Moveable Committee held at Manchester in May last, when a proposition emanating from Bristol and Birmingham for improving the financial condition of the lodges by increasing the rates of entrymoney of members according to age, together with a graduated scale of payments and benefits for ages ranging from eighteen to forty-five, was adopted by a very large majority. A system of audit was also then resolved upon, with other improvements, showing a sincere disposition on the part of the directing minds of the Unity to improve the character and establish the foundations of the society. Further modifications may in course of time be expected; and we should hope that, before long, the proposition made at the same meeting to banish beer, at least during lodge-hours, will be adopted. Sudden and sweeping changes are rarely lasting; to be effectual, they must be gradual. The members have to be persuaded and led into better courses; and where the organisation is so large as it is in the present case, this is necessarily a work of time. Were the leaders of the new movement to attempt to drive too fast, it might only issue in disorganisation, and do more harm than good. As it is, Mr. Ratcliffe, in the preface to his volume of 1862, laments that 'some societies, after having adopted a graduated rate of payment according to age at entrance, have been compelled to fall back upon the old exploded system of equal contributions, and a very inadequate graduated admission-fee; or, at least, to leave the adoption of the improved scales optional with branches. But all permanent improvement is a work of diligent time and diligent labour, and it is gratifying to know that such progress is being made as to justify the expectation that eventually a correct system of finance will become, in the estimation of all interested, the chief recommendation of every provident institution.'

We trust far more to the wholesome influence of such sentiments acting on the leading minds of these and other like institutions than to any such governmental or parochial interference with friendly societies as has been recently suggested. Thus, the Registrar observes, in his Report for 1862: It is quite clear from various causes that the Government cannot take upon itself to secure the benefits to be derived from friendly societies in the same way as security is given to depositors in the Post Office Savings Bank; but it is hoped that, upon due consideration, it will be thought that such difficulties are not applicable to a parish, upon the funds of which the working man must fall when incapacitated by sickness, infirmity, or old age.' The same suggestion is thrown out, as from a clergyman, in a previous Report, Vol. 116.-No. 232.

2 B

where