The Evening Star TUESDAY, JUNE 20, 1876.

Evening Star, Issue 4154, 20 June 1876, Page 2

The Evening Star TUESDAY, JUNE 20, 1876.

It is not surprising that the proposal to reform the law relating to Friendly Societies should have been unfavorably received in certain quarters. The publio has practically overlooked the aubject altogether, and the eocietfes themselves have undergone little preluaitory trtSaitig to enable tatto fa <?<%

prebend the need for putting their houses ' m order. Probably their scepticism would be far stronger than it is but for the revelations which were made in England two or three years ago regarding the financial state of the Friendly Societies there. The subject, too, is of so technical a nature that persons better educated and more acquainted with business matters than the bulk of the menv bere of these societies are would find it difficult to make themselves conversant with it ttow many even of the?e eagaged in commerce, could form a reliable opinion upon the sufficiency of the premiums charged by a life insurance and annuity company? And when' we come to the business of a Fne»dly Society, which is still more complex, dealing as it does with sick and funeral aUowances, it is absurd to suppose that bodies of men in the lower ranks of life, relying mainly upon their own unassisted efforts, could escape mistakes in framing their tables of contributions. One can easily understand feelinga such as those expressed by lodges in Taranaki and Nelson, which point to their handsome balances in the banks and their investments; and to the fact-that they have hitherto met all demands made upon them, as proofs that their financial organisation does not require amendment. A Bociety, however, may possess very substantial assets, but if its liabilities reach a higher figure, it is obvious that it must come to grief sooner or later, while it so happens that, from the peculiarity of its transactions, an actuary is the only person who can say whether the sum in hand, with the aid of future contributions at existing rates, will be sufficient to enable a Friendly Society to meet its accruing liabilities. Nor is past experience of any real value, because the Colonial lodges Xi to ° Bhort a time in existence to entitle them to assert, on that ground alone, that their premiums are high enough, while their funds have also been relieved heretofore by circumstances which are not likely to occur again. This striking fact is apparent—that the tables of the u-*"*l v lod gea are far lower than those which it has been found necessary to adopt at Home, and the disparity is too great amounting in some cases, we believe, to as much as 100 per cent, to be counterbalanced by the higher rate of interest for money ob tamable in the Colony. Had a Royal Commission been appointed during the recess, and especially ft its recommendations had been supported by a general valuation of the societies, the way would have been cleared for the Friendly Societies BUI which is to be laid before Parliament this session. The eyes of the members of the societies would have been tho roughly opened to their position aud they would have cordially united in effecting the work of reform. The opportunity has been lost, but it would bo a pity to drop the Bill for all that, notwithstanding {that the measure itself presents decidedly objectionable features. It is professedly a copy of the Imperial Act of 1875, with a few alterations required to make it applicable to the circumstances of the Colony. Unfortunately, those alterations are utterly contrary to the spirit of the Imperial Statute. That measure was very carefully discussed in Parliament, and its original shape considerably modified; and when it finally emerged as a Statute, if there was one feature more than another for which it was distinguished, it was the manner in which it left the societies with their self-reliance unimpaired, and kept the Government in the background. This New Zealand Bill, however, proposes to create a Government department, which would exercise an active interference in the affairs of the societies, and exact all sorts of work froin them in the shape of returns and so forth, which would materially enhance the cost of their management. A regular audit and periodical valuations are two things which all authorities agree are imperatively necessary for the proper management of *nendly Societies, butit does not follow that the auditors and valuers should be, as this Bill makes them, Government officers, for whose maintenance the societies would have to pay fees. These officers might very well, under certain restrictions, be appointed by the societies, who could enter into what arrangements they pleased about payment. It is more difficult to decide whether the societies should' be allowed to fix their own rates of contributions, certified bysome competent actuary as sufficient, or whether a Government actuary should fix a minimum scale to be compulsory on all registered societies. The tables which have recently been framed by the Government actuary have certainly caused much dissatisfaction, but data are absent from which it could be determined whether that dissatisfaction is well or ill founded. Supposing the latter course were adopted it would not involve the creation of a Government department, as the work to be done after the first start-off would be. extremely light. The tendency of the Bill as it stands, towards the formation of a Government department is exemplified by its getting rid of the present revising barristers and con centrating their functions into the hands of one fortunate gentleman attached to the Registrar's office, although no possible benefit would thereby be gained, since the sole duty of a revising barrister under the Bill would be to.certify that the proceedings and rules of any particular society complied with the Act. Ex vno dlsce omnes. The Bill wants a. thorough overhaul, and its passage through Parliament might properly be delayed for a short period, so as to give the societies time to criticise the measure fully. The suggestion that has been proffered hi favor of a conference of delegates from the societies, to bo held at Wellington, seems less commendable. A conference would cause a waste of time and some expense, and the opinions of the societies'could just as well be gathered if they or their managers met in their own lodge rooms and afterwards forwarded the result of their deliberations to the Government. It might not be amiss if the latter formally asked for such opinions. In these matters there is nothing like seizing the occasion; Public attention has now been aroused; a Bill has been prepared which, though imperfect, can be moulded into suitable shape; and if it is put off until the end of the seesion, it will stand a chance of incurring the fate which has befallen many other useful measures and disappearing altogether.