Friendly Societies Commission.

Hastings Standard, Issue 448, 12 October 1897, Page 3

Friendly Societies Commission.

THE REPORT (BY Tei..E(tH^l'll.) [From our Special Reporter.] Wellington', This day. The report of the Private Friendly Society's Commission was also presented to Parliament to-day. The Commissioners submit that in any legislation effecting private benefit societies special provision should be made for the recognition of annually terminating societies, and the acceptance of their rules with as little departmental interference as possible. Registration of such societies and their rules, so as to give the latter the force of the law, should be effected at a merely nominal charge. These annually terminating societies are the most valuable and the most secure of all private benefit societies. The Commissioners, whilst of the opinion that it is desirable that legislative provision should be made to enable private benefit societies to obtain legal recognition and status, representee uu of attempting to impose any [conditions of an irksome character involving either undue trouble or expense ; in fact they are of the opiniontbat these organisations are generally of a beneficial character and should be encouraged and not impeded by the State, and they fail to see how it would be possible to compel such societies to discontinue operations while unregistered. The Commission find that the largest of the societies which in their rules avowedly made membership compulsory repealed this rule. It is recommended that it be a condition of registration that the rules should not contain any compulsory provision. The Commissioners agree in finding that in the main the operations of private societies are outside and do not touch on those of ordinary Friendly Societies, while there are means of inducing a considerable number of persons to insure. It is therefore, they think, unquestionable that private societies fulfil a useful function and that they do not clash except in a very unappreeiable degree with the operations of Friendly Societies. As to the provident society connected with the Bank of New Zealand, the Commissioners report that it '"s quite clear that the majority of the officers of the bankhave no reasonable expectation of participating in the benefits of the fund to which they are compelled to contribute, and as beyond question at least 90 per cent of them regard the present state of things as a grievous injustice and desire that Parliament should provide some remedy the Commissioners leave the consideration to Ministers as to whether the fund should be absolutely terminated or re-modelled ; but in the event of the first alternative being chorea they submit considevation of the suggestion that all who have contributed to the creation of the fund, or at anyrate all who have contributed for a period of say five years or more, should be entitled tp pat he-spate in such distribution pro rata of their contributions whether or not such persons be or be not now actively engaged in ths services of the bank. In tha event of a Y«cpnatnieticn n is suggested that the present regulations be largely revised and amended.