Industrial Population and Thritt.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXXXV, Issue 246, 16 November 1903, Page 3

Industrial Population and Thritt.

At t'too sitting of the British AsAssociatiom, at Southport, Mr Edward W. Bradbrook, C.8,, the Pie-siden-t of the Economic, Science, and Statistics Section, opened his address with some personal references. He was, he sawl, in the 55th year of lvis age, and in the 35th year of his connection with the registry of friendly societies, and in a few months the guillotine of the Order in Council would fall and sever his official connection- with the 'department. The subject matter of his address was thrift. He said the 2000 building societies in Great Britain and Ireland have 600,000 members and £62,000,000 of funds. The 28,00® bodies registered under the Friendly Societies Act have 12,000,000 members and £43,000,000 funds. The 600 trade unions have more t'han 1,500,000 members- and nearly £5,000,000 of funds. In the 13,000 post office and savings banks there are more than 10,000,000 depositors and more than £200,000,000 invested, so' that, upon the whole, in nearly 50,000 thrift organisations with which the registry of friendly societies has in one form or other to deal there are 27,000,000 of persons interested and £360,000,000 of money engaged. The discussion oil the subject of old age pensions, continued Mr Bradbrook, had had the good effect of bringing under the consideration of the friendly societies the practical method by which they could obtain these pensions for themselves. The impression that some day and somehow the State would provide pensions fpr everybody who was thrifty had a bad effect, but the wiser members of the societies had seen that it would be a good thing to substitute for their present plan of continuing to the end of life a plan of ensuring a certain average after a given age. It was anticipated that the report of Mr Alfred Watson cm his investigations into the sickness experience of the Manchester Unity of Oddfellows would add force to this movement 'by showing how great a burden old-age sickness at present was, and how slight an additional sacrifice would secure a deferred annuity. It was more desirable that the members generally should do this for themselves than that they should get the State to do it for them. Under the present system registered friendly societies were becoming more popular and more wealthy. ' The story of the department which ke was about to leave spoke well for the thrift and economy of the industrial population of the country, showing as It did that in timps flf dpproHsion, as well as in tlme3 of prosperity, the gradual increase of the funds of the various bodies mentioned (including t P atoed° fflCe savlngs ba!lks) were main-