THE INSURANCE ACT.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 49, 16 July 1912, Page 5

THE INSURANCE ACT.

IX OPERATION TO-DAY. RED CROSS DAY. By Cable—Press Association—Copyright. London, July 14. Mr. Lloyd George, in his speech, said he did not claim that the Insurance Act would bring the Millennium, but it brought it nearer. To-morrow, the day on which the Insurance Act came into force, would be known in the annals of the sick and distressed as Red Cross Day. Already nine and a half millions were affected. More new members had joined the friendly societies in the past Jhree weeks than in the whole of the past twenty years. The Government would fulfil every pledge. The newspapers announce that simultaneous meetings projected by the Liberal Insurance Committee throughout the country, to celebrate the enforcement of the Act, have been abandoned to a large extent, owing to the outcry against the raea-iure and the Opposition newspapers ridiculing the so-called joy day. Over half a million workmen have applied for unemployment bid;-, for the payment of contributions under the Insurance Act.

In the House of Commons recently, Mr. C. F. (i. Masterman, Under-Secretary to the Home Office, in replying to criticisms of the Insurance Act, said the Act would come into force on July 15; never had he contemplated any other date. All the great friendly societies were very anxious for the Act to come into operation as soon as possible. Postponement would ije disastrous to members of friendly societies and all those who were making preparations for the Act to come into force, as well as those who would by delay be deprived of benefits until a lak-r date. Membership cards were ready, and would be distributed next month. Schemes which had been considered with the employers on the Advisory Committee for bulk payment in the case of large employers would also be issued, probably pext week.

He hoped before long to be able to announce that societies h:id been ap-; proved representing something like 4,500,000 of insured persons, in addition to industrial and collecting societies, and companies which held about 00,000,000 life policies, whose number of insured persons could not then be ascertained. This number of approved persons would probably increase by several hundred thousands every week, and he would be •urprised if there were not 10,000.000 persons wno had selected their society and obtained their cards by July 13. Then there would be at least tiiree months for the remainder of the insurable population to come in. By the end of 1913, after benefits had been in operation for a year, it was calculated by the Government actuaries that 800,000 mothers would have received maternity benefit to the value of 30s by right of their husbands' insurance, and another 100.000 mothers by right of their own insurance; that 2,500.000 men and women would have received sick pay from the national insurance scheme, that at least 250,000 suffering from tuberculosis would have received treatment suitable to their condition, and he thought that a very large number of them would have been restored to life after a sentence of death as a result of the Insurance Act.