ANNUITIES.

Tuapeka Times, Volume VII, Issue 408, 14 November 1874, Page 2

ANNUITIES.

At the last meeting of the Tuapeka School* masters' Association, Mr. Wm. M'Lelland, for seven years teacher of the Blue Spur school, read the following paper upon the subject of annuities, in its bearing upon the schoolmasters of Otngo i — Much lias bee-i clone for education in New Zealand, and in this Province of Otago. The public treasury i- brseiged from clay to day with applicants for increased means of education ; and in all ca-'es. the numerous applications receive the careful consideration of the Board; but nothing has been done, cither by the Government or the public, on behalf of the earnest pains-taking teachers, who are expected to bring the ample machinery of the Board to bear upon the young mind, so as to carry education to a successful issue. I say nothing has been done, nor recommended to be, done on behalf of the public educator. Before I enter on the subject of annuities, allow me to draw your attention to the root — insurance — from which, as a branch, annuities spring. Insurance was in general use in Italy

as early as 1194, and in England not until 1560 i and it was not until after the great fire in London in 1667, that fire policies were opened for insurance of houses and property against fire. The first life insurance office (The Amicable) was established in in 1706. The first duty of Is. 6d. per £100 insured ■was laid on in 1782, and increased 1797. In 1867, £1,451,110 was paid as duty on fire policies in Great Britain, the amouut insured being £72,130,585. The amount of property insured in

Annuities were first granted to the ladies and gentlemen of the Court in 1512, when £20 were given to a lady for service done, and £6 13a. 4<d. for the maintenance of a gentleman in 1536 ; £13 6s. Bd. was considered a sufficient amount, in 1544, for a law student. But the subject of annuities did not receive its full developmentTintil the insurance system had arrived at maturity. There are other and safer .methods for the industrious and thrifty for the investment of their savings ; and that man fails in his duty to himself and his family and. friends, who neglects to better his condition by availing himself of one of the numerous ways of investing the fruits of his industry. Notably amongst many for thD industrious poor are Insurance Societies and Savings Banks. I have endeavored, according to the best data, to give the rise and progress ot Insurance Societies. Let me now direct your attention to Savings Banks. The Rev. Joseph Smith, of Wendon, began a benevolent institution in 1799 ; and in 1803-4, a charitable bank was instituted at Tottenham by Miss Priscilia Wakefield. Henry Dulndas established a parish bank at Ruth well in 1810 ; and one was opened in Edinburgh, in 1814. Sir George Rose developed the system and brought it under Parliamentary control in 1816. In 1840, there were 550 banks, with 766,354 depositors; amount, £22,060,904,. On November 20, 1851, the number of Savings Banks in Great Britain and Ireland was 574, besides above 20,000 Friendly Societies and charitable institutions. The depositors in the banks were 1,092,581, while the Societies embraced a vast but unknown number of persons. The amount of deposits was £32,893,511. A classification of the first 20,000 depositors arc here given, viz. : —

Schoolmasters have a place among the rest of God's poor, as follows : — Persons not classed. — As widows. Teachers, sailors, &c, 3,098. Post-office Savings Bank 3 were first established ia 1861, and it is satisfactory to note that the deposits in the old Savings Banks had not diminished in consequence. Building Societies were established in Birmingham, in 1836, and have since extended to the ends of the earth. Co-operative Societies and stores commenced in Rochdale in 1844 ; amount invested, £28. In/ 1860, the business done amounted to £152,063, and the profits to £15,096 ; and in this Colony of New Zealand, there are existing Irindred societies, which all tend to the elevation of the ' masses, both as to means a^id moral worth j and the meanest laborer and artizan are both in a position to better their condition if they will. The schoolmasters of Ofcago aro an exception to the general mil of fhose who hare their fortunes in their hands, instead of their heads ; in other words, those who have to deal with matter are in a better position than those who have the creation and direction of the mind, which governs matter. Let us for a moment look into the position of the civil servants of the Crown, and the not less inferior publicservants — the public schoolmasters. Let us compare the two services. Take for instance the Customs. The officers are better paid for watching the tide, gauging for duty, bonding and relieving, than the schoolmaster, whose duty it is to fit his pupils for such, offices. Again, tliey are booked for certain privileges, and a pension according to the number of years' service ; while we have to do with the living mind, and to burn the midnight oil in order to procure sui'able food for the mind, remembering that in a few years our pupils will fill the senate, the church, and the bar, and other places of trust in our banking and commercial institutions. Are we then unreasonable in directing public attention to our position and circumstances. We may be in danger in havidg the red-tape of office placed around us to keep us from further mischief; but now, I believe, is the time when great constitutional changes ore taking place to speak out. and tell the Government and the public that we have no position, except what is of a negative character. Our inarching orders are, "Do tiiis and live." A few facts connected with -Salaries may be interesting to that portion of the public who are desirous that every man should be paid for his labor, and we thoroughly believe (notwithstanding the ingratitude of the world) that there are those in Otago who would wish to see the schoolmaster placed upon the same footing aa the civil servants of the Crown. In the Seeretary'slasteducational report, we gather that there were, at the end of the year, 144. schoolmasters-connected with the public schools of Otago. Of this number, 24 are pnt down whose official income is under £100 per annum ; 40, whose income is under £150 ; and only 14 who are luxuriating in the green pastures of £200 and upwards. How is it possible to make any provision out of these sums — especially In this part of the couutry, with every article of consumption at goldfields' prices. The utmost that can be done is to keep the " Wolf from the door," and that itself is a hard matter with the cares of a household unon them. Moreover, young men of good conduct can't get married, for they don't like to narrow the circumstances of the daughters of our yeomen and well-to-do tradesmen ; and no men are more eligible for the marriage state than they are, as they are BlvraysathonicTJutitisnotinthiscountryalone that the schoolmaster ;=- ;n; n straitened circumstances ; wherever we go, from fcb© coasts of New Zealand to 'the shores of the Baltic, there is the same tale told of their low posi- ' jfcions. When an author or a tourist has from interested motives condescended to grant us a place in history, it has been as " the poor schoolmaster." He is known at Home in the interior of his humble dwelling, in liis outside broken-down appearance, and in his equipage. He w known on the street. If you meet a man with a shabby genteel outfit, and if he is not a Methodist preacher, you may put him down as a schoolmaster. Were it not for the Government crust, we should starve, and that without either sympathy or remedy, the school fees being, in most cases, as high as parents are in a position to pay. The Right Hon. W. E, Forsfcer (than whom no gentleman, either in the House or out of it) has done so much for the cause of education at Home) being invited to preside at the annual examination of the children of the Orphanage, Haverstock Hill, in last June, in proposing a vote of thanks to the teachers (a courtesy, by the way, sbmetimes observed among civilised communities) took occasion to remark " that lie had much to Ao with teachers, and he hoped the time wp* not far distant when they would bdmore highly remunerated, and their work better appreciated." It« not the business of tin's paper 1 o uictate to the Government as to what should be done, or how it should be done, but to indicate that there is a something wanting to be done, so as to place this deserving and hard-working portion of the public service on a footing commensurate with its important and srduous duties. ' Mr. M'Jjelland concluded his paper in a Mjofifc eloquent peroration, after which, he received a hearty vote of thanks from the memberß of the Association,

.Domestic servants ... Persons in trade — mechanics, &c. - Laborers and porters - Miners - Friendly Societies • -■, - 7,245 7,473 1,455 58

JL7BZ 1802 1822 1842 1862 - 220,000,001 -. 399,000,001 - 652,000,00) - 1,007,000,001