CORRESPONDENCE.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 5, Issue 1447, 3 August 1883, Page 2

CORRESPONDENCE.

"P." IN REPLY.

| TO THE EDITOR. OF THE DAILY. |

Sir;—My remarks relative to the insolvency of friendly societies throughout the colony appears to have affected one or two of our local Foresters like a red rag shook in the face of a mad bull. A lot of irrelevant matter and nasty personal insinuations against myself and others have been introduced, with the seeming object of drawing.away argument from the point at issue, Had they really a logical defence to offer they .would have displayed the appreciation of tho opportunity which you have afforded them to defend themselves against the grave allegation of insolvency contained in the last annual report of the Registrar General instead of wasting your space in the way they have done, Ore gentleman desires to discuss Mr Wm. E. E. Brown, another the Government Insurance Department and so on. Now, with Mr Wm. R. E. Brown I have nothing to dp. If any

well regulated society has ground for complaint against him they have only to petition Parliament to obtain redress, I leave his,defence to abler pens than mine, With regard lo the ludicrous idea of using returns furnished by friendly societies for a basis from which to calculate insurance' tables, I may say that in my opinion no one but a confirmed maniac would think of, doing so while the more reliable vital statistics of all parts of the world extending over a great number of years are available for that purpose.

•" Forester" No. 1 denies my assertion "that the present value of the contributions to the sick and funeral fund is deducted by the Government actuary from the present value of the benefits assured," and questions 'the system upon which the actuary bases his calculations, this is the only tion with which I have to deal, and I submit that.it is one which Friendly Societies in general should set at rest without delay. I would only be too glad to be proved wrong, but a parliamentary enquiry at the present stage on this point would do no good, it is a matter that can only be. decided by • experts. Let the Foresters appeal to • ♦an independent actuary, of recognised . ability and standing, and if he reports against the present actuarial system and proves it wrong, then they . could appeal to Parliament with some show of reason, and demand an alteration. As neither Forester nor myself are experts in the actuarial profession, our ' assertions one way or the other will not convince your readers, but there is no blinking the fact that the Govern- ' mpnt actuary's report which has not been contradicted by any reliable authority, states that the Ancient Order of Ferestprs' Wellington Dislryt, comprising U courts js (notwithstand: ing the fact that one Court had property presented to it by the late Provincial Government, which is now valued at £4,000) deficient in its sick and funeral fund to the tune of five thousand five hundred andforty-thm '. pounds fourteen shillings skrlhvj. The samo report shews that only two courts: out of the U are solvent at the present time. As one of your correspondents insinuates that the return above referred to is compiled to damage existing Friendly Societies, and to further Major Atkinson's scheme of National Insurance I would point out that frjendjy societies • ape' carrying ouftp & jimU'ed, degree the very object that Major Atkinson advocates, they are jus, greatest support, and if everybody would' join friendly societies to acta quately provide for sickness and old age there would bo no necessity for national compulsory insurance. It is, therefore, the very height of absurdity to suppose that the advocates of national insurance would attempt to injure existing friendly societies, and it is quite possible tliat a compulsory nationalinsurancelawwould immensely slrengthen mutual benefit societies by driving many persons into their lodges, who, if insure they must, would prefer insuring, in. a private to a Government wbu|d'assur.e<|ly be't|e case if it were were better tjjat the Govt, institution,' ; ' T|ie' Qavprmnent would then only have tq deal with the most difficult and pk jeotiqnable class, namely, the spends thrift and wastrel, thereby protecting those who have insured in private societies from having to pay taxes to provide for those unthrifty individuals who would in time become a heavy burden upon the community, were they not compelled to insure while health and opportunity permitted them to do so. At tho same time it is absolutely necessary that the state oxeroise duo supervision so as to protect members of Friendly Societies from being misled into expecting benefits which are proved to be mathematically impossible to be received in return for the amount which they contribute. I would like to touch upon another matter which '•'Forester" exultingly forces under my notice, namely, tho injustice iind cruelty of'the existing rule in Foresters Societies by which a. member, unable to continue his contributions, which may have extended over a period of thirty years, is debarred from receiving any relief'from the seoiety' into which he has paid so long pist at'ihettme when he most requires it. This to me appears like coldblooded confiscation, but I have already trespassed upon your space, lam Ac,