The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1824-09-06 00:00:00

EXTRACTS FRom 1111 E PAMPHLET.

" Did banks for savings meet with negleet were the deroalton
left to themselves? driven to public-houses for meetings, and to
landlords for treasurers ? as were the meinbers of Benefit Societin.
No, school-room; chapels, and proper Alien were selccted for their
business, honorary subscribers came (instant to their support, how. a-
keepers and parish ollicem Intoned their committres„ Members of
Parliament their trusters, and Noblemen their patrons; and then,
with all the disadvantages of igaorance and neglect on tic one
hand, and the benefit of extensive patronage and encouragement on
the other, the two institutions were compartd, to show the superb°.
rity of the lt.anks over the Benefit :Linde:ties."
• • •

" Will the advocates for savings banks he easily persuaded to
ave their annual premiums instead of insuring their houses against
fire? Certainly not. Yet they recommend the mechanic to place
his money in the Mink to provide isratitst sickness and old age,
whilst they know that sick Less, like tire, though somewhat slower
in its operations, may, in a short time, exhaust the *seism. of fifty
years, and, like fire too, may egliig suddenly betare the first year
expires." • • st
" The best friends of the working classes will always intreat
them to provide against the manifold wants of sirkne.s and of old
age, by means of respectable and well-conducted benefit societies.
the payments to which ought so tarp a pert of their current and
positive expenses. To NNW a e anything to erne attzr this
a savings bank may be (mete!: the necessities of old age bring Unit
secured by their club, the mechanic and labourer, trtrough the me-
dium of the bank, may be able to add comforts ; but no individual
either befriends his neighbour or his country, by enjoining a reli-
ance upon individual savings as a security against casualty, which
may overtake a man in an hour, and in a few months sweep away
thesavings of a whole' life." • • •
" There are so few actuaries whocan or will pay attention to the
rules, that this imFastant part is generally peglected, and the rules
and tables are submitted, with all the faults of the former. to the
magistrates of the county in which the Society is to be holden,
whose aanetiomsometimes renders. as it were', the most intolerable
contradictions, the most abominnble nonsense, part of the law of
the land." • • •

I do not recommend that additional powers be given to the Com-
mission r the Magistrates are already enabled, by the authority of
an Act of Parliament, to publish instructions, to draw up Rules for
new Benefit Societies, to refuse to sanction Amendments to the
Rules of those already formed, until they are conformable to the
law, to encourage improvement, and so on ; but three-fourths of
these duties in some rounties, ar,l the whole of them in others, are
left unperformed. It is 'hewn, I should hope, clearly, that this
neglect is highly injurious, and it is only the transfer of these
powers to an efficient Board which I advocate. and which, I again
repeat, is necessary to the prosperity of Friendly Societies.
In the press, and will be published in a few days, by the lama
Author,
INSTRUCTIONS for the ESTABLISHMENT and IM-
PROVEMENT of FRIENDLY SOUIETIEri, with General
Observations, Notes, and original Tables.