An Experiment in Mutual Assurance. 151 



to "FARMERS' ASSOCIATION." and to include Mutual Insurance against 

 Employers' Liability for Workmen's Compensation, and having appointed a 

 Committee to meet on June 26th, the following New Rules were adopted : — 



Rules. 



1. — That the Committee should approve of each person before becoming a 

 New Member, who should occupy not less than 400 acres of land. 



2. — This Association's year commences April 6th, 1912. Any Member 

 wishing to resign must give at least six months' notice prior to the next 

 April 6th. 



3. — All members will be themselves responsible for any accident occurring 

 to their employees to the sum of £3 ; any special cases must be brought 

 before the Committee to be dealt with. 



4. — That each case as it arises shall be reported to one of the Secretaries, 

 who shall call a Committee Meeting if necessary. 



5. — A rate per acre shall be levied at the end of each year on all land 

 unless a large claim has to be met within the year. 



6. — This Association includes farm labourers, blacksmiths, carpenters, 

 machine-men, grooms, and domestic servants on any Member's Farm. 



7.— The Annual Meeting to be called on Louth April Fair Day in each year. 



The object of Rule 5 is to obviate the necessity for repeated 



levies for small losses. If no loss be incurred by the members 



throughout any year, no levy at all will be made in respect of 



that year. 



There are thirty-nine members, and they occupy between 

 them about 40,000 acres. This area has been adopted as the 

 limit of the Society's operations, anyhow for the present, and 

 it is expected that it will be sufficiently large to allow the laws 

 of average to apply, whilst not being so extensive as to necessi- 

 tate any professional clerical work. 



Tt is not yet possible to estimate the measure of success, or 

 otherwise, which may attend the venture, but in spite of the 

 warnings of the local Tariff Offices, the members of the Associ- 

 ation are very sanguine. If their expectations are realised, 

 there is no reason why the system should not spread to other 

 districts, and expand to cover other risks. To fulfil this latter 

 object, however, it might be necessary to take in a far larger 

 area, and to employ clerical assistance, as fire risk, for example, 

 on these large farms, might involve the members in very serious 

 liabilities. Insurance against hail, too, could only be under- 

 taken by a much larger association of persons interested, for 

 hail storms are very local, and a small society might find itself 

 in the position of the members of the community wlix) subsisted 

 by taking in each other's washing. Still, there are great possi- 

 bilities about this venture, and not its least interesting feature 

 is the fact that it is an example of spontaneous combination 

 and co-operation by a body of farmers, a thing as rare as it is 

 desirable. 



C. S. Orwin. 

 Institute for Research in Agricultural Economics, 

 School of Rural Economy, Oxford, 



