156 Friendly Societies, State Action, and the Poor-law. 
Act 27 and 28 Vict. c. 43 should be amended, to allow of 
the same beino^ offered to industrious labourers by means of the 
Post-Office. It laid stress on the exaggeration of the diffi- 
culties alleged as to the protection and due administration of 
the sickness-pay ; it also prayed that the useful, though but 
little-known insurance called " Endowments," might be offered to 
the public through the same channel. The Memorial was signed 
by the Archbishops of Canterbury and of Y ork, by many Peers, 
Bishops, Members of Parliament, Justices of the Peace, Chairmen 
of Boards of Guardians, and others, to the number of upwards of 
400, many of whom are well known on Poor-law and Friendly 
Societies' questions, and indeed on all subjects which relate to 
the welfare of the labouring classes. Copies of the ' Method ' 
were duly sent to the Commissioners. It is doubtless matter of 
opinion whether my plan was entitled to special consideration. 
However this may be, a publication of the same and its principal 
details, undertaken for the purpose of investigation by them, 
supported also by such authority as I have mentioned, passed 
with little notice. The Method finds no place in the Appendix 
to the Report, and is nowhere referred to. No allusion is made 
to the refutation in it of the common and erroneous opinion that 
frauds on the sickness-fund are best prevented by espionage, or 
the surveillance of members of the benefit club over each other, 
although investigation would have proved that a system far 
superior had been in use in certain County Societies for half a 
century ; my inference being that the system might, with the 
best results, be adapted, not merely to the area of a county, but 
to the whole country. They admitted that the main difficulty 
against a national system of insurance suited to labourers was 
the fear of imposition on the sickness-fund ; and yet, with the 
means furnished them of disposing of the principal obstacle to 
which their attention was drawn by the memorialists, no inquiry 
was instituted into it. They came to the conclusion, " that 
without entering fully into this controversy', we are, upon 
other grounds, of opinion that it is not desirable that the State 
should, under present circumstances at all events, undertake what 
is called sick business." Mr. Stanhope's evidence is almost all 
the evidence taken in favour of the proposal; and although his 
evidence is entitled to great weight, there were points which 
required further investigation. Had this omission, which has 
caused some trouble to labourers * in the same field of work since 
the publication of their Report, been merely a matter entailing 
some disappointment to one who had devoted much time and 
• The Rev. \V. L. Blaclilcy for one instance, whose earlier papers tlie ' Mnrfc 
Ijano Express' rriticiscd somewhat severely for not being aware of what had 
already been attempted by others. 
