IGO 
Farm Labourers, their Friendly Societies, 
12s. a week in sickness, or 10s. with, say, 8?. burial money; 
, (is. „ „ half-pay, or 5s. ii' with burial ujuucy ; 
2s. 6d. a week, old-age pay ; 
subject, however, to the deduction, in each case, of the weekly 
contribution of 6</. In case of the death of a member, an addi- 
tional lew of Is. is made ; if a member's wife dies, a levy of 6d. ; 
if a child, dd. Each member pays for a pint of beer at the 
fortnifrhtly meeting, which he is welcome to come and drink if 
he likes ; if he does not, the club will drink it for him. On 
quarterly nights the amount spent by rule in beer is Qd. ; there 
is also something from fines (which should rather be called 
extra pay) for refusing to serve the office of steward, and which 
goes to the officiating steward. 
The cost of the club, always supposing that no extra pints of 
l)eer are drunk, is as follows : — 
s. 
d. 
, .. 2G 
0 
Expenses of the room, at 3(7. (26 meetings) . 
. .. G 
6 
1 
0 
. .. 33 
6 
] 
0 (very moderate) 
1 
0 
£1 15 
6 
Something more must, in fairness, be added for cost of a flag 
or two, and a few ribbons and beer ; for, in truth, a member 
scarcely gets out of the business meeting for the pint, and our 
estimate of 9c?. a week for the current expenses of the club will 
not be found above the mark. The annual club day runs into a 
good deal of incidental expenditure, but as it is the annual holiday 
of the villagers, which they would most likely have if there were 
no benefit societies in existence, we will not take the items into 
account in computing the cost, which is but little, if at all, below 
21. a year. The members are elected on the annual feast-day, 
and make a declaration that they are subject to no disorder or 
disease likely to cause them to fall on the sick-fund. If their 
declaration is untrue, such members are at once turned out of the 
club, and forfeit all that they have paid. There are many 
societies in which a medical certificate is required instead of a 
verbal declaration, and the cost of the certificate is Is. When 
the member is ill, he sends to the steward, and "declares on the 
sick-fund." Whereupon the steward visits him, and if satisfied 
that the illness is such as to incapacitate the member from work, 
he is at liberty to pay at the end of one week from the declara- 
tion 12.V., less Gd., the weekly contribution. If the steward is 
not satisfied, he will have medical evidence, and lay the case 
