584 
not answeted, are not sufficiently known,) 
gud this will appear very plainly, when 
it is considered how long a time. must 
elapse from the commencement ef such 
a society, before a fair trial can be made. 
The general calculations of lives do not 
fully answer the purpose ; as in societies 
of this kind, “infancy, childhood, and old 
age, are excluded. Suppese then, a 
society to be now formed of one hundred 
members, of different ages, from twenty- 
one to thirty years, it would be forty 
yeas before any of its members would 
arrive to the age of seventy; and at that 
period, some of them would be only sixty- 
one: if then seventy years was consi- 
dered as the age, when men employed in. 
the common business of lit, might be 
supposed to be so far incapable of la- 
bour, as to be entitled to permanent 
relief from the society, it would be forty- 
nine years from its commencement, 
before those members who entered at the 
age of twenty-one, would arrive at that 
age; and until that was the case, the 
funds of the society would not be fuily 
tried. : 
But that would not be the case even 
at that period, if the society continued for 
a number of years to increase the num- 
ber cf members: all those who were ad- 
mitted for ten, twenty, or thirty years 
afterwards, being young persons, the 
number of old members would not be in 
proportion to the whole number of the 
society, until the member had been for a 
considerable period certain and ste 
tionary; and time sufficient had elapsed, 
to prove by experience what number of 
members, in proportion to those admit- 
ted undera certain age, would live to 
such an age as that they might be liable 
to become constant pensioners. 
Was the society to be limited to a 
certain number, say one hundred, two 
hundred, or thiee hundred, and this 
number filled up in the first instance, 
and when any one member died, ano- 
ther was admitted who was-under a 
certain age; so that the same number 
always continued: whenever a suilicient 
time had elapsed ta prove, what num- 
ber of those admitted under a certain 
age would be all dead, there would then 
have been a fair trial of the chance, both 
of what number of members might be- 
come chargeable for temporary relief, 
during sickness ; and what number might 
be liable to become chargeable through 
age. Now, ifno member, of more than 
twenty-five years of age was admitted, 
atid seventy years was supposed to be 
Remarks on Benefit Sociétiess 
fJan: 1; 
the age at which members inight becomé: 
constantly chargeable, then - forty-five 
years must elapse before this could take- 
place: and as some might live to several 
years beyond seventy, it would be a 
longer time before a full trial was made: 
for it should be remembered, that the’ 
heavier part of the expenses will be the 
support of old members; many of these 
may require relief several years, while 
the younger members fight seldom want 
more than a few weeks relief. : 
If then any society oi this kind; which 
has been established fifty or sixty years, 
and has had a regular number of members 
fur such a period, as to have given a full. 
opportunity for a proportionate number 
of members to have grown old, and he- 
come lable not only to occasional, but 
permanent, relief: the accounts of «such 
a-society, would furnish the best mate- 
rials for a calculation, howsfar a certain 
weekly suliscription would furnish relief 
to its members, in sickness and old age. | 
But here a question may arise, viz. when 
a society has been established so long as © 
above stated, what funds ought it to pos-— 
sess to aflord a reasonable hope of its 
permanent solvency? To this I reply, 
that it ought to possess such a fund, that 
the interest with the weekly subscriptions 
shall be fully adequate to every expense, 
without infringing upon the capital: for 
though it will not be necessary that the 
funds should increase ad infinitum: yet 
while the number of members continue 
the same, it ought not to decrease; and ~ 
while the number of members is increa- 
sing, the funds ought to increase, and to 
keep increasing fur some years after the — 
number of members are become stati-_- 
onary. But if the number of members 
decrease, and there are many old mem=" 
bers chargeable upon it, it must neces- 
sarily decrease: and the enquiry then 
should be, whether it decreases in such’ 
a proportion, as is likely to run it out 
before all its members are dead. 
But if any society, whose numbers 
are stationary or not, considerably re- 
ducing in number, should find that the 
interest of their’ capital, with their 
weekly subscriptions, are not fully ade= | 
quate to the supporé of their sick, or aged 
members, witnout infringing upon their 
capital; such sogiety ought immediately 
to lessen their allowance, or bankruptcy 
must ensue. I think: a subscription of 
three-pernce per week, would afford an 
allowance of five shillings per week to” 
sick or aged members, provided the funds. 
were placed out to interest, and care- 
fully 
