§ SIR JOHN HIBBERTasked leave to bring in a Bill to amend the law relating to Friendly Societies. He said the Bill was based on suggestions made by a conference of Friendly Societies which met in January last, and which represented over 2,500,000 of members, and funds to the amount of nearly 1348 £19,000,000. The Amendments proposed were of a non-contentious character, and were principally intended to carry out improvements in the working of the Friendly Societies Acts which a 20 years' experience of them had shown be necessary. There were, however, two Amendments which he ought especially to mention, because he believed that if embodied in the law they might save a far-reaching effect on the habits of thrift and forethought of the working classes. One of these was to enable existing juvenile societies to amalgamate with the adult societies, with which they were connected, and the other was to allow any society to make a rule admitting members at one year of age, and thus to permit a child once admitted to a society to continue therein without a break during the whole of his life; and, at the same time, to make it possible, by a small payment, begun in infancy, to provide for a pension in old age.
§ MR. G. C. T. BARTLEY (Islington, N.)said, this was a very important subject, and he trusted the Government would afford some time for its consideration. If Parliamentary debate was to be of any use, the House ought not to be asked to discuss grave and serious charges of this character between Twelve and One o'clock in the morning.
Leave given, Bill presented accordingly, and read the first time; to be read a second time upon Monday 17th June, and to be printed. [Bill 250.]