PRIVATE BENEFIT SOCIETIES.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 10423, 27 July 1895, Page 8

PRIVATE BENEFIT SOCIETIES.

TO THE KDITOK.

Sir,—Mr William Belcher, in his reply to my previous letter,/says ■he is not aware thai;, the n:st letter he wrote contained any reflection oa the roles of the society of which I am a member. I urvhsoibatiugly say it did. In his first letter he said, speaking of private benefit societies in general, that the " rales are invariably drawn up by the employers to suit themselves, and the men have absolutely no voice in the conduct of the business." This is referring to no particular society, and of course I came to the conclusion that it included the private society to which I beloug, &nd wrote contradicting it; ] aod when Mr Belcher liuds himself cornered be coolly turns round and says he did not refer to this society, oven in ffie face of the above quotation. Truly, some men have effrontery! ; ' Mr Belcher says my logic is very shaky, and amounts to this • Because he belongs to a good society therefore all the rest must be. good. I neither iefcTred nor said anything of tne sort. This inference must be drawn from the imaginative brain of Mr Belcher. I wrote what I thought was a mild paragraph with regard to the right of employers to make employees insure themselves against fiickness, aad in answer I get a lot_o? abase throve at me. I still stick to what I wrote before, and Mr Be!6bor'« letter certainly has not cawed me to slier my opinion. He says thare is no analogy between employers causing their employees to insure an* the Stats iusursnee and old age psosions. I said before I thought the principle « the same, but I was opentocorrecJioa; but Mr Belcher bas faricd toshowmewhermn the difference lies, and I repsat that I believe the principle is the same. The marked difference stems to be that the employer only asks * Hiau to pay contributions v/hon be knows that man is m a position to do w through' constant employment; but tbo State would mate bim do so wither he was in eanloymeuc or not, regardless ot hjs flDaacial ability, unless he «ere a pauper. TioalrA for your space prevents me fromanSrfg a° filly a. I would like Mr Belches I Itf-OT bat I would like to say that such statements' aboai; one's own productions as that they ..pregnant with truth and logic," a?id that " th»-are perfecsly true iv every particular " Us fimsgws they should be), sound 3 a little egotistical; «>d *** ** 8»7 °. f, a person who dtfierS from you l *lat ne "a 5 blundered most eg"cegiou6lyi" that "he reauires a-widerexperi-

ence before belDg competent to pass an% opinion," »nd in your judgment he " writes himself down a very stupid iodividcaV savours very rnuoh of abus<j. As I feol this' i« »o, I withdraw the permission I gore you, Sir, to f ormßh Mr Belcher with my namej and refuse to have any further correispondence with a man who evidently los«s his temper when writing. I will part from Mr William Balcher with a little friendly advice : Consult your medical, adviser, because, judging from your recent effusionß and episodes, you are suffering from a bilious attack or some liver complaint.—l am, &?,., July 26. Empioyes.