AUSTRALIAN MUTUAL PROVIDENT SOCIETY.

Wellington Independent, Volume XIX, Issue 2051, 21 April 1864, Page 3

AUSTRALIAN MUTUAL PROVIDENT SOCIETY.

The New Zealand Herald supplies tihq following extract of this Society's report, which we republish as being of interest to some of our readers here, who are connected with the Society in question. Mr Jonas Woodward is the local agent : — ; . , . i We have been favored with the report oi the fifteenth annual meeting of this Society,

in which the flourishing nature of its business transactions are apparent. This Society, like others of a similar nature, was established with a desire to promote among the less thinking portion of the community habits of forethought and carefulness, and to enable persons who wore living simply by the daily produce of the hand or the brow to provide iv the event of death for those who were dear to them, or to secure for theniselve3 in old age the means of retiring from labor with some degree of comfort. Since the last meeting it appears that 859 new policies have been issued assuring on lives the sum of £433,798 12s ; eight deferred annuity policies, and 242 endowment policies ; the business of 1863 exceeding that of the previous year by 335 policies. The agents for the Society, in Auckland are the Messrs Gilfillan. As a conclusion we extract tho following from the speech of Sir Alfred Stephen, at " the meeting held in Sydney :•— As incidental to what lie (Sir Alfred Stephen), had said in the commencing portion of his address, he wished to offer two or three observations with reference to old age annuities ; a subject in whifch he felt a deep interest. He did not think there was any mode by which the working classes of this community could be more benefitted, than by being encouraged to purchase these old age annuities. He observed by the report, that there had only been eight of these applied for during < the past year. He loolced upon tho acquirei ment of a secured provision of this nature as of a very valuable character. The mere act of purchase was one of thought and care for the future ; and the result w*ould be in most cases the means of keeping people from the workhouse, or, in case they should go there, of supplying them with comforts which they could not get ma workhouse. If, therefore, instead of eight of these annuities, next year eighty or eight hundred should be obtained, while it would increase the profits of that branch of the Society, (for the benefit exclusively of the annuitants themselves), it would, he believed, do vast good in inducing provident habits among the working classes and lessening their patronage of tho publichouse with its attendant evils. (Hear, hear.) When a man was led to look forward to the future, and think not only how his family would be provided for when he was gone, but how lie was himself to be maintained in the time of old age and diminished bodily strength, this Society presented the means of making the provision he desired. * * To secure a person an annuity of £18 per annum, (or £26 — including probable banus additions), to commence at fifty-five years of age, would require, if the person be thirty years old at entrance, twenty-two shillings quarterly ; but if purchased at twenty-five years old, his quarterly payments would be only sixteen shillings. If the person wanted his annuity to commence at tlie age of fifty years, the quarterly payments would — commencing at thirty, and at twenty-five years old — be thirty-eight shillings and twenty-six shillings respectively. Now, thoughtless or improvident people are apt to let so distant a day take care of itself ; and so to " chance" their attainining (or never attaining) fifty-five or fifty years of age. But let such persons reflect a little on facts. He found, that there were in the Benevolent Asylumns in Sydney and Paramatta, this very week, 109 poor persons above fifty and under sixty years of age : all persons absolutely destitute, receiving merely the bread of charity. And there were in those institutions 376 persons, men and women, above the age of sixty. How great the benefit would have been, if those unfortunates could have taken advantage of such a society as this ! What a good effect it would have had, in stimulating their exertions ; and far better is it for a man to help himself, than to receive help at the hands of others, thereby deteriorating his self-respect and impairing his love of independence. How few are there at twenty-five or thirty, who cannot by a little present self-denial, and with a little less of extravagance or folly, spare from eight to twelve shillings a month, to secure for themselves for life ten shillings per week, commencing at the age of about the youngest of these paupers ! * * * The uncertainty of the continuance of life, however, was not less strikingly exemplified. During this past year no less than eleven cases of casualty — of unexpected deaths — had occurred. One person twenty-eight years of age has died, only two months insured for £1000 ; having scarcely ever before known a day's' illness. Another, forty-seven years old at entrance, had been insured only eleven months for £500 ; and died by a fall from a gig. Another person, aged thirty- six at the time of insuring, had been insured two years and ten months for £250, and died from a railway accident. Another, aged at entrance forty-seven, had been insured one year and eight months for £500, and died from the kick of a horse. One individual, aged twenty-nine at entrance, had been insured four years and ten months for £200. He was drowned. Anothor person, aged twenty-three at entrance, who had been insured twelve years for £1150 (including bonus), died by a fall from a horse. One, aged forty-four at entrance, insured seven years and four months for £560 (including bonus), was murdered. Another person, aged thirty at entrance, insured only seven months for £500, died from illness ; and her husband, aged thirty-six at entrance, insured some years for £2000, died within a fortnight afterwards. Another, aged thirty-seven at entrance, who had been insured one year and nine months, died the day after he paid his last premium. _______