It is brought as a strong argument against Bene -fit Clubs, that the meetings are held at public-houses. From this, it is inferred, that the members are at •these meetings very commonly seduced to drink; and acquire, increase, or confirm habits of intemper ance. This appears to be an inference altogether unwarranted, and contrary to the fact. The mem bers are, in general, under the necessity of holding their meetings at a public-house, because it is only at a public-house where they can, in general, hire an apartment for the purpose. The use of the apart ment is sometimes paid for by the money spent, which is always a limited, and always a very small sum, threepence most commonly, or a pint of porter for each ; and sometimes the room is paid for, not in this way, but by the contribution of a penny or other small sum from each ; and intoxication, at the time of meeting, is punished with a fine. It is affirmed by those who have most attended to the practical proceedings of these societies, that instead of being a source of intoxication, they have been one of the grand causes of its decrease.
One decided advantage which the Benefit Clubs possess above the Savings Banks is, that the money paid to the club cannot be taken out, first, to gratify any unnecessary desire ; secondly, to buy furniture for the sake of an early, and hence, in a11 probabili ty, a fruitful, that is, .a deplorable marriage ; thirdly, to satisfy the parish for a bastard, which often would not have been gotten, but for the reflection, that if the worst came to le worst, means were had to get rid of it.
In a moral point of view, the formation of the peo ple into little combinations and fraternities is of the greatest importance. It concentrates the eyes of all upon each individual ; and renders good conduct a thing of infinitely more value to him, as it renders bad conduct for men detrimental. It is this circum stance which the sage mind of Dr Adam Smith loads with such emphatic praise in the supposed case of the division of a country into so great a number of' religious sects, that each congregation might be re. garded as differing from the rest. In this manner, without difficulty, and without care, is exercised one of the most vigilant and effectual Of all censorships; the most salutary of all inspections. When an ig norant, or almost any man can say to himself, my conduct is regarded by nobody,--it is astonibhing how easy it is for temptation to subdue him ; when he must say to himself, I -cannot perform a disgraceful act without reading aversion and contempt in the eyes of all my acquaintance,—it is astonishing how much he is strengthened for resistance.
There is yet another thing of cardinal importance. If it were possible for the superior to do everything for the inferior people, and to lea6 them nothing to do or care about for themselves, nothing would be more calamitous than the accomplishment of such an event. The mass of the human species would thence be
come what the peopleof Paraguay becamein the hand of the Jesuits ; most perfectly helpless, and ready, on the least derangem en t in the mach inery which conducts them, to fall into the deepest wretchedness and barba rity. As that machinery would be liable to be derang ed by the slightest accidents, it could not be preserved in order long, and would then serve as an introduc tion, a necessary and certain introduction, to one of the most deplorable conditions of human affairs. The case is altogether different where the power of suffering for themselves is generally spread through out the community ; where the people have resour ces ; where every man is accustomed to combine for himself the means of warding off evil, and attaining good. There the machine of society cannot be easi ly disordered, and human happiness is placed on a much more secure foundation. Then, if any of the larger arteries of the body politic is obstructed, the nourishment of the system is carried on by the ad mirable. service which may be rendered by the smaller. To a system which has thus a via medica trix in all its parts, no shock can be given that is not immediately repaired. Were the greatest diior der introduced, things of their own accord would hasten to their proper place.
- It is, therefore, a prodigious recommendation of Benefit Societies, that in them, the piople act for themselves. We do not mention this, however, at one of the circumstances in which they differ from Savings Banks. It is, indeed, •true, that in most of • the Savings Banks which have yet been started, the "'upper people have taken upon them to manage for the under. But this is not necessary. The contri butors to Savings Banks may themselves, if they choose, manage a bank just as well as a club-box ; in fact, the business of the bank is far more simple than that of the box. There is one important ex ample of a bank conducted by the people themselves, in that established in. Clerkenwell, at the suggestion of Charles Taylor, Esq.
So much with regard to the effect of Benefit Socie ties, as compared with Savings Banks, in promoting economy and other goodqualities among the contribu tors. Let us next compare them with regard to the benefit received. This part of the subject has al ready been so well handled by the Reverend Richard Vivian, rector of Bushey Herts, in A Letter on Friendly Societies and Savings Banks, published in 1816, that it would be improper to do anything more than transcribe what he has written.