H.—7

6

Prom this it will be seen that, in eight cases out of ten, the sickness experienced was much below that expected; but also that the amount of protracted sickness diverged very greatly from the expectation—now on one side, now on the other. In one case the sickness after twelve months was nearly eight times the amount expected by the. tables. These facts go far to justify the Actuary's dictum that safety requires, in the case of small lodges, an addition to be made to the reserve brought out in respect of chronic sickness, even where the sick allowance is considerably reduced, and that it requires very largo numbers to enable a lodge safely to insure full pay in permanent sickness, as is done by several lodges of the Auckland District of the Manchester Unity of Odd Fellows. In several cases the valuers have, with very praiseworthy industry, investigated the sickness experience anterior to 1875, and have sometimes found it to fluctuate from the expected result in the opposite direction to that manifested in 1875-79. Thus, in the case of the Blue Spur Lodge, which shows the greatest measure of insolvency of all the lodges, notwithstanding the highest average rate of interest in the District, and a favourable sickness experience in 1875-79 (as shown by the above table), the valuers ascertained that the sickness had been very heavy during the earlier years of the Lodge's existence. Before quitting the subject of the sickness experience, it may be desirable to refer to the information afforded by the valuers relative to the occupations followed by members. For this purpose it will be best to adopt, not the detailed classification which the valuers have given, but that made use of by Mr. Finlaison, Actuary to the English National Debt Office, in his Report on Friendly Societies Statistics, viz., (I.) Light labour—(a) with exposure to weather, (5) without exposure to weather; (2.) Heavy labour — {a) with exposure to weather, (b) without exposure. A fifth class must be added, viz., that of miners. Adopting this classification, we obtain the following results :—

It may be interesting to compare these totals with the corresponding ones in Mr. Finlaison's investigation, comprising registered friendly societies over all England and Wales:— Einlaison. Otago Lodges. Light labour, without exposure to weather 362 451 with „ 7-4 196 Heavy labour, without „ .. 119 134 „ with „ 44-5 21-9 100-0 100-0 The tendency of Mr. Finlaison's results was to show the highest sickness in the class of heavy labour with exposure, next in heavy labour without exposure, next in light labour without exposure, while the smallest sickness was shown by light labour with exposure to weather. The divergence from, the mean of the healthiest and least healthy class was very marked, especially at the higher ages. The classes were found to compare quite differently in respect of mortality—indeed, to be almost in the reverse order. Heavy labour with exposure to weather was found to yield the lowest death-rate at all decennial age-periods from 30 to 70, inclusive ; light labour without exposure yielded the highest ; while the mortality of the remaining two classes was on the whole nearly the same. On both grounds, therefore, the class of heavy labour with exposure appears.to comprise the least eligible risks from a friendly society point of view, both because the sickness is highest, and because the mortality is lowest. In Mr. Knlaison's observations it included the following occupations: Agricultural labourers, brickmakers, builders, carmen, coal trade, costermongers, kiln men, labourers, railway labourers, salt trade, and watermen. The most numerous sub-class here is undoubtedly that comprised under the general term " labourer " (agricultural or otherwise) but it would be most hazardous to assume that these will be equally undesirable as risks in New Zealand friendly societies as they are in those of the mothercountry It may indeed be anticipated that the mortality will be equally low, if not lower ; but there is reason to expect, both from the greater comfort of the labourers' homes and from the inferior severity of the work, that the sickness experienced will be considerably less —perhaps less than that yielded by one or more of the other three classes. Eespecting gold-miners no important statistics of sickness have as yet been compiled, nor does the

Light ;abour. Heavy Lahour. Name of Lodge. Total. Miners. Unspecified Without Exposure. With Exposure. Without Exposure. With Exposure. Abion .lexandra Hue Spur iromwell )alton (unedin [and and Heart iake "Wakatipu lutram 'almerston Roxburgh faifrahuna 111 27 70 58 50 194 298 37 88 19 53 34 65 55 4 10 It 14 4 13 19 9 1 12 IS 114 97 6 10 5 13 11 4 10 3 12 38 38 10 23 G 11 58 25 2 81 8 11 53 10 17 59 4 32 7 1 1 8 31 4!. 2 6 1 4 2 10 5 24 20 39 2 12 Total 1,102 317 151 103 168 179 154