faith, have confidence in them who wish you well; be assured that no gentleman would think of giving his time, his thought, his money for the purpose of injuring you. [Have ye faith in one another. When ye meet in friendship’s name; For the true friend is a brother, And his heart should beat the same. Though your paths in life may differ, Since the hours when first ye met; Yet have faith in one another; You may need that friendship yet.] Look the question boldly in the face and ask yourselves whether it be likely that such and such benefits can be purchased for such and such a price. Leave it not to chance or guess work, but employ a competent actuary to ascertain the real state of each society, and be guided by his advice, whether it be for amalgamation or for reconstruction, or even for breaking up altogether and dividing the funds in hand in order to join some new society founded on undeniable principles. Towards the expenses of this object I would willingly contribute £5, and others would, no doubt, be equally ready to assist. S. Leonardensis” St. Leonards-on-sea, March 28
The Friendly and the Unfriendly, or the Sensible and the Insensible are appellations that may be appropriately given respectively to two letters written on the same day (April 3rd) and published on the same day (Ap. 6th) in the Hastings and St. Leonards News. The first to be here reproduced was from the Rev. W. W. Hume, who, in a former letter of his employed by far the best arguments on the necessity of reforming the local benefit societies, coupled with reliable statistics and friendly advice. The other letter to be reproduced is one that was written in a most discourteous – not to say abusive – strain by Mr. Alfred Richardson, an officer of one of the societies. Mr. Hume’s second communication was worded as follows:- “Sir, - The letters which appeared in your paper last week on the subject of our local Benefit Societies were, I think, quite sufficient, and I am glad that in compliance with my request, you withheld the one I sent you. I should be well content to leave this matter in the hands of those who have shewn themselves so well able to defend the right, but for the remark in the letter signed ‘M.’, which is, I think likely to mislead the unwary, and upon which I must trouble you with a few words, lest otherwise it escape notice and correction. In the beginning of this letter our attention is directed to Benefit Societies found in connection with public-houses; and it would be difficult to overrate the evils resulting from such an arrangement. There can be little doubt that the foundation of habits of general intemperance is frequently laid in young men by their becoming members of such societies; and the positive waste of money is much greater than, without examination, will be believed. We know but too well the power and influence of beer at the present time, and that ‘John Barleycorn’ will soon be a better name for an Englishman than ‘John Bull’; but the common sense of the nation can hardly be so entirely washed out as to prevent men seeing and condemning the folly of making the repair of the Blue Boar or the Red Dragon one branch of a -
