At the annual meeting of the Manchester Unity of Odd-
fellows, opened at Folkestone on Whit-Monday, the Grand Master, Mr. J. Harford Hawkins, referred to the question of old-age pensions. That, he declared, " was a matter which must be dealt with by and through the medinm of Friendly Societies alone, unless a system of compulsory insurance was adopted by the State, and that was repugnant to, and not consistent with, the liberty of the subject." " What was wanted was a properly devised old-age pension schema to suit all classes of Friendly Society members, as well as the com- munity at large, and such a scheme could be prepared." A reasonable and workable system of old-age pensions could not, he went on to say, be built up on a nucleus of two and a quarter millions. These remarks by one who has certainly the right to express an opinion on the subject are worth the consideration of the Government, and, indeed, of all who imagine that the old-age pensions problem is going to be solved by a dole of two or three millions. It will require instead something between twenty-five or thirty millions a year, and, further, will meet with a great deal of opposition, not only from the friends of public economy and from all who desire to resist the pauperisation of the nation, but also from, the best of the Friendly Societies.
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