te) 
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MAJORITY REPORT. 
instituted on the lines referred to above. We think that in view 
of the magnitude of the work of allocating the contributions to 
Societies the responsibility of the Central Department’s clearing 
house in this matter should be limited to those Societies having 
a reasonably large membership of mercantile marine members 
and that all other Societies and Branches having members of this 
class should be required to lodge a claim on the Department for 
the contributions paid in respect of the members. The cost 
incurred in crediting Societies with contributions on this basis 
should be borne pro rata by the various Societies concerned. 
548. The proposed schedule system for the collection of contri- 
butions would apply only to contributions payable in respect of 
service in the foreign trade, since an essential part of the system 
is the paying-off of the crew in the presence of a Superintendent 
of the Mercantile Marine, and the verification by him of the 
amount properly payable as Health Insurance contributions—a 
procedure not followed in the case of ships engaged in the 
home trade. In this connexion we foresee some difficulties to 
which the adoption of the schedule system may give rise. A very 
large proportion of foreign-going seamen are not employed solely 
in the foreign trade throughout each year, but have also periods 
of service in the home trade, or of employment on shore. For 
these periods contributions will continue to be payable in the 
ordinary way by the affixing of stamps to half-yearly cards which 
will be issued by the Societies and, when stamped, will have to be 
returned to the Societies by the seamen. For all these men, 
therefore, the Societies will be compelled to keep separate 
records of contributions paid under each system. There will 
also be the danger that men who in respect of their normal 
employment on foreign-going service are absolved from the 
responsibility of taking any steps to see that their contributions 
are properly credited to their Societies, will become more lax in 
taking the steps which will still be necessary as regards the 
contributions payable in respect of service in the home trade, 
or employment on shore. Unless the Societies make special 
efforts to impress upon their seamen members the importance 
of their responsibilities in this latter respect, there will be a risk 
that any improvement in the collection of contributions in respect 
of foreign-going service which may result from the adoption of 
the schedule system, may be offset by a loss of income to the 
Societies in respect of employment of their members in the home 
service or on shore. 
549. We have also given careful consideration to the question 
of the possibility of compulsorily transferring all seamen to one 
Society, but we feel that notwithstanding the advantages that 
would ensue the difficulties in the way of enforcing such an 
arrangement would in all probability prove insurmountable. 
Any such unification must. we think, be left to the Societies