MINORITY REPORT. 309 RCRA Lor Se 49. We consider it a fallacy to conclude that a high surplus at a valuation means good administration and that a deficiency provides a. primd facie case of bad administration. We think, on the contrary, that in general the Society with the heavier expenditure will be more likely to be actuated by the “incentive,” as it is generally understood, than the Society in which the expenditure is low. As an illustration : a Society carrying the hazardous risks of the miners being in deficit at a valuation would require to prove that its standard of administra- tion was of a high order before it could make a claim upon the Central Fund, whereas a Society composed of healthy lives could afford to, and would, undoubtedly, be less strict upon its members. 50. The only evidence of an incentive alleged to operate in a direction consistent with the objects of the Act was given by a representative of Employers’ Provident Funds, who claimed that in order to reduce the expenditure on benefits the employers sought to improve working conditions. (Lesser, Q. 13,375.) VALUATION RESULTS. 51. The large surpluses and the disparities in those surpluses have been referred to at length in the Majority Report, and certain developments and modifications designed to reduce the surpluses and to some extent the disparities are there recom- mended. 52. We are of the opinion that the effect of extending the statutory benefits to absorb the moneys released by the new actuarial basis recommended by the Actuarial Committee will create a serious position for those Societies which, on the present financial basis, have little or no surplus. The operation of the Central Fund and the partial pooling of surpluses will probably enable all Societies to continue to provide the normal rates of benefits, but unless the equalising operations precede the valua- tion reports the position of certain Societies will still appear quite hopeless. =~ We agree that ‘‘ mo Society and no type of Society can claim a prescriptive right to a guaranteed existence,” but we think it proper to say that the gradual decrease in the membership of Societies below the average financial standard will ultimately compel their decease and that the only Societies which could afford to accept a transfer of engagements of such a Society are the largest, which are just those where member- ship control can be least effective. 53. The emergence of surpluses and the consequent provision of additional benefits have emphasised the weakness of the system when viewed from the standpoint of the prevention and cure of sickness. It will be obvious that a Society is only able to provide additional benefits in proportion to the standard of Ean £ (1) D