G0 
MAJORITY REPORT. 
tenths of 1d. in the case of women to such amounts as may 
be actuarially shown to be necessary, without disturbing the 
redemption period, after the charges and readjustments have 
been settled. 
(2) That the Section should also provide that the amount 
of the weekly contribution to be retained for the purposes 
of the Contingencies Fund and the Central Fund should be 
reduced from five-ninths of 1d. to one farthing in the case 
of men and from two-fifths of 1d. to one farthing in the 
case of women. 
(3) That the normal proportion of these reduced sums to 
be paid to the Central Fund should be increased from one- 
eighth to one-fourth. 
(4) That Section 76 (5) of the Act be amended to provide 
that, consequentially on the reduction of the contribution to 
the Contingencies Funds, the whole (instead of a maximum 
of one-half) of the balances of the Contingencies Funds of 
all Societies with less than 1,000 members should be liable 
to be pooled to make good deficiencies in any such Societies. 
(5) That the balances accruing to the credit of the Reserve 
Suspense Jiund after 81st December, 1926, be made available 
for averting deficiencies which would otherwise arise on the 
valuation of Approved Societies by reason of the imposition 
on their funds of the new charges. 
AN ALTERNATIVE FINANCIAL SCHEME. 
195. Reference may conveniently be made in this Chapter to an 
alternative financial scheme to that at present in force which has 
been submitted to us by Mr. Walter Farris and upon which we 
had the benefit of hearing Mr. Farris in person. Mr. Farris’s 
proposal is based upon the proposition that the structure of the 
Act on its financial side is productive of much unnecessary 
labour and expense, and that, in his own words, ‘if’ we could 
only break away from this actuarial system much of our labours 
and troubles would disappear’ (App. XCIV, 8). We cannot 
attempt to give an exhaustive explanation of the plan which 
Mr. Farris has submitted, but broadly it is that the reserve values 
should be abolished and that Societies should cease to be credited 
with the contributions of their own members or of any sums in 
redemption of reserve values, being credited yearly in lieu thereof 
with the amounts estimated to meet the cost of normal benefits 
to their members during the following year ; such amounts being 
computed in each case on the actuarial basis of the Act and in 
accordance with the ages of the members of the Society or 
branch. Incidentally, the scheme would require, as Mr. Farris 
admitted (Q. 22,328-22,3392), the transfer to the Central Depart- 
ments of all the securities in the hands of the Societies repre- 
senting funds invested by their own trustees and amounting at 
the present time to between £40 and £50 millions. In this 
direction, therefore, the proposal would eliminate one of the most