MAJORITY REPORT. 
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largest Societies associated with Industrial Assurance Companies 
there is no effective means whereby the members could exercise 
control over the affairs of the Societies, whilst in many other 
Societies where the rules do contain provision for enabling 
such control to be exercised, the vast majority of members, 
mainly, no doubt, by reason of indifference or apathy, do not 
avail themselves of their opportunities and evince little or no 
interest in the affairs of their Societies. We, therefore, think 
it worth while to examine at some length this question of control 
by members and to consider what standard should be aimed at 
and could reasonably be expected. 
232. The Act, as has already been indicated, makes express 
provision that the constitution of every Approved Society ‘* must 
provide for its affairs being subject to the absolute control of its 
members.”’ The Act, that is to say, insists on the opportunity 
of control, but even an Act of Parliament could hardly insist on 
this control being exercised. We cannot share the surprise 
which is sometimes provoked by contemplation of the apathy of 
insured persons in these matters. The world makes so many 
claims on everyone that the number of things in which any of us 
can be keenly interested constitutes only a small fraction of those 
in which, as public-spirited citizens, we ought to be interested. 
Though we may conspire to conceal it, the truth seems to be that 
those who have time to be both actively and intelligently 
interested in all the things that affect them, individually or as 
citizens, are exceptional. Nor is this peculiar to any class of the 
community. The placidity of a County Council election, the 
harmony of the necessary quorum at an ordinary shareholders’ 
meeting, the unreasoned faith of the simple man in his Bank or 
his Life Assurance Company, alike bear testimony to the fact 
that in such matters *“ men are unwise and curiously planned,’’ 
and that most of us are content not to be too keenly interested 
even in matters which may directly affect us. There can be but 
few who, surveying their scanty and superficial knowledge of the 
facts underlying current controversy, can truthfully declare that 
they have maintained that degree of interest in public affairs 
which good citizenship postulates. 
233. Applying these considerations to the apathy of insured 
persons, the situation surely is one which, however regrettable, 
is not merely wholly natural, but is in fact paralleled in nearly 
every department of the public life of the community. To 
expect that the great bulk of insured persons should display an 
active interest in the administration of the Act is to court dis- 
appointment. To put it no higher, it is not an attractive field 
of study, and it is probably asking too much of insured persons 
to suggest that they should attend meetings to discuss, for 
example, the propriety of the claims for sickness benefit which 
some of their fellows, unknown to them personally, are making, 
or the intricacies of particular regulations which, for the time 
being, have become of special interest to the Society.