20 
INTRODUCTION. 
36. Societies receiving contributions by means 
of collectors at a greater distance than ten miles 
from their registered office, are made subject to 
special provisions, which must be set forth in 
their rules («). 
Such a society— 
1. Must furnish every member or family 
with a copy of its rules for one penny, 
and a printed policy for one penny (b). 
2. Cannot enforce forfeiture of a policy or 
benefit without written or printed notice 
given at least 14 days before forfei 
ture (c). 
3. Cannot transfer a member to another 
society or company without his written 
(a) The Commissioners reported that their opinion was 
decidedly adverse to this form of society. The radical evil of 
the whole system appeared to them to be in the employment 
of collectors otherwise than under the direct supervision and 
control of the members, a supervision and control which 
they feared to be absolutely unattainable in burial societies 
that are not purely local. The method of collection from 
house-to-house is not a vicious one in itself, and is appro 
priate and economical, indeed virtually indispensable, where 
the individual contributions are reduced to a minimum as 
they are when confined to the purpose of securing burial 
benefits : but in the general burial societies the employ 
ment of collectors, from being a mere method of getting in 
revenue, had become the pivot of the whole system ; the 
collector was the society, the members were merely pawns 
whom he moved about at will on the chess-board. [Fourth 
Eeport, par. 545.] 
(b) In some societies, they had previously charged a price 
for the rules equal to six weeks’ subscriptions. [Ibid. 496.] 
(c) This provision is intended to protect the member 
against being thrown out of benefit by the collector not 
calling upon him. “ Societies, in many cases, absolutely 
maintained themselves by their lapses.” [Ibid. 503,]