Friendly Societies
societies formed with the view of assisting any one of their members who may be sick, infirm, or old, or who may have to meet the expense of a funeral in his family; or for providing a certain amount of support for his widow and family on his death. To obtain money for those objects, there is a fixed scale of contributions binding on all the members. Friendly societies existed among the Anglo- Saxons. An act for the encouragement of such institutions was passed by the English Parliament in 1793. See FRATER- NAL SOCIETIES.