ABSTRACT
The singularity of some of their names, the secrecy, the mummery, and the mystery which attended their proceedings, proved peculiarly attractive to the great body of the operative population, while they at the same time excited the distrust, the suspicion, and sometimes the ridicule of the wealthier and better educated portions of society. For Hardwick, friendly societies made a valuable contribution to society, aiding in ‘the elevation, both morally and socially, of the great bulk of laboring population’. The true origin of Friendly Societies, like that of many other institutions which have, in their maturity, exercised most important influence upon the political or social condition of mankind, is enveloped in considerable obscurity. The progress of the secret affiliated bodies was extremely rapid after the Friendly Society principle had become fully engrafted upon their original constitutions. There is some difficulty in ascertaining the date of the original dispensation.
