THE time is not very remote when the idea that the workingman could not only satisfy his immediate wants but make some provision for the future was scarcely entertained. At the present time it is not going too far to say that much of the best efforts now being put forth for the improvement of the welfare of the working classes has this object in view. The present century, and particularly its last half, has seen the creation and rapid development of provident institutions of all sorts. The movement for workingmen's insurance has swept over Europe, resulting in the enormous extension, either under the auspices of the state or through voluntary efforts of this form of provision for the future. Raiffeisen, Schulze-Delitzch, people's banks, co-operative credit, and kindred institutions, have been organized in great numbers throughout Europe. Savings banks, so organized as to appeal directly to the poorer classes, have progressed with remarkable rapidity. In this movement the state has felt compelled to play a part. In addition to assuming a more or less strict regulative control