The services I described were undertaken by the poorest, with the least disposable cash. The friendly societies were not run by the rich. Who had no need for it.
The idea that they would pay their additional tax and continue with their friendly society for the same safety net is ludicrous.
Just as today it is not the poorest who buy additional healthcare cover.
So wait, what? Government saw that some of the poor did something good, copied that and extended it to everybody taxing the "rich" for it, and that somehow makes the government bad?