The "patroni" increased in number, and more and more the colleges acquired the habit of depending on their benefactions. The inscriptions provide no evidence of whether the "collegia" also provided assistance to sick or infirm members. The only exceptions seem to be the military "collegia", which, though strictly forbidden as dangerous to discipline, continued to increase in number in spite of the law. Inscriptions from the great legionary camps of the Roman province of Africa show not only the existence of these clubs, but the way in which their funds were spent. It appears that they were applied to useful purposes in the life of a member as well as for his burial, e.g. to traveling expenses, or to his support after his discharge.