THE FRIENDLY SOCIETIES OF THE COLONY.

Otago Witness, Volume 11, Issue 2280, 11 November 1897, Page 18

THE FRIENDLY SOCIETIES OF THE COLONY.

SERIOUS CHARGES AND STARTLING ASSERTIONS. (From Our Own Coruespondsnt.) '

Wellington, November 3.

In the Em ill hours of this morning, when the Estimates were beiiig considered, Mr Taylor made some rather serious charges against the Friendly Societies department, whose very existence, he said, had been questioned by some -of the best authorities in the colony. The | delays in passing lodge by-laws by the revising i barrister were, he said, most vexations, and the I office of registrar was a supeiflui'.y. The i department was costing £1140 per annum, and I there w»8 not an officer in any friendly society in the colony that would say value was given for that expenditure. The department worked no improvements ; indeed, the majority of the societies in the colony were returned year after year aa bankrupt, and, no surely as they were sitting iv the House, before half a oeutury had passed by the swings of thousands' of meu belonging to the Druids, and several bankrupt | organisations like the Druids, , would be melted away into thin air.- At Hume many suctk bankrupt^ organisations bad altogether ! ceased to txist. There were piles of cdmptainte lodged with the depai Inienfe, but the lodges | could gel no redress, though they wrote time ' after time abd week after week. He moved that the item £350 be reduced by £1 as an intimation th.it the services of the Registrar should be dispensed with. The Premier agreed that the Government should endeavour to briug the friendly societies to a sound fiuancial position. He expressed surprise at Mr Taylor attacking the mail who had had the courage to point ont the unsound financial condition of the societies. The present, however, was not the I time to discuss the matter. Mr Tanner Baid he ! had never heard a speech so utterly wide of the I mark as the Premier'?. List sess on Mr Seddon [ had promised reform in this dt-partmeut, where- •' as, bo far as Ghristchurch was concerned, it was

10 timeß worse. Rules were sent up to be ' regi*tered, which were toyed and fooled with by the department uutil the societies lo3t all patience. Mr Kelly corroborated the , remarks of the last speaker as to the feeling )of distati-faction with the registrar. Mr Sligo • did not think that the blame rested with the ' registrar, but with the revising barrister. He severely criticised the attitude of the latter officer, stating that the friendly societies were in a state of actual rebellion regarding the registration of their rules. ' After further discussion, duriDg which tbe matter was gone into at great length, Mr Montgomery at 3 30 moved J to report progress, being of opinion that the i raatfcer under consideration wan of such importance that it ought to stand over till a more fitting hour. This, after debate, was negatived by 34 to 12. Mr Taylor's amendment was lost by 36 to 9. Mr Taylor then moved to strike out the vote of £F0 for the revising barrister. The Premier asked 'that the motion should not be pressed, members having already entered their protest. The motion was lost on the voices'.