THE MANCHESTER UNITY

Evening Star, Issue 15139, 22 March 1913, Page 12

THE MANCHESTER UNITY

CONFERENCE AT NASEBY. The armtial meeting of the Otago District Committee was <>i«cncd th's. morningin the lodge room of tbe Loval Nasehy Txwge. Over 70 delegates >vero present, representing nearlv .ill the 35 lodges ol the district, rCJ.-M. Bro. V\". U. Cole prew'ded, nrd his colleagues on the District Executive—P.D.O M Bio. G. A. Courrhi<en. P.OS. Brc .7 \ Horx-raft. P.T Bio. d. H. F. H.imel, .nul I'PliM. Bio A. It. Lftwrv—hilcd tl.fii respective chins The following ,ae t'u main diiwi, in the district officer's ii»pnit —Numeiual statement: Numher or nruvbcit,. W .Lunir'i'., 1912, 4,831; niimbei admitted duunir the yeai—bv initiation md bv clearance 3' l ; 5 308 f cvi lett Bv arrears and rc<dcn,i.tio'i, 185 ; bv clearance.

37; by death, 36; .tntal remaining 31st Decerncer, 1912. 5,050. Increase for the year. 216. Vulue of kx!s;o funds, 31st December, 1912. £151.102 10s 3d. and adding the available funds of the 'eent-al body (here is t. C rard total of £155.132 17.5 sd. During the term the deaths of 36 members and 15 members'.-wives were rebeing adecrease (if 11 in the former and 2 i|i the latter from those of the previous ywar. The average sickness experienced per member of lodge ranged from 12 hcurs ■ in the Mauiototo T/Otipe to 3 weeks 2 days 8 hows in the Waipori Lodge. 'l'he average for the district was 1 v eek £ '!.-.ivs 15 hnum. The amount paid for sick pay per member for the year ranged front la 8d in the Maniototo Lodge to £5 12s 4d in the Blue Spur Ledge. The average rate of interest realised on (he. investment of sick and funeral funds of lodges for the year, taking

the district as a whole, was £4 19r 9d per cent. The district trustees havo. always investments waiting to ohsorh auv funds that lodges may 6end in. It is auain pleasing to note th;«t (he amount invested by them on account of lodges is steadily increasing. In the competition held ;u November last there were 14 entries fioiu children of members of the following lodges:—Hand and Heart (3). Dunedin (?). Dalton (4). Prince of Wales (1). Mount Wendon (2). Tapanni (2). The scholarship was awarded to Margaret M. V. Gnilw. daughter of P.G. C. Grater, Hand and Heart Lodge. The stone on the. graw of the late P.P.G.M. D. S. Munro has b:«en erected, and will serve to mark the restingplace of one who ardently supported ;kiv movement for the advancement of this district. New regulations have been issued for the admission of Friendly Society members to the Government Sanatoria at

Roforua and Haunter Springs, and hints to societal ies desirous of yetting members admitted will be published in the annual report of this meeting. In accordance with tho resolution.-'carried at the half-yearly district meeting held at Middlemarch in 1911, the first lodge competition under the control of the district executive was held during the .Tidy-De-cember term of last year. While it is not known how many lodges entered the competition, only six cards were returned. The number of points gained are as Follows (maximum 854) :—Mosgiel Lodge 836, Albion Lodge 699, Man.iototo Lodge | 586 A, Middlemarch Lodge Roxburgh Ledge 5561, Hand ;uid Heart From the alvove it will be seen that the Loyal Mosgiel Lodge, have won the competition, and the officers a.re to be complimented upon their fine jiorformance. The Loyal Albion Lodge take, second place. 'i*he conditions of the competition are fairly stringent and they must necessarily be so if efficiency is to bo maintained, for it requires the united effort of officers and members if success is to he achieved. Of the six ledges, five opened every night at the Appointed hour with two exceptions. The attendance at official visits has been an unqualified success, not only by those lodges who entered the competition but by other lodges who made special efforts on those occasions. Special mention must be made of the praiseworthy enthusiasm on the part of the members of the Loyal Roxburgh and Middlemarch lodges in paying visits to Duudi.u Lodges, the City brethren shewing their appreciation by attending in large numbers on both occasions. The deciding factor in the competition was the number of initiations, and in this respect it may he found necessary to limit the number of members so .as to give other lodges, who arc more consistent in their endeavors, better opoprtunity to score- against spasmodic efforts. With a view to giving encouragment to the. competition, also with the object, of creating keen rivalry between the various lodges, the executive have decided to vote, the, sum of £lO 10s towards procuring a Competition Shield, emblematical c£ the Order. Two designs will be presented to the meeting, and your executive are of opinion that the further sum of £4 10s, necessary to purchase, the better design, should meet with the approval of the delegates, especially in view of the fact that the shield will last for some 20 years. The winning ledge will a.lso be presented with uu enlarged photo of the officers, duly illuminated and framed. The Pride of Kaitangaia, Prince Alfred. Alexandra, (Port IMolyneux) and Dalton Lodger, h.i.ve been officially visited by one or ivoie members of the Executive, the meeting of the last mentioned lodge being nUsnd-.d by the whole five. Besides these. Your Executive have joined with the city and suburban ledges (including Mos,;id and Out-ram) in their officio.! vTairs. The outstanding meeting of a!!, of collide, was that of Dalton Lodge on February 4. on the occasion of the presen.ui.tion to P.G. Pro. W. Bain of the first "25 members" medal in terms of the Roxburgh resolution. It was an inspiring sight. There i» no need here to give a detailed account of the meeting, but it is sufficient, to say that the attend- ' ance and emhusiasm were well worthy of the occasion. The official visit to the Prince Alfred Lodge (Waikouaiti) was attended by a. score of brethren, including three members of the Executive. In its way the meeting was a pleasant one, but your Executive are sorry to have to repott thai the lodge is far from being in a iiouri.;'::ng rvmdiiion. No new 7 members are bein,- made, and the whole work of the .lodge is in the hands of sonic half a- dozen members. Till the younger members of the lodge can be induced to attend and lr.be an interest in the lodge ai;d relieve the old members—" the faithful few "—o£ the burden, there seems to be no hope of ;i return to better condition.-. The Pride of Kaitanga.ta Lodge v. :.<■. visited by two of your officers on the ae.ision of the installation of their offi-c-'.rs, -j.r-:\ were most cordially received. Willi jv</a=\-l u> the City and suburban :':•.!-■:■■;'. the currency of the District Lodge •.'<jio|" i :l ;•}!■■ has- been the means of ija<'u.iog i.;i>'d ,;• tendances, musters of between 20 :md 30 members of a ledge being not uncommon. During the past term your Executive, have endeavored to do as much visiting ;is possible, and in every.' instance fraternal vvel. omes have been : given. —Provincial Grand Master's Address.— ; The P.G.M., after declaring the meet- ] ing open, delivered the folio win 5 ad- '■ dress :-- | Wcrthy Provincial Deputy Grand Mas- : ter, officers and brothers, —After an inter- ; val of ten years we again meet in Naseby < as the guests of the Loyal Naseby Lodge, i and 1 am commissioned by them to give ; you ;i m-cst cordial welcome. While much of the glory of other days has departed | from this town, in common with other i Otago mining centres, yet the flag of the ' Unity is still Hying, and the. "faithful j few " are here to keep it so. The Naseby i Lodge was opened away back in 1868—45 years ago. by P.P.G.AI". Bro. Geddes, who is still alive, but kept from us by the afflictions o'f old age. In 1884. after n spell of Inactivity, the lodge was reopened by P.G.M. Pro'. Guthrie"and P.P.G.M. Bro. Deacon. At the time of our last meeting heie the membership of the lodge was 90, with a fund of £1,286, while the returns to-day show a membership of 117 members and funds amounting to £1,721. The comparative figures for the Otago District make interesting reading. The membership then was 3,429, now it is 5,050. an increase of 1.621. or nearly 50 | per cent. The increase of members for j 1902 was 09; for 1912 it is 216. The total funds then amounted to £95,412: to-day: they are a few short of £155.133, i an increase of close on £60,000 for ten years' work.. j Owing to my term of office expiring j with this meeting, a. duty devolves on me j to brielly review the progress of the Order j in the Otago District during the period I I have had the honor and privilege of being your Grand Master. With one exception, which will be the subject of a special minute from your executive, the Work of the lodges'has progressed smoothly, although in some instances not with abundant success. In the. city and surburban lodges especially, as well as several country ones, there has been a, marked improvement in ledge working and in the complete observance of the ritual. This is primarily due to the district lodge competition, and in this connection I now officially and heartily congratulate the Loyal Mosgiel Ledge on their success. Jt is a sucees.s that is thoroughly deserved, and the Loyal Albion Lodge (twice- runners-up) and the other competing lodges have not been backward in their sincere congratulations. The business paper before you discloses the, numerical and financial results of the years work, and there is no need for me to dilate on these points, except to say that our advancement is in keeping with our deserved- reputation as the best of friendly societies. Contrary to the experience of a northern district, harmonious relations still continue, between the lodges and their surgeons. As an out-come of t,hc Lyttelton friction, the Medical Association are going to take up the question of the payment of doctors by NewZealand friendly societies. The grim Reaper has been busy among us during the past year, and the deaths of 36 members and 16 wives of members are recorded. Bro. D. S. Munro's death we deplored at the Balclutba meeting, and since then we have lost a sincere worker in P.O. Bro. V. Trewern (Dunedin Lodge), who was a zealous and frequent deputy to our District Meetings. His cheery countenance and infectious zeal wijl be much missed both at these meetings and in the lodges. 1 should here like to refer to the death last week of Rro. H. R. Rremner. of the Cavevsha.ni Lodge. While but one of the rank and file and almost unknown in the Order outside his fellow members of ten or twelve years ago, he is here reverently mentioned as an example of rare fortitude and cheerful courage displayed by him during an illness of nearly twelve years. With reference to Rro. Munro. the larval Valley Lodge, with the assistance of lodges and members of, the Otago District, have erected a granite tombstone to his memory in the Northern Cemetery. The Harrop Scholarship of last year atracted more entries than ever before. and the honor fell to the clever daughter of P.G. Bro. C. Grater, of the Hand and Heart Lodge. P.P.G.M. Bro. A. M'Dougall (Dunedin Lodge) very nearly provided

a second winner, his daughter being only beaten by a very r.arrovv margin. One of the in oeU important works of tho year has been the much-needed revision of the district rules. These, as amended by your BevLsion Committee and approved by you at the Balclutha meeting, are now in the printer's hands, and copies will shortly be forwarded to the Government Registrar for his careful scrutiny and ultimate registration. The question of consolidation has also bad careful consideration from the committee appointed, and their report will be laid before you later on. The official handbook of this district is still doing its useful work, and I should like to commend to your notice the faith ful services of the secretary to the committee (P.O. Bro. W. J. Hutton, of the Valley Lodge). One. or two new features are to he introduced into the next publication, and the committee will be pleased to learn of any suggestions for the improvement of the book. I am pleased to have to record that many invitations were extended to me during my term of office to visit various branches of the Order, a.nd many of them I was able to accept. This has "caused at times great personal inconvenience, as well as sacrifice of time, the exigencies of my calling preventing me leaving town as often as I should have liked. Yet I am convinced that a Crand Master, to conscientiously carry out the duties of his office, must do this, visiting, and I can safely say that he will bo rewarded bv the pleasure ho receives in the doing of it. I desire to acknowledge my gratitude, to country members for their unfailing kindness during my stay with them, and I will ever retain pleasant memories of those visits. There are now remaining but a dozen ledges that I have not visited at one time, or another, and these I shall seek opportunities to visit during my final year on your executive. Our brethren of the Auckland district have had under consideration the subject of the proposed subvention of friendly societies by the State, and at their recent district meeting it was reported that a deputation from them on the matter had hcen favorably received by the Prime Minister, who had stated that the Cabinet now had tbe question of State subvention to friendly societies under consideration, and proposed to submit a Bill to the next session of. Parliament.

Before closing. I cannot omit to commend to your notice our district trustees, who have ever the interests of the Order at, heart, and whose one desire and aim is that the Manchester Unity in the Otaeo District- shall always have their conscientious consideration for its welfare. To my colleagues "it the executive, whom I have learner! to esteem as friends, 1 tender my warmest thanks for tho willing and brotherly support given to me during my occupancy of the major chair. To our P.C.S. Bro. J. A. Hopcraft. more especially. I desire to -e.nte.nd my hearty appreciation of his unfailing courtesy * a.ud assistance, and his lengthy experience in friendly fociety work is ever at command to help his colleagues. The outgoing member (P.P.G.M. Bro. Lawry) will be much missed from the executive, no less for his cheery and abounding optimism than for his zeal and energy in the work. The pledge- given by him at Box burgh to assist me to the utmost has been a'mplv fulfilled, and the inauguration of the present lodge- competition a.nd the adjustment of the funeral levy system are his memorials. The executive meetings of the past twelve months have been most regularlv attended, the removal to the new district chamber's adding to the comfort, and in all our gatherings there has been difference without dissension, discussion without discord. My successor has my warmest wishes for as pleasurable a time. In conclusion, I express a sincere hope that my work during my year of office has met with the approval' of brethren generally. I have ever tried to do my best, and though I am sensible of my shortcomings—though no new lodge has been opened, and though my name, like that of my predecessor," will'not go down as th*e promoter of any special reform in our work—l claim that in all 1 have said and done my desire has always been to uphold the dignity of the office I have filled and maintain the prestige of the Manchester Unity. I have to Uiank the members of the Otago District for the courtesy and loyalty extended to me while I occupied the proud position of Provincial Grand Master,' and wish you and yours all happiness and prosperity, a.nd also continued success in your respective ledges.