ODDFELLOWS CONFERENCE CONFERENCE

Evening Star, Issue 15607, 25 September 1914, Page 9

ODDFELLOWS CONFERENCE CONFERENCE

AT OtABttSU. On W«xh«c*daT afternoon, in tbt> l<xlge room of the Loitft Oamwrtt Lodge, P.G.M. Bro. A. W." Palmer opened the haJf-yeariy meeting of tl* Otago Dltrtrict Committee, M.U.L'OOF. He w*« supported by hi» colleactMM cm, the «x«oirth» (F.D.O.M. Bro. P. W. Smitih, T.C.S. Bro. J. A. Woven.it, P.T. Bro. X H. F. Hamel, and P.P.G.M. Bro. (1. 4.. Coughlan), and tho following deputies -were preeent:—Hatm! and Heart— S. J. Lyon, P. Thomson, G. W. Scott, W. H. Lyons, W. A. Taylor, A. 6Ugo, B. IT. R<wevoar. and W. J Kosevear.; Thiaodin— C. E. Bnrndell, A M*Doo<rall, A. O. *i~hv. C. Arnold, C. #. West, IUKI 0. Crosbie; Djtltcn—O. J. Wood, T. A. Johnston, and B T. Fleming; Prince of Wales—W. J. Watson and J. Johnston j A!hifv>—W.' J. Greenfield. C. W. Anderson, W. B. Stewart, P. W. Stabb, P. H. Srotr. nnd W. Stilllvrm: Oamaru—W. Ontvr, O. BrownW. and A. Caraoni; Tuapeka Pioneer—J. 8. Bee; Waipori—P. W. Knieht-; Tapanui—P. Lischner and D. M'Coll ; Palmerston—\V Pittaway and A. G.->w : Cromwell— K. S. Black: Mount Wwxlon—TT. Wilkie ; Band of Friendship —I. Oallacrher; Out ram—Jn-s. Watson and W. 0. Voill; Mossriel—W. E. M'Leod and Win. Allan: Caver.«ham—W. G. Cole. .T. H. List. R. Swinnev. J. Wikon, and H. E. Herd : Valley—.Tas. Brown, W. J. Button, end F. Calvert: Ngapara—W. Pcifc : Dun--hack—F. W. Venn and A. Murray ; Knifaiunta—d. Thompson and J. A. Penma.n; T"nii**d Brothers—J. O. Briggs; Milton—■ IT. F. Ranwne, A. E, Powley. and Jas. rr-arrh—K. anil D. R. Grant.; Mr.niototo— R. $. St inner; Centenary—F. Bef>it .' - .nd E. Lonfzwnrth. Tho following*lodges were unrepresented i —Wait ahum a. Bhrespur. Naseby, Alexandra. Roxburgh. O.M. Bro." A. Patrick (Oamaru Lodge) was appointed tyler. Th«- meeting straitrht.wav adjourned in memory of tho. late P.P.O.M. Bro. W. G. Gedde*. an old and esteemed member of the Hand and Heart- Lodse. and whoso connection with Oddfellow-ship covered a period of 57 years, and it wa» mentioned. that in his will he had remembered his lodge. Ori resuming, the- patriotic note was at onee struck l»y Per. Sac. Bro. Ja*. Brown, •uiio said that it was fitting that some reference to the present war and the position of the En«niro therein should he made, and the following motion was carried with boisterous enthusiasm and the hearty singing of the National Anthem : We, as representatives of the Order in the Otago District, desire to record our profound concern over the terrible conflict raging in Europe. We deplore the awful wastage in rnnr.an life, the devastation of peaceful country, the reports of brutal savagery on the part of military despotism, the arrest of progress, and the colossal economic loes to the nations of the world. We d»sire> to express heartfelt thankfulifcm that, our nation has drawn the *>ord in a righteous cause, with no i»w to conquest or aggrandisement, hut to resist an enemy wdiose arrogant and aggressive actions had disturbed the peace of the world, menaced the safety of our Empire, and challenged its honor and chivalry. We recognise that the struggle will be long and arduous, bub we await thei future in calm confidence that the heroic efforts now being put forth by the allied (nations to break the power of despotic Germany will be crowned' with triumphant success. At this stage P.G. Bro. Obuper (of the local lodge) introduced the Mavor of Oamaru (Mr W. Frith), who in a, brief .speech extended to the deputies a most hearty welcome to. the town, and trusted that -their stay "be- pVasaort nu<l tha buernea* transacted beneficial to the Order. These cordial wishes were suitablv acknowledged by the chairman, and the Mavor left amid three hearty cheei's. Fraternal greetings and good wishes for a. successful meeting received from P.P.G.M.s Bros. Cable and Lawry, P.S. Bro. C. Q. 0. Naum&nn, P.G.e Bros. R. B. Neill and M'Nie (Port Chalmers), the last-named apologising' for his inability to take his place as a deputy. P.S. Bro. Jas. Brown opened the discusfiqn on the district officers' report. He firstly made reference to the district meet- ' ing held in Oamaru 35 years ago, and said that Bro. Brownlee and himself were the ony two remaining deputies at the present meeting who attended the first meeting. • He went on to eay that deputies would ' notice with rennet the decline in membership for tho past six months (61). The main reason for this, he thought, was the industrial upheavals of la3t year, and in this opinion the Registrar of Friendly Soceties concurred. Tho total gain in membership in all New Zealand friendly toc:«-ties last year was only 112, against 1,578 for 1912. Bro. Brown save the foilowing figures showing the position of the Order in New Zealand : Lodges. Members. Funds M.U.1.0.0.F 226 24,044 £3745.510 •\O.F 149 16.502 400,200 I'xV'tP- - m 17 ' 664 229,266 1.0 O.F. ... 90 6,521 105,953 TO.H. ..... 76 3.965 77.384 All societies ... 681 73,691 1,643,177 Thus the Odor in New Zealand had 21 per cent, of the membership of friendly societics. and 22A of the funds.—P.P.Q.M. Bro. R. S. Black followed in similar strain, but mentioned the pi-ob»bil:tv that the figiwe«i for the second hah* of Uie vear would show enough incjease to balance the present decline. That had been the experience of th« past few vears. The clauto referring to tho Expeditionary Foree and the vote thereto of £IOO by the executive was unanimously enHorsed by the meeting. It was' mentioned that several member* of the Order and sons and relatives of members oi the Order had gon© and were going to the front. The action of the executive in vot ing the £IOO was endorsed bv 25 lodges «nd the Prime. Minister also "forwarded a litter of thanks.

The matter of hall properties was intronuccd by P.P.G.M. Bro. Harnel, who in >. lengthy speech gave tho meeting the results of Ins investigations into several had properties. Ho emphasised the fact th;it hall properties were generally unsatisfactory a* an investment, and hoped ihafc an earnest endeavor would be made t • .-:tr.r> the wast© which this class of sopimty causes. The reasonably cautious j-.',v:.H,»n of p-oviding a renewal or de).reflation account seemed to be ignored, with the result that a considerable writi'it! -!own was necessary.—Bj»s. Black, M'il-ori, Coughlan, Hopcraft, and Sligo ci:lS->H to the discussion, the two firstriimed pointing out that the comfort and loiivenience of lodge rooms specially built wejc something that could not be measured financially, but yet were valuable assets to the lodge in that they made for better worki:i;2 and increased "usefulness. TJltimatalv the following motion was carried : --"That this meeting deeply appreciate the vigilance the executive are showing in the matter of hall property investments, arid heTehy authorise them to arrange with tnose lodges affected for a valuation and where necessary, and to supply a tabulated return to next meeting of District Committee."

The clause dealing with official visits <irew from P.P.G.M." Bro. Bridge the explosion of his opinion that the journeys of the executive officers to country lodges should be done by fewer members, and thus reduce the expense, but Bros. Gallagher (Band of Friendship) and Peat iNtrapara), with others, said" their lodgt* had really benefited from the visits, and ' that, the morey had been well epent. The amalgamation of the fuapeka Pioneer, Blue Spat, and Walpttrt Lodges was brought forward, and the Chairman said it. wot through w> fault of the executive that the project had been delayed. The fault lay with, Ibe Lawrence lodge and their eecretacy (wfco had been til).- —Bros. Stabb And Bl«& mfd the only salvation for these lodges wuae d to be "amalgamation, as they wew hi mining townships that were |nn«r b«h. a/td hoped that the project woidd b» hastened; but Bro. Kt/ight cUligKNd the deputies by saying that he tlMght hi* lodge (Waipoxf) bad turned the wrner and waa on the upgrade. P.O.a Bro. HmctbA totimated that 18 <-ntm* hat! boea Veaafoad for the Harrop tlwnsrh ofla of 4&mm vu i««Hg*bW. j

Tito matter o! joining the Otago United Frimdly Societies' Council and the New Zealand F.S. Association tor the interchange of medical benefit* waa referred to the executive far their consideration, and to report to next meeting. P.S. Bro. Stabb paid a special compliment to tho executive in the matter of attendance at meetings, seeing that all meetings of committee during the year had been attended by everyone ol the members*—the maximum. The motion of Bro. Brown for the adoption of the balance-sheet evoked little dtscueeion, and 80. Hamel, in seconding, aaid he proposed next day to ask for increased levies to the funeral and management funda—namely, 3» and la 9d respectively. The following nominations for offices were received :.—For P.G.M., P.D.G.M. Bto. 0. W. Smith; for P.D.G.M.—P.G.s Bros. Sligo, Sullivan, Lyons, and Knight; for P.CS:. Bro. J. A. Hopcraft; for P.T., Bro. J. H. F. Hamel; for auditor, P.G. Bro. Grater and P.S. Bro. Stabb; for lodge book examiner, P.P.G.M. Bro. TV. j E. O. Reid; for arbitration committee— Broa. Wilson, Black, Xaumann, F. W.

Beobt, R. M"Connell, Taylor, Coughlan, Crcabie, Wolteredorf, Greenfield, and the present committee (with, the exception of Bro. Brigga). Th« conchiding business of the day was the consideration of the report of a' committee set up to investigate securities. This report was submitted by Bro. Black, who said that their investigations, had proved satisfactory, and he couid assure the deputies that all their lodges' pecurities were Kenerallv sound.—Bros. Johnston (Dalfcon) and Wilson, while pleased with the* report, said it did not go far enough. Eaeh lodge in turn should have its securities valued and thoroughly examined.— Ultimately the report was received and the committee thanked for same.

The meeting then adjourned till 9 a.m. next day. About halfway through the afternoon the lady friends of the Oamaru Lodge varied the proceedings by bringing in afternoon tea and cakes, etc., for which they •were heartily and musically thanked. The übiquitous photographer also caused another break.

In the evening the deputies* were entertained at a banquet in St. Luke's Hall. The chair was taken by P.G. Bro. Wm. Couper, and 118 persons sat down to dinner. The toast list was a long one:—too long to detail here—but the three principal toasts were: 'The- Army, Navy, and Territorials' (proposed by Mr C, W. Kent and acknowledged by Captain Vino), 'The Manchester Unity' (proposed by the Mayor, Mr W. H. Frith, and replie"d to by the P.G.M.), and 'The Oamaru Lodge' (proposed by P.C.S. Bto. Hopcraft and responded to by Bros, Brownlee and Bee). A splendid _ programme of musical and elocutionary items was submitted, and during the singing of 'The Absent-minded Beggar ' the sum of £5 0s bd was collected for the local EjTief fund. The conference was resumed vesterday at 9 o'clock, when P.G. Bro. R. S, Clarke ("Vincent) took his seat. P.G.M. Bro. Palmer presided. * Before goinsc on with the remit*, the following motion by Bro. Black was carried unanimously:—"That this meeting of M.U. Oddfellows deeply deplore the recent disasters at Huntly'and White Island, by which so many have lost their lives, and extend to the widows and fatherless in their hour of trouble and bereavement our sincerest sympathy." P.P.G.M. Bro. Coughlan moved—" That the executive be instructed to purchase regalia to the extent of £25 to loan to lodges for social and fraternal functions," but after a brief discussion it was thrown out bv a big majority, the feeling being that there were more pressing need?. 'The first clause oi the remit from the executive re the appointment by lodges of so\icit-or& -was ltrc>wrt o-ut, tiiwl tKe eecotwl on* was withdrawn. There was a lengthy and able debate on the subject.

Some new machinery clauses for the guidance ot lodge trustees were opposed by Bro. Allan and others, but were ultimately adopted. P.G. Bro. Sligo was an able pleader for the Hand and Heart Lodge's remits for the payment of subscriptions and the relief of the dependents of those brethren who have gone or are gping with Expeditionary Forces, or who may suffer through any national crisis, whether general unemployment, industrial upheaval, or gigantic catastrophe. The remits were unanimously adopted.—lt was also decided that as complete a list as possible of soldier brethren be made and printed with the official minutes of the conference.

| The Prince of Wales Lodge (Fort Chalmers), through Bros. Watson and John- | ston, sought to do away with the half- ■ yearly district meetings, but this was | strenuously opposed by Bros. Black, Sullivan, Knight, and others, and the motion was ultimately lest. The deputy forwarding Odd fellowship news to the .'Star' was thanked for his services, and P.G. Bro. W. A. Taylor volunteered for similar work for the morning paper. The levies for the half-year were fixed at 3s for funeral and 2s 3d for management. The Cromwell Lodge withdrew their request that the March meeting be held there, so bv rule it will be held in Dunedin, Jhe date and lodge room being left to the executive.

The executive were recommended to make a vote of £5 5s to the Oamaru Hospital, and the Oamaru Lodge were heartily thanked for their lavish hospitality to the deputies during their two days' stay in Oamatu*

A vote of thanka to the presiding officer and a hearty expression of loyalty to the King concluded cl pleasant meeting.