The Nelson Evening Mail. TUESDAY, JULY 24, 1866.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume I, Issue 120, 24 July 1866, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. TUESDAY, JULY 24, 1866.

The half-yearly district meeting of the Independent Order of Odd-fellows, Manchester Unity, was held in the Odd-Fellows' Hall, Nelson, on the 10th inst. At this meeting delegates attended from the lodges in the district, except Picfcon, which was not represented on the occasion. The auditors' report contains some interesting information relative to the progress of the order. It appears that there are six lodges in the Nelson district, viz., Nelson, 130 members ; Traveller's Rest, 47 members ; Howard, 130 members ; Mausion of Peace, 27 members ; Picton, 45 members ; and General Cameron, 19 members. The total number of members in the district is 398. The contributions received by five lodges for the year, ending 30th June, 1566, were £596 13s. 4d. ; the amount paid during the same period for sickness, £208 165.; the sum paid for medical attendance, £134 7s. ; cost of funerals, =£84 : amount paid by Widow and Orphans' Fund, £128 9s. 6d. The funds held by the five lodges, exclusive of management fund, is £3,042 9s. 2d. ; the district management fuud amounts to £38 Is. 7d., to which must be added the sum of 10s. 3d., balance of levies of district funeral fund ; the Widow and Orphans' Fund is £555 18s. lOd, making a total of £3,636 19s. 10d., as representing the funds in the district, of which amount £2,500 is invested. The report states that the draw on the fund for widows and orphans during the past half-year has been heavier than usual, the disbursements having exceeded the receipts by over £6. The amount paid over to the treasurer, as the proceeds of a ball, amounted to £8 only, which sum included donations from several friends. The committee have written for copies of the Melbourne general laws, to assist them in forming a code of laws for the government of the Nelson District. The committee strongly recommend the registration of all the lodges in the^district, under the Friendly Societies Act. The committee also recommend that the sum of £20 bo voted from the district fund, towards erecting a stone to the memory of the late P.P.G-.M. Sullivan ; any further sum required, to be raised by subscription in the lodges. It appears from the report, from which these extracts are made, that the Nelson order of Odd-fellows arc makiug commendable exertions to establish the order in the district, aud that they are making steady progress in regard to the enrolment of members and the accumulation of funds. The advantages of a friendly society of this nature, arc so obvious, that no argument is required to recommend it to the public favor. By paying a small sum periodically into the coffers of the society, habits of economy and forethought are cultivated, which may lead to the most important results. To be able to rely on the society for assistance during illness, and for resources at the death of friends, must be a source of great consolation in the melancholy circumstances which sooner or later overtake us all. The good feeling created between persons of different countries, characters, and creed?, who were strangers to each other, till they were brought into contact through the instrumentality of the order, is not one of the least advantages of this friendly system. We shall be glad to learn that a society so catholic in its principles, and benign in its teudency, has made large accessions to its numbers, and greatly increased its funds. Persons who feel disposed to contribute of their abundance to the public charities, cannot do wrong in giving an occasional subscription to an institution which teaches habits of self-denial and frugality, makes provision for the sick and afflicted amongst its members, and mitigates the sorrows of the widow and orphan, when deprived of the protection of those on whom they had been accustomed to lean for support. •