M.U.I.O.O.F.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 7318, 30 July 1885, Page 3

M.U.1.0.0.F.

The half-yearly degree meeting and Purple lecture was held at the Stuartstreet Oddfellows' Hall last evening. There were present some 50 past-officers, which is the largest attendance that has been for some time past. Brethren were present from Lawrence, Outram, Mosgiel, Caversham, North-East Valley, and Dunedin lodges, and received the various degrees attached to the various offices they have served. Bro. A. Sligo, P.P.G.M., acting as P.G.M., conferred the various inferior degrees, and afterwards delivered the Purple lecture. Bro. Hitchcock, D.P.G.M., and Bro. Black, C.S., were also present. A meeting of the Standing Committee was afterwards held, for the purpose of electing a P.G.M. idee Bro. John Smith, who had resigned, having been obliged to leave the Colony on account of ill-health. On. the motion of Bro. Sherwin, seconded by Bro. P.P.G.M. Geddes, Bro. D.P.G.M. Hitchcock was appointed P.G.M. for the office of D.P.G.M. five candidates were nominated, and after a ballot had been taken Bro. C. Gore was elected.. They were subsequently installed by the acting P.G.M., Bro. Sligo. ... . ' THE RATING ACT.

Bro. Sligo said there were Wo bills that had been* introduced into: Parliament to amend the ; Friendly .Societies Act which the district officers thought it was desirable to obtain an expression upon from ; those present. The two bills were "The Rating Act 1882 Amendment Bill 1855," and "The Friendly Societies Act 18S2 Amendment Bill 1585." It was proposed to amend the Rating Act of 1882 by inserting a clause exempting the property of friendly societies from taxation. The exemption should refer to " all property, whether real or personal, belonging to a society, or branch of a society, now or hereafter registered under any Act or friendly societies."

Bro. Geddes said as trustee of the Hand and Heart Lodge, he would move, on behalf of the Lodge — "That the meeting approve of the bill." The building the lodge at present held their meetings m belonged to them, and they were rated very considerably; in fact almost more than they could bear. He therefore thought if they could shako anything off in the way of taxation it would be for the benefit of the society. . ■■ . Bro. Muneo seconded the motion.

Bro. RouiN said if the Hand and Heart Lodge had the hall only for the purpose of holding their meetings he did not think he would oppose the motion; but seeing they had property over and above their necessities, which they expected to make a profit on, he thought they had a right to be rated. They required the footpaths and surroundings kept in repair, and he thought that it w^as only fair and just that they should pay a fair proportion of the rates necessary to keep them in repair. He would move as an amendment to Mr Geddes' motion—"That this meeting strongly disapprove of the Rating Bill proposed by Mr Turnbull."

Bro. SiiEinviN supported the amendment, which was eventually carried.

FRIENDLY SOCIETIES AMENDMENT ACT,

Bro. Sligo said lie had received the following letter from the North Westland district relative to the amendment of the Friendly Society's Act. The letter was as follows :—

I am instructed to ask the cooperation of other districts in procuring an amendment of the Friendly Societies Act whereby all interest received by the sick and funeral fund of lodges over, say, 5 per cent, be allowed to go to the management or other fund. Anile to this effect forwarded by this district was refused registration. The constant levies for management fund in some of the lodges is causing dissatisfaction and secession of some of the members.

The scale of contribution for the Foresters here is much lower tlmn ours; yet it is registered. And though-a surplus may be shown quinqiieniiially, the appropriation is delayed, so as to be of no immediate benefit to management fund. In asking all over 5 per cent, when value at -1 is reasonable, yet the Act will not allow it. We ask your assistance, through your representatives in the Assembly, in procuring this concession.—Yours h--i----ternally,

W. G. Coixia'os, Prov. C.S. He said that since the letter had been been received the question had assumed another phase. A bill had been introduced into Parliament by Mr O'Conor, the member for Buller, which sought to amend the friendly Societies Act in the direction in which the letter indicated. Steps had been taken to procure a copy of the bill as early as possible; and this having been done, the matter was considered by the district officers, and they had requested him (Mr Sligo) and the P.C.S., Bro. Black, to draw up a report and submit the same to this meeting, indicating how undesirable it was that such a bill should be passed. The bill proposed to empower societies whose scales. of contribution for new members have been certified by competent defiuod parties adequate to appropriate any surplus of interest over 5 per cent, accruing from investment of benefit funds to such purpose as may be approved by the central body of any society, or by the branches in the case of a central * body, It would bo recollected that in the session of Parliament of 1870 an effort was made by this district to obtain power to appropriate interest arising from the investment of benefit funds to the use of the management funds, from which is paid medical attendance and medicines, as well as management expenses. The rate of interest ruling was then much higher than it now is, and such a concession would then have been more likely to be of practical value than it now is, and he believed that very few societies would be benefited by the alteration in the law proposed by Mr O'Conor's bill, if, as should be the case, it were further provided that interest should be considered as surplus interest only after the whole of the benefit funds of a society had earned and been credited with interest at 5 per cent. If this were provided he did not think this district need care much whether the bill passed into law or was rejected. If it was strictly insisted on that the whole benefit capital of societies should yield 5 per cent, of interest before any appropriation could be made, and that any appropriation should only be available to societies whose scales of contributions were certified as being aetuarially sufficient, lie ventured the opinion that probably not a single society in the Colony would bo able to take any advantage of the amended law. He believed, in fact, that it would be entirely inoperative, and ventured further to doubt the wisdom of requiring societies to have certified scales of contributions, even for ;>. subsidiary purpose. lie believed there was room for grave fault-finding with the drafting of this bill, irrespective altogether of the principle involved in it, and thought that it might, and ought, to be made more clear and simple. With this end in view, Bro. Black, C.S and himself beg to submit that it be resolved:—

That while we are snfrislied with the existing act and think it; would be well if it were left to its operation, we think if there is toby an all (.'ration, it should be as proposed by the district officers: "That this meeting is of opinion that the amendment of the Friendly Societies Act as proposed by Air O'Conor, M.H.H., would, in its present form, be detrimental to the welfare of friendly Societies gener-

ally throughout the Colony, ior the iolio'.ving reasons:—(l) 'Die amendment of sub-section 3 of section 12 of the present act :ia proposed by clause 2 I of the bill is ininepyssni'V. aint't' i?tausi> "> "ol I hu bill deliim* clearly Minugh under what condif tons tho provisions of the sniil sub-sei-l ion nmv lie departed from. (2) That the provisions or clause 3 of the bill, requiring a certified scale of contributions for new | members before societies can appropriate the surplus interest over 5 per cent, accruing from, the investment of funds, practically renders the bill inapplicable to the majority of friendly societies'in the Colony. This we'regard as unfair, seeing that the stability of friendly societies depends fully as much on careful and prudent nianagementas on'the possession of a scale of oontrilmtions adequate, from an actuarial point of view ; and that, a society with a scale of- contributions reasonably approaching adequacy may, by careful management, make its solvency more assured than amismaimged society with the most accurate scale that actuaries can lav down. (3) That the bill is defective inasmuch as it does not define that the f> per cent, to he retained by the benefit fund shall mean that, rate per cent, upon the total capita! oi i.lie fund, and not. upon actual investments, as societies are apt to assume it to he if not otherwise defined. Sums of money are invested in different ways, and at different rates of interest.—some are of a remunerative character, and others are not. uufrequently the contrary, whilst it is scarcely possible for the whole of a society's funds to be providing interest at" the same time. Therefore, in granting liberty to societies 'to appropriate all interest over 5 per cent, per annum accruing from the .investment of benefit fund capital, it should be clearly laid down that such appropriation can only be made after allowing 5 per cent, upon the total capital of the fund, otherwise the concession is likely to be abused to an extent fraught, with serious consequences to the stability of societies. "We would therefore suggest the desirability of amending Mr O'Connor's bill in the following manner:—That sub-section ;s of section 12 of the said act remain as at present, and that the following be added thereto:—•' Provided that societies and branches which have- been reported to possess a surplus at the last valuation made under the said act may apply all interest over and above o per centum per annum accruing from the investment of benefit fund cfuiitnl to such purposes as they may deem tit, subject to the consent of the central body in the ease, of a branch, the said live per centum per annum to be calculated upon the total value of such fund; also, provided tlmt if any valuer in any report made in accordance with sub-head (c) of sub- I section 1 of section 12 of the said act shall report that any further transfer can be safely made it shall be lawful to make such transfer accordingly." i

Bro. Br.ACK considered the bill very loosely worded indeed, and when he first saw it despaired of making anything out of it; but after some consideration,..with the aid of Bro. Sligo, he had managed to knock it into ship-shape in the form of the amendments which had just been read. As the bill stood, it seemed to him that its application would be narrowed down to two or three societies in the Colony—perhaps some of those in the Canterbury district, from whence it emanated. Some of these had a surplus, and it would be a most unfair thing that its application should be narrowed down solely to these. A well-managed society might often weather any storm better than a society with one of the best scales of contributions that could be ■■ devised. The bill made no provision for the protection of the interest to be retained, which meant 5 per cent, of the total capital of the lodges, and they knew from experience in this district that great abuses had arisen simply from this provision of the act not being clearly defined. The lodge secretaries not understanding'the real meaning of the matter, appropriated the interest over 4 per cent., without considering the whole of the funds, and so it led to great abuses, and if the bill passed in its present form it would do so again.

Bro. Robin expressed his pleasure at hearing such an able report brought up on the subject. The Friendly Societies Act was good enough, and he would have been infinitely better pleased had it been been left alone. He took occasion to express his opinion that there was far too much lawmaking and tinkering at laws which were really good in respept to friendly societies and the public too. He would move—" That while regretting that any. action has been taken to amend the laws in respect to Friendly Societies, seeing that the present act was working well, if the law be altered it will be in the direction of the resolutions brought up by Bros Sligo and Black; and that a copy of these resolutions bo forwarded to the city members and other bodies interested."

Bro.SiiEBWiN seconded the motion, which was carried unanimously.