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

Otago Daily Times, Issue 11229, 27 September 1898, Page 6

M.U.1.0.0.F.

OTAGO DISTRICT.

The half-yearly meeting of the Otago District, M.U.1.0.0.F.,..was held in the Hand and Heart Lodge Room on the 21st. when there were present P.G.M. Bro; J. H. Hamel; P.D : .G.M. Bro. W. ; Allan; treasurer, P.P.6; Bro. J. Robin; secretary, P.P.G. Bro. J. A. Hopcraft; P.P.G.M. Bro. Bruridell; Hand and Heart- Lodge—N.G. Bro. Turley, V.G. Bro. A. Willis, P.G. Bro. Grater, P.G. Bro. W. H. Munro, G.M. Bro. "W. Beadle, P.P.O.S. Bro. P. Black; Dunedin Lodge— ■ P.P.G; Bro. Hanon, N.G. Bro. Alexander, P.G. Bro. M'Dougall, P.G. Bro. Scoqnes; Dalton Lodge—P.G. Bro. 0; J. AVood, V.G. Bro.'W. Alexander, Per. Sec. Bro. J. Hogg; Prince of Wales Lodge—P.G. Bro. A. Cable; Albion Lodge—P.P.G.M. Bro. Calvert, Per. Sec. Bro. W. E.! Reid, V.G. Bro. Kirkcaldy; Oainaru Lodge—P.G. Bro. J. G. Gow; Tuapcka Pioneer Lodge-—Per. Sec. Bro. G. Jeffery; Waitalvuna .uodge—P.G. . Bro. W. Robson; Prince Alfred Lodge—Per. Sec. Bro. W. Russell; Lake Wakatipu Lodge— P.P.G.M. Bro. A. Deacon; Palmerston Lodge —Per. See. Bro. E. H. Clark; Cromwell Lodge—P.G: Bro. W. T. Talboys; Mount Wendon Lodge—P.G. Bro. J. Briggs; Outrun). Lodge—Per. Sec. Bro: J. Grant; Mos'siel Lodge—P.P.G.M. Bro. Smellie, Per. Sec. Bro. Weir; Caversham Lodge!—P.G. Bro. J. Wilson, G.M. Bro.'J. Russell, P.G. Bro. S. D. Cronin; Valloy Lodge—N.G. Bro. J. A. Robson, Per Sec. Bro. D. Munro; Dunback Lodge—N.G. ■ Bro. J. B. Sim; Kaitangata Lodge—P.G. Bro. W. H. Beoni; United Brothers Lodge—V.G. Bro. Bceson and Tyler Bro. Motor; Mosgiel Lodge—G.M. Bro. J: Stephen. . . . . . ' DISTEIOT OFFICEHS AND G.M.'s KErORTS. The following are tho principal clauses of the half-yearly' report submitted by the district officers: — ■ Tiie numerical progress of the district for the half-year ended 30th. June, 1898, is as follows:—Number, of members Ist January, IS3S, 2155; number admitted during the half-year by initiation, etc., 155 by clearanbo 7—162; total, 2G17. Less left by arrears 43, by clearance C, by death 15—69; total remaining. 2548. From the above it will be seen that the net increase for the period under review is 93, as compared with an increase of ii for the corresponding period of last year. Tho particulars of tho financial operations for the half-year ended 30th June, IS3B, are as follows: — Receipts: To value of lodge funds 31st December, 1897. £74,707 2s lOd; entrance fees sick and funeral funds, £96 14s 6d; contributions sick and funeral funds, JG1902 2s 7d; funeral claims from district, £390; interest and rent sick and funeral funds, £1508 13s 4d; sundry receipts sick and funeral funds, £6 9s 4d; contributions and levies management funds, £2006 11s Old; interest and rents management funds, £31 13s Gd; sundry receipts management funds, £302 8s lOd; increase in value of other funds, £9 15s 3W; total, £6307 8s sd;— grand total, £51,014 11s 3d. ... Expenditure.: By sick benefits, £1432 6s sd; funeral claims, £3SO; district funeral levies, £420 16s lid; sundry payments sick and funeral fund, £120 12s 7d; medical attendance and medicine, £1352 Ss -id; salaries and allowances, £327 9s 4d; sundry payments management •funds, £745 7s' 4d; total, £4785 0s lid. Value of lodge funds 30th June, 1898, £76,229 10s 4d; grand total,' £81,014 11s 3d. Adding tho available funds of the central body (£1073 2s 8d) to the above, wo get a grand total of £77,302 13s as the total value of the district as at 30th June, being an increase of £1571 16s 7d for the six months. The death record during the term was 15 members and 10 members' wives, compared with eight members and eight members' wives for the corresponding period of 1897. The total sick benefits paid was £1432 6s sd, as compared with £1200 16s Sd for the corresponding period last. year. The average per member for sickness was lls lid; There was no sickness experienced during the term in the Lake Wakatipu Lodge. The highest rate experienced was in the Y/aipori Lodge, averaging £1 15s 7d per member. Revised Rules.—The revised rules were transmitted to the Registrar of Friendly Societies for registration, in conformity with the act, but as the revising barrister objected to the rules dealing with secession and dissolution he refused to register them. The revising barrister objected to the proviso that the consent of the District Committee must be obtained for secession, and to the proviso that the consent of three-fourths of the members of a lodge must be obtained for dissolution. The. grounds of objection were: (1). That the provision as to unconditional consent is arbitrary and unreasonable; (2) that such a provision would not be registered in England; and (3) that the general rules of the order contain no sucTi provision as to consent by a district. As the registrar refused to register the rules your officers were compelled to appeal to the Supreme Court, and their appeal was argued before his Honor Mr Justice Pennefather on the 15th July last. His Honor upheld the appeal, and' decided that- as yhe proposed rules are not repugnant to nor inconsistent with " The' Friendly Societies Zealand, they must bo registered. District Rules.—The rules have been again transmitted to the registrar for registration, and as soon as this is done copies will be provided for distribution. All officerß and members of lodges should carefully, study these rules, so as to obviate the neseccity for appeals to the district officers for their ruling on trivial points which are clearly provided for. Jubilee Procession.—lt is with pleasure that your officers congratulate the district Upon the very satisfactory attendance of brethren taking part in the procession in honour of the. Jubilee of the province. It was very gratifying to see such a large gathering of our brethron from the country, nearly every lodge in the district bsing .represented. -Your officers feel sure that tho committee wno carried out tlie details were amply compensated for the time spent in making the necessary arrangements by seeing such a record attendance on that memorable occasion. Visits.to Lodges.—lt is the intention of your executive to arrange with one of their number to pay an official visit during the early part of January next to some of the Lodges in tho outlying districts. Jubilee of Oddfellowship.—The Jubilee of Oddfellowship in Otago takes place on the sth December next. Your executive considered it desirable that this meeting should have some definite recommendation made to it regarding the manner of celebrating'such an auspicious event. Your officers therefore called a meeting, to which the N.G-.'s of the city and suburban lodges and the.P.P.G.M.'s of tho district were invited, to consider the matter and prepare a report for your consideration. The report drawn up by that committee will be placed before you. . . Conclusion.—Tho business paper for the meeting is remarkable for the absence of general propositions. In concluding this report your officers desire to congratulate tbe district on the results attained, and hope that it will bo the endeavour of all officers and members to maintain and strengthen our order. (Signed) J. H. F. Hamel, Pro. G.M. Wh. Allan, Pro. D.G.M. J. A. Hopcrajt, Pro. C.S. J. Robin, Pro. Treasurer. C. E. Brundell, P.P.G.M. Report of Special Committee to Consider and Report with Reference to the Question of Retaining a Specialist in the Eye, Ear, and Throat Diseases for tho Use of the Members— The committee having given full consideration to the question submitted to them, beg to adviso that they have no recommendation to make. Report of Committee to Consider re Celebration of Jubilee of Oddfellowship in Otago.— Tho committee considers it desirable to celebrato the Jubilee of Oddfellowship in Otago, and recommends that the celebration be by a j procession and monster railway picnic on a i date to be arranged, and also a church parade on a Sunday. P.G. Bro. Hainel, in moving the reception | of tho report, said: — I Before reviewing the more important events that have obtained since our last meeting, allow ! mi, on behalf of the Loyal Hand and Heart I Loai»e, to extend to you, one and all, a most I ccidial and hearty welcome, a welcome -full of j fraternal significance, in view of the fact that the sth day of December this year ushers in the. jubilee of that lodge. The Loyal Hand and Heart, being the pioneer lodge of Oddfellowship in Otago, wo have, therefore, concurrently with her jubilee, the jubilee of Oddfellowship in tho province of Otago. From the last statement of this lodge we find its numerical stiength to be 493 members, while its funds total £21,466. This is a most gratifying result, not only, to its members, but gratifying to the district generally, and I have no doubt in my mind that the earnest wish of all present is that the members entrusted with its destiny j may rightly understand so serious a responsibility, appreciate so great a heritage, and that thoy will endeavour to their utmost to maintain this lodgo's prestige. The Jubilee of the Province of Otago is deserving of special mention (the meeting^ today is tho first representative meeting sinco that event)—deserving of mention not only owing to tho importance to us of such an event in a provincial sonsc, but also duo to tho satisfactory manner in which the members of this district rallied round their officers on that auspicious occasion—an occasion that will bo looked upon by Oddfellows for many years to come as n red letter day. To single out any brother for special raontion in matters of this nature as a rulo scorns invidious, but, viewing the peculiar circumstances under which one of our brethren worked for a display commensurate with the importance of our Order, knowing at the time that a successor would be in his privileged position when tho day came, seems to me justifiable grounds for making an exception to 'tho rule. I allude to the work dona bv niv predecessor in office, our esteemed brother'P.P.G.M. Bro. Brundoll. Th3 World's Parliament of Oddfellowship (tho A.'M.C. of our order) seems to me an ovont that ou»ht to bo referred to. This meeting took place in June last. If tho law of environment hag any application or effect m transitory affairs, then the deductions lnndo at that meeting ought to be very for reaching. The city in which they mot was that great educational centre, the "City of Oxford, a new town hull just completed being placed at thoir disposal' for tho mooting. The delegates present numbered GIG. This exceeded any previous attendance by one. There were two delegates from New Zealand— natnoly,. Bro. Reynolds (of Auckland) and Bro. J. Ward (of New Plymouth). Tho announcement of their names in tho calling of tho roll .was the ai£ual for sm

approving'cheer. Further on. in'the meeting, thos-s brothers were accommodated with .seats;\ .;. on the dais. We find from the statistics.laid ; before that meeting that on tho Ist of January, this year the membership of the order, stood at 925,110. ■ The financial'statement■'.of the. order as at the 31st of December, 1896 (the latest re-,,', tun available), shows that the vreceiptsy amounted to £1,181,208 3s lbd, the. expenditure . r to £792,275 6s lld,'thus leaving alprofit on the ' year's transactions :of £388,932 16s lid..- Tie. ■■ total capital of the unity now amounts.to the, large sum of £9,399,015 ps Id. Among the many. important- questions resolved upon, the-exten-sive amendments, of the general laws in recog-; nition of female branches calls for special, mention,, as also the. resolution regarding the. investigation of the sickness and mortality ex-, perience of the socie'ty over a period of-five, years (the cost of this'latter work was estimated at £4000). Tho G.M. of. .our. Order foi. _ , the ensuing year is Bro. Thomas Edmondson. : The twenty-first-annual report" by the Regis-.; irar of Friendly Societios'in New-Zealand calif, for little comment. Its' statistics are a continuing source of satisfaction regarding J™ 1; position among friendly-societies in New Zealand. The total membership,, of the friendly societies on the 31st of .December, 1896, was. 31,825, and the: total funds amounted to. £611,826..' . Tho claim of the M.U.1.0.0.F. on these figures is as follows:—M.U.l.O.O.F. . membership, 12,536; funds, £318,719. .' - There is another matter in this report to.1 which it seoms to me only right some reference should be; made, and that is paragraph 24,.which implies almost a suggestion regarding the cea-, tralising of sick fund3. However, it is not my •; intention of expressing any opinion respectingthe principle contained in this paragraph, but it seemed to me of sufficient importance to war- " rant an allusion being made'respecting it. : Worthy brethren, a cause of congratulation, and that in the superlative degree, is the un-: doubted vitality of our -district. The newlyformed lodges, tlie Loyal United Brothers and ; > the Loyal Milton, are showing in a very marked manner that their mission in their respective localities is thoroughly in keeping with the best • traditions of our Order, and that they are going to prove sources of strength to the district; in ■ fact, so general are the indications of activity in our lodges that the special mention just made is almost superfluous. : ; My utterances might. possibly be construed as laudatory but for the. fact that they are borne out by our statistics,-' which show the net increase in our membership . to be 93. This is an increase of 49 over the, corresponding half. The net increase in our funds amo.unts to £157ri6s 7d. . This must be considered as satisfactory in view of the increased amount of pur-sick pay and the large ' number of deaths that have taken place this half. Our total funds amount to £77,302 13s. The light sickness experience of the Loyal Waka-. tipu Lodge—viz., nil—and the Loyal Pride of '• Kaitangata Lodge (within a fraction of 3d per member) cannot 'bo allowed to go unnoticed. ' Our recent law case (now a matter of past history) is deserving of notice as a tribute to those ■ gentlemen who so ably conducted our case. It '. will, no doubt, be of interest to members toknow that the heavy expenses incurred regard . injr this case have been'handsomely subscribedto by the.1.0.0.F. We think that the rules will: be in the hands of members before October ■ closes.- > ■ ■.-,'-. '■- Our Prov. C.S. proposes at an early date taking a trip to Australia. I feel sure that I am . voicing tlie sentiments of this meeting in wishIn conclusion, I have to thank the brethren of the Order for their support during the half-yeai - just closing, with, the earnest wish that the great principles of our Order may., be more , generally recognised—principles that tend to make those who enter. among us more self- ' reliant in the best sense^of the word, and better members of society. I shall therefore move that the district officers' report, being printed, be taken as read,' and that it be received. On the -motion of Bro. Calvert, it was ro-' solved that the Provincial G.M. be thanked for his address, and that it be printed with the report of the proceedings of the mooting. '•'.-■ .Giv- the motion of Bro. Grater, seconded by Bro. Harrop, the balance sheet and auditors': report were adopted. NOMINATIONS. The following nominations were received * for District officers and auditors:—For Pro-' vineial G.M., Prov. D.G.M. Allan. For Pro- ;: vincial D.G.M.—P.G.'s M'Dougall, Briggs, W. E. C. Reid, Cronin, Scoones, D. S. Alms- '.. ro, C. Grater, J. C. Gow, H. Willis; Winter, Garrow, W. H. Nimmo, and P.P.C.S. Black. ' For Provincial C.S. —Bro. Hoporaft. For Provincial Treasurer—Bros. Robin, Harrop, ' Lake, and Ibbotson. For auditor., Bros. 0. : Grater and Ibbotson. GENERAL. The report of ; the Special Committee to; consider the question of retaining a specialist in the eye, ear, and throat diseases for the us< of the members was adopted. The report of the committee to consider re celebration of jubilee of Oddfellowship in Otago was also adopted, and it was resolved ' that, a committee to arrange details be ap- . pointed, consisting of the N.G.'s .of lodges, P.P.G.M.'s of districts, and district officers. v A circular was received signed by th«. Deputy G.M. of the'Order Llanelly District and Prov. C.S. Blaclqvood District, containing the folio wing information: —... .> . ... At a special meeting of representatives from the various districts of the order of Oddfellows, 'M.U., affected by fhe present strike, . held at Cardiff, on Monday, June 27, 18D8, under the presidency of Tom Hughes, Esq., J.P., Llanelly, Deputy Grand Master of the -. order, it was resolved—"That having regard ; to ; the painful and acute1 distress existing in South Wales and Monmouthshire, in consequence of the present unfortunate-dispute, to issue a. circular to the lodges and districtS'throughout J the order (subject to the approval of the Board/ of Directors) for to our members so'' as to enable those so .affected to be kept in ■ compliance." The consent of the directors - having now been obtained, in accordance with . the above resolution, as stated in the letter of the C.S. of the order, dated the 4th. instant, a , copy of which is appended hereto, we whose : names are affixed hereunder beg most, respect- . fully to appeal to our brethren throughout the ; United Kingdom for assistance to enable those who suffer from this deplorable .crisis in tha coal trade to continue their connection with, the order. Over 11,000 brother Oddfellows are ' affected by the strike, and by 'communications received from secretaries of the affected districts we find that at least 7500 are abroad) '■ rendered totally unable. to pay their contribu. ' tions; and if once struck off the rolls, it will ■" be a matter of utter impossibility for several hundreds of them to rejoin the society in consequence of age and other, disabilities. As the ■ unavoidable result, they will have to apply to . the Guardiaus of the Poor for assistance in -. cases of sickness and distress. Although .the conflict has already existed for more than three • months, the lodges have succeeded, through - charities from friends and by utilising theii distress funds, to tide over the difficulty with.. surprising success; but we are sorry to be compelled to state that those funds, in most, cases are now completely exhausted, and hence the desirability for immedate action on ,tho part of ; the benevolently disposed members of our • order. ' ' A copy of a letter ;from- the C.S. of the' order was attached stating that -the directors gave their consent to the issue of the circular, but stipulating that all subscriptions and donations should be'applied solely for the pur-" pose of paying the contributions of members who weVe affected by the dispute, and thus keep them in compliance. , THE BANQUET. In the ovening tho delegates were enter* ' tained at a clinnor in tho Shamrock Hotel. P.S. Bro. J. A. Hopcraft presided, and there was a full attendance. A generous repast provided by Host Coughlan having recoived '• ample justice, a programme of toasts and musical items was proceeded with, "the proceedings being characterised throughout with the utmost good fellowship and geniality. The toast list coir.pri.socl "The Queen," '■ "Tho District Officers," proposed by P.G. ■ Bro. Jeffery (Lawrence) and responded to by ■ Bros. J. H. Hainel, Hoperaft, Brundell,' and Robin; " The Visiting Delegates," proposed - ■ by Bro. Scoaies and responded to by several •• of tho visitors; "The Press," "The Chairman," "The Ladies," and "The Host," tho latter being responded to by Mr fm. Coughlan. Songs were rendered during the evening by Bros. Hopcraft,. Alexander! Knipe, Scoones, Black, Brundell. Sherwin, Reid, Wood*, Winter, Kirkcaldy, and Wallace, Meters Manson, and Carter, while recitations ■ wore delivered by Bros. Hamel,"Calvert, Robson. and Sim. A quartet party also eon- - tributed a number, while the accompaniments. w;ro played by Mr West. ;.