MANCHESTER UNITY.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18512, 24 March 1922, Page 2

MANCHESTER UNITY.

OTAGO DISTRICT COMMITTEE. ANNUAL MEETING. (Br Ocr Special Reporter.) BALCLUTHA, Marc"; 23. The annual meeting of the Otago District Committee of the M.U.1.0.0.F. was field in the Oddfellows’ Hall at Balclutha yesterday, when some 70 delegates from all over the province gathered together. Prov. G.M. T. Middlcmass presided, and had with him the following officers:—Prov, D.G.M. J. Will, Prov. Chief Secretary J. A. Hopcraft, Prov. Treasurer A. Sligo, and P.P.G.M. C. II Russell The following lodges were represented:—Hand and Heart, Dunedin, Dalton, Prince of Wales, Albion, Oamaru, Tunpeka Pioneer, Alexandra, Tapanui, Cromwell, Naseby, Mount Wendon, Band of Friendship, Outram, Mosgiel. Caversham, Valley, Dunback, Pride of Kaitangata, Milton, Maniototo, and Centenary. Two delegates Iroin Southland, P.P.G.M. A. v. Hope, and JU.C.S!. C. E. Edmond, were cordialiv welcomed after the manner of the order. THE MAYOR’S WELCOME. The delegates were welcomed by the Mayor (Mr H. Simson), who said it gave him very much pleasure to extend to them on behalf of the townspeople of Balclutha a very hearty welcome. He hoped their deliberations would bo as successful as they could desire, and that they would have a good time while they were in Balclutha. The townspeople felt it a distinct honour to have them, and he hoped they would come back again some other time. Tlie meeting then adjourned for five minutes as a mark of respect for the memory of deceased brethren. THe president expressed the meeting’s pleasure at having P.P.G.M. J. H. F. Harnel with them again after Ills trip to the Old Country. It was resolved, on the motion of D.G.P. Thomson (Naseby), to send a telegram of congratulation to the Early Settlers’ anniversary meeting in Dunedin. A resolution was passed, on the motion of P.P.G.M. Hamel (Hand and Heart), congratulating the new registrar of Friendly Societies (Mr W. W. Wright) on his appointment and expressing a desire for the continuance of the very fine relations which existed between the order and his prede : cessor (Mr R. E. Hayes). The meeting also confirmed the executive’s letter of congratulation to Mr Hayes, who has been appointed Assistant Secretary to the Treasury. ANNUAL REPORT. Following is a summary of the District Officers’ report: Number of members on December 31, 5234 — an increase of 121. Receipts £241,222 2s lid (including value lodge funds, January 1. £203.362 13s 2d); exnenditure £24.953 13s 7d (including sick benefits £7495 7s 2d: medical attendance and medicine. £5877 4s sd), leaving the value of lodge funds at £216.268 9s 4d. (These figures are not final, as the Outram return was not included.) "The examination for the Harrop Scholarship will be) conducted by the Otago Education Board in November. Your officers hope that the regulations will be brought prominently before the members of the lodges, so that the teachers may be advised of probable entrants from their schools, and thus endeavour to stimulate competition. Among the deaths recorded was that of P.P.G.M. C. "W. Sm th, who served during the years 1914-17 in the district chairs, was an enthusiastic and loyal supporter of the Loyal Albion Lodge for over 43 yeare. P.G. W. N. Shepherd, attached to Loyal Dunedin Lodge, also crossed the Great Divide. He had a goodly record of service, and a wonderful capacity for bringing in members. P.G. Peter Chisholm, a member of Loyal Dunedin, and a diligent, worker for Loyal Outram, is also listed among those “Gone West.” During the visit of P.P.G.M. Hamel to England he had a conversation with P.G.M. G. L. Lingstrom, Prov. C.S., of th© North London District, who offered him a nearly complete set of bound volumes of the Oddfellows’ Magazine since its inception. The offer has been gratefully accepted, and the magazine will shortly be received. A circular letter was received by lodges inviting contributions from members to support a oot for little tuberculous cripples from all parts of the British Isles. The Prov. C.S. received £2 2s each from Cromwell and Pride of Kaitangata Lodges, £1 Is each from Oamaru, Milton, and Palmerston, and £1 from Hand and Heart. Five lodges returned their cards in the District Shield competition, and the committee awarded the shield to Centenary Lodge. The following are the points gained by the lodges that sent in returns; —Centenary, 592; Tapanui, 592; Outram, 574; Hand and Heart, 511 J; Albion, 483. It will be seen, therefore, that the result hinged on secessions, and as Centenary had no lapses, while Tapanui had two, the scales were turned thus itf< favour of the winners. The little element of luck, never absent in any competition, favoured Centenary, in that as a recently reestablished lodge secessions were much less likely to hit them than would be th© case with older " lodges. However, your executive feels that the competition has been the means of creating considerable enthusiasm among the lodges that competed, and trust that in future more lodges will compete for the coveted trophy. The report contains a copy of a letter sent to the Prim© Minster objecting to the amalgamation of the Friendly Societies' Department with a revenue-earning branch like the Life Insurance Department, and devotes much space to an account of lodge visitations. Mention is also made of the unveiling of a roll of honour by Loyal Middlemarch Lodge, and to other points which are dealt with below, and a recommendation is mad© for the usual monetary grant to Loyal United Lodge. GRAND MASTER’S ADDRESS. In moving the adoption of the report the P.G.M. said they had assembled as the guests of the Loyal Dalton Lodge, and on their behalf he had to extend to them a most hearty welcome. The last district meeting held in Balclutha was on September 25, 1912, and the Loyal Dalton Lodge had then a membership . of 301, and funds valued at £7721. On December 31, 1921, ihoir membership had increased to 314, and the funds to £11,322. The hall in widen they were meeting was no longer a Manchester Unity hall, and he could assure (hem that the executive welcomed the day when members sanctioned the sale. The Loyal Dalton Lodge had the honour of having the first country P.G.M.. and it was uleasing to see him (P.P.G.M. Bro. Wood’) still in harness, doing duty on behalf of the Manchester Unity. That tins lodge was doing good work was proved by tins amount paid in sickness and funeral claims (£512) during the past year. It was interesting to note from iho report of the last meeting of the Auckland district, whjc.i was held at Hamilton, that it was the first time a meeting had been held away from Auckland City for the past 25 years. Otago district held its first country meeting on October 10, 1878. at Lawrence, about 20 years after the establishment of the district. Meetings had been held at short intervals in various country towns, and it had been found to be very beneficial both to the lodges visited and the district, it was not his intention to take up their time with any lengthy reference to the report which was before them. He would guy, however, in regard to numerical strength, that the increase of 121 members was not. to his mind, satisfactory. An increase of a little more than 2 per cent, suggested that they were not putting their best foot forward. If their society was to hold its high position they must never be weary in working for the cause. They required a continuous flow of recruits to the M.U. flag to foster and extend the principles they espoused. There was little doubt that, with the high rates of interest being earned, their next quinquennial valuation would show the surplus of the district so much enhanced that the* would be m a position to make some substantial forward movement for the benefit of their members. He had had the honour during ms term of opening two juvenile lodges—Loyal Caversham Lodge, on June 1, with 06 members, and Loyal United (Uunodm) Lodge on November 2, wilh 14 members. This made a total of five juvenile lodges, with membership and funds as followed at December 31, 1921 :-Loyal P.oneer Kaitangata. 74 members, £ll6 6s Id; Loj al Taieri, Mosgiel, 52, £76 5s 3d : Loyal T oko, Milton, 66. £27 0s 2d; Loyal Caversham, CV-ersham, 90. £37 2s sd; Loyal United. Dunedin, 26, £7 -.-total 308, £265 13s lid Since the publication of the report the sanction of the executive had been given for the formation of a Juvenile District Council o govern juvenile lodges. His own lodge had a motion on the business paper for perniissi on to open a ladies’ lodge to which he did not propose to refer other than to say that al the Hawke’s Bay District annual nicctin" the rules were amended to provide for the admission of females into male lodges. Loyal Band of I'rendship Lodge (Kakanui) completed its fiftieth year on January 17 and was arranging to celebrate th- occasion on some suitable date Deo-o-ates would join it: congratulating the lodge and wishing it continued success. Regarding the proposal to join up with the New Zealand Branch the Brew. G.M. said he was sure that if they could arrange for face-to-face conferences with the representatives concerned and met with that reelin'* of fraternity for which their Order stood* the dav was not far distant when they ' would be as one branch of the Manchester Unity in Nfw Zealand On questions, such as the scale of contributions Jnd benefits for the Sick and Funeral Fund aud a uniform system of clearance*

from one lodge to another, there would, require to be sacrifices with both branch ana district. But what of that if the Order as a whole in New Zealand was making a forward move and members ultimately reaped the benefit ? He had not visited as many lodge? as he would have liked, but those visited had had fine meetings, and the tokens of friendohip extended to him would long remind h:m of a very happy year of office. He was under a deep debt of obligation to their worthy Prov. C.S. Bro. Hopcraft and his colleagues ,m me executive, and would like to ply a tribute of admiration to all the officers in the various lodges, who laboured consistently for the welfare of the Order. There were many who would do honour to the district, as P.G.M., if the jiecessary leisure and opportunity were afforded them, but the work thev wore doing now was quite as important as that of a G.M. Each and all of them, from the lowest to the highest, wore equal as brethren in a goad work. To do the work that lay nearest to their hands and to do it well was to find great happiness in life; and if in fho doing they could bring peace to the wearied, comfort to the distressed; relief to the sick, and joy to the faces of those \vho had heavy burdens to carry thor. indeed, lliey would realise the full moaning of their motto: “Friendship, Love, and Truth.” (Applause. The motion for the adoption of the icport was seconded by Prov. D.G.M. J. Will. DISCUSSION Of report. The meeting considered in committee the following clause in the report;—“ Trustees when making investments should see that they are in accordance with the provisions of the Friendly Societies’ Act, as a. case has come under our notice of an investment outside section 49 of the Friendly Societies’ Act. The registrar advises there were a number of these investments made, and validating legislation will be necessary, so that steps must be taken to have such passed.—Resolutions were passed instructing the executive to take steps to have the Aol> amended so as to allow of the investing of funds in Harbour Board debentures, where they were secured by a rating area, and leaving in its hand the matter of validating an investment in Auckland Harbour Board debentures by a certain lodge. Some discussion arose on the subject of. the District Shield Competition.—The Treasurer expressed the opinion that Ta.pa.nui Lodge was stronger and better for its part in the competition, and urged all the lodges to have a try for the shield.— D.G. P, Thomson (Naseby) urged the abolition of secessions,, and suggested that whore there was a tie the shield should go to each winner for six months. —Per. Sec. W. Weir (Mosgiol) pointed out that his lodge had to enroll 2j per cent, of its population to 'qualify, as compared with only 1 per cent, necessary in the case of Dunedin. He thought the committee should take such a point as this into consideration. The Prov. Chief Secretory remarked that theso suggestions should be sent to the committee, which was always ready to consider any representations that were made to it.—The meeting resolved to send a letter to Tapanui Lodge congratulating its members oh their performance. Regarding the National Provident Fund, a motion was carried asking the executive to draft a rule allowing the adoption of either of the following equivalents;—After age 60, of a weekly payment of 3s for the second six months and 5s after 12 months’ sickness; 3s 3d per week for all sickness, lOd per week deduction in contribution. The report was adopted with these stipulations. DISTRESS FUND. The statement of accounts was adopted after some discussion on the administration of (ho distress fund. Tile Treasurer asked lodges to look to it that no member were allowed to drop out through temporary inability to pay their dues. Where a lodge was able to stato a case for relief, the executive was always pleased to hear them, and, if the circumstances warranted it, to grant a vote. The lodge, however,' must go armed with facta and figures, as it was the duty of the executive not to make a vote unless the case was supported by proper evidence. Ho wanted an opinion from the meeting on the executive’s policy. In reply to Per. Sec. Stabb (Albion), the Treasurer agreed that lodges would be notified that it was not necessary for them to make a vote from their own funds before applying for n grant from the distress fund. At the same time, h© added, it would certainly strengthen their case. A resolution was then carried, on the motion of P.P.G.M. Hamel, endorsing the policy of the executive, as stated by the Treasurer. The treasurer staled that it would not be necessary to make a levy for the District Benefit Fund, but he thought it would he necessary to make a levy'of Is 9d for the Management Fund. , The meeting considered In committee a report on the conduct of the Dalton Lodge’s finances, and carried a motion leaving the matter in the executive’s hands. LADIES' LODGES Discussion was arouse!) over the following remit, which came from Pride of Kaitongata Lodge:—“That the time has now arrived for the formation of female lodges in the Otago district, and that permission be granted to the Pride of Kaitangata Lodge to open a female lodge to be called the Loyal yuecn of Otago Lodge, No. 1.” Per. aec. M’Fadyen (Kaitangata), in moving the remit, .mentioned that an unattached female lodge already existed there. The president pointed out that they might either provide for the registration of the lodge or allow it to carry on unregistered, though under the M.U.1.0.0.F. flag. Per. Sec. Sltabb (Albion) expressed the opinion that females and possibly juvenile lodges were outside the scope of the Act. P.P.G.M. Hamel (Hand and Heart) then proposed an amendment referring the matter to a committee for fuller information regarding the whole position, the committee to report to the next half-yearly meeting, on the understanding that the lodge could remain as an unattached lodge in the meantime. He maintained that the rules did not provide for contributing rates from females. After further discussion the meeting heard the Southland delegates, who testified as to the success of a female lodge there, stating that the ladies had proved just as capable of managing their affairs as the men. The lodge was registered under the Act. P.G. Thomson expressed a fear that if they did not provide for ladies whole families would go to other orders. Ultimately the Kaitangata delegates withdrew their motion, and the amendment-was carried, the committee to be composed of the executive and two Kaitangata representatives. The president caused much amusement by then rising and reading a letter from the ladies’ lodge thanking the meeting for it 9 decision. GENERAL. The meeting adopted a committee report deciding not to amalgamate with the New Zealand Branch. The following remits were carried:— From Hand and Heart Lodge—“ That the officers of the Past Grands’ Lodge, when requested by the district and, appointed by the Ceremonial Committee of that lodge to take part in the conferring of Post Officers' and Purple Degrees when meetings for that purpose are held outside Dunedin, Port Chafmers, and Mosgiel, shall receive from the district such expenses os the district officers may decide.” From Albion Lodge—“ That a committee be set up to report at the next district meeting as to the best ways and means to perpetuate the memory of the late P.P.G.M, Bro. Sligo. ’ [Left sitting.]