FRIENDLY SOCIETIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2170, 26 September 1895, Page 21

FRIENDLY SOCIETIES.

M.U.1.0.0.F.

MEETING OF THW ANNUAL MOVABLE COMMITTEE. The great annual parliament in connection with the Independent Order of Oddfellows, Manchester Unity, was held in the beginning of June, in tha city of Swansea, the principal town iv South Walet, this being the eecmd time in the history of the order iv whioh Swansea had been so favoured, the previous occasion be-hig 38 years Rgo. Notwithstanding this lapse of time, sev«ml delegates were present at this meeting who had served in the 6amc capacity at the first. It is usual when the A.M.C. meets in any town that that place chould give itself over to a week's holiday-mailing, and Swansea was certainly not behind in this respect, the delegates being welcomed with triumphal arches, and their six days' labour relieved by processions, gomes, excursions ou land and sea, banquets, and bill? ; while the mayor and aldermen, and all the corporate bodies in the district, vied with each other in making the meeting a pleasant one. The majority of the delegates arrived on Saturday, June 1, and en the Sunday the usual morning and afternoon church parades were held, appropriate B"rmons being preached in sevtr.-.l churches. The business meetings commenced ou the Monday mc.rning, when 566 delegates attended, that being stated by the C.S. to be a " record " number. THE GRAND MASTKR'S ADDRESS. Grand Master Bro. John Diprose presided, and in his opening address touched upon a large number of subjects of interest to the order in general, the principal, perhaps, being that of ®LD AQK PENSIONS. He hailed with satisfaction the fact that the question of State aid was to come before them by a proposition placed on the- agenda paper by one of thy districts, and hoped it would have a fair and impartial discussion. He asked, Were they in the future going to sacrifice those great principles of independence that had been their boast in the past, and had undoubtedly produced the splendid position they now occupied as the soundest and best friendly society in the world ? He urged upon the members to provide for themselves, as by any other means it would only be an extension of the poor law system. Let the State do its duty to those who were not members of friendly societies, and who were unable to provide for themselves, and were reduced by misfortune to require parochial relief. Members of the friendly societies would provide for themselves in the future an they had done in the past. It was not such members or their widows who troubled the poor law authorities. In the evidence given before the Royal Commiwon on the Aged Poor it had been shown that tha man who practised providence in one direction, by becoming a member of a society, was not an improvident man in any other sense of the word, and, looking forward to old age as well aa to Bicknegg.

endeavoured to provide against it by opportunities independent of his membership. Speaking of the JOVENILK niUNCUKS of the order, he congratulated them on the mighty btvides that had been made of late years. After transferring 6534- to tho adulb lodges during the yeir, they had a memberjhip of ovee 96,000 in 1500 lodges, with a capital of £104,696. Thoy wore thus helping on the gre&t work of thrift and inculcating into these young mind? habits of self-denial and independence of chMaotei', wh ; ch must iv every way conduce to omke them better citizans of this great Empire. Regarding LODGES FOn WOMEN, he was not in a position to say that muoh progress had been made, but he could speak with confidence that great interest was being taken in this important question, as evinced by the many inquiries made from all parts of the country. He had attended a large number of moating* for the purpose of assisting in the format-ion of suoh lodges, and there had been a unanimous expression of opinion that this question bad not b?en given the consideration it deserved. No doubt their members were being eduoated to see the neoessity of such braucb.es, and old prejudices wonld pass. away. At one time a rule existed on their book* expelling any member or lodge taking part in «r lending regalia to any secret society for women, but he was thankful to know that wiser counsels now prevailed. Who oould estimate how muoh was dv« to the wives of their members, and the many sacrifices they had made in order to keep their husbands good upon the books of their lodge* ? Their turn had now come for proper consideration, particularly as regarded the unattaohed female population. NDMKIUCAL AND FINANCIAL. The latest returns showed thnt during 1894 they had made 47,122 new member*, but (hoy had lost through secession and death 30,398, leaving a net gain of 16,724. The total nucnbur of members on Ist January last was 739,449. Their receipls for the year ending 31*t D«cembrr 1893 had been £1,468,879, and their expenditure £1,167,089, showing an incre&K of ov«ir £300,000 on the year's transactions. At the »bcv>) date their capital tottlliid tho very respectable sum of nearly eight and a-balf millions of pounds sterling. This vra* quite uopar»Ueled in any similar institution. This large sum of mouoy was distributed as follows :—: — Lodge, Bick, and funeral funds ....£7,454,620 15 8 District funoral fluids 2615,M)2 14 0 Lodge management funds 113,!)t>5 11 6 District management funds ... li.O'M 0 0 Widow and orphan societies ... 431,571 18 3 Pait Grand*' lodges 10.017 17 2 Juvon'le branchei 88,687 5 10 Benevolent and other funds ... 45,756 2 1 Total capital £8,420,452 4 C Taking tho re.urns ns a whole, they might feel a little pardonable pride in placing nuoh statements before the world, aud the M.U had cause to rt joice in the tacks display td hy these figures, that in tpite of the heavy claims made upon the funds, the capital of the society had so largely increased. secessions. It wbs greatly to he deplored fcbafc they had lost 22,538 members during tho past year through secehfiions. On his frequei.l vis.it* to lodges during his t*rm of office he had urged upon the members who introduced their frieuds iuto tha order that they should undertake to S(>e that these members continued their contribution?, because they well kuew that it was during early membership that so mauy left. Their lodge metjtings should be made attractive by musical evenings and the reading of papera, thus giving the members groat^r interest in attending, and therefore of continuing their rnembornbip. He believed that the admission of juveniles into the adult lodges would do very much too in checking secestions, for it was lesii likely that a man would sunder a tie whioh h\d bound him by a voluntary obligation from the days of his boyhood than if he had only undertaken the responsibilities at a Inter peiiod of life. TIIK FUTURE LIABILITIES OF THE UNITY. Following up the nystemntic inquiry that had done so much to place the society on safe and sound financial principles Mr A. W. Wateon, the actuary, had voluntarily entered lately upon the task of calculating from the returns published in 1892 of the to'al number of members at each age of those who would attftin the age of 65 years according to the experience of the Manchester Unity. He (tho Grand Master) was sure that a careful study of the following facts would convince member! of the wiedom of making provision for superannuation allowance in lieu of sickness benefits during aged life, for such a course could not fnil to establi«h the society on a more ceoure and enduring basis than it had even yet attained. Aooording to the returns mentioacd, there were 586,273 members in the United Kingdom under 65 years of age ; of the«e Mr Watson estimated 337,867 would live to 65 — beiDg a proportion of 58 to every 100. Thi< statement at once disposed of tbe fears which were so often expressed that only a few members of the order would benefit from superannuation by reaching 65 yenra of age. From this calculation it would also be seen how great the responsibility of the different branches of the order would be in the future, and bow much it behoved them to husband their resources, and by acting in strict conformity with the rules of tbe order see that both the payment of

'■■'■■""■ "' ■ ■■■'■ ii ii ii i ' ■ ■ i «4 contributions and the benefits received by members for tbeao payments should in every way accord with the tables prepared and sanctioned. There were now about 28,000 numbers over 65 years of age in the Unite! Xi f gdoo), boing the survivors from about 250.000 >vho comprisad the order 40 years ago. This number would constantly grow, until in 1935 the number would bo about 109,000. The number of survivors would then bc'giu to dimmish, und dacrease year by year. Bat it would not bo until 1975 that the last two survivor* of the present membership would die, then aged nearly 100. Hero was succinctly demonstrated how great would ba tho liability of the order when the time arrived when thoy should have reached the meridian of their strength as far as the prasent members wore oncerned. Kindly impulses mußt tbereforo be checked, and siokns»a must be interpreted as that for which alone contributions were paid. G.M. Bro. Diprose concluded his address, which wa,3 frequently int-rrupted by bur*ts of hearty applause, by expressing tho hope that when the SwAuten A M C. were complete it would ba shown that much had beon done to make the Manchester Unity more brilliant in the future than it had boon in tho past. THK BOARD'S EXPORT. The annual rei^ort of the Board of Directors was a very exhaustive ouo. A largo number of lodges which h*d not adopted propor graduated tables of contributions, and were consequently in a bad state fiuaucially, were brought; before) the A.M.C., and it may be moulionod that 14 delegates representing districts of which the d< faulting lodgfs were branches, were not allowed to sit duriug the first tureo days of the nutting. The report also contained a resume of the proceedings at the Friendly Societies' Coufer*>nct>, hold iv London, whe*o societies numbering in tho agjivgtte 2,581 000 meiibara, with a capital of £18,005 963, *evo to.iresented, the matters discussed, though important, boing principally of local inteto-t HELIRVINO AGKD MKIIIIICKS The direoto s' report beii>g dispo'ed of, tho mnjor portion of tho business coimntid aB usual of tha consideration of propositions to alter and amend the rule 3of the order. An important addition proposed by Bro. Wat«on, actuary, and agreed to, was to tho tffeofc that districts or lodges should be at liberty to adopt rules allowing members in distrdsned circumiUncea and over 65 ytavs of age, to relinquish «o muoh of their siokmsi b-flefb as would enable them, to be relieved altogether of the future payment of contributions to the sick and funeral fund. Tha mover gave example* showing that the reductiou iv tho possib'e nick benefit ranged from 12£ to 25 per cent., while the member gained an immediate and cartain benefit in the disoouliuuanco of his payments to the fund. A CARHFDL ÜBTTKR-HAUF. A proposition to reduco the t«rm of suspension from benefits fiorn four weeks to 14 days in the cure of ii/embors falling in'o arrears evoked considerable discussion, but was even* tually lost by a largo mr.jorit/. One delegate caused some metrimsnt by relating how hia wife bad got hold of the agenda paper, read it, and, fiudin^ this particular rno'ion, rha asked, " Are you fcoing to this Mauchestt-r Unity talkshop ?" He replied, "Yes." "Vuiywell," said she, " look at this paragraph. Tell them from mo that there is not the slightest necessity for this. I remedied this myself. — (Laughter.) When you used to spend the money I rentoted that if you died I should have no benefit. Therefore I t&ko care tbnfc tho three months' contributions ahull be paid in advatwo " TUB SUI'EUANNUATION ftUF-VriOX. Tl c dobate ou the motion re Mitxjranuumtion (reff reed to iv the Grand Master'ti address) win a most ii.torefting one, some capital epeeohei being mndo on both sides. The motion was : " That it is the opinion of the deputies of this A.M.C. rh*t fit provision should be made by the State to afford assistance to destitute persona whoee doptitution is osca^ioned by inoapaoity for work, resulting from old sge, and that it is not only expudiaut as a State measure, but m*y bo mado to act beuf-fici-'tlly to our order. We arc furthermore of opinion that our lodges may be nihdo tho ohnnnol through whioh such ass'attuce may be afforded to persons, being nicmber« of our lodges, by giving such membert the option, when they arrive at 65 years of age, of exchanging their siok benefits for a fixed weekly incom«, the lodge to pay such member the prospectivo amount due as sick benefits in equal weekly proportions, aud the State to pay to the lodge the difference between this amount and the weekly allowance fixed by the Legislature, such assistance not to carry with it any civil disabilities to the recipient, or power of interference with our general management." Bro. Graham (a Past Grand Master of the Unity) was tho principal supporter of tha motioo, and hud travelled all over the Kingdom addressing public meetings iv favour of th* principle of State aid. In the oour»e of his speech at the A.M.C. be said he hoped and believed the wisdom of that large sß<emblage of deputies would carry the proposition. O*oefl bad come before them that spoke volumes in favour of the pviuciplo. They had had to deal that week with *ome horrible, sickening cases affecting tbe aged poor. Many lodges were in a poor financial position because they were endeavouring to pay in the way of pensions what wa« intended to ba as sick pay. Their superannu*tion tables were nob acceptable ; not because they were untrue. They were true, but it was becsiHFe poor old men were unable to pay the contributions. He intended to the last day of his life to work for this great prin-

oiple, and bo give their deserving aged poor something lo live, upon comfor'ably. The tables were too high. There wera something like 60,000 <r 60,000 moo over 65 years of ag<a in the different friend y societi«a of this country oa tho verge of pjver'y, and handicapping thp lodges to which thoy belonged. They received in the gaisc of sick pay a pension. In the next 30 or 40 yeira in the Manchester Unity alono there would bo 180.000 members over 65 years of age. When a man reached that ago he wanted sick pay most. There was only one solution to tbe problem, end that waa goiDg to tho State. They would get rid of that bogey cf "indop^ndet cc and State interfeience." He asked them whebher a society like theirs was not entitled to the esme, if rot more, consideration than civil servants in receipt of pensions ? What had helped to make th* country what ifc was? Tbe friendly societies. They saved the poor rates of tbe country something liko Is Gd in the pound. It waa absurd to sr.y the woikiug men of the country should ba more 'erhriffcy — that tbey ahould driuk less, Brooke lesp, and stint their enjoyment. Hnge pensions were grj.nr«d to civil servants, aud yet tbe working man deserved to be assisted as much aa anyone did. The Government were quite pn pared for euch a rae»Bnre — 281 members of Parliament had proojiaed to aid them in this ma' t^r. By the adoption of this principlo th^y would recognise those wfco were gtod cifvz-nw, aod who led an honest, thrifty life. The Manchester Unity would bo increased iv numbers and iv power more than ib had ever been before, and iv years to come they would find few men who were not members of a friendly accicby. In opposition (o tfce motion tbo principal Hpeaker was Past Grand Master Bro. Reuben W*t*on, tho well-known actuary of the order, Who said that be intended doing all he could to tnaintftin thft honour, tbo intellect u>l position, the high ttandirg; the indepe&rft use, Mm e*ifreliance of the members of tho Manchfßter Unity. It had been paid that be had declared old ago pensions for old members impowible. j That wr.B bo. If a man of 65 yeara of ago w*nted 5s per wecfclfor which be bad never paid one penDy, he must b^giii and continue to pay 5s a wet-k for it. There was no beating about the bo!*h in tbe proposal before the ra«e(iug. It vras a diatiocb demand for State aid to friendly societies. He did not object to tho State aiding the individual, but he did objeot to State aid for fiieudiy soe'etics, because it would bring them under State supervision and ocntrol. Those who said "No" had not fully considered the question. Was the II. U , by the invocation of Btato aid, to proclaim its Inability to perform its moft important accepted mission of encouraging present young mem! e.-s tad future entrant* to Becure, by the rtq iirod contributions, superfine uafcion iv stead of cirknefs allowances after the ago of 65 jeiro? Before they could adopt the prop^sttio", it; wonld be necefssry to approsch tbe Government, and ucertain wLo^her th« State would coust-ut to be bound by tbo terms of the motion. The Grand Ms«ter had told them that in the lapsa of timo they would have 109,000 members of B5 years and upwards. Carrying the illustration further, ho would tell fchem that if superannuation benefice replaced sickness benefits »fter 65 years of age, the society would tfcen become rear.onsible for the payment of pensions, which would cost £1,417,000 a year. According to the motion, the Htote was to pay half this 6um — ha«d over £708,500 per annum to this one friendly society. And tbia did not take into account tbo greater number of future member*. There was to be no State interference. Could anyone believe tbat this vast sum of money would ba iwnded over from fche Uxea of the people without au army of cfficiils beiDg appointed to suporiuteud and safeguard its disposal. There had bceu no instance cjuoted of any atatcsaian indicating that State aid would rot alto enta'l State control. Mr Matthews and Sir Mundel'a, both eminent statesmen, had asserted that State aid njunt ctrry State control. Mr Chamberlain had said that the Uuity had failed. The first examination into their contributions and benefits showed millions of a deficiency. That had bsen reduced by the unaided effoi ts of the society to little more than half a million. Was that a failure P The society that had done tbat could do more They could not at once- complete a superannuation system ; but Mr Chamberlain's plan could not even be accomplished for 40 years. In a partnership aa proposed by the motion the State would soon come to be writ very large, aud the M.TJ very imall. Tnere would be no more independence— -no more eelf-reliauce. To receive State aid without having rendered State service was to become State paupers, unless the whole oommunity received the came. Several other ppeakcrn addressed the meeting for and ag&in«t the motion, which was ultimately rejectefl br a large majority — 320 to ISB. ISISCKLIJiifFOVS. Though " Model Rules " have been compiled for the use of ledges for females, aod many *uch lodges eßtablif>hed, it docs uot appear that they w* r*-cognistd so far as brai.chas of the order. It wao agreed to have a universal recogoition Bvn for tt*e order. In oue of tbe Icdgc3 asking for relief tbe BV»--r»ge age of the membera was 71, the youngest metubtr bc-ing 65 years old. The expenditure for s ; .ck nud funeral benefits for 1893 amounted to over £850,000. In adopting the report of* the Estimates Committee, ib was agreed tbat in all future contracts clsuacs be inserted making it compulsory that workmen BhaH be paid tho standard rate of wnges, and thst all materials uted be as far as possible of British manufacture. Tha vexed question of ckarancrs came up, as usual, for discussion, a proposal thab when a member desired to leave a lodge with a deficiency to join a solvent lodge the amount required to place him upon the came footing ss tho members of fhe latter lodge should be paid from the general sick and funeral fund cf the Unity finding few supporters.