M.U.1.0.0.F.

Otago Witness, Issue 2299, 24 March 1898, Page 43

M.U.1.0.0.F.

ANNUAL DISTRICT MEETING. The annual district meeting of the Ofcago District, M.U.1.0.0.F., was held in the lodge room of the Loyal Tapanui Lodge at Tapanui on Saturday afternoon last. Prov. G.M. Bro. C. Brundell presided, the following district officers beiug present: — D.P G.M. Bro. J. Eamel, Prov. CS. Bro. J. Hopcratt, Prov. Tress. Bro. J. Robin, and P.P G.M. 8.0. E. S. Clarke. Lodges were represented as follow :—: — Hand and Hearb : P.G.'a Bros, W. H. Munro, R. Watson, J. Allan. C. Crater, P.P.C.S. Bro. Black, and N.G Bro. Beadle. DuDedin : P.P G.M. Bro. W. Harrop, P.G.s Bro». M'Dougall, G&rrow, and Fu ton. D&lton: P.G. Bro. C. Wood, P.B.S. Bro. D. Fleming, and Pet. Sec. Bro. J. Hogg. Prince of Wales ; P.G.s Bros. A. Cable and W. Collelt. Albion : N.G Bro. G. Winter, Per. Sec. Bro. 1 W. Reid, and E. 5. Bro. Ktrkcaldy. Oamaru : PG. Bro. G. Hilliker and Per. Sec. Bro. G. Bcownlie. Tuapeka Pioneer : P.G.s Bros. W, Anderson andD. M'Coll. Waitahuna : P.G. Bro. J. Bdie. Waipori : P.G. Bro. F. Knight. [ Blue Spur :P G. Bro C. Knowles and Per. ! See. Bro. Varcoe. < Naseby; P.P G M Bro. W. G. Geddes. Tapanui : P.G.s Bros. D. M'Coll and R. Rodgers, and G.M. Bro. R. Buchanau. Lake Wakatipn ; PP.G.M Bro. A. Deacon. Palnaerston : P.G. Bro. W. Kavanagh and Bro. J. Gow. C-omwell: P.P. G.M. Bro. Alex. Sl'go (M.H.R ). ■ I Outrara : P.G 's B*-os P. Sim and T. Sim. I Mosgiel: P G.s Bros. W. Allan and A. I Cameron, and N.G. Bro. S'.epheus. { Caversham : P.P G.M. Bro. W. D Milne, and ! P.G.s Bms J. Wil?ou and J Briggs, } V»lley : P«r See. Bro. D. Muaro. ) Ngrpara: P.E S. Bro. J. Burrell. { Duub»c<r :P G Bro. R H*y. t United B~o». : P.G. Bro. S. Cronin. j GRAND MASTER'S ADDRESS. i After dtczanug the meeting open in the '■ formal manner, | G.M Bro. Brundell delivered the following j addtess ; — { Worthy Deputy and Delegates, — The time at our disposal being limited for this meatiug, I iutend being brief in my remarks. As ray term of office expires to-day, allow me to thank you most heaitily for the gr«~t honour conferred l>y electing me to the position of Prnv. G M. 12 months ago, duting which time it has been my ambition to maintain the dignity of the I office, and further the interests of the district , and order as much as possible. j To-day we are again the guests of our country brethren, this time at the invitation of the Loyal Tapanui Lodge, on \yho3e behalf I extend to you a hearty and cordial welcome. I find that whoa 1 the last district meeting was held here, seven 1 yeiiw ajro. the numerical strength of th'% Loyal Tapinui Lodge was 74 members, and that during tbe following jear it had mci eased by 11 members, and whether that meeting created fre&h interest; or not I cannot say, but the lodge has continued to prosper ever since, until at the present time the membership stands at 120, whilst the funds have been more than doubled during the intervalN I am sure wa all congratulate the members of tbe Loyal Tapanui Lodge on the succesi attending thair efforts. In reviewing the proceedings of the year, perhaps the item which strikes you as most giatifying is tbe substantial increase in our membership— viz., 204. It is a long time, if ever, such a larga increase was made during any one year. 1 think the members of our order de&ervo the highest commendation for the efforts they have put forth, by which this satisfactory rrsulfc has been 'achieved, and I tiust that the brethren will not i - elax their .energies, bu 1 ; still continue to do the good work to successfully accomplished during the term under review. Referring to the financial transactions, I find that during the year the total value of the district has increased from £72,554 4« 9d to £75,730 16s sd, being a gain of £3176 Us Sd. On pernsiug the balance sheet you will observe thxt £310 has been pud for funeral benefits dviii g the half year, which is fully 50 par cent, higher than our avetage for any like period during the la«t few years. Included in the rieath roll it is with regret I find the samei of Bro J. Finch and P.P.G.JM. Bro. Cbailes lleid. These brothers at the time of their death were the oldest members belonging to the district, having joined the Hand and Heart Lodge early in the_ year 1851. The late Bro. Finch was one of the pioneer settlers of the province, having arrived in the John Wickliffe on tha 23rd March 1848 The Ute Bro. Reid, who arrived iii DunKliu on May 10, 1849, look a lively interest in the welfare of his lodge ; besioes passing through the various chairs he acted as Per. Secretary of the Hand and Heart Lodge for five years, and also filled the position of Prov. G.M. of the district. I am informed that it was entirely owing to Bro. i Reid's .labours thut the Ota go District wa3 1 toimed. As the chief items which occurred during the half-year are submited by the districtnfflcers.it is unnecessary for me to enlarge on their report, but I might mention that during the half-year it gave me veiy great pleasure to open the Loyal Milton Lodge in November last. I was assisted by my brother officers, and also past officers from the town and country lodges. From the last reports 1 am pleased to note the new lodge is making steady progress. In the month of January the Worthy-deputy and myself were invited to attend the installstion of the officers of the Linda Rebekah Lodge, I 0.0. F. It is pleasing to note the raception accorded us wai of the heartiest description. In proposing the toast of "The Visitors'" Grand Secretary, Bro. Wm. Reid, expressed a hope that fraternal intercourse between the two orders would soon be established, in which your representatives fully concurred, I might mention that this matter has been before the board of directors for maDy year?, and, although they have favourably considered the scheme, it is to be regretted that no arrangement has been effected whereby the desired object may be attained. Although politics do not come within our sphere, it must be gratifying to the order generally, and this district in particular, to note the success of one of our leading members (P.P G.M. Bro. Sligo), -who was elected to the House of Representatives by his fellow citizens. In conclusion I have to thank my colleagues in office, and also the members of the various lodges I have had the pleasure of visitiog for the courtesy and kindness which has ever been shown to me, and I hope that at the end of the next financial year the incoming executive will have an even more favourable rtport to place before you.— (Applause.) It was resolved that the G.M. bs thanked for b.13 address, and that it be printed in the report of the meeting. DISTRICT OFFICERS' REPORT. The reception of this report (which appears eisewhere) was moved by the Grand Master and agreed to, after which its clauses were considered seriatim. The healthy state of the district as regards nurabera and finance was favourably commented upon by .several delegates, and thia parb cf the report appeared to give gi.eat satisfaction. kegustjution of «ut,es. The present position as to registration of fcllfl rained district rnles was explained by the Ujund Master, and the stand taken by tha revising barrister was severely criticised by Bro. Robin. It was intended to bring the matter before the Supreme Court, and, from the legal opinions obtained, they had every confidence that they would succeed in winning their case. Should it unfortunately turn out otherwise he

thought the whole of the friendly societies should combine to demand an alteration io tho act, so that we should be able to make rnles for our guidance Fuch as the experience of many years proved were required and necessary for our individual circumstances. A DENTIST FOB THE ORDSB. Considerable discussion ensued on the clause recommending the employment of a dentist for the district. Bro. Hamel said that tenders had been received from the majority of tha Dunedin dentists showing afc what discount from their ordinary rates they would be prepared to treat patients, and it appeared that a considerable paving would re»ulb to members requiring their services. It was not proposed to make a levy, bat that each should pay For his own treatment at the reduced rates quoted. The scheme would embrace s.ll members in Obago. B:o. Milne opposed the adoption of the clause, and contendrd that the members might with equal justice extend the proposal so that it should embrace all othar trades and professions, requiring a special discount from each. He moved — "That this meeting disagrees with the proposal &s contained in the clause." Bro. Chonin seonded the amendment, believing that it was a matter coming more properly within the functions of the Friendly Societies' Dispensary. The clause was supported by Bros. Munro, Watson, Black, and Burrell, one of the reasons advanced in iavour being that ib was a question of great importance to the lodges, as good teeth tended to the preservation of the good health cf the members, and thus claims upon the sick fund would be diminished. On being put to the meeting Bro. Milne's am«udcQei>t> was losl and the clause adopted. LODGE BOOK ITXAMINATION. 'Ihe report of tha book examiner (Bro. T. Burton) was read, in which it was stated that he had examiued the books of the Waitahuna Lodge and found that thsy were carefully kept, correctly balanced, interest kept fully paid up, and altogether were very creditable to the secretary. He cou'd oniy suggest a slight alteration in the method of banking the money. Thia latter was shown to be impracticable, there being only a bank agent in Waitahuna onco a wetk. In reply to a question, it wag explained by tbe G.M. that it was the custom of the districy to have the lodge books examined in rotationt one l fi djie being taken each half-year. BOAUD OF DIBECTORS FOB NEW ZEALAND. With rafereuce to the progress made in thia matter the C S read a letter from Bro. Kersbaw (C.S. Wellington district), who stated that replies had b?en received from 15 districts, seven of whom were in favour of the proposal, while eight were against it. Two of the latter were reconsidering the matter. " Since the appointment ef the committee," he continued, " Beverttl questions have arisen of interest to the order — some of them of great importance, — the settlement of wbich has in some casas been greatly protracted, to the irritation of members and positive injury to tho districts concerned ; and your commiefcee are strongly of the opinion that had there b&en a central body of the order, backed up with its 12,596 members, greater attention and a more speedy settlement would have been obtained to its demands. We need only refer to the difficulties and delays which have taken piace with the registrar and tevising barrisier in regard to the registration of amended rules, which h*s caused considerable needless expense. The difficulties and interference have beccme so notorious of late that the committee deem it their duty to again refer the question of the establishment of a board of directors to tbe favourable consideration of those districts v>ho have given a pronouncement against it, for while it is quite true that the larger districts may be able to maintain their jusb rights against all opposition without feeling the charges involved to be burdensome, smaller districts, rather than involve themselves in legal proceedings, the cost of whicb, whether successful or otherwise, would still be heavy to them, would be inclined to sacrifice their rights, and it is within the knowledge of the committee that thia has actually taken place." Bro. W. H. Munro moved that the report be received, bu 1 ; that consideration be deferred for 12 months, full information in the meantime to be {urnished to the lodges ss to probable expense '"nvo'.ved should a board of directors bo established. Bro. Sligo pointed out that this district had already decided not to give in its adherence to the proposal, and No further action was taken. PAYMENT OF DELEGATES' EXPENSES. With regard to the report as to tbe payment of delegates' expenses when attending a district meeting, Bro. Gow moved — "That this meeting recommend the district efficer* to take steps to amend the rnles 80 as to put ia force the proposal of making a central fund for the purpose of paying delegates' expenses in accordance with the present report, delegates only to receive the allowance when away from home." — Seconded by Bro. Black, who thought the scheme should have a trial. Bro. Wilson moved as an amendment — " That delegates' expenses be paid cut of district funds, on the scale of 21a when more than 20 mile* from the town in wbich the .meeting is held, and 10s 6d to resident delegates." — Seconded by Bro. Winter. Bros. Burrell, Briggs, Allen, Hogg, and Brownlie supported the motion, the latter citing the paucity of delegates present from north of Dunedin as showing the necessity of having a central fund from which tho smaller lodges would ba assisted to send representatives, and thus keep in touch with their brethren throughout the distrioS. Bro. Harhop opposed the motion, stating that it would coat much more than was shown by the figures submitted; and Bro. Grater, while approving of the principle, thought that country lodges should pause before committing themselves, and consider whether they could stand the drain upon their incidental funds which the adoption of such a motion would occasion. Bro. Milne thought that placing their funds in the hands of the district was in principle bad, and believed in lodges retaining and administering their own money as much as possible. He moved that the meeting proceed to the next busineis, and this, on a division being taken, was declared carried. BALANCE SHEET. The reception and adoption of the balance sheet was moved by Auditor Bro. Grater and seconded by Bro. Black, and agreed to. The total assets of the district funds amounted to £1181 17§, the principal item being the credit in the distress fund of £834 16s 6d. PUBPLE LECTURE. Ib wa6 decided to hold the next half-yearly Furpla lecture and past officers' degree meeting at tbe District Chambers, Dunedin. HOLDING DUAL OFFICES. Tha district officers asked for an expression of opinion from the meeting as to the advhahilifcy or otherwise of a lodge treasurer holding also another elective office, and stated tho question arose through ft member who, 1 beiug the treasurer, of a lodnc«, iet desired to

1 fill gome oi the elective offices wifch the objf.et! of qualifying to attend district meetings. Neither the general nor the district rules absolutely ferbsde the practice, and the meeting, en the motion of Bro. Knight, seconded by Bro. Milne, decided to affirm the principle that a qualified member should, if he ao desired, j bs elegible for re-election to other offices, with > the exception of spcretary or trustee. EMPLOYMKNT OF SPECIALISTS. ' Bro. W. Allan moved: — "That the time i has now arrived when, in the interests of the | members of the Otago District, a specialist in the eye, ear, and throat diseases should be retained for the use of members." He thought ; inquiries should be mide with the object of obtaining a reduction in favour of members in the fees of specialises dealing with diseases of these organs. The principle was the same as that already affirmed by the meeting in the matter of appointing a dentiat. Bco. W. H. Munho supported the motion, and instanced cases where the medical officer of the lodge had declined to attend, and had 1 recommended seeking a specialist's advice instead. This was not always possible, owing to the great expenfe ; and eventually the njembsr might become a permanent burthen on the j lodge. The practice was working wall on the j other side, the societies rtcoguiaing the value j of having specialists attached to the lodges. , ■ Bro. Black al«o supported the motion, and stated that tha Canterbury district were about to consider the advisability of adopting a , similar course. He advocated the letting up of i a committee to inquire and report. j Bro. Milns opposed the adoption of the ! motion on the same principle as he had objected I '< to the employment of a dentisb on behalf of the j district. It wa* decided that the district officers, with power to add to fcbeir number, be a oom- I mittee to icqura as to the feasibility of the scheme. QUESTION OP RETAINING HALF-YEARLT MEETINGS Bro. W. H - Munbo moved— "That the revised district rules be amended by abolishing j the half-yearly district meeting " He urged I that the time had passed when there was any ! i necessity to hold cheir district meetings so of tea < jas bslf-yearly. They had no business brought j forward that would suffer by postponement of its consideration to the annual meeting, and if • at any time special occasion arose for consult- t ing the delegates from lodges, the executive could always convene a meeting. The district rules, now in the hands of the revising barj rister, were supposed to be almost perfect, and 1 on that account annual meetings shcu'd auffice. 1 Another consideration was the great expense 1 entailed — averaging £100 per meeting — without: adequate return. The cost prevented many of the lodges frona sending their own meaibers as delegates, but were there only one meeting in the year no doubt they would make an effort I to be represented, and the district would ! reap the benefit ia tha greater interest • t»ken in tho affairs of. the society ' The only argument that could be ad- ! vanced in favour of the retention of j the half-yearly meeting was the increase the holding of it was supposed to bring to the membership of the local lodge. Granting that some good was done in tha 1 ; way, still £100 appeared to be rather » large sum to pay for thia increase. Bro. Sligo disagreed with the remarks of the mover, and thought that ib would be a mistake to abolish the half-yearly meeting. We would become a dead-and-alive body and lose muehof our interest in Oddfellowsbip. He believed the half-yearly meetings to be a good institution in [ so far as they brought the town and country I members together and led to mutual intimacies I and friendships, which revealed tho best that was in their fflliw members. Bro. Black had never neard Ihe last speaker make a speech with so much sentiment aud so little sound argument in it. He did not believe that the frequency of the meetings aroused greater interest in our affairs so far as j the public was concerned, but rather the reverse. The holding of one meeting only would tend to i ths more important business being reserved for the annual meetiug, and the trivial business would disappear from their proceedings. The motion was also supported by Bros. Robin and Burrell and opponed by Bros. Milne, Harrop. Garrow, Deacon, and Gow. and on being put to the meeting wai negatived. j OFFICIAL HANDBOOK. i Bro. Grater moved — *' That the Ofcago district shall undertake the publication of the next • Official Handbook.' " He explained that the first issue had been confined to the lodges in and around Dunedin. It had been found a very useful publication, and the intention of the motion was to provide for it in future embracing all the lodges in Otago. This it was felt could only be done by making the annual issue of it district; business. The first number had cost the lodges nothing, but the quantity j of advertisements was thought by some to be j undesirable. After a elight discussion, the majority of the delegates voted against the motion, NEXT MEETING. Bro. Black, in moving that (he next meet- j ing of the District Committee b3 held in tha lodge room of the Loyal Hand and Hearb Lodge, Dunedin, referred to the facb that that lodge, which was the parent lodge of the district, would celebrate its jubilee in December next, being then 50 years old. It was, therefore, natural and desirable that the half-yearly district meeting should be held there in its ; hall. j ELECTION OF OFFICERS. \ The election of officers for the ensuing terra i resulted as follows; — Prov . G M., Bro, J. H. F Hamel; Deputy P.G.M., Bro. W. Allan; Prov, 0.5., Bro. J Hopcraft (re-elected) ; Prov. Treasurer. Bro. J. Robin (re-elected) ; auditor, ! Per, Sec Bro. J Brown (re-elected). j P.G. Bro, Garrow was elected to take the j place of the late Bro, H. S. Fish on the , Arbitration Committee, and Bro. T. Burton was reappointed to the office of lodge book examiner. It was decided to place ihe name of the retiring Grand Master, Bro, C. Brundell, on the merit board, and that Bro. Geddeß confer upon him the degree of P.P. G.M. LEVIES. On the motion of the Treasurer (Bor. Robin), the levies from lodges were fixed at — for funeral fund, 33 6d ,• and for incidental fund, Is per member for the current half-year. The mover stated that the death claims had been exceptionally heavy of late. Thanks having been returned by the newlyelected officers, the meeting terminated. BANQUET. "- The Loyal Tapanui Lodge tendered a banquet to the visiting delegates in honour of the occasion. A most enjoyable evening wa3 ■pent, the usual loyal and patriotic toaota j being honoured, with a good programme of j vocal and instrumental music and recitations : interspersed Bro. Wholan made a first-class 1 chairman, and the banquet itself reflected credit on Host Munyard, of the Commercial Hotel. _ The Duke of Westminster estimates that his London property, if realised, would be worth orcr 12 millions*