FORESTERS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2924, 30 March 1910, Page 17

FORESTERS.

FORTY : SIXTH ANNUAL MEETING. AN ADVANCING ORDER. The delegates to the annual meeting of the United Otago District, A.0.F., met in the Town Hall, Alexandra, on March 23. / DISTRICT EXECUTIVE'S BEPOBT. The annual report of the District Executive dealt, with a large .number of subjects. Mention was made of the opening of Court Star of Heriot, with 35 members, and of the closing of Court Star of Tuapeka and Court Havelock. Court Pride of the Lake was on the point of closing. Reference was made to special examinations of the books of three courts. The state of affairs disolosured raised the question of audits and auditors.. There was no doubt if the auditors in these courts had done their duty the irregularities would not have occurred. If the books authorised by the district we're used and property kept, and members and borrowers were notified at the end of each year as to tha estate of their respective accounts, in accordance with amended rule 109, there could not be any defalcations." The district returns bad come to hand, with one exceptions, in goocl time, but the directory returns were hot all sent in, with the result that the return (sent Home was incomplete. The courts were asked to v send in all matter they wished inserted in the Handbook by July 1, but the response was almoat nil. Unless the > court». - were. pi> ■ ■ (pared to take more interest in the book it would be better to let it drop. Reference was also made to the distress in 'Great Britain, to which the executive contributed. To its asitonishrnent the draft was returned to k, the High Court secre-,. tary stating" that no such fund as the Children's Bread Fund was known in Great Britain. THE COURTS —MALE AND FEMALE. The report proeeded to deal with the various courts during tho quinquennium ended 1907, the following being a summary of the remarks: Court .Pride of .Dunedin (Established 1862).—The number of members wa? 293, the average age was-. 39.38, whtfe tho sickness experienced was 5357 weeks, costing £2433, being £43 in excess of the expectation. The mean rate of interest earned was 5.19 per cent. The result of the investgation is a. surplus of £2154, including the 1902 surplus, which. was not operated on, and amounted to £ll2O. There were 28 deaths, against 21 expected. Court Pride of the Lake (Established 1863).—Although now a thing- of the past, was valued. The number of members was 23, the . average age was 38.96, and the sickness experienced was 165 week*, costing £125, being. £79 less than was expected. Court Enterprise (Established 1863)—The number of members was 354, the average age was" 36.65, and the sickness experienced was 2913 weeks, the cost being £1912. or £22 less than was expected. There were 19 deaths, as against 15 expected. Tire mean rate of interest earned was 4.89 per cent The result of the valuation is a surplus, amounting to £l9lO. including the surplus disclosed in 1902. Court Robin Hood 'Established 1864). The number of members, was 180, and the average ase was 37.23; in 1902 the average age was 41.25. The sickness experienced was 1677 weeks, costing £873, being £268 less than was expected. There were 11 deaths, as against 10 expected by the. tables. The interest earned was 1.17 per cent. The result of the investigation is a deficiency amounting to £2034, as against £1731 at the previous valuation. Notwithstanding the favourable sickness, the court has gone back £303 since 1902. The Actuary remarks: "The hall investment is the main cause of the court's deficiency, and members would be astonished if they were told how much money has really been ic«t in th.ii unfortunate item." Court Pride of the Leith (Established 1864). —The number of members was Jso6, the average age being 38.76; the sickness experienced was 1806 weeks, costing £1075. feeing £286 less than the expected amount. There were nine deaths, as against 1 0 expected. The rate of interest earned was 5.13 per cent. The result of the valuation is a surplus amounting to £376. against a deficiency of £247»in tha previous valuation. Court Bruce (Established 1865).—The number of members was 198, the average age'being .37.04. The sickness experienced among male members was 1765 yreeks, costing f £906. being £221 less' than"£Waj -expected. In the previous qumque'nniurn - it was £5 more than was expected! : Th ere were 12 deaths, against nine expected. The mean rate of interest was 4.70 per cent. The result.of the investigation discloses a deficiency of £1165, as.' against a deficiency of £1463 in 1902; thus the court 'has "reduced its deficiency by £298: In 1907'Court

Dickson (a female court) was taken over by Court Bruce, and the Actuary remarks: " Such transactions usually have a very disturbing influence on the solvency, as the liabilities of courts taken over are generally greater than their assets. In this, case, however, the assets and liabilities were fairly even when taken over —that is, pro vided the female sickness does not exceed the above margin by 25 per cent, over the male ■'standard."'" " ,J W© trust that in 1912 Court Bruce will" have reduced its deficiency further; we see no reason why it should ret do so. Court Star of the Dunstan (Established 1866). —The number of members was 52, the average age being 35.96. The sickness experienced was 112 weeks, costing £lO7, being £l3l less than was expected. As regards sickness, the court has been very fortunate. Court Pride of Oamaru (Established 1868). —The membership decreased from 212 in 1902 to 207 in 1907. The,average age increased from 33.60 to 36.13. The sickness experienced was 1221 weeks, costing £932, or £B2 Jars tlian was expected. In the previous valuation it was £23 above what was expected. Thers were six deaths, as against seven expected. The mean rate of interest was 4.73 per cent. The result of the investigation is a surplus of £272, as against a deficiency of £39 in 1902. .Wo congratulate Pride of Oamaru, but .as a •warning the Actuary says: "It is to ba hoped that the land and building item which has commenced to figure in the court's returns will b» mere successfully financially than is usual in such case's." Court Pride of Alexandra (Established 1869).—The membership decreased from 73 in 1902 to 74 in 1907. The average age increased from 32.5 Sto 34.50. The sickness experienced was 148 weeks, costing £137, or £196 less than was expected. This court has hadj an exceedingly favourable sickness experience. In 1902 valuation it was £2ll lees than expected. There was one death, as against three expected. Court Roxburgh. (Established 1873).—The membership increased from 53 in 1902 to 83 in 1907 The. average* age decreased from 34.21 to 32.33 - The sickness experienced was 551 weeks, costing £304, or £lO mora than was expected; In the 1902 valuation it was £7l more than was expected. This does not speak well for Roxburgh as a health resort. There was one death, as against two expected. Court Star of the South (Established 1874). The membership increased from 325 in 1902 to 456 in 1907. The average isfo decreased from 33.75 to 33.14. The sickness experienced was. 2308 weeks, costing £1603. or £4l less than was expected. In 1902 valuation it was £241 more than was expected. There were 13 deaths, as against 12 expected. The mean rate of interest w.is 562 per cent, (the highest in the district). The result of the- investigation is a deficiency of £657, as against £B2O in 1902. In regard to the improvement, the Actuary remarks: —'"The improvement in t"he position of the court is greater than appears on the surface, as the deficiency is not only smaller,' but is spread over a greater membership, and the ratio-of solvency has advanced from 18s 8d to 19s 3d per wound." ",• ;" Court St. Andrews (Established 1875). The ipembership increased from 141 in 1902 to 156 in 1907. The average age decreased from 38.04 to 37.26; The sickness experi ■ enced was 1178 weeks, costing £B4B, or £26 less than was expected.' There were sev<m deaths, and seven v ere expected. The mean rate of interest was 5.15 per cent. The result of the investigation is a deficiency of £1323. In 1902. the deficiency was £1331, so that, although the court has practically stood still, there is a slight im■provement.

Court Excelsior (Established 1877).—The membership increased from 120 to 159, and the from 31.48 to 32.68. The sickness experienced was 333 weeks, costing £330, being £262 less than was expected. There were five deaths, as against four expected. The result of the invstieation is a surplus of £640. including- £298 shown as surplus in 1902 valuation. We congratulate the court on its continued prosperity. Court Little John (Mixed Court, Established 1888).—The membership increased from 72 to 106. and the average age of males from 30.37 to 32.43. The sickne?s experienced amongst male members was 355 weeks, costing £2J9, or £25 less than .was expected. In the case of.female members, the cost was £9 more. than, wa? ,cx.piected. - There 'was-..one . death, as,., against two expected.. The result of the yaluation "shows a surplus, of £134!'.. , '. 1n,.,'1902 the:.surplus amounted to. £159,. so that. Cour,t Little John has gone back a few points. In his report the Actuary makes the following remarks : "The court is in a good position at present, though it is probable that the allowance I have made for future extra female sickness is. insufficient. Still,, the number of female members is not large

enough to be an element of danger. I think the scale to be charged to new female entrants shouid be increased." Court Royal Oak (Established 1890).—The membership decreased from 77 in 1902 to 75 in 1907. The a.verage age increased from 29.75 to 31.70. The court experienced 216 weeks' sickness, costing £l9B, or £6l less than was expected. There was only one death, as against two expected. The mean rate of interest earned was 3.05 per cent. The result of the valuation shows a deficiency of £515, as against a surplus of £l3O at the 1902 valuation; so that the court has gone back £645 in the five years under review. Court Southern Star (Establisned 1890). The membership increased from 43 to 63, and the average age decreased c rpm 31.93 to 31.63. The sickness experienced was 229 weeks,' costing £2lO, being £32 in excess of what was expects*!'. There was one death, which'agreed with the expectation. ' The mean rate of interest credited was only 2.96 per cent. The result of the investigation shows a deficiency of £642. The def" iency in 1902 was £4lO, so that the court has" gone back £232 in the five years under review. Court Pride of Wa.itaki (Established

1896). —The membership increased from 22 to 28, and the average age from 33.73 to 34.29. This court was not registered until late, so the information in the hands of the registrar was incomplete, and consequently the comparison of the sickness and mortality experence with the standard has not been made.

Court Star of the Forest (Established 1895). —The membership decreased from 42 to 35, whilst the average age increased from 33.75 to 35.66. The sickness experienced was 78 weeks, costing £77, being £56 less than was expected. There were no deaths, as against an expectation of one. The result of the valuation shows a surplus of £B3. In 1902 there was'a deficiency of £lB5, so that this court has greatly improved k* position. We "now come to our female courts. First in order is Court Woodland's Pride (Established 1894).—The membership increased from 143 to 211, the average age from 25.50 to 26.15. The sickness experienced was 1229 weeks, costing £564, or £270 over what Was expected, or 91 per cent, above the male standard. There were four deaths, which agreed with expectation. The mean rate of interest was 4.60 per cent. The result of the valuation discloses a deficiency

amounting to £1294, as against £571, at the previous valuation. Tn his report the Actuary makes the following remarks, which 1m applies to all our female courjts : " Though the deficiency is a large one, :*J is doubtful 'whether it is not underestimated. The sickness in the quinquennium was 91 per cent, in excess of the male standard, and the valuation only provides for a future excess of 25 per cent. If th& members expect the court to assure them the benefits permanently it will- be necessary either to reduce very much the sickness claims or to increase the rates of contributions. In fact, a higher scale of contributions should in any case be adopted for new members," Court Victoria (Established 1894). Though opened in 1894, was not registered until

1904, consequently it is the first time tne court has been valued. The result is that no comparison of the sickness and mortality experience with the standard is possible. The number of members was 33. On this court the Actuary remarks: —"The most marked feature of the female courts is the

tendency to show a very high rate of sickness claim. If this should prove to exceed the male standard by triors than 25 per cent, the position will be worse than stated, Care should be taken .:o exercise a strict supervision over the sickness claims." Court Queen of the South (Established 1896\—The membership increnwd from 56 to 84, the average age from 28.27 to 29.86. The sickness experienced was 425 weeks, costing £202, or £BS more than was ex-

pected, and 72 per cent, above the male standard. The Actuary says: —" Thou ah an increased deficiency is shown, it is doubtful whether it is not under-estimated. The sickness in the quinquennium was 72 per cent, in excess of the male standard, and the valuation only provides for a future exc-css of 25 per cent. If the members expect the court to assure them the benefits permanently it will be necessary either to reduce very mtueh the sickness claims or to increase the ratps of contributions. In fact, a higher scale of contributions should in anv case be adopted for new members." Court Marion (Established 1898). Although established in 1898. through, nonregistration, has not been previously valued, and is therefore in the same position as Court Victoria. The number of : members was 84. The mean rate of interest earned during the period was a little over 2 per cent. The result of the valuation is.a deficiency of £364.. Court Pride of Awarua (Established 1904).

Was established in "190 f. In'Pecember. 1907, . the membership was 21. The amount in { the funeral fund was' £3l. The mean rate

of interest earned was 2.75 per cent. The , result of the valuation shows a deficiency j of £97. GENERAL. . " _ % It ijj gratifying to find that the district funeral fund now shows a surplus of £3507, and we wish you to note that; in valuing the courts, this surplus has not been taken into consideration. - -'"•'■■' ■'■'■■. • The following nine courts show surpluses, | as under: —Pride of Dunedin £2154, Enter- , prise £l9lO, Pride of the Leith £376. Star |of the Dunstan £306, Pride of Oamailu : £272, Pride of Alexandra £306, Excelsior I £540, Little John £134, Star of the Forest ! £B3;—total £slßl. The following eight j male courts (omitting Pride of the Lake) ; show a deficiency, as iinder:—Robin Hood 1 £2034, Bruce £1165, Roxburgh £143, Star of the South St. Andrews £1323, Royal Oak. £515, Southern Star £642, Prida i of. Waitaki £l7o;—total £6649. The female, courts show deficiencies, as follow: —Woodi land's Pride £1294, Victoria £lO3. Queen i of the South £327, Marion £364, Pride of i Awarua £97 ;—total £2185. Total deficien- ! cies £8834. FEMALE COURTS. When female courcs were established | some years ago we asked the advice of the ! late Mr Peter Black, to submit a scale of contributions and benefits. This he did, at ; the same time "warning us - " that from the want of colonial data it was purely experiI mental. ,Ho certainly never anticipated ! that the sickness experienced would be j something like 84 per cent, above the male ' standard, as has been shown in oiur case.

The povsition of these courts'we look upon as serious, and the time has now come when it is absolutely necessary to take some action to remedy the mistake of the past. Accordingly we wrote to the registrar for advice. In reply we received the following letter, which we think of sufficient importance to publish in full: — “Referring to Mr Macfia’s letter of the sth February, the question of female mem bers is beset with considerable difficulties Whilst there are in England fairly exten sive statistics to go upon, there is not much information at present available in New Zealand, and. what there is goes to show that the English figures do not apply herd. We have little information as to the New Zealai d rates above age 50. . Another factor comes into the matter, and" that is the lapse rate. .It may be owing to the influence of marriage a higher lapse rate can be expected amongst, females than amongst males (speaking more particularly of members of some years’ duration). If so, this will to some extent compensate for the excessive sickness. In a number of small lodges this item would be sure to be very irregular and quite unreliable, and I think it best to dismiss the lapses from our calculations, so that any profit they may produce may be realised end dealt with as it falls in, instead of being anticipated by a reduction of contributions at the outset. In order to place the society in a position co form for themselves an intelligent idea of what I am recommending, I append some figures. In both schedules I have taken the benefits as 10s, ss, and 2s 6cl, "or the purpose of straightforward comparison. The first schedule shows how far the female sickness exceeded the male standard 'in the Otago A.O.F. in the recent quinquennial period (exclusive of lodges whose experience was not taken out). Female Experience, Otago A.0.F., 1903-1907.

It is peei that the experience was 93 per cent, in exce<3s of the male standard rp to ago 35, and thence 61 per cent, up to age 50, but, of course, these figures are rather small. “ If now we take all the female members in such societies as were valued by me in 1908 and 1909 we get the following;—

Over 50 54 ... 75 ... 39 These figures are somewhat similar in their general results, and so far as they go they justify charging sufficient contributions to provide for an excess of, say, 75 per cent, up to 45 or thereabouts, and 25 per cent, or 30 per cent, thereafter. Proceeding on

this basis, we arrive at the following 'scale:— \.' ! “ Scale for a sickness benefit of 10s, ss, j 2s 6d, and a funeral benefit of £lO, allow- } ing for a sickness cost of 75 per cent, in .! excess of male rates up to about age 45 and 25 per cent, to 30 per cent, thereafter; . also comparison with present scale:

j The scale in column (2) is the one 1 would ' recommend for the benefits stated above. ' It will be seen that it is from 4s 6d to 6s 8d higher than the present scale, and I may say that it exceeds the adequate male ' rates for a similar benefit by from 6s 6to 8s per annum. I “It must be clearly understood that these ! rates are necessarily largely experimental, i Though I hops to have within the next 10 j or 12 months a much larger body of New I Zealand data in my hands, and to bo in a better position to speak more positively, still even then the information in respect of the higher ages is bound to be limited in extent. I may also point to the extremely diverse experience ' of different New Zealand societies, and the unfortunate fact that female lodges are often very small, and liable to great ffuctuation, as furnishing an additional reason why it is impossible to arrive at a scientific scale. As regards present members, the comparison of rates given above would suggest calling | upon them to pay, say, 5s per annum extra I above what they are now paying, besides I accepting a reduction in benefits, and this j would be a good rough-and-ready way of ; dealing with the matter. It is possible 1 that this figure might require a little . variation in different courts, but that | could be examined into when the principle • has been adopted. The position would : be further reveivved at next valuation. j “In conclusion, I may say that more than ' one female lodge in New Zealand has reached the stage of plain bankruptcy, with funds equal to nil, so it will be seen the j trouble which is being grappled with is not ! an imaginary one. [ ■ “A. T. Teaversi, Actuary.” | We have placed on the business papei a notice of motion which, if carried, wifi raise the contributions of present (as well | as of future) members one penny per week, j and will -reduce the benefits slightly. This. | no doubt, will receive your serious coni side-ration. j CENTRAL INVESTMENT FUND, j The Actuary, in dealing with the valua- ' tion reports of the various courts, several i times refers to the utiltiy of this fund, and j advises those courts who cannot find good i investments in their own district to make use of the central investment fund. We are pleased to state that this advice is being acted upon. ~ During the year- we have received £775 from 10 courts, while £4O has been withdrawn from the fund. At the end*of the year the fund stood at £3627 and since that time we have received" another £2OO. We have remitted to the various contributing courts the sum of £155 * 16s 7d as interest. The fund has proved •j its usefulness, and it is worth while to note that of the 14 courts shown to have deficiencies 11 of them arc contributors to [ this fund, and we trust that this will tel! | its own tale when the next valuation takes ! place. It was suggested to us that we \ should place on the business paper some 1 drastic measures dealing with the courts ' that were earning less than 4 per cent., i compelling the members to make the difference up in some other way. We think the use made of the central investment fund lias rendered this step unnecessary-. FRIENDLY SOCIETIES ACT. The new act came into force on January 1 last. While we think the bill an inipvovement on the last one we regret to state that clauses 15 and 16, which we nublished in full last year, have been struck out of the bill. Bv cluing so we think the Government • committed a, great error by ignoring the wishes of the great majority of friendly society members, and we think that this meeting- might very well express an opinion on' the matter. : J. I OPERATIONS FOE THE YEAR, j The returns from Court Pride of A warn a ? for June and December not having come to hand at the time of writing, we are unable to lav before you a complete state; merit; but, being a small court, it cannot affect our position much one way or the other. We take its position as to mem- : bers and funds as it st-pd last year, i On December 31, 1903,' our membership

?as 3446. According to ihe returns rejeived there have been initiated and joined by clearance 368, • making a total of 3814. Our losses have been: By death, 28; by ,v.rrears and other causes, 239; then by the Closing of Courts Havelock and Pride of the fake we loose another 40 (307]; —total, 3507 We have to add to this: Seven members who have become district members, T; leaving 3514 on December 31, 1909, or en increase of 68 lor the year. Of this anumber Court Star "of Ileriot counts for +9, Court Woodlands Pride tops the list by initiating 55, Court Star of the South '-.omes next with 46, whilst they lost 5 by Jeath and 41 were struck off. The total worth of district funds on December 31, 1909, including outstanding interest, goods, and district members' fund, was £17,165 7s sd; court funds as per returns amounted to £50,272 4s 9d;—total, :5£7.437. 12s 2d. Total worth December, 1908, £64,824 9s ]ot!, showing an increase of £2&13 2s 4d. The funeral claims for the year amount to £760, on account of the deaths of 28 brothers, 1 sistex, and th wives_ of ■ 20members. The total amount of 6ick pay disbursed amounts to £3325 17s 7d, against £3250 Is 6d for 1908. For 1909 the amount is accounted for thus:—2293 weeks 2 days, at 20s. £2293 6s 8d; 800 weeks 1 day, at 10s, £4OO Is 8d; 2489 weeks 5 davs at 5s (and under), £613 15s 6d; 57 weeks 3 days,, at 6s 6d. £lB 13s 9d;—5640 weeks 5 days, £3325 17s 7d. The average sickness per member for the whole district is 1 week 3 days 15 hours, against 1 week 3 days 12 hours for 1908. The heaviest sickness occurred in Court Pride of Dunedin, with an average of 3 weeks 4 days, the cost being equal to £1 13s member. _ Cqurt Royal Oak experienced' the lowest sickness, the average being 2 days, and the cost enual m 7s per member. This is exclusive of the three new courts —King Edward's Pride, Pride of Green Island, and Star of Heriot. In the female courts the amount paid per member was-as follow: —Woodland's Pride, 10s 3d pe member: Victoria, '« lr\ oer member; Queen of the South, ""- ~" A *y»* member; Marion, 3s Id per •nriIRER OF MHETEJGS. aye held 16 meetings r -o. Wilham B. Anderson. D.C.R., 33; •Pro. R. Folley, D.5.C.P... 10: Bro. J. Hodo.-T.D.. 14: Bro. B. C. Wilson. D. 8., 14: : Bro. W: R. Bimrh, I.P.D.CiR., 13; Zxo. J. Macfie, D:S., 16.' VALUATION REPORT, 1902-7. 'STRONG AND CAPABLE MANAGEMENT." The valuation reoorfc' on the United Qtago district for the 1902-7 period has heen circulated among -the various courts. It contains'the following paragraphs: The last preceding valuation of. the society was made as st 1902. the number of courts valued being 22\ with a membership of -2603. of these,courts have ceased -to exist, but three others are included in the present valuation, making a total rJ. 23 courts, with a membership of 32U. ..-' . \ The n.sfsr- o gate amount of sickness experienced in th* five years ended 1907 among 1 males was 20.412 weeks, as against 21.909 expected under the Nev. Zealand Friendly Societies* table. The sickness cost was ' £12,329, «w against an expectation of £14,0p0. The experience of males «was therefore favourable to the extent of £1671, or about 12 oer cent, in point of cost. In the case of females the cost was £796, as against £432 according to the- male standard table. Thus there was an excess of £.%4. or 84 per cent.*'The female sic-knrss was excessive in the .cute and subacute divisions '(first six months arid second six months), and this im<?ht. possibly indicate a want of supervision. The rates of sickness arc- now lower as compiler] with the standard than was the ca c f 15 years ago, and it eon be said that whilst the "sickness rates at fixed ages show a tendencv to decrease, -an increase in the i amount of sickness per member is nevertheless shown owing to the gradual increase in the number of old members. A eompari?on of the actual mortality •Sxnerionce with the expected serves as g, , test of the applicability of the particular jable •to th" valuation. Comparing the ! experience of five years with the Now Zealand Friendly Societies' mortality table. We find that there were 324 deaths as against 116 expected by the table. It would appear "that the excess took place in iho higher ages. ' . *

On the whole it.4s demonstrated that the New Zealand Friendly Societies' sickness and mortality tables (which have been employed in the valuation) do not depart very greatlv from- the actual experience of the societv except in the case of females. The society's ,ri*>rtaii>y has. be«n a little grreater than the table, would provide, whilst the sHthcss in, the .la** five years has been a■ W» -fts- than the In the ease of the S iV.Vnn«. -t.be difference.

is accounted for by a fall in the society's own fundamental rates, which may or may not be a permanent feature. As matters stand now the valuation would appear (so far as sickness and mortality are concerned) to be a trifle on the stringent side as compared with a valuation by the society's own recent experience. In the case of females the valuation has been made/on the basis of sickness rates exceeding the male rates by 25 per cent. This is largely arbitrary, and is probably an insufficient margin.

Taking the district as a whole, the interest earnings must be considered to be very good indeed, as (he total sick and funeral funds have earned 4.89 per cent. It is principally the courts with small funds that are- backward, and the central investment fund is likely to be of considerable assistance to these.

The district funeral fund bears the funeral liabilities, and in return receives specific contributions on account of each member, according to the age of entry. This fund, standing by itself, has a surplus of £3507, but, of course, the fund is not altogether a separate compartment, and in considering the result we must also take into account the position of the courts' sick funds.

I present a consolidated valuation balance sheet of the courts' sick funds, remarking by the way that it is only for purposes of illustration, as it is evident that unless the courts are consolidated their figures cannot in practice be added together in this way: —Consolidated balance sheet of the courts' sick funds as at the 31st December. 1907- Present value sickness liabilities, £].12,?34; present value funeral liabilities, £25,598; present, value contribution to funeral fund, £15,477;—t0ta1, £153.809. Sick funds of courts, £41,773; present value funeral benefits reassured, £25.598; present value contributions receivable, £83,604; deficiency, £2334; total. £153,809., Taking the sick funds as a whole, then, there' is" a deficiency of £2834, and I wish it. to be particularly noticed that this is exclusive of the surplus in the district funeral fund. As these two balance sheets are'mutually exclusive, we have to add their results together to arrive at the position of the society as a whole. We have therefore:—Position of society as a whole at 31st Decembe.i!, 1907 Surplus in district funeral fund (as above), £3507; deficiency in courts (as above), £2834; net surplus, £673. At the 1902 valuation a net deficiency of £4184 was disclosed, and as there is now a net surplus of £673, it is quite evident there has been a considerable improvement. This improvement is due to (1) interest earned over 4 per cent., (2) favourable sickntrs experien-f l , (3) interest earned on 1902 -surpluses left unappropriated, (4) profit from lapses, i(5) other causes. At 1902 there were 14 courts with deficiencies totalling £8415, whereas now there arc also 14 courts with deficiencies which amount to £9015.- Here there are two things to be remembered. In the first place the sickness liabilities of the female members have been specially increased on this oeasion to the extent of about £2OOO to provide for expected excess sickness. No such action was taken at 1902. In the second place the deficiencies are reducible by any share to which the courts are entitled- in respect of the district funeral fund surplus. I have not allotted them their share of this surplus, as it would be quite useless to do so unless action were taken to give effect to such division.

If we exclude female courts from the comparison, and look only at the male 'deficiency courts, we find that their deficiencies on this occasion total £6830 (reducible by shave of district funeral fund surplus), as against £7727 . at . 1902 (not reducible). Altogether, then, it can be said that the male deficiency courts are £897 better off than at 1902,- and the deficiency courts as a whole aye about £I4OO better off (when we deduct the £2OOO extra liabilities charged against females on this occasion); improvement would be still greater if the district funeral fund surplus were apportioned out so that these courts got their share of it. There is no doubt whatever, then, that there is an improvement in respect of deficiency, courts as a whole, as well as in the society as a whole. As regards female members, I shall only remark here that their scale of contributions is not even quite adequate to piojide for a rate of sickness no higher than the male standard, and it oan, therefore, be seen that it would require to be raised a good . deal to provide for such high sickness rates as they have actually experienced. Female sickness is so universally- in excess of male rates that female members should pay on a special scale. The preparation of a scale for females is a difficult matter, and I should prefer to deal with it separately, which I will do if required. I have already indicated that I have not carried down the district funeral fund

surplus to the credit of courts, for the reason that any such action would be futile unless it were backed up by an actual apportionment. The question then arises, What is to be'dwae with this surplus? The mo3t obvious course is to determine upon an apportionment amongst courts, and give effect to the same. I fiha.ll not enter into details here, as these could be gone into later if such, a plan were decided upon. The .result would be that each court's position would at once be improved by the amount of its share. This course would be quite proper and unexceptionable. At the same time, I would point out to the. executive that, as there is probably no urgent necessity for immediate action on these limes, the alternative might be considered of holding the surplus over for the present, as a nucleus for a possible future consolidation of the district, when it would go a long way towards assisting, the district to start such a *cheme on a solvent basis, without in. any way touching the declared surplus of any particular courts. If not required* for that purpose, it could be apportioned at any future time as decided upon. I must say that the society's district funeral fund is constituted upon a proper basis, and is one of the few that can be passed over without adverse criticism. • -

I have touched slightly upon the matter of consolidation. This is a question which is well worthy of consideration, but I do not intend to enlarge upon it here, beyond j remarking that when a district as a Vvhole is capable of improving its funds at nearly 5 per cent., as in this case, a consolidation ! would very soon dispose of deficiencies. I The principal points of this report in i brief are as follow: ,' The membership shows an increase. The ' sickness experience of males was favourj able to the extent of £1671, or about 12 per cent., whilst that of females, so far as taken out, was unfavourable to the extent of £364, or 84- per cent. A comparison of the experience of males with previous quinquennia shows that, there has been no increase in sickness rates other than the normal increase due to changes in ages of members. There has been rather a slight decrease at fixed ages. The mortality experience for 20 years past has been a little above the New Zealand" Friendly Societies' table, the excess occurring at the higher ages. The tables used in. the valuation agree fairly well with the experience, but if anything are very slightly lon the stringent side. Whilst the funds ; as a whole earned interest at nearly 5 per ; cent., there were 11 courts that failed to earn 4- pier cent. The central investment fund is likely to help some of these considerably. The management funds amounted to £1847 at the valuation date. The district funeral fund shows a j surplus of £3507, and the sick funds a de- [ ficiency of £2834, the net result for the J whole society being a surplus of £673. Not only does the society as a whole show an" improvement, but the position of the deficiency courts is also better. The scale contributions for males is capable of improvement. Some special remarks are given in reference to the district fund sur- ; plus, and also re consolidation. The disI trict funeral fund is one of the few ccni stituted funeral funds in New Zealand. ] The scale of contributions charged to new j members should be revised and improved. The figures I have given will furnish a guide to the executive in dealing with the \ matter.

A considerably higher scale than that at present in operation should be charged to new female enti - ante, in addition to exercising a strict supervision over the sickness.

I have been impressed with the many evidences, which have diselosed themselves of strong- and capable management. In this respect the society has been more than usually fortunate, and an asset of this kind is of the very greatest value. A? T. Tkaveksi, actuary and valuer. There are some who cannot understand why a fund requires to be accumulated by a friendly society. The fact is that in the first 30 or so years a friendly society has little to pay out; hence a fund is, and must be, accumulated. Later on, however, members commence to draw out more than they pay in, and the necessity for the fund becomes apparent. The interesting fact I wish to draw attention to is that Court Pride of Dunedin hag. been in the latter stage for 20 years, or perhaps more; that is to say, during these 20 years the members have been drawing out more than they pay in. Thus we have: Paid in by Drawmout by Quinq. members, members in benefits. 1882-1892 ... £ 996 £1713 1F93-1897 ... 1249 2006 1898-1902 ... 1491 2976 1903-1907 ... 1710 3083 Total ... £5446 £9778 In 20 years, therefore, the members have drawn out in- benefits £4332 more than thev

have put in. Irr addition to this, £I7OO has been transferred out of the sick fund for the benefit of members, so that it is correct to say that the total amount paid out to, or on account of, members is really £6032 more than they have paid in in the last 20 years. It should be quite clear to everyone that if members were not called upon to pay in more than' they draw out while young, there could be no fund accumulation; and if there were no fund it would be palpably impossible for a eourE to pay out in 20 years (when members are older) some £6ooo' mere than it receives from the members.

There are other people who think the funds are accumulated for the benefit of posterity. The figures leave no room for doubt that members as a whole have really drawn out all they ever paid in 6'ince the commencement of the court, but I can go much further than this by saying that during the last 10 years the members over 65 years of age have drawn out on the average more than £6 per annum each, over andi above what they have paid in l duwng the same 10 years. Moreover, they have had on the top of this the benefit of two surplus appropriations, and will probably have another one soon. This dees not look like providing funds for posterity. These old members are not only drawing out their own* youthful accumulations with interest, but I can say that they are actually drawing to some extent upon the accumulations of the younger members,_ as their own contributions were insufficient. The above figures refer to the sick and funeral fund only. I should add that the case of this court is not exceptional. A similar position obtains in all courts which are old enough. The management fund had a credit balance of £357 odd at the valuation date.

9 ci „ »• Ages. cji 6 O rn 0J gen w Expected Cost by -p- S 5 Male .Standard. to Cost of afctual Sickness at above I '° ° Rates of Benefit Percentage in 1 cs co Excess of Male £ 04 Standard.

o «3 © g c3 H . ss C T3 c3 -23s O . O 1< ,Srf Dl oT5 C m Ages © a) CU-* x ■s-S 1 9 .a J oaipci- | « C $ Under 35 ... ... £1247 ...£2226 . .. % 78i 35 to 50 ... ... 285 ... 440 . 54

JCO'OOlOO' 4* oj c* cb to h* Affea Cn vO 4* CD-F* CD S3 co S E5 o ■“ Proposed Annual h-* * Contribution to Sick 5 o m oa cn o-a. anc j Funeral Fund. o S' E2 S cn ® Present Seale (foi* e o 03 o e m P - Hi^ er Benefits). O' O' cn -p> 4a. cn * :oo^ta>a.?- Differetlc3 «