ANCIENT ORDER OF FORESTEES -NELSON DISTRICT.

Colonist, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5898, 3 September 1890, Page 5 (Supplement)

ANCIENT ORDER OF FORESTEES -NELSON DISTRICT.

The half yearly Nelson Distriot Coart meeting of the above Order waß held on Aug. 13, at the Foresters' Hall, when there were prasent Bro Char!e3 Ching, D, 0.X., Bro R, Hunter, D.S.C R., Bro E Finney, D.T., and Bro G. Haslem, D S., and the undermentionel Courts were represented by the following Delegates — Court Robia Hood— Bro W. T. Bond, P.D.C.R, Bro T.H.Jones, P.D.G.R; „ Perseverance — Bro J. B. Jordan, P C.R, Bro W. J. Moffatt ; „ Pride of the Forest— Bro A. Dodson, PDCB, Bro W. H. Alborough, P.D.S.C.R. ; „ Conoord -Bro E. Bayley, P.D.C.R ; „ Unity— Bro C, H. Mills, P.S. ; „ Sherwood Forest— bro C. J. Harley, P.C.R., Bro A. Mills, P.C.R ; „ Aorere-Bro W. L. Heyward, P.P S ; „ Royal Oak— Bro D. Slater, P.D.C.R ; „ Inangahua -Bro J .mes Ching, P.D.CR. Court Charleston was the onlyj Court that was uniepresented. Considerable discussion took place on the financas and investments of Courts. Letters having been sent to the M.H.R's for the Nelson district regarding tha Railway Employees' Bill, replies were read from Messrs J. Kerr, R. Beeves, A. P. Seymour, and B. J. O'Conor. The Auditors Report, which was adopted, showed the Funeral Fund to amount to £616 163 3d, as against £476 8-3 3d for the previous half year, and the total worth of the Distriot funds to be Funeral Fund . . £616 16s 3d Management ditto.. 27 3s Id Goods in Stock . . 90 Oa Od Total .. ..^£733 19a 4d Resolved— That Seotion 3, of General Law 7, be altered so as to make the registration fee to the District Funaral Fund two shillings each, irrespective of age. Thfl District" officers were authorised to get the Qaioqaennial Valuation of tne Courts completed, and ready for tha next District meeting. The following nominations for District offioers were received, — Foi: Distriot Chief Ranger, Bro R. Hunter; for District Sub Chief Ranger, Bro A. Mills. A proposition to do away with the ha'f yearly District meetings was withdrawn. The District officers' repo t was adopted. The following extracts are laken therefrom — Brethren,— Your officers have much pleasure in meeting you to-day and to receive your guidance and help in the affairs of the District, and also to place before you a Bhorc report on tbe state of the Courts, and the progress made by them during the halfyear. From a return wbich will ha placed before jou the following particulars will be learnt:—

The above figures show that the Go arts have increased in funds daring fae hilf-year by £369 163 lOd ; ths District funds by £138 7s 7d ; and those of the Juvenile Courts by £15; while the Stock acoonns shows a reduction of £10. The paymests made by way of benefits Sncma the half -year have been at follows : —

From the above it will be observed that the payments for siok pay and medioal attendance tar >ughout the District, whioh has a metuberehip of 618 (exclusive of juveniles), gives an average of 181 6Jd per member, whioh yonr officers oonsidtf is highly satisfactory, when the large amount of aiokaesa experienced is taken in'o account. The District has been fortunate daring the half-year in having no claim made on the Funeral Fund, thisybaing, the first ocmaion for upwards of fiftesa years that your offioers have had Buoh a pleasing announcement to make, that death has not entered our ranks in some part of the District. This fact speaks well for the general healthiness of the numbers, and is. we consider, a matter for great congratulation. As a consequence the Funeral Fund has been largely augmented, and now stands at £616 16a 4d, an increase of £140 8s during the half-year. In accordance with resolution of the annual meeting rules for , the guidance of Juvenile Courts were prepared ard forwarded to all Courts in the District, but so far your offiaera are nrt aware of any praotical results arising therefrom. They trust, however, that the Courts will not allow the matter to drop, but that dnring tha current half-year they will put forth all th;ir energies to start these valuable auxilaries to the adult Courts. The membership of the District contiones to increase, there being a net gain during the half.year of eiz members, after making allowance for those who bare run out through non-payment of contributions, and tboae who left by clearance. The Committee appointed by the Annual Meeting to confer with other Booietiea in this District, with a view of watobing all Parliamentary legislation affecting Friendly Societies, have met. with the result that a strong Vigilance Committee — consisting of Oddfellows, Foresters, and Beehabites —has been formed ; and it is satisfactory to note that owing to the determined stand taken by this Committee, and by similar Committees appointed in other parts of the Colony, the proposed Railway Employee's Bill hns been withdrawn. The Committee will oontinue to act, and will, no doubt, be able to render valuable assistance to the various orders. Your officers beg to recommend that for the future Courts be required to supply the District with copies of their balance-sheet half yearly instead of annually as a* present ; and wouli suggest that ia such balance-sheets the nature of all investments made by the Courts should be fully stated. By this means the District officers would bj ia a better position to judge as to whether any illegal investments had been made by Courts, which, owing to their scattered nature, hid not been able to be visited by any responsible officer. One such investment has been recently made, and the action taken by the District officers wi 1 ba submitted to you. Your officers have offi iaUy visited the four Courts adjacent io the oity, and their reports ou the Fame will b) pre-euted to-iay. On the whole, they were well satisfied with the manner hi which the business of thd Courts was conducted, and have to thank tha various Secretaries, and the officers generally, for tbe cou-tesy extended to then? on the occasion of their visits. The two Juvenile Branches in the District, — " Little John " and "Will So.rlett "— are progressing favorably, both financially and numerically, there bein* a member -hip of about 100, and funds to the value oi £115.

£. a. a. sr Sickß.ndfits .... 276 1 4 ;S* Medical Benefits .. 313 14 9 ; ;; « £^89 16 1

£. s. d. Sick Funds of Courts . . . . 8645 5 2 Maaagemeot Fands of Courta 533 3 0^ Fund 9of Juvenile Courts •• H5 0 0 Funeral Fand of Di3triet . . 616 16 3 Management Fund of District 27 3 1 Stock Ace junt of District .. 9J 0 0 £10,027 7 64