H.—l.

Beckoning each separate branch as a unit, and excluding grand and district lodges, the total number of bodies' dealt with in the tables is 282, of which 179 were, registered prior to Ist January, 1882, and 103 were unregistered at that date. The following list gives the number registered, according to their respective orders : — Manchester Unity Independent Order of Oddfellows ... 71 Lodges. Independent Order of Odd Fellows (American) ... ... 10 Lodges. National Independent Order of Odd Fellows ... ... 2 Lodges. Ancient Order of Foresters ... ... ... 55 Courts. Ancient Order of Shepherds ... ... ... 2 Sanctuaries. United Ancient Order of Druids ... ... ... 13 Lodges. Loyal United Friends'Benefit Society ... ... ... 1 Lodge. Independent Order of Rechabites ... ... ... 9 Tents. Sons and Daughters of Temperance ... ... ... G Divisions. Hibernian Australasian Catholic Benefit Society ... ... 7 Branches. Railway Employes' Benefit Societies ... ... ... 2 Societies. Isolated Local Society ... ... ... ... 1 Society. In Table I. the membership is given, together with the amount of the societies' funds at the end of 1881. The total of these was £179,000, or an average of £12 7s. Bd. per member. This is only 10s. higher than the average of the previous year, but represents a somewhat greater increase in the case of older lodges,* as among those registered in 1881, and therefore appearing for the first time in this year's tables, are many which have not been long established, and which consequently possess only small funds. The average of the Sick and Funeral Funds per member was £11 os. 4d., or ss. higher than that of the previous year. Table 11. shows the distribution of the societies' funds as on the 31st December, 1881. Of the total amount invested £109,789 was placed at interest, and the value of land and buildings was set down as £51,926. £12,164 was cash in hand, and £5,721 represented value of goods, regalia, debts, &c. The following statement gives in a concise form the total liabilities and assets: — Liabilities. £ Assets. £ Sick and Funeral Funds ... ... 159,742 Investments at interest ... ... 109,789 Management Funds ... ... 14,569 Value of land and buildings ... 51,926 Other Funds and Property ... 5,289 Cash not bearing interest ... ... 12,164 Value of goods, regalia, &c. ... 4,468 Other assets ... ... ... 1,253 £179,600 £179,600 Table 111. shows how the funds at interest were placed, with the respective rates per cent. £8,258 was in the Post-Office Savings-Bank, and £25,403 in other banks. The average interest on the latter was £4 Bs. per cent. £2,585 was on deposit with companies, building societies, &c, at an average interest of 6| per cent.; £64,277 was on mortgage of freehold property, yielding on an average £8 4s. per cent.; £6,315 in Government and municipal debentures, at £6 12s. per cent.; and £2,421 in shares in companies, &c, yielding £6 2s. per cent.; and £503 on security (principally personal) other than those above-mentioned, at £9 6s. per cent. Table IV. deals with the Sick and Funeral Funds, giving the particulars of the annual receipts and expenditure, together with the amount of the fund at the beginning and end of the year. The contributions to this fund amounted to £19,514 10s. 9d., being an average of £1 6s. lid. per member. This average lias not varied for three years. The receipts from entrance and clearance fees were £1,097 9s. 3d., or 10s. 9d. per member admitted. The average for the year 1880 was 13s. 3d. The total amount paid as sick benefits during the year was £11,242 ss. 6d., which is 15s. Gd. per member, and £5 13s. 3d. per sick member, as compared with 14s. (id. and £5 15s. lOd. in the year 1880 : and the average weekly pay, which has been nearly constant for three years, was 16s. 3d. The funeral benefits amounted to £2.249 9s. Gd., (lie average benefit paid for members being £20 6s. Id., and for members' wives, £10 12s. lOd. The amount of levies to the District Funeral Funds was £2,837 9s. 5d., or an average of 4s. sd. per member of societies which have a common Funeral Fund. In 1880 the average was 4s. 2d. The total receipts of the Sick and Funeral Funds were £36,387 2s. lid., or £2 10s. 3d. per member. The total payments were £18,447 9s. 7d., or £1 ss. 6d. per m-ember. The expenditure, therefore, was over 50 per cent, of the receipts, and nearly 95 per cent, of members' contributions. At the end of the year the amount of benefit funds per member varied from a minimum of lls. Gd. (Sanctuary Star of Canterbury, A.0.5.) to £36 12s. 4d. (Ross Lodge, Hokitika District, M.U.). The general average was £10 os. 4d., which is ss. Id. higher than that of the previous year. The following table shows the number of lodges whose average benefit funds per member lay within the indicated limits on 31st December, 1881, together with the average ages of the lodges : — Number otlodges ... 3 1 4 11 22 29 42 43 20 4 £ £ £ £ £ *£ £ £ £ £ Above ... "... 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 2 1 Less than-, ... ... 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 1 yr. m. yv, m. yr. m. yr. in. yr. in. yr. m. yr. m. yr. m. yr. m. yr. Average ago 29 10 11 6 18 0 "17 6 'l5 8 18 1 12 1 >10' 3 7 "4

* Note. —The word " lodge " is to be understood throughout as embracing all synonymous terms, as court, tent, division, &c,, which are in technical use in the various societies.

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