7

H.—l

The total funds of the societies and branches as on the 31st December, 1909, amounted to £1,266,296 15s. 3d., made up as follows: Sick and Funeral Funds (inclusive of amounts transferred to special funds out of surplus), £1,171,562 9s. 4d.; Medical and Management Funds, goods, &c, £94,734 ss. lid. Dividing the total funds by the number of members at the end of the year, it is found the average capital per member is now £19 13s. Id. Taking the several years 1900-1909, the number of lodges whose returns were tabulated, the number of members, total funds, and average capital per member at the end of each were as under :—

The following statement shows the total funds (including those of the central bodies) as on the 31st December, 1909:—

The following table shows the number of members of friendly societies, the amount of their accumulated capital, and the average capital per member, in each of the Australian States and in the Dominion of New Zealand, according to the latest received statistics, arranged in order of membership : —

Sickness. The number of members sick during 1909 was 10,381, equal to 17-14 per 100 members at risk. The sickness experienced during 1909 was 86,558 weeks 3 days, equal to 8 weeks 2 days per sick member, and 1 week 3 days for each member at risk. Owing in great measure to differences in the proportion of members at the several ages, the averages in the several districts differ considerably, also in the several societies or orders. The figures for the five larger orders for 1909 are found to be as follows:—

Year. ' Number of Lodges tabulated. Number of Members. Total Funds Average Capital. .900 .901 .902 .903 .904 .905 .906 .907 .908 .909 443 445 462 465 479 501 500 516 505 567 40,257 41,236 43,408 45,255 47,302 51,103 53,759 56,817 58,517 64,428 £ 766,480 804,753 846,315 883,751 936,388 996,224 1,057,821 1,118,217 1,123,886 1,266,297 & s. a. 19 0 9 19 10 4 19 9 11 19 10 7 19 15 11 19 9 11 19 13 6 19 13 7 19 4 1 19 13 1

Funds. Assets. Sick and Funeral Funds Surplus Appropriation Funds, &o. .. Management Funds, goods, &o. Widow and Orphans' Funds Distress, Benevolent Funds, &o. .. £ 1,183,534 38,029 02,389 11,045 21,300 Investments at interest .. Value of land and buildings Cash not bearing interest.. Value of goods Other assets Owing by Management Fund £ .. 1,042,088 153,557 46,594 12,730 9,938 1,390 Total .. 1,266,297 Total .. 1,266,297

State or Dominion. Date of Return, Number Number of of Lodges. Members. Amount of Funds. Capital per Member. Victoria New South Wales .. New Zealand South Australia Queensland Tasmania.. Western Australia .. i .. j 31st December, 1907 1908 1908 1906 1908 .. I „ 1907 .. i , 1908 1,376 1,393 505 506 446 179 258 123,443 ; 118,276 I 58,517 52,165 37,557 i 18,954 ! 16,098 £ 1,793,186 1,258,023 1,123,886 743,795 461,238 162,643 129,537 £ s. a. 14 10 6 10 12 9 19 4 1 14 5 2 12 5 8 8 11 7 8 0 11 J I

Sickness per Member. Eatio (per Cent.) to Toti il Sickness. Order. Percentage Sick. Sick. J At Eisk. First Second 6 Months. 6 Months. After 12 Months. MU.I.O.O.F. i.O.O.F. LO.P. J.A.O.D. .. :.o.r. 17-68 15-15 17-81 16-41 15-49 Weeks. 9-62 6-11 8-98 5-92 7-76 Wks. dys. hrs. i 1 4 22 ; 0 6 12 14 5 j 0 6 19 1 1 10 48 75 53 73 69 7 7 8 9 8 45 18 39 18 23 All societies 8 37 17-14 8-34 1 3 0 58