H.—l

3

Departmental Offices and Staff. The offices ol' the Registrar, together with the National Provident Fund, have been transferred from the Government Buildings to the Bank of New Zealand Building, Te Aro, owing to spacepressure. The change enabled the whole staff to be accommodated under one roof, which conduces to a more efficient supervision of the work. I have to report that the staff, in the face of changes and interruptions, have loyally performed their duties, although this has on several occasions involved considerable inroads on their own time. General Statistics. Membership and Funds. The following table shows the increased membership in 681 lodges" of the Dominion, which furnished returns for 1913 :— Number of members, Ist January ... ... ... 73,579 Number admitted by— Initiation, &c. ... ... ... ... ... 6,048 Clearance ... ... ... ... 764 6,812 80,391 Number who died ... ... ... ... ... 523 Number left by— Clearance . ... ... ... 844 Arrears, (fee. ... ... ... ... ... 5,333 6,700 Number of members at 31st December ... ... ... 73,691 The increase in membership during 1913 was 0"15 per cent., as compared with 220 per cent, for 1912, a result not unexpected in a year noted for industrial upheavals. The total funds of the societies and branches as on the -list December, 1913, amounted to £1,643,177, made up as follows: Sick and Funeral Funds (inclusive of amounts transferred to special funds out of surplus). .£1,517,708; Medical and Management Funds, goods, &c, £125,469. 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 £22 6s.

Taking the several years 1904—1913, 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 disposal of the total funds (including those of the central bodies) as on the 31st December, 1913 : —

Year. Number of Lodges tabulated. Number of Members. Total Funds Average Capital. 1904 1905 190G 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 479 501 500 51G 505 567 009 658 664 681 47,302 51,103 53,759 56,817 58,517 64,428 68,006 71,771 73,243 73,691 £ 936,388 996,224 1,057,821 1,118,217 1,123,886 1,266,297 1,367,282 1,441,353 1,553,339 1,643,177 £ s. d. 19 15 11 19 9 11 19 13 6 19 13 7 19 4 1 19 13 1 20 2 1 20 1 8 2174 2 22 f 6 0

Funds. Assets. lick and Funeral Funds iurplus Appropriation Funds, &c. .. Ianagement Funds, goods, &c. Vidow and Orphans' Funds )istress, Benevolent Funds, &e. £ .. 1,465,159 52,549 83,615 13,156 28,698 Investments at interest .. Value of land and buildings Cash not bearing interest.. Value of goods Other assets Owing by Management Fund Total £ .. 1,391,972 173,614 51,339 14,073 10,439 1,740 .. £1,643,177 Total .. .. £1,043,177 * The word "lodge," when applied to all societies, i 1 couit," " tent," &c, as used in the various orders. to be understood as embracing tbe synonymous tetms