THE HELPING HAND

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 164, 1 April 1918, Page 6

THE HELPING HAND

FRIENDLY SOCIETIES' WORK LUUuli UELWiAIIm I'ulltiliAlnliK ' WELCOMED BY THE MAYOR, In the City Council Chambers on Sotunlay evening the Mayor (Air. J. 11.I 1 . Luke) welcomed the members of the New Zealand branch of the Manchester Unity of Oddfellows, who are in Wellington to attend tho biennial conference of the Order.

'Mr. Luke Baid that ho was fure that he could say to the assemblage on behalf of the citizens of Wellington that they were welcome to the city. Ho was sure that that night their hearts would go out in loving sympathy with those members of tho Older and the boys of New Zealand generally who wero taking part in the great fight. Hβ thought that they should concenvrnte their, minds on the doings at the front. Never in the history of the Empire had thev passed through such etrenuous times. The boys at the front were lighting for those sitting around the table that evening and for the whole of civilised humanity, and it would bo some compensation for their sacrifices if they kneiv that the first note struck at tho gathering that evening showed that they were remembered. He was very pleased to bo present,''and he much regretted the absence of lira Luke, who was in Auckland. Once he was an Oddfellow, but public positions had taken up so much of his time that he had r.ot stuck to the lodge. There were in the Manchester Unity as' a whole 1,518,000 members. The capital was .£17,098,000, and among the friendly societies they must be pre-eminent. The income was X 2,256,000. They had already paid benefits to the extent of £1,928,000. There were receipts over expenditure to the amount of JSoS.OOO. A pleasing feature was the strength cf the membership in New Zealand. In New Zealand the lodge was pre-eminent. The membership here was 21,992, and the capital ,£842.136. The Oddfellows hnd on active service no fewer than 200,000 of their members, and no men had shown greater courage or devotion. Some S0«l had made the supremo sacrifice. Two thousand of "our own members" had gone to tlio front and 200 hail been killed. It was pleasing to him to know that the Manchester Unity had kept their soldier members on the books of tho lodge whilo they wore away fighting-. He understood that they kjquired legislation to help them to carry out eonie of the work of their Order, and he assured them that anything ho could do he would elnem it his duty to do. He congratulated i;liem on the splendid position the friendly societies occupied in New Zealand as compared with the position of the-societies in Australia. A few figures would show that there was reason for congratulation. The average capital in New Zealand in 1007 was £W 13s. 7(1., and in 1»IG it was M 15s. Bd. The increase had been steady, not spasmodic. In New South Wales the average capital per meiriber was JBIO 10s. Id., in Victoria .£l7 Us. lid., in South Australia .£lB 12s 8(1 in Queensland .£ls j>3. 5d., in Western Australia JCI3 Os. 4A., in Tasmania .£lO 16s. 3d, and in i<ew Zealand .£25 7s. 4d. The figures showed that there had not only been a saving in connection with the Order, but that the niembero were born to be banded together to carry out the great principles of the Manchester Unity. The. highest capital value was shown by New Zealand as against all other parts of the world. He thought that a. splendid tribute. It was a tribute to the women as well as to the men, because it must have meant many a little sacrifice to keep up the payments. There must have been many occasions on which there was temptation to let the lodge money go. He again assured the members that they were welcome to the city, and he expressed the hope that they would have a most pleasant time. , , At the conclusion of the Mayors dress the members rose and accorded him the musical honours of the society. , Grandmaster 1. Saiek thanked the Mayor for his welcome. They were particularly plowed to meet E« Worship, because there was not one of them but had a relative at the front, and a«r allta" of the great kindness that he and Mrt>. Luke had extended to soldiers, departing and returning. They wished to congratulate him on his election by the people of Wellington to so high a position and also on the high honour that tie Kins had bestowed on him. They Loped tSat ever, higher honours would vet be bestowed on him. In all times the Manchester Unity hjd *en comp*(vl of loval men. The lodge had every pect anything, for not lung• £ J A mmmm Med. Now the accumulation - K- ?■' (inn MM The sum of Aoi.wu per fear vKng produced by that amount which was great testimony to the good management 0 of the funds They had uaid i/5,000 in sick benefits, i2G,000 in Sal expenses, and JC200,000 for medica attendances and benefits. Looking back opev a period of 30 years.it would be seen that the friendly -societies of the Dominion had paid out ja,300,000 m sick nav He had been a member for neaily forty years, and had never drawn one shilling from the lodge, and there were many others who could say the same. Lodges provided a splendid education for vouu" men: they were good training grounds for public life. Among the lod"O members around the table theie were several Mayors and other public men. Among them was Bro. John Smith, who for 25 years was a member of the Wellington City Council, anl was still a member of the Wellington- Hospital l)eputy Grand Master Watt also thanked the Mayor. "This society of ours, he r:u(1, "has a very long history, and in. the last hundred years it has survived many difficulties. The Manchester Unity of to-day is only what the splendid men of the past made it. One side of the Manchester Unity which ought to be en*, nlmsised is the friendship side. When a member is sick the lodge provides for his medicine and his nursing, and, perhaps, the doctor. Also, there is this greater phase: while Hie member InmMlf is sick the Manchester lOmty stands behind him. The lodge, visitow go along to see him and cheer him along the load to recovery. I think that friendly societies arc not properly understood, and tint if thev were they would bo more highlv honoured than they m. The fault,* perhaps, lies with. members themselves They hnvti not maelo as much of matters as they might have done. The function concluded with the singing of tho National Anthem.