Friendly Societies.

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 1129, 1 December 1879, Page 2 (Supplement)

Friendly Societies.

REGISTRAR'S REPORT. Second Notice. Ia the Report of last year the Registrar makes the following remarks regarding the aanual returns for the year 1877 : —" Th?re has been a marked improvement ia the quality of the raturm this year ; ►till, even now a considerable proportion have been imperfectly m»de out, and have presented such irreconcilable discrepiucies as to entail a very large amount ot correspondence." Bat when we tarn to section 8 of ths Re ' port for the present year, which deals with t-e annual statistics for 1877, we are 1 sorry to find that the large amount of oiriespon dence above referred to does not S!em to > have borne much fruit, as it relates only to 105 societies out of a total of 123 on the register. These societies are ' of two kinds, viz., with branches and without branches. Of the former there ate i 18 on the register, viz.—M.U.1.0.0.F., 11 districts; 1.0.0 F., 1; A.O Foresters, 5 districts ; 1.0. Rachabites, 1 Satisfacto-y ' returns appear to have been received from . all the above, with the ex option of two districts of Foresters. Of societies not having branches there were 105 on the register. Of there 83 were in reality branohes of the • Orders enumerated above ; but owing to the ' circnmstance that under the Aot of 1867 a branch could not be registered as such, they appeared on the register as separate a'.cii ties. The remaining 19 were, wit a the ex ception of four b-anches of sonietits not on the register 89 societies out of the total of • 125 described as " not having branches " famished satisfactory returns, and the ob--1 servations of the actuary and four of the extensile tables whloh Bccompany the report, ri-lnte exclusively to them They comprise 51 lodges of the M U.L0.0. F. o it of a tjtal on the register of 57; one Lodge of being the only one then registered ; 24 Courts of Foresters out of a total of 37, registered ; one Sacc'uary of Shephe:di ; two Ten.s of Rechabites; cm Divisioa of the Sons of i Temperance out of three registered; five branches of the Hibernian Society out of six ! registered ; and four 100 l societies out of five registered. From the foregoing it will be seen that the Foresters have been by far the greatest defaulters in the matter of not Bending satisfactory returns. Table 1 shows the number of members, and the Bickness and mortality experience of the 89 lodge*, ) cou'ts, &c. On the let January, 1877, there were 8366 benePt members, and on the 3lst December the number had increased to 8560, being an average of 92.2 per club. In the Maucnester Unity Odd-Fellows the average was 104.4 per lodge, and amo'gi 1 ; tbe Foresters 95 3 per court. As was to be expected, there are great differ ences in the numbsr of members in lodgps and courts. The largest Lodge M.U. Odd-Fellows is the Fountain of Friendship, in Auckland, with 314 members ; ' the smallest is the Alexandra, at Waikato, containing four. Among the Foresters, Court City of Auckland, with 275 members, 1 i< the large3t, and the s-uaUest is Ooarc Patei, with 16. The number of admission* during 1877 was 1204, and the exists 1010 Th 9 number of ■ inward clearanoes was 109, as against 181 1 outward. The number of deaths was 72, from a mean number of members of 8463. This ia equivalent to a dea'h-rate of 8 5 per > 1000. Among tho Odd-Fellows the death rate was 7 6 per 1000; Foresters, 11*4; Rechabites, 5 4; Hibernian, 6 5 The total number of secessions was 757, which gives a rate of secessioa of 8 91 per cent.—a rate considerably higher than obtains in the United Kingdom, and also higher than the rates wh'ch appear generally to obtain in Viotoria. ! Taking the four chief Orders, the rates of secession were as follow : Manchester Unity, 8 45 pert cent. ; Foresters, 13 8; Rechabites, 8 07; Hibernians, 9 36. Of 8560 members on the 31st December, 1877, there were aoproximately 4800 married; this amou-its to 56 1 per cmt. Taking the f.iur Orders sep irately, as before, the per are—Manchester Unity, about 56 per o-nt ; Foresters, abjut 58 ; Rechabites, 30; Hibernians, 51. The m>rta!ity amongst the registered wiv. s of members was 40, or about 8 psr 1000. R»ther more than oie-eighth of the members were in receipt of sick pay at one time or other during the year, and the tot-1 number of days' sicknea* experience! b\ them, 49,000, was equivalent to about 45 3 days per member sick, or 5 8 days per me nbar, For the four chief Orders this sickaes3 was as f' Hows : Days Average age. Per member M.U. Odd-Bellows .. 33 3 6 8 A.O. Foro tori .. .. 31'8 40 I O Rechibt'-ss .. .. 331 4 9 Hibernian AC.B.i .. 33'2 4 3 The conclusions which Mr Frankland draws from Ihes-* figu es are as follow "(1) Th*t the rate of sickness pud for ia Now Zealand societies is, on the whole, low for the evlier ag>s. as compared with that to be expected by Ratctiffj's tables; and (2) that it 5b considerably higher ammg the Odd-Fellows thin among the Foresters and the Hibernian Society. This probably arist-s in the main from the circumstances that there are included in the present statistics a number of Odd-Fellows' Lodges much older than any branches of the other Orders ; and that therefore, althoagh the average ag<s in the four Orders do not seem to differ muct-, there is a large proportion of members of really advarced ages amorgthe Odd-Fel.'ows. These questions will, however, be set at rest when the data furnished by tbe quinquennial retains come to be tabulated." Turning to table 2 we tee that the aggregate funds o f thes* S9 bodies amounted to £89,337 Is 6j 1, distributed as follows: Manchester Unity Odd-Fellows, £64,634 16-t lljd; F. rcst>rs (nclnding shepherds), £18.393 9s lid ; New Plymouth Society, L2S4O 4s Bsd; Hibernian S >cifctv r £1351 10s 10£ d ; S"n9 and D nghters of £721 12j 7d; Lfith 3a 91; Pechabites, £441 Is 4il; Fire Bri gade, Wellirgton, £135 63 6d ; Kaeo and Whangsroa Friendly w ocitty, £l2l 16s 9d ; Primitive Methodist Mutual Aid Society, £34 18i 2d. Taking the four chief Ordeis again, this gives the followirg averages M.U. OddFellows, £1267 7s per ledge—or £l2 2j 9d per member; Foresters, £766 7s lid per court, or £8 0s lOd per member ; R chabittp, £220 5a 8d per tent, or £2 6j 5d psr member; Hibernians, £270 6a 2d per branch, or £4 7s 2d per member, Durirg 1877 the total income of the benefit funds was £21,609 of which £19,865 18s Id was revenue proper ; the remaining £1743 6s lid iepres>nted dealings with other lodges, &c. , as agents on behalf of members. The sources of revenue were as follow Con tribal ions .. .. £l',6 2 8 8 Kctrincefees .. .. •* 1,254'18 9 Interest on investments ' .. 8,863 0 4 Other sources .. .. .. . 3,095 10 t ; Tottl .. .; ; .. £19,865 18 1 , The ''other sources" include principally an amount. of £2028 7d, representing 'the ijmßrovflmehti in the Talpe. of. prbpierty liktojijpvg toftXfeiM el WiJjfeftro/ J

Computing the percentage according to the formula osed by actuaries in such cases, it will be found that the entire funds were invested at an average rite of interest of 4*69 per cent. For the four chief Orders, we have— M.U. Odd-Fellows .. ~ 478 A.O. .. .. .. 308 I. O. Rechabites .. .. .. JS'il Hibernian A C.B.S. .. .. 2*lo AJlaocioties .. .. ..469 C 'inparing these figures with those given in the statistics for 1876, there seems to be presumptive evidence for a general falling-off in the rate realised. Among the Rechabites the practica too frequently obtains of crediting all interest to the management fund. The misappropriation which these returns brings to light occurred, however, before the passing o£ the Amendment Act, or, indeed, of the principal Act. The contributions to sick and funeral funds during 1877 amounted to an average of £1 7s 2d per member, or abaut 7d per week. This is about sufficient to provide the ordinary benefits for members entering at the youngest at/es. For members entering at the older ages it is utterly insufficient. The total sick pay granted by the 89 bodies was £5758 0a 21, which repressnts an average total of £5 6s 3d per member sick, or 13* 7d per member. Taking the four orders separately, the averages were as follow :

It seems a legii/maiie miereuce irom tnese data that thera is at present more sickness among the Odd-Fe'.lows thai among the Foresters ; also, that the sickness is on an average more protracted, and a greater proportion of tha sick-pay is on a reduced scale. All three facts are fully explicable by the circumstance that there is a larger proportion of old established branches, and there fore a larger proportion of old members, None of the Fuestera' Courts furnishing returns was founded earlier than 1860, whereas 15 lodges of Odd-F.llows were founded before that year (iix of them, indted, having been established over 30 years). In these 15 lodges the average sickness was 7 4 days per aunum. Again, the number of days' sickness to each member sick was 55 5 days ; this shows that among the older lodges there is a greater total sickness, and alio that the sickness experienced is on an average more protracte.J—results whijli are exactly in accordance with the predictions of actuaries. Tho joint is tti l further illustrated by the following table: —

£1347 were paid in funeral benefits, £975 on the deaih of members, and £372 on lha death of members' wives. This represents an average of £18'75 per member dying, and £lO "3 3 for each wife dying. Of the sum of £IO7B 3j 61 set down as paid for other benefits, the great bulk was paid by Courts of the Otago District of Foresters, and consisted chit fly of medicil expenses. By the Amendment Act; of 1878 it is made illegal to defray these expenses from the Sick and Funeral Fund. The total of the management funds on the 31at December, 1577, was £8514 12s SJ, or about £1 per member. Although it is not neces?a , y or desirable that the management fund of a society should accumulate to any very large amount, it is extremely important that there should always be a sufficient credit balance to meet current expenses. It is therefore a matter of regret that amongst the S9 bodies included in these tables, the management funds of no less than 23 were without any credit balance. The total expenses of management amounted to £5378 0s lid, or 13s 5d per member. Taking the four chief Orders separataly, we have the following results:—M.CT. Odd Feilows, 13s per member ; Foresters, lis 2d j Rechabites, 12s 3d ; Hibernians, 16s 4d. These results point to the same conclusion aa the corresponding results obtained from she statistics of 1876. The conclusion pointed at is that the Hibernian Society is more costly in its mansgement than any of the other Orders, and that the Foresters' courts are on an average conducted more cheaply in this Colony than the lodges of the Odd Fellows. The view given of the Rechabites is a favourable one, but the number of tents furnishing returns was eo small that no geutral conclusion can be drawn from the faces. The total cjst of medical attendance in the societies furnishing returns was £7715 10j 6d, or 18i 3J per head. In the four chief Orders the medical expenses per head were as follow : —M. U. Odd-Fellows, 17s 81; Foresters, 20i Id; Reohab.t< s, 133 6d : Hibernians, 22s sd. Taming lastly to the assets of the societies, we find them to bo as f< llow : Mortgages, L 35 933 15s 8d ; land and buildings, £34,048 14a Oid ; deposits in l ; a.ka at in .erest, £lO 794 3s 41; current accounts in banks, £5581 IS*; deposits in Post office Savings Bank, £5257 ISs lid; shares in building societies, &c., £1527 14s 2d ; cash in hand, £1320 10<i 8d; deposits in private savings banks, £1206 0j 6d; Government securities, £1160; loans to members, £604 18s 10 i j whilst miscellaneous debts and other assets account to £4771 9a Id. To complete the view of ihe financial condition of theee societies, tables are appended to the report relating to the funds, which are under the control of 16 of the central bodies. From these it appears th*t on the 31»t December, 1577, the Funeral Fund amonnted to £5805 16s lid; the Management Fund, £778 12s SJ; Widow and Orphan Fund (in three districts only), £1565 15s 51; oihsr funds, £330 13a si—making a total of £S4BO 18s sd. "With the exception of the Auckland District M.U. Odd-Fellows, the ludependent Ordtr of Odd-Feilows, and the Central District of Rechabites, there is no district which »l;o tvs its funeral fund to accumulate 10 aay largo amount. In those mentioned it amounted t> £2406 10s 2d, £1047 14s lid, and £704 13s (3i respectively. The figures we have set before our readers in this article indicate an amount of thrift and forethought on the part of our working classes of which we hwe much cause to fe.l proud. But as we have already said,the figures given fall far short of the whole truth, and we think it is matter for great regret that the actuary did not append to the report a table or tables giving us Buch particulars as we in hiß possession regarding the numbers and amount of funds held by the other bodies registered and unregistered, so that something in the shape of a general es'.imate might have bsen formed of all the soe'eties. We trust this hint will be taken when the statistics for 1878 are being compiled, and these we may sun ly expect to see soon. We would earnestly caU the attention of the leading members of all Friendly Societies to see thattheirretumaarefilled up promptly and properly, because we feel sure the laxity which has so frequently been exhibited hithirto will not in future be permitted 1 y the Registrar. It should never be forgotten that the Registrar is bat the servant t f the Legis'ature; and in demanding their periodical returns, the future goid of these institu tions and tha si-If-reliant members thereof is the sole object. When the necessary changer resulting from the recent alteration? in the law h ■ ve been once satisfactorily under stood and effected, we feel confident that with the sympathetic assistance of bo c m pi tent an official as the present actuary, Mr Frai kland, perfectly harmonious action will result, and the great objects of all be satisfactorily attained.

Average sick p y Average ppy per per member. member sick. s. d. £ s. d. 11. U. Odd-Fellows .. 15 2 5 18 9 Foresters .. .. 10 7 4 7 9 Rechabites .. .. 14 7 3 13 2 Hiberuians .. .. 12 5 4 1 11

PerTotal Reduced centage Sick Pay. S.ck Pay. cf .Reduced. £ s. d. & s. d. 41. U. Odd-Fellaws . . £090 ,9 10 6S2 13 2 14 6 Fertsters . 12U2 8 1 40 14 2 34 Ee^habitfl . 135 7 5 nil Hibernian , 192 10 2 nil AH the societies . . 575S 0 2 625 7 4 10-9