No. 254. without obtaining the votes or consent of five-sixths in value of the 28 VICTORIA, then existing members thereof (including the honorary members if any) to be ascertained in manner hereinafter mentioned; nor without the consent of every person (if any) then receiving or then entitled to receive any relief annuity or other benefit from the funds thereof to be testified under his hand or the duly satisfying the claim of every such person. For the purpose of ascertaining the votes of such five-sixths in value, every member shall be entitled to one vote and an additional vote for every five years that he may have been a member; but no member shall have more than five votes in the whole; and the intended appropriation or division of the funds or other property shall be fairly and distinctly stated in the agreement for dissolution prior to such consent being given, and the agreement for such dissolution duly signed as aforesaid, accompanied with a statutory declaration by one of the trustees or by three members and the secretary taken before a justice that the provisions of the Act under which the society was established or completed have been complied with, shall be forthwith transmitted to the registrar to be by him deposited with the rules of the society; and such agreement shall thereupon be an effectual discharge at law and in equity to the trustees treasurers and other officers. And in the event of the dissolution or determination of any society or the division or appropriation of the funds thereof except in the way hereinbefore provided or in compliance with the rules thereof, any trustee or other officer or person aiding or abetting therein shall upon conviction thereof before two justices be liable to imprisonment with hard labor for any term not exceeding three months. (a) or one society engagements to c. 63 s. 14. 34. Any two or more societies established under this or any of Societies may the Acts hereby repealed may unite and become incorporated in one unite with others society without any dissolution or division of the funds of such may transfer its societies or either of them; or any society established under this another. Act or any of the said Acts hereby repealed may with the permission 18 & 19 Vict. of the registrar be allowed to transfer its engagements to any other society so established, if such other society shall undertake to fulfil all such engagements upon such terms as shall be agreed upon by the major part of the trustees and also by the committee of management of both societies or the majority of the members of each of such societies at a general meeting of each such society convened for the purpose. Ib. s. 30. 35. All rules and regulations of any society established or Registered rules registered under this Act or any of the Acts hereby repealed, and to be evidence. all alterations or amendments thereof, and all copies thereof or extracts therefrom signed by the registrar, shall in the absence of any evidence to the contrary be received in all courts without proof of the signature thereunto.) Remedy for re hands of persons 36. If any officer other than a trustee or treasurer or if any covery of books member or any other person whatever shall obtain possession of the papers, in moneys securities books papers or other effects of such society or refusing to give any part thereof and shall withhold or misapply the same, or if any Ib. s. 24. them up. (b) This section is applied to Industrial and Provident Societies by 37 Vict. No. 477 s. 18, "Friendly Societies (Industrial and Provident)," post. No. 254. 28 VICTORIA, trustees or treasurer shall improperly withhold or misapply the same, any two justices upon the complaint of any member shall hear and determine the matter; and upon conviction shall order double the amount of the money so withheld or misapplied to be paid to the treasurer or other officer of the society to be applied by him to the purposes of the society or the said securities books papers or other effects to be delivered to the society, together with such costs as shall be awarded by the said justices not exceeding the sum of five pounds; and in default of such moneys or costs being paid or such securities books papers or other effects as aforesaid being returned, the said justices shall commit such person so proved to have offended to any gaol there to be kept to hard labor for such a period not exceeding three months as to them shall seem fit. But nothing in this Act contained shall prevent the said society from prosecuting criminally or otherwise any person guilty of felony or misdemeanor unless a previous conviction has been obtained for the same offence under the provisions of this Act. (a) Circulating false rules a misdemeanor. 18 & 19 Vict. c. 63 s. 29. Return to be made to the 37. If any person shall circulate among or give to the members of any society already established under any of the Acts hereby repealed or to be established under this Act or to any person intending or applying to become a member a copy of any rules or alterations or amendments of the same other than those respectively duly lodged certified and registered in accordance with the provisions of this Act or any of the Acts hereby repealed, or shall make any alteration in or addition to any of the rules regulations tables alterations or amendments after they shall have been respectively certified or registered, or shall knowingly circulate or print any rules alterations or amendments purporting to have been duly certified or registered under this Act or any of the said Acts but which shall not have been so duly certified or registered, he shall on conviction thereof be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor. 38. Every society established under the authority of this Act Registrar-Gene- or of any of the Acts hereby repealed for the purpose of providing allowance for the burial of members or relief during sickness incapacity or any other natural state of which the probability may be calculated by way of average shall, on or before the thirty-first day ral at certain periods. Ib. s. 45. The secretary of an Oddfellows' Society made default in his accounts, and subsequently became insolvent. The society, in addition to the preference claim on his estate, proceeded against him, under this section, for twice the amount of default, and the justices made an order for the recovery thereof. On an application for a prohibition to restrain the justices from further proceeding with the order, on the ground that the society should not have the means of both recovering the full amount as a preferential claim on the estate, and also the penalty of double the amount in default, it was decided that the society had the double remedy, and that there was no such want of clear jurisdiction on the part of the magistrates as to justify the issue of prohibition.-The Queen v. Call, A.R., 17 Sept. 1867. The Loyal Brothers Lodge (No. 3, Geelong) of Oddfellows was suspended by the committee of the grand lodge for having, as was alleged, violated the constitution, bye-laws, rules, and regulations of the grand lodge; and the trustees of the lodge No. 3 were notified of this, and a demand made upon them to transfer £600 in their possession, belonging to lodge No. 3, to the grand master of the order. The trustees, on the instruction of the lodge No. 3, refused to comply with this demand. Thereupon an information was laid against the trustees by the district deputy grand master. Held, that the case did not come within this section, which was a penal one relating to the misapplication of money; and that the defendants were holding the money as trustees, under directions from the lodge that appointed them.-Darton v. Knight, 6 W.W. & a'B. (L.), 106. No. 254. of January One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, and so on 28 VICTORIA, every year, transmit to the Registrar-General of Victoria for the time being a return of the rate of sickness and mortality and other contingencies experienced by the said society and an abstract of its yearly income and expenditure during the before-mentioned period or during so much of the said period as the society may have been established, according to the forms prescribed in the Sixth and sixth and Seventh Schedules to this Act respectively or according to such Schedule other forms as the said Registrar-General with the sanction of the Governor in Council shall cause to be prepared and furnished to such societies. Seventh mitted to the and laid before 39. The said Registrar-General or the Registrar of Friendly Returns to be Societies shall, on or before the first day of March One thousand made and transeight hundred and sixty-five and so on every year, transmit to the Chief Secretary Chief Secretary a list of the societies which have been registered Parliament. during the preceding year under this Act, specifying their names the places where they have been established the date of registration and the time of dissolution; a copy of which list with the schedule attached to it shall be laid before Parliament within one month next ensuing if Parliament shall be sitting or within one month after the time when Parliament shall next meet. summary way. 40. All penalties imposed by this Act shall and may be Penalties rerecovered in a summary way by any person who shall proceed for coverable in a the same before any two justices; and a moiety of all fines and penalties inflicted shall go to the informer or other person proceeding for the same. and of 57 Geo. extend to friendly 18 & 19 Vict. 41. The provisions of a statute of the Imperial Parliament Provisions of 39 passed in the thirty-ninth year of the reign of His Majesty King Geo. III. c. 79 George the Third intituled "An Act for the more effectual suppres- III. c. 19 not to "sion of Societies established for seditious and treasonable purposes societies under "and for better preventing treasonable and seditious practices," and this Act. also of another statute of the said Parliament passed in the fifty- c. 63 s. 12. seventh year of His Majesty King George the Third intituled "An "Act for the more effectually preventing seditious meetings and "assemblies," shall not extend to any society established under this Act or under any Act hereby repealed in which benefits are assured to the members depending on the laws of sickness and mortality, or to any meeting of the members or officers thereof in which society or at which meeting no business whatever is transacted other than that which directly and immediately relates to the objects of the society as declared in the rules thereof: Provided that the trustees or other officers of such society when required under the hand of any three justices shall give full information to such justices of the nature objects proceedings and practices of such society and in default thereof the provisions of the said two statutes shall be in force with regard to such society. SCHEDULES. Section 7. Section 13. 14 Vict. No. 11 ... 18 Vict. No. 41 ... 21 Vict. No. 10... 21 Vict. No. 53 ... RETURN of the Particulars required to be furnished to the Registrar of Friendly Societies by the promoters of any proposed society previous to provisional registration. Proposed name The objects of the society. Names, places of business, or places The names, places of business, or places of residence of existing or proposed trustees, and solicitor (if any).* * This return must be accompanied by a written consent of the parties willing to become members of the committee, trustees or trustee, and solicitor (if any), to act provisionally or otherwise in the formation of the said society. THIRD SCHEDULE. FORM OF PROVISIONAL REGISTRATION. I hereby certify that the Provisional Committee [or by whatever name called] of a society to be called has complied with the requirements of the "Friendly Societies Statute 1865" necessary for provisional registration and that the said society has been provisionally registered accordingly. Dated this day of [A.B.] Registrar of Friendly Societies. This certificate remains in force for six months from the date thereof. FOURTH SCHEDULE. FORM OF CERTIFICATE TO RULES OF REGIStered FriendlY SOCIETIES. I hereby certify that these rules or alterations of rules [as the case may be] are in conformity to law and to the provisions of the Act in force relating to Friendly Societies. Dated this day of [C.D.] Certifying Barrister of Friendly Societies. FIFTH SCHEDULE. FORM OF CERTIFICATE OF MEDICAL PRACTITIONER OR CORONER. I late of his [or her] death to be caused by Dated this 28 VICTORIA, No. 254. years Section 21. and that I consider hereby certify that died on the day of aged [or Coroner as the case may be.] Legally qualified Medical Practitioner residing at SIXTH SCHEDULE. ABSTRACT OF THE SOCIETY'S EXPERIENCE OF SICKNESS AND MORTALITY. Society established in the year in 1. When any particular case of sickness may have commenced in one year and continued to the following year care must be taken to ascribe the proper quantity of sickness to each year. 2. Every member's name or initials must be entered in the schedule whether he may have received aliment at any time or not. 3. In filling up the columns of sickness Sundays are meant to be included. If it should be more convenient to exclude them state you have done so. 4. If the member's correct date of birth and also his age at admission into the society be known it will be entered as such if not his present age his age at death or at expulsion (as the case may be) must be guessed at or approximated to by the person who fills up the schedule and also by any other person who may know the member in question and inserted in the column headed "remarks." The age on the succeeding birthday should be taken if not otherwise expressed. 5. If it be the practice of the society to distinguish between bed-lying and walking-about pay care must be taken to fill up the respective columns. 6. The column of deaths as well as the column of members who have been expelled or who have left the society must be filled up with much care. 7. If it should happen that the information given respecting any particular member stands in need of any explanation such is to be given in the column headed "remarks." 8. Insert in the column headed "remarks" how many times the member may have been sick during the period referred to in the adjoining columns. For example a member may have experienced in any one or more years twenty weeks of sickness which may have been all one attack of illness or three or four different attacks of illness and the number of attacks is to be stated which can always be done by referring to the society's books and seeing the number of applications he has made for sick allowance. 9. It is also to be kept in view that when a member's death is recorded it should be stated in the column headed "disease or cause of" for what period he was ill in the attack of sickness immediately preceding his death. Section 38. |