The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1886-04-27 00:00:00

ANCIENT ORDER OF FoRESTERS,
SurTH•WICSTERN DISTRICT.

The half•yearly meeting iif &devote. from the
Courte comprielng this District was 11,1.1 at the new
church eehollesen, roc'. Freemautle, laat
week. The D.C.!). Ole,. Jame. .%reh 101 l preeidcl,
Bro. Jeniey, in the vio,eheir, and
there W. a large etienrlanc. el”kirstro.--Th.•
Mi.inesa we. .1111'11..1 in the uiouual way. MA Itnie,
Winger •nd Sherrill I) cciissterl were
appsmnted teller..
The minute. tho preceeling. of the Dietrirt
Committee during thA poet sin month. wet. r.ed.
full diecuesion enuesl upon roil mu met .re. —Th..
report of the Csiminittee of Management, together
with the balancesheet, of which the following is a
mummary, were then emeidered : —The her if
members returned for the quarter ending 3larch wee
11,001, a. compered with 11,417 in December lict, io
list there warn a gain if 1147. The funeral claims for
the holfve,,r amounted to no I.co thou 121,1143,
which is the Iligheet uiortality yet experienced in the
history f the Dietriet. Sicknese, too, had been buoy
in many Courts, And the great mexceity of such a
society had never been denionstrated more powerfully.
The valuations, in accordance with the reisoiutiou mit
the last l/ietrict meeting, were referred to the Coup
inittee of Management, by whlllll • Imb-committee
wee appointed. Their report had limn printed and
forwiuded to the Courts, and will be laid
before the &legatee at the ensuing meeting
The eummary of account* showed the funeral fund to
amount to £22,435 Os. 11.1. ; management fund,
£3OO Ga. Gd. ; goods fund, CM 2.1. Ild. ; fund,
£4O In. 9d. ;lifeboat fund. £17.. 9,1, ; cheques not
presented, £.30 : total, £22,81ti 9., 10,1. On the other
side the figures included mortgagic on house pniperty,
£12,817 ; Southampton Corporation bonds, 00,007
14. lid. ; Alverstoke fecal Board, £2,700 ; flopley
Burial Board, 1240 ; Bournemouth Local Board,
£130; Bouniernouth Burial Ward, £lB7 :Southampton
Harbour Board, £300; in Capital and Counties Bank,
£2,110 18e. 2d.; due fie. goods from Courte, CU 14a. td;
total, 1i22,e93 9.. 10.1.
At the last meeting a special committee warn ap-
pointed ma the subject of the valuation of the District
Funeral Fund. The of this committee was
now circulated amongrettrdelegates, but the cow
inittee recommended that the coneideration of the
matter ehosild stand over till the October meeting,
pending the action of the High Court on the Lurie of
District funeral funds—Bro. thvenway urged that
the iiaragraphs in the report which recommended an
alteration in the scale of funeral benefits Ile struck 'wit
of the report forthwith, and lie moved accordingly,
expressing himself strongly against poetponing the
consideration of the report.—Thin cos eeoontlei by
Court 4,317.—Urn. Shergold propneed that the report
do idand over a. recommended.-11m. Sandford
secondr.l th.. recommendation for the report to stand
over, and this was eventually agreed to.

THIC 1.14TRK44 VI:SI,

Itrant. from thi. fund, to the t0t...1 amount of LW.
were made to membere of vitriol,. Courts, upon the
recommendation of the 1/i.trict Con 111 l itt^e. The
particular. of each cam were shown in Ow notice
paper, and in only cone Cane warn the grant different
from the reounmendatilm.
FUNIEN tt. Yuma, AEI, THE itit.li corm

_
The next conoder " the mon,
mendations of the Executive Council. and the peep,
sition., to be oil:mitt,. I by them to the ensuing High
Court Nfeeting on die suldect of the basis of District
Funeral Funds."—Bro. Dyer remarked that these
recommendations were only just published : they
propeed to make it imperative on every District to
provide for graduated contributions fir funeral
benefits. This would nu.t apply to existing Districts
having an efficient_graguated sash., and he believed
that the Sisith.Western District would have an
efficient scheme. There was no doubt about this it
they mail, up their minds energetiadly to do it, and
that hems so the proprisala would not apply to them
at all. The propooitions were made for their protec.
tiott and to safeguard them. The whole question
would online before tem High Court meeting, snd the
object of the Executive Council waa to compel other
Districts to do as the So tith.Weatern had done, and
build up a sobiossucial f I. This ale: bore upon the
next preposition on the 'slier, but he biped the meet-
ing woelti send the deli-eater to the High Court free
and unfettered in the matter, to use their own discre.
timi after hearing the whole ca.. —Pursuant to
notice, Bro. Shergoid then inorod, "That it be an
instruction from this neoting to the delegat.s who
may be elected at the ineoing to represent the Dix.
triet at the forthcoming High Court meeting at
Leicester, that they vote Against the propeition if
the Leicester Executive Conncil, making it aim•
puleory on all courts to ley a gradnated rate of ountri•
Lotions to the District Funeral Fund for the
whole if their ininnisirs, stink propueition being
unnecessary in the South Weeteni District, consider.
ing the vaet amount of the District Funeral Fund,
which, under the present system Of In. Per 'Platter
per member, hoe pri.ved Amid• and &efficient for
upwards if .40 years to meet all hinmoil claims, and to
build up an immense fund .4 upward.: of g 22,000 to
'met all claims in the future." Hem Shergold remarked
that during an experience of over 40 years there hid
been no necessity whatever to make a speeisl levy to
keep the general fund of the district in p oition. At
one time they laid ell and eti for death
allowances, brit th-. were increased to ell and I:7
reslewtisely, but still cher aceittn ids Col rata cal, and had
gone .in Mere:wine year After year. They saved
over £l,OOO a year, and yet it was said now that they
did not pay enough. The D4l, told them it would
not hurt the courts, lint he (Bro. Merritt!) begged to
say it would make II material difference. Why should
they take the money ant of the Courts. and put it
into • fund which hail already proved ample for all
requirements? The 11.8. slim told them that the
young Courts would have to pay Cif the old ones, but
he denied that altogether. He had belonged ta: the
Order foe • minter of year., and they should not for.
get their principle, which was to help each oilier. If
they departed from this, they might as well go into
the insurance business at cow, an 4 that was • far
different matter. Their society was • philanthropic
institution, aitcl. CO take money oht of ono p aket
simply to out it into another was not philanthropy.
No injustice lied been done to any member of the
Order by the present system, and if it had pnived
ample and sufficient for forty years, at the
rate tboy were making Intsinliers in toe South-
Western Diatrict now it would be ample end
sufficient for all time to wine. lii concluding,
Bro. Shergold said he hoped they would bind the
delegates down to vote against the proposition, and
show them the unwiee and unneceestry character of it.
D. PIARCE (Poole) imploded the proposition,
and said that if the Executit e Council proposals were
flamed his Court would have to pay MI, their average
age being 3.1. He intel that their Onurta could not
bear the additional burden, and that • Is. levy we.
iptite sufficient foe all iiurposee, taking into considera-
tion the number of isceisimu. —Bro. SAMIWORD said
he hoped the meeting would not endorse this resole.
tion, but that the delegates might go free. When he
new:dere-I the agate' of £30,000 divided amongst
eO,OOO niemhers—or el • man—where was the vastness
of the affair? Sympathy had been spoken of, and he
liked prectical sympathy ; but when talking about help-
ing one another they must not rob one another. He eon.
tended that statistics fully mused that the old Collis
did rob the younger ones. His own Court by not
paying the proper amount had done onto the tune of
0900, and many others were in the gams boat. It was
really • matter of business, and if they assured for £I4
they oeirht to pay • proper orestribution to secure it.
Bro. Shergold had asked—Wail not 40 years'
experience sufficient? He said no, emphatically no !
Qtniling from statistics for 1414 -there being the
latest which he could obtain- Bro. Sandford went on
ti enunciate.• nurnber of figures, the accuracy of
which he said he would guarantee, showing bow the
liabilities were notch lees in the younger Courts, and
that they ;permed steadily with the age. In cue.
elusion, Bn.. Sandford said he hoped that, considering
the Wane it. had read out, they would not bind the
adegatee dowq to: hard. He did not believe fee one
minute that the recommendations cif the Ifarecutive
Council would be adopted. He bad not the slightest
hope they would he fee some years to come, but let
th we people who thought differently go and express
their opinions freely if they had any. He sispilld move
as an amendment that the delegates be not bound.—
Seconded by Bro. Gilmore (4,317).—8r0. F. Pewee
(Andover) said no distinction had been made by
those who hail spoken between urban and rural
populations. His court, for instance, which was about
the same sys as Bro. Sandford'., had paid in many
more Minders& than it had taken out. The Oosport
Coort was urban and the Anddver court mai, and he
thought for the latter Is. per quartcr was toile
sufficient. Ile could not but think, however, that
the raising of tle benefit* witbont chins of pintri• ,
botion was an illedvised step. If contribotion* were
rased, lie thought there would be **riots defections
and secessions, and UPI District would besene a thing
of the ISMS —Bro. 11c1Ltg (Bournemouth) said his
Glyn was in favour of the moth'.—Bro. CsTrnin
remarked that for mime time poet they had adopted
the principle of graduated laments, and yet Is was
wished to onnese the delegates to vote against the
very principle they had affirmed. He should rather
peefet to let them go frit see unleyered, Aa other.
wise they would be placed ill • bitendialbte 4 31
satisfactory position.— BIM ainnn‘AT P4R
that the Coatrilsainini h 4 hj,ea etalteient in lb' pant,
and expressed a hope met tbe resolution woluis be
passed.—Bee. Baiter (Salisbury) erred that the
delegates should not be bound, but gin he hoped the
payments to the Funeral Fined would not have to be
inorreed.—The U.S. repeated that if the District
had an efficient fund the B.C. propusals would not
apply to them at a. —Bre Sienuotti having replied,
the reeolution WM/ pot and tarried by a large
insioriey.