1831.
THE LAW
OF
FRIENDLY SOCIETIES,
AND
INDUSTRIAL AND PROVIDENT SOCIETIES,
WITH THE ACTS, OBSERVATIONS THEREON,
FORMS OF RULES, ETC'., REPORTS OF I.:' vDIN'J CASES AT LENGTH,
AND A COPIOUS INDEX.
FORMERLY (1S39— 1S67) EDITED RY THE LATE
WILLIAM TIDD PliATT, Esq.
Cents ©tfttfaw, SKcbferti antt (Snlargctf,
BY
EDWARD WILLIAM BRABR09K F.S.A.,
Gf Lincoln's Inn, Esquire, Barrister* at-Law ;
Assistant Registrar of Friend Ig Societies for England ;
Author of The L<zo of Co-operative Societiesf
and cf The Law of Trades Unions-”
LONDON:
SHAW AND SONS, FETTER LANE,
PRINTERS AND PUBLISHERS OF TIIE BOOKS AND FORMS FOR
SAVINGS BANKS, FRIENDLY SOCIETIES, GOVERNMENT
ANNUITY SOCIETIES, ETC., ETC.
—-P
S • King Son-■
Parliamentary • Agency ■
•Canada-Building-•Kin
gS* 1 -Westminster-BIBLIOTHEK
DES K. K. HANDELSMINISTER8
EXZELLENZ DR. JOSEPH MARIA
BAERNREITHER
(12. IV. 1845 — 19. IX. 1925)
FUR DIE BIBLIOTHEK DES
INSTITUTS FUR WELTWIRTSCHAFT
UND SEEVERKEHR
KIEL
ERWORBEN AUS MITTELN DER
DR. GUSTAV DIEDERICHSEN-STIFTUNG
LIST OF BOOKS AND FORMS
FOR THE USE OF
FRIENDLY SOCIETIES
PUBLISHED BY
SHAW & SONS, Fetter Lane, E.C.
Account Books, &c. for Friendly Societies.
By Mr. II. Tompkins, Associate of Actuaries.
No. s.
1. Cash Steward’s Account Hook ... ••• °
Check Steward’s Account B ook ... ••• -
3. Treasurer’s Cash Book ... ... ... 5
4. Treasurer’s Receipts... ... in hooks of 200 2
5. Ledger, 5 quires, with Index, sufficient for 240 names 13
6. Register of Members ... ... ... 5
7. Forms of Annual Statement and Balance Sheet
per quire 4
8. Secretary’s Record of Cases of Sickness, &c. ... 0
9. Annual Return to be sent to the Registrar of
Friendly Societies ... ... each 0
10. Bond required as Security from the Treasurer or
other Officer ... ... ... each 0
Friendly Societies’ Books and Forms.
Settled by II. C. Norman, Esq., and Examined by
G. Davies, Esq., E.R.ti.
1. Register Book of Members ... ... ••• H
2. Premium Journal ... ••• ••• ••• I'^'
3. Allowance Book ... • • • • •• • • • 1^
4. Allowance Journal ... ••• ••• LI-5.
Cash Book... ... ••• ••• ••• 7
SHAW & SONS, Fetter Lane, London.
£ Continued at end of Work
3
d.
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
(i
3
4
0
0
0
0
0
i
THE LAW
OF
friendly societies,
AND
INDUSTRIAL AND PROVIDENT SOCIETIES,
WITH THE ACTS, OBSERVATIONS TIIEKEON,
forms of rules, etc., reports of leading cases at length,
AND A COPIOUS INDEX.
FORMERLY (1850—1807) EDITED BY THE LATE
WILLIAM TIDD .PRATT, Esq.,
Cmtl) etntion, licbtsrts anH (Snlargctt,
BY
EDWARD WILLIAM BRABllOOK, F.S.A.,
* Of Lincoln's Inn, Esquire, Barrister-at-Law;
Assistant Registrar of Friendly Societies for England;
Author of “ The Laic of Co-operative Societies
and “ The Law of Trades Unions
LONDON:
SHAW AND SONS, FETTER LANE,
PRINTERS AND PUBLISHERS OF THE BOOKS AND FORMS FOR
SAVINGS BANKS, FRIENDLY SOCIETIES, GOVERNMENT
ANNUITY SOCIETIES, ETC., ETC.
1881.
LONDON: PRINTED BY SHAW AND SONS, FETTER, LANE.
DEDICATED
(dy permission;
to
THE EIGHT HONOURABLE
VV. E. GLADSTONE,
FIRST LORD OF THE TREASURY AND CHANCELLOR OF THE
EXCHEQUER:
THE TRUE FRIEND AND ENLIGHTENED
PROMOTER 0F EVERY MOVEMENT OF THE
INDUSTRIAL CLASSES TOWARDS
SELF-HELP AND SELF-ELEVATION.
CONTENTS
PAGE
Introduction 1-46
PART I.
Registered Friendly Societies.
38 & 39 Viet. c. 60. Friendly Societies Act, 1875 - 47-125
Sects. ], 2. Short title, commencement of Act - - - 47
3,4. Extent of Act, Definitions - - - - <8
5. Repeal of Acts in schedule - - - - 50
0. As to existing societies - - - - 51
7. Societies with deposited rules - - - 51
8. Classes of societies - - - - - 52
1 q' j Limited application of Act, registry office - Sill.
Registry of societies - - - - - 58
12. Cancelling and suspension of registry - - 61
13. Rules and amendments - - - - 63
14. Duties and obligations of societies - - 64
15. Privileges of societies - - - - - 69
16. Property and funds of societies - - - 75
17. Investment with National Debt Commissioners 80
18. Loans to members 82
19. Accumulating surplus of contributions for members’
use ------- 83
20. Officers in receipt or charge of money - - 83
21. Legal proceedings- - - - - -84
22. Disputes ------- 86
23. Special powers of registrars on application from
members ------- 88
24. Special resolutions and proceedings thereon - 89
25. Dissolution of societies 93
26. Militiamen and volunteers not to lose benefits 98
27. Limitations of benefits - - - - 99
28. Payments on death of children - - - 100
29. Societies with branches, how to be registered - 103
30. Societies receiving contributions by collectors- 105
31. Cattle insurance societies - 109
32. Penalties - 110
a 3
VI
CONTENTS.
SECT. PAGE
33. Summary procedure and appeals - - - 110
34. Regulation of proceedings in county courts - 113
35 1
gg'r Public auditors: fees, payment of salaries
C and expenses ------38
1
/ Regulations; evidence of documents - - 115
Application of Act to Isle of Man - - - 11(1
41. Application of Act to Channel Islauds - - lid
Sclied. 1. Acts and enactments repealed - - - 119
2. Matters to be provided for by rules of societies 120
3. Forms of bond and receipt on mortgage- - 122
4. Acknowledgments of registry - - - 124
39 & 40 Viet. c. 32. Friendly Societies Amendment Act,
1876 125-129
Sects. 1, 2, 3. Construction of Act; treasury regulations;
conversion into branches - 125
4-8. Contribution to other societies: acknowledgment
of registry, &c, ... - 127 —
9-12. Distribution of return : nomination, &e. - 128
Schedule.— Forms of acknowledgment of registry- - 129
42 Viet. c. 9. Act to declare meaning of section 30 of
Friendly Societies Act, 1875 - - - 129
42 Viet. c. 12. Poor Law Amendment Act, 1879 - - 130
16 & 17 Viet. c. 34, s. 49—Exemption from income tax - 131
s. 54 133
18 & 19 Viet. c. 35—Abatement of income tax for premiums 132
21 & 22 Viet. c. 90, s. 36—Medical officer to be registered - 134
33 & 34 Viet. c. 93, ss. 5, 9—Married women’s property 135,136
PART XI.
Friendd? Societies not Registered.
31 & 32 Viet. c. 116 , - 137-143
PART III.
Industrial and Provident Societies.
39 & 40 Viet. c. 45 144-190
43 Viet. c. 14, s. 8 191
\
CONTENTS.
APPENDIX.
Notes of cases, &c.— page
A. As to insanity - 192
B. As to alterations of rules ----- 197
C. As to appointment of trustees ... - 202
D. As to exemption from stamp duty - - - 203
E. Statute of Distributions ----- 207
F. As to bankruptcy of officer .... 210
G. As to misapplication of funds - - - - 212
H. As to settlement of disputes ... - 217
I. Consolidated county court orders and forms - 222
Iv. Societies under Industrial and Provident Societies
Act 226
L. Liability for debts 227
M. Paid-up shareholders ----- 229
N. Discharge of mortgages by receipt endorsed - 231
• Model rules for a friendly society ----- 232
Model rules for a branch ------- 246
Model rules for a benevolent society 258
Buies for specially authorized societies .... 266
Model rules for an industrial and provident society - - 270
Audit - - - - . . . - - - 282
Valuation 286
Inspection 299
Prosecution 302
Index.
CASES CITED
A.
PAGE
Absalum r. Gothin 211
Amicable Society of Lancaster,
In re 211
Anon. '6 Mad. 98) 211
Armitage r. Walker 218
Ashley, Ex parte 211
B.
Battey v. Townrow 197
Beaumont r. Meredith 139
Barrett v. Markham 80, 215
Beckett r. Willett 64, 202
Briton Friendly Society, In re .. 214
Buckland, Ex parte 211
Burton v. Eyden 192
Burcon v. Tannahiil 226
C.
Callaghan v. Dolwin 220
Carter v. Bond 70
Caundle v. Bingham 63
Church v. Great Southern Sick
Society 163
C<»ckerell v. Aucompte 139
Crisp r. Bunbury 217, 220
D.
Davis-v. Bird 63
Dean v. Millard . 228
Dcwhurst v. Clarkson 198
F.
Farrer v. Close 138
Fleming v. Self 221
Flemyng r. Hector 139
Fourth City Mutual Building
Society v. Williams 78, 231
G.
Garnet v. Moseley Gold Mining
Company 230
Gordon, Ex parte 213
Great Britain Assurance Company,
In re 139
G rinliam v. Card 219
H.
Harris, Ex parte 211
Harris r. Amory 141
Hodges v. Wale 61
PA OF.
Holt v. United Patriots Society 1,105
Hornby v. Close 138
Hunsletr. Dewsbury 194
Jardinc, Ex parte 211
Jones v. Woollam 84, 139*
IC.
Key worth, re .. 74,210-L.
Linton v. Blakency Provident
Society 160, 227
Long, Ex parte 218
Longworth’s case 141
M.
Macqueen, In re 217
Margett v. Parkes 84
Matthews, re 210-Meredith
r. Whittingham 198 v
Morrison v. Glover 220-Mulkern
v. Lord 221
3ST.
Norrish, Ex parte 197'
O.
O’Donnell, Ex parte 212, 210
Orford, Ex parte 212-P.
Patrick v. Gilbert 213
Payne, Ex parte 217
Phillips v. Eastwood 142
Pike v. Carter 215-Plumstead
Water Company, In
re 230-Q.
Queensbury Industrial Society v.
Pickles 160-R.
R. v. Cotton 197'
R. v. Davis 61
R. v. Evans 218
R. v. Godolpliin 197,191*
X
CASES CITED.
PACK
E. v. Grant 21 h
E. v. Hall 214
E. v. Huddersfield 194
E. v. Manchester 194
E. v. Miller 215
E. v. Murphy 215
E. v. Proud 215
E.v. Pratt, Registrar of Friendly
Societies 04
E. v. Stephenson. Eegistrar of
Friendly Societies 138
E. v. Tyree 215
E. v. Welman 214
E. v. West London Burial Society 217
E. v. Woolley 214
Eay, Ex parte 212
Eeeves v. White 218
Eiddell, Ex parte 211
Eoss, Ex parte 210
Eoyal Liver Friendly Society,
S.
St. James’ Club, In re 139
Sharpe v. Warren 214
PACE
Sheffield Co-operative Society,
In re 170,22!>
Sindcnr. Banks 51, 214, 210. 222
Stamford Friendly Society, Ex
parte 211
Stevens v. Security Assurance .. 139-Swansea
Friendly Society, Ex
parte 212-T.
Thompson v. Planet Building
Society 220
Timms v. Williams 217
Todd r. Emly 139*
Touthill r. Douglas 151,226;
Trott r. Hughes 2 is.
W.
Walker v. Giles 71. 205.
Whipham, Ex parte 211
Wright r. Monarch Building
Society 22 &
ARRANGEMENT OF CLAUSES
OF TUB
FRIENDLY SOCIETIES ACT, 1875.
SECT. PAGE
1. Short title of Act - 47
2. Commencement of Act ------ ib.
3. Extent of Act --------48
4. Definitions -------- ib.
5. Repeal of Acts and parts of Acts in first schedule - - 50
<5. As to existing societies 51
7. Societies with deposited rules . - - - ■ ib.
8. Classes of societies ------- 52
9. Limited application of Act ------ 54
10. The registry office - - - - - - ib.
11. Registry of societies -------58
12. Cancelling and suspension of registry - - - - 61
13. Rules and amendments ------ 63
14. Duties and obligations of societies - - - - 64
15. Privileges of societies ------ 69
16. Property and funds of societies 75
17. Investments with National Debt Commissioners - - 80
18. Loans to members -------82
19. Accumulating surplus of contributions for member’s
use - .- ..-.--83
20. Officers in receipt or charge of money - - - - ib.
21. Legal proceedings 84
22. Disputes - -86
23. Special powers of registrars to be exercised on application
from members 88
24. Special resolutions, and proceedings which may be taken
thereon 89
25. Dissolution of societies 88
26. Militiamen and volunteers not to lose benefits - - 98
27. Limitation of benefits ------ 99
♦
ARRANGEMENT OF CLAUSES.
xii
SECT. PAGE
28. Payments on death of children 100
21). Societies with branches 103
30. Societies receiving contributions by collectors - - 105
31. As to cattle insurance and certain other societies - - 100
32. Penalties - - - 110
33. Summary procedure and appeals ib.
34. Regulation of proceedings in county courts - - - 113
35. Public auditors 114
36. Fees ib.
37. Payment of salaries and expenses .... ib.
38. Regulations to he made for carrying out the Act - - 115
39. Evidence of documents - - - - - - it.
40. Application of Act to Isle of Man .... no
41. Application of Act to Channel Islands - - - ib.
Schedules 110
I
INTRODUCTION.
1. A new Edition o£ this Work having been
called for (the Fourteenth from the first publication
of “ The Law relating to Friendly Societies/’
by the late Mr. John Tidd Pratt (a), and the
Second since the passing of the Friendly Societies
Act, 1875, when the Work had to be re-written),
the opportunity has been taken of embodying in
the text the several amendments in the Friendly
Societies Act, 1875, which were introduced by
the Friendly Societies Amendment Act, 1876,
and the new heading to section 30, which was
provided by the Act to declare the true meaning
of that section passed in the year 1879 (b) for
the purpose of removing the doubt thrown upon
that meaning by the decision of the Queen’s
Bench Division in the case of Holt v. The United
Patriots Friendly Society (c). Some important
matters of practical interest which have arisen in
the working of the Act have also been explained
and additional forms of rules, &c., furnished (d).
Part III. of the present Edition, which comprises
(a) See p. 46. (b) 42 Viet. c. 9.
(c) Law Hep. 4 Q. B. Div. 29.
(d) The Treasury regulations and forms appended thereto
have not, however, been reprinted in this Edition, as they
are now published officially by Her Majesty’s Stationery
Office, and may be obtained of Messrs. Shaw and Sons,
agents for that department.
B
o
INTRODUCTION.
the Industrial and Provident Societies Act; 1876
with notes and forms, is entirely new.
2. Before proceeding to state the effect of the
present Friendly Societies Acts, it may he useful
briefly to trace the course of past legislation with
respect to such associations.
The first Act “For the Encouragement and
Relief of Friendly Societies” (33 Geo. 3, c. 54),
passed on the 21st June, 1793, defined them to
be “ societies for raising, by voluntary subscriptions
of the members, separate funds for their
mutual relief and maintenance in sickness, old
age, and infirmity/’ The preamble affirmed that
the protection and encouragement of such societies
would be likely to be attended with very beneficial
effects, by promoting the happiness of individuals
and at the same time diminishing the public
burthens (a).
The enacting part of this statute designates the
objects it proposed to encourage as “ societies of
good fellowship,” and authorized them to make
proper and wholesome rules, orders, and regulations,
so as not to be repugnant to the laws of the
realm, nor to any of the express provisions of the
Act. That it might be ascertained whether such
rules were conformable to the Act, they were
to be exhibited in writing to the justices in
(a) It is interesting to see the usefulness of Friendly
Societies in diminishing the public burthens placed so prominently
forward from the very first. A recent writer has
boon so much impressed with this that he has eloquently
advocated the establishment of a National Friendly Society,
to which every one should be compelled to subscribe.
INTRODUCTION.
3
quarter sessions, who were to review and examine
them, to annul and make void all such as were
repugnant to the Act, and to allow and confirm
the rest. The rules so confirmed were to be
signed by the clerk of the peace, and a duplicate
on parchment filed by him with the rolls of the
sessions (6).
3. The encouragement and relief which this
Act provided for those societies who complied
with its requirements were :—
1st. Exemption from fees upon enrolment and
upon bonds given to the clerk of the peace.
2nd. Exemption from stamp duty on bonds.
3rd. Power to recover funds from defaulting
officers by summary proceedings in Chancery
without fee, either to the officers of
the court or to counsel, and without stamp
duty.
4th. Priority of claim for moneys of the society
on the assets of any deceased or bankrupt
officer.
5th. Power to take proceedings in the names
of officers for the time being, and continue
them without abatement by the death or
removal of the officer.
6th. Power to determine disputes, either by
arbitration or before justices without
appeal to any court of record.
7th. Exemption of members from removal
(b) Though this is the first Act providing for the legal
recognition of Friendly Societies, the rules of trade guilds
had been certified by the Commissary of the Bishop of
London as early as 1354.
B 2
4
INTRODUCTION.
under the poor law, until they become
actually chargeable to the parish («).
4. By an Act of the 26th June, 1795 (35 Geo. 3,
c. Ill), the provisions for securing the funds of
a society were extended to “benevolent and
charitable institutions, for relieving by voluntary
subscriptions and benefactions, widows, orphans,
and families of the clergy, and others in distressed
circumstances.'’'’
5. By an Act of the 20th June, 1809 (49 Geo. 3,
c. 125), power was given to justices to enforce the
observance of the rules, and to compel payment
by a member of arrears due to a society by means
of distress and sale.
6. On the 12tli July, 1819, an Act was passed
(59 Geo. 3, c. 128) “for the further Protection
and Encouragement of Friendly Societies, and for
preventing Frauds and abuses therein/-’ It recited
that the “ habitual reliance of poor persons upon
parochial relief, rather than upon their own
industry, tends to the moral deterioration of the
people and to the accumulation of heavy burthens
upon parishes; and it is desirable, with a view as
well to the reduction of the assessment made for
the relief of the poor as to the improvement of
the habits of the people, that encouragement
should be afforded to persons desirous of making
(a) The great number of Friendly Societies that must
have been in existence in 1793, when this first Act to
encourage them was passed, is shown by the fact that in
1879 there were still in operation as many as fifty-nine
societies more than 100 years old, having been founded
between 1687 and 1778.
INTRODUCTION. .
5
provision for themselves or their families out of
the fruits of their otvn industry. By the contribution
of the savings of many persons to one
common fund the most effectual provision may he
made for the casualties affecting all the contributors
; and it is therefore desirable to afford further
facilities and additional security to persons avIio
may be willing to unite in appropriating small
sums from time to time to a common fund for the
purposes aforesaid, and it is desirable to protect
such persons against the effects of fraud or miscalculation
” (b). The preamble went on to recite
that the provisions of preceding Acts had been
found insufficient for these purposes, and great
abuses had prevailed in many societies established
under their authority.
7. The statute proceeded to define a Friendly
Society as “ an institution whereby it is intended
to provide by contribution, on the principle of
mutual insurance, for the maintenance or assistance
of the contributors thereto, their wives or
children, in sickness, infancy, advanced age, widoAVliood,
or any other natural state or contingency,
whereof the occurrence is susceptible of calculation
by way of average.-” Not only the rules but
also the tables were to be thenceforth submitted
to justices, who, before confirming them, were to
satisfy themselves that the contingencies which
(b) It Avill be observed that though the problem of Iioav
to keep a society sound was present to the legislature from
a very early time, the expedient of a periodical valuation
was not adopted till the Act of 1875 was passed.
6
INTRODUCTION.
the particular society was to provide against were
within the true meaning and intent of the Act,
and that the formation of the society would he
useful and beneficial, regard being had to the
existence of other societies in the same district.
No tables or rules connected with calculation
were to be confirmed by the justices until they
had been approved by two persons at least, known
to be professional actuaries or persons skilled in
calculation (a), as fit and proper, according to the
most correct calculation of which the nature of
the case would admit.
8. The justices in quarter sessions were also
by this Act authorized to publish general rules
for the formation and government of Friendly
Societies within their county. Every society was
required to have at least three trustees, of whom
the majority were to be substantial householders,
rated at not less than £50. No society was to dissolve
or to divide its funds without the consent of
its trustees, aud the certificate of two professional
actuaries “ or persons skilled in calculation/'’
approved as such by the justices, that “ according
to the most correct calculation of which the case
would admit,” the interest of all contributors and
claimants, in possession or expectancy, were by
the proposed scheme of dissolution fairly dealt
with and secured.
9. In exchange for these restrictions, societies
were allowed to invest their funds in savings
(a) This soon got to he interpreted in practice to mean
such persons as the village schoolmaster.
INTRODUCTION.
7
banks, or with the Commissioners for the Reduction
of the National Debt, as well as in the public
funds and on real security; and provisions were
made for the adjustment of the affairs of the
society hy justices, in the event of a deficiency in
its funds, and for the enforcement of claims of
widows and children of deceased members.
10. After ten years’ trial, however, of this
system, the law relating to Friendly Societies was
reconstructed by an Act passed on the 19th June,
1829 (10 Geo. 4, c. 56), which repealed all the
previous statutes. The rules were still to be confirmed
by justices and enrolled hy the clerk of
the peace, but the only preliminary to such confirmation
and enrolment was the certificate of a
barrister, appointed for the purpose, that the rules
were “ in conformity to law and to the provisions
of this Act ” (b).
Upon this certificate being obtained, the justices
were “authorized and required” to allow
and confirm the rules, without any discretion as
to whether the formation of the proposed society
would he useful or beneficial, or any sanction of
actuaries or other skilled persons. It was provided,
however, that the justices were to satisfy
themselves that the tables of payments and bene-(6)
The barrister so appointed was Mr. John Tidd Pratt,
who held the office from 1829 until his death in 1870.
During those forty-one years he impressed his personality
on the administration of the law in a way that societies
have not yet learned to forget. This is not the place to
treat of his eminent public services as they deserve, but
they ought not to pass unrecorded in the history of Friendly
Societies.
8
INTRODUCTION •
fits proposed to be used miglit be adopted with
safety to all parties concerned.
11. This statute re-enacted the more important
of the privileges conferred by that of 1793 on
Friendly Societies, and in some particulars extended
them. On the other hand, it required
them to pay one guinea fee to the barrister for
his certificate. It specified a list of securities
upon which the funds might be invested ; it made
provision against the incapacity or refusal to
act of trustees; it authorized societies to pay
small sums without the expense of administration
; it substituted a summary remedy before
justices for that in Chancery in the case of
defaulting officers; it omitted the provision for
the appointment of responsible householders as
trustees, and for requiring tlicir consent to a dissolution
of the society; and substituted for the
certificate of experts, in cases of dissolution, the
agreement of five-sixths of the members and of
all those entitled to relief. It also provided
that minors might be members, and that an
annual audited statement of the funds should be
prepared, of which each member should be entitled
to a copy on payment of a sum not exceeding
sixpence.
12. The Act of 1829 after reciting that it is
“ desirable, for the better security of such societies,
that correct calculations of tables of payment and
allowances, dependent on the duration of sickness
and the probabilities of human life, may be constructed
for their assistance, and the present
existing data on these subjects have been found
INTRODUCTION.
9
imperfect and inefficient,” provided for the making
of quinquennial returns of sickness and mortality
in a form prescribed, and for their being laid
before parliament (a).
13. The provision requiring the justices to be
satisfied that the tables proposed to be used were
safe, before they allowed and confirmed the rules,
was repealed by an Act of the 30th July, 1834'
(4 & 5 Will. 4, c. 40). Thenceforth societies
were to be free to establish themselves upon what
conditions and with what rates they chose, provided
only they could satisfy the barrister that
the rules were “ calculated to carry into effect the
intention of the parties framing them/’ and were
“in conformity to law.” The objects or purposes
for which societies might be formed were extended
to include provision against any natural state or
contingency whereof the occurrence is susceptible
of calculation by way of average, and any other
pui-pose which is not illegal; provided that the
contributions for such other purposes were kept
distinct.
14. Other sections of this Act improved the
provisions with respect to the settlement of disputes,
and declared that letters to and from the
barrister should he free of postage. The Acts of
1829 and 1834 are still in force with regard to
such Benefit Building Societies as have not been
(a) These returns have regularly been made at the end
of every five years from 1835 to 1880. Abstracts of those
from 1860 to 1875 have recently been ordered by parliament
to be printed.
b 3
10
INTRODUCTION.
incorporated under 37 & 38 Yict. c. 42 («).
They have been long since repealed with regard
to Friendly Societies. In 1840 it became necessary
to restrict the privileges of exemption from
stamp duty and of investment with the National
Debt Commissioners to such societies only as did
not grant assurances exceeding £.200 (3 & 4 Yict.
c. 73).
15. In 1846 considerable alterations were made
in the law relating to Friendly Societies. The
barrister certifying the rules was constituted the
“ Registrar of Friendly Societies.” The rules,
which had theretofore been filed with the clerk of
the peace in each county, were to be collected
together and taken charge of by the Registrar.
He was authorized to transfer the property of a
society from an incapable or absent trustee; to
settle disputes; to require the production of
documents, and to administer oaths. An actuarial
certificate was to be obtained before any society
could be registered “ for the purpose of securing
any benefit dependent on the laws of sickness
and mortality.” No insurance was to be effected
on the life of a child under six years of age. The
objects for which a Friendly Society might be
formed were afresh defined and largely extended
so as to include the frugal investment of savings
(under which class what are now denominated
co-operative societies were established) and in-(a)
As to the Law of Building Societies under this
statute, and of Benefit Building Societies under that of
1836, see Scratchley and Brabrook on the Law of Building
Societies. (Shaw & Sons, 1875.)
INTRODUCTION.
11
surance against fire, flood, or shipwreck (9 & 10
Viet. c. 27).
16. By an Act of the 15th August, 1850
(13 & 14 Viet. c. 115), the statutes relating to
Friendly Societies were again consolidated, and
for that purpose the Acts of 1829, 1834, 1840,
and 1846 were all repealed, except with regard to
Benefit Building Societies. The wide definition
of objects contained in the Act of 1846 was reenacted
with slight alteration, but no society was
to be entitled to the privileges of the Act which
assured more than £100 in one sum, or more
than £30 by way of annuity, or more than 205.
per week in sickness. Societies under this Act
were divided into two classes, “ Certified Friendly
Societies/-’ and “ Registered Friendly Societies.”
The certified societies (6) were such as should
obtain a certificate to their tables by an actuary
possessing a given qualification, who was required
to set forth the data of sickness and mortality
upon which he proceeded, and the rate of interest
assumed in the calculations. All others were to
be simply registered. The duty of the Registrar
was to see that the rules of every society, whether
certified or registered, were in conformity with
law, that no rule was repugnant to another, and
that they were reasonable and proper. All
societies granting annuities were required to come
under the class of certified societies (c). The fee
(i) Very few of this class were actually established.
(c) A provision equivalent to this was re-enacted in the
Acts of 1855 and 1875.
12
INTRODUCTION.
payable for registry of rules of a branch or
amendment of rules was reduced to 2.9. 6d. The
privileges of investing money with the Commissioners
for the Reduction of the National Debt,
and of payment of sums up to £50 without letters
of administration, were to be granted to certified
societies only. An elaborate form of annual
return was provided. This Act was to be a temporary
Act, if not renewed after one year.
17. In 1852, Industrial and Provident (or Cooperative)
Societies were taken out of the control
of this Act, and a special Act passed in respect to
them (15 & 16 Yict. c. 31). In the same session
the Friendly Societies Act was continued and
slightly amended, and it was again continued in
1854. In 1853 (by 16 & 17 Yict. c. 123) the
societies which granted assurances exceeding
£200, &c., having been certified under old Acts,
were restricted from investing their funds with the
National Debt Commissioners, but received in
exchange fuller powers of general investment. In
1854 all societies which granted large assurances
were discharged from the Friendly Societies Acts
(17 & 18 Viet. c. 56J.
18. In 1855 the law of Friendly Societies was
again consolidated, with material amendments,
by the 18 & 19 Viet. c. 63, which continued to
be the principal statute to the commencement of
the Act of 1875, on 1st January, 1876. By that
Act the purposes for which a Friendly Society
might be established, Avcre restricted to life assurance,
relief in old age, sickness and widowhood,
endowments, and such purposes (ejusdem generis)
INTRODUCTION. '
IS
as a Secretary of State should authorize as those
to which the powers and facilities of the Act
ought to be extended. The limits of assurance
and annuity contained in the Act of 1850 were
re-enacted. The distinction between "certified”
and " registered ” societies was not maintained
(having been found not to be workable) ; but it
was provided that annuity societies should still
require the certificate of an actuary before registry,
and that societies not certified by the
Registrar might, by merely depositing a copy of
their rules with him, protect their funds from
fraud or misapplication, and provide for the
settlement of disputes. It was also provided that
any Provident, Benevolent, or Charitable Institution
formed for the purpose of relieving the
physical wants and necessities of persons in poor
circumstances, or for improving the dwellings of
the labouring classes, or for granting pensions
or for providing habitations for the members or
other persons elected by them, might, by transmitting
its rules to the Registrar, and obtaining
his certificate as to their "being not repugnant to
law,” become entitled to the benefit of so much
of the Act as related to the appointment of, and
the vesting of the property of the society in, trustees,
their suing and being sued and their liability,
the giving of security by the treasurer, and the
rendering of accounts by him, the settlement of
disputes, &c., in the same manner as if it were a
Registered Friendly Society.
19. Upon the submission of the rules of a
Friendly Society to the Registrar, he was to
14
INTRODUCTION.
advise with the secretary or other officer, if required,
for the purpose of ascertaining whether
such rules were calculated to carry into effect the
intentions and object of the persons who desired
to form the society; and if he found such rules
to he in conformity with law and with the provisions
of the Act, to give a certificate to that
effect. Societies granting annuities were, before
registration, to obtain the certificate of a qualified
actuary. All fees for registry were abolished.
20. In other respects, the Act of 1855 gave
new privileges and facilities to societies; for
example, it provided :—
1st. That a society might transfer its engagements to any
other society, upon such terms as the trustees and committee
of management, or a majority of the members of
each society, should agree upon.
2nd. That buildings for the purpose of holding the meetings
of the society might be purchased, built, or taken
upon lease; and also adapted and furnished; that land
not exceeding one acre might also be taken for the purpose
of erecting such a building, and such premises might be
mortgaged, sold, exchanged, or let; provided that the
money required for such purpose was to be raised “ according
to the rules of the society on such behalf inserted.”
3rd. That whenever on the death of a member a sum
not exceeding ,£50 became payable, the same might, without
talcing out letters of administration, be paid to the
person mentioned in the rules, or to the widow or relative
of the deceased, nominated by him by any writing deposited
with the secretary, or in default of there being any such
nominee, then to the person appearing to the trustees to be
entitled under the Statute of Distributions.
21. By tbe 21 & 22 Viet. c. 101 (1858), the Act
of 1855 was amended by making further provision
against undue assurance on the lives of children,
INTRODUCTION.
15
by providing for the change of name of a Friendly
Society, by authorizing proceedings to he taken
against the secretary or other officer on behalf of
the society, and in other less important particulars.
22. By the 23 & 24 Viet. c. 58 (1860), further
amendments were made, enabling the Registrar to
dissolve an insolvent society, to enforce annual
returns from societies, and to make application to
justices in case of misappropriation of funds.
23. By 29 Yict. c. 34 (1866), further facilities
were given for the establishment of societies for
the assurance of cattle and other animals, by which
such assurances were permitted without limit of
amount, and the contributions were made recoverable
as a debt.
24. By a Bill introduced to the House of Commons
on 10th February, 1870 (a), it was proposed
to amend the laws relating to Friendly Societies by
abolishing the certificate of the Registrar and
transferring the duties of the Registrar to the
Board of Trade, or where they are of a judicial
character, to a local judge.
25. This Bill did not become law; but on 29th
October, 1870, Her Majesty issued a commission (b)
under the Royal Sign Manual “ to enquire into
(a) Shortly after the death of Mr. Tidd Pratt, the first
Registrar.
(b) The Commissioners were the Right Hon. Sir Stafford
H. Northcote, Bart., C.B., Sir M. E. Hicks-Beacli, Bart.,
Alderman Sir S. H. AVaterlow, J. Bonham-Cavter, Esq.,
E. M. Richards, Esq., C. S. Roundel!, Esq., F. T. Bircham,
Esq., and AY. P. Pattison, Esq. J. M. Ludlow, Esq., was
secretary to the Commission. An amended Commission
was issued on 17th August, 1871 ; and four Assistant Commissioners
were appointed in the same year.
16
IN Tit O DUCT ION.
the existing state of the law relating to Friendly
Societies, and to enquire into and report upon the
operation of the Acts relating to Friendly Societies
and Benefit Building Societies, and the organization
or general condition of societies established
under such Acts respectively, and upon the office
and duties of the Registrar of Friendly Societies,
with power to suggest any improvements to be made
in the law with respect to the matters aforesaid.”
26. The Commissioners, after collecting a vast
amount of valuable evidence, made their final report
in the year 1874. This important document,
occupying 216 folio pages, affords for the first time
means for a comprehensive survey of Friendly
Societies, their history and present condition, their
beneficial action and their many defects. The
scope of the present work does not admit the discussion
of these matters, or permit us to do more
than state the amendments in the law which have
resulted from the labours of the Commission.
27. A Bill was introduced in 1874 to carry out
the recommendations of the commissioners. After
undergoing considerable modification at the instance
of the societies, it was withdrawn for the
session («), and in 1875 the present Act, 38 & 39
Yict. c. 60, was passed. The foot-notes to the
several sections point out in what respects it
altered the law; but it may be convenient here
to give a brief summary of its provisions.
28. By this Act, the registry of societies in the
(a) The withdrawal of the Bill of 1874 is to he regretted,
as it had for one object the harmonizing of the law relating
to all societies capable of regist^.
INTRODUCTION.
17
three kingdoms is entrusted to a Chief Registrar,
who has Assistant-Registrars in England, Ireland,
and Scotland. With the approval of the Treasury,
he is authorized to prepare and circulate
model forms of accounts, balance-sheets, and valuations,
and to collect and publish statistics. He
may circulate, either generally or in any particular
district, information on the statistics of life
and sickness, and the application thereof to the
business of Friendly Societies, and other information
useful to persons interested in societies capable
of registration.
29. The societies affected by the Act are described
under five denominations :—
1. Friendly Societies.
2. Cattle Insurance Societies.
3. Benevolent Societies.
4. Working Men’s Clubs.
5. Specially authorized Societies.
30. The purposes for which a Friendly Society
may be formed are :—
1. Relief in sickness, or other infirmity, inold
age, widowhood, or orphanhood.
2. Payments on birth or death.
3. Payments in distress, to seekers for employment,
and in case of shipwreck or
damage at sea.
4. Endowments.
5. Insurance of tools against fire.
31. Societies having these purposes may adopt
any of the following varieties of organization :—
1. As societies having branches.
2. As societies having collectors.
18
INTRODUCTION.
3. As societies having a custom of periodical
division of funds.
4. As societies having deposit funds.
32. A branch is “ any number of the members
o'f a society, under the control of a central body,
having a separate fund, administered by themselves,
or by a committee or officer appointed by
themselves ■” but “ where a society has no fund
under the control of a central body, to which
every branch is bound to contribute, every branch
is deemed to be, and must be registered as a
separate societyA society which answers the
double test of having a fund administered by
every branch, and a fund administered by the
central body, to which every branch contributes,
may be dealt with as a single society. Such are
the societies popularly called “ affiliated/-’ which
are among the most important of existing Friendly
Societies (a); and, under these provisions, the case
of county societies also may be met.
33. A society having branches, desiring to be
registered as a single body, must accompany the
application for registry with lists of its branches
and copies of their rules, where they differ. Such
societies must register iu each of the three
kingdoms in which they do business, but the
Assistant-Registrar for Ireland or Scotland is not
to decline to register any rules which have been
(a) The Manchester Unity of Odd Fellows has 3,611
lodges, 533,520 members, and £4,542,221 funds. The Ancient
Order of Foresters has 4,585 courts, 555,062 members,
and £2,933,571 funds.
INTRODUCTION.
19
registered in England. Notice of the establishment
of new branches, and copies of their rules,
when necessary, are to he given to the Registrar;
and the rules of a branch may be altered in the
same manner as the rules of an independent society:
34. On the other hand, the special powers of
the Registrar to appoint, with the consent of the
Treasury, inspectors to examine into the affairs of
a society,and to call special meetings of a society
upon application of a certain number of the
members, do not apply to a society with branches,
without the consent of the central body of the
society; and the power to pass special resolutions
for the purposes enumerated in section 24, does
not apply to branches. The provisions of section
25 also relating to the dissolution of registered
societies, do not apply to a society having
branches, unless with the consent of its central
body.
35. The general effect of these provisions seems
to be to enable the governing body of an affiliated
order to maintain the compact upon which their
union is based more thoroughly than they could
formerly do. When every branch was ia law a
separate society, it could easily sever its connection
with the general body. The result was that
secessions from these affiliated bodies frequently
took place, new orders being formed, themselves
liable in their turn to experience the influence of
disaffection in a similar manner. A branch was
m that respect in a situation analogous to that of
an individual member, who could withdraw at his
pleasure.
20
INTRODUCTION.
36. Societies receiving contributions by means
of collectors at a greater distance than ten miles
from their registered office, are made subject to
special provisions, which must be set forth in
their rules («).
Such a society—
1. Must furnish every member or family
with a copy of its rules for one penny,
and a printed policy for one penny (b).
2. Cannot enforce forfeiture of a policy or
benefit without written or printed notice
given at least 14 days before forfeiture
(c).
3. Cannot transfer a member to another
society or company without his written
(a) The Commissioners reported that their opinion was
decidedly adverse to this form of society. The radical evil of
the whole system appeared to them to be in the employment
of collectors otherwise than under the direct supervision and
control of the members, a supervision and control which
they feared to be absolutely unattainable in burial societies
that are not purely local. The method of collection from
house-to-house is not a vicious one in itself, and is appropriate
and economical, indeed virtually indispensable, where
the individual contributions are reduced to a minimum as
they are when confined to the purpose of securing burial
benefits : but in the general burial societies the employment
of collectors, from being a mere method of getting in
revenue, had become the pivot of the whole system ; the
collector was the society, the members were merely pawns
whom he moved about at will on the chess-board. [Fourth
Eeport, par. 545.]
(b) In some societies, they had previously charged a price
for the rules equal to six weeks’ subscriptions. [Ibid. 496.]
(c) This provision is intended to protect the member
against being thrown out of benefit by the collector not
calling upon him. “ Societies, in many cases, absolutely
maintained themselves by their lapses.” [Ibid. 503,]
INTRODUCTION.
21
consent, and remains liable to tbe member
if it attempts to transfer without
such written consent.
4. Cannot accept a transfer, even by consent
of the member, without notice to the
society from whom the transfer is sought
. to be made.
5. Must hold at least one general meeting of
the members in every year, notice of
such meeting to be given by advertisements
or by letter or post card sent
prepaid to every member.
6. Must have open for inspection for seven
days preceding the meeting, a copy of its
balance-sheet, and must deliver or send
prepaid a copy to any member on
demand.
7. Must obtain the certificate of a public accountant,
not an officer of the society
(other than auditor), to the annual returns.
In any dispute arising in a society of this class, the
member has the option to appeal to a County Court
or Court of Summary Jurisdiction, in the place
where he resides, notwithstanding anything in the
rules to the contrary. No collector is capable of
taking part in the management of the society or
in the proceedings of any of its meetings. Contravention
of this provision, or of those as to the
transferring of members, is an offence punishable
by a fine of from JJ1 to £5. The section (30)
applies not merely to societies established after
1st January, 1876, but to those in existence at
that date.
22
INTRODUCTION.
37. The provisions restraining transfer of members
apply not merely to registered societies but
to unregistered societies; and all the provisions
of which an abstract is given in the last article
(except those as to delivering of rules, policy, and
balance-sheet) apply not merely to Friendly Societies,
but to industrial Assurance Companies.
38. Societies having a custom of periodical division
of funds could not have rules for that purpose
certified under 18 & 19 Yict. c. 63, but it is now
provided that a society (other than a benevolent
society or working men’s club) shall not he disentitled
to registry by reason of any such rule if
the rules contain distinct provision for meeting all
claims upon the society existing at the time of
division before any such division takes place (a).
39. Societies having deposit funds (heretofore
legalized by an authority of the Secretary of
State), may provide by their rules for accumulating
at interest, for the use of any member, any
surplus of his contributions to the funds •which
may remain after providing for his assurance, and
for the withdrawal of such accumulations.
(a) The dividing societies liave the advantage of being
able to obtain from their members a higher contribution,
the prospect of having a portion returned at the end of the
year serving as an inducement to the members to pay, and
in many parts of England and in Ireland such societies are
exceedingly popular. An Irish witness said to the Assistant
Commissioner:—“ We should soon die out if we had nodivide.
A man who has once been a member of a society
which divides every year will never be content in any other
society.” The mischief, however, is that the society which
divides its funds is almost certain to fail to help its members
when they all get old together, and its help is most needed.
INTRODUCTION.
23
40. A Friendly Society may not be dissolved
voluntarily without the consent of five-sixths in
value of the members, including honorary members,,
and of all those receiving any relief, annuity, or
benefit, unless the claims of such persons are duly
satisfied, or adequate provision made for the purpose.
The instrument of dissolution must either
set forth the intended division or appropriation of
the funds, or refer such matter to the Registrar.
Where the society is in an insolvent state, the
Registrar may, upon the application of one-fifth in
number of the members (or of a less proportion in a
society of 1,000 members or more) dissolve the
same compulsorily, by award, if he shall upon
investigation so think fit, and may direct how
the funds and property of the society are to be
divided. The dissolution is in either case to be
advertised in the Gazette, and in a county newspaper,
by the Registrar, and is binding and effectual
on all persons, unless proceedings are
taken by any member to set it aside within three
months from the date of the advertisement.
41. A Friendly Society may, by special resolution,
amalgamate with, or transfer its engagements
to any other society upon the like consent,
and subject to the same restrictions as provided
for the case of dissolution.
42. No person by reason of enrolment or service
in the militia, naval coast volunteers, naval
reserve volunteer force, yeomanry, or volunteers,
will lose or forfeit any interest in a Friendly Society,,
registered or unregistered, notwithstanding any
rule of such society to the contrary; but in a.
124
INTRODUCTION.
society whose rules were certified before 23rd July,
1855, a militiaman may be required to pay an
extra "contribution during the time he shall be
■serving out of the United Kingdom, or his claim
on the society may be suspended, if the rules contain
a clause against the enrolment or service of
any member in the militia.
43. Although a member may, unless the rules
of his society provide to the contrary, belong to
any number of societies, he cannot receive in
the aggregate an assurance of more than £200,
or an annuity of more than £50 from such
societies collectively, and must, before receiving
any such benefit, make a declaration to the effect
that the total value of any benefit accruing to him
does not exceed the limited amount.
44. With respect to payments on the death of
children, not more than £6 («) can be insured,
cither in one or more societies, on the death of a
child under five years of age, nor more than £10
under ten years of age. To provide for the enforcement
of this restriction, certificates of the
death of children, obtained for the purpose of
claiming money from a burial society, are to be
specially indorsed, and a medical certificate or other
(a) In the House of Lords the limit of assurance on a
child under three years of age was reduced to £3, on the
motion of Lord Aberdare, but this amendment was disagreed
with by the House of Commons. The object desired
of restricting the amount insured to the actual cost 'of burial
would, we think, have been better attained if the amendment
had been adopted. On this point some valuable
information was collected by the Chief Registrar in his
Report for 1875, pp. 20-25.
INTRODUCTION.
25
evidence of the cause of death is to be produced. No
money is to be paid except to the parent or personal
representative of the parent. These provisions apply
to Industrial Assurance Companies as well as
to Friendly Societies, and such companies are
exempted, with respect to children’s assurances,
from the operation of the Gambling Act (b).
Any society or claimant paying or claiming money
contrary to the directions of the statute, is liable
to a fine not less than ifil, and not exceeding £5.
45. Every registered Friendly Society is required,
within six months after the expiration of every
five years succeeding the 31st December, 1875,
to make a return of the sickness and mortality experienced
by its members during the quinquennial
period; and once at least in every five years to
cause its assets and liabilities to be valued (c). The
society may either appoint the valuer themselves,
and send his signed report and abstract to the
Registrar, or may furnish the Registrar with the
returns and evidence necessary to enable an
actuary employed by him to make the valuation
for the society. Where the society appoint their
own valuer, his calling or profession are immaterial,
but he must state his address and calling
or profession in his signed report.
46. The Chief Registrar may, however, with
the approval of the Treasury, dispense with the
(6) 14 Geo. 3, c. 48.
(c) In tlie year 1879, the valuation returns of 948 socie^-ties
were received at the central office, and an abstract madeof
them hy Mr. Sutton, the actuary. 33 of the valuations
only were hy public valuers. More than half showed an
estimated deficiency. See Art. 83, post, p. 45.
c
26
INTRODUCTION.
valuation in respect of societies to whose operations
he may deem it inapplicable; and he may
dispense with the quinquennial return, if the
society enables him to inspect its hooks, and obtain
by that means sufficient information as to its
experience of sickness and mortality.
47. Cattle Insurance Societies may insure
against loss by death of neat cattle, sheep, lambs,
swine and horses from disease or otherwise, without
limit as to amount. Their rules have the
effect of a deed under seal, and contributions
payable to them are recoverable as a debt in a
County Court. The Treasury may extend these
privileges to any specially authorized society.
48. Benevolent Societies which, under 18 & 19
Yict. c. 63, s. 11, were entitled to a special form
of certificate, if their rules were not repugnant
to law, and thus obtained only the benefit of
certain specified sections of the statute, are now
brought within its full operation. Division of the
funds among the members, however, is not allowed,
nor is the privilege of nomination; and
the power to hold land is restricted to one acre.
It is much to be wished that charities generally
should avail themselves of the protection to the
funds and the other substantial advantages offered
by registry under the Friendly Societies Acts.
49. Working Men’s Clubs, or societies for purposes
of social intercourse, mutual helpfulness,
mental and moral improvement, and rational recreation,
may be registered. Division of the funds
among the members is not to be provided for in
.the rules, nor is the privilege of nomination al
INTRODUCTION.
27
lowed. These societies were formerly registered
as Friendly Societies under authority of the
Secretary of State, though some of the provisions
of 18 & 19 Viet. c. 63, are clearly inapplicable to
such societies—an anomaly which the Act of 1875
removes.
50. The Treasury may authorize the registry of
societies for any purpose to which the powers and
facilities of the Act ought to be extended, and
may limit the application of the Act as respects
such “ specially authorized ” societies, to such of
its provisions as may be specified in the authority
for registry. The provisions as to quinquennial
returns and valuation do not apply to such
societies, unless so directed in the authority. The
Treasury may allow to the rules of any such
society the effect of a deed under seal, making
the contributions recoverable as a debt. (See
Art. 47, p. 26.) The power of authorizing registry
of societies for special purposes was formerly
vested in the Secretary of State, but the power to
limit the application of the Act is new.
51. Upon this provision the Chief Registrar
has remarked (Report for 1875, p. 6), that it in
fact restores in a safer form the old deposit of
rules (which is now prohibited, and the benefits
of which for existing societies ceased on 31st
December, 1878), and will, if the power be judiciously
made use of, allow the extension of the
Act, without its special privileges, to a number of
different classes of societies which would either be
virtually shut out of the law by the abolition of
the deposit, or which can now only obtain under
c 2
28
INTRODUCTION.
the Companies Acts a legal constitution much less
adapted to their nature and proceedings than that
which may be obtained under this Act. In this
respect, it is an important step towards comprehensive
legislation for societies generally. The
following special authorities have already been
granted:—
1. (16 May, 1876). To create funds by monthly
or other subscriptions to be lent out to or
invested for the members of a society or
for their benefit, pursuant to the statute
38 & 39 Yict. c. 60.
2. (20 March, 1877). Assisting members out of
employment.
3. (22 March, 1877). Protecting and defending
members of any lawful trade or calling
against frivolous, vexatious, or malicious
prosecutions, and, in cases of robbery or
other crimes, affording them legal or other
assistance for the detection and prosecution
of the offenders.
4. (23 March, 1877). Promoting agriculture or
horticulture.
5. (23 March, 1877). Promoting temperance
and economy by taking small deposits.
6. (31 January, 1878). Guaranteeing, pursuant
to 38 & 39 Yict. c. 60, s. 20, the
performance of their duties by officers of
Friendly Societies or branches.
7. (6 April, 1878). The playing the game of
quoits.
8. (3 July, 1878). The promotion of literature,
science, and the fine arts.
INTRODUCTION.
29
9. (3 October, 1879). The promotion of a know
ledge of music.
52. For the purpose of registry, every society
(to whichever of the classes before enumerated it
belongs) must have seven members at least, and
a secretary, who are to make application to
the registrar, with copies of their rules and a list
of the trustees or officers to sue and be sued. No
society is to be registered under a name identical
with, or bearing a deceptive resemblance to, that
of an existing registered society. If the society
be one assuring annuities, its tables for such
assurance must have the certificate of the Actuary
of the National Debt or of an actuary of five
years'’ standing, approved by the Treasury.
53. In lieu of the certificate formerly granted
by the Registrar, an acknowledgment of registry
is provided, and, if it be refused, appeal
may be made, in England or Ireland, to the High
Court of Justice, or in Scotland to the Court of
Session. The acknowledgment of registry is
conclusive evidence of the due registration of the
society, unless it be proved that the registry has
been suspended or cancelled.
54. Registry may be cancelled at the request
of a society, if the Chief Registrar (or in Scotland
or Ireland the Assistant Registrar) think
fit. For the particular case where registry is desired
to be cancelled in order that a society may
convert itself into a registered branch of another
society, a modified procedure is provided by sect.
3 of the Friendly Societies Amendment Act, 1876.
Registry may also be cancelled, with the approval
30
INTRODUCTION.
of the Treasury, upon proof that the acknowledgment
of registry has keen obtained by fraud
or mistake, or that the society exists for an illegal
purpose, or has wilfully and after notice from a
Registrar whom it may concern violated any of
the provisions of the Act, or has ceased to exist.
In lieu of cancelling, registry may be suspended
for any term not exceeding three months, and
the suspension may, with the approval of the
Treasury, he renewed from time to time. Notice
of a proposed cancelling or suspension must be
given to the society; and every cancelling or
suspension must be advertized in the Gazette.
Appeal from cancelling or prolonged suspension
may be made in England or Ireland to the High
Court of Justice, or in Scotland to the Court of
Session. Under the repealed law, there were no
means of altering or rescinding a certificate once
granted, either in case of obvious error or double
registration, or in the case of a society afterwards
becoming disentitled to registry. The power of
cancelling or suspending registry where a society
has, after notice, violated the provisions of the
Act, has afforded the registry office a valuable
additional means of enforcing the statutory
requirements for valuation and those imposed on
collecting societies by section 30.
55. The rules of every registered society are to
provide for its name and place of office, the object
for which it is established, &e., the mode of holding
meetings and altering rules, appointment and
removal of officers, investment of funds, keeping
and audit of accounts, making of annual returns,
INTRODUCTION.
31
inspection of books, and settlement of disputes.
Alterations of rules are not valid until registered.
Every person is entitled to a copy of the rules of
a society on payment of Is.; and the delivery of
untrue rules is a misdemeanor.
56. Every registered society has the following
duties and obligations -
1. The having a registered office.
2. The appointment of trustees.
3. The audit of accounts.
4. The sending annual returns to the Registrar.
5. The allowing members or others interested
to inspect the books.
6. The supplying a copy of the annual return
gratuitously to every member or person
interested.
Every registered society neglecting any of these
duties is guilty of an offence under the Act, and
every officer or member of the committee party to
such neglect commits a like offence, and every
offence constitutes a new offence in every week
during which it continues. This is an important
provision, as it renders an offence punishable even
though six months have elapsed from the date at
which it was first committed.
57. Every registered society has the following
privileges:—
1. Exemption from the penalties of the corresponding
Societies Acts.
2. Exemption from stamp duty.
3. Transfer of stock by order of the Registrar.
32
INTRODUCTION.
4. Priority of claim on the death, bankruptcy,
or insolvency of an officer.
5. Power to admit minors above 16 as members.
6. Power to subscribe to hospitals or charitable
or provident institutions for securing
benefit to members,
and (except as before stated) the right to pay a
sum not exceeding £50 on the death of a member,
to his nominee, without administration.
58. Every registered society may invest its funds
in a post office or trustee savings bank, or in the
public funds, or with the National Debt Commissioners,
or in the purchase of land, or in any other
security (not personal) expressly directed by its
rules. Its property vests in its trustees, and on
death, resignation, or removal of a trustee, vests
in his successor without conveyance or assignment,
except in the case of the public funds. The lord of
the manor of copyhold property to which the
society is entitled must admit its trustees as
tenants on payment of a single fine. A society
may discharge mortgages by a mere receipt, in
statutory form (a), endorsed on the deed, and if
the mortgage is registei’ed a certificate of satisfaction
from the Registrar of deeds, &c., maybe
obtained for 2s. 6cl. Fraud upon a society may be
summarily punished; and its trustees are protected
from personal liability.
(a) The Society may, by rule, provide an alternative
form ; but it would seem to be hardly wise to do so.
INTRODUCTION.
33
59. A registered society may create a loan
fund distinct from its other funds, and may lend
a sum not exceeding £50 out of such fund to any
member.
60. Every officer of a registered society, having
receipt or charge of its money, must, if required
by the rules, give security, and must render
accounts when called upon.
61. Legal proceedings may be taken against a
registered society either in the name of its trustees,
or of any officer who receives its contributions,
and continue notwithstanding the discontinuance
of such officer. Provision is made for the service
of summonses, &c., at any place of business of the
society; or, if the place of business be closed, by
posting a copy on its outer door, and giving notice
by registered letter to the committee of management
at the registered office of the society.
62. Disputes are to be decided in the manner
the rules of the society direct; and the parties
may, by consent, refer a dispute to the Chief (or in
Scotland or Ireland the Assistant) Registrar, who
may administer oaths, call witnesses, and require
the production of documents.
63. Upon application of one-fifth of the
members of a registered society (or of 100
members only where the society consists of 1,000
and not exceeding 10,000, or of 500 members of
a society exceeding 10,000), the Chief (or in
Scotland or Ireland the Assistant) Registrar may
with the consent of the Treasury appoint inspectors
to examine into the affairs of the society and to
report thereon or may call a special meeting of the
c 3
34
INTRODUCTION.
society (a). He is to have evidence of the good
faith of the applicants,, and he may, if he think fit,
require them to give security for costs, and shall
direct by whom the expenses of the inspection or
meeting are to be defrayed.
64. A registered society, by special resolution,
may (with approval) change its name, or may
unite with another society, or may convert itself
into a company. Every special resolution must
be registered.
65. A registered society terminates on the happening
of any event declared by its rules to be its
termination; or (if not a Friendly Society) may
he dissolved by the signatures of three-fourths of
the members to an instrument of dissolution, setting
forth certain matters required by the Act, or,
if the society’s funds and rates of contribution are
(a) It is interesting to remark that while a similar provision
to this has existed in the Companies Acts ever since
1862, and as yet, no single inspection has, so far as we know,
ever been held under those Acts, already several inspections
and special meetings have taken place under this Friendly
Societies Act of 1875. They areas follows
1. Loyal Whitworth Lodge of Odd Fellows, Manchester
Unity.
2. Loyal Industry Lodge of Odd Fellows, Manchester
Unity.
3. Hainford Provident Society.
4. United Family Life Assurance and Sick Benefit
Society.
5. Independent Orderof United Brothers, Leicester Unity.
C. Friendly Society of Young Seamen.
7. London and Provincial Railway Servants’ United
Benefit Society (special meeting).
8. Golborne Female Friendly Society.
9. Kidlington Friendly Society (special meeting).
The Instructions given to Inspectors by the Chief Registrar
are reprinted in the Appendix.
INTRODUCTION.
35
insufficient to meet the claims thereon and the
benefits assured, by award of the Chief Registrar.
66. Any person wilfully falsifying a balancesheet,
contribution book, return, or other document,
is liable to a penalty of £50 recoverable at
the suit of a Registrar or person aggrieved. Any
person committing an offence under the Act for
which no other penalty is provided is liable to a
penalty of not less than £1 nor more than £5,
recoverable in like manner. All penalties imposed
by the Act, or by regulations made under it, or by
a society’s rules (b), are recoverable in a Court of
Summary Jurisdiction.
67. If, by the rules of a Friendly Society, a
medical man is to be appointed, he must, by
section 36 of 21 & 22 Viet. c. 90, be duly registered
under that Act.
68. A Friendly Society (c) is exempt from payment
of income tax upon its stocks, dividends,
and interest chargeable under Sched. C. of the
5 & 6 Viet. c. 35, as well as upon its interest and
other profits and gains chargeable under Sched.
D. When the property is invested in the public
securities in the Bank of England, the exemption
must be claimed and proved by a trustee, or the
treasurer, or any member, before the commissioners
for special purposes. A member of a
(6) From this it seems to follow that while contributions
payable under the rules of a Friendly Society, being voluntary,
are not recoverable, penalties imposed by such rules may
be enforced.
(c) Query if it assures annuities exceeding £30.
36
INTRODUCTION.
Friendly Society may, for the purposes of the
Income Tax Acts, deduct the annual premium
payable for a life assurance or deferred annuity,
if the premiums are made for three months at
least, from the amount in respect of which he
is liable to be assessed.
69. By the Married Women’s Property Act,
1870, any married woman or woman about to he
married may apply in writing to the trustees of a
registered Friendly Society that any benefit in the
funds of the society, to the holding of which no
liability is attached, and to which she is entitled,
may be entered in the books of the society in her
name or intended name as a married woman
entitled to her separate use, and it shall be the
duty of the trustees to cause the same to be so
entered, and thereupon such benefit shall be
deemed to be her property, and shall be payable
as if she were an unmarried woman; provided
that if it had been obtained by her by means of
moneys of her husband without his consent, the
court may order it to be paid to the husband.
70. It will be perceived from the foregoing
statement of the provisions of the Friendly
Societies Act of 1875, that it “proceeds on the
basis of previously existing legislation,” and that
its amendments of the Act of 1855, are in the
directions of more efficient machinery, and greater
facility of registration, &c. In many respects,
well-arranged, coherent, and intelligible provisions
have been substituted for the often ill-drawn,
obscure, and ineffectual clauses of the Act of
1855.
INTRODUCTION.
37
71. This opinion, which we expressed in the
edition of this Work published upon the passing
of the Act, received striking confirmation in the
following session of parliament by the introduction
of a bill for the regulation of Industrial and
Provident Societies, at the instance of the Cooperative
Central Board, framed on the Friendly
Societies Act of 1875, and having the avowed
and excellent object of making the law with
regard to the two classes of Societies as nearly
uniform as the essential differences between them
would allow. It is much to be desired that the
same treatment might be applied to the several
other forms of association with which the Registry
Office for Friendly Societies has to deal, such as
Building Societies, Trade Unions, Savings Banks,
and Loan Societies. The not unnatural indisposition
of the officials and members towards any
alteration in the procedure to which they have
been accustomed for years would soon, we are
persuaded, give way to satisfaction at the practical
improvements that would result; and the
many excellent provisions of the Friendly Societies
Acts for protecting the rights of members would,
when understood and acted upon, greatly increase
public confidence in any institutions to which
they were applied.
72. The bill referred to passed into law as
“ The Industrial and Provident Societies Act,
1876 ” (a), and it constitutes the text of Part III.
in this volume. The main point of difference
(a) 39 & 40 Yict. c. 45.
38
INTRODUCTION.
between it and the Friendly Societies Acts arises
from the circumstance that Industrial and Provident
Societies are incorporated bodies, while
Friendly Societies have to act through trustees.
It was indeed one of the recommendations of the
Friendly Societies Commissioners “that the
central office should have power to grant a certificate
conferring incorporation in such cases as
it may deem it advisable ”— and the motive of
this recommendation was stated to be [Fourth
Report, Art. 890] “to obviate the difficulties
which are incident to the trustee system in large
societies ”—but that recommendation was not
carried into effect by the legislature. A system
of optional incorporation might no doubt have
given rise to confusion.
73. The Industrial and Provident Societies
Act, 1876, differs from the Friendly Societies Act
also in not extending to societies registered under
it the privilege of freedom from stamp duty. In
not seeking from the legislature a renewal of
this exemption, which Industrial and Provident
Societies had enjoyed, in common with Friendly
Societies, from the time of their being first certified
under the “ frugal investment ” clause of
the Friendly Societies Act of 1846 (see p. 10,
ante), the framers of the measure probably had
in view the inexpediency of claiming fiscal privileges
on behalf of societies like the Civil Service
Supply Association, Limited, which carries on a
business exceeding one million sterling per annum
among the wealthier classes, or the Co-operative
Wholesale Supply Association, Limited, which
INTRODUCTION.
39
has an even larger business, and acts as the
hanker of the smaller stores throughout the
country. The first named society has been also the
occasion of an amendment in the Inland Revenue
Acts (see Part III., post), by which societies
having limited shares and dealing with the public
are exempted from the arrangement made by
section 11 (4) of the Industrial and Provident
Societies Act, 1876, for enforcing the liability to
income tax against the member directly instead
of through the society.
74. An Industrial and Provident (frequently
called “ Co-operative ”) Society is defined by the
Act to be a society for carrying on any labour,
trade, or handicraft, including the buying and
selling of land and the business of banking, and
the interest of any member in the shares (or
funds) of such a society is limited to £200. The
shares may be either all withdrawable or all
transferable, or some shares may be transferable
and others withdrawable; but no society carrying
on the business of banking may have any
withdrawable capital. A society may, however,
take deposits of not more than 5.?. in any one
sum, nor more than £20 from any one person,
without being deemed to be carrying on the business
of banking. A society for banking must
keep a half-yearly statement of its funds always
hung up at every place where it carries on
business.
75. The number of Industrial and Provident
Societies recorded as in existence in the last
Report of the Chief Registrar was 1,028, of
40
INTRODUCTION.
-which 963 furnished the annual returns required
by the Act. The number of members amounted
to 490,584; the share capital to £5,347,199; the
loan and deposit capital to £692,478. The sales
of goods during the year 1878 were £18,461,753,
and the stock in trade at the end of the year
£2,281,898. The profit balance of the year was
£1,565,497, the trade charges having been
£1,306,804. The year in question, however, had
been an unfavourable one for trade, and the sales
and profits were below those of previous years.
76. It may be interesting to compare these
figures with those of the year 1868—ten years
earlier—as given in a previous Work of the
present Editor (a). The number of societies
making returns was then 675, showing an increase
of 43 per cent, in the ten years ; but the
number of members was only 209,000, and has
therefore increased by 135 per cent. By a
strange coincidence the share capital, which was
then £2,020,000, has increased in precisely the
same proportion, viz. 135 per cent. The loan
capital had increased in even greater proportion,
from £184,000 to £692,000, or 276 per cent.; and
the last amount, it should be remarked, showed
a falling off in the year 1878 from £917,000.
The loan capital had therefore been increased
fivefold in the nine years from 1868 to 1877.
The sales of the year 1868 were £8,113,000,
.showing an increase in ten years of 128 per cent.
(a) Law relating to Industrial and Provident Societies.
By E. W. Brabrook. London, 1^69.
INTRODUCTION.
41
The stock in trade was then £610,000; giving an
increase of 174 per cent.: and the profit balance
£426,000, showing an increase of 267 per cent.
The remark of the Chief Registrar (b) on the
comparison of the returns of 1877 and 1878 is
equally forcible when the comparison is carried
nine years further back:—“These figures are
eloquent as to the confidence which Co-operative
Societies inspire, and apparently deserve.'”
77. With regard to societies and branches
registered under the Friendly Societies Acts,
12,300 returns were received for the year 1878,
showing 4,692,175 members and £12,148,609
funds. The progressive increase in the number
of annual returns received is evidence of the
excellent working of the Act of 1875. The
circumstance that the return is to be made
in a form prescribed by the Chief Registrar, and
is not merely a copy of the society’s annual
report (as was the case under previous Acts) adds
to the usefulness and completeness of the information
obtained. It renders impracticable, however,
any comparison between these statistics and
those of ten years ago, such as that just made
with regard to Industrial and Provident Societies.
78. When to these twelve millions sterling
belonging to members of Friendly Societies and
the six millions to members of Industrial and
Provident Societies are added the seventy-nine
millions invested in Post Office and Trustee
Savings Banks, the thirty-one millions belonging
(/;) Beport, p. 23.
42
INTRODUCTION.
to Incorporated Building Societies under tire Act
of 1874, tlie smaller sums belonging to Trades
Unions and Loan Societies; and the unknown
amount invested in Benefit Building Societies
under the Act of 1836 and in Friendly Societies
which have failed to make returns or are wholly
unregistered, we get a truly marvellous aggregate
of associated economies.
79. As a quinquennial period has now elapsed
since the passing of the Friendly Societies Act,
1875, it may not be undesirable to conclude these
introductory remarks by some account of the
operation of the Acts during that period; or rather
during the four years ending 31st December;
1879, in respect to which alone information has
yet been published. In these four years 643 new
Friendly Societies and 1,263 new Branches of
Societies were registered, while 4,502 existing
Registered Societies converted themselves into
branches of Orders. Under the same Act 98
Working Me As Clubs, 8 Benevolent Societies, 6
Cattle Insurance Societies, and 30 specially
authorized Societies were registered. During the
same time as many as 8,142 amendments of rules
(about half of them being complete sets of new
rules) were made by societies and registered.
80. The most important new element which
was introduced by the Act of 1875 into the legal
obligations of Friendly Societies is that of the
periodical valuation. By section 10 (6) the
Chief Registrar is required to include in his
Annual Report to Parliament a statement of the
valuations returned to him during the year. The
INTRODUCTION.
43
year 1876 produced 8 only; the year 1877, 18;
the year 1878, 40; the year 1879, 948. The
Report for the year 1880 has not yet been presented,
but it will of course contain a much larger
number. Only 45 of the whole number returned
during the four years were made by public
valuers. The spirit of the Act would certainly
best be carried out if the societies would train
among then’ own members persons competent to
perform the not very intricate calculations, and
possessing at the same time the practical knowledge
of the working of societies which would
prevent them from drawing false conclusions from
the numerical results obtained.
81. The more the societies endeavour to
acquaint themselves with the principles upon
which valuations should be made, the more useful
will the valuations become. At present it has
been pointed out by the Chief Registrar that the
valuations made by members of societies do not
take into account the possibility that the standard
table adopted—that of the late Mr. Ratcliffe’s
Manchester Unity experience—may not
represent the actual or probable experience of the
society valued, which may consist mainly or
wholly of persons of a particular occupation or
living under special conditions of climate or sanitation.
Again, the valuers have in some cases
not been careful to exclude negative values of
contracts, and have therefore treated as assets
estimates of future profit that may never be
realized, an error similar to that frequently committed
by Building Societies, and specially pro
44
INTRODUCTION.
vided against by section 40 of the Building
Societies Act, 1874. In this and other respects
future quinquennial periods will doubtless bring
great improvement.
82. In one respect an improvement may be
expected during the next five years, from the
completion of the extensive series of calculations
based on the returns of sickness and mortality
made by societies to the Registrar during the last
quarter of a century. Dealt with by the skilled
hand of the Actuary to the Registry Office, it may
be anticipated that they will furnish to societies the
means of more accurately estimating their contingent
liabilities than the excellent tables of Mr.
Ratcliffe, based on the experience of a single
affiliated Order, can afford. Many millions of
facts will go to form the averages shown in these
tables, ascertained from returns prepared with
wonderful care and patience by the secretaries of
numerous societies, and determined to be trustworthy
by the most searching examination.
Indeed one cannot withhold a tribute of admiration
for the zeal and industry—hardly ever adequately
requited—with which the secretaries of
many societies labour for the public good in this
matter (a).
(a) “ The classes among whom Friendly Societies are
formed are greatly averse to any undertaking involving
mental labour, and the idea of periodical returns and of
the other requirements of the statute is more alarming to
them than it need be. It will be the province of those
charged with the administration of the statute to endeavour,
as far as possible, to combat this tendency, and by wise use of
the materials in their hands to seek to show the societies that
INTRODUCTION.
45
83. A word o£ caution may be added against
forming too hasty conclusions adverse to Friendly
Societies if it should turn out that the valuations
in many cases show an estimated deficiency in
the funds to meet the liabilities. It would be
strange if it were otherwise when for the first
time scientific tests are applied to contracts that
have been in operation without a scientific basis
for a long series of years. It must be borne in
mind, however, that nothing is more elastic than
the contract made by a Friendly Society with its
members; no error more easy of remedy if found
out in time than one existing in the original terms
of such a contract. Hence the words “ insolvency,”
“ rottenness,” and the like, which we sometimes
hear freely used as describing the general condition
of Friendly Societies, are utterly out of
place. Of Friendly Societies in general it may
be said that as there are no associations the
benefits of which are more important to their
members, so there are none that are managed
with greater rectitude, and few with equal success.
84*. The Editor has to thank the Chief Registrar
of Friendly Societies, Mr. J. M. Ludlow,
for the kindness with which he has accorded
valuable advice and aid. Mr. Edward F. Brabrook
has assisted in the revision of the Index, the
copiousness of which will, it is hoped, greatly add
to the usefulness of this Work.
tlie Registry Office is a ready and useful auxiliary to them,
and that the trouble it gives them is more than met by
compensating advantages.”—Encyclopaedia Britcmnica, 9th
Ed., Art. “ Friendly Societies.”
[The following note of previous editions of the Law relating
to Friendly Societies may he interesting :—
First edition—By John Tidd Pratt, Esq. (10 Geo. 4,
c. 56) ----- - published 1829
Second edition—By the same(including4&5 WilL
4, c. 40) 1834
Third edition—(Same Acts) 1838
Fourth edition—(Dit o) 1843
First edition—By William Tidd Pratt, Esq. (13 & 14
Viet. c. 115 1850
Second edition 1853
Third edition - 1854
Fourth edition (18 & 19 Viet. c. 63) ... 1855
Fifth edition - - 1859
Sixth edition - 1862
Seventh edition 1867
Eighth edition—By the present editor ... 1873
Ninth edition—By the same (38 & 39 Viet. c. 60) - 1876]
THE LAW OF FRIENDLY SOCIETIES.
PART I.
REGISTERED FRIENDLY SOCIETIES.
The Friendly Societies Act, 1875.
38 & 39 YICT. Cap. 60.
An Act to consolidate and amend the Law relating to
Friendly and other Societies.
[11th August 1875.]
[As amended by the Act of 1876, and explained by the Act
of 1879.]
Whereas it is expedient to consolidate and amend the lawrelating
to friendly and certain other societies :
Be it enacted hy the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by
and with the advice and consent of the Lords spiritual and
temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled,
and by the authority of the same as follows :—
1. Short title of Act.—This Act may be cited as the
Friendly Societies Act, 1875.
2. Commencement of Act.—This Act shall come into
operation as to sections ten, thirty-seven, and thirty-eight
on the passing of the Act, and as to the remainder of the
Act on the first day of January one thousand eight hundred
and seventy-six, which day is hereinafter referred to as the
commencement of this Act.
48
38 & 39 Vict. Cap. 60, ss. 3, 4.'
3. Extent of Act.—This Act extends to Great Britain and
Ireland, tlie Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man (a).
4. Definitions.—In this Act, if not inconsistent rvith the
context, the following terms have the meanings hereinafter
respectively assigned to them :—
“ The Treasury” means the Lords Commissioners of Her
Majesty’s Treasury (b):
“ England ” includes the Channel Islands and the Isle of
Man (except as hereinafter provided):
“ The Registrar ” means for England the central office,
and for Scotland or Ireland the assistant registrar for
either country respectively (c):
“ Country ” means England, Scotland, or Ireland, as the
case may he :
The several ridings of the county of York, the several
Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man respectively,
shall he deemed to be counties :
“ Land” includes hereditaments, and in Scotland heritable
subjects, of whatever description, and chattels real:
“ Property” means all real and personal estate (including
hooks and papers):
“ Registered society ” means a society registered or
deemed to be registered under this Act:
(a) Tliis section is the same as sect. 50 of the 18 & 19 Viet,
c. 63;—but that Act contained no provisions adapted to the peculiarities
of the laws of the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man,
and was not adopted by the local legislature in either case. The
present Act is adapted to the Isle of Man by sect. 40 and to the
Channel Islands hy sect. 41.
(b) By s. 2 of the Friendly Societies Amendment Act, 1876,
(called in these notes “the Act of 1876”) the term “ Treasury
regulations ” is defined to mean any regulations made and approved
by the Treasury, and for the time being in force under
and hy virtue of this Act.
(e) By 10 Geo. 4, c. 56 (1829) the rules of friendly societies
were required to he submitted to the barrister who had been
appointed under an Act of the previous year (9 Geo. 4, c. 92) to
certify the rules of savings hanks. By 9 & 10 Vict. c. 27 (1846)
this barrister was constituted registrar of friendly societies.
38 & 39 Vict. Cap. 60, S. 4.
49
“ Industrial Assurance Company” means any company, as
defined lay “ The Life Assurance Companies Act, 1870,”
'which grants assurances on any one life for a less sum
than twenty pounds, and which receives premiums or
contributions in Great Britain or Ireland, by means
of collectors, at less periodical intervals than two
months :
« Amendment of rule” includes a new rule, and a resolution
rescinding a rule :
“ Rules ” means rules for the time being :
“ Branch” means any number of the members of a society,
under the control of a central body, having a separate
fund administered by themselves or by a committee or
officers appointed by themselves :
“ Persons claiming through a member ” includes the
heirs, executors, administrators, and assigns of a
member, and also his nominees where nomination is
allowed :
“ Collector ” includes every paid officer, agent, or person,
howsoever remunerated, who, by himself or by any
deputy or substitute, collects contributions for a
society, or holds any interest in a collecting book of
the same, but does not include—
(a.) The secretary or other officer of a branch of a society
who receives contributions on behalf of such
society, or of any other branch of the same ;
(&.) Any officer appointed to superintend and receive
moneys from collectors within a specified area, and
not being himself a collector as hereinbefore
defined;
(c.) Any agent appointed and remunerated by members,,
and not under the control of the society, or of any
officer thereof :
“ Officer ” extends to anyftrustee, treasurer, secretary, or
member of the committee of management of a society,,
or person appointed by the society to sue and be sued;
on its behalf :
D
50
38 & 39 Vict. Cap. 60, s. 5.
“ Meeting” includes (where the rules of a society so allow)
a meeting of delegates appointed by members (a) :
For Scotland, “ court of summary jurisdiction ” means
the sheriff court of the county :
“ County court ” means for Scotland the sheriff court of
the county, and for Ireland the Civil Bill Court, for
Scotland, “ administration ” means confirmation, and
“ misdemeanor ” a crime and offence :
11 Summary Jurisdiction Acts ” means—
As to England, the Act 11 & 12 Vict. c. 43, and any
Acts amending the same (b) ;
As to Ireland, within the police district of Dublin
metropolis the Acts regulating the powers and duties
of justices of the peace for such district, and of the
police of such district; elsewhere in Ireland, the
“ Petty Sessions (Ireland) Act, 1851,” and any Act
amending the same :
“ Gazette” means the London Gazette for England,
the Edinburgh Gazette for Scotland, and the Dublin
Gazette for Ireland.
5. Repeal of Acts and parts of Acts in first schedule—The
Acts set forth in the first schedule hereto are repealed from
(a) Tlie definitions in this section are new, and will have the
effect of removing many of the doubts that have arisen under the
earlier statutes. For example, the difficulty raised by the interpretation
clause of 18 & 19 Vict. c. 63 (s. 49) by which the word
“ society” extended to and included every branch of a society, by
whatever name designated, is removed by the definition of
“ branch,” read together with the provisions of sect. 29 as to
societies having branches. Again, the definition of “ meeting ”
materially assists the affiliated societies in conforming with the
provisions of the statute ; and meets the case of societies for
medical relief, and societies having members at places distant
from the registered office. On the other hand the definitions of
“ industrial assurance society” and “collector” give effect to the
■distinction between mere benefit societies and societies partaking
■of a trading character which has become marked, but which did
not appear in previous legislation. For further explanation of
some portions of the statute, e. g., “ registered office,” the
Treasury regulations may he referred to.
{b) See the Summary Jurisdiction Act, 1879.
51
\
X
38 & 39 Vict. Cap. 60, ss. 6, 7.
the commencement of this Act to the extent set forth in
the third column of the said schedule ; hut this repeal, or
anything herein contained, shall not affect the past operation
of the said Acts, or the force or operation, validity or
invalidity, of anything done or suffered, or any bond or
security given, right, title, obligation, or liability accrued,
contract entered into, or proceedings taken, under any of
the said Acts, or under the rules of any society registered
or certified thereunder, before the commencement of this
Act (c).
6. As to existing societies.—Every society now subsisting
whose rules have been registered, enrolled, or certified
under any Act relating to friendly societies or cattle insurance
societies, shall be deemed to be a society registered
under this Act, and its rules shall, so far as the same are
not contrary to any express provision of this Act, continue in
force until altered or rescinded (d).
Provided that nothing herein contained shall affect the
validity of the rules of friendly societies established before
the fifteenth day of August one thousand eight hundred
and fifty, notwithstanding that the contingent annual payments
to which the members or the nominees of the members
of such societies may become entitled may exceed the
limit hereby fixed (e).
7. Societies with deposited rules.—Section forty-four of
the Act of the eighteenth and nineteenth Victoria, chapter
(c) This section is similar to 18 & 19 Vict. c. 63, s. 1; 37 &
38 Vict. c. 42, s. 7. As to the effect of the words “ under any
of the said Acts,” see Sinden v. Hanks, 3 E. & E. 632.
(d) This is similar to the provision in the Building Societies
Act, 1874, s. 8. Under 18 & 19 Vict. c. 63, s. 3, the rules of
subsisting societies are declared valid and in force; under the
present statute they will only be so “so far as not contrary to
any express provisions of the Act.” This enactment does not
of course, affect the Friendly Societies Discharge Act, 1854
(17 & 18 Vict. c. 56), which declared that societies having power
to grant assurances exceeding £1,000 should not be deemed to he
within the Friendly Societies Acts.
(e) This is in continuation of the enactment of 18 & 19 Vict
c. 63, s. 46.
D 2
52
38 & 39 Viot. Cap. 60, s. 8.
sixty-three, shall continue to have effect (notwithstanding
its repeal hy this Act) with regard to any society whose
rules have been deposited thereunder, hut only until the
society is registered under this Act, or until the thirtyfirst
day of December one thousand eight hundred and
seventy-eight, whichever shall first happen (a).
8. Classes of Societies.—The following societies may be
registered under this Act ; viz. :—
(1.) Friendly Societies.—Societies (herein called friendly
societies) established to provide by voluntary subscriptions of
the members thereof, with or without the aid of donations—
For the relief or maintenance of the members, their husbands!
wives, children, fathers, mothers, brothers, or
sisters, nephews or nieces, or wards"¥eing orphans,
during sickness or other infirmity, whether bodily or
mental, in old age (which shall mean any age after
fifty), or in widowhood, or for the relief or maintenance
of the orphan children of members during
minority ;
For insuring money to be paid on the birth of a member’s
child, or on the death of a member, or for the
funeral expenses of the husband, wife, or child of a
member, or of the widow o?'a’ ’deceased member, or, as
respects persons of the Jewish persuasion, for the
payment of a sum of money during the period of confined
mourning ;
For the relief or maintenance of the members when on
travel in search of employment, or when in distressed
circumstances, or in case of shipwreck, or loss or
damage of or to boats or nets ;
For the endowment of members or nominees of members
at any age;
For the insurance against fire to any amount not exceeding
fifteen pounds of the tools or implements of the
trade or calling of the members ;
l
(a) This provision expired at the date specified.
.38 & 39 Vict. Cap. 60, s. 8.
53
Provided that no society (except as aforesaid) which contracts
with any person for the assurance ofan annuity
exceeding fifty pounds per annum, or of a gross sum
exceeding two Eunctrea pounds, shall he registered
under this Act :
(2.) Cattle insurance societies.—Societies (herein called
cattle insurance societies) for the insurance to any amount
against loss by death of neat cattle, sheep, lambs, swine,
and horses from disease or otherwise :
(.3.) Benevolent societies.—Societies for any benevolent or
•charitable purpose (herein called benevolent societies) (?>) :
(4.) Working men’s chibs— Societies (herein called working
men’s clubs) for purposes of social intercourse, mutual
helpfulness, mental and moral improvement, and rational
recreation :
(5.) Specially authorized societies.—Societies for any purpose
which the Treasury may authorize as a purpose to
which the powers and facilities of this Act ought to
be extended (herein called “ specially authorized societies
”) (c).
(5) This has been interpreted by the central office to mean
societies substantially established for the purpose of providing
benefits for persons other than the members, their wives or relatives.
See Rep. of Ch. Reg. for 1879, p. 5. Model rules for a
benevolent society are given in the Appendix, post.
(c) This enactment differs from 18 & 19 Vict. c. 63, s. 9, in
the following particulars :—The purposes previously authorized
by Secretaries of State are now specified. The relief or maintenance
of the fathers or mothers, or wards being orphans of members,
and of the orphan children of members during minority ;
the insurance of money for the funeral expenses of members’
widows; and the insurance against fire to an extent not exceed*
mg £15, of members’ tools, or of the implements of their calling,
•are purposes not authorized under the previous law (but see 9 &
10 Vict. c. 27, as to fire insurance). Sickness or infirmity is
expressly defined as “ either bodily or mental,” thus obviating
the doubt as to whether lunacy could be treated as sickness (see
the 8th edition of this work, pp. 5, 237; and see Appendix,
Note A, post). “Old age” is defined to mean any age after
fifty. The amount of annuity insurable is raised from £30 to
.£50. Benevolent societies are dealt with generally as registrable,
54
38 & 39 Vict. Cap. 60, ss. 9, 10.
9. Limited application of Act.—Tlie Treasury may limit
the application of this Act, as respects specially authorized
societies, to such of the provisions herein contained as
may be specified in the authority for registering any such
society (a).
JSL , The registry office.—With respect to the registry office,
the following provisions shall have effect :—
(1.) The chief and assistant registrars.— There shall he a
chief registrar of friendly societies (herein termed “the
chief registrar”), and one or more assistant registrars of
friendly societies for England (herein termed “assistant
registrars for England”), and such chief registrar and
assistant registrars for England shall constitute the central
office after mentioned. There shall he an assistant registrar
of friendly societies for Scotland (herein termed
“ assistant registrar for Scotland”), and an assistant registrar
of friendly societies for Ireland (herein termed
“ assistant registrar for Ireland ”) (b).
(2.) Chief and assistant registrars to hold office during
pleasure.—Every chief registrar and assistant registrar shall
b e appointed by and shall hold his office during the pleasure
of the Treasury (c).
(3.) Qualification of chief and assistant registrars.—Every
chief registrar shall he a barrister of not less than twelve
years’ standing, and one at least of the assistant registrars,
for England, and every assistant registrar for Ireland shall
he a barrister or solicitor of not less than seven years’ standinstead
of being exceptionally provided for as formerly under
18 & 19 Vict. c. 63, s. 11, and their rules certified as “ not repugnant
to law.”
(a) This provision is new. See p. 27, ante. A society, not
having any of the objects previously set forth in the section,
desiring to be registered under the Act, should address an application
on foolscap paper to “ the Lords of the Treasury, Whitehall,”
stating fully and clearly the objects of the society, and
send with it a copy of the rules proposed to he adopted.
(b) This provision is new. Section 10 took effect on the passing
of the Act.
(e) The registrars were previously appointed by the Commis-
55
38 & 39 Vict. Cap. 60, 8. 10.
ing, and every assistant registrar for Scotland an advocate,
writer to the signet, or solicitor of not less than seven years’
standing. The central office may also, with the approval of
the Treasury, have attached to it such assistants skilled in
the business of an actuary and accountant as shall from
time to time be required for discharging the duties imposed
on the office by this Act (d).
(4.) Central office to exercise functions of registrar of friendly
or building societies for England, and barrister to certify savings
banks.—The central office shall exercise all the functions
and powers which are now by law vested in the registrar
of friendly societies or the registrar of building societies for
England, or as respects loan societies, building societies,
and societies instituted for purposes of science, literature,
or the fine arts, in the barrister appointed to certify the
rules of savings banks or friendly societies, and shall be
entitled to receive all statutory fees payable to such
registrar or banister, and all enactments relating to such
registrar or barrister, so far as respects such societies as
aforesaid, shall be construed as applying to the central
office (e).
(5.) Other functions of central office ; 'preparation of model
forms; circulation of information ; construction of tables.—
The central office shall, with the approval of the Treasury,
from time to time,—
(a.) Prepare and cause to be circulated, for the use of
societies, model forms of accounts, balance-sheets,
and valuations :
sioners for the Deduction of the National Debt. See 18 & 19
Vict. c. 63, s. 6.
(d) The qualification of registrar was formerly seven years’
standing at the bar. The provision as to actuarial assistants is
new.
( e ) fhis clause introduced modifications into the practice under
the following statutes :—As to building societies, fi & 7 Will. 4
c. 32, 10 Geo. 4, c. 56, 4 & 5 Will. 4, e. 40, 37 & 38 Vict. c. 42 •
as to loan societies, 3 & 4 Vict. c. 110; as to literary and scientific
societies, 6 & 7 Vict. c. 32; and those as to industrial
and provident societies, since repealed. It also affected for
the period between the 11th August, 1875, and the 1st
38 & 39 Yict. Cap. 60, s. 10.
(b.) Collect from tlie returns under this Act and from
other sources, and publish and circulate, either
generally or in any particular district, or otherwise
make known such information on the subject
of the statistics of life and sickness, and the application
thereof to the business of friendly societies,
and from time to time publish generally or in
particular districts such particulars of their returns
and valuations, and such other information useful
to the members of or to persons interested in
friendly or other societies registered or which
might be registered under this Act, as the chief
registrar shall from time to time think fit (a):
(c.) Cause to be constructed and published tables for the
payment of sums of money on death, in sickness,
or old age, or on any other contingency forming
the subject of an assurance authorized under this
Act which may appear to be calculable: Provided,
nevertheless, that the adoption of such tables by
any society shall be optional (b).
(6.) Chief registrar to report yearly to parliament.—The
chief registrar shall every year lay before parliament a
report of his proceedings and of those of the assistant registrars,
and of the principal matters transacted by him and
them, and of the valuations returned to or caused to be
made by the registrar during the year preceding (c).
January, 1876, tilings required to be done under 18 & 19
Viet. c. 63, and the Acts amending that Act. This is
described by the chief registrar (Report for 1875, p. 4) as
the first step towards embracing in one statute ail the different
classes of bodies formerly dealt with in one capacity or another
by the registrar.
(a) The abstract of the quinquennial returns laid before Parliament
by the central office in pursuance of s. 14 (le), and
ordered to be printed, includes an abstract of the returns for the
periods ending 1860, 1865, 1870, and 1875.
(i) This provision is new, though the 18 & 19 Viet. c. 63, s. 8,
authorized the registrar, with the authority of the Treasury, to
expend money on the “ computation of tables.”
(c) An annual report by the registrar was provided for by
18 & 19 Viet. c. 63, s. 45.
38 & 39 Vict. Cap. 60, s. 10.
57
(7.) Functions of assistant registrars generally. — The
assistant registrars shall, except as after provided, he
subordinate to the chief registrar. They shall, within the
countries for which they are respectively appointed, exercise
all functions and powers by this Act given to the registrar,
and may also, by the written authority of the chief
registrar, exercise such of the functions and powers by this
Act given to the chief registrar as he shall from time to
time delegate to them (d).
(8.) Functions of assistant registrars for Scotland and
Ireland.—Subject to any regulations to be made under this
Act, the assistant registrars for Scotland and Ireland respectively
shall—
(a.) Exercise all the functions and powers now vested in
the registrars of friendly or building societies for
Scotland and Ireland respectively, or as respects
building societies and societies instituted for purposes
of science, literature, or the fine arts, vested
in Scotland in the Lord Advocate or his depute
appointed to certify the rules of friendly societies
there, or in Ireland in the barrister appointed to
certify the rules of friendly societies there, and
shall be entitled to receive all fees payable to such
registrar, Lord Advocate, or his depute, or barrister
respectively, and so that all provisions in
any Acts of parliament not hereby repealed relating
to such registrar, Lord Advocate, or his
depute, or barrister respectively, shall be construed
as applying to such assistant registrars respectively
(e) :
ii.) Send to the central office copies of all such documents
registered or recorded by them as the chief
registrar shall from time to time direct:
(d) This provision is new. Great inconvenience had been
•caused under former Acts by the requirement that the registrar
should personally sign every certificate, as he had no authority
to delegate Ins powers to any one. J
(e) See note (e), p. 55, ante.
D 3
58
38 & 39 Vict. Cap. 60, s. 11.
(c.) Record all such documents and matters as shall he
sent to them for record from the central office, and
such other documents and matters as herein provided
(a) :
(d.) Circulate and publish, or transmit to or from societies
registered within their respective countries
from or to the central office, such information
and documents relating to the purposes of this
Act as the chief registrar, with the approval of
the Treasury, shall from time to time direct :
(e.) Report from time to time their proceedings to the
chief registrar as he shall direct (6).
(9.) No assistant registrar for Scotland or Ireland shall
refuse to record any rules or amendments of rules which
have been registered by the central office (5).
11. Registry of societies.—With respect to the registry of
societies, the following provisions shall have effect :—
(1.) Societies for registry to consist of seven persons at least.
—No society can be registered under this Act which does
not consist of seven persons at least (c).
(2.) The application for registry.—For the purpose of registry
an application to register the society, signed by seven
members and the secretary, and written or printed copies
of the rules, together with a list of the names of the secre-(а)
Under this provision the rules of societies within s. 6,
doing business in more than one country, have been recorded in
Scotland and Ireland.
(б) These provisions are new. The consolidation of the
hitherto separate registrations in the three kingdoms into one
office, with branches, is in accordance with the recommendation
of the Friendly Societies Commissioners.
(e) This provision is new. Formerly three members and the
secretary were sufficient to constitute a society for the purpose
of registration (18 & 19 Vict. c. 63, s. 26), and the same number
is still sufficient in the case of a building society (37 & 38 Vict.
c. 42, s. 17), and of a loan society (3 & 4 Vict. c. 110) : but seven
is the number required for the registration of an industrial and
provident society (39 & 40 Vict. c. 45, s. 7), a trade union
(34 & 35 Vict. c. 31, s. 6), or a joint stock company (25 & 26
Vict. c. 89, s. 6).
59
38 & 39 Vict. Cap. 60, s. 11.
tary and of every trustee or other officer authorized to sue
and he sued on behalf of the society, shall be sent to the
registrar (d).
(3.) Identity, or deceptive similarity of name not to he
allowed.—No society shall be registered under a name
identical with that under which any other existing society
is registered, or so nearly resembling such name as to be
likely, or in any name likely, in the opinion of the registrar,
to deceive the members or the public as to its identity,
and no society shall change its name without the sanction
of the chief or an assistant registrar as after provided (e).
(4.) Dividing societies may he registered.—A society (other
than a benevolent society or working men’s club) shall
not be disentitled to registry by reason of any rule for or
practice of dividing any part of the funds thereof if the
rules thereof contain distinct provision for meeting all
claims upon the society existing at the time of division
before any such division takes place (/).
(5.) Societies granting annuities to have tables certified by
actuary.—No society assuring to any member a certain
annuity shall be entitled to registry, unless the tables of
contributions for such assurance, certified by the actuary to
the Commissioners for the Reduction of the National Debt,
or by some actuary approved by the Treasury, who has
(d) The provision as to the list of the officers is new, hut a
similar provision is contained in the Trade Unions Act, 1871
(34 & 35 Vict. c. 31, s. 13). The option given of appointing
officers to sue and he sued is stated hy the chief registrar to befounded
on the reluctance the trustees of a large society often
feel to seeing their names mixed up with legal proceedings
(Report, 1875, p. 7). As to the application for registry, sea
treasury regulation 1 and Form A.
(e) This provision is new as regards friendly societies, but is
contained in the Acts relating to industrial and provident societies,
trade unions, and building societies. The provision is,
important, as enabling the registrar to restrain a society froim
using a. name which, though not that of an existing society
might give an untrue impression to the public as to the constitution
or the society, as where a burial society seeks to call itselfan
“assurance society,” etc. L
(/) This provision is new.
60
38 & 39 Vict. Oaf. 60, s. 11.
exercised tire profession of actuary for at least five years,
he sent to the registrar with application for registry (a).
(6.) Registry of societies doing business in more than one
country. — Societies carrying or intending to carry on business
in more than one country shall be registered in the
country in which their registered office, as herein mentioned,
is situate ; but copies of the rules of such societies,
and of all amendments of the same, shall, when registered,
be sent to the registrar of each of the other countries, to
be recorded by him ; and until such rules be so recorded
the society shall not be entitled to any of the privileges of
this Act in the country in which such rules have not been
recorded, and until such amendments of rules be recorded
the same shall not take effect in such country (b).
(7.) The acknowledgment of registry.—The registrar, on
being satisfied that a society has complied with the provisions
as to registry in force under this Act, shall issue to
such society an acknowledgment of registry, which shall
specify the designation of the society, according to the
classification herein set forth (c).
(8.) Appeals from refusal to register.— If any registrar refuse
to register the society or any rules, the society may
appeal from such refusal, as follows :—
(a.) If the assistant registrar for Ireland refuse to register,
to the Court of Queen’s Bench at Dublin :
(b.) If the assistant registrar for Scotland refuse to register,
to the Court of Session :
(c.) If the central office or the chief registrar refuse to
register, to the Court of Queen’s Bench in England
:,
(а) This provision is similar to 18 & 19 Vict. c. 63, s. 26.
(б) This provision is new. See Treasury regulation 5 and
Forms E, EA.
(c) The acknowledgment of registry is substituted for the
certificate of conformity with law, previously given (18 & 19
Vict. c. 63, Sched. 3). For forms of acknowledgment, see
Schedule. A special form is provided by Treasury regulation
for societies registered under limited special authorities.
61
38 & 39 Vict. Cap. 60, s. 12.
(id.) Either division of the Inner House of the Court of
Session, the Court of Queen’s Bench at Dublin,
and the judges of the Court of Queen’s Bench in
England respectively, may make rules or orders
as to the form of appeals and the trying thereof
and otherwise relating thereto (<Z).
(9.) If refusal overruled, acknowledgment of registry to be
given.—If the refusal of registry be overruled on appeal,
an acknowledgment of registry shall thereupon be given to
the society by the registrar (d).
(10.) Effect of acknowledgment of registry.—The acknowledgment
of registry shall be conclusive evidence that the
society therein mentioned is duly registered, unless it be
proved that the registry of the society has been suspended
or cancelled (d).
12. Cancelling and suspension of registry.—With respect
to the cancelling or suspension of registry the following
provisions shall have effect :—
(1.) Cancelling.—The chief registrar, or in the case of
societies registered and doing business in Ireland or Scotland
exclusively, the assistant registrar for Ireland or Scotland
respectively, may cancel the registry of a society by
writing under his hand—
(a.) If he thinks fit, at the request of a society, to be
evidenced in such manner as he shall from time
to time direct (e) :
(d) These provisions are new. Under the previous law, in
the case of Hodges v. Wale, 2 W. It. 65, Wood, Y.-C., held
that the registrar’s certificate was conclusive as to the purposes
declared in the rules of a society being such as to entitle it to
the benefit of the Act; but in R. v. Davis, 14 \V. It. 329; 1
Weekly Notes, 25, it was held that evidence might be admitted
to show that a society having certified rules was so carried on
as not to be, in fact, a society for the purposes authorized by the
Act. It would seem that, under this section, the acknowledgment
is absolutely conclusive, until cancelled under sect. 12.
( e ) Where the cancelling is for the purpose of re-registering
the society as a branch of an order, a simpler procedure is provided
by s. 3 of the Act of 1876.
62
38 & 39 Vict. Cap. 60, s. 12.
(6.) With the approval of the Treasury, on proof to his
satisfaction that an acknowledgment of registry
has keen obtained by fraud or mistake, or that a
society exists for an illegal purpose, or has wilfully
and after notice from a registrar whom it may
concern violated any of the provisions of this Act,
or has ceased to exist.
(2.) Suspension.—The chief or assistant registrar, in any
case in which he might, with the approval of the Treasury,
cancel the registry of a society, may suspend the same by
writing under his hand, for any term not exceeding three
months, and may, with the approval of the Treasury, renew
such suspension from time to time for the like period.
(3.) Notice of cancelling or suspension.—Not less than
two months’ previous notice in writing, specifying briefly
the ground of any proposed cancelling or suspension of'
registrjq shall be given by the chief or assistant registrar to
a society before the registry of the same can be cancelled
(except at its request) or suspended ; and notice of every
cancelling or suspension shall be published in the Gazette,.
and in some newspaper circulating in the county in which
the registered office of the society is situate, as soon as
racticable after the same takes place.
(4.) Appeal from cancelling or suspension.—A society may
appeal from the cancelling of its registry, or from any suspension
of the same which is renewed after six months, in
manner herein provided for appeals from the chief registrar’s,
or the registrar’s refusal to register respectively.
(5.) Effect of cancelling or suspension.—A society whose
registry has been suspended or cancelled shall from the
time of such suspension or cancelling (but if suspended,
only whilst such suspension lasts, and subject also to the
right of appeal hereby given) absolutely cease to enjoy as
such the privileges of a registered society, but without
prejudice to any liability actually incurred by such society
which may be enforced against the same as if such suspension
or cancelling had not taken place (a).
(a) The whole of this section is new. See Treasury regulations
G to 11 and Forms F to J.
63
38 & 39 Yict. Cap. 60, s. 13.
13. Rules and amendments.—With, respect to the rules of
societies the following provisions shall have effect:—
(1.) Provisions to be contained in rules.—The rules of
every society sent for registry shall, according to the class
in which the society is to he registered, contain provisions
in respect of the several matters mentioned in the second
schedule to this Act (6).
(2.) Amendments to be registered.—No amendment of a
rule made by a registered society shall be valid until the
same has been registered under this Act, for which purpose
copies of the same, signed by three members and the secretary,
shall be sent to the registrar (c).
(3.) Provision applicable to amendments.—The provision
herein contained as to appeals from a refusal of registry
shall apply to amendments of rules (d).
(4.) Acknowledgment of registry of amendments.—The registrar
shall, on being satisfied that any amendment of a
rule is not contrary to the provisions of this Act, issue to
the society an acknowledgment of registry of the same,
wbicli shall be conclusive evidence that the same is duly
registered (e).
(5.) Copies of rules to be delivered on demand.—A copy
of the rules of a registered society [or branch] shall
be delivered by the society [or branch] to every person
on demand, on payment of a sum not exceeding one
shilling (d).
(6.) Delivery of untrue rules.—If any person, with intent
to mislead or defraud, gives to any other person a copy of
any rules, laws, regulations, or other documents, other
(4) See 18 & 19 Viet. c. 63, s. 25.
(c) Id. sect. 27. See Appendix, Note B, Treasury regulations
2 to 5, and Forms B, C, D.
(d) This is new.
(e) This is substituted for the certificate of conformity with
law. An amendment, even when registered, does not aftect the
claim to benefit of which any member was in the actual receipt
at the time the amendment was made. Per the Chief Registrar
in Caundle v. Bingham, Report for 1879, p. 17, and in Davis v
Bird, 11 April, 1881.
64
38 & 39 Vict. Cap. 60, s. 14.
than the rules for the time being registered under this Act,
on the pretence that the same are existing rules of a registered
society [or branch], or that there are no other rules
of such society [or branch], or gives to any person a copy
of any rules on the pretence that such rules are the rules
of a registered society [or branch] when the society [or
branch] is not registered, the person so offending shall be
deemed guilty of a misdemeanor (a).
H^Duties and, obligations of societies.—With respect to
the duties and obligations of registered societies the following
provisions shall have effect:—
(1.) Every registered society shall—
(a.) Registered office,—Have a registered office to which
all communications and notices may be addressed,
and send to the registrar notice of the situation
of such office, and of every change therein (6).
(b.) Appointment of tmstees.—From time to time at some
meeting of the society, and by a resolution of a
majority of the members present and entitled to
vote thereat, appoint one or more trustees of the
society, and send to the registrar a copy of every
resolution appointing a trustee, signed by the
trustee so appointed, and by the secretary of the
society (c).
(c.) Audit.—Once at least in every year submit its
accounts for audit either to one of the public
(а) This is 18 & 19 Vict. c. 63, sect. 29, with important
amendments.
(б) The registered office is substituted for the “place of meeting
for business,” provided for by 18 & 19 Vict. c. 63, ss. 25, 28.
Hence it would seem that the decision of Reg. v. Tidd Pratt,
6 B. & S. 672, that rules made at a meeting held away from the
place of business are void, will no longer apply. The notice of
change is to be sent within fourteen days, and to be in Form K.
See Treasury regulation 12.
(c) See 18 &19 Vict. c. 63, s. 17. The trustees may act as
such before the resolution has been sent to the registrar:
Beckett v. Willett, 5 W. R. 622. See Appendix, Note C,
Treasury regulation 13, and Form L.
65
38 & 39 Vict. Cap. 60, s. 14.
auditors appointed as herein mentioned, or to two
or more persons appointed as the rules of the
society provide, which auditors shall have access
to all the hooks and accounts of the society, and
shall examine the general statement of the receipts
and expenditure, funds and effects of the society,
and verify the same with the accounts and
vouchers relating thereto, and shall either sign
the same as found by them to be correct, duly
vouched, and in accordance with law or specially
report to the society in what respects they find
it incorrect, unvouched, or not in accordance with
law (d).
(d.) Annual returns.—Once in every year before the first
day of June send to the registrar a general statement
(to be called the annual return) of the receipts
and expenditure, funds and effects of the
society as audited, which shall show separately
the expenditure in respect of the several objects
of the society, and shall be made out to the
thirty-first December then last inclusively, and a
copy of the auditor’s report, if any, shall also be
sent to the registrar with such general statement;
and such annual return shall state whether the
audit has been conducted by a public auditor
appointed as in this Act provided, and by whom ;
and, if by any person or persons other than a
public auditor, shall state the name, address, and
calling or profession of each of such persons, and
the manner in which, and the authority under
which they were respectively appointed (e).
(e.) Quinquennial returns.—Within six months after the
thirty first day of December one thousand eight
hundred and seventy-five, and so again within six
(d) This provision is new.
m f & 19 Vict. c. 63, s. 45, with important amend-1
A S / \ 16 w . or< ^ 8 “person or” are inserted in error, as subieacl
(c) requires that the auditors should be two or more
persons.
66
38 & 39 Vict. Cap. 60, s. 14.
months after the expiration of every five years
succeeding, send to the registrar a return (to he
called the quinquennial return) of the sickness and
mortality experienced hy the society during the
five years preceding the thirty-first December then
last past; an abstract of which returns shall be
laid before parliament (a) :
(/•) Quinquennial valuations.— Once at least in the five
years next after the commencement of this Act, or
the registry of the society, and so again within six
months after the expiration of every five years
succeeding the date of the first valuation under
this Act, either cause its assets and liabilities to be
valued hy a valuer to he appointed by the society,
and send to the registrar a report, signed by such
valuer, and which shall also state his address and
calling or profession, on the condition of the
society, and an abstract to be made by him of the
results of his valuation, together with a return
containing such information with respect to the
benefits assured and contributions receivable by
the society, and of its funds and effects, debts and
credits, as the registrar may from time to time
require, or send to the registrar a return of the
benefits assured and contributions receivable from
all the members of the society, and of all its funds
and effects, debts and credits, accompanied by
such evidence in support thereof as the chief
registrar prescribes, in which case the registrar
shall cause the assets and liabilities of the society
to be valued and reported on by some actuary,
and shall send to the society a copy of his
(a) This is a continuation of a provision found in every
Friendly Societies Aet since the year 1829 (10 Cleo. 4, c. 56;
13 & 14 Vict. c. 115; 18 & 19 Vict. c. 63). An abstract of the
returns of sickness and mortality for the periods ending 1860,
1865, 1870, and 1875 has been made by the actuary to the
Central Office and ordered by the House of Commons to be
printed.
67
38 & 39 Yict. Cap. 60, s. 14.
report, and an abstract of the results of his
valuation (b) :
((/.) Inspection of books.—Allow any member or person
having an interest in the funds of the society to
inspect the books at all reasonable hours at the
registered office of the society, or at any place
where the same are kept, except that no such
member or person, unless he be an officer of the
society, or be specially authorized by a resolution
of the society to do so, shall have the
right to inspect the loan account of any other
member without the written consent of such
member (c) :
{h.) Supphjing copies of annual returns.—Supply gratuitously
every member or person interested in
the funds of the society, on his application, with a
copy of the last annual return of the society for
the time being (d) [or with a balance sheet or
other document duly audited, containing the
same particulars as to the receipts and expenditure,
funds and effects of the society as are contained
in the annual return] :
(i.) Keep a copy of the last annual balance sheet for the
time being, and of the last quinquennial valuation
for the time being, together with the report
of the auditors (if any) always hung up in a
conspicuous place at the registered office of the
society (e).
(b) This provision is new.
(c) The provision for inspection of hooks is new for friendly
societies; but a similar provision is contaiued in the Industrial
and Provident Societies Act, 1876 (see Part III), and Trade
Unions Act, 1871 (34 & 35 Viet. c. 31, Sched. 1). _
(d) This provision is new; but a similar one is contained ill
the Acts relating to Industrial aud Provident Societies (see
Part III.), Trade Unions (34 & 35 Viet. c. 31, s. 16), and Building
Societies (37 & 38 Viet. c. 42, s. 40).
(e) This provision is new, and is adopted from the Building
Societies Act of 1874 (37 & 38 Viet. c. 42, s. 43). A similar
provision is contained in the Savings Banks Acts.
68
38 & 39 Vict. Cap. 60, s. 14.
(2.) Certificates of death to be required— No society [or
branch] shall pay any sum of money upon the death [not
being a death at sea] of a member or other person whose
death is or ought to be entered in any register of deaths,
except upon the production of a certificate of such death,
under the hand of the registrar of deaths, or other person
haying the care of the register of deaths in which such
death is or ought to be entered (a).
(3.) Offences.—It shall be an offence under this Act if any
registered society [or branch]—
(a.) Fails to give any notice, send any return or document,
or do or allow to be done any act or thing
which the society [or branch] is by this Act required
to give, send, do, or allow to be done :
{b.) Wilfully neglects or refuses to do any act or to furnish
any information required for the purposes of this
Act by the chief or any other registrar or other
person authorized under this Act, or does any act
or thing forbidden by this Act:
(c.) Makes a return or wilfully furnishes information in
any respect false or insufficient (!>).
(4.) Offences by societies [or branches] to be also offences by
officers, dec.—Every offence by a society [or branch] under
this Act shall be deemed to have been also committed by
every officer of the same bound by the rules thereof to
fulfil any duty whereof such offence is a breach, or if there
bo no such officer, then by every member of the committee
of management of the same, unless such member be proved
to have been ignorant of or to have attempted to prevent
the commission of such offence; and every default under
this Act constituting an offence, if continued, constitutes
a new offence in every week during which the same
continues (b).
1 (a) This provision is new.
" (S) These provisions are wholly recast, and take the place of
the very insufficient provision for enforcing the law hitherto
made by 23 & 24 Vict. c. 58, s. 7.
(5.) Returns to be m prescribed form. —Every . annual,
quinquennial, or other return, abstract of valuation, and
other document required for the purposes of this Act shall
he made in such form and shall contain such particulars as
the chief registrar prescribes (c).
(6.) Recording of documents.—All documents by this
section required to be sent to the registrar shall be deposited
with the rules of the societies to which the same respectively
relate, and shall be registered or recorded by the
registrar, with such observations thereon, if any, as the
chief registrar shall direct (c).
In what cases quinquennial returns, cfcc., may be dispensed
with.—Provided that the chief registrar, with the
approval of the Treasury, may dispense with the quinquennial
return and with the valuation herein required in
respect of societies to whose purposes or to the nature of
whose operations he may deem the same inapplicable ; and
may also dispense with the quinquennial return in cases
where, at the request of a society, he may, by inspection of
the books thereof through any person whom he appoints,
obtain such information as he deems sufficient of the sickness
and mortality experienced by the society ; and the
provisions herein contained in respect of the quinquennial
return and valuation shall not apply to benevolent societies,
working men’s clubs, or cattle insurance societies, nor to
specially authorized societies, unless it be so directed in
the authority for registering the same (d).
15. Privileges of societies.—Registered societies shall be
entitled to the following privileges [which are extended to
branches by the Act of 1876 where so stated] :—
(1.) Corresponding Societies Acts, &c., not to affect registered
societies [or branches'].—No society [or branch] or meeting
of a society [or branch] shall be affected by any of the pro-(e)
These provisions are new. For the form of abstract of
valuation, see Appendix.
(d) These provisions are new.
70
38 & 39 Vict. Cap. 60, s. 15.
visions of the Acts of the thirty-ninth George the Third,
chapter seventy-nine, or the fifty-seventh George the Third,
chapter nineteen, if in such society [or branch] or at such
meeting no business is transacted other than that which
directly and immediately relates to the objects of the
society [or branch] as declared in the registered rules
thereof, but such society [or branch] and all officers of the
same shall, on request in writing by two justices of the
peace, give full information to such justices of the nature,
objects, proceedings, and practices of the society [or branch]
in default whereof the provisions of the Acts in this section
re erred to shall, so far as applicable, be in force in respect
of such society [or branch] (a).
(2.) Exemption from stamp duty.—Stamp duty shall not
s chargeable upon any of the following documents :—
(a.) Power, warrant, or letter of attorney, granted by any
person as trustee for the transfer of any money of
the society [or branch] invested in his name in
the public funds :
(b.) Order or receipt for money contributed to or received
from the funds of the society [or branch] by virtue
of its rules or of this Act:
(c.) Bond given to or on account of the society [or
branch] or by the treasurer or other officer
thereof:
(d.) Draft or order, or form of policy, or appointment or
revocation of appointment of agent, or other document
required or authorized by this Act, or by the
rules of the society [or branch] (b).
(а) This is a re-enactment of 18 & 19 Vict. c. 63, s. 12.
(б) This is a re-enactment of 18 & 19 Vict. c. 63, s. 37. Upon
the construction of a clause in 33 Geo. 3, c. 54, similar to this
section, it was held that a bond conditioned for the production
of a box containing the subscriptions of a friendly society, need
not be stamped: Carter v. Bond, 4 Esp. 235. This section
gxempts from stamp duty any power, warrant, or letter of
attorney for the transfer of any share in the public funds only :
and this exemption will not extend to other investments. See
Me Moyal Liver Friendly Society, L. R. 6 Exch. 78, where it
was decided that a mortgage security, on which the funds of
38 & 39 Vict. Cap. 60, s. 15.
71
(3.) Power of nomination for sums not exceeding fifty
pounds.—A member of a society [or branch.] (other than a
benevolent society or working men’s club) not being under
the age of sixteen years, may, by writing under Ms hand
delivered at or sent to the registered office of the society [or
to the place where the branch is established] nominate any
person, not being an officer or servant of the society [or
branch, unless such officer or servant is the husband, wife*
father, mother, child, brother, sister, nephew, or niece of
the nominator] to whom any moneys payable by the society
[or branch] on the death of such member, not exceeding
fifty pounds, shall be paid at his decease, and may from
time to time revoke or vary such nomination by a writing
under his hand similarly delivered or sent; and on receiving
satisfactory proof of the death of a nominator, the society
[or branch] shall pay to the nominee the amount due to
the deceased member, not exceeding the sum aforesaid (c).
the society were invested, was not exempt from stamp duty.
Walker v. Giles (6 C. B. 662) was distinguished, as having been
decided under 10 Geo. 4, c. 56, s. 37, the language of which
differed from that of the present Act. See Appendix, Note D.
Friendly societies, by virtue of this section, are exempt from
the duty on drafts or orders imposed by 21 & 22 Vict. c. 20, an
Act for granting a stamp duty on certain drafts or orders for
the payment of money so far as regards any order on the
treasurer, but a banking company cannot he treasurer (see Note
D, Appendix), and investment with a bank is not permitted by
■s. 16 (see p. 76).
(c) These clauses are founded on 18 & 19 Vict. c. 63, s. 31,
with the important distinction that the nominee need not be
husband, wife, or kinsman of the nominator, but may be any
other person not an officer or servant of the society. The society
is required by Treasury regulation 14 to record or register all
nominations, revocations, and variations, and may by its rules require
a payment not exceeding 3d. for each such record or registry.
By 27 & 28 Vict. c. 56, ss. 4, 5, no stamp duty is chargeable
on any probate of a will, or letters of administration, with or
without a will annexed, granted in England or Ireland, or inventory
to be exhibited and recorded in any commissary court in
Scotland, of the estate and effects of any person deceased, in any
case where the whole estate and effects of the deceased person
dying after the 25th July, 1864 (exclusive of what he shall have
been possessed of or entitled to as a trustee for any other person
or persons, and not beneficially), shall be sworn not to exceed,
and shall not actually exceed, in value the sum of £100. This
72
38 & 39 Vict. Cap. 60, s. 15.
(4.) Distribution of sums not exceeding fifty pounds.—If
any member of a society [or branch] entitled from the funds
thereof to a sum not exceeding fifty pounds, dies intestate
and without having made any nomination under this Act
which remains unrevoked at his death, such sum shall be
payable, without letters of administration, to the person
who appears to a majority of the trustees, upon such evidence
as they may deem satisfactory, to be entitled by law
to receive the same.
(5.) Payments to persons apparently entitled valid.—Whenever
the society [or branch], after the decease of any member,
pays any sum of money to the person who at the time
appears to the trustees to be entitled under this section, the
payment is valid and effectual against any demand madeirpon
the trustees or the society [or branch] by any other person.
(6.) When trustees are absent, <Scc., registrar may order
stock to be transferred.—When any person, being or having
been a trustee of a society [or branch], and whether appointed
before or after the legal establishment thereof, in
whose name any stock belonging to such society [or branch]
transferable at the Bank of England or Bank of Ireland is
standing, either jointly with another or others, or solely, is
absent from Great Britain (a) or Ireland respectively, or becomes
bankrupt, or files any petition or executes any deed
provision will be found of great benefit to depositors in savings
banks and members of friendly societies, particularly with reference
to the easy and comparatively inexpensive mode of now
obtaining, by personal application at the Court of Probate,
London, or at the office of the district registrar in the country, a
probate or letters of administration.
By 36 & 37 Vict. c. 52, administration to the estate of an
intestate not exceeding £100 may be obtained by his widow or
children through the county court for a small fee in England or
Ireland; and by 38 & 39 Viet. c. 41, confirmation in Scotland
for an estate not exceeding £150 may be obtained from the commissary
clerk for a small fee. Further relief from trouble and
expense, in the case of small estates, is contemplated by a bill
now before parliament.
By 38 & 39 Vict. c. 27, the benefits of the Act 36 & 37 Vict.
c. 52, are extended to the children of a widow dying intestate.
(a) “ England ” in the Act of 1875. The correction to “ Great
Britain” is introduced by s. 10 of the Act of 1876.
38 & 39 Yict. Cap. 60, s. 15.
73
for liquidation, of his affairs by assignment or arrangement,
or for composition with his creditors, or becomes a lunatic,
or is dead, or has been removed from his office of trustee,
or if it be unknown whether such person is living or dead,
the chief registrar, on application in writing from the secretary
and three members of the society [or branch], and on
proof satisfactory to him, may direct the transfer of the
stock into the names of any other persons as trustees for
the society [or branch] ; and such transfer shall be made
by the surviving or continuing trustees, and if there be no
Such trustees, or if such trustees refuse or be unable to
make such transfer, and the chief registrar so direct, then
by the Accountant-General or Deputy or Assistant Accountant-General
of the Bank of England or Bank of
Ireland, as the case may be ; and the Governors and Companies
of the Bank of England and Bank of Ireland respectively
are hereby indemnified for anything done by
them or any of their officers in pursuance of this provision
against any claim or demand of any person injuriously
affected thereby (6).
(7.) Priority on death, bankruptcy, &c., of officer.—Upon
the death, or bankruptcy, or insolvency of any officer of a
society [or branch], having in his possession by virtue of
his office any money or property belonging to the society
[or branch], or if any execution, attachment, or other
process be issued, or action or diligence raised against such
officer, or against his property, his heirs, executors, or administrators,
or trustee in bankruptcy or insolvency, or the
sheriff or other person executing such process, or the party
using such action or diligence respectively shall, upon
demand in writing of the trustees of the society [or branch],
or any two of them, or any person authorized by the society
[or branch], or by the committee of management of
the same, to make such demand, pay such money and deliver
over such property to the trustees of the society [or
(b) This is a re-enactment of 18 & 19 Viet. c. 63, s. 36, the
privileges of which were extended to building societies by 37 &
38 Viet. c. 42, s. 26. See Tre usury regulations 15 to 18 and
Horns M, 17, 0.
E
74
38 & 39 Vict. Cap. 60, s. 15.
branch] in preference to any other debts or claims against
the estate of such officer.
Bankruptcy or insolvency in the present section includes
liquidation of a debtor’s affairs by arrangement in England,
cessio bonorum of a debtor in Scotland, and a petition for
arrangement with creditors in Ireland; and a trustee in
bankruptcy or insolvency includes an assignee in Ireland
and a judicial factor in Scotland (a).
(8.) Membership of minors.—A person under the ago of
twenty-one, but above the age of sixteen, may be a member
of a society, unless provision be made in the rules
thereof to the contrary, and may, subject to the rules of
the society, enjoy all the rights of a member (except as
herein provided), and execute all instruments and give all
acquittances necessary to be executed or given under the
rules, but shall not be a member of the committee of
management, trustee, manager or treasurer of the society
(b).
Provided as follows :—
(a.) Societies and branches, consisting wholly of members
of any age under sixteen years, but exceeding
three years, may be allowed to register under
this Act, subject to such regulations as may be
made in that behalf;
(b.) No rule or practice in force at the commencement
of this Act for the admission of members under
sixteen years of age shall be deemed contrary toany
express provision of this Act as respects any
society already registered (c).
(а) This is a restoration or confirmation of the priorities,
against the estates of officers, given by 18 & 19 Vict. c. 63, s. 23,
which, in the case of bankruptcy, had been considered to be
abolished by the Bankruptcy Act, 1869. But see Re Keyworth y
in the 8th edition of this work, pp. 23, 240. See also Appendix.
(б) This is founded on the 18 & 19 Vict. c. 63, s. 15, but the
minimum of sixteen years is new. See Treasury regulations
19, 20.
(e) These provisions are new.
38 & 39 Vict. Cap. 60, s. 16.
75
(9.) Limitation of cost of certificates of birth or death.—For
tlie purpose of this Act a certificate of the birth or death
of any member of, or person insured or to be insured with,
a registered friendly society [or branch], shall be given
under his hand by the registrar of births or deaths, or
other person having the care of the register of births or
deaths, in which such birth or death is entered, for a sum
not exceeding one shilling, in place of all fees or payments
in respect of the same, on application being made
for the same in such form and under such regulations as
shall be approved of by the registrar-general of births,
deaths, and marriages for England, Scotland, and Ireland
respectively (d).
(10.) Society [or branch] may subscribe to hospitals.—A
society [or branch] may subscribe out of 'its funds to any
hospital, infirmary, charitable or provident institution, any
annual or other sum which may be necessary to secure to
members of the society [or branch] and their families the
benefits of such hospital, infirmary, or other institution,
according to its rules (e).
16. Property and funds of societies.—With respect to the
property and funds of registered societies, the following
provisions [which are extended to branches by the Act of
1876, where so stated] shall have effect :—
(1.) Investment of funds.—The trustees, with the consent
of the committee of management, or of a majority of the
members of a society [or branch] present and entitled to
vote in general meeting, may from time to time invest the
funds of such society [or branch], or any part thereof, to
any amount in any of the following ways :—
(o.) In the Post Office Savings’ Bank, or in any savings’
bank certified under the Act of 1863:
(b.) In the public funds :
(d) This is an important new privilege. Further provision as-,
to fees is made by s. 8 of the Act of 1876.
(e) This is a re-enactment of 18 & 19 Vict. c. 63, s. 32, with
important amendments in construction and drafting.
E 2
76
38 & 39 Vict. Cap. 69, a 16.
(c.) With the Commissioners for the Reduction of the
National Debt as hereinafter provided :
(d.) In the purchase of land, or in the erection or alteration
of offices or other buildings thereon:
(e.) Upon any other security expressly directed by the
rules of the society [or branch], not being personal
security, except as hereinafter authorized with
respect to loans (a).
(2.) Holding of land.—A society, or any branch of a
society, may (if the rules thereof so provide) hold, purchase,
or take on lease in the names of the trustees for the
time being of such society or branch, in every county where
it lias an office, any land, and may sell, exchange, mortgage,
lease, or build upon the same (with power to alter
and pull down buildings and again rebuild), and no purchaser,
assignee, mortgagee, or tenant shall be bound to inquire
as to the authority for any sale, exchange, mortgage,
or lease by the trustees, and the receipt of the trustees
shall be a discharge lor all moneys arising from or in connection
with such sale, exchange, mortgage, or lease ; and
for the purpose of this section no branch of a registered
society need be separately registered : Provided that nothing
herein contained shall authorize any benevolent society
to hold land exceeding one acre in extent at any onetime
(5).
(a) This differs from 18 & 19 Vict. c. 63, s. 32, in the two
following important particulars 1st. The purchase of land is
permitted, and to any extent. 2nd. The prohibition of the purchase
of shares in any company is removed, provided such purchase
be expressly directed by the rules of the society, and
provided the purchase is an investment upon security. Shares
to which a liability attaches are not a lawful investment.
{b) This differs from 18 & 19 Vict. c. 63, s. 38, by omitting
(except for benevolent societies) the limitation to one acre of
land ; by omitting the perplexing proviso that the money spent
in purchasing and adapting premises shall be raised according to
rules in that behalf inserted; by omitting the restriction to a
building for holding the meetings of the society; and by extending
the privileges of the section to branches not separately
registered. As to building societies, see 37 & 38 Vict. c. 42,
s. 37; and as to trade unions, 34 & 35 Vict. c. 31, s. 7.
(3.) Property of society, how vested.—All property belonging
to a society, whether acquired before or after the same
is registered, shall vest in the trustees for the time being
•of the society, for the use and benefit of the society and
the members thereof, and of all persons claiming through
the members according to the rules of the society ; and
the property of any branch of a society shall vest in the
trustees of such branch, or in the trustees of the society if
the rules of the society so provide, for the use and benefit
either of the members of such branch and persons claiming
through such members, or of the members of the society
generally, and persons claiming through them according to
the rules of the society (c).
(4.) Devolution on death, &c.—Upon the death, resignation,
or removal of a trustee, whether of a society or branch,
the property vested in such trustee vests in the succeeding
trustees of such society or branch, either solely or together
with any surviving or continuing trustees, and until the
appointment of succeeding trustees in such surviving or
continuing trustees only, or in the executors or administrators
of the last surviving or continuing trustee, as personal
estate (whether the same be real or personal), subject
to the same trusts, without conveyance or assignment, except
that stocks and securities in the public funds of Great
Britain and Ireland shall be transferred into the names of
the succeeding trustees, either solely or jointly with any
surviving or continuing trustees (c).
(5.) In all legal proceedings whatsoever concerning any
such property, the same shall be stated to be the property
of the trustees for the time being in their proper names as
trustees for the society or branch (as the case may be) without
further description (c).
(6.) 4s to copyholds.—Where a society for branch] is entitled
in equity to any hereditaments of copyhold or customary
tenure, either absolutely or by way of mortgage or
security, the lord of the manor of which the same are held
(<-) These clauses are a re-enactment of 18 & 19 Viet. c. 63,
.s. 18, with amendments. The provision for resignation of a
trustee is new.
78
38 & 39 Vict. Cap. 60, s. 16.
shall, from time to time, if the society [or branch] so require,
admit the trustees (not to exceed three) of such society [or
branch] as tenants in respect of such hereditaments, on
payment of the usual fines, fees, and other dues payable on
the admission of a single tenant (a).
(7.) Discharge of mortgages hj receipt endorsed.—A receipt
under the hands of the trustees, countersigned by the secretary,
in the form contained in the third schedule to this
Act, or in any form specified by the rules of the society [or
branch], or any schedule thereto, for all moneys secured to
the society [or branch] by any mortgage or other assurance,
such receipt being endorsed upon or annexed to such mortgage
or other assurance, vacates the same, and vests the
property therein comprised in the person entitled to the
equity of redemption of the same, without re-conveyance
or re-surrender ; hut this provision does not apply to Scotland
or to the Island of Jersey (5).
(8.) Registration of receipt.— If such mortgage or other
assurance has been registered under any Act for the registration
or record of deeds or titles, or is of copyholds or
lands of customary tenure and entered on any court rolls,
the registrar under such Act, or recording officer, or steward
of the manor, or keeper of the register, shall on production
of such receipt, verified by oath of any person, enter satisfaction
on the register or on the court rolls respectively of
such mortgage or of the charge made by such assurance,
and shall grant a certificate, either upon such mortgage or
(a) This clause is new as regards friendly societies, but was
contained in the Industrial and Provident Societies Act, 1871
(34 & 35 Vict. c. 80, s. 2), and the Building Societies Act, 1874
(37 & 38 Vict. c. 42, s. 28).
(i) These clauses are new as regards friendly societies, and
extend to them a privilege which has been enjoyed since 1836 by
building societies under 6 & 7 Wm. 4, c. 32, s. 5, and 37 & 38
Vict. c. 42, s. 42; and since 1871 by industrial and provident
societies (34 & 35 Vict. c. 80, s. 3). It is really not so much a
privilege to the society as to the mortgagor; and it is difficult
to find any substantial reason why all mortgages should not be
made dischargeable by receipt endorsed. See the judgment of
Sir G. Jessel, M.R., in Fourth City Mutual Building Society v.
Williams. Law Rep. 14 Ch. D. 140, and Appendix, Note E.
7!)
38 & 39 Viot. Cap. 60, s. 16.
assurance, or separately to tlie like effect, ■which certificate
shall be received in evidence in all courts and proceedings
•without further proof, and such registrar, recording officer,
steward, or keeper of the register is entitled to a fee of two
shillings and sixpence for making the said entry and granting
the said certificate, and such fee shall in Ireland be paid
by stamps, and applied as the other fees of the Registry of
Deeds Office and Record of Title Office are by law directed
to be paid and applied (c).
(9.) Punishment of fraud or misappropriation.—It any
person obtains possession by false representation or imposition
of any property of a society [or branch], or having the
same in his possession withholds or misapplies the same, or
wilfully applies any part thereof to purposes other than
those expressed or directed in the rules of the society [or
branch], and axrthorized by this Act, he shall, on the complaint
of the society [or branch], or of any member authorized
by the society [or branch], or the trustees or committee
of management of the same, or by the central office,
or of the chief registrar or any assistant registrar by his
authority, be liable on summary conviction to a penalty
not exceeding twenty pounds and costs, and to be ordered
to deliver up all such property, or to repay all moneys
applied improperly, and in default of such delivery or repayment,
or of the payment of such penalty and costs
aforesaid, to be imprisoned, with or without hard labour,
for any time not exceeding three months; but nothing
herein contained prevents any such person from being proceeded
against by way of indictment, if not previously convicted
of the same offence under the provisions of this Act (d).
(c) See note (5), p. 78, ante.
(d) This is a re-enactment of sect. 24 of 18 & 19 Viet. c. 63,
as amended by 23 & 24 Viet. c. 58, s. 9, with the important
further amendment that the complaining member need not be, as
heretofore, authorized by a general meeting, but may be authorized
by the society, the trustees, or the committee of management,
or the central office. The form of declaration required by
the central office before granting an authority is given in the
Appendix. To render the treasurer of a society liable to the
penalties imposed by this section, for withholding or misapplying
80
38 & 39 Vict. Cap. 60, s. 17.
(10.) Trustees not to be personally liable.—Trustees of a
society [or branch] are not liable to make good any deficiency
in the funds of such society [or branch], but are liable
only for moneys actually received by them respectively on
account of such society [or branch] (a).
17. Investments with National Debt Commissioners.—With
respect to the investments of funds with the Commissioners
for the Reduction of the National Debt, the following provisions
shall have effect (1>) :
1. The society [or branch] may pay to the account of the
commissioners of the Bank of England or Ireland
any sum of money not less than fifty pounds upon a
declaration of the trustees of the society [or branch],
or any two of them, that such moneys belong exclusively
to the society [or branch],
2. The cashier of the bank shall receive all such moneys
and place the same to the account of the commissioners
in the book of the bank named “ The Fund
for Friendly Societies:”
3. All moneys paid in upon a false declaration shall be
forfeited to the commissioners, and applied by them
in the manner directed by the twenty-sixth and
twenty-seventh Victoria, chapter eighty-seven, section
thirty-eight :
4. The provisions of the twenty-sixth and twenty-seventh
Victoria, chapter eighty-seven, sections twenty-one
(except so far as the same may be repealed by any
Act to be passed in this session of parliament) (c),
twenty-two, twenty-four, twenty-five, twenty-six,
moneys of the society which have come to his hands as treasurer,
it must be shown that he has been guilty of some fraud or misrepresentation.
Mere inability to pay over the money to the
trustees is not enough: Barrett v. MarJcham, L. R., 7 C. P. 405.
See Appendix, Note E.
(a) This is a re-enactment of 18 & 19 Vict. c. 63, s. 20.
(5) This section is a re-enactment, in a more intellgible form,
of the provisions of sects. 33, 34 and 35 of 18 & 19 Vict. c. 63.
(e) No such Act was passed; but an alteration in the section
referred to was proposed by a bill in 1875 that was ultimately
withdrawn.
38 & 39 Vict. Cap. 60, s. 17.
81
twenty-seven, and twenty-eight, as to the regulation
of receipts, certificates, and orders, shall apply to
moneys paid under this section :
5. The society [or branch] shall be entitled to a receipt
bearing interest at the rate of twopence per centum
per diem :
6. Provided that a friendly society legally established
before the twenty-eighth day of July, one thousand
eight hundred and twenty-eight, which has invested
any part of its funds with the commissioners before
the twenty-third day of July, one thousand eight
hundred and fifty-five, shall be entitled for any further
investment made on account of any assurance
made before the fifteenth day of August, one thousand
eight hundred and fifty to a receipt bearing
interest at the rate of threepence per centum per
diem :
7. And provided that a friendly society legally established
between the twenty-eighth day of July, one thousand
eight hundred and twenty-eight and the fifteenth
day of August, one thousand eight hundred and
fifty, which has invested any part of its funds with
the commissioners before the twenty-third day of
July, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, shall
be entitled for any further investment made on
account of any assurance made before the fifteenth
day of August, one thousand eight hundred and fifty
to a receipt hearing interest at the rate of twopence
halfpenny per centum per diem :
8. A societ3 r [or branch] withdrawing money invested
with the commissioners shall not be entitled to make
any further deposit without their consent :
9. Every society [or branch] investing money with the
commissioners shall furnish from time to time such
returns as may be required by the commissioners,
in respect of the funds deposited with them, and the
assurances to which such funds relate:
10. A society having funds invested witli the commissioners
at the rate of threepence or twopence half-E
3
82
38 & 39 Vict. Cap. 60, s. 18.
penny per centum per diem, sliall retain at such
rates so much only of its funds as arises from assurances
made before the fifteenth day of August, one
thousand eight hundred and fifty, after deducting all
benefit payments and management expenses incurred
on account of such assurances ; and whenever the
society fails to satisfy the commissioners of its title
to retain at either such rate the whole or any part of
its funds, the commissioners shall require the withdrawal
of such funds or the transfer of the same to
the rate of twopence per centum per diem, and, in
default of withdrawal within thirty days, shall
transfer the same in their hooks accordingly, and
shall notify such transfer to the society.
11. Whenever it shall appear to the commissioners that
all the members of a society assured before the
fifteenth day of August, one thousand eight hundred
and fifty have died or ceased to be members, the
commissioners shall forthwith transfer in their books
to the rate of twopence per centum per diem, all
funds of the society remaining invested at any higher
rate, and shall notify the same to the society (a).
18. Loans to members.—With respect to loans to members
of registered societies, the following provisions shall have
effect:—
(1.) Not more than one half of the amount of an assurance
on the life of a member of at least one full year’s
standing may be advanced to him, on the written security
of himself and two satisfactory sureties for repayment ;
and the amount advanced, with all interest thereon, may be
deducted from the sum assured, without prejudice in the
meantime to the operation of such security (b).
(2.) Loans may be made out of separate loan fund.—A
society may, out of any separate loan fund to be formed by
(a) Sub-sects. 10 and 11 are new. They are applied to a
society after its conversion into a branch by sect. 6 of the Act of
1876.
(S) This provision was contained in 18 & 19 Vict. c. 63, s. 32.
83
33 & 39 Vict. Cap. 60, ss. 19, 20.
•contributions or deposits of its members, make loans to its
members on their personal security, with, or without sureties,
as may be provided by the rules, subject to the following
restrictions :—
(a.) No loan can at any time be made out of moneys
contributed for the other purposes of the society:
(b.) No member shall be capable of holding any interest
in the loan fund exceeding two hundred pounds:
(c.) No society shall make any loan to a member on
personal security beyond the amount fixed by the
rules, or shall make any loan which, together
with any moneys for the time being owing by a
member to the society, shall exceed fifty pounds :
(d.) No society shall hold at any one time on deposit
from its members any moneys beyond the amount
fixed by the rules, which shall not exceed two
thirds of the total sums for the time being owing
to the society by the members who have borrowed
from the loan fund (c).
19. Accumulating surplus of contributions for members use.
—The rules of a society [or branch] may provide for accumulating
at interest, for the use of any member of the same,
any surplus of his contributions to the funds of the society
[or branch] which may remain after providing for any
assurance in respect of which the same are paid, and for the
withdrawal of such accumulations from time to time (d).
20. Officers in receipt or charge of money.—With respect
to officers of registered societies [or branches] having
receipt or charge of money, the following provisions shall
have effect:—
(1.) Security to be given.—Every officer, if the rules of the
society [or branch] require, shall, before taking upon him-(«)
This provision is new.
(d) This was formerly permitted by authority of the Secretary
of State under 18 & 19 Vict. c. 63, s. 9 (3). The authority was
granted to meet the case of the Deposit Friendly Societies,
established by the late Hon. and Kev. S. Best.
84
38 & 39 Vict. Cap. 60, s. 21.
self the execution of liis office, become bound with one
sufficient surety at the least in a bond according to one
of the forms set forth in the third schedule to this Act, or
give the security of a guarantee society, in such sum as the
society [or branch] directs, conditioned for his rendering a
just and true account of all moneys received and paid by
him on account of the society [or branch] at such times as
its rules appoint, or as the society [or branch] or the trustees
or committee of management thereof require him to do so,
and for the payment by him of all sums due from him to
the society [or branch] (a).
(2.) Accounts of officers.—Every officer, his executors or
administrators, shall, at such times as by the rules of the
society [or branch] he should render account, or upon demand
made, or notice in writing given or left at his last or
usual place of residence, give in his account as may be
required by the society [or branch], or by the trustees or
committee of management of the society [or branch], to be
examined and allowed or disallowed by them, and shall, on
the like demand or notice, pay over all moneys and deliver
all property for the time being in his hands or custody to
such person as the society [or branch], or the committee
of management, or the trustees appoint; and in case of any
neglect or refusal to deliver such account, or to pay over
such moneys or to deliver such property in manner aforesaid,
the trustees or authorized officers of the society [or
branch] may sue upon the bond or security before mentioned,
or may apply to the county court (which may proceed
in a summary way), or to a court of summary jurisdiction,
and the order of either such court shall be final and conclusive
(b).
21. Legal proceedings.—With respect to legal proceedings
against registered societies, the following provisions [which
(a) Founded on 18 & 19 Vict. c. 63, s. 21, but extended to
every officer having receipt or charge of money, as in the Building
Societies Act, 1874 (37 & 38 Vict. c. 42, s. 23).
(b) Founded on 18 & 19 Vict. c. 63, s. 22. As to the effect of
a bond given to an unregistered society, see Jones v. Woollam,
5 B. Aid. 769; Margelt v. TarJces, 1 Bowl. & L. 682.
85
38 & 39 Vict. Cap. GO, s. 21.
are extended to brandies by tlie Act of 1876, where so stated]
shall have effect:—
(1.) The trustees of any society or branch, or any other
officers authorized by the rules thereof, may bring or defend,
or cause to be brought or defended, any action, suit, or
other legal proceeding in any court whatsoever, touching
or concerning any property, right, or claim of the society
or branch, as the case may be, and shall sue and be sued,
implead and be impleaded, in their proper names, without
other description than the title of their office (c).
(2.) In legal proceedings which may be brought under
this Act by a member or person claiming through a member,
the society [or branch] may also be sued in the name,
ns defendant, of any officer or person who receives contributions
or issues policies on behalf of the society [or branch]
within the jurisdiction of the court in which the legal proceeding
is brought, with the addition of the words “ on
behalf of the society ” [or branch] (naming the same) (d).
(3.) No legal proceeding shall abate or be discontinued
by the death, resignation, or removal from office of any
officer, or by any act of such officer after the commencement
of the proceedings (c).
(4.) The summons, writ, process or other proceeding to
be issued to or against the officer or other person sued on
behalf of a society [or branch] shall be sufficiently served by
personally serving such officer or other person, or by leaving
a true copy thereof at the registered office of the society, or
at any place of business of the society [or branch] within the
jurisdiction of the court in which the proceeding is brought,
or, if such office or place of business be closed, by posting
(c) Pounded on 18 & 19 Vict. c. 63, s. 19, extended to officers
authorized to sue and he sued.
vO These provisions are new, and will greatly facilitate proceedings
against societies receiving money through agents and
collectors.
86
38 & 39 Vict. Cap. CO, s. 22.
such copy on the outer door of the same ; but in all cases
where the said summons, writ, process, or other proceeding
shall not be served by means of such personal service or by
leaving a true copy thereof at the registered office of the
society, a copy thereof shall be transmitted addressed to the
committee of management at the registered office of the
society, and the same shall be enclosed in a registered letter
posted at least six days before any further step shall be
taken on such summons, writ, process, or other proceeding
(a)
22. Disputes.—Every dispute between a member or person
claiming through a member or under the rules of a
registered society [or branch], and the society [or branch] or
an officer thereof, shall be decided in manner directed by
the rules of the r society [or branch], and the decision so
made shall be binding and conclusive on all parties without
appeal, and shall not be removable into any court of law or
restrainable by injunction ; and application for the enforcemement
thereof may be made to the county court (&).
Provided as follows :—
(a.) The parties to a dispute in a society [or branch] may,
by consent (unless the rules of such society [or
branch] expressly forbid it), refer such dispute to
the chief registrar, or to the assistant registrar in
Ireland or Scotland, who shall, with the consent
of the Treasury, either by himself or by any other
registrar, hear and determine such dispute, and
shall have power to order the expenses of determining
the same to be paid either out of the funds of
the society [or branch] or by such parties to the
dispute as he shall think fit, and such determination
and order shall have the same effect and be
enforceable in like manner as a decision made in
(a) See note (d), p. 85, ante.
\h) See 18 & 19 Vict. c. 63, ss. 40, 41, and note F, Appendix.
38 & 39 Vict. Cai\ 60, s. 22. 87
the manner directed by the rules of the society
[or branch] (c) :
(b.) The cliiei or other registrar to whom any dispute is
referred may administer oaths, and may require
the attendance of all parties concerned, and of
witnesses, and the production of all books and
documents relating to the matter in question;
and any person refusing to attend, or to produce
any documents, or to give evidence before such
chief or other registrar, shall be guilty of an offence
under this Act (c) :
<c.) Where the rules of a society [or branch] direct that
disputes shall be referred to justices, the dispute
shall be determined by a court of summary jurisdiction
:
Provided that in every case of dispute cognizable
under the rules of a society [or branch] by a
court of summary jurisdiction, it shall be lawful
for the parties thereto to enter into a consent
referring such dispute to the county court, which
may hear and determine the matter in dispute
(c).
(d.) AVhere the rules contain no direction as to disputes,
or where no decision is made on a dispute within
forty days after application to the society [or
branch] for a reference under its rules, the member
or person aggrieved may apply either to the
county court, or to a court of summary jurisdiction,
which may hear and determine, the matter
in dispute :
(e.) The court, chief or other registrar, may, at the
request of either party, state a case for the opinion
in England of the Supreme Court of Judicature,
(c) These provisions are new, and render the procedure in cases
of dispute much more elastic than formerly. The submission to
the chief registrar is to he in duplicate. See Treasury regulations
21 to 27 and forms P to V.
88
38 & 39 Vict. Cap. 60, s. 23.
in Scotland of either division of the Inner House
of the Court of Session, or in Ireland of one of
the superior courts of common law at Dublin, on
any question of law, and may also grant to either
party such discovery as to documents and otherwise,
or such inspection of documents, and in
Scotland may grant warrant for the recovery of
documents and examination of havers, as might
be granted by any court of law or equity, such
discovery to be made on behalf of the society [or
branch] by such officer of the same as such court or
registrar may determine (a).
23. Special powers of registrars to be exercised on application
from members,—Upon the application of one-fifth of
the whole number of members of a registered society, or
of one hundred members in the case of a society of one
thousand members and not exceeding ten thousand, or of
five hundred members in the case of a society of more than
ten thousand members, the chief registrar, [or the assistant
registrar for Scotland or Ireland (5)], or in cases of societies
registered and doing business exclusively in Ireland or in
Scotland the assistant registrars for Ireland and Scotland
respectively, but with the consent of the Treasury in every
case, may—
(1.) Inspectors. —Appoint one or more inspectors to
examine into the affairs of such society, and to report
thereon, who may require the production of all or any of
the books and documents of the society, and may examine
on oath its officers, members, agents, and servants in relation
to its liusiness, and may administer such oath accordingly:
(2.) Special meetings.—Call a special meeting of the
society in such manner and at such time and place as the
chief registrar or such assistant registrar may direct, and
(a) This is modelled upon the proviso in sect. 36 of the Building-
Societies Act, 1874, but more precisely worded, and adapted
to the law of Scotland and Ireland.
(S) The words in brackets are unnecessary.
89
38 & 39 Vict. Cap. 60, s. 24.
may direct what matters shall he discussed and determined
on at such meeting, which shall have all the powers of a
meeting called according to the rules of the society, and
shall in all cases have power to appoint its own chairman,
any rule of the society to the contrary notwithstanding.
Provided that—
(a.) The application herein mentioned shall he supported
by such evidence, for the purpose of showing that
the applicants have good reason for requiring such
inspection to he made or meeting to he called,
and that they are not actuated hy malicious
motives in their application, and such notice
thereof shall he given to the society, as the chief
registrar shall direct:
(6.) The chief registrar or such assistant registrar may, if
he think fit, require the applicants to give security
for the costs of the proposed inspection or meeting
before appointing any inspector or calling such
meeting:
(c.) All expenses of and incidental to any such inspection
or meeting shall he defrayed either hy the
members applying for the same, or out of the
funds of the society, as the chief or such assistant
registrar shall direct:
(d.) This section shall not apply to a society with
branches, unless with the consent of the central
body of such society (c).
24. Special resolutions, and proceedings which may be taken
thereon.—With respect to special resolutions hy registered
societies, and to the proceedings which may he taken hy
'virtue thereof, the following provisions shall have effect:
. (®) This section is new. The provisions as to inspection are
similar to those of the Companies Act, 1862, ss. 56-59, for the
appointment of inspectors by the Board of Trade, lor the Chief
Registrar’s Instructions to Inspectors, see Appendix. See also
treasury regulations 28 to 32 and Forms W to Z.
90
38 & 39 Vict. Cap. 60, s. 24.
(1.) Special resolutions. —A special resolution is one which
is passed hy a majority of not less than three fourths of
such members of a society for the time being entitled under
the rules to vote as may be present in person or by proxy
(where the rules allow proxies) at any general meeting of
which notice specifying the intention to propose such resolutions
has been duly given according to the rules, and
which resolution is confirmed by a majority of such members
for the time being entitled under the rules to vote as
may be present in person or by proxy at a subsequent
general meeting of which notice has been duly given, held
not less than fourteen days nor more than one month from
the day of the meeting at which such resolution was first
passed. At any meeting mentioned in this section a declaration
by the chairman that the resolution has been carried
shall be deemed conclusive evidence of the fact (a).
(2.) Change of name.—A society may, by special resolution,
with the approval in writing of the chief registrar, or
in the case of societies registered and doing business exclusively
in Ireland or Scotland the assistant registrar for
Ireland or Scotland respectively, change its name; but no
such change shall affect any right or obligation of the
society, or of any member thereof, and any pending legal
proceedings may be continued by or against the trustees of
the society, or any other officer who may sue or be sued on
behalf of such society, notwithstanding its new name (b).
(3.) Amalgamation of societies. — Any two or more
societies may, by special resolution of both or all such
societies, become amalgamated together as one society, with
or without any dissolution or division of the funds of such
societies or either of them; and any society may, by special
(a) The machinery of special resolutions is new to friendly
societies, being adopted from sect. 51 of the Companies Act,
1862. See Treasury regulations 33 to 40 and Forms AA
to AG.
(i) Change of name, witli the approval of the registrar, was
permitted by 21 & 22 Vict. c. 101, s. 4. The permitting a
change of name is wholly in the discretion of the chief registrar,
and it is perhaps the only act of registry depending on approval.
38 & 39 Vict. Cap. 60, s. 24.
91
resolution, transfer its engagements to any other registered
society which may undertake to fulfil the engagements of
srrcli society (c).
(4.) Conversion of societies into companies, &c.—A society
may by special resolution determine to convert itself into
a company under the Companies Acts, or to amalgamate
with or transfer its engagements to any such company (d).
(5.) Eights of creditors.—No amalgamation or transfer of
engagements shall prejudice any right of a creditor of
either or any society party thereto (e).
(6.) Registration of special resolutions.—A copy of every
special resolution for any of the purposes mentioned in
this section, signed by the chairman of the meeting and
countersigned by the secretary, shall be sent to the central
office and registered there, and until such copy is so
registered such special resolution shall not take effect (e).
(~.) Registration of copy of special resolution as memorandum
of association.—If a special resolution for convertln
g a society into a company contains the particulars by
the Companies Act, 1862, required to he contained in the
memorandum of association of a company, and a copy
thereof has been registered at the central office, a copy of
such resolution under the seal or stamp of the central office
shall have the same effect as a memorandum of association
duly signed and attested under the said Act (e).
(8.) Registry of society under Act to become void on registration
as a company, dec.—If a society be registered as, or
(p) Union of societies, or transfer of tire engagements of a
society, was authorized by 18 & 19 Vict. c. 63, s. 14.
(d) This provision is new. The Industrial and Provident
Societies Act, 1862, s. 21, authorized the conversion of a society
Registered under it into a company, but contained no provision
sunilar to clause 7 of the present section directing the manner
m which such conversion is to be effected, merely enacting that
“ e society shall conform to the provisions of the Companies
Act - The Industrial and Provident Societies Act, 1876, has a
Provision adopted from the Friendly Societies Act, 1875. See
Uirt III, post'
\ e ) These provisions are new.
92
38 & 39 Vict. Cap. 60, s. 24.
amalgamates with, or transfers all its engagements to a
■company, the registry of such society under this Act thereupon
becomes void, and the same shall he cancelled by the
chief registrar or by the assistant registrar for Scotland or
Ireland under his direction; but the registration of a
society as a company shall not affect any right or claim for
the time being subsisting against such society, or any
penalty for the time being incurred by such society; and
for the purpose of enforcing any such right, claim, or
penalty, the society may be sued and proceeded against in
the same manner as if it had not become registered as a
•company; and every such right or claim, or the liability
to such penalty, lias priority, as against the property of
such company, over all other rights or claims against or
liabilities of such company (a).
Proviso as to friendly societies.—Provided as follows as
respects friendly societies :—
(rt.) No special resolution by any society for any amalgamation
or transfer of engagements under this
section is valid unless five-sixths in value (to be
calculated as for dissolution) of the members
assent thereto, either at the meetings at which
such resolution is passed and confirmed, or one of
them, or in writing, if such members were not
present thereat, nor without the written consent
of every person for the time being receiving or
entitled to any relief, annuity, or other benefit
from the funds of the society, unless the claim of
such person be first duly satisfied, or adequate
provision be made for satisfying such claim :
(b.) The provisions hereinafter contained in case of dissolution
as to the punishment of officers and the
remedy of members or persons dissatisfied with
the provision made for satisfying their claims,
shall apply to the case of amalgamation and
transfer of engagements:
(a) This provision is new.
93
38 & 39 Vict. Cap. 60, s. 25.
(e.) Upon application of the trustees or committee of
management of a society desiring to amalgamate
or transfer its engagements, notice of such application
(b) being published in the Gazette, the chief
registrar, after hearing such trustees or committee
of management and any other persons whom he
considers entitled to be heard upon the application,
may, with the consent of the Treasury, order
that any of the consents and conditions prescribed
in this Act, or in any regulations made under this
Act, be dispensed with, and may confirm the
amalgamation or transfer:
(d.) This section shall not apply to branches (c).
25. Dissolution of societies.—With respect to the dissolution
of registered societies, the following provisions shall
have effect:—
(1.) How societies may be dissolved.—A society may terminate
or be dissolved in any of the following ways:—
(a.) Upon the happening of any event declared by the
rules to be the termination of the society:
(b.) As respects all societies other than friendly societies,
by the consent of three-fourths of the members,
testified by their signatures to the instrument of'
dissolution:
(c.) As respects friendly societies, by the consent of fivesixths
in value of the members (including honorary
members, if any), testified by their signatures to
the instrument of dissolution, and also by thewritten
consent of every person for the time being
receiving or entitled to receive any relief, annuity,
or other benefit from the funds of the society,,
rmless the claim of such person be first duly
satisfied, or adequate provision made for satisfying
such claim, and in the case of a branch society (d)
(b) See Treasury regulations 73 to 78 and Form BA.
(c) This provision is new.
(id) Sic.
94
38 & 39 Vict. Cap. 60, s. 25.
with the consent of the central body of the society,
or in accordance with the general rules of the
society (a):
(d.) By the award of the chief registrar or assistant
registrars in the cases herein specified (6).
(2.) Contents of instrument of dissolution.—The instrument
of dissolution shall set forth—
(a.) The liabilities and assets of the society in detail:
(b.) The number of members and the nature of their
interests in the society respectively :
(c.) The claims of creditors (if any), and the provision
to he made for their payment:
(id.) The intended appropriation or division of the funds
and property of the society, unless the same he
stated in the instrument of dissolution to he left
to the award of the chief registrar (a).
(3.) Alterations in instrument of dissolution.—Alterations
in the instrument of dissolution may he made with the
like consents as hereinbefore provided, testified in the same
manner (a).
(4.) Statutory declaration.—A statutory declaration shall
he made hy one of the trustees, or hy three members and
the secretary of the society, that the provisions of this Act
have been complied with, and shall be sent to the registrar
with the instrument of dissolution; and any person knowingly
making a false or fraudulent declaration in the matter
shall be guilty of a misdemeanor (c).
(a) These provisions are similar to those of the Building
Societies Act, 1874, s. 32. The consents to dissolution for a
friendly society are the same as those required hy 18 & 19 Viet,
c. 63, s. 13. See Treasury regulations 41 to 44 and Forms A1I
to AL.
(i) This provision is similar to 23 & 24 Vict. c. 58. See
Treasury Regulations 45 to 48 and Forms AM to AQ.
(e) This provision is similar to 18 & 19 Vict. e. 63, s. 13;
23 & 24 Vict. c. 58.
38 & 39 Vict. Cap. 60, s. 25.
95
(5.) Registry of instrument of dissolution.—The instrument
of dissolution and all alterations therein shall he registered
in manner herein provided for the registry of rules, and
shall he binding upon all the members of the society (d).
(6.) Notice of dissolution.—The registrar shall cause a
notice of the dissolution to be advertised at the expense of
the society in the manner provided by this Act for advertising
an award of the registrar for dissolution; and unless
within three months from the date of the Gazette in
which such advertisement appears, a member or other person
interested in or having any claim on the funds of the
society commences proceedings to set aside the dissolution
of the society, and such dissolution is set aside accordingly
(e), the society shall be legally dissolved from the
date of such advertisement, and the requisite consents to
the instrument of dissolution shall be considered to
have been duly obtained without proof of the signatures
thereto.
(7.) Special provisions as to friendly societies.—As respects
friendly societies—
(a.) The value of members shall be ascertained by giving
one vote to every member, and an additional vote
for every five years that he has been a member,
but to no one member more than five votes in the
whole:
(£>.) No instrument of dissolution shall direct or contain
any provision for a division or appropriation of
the funds of the society, or any part thereof, otherwise
than for the purpose of carrying into effect
the objects of the society as declared in the rules
thereof for the time being, unless the claim of
every member or person claiming any relief, an-(d)
See note (a), p. 94, ante.
(e) Provision for notice to the central office of proceedings
and orders to set aside dissolutions is made by sect. 11 of the
Act of 1876. See Treasury regulation 69 and Forms AT,
A Z.
96
38 & 39 Vict. Cap. 60, s. 25.
nuity, or other benefit from the funds thereof be
first duly satisfied, or adequate provision be made
for satisfying such claim:
(c.) Any officer or person aiding or abetting in the dissolution
of a society, otherwise than as in this
Act provided, shall, on summary convictiou, be
liable to be committed to the common gaol or
house of correction, there to be kept to hard labour
for any term not exceeding three months (a) :
(d.) If any member of a dissolved society, or person
claiming any relief, annuity, or other benefit from
the funds thereof, be dissatisfied with the provision
made for satisfying his claim, such member
or other person may apply to the county court of
the district within which the chief or any other
place of business of the society is situate for relief
or other order, and such court shall have the same
powers in the matter as in regard to the settlement
of disputes under this Act (b).
(8.) Dissolution by award, <£c.—With respect to dissolutions
and the distribution of funds upon the award of the
chief registrar:—
(a.) Upon the application of one-fifth of the whole
number of members of any registered society, or
of one hundred members in the case of a society
of one thousand members and not exceeding ten
thousand, or of five hundred members in the case
of a society of more than ten thousand members,
made in ‘writing under their hands, setting forth
that the funds of the society are insufficient to
meet the existing claims thereon, or that the rates
of contribution fixed in the rules of such society
are insufficient to cover the benefits assured, and
(a) This punishment may be mitigated under the Summary
Jurisdiction Act, 1879 (42 & 43 Yict. c. 49, s. 4).
(i) This provision is similar to 18 & 19 Vict. c. 63, s. 13.
38 & 39 Vict. Cap. 60, s. 25.
97
tlie grounds upon which, such insufficiency is
alleged, and requesting an investigation into the
affairs of such society with a view to the dissolution
thereof, the chief registrar may by himself,
or by any assistant registrar, or hy any actuary or
public auditor whom the chief registrar may appoint
in writing under his hand, investigate the
affairs of the society, giving nevertheless not less
than two months previous notice in writing to the
society whose affairs are to be investigated at the
registered office of such society (c):
(b.) If upon such investigation it appears that the funds
of the society are insufficient to meet the existing
claims thereon, or that the rates of contribution
fixed in the rules of the society are insufficient to
cover the benefits assured to he given by the same,
the chief registrar may, if he considers it expedient
so to do, award that the society shall be
dissolved, and its affairs wound up, and shall direct
in what manner the assets of the society shall be
divided or appropriated: provided always, that
the chief registrar may suspend his award for such
period as he may deem necessary to enable the
society to make such alterations and adjustment
of contributions and benefits as will in his judgment
prevent the necessity of such award of dissolution
being made (d):
(c.) A registrar proceeding under this section has all the
same powers and authorities, enforceable by the
same penalties, as in the case of a dispute referred
to him under this Act (e):
(e) This provision is similar to 23 & 24 Viet. c. 58, s. 1, but
the number of members who may make application to the registrar
is reduced from five-eighths to one-fiftli (or less in a large
society), and insufficiency of funds is more clearly defined. See
Treasury regulations 45 to 48 and Forms AM to AQ.
(d) See 23 & 24 Vict. c. 58, s. 1. The power to suspend the
, award is new. It was acted upon by the chief registrar in a case
recorded in his Eeport for 1876, p. 33.
(e) This provision is new.
F
98
38 & 39 Vict. Cap. 60, s. 26.
(d.) Every award under this or the last preceding section,,
whether for dissolution or distribution of funds,
is final and conclusive on the society in respect of
which the same is made, and on all members of
the same, and other persons having any claim on
the funds of the society, without appeal, and shall
be enforced in the same manner as a decision on
a dispute under this Act; and the expenses of
every investigation and award, and of publishing
every notice of dissolution, shall be paid out of
the funds of the society before any other appropriation
thereof shall be made (a):
(e.) Notice of every award for dissolution shall, within
twenty-one days after the same shall have been
made, be advertised by the central office in the
Gazette, and in some newspaper circulating in the
county in which the registered office of the society
is situated, and unless, within three months from
the date of the Gazette in which such advertisement
appears, a member or other person interested
in or having any claim on the funds of the society
commences proceedings to set aside the dissolution
of the society, consequent upon such award, and
such dissolution is set aside accordingly, the society
shall be legally dissolved from the date of such
advertisement, and the requisite consents to the
application to the registrar shall be considered to
have been duly obtained without proof of the
signatures thereto (6).
(9.) Consent of central body.—The provisions of the present
section shall not apply to any society having branches
without the consent of the central body of such society (c).
26. Militiamen and volunteers not to lose benefits.—No
person, by reason of his enrolment or service in the militia
(a) See 23 & 24 Vict. c. 68, s. 2.
(J) Sec 23 & 24 Vict. c. 58, s. 3.
(e) Tills provision is new.
99
38 & 39 Vict. Cap. 60, s. 27.
or as a naval coast volunteer, royal naval volunteer, naval
artillery volunteer, or in any corps of yeomanry or volunteers
whatsoever, shall lose or forfeit any interest he possesses
at the time of his being so enrolled or serving, in any
friendly society [or branch], registered or unregistered, or
be fined for absence from or non-attendance at any meeting
of the society [or branch], such absence or non-attendance
being occasioned by the discharge of his military or naval
duty as certified by his commanding officer, any rules of
such society [or branch] to the contrary notwithstanding,
and any dispute between any such society [or branch], and
such person by reason of such enrolment or service shall be
decided by a court of summary jurisdiction under this Act;
but if the rules of a society certified before the twenty-third
day of July one thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, and
in force at the time of such enrolment or service, provide
that a member shall be deprived of any benefit by reason
of such enrolment or service, the society may require of
such member a contribution exceeding the rate of contribution
otherwise payable by him to an amount not exceeding
one-tenth of such rate during the time such member shall
be serving out of the United Kingdom, or may suspend all
claim of such member to any benefits assured by the
society, and all claim of the society to any contributions
payable by such member, during, the time only he may
be serving out of the United Kingdom, but so that if
he return to the United Kingdom he shall forthwith be
replaced on the same footing as before he went abroad on
service (d).
, 27. Limitations of benefits.—No member of a registered
hiendly society, nor any person claiming through a member,
(d) This section is founded on 52 Geo. 3, c. 38, s. 41; 52 Geo. 3,
c- 68, s. 39; 17 & 18 Vict. c. 105, s. 44; 17 & 18 Vict. c. 106,
s - 69; 17 & 18 Vict. c. 107, S. 27; 18 & 19 Vict. c. 63, s. 47;
22 & 23 Vict. c. 40, s. 23; 23 Vict. c. 13; 26 & 27 Vict. c. 65,
s - 44; 36 & 37 Vict. c. 77, s. 33 (all of which are repealed by
Sched. I.), with important amendments. The proviso as to existing
rules of a society would apply after its conversion into a
branch by virtue of sect. 6 of the Act of 1876.
P 2
100
38 & 39 Vict. Cap. 60, s. 28.
shall be entitled to receive more than two hundred pounds
by way of gross sum, together .with any bonuses or additions
declared upon assurances not exceeding that amount,
or (except as provided by section six of this Act) fifty
pounds a year by way of annuity, from any one or more
such societies; and any such society may require a member,
or person claiming through a member, to make and sign a
statutory declaration that the total amount to which such
member or person is entitled from one or more such societies
does not exceed the sums aforesaid; and any person knowingly
making a false or fraudulent declaration in the
matter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor (a).
28. Payments on death of children.—With respect to payments
on the death of children under ten years of age,
the following provisions shall have effect:—
(1.) Limitation of payments.—No society [or branch]
shall insure or pay on the death of a child under five years
of age any sum of money which, added to any amount payable
on the death of such child by any other society [or
branch], exceeds six pounds, or on the death of a child
under ten years of age any sum of money which, added to
any amount payable on the death of such child by any
other society [or branch], exceeds ten pounds (h).
(2.) Who may receive payments.—No society [or branch]
shall pay any sum on the death of a child under ten years
(a) This section is founded on 18 & 19 Vict. c. 63, ss. 9, 38;
hut the limit of annuity is raised from £30 to £50.
(5) The provisions in this section are in some respects more
stringent than those of 21 & 22 Vict. c. 101, s. 2. The limits of
assurance, however, are the same. The certificate of a registrar
of deaths is substituted for the medical certificate, and more
effectual provision is made against evasion of the Act. It is also
.extended to industrial assurance companies, and, on the other
hand, such companies are relieved from the operation of the
(Gambling Act. It is to be observed that sect. 28 extends to unregistered
as well as registered societies, and has been so acted
•upon in cases before the sheriffs of Forfar and Dundee. See
Report of Assistant Registrar for Scotland for 1875, p. 35.
38 & 39 Vict. Cap. 60, s. 28.
101
of age, except to the parent of such child, or to the personal
representative of such parent, and upon the production by
such parent or his personal representative of a certificate of
death issued by the registrar of deaths, or other person
having the care of the register of deaths, containing the
particulars after mentioned.
(3.) Particulars of certificates.—Whenever a certificate of
the death of a child is applied for for the purpose of obtaining
a sum of money from a society [or branch], the name of
such society [or branch], and the sum sought to be obtained
therefrom, shall be stated to the registrar of deaths, who
shall write on or at the foot of such certificate the words,
“ to be produced to the Society” [or branch] (naming
the same) “said to be liable for payment of the sum
of pounds ” (stating the same), and all certificates of
the same death shall be numbered in consecutive order, and
the sum charged by the registrar of deaths for each such
certificate shall not exceed one shilling (c).
(4.) Registrars of deaths only to give certificates in certain
cases.—No registrar of deaths shall give any one or more
certificates of death for the payment in the whole of any
sum of money exceeding six pounds on the death of a child
under five years, or for the payment in the whole of a sum
exceeding ten pounds on the death of a child under ten
years ; and no such certificate shall be granted unless the
cause of death has been previously entered in the register
of deaths on the certificate of a coroner or of a registered
medical practitioner who attended such deceased childduring
its last illness, or except upon the production of a certificate
of the probable cause of death, under the hand of a registered
medical practitioner, or of other satisfactory evidence of
the same (d).
(°) Further provision as to the sums to be charged by registrars
of deaths is made by sect. 8 of the Act of 1876. See
p. 127.
(d) Tile provision that “ other satisfactory evidence’' of death
may be accepted by the registrar of deaths, is one likely to lead
to mischief unless great caution be exercised in the reception of
such evidence.
102
38 & 39 Vict. Cap. 60, s. 28.
(5.) Inquiry to be made by societies [and branches'].—Any
society [or branch] to which is produced a certificate of the
death of a child which does not purport to be the first,
shall, before paying any money thereon, he bound to
inquire whether any and what sums of money have been
paid on the same death by any other society [or branch],
(6.) Offences under this section.—It shall Ire an offence
under this Act—
(a.) If any society [or branch] pays money on the death
of a child under ten years of age otherwise than
is provided by this Act;
(b.) If any parent, or personal representative of a parent,
claiming money on the death of a child produces
any certificate of such death other than is herein
provided to the society or societies [or branches]
from which the money is claimed, or produces a
false certificate, or one fraudulently obtained, or
in any way attempts to defeat the provisions of
this Act with respect to payments upon the death
of children.
(7.) Extent of the word “society.”—The word “society” in
the present section shall include all industrial assurance
companies assuring the payment of money on the death of
children under the age of ten years.
(8.) Assurances on children’s lives not to be void under
14 Geo. 3, c. 48.—No assurance made, or to be made, by any
industrial assurance company, of a sum of money payable
on the death of a child under the age of ten years, which
would be valid if effected with a registered society [or
branch], shall be invalidated by reason of any provision
contained in the Act of the fourteenth year of His late
Majesty King George the Third, chapter forty-eight, for
regulating insurances upon lives and for prohibiting all
such insurances except in cases where the person insuring
shall have an interest in the life of the persons insured.
(9.) Insurable interests.—Provided that nothing in this
section contained shall apply to insurances on the lives of
103
38 & 39 Vict. Cap. 60, s. 29.
•children of any age, where the person insuring has an
interest in the life of the person insured, or to existing,
•contracts.
29. Societies with branches. —The provisions of the present
section apply only to societies having branches (a).
(1.) How to be registered.—The application for registry
■shall be accompanied with—
(a.) A list of every branch, and of the place wherein the
same is established;
{b.) If any branch is to have trustees or officers authorized
to sue and be sued on its behalf other than
the trustees or officers authorized to sue and be
sued on behalf of the society, a list of the names
of all such trustees or officers, distinguishing the
branches for which they are authorized to sue and
be sued :
{»■) If the rules of all the branches (herein called branch
rules) are or are intended to be identical, a statement
to that effect, and copies of such rules:
, («) The provisions of this section are new. By the 49th section
of 18 & 19 Vict. c. 63, it was provided that the word
“society” shall extend to and include every branch of a society,
by whatever name it may he designated. The effect of this provision
was, that every branch had to be registered as a separate
society. Upon this portion of the Act the chief registrar
remarks:—“A very important alteration in the law is the express
recognition of societies with branches as registrable units.
By sect. 4 a branch is defined as any number of the members of
a society, under the control of a central body, having a separate
fund administered by themselves, or by a committee of officers
appointed by themselves—in other words, having some power of
self-government. On the other hand, in order that a society with
branches may be entitled to registration as a single society, it
must have a fund under the control of a central body, to which
every branch is bound to contribute. If there is no such fund,
a)l branches must be registered, as heretofore, as separate societies.
Amendments of the rules of affiliated societies, when
registered under sect. 29, will at once bind all their branches.”
104
38 & 39 Vict. Cap. 60, s. 29.
(d.) If the branch rules are not or are not intended to beidentical,
a statement to that effect, and copies of
all branch rules.
(2.) Recording of branch rules.-—A society having a fundi
under the control of a central body, to which every branch
is hound to contribute, may he registered as a singlesociety.
Where such society has branches in more than one
country, the provision herein contained as to the registry of
societies doing business in more than one country shall
apply to the society.
(3.) Notices of establishment of new branches.—Notice of
the establishment of every new branch by a registered
society, and of the place where the same is established,
and if such branch is to have trustees or officers authorized
to sue and be sued on its behalf other than the trustees
or officers authorized to sue and he sued on behalf of the
society, a list of the names of such trustees or officers,,
and a statement whether or not the rules of such branch areidentical
with those of the other branches of the society,,
and if not so, a copy of the rules of such branch shall be
sent under the hand of the secretary to the registrar whom
it may concern («).
(4.) Until copies of branch rules registered, Act not to
apply to branch— Until a copy of the rules of a branch (in?
the case hereinbefore mentioned) has been registered in the
country in which such branch is established, the society is
not entitled to any of the privileges of this Act in respect
of such branch, and until a copy of any amendment of the
rules of a branch has been so registered, the same does not
take effect as respects such branch.
(5 ) Application of previous provisions.—The provisions of
this Act as to appeals, and the result thereof, as to amend-(a)
The word “ branch ” does not apply to such “ lodges ” or-“
courts ” as have been registered under 18 & 19 Viet. c. 63, s. 49„
as separate socieths, until such registry has been cancelled. See?
Treasury regulations 49 to 56 and Korins Alt to AU.
38 & 39 Vict. Cap. 60, s. 30.
105
merits of rules, as to the acknowledgment of registry, and
the evidence of registry and of rules, apply to branch
rules.
(6.) Where branches must be separately registered. —Where
a society has no fund under the control of a central body
to which every branch is hound to contribute, every branch
is deemed to he and must he registered as a separate
society, whether its rules are identical with those of other
branches or not.
30. Societies receiving contributions by collectors.— The
provisions of the present section apply only to [such]
friendly societies [whether registered or unregistered] and,
except as after mentioned, industrial assurance companies
[as receive] contributions by means of collectors at a greater
distance than ten miles from the registered office [or principal
place of business] of the society [or company] (6).
(1.) Members to receive copies of rules and policies.—The
society [or branch] shall deliver to every person, on his
becoming a member of or insuring with a society [or
branch] a copy of the rules of the society [or branch],
together with a printed policy, signed by two of the committee
or managers of the society [or branch] and by the
secretary, at a price not exceeding one penny for the
policy ; in the case of a family enrolled in one book or
card, one copy of rules and one family policy shall be
sufficient.
(2.) Notice to be given before forfeiture.—No forfeiture is
incurred by any member or person insured by reason of
any default in paying any contribution, until after a written
or printed notice has been delivered or sent by post prepaid
to him, or left at his last known place of abode, by or on
behalf of the society [or branch], stating the amount due
by him, and apprising him that in case of default of pay-(V)
The words in brackets arc those introduced by the 42 Viet
c- 9, passed to declare the true meaning of this section, on
which doubt had been thrown by the decision Me Molt, Baw
R ep., 4 Q. B. Div. 29.
F 3
106
38 & 39 Vict. Cap. 60, s. 30.
ment by him -within a reasonable time, not being less than
fourteen days, and at a place, to be specified in such notice,
his interest or benefit will be forfeited, and after default has
been made by him in paying his contribution in accordance
with such notice.
(3.) No transfers loithout ivritten consent.—No member of
or person insured with any society [or branch] can, unless
in the case of an amalgamation, transfer of engagements, or
conversion into a company under section twenty-four of
this Act, or as respects an industrial assurance company of
an amalgamation or transfer of business under the Life
Assurance Companies Act, 1870 (a), become or be made a
member of, or be insured with any other society [or branch]
without Ills written consent, or, in the case of an infant,
without that of his father or other guardian ; and the
society [or branch] to which such member or person is
sought to be transferred shall, within seven days from
his application for admission to the same, give notice
thereof in writing to the society [or branch] from which he
is sought to be transferred.
The provisions of this sub-section shall apply to all
friendly societies, whether registered under this Act or
unregistered, and industrial assurance companies receiving
contributions by means of collectors.
(4.) No collector to be member of committee of management.
—No collector, whilst he is such, is capable of being a
member of the committee of management, or other governing
body (by whatever name) of the society [or branch], or
of holding any other office in the society [or branch], except
that of superintending collectors within an area to be from
time to time specified.
(5.) Collectors not to vote.— No collector of a society [or
branch] is capable of voting at or taking part in the proceedings
of any meeting of the same.
(a) By this Act (33 & 34 Vict. c. 61, s. 14), the sanction of
the Court of Chancery is necessary to an amalgamation or
transfer of business of a life insurance company.
38 & 39 Vict. Cap. 60, s. 30.
107
(6.) One general meeting every year.—At least one general
meeting of tlie society [or branch] shall be held in every
year.
(7.) Notices of meetings.—Except where the day, hour,
and place of an annual or other periodical meeting is fixed
by the rules, notice of every general meeting shall be given
by the society [or branch] to the members by advertisement
to be published at least twice in two or more of the
newspapers in general circulation in every county where
the society [or branch] carries on business, or shall be
delivered in writing, or sent by post prepaid, to every
member. Such notice shall specify the day, hour, and
place, and the objects of the meeting, and in case any
amendment of a rule is intended to be proposed, shall contain
a copy of every such amendment; and the society [or
branch] shall publish the last of such advertisements, or
deliver or send such notice as aforesaid, at least fourteen
days before the day appointed for such meeting, and shall
during such fourteen days keep affixed a copy of such notice
m legible characters in some conspicuous plaee in or outside
of every office at which the business of the society [or
branch] is carried on.
(8.) Balance-sheets.—A copy of every balance-sheet of a
society [or branch] shall, during the seven days next preceding
the meeting at which the same is to be presented,
be kept open by the society [or branch] for inspection at
every office at which the business of the society [or branch]
is carried on, and shall be delivered or sent prepaid to
every member on demand.
(9.) Certification of annual returns.—The annual returns
shall be certified by some person not an officer of the society
[or branch] (otherwise than as auditor thereof), carrying on
publicly the business of an accountant, and if not so certified
shall be deemed not to have been made (1).
(10.) Disputes.—In all disputes between a society [or
branch] and any member or person insured, or any person (*)
(*) This is in addition to the certificate or report of the
auditors.
108
38 & 39 Vict, Cap. 60, s. 30.
claiming through a member or person insured, or under the
rules, such member or person may, notwithstanding any
provisions of the rules of such society [or branch] to thecontrary,
apply to the county court, or to the court of summary
jurisdiction for the place where such member or other
person resides, and such court may settle such dispute in
manner herein provided.
(11.) Service by post.—In proving service of any notice by
this section authorized to be sent by post, it is sufficient to
prove that such notice was properly directed, and was put,
as a prepaid letter, into the post-office in such time as
to admit of its being delivered in due course of delivery
within the period (if any) prescribed for sending the same.
(12.) Offences under this section.—It shall be an offence
under this Act—
(a.) If any collector of a society [or branch] to which this
section applies becomes a member of the committee,
or holds any other office in the same (except
as aforesaid), or if any member of the committee
of management becomes a collector, or if any collector
votes at or takes part in the proceedings of
a general meeting :
(!>.) If any person attempts to transfer a member or person
assured from one society [or branch] to another
without such written consent as herein mentioned .-(c.)
If a society [or branch] to which a member or person
is sought to be transferred fails to give such
notice as hereinbefore required.
(13.) Provisions of present section to be containedin rules.—
All the provisions of the present section apply to societies
existing at the commencement of this Act, and shall be
contained in the rules of all future societies [and branches]
to which this section applies (a); and any act or omission
(a) As any provision in the rules of a society under this
section contrary to its enactments is void (see sect. 6), the
societies should revise their rules, with the view of rescinding
any such provisions.
38 & 39 Viot. Cap. 60, s. 31.
109
wliich by virtue of this and any other section of this Act
would be an offence on the part of a registered society
shall be an offence on the part of any other society to
which this Act applies, and of any officer of such society
bound to fulfil the duty (if any) whereof such offence is a
breach.
The word “ society ” in the present section shall, except
in provisions one, eight, and nine, include all industrial
assurance companies, but nothing in the present section
contained shall apply to any assurance with any such company,
the premiums in respect of which are receivable at
greater periodical intervals than two months (b).
31. As to cattle insurance and certain other societies.—
The provisions of the present section apply only to registered
cattle insurance societies, and to such specially authorized
societies as the Treasury may allow to take the benefit
of the present section [and to branches of such societies] :
(1.) Rules to have effect of covenant by members.—The
rules bind the society [or branch] and the members thereof,
and all persons claiming through them respectively, to the
same extent as if each member had subscribed his name
and affixed his seal thereto, and there were in such rules
contained a covenant on the part of himself, his heirs, executors,
and administrators, to conform to such rules, subject,
to the provisions of this Act.
(2.) Money payable by members to be recoverable as debt.—
All moneys payable by a member to the society [or branch]
are deemed to be a debt due from such member to the
society [or branch], and are recoverable as such in the.
county court of the district in which such memberresides
(c).
(b) The whole of this section is new. The considerations upon
which it is based will be found in the fourth Report^ of the
-friendly Societies Commissioners, 1874, pp. xci.-cxxxiii. See
Treasury regulation 57.
(e) This section is founded on 29 Viet. c. 34. The extension
to certain specially authorized societies, is new.
110
38 & 39 Vict. Cap. 60, ss. 32, 33.
32. Penalties.—With, respect to penalties under this Act
the following provisions shall have effect :—
(1.) Penalty for falsification.—If any person wilfully
makes, orders, or allows to he made any entry, erasure in,
or omission from any balance sheet of a registered society
[or branch], or any contribution or collecting book, or any
return or document required to be sent, produced, or delivered
for the purposes of this Act, with intent to falsify
the same, or to evade any of the provisions of this Act, he
is liable to a penalty not exceeding fifty pounds, recover--able
at the suit of the chief or any assistant registrar or
of any person aggrieved.
(2.) Penalties for ordinary offences.—Every society [or
branch] officer or member of a society [or branch] or other
person guilty of an offence under this Act for which no
penalty is expressly provided herein is liable to a penalty
of not less than one pound and not more than five pounds,
recoverable at the suit of the chief or any assistant registrar
or of any person aggrieved.
(3.) Recovery of penalties.—All penalties imposed by this
Act, or to be imposed by any regulations under the same,
or by the rules of a registered society [or branch], are
recoverable in a court of summary jurisdiction (a).
33. Summary procedure and appeals.—With respect to
summary procedure and appeals from orders or convictions
thereon made, the following provisions shall have
•effect:—
(1.) In England and Ireland respectively all offences and
penalties under this Act may be prosecuted and recovered
in the manner directed by the Summary Jurisdiction Acts,
as respects a prosecution against a society [or branch] or its
officers in the place where the registered office of the
society is [or where the branch is established], or where the
(a) This section is new. The penalties may he mitigated
under the Summary Jurisdiction Act, 1879 (42 & 43 Vict.
•c. 49, g. 4).
38 & 39 Vict. Cap. 60, s. 33.
Ill
offence lias been committed, or as respects any prosecution
against any person other than a society [or branch] or its
officers in the place where such person is resident at the
time of the institution of such prosecution, or where the
offence has been committed.
(2.) In England and Ireland summary orders under this
Act may be made and enforced on complaint before a court
of summary jurisdiction in the manner provided by the
Summary Jurisdiction Acts (b).
(3.) The court of summary jurisdiction, when hearing
and determining an information or complaint, shall consist
as follows :—
In England—
(a.) In any place within the jurisdiction of a metropolitan
police magistrate or other stipendiary magistrate,
of such magistrate or his substitute :
(b.) In the city of London, of the Lord Mayor or any
alderman of that city:
(c.) In any other place, of two or more justices of the
peace sitting in petty sessions (c).
In Ireland—
(a.) In the police district of Dublin metropolis, of a
divisional justice :
(b.) In any other place of two or more justices of the
peace sitting in petty sessions.
{■!•) In Scotland—
{«.) All offences and penalties under this Act may be
prosecuted and recovered by the procurator fiscal
of the county in the Sheriff Court, under the provisions
of the Summary Procedure Act, 1864 :
(b.) Summary orders may be made and enforced on complaint
in the Sheriff Court:
(b) For England these Acts are amended by the Summary
■Jurisdiction Act, 1879 (42 & 43 Yict. c. 49).
(°) Further, as to the constitution of the court, see the Summary
Jurisdiction Act, 1879 (42 & 43 Vict. c. 49, s. 20).
112
38 & 39 Vict. Cap. 60, s. 33.
(c.) All penalties may lie enforced in default of payment
by imprisonment for a term to be specified in the
order or conviction, but not exceeding three
months :
(d.) All penalties recovered shall be paid to the sheriff
clerk, and by him accounted for and paid to the
Queen’s and Lord Treasurer’s Remembrancer on
behalf of the Crown :
(e.) The sheriffs and their substitutes shall have all jurisdiction,
power, and authority necessary for giving
effect to these provisions.
(5.) Description of offences.—In any information or complaint
under this Act it is sufficient to describe the offence
in the words of this Act, and no exception, exemption,
proviso, excuse, or qualification accompanying the description
of the offence in this Act need be specified or negatived.
(6.) Appeals.—In England or Ireland any party may
appeal from any order or conviction made by a court of
summary jurisdiction on determining any complaint or
information under this Act as follows (a)
(a.) The appeal shall be made to some court of general
or quarter sessions for the county or place in
which the cause of appeal has arisen, holden not
less than fifteen days and not more than four
months after the decision appealed from :
(6.) The appellant shall, within seven days after the
cause of appeal has arisen, give notice to the
other party and to the court of summary jurisdiction
of his intention to appeal, and of the
ground thereof:
(e.) The appellant shall, immediately after such notice,
enter into a recognizance before a justice of the
peace in the sum of ten pounds, with two sufficient
sureties in the sum of ten pounds, condi(a)
Further, as to procedure on' appeal, see ss. 31, 32, 33 of
Summary Jurisdiction Act, 1879 (42 & 43 Viet. c. 49).
38 & 39 Yict. Cap. 60, s. 34. 113
tioned personally to try such appeal, and to abide
the judgment of the court thereon, and to pay
costs if awarded :
(d.) Where the appellant is in custody, the justice may,,
on the appellant entering into such recognizance
as aforesaid, release him from custody :
(<?.) The court of appeal may adjourn the appeal, and
upon the hearing thereof may confirm, reverse,
or modify the decision of the court of summary
jurisdiction, or remit the matter to such court
with the opinion of the court of appeal thereon,,
or make such other order in the matter as the
court thinks just :
(/.) If the matter he remitted to the court of summary
jurisdiction, such court shall thereupon rehear and
decide the information or complaint in accordance
with the opinion of the court of appeal.
(V.) In Scotland any person may appeal from any order
or conviction under this Act to the Court of Justiciary, or
any circuit court thereof, under and in terms of the Act of
tlie twentieth year of the reign of His Majesty King
George the Second, chapter forty-three, or under any Act
amending that Act, or applying or- incorporating its provisions
or any of them with regal’d to appeals; or to the
Court of Justiciary at Edinburgh, under and in terms of
“ The Summary Prosecutions Appeals (Scotland) Act,.
1875” (J).
34. Regulation of proceedings in county courts.—Proceed-'ngs
under this Act directed to be taken by and before the
(S) These provisions are new as regards friendly societies, and
are founded on sects. 19, 20, and 21 of the Trade Unions Act,
1871 (34 & 35 Viet. c. 31). The Act 20 Geo. 2, c. 43, abolished,
from 25th March, 1748, all heritable jurisdictions in Scotland,
except the office of High Constable, provided for the administration
of justice there by the King’s courts and judges, and
rendered “ the union of the two kingdoms more complete. So
much of the Act as relates to the power of appealing to the circuit
courts in civil cases is made perpetual by 31 Geo. 2, c. 42,
s. 7.
114
38 & 39 Vict. Cap. 60, ss. 35—37.
judges of county courts may be regulated in Scotland by
any acts of sederunt of the Court of Session, and in Ireland
by any orders made by tlie Lord Chancellor, and
until otherwise provided are regulated by such rules and
orders, and acts of sederunt, made under the forty-third
section of the eighteenth and nineteenth years of Her present
Majesty, chapter sixty-tliree, as may be in force at the
commencement of this Act.
The registrars and high bailiffs of the county courts shall
be remunerated for the duties to be performed by them
under this Act in such manner as the Treasury, with the
consent of the Lord Chancellor, shall from time to time
order and direct (a).
35. Public auditors—The Treasury may from time to
time appoint public auditors and valuers for the purposes
of this Act, and may determine from time to time the
rates of remuneration to be paid by societies for the services
of such auditors and valuers ; but the employment
of such auditors and valuer’s is not compulsory on any
society (6).
36. Fees.—The Treasury may determine a scale of fees
to be paid for matters to be transacted or for the inspection
of documents under this Act; but no fee shall be payable
on the registry of any friendly, benevolent, or cattle insurance
society, or working men's club, or of any amendment
of the rules of the same.
All fees which may be received by any registrar under
or by virtue of this Act shall be paid into the receipt of
Her Majesty’s Exchequer (c).
37. Payment of salaries and expenses.—The Treasury shall,
■out of money to be provided by parliament, pay to the
chief and assistant registrars such salaries or other remunera(«)
See, for England, extract from Consolidated County Court
Kules and Orders in the Appendix, note Or.
(J) This section is new.
(c) The freedom from fees for rules of friendly and other
societies is adopted from 18 & 19 Viet. c. 63, s. 26. For the scale
of fees, see Treasury regulation 58.
115
38 & 3.9 Vict. Cap. 60, ss. 38, 39.
tions respectively, and such sums, of money for defraying
the expenses of office rent, salaries of assistants, clerics,
and servants, remuneration for actuaries, accountants, and
inspectors, computation of tables, publication of documents,
diffusion of information, expenses of prosecutions,
travelling expenses and other allowances of the chief or
any assistant registrar, and other expenses which may be
incurred for carrrying out the purposes of this Act, and
may also pay to any public auditors or valuers to be appointed
under this Act such remuneration (if any) as the
Treasury shall from time to time allow (d).
38. Regulations to be made for carrying out the Act.—The
Treasury may from time to time make regulations [called
the Treasury regulations, see Act of 1876, s. 2], respecting
registry and procedure under this Act, and the seal and
forms to be used for such registry, and the duties and functions
of the registrar, and the inspection of documents kept
by the registrar under this Act, and generally for carrying
this Act into effect.
All such regulations shall be laid before both Houses of
Parliament within ten days after the approval thereof it
parliament is then sitting, or if not then sitting, then within
ten days from the then next assembling of parliament.
Until otherwise provided, the forms contained in the
fourth schedule to this Act shall be used (e).
39. Evidence of documents.—!Every instrument or document,
copy or extract of an instrument or document, bearing
the seal or stamp of the central office, shall be received
] n evidence without further proof; and every document
Purporting to be signed by the chief or any assistant registrar,
or any inspector, or public auditor or valuer under
this Act, shall, in the absence of any evidence to the contrary,
be received in evidence without proof of the signa-(/)■
(d) This section is founded on 18 & 19 Vict. c. 63, s. 8, with
amendments.
(e) This section is new. Sec Treasury regulations 59 to 64 and
form AV.
(/) See 18 & 19 Vict. c. 63, s. 30.
116
38 & 39 Yict. Cap. 60, ss. 40, 41.
40. Application of Act to Isle of Man.—With respect to
the Isle of Man the provisions of this Act shall be varied
as follows :—
(1.) The terms “Supreme Court of Judicature” and
“ County Court ” respectively mean tire Court of Chancery
of the said isle, in which court the proceedings under this
Act may be regulated by the rules and orders to be made
in that behalf by the court, and, irntil otherwise provided,
shall be regulated according to the ordinary practice of such
court:
(2.) The terms “ the Companies Acts ” and the “Companies
Act, 1862,” respectively mean the law for the time
being in force in the said isle for the regulating and winding
up of companies :
(3.) The term “ Summary Jurisdiction Acts” means the
law for the time being in force in the said isle for regulating
tlie exercise of summary jurisdiction by justices of the
peace :
(4.) All offences and penalties under this Act shall be
prosecuted and recovered summarily before a high bailiff
or two justices of the peace, at tlie suit or instance of a
registrar or of a head constable :
(5.) All penalties recovered under this Act shall be paid
to the treasurer of the said isle, and be added to the
general revenue of the said isle : ,
(6.) Any person may appeal from any order or conviction
to be made in a case of summary jurisdiction under this
Act in the manner prescribed by the law in force in the
said isle as to appeals in cases of sumary jurisdiction (a).
41. Application of Act to Channel Islands.—With respect
to the Channel Islands this Act shall be varied as follows:—
(1.) As respects the Island of Jersey the following provisions
shall have effect:—
{a) Tliis section is new.
38 & 39 Vict. Cap. 60, s. 41.
117
(a.) Tlie term “ county court ” means tire court for the
recovery of petty debts, in all cases in which the
claim or demand shall not exceed the sum of ten
pounds sterling, and in all other cases it means
the inferior number of the royal court of the said
island, composed of the bailiff and two jurats of
the said court :
(b.) The term “court of summary jurisdiction” has in
civil cases the same meaning as the term county
court :
(c.) All misdemeanors under this Act shall be prosecuted,
tried, and punished in the form and manner prescribed
by the law and custom of the said island
with respect to crimes and offences (crimes et
dUits):
0d.) All other offences and all penalties under this Act
shall be prosecuted and recovered summarily before
the magistrate of the court for the repression of
minor offences, in all cases of his competency, at
the suit or instance of the bailiff of the parish in
which the offence or other unlawful act shall have
been committed, and in all other cases before the
bailiff and two jurats of the royal court, at the
suit or instance of Her Majesty’s Procurator
General for the said island :
(e.) All penalties recovered under this Act shall be paid
to the officers who by the law and practice of the
said island are entitled to receive fines levied by
order of the said courts respectively, and shall by
such officers be accounted for and paid to Her
Majesty’s Receiver-General in the said island on
behalf of the Crown :
(/.) The powers conferred under this Act on two justices
shall be exercised by the inferior number of the
royal court of the said island :
(?•) Clause thirty-three of this Act, and the term “ Summary
Jurisdiction Acts,” shall not apply to the
said island, but all proceedings under this Act,
in any of the courts of the said island, shall be
118
38 & 39 Vict. Cap. 60, s. 41.
regulated according to the ordinary practice of
such courts respectively, and all penalties shall,
in default of payment, he enforced in the same
manner as fines payable to the Crown in the said
island :
(h.) The rules prescribed by the law of the said island
with respect to appeals in civil and criminal cases
shall be followed as to appeals from [any orders,
judgments, or convictions made in cases of summary
jurisdiction under this Act :
(i. The terms “ the Companies Acts,” and the “ Companies
.Act, 1862,” shall be taken to mean the
law which from time to time may be in force in
the said island for the formation, regulation, and
winding up of companies.
(2.) As respects the bailiwick of the island of Guernsey:
(a.) The court of primary instance within the bailiwick
shall have all such powers and authorities as are
by this Act conferred either on justices of the
peace or on judges of county courts in England r
Provided that a sentence may be appealed from,
if the case admits of an appeal, under the orders
in council now in force within the bailiwick, but
that the decision of the royal court, when sitting
in a body as a court of appeal shall be final :
(h.) When any sum of money becomes payable on the
death of a member, such sum of money shall, in
default of any direction or nomination such as is
contemplated by this Act, be paid to the deceased
member’s legal representative, according to the law
of Guernsey:
(c.) All friendly societies within the bailiwick shall be
authorized to invest any part of their funds in the
states bonds either of Guernsey or of Alderney :
(rZ.) The term “the Companies Act” means the law for
the time being in force in the said bailiwick for
the regulation and winding up of companies :
38 & 39 Vict. Cap. 60, Sched. 1. 119-
(e.) All offences and penalties under tliis Act shall he
prosecuted and recovered summarily before the
court of primary jurisdiction, at the suit or instance
of the law officers of the Crown or of a
constable of a parish :
(/.) All penalties recovered under this Act shall be paid
to the Receiver-General, to be by him carried tothe
account of the Crown revenue («).
SCHEDULES.
SCHEDULE I.
ACTS AND ENACTMENTS REPEALED.
Date and Title of Act.
Extent of
Repeal.
52 Geo. 3, c. 38.—An Act to amend the laws relating
to Local Militia in England.
Section 41..
52 Geo. 3, c. 68.—An Act for amending the Laws
relating to Local Militia in Scotland.
Section 39.
17 & 18 Vict. c. 105.—An Act to amend the Law
relating to the Militia in England and Wales.
Section 44.
17 & 18 Vict. c. 106.—An Act for amending the
Laws relating to the Militia and raising a
Volunteer Militia Force in Scotland.
Section 69.
17 & 18 Vict. c. 107.—An Act for amending the
Laws relating to the Militia and raising a
Volunteer Militia Force in Ireland.
Section 27.
18 & 19 Vict. c. 63.—An Act to consolidate and
amend the Law relating to Friendly Societies.
The whole.
21 & 22 Vict c. 101.—An Act to amend the Act
of the 18tli and 19th years of her present
Majesty, chapter 63, relating to Friendly
Societies.
The whole.
22 & 23 Vict. c. 40.—An Act for the establishment
of a Deserve Volunteer Force of Seamen,
and for the government of the same.
Section 23.
(as) This section is new.
5.20
38 & 39 Vict. Cai>. 60, Sch. 2.
Date and Title of Act.
Extent of
Kepeal.
'23 Vict. c. 13.'—An Act to prevent the members
of Benefit Societies from forfeiting their
interest therein by being enrolled in Yeomanry
or Volunteer Corps.
The whole.
'23 & 24 Vict. c. 58.—An Act to amend an Act
of the 18th and 19th years of Her Majesty
relating to Friendly Societies.
The whole.
26 & 27 Vict. c. 65.—An Act to consolidate and
amend the Acts relating to the Volunteer
Force in Great Britain.
Section 44.
29 Vict. c. 34.—An Act to give further facilities
for the establishment of Societies for the
Assurance of Cattle and other Animals.
The whole.
•36 & 37 Vict. c. 77.—An Act to provide for the
establishment of a Royal Naval Artillery
Volunteer Force.
Section 33.
SCHEDULE II.
MATTERS TO BE PROVIDED FOR BY THE RULES OP
SOCIETIES REGISTERED UNDER THIS ACT.
1. The name and place of_office of the society (a).
2. The whole of the objects for which the society is to
he established, the purposes for which the funds thereof
shall be applicable, the terms of admission of members,
the conditions under which any member may become entitled
to any benefit assured thereby, and the fines and
forfeitures to be imposed on any member (J).
3. The mode of lidding meetings and right of voting (c),
and the manner of making, altering, or rescinding rules (b).
(a) Sec 18 & 19 Vict. c. 63, s. 25. “ Place of office” is substituted
for “place of meeting for the business,” as in 30 & 31 Vict.
c. 117.
(&) Prom 18 & 19 Vict. c. 63, s. 25.
(e) Prom 30 & 31 Vict. c. 117.
38 & 39 Vict. Cap. 60, Sch. 2.
121
4. Tlie appointment and removal of a committee of
management (by whatever name), of a treasurer and other
officers, and of trustees, and in the case of a society with
branches, the composition of the central body, and the
conditions under which a branch may secede from the
society (d).
5. The investment of the funds, the keeping of the
accounts, and the audit of the same once a year at least (e).
6. Annual returns to the registrar of the receipts, funds,
effects and expenditure, and number of members of the
society (f).
7. Tiie inspection of the hooks of the society by every
person having an interest in the funds of the society (</).
8. The manner in which disputes between the society
and any of its members, or any person claiming through a
member or under the rules, shall be settled (7i).
9. In case of dividing societies, a provision for meeting
all claims upon the society existing at the time of division
before any such division takes place (i).
And also in. the case of friendly and cattle insurance
societies :—
1. The keeping separate accounts of all moneys received
°r paid on account of every particular fund or benefit
assured, for which a separate table of contributions payable
shall have been adopted, and the keeping separate account
of the expenses of management, and of all contributions
on account thereof (7i).
(d) Prom 18 & 19 Vict. c. 63, s. 25. The words "by whatever
name ” and the provisions as to a society with branches,
are new.
' (e) Prom 18 & 19 Vict. c. 63, s. 25. The audff being once
a year at least ” instead of “ annual or periodk al.
(f) New as a rule.
(//) Prom 25 & 26 Vict. c. 87, 34 & 35 Vict. c. 31.
id) See note (b), ante, p. 120.
(i) These provisions are new.
G
122
38 & 39 Vict. Cap. 60, Sch. 3.
2. (Except as to cattle insurance societies) returns e very
five years to tlie registrar of the sickness ancl mortality of
the society (a).
3. (Except as to cattle insurance societies) a valuation
once at least in every five years of the assets and liabilities
of the society, including the estimated risks and contributions
(b).
4. The voluntary dissolution of the society by consent
of not less than five-sixths in value of the members, and
of every person for the time being entitled to any benefit
from the funds of the society, unless his claim be first
satisfied or adequately provided for (a)
5. The right of one-fifth of the total number of members,
or of one hundred members in the case of a society of one
thousand members and not exceeding [ten] thousand, or
of five hundred members in the case of a society of more
than ten thousand members, to apply to the chief registrar
or in case of societies registered and doing business exclusively
in Ireland or Scotland to the assistant registrar for
Ireland or Scotland, for an investigation of the affairs of
the society, or for'winding up the same (b).
SCHEDULE III.
Form op Bord.
(1.)—In England or Ireland.
Know all men by these presents, that we, A.B. of ,
one of the officers of the Society, established at
, in the county of , and G.D. of (as
surety on behalf of the said A.B.), are jointly and severally
held and firmly bound to A.B. of , G.T). of ,
and E.F. of , the trustees of the said society, in the
(а) New as a rule.
(б) These provisions are new.
38 & 39 Vict. Cap. 60, Sch. 3.
123
sum of to be paid to tlie said A.B., G.D., and E.F.,
as such trustees, or their successors, trustees for the time
being, or their certain attorney, for which payment well
and truly to be made we jointly and severally bind ourselves,
and each of us by himself, our and each of our heirs,
executors, and administrators, firmly by these presents.
Sealed with our seals. Dated the day of in
the year of our Lord .
Whereas the above-bounden A.B. has been duly appointed
to the office of of the Society, established
as aforesaid, and he, together with the above-bounden
C.D., as his surety, have entered into the above-written bond,
subject to the condition hereinafter contained : Now therefore
the condition of the above-written bond is such, that if
ihe said A.B. do render a just and true account of all
moneys received and paid by him on account of the said
society, at such times as the rules thereof appoint, and do
pay over all the moneys remaining in his hands, and assign
and transfer or deliver all property (including books and
papers) belonging to the said society in his hands or custody
to such person or persons as the said society or the trustees
or committee of management thereof shall appoint, according
to the rules of the said society, together with the proper
and legal receipts or vouchers for such payments, then the
above-written bond shall be void, otherwise shall remain in
full force.
Sealed and delivered in the presence of [twa
witnesses].
(2.)—In Scotland.
I, A.B. of , hereby bind and oblige myself, to the
extent of £ at most, as cantion and surety for C.D.,
a person employed by the Society, that he, the said
G.D., shall on demand faithfully and truly account for all
moneys received and paid to him for behoof of the said
society, and also assign and transfer or deliver all property
(including books and papers) belonging to the said society
m his hands or custody, and that to such person or persons
G 2
124
38 & 39 Vict. Cap. 60, Sch. 4.
as the said society or the trustees thereof shall appoint,
according to the rules of the said society.
Dated at this day of .
Signature of Cautioner.
E. F. of witness.
G. H. of witness.
The above bond shall not require a testing clause or subscription
clause, and may be wholly written or wholly
printed, or partly written and partly printed.
FORM OP RECEIPT TO BE ENDORSED ON MORTGAGE OR
FURTHER CHARGE (a).
The trustees of the Society hereby acknowledge
to have received all moneys intended to be secured by the
within [or above] written deed.
Signed [Signatures of Trustees.]
Trustees.
Countersigned [Signature of Secretary.']
Secretary.
SCHEDULE IV. (b).
ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF REGISTRY OF SOCIETY.
The Society is registered as a [friendly society,
cattle insurance society, benevolent society, ivorking men’s club,
or specially authorized society], under the Friendly Societies
Act, 1875, this day of .
[Seal or stamp of central office, or signature of
Assistant Registrar for Scotland or Ireland.]
(a) This form is similar to that in the schedule to the Building
Societies Act, 1874.
(1) The forms in this schedule are new.
39 & 40 Vict. Cap. 32, ss. 1—3.
125
ACKNOWLEDGMENT OP REGISTRY OP AMENDMENT
OP RULES.
The foregoing amendment of the rules of the ■ ■ -
Society is registered under the Friendly Societies Act,
1875, this day of .
[Seal or stamp of central office, or signature of
Assistant Registrar for Scotland or Ireland.]
39 & 40 YICT. Cap. 32.
An Act to amend the Friendly Societies Act, 1875.
[24th July, 1876.J
Whereas it is expedient to amend on some points the
Friendly Societies Act, 1875 :
Be it enacted hy the Queen’s most excellent Majesty, hy
and with the advice and consent of the Lords spiritual and
temporal, and Commons, in this present parliament
assembled, and hy the authority of the same, as follows :—
1. Construction of Act.—Short title.— This Act shall be
construed as one with the Friendly Societies Act, 1875
(herein termed “ the principal Act”), and may be cited as
“ The Friendly Societies Amendment Act, 1876,” or
together with the principal Act as “ The Friendly Societies
Acts.”
2. Meaning of “ Treasury regulations.”—In this Act the
term “ Treasury regulations” means any regulations made
and approved by the Treasury and for the time being in
force under and by virtue of the principal Act.
3. Conversion of registered societies into branches.—With
respect to the conversion of registered societies into
branches the following provisions shall have effect:—
(!•) A society registered before the first day of January,
one thousand eight hundred and seventy-six may,
126
39 & 40 Vict. Cap. 32, s. 3.
by a resolution passed by three-fourths of the
members or delegates present and entitled to vote
at any general meeting, of which notice specifying
the intention to propose such resolution has been
duly given according to the rules, determine to
become a branch under the Friendly Societies
Acts of any other- registered society, and also, if
thought fit, of any registered branch thereof; and
if the rules of such society do not comply with all
the provisions of the principal Act and of the
Treasury regulations in respect of the registry of
branches, the meeting at which such resolution is
passed may amend such rules so as "to bring the
same in compliance with the principal Act and
with the Treasury regulations.
(2.) A copy of the rules of such first-mentioned society
marked to show the amendments, if any, made
at such meeting, and two copies of such resolution
as aforesaid, and of such amendment of rules,
if any, each signed by the chairman of the meeting
and by the secretary of the society so determining
to become a branch of any other society,
and countersigned by the secretary of such other
society, shall be sent to the registrar, and if the
registrar finds that such rules, with or without
such amendment as aforesaid, comply with the
provisions of the Act and of the Treasury regulations,
he shall cancel the registry of such firstmentioned
society and register the same as a
branch of such other society, and also, if so
specified in the resolution before mentioned, of
any branch of such other society, without further
request or notice, and shall register such amendment
of rules without further application or
evidence, and until such registry such resolution
as aforesaid shall not take effect.
(3.) No advertisement of any cancelling or registry under
this section shall be requisite.
39 & 40 Vict. Cap. 32, ss. 4—8.
127
<(4.) Tlie rules of a society which becomes a branch under
this section shall, so for as the same are not contrary
to any express provision of the principal
Act or of the Treasury regulations, and subject to
any amendment thereof as hereinbefore provided,
continue in force as the rules of such branch until
amended.
4. Registered societies may contribute to fiends of other societies.—Nothing
in the principal Actor in this Act contained
shall prevent any registered society or branch from contributing
to tlie funds or taking part by delegates or otherwise
in the government of any other registered society or
registered branch of a society, as may be provided in the
rules of such first-named society or branch, without becoming
a branch under the Friendly Societies Acts of such
other society or branch.
5. Forms of acknowledgment of registry for branches.—The
acknowledgment of registry of a branch, and of any amendment
of the rules of a branch, shall be in the forms provided
in the schedule to this Act.
6. Term ££ society” when to include registered branch.—It is
•declared that the word “ society ” 'extends to a registered
branch in sub-sections (5) and (6) of section 13, sub-sections
( 2 ), (3), and (4) of section 14, sub-sections (1) to (7), both
included, (9) and (10) of section 15, sub-sections (1), (6),
'(7), (9), and (10), of section 16, sections 17,19, and 20, subsections
(2) and (4) of section 21, sections 22, 26, 28, 30, 31,
32, and 33 of the principal Act.
7. As to deaths at sea.—Section 14, sub-section (2) of the
principal Act shall not apply to deaths at sea.
8. Amendment in fees payable on certificates of births or
deaths—Whenever application is made at one time to any
registrar or other person having the care of any register of
births or deaths for more certificates than one of the
same birth or death for the purposes of and in the
128
39 & 40 Vict. Cap. 32, ss. 9—12.
manner prescribed by section 15, sub-section 9, or
section 28, sub-section 3 of the principal Act, the sum
charged for every such certificate other than the first
shall not exceed sixpence ; and whenever the registrar or
other person having the care of the register is required by
the person applying for any certificate of birth or death to
fill up the form of application, he may demand a sum not
exceeding threepence for so doing.
9. What shall be sufficient distribution of annual return.—
It shall be a sufficient compliance with section 14, subsection
(1), sub-liead (It) of the principal Act, if the society
supplies gratuitously every member or person interested
with a balance sheet or other document duly audited, containing
the same particulars as to the receipts and expenditure,
funds and effects of the society as are contained in
the annual return.
10. Amendment of sub-sections (3) and (6) of section 15 of
principal Act.—Section 15, sub-section (3) of the principal
Act shall be read as if after the words “ not being an officeror
servant of the society” there were inserted the words
“ unless such officer or servant is the husband, wife, father,,
mother, child, brother, sister, nephew, or niece of the
nominator,” and sub-section (6) of the said section shall be
read as if instead of the words “ absent from England or-Ireland
respectively,” there were substituted the words
“ absent from Great Britain or Ireland respectively.”
11. Notice of proceedings or order to set aside dissolution.—
Notice shall be sent to the central office of any proceeding,
to set aside the dissolution of a society or branch, not less
than seven days before it is commenced, by the person
taking such proceeding, and of any order setting a dissolution
aside, by the society or branch, within seven days aftersuch
order is made.
12. Correction of misprint in Schedule II.—In Schedule II.
to the principal Act the provision marked 5 and beginning
with the words “ the right of one fifth” shall be read as if,
instead of the words “ five thousand,” there were inserted'
therein the words “ ten thousand.”
42 Vict. Cap. 9, s. 1.
129
SCHEDULE.
Acknowledgment op Registry op Branch.
The is registered as a branch of the Society
[and of the branch of the same] under the Friendly
Societies Act, 1875, this day of .
[f&al of central office or signature of Assistant
Registrar for Scotland or Ireland.]
Acknowledgment op Registry op Amendment of
Branch Rules.
The foregoing amendment of the branch rules of the
— is registered under the Friendly Societies Act, 1875,
this day of .
[Seal of central office or signature of Assistant
Registrar for Scotland or Ireland.]
42 YICT. Cap. 9.
An Act to declare the true meaning of section 30 of the
Friendly Societies Act, 1875.
[23rd May, 1879.]
Be it declared and enacted by the Queen’s most excellent
Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords
spiritual and temporal, and Commons, in this present parliament
assembled, and by the authority of the same as
follows :—
1. Interpretation of section 30 of 38 & 39 Vict. c. 60.
Section 30 of the Friendly Societies Act, 1875, applies
only to such friendly societies, whether registered or unregistered,
and industrial assurance companies as receive con-G
3
130
42 Vict. Cap. 12, s. 1.
tributions by means of collectors at a greater distance than
10 miles from the registered office or principal place of
business of the society or company.
2. Act to be construed with 38 <£• 39 Vict. c. 60, and 39 <£• 40
Vict. c. 32.—This Act shall be construed as one with the
Friendly Societies Act, 1875, and the Friendly Societies
Amendment Act, 1876, and may be cited together with the
same as “ the Friendly Societies Acts.”
42 VICT. Cap. 12.
An Act to amend the Divided Parishes and Poor Law Amendment
Act, 1876.
[23rd May, 1879.]
Be it enacted by the Queen’s most excellent Majesty, by
and with the advice and consent of the Lords spiritual and
temporal, and Commons, in this present parliament assembled,
and by the authority of the same, as follows :—
1. The provisions of section 23 of 39 Sf 40 Vict. c. 61, not
to apply to moneys to which a pauper or pauper lunatic may
be entitled as a member of friendly or benefit society.—The
provisions contained in the 23rd section of the Divided
Parishes and Poor Law Amendment Act, 1876, shall not
apply to any moneys which a pauper or pauper lunatic
having a wife or other relative dependent upon him for
maintenance may be entitled to receive as a member of any
friendly or benefit society, but such moneys shall, subject
to any deductions for keeping up his membership required
by the rules of such society, or any branch thereof, from
which suchpauperor pauper lunatic is entitled to receivesuch
moneys, be paid or applied by the trustees, committee, or other
officers of such society or branch to or for the maintenance
of such wife or relative ; and where a pauper or pauper
lunatic having no wife or relative so dependent upon him is
entitled to any such moneys, no claim shall be made under
.the said Act by the guardians of any union or parish upon
16 & 17 Vict. Cap. 34, s. 49.
131
any such society of which he is a member, or against any
branch thereof, for the expenses incurred in his relief, unless
-and until the guardians or their relieving officer shall have
declared the relief to be given on loan, and shall have,
within 30 days thereof, notified the same in writing to the
secretary or trustees of the society or branch of which the
pauper or pauper lunatic is a member, and as such entitled
to receive any payment.
2. Short title.—This Act may be cited as the Poor Law
Amendment Act, 1879.
16 & 17 VICT. Cap. 34.
An Act for granting to Her Majesty Duties on Profits arising
from Property, Professions, Trades, and Offices.
[28th June, 1853.]
49. Eriendly societies legally established, entitled to exemption
under loth Schedule (0.) and Schedule (D.)—Any
friendly society legally established under any Act of parliament
relating to friendly societies, and which does not
•assure or grant to any individual any sum or annuity to
an amount which would debar such society from the benefit
of the exemption granted to friendly societies by the said
Act of the fifth and sixth years of Her Majesty, chapter
thirty-five, in respect of their stocks, dividends, and interest
chargeable under schedule (C.) of the said Act
shall be entitled to exemption under this Act, as well in
respect of all their interest and other profits and gains
chargeable under schedule (D.), as in respect of their stocks,
dividends, and interest chargeable under Schedule (C.) of
this Act (a).
N.B.—The 88th section of 5 & 6 Vict. c. 35, is as follows
: “ Exemption.—The stock, dividends, or interest of
(a) This section has been continued by the different Acts,
relating to the property tax.
132
18 & 19 Vict. Cap. 35.
any friendly society legally established under any Act of
parliament relating to friendly societies : provided it shall
appear by the rules of any such society deposited at or to
be deposited with the Commissioners for the Reduction of
the National Debt, or with the trustees of any savings
bank, that the sums assured by any such society to any
individual, or to any person nominated by or to claim
under him, shall not exceed the sum of two hundred
pounds, or the amount of any annuity or annuites granted
or to be granted by any such society to any individual, or
to any person nominated by or to claim under him, shall
not exceed the sum of thirty pounds per annum : provided
also, that when any property belonging to any such society
shall be invested in the public securities in the Bank of
England, the said last-mentioned property shall be duly
claimed and proved by any trustee or treasurer of any
such society, or by any member thereof, before the said
commissioners for special purposes.”
18 & 19 YICT. Cap. 35.
An Act to continue the Act for extending for a limited time
the provision for abatement of Income Tax in respect of
Insurances on Lives. [26tli June, 1855.]
Whereas by an Act passed in the session of parliament
holden in the sixteenth and seventeenth years of the reign
of Her present Majesty, intituled “ An Act to extend for
a limited time the Provision for Abatement of Income
Tax in respect of Insurance on Lives,” which Act was
limited to continue in force until the fifth day of July, one
thousand eight hundred and fifty-four : and whereas by an
A ct passed in the last session of parliament the said firstmentioned
Act was continued until the fifth day of July,
one thousand eight hundred and fifty-five : And whereas it
is expedient to extend the benefit of the recited provisions to
persons insuring or contracting with such friendly societies
m
16 & 17 Vict. Cap. 34, s. 54.
as hereinafter mentioned, and to continue the said firstrecited
Act for such period as hereinafter mentioned : Beit
therefore, &c.
1. Persons having made insurance until friendly societies to
be entitled to benefits of recited Acts.—Any person or persons
who shall have made any such insurance or contracted for
any such deferred annuity as in the said recited Acts mentioned
in or with any friendly society legally establishedunder
any Act of parliament relating to friendly societies,
shall he entitled to all the benefits and advantages conferred
by the said recited Acts ; provided that the premiums payable
in respect of such insurances shall not he made for
shorter periods than three months (a).
N.B.—The provision of 16 & 17 Yict. c. 34, for abatement
of income tax in respect of life insurance, is as
follows :—
54. Persons who have made insurance or contracted for a
deferred annuity on the lives of themselves or wives to be
allowed an abatement of duty in respect of the annual premiums
made.—Any person who shall have made insurance
on his life or on the life of his wife, or shall have contracted
for any deferred annuity on his own life or on the
life of his wife, in or with any insurance company which
shall become registered under any Act to he passed in thepresent
session of parliament for that pirrpose and which
shall comply with the requirements of such Act, and any
person who shall under any Act of parliament be liable to
the payment of an annual sum, or to have an annual sum
deducted from his salary or stipend in order to secure a deferred
annuity to his widow or a provision to his children
after his death, shall be entitled to deduct the amount of
the annual premium paid by him for such insurance or
contract, or the annual sum paid by him or deducted from
his salary or stipend as aforesaid, from any profits or gains
in respect of which he shall be liable to be assessed under
(«) This Act has been annually extended by the Inland
Revenue Acts, the last of which is 43 Vict. c. 14.
134
21 & 22 Vict. Cap. 90, s. 36.
either of the Schedules (D.) or(E.) of this Act, or to have
any assessment which may be made upon him under either
of the said schedules reduced or abated by the deduction
of the amount of the said annual premium from the
amount of the profits or gains on which such assessment
has been made; or if such person shall be assessed to
duties under any of the schedules contained in this Act,
and shall have paid such assessment, or shall have paid
or been charged with any of the said duties by deduction
or otherwise, such person, on claim made to the commissioners
for special purposes, and on production to them of
the receipt of such annual payment, and on proof of the
facts to the satisfaction of the said commissioners, shall be
entitled to have repaid to him such proportion of the said
duties paid by such person as the amount of the said annual
premium bears to the whole amount of his profits and
.gains on which lie shall be chargeable under all or any of
the schedules of this Act: Provided always, that no such
abatement, allowance, or repayment as aforesaid, shall be
made in respect of any such annual premium beyond onesixth
part of the whole amount of the profits and gains of
such person so chargeable as aforesaid, nor shall any such
deduction or abatement entitle any such person to claim
total exemption or any relief from duty on the ground of
his profits and gains being thereby reduced below one hundred
or one hundred and fifty pounds, as the case may be.
21 & 22 VICT. Cap. 90.
An Act to regulate the Qualifications of Practitioners in
Medicine and Surgery.
[2nd August, 1858.]
36. Unregistered persons not to hold certain appointments.—After
the first day of January, one thousand eight
hundred and fifty-nine, no person shall hold any apppointrnent
as a physician, surgeon, or other medical officer,
either in the military or naval service, or in emigrant or
135
33 & 34 Vict. Cap. 93, s. 5.
other vessels, or in any hospital, infirmarj^, dispensary, or
lying-in hospital, not supported wholly by voluntary contributions,
or in any lunatic asylum, gaol, penitentiary,
house of correction, house of industry, parochial or union
workhouse, or poor-house, parish-union, or other public
establishment, body, or institution, or to any friendly or
other society for affording mutual relief in sickness, infirmity,
or old age, or as a medical officer of health, unless
he be registered under this Act : Provided always, that
nothing in this Act contained shall extend to repeal or
alter any of the provisions of the Passengers Act, 1855.
33 & 34 YICT. Cap. 93.
An Act to amend the Laiv relating to the Property of Married
Women.
[9th August, 1870.]
5. As to a married woman’s property in a society.—Any
married woman, or any woman about to be married, may
apply in writing to the committee of management of any
industrial and provident society, or to the trustees of any
friendly society, benefit building society, or loan society,
duly registered, certified, or enrolled under the Acts relating
to such societies respective^, that any share, benefit, debenture,
right, or claim whatsoever in, to, or upon the funds of
such society, to the holding of which share, benefit, or
debenture no liability is attached, and to which the woman
so applying is entitled, may be entered in the books of the
society in the name or intended name of the woman as a
married woman entitled to her separate use, and it shall be
the duty of such committee or trustees to cause the same to
be so entered, and thereupon such share, benefit, debenture,
right, or claim shall be deemed to be the separate property
of such woman, and shall be transferable and payable with
all dividends and profits thereon as if she were an unmarried
woman ; provided that if any such share, benefit, debenture,
right, or claim has been obtained by a married woman
by means of moneys of her husband without his consent,
136
33 & 34 Vict. Cap. 93, s. 5.
the court may, upon an application under section nine (a)>
of this Act, order the same and the dividends and profits
thereon, or any part thereof, to he transferred and paid to
the husband.
(a) Section 9 provides as follows:—In any case between
husband and wife as to property, declared by tins Act to be the
separate property of the wife, either party may apply by summons
or motion in a summary way, either to the Court of
Chancery in England or Ireland, according as such party is in
England or Ireland, or in England, irrespective, of the value of
the property, to the judge of the county court of the district in
which either party resides ; and thereupon the judge may make
such order, direct such enquiry, and award such costs as he shall
think fit, provided that any order made by such judge shall be
subject to appeal in the same manner as the order of the same
judge made in a pending suit, or on an equitable plaint would
have been ,• and the judge may, if either party so require, hear theapplication
in liis private room.
PART II.
FRIENDLY SOCIETIES NOT REGISTERED.
[Russell Gurney’s Act, 31 & 32 Vict. Cap. 116.]
The Friendly Societies Acts given at length in Pt. I., with
the exception of sect. 7 of the Act of 1875, which has expired,,
sect. 26, as to members in the militia, sect. 28, as to payments
on the deaths of children, and sect 30, affect only such
societies as obtain the privileges of the Acts by registration
under their provisions. It may be worth while to consider
the legal position of the members of those associations which
do not comply with these statutory requirements. Such
societies, having lawful objects in view, not being the acquisition
of gain by the society or its members, and not being
the issue of policies of assurances on human life or the granting
of annuities, do not become unlawful merely because
they fail to acquire a statutory status. The committee
of the House of Commons on friendly societies, in the year
1825 (J), reported, that “ it is only in consideration of advantages
conferred by law that any restrictive interference
can be justified with voluntary associations established for
lawful and innocent purposes. It is for the individuals
themselves to determine whether to adopt the provisions
°f the statute, which offers them at the same time regulation
and privilege, or to remain perfectly unfettered by
anything but their own will, and the common or more
ancient law against fraud or embezzlement. For your
committee apprehend, that although the Act of 1793 appears
to begin by rendering lawful the institution of friendly
societies, there neither was at that time, nor is now, any
law or statute which deprives the King’s subjects of the
right of associating themselves for mutual support.”
(5) Report, p. 5. Parly. Paper, H. C. 522,1825.
138
FRIENDLY SOCIETIES NOT REGISTERED.
An example of the application of these remarks is
afforded hy trade unions, respecting which some misapprehension
has prevailed both with regard to the legal status
of those existing prior to, and of those not registered under,
the Act of 1871. By 18 & 19 Yict. c. 63, s. 44, any society
for the purposes authorized hy that Act as those of a
friendly society, or for any purpose (ejusdem generis understood)
not illegal, might, by mere deposit of its rules, have
obtained the power of settling disputes in the manner its
rules provided, and that of proceeding against defaulters
hy a summary method. The cases of Hornby v. Close,
8 B. & S. 175, and Farrar v. Close, L. B. 4 Q. B. 602,
established the doctrine that trades unions, not having
objects analogous to those of a friendly society, were not
entitled to the benefit of this section.
These cases did not imply, however, that the objects of
trades unions were unlawful, in the sense of being criminal,
or to such an extent as to deprive the members of any right
they possessed at common law, or by prior statute, to
combine together. (See remarks of Blackburn, J., in B.
v. Stephenson, L. B. 7 Q. B. 741.) A trade union, so long
as it did not infringe the “ Combination Acts,” was as lawful
as any other voluntary society (a).
Though an unregistered society is not necessarily unlawful,
it has none of the facilities and privileges secured
by registration, and is in law a mere partnership or club (b).
(a) The Trade Union Act Amendment Act, 1876 (39 & 40
Viet. e. 22, s. 16), amends the definition of a trade union given
in the Act of 1871, so as to include such regulation of trade as
would have been lawful before the passing of the Act. A trade
■union is now defined to be a “ combination, whether temporary
or permanent, for regulating the relations between workmen
and masters, or between workmen and workmen, or between
masters and masters, or for imposing restrictive conditions on
the conduct of any trade or business, whether such combination
would or would not, if the principal Act” (£. e., the Act of
1871) “ had not been passed, have been deemed to be an unlawful
■combination by reason of some one or more of its purposes being
in restraint of trade.”
(b) There is a distinction between a club and a partnership,
and a friendly society partakes of the characters of both. In a
FRIENDLY SOCIETIES NOT REGISTERED. 139
Where a bill had been filed against the trustees of an
unregistered society to compel them to restore a portion of
its funds, which had been divided among the members in
pursuance of a vote of the majority, Lord Eldon said,
“ The society can be considered in this court only as a
partnership, and neither has nor can have a corporate
character. The plaintiffs, suing on behalf of themselves
and all the other members, have no right to come upon the
defendants (the trustees) without bringing in the other
forty-seven members (who had shared in the division)
Beaumont v. Meredith, 3 Y. & B. 180.
So, at common law, such a society had no corporate
existence; but in a case where the treasurer of a society
sued upon a bond, given to him as such, which was a good
bond at common law to him as an individual, it ivas held
that he was entitled to recover : Jones v. IVoollam 5 B. &
Aid. 769.
So again, in criminal proceedings, until recently a
member of such a society could not be prosecuted for
embezzling its funds, being himself a partner; but this is
partnership one member can bind the rest; in a club or voluntary
society, not for trading purposes, which by its rules does not
contemplate the incurring debt, the committee cannot pledge
the credit of the other members : Flemyng v. Hector, 2 M. & W.
W2; Todd v. Truly, 7 M. & W. 427; lie St. James’s Club, 16
•lur. 1075. It is presumed that, in general, this rule would apply
a friendly society. (See, however, Cockerell v. Aucompte, 2
B. (n.s.) 440.) In a registered friendly society, as it is
i oE lesa ly provided by section 8 of the Friendly Societies Act,
1875, that the contributions of members are voluntary, no liaoihty
can attach to the members. The case of a mutual life
Assurance society has been recently considered by the courts;
111 Be the Albion Life Assurance Society the members insured
Y e f e . m accordance with the established practice under former
Acts (see 7 & 8 Viet. c. 110; Stevens v. Security Mutual Assurance,
28 L. T. 250), placed on the list of contributories by Fry,
• (L. R., 12 Ch. Div. 239); but in a more recent case in the Court
ot Appeal (Re the• Great Britain Mutual Life Assurance Society),
Was remarked by James, L. J.: “ In my judgment an association
of this kind is incapable of contracting any debt or liability
9k \^ eVer ‘ It is a mere benefit society” (Law Rep. 16 Ch. Div.
140
FRIENDLY SOCIETIES NOT REGISTERED.
altered by 31 & 32 Viet. c. 116 (commonly called “Russell
Gurney’s Act”), which provides as follows :—■
31 & 32 VICT. Cap. 116.
An Act to amend the Law relating to Larceny and Embezzlement.
[31st July, 1868.]
“ Whereas it is is expedient to provide for the better security
of the property of copartnerships and other joint
beneficial owners against offences by part owners thereof,
and further to amend the law relating to embezzlement:
Be it enacted by the Queen’s most excellent Majesty, by
and with the advice and consent of the Lords spiritual
and temporal, and Commons, in this present parliament
assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows :—
“ 1. Member of copartnership guilty of converting to his own
use, &c., property of copartnership, liable to be tried as if not
such member.—If any person, being a member of any copartnership,
or being one of two or more beneficial owners
of any money, goods, or effects, bills, notes, securities, or
other property, shall steal or embezzle any such money,
goods, or effects, bills, notes, securities, or other property
of or belonging to any such copartnership, or to such joint
beneficial oivners, every such person shall be liable to be
dealt with, tried, convicted, and punished for the same as
if such person had not been or was not a member of such
copartnership, or one of such beneficial owners.”
Section 2 extended the provisions of 18 & 19 Viet. c. 126,
<! An Act for diminishing Expense and delay in the Administration
of Criminal Justice in certain Cases,” to embezzlement
by clerks or servants; but the section is repealed,
and other provision made (so far as regards England) by
the Summary Jurisdiction Act, 1879.
The Act does not extend to Scotland.
Her Majesty’s Friendly Societies Commissioners, in their
fourth Report, pp. clxxvii-viii, in a notice of the remarks on
this head in the eighth edition of the present work, pointed
out the classes of friendly societies which, by the operation of
the statute law, are made absolutely unlawful in default of
registration. These are (1st) those having for object the
acquisition of gain by the society or its members; (2nd)
FRIENDLY SOCIETIES NOT REGISTERED.
141
those issuing or liable under policies of assurance upon
human life, or granting annuities upon human life.
(1st.) By sect. 4 of the Companies Act, 1862, it is provided
that “ no company, association, or partnership, consisting of
more than twenty persons, shall be formed after the commencement
of this Act for the purpose of carrying on any
business (a) that has for its object the acquisition of gain
by the company, association, or partnership, unless it is
registered as a company under this Act, or is formed in
pursuance of some other Act of parliament, or of letters
patent, or is a company engaged in working mines within
and subject to the jurisdiction of the Stannaries.” On this
the commissioners remark that “it would seem at least
doubtful whether an unregistered society of more than
twenty members, which places out at interest the contributions
of its members, and divides its funds among them at
stated periods, is not, since the Companies Act, 1862, an
illegal company.” This point is of great importance, and,
while the doubt which it raises exists, all societies having
a rule or practice of dividing funds should accept the benefits
of registration under the Friendly Societies Act of 1875.
If it should prove correct that all societies for mutual
assurance (or even only those which have a practice of
dividing), that exceed twenty in number and are not
registered, are illegal, it becomes important to consider
what is the effect of such illegality. The question arises,
whether all persons concerned might not be found guilty
of misdemeanor at common law, for violation of the requirements
of the statute, since, in the words of Lord
Campbell, “ to violate an Act of parliament, although there
is no specific penalty attached to the violation, is a misdemeanor,
and a person who does so is liable to be indicted
mid punished It is not the practice, however, of
(a) The word “business” lias a more extensive signification
than “trade.” Per Willes, J., in Karris v. Amory, where
fanning was held to be a business within the meaning of the
Companies Act, L. It. 1 C. P. 148.
(b) Longworth’s case, 1 De Gex, F. & J. 31. Further as to
illegality in contracts of partnership, see Scratchley and Brabrook
on Building Societies, pp. 99-101.
142
FRIENDLY SOCIETIES NOT REGISTERED.
modern legislation to rely on the procedure for a common
law misdemeanor alone. Usually, provision is made for
meeting disobedience to the injunctions of a statute by an
appropriate penalty ; but no such provision is contained in
the Companies Acts with regard to the prohibition of unregistered
companies.
A question of more practical weight p>robably than the
one of criminal liability is that of the means which persons,
joining an unregistered society, have of enforcing their
claims against the officers or persons whom they trust. No
court would give effect to the rules of a society which by
its constitution was illegal, or would recognize the association
in any way as an aggregate body, and it might be
doubted whether even Russell Gurney’s Act, beneficial as
its operation is, would avail to protect the members of such
an association, if its illegality were proved.
A further consequence of illegality in a contract of
partnership is that the members have no remedy against
each other, for contribution or apportionment in respect of
the partnership dealings and transactions.
(2nd.) By the Life Assurance Companies Act, 1870
(33 & 34 Viet. c. 61), it is declared that “the term
‘ Company’ means any person or persons, corporate or
incorporate, not being registered under the Acts relating to
Friendly Societies, who issue or are liable under policies of
assurance upon human life within the United Kingdom, or
who grant annuities upon human life within the United
Kingdom.” Every such company which does not comply
with the prolusions of that statute is made liable to heavy
penalties. The commissioners remark that the word policy
has no technical meaning. In an Irish case, Sugden, C. (a),
is reported to have said that a policy is nothing but an
engagement by the directors that the funds of the company
are liable to pay a certain sum of money upon a given
event. It is certainly not to be supposed that a society
which contracts for a payment of a sum at death can relieve
itself of the responsibility of complying with the provisions
(a) Since Lord St. Leonards ; Phillips v. Fastwooil, Lloyd &
Gould, 291.
FRIENDLY SOCIETIES NOT REGISTERED.
143
of tlie statute merely by not calling the contract a “policy.”
Hence the commissioners infer that every form of assurance
practised hy a friendly society is inclosed within the definition
above given, and remark that it may be contended
that every unregistered friendly society granting death
benefits is within the provisions of the Life Assurance
Companies Act, 1870, and liable to its penalties.
The practical importance of this subject is shown by the
statement of the commissioners that unregistered societies
are in England probably nearly co-extensive with, in Scotland
far surpass, the registered bodies. If the law be as
we have stated it, such societies and their funds are in a
certain degree of peril. It is to be hoped that the beneficial
extensions of the advantages of registration offered
by the provisions of the Friendly Societies Act, 1875, will
induce all such societies to become registered. The general
principle upon which legislation with regard to Friendly
Societies has proceeded is that registration should not be
compulsory, but that the provisions of the law should be
so wisely liberal that no society would, willingly remain
without the advantages of registration. There is nothing
m the Friendly Societies Acts which need cause an honest
society rather to abstain from registration than to be subjected
to it. They will not fully realise the intention of
the legislature until unregistered societies have ceased to
exist as such, and voluntary registry -has become universal..
PART III.
INDUSTRIAL AND PROVIDENT SOCIETIES.
[39 & 40 VICT. Cap. 45.]
ARRANGEMENT OF CLAUSES.
■CI-AUSE
PAGE
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Short title of Act ....
*
- 148
Extent of Act ....
-
- 148
Definitions .....
Repeal of Acts in first schedule
-
- 150
Existing societies ....
-
. 151
Societies which may be registered -
-
- 151
Registry of societies ...
•
- 151
To consist of seven persons at least
-
. 151
The application for registry
-
- 151
Identity or deceptive similarity of
name not
to be
allowed 152
As to societies registered under former Acts- - 152
“ Limited ” to be last word of name ... 152
■8.
S.
Registry of societies doing business in more than
one country
The acknowledgment of registry -
Appeals from refusal to register -
If refusal overruled, acknowledgment to he giveu-EfEect
of acknowledgment of registry -
Cancelling and suspeusion of registry
Cancelling
Suspension
Notice of cancelling or suspension
Appeal from cancelling or suspension -
Effect of cancelling or suspension
Rules and amendments ......
Provisions to he contained in rules
152
152
153
153
153
153
153
154
154
154
154
155
155
30 & 40 Vict. Cap. 45. 145
♦CLAUSE PAGE
Amendments to be registered .... 155
Provision applicable to amendments - - - 153
Acknowledgment of registry of amendments • 155
Copies of rules to be delivered on demand - - 155
Delivery of. untrue rules ..... 156
IQ. Duties and obligations of societies .... 156
Registered .office» - - - - - - 156
Publication of name ...... 156
Audit ........ 156
Annual returns ------- 157
Inspection of books ... - 157
Supplying copies of annual returns - - - 158
Provisions as to banking 158
Offences - - - 159
Offences by societies to be also offences by officers, &e. 159
Returns to be in. prescribed.form- - - - 159
Recording of documents 160
11. Privileges of societies 160
Incorporation of society with limited liability - 160
Rules to bind the members 160
Moneys due from members to be a debt recoverable
from them - 161
Exemption from income tax .... 161
Power of nomination for sums not exceeding fifty
pounds - 161
Distribution of sums not exceeding fifty pounds - 162
Payments to persons apparently entitled valid - 162
When trustees are absent, &c., registrar may order
stock to be transferred 162
Membership of minors 163
Promissory notes and bills of exchange- - - J.63
Register of members or shares .... 163
Contracts how made 164
12. Property and funds of societies .... 165
Holding of land - - - - - - -165
Advances to members ------ 165
As to copyholds - - - - - - -166
Investments ....... 166
Other corporate bodies ..... X66
Forms - - - 166
Application of profits 167
H
146
39 & 40 Yict. Cap. 45.
CLAUSE
PACE
13.
14,
15.
16.
17.
Discharge of mortgages by receipt endorsed- - 167
Registration of receipt ..... 1G7
Punishment of fraud or misappropriation - - 168
Officers in receipt or charge of money ... 168
Security to he given 168
Accounts of officers ...... 169
Disputes- ........ 169
To he decided by rules of society- - - - 169
May he referred to chief registrar - - - 169
Chief registrar may administer oaths, &c, - - 170
Reference to justices 170
Application to county courts, &c. - ... 170
Case for opinion of Supreme Court ... 170
Special powers of registrar to be exercised on application
from members ..... 171
Inspectors ........ 171
Special meetings- ...... 171
Application to he supported by evidence - - 172
Security for costs - - - - . - 172
Expenses 172
Special resolutions, and proceedings which may be
taken thereon 172
Special resolutions ...... 172
Change of name ...... 173
Amalgamation of societies ----- 173
Conversion of societies into companies, &c. - - 173
Rights of creditors ...... 173
Registration of special resolutions ... 174-Registration
of copy of special resolution as memorandum
of association ..... 174,
Registry of society under Act to become void on
registration as a company, &c. ... 174
Dissolution of societies ...... 174
How societies may he dissolved .... 175
Liability of the members 175
Contents of instrument of dissolution - - - 176
Alterations - - - - - - -176
Statutory declaration 176
Registry of instrument of dissolution ... 176
Notice of dissolution 177
Notice of proceedings to set aside a dissolution - 177
39 & 40 Vict. Cap. 45.
147
CLAUSE PAGE
18.
Penalties
-
- 177
Penalty for falsification
-
- 177
Not using the name of the society
-
- 178
Penalties for ordinary offences -
-
- 178
Recovery of penalties -
-
- 178
19.
Summary procedure and appeals
-
- 178
Prosecutions for offences, &c.
-
- 178
Summary orders- -
-
- 179
Summary jurisdiction in England and Ireland
- 179
Summary jurisdiction in Scotland
-
- 179
Description of offences
-
- 180
Appeals in England or Ireland -
-
- 180
Appeals in Scotland -
-
- 181
20.
Regulation of proceedings in county courts
- 181
21.
Public auditors -
-
- 182
22.
Pees
- 182
23.
Regulations to be made for carrying out tlie Act
- 182
24.
Evidence of documents -
-
- 182
25.
Duties of the registrars ...
-
- 183
26.
Application of Act to Channel Islands
-
- 183
Schedules.
Schedule I.—Acts and enactments repealed - - 186
Schedule II.—Matters to he provided for by the
rules of societies registered under this Act - 186
Schedule III.—Form of statement to be made out
by a society carrying on the business of hanking
; form of bond; and form of receipt to he
endorsed on mortgage or further charge - - 188
Schedule IV.—Acknowledgment of registry of
society. Acknowledgment of registry of amendment
of rules 190
It 2
148
39 & 40 Vict. Cap. 45, ss. 1—3.
39 & 40 VICT. Cap. 45.
An Act to consolidate and amend the Laws relating to
Industrial and Provident Societies.
[11 til August, 1876.]
Whereas it is expedient to consolidate and amend the
law relating to industrial and provident societies, and to
assimilate the same in certain respects to the law relating
to friendly societies (a) :
Be it enacted by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by
and with, the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual
and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament
assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows :
1. Short title of Act.—This Act may be cited as The
Industrial and Provident Societies Act, 1876.
2. Extent of Act.—This Act shall extend to Great Britain,
and Ireland, and the Channel Islands.
3. Definitions.—In this Act, if not inconsistent with the
context, the following terms shall have the meanings hereinafter
respectively assigned to them :
“ The Treasury ” shall mean the Lords Commissioners of
Her Majesty’s Treasury :
(a) Co-operative societies were at first registered as friendly
societies under the frugal investment clause of the Act of 1846
(see Introduction, ante). In 1852 the "first Industrial and Provident
Societies Act was passed. The societies registered under
it however, were still made subject to several provisions of the
Friendly Societies Acts. The Act of 1852 (15 & 16 Vict. c. 31)
was amended in 1854 by 17 & 18 Vict. c. 25, and in 1856 by
19 & 20 Vict. c. 40. These Acts were consolidated and amended
in 1862 by 25 & 26 Vict. c. 87, and further amended
in 1867 by 30 & 31 Vict. c. 117, both which Acts have for short
title “The Industrial and Provident Societies Act, 1867.”
They created the societies corporate bodies, and showed a growing
tendency to assimilate the legislation regarding them rather
149
39 & 40 Vict. Cap. 45, s. 3.
“ England ” shall include the Channel Islands (except as
hereinafter provided) :
“ The registrar ” shall mean for England the centra
office established by the Friendly Societies Act, 1875,
and for Scotland or Ireland the assistant registrar of
friendly societies for either country respectively;
“ the central office ” shall mean the central office so
established; and “chief registrar” and “assistant
registrar ” shall mean chief registrar and assistant
registrar of friendly societies respectively :
“ Country ” shall mean England, Scotland, or Ireland, as
the case may be :
The several ridings of the county of York, and the
several Channel Islands, respectively, shall be deemed
to be counties :
“Land” shall include hereditaments, and in Scotland
heritable subjects, of whatever description, and
chattels real:
“ Property ” shall mean all real and personal estate (including
books and papers) :
“ Registered society ” shall mean a society registered or
deemed to be registered under this Act:
“ Amendment of rule ” shall include a new rule, and a
resolution rescinding a rule : '
“ Rules ” shall mean rules for the time being :
“ The committee ” shall mean the committee of management
or other directing body of a society :
Persons claiming through a member” shall include the
beirs, executors, administrators, and assigns of a
member, and also his nominees where nomination is
allowed :
to the provisions of the Companies Acts than to those of the
miendly Societies Acts. They were again amended in 1871 hy
31 & 35 Vict. c. 80. The present Act (by which all these are
repealed) indicates in some degree a reversion to the original
1 luridly society type, though the important character of incorporation
is retained.
150
39 & 40 Vict. Cap. 45, s. 4.
“Officer” shall extend to any trustee (a), treasurer,
secretary, member of the committee, manager, or
servant, other than a servant appointed by the committee,
of a society :
“ Meeting ” shall include (where the rules of a society so
allow) a meeting of delegates appointed by members :
For Scotland “court of summary jurisdiction” shall
mean the sheriff court of the county :
“ County court ” shall mean for Scotland the sheriff
court of the county, and for Ireland the Civil Bill
Court; for Scotland, “ administration ” means confirmation,
and “misdemeanor” a crime and offence :
“Summary Jurisdiction Acts” shall mean —
As to England, the Act 11 & 12 Yict. c. 43, and any
Acts amending the same (b) :
As to Scotland, the Summary Procedure Act, 1864,
and any Acts amending the same :
As to Ireland, within the police district of Dublin
metropolis, the Acts regulating the powers and
duties of justices of the peace for such district, and
of the police of such district; elsewhere in Ireland,
the “ Petty Sessions (Ireland) Act, 1851,” and any
Act amending the same :
“ Gazette ” shall mean the London Gazette for England,
the Edinburgh Gazette for Scotland, and the Dublin
Gazette for Ireland.
4. Repeal of Acts in first schedule.—The Acts set forth in
the first schedule hereto shall be repealed from the commencement
of this Act; but this repeal, or anything herein
contained, shall not affect the past operation of the said
Acts, or the force or operation, validity or invalidity, of
anything done or suffered, or any bond or security given,
right, title, obligation, or liability accrued, contract entered
into, or proceedings taken, under any of the said Acts, or
(a) This word is an unnecessary importation from the Friendly
Societies Act, 1875.
(b) The Summary Jurisdiction Aet, 1879 (42 & 43 Yict. c. 49),
has since been passed.
39 & 40 Vict. Cap. 45, ss. 5—7.
151
under the rules of any society registered or certified (c)
thereunder, before the commencement of this Act.
5. Existing societies.—Every incorporated society now
subsisting whose rules have been registered or certified
under any Act relating to industrial and provident societies,
shall be deemed to be a society registered under this Act,
and its rules shall, so far as the same are not contrary to
■any express provision of this Act, continue in force until
altered or rescinded (d).
6. Societies which may be registered.—The societies which
may be registered under this Act are societies (herein
called industrial and provident societies) for carrying on
■any labour, trade, or handicraft, whether wholesale or
retail, including the buying and selling of land, (e) but as
to the business of banking subject to the provisions hereinafter
contained, of which societies no member other than a
society registered under this Act shall have or claim an
interest in the funds exceeding two hundred pounds
•sterling.
7. Registry of societies.—With respect to the registry ot
societies, the following provisions shall have effect:
(1.) To consist of seven persons at least.—No society can
he registered under this Act which does not consist of
•-seven persons at least.
(2.) The application for registry.—For the purpose of
registry an application to register the society, signed
(®) The words “ or certified ” appear to be out of place in this
section. They are required in s. 5, which includes societies
existing before the Act of 1862 and never registered under it.
(d) This section cures the defect in the Industrial and Provident
Societies Act, 1862, s. 1, by which a society established
under the Acts thereby repealed lapsed into a mere partnership
until it obtained a fresh certificate of registration. See Toutill
V. Douglas, 31 L. J. (Q. B.) 66, and Note K, Appendix.
(e) This was defined to be a trade within the meaning of the
Industrial and Provident Societies Acts by 34 & 35 Vict. c. 80,
s. 5.
152
39 & 40 Vicx. Cap. 45, s, 7.
"by seven members and the secretary, and two written or
printed copies of tlie rules, shall be sent to the registrar.
(3.) Identity or deceptive similarity of name not to be
allowed.—No society shall be registered under a name
identical with that under which any other existing society
is registered, or so nearly resembling such name as to be
likely, in the opinion of the registrar, to deceive the
members or the public, as to its identity, and no society
shall change its name without sanction of the chief or an
assistant registrar or otherwise than is hereinafter provided
(a).
(4.) As to societies registered under former Acts.—A society
registered under the Industrial and Provident Societies
Act, 1852, and not registered under the Industrial and
Provident Societies Acts, 1802, or 1867, may,, on application
to the registrar, obtain an acknowledgment of registry
under this Act.
(5.) “Limited” to be last word of name.—The word
“limited” shall be the last word in tlie name of every
society registered under this Act (a).
(G.) Registry of societies doing business in more than one
country.—Societies carrying or intending to carry on business
in more than one country shall be registered in thecountry
in which their registered office, as herein mentioned,
is situate ; but copies of the rules of such societies,
and of all amendments of the same, shall, when registered,
be sent to the registrar of each of the other countries, to be
recorded by him ; and until such rules be so recorded the
society shall not be entitled to any of the privileges of this
Act in the country in which such rules have not been
recorded, and until such amendments of rules be recorded
the same shall not take effect in such country.
(7.) The acknowledgment of registry.—The registrar, on
being satisfied that a society has complied with the provisions
as to registry in force under this Act, shall issue tosuch
society an acknowledgment of registry.
(«) Amended from 25 & 26 Viet. c. 87, s. 8.
1.33
39 & 40 Vict. Cap. 45, s. 8.
(8.) Appeals from refusal to register.—If any registrar
refuse to register the society or any rules, the society may
appeal from such refusal, as follows :
(a.) If the assistant registrar for Scotland refuse to register,
to either division of the Inner House of
the Court of Session :
(h.) If the assistant registrar for Ireland refuse to
register, to the Court of Queen’s Bench at
Dublin :
(c.) If the central office or the chief registrar refuse to
register, to the Court of Queen’s Bench in
England :
(cl.) The Court of Session, the Court of Queen’s Bench
at Dublin, and the Judges of the Court of the
Queen’s Bench Division of the High Court in
England respectively, may make rules or orders
as to the form of appeals and the trying thereof
aud otherwise relating thereto.
(9.) If refusal overruled, acknoioledgment to be given.—If
the refusal of registry be overruled on appeal, an acknowledgment
of registry shall thereupon be given to the society
1 J J' the registrar.
(10.) Effect of acknowledgment of registry. —Ilia acknowledgment
of registry shall be conclusive evidence that the
society therein mentioned is duly registered, unless it be
proved that the registry of the society has been suspended
°r cancelled (6).
8. Cancelling and suspension of registry.—With respect to
the cancelling or suspension of registry the following provisions
shall have effect:
(1.) Cancelling.—The chief registrar, or, in the case of
societies registered and doing business in Scotland or
Ireland exclusively, the assistant registrar for Scotland or-These
provisions are new, and are adopted from s. 11 of.
10 * riendly Societies Act, li>75. See p. 58, ante.
H 3
154
39 & 40 Vict. Cap. 45, s. 8.
Ireland respectively, may cancel the registry of a society
by writing under his hand,—
(a.) If he thinks fit, at the request of a society, to be
evidenced in such manner as he shall from time
to time direct:
(6.) With the approval of the Treasury, on proof to his
satisfaction that an acknowledgment of registry
has been obtained by fraud or mistake, or that a
society exists for an illegal purpose, or has wilfully
and after notice from a registrar whom it may
concern violated any of the provisions of this Act,
or has ceased to exist.
(2.) Suspension.—The chief or assistant registrar, in any
case in which he might, with the approval of the Treasury,
cancel the registry of a society, may suspend the same, by
writing under his hand, for any term not exceeding three
months, and may, with the approval of the Treasury,
renew such suspension from time to time for the like
period.
(3.) Notice of cancelling or suspension.—Not less than two
months previous notice in writing, specifying briefly the
ground of any proposed cancelling or suspension of registry,
shall be given by the chief or assistant registrar to a society
before the registry of the same can be cancelled (except at
its request) or suspended; and notice of every cancelling or
suspension shall be published in the Gazette, and in some
newspaper circulating in the county in which the registered
office of the society is situated, as soon as practicable after
the same takes place.
(4.) Appeal from cancelling or suspension.—A society may
appeal from the cancelling of its registry, or from any suspension
of the same which is renewed after six months, in
manner herein provided for appeals from the chief registrar’s
or the registrar’s refusal to register respectively.
((5.) Effect of cancelling or suspension.—A society whose
registry has been suspended or cancelled shall from the
{time of such suspension or cancelling (but if suspended,
39 & 40 Vict. Cap. 45, s. 9.
155
•only whilst such suspension lasts, and subject also to the
right of appeal hereby given) absolutely cease to enjoy as
such the privileges of a registered society, but without prejudice
to any liability actually incurred by such society,
which may he enforced against the same as if such suspension
or cancelling had not taken place (a).
9. Rules and amendments.-—With respect to the rules of
societies the following provisions shall have effect:—
(1.) Provisions to be contained in rules.—The rules of
•every society sent for registry shall contain provisions in
respect of the several matters mentioned in the second
schedule to this Act (b).
(2.) Amendments to be registered.—No amendment of a
rule made by a registered society shall be valid until the
same has been registered under this Act, for which purpose
copies of the same, signed by three members and the secretary,
shall be sent to the registrar (c).
(3.) Provision applicable to amendments.—The provision
herein contained as to appeals from a refusal of registry
shall apply to amendments of rules.
(4.) Acknowledgment of registry of amendments.—The registrar
shall, on being satisfied that any amendment of a
rule is not contrary to the provisions of this Act, issue to
the society an acknowledgment of registry of the same,
which shall be conclusive evidence that the same is duly
registered.
(5.) Copies of rules to be delivered on demand.—A copy of
the rules of a registered society shall be delivered by the
society to every person on demand, on payment of a sum
not exceeding one shilling.
i a ) These provisions are new, and are adopted from sect. 12 of
‘■no Friendly Societies Act, 1875. See p. 61, ante.
(o) For form of rules, see Appendix.
( e ) See note B., Appendix.
156
39 & 40 Viol. Cap. 45, s. 10.
(6.) Delivery of untrue rules.—If any person, with
intent to mislead or defraud, gives to any other person a
copy of any rules, laws, regulations, or other documents,
other than the rules for the time being registered under
this Act, on the pretence that the same are existing rules of
a registered society, or that there are no other rules of such
society, or gives to any person a copy of any rules on the
pretence that such rules are the rules of a registered society
when the society is not registered, the person so offending
shall he deemed guilty of a misdemeanor (a).
10. Duties and obligations of societies.—With respect to
tire duties and obligations of registered societies the following
provisions shall have effect:
(1.) Every society shall—
(ft.) Registered office.— Have a registered office to which
all communications and notices may be addressed,
and send to the registrar notice of the situation of
such office, and of every change therein :
(&.) Publication of name.—Paint or affix, and keep
painted or affixed, its name on the outside of
every office or place in which the business of the
society is carried on, in a conspicuous position, in
letters easily legible, and have its name engraven
in legible characters on its seal, and have its name
mentioned in legible characters in all notices,
advertisements, and other official publications of
the society, and in all bills of exchange, promissory
notes, endorsements, cheques, and orders for
money or goods, purporting to be signed by or on
behalf of such society, and in all hills of parcels,
invoices, receipts, and letters of credit of the
society :
(c.) Audit.—Once at least in every year submit its
accounts for audit either to one of the public
(a) These provisions arc new, and arc adopted from sect. 13 of
the Friendly Societies Act, 1875. See p. 63, ante.
39 & 40 Vict. Cap. 45, s. 10.
15?
auditors appointed as herein mentioned, or to two>
or more persons appointed as the rules of the
society provide, who shall have access to all the
books and accounts of the society, and shall examine
the general statement of the receipts and
expenditure, funds and effects of the society, and
verify the same with the accounts and vouchers,
relating thereto, and shall either sign the same as.
found by them to be correct, duly vouched, and in
accordance with law, or specially report to the.
society in what respects they find it incorrect, unvouched,
or not in accordance with law:
(d.) Annual returns.—Once in every year before the first
day of June send to the registrar a general statement
(to be called the annual return) of the
receipts and expenditure, funds and effects of the
society as audited, which shall show separately the
expenditure in respect of the several objects of thesociety,
and shall be made out to the thirty-first
December then last inclusively, and shall state
whether the audit has been conducted by a public
auditor appointed as by this Act is provided, and
by whom, and if by any person (b) other than a
public auditor, shall state the name, address, and
calling or profession of each such person, and the
manner in which and the authority under which
he is appointed, and together therewith shall send
a copy of the auditor’s report:
( e -) Inspection of books.—Allow any member or person
having an interest in the funds of the society toinspect
the books and the names of the members
at all reasonable hours at the registered office of
the society, or at any place where the same are
kept; subject to such regulations as to the time
and manner of such inspection as may be made
from time to time by the general meetings of the
society, except that no such member or person,
(l) Sic. The word should be “persons.”
/
158 39 & 40 Vict. Cap. 45, s. 10.
unless lie be an officer of tbe society, or be
specially authorized by a resolution thereof, shall
have the right to inspect a loan or deposit account
of any other member without the written consent
of such member:
i(/.) Supplying copies of annual returns.—Supply gratuitously
to every member or person interested in
the funds of the society, on his application, a copy
of the last annual return of the society for the
time being:
{g.) Balance sheet, Joe., to he hung up at office.—Keep a
copy of the last balance sheet for the time being,
together with the report of the auditors, always
hung up in a conspicuous place at the registered
office of the society.
(2.) Provisions as to hanlcing.—The following provisions
shall apply to the business of banking by societies (a)—
(a.) No society which has any withdrawable share capital
shall carry on the business of banking:
(b.) Every society which carries on the business of banking
shall, on the first Mondays in February and
August in each year, make out and keep conspicuously
hung up in its registered office, and
every other place of business belonging to it, a
statement in the form in the third schedule hereto
annexed, or as near thereto as the circumstances
admit (6):
(c.) The taking deposits of not more than five shillings
in any one payment, nor more than twenty
pounds for any one depositor, payable on not less
than two clear days’ notice, shall not be included
in the business of banking within the meaning of
(а) The business of banking is for the first time permitted by
tliis Act to be carried on by an industrial and provident society.
It was expressly excepted from the trades allowed to be carried
: on under the Act of 1862. (25 & 26 Vict. c. 87> s. 3.)
(б) This statement is similar to that required by the Companies
Act, 1862, to be made by a banking company.
39 & 40 Vict. Cap. 45, s. 10.
159
tliis Act; hut no society which takes such deposits
shall make any payment of withdrawable capital
while any claim due on account of any such deposit
is unsatisfied.
<(3.) Offences.—It shall he an offence under this Act if any
registered society—
(a.) Fails to give any notice, send any return or document,
or do or allow to he done any act or thing
which the society is hy this Act required to give,
send, do, or allow to he done:
(b.) Wilfully neglects or refuses to do any act or to furnish
any information required for the purposes of
this Act hy the chief or any other registrar or
other person authorized under this Act, or does
any act or thing forbidden hy this Act:
(c.) Makes a return or wilfully furnishes information in
any respect false or insufficient:
(d.) Carries on the business of hanking having any withdrawable
share capital, or in carrying on such
business does not make out and keep conspicuously
hung up such statement as is hereinbefore required,
or makes any payment of withdrawable
capital contrary to the provision hereinbefore
contained.
(4.) Offences by societies to be also offences by officers, &c.—
Every offence by a society under this Act shall be deemed
to have been also committed by every officer of the same
bound by the rules thereof to fulfil the duty whereof such
offence is a breach, or if there be no such officer, then by
every member of the committee of the same, unless such
member be proved to have been ignorant of or to have
•attempted to prevent the commission of such offence; and
every act or default under this Act constituting an offence,
if continued, shall constitute a new offence in every week
during which the same continues.
(5.) Returns to be in prescribed form.—Every return and
■other document required for the purposes of this Act shall
39 & 40 Vxct. Cap. 45, s. 11.
ICO
lie made in such form and shall contain such particulars as
the chief registrar prescribes.
(6.) Recording of documents.—All documents by this section
required to be sent to the registrar shall be deposited
-with the rules of the societies to which the same respectively
relate, and shall be registered or recorded by the
registrar, with such observations thereon, if any, as the
chief registrar shall direct.
11. Privileges of societies.—Registered societies shall be
entitled to the following privileges (a):
(1.) Incorporation of society with limited liability.—The
registration of a society shall render it a body corporate by
the name described in the acknowledgment of registry by
which it may sue and be sued, with perpetual succession
and a common seal, and with limited liability; and shall
vest in the society all property for the time being vested in
any person in trust for the society; and all legal proceedings
pending by or against the trustees of any such society
may be prosecuted by or against the society in its registered
name without abatement (6).
(2.) Rules to bind the members.—The rules of the society
shall bind the society and all members thereof and all persons
claiming through them respectively to the same extent
as if each member had subscribed his name and affixed his
seal thereto, and there were contained in such rules a covenant
on the part of himself, his heirs, executors, and
administrators, to conform thereto, subject to the provisions
of this Act: Provided that a society registered at the time
when this Act comes into operation, or the members
thereof, may respectively exercise any power given by this
(a) The privilege of exemption from stamp duty, which was
granted by previous Acts (see 30 & 31 Viet. c. 117, s. 3), is not
contained in this Act.
(J) As to societies in existence before the Act of 1862, and not
incorporated under it, see Queensbury Industrial Society v-Pickles,
14 W. R. 30; Linton v. The Blakeney Joint Industrial
Provident Society, 34 L. J. Exch. 211, and note L., Appendix.
39 & 40 Vict. Cap. 45, s. 11.
1G1
Act, and not made to depend on the provisions of its rules,
notwithstanding any provision contained in any rule thereof
certified before this Act was passed.
(3.) Moneys due from members to be a debt recoverable from
them.—All moneys payable by a member to the society
shall be a debt due from such member to the society, and
shall be recoverable as such either in the county court of
the district in which the registered office of the society is
situate, or that of the district in which such member resides,
at the option of the society.
(4.) Exemption from income tax.—'The society shall not
he chargeable under Schedule (C.) or Schedule (D.) of the
Income Tax Acts, hut no member of or person employed
by the same to whom any profits are paid shall he exempted
from any assessment to the said duties to which he would
otherwise he liable (c).
(5.) Power of nomination for sums not exceeding fifty
pounds.—A member of a society, not being under the age
of sixteen j'ears, may, by writing under his hand delivered
at or sent to the registered office of the society, nominate
an y person, not being an officer or servant of, the society,
unless such officer or servant is the husband, wife, father,
mother, child, brother, sister, nephew, or niece of the
nominator, to whom his shares in the society shall be
transferred at his decease, provided that the amount
credited to him in the books of the society does not exceed
fifty pounds, and may from time to time revoke or vary
such nomination by a writing under his hand similarly delivered
or sent, but not otherwise, and every such society
shall keep a book wherein the names of all persons sonominated
shall be regularly entered, and the shares comprised
in any such nomination shall be transferable to the
nominee although the rules of the society declare its shares
to be generally not transferable; and on receiving satisfactory
proof of the death of a nominator the committee of the
( c ) Tills provision is qualified by sect. 8 of the Customs and
Inland Revenue Act, 1880 (43 Vict. c. 14). See p. 191, post.
162
39 & 40 Vict. Cap. 45, s. 11.
society shall either transfer the shares in manner directed
on such nomination or pay to every person entitled thereunder
the full value of his interest, at their option, unless
the shares if transferred to any such nominee would raise
his interest in the society to an amount exceeding two
hundred pounds sterling, in which case they shall pay him
the full value of such shares, not exceeding the sum aforesaid
(a).
(6.) Distribution of sums not exceeding fifty pounds.—If
any member of a society, entitled to an interest in the
society not exceeding fifty pounds, dies intestate and without
having made any nomination under this Act which
remains unrevoked at his death, such interest shall be
transferable or payable, without letters of administration,
to or among the persons who appear to a majority of the
committee, upon such evidence as they may deem satisfactory,
to be entitled by law to receive the same (b).
(7.) Payments to persons apparently entitled valid.—
Whenever the committee, after the decease of any member,
make any payment or transfer to any person who at the
■time appears to them to be entitled under this section, the
■payment or transfer shall be valid and effectual against any
demand made upon the committee or the society by any
■other person.
(8.) When trustees are absent, &c., registrar may order stock
to be transferred.—When any person, in whose name any
stock belonging to any such society transferable at the
Bank of England or Bank of Ireland is standing, either
jointly with another or others or solely, as a trustee therefor,
is absent from Great Britain or Ireland respectively, or
becomes bankrupt, or files any petition or executes any
deed for liquidation of his affairs by assignment or arrangement,
or for composition with his creditors, or becomes a
lunatic, or is dead, or has been removed from his office of
(a) This is re-enacted, with amendments, from 30 & 31 Vict.
•c. 117, s. 5.
(5) See Table of Distribution, Appendix E.
39 & 40 Vict. Cap. 45, s. 11.
163
trustee, or if it be unknown whether such person is living
or dead, the chief registrar, on application in writing from
the secretary and three members of the society, and od
proof satisfactory to him, may direct the transfer of the
stock into the names of any other persons as trustees for
the society; and such transfer shall be made by the surviving
or continuing trustees, and if there be no such
trustee, or if such trustees refuse or be unable to make such
transfer, and the chief registrar so direct, then by the
accountant general or deputy or assistant accountant
general of the Bank of England or Bank of Ireland, as the
case may be; and the governors and companies of the
Bank of England and Bank of Ireland respectively are
hereby indemnified for anything done by them or any ot
their officers in pursuance of this provision against any
claim or demand of any person injuriously affected
thereby (c).
(9.) Membership of minors.—A person under the age of
twenty-one, but above the age of sixteen, maybe a member
°f a society, unless provision be made in the rules thereof
to the contrary, and may, subject to the rules of the society,
enjoy all the rights of a member (except as herein provided),
and execute all instruments and give all acquittances necessary
to be executed or given under the rules, but shall
h °t be a member of the committee, trustee, manager, or
treasurer of the society (c).
(10.) Promissory notes and bills of exchange.—A promissory
note or bill of exchange shall be deemed to have been
made, accepted, or endorsed on behalf of any society if
made, accepted, or endorsed in the name of the society, or
by or on behalf or account of the society, by any person
acting under the authority of the society.
(If-) Register of members or shares.—Any register or list
of members or shares kept by any society shall be primd
(c). These privileges are new for industrial and provident
societies, and are adopted from the Friendly Societies Act, 1875,
s. 15.
164 39 & 40 Vict. Cap. 45, s. 11.
facie evidence of any of tlie following particulars entered
therein :
(a.) Tlie names, addresses, and occupations of the
members, the number of shares held by them
respectively, the numbers of such shares, if they
are distinguished by numbers, and the amount
paid or agreed to be considered as paid on any
such shares :
(b.) The date at which the name of any person, company,
or society was entered in such register or
list as a member:
(c.) The date at which any such person, company, or
society ceased to be a member.
(12.) Contracts, liow made.—Contracts on behalf of the
society may be made, varied, or discharged as follows :—
(a.) Any contract, which if made between private persons
would be by law required to be in writing, and if
made according to the English law to be under
seal, may be made on behalf of the society in
writing under the common seal of the society,
and may in the same maimer be varied or
discharged :
(&.) Any contract, which if made between private persons
would be by law required to be in writing
and signed by the persons to be charged therewith,
may be made on behalf of the society in writing
by any person acting under the express or implied
authority of the society, and may in the same
manner be varied or discharged :
(c.) Any contract under seal, which if made between
private persons might be varied or discharged at
law or in equity by a writing not under seal
signed by any person interested therein, may be
similarly varied or discharged on behalf of the
society by a writing not under seal signed by
any person acting under the express or implied
authority of the society :
39 & 40 Vict. Cap. 45, s. 12.
165
(d.) Any contract, which if made between private persons
would be by law valid, though made by
parol only and not reduced into writing, may be
made by parol on behalf of the society by any
person acting under the express or implied
authority of the society, and may in the same
manner be varied or discharged :
(e.) A signature purporting to be made by a person holding
any office in the society attached to a writing
whereby any contract purports to be made, varied,
or discharged by or on behalf of the society shall
primd facie be taken to be the signature of a person
holding at the time when the signature was
made the office so stated :
And all contracts which may be or have been made, varied, or
discharged, according to the provisions herein contained, shall,
so far as concerns the form thereof, be effectual in law and
binding on the society and all other parties thereto, their
heirs, executors, or administrators, as the case may be (a).
12. Property and funds of societies.—With respect to the
property and funds of registered societies, the following
provisions shall have effect :
(1.) Holding of land.—A society may (if its rules do not
direct otherwise) hold, purchase, or take on lease in its own
name any land, and may sell, exchange, mortgage, lease, or
build upon the same (with power to alter and pull down
buildings and again rebuild), and ho purchaser, assignee,
mortgagee, or tenant shall be bound to inquire as to the
■authority for any such sale, exchange, mortgage, or lease by
the society, and the receipt of the society shall be a discharge
for all moneys arising from or in connection with
such sale, exchange, mortgage, or lease (b).
(2.) Advances to members.—The rules may provide for the
advancing of money by the society to members on the
security of real or personal property (b).
(c) These provisions are adopted from the Companies Acts.
(b) These provisions are re-enacted, with amendments, from
ss -1, 2 of the Act of 1871 (34 & 35 Vict. c. 80). Similar provisions
are contained in the Friendly Societies Act, 1875, see p. 76, ante.
166
39 & 40 Yict. Cap. 45, s. 12.
(3.) As to copyholds.~Wh.eTe any society is entitled in
equity to any hereditaments of copyhold or customary
tenure, either absolutely or by way of mortgage or security,
the lord of the manor of which the same are held shall from,
time to time, if the society so require, admit such persons
(not to exceed three) as such society appoints, to be trustees
on its behalf, as tenants in respect of such hereditaments,
on payment of the usual fines, fees, and other dues payable
on the admission of a single tenant, or may admit the
society as tenant in respect of the same on payment of such
special fine or compensation, in lieu of fines and fees, as
may be agreed upon between such lord and the society (o).
(4.) Investments.—A society may, if its rules so allow
invest any part of its capital in the shares or on the security
of any other society (6) registered under this Act or under the
Building Societies Acts, or of any company registered under
the Companies Acts or incorporated by Act of parliament or
by charter, provided that no such investment be made in
the shares of any society or company' other than one with
limited liability, and a society so investing may make such
investment in its registered name and shall be deemed to
he a person within the meaning of the Companies Acts,
1862 and 1867, and the Building Societies Act, 1874, and
any investment made before the passing of this Act which
would have been valid if this Act had been then in force
is hereby made valid and confirmed.
(5.) Other corporate bodies.—Any other body corporate
may, if its regulations permit, hold shares by its corporate
name in a society'.
(6.) Forms.—In the rules or any schedule thereto may
be set forth the forms of conveyance, surrender, admittance,
mortgage, transfer, agreement, bond or other instrument
necessary for carrying the purposes of the society into
effect.
(a) See note (b), ante, p. 165.
(5) But not in its own shares.
39 & 40 Vict. Cap. 45, s. 12.
167'
(7.) Application of profits.—The profits of the society
may be applied to any lawful purpose (c).
(8.) Discharge of mortgages by receipt endorsed.—A receipt
under the hands of two members of the committee of the
society, countersigned by the secretary, in the form, contained
in the third schedule to this Act, or in any form
specified by the rules of the society or any schedule thereto,,
for all moneys secured to the society by any mortgage or
other assurance endorsed upon or annexed to'such mortgage
or other assurance, shall vacate the same, and vest the property
therein comprised in the person entitled to the
equity of redemption of the same, without re-conveyance or
re-surrender; but this provision shall not apply to Scotland
or to the island of Jersey.
(9.) Registration of receipt.—If such mortgage or other
assurance has been registered under any Act for the registration
or record of deeds or titles, or is of copyholds or
lands of customary tenure and entered on any court rolls,
the registrar under such Act, or recording officer, or steward
of the manor, or keeper of the register, shall, on production
of such receipt, verified by oath of any person, enter satisfaction
on the register or on the court rolls respectively of
such mortgage or of the charge made by such assurance,
and shall grant a certificate, either upon such mortgage or
assurance or separately to the like effect, which certificate
shall be received in evidence in all courts and proceedings
without further proof, and such registrar, recording officer,
steward, or keeper of the register shall be entitled to a fee
of two shillings and sixpence for making the said entry and
granting the said certificate, and such fee shall in Ireland
be paid by stamps, and applied as other fees of the Registry
of Deeds Office and Record of Title Office are by law
directed to be paid and applied.
(c) By sect. 3 of the Act of 1862, “ applying the profits for
any purposes allowed by the Friendly Societies Acts or otherwise
permitted by law,” was defined as part of the purposes of a.
society.
•168
39 & 40 Vict. Cap. 45, s. 13.
(10.) Punishment of fraud or misappropriation.—If any
person obtains possession by false representation or imposition
of any property of a society, or having the same in
his possession, withholds or misapplies the same, or wilfully
applies any part thereof to purposes other than those expressed
or directed in the rules of the society and authorized
by this Act, he shall, on the complaint of the society, or of any
member authorized by the society, or the committee thereof,
■or by the central office, or of the chief registrar, or any
assistant registrar by his authority, be liable on summary
conviction to a penalty not exceeding twenty pounds, with
costs not exceeding twenty shillings, and to be ordered to
deliver up all such property or to repay all moneys applied
improperly, and in default of such delivery or repayment,
or of the payment of such penalty and costs aforesaid, to be
imprisoned with or without hard labour, for any time not
■exceeding three months; but nothing herein contained
shall prevent an3 r such person from being proceeded against
by way of indictment, if not previously convicted of the
same offence under the provisions of this Act (a).
13. Officers in receipt or charge of money.—With respect to
■officers of registered societies having receipt or charge of
money, the following provisions shall have effect:
(1.) Security to he given.—Every officer, if the rules of
the society require, shall, before taking upon himself the
•execution of his office, become bound, either with or without
a surety as the committee require, in a bond according
to one of the forms set forth in the third schedule to this
Act, or such other form as the committee of the society
approve, or give the security of a guarantee society, in such
sum as the committee directs, conditioned for his rendering
■a just and true account of all moneys received and paid by
him on account of the society at such times as its rules
appoint, or as the society or the committee thereof require
(a) The provisions of this section are similar to those of
sect. 16 of the Friendly Societies Act, 1875. See p. 75, ante,
and see note G., Appendix.
39 & 40 Vict. Cap. 45, s. 14.
iefr
him to do, and for the payment hy him of all sums due
from him to the society. /
(2.) Accounts of officers.—Every officer, fiis executors or
administrators, shall, at such times as by the 'rules of tlidf
society he should render account, or upon cfflmaftd made, or
notice in writing given or left at his last or usual' p^ace of
residence, give m his account as may be required by the ••
society, or by the committee thereof, to be examined and
allowed or disallowed by them, and shall, on the like demand
or notice, pay over all moneys and deliver all property
for the time being in liis hands or custody to such
person as the society or the committee appoint; and in case
of any neglect or refusal to deliver such account, or to pay
over such moneys or to deliver such property in manner
aforesaid, the society may sue upon the bond or security
before mentioned, or may apply to the county court (which
may proceed in a summary way), or to a court of summary
jurisdiction, and the order of either such court shall be final
and conclusive (b).
14. Disputes.—With respect to disputes concerning
registered societies the following provisions shall have
effect:
(1.) To be decided by rules of society.—Every dispute
between a member or person claiming through a member
°r under the rules of a registered society, and the society
or an officer thereof, shall be decided in manner directed by
the rules of the society, if they contain any such direction,
and the decision so made shall be binding and conclusive
on all parties without appeal, and shall not be removable
into any court of law or restrainable by injunction; and
application for the enforcement thereof may be made to the
county court.
(2.) May be referred to chief registrar. —The parties to a
dispute in a society may, by consent (unless the rules of
such society expressly forbid it), refer such dispute to the
(^) The provisions of this section are similar to those of sect.
20 ot the Friendly Societies Act, 1875. See p. 83, ante.
I
170
39 & 40 Vict. Cap. 45, e. 14.
chief registrar, or to the assistant registrar in Scotland or
Ireland, who shall, with the consent of the Treasury, either
by himself or by any other registrar, hear and determine
such dispute, and shall have power to order the expenses of
determining the same to be paid either out of the funds of
the society or by such parties to the dispute as he shall
think fit, and such determination and order shall have the
same effect and be enforceable in like manner as a decision
made in the manner directed by the rules of the society.
(3.) Chief registrar may administer oaths, Ac.—'The chief
or other registrar to whom any dispute is referred may
administer oaths, and may require the attendance of all
parties concerned and of witnesses, and the production of
all books and documents relating to the matter in question
; and any person refusing to attend, or to produce any
documents, or to give evidence before such chief or other
registrar, shall be guilty of an offence under this Act.
(4.) Reference to justices.—Where the rules of a society
direct that disputes shall be referred to justices, the dispute
shall be determined by a court of summary jurisdictions.
Provided that in every case of dispute cognizable under
the rules of a society by a court of summary jurisdiction, it
shall be lawful for the parties thereto to enter into a consent
referring such dispute to the county court, which may
hear and determine the matter in dispute.
(5.) Application to county courts, Ac.—Where the rules
contain no direction as to disputes, or where no decision is
made on a dispute within forty days after application to
the society for a reference under its rules, the member or
person aggrieved may apply either to the county court, or
to a court of summary jurisdiction, which may hear and
determine the matter in dispute.
(6.) Case for opinion of supreme court, Ac.—The court,
chief, or other registrar, may, at the request of either party
state a case for the opinion in England of the Supreme
Court of Judicature, in Scotland of either division of the
39 & 40 Vict. Cap. 45, s. 15.
171
Inner House of the Court of Session, or in Ireland of one
of the superior courts of common law at Dublin, on any
question of law, and may also grant to either party such
discovery as to documents and otherwise, or such inspection
of documents, and in Scotland may grant warrant for the
recovery of documents and examination of havers, as might
be granted by any court of law or equity, such discovery to
be made on behalf of the society by such officer of the same
as such court or registrar may determine (a).
15. Special powers of registrars to be exercised on application
from members. —With respect to the inspection of the
affairs of registered societies, the following provisions shall
have effect:
(1.) Upon the application of one-fifth of the whole
number of members of a registered society, or of one
hundred members in the case of a society of one thousand
members and not exceeding ten thousand, or of five
hundred members in the case of a society of more than ten
thousand members, the chief registrar, or, in the case of
societies registered and doing business exclusively in Scotland
or Ireland, the assistant registrar for Scotland or
Ireland respectively, but, with the consent of the Treasury
in every case, may—
(a.) Inspectors.—Appoint one or more inspectors to examine
into the affairs of such society, and to
report thereon, who may require the production of
all or any of the books and documents of the
society, and may examine on oath its officers,
members, agents, and servants in relation to its
business, and may administer such oath accordingly
:
{b.) Special meetings.—Call a special meeting of the
society in such manner and at such time and
place as the chief registrar, or such assistant
9 (“) The provisions of this section are similar to those of sect.
of the Friendly Societies Act, 1875. See p. 86, ante, and see
»ote H., Appendix.
I 2
172
39 & 40 Vict. Cap. 45, s. 16.
A
registrar, may direct, and may direct what matters
shall he discussed and determined on at such
meeting, which shall haye all the powers of a
meeting called according to the rules of the
society, and shall in all cases have power to
appoint its own chairman, any rule of the society
to the contrary notwithstanding.
(2.) Application to be supported by evidence.—The application
iierein mentioned shall he supported l>y such evidence,
for the purpose of showing that the applicants have good
reason for requiring such inspection to he made or meeting
to he called, and that they are not actuated hy malicious
motives in their application, and such notice thereof shall
he given to the society as the chief registrar shall direct.
(3.) Security for costs.—The chief registrar or such assistant
registrar may, if he think fit, require the applicants to
give security for the costs of the proposed inspection or
meeting, before appointing any inspector Or calling such
meeting.
(4.) Expenses.—All expenses of and incidental to any
such inspection or meeting shall be defrayed either hy the
members applying for the same, or out of the funds of the
society, as the chief registrar or such assistant registrar shall
direct (a).
16. Special resolutions, and proceedings which may be taken
thereon.—With respect to special resolutions hy registered
societies, and to the proceedings which may he taken hy
virtue thereof, the following provisions shall have effect:
(1.) Special resolutions.—A special resolution is one
which is passed hy a majority of not less than three-fourths
of such members of a society for the time being entitled
under the rules to vote as may he present in person or by
proxy (where the rules allow proxies) at any general meeting
of which notice specifying the intention to propose such
(a) The provisions of this section arc similar to those of sect.
23 of the Friendly Societies Act, 1875. See p. 88, ante.
39 & 40 Vict. Cap. 45, s. 16.
173
resolutions (sic) has been duly given according to the rules,
and which resolution is confirmed by a majority of such
members for the time being entitled under the rules to
votes as may he present, in person or by proxy, at a subsequent
general meeting of which notice has been duly given,
held not less than fourteen days nor more than one montli
from the day of the meeting at which such resolution was
first passed. At any meeting mentioned in this section a
declaration by the chairman that the resolution has been
carried shall he deemed conclusive evidence of the fact.
(2.) Change of name.—A society may, by special resolution,
with the approval in writing of the chief registrar, or,
in the case of societies registered and doing business exclusively
in Scotland or Ireland, the assistant registrar for
Scotland or Ireland respectively, change its name ; hut no
such change shall affect any right or obligation of the
society, or of any member thereof, and any pending legal
proceedings may he continued by or against the society,
notwithstanding its new name.
(3.) Amalgamation of societies.—Any two or more societies
may, by special resolution of both or all such societies,
become amalgamated together as one society, with or without
any dissolution or division of the funds of such societies
or either of them; and any society may by special resolution
transfer its engagements to any other registered society
■which may undertake to fulfil the engagements of such
society.
(4.) Conversion of societies into companies, Ac.—A society
may by special resolution determine to convert itself into a
company under the Companies Acts, or to amalgamate
■with or transfer its engagements to any such company (5).
(5.) Eights of creditors. —No amalgamation or transfer of
engagements shall prejudice any right of a creditor of either
or any society party thereto.
(6) This was allowed by the Act of 1862 (25 & 26 Vict. c. 87,
21), but the machinery of conversion was not provided by that
Act, and is now supplied.
174
39 & 40 Vict. Cap. 45, s. 17.
(6.) Registration of special resolutions.—A copy of every
special resolution for any of the purposes mentioned in this
section, signed hy the chairman of the meeting and countersigned
by the secretary, shall be sent to the central office
and registered there, and until such copy is so registered,
such special resolution shall not take effect.
(7.) Registration of copy of special resolution as memorandum
of association.—If a special resolution for converting a
society into a company contains the particulars by the
Companies Act, 1862, required to be contained in the
memorandum of association of a company, and a copy
thereof has been registered at the central office, a copy of
such resolution under the seal or stamp of the central
office shall have the same effect as a memorandum of association
duly signed and attested under the said Act (a).
(8.) Registry of society under Act to become void on registration
as a company, &c.—If a society be registered as, or
amalgamates with, or transfers all its engagements to a
company, the registry of such society under this Act shall
thereupon become void, and the same shall be cancelled hy
the chief registrar or by the assistant registrar for Scotland
or Ireland under his direction ; but the registration of a
society as a company shall not affect any right or claim for
the time being subsisting against such society, or any
penalty for the time being incurred by such society ; and
for the purpose of enforcing any such right, claim, or
penalty, the society may be sued and proceeded against in
the same manner as if it had not become registered as a
company ; and every such right or claim, or the liability to
such penalty, shall have priority as against the property of
such company over all other rights or claims against or
liabilities of such company.
17. Dissolution of societies.—With respect to the dissolution
of registered societies, the following provisions shall
have effect:
(cr) Sec note (4), p. 173, ante.
39 & 40 Vict. Cap. 45, s. 17. 175
(1.) How societies may he dissolved.—A society may Toe
dissolved.—
By an order to wind up the society, or a resolution for
the winding up thereof, made as is directed in regard
to companies by the Companies Act, 1862, the provisions
whereof shall apply to any such order or resolution,
except that the court having jurisdiction in the
winding up shall be the county court (b), and that the
term registrar shall for the purpose of such winding up
mean the central office in England, or the assistant
registrar in Scotland or Ireland, as the case may be ;
or,
By the consent of three fourths of the members, testified
by their signatures to an instrument of dissolution.
(2.) Liability of the members. — Where a society is wound
up the liability of a present or past member of the society
to contribute for payment of the debts and liabilities of the
society, the expenses of winding up, and the adjustment of
the rights of contributories amongst themselves, shall bo
qualified as follows :
(«•) No individual, society, or company who or which
has ceased to be a member for one year or
upwards prior to the commencement of the
winding up shall be liable to contribute :
(&•) No individual, society, or company shall be liable to
contribute in respect of any debt or liability contracted
after he or it ceased to be a member :
( c -) No individual, society, or company not a member
shall be liable to contribute, unless it appears to
the court that the contributions of the existing
members are - insufficient to satisfy the just
demands on the society :
(d.) No contribution shall be required from any individual,
society, or company exceeding the amount,
. W This is a re-enactment, with amendments, of s. 17 of the
ndustrial and Provident Societies Act, 1862.
176
39 & 40 Vict. Cap. 45, s. 17.
if any, unpaid on the shares in respect of which
he or it is liable as a past or present member (a):
(e.) An individual, society, or company shall be taken to
have ceased to be a member, in respect of any
withdrawable share withdrawn, from the date of
the notice or application for withdrawal (b).
(3.) Contents of instrument of dissolution.—"Where a
society is terminated by an instrument of dissolution the
following provisions shall apply :
(a.) The instrument of dissolution shall set forth the
liabilities and assets of the society in detail, the
number of members and the nature of their
interests in the society respectively, the claims of
creditors (if any), and the provision to be made
for their payment, and the intended appropriation
or division of the funds and property of the
society, unless the same be stated in the instrument
of dissolution to be left to the award of the
chief registrar :
(b.) Alterations.—Alterations in the instrument of dissolution
may be made with the like consents as
hereinbefore provided, and testified in the same
manner :
(c.) Statutory declaration.—A statutory declaration shall
be made by three members and the secretary of
the society that the provisions of this Act have
been cofnplied with, and shall be sent to the
registrar with the instrument of dissolution ; and
any person knowingly making a false or fraudulent
declaration in the matter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor
:
(cl.) Registry of instrument of dissolution.—The instrument
of dissolution and all alterations therein
(a) See Sheffield Co-operative Society, in re, 13 W. R. 667,
and Note M. Appendix. The qualifications are re-enacted, with
amendments from s. 20 of the Industrial and Provident Societies
Act, 1872.
(b) The provision in this sub-head is new.
177
39 & 40 Vict. Cap. 45, s. 18.
shall be registered in manner herein provided for
the registry of rules, and shall he binding upon
all the members of the society :
(e.) Notice of dissolution.—The registrar shall cause a
notice of the dissolution to be advertised at the
expense of the society in the Gazette and in some
newspaper circulating in the county in which
the registered office of the society is situated ;
and unless within three months from the date of
the Gazette in which such advertisement appears,
a member or other person interested in or having
any claim on the funds of the society commences
proceedings to set aside the dissolution of the
society in the county court of the district where
the registered office of the society is situate, and
such dissolution is set aside accordingly, the
society shall be legally dissolved from the date of
such advertisement, and the requisite consents to
the instrument of dissolution shall be considered
to have been duly obtained without proof of the
signatures thereto :
(/.) Notice of 'proceedings to set aside a dissolution.—
Notice shall be sent to the central office of any
proceeding to set aside the dissolution of a society,
not less than seven days before it is commenced,
by the person by whom it is taken, or of any
order setting it aside, within seven days after it is
made by the society (c).
18. Penalties.—With respect to penalties under this Act,
the following provisions shall have effect:
(!•) Penalty for falsification.—If any person wdlfully
makes, orders, or allows to be made any entry or erasure
m, or omission from any balance sheet of a registered
society, or any contribution or collecting book, or any
return or document required to be sent, produced, or
(c) The provision in this sub-head is adopted from the
-l reasury regulations under the Friendly Societies Acts.
I 3
178
39 & 40 Vict. Cap. 45, s. 19.
delivered for the purposes of this Act, with intent to falsify
the same, or to evade any of the provisions of this Act, he
shall he liable to a penalty not exceeding fifty pounds.
(2.) Not using the name of the society.—If any officer of
the society, or any person on its behalf, uses any seal!
purporting to be a seal of the society, whereon its name isnot
so engraved as aforesaid, or issues or authorizes the
issue of any notice, advertisement, or other official publication
of the society, or signs or authorizes to be signed on.
behalf of the society any bill of exchange, promissory note,
endorsement, cheque, order for money or goods, or issues
or authorizes to be issued any bills of parcels, invoice,
receipt, or letters of credit of the society, wherein its name
is not mentioned in manner aforesaid, he shall be liable to
a penalty of fifty pounds, and shall further be personally
liable to the holder of any such hill of exchange, promissory
note, cheque, or order for money or goods for
the amount thereof unless the same is duly paid by the
society.
(3.) Penalties for ordinary offences.—Every society, officer,
or member of a society, or other person guilty of an offence
under this Act for which no penalty is expressly provided
herein shall be liable to a penalty of not less than one
pound and not more than five pounds.
(4.) Recovery of penalties.—The penalties imposed or to
be imposed (1) by this Act, (2) by any regulations under
the same, or (3) by the rules of a registered society, shall
be recoverable in a court of summary jurisdiction, and at
the suit, in cases (1) and (2), of the chief registrar, or of
any assistant registrar or of any person aggrieved, and, in
case (3), of the society.
19. Summary procedure and appeals.—With respect to
summary procedure and appeals from orders or convictions
thereon made, the following provisions shall have effect:
(1.) Prosecution for offences, dec.—In England and Ireland
all offences and penalties under this Act may be prosecuted
and recovered, in the manner directed by the Summary
Jurisdiction Acts, as respects a prosecution against a society
39 & 40 Vict. Cap. 45, s. 19.
179
or its officers, in the place where the registered office of the
society is, or where the offence has been committed, or, as
respects a prosecution against any person other than a
society or its officers, in the place where such person is
resident at the time of the institution of such prosecution,
or where the offence was committed.
(2.) Summary orders.—Tn England and Ireland summary
orders under this Act may be made and enforced on complaint
before a court of summary jurisdiction in the
manner provided by the Summary Jurisdiction Acts (a).
(3.) Summary jurisdiction in England and Ireland.—
The court of summary jurisdiction, when hearing and
determining an information or complaint, shall consist as
follows :
In England—
(a.) In any place within the jurisdiction of a metropolitan
police magistrate or other stipendiary
magistrate, of such magistrate or his substitute :
(fi.) In the city of London, of the lord mayor or any
alderman of that city :
(c.) In any other place, of two or more justices of the
peace sitting in petty sessions.
In Ireland—
(a.) In the police district of Dublin metropolis, of a
divisional justice :
(J.) In any other place, of two or more justices of the
peace sitting in petty sessions.
(4.) Summary jurisdiction in Scotland.—In Scotland—
(a.) All offences and penalties under this Act may be
prosecuted and recovered by the procurator fiscal
of the county in the sheriff court, under the provisions
of the Summary Procedure Act, 1864 :
Q>.) Summary orders may be made and enforced on
complaint in the sheriff court:
( 3 ) The Acts referred to are materially altered as to England
J the Summary Jurisdiction Act, 1879,
180
39 & 40 Vict. Cap. 45, s. 19.
(c.) All penalties may be enforced in default of payment
by imprisonment for a term to be specified in the
order or conviction, but not exceeding three
months :
(d.) All penalties recovered shall be paid to the sheriff
clerk, and by him accounted for and paid to the
Queen’s and lord treasurer’s remembrancer on
behalf of the crown :
(e.) The sheriffs and their substitutes shall have all jurisdiction,
power, and authority necessary for giving
effect to these provisions.
(5.) Description of offences—In any information or complaint
under this Act it shall be sufficient to describe the
offence in the words of this Act, and no exception, exemption,
proviso, excuse, or qualification accompanying the
description of the offence in this Act need be specified or
negatived,
(6.) Appeals in England or Ireland. —In England or Ireland
any party may appeal from any order or conviction
made by a court of summary jurisdiction on determining
any complaint or information under this Act as follows :
(a.) The appeal shall be made to some court of general or
quarter sessions for the county or place in which
the cause of appeal has arisen, holden not less
than fifteen days and not more than four months
after the decision appealed from :
(b.) The appellant shall within seven days after the cause
of appeal has arisen give notice to the other party
and to the court of summary jurisdiction of his
intention to appeal, and of the ground thereof :
(c.) The appellant shall immediately after such notice
enter into a recognizance before a justice of the
peace in the sum of ten pounds, with two sufficient
sureties in the sum of ten pounds, conditioned
personally to try such appeal, and to abide the
judgment of the court thereon, and to pay costs if
awarded:
39 & 40 Vict. Cap. 45, s. 20.
181
(d.) Where the appellant is in custody, the justice may,
on the appellant entering into such recognizance
as aforesaid, release him from custody :
(e.) The court of appeal may adjourn the appeal, and
upon the hearing thereof may confirm, reverse, or
modify the decision of the court of summary jurisdiction,
or remit the matter to such court with the
opinion of the court of appeal thereon, or make
such other order in the matter as the court thinks
fit :
(/.) If the matter he remitted to the court of summary
jurisdiction such court shall thereupon rehear and
decide the information or complaint in accordance
with the opinion of the court of appeal (a).
(7.) Appeals in Scotland.—In Scotland any person may
appeal from any order or conviction under this Act to the
Court of Justiciary, or any circuit court thereof, under or
in terms of the Act of the twentieth year of his Majesty
King George the Second, chapter forty-three, or under any
Act amending that Act or applying or incorporating its
provisions with regard to appeals, or to the Court of Justiciary
in Edinburgh under or in terms of “ The Summary
Prosecutions Appeals (Scotland) Act, 1875” (5).
20. Regulation of proceedings in county courts.—Proceedings
under this Act by and before the judges of county
courts may be regulated in Scotland by any acts of sederunt
of the Court of Session, and in Ireland by any orders made
by the Lord Chancellor, and until otherwise provided are
regulated by such rules and orders and acts of sederunt as
may be in force at the commencement of this Act.
file registrar and high bailiffs of the county courts shall
be remunerated for the duties to be performed by them
(a) Further as to the procedure in England on appeals, sec
the Summary Jurisdiction Act, 1879.
(5) These provisions are similar to those of the Friendly
Societies Act, 1875. For the County Court Orders m force in
England, see Note I., Appendix.
182 39 & 40 Vict. Cap. 45, ss. 21—24.
under this Act in such manner as the Treasury, with theconsent
of the Lord Chancellor, from time to time ordersand
directs (a).
21. Public auditors.—The Treasury may from time totime
appoint public auditors for the purposes of this Act,,
and may determine from time to time the rates of remuneration
to be paid by societies for the services of such
auditors; but the employment of such auditors is not
compulsory on any society (a).
22. Fees.—The Treasury may determine a scale of fees
to be paid for matters to be transacted or for the inspection
of documents under this Act.
All fees which may be received by any registrar under or
by virtue of this Act shall be paid into the receipt of Her
Majesty’s Exchequer (a).
23. Regulations to be made for carrying out the Act.—The
Treasury may from time to time make regulations respecting
registry and procedure under this Act, and the forms to
be used for such registry, and the duties and functions of
the registrar, and the inspection of documents kept by the
registrar under this Act, and generally for carrying this
Act into effect.
All -such regulations shall be laid before both houses of
j>arliament within ten days after the approval thereof if
parliament is then sitting, or if not then sitting, then within
ten days from the then next assembling of parliament.
Until otherwise provided, the forms contained in the
fourth schedule to this Act shall be used (a).
24. Evidence of documents.—Every instrument or document,
copy or extract of an instrument or document, bearing
the seal or stamp of the central office, shall be received in
evidence without further proof; and every document purporting
to be signed by the chief or any assistant registrar,
(a) See note (6), p. 181, ante.
39 & 40 Yict. Cap. 45, ss. 25, 26.
183
or any inspector or public auditor under this Act, shall, in
the absence of any evidence to the contrary he received in
evidence without proof of the signature (5).
25. Duties of the registrars.—Sub-sections six, seven, eight,,
and nine of the Friendly Societies Act, section ten, relating
to the duties of the chief registrar and assistant registrars,
shall, so far as the same are applicable to industrial and
provident societies, he deemed to he incorporated with this
Act (c).
26. Application of Act to Channel Islands.—With respect
to the Channel Islands this Act shall he varied as
follows :
1. As respects the island of Jersey, the following provisions
shall have effect:
(a.) The term “ county court ” shall mean the court for
the recovery of petty debts, in all cases in which
the claim or demand shall not exceed the sum of
ten pounds sterling, and in all other cases the
inferior number of the royal court of the said
island, composed of the bailiff and two jurats of
the said court :
(b.) The term “court of summary jurisdiction” shall
have in civil cases the same meaning as the term
county court:
( c 0 All misdemeanors under this Act shall he prosecuted,
tried, and punished in the form and manner
prescribed by the law and custom of the said
island with respect to crimes and offences (crimes
et delits~) :
(d.) All other offences and all penalties under this Act
shall be prosecuted and recovered summarily before
the magistrate of the court for the repression
of minor offences, in all cases of his competency,
at the suit or instance of the bailiff of the parish
in which the offence or other unlawful act shall
(b) See note (b), p. 181, ante.
(c) See pp. 56—58, ante.
184 39 & 40 Vict. Cap. 45, s. 26.
have been committed, and in all other eases before
the bailiff and two jurats of the royal court, at
the suit or instance of B>r Majesty’s Procurator
General for the said island :
(e.) All penalties recovered under this Act shall be paid
to the officers who by the law and practice of the
said island are entitled to receive fines levied by
order of the said courts respectively, and shall by
such officers be accounted for and paid to Her
Majesty’s Receiver General in the said island on
behalf of the Crown :
•{/.) The powers conferred under this Act on two justices
shall be exercised by the inferior number of the
royal court of the said island :
(g.) Clause nineteen of this Act, and the term “ Summary
Jurisdiction Acts,” shall not apply to the said
island, but all proceedings under this Act in any
of the courts of the said island shall be regulated
according to the ordinary practice of such courts
respectively, and all penalties shall in default of
payment be enforced in the same manner as fines
payable to the Crown in the said island :
(7i.) The rules prescribed by the law of the said island
with respect to appeals in civil and criminal cases
shall be followed as to appeals from any orders,
judgments, or convictions made in cases of summary
jurisdiction under this Act :
(i.) The terms “the Companies Acts” and “the Companies
Act, 1862,” shall be taken to mean the
law which from time to time is in force in the
said island for the formation, regulation, and
winding up of companies :
2. As respects the bailiwick of the island of Guernsey :
(«.) The court of primary instance within the bailiwick
shall have all such powers and authorities as are
by this Act conferred either on justices of the
peace or on judges of county courts in England
: Provided that a sentence may be appealed
from if the case admits of an appeal, under the
185
39 & 40 Vict. Cap. 45, s. 26.
Orders in Council now in force witliin the bailiwick,
hut that the decision of the royal court
when sitting in a hody as a court of appeal shall
he final:
•(b.) When any sum of money becomes payable on the
death of a member, such sum of money shall, in
default of any direction or nomination such as is
contemplated by this Act, be paid to the deceased
member’s legal representative, according to the
law of Guernsey :
(c.) All industrial and provident societies within the
bailiwick shall be authorized to invest any part of
their funds in the state bonds either of Guernsey
or Alderney :
(d.) The term “the Companies Act” shall mean the law
for the time being in force in the said bailiwick
for the regulation and winding up of companies :
(e.) All offences and penalties under this Act shall be
prosecuted and recovered summarily before the
court of primary jurisdiction at the suit or instance
of the law officers of the Crown or of a constable
of a parish : .
{/.) All penalties recovered under this Act shall be paid
to the Receiver General, to be by him carried to
the account of the Crown revenue (a).
(a) This section is new, and is adopted from section 41 of the
Friendly Societies Act, 1875. See p. 116, ante.
18a
39 & 40 Vict. Cap. 45, s. 20.
SCHEDULES.
SCHEDULE I.
Acts and Enactments 'Repealed.
Date of Act.
Title of Act.
Extent of
Repeal.
25 & 26 Vict. c. 87.
An Act to consolidate and
amend the Laws relating
to Industrial and Provident
Societies.
The whole.
30 & 31 Vict. c. 117.
An Act to amend the Industrial
and Provident Societies
Acts.
The whole.
34 & 35 Vict. c. 80.
An Act to explain and amend
the Law relating to Industrial
and Provident Societies.
The whole*
SCHEDULE II.
Matters to be provided for by the Rules of Societies
Registered under this Act.
1. Object, name, ancl place of office of the society.
2. Terms of admission of the members, including any
society or company investing funds in the society under
the provisions of sub-section (4) or sub-section (5) of section
12.
3. Mode of holding meetings and right of voting, and of
making, altering, or rescinding rules.
4. The appointment and removal of a committee of
management, by whatever name, of managers or other
officers, and their respective powers and remuneration.
187
39 & 40 Vict. Cap. 45, s. 26.
5. Determination of tlie amount of interest, not exceeding
two hundred pounds sterling, in the shares (a) of the
society which any member other than a registered society
may hold.
6. Determination whether the society may contract loans
or receive money on deposit subject to the provisions of
sub-section (2) of section 10 of this Act, from members or
others ; and if so, under what conditions, on what security,
and to what limits of amount.
7. Determination whether the shares or any number
thereof shall he transferable ; and if it be determined that
the shares or any number thereof shall be transferable,
provision for the form of transfer and registration of the
shares, and for the consent of the committee thereto ; and
if it be determined that the shares or any of them shall be
■withdrawable, provision for paying the members the balance
due thereon on withdrawing from the society (b).
8. Provision for the audit of accounts.
9. Determination whether and how members may withdraw
from the society, and provision for the claims of
executors, administrators, or trustees of the property of
bankrupt members, and for the payment of nominees in the
case herein mentioned.
10. Mode of application of profits.
11. Provisions for the custody, use, and device of the
seal of the society, which shall in all cases bear the registered
name of the society.
12. Determination whether and by what authority, and
111 '"’bat manner, any part of the capital may be invested.
(a) Section 6 of the Act (see p. 151, o»/eb limits the interest
Of a member (other than a registered society) m the funds of the
society to 2001. sterling. , _ . >
(4) From this it appears that the same shares cannot ho
hotli transferable and -withdrawable.
151, ante), limits the interest
188
39 & 40 Vict. Cap. 45, s. 26.
SCHEDULE III.
Fokm of Statement to be made out by a Society
CARRYING ON THE BUSINESS OF BANKING.
1. Capital of the society :—
(a.) Amount of each share.
(6.) Number of shares issued.
(c.) Amount paid up on shares.
2. Liabilities of the society on the first day of January
(or July) last previous : —
(«.) On judgments.
(5.) On specialty.
(c.) On notes or bills.
(d.) On simple contract.
I (e.) On estimated liabilities.
3. Assets of the society on the same date :—
(a.) Government securities (stating them).
(b.) Bills of exchange and promissory notes.
(c.) Cash at the bankers.
(d.) Other securities.
Form of Bond.
(1.)—In England or Ireland.
Know all men by these presents, that we, A.B., of
, one of the officers ot the Society,
Limited, established at , in the county of ,
and G.D., of (as surety on behalf of the said A.B.),
are jointly and severally held and firmly bound to the said
society in the sum of , to be paid to the said
society, or their certain attorney, for which payment well
and truly to be made we jointly and severally bind ourselves,
and each of us by himself, our and each of our heirs,
executors, and administrators, firmly by these presents.
Sealed with our seals. Dated the day of >
in the year of our Lord ,
189“
39 & 40 Vict. Cap. 45, s. 26.
Whereas the above-bounden A.B. has been duly appointed
to the office of of the Society (a),
established as aforesaid, and he, together with the abovebounden
G.D. as his surety, have entered into the abovewritten
bond, subject to the condition hereinafter contained:
Now, therefore, the condition of the above-written bond is
such, that if the said A.B. do render a just and true account
of all moneys received and paid by him on account of thesaid
society, at such times as the rules thereof appoint, and
do pay over all the moneys remaining in his hands, and
assign and transfer or deliver all property (including books
and papers) belonging to the said society in his hands orcustody
to such person or persons as the said society or
the committee thereof appoint, according to the rules of the
said society, together with the proper and legal receipts or
vouchers for such payments, then the above-written bond
shall be void, otherwise shall remain in full force.
Sealed and delivered in the presence of [two
witnesses.']
(2.)—In Scotland.
I, A.B., of hereby bind and oblige myself to.
the extent of £ at most, as caution and security
for G.D., a person employed by the Society (a),.
that he the said G.D., shall on demand faithfully and truly
account for all moneys received and paid to him for behoof
of the said society, and also assign or transfer or deliver all
property (including books and papers) belonging to the said
society in his hands or custody, and that to such person or
persons as the said society or the committee thereof appointaecording
to the rules of the said society.
Dated at this day of
Signature of Cautioner.
E.F. of witness.
G.H. of witness.
The above bond shall not require a testing clause or subscription
clause, and may be wholly written or wholly
printed, or partly written and partly printed.
('a) Sic. The word “ limited” should be added.
190
39 & 40 Vict. Cap. 45, s. 26.
Form op Receipt to be endorsed on Mortgage or
Further Charge (a).
Tlie Society, Limited, hereby acknowledge to
have received all moneys intended to he secured hy the
•within [or above] written deed.
Signed [Two members of the committee.'}
Countersigned [Signature of Secretary.}
Secretary.
SCHEDULE IV.
Acknowledgment op Registry op Society.
The Society, Limited, is registered under the
Industrial and Provident Societies Act, 1876, this
day of
[>Sect£ or stamp of central office, or signature of Assistant
Registrar for Scotland or Ireland.}
Acknowledgment op Registry op Amendment op
Rules.
The foregoing amendment of the rules of the
Society, Limited, is registered under the Industrial and
Provident Societies Act, 1876, this day of
[Seal or stamp of central office, or signature of Assistant
Registrar for Scotland or Ireland.}
(a) By 34 & 35 Vict. c. 80, s. 3, the form of receipt was to
be specified in the Rules or a Schedule thereto. A society may
now specify hy its Rules or Schedule a form different to the
above.
43 Vict. Cap. 14, s. 8.
191
43 VICT. Cap. 14, s. 8.
Customs and Inland Revenue Act, 1880.
“ Notwithstanding the provisions contained in sub-seclion
4 of section 11 of the Industrial and Provident Societies
Act, 1876, a society registered under that Act shall be
chargeable to the duties of income tax, under Schedule
(C.) and Schedule (D.), in case the society sells to persons
who are not members thereof, and the number of the
shares of the society is limited either by its rules or
practice.”
APPENDIX.
I. NOTES OE CASES, &c.
The Acts set forth in Parts I. and III. having repealed
the previous statutes, it is thought convenient to state here,
under suitable heads, the principal cases decided under
those statutes, and their application to the new Acts—
A.
Note to Section 8 of the Friendly Societies
Act, 1875.
By this section friendly societies may he registered, providing
for relief “during sickness or other infirmity, whether
bodily or mental.” It will still be open to societies, if they
think fit, to restrain the payment of sick pay to cases not
involving mental infirmity, but that must be done by
express provision in a rule. Where nothing is said to the
contrary in the rules, a society is liable to pay sick allowance
in cases of insanity. This is shown by the following
case, determined under 18 & 19 Yict. c. 63 :—
Burton, app., Eyden, resp.
Friendly Society—“ Sickness”—Insanity.
[Law Eep. 8 Q. B. 295.]
By the rules of a friendly society, after payment of a
year’s subscription, any member sliali receive 8s. per week
during any sickness or accident that may befall him, unless
by rioting or drunkenness:—Held, that insanity was “sickness”
within the meaning of the society’s rules.
Case stated by the justices of Northamptonshire under
20 & 21 Viet. c. 43.
APPENDIX OF CASES.
193
Aii information was preferred by the appellant (as parent
and next friend of Samuel Burton, a member of the Stoke
Bruern Friendly Society), against the respondent, as secretary
of the society, for that Samuel Burton, a member of
the society, was then insane, and an inmate of the Northampton
General Lunatic Asylum, and, as such, sick, and
entitled to relief from the society, which relief has been
refused to him.
At the hearing, on the 2nd of July, 1871, a copy of the
rules was put in, of which the following axe material:—
On the first page was the preamble ;
“ Whereas it is a laudable custom in Great Britain, for
divers artists and other [well] disposed persons to meet
and form themselves into societies for the relief of such
members as by illness or accident shall not be able to work
at their usual employment; it is therefore agreed by us,
rrho have entered our names in a book and subscribed, as
follows:—
“ Rule 11. That if any member remove from his present
place of abode to any part of England, he shall be allowed
two months to send his contribution money in, or forfeit
Is. 6d., hut if he neglect to send it in three months he shall
be excluded. And if the person absent shall duly send
ms contribution, and be there taken sick and unable to
w ork at his trade, he shall send a certificate signed by the
minister, churchwarden, and doctor of the parish where he
resides, certifying how long he hath been ill, and what his
disorder is. But if such member’s illness shall continue
mr more than a month, he shall send a certificate every
month as above, and on the receipt of such certificate he
shall receive his money the same as if he were present.
“Rule 13. That no member shall be entitled to any
benefit from this society until one year has expired from
he day of his entrance, and all his contributions, &c., to
-.‘at time be cleared off; he shall then receive 8.s. per week
< uring any sickness or accident that may befall him, unless
? . n °ting or drunkenness (the venereal' disease excepted),
_, UC l shall be carried to him by the stewards weekly;
1° are required to visit and inquire after the state of the
■ iclv, tor which they shall receive 3d. per mile from the.
jox for their trouble; and accordingly make their report
Is societ y> m case °f failure, to forfeit for each offence
„ * Rule 32. That if any member shal 1 , by quarrelling,,
(gating, wrestling, or any other unlawful cr needless exerc
, lse mil into either sickness, lameness, or blin ’ness, &c., he
■ s mil not be allowed the benefit of this society.”
K
194
APPENDIX OF CASES.
The justices being of opinion that insanity was not a
sickness which entitled the members to relief from the
society under its rules, dismissed the summons.
The question for the court was, whether the above facts
justified a dismissal of the summons or not.
Metcalfe, Q.C., for the appellant, contended that insanity
was sickness within the rules of the society. He referred
to Rules 11 and 13, and cited Reg. v. Manchester {a).
Quain, J., referred to the preamble of the rules.
The court called upon
Edmund Thomas, for the respondent. He referred to the
terms of the Act 18 & 19 Viet. c. 63, s. 9, sub-sect. 2, “old
age, sickness, or widowhood; ” and cited Reg. v. Huddersfield
(h). In Reg. v. Manchester (a) and Hunslet v. Dewsbury
(c), lunacy was assumed by the court not to be
sickness.
Blackburn, J.—I am of opinion that lunacy is sickness
within the meaning of the rules of this society. If we look
at the terms of the Acts (d) they speak of sickness, old age,
and widowhood, and it is quite clear that mere temporary
sickness is not what is contemplated; and I see nothing in
the rules themselves that confines the relief to temporary
illness; and Buie 11 shows that the society contemplated
relief at all events that would not be temporary, but might
last over months.
Insanity depends on the state of mind and body of the
person. The poor law cases proceeded on Acts passed with
a different object from that of friendly societies, by which
it was enacted that a pauper should not be removed if his
chargeability were owing to such sickness or accident as
would primd facie be only temporary ; and the question
arose whether insanity came within the meaning of sickness
for this purpose, but no absolute decision has been
.come to, though it seems to have been assumed that lunacy
\was sickness. It certainly seems to me that lunacy is a
isickness affecting the health of the body in such a way as
(a) 6 E. & B. 919; 26 L. J. (M. C.) 1.
(J) 7 E. & B. 794, at p. 798; 26 L. J. (M. C.) 169.
,(c) 26 L. J. (M. C.) 3 (n.)
{d) See 10 Geo. 4, c. 56, s. 2; and 18 & 19 Viet. c. 63, s. 9,
:sub-sect. 2.
APPENDIX OF CASES.
105
to prevent a man’s ability of earning liis livelihood. If it
were not the intention to include it, the rules of the society
-should be framed so as expressly to exclude it.
Quain, J.—I am also of opinion that insanity is sickness
within the society’s rules. The preamble of the rules
is wide enough to include it; the words of Rule 13, entitling
the member to relief, are “ during any sickness or
accident,” except certain excluded cases, insanity not being
one. There is nothing to show that temporary illness
only was contemplated; and if we look at Rule 32, that
seems to show that blindness was intended in general to
be included, as it exempts it in particular cases, and blindness
is certainly not temporary in most cases.
Archibald, J., concurred.
Case remitted to the justices accordingly.
The following extract from the judgment of Mr. Serjeant
Wheeler in the Liveipool County Court in a case of
Church v. The Great Southern Sick and Burial Society, is
interesting, as showing the medical aspect of the question
whether insanity is or is not bodily sickness:—It is necessary
in considering the question to bear in mind
the natural and essential relations of mind and body.
Every manifestation of mind in this life is made by and
through its bodily organ, the brain, and the mind is so
influenced by the brain that the condition of the former is
an invariable index to the constitution and condition of
the latter. Hence all causes of temporary or permanent
disturbance in the health of those parts of the brain that
manifest the mind produce in the same degree the signs of
mental derangement, and vice versd all symptoms of mental
derangement indicate a proportionate disturbance in the
sanitary state of the mind’s bodily organ, the brain. Some
years since when it rvas a common circumstance to examine
the brain with the aid only of the naked eye, it was not
possible in many cases to discover those lesions of brain
structure which produce and accompany insanity. But now,
by the recent application of the microscope, the minute
structure of the brain is revealed, and pathologists can
trace distinctly the very seat and nature of those morbid
changes which are the real essence of insanity. Hence
Schroeder van der Kolk, an eminent German anatomist, says
K. 2
196 APPENDIX OF CASES.
that “ lie does not remember to have performed the dissection
of one lunatic during the last twenty-five years without
finding a satisfactory explanation of the phenomena
observed during life,” If we glance back to the year 1831,
when Dr. Andrew Combe published his work on mental
derangement, we find this principle laid down:—“ Every
derangement of function is accompanied by disorder either
in the structure or mode of action of the organ which performs
it, and without the removal or cure of which the
function cannot be restored to its healthy state.” The same
author observes:—“ Sight is never impaired or hearing destroyed
unless the organs which execute these functions
are diseased, and in like manner thought and feeling are
never deranged unless the cerebral organs by which they
are manifested have undergone some morbid change.” The
latest expression of authoritative opinion upon this subject
is by Dr. Maudesly, in his Gulstonian lectures, “on the
relations between body and mind,” delivered this year at
the Royal College of Physicians. That gentleman thus
speaks:—-“I have given a survey of the physiology of
our mental functions, showing how indissolubly they
are bound up with the bodily functions, and how barren
must of necessity bo a study of mind apart from body. I
now propose to show that the phenomena of mental
derangement bear out fully this view of its nature, that we
have not to deal with disease of a metaphysical entity
which the method of inductive inquiry cannot reach, or
the resources of medical art touch, but with disease of
the nervous system disclosing itself by physical and
mental symptoms.” It seems then that the question in this
case is concluded both by reasoning and medical testimony,
and it appears to me that insanity is just as much bodily
disease as paralysis and apoplexy, which are notoriously
affections of the brain, and therefore admitted to be bodily
disease. It has been suggested, I see, in the Lancet that in
cases of insanity the right of relief out of the sick fund
ought, on account of the usually chronic character of the
malady, to be made subject to a special limit in point of
time. * That matter I leave to others to whom its decision
properly belongs. All that remains for me to do is to give
effect to the conclusion to which, after much consideration,
I have come, and to direct that a verdict be entered for the
plaintiff for the sum claimed” («).
(a) I am indebted to my friend Mr. W. U. Whitney, surgeon,
for kindly revising the report of this decision, which originallyappeared
in the Liverpool Mercury for 12th July, 1870.
APPENDIX OP CASES.
197
B.
Eote to Friendly Societies Act, 1875, s. 13; Industrial
and Provident Societies Act, 1876, s. 9.
By this section it is provided that no amendment of a
Tule shall he valid until it has been registered. This is in
conformity with the law as previously declared.
In Battey v. Townrow, 4 Camp. 5, it was held that an
action could not be maintained by the trustees of a friendly
■society elected under new regulations agreed to by the
members, but not confirmed according to the statute. Per
Lord Ellenborough (Easter Term, 53 Geo. 3):—“The
plaintiffs have no right to stand here, except by the Act of
Parliament, and the Act of Parliament gives them no such
right, unless they be lawfully elected to the office they fill;
but it appears they were elected contrary to law. The
section (33 Geo. 3, c. 54, s. 3) which permits an alteration
of rules provides that such alteration shall be subject to
the review of the justices, and shall have no force or effect
until confirmed by them. I cannot look, therefore, at the
rule altering the mode of electing the stewards. It is admitted
that the plaintiffs were not elected according to the
original rule; therefore they are not the legal trustees of
the society for the time being, and the effects sought to be
recovered never vested in them.”
In Beg. v. Godolphin, 8 A. & E. 338, it appeared that certain
alterations were made in the rules of a friendly society
■established under the 33 Geo. 3, c. 54. The altered rules,
however, were never enrolled, and it was held that the
rules as altered could not legally be acted upon ; and in
giving judgment Lord Denman said it would be well if it
were generally understood that these societies cannot depart
Lom their established rules, or neglect to comply with the
statute in the mode of altering or repealing them without
•exposing their property to danger, and themselves to great
expense, loss, and inconvenience. A doubt was also entertained
as to whether the original rules continued in force
even for the purpose of holding the society legal under
the statute, in consequence of the case of Ex parte Norrish,
Jac. 162.
In the case of Beg. v. Gotton, 15 Q. B. 569 ; 19 L. J.
(n.s.) Q. B. 233, where the rules had been approved accord-
198
APPENDIX OF CASES.
ing to the 33 Geo. 3, c. 54, and alterations made therein but
not properly enrolled, and it was contended that the
original rules were no longer in existence, the court held
otherwise, and in giving judgment, said:—“The society
rvas duly enrolled; how has it ceased to be so? Alterations
have been made from time to time, but not properly; and
that being so, the society must still be considered a friendly
society within the 33 Geo. 3, c. 54. This case is very different
from II. v. Godolphin, there the rules were regularly
altered, and a new set adopted. It is too much to say that
from the time the new rules were improperly made the
society ceased to be; if that is not so, it subsisted under the
rules which were enrolled; the objection to the new rules
may be got rid of by having them enrolled. The question
of agreement is met by the fact that the rules of the society
could only be altered by certain proceedings which wereineffectually
taken.”
In Meredith v. Whittingliam, 1 0. B. (n.s.) 216, where
a society had enrolled its rules under the 10 Geo. 4, c. 56,
and shortly afterwards had framed new rules, which were
never enrolled or certified, it was held that the society wasa
subsisting society under the original rules, by virtue of
18 & 19 Viet. c. 63, s. 2 [to which sect. 6 of the Friendly
Societies Act, 1875, is similar].
Dewhurst and others v. Clarkson, 3 E. & B. 194.—Where
an amendment of the rules of a friendly society had received,
the barristers certificate, under 4 it 5 Will. 4, c. 40, s. 4,.
such amendment was valid, though there had been no resolution
of the society in compliance with 10 Geo. 4, c. 56, s. 9,
or with the rules of the society incorporating that section.—
Per Lord Campbell, Coleridge, and Wightman, JJ.; dissentiente,
Erle, J. The rules of a society directed that three
trustees should, be appointed, of whom one should be the
treasurer, in whose name the funds of the society should be
invested, and that the treasurer should invest the unappropriated
stock exceeding £50 as the board, of management
should direct, pursuant to 13 ct 14 Viet. c. 115. Three
trustees rcere elected, but a fourth person ivas elected treasurer
:—Held, that the three trustees could not sue a former
treasurer for the balance in his hands under these rules,
and that they had no title to do so under 10 Geo. 4, c. 56,
or 13 cfc 14 Viet. c. 115, ivhich were prior to the rules talcing'
effect.
On the trial of this action, which was for money had and
APPENDIX OF OASES.
199
received by the defendant to the use of the society, it
appeared that the society had been established as early as
1825, and had, till 1853, been governed by a set of rules
duly certified. By one of the rules a treasurer was to be
appointed, and by another rule provision was made for
making alterations, which rule incorporated the 9th section
of 10 Geo. 4, c. 56. Under these rules the defendant was
appointed treasurer, and nothing had occurred to put an
end to his tenure of such office, unless the circumstances
after mentioned had that effect. In 1853 a set of new rules
was transmitted to the barrister, with an affidavit that, in
malting of them, the provisions of the Act under which the
rules of the society were enrolled had been duly complied
with. The new rules were duly certified, but it afterwards
appeared that they had been drawn up and transmitted
without any such meeting having been held as was prescribed
by the old rules and 10 Geo. 4, c. 56, s. 9. By the
new rules three trustees were to be appointed, one of whom
should be treasurer, in whose names the funds of the society
were to be invested. And whenever the unappropriated
stock amounted to above .£50, the same was to be invested
by the treasurer as a majority of the board of management
should direct, and pursuant to the 13 & 14 Viet. c. 115.
After the enrolment of the new rules, the three plaintiffs
were elected trustees, according to the regulations therein
prescribed, except that no one of them was treasurer, but
that another person, named Thomas Grune, was elected
treasurer. It was admitted on the part of the defendant
that he had received the money claimed on behalf of the
society ; but it was contended for him that he continued
treasurer, and that the plaintiffs were not legally appointed
trustees. For the plaintiffs it was admitted that the action
must fail, unless the plaintiffs could establish their title
under the new rules ; and it was further admitted that the
new rules had not been made in conformity with the old
rules ; but it was contended that the registrar’s certificate
was conclusive as to the validity of the new rules, and that
rt was not open to object that they were not regularly
adopted in the manner prescribed in the old rules. The
learned judge was of opinion that the certificate was not
conclusive, aud he directed a verdict for the defendant j
but it was afterwards arranged that the plaintiffs should be
nonsuited, with leave reserved to enter a verdict for them.
For the defendant it was further objected that the plaintiffs
were notentitled to sue, even supposing the new rules valid,
inasmuch as the 12th of those rules directed that one of
the three trustees should be treasurer, and none of the rules
200
APPENDIX OP CASES.
vested the money in a trustee not being treasurer. It ivas
agreed that the defendant should be allowed to raise this
point upon showing cause against the rule to be moved for.
In Michaelmas term, 1853, Atherton obtained a rule for
setting aside the nonsuit and entering a verdict for
plaintiff.
Against the rule cause was shown by Watson, Q. C., and
Row ; Atherton and Cowling, contra.
Lord Campbell, C. J.—My brothersCoLERiDGEand Wightjian
concur in the opinion which I am about to pronounce ;
my brother Erle differs from us. During the argument I
entertained considerable doubt respecting the point on
which the rule was granted, but, after looking into the
statutes on which it depends, I think that the objection
taken to the plaintiffs’ right to sue was not open to defendant,
the 4 & 5 Will. 4, c. 40, s. 4, having enacted that all
rules, alterations, and amendments thereof, from the time
when the same shall be certified by the said barrister to
whom they were submitted, shall be binding on the several
members and officers of the said society and all other persons
having interest therein. The intention of the legislature
seems to have been to give the like effect to the certificate
of the barrister under 4 & 5 Will. 4, c. 40, s. 4, as was given
to the confirmation by the sessions under 10 Geo. 4, c. 56,
s. 8. I cannot doubt that when rules had been so confirmed
and made binding, a member could not have questioned the
regularity of the manner in which they were made. Under
4 & 5 WilL 4, c. 40, s. 3, a new process for confirming the
rules is given, but the object still was to make them binding.
If, notwithstanding the precaution taken, any rule
has been certified by the barrister which was not regularly
made, a remedy would be open to a member who disapproves
of it by moving its repeal or modification, and if there
be a majority of the society who agree with him, the wrong
would be redressed. The defendant’s counsel admit that
the certified rule is primd facie valid ; but great mischief
might arise if this were only a presumption to be rebutted,
as then in every case where a rule is to be enforced evidence
might, without notice, be given of some alleged
irregularity in making it. I cannot doubt that it would
be for the general benefit of the friendly society that the
rules, when certified, should be considered binding till
repealed or altered ; and the language used by the legislature
seems to me fairly to bear this construction. I
therefore think that the nonsuit cannot be supported on
this ground.
Al’PENDIX OP CASES.
201
Erle, J. (after reviewing all the enactments at length).—
The words of the section, (a) the purview of the statute, the
provisions of other statutes in pari materid, and expediency,
lead me to the conclusion that the certificate of the barrister
hoes not create a rule or amendment, but fixes the time
when it becomes operative, and that the defendant is entitled
to succeed.
Watson and Rew.—The defendant is still entitled to keep
the money until his successor is appointed. No good successor
to him has been appointed under the new rules.
Atherton and Cowling, contra.—The 12th rule of the
society refers to 13 & 14 Viet. c. 115, ss. 12, 13, and introduces
so much of them as relates to the funds of the society.
The treasurer, therefore, is a mere banker of the society ;
and the trustees, though not entitled to keep the money,
have that legal interest in it which entitles them to sue and
maintain the action.
Lord Campbell, C. J. —I think the nonsuit ought to
stand, the plaintiffs having made out no right to sue. We
must now assume that the new rules are binding ; but they
have not been pursued. Instead of making one of the
three trustees a treasurer, three trustees are appointed, and
a fourth person is made treasurer. Supposing the election
of trustees to be good, what right have they to claim the
money 2 The learned counsel reverted to the Acts of
parliament, but they are superseded by the new rules in this
respect. And under 13 & 14 Viet. c. 115, money does not,
before it is invested, vest in trustees of whom no one is
treasurer (b).
Coleridge, J.—I am of the same opinion. The plaintiffs
were, I think, well appointed trustees ; till then the money
Was clearly in the treasurer. Then, how does it come to the
trustees ? One suggestion rather surprised me—-that the simple
election of the trustees gave them the funds of the society.
In all the Friendly Societies Acts you find clauses directing
(a) The arguments of the learned judge are not applicable to
the provisions of the Act of 1875.
(5) Under sect. 16, (3) of the Friendly Societies Act, 1.875,
however, all property of a society vests in its trustees, who have
the right under sect. 20 to call upon every officer to render an
account and to pay over all moneys to such person as they
appoint.
.202
APPENDIX OF CASES.
the money to be invested in the names of the trustees : how
could their mere appointment give them what is in other
hands 2 Then, as to the new rule 12, the treasurer is to
invest, if the sum in his hands exceed £50. Till the investment,
therefore, the money must he in his hands. The
provisions of 10 Geo. 4, c. 56, do not interfere with this
view. According to them the money is to be in the hands
of a single person, called indifferently treasurer or trustee.
The essence of the provision is, that the person who is
really treasurer has the custody of the money. Then
reliance is placed on 13 & 14 Yict. c. 115, but the new rules
would supersede the provisions there—though, indeed, I
think that sect. 13, compared with sect. 12, gives the treasurer
the custody of the money till it is invested.
Wightman, J., and Erle, J., were of the same opinion.
Rule discharge! 1 -
With regard to the effect of these cases, it is to be borne
in mind that by the present Acts, an acknowledgment of
registry is conclusive evidence that the society is registered,
unless it be proved that the registry has been suspended or
cancelled, and so also an acknowledgment of registry of an
amendment of rule in conclusive evidence that such amendment
is duly registered.
C.
Note to Friendly Societies Act, 1875, s. 14.
By this section every registered society is required to>
appoint trustees, and send to the registrar a copy of the
resolution of appointment. To this it would seem the
principle ot the following case is applicable :—
Beckett v. Willett, 5 W. R. 622.—Where trustees of a
friendly society, established under 13 d- 14 Viet. c. 115, ivere
appointed after 18 <£- 19 Viet. c. 63, had become law, held,
that it was not necessary to send to the registrar the resolution
appointing the trustees, and that such trustees viere liable to be
sued for the debts of the society incurred before their appointment.
This was an action upon a printer’s bill brought against
the defendants as trustees of a friendly society duly registered
and certified May 28, 1855, when 13 & 14 Yict. c. 115,
was law. No trustees were appointed until March4,1856,
APPENDIX OF CASES.
203
when by a resolution of the society, the three defendants
were appointed trustees. At that time the 18 & 19 Viet,
c. 63, repealing 13 & 14 Viet. c. 115, had become law, and
no notice of the resolution was given to the registrar of
friendly societies. At the trial it was argued for the defendants,
that by the society’s rules, and 13 & 14 Viet. c. 115,
s. 13, the resolutions appointing the trustees ought to have
been transmitted to the registrar to make the appointment
valid, and this not having been done, this action would
not lie; and moreover as to £44, part of the claim, the
defendants could not be liable, because it was for expenses
incurred before their appointment; the plaintiff had a verdict,
leave being reserved to move for a nonsuit. A rule
nisi having been obtained.
Atherton, Q. 0., and Day, showed cause.
Hawkins and Lewis, contra.
Lord Campbell, C. J.—At the trial I considered the
only serious objection to be, that no notice of appointment
of trustess had been transmitted to the registrar, but that
difficulty is now got over; 13 & 14 Viet, was repealed
before the appointment, and 18 & 19 Viet, confers the
power of appointing trustees without the condition of sending
the resolutions to the registrar. I think, therefore,
that these defendants were duly appointed trustees, and
are liable to be sued for the whole debt.
Wightman, Erle, and Crompton, J.J., concurred.
Eule discharged.
It is to be borne in mind, however, that the society,
neglecting to send a copy of a resolution appointing a trustee
to the registrar, commits an offence under the Act, and that
sect. 16 (10) exempts the trustees from personal liability.
D.
Note to Friendly Societies Act, 1875, Section 15,
Sub-section 2.
By this, section societies registered under the Friendly
Societies Acts (except indeed specially authorized societies*
as regards which the Treasury usually limit the application
of the Acts so as not to include this privilege) are entitled,
to certain exemptions from stamp duty. The documents;
exempted are more clearly set forth than in previous. Acts;,
204
APPENDIX OF CASES.
and the principle established by the following case is applicable
:—
In the matter of the Royal Liver Friendly Society L. R.,
5 Exch. 78.—Stamps; exemption from duty; friendly society;
investment of the funds of a friendly society in securities;
18 cfc 19 Viet. c. 63, s. 37.
The Friendly Societies Act (18 <£■ 19 Viet. c. 63, s. 37) does
not exempt from stamp duty securities on which the funds of
a friendly society are invested.
Case stated by the Commissioners of Inland Revenue
under 13 & 14 Viet. c. 97, s. 14, on an appeal against their
decision as to the liability to stamp duty of a deed, transferring
to the trustees of “ The Royal Liver Friendly
Society” a mortgage of £1,100, the transfer containing a
declaration that the money was advanced out of the funds
of the society. The commissioners, whose opinion was
requested under 13 & 14 Viet-, c. 97, s. 14, and 16 & 17 Viet,
c. 59, s. 13, charged a duty of os. 6d., ad valorem (under
28 & 29 Viet. c. 96, s. 17), and 5s. 6d. progressive duty, and
from this decision the trustees appealed.
The society was one established previously to, but then
regulated by, 18 & 19 Viet. c. 63, which amended and
consolidated the law relating to friendly societies, and
the trustees claimed exemption from stamp duty under
sect. 37.
By their 9th rule, it is one of the duties of the committee
of management to negotiate all money transactions, order
and direct how, when, and upon what security the funds of
the society shall be invested, and execute all the powers
vested in them by 18 & 19 Viet. c. 63 (ss. 17-19).
Kelly, C. B.—The Act exempts from duty all documents
required or authorized by the rules of the society,
and no doubt the society by its rules authorizes the trustees
to invest their funds in mortgages of real estate. But the
question is whether, looking at the whole of sect. 37, it
only exempts documents required or authorized for the
purpose of carrying on the internal affairs of the society,
or required or authorized for the purpose of bringing the
society into a position to carry on business with the outside
world, or whether it also exempts all documents which
may become necessary in the course of carrying out that
business. We should have expected very express and
specific language if it had been intended to exempt securities
to so large an amount as on this view the statute
would include. But on the contrary, when we read the
- earlier part of the section we find that the instruments
a
APPENDIX OP CASES.
205
there enumerated all relate to matters of a comparatively
small amount, and are of the character I have mentioned,
and the general words must he construed by reference to
■the particular terms which precede them, and must be
taken to refer to matters ejnsdem generis with them. But
we have had presented to our attention the case of Walker
v. Giles, 6 C. B. 662 (a), followed by other cases, in which
it was held that the words of the corresponding section of
the earlier Act applied to mortgages made to the society by
strangers, and were not confined to mortgages by their own
members. In that Act, however, the words “nor other
security” occurred after the word “bond,” and it is possible,
and I am far from thinking it improbable, that those words
were omitted by the legislature in consequence of the
decision in that case. What the legislature meant was to
exempt transactions relating to small sums, and to official
■acts and the conduct of internal business ; they therefore
left out the words “ nor other security ” for the purpose of
confining the exemption to bonds, and to such bonds as are
required in the administration of the society’s affairs. If
the transfer of a mortgage to the society is exempt, it is
impossible to exclude from the exemption the case of an
original mortgage to them, where by universal usage the
duty with other cost of conveyance is to be paid not by
them but by the mortgagor. It is impossible without
clear words to suppose that the legislature can have done
anything so mischievous or so contrary to equity as to
extend exceptional privileges, not only to the society, but
to all those that deal with it.
We must therefore either read the words as applicable
only to cases where by usage or under the contract the
society would have to pay the duty, for which, however,
there is no authority, no such limitation being expressed
in the Act, or we must read the section as referring to
acts, such as a power of attorney, which bring into existence
or create the possibility of negotiation, acts which
are in a manner exclusively the acts of the society, or
of its officers and members in their relation to it and to one
another.
Martin, B.—I am of the same opinion. It is obvious
both from 13 Geo. 4, c. 56, and 18 & 19 Viet. c. 63, that the
object of the legislature was to relieve these societies and
(«) This case related to a Benefit Building Society under
6 & 7 Will. 4, c. 32.
206
APPENDIX OF CASES.
their members from stamp duty in respect of documents
immediately connected with the society.
The conclusion was drawn in Walker v. Giles from the
peculiar words of the earlier Act, that its operation was
extended to mortgages made to the society, but my impression
is that it was never intended that strangers borrowing
money of such societies should be put in a different position
from other persons. Now I agree that if transfers of mortgages
are exempted, then equally original mortgages are
exempted, where according to the universal course of business
the duty is paid not by the lender but by the borrower.
But this would be to secure a benefit not to the society but
to those who borrow of it. Now, if the words in this section
are read in their ordinary meaning, there is no word applicable
to this case; but moreover I think that the words “nor
other security” are omitted for the very purpose of preventing
this question arising. The Court of Common Pleas had
thought that mortgages were within the terms of the previous
Act, and it is clear that the words they relied on were
those very words which are now left out. Further, my impression
is that the word “ bond,” which occurs in both the
earlier and present section, refers not to a loan or investment
of the society’s funds in or upon bonds, such as the
harbour bonds of the Mersey Docks, but to bonds given
whether with or without security by clerks, agents to receive
money, and others as security for their duly accounting or
otherwise discharging the functions of their office. That I
think also was the nature of the security mentioned in the
earlier Act, but a more extensive meaning having been
attributed to it, the word was afterwards omitted. Then
the question comes to this, whether the words in the latter
part of the section, read in conjunction with the instruments
previously enumerated, where bonds are mentioned,,
but securities are omitted, are not to be confined to instruments
ejusdem cjeneris. I concur in thinking that they are,
and that this mortgage was not within the meaning of the
section.
PictOTT, B.—I am of the same opinion. If this question
had arisen under the old Act I should have agreed with
the Court of Common Pleas in Walker v. Giles, that giving
their fair meaning to the words, they were large enough to.
have embraced this mortgage, but I can find no words in
the late Act showing an intention to create so wide an
exemption, the very words relied on in that case being
omitted. The only ground of argument in favour of the
exemption is that the words “ any other document what-
APPENDIX OP CASES.
207
ever required or authorized by or in pursuance of this Act
or the rules of any society,” are even larger than the corresponding
words in the earlier Act, and are sufficiently
wide to include this ease. But I agree with my lord and
my brother Martin that we must read this language with
reference to the preceding words, and that such documents
as they have described will satisfy the meaning of the Act-Judgment
for the Crown.
The arrangement of sub-section 2 of section 15 of the
Friendly Societies Act, 1875, would seem to make the
matter even less open to doubt; for there the general words
“ or other document, &e.,” aye attached to sub-liead (d),
which relates to “draft, or order, or form of policy, or
appointment, or revocation of appointment of agent,” which
are all matters connected with the transaction of the
internal business of a society.
Note to sect. 15 (4) of the Friendly Societies Act,
1875, and sect. 11 (6) of the Industrial and Provident
Societies Act, 1876.
TABLE OF DISTBIBUTION.
In default of nomination by a member, a society may pay
any sum not exceeding fifty pounds on his death intestate,
“ without letters of administration, to the person who
appears to a majority of the trustees [or in an Industrial
and Provident Society, the Committee of Management] upon
such evidence as they may deem satisfactory, to he entitled
by law to receive the same.” The following is a table of
distribution of personal estate of intestates pursuant to
22 & 23 Car. 2, c. 10 ; 29 Car. 2, c. 30
If the Intestate die, His personal Representatives
leaving. take as follows:—
Wife and child, or children . One-third to wife, rest to child
or children; and if children
are dead, then to their
representatives (that is, their
lineal descendants), except
such child or children not
heirs-at-law, who had estate
by settlement of intestate,
in his lifetime, equal to
other shares.
208
TABLE OF DISTRIBUTION.
If the Intestate die
leaving.
Wife only .
Iso wife or child .
■Child, children, or representatives
of them.
■Children hy two wives.
If no child, children, or representatives
of them.
■Child and grandchild .
Husband ....
Father, and brother or sister
Mother, and brother or sister
Wife, mother, brother, sisters,
and nieces.
Wife, mother, nephews, and
nieces.
Wife, brothers, or sisters, and
mother.
Mother only.
Wife and mother . ,
Brother or sister of whole
blood, and brother or sister
of half blood.
His personal Representatives
take as follows :—
Half to wife, rest to next of
kin in equal degrees to intestate,
or their legal representatives.
All to next of kin and to their
legal representatives.
All to him, her, or them.
Equally to all.
All to next of kin in equal
degrees to intestate.
Half to child, half to grandchild,
who takes by representation.
Whole to him.
Whole to father.
Whole to them equally.
Half to wife, residue to
mother, brothers, sisters,
and nieces.
Two-fourtlis to wife, onefourth
to mother, and other
fourth to neq>hews and
nieces.
Half to wife (under statute of
Car. 2), half to brothers or
sisters, and mother.
The whole (it being then out
of the statute of 1 J ac. 2,
c. 17) (a).
Half to wife, half to mother.
Equally to both.
(a) By this statute, sect. 17, “ If after the death of a father,
any of liis children shall die intestate, without wife or children,
in the lifetime of the mother, every brother and sister, and the
representatives of them, shall have an equal share with her.”
TABLE OF DISTRIBUTION.
209
If the Intestate die,
leaving
Posthumous brother or sister,
and mother.
Posthumous brother or sister,
and brother or sister horn
in lifetime of father.
Father’s father, and mother’s
mother.
Uncle or aunt’s children, and
brother or sister’s grandchildren.
•Grandmother, uncle, or aunt
Two aunts, nephew, and niece
Uncle and deceased uncle’s
child.
Uncle by mother’s side, and
deceased uncle or aunt’s
child.
Nephew by brother, and
nephew by half-sister.
Brother or sister’s nephew or
nieces.
Nephew by deceased brother,
and nephews and nieces by
deceased sister.
Brother and grandfather
Brother’s grandson, and
brother or sister’s daughter
Brother and two aunts.
Brother and wife .
Mother and brother
Wife, mother and children of
a deceased brother or sister
Wife, brother, or sister, and
children of a deceased
brother or sister.
His personal Representatives
take as follows :—
Equally to both.
Equally to both.
Equally to both.
Equally to all.
All to grandmother.
Equally to all.
All to uncle.
All to uncle.
Equally per head.
Where nephews and nieces, by
families and not per head.
Each in equal shares per
head.
AVhole to brother.
To daughter.
To brother.
Half to brother, half to wife.
Equally.
Half to wife, a fourth to
mother, and a fourth by
families to deceased’s brother
or sister’s children.
Half to wife, one-fourth to
brother or sister per head,
one-fourth to deceased’s
brother or sister’s children
by families.
210
APPENDIX OP CASES.
If the Intestate die, His personal Representatives
leaving take as follows:—
Brother or sister, and chil- Half to brother or sister per
dren of a deceased brother head, half to children of
or sister. deceased brother or sister
by families.
Grandfather and brother , All to brother.
A study of the contents of this table may afford to members
of Friendly and Industrial Societies good reason why
they should exercise the privilege of nomination, which has
been extended to them, and is now so completely unrestrained
that the member may nominate any person whatever,
whether related to him or not, with the restriction
only that the nominee, if a stranger in blood, is not to be
an officer or servant of the society.
F.
Note to sect. 15, sub-sect. 7 op the Friendly Societies/.
Act, 1875.
Preference is given to a society on the bankruptcy or
insolvency of an officer having in his possession by virtue
of his office any money or property belonging to the society,
as well as on the death of such officer. This is a provision
well characterized by Lord FjLdon {Ex parte Ross, 6 Ves. 802)-as
“ very liberal, and perhaps more liberal than just, that
all creditors, however meritorious, shall be sacrificed to the
demand of a friendly society.” It was believed that the
provision of the Bankruptcy Act, 1869 (32 & 33 Viet. c. 71,
s. 32) by which all debts provable under a bankruptcy are
to be paid pari passu, except rates and taxes, and the wagesof
clerks and servants, had operated to repeal the priority
of friendly societies given by former statutes, though on
this point county court judges had given conflicting decisions
{Re Matthews, Ex parte the Society of Women, held at
the Blacksmith’s Arms, Mynnddislwyn ; County Courts-Chronicle,
1st May, 1872 ; Re Keywortli, Ex parte the Society
of Good Samaritans, Lincoln, Law Times, 24th August,.
1872). The statute now expressly restores it.
Under the old statutes, the following decisions have
been given, and appear still to be applicable :—
The circumstance of the society not having audited the
treasurer’s accounts, was held not to deprive it of the
APPENDIX OF CASES.
211
priority given by this section, and the filing and service of'
a hill by the trustees to enforce such right, held to be a
demand in -writing within the section : Absalum v. Gethin,
11 W. R 332 ; 32 Beav. 322.
The priority of payment applies only to moneys received
by an officer by virtue of his office, independent of contract.
Thus, it was held upon the construction of 33 Geo. 3,
c. 54, s. 10 (similar to this section), that the section did not
apply to a debt due from an officer in his individual, and
not in his official, character : Ex parte The Amicable Society
of Lancaster, 6 Ve3. 98 ; nor to money held by a person not
appointed treasurer, or by the treasurer upon notes carrying
interest : Ex parte Ashley, 6 Yes. 441 ; Ex parte Ross,
Id. 802 ; Ex parte Stamford Friendly Society, 55 Ves. 280
and see Ex parte Buckland, 1 Buck. 514 ; Anon. 6 Mad. 98.
Where the treasurer of a savings bank was partner in
a bank into which all moneys received by the manager
were paid to the credit of the trustees, and interest
allowed thereon, it being the custom of the bankers toallow
interest upon deposits, and the treasurer acknowledged
from time to time the balance to be moneys in his
hands as treasurer, it was held under a similar clause in a
Savings Bank Act to that now under consideration, that
such balance was to he deemed as in his hands as treasurer,
and that the trustees were entitled to recover the amount
in full : Ex parte Riddell, 3 Mont. D. & G. 80.
An actuary of a savings bank, who by the rules had nopower
to receive money, but was allowed to do so by the
manager, was held not to have received it by virtue of
his office, and therefore, the trustees of the bank had no
priority over the other creditors : Ex parte Jardine, 10 L. J..
(n.s.) (B.) 11; 1 Fonblanqrm, 324.
The rules of a friendly society provided that the treasurer
retaining upwards of i!10 more than seven days after he
was required to pay it over, should be excluded from the
society. They also provided that a particular firm should;
be the bankers of the society, with power for a general
meeting to appoint other bankers. It was held that the
bankers for the time being were not officers : Ex parte
Harris, 1 De Gex, 162.
Country bankers appointed by a friendly society toreceive
moneys and to transmit them to their London
agents for the purpose of investment in the Bank of
England ta the account of the Commissioners of the
National Debt, were held not to be appointed to an office
within the meaning of the Act 4 & 5 Will. 4, c. 40, s. 12
Hx parte Whipham, 3 Mont. D. & D. 564.
2 12
APPENDIX OF CASES.
On the appointment of a treasurer of a friendly society,
it was agreed that of the funds then in hand, she was to pay
interest for £120. It was held that this was not to he considered
as a loan to her, hut that it was in her hands and
possession by virtue of her office of treasurer, within the
meaning of the 4 & 5 Will. 4, c. 40, s. 12, and that the
assignees were bound to pay over the amount to the society :
Ex parte Ray, 3 Dea. S37.
By the rules of a friendly society it was provided that
there should be appointed a treasurer or treasurers, in
whose hands should be deposited all the cash belonging to
the society, until the same should be placed out at interest;
. and that as soon as a sufficient sum should be collected, it
should (after leaving in the club-box a sufficient sum to
pay the sick and other expenses of the society), be deposited
in the hands of the treasurer or treasurers of the society ;
and that the clerk and two stewards should take the same
to the bank. No formal appointment of treasurer was
made, but the moneys of the society were paid into a bank.
It was held that the bankers were not employed as officers
of the society: Ex parte Orford, 1 De Gex, M. & G.
483.
A friendly society appointed a Joint Stock Bank its
treasurer. Held, that the treasurer must be a natural person
not a corporation, and that the words of sect. 15 (7) as to
insolvency do not apply to proceedings in winding-up a
■ company : Ex parte Swansea Friendly Society, Law Rep.
11 Ch. Div. 768.
G.
Note to sect. 16 (9) of the Friendly Societies Act,
1879, AND SECT. 12 (10) OF THE INDUSTRIAL AND PROVIDENT
Societies Act, 1876.
These sub-sections are to the same effect as 18 & 19 Viet.
■ c. 63, s. 24 and previous Friendly Societies Acts, with
respect to which the following cases have been decided :—
Where an officer of a society had received, as such, moneys
-belonging to the society, and afterwards executed an assignment
for the benefit of his creditors, and his assignees had
enough to repay the amount, but the specific moneys so
received were not traced to the assignees, the assignees were
held not liable to be proceeded against under this section :
Ex parte O’Donnell, 1 L. R. (Q. B.) 274; 30 J. P. 279.
The remedy given by this section applies where the
APPENDIX OP CASES.
213
moneys, &c., were tlie property of tlie society previously
to its registry. In Ex parte Gordon, 15 J. P. 767, a rule
nisi for a certiorari was moved for, to bring up a conviction
of Mr. Alderman Carrol, made under 13 & 14
Viet. c. 115, s. 26, by which Gordon was ordered to pay
over to certain persons named therein the sum of
ill ,014 5s. 6d. The certiorari was taken away, and this
rule could not therefore be granted, unless "there was
entire want of jurisdiction ; but it was submitted that
there was a want of jurisdiction, both as to the facts and
upon the face of the conviction itself. First, as to the
facts :—In and before 1848, Gordon had been the treasurer
of a certain society of Foresters ; in that year there was a
division in the society, which was in consequence split into
two. Gordon remained with the larger division, and continued
to act as treasurer to such division. At the time of
the division, Gordon held, as treasurer to the entire societ}-,.
a considerable sum of money. He continued to hold this
money after the division, and permitted the society, of
which he remained a member, to enjoy the proceeds of it - r
but he considered that he still held it as a trustee for the
entire society. In December, 1850, the said larger division
of the original society was duly registered, and Mr. Aiderman
Carrol had convicted Mr. Gordon of withholding this
money from such registered society, and had ordered him
to pay over to certain officers of the society the sum of
,£1,014 5s. 6d., being double the sum so alleged to have been
withheld. It was now submitted that the magistrate acted
without jurisdiction, as the money withheld was clearly the
money of the original entire society, and not of the divided
society. And secondly, that the conviction was bad forward;
of jurisdiction on the face of it, as it did not show,
as required by the 26th section of the Act, that it wasmade
on the complaint of any officer of the society appointed
lor that purpose, but simply that it was made on the complaint
of certain officers of the society. The court held that
on the first point there would be no rule, as the magistrate
had jurisdiction over the subject-matter, and the facts were
for his determination, but granted a rule on tire other point..
Where, however, an unregistered society had dissolved,
and a portion of its members formed themselves into a
registered society, it was held that the justices had no
jurisdiction under this section against an officer of the
original society who did not join the new society, and
retained in his possession the papers of the original society
Patrick v. Gilbert, 34 J. P. 597.
The summary power given by this section does not pre
214
APPENDIX OF CASES.
vent proceedings by indictment, although the offender may
he a member of the society. In Rexv. Hall, 1 Moo. 0. 0 474,
it was held to be embezzlement for a member, who was also
the secretary of a society, fraudulently to withhold money
received on account of the society. But, on this point, see
31 & 32 Viet. c. 116, Part II., ante.
The remedy given by this section does not take away the
common law remedy by action : Sindenv. Banks, 3 E. & E.
■623 ; 30 L. J. (Q. B.) 102.
Assumpsit for money had and received might be maintained
against one who had been a member, for money
intrusted to his keeping by the rest of the society : Sharpe
v. Warren, 6 Price, 131.
A petition was presented by the officers of a friendly
■society, enrolled under the 10 Geo. 4, c. 56, seeking to
enforce payment by two members of the society of a sum
of money, part of the funds of the society, with which they
had been intrusted by the other members. It appeared
that at a general meeting it was resolved that the funds of
the society should be got in and divided, and then that the
society should be dissolved. Subsequently, a portion of
the funds had been delivered to the respondents, in order
that they might deposit it in the bank at Carmarthen.
The money was accordingly deposited by them in the
hank, but they subsequently drew it out, and, notwithstanding
frequent demands made upon them, they had not
replaced it, and it was now sought to enforce payment of
such moneys. Stuart, V.-C., said the justice of the case
was clear, and accordingly made the order asked for : In
re Briton Friendly Society, 20 Nov., 1852, ex rel. W. Tidd
Pratt.
Upon an indictment for obtaining money under false
pretences, it appeared that in the month of July the prisoner
asked the prosecutrix to belong to a burial club, which he
praised as strong and respectable, and which he said had
£7,000 in a bank. He did not then induce the prosecutrix
to become a member. A month afterwards he went again,
and “ still praised the club,” but said nothing of the ,£7,000.
The prosecutrix then subscribed :—Held, that the jury
might connect the two statements, and the statement as to
the £7,000 being false, they found that the prisoner had
•obtained the money by that false pretence : Rea. v. Welman
1 C. C. R. 189.
Obtaining money by the secretary of a society from a
member, by telling him he owed it to the club, whereas he
owed part only Held to be obtaining money by false
pretences : Reg. v. Woolley, 1 Den. 559.
APPENDIX OP CASES.
215
Where the clerk of a friendly society embezzled rents
collected by him in the capacity of cleric :—Held, that he
might be stated to be the cleric to the trustees, to whom
the house had been conveyed, whether appointed by them
or by the society, and that it was no defence that the
affairs of the society had not been conducted according to
the statute : R. v. Miller, 2 Mood. 249. See also R. v.
Proud, 31 L. J. M. 0. 71, and R. v. Murphy, 4 Cox C. C.
101.
The treasurer of a society is an accountable officer, not a
“ clerk or servant,” and cannot be indicted for embezzlement
: R. v. Tyree, 1 L. B. (C. 0.) 177.
Trespass does not lie against a magistrate for anything
done by him in the discharge of his duty, unless he be
made acquainted with every fact necessary to enable him
to determine when called on to act. Where, therefore, the
treasurer of a benefit society brought such an action against
a magistrate, for issuing a warrant of distress against him
upon a previous order of two magistrates for the relief of a
member, in pursuance of 33 Geo. 3, c. 54, s. 15 :—Held,
that the action could not be maintained, it appearing on
the face of the order that the treasurer made no defence,
the defendant’s jurisdiction not having been questioned at
the time, and the treasurer having neglected to present to
his notice a rule of the society, which directed all disputes
between its members to be referred to arbitration, and
which rule was confirmed *by section 16 of the statute,
whereby the award was made conclusive, without being
subject to the control of the magistrate : Pike v. Garter,
10 Moore, 376.
Barrett, app., Markham, resp., L. B. C. P. 405, 8th June,
1872.- 18 (£• 19 Viet. e. 63, s. 24. To render the treasurer
°f a, friendly society liable to the penalties imposed by this
section for withholding or misapplying moneys of the society
which have come to his hands as treasurer, it must be shown
that he has been guilty of some fraud or misrepresentation.
Mere inability to pay the money to the trustees is not enough.
Case stated by a police magistrate under 20 & 21 Viet,
•c. 43.
1. The appellant is one of the trustees of a friendly
society called the “ Prince of Wales Lodge, Order of Ancient
Shepherds, Ashton Unity, South London District,” and the
respondent was, until the 28th of October last, the treasurer
■°f that society.
2. The parties appeared before the magistrate at the
Bamheth Police Court upon a complaint preferred by the
216
APPENDIX OF CASES.
appellant, as such, trustee, under 18 & 19 Yict. e. 63, s. 24,
in which the respondent was charged “ for that, being an
officer of the said friendly society, he did, having in his
possession certain moneys belonging to the said society to
the amount of £31 2s. lid., unlawfully withhold and misapply
the same. The following facts were proved : —
3. The respondent was duly appointed treasurer of the
society, but had not been required to give the security
directed by section 21 of the Act. The moneys which lie
was charged with withholding and misapplying had been
received by him in his character of treasurer for the use of
the society. It was his duty to render quarterly an account
of all moneys received and paid by him on account of the
society, and to pay over to the trustees, on demand, the
balance due from him on such accounts. The last account
rendered by him was dated the 5th of August last, and it
appeared therefrom that he was indebted to the society in
the sum of ,£26 10s. 2\d., to that date, and from subsequent
entries in the treasurer’s books, further sums, making a
total sum due by him to the society of £31 2s. lid., the
amount charged in the complaint. This sum he was unable
to pay; and as he could not give such security for the
payment as was satisfactory to the trustees, these proceedings
were taken. There was no charge of fraud or
misrepresentation against the respondent in respect of these
moneys.
4. The magistrate held that the inability and consequent
refusal of the respondent to pay the balance was not a withholding
or misapplying under section 24.
The question lor the opinion of the court was whether
the magistrate was right in dismissing the complaint.
Oppenheim, for the appellant, cited Sinden v. Banks,
3 E. & E. 623, and Ex parte O’Donnell, L. R. 1 Q. B. 274.
John Thompson, for the respondent, was not called upon.
Willes, J.—It appears to me that the statement in paragraph
3 of the case that there was no charge of fraud or
misrepresentation against the respondent in respect of these
moneys makes an end of the matter. A civil remedy
having been given against a defaulting officer by section 22,
a proceeding of a criminal or penal nature is given by
section 24 in respect of something which is of a criminal
character. I do not say it is necessary that the matter
complained of must, to bring it within section 24, be a
thing for which an indictment would lie. I found my
decision upon the language used in the beginning and at
APPENDIX OF CASES.
217
the end of section 24, “ If any officer having any moneys,
securities, &e., of the society in his possession, shall withhold
or misapply the same.” That clearly means a withholding
or misapplying under circumstances importing
misconduct. And this is confirmed by the proviso at the
end of the section : “ Provided that nothing herein contained
shall prevent the said society from proceeding by
indictment against the said party ; provided also, that no
person shall be proceeded against by indictment, if a conviction
shall have been previously obtained for the same
offence under the provisions of this Act.” It is evident
that the section intended to create an offence. Fraud and
misrepresentation being negatived, I think the decision of
the magistrate was right.
Keating, J., concurred.
Decision affirmed ; costs to he set
off against the debt due from the
respondent to the society.
H.
Note to Section 22 of the Friendly Societies Act,
1875, and Section 14 of the Industrial and
Provident Societies Act, 1876.
_ The following cases have been decided under the previsions
of former Acts relating to the settlement of disputes
:—
Upon a reference before arbitrators, they may decline to
hear counsel : In re Macqueen, 9 C. B. (n. s.) 793.
_ Where, by acquiescence of the society, justices decide a
dispute in a case where the rules did not direct disputes to
be referred to them, the court refused to grant a certiorari
°n the application of the society : R. v. IVest London
Philanthropic Burial Society, 33 J. P. 614.
The direction of the Acts, as to the reference of disputes,
has the effect so far as regards such disputes, of excluding
the jurisdiction of the superior courts : Crisp v. Bunbury,
8 Bing. 394 ; Timms v. Williams, 3 Q. B. 413. In Ex parte
Payne, 5 Dowl. & L. 679, by the rules of a benefit building;
society, it was provided that all matters in dispute s&mjM
be referred to justices, in pursuance of 10 Geo.. 4,, e. 56,
218
APPENDIX OP CASES.
s, 27 ; held on motion for a mandamus to the judge of one
of the county courts, to proceed and hear a plaint levied hy
one of the members against an officer of the society, that the
section of the Act and the rules providing for a cheap,
simple, and speedy decision, ousted the jurisdiction of the
ordinary courts.
In 1Reeves v. White, 16 J. P. 118 ; 17 Q. B. 995, the court
held that the summary remedy provided by the statute for
the settlement of disputes by arbitration is conclusive, and
ousts the jurisdiction of the superior courts. Per Lord
Campbell, C. J., “Where there may be, there must be, a
reference to the arbitrators.”
In Armitage v. Walker, 2 Kay & J. 211, upon the construction
of the arbitration clause in the Benefit Building
Societies Act of 1836, Wood, Y.C., held that neither a
court of law nor equity had jurisdiction to alter the award
of arbitrators or justices unless there was error upon the
face of it, or it was shown to have been corruptly obtained.
He said :—“ The legislature intended carefully to provide
that these societies should not be dragged before courts of
law or equity, if it could possibly be avoided, and has
taken care to enact that the 'whole discussion of their
affairs shall be disposed of in a cheap and summary manner
by the decision of an arbitrator or justice as the parties
.shall choose, and when they have once made their election,
the power of the justice or of the arbitrator acting always
within the rules of the society is complete, and is not subject
to revision by any court of law or equity. That is the
primary matter to which attention must be drawn, and it
is necessary to be extremely careful that the jurisdiction of
this court shall not be set up to control the arbitrators so
selected, except upon a very clear and distinct case being
made out of their abuse of their office.” See also Ex parte
Long, 3 W. It. 18, and 11. v. Evans, 3 E. & B. 363.
Where, however, the rules directed that the arbitrators
should hear evidence on both sides, and their decision,
binding on all parties, shall be final, and the arbitrators
refused to hear the evidence of one side, it was held that
their award was not made according to the rules, and therefore
was not an award final and binding within 10 Geo. 4,
•c. 56, s. 27. Per Lord Denman, C. J., in B. v. Grant,
14 Q. B. 43.
In Trott v. Hughes, 16 L. T. 260, a bill was filed on
behalf of some of the members of the “ Second Borough of
.Southwark Benefit Building and Investment Association,”
APPENDIX OF OASES.
210
against the directors and a portion of the shareholders
who concurred in the acts complained of. The plaintiffs
alleged that, being dissatisfied with the management, they
had, in pursuance of the provisions of their deed of association,
given a month’s notice of their intention to withdraw
from the society, and that the directors had denied their
right so to withdraw. The plaintiffs thereupon filed their
bill to recover their subscriptions, and by the present
motion sought to restrain the directors from transferring or
appropriating the funds of the society at the bankers. The
defendants contended that the proper course for the plaintiffs,
if dissatisfied with the conduct of the directors, was,
according to the rules of the society, to appeal to arbitrators
duly elected at a meeting for that purpose, and if that step
■did not produce a satisfactory result, they were then empowered
to apply to two justices of the peace, whose
decision would be final. Cbaxworth, V.-C., said that the
case was one in which the regulations of the society, and
the provisions of the legislature with regard to such associations,
permitted the members, in the event of a dispute
arising, to bring the case before the directors for their
decision ; and if that should be unsatisfactory, to appeal to
arbitrators, and ultimately to carry the case before two
magistrates for their determination. The plaintiffs, however,
had thought proper to apply to the court to put a
construction on their rules, instead of adopting those means
of redress which were clearly pointed out by the rules
themselves. He was of opinion that there was no necessity
for the interference of the court, and refused the motion
with costs.
In Grinham v. Card, 7 Exeh. 883, a dispute arose between
two of the members of the committee of a friendly society
and the trustees touching the distribution of a fund in the
hands of the latter, and by one of the rules it was ordered
that disputes were to be referred to such members of the
committee as should not be personally interested in the
matter ; and it was held that the judge of the county court
had no jurisdiction in such case according to the rule of the
society, which provided for the reference to the committee,
and then to private arbitration, of all disputes, and the
question now raised was, whether this particular dispute
was one which could have been the subject of a suit in
equity. The court restrained the judge of the county court
from hearing the cause, on the ground that the dispute
ivas one which ought to have been referred under the
above rule.
220
APPENDIX OF CASES.
These decisions have been followed in the recent cases of
Callaghan v. Dolioin, L. B. 4 0. P. 288, and Thompson v.
Planet Building Society, L. R. 15 Eq. 333.
The words “ every dispute ” must he read as referring
only to disputes between the society and the members as
members, and not in any other capacity they may be placed
in, by having the funds of the society advanced to them
by way of mortgage, or on loan on the security of their
policies. In Morrison v. Glover, 19 L. J. (Excli.) 20, the
defendant, a member of a building society, having mortgaged
some leasehold premises to the society, and thereby
covenanted to observe the rules, and also to pay certain
rents due to the superior landlord, was sued for breaches of
both these covenants; but contended by his plea that the
cause of action ought to have been referred to arbitration
pursuant to the rules. The court, in delivering judgment,
said :—“ The only point that remained for our consideration
was, whether this was a matter in dispute between the
society and one of its members, according to the true
meaning of the rules established by the society, so as to be
the subject-matter of arbitration, or whether it might be
made the subject of an action. It was contended on the
part of the defendant, that whatever question arose between
the society and its members must be referred to arbitration.
They way in which it became material was this : Some of
the grounds of the action were undoubtedly between the
society and the defendant in the character of a member,
and there may be strong reasons for saying that, if the
claim had been entirely confined to a right on the part of
the plaintiff of that description, then the case which was
referred to of Crisp v. Bunbury, ■would apply, and the plea
would be good ; therefore the demurrer ought not to be
allowed, and the defendant would be entitled to judgment.
But it is clear that some of the breaches relied upon by
the plaintiffs, for instance, a covenant to pay rent to Lord
Cadogan, were matters not between the defendant as a
member of the society and the society ; they were merely
between the defendant and the society as a mortgagor.
Now, we are of opinion that if any other rule be established
than that the dispute must be with the party as member—
if we go beyond that one step—the consequence would be,
that any extraneous matter of any sort that might happen to
arise between the society and any of its members, having
no connection with the society, would become the subjectmatter
of reference. It appears to us, therefore, the words
‘matter in dispute’ must be read ‘matter in difference
APPENDIX OF CASES.
221
between the society and the members as members,’ and not
in any other capacity. That being our opinion on consideration,
the plea which set up this necessity of the arbitration
as a bar to the whole question raised by the plaintiffs,
part of which clearly was not between the society and the
defendant as a member, if the rest was, is a bad plea. The
demurrer, therefore, to the plea must be allowed, and the
plaintiffs will be entitled to judgment. We have abstained
from expressing any opinion whether, if this had not been
so, the particular case before the court was such as to fall
within the doctrine in Crisp v. Bunbury—it may or may
not be ; and it is clear that on the present record, the
plaintiffs are entitled to judgment.” See also upon this
point Fleming v. Self, 1 Kay, 518, and the recent case of
Mulkern v. Lord, in the House of Lords (4 App. Cas. 183 ;
V April, 1879), where Earl Cairns, L. C., held that it was
impossible that the rights of mortgagor and mortgagee,
especially those of foreclosure and redemption, could be
enforced or adjusted by such a reference to arbitration
as is provided by 10 Geo. 4, c. 56, s. 27, and therefore that
the provisions of that Act are not applicable to those purposes
of a benefit building society which involve the
adjustment of rights created by mortgage. In this decision
Lords Hatherley and O’Hagan concurred, quoting with
approval the remarks of Lord Cranworth in Fleming v.
Self, that the “total absence of adequate machinery for
enabling arbitrators to enforce any award they might make
on the mortgage, in a case like the present, affords cogent
evidence that the dispute is not within their competency.”
It may be remarked that this decision turns upon the
application of the 10 Geo. 4, c. 56, to benefit building
societies established under the Act of 1836, and not incorporated
under that of 1874 ; and it does not overrule
the decision of the Master of the Rolls in Wright v.
The Monarch Investment Building Society, 5 Ch. D. 726,
where the plaintiff sought an account against a society
incorporated under the Building Societies Act of 1874, of
money due to him in respect of an alleged overcharge upon
his mortgage; and Sir G. Jessel, M. R., held that the
jurisdiction of the court was ousted. That case, however,
turned upon the construction of the Building Societies
Act, 1874, and is not applicable to a friendly society nor to
any industrial and provident society except possibly to
such as carry on the trade of the buying and selling of
land, and provide by their rules for making advances to
members on mortgage.
The claim of. a society upon its treasurer for misappro
222
APPENDIX OF CASES.
priating and keeping in his hands the moneys of the society,,
is not a dispute within the meaning of the Act : Sinden v.
Banks, 3 E. & E. 633 ; 30 L. J. (Q. B.) 105.
I.
Note to Section 34, Friendly Societies Act, 1875,.
and Section 20, Industrial and Provident Societies
Act, 1876.
Extract from the Consolidated County Court Orders and
Rules, 1875,
Order XXXV.
Proceedings under the Friendly Societies Act, 1875.
1. Applications to be made by plaint, 38 4' 39 Viet. c. 60..
—All applications to the court ky the trustees or authorized
officers of a friendly society, in respect of any of the matters
mentioned in sect. 20 of the Friendly Societies Act, 1875 (a) y
shall, whether any bond he put in suit or not, be by action
commenced by plaint and summons in the ordinary way,
in which the society or the trustees, or authorized officers
thereof, shall be plaintiffs, and the person against whom
the application is made, defendant.
2. Particulars.-—If the application be made by action,
without putting the bond in suit, the summons or the particulars
annexed thereto, shall state shortly the nature of
the act required to be done or the neglect complained of.
3. Where property is required to be delivered up.—If the
act required to be done be the delivering up of any property,
the summons or the particulars annexed thereto, shall
contain an intelligible description of the property required
to be given up.
4. Reference under sect. 22 to beby plaint.—Every dispute
which shall be referred to the county court under sect. 22-of
the said Act (b) shall be so referred by action commenced
by plaint and summons in the ordinary way in which the
claiming or aggrieved member or other person shall be the-(tf)
Seep. 83.
(b) See p. 86.
APPENDIX OP CASES.
223
plaintiff, and the society, by such of the persons authorized
by sect. 21 of the said Act (c) to be sued on behalf of the
society as the plaintiff shall elect to sue, shall be defendant.
5. Summons.—The summons, or the particulars annexed
thereto, shall state correctly the nature of the dispute referred,
and the relief which the plaintiff claims.
Order XXXVIII.
Application of preceding Orders.
Application of rules of procedure.—The rules of procedure
contained in the preceding orders shall apply to proceedings
under the. . . “Friendly Societies Act, 1875,” except
where Order . . . XXXV provide (s) any other or inconsistent
mode of procedure.
Order XXXIX.
The Companies Acts, 1862 and 1867, The Industrial and
Provident Societies Act, 1862 (d), and the Building
Societies Act, 1874 (25 & 26 Viet. cc. 86 (e), 89 ;
30 A 31 Viet. c. 131, s. 44 (/) ; 37 A 38 Viet c. 42,
s. 32).
The general orders, rules, and forms of the Chancery
Division of the High Court of Justice, regulating for the
time being the mode of proceeding under “ The Companies
Acts, 1862 and 1867,” shall be the orders, rules, and forms
in all proceedings in the county courts for the winding up
of (g) a society registered under “ The Industrial and Provident
Societies -Act, 1862” (d), “ The Building Societies
Apt, 1874,” or for the winding up of (g) a company under
“ The Companies Acts, 1862 and 1867,” so far as the same
are applicable : Provided that where it shall appear to the
court inconvenient that the Bank of England should be
the bank used for the purposes mentioned in the order and
rules, it shall be competent for the court to name some bank
to be used in lieu of the Bank of England.
(/) Now 39 & 40 Vict.Jc.45,'
s. 20.
(g) Sic.
(e) See p. 84.
(d) Now 1876.
(e) Qu. 87.
224
SCHEDULE OP FOBJIS.
FORMS.
11.
Ordinary Summons.
[After statement of parties].
You are hereby summoned to appear at a county court to be
holden at , on the day of , 18 ,
•at the hour of in the noon, to answer the
plaintiff, to a claim, the particulars of which are hereunto
annexed.
Dated the day of 18
Registrar of the court.
'To the defendant.
190.
Order under the Friendly Societies and other Acts.
Upon hearing this cause at a court this day holden it is
ordered that the defendant do [here insert the terms of
the order made by the court].
And it is further ordered that [recite terms of order].
191.
Order for Warrant of Execution to issue under the Friendly
Societies and other Acts.
Whereas at a court holden at , on the
day of 18 , it was ordered by the said court [here
insert the terms of the order of the court] :
And it was then further ordered that [recite terms of order].
And whereas it appears to the court that the defendant
has not obeyed either of the said orders, although demand
in that behalf was duly made upon him :
It is therefore ordered that a warrant of execution issue
for the said sum, being the amount of such penalty and the
costs thereof.
192.
Warrant of Execution against the Goods under the Friendly
Societies and other Acts.
Whereas at a court holden at , on the
day of 18 , it was ordered by the said court that
[here insert the terms of the order of the court] :
SCHEDULE OP FORMS.
225
And it was then further ordered that [recite terms of order].
And whereas the defendant lias not obeyed either of the
said orders :
These are therefore to require and order you forthwith
to make and levy, by distress and sale ot the goods and
chattels of the defendant, wheresoever they may he found
within the district of this court (excepting the wearing
apparel and bedding of the defendant or his family, and
the tools and implements of his trade, if any, to the value
of five pounds), the sum stated at the foot of this warrant,
being the amount of such penalty and costs, including the
costs of this execution, and also to seize and take any
money or bank notes (whether of the Bank of England or of
any other bank), and any cheques, bills of exchange, promissory
notes, bonds, specialties, or securities for money of
the defendant which may there be found, or such part or
so much thereof as may be sufficient to satisfy this execution,
and the costs of making and executing the same, and
to pay what you shall have so levied to the registrar of
the court, and make return of what you have done under
this warrant immediately upon the execution thereof
Given under the seal of the court this day of
,18 . By the court,
Registrar of the court.
To the high bailiff of the said court, and others, the
bailiffs thereof.
Amount ordered to be paid - - -
£
s.
d.
Costs
Poundage for issuing this warrant-Total
amount to be levied -
Notice—The goods and chattels are not to be sold until
after the end of five (a) next following the day on
which they were seized, unless they be of a perishable
nature, or at the request of the said defendant.
Application was made to the registrar for this warrant at
minutes past the hour of in the noon
■of the day of , 18
(a) Sic, <inare “ days ” omitted.
L 8
22G
APPENDIX OF CASES.
K.
Note to Section 5 of the Industrial and Provident
Societies Act, 1876.
Touthill and another v. Douglas and others, 33 L. J. Q. B.
66.—Industrial and Provident Society; action; 15 & 16
Viet. c. 31; 25 <$• 26 Viet. c. 87; liability of trustees.
The trustees of a provident society formed under 15 <£• 16
Viet. c. 31, but not registered under 25 4' 26 Viet. c. 87,
cannot be sued in an action commenced after the passing of the
latter Act, as the previous Act is absolutely repealed by it
without any saving clause.
Declaration dated the 30tli of December, 1862, that the
plaintiffs sue James Douglas, John Baines, and Bobert
Waterwath, as trustees of “ The York City and District
Provident and Industrial Hour Mill Society,” according to
the statutes in such case made and provided, for money
payable by the said society to the plaintiffs for goods bargained
anti sold and sold and delivered by the plaintiffs to
the society, and for money found to be due by the society
to the plaintiffs on account stated between the plaintiffs
and the society.
Demurrer and rejoinder.
Kemplay, for the defendants.—This was not an action
pending at the passing, on the 7th of August, 1862, of “The
Industrial and Provident Societies Act, 1862,” 25 & 26
Yict. c. 87, and though the society was registered under
the original Act of 1852, 15 & 16 Viet. c. 31, that Act and
the amending Acts 17 & 18 Viet. c. 25, and 19 & 20 Viet,
c. 40, are repealed by the 1st section of 25 and 26 Viet,
c. 87, from the passing of that Act. So that although
under sect. 2 of 17 & 18 Viet. c. 25, the society’s officers
might and ought to have been sued (Burton v. Tannahill),
on the passing of the Act of 1862 the society ceased to be a
statutable society and became a mere partnership until
registered under that Act, and so continues: the action
ought to have been brought against all the members.
Upon the repeal of the first two Acts, all the statutable
machinery was gone.
APPENDIX OF CASES.
227
Mellish (Patchett with him), for the defendants.—The
6th section of 25 & 26 Yict. c. 87, shows that the property
remains in the trustees until registration under that Act.
By the 48th section of 18 & 19 Viet. c. 63, that Act is to
apply to all provident societies under 15 & 16 Viet. c. 31,
and by sect. 19, actions are to be brought by or against the
trustees.
Cockburn, C. J.—The Act of 1852, and the subsequent
Acts have been repealed by 25 & 26 Viet. c. 87, and that
statute contemplates that these societies would acquire a
new status by being incorporated, and it is for the purpose
of registration onty under the new Act that these societies
can be said to he any longer in existence. All their rights
and liabilities under the former Acts, in the absence of
any saving clause, must have ceased with the repeal of the
Acts under which they were constituted.
Wiohtman, J.—There are no words in the new Act to
keep alive the provisions of the old Acts in the event of a
society not registered under the new Act. The legislature
no doubt did not contemplate such a case.
J udgment for the defendants.
L.
Note to Section 11 (1) of the Industrial and
Provident Societies Act, 1876.
Linton v. The Blakeney Joint Industrial Provident
Society, 34 L. J. (Exch.) 211.—Industrial and Provident
Societies Act, 1862 (25 dc 26 Viet. c. 87); liability for debts
incurred before the Act.
A provident society formed before the passing of. the Industrial
and Provident Societies Act, 1862 (25 c5 26 Viet.
c • 87), but incorporated by certificate of registration under that
Act cannot be sued in its corporate capacity for a debt incurred
before the Act in an action commenced after the Act.
This was an action brought against the defendants in
their corporate name to recover k a debt incurred by the
society before the passing of the Industrial and Provident
Societies Act, 1862.
The society was formed under the Industrial and Provident
Societies Act, 1852 (15 & 16 Viet. c. 31), while that
228
APPENDIX OF CASES.
Act was in force, but after the passing of the Industrial
and Provident Societies Act, 1862 (25 & 26 Viet. c. 87), it
obtained a certificate of registration under it. The debt
sought to be recovered was incurred before the passing of
the last-mentioned Act, but the action was commenced
after. The case was tried before Martin, B., at Westminster,
and a verdict was found for the plaintiff, leave
being reserved to the defendants to move to enter a nonsuit
if the court should be of opinion that they were not liable
in their corporate capacity.
Macnamam in this term moved to enter a nonsuit accordingly.
Gates now showed cause.
Martin, B.—We are all of opinion that this rule must
be made absolute. The case is governed by that of Dean v.
Millard. In that case the action was brought against the
individual members, and the court held that it was well
brought, on the ground that though for the sake of convenience,
before the late statute, the names of public officers
were to be used in actions against the society, yet the real
cause of action was against the individual members, and
they were ultimately liable. Williams, J., there says:—
“ That argument” (referring to the argument for the defendants)
“ would have been admissible if the legislature, instead
of saying, as they have done in sect. 6, that the certificate
of registration shall vest in the society all the property
that may at the time be vested in any person in trust for
the society, and all legal proceedings then pending by or
against any such trustee or other officer on account of the
society may be prosecuted by or against the society in its
registered name without abatement, had gone on to say
that all claims and rights of action existing at the time of
the passing of the Act might be so prosecuted. But they
have not said so; they have confined the indulgence to
actions pending at the time of the obtaining of the certificate
of registration. That must mean actions commenced
before the passing of 25 & 26 Viet. c. 87, because none
could be commenced after against any but existing
members.” I was much struck by Mr. Gates’s argument
on the construction of the 6th section, but we cannot adopt
Iris construction in opposition to the Court of Common
Pleas.
Bramwell, B.—I was much struck with Mr. Gates’s
^argument on the 6th section that it could not be meant to
APPENDIX OP CASES.
229
make a distinction between actions already begun and
actions not yet begun. But the decision of the Common
Pleas is express, and the legislature may have intended
merely to avoid the inconvenience which would otherwise
have arisen in the case of proceedings in progress at the
time of the passing of the Act.
Channell, B., concurred.
Buie absolute.
M.
Note to Section 17 op the Industrial and Provident
Societies Act, 1876.
In re Sheffield Co-operative and Industrial Society;
Fountain’s Case, 13 W. R. C67.—Joint stock company;
winding up; contributory; Industrial and Provident Societies
Act, 1862, s. 20; Companies Act, 1862, s. 74.
An industrial and provident society established with unlimited
liability under 13 4' 14 Viet. c. 115, was subsequently
registered with limited liability under the Industrial and
Provident Societies Act, 1862 (25 fy 26 Viet. c. 87), for the
purpose of being wound up. On an application to place on
the list of contributories a person icho held shares fully paid
up before the subsequent registration, held, that on the true
construction of the last-mentioned Act, and of the Companies
Act, 1862, such a shareholder could not be made liable as a
contributory.
This was an application on behalf of the official liquidator
of “ The Sheffield and Hallamshire Ancient Order of
Foresters Co-operative and Industrial Society (Limited)”
to place the names of R. Fountain and G. E. Swift on the
list of contributories in respect of their shares.
The society was formed in 1861 under the Industrial and
Provident Societies Act, 1852 (13 & 14 Viet. c. 115), and
15 & 16 Viet. c. 31, with unlimited liability. A petition
was presented to the Master of the Rolls that the society
might be wound up, blit his Honour considered that, the
Industrial and Provident Societies Act, 1852, having been
repealed by the Act of 1862, he had no jurisdiction to make
the order. The matter was then mentioned to the Lord
Chancellor, who confirmed the decision of the Master of the
Rolls, and said that the society should he registered under
. the Industrial and Provident Societies Act, 1862. This
230
APPENDIX OF CASES.
was accordingly done, and a winding-np order made by the
county court judge at Sheffield, and an official liquidator
appointed. Upon a motion to settle the list of contributories,
it was held that persons who like the shareholders
in question were shareholders before the registration under
the Act of 1862, could not be made liable as contributories
under the winding-up order.
The present appeal was brought by the official liquidator
against that decision.
The shareholders in question had fully paid up, and one
of them, Mr. Fountain, had parted with all his shares except
one, before the society became limited.
Druce, for the official liquidator, contended that though
the society was registered as limited for the purpose of
winding-up, yet as it was established under the former Act
as unlimited, the liability of those who were then members
had not ceased. He referred to In re the Plumstead Water
Company, 2 De G. F. & J. 20; Garnet v. Moseley Gold
Mining Company, 13 W. R. 412; 34 L. J. Q. B. 118.
Elderton, for the respondents, was not called on.
The Lord Chancellor said that he could not accede to
the application for making an order for contribution as
between the members. He must take the case as he found
it for the purpose of determining the liability in question.
The society was for the purpose of winding-up a limited
company, and as such, the members in question were not
liable to contribution, for they had paid up their shares.
The society was registered nnder the Industrial Societies
Acts, 1862, in which was incorporated the Companies Act
of 1862, and in the section in that Act defining “ a contributory,”
that term was described as meaning “every
person liable to contribute to the assets of a company under
this Act.”
If these words were applied to the Industrial Societies
Act, we could only arrive at the same conclusion, namely,
that a member was liable as between himself and the other
members, according to the qualifications mentioned in the-Companies
Act, 1862. Then it was said that the definition
of a contributory was qualified by the following section,,
which provided that “ the registration under that part of
the Act of any company should not affect or prejudice the
liability of such company to have enforced against it, or its
rights to enforce any debt or obligation incurred on any
contract entered into by, to, with, or on behalf of such
APPENDIX OP CASES.
231
company previous to the registration.” The case of Garnett
v. Moseley Gold Mining Company, in the Exchequer-Chamber,
had no application to the case of contribution.
On what was the notion of contribution founded ? According
to the rules of partnership. But that contract of partnership
as it existed, and with respect to which only the
court had power to enforce contribution, was one which
excluded all liability to contribute, because the parties had
paid to the full amount of their shares. It was not necessary
to consider what were the rights of the creditors, but
only whether where a company was a limited partnership,,
and had become the subject of a winding-up order, the
members of that company, who, on the principle of limited
partnership had nothing to contribute, must contribute in
respect of the rights of creditors who might have claims
against the company. At the time when the winding-up
order was made, his Lordship thought he had no such
power. There might be some failure of justice, but that
would not warrant a construction that would have the effect
of adding a new clause to the Act of 1862. It appeared to
him that these two gentlemen were not liable. The official
liquidator must pay the respondents’ costs, and have his
costs out of the estate.
N.
Note to Section 16, Sub-section 7, op the Friendly
Societies Act, 1875, and Section 12, Sub-section 8,
op the Industrial and Provident Societies Act,
1876.
These sub-sections are similar to sect. 42 of the Building
Societies Act, 1874, which is a re-enactment of sect. 5 of
the Benefit Building Societies Act, 1836 (6 & 7 Will, 4,
c. 32), and has recently received judicial interpretation from
Sir George Jbssel, M. R., in the case of the Fourth City
Mutual Building Society v. Williams (Law Rep. 14 Ch. Div.
140). This case shows very clearly the advantage a society
possesses in being able, by a mere receipt, to discharge
itself from all responsibility of inquiring to whom the legal
estate ought to be conveyed. See Repiort of Chief Registrar
of Friendly Societies for 1879, pp. 28, 29.
232
MODEL RULES.
MODEL RULES FOR A FRIENDLY SOCIETY.
The following Form op Rules has heen prepared by the
■chief registrar for the purpose of assisting new friendly
societies.
It is applicable, with slight modifications, to cattle insurance
societies.
The blanks may be filled with such numbers as the
society may decide irpon.
I.—Constitution of Society.
The society is a friendly society, composed of persons
■over sixteen years of age (a).
II.—Name of Society and Place of Registered Office.
The society shall bo called “ The (b)
Its registered office is in England, and is at No. ,
Street, , in the county of
In the event of any change in the situation of the registered
office, notice of such change shall be sent within
fourteen days thereafter to the registrar in the form prescribed
by the treasury regulation in that behalf.—Friendly
Societies Act, 1875, s. 14 (1 a).
III.—Objects and Purposes, Admission of Members, Conditions
of Benefit, Sfc.
(1.) Objects for which the society is established (c).—This
society is established fro provide, by voluntary subscriptions
(а) No person under the age of 16 years may be a member of
a society registered after 1st January, 1876, unless it is one consisting
wholly of members under 16.
(б) State the name, which is not to be that of any existing
registered society.
(c) So much of this rule as is not intended to he adopted by
the society should he omitted, and if the society is to be for any
J10DEL RULES.
233
of the members, with [or without] the aid of donations, for
the relief or maintenance of the members, their husbands,
wives, children, fathers, mothers, brothers, or sisters,
nephews or neices, and wards being orphans, during sickness
or other infirmity, whether bodily or mental; in old
age, being any age after [fifty (d)] years, and in widowhood;
and for the relief or maintenance of the orphan
■children of members during their minority. For insuring
money to be paid on the death of a member or for the
funeral expenses of the husband, wife, or child of a member
■or the widow of a deceased member; for the relief or maintenance
of the members when on travel in search of
■employment or when in distressed circumstances.
(2.) Purposes for which the funds shall be applicable.—All
moneys received on account of contributions, donations,
admissions, fines or otherwise, shall be applied towards
carrying out the objects of the society, according to the
rules and tables (if any) thereof. Any officer misapplying
the funds shall repay the same and be excluded,, without
prejudice to his liability to prosecution for such misapplication.
(3.) Terms of admission of members (e).—
(4.) Conditions under which members may become entitled
■to benefits (/).—
No money shall be paid upon the death, otherwise than
•at sea, of a member or other person whose death is or
ought to be entered in any register of deaths, except upon
the production of a certificate of such death under the hand
other of the objects authorised by the Act, they should be stated,
following closely the words of sect. 8 of the Act, as in this
model.
(d) Any other age after 50 may be stated.
(e) Here should be stated in what manner a candidate for
membership is to be proposed and elected; what entrance fee, if
any, he is to pay; what classes of persons, if any, are not to be
eligible for membership, &e.
(f) Here should be stated, with respect to each benefit, what
■are the contributions payable to assure it, for how long they
must be paid before a member is to be entitled to the benefit,
■and in what manner a member is to make and prove his
•claim, &c.
234
MODEL RULES.
of the registrar of deaths, or other person having the care
of the register of deaths in which such death is or ought to
be entered (Friendly Societies Act, 1875, s. 14 (2), and
Friendly Societies Amendment Act, 1876, s. 7) [nor upon
the death of a child under ten years of age, except upon
the production of such certificate of death as is required by
sect. 28 of the Friendly Societies Act, 1875, and otherwise
in conformity with the provisions of the said Act],
(5.) Fines and forfeitures to be imposed on members (a).—
(6.) Provision for expenses of management.—The necessary
expenses of the management of the society shall be provided
for by (6)—
IV.—Meetings. Right of Voting (c).
Y.—New Rules and Alteration of Rules.
No new rule shall be made, nor any of the rules herein
contained or hereafter to be made shall be amended,
altered, or rescinded, unless with the consent of a majority
of the members present at a general meeting of the society
specially called for that purpose.
(a) Here is to be stated the amount of every fine, the cause
for which it is to be inflicted, and the authority empowered to
inflict it. A rule which imposes a fine or forfeiture not of a
fixed or limited amount is not in accordance with the Act.
(4) Here should be stated whether the expenses of management
are to be provided for by a separate contribution, or by
setting apart a specific proportion of the contribution.
(c) Here should be stated how often, when and where, meetings
are to be held; what notice is to be given of them; by
whose authority and how meetings are to be specially called,
and upon what requisition; whether any and what number of
members is necessary to constitute a quorum, either generally or
in any particular cases; who is to take the chair; what are thequalifications
of voters; whether votes may be given by proxy,,
and how questions on which there is an equality of votes arc to.
be decided.
MODEL EXILES.
23h
VI.—Appointment and Removal of Committee of Management,
Treasurer, Trustees, and other Officers.
At a special meeting of the society to be called as soon as
practicable after the registry of the society there shall beelected
by a majority of the members then present a committee
of management, consisting of ten persons, a treasurer,
secretary [two auditors (tf)], and three trustees. The committee
of management, treasurer, and secretary shall continue
in office until the general annual meeting of the
society, unless previously removed by a resolution of the
major part of the members present at any meeting called
for that purpose; and at every annual meeting a committee
of management, treasurer, and secretary shall be appointed
for the ensuing year, or, in failure thereof, those last
appointed shall be considered as again appointed; and in
case any member of the committee of management, treasurer,
or secretary shall die or be removed prior to such
annual meeting, the committee of management shall
appoint a person to fill the vacancy. The trustees shall
continue in office during the pleasure of the society, and be
removable at a general meeting; and in case of a vacancy*
another shall be elected by a majority of members at ameeting
called for that purpose. A copy of every resolution
appointing a trustee shall be sent to the registrar
within fourteen days after the date of the meeting at which
such resolution was passed, in the form prescribed by the.
treasury regulation in that behalf.
VII.—Pmoers and Duties of Officers.
1. The committee of management shall meet on every
at the hour of . Any (six) of the committee
of management duly assembled at any such meeting
shall form a quorum, and shall have full power to superintend
and conduct the business of this society according to
the rules provided for the government thereof, and shall in
all things act for and in the name of this society; and all
acts and orders under the powers delegated to them shall
have the like force and effect as the acts and orders of this
society at any general meeting. Every question at such
(<7) Auditors need not be appointed if the accounts are audited
by a public auditor.
236
MODEL RULES.
■meeting shall he decided by a majority of votes, and if the
votes are equal the chairman shall have a casting vote.
Any (two) of the committee of management may call a
special meeting thereof, by giving (seven) clear days’ notice
in writing to the secretary, but at such special meeting no
other business than that specified in the notice shall be
taken into consideration. The committee of management
shall convene all the meetings of the society, on such requisitions
as are herein mentioned.
2. The treasurer shall, in the month of in every
year, and also when required by a general meeting, or by
the trustees or committee of management upon demand
made, or notice in writing given to him or left at his last
or usual place of residence, render a just and true account
•of all moneys received and paid by him on account of the
society; and shall also, on the like demand or notice, pay
over all moneys and deliver all property for the time being
in his hands or custody to such persons as a general meeting,
or the committee of management, or the trustees
appoint. He shall be responsible for such sums of money
as may from time to time be paid into his hands by the
secretary, or by any person on account of this society; he
shall balance his cash account monthly, and supply the
secretary with a duplicate thereof, and shall, if required,
attend every general meeting. He shall, before taking
upon himself the execution of his office, give security, pursuant
to the Friendly Societies Act, 1876, s. 20 (1).
3. The secretary shall give his attendance at all meetings
of this society; he shall record correctly the names of the
members of the committee of management or trustees there
present, and the minutes of their proceedings, which he
shall transcribe into a book to be authenticated by the
signature of the chairman as the proceedings of the meeting;
he shall receive proposals for admission, and demands
for allowances of every description granted by the rules;
he shall keep the accounts, documents, and papers of the
society in such manner and for such purposes as the committee
may appoint, and shall prepare and send all returns
and other documents required by the Friendly Societies
Act, 1875, or the Treasury regulations, to be sent to the
registrar. The secretary shall, on all occasions, in the
execution of his office, act under the superintendence,
control, and directions of the committee of management.
4. The trustees shall be admitted to all meetings of the
■committee of management, and shall be at liberty to take
part in the proceedings thereof, and vote on any question
under discussion.
MODEL EULES
237'
5. In case any trustee being removed shall refuse or
neglect to assign or transfer any property of the society as
the committee of management shall direct, he shall (if he
he a member) be expelled the society, and shall cease tohave
any claim on the society on account of any contributions
paid by him, without prejudice to any liability toprosecution
which he may have incurred.
[In a society with branches, the composition of the central
body must also be stated and the conditions under which a
branch may secede from the society; and provision should be
made for a fund under the control of the central body, to which
every branch is bound to contribute, and for the control of the
central body over the branches.]
VIII.—Copies of Rules.
It shall be the duty of the committee of management to
provide the secretary with a sufficient number of copies of
the rules, to enable him to deliver to any person on demand
a copy of such rules on payment of a sum not exceeding Is.,
[for non-members, and 6d. for members (a)], and of the
secretary to deliver such copies accordingly.—Friendly
Societies Act, 1875, s. 13 (5).
IX.—Keeping and Auditing of Accounts.
(1.) The committee of management shall cause the
accounts of the society to be regularly entered in proper
books.
(2.) Separate accounts shall be kept of all moneys
received or paid on account of every particular fund or
benefit assured by tlxe society, for which a separate table of
contributions payable is adopted, distinct from all moneys
received and paid on account of any other benefit or fund".
(3.) A separate account shall also be kept of tlie expenses
of management of the society, and of all contributions on
account thereof.
(4.) The committee of management shall once at least in
every year submit the accounts, together with a general
statement of the same and all necessary vouchers up to the
31st December then last, for audit, either to one of the
(a) If no distinction is intended, the words in brackets may
he omitted. Any other figure not exceeding Is. may be
inserted.
238
MODEL RULES.
public auditors appointed under the Friendly Societies
Act, 1875, or to two or more persons appointed as auditors
by the members at the meeting next before each yearly
meeting of the society, and shall lay before every such
meeting a balance sheet (which either may or may not be
identical with the annual return, but must not be in contradiction
to the same), showing the receipts and expenditure,
funds and effects of the society, together with a statement
of the affairs of the society since the last ordinary
meeting, and of their then condition. Such auditors shall
have access to all the books and accounts of the society, and
-shall examine every balance sheet and annual return of the
receipts and expenditure, funds and effects of the society,
and shall verify the same with the accounts and vouchers
relating thereto, and shall either sign the same as found by
them to be correct, duly vouched, and in accordance with
law, or shall specially report to the meeting of the society
before which the same is laid in what respects they find it
incorrect, unvouched, or not in accordance with law.—
Friendly Societies Act, 1875, s. 14 (1 c).
X.—Annual Returns.
1. Every year before the 1st June the committee of
management shall cause the secretary to send to the
registrar, as required by the Friendly Societies Act, 1875,
■the annual return, in the form prescribed by the chief
registrar of friendly societies, of the receipts and expenditure,
funds and effects of the society, and of the number of
members of the same, up to the 31st December then last
inclusively, as audited and laid before a general meeting,
showing separately the expenditure in respect of the several
objects of the society, together with a copy of the auditor’s
report, if any.
2. Such return shall state whether the audit has been
•conducted by a public auditor aprpointed under the Friendly
Societies Act, 1875, and by whom, and if such audit has
been conducted by any persons other than a public auditor,
shall state the name, address, and calling or profession of
each of such persons, and the manner in which, and the
-authority under which, they were respectively appointed.—
Friendly Societies Act, 1875, s. 14 (1 cl).
3. It shall be the duty of the committee of management
to provide the secretary with a sufficient number of copies
-of the annual return, or of some balance sheet or other
document duly audited, containing the same particulars as
MODEL RULES.
239
ni the annual return as to the receipts and expenditure,
funds and effects of the society, for supplying gratuitously
every member or person interested in the funds of the
society, on his application, with a copy of the last annual
return of the society or of such balance sheet or other
document for the time being, and it shall be the duty of
the secretary to supply such gratuitous copies on application
accordingly.—Friendly Societies Act, 1875, s. 14 (1 h), and
Friendly Societies Amendment Act, 1876, s. 9.
XI.—Quinquennial Returns.
Within six calendar months after the expiration of every
live years succeeding the 31st December, 1880, the committee
of management shall cause a return, in the form
prescribed by the chief registrar, of the sickness (ct) and
mortality experienced by the society during the five years
preceding the 31st December then last past to be sent by
the secretary to the registrar.—Friendly Societies Act, 1875,
e. 14(1 e).
XIJ.—Valuations.
1. Once at least in the five years next following the
registry of the society, and so again within six calendar
months after the expiration of every five years succeeding
the date of the first valuation to be made under these rules,
the assets and liabilities of the society (including the
estimated risks and contributions) shall be valued in manner
provided by the Friendly Societies Act, 1875, s. 14 (1 /).
2. It shall be the duty ot any valuer appointed by the
society, at the cost of the society, to make a report to be
signed by him, and which shall also state his address and
calling or profession, on the condition of the society, and
also an abstract of the results of his valuation, in the form
prescribed by the Chief Registrar.
3. On receiving such report it shall be the duty of the
committee of management to call forthwith a special meeting
of the society for the purpose of receiving the same ; and to
lay such report and the abstract thereof before such meeting;
and to cause the secretary to forward such report and
■abstract to the registrar, together with a return containing
■such information with respect to the benefits assured and
(a) If the society does not insure against sickness the words
sickness and” to he left out.
240
MODEL RULES.
contributions receivable by tlie society, and to its funds and
effects, debts and credits, as the registrar may from time to
time require.
XIII.—Inspection of Books.
1. The books and accounts of the society shall be open to
the inspection of any member or person having an interest
in the funds of the society at all reasonable hours, at the
registered office of the society, or at any place where the
same are kept [except (a) that no such member or person,
unless he be an officer of the society, or be specially authorised
by a resolution of the society to do so, shall have the
right to inspect the loan or deposit account of any other
member without the written consent of such member], and
it shall be the duty of the secretary to produce the same.—
Friendly Societies Act, 1875, s. 14(1 g).
2. It shall be the duty of the committee of management
to keep a copy of the last annual balance sheet of the society
for the time being, together with the report of the auditors,
if any, and of the last quinquennial valuation for the time
being, always hung up in a conspicuous place at the registered
office of the society.—Friendly Societies Act, 1875,.
s. 14 (1 i).
XIIIc*.—Dividing Societies.
If the society is a dividing one, a rule should he inserted'
stating when and how the division is to he made, and that—
It shall be the duty of the committee of management to
see that all claims upon the society existing at the time of
any division of the funds thereof are met and provided for
before any such division takes place.—Friendly Societies
Act, 1875, s. 11 (4).
XIY.—Investment of Funds, Holding of Land, <&c.
1. So much of the funds of the society as may not be
wanted for immediate use, or to meet the usual accruing
liabilities, shall, with the consent of the committee of
management, or a majority of the members of a society
present and entitled to vote at a general meeting, be invested
by the trustees in such of the following ways as such com*
mittee or general meeting shall direct : namely, in any
savings bank certified under the Act of 1863, or post office
(a) If the society does not grant loans to members, the wordsin
brackets to be left ont.
MODEL RULES.
241
savings bank, in the public funds, or with the commissioners
for the reduction of the national debt, or upon government
or real securities in Great Britain or Ireland (&)
or in the purchase of land, or in the erection or alteration
of offices or other buildings thereon as after mentioned.—-Friendly
Societies Act, 1875, s. 16 (1).
2. The committee of management, with the consent of a
special meeting of the society called for the purpose, may
purchase or take on lease in the names of the trustees any
land (c) in the county where the society’s registered office
is situate [or in any other county where it has an office], and
may sell, exchange, mortgage, lease, or build upon the same
(with power to alter and pull down buildings and again
rebuild), and no purchaser, assignee, mortgagee, or tenant
shall be bound to inquire as to the authority for any sale,
exchange, mortgage, or lease by the trustees, and the
receipt of the trustees shall be a discharge for all moneys
arising from or in connexion with such sale, exchange,
mortgage, or lease.—Friendly Societies Act, 1875, s. 16 (2).
3. Mortgages or other assurances for securing money to
the society may be vacated by a receipt indorsed, signed by
the trustees, and countersigned by the secretary, in the form
contained in the third schedule to the Friendly Societies
Act, 1875 [or if a special form be provided, in the form herein
specified, or in the form specified in the schedule to these
rules],—Friendly Societies Act, 1875, s. 16 (7).
XV.—Loans to Members.
[If a loan fund is intended to be established, it must be
stated whether the same is to be formed out of the contributions
or deposits of the members, or by both means, and whether
moneys may be advanced to members on their personal security,
with or without sureties; also to what extent not exceeding
,£200, a member shall be capable of holding any interest in the
loan fund; to what amount loans may be granted, such amount
not to exceed, together vrith any moneys for the time being
owing by the member to the society, the sum of £50; and to what
total amount, not to exceed two-tliirds of the total sums for the.
(b) [Any other securities upon which it is proposed the funds
should be invested should here be specified].
(c) If the extent or value of the land is to be, limited, srfet
here “ not exceeding acres ” (stating quantity) or “ not ex«e«d»
ing in value £ .” (stating value).
M
242
MODEL RULES.
time being owing to the society by the members who have
borrowed from the loan fiend, moneys may be held by the
society on deposit from its members.—Friendly Societies Act,
1875, s. 18.
XVI.—Accumulating Surplus of Contributions for Members’
TJse.
[If it is intended that the surplus contributions of any of the
members to the funds of the society which may remain after
providing for any assurance in respect of which the same are
paid should be accumulated at interest for the use of such
members, a rule must be made for this purpose, and for the
withdrawal of such accumulation from time to time.—Friendly
Societies Act, 1875, s. 19.]
XVII.—Nomination.
1. The secretary shall keep a hook in which he shall
register or record all nominations made by members of the
society by writing, signed by them, delivered at or sent to
the registered office of the society, of any person or persons
not being officers or servants of the society, unless such
officer or servant he the husband, wife, father, mother, child,
brother, sister, nephew, or niece of the nominator, to whom
any moneys payable by the society on the death of such
members not exceeding £50 shall be paid.
2. The secretary shall in like manner record or register
all revocations, or variations of such nominations by the
nominator, made in writing, and signed and delivered or
sent as aforesaid.
3. The nominator shall pay 3d. to the management fund
for the recording or registering of every such nomination,
revocation, or variation.
4. The secretary neglecting to ask a new member to
nominate within three calendar months of his admission
shall pay a fine of 3d.
5. All nominations, revocations, or variations are to be in
the following form
(1.] Nomination.
Friendly Society, registered pursuant to the
Friendly Societies Acts,
I hereby nominate of , in the county
of , to receive the money payable at my death
under the rules of the society above named.
■ Signature.
Witness.
MODEL RULES.
243
(2.) Revocation.
I hereby revoke the above nomination.
■Witness.
■18
■Signature.
(3.) Variation.
I hereby vary the above nomination as follows :
I nominate , of , in the county of ,
to receive [one half] of the money payable at my death as
aforesaid in lieu of the above named.
■Witness.
■Signature.
— 18 •
—Friendly Societies Act, 1875, s. 15 (3), and Friendly
Societies Amendment Act, 1876, s. 10.
XVIII.—Voluntary Dissolution.
The society may at any time be dissolved by the consent
of five-sixths in value of the members, including honorary
members, if any, testified by their signatures to some
instrument of dissolution in the form provided by the
treasury regulations in that behalf, and also by the written
consent of every person for the time being receiving or
entitled to receive any relief, annuity or other benefit from
the funds of the society, unless the claim of such person be
first duly satisfied, or adequate provision made for satisfying
such claim ; the value of members to be ascertained by
giving one vote to every member, and an additional vote
lor every five years that he has been a member, but to no
one member more than five votes in the whole.—Friendly
•Societies Act, 1875, s. 25 (1, 3, 7).
XIX.—Applications for Inspection, Special Meetings, or
Dissolution.
It shall be the right of one fifth of the total number of
members, or if the number of members shall at any time
amount to 1,000, and shall not exceed 10,000, it shall be the
right of 100 members, or if the number shall at any time
exceed 10,000 it shall be the right of 500 members.
M 2
244
MODEL RULES.
by an application in writing to tlie Chief' Registrar, (a) signed
by them in the forms respectively provided by the treasury
regulations in that behalf:—
(a.) To apply for the appointment of one or more inspectors
to examine into the affairs of the society and to report
thereon,—Friendly Societies Act, 1875, s. 23 (1) ;
(6.) To apply for the calling of a special meeting of the
society,—Friendly Societies Act, 1875, s. 23 (2) ;
Either such application to be made upon such notice to
the society, and to be supported by such evidence for the
purpose of showing that the applicants have good reason
for requiring such inspection to be made or meeting to be
called, and that they are not actuated by malicious motives
in their application, as the chief registrar shall direct;
(c.) Or to apply for an investigation into the affairs of the
society with a view to the dissolution thereof;
Such application as last aforesaid to set forth that the
fluids of the society are insufficient to meet the existing
claims thereon, or that the rates of contribution fixed in the
rules of such society are insufficient to cover the benefits
assured, and the grounds upon which such insufficiency is
alleged.—Friendly Societies Act, 1875, s. 25 (8).
XX.—Disz>utes.
1. If any dispute shall arise between a member, or person
claiming through a member, or under the rules of the
society, and the society, or any officer thereof, it shall be
referred to arbitration.
2. At the second meeting of the society after the registry
of the same, five arbitrators shall be elected, none of them
being directly or indirectly interested in the funds of the
society ; and in each case of dispute the names of the
arbitrators shall be written on pieces of paper and placed
in a box or glass, and the three whose names are first drawn
out by the complaining party, or by some one appointed by
him or her, shall be the arbitrators to decide on the matter
in difference. In case of a vacancy, or vacancies, another
arbitrator, or other arbitrators, shall be elected at a general
meeting.
Or,
If any dispute shall arise between a member, or person
claiming through a member, or under the rules of the
(a) If the society is registered and does business exclusively
in Scotland or Ireland, instead of the words “ chief registrar ”
insert the words “assistant registrar for Scotland,” or, “for
Ireland,” as the case may be.
MODEL RULES.
245
society, and the society, or any officer thereof, it shall ho
referred to justices pursuant to the Friendly Societies Act,
1875, s. 22 (c).
Note as to Societies already Registered.
A society desiring to have a complete amendment of rules
may use the above form with the heading “ the former
rules are rescinded,” and the following modifications :
Rule VI., leave out first 20 words.
Rule XII., substitute, “ once at least in every five years,”
for the first 41 words.
Rule XVII., line 3, if the society has members under 16
. years of age, add after “ society ” “ aged 16 years or upwards.”
Rule XX., paragraph 2, leave out first 13 words.
240
MODEL BRANCH RULES.
MODEL BRANCH RULES.
The following Form of Rules lias Been prepared by the
chief registrar for the purpose of assisting branches of
Friendly Societies in complying with the provisions of the
Act 38 & 39 Viet. c. 60. For tire word “ Branch ” may be
substituted the words “ District,” “ Lodge,” “ Court,”"
“ Division,” &e., as the case may be.
I.—Name, Place, and Constitution of Branch.
The branch shall be called “ The of the [District
of the] (a) Society [herein called the Order] ; and
all the rules of the Order [and of the district], and all
amendments thereof duly registered, shall be as binding on
the branch as if the same were herein inserted.
It is composed of persons over sixteen years of age (b).
It is established in England, at No. ,
Street, , in the county of
In the event of any change in the place of the branch,.
notice of such change shall be sent within seven days thereafter
to the secretary of the Order.
II.—Objects cmd Pmyoses, Admission of Members, Conditions -
of Benefit, fyc.
(1.) Objects for which the branch is established.—(c) This
branch is established to provide, by voluntary subscriptions
of the members, with [or without] the aid of donations, for
the following objects, being those or some of those of the
(a) If the branch is not to be in district, words relating to a
district are to be omitted.
(£) No person under the age of 16 years may be a member of
a branch unless it is one consisting wholly of members under 16.
(e) So much of this rule as is not intended to be adopted by the
branch should be omitted, and if the society lias, and the branch
is to have any other of the objects authorised by the Act, they
should he stated, following closely the words of section 8 of the
Act, as in this model.
MODEL BRANCH RULES
247
Older, viz. :—(a) tlie relief or maintenance of tlie members,
tlieir husbands, wives, children, fathers, mothers, brothers,
or sisters, nephews or nieces, and wards being orphans,
during sickness or other infirmity, whether bodily or
mental; in old age, being any age after [fifty (r?)] years,
and in widowhood ; (b) the relief or maintenance of the
orphan children of members during their minority ; (c) insuring
money to be paid on the death of a member, [or for
the funeral expenses of the husband, wife, or child of a
member or the widow of a deceased member] ; (d) the relief
or maintenance of the members when on travel in search of
employment or when in distressed circumstances.
(2.) Purposes for which the funds shall be applicable.—All
moneys received on account of contributions, donations,
admissions, fines, or otherwise, shall be applied towards
carrying out the above-mentioned objects, according to tlie
rules; any officer misapplying the funds shall repay the
same and be excluded, without prejudice to his liability to
prosecution for such misapplication.
(3.) Terms of admission of members.—(e)
(4.) Conditions under which members may become en titled
to benefits.—(/)
No money shall be paid upon the death of a member or
other person whose death is or ought to be entered in any
register of deaths, not being a death at sea, except upon the
production of a certificate of such death under the hand of
the registrar of deaths, or other person having the care of
the register of deaths in which such death is or ought to be
entered, Friendly Societies Act, 1875, s. 14 (2) ; [nor upon
the death of a child under ten years of age, except upon the
production of such certificate of death as is required by
section 28 of the Friendly Societies Act, 1875, and otherwise
in conformity with the provisions of the said Act.]
(d) Any other age after 50 may be stated.
(e) Here should be stated in what manner a candidate for
Membership is to be proposed and elected; what entrance fee, if
any, be is to pay; what classes of persons, if any, are not to be
eligible for membership, &c.
{f) Here should be stated, with respect to each benefit, what
are the contributions payable to assure it, for how long they must
be paid before a member is to be entitled to the benefit, and in
what manner a member is to make and prove his claim, &c.
248
MODEL BRANCH RULES.
(5.) Fines and forfeitures to be imposed on members.—(a)
III.—Contribution to Central Fund, and Control of Central
Body.
(1.) Contribution to the fund under the control of the central
body; Friendly Societies Act, 1875, s. 29 (2).—This branch
shall contribute [through the district] the sum of
to the fund under the control of the central hotly
of the Order.
(2.) Control of the central body over this branch; Friendly
Societies Act, 1875, s. 4.—In all matters not provided for
by the rales of the branch [and of the district], the branch
shall be under the control of the central body of the Order,
subject to the rules of the Order.
IV.—Meetings. Right of Voting. (b)
V.—New Rules and Alteration of Rules.
No new rule shall be made, nor any of the rules herein
contained or hereafter to be made shall be amended, altered
or rescinded, unless with the consent of a majority of the
members present at a general meeting of the branch
specially called for that purpose.
(a) Here is to be stated the amount of every fine, the cause
for which it is to be inflicted, and the authority empowered to
inflict it. A rule which imposes a fine or forfeiture not of a
fixed or limited amonnt is not in accordance with the Act.
\ (b) Here should be stated how often, when and where, meetings
are to be held; what notice is to be given of them; by
whose authority and how meetings are to be specially called, and
upon what requisition: whether any and what number of members
is necessary to constitute a quorum, either generally or in
any particular cases; who is to take the chair; what are the
qualifications of voters; whether votes may be given by proxy,
and how questions on which there is an equality of votes are to
be decided.
MODEL BRANCH RULES.
240
VI.—Appointment and Removal of Trustees, Committee of
Management, Treasurer, and other Officers.
This branch shall have [three] trustees, and on the death,
resignation in writing, or removal of any of the trustees,
others shall he appointed in their stead hy a special meetting.
There shall also he a committee of management consisting
of ten persons, a treasurer and secretary [and two
■auditors (c)]. The committee of management, treasurer,
and secretary shall continue in office until the general
annual meeting of the branch, unless previously removed
hy a resolution of the major part of the members present at
•any meeting called for that purpose ; and at every annual
meeting a committee of management, treasurer, and secretary
shall he appointed for the ensuing year, or, in failure
■thereof, those last appointed shall be considered as again
•appointed ; and in case any member of the committee of
management, treasurer, or secretary shall die or he removed
prior to such annual meeting, the committee of management
shall appoint a person to fill the vacancy. The
trustees shall continue in office during the pleasure of the
members, and be removable at a general meeting ; and, in
case of a vacancy, another shall be elected by a majority of
members at a' meeting called for that purpose. A copy of
■every resolution appointing a trustee shall be sent to the
secretary of the Order within [7] days after the date of the
meeting at which such resolution was passed.
VII.—Powers and Duties of Officers.
1. The committee of management shall meet on every
at the hour of . Any (six) of the committee
of management duly assembled at any such meeting
shall form a quorum, and shall have full power to superintend
and conduct the business of this branch according to
the rules provided for the government thereof, and shall in
nil things act for and in the name of this branch; and all
acts and orders under the powers delegated to them shall
have the like force and effect as the acts and orders of this
branch at any general meeting. Every question at such
meeting shall be decided by a majority of votes, and if the
(e) Auditors need uot be appointed if the accounts are audited
by a public auditor.
250
MODEL BRAKCH RULES.
votes are equal the chairman shall have a casting vote.
Any {two) of the committee of management may call a
special meeting thereof, by giving {seven) clear days’ notice
in writing to the secretary, hut at such special meeting noother
business than that specified in the notice shall be
taken into consideration. The committee of management
shall convene all the meetings of the branch, on such requisitions
as are herein mentioned.
2. The treasurer shall, in the month of in every
year, and also when required by a general meeting, or by
the trustees or committee of management, upon demand
made, or notice in writing given to him or left at his last
or usual place of residence, render a just and true account
of all moneys received and paid by him on account of the
branch ; and shall also, on the like demand or notice, pay
over all moneys and deliver all property for the time being
in his hands or custody to such persons as a general meeting,
or the committee of management, or the trustees
appoint. He shall he responsible for such sums of money
as may from time to time be paid into his hands by the
secretary, or by any person on account of this branch; lie
shall balance his cash account monthly, and supply the
secretary with a duplicate thereof, and shall, if required,
attend every general meeting. He shall, before taking
upon himself the execution of his office, give security, pursuant
to the Friendly Societies Act, 1875, s. 20 (1).
3. The secretary shall give his attendance at all meetingsof
this branch; he shall record correctly the names of themembers
of the committee of management or trustees there
present, and the minutes of their proceedings, which he
shall transcribe into a book to be authenticated by the signature
of the chairman as the proceedings of the meeting ;
he shall receive proposals for admission, and 'demands for
allowances of every description granted by the rules ; he
shall keep the accounts, documents, and papers of the
branch in such manner and for such purposes as the committee
may appoint, and shall prepare all returns and other
documents required by the Friendly Societies Act, 1875, or
the Treasury regulations, to be sent to the Registrar. The
secretary shall, on all occasions, in the execution of his
office, act under the superintendence, control, and directions
of the committee of management.
4. The trustees shall be admitted to all meetings of the
committee of management, and shall be at liberty to take
part in the proceedings thereof, and vote on any question
under discussion.
5. In case any trustee being removed shall refuse or neg
MODEL BRANCH RULES.
251
lect to assign or transfer any property of the branch as the
committee of management shall direct, he shall (if lie be a
member) be expelled the branch, and shall cease to have any
claim on it on account of any contributions paid by him,
without prejudice to any liability to prosecution which he
may have incurred.
VIII.—Copies of Rules.
It shall be the duty of the committee of management to
provide the secretary with a sufficient number of copies of
the rules, to enable him to deliver to any person on demand
a copy of such rules on payment of a sum not exceeding
Is. [(«) for non-members, and 6d. for members], and of the
secretary to deliver such copies accordingly.—Friendly
Societies Act, 1875, s. 13 (5).
IX.—Keeping and Auditing of Accounts.
(1.) The committee of management shall cause the
accounts of the branch to be regularly entered in proper
books.
(2.) Separate accounts shall be kept of all moneys
received or paid on account of every particular fund or
benefit assured by the branch, for which a separate table
of contributions payable is adopted, distinct from all
moneys received and paid on account of any other benefit
or fund.
(3.) A separate account shall also be kept of the expenses
of management of the branch, and of all contributions on
account thereof.
(4.) The committee of management' shall once at least in
every year submit such accounts, together with a general
statement of the same and all necessary vouchers up to the
31st December then last, for audit, either to one of the
public auditors appointed under the Friendly Societies Act,
1875, or to two or more persons appointed as auditors by
the members at a meeting next before each yearly meeting
of the branch, and shall lay before every such meeting a
balance sheet showing the receipts and expenditure, funds
and effects of the branch, together with a statement of tin'
(a) If no distinction is intended, the words in brackets maybe
omitted. Any other figures not exceeding Is. may be.
inserted.
252
MODEL BRANCH RULES.
affairs of the branch since the last ordinary meeting, and of
their then condition. Such auditors shall have access to
all the hooks and accounts of the branch, and shall examine
every balance sheet and annual return of the receipts and
expenditure, funds and effects of the branch, and shall verify
the same with the accounts and vouchers relating thereto,
and shall either sign the same as found by them to be correct,
duly vouched, and in accordance with law, or shall
specially report to the meeting of the branch before which
the same is laid in what respects they find it incorrect,
unvouched, or not in accordance with law.
X.—Annual Returns.
1. Every year before the 1st
the committee of
management shall cause the secretary of this branch to send
to the secretary of the Order an annual return, in the form
prescribed by the Chief Registrar of Friendly Societies, of
the receipts and expenditure, funds and effects of the branch,
and of the number of members of the same, up to the 31st
December then last inclusively, as audited and laid before
a general meeting, showing separately the expenditure in
respect of the several objects ot the branch, together with a
copy of the auditor’s report, if any.
2. Such return shall state whether the audit has been
conducted by a public auditor appointed under the Friendly
Societies Act, 1875, and by whom, and if such audit has
been conducted by any persons other than a public auditor,
shall state the name, address, and calling or profession of
each of such persons, and the manner in which, and the
authority under which, they were respectively appointed.
XI.—Quinquennial Returns.
Within six calendar months after the expiration of every
five years succeeding the 31st December, 1880, the committee
of management shall cause a return, in the form prescribed
by the Chief Registrar, of the sickness (a) and
mortality experienced by the branch during the five
years preceding the 31st December then last past to be
sent by the secretary of the branch to the secretary of the
-Order.
(a) If the branch does not insure against sickness the words
■“ sickness and ” to be left out.
MODEL BRANCH RULES.
253
XII.—Valuations.
1. Once at least in the five years next following tlie
'date of the registry of the branch, and so again within six
calendar months after the expiration of every five years (b)
succeeding the date of the first valuation to be made under
fhese rules, the assets and liabilities of the branch (including
the estimated risks and contributions) shall be valued
in manner provided by the Friendly Societies Act, 1875,
*• 14(1/).
2. It shall be the duty of any valuer appointed by the
branch at the cost of the branch, to make a report to be
signed by him, and which shall also state his address and
calling or profession, on the condition of the branch, and
also an abstract of the results of his valuation, in the form
prescribed by the Chief Registrar.
3. On receiving such report it shall be the duty of the
committee of management to call forthwith a special meeting
of the branch for the purpose of receiving the same, and
to lay such report and the abstract of the results of valuation
before such meeting ; and to cause the secretary to
forward such report and abstract to the Registrar, together
with a return containing such information with respect to
the benefits assured and contributions receivable by the
branch, and to its funds and effects, debts and credits, as the
Registrar may from time to time require.
XIII.—Inspection of Books, dec.
1. The books and accounts of the branch shall be open to
the inspection of any member or person having an interest
in the funds of the branch at all reasonable hours, at the
place where the branch is established, or at any place where
the same are kept, and it shall be the duty of the secretary
to produce them.
2. It shall be the duty of the committee of management
to keep a copy of the last annual balance sheet of the branch
for the time being, together with the report of the auditors,
if any, and of the last quinquennial valuation for the time
being, always hung up in a conspicuous place at the office
■ of the branch.
(b) If the branch has had rules previously registered, substitute,
for the first three lines of the rule the words “ once at least
in every five years.’'
254
MODEL BRANCH RULES.
3. It shall be the duty of the committee of management
to provide the secretary with a sufficient number of copies
of the annual return, or of some balance sheet or other
document duly audited, containing the same particulars as
to the receipts and expenditure, funds and effects of the
branch, for supplying gratuitously every member or person
interested in the funds of the branch, on his application,
with a copy of the last annual return, or of such balance
sheet or other document as aforesaid for the time being,
and it shall be the duty of the secretary to supply such
gratuitous copies on application accordingly.
XIV.—Investment of Funds, Holding of Land, &c.
1. So much of the funds of the branch as may not be
wanted for immediate use, or to meet the usual accruing
liabilities, shall, with the consent of the committee of
management, or of a majority of the members of the branch
present and entitled to vote at a general meeting, be
invested by the trustees in such of the following ways as
such committee or general meeting shall direct : namely,
in any savings bank certified under the Act of 1863, or
Post Office Savings Bank, in the public funds, or with
the Commissioners for the Reduction of the National Debt,
or upon government or real securities in Great Britain or
Ireland, (a)
or in the purchase of land, or in the erection or alteration
of offices or other buildings thereon as after mentioned.—
Friendly Societies Act, 1875, s. 16 (1).
2. The committee of management, with the consent of a
special meeting of the branch called for the purpose, may
purchase or take on lease in the names of the trustees any
land in the county where the branch is established (b), anil
may sell, exchange, mortgage, lease or build upon the same
(with power to alter and pull down buildings and again
rebuild), and no purchaser, assignee, mortgagee, or tenant
shall be bound to enquire as to the authority for any sale,
exchange, mortgage, or lease by the trustees, and the
[(a) Any other securities upon which it is proposed the funds
should he invested should here be specified.]
(Jj) If the extent or value of the land is to he limited add here
“ not exceeding acres” (stating quantity) or “ not exceeding
in value l.” (stating value.)
MODEL BRANCH RULES.
255'
receipt of the trustees shall he a discharge for all moneys
arising from or in connexion with such sale, exchange,-mortgage,
or lease.—Friendly Societies Act, 1875, s. 16 (2).
XV.—Nomination.
1. The secretary shall keep a book in which he shall
register or record all nominations made by members of the
branch by writing, signed by them, of any person or persons
not being officers or servants of the branch, (except as
allowed by 39 & 40 Yict. c. 32, s. 10), to whom any moneys
payable by the branch on the death of such members not
exceeding 501. shall be paid.
2. The secretary shall in like manner record or register
all revocations or variations of such nominations by the
nominator, made in writing, and signed as aforesaid.
3. The nominator shall pay 3d. to the management fund
for the receiving or registering of every such nomination,
revocation, or variation.
4. The secretary neglecting to ask a new member to
nominate within three "calendar months of his admission to
pay a tine of 3d.
5. All nominations, revocations, or variations to be in the
following form :—
(1.) Nomination.
Branch of the Friendly Society, Registered pursuant
to the Friendly Societies Act, 18 .
I hereby nominate , in the county of ,
to receive the money payable at my death under the rules
of the branch and Society above named, not exceeding 50?.
Witness.
Signature.
(2.) Revocation.
I hereby revoke the above nomination.
Witness.
18
Signature.
(3.) Variation.
I hereby vary the nomination as follows :
I nominate , of , in the county of
■256
MODEL BRANCH RULES.
to receive [one-half] of the money payable at my death as
-aforesaid in lieu of the above named.
Witness.
—Friendly Societies Act, 1875, s. 15 (3.)
18
Signature.
XYI.—Voluntary Dissolution.
Voluntary dissolution of branch.—The branch may at any
time be dissolved by the consent of the central body of the
Order and five-sixths in value of the members, including
honorary members, if any, testified by their signatures to
some instrument of dissolution in form approved of by the
■Chief Registrar pursuant to the Treasury regulations, and
also by the written consent of every person for the time
being receiving or entitled to receive any relief, annuity, or
■other benefit from the funds of the branch, unless the claim
of such person be first duly satisfied, or adequate provision
made for satisfying such claim; the value of members to
be ascertained by giving one vote to every member, and
an additional vote for every five years that he has been a
member, but to no one member more than five votes in the
whole.—Friendly Societies Act, 1875, s. 25 (1, 3, 7).
XVII.—Applications for Inspection, Special Meetings, or
Dissolution.
It shall be the right of one-fifth of the total number of
members, or if the number of members shall at any time
■amount to 1,000, and shall not exceed 10,000, it shall be
the right of 100 members, or if the number shall at any
time exceed 10,000, it shall be the right of 500 members,
but with the consent in all cases of the central body of the
Order by an application in writing to the Chief Registrar (a),
signed by them in form approved of by the Chief Registrar
pursuant to the Treasury regulations :—
(a.) To apply for the appointment of one or more
inspectors to examine into the affairs of the branch and to
report thereon.—Friendly Societies Act, 1875, s. 23 (1) ;
(a) If the branch is registered and does business exclusively
in Scotland or Ireland, instead of the words “chief registrar”
insert the words “assistant registrar for Scotland,” or, “for
Ireland,” as the case may be.
MODEL BRANCH RULES. 257
(6) To apply for the calling of a special meeting of the
branch.—Friendly Societies Act, 1875, s. 23 (2) ;
Either such application to he made upon such notice to
the branch, and to he supported hy such evidence for the
purpose of showing that the applicants have good reason for
requiring such inspection to be made or meeting to he
called, and that they are not actuated hy malicious motives
in their application, as the Chief "Registrar shall direct;
(c.) Or to apply for an investigation into the affairs of
the branch with a view to the dissolution thereof.
Such application as last aforesaid to set forth that the
funds of the branch are insufficient to meet the existing
•claims thereon, or that the rates of contribution fixed in
the rules of the branch are insufficient to cover the benefits
assured, and the grounds upon which such insufficiency is
alleged.—Friendly Societies Act, 1875, s. 25 (8).
XVIII.—Disputes.
1. If any dispute shall arise between a member, or person
•claiming through a member, or under the rules of the
■branch, and the branch, or any officer thereof, it shall be
referred to arbitration.
2. At the second meeting of the branch after the registry
•of the same, five arbitrators shall be elected, none of them
being directly or indirectly interested in the funds of the
branch; and in each case of dispute the names of the arbitrators
shall be written on pieces of paper and placed in a
box or glass, and the three whose names are first drawn out
by the complaining party, or by some one appointed by
him or her, shall be the arbitrators to decide on the matter
in difference. In case of a vacancy, or vacancies, another
arbitrator, or other arbitrators, shall be elected at a general
•meeting.
Or,
If any dispute, &c. (as above) it shall be referred to
justices pursuant to the Friendly Societies Act, 1875,
s. 22 (c).
258 MODEL RULES FOR A BENEVOLENT SOCIETY.
MODEL RULES FOR A BENEVOLENT SOCIETY..
The following Form of Rules has been prepared by the'
chief registrar for the purpose of assisting benevolent
societies in complying with the provisions of the Friendly
Societies Act, 1875. It is applicable, with slight modification,
to working men’s clubs and (subject to the special;
rules provided in each case) to specially authorized Societies..
The blanks may be filled as the society may think fit.
I.—Constitution of Society.
The society is a benevolent society, composed of persons
over sixteen years of age (a).
II.—Name of Society and Place of Registered Office.
The society shall be called “ The (b)
Its registered office is in England, and is at No.
street, , in the county of
In the event of any change in the situation of the'
registered office, notice of such change shall be sent within
fourteen days thereafter to the registrar in the form prescribed
by the Treasury regulation in that behalf.—Friendly
Societies Act, 1875, s. 14 (1 a).
III.—Objects and Purposes, Admission of Members, Conditions
of Benefit, Sc.
1. Objects for ivliich the society is established.—This
society is established for the benevolent or charitable purpose
of (c)
(a) No person under the ago of 16 years may he a member of
a society registered after 1st January, 1876, unless it is one consisting
wholly of members under 16.
(4) State the name, which is not to be that of any existing:
registered society.
(c) State the whole of the objects.
MODEL RULES FOR A BENEVOLENT SOCIETY. 259'
2. Purposes for which the funds shall he applicable.—All
moneys received on account of contributions, donations,
admissions, fines, or otherwise, shall he applied towards
carrying out the objects of the society, according to the
rules and tables (if any) thereof. Any officer misapplying
the funds shall repay the same and he excluded, without
prejudice to his liability to prosecution for such misapplication.
3. Terms of admission of members (d).—
4. Members may become entitled to benefits on the following
conditions [state the conditions, or say, “ members shall not
he entitled to benefits”],
5. No fine or forfeiture shall be imposed on any member
[or as the case may be].
IV.—Meetings. Eight of Voting (e).
V.—Neic Rules and Alteration of Rules.
No new rule shall be made, nor any of the rules herein
contained or hereafter to be made shall be amended, altered,
or rescinded, unless with the consent of a majority of the
members present at a general meeting of the society
specially called for that purpose.
VI.—Appointment and. Removal of Committee of Management,
Treasurer, Trustees, and other Officers.
At a special meeting of the society to he called as soon ns
practicable after the registry of the society there shall be
elected by a majority of the members then present a committee
of management, consisting of ten persons, a treasurer,.
(d) Hero should be stated whether, and in wliat manner, a
candidate for membership is to be proposed and elected; what
class of persons, if any, are not to be eligible for membership, &c. -
(e) Here should be stated how often, when, and where meetings
are to be held, what notice is to be given of them, by whose
authority and how meetings are to be specially called, and upon
what requisition, whether any and what number of members is
necessary to constitute a quorum, either generally or in any
particular cases, who is to take the chair, what are the qualification
of voters, whether votes may be given by proxy, and
how questions on which there is an equality of votes are to be
decided.
260 MODEL RULES FOR A BENEVOLENT SOCIETY.:
secretary, [two auditors (a)], and three trustees. The committee
of management, treasurer, and secretary shall continue
in office until the general annual meeting of the
•society, unless previously removed by a resolution of the
major part of the members present at any meeting called
for that purpose ; and at every annual meeting a committee
of management, treasurer, and secretary shall be appointed
for the ensuing year, or, in failure thereof, those last
appointed shall be considered as again appointed ; and in
case any member of the committee of management, treasurer,
•or secretary shall die or be removed prior to such annual
meeting, the committee of management shall appoint a
person to fill the vacancy. The trustees shall continue in
office during the pleasure of the society, and be removable
at a general meeting ; and, in case of a vacancy, another
shall be elected by a majority of the members at a meeting
called for that purpose. A copy of every resolution appointing
a trustee shall be sent to the registrar within fourteen
days after the date of the meeting at which such resolution
was passed, in the form prescribed by the Treasury regulation
in that behalf.
VII.—Powers and Duties of Officers.
1. The committee of management shall meet on every
, at the hour of . Any (six) of the
committee of management duly assembled at any such
meeting shall form a quorum, and shall have full power to
superintend and conduct the business of this society according
to the rules provided for the government thereof, and
shall in all things act for and in the name of this society;
and all acts and orders under the powers delegated to them
shall have the like force and effect as the acts and orders of
this society at any general meeting. Every question at
such meeting shall be decided by a majority of votes, and
if the votes are equal, the chairman shall have a casting
vote. Any (two) of the committee of management may
call a special meeting thereof, by giving (seven) clear days’
notice in writing to the secretary, but at such special meeting
no other business than that specified in the notice shall
be taken into consideration. The committee of management
shall convene all the meetings of the society, on such
requisitions as are herein mentioned.
(a) Auditors nceduotbe appointed f the accounts are audited
by a public auditor.
MODEL RULES FOR A BENEVOLENT SOCIETY. 261
2. The treasurer shall in the month of in every
year, and also when required by a general meeting, or by
the trustees or committee of management, upon demand
made, or notice in writing given to him or left at his last
or usual place of residence, render a just and true account
of all moneys received and paid by him on account of the
society ; and shall also, on the like demand or notice, pay
over all moneys, and deliver all property for the time being
in his hands or custody to such persons as a general meeting,
or the committee of management, or the trustees,,
appoint. He shall be responsible for such sums of money
as may from time to time be paid into his hands by the
secretary, or by any person on account of this society ; he
shall balance his cash accounts monthly, and supply the
secretary with a duplicate thereof, and shall, if required,
attend every general meeting. He shall, before taking
upon himself the execution of his office, give security pursuant
to 38 & 39 Yict. c. 60, s. 20 (1).
3. The secretary shall give his attendance at all meetings
of this society ; he shall record correctly the names of themembers
of the committee of management or trustees there
present, and the minutes of their proceedings, which he
shall transcribe into a book to be authenticated by the
signature of the chairman as the proceedings of the meeting
; he shall receive proposals for admission, and demandsfor
allowances of every description granted by the rules ;
he shall keep the accounts, documents, and papers of the
society in such manner and for such purposes as the committee
may appoint, and shall prepare and send all returns
and other documents required by the said Act, or the
Treasury regulations, to be sent to the registrar. The
secretary shall, on all occasions, in the execution of His
office, act under the superintendence, control, and directions
of the committee of management.
4. The trustees shall be admitted to all meetings of the
committee of management, and shall be at liberty to take
part in the proceedings thereof, and vote on any question
under discussion.
5. In case any trustee being removed shall refuse or
neglect to assign or transfer any property of the society as
the committee of management shall direct, he shall (if he
be a member) be expelled the society, and shall cease to.
have any claim on the society on account of any contribution
paid by him, without prejudice to any liability to
prosecution which he may have incurred.
-.262 .MODEL RULES FOR A BENEVOLENT SOCIETY.
VIII.—Copies of Rules.
It shall be tlie duty of the committee of management to
provide tlie secretary with a sufficient number of copies of
the rules, to enable him to deliver to any person on demand
-a copy of such rules on payment of a sum not exceeding l.s.
,[(«) for non-members, and 6d. for members], and of the
secretary to deliver such copies accordingly.
IX.—Keeping and auditing of Accounts.
1. The committee of management shall cause the accounts
of the society to be regularly entered in proper books.
2. The committee of management shall once at least in
every year submit the accounts, together with a general
statement of the same and all necessary vouchers up to the
31st December then last, for audit, either to one of the public
auditors appointed under tlie Friendly Societies Act, 1875,
or to two or more persons appointed as auditors by the
members at the meeting next before each yearly meeting of
the society, and shall lay before every such meeting a
balance sheet (which either may or may not be identical
with the annual return, but must not be in contradiction
to the same), showing the receipts and expenditure, funds,
and effects of the society, together with a statement of the
affairs of the society since the last ordinary meeting, and of
their then condition. Such auditors shall have access to all
the books and accounts of the society, and shall examine
every balance sheet and annual return of the receipts and
expenditure, funds and effects of the society, and shall verify
the same with the accounts and vouchers relating thereto,
and shall either sign the same as found by them to be correct,
duly vouched, and in accordance with law, or shall specially
report to the meeting of the society before which the same
is laid in what respects they find it incorrect, unvouched, or
not in accordance with law.
X.—Annual Returns.
1. Every year before the 1st June the committee of
management shall cause the secretary to send to the registrar
the annual return, in the form prescribed by the chief
registrar of friendly societies, of the receipts and expendi-(a)
If no distinction is intended, the words in brackets may
be omitted. Any other figures not exceeding Is. may be inserted.
-
MODEL RULES FOR A BENEVOLENT SOCIETY. 263
lure, funds and effects of the society, and of the number of
inembers of the same, np to the 31st December then last
inclusively, as audited and laid before a general meeting,
showing separately the expenditure in respect of the several
objects of the society, together with a copy of the auditor’s
report, if any.
2. Such return shall state whether the audit has been conducted
by a public auditor appointed under the Friendly
Societies Act, 1875, and by whom, and if such audit has
been conducted by any persons other than a public auditor,
shall state the name, address, and calling or profession of
each of such persons, and the manner in which, and the authority
under which, they were respectively appointed.
3. It shall be the duty of the committee of management
to provide the secretary with a sufficient number of copies
■of the annual return, or of some balance sheet or other document
duly audited, containing the same particulars as in the
annual return as to the receipts and expenditure, funds and
effects of the society, for supplying gratuitously every member
or person interested in the funds of the society, on his
application, with a copy of the last annual return of the
society or of such balance sheet or other document for the
time being, and it shall be the duty of the secretary to
supply such gratuitous copies on application accordingly.
XI.—Inspection of Boohs.
1. The books and accounts of the society shall be open
do the inspection of any member or person having an interest
in the funds of the society at all reasonable hours, at the
registered office of the society, or at any place where the same
- are kept, and it shall be the duty of the secretary to pro-•
cluce them.
2. It shall be the duty of the committee of management
to keep a copy of the last annual balance sheet of the so-•
ciety for the time being, together with the report of the
auditors, if any, always hung up in a conspicuous place at
the registered office of the society.
XII.—Investment of Funds, holding of Land, <Ie.
1. So much of the funds of the society as may not be
■wanted for immediate use, or to meet the usual accruing
liabilities, shall, with the consent of the committee of
management, or of a majority of the members of a society
present and entitled to vote at a generel meeting, be invested
by the trustees in such of the following ways as such coni-
264 MODEL RULES FOR A BENEVOLENT SOCIETY.
mittee or general meeting shall direct; namely, in any
savings bank certified under the Act of 1863, or Post Office
Savings Bank, in the public funds, or with the Commissioners
for the Reduction of the National Debt, or upon
government or real securities in Great Britain or Ireland
(a)
or in the purchase of land as after mentioned, or in
the erection or alteration of offices or other buildings
thereon.
2. The committee of management, with the consent of a.
special meeting of the society called for the purpose, may
purchase or take on lease in the names of the trustees any
land in the county where the society’s registered office is
situate [or in any other county where it has an office] not
exceeding one acre in the whole, and may sell, exchange,
mortgage, lease, or build upon the same (with power to
alter and pull down buildings and again rebuild), and no
purchaser, assignee, mortgagee, or tenant shall be bound
to inquire as to the authority for any sale, exchange, mortgage,
or lease by the trustees, and the receipt by the trustees
shall be a discharge for any moneys arising from or in connexion
with such sale, exchange, mortgage, or lease.
3. Mortgages or other assurances for securing money to
the society may be vacated by a receipt indorsed, signed
by the trustees, and countersigned by the secretary, in the
form contained in the third schedule to the Friendly
Societies Act, 1875 [or if a special form be provided, in the
form herein specified, or in the form specified in the schedule
to these rules].
XIII.—Disputes.
1. If any dispute shall arise between a member, or person
claiming through a member, or under the rules of the society,
and the society, or any officer thereof, it shall be
referred to arbitration.
2. At the second meeting of the society after the registry
of the same, five arbitrators shall be elected, none of them
being directly or indirectly interested in the funds of the
society ; and in each case of dispute the names of the arbitrators
shall be written on pieces of paper and placed in a
box or glass, and the three whose names are first drawn out
(a) [Any other securities upon which it is proposed the funds.
should be invested should here he specified.]
MODEL RULES FOR A BENEVOLENT SOCIETY.
265
by the complaining party, or by some one appointed by him
■or her, shall be the arbitrators to decide on the matter in
difference. In case of a vacancy, or vacancies, another
arbitrator or other arbitrators shall be elected at a general
meeting.
Or,
If any dispute shall arise between a member, or person
claiming through a member, or under the rules of the
society, and the society, or any officer thereof, it shall be
referred to justices pursuant to the Friendly Societies Act,
1875, s. 22 (c).
XIV.—Voluntary Dissolution.
The society may at any time be dissolved by the consent
of three-fourths of the members, testified by their signatures
to some instrument of dissolution in the form provided by
the Treasury regulations in that behalf.
N.B.—It is desirable that all documents issued by a
registered Benevolent Society should contain after its name
the words “ registered as a Benevolent Society under 38 39
Viet. c. 60.”
In using these model rules for a Working Men’s Club,
the words “ working men’s club ” would have to be substituted
for “benevolent society” in Rule I, and Rule III (1)
should be as follows : “ This society is established for purposes
of social intercourse, mutual helpfulness, mental and
moral improvement, and rational recreation.”
266 RULES FOR SPECIALLY AUTHORIZED SOCIETIES.
RULES REQUIRED FOR SPECIALLY AUTHORIZED'
SOCIETIES.
Rule to be inserted in Rules of Societies Registered
under Special Authority of May 16, 1876 (Loansto
Members, and Investments for their Benefit).
The society is subject to the provisions of the Friendly
Societies Act, 1875, except so much thereof as relates toquinquennial
returns and valuations (section 14, subsection
1, e, /, and part of i); to certificates of death
(section 14, sub-section 2, and section 15, sub-section 9);
to exemption from stamp duty (section 15, sub-section 2);
to priority on the death, bankruptcy, &e, of officers (section
15, sub-section 7); to the membership of minors (section 15,
sub-section 8); to copyholds (section 16, sub-section 6); toinvestments
with the National Debt Commissioners (section
17); to loans on assurances on the life of members
(section 18, sub-section 1); to the dissolution of friendly
societies (section 25, sub-section 1, e, and sub-section 7); to
militiamen and volunteers (section 26); to the limitation of
benefits (section 27); and to payments on the death of
children (section 28).
Rule to be inserted in Rules of Societies Registered
under Special Authority of March 20, 1877 (out
of Employment Benefits).
The society is subject to the provisions of the Friendly
Societies Act, 1875, except so much thereof as relates to
annuities (section 11, sub-section 5); appeals from a refusal
to register a society, or any amendments of rules (section 11,
sub-sections 8 and 9, and section 13, sub-section 3), or from
cancelling or suspension of registry (section 12, sub-section
4 and part of sub-section 5); the provisions to be contained
in rules (section 13, sub-section 1); quinquennial returns
and valuations (section 14, sub-section 1, e,f, and part of
schedule II.); certificates of death (section 14, sub-section
2 and section 15, sub-section 9); exemption from stamp
RULES FOR SPECIALLY AUTHORIZED SOCIETIES. 267
duty (section 15, sub-section 2); priority on death, bankruptcy,
&c., of officers (section 15, sub-section 7); copyholds
(section 16, sub-section 6); the amalgamation or transfer of
engagements or the dissolution of friendly societies (section
24, part of sub-section 8, and section 25, sub-section
1, e, and sub-section 7, and part of schedule II.); the limitation
of benefits (section 27); payments on the death of
children (section 28); societies receiving contributions by
collectors (section 30); cattle insurance and certain other
societies (section 31); and keeping separate accounts (part
of schedule II.); and also to the provisions of the Friendly
Societies Amendment Act, 1876, except so much thereof as
relates to Treasury regulations (section 2); the conversion
of registered societies into branches (section 3); deaths at
sea (section 7); and certificates of births or deaths (section
8).
Rule to be inserted in Rules of Societies Registered
under Special Authority of March 23, 1877 (Promotion
of Agriculture or Horticulture).
This society is subject to the provisions of the Friendly
Societies Act, 1875, except so much thereof as relates to
dividing societies (section 11, sub-section 4); the certification
of annuities (section 11, sub-section 5); appeals from
a refusal to register a society or any amendment of the
rules thereof (section 11, sub-sections 8 and 9, and section
13, sub-section 3); or from cancelling or suspension of
registry (section 12, sub-section 4, and part of sub-section 5);
exemption from stamp duty (section 15, sub-section 2);
priority on death, &c., of officers (section 15, sub-section 7);
limitation of cost of certificates (section 15, sub-section 9);
societies receiving contributions by collectors (section 30);
and catte insurance and certain other societies (section 31);
and to the provisions of the Friendly Societies Amendment
Act, 1876, except so much thereof as relates to the conversion
of registered societies into branches.
Rule to be inserted in Rules of Societies Registered
under Special Authority of March 23, 1877 (Promotion
of Temperance and Economy by Taking
Small Deposits).
This society is subject to the provisions of the Friendly
Societies Act, 1875, except so much thereof as relates to the
certification of annuities (section 11, sub-section 5); ajipeals
268 RULES FOR SPECIALLY AUTHORIZED SOCIETIES.
from a refusal to register a society or any amendment of the
rules thereof (section 11, sub-sections 8 and 9, and section
13, sub-section 3), or from cancelling or suspension of
registry (section 12, sub-section 4, and part of sub-section
5); quinquennial returns and valuations (section 14, subsection
1, e,f); certificates of death (section 14, sub-section
2, and section 15, sub-section 9); exemption from stamp
duty (section 15, sub-section 2); priority on death, bankruptcy,
&c., of officers (section 15, sub-section 7); investments
with the National Debt Commissioners (section 16,
sub-section 1, c, and section 17); copyholds (section 16,
sub-section 6); loans to members (section 18); the accumulation
of surplus of contributions for members’ use (section
19); the amalgamation, transfer of engagements, and
dissolution of friendly societies (section 24, proviso to subsection
8, and section 25, sub-section 1, c, and sub-section 7);
payments on the death of children (section 28); societies
receiving contributions by collectors (section 30); cattle
insurance and certain other societies (section 31); and the
four last heads of schedule II.; and to the provisions of the
Friendly Societies Amendment Act, 1876, except so much
as relates to conversion of registered societies into branches
(section 3); deaths at sea (section 7); and fees on certificates
of death (section 8).
Rule to be inserted in Rules op Societies Registered
under Special Authority op July 3, 1878 (Promotion
op Literature, Science, and the Fine
Arts).
This society is subject to the provisions of the Friendly
Societies Act, 1875, except so much thereof as relates to
dividing societies (section 11, sub-section 4); the certificat
ion of annuities (section 11, sub-section 5); appeals from a
refusal to register a society or any amendment of the rules
thereof (section 11, sub-sections 8 and 9, and section 13,
sub-section 3), or from cancelling or suspension of registry
(section 12, sub-section 4, and part of sub-section 5); quinquennial
returns and valuations (section 14, sub-section 1,
e,f); certificates of death (section 14, sub-section 2, and
section 15, sub-section 9); exemption from stamp duty
,(section 15, sub-section 2); nomination and distribution
.(section 15, sub-sections 3, 4, and 5); priority on death,
bankruptcy, &c., of officers (section 15, sub-section 7);
■ copyholds (section 16, sub-section 6); loans to members
, (section 18); the accumulation of surplus of contributions
RULES FOR SPECIALLY AUTHORIZED SOCIETIES. 269
for 11161111)618’ use (section 19); so much of section 22 as
relates to the reference of a dispute to the chief or any
other registrar; the amalgamation, transfer of engagements,
and dissolution of friendly societies (section 24, proviso to
sub-section 8, and section 25, sub-section 1, c, and subsection
7); militiamen and volunteers (section 26); the
limitation of benefits (section 27); payments on the death
of children (section 28); societies receiving contributions
by collectors (section 30); cattle insurance and certain
other societies (section 31); and the four last heads of
schedule II.; and to the provisions of the Friendly Societies
Amendment Act, 1876, except so much as relates to conversion
of registered societies into branches (section 3);
deaths at sea (section 7); and fees on certificates of death
(section 8).
Note.
By Treasury regulation 65, it is provided that where a
limited application of the provisions of the Act is authorized
for any purpose by the Treasury, such limitation shall be
stated, whether by way of enumeration or exception, in the
rules of every society registered for such purpose ; and by
Treasury regulation 68, that a society may be registered for
any of the purposes specified in the Act, conjointly with
any specially authorized purpose. If the special authority
is a limited one, such society shall not, in respect of any of
its purposes, be entitled to any of the privileges or exemptions
of the Act beyond such as are contained in the provisions
specified in the special authority, but shall, notwithstanding
anything in such special authority contained, be
subject, in respect of any purposes other than those specially
authorized, to the same duties and obligations as if it were
not a specially authorized society.
270
MODEL RULES
MODEL RULES EOR AN INDUSTRIAL AND
PROVIDENT SOCIETY PURSUANT TO THE
INDUSTRIAL AND PROVIDENT SOCIETIES
ACT, 1876.
1.—Name, Place of Office, and Object of Society.
This society shall he called the “ Industrial and
Provident Society, Limited,” and the registered office of the
society shall be No. , Street in the
parish of , and county of . The object of
the society is to carry on the labour, trade, or handicraft
of both wholesale and retail [and the buying and
selling of land].
In the event of any change in the situation of the registered
office, notice of such change shall be sent within 14
days thereafter to the registrar in manner and form provided
by the Treasury regulation in that behalf.—Industrial
and Provident Societies Act, 1876, s. 10 (1 a.)
2.—Admission of Members.
No person shall be admitted as member of the society
except by the committee of management, and every member
on election shall take one or more share or shares of £
each. He shall pay as entrance money, and shall
have given to him a copy of the rules of the society. A
society or company may be admitted a member upon the
same terms, and shall be entitled to be represented at
general meetings by any person it may appoint under its
seal.
No member, other than a registered society, shall hold
an interest exceeding £ (a) in the shares of the
society.
3.—Powers of Society.
The society may erect any houses, cottages or other
buildings on any lands from time to time held by the
society, and may alter or pull down and again rebuild any
buildings, whether erected by the society, or otherwise
(a) The sum mentioned must not exceed £200.
FOR AN INDUSTRIAL AND PROVIDENT SOCIETY. 271
vested in it; and may manage, lay out, lease, and sublease
(whether at rack rent, on building, mining, quarrying,
•or improving leases, or otherwise howsoever, and whether
to members of the society or other persons), and may dispose
of and sell from time to time, whether to members or
other persons, any lands or buildings for the time being
held by the society; and the purchase-money, rents, and
other moneys to be received in respect of any lands or
buildings shall be appropriated as the members direct; and
the society may advance any moneys to members on the
security of real or personal property. Mortgages to the
society may be discharged by receipt endorsed thereon in
the form in the schedule to these rules.
4.—Mode of holding Meetings.—Voting.
The half-yearly meetings of the members shall be held on
the first day in the months of and in every
year; the meeting held in the month of shall be
considered as the general annual meeting. The meetings
shall be held at the registered office of the society, or at
■such other place as any half-yearly meeting shall determine
■on. No meeting of the society shall proceed to business
unless at least members of the society, entitled to
vote thereat, be present within one hour of the time of
meeting, otherwise such meeting, if it be the ordinary
annual or half-yearly meeting of the society, or a special
;general meeting convened by the committe of management,
shall stand adjourned to that day week; but if it be convened
by notice from the members, shall be absolutely
■dissolved. But any general meeting may adjourn from
time to time for any period not exceeding clear
•days, and no meeting shall be rendered incapable of transacting
business by the want of a quorum after the chair has
been taken.
At every half-yearly meeting of the society a general
statement, signed by three of the said committee and the
secretary, showing the transactions of the society during
the past half-year, its present condition and the state of its
affairs generally, and the auditor’s report and balance-sheet,
shall be read to the society, and the books and accounts
■and the statement of accounts audited and approved by
the auditors, shall be produced for the inspection of the
members, and such other business transacted as may be
■deemed proper and expedient. The said committee may of
their own authority call a special general meeting at any
time, and such meeting shall also be called upon the
272
MODEL RULES
requisition in writing of any members sent to thesecretary,
stating therein the purpose of such meeting;:
and six clear days’ notice in writing shall he sent to the
address of each member, specifying the time, place and
objects thereof; and at any such meeting no other business
can be transacted than the business specified in the notice
convening it. Each meeting shall choose a chairman, whoshall
be one of the said committee, if any are present, who,,
if at any meeting the votes are equal, shall have the casting
vote. All questions shall be decided in the first
instance by a show of hands, unless five members present
demand a ballot, in which case a ballot shall be taken, but
no proxies shall be .admissible. Each member shall have,
only one vote.
5. —Making or altering Rules.
That no new rules shall be made, nor any of the rules
herein contained or hereafter to be made shall be amended,,
altered, or rescinded, unless with the consent of a majority
of the members present at a general meeting of the society
specially called for that purpose.
6.—Registration of Shares.
A share register book shall be kept by the secretary,,
in which shall be entered the following particulars :—The
Christian and surname, place of residence, profession or
business, and date of entrance of each member of the
society, the number of shares held by each member, with
the number and value of each share, the date when the
member became such, and the date at which he ceased tobe
a member in respect of any share. If several persons
are registered as joint holders of any share, any one of such
persons may give effectual receipts for any profits payable
in respect of such share. [All transfers of shares shall be:
registered in a similar way.]
7 (a).—Transfer of Shares.
Shares shall be transferable [or as the case may he.]
Any member may, with the consent of the committee of
management, transfer all or any of his [transferable] shares
to any other member of the society, or to any other person,
upon giving one calendar month’s notice in writing to the
secretary, such notice to contain the Christian and surname,
(a) This rule is to be adopted only if the shares or some of
them are to be transferable.
FOB AN INDUSTRIAL AND PROVIDENT SOCIETY. 273
place of abode, and profession or business of tbe proposed
transferee, and the numbers of each share to be transferred,
and the consideration to be paid for the transfer. All
transfers shall be in the form in the schedule to these rules.
[No member shall withdraw from the society except by
transfer of his shares.]
7 (6).—Withdrawal of Members.
No [withdrawable] shares shall be transferable; but any
member who has paid up all his subscriptions [on his withdrawable
shares] may withdraw from the society on giving
months’ notice in writing to the secretary of his
intention; and any member may withdraw without paying
up all his subscriptions with the consent of the committee
of management. Upon the withdrawal of any member lie
shall receive payment of the balance then standing to his
credit in the books of the society, with all arrears of dividend
and profits, if any, within months after such
withdrawal. Any member having participated in the profits
shall, in case of withdrawal, forfeit such sum not exceeding
, as the said committee may think proper; such
forfeits to go to the funds of the society.
Members may withdraw any sum above £ ,
according to the following scale, of notice :—
£
£
£
£
to £
}>
on application to the said committee.
weeks.
1)
??
£
£
£
to £
weeks.
No money is to be withdrawn during the first twelve
months except in cases of distress.
A member being in distress may withdraw any sum he
may have in the funds of the society above £2, at the
discretion of the said committee.
8.—Audit of A ccounts.
The committee of management shall cause the accounts
of all business carried on by the society to be regularly
entered in proper books.
(b) If tlie shares are not to be transferable, then this rule will
have to be adopted instead of 7 (n), but not both rules, except in
the case where some of the shares are to be transferable only and
the remainder withdrawable only.
N 3
274
MODEL BULES
The committee of management shall once at least in
every year submit the accounts of the society, together
with a general statement of the same and all necessary
vouchers up to the 31st December then last, for audit,
either to one of the public auditors appointed under the
Industrial and Provident Societies Act, 1876, or to two or
more persons appointed as auditors by the members at the
meeting next before each yearly meeting of the society,
and shall lay before every such meeting a balance sheet
(which either may or may not be identical with the annual
return, but must not be in contradiction to the same),
showing the receipts and expenditure, funds and effects of
the society, together with a statement of the affairs of the
society since the last ordinary meeting, and of their then
condition. Such auditors shall have access to all the
books and accounts of the society, and shall examine every
balance sheet and annual return of the receipts and expenditure,
funds and effects of the society, and shall verify the
same with the accounts and vouchers relating thereto, and
shall either sign the same as found by them to be correct,
duly vouched, and in accordance with law, or shall specially
report to the meeting of the society, before which the same
is laid, in what respects they find it incorrect, unvouched,
or not in accordance with law.—Industrial and Provident
Societies Act, 1876, s. 10. (1 c.)
9.—Investment of Capital.
The committee of management may, if they shall think
fit, invest in any company established under the Companies
Acts, or incorporated by Act of parliament or by charter,
with limited liability, or in any society under the Industrial
and Provident Societies Act, 1876, or the Building
Societies Acts, any part of the capital funds of the society,
at such rate of interest and upon such terms as to repayment
or otherwise as may be agreed upon. [State here
any other manner in which the capital may be invested.]
10.—Loans and Deposits.
The society may contract loans and may receive money
on deposit, from members and others, not exceeding 5s.
in one sum, or ,£20 from one depositor, repayable at not
less than two day’s notice. [State the conditions, security,
and limit of amount.] No payment of withdrawable
capital shall be made while any claim in respect of a
FOR AN INDUSTRIAL AND PROVIDENT SOCIETY. 275
•deposit remains unsatisfied. [If the society is to carry on
the business of banking, it should be so stated in rule 1
and suitable provision made for such business, as well as
for the keeping the half-yearly statement required by the
Act hung up at all places of business. A society for carrying
on the business of banking cannot have withdrawable
•capital.]
11.—Publication of Name.
The name of the society shall be kept painted and
affixed on the outside of every office or place in which the
business of the society is carried on, in a conspicuous
position, in letters easily legible, and shall be engraven in
legible characters on its seal, and shall be mentioned in
legible characters in all notices, advertisements, and other
official publications of the society, and in all bills of exchange,
promissory notes, indorsements, cheques, and
orders for money and goods, purporting to be signed by or
■on behalf of the society, and in all bills of parcels, invoices,
receipts, and letters of credit of the society.—Industrial
•and Provident Societies Act, 1876, s. 10. (1 b.)
12.—Inspection of Books.
The books and accounts of the society shall be open to
the inspection of any member or person having an interest
in the funds of the society, at all reasonable times, at the
registered office of the society, or at any place where the
same are kept, subject to such regulations as to the time
and manner of such inspection as may be made from time
to time by the general meetings, and it shall be the duty
•of the secretary to produce them [except that no such
member or person, unless he be an officer of the society, or
be specially authorized by a resolution of the society to do
so, shall have the right to inspect the loan or deposit
account of any other member without the written consent
of such member.]—Industrial and Provident Societies Act.
1876, s. 10. (1 e.)
13.—Application of Profits.
The net profits of all business carried on by the society,
after paying or providing for the expenses of management,
interest on money borrowed, and dividends upon paid up
subscriptions, shall, once in eveiy half-year, be applied, in
276
MODEL HULES
the first place, in the repayment of moneys borrowed, orany
instalment cine in respect thereof, and subject thereto
to any provident purpose in such proportion as may be
agreed upon at any half-yearly meeting of the society.
[The rule may, if thought fit, state specifically the purpose or
purposes to which the profits are to he applied.]
14.—Officers of Society.
At the first meeting of the society, after its registry,-there
shall be elected by a majority of the members then
present persons as a committee of management, a
treasurer, secretary, and two auditors, who shall all continue
in office until the general annual meeting of the
society, unless previously removed by a resolution of the
majority of members present at any meeting called for
that purpose ; and at every general annual meeting
of the said committee shall go out of office in rotation, and
others shall be elected in their place ; and at such meeting
a treasurer, secretary, and auditors shall be appointed for
the ensuing year, or in failure thereof the officers last
appointed shall continue to hold office ; and if any such
officer dies or is removed previous to such meeting, the
said committee shall appoint a person to fill the vacancy.
All retiring members of the said committee or other officers
of the society shall he immediately re-eligible. The
officers of the society shall receive such remuneration for
their services as shall be agreed upon at any general annual
meeting.
Every person appointed to any office touching the receipt,
management, or expenditure of money for the purposes of
the society shall, before entering upon the duties of his
office, give such security as shall be deemed sufficient by
the committee of management,
15.—Management.
The business and affairs of the society shall be conducted
by the committee of management, who shall have the
control of all business carried on by or on account of the
society, the determination of the persons to be employed
therein, the rates of payment to be made for work or service
done on account of the society, and the appointment
and removal of the salesmen or other officers necessary for
conducting the business, and may assign to any such
officers such duties and salaries as they think fit, subject to
the approval of the half-yearly meetings.
FOR AST INDUSTRIAL AND PROVIDENT SOCIETY. 277
The committee of management shall meet every
clay evening at o’clock, and any of the said-’
committee shall form a quorum ; it shall in all things act
for and in the society’s name, and all acts and orders under
the powers delegated to it shall have the like force and
effect as if they were the acts and orders of a majority of
the members of the society at a general meeting thereof.
Every question at such meeting shall be decided by a
majority of votes, and if the votes are equal, the chairman
shall have a casting vote. Any of the said committee
may call a special meeting thereof by giving one
clear day’s notice in writing to the secretary ; but at such
special meeting no other business than that specified in the
notice shall be taken into consideration. The said committee
shall convene all meetings of the society on suchrequisitions
as are herein mentioned. Any member of the
said committee not present at a quarter past the hour of
meeting shall be fined , unless he can show a
reason for his absence to the satisfaction of the majority of
the said committee. The secretary shall keep a record of
all members present at each meeting of the said committee.
The chairman of each meeting shall sign the
minutes of the proceedings and all contracts then entered
into.
The treasurer shall be responsible for such sums of
money as may from time to time be paid into his
hands by the secretary, or by any person on account of
this society; he shall render his cash account monthly,
and supply the secretary with a duplicate thereof, and
shall, if required, attend every general meeting. He shall,,
before taking upon himself the execution of his office,
give such security as the committee of management think
necessary.
The secretary shall give his attendance at all meetings
of the society and committee of management; he shall
record correctly the names of the said committee there
present, and the minutes of their proceedings, which he
shall transcribe into a book, to be authenticated by the
signature of the chairman as the proceedings of the meeting
; he shall receive proposals for admission and keep the
accounts, documents, and papers of the society in such
manner and for such purposes as the said committee may
appoint, and shall prepare and send the annual and other
returns to the registrar ; he shall receive the contributions,
fines, and other payments due to the society, and at the
close of every meeting pay the same to the treasurer. The
secretary shall on all occasions in the execution of his
.278
MODEL RULES
■office act under the superintendence, control, and directions
-of the said connnittee.
16.—Annual Returns.
Every year before the 1st June, the committee of
management shall cause the secretary to send to the registrar
the annual return, in the form prescribed by the chief
registrar of friendly societies, required by the Industrial
and Provident Societies Act, 1876, of the receipts and
•expenditure, funds and effects of the society, and of the
number of members of the same up to the 31st December
then last inclusively, as audited and laid before a general
meeting, showing separately the expenditure in respect of
the several objects of the society, together with a copy of
•the auditor’s report, if any.
Such return shall state whether the audit has been conducted
by a public auditor appointed under the Industrial
and Provident Societies Act, 1876, and by whom ; and if
such audit has been conducted by any persons other than
a public auditor, shall state the name, address, and calling
■or profession of each of such persons, and the manner in
which, and the authority under which, they were respectively
appointed.—Industrial and Provident Societies Act,
1876, s. 10. (1 A.)
17.—Copies of Rules,
It shall be the duty of the committee of management to
provide the secretary with a sufficient number of copies of
the rules, to enable him to deliver to any person on
demand a copy of such rules on payment of a sum not
exceeding Is. [(«) for non-members, and 6d. for members],
and of the secretary to deliver such copies accordingly.—
Industrial and Provident Societies Act, 1876, s. 9. (5.)
18.—Seal.
The common seal shall not be affixed to any document
■except by order of the committee, entered upon their
minutes ; it shall be applied in the presence of two of
(a) If no distinction is intended, the words in brackets may
be omitted. Any other figures not exceeding Is. may be inserted.
FOR AN INDUSTRIAL AND PROVIDENT SOCIETY. 279
them, who shall sign their names as witnesses. It shall he
in the custody of the secretary. The seal shall hear legibly
engraved on it at length the registered name of the society,
with the device of a
19.—Coptics of Annual Ret urn.
It shall he the duty of the committee of management to
provide the secretary with a sufficient number of copies of
the annual return for supplying, gratuitously, every member
or person interested in the funds of the society, on Ms
application, with a copy of the last annual return of the
society for the time being ; and it shall be the duty of the
secretary to supply such gratuitous copies on application
accordingly.—Industrial and Provident Societies Act, 1876,
s. 10. (1/.)
It shall be the duty of the committee of management to
keep a copy of the last annual balance sheet of the society
for the time being, together with the report of the auditors,
if any, always hung up in a conspicuous place at the registered
office of the society.—Industrial and Provident
Societies Act, 1876, s. 10. (1 g.)
20.—Death and Bankruptcy of Members.
The secretary shall keep a book in wMch he shall
register or record all nominations made by members of the
society by wilting, signed by them, delivered at, or sent to,
the registered office of the society, of any person or persons
not being officers or servants of the society, unless such
officer or servant be the husband, wife, father, mother,
.child, brother, sister, nephew, or niece of the nominator, to
whom the shares of such nominator shall be transferred at
his decease, provided that the amount credited to him in
the books of the society does not exceed £50.
The secretary shall in like manner record or register all
revocations or variations of such nominations by the nominator,
made in writing, and signed and delivered or sent as
aforesaid.
The nominator shall pay 3d. to the management fund
for the recording or registering of every such nomination,
revocation, or variation.
On receiving satisfactory proof of the death of a nominator,
the committee shall, at their option, either transfer
the shares in manner directed in such nomination, or pay
.to any person entitled thereunder the full value of his
280
MODEL RULES
interest, unless the shares to he transferred to any nominee
would raise his interest in the society to an amount exceeding
£200, in which case they shall pay him the full value
of such shares, not exceeding the sum aforesaid. An entry
of such payment shall he made in the proper hook, and
thereupon the shares so paid for shall he extinguished.
If any member entitled to an interest in the society not
exceeding £50 dies intestate and without having made any
nomination which remains unrevoked at his death, such’
interest shall he transferable or payable, without letters of'
administration, to or among the persons who appear to a
majority of the committee, upon such evidence as they
may deem satisfactory, to he entitled by law to receive thesame.
If any member entitled to an interest in the society not
exceeding £50 dies leaving a will and without having
made any nomination which remains unrevoked at his
death, or if any member entitled to an interest in the
society exceeding £50 dies, such interest shall be transferable
or payable only to his executors or administrators.
If any member becomes bankrupt, his interest in the
society shall be transferable or payable to the trustee of his
property.—Industrial and Provident Societies Act, 1876-s.
11. (5, 6, 7.)
21.—Application for Inspection.
It shall be the right of one-fifth of the total number of'
members, or if the number of members shall at any time
amount to 1,000, and shall not exceed 10,000, it shall be
the right of 100 members, or if the number shall at any
time exceed 10,000, it shall be the right of 500 members,,
by an application in writing to the chief registrar (a), signed
by them in the forms respectively provided by the Treasury
regulations in that behalf—
(a.) To apply for the appointment of one or more inspectors
to examine into the affairs of the society and to’
report thereon.—Industrial and Provident Societies Act,.
1876, s. 15. (1 a.)
(b.) To apply for the calling of a special meeting of the
society.--Industrial and Provident Societies Act, 1876,,
s. 15. (1 b.)
(a) If the society is registered and does business exclusively
in Scotland or Ireland, instead of the words “ chief registrar
insert the words “assistant registrar for Scotland,” or, “for-Ireland,”
as the case may be.
FOR AH INDUSTRIAL AND PROVIDENT SOCIETY. 281'
Either such application to be made upon such notice tothe
society, and to be supported by such evidence for the
purpose of showing that the applicants have good reason
for requiring such inspection to be made, or meeting to becalled,
and that they are not actuated by malicious motives
in their application, as the chief registrar shall direct.—•
Industrial and Provident Societies Act, 1876, s. 15. (2.)
22.—Dissolution.
The society may at any time be dissolved by the consent
of three-fourths of the members, testified by their signatures
to some instrument of dissolution in the form provided
by the Treasury regulations in that behalf.—Industrial
and Provident Societies Act, 1876, s. 17. (1.)
[The society may provide by a rule for the settlement of
disputes.]
[In a schedule to the rules should be given the forms of
transfer of shares, and also any necessary forms of conveyance,
mortgage, transfer, agreement, bond, or other instrument
relating to the society’s dealings in land, and of
receipt for moneys secured by mortgage.]
[These model rules may be adopted as a complete amendment
of the rules of an existing society, by adding at thcliead
“the former rules are rescinded,” and omitting the
reference to the first meeting after registry in Rule 14.]
•282
AUDIT.
AUDIT.
Conditions under which public auditors will hold their
appointments under the Friendly Societies Acts, and the
Industrial and Provident Societies Act, 1876.
1. The country will he divided into districts, and public
auditors for each district appointed. They will not, however,
he ranked as public servants, and will have no salaries,
nor any claim to pension or gratuity. Nor are they to
assume the title of “ government auditors,” or any similar
one ; hut are simply to describe themselves as “ public
auditors under the Friendly Societies Acts, and the Industrial
and Provident Societies Act, 1876.” Public auditors
■are not permitted to make use of the royal arms.
2. The public auditor is bound to accept for audit (except
•as hereinafter mentioned) the accounts of any society within
his district registered either under the Friendly Societies Acts,
or the Industrial and Provident Societies Acts, which applies
to him (the term “ society ” to include a branch of a society),
for the fees hereafter mentioned, the society complying with
the terms of these instructions. But no public auditor can
audit the accounts, balance-sheet, or annual return of any
society of which he is accountant, or any account, balancesheet,
or annual return which he has himself prepared.
3. A society desirous of submitting its accounts to a
public auditor must forward all the necessary materials to
his office or place of residence, in order to save travelling
■expenses and loss of time. It will be the duty of the
■auditor, when applied to, to impress this upon the societies.
Ileisnot bound to leave hisofficefor tliepurpose of the audit.
4. The society must, at the same time, forward to the
^auditor the annual return or general statement of the
receipts and expenditure, funds and effects, of the society,
made up in the form for the time being required under the
Friendly Societies Act, 1875, or the Industrial and Provident
Societies Act, 1876, as the case may be.
5. The auditor is to verify the annual return with the
accounts and vouchers relating thereto, and either to sign
the same as found by him to be correct, duly vouched, and
AUDIT.
283
in accordance with law, or specially to report to the societyin
what respects he finds it incorrect, unvouched, or not in
accordance with law.
6. The work of the auditor will be strictly confined to
auditing, but he has under the Acts a right of access to all
the books and accounts of the society. In the event of his
discovering errors in the annual return, or the books,
accounts, or vouchers submitted to him, they are to be
returned (at the cost of the society) for correction, unless
the auditor be requested by the society to correct the
inaccuracies, in which case he is entitled to claim an
additional fee, to be arranged between him and the society.
7. The auditor shall, in all cases, make a report to the
society upon the accounts and other documents submitted
to him, and, in case he has called for explanations or information
from the directors or committee of management, he
shall state whether such explanations or information have
been given, and whether they have been satisfactory.
8. Rates of payment
(1) For auditing the accounts of friendly societies and
specially authorized societies granting friendly
society benefits the scale of payment shall be—
£ s. d.
For societies consisting of not more than 100
members , - - - - - -110
For societies with over 100 members, but
not exceeding 500 members, in respect of
each 100 members or part thereof - - 1 1 0
For societies consisting of over 500 members,
in respect of the first 500 members - - 5 5 0
With an additional 10s. 6d. in respect
of each additional 100 members or
part thereof. No fee, however, to exceed
,£5210s., unless by special arrangement.
(2.) For auditing the accounts of all other societies
registered under the Friendly Societies Acts, viz., cattle
insurance societies, benevolent societies, working men’s
clubs, specially authorised societies (except such as grant
friendly society benefits), the scale of payment shall be—
£ s. d.
For societies whose total gross receipts do
not exceed £2,000 per annum - - 1 1 0
284
AUDIT.
For societies whose total gross receipts exceed
,£2,000 but do not exceed £10,000
per annum, in respect of each £2,000 or
fraction thereof - - - - -110.
Where the gross receipts exceed
£10,000 per annum, the fee to be fixed
by private arrangement.
(3.) For auditing the accounts of industrial and provident
societies the scale of payment shall be—
£ s. cL
For societies whose total sales do not exceed
£2,000 per annum - - - - -110
For societies whose total sales exceed £2,000
but do not exceed £10,000 per annum, in
respect of each £2,000 or fraction thereof - 1 1 O
For societies whose total sales exceed
£10,000 but do not exceed £25,000 per
annum, in respect of the first £10,000 - 5 5 0
With an additional 10s. 6d. in respect
of each additional £2,000 or fraction
thereof.
Where the sales exceed £25,000 per annum, the fee
to be fixed by special arrangement.
The word “ sales,” in the case of societies for thebuying
and selling of land, to include instalments
in repayment of advances.
9. The scales of fees apply only in cases where the
society is located within the district assigned to the auditor
employed. If a society employs an auditor appointed for
any other district, special terms may be arranged.
The auditor may accept audits on terms lower than those
of the above scale.
10. Auditors shall hold their appointments from year to
year, beginning on the 1st day of January in each year.
The treasury reserves to itself entire discretion as to reappointing
them.
11. They shall send in half-yearly to the chief registrar of
friendly societies a list containing the names of the societies
audited by them during the previous half year, and the fees
received from each society, distinguishing societies under
AUDIT.
28-5
the Friendly Societies Acts from societies under the Industrial
and Provident Societies Acts.
12. The scales of fees above laid down will only remain
in force from year to year. At the end of any year they
may be confirmed or altered in such manner as the Treasury
may direct.
13. Auditors are requested to make themselves acquainted
with the provisions of the Friendly Societies Acts, and of
the Industrial and Provident Societies Act, 1876, which
affect the exercise of their functions. Their attention is
particularly directed to sections 14 and 32 of the Friendly
Societies Act, 1875, and to sections 10 and 18 of the Industrial
and Provident Societies Act, 1876.
14. [Here follows the arrangement of districts for the
year].
15. Apart from the above arrangement, the auditors of
the local government board are authorised to exercise,
subject to the sanction of that board previously obtained,
the functions of public auditors in their respective districts,
but are not bound to accept any accounts for audit.
16. The Treasury reserves to itself the right of appointing
additional auditors, if required.
[These conditions are subject to yearly revision by the
Treasury.]
2S6
VALUATION.
VALUATION.
Instructions to public valuers appointed under tlie-Friendly
Societies Acts
1. A limited number of public valuers, not exceeding for
the present 14, will be appointed for England, Scotland,
and Ireland respectively. They will not be ranked as
public servants, and will have no salaries, nor any claim to
pension or gratuity.
2. A public valuer is bound to undertake by himself, or
through some other public valuer, every valuation under
the Act tendered to him by a society (the term to include
a branch of a society) within the country for which he is
appointed.
3. The valuer may require that the particulars for valuation
shall be supplied to him in such form as he may think
fit, together with a copy of the rules for the time being of
the society, and copies of the annual returns, and also of
the annual statements of account of the society, where these
are not identical with the annual returns, for at least the
five years next preceding the date up to which the valuation
is to be made.
4. The valuer may ask for such further information as
to the affairs of the society as he may deem necessary for
the purpose of his valuation.
5. In no valuation of a society’s future sickness liabilities
shall the total sickness per annum at each age up to age 70
expected to be experienced be less than that given by
“Ratcliffe’s Sickness Experience for the Years 1865-70, of
the Manchester Unity of Oddfellows, Rural, Town, and
City districts combined.”
6. In the case of societies granting sick allowance beyond
the age of 70, the valuer shall call attention in his report to
the principles on which he has valued this portion of the
sickness liabilities, with special reference to the probable
effect of cases of prolonged sickness on the funds of the
society.
VALUATION.
287"
7. In no valuation of a society’s future sickness liabilities
sliall a higher rate of mortality at any age be employed
than that given by “ Rateliffe’s Mortality Experience for
the Years 1865-70, of the Manchester Unity of Oddfellows,.
Rural, Town, and City districts combined.”
8. In the case of societies having members engaged in
occupations more than usually hazardous or injurious tohealth,
or having members residing in localities known to
be unhealthy, the valuer shall in his valuation make such
allowance or allowances therefor as regards conditions 5
and 6 as he may deem expedient, and shall call special
attention thereto in his report, on the valuation.
9. The valuer may, in estimating the value of a society’sliabilities
under its assured benefits, use such a rate or ratesof
interest as he may consider expedient; but when such
rate or rates shall exceed 3 per cent., he shall, in his report
on the valuation, state fully the grounds on which a higher
rate of interest is made use of.
10. No allowance is to be made for possible future profits
arising from secessions, unless the number of contributing
members in the society, and the nature of the society’s
business be such as fully to justify an allowance being
made, and the valuer shall in all such cases state in his
report what allowance has been made, and the grounds on
which it is made.
11. The method of valuation must in no case have the
effect of treating any of the society’s assurance contracts asassets;
in other words, the liability of the society under its
assurance contracts must in no case be treated as having a
negative value.
12. The valuation report must in all cases state distinctly
what provision is made for future expenses of management,
and the valuer shall state whether in his opinion, judging
from the experience of the society, such provision is
adequate.
13. In making his report on the valuation, the valuer
shall in all cases specially call attention to the assumptions
on which the valuation is based, particular care being;
exercised in this case where the number of members is
small.
:288
VALUATION.
14. The valuer shall make his valuation and furnish to
the society the report and abstract of valuation required by
-sect. 14 (1,/) of the “ Friendly Societies Act, 1875,” within
three calendar months after the necessary particulars have
been supplied to him, unless there be just and sufficient
reason for any delay.
15. If in consequence of the large number of valuations
under the Act which are submitted to him, a public valuer
is unable to complete any such valuation within the time
-above specified, he may transfer such valuation to another
.public valuer upon the same terms and conditions.
16. When the benefits to be valued do not exceed two
-classes of sick allowance and deferred annuities, together
with sums payable on the deaths of members and of their
wives, the scales of payment to public valuers shall be as
■follows:—
£ s. d.
For societies—
consisting of not more than 75 members - 3 3 0
For societies with over—
75 members and not exceeding lOOmembers 4 4 0
100
V
99
150
99
5
5
0
150
99
99
200
99
6
6
0
200
99
99
300
99
7
7
0
300
99
99
400
99
8
8
0
400
99
99
500
99
9
9
0
500
99
99
600
99
10
10
0
600
99
99
750
99
12
12
0
750
99
99
1,000
99
15
15
0
With a further 51. 5s. for every 500 members, or portion
thereof, beyond the total amount of members not exceeding
2,500. Beyond 2,500 members the fee to be a matter of
special arrangement, as well as in all cases where the
number of benefits exceeds that above mentioned.
Valuers may accept valuations on terms lower than those
■of the above scale.
Valuers must take such steps as they think fit for
obtaining payment of their fees.
VALUATION.
289
o
17. Valuers sliall hold their appointments from year to
year, beginning on the 1st January, 1877.
The Treasury reserves to itself entire discretion as to
re-appointing them.
18. The scale of fees above laid down will remain in
force till the end of 1880.
At the end of that time it will either be confirmed or
altered in such manner as the Treasury may direct.
19. The Treasury reserves to itself the right of appointing
additional valuers if required.
20. Valuers are requested to make themselves acquainted
with the provisions of the Friendly Societies Acts, and
with the Treasury regulations which affect the exercise of
their functions. Their attention is particularly directed to
sects. 14 and 32 of the Act of 1875.
These instructions are subject to yearly revision by the
Treasury.
The subjoined Forms (pp. 290-298) are those at present
prescribed by the chief registrar for—
1. The returns with respect to the benefits assured and
contributions receivable by the society, and of its funds
and effects, debts and credits, to be made by the secretary
of the society (pp. 290-293).
2. The abstract to be made by the valuer, whether one
of the public valuers, or a valuer appointed by the society
itself, of the results of his valuation (pp. 294-298).
They are subject to revision.
FORMS.
Fbiendly Societies Act, 1875, s. 14 (/).
Valuation of tlie Assets and Liabilities of the
as at 18
Rettten to be made by the Secretary of the Society.
Register No. of Society. (Add Scotland or Ireland when necessary.)
(1.) (a.) In what occupations are the members mostly
engaged?
(c.) In what localities do they chiefly reside ?
(d.) Does the society assure benefits to females ?
If so, state what kinds of benefits are assured to
them.
(2.) Fill in for each of the five years preceding the date
of valuation the following particulars, omitting
shillings and pence.
290 YALUxVTION'.
Total Amount Received on Account of—
Sickness Benefits
Annuities Commencing
Yeal* Ending
Total
Funds at
end
of Year.
Amount
Received
as
Interest.
Ceasing
at Age .
to
.3 o
CO to
§◄
Ceasing
at Age .
Throughout
Life.
Sums at
Death.
At Age . j
At Age . '
l
At Age . J
Endowments.
Other
Receipts
(to be
specified).
£
31st Dec., 18
„ 18
„ 18
„ 18
„ 13
£
£
£
£
£
£
£
£
£
£
£
£
Total -
to Total Amount Paid on Account of Sickness Benefits.
Ceasing at Age
Ceasing at Age
Ceasing at Age
Throughout Life.
Yeal* Ending
| Full Pay.
o
lib
3 ©•“<
[=<P3
Permanent
Reduced
Pay
(if any).
| Full Pay. |
Reduced
Pay.
O •
P 5 d
Permanent
Reduced
Pay
(if any).
&
P-i
Reduced
Pay.
Further
Reduced
Pay.
+3_
§.ej?g
S a r “ l
B
Ah
Full Pay. i
4> .
Sb
Further
Reduced
Pay.
Permanent
Reduced
Pay
(if any).
31st December, 18 -
„ „ 18 ....
„ „ 18 ....
„ „ 18 ....
„ „ 18 ....
£
£
£
£
£
£
£
£
£
£
£
£
£
£
£
£
Total -
1
VALUATION. 291
Total Amount Paid on Account of—
Year Ending
Sums at Death.
Annuities Commencing
Endowments.
Other Payments
(to be specified).
At Age
At Age
At Age
31 December 18
„ 18 -
„ 18 -
„ 18 -
„ 18 -
Total - - -
£.
£.
£.
£.
£.
£.
(3.) State according to the rules of the Society—
(a.) When full pay ceases and reduced pay begins,
and what the reduction is;
(b.) When such reduced pay is still further reduced,
and by how much;
292 VALUATION.
(c). Under what circumstances (if any) members
become entitled to a permanent reduced sick
allowance, and what proportion the same
bears to full pay.
(4.) (a.) How are the management expenses provided for ?
(6.) Fill in for each of the five years preceding the
date of valuation, the following particulars, /
omitting shillings and pence.
{
(5.) When was the last valuation made, and by whom ?
Year Ending
Total Receipts
on Account of
Management
Expenses.
Total Payments
on Account of
Management
Expenses.
31 December 18
£.
£.
„ 18 -
„ 18 -
„ 18 •
1—*
00
Total - - -
Signature of Secretary
Registered Office
Date 18
£65 •XOIIYMVA
Abstract op the Valuation.
To be made by the Vainer appointed by the Society.
Summary of Results of Valuation as at 18 .
Nature of Benefits Assured.
Number
of
Benefits.
Total Amount
Assured.
Total Yearly
Contributions
applicable
to Benefits.
Present Yalue of
Benefits.
Contributions
applicable
to Benefits.
Sickness Allowance ceasing at Age
» >J if
if if a
„ „ throughout Life
Annuities (Deferred and Immediate) commencing
at Age -
if if
a a
Sums payable at Death of (a) Members -
•i » » (/') » Wives
Endowments; with Return of Contributions -
Endowments; without Return of Contributions
-
Other Benefits (to be specified)
Total ....
£. s, d,
*
t
+
T
£. s. a.
£.
£.
* The total full sick pay assured per week is to be stated. + The total sum payable per annum is to be stated.
J If any portion of this liability is met by special levies the same should be stated.
294 valuation.
Valuation Balance Sheet as at 18
Dr. Cr.
To present Value of Benefits assured by the
Society, as per Summary -
,, Other Liabilities, viz.:—
{Full particulars to be given.)
£
By Total Funds as per Secretary’s Return
„ Present Value of future Contributions
applicable to Benefits
„ Other Assets, viz.:—
{Full particulars to be given).
£.
„ Surplus (if any) .....
„ Deficiency (if any) -
£.
£.
(1.) What published Table or Tables and what rate or rates
of interest have been used in the valuation of—
Description of Table.
Kate of Interest.
(«.) The Sickness Benefits ?
(b.) The Annuities ?
(c.) The Endowments ?
(d.) The Sums payable at Death ?
(e.) The other Benefits (if any) (specifying them) P
In describing the Tables, the name of
the publication^ should, be stated,
together toith the edition used and
the number of the page ichere the
table may be found.
The answers to the above questions must give full particulars.
VALUATION. 295
oo <r ci oi *>. cc> to
Valuation Balance Sheet—continued.
(2.) If a Table or Tables have been used which are not
published, fill in the particulars as on the other side.
Note.—Where suras payable on the death of persons
under age 20 are assured, the rate of mortality
per cent, used in the valuation must be stated helow
for every age under 20.
Valuation Age.
Rate of
Mortality
per Cent.
Valuation
Age.
Rate of
Mortality
per Cent.
Under 3 months
—
9 years
—
Exceeding 3 months
and not exceeding >
—
10 „
—
6 months - - -j
Ditto 6 ditto 9 ditto
—
11 „
—
Ditto 9 ditto 12 ditto
—
12 „
—
2 years -
—
13 „
—
3 „ - - - -
—
14 „
-—
4 „ - - - -
—
15 „
—
5 „ -
—
16 „
—
6 „ - - -
—
17 „
—
7 „ - - - -
—
18 „
—
8 „
—
19 „
—
(3.) Have the Tables used in the valuation, or the results
of a valuation by such Tables, been in any way
altered to suit special circumstances ?
Valuation
Age.
Average Sickness
per Annum in Weeks.
Rate of Mortality
per Cent.
20
—
—
25
—
—
30
—
—
35
—
—
40
—
—
45
—
—
50
—
—
55
—
60
—
—
65
—
—
70
—
—
75
—
—
80
—
—
296 VALUATION.
If they have, state clearly and fully the nature and
purpose of such alterations, and their effect on the
results shown by the valuation.
(4.) Has any allowance been made for any provisions in
the rules relating to the reduction of sick pay m
cases where sickness lasts beyond the time for which
full sick pay runs ?
If so, state clearly and fully how such allowance
has been calculated, and its effect on the results of the
valuation.
(5.) How have the valuation ages been computed ?
(6.) What average rate of interest has been realised on the
funds of the society for each of the five years preceding
the date of valuation ?
(7.) Has an investigation been made into the mortality or
sickness experience of the society ? If so, give the
particulars of the observations, and the results
deduced therefrom at the various ages.
(Where convenient, these particulars and results
may be furnished on a separate sheet.)
(8.) To what causes may be attributed the surplus or deficiency
shown by the valuation ?
Note.—Where the accounts of any of the various
benefit funds are kept distinct, the answer should
deal with each fund separately.
(9.) Fill in the particulars required in the appended
schedule.
Year ending
Kate of Interest localised
31st December 18
per Cent.
„ 18
>»
„ „ 18
”
„ „ 18
„ 18
>
>>
VALUATION. 297
Reserve (or Estimated Net Liability) required according to the Valuation for
Sick Benefit of per Week (a)
throughout Life.
Sum of £
(6) payable at death.
Sickness Benefit of per \
Week ceasing - - f . . ( .
Deferred Annuity of l at A ° e W
per Week commencing -)
Sum of £ payable at Death.
Member’s Age
at Entry.
Yearly Contribution
for
Benefit.
Valuation Age
1 year older.
Valuation Age
3 years older.
Valuation Age
5 years older.
Valuation Age
10 years older.
Yearly Contribution
for
Benefit.
Valuation Age
1 year older.
Valuation Age
3 years older.
Valuation Age
5 years older.
Valuation Age
j 10 years older.
Yearly Contribution
for
benefit.
Valuation Age
1 year older.
Valuation Age
3 years older.
Valuation Age
5 years older, j
Valuation Age!
10 years older
20
25
30
35
Note.—This part of the schedule
is only required to be filled in when
contributions for the various benefits
are not kept separate.
40
45
(a) The amount of sickness benefit per week should be the maximum per member assurable by the society, and when the society
does not grant such benefit throughout life the age at which such benefit ceases must be stated.
(b) The amount payable at death should be the maximum per member assurable by the society.
(c) State at what age sickness benefit ceases and the annuity begins. The amount of sickness'benefit, deferred annuity, and sum
payable at death, shall be the maximum amounts assurable per member by the society.
Signature of Valuer
Address
Calling or Profession
Date- — — .
298 VALUATION.
INSPECTION.
299>
INSPECTION.
Insteuctions to inspectors appointed under the Friendly
Societies Act, 1875.
The inspector’s business is confined to the two followingfunctions
:—
1. Examining into the affairs of the society.
2. Reporting thereon to the chief registrar, or, as the casemay
be ; the assistant registrar for Scotland or Ireland.
The inspector is in no wise an arbitrator, still less a judge,
and has no power to decide disputed questions of law or of
fact, nor has he to fulfil the duties of auditor or valuer.
The inspection primarily concerns only the society and
its members ; strangers have no right to be present, and
should only be admitted if the inspector thinks it desirable,
and with the consent of both parties to the inquiry, viz.,,
the applicants and the society.
For the due discharge of his functions, however, he is
invested with certain important powers :—
(1.) He may require the production of all or any of the
books and documents of the society.
(2.) He may examine on oath any—
(a.) Officer,
(&.) Member,
(c.) Agent, or
(d.) Servant
of the society in relation to its business, administering the
oath himself (sect. 23, sub-sect. 1).
The word “ officer,” by the definition in sect. 4, “ extends
to any trustee, treasurer, secretary, or member of the
committee of management of a society, or person appointed
by the society to sue and be sued on its behalf.”
In conducting his inquiries the inspector should, in the
first instance, put the applicants or their representatives
upon the proof of their allegations. Bearing, however, in
mind that his task is to examine and report upon the
affairs of the society, he is in no wise bound to limit his
inquiries to the proof or disproof of the specific allegations
made. On the other hand, he should not admit to examination
all persons who tender themselves as witnesses
irrespective of the matters to be proved.
He will at all times use his discretion as to examining
300
INSPECTION.
persons upon oath, but where fraud is alleged, or any act
carrying penal consequences, he should always do so. The
form of oath (to he taken on the Scriptures) may be as
follows :—
“ The evidence you shall give touching the matters in
question shall he the truth, the whole truth, and nothing
hut the truth, so help you God.”
[An affirmation may he taken instead of an oath in the
cases allowed by law.]
Having heard the statements made on behalf of the
applicants, the inspector will require the trustees of the
society, in whom all its property is vested (sect. 16, subsect.
3), to produce its hooks and documents, or such of
them as he may deem necessary, calling upon them at the
same time for any evidence in disproof of the applicant’s
allegations.
If there is any likelihood that the production of books
or documents will be unwilling or incomplete, it will be
well for the inspector to make his requisition in writing,
as by sect. 39 every document purporting to he signed by
an inspector is, in the absence of evidence to the contrary,
to he received in evidence without proof of the signature.
The same applies to the summoning of witnesses.
If the society refuses to produce its books, he should
warn it that it commits an offence under sect. 14 (3 a) of
the Act, as failing “ to do or allow to be done any act or
thing which the society is by this Act required to give,
send, do, or allow to be done.”
If the society wilfully neglect or refuse to furnish any
information which the inspector requires for the purposes
of his inspection, he should warn it that it commits an
offence under sect. 14 (3 b) of the Act, as wilfully neglecting
or refusing “ to furnish any information required for
the purposes of this Act by the chief or any other registrar
or other person authorized by this Act.”
If the society wilfully furnishes to him information in
any respect false or insufficient, he should warn it that it
commits an offence under sect. 14 (3 c) of the Act.
[By the term “ society ” must always be understood the
trustees.]
Under the “ Act to Amend the Law of Evidence, 14 & 15
Viet. c. 99, s. 2,” it would appear that the “parties” to the
inquiry are “compellable” to give evidence ; hut the inspector
does not appear to have any power of compelling
the attendance of mere witnesses, and he certainly has not
any power of committing for contempt of his authority.
The general principle that no person is compellable to
INSPECTION.
30]
r
answer any question tending to criminate himself, applies
of course to the evidence given before him.
Nor can he, it would appear, impound any document or
require the same to be delivered up to any person or left in
his custody, or give any order or direction as to any matter
to be done by the society, or by individuals, otherwise than
for the purpose of his examination into the affairs of the
society, and his report thereon.
When the examination, so far as he is able to make it, is
completed, the inspector will make his report upon it.
Bearing in mind that the chief or assistant registrar will
have to direct on whom the burthen of the expenses of the
inspection will fall (sect. 23, proviso c.), the inspector will
specify in his report as well instances of misconduct or
mismanagement on the part of the society or its officers,
which may justify the inspection applied for, as any malpractices
on the part of the applicants which may render
it equitable to throw upon them all or part of its cost, and
all other matters that should be considered.
He will more particularly report any acts or defaults
coming within sect. 14 (3), sect. 16 (9), sect. 27, sect.
28, sect. 32, and sect. 30 if the society is within that
section ; as also when an offence appears to have been
committed, whether any particular officer of the society
has rendered himself guilty of it within sect. 14 (4), or if
not, what members of the committee of management are
exempt from liability for such offence under the same subsection.
Should any offence under the Act appear to him
to have been committed during the examination, he will
give specific details as to the facts, in the event of the
chief registrar deeming it advisable that the offenders he
prosecuted.
It is needless to remind the inspectors that they are to he
strictly impartial; never to assume that a violation of the
law has been committed until it has been proved, and that
they should be prepared to meet with cases of frivolous or
vexatious applications for inspection, as well as of real
mismanagement or fraud.
J. M. Ludlow,
Chief Registrar.
N.B.—The amount deposited by the applicants is as a
rule expected to cover the costs of the inspection. Beyond
the inspector’s fees (which must include his subsistence),
only costs out of pocket for travelling expenses and hire of'
room will generally be allowed.
302
PROSECUTION.
PROSEOUTION..
Form op Statutory Declaration in support of application
to the Central Office for authority to prosecuteunder
the Friendly Societies Act, 1875. 38 & 39 Viet..
c. 60, s. 16 (9).
Name of societj^ . Register No.
I, of a member of the above-mentioned
society do solemnly and sincerely declare (1) that, as I
believe I shall be able to prove, of has («■)•
(2) That the society, the trustees, and committee of management
thereof will not make or authorize to be made any
complaint in respect of such fraud or misappropriation.
And I make this solemn declaration, conscientiously
believing the same to be true, and by virtue of the provisions
of an Act made and passed in the fifth and sixth,
years of the reign of his late Majesty King William the
Fourth, intituled “ An Act to repeal an Act of the present
sessions of Parliament, intituled ‘An Act for the more
effectual Abolition of Oaths and Affirmations taken and
made in various Departments of the State, and to substitute
Declarations in lieu thereof, and for the more entire Suppression
of voluntary and extra-judicial Oaths and Affidavits,
and to make other provisions for the Abolition of unnecessary
Oaths.’”
Taken and received before me \
one of Her Majesty’s Jus- I
tices of the Peace for the I
said County of V
at in j
the said County, this
day of 18 . }
(«) [Here state the complaint, viz., “obtained possession by
false representation or imposition of certain property of the
society ” or “ withheld or misapplied property of the society in
his possession,” or “ wilfully applied certain property of the
society in his possession to purposes other than those required or
directed in the rules of the society, and authorized by the above
mentioned Act.”]
PROSECUTION.
303
p 2
Authority by Central Office.
Upon a declaration of
a member of the
that, as he believes he shall be able to prove,
has
and that the said society, the trustees, and committee of
management thereof will not make or authorize to be made
any complaint in respect of such alleged fraud or misappropriation.
The Central Office hereby authorizes the said
at his own risk and cost, to make complaint in respect
thereof, pursuant to 38 & 39 Viet. c. 60, s. 16 (9).
Given under the Seal of the Central Office this
day of 18
NOTE.
“ It has appeared to the Central Office that by the true
construction of the enactment above quoted, its power to
authorize prosecutions by members should only be exercised
where the society and its trustees or committee of
management decline to take proceedings ; but that where
this is the case, and malpractices within the terms of the
section are alleged to have taken place, the authority should
issue almost as a matter of course, since the Central Office
has no means at its disposal for investigating the allegations
made to it. Upon a statutory declaration, therefore, made
by a member to the above effect (which would subject the
person making it to prosecution, if false), it will give such
an authority ; implying no opinion upon the merits of the
case, but simply that the person complaining has a locus
standi for the purposes of prosecution at his own risk and
costs.”—Report of Chief Registrar for 1876, page 26. The
forms apply, with slight modification, to proceedings under
section 12 (10) of the Industrial and Provident Societies
Act, 1876.
INDEX.
ABATEMENT,
suit, &c., not to abate by death, resignation, removal, or act
of officer, 85.
ACCOUNTS,
rules must provide for keeping separate, of money paid for
each benefit, 121.
to be rendered by officers, 33, 84, 169.
how to be enforced, 84, 169.
model forms of, may be prepared by chief registrar, 17.
ACCOUNTANT,
his certificate required to returns of collecting societies, 21.
ACCUMULATION,
of surplus contributions, 83.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT,
of registry, 61, 63, 124, 129,190.
ACTION,
against society to be in names of trustees or officers, 85.
by society in names of trustees or officers, 85.
effects of society to be stated as the property of trustee, 77.
not to abate by death, resignation, removal, or act of
officer, 85.
ACTS,
repeal of former, 50, 150. See Statutes.
ACTUARY,
qualification of, 6.
societies granting annuities to have tables certified by, 29, 59.
to value societies for registrar, 66.
ADMINISTRATION,
sums under £50 to be paid without, 32.
if member dies intestate and without a nominee, 72.
stamp duty, when not payable on, 72 (n).
mode of obtaining, 72 (n).
INDE .
ADVERTISEMENT, hi Gazette and local newspaper.
required for cancelling or suspension of registry, 62, 151.
for dissolution by instrument, 95, 177.
award, 98.
AFFILIATED SOCIETIES, 18, 103.
model rules for branches of, 216.
AGENTS,
appointment of) exempt from stamp, 70.
and also revocation of, 70.
AGRICULTURE,
form of rules of society for promotion of, 267.
ALDERMAN,
of London, jurisdiction of, 111.
ALTERATION,
of rules, 63, 155.
the manner of, to be set forth in rules, 120, 186. See
Amendment.
AMALGAMATION,
of societies, 23, 90, 173.
AMENDMENT,
of rule, 49, 155.
not valid until registered, 63, 155, 197.
no fee payable on (for certain societies), 114.
does not affect members having existing claims, 63.
ANIMALS,
society may be established for insurance of, 17, 53.
contributions recoverable as a debt, 26, 109.
ANNUAL RETURNS,
and balance-sheets, 65, 67, 68, 157.
ANNUITIES,
tables to be certified of societies grunting, 29.
limit to amount of, to be assured, 24.
member of more than one society cannot have a greater
amount than £50, p. 24.
APPEAL,
from refusal to register, 60, 153.
from cancelling or suspension of registry, 62, 154.
from summary conviction, 110, 112,180.
not allowed from decision made according to rules, 86.
INDEX.
APPLICATION,
for registry, 58, 151.
of a society with branches, 103.
by members to registrar, 88, 122,171.
for transfer of stock, 73, 162.
for dissolution by award, 96.
of Act to specially authorized societies, 54.
to Isle of Mac, 116.
to Channel Islands, 116, 183.
by married women to a society, 135.
for authority to prosecute, 302.
APPOINTMENT,
of agent free from stamp, 70.
of trustees, mode of, 64.
registry of, 202.
ARBITRATION,
if rules direct, disputes may be settled by, 86, 169.
other jurisdiction then ousted, 217.
the decision final, 218.
may be enforced by county court, 86.
counsel need not be heard on, 217.
ASSISTANT REGISTRAR. See Resistbak, Ireland, Scotland.
ASSUMPSIT,
may be maintained against a member for money in his
hands, 214,
ATTORNEY,
power of, for transfer of public funds, free from stamp
duty, 70.
hut not so as to other investments, 204.
AUDIT,
of accounts, provisions for, 31, 64, 282
AUDITORS,
public, 114, 282.
report of, 64, 65, 68.
AUTHORITIES,
special, 28, 266.
AWARD. See Abbitkation,
of dissolution, 96.
for distribution of funds, 9 4.
INDEX.
BALANCE-SHEET,
form of, to be prepared, 55.
to be hung up at office, 67.
of a collecting society, when to be open for inspection, 21,107.
BANK OF ENGLAND (or IRELAND).
when stock stands in books of, in name of trustee, who if
absent or bankrupt, or removed from office, &e., chief
registrar may order funds to be transferred, 72,162.
BANKRUPTCY,
of officer, debts due to society payable before other debts,
32, 73, 210.
BARRISTER,
appointed to certify rules, 7.
BENEVOLENT SOCIETIES,
definition of, 53 (n), 17-may
be registered, 26, 53.
cannot divide funds, nominate, or hold more than one acre
of land, 26.
model rules for, 258.
BIRTH,
society may be established for payment on, 17, 52.
BOND,
given by officers of society under former Acts, good, 51.
officer to give, with surety to the trustees of the society, 83.
forms of bond, 122, 188.
may be sued upon by trustees for the time being, 84.
free from stamp duty, 70.
BOOKS,
may be inspected by persons interested, 31, 67, 157.
to be produced in case of dispute, 87.
BRANCHES,
definition of, 18, 49.
now more under control of central body of society than
before, 19.
registry of 29, 103.
consent of central body of society necessary for dissolution,
98.
or for application under special powers of registrar,
89.
effects of, to be vested in their own trustees, 77.
model rules for, 246.
INDEX.
BUILDINGS,
may be purchased as an investments funds of society, 32,165.
if directed by rules, 32.
vested in trustees, 32.
BURIAL,
society may be formed for defraying expenses of, 52.
CANCELLING,
of registry, 29, 153.
CASES,
court or registrar may state, 87.
as to insanity, 192.
as to registry, 197.
as to trustees, 202.
as to stamp duty, 203.
as to bankruptcy of officers, 210.
as to discharge of mortgages, 231.
as to misapplication of funds, 212.
as to disputes, 217.
under Industrial and Provident Societies Act, 226.
CATTLE,
society may be established for insurance of, 17, 53.
its rules have effect of a covenant, 109.
money payable by its members is recoverable as a debt, 109.
CENTRAL OFFICE,
how constituted, 54.
exercises functions of registrar in England, 48, 55.
its other functions, 55.
CERTIFICATE,
of death to be required, 68.
to rules, its antiquity, 3 (n).
to societies, 11.
CHANGE,
of name of society, 34, 90,173.
of registered office, 64, 156.
CHANNEL ISLANDS,
Acts extend to, 48, 148.
application to, 116, 183.
CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS. See Benevolent Societies.
when trustees may subscribe to, 32,75.
model rules for, 258.
r 3
IXDEX.
CHIEF REGISTRAR. Sec Registrar.
CHILDREN,
limit of amount payable on death of, 24.
evidence of cause of death, to be produced, 25.
COLLECTOR,
definition of, 49.
societies having-, 20, 106.
COMMENCEMENT,
of Act of 1875, p. 47.
COMMITTEE,
of management to be appointed, 121, 186.
COMPANIES,
conversion of societies into, 91, 173.
COMPLAINT,
how to be heard, 111.
CONDITIONS,
to entitle member to benefits to be set forth in rules, 120.
CONTRIBUTIONS,
to he voluntary, 52.
when to be kept separate, 121.
receipt for, free from stamp, 70.
surplus of, may be accumulated for members use, 83.
COPYHOLDS,
trustees to be admitted to, on payment of single fine, 32,77
166.
CORRESPONDING SOCIETIES ACTS,
do not apply to friendly societies, 31, 69.
except on default to give information to justices,
70.
COUNTRY,
definition of, 48, 149.
societies doing business in more than one, 60, 152.
COUNTY COURT,
definition of, 50, 150.
in Isle of Man, 116.
in Jersey, 117, 183.
in Guernsey, 118, 184.
INDES.
-COUNTY COURT—oonUnued.
may enforce bond given by officer, 84,169.
to decide disputes arising by dissolution of society, 96, 177.
to settle disputes by consent, 87, 170.
or where no decision made, 87, 170.
or in a collecting society, 107.
to enforce decision of dispute, 86, 169.
or award of dissolution, 98.
may enforce payment of contributions to cattle insurance
society, 109.
decides disputes as to married women’s property, 136.
has jurisdiction in winding up industrial societies, 175.
sheriff court in Scotland to have same jurisdiction as, 50.
regulation of proceedings in, 114,181.
orders regulating proceedings of, 222.
COURT,
of summary jurisdiction, 50.
how constituted, 111.
power of, 85, 87, 97, 98, 108,110.
DAMAGE,
at sea, may be assured against, 17.
DEATH,
of officer, not to affect proceedings, 33.
priority of claim on, 32, 73.
society may be established for payments on, 52.
sum, payable not to exceed, £200, pp. 12, 53.
sum under £50 payable without administration, 32.
certificate of, to be required before payment, 68.
of child, as to payments on, 24,
of trustee, property vests in his successor, 77.
DECLARATION,
to be made by member of more than one society, 24.
on investing with National Debt Commissioners, 80.
penalty, if false, 80.
on dissolution, 94,176.
on application to prosecute, 302.
DEFICIENCY,
in funds, trustees not liable, 80.
DELEGATES,
meeting of, 50, 150.
DEPOSIT,
funds, society may have, 18.
of rules, with registrar, of no effect after 1878, p. 51,
benefits of, 13.
INDEX.
DISPUTES,
rules to provide for the settlement of, 31, 86.
the decision final, 86.
county court to decide in collecting societies, 21.
may be referred by consent to chief registrar, 33, 86, 169.
powers of chief registrar, 33, 87, 170.
jurisdiction of superior courts ousted, 87, 217.
decision of arbitrators to be enforced by county court, 87.
if no award made, &c., county court or court of
summary jurisdiction may decide, 87.
arising through member having enrolled in the militia, 98.
meaning of word, 220.
does not apply to disputes other than as members,
220.
DISSOLUTION,
of society, how to be carried out, 23, 34, 93, 174.
of friendly society by consent of five-sixths, in value of
members (including honorary members), 23, 93.
and also of all persons receiving or entitled to receive
relief, 23, 93.
unless claim satisfied, 23, 93.
mode of ascertaining votes, 95.
of societies other than friendly societies, by consent of
three-fourths, 93, 175.
intended appropriation or division to be stated, 23, 94.
instrument of, to be registered, 94.
may be by award of registrar upon application, 23, 96.
to be advertized, 23, 95, 98, 177.
notice of proceedings to set aside, 177.
DISTRESS,
society may be established for payment in, 17, 52.
DISTRIBUTION,
of sums not exceeding £50 at death, 72,162.
statutes of, 207.
DIVISION,
of funds may be provided for, 22.
in case of dissolution, 23, 176.
DOCUMENTS,
recording of, 69, 152.
evidence of, 115, 182.
DONATIONS,
may be received by society, 52.
INDEX.
DRAFTS,
of society, exempt from duty, 70.
DUBLIN,
court of summary jurisdiction in, 111.
EMBEZZLEMENT,
liow punishable in an unregistered society, 140.
EMPLOYMENT,
society may be established for payments to seekers of,
17, 52.
form of rule for society granting benefits out of, 266.
ENDOWMENTS,
society may be established for assurance of, 52.
ENGLAND,
assistant registrars for, 17, 54.
qualification of, 54.
includes Channel Islands and Isle of Man 48.
Summary Jurisdiction Act in, 50.
appeal from refusal to register in, 60.
transfer of stock in Bank of, 73.
bankruptcy or insolvency in, 74.
j urisdiction of supreme court in, 87.
summary procedure in, 110.
court of summary jurisdiction in, 111.
appeals in, 112.
form of bond in, 122, 188.
extent of unregistered societies in, 143.
EVIDENCE,
acknowledgment of registry is, 63, 153.
documents signed by registrar or sealed receivable in, 115,'182.
EXECUTORS,
of deceased officers to pay money due to societies before
other debts, 73.
and deliver over, on demand, property belonging
to society, 73.
before satisfying other claims, 74.
EXPULSION,
member not liable to, by reason of entering the militia,
naval reserve, volunteers, or yeomanry, 23.
FALSE REPRESENTATION,
obtaining property by, 79, 168.
INDEX.
FALSIFICATION,
of documents, 35, 110,177.
penalty, 110, 178.
of rules, 63, 156.
FEES,
to be determined by Treasury, 114, 182.
for audit, 283.
for valuation, 288.
FINES,
may be imposed by rules on members, 120.
FIRE,
society may be established for insurance of tools against,
17, 52.
FORMS,
of account, &e., may be prepared, 55.
of return to be as prescribed, 69, 159.
FRAUD,
officer, &e., guilty of, may be summarily convicted, 79, 168.
as for obtaining possession of property of society
by false representation, 79, 168.
court may order the sum obtained or withheld to be repaid
or the property to be delivered up to society, 79, 168.
and a further sum of £20 to be paid, 79, 168.
with costs, 79,168.
if order not obeyed person to be committed to
gaol, 79, 168.
with or without hard labour, for three calendar
months, 79, 168.
this remedy not to prevent proceedings by indictment,
79, 168.
except a previous conviction has been obtained, 79,
168.
member belonging to two societies making false declaration
to be guilty of misdemeanor, 100.
chief registrar may institute proceedings for, 79, 108.
FRIENDLY SOCIETY,
usefulness of, 2.
for relief or maintenance of the members, their husbands,
wives, children, brothers, or sisters, nephews, or nieces,
&c., in sickness, old age, or widowhood, 52.
may assure against mental infirmity, 52, 192.
for assuring money to be paid on birth of member’s
child, 52.
on death of member 52.
INDEX.
FRIENDLY SOCIETY—continued.
for funeral expense of Husband, wife, child, or widow of*
member, 52.
for endowment of members or nominees of members at
any age, 52.
for other purposes, 52.
no annuity to be contracted for exceeding £50 per annum,
nor a gross sum exceeding £200, 53.
rules of, to be transmitted to registrar, 58.
functions of registrar, 55.
minors above sixteen may be members of, 74<.
not to hold certain offices, 74.
may consist wholly of members under sixteen, 74.
may impose fines, 120.
funds of, to be invested in names of trustees, 64, 75, 77.
upon, what securities, 75.
premises may be taken for purposes of, 76.
is exempt from income tax, 131.
general statement of funds to be sent annually to registrar, 65.
within what time to be sent, 65.
penalty for omission, 110.
quinquennial returns of sickness and mortality; and valuations,
65.
Corresponding Societies Acts, when not to apply to, 69.
disputes in, to be settled as directed by rules, 86.
if no direction, then by court, 87.
treasurers, &c., to render accounts when required, 84.
how to be dissolved, 93.
with what consents, 95.
may be amalgamated with another, 90, 92.
or transfer its engagements, 91, 92.
or convert itself into a company, 91, 92.
with what consents, 92.
investing with National Debt Commissioners to furnish
returns, 81.
may change name, 90.
not registered, 137.
FRIENDLY SOCIETIES ACT, 1875, pp. 47-125.
commencement of, 47.
extent of, 47.
Amendment Act, 1876, pp. 125-129.
Declaratory Act, 1879, p. 129.
FUNDS,
of societies, 42.
application of, to be set forth in rules, 120.
to be invested by trustees of society, 75.
upon what securities, 75, 76.
investments of, to be provided for in rules, 121, 187.
INDEX,
FUNDS—continued.
misapplication of, 79,168, 212.
may be invested with National Debt Commissioners, 76, 80.
of former societies may be invested with the commissioners,
81.
on account of assurances made before 1850, p. 81.
sums withdrawn cannot he re-deposited with commissioners,
except by consent, 81.
power of attorney for transfer of public, free from stamp
duty, 70.
may be applied in purchase of land, 76, 165.
may be raised for lending to members, 76, 83.
vested in trustees for time being, 77.
and stated to be their property in any legal proceedings,
77.
statement of, to he sent annually to registrar, 65.
free from income tax, 131.
may be deposited in a savings bank to any amount, 75.
FUNERAL,
expenses of husband, wife, child, or widow may be assured,52.
sum insured not to exceed £6 if child under five, 100.
nor £10 if under ten, 100.
and only payable on certificate, 101.
■GAZETTE,
meaning of, 50.
notice of cancelling of registry to be published in, 62, 154.
voluntary dissolution to be published in, 95, 177.
at expense of society, 95, 177.
dissolution by award to be published in, 98.
■GENERAL STATEMENT,
of funds to be sent to registrar, 65, 157.
penalty for omission, 68, 159.
See Return.
GUARANTEE SOCIETY,
security of, may be taken, 84
HONORARY MEMBERS,
consent of, how far necessary for dissolution of society, 93.
HOSPITAL,
funds may be subscribed to an, 32, 75.
if members, &c., eligible for benefits, 75.
IMPOSITION. See Fraud
INDEX.
INCOME TAX,
funds of society not granting assurances above limits of
Act, free from, 35, 131.
as to its funds under Sclied. (C.), and profits under
Sched. (D.), 35, 131.
exemption how to be claimed by officers of society, 132.
•abatement of, in respect of assurance on life, 132.
industrial ahd provident societies exempt from, 161.
but not their members, 161.
nor such societies as limit their shares and deal
with the public, 191.
INCORPORATION,
of industrial and provident societies, 38.
INDEMNITY,
trustees to be indemnified out of funds, 80.
to trustees for payment to next of kin, 72.
INDUSTRIAL ASSURANCE COMPANY,
definition of, 49.
payment by, on death of child, 102.
collecting contributions more than ten miles from office, 105.
INDUSTRIAL AND PROVIDENT SOCIETIES,
Act of 1876, 37, 144-190.
cases decided thereunder, 226-231.
other cases applicable to, 197, 212, 217, 231.
rules for, 270.
INFANTS. See Mixons.
INFIRMARY. See Hospital.
INFIRMITY,
society may be established for relief in, 17.
INFORMATION,
how to be circulated, 55.
INSANITY,
of member, 192.
INSOLVENCY,
of officer, priority of claim on, 32, 73, 210.
meaning of, 74.
of a society, 97.
INSPECTION,
of books by persons interested, 31, 67,157.
INDEX.
INSPECTORS,
when registrar may appoint, 19, 33, 34, 88, 171.
instructions to, 299.
INSURANCE,
society may be established for assuring money on death, 52.
but not above the sum of £200, p. 53.
or for defraying funeral expenses of husband, wife,
child, or widow, 52.
limit of amount of, for funeral of child, 24.
certificate of registrar of deaths necessary, 68.
penalty for paying without certificate, 110.
INTEREST,
rates of, payable by National Debt Commissioners, 81.
INTESTACY,
payment may be made of sums under £50, in cases of, 32,
72, 161.
to persons entitled by law, 72, 162.
if no nominee appointed, 72, 162.
all payments valid as against funds of society, 72, 162.
INVESTMENT,
mode of investing funds to be stated in rules, 30, 121, 187.
trustees to invest funds of society, 75.
with consent of committee or members, 75.
in any savings bank, to any extent, 32, 75.
or public funds, 32, 75.
or on loan to any member upon his policy of
assurance, 82.
or out of separate loan fund, 82.
or with National Debt Commissioners, 32, 76,
80-82.
or in purchase of land, 32, 76.
or on other security directed by the rules, 32, 76.
declaration to be made on investing with commissioners, 80.
with a bank not permitted, 71 (n).
by societies or companies with an industrial society, 166,186.
IRELAND,
assistant registrar for, 54.
his qualification, 54.
his functions, 57.
to record rules registered in England, 58.
appeal from his refusal to register, 60.
may cancel registry, 61.
may settle disputes, 86.
may appoint inspectors or call meetings, 88.
may approve change of name, 90.
INDEX.
IRELAND—continued.
jurisdiction of justices of tlie peace in, 111.
of registrar-general of births, &c., in, 75.
of superior courts of common law in, 88.
definition of insolvency in, 74.
discharge of mortgage in, 79.
investment with National Debt Commissioners in, 80.
summary procedure in, 110.
appeals in, 112.
proceedings in county courts in, 114.
JEWISH SOCIETIES,
may insure against confined mourning, 53.
JUSTICES OF THE PEACE,
Corresponding Societies Acts to apply to societies in default
of giving information to, 69.
constitute court of summary jurisdiction, 111, 179.
LAND,
definition of, 48, 149.
may be purchased, 76, 165.
registered society may hold, 76, 165.
buying and selling of, a trade that may be carried on by an
industrial and provident society, 151.
LARCENY,
punishable in an unregistered society, 140.
LEGAL PROCEEDINGS, 84.
LIABILITY,
trustee not liable for deficiency in society’s fund, 33, 80.
except for money actually received, 80.
LIMITATION,
of amount to be assured to any member, 100.
of responsibility of trustee, 80.
of sum to be insured for funeral expenses of a child, 24, 100.
of cost of certificates of birth or death, 75.
of liability in an industrial and provident society, 152, 175.
of interest of members, 151, 187.
LITERATURE,
form of rule for society for promotion of, 268.
LOAN FUND,
may be raised, 33, 82.
must be separate, 82.
LOANS,
to members, 82.
form of rule, 266.
INDEX.
LONDON,
Lord Mayor of, jurisdiction of, 111, 179.
aldermen of, jurisdiction of, 111, 179.
LUNACY,
may be provided for as sickness, 52, 192.
LUNATIC,
mode of proceeding if trustee become, 73.
MAGISTRATE,
stipendiary, jurisdiction of, 111.
MAN, ISLE OF,
Friendly Societies Act extends to, 40.
application of Act to, 116.
MARRIED WOMEN,
their property in a society, 36,135.
MEDICAL OFFICER,
to be duly registered, 35.
MEETING,
definition of, 50.
to be held by a collecting society, 21.
when registrar may call, 19, 33, 85, 171.
MEMBER,
limit of amount to he assured to, 53.
a limited sum may be lent to, on security of policy and personal
sureties, 82,
or out of separate loan fund, 82.
surplus of contributions may be accumulated for use of, 83.
may inspect books, 121, 157.
disputes between society and, to be settled as directed by
rules, 86.
disputes between society and, when to be settled by court,
87, 99, 107.
uninor above sixteen may be, 74.
but cannot hold certain offices in society, 74.
societies may be formed wholly for members under sixteen,
74.
belonging to more than one society cannot be entitled to
more than certain amount of benefit, 100.
and may be required to make a declaration before
claiming any benefit, 24.
if same untrue, liable to be punished for misdemeanor,
100.
INDEX.
MEMBER—continued.
payment of sums not exceeding £50, on deatli of, intestate,
72, 161,162.
consent of, for dissolution of society, 93, 175.
may apply to registrar to appoint inspectors or call a meeting,
88,171.
in a collecting society, entitled to copies of rules and policies,
105.
of a cattle insurance society hound by its rules, 109.
and tlieir subscriptions recoverable as debt, 109.
in an industrial society, liability of, 175.
limitation of interest of, 151,187.
MILITIA,
member not to lose any interest in society by reason of'
enrolment or serving in the, 98.
disputes arising on account thereof, to he decided by court
of summary jurisdiction, 99.
extra contribution may be demanded hy old society of a
member in, 99.
if serving abroad, 99.
or his claim suspended while abroad, 99.
but to be restored on his return, 99.
MINORS,
above sixteen, may be members, 32, 74-, 163.
may not hold certain offices, 74, 163.
may execute all instruments, 74, 163.
and give necessary acquittances, 74, 163.
societies consisting wholly of, may be registered, 74.
existing rule or practice for admission of, is valid, 74.
MISAPPROPRIATION,
of funds, punishment of, 79,168, 212.
MISDEMEANOR,
member making false declaration guilty of, 100.
giving untrue rules, 63, 157-at
common law, to disobey a statute, 141.
MORTALITY. See Return.
return to be sent of rate of sickness and, 65.
MORTGAGE,
not exempt from stamp duty, 203.
may be discharged by a mere receipt, 32, 78,167, 231.
and certificate of satisfaction obtained, 32, 78, 167.
NAME,
like that of existing society or calculated to deceive, not to
he registered, 59, 152.
INDEX.
NAME—conlimed.
society may cliange its, 90, 173.
change not to affect proceedings, 90, 173.
limited to he last word of (in an industrial society), 152.
publication of, 156.
penalty for not using, 178.
NATIONAL DEBT,
societies may invest with commissioners of, 76, 80.
at what rate of interest, 81.
at usual rate of interest, on account of past assurances,
if already investors, 81, 82.
declaration to be made, on investing with, 80.
sums not to he re-deposited with, without consent,
81.
depositing with commissioners of, to furnish returns,
81.
actuary to, may certify tables of annuities, 59.
NAVAL COAST VOLUNTEERS,
member not to lose any interest in society by reason of
entering or serving in, 23, 99.
disputes arising on account thereof, to be settled by court of
summary jurisdiction, 99.
NOMINEES,
sums not exceeding £50 may he paid to, 32, 72, 161.
if no nominee then to person entitled by law, 72.
to any sum allowed in certain societies established before
1850, p. 57.
are persons claiming through a member, 49.
OBJECTS,
societies may he established for relief, Ac., in old age, sickness,
widowhood, &c., 52.
for assuring money on birth or death, 52.
for defraying burial expenses, 52.
for other purposes, 52.
assurances must not exceed £200, or annuity of £50, p. 53.
to be provided for by rules, 120, 186.
OFFENCE,
what constitutes an, 31, 68, 159.
penalty for, 110, 178.
by collecting society, 108.
description of, 112.
by society also an offence by officer, 68, 159.
OFFICE,
of society to be registered, 31, 156.
notice of change to be sent within fourteen days, 64 (n).
INDEX.
OFFICER,
definition of, 49, 150.
in receipt or charge of money, 83, 168.
to render accounts, 84, 169.
when required by society, 84, 169.
or trustees or committee, 84.
in default, society may sue upon bond, 84, 169.
executors or trustees of, to pay debts due to society, 73.
and deliver up goods of society in their possession,
73.
before other debts due from him, 74.
offence by, 68, 159.
OLD AGE,
means any age after fifty, 52.
society may be established for relief, &c., in, 52.
but annuity payable must not exceed-£50 per annum, 53.
ORPHANHOOD,
society may be established for relief in, 15, 52.
PARLIAMENT,
chief registrar to lay report of proceedings of registrarsbefore,
56.
and particulars of valuations, 56.
PAYMENT,
to persons apparently entitled, valid, 72, 162.
of salaries and expenses of registry, 114.
on death of child, 100.
priority of, if officer die or become bankrupt, 73.
for every purpose to be kept distinct, 65.
PENALTY,
for falsification, 110,177.
for making false declaration on investing, 79.
for not making returns, 69.
for ordinary offences, 110, 178.
recovery of, 35,110, 178.
POLICY,
to be furnished by a collecting society, 20.
exempt from stamp, 70.
not to be forfeitable without notice, 20.
PRIORITY,
of payment of debts due from officers, 32, 73.
debts must be due from them officially, 211.
not on notes carrying interest, 211
INDEX.
PRIORITY—continued
nor due from a person not an officer, 211.
nor by a banker appointed to remit funds to in-,
vest, 211.
PRIVILEGES,
of registered societies, 31, 69, 160.
PROBATE,
Stamp duty, when not payable on, 71 (u).
mode of obtaining, 72 (n).
PROCEEDINGS,
how taken, 33, 84, 110.
in county courts, 113.
PROPERTY,
definition of, 48.
vested in trustees for the time being, 77.
in legal proceeding, in whom to be laid, 77.
PROPERTY TAX. See Income Tax.
PROSECUTION,
by authority of central office, 302.
PROVIDENT INSTITUTION,
funds of friendly societies may be subscribed to, 32, 75.
if members eligible for benefits, 75.
PUNISHMENT,
of fraud or misappropriation, 79, 168.
PURPOSES,
for which a society may be established, 52, 53, 151.
RECEIPT,
for contribution free from duty, 70.
on mortgage, operates as a discharge, 78,167.
form of, 124, 190.
RECORDING,
of documents, 58, 69.
of rules registered in another country, 60, 152.
RECOVERY,
of penalties, 110.
REGISTERED OFFICE, 64, 156.
REGISTRAR of Fbiendly Societies :—
first appointment of, 10, 48.
INDEX.
REGISTRAR—■continued.
duties of, 11,15, 183.
commission of inquiry into duties of, 16.
functions of, now exercised by central office in England, 55.
Chief Registbae :
bis appointment and duties, 17, 33, 44, 54.
his powers, 25, 29, 33, 35, 58, 59, 61, 66, 69, 72, &c.
remarks on Act, 27.
qualification of, 54.
report of, 56.
appeal from, 60.
Assistant Registbabs :
their appointment and duties, 17, 54.
their powers, 29, 33, 48, 61, 86, &e.
their qualification, 55.
their functions, 57.
appeals from, 60.
special powers of, 88.
copies of rules, &c., to be sent to, 58.
not to register society granting annuities unless tables
certified by actuary, 59.
form of acknowledgment to be given by, 124.
resolution appointing trustee to be sent to, 64.
under the hand of the trustee and secretary, 64.
general annual statement of funds, &c., of society to be
sent to, 65.
returns of sickness, &c., experienced by society to be sent
to, 65.
valuation report to be sent to, 66, 290.
penalty for not sending same, 68.
documents signed by, to be received in evidence without
proof of signature, 115.
may institute proceedings, 110.
REGISTRY,
of societies, 58,151.
application for, 58, 151.
of dividing societies, 59.
of societies in more than one country, 60, 152.
acknowledgment of, 60, 152.
forms for, 124, 129, 190.
appeals from refusal of, 60, 153.
effect of, 61, 153.
cancelling or suspension of, 61,153.
of amendments of rules, 63, 155.
of members or shares, 163.
of receipt on mortgage, 78, 167.
of special resolutions, 91,174.
of instrument of dissolution, 95, 176.
Q
INDEX.
REGISTRY OFFICE,
how constituted, 54.
central office, its functions, 55, 302.
REGULATIONS,
made by Treasury 48, 115, and notes passim
REMOVAL,
if trustees removed from office, registrar may transfer stock,
72, 162.
of committee and officers to be provided for in rules, 121,186.
REPEAL,
former Acts repealed, 50,150.
except as to past operations, 51, 150.
or things done or proceedings taken, &c., 51, 150.
but societies established thereunder to continue,
51,151.
REPORT,
chief registrar to make, 56.
RESOLUTION,
special, how passed, 34, 89, 172.
for what purposes necessary, 34, 90, 91, 173.
how registered, 91.
RESPONSIBILITY,
of trustees limited, 80.
to moneys actually received, 80.
RETURN,
general statement of the funds, &c., of society to be annually
prepared, 65,157.
and sent to registrar every year, 31, 65, 157.
to be in prescribed form, 69, 159.
copy to be supplied gratuitously to persons interested,
31, 67, 158.
to be kept hung up at registered office, 67, 158.
of the rate of sickness, &c., experienced by society within
preceding five years, 9, 65.
to be sent to registrar within six months after
five years, 65.
in the form furnished by registrar, 69.
penalty for not sending same, 68.
when to bo dispensed with, 69.
abstract of quinquennial, to be laid before parliament, 66.
societies depositing with National Debt Commissioners to
furnish, 81.
INDEX.
■RIFLE CORFS,
joining no ground for expulsion, 99.
disputes on account thereof, how decided, 99.
RULES,
definition of, 49,149.
amendment of, 49,149.
rules to be made, 2, 61, 155.
to be registered, 58,155.
must state name and place of office of society, 30,120, 18G.
the objects and purposes thereof, 30,120, 186.
the conditions under which member may bo
entitled to benefits, 120.
the manner of altering, &c., rules, 30, 120, 186.
of appointing committee and officers, 30,121,186.
mode of investing the funds, 30, 121, 187.
must provide for annual returns and inspection
of books, 30, 121.
the manner of settling disputes, 31,121.
meeting claims before division, 121.
keping separate accounts, 121.
quinquennial returns and valuations, 122.
rights of members, 122.
in a collecting society, provisions of sect. 30,
p. 108.
copies of, to be sent to registrar, 58, 155.
and also all alterations of, 63, 155.
amendments not valid until registered, 63, 155.
registrar to give acknowledgment of registry, GO,
155,
form of acknowledgment, 125, 129, 190.
appeal from his refusal, 60,153
to be delivered to any person for Is., 63, 155.
to be furnished by collecting societies to members for Id.,
20, 105.
delivery of untrue, a misdemeanor, 63, 156.
of former societies, continue in force, so far as not contrary
to Act, 51, 151.
deposit of, effectual only for a time, 51.
for branches, recording of, 104.
of cattle societies, to have effect of covenant, 109.
form of, for a friendly society, 232.
for a branch, 246.
for a benevolent society, 258.
for a specially authorized society, 2G6.
for an industrial and provident society, 270.
SAVINGS BANK,
any amount may be deposited in, 75.
Q 2
INDEX.
SAVINGS BANK—continued.
certain clauses in Act relating to, applicable to moneys invested
with National Debt Commissioners, 80.
functions of barrister to certify, where now exercised by
central office, 55.
SCOTLAND,
assistant registrar for, 54.
his qualification, 55.
his functions, 57.
to record rules registered in England, 58.
appeal from his refusal to register, 60.
may cancel registry, 61.
court of summary jurisdiction in, 111.
appeals in, 113.
SEAMEN,
may insure against damage at sea, 17.
serving in volunteer force no ground for expulsion, 23.
SECURITY.
to be given by officers, 33, 83, 168.
given to society before registry, 84 (n).
form of bond to be taken as, 122, 188.
free from stamp duty, 70.
upon which funds may be invested, 76.
SERVICE
of summons or other proceedings, 85.
of notices, 108
SHIPWRECK,
society may be established for payments on, 17, 52.
SICKNESS,
society may be established for relief in, 17.
returns of, &c., to be sent to registrar, 165.
meaning of, 192.
SOCIETIES,
Undeb Feiendly Societies Acts :
number of, 4,39,41, 42.
under repealed Acts to be deemed to be registered, 51.
and their rules to continue in force, if not contrary
to Act, 51.
classes of, which may be registered, 52.
objects for which societies may be established, 52.
to consist of seven persons at least, 58.
acknowledgment of registry of, 124.
INDEX.
SOCIETIES—continued.
minors above sixteen may be members, 74.
but not hold certain offices, 74,
are to adopt rules, 58.
may impose fines, 120.
to make provision for certain matters in rules, 120.
are to appoint a committee, 121.
amendments of rules of, to be registered, 63.
granting annuities to have certificate of actuary, 59.
doing business in more than one country, 60.
funds of, to be vested in trustees of, 77.
upon what securities to be invested, 75.
may hold land, 76,
general statement of funds of, to be sent annually to registrar,
65.
also returns of sickness experienced by, every five
years, 65.
and valuations, 66, 286.
penalty for not so doing, 68, 110.
duties and obligations of, 64.
■offences by, 68.
privilege of, when registered, 69.
the Corresponding Societies Acts do not apply to, 69.
except in default of giving information when required
to justices, 70.
payment by, on death of children, 100.
not to be made without inquiry, 102.
Include “ industrial assurance companies,” 102.
disputes of, to be settled as directed by rules, 86.
if no direction then by court, 87.
punishment of fraud against, 79.
officers to render accounts when required, 84.
and give up property of, 84.
in default, society may sue upon bond, 84.
may divide funds, if rules provide, 59.
may be dissolved, 93.
with consent of members, 95.
when consent of central body also necessary, 98.
dissolution by registrar, 94, 97.
may change name, 90.
change not to affect proceedings, 90.
may amalgamate, 90.
or transfer their engagements, 91.
may be converted into companies, 91.
when registry will be void, 91.
consents necessary for amalgamation, &c., 92.
may invest with National Debt Commissioners, 76, 80.
with branches, may be registered as single societies, 103.
receiving contributions by collectors, 105.
for cattle insurance, 53, 109, 232.
Q 3
INDEX.
SOCIETIES—continued.
Specially Authorized, 17, 27, 28, 53,109, 258.
application of Act may be limited iu tlieir case, 54.
forms of rule, 266.
Unregistered, 22, 137
Industrial and Provident, 39,144.
increase of, 40.
model rules for, 270.
SPECIAL RESOLUTION,
proceedings which may be taken on, 90, 172.
registration of, 91, 174.
STAMP DUTIES,
exemption from
power, warrant, or letter of attorney granted by trustee
for transfer of share in public funds, 70.
but not on account of other investments,
70 (n), 203.
receipt for money deposited in the funds of society, 70.
or received therefrom, 70.
bond given on account of society, 70.
or by treasurer or other officer, 70.
draft or order, or form of policy, 70.
appointment of agent, or revocation of appointment,
70.
other document required or authorized by Act, or rules,
70.
not extended to industrial and provident societies, 38.
when payable, 70 (n).
STATEMENTS. See Return.
of funds and effects to be annually sent, 65, 157.
in what form, 69, 159.
STATUTES :—
22 & 23 Car. 2, c. 10, p. 207.
29 Car. 2, c. 30, p. 207.
1 Jac. 2, c. 17, p. 208.
20 Geo. 2, c. 43, p. 113.
31 Geo. 2, c. 42, p. 113.
14 Geo. 3, c. 48, pp. 25, 102.
33 Geo. 3, c. 54, pp. 2, 70, 197.
35 Geo. 3, c. Ill, p. 4.
39 Geo. 3, c. 79, p. 70.
49 Geo. 3, c. 125, p. 4.
52 Geo. 3, e. 38, pp. 99, 119.
52 Geo. 3, c. 68, pp. 99, 119.
57 Geo. 3, c. 19, p. 70.
59 Geo. 3, c. 128, p. 4.
INDEX.
STATUTES—continued.
9 Geo. 4, c. 92, p. 48.
10 Geo. 4, c. 56, pp. 7, 48, 55, 66, 71, 194.
4 & 5 Will. 4, c. 40, pp. 9, 55, 198.
6 & 7 Will. 4, c. 32, pp. 10, 42, 55, 78.
3 & 4 Viet. c. 73, p. 10.
3 & 4 Viet. c. 110, pp. 55, 58.
5 & 6 Viet. c. 35, pp. 35, 131.
6 & 7 Viet. e. 32, p. 55.
9 & 10 Viet. c. 27, pp. 11, 38, 48, 53.
11 & 12 Viet. c. 43, p. 50.
13 & 14 Viet. c. 97, p. 203.
13 & 14 Viet. c. 115, pp. 11, 66, 198.
15 & 16 Viet. c. 31, pp. 12, 226.
16 & 17 Viet, c, 34, pp. 131, 133-16
& 17 Viet. c. 59, p. 203.
16 & 17 Viet. c. 123, p. 12.
17 & 18 Viet. c. 25, pp. 148, 226.
17 & 18 Viet. c. 56, pp. 12, 51.
17 & 18 Viet. c. 105, pp. 99, 119. ]
17 & 18 Viet. c. 106, p. 119.
17 & 18 Viet. c. 107, pp. 99,119.
18 & 19 Viet. e. 35, p. 132.
18 & 19 Viet. c. 63, pp. 12, 22, 27, 48, 50, 51, 53-60, &c.
19 & 20 Viet. sess. 1, c. 40, pp. 148, 226.
20 & 21 Viet. c. 43, p. 129.
21 & 22 Viet. c. 20, p. 71.
21 & 22 Viet. c. 90, pp. 35, 134.
21 & 22 Viet. c. 101, pp. 14, 90, 100, 119.
22 & 23 Viet. c. 40, pp. 99, 119.
23 & 24 Viet. c. 13, pp. 99, 119.
23 & 24 Viet. c. 58, pp. 15, 68, 79, 94, 97, 98, 99, 120.
25 & 26 Viet. e. 87, pp. 55, 148, 158.
25 & 26 Viet. c. 89, pp. 34, 58,158.
26 & 27 Viet. c. 65, pp. 99, 120.
27 & 28 Viet. c. 56, p. 71.
28 & 29 Viet. c. 96, p. 203.
29 & 30 Viet. c. 34, pp. 15,109, 120.
30 & 31 Viet. c. 117, pp. 55,120, 148.
31 & 32 Viet. c. 116, pp. 137-143.
32 & 33 Viet. c. 71, p. 210.
33 & 34 Viet. c. 61, p. 142.
33 & 34 Viet. c. 93, pp. 135,136.
34 & 35 Viet. c. 31, pp. 58, 59, 67, 76, 113, 121.
34 & 35 Viet. c. 80, pp. 55, 78, 149.
36 & 37 Viet. c. 52, p. 72.
36 & 37 Viet. c. 77, pp. 99, 120.
37 & 38 Viet. c. 42, pp. 42, 44, 51, 55, 58, 67, 72, 76, &c.
38 & 39 Viet. c. 27, p. 72.
38 & 39 Viet. c. 41, p. 72.
INDEX.
'STATUTES—continued.
38 & 39 Viet. c. 60, pp. 1, 16, 28, 34, 37, 42, 43, 47, &c.
39 & 40 Viet. c. 32, pp. 1, 29, 48, 60, 61.
39 & 40 Viet. c. 45, pp. 1, 37, 38, 39, 40, 58.
42 & 43 Viet. c. 9, p. 1, 105, 129.
42 & 43 Viet. c. 12, p. 130.
42 & 43 Viet. c. 49, pp. 39, 50, 110, 111, 112.
43 & 44 Viet. e. 14, p. 191.
STIPENDIARY MAGISTRATE,
jurisdiction of, 111.
STOCK,
registrar may order transfer of, at bank, 72, 162.
where trustee is removed or absent, 72, 162.
SUMMARY JURISDICTION ACTS,
definition of, 50.
SUMMARY PROCEEDINGS, 110.
SUMMONS,
against officers, service of, 85.
SURETY,
bond by treasurer to be given with, 84.
SURPLUS,
of contributions may be accumulated, 83.
TABLES,
may be constructed, 56.
TEMPERANCE,
form of rule for society for promotion of, 267-TERMINATION,
of society, 34.
TRADES-UNIONS,
their legal position, 138.
TRANSFER,
one society may, its engagements to another, 23, 90, 173.
of stock from trustee, 31, 72, 162.
of members, restrictions upon, 20,106.
of withdrawable shares not allowed, 187.
TREASURER, See Offices.
manner of appointing, to be set forth in rules, 121.
and also of removal, 121.
banking company cannot be, 71 (n).
INDEX.
TREASURY,
definition of, 48.
may grant special authorities, 53.
may limit application of Act, 54.
appoint the registrars, 54.
approve of the circulation of model forms, &c., 55, 58.
approve of actuaries to certify tables, 59.
approve of cancelling or renewed suspension of registry, 62,
154.
approve of dispensing with quinquennial return, 69.
consent to registrar hearing dispute, 86, 170.
consent to appointment of inspectors or calling special
meetings, 88, 171.
direct remuneration of county court officers, 114.
may appoint public auditors and valuer, 114.
may determine scale of fees, 114.
pay salaries and expenses, 114.
may make regulations, 115, 182.
TRUSTEES,
rules to provide for appointing, 121.
and for removing, 121.
to be appointed at some meeting, 64.
resolution appointing, to be sent to registrar, 64.
to pay sums on death of member, 72.
for the time being may sue upon bond of officer, 84.
to invest the funds of the society, 75.
with the consent of committee or members,
75.
upon what securities, 75, 76.
may purchase or lease land, 76.
and sell, exchange, mortgage, or lease the same,
76.
property of society vested in the, for the time being, 77.
for the use of the society and its members, 77.
and shall vest in succeeding, without any conveyance,
&c., 77.
and shall in all actions, &c., be stated to be the
property of the, in their proper names, 77.
may be admitted tenants of copyholds, 77.
may discharge mortgage by receipt endorsed, 78.
may make complaint of fraud or misappropriation, 79.
shall bring and defend all actions, &c., as to property of
society, 85.
may sue and be sued in their proper names as such, 85.
suit not to abate by death, &c., of any trustee, 85.
not liable for deficiency in society’s funds, 80.
except for money actually received, 80.
are to make declaration on investment with National Debt
Commissioners, 80.
JNDEX.
TRUSTEES—continued.
stock at tlie Bank of England in the name of, removed from
office, 72, 162.
or a bankrupt or lunatic, 73, 162.
or if not known whether living or dead, 73, 162.
may be transferred by order of registrar into the
names of the new, 73, 162.
or into the names of, or to the new trustees jointly
with the old trustees, 73, 162.
may require officer to render accounts, 84.
and give up property of society in his possession, 84.
appointment of, 202.
UNREGISTERED SOCIETIES,
their legal status, 136,
application of Act to, 100, 105.
members of, in militia or volunteers, 99.
payments on death of children by, 100.
receiving contribution’by collectors, 105.
having deposited rules, 51.
VALUATIONS,
to be made once every five years, 25, 66.
purposes of, 5 (n).
principles of, 44.
returns of, 43.
instructions for, 286.
forms for, 290.
VOLUNTEER CORPS,
no forfeiture by joining, 99.
disputes by reason thereof, how decided, 99.
WIDOWHOOD,
society may be established for relief in, 17, 52.
WORKING MEN’S CLUB,
definition of, 53.
may be registered, 17, 53.
YEOMANRY CORPS,
no forfeiture by joining, 99.
disputes by reason thereof, liow decided, 99.
London; Shaw & Sons, Fetter Lane and Crane Court, E.C.
Friendly Societies’ Books, &c,—contd.
No.
6. Treasurer’s Ledger ...
7. Annual Account Book
8. Members’ Ledg-er
8«. Minute Book
9. Tables for the Certificate of the Actuary.
Friendly Societies Rules : Estimates for tbe Printing
of any Quantity forwarded on application
to the Publishers.
10. 1 ’roposal f rom a person to become a Member, per 100
11. Declaration of Enrolments, in books ... per 250
12. Demand for full pay... ... ... per 100
13. Demand for half pay ... ... ,,
14. Notice from the Party of his being able to
resume his Labour ... ... „
15. Certificates of Admission of Members ... „
Hi. Lists for entering the names of Sick Members „
17. Members’ Cards of Deposits and Repayments
per doz.
18. Bills for distribution, showing tbe benefits arising
from becoming Members ... ... per 1000
19. Assurer’s Certificate of Health ... per 100
20. Medical Certificate of Health... ... per 250
21. Instructions to Medical Men ... ... per 100
22. Collector’s Receipt ... ... ..: „
23. Policy of Assurance... ... ... per doz.
24. Health Certificate for the Benefit Branch, per 100
25. Agreement on entering tile Society ... „
26. Agreement on entering the Medical Branch
27. Nomination of a Relation of the Benefit Branch
to the Weekly Pension after a Member’s Death
per 100
28. Sick Letter ... ... ... „
29. Demand for Sick Allowance (Benefit Branch) „
30. Agreement on entering the Benefit Branch „
31. Deposit Books, pasted Covers/ruled sufiicient to
hold the entries of 8 years ... per 250
32. Surgeon’s Certificate for higher premium „
33. Demand for Sick Allowance ... ... per 100
s. a.
8 0
8 0
15 0
15 0
4 0
6 «
1 6
1 6
1 6
Hi 0
3 6
2 0
15 0
2 0
5 6
6 0
5 0
6 0
1 6
4 0
3 0
2 0
5 0
.4 0
5 6
50 0
5 6
4 0
SHAW & SONS, Fetter Lane, London.
List of Books & Forms—continued.
No. . s.
34. Trustees’ Order to pay money into the National
Debt Office ... ... ... per 100 4
35. Secretary, application to Clergyman for Certificate
of Baptism ... ... ... per 100 4
36. Members’ Cards of Deposits ... ... „ 10
37. lleceipt Books for One Year’s Subscription ... 3
38. Register Book of Sickness and Mortality, bound
in rough calf and lettered on the side . .. 15
39. Friendly Society Bonds ... ... each 0
Quinquennial Returns of the names of the Members
and of the Sickness and Mortality experienced
in the Society for that period :
For a Two Sheet Return, sufficient for 90
names ... ... ... ... 0
For a Six Sheet Return, sufficient for 330
names ... ... ... ... 1
And for every extra Sheet, or 60 names
heyond 330, and under One Quire, an
additional ... ... ... 0
One Quire ... ... ... ... 3
Per Ream (20 Quires) ... ... 40
41. Declaration of a Friendly Society on investing
money in a Savings Bank, in books... each 9
42. Members’ Book of Payments... ... „ 0
43. Manager’s Check Book ... ... ... 2
44. Weekly Contribution Book ... ... ... 7
45. Sick Pay Book ... ... ... ... 7
■16. . Form of the Order of the Trustees to make Payments
into Bank of England ... per quire 4
47. Ditto, ditto, under 10 Geo. 4, c. 5 ... „ 4
Norman’s System of Accounts for Benefit Societies 1
Form K.—Notice of Change of Registered
Office.
No. 50. Form L.—Notice of Resolution Appointing
Trustees ... ... ... each 0
,, 51. Forms B, C; C, D.—Application and Declaration
upon making Alterations and Amendments
in Friendly Society Rules, under
38 & 39 Viet. c. 60 ... ... each 0
„ 52. Nomination to receive Burial Money
in book of 250 4
a.
0
0
0
0
0
4
7
3
0
0
6
6
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
SHAW & SONS, Fetter Lane, London.
ESTABLISHED CIR. 1750.
OOO
Shaw & Sons,
PRINTERS, PUBLISHERS,
AND GENERAL
Publishers by Authority to Her Majesty's
Stationery Office-,
FETTER LANE & CRANE COURT,
LONDON, E.C.
OO
the scale towarc
APPENDIX OP CASES.
219
1
S; l
: ~"t the directors and a portion of the shareholders
:: concurred in the acts complained of. The plaintiffs
x-; d that, being dissatisfied with the management, they
j; n pursuance of the provisions of their deed of associ-:
- given a month’s notice of their intention to withdraw
r ■ ;lie society, and that the directors had denied their
so to withdraw. The plaintiffs thereupon filed their
o recover their subscriptions, and by the present
:_u sought to restrain the directors from transferring or
: priating the funds of the society at the bankers. The
-; lants contended that the proper course for the plain-:;
f dissatisfied with the conduct of the directors, was,
s ling to the rules of the society, to appeal to arbitrators
- - elected at a meeting for that purpose, and if that step
produce a satisfactory result, they were then em-.'od
to apply to two justices of the peace, whose
on would be final. Cranworth, V.-C., said that the
:--ras one in which the regulations of the society, and
:: tovisions of the legislature with regard to such associ-»:;
permitted the members, in the event of a dispute
g, to bring the case before the directors for their
: - 011 j and if that should be unsatisfactory, to appeal to
ators, and ultimately to carry the case before two
:; trates for their determination. The plaintiffs, how-’;
had thought proper to apply to the court to put a
: _ ruction on their rules, instead of adopting those means
*:-Tress which were clearly pointed out by the rules
: selves. He was of opinion that there was no necessity
:! ie interference of the court, and refused the motion
|i; costs.
Grinhamv. Card, 7 Excli. 883, a dispute arose between
f the members of the committee of a friendly society
s : ; lie trustees touching the distribution of a fund in the
:-„ s_of the latter, and by one of the rules it was ordered
: j Jisputes were to be referred to such members of the
pttee as should not he personally interested in the,
.. t ; and it was held that the judge of the county court
:: lo jurisdiction in such case according to the rule of the
f: i y> which provided for the reference to the committee,
;hen to private arbitration, of all disputes, and the
:; ion now raised was, whether this particular dispute
- ■ me which could have been the subject of a suit in
y. The court restrained the judge of the county court
k hearing the cause, on the ground that the dispute
:: ^ne which ought to have been referred under the
f: i rule.
*: l 2
i: