under the control of the society, or of any officer thereof:

"Officer" 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: "Meeting" includes (where the rules of a society so allow) a meeting of delegates appointed by members:

66

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:

Summary Jurisdiction Acts" means—

As to England, the Act 11 & 12 Vict. c. 43, 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 uch district, and of th police of such district; elsewhere in Ireland, the "Petty Sessions (Ireland) Act, 1851," and any Act amending the

"Gazette" means the London Gazette for England,

the Edinburgh Gazette for Scotland, and the Dublin Gazette for Ireland

14 & 15 Vict. c. 93

D

5. Repeal. The Acts set forth in the first schedule hereto are repealed from the commencement of this Act, to the extent set forth in the third column of the said schedule; but this repeal, or anything herein contained, shall not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 under the rules of any society registered or certified thereunder, before the commencement of this Act.

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shall, so far as the same are not contrary to any express provision of this Act, continue in force until altered or rescinded:

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.*

7. Societies with deposited rules.-Section fortyfour of the Act of the eighteenth and nineteenth Victoria, chapter sixty-three,† shall continue to have effect

It will not, therefore, be requisite to register afresh, under this Act, any society already registered under the previous and now repealed Friendly Societies Acts.

The following is the clause in question :-"In the case of any friendly society established for any of the purposes mentioned in section 9 of this Act, or for any purpose which is not alleged, having

(notwithstanding its repeal by this Act) with regard to any society whose rules have been deposited thereunder, but only until the society is registered under this Act, or until the thirty-first day of December one thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight, whichever shall first happen.

8. Classes of Societies.-The following societies may be registered under this Act; viz.,

(1.) 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,

written or printed rules, whose rules have not been certified by the registrar, provided that a copy of such rules shall have been deposited with the registrar, every dispute between any member or members of such society, and the trustees, treasurer, or other officer or the committee of such society, shall be decided in manner herein before provided with respect to disputes and the decision thereof, in the case of societies to be established under this Act, and the sections in this Act provided for such decision, and also the section in the Act which enacts a punishment in case of fraud or imposture by an officer, member, or person, shall be applicable to such uncertified societies Provided always that nothing herein contained shall be construed to confer on any such society whose rules shall not have been certified by the registrar, or any of the members or officers of such society, any of the powers, exemptions, or facilities of this Act, save and except as is by this section expressly provided." The clauses referred to in the section just cited are the 40th and 41st, by which it is provided that disputes are to be determined in the manner prescribed by the rules, or, in the absence of any direction in the rules, by the County Court of the district within which the usual or principal place of business of the society is situate. So far as the settlement of disputes goes, therefore, unregistered societies which have deposited their rules will continue to have the benefit of these provisions until the 31st December, 1878. They will, however, then cease to enjoy that privilege; while the clause of the present Act on which we are commenting provides that the 18 & 19 Vict. c. 63, sec. 44, will also cease to be applicable to them so soon as they are registered under this Act.

mothers, brothers, or sisters, nephews or nieces, or wards being 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 of 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;

Provided that no society (except as aforesaid)† which contracts with any person for the assurance of an annuity exceeding fifty pounds per annum, or of a gross sum ex

*Although pregnancy has been held not to be "sickness" (R. v. Huddersfield, 5 W. R. 629), it would seem to be an "infirmity" when from its advanced condition or other causes it amounts to a disability for work.

That is to say-ante, section 6—a society established before the 15th day of August, 1850.

ceeding two hundred pounds, shall be registered under this Act:

(2.) 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.) Societies for any benevolent or charitable purpose (herein called benevolent societies):

(4.) Societies (herein called working men's clubs) for purposes of social intercourse, mutual helpfulness, mental and moral improvement, and rational recrea

tion :

(5.) Societies for any purpose which the treasury may authorize & a purpose to which the powers and facilities of this et ought to be extended (herein called "specially authorized societies").

9. Limited application of Act.-The 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.

10. The registry office.-With respect to the registry office, the following provisions shall have effect:

(1.) There shall be 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 assistantregistrars for England shall constitute the central office after mentioned. There shall be an assistantregistrar of friendly societies for Scotland (herein termed "assistant-registrar for Scotland"), and an