22. Disputes between society and trustees to be settled according to rules-Questions of equity to be settled by County Court, or Sheriff Court of Scotland.-And be it enacted, that if any dispute shall arise between the members, or person claiming under or on account of any member, of any society or branch established under this act, and the trustees, treasurer, or other officer or committee thereof, it shall be settled in such manner as the rules of such society or branch shall direct, and the decision so made shall be binding and conclusive;16 but if such dispute be of such kind that for the settlement of it, according to the laws now in force, recourse must be had to one of Her Majesty's courts of equity, or to the Court of Session, it may be referred, at the option of either party, to the judge of the County Court or of the Sheriff Court in Scotland, who shall proceed ex parte, on notice in writing to the other of the said parties being left at his usual place of residence or abode ten days previously; and he is hereby authorized to require of all parties who are or may been members, trustees, or officers of such society to produce before him all books or other documents relating to the concerns of such society; and thereupon, if he shall so think fit, it shall be lawful for him to determine

have

otherwise more limited in its exemption than the 9 & 10 Vict. c. 27, s. 9, as the exemption is not to extend to every Friendly Society established under the act, but only to those in which the benefits assured depend on sickness and mortality.

16 The rules are to set forth the manner in which disputes between the society and members are to be settled (ante, sect. 4.) Where the rules provide a mode of settlement, that mode must be pursued, and no action will lie to enforce the rights of the party complaining: (Crisp v. Bunbury, 8 Bing. 394.) In cases which would otherwise have to be determined by a court of equity, an option however is reserved to refer the same to the County Court, as appears from the subsequent part of this 22nd section. By 10 Geo. 4, c. 56, s. 27, the rules were to determine whether such disputes should be referred to arbitrators, and the 4 & 5 Will. 4, c. 40, s. 7, provided that if the rules directed such reference, and the society refused to grant it, the disputes should be determined by the justices. So by sect. 24 of present act, if no arbitrators be appointed, or award given when the rules provide for settlement of disputes by arbitration, the justices are empowered to decide.

the said dispute, and to displace any such trustee or officer, or to make such award as the justice of the case, in his opinion, may require, and such decision or award shall be binding and conclusive.17

23. Rules for arbitration, where such is appointed by rules; justices may enforce the award.—And be it enacted, that if it shall be provided by the rules of such society or branch that disputes which may arise between any member thereof and the trustees, committee, or officers on the part of the society shall be settled by arbitration, the number of arbitrators and mode of election shall be stated in the rules; and in case any of such arbitrators shall at any time neglect or refuse to act, the members of such society or branch at a general meeting, or general committee thereof, are hereby required forthwith to elect and appoint some other person to be an arbitrator in his place; and the rules shall direct in what manner such arbitrators, or any of them, shall proceed to determine such disputes; and the award so made by them, or so many as may be appointed for the purpose, according to the rules, shall be final and binding on all parties without appeal, and shall not be removed to any court of law or equity; and if either of the said parties shall refuse or neglect to comply with or conform to the decision of the said arbitrators, or

17 The reference of questions of equity to the judge of the County Court is in lieu of such reference to the registrar as provided by 9 & 10 Vict. c. 27, s. 15. The allowing the reference to be made at the option of either party is novel. Under the 9 & 10 Vict. the reference was directed to be in writing, and, being a reference by both parties, might be acted on in the ordinary way, but here it is not said if this reference is to be in writing, or how it is to be carried out. It is not even said to what County Court judge it is to be referred, but it is presumed it should be to that one within the jurisdiction of which the society is established. Application had better in the first instance be made by the party wishing such reference to the opposite party to consent to the dispute being so referred to the County Court judge, and in case of refusal or neglect, then the judge should be applied to to issue such summons as he should think proper, requiring the attendance of the parties with the books and documents relating to the concerns of the society, and giving also notice that in case of non-attendance the reference will be proceeded in ex parte.

the major part of them, it shall and may be lawful for any one justice of the peace for the county within which such society shall be established, upon good and sufficient proof being adduced before him of such award having been made, and of the refusal of the party to comply therewith, upon complaint made by or on behalf of the party aggrieved, to summon the person against whom such complaint shall be made to appear at a time and place to be named in such summons, and upon his or her appearance, or in default thereof upon due proof upon oath of the service of such summons, to make such order thereupon as may to him seem just; and if the sum of money awarded, together with the sum for costs, not exceeding the sum of ten shillings, as to such justice shall seem meet, shall not be immediately paid, then such justice shall, by warrant under his hand, cause such sum and costs as aforesaid to be levied by distress, or by distress and sale of the moneys, goods, chattels, securities, and effects belonging to the said party or to the said society, together with all further costs and charges attending such distress and sale or other legal proceedings, returning the overplus (if any) to the said party, or to the said society, or to one of the trustees thereof; and in default of such distress being found, or in case of such other legal proceeding being ineffectual, then to be levied by distress and sale of the proper goods of the said party or of the officer of the said society so neglecting or refusing as aforesaid, together with such further costs and charges as aforesaid, returning the overplus (if any) to the owner: provided always, that whatever sums shall be paid by any such officer so levied on his or her property or goods in pursuance of the award of arbitrators, or order of any justice, shall be repaid, with all damages accruing to him or her, by and out of the moneys belonging to such society, or out of the first moneys which shall be thereafter received by such society.18

18 See the next section, viz., sect. 24, for the mode of proceeding in case of no award being made. If the arbitrators do not proceed in the

24. If no arbitrators appointed, or no award given, justices may decide.-And be it enacted, that if the rules of any such Friendly Society or branch shall have provided for the settlement of disputes by arbitration, but no arbitrator shall have been appointed, or no award shall have been made within forty days after such complaint has been made to the officers of such society or branch, or if the rules shall have directed that any dispute between the members and the trustees or other officer on the committee of management shall be settled by justices of the peace, then it shall be lawful for any justice of the peace acting in the county or borough in which the principal business of the society or branch is carried on, on complaint being made to him by any member, or person claiming under a member thereof, of any matter in dispute between him and such society or branch, to summon the person against whom such complaint shall be made to appear at a time and place to be named in such summons; and upon his appearance, or in default thereof upon due proof on oath of the service of such summons, it shall be lawful for any two justices to proceed to hear and determine the said complaint; and in case the said justices shall order any sum of money to be paid by such person against whom such complaint shall be made, and such person shall not pay the same to the person and at the time specified by such justices, they shall proceed to enforce their order in the manner herein before directed to be used in case of any neglect to comply with the decision of the arbitrators appointed under the authority of this act.19

reference according to the manner directed by the rules, as if, for example, they shall refuse to receive evidence the rules require them to receive, or the award in other respects is not made according to the rules, it is not final and binding, and it is, in fact, no award within the meaning of the act: (see Reg. v. Grant, 13 Jur. 1026, and post, sect. 24.)

The enforcing compliance with the award by an order of the justices is the same as 10 Geo. 4, c. 56, s. 27, except that that statute requires the order to be made by two justices, whereas, henceforth, the order of one justice will be sufficient.

19 This is an amalgamation of 4 & 5 Will. 4, c. 40, s. 7, and 10

25. In case member is unjustly expelled, arbitrators or justices may direct such member to be reinstated, and in default may award a sum of compensation.—And be it enacted, that in case any member of any such society or branch shall have been expelled from such society, and the award of the arbitrators or the order of the justices shall direct that he or she shall be reinstated, it shall be lawful for such arbitrators to award or justices to order, in default of such reinstatement, such a sum of money to be paid to such member by the trustees of such society as to such arbitrators or justices may seem just and reasonable, which said sum of money, if not paid, shall be recoverable from the said society or branch, or the treasurer, trustee, or

Geo. 4, c. 56, s. 28, with a few alterations. Previously to proceeding under this section, where the rules provide for a settlement of disputes by arbitration, a complaint (which had better be in writing) should be made to the officers of the society of their not having appointed an arbitrator, or of the arbitrator having neglected to make his award, and such complaint should be accompanied with an application to such officers to appoint an arbitrator or to procure the award to be made, as the case may be. If this is not attended to within forty days, the justices may then be required to summon the party under this section. As jurisdiction is only given to the justices in such cases on the condition that no arbitrator has been appointed, or no award has been made within the time specified, the decision of the justices that that condition existed is not conclusive. Where, therefore, P. J., a member of the Leeds Philanthropic Society, who had been expelled for an alleged breach of one of the rules of the society, applied to arbitrators appointed according to 10 Geo. 4, c. 56, and they made an award that P. J. be expelled from the society; and P. J., treating the award as void and null, applied to justices for the county, who made an order in which they adjudged that the arbitrators had neglected and refused to hear evidence on both sides touching the matter in dispute, and to make their award therein, and that P. J. be reinstated in the society, it was held by the Court of Queen's Bench that the adjudication by the justices that the arbitrators had neglected and refused to make an award, was a decision upon one of the preliminaries necessary to their jurisdiction, and, therefore, was not conclusive: (Reg. v. Grant, 19 L. J. (N. S.) M. C. 59, and 13 Jur. 1026.) In the same case the court also held that the justices had jurisdiction under 4 & 5 Will. 4, c. 40, s. 7, which gives jurisdiction to the justices in case of the neglect or refusal of the arbitrators to make an award, where the award made was not final and binding within the meaning of the statute 10 Geo. 4, c. 56, which, for that purpose, requires the award to be made according to the rules of the society; and that where, therefore, the rules of a society declared that the arbitrators should hear evidence on both sides,