A Complete Practice of the County Courts

The Friendly Societies Act, 1875, s. 25.

"(4.) A statutory declaration shall be made by one of the trustees, or by 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.

(5.) The instrument of dissolution and all alterations "therein shall be registered in manner herein provided for the registry of rules, and shall be binding upon all the members "of the society.

"(6.) 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, 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.) 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:

"(b.) 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, annuity, or other benefit from the funds "thereof be first duly satisfied, or adequate pro"vision 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 con"viction, be liable to be committed to the common gaol or house of correction, there to be kept to hard labour for any term not exceed'ing three months :

"(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 The Friendly
County Court of the district within which the Societies Act,
"chief or any other place of business of the 1875, s. 25.
"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 dis-
putes under this Act."

(8.) With respect to dissolutions and the distribution of "funds upon the award of the chief registrar (mm):

"(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 investiga-
"tion 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 :

"(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, con-
sequent upon such award, and such dissolution
"is set aside accordingly, the society shall be
"legally dissolved from the date of such adver-
tisement, and the requisite consents to the
application to the registrar shall be considered
"to have been duly obtained without proof of
"the signatures thereto.

"(9.) The provisions of the present section shall not apply Practice. "to any society having branches without the consent of the "central body of such society."-38 & 39 Vict. c. 60, s. 25.

Proceedings under subsection 7, clause (d.) of the above section must be by way of action commenced by plaint and sum

(mm) Clauses (a.) and (b.) of subsection 8 relate to awards by the chief registrar, against which there is (by clause (d.)) no appeal.

Jurisdiction of

County Court
to compel
payments
by members

thereof to
registered
Cattle In-
surance
Societies.

The Friendly Societies Act, 1875, s. 31.

Practice.

mons (n). The proceedings must be at the instance of a member or a person entitled to some benefit from the society (0), and taken in the district directed by the section itself (o). Save in these particulars the proceedings are precisely the same as in any ordinary action (n), and will be found described in Book II. of this Work (p).

SECTION IV.-PROCEEDINGS TO ENFORCE PAYMENT FROM
MEMBERS THEREOF OF CONTRIBUTIONS DUE TO CATTLE
INSURANCE AND OTHER AUTHORISED SOCIETIES.

The jurisdiction indicated at the head of this section is entirely derived from a section in "The Friendly Societies Act, 1875," which is in the following terms :

"The provisions of the present section apply only to regis"tered cattle insurance societies, and to such specially autho"rised societies as the Treasury may allow to take the benefit "of the present section :

"(1.) The rules bind the society 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 pro"visions of this Act.

"(2.) All moneys payable by a member to the society are "deemed to be a debt due from such member to the society, "and are recoverable as such in the County Court of the "district in which such member resides."-38 & 39 Vict. c. 60, s. 31.

The above section, it is to be noticed, applies only to the limited class of societies specified therein. Moreover, while it enables a society to recover from a member in the County Court, it does not confer a reciprocal privilege of suing the society upon a member thereof.

The practice under the above section is, by Order XXXVIII. (9), made the same as that in an ordinary action. The directions of sec. 31 itself as to the parties to the proceedings, and as to the district in which the action is brought, must of course be strictly followed. Save in the above respects, the practice under this section needs no special notice, and can be ascertained from Book II. of this Work.

BOOK V.-DIVISION III.

PROCEEDINGS UNDER SPECIAL STATUTES PROVIDING
FOR SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES.

CHAPTER VI.

JURISDICTION AND PROCEEDINGS UNDER THE INDUSTRIAL
AND PROVIDENT SOCIETIES ACT, 1876."

"The In

dustrial and

Provident
Societies Act,

1876."

"THE Industrial and Provident Societies Act, 1876"39 & 40 Vict. c. 45-consolidates and amends the law relating to industrial and provident societies, and assimilates the same in certain respects to the law relating to friendly societies (a). It repeals previous enactments on the same subject (b), and confers important jurisdiction on the County Courts. The Act contains an interpretation clause, the material Interpretation portions of which are as follow:

"In this Act, if not inconsistent with the context, the following terms shall have the meanings herein-after respec"tively assigned to them:

"The Treasury' shall mean the Lords Commissioners of
"Her Majesty's Treasury:
"England' shall include the Channel Islands (except as
hereinafter provided):

"The registrar' shall mean for England the central
"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 respec"tively:

"Country' shall mean England, Scotland, or Ireland, as "the case may be :

"The several ridings of the county of York, and the

(a) Preamble.
(b) Schedule I.

of Act.

The Indus

trial and Provident Societies Act, 1876, 8. 3.

"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 manage"ment or other directing body of a society:

"Persons claiming through a member' shall include the "heirs, executors, administrators, and assigns of

a member, and also his nominees where nomination " is allowed:

"Officer' shall extend to any trustee, treasurer, secretary, member of the committee, manager, or servant, "other than a servant appointed by the committee, of "a society:

666

Meeting' shall include (where the rules of a society "so allow) a meeting of delegates appointed by

"members:

Summary Jurisdiction Acts' shall mean

"As to England, the Act 11 & 12 Vict. c. 43, and any Acts amending the same: . "Gazette shall mean the London Gazette for England. "-39 & 40 Vict. c. 45, s. 3.

With regard to the societies which are within its operation, "The Industrial and Provident Societies Act, 1874," provides as follows::

"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."--39 & 40 Vict. c. 45, s. 5.

"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 whole"sale or retail, including the buying and selling of land, but

as to the business of banking subject to the provisions here"inafter 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." 39 & 40 Vict. c. 45, s. 6.

« Eelmine Jätka »

Books

A Complete Practice of the County Courts: Including that in ..., 2. osa