IRELAND. REPORT of the ASSISTANT REGISTRAR of FRIENDLY SOCIETIES for Ireland, to the CHIEF BEGISTRAR for the Year ending 31st December 1881. The following new Friendly Societies were registered during the year, under the Friendly Societies Act, 1875 :— Reg. No. 575. Kingstown Car Owners and Drivers, 5, Northcote Avenue, Kingstown. 577. The Cork Harbour Fishermen's, 40 South Main-street, Cork. 578. Lily of Mary, Male and Female Burial, Laburnum Cottage, Prussia-street, Dublin. 595. Richmond and Golden Bridge Christian Burial, 2, Golden Bridge, Dublin. 596. Protestant Defence Tontine, 2, Great Longford-street, Dublin. 601. Cork Market Gardeners' Benefit Association, 21, George's Quay, Cork. 606. Avondale Tontine, 24, Bride-street, Dublin. 592. The Ancient Order of Shepherds, High-street, Glossop, County Derby, and, 594. British Imperial Sick Benefit and Life Assurance, 46, Ludgate Hill, London, E.C., Were recorded in Ireland. 579. The Primitive Pilgrims was registered as a Benevolent Society. *582. Court Anna Liffey, Mechanics' Institute, Dublin. 583. Court Brian Boroimbe, 55, Bolton-street, Dublin. *586. Court Shamrock, 55, Bolton-street, Dublin. *587. Court Industry, 55, Bolton-street, Dublin. *588. Court Flower of the Forest, 55, Bolton-street, Dublin *591. Court Emerald, 55, Bolton-street, Dublin. 599. Court Belfast Royal Archers, 97, Donegal-street, Belfast. *602. Court Erin-go-Bragh, 55, Bolton-street, Dublin. *603. Court Grattan, 55, Bolton-street, Dublin. Ancient Order of Shepherds. *604: Dublin District, 55, Bolton-street, Dublin. Independent Order of Odd Fellows, M.U. *593. Dublin District, 10, Upper Abbey-street, Dublin. Independent Order of Rechabites. *572. Path of Peace Tent, Newry-street, Banbridge. Irish National Foresters. 574. O'Connell Branch, 1, Drumcondra-road. 589. Hibernia Branch, Edgeworthstown. 600. Owen Roe O'Neill Branch, 8, Fairview, Dublin. 605. Red Hugh O'Neilll Branch, 34, Usher's Quay, Dublin. 573. United Assurance Society, Irish Branch, 82, Talbot-street, Dublin. The Societies marked thus (*) had their previous registry as Societies cancelled. The The following Loan Societies were registered under the Special Authority of 16th May 1876 : L. 66. St. Nicholas of Myra, 83, Bride-street, Dublin. L. 67. Jordan Loan Fund, 4, Sandwith-street, Dublin. L. 68. Father Mathew Total Abstinence, 47, York-street, Dublin. L. 69. Loyal Friendly Brothers and Sisters, 27, East Essex-street, Dublin. 581. The Warrenpoint Friendly Institution of Trades, which had been registered on 18th October 1824, and had ever since carried on its business without any communication with this office, was placed upon the registry, and 584. The Strawberry Beds Total Abstinence Society, registered on 27th December 1844, which in like manner had not been heard of since that date, and 598. The Dublin District Ancient Order of Shepherds, registered 31st December 1870, were also placed on the registry. Thirty-two Amendments of Friendly Societies rules, and three Amendments of Loan Societies rules have been registered. One hundred and thirteen notices of the appointment of new trustees have been registered, and Thirty-seven notices of change in the registered office of the Society. The counterparts of four treasurers' bonds have been received. The Rechabite Loan Fund (L. 35) has changed its name to The Rechabite and Total Abstinence Loan Fund Society. The following Societies have been legally dissolved : 103. Court Maid of Catherlough, A.O.F., Carlow. 109. Court Emerald, A.O.F., Waterford. 366. Belfast Provision Workers, Belfast. And the following are stated to have been "broken up": 60. Chimney Sweepers' Operative Union of Trade, Cork Hill, Dublin. The Assistant Registrar having observed an advertisement in the "Dublin Freeman's Journal," from a collector of a Collecting Society, offering "to dispose of a batch of good paying members on reasonable terms," wrote on 25th November 1881 a letter to advertiser, calling his attention to the penalties prescribed by the 30th section of the 38 & 39 Vict. c. 60, which he hopes has had the desired effect. INDUSTRIAL AND PROVIDENT SOCIETIES. The following Societies were registered : Reg. No. 14. County Antrim Handloom Weavers, 28, Linen Hall-street, Ballymena. 15. Dundalk Buildings and Land Purchase Co-operative Society, 25, Churchstreet, Dundalk, 16. Balbriggan Industrial and Provident, George's-square, Balbriggan. And a resolution to wind up the following Society has been received: 12. The County Waterford Co-operative Dairies Society. Four notices of change of registered office were recorded. BUILDING SOCIETIES. Two new building societies were incorporated, viz. :— 35. First Belfast Starr-Bowkett, 71, York-street, Belfast. Seven amendments of rules were registered, and notice was received of the termination of the dissolution of The Phoenix Permanent Benefit Building Society. Two notices of change of registered chief office were received, and certificates of registration issued. The Freehold Building Society was dissolved by instrument, registered 8th November 1881, and is being wound up under the supervision of the Civil Bill Court. There were four disputes between this Society and its members referred to the Registrar under the provisions of the Society's rules, three of which were heard by him, and awards in each case made against the Society. The other was not proceeded with. The first case was that of Edward Murphy, which was commenced in 1880 but not proceeded with until 1881. And the complainant stating he had applied to the Society for inspection of documents and for other information, and that this had been refused on the ground that he had ceased to be a member (which was the principal fact in dispute between him and the Society). The Registrar made an order for discovery on the 17th February 1881, and on the 10th March the managing director was examined on oath and still refused to give some of the information required, on the ground that the claimant had ceased to be a member of the Society. The case subsequently was for three days at hearing, and the managing director was examined, but before the completion of his cross-examination by the counsel for the claimant he gathered up his papers and handed in a written protest against the proceedings, and went away declining to give any further evidence. The next case was that of Lavinia McDowell, who had commenced an action against the Society in the Common Pleas Division of the High Court of Justice, which action by order made in presence of both parties was stayed, and the parties were declared at liberty to refer the matters in dispute to the Registrar of Friendly Societies in Ireland, and the costs of said action and motion were to be in the discretion of the said Registrar. The Society again appeared before the Registrar and again protested against his jurisdiction, but had no defence to the claim, and the Registrar awarded in favour of the claimant, and he further in his capacity of Assistant Registrar of Friendly Societies and acting under the order of the Common Pleas Division awarded to her the costs of the action and of the motion in that division. The third claim was that of George Walker, which was resisted on somewhat similar grounds to that of Edward Murphy, and the award was that the Society should reinstate said George Walker as a member, and then repay to him within a limited time the amount of his shares and other moneys due to him. The Registrar has mentioned these disputes at some length in order to point out that when sitting as arbitrator he has not even the powers of an arbitrator appointed under a deed of submission with the ordinary clause for being made a rule of court, inasmuch as he cannot compel the attendance of a witness, nor can he obtain the process of any court for the purpose; and if a witness, when under examination, should decline to answer or should go away, the Registrar is helpless in the matter; even when his award is made it has to be taken to the County Court for enforcement, and in Ireland this tribunal only sits once in every three months; and in his opinion it would be better that the Registrar should cease to be a referee of disputes, but that the parties should be entitled to proceed in the first instance before the Civil Bill Court, which has power not only to decide the dispute, but also to enforce its decision, and can compel the attendance of witnesses. TRADE UNIONS. There were not any Trade Unions registered during the year, but the following English Trade Unions were recorded in Ireland : Reg. No. 42. Alliance Cabinet Makers Association, 3, Mitre-square, London. 43. United Society of Holders up of Liverpool and Birkenhead, 7, Bessemer-street, Toxteth Park, Liverpool. Seven amendments of rules were registered. Two notices of change of meeting-place were received, and one Treasurer's Bond. The Assistant Registrar has had again this year frequent applications for advice from Trade Unions on questions arising under their rules, but has been unable to entertain same. LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. There was not any application during the year for a certificate under 6 & 7 Vict. c. 36. SAVINGS BANKS. The Assistant Registrar has certified four alterations of savings bank rules, and has had 11 disputes referred to him, in six of which he has made awards, and in one (William Cochrane's disputes in Newry Savings Bank) he has declined to hear the dispute. The facts of this last case are important as illustrating the extreme carelessness, and disregard of the plain provisions of the Savings Banks Acts, and even of their own registered rules, evinced by the trustees and managers of some Trustee Savings Banks and as they have been the subject of proceedings against the Assistant Registrar in the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court of Justice in Ireland, and in the Court of Appeal, he may be excused for giving them at length. William Cochrane opened an account in the Newry Savings Bank previous to the year 1825; the same pass-book also containing the accounts of Ann Wilson, Isabella Cochrane, and Mrs. William Cochrane; at this time there was not any restriction upon the amount to be taken in any one year, and his first lodgment was 50 l. In 1858 all these accounts were transferred to a new passbook which contains in addition accounts of James Simpson, Jane Wilson, Lucy Wilson, Richard Simpson, and Andrew Simpson; and again in 1871 these accounts were all transferred to a fresh pass-book, which contains the additional accounts of Thomas Heath, John Anderson, and Edward Anderson; and in 1879, two new pass-books were issued by the bank to William Cochrane, the first containing the accounts of James Hart, John Hart, Andrew Hart, Peter Hart, James Lawson, John Lawson, Andrew Lawson, and John Lawson, junior, and the other containing the accounts of William Cochrane, Mrs. William Cochrane, Isabella Cochrane, Anne Wilson, Jane Wilson, Lucy Wilson, James Simpson, Richard Simpson, Andrew Simpson, Thomas Heath, John Anderson, and Edward Anderson, and both books representing deposits of nearly 2,000 l., and all the persons in whose names these accounts were opened, except William Cochrane himself, being non-existent. William Cochrane was an old and very eccentric person who had not left his dwelling house for very many years previous to his death, and had never spoken to anyone, but transacted all his business by writing on scraps of paper. He died intestate on the 14th October 1880, leaving one brother, Robert Cochrane, (since deceased) and a sister, Mrs. Isabella Thompson, his only next of kin. Administration was taken out by Robert Cochrane, the sole assets being the sum of 1,900 l. in the Newry Savings Bank, and probate duty was paid on the entire the eof. The savings bank paid the administrator the sum of 107 7. which stood in William Cochrane's own name, but declined to pay the sums which stood in other nanes which were alleged to be fictitious, but over the accounts of which the bank had allowed William Cochrane in his lifetime to exercise the same control as he did over his own account. The bank referred the matter to the Assistant Registrar as a dispute, and he under the direction of the Chief Registrar, in pursuance of the Savings Banks (Barrister) Act, 1876, declined to deal with the case, and sent it to the Solicitor for Her Majesty's Treasury, being the person in whom was vested the duties conferred on the barrister for certifying rules of savings banks by Sections 38, and 46 of the 26 & 27 Vict. c. 87, and that gentleman having reported that in his opinion the lodgments were made with a fraudulent intention, the Assistant Registrar declined to proceed with the case. The administrator obtained a conditional order for a mandamus against the Assistant Registrar to compel him to hear and decide the case, and cause was shown, and the case was argued before May, C. J., Fitzgerald and Barry, J.J. on the 1st February 1882, in the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court of Justice in Ireland, and the Judgment of the Court was delivered on the 1st of March 1882 by Fitzgerald, J. (now Lord Fitzgerald) as follows: 66 "The Newry Savings Bank existed prior to 1825, and became subject to the provisions "of the statute 26 & 27 Vict. c. 87, under which its rules have been certified. The "applicant is the personal representative of William Cochrane, who died in October 1880, "and who had made deposits in that bank to the amount in the whole of above 1,900 7.; a part of the money deposited to the extent of about 107 . stood in his own name as to "which no question arises; the remainder he had deposited in several fictitious names. "Mr. Littledale is the Assistant Registrar of Friendly Societies in Ireland, and as "such is the officer on whom, under the provisions of the 39 & 40 Vict. c. 52, s. 2, is "cast the duty of determining any dispute which should arise between the trustees of any savings bank and any depositor therein, or the representative of any such depositor, pursuant to the 26 & 27 Vict. c. 87, s. 48. 66 66 "It appears from the affidavits that so far back as 1865, William Cochrane had com"menced to make deposits in fictitious names, and continued that practice down to 1879. "In April 1877, he received from the actuary a circular as follows: Newry, 24th April 1877. The Commissioners for the Reduction of the National Debt have directed the "trustees of the bank not to add interest to any annual account so long as it continues ❝at above 200 l.; would you, therefore, present your pass book at the bank any Tuesday "for the purpose of having the accounts therein brought within the limit of Rule 14 in your pass book. George McCracken, Actuary.' 66 6 66 6 66 6 "On the 29th July 1879, he wrote to the Actuary as follows: Newry, 29th July 1879. 66 6 Sir, Please take 80 l. out of the money that is in the savings bank in my name, and please put them in it in the name of James Hart, and please take 80 7. out of the money that is in it in the name of Mrs. William Cochrane, and please put them in it "in the name of John Hart, and please take 80 1. out of the money that is in it in the "name of Isabella Cochrane, and please put them in it in the name of Andrew Hart, "and please take 807. out of the money that is in it in the name of Ann Wilson, and "please put them in it in the name of Peter Hart, and please take 807, out of the money “that is in it in the name of Jane Wilson, and please put them in it in the name of "James Lawson, and please take 807. out of the money that is in it in the name of "Lucy Wilson, and please put them in it in the name of John Lawson, and please take "80 1. out of the money that is in it in the name of James Simpson, and please put "them in it in the name of Andrew Lawson, and please take 80 1. out of the money that "is in it in the name of Andrew Simpson, and please put them in it in the name of "John Lawson. I served you with a notice about this business I think on the 15th of "this month. Please recollect that I think I wrote in this note that I wish you to take "80 7. out of eight of the names in it, and I wish you to put them in eight names in a ""new book, and I will send by the bearer money to pay for a new book, 6 d. I think "is the price of it. Yours respectfully, William Cochrane." "That letter was acted on by the officers of the bank; the several accounts were "reduced below the specified limits, so as to carry interest, and that state of things "continued to the decease of Cochrane. 66 "It is right to observe that he seems to have acted openly and without concealment; "no objection to the course of dealing was raised by the officers of the bank, who, on the contrary, seem to have full knowledge of his dealings and to have issued to him pass "books containing the fictitious accounts. He received the interest on, and was "permitted to vary these fictitious accounts as he pleased, and was never at any "time required to make and never did make the declaration which the statute "authorises the trustees to require from depositors. After the death of Mr. Cochrane "his personal representative sought to draw out these monies, and he was paid the sum "of 107 7. standing in the name of Cochrane, but as to the several sums deposited "in fictitious names, the trustees demurred, and a case stating all the facts was sent "to |