but he will not find it." "What latitude does it lie in chiefly ?" "I do not know. Good bye." One regrets to find Swedenborg so much at fault in his geography, and should be almost inclined to think him something of a "muff," were we not informed in another place that spirits, "from some peculiar idiosyncracy, do not well understand about latitude and longitude." What Zadkiel could want with Socrates, it would be hard to tell. He, however, called him into the crystal, and he appeared in rather curious habiliments. "A tall, middle-aged man, rather bald, dressed with striped, coarse trowsers, very loose at the top and tight near the feet, a kind of frock, open in front, and without sleeves." On being asked, “What is the best thing to do here?" he answered, quite in character, “To gain wisdom." Being solicited to mention the "best means" of acquiring wisdom, he replied, rather absurdly, "Astrology, phrenology, and prayer." Zadkiel is extremely fulsome in his religion; but we do not wish to interfere with him in that particular. We may, insert, however, his account of the state and prospects of a great Scripture criminal. Judas Iscariot would seem (not without reason) to be rather a shy man. He did not at all like having to appear before Zadkiel in the crystal. We learn, moreover, that at the time of his appearance he was "very wretched," which is not unlikely, as he admitted he had had a long spell of purgatory, or rather, something worse; though he expected to "be happier after the next Sunday." That would be on the 10th of February, 1850, terrestrial reckoning. So that if there be anybody as sympathetic as the Highland preacher, who desired to "pray for the puir De'il," and such a one feels an interest in the fate of Judas, it may be gratifying to him to learn how matters stand. Here, perhaps, it will be well to stop; for though we might quote a great many other astonishing passages, we have probably given as many as the reader will care to see. Further Illustrations of Friendly Societies' Law. Ir is a trite remark that what is true of individuals is true of societies. Clubs are no more eternal than men and women; both are liable to arrive at an untimely end by indiscretion and recklessness. The same prudence which induces John Smith, the honest collier, to make a purse for the wife of his bosom, to receive and enjoy, after he has been laid low in the damp cold earth, dictates that he and his fellows should make decent and proper arrangement for the interment of a society, and winding-up its affairs, when its dissolution has become inevitable, or even expedient. The legislature has made several provisions on this head, which statutory law has been the subject of mature Common Law Judgments; and the rules of any society may add other regulations touching this matter, which are not repugnant to the acts of Parliament in question.* An attention to the law in this respect, by Trustees, where there are Trustees, and where there are no Trustees, by the Treasurer of a Society, or other person who has the custody of the society's money (who is a Treasurer within the meaning of the Act), is of the first importance. If the society is not legally dissolved, or if the terms of dissolution are departed from in the slightest degree, although honestly, and in good faith, these officers may be dragged through vexatious and costly litigation, by any one selfish, or cantankerous member; and where the suspicion of improper motive can be raised, they may be indicted in a criminal tribunal. The Friendly Societies' Consolidation Act+ provided that a society might be dissolved by resolution, passed at "some meeting thereof, to be specially called in • Tidd Pratt's "Law relating to Friendly Societies," 5th edit. p. 20. +18 and 19 Vict. cap. 63, sec. 13. that behalf, providing that certain requisites and conditions were also satisfied." This act rendered it a condition precedent upon the dissolution that "five-sixths in value of the then existing members, including the honorary members, if any," should vote for the dissolution; and it enacted that for the purpose of ascertaining the votes of such five-sixths in value of the members, every member should be entitled to have one vote, and an additional vote for every five years that he might have been a member, but limited the number of votes which any single member might give. Another exceedingly important condition precedent to the dissolution of a society is embodied in the same section of the act. No society can be dissolved without the consent, in writing, "of all persons, if any, then receiving, or entitled to receive any relief, annuity, or other benefit from the funds thereof, unless the claim of every such person be first duly satisfied, or adequate provision made for satisfying such claim." This clause of the Friendly Societies' Consolidation Act also made it necessary to state in the agree ment for dissolving a society,-before obtaining the assents of its members, in the manner and to the extent pointed out-the mode in which its funds were to be distributed, or applied; but, in consequence, it may be inferred of the difficulty of meeting the wishes of all-and, sometimes, the very unreasonable demands of some of the parties interested, this part of the section has been amended by a subsequent enactment. The agreement may now refer to the decision of "the Registrar of Friendly Societies, or to the Actuary of the Commissioners for the reduction of the National Debt, or to an Actuary of some Life Assurance Company, established in London, Edinburgh, or Dublin, who shall have exercised the profession of an actuary for at least five years, to be named in the agree ment," ," the appropriation or division of any funds then in hand. The provisions of the two acts already pointed out, relate to the dissolution of societies, by con sent, and at the discretion of their members, under any circumstances. The obvious design of the legislature, when it imposed such obstacles in the way of dissolving a society, was the prevention of fraud, by, it might be, new or young members, upon the old contributors, or the aged annuitants; and the justice of such provisions is self-evident. Whenever a society is insolvent, it may be dissolved by the Registrar, or an Actuary of London, Edinburgh, or Dublin, of five years' standing, "on the appliNone of the cation in writing, of not less than one-fourth," of its members.* formalities mentioned in the previous paragraph are requisite in the present case. A statement in writing, with the requisite number of signatures, setting forth "that the funds of the society are insufficient to meet the claims thereon, with the grounds thereof," is the only document necessary to be prepared. The Registrar, or Actuary, as the case may be, thereupon investigates the matter, and decides whether the society should be dissolved or not. If he arrives at the conclusion that the society should be dissolved, he next proceeds to settle in what way the funds and property shall be divided," and the award is final, conclusive, and binding "on all the members, and other persons interested in, or having any claim on, the funds of the society." Mr. Tidd Pratt, in his last Report, gives the particulars of many of these cases, and very fully explains the mode of procedure which he adopts. He makes an appointment to meet the members, either at his office, or at some convenient place of meeting in the town where the club has held its meetings, he hears Attorney and Counsel, when the parties interested choose to employ such professional aid, and decides upon his award at his leisure. The expenses such an this enquiry are a first charge upon the assets of an insolvent society. From the award of the Registrar or an actuary, under the provisions of the Act last referred to there is no appeal; but any member of a Society dissolved by consent under a special meeting, and the Consolidation Act, who may be 21 and 22 Vict. cap. 101, sec. 8. dissatisfied with the provision made by his fellow members may apply "to the judge within which the usual place of business is situated,"* or in the City of London, to the Judge of the Sheriffs' Court, in the cities of Dublin and Cork, to the Recorder thereof, at any time during the six calendar months next following the date of the resolution, "for relief or other order," and it is enacted that the judicial officers named shall have power to make "such order or direction, in relation thereto as he may think the justice of the case may require." The powers and mode of enforcing orders and directions are duly set forth in these Statutes, and in a very lucid judgment of the Court of Common Pleas, Mr. Justice Willes gave a liberal interpretation to the words of the sections which confer an equitable jurisdiction upon the authorities just mentioned.§ An injunction restraining the dissolution of the Society, and calling upon the Trustees not to divide the funds of the Society may be cheaply obtained. The Courts to which jurisdiction in these matters is given may indeed exercise all the powers now exercised "in the Court of Chancery in respect either of its ordinary, or its special, or its statutory jurisdiction," and the decision of such Court is not subject to any appeal. To secure obedience to its order or directions such Court may also attach a penalty for non-compliance,** or grant relief by way of a payment in cash to the party interested++ and either the penalty,or the relief in cash may be enforced or recovered "in the same manner as a judgment for debt, or damages in such Court." These ample powers are moreover such as the judges and others having jurisdiction betray no disinclination to enforce. These statutory provisions-unlike the protection against Sheriff's executions and Bankruptcy-do not clash with the general principles of the Common Law, or with judicial prejudices, and they will always be readily acted upon. There is yet another provision in the Consolidation Act to which some reference must be made. If a Society should be dissolved by the resolution of its own members, under the presumption that the Consolidation Act had been complied with, and it should be proved that any portion of the funds had been otherwise appropriated-say that the claim of a member had not been duly satisfied," or that "adequate provision", had not been made for satisfying such claim-the trustee or other officer, or person, aiding or abetting therein, is liable to be "committed to the common gaol, or house of correction, and there kept to hard labour for any term not exceeding three calendar months."t It will, of course, be impossible to obtain a conviction under this penal enactment, unless gross and palpable malversation of the funds has been committed, or without the person claiming to set the law in motion, can prove a case of exceeding personal hardship-the evidence of dishonest intention, which is the gravamen of a criminal offence, must be exhibited to the magistrate's satisfactionbut a prima facie case, justifying the charge, although not establishing the crime, might be easily got up by a dissatisfied member against a perfectly honest Trustee or other officer. Whenever a Society must be dissolved, too much care is not possible, in order to steer quite clear of the penal, and not get entangled in the civil meshes of the statute. The case of "the Penydarran Firemen's Club," as recorded in the annals of the Merthyr Tydfil County Court, is an interesting and instructive example of the law as stated above. Thomas Jones, the plaintiff, in an action which elicited from the learned Judge of this court an elaborate exposition of the law, was a member of the society, when all the other members resolved upon its dissolution. Thomas Jones, it must be confessed, was one of those men who were present to the eyes of the Legislature when they drew the 41st Section of the Consolidation Ibid. 18 and 19 Vic., cap 63, sec. 13. ++ Ibid. +21 and 22 Vic., cap. 101, sec. 1. 11 and 12 Vic., cap. 43, sec. 11; 12 and 13 Vic. cap. 70, sec. 11. #Ibid. Ibid. ** 18 and 19 Vic., cap. 63, sec. 42. 18 and 19 Vic., cap 63, sec. 13. Act. He was fifty years old, and was suffering from a disease of both lungs. The malady had taken such a firm hold of him that his recovery was pronounced "neither to be expected nor possible." It is not therefore, perhaps, to be at all wondered at, if, as one of his fellow-members stated, poor Tom Jones objected to have the society broken up and the funds divided, although upon what the Penydarrians thought an equitable basis. They didn't want any lawyer to meddle in the affairs of their society. They intended to act "fair and square" to each other, and couldn't see the use of looking into the Act of Parliament. On the evening appointed for the division of the fund, we are told that the members "made a great row, and insisted upon dividing the money," but Thomas Jones, to the great annoyance of all the rest, kept repeating a protest against the course pursued, and exclaimed that he "was not willing to divide or dissolve the club." Thomas Thomas was landlord of the Vulcan Inn, and was Treasurer to the Penydarran Club. The Society had appointed no Trustees, so that their Treasurer became "a Trustee within the meaning of the Act." He appears to have been a thoroughly upright man. He was prepared to hand over the cash he then held, and apply it in any mode that would satisfy all parties. All he was anxious about was to secure himself from rival claimants. Eleven members gave him, by way of indemnity, a promissory note for £60, and, in obedience to the order of the Committee, he paid each man the amount to which he was entitled, under the adopted mode of distribution. In the words of the law report, "each man had a share, according to what he had paid, deducting what he had received" in the shape of benefits. We don't know whether, upon this mode of distribution, every man came off as well as Thomas Jones. Unless he was exceptionally treated, the healthy members, who had been long upon the books, must have drawn very acceptable sums. Thomas Jones had received, "by reason of sickness," £22 more than he had paid in to the club, and at the dissolution they offered him a further sum of 13s. 6d., which he took under protest, that he should regard it only as sick relief. Thus ended the endeavours of the Penydarran Club to wind up and liquidate its own affairs. Shortly afterwards Thomas Jones was advised to make an application to the County Court, for such order or relief as the Judge of that tribunal might consider him entitled to. The case was heard patiently, and, as we have said, an elaborate judgment was pronounced. The Court felt it desirable that the reasons influencing its judgment should be very clearly made known, and hence a decision was pronounced in Merthyr Tydfil not at all unworthy of Westminster Hall. For many reasons, which he explained, the learned Judge thought it would not be expedient to grant an injunction restraining any further steps in the dissolution of the Society, which would have been a practical direction to reconstitute the Club, but as he considered that Thomas Jones was "entitled to the same extent of relief as if the Society still existed in operation," he declared that Thomas Thomas-notwithstanding he had parted with all the funds of the Club -should continue the payments of 2s. per week to the plaintiff, and that whenever his disease culminated in death the defendant should pay to the plaintiff's representatives the further sum of five pounds. Thus, so far as Thomas Jones was concerned, the dispute and litigation ended; but the affairs of the Penydarran Firemen's Club, having been brought into the sphere of law, they were doomed to furnish another case for our edification and enlightenment. We have already explained that when Thomas Thomas, "the Trustee within the meaning of the act," found a dissentient who would not agree to dissolve the Club, or divide its funds, sagaciously demanded an indemnity, before he parted with the cash, in his hands, and got one, in the form of the promissory note for £60. After he had been fixed with a liability to continue the weekly allowance and make a provision on the death of this dissentient member, Thomas Thomas availed himself of what lawyers call his "remedy over" against, or in plain untechnical language, he turned round upon his eleven fellow members, who had made this note. In a few weeks the learned Judge who had decided the case already narrated, was called upon to make one William Griffiths, and ten other men pay to Thomas Thomas £50-the sum of £10 having been abated, so as to give the County Court a jurisdiction. The lawyers retained for the plaintiff and for the defendants exhausted their legal ingenuity upon this cause, but the decision was an example of self-demonstrative equity. It was contended that the Treasurer or Trustee, under the terms of the act, the honest and upright landlord of the Vulcan Inn, Thomas Thomas, had been guilty of a legal, although not a moral fraud, and that he could not recover upon a promissory note, the consideration for which disclosed a breach of trust-that is the irregular distribution of the Society's funds. The learned Judge, however, put aside all the legal sophistries, and in his judgment (based upon several precedents extracted from recognised Equity Reports) held that Thomas Thomas could recover upon his indemnity, because the eleven defendants knew of and concurred in the breach of trust. Thomas Thomas, to speak exactly, could not however so make a purse for himself, if he had been disposed, but the money thus obtained would vest in him as the Trustee, for a Society which had not been legally dissolved, and must be held by him to answer the Society's obligations. The most practical result of this curious litigation was, however, a suggestion from the learned Judge, that the members should meet together and legally dissolve the Society. In conclusion, we ought, perhaps, also to say that on the first trial we mention, the Judge quoted the words of the act which direct that "in the event of the dissolution or determination of any society, or the division or appropriation of the funds thereof (except in the way provided for by the act), any Trustee, or other officer, or person," aiding, or abetting therein, were liable, on conviction for this offence, "to be imprisoned and kept to hard labour for any term not exceeding three months." He thought the persons concerned in distributing the Penydarran Club monies were liable to this fate. He did not think that his judgment would release them. His emphatic words were, "No order that I can make can discharge the parties from this liability." He also proceeded to say that "if Trustees are threatened with violence, it is their duty to seek protection (which they assuredly will effectually obtain) from magistrates, or from the ordinary courts of law, but, if instead of so doing, they weakly comply with illegal demands, they must remember that their weakness will be no excuse to relieve them from the liabilities of the trust they surrendered, nor from the personal penalties or punishments, which their compliance may subject them to endure. To such language, uttered under such circumstances, it is needless to add a word of our own in support of the position laid down on the opening of this article. J. J. M. Chances and Changes. BY H. OWGAN, LL.D. MONEY!-the god of this world, in whose worship alone is no hypocrisythe measure of all social rank-the talisman that dresses up every vice in presentable disguise, and lends an extra charm to every virtue-the great master of the ceremonies, who gives the entrée to all society. Yes, money, and not knowledge, is power. And what power? The power to gratify every highest aspiration; every most generous impulse of our nature; and to enjoy the bounty and the beauty of this fair world. And here I am, with the desire, and the taste, and the faculties to drink deep of all these pleasures; to enjoy |