common gaol or house of correction, there to be kept to hard labour for not more than three calendar months. 10 G. 4, c. 56, s. 25. Or the society may proceed against the party by indictment or complaint. Id. If the rules of the society specify that disputes shall be referred to arbitrators, such arbitrators shall be appointed generally at the first meeting of the society after the enrolment of its rules, and three or more afterwards chosen by ballot upon the occasion of any reference; and their award shall be final and conclusive; and if either of the parties refuse or neglect to comply with or conform to the decision of the said arbitrators or the major part of them, any one justice of the peace, residing within the county within which such society shall be held, upon complaint of the party aggrieved, and upon proof of the award and of the refusal to comply with it, may summon the party; and upon his appearance, or in default thereof, upon due proof on oath of the service of such summons, any two justices of the peace may proceed to make such order thereupon as to them shall seem just; and if the sum awarded, and costs (not exceeding 10s.) shall not be immediately paid, the justices by their warrant shall cause the same to be levied by distress and sale of the goods of the party or society, or in default of such distress of the goods of the society, then by distress and sale of the goods of the officer so neglecting or refusing as aforesaid. 10 G. 4, c. 56, s. 27. Or, by stat. 9 & 10 Vict. c. 27, s. 15, such disputes may be referred to the registrar of friendly societies, who shall have power to proceed ex parte on notice in writing to the said trustees or managers left or sent by the said registrar, to the office of the said institution, or to the last-known place of residence of every such trustees, managers, members or officers; and whatever award, order or determination shall be made by the said registrar shall be binding and conclusive on all parties, and shall be final to all intents and purposes, without any appeal; and all assignments, sales and transfers, made in pursuance of any such order, shall be good in law; and no submission to, or award, or determination of, the said registrar shall be subject or liable to or charged with any stamp duty whatever. And for enforcing payment of any sum so awarded to be paid, any one justice of the peace residing within the county within which such society shall be held, or within which the party resides against whom such award is made, upon complaint made upon oath by the party desiring to have the benefit of the award, or, in case of the managers or trustees of any such society, by an officer of such society, appointed for that purpose, may summon the person against whom such award 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, any two justices residing within the county aforesaid, upon due proof of the execution of such award, may order payment of the fees and money thereby awarded to be paid, to the party appearing to be entitled thereunto, with such costs as shall be awarded by the said justices, not exceeding the sum of ten shillings; and in case the person against whom such order shall be made shall not pay the sum of money so ordered to the person, and at the time, specified in the said order, such justices shall, by warrant under their hands and seals, cause the same to be levied by distress and sale of the goods of the person on whom such order shall have been made, or by other legal proceeding, together with such costs as shall be awarded by the said justices, not exceeding the sum of ten shillings, and also the costs and charges attending such distress and sale, or other legal proceeding, returning the overplus (if any) to the owner. 9 & 10 Vict. c. 27, 8. 19. Or if it shall appear to any justice of the peace, on complaint on oath of a member of such society or of any person claiming on his account, that application has been made to such society, or to the steward or other officer thereof, for the purpose of having any dispute so settled by arbitration, and that such application has not within 40 days been complied with, or that the arbitrators have neglected or refused to make any award,such justice may summon the trustee, treasurer, steward, or other officer of the society, or any one of them, and any two justices may hear and determine the matter in dispute, in the same manner as if the rules of the society had directed that any matter of dispute as aforesaid should be decided by justices of the peace. 4 & 5 W. 4, c. 40, 8. 7. If it be directed by the rules of the society, that disputes shall be decided by justices of the peace, any such justice, on complaint being made to him of any refusal or neglect to comply with the rules of such society by any member or officer thereof, may summon the party complained of to appear; and upon his appearance, or in default thereof, upon due proof on oath of the service of such summons, any two justices may proceed to hear and determine the said complaint, according to the rules of the said society; and in case the justices shall adjudge any sum of money to be paid by the party, and he do not pay it within the time specified by such justices, they shall proceed to enforce their award in manner hereinbefore directed, [by sect. 27, supra,] to be used in case of any neglect to comply with the decision of the arbitrators appointed under the authority of this Act. 10 G. 4, c. 56, 8, 28. The order and adjudication in this case, shall be final. Id. s. 29. And lastly, by statute 4 & 5 W. 4, c. 40, s. 8, if any member of a friendly society, established under statute 10 G. 4, c. 56, or this Act, shall have been expelled from such society, and the arbitrators or justices shall award or order that he shall be reinstated, such arbitrators or justices may award or order, in default of such reinstatement, to the member so expelled, such a sum of money as to them shall seem meet or reasonable: which sum of money, if not paid, shall be recoverable from the said society, or the treasurer, trustee, or other officer, in the same way as any money awarded by arbitrators is recoverable under stat. 10 G. 4, c. 56. Vide supra. Loan Societies. In what cases.-The former statute upon the subject, 5 & 6 W. 4, c. 23, is now repealed by stat. 3 & 4 Vict. c. 110, except that all rules of such societies shall still be in force for the recovery of sums heretofore lent by them. And by stat. 3 & 4 Vict. c. 110, (continued until the 1st October, 1846, and to the end of the then next session of parliament, by stat. 8 & 9 Vict. c. 60,) s. 3, any person wishing to form a society "for making loans to the industrious classes, and taking payment of the same by instalments, with interest thereon," may do so [without being subject to the laws against usury, Id. s. 2], by causing rules to be framed, certified and enrolled as therein directed. The statute, in sched. E., sets forth the different schemes, as to the instalments and interest, according to some one of which the society shall be regulated. Id. s. 22. Their rules.] Three transcripts of the rules, when framed, shall be sent to the barrister appointed for certifying the rules for saving banks, for his certificate that the same are conformable to law, one of which transcripts he shall keep, another he shall transmit to the society, and a third to the clerk of the peace of the county, &c., in which the society shall be established, to be by him laid before the court of general quarter sessions, who shall allow and confirm the same without motion for that purpose; and the clerk of the peace shall then without fee, file them with the rolls of the sessions. Id. s. 4. And no rules so certified and enrolled, shall be altered, except at a general meeting of the members of the society; Id. s. 5; and the rules, if amended, shall be again certified and enrolled, as above mentioned. Id. s. 4. A copy of these rules shall be made in a book to be kept by the society, which shall be open to the inspection of all the members and of persons seeking loans, &c.; and such book, or an examined copy of the transcript filed at the sessions, or the copy certified by the barrister, shall be good evidence of such rules. Id. s. 7. Their loans.] Upon application for a loan, the sum of 1s. 6d. shall be paid, for the form of the application, and the expenses of inquiring into the character and solvency of the applicant and his proposed sureties. Id. s. 20. No loan shall exceed 15., and no second loan shall be made, until the first have been repaid. Id. s. 13. And there shall be no balloting for precedence of loans, nor shall the same depend upon lot or chance of any kind. Id. s. 24. All notes given for repayment of the loans shall be made payable to the treasurer of the society, and may be in the form given in the Act, or to the like effect; Id. s. 16; they shall not be transferable by indorsement or otherwise; Id. s. 15; and they shall not be subject to stamp duty. Id. s. 14. Upon every loan, the society may take by way of discount, at the rate of 12 per cent. per annum, to be calculated according to the days of repayment; but the note of hand taken may notwithstanding be made, so that the whole or all remaining unpaid shall become payable upon nonpayment of any one instalment, Id. s. 21. But the 1s. 6d., and the sum so taken for discount, shall cover all expenses, including that of the borrower's pass-book and copy of rules; and any person taking more, shall be subject to the penalties of usury. Id. s. 23. Recovery thereof.] If the party liable to pay such note, "shall fail to make full payment in money of the sum in the note mentioned, or any part thereof, after demand in writing made on such party, or left or sent by the post, directed to him at his usual place of abode, or at his place of residence, as described in the said note, by or on behalf of the treasurer for the time being of the said society,-any one of Her Majesty's justices of the peace for the county, riding, city, borough, division, district, or place where the person so neglecting to discharge any such note as aforesaid may happen to be or reside, upon complaint made by or on behalf of such treasurer, shall summon the person against whom such complaint shall be made; and after his appearance, or in default thereof, upon due proof upon oath of such summons having been given, left, or sent as aforesaid, shall thereupon proceed to hear and determine the said complaint, and award such sum to be paid by the person thereunto liable to such treasurer as aforesaid as shall appear to such justice to be due thereon, without any rebate of interest, together with such a sum for costs, not exceeding the sum of five shillings, as to such justice shall seem reasonable; and it shall be lawful for any such society, if they shall think fit, to direct that the sureties for payment of any loan, or any one or more of them, shall be sued for recovery of any loan or instalment thereof in preference to the actual borrower; and if any person shall refuse or neglect to pay the sum of money which shall be so adjudged to be due upon such note and costs as aforesaid, upon the same being demanded in manner aforesaid, such justice shall, by warrant under his hand and seal, cause the same to be levied by distress and sale of the goods of the party so neglecting or refusing as aforesaid, together with all costs and charges attending such distress and sale, returning the overplus (if any) to the owner; and no such proceedings shall be removed by certiorari or otherwise into any of Her Majesty's superior courts of record; provided always, that nothing herein contained shall be construed to affect the right of the landlord to be paid the amount of rent, which may be due to him at the time of making the distress, out of the proceeds of the said sale." Id. s. 16. As to actions by loan societies upon these notes, see Green et al. v. Gosden, 11 Law J., 4 cp. Brown v. Langley, 12 Id. 62, cp. Bradburn et al. v. Whitbread, Id. 218, cp., 5 Man. 8 Gr. 439. Timms v. Williams, 3 Q. B. 413. Bawden v. Howell, 3 Man. & Gr. 638. Alban et al. v. Pyke, 4 Id. 421. Brown et al. v. Langley, Id. 466. The following forms, given by the statute, may be used, with such additions and variations as may be necessary to adapt them to the particular circumstances of each case. Id. s. 26. Form of the summons : } Whereas complaint has this day been made before to wit. Ime, one of Her Majesty's justices of the peace acting for the county of · —, [or, one of the magistrates of the police courts of the metropolis, sitting at the police court at within the metropolitan district, or as the case may be,] by on behalf of the [name of the society] society enrolled pursuant to the Act intituled [here insert the title of this Act*,] that you have failed to make payment of a certain instalment [or certain instalments] amounting to -, being part of a loan of pounds, secured by a certain note entered into by you and —, to the treasurer for the time being of the said society, dated the day of .and These are therefore in quire you personally to appear at justice acting for the county of of the police courts aforesaid, as shall be then and there sitting on the day of -, or as the case may be], at the clock, then and there to answer the complaint. Given under my hand and seal this year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and Form of the distress warrant : } one thousand eight hundred Her Majesty's name, to re . before me [or such other or such other magistrate day of of in the To all constables and others, Her Majesty's officers of the peace for the county of to wit. and all others whom * An Act to amend the laws relating to Loan Societies. |