Total value of Lodge funds, ,£209,286 10s. 3d,, or an average of ,£14 7s. 6d. per member, against ,£14 8s. 4d., when the gross funds amounted to ,£198,805 14s. 3d. T h e funds have increased ,£10,480 15s. iod. T H E G R A N D U N I T E D O R D E R . — O n 1st January, 1882, they had 3298 members, with assets value ,£25,832 4s. id., and on 1st January, 1884, there were 3690 members, with assets value ,£29,970 is. 5j4d., showing an increase of 392 members, and in assets of ,£4137 17s. 4*4d. T h e increase in members is—Melbourne district, 355; Gippsland, 6; Bendigo, 4 1 ; Ballarat, 4 6 ; and a decrease in Castlemaine district of 56. Total increase, 392; viz.,financial341; unfinancial, 4 3 ; honorary, decrease of 2. Increase in funds has been—Melbourne district and Lodges, ,£1813 13s. id.; Castlemaine district and Lodges, ,£219 19s.; Gippsland district and Lodges, ,£454 12s. iod. ; Bendigo district and Lodges, ,£296 13s. 5d. ; Ballarat, .£989 8s. 6d. During the same period there has been paid for medical attendance and medicine the sum of ,£7426 6s. 8d, for sick pay ,£6100 os. 1 id., funeral donations ,£1434, and for management .£2987 15s. 3d., making a total for the four items of ,£17,948 2s. iod. It is a moot question with the veteran Oddfellows of the colony as to the individual w h o had most to do with the introduction of the Order here, though by all accounts it is a tie between Dr. Greeves, and Air. Thomas Strode, one of the two founders of the Port Phillip Gazette; but if left to m y arbitration, I should cast m y vote in favour of Greeves, for whatever might have been Strode's share in planting the sapling from which spread the mighty tree of the Fraternity that now branches through every part of Victoria, it was the tact, talent, position, and special knowledge possessed by Greeves, in the science of Oddfellow Arboriculture, that promoted the rapid and prosperous growth of the Order, and ensured the great results to be now witnessed everywhere. If posthumous justice be accorded where it is justly due, the name of Greeves should not be forgotten so long as the Manchester Unity lives in the land.
DRUIDISM.
There is not an atom of old Druidical lore to be gleaned from any of the Melbourne newspapers that I have seen, but the following m a y be relied on as a few particulars of the first efforts to acclimatize such a now popular and deserving Brotherhood. A Mr. James Himen, w h o joined the Order of Druids in England in 1839, arrived in Melbourne ten years after, with a Dispensation from the Grand Lodge of Great Britain to establish a branch in Port Phillip. Atfirsthe was not successful, but a second attempt in 1850 partially succeeded. T h e Lodge "Enterprise" wasfloatedat the Waterman's Arms Hotel, in Little Collins Street West, on the 15th July, of which H i m e n was appointed Secretary, and though he worked hard he was never able to muster more than forty followers, w h o were thinned by the gold fever of 1851-2 to thirteen. T h e attendance at the meetings got to be so it regular that there was nothing for it but a dissolution of partnership and a distribution of the fund accumulated amongst thefinancialmembers. In 1861 the Order was revived by P.A. Brother Barnard, w h o was joined by Brothers Himen, Lucas, Mundez, and Williams. They opened at the London Tavern on the 16th April. In 1863 pioneer H i m e n was Noble Grand Arch of the Lodge, subsequently filled several other offices, and was the recipient of a valuable testimonial. H e died at the age of sixty-seven, on the ioth December, 1870. At the close of 1880 T h e United Order of Druids numbered 49 branches and 3330 members and on the 31st December, 1883, the following very creditable state of affairs was apparent:— Number of members in Victoria, 5195. Grand Lodge Funds ... Lodge Funds ...
... ...
... ...
... ... Total
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,£9256 19 2 16,872 o 1
... ,£26,128
19 3
