The lodges created a wide variety of administrative and financial records in the day to day running of their affairs. The conduct of the lodges was governed by lodge rules which had to be registered with the Registrar General of Friendly Societies; these were sometimes amended or supplemented. The ceremonial side of lodges such as the initiation of new members was regulated by rules laid down, and such rituals were called lectures. Members could also be initiated into degrees of the Order; white, blue, scarlet and gold. These are recorded in degree books together with the dates of inititation. New members could not, however, join a lodge without first of all being proposed by another member. The names of prospective members, together with their age next birthday, were recorded in proposition books along with the names and residence of the proposer and seconder and payment of an admission fee. Prior to joining a lodge prospective members had also to sign a declaration of health stating their names, abode, occupation, date of birth, name and age of spouse, and a declaration that they did not suffer from a number of specified medical conditions. On initiation, those members unable to furnish a copy of their birth certificate, had to declare their date of birth; any false declarations led to immediate expulsion from the Order. Such declarations were entered in Initiation Declaration books. However, few declarations of health and initiation declaration books have survived. Having joined, members had to abide by a code of behaviour laid down by lodge rules, both at Lodge meetings and to some extent in their own private life if that brought the lodge into disrepute. Unruly behaviour such as swearing, drunkenness, or showing a lack of respect to Lodge officials was punishable by a fine or even by expulsion. Such fines were recorded in the fine books, though the most persistent transgressions for which members were fined were unauthorised absences from Lodge meetings and non-payment of contributions. When members fell ill and claimed benefits from their lodges, the illness had to be certified by the lodge's sick officer. Details of ill-health were recorded sometimes on sick record cards, but more usually in pro-forma sick registers which give names of claimants, details of their medical complaint, duration of benefit, and amounts of benefits paid. Claimants also had to furnish medical certificates which are now filed with the District Secretary's papers, though some early certificates of Idris Lodge members are filed with the correspondence files. When claimants eventually recovered, a notification had to be sent to the lodge concerned on forms called declarations of health. Relatives of members who had died were entitled to a death benefit, or to a lump sum to cover burial, and members could nominate their beneficiaries in nomination books. Lodges were run by elected officers which formed the lodge committee. The minutes of such committees together with the minutes of regular and annual meetings of all lodge members were kept in what were originally called resolution books. These contain resolutions about payments of sickness benefits, funerals, levies, expenses and salaries of delegates and officers; formal acceptance of new members, and election of officers and delegates. Sometimes Lodges employed two sets of minute books, one for the independent side and one for the state side. The latter is much less informative. Much of the records generated by the Lodges are concerned with accounting and administering members' contributions and payments of benefits. Contributions from members were due to be paid at Lodge nights, of which there were usually thirteen within each calendar year. These contributions were recorded in night books, together with any contributions by absent members between Lodge nights. Earlier night books, especially, record payments in the order of arrival of members. Members' contributions were summarised monthly for six monthly periods in pence books, later replaced in the 1920s by pro-forma contribution books supplied free of charge by the Unity. Contribution books contain names of members, contributions due each month divided into adult members, junior members and widows: they also include details of any arrears due from members. Members' contributions, together with other income and expenditure, were summarised monthly in pro-forma receipt and expenditure books divided into Sick and Funeral Fund and Management Fund, with the former being entered in the first part of the volume and the latter in the second part. These volumes also name members claiming benefits. Each lodge was bound by the general rules of the Unity and by law to keep receipt and expenditure books. Annual receipts and expenditure were also recorded on pro forma ledgers supplied by the Unity. Ledgers also include annual balance sheets of lodges and reports of lodge auditors. Balance sheets were also produced annually and distributed to members, to the District Secretary and to the Unity. Balance sheets contain details of receipts and payments of various Funds together with names of members in receipt of sick pay and the total number of members. Finally, each lodge had to compile annually a cash analysis book, which again are pro-forma volumes supplied by the Unity. These contain details of the lodge's income, members contributions due and paid, allocation of income to various Funds, expenditure by month, annual summary, etc. Many of the entries were copied from some of the other Lodge financial records mentioned above. By law, each lodge had to send an annual return to the Registrar of Friendly Societies. According to the rules of the Manchester Unity each lodge secretary had to send to the Provincial Corresponding Secretary an annual return together with two copies of the lodge's balance sheets and a copy of the auditor's report, if any. Another copy of the return, certified by the auditor, was retained by the lodge. The returns give details of the receipts and expenditure, funds and effects of the lodge, and the number and age of members, whilst the auditor's reports are mainly concerned with adherence to the Unity's rules and maintenance of lodge financial records. One copy of the form was kept by the lodge, the other was forwarded to the Provincial Correspondence Secretary together with the annual returns, and retained by him for reference. All the details concern the independent side of the lodge only. The Unity laid great stress on the timely delivery of the returns, and much of the correspondence of the District Secretary is concerned with late returns. One of the reasons why the Unity laid such importance on the returns was the fact that the returns were vital for the quinquennial valuations of lodges' assets. By the Friendly Societies Acts, of 1875 and 1896, the assets and liabilities, including the estimated risks and contributions of every District and lodge, had to be valued every five years by actuaries approved by the Unity. The valuation returns were sent by the lodges via the District Secretary to the Unity. Within twelve months a duplicate copy of the valuation, together with the report of the actuary, if any, had to be forwarded to the District Secretary for the lodge concerned; these valuations give details of assets and liabilities. Quite often lodges attached to their quinquennial valuations papers relating to appropriation, that is transfer, of funds. After each valuation the Unity sent circulars to lodges with surplus funds explaining the procedure about transfers. If a lodge sought to appropriate funds then a summoned meeting of the lodge would have to be convened and an application sent to the Unity which had to be approved by the Board of Directors. The appropriation papers attached to the valuations usually comprise a circular and memorandum, agenda of summoned meeting of the lodge, and application and permission to appropriate surplus funds. Lodge investments were recorded in pro-forma volumes originally called mortgage registers, a title subsequently altered to investment registers. These registers, which were maintained by lodge trustees, include details about the type of investments held, mortgages, bonds, stocks, etc., the amount of interest due and received, any transfers of investments, and sale of stocks and bonds. Even though responsibility for stewarding lodge investments lay with the lodge trustees, the type of investments which lodges could make were strictly controlled by the Unity. Moreover, lodge trustees could not invest without the consent of either the lodge management committee or of the lodge itself. Apart from the investment registers, other records relating to investments include trustees' bank books and bank statements. There are also a few acknowledgements of appointments of new trustees. All the records mentioned above have not survived for all the lodges by any means. It is also doubtful whether some lodges ever maintained some types of records, whilst in the days before the Unity issued pro-forma volumes lodges sometimes maintained their own, often idiosyncratic records, which are sometimes difficult to classify. No doubt, it was to avoid such divergences in record keeping practices between lodges that pro-forma volumes were supplied by the Unity in the first place, often with detailed instructions on how to fill them.
