PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND. 235 posing an amendment to the constitution for the establishment and maintaining of a re¬ serve fund, provided the measure was rati¬ fied by two-thirds of all the branches. This question of the reserve fund was discussed at every succeeding session of the Grand Council of New York, and of the Supreme Council until at the Supreme Council session held at London, Ontario , September 14, 1886, the reserve fund law was adopted. This reserve fund law is considered one of the strongest features of the Catholic Mutual Benefit As¬ sociation, a measure tending to perpetuate the association and secure its future pros¬ pects and stability. At the same session held at London, Ontario , the $1,000 beneficiary was adopted, thus enabling men who could not afford to pay the expense of the assess¬ ments levied for a $2,000 certificate an op¬ portunity of becoming members of the as¬ sociation, at a much less cost, by taking a $1,000 certificate. At that time the associa¬ tion had a membership of 13,191. At the fifth biennial session of the Su¬ preme Council, held at Montreal, October 12, 1892, a $500 beneficiary certificate was adopted. The association had, therefore, now a $2,000, a $1,000, and a $500 policy; and a $1,500 certificate has since been adopted. The membership of the association'in 1892 was 37.000. I'p to this time the business of the association in Canada was conducted un¬ der a Grand Council subject to the Supreme Council of the United States, and at the Mon¬ treal session of the Supreme Council the Grand Council of Canada petitioned for a sep¬ arate beneficiary. It thus severed its connec¬ tion with the Supreme Council of the United States, retaining all the reserve fund that had accumulated in Canada , and in December, 1892, it issued beneficiary certificates to all members under its jurisdiction, returning to the Supreme Council all the beneficiary cer¬ tificates that had been issued to the members in Canada . The first branch of the Catholic Mutual Benefit Association of Canada was organized at Windsor, Ontario , on February 11, 1878; branch, No 2, was organized at St. Thomas, Ontario , May 5, 1879; No. 3, at Amherst- berg, Ontario , June 16, 1879; No. 4, at Lon¬ don, Ontario , August 6, 1879 j No. 5, at Brantford, Ontario , Noveml>er (>. 1879; \'o. 6, at Strathroy, Ontario , June 24, 1880. These six branches gave sufficient member¬ ship in Canada to form a Grand Council. - The first officers of the Grand Council of the Catholic Mutual Benefit Association of Canada consisted of: T. A. Bourke , grand president; J. H. Barry , first vice-president; J. Doyle , second vice-president; M. J. Man ¬ ning, grand treasurer; S. R. Brown , grand secretary; C. W. O'Rourke , marshal; Rev. J. P. Molphy , J. Doyle , C. W. O'Rourke , T. A. Bourke and J. H. Barry , trustees. T. A. Bourke was the first elected representa¬ tive of the Supreme Council. These officers, who, according to the constitution, are grand chancellors, were installed by Supreme Depr uty Keena, of Detroit. The Grand Council of Canada was incor¬ porated in Ontario January 18, 1890, and in the Dominion of Canada in March, 1893. It received a certificate of registration from the dominion government December 27, 1894, thus authorizing it to do business in any part of Canada . The first convention of the Grand Council of the Catholic Mutual Benefit Association of Canada was held at Windsor, Ontario , on February 10, 1880; the second convention at London, Ontario , in 1881; the third conven¬ tion at St. Thomas, Ontario , in 1882; and at intervals of two years as follows: Brant-