Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Warwickshire Masonic Benevolent And Pupils' Aid Fund.
THE WARWICKSHIRE MASONIC BENEVOLENT AND PUPILS' AID FUND .
A fortnight since , we published certain resolutions passed at the meeting held at the Masonic Hall , New-street , Birmingham , on the 1 st November last , of the Association of Charity Stewards for the Province of Warwickshire . These resolutions , as was pointed out in the circular we then reproduced , have in view to consolidate the
already existing Benevolent and Annuity Fund , and a new Fund , which was being raised at the time , into one common Fund , to be called the " Warwickshire Masonic Benevolent and Pupils' Aid Fund , " and also to amalgamate the two Committees , respectively known as the '< Association
of Charity Stewards , " and the " Benevolent and Annuities Fund Committee , " so as to form one general representative Committee , charged with the important dnty of superintending and promoting Masonic Benevolence , not only in connection with onr central Charitable Institutions , bnt
also in order to investigate all snch claims and applications for relief as may be referred to it from time to time by the several Lodges in the Provinces . The Association , in unanimously accepting these resolutions , have also been at the pains of pointing out that the proposed Fund is not
intended to in any way interfere with the three Central Charities—our two Schools , and the Benevolent ; nor will the establishment of the new Fund have the effect of bringing about any relaxation in the efforts of the brethren of tbe Province to promote the welfare of these Charities .
It will be purely supplementary to them , and will take charge only of those matters and administer only that quantum of hel p to those who are above or beyond their scope . Thus the old Warwickshire Benevolent and Annuity Fund has helped the Royal Masonic
Benevolent Fund Institution by granting , weekly , small sums of money to aged and distressed Warwickshire brethren or their widows , or by affording them temporary relief ; while , in other oases , they have extended help to a brother because he had not reached the minimum age
prescribed by the law of the R . M . B . I . for admission to its benefits , or until he should be successful in receiving for himself a portion of those benefits . The new Benevolent and Pupils' Assistance Fund will continue the same admirable work as regards aged and decayed brethren and their widows , and it will also assist the children of deceased
or distressed brethren by , wholly or partially , providing for their clothing , education , and maintenance until such time as they may be elected into one or other of the Schools , or in the event of their ultimately proving unsuccessful . It is also intended to contribute towards the advancement of
those Warwickshire children who , on leaving School , are in need of a helping hand . Thus the purpose of the new fund is of a threefold character—( 1 ) to provide , wholly or partially , for the education , & c , of the children of Warwickshire ; ( 2 ) to advance the interests of Warwickshire
children on leaving our Schools ; ( 3 ) to grant annuities to aged brethren or their widows . The establishment of such afund , or rather the consolidation into one of the old Warwickshire Benevolent Fund and the new one in course
of constitution at the time these resolutions were passed pannot but be eminently beneficial , not only as regards Warwickshire itself , but in connection with the whole . English Craft . The Province is a large one , and Birmingham , one of our most important industrial centres , is almost level in respect of the number of its Lodges with
The Warwickshire Masonic Benevolent And Pupils' Aid Fund.
Manchester . It has an energetic chief in the person of Lord Leigh , who has held the position of Prov . Grand Master for over eight and twenty years , and is deservedly one of our most respected , as he unquestionably is , one of our most distinguished Masons . Our brethren of the
Province , too , know full well how to support him when the occasion offers itself . We anticipate , therefore , that the Warwickshire Masonic Benevolent and Pupils' Assistance Fund will prove a great success . There is no doubt it will be well administered—inexpensively , that is to say ,
judiciously as regards those it assists , generously so far as it may be done with a due consideration for justice , and promptly in the case of all applicants , old and young ; and we congratulate the Province on the course they have adopted .
It will be generally allowed that the consolidation into one of the two local Benevolent Associations , one in existence and the other only in embryo , is a most prudent arrangement . The fewer the applications to bo made to brethren to support this or that Institution , the greater the
chance they stand of being entertained . Thus , in the case of our Central Charities , there are many Lodges and brethren who support the Boys' School one year , the Girls ' School the next , and the Benevolent the year following . We are sure they would very much like to assist all three
in the course of the same year , and year after year . They might distribute their donations among all three Institutions , in which case tho amount received by each would be small , but by taking up each in turn they render it an appreciable service . So two Associations in Warwickshire
could only have looked to receiving each one-half of the support yearly that will now be given to the Consolidated One . The chances are , indeed , that the help it will succeed in obtaining will be far greater than what would have been rendered the two had they remained separate . A brother
who is asked only once in the year to support the local Charity , is far more likely to g ive a handsome sum than if he is invited to support two such Charities . The plan will appear to be still more worthy of approbation if we take into account that the three Central Charities will be
pressing their claims for support , the while the local Institution is seeking assistance . Thus , there will be four instead of five appeals yearly throughout the Province , and judging from past experience , the four will be more productive in the long run than the five would have been .
We see that the meeting , at whioh these arrangements were adopted , endorsed the resolution passed at the meeting of the Grand Lodge of the Province , held on the 17 th January 1880 . This resolution was to the effect that while the brethren of the Province fully approved of
the principles of the scheme advocated by Lord Rosslyn for the establishment of a central Pupils' Assistance Fund , they were far from desirous of seeing a fourth Charity established in England for such a purpose , as they considered the machinery for carrying on such a Charity was
unnecessary , and wonld be exceedingly expensive . -They also feared that Lord Rosslyn ' s scheme , if carried out , would have the effect of reducing the amount now subscribed to the existing Institutions . They therefore pledged themselves to continue their support to those Institutions
on condition that the Managing Committees of the Masonic Schools undertook to assist , by providing scholarships or otherwise , those pupils who , on leaving our Schools , were found to require and also to deserve such assistance . We have already over and over again expressed a contrary belief , and we are still of the opinion that the Royal
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Warwickshire Masonic Benevolent And Pupils' Aid Fund.
THE WARWICKSHIRE MASONIC BENEVOLENT AND PUPILS' AID FUND .
A fortnight since , we published certain resolutions passed at the meeting held at the Masonic Hall , New-street , Birmingham , on the 1 st November last , of the Association of Charity Stewards for the Province of Warwickshire . These resolutions , as was pointed out in the circular we then reproduced , have in view to consolidate the
already existing Benevolent and Annuity Fund , and a new Fund , which was being raised at the time , into one common Fund , to be called the " Warwickshire Masonic Benevolent and Pupils' Aid Fund , " and also to amalgamate the two Committees , respectively known as the '< Association
of Charity Stewards , " and the " Benevolent and Annuities Fund Committee , " so as to form one general representative Committee , charged with the important dnty of superintending and promoting Masonic Benevolence , not only in connection with onr central Charitable Institutions , bnt
also in order to investigate all snch claims and applications for relief as may be referred to it from time to time by the several Lodges in the Provinces . The Association , in unanimously accepting these resolutions , have also been at the pains of pointing out that the proposed Fund is not
intended to in any way interfere with the three Central Charities—our two Schools , and the Benevolent ; nor will the establishment of the new Fund have the effect of bringing about any relaxation in the efforts of the brethren of tbe Province to promote the welfare of these Charities .
It will be purely supplementary to them , and will take charge only of those matters and administer only that quantum of hel p to those who are above or beyond their scope . Thus the old Warwickshire Benevolent and Annuity Fund has helped the Royal Masonic
Benevolent Fund Institution by granting , weekly , small sums of money to aged and distressed Warwickshire brethren or their widows , or by affording them temporary relief ; while , in other oases , they have extended help to a brother because he had not reached the minimum age
prescribed by the law of the R . M . B . I . for admission to its benefits , or until he should be successful in receiving for himself a portion of those benefits . The new Benevolent and Pupils' Assistance Fund will continue the same admirable work as regards aged and decayed brethren and their widows , and it will also assist the children of deceased
or distressed brethren by , wholly or partially , providing for their clothing , education , and maintenance until such time as they may be elected into one or other of the Schools , or in the event of their ultimately proving unsuccessful . It is also intended to contribute towards the advancement of
those Warwickshire children who , on leaving School , are in need of a helping hand . Thus the purpose of the new fund is of a threefold character—( 1 ) to provide , wholly or partially , for the education , & c , of the children of Warwickshire ; ( 2 ) to advance the interests of Warwickshire
children on leaving our Schools ; ( 3 ) to grant annuities to aged brethren or their widows . The establishment of such afund , or rather the consolidation into one of the old Warwickshire Benevolent Fund and the new one in course
of constitution at the time these resolutions were passed pannot but be eminently beneficial , not only as regards Warwickshire itself , but in connection with the whole . English Craft . The Province is a large one , and Birmingham , one of our most important industrial centres , is almost level in respect of the number of its Lodges with
The Warwickshire Masonic Benevolent And Pupils' Aid Fund.
Manchester . It has an energetic chief in the person of Lord Leigh , who has held the position of Prov . Grand Master for over eight and twenty years , and is deservedly one of our most respected , as he unquestionably is , one of our most distinguished Masons . Our brethren of the
Province , too , know full well how to support him when the occasion offers itself . We anticipate , therefore , that the Warwickshire Masonic Benevolent and Pupils' Assistance Fund will prove a great success . There is no doubt it will be well administered—inexpensively , that is to say ,
judiciously as regards those it assists , generously so far as it may be done with a due consideration for justice , and promptly in the case of all applicants , old and young ; and we congratulate the Province on the course they have adopted .
It will be generally allowed that the consolidation into one of the two local Benevolent Associations , one in existence and the other only in embryo , is a most prudent arrangement . The fewer the applications to bo made to brethren to support this or that Institution , the greater the
chance they stand of being entertained . Thus , in the case of our Central Charities , there are many Lodges and brethren who support the Boys' School one year , the Girls ' School the next , and the Benevolent the year following . We are sure they would very much like to assist all three
in the course of the same year , and year after year . They might distribute their donations among all three Institutions , in which case tho amount received by each would be small , but by taking up each in turn they render it an appreciable service . So two Associations in Warwickshire
could only have looked to receiving each one-half of the support yearly that will now be given to the Consolidated One . The chances are , indeed , that the help it will succeed in obtaining will be far greater than what would have been rendered the two had they remained separate . A brother
who is asked only once in the year to support the local Charity , is far more likely to g ive a handsome sum than if he is invited to support two such Charities . The plan will appear to be still more worthy of approbation if we take into account that the three Central Charities will be
pressing their claims for support , the while the local Institution is seeking assistance . Thus , there will be four instead of five appeals yearly throughout the Province , and judging from past experience , the four will be more productive in the long run than the five would have been .
We see that the meeting , at whioh these arrangements were adopted , endorsed the resolution passed at the meeting of the Grand Lodge of the Province , held on the 17 th January 1880 . This resolution was to the effect that while the brethren of the Province fully approved of
the principles of the scheme advocated by Lord Rosslyn for the establishment of a central Pupils' Assistance Fund , they were far from desirous of seeing a fourth Charity established in England for such a purpose , as they considered the machinery for carrying on such a Charity was
unnecessary , and wonld be exceedingly expensive . -They also feared that Lord Rosslyn ' s scheme , if carried out , would have the effect of reducing the amount now subscribed to the existing Institutions . They therefore pledged themselves to continue their support to those Institutions
on condition that the Managing Committees of the Masonic Schools undertook to assist , by providing scholarships or otherwise , those pupils who , on leaving our Schools , were found to require and also to deserve such assistance . We have already over and over again expressed a contrary belief , and we are still of the opinion that the Royal