Our Twenty-Fifth Volume.

OUR TWENTY-FIFTH VOLUME .

TN this , the first number of our Twenty-fifth Volume , we tender our cordial wishes for the happiness and prosperity of our readers during the year we have

now . started upon . That the affairs of this life may go pleasantly with them is the sincere desire of all associated with this Journal .

The Income And Expenditure Of The Board Of Benevolence.

THE INCOME AND EXPENDITURE OF THE BOARD OF BENEVOLENCE .

AS evidence of the rapid changes which have taken place in English Freemasonry during the last few years , we may point to the position of the Board of Benevolence at the present time , as compared with that it occupied seven years ago . Then the annual income

of the Board , arising from quarterages , interest , & c , was not only sufficient to meet all the demands made which were deemed worthy of relief , but showed such an excess as to allow of a surplus being put away each year

which surpluses , at the end of 1879 , had accumulated to the extent of upwards of -650 , 000 , with every probability of still further increase . Now the expenditure far exceeds

the income , and to such an extent has this excess of outlay over income been carried of late , that the Invested Fund has been reduced to £ 41 , 000 , with the accounts of the

Board showing an overdraft of £ 1000 if all its recommendations are acted upon . It is not to be supposed such a condition of affairs should be allowed to continue without notice from some of those in authority , nor do we imagine , now that attention

has been called to it , the Craft will be content to leave things as they are . The subject is ono which calls for immediate attention , and we feel sure that such it will

receive . At the last meeting of the Board , held on Wednesday , the 22 nd ult ., at Freemasons' Hall , the Grand Secretarv made a statement which showed the true

state of affairs , and also gave evidence of the enormous extent to which the Fund of Benevolence is drawn upon , in order to relieve the appeals made to the Craft by those in distress . A few years ago , said Colonel Gierke , the

accumulations of the Fund of Benevolence amounted to nearly £ 52 , 000 , but this sum had been reduced to £ 41 , 000 , by continued withdrawals , to meet the monthly requirements of the Board . On the

previous Tuesday £ 3000 Consols had been sold out , making a total of £ 9000 similarly disposed of since the 7 th March 1882 , or an annual encroachment on invested funds of £ 2000 . The present income of the Fund of

Benevolence is about £ 8000 a year , a large proportion of which , as may be imagined from the amount of the invested funds , arises from interest , so that the sale of capital not only lessens the reserve , but also makes a considerable difference

in the income , the actual variation in the item of interest within the last six years being a loss of no less than £ 270 annually . Notwithstanding the remarks from the Grand Secretary the Brethren assembled at the last Board of Benevolence voted a total of £ 1 , 400 , so that we

suppose we must be prepared to recognise the fact that no material reduction in the outgoings can be made ; on the

The Income And Expenditure Of The Board Of Benevolence.

contrary , considering the bad state of trade and the distress which prevails , we may reasonably look for increased calls on the charity of the Craft as dispensed bj the Board of Benevolence . The subject of the income and expenditure of the Board of Benevolence is one which has received considerable attention during the past ten years , but it is a remarkable

fact that seven years ago the attention lavished upon it had an exactly opposite object to what may be expected during the next few months . At the . March 18-JO Communication of Grand Lodge a motion waa brought forward by Bro . John M . Clabon , the desired effect of which was to check thegrowth of the invested fund of the Board of Benevolence . Bro . Clabon proposed that one-third of

the annual surplus of the Fund of Benevolence should be appropriated to the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys , and another third to the Royal Masonic Institution for Girls , in forming funds for apprenticing the children of

Freemasons who had been in those Schools , or in otherwise assisting them to commence life . This proposition may be said to have been the outcome of the preliminaryoperations of the Royal Masonic Pupils' Assistance Fund ,

which drew considerable attention to the snbject , but ifc amounted to nothing , as Bro . Clabon did not bring tho matter forward , preferring rather to withdraw his proposition , because some of the members of the Board of

Benevolence were opposed to it . In other words , we suppose he found that the opposition to his plan , which we well remember was severe , was too strong to allow of its being carried . At that time argument waxed strong as to whether the income of the Fund of Benevolence was , or

was not , sufficient to meet the demands made upon it . Some argued , and they had the accumulations of past years to point to in support of their views , that the income was .

not only sufficient , but that it allowed of a large surplus ; others , again , had the idea that past experience was nothing to base a sound opinion upon , indeed they , were sure that in future the calls would be

equal to the receipts , and that , if anything , the Fund would gradually spend its investments in meeting the calls made upon it . If we now take tho experience of the seven years which have passed since then , wo must at once

admit thafc the latter of these views was the correct one , and that afc the present time there is every possibility of the enormous surplus of 1879 being wiped out , that , moreover , within the next twelve or fifteen years at the outside .

There is nO gainsaying the fact that the income of the Fund is now insufficient to meet its expenditure , still , as we have previously said , we believe thafc the change from a credit surplus to a debit one is rather the result of

the organised opposition to the views of Bro . Clabon and those who worked in connection with the Royal Masonic Pupils' Assistance Fund , than any legitimate increase in .

the needs of the Craft * . We do not mean that unworth y cases are now relieved any more than they were years ago , but there has been an all-round increase in tho sums granted , which will more than account for the different aspect of affairs .

As we have said , it was in 1880 that the annual surplus of the Fund was last considered to be troublesome ! Less than three years later we find an annual deficit attracting attention , but Grand Lodge did nofc then think it of

sufficient moment to necessitate any alteration in existing rules ; what will now be the opinion of the Craffc remains to be seen .