Belfast Masonic Charities.

BELFAST MASONIC CHARITIES .

ON Friday evening the annual meeting of these charities , with which was associated a very enjoyable concert , was held in the Ulster Hall , Belfast , and , as in past years , it was a great success . There was a large attendance of Brethren and their friends , the members of the Order wearing Masonic costume .

The Chairman , Bro . R . J . Hilton , J . P ., Dep . Prov . G . M ., who , was very cordially received , said that night they were to submit the reports of the year . By their Constitution Freemasons were bound to have broad religious views , in which every man of honour , virtue , and truth could agree ;

bound , yet free—bound to probity and honour , morality , and justice ; bound to obey the laws of the country in which they resided , to do nothing that would interfere with the public safety or national weal , bound to assist , to aid the sick , to help and support and assist the widow and the fatherless .

To all these things the Masons were bound in honourable bondage to the right , but free to exercise each his own opinions so long as those opinions did not interfere with those virtues he had dedicated himself to in keeping with their Order .

The reports to be presented that night of the labours of their Committees would show that the Belfast and Antrim Brethren were attempting to put into practical operation the principles which he had already enunciated . Those Committees had in the past year brought relief to many homes

and done a noble work in the cause of charity ; but , while they were proud of what they had realised , it did not cover the work of their Masonic Brethren . They were proud of

those noble schools in Dublin—the Boys and Girls Orphan Schools—where over 200 children were fed , clothed , and educated by the generosity of the Masons of Ireland , of whom they in Belfast and the North of Ireland contributed their

part . They were sometimes accused of selfishness in connection with their Order—that is , they only afforded assistance and aid to those inside their own household—but that was not so , because they would find the largest and most generous contributors to all their Charities were to be found among the members of

their Brotherhood , and that in addition last year the Masonic Lodges of Belfast contributed £ 2 , 000 to the new Royal Victoria Hospital , thus proving his statements . He thought from facts he might safely assume the Freemasons of the Province of Antrim were keeping bright those truly Masonic ornaments—benevolence and charity .

The report of the Belfast Masonic Charity Fund contained the following : — " Your Committee have pleasure in submitting for the approval of the Subscribers the thirty-seventh annual report . The statement of accounts shows receipts amounting to £ 49 6 is id ; the sum expended being ; { 4 . 87 is .

The monthly Committee meetings during the year have been extremely well attended , and every care has been exercised in the dispensing of the funds with which we have been entrusted . In this duty valuable assistance has been rendered by the two permanent sub-committees , and also by those

members who willingly acted upon special sub-committees for the investigation of the facts regarding particular cases . With great pleasure your Committee desire to place on record their indebtedness to Bro . John Cregg , J . P ., for the generous gift of an appropriately designed gold and enamel

jewel to be worn by the Chairman of the Fund for the time being . Your Committee continue to regard with the greatest consideration the claims of aged and indigent Freemasons , in whose cases no permanent improvement can be expected , as distinguished from casual claimants . Of the

amount annually expended close upon £ 250 is distributed in monthly grants to aged members of the Craft or their dependents . This mode of dealing with the cases indicated has always been found most satisfactory . It but rarely happens that your Committee can close a report without

having to refer to some well known amongst us whom we shall see in their accustomed place no more . This time we greatly regret the loss of our late Deputy Provincial Grand Master R . W . Bro . Thomas Valentine , LP ., who had an

abiding interest in all that concerned the interests of Freemasonry , and who for many years presided at our annual meetings , and R . W . Bro . Lavens M . Ewart , J . P ., the senior Trustee of this Fund , who freely gave his valuable services in that responsible position . "

The report of the Belfast Masonic Widows Fund contained the following : — " The Committee , in presenting the twenty-sixth annual report to the Subscribers , are gratified at being in a position to state that there is a growing desire among the members of the Order to participate in and to

Belfast Masonic Charities.

generously support the truly Masonic work of benevolence and charity , as illustrated in the establishment and carrying to a successful issue of the Belfast Masonic Widows Fund . The large attendance at the monthl y meetings of Committee is gratifying evidence of the deep interest which is being

taken by the many Lodges who have now connected themselves with this Fund , and a glance at the subscription list will reveal the pleasing fact that nearly every Lodge is represented , and that few are the members who do not subscribe . To add to the dignity of the office of Chairman

of Committee , a very handsome jewel of office , with emblematic charity design , was subscribed for by the members of Committee , and will be worn by the Chairman for the year at all meetings of Committee , as well as at other Masonic functions . The Belfast Masonic Widows Fund

sustained a great loss by the death of its President , R . W . Bro . Thomas Valentine Provincial Deputy Grand Master Antrim , and one of the Trustees of this Fund . From the inception of the scheme Bro . Valentine took a loving and abiding interest in its success , and most cheerfully gave his

services whenever asked by the Committee . In R . W . Bro . R . H . Hilton , who has succeeded him , the Fund will have a tried and true supporter , and one who from his zeal and ability will worthily uphold the cherished traditions of the Craft . 104 widows and their families were assisted during

1898 , eighty-four claiming through Lodges belonging to County Antrim , and receiving grants amounting to £ 691 12 s , and twenty through Lodges belonging to County Down , and receiving grants amounting to £ 138 10 s , making a total of - £ 830 2 S . At the request of some members of Province of

Down Lodges , meeting within the Parliamentary boundary of Belfast , the following authentic copy of the agreement come to between representatives from the Belfast Masonic Widows Fund and representatives from the Province of

Down Masonic Widows Fund is printed so that all may know and fulfil the obligation made by their representatives : "Ballymacarrett Lodge , to remain in connection with the Belfast Masonic Widows Fund . Lodges in the Masonic Province of Down within a radius of six miles from the

Chamber of Commerce to have the option of staying with the Belfast Masonic Widows Fund ' or joining the Down Masonic Widows Fund . All Lodges outside the radius must join the Down Masonic Widows Fund . " Bro . Rev . J . W . Gamble , B . A ., proposed— " That the

reports and Treasurer's statements of accounts be received , adopted , and printed for circulation , and that this meeting , recognising the continued usefulness of these Funds , feels it to be its duty to urge upon Lodges and Brethren the necessity of sustaining them by a liberallv-increased pecuniary aid , in

order to meet their ever-increasing claims , and thereby promote the noble virtue of Charity , the keystone of the Masonic Order . " He said they would all agree in this that the noble and benevolent work of these Charities deserved to be supported by the best and most potent influences that the

Order could command , and he was encouraged to say a word or two in favour of that motion by the consideration that the great cause of Charity , for which it wanted their support , was so securely entrenched in the judgments and affections of all the members of the Order . It was not likely to be injuriously

affected by the feebleness or the failure of anyone who undertook its advocacy . The value of the work done by those Charities during the year could not be overestimated , and when one thought of the large sums of money that had been expended and the number of cases of need and distress that

had been relieved , it was certainly matter for congratulation and thanksgiving that the balance in the case of each of the Funds came out on the right side . There was just one sad note in the report , and that was the reference to the deaths of the two honoured Brethren whose names were mentioned

—the late Bros . Valentine and Ewart . The loss which the Order and those Charities had sustained through their removal would be long and deeply deplored . Proceeding , Bro . Gamble said if the virtue of charity be rooted and grounded in all the members of the Brotherhood ,

the liberality and the utility of which the motion spoke were as sure to follow as the living branch , with its wealth of flowers and fruit , sprang naturally from the living stem . No intelligent person would undervalue the personal friendship , the sacred comradeship , and the social benefits which the

Order was calculated to secure , but , alter all , these were not the features most highly esteemed amongst them . It was the crowning glory , the very reason of the existence of the Order , without which it would degenerate into a social club for the mere selfish interests of individual members , that it sought out the sick and distressed , the widow and the orphan , and