Enlargement Of The Boys' School

ENLARGEMENT OF THE BOYS' SCHOOL

FOR a long time past ifc has been evident that , sooner or later , our Boys' School must receive a considerable accession to the number of its pupils . Afc every election that has been held during the last three years the list of candidates approved has been very largely in excess of the

vacancies . At this very moment indeed there is an array of little short of seventy whose eligibility has been inquired into and proved to bo satisfactory , yet the number of vacancies for which they will—as far as we know nowhavo to contend is only nine . That is , for every

one of the latter there are about eight of the former , and consequently about sixty who are admittedly worthy of having the benefits of a liberal education and maintenance conferred upon them will be sent away disappointed , in most cases for a time , while certain others will have no further trial accorded them . It is onlv in the nature of

things , therefore , that the authorities and those interested in the welfare of the School should anxiously concern themselves how best to remedy this lamentable shortcoming ; and accordingly we have had . for some months past before the Masonic world various schemes for enlarging the

Institution . In one case , it was proposed to erect a supplementary or preparatory school , where small boys might be received and trained , and in due course passed to what would then be the upper school . This of course would afford considerable relief from the present pressure . It

would not be necessary that the parents or guardians should wait so many years before those dependent on them became eligible for admission ; and as the present number of pupils would remain undiminished , the members admitted to the benefits of the new establishment would be an

increase certainly sufficient to meet the present demand . Then another plan was submitted , by which the School should be enlarged so as to allow of the number of pupils accommodated on the premises being raised from its present strength of 180 to 800 . This , it was calculated ,

would , involve an outlay of some £ 25 , 000 , but there would be at least a satisfaction in knowing that the increase of 120 in the number of boys would suffice for many , many years to come ; indeed , it was stated afc the time the scheme was under consideration , that

during the present generation , at all events , it would not be necessary to take on more than perhaps 60 or 70 of the authorised addition . This plan certainly had many advantages . True , £ 25 , 000 is not raised in a day , a week , or even in a year ; but it would cost only some £ 3000 less to

, build additional premises for 60 or 70 , and it was very justly asked , Why not at once do what is necessary in order to meet the wants of the distant as well as of the near future ? Why not , when £ 22 , 000 is asked for , go just one or two short steps further and raise £ 25 , 000 . But whether the idea was

too considerable to entertain all at once , or whether ifc was that the additional permanent expenditure which so large an immediate increase as that of 60 or 70 boys would be felt

too heavya tax on the School ; or whether it was imagined that if a large addition were sanctioned , the number of candidates would increase with equal rapidity ; whether either or , it may be , all of these ideas occurred , to

Craftsmen , we are not in a position to say . Certain it is thafc so large an extension has nofc been ventured upon , and the governing body have approved a far more moderate scheme , which , however , will go a considerable way towards meeting the existing pressure . The Report of the Home Committee was to the effect that the present School shonld be

Enlargement Of The Boys' School

enlarged at au outlay of £ 8 . 000 , so as to admit of an addition being made to its strength to the extent of thirtytwo , so that at no distant date the Masonic Boys' School will number 216 pupils , and no doubt this will suffice for the wants of the next tenor fifteen years . This Report was

accordingly submitted to the General Committee at its last ; meeting , and that body approved and recommended it for adoption by the Quarterly Court ; and in order thafc no time might be lost , a Specinl Court was summoned on Monday the 20 th ulfc ., when tbe Report of the House Committee ,

as recommended by the General Committee , was submitted , and sanctioned . The plans of the architect Bro . S . B . Wilson were inspected and gave entire satisfaction ; and nothing now remains but that the plan should be at once carried

out . This , we venture to say , so far as Bro . Wilson is concerned , is being done at the moment of writing , so thafc no time will be lost , and it may be that , when the April election takes place , some forty instead of the usual ten or a dozen candidates will be admissible . We congratulate the

Court and the Committees on the wisdom of the course they have adopted , not simply because they havo adopted it , but because we think ifc desirable to move slowly and . surely . The very handsome amount raised at the last Festival , together with the annual and other

subscriptions which are paid into the School account at odd times during the year , will be amply sufficient to allow of this expenditure being incurred without trespassing additionally on the pockets of Craftsmen . The increase will not allow of too indiscriminate an admission of

candidates , and it will still be possible to further extend the benefits of the School , in the event of such further extension becoming- necessary . Tho addition to the permanent expenditure will be considerable , being from £ 1200 to £ 1500 per annum ; bufc while the

contributions of the Craft are as liberal as they have been these last three years , such addition will not be felt too seriously , nor will it prevent the annual investment of further moneys so ns to make the needful provision against a rainy day . £ 5000 stock is by no means a large reserve fund , and

with a School of 216 bnys , and an income from all sources ( say of £ 15 , 000 ) , it should be possible to lay by £ 1000 or £ 2000 annually , provided , of course , no unlooked-for contingency requiring additional expenditure should arise .

Under these circumstances , we reiterate our opinion that the authorities have adopted the wisest and safest course thafc was open to them , and we trust the Craft generally will continue to extend towards them the same confidence and support they have received hitherto .

Concordia Discors

CONCORDIA DISCORS

OUR readers will find elsewhere in our columns a letter signed " A Looker On , " in which the writer describes the conduct of affairs in the Lodge " Victoria iu Burmah , " No . 832 , Rangoon , during the past and present years . Accepting his version as the correct one , we have no

hesitation in declaring that this Lodge is very far from being a model of excellence . However , we will first enumerate the leading features of the case as stated in the letter , and then comment on them seriatim .

It seems that in January 1876 , Bro . the Rev . John E . Marks , of Lodge " Victoria in Burmah , " " being then in England , was appointed Senior Warden . " In April of that year he returned to Rangoon , but he does not appear to