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Article THE FUTURE OF THE CHARITIES. Page 1 of 2 Article THE FUTURE OF THE CHARITIES. Page 1 of 2 →
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The Future Of The Charities.
THE FUTURE OF THE CHARITIES .
IT is mucli to be regretted that Grand Lodge did not think it desirable to take some action in regard to the new laws proposed for the Benevolent Institution , other than calmly to agree to them ; more
particularly as during the last lew days the severity and harshness of the new conditions has been unfavourably commented on in influential quarters . There were some among us who regarded the work of the Committee of Inquiry into the affairs of the
Royal Masonic Institution for Boys as the ringing of the knell of that Charity—and we are not yet quite sure they were wholly wrong , for the Craft has by no means heard the last of that very unfortunate
" public wash of dirty linen , " or found out the exorbitant price that will have to be paid for the economies supposed to result from that investigation . But we think the changes made in the laws of the
Benevolent Institution will prove even more disastrous ; indeed , they have already proved so , for they have been the means of driving away the support of East Lancashire from the Central Charities , in
favour of the local funds that have long existed in that district . It is perhaps early in the day to say that the East Lancashire Masons have stopped their contributions to the London Charities , but when so
distinguished a Mason as Colonel Le Gendre N . Starkie , the Provincial Grand Master , tells his brethren , in Provincial Lodge , to carefully use their " votes" for the London Charities , and greatly
increase the " support" given to the East Lancashire Systematic Masonic Educational and Benevolent Institution , it does not require much knowledge of Masonic affairs to imagine the ultimate result of
his advice . For the time being the support of East Lancashire is lost to the three great Masonic Institutions which are usually regarded as representing the benevolence of the Craft . How long the
estrangement will last , and to what extent it will be carried , time alone can prove , but we anticipate a " thorough breaking away " from past practices , and we shall not be surprised if contributions from that district
virtually cease , except perhaps in those cases where Lodges have already paid something towards the acquisition of perpetual votes , and desire to make sure of a benefit which we imagine will erelong be
inquired into—perhaps abolished . These perpetual votes should form an item in the balance sheets prepared in connection with the Masonic Institutions , and we very much question if it is wise to continue
""« system that allows a Lodge to secure , for a comparativel y small amount , a perpetual right to a snare of the benefits of the funds . In the case of podges there should be a definite limit , say ten , nteen
or twenty years , and we should not be surprised . if this principle is sneediiv recognised and na alteration attempted . Turning away , for the time being , from East
The Future Of The Charities.
Lancashire , we will consider the position in the Province of North and East Yorkshire . There the Masons have just celebrated the Second Annual Festival of the Educational Fund of their Province ,
and have secured no less a sum than . £ -190 10 s in support of their local organisation . This amount , with the £ 1054 15 s subscribed last year , makes upwards of £ 1500 , the bulk of which is to be invested ,
on the same lines as adopted in the other northern counties , where the general rule is to expend only interest and annual subscriptions , leaving the donations to accumulate . Perhaps it would be wrong to
say that the whole of this ± 1500 would nave lound its way into the coffers of the London Charities had North and East Yorkshire remained without a local fund , but we think a large proportion of the amount
would have been so expended , while as regards the future "we expect a preference will generally be shown for the local charity as compared with those located in the metropolis . The second Festival of the North
and East Yorkshire Fund was held at Hull , under the presidency of Brother J . W . Woodall , Past Grand Treasurer of England , who , in proposing the toast of the evening—success to the Fund—said it had been
established tor the purpose ot enabling tliose cmidren in the Province who were ineligible , either by age or failing to secure sufficient votes , to obtain admission to the large Masonic Institutions , to receive their
education at other important scholastic establishments which fortunately abounded in the county . It had always struck him , said Bro . Woodall , that the sending up of children from special districts in the country
to the large Masonic Schools , though giving them a first-rate education , yet often failed to give them that education which was necessary to some special trades and businesses in their own particular districts ,
especially in the "West Biding , where industrial training was required . Here we have another view of the situation that must tend to lessen the support given to the Central Institutions , and although Brother
Woodall is not reported to have said anything particularly detrimental to the existing Charities , he yet uttered enough to show the direction in which his sympathies lay , and we know that his views , and
those expressed by the Provincial chief of ihast Lancashire , are shared by most of the principal workers in the cause of Masonic benevolence in the North . It is not so much a question of giving a splendid
education to one child as it is a desire to render some help to a number of children that finds favour in many of the Provinces , and we cannot wholly disassociate from our mind the truth of the old adage
that half a loaf is better than no bread m this respect . Of course it is very gratifying for one child of a district to be handsomely provided for by the Freemasons of England ; clothed , educated and maintained
until such time as he or she is ready to start on their o . va account in the world ; but , ou the other hand , there are a dozen or perhaps more children iu the same district , equally deserving , and equally in need
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Future Of The Charities.
THE FUTURE OF THE CHARITIES .
IT is mucli to be regretted that Grand Lodge did not think it desirable to take some action in regard to the new laws proposed for the Benevolent Institution , other than calmly to agree to them ; more
particularly as during the last lew days the severity and harshness of the new conditions has been unfavourably commented on in influential quarters . There were some among us who regarded the work of the Committee of Inquiry into the affairs of the
Royal Masonic Institution for Boys as the ringing of the knell of that Charity—and we are not yet quite sure they were wholly wrong , for the Craft has by no means heard the last of that very unfortunate
" public wash of dirty linen , " or found out the exorbitant price that will have to be paid for the economies supposed to result from that investigation . But we think the changes made in the laws of the
Benevolent Institution will prove even more disastrous ; indeed , they have already proved so , for they have been the means of driving away the support of East Lancashire from the Central Charities , in
favour of the local funds that have long existed in that district . It is perhaps early in the day to say that the East Lancashire Masons have stopped their contributions to the London Charities , but when so
distinguished a Mason as Colonel Le Gendre N . Starkie , the Provincial Grand Master , tells his brethren , in Provincial Lodge , to carefully use their " votes" for the London Charities , and greatly
increase the " support" given to the East Lancashire Systematic Masonic Educational and Benevolent Institution , it does not require much knowledge of Masonic affairs to imagine the ultimate result of
his advice . For the time being the support of East Lancashire is lost to the three great Masonic Institutions which are usually regarded as representing the benevolence of the Craft . How long the
estrangement will last , and to what extent it will be carried , time alone can prove , but we anticipate a " thorough breaking away " from past practices , and we shall not be surprised if contributions from that district
virtually cease , except perhaps in those cases where Lodges have already paid something towards the acquisition of perpetual votes , and desire to make sure of a benefit which we imagine will erelong be
inquired into—perhaps abolished . These perpetual votes should form an item in the balance sheets prepared in connection with the Masonic Institutions , and we very much question if it is wise to continue
""« system that allows a Lodge to secure , for a comparativel y small amount , a perpetual right to a snare of the benefits of the funds . In the case of podges there should be a definite limit , say ten , nteen
or twenty years , and we should not be surprised . if this principle is sneediiv recognised and na alteration attempted . Turning away , for the time being , from East
The Future Of The Charities.
Lancashire , we will consider the position in the Province of North and East Yorkshire . There the Masons have just celebrated the Second Annual Festival of the Educational Fund of their Province ,
and have secured no less a sum than . £ -190 10 s in support of their local organisation . This amount , with the £ 1054 15 s subscribed last year , makes upwards of £ 1500 , the bulk of which is to be invested ,
on the same lines as adopted in the other northern counties , where the general rule is to expend only interest and annual subscriptions , leaving the donations to accumulate . Perhaps it would be wrong to
say that the whole of this ± 1500 would nave lound its way into the coffers of the London Charities had North and East Yorkshire remained without a local fund , but we think a large proportion of the amount
would have been so expended , while as regards the future "we expect a preference will generally be shown for the local charity as compared with those located in the metropolis . The second Festival of the North
and East Yorkshire Fund was held at Hull , under the presidency of Brother J . W . Woodall , Past Grand Treasurer of England , who , in proposing the toast of the evening—success to the Fund—said it had been
established tor the purpose ot enabling tliose cmidren in the Province who were ineligible , either by age or failing to secure sufficient votes , to obtain admission to the large Masonic Institutions , to receive their
education at other important scholastic establishments which fortunately abounded in the county . It had always struck him , said Bro . Woodall , that the sending up of children from special districts in the country
to the large Masonic Schools , though giving them a first-rate education , yet often failed to give them that education which was necessary to some special trades and businesses in their own particular districts ,
especially in the "West Biding , where industrial training was required . Here we have another view of the situation that must tend to lessen the support given to the Central Institutions , and although Brother
Woodall is not reported to have said anything particularly detrimental to the existing Charities , he yet uttered enough to show the direction in which his sympathies lay , and we know that his views , and
those expressed by the Provincial chief of ihast Lancashire , are shared by most of the principal workers in the cause of Masonic benevolence in the North . It is not so much a question of giving a splendid
education to one child as it is a desire to render some help to a number of children that finds favour in many of the Provinces , and we cannot wholly disassociate from our mind the truth of the old adage
that half a loaf is better than no bread m this respect . Of course it is very gratifying for one child of a district to be handsomely provided for by the Freemasons of England ; clothed , educated and maintained
until such time as he or she is ready to start on their o . va account in the world ; but , ou the other hand , there are a dozen or perhaps more children iu the same district , equally deserving , and equally in need