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Article CANDIDATES FOR THE SCHOOLS. ← Page 2 of 3 Article CANDIDATES FOR THE SCHOOLS. Page 2 of 3 →
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Candidates For The Schools.
not consider we aro doing our duty if we allow a case to pass unchallenged where tlio evidence that is forthcoming maybe of a nature we may deem needful of explanation . If , in the course of our remarks , wc may deem it desirable to introduce names into the discussion , or if our comments
may appear personal to any , wc assure them that offence is not intended , and that , if we are strong in condemning , we are likewise ready to aid and support any candidate who may be proved worth } ' lo receive the benefits offered by the Institutions . In the past wc have used every possible means to advance the interests of the Masonic Charities ,
and our present desire to continue m that course must be our excuse—if any be needed—for taking up the subject now under consideration . "Unfortunatel y for the world in general , but more particularly for that portion of its inhabitants on whom the
goddess Fortune has not lavished her smiles , science has not yet succeeded in providing us with the means of measuring the intensity of human misery and wpe , or it would be an easy matter to ascertain from among tho many applicants who seek admission to the Masonic and other charitable
institutions those most in need of tho relief they seek . But it does not requite the wisdom of a Solomon to determine , in the majority of cases , those whose circumstances in life stamp them as special objects for sympathy and assistance . We need hardly go further than refer our readers to the
ballot papers for to-day ' s and Monday ' s elections to explain our meaning . There we find instances of children being left parentless , and , if our information be correct , there are some among the number who are actually without a known relative in the world , and would indeed be friendless were
it not for the charitable instinct which—wo rejoice to say it —is to be found in so large a majority of Englishmen . Would it be possible to say that these are not special objects for consideration as compared with the child who , although fatherless , has yet a mother and numerous
relatives living , from whom advice and comfort should at all times be forthcoming ? We think not , and thus it is that we take upon ourselves to briefly review , as time after time the elections come round , the claims of the various candidates which the ballot papers report as seeking admission to tho respective Institutions .
As we have already stated , we publish elsewhere certain letters which have been addressed to ns in consequence of remarks we have made , during the last few weeks , concerning candidates who will seek admission to our Schools
within the next few hours , and wc take the earliest opportunity at our disposal to make public the various opinions which have reached us bearing ou the points at issue . The case of Arthur Harvey Collingwood being tho one most recentlv referred to in these columns , we will first
take under consideration the letters we have received relating thereto ; but we would first point out to the writer of the communication challenging onr remarks that the comments contained in our last week ' s issue were based on facts , the confirmation of which were within the reach of any one
who chose to substantiate them . If incorrect , they should therefore be capable of easy contradiction , and that too in so forcible a manner as to decide the matter once and for all . We quite believe Bro . Girling when he writes , " this case is really a deserving case , otherwise I should never
think of bringing it before the brethren ; " but we should like to know from what standpoint he bases his idea of merit , and what position he would assign to this case in particular as compared with the others , taking distress , absence of private income , want of friends , and need of
relief as the standard . But we are digressing , we refer our readers to the communication in question , and then ask them to consider our comments thereon . On the receipt of Bro . Girling ' s letter two points immediatel y struck us as being insufficiently explained in his
communication , and accordingly we wrote to him on the subject . First , onr brother states that " the estimate formed of the late Bro . Collingwood ' s personal estate , which it was deemed advisable should be sworn as under £ 9 , 000 , was found to be a great deal too high , and application had been
made to the Government authorities for part of the duty paid thereon to be returned ? " Very likel y ;—we believe the same happens with the estate of nearl y every person who leaves any property at . his decease , for the duty has to
be paid on the full amount of his estate , and his debts , if any , which have to be paid out of the same , naturall y reduce the amount on which duty is chargeable , consequently application has to be made for a return of the excess paid . This may not have been the case with Bro . Collingwood ' s
Candidates For The Schools.
property , although we think it not impossible that the estate was reduced by this cause , but , we imagine , not to any appreciable extent . The only question , therefore , which materially affects us is , the extent to which the property itself was over-valued when the duty was paid , and
here it is wo regret that Bro . Girling ' s letter does not give the information we require . We inquired of him , after the receip t of his first communication , if there was any objection to saying how much duty was returned ? and how much the estate was finulls' proved at ? In reply , ho says ,
he " cannot to-day answer , as he finds his solicitor is away . " This is most unfortunate , as the whole case rests on that one point . Now there are certain facts in connection with the candidature which bear on this part of tho subject , and we must leave our readers to attach what importance they
please to these facts . Bro . Collingwood died on the 16 th of November 1878 , and letters of administration of his estate were not granted until February 1880 ; that is , fifteen months after his decease , and but eight months from the present time . Our opinion is—that a fair estimate of
the probable amount that would be realised ought to havo been formed in the fifteen months which intervened between his death and the payment of the legacy duty , and that if the property has so-far decreased in value during the last eight months , so as to place the family in the needful
circumstances now represented , they must have been very ill advised . We have taken the pains to thus explain our views of this portion of Bro . Girling ' s letter , but we would point out one fact he seems to havo overlooked . The
petition for the admission of the lad A . H . Collingwood to the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys must have been presented as far back as the 1 st January 1880 , as by the rules of that Institution " the list of candidates for election in
April" ( iu which election young Collingwood took a part ) " is closed at the meeting of the General Committee on the first Saturday in January , " and every petition emanating from the London District " must be forwarded to the Secretary at least two days prior to such meeting ; " that is ,
in the present instance , not later than the 1 st of January last . Besides this , it is necessary that the petition should have been signed at a meeting of the recommending Lodge , which in this case we believe to be the Canon bury , No . 657 , the last meeting of which—in 1879—took place , so far as
we can learn from Grand Lodge Calendar , on Thursday , 11 th December , so that , even assuming the petition was drawn up , recommended and presented at the latest possible time , the family did then , or at least did two months afterwards , believe their fortune to be £ 9 , 000 , subject , of
course , to the payment of the debts of the deceased . We can but regret , once more , we are not in a position to give the final result , . but the authorities at the Legacy and Succession Duty Office being unable to satisfy us , and no other means of obtaining the information offering , we / nust for the present leave that consideration open .
The second point which we looked upon as needing some explanation was that part of Bro . Girling ' s letter wherein he says , " the widow , therefore , has to educate and maintain two children upon a very small income . " By the ballot paper we are informed that there are four children
dependent . Bro . Girling is able to , and does , answer the query we addressed to him on this matter in the following words : — " Since the petition was presented one child has come of age , and one has married , " while from his first letter we learn that a third " comes of age next month , and
is about to marry , " so that the orig inal family of four dependents will be reduced , within a month , to one , and that one is , we presume , the candidate now seeking election to the Boys' School . We do not know what is considered as " dependent" b y the Committee of the Boys' Institution ,
but it seems strange to us , to say the least of it , to class persons between the ages of twenty and twenty-one years in such a category , more especially when , as in the present instance , according to the showing of their friends , they arc entitled to a share of a large estate on their coming of
age . Another item which strikes ns as peculiar is , —how comes it that the last ballot paper places the number of dependents at four , when one at least of the famil y must have attained the age of twenty-one years before its issue , as the fact of another child coming of age next month 1
would naturally lead us to suppose rThe more we look into this case the more surprised we feel that it should ever have found a place among the approved petitions , and unless some very important information be forthcoming on Monday next , we cannot understand how the Committee can justify its retention on the list of candidates . As will
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Candidates For The Schools.
not consider we aro doing our duty if we allow a case to pass unchallenged where tlio evidence that is forthcoming maybe of a nature we may deem needful of explanation . If , in the course of our remarks , wc may deem it desirable to introduce names into the discussion , or if our comments
may appear personal to any , wc assure them that offence is not intended , and that , if we are strong in condemning , we are likewise ready to aid and support any candidate who may be proved worth } ' lo receive the benefits offered by the Institutions . In the past wc have used every possible means to advance the interests of the Masonic Charities ,
and our present desire to continue m that course must be our excuse—if any be needed—for taking up the subject now under consideration . "Unfortunatel y for the world in general , but more particularly for that portion of its inhabitants on whom the
goddess Fortune has not lavished her smiles , science has not yet succeeded in providing us with the means of measuring the intensity of human misery and wpe , or it would be an easy matter to ascertain from among tho many applicants who seek admission to the Masonic and other charitable
institutions those most in need of tho relief they seek . But it does not requite the wisdom of a Solomon to determine , in the majority of cases , those whose circumstances in life stamp them as special objects for sympathy and assistance . We need hardly go further than refer our readers to the
ballot papers for to-day ' s and Monday ' s elections to explain our meaning . There we find instances of children being left parentless , and , if our information be correct , there are some among the number who are actually without a known relative in the world , and would indeed be friendless were
it not for the charitable instinct which—wo rejoice to say it —is to be found in so large a majority of Englishmen . Would it be possible to say that these are not special objects for consideration as compared with the child who , although fatherless , has yet a mother and numerous
relatives living , from whom advice and comfort should at all times be forthcoming ? We think not , and thus it is that we take upon ourselves to briefly review , as time after time the elections come round , the claims of the various candidates which the ballot papers report as seeking admission to tho respective Institutions .
As we have already stated , we publish elsewhere certain letters which have been addressed to ns in consequence of remarks we have made , during the last few weeks , concerning candidates who will seek admission to our Schools
within the next few hours , and wc take the earliest opportunity at our disposal to make public the various opinions which have reached us bearing ou the points at issue . The case of Arthur Harvey Collingwood being tho one most recentlv referred to in these columns , we will first
take under consideration the letters we have received relating thereto ; but we would first point out to the writer of the communication challenging onr remarks that the comments contained in our last week ' s issue were based on facts , the confirmation of which were within the reach of any one
who chose to substantiate them . If incorrect , they should therefore be capable of easy contradiction , and that too in so forcible a manner as to decide the matter once and for all . We quite believe Bro . Girling when he writes , " this case is really a deserving case , otherwise I should never
think of bringing it before the brethren ; " but we should like to know from what standpoint he bases his idea of merit , and what position he would assign to this case in particular as compared with the others , taking distress , absence of private income , want of friends , and need of
relief as the standard . But we are digressing , we refer our readers to the communication in question , and then ask them to consider our comments thereon . On the receipt of Bro . Girling ' s letter two points immediatel y struck us as being insufficiently explained in his
communication , and accordingly we wrote to him on the subject . First , onr brother states that " the estimate formed of the late Bro . Collingwood ' s personal estate , which it was deemed advisable should be sworn as under £ 9 , 000 , was found to be a great deal too high , and application had been
made to the Government authorities for part of the duty paid thereon to be returned ? " Very likel y ;—we believe the same happens with the estate of nearl y every person who leaves any property at . his decease , for the duty has to
be paid on the full amount of his estate , and his debts , if any , which have to be paid out of the same , naturall y reduce the amount on which duty is chargeable , consequently application has to be made for a return of the excess paid . This may not have been the case with Bro . Collingwood ' s
Candidates For The Schools.
property , although we think it not impossible that the estate was reduced by this cause , but , we imagine , not to any appreciable extent . The only question , therefore , which materially affects us is , the extent to which the property itself was over-valued when the duty was paid , and
here it is wo regret that Bro . Girling ' s letter does not give the information we require . We inquired of him , after the receip t of his first communication , if there was any objection to saying how much duty was returned ? and how much the estate was finulls' proved at ? In reply , ho says ,
he " cannot to-day answer , as he finds his solicitor is away . " This is most unfortunate , as the whole case rests on that one point . Now there are certain facts in connection with the candidature which bear on this part of tho subject , and we must leave our readers to attach what importance they
please to these facts . Bro . Collingwood died on the 16 th of November 1878 , and letters of administration of his estate were not granted until February 1880 ; that is , fifteen months after his decease , and but eight months from the present time . Our opinion is—that a fair estimate of
the probable amount that would be realised ought to havo been formed in the fifteen months which intervened between his death and the payment of the legacy duty , and that if the property has so-far decreased in value during the last eight months , so as to place the family in the needful
circumstances now represented , they must have been very ill advised . We have taken the pains to thus explain our views of this portion of Bro . Girling ' s letter , but we would point out one fact he seems to havo overlooked . The
petition for the admission of the lad A . H . Collingwood to the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys must have been presented as far back as the 1 st January 1880 , as by the rules of that Institution " the list of candidates for election in
April" ( iu which election young Collingwood took a part ) " is closed at the meeting of the General Committee on the first Saturday in January , " and every petition emanating from the London District " must be forwarded to the Secretary at least two days prior to such meeting ; " that is ,
in the present instance , not later than the 1 st of January last . Besides this , it is necessary that the petition should have been signed at a meeting of the recommending Lodge , which in this case we believe to be the Canon bury , No . 657 , the last meeting of which—in 1879—took place , so far as
we can learn from Grand Lodge Calendar , on Thursday , 11 th December , so that , even assuming the petition was drawn up , recommended and presented at the latest possible time , the family did then , or at least did two months afterwards , believe their fortune to be £ 9 , 000 , subject , of
course , to the payment of the debts of the deceased . We can but regret , once more , we are not in a position to give the final result , . but the authorities at the Legacy and Succession Duty Office being unable to satisfy us , and no other means of obtaining the information offering , we / nust for the present leave that consideration open .
The second point which we looked upon as needing some explanation was that part of Bro . Girling ' s letter wherein he says , " the widow , therefore , has to educate and maintain two children upon a very small income . " By the ballot paper we are informed that there are four children
dependent . Bro . Girling is able to , and does , answer the query we addressed to him on this matter in the following words : — " Since the petition was presented one child has come of age , and one has married , " while from his first letter we learn that a third " comes of age next month , and
is about to marry , " so that the orig inal family of four dependents will be reduced , within a month , to one , and that one is , we presume , the candidate now seeking election to the Boys' School . We do not know what is considered as " dependent" b y the Committee of the Boys' Institution ,
but it seems strange to us , to say the least of it , to class persons between the ages of twenty and twenty-one years in such a category , more especially when , as in the present instance , according to the showing of their friends , they arc entitled to a share of a large estate on their coming of
age . Another item which strikes ns as peculiar is , —how comes it that the last ballot paper places the number of dependents at four , when one at least of the famil y must have attained the age of twenty-one years before its issue , as the fact of another child coming of age next month 1
would naturally lead us to suppose rThe more we look into this case the more surprised we feel that it should ever have found a place among the approved petitions , and unless some very important information be forthcoming on Monday next , we cannot understand how the Committee can justify its retention on the list of candidates . As will