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Article THE FESTIVAL OF MONDAY LAST. Page 1 of 2 Article THE FESTIVAL OF MONDAY LAST. Page 1 of 2 →
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The Festival Of Monday Last.
THE FESTIVAL OF MONDAY LAST .
WE heartily congratulate Bro . Terry on the brilliant success of Monday . Had no more been done this year than last , that " Zealous Officer " -would still have been as fully entitled to our thanks . It is impossible for any one to exhibit more than the maximum amount of zeal .
Bro . Terry has always laboured to tho utmost of his power , and always merits therefore the gratulations of the Craft . When , however , his labours are productive of such magnificent results as they were on Monday , tho duty of expressing our obligations has in it a large admixture of
pleasure . Just as he rejoices over the success of his efforts —though these latter would havo been as great had their success been more limited—so must we feel additional gratification in the performance of our duty , though the same duty must have been fulfilled under any circumstances .
But to pass at once to the Festival itself . As briefly and unexpectedly announced in these columns last week , H . R . H . Prince Leopold , the new Provincial Grand Master of Oxfordshire , was at the last moment prevented , by tho delicate state of his health , from presiding in person . We
sincerely regret the indisposition from which his Eoyal Highness is suffering . Still we cannot refrain from expressing the pleasure we feel at finding how firm is the position he has already established among the Craft . It must be obvious to every one of our readers that the mere
announcement of his presidency exercised a most salutary influence on the subscription list . Had ho been able to attend , it would have been his first public appearance among the Craft in London since his elevation to the Grand Mastership of Oxfordshire . That is , on the first opportunity that
presented itself , Prince Leopold gave proof of the sterling- cbaracterof his Masonry . No one ever , of course , doubted that he was as truly loyal to the principles of our Fraternity as the plainest and most unassuming of its members , or as the oldest and most respected of our veterans . Still , it is in the highest
degree creditable to the Prince that , in his first public act as a Mason , he should have shown himself worthy of his exalted rank and the distinguished position to which his brother , the
Grand Master , so recently appointed him . And it is still more creditable to him that in this first Masonic act of his he should have associated himself so conspicuously with what all true Freemasons regard as their first and most
important duty—the duty of advancing the cause of Charity . There are many among us who are reckoned as being good men and true , who contribute of their means to the support of these or those charitable institutions . But it requires some courage to undertake the duty of
presiding at one of our Festivals . There is a considerable amount of responsibility attached to the fulfilment of such a duty , and , as we said in a recent article , many an older and more experienced man has before now excused himself from undertaking it . We do not for one moment imagine any
proof was needed that the Prince was a zealous as well as a loyal Craftsman ; but it is pleasing to find our expectations realised , nor doubt we the splendid subscription list of Monday is all the more splendid , because the Craft were resolved on showing their sense of the Prince ' s courage
and kindness . His first act was to show himself the zealous partisan of one of our Charities , and the Craft were determined his partisanship should be a brilliant success . Hence ,
no doubt , in great measure , the magnificent collection of £ 12 , 656 13 s , with fourteen lists still outstanding . But just as this was only one of the reasons we urged , why the subscriptions ishould present a higher total than at
The Festival Of Monday Last.
any previous Festival , so , doubtless , was it only one of several motives which stirred the brethren to this grand display of munificence . Wo pointed out in the article already referred to , that a larger amount of subscriptions than usual was absolutely necessary . The Male Fund at
the end of the year showed only a small balance in hand , indeed , not more than sufficient to provide for four additional annuitants , on the assumption , of course , that the Festival of this year would be as productive as that of last year was . But , worse still , the Femalo Fund showed a
deficit , representing in fact , the aggregate of nine annuities . Taking the several sets of annuitants together , that is , the men , the widows , and the widows receiving half their late husbands' annuities , the Benevolent Institution stands committed at this present time to an annual outlay in
excess of £ 9000 , irrespective of office and other heads of expenditure . Therefore , every year the Craft is bound to make the most determined efforts to realise as large a list as possible ; for it is only by means of such , efforts that it will be able to keep faith with the annuitants it has placed
on its pension list . But this was only the second of our reasons . There was yet a third , and even more important one still . At the present time there are only nine vacancies on the Male Fund , and three on the Female , to bo filled at the election in May next , but tho number of
approved candidates already on the list to compete for these vacancies is in the case of the Males thirty-four , and Females thirty-six . Other vacancies may arise between now and the election , and the number of candidates will also , perhaps , be increased . Be this as it may , there are at this
moment , taking the two funds together , seventy candidates to compete for twelve vacancies , which differs in no appreciable degree from what we said a fortnight since , " a ratio of six and a half of the one to one of the other . " We do not for one moment hesitate to
place among the motives which have operated so successon this occassion , the absolute need there is to provide for a large annual outlay , and the immoderate excess of candidates for admission to the benefits of the Institution over vacancies . There was yet a fourth reason we urged in
behalf of the good cause . A high authority had publicly stated in Grand Lodge that no one of our Charities would ever appeal in vain to the Craft for the needful support . We said this statement must be regarded as " evidence of a wise prescience in the eminent brother who made it , " and that his confidence in the readiness of the Craft at all
times to fulfil its duty , must be taken as ominous of good in the year we have just entered upon . " We are aware there are many brethren who have questioned his wisdom in making such an announcement . Here , at all events , wo have the clearest evidence of its justice . The very first
occasion , since this announcement , on which an appeal has been made to the Craft for its support is more fruitful of good than any previous occasion , that is , as regards this particular Charity . The sum collected last year , when
Lord Skelmersdale presided , was £ 9 , 174 10 s 6 d . This year , with Prince Leopold announced as chairman , the amount realised is £ 12 , 656 13 s , with sundry returns yet to be made . Thus the excess of the latter collection over the
former is £ 3 , 482 2 s 6 d . The increase , therefore , is about 38 per cent , on the year 1876 . In fact , if we bear in mind that the Festival of 1876 was in round figures £ 2 , 000 in
excess of 1875 , and that 1875 surpassed 1874 to the extent of close upon £ 1 , 500 , we have every reason to be proud of the success achieved in the cause of this particular Charity . In 1874 , with Lord Waveney as president , the Festival realised £ 5 , 220 ; in 1875 , £ 6 . 630 13 s 6 d , with eleven lists
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Festival Of Monday Last.
THE FESTIVAL OF MONDAY LAST .
WE heartily congratulate Bro . Terry on the brilliant success of Monday . Had no more been done this year than last , that " Zealous Officer " -would still have been as fully entitled to our thanks . It is impossible for any one to exhibit more than the maximum amount of zeal .
Bro . Terry has always laboured to tho utmost of his power , and always merits therefore the gratulations of the Craft . When , however , his labours are productive of such magnificent results as they were on Monday , tho duty of expressing our obligations has in it a large admixture of
pleasure . Just as he rejoices over the success of his efforts —though these latter would havo been as great had their success been more limited—so must we feel additional gratification in the performance of our duty , though the same duty must have been fulfilled under any circumstances .
But to pass at once to the Festival itself . As briefly and unexpectedly announced in these columns last week , H . R . H . Prince Leopold , the new Provincial Grand Master of Oxfordshire , was at the last moment prevented , by tho delicate state of his health , from presiding in person . We
sincerely regret the indisposition from which his Eoyal Highness is suffering . Still we cannot refrain from expressing the pleasure we feel at finding how firm is the position he has already established among the Craft . It must be obvious to every one of our readers that the mere
announcement of his presidency exercised a most salutary influence on the subscription list . Had ho been able to attend , it would have been his first public appearance among the Craft in London since his elevation to the Grand Mastership of Oxfordshire . That is , on the first opportunity that
presented itself , Prince Leopold gave proof of the sterling- cbaracterof his Masonry . No one ever , of course , doubted that he was as truly loyal to the principles of our Fraternity as the plainest and most unassuming of its members , or as the oldest and most respected of our veterans . Still , it is in the highest
degree creditable to the Prince that , in his first public act as a Mason , he should have shown himself worthy of his exalted rank and the distinguished position to which his brother , the
Grand Master , so recently appointed him . And it is still more creditable to him that in this first Masonic act of his he should have associated himself so conspicuously with what all true Freemasons regard as their first and most
important duty—the duty of advancing the cause of Charity . There are many among us who are reckoned as being good men and true , who contribute of their means to the support of these or those charitable institutions . But it requires some courage to undertake the duty of
presiding at one of our Festivals . There is a considerable amount of responsibility attached to the fulfilment of such a duty , and , as we said in a recent article , many an older and more experienced man has before now excused himself from undertaking it . We do not for one moment imagine any
proof was needed that the Prince was a zealous as well as a loyal Craftsman ; but it is pleasing to find our expectations realised , nor doubt we the splendid subscription list of Monday is all the more splendid , because the Craft were resolved on showing their sense of the Prince ' s courage
and kindness . His first act was to show himself the zealous partisan of one of our Charities , and the Craft were determined his partisanship should be a brilliant success . Hence ,
no doubt , in great measure , the magnificent collection of £ 12 , 656 13 s , with fourteen lists still outstanding . But just as this was only one of the reasons we urged , why the subscriptions ishould present a higher total than at
The Festival Of Monday Last.
any previous Festival , so , doubtless , was it only one of several motives which stirred the brethren to this grand display of munificence . Wo pointed out in the article already referred to , that a larger amount of subscriptions than usual was absolutely necessary . The Male Fund at
the end of the year showed only a small balance in hand , indeed , not more than sufficient to provide for four additional annuitants , on the assumption , of course , that the Festival of this year would be as productive as that of last year was . But , worse still , the Femalo Fund showed a
deficit , representing in fact , the aggregate of nine annuities . Taking the several sets of annuitants together , that is , the men , the widows , and the widows receiving half their late husbands' annuities , the Benevolent Institution stands committed at this present time to an annual outlay in
excess of £ 9000 , irrespective of office and other heads of expenditure . Therefore , every year the Craft is bound to make the most determined efforts to realise as large a list as possible ; for it is only by means of such , efforts that it will be able to keep faith with the annuitants it has placed
on its pension list . But this was only the second of our reasons . There was yet a third , and even more important one still . At the present time there are only nine vacancies on the Male Fund , and three on the Female , to bo filled at the election in May next , but tho number of
approved candidates already on the list to compete for these vacancies is in the case of the Males thirty-four , and Females thirty-six . Other vacancies may arise between now and the election , and the number of candidates will also , perhaps , be increased . Be this as it may , there are at this
moment , taking the two funds together , seventy candidates to compete for twelve vacancies , which differs in no appreciable degree from what we said a fortnight since , " a ratio of six and a half of the one to one of the other . " We do not for one moment hesitate to
place among the motives which have operated so successon this occassion , the absolute need there is to provide for a large annual outlay , and the immoderate excess of candidates for admission to the benefits of the Institution over vacancies . There was yet a fourth reason we urged in
behalf of the good cause . A high authority had publicly stated in Grand Lodge that no one of our Charities would ever appeal in vain to the Craft for the needful support . We said this statement must be regarded as " evidence of a wise prescience in the eminent brother who made it , " and that his confidence in the readiness of the Craft at all
times to fulfil its duty , must be taken as ominous of good in the year we have just entered upon . " We are aware there are many brethren who have questioned his wisdom in making such an announcement . Here , at all events , wo have the clearest evidence of its justice . The very first
occasion , since this announcement , on which an appeal has been made to the Craft for its support is more fruitful of good than any previous occasion , that is , as regards this particular Charity . The sum collected last year , when
Lord Skelmersdale presided , was £ 9 , 174 10 s 6 d . This year , with Prince Leopold announced as chairman , the amount realised is £ 12 , 656 13 s , with sundry returns yet to be made . Thus the excess of the latter collection over the
former is £ 3 , 482 2 s 6 d . The increase , therefore , is about 38 per cent , on the year 1876 . In fact , if we bear in mind that the Festival of 1876 was in round figures £ 2 , 000 in
excess of 1875 , and that 1875 surpassed 1874 to the extent of close upon £ 1 , 500 , we have every reason to be proud of the success achieved in the cause of this particular Charity . In 1874 , with Lord Waveney as president , the Festival realised £ 5 , 220 ; in 1875 , £ 6 . 630 13 s 6 d , with eleven lists