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Article THE MASONIC YEAR 1877. ← Page 4 of 13 Article THE MASONIC YEAR 1877. Page 4 of 13 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Masonic Year 1877.
able governance of Lord Skelmersdale , arc able to show undoubted evidence of their increased strength and popularity . It is , indeed , in the order of ( lungs , that Craft Masonry having prospered during the year , the other Masonic bodies should have enjoyed their shuro of the
general good fortune ; ancl though ifc cannot ho denied that all these bodies , save tho Royal Arch , arc extraneous to [ Masonry pure ancl . simple , still their ablest and most influential members are prominent Craft Masons to begin with , and would certainly strive hard to ensure tho success of any society into which they wero admitted .
We now approach tho most agreeable duty of all—that of recording the exploits of the Craft in the field of Charity . It was stated , shortly after tho close of 1876 , that close on £ 40 , 000 was contributed in the course of thafc year to our three Masonic Institutions ; but large as was this sum , we
have every reason to believe that when the figures are totalled up it will he found that the contributions to these samo Charities during 1877 have been largely in excess . The first of our three Festivals—that of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution—was held on Monday the 10 th February .
His Royal Highness Prince Leopold had consented to occupy tho chair , but , unfortunately , indisposition prevented him from playing this important rule . At the very last moment , the Earl of Shrewsbury and Talbot , who had presided with such success in 1875 , came forward , and , to
the relief of Bro . Terry , filled the vacancy so unexpectedly created . The Festival , as our readers are aware , was a magnificent success , and the indefatigable Secretary was able to announce , after the toast of Prosperity to the Institution had been duly honoured , a total subscription of
£ 12 , 856 , 13 , with fourteen lists still outstanding . These have "been returned since , and tho yield of this Festival is represented by the magnificent sum of £ 13 , 368 , while the contributions to this Charity from all sources amount during the yeai , or , at least , up to Thursday , the
20 th instant , to £ 13 , 909 . As a result of this munificence , the Committee of the Institution , on the motion of Lieut .-Col . Creaton , agreed to increase tho number of annuitants by thirty , namely , fifteen male and fifteen female , so there aro now no less than 145 male and 125
female annuitants , the former receiving £ 40 , and the latter £ 32 , per annum , ancl there are likewise thirteen widows who receive each a moiety of her late husband ' s annuity . In fact , the amount that must be raised annually , in order to pay this body of 283 beneficiaries , is £ 10 , 035 , and the
total expenditure , including cost of management , cannot bo set clown afc less than £ 12 , 500 . From these figures , and from the fact that the receipts from the Festival have been considerably moro than doubled in four years—they were £ 5 , 220 in 1874 , when Lord Wavcney
presidedour readers will perceive how strenuously "A Zealous Officer" and his successive Boards of Stewards have laboured in the cause of the Benevolent Institution ; and , what is still more important , how necessary it is their labours should be continued unceasingly , and how desirable
it is the fruits of those labours should be at least on as large a scale as they have been this year . It must not be forgotten that the addition just made , of fifteen male ancl fifteen female annuitants , was only made provisionally , and unless the standard of contributions is well maintained there will have to be a reduction in the number of the
beneficiaries . It should be added , in connection with this Institution , that the Collector , Bro . Lane , died very suddenly , and that in him it lost an able and willing officer , while yet in the prime of life . His place has been filled
by the appointment of Bro . Knill . It should be further stated that Bro . Terry ' s Winter and Summer Entertainments were held as usual at Croydon , and gave the greatest satisfaction to the " Old Folks , " whom it is a pleasure , as well as a privilege , to meet on these festive occasions .
Pass we now to the Girls' School , whose Festival came next in order of sequence . It is within the knowledge of all our friends that the able Secretary of the Royal Masonic Institution for Girls , Bro . R . Wentworth Little , has been in very feeble health during the past year . So ill , indeed ,
has he been , that his abilit y to move about among our Lodges and personally exert himself in pleading the cause of the School to whose interests he is so devoted has been very seriously curtailed . Nor has he , moreover , been able to give
that personal attention in his office which he bestowed so readily when he was in full health ancl strength . Therefore , it cannot have been a matter for surprise that the Festival of this School should have been less productive than those of the kindred Institutions . It was held on the
The Masonic Year 1877.
9 th May , tho President being Lord Suffield , who bad been installed only a few months pi-eviously , as Provincial Grand Master of Norfolk , by the Princo of Wales himself . His Lordship was well supported , and tho proceeds amounted to £ 9 , 757 13 s Cd , with twenty-three lists still to be returned .
This is over £ 1500 in excess of the amount in 1876 , which was rather more than £ 8 , 200 , with twelve lists outstanding , and this again was a considerable advance on 1875 . Tho total result of this year ' s Festival was £ 9 , 969 , while the contributions from all sources raise this tothe very handsome sum
of £ 10 , 16 v 18 s Id up to Thursday just past . This is eminently satisfactory ; but the normal expenditure has been very heavy during the past year , owing to tho provision of additional School accommodation , and as the number of pupils has been increased , and in duo time will exceed 200 ,
the annual outlay will be permanently raised . It will , therefore , be as necessary as ever that the Craft should be as liberal as heretofore . Ordinarily tho Festival is preceded by a visit to tho Institntion of the Board of Stewards and their friends , on which occasion the prizes
are distributed , ancl there are recitations , ancl performances on the pianoforte by the pupils . This year , however , owing to the prevalence of illness , the visit was not paid till tho 18 th June , Lord Suffield presiding . Everything passed off favourably , and tho pupils gave evidence of the care and
ability which are bestowed upon them . We will mention , in conclusion , the names of the principal prize-winners . These are Leila Palmer , who , in addition to other awards , carried off the Gold Medal for general proficiency , given by
Bro . W . Paas , with £ 5 added by Bro . W . Winn ; Mary Emma Baines , who took the silver medal for good conduct given by the Institution , with £ 5 added by Bro . Winn ; Blanche E . Morris , Louisa Hole , and Francis Harzman , who divided among them Bro . Winn ' s f urtber prize of £ 5 .
Last in order we come to the Boys' School , whose Festival was held the 27 th June , at the Alexandra Palace , with Bro . W . W . B . Beach , Provincial Grand Master of Hants ancl the Isle of Wight , as chairman . Owing to a clerical error the amount of subscriptions was announced as
£ 12 , 856 , with twenty-three lists still outstanding , but tho amount actually subscribed was £ 13 , 160 15 s , ancl this has reached the splendid total of £ 13 , 535 12 s 6 d . The contributions from all sources up to Thursday were £ 14 , 47914 s 6 d , and as owing to the successful labours of Bro . Binckes and
his Board of Stewards , the further sum of £ 3 , 000 has been invested in Government Securities , we must offer him and them , ancl the executive generally , our warmest felicitations on tho success of tho current year . But the future is before us , ancl it is a future which will bring with
it still heavier responsibilities . With all that has been done of late years , we find it hardly possible to keep pace with the growing demands on the resources of the Institution . A short timo since , and tho number of pupils in the School was about 160 . Then it
grew to 170 , ancl now , we believe , it is over 180 ; but at the October election there were sixty-six candidates , and only nine vacancies . However , in order to meet this growing demand as far as possible consistently with the dictates of prudence , ithas been resolved to erect additional accommodation
at the cost of about £ 3 , 000 , and by this means the authorities will have it in their power to increase the School by thirtytwo pupils . When this is clone , there will be some 212 boys well clothed , well fed , and well educated at the expense of the Craft ; ancl in order to keep the School up to this
strength , it will be absolutely necessary that the contributions of brethren should be at least as much as they have been during the past two or three years . That is , the Freemasons of this country stand committed as a body to the maintenance of our Boys' School at this particular strength , and therefore a sum sufficient to cover the cost of their
education , board , and clothing will have to be forthcoming annually . It will not be creditable if there should be such a falling-off in the donations and subscriptions as to entail a reduction in the number of the pupils . Before passing to the other events connected with our Boys , we will
mention one pleasing circumstance , which will always be remembered with satisfaction . Last year we announced that Bro . John Constable , who had arranged to act as Steward at this Festival , promised he would somehow or
other contrive to raise a list of , at the least , £ 1 , 000 . The promise was amply fulfilled , for when the eventful clay arrived , Bro . Binckes was able to announce—and he did so amid the heartiest cheers—that Bro . Constable ' s list was a few pounds over £ 1 , 200 . In acknowledgment of these valuable services , Bro . Constable has been elected an
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Masonic Year 1877.
able governance of Lord Skelmersdale , arc able to show undoubted evidence of their increased strength and popularity . It is , indeed , in the order of ( lungs , that Craft Masonry having prospered during the year , the other Masonic bodies should have enjoyed their shuro of the
general good fortune ; ancl though ifc cannot ho denied that all these bodies , save tho Royal Arch , arc extraneous to [ Masonry pure ancl . simple , still their ablest and most influential members are prominent Craft Masons to begin with , and would certainly strive hard to ensure tho success of any society into which they wero admitted .
We now approach tho most agreeable duty of all—that of recording the exploits of the Craft in the field of Charity . It was stated , shortly after tho close of 1876 , that close on £ 40 , 000 was contributed in the course of thafc year to our three Masonic Institutions ; but large as was this sum , we
have every reason to believe that when the figures are totalled up it will he found that the contributions to these samo Charities during 1877 have been largely in excess . The first of our three Festivals—that of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution—was held on Monday the 10 th February .
His Royal Highness Prince Leopold had consented to occupy tho chair , but , unfortunately , indisposition prevented him from playing this important rule . At the very last moment , the Earl of Shrewsbury and Talbot , who had presided with such success in 1875 , came forward , and , to
the relief of Bro . Terry , filled the vacancy so unexpectedly created . The Festival , as our readers are aware , was a magnificent success , and the indefatigable Secretary was able to announce , after the toast of Prosperity to the Institution had been duly honoured , a total subscription of
£ 12 , 856 , 13 , with fourteen lists still outstanding . These have "been returned since , and tho yield of this Festival is represented by the magnificent sum of £ 13 , 368 , while the contributions to this Charity from all sources amount during the yeai , or , at least , up to Thursday , the
20 th instant , to £ 13 , 909 . As a result of this munificence , the Committee of the Institution , on the motion of Lieut .-Col . Creaton , agreed to increase tho number of annuitants by thirty , namely , fifteen male and fifteen female , so there aro now no less than 145 male and 125
female annuitants , the former receiving £ 40 , and the latter £ 32 , per annum , ancl there are likewise thirteen widows who receive each a moiety of her late husband ' s annuity . In fact , the amount that must be raised annually , in order to pay this body of 283 beneficiaries , is £ 10 , 035 , and the
total expenditure , including cost of management , cannot bo set clown afc less than £ 12 , 500 . From these figures , and from the fact that the receipts from the Festival have been considerably moro than doubled in four years—they were £ 5 , 220 in 1874 , when Lord Wavcney
presidedour readers will perceive how strenuously "A Zealous Officer" and his successive Boards of Stewards have laboured in the cause of the Benevolent Institution ; and , what is still more important , how necessary it is their labours should be continued unceasingly , and how desirable
it is the fruits of those labours should be at least on as large a scale as they have been this year . It must not be forgotten that the addition just made , of fifteen male ancl fifteen female annuitants , was only made provisionally , and unless the standard of contributions is well maintained there will have to be a reduction in the number of the
beneficiaries . It should be added , in connection with this Institution , that the Collector , Bro . Lane , died very suddenly , and that in him it lost an able and willing officer , while yet in the prime of life . His place has been filled
by the appointment of Bro . Knill . It should be further stated that Bro . Terry ' s Winter and Summer Entertainments were held as usual at Croydon , and gave the greatest satisfaction to the " Old Folks , " whom it is a pleasure , as well as a privilege , to meet on these festive occasions .
Pass we now to the Girls' School , whose Festival came next in order of sequence . It is within the knowledge of all our friends that the able Secretary of the Royal Masonic Institution for Girls , Bro . R . Wentworth Little , has been in very feeble health during the past year . So ill , indeed ,
has he been , that his abilit y to move about among our Lodges and personally exert himself in pleading the cause of the School to whose interests he is so devoted has been very seriously curtailed . Nor has he , moreover , been able to give
that personal attention in his office which he bestowed so readily when he was in full health ancl strength . Therefore , it cannot have been a matter for surprise that the Festival of this School should have been less productive than those of the kindred Institutions . It was held on the
The Masonic Year 1877.
9 th May , tho President being Lord Suffield , who bad been installed only a few months pi-eviously , as Provincial Grand Master of Norfolk , by the Princo of Wales himself . His Lordship was well supported , and tho proceeds amounted to £ 9 , 757 13 s Cd , with twenty-three lists still to be returned .
This is over £ 1500 in excess of the amount in 1876 , which was rather more than £ 8 , 200 , with twelve lists outstanding , and this again was a considerable advance on 1875 . Tho total result of this year ' s Festival was £ 9 , 969 , while the contributions from all sources raise this tothe very handsome sum
of £ 10 , 16 v 18 s Id up to Thursday just past . This is eminently satisfactory ; but the normal expenditure has been very heavy during the past year , owing to tho provision of additional School accommodation , and as the number of pupils has been increased , and in duo time will exceed 200 ,
the annual outlay will be permanently raised . It will , therefore , be as necessary as ever that the Craft should be as liberal as heretofore . Ordinarily tho Festival is preceded by a visit to tho Institntion of the Board of Stewards and their friends , on which occasion the prizes
are distributed , ancl there are recitations , ancl performances on the pianoforte by the pupils . This year , however , owing to the prevalence of illness , the visit was not paid till tho 18 th June , Lord Suffield presiding . Everything passed off favourably , and tho pupils gave evidence of the care and
ability which are bestowed upon them . We will mention , in conclusion , the names of the principal prize-winners . These are Leila Palmer , who , in addition to other awards , carried off the Gold Medal for general proficiency , given by
Bro . W . Paas , with £ 5 added by Bro . W . Winn ; Mary Emma Baines , who took the silver medal for good conduct given by the Institution , with £ 5 added by Bro . Winn ; Blanche E . Morris , Louisa Hole , and Francis Harzman , who divided among them Bro . Winn ' s f urtber prize of £ 5 .
Last in order we come to the Boys' School , whose Festival was held the 27 th June , at the Alexandra Palace , with Bro . W . W . B . Beach , Provincial Grand Master of Hants ancl the Isle of Wight , as chairman . Owing to a clerical error the amount of subscriptions was announced as
£ 12 , 856 , with twenty-three lists still outstanding , but tho amount actually subscribed was £ 13 , 160 15 s , ancl this has reached the splendid total of £ 13 , 535 12 s 6 d . The contributions from all sources up to Thursday were £ 14 , 47914 s 6 d , and as owing to the successful labours of Bro . Binckes and
his Board of Stewards , the further sum of £ 3 , 000 has been invested in Government Securities , we must offer him and them , ancl the executive generally , our warmest felicitations on tho success of tho current year . But the future is before us , ancl it is a future which will bring with
it still heavier responsibilities . With all that has been done of late years , we find it hardly possible to keep pace with the growing demands on the resources of the Institution . A short timo since , and tho number of pupils in the School was about 160 . Then it
grew to 170 , ancl now , we believe , it is over 180 ; but at the October election there were sixty-six candidates , and only nine vacancies . However , in order to meet this growing demand as far as possible consistently with the dictates of prudence , ithas been resolved to erect additional accommodation
at the cost of about £ 3 , 000 , and by this means the authorities will have it in their power to increase the School by thirtytwo pupils . When this is clone , there will be some 212 boys well clothed , well fed , and well educated at the expense of the Craft ; ancl in order to keep the School up to this
strength , it will be absolutely necessary that the contributions of brethren should be at least as much as they have been during the past two or three years . That is , the Freemasons of this country stand committed as a body to the maintenance of our Boys' School at this particular strength , and therefore a sum sufficient to cover the cost of their
education , board , and clothing will have to be forthcoming annually . It will not be creditable if there should be such a falling-off in the donations and subscriptions as to entail a reduction in the number of the pupils . Before passing to the other events connected with our Boys , we will
mention one pleasing circumstance , which will always be remembered with satisfaction . Last year we announced that Bro . John Constable , who had arranged to act as Steward at this Festival , promised he would somehow or
other contrive to raise a list of , at the least , £ 1 , 000 . The promise was amply fulfilled , for when the eventful clay arrived , Bro . Binckes was able to announce—and he did so amid the heartiest cheers—that Bro . Constable ' s list was a few pounds over £ 1 , 200 . In acknowledgment of these valuable services , Bro . Constable has been elected an