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Article AN ENDOWMENT FUND FOR THE FREEMASONS' LIFEBOAT. Page 1 of 1 Article AN ENDOWMENT FUND FOR THE FREEMASONS' LIFEBOAT. Page 1 of 1 Article THE MASON: A SINCERE MAN. Page 1 of 2 →
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An Endowment Fund For The Freemasons' Lifeboat.
AN ENDOWMENT FUND FOR THE FREEMASONS' LIFEBOAT .
THE letter which we published in our second number , from the pen of " A Master Mason , " has directed attention to the whole question involved in the maintenance of the boats of the National Lifeboat Association . " Master Mason ' s " ignorance of the fact that the
Fraternity had already placed a boat upon an exposed station on the coast is scarcely excusable , but his suggestion , in a further letter , which our readers will find in another " column , is so thoroughly practical , that we are prepared to go somewhat out of our way for the purpose of giving it a fair hearing-. He ventures to remind his Masonic brethren that
the cost of maintaining the boat presented by the Fraternity amounts to a considerable annual sum , and suggests the starting of an Endowment Fund for the purpose of
relieving the Lifeboat Association from the burthen of its maintenance . Coincident with the receipt of this letter we have had a communication from the Secretary of the Association , whoso attention had been called to the
discussion in our columns , and lie informs us that the annual cost of the Freemasons' Lifeboat is £ 70 . He further adds that boats are always forthcoming , either for new stations , or for replacing old and worn-out craft , but what the Association greatly needs is cash to keep the great flotilla
under its command in an efficient condition . We fee ! assured that words of such grave import as these , coming from such high authority , will at once arrest tho attention of our brethren , and we shall bo prepared to receive subscriptions towards the formation of an " Endowment
Fund , " for the purpose of making the Freemasons' Lifeboat free of the charitable donations of the general body of the public . Sums of money so received will be carefully acknowledged in our columns , and paid over , at stated intervals , to the account of the Association .
It would be idle indeed for us to say anything in reference to the importance of saving life at sea . The responsibility has been accepted as a sacred duty by the public , who , however , little realise the state of things " which prevails on our coasts during a stormy winter . Mr . Plimsoll declared ,
the other day , that we are drowning our seamen at the rate of 5 , 000 a year , and this awful sacrifice of human life is in a great measure preventable . We do not desire , in these columns , to revive the painful discussion with which the name of the Hon . Member for Derby is associated . We
are indeed of opinion that many of his statements wore exaggerated , but , after making every allowance for tho inaccuracies into which he was led , it must bo apparent to every one of us that an undue proportion of the seamen employed in the coasting trade lose their lives in pursuance
of their hazardous and noble calling . We should be tho last to assert that owners knowingly send brave men to sea-in rotten ships , indeed , this hypothesis is by no means necessary to account for the great increase in the number of naval casualties which have occurred of late vears .
The whole surface of the home seas is dotted with merchant vessels , engaged in the useful duty of conveying bulky articles of commerce to homo and continental ports . Those who understand nautical matters do not need to be told that when a heavily laden collier brig is caught in
a gale on a lee shore , she must run serious risk of touching the ground and going to pieces . Skill , seamanship , and the staunch qualities of the best of sea boats arc often useless in a sudden and violent storm . The vessel drives upon the frowning coast , and , but for the ready services
An Endowment Fund For The Freemasons' Lifeboat.
of tho Lifeboat , a catastrophe of this kind would nearly always prove fatal to all on board . What those services are , we all know . The little publication issued b y the Association is filled with stories of heroism , beside which the vaunted deeds of the soldier look mean and insio-.
nificant . We read the simple records of these services with a thrill at the heart , and wo contemplate the hard y mariners contending against the mightiest forces of nature with admiration and awe . Sometimes the Lifeboat has to be dragged for miles over a rugged coasfc
before it can be launched to succour the perishing seamen of some doomed ship . Oftentimes its hard y crew are compelled to pull for miles , dead to windward , in the teeth of a terrible gale , their only guide being tho minute gun of the stranded bark , or the lurid
glare of a distant rocket . The service , at the best of times , is dangerous , and involves exposure and hardship such as wo , who live at homo at ease , can scarcely realise . Tho drenching spray , in spite of the protection of waterproofs , wets the boatmen to the skin , and exposure for many hours
at a time to an atmosphere below freezing point is trying to the most hardy frame . Yet all this is cheerfully endured by the gallant fellows for a pecuniary reward which , if it alone inspired their zeal , would be regarded as pitiful . No one knows bettor than the inhabitants of our
fismng villages and coast towns that the sum gained is not the incentive which nerves the arms of tho Lifeboat crew . They are as eager to save life as tho most refined and cultivated amongst us , and , if money alone were the object of their desires . ' , they would gain more by acting as salvors of cargo than as the saviours of human life .
We are assured that in thus bringing this noble service prominently before our readers we are performing a duty in perfect harmony with the principles which bind Freemasons together in the bonds of a sacred brotherhood . We are certain that our appeal for funds will not be made
in vain , and we shall be proud to be the medium through which the charitable donations of the Order may pass to the coffers of the noble Association which so grandly upholds the Christian character of the people of these islands . The Endowment Fund , if we may venture to so style it , will
bo devoted especially to the maintenance of the Masonic Lifeboat , whose services we shall be glad to record from time to time for the gratification of our readers . We sincerely trust that tho response of our readers to this appeal of ours will be no half-hoartod one . Wo are now
in the midst of the most stormy season of tho year , and while a single seamen perishes in sight of these hospitable shores a heavy responsibility rests upon those whoso
comforts arc so materially increased by that gallant and hard y race whose courage and enterprise have contributed to make England a Naval power compared with which the boasted glories of Tyre and Carthage look mean and trivial ,
The Mason: A Sincere Man.
THE MASON : A SINCERE MAN .
IN delineating the character of tho Freemason we shall avoid giving too free a rein to the imagination . We may sot up an ideal standard of excellence , but we shall not go the length of imagining that every Mason has attained that standard . In our opening number we
pointed out , with a certain freedom of language which some , perhaps , may have mistaken for overboldncss , that at all events every representative Freemason , holding distinguished rank in the Fraternity , should exhibit that
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
An Endowment Fund For The Freemasons' Lifeboat.
AN ENDOWMENT FUND FOR THE FREEMASONS' LIFEBOAT .
THE letter which we published in our second number , from the pen of " A Master Mason , " has directed attention to the whole question involved in the maintenance of the boats of the National Lifeboat Association . " Master Mason ' s " ignorance of the fact that the
Fraternity had already placed a boat upon an exposed station on the coast is scarcely excusable , but his suggestion , in a further letter , which our readers will find in another " column , is so thoroughly practical , that we are prepared to go somewhat out of our way for the purpose of giving it a fair hearing-. He ventures to remind his Masonic brethren that
the cost of maintaining the boat presented by the Fraternity amounts to a considerable annual sum , and suggests the starting of an Endowment Fund for the purpose of
relieving the Lifeboat Association from the burthen of its maintenance . Coincident with the receipt of this letter we have had a communication from the Secretary of the Association , whoso attention had been called to the
discussion in our columns , and lie informs us that the annual cost of the Freemasons' Lifeboat is £ 70 . He further adds that boats are always forthcoming , either for new stations , or for replacing old and worn-out craft , but what the Association greatly needs is cash to keep the great flotilla
under its command in an efficient condition . We fee ! assured that words of such grave import as these , coming from such high authority , will at once arrest tho attention of our brethren , and we shall bo prepared to receive subscriptions towards the formation of an " Endowment
Fund , " for the purpose of making the Freemasons' Lifeboat free of the charitable donations of the general body of the public . Sums of money so received will be carefully acknowledged in our columns , and paid over , at stated intervals , to the account of the Association .
It would be idle indeed for us to say anything in reference to the importance of saving life at sea . The responsibility has been accepted as a sacred duty by the public , who , however , little realise the state of things " which prevails on our coasts during a stormy winter . Mr . Plimsoll declared ,
the other day , that we are drowning our seamen at the rate of 5 , 000 a year , and this awful sacrifice of human life is in a great measure preventable . We do not desire , in these columns , to revive the painful discussion with which the name of the Hon . Member for Derby is associated . We
are indeed of opinion that many of his statements wore exaggerated , but , after making every allowance for tho inaccuracies into which he was led , it must bo apparent to every one of us that an undue proportion of the seamen employed in the coasting trade lose their lives in pursuance
of their hazardous and noble calling . We should be tho last to assert that owners knowingly send brave men to sea-in rotten ships , indeed , this hypothesis is by no means necessary to account for the great increase in the number of naval casualties which have occurred of late vears .
The whole surface of the home seas is dotted with merchant vessels , engaged in the useful duty of conveying bulky articles of commerce to homo and continental ports . Those who understand nautical matters do not need to be told that when a heavily laden collier brig is caught in
a gale on a lee shore , she must run serious risk of touching the ground and going to pieces . Skill , seamanship , and the staunch qualities of the best of sea boats arc often useless in a sudden and violent storm . The vessel drives upon the frowning coast , and , but for the ready services
An Endowment Fund For The Freemasons' Lifeboat.
of tho Lifeboat , a catastrophe of this kind would nearly always prove fatal to all on board . What those services are , we all know . The little publication issued b y the Association is filled with stories of heroism , beside which the vaunted deeds of the soldier look mean and insio-.
nificant . We read the simple records of these services with a thrill at the heart , and wo contemplate the hard y mariners contending against the mightiest forces of nature with admiration and awe . Sometimes the Lifeboat has to be dragged for miles over a rugged coasfc
before it can be launched to succour the perishing seamen of some doomed ship . Oftentimes its hard y crew are compelled to pull for miles , dead to windward , in the teeth of a terrible gale , their only guide being tho minute gun of the stranded bark , or the lurid
glare of a distant rocket . The service , at the best of times , is dangerous , and involves exposure and hardship such as wo , who live at homo at ease , can scarcely realise . Tho drenching spray , in spite of the protection of waterproofs , wets the boatmen to the skin , and exposure for many hours
at a time to an atmosphere below freezing point is trying to the most hardy frame . Yet all this is cheerfully endured by the gallant fellows for a pecuniary reward which , if it alone inspired their zeal , would be regarded as pitiful . No one knows bettor than the inhabitants of our
fismng villages and coast towns that the sum gained is not the incentive which nerves the arms of tho Lifeboat crew . They are as eager to save life as tho most refined and cultivated amongst us , and , if money alone were the object of their desires . ' , they would gain more by acting as salvors of cargo than as the saviours of human life .
We are assured that in thus bringing this noble service prominently before our readers we are performing a duty in perfect harmony with the principles which bind Freemasons together in the bonds of a sacred brotherhood . We are certain that our appeal for funds will not be made
in vain , and we shall be proud to be the medium through which the charitable donations of the Order may pass to the coffers of the noble Association which so grandly upholds the Christian character of the people of these islands . The Endowment Fund , if we may venture to so style it , will
bo devoted especially to the maintenance of the Masonic Lifeboat , whose services we shall be glad to record from time to time for the gratification of our readers . We sincerely trust that tho response of our readers to this appeal of ours will be no half-hoartod one . Wo are now
in the midst of the most stormy season of tho year , and while a single seamen perishes in sight of these hospitable shores a heavy responsibility rests upon those whoso
comforts arc so materially increased by that gallant and hard y race whose courage and enterprise have contributed to make England a Naval power compared with which the boasted glories of Tyre and Carthage look mean and trivial ,
The Mason: A Sincere Man.
THE MASON : A SINCERE MAN .
IN delineating the character of tho Freemason we shall avoid giving too free a rein to the imagination . We may sot up an ideal standard of excellence , but we shall not go the length of imagining that every Mason has attained that standard . In our opening number we
pointed out , with a certain freedom of language which some , perhaps , may have mistaken for overboldncss , that at all events every representative Freemason , holding distinguished rank in the Fraternity , should exhibit that