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Article THE BENEVOLENT FESTIVAL. Page 1 of 3 Article THE BENEVOLENT FESTIVAL. Page 1 of 3 →
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The Benevolent Festival.
THE BENEVOLENT FESTIVAL .
WE are not a little disappointed , as well as considerably surprised , at the result of the Anniversary Festival of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution , held on Tuesday , under the presidency of the Earl of Jersey Provincial Grand Master for Oxfordshire ; but at the same
time we admit their is room for congratulation that there was not an even greater falling off in the amount contributed than was actually the case , in view of the very strong counter attraction of the year—the Centenary of the Boys School .
Our disappointment arises from the fact that the total announced on Tuesday fell considerably short of £ 10 , 000—the actual amount being £ 9 , 443—whereas we had anticipated at least £ 12 , 000 , in view of the number of
Stewards who were working on behalf of the Festival , the urgency of the claims put forward by the Institution , and the peculiar work it is so admirably carrying out on behalf of the aged of the Craft , and their widows .
Our surprise is occasioned by the very small average secured by the Stewards at this Festival , the total working out but a trifle above £ 3 8 per head for the whole Board of 247 Stewards , an average which we believe is far below
what has been usual for many years past in connection with this Institution , and goes far to prove the difficulty the Stewards themselves had to face when they made their appeal on behalf of the Old People .
In this connection we may here refer to last year ' s Festival , which was admittedly exceptionally favoured , inasmuch as H . R . H . the Duke of Connaught presided , and not only enlisted the sympathy of the Craft for one of its
Past Grand Masters , and the enthusiasm of one of the most important counties for its Provincial Grand Master , but the loyalty of the whole Order for one of the most esteemed members of the Royal Family ; three special
considerations which resulted in a Board of Stewards numbering close on 420 , and a return of £ 18 , 197 , a total only once before exceeded at an ordinary Festival of this Institution . But even this large Board of Stewards showed
an average collection nearly £ 5 a head above what was realised at Tuesday ' s gathering , while as a further proof of the "hard times" which have fallen upon the Benevolent Institution we may point to the fact that last year the
London total alone exceeded the whole result of this year by £ 640 , and that despite the fact that London was represented by only 196 Stewards in 18 97 , whereas the entire Board for 18 9 8 was 51 more , or , as already mentioned , 247 in all .
In urging all this , however , we must not overlook the fact , already referred to in the course of these remarks , that the total announced on Tuesday affords matter for congratulation , for although a result of about
£ 9 , 500 is a long way short of what we have been accustomed to for many years past , it is a splendid sum to raise , considering the special circumstances of the year . For purposes of comparison we may go back to 1888 ,
the year of the celebration of the Centenary of the Girls School , when equally gloomy forebodings were uttered as to the probable results of the Festivals of the two other Institutions as have been general this year ; but , happily ,
the result in the case of the Benevolent Institution then far exceeded general expectations , the announcement at its Festival of 1888 , preceding the Girls School Centenary celebration , being £ 15 , 081 18 s 6 d ; while at that of 188 9 , following the great event , a sum of £ 13 , 055 19 s was
The Benevolent Festival.
subscribed , totals which , although showing the effect of the special counter attraction , were certainly nothing to cause actual grumbling . ' j The case of the Boys School at that time , however ,
was different , and , as a matter of fact , it found itself in a worse position , as a result of the Girls School Centenary , than the Benevolent Institution is placed in this year , from a similar cause . The 1888 Festival of
the Boys School , held a few weeks after the Centenary of the Sister Institution , realised but £ 8 , 600 , while the following year the total was but a trifle beyond that of the Benevolent of 1889 , viz ., £ 13 , 200 , and we remember
observing , when those figures were being analysed , and were taken in connection with the very small total of £ 5 , 354 contributed to the Girls School in 188 9 , that the £ 50 , 000 odd collected for the Girls Centenary was
no particular advantage to the Institutions taken all round ; and this is best proved when we point out that the six Festivals of 1888-9 realised altogether £ 106 , 000 , an average of about £ 17 , 632 each , a sum not so very far
beyond what would have been probable under . the ordinary circumstances of that period ; and it would seem that the experiences of that time are , likely to be
repeated now , although the case will be somewhat different if the anticipations of £ 100 , 000 for the Boys Centenary are to be realised .
There was one gleam of hope thrown out immediately after the announcement on Tuesday , when the Secretary Bro . James Terry , who we believe has worked harder than ever this year on behalf of his Institution , despite
the result , announced that Bro . C . E . Keyser had kindly offered fifty guineas , if thirteen other Brethren would each give the same amount , in order to make the total over £ 10 , 000 . The necessary conditions have not yet been
fulfilled , but we hope we shall ere long be able to announce that Bro . Keyser has been called upon to carry out his generous proposal . It must not be forgotten that Bro . Keyser is already pledged to a
subscription of some £ 5 , 000 to provide a Chapel for the new Schools for our Boys at Bushey , or that he has already contributed immense sums to the three Institutions ; he is one of their warmest supporters , and
is probably working as hard as any one to find the thirteen Brethren he stipulated for , in order that he may be able to hand over his own fifty guineas . May he and other friends of the Old People be successful in their quest !
Happily the Benevolent Institution is not wholly short of funds—apart from the different amounts invested , and which it has always been the rule to keep intact—so that it will probably be possible to pay the annuities of the
year , and meet the necessary expenses , without getting into debt , or encroaching upon money put away for the purpose of ensuring a permanent income in the form of interest . But that matters will be run very close must be apparent
to the most casual observer when we point out that the annuities at present in force absorb some £ 16 , 38 4 per annum , with a permanent income of £ 3 , 600 only , or a deficit this year of something like £ 3 , 500 beyond the
amount required for management and general working expenses . Even with all this to be considered we yet believe the Craft will fully endorse the observations of Bro . John A . Farnfield Treasurer of the Institution , when he said that it would ¦ be unfortunate to have to realise any portion of the invested capital of the Charity , in order to continue its good work , and in so endorsing
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Benevolent Festival.
THE BENEVOLENT FESTIVAL .
WE are not a little disappointed , as well as considerably surprised , at the result of the Anniversary Festival of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution , held on Tuesday , under the presidency of the Earl of Jersey Provincial Grand Master for Oxfordshire ; but at the same
time we admit their is room for congratulation that there was not an even greater falling off in the amount contributed than was actually the case , in view of the very strong counter attraction of the year—the Centenary of the Boys School .
Our disappointment arises from the fact that the total announced on Tuesday fell considerably short of £ 10 , 000—the actual amount being £ 9 , 443—whereas we had anticipated at least £ 12 , 000 , in view of the number of
Stewards who were working on behalf of the Festival , the urgency of the claims put forward by the Institution , and the peculiar work it is so admirably carrying out on behalf of the aged of the Craft , and their widows .
Our surprise is occasioned by the very small average secured by the Stewards at this Festival , the total working out but a trifle above £ 3 8 per head for the whole Board of 247 Stewards , an average which we believe is far below
what has been usual for many years past in connection with this Institution , and goes far to prove the difficulty the Stewards themselves had to face when they made their appeal on behalf of the Old People .
In this connection we may here refer to last year ' s Festival , which was admittedly exceptionally favoured , inasmuch as H . R . H . the Duke of Connaught presided , and not only enlisted the sympathy of the Craft for one of its
Past Grand Masters , and the enthusiasm of one of the most important counties for its Provincial Grand Master , but the loyalty of the whole Order for one of the most esteemed members of the Royal Family ; three special
considerations which resulted in a Board of Stewards numbering close on 420 , and a return of £ 18 , 197 , a total only once before exceeded at an ordinary Festival of this Institution . But even this large Board of Stewards showed
an average collection nearly £ 5 a head above what was realised at Tuesday ' s gathering , while as a further proof of the "hard times" which have fallen upon the Benevolent Institution we may point to the fact that last year the
London total alone exceeded the whole result of this year by £ 640 , and that despite the fact that London was represented by only 196 Stewards in 18 97 , whereas the entire Board for 18 9 8 was 51 more , or , as already mentioned , 247 in all .
In urging all this , however , we must not overlook the fact , already referred to in the course of these remarks , that the total announced on Tuesday affords matter for congratulation , for although a result of about
£ 9 , 500 is a long way short of what we have been accustomed to for many years past , it is a splendid sum to raise , considering the special circumstances of the year . For purposes of comparison we may go back to 1888 ,
the year of the celebration of the Centenary of the Girls School , when equally gloomy forebodings were uttered as to the probable results of the Festivals of the two other Institutions as have been general this year ; but , happily ,
the result in the case of the Benevolent Institution then far exceeded general expectations , the announcement at its Festival of 1888 , preceding the Girls School Centenary celebration , being £ 15 , 081 18 s 6 d ; while at that of 188 9 , following the great event , a sum of £ 13 , 055 19 s was
The Benevolent Festival.
subscribed , totals which , although showing the effect of the special counter attraction , were certainly nothing to cause actual grumbling . ' j The case of the Boys School at that time , however ,
was different , and , as a matter of fact , it found itself in a worse position , as a result of the Girls School Centenary , than the Benevolent Institution is placed in this year , from a similar cause . The 1888 Festival of
the Boys School , held a few weeks after the Centenary of the Sister Institution , realised but £ 8 , 600 , while the following year the total was but a trifle beyond that of the Benevolent of 1889 , viz ., £ 13 , 200 , and we remember
observing , when those figures were being analysed , and were taken in connection with the very small total of £ 5 , 354 contributed to the Girls School in 188 9 , that the £ 50 , 000 odd collected for the Girls Centenary was
no particular advantage to the Institutions taken all round ; and this is best proved when we point out that the six Festivals of 1888-9 realised altogether £ 106 , 000 , an average of about £ 17 , 632 each , a sum not so very far
beyond what would have been probable under . the ordinary circumstances of that period ; and it would seem that the experiences of that time are , likely to be
repeated now , although the case will be somewhat different if the anticipations of £ 100 , 000 for the Boys Centenary are to be realised .
There was one gleam of hope thrown out immediately after the announcement on Tuesday , when the Secretary Bro . James Terry , who we believe has worked harder than ever this year on behalf of his Institution , despite
the result , announced that Bro . C . E . Keyser had kindly offered fifty guineas , if thirteen other Brethren would each give the same amount , in order to make the total over £ 10 , 000 . The necessary conditions have not yet been
fulfilled , but we hope we shall ere long be able to announce that Bro . Keyser has been called upon to carry out his generous proposal . It must not be forgotten that Bro . Keyser is already pledged to a
subscription of some £ 5 , 000 to provide a Chapel for the new Schools for our Boys at Bushey , or that he has already contributed immense sums to the three Institutions ; he is one of their warmest supporters , and
is probably working as hard as any one to find the thirteen Brethren he stipulated for , in order that he may be able to hand over his own fifty guineas . May he and other friends of the Old People be successful in their quest !
Happily the Benevolent Institution is not wholly short of funds—apart from the different amounts invested , and which it has always been the rule to keep intact—so that it will probably be possible to pay the annuities of the
year , and meet the necessary expenses , without getting into debt , or encroaching upon money put away for the purpose of ensuring a permanent income in the form of interest . But that matters will be run very close must be apparent
to the most casual observer when we point out that the annuities at present in force absorb some £ 16 , 38 4 per annum , with a permanent income of £ 3 , 600 only , or a deficit this year of something like £ 3 , 500 beyond the
amount required for management and general working expenses . Even with all this to be considered we yet believe the Craft will fully endorse the observations of Bro . John A . Farnfield Treasurer of the Institution , when he said that it would ¦ be unfortunate to have to realise any portion of the invested capital of the Charity , in order to continue its good work , and in so endorsing