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Article CORRESPONDENCE. ← Page 3 of 8 →
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Correspondence.
they shouldpay into this fund 53 / . 11 * . ; we also know that the Provincial Grand Masters should pay into it 751 . V > s ., anil we know that the Edinburgh , Leith , and Portobello Lodges shouldpay 14 / . 14 s ., and then-Masters and Wardens I'll . os . There is no mistake about this ; but tills alone comes to 156 / . 2 s . Yet the sums paitl last year only reached 132 / . 19 s . C'rf . ! But we have yet to add the Proxy Masters' and Wardens' fees—170 ofthe formerand 272 of the latter ; this amounts
, to 66 / . 10 . s-. ; hut call it only 50 ' ., as a number of Lodges are represented by their own Masters and Wardens , who are exempt , not being " in the bond . " This would give a total revenue of upwards of 200 / ., which , if distributed in a judieious manner , would prove a blessing to many a poor and deserving Brother . But the wretched pittance which is given is a mockery ; no wonder that there is a stigma attached to our body , if such is our Masonic charity , and our charitable contributions . But there is
another phasis making its appearance ; hut it does not dovetail neatly with statements given in the former accounts of this fund . If we refer to the circular of 1849 , we shall find that - 'the Grand Clerk ' s services , its collector and distributor of the fund , are , and have been , purely honorary and gratuitous . " Again , in 1 S 50 , it is said , " The wonted economy is practised in managing this fund . The Grand Clerk ' s services are gratuitousand the only expences incurred in the managementare for
, , printing , for postage , and petty disbursements . " Let us now look at the circular for 1851 , in which we find , among the charges upon the income of this fund . Item No . 3 , " Share ( being a fourth J rent of premises , 20 , St . Andrew ' s Square , from Whitsunday 1848 , to Martinmas 1850 , and cleaning tlitto , Si . Ts . lid . " This does not square well with " the only
expenses incurred , " as in the statement for 1850 . 1 do not think that the Grand Lodge of Scotland should expect persons to work for nothing ; they should be paid ; at the same time , when the individuals make such statements themselves about " honorary and gratuitous sercices , " it does look " a little coming-over-us-like , " to charge rent when the only expenses are " printing / ' " -postage , " and " petty disbursements . " It is surely the duty of the Brethren to look after these things , to get a clear and distinct statement of the accountsand to have them
regu-, larly audited , which they are not ! There was a motion proposed by a Brother , to come on for discussion at the last meeting of the Grand IjOtlge—b y far too good a motion to come from such a quarter , — " that a statement of all money received , and all the money paid out of this fund , be laid upon the table of the Grand Lodge , with the names of those who received it . " It fell , however , to the ground , as the mover was absent ; had he been in his lacewe have no doubt the result would
p , have been just the same . I have thus shewn the result of Scottish benevolence , not , I trust , in an ill-natured manner ; for it certainly must be pleasing to think , that we manage matters so well as to have a good stock of money in hand , and that we are able to afford to FIFTY SEVEN applicants the sum of eight shillings each , and to one TEN POUNDS ! I will not at present notice the facility with which the applicants obtain reliefas that must form part of another
, communication . Iu the mean time , however , I must say that this fund may be called a purse within a circle , to which all points of the circumference ( ought to ) contribute ; but however destitute any Brother may be , there is very little chance of the funds finding their way to the circumference again ; the fact is , the fund is not managed as it should be , and , as a mailer of course , many do tint support it ; the Lodges generally are
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Correspondence.
they shouldpay into this fund 53 / . 11 * . ; we also know that the Provincial Grand Masters should pay into it 751 . V > s ., anil we know that the Edinburgh , Leith , and Portobello Lodges shouldpay 14 / . 14 s ., and then-Masters and Wardens I'll . os . There is no mistake about this ; but tills alone comes to 156 / . 2 s . Yet the sums paitl last year only reached 132 / . 19 s . C'rf . ! But we have yet to add the Proxy Masters' and Wardens' fees—170 ofthe formerand 272 of the latter ; this amounts
, to 66 / . 10 . s-. ; hut call it only 50 ' ., as a number of Lodges are represented by their own Masters and Wardens , who are exempt , not being " in the bond . " This would give a total revenue of upwards of 200 / ., which , if distributed in a judieious manner , would prove a blessing to many a poor and deserving Brother . But the wretched pittance which is given is a mockery ; no wonder that there is a stigma attached to our body , if such is our Masonic charity , and our charitable contributions . But there is
another phasis making its appearance ; hut it does not dovetail neatly with statements given in the former accounts of this fund . If we refer to the circular of 1849 , we shall find that - 'the Grand Clerk ' s services , its collector and distributor of the fund , are , and have been , purely honorary and gratuitous . " Again , in 1 S 50 , it is said , " The wonted economy is practised in managing this fund . The Grand Clerk ' s services are gratuitousand the only expences incurred in the managementare for
, , printing , for postage , and petty disbursements . " Let us now look at the circular for 1851 , in which we find , among the charges upon the income of this fund . Item No . 3 , " Share ( being a fourth J rent of premises , 20 , St . Andrew ' s Square , from Whitsunday 1848 , to Martinmas 1850 , and cleaning tlitto , Si . Ts . lid . " This does not square well with " the only
expenses incurred , " as in the statement for 1850 . 1 do not think that the Grand Lodge of Scotland should expect persons to work for nothing ; they should be paid ; at the same time , when the individuals make such statements themselves about " honorary and gratuitous sercices , " it does look " a little coming-over-us-like , " to charge rent when the only expenses are " printing / ' " -postage , " and " petty disbursements . " It is surely the duty of the Brethren to look after these things , to get a clear and distinct statement of the accountsand to have them
regu-, larly audited , which they are not ! There was a motion proposed by a Brother , to come on for discussion at the last meeting of the Grand IjOtlge—b y far too good a motion to come from such a quarter , — " that a statement of all money received , and all the money paid out of this fund , be laid upon the table of the Grand Lodge , with the names of those who received it . " It fell , however , to the ground , as the mover was absent ; had he been in his lacewe have no doubt the result would
p , have been just the same . I have thus shewn the result of Scottish benevolence , not , I trust , in an ill-natured manner ; for it certainly must be pleasing to think , that we manage matters so well as to have a good stock of money in hand , and that we are able to afford to FIFTY SEVEN applicants the sum of eight shillings each , and to one TEN POUNDS ! I will not at present notice the facility with which the applicants obtain reliefas that must form part of another
, communication . Iu the mean time , however , I must say that this fund may be called a purse within a circle , to which all points of the circumference ( ought to ) contribute ; but however destitute any Brother may be , there is very little chance of the funds finding their way to the circumference again ; the fact is , the fund is not managed as it should be , and , as a mailer of course , many do tint support it ; the Lodges generally are