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Article ROYAL MASONIC BENEVOLENT INSTITUTION. ← Page 2 of 3 Article ROYAL MASONIC BENEVOLENT INSTITUTION. Page 2 of 3 Article ROYAL MASONIC BENEVOLENT INSTITUTION. Page 2 of 3 →
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Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution.
Sec . Royal Masonic Institution for Girls ; At the conclusion of the banquet grace was sung , and the toasts were delivered in rapid succession , music in only a few instances being allowed to fill up the intervals between toasts and replies .
His Royal Highness in giving the first toast said , ' . —Brethren , the first toast that I shall have the honour of proposing to you this evening , is one which I feel convinced will require no preface from me ; 'it is that of "Her Majesty the Queen , " ( Cheers . ) Brethren , let us drink
' The Health of the Queen , and the increasing happiness of the Craft . " The toast was followed by the singing of the National Anthem . The Marquess of Ripon : —May it please your Royal Highness , Brethren , I esteem myself very
fortunate that it should have fallen to my lot upon this occasion to propose to you the toast that I have now to offer to this great assembly . I know well that the health of the Royal Famil y is always drunk with the utmost enthusiasm in
every Masonic assembly , ( Hear , hear . ) Loyalty is one of the distinguishing features of the Craft , and therefore we deli g ht to honour the Royal Family . ( Hear , hear . ) But , brethren , we have upon this occasion a yet closer and more Masonic interest in the toast which I am about
io propose , because the first name that I have to oiler to you now is the name of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales ( immense applause ) , who is dear to us all , inasmuch as he has been pleased to add to the many honours of this ancient Craft the dignity of his illustrious name .
But on this occasion we have to drink the health of His Royal Highness not only as a distinguished Mason , but as the Chairman of this festival . Brethren , you have assembled in vast numbers from every province in England for the purpose of testify ing your interest in the
Institution in whose honour we have met to-day , and I am sure that there is no brother present in this hall who will not join me in thinking that it is a subject of deep congratulation to this Institution and to the Craft at large that we should have the great advantage of being presided over by the Prince of Wales . ( Hear , hear . ) Such
sanction to the labours of all who are engaged in carrying on the work of this Institution is indeed an honour and is the highest encouragnient ; and sure I am that every one of you will join with me in drinking from your hearts " The Health of the Prince of Wales , " and in giving to His Royal Highness a truly Masonic
welcome . The toast was drunk with great enthusiasm , and was followed by the rendering of " God bless the Prince of Wales . " His Royal Highness , in responding , said : —Most Worship ful Grand Master and Brethren , I can
assure you that I feel deeply sensible of the excessively kind manner in which our Grand Master has proposed my health , and the cordial way in which you , brethren , have received it . It is now two years since I have had the pleasure and advantage of meeting my Masonic brethren ,
and I can assure them that it affords mc very great pleasure to do so again this evening , and to see myself on this festive occasion supported by so many of the brethren from every part of our realms . Brethren . I think you will believe me when I tell you that it is not merely
idle words when I assure you most deeply that have the interest of our great brotherhood at heart ( Cheers ) . Although I was initiated in the mysteries of our Craft in a foreign land , from the moment that I returned to England till the present day have I been received with such
kindness and such cordiality by my Masonic brethren and countrymen , that 1 have always considered myself as a true English Mason . ( Hear , hear . ) Brethren , I have so many duties to do in the course of the year that I cannot be so much given up to the interests of our Craft as I should like ; but whenever the occasion demands that I
should give you assistance , in any way that lies in my power , I can assure you that I most cordiall y and heartily do so . Allow me once more to thank your for the kind way you have received this toast , and allow me , in the name of the Princess of Wales and the other members of the Royal Family , to thank you also , brethren . His RoyalJHighness : —Most Worshipful Grand
Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution.
Master and Bretliren , I have now the honour of proposing to you a toast—one which I think in this generous assembly will be received with the greatest possible enthusiasm , as it is the " Health of our Grand Master . " ( Cheers . ) I feel sure , brethren , that you will agree with me that before
him it would be bad taste on my part to pronounce those eulogies on his name which , if he were absent , it would give me the greatest pleasure to do . At the same time I know I shall receive the hearty concurrence of all those present in proposing to you his health , and you will agree
with me that no person in this country has the interest of Freemasonry more at heart than he has . Confident I am that all those who are under his order feel proud that he should be our chief . Brethren , I call upon you to drink " The Health of the Most Worshipful the Marquis of
Ripon . ( Applause . ) The Marquess of Ripon in response , said , May it please Your Royal Highness , —Brethren , I thank you heartil y for the manner in which you been kind enough to drink my health . I can assure you , sir , that I esteem it a great honour to
be present upon this occasion , on which you have been pleased to give your personal support and sanction to one of our Great Masonic Charities . You have shewn , sir , by so doing that you truly appreciate the principles of our Craft ( hear , hear ) , and the body which , cemented together in
one common bond of mutual sympathy and united principle . Your Royal Highness on thc step of the throne , and every brother in the most distant part of this country , must , I think , be a body , when its public character is such as that which I trust Freemasonry can claim throughout thecountry , of
which any man may justly be proud that he has the honour to be at its head . I , sir , am well aware of my own shortcomings in the great office which I fill . I come among you ; but whenever I do so , brethren , you receive me with so much kindness , you give me so many proofs of your
confidence , and I hope I may say , your regard , that I am encouraged still so long as that confidence may be preserved to me to endeavour to discharge the duties of my office and to labour earnestly and zealously for the benefit of the Craft . ( Cheers . )
The Earl of Shrewsbury and Talbot : —May it please Your Royal Highness , ladies and brethren , I confess I should feel a great diffidence in rising to give the toast that 1 have the honour of suggesting to you at the present moment were it not of such intrinsic value that it requires little or
no recommendation on my part . It is one ofthe great beauties of our Craft that our reflections are not only for a moment , but are sanguine as our anticipations for thc future , and when I offer to you the name of the Earl of Zetland , who you
will immediately remember ruled over the Craft for fivc-and-twenty years , and endeared himself to us , it is not for me , somewhat of a young Mason , to attempt to eluogise the character of the noble Lord : but sure 1 am that anybody who will take the trouble to recollect or to look
into the " , support that Lord Zetland gave to Masonry , will drink this toast with very great enthusiasm . His Lordship was a past President of this Institution . I believe we have a most noble and illustrious example in our Prince who sits with us and who spoke curtly , but truly ,
when he said that the ornaments of our Craft were our Charitable Institutions . That principle was carried out by Lord Zetland , and I think it is carried out by our Grand Master ; and I venture to say that Masonry has an enormous power . Look at what our two great sister Institution * - " - have done . Look at what this Institution
tonight will realise by His Royal Highness s condescension in continuing among us;—at what our Boys' School—at what our Girls' School , at their annual festivals have done , The spirit of charity is becoming our chief feature . There is Jess banqueting , less of bodily enjoyment among us ,
and our lirst duty is to recollect we are Freemasons , and to remember and carry out the principles of our Craft in a social point of view ; and in that point of view charity should be the first and foremost element . My toast is "The
Health of the Deputy Grand Master , the Earl of Carnarvon , and the Past Grand Officers . " You will drink their health because you know them well . I am sorry Lord Carnarvon , from the state of his health , is not able to be with us to
Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution.
day , but I am sure you will drink his health , and the health of all those included in the toast , separately and collectively , with great warmth , as it is one that commends itself to your acceptance . Lord Tenterden . —Brethren , I am glad to think , from the manner in which this toast has
been received , and the manner in which the toast of "The Grand Officers of England" is always received in Masonic bodies , that the efforts that are made by the Grand Officers meet your approbation . On the present occasion . I may , however , say that I think we deserve but
very little praise for being here this evening , when the most distinguished and illustrious brother in our Craft condescends to come and preside over your meetings . It would , indeed , be but a discredit to Grand Lodge if he was not warmly and activel y supported by all the officers , and more
especially do I feel that this is the case when the Institution which he is here to support this evening maintains that great cause which was first inculcated in us on our admission into the Craft , namely , to succour and support those who from circumstances of unforseen calamity and
misfortune had been reduced to the lowest ebb of poverty and distress . ( Cheers . ) His Royal Hi ghness : —Most Worshipful Grand Master and Brethren , the toast which I have now the honour of proposing to you is , I may say , the so-called toast of the evening : I
have to beg you to drink " Success to the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution for Aged Freemasons and the Widows of Freemasons . " ( Applause . ) I was certain that this toast would be most cordially responded to , as from the assemblage that I see before me I feel
convinced that the Craft in general , and those that I see around me in particular , are deeply interested in this great charitable and excellent Institution . It shows me , brethren , that you agree in those great objects , and those great events of our Craft of which our Worshi pfnl Grand Master reminded
you , those of charity ; and I feel sure , brethren , that although many have preceded me this evening , and many have explained to you far better than I shall be able to do , the objects and principles of this charity you , will be as liberal as it is in your power to be . As you are doubtless
aware , brethren , my late grand-unele , the Duke of Sussex , who was formerly your Grand Master , and who I have always understood took the deepest interest in all that concerned our Craft , was one of the first to suggest the Institution for Aged 'Male Freemasons , and the suggestion
was warmly taken up b y Grand Lodge , under his presidency , and the sum of £ 4 , 000 a year was voted . Since that time—seven years afterwards , our most worthy and excellent , and I may say revered late Grand Master , the Earl of Zetland , who nobody regrets more than I do not to see
here this evening supporting us on this occasion , extended this Institution to he Widows of Freemasons . Although these funds were separate , we may consider them as so far united that not only do our male aged brethren receive support , but their widows do so also . The few statistics
that I have to recal to your attention , I will now just mention . In 22 years as many as 147 widows were relieved , at the cost of over ^ 19 , 000 by annuities of £ ¦ £ - ¦ $ each . As many as 352 indigent Freemasons were assisted at the cost of over ^ 40 , 000 by annuities of £ 26 . It is
proposed that after next month male annuitants should have £ 36 a year , and female annuitants c £ z 8 a year , therefore an increase of s £ io and ^ £ 3 . I feel sure that we should all do our utmost to give our cordial co-operation to effect this . I believe I am not incorrect in stating that we have entire trust in those who have the mann .
gement of this Institution and as it is under the auspicss and presidentship of our own Worshipful Grand Master , I feel sure that he will be with us and give his utmost attention to the interests of this Institution . It is well and economicall y managed . From what 1 understand about the certain annual income , it is unfortunately small .
Ihe males annuitants receive only , £ 1300 a year , while the expenses are over ^ 4000 a year . The female annuitants receive under ^ 800 a year , and the expenditure is . s £ i 200 , not counting the working expenses , j £ i 2 oo a year . For some years past the annual expenses have been ^ 4000 or £$ OOO per annum . This sum , this deficit I may say , has to be made up by donations
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution.
Sec . Royal Masonic Institution for Girls ; At the conclusion of the banquet grace was sung , and the toasts were delivered in rapid succession , music in only a few instances being allowed to fill up the intervals between toasts and replies .
His Royal Highness in giving the first toast said , ' . —Brethren , the first toast that I shall have the honour of proposing to you this evening , is one which I feel convinced will require no preface from me ; 'it is that of "Her Majesty the Queen , " ( Cheers . ) Brethren , let us drink
' The Health of the Queen , and the increasing happiness of the Craft . " The toast was followed by the singing of the National Anthem . The Marquess of Ripon : —May it please your Royal Highness , Brethren , I esteem myself very
fortunate that it should have fallen to my lot upon this occasion to propose to you the toast that I have now to offer to this great assembly . I know well that the health of the Royal Famil y is always drunk with the utmost enthusiasm in
every Masonic assembly , ( Hear , hear . ) Loyalty is one of the distinguishing features of the Craft , and therefore we deli g ht to honour the Royal Family . ( Hear , hear . ) But , brethren , we have upon this occasion a yet closer and more Masonic interest in the toast which I am about
io propose , because the first name that I have to oiler to you now is the name of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales ( immense applause ) , who is dear to us all , inasmuch as he has been pleased to add to the many honours of this ancient Craft the dignity of his illustrious name .
But on this occasion we have to drink the health of His Royal Highness not only as a distinguished Mason , but as the Chairman of this festival . Brethren , you have assembled in vast numbers from every province in England for the purpose of testify ing your interest in the
Institution in whose honour we have met to-day , and I am sure that there is no brother present in this hall who will not join me in thinking that it is a subject of deep congratulation to this Institution and to the Craft at large that we should have the great advantage of being presided over by the Prince of Wales . ( Hear , hear . ) Such
sanction to the labours of all who are engaged in carrying on the work of this Institution is indeed an honour and is the highest encouragnient ; and sure I am that every one of you will join with me in drinking from your hearts " The Health of the Prince of Wales , " and in giving to His Royal Highness a truly Masonic
welcome . The toast was drunk with great enthusiasm , and was followed by the rendering of " God bless the Prince of Wales . " His Royal Highness , in responding , said : —Most Worship ful Grand Master and Brethren , I can
assure you that I feel deeply sensible of the excessively kind manner in which our Grand Master has proposed my health , and the cordial way in which you , brethren , have received it . It is now two years since I have had the pleasure and advantage of meeting my Masonic brethren ,
and I can assure them that it affords mc very great pleasure to do so again this evening , and to see myself on this festive occasion supported by so many of the brethren from every part of our realms . Brethren . I think you will believe me when I tell you that it is not merely
idle words when I assure you most deeply that have the interest of our great brotherhood at heart ( Cheers ) . Although I was initiated in the mysteries of our Craft in a foreign land , from the moment that I returned to England till the present day have I been received with such
kindness and such cordiality by my Masonic brethren and countrymen , that 1 have always considered myself as a true English Mason . ( Hear , hear . ) Brethren , I have so many duties to do in the course of the year that I cannot be so much given up to the interests of our Craft as I should like ; but whenever the occasion demands that I
should give you assistance , in any way that lies in my power , I can assure you that I most cordiall y and heartily do so . Allow me once more to thank your for the kind way you have received this toast , and allow me , in the name of the Princess of Wales and the other members of the Royal Family , to thank you also , brethren . His RoyalJHighness : —Most Worshipful Grand
Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution.
Master and Bretliren , I have now the honour of proposing to you a toast—one which I think in this generous assembly will be received with the greatest possible enthusiasm , as it is the " Health of our Grand Master . " ( Cheers . ) I feel sure , brethren , that you will agree with me that before
him it would be bad taste on my part to pronounce those eulogies on his name which , if he were absent , it would give me the greatest pleasure to do . At the same time I know I shall receive the hearty concurrence of all those present in proposing to you his health , and you will agree
with me that no person in this country has the interest of Freemasonry more at heart than he has . Confident I am that all those who are under his order feel proud that he should be our chief . Brethren , I call upon you to drink " The Health of the Most Worshipful the Marquis of
Ripon . ( Applause . ) The Marquess of Ripon in response , said , May it please Your Royal Highness , —Brethren , I thank you heartil y for the manner in which you been kind enough to drink my health . I can assure you , sir , that I esteem it a great honour to
be present upon this occasion , on which you have been pleased to give your personal support and sanction to one of our Great Masonic Charities . You have shewn , sir , by so doing that you truly appreciate the principles of our Craft ( hear , hear ) , and the body which , cemented together in
one common bond of mutual sympathy and united principle . Your Royal Highness on thc step of the throne , and every brother in the most distant part of this country , must , I think , be a body , when its public character is such as that which I trust Freemasonry can claim throughout thecountry , of
which any man may justly be proud that he has the honour to be at its head . I , sir , am well aware of my own shortcomings in the great office which I fill . I come among you ; but whenever I do so , brethren , you receive me with so much kindness , you give me so many proofs of your
confidence , and I hope I may say , your regard , that I am encouraged still so long as that confidence may be preserved to me to endeavour to discharge the duties of my office and to labour earnestly and zealously for the benefit of the Craft . ( Cheers . )
The Earl of Shrewsbury and Talbot : —May it please Your Royal Highness , ladies and brethren , I confess I should feel a great diffidence in rising to give the toast that 1 have the honour of suggesting to you at the present moment were it not of such intrinsic value that it requires little or
no recommendation on my part . It is one ofthe great beauties of our Craft that our reflections are not only for a moment , but are sanguine as our anticipations for thc future , and when I offer to you the name of the Earl of Zetland , who you
will immediately remember ruled over the Craft for fivc-and-twenty years , and endeared himself to us , it is not for me , somewhat of a young Mason , to attempt to eluogise the character of the noble Lord : but sure 1 am that anybody who will take the trouble to recollect or to look
into the " , support that Lord Zetland gave to Masonry , will drink this toast with very great enthusiasm . His Lordship was a past President of this Institution . I believe we have a most noble and illustrious example in our Prince who sits with us and who spoke curtly , but truly ,
when he said that the ornaments of our Craft were our Charitable Institutions . That principle was carried out by Lord Zetland , and I think it is carried out by our Grand Master ; and I venture to say that Masonry has an enormous power . Look at what our two great sister Institution * - " - have done . Look at what this Institution
tonight will realise by His Royal Highness s condescension in continuing among us;—at what our Boys' School—at what our Girls' School , at their annual festivals have done , The spirit of charity is becoming our chief feature . There is Jess banqueting , less of bodily enjoyment among us ,
and our lirst duty is to recollect we are Freemasons , and to remember and carry out the principles of our Craft in a social point of view ; and in that point of view charity should be the first and foremost element . My toast is "The
Health of the Deputy Grand Master , the Earl of Carnarvon , and the Past Grand Officers . " You will drink their health because you know them well . I am sorry Lord Carnarvon , from the state of his health , is not able to be with us to
Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution.
day , but I am sure you will drink his health , and the health of all those included in the toast , separately and collectively , with great warmth , as it is one that commends itself to your acceptance . Lord Tenterden . —Brethren , I am glad to think , from the manner in which this toast has
been received , and the manner in which the toast of "The Grand Officers of England" is always received in Masonic bodies , that the efforts that are made by the Grand Officers meet your approbation . On the present occasion . I may , however , say that I think we deserve but
very little praise for being here this evening , when the most distinguished and illustrious brother in our Craft condescends to come and preside over your meetings . It would , indeed , be but a discredit to Grand Lodge if he was not warmly and activel y supported by all the officers , and more
especially do I feel that this is the case when the Institution which he is here to support this evening maintains that great cause which was first inculcated in us on our admission into the Craft , namely , to succour and support those who from circumstances of unforseen calamity and
misfortune had been reduced to the lowest ebb of poverty and distress . ( Cheers . ) His Royal Hi ghness : —Most Worshipful Grand Master and Brethren , the toast which I have now the honour of proposing to you is , I may say , the so-called toast of the evening : I
have to beg you to drink " Success to the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution for Aged Freemasons and the Widows of Freemasons . " ( Applause . ) I was certain that this toast would be most cordially responded to , as from the assemblage that I see before me I feel
convinced that the Craft in general , and those that I see around me in particular , are deeply interested in this great charitable and excellent Institution . It shows me , brethren , that you agree in those great objects , and those great events of our Craft of which our Worshi pfnl Grand Master reminded
you , those of charity ; and I feel sure , brethren , that although many have preceded me this evening , and many have explained to you far better than I shall be able to do , the objects and principles of this charity you , will be as liberal as it is in your power to be . As you are doubtless
aware , brethren , my late grand-unele , the Duke of Sussex , who was formerly your Grand Master , and who I have always understood took the deepest interest in all that concerned our Craft , was one of the first to suggest the Institution for Aged 'Male Freemasons , and the suggestion
was warmly taken up b y Grand Lodge , under his presidency , and the sum of £ 4 , 000 a year was voted . Since that time—seven years afterwards , our most worthy and excellent , and I may say revered late Grand Master , the Earl of Zetland , who nobody regrets more than I do not to see
here this evening supporting us on this occasion , extended this Institution to he Widows of Freemasons . Although these funds were separate , we may consider them as so far united that not only do our male aged brethren receive support , but their widows do so also . The few statistics
that I have to recal to your attention , I will now just mention . In 22 years as many as 147 widows were relieved , at the cost of over ^ 19 , 000 by annuities of £ ¦ £ - ¦ $ each . As many as 352 indigent Freemasons were assisted at the cost of over ^ 40 , 000 by annuities of £ 26 . It is
proposed that after next month male annuitants should have £ 36 a year , and female annuitants c £ z 8 a year , therefore an increase of s £ io and ^ £ 3 . I feel sure that we should all do our utmost to give our cordial co-operation to effect this . I believe I am not incorrect in stating that we have entire trust in those who have the mann .
gement of this Institution and as it is under the auspicss and presidentship of our own Worshipful Grand Master , I feel sure that he will be with us and give his utmost attention to the interests of this Institution . It is well and economicall y managed . From what 1 understand about the certain annual income , it is unfortunately small .
Ihe males annuitants receive only , £ 1300 a year , while the expenses are over ^ 4000 a year . The female annuitants receive under ^ 800 a year , and the expenditure is . s £ i 200 , not counting the working expenses , j £ i 2 oo a year . For some years past the annual expenses have been ^ 4000 or £$ OOO per annum . This sum , this deficit I may say , has to be made up by donations