Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Festival Of The Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution.
THE FESTIVAL OF THE ROYAL MASONIC BENEVOLENT INSTITUTION .
It is about time that we drew the attention of our readers to the circumstances under which the first important event of next year in connection with our Masonic Institutions—the
Anniversary Festival of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institutionwill be held . This Festival , as they are already aware , has been appointed to take place on Wednesday , the 25 th February next , and *' some considerable time since it was announced that Bro .
JAMES TERRY had had the great good fortune to enlist the services of Bro . Earl AMHERST , Prov . Grand Master of Kent , as Chairman for the occasion . We say the great good fortune to enlist these services , firstly , because his lordship has already given
proof of his ability as a Masonic Festival Chairman ; and , secondly , because the Province of Kent , over which he has presided for the last 30 years , is a large and influential one , and has shown its devotion to our Charities at all times , but more especially
when its respected chief has been the principal actor at any of these anniversary celebrations . But , as will be seen hereafter , the requirements of this particular Charity have grown so enormously
during the last 10 or 15 years that though a good Chairman , backed up by a strong and resolute province , is undoubtedly an important , it is at the same time very far from being the only condition which is essential to a successful issue of its
annual festival . A strong Chairman and a strong province will do much , both of themselves and b y the influence they are able to bring to bear upon their friends and neighbours . But in the case of this Institution , the generous support of the whole
English Craft is needed in order to enable it to meet , in any way successfully , the ceaseless demands that are being made upon its resources . It undoubtedly receives a large annual subvention from Grand Lodge and Grand Chapter , and its invested capital is
considerable ; but its expenditure in annuities alone is nearl y four times as great as its permanent income , while for fully half-adozen years , in spite of the numbers annually elected into the Institution , there has been a steady increase in the number of candidates for admission to its benefits .
The present circumstances of the Institution may be briefly stated . The annual expenditure is about £ 18 , 500 , the maintenance of the Asylum at Croydon and the cost of management absorbing £ 3500 , while the remaining £ 15 , 000 is spent in
annuities . Towards meeting this heavy outlay , there is a permanent income varying from £ 3500 to £ 4000 , consisting of grants from Grand Lodge and Grand Chapter of £ 1600 and £ 150 respectively , the rest being interest on the capital invested . There is
then an annual deficit amounting to from £ 14 , 500 to £ 15 , 000 , which must be made good by the voluntary contributions of the Craft , if the Male and Widow Annuity establishments are to be maintained at their present strength . These establishments
are as follow , and have remained unaltered since the 188 7 election , namely : Male Fund , 180 annuitants at £ 40 each , £ 7200 ; Widows' Fund , 229 annuitants at £ 32 each , £ 73 -26 * total for the two Funds , £ 14 , 526 . In addition there were , after the
election in May last , 24 widows , receiving each of them half of her late husband ' s annuity , that is to say , £ 20 a year for live years , the total for the year for these half-annuitants being £ 4 80 ; the total outlay for annuities being thus increased to £ 15 , 006 , or
as nearl y as possible the amount required to be raised annuall y in order to maintain the necessary equipoise between receipts and outlay . There is also another consideration which must not be lost sight of . In spite of the many increases which have
The Festival Of The Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution.
latterly been made in the number of annuitants on both Funds , and the vacancies which have been filled annually , there has been , as we have said , a steady increase in the number of candidates for admission , an increase which culminated this year ,
when , at the time the voting papers were issued , there were 68 men and 8 4 widow candidates , or together 152 , this number being reduced by deaths to 149 on the day of election . Of these 19 men were elected and 11 widows , so that the unsuccessful
candidates remaining from May last , and still eligible for admission , is 119 , namely , 4 6 men and 73 Widows . To these , of course , it will be necessary to add the new candidates approved during the current year . Thus , after making due allowance for the
greater stringency of the regulations which define the qualifications of candidates , we shall probably not be greatly overstating the number of applicants who will be on the list for
election in May , 1891 , if we estimate it at about 150 . And all these , be it remembered , are old people who have seen better days , but are now without means and unable to work .
It follows from this plain unvarnished statement of fact that to provide for the requirements of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution during the year a sum of not less than about £ 14 , 500 or £ 15 , 000 must be raised , while if anything serious is to be
attempted in diminishing the number of candidates by the creation of fresh annuities , a still larger amount will be required . Towards the attempt to effect these obj ' ects by means of the Festival in February next we have an admirable Chairman ,
backed up by a strong province , and a Board of Stewards comprising as yet about 140 brethren . We earnestly appeal , therefore , to the Craft generally : to support Bro . TERRY in his arduous struggle to obtain the necessary supplies for next year .
He is greatly in need of brethren who will give their services as Stewards , and we trust they will be forthcoming early enough to enable them to render him substantial assistance in his very difficult duty .
United Grand Lodge Of England.
UNITED GRAND LODGE OF ENGLAND .
The Quarterly Communication of United Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of England was held on Wednesday evening at Freemasons ' Hall . Bro . the Right Hon . the Earl of Lathom , Deputy Grand Master , presided , and he was supported by Bro . Col . Malet De Carteret , Prov . G . M . of Jersey , acting as Deputy Grand Master ; Bro . T . W . Tew , Prov . Grand Master of West Yorkshire , as Past Grand Master ; and a numerous assembly of Grand Officers and brethren . Grand Lodge having been opened in due form ,
Bro . Col . SHADWELL H . CLERKE , G . S ., read the minutes of the Quarterl y Communication of September 3 rd , which were put and confirmed . Bro . Col . SHADWELL H . C LERKE then said that with reference to the resolution of
Grand Lodge at its last meeting passing a vote of condolence with the Countess of Carnarvon on the lamented death of her husband , the late Earl of Carnarvon , Pro G . Master , he had now to report to Grand Lodge that he had received a letter from the Countess of Carnarvon in acknowledgment of the address which the Grand Lodge had voted and had sent to her ladyship in accordance with the vote of Grand Lodge , and if it was the wish of the Grand Master in the chair and the brethren he would read it . The letter was as follows : Greystone Castle , Penrith .
Sir , —Will you be so good as to convey to his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales , the Grand Master , my most sincere thanks for his consideration in sending me the copy of the resolution passed by Grand Lodge , which I have now received .
1 am very grateful to his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales and the brethren of Grand Lodge for the sympathy they have expressed with me in my great sorrow , and I must beg you to assure them that I greatly value the resolution which records their high appreciation of the work to which Lord Carnarvon devoted so much time and thought , ancl their deep sense of the loss sustained . —I remain yours sincerely ,
17 th November , iSgo . E . CARNARVON . The Earl of LATHOM : I beg to move that the letter of the Countess of Carnarvon be entered on the minutes . Bro . Col . DE CARTERET seconded the motion . Tbe motion was carried .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Festival Of The Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution.
THE FESTIVAL OF THE ROYAL MASONIC BENEVOLENT INSTITUTION .
It is about time that we drew the attention of our readers to the circumstances under which the first important event of next year in connection with our Masonic Institutions—the
Anniversary Festival of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institutionwill be held . This Festival , as they are already aware , has been appointed to take place on Wednesday , the 25 th February next , and *' some considerable time since it was announced that Bro .
JAMES TERRY had had the great good fortune to enlist the services of Bro . Earl AMHERST , Prov . Grand Master of Kent , as Chairman for the occasion . We say the great good fortune to enlist these services , firstly , because his lordship has already given
proof of his ability as a Masonic Festival Chairman ; and , secondly , because the Province of Kent , over which he has presided for the last 30 years , is a large and influential one , and has shown its devotion to our Charities at all times , but more especially
when its respected chief has been the principal actor at any of these anniversary celebrations . But , as will be seen hereafter , the requirements of this particular Charity have grown so enormously
during the last 10 or 15 years that though a good Chairman , backed up by a strong and resolute province , is undoubtedly an important , it is at the same time very far from being the only condition which is essential to a successful issue of its
annual festival . A strong Chairman and a strong province will do much , both of themselves and b y the influence they are able to bring to bear upon their friends and neighbours . But in the case of this Institution , the generous support of the whole
English Craft is needed in order to enable it to meet , in any way successfully , the ceaseless demands that are being made upon its resources . It undoubtedly receives a large annual subvention from Grand Lodge and Grand Chapter , and its invested capital is
considerable ; but its expenditure in annuities alone is nearl y four times as great as its permanent income , while for fully half-adozen years , in spite of the numbers annually elected into the Institution , there has been a steady increase in the number of candidates for admission to its benefits .
The present circumstances of the Institution may be briefly stated . The annual expenditure is about £ 18 , 500 , the maintenance of the Asylum at Croydon and the cost of management absorbing £ 3500 , while the remaining £ 15 , 000 is spent in
annuities . Towards meeting this heavy outlay , there is a permanent income varying from £ 3500 to £ 4000 , consisting of grants from Grand Lodge and Grand Chapter of £ 1600 and £ 150 respectively , the rest being interest on the capital invested . There is
then an annual deficit amounting to from £ 14 , 500 to £ 15 , 000 , which must be made good by the voluntary contributions of the Craft , if the Male and Widow Annuity establishments are to be maintained at their present strength . These establishments
are as follow , and have remained unaltered since the 188 7 election , namely : Male Fund , 180 annuitants at £ 40 each , £ 7200 ; Widows' Fund , 229 annuitants at £ 32 each , £ 73 -26 * total for the two Funds , £ 14 , 526 . In addition there were , after the
election in May last , 24 widows , receiving each of them half of her late husband ' s annuity , that is to say , £ 20 a year for live years , the total for the year for these half-annuitants being £ 4 80 ; the total outlay for annuities being thus increased to £ 15 , 006 , or
as nearl y as possible the amount required to be raised annuall y in order to maintain the necessary equipoise between receipts and outlay . There is also another consideration which must not be lost sight of . In spite of the many increases which have
The Festival Of The Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution.
latterly been made in the number of annuitants on both Funds , and the vacancies which have been filled annually , there has been , as we have said , a steady increase in the number of candidates for admission , an increase which culminated this year ,
when , at the time the voting papers were issued , there were 68 men and 8 4 widow candidates , or together 152 , this number being reduced by deaths to 149 on the day of election . Of these 19 men were elected and 11 widows , so that the unsuccessful
candidates remaining from May last , and still eligible for admission , is 119 , namely , 4 6 men and 73 Widows . To these , of course , it will be necessary to add the new candidates approved during the current year . Thus , after making due allowance for the
greater stringency of the regulations which define the qualifications of candidates , we shall probably not be greatly overstating the number of applicants who will be on the list for
election in May , 1891 , if we estimate it at about 150 . And all these , be it remembered , are old people who have seen better days , but are now without means and unable to work .
It follows from this plain unvarnished statement of fact that to provide for the requirements of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution during the year a sum of not less than about £ 14 , 500 or £ 15 , 000 must be raised , while if anything serious is to be
attempted in diminishing the number of candidates by the creation of fresh annuities , a still larger amount will be required . Towards the attempt to effect these obj ' ects by means of the Festival in February next we have an admirable Chairman ,
backed up by a strong province , and a Board of Stewards comprising as yet about 140 brethren . We earnestly appeal , therefore , to the Craft generally : to support Bro . TERRY in his arduous struggle to obtain the necessary supplies for next year .
He is greatly in need of brethren who will give their services as Stewards , and we trust they will be forthcoming early enough to enable them to render him substantial assistance in his very difficult duty .
United Grand Lodge Of England.
UNITED GRAND LODGE OF ENGLAND .
The Quarterly Communication of United Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of England was held on Wednesday evening at Freemasons ' Hall . Bro . the Right Hon . the Earl of Lathom , Deputy Grand Master , presided , and he was supported by Bro . Col . Malet De Carteret , Prov . G . M . of Jersey , acting as Deputy Grand Master ; Bro . T . W . Tew , Prov . Grand Master of West Yorkshire , as Past Grand Master ; and a numerous assembly of Grand Officers and brethren . Grand Lodge having been opened in due form ,
Bro . Col . SHADWELL H . CLERKE , G . S ., read the minutes of the Quarterl y Communication of September 3 rd , which were put and confirmed . Bro . Col . SHADWELL H . C LERKE then said that with reference to the resolution of
Grand Lodge at its last meeting passing a vote of condolence with the Countess of Carnarvon on the lamented death of her husband , the late Earl of Carnarvon , Pro G . Master , he had now to report to Grand Lodge that he had received a letter from the Countess of Carnarvon in acknowledgment of the address which the Grand Lodge had voted and had sent to her ladyship in accordance with the vote of Grand Lodge , and if it was the wish of the Grand Master in the chair and the brethren he would read it . The letter was as follows : Greystone Castle , Penrith .
Sir , —Will you be so good as to convey to his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales , the Grand Master , my most sincere thanks for his consideration in sending me the copy of the resolution passed by Grand Lodge , which I have now received .
1 am very grateful to his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales and the brethren of Grand Lodge for the sympathy they have expressed with me in my great sorrow , and I must beg you to assure them that I greatly value the resolution which records their high appreciation of the work to which Lord Carnarvon devoted so much time and thought , ancl their deep sense of the loss sustained . —I remain yours sincerely ,
17 th November , iSgo . E . CARNARVON . The Earl of LATHOM : I beg to move that the letter of the Countess of Carnarvon be entered on the minutes . Bro . Col . DE CARTERET seconded the motion . Tbe motion was carried .