Royal Masonic Institution For Girls.

excluded but for Bro . Hammerton ' s suggested alteration in the wording of the resolution , although altogether , West Yorkshire contributed about . £ 3000 . The resolution , as altered , was then carried . Bro . FRANK RICHARDSON , P . G . D ., Patron , moved— "That the Trustees of the Institution be and are hereby requested and authorise'l to sign a petition to each House of Parliament against the ' Various Powers Bill' presented by the London

Brig hton and South Coast Railway , so far as the same relates to the Roya , Masonic Institution for Girls , and to make such opposition thereto as Counsel may advise , or may be necessary for the protection of the property of the Institution . " The bill of the Brighton Railway was a very important one . They had scheduled the new gates which had been put up at a cost of ^ 100 facing the common ; they proposed to take 12 out of 18 feet of land at the side of the main building , and half of the Junior School itself and the whole of the frontage to the high road .

The House Committee had retained Bro . Samuel Pope , Q . C ., and he ( Bro . Richardson ) thought they should be on the safe side , and petition against the Bill , for , if carried , the railway would come within 6 feet of the building . It would be in a cutting 25 feet deep , and it would be absolutely dangerous to the structure . If the railway damaged the place like that , they would have to take it altogether , and it was worth a quarter of a million . He then moved his resolution , which was put and carried , and a vote of thanks to the Chairman closed the proceedings .

Royal Masonic Institution For Boys.

ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR BOYS .

QUARTERLY GENERAL COURT .

The Quarterly General Court of the Subscribers to this Institution was held on the 31 st ult ., at Freemasons' Tavern , Great Queen-street , Bro . W . W . B . Beach , M . P ., Provincial Grand Master for Hants and the Isle of Wi ght , presiding . There were over 200 brethren present from all parts of the country . The minutes of the Quarterly General Court of October having been read b y Bro . BINCKES ,

Bro . RICHARD EVE , Past Grand Treasurer , said that before the question was put that the minutes of the last Quarterly Court be confirmed , he was deputed by the Provisional Committee to make a statement to the brethren . On the minutes was a motion for granting ^ 350 a year as a pension to Bro . Binckes on his retirement from the office of Secretary . It had been felt by the Provisional Committee that the Institution ' s money might be saved if that proposition be not confirmed ,

and he was entrusted by that Committee not to press the confirmation of the minutes in that respect . Probably some of the brethren might not be aware that they were going to propose that the sum should be ^ 250 a year , but it was not now their desire to make that proposition . ( Applause . ) He made that statement with a great amount of pleasure , and it was made in order to bring about a re-union among the Subscribers to the Institution , and to place the Institution on the firm

basis of past years , and consolidating the good feeling of all the Subscribers . They were not going to propose that the ^ 250 be granted , and therefore they withdrew both propositions ,. while trusting to the generous impulses of Masons to do their utmost for the Institution . They believed thoroughly in the good feeling of the Subscribers and in their liberal desires generally , and therefore they did not propose to the Quarterly Court to give anything like a pension to Bro . Binckes .

They had propounded a scheme by which they believed that the feeling of the Committee would be carried out liberally , and that they would be able to have placed at their disposal a sum of money which they could give to Bro . Binckes . By the next Quarterly Court they hoped everything would be settled . He therefore proposed that those minutes be confirmed , with the exception of that part giving the pension to Bro . Binckes .

Bro . J ONES said that , as one who . proposed that Bro . Binckes ought to resign without any pension at all , it was with great pleasure he seconded the proposition of Bro . Eve that the minutes be confirmed , with the exception of that part referring to the pension of Bro . Binckes . The party who led the opposition had gone through a disagreeable course . They had been charged with acting with bitterness and malignity , but he thought they ought to be credited with as much honesty

in favour of Bro . Binckes claimed for themselves . The outcome of the opposition had brought about a great difference of opinion , and it had been alleged that the constitutions under which the Charities were founded did not allow of the application of their funds to the granting of pensions . However , matters had been now arranged , and therefore he had great pleasure in seconding the proposition of Bro . Eve .

The minutes of the last Quarterly Court were then confirmed , with the exception of that portion proposing a pension to Bro . Binckes . The recommendation of the General Committee that the list for the election in April should consist of 68 candidates , and that 30 vacancies be declared , was then confirmed .

Bro . J AMES LEWIS THOMAS moved to alter the existing Law No . 71 in the third paragraph thus— " No candidate shall be eli gible for the office of Secretary unless he be a Master Mason and under the age of 45 years , " & c . He said his motion was intended to widen the field for candidates tor the Secretaryship by increasing the age at which they could be accepted from 40 to 45 . He had heard it said that there should be no limit at all , but he could not agree with that proposition ; but it had also been thought that the rules should not be altered too

extensively , but that an opportunity should be given for selecting good men , which could be done by extending the age from 40 to 45 . Seeing the marvellous things that were done by men who were really of very old age , they could not say that 45 was at all too old to start with . He could not sit down without expressing his sincere wish that whoever might be selected to the honourable and onerous post of Secretary of the Institution would do as much justice to it as the present Secretary had done .

The motion having been seconded , Bro . Dr . WOODMAN said he had sent in an amendment to the original motion , but it did not appear on the agenda . His amendment was to do away with the rule altogether , and leave the age unlimited . He thought he mi ght claim the privilege of bringing it forward now , either as an ori ginal motion or an amendment to Bro . Lewis Thomas . He moved that the by-law be abrogated entirely , and that there

should be no restriction whatever as to the age of candidates . It would be easy for the Committee to eliminate from a list of candidates those of great age , whom they mi ght think incapacitated . After the discussion that had taken place on pensions , he could not think there was any objeetion to the Committee appointing a man who was capable of doing his work . . If they look to the officers of the State , to the Church , or the law , they saw plenty of people occupying most important positions , and doing their work well when they were of considerable age . A good man mi ght be found at 46 or 47 .

The motion having been read b y the CHAIRMAN , together with the amendment , Bro . SCURRAH said as it was in contemplation , he believed , by the Provisional Committee that the whole of the by-laws of the Institution should be revised and

altered , he would ask the brethren present if they did not think it would be a wise thing to let the by-laws remain as they were at present , and in the future go for a thoroug h revision of the whole of them , as it had been found that this was absohitel y necessary . ( Cries of " No , no . " ) Bro . J . S . CUMBERLAND protested against the matter being left an open question , It was all very well to say that old men were as good as young , but

Royal Masonic Institution For Boys.

sometimes it was not so good for an interest of this kind . Sometimes they were indebted to aged men , but in an Institution like this they had a right to look for a number of good years of work in a man . If they got an aged man they could only count on a certain number of years being left in him for his work , but if they brought in a young man they expected a far longer number of years of good work in him . Well , that was a question for the brethren whether the limit should be 40 or 45 years , but he did not think it would be well to make the limit 50 , 60 , or 70 , or they might go on as far as 80 .

Another BROTHER said it appeared to him that they should leave the question open to the Committee . They would not be likely to select a man of 60 or 70 years . He thought the arguments of extending it from 40 to 45 were good , men of that age had more experience than a man of 25 . A man of 45 was not open to those objections that a man of less experience was . A division was then taken , and there appeared

For extending to 45 years of age ... ... ... ... 108 Against ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 83 Majority for ... ... ... ... 25 Major DURRANT said that in rising to propose his motion he did so with a deep sense of responsibility , and he should approach it in the same spirit as Bro . Eve had shewn in the proposition he had made with respect to Bro . Binckes' pension ,

and no one would have cause to make any unkind remarks . He moved " That in consideration of the 14 years' Head Mastership of Dr . Morris at the Boys' School , this Committee do vote a sum of . £ 450 in recognition of his valuable services to the Institution . " Every one would agree with him that the educational condition of the School was in all respects satisfactory . He took that as his stand point on which he asked the Committee to award ^ 450 to Dr . Morris . When Dr . Morris became the Head Master he was 43 years of age ; he was now z 6 ; 14 of the best

years of his life had been spent in the interest of the Boys' School , and he was sure the Craft would not begrudge an award such as he now asked them to make to Dr . Morris . They knew the educational state of the School when Dr . Morris first became Head Master , and they also knew what it was when he left it . The School had made rapid strides . ( Cries of " No , no . " ) He hoped and trusted there would be a large number of supporters of his motion ; it was not an extravagant one , and when the brethren considered ii in all its bearings they would not think it was introduced in an extravagant spirit .

Bro . J . S . CUMBERLAND wished to draw attention to the circumstances that the Provisional Committee recommended £ soo to Dr . Morris in full satisfaction of all claims Dr . Morris might have upon the Institution , and some of Dr . Morris ' s friends thought that that was not sufficient . They proposed . £ 750 . They came before the Provisional Committee , and Dr . Morris said they had given him six months' notice , three months of which would terminate on the 31 st December

and it was desired that Dr . Morris should go on that date . Dr . Morris came before the Committee and said that he thought that as he had to leave his house on the 31 st December , and the notice would expire on the 31 st March , he ought to have six months' notice from the ist January instead of from September . Ultimately he accepted a cheque for . £ 255 in full discharge of all claims he mi ght have against the Institution , and he signed a receipt for that cheque . Therefore he did not see what claim Dr . Morris had upon the Institution . If the recommendation of the

Provisional Committee had been carried out he would have received ^ 500 , though his friends thought he could get ^ 750 . That , however , fell through , and therefore he took ; £ i 25 less than the Provisional Committee were prepared to give him . As the motion for the pension to Bro . Binckes had been withdrawn he did not see wh y one gratuity should be paid out of the funds of the Institution when anything of the kind was withdrawn in the other case . Major Durrant ' s scheme was plausible as far as it went , but he thought it was right they should have all the facts before them .

Major DURRANT said he never mentioned ^ 750 . As the ^ 500 , Bro . Cumberland put it in his way and not in his ( Major Durrant ' s ) . He had nothing to do with ^ 750 , and he did not think it had been mentioned in any way . Bro . HENRY SMITH did not know how this motion got on the agenda paper , for it ought not to have been there at all . When Dr . Morris retired he was satisfied with the gratuity he got , and the Institution ought not to entertain any such idea as that suggested by Major Durrant .

Bro . SCURRAH said at the General Meeting when this matter was brought forward , Dr . Morris was no longer a servant of the Institution . He had signed a receipt , and was satisfied with what he got , and on that ground he ( Bro . Scurrah ) objected to this notice of motion . The CHAIRMAN said the notice was quite in order , whether Dr . Morris was now Head

Master or not . It was entirely competent for a member of the Court to move that Dr . Morris be granted something in recognition of his past services . The question of the propriety or not of granting it was a different matter . Dr . Morris had signed a receipt in full of all demands . This ought to be stated to the Court that they might judge and determine whether a further gratuity be granted .

Bro . BINCKES , by request , read the following receipt : " Received of the Provisional Committee of the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys , the sum of £ 255 in settlement of all my claims and demands upon the Institution . ( Signed ) Richard Morris , 31 st December , 1889 . Witness , George Corbie . " Bro . W . H . SAUNDERS said he seconded the motion of Bro . Durrant as a matter of grace . He also had given a notice of motion in consequence of the vast

improvement in the educational condition of the School , but his notice was not put before the brethren . No man had worked harder for the Boys' School than Dr . Morris , and no institution could show a- master of greater position in the educational world . Dr . Morris did not ask this sum . It was asked by friends as an act of grace , and in consideration of past services . It would be too bad to allow Dr . Morris to go away without some solatium .

Bro . BRACKSTONE BAKER , P . G . D ., said it appeared to him that this was an appeal ad misericordium , but he could not reconcile such an appeal with the position just confirmed , taken up with respect to Bro . Binckes . He would like to know whether this was a recommendation of the Provisional Committee . ( " No , no . " )

A BROTHER said it had been announced by the Secretary reading Dr . Morris ' receipts , that . £ 355 was paid to Dr . Morris . How much of his salary was due ? Bro . HENRY SMITH . None whatever . Bro . RICHARD EVE said he would make a statement . The receipt that had been read was for ^ 255 in settlement of all claims by Dr . Morris , he having been paid the whole of his salary due to the end of last year . He ( Bro . Eve ) was one of the

Committee appointed to meet Dr . Morris in reference to his claims . They asked him if he could show them any precedent where a brother had received compensation for the loss of 14 years' service , and he could show none . They proposed ^ 500 in lieu of everything , salary and all . The General Committee did not accept it . No doubt the friends of Dr . Morris thought he ought to get more , but the ; 65 oo was not to be got . They conferred with Dr . Morris on his strict legal rights , and they found that he was entitled to six months' notice . Three months

of the notice had expired , and he was entitled to something in lieu of salary and house rent for the other three months . But instead of taking that narrow legal view , they gave him , in addition to his full salary to Christmas , £ 255 . They told him that it was more than they considered he was legally entitled to , but , if he would g ive them a receipt in full of all claims he mi ght think he had upon the Institution , they would give him that amount , and they did not anticipate there would be any further objection to it . Those were the simple facts of the case , and the Provisional Committee endorsed what had been done .