Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Board Of Management Of R.M.I.B. And The Critics.
different fashion . Thus , we arc invited to infer that it does not matter what the opinions may be of the Subscribers in London or in the Provinces outside the number of those who are known to object . No proposal which the Committee of Management may
consider it wise or expedient to adopt must be carried out—even though it may have received the legal sanction and approval of the Quarterly Court—until reasonable facilities have been afforded to " a number of Subscribers in the Provinces" who object to
express their objections in a more formal manner . Again , we say if every time the governing body of an Institution thinks it necessary to adopt a certain measure , the general body of
Subscribers which has elected that governing body is to be consulted , then the government of that Institution becomes an impossibility ; nr , at least , a task of such stupendous difficulty that none will be found to undertake it .
It may be urged that in expressing these views we have taken upon ourselves to assume that there is a decided preponderance of opinion in favour of this particular proposal . There was no need for any such assumption , as this
preponderance of opinion has been manifest for a long time past . ror the moment we will leave London out of the reckoning , though we need hardly say that the opinion of London Subscribers is a very important factor in determining the merits of the question .
There are three Provinces , all of them , we admit , important and influential Provinces , which are known , or believed , to be opposed to the removal , namely , North and East Yorkshire , West Yorkshire , and East Lancashire . On the other hand , the
following have either expressed themselves more or less formally or there are grounds for believing they are prepared to support the proposal , namely , Kent , Hampshire and the Isle of Wight , Cornwall , Leicestershire and Rutland , Shropshire , Gloucestershire ,
Berkshire , Buckinghamshire , Nottinghamshire , Northumberland , Cumberland and Westmorland ; and , as our correspondent appears to attach greater importance to the opinions of those " Subscribers in the Provinces , " who are more remote from the
seat of government , than to the opinions of those who are nearer , we may be excused if we lay some stress on the adhesion of Northumberland , and Cornwall , which are the most
remote of all the English Provinces from the Central Charities . But is it not a fallacy , nay , rather an egregious absurdity , to suggest that the value of a Subscriber ' s opinion upon the removal of the Bovs' School from onc site to another must be determined
by his remoteness from or propinquity to the locality in which it is or may hereafter be situated ? Indeed , if this consideration is to be taken seriously , we should say that those who live nearest are the better judges of the merits of the proposal . It is far
easier for them to go and inspect the sites for themselves than it is for those who live at a distance , and can only reach them by incurring an " expense which is prohibitory . " For ourselves , we consider that Subscriber ' s opinion deserves the greatest value ,
and is entitled to exercise the most commanding influence , in determining questions of the first importance , who is best acquainted with the School , its administration , and its requirements , and , by his judgment and experience , is the most
capable of formulating one . ' For this reason we hold that the decision of the Board of Management in favour of removing the School from its present site has been treated with the scantiest courtesy . As Bro . EVE pointed out at the Quarterly Court
last month , the members of this Board are not children , but men of business . They are continually visiting the School and have brought under their immediate notice even the minutest of the innumerable minute details which go to make up
the work of carrying on the Institution . They can tell you far better than the most distant " Subscriber in tlie Provinces , " whether this , that , or the other is needed or can be dispensed with , whether the premises are commodious or not , and whether
thc neighbourhood is overcrowded or not . And wh y ? because it is part of their duty to make themselves acquainted with these matters . Hence as Bro . GLASS , in reply to Bro . LUPTON at thc last Court of Governors very justly said of his colleague , Bro .
SMITHSON—the nominee of thc two Yorkshires on the Board of Management—that his ( Bro . S . MITILSON ' ) opinion was of greater value than that of " 50 lodges , " who hardly know whether Wood Green is to the north , south , east , or west of London , still less what its subsoil is and the character of the locality .
The Board Of Management Of R.M.I.B. And The Critics.
There is still another inference which apparently our correspondent would wish our readers to draw from his letter , nam el v that little or no account need be taken of the opinions of Subscribers in London and the " home Provinces " on this question .
We infer this ( 1 ) from his anxiety to know who among the Provincial brethren present came from the " home Provinces " and who from " Provinces further afield ; " and ( 2 ) from his statement that " a large number of the brethren in the more distant
Provinces hold a strong view that a vote so obtained is not in any way morally binding upon them . " We shall have no difficulty in proving this to be a fallacy of the first order . We have stated in former articles that until about the year 1861 , the funds by
which the Institution was supported were derived almost entirely from London sources . Occasionally contributions were received from the lodges and brethren in the Provinces , and every now and then a candidate from thc Provinces was
admitted to the benefits of the Charity . When , about the date we have mentioned , Bro . BlNCKES entered upon his crusade in the Provinces in behalf of the School , there were hundreds of those to whom he appealed for contributions who had never
heard of its existence , much less of its just claims upon their support . However , they accepted his statements , and their hel p was given at once and ungrudgingly . Still , London has never relaxed in its efforts in behalf of this or our other Institutions , as the latest returns of the contributions to these Central Charities
serve to demonstrate . Thus the subscriptions announced during the present year are as follows : To the Eoyal Masonic Benevolent Institution , in February , , £ 19 , 511 7 s . ; to the Royal Masonic Institution for Girls , in May , £ 15 , 412 13 s . ; to the
Royal Masonic Institution for Boys , in June , £ 18 , 777 I 0 S - — grand total , £ 53 , 701 ios . Towards these splendid figures London is returned as contributing £ 9492 7 s . 6 d . to tbe Benevolent Institution , £ 7352 12 s . to the Girls' School , and £ 893 1 ios ,
to the Boys' School , or together , £ 25 , 77 8 9 s . 6 d . In drawing attention to these figures , it is farthest from our thoughts to suggest any invidious comparison between London and the Provinces—have we not already declared that they have a common
interest in supporting our Institutions ? What we are desirous of pointing out is that the opinion of that section of English Masonry which contributes nearly one-half of the year's total of donations and subscriptions must not be altogether lost sight of
in estimating the value of the decision at which the last Quarterly Court ol the Boys' School arrived . Similarly , as regards the " Home Provinces , " had we the time to extract the
figures we should have no difficulty in showing on this ground alone , that as they do their share of the work in supporting our Institutions , their opinion on this or any other question affecting the welfare of those Charities is worthy of respect .
As regards the question of Central and Local Chanties , our correspondent is somewhat inconsistent . On the one hand , he deprecates the removal of the Boys' School on the ground that it will " undoubtedly end in considerable additional support to
the local Charitable Funds , to the probable detriment of the Central Charities ; " while , on the other , we judge from his remarks in his last paragraph that he is rejoicing at the prospect of the additional support which' will shortly be forthcoming in aid of
the Charity established some 10 years since in his own particulai Province . Our own opinion is that these Provincial Charities , as supplemental to the Central , arc useful in all cases and necessary in some ; and if " D . P . G . M . ancl P . G . O . " will kindly
look through anyone of the analytical articles which have appeared in these columns during the last 13 or 14 years in connection with our Festival celebrations , he will find we have always spoken of the services they render locally with the greatest
respect , and have invariably expressed a hope for their continued prosperity . They arc useful everywhere , because they help to maintain poor brethren and their widows , or educate their orp han children until they are elected into the Central Charities . They are
necessary in the large and small Provinces , because , in the case of the former , it is unlikely they can ever be strong enough to carry the election of all that need thc help of our Central
Charities , while in the case of the latter , it is only occasionally they are able to get their candidates elected and then the )' manage it only by combining together all their votes to tin ' different Charities , and sometimes borrowing from elsewh cre l °
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Board Of Management Of R.M.I.B. And The Critics.
different fashion . Thus , we arc invited to infer that it does not matter what the opinions may be of the Subscribers in London or in the Provinces outside the number of those who are known to object . No proposal which the Committee of Management may
consider it wise or expedient to adopt must be carried out—even though it may have received the legal sanction and approval of the Quarterly Court—until reasonable facilities have been afforded to " a number of Subscribers in the Provinces" who object to
express their objections in a more formal manner . Again , we say if every time the governing body of an Institution thinks it necessary to adopt a certain measure , the general body of
Subscribers which has elected that governing body is to be consulted , then the government of that Institution becomes an impossibility ; nr , at least , a task of such stupendous difficulty that none will be found to undertake it .
It may be urged that in expressing these views we have taken upon ourselves to assume that there is a decided preponderance of opinion in favour of this particular proposal . There was no need for any such assumption , as this
preponderance of opinion has been manifest for a long time past . ror the moment we will leave London out of the reckoning , though we need hardly say that the opinion of London Subscribers is a very important factor in determining the merits of the question .
There are three Provinces , all of them , we admit , important and influential Provinces , which are known , or believed , to be opposed to the removal , namely , North and East Yorkshire , West Yorkshire , and East Lancashire . On the other hand , the
following have either expressed themselves more or less formally or there are grounds for believing they are prepared to support the proposal , namely , Kent , Hampshire and the Isle of Wight , Cornwall , Leicestershire and Rutland , Shropshire , Gloucestershire ,
Berkshire , Buckinghamshire , Nottinghamshire , Northumberland , Cumberland and Westmorland ; and , as our correspondent appears to attach greater importance to the opinions of those " Subscribers in the Provinces , " who are more remote from the
seat of government , than to the opinions of those who are nearer , we may be excused if we lay some stress on the adhesion of Northumberland , and Cornwall , which are the most
remote of all the English Provinces from the Central Charities . But is it not a fallacy , nay , rather an egregious absurdity , to suggest that the value of a Subscriber ' s opinion upon the removal of the Bovs' School from onc site to another must be determined
by his remoteness from or propinquity to the locality in which it is or may hereafter be situated ? Indeed , if this consideration is to be taken seriously , we should say that those who live nearest are the better judges of the merits of the proposal . It is far
easier for them to go and inspect the sites for themselves than it is for those who live at a distance , and can only reach them by incurring an " expense which is prohibitory . " For ourselves , we consider that Subscriber ' s opinion deserves the greatest value ,
and is entitled to exercise the most commanding influence , in determining questions of the first importance , who is best acquainted with the School , its administration , and its requirements , and , by his judgment and experience , is the most
capable of formulating one . ' For this reason we hold that the decision of the Board of Management in favour of removing the School from its present site has been treated with the scantiest courtesy . As Bro . EVE pointed out at the Quarterly Court
last month , the members of this Board are not children , but men of business . They are continually visiting the School and have brought under their immediate notice even the minutest of the innumerable minute details which go to make up
the work of carrying on the Institution . They can tell you far better than the most distant " Subscriber in tlie Provinces , " whether this , that , or the other is needed or can be dispensed with , whether the premises are commodious or not , and whether
thc neighbourhood is overcrowded or not . And wh y ? because it is part of their duty to make themselves acquainted with these matters . Hence as Bro . GLASS , in reply to Bro . LUPTON at thc last Court of Governors very justly said of his colleague , Bro .
SMITHSON—the nominee of thc two Yorkshires on the Board of Management—that his ( Bro . S . MITILSON ' ) opinion was of greater value than that of " 50 lodges , " who hardly know whether Wood Green is to the north , south , east , or west of London , still less what its subsoil is and the character of the locality .
The Board Of Management Of R.M.I.B. And The Critics.
There is still another inference which apparently our correspondent would wish our readers to draw from his letter , nam el v that little or no account need be taken of the opinions of Subscribers in London and the " home Provinces " on this question .
We infer this ( 1 ) from his anxiety to know who among the Provincial brethren present came from the " home Provinces " and who from " Provinces further afield ; " and ( 2 ) from his statement that " a large number of the brethren in the more distant
Provinces hold a strong view that a vote so obtained is not in any way morally binding upon them . " We shall have no difficulty in proving this to be a fallacy of the first order . We have stated in former articles that until about the year 1861 , the funds by
which the Institution was supported were derived almost entirely from London sources . Occasionally contributions were received from the lodges and brethren in the Provinces , and every now and then a candidate from thc Provinces was
admitted to the benefits of the Charity . When , about the date we have mentioned , Bro . BlNCKES entered upon his crusade in the Provinces in behalf of the School , there were hundreds of those to whom he appealed for contributions who had never
heard of its existence , much less of its just claims upon their support . However , they accepted his statements , and their hel p was given at once and ungrudgingly . Still , London has never relaxed in its efforts in behalf of this or our other Institutions , as the latest returns of the contributions to these Central Charities
serve to demonstrate . Thus the subscriptions announced during the present year are as follows : To the Eoyal Masonic Benevolent Institution , in February , , £ 19 , 511 7 s . ; to the Royal Masonic Institution for Girls , in May , £ 15 , 412 13 s . ; to the
Royal Masonic Institution for Boys , in June , £ 18 , 777 I 0 S - — grand total , £ 53 , 701 ios . Towards these splendid figures London is returned as contributing £ 9492 7 s . 6 d . to tbe Benevolent Institution , £ 7352 12 s . to the Girls' School , and £ 893 1 ios ,
to the Boys' School , or together , £ 25 , 77 8 9 s . 6 d . In drawing attention to these figures , it is farthest from our thoughts to suggest any invidious comparison between London and the Provinces—have we not already declared that they have a common
interest in supporting our Institutions ? What we are desirous of pointing out is that the opinion of that section of English Masonry which contributes nearly one-half of the year's total of donations and subscriptions must not be altogether lost sight of
in estimating the value of the decision at which the last Quarterly Court ol the Boys' School arrived . Similarly , as regards the " Home Provinces , " had we the time to extract the
figures we should have no difficulty in showing on this ground alone , that as they do their share of the work in supporting our Institutions , their opinion on this or any other question affecting the welfare of those Charities is worthy of respect .
As regards the question of Central and Local Chanties , our correspondent is somewhat inconsistent . On the one hand , he deprecates the removal of the Boys' School on the ground that it will " undoubtedly end in considerable additional support to
the local Charitable Funds , to the probable detriment of the Central Charities ; " while , on the other , we judge from his remarks in his last paragraph that he is rejoicing at the prospect of the additional support which' will shortly be forthcoming in aid of
the Charity established some 10 years since in his own particulai Province . Our own opinion is that these Provincial Charities , as supplemental to the Central , arc useful in all cases and necessary in some ; and if " D . P . G . M . ancl P . G . O . " will kindly
look through anyone of the analytical articles which have appeared in these columns during the last 13 or 14 years in connection with our Festival celebrations , he will find we have always spoken of the services they render locally with the greatest
respect , and have invariably expressed a hope for their continued prosperity . They arc useful everywhere , because they help to maintain poor brethren and their widows , or educate their orp han children until they are elected into the Central Charities . They are
necessary in the large and small Provinces , because , in the case of the former , it is unlikely they can ever be strong enough to carry the election of all that need thc help of our Central
Charities , while in the case of the latter , it is only occasionally they are able to get their candidates elected and then the )' manage it only by combining together all their votes to tin ' different Charities , and sometimes borrowing from elsewh cre l °