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Article ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR BOYS. ← Page 2 of 4 Article ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR BOYS. Page 2 of 4 Article ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR BOYS. Page 2 of 4 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Royal Masonic Institution For Boys.
The Chairman said all he was afraid of was that they ¦ _ drift into personalities . n the Rcv . A . F . A . Woodford continued . Twelve months a pamp hlet was published by the Dep . Prov . G . M . of W ° t Yorkshire in which he charged very grave laxity of ' ¦ ancl oiameci
inistration to the House Uommtttee , esa " " ally the Secretary ol the school with reference to the U ' Master . That original pamphlet , addressed to the six VVc-Presidents of West Yorkshire , was followed by another - which the writer stated the four points on which the Pro' incc of West Yorkshire would insist were—the removal of the Secretary , the reinstatement of the Head Master , the change of the whole of the House Committee , and the removal of the Matron . Other pamphlets had followed , and
the Provincial Grand Lodge of West Y orkshire , which met at Sheffield on tl e 20 th Oct . 187 . 5 , passed a resolution by which they appointed a committee to investigate the management and expenditure of the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys . He would pass over the unconstitutional nature of such a pioceeding , because that matter had been practically decided by Lord Zetland in 1854 , when he ruled
that even Grand Lodge itself could not pass a resolution affecting the administration of the educational establishments of the Craft any more than it could pass a resolution affecting the administration of the Infant Orphan Asy lum at Wanstead . The committee to which he was calling the attention of the Court was , however , appointed , and they instituted an enquiry and took evidence . What
was the nature of that evidence ? It was practically the evidence of one brother . ( Ciies of " No , no . " ) He held the statement in his hand , the original report presented to Provincial Grand Lodge . He had seen the pamphlet , which had been sui pressed , which was , in fact , the evidence almost entirely of one brother . The main evidence on which that report was drawn up was the
evidence of the Deputy Provincial Grand Master—( no , no)—he stated it distinctly , standing up there before the meeting . ( Renewed cries of " No , no . " ) Would any brother give the name of any one else who was examined ? If there was any other person it had not been published in the report to which the signatures of the committee were attached . So that the facts of the case remained before
the brethren such as had never been heard of before in the annals of Masonic jurisprudence and Masonic law : the same person who impugned the management of the Boys ' School was the a : cuser , the witness , and the judge . ( Mingled cries of " Hear , hear , " and " No , no . " ) The brethren might colour it as they liked ; but the fact remained the same . ( No , no , and hear , hear . ) Then ,
when they looked further into the matter , after that evidence was submitted there was no further witness connected with the school brought forward , at any rate , no such evidence was printed . It was entirely one-sided evidence . Why were nr t those examined who could have explained [ everything ? In an enquiry such as this professed to be , as to the management of the Boys '
School , why was not the evidence printed and sent to Bro . Binckes ? The first he knew of it was the resolution passed by the committee , in which the expenditure of the school was characterised as being grossly extravagant , and different institutions in London were taken and their expenditure was compared with that cf the Boys' School . Now , in 186 9 the West Yorkshire Charity Committee went
into exactly the same figures . Allegations were made openly that the expenses of the Boys' School were exorbitant and were above al ! other similar institutions . A brother from West Yorkshire here asked who signed this report . Bro . the Rev . A . F . J A . Woodford replied that he signed it . He had already stated in his opening that he drew it
up . He had been appointed by the Marquis of Ripon to do so . He would now read a portion of it . " The Freemasons' Boys' School is made up of very different classes of society , and requires therefore a higher standard alike in clothing , food , and education , than is given to the orphans of merely eleemosynary institutions , or boys of any one particular class . It must always also be borne in
mind that the object of thc Boys' School is not to make our boys charity boys , or to reduce them to the level of a pauper institution , but to give them the same education they would have had , had God spared the lives of their parents , so as lo fit them for the social position they were destined , humanly speaking , to fill . And we must always keep this before us when we consider the cost of the
education giver , in the Boys' School , or compare it with that of any other . A careful analysis cf the Boys' School per head , with that of several of the London institutions of somewhat of a kindred nature , gives the following result —The expenditure per head is in excess of such schools as the Commercial Travellers ' , Warehousemen and Clerks' , British Orphan , City Freemen ' s Orphan School , St . Anne's ,
London Orphan—but is equal to that of thc Clergy Orphan , and less than that of the Royal Medical Benevolent . 1 he much larger numbers in almost all the schools will in every case account for the difference in expenditure . For instance , the office expenses in the Boys' are larger per head than all the other schools , simply because of the limited number of boys . Whereas in the London Orphan , with
145 ^ g-irJs and 290 boys , the office expenses are ' ' ' 3 ad . per head , or in round numbers £ 1 , 520 ; in tne Commercial Travellers' with 125 boys and 66 girls , in ? '''' » " 7 s . 5 d . per head , in round numbers £ 1400 ; I" r - gy ° P > w-tl" 83 girls and 96 boys , in all ''Oi i 4 4 s- 8 $ d ., [ in round numbers £ ft , i . Our Boys ' school is £ n is . io-Jd . per head , in all £ 906 9 s . nd . for If
° 4 boys . the number of boys could be increased to r t ; o , and eventuall y to 200 , this expenditure would not be ' in-£ ' f , '" aggregate , and would show a reduction per neacl of from four to five pounds ! As regards clothing , the expenditure of the boys is larger per head than all the ° 1 th- tlCS mentl 0 ne * 1 - We give the boys two suits of good clothing- a year , an extra pair of trousers , and linen and underclothing in great liberality . This is unusual in other
Royal Masonic Institution For Boys.
schools , but has tended much to thc health of the boys . As regards food—we give the boys of the best , and the consequence is an infirmary always empty , and a school of healthy , active , and happy lads , of whom their medical man says , they are both a pleasure and a marvel . As it may interest the Provincial Grand Lodge to know what is the amount per head spent in food by the other charities ,
the committee append a tabular statement , and if an average is taken of these eight schools , it will appear to be £ 13 14 s . Gd ., or- , f 1 2 s . 4 'd . in excess of what is paid in the ' Boys' School— £ 12 12 s . 2 $ d . per head . " r > o- 1 T . 1 Cost of Food Boys . Girls . Total . p £ r hcad _ London Orphan 145 290 435 £ 10 8 4 . V
Warehousemen and Clerks ; 6 3 6 112 12 o o Clergy Orphan 9 6 83 179 17 2 5-J British Orphan 106 6 9 175 1- ; 12 2 R . Medical Benevolent ... 200 — 200 1 9 3 n Commercial Travellers ... 125 66 191 10 10 7-4 St . Anne ' s 332 — 322 10 it 11 ; * - Fr emeu ' s Orphan — — 127 13 5 9
Such was the report of 1862 . What did 1875 show ? Mutalis mutandis—practically the same . The averages of j ; of the same institutions ' proved that the office expenses and educational charges are very reasonable , and that as regards food , the average of these institutions demonstrated , that whereas theiraverage was £ 16 is . 4 d ., that of this extravagantly managed institution was £ 12 , us . ' gd .
( Cheers . ) He would not weary the brethren with more figures , but thc question of comparative cost , as put forth in the report alluded to , was an utter fallacy . Many brethren would agree with him that if the statements of the Report had been confined to West Yorkshire , no notice , perhaps , need have been taken of them , for no one could deny that if brethren subscribing from time to
time were dissatisfied with the expenditure as stated in the printed reports they hid a right to enquire into it , to comment on it , ami make fair criticisms upon all of it . But what was sought to be done , and which was thus done by the pamphlets , was not to confine it to West Yorkshire . Since he had addressed the general meeting at which he had given notice of this motion
three brethren from West Yorkshire had gone into a neighbouring province , had met brethren in Hull , and put into their hands the objectionable pamphlets making charges of maladministration against the authorities of the School . Thc brethren in London wished to maintain the interests of the Boys' School , and they thought that by passing a vote of confidence that day in the
Committees and the Executive , and by putting a stop to the Crusade that was now being canied on against the School , they would be best consulting the interests of the institution . It was his humble conviction that if brethren wished to preserve the .. School they must put a stop to these pamphlets which were being sent through the length and breadth of the land . Let it
be known that they wished to do so in the interests of the School ; let them express their approval of the labours of the committees ; but above all let it be shewn that they wished to express their sympathy with a very energtticand zealous official who had been very unjustly attacked—Bro . Binckes . ( Cheers ) . He ( Bro . the Rev . A . F . A . Woodford ) had endeavoured to
avoid anything which might lead to personal recrimination ; but he would confidently call upon that meeting of brother Masons to give a vote of confidence in the committees , and in the hard worked official he had alluded to , and so enable them to persevere in their wise , kind and enlightened labours for the care , welfare , and protection of the orphan children of their deceased brethren . ( Loud
and prolonged cheers ) . Bro . Strachan said he came from Northumberland at some amount of inconvenience from his anxiety to see the result of a very serious motion . He was very glad , indeed , to see that the question was raised direct , whether or not thc brethren were to have confidence in the committee who managed this institution . The whole good feeling of the
brethren in the provinces towards the Institution must entirely depend on whether they had confidence in the governors ; otherwise it would be easy to conceive that the result to thc Institution must be very serious . The brethren in the provinces could not attend in London and take part in the management of the rchool ; but they could give a few pounds now and again , and they would do so if they
could reply on the management of the executive . If there was reason to suppose that the executive was not entitled to confidence it would at or . ee stop the flow of the provincial charity , and so be very detrimental to the institution , and through it to the London as well as to the provincial brethren . When he saw some days ago the inside of the pamphlet which had been spoken of , some of the remarks
in which were puerile , and more of which were in bad taste—he could not help saying to himself , " who ever has published such a thing ? " When he came to look it was with considerable pain he saw the name of the Deputy Provincial Grand Master of West Yorkshire was upon it . He wondered what could be done to put a stop to the heartburnings and the feelings which must have been
engendered by that pamphlet . He saw in it some charges which to his mind could only be construed to be charges of embezzlement and maladministration of moneys . Now he belonged to a profession which was accustomed to receive such charges , and to enquire into them ; and he found in a long 'course of investigation of such matters that sometimes they turned out to be false , impossible , and
without foundation , and so he reported them ; and at other times that they were true . He immediately on looking into the pamphlet put himself in communication with the school authorities to sec what had been done . His first enquiry was , was this a matter that had come before the courts and committee from time to time ? He was surprised to find that instead of these brethren coming to these courts and committees [ for explanation , and after that
Royal Masonic Institution For Boys.
falling back upon appealing to the brethren of the province , they began by falling back on appeals to these brethren . It appeared to him at once upon seeing that , it was a false step , and that it took away from the value of the complaint the brethren had made . He had never yet had any difficulty with the Institution in all his connection with it ; but if he had had any doubt or uncertainty with regard to
its management he would have ventured to write a letter to the House Committee for information , and if he had then failed to obtain what he wanted , if the matter had been of sufficient importance he should have come to the Quarterly Court ; he would not at once have rushed ( into publishing a pamphlet charging maladministrations against the officials of the Institution and published it far and wide
without giving an opportunity to the parties accused of r'ijproving his assertion . ( Great applause . ) He had from the position he occupied some knowledge how Institutions like this ought to be kept , and when he was told that tile boys were kept in a ridiculously , slovenly , and absurd state it was his duty to go and . see them , and when he went and saw them he was able to say of his own
knowledge that this was not the case . ( Hear hear . ) He was not t > . ere to say that the committee never made a mistake , or that this or that committee was immaculate ; but he was there to express his strong confidence in the way the committee had passed through their duties on the whole , and to urge upon the brethren of West Yorkshire not to propagate dissentions in the Craft . ( Great
cheering . ) Let all thc brethren unite in supporting their chanties as they had done nobly in the past . ( Immense applause . ) True , they had spent a little more money than some schools ; they made it their boast hitherto ; but if they wanted to alter it now if they found they were not pursuing the right coursethat the committee were too extravagant , and would not
alter it—let them alter the constitution of the committee ; but do not let them do that until they found that it was no use asking them . ( Hear , hear . ) He would appeal to the brethren of West Yorkshire to concur in the vote of confidence in the committee just elected and the other committee ; let them feel that these committees would look on every complaint that was made ; and let them cordially
unite in saying how much they were obliged to them , not only for taking upon themselves future duties , but also for what they had done already . He hoped the brethren of West Yorkshire would see their way not to oppose this vote , which he had much pleasure in seconding . ( Applause , and cries of " Hear , hear , " and " No , no . " ) Bro . Gill , Prov . G . S . W . West Yoikshire , said he asked
to be allowed to address the Court , and he felt he might venture to do so in confidence that the brethren would listen with respect to what he was about to say . Let him premise by saying that no one could possibly have been more pained and sorry than he was when he first saw the unfortunate report in print . ( Hear , hear , and applause . ) He hatl always said that if anything was wrong with respect
to the institution the proper and fraternal way to complain about it was to come to the institution in the first instance , and to have found the fault that was to be found , at the Quarterly Court . ( Cheers . ) He would give way to no brother in affection for the charities of the Craft ; and when at the Provincial Grand Lodge of West Yorkshire it was moved that there should be a committee of
investigation appointed to enquire into the matter contained in the report , he was the man of all others who got up and disclaimed any action on the part of Grand Lodge being taken . It was , however , carried against him , the brethren of West Yorkshire having a strong and almost unanimous feeling on the subject . He himself was neutral , but it was decided to appoint a committee . The committee was
appointed ; and let him say , in answer to a statement of Bro . Woodford , that no fairer committee was ever appointed by any province . ( Hear , hear , from the West Yorkshire brethren . ) The committee represented the leading Masons of every town of West Yorkshire—( hear , hear)—and without any favour whatever that committee met to discharge the duties for which it was appointed . He ( Bro . Gill ) was
invited by Sir Henry Edwards to take a seat on that committee , but he had determined to be quiet . He , however , spoke to many discreet brethren on the Charity Committee and many others , and they urged him , saying , " By all means do go there , and prevent a repetition of these very serious charges being made , which if made ought to be made with the greatest possible care , and ought not to be
made at all unless substantiated . " ( Hear , hear , and cheers . ) He hesitated a long time , and ultimately he assented to be on the committee . He was then invited to take thc chair at that committee . He consulted again with his friends , and they said , " Yes , you may and you ought ; and in justice to our province , and to keep our province straight , do go and take the chair . " With that
object in view he did take it . Let him here tell Bro . Woodford he never made a statement further from the truth ( and when he said this he did not mean to say he made the statement wilfully , for they knew Bro . Woodford could not have said anything intentionally untrue ) than when he said there was no evidence taken on that committee . Now he spoke in the presence of several brethren who
knew that to a very large majority of the brethren that pamphlet was objectionable . Nothing was more offensive to him than that pamphlet . He said that he objected to anything of the kind ; but with respect to the published reports of the committee appointed to investigate the charges made against the committee and executive of the Boys' School , he would say that in the report that the
committee put forward every figure and every word was justified ; they took the word neither of the Deputy Prov . G . Master nor any one else . His brethren from West Yorkshire would say that before anything was accepted they asked , Where is the evidence of it ? and he declined to receive anything which was not vouched for and proved . The brethren were at this meeting ; now as men of business , and not to fan the flame of discord . What they
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Royal Masonic Institution For Boys.
The Chairman said all he was afraid of was that they ¦ _ drift into personalities . n the Rcv . A . F . A . Woodford continued . Twelve months a pamp hlet was published by the Dep . Prov . G . M . of W ° t Yorkshire in which he charged very grave laxity of ' ¦ ancl oiameci
inistration to the House Uommtttee , esa " " ally the Secretary ol the school with reference to the U ' Master . That original pamphlet , addressed to the six VVc-Presidents of West Yorkshire , was followed by another - which the writer stated the four points on which the Pro' incc of West Yorkshire would insist were—the removal of the Secretary , the reinstatement of the Head Master , the change of the whole of the House Committee , and the removal of the Matron . Other pamphlets had followed , and
the Provincial Grand Lodge of West Y orkshire , which met at Sheffield on tl e 20 th Oct . 187 . 5 , passed a resolution by which they appointed a committee to investigate the management and expenditure of the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys . He would pass over the unconstitutional nature of such a pioceeding , because that matter had been practically decided by Lord Zetland in 1854 , when he ruled
that even Grand Lodge itself could not pass a resolution affecting the administration of the educational establishments of the Craft any more than it could pass a resolution affecting the administration of the Infant Orphan Asy lum at Wanstead . The committee to which he was calling the attention of the Court was , however , appointed , and they instituted an enquiry and took evidence . What
was the nature of that evidence ? It was practically the evidence of one brother . ( Ciies of " No , no . " ) He held the statement in his hand , the original report presented to Provincial Grand Lodge . He had seen the pamphlet , which had been sui pressed , which was , in fact , the evidence almost entirely of one brother . The main evidence on which that report was drawn up was the
evidence of the Deputy Provincial Grand Master—( no , no)—he stated it distinctly , standing up there before the meeting . ( Renewed cries of " No , no . " ) Would any brother give the name of any one else who was examined ? If there was any other person it had not been published in the report to which the signatures of the committee were attached . So that the facts of the case remained before
the brethren such as had never been heard of before in the annals of Masonic jurisprudence and Masonic law : the same person who impugned the management of the Boys ' School was the a : cuser , the witness , and the judge . ( Mingled cries of " Hear , hear , " and " No , no . " ) The brethren might colour it as they liked ; but the fact remained the same . ( No , no , and hear , hear . ) Then ,
when they looked further into the matter , after that evidence was submitted there was no further witness connected with the school brought forward , at any rate , no such evidence was printed . It was entirely one-sided evidence . Why were nr t those examined who could have explained [ everything ? In an enquiry such as this professed to be , as to the management of the Boys '
School , why was not the evidence printed and sent to Bro . Binckes ? The first he knew of it was the resolution passed by the committee , in which the expenditure of the school was characterised as being grossly extravagant , and different institutions in London were taken and their expenditure was compared with that cf the Boys' School . Now , in 186 9 the West Yorkshire Charity Committee went
into exactly the same figures . Allegations were made openly that the expenses of the Boys' School were exorbitant and were above al ! other similar institutions . A brother from West Yorkshire here asked who signed this report . Bro . the Rev . A . F . J A . Woodford replied that he signed it . He had already stated in his opening that he drew it
up . He had been appointed by the Marquis of Ripon to do so . He would now read a portion of it . " The Freemasons' Boys' School is made up of very different classes of society , and requires therefore a higher standard alike in clothing , food , and education , than is given to the orphans of merely eleemosynary institutions , or boys of any one particular class . It must always also be borne in
mind that the object of thc Boys' School is not to make our boys charity boys , or to reduce them to the level of a pauper institution , but to give them the same education they would have had , had God spared the lives of their parents , so as lo fit them for the social position they were destined , humanly speaking , to fill . And we must always keep this before us when we consider the cost of the
education giver , in the Boys' School , or compare it with that of any other . A careful analysis cf the Boys' School per head , with that of several of the London institutions of somewhat of a kindred nature , gives the following result —The expenditure per head is in excess of such schools as the Commercial Travellers ' , Warehousemen and Clerks' , British Orphan , City Freemen ' s Orphan School , St . Anne's ,
London Orphan—but is equal to that of thc Clergy Orphan , and less than that of the Royal Medical Benevolent . 1 he much larger numbers in almost all the schools will in every case account for the difference in expenditure . For instance , the office expenses in the Boys' are larger per head than all the other schools , simply because of the limited number of boys . Whereas in the London Orphan , with
145 ^ g-irJs and 290 boys , the office expenses are ' ' ' 3 ad . per head , or in round numbers £ 1 , 520 ; in tne Commercial Travellers' with 125 boys and 66 girls , in ? '''' » " 7 s . 5 d . per head , in round numbers £ 1400 ; I" r - gy ° P > w-tl" 83 girls and 96 boys , in all ''Oi i 4 4 s- 8 $ d ., [ in round numbers £ ft , i . Our Boys ' school is £ n is . io-Jd . per head , in all £ 906 9 s . nd . for If
° 4 boys . the number of boys could be increased to r t ; o , and eventuall y to 200 , this expenditure would not be ' in-£ ' f , '" aggregate , and would show a reduction per neacl of from four to five pounds ! As regards clothing , the expenditure of the boys is larger per head than all the ° 1 th- tlCS mentl 0 ne * 1 - We give the boys two suits of good clothing- a year , an extra pair of trousers , and linen and underclothing in great liberality . This is unusual in other
Royal Masonic Institution For Boys.
schools , but has tended much to thc health of the boys . As regards food—we give the boys of the best , and the consequence is an infirmary always empty , and a school of healthy , active , and happy lads , of whom their medical man says , they are both a pleasure and a marvel . As it may interest the Provincial Grand Lodge to know what is the amount per head spent in food by the other charities ,
the committee append a tabular statement , and if an average is taken of these eight schools , it will appear to be £ 13 14 s . Gd ., or- , f 1 2 s . 4 'd . in excess of what is paid in the ' Boys' School— £ 12 12 s . 2 $ d . per head . " r > o- 1 T . 1 Cost of Food Boys . Girls . Total . p £ r hcad _ London Orphan 145 290 435 £ 10 8 4 . V
Warehousemen and Clerks ; 6 3 6 112 12 o o Clergy Orphan 9 6 83 179 17 2 5-J British Orphan 106 6 9 175 1- ; 12 2 R . Medical Benevolent ... 200 — 200 1 9 3 n Commercial Travellers ... 125 66 191 10 10 7-4 St . Anne ' s 332 — 322 10 it 11 ; * - Fr emeu ' s Orphan — — 127 13 5 9
Such was the report of 1862 . What did 1875 show ? Mutalis mutandis—practically the same . The averages of j ; of the same institutions ' proved that the office expenses and educational charges are very reasonable , and that as regards food , the average of these institutions demonstrated , that whereas theiraverage was £ 16 is . 4 d ., that of this extravagantly managed institution was £ 12 , us . ' gd .
( Cheers . ) He would not weary the brethren with more figures , but thc question of comparative cost , as put forth in the report alluded to , was an utter fallacy . Many brethren would agree with him that if the statements of the Report had been confined to West Yorkshire , no notice , perhaps , need have been taken of them , for no one could deny that if brethren subscribing from time to
time were dissatisfied with the expenditure as stated in the printed reports they hid a right to enquire into it , to comment on it , ami make fair criticisms upon all of it . But what was sought to be done , and which was thus done by the pamphlets , was not to confine it to West Yorkshire . Since he had addressed the general meeting at which he had given notice of this motion
three brethren from West Yorkshire had gone into a neighbouring province , had met brethren in Hull , and put into their hands the objectionable pamphlets making charges of maladministration against the authorities of the School . Thc brethren in London wished to maintain the interests of the Boys' School , and they thought that by passing a vote of confidence that day in the
Committees and the Executive , and by putting a stop to the Crusade that was now being canied on against the School , they would be best consulting the interests of the institution . It was his humble conviction that if brethren wished to preserve the .. School they must put a stop to these pamphlets which were being sent through the length and breadth of the land . Let it
be known that they wished to do so in the interests of the School ; let them express their approval of the labours of the committees ; but above all let it be shewn that they wished to express their sympathy with a very energtticand zealous official who had been very unjustly attacked—Bro . Binckes . ( Cheers ) . He ( Bro . the Rev . A . F . A . Woodford ) had endeavoured to
avoid anything which might lead to personal recrimination ; but he would confidently call upon that meeting of brother Masons to give a vote of confidence in the committees , and in the hard worked official he had alluded to , and so enable them to persevere in their wise , kind and enlightened labours for the care , welfare , and protection of the orphan children of their deceased brethren . ( Loud
and prolonged cheers ) . Bro . Strachan said he came from Northumberland at some amount of inconvenience from his anxiety to see the result of a very serious motion . He was very glad , indeed , to see that the question was raised direct , whether or not thc brethren were to have confidence in the committee who managed this institution . The whole good feeling of the
brethren in the provinces towards the Institution must entirely depend on whether they had confidence in the governors ; otherwise it would be easy to conceive that the result to thc Institution must be very serious . The brethren in the provinces could not attend in London and take part in the management of the rchool ; but they could give a few pounds now and again , and they would do so if they
could reply on the management of the executive . If there was reason to suppose that the executive was not entitled to confidence it would at or . ee stop the flow of the provincial charity , and so be very detrimental to the institution , and through it to the London as well as to the provincial brethren . When he saw some days ago the inside of the pamphlet which had been spoken of , some of the remarks
in which were puerile , and more of which were in bad taste—he could not help saying to himself , " who ever has published such a thing ? " When he came to look it was with considerable pain he saw the name of the Deputy Provincial Grand Master of West Yorkshire was upon it . He wondered what could be done to put a stop to the heartburnings and the feelings which must have been
engendered by that pamphlet . He saw in it some charges which to his mind could only be construed to be charges of embezzlement and maladministration of moneys . Now he belonged to a profession which was accustomed to receive such charges , and to enquire into them ; and he found in a long 'course of investigation of such matters that sometimes they turned out to be false , impossible , and
without foundation , and so he reported them ; and at other times that they were true . He immediately on looking into the pamphlet put himself in communication with the school authorities to sec what had been done . His first enquiry was , was this a matter that had come before the courts and committee from time to time ? He was surprised to find that instead of these brethren coming to these courts and committees [ for explanation , and after that
Royal Masonic Institution For Boys.
falling back upon appealing to the brethren of the province , they began by falling back on appeals to these brethren . It appeared to him at once upon seeing that , it was a false step , and that it took away from the value of the complaint the brethren had made . He had never yet had any difficulty with the Institution in all his connection with it ; but if he had had any doubt or uncertainty with regard to
its management he would have ventured to write a letter to the House Committee for information , and if he had then failed to obtain what he wanted , if the matter had been of sufficient importance he should have come to the Quarterly Court ; he would not at once have rushed ( into publishing a pamphlet charging maladministrations against the officials of the Institution and published it far and wide
without giving an opportunity to the parties accused of r'ijproving his assertion . ( Great applause . ) He had from the position he occupied some knowledge how Institutions like this ought to be kept , and when he was told that tile boys were kept in a ridiculously , slovenly , and absurd state it was his duty to go and . see them , and when he went and saw them he was able to say of his own
knowledge that this was not the case . ( Hear hear . ) He was not t > . ere to say that the committee never made a mistake , or that this or that committee was immaculate ; but he was there to express his strong confidence in the way the committee had passed through their duties on the whole , and to urge upon the brethren of West Yorkshire not to propagate dissentions in the Craft . ( Great
cheering . ) Let all thc brethren unite in supporting their chanties as they had done nobly in the past . ( Immense applause . ) True , they had spent a little more money than some schools ; they made it their boast hitherto ; but if they wanted to alter it now if they found they were not pursuing the right coursethat the committee were too extravagant , and would not
alter it—let them alter the constitution of the committee ; but do not let them do that until they found that it was no use asking them . ( Hear , hear . ) He would appeal to the brethren of West Yorkshire to concur in the vote of confidence in the committee just elected and the other committee ; let them feel that these committees would look on every complaint that was made ; and let them cordially
unite in saying how much they were obliged to them , not only for taking upon themselves future duties , but also for what they had done already . He hoped the brethren of West Yorkshire would see their way not to oppose this vote , which he had much pleasure in seconding . ( Applause , and cries of " Hear , hear , " and " No , no . " ) Bro . Gill , Prov . G . S . W . West Yoikshire , said he asked
to be allowed to address the Court , and he felt he might venture to do so in confidence that the brethren would listen with respect to what he was about to say . Let him premise by saying that no one could possibly have been more pained and sorry than he was when he first saw the unfortunate report in print . ( Hear , hear , and applause . ) He hatl always said that if anything was wrong with respect
to the institution the proper and fraternal way to complain about it was to come to the institution in the first instance , and to have found the fault that was to be found , at the Quarterly Court . ( Cheers . ) He would give way to no brother in affection for the charities of the Craft ; and when at the Provincial Grand Lodge of West Yorkshire it was moved that there should be a committee of
investigation appointed to enquire into the matter contained in the report , he was the man of all others who got up and disclaimed any action on the part of Grand Lodge being taken . It was , however , carried against him , the brethren of West Yorkshire having a strong and almost unanimous feeling on the subject . He himself was neutral , but it was decided to appoint a committee . The committee was
appointed ; and let him say , in answer to a statement of Bro . Woodford , that no fairer committee was ever appointed by any province . ( Hear , hear , from the West Yorkshire brethren . ) The committee represented the leading Masons of every town of West Yorkshire—( hear , hear)—and without any favour whatever that committee met to discharge the duties for which it was appointed . He ( Bro . Gill ) was
invited by Sir Henry Edwards to take a seat on that committee , but he had determined to be quiet . He , however , spoke to many discreet brethren on the Charity Committee and many others , and they urged him , saying , " By all means do go there , and prevent a repetition of these very serious charges being made , which if made ought to be made with the greatest possible care , and ought not to be
made at all unless substantiated . " ( Hear , hear , and cheers . ) He hesitated a long time , and ultimately he assented to be on the committee . He was then invited to take thc chair at that committee . He consulted again with his friends , and they said , " Yes , you may and you ought ; and in justice to our province , and to keep our province straight , do go and take the chair . " With that
object in view he did take it . Let him here tell Bro . Woodford he never made a statement further from the truth ( and when he said this he did not mean to say he made the statement wilfully , for they knew Bro . Woodford could not have said anything intentionally untrue ) than when he said there was no evidence taken on that committee . Now he spoke in the presence of several brethren who
knew that to a very large majority of the brethren that pamphlet was objectionable . Nothing was more offensive to him than that pamphlet . He said that he objected to anything of the kind ; but with respect to the published reports of the committee appointed to investigate the charges made against the committee and executive of the Boys' School , he would say that in the report that the
committee put forward every figure and every word was justified ; they took the word neither of the Deputy Prov . G . Master nor any one else . His brethren from West Yorkshire would say that before anything was accepted they asked , Where is the evidence of it ? and he declined to receive anything which was not vouched for and proved . The brethren were at this meeting ; now as men of business , and not to fan the flame of discord . What they