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Article THE ROYAL MASONIC BENEVOLENT INSTITUTION. ← Page 2 of 2 Article THE ROYAL MASONIC BENEVOLENT INSTITUTION. Page 2 of 2
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution.
in half Annuities , £ 3 80 , exactly equals the £ 305 distributed among the first batch of Male Annuitants placed 011 the Fund , together with the £ 75 assigned lo the first batch of Female Annuitants . We imagine there are lew Charitable Institutions which in so short a time can exhibit so large an increase in their expenditure for the purposes for which they were established .
The above particulars show what has been done by means of voluntary subscription among the general body of the Craft , and the Supreme Authority has been equally assiduous in looking after the welfare of this beneficent institution . It has already been shown how Grand Lodge started the Annuity Fund lor Aged Brethren with an endowment of £ 400 per annum , payable out of the Fund ot Benevolence , and subsequently
increased it to £ 500 . A few years later it set on foot the Widows' Fund , with an annual grant of £ 100 from the same source of income , subsequently increasing it to £ 300 per annum . These fixed contributions remained at the same figure lor a long term of years , when it occurred to different brethren that , as the operations of the Charily had been so vastly extended , it was only just that Grand Lodge should take upon itself a larger share in
providing for our necessitous old people . Accordingly , in the year 1881 , a resolution was moved and carried in Grand Lodge to the effect that henceforth the grants lrom the Fund of Benevolence to the Male and Female Funds should be supplemented from the Fund of General Purposes by the annual payment ot £ 300 to the former and £ 500 to the latter . However , that portion of the minutes relating to this resolution being
nonconfirmed , the resolution was again submitted and carried , and no second attempt being made to non-conhrm the vole , Grand Lodge now figures as the contributor of £ 1600 per annum to the Royal Benevolent Institution , of which one moiety , composed of £ 500 from the Fund of Benevolence , and £ 300 from the Fund of General Purposes , goes to the Male Fund , while the other moietv , consisting of £ 300 from the Fund of Benevolence , and £ 500
from the Fund ol General Purposes , goes to the Female Fund . Similarly , Grand Chapter has , in its more limited sphere , been a liberal supporter of the Charily , and if it has not increased its grant of £ t oo per annum to the Male Fund since 1847 , or its £ 50 per annum to the 1 'emale Fund since 1856 , it has exhibited its solicitude lor the welfare of the Institution by such liberal donations—beyond those already recorded—as £ 500 to the Mali
and £ 500 to the Female Fund , in 1868 ; £ 500 in 1873 , and a like amount the year following ; £ 500 ( Consols ) to the Male , and £ 500 ( Consols ) to the Female Fund , in 1878 ; and £ 300 in 1880 . The occasional donations of Grand Lodge have already been specified , while the annual vote for coal for the use of the Asylum inmates , which was originally £ 50 but is now £ 70 , is continued .
The services of the principal executive officers of the Institution must be our next care . The steady progress and present status of the Charily testify to their having been exceptionally brilliant , and this circumstance , if it does not lighten our task ol adequately describing them , very materially enhances the pleasure we feel in paying these brethren their just tribute of praise and respect . The names of Farnfield and Terry have figured often
enough in the pages of this history , nor is it likely they will be forgotten while the Society ot English Freemasons remains . The late Bro . Farnfield enjoyed the unusual privilege of having been in a position to minister at dilferent times to the requirements of two antagonistic charitable schemesor rather ol two schemes which many brethren once regarded as antagonistic —and when the rivalry had ceased and the schemes were amalgamated , he
was chosen to fill precisely the same position on the staff of the united Charity . At the very first meeting held in June , 1835 , in aid of the proposed Asylum for Aged Freemasons , Bro . Famheld , in conjunction with Bro . E . Pitt , was invited to act as Honorary Secretary , the two " having in the most handsome manner volunteered their services . " On the retirement of Bro . Pitt , he became sole Secretary , and only resigned bis trust in November , 1839 ,
when open war was declared between the partisans of the Asylum and those of the Annuity proposal , and his retention of the post might have imperilled his position in the ollice of the Grand Secretary . In 1842 , when Grand Lodge established the Male Annuity Fund , Bro . Farnfield was chosen its Secretary , and in 1849-50 , when the Widows' Fund was started and the two were amalgamated with the Asylum , he became Secretary of the united Institution , and so remained till the close of the year
1872 , when failing health compelled him to lay aside the cares and responsibilities of office , and he retired on a well-earned pension amid the regret and good wishes of the Craft generally . His death occurred in 1 S 76 , and when the sad event was announced to the Committee of Management , the following resolution of condolence with his family was unanimously passednamely" That the Committee , having been informed ol the death
, , of Bro . W . Farnfield , late Secretary of this Institution , desires to convey to his widow and family their heartfelt sympathy and warmest condolence in the bereavement they have sustained . Deeply sensible of the long and valuable services rendered by him to Freemasonry generally , and notably to this Institution , the Committee bears vividly in grateful recollection the interest manifested bv him during the many years he was so intimately
associated with it , and is anxious to place on record its high sense and appreciation of the manner in which he discharged the duties of his position , and , in so doing , to pay a fitting and merited tribute of admiration and regard for the memory of one whose loss it so deeply deplores . " Bro . Farnfield ' s life had been an active and a useful one , and his family must have been greatly touched by so emphatic a testimony to his merits .
Bro . Terry's association with the Chanty has been necessarily less prolonged . In June , 1864 , on the resignation of Bro . B . Rees Davies , he was appointed that brother ' s successor in the office of Collector , and in December , 1872 , he took the place of Bro . Farnfield as Secretary . What he has done since may be judged pretty accurately from our account of the Festivals which have been held lrom the year 1873 inclusive , and which constitute a series of
brilliant successes , such as it is rarely within the compass of one man ' s power to achieve . But there is also much else of good for which the Institution is indebted almost entirely to the initiative of Bro . Terry . To him must be ascribed the institution of the summer and winter entertainments which arc now given regularly to the inmates of the Asylum at Croydon . He it was who suggested he should periodically visit the lodges in the Provinces with a view to arousing their interest in the Charity , and after
one year ' s trial the experiment was found to work so well that the Committee authorised the continuance ot the system . During his administration the Asylum has gradually assumed more of the character of a home , and the inmates now have opportunities of enjoying themselves such as must vividly recall to their memories the p leasant associations of their earlier and more prosperous years . That he has done all this , and much else that might be mentioned , we have in evidence , not only in that furnished by the formal and usually unsympathetic language of the minute book , but in the more stirring
The Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution.
and eloquent language that is spoken by successive testimonials , and especially by his " counterfeit presentment " which adorns the walls of the Asylum Hall , side by side with that of the founder of the Institution , Bro . Crucefix . However , it is no part of our present purpose to write a eulogy , indeedis it desirable should
nor , , we think of so doing in this instance . Bro . Terry is still in the very prime of life , and it will be time enough to submit the story of his Secretaryshi p when age and health no longer permit him to bear the weighty responsibilities of so exacting an olTice . May the time be yet far distant when this record is completed ' .
Prominent among other brethren who have rendered valuable aid in connection with the Charity must be mentioned Bro . Dr . Strong , successor of Bro . Henley as Honorary Surgeon lo the Asylum . Bro . ' strong has endeared himself to the inmates by his many thoughtful acts of kindness and the professional services he has rendered for more than twenty years , while the suggestions he has made with . 1 view to ensuring the maximum
degree of comfort to our old folks have invariably proved acceptable to the Committee . The testimonials he has received lrom residents and the Executive show this . Latterly , also , the non-residents have been better circumstanced in respect of medical assistance , Bro . Middlemist having kindly placed his services as Honorary Surgeon at the disposal of the Institution in respect of all Annuitants not in residence at Croydon . Then
the office of Collector has with hardly an exception been filled by brethren of energy and good business habits , and Bro . John Mason , the present Collector , albeit he has held the position for a lew years only , is very lar from being an exception to the rule . Nor ought we to pass over in silence the services of the House Committee , which was revived in 1 S 72 , and which , though varying from time to time as to the members constituting it , is
uniformly in earnest in its watchfulness over the Asylum and the comfort of its inmates . Lastly , there is the Warden , an officer chosen by the Committee from among the resident Annuitants , whose duly it is to look after the interior economy of the Asylum , and report any unseemly conduct that may come under his notice . On his shoulders rests a considerable amount of responsibility , and when , as has more than once happened , a resident has
proved himself unsociable or litigious , his task is neither an easy nor an enviable one . The present Warden is Bro . James Norris , who was elected an Annuitant in 1 S 62 , and appointed to his office in 186 S . His services , as well as those of his daughter , Miss Norris , who acts as Matron , have given every satisfaction to the Committee , while , though he has reached the patriarchal age of 94 , his regular monthly reports are as lucid and
methodical as if they had been compiled by a tar younger man . To devote any portion of our space to a consideration of the Petitions presented by Brethren and the Widows of Brethren for admission into the Institution would be both painful and unprofitable . The printed lists of Candidates which appear shortly before each annual election will give a sufficiently accurate idea of the usual character of their contents . It is
enough to remark that they one and all disclose a state of want on the parof the applicants which is only more or less distressing to read as the contrast with their previous circumstances is more or less pronounced . In general terms it maybe said that all who have sought or seek relief from this Institution once belonged to what is commonly known as the well-to-do class of people . There was a time when the future that lay before them was bright
and clear , and the idea of poverty ever overtaking them would have been set down as being , if not impossible , at least most improbable . Unhappily , in their case it is the unforeseen which has come to pass , and great indeed would have been their distress had there been no Benevolent Institution to lend them a helping hand in the day of their tribulation . But though the stories told in these Petitions so closely resemble each other in respect of the misery
they disclose , there arc a few cases among the Candidates who have been elected on one or other of the Funds which , as being exceptionally sad , may claim a passing word or two . Such a case is that ol the Vice-President and ex-Trustee , one day in affluence , now and for a long time psst the recipient of an Annuity from the Institution to which in his palmy days he had so freely contributed . Then among the Female Annuitants is the widow of a
Brother who was a Past Grand Steward , a Governor of the Institution , and Chairman at two of the Festivals held in aid of the Aged Masons' Asylum . The protracted illness and death ot her husband left her without the means of support . And there is yet another widow still living , whose husband again and again acted as Steward at the Asylum Fesiivals , and helped to promote its success , not only by the moneys he contributed , but likewise by the
eloquent addresses he penned on its behalf . Many other instances might be cited , but the above will serve our purpose of demonstrating the utility , and even the necessity , of such an Institution as this , while the care that is taken by the Committee to secure only worthy persons as Candidates is proved by the very rare instances of misconduct which have occurred among the Annuitants since the Charity was established .
It only now remains to say a few words respecting the Rules and Regulations by which the Institution is governed . Those which were drawn up by the Board of General Purposes and adopted by Grand Lodge , when the Male Fund was established , have already been given in full , and a similar code was prepared when the Female Fund was started . Changes followed , as a matter of course , when the Asylum was amalgamated with these Funds ,
and , as year after year brought some fresh experience , other changes , such as seemed imperative or desirable , have been introduced in the conduct of the Charity . Many of those changes have been noticed at the time of their adoption , but others will be better appreciated after comparing the present with the original scheme of government . One circumstance must be especially gratifying to the Board of General Purposes , as constituted in 1841-2
The Rules which are now m use follow very closely in the main features the Rules as originally drawn up . The mode of voting at elections has been assimilated to that in force with the Schools . All three Institutions now stand on the same footing as regards the Charity Jewel , and there are Patrons , Vice-Patrons , and Vice-Presidents , whereas at the outset the highest rank of contributor was that of Vice-President . But the constitution of the
Committee and the qualifications of the Candidates are in all material points pretty much in 1884 what they were in 1842 , when , under the auspices of the Duke ol Sussex , Grand Lodge , ignoring its own previous motion of approval on behalf of an Aged Masons' Asylum , set itself seriously to the task of establishing a rival Institution in the shape of an Aged Masons' Annuity Fund . However , while the bitterness of feeling which this rivalry engendered
has long since passed away , the kindly sympathy which originated , and the wisdom which devised the plans of the now united Charities , survive , and the one wish which animates the whole English Brotherhood is that the Institution may long remain an honour to those who have established and who maintain it , as well as a source of help and comfort to the aged people lor whom it is maintained .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution.
in half Annuities , £ 3 80 , exactly equals the £ 305 distributed among the first batch of Male Annuitants placed 011 the Fund , together with the £ 75 assigned lo the first batch of Female Annuitants . We imagine there are lew Charitable Institutions which in so short a time can exhibit so large an increase in their expenditure for the purposes for which they were established .
The above particulars show what has been done by means of voluntary subscription among the general body of the Craft , and the Supreme Authority has been equally assiduous in looking after the welfare of this beneficent institution . It has already been shown how Grand Lodge started the Annuity Fund lor Aged Brethren with an endowment of £ 400 per annum , payable out of the Fund ot Benevolence , and subsequently
increased it to £ 500 . A few years later it set on foot the Widows' Fund , with an annual grant of £ 100 from the same source of income , subsequently increasing it to £ 300 per annum . These fixed contributions remained at the same figure lor a long term of years , when it occurred to different brethren that , as the operations of the Charily had been so vastly extended , it was only just that Grand Lodge should take upon itself a larger share in
providing for our necessitous old people . Accordingly , in the year 1881 , a resolution was moved and carried in Grand Lodge to the effect that henceforth the grants lrom the Fund of Benevolence to the Male and Female Funds should be supplemented from the Fund of General Purposes by the annual payment ot £ 300 to the former and £ 500 to the latter . However , that portion of the minutes relating to this resolution being
nonconfirmed , the resolution was again submitted and carried , and no second attempt being made to non-conhrm the vole , Grand Lodge now figures as the contributor of £ 1600 per annum to the Royal Benevolent Institution , of which one moiety , composed of £ 500 from the Fund of Benevolence , and £ 300 from the Fund of General Purposes , goes to the Male Fund , while the other moietv , consisting of £ 300 from the Fund of Benevolence , and £ 500
from the Fund ol General Purposes , goes to the Female Fund . Similarly , Grand Chapter has , in its more limited sphere , been a liberal supporter of the Charily , and if it has not increased its grant of £ t oo per annum to the Male Fund since 1847 , or its £ 50 per annum to the 1 'emale Fund since 1856 , it has exhibited its solicitude lor the welfare of the Institution by such liberal donations—beyond those already recorded—as £ 500 to the Mali
and £ 500 to the Female Fund , in 1868 ; £ 500 in 1873 , and a like amount the year following ; £ 500 ( Consols ) to the Male , and £ 500 ( Consols ) to the Female Fund , in 1878 ; and £ 300 in 1880 . The occasional donations of Grand Lodge have already been specified , while the annual vote for coal for the use of the Asylum inmates , which was originally £ 50 but is now £ 70 , is continued .
The services of the principal executive officers of the Institution must be our next care . The steady progress and present status of the Charily testify to their having been exceptionally brilliant , and this circumstance , if it does not lighten our task ol adequately describing them , very materially enhances the pleasure we feel in paying these brethren their just tribute of praise and respect . The names of Farnfield and Terry have figured often
enough in the pages of this history , nor is it likely they will be forgotten while the Society ot English Freemasons remains . The late Bro . Farnfield enjoyed the unusual privilege of having been in a position to minister at dilferent times to the requirements of two antagonistic charitable schemesor rather ol two schemes which many brethren once regarded as antagonistic —and when the rivalry had ceased and the schemes were amalgamated , he
was chosen to fill precisely the same position on the staff of the united Charity . At the very first meeting held in June , 1835 , in aid of the proposed Asylum for Aged Freemasons , Bro . Famheld , in conjunction with Bro . E . Pitt , was invited to act as Honorary Secretary , the two " having in the most handsome manner volunteered their services . " On the retirement of Bro . Pitt , he became sole Secretary , and only resigned bis trust in November , 1839 ,
when open war was declared between the partisans of the Asylum and those of the Annuity proposal , and his retention of the post might have imperilled his position in the ollice of the Grand Secretary . In 1842 , when Grand Lodge established the Male Annuity Fund , Bro . Farnfield was chosen its Secretary , and in 1849-50 , when the Widows' Fund was started and the two were amalgamated with the Asylum , he became Secretary of the united Institution , and so remained till the close of the year
1872 , when failing health compelled him to lay aside the cares and responsibilities of office , and he retired on a well-earned pension amid the regret and good wishes of the Craft generally . His death occurred in 1 S 76 , and when the sad event was announced to the Committee of Management , the following resolution of condolence with his family was unanimously passednamely" That the Committee , having been informed ol the death
, , of Bro . W . Farnfield , late Secretary of this Institution , desires to convey to his widow and family their heartfelt sympathy and warmest condolence in the bereavement they have sustained . Deeply sensible of the long and valuable services rendered by him to Freemasonry generally , and notably to this Institution , the Committee bears vividly in grateful recollection the interest manifested bv him during the many years he was so intimately
associated with it , and is anxious to place on record its high sense and appreciation of the manner in which he discharged the duties of his position , and , in so doing , to pay a fitting and merited tribute of admiration and regard for the memory of one whose loss it so deeply deplores . " Bro . Farnfield ' s life had been an active and a useful one , and his family must have been greatly touched by so emphatic a testimony to his merits .
Bro . Terry's association with the Chanty has been necessarily less prolonged . In June , 1864 , on the resignation of Bro . B . Rees Davies , he was appointed that brother ' s successor in the office of Collector , and in December , 1872 , he took the place of Bro . Farnfield as Secretary . What he has done since may be judged pretty accurately from our account of the Festivals which have been held lrom the year 1873 inclusive , and which constitute a series of
brilliant successes , such as it is rarely within the compass of one man ' s power to achieve . But there is also much else of good for which the Institution is indebted almost entirely to the initiative of Bro . Terry . To him must be ascribed the institution of the summer and winter entertainments which arc now given regularly to the inmates of the Asylum at Croydon . He it was who suggested he should periodically visit the lodges in the Provinces with a view to arousing their interest in the Charity , and after
one year ' s trial the experiment was found to work so well that the Committee authorised the continuance ot the system . During his administration the Asylum has gradually assumed more of the character of a home , and the inmates now have opportunities of enjoying themselves such as must vividly recall to their memories the p leasant associations of their earlier and more prosperous years . That he has done all this , and much else that might be mentioned , we have in evidence , not only in that furnished by the formal and usually unsympathetic language of the minute book , but in the more stirring
The Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution.
and eloquent language that is spoken by successive testimonials , and especially by his " counterfeit presentment " which adorns the walls of the Asylum Hall , side by side with that of the founder of the Institution , Bro . Crucefix . However , it is no part of our present purpose to write a eulogy , indeedis it desirable should
nor , , we think of so doing in this instance . Bro . Terry is still in the very prime of life , and it will be time enough to submit the story of his Secretaryshi p when age and health no longer permit him to bear the weighty responsibilities of so exacting an olTice . May the time be yet far distant when this record is completed ' .
Prominent among other brethren who have rendered valuable aid in connection with the Charity must be mentioned Bro . Dr . Strong , successor of Bro . Henley as Honorary Surgeon lo the Asylum . Bro . ' strong has endeared himself to the inmates by his many thoughtful acts of kindness and the professional services he has rendered for more than twenty years , while the suggestions he has made with . 1 view to ensuring the maximum
degree of comfort to our old folks have invariably proved acceptable to the Committee . The testimonials he has received lrom residents and the Executive show this . Latterly , also , the non-residents have been better circumstanced in respect of medical assistance , Bro . Middlemist having kindly placed his services as Honorary Surgeon at the disposal of the Institution in respect of all Annuitants not in residence at Croydon . Then
the office of Collector has with hardly an exception been filled by brethren of energy and good business habits , and Bro . John Mason , the present Collector , albeit he has held the position for a lew years only , is very lar from being an exception to the rule . Nor ought we to pass over in silence the services of the House Committee , which was revived in 1 S 72 , and which , though varying from time to time as to the members constituting it , is
uniformly in earnest in its watchfulness over the Asylum and the comfort of its inmates . Lastly , there is the Warden , an officer chosen by the Committee from among the resident Annuitants , whose duly it is to look after the interior economy of the Asylum , and report any unseemly conduct that may come under his notice . On his shoulders rests a considerable amount of responsibility , and when , as has more than once happened , a resident has
proved himself unsociable or litigious , his task is neither an easy nor an enviable one . The present Warden is Bro . James Norris , who was elected an Annuitant in 1 S 62 , and appointed to his office in 186 S . His services , as well as those of his daughter , Miss Norris , who acts as Matron , have given every satisfaction to the Committee , while , though he has reached the patriarchal age of 94 , his regular monthly reports are as lucid and
methodical as if they had been compiled by a tar younger man . To devote any portion of our space to a consideration of the Petitions presented by Brethren and the Widows of Brethren for admission into the Institution would be both painful and unprofitable . The printed lists of Candidates which appear shortly before each annual election will give a sufficiently accurate idea of the usual character of their contents . It is
enough to remark that they one and all disclose a state of want on the parof the applicants which is only more or less distressing to read as the contrast with their previous circumstances is more or less pronounced . In general terms it maybe said that all who have sought or seek relief from this Institution once belonged to what is commonly known as the well-to-do class of people . There was a time when the future that lay before them was bright
and clear , and the idea of poverty ever overtaking them would have been set down as being , if not impossible , at least most improbable . Unhappily , in their case it is the unforeseen which has come to pass , and great indeed would have been their distress had there been no Benevolent Institution to lend them a helping hand in the day of their tribulation . But though the stories told in these Petitions so closely resemble each other in respect of the misery
they disclose , there arc a few cases among the Candidates who have been elected on one or other of the Funds which , as being exceptionally sad , may claim a passing word or two . Such a case is that ol the Vice-President and ex-Trustee , one day in affluence , now and for a long time psst the recipient of an Annuity from the Institution to which in his palmy days he had so freely contributed . Then among the Female Annuitants is the widow of a
Brother who was a Past Grand Steward , a Governor of the Institution , and Chairman at two of the Festivals held in aid of the Aged Masons' Asylum . The protracted illness and death ot her husband left her without the means of support . And there is yet another widow still living , whose husband again and again acted as Steward at the Asylum Fesiivals , and helped to promote its success , not only by the moneys he contributed , but likewise by the
eloquent addresses he penned on its behalf . Many other instances might be cited , but the above will serve our purpose of demonstrating the utility , and even the necessity , of such an Institution as this , while the care that is taken by the Committee to secure only worthy persons as Candidates is proved by the very rare instances of misconduct which have occurred among the Annuitants since the Charity was established .
It only now remains to say a few words respecting the Rules and Regulations by which the Institution is governed . Those which were drawn up by the Board of General Purposes and adopted by Grand Lodge , when the Male Fund was established , have already been given in full , and a similar code was prepared when the Female Fund was started . Changes followed , as a matter of course , when the Asylum was amalgamated with these Funds ,
and , as year after year brought some fresh experience , other changes , such as seemed imperative or desirable , have been introduced in the conduct of the Charity . Many of those changes have been noticed at the time of their adoption , but others will be better appreciated after comparing the present with the original scheme of government . One circumstance must be especially gratifying to the Board of General Purposes , as constituted in 1841-2
The Rules which are now m use follow very closely in the main features the Rules as originally drawn up . The mode of voting at elections has been assimilated to that in force with the Schools . All three Institutions now stand on the same footing as regards the Charity Jewel , and there are Patrons , Vice-Patrons , and Vice-Presidents , whereas at the outset the highest rank of contributor was that of Vice-President . But the constitution of the
Committee and the qualifications of the Candidates are in all material points pretty much in 1884 what they were in 1842 , when , under the auspices of the Duke ol Sussex , Grand Lodge , ignoring its own previous motion of approval on behalf of an Aged Masons' Asylum , set itself seriously to the task of establishing a rival Institution in the shape of an Aged Masons' Annuity Fund . However , while the bitterness of feeling which this rivalry engendered
has long since passed away , the kindly sympathy which originated , and the wisdom which devised the plans of the now united Charities , survive , and the one wish which animates the whole English Brotherhood is that the Institution may long remain an honour to those who have established and who maintain it , as well as a source of help and comfort to the aged people lor whom it is maintained .