Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The History Of The Royal Masonic Institution For Girls
They further recommended that in future the offices of Secretary and Collector should be held by different persons instead of by the same person , and that the Collector should be responsible to the Treasurer instead of to the Institution . They also advised " that the several tradesmen serving the Charity do contract for the various articles
wanted by the year , and to be paid Quarterly , " and that certain unpaid bills , and especially those of the Upholsterer and Stove Grate Maker , which they had not had time to examine minutely , should be
inspected by proper people . The Court acquiesced in some of these suggestions , ancl ordered that the offices of Secretary ancl Collector should be separated from the 25 th March , 1790 . The separation , however , was effected earlier . Bro . Allen had been re-elected to the
joint office by the Court , when at the meeting of the Committee on the 28 th May it was resolved unanimously that , in consequence of its " having been frequently observed by the Chairman "—Lord Macdonald— " and by almost all the Members that have attended the General Committees and Committee for Auditing the Accompts , that
the Conduct ef the Secretary has been such as to be highly reprehensible . And it appearing to the Committee upon a Review * of the Matter that the continuing the present Secretary and Collector any longer in these offices will be very injurious to the Charity , " he should be "immediately suspended , " . and that the next General
Meeting be recommended "to make new appointments to these offices . " He was further ordered "to make up his accounts and deliver the same sealed up to tlie Treasurer " within fourteen days , and Bro . Charles Carpenter very kindly undertook to perform the duties of Secretary . After a brief interval Bro . Cuppage was
elected Secretary , . and Bro . John Callendar , Collector , with the usual security , his appointment " as the authorised Collector of the Institution" being decided to be advertised twice in certain newspapers which were specified . It is not stated what the nature of the conduct wrfs which was deemed reprehensible in Secretary Allen , but it
most probably was in connection with his duties as Collector , as the Minutes show him to have been indebted to the Institution to the extent of about £ 15 , which no doubt was made good by his sureties . While the conduct of the Secretary was thus being considered , a question arose as to the ability of Mrs . Le Clerc , the Matron , to fulfil
her duties properly , owing to her being too far advanced in life for the situation , aud at the Court in April it was resolved that the office should become vacant on Midsummer Day following . Atthe Committee Meeting in April it was agreed that Mrs . Learmonth , who had been one of the candidates at the previous election , and whose character and
qualifications had been fully inquired into ancl found satisfactory , should be appointed to the post , should she meet with "the approbation and sanction " of the Patroness . At the Committee in May Bro . Galloway reported "that Her Royal Highness the Patroness had been mta ' de acquainted with the Minute of the 30 th April last
respecting the approaching vacancy of the Matron ' s office , and had directed him to communicate to the Committee that her Royal Highness had visited tlie School and examined the whole very minutely , ancl found the Children ancl House so much to her Satisfaction that She cannot forbear saying that it will be injustice to the present Matron to put
her away . " But the Committee , finding * that the order for vacating the office had been given by the General Quarterly Court , Avere incapable of taking any steps in the matter , and all they seem to have done was to record in the minutes that their act in recommending Mrs . Learmonth's appointment for Her Royal Higbness ' s approval "
proceeded only from that respectful attention the Committee would ever wish to pay to theRoyal Patroness of this Charitable Institution . " And here , so far as the Duchess of Cumberland was concerned , the matter , we presume , was ended . Mrs . Le Clerc left , and was awarded a gratuity of £ 5 5 s .. which , however , she appears to have declined
and Mrs . Learmonth presided as Matron in her stead , the result , so far as it is possible to judge from the records , proving apparently very beneficial to the School . At all events , Mrs . Le . armonth began well—as newly-appointed officials generally do— -and it is evident that the conduct of the Institution , as regards its domestic arrangements ,
was more energetic than m the days of her predecessor . The onl y question that remains to be considered in connection with this . change of Matrons was dealt with at the July Quarterly Court , when the ] 3 oint was submitted as to " whether the Committee are of themselves
competent to suspend an Officer or whether such suspension must be made by a General Court , " and it was unanimously resolved " that the Committee are fully competent of themselves to suspend any Officer at their Pleasure . "
These changes , and the circumstances that led to them , though they must have been disconcerting at the time , Avere , with the exception of one or tAvo minor difficulties about overcharges in some of the tradesmen ' s bills , the only unpleasant occurrences with Avhich the Committee had to deal . In all other respects the year 1789
passed aAvay smoothly and prosperously . . The Hall Committee granted the use of a room in Freemasons' Tavern for the meetings of the General Court and Committees . Bro . Charles Carpenter , who volunteered to do Avhat legal Avork might be required Avithout fee or reAvard , received the appointment of Honorary Solicitor to the
Institution . The duties of the House Committee , Avhich hitherto had been discharged by the members of the General Committee in . rotation , were assigned to a Sub-Coinmitteo of 12 , to be regularly appointed year by year ; the Audit Committee Avas increased in number ; and the Matron having * stated that in the event of illness she did not
The History Of The Royal Masonic Institution For Girls
ICUOAV to which member of the Medical Staff to apply , those gentlemen Avere requested to arrange a rota . among themselves and leave it with the Matron . Small presents also were made to the Institution such as a print of the Duchess of Cumberleand , by Bro . the Chevalier Ruspini ; a donation box , by Bro . Charles Carpenter ; and an
inkstand , for the use of the Governors , by Bro . Hull ; thanks to the several donors being thoughtfully voted by the Committee . A messenger too , was appointed to assist the Secretary , Avith a remuneration of 5 s . per Committee , and 10 s . 6 d . per Quarterly or Special General Court . But a still more gratifying evidence of the progress
that Avas being made is furnished by the proceedings of the Court in October , Avhen it Avas resolved , in consequence " of the liberalit y and benevolence of the subscribers " that " five more children be admitted into the School on the 1 st January next , and that it be referz * ed to the next Monthly Committee to select out five of the most deserving
Objects from those AVIIO are petitioners , to be by them recommended to the General Meeting for admission . " This was done according ly , the first one on Avhom the choice of the Committee fell being a girl recommended by the Patroness , Avhile another Avas a daughter of the late Bro . Dr . Haddon , for Avhom , however , the election Avas
subsequently declined Avith thanks as a relative had undertaken to provide for her , and her place Avas filled by another of the petitioners . This addition raised the number of children in the School to 20 Avhile at the same Court and for the same reason Bro . William Birch Avho was in the chair , remarked " that it Avould be incumbent on the
Governors to extend their plan m supporting a far greater number of children than they had hitherto done or had an opportunity of doing in the House now occupied by them , " and he therefore recommended that the subject should be still further considered at the next meetino * of the Committee . It Avas . also deemed advisable to fund the surplus
cash of the Institution , and on the recommendation of the Audit Committee it AA as determined to purchase £ 400 Three per Cent . GoA'ernment Stock , Avhile as a further means of income it Avas resolved , at the suggestion of the Matron , that Avork should be sent in "forthe employment of the children , " and in a very few years this
plan Avorked very profitably . As a final eA idence of this financial prosperity the Secretary announced at the last Committee Meeting of the year— -on the 26 th December—that Bro . Ruspini had received a letter * from Bro . R . C . Birch , W . M . of the 1 st Lodge of Bengal , enclosing a draft or bill on his father , Bro . William Birch , for
£ 113 13 s ., being the contributions of a feAv of the members of his lodge for the use of the School . The Treasurer also announced that he had received a letter from Bro . J . Heseltine , Grand Treasurer , " acquainting him that he had paid £ 93 4 s . into the hands of Messrs , Vere , Lucadou & Co . " on account of the School , the items comprising
this amount being £ 50 from the Provincial Grand Lodge of Bengal ; £ 23 4 s . from Lodge N ' o . 2 , at Calcutta ; £ 10 from the Prov . Grand Master ( Edwd . FeiiAviek , Esq . ) , and £ 10 from the Prov . Grand Architect ( Claude Martin , Esq . ) . As a matter of course the thanks of the Committee Avere unanimously passed both to the brethren Avho had
remitted and contributed these moneys and to Bro . Ruspini to Avhose influence the remittance Avas due . It Avas also resolved that the good neAvs should be . advertised in the daily papers in succession until the Avhole had been gone through , and that the Secretary should
prepare " an Abstract of the Plan and Regulations of the Charity noAV under reAdsion together with a List of the Subscribers'Names , that the same may be printed for the use of the Country and Foreign Lodges , and that 1500 of such Abstracts be struck of for that
purpose . It is not surprising that , in the midst of such encouraging circumstances as Ave have just recounted , the Committee should have been emboldened to recommend to the Quarterly Court " to depute a
certain number of Governors to Avait on His Royal Highness the Grand Master , requesting that he Avill condescend to announce this Institution from the chair of the Grand Lodge , at the next Quarterly Communication . And that he Avill be pleased to give directions That the period at which this Charity Avas founded may be inserted
amongst the occurrences in Masonry in the Free Mcasons' Calendar . " Nor , having regard to the deep interest taken by the Grand Masterand especially by his illustrious consort the Duchess of Cumberland
—and the Grand Officers and other Members , does it appear strange that Grand Lodge should have consented in response to this request to bestoAv its patronage and protection on so deserving an Institution , t
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The History Of The Royal Masonic Institution For Girls
They further recommended that in future the offices of Secretary and Collector should be held by different persons instead of by the same person , and that the Collector should be responsible to the Treasurer instead of to the Institution . They also advised " that the several tradesmen serving the Charity do contract for the various articles
wanted by the year , and to be paid Quarterly , " and that certain unpaid bills , and especially those of the Upholsterer and Stove Grate Maker , which they had not had time to examine minutely , should be
inspected by proper people . The Court acquiesced in some of these suggestions , ancl ordered that the offices of Secretary ancl Collector should be separated from the 25 th March , 1790 . The separation , however , was effected earlier . Bro . Allen had been re-elected to the
joint office by the Court , when at the meeting of the Committee on the 28 th May it was resolved unanimously that , in consequence of its " having been frequently observed by the Chairman "—Lord Macdonald— " and by almost all the Members that have attended the General Committees and Committee for Auditing the Accompts , that
the Conduct ef the Secretary has been such as to be highly reprehensible . And it appearing to the Committee upon a Review * of the Matter that the continuing the present Secretary and Collector any longer in these offices will be very injurious to the Charity , " he should be "immediately suspended , " . and that the next General
Meeting be recommended "to make new appointments to these offices . " He was further ordered "to make up his accounts and deliver the same sealed up to tlie Treasurer " within fourteen days , and Bro . Charles Carpenter very kindly undertook to perform the duties of Secretary . After a brief interval Bro . Cuppage was
elected Secretary , . and Bro . John Callendar , Collector , with the usual security , his appointment " as the authorised Collector of the Institution" being decided to be advertised twice in certain newspapers which were specified . It is not stated what the nature of the conduct wrfs which was deemed reprehensible in Secretary Allen , but it
most probably was in connection with his duties as Collector , as the Minutes show him to have been indebted to the Institution to the extent of about £ 15 , which no doubt was made good by his sureties . While the conduct of the Secretary was thus being considered , a question arose as to the ability of Mrs . Le Clerc , the Matron , to fulfil
her duties properly , owing to her being too far advanced in life for the situation , aud at the Court in April it was resolved that the office should become vacant on Midsummer Day following . Atthe Committee Meeting in April it was agreed that Mrs . Learmonth , who had been one of the candidates at the previous election , and whose character and
qualifications had been fully inquired into ancl found satisfactory , should be appointed to the post , should she meet with "the approbation and sanction " of the Patroness . At the Committee in May Bro . Galloway reported "that Her Royal Highness the Patroness had been mta ' de acquainted with the Minute of the 30 th April last
respecting the approaching vacancy of the Matron ' s office , and had directed him to communicate to the Committee that her Royal Highness had visited tlie School and examined the whole very minutely , ancl found the Children ancl House so much to her Satisfaction that She cannot forbear saying that it will be injustice to the present Matron to put
her away . " But the Committee , finding * that the order for vacating the office had been given by the General Quarterly Court , Avere incapable of taking any steps in the matter , and all they seem to have done was to record in the minutes that their act in recommending Mrs . Learmonth's appointment for Her Royal Higbness ' s approval "
proceeded only from that respectful attention the Committee would ever wish to pay to theRoyal Patroness of this Charitable Institution . " And here , so far as the Duchess of Cumberland was concerned , the matter , we presume , was ended . Mrs . Le Clerc left , and was awarded a gratuity of £ 5 5 s .. which , however , she appears to have declined
and Mrs . Learmonth presided as Matron in her stead , the result , so far as it is possible to judge from the records , proving apparently very beneficial to the School . At all events , Mrs . Le . armonth began well—as newly-appointed officials generally do— -and it is evident that the conduct of the Institution , as regards its domestic arrangements ,
was more energetic than m the days of her predecessor . The onl y question that remains to be considered in connection with this . change of Matrons was dealt with at the July Quarterly Court , when the ] 3 oint was submitted as to " whether the Committee are of themselves
competent to suspend an Officer or whether such suspension must be made by a General Court , " and it was unanimously resolved " that the Committee are fully competent of themselves to suspend any Officer at their Pleasure . "
These changes , and the circumstances that led to them , though they must have been disconcerting at the time , Avere , with the exception of one or tAvo minor difficulties about overcharges in some of the tradesmen ' s bills , the only unpleasant occurrences with Avhich the Committee had to deal . In all other respects the year 1789
passed aAvay smoothly and prosperously . . The Hall Committee granted the use of a room in Freemasons' Tavern for the meetings of the General Court and Committees . Bro . Charles Carpenter , who volunteered to do Avhat legal Avork might be required Avithout fee or reAvard , received the appointment of Honorary Solicitor to the
Institution . The duties of the House Committee , Avhich hitherto had been discharged by the members of the General Committee in . rotation , were assigned to a Sub-Coinmitteo of 12 , to be regularly appointed year by year ; the Audit Committee Avas increased in number ; and the Matron having * stated that in the event of illness she did not
The History Of The Royal Masonic Institution For Girls
ICUOAV to which member of the Medical Staff to apply , those gentlemen Avere requested to arrange a rota . among themselves and leave it with the Matron . Small presents also were made to the Institution such as a print of the Duchess of Cumberleand , by Bro . the Chevalier Ruspini ; a donation box , by Bro . Charles Carpenter ; and an
inkstand , for the use of the Governors , by Bro . Hull ; thanks to the several donors being thoughtfully voted by the Committee . A messenger too , was appointed to assist the Secretary , Avith a remuneration of 5 s . per Committee , and 10 s . 6 d . per Quarterly or Special General Court . But a still more gratifying evidence of the progress
that Avas being made is furnished by the proceedings of the Court in October , Avhen it Avas resolved , in consequence " of the liberalit y and benevolence of the subscribers " that " five more children be admitted into the School on the 1 st January next , and that it be referz * ed to the next Monthly Committee to select out five of the most deserving
Objects from those AVIIO are petitioners , to be by them recommended to the General Meeting for admission . " This was done according ly , the first one on Avhom the choice of the Committee fell being a girl recommended by the Patroness , Avhile another Avas a daughter of the late Bro . Dr . Haddon , for Avhom , however , the election Avas
subsequently declined Avith thanks as a relative had undertaken to provide for her , and her place Avas filled by another of the petitioners . This addition raised the number of children in the School to 20 Avhile at the same Court and for the same reason Bro . William Birch Avho was in the chair , remarked " that it Avould be incumbent on the
Governors to extend their plan m supporting a far greater number of children than they had hitherto done or had an opportunity of doing in the House now occupied by them , " and he therefore recommended that the subject should be still further considered at the next meetino * of the Committee . It Avas . also deemed advisable to fund the surplus
cash of the Institution , and on the recommendation of the Audit Committee it AA as determined to purchase £ 400 Three per Cent . GoA'ernment Stock , Avhile as a further means of income it Avas resolved , at the suggestion of the Matron , that Avork should be sent in "forthe employment of the children , " and in a very few years this
plan Avorked very profitably . As a final eA idence of this financial prosperity the Secretary announced at the last Committee Meeting of the year— -on the 26 th December—that Bro . Ruspini had received a letter * from Bro . R . C . Birch , W . M . of the 1 st Lodge of Bengal , enclosing a draft or bill on his father , Bro . William Birch , for
£ 113 13 s ., being the contributions of a feAv of the members of his lodge for the use of the School . The Treasurer also announced that he had received a letter from Bro . J . Heseltine , Grand Treasurer , " acquainting him that he had paid £ 93 4 s . into the hands of Messrs , Vere , Lucadou & Co . " on account of the School , the items comprising
this amount being £ 50 from the Provincial Grand Lodge of Bengal ; £ 23 4 s . from Lodge N ' o . 2 , at Calcutta ; £ 10 from the Prov . Grand Master ( Edwd . FeiiAviek , Esq . ) , and £ 10 from the Prov . Grand Architect ( Claude Martin , Esq . ) . As a matter of course the thanks of the Committee Avere unanimously passed both to the brethren Avho had
remitted and contributed these moneys and to Bro . Ruspini to Avhose influence the remittance Avas due . It Avas also resolved that the good neAvs should be . advertised in the daily papers in succession until the Avhole had been gone through , and that the Secretary should
prepare " an Abstract of the Plan and Regulations of the Charity noAV under reAdsion together with a List of the Subscribers'Names , that the same may be printed for the use of the Country and Foreign Lodges , and that 1500 of such Abstracts be struck of for that
purpose . It is not surprising that , in the midst of such encouraging circumstances as Ave have just recounted , the Committee should have been emboldened to recommend to the Quarterly Court " to depute a
certain number of Governors to Avait on His Royal Highness the Grand Master , requesting that he Avill condescend to announce this Institution from the chair of the Grand Lodge , at the next Quarterly Communication . And that he Avill be pleased to give directions That the period at which this Charity Avas founded may be inserted
amongst the occurrences in Masonry in the Free Mcasons' Calendar . " Nor , having regard to the deep interest taken by the Grand Masterand especially by his illustrious consort the Duchess of Cumberland
—and the Grand Officers and other Members , does it appear strange that Grand Lodge should have consented in response to this request to bestoAv its patronage and protection on so deserving an Institution , t