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Article TIE II SO NIC Mill OR ← Page 9 of 13 →
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Tie Ii So Nic Mill Or
the sum of £ 800 a year . That is the net amount . It is liable to some drawbacks which in a period of eight years have gone to the extent of £ 1200 . Therefore , although you do give permission to your present tenant to let this hall , and from thence derive an increased rental , we may fairly assume £ 800 as the net rental . It has been my business to ascertain what has been the income and the expenditure
of the Fund for ' General Purposes , to which alone I shall refer in all these calculations ; for of course we cannot touch the Fund of Benevolence . On January 1 , 1850 , having completed the purchase of a large property , and there not being sufficient funds in hand , we were indebted to our treasurer and bankers , £ 1483 12 s . 1 M- We have since then given away £ 7553 3 s . We have purchased property to the extent of £ 5150 . We have purchased , and now hold £ 6500 stock , and we have a balance at the bankers of £ 811 Ids . Id . We
have had an income , therefore , over and above our expenditure during the period Ihave mentioned , of £ 21 , 798 95 . This gives you a surplus income over your expenditure of £ 2500 per annum . We can afford therefore to risk the loss of a part of the rent of the tavern . Over and above the current expenditure there has been ah outlay , which will not occur again , of £ 1200 . £ 600 was given to your new tenahts for the purpose of necessary repairs . Your tontine dividend hangs on the life of an elderly lady , and although ladies seem determined to live for ever when Jthey get an annuity , this life must fall-in the course of a few years , and this will be a considerable addition to our revenue . We can do
nothing great in altering the accommodation of the present tavern till thelease fells in , which will be in three years and three quarters ; and at that time , if we go on at our present rate , besides £ 6 ^ 500 in the funds , we shall have as much more . With that we may do a great deal . In return for the £ 800 a-year taverh rent , we pay £ 5 , 000 per annum for our banquets . This pays the expenses ; and if it pays our tenants , it could be made to pay us . It will be worth while to consider whether we could do this without loss . We are not less numerous or less
wealthy than the clubs , and we may find that we can be perfectly self-supporting . That which appears to be difficult now ^ may perhaps be found so simple that we shall wonder it was not done long ago . There have gone forth amongst the Craft very large rumours as to what the Board intends to propose ; but we have come to you with no extravagant proposition—nothing which will forestall one penny of your income . We shall rather endeavour to determine how you can make the best use of your present property , than build more . We shall see how little , and not how much , can be built . We have been content , for a number of years , with a certain degree of accommodation . I do not blame the
tenants , who have no doubt done the best they could . We could not have worse accommodation if we took the property into our own hands , and we should have a greater use of our own rooms . Suppose that instead of meeting here four times a year , we could always come here and find this room ready for our use , for refreshment , or to meet friends . You have got your building , your Temple , and half the things that the London clubs commence without ; yet you are in doubt as to whether you can support yourselves . The pecuniary
sacrifice which you might be called upon to make would be counterbalanced by the higher credit in which Masonry would be held . Again , we may fairly ask—is it desirable to accumulate large sums of money ? No advantage could be gained if the Board of General Purposes had £ 20 , 000 in the funds at this moment . You cannot have a better way of expending your funds than in the erection of such a temple as Masons ought to meet in—a place which would add honour to the reputation of English Masonry which found its home there . We ask you for £ 300 , not $ * at we intend to spend that sum , but as we hope to
have a building more worthy of the society , we ask you for that sum that we may put ourselves in possession , at the outset , of a plan which will be well matured , so that if we take any steps hereafter , they shall all be parts of one great plan . It has been proposed to lay out £ 10 , 000 in building a suitable hall and tavern , but where is the money to come from 1 You could not propose to Grand Lodge to borrow the amount , nor , if you did , would Grand Lodge be likely to sanction such n . scheme . If you borrowed £ 40 , 000 , and built the largest tavern in London , « even per cent , on the outlay would not be too' much to expect ; but did any one 4 A
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Tie Ii So Nic Mill Or
the sum of £ 800 a year . That is the net amount . It is liable to some drawbacks which in a period of eight years have gone to the extent of £ 1200 . Therefore , although you do give permission to your present tenant to let this hall , and from thence derive an increased rental , we may fairly assume £ 800 as the net rental . It has been my business to ascertain what has been the income and the expenditure
of the Fund for ' General Purposes , to which alone I shall refer in all these calculations ; for of course we cannot touch the Fund of Benevolence . On January 1 , 1850 , having completed the purchase of a large property , and there not being sufficient funds in hand , we were indebted to our treasurer and bankers , £ 1483 12 s . 1 M- We have since then given away £ 7553 3 s . We have purchased property to the extent of £ 5150 . We have purchased , and now hold £ 6500 stock , and we have a balance at the bankers of £ 811 Ids . Id . We
have had an income , therefore , over and above our expenditure during the period Ihave mentioned , of £ 21 , 798 95 . This gives you a surplus income over your expenditure of £ 2500 per annum . We can afford therefore to risk the loss of a part of the rent of the tavern . Over and above the current expenditure there has been ah outlay , which will not occur again , of £ 1200 . £ 600 was given to your new tenahts for the purpose of necessary repairs . Your tontine dividend hangs on the life of an elderly lady , and although ladies seem determined to live for ever when Jthey get an annuity , this life must fall-in the course of a few years , and this will be a considerable addition to our revenue . We can do
nothing great in altering the accommodation of the present tavern till thelease fells in , which will be in three years and three quarters ; and at that time , if we go on at our present rate , besides £ 6 ^ 500 in the funds , we shall have as much more . With that we may do a great deal . In return for the £ 800 a-year taverh rent , we pay £ 5 , 000 per annum for our banquets . This pays the expenses ; and if it pays our tenants , it could be made to pay us . It will be worth while to consider whether we could do this without loss . We are not less numerous or less
wealthy than the clubs , and we may find that we can be perfectly self-supporting . That which appears to be difficult now ^ may perhaps be found so simple that we shall wonder it was not done long ago . There have gone forth amongst the Craft very large rumours as to what the Board intends to propose ; but we have come to you with no extravagant proposition—nothing which will forestall one penny of your income . We shall rather endeavour to determine how you can make the best use of your present property , than build more . We shall see how little , and not how much , can be built . We have been content , for a number of years , with a certain degree of accommodation . I do not blame the
tenants , who have no doubt done the best they could . We could not have worse accommodation if we took the property into our own hands , and we should have a greater use of our own rooms . Suppose that instead of meeting here four times a year , we could always come here and find this room ready for our use , for refreshment , or to meet friends . You have got your building , your Temple , and half the things that the London clubs commence without ; yet you are in doubt as to whether you can support yourselves . The pecuniary
sacrifice which you might be called upon to make would be counterbalanced by the higher credit in which Masonry would be held . Again , we may fairly ask—is it desirable to accumulate large sums of money ? No advantage could be gained if the Board of General Purposes had £ 20 , 000 in the funds at this moment . You cannot have a better way of expending your funds than in the erection of such a temple as Masons ought to meet in—a place which would add honour to the reputation of English Masonry which found its home there . We ask you for £ 300 , not $ * at we intend to spend that sum , but as we hope to
have a building more worthy of the society , we ask you for that sum that we may put ourselves in possession , at the outset , of a plan which will be well matured , so that if we take any steps hereafter , they shall all be parts of one great plan . It has been proposed to lay out £ 10 , 000 in building a suitable hall and tavern , but where is the money to come from 1 You could not propose to Grand Lodge to borrow the amount , nor , if you did , would Grand Lodge be likely to sanction such n . scheme . If you borrowed £ 40 , 000 , and built the largest tavern in London , « even per cent , on the outlay would not be too' much to expect ; but did any one 4 A