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  • The Freemason's Chronicle
  • Aug. 1, 1896
  • Page 4
  • CHESHIRE CHARITY.
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The Freemason's Chronicle, Aug. 1, 1896: Page 4

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    Article ROYAL MASONIC BENEVOLENT INSTITUTION. Page 1 of 1
    Article ROYAL MASONIC BENEVOLENT INSTITUTION. Page 1 of 1
    Article R.M.I. BOYS. Page 1 of 1
    Article CHESHIRE CHARITY. Page 1 of 1
Page 4

Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution.

ROYAL MASONIC BENEVOLENT INSTITUTION .

A SPECIAL General meeting of Governors and Subscribers was held on Tuesday , at Freemasons' Hall , for the purpose of rescinding Law 18 of the Laws of the Institution , and substituting the following in lieu thereof : In consideration of the grants from Grand Lodge the M . W . G . M ., or his Nominee , and every Provincial G . M ., or his Nominee , shall , at every election

for Male Annuitants , be entitled to two votes , and at every election for Female Annuitants , be entitled to one vote for every Lodge in London or Province . And in consideration of the grants from the Supreme Grand Chapter the Grand Z ., or his Nominee , and every Superintendent , or his Nominee , shall , at every election for Male Annuitants , be entitled to two

votes , and at every election for Female Annuitants to one vote for every Chapter in London or Province ; the number of Lodges and Chapters for which they claim votos shall be determined by the number of Lodges and Chapters recorded in the " Freemasons' Calendar and Pocket-Book " for the current year .

Bro . Fairchild having been voted to the chair , Bro . James Terry Secretary read the different notices convening the meeting . Bro . Whitmarsh then introduced his proposition . He said at the last annual meeting he had acted as one of the scrutineers on the Widows Fund , and was much struck at the immense number of single votes that had to be gone through , with , he

would not say a great waste of time , but it had struck him the labour might be considerably lessened . Referring to the record of LodgeB and Chapters , he found there were 1 , 720 of the one and 687 of the other , giving a total of 2 , 407 Chapters and Lodges in London and the Provinces , to each of which two voting papers had to be forwarded , at a cost for postage of | d each , and for

printing , & c . of lid each , giving a total of 4 , 814 forms , at 2 d each , or £ 40 2 s 4 d , to which had to be added £ 3 12 s for cost of addressing , making a total outlay over each election of £ 43 14 s 4 d for sending out the voting papers to Worshipful Masters and First Principals . By the arrangement he suggested a considerable saving might be effected , as the papers to be sent out would

be one to the Grand Master , and one to each of 49 Provincial Masters ; one to the Grand Z , and one to each of 44 Provincial Superintendents , 190 in all , which would cost £ 1 14 s 8 d . This saving would enable them to provide one more annuity , even at the present time , while it should also be borne in mind the larger amount was an ever increasing one , as new Lodges or Chapters were established .

In addition to this monetary saving there was the lessening of work in the office , and to the scutineers , for it must be remembered these 4 , 814 voting papers had each to be checked three times , giving a count of 14 , 400 if all came in . There was also the saving of time in the Grand Secretary ' s office , in making out a list of arrears , 2 , 407 accounts having to be examined , in

order to see which had not paid their dues . The Institution had also to borrow the address books from Grand Lodge , and retain them while the 4 814 papers were being addressed , and seeing some 7 , 200 names and addresses were supposed to be entered in these books each year it followed many of them would come under notice when the books were away , and would entail

numerous journeys backward and forward . It might be pointed out that in the new rule the penal clause was entirely dropped , so that on its adoption the Grand Secretary ' s office would be left free of all trouble . Summarising , then , it would be found that , under the proposed regulation , there would be ( 1 ) a

saving of trouble in the Grand Secretary ' s office in not having to go through the books tracing arrears , ( 2 ) a saving of trouble in the Graud Secretary ' s office in not having to lend the books for the addresses , ( 3 ) a saving in trouble to the scrutineers , and ( 4 ) a saving of some £ 40 a year , or sufficient to provide another male

annuity . The Brother who seconded the proposal did so in order that the matter might be fully discussed . He recognised that the carrying of the proposition would have the effect of disfranchising the London Lodges—as of course it would those of the Provinces also , but the effect would not be sc marked in the case of the latter as it would be with the London ones .

A Brother from Shropshire asked how the Chapter votes would be dealt with there , as they had no Provincial Superintendent , and proposed that in the event of the proposition being carried it should be with the following addition : " except in the case of a Province where there is no Superintendent , when the votes shall be sent as heretofore to the first Principal of the respective Chapters , " which was agreed to by the proposer of the motion .

Bro . G . B . Abbott supported the proposition , which he considered most reasonable , as it would reduce the labour in the Grand Secretary ' s office , as well as in the office of the Institution . When the old capitation grant to the Boys and Girls Schools was commuted , he said , the Grand Master suggested that certain

votes should be given in respect to the sum annually contributed —the number being fixed at 20 from each Fund . Precisely the same thing was now proposed , except that the Grand Master would not receive the whole of the votes , and thus the practice in connection with this Institution would be brought into unison with that of bhu two Schoola .

Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution.

Bro . C . H . Webb said he agreed with much of what had been said , but he might ask , will the Most Worshipful Grand Master agree to accept these votes ? Bro . Terry said it was impossible to ask the Grand Master until the rule had been passed and agreed to by Grand Lodge .

Bro . Webb said he was very doubtful whether the Grand Master would accept them . The three votes given to each London Lodge were a small matter in themselves , but if collected and placed at the disposal of one individual it was placing very great power in his hands . The tendency of Freemasonry had lately been to create syndicates in connection with the Charities ,

and his experience was that these syndicates were usually successful . More often than not they were formed to carry the case of a candidate who had done little or nothing in support of the Charities , and of course those who had worked hard were shut out . The course now proposed was certainly a step in the

wrong direction , and the supporters were adopting a wrong course when they proposed to place some 8 , 000 votes in the hands of about fifty individuals . It was true many of them already exercised the powers it was now proposed to confer upon them , but that was nothing to do with the Institution , being rather a matter of local arrangement .

Bro . Le Feuvre said it appeared to be taken for granted that the proposal created a difficulty as regarded London , and he sympathised with the metropolitan Brethren . He felt the suggestion might be satisfactorily carried out in Provinces , even if objected to in London , for in almost every case the Provincial votes , after being distributed into the hands of the Masters and Principals were again collected and handed over to a Provincial

Charity Committee . He was not going to propose this alteration , but merely suggested it as a means of getting over what appeared to be a general objection to the suggested alteration . If they could not save the £ 45 a year mentioned by Bro . Whitmarsh they might at least save a part of it , by dealing with the Provinces separately , thereby saving the amount of a Widow ' s Annuity and at the same time considerably lessen the labour .

Bro . Webb thereupon formally proposed that London should be excluded from the new regulation , which suggestion was accepted by Bro . Whitmarsh , and met the unanimous support of those present . Bro . Terry proposed that Bros . Le Feuvre , Whitmarsh and Fairchild be appointed a Committee to draft the new rule for transmission to the Board of Masters , which was agreed to .

Bro . Bonner then proposed the insertion of the following words in clause No . 1 , p . 34 , of the Widows' Qualifications , after the word " Lodge , " in third line : Unless in the case of her last husband ' s petition having been accepted by the Committee and he had died before his election , in such case her application will be considered eligible .

This was seconded by Bro . Reiker 1382 and carried by 10 votes to 2 . The meeting concluded with a vote of thanks to the Chairman . Those present included Bros . T . W . Whitmarsh , Rowland

G . Venables , Chas . Sheppard , Hugh Cotter , J . E . Le Feuvre , C H . Webb , S . G . Bonner , G . E . Fairchild , A . G . Duck , G . B Abbott , J . Goddard , E . Walker , W . H . Hubbert , W . Reiker , T Hutchinson , W . Fisher , W . W . Morgan , James Terry Secretary and J . G . Stevens .

R.M.I. Boys.

R . M . I . BOYS .

WE are pleased to learn the " statement of reasons for the removal of the Boys School , " which the Board of Management promised to submit to the supporters , is now under consideration by the Board , and that it will be issued to each

subscriber with the voting papers for the October election , to be sent out on 8 th September next . . We have little doubt but that * the Management will be able to make a good case , and one that will satisfy the subscribers as so on as they have an opportunity of studying it .

In accordance with Law 48 , the next meeting of the Council of the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys will be held on Friday next , 7 th inst ., at 4 p . m ., instead of yesterday .

Cheshire Charity.

CHESHIRE CHARITY .

THE anniversary festival of the Cheshire Masonic Educational and Benevolent Institutions took place at Knutsford , on Saturday last , Tatton Park and Gardens were thrown open to Brethren and ladies from twelve to four in the afternoon . At five o'clock a dinner was held in the Town Hall , Knutsford , presided over by Lord Egerton of Tatton Prov . G . M ., supported by the Hon . Tatton Egerton , M . P ., P . G . S . W .

In the course of the evening the sum of £ 1 , 300 was subscribed for the benefit of the two Institutions , this being £ 300 more than was expected , says the " Manchester Guardian . "

“The Freemason's Chronicle: 1896-08-01, Page 4” Masonic Periodicals Online, Library and Museum of Freemasonry, 28 Aug. 2025, django:8000/periodicals/fcn/issues/fcn_01081896/page/4/.
  • List
  • Grid
Title Category Page
A UNITED CRAFT. Article 1
R.M.B.I. LODGE VOTES. Article 1
ROYAL ARCH MASONRY. Article 1
NORFOLK. Article 2
SURREY. Article 2
DEVON. Article 2
MARK MASONRY IN THE PUNJAB. Article 3
CHURCH SERVICE. Article 3
"A SPRIG OF ACACIA." Article 3
ROYAL MASONIC BENEVOLENT INSTITUTION. Article 4
R.M.I. BOYS. Article 4
CHESHIRE CHARITY. Article 4
UNITED GRAND LODGE. Article 5
Untitled Ad 5
MIDLAND RAILWAY. Article 6
GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY. Article 6
Untitled Ad 6
Untitled Ad 6
Untitled Ad 7
Untitled Ad 7
Untitled Ad 7
Untitled Ad 7
Untitled Ad 7
Untitled Ad 7
Untitled Ad 7
Untitled Article 7
Untitled Article 7
COURTESY TO THE VISITING BROTHER. Article 8
Untitled Ad 8
Untitled Ad 8
Untitled Ad 8
Untitled Ad 8
ROYAL ARCH. Article 9
KENT. Article 9
SURREY. Article 9
REPORTS OF MEETINGS. Article 10
AN INTERESTING MASONIC COLLECTION. Article 11
HOLIDAY ARRANGEMENTS. Article 12
The Theatres, &c. Article 12
Untitled Ad 12
Untitled Ad 12
Untitled Ad 12
Untitled Ad 12
Untitled Ad 12
Untitled Ad 12
Untitled Ad 12
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution.

ROYAL MASONIC BENEVOLENT INSTITUTION .

A SPECIAL General meeting of Governors and Subscribers was held on Tuesday , at Freemasons' Hall , for the purpose of rescinding Law 18 of the Laws of the Institution , and substituting the following in lieu thereof : In consideration of the grants from Grand Lodge the M . W . G . M ., or his Nominee , and every Provincial G . M ., or his Nominee , shall , at every election

for Male Annuitants , be entitled to two votes , and at every election for Female Annuitants , be entitled to one vote for every Lodge in London or Province . And in consideration of the grants from the Supreme Grand Chapter the Grand Z ., or his Nominee , and every Superintendent , or his Nominee , shall , at every election for Male Annuitants , be entitled to two

votes , and at every election for Female Annuitants to one vote for every Chapter in London or Province ; the number of Lodges and Chapters for which they claim votos shall be determined by the number of Lodges and Chapters recorded in the " Freemasons' Calendar and Pocket-Book " for the current year .

Bro . Fairchild having been voted to the chair , Bro . James Terry Secretary read the different notices convening the meeting . Bro . Whitmarsh then introduced his proposition . He said at the last annual meeting he had acted as one of the scrutineers on the Widows Fund , and was much struck at the immense number of single votes that had to be gone through , with , he

would not say a great waste of time , but it had struck him the labour might be considerably lessened . Referring to the record of LodgeB and Chapters , he found there were 1 , 720 of the one and 687 of the other , giving a total of 2 , 407 Chapters and Lodges in London and the Provinces , to each of which two voting papers had to be forwarded , at a cost for postage of | d each , and for

printing , & c . of lid each , giving a total of 4 , 814 forms , at 2 d each , or £ 40 2 s 4 d , to which had to be added £ 3 12 s for cost of addressing , making a total outlay over each election of £ 43 14 s 4 d for sending out the voting papers to Worshipful Masters and First Principals . By the arrangement he suggested a considerable saving might be effected , as the papers to be sent out would

be one to the Grand Master , and one to each of 49 Provincial Masters ; one to the Grand Z , and one to each of 44 Provincial Superintendents , 190 in all , which would cost £ 1 14 s 8 d . This saving would enable them to provide one more annuity , even at the present time , while it should also be borne in mind the larger amount was an ever increasing one , as new Lodges or Chapters were established .

In addition to this monetary saving there was the lessening of work in the office , and to the scutineers , for it must be remembered these 4 , 814 voting papers had each to be checked three times , giving a count of 14 , 400 if all came in . There was also the saving of time in the Grand Secretary ' s office , in making out a list of arrears , 2 , 407 accounts having to be examined , in

order to see which had not paid their dues . The Institution had also to borrow the address books from Grand Lodge , and retain them while the 4 814 papers were being addressed , and seeing some 7 , 200 names and addresses were supposed to be entered in these books each year it followed many of them would come under notice when the books were away , and would entail

numerous journeys backward and forward . It might be pointed out that in the new rule the penal clause was entirely dropped , so that on its adoption the Grand Secretary ' s office would be left free of all trouble . Summarising , then , it would be found that , under the proposed regulation , there would be ( 1 ) a

saving of trouble in the Grand Secretary ' s office in not having to go through the books tracing arrears , ( 2 ) a saving of trouble in the Graud Secretary ' s office in not having to lend the books for the addresses , ( 3 ) a saving in trouble to the scrutineers , and ( 4 ) a saving of some £ 40 a year , or sufficient to provide another male

annuity . The Brother who seconded the proposal did so in order that the matter might be fully discussed . He recognised that the carrying of the proposition would have the effect of disfranchising the London Lodges—as of course it would those of the Provinces also , but the effect would not be sc marked in the case of the latter as it would be with the London ones .

A Brother from Shropshire asked how the Chapter votes would be dealt with there , as they had no Provincial Superintendent , and proposed that in the event of the proposition being carried it should be with the following addition : " except in the case of a Province where there is no Superintendent , when the votes shall be sent as heretofore to the first Principal of the respective Chapters , " which was agreed to by the proposer of the motion .

Bro . G . B . Abbott supported the proposition , which he considered most reasonable , as it would reduce the labour in the Grand Secretary ' s office , as well as in the office of the Institution . When the old capitation grant to the Boys and Girls Schools was commuted , he said , the Grand Master suggested that certain

votes should be given in respect to the sum annually contributed —the number being fixed at 20 from each Fund . Precisely the same thing was now proposed , except that the Grand Master would not receive the whole of the votes , and thus the practice in connection with this Institution would be brought into unison with that of bhu two Schoola .

Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution.

Bro . C . H . Webb said he agreed with much of what had been said , but he might ask , will the Most Worshipful Grand Master agree to accept these votes ? Bro . Terry said it was impossible to ask the Grand Master until the rule had been passed and agreed to by Grand Lodge .

Bro . Webb said he was very doubtful whether the Grand Master would accept them . The three votes given to each London Lodge were a small matter in themselves , but if collected and placed at the disposal of one individual it was placing very great power in his hands . The tendency of Freemasonry had lately been to create syndicates in connection with the Charities ,

and his experience was that these syndicates were usually successful . More often than not they were formed to carry the case of a candidate who had done little or nothing in support of the Charities , and of course those who had worked hard were shut out . The course now proposed was certainly a step in the

wrong direction , and the supporters were adopting a wrong course when they proposed to place some 8 , 000 votes in the hands of about fifty individuals . It was true many of them already exercised the powers it was now proposed to confer upon them , but that was nothing to do with the Institution , being rather a matter of local arrangement .

Bro . Le Feuvre said it appeared to be taken for granted that the proposal created a difficulty as regarded London , and he sympathised with the metropolitan Brethren . He felt the suggestion might be satisfactorily carried out in Provinces , even if objected to in London , for in almost every case the Provincial votes , after being distributed into the hands of the Masters and Principals were again collected and handed over to a Provincial

Charity Committee . He was not going to propose this alteration , but merely suggested it as a means of getting over what appeared to be a general objection to the suggested alteration . If they could not save the £ 45 a year mentioned by Bro . Whitmarsh they might at least save a part of it , by dealing with the Provinces separately , thereby saving the amount of a Widow ' s Annuity and at the same time considerably lessen the labour .

Bro . Webb thereupon formally proposed that London should be excluded from the new regulation , which suggestion was accepted by Bro . Whitmarsh , and met the unanimous support of those present . Bro . Terry proposed that Bros . Le Feuvre , Whitmarsh and Fairchild be appointed a Committee to draft the new rule for transmission to the Board of Masters , which was agreed to .

Bro . Bonner then proposed the insertion of the following words in clause No . 1 , p . 34 , of the Widows' Qualifications , after the word " Lodge , " in third line : Unless in the case of her last husband ' s petition having been accepted by the Committee and he had died before his election , in such case her application will be considered eligible .

This was seconded by Bro . Reiker 1382 and carried by 10 votes to 2 . The meeting concluded with a vote of thanks to the Chairman . Those present included Bros . T . W . Whitmarsh , Rowland

G . Venables , Chas . Sheppard , Hugh Cotter , J . E . Le Feuvre , C H . Webb , S . G . Bonner , G . E . Fairchild , A . G . Duck , G . B Abbott , J . Goddard , E . Walker , W . H . Hubbert , W . Reiker , T Hutchinson , W . Fisher , W . W . Morgan , James Terry Secretary and J . G . Stevens .

R.M.I. Boys.

R . M . I . BOYS .

WE are pleased to learn the " statement of reasons for the removal of the Boys School , " which the Board of Management promised to submit to the supporters , is now under consideration by the Board , and that it will be issued to each

subscriber with the voting papers for the October election , to be sent out on 8 th September next . . We have little doubt but that * the Management will be able to make a good case , and one that will satisfy the subscribers as so on as they have an opportunity of studying it .

In accordance with Law 48 , the next meeting of the Council of the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys will be held on Friday next , 7 th inst ., at 4 p . m ., instead of yesterday .

Cheshire Charity.

CHESHIRE CHARITY .

THE anniversary festival of the Cheshire Masonic Educational and Benevolent Institutions took place at Knutsford , on Saturday last , Tatton Park and Gardens were thrown open to Brethren and ladies from twelve to four in the afternoon . At five o'clock a dinner was held in the Town Hall , Knutsford , presided over by Lord Egerton of Tatton Prov . G . M ., supported by the Hon . Tatton Egerton , M . P ., P . G . S . W .

In the course of the evening the sum of £ 1 , 300 was subscribed for the benefit of the two Institutions , this being £ 300 more than was expected , says the " Manchester Guardian . "

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