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  • The Freemason's Chronicle
  • Dec. 9, 1899
  • Page 1
  • A CALL TO ACTION.
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The Freemason's Chronicle, Dec. 9, 1899: Page 1

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A Call To Action.

A CALL TO ACTION .

A T a moment when every section of the community •**• is inclined to put all other considerations into a secondary place , in favour of news from the seat of war , and tidings of the doings of the British forces in

South Africa ; at a time when all classes—and notably the Freemasons of the country and their Lodges—are vieing with each other to do something on behalf of " The Absent-Minded Beggars , " and those they have

left behind them ; it would ill become us to say anything which should appear to suggest that a check should be put upon the patriotic enthusiasm of the Masonic section of the nation . In fact , we have seldom felt

more gratification in any matter than has been associated with the publication in our pages , during the last few weeks , of lists of some of the Masonic contributions to the different funds promoted to afford

relief to sufferers through the war , and this reaches a climax this week when we are able to point to the handsome contributions of one thousand guineas from Grand Lodge , for the Mansion House Fund ; and of

one hundred guineas from Mark Grand Lodge to the " Daily Telegraph " Fund ; but in spite of patriotism , and with every desire to render help to those left by the soldiers and sailors fighting for the empire , we

must not forget that there are other claims , calls upon the benevolence of the Craft nearer home , which areno less deserving of consideration at this moment than are the calls which have aroused the masses , and brought forth a liberal response on every side .

Freemasonry has its beleagured garrison , a garrison of veterans hemmed in by foes even more relentless than the Boers—old age and helplessnessand it is quite as necessary for the members of the

Craft to adopt desperate measures for their relief as ever it was for our military authorities to hurry out reinforcements , and make tremendous sacrifices , to succour those of our countrymen hemmed in by human

foes in South Africa . The beleagured garrison of Freemasonry numbers close on five hundred old people—Annuitants of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution—ayed Brethren who have borne the heat and

burden of the clay in their time , or Widows ; all of whom find themselves in distressed circumstances in their closing days , and unless relieved by a strong band of energetic workers among members of the Craft , may have to face a worse fate than anv than has been

before the surrounded garrisons in South Africa during the progress of the present unhappy struggle ; for even captivity in an enemy ' s land may be made far more endurable than absolute want and poverty in old age .

It is very satisfactory to know the force working to relieve the Masonic veterans of whom we have

spoken is fairly strong in point of numbers , and that it is well officered ; and we can but hope that on the day at the end of February—for in this case the date of the relief is virtually known—when the result of their efforts

A Call To Action.

is announced , it will be found there is sufficient for every member of the beleagured force , and a trifle to spare for the many others equally deserving , but unfortunately not yet taken under the wing of the Benevolent Institution . We have for

Commander-in-Chief our esteemed Brother Lord Addington Provincial Grand Master of Buckinghamshire , who has kindly consented to preside at the Anniversary Festival of the Institution ; while for head of the staff , chief organiser ,

and General superintending the whole campaign there is the able veteran Secretary of the Institution Bro . James Terry , whose long experience in such matters places him in the foremost rank among those capable of undertaking the work .

We can hardly believe that the different amounts voted from our Lodges , or the supplementary collections among the Brethren on behalf of " The Absent-minded Beggars , " or others suffering through the South

African campaign , will have any appreciable effect on the amounts contributed to the Masonic Institutions , the first Festival in connection with which , as usual on behalf of the Benevolent Instititution , will be held in

February next , but there are many Brethren m our midst who do not view the matter with such equanimity , and not a few who believe that nearly every farthing voted from our Lodges will indirectly come out of the

coffers of the three Charities , and not only this , but that the usual flow of benevolence will be checked by reason of the many outside calls , and the dislocation of business caused by the war ; and if this is likely to

occur we can hardly be accused of inconsistency if we do raise a voice against the flow of patriotic benevolence , by pointing to the claims of our own funds—for Charity really begins at home . We are not the first

to give voice to this cry of alarm ; other funds besides those of Freemasonry are likely to suffer from the exceptional calls of the time , and we see that even Guy ' s Hospital has been obliged to draw on its capital in

consequence of the falling off in funds , due , no doubt , directly or indirectly , to the war ; and many other of the Christmas appeals to the public seem to give

unmistakable signs of a general tightening of the purse strings on the part of the benevolent , so far as ordinary objects of relief and assistance are concerned .

We have already spoken of the beleagured garrison of Freemasonry , hemmed in by the most relentless of foes , old age and helplessness , and have expressed a hope that the Craft may be able to effect their relief in

February next . This relief can only be brought about by the collection of a very large sum of money , no less than nearly ^ 17 , 000 being required to provide the year ' s annuities alone , to which the Craft is virtually ¦

pledged on their behalf . £ 4 . 0 each to 270 Aged Brethren , ^ 32 each to 24 8 Widows , and ^" 20 each to 22 other Widows , who enjoy half their late

husband ' s pensions ; and to secure this very large sum of money there is but one field open —the Lodges and members of the Craft . It is true the

“The Freemason's Chronicle: 1899-12-09, Page 1” Masonic Periodicals Online, Library and Museum of Freemasonry, 5 Aug. 2025, django:8000/periodicals/fcn/issues/fcn_09121899/page/1/.
  • List
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Title Category Page
A CALL TO ACTION. Article 1
DORSET. Article 2
NORFOLK. Article 2
ROYAL ARCH. Article 3
HANTS AND ISLE OF WIGHT. Article 3
"A SPRIG OF ACACIA." Article 3
GRAND LODGE OF SCOTLAND. Article 4
NEW HALL AT ABERGAVENNY. Article 5
LEEDS MASONIC HALL. Article 5
Untitled Ad 5
Untitled Ad 6
Untitled Ad 6
Untitled Ad 6
Untitled Ad 6
Untitled Ad 6
Untitled Ad 6
Untitled Ad 6
Untitled Ad 6
Untitled Ad 6
Untitled Ad 6
Untitled Ad 7
Untitled Ad 7
Untitled Ad 7
Untitled Ad 7
Untitled Article 7
UNITED GRAND LODGE. Article 7
Untitled Article 7
LODGE MEETINGS NEXT WEEK. Article 8
REPORTS OF MEETINGS. Article 9
Untitled Article 11
ENTERTAINMENT NOTES. Article 11
Music of the Day. Article 11
Books of the Day. Article 12
RESCUE BY THE MASONIC LIFE-BOAT. Article 12
CORRSPONDENCE. Article 12
Untitled Article 12
Untitled Ad 12
Untitled Article 13
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

A Call To Action.

A CALL TO ACTION .

A T a moment when every section of the community •**• is inclined to put all other considerations into a secondary place , in favour of news from the seat of war , and tidings of the doings of the British forces in

South Africa ; at a time when all classes—and notably the Freemasons of the country and their Lodges—are vieing with each other to do something on behalf of " The Absent-Minded Beggars , " and those they have

left behind them ; it would ill become us to say anything which should appear to suggest that a check should be put upon the patriotic enthusiasm of the Masonic section of the nation . In fact , we have seldom felt

more gratification in any matter than has been associated with the publication in our pages , during the last few weeks , of lists of some of the Masonic contributions to the different funds promoted to afford

relief to sufferers through the war , and this reaches a climax this week when we are able to point to the handsome contributions of one thousand guineas from Grand Lodge , for the Mansion House Fund ; and of

one hundred guineas from Mark Grand Lodge to the " Daily Telegraph " Fund ; but in spite of patriotism , and with every desire to render help to those left by the soldiers and sailors fighting for the empire , we

must not forget that there are other claims , calls upon the benevolence of the Craft nearer home , which areno less deserving of consideration at this moment than are the calls which have aroused the masses , and brought forth a liberal response on every side .

Freemasonry has its beleagured garrison , a garrison of veterans hemmed in by foes even more relentless than the Boers—old age and helplessnessand it is quite as necessary for the members of the

Craft to adopt desperate measures for their relief as ever it was for our military authorities to hurry out reinforcements , and make tremendous sacrifices , to succour those of our countrymen hemmed in by human

foes in South Africa . The beleagured garrison of Freemasonry numbers close on five hundred old people—Annuitants of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution—ayed Brethren who have borne the heat and

burden of the clay in their time , or Widows ; all of whom find themselves in distressed circumstances in their closing days , and unless relieved by a strong band of energetic workers among members of the Craft , may have to face a worse fate than anv than has been

before the surrounded garrisons in South Africa during the progress of the present unhappy struggle ; for even captivity in an enemy ' s land may be made far more endurable than absolute want and poverty in old age .

It is very satisfactory to know the force working to relieve the Masonic veterans of whom we have

spoken is fairly strong in point of numbers , and that it is well officered ; and we can but hope that on the day at the end of February—for in this case the date of the relief is virtually known—when the result of their efforts

A Call To Action.

is announced , it will be found there is sufficient for every member of the beleagured force , and a trifle to spare for the many others equally deserving , but unfortunately not yet taken under the wing of the Benevolent Institution . We have for

Commander-in-Chief our esteemed Brother Lord Addington Provincial Grand Master of Buckinghamshire , who has kindly consented to preside at the Anniversary Festival of the Institution ; while for head of the staff , chief organiser ,

and General superintending the whole campaign there is the able veteran Secretary of the Institution Bro . James Terry , whose long experience in such matters places him in the foremost rank among those capable of undertaking the work .

We can hardly believe that the different amounts voted from our Lodges , or the supplementary collections among the Brethren on behalf of " The Absent-minded Beggars , " or others suffering through the South

African campaign , will have any appreciable effect on the amounts contributed to the Masonic Institutions , the first Festival in connection with which , as usual on behalf of the Benevolent Instititution , will be held in

February next , but there are many Brethren m our midst who do not view the matter with such equanimity , and not a few who believe that nearly every farthing voted from our Lodges will indirectly come out of the

coffers of the three Charities , and not only this , but that the usual flow of benevolence will be checked by reason of the many outside calls , and the dislocation of business caused by the war ; and if this is likely to

occur we can hardly be accused of inconsistency if we do raise a voice against the flow of patriotic benevolence , by pointing to the claims of our own funds—for Charity really begins at home . We are not the first

to give voice to this cry of alarm ; other funds besides those of Freemasonry are likely to suffer from the exceptional calls of the time , and we see that even Guy ' s Hospital has been obliged to draw on its capital in

consequence of the falling off in funds , due , no doubt , directly or indirectly , to the war ; and many other of the Christmas appeals to the public seem to give

unmistakable signs of a general tightening of the purse strings on the part of the benevolent , so far as ordinary objects of relief and assistance are concerned .

We have already spoken of the beleagured garrison of Freemasonry , hemmed in by the most relentless of foes , old age and helplessness , and have expressed a hope that the Craft may be able to effect their relief in

February next . This relief can only be brought about by the collection of a very large sum of money , no less than nearly ^ 17 , 000 being required to provide the year ' s annuities alone , to which the Craft is virtually ¦

pledged on their behalf . £ 4 . 0 each to 270 Aged Brethren , ^ 32 each to 24 8 Widows , and ^" 20 each to 22 other Widows , who enjoy half their late

husband ' s pensions ; and to secure this very large sum of money there is but one field open —the Lodges and members of the Craft . It is true the

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