Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Contents.
CONTENTS .
L EADERS >] i Grand Lodge Calendar for 1889 72 An Early Warwickshire Charter 73 Board of Benevolence .. ! 73 Supreme Grand Chapter 73 The Savage Club Lodge , No . 3190 73 Reviews 77 R IPORTS or MASONIC M IITINGS— Craft Masonry 78 Instruction 80 Royal Arch 8 r
REPORTS OF MASONIC M EETINGS ( Continued)—Instruction 81 Mark Masonry 82 Royal and Select Masters 83 Royal Masonic Institution for Boys 82 Annual Festival of the Brixton Lodge of Instruction , No . 1949 83 A Masonic Scandal in France 82 Theatres 82 Masonic and General Tidings 8 3 Lodge Meetings for Next Week 84
Ar00101
THERE are two classes of difficulties with which Authority—Board of whether vested in a single individual or in many , whether poli-Benevoience . t j ca ^ ia ] j or 0 f any 0 ther kind—must always be prepared to contend —( 1 ) the attacks of the agitator , who knows perfectly well that , if he
only throws mud enough , some of it will be sure to stick ; ( 2 ) the apathy of the general body of those over whom Authority is exercised . We have shown in former articles , but more particularly in one which has appeared recently , that it is hardly possible the affairs of our Institutions can be otherwise than well administered in the main , yet these same Institutions have been ,
and still are being , attacked with a violence which , seeing that the assailants are Masons , and presumably , therefore , under an obligation to act fairly and charitably towards things and persons Masonic , is most reprehensible . Now it seems as if the signal had been given for an attack on the Board of Benevolence , because facts have been too powerful
for its desire for economy , and a very considerable portion of its accumulated funds has been employed in making good the deficiencies of income during the past 10 years . We shall , of course , be told that no Board or individual has the right to expend in any one year more than the amount which it or
he has received in the course of that year ; but it is impossible to assert that there is anything especially sacred about the accumulated surpluses of past years which is to prevent them being expended as occasion may require . A man with an income of £ 500 a V ' s not justified in spending £ 600 ; but it would be ridiculous to charge him with extravagance if , after
finding £ 400 enough for his annual needs during a long term of years , the demands on his purse become greater , and he is obliged to make inroads on the amount of his previous savings . Moreover , such a man will , in all probability , have invested his annual surpluses in some interest-bearing Stock , and we may be sure he will be in no hurry to exhaust the capital thus formed . He
will know , as we pointed out in our article of last week , that loss of invested capital means loss of income , and he will , therefore , if he is wise , cast about him to see if there is not some means available by which he will be able to avoid the sacrifice of his accumulated Stock . There is no question as to these surpluses having accrued from the Fund devoted to
charitable purposes—that is to say , from moneys appropriated by Grand Lodge for distribution among the necessitous members of our Society . They were not so distributed in the years they were received , because the Fund of Benevolence had more than enough to satisfy the claims made upon it ; but in the meantime , these claims have become more numerous ,
and there does not seem to be any likelihood of their diminishing . Thus , the Board of Benevolence , as the administrators of the funds confided to its management , is fully justified in bringing the circumstances to the notice of the brethren , so that Grand Lodge in its wisdom may determine upon the course that shall be
pursued . And this will be the more apparent , the more carefully we examine the statement which was presented to the Board at its last meet'ng , and published in our issue of the 26 th ult ., by the light of other facts which are , doubtless , within the knowledge of our readers . It is on record that at the meeting of Grand Lodge , on 7 th June , 1882—that is about two
years alter Bro . J . M . CLABON had brought forward , unavailingly , his plan tor appropriating certain portions of the annual surplus income of the Fund ° f Benevolence to the support of our Schools—the same brother brought torward a motion for increasing the Quarterages from 4 s . to 6 s . per member •n the case of London lodges , and from 2 s . to 3 s . in the case of country
lod ges , but the opposition of the Provincial brethren was too much for him , ai * d the motion was defeated . In the speech in which he introduced this proposal , Bro . CLABON , speaking with the authority which belonged necessaril y to a Past President of the Board of Benevolence , proved incontestably , b y the figures he quoted , that if the same rate of expenditure
nad to be continued , it was only a question as to the time when the und of accumulations would be exhausted , and he expressed his opinion at it would be better to increase the Quarterages than exhaust he accumulations . But Grand Lodge did not see fit to endorse is opinion , and , as we have said before , Bro . CLABON ' motion fell rough . This result may have been due to the face that only some £ 2500 the £ 50 , 000 capital had been appropriated to make good the deficiencies x ° 79 » 1880 , and 1881 ; and it may not unreasonably have been
Ar00102
argued that in the future , as in the past , a deficiency—or even a series of deficiencies—might be followed by a surplus or surpluses , and the equilibrium between the actual receipts and expenditure restored , Since then , however , £ 12 , 000 Stock has been sold out , and the Fund began the new year with a debt of nearly another £ 2000 . It is not difficult to account
for this excess . On looking back through our file of the Freemason , we find that in 1880 the numberof cases relieved was 306 , and the amount distributed amongst them—after deducting from the total expenditure of £ 10 , 021 the sum of £ 800 devoted to the R . M . B . L—was £ 9221 , the average grant per case being , as nearly as possible , £ 30 2 s . 6 d . In 1888 the number of cases
relieved was 439 , and the amount distributed amongst them , after allowing for the £ 800 assigned to the R . M . B . L , £ 11 , 468 , the average grant per case being about £ 26 2 s . 6 d . Thus , while there is , as between 1880 and 1888 , an increase in the number of cases of 133 , and in the amount distributed of £ 2247 , there is a diminution of
4 , 4 in the average grant per case . But if , in spite of this greater economy of distribution—as shown in the Table we publish elsewhere—and the augmentation of income from £ 9270 in 1880 to £ 10 , 051 in 1888 , we find the number of applicants increasing so largely , and , as a consequence , the amount distributed is so much greater , we say the time has arrived for
Grand Lodge to review the position of the Board of Benevolence , and determine the question—on the propriety of which we shall not presume to offer any opinion—whether or not the Quarterages shall be increased , so that the Board may be able to regulate its grants in accordance with such
decision . As for the suggestion that honourable men , such as are those constituting our Board of Benevolence , have deliberately encouraged a large expenditure of the funds entrusted to their charge so as to render the accumulation , and , as a matter of course , the appropriation , of surpluses impossible , we dismiss it with the contempt it merits .
* * * IT is clear from the reports we have received of the meetings Lodseof ' the of the District G . Lodge of the Punjab on the ioth September , Punjab . an £ j j . ^ October , of last year , that the Craft had made a fair
degree of progress during the half-year to the 30 th June preceding , and was advancing further on the road to prosperity when the latter of the two meetings was held . The membership of the lodges showed an increase during the half-year in question of 34—from 584 to 618—while the accounts of the various Funds under the control of the Dist . G . Lodge had in each
case a considerable balance on the right side of the account . Thus , the Fund of General Purposes closed with a balance in the Agra Bank , on 30 th June , of over 1033 rupees ; the Fund of Benevolence on the same date had a balance of 1117 rupees , together with a sum of 8000 rupees invested in Government 4 per Cent , paper ; and the Hall Fund was able to show
upwards of 554 rupees to the good , after satisfying all demands and with arrears of rent , due from a Rose Croix Chapter , amounting to 300 rupees . As regards the lodges , Bro . E . WOODALL PARKER , D . G . M ., was in a position to speak in the most favourable terms of the efficiency and excellent working of nearly all of them , the Indus Lodge , No . 1279 , Kohat—to revive which
active steps were being taken—being the only exception . We are also glad to see that both the D . G . M . and the D . G . Lodge are encouraging the private lodges to obtain premises of their own , a scheme proposed by the former for assisting lodges in this respect by loans from D . G . Lodge at 6 per cent , interest having been most readily accepted by the latter , and effect given to
it in the case of the Wahab , No . 988 , Sialkot , which had raised amongst its members 2850 rupees towards the cost of erecting a hall , and was successful in its application to the D . G . Lodge for a loan of 2200 rupees at 6 per cent , interest towards completing the outlay . We also noted with pleasure that the services of Bro . J . J . DAVIES , who had been a prominent
figure in Masonry for 18 years , and had successivel y held the offices of D . G . Treasurer for seven years , and that of D ; G . Secretary for three years , were most warmly recognised by the D . G . Master , whose remarks met with the sympathy of the whole of the brethren ; nor is it surprising to learn that it was at the time in contemplation to present one who had laboured so long
and so successfully with some more tangible proof of the love and respect of his brethren . We are glad to have had the opportunity afforded by the receipt of the official records of the proceedings on the occasion referred to of describing thus briefly the satisfactory position of the Craft in the Punjab , and we trust that all future reports which may be transmitted to us will
contain accounts as satisfactory . * * * Th c ^ ment ' d some tlm & s ' nce Wlt h reference to the proposed in establishment ot a United Grand Lodge of Victoria that steps Victoria . wei . t , eing taken to have it constituted , and the . first Grand Master installed some time during the month of December last , a great desire being manifested by the members of the Craft to have these facts accomplished in the centenary year of the foundation of the Colony . This desire was quite natural , but , from a circular issued on 27 th November last ,
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Contents.
CONTENTS .
L EADERS >] i Grand Lodge Calendar for 1889 72 An Early Warwickshire Charter 73 Board of Benevolence .. ! 73 Supreme Grand Chapter 73 The Savage Club Lodge , No . 3190 73 Reviews 77 R IPORTS or MASONIC M IITINGS— Craft Masonry 78 Instruction 80 Royal Arch 8 r
REPORTS OF MASONIC M EETINGS ( Continued)—Instruction 81 Mark Masonry 82 Royal and Select Masters 83 Royal Masonic Institution for Boys 82 Annual Festival of the Brixton Lodge of Instruction , No . 1949 83 A Masonic Scandal in France 82 Theatres 82 Masonic and General Tidings 8 3 Lodge Meetings for Next Week 84
Ar00101
THERE are two classes of difficulties with which Authority—Board of whether vested in a single individual or in many , whether poli-Benevoience . t j ca ^ ia ] j or 0 f any 0 ther kind—must always be prepared to contend —( 1 ) the attacks of the agitator , who knows perfectly well that , if he
only throws mud enough , some of it will be sure to stick ; ( 2 ) the apathy of the general body of those over whom Authority is exercised . We have shown in former articles , but more particularly in one which has appeared recently , that it is hardly possible the affairs of our Institutions can be otherwise than well administered in the main , yet these same Institutions have been ,
and still are being , attacked with a violence which , seeing that the assailants are Masons , and presumably , therefore , under an obligation to act fairly and charitably towards things and persons Masonic , is most reprehensible . Now it seems as if the signal had been given for an attack on the Board of Benevolence , because facts have been too powerful
for its desire for economy , and a very considerable portion of its accumulated funds has been employed in making good the deficiencies of income during the past 10 years . We shall , of course , be told that no Board or individual has the right to expend in any one year more than the amount which it or
he has received in the course of that year ; but it is impossible to assert that there is anything especially sacred about the accumulated surpluses of past years which is to prevent them being expended as occasion may require . A man with an income of £ 500 a V ' s not justified in spending £ 600 ; but it would be ridiculous to charge him with extravagance if , after
finding £ 400 enough for his annual needs during a long term of years , the demands on his purse become greater , and he is obliged to make inroads on the amount of his previous savings . Moreover , such a man will , in all probability , have invested his annual surpluses in some interest-bearing Stock , and we may be sure he will be in no hurry to exhaust the capital thus formed . He
will know , as we pointed out in our article of last week , that loss of invested capital means loss of income , and he will , therefore , if he is wise , cast about him to see if there is not some means available by which he will be able to avoid the sacrifice of his accumulated Stock . There is no question as to these surpluses having accrued from the Fund devoted to
charitable purposes—that is to say , from moneys appropriated by Grand Lodge for distribution among the necessitous members of our Society . They were not so distributed in the years they were received , because the Fund of Benevolence had more than enough to satisfy the claims made upon it ; but in the meantime , these claims have become more numerous ,
and there does not seem to be any likelihood of their diminishing . Thus , the Board of Benevolence , as the administrators of the funds confided to its management , is fully justified in bringing the circumstances to the notice of the brethren , so that Grand Lodge in its wisdom may determine upon the course that shall be
pursued . And this will be the more apparent , the more carefully we examine the statement which was presented to the Board at its last meet'ng , and published in our issue of the 26 th ult ., by the light of other facts which are , doubtless , within the knowledge of our readers . It is on record that at the meeting of Grand Lodge , on 7 th June , 1882—that is about two
years alter Bro . J . M . CLABON had brought forward , unavailingly , his plan tor appropriating certain portions of the annual surplus income of the Fund ° f Benevolence to the support of our Schools—the same brother brought torward a motion for increasing the Quarterages from 4 s . to 6 s . per member •n the case of London lodges , and from 2 s . to 3 s . in the case of country
lod ges , but the opposition of the Provincial brethren was too much for him , ai * d the motion was defeated . In the speech in which he introduced this proposal , Bro . CLABON , speaking with the authority which belonged necessaril y to a Past President of the Board of Benevolence , proved incontestably , b y the figures he quoted , that if the same rate of expenditure
nad to be continued , it was only a question as to the time when the und of accumulations would be exhausted , and he expressed his opinion at it would be better to increase the Quarterages than exhaust he accumulations . But Grand Lodge did not see fit to endorse is opinion , and , as we have said before , Bro . CLABON ' motion fell rough . This result may have been due to the face that only some £ 2500 the £ 50 , 000 capital had been appropriated to make good the deficiencies x ° 79 » 1880 , and 1881 ; and it may not unreasonably have been
Ar00102
argued that in the future , as in the past , a deficiency—or even a series of deficiencies—might be followed by a surplus or surpluses , and the equilibrium between the actual receipts and expenditure restored , Since then , however , £ 12 , 000 Stock has been sold out , and the Fund began the new year with a debt of nearly another £ 2000 . It is not difficult to account
for this excess . On looking back through our file of the Freemason , we find that in 1880 the numberof cases relieved was 306 , and the amount distributed amongst them—after deducting from the total expenditure of £ 10 , 021 the sum of £ 800 devoted to the R . M . B . L—was £ 9221 , the average grant per case being , as nearly as possible , £ 30 2 s . 6 d . In 1888 the number of cases
relieved was 439 , and the amount distributed amongst them , after allowing for the £ 800 assigned to the R . M . B . L , £ 11 , 468 , the average grant per case being about £ 26 2 s . 6 d . Thus , while there is , as between 1880 and 1888 , an increase in the number of cases of 133 , and in the amount distributed of £ 2247 , there is a diminution of
4 , 4 in the average grant per case . But if , in spite of this greater economy of distribution—as shown in the Table we publish elsewhere—and the augmentation of income from £ 9270 in 1880 to £ 10 , 051 in 1888 , we find the number of applicants increasing so largely , and , as a consequence , the amount distributed is so much greater , we say the time has arrived for
Grand Lodge to review the position of the Board of Benevolence , and determine the question—on the propriety of which we shall not presume to offer any opinion—whether or not the Quarterages shall be increased , so that the Board may be able to regulate its grants in accordance with such
decision . As for the suggestion that honourable men , such as are those constituting our Board of Benevolence , have deliberately encouraged a large expenditure of the funds entrusted to their charge so as to render the accumulation , and , as a matter of course , the appropriation , of surpluses impossible , we dismiss it with the contempt it merits .
* * * IT is clear from the reports we have received of the meetings Lodseof ' the of the District G . Lodge of the Punjab on the ioth September , Punjab . an £ j j . ^ October , of last year , that the Craft had made a fair
degree of progress during the half-year to the 30 th June preceding , and was advancing further on the road to prosperity when the latter of the two meetings was held . The membership of the lodges showed an increase during the half-year in question of 34—from 584 to 618—while the accounts of the various Funds under the control of the Dist . G . Lodge had in each
case a considerable balance on the right side of the account . Thus , the Fund of General Purposes closed with a balance in the Agra Bank , on 30 th June , of over 1033 rupees ; the Fund of Benevolence on the same date had a balance of 1117 rupees , together with a sum of 8000 rupees invested in Government 4 per Cent , paper ; and the Hall Fund was able to show
upwards of 554 rupees to the good , after satisfying all demands and with arrears of rent , due from a Rose Croix Chapter , amounting to 300 rupees . As regards the lodges , Bro . E . WOODALL PARKER , D . G . M ., was in a position to speak in the most favourable terms of the efficiency and excellent working of nearly all of them , the Indus Lodge , No . 1279 , Kohat—to revive which
active steps were being taken—being the only exception . We are also glad to see that both the D . G . M . and the D . G . Lodge are encouraging the private lodges to obtain premises of their own , a scheme proposed by the former for assisting lodges in this respect by loans from D . G . Lodge at 6 per cent , interest having been most readily accepted by the latter , and effect given to
it in the case of the Wahab , No . 988 , Sialkot , which had raised amongst its members 2850 rupees towards the cost of erecting a hall , and was successful in its application to the D . G . Lodge for a loan of 2200 rupees at 6 per cent , interest towards completing the outlay . We also noted with pleasure that the services of Bro . J . J . DAVIES , who had been a prominent
figure in Masonry for 18 years , and had successivel y held the offices of D . G . Treasurer for seven years , and that of D ; G . Secretary for three years , were most warmly recognised by the D . G . Master , whose remarks met with the sympathy of the whole of the brethren ; nor is it surprising to learn that it was at the time in contemplation to present one who had laboured so long
and so successfully with some more tangible proof of the love and respect of his brethren . We are glad to have had the opportunity afforded by the receipt of the official records of the proceedings on the occasion referred to of describing thus briefly the satisfactory position of the Craft in the Punjab , and we trust that all future reports which may be transmitted to us will
contain accounts as satisfactory . * * * Th c ^ ment ' d some tlm & s ' nce Wlt h reference to the proposed in establishment ot a United Grand Lodge of Victoria that steps Victoria . wei . t , eing taken to have it constituted , and the . first Grand Master installed some time during the month of December last , a great desire being manifested by the members of the Craft to have these facts accomplished in the centenary year of the foundation of the Colony . This desire was quite natural , but , from a circular issued on 27 th November last ,