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Article NEXT WEEK'S FESTIVAL. Page 1 of 1 Article NEXT WEEK'S FESTIVAL. Page 1 of 1 Article MASONIC HOMES. Page 1 of 2 →
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Next Week's Festival.
NEXT WEEK'S FESTIVAL .
BEFORE we again have the opportunity of addressing our subscribers , the First Anniversary Festival of the Masonic Institutions for 1890 will have been numbered with the events of the past .
What will be the result of that Festival ? On its success depends the conduct of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution for the next twelve months , while it may also have a marked effect on the future
of the Charity . Who then but must hope for as grand a success as ever attended any of the Masonic Anniversaries ?
The Institution is at the present time pledged to an annual outlay for annuities alone of ^ 614 , 866 , to meet which there is a permanent income of ^ 3600 only , while in addition to the annuities there are the
current expenses of the Institution to be met , and the cost of keeping its affairs prominently under the notice of the Craft to be provided for . Taking all these liabilities into consideration , the £ 3600
permanent income looks amazingly small , and it is no wonder that the annual task of raising the balance needed to secure a fair adjustment of finances is regarded as a formidable one . Hitherto the members
of the Craft have responded most liberally and regularly to the ajmeals that have been made , and there is no reason to fear that any serious falling off in the returns will take place during succeeding
years . Still , the sums required to carry on the Masonic Institutions are too enormous to be treated with indifference , and it would be almost criminal for those associated in the management of the
Charities if they dared to let matters take their own course , in the expectation that things would come right , as usual . No doubt there would be a regular flow of subscriptions to the Institutions even without
any effort being made by staffs or others interested in them , but such a spontaneous influx would gradually fall off , and would by no means prove sufficient to keep the work going . Happily , however ,
there are among us many Craftsmen who not only take a pleasure in working themselves , but are never content unless they are urging others to do the same on behalf of the aged and distressed of the Craft .
The gathering of Wednesday next will present many pleasing features to the student of Masonry , and will no doubt create surprise in the minds of some outside the charmed circle . To those who have been
regularly admitted into the Order the meeting must of necessity be attractive , as affording further proof of the sound basis on which English Freemasonry at present rests ; while to the outside public it will
appear as an exemplification of continued prosperity and continued sympathy on the part of those in a position to render help to some of their less fortunate fellows .
We can remember the time when Freemasonry and its doings were virtually unknown—as compared with
Next Week's Festival.
its popularity at the present time—to the outside world ; when the work performed by its Institutions passed almost unnoticed in the regular flow of charity which is universal throughout the country . True ,
the Institutions were not then doing nearly so much as they are now , for the simple reason that the income of the three was about equal to what is now necessary to maintain one of them .
But their advance was rapid , and there were many critics to be found who predicted that the enormous prosperity of the Charities could not be maintained . Fortunately , they have so far proved wrong in their surmise ,
and we are able to boast of continued success . Still , we cannot help marvelling that so much has been possible , and we even ask ourselves if it is certain that such contributions will be continued regularly in
the future ? There is no certainty about it , is the only answer to be made , and yet there is as much certainty attached to it as to anything depending on the good feeling and liberality of Englishmen .
The Festival of the Benevolent Institution , on Wednesday next , will be under the presidency of the Lord Mayor of London , Sir Henry Aaron Isaacs , who has thrown himself heart and soul into the work
attached to his chairmanship . We are confident his advocacy of the claims of the Institution will have some effect on Metropolitan Craftsmen , but dare not hope for any phenomenal amount coming from the London
Stewards . The support from the Metropolis is , perhaps , more regular than from some of the Provinces , and this fact , coupled with the difficulty of making any special combination in London , goes far to prevent any particular outburst of liberality from the capital ,
such as is possible from a Province when , for instance , its Masonic chief undertakes the duties to be discharged by the Lord Mayor on Wednesday . All we can hope for is a specially good London total , and a
fair average of Provincial successes . These , together , would prove most satisfactory , and would add additional lustre to the Craft as providing the means for continuing the work of one of its brightest ornaments
lor another year , and perhaps enabling the committee to consider the claims of a few more of the long array of candidates for the next election than is now possible . We sincerely hope for a good all-round success—a hearty gathering and a good total .
Masonic Homes.
MASONIC HOMES .
MASONIC Homes had their origin in England in the last century . They arc an outgrowth from and an evidence of the voluntary charity of the Craft . This voluntary charity is a distinguishing feature of Freemasonry , and before we refer further to Masonic Homes , let the character of this charity be fully comprehended .
Freemasonry is distinguishable from all other societies by a number of peculiarities , one of which is the absence of any commercial relation between it and ils initiates .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Next Week's Festival.
NEXT WEEK'S FESTIVAL .
BEFORE we again have the opportunity of addressing our subscribers , the First Anniversary Festival of the Masonic Institutions for 1890 will have been numbered with the events of the past .
What will be the result of that Festival ? On its success depends the conduct of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution for the next twelve months , while it may also have a marked effect on the future
of the Charity . Who then but must hope for as grand a success as ever attended any of the Masonic Anniversaries ?
The Institution is at the present time pledged to an annual outlay for annuities alone of ^ 614 , 866 , to meet which there is a permanent income of ^ 3600 only , while in addition to the annuities there are the
current expenses of the Institution to be met , and the cost of keeping its affairs prominently under the notice of the Craft to be provided for . Taking all these liabilities into consideration , the £ 3600
permanent income looks amazingly small , and it is no wonder that the annual task of raising the balance needed to secure a fair adjustment of finances is regarded as a formidable one . Hitherto the members
of the Craft have responded most liberally and regularly to the ajmeals that have been made , and there is no reason to fear that any serious falling off in the returns will take place during succeeding
years . Still , the sums required to carry on the Masonic Institutions are too enormous to be treated with indifference , and it would be almost criminal for those associated in the management of the
Charities if they dared to let matters take their own course , in the expectation that things would come right , as usual . No doubt there would be a regular flow of subscriptions to the Institutions even without
any effort being made by staffs or others interested in them , but such a spontaneous influx would gradually fall off , and would by no means prove sufficient to keep the work going . Happily , however ,
there are among us many Craftsmen who not only take a pleasure in working themselves , but are never content unless they are urging others to do the same on behalf of the aged and distressed of the Craft .
The gathering of Wednesday next will present many pleasing features to the student of Masonry , and will no doubt create surprise in the minds of some outside the charmed circle . To those who have been
regularly admitted into the Order the meeting must of necessity be attractive , as affording further proof of the sound basis on which English Freemasonry at present rests ; while to the outside public it will
appear as an exemplification of continued prosperity and continued sympathy on the part of those in a position to render help to some of their less fortunate fellows .
We can remember the time when Freemasonry and its doings were virtually unknown—as compared with
Next Week's Festival.
its popularity at the present time—to the outside world ; when the work performed by its Institutions passed almost unnoticed in the regular flow of charity which is universal throughout the country . True ,
the Institutions were not then doing nearly so much as they are now , for the simple reason that the income of the three was about equal to what is now necessary to maintain one of them .
But their advance was rapid , and there were many critics to be found who predicted that the enormous prosperity of the Charities could not be maintained . Fortunately , they have so far proved wrong in their surmise ,
and we are able to boast of continued success . Still , we cannot help marvelling that so much has been possible , and we even ask ourselves if it is certain that such contributions will be continued regularly in
the future ? There is no certainty about it , is the only answer to be made , and yet there is as much certainty attached to it as to anything depending on the good feeling and liberality of Englishmen .
The Festival of the Benevolent Institution , on Wednesday next , will be under the presidency of the Lord Mayor of London , Sir Henry Aaron Isaacs , who has thrown himself heart and soul into the work
attached to his chairmanship . We are confident his advocacy of the claims of the Institution will have some effect on Metropolitan Craftsmen , but dare not hope for any phenomenal amount coming from the London
Stewards . The support from the Metropolis is , perhaps , more regular than from some of the Provinces , and this fact , coupled with the difficulty of making any special combination in London , goes far to prevent any particular outburst of liberality from the capital ,
such as is possible from a Province when , for instance , its Masonic chief undertakes the duties to be discharged by the Lord Mayor on Wednesday . All we can hope for is a specially good London total , and a
fair average of Provincial successes . These , together , would prove most satisfactory , and would add additional lustre to the Craft as providing the means for continuing the work of one of its brightest ornaments
lor another year , and perhaps enabling the committee to consider the claims of a few more of the long array of candidates for the next election than is now possible . We sincerely hope for a good all-round success—a hearty gathering and a good total .
Masonic Homes.
MASONIC HOMES .
MASONIC Homes had their origin in England in the last century . They arc an outgrowth from and an evidence of the voluntary charity of the Craft . This voluntary charity is a distinguishing feature of Freemasonry , and before we refer further to Masonic Homes , let the character of this charity be fully comprehended .
Freemasonry is distinguishable from all other societies by a number of peculiarities , one of which is the absence of any commercial relation between it and ils initiates .