Page 70 - An account of the Lodge of Nine Muses No. 235. 1777 to 2012UGLE

70 An Account of the Lodge of Nine Muses

with arrears amounting to £66. 3s., one member owing £31. 10s and another £24. 3s.
In May 1878 another scheme for a charity fund was “proposed, seconded and
carried unanimously”. This was that
with a view to establish a fund for the endowment of the several chairs and
Offices of this Lodge in the three Masonic Charities, every brother on his being
duly installed as W.M. of this Lodge shall pay one Guinea, and every Brother on
his being invested and appointed a Warden of this Lodge, shall pay half a guinea,
such payments to constitute a separate fund to be called the Endowment Fund.
There is no indication, either in the minutes or the account-book, that
this resolution was ever acted upon. Indeed, the object of the scheme is not
obvious: an annual income of two guineas would not go far towards providing
an endowment fund.
From 1861 to 1870 the Lodge was in debt to the Treasurer for varying amounts;
in February 1868 the balance on the wrong side had risen to £67. 10s. Special
efforts were made from time to time to deal with the deficiency. In February 1864
it was resolved that “a Whip of £3.3. be made on each member of the Lodge”, and
a similar whip of five guineas was made in March 1868, to pay the balance due
to the Treasurer; and in April 1866, the subscription was doubled, from five to ten
guineas: but the financial position remained deplorable. During most of this period
the Treasurer was Bro. Warner, and he bravely carried the Lodge on his back.
It was in the year 1868 that the membership dropped to eight; 1869 saw
eleven members; in 1870 the number was only eight once more; then, as has
been explained in Chapter Five, the membership picked up again, and the corner
was turned. The accounts for 1871 began with an adverse balance of £28. 7s. 6d.
“due to the Treasurer”, against which is written “Paid”, and the year ended with
a “Balance in Treasurer’s hands £25. 7. 6.”
By 1881 the Lodge had enough in hand to invest modestly in Metropolitan 3%
Stock; this comfortable state of solvency has been maintained to the present day.
References to the sums raised by the Lodge in connection with the Masonic
Peace Memorial, the Royal Masonic Hospital, and other central funds, will be
found in Chapter Nine.