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TO THE EDITOB OF THE XOBTUEBN STAB . Sir , —Having read in jour paper for some weeks past , strange tilings in reference to the Executive power , &c , ' of the Manchester Unity of Odd Fellows , and feeling convinced from my own knowledge tliat the Executive , &c , areunjustly maligned , I beg to offer through the medium ofyoar paper something like a truthful st-ttement of the things referred to by the desseutients of the Institution , who seem to me to he quits reckless as to the amount of injury they are doing to thousands , who appear to be misl .-d by tlieir false and garbled representations . It is uot my intention to eater tlie lists with a desire to irritate the feelings of those whom I consider are both injuring themselves and others , but simply to lay the cause of dispute before your readers in a plain and truthful light .
One complaint is , that the society has been of late departing from Democratic to Aristocratic principles , and that the disfranchisement of the Lodges to send representatives to the Annual Committee , has been a grand step to the investing with arbitrary power those who ore designated the "Aytouu-street Tyrants . " Xow . sir , I think I shall be able to show , that instead of the society at present inclining towards an Aristocratic , it is actually progressing , as fast as prudence will admit , to a truly Democratic mode of representation , legislation , and execativc government . Democracy admits the right of every intelligently qualified member of a society to have a fair and equal share in the governing of that society , but till within these last few years the whole of the executive body of the order was chosen from Manchester
alone , yet the Manchester district never cried out against the possessing of the privilege , which ,. I think , as it excluded all the other districts , was truly an Aristocratic privilege ; in the same manner the whole of the trustees for the investment of the general funds of the order were solely selected from Manchester , yet the Manchester people were . not then so deeply imbued with Democratic principles as to come forward and disclaim al ! rights to such an Unfair assumption of power and influence , and it was the indefatigable exertions of the provincial deputies at the Annual Committees , aided by the continual calls of their constituents , that deprived the Manchester district of the uufairly assumed privilege , and conferred the right of serving in the Executive , and as investors of the general f trails of the order , on every qualified member of thesocietv .
The Manchester district has nearly at all the Annual Committees possessed an unfair share of influence , by its excess of deputies , as the following table will show . It is compiled from the official reports of the order for the last iour years of the old representative system—the system that is so much extolled b y the dissentient party , and with some few accidental exceptions , the Manchester district has had a preponderating proportion of deputies according to its number of members ; I give eleven large , if not the largest districts in the unity—their number according to the last returns , and the number of deputies sent as per table : —
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rsS . al = s 5 agc IgsJ ^ -a ^ -ih ; ^ Xame of the District . j-fSi J . - _ ' t . jJ - _ $ & - „? = | I | s | i : jwjijji ______ ' _ " MJ 5 ^ ^ * ^ lanchester .. .. ] 9534 S 2 27 24 19 Iivcrp .. ol ] 882-5 a 42 7 4 >* orth Jt South London 9 G 75 8 5 3 4 Birmingham ' « 102 3 3 3 3 KewcastJe-on-Tync ..... j olio 1117 Jlochdale . 304 G 11 C C i 5 Leeds 5 aG 7 9 1 19 i 3 Haslingdeu 2524 7 2 2 1 Stockpurt 2 S ? 4 13 3 5 ¦ 2 Glasgow ... ..... 5599 1 4 0 1 Sheffield . . 2372 2 27 7 ! 0
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REMARKS ON THE - PRESENT CONDITION OF THE INDEPENDENT ORDER OF ODD FELLOWS . BY FR 0 I 1 E . "I will ( althoughI ' ve done't before ) Demonstrate to your sense once more , And draw a Fiodkk that shall tell you , What you perhaps forget , bufel you . "—IIudibbas . The violent and illegal dismemberment of the unity , which has recently been committed by the officers of the Order , in suspending the Manchester and Salford districts , calls for an investigation into the causes which hare led to such a very extraordinary and unconstitutional result As those causes , however , form but a part of an extensively organised system of corruption , which debases the administration , and ' wars against the best interests of the Order , we shall not confine our observations to them alone , but apply our remarks to the exposure of abuse , in whatever department of the executive it may be found to exist .
It is greatly to be lamented that a society so vast and extensive as the Independent Order of Odd Fellows now is —a society founded on the principle of " charity and good-will to all men , " possessing in its own resources , almost unlimited means of affording to its members suecour and relief in the hour of sickness and distress , should , under any circumstances , be placed in a position which seriously cripples its usefulness and threatens its very existence as a co-operative body . How * much more , then , is it to be regretted that this Order , which has so
often bounteously administered to the wants of the family in distress—softened the hard pillow of afflictionassuaged the agony of death—paid the last tribute of respect o'er the grave of a deceased brother—yielded comfort to the disconsolate heart of the widow , and supplied bread to the destitute orphan—should not only have its existence perilled by the wanton and illegal acts of unscrupulous men in power , but that those God-like blessings which have hitherto been its pride and its honour to bestow so liberally on suffering humanity , are hence , forward to be sacrificed on the base altar of Mammon .
The officers of the order having despotically and illegally suspended the Manchester and Salford districts , without trial , and without even a charge of offence , it . will be necessary to inquire how far they were justified by General Law in taking that course , and whether the reasons assigned by them for so doing were satisfactory explanations or not . We apprehend that" the Laws of the Order arc equal and just to all its members ; governing alike the highest officers and the youngest brethren , " as no difference or exception is to be found whereby it is provided that any one shall have a right , privilege , or exemption which shall not be participated in by . all . Hence the General Law is binding on each—none can escape its impartial effcet . The Order is ( or ought to be ) governed by the General Laws alone ; consequently it is by them solely that offence can be condemned , and punishment inflicted , There can be no breach of a law which has no existence ; neither can there be a legal exercise of power which has not been created or defined by General LaK .
That there is no General Law which deputes to , or authorises the G . M . and Board of Directors to exercise arbitrary power , or to suspend the operation of the General Laws , is most certain . To appeal to any practice which hitherto may have obtained , is to appeal to a corruption , which ought never to have been permitted . That such practice may be found to have existed is not to be denied , inasmuch as corruption has , for a long time past , thoroughly'taiuted ' the administration of the Order in every department . The whole tenor and economy of the General Laws proclaim our indefeasible right to " Trial by Jury ; " for by the 54 th , 55 , OG , 57 , 59 , CO , 01 , 72 , 73 , 75 , 70 , 77 , 78 , 70 , 80 , 81 , 82 , 83 , 175 , 179 , 180 , 197 , 205 , 223 , 2 CC , 2 C 8 , . 274 , 275 , and 276 th General Laws , not only is Trial by Jury ( in
committee ) strictly enjoined , but the forms are specified precisely in which such trial shall be enforced , in order to render punishment available . By these laws it is most clearly defined that unless " the party or parties complained against shall be summoned to attend ( the committee ) , and be furnished with a copy of the charge at least fourteen days before the case is heard , " no tri ' . il can legally take place , nor condemnation be carried into effect . Yet , in defiance of all these laws , the G . M . and Board of Directors , agreeably to their arrogant assumption that " they were superior to the law , " have dared , without a trial , without a charge , and without a cause , to suspend five members of the Manchester district , by the impudent and dishonest exercise of their own despotic will .
That the laws of the Order did not recognise the exercise of despotic or of tyrannical rule is most certain ; and that reason , justice , and equity repudiate this barefaced robbery of rights and of privileges which have been paid for in hard cash , is quite us undeniable . Upon what ground , then , it may be asked , do these unprincipled rulers take their stand ? They have entrenched themselves in the position of private pecuniary interest alone ! They have foraged our resources , and stored them up in tlieir stronghold , for their own use . They have raised up the Black Flag of annihilation and imprinted on it the words "No Quarter . " They have declared war to to the knife against our rights , our privileges , our liberties , and our very existence as Odd Fellows , couched in the usual language of marauders , while endeavouring to clouk with a plausible excuse a grievous act of base robbery and wrong .
These are their words : — " The Board view with regret the attempts that have been made in the Manchester and Salford Districts to excite the members into acts of insubordination , therefore , with a view of effectually putting a stop to such practices , the Directors herewith instruct the Officers of the Manchester District to suspend , until the next A . M . C , 11 . C . Hulley , Joseph Taylor , Benjamin Stott , Robert AVood , and It . J . Richardson , or any other person who may be found guilty of pursuing a similiav course . " It may be understood by the ignorant from the wording of this decree that the five individuals named therein lincl
been "foundguilty" of aetsof insubordination , or breaches of the laws of the Order , and that the punishment of suspension for eleven months had been awarded to them in accordance with the verdict and the evidence given on a charge preferred against them before some legally constituted committee of the Order . No such thing ! It is a fact hardly to be believed , but never to be tolerated , that such verdict was never given , such evidence was never heard , such charge was never instituted . Itis , indeed , a disgraceful truth now on record , that the Board of Directors have so far forgotten their position as administrators of the law , as to contaminate and pollute the stream of justice at the fountain from whence it flowed , by bringing it into foul contact with corrupt and mercenary private dealings . They have dammed up the pure and placid stream of justice , and diverted its waters into a narrow , crooked , and filthy channel . And they have placed malice on mercy ' s seat !
It is obvious that the G-. II . and Board of Directors , iu order to " put a stop" to thcrapidly spreadinginquiry into the abominable abuses in the Executive , which hail already become notorious to numerous members in the Manchester and Salford districts , resolved to put into practice an appropriate " custom amongst the Malays , " who , as the honourable and independent-minded Editor of the truthful "London Journal and Pioneer" so graphically describes , " after indulging in a course of intemperance , rush into the streets , knife in hand , and kill and wound every unfortunate passenger who may chance to oppose himself , however innocently or unthinkingly , to the
mischievous progress of the maddened drunkard ! " In like manner did certain infuriated Directors , drunk with the successful pursuit of pelf , from a long-continued course of profligate administration , foreseeing that public opinion would soon stop the unhallowed tap , rushed forth in rage and desperation amongst the members , regardless of wrong and reckless of consequences , cutting down indiscriminately , to the right and to the left , the innocent and the unthinking ! The spirit of the coming storm must needs be exercised by huniau sscrifices ! Victims must be slain and held up in tamrem to those freemiudud men who dare think for themselves , or give utterance to their honest sentiments .
And by the following mode was this righteous resolve carried into effect . A certain man , wise in his generation , at the insti gation of thatportion of the Board of Directors who have an enormous private pecuniary interest in the corrupt practices which have been introduced , through their means , into the working of the Order of lute years , tendered a secret accusation against the five individuals hereinbefore named . The secret spy was listened to , and without the Board taking upon themselves the trouble to investigate the truth or otherwise of his statement , they at once and " unanimously resolved" to rob those five members of their rights and privileges as Odd Fellows ! And to heighten tbeiniquity ofthe deed if possible the more ] the Board subsequently refused to permit ono ofthe parties so unjustly and illegally suspended , 19 bring evidence before them to prove that he had had no participation in the "insubordination" of which be had been thus accused !
Did the secret and once dreaded Star Chamber in days of yore ever exceed in atrocity or foulness of intention this one act ofthe Board of Directors , levelled , as it has been , against law and justice on the ono hand , and the rights and privileges of members on tlie other ? Who can respect men with principles so depraved ? Who can hold them , to be infallible in word , or immaculate in deed !
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Having disposed of the mode in which tliu Boanl thought fit to victimise innocent men , we will proceed t j examine into the gravamen of the accusation itself . A public meeting of members ofthe Independent Order of Odd Fellows , M . U ., was held in Manchester , on Satuv day evening , June 21 , 1840 , P . P . G . M , Ball in tlw chair , to take into consideration the merits of ltatdiffe's" Sli . ding Scale" oi contributions and donations , which had been ordered to come into operation on the 1 st of January , 18 IG , and at which meeting many hundreds of past ami
present officers and brethren attended . The live past officers who were suspended by the dictum ofthe Board of Directors were amongst the company assembled , and it was for being present to hear opinions given on that most important measure that tlieir suspension afterwards oc . curred , and not , as the Board have falsely alleged , for " exciting members into acts of insubordination , " inasmuch as it can be proved incontestibly by scores of witnesses , that three out of the live individuals neither took part in promoting that meeting nor in the proceedings which occurred thereat .
Who , then , can support the Board of Directors in their impudently mendacious assertions that they have been " strenuously and conscientiously endeavouring to carrj into effect the laws , in strict conformity with the constitutional usages of the Order , " by thus illegally suspending individuals for simply inquiring into the truth of their assertion that" the opponents of the proposed change did not attempt to disprove or impugn the accuracy of Jlr . Smith ' s statements and calculations V No independent man , with the powers of reason at command , would sup . port such a proposition . None but a fool , or a trueklmn interested knave , will bend , for one moment , to the decree thus sent forth by the Board , that the right of private judgment is abolished and withdrawn , and that intercommunication will no longer be allowed amongst the members of the Order .
Itis to be borno m mmd , that the public meeting alluded to was held on Saturday , June 21 , 1845 , and that two days afterwards , viz ,, June 23 , the first day of the meeting of the Board of Directors , the five past officers were suspended . After transacting business during the week , the Board broke up on the following Saturday , viz ., June 28 th . On Monday , June 30 th , the Quarterly Committee of the Manchester district \ v 119 held , when a very large number of deputies wore present , amongst whom appeared P . G . Benjamin Stott , and P . 6 . Robert Wood , both duly appointed by tlieir respective lodges . On
their names being read over , they were objected to by tlie G . M . of the district , as forming a part of the individuals suspended by the Board on that day week . Upon which the officers of the District were cnilud upon to explain liy what authority those deputies had been suspended , and to produce proof of the fact of such suspension having occurred . They answered that the Board had thought tit , for the reasons we have already assigned , to suspend the parties named , and that the C . S . of the Order had communicated the fact in writing to the C . S , of the uistrii-t . :
The communication from C . S . Ratcliffe was thereupon produced , and found to be , not a notice from the G . M . and Board of Directors , or from the officers of the Order to theoffieers ofthe district , but , simply a note from C . S . Ratcliffe himself , unauthenticated by the official seal , and consequently informal . The committee , therefore , positively declined to acknowledge it as a legal document , and they also peremptorily refused to recognise the illegal and unconstitutional exercise oi power assumed by the & . M . and Board of Directors in despotically suspending members without trial , as required by general law . A *
resolution , embodying those reasons , and declaring the two objected deputies to be eligible to sit , was duly moved and seconded , but which resolution theG . M . of the district refused to put to the committee , whereupon another resolution was proposed that the G . M . do leave the chair , and on which he immediately adjourned the committee to Monday , the 7 th day of July , 1815 . Before , however , the committee- could again meet according to tlie time specified on the adjournment , the officers of . the Order , in tlie absence ofthe Board of Directors , took upon themselves the further- responsibility of illegally suspending the Manchester district itself .
On the following Monday , July 7 th , the adjourned Quarterly Committee of the district again met , when deputies from seventy-five lodges . were . in attendance . Tlie district officers not appearing , P . G . M . John Richardsoil White was appointed to the chair . The resolutions passed at the general meeting on the preceding Saturday were unitnimously nUopted as the resolutions of the Manchester district , and an address to the several lodges in the unity was ordered to be drawn up , in conformity therewith . That address has been circulated , and lias tended in no small degree , in spite of the endeavour of the Board to suppress its being read in lodges to en . lighten the minds of distant members as to the present condition of the Independent Order . The new Munches , ter district at this moment consists of eighty-three lodges , containing considerably more than nine thousand mem . burs , while the influence of the officers of the order , combined with the old-stock officers ofthe district , can only muster iu their ranks , and awkward-squad of four lodges , with less than four hundred members !
The Manchester district having bten suspended , a ivn merous meeting of members was held at the England ' * Glory Lodge House , on Thursday evening , July 8 , 1815 , P . P . G . M . Joseph Hardy in the chair , when it was unauimously resolved— " That the Board of Management be requested to call a general meeting of the members of the district , on Saturday evening , the Otli instant . " In compliance with this request , tlie Board of Management called a gcuural meeting for the said purpose , in the Com Exchange , Hanging Ditch , At the time named in the requisition , this great aggregate meeting was held , P . G . M . John Richardson White occupying the chair , when several excellent and spirited resolutions were passed unanimously , by an enthusiastic assembly of between 1 , 400 and 1 , 000 Odd Fellows .
Knowing well the men with whom it had to deal , and their reckless disregard of the rights of others , the Manchester district was quite prepared to expect tilt consummation of this rash act , for the same men who were guilty of this atrocity , constituted the " Manchester Board , " which , " to their eternal shame "—so says the London Journal— " ruthlessly , heartlessly , used this power for years to prosecute , to discountenance , and destroy every attempt at the enlightenment of their serls , through the agency of literary productions . " And it further says that the " charges affecting the character and integrity of the ruling powers are so serious in their nature , and so revolting in their general features , that unless disproved at once , the blackening stigma will leave an ineffaceable stain upon all connected with the administrative department of the unity . " Bravo ! "Pioneer ! " This is speaking out ! Yes ! this blackening stigma does indeed leave an ineffaceable stain on all those who assented
to the exercise of illegal and oppressive power at the period alluded to . As , however , the Pioneer neither disproves the facts , nor attempts to do so , we must take them as admitted and established by all parties . Very well ; But the Journal asserts that ¦¦ friend Hardy" sat as a member of the Board when suspensions of Lodges " were rifu , without trial or- arraignment , " for independently taking u portion of their own funds to support them from starvation . " Unfortunately for the Journul , any one who will turn to the quarterly report ofthe Order for January , 1845 , when those suspensions occurred , may asaertain that " friend Hardy" was not a member of the Board at that time ! But , on the contrary , they will find that the names to whom this " eternal shame" attaches , are Georgo Richmond ! James Mansfield ! William Ratcliffe ! Henry Ratcliffe ! John Pciser ! Thomas Jeffs ! E . K . Davis ! Robert R . Elliott ! and William F . Burdett This precious hireling Journal has thus tarred and feathered its honourable employers with a vengeance !
We will now proceed' to comment briefly on the tables of "suppositions" drawn up by the sapient W . B . Smith , of Birmingham , and published by thuoflicers in the recent A . M . C . report . This rule-of-three gentleman is himself one of the Board of Directors , and while acting as the self-elected actuary of the Order , has , as we presume , been " cutting his wise tooth" on the occasion . It appears that this individual , while acting as tlie chosen instrument for moving at the Glasgow A . M . C . the first of several resolutions , having for their object the laying of an embargo on our property , introduced the subject by " admitting there was no kind of information at ureseut in existence by which the average ( age ) of the whole unity could with certainty be obtained ; " * he had therefore taken the present average age of the Birmingham District for his guidance , " and assumed the present average age of the Order at thirty-two years . "
This is * an important admission . The present average age of the members in the Birmingham District may be thirty-two years , but that is no indication of tlieir average age on initiation . Some of the Birmingham Lodges have now been in existence for sixteen or eighteen years , and numerous old members have imported cards and clearances from other districts . The " supposition" tables positively assume it as a fact , that the average age at initiation throughout the Order is thirty-two years , and at that age bring in with the members the initiatory guineas . Now we totally deny the accuracy of this position , and , on the contrary , assert most distinctly , that the average age of initiation falls far short of thirty-two years , Although there is no kind of information in existence bv which the average age of the whole unity , cither on initia .
tion , or at the present moment , can bo accurately determined , yet there ' are ' sufficient means at hand to show that thirty-two years is not the average age at initiation , as represented by those tables . " Every facility being afforded Mr . Smith by the Birmingham District , " in his endeavour to ascertain the correct average age of members , we will contest him on his own ground , and challenge him to show , from the proposition-book of any one Lodge in that district , that the average age at initiation amounts to thirty-two years . Nay , we will venture a step further , and defy him to prove such to be the fact from the books of any Lodge whatever in the entire unity . If he cannot do this , then the whole superstructure founded upon the correctness of his supposition falls at once to the ground . And if the fact should ultimatel y show that
the average initiatory ago is somewhere about twentyseven years , then the competency of Mr . Smith to enunciate " suppositions" on which the least dep endence can be put , and on which legislation should be based , will be finally disposed of . Tlie next obvious error in the tables is the assumption that every individual who enters the Order is a married man ! Ridiculous as such a proposition really is , it is nevertheless gravely advanced by Mr . Smith . He allows funeral donations for fifty wives in every one hundred members . Now as women live longer than men , we should be strongl y prejndiced in the notion that for every fifty dead wives there would be , at the least , fifty living widows , and , consequently , that every member iu the one hundred must have been a married man ! Then again it is assumed , that every member receives sick pay , aud tUsrt lie ultimately di < & fo Uiq Order , ;
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and to add , as a climax 10 all this rnasn »* ' absurdity and error / it is gravely supposed that the ¦ *> ' < lor is absolutely limited in number to those who arc now actually recorded members of its body . We sitfi on the other hand , and confidently appeal to the tes t of truth , 1 st . —That the average age at initiation is ( near UYtnty-scven years , and ) not thirty-tivo . 3 nd .- -Tuat tlie members ofthe Order are not all married men , 3 rd . —That the married memhers do not all receive funeral donation on account of their deceased wives . 4 th . —That all the members ofthe Order do not receive sick pay . 5 th . —That all the memburs do not die in the Order . 6 th . —That funeral donation is not pmd to the relatives of all who have entered the Order . And 7 th . —The number is not limited to the present members .
Besides these inexcusable errors , we cannot overlook the circumstance that all deficiencies as to number of members , whether arising from deaths , arrears , or expulsion , are supplied by the importation of new members , younger iir age , and in good health , paying a guinea for the privilege of putting their feet in the other ' s shoes , having to give su months' servitude , and pay six months ' contribution , before they become entitled to benefit ! Inconceivable as it may appear to be , it i 9 a fact , nevertheless , time not one single allegation contained in those much vaunted " suppositions" of our Birmingham Solon , is correct . They are , without a solitary exception , gross and unpardonable misrepresentations ! There is another point yet , which we must allude to , and although the last , is not the least , in this catalogue of ignorant blunders . It is the principle of selection—a principle which appears to tic unknown to our sapient ready-reekoner , or gome notice would hare been taken by him , of a consideration so very essential to accuracy , as it certainly is—That
the members , at the time of their initiation , as well aa the wives of such of them as are married , are selrct lives , is beyond anj doubt , as none are admitted into the Order unless they are at the time in perfec . health . That there is an important difference in condition between a given number of men in perfect health and a similar number labouring under the common average of disease , we should have thought would have been perceptible even to the uhtuse faculties of Mr . Sn . ith himself . " What a " vast mass" of stupidity and ignorance , then , is there condensed in those celebrated rule-of-three results ! What a disgrace they are to the learned nincompoops constituting that self-sufficient cabal , the Board of Directors Oh ! how they rejoiced over and trumpeted forth the astounding tacts enunciated by their " learned brother !" llow proudly they ensconced themselves under the ample folds of his erudite mantle ! llow boastfully they strutted in the false plumiigu of tills arithmetical tnrkeycock !
We have no hesitation iu admitting the fact , nay we avow it , that carefully collated statistical returns , touching the liability to sickness and death of the respective Lodges , are not only expedient , but really necessary to the well-being ' of the order . But while we approve of due inquiry being instituted into those liabilities , we record our condemnation of the manner in which the officers of the order have chosen to carry their crude notions into effect . Not only have the feelings and honest scruples of members been invaded and offended , but random demands have been made on them ,, widely apart from the proper abject , and with a boisterous precipitancy , which indiscretion and ignorance combined cun only account lor . It is , hence , demonstrable that the officers of the Order and Board of Directors were incompetent to the task they so
rashly took upon themselves to perform . Had it indeed betn otherwise , they would have known how to have avoided irrelevant interrogatories ,, and to have rejected inapplicable reply , Tlieir inquiry into the amount of Lodge funds was not only vexatious and unnecessary , nut exceeded tlie power deputed to them by the Newcastle A . M . C , which resolution authorised them to call for all information necessary for the purpose of ascertaining the financial condition of the Order , in such form as to them mi , ; ht seem most convenient for classification . " We allow that Lodge funds are to a certain extent connected with the financial condition of tlie Order , but we cannot admit that they form necessarily a part of it , inasmuch
as 'finance im ; : hes a given income and expenditure , combined with a profit or loss on the transaction . Now , Lodge funds are allowed on all hands tO'be no indication of the amount of profit hitherto accruing from the income of Lodges , exceeding their liability to sickness and deatli ; hence their amount could not be considered " necessary information , " neither were Lodges " compcllable to furnish such information . " That the Order- did not approve of the amount of Lodge funds being called for , was fully proved by the 135 th resolution of the Wigan A . M . C . ' , which declared "that the G . M . aud Board of Directors wore not justified in sending for the returns of the amount of Lodge funds . "
Instead of carefully entering uponalegitimate inquiry , and collecting and publishing to the Order , at large the valuable financial facts to be obtained by such investigation , the G . M , and Board of Directors issued blank forms , calling on Lodges to answer queries , some of which were not only offensive and suspicious in appearance , but foreign to the subject , while others most essential to the eliciting of necessary information , were totally overlooked or discarded , Nevertheless , those returns , inefficient as we declare them to be , " contained , " aooording to the testimony of P . G . M . Whaite , at Glasgow , " a vast mass of impoi taut statistical information relative to the financial condition of the Order . " We confess wo have but little faith in the opinou or judgement of Mr . Whaite
on this matter , yet we are ready to imagine that , amidst this " vast mass" of chaff , some really good com could have been separated , had . it been placed in the hands of men able to sift it . The ooni and the chaff , however , yet lie blended , and entombed with other lumber in the vaults in Aytouu-street . Vainly have we strained our vision , while looking out in anxious expectation for a sample of the promised seed . But if the article produced at Glasgow by the sagacious Smith , and subsequently distributed to the Order in the A . M . C . report , bu really and truly the sample spoken of , then indeed , do we pronounce it the most worthless and unwholesome food for the use ot man ever- produced even by the most barbarous and ignorant nation upon earth .
-If tlie G . M . aud'Board of Directors " had succeeded in obtaining a vast mass of statistical information relative to the financial condition of the Order , " and if G . M . Dickinson—whose intellects were brightened up by the , jood things at a Scottish feast—spoke truth when he asserted that" the Order showed a body of men anxious to promote their own social condition—to manage their own affairs , and find out the best mode of doing so , " then , do we ask those consistent gentlemen , why those returns were not published to the several lodges in the Order ? Why were they withheld from the test of public scrutiny ? Was it because they contained matter unfit to meet the public eye ? "We dare say they would have betrayed some unseemly facts—we dare say they wouid have proved the unpalatable truth that lodges have paid more money in the purchase of regalia , &c , to certain members of the Board , than the aggregate sum of their sick and deatli
donations amounted to ! They must not ell us that they were restraiued in honour from publishing the amount of Lodge funds'b y their promise to abstain from that act . No ! that subterfuge shall not serve them , for we are in possession of the fact that " Archibald Alison , E .-q ., Sheriff of Lanarkshire , and Lord Rector of Marisehal College , Aberdeen , " while presiding at the " dinner in the Trades' Ila . ll , " Glasgow , " supported on the right by Mr . II . Whiiitc , Grand Master , Mr . J , Dickinson , Deputy Grand Master , Mr . William Ratcliffe , Corresponding Secretary , Mr . J . Mansfield , Past Grand Master , Mr . Gray , Past Grand Master , —all of Manchester , —said , "The funds of the society , derived from small weekly contributions , amount to £ 275 , 000 a year . ( Cheers . ) The aggregate amount of money belonging to the different lodges being upwards of £ 700 , 000 . ( Cheers . ) The sum distributed in the way of charity annually amounts , I believe , to nearly £ 250 , 000 . "
It , however , those returns do contain " a vast mass of important statistical information , " why is " abody of men who are anxious to find out the best mode of managing their own affairs" to be debarred the right of applying such information to the furtherance of their own best interests ? Why arc they thus to be kept in utter ignorance of that which most concerns themselves ? Is it because tht general body , consisting of 255 , 000 men and upwards , contains within its ranks no man of education talent , or habits befitted to grapple with those returns and their results ? Or is it because ; the G . M . and Board of Directors constitute the centralization of talent , as well . is of influence and power ; and are men of intellectual attainments so high / and so peculiarly adapted to the prosecution of this tedious and intricate investi gation , as to entitle tbra to the prostrate confidence of that ' bodv whom they are pleased , magnanimously , to desi' -nate " the scum of the Order ?"
We treat as idle breath the notion which some have promulgated , that the officers intend to make use ofthe returns for " government purposes . " They intend no such thing . They know better . Their game is safer surer , and far more profitable to themselves than that ! They care little about government , yet take heed to theml selves . They intend to make use of those returns for purposes of their own only ! What possible protection can we have against paid spies being maintained amongst us iu such situations as would enable them to communi cate any . official information , at any time , or in any manner required ? But this is not the . danger . One of far greater magnitude , of infinitely superior importance to us , asit regards the lights andprivilegosof individuals
and the best interests of our commonwealth , now threatens to overwhelm us . A dark , dense cloud has gathered on the horizon of Oddfellowshi p , and is already obscuring its fairest prospects—its merciless thunders have been heard / and its victims have been chosen . The demon of Centralization has ascended , and asserts his right to rule over us . He has already seized on and centralized influence and power in his own person and while spurning justice and equity , and law and charity claims for himself the uncontrolled exercise of despotic will . But he rests not here . Emboldened with success he has taken from us the control of our own property ' and now hastens , with giant strides and uplifted arm to wrest it from our possession . '
Further still , he seeks to extend bis power , and tear from us the last shred of our independence . In honied words he bids us to « abolish sub-committces to hear appeals , and leave such appeals to the consideration ofthe Appeal Committee only . " - ( See P , G . M . Mansfield ' s speech at the Glasgow Dinner , reported in the Odd Felbm ' Chronic !* , p 135 ) -This , indeed , is the grand uUimatm We have already lost our enfrancmsement . -wo have already lost the control over our own money and expenditure , and are now told , when systematicall y , obbed of our all , to appeal to the . robbers only for redress ! The Board of Directors have succeeded , at an A . M . C . where" the deputy * were not so B 1 BWWBB as onsom (; pronoui occasion account of the great distance from
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many of the largest English districts , " in carrying , by a paltry majorit ? , a resolution declaring that the "Con . , tribution Fund" shflll not be under the control of the members of the respeetive lodges . And , by the aid of other resolutions , itis so- Arranged that in that fund a vast amount of unrequircd capital must necessarily be accumulated rapidly . It is obvious that , although the Contribution Fund is no longer to remain under our own control , yet it must , of necessity , be placed under some controlling power . If a doubt should arise as to the parties on whom that power should devolve , it would readily be disposed of at the next A . M . C . The accumulated "General Contribution Funds of Lodges" have only to be recognised as forming part of ono Grand General Contribution Fund ofthe Order , when that doubt will be settled for over , aud the control and the cash will be centralized where our independence and our rights are already deposited .
Another point of no small importance must now be referred to . We allude to the mortifying fact so often n curring of late in the Bankruptcy , and closing of Lodges in Country Districts . Young and thoughtless members have wasted the funds and plunged their lodges in debt , for the useless and stupid purpose of bedizening thotnselves with what are absurdly enough calleu Regalia , a circumstance which would nothave been allowed to occur wereit not that too many of those on the Board of Directors , have an immense prirate pecuniary benefit in that folly . To enable those Lodges , however , to continue in their reckless indulgence of an expensive weakness , the G . AT . and Board of Directors , while tethering them down to the
preservation of a sufficiency of funds to meet all their liabilities from sickness and death , have taken care provide pretty liberally for what aro hereafter to come under the head of '' incidental Expenses . " " This , indeed , is the item of all others , which requires the fostering care of those tender Guardians . And as an encouragement to therusties to bleed pretty freely for Incidentals , twenty , five per cent , discount is to be allowed them out of their payments to the " Contribution Fund , "' which by the Tables of " Suppositions , " by the erudite Smith , were doclared to be absolutely necessary , to meet their obligations , on account of sickness and death . The claims , therefore , ofthe sick and the dead must succumb to the more important private demands of a clique of rapacious
tradesmen ! That the " closing of Lodges from want of funds" has not been occasioned by the excess of their payments on account of sickness and death over their income , may easily be shown , notwithstanding the assertions of the G . M . and ISoard of Directors to the contrary ; and it may also be demonstrated as readily , that the insolvency of Lodges has been brought about by their extravagant expenditure in mummeries of various descriptions . The former part of this proposition is borne out b y the fact that , although the Manchester district is the oldest in the Order , and its members consequently more aged on the average / and therefore more liable to sickneso ami death than the members of districts are elsewhere , yet never since the establishment of the Order in that town has any one of its numerous Lodges been closed from want of funds . And the second part , by the fact that a very great number of Lodges , especially those opened in new and
remote districts , have been ruined and broken up by tho nefarious practices of men who , while acting as their officers and directors , to serve their own private interest , have plunged those Lodges at once into irretrievable difficulty and debt . Hundreds of Lodges , too , which have been opened expressly to gratify the craving rapacity ofy the host of the " Wbolpaek , " or he of the " Lamb and Fleece , " have found , to their mortification , not only that the new Lodge was not required by the wants of the district , but that tho entire amount of tlieir initiation and contribution money for months afterwards , has been swallowed up by the modest demands of " mine host , " for fitting them up a room tO' drink in ! Thus , between the harpies of the silk soarf and leather apron on the one hand , and of the beer barrel and tobacco on the other , the members have been plundered of that money which would have met all their prescntliabilities to sickness and death , and left a surplus amply sufficient for their increasing necessities hereafter !
With charity and benevolence on their lips , and cupidity and profligacy in their hearts , the managers of the Order have taken trom the " widow"and the " orphan" their little pittance iu destitution , and have narrowed the means of " wives" and of " families" " when suffering under the calamities of sickness and distress . They have lowered charity from its nobler and' elevated position of independence down to the meaner and degraded rank of beggarly pauperism ! They have boastfully spoken of "friendship , love , and truth , " yet ,. with enmity and malice and lies in tlieir souls , they have returned amongst us ; and , with a flaming sword of annihilation , sought to destroy us in the sight of our brethren !! All this they have done ; but tho day of retribution is at hand . The hour approaches- when the clastic force of
common sense , and an extended perception of right , shall hurl them from their usurpation ; when the combined energies » f the insulted many will no longer bend to the illegal exercise of despotic power , and when corruption and nepotism shall be expelled from the CouncilBoard forever .
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11 ODD FELL OWSHIP . [ Acting on tlie good oW English principle of "fair jilavfor all shkf , " we gave , last we * k , a letter from a Belfast correspondent , ilcfanlinfi the course which the Executive of the Odd " Fellow ' s Institution hare taken in reference to the matters of complaint urged against it by thousands , of the n . embers . This week we givcanothcr letter ofthe same character , to which the writer has had the manliness to put his name in full . That letter will be found to be followed by another , purporting to disclose the manner in which " public tcftimoniah" of " gratitude for
services performed , " arc manufactured ; and then follows a pithy , searching , and well-written examination of the whole question of dispute . Our desire is , in all we do in reference to that dispute , to hold the balance evenly . To this end we shall next week allow the Directors of the Order to speak for themsdves ; and shall also , if space permit , offer some remarks of our own . Till then , we commend toall Odd Fellows the several communications inserted below jp them they will find much worthy of deep consideration and determined action . —Ed . JV . 5 . ]
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TO THE £ DITOlt OF THE NOKTHEns SIAE . natcUjfe ' s Piece of Plate , wWi alistofOie subscribers : Meetings of the Board of Uireclors at Graft , the Olympic Tavern ; J / auons why Uiey meet tiieee , and not atUte Board lloom of the Order ; Jfescriftion of a Tradesman ' s Dinner at Old Gray ' s , Kith oilier nuts twrlh cracking . Those Odd Fellows who live at a distance from Manchester know little of the freaks that are frequently played by the Executive of the Order , in the Olympic Arena , Stevenson ' s-square ; but it is nevertheless true , that from thence have proceeded 111-st of tlie schemes and plots that have caused tlie present rupture : and a few remarks on tlie actors aud their scene of action , may be edifying to the Independent portion of the Order .
Aboutamonthsince there appearcdin the "Managers '" newspaper organ a long account of " a dinner at Gray ' s , " whereat a piece of plate was said to have been presented to William Itatdiffc , Esq . !!! " "for his seven years ' services to the Order . " On that occasion there were an unusual number of speeches made , and toasts drunk , and compliments bandied , between " men and Christians , " as ihej dubbed themselves . In several provincial newspapers a paragraph was inserted , recording the said presentation ; and as , no doubt , tlie next number of the " Jlagasine" will be full of the whole affair , it becomes a matter of interest to all Odd Fellows . Now , in all the statements put forth , not a word have we heard oi who the suhicribcrs were to the " princely present ; " hut from the inuendos in the " official" report , the impression sought to be conveyed is , that the members of the Manchester district generally have been the donors . Now , it so happens that those members know Mr . B . too well to present
him with anything but their supreme contempt ; and a more barefaced imposition never was' practised upon the public than the said " presentation . " It is well known that nine or ten individuals , tcho do business with the " managers , " were the kind souls who subscribed the whole of the amount—upwards of £ 100—to buy Mr , It . his piece of plate ! and as there is a list of their names going round the Manchester district , I here present it to the Odd Fellow public , that they may know how sucli matters of "business"' arc " managed : "HexrtW . e , Frameniaker , £ 25 Joiix D x , Bookbinder , 15 All P . G . M . ' s Jons P b , Sashing-seller , 15 ( except the Geouge 11 » , Printer , 5 1 Silversmith ) , James JU- » , Sasbiug-sellcr 15 and traders William G ., Publican and Shiner , 5 with the Or-Isaac S——x , Silversmith , 5 der . 1 ) . C- , l ' aper-seller , 10
There are oue or two others of the clique , whose names have not as yet transpired . So much , Odd Fellows , for the plate "business ; " so much for the gross imposition of lauding " the man aud the Christian" for his virtues ! so much tor the " emblazoned tickets of admission" to admit the select thirty to the feast ; and so much for the G . Jl . ' s impious talk about" Tommy Armitfs being translated into Abraham's bosom . " The whole exhibition was a licing lie , which will soon cover the actors with confusion and disgrace . And now to expose the shameful system of the Board of Meetings at Gray ' s publie-house . The men , who are the ' Executive of the Order , " meet once a quarter iu full Committee ; and although tlie Order pays £ 03 per annum for spacious premises in Aytoun-street , yet , forsooth , the Executive must meet at a public-house , and compel all
appeal cases , with plaintiffs , defendants , and witnesses , in scorcf , to come to tltc said puUic-housc "for justice ! " To show the infamy of this , we have only to say that during these sittings ( which generally last a whole ' week ) the Olympic Tavern is like a court-house at a petty sessions , with this disadvantage , that drinking is continually going on among the parties waiting for the sapient decisions of the Solous above , who themselves are not proof against the strong temptations of the " pipe and pot . " During these sittings the " worthy host" reaps a golden harvest . Itis worth putting on record that at the Isle of Man A . M . C , the same '' host" was appointed oue of tlie Appeal Committee ; -and during the four ensuing meetiugs he received 12 s . Od . per day for sitting , and occasionally waiting in his own house , and finding his colleagues accommodation . Well done , Odd Fellowship !
Another branch of the tree of corruption that has grown out of the system of patronage is giving Gray the benefit of all the feasts that frequently occur among the " governors" ofthe Older ; one of the most prominent of which is a tradesman ' s dinner , which means a great deal , and brings grist galore to the Olympic mill . The way a dinner of this kind is got up reflects disgrace upon the C . S . and all concerned in it . It is downright forced bribery , on the principle of— " there is no compulsion , only yon nnist . " An afiair of this kind is got up after this fashion . Those "suppliers of goods" avIio are in the thick of the honey-pot , are reminded by the C . S . every time occasiou serves , that " the Board of Directors are now iu Manchester ; " and sundry hints about" cultivating
their acquaintance . " Then it is stated that" Mr . So-and-So has given £ 5 towards a dinner at Gray ' s ; how much shall I put you down ? 0 , let me see ; say £ 5 . " Another honey bee comes ; and then another . Among them a decent sum is soon raised , say £ 30 . Then conies the feast . Of course all the Board is invited . The stuffing over , Champagne is introduced ; and the " generous tradesmen " begin to-vie . with each other as to who shall pay the most . The wine begins to operate ; and " you tickle me , and I'll tickle you , " is the order of the day , or rather night . The debauch concludes with mutual promises between the ixcobbcftible Executive and their worthy tradesmen to support one another through thick and thin . This is a faithful description of these men and their doings ; and they know it well . However , tlie days of
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corruption are numbered . Among the independent mem ' bersof the Order , Ratcliffe and his myrmidons are condemned beyond all redemption . Gone for ever is the age of sashing and rosettes ! Tomfoolery is dead I The few cringing tools of the faction are dressing for the funeral la the words of a great writer , the " G . S . has outlived his reputation / and is walking about to hearken to his own reproach . lie has written an ' Here Lyeth' upon his character ; and what ' s left of him may 'die at any time . " His only remaining crutch is a ricketty Journal , of which , in conclusion , I will eive a specimen . ¦
Last week but one , that print gave an account of a dinner at Stepney , whereat a speech was made by a Mr . Ashdowne , one of the Board of Directors , and sub-editor of the Journal . He is there made to say that "friend Ratcliffe has left off betting for ever ; he has buried all his turf transactions in oblivion ; and become quite moral . " Will it be credited , that while Ashdowne was spouting this balderdash at Stepney , IiateVffe was actually on Aeuiton race-course , teitft a roll of notes in his hand , calling and letting with everybody around him , as can'be proved by scores of witnesses . So much for Ashdowne ' s veracity and his reformed friend ' s " improved morality ! " Odd Fellows , the movement for freedom gains ground . Up , then , and declare your emancipation ! Yours , in the bonds , &c , An Old Odd Feuow .
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The African Roscius . —The statement which has appeared in most of thu London and provincial papers , that Mr . Aldridge , the African Roscius , was killed in the neighbourhood of Llanidloes , by his carriage falling over a precipice 120-feet high , is not true . The gentleman himsel f furnishes tlie following contradiction : —Having to travel across tlie country bj an unfrequented road , where I could not obtain , post horses for my carriage , I . was compelled to use a pair of my own , unaccustomed to the work . One of them , in descending a slight declivity , became restive and ran into a hedge , but without causing any alarm or doing the slightest injury . , to person or property . This trifling incident , it seems , originated a report of
my death , and that of a servant , in a most melancholy manner , which I feel , great pleasure ( I assure you ) in contradicting . \ Fatal Colueuy Accident . —One of those explosions , which are of almost cvery-day occurrence , took place on Thursday / August 14 th , at St . Helen ' s Auckland Colliery , in the county of Durham , which colliery is the property of Joseph Pease , Esq ., and Co ., by which two brothers named William Briddick and Joseph Briddick , the former nineteen and the latter eleven years of age , lost their , lives . "What niakesthc case more distressing is that their mother is a widow , and was almost wholly dependent on them for support . On Friday an inquest . vas held on the bodies before Mr . Thornton , deniitv-cnvnner
for the Bishop Auckland district , when the following evidence was given . —Richard Brown deposed : —I am overman at St . Ilelon ' s Auckland Colliery ; the accident occurred about seven o ' clock in the mornin ; ofthe 14 th inst . ; the pit was off work that day ; I was not in the pit at tho time the accident happened ; if I had been , 1 did not apprehend any danger ; that part of the pit is not working at present ; I have seen " gas" in that part of the pit , but not lately ; I was in that part of the pit three days previous to the accident ; I did not take a Davy lamp with me , as I thought there was no need of one ; "William Briddick and his brother were at work instead of their grandfather ( who is keeper or inspector ) ; the deputy overman ordered them to go and fetch some plates from the
place where the explosion took place ; I would have given the same orders myself if I had been there ; I cannot account for the accident , as the stopping-doors and brattice were all ri ^ ht . James Scott deposed : —I am dnputy-overman at St . Helen ' s Auckland colliery ; . I was working with Edward M JSay ^ we sent the boys for the plates ; I did not think ot any clanger ; we were working about 150 yards from the place ; if the boys had not been there , 1 would have gone myself ; if there had been a lamp 1 would not have taken it , as I did not think there was any fire in the place ; the toys had left us scarcely nye minutes , when we heard the report of the explosion ; I said " what is that ? " and M'Nay said it is lire ; " M'Nay then crept on his hands and k
nees m search ofthe bodies in the dark , as the report put our lights out ; he was soon obliged to return , as the after-damp was so strong ; he was like to lose his breath ; 1 had not been in that part of the pit for a month previous to the explosion ; before the bodies were found , I was taken home in a cart , I was so ill from the after-damp . —Edward M'Nay , deputy , gave evidence ta the same cfleet .-Jolm llindmarch deposed : —When 1 heard of tlie explosion , I went to the pit . I did not intend to go down the pit . 1 have worked at the above colliery nearly eleven years . I thought tho pit pleasant aim sate . I have not worked at the colliery since Mai * 1814 . I would not have gone down ' thc pit , but 1 heard that the men that were down were all exhausted with the after-damp , and others werc-rcluctant to William
go down . The dead body of Briddick was brought to bank before I went do « R the pit ; when _ I went down , the men were busy putting the stoppings right . I never worked in I ' , part ot the pit , as it has been worked since I left- cannot tell how the accident occurred . I would nofc have taken a lamp if I had not been ordered to *> so , as 1 think the overman has a practical kn owledge ot colliery working , and I would have depended on that ior my safety . The jury retired , and in a ' . minutes returned a verdict of—Accidental Dcatnio this account our correspondent adds :- » >* inl ' possible to describe the state ofthe public iniml ««*» as almost every one believes that the deputies «•< - ' « aware that the place was dangerous ; yet none ol t' «' men that have worked in the place had the man ' * ness to go and speak the truth . The following '" J ; uiis
uuua sent to Joseph l ' ease i £ sq ., since " * % quest on the Indies :- " West Auckland , August h > 1845 . Sny-You will no doubt have heard ot tn » calamitous explosion which has taken p lace at pa "' Helen ' s Auckland colliery . You will also have n « "V that the witnesses that were examined at the «' l " , 0 were quite inadequate to throw any lig ' 0 I , L affair . Since the inquest several of the «' or ! il in say they can prove that the deputies and over" ¦ knew that that part of the pit was in an « " »• state . It is , therefore , your duty to have tuc nl , , thoroughly investigated , and if the reports be v ^ no doubt some party will be criminated . I '; $$ not appoint some person , or persons to examine pit , and report thereon , it will be a blot on the » of the colliery for ever . " . ., i ., v The Modern Chevalier d'Eon .-Oii ^ f n ^ M week was found dead , in Paris , a person wio ^ «' the names of Howard and Douglas , was well h « ^ in the huiftbfe ranks of literature , who aJW P ' las a ma ^ but w . h . o . turned , out to be & iw » ao »
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Xow , sir , let any unprejudiced person tafce a fair view of th » above taUe , and ask himself how far tlie Manchester people arc consistent in tlieir professed love of Democracy . Compare the influence they have had over the London districts ; compare the number of deputies with tliosc of Birmingham , with Xewcastlc-on-Tync , with Glasgow , and with Liverpool ( except at Wigan ) , Manchester in some instances sending as many as ten to oue over a corresponding number of members . Again , let the lovers of tltc old system look at the constant fluctuations that took place . Liverpool seudiug one year five , the nest forrytwo , the nest seven , and tlie next four ; Sheffield sending two , then twenty-seven , then seven , and then none ; Leeds sending nine , then one , then nineteen , and then three , aud so on through the whole , more or less . But it may
lie said that the preceding table docs not affect the case ; that every lodge had tlie right to send one deputy , and Juiglit liave done so if It tlionglit proper . Why , such a proposition is preposterous in the extreme . There are 3770 lodges ; aud how , in the name of common sense , could such a number of deputies do business , or be accommodated with premises to meet in . Again , suppose each deputy had hut £ 4 for his expenses , it would render the institution liaWc to the expenditure of £ l-3 , 0 S 0 per annum for simply nialdng aud revising its laws . Uow , the ^ Manchester people should remember that tco-. ionvt is one of the grand essentials of a Democratic form of government , and , therefore , what they profess to contend for is quite inconsistent with what they pronounce it to be ; and , instead of being DEM 0 C 2 ACY , is pure unadulterated Aristucraev .
Now , sir , for the law as altered , which has been so much denounced . It says that every district shall have the power to send one deputy to the Annual Committee , and that all districts having upwards of one thousand members shall send one deputy for every thousand members ; thus , a district having upwards of one thousand members , can send two deputies , and those that have upwards of two thousand three deputies , and so on in pro-I-ortion . Xow , the above , I contend , is strictly Democratical . because it apportions , as far as at present practical , tae number of deputies to the members they represent ; and although some of tlie districts are small , yet the ste taken at the Xenrcastle-on-Tyne Annual Committee was a most neecssarr , salutary , and extensive one , and has done much towards bringing the Order under the Democratic influence of equalisation , though much still remains to be completed .
Thc ' uext ground of complaint is that of the Annual Conunittiee taldng It upon Itself to interfere with tlie iinaiicialarrangeinents of the Lodges ; and the strange opinion is put forth , most triumphantly ' by . the dissentient party , that the Annual Committee had , nor has , no right to interfere with Lodges regarding their financial arrangements . Xow , I would here ask , what does the Annual Committee meet for ! It is not for the general welll > eing uf the Society as a whole ; and when the Committee saw that there was a great increase of begging petitions from distressed Lodges , and an increased number of Lodges breaking up for want of funds , was it not their province , nay , their bounden duty , to inquire into the cause of these things , and having inquired and found tliat they arose from an inadequate contribution to meet
tlie expenditure in some cases , and a reckless and extravagant squandering away of money that had been contributed , iu others , was it not then their duly , as tlie duly authorised legislators , aye , as the wellwishcrs of a society in which they hpd a common iuterest , as members , to do what they could to rectify the evils and correct the abuses TVluch were working such disastrous consequences ? Slost assuredly it was ; and what did they do ? Why they agreed that every Lodge should have a fund devoted solely for relieving the sick , aud interring the deceased members and their wives ; that this fund should he touched for no other purposes , aud should be contributed to at a ratio that would ensure the youngest members the benefit uf it when they became old . This was the intention of tlie Annual Committee , and to guide them they took the tables which had been drawn up by meu who had
devoted their time and talent to ascertain how far certain contributions would sustain certain liabilities , and I feel convinced that the lowest scale of payments has been adopted for realising the benefits proposed . In proof of the a-sertion , I will here give the basis of the scale . A Lodge , iu which the members contribute one shilling and cightpence per month , they shall receive when sick ten shillings a week for twelve months , and five shillings per week after wards , so long as they may continue sick , together with ten pounds at the death of a member , aud five pounds at the death of a member's wife . This may be called the basis of the scale , and all Lodges contributing less must pay sick gifts and funeral donations less in proportion , according as they contribute , allowing the agricttltaral districts the benefit of twenty-five per cent , on account of their being less liable to sickness than the
manufacturing . Xow what , I would ask , is there so monstrously bad in "Shu above arrangements as to cause all the disturbance , flissevcration , and vituperation that has taken place ? I believe that no disinterested and reflective person can be Mund who will say ftat ft ( . re is auJ . ti , 5 ng i , au in tue ar _ rangement , and particularl y when he is informed that the So »^ maa eb ytheMcaes ' » ia Persians , butiffound St eRSiT- ™*" " *« ^ ell-being of the ^ cumsC « ari ™ ° Tei 1 ° " eP ^ led according to the lective SmS ! ° itSOperation - ^ «* - XiTsSsS ^ sm ^ - ^ JKSrSHHFr * ia-bd , , ta . i « aai , ° S 21 SL , tlle " *» ™>
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¦»—iam ^^ esBia—cms—a e »^«^^^ The dissentient party also rail most loudly against the spending of money in tomfoolery , gewgaw , ic , as they , term it . Now if they are really sincere in their denunciation , it is certainly most strange that they cannot see the excellent adaptation of the new arrangement for putting a stop to thi ! foolish expenditure , of Lodge funds , for one of the principal objects of the neir law is to put a stop to the reckless expenditure of Lodge funds ; and thus it makes it imperative on every Lodge to keep the general fundsolclyforthereliefofthesick , andtheinttrmuntofthe dead , and for each Lodge to have an " Incidental Fund" to meet the other expenses , thereby giving the members an opportunity of knowing for what they pay their money ; fur while members may be found who would vote money from the fund for such purposes , they would not so readily pay it extra into the incidental fund for those purposes , theref ore a more effectual way of curing the evil complained of could scarcely be adopted .
But 1 am quite at a hiss to know why such a vindictive feeling is displayed -towards those who serve the order with goods . They certainly have a perfect right to sell their geods to those who order them , nor can it be sup . posed that they know two thirds of the parties who purchase , or in what way they raise the money to pay for them . They compel nobody to buy—1 myself have been a member eight years , and never spent a penny with the board for anything of the kind . There is no compulsion , and , therefore , itis most unfair to upbraid and abuse gentlemen for conducting their business in the usual way , and to tax them with receiving the money of tlie order , when they actually supplied goods for the same , to the voluntary orders of those over whom they had no contrnnL
The almost overwhelming share of misrepresentation and abuse which falls to the lot of Mr . William Rateliffe , calls iu common honesty for something to be said . It is stated that he receives £ 300 a year as a salary . This is false , and the parties who make the statement are highly culpable ; for if they know anything about it , they knowit is not true—and if they do not know , they have no right to make such statements . The truth is , £ 300 per annum is paid for doing the work of that department of which Air . Itatclifie has the management , and it is well known that Jlr . It . is compelled to have an assistaut rcgulnrly , besides other aids ; thus materially reducing the £ 300 . And to show the amount of labour performed , let this single item be taken . In one year the C . S . received better than nine thousand letters , and had to answer upwards
of six thousand of them . It is also stated that he is a notorious gambler . This is not enly on aspersion on the character of Mr . Katcliffe , but also on those who sustain liim in Ills office . At the Bradford Annual Committee , whenhe was called to an account , hemade such a straightforward aud manly declaration , that nearly the entire ommittee , by acclamation , expressed their confidence in him , and that committee was composed of 295 deputies from different parts of the country . At Newcastle-on-Tyne he was again privately assailed by large placards on the walls , and the committee , composed of 191 deputies , again expressed themselves as follows—a very respectable
and highly efficient person was brought ibrward as an opposing candidate ; and out of the 191 deputies , only 19 voted against Mr . llatelifte . Now , when it is taken into account that both these committees were composed of members elected according to the old system , and called together from all parts ofthe country , is it to be supposed that they would have been so duped as to allow such a character as Jlr . R . is represented to be by his maligners , to hold the responsible office to which they re-elected him ? O , no ! nothing could have sustained such character in either of those committees , and he most certainly would have fallen if lie had been what his enemies state him to be .
I believe it would be very easy to show that the vindictiveness displayed towards Mr . llatclifie arises from other causes than those stated , and that the parties who are mostmalcvolcnt have suffered some little disappointment from Jlr . RstclinVs lynx-eyed mode of looking after certain things ; but , sir , you ask for facts , and , therefore , I have endeavoured to confine myself to facts alone : besides , I wish not to widen the breach that at present exists , and would therefore say , in conclusion , if the dissentients are really sincere , why do they not ask for their proportionate share of the funds , and retire in a friendly and peaceable way . and show to the world that what they contend for is right aud just . For my own part , I would -never succumb to those in office , nor would I submit to factious and designing men . Iu a large institution , like
| the Manchester Unity , it is utterly impossible that all can have their wishes gratified ; liut if things are wrong , there is a proper way of rectifying them , and that the dissentients know . There are many other statements tc which I might refer , and could prove them either to be garbled , or false altogether ; hut I find I have written to as great a length as I can expect to be inserted , and shall close with sincerely wishing that the Order may still continue to prosper , and render that support , consolation , and comfort to its members , which I feel confident it is the wish of those who have recently amended its laws , that it should do . Sir , I remain , yours obediently , RoBEUT Glass . Sile . strcct , Burslem Potteries , Aue . 16 .
Untitled Article
_ $ _ THE NORTHERN STAR Atmus ? S 3 , 1845 .
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Aug. 23, 1845, page 6, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1329/page/6/
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