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payment of pensions of not less than 7s. per week or more than 10s.
per week, and provisions were made for the election of the pensioners
accordingly. The Committee made several recommendations for the
amendment of the scheme, the principal of which were as follows:—
They asked that Humphrey Williams' (Kent Street) Charity and Simmonds's
Charity should be included in the scheme. They opposed the
appointment of five co-optative Trustees' as inconsistent with the
Trusts under which the various charities were constituted. They
suggested the increase of the number of Trustees to 22, and, if a less
number, no ex-officio members to be included. They further suggested
that the amount applicable in the purchase of bibles should be reduced to
£5. A strong opposition was shown to a clause compelling the Trustees
to apply a yearly sum of £300 towards the provision of nurses and
temporary relief. It was also suggested that a clause should be inserted
in the scheme protecting the rights of the present pensioners.
The Vestry agreed to these recommendations, and appointed a
Deputation to wait upon the Charity Commissioners to fully place the
views of the Vestry before them. Sir Henry Longley, K.C.B., Chief
Commissioner, received the Deputation on Thursday, the 24th November,
1898, when he stated, in dealing with the amendments suggested
by the Vestry, that in appointing co-optative Trustees, the Commissioners
had only followed their usual practice, but they would be
prepared to consider other names, to be suggested by the Vestry, in
the place of those mentioned in the scheme, as co-optative Trustees,
for five years. With regard to the two life Trustees, the gentlemen
being old Trustees, had made it a condition of their assent to the
scheme, that they should be so appointed, which the Commissioners
agreed to.
The Commissioner also pointed out that although the Charity
Commissioners were desirous of altering the application of the funds
of the Bible Charities, the Court of Chancery had in a similar case
decided that this could not be done without a special Act of Parliament.
He agreed to the substitution of "may" for "shall" in the
clause as to the sum ot £300 being applied for the provision of nurses
and to the omission ot the Sub-section as to temporary relief, thus
leaving it optional to the trustees to make a grant for the provision