326 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
January 21, 1893. 
RULES OF THE GARDENERS’ ROYAL 
BENEVOLENT INSTITUTION. 
I . — Constitution of Society. 
The Society is a Benevolent Society, composed of 
persons over sixteen years of age. 
II.— Name of Society and Place of Registered Office. 
1. The Society shall be called “The Gardeners' 
Royal Benevolent Institution,” and shall have a 
Patroness, Patron, President, Vice-Presidents and 
other officers, as hereinafter mentioned. Its regis¬ 
tered office is in England, and is No. 50, Parliament 
Street, Westminster, in the county of Middlesex. 
2. In the event of any change in the situation of 
the registered office, notice of such change shall be 
sent within fourteen days thereafter to the Registrar 
in the form prescribed by the Treasury Regulation in 
that behalf. 
III.— Objects and Purposes, Admission of Members, Con¬ 
dition of Benefit, &*c. 
1. Objects for which the Society is established. —This 
Society is established for the benevolent or charitable 
purpose of relieving gardeners and other persons of 
like occupation, as hereinafter mentioned, and their 
widows, in old age by way of pension and otherwise. 
2. The only persons who shall be considered 
eligible for the Pension of this Institution shall have 
been either head gardeners or their foremen, market 
gardeners, nurserymen, and seedsmen, and foremen 
of nurserymen and seedsmen, and the widows of such 
persons, subject to the following conditions : — 1st. 
Gardeners who have served in the capacity of head 
gardeners or their foremen, in the establishments of 
ladies or gentlemen, for twenty years, and the fore¬ 
men to nurserymen and seedsmen who have served 
as such the same number of years. 2nd. Market 
gardeners who have cultivated not less than five acres 
of land for twenty years. 3rd. Nurserymen and 
seedsmen who shall have been regularly engaged in 
the business twenty years. 
3. No person shall be eligible as a candidate for 
the pension under sixty years of age, cases of total 
incapacity alone excepted; age to be verified by a 
baptismal certificate, or such other documents as 
may satisfy two-thirds of the Committee that the 
applicant is of the required age. Incapacity to be 
verified by a medical certificate. The production of 
both or either of such certificates or other evidence, 
as the case may be, shall be indispensable. 
4. No widow shall be eligible to be relieved in 
virtue of the occupation of her first husband as a 
gardener, foreman to a gardener, market gardener, 
nurseryman or seedsman, or foreman to any nursery¬ 
man or seedsman, pursuant to Rule iii., Sub-Section 
2, after her marriage with another, not a gardener, 
or otherwise coming within either of the descriptions 
in Rule iii., Sub-Section 2, and qualified as therein 
mentioned, though she become a second time a 
widow ; and no widow shall be eligible to be a candi¬ 
date by virtue of her second husband’s occupation, 
unless she shall have been married to such first or 
second husband at least ten years; and no widow of 
a pensioner shall be eligible to be placed on the 
pension list who shall have lived separate from her 
husband, and shall have continued to do so until the 
time of his decease if, during the time of such separa¬ 
tion, she had other means of support than those 
furnished by her husband. 
5. None but head gardeners, or their foremen, 
market gardeners, nurserymen, seedsmen, and fore¬ 
men of nurserymen and seedsmen, respectively 
qualified pursuant to Rule iii., Sub-Section 2, and 
who have subscribed fifteen years consecutively to 
the funds of the Institution, or who have been on the 
books of the Institution as a Life Member for fifteen 
years, or the widows of such persons, shall be con¬ 
sidered eligible while a sufficient number of such 
persons are on the list (the object being to give a 
decided preference to those persons who have been 
contributing to assist others), so that if the funds 
should enable the Committee to call for the election 
of five persons, and there were two. or three who had 
been Annual or Life Subscribers for fifteen years, or 
the widows of such persons, those candidates may be 
appointed pensioners in preference to the other 
candidates who had not subscribed for so long a 
period, or who had not been Subscribers, and the 
election would be for the remaining number to make 
up the five; but subject, nevertheless, to the con¬ 
ditions of Rule iii., Sub-Sections 7 and ix, and such 
other Rules as apply to the election of pensioners. 
6. The amount of relief to be given shall be £20 
per annum to males, and £16 per annum to females. 
to be paid quarterly; but if the Committee think it 
necessary,in consequence of a change of circumstances 
of the pensioner, or in case a pensioner should 
attempt to mortgage, or charge the relief, they (the 
Committee) may discontinue or reduce the annuity 
of any pensioner. The amount of relief may from 
time to time be varied as the Committee shall deter¬ 
mine, subject to the approval of the next annual 
general meeting. 
7. The Committee shall investigate the claims of 
the applicants, and recommend such to the Sub¬ 
scribers as appear to be deserving. 
8 . Each applicant for relief shall fill up and sign 
an application, which application shall be also 
signed by two subscribers at least in recommendation 
of such applicant, showing not only that he or she is 
of the full age of sixty, or totally incapacitated, but 
that he or she also comes within the descriptions of 
some or one of the persons named in Rule iii., Sub- 
Section 2, and are duly qualified pursuant to the 
conditions of such Rule (or is widow of such person), 
and shall make a declaration before a magistrate, or 
Commissioner to administer Oaths, if required, that he 
or she is not in receipt of a sum exceeding £30 per 
annum, and the application must be accompanied by 
a statement signed by the applicant, and the first two 
subscribers supporting the application showing how 
such income is derived. 
9. No person shall be considered eligible as a 
candidate for the pension 'who is in the receipt of 
parochial relief; and, in the event of a pensioner 
receiving such parochial relief, his or her name shall 
be immediately struck off the list of pensioners on 
the Committee becoming acquainted with the fact 
of such parochial relief being received; and such 
pension shall not be resumed, even in the event of 
the party ceasing to obtain parochial relief, without 
a re-election, unless recommended by two-thirds of 
the Committee. 
10. The Committee shall be empowered previous 
to any election to credit any candidate who has 
paid : — 4 years’ subscriptions with 50 votes ; 5 years, 
100; 6 years, 150; 7 years, 200; 8 years, 250; 9 
years, 300; 10 years, 350; 11 years, 400 ; 12 years, 
45° I I 3 years, 500; 14 years, 550. 
11. In the event of an application for the Pension 
being made under Rule iii., Sub-Section 5, before 
the 31st July in any year, the Committee shall 
investigate such application, and if it should prove 
to be of such nature as to warrant the Committee in 
recommending the applicant as a fit person to be 
placed on the pension list at the next election, they 
may award the applicant such a sum as they may 
see fit, not exceeding in any case £10, to assist the 
applicant’s present necessities. 
12. The Committee shall be empowered to 
suspend the payments of any pensioner whose 
election may have been obtained by misrepresenta¬ 
tion. 
13. In the event of a pensioner dying and leaving 
a widow, she shall, unless her case fall within the 
exception of Rule iii., Sub-Section 4, on producing 
the proper testimonials and certificates as to age, 
character, and marriage, and answering any other 
requisition to the satisfaction of the Committee, be 
placed upon the list of pensioners without the 
trouble and expense of an election. 
14. Ihe Committee may, at their discretion 
(provided they consider the funds of the Society 
will permit), grant gratuities in one or more instal¬ 
ments, not exceeding in the whole £5, to each 
unsuccessful candidate at any election, and who may 
be a life member, or have been a subscriber to the 
Institution for four years. 
15. The Committee may, at their discretion, 
award any sum not exceeding £3 over and above 
the pension due at the time of the death of the 
pensioner towards funeral or other expenses. 
16. Purposes for which the funds shall be applicable .— 
All moneys received on account of annual subscrip¬ 
tions, life subscriptions, and donations, shall be 
applied towards carrying out the objects of the 
Society, according to the rules thereof. Any officer 
misapplying the funds shall repay the same and 
be dismissed, without prejudice to his liability to 
prosecution for such misapplication. 
IV. — Terms of Admission of Members. 
1. All annual subscribers, life subscribers, and 
life governors shall be members of the Institution. 
2. Ihe annual subscription to the Institution 
shall be one guinea, which shall be due on the first 
day of January in each year, and which shall entitle 
each subscriber to one vote for each vacancy at 
elections of pensioners ; and each subscriber shall 
be entitled to the same privilege for every additional 
subscription of one guinea. A life subscription shall 
be ten guineas, which shall entitle each life sub¬ 
scriber to one vote for each vacancy at all elections 
of pensioners; and every additional donation of 
ten guineas shall entitle the donor to the same 
privilege. 
3. An executor paying a bequest of ten guineas 
or upwards (if no other person be named by the 
testator for that purpose) shall be considered a Life 
Governor, and shall be entitled to one vote for each 
pensioner to be elected in respect of every ten 
guineas so paid. 
4. The Committee shall have power to, and may 
confer honorary votes in respect of special services 
rendered to the Institution ; and may appoint from 
time to time any person who, in their opinion, are 
likely to be beneficial as honorary officers or collec¬ 
tors to the Institution, for the purpose of receiving 
subscriptions, and upon such terms as the Committee 
may determine. 
5. Members may become entitled to the benefits 
of the Institution on the conditions prescribed in 
Rule iii., Sub-Section 5. 
V. — Meetings.—Right of Voting. 
1. A General Meeting of the Subscribers shall be 
held in each year, in the month of J anuary, for the 
purpose of receiving the Report of the Committee 
and the accounts of the Institution for the past year; 
for the election of Officers and transacting any 
business that may be necessary relative to the affairs 
of the Institution ; and for the election of pensioners : 
ten subscribers then present shall be considered as a 
quorum for the purposes of such meeting. 
2. All Candidates for pensions approved of by 
the Committee shall be elected by the votes of 
the subscribers, which must be presented to the 
Chairman before the close of the election, and 
at each election three or more scrutineers shall be 
appointed by the majority of subscribers then and 
there present to conduct such election ; and no person 
shall be allowed to vote whose subscription for the 
preceding year shall remain unpaid. 
3. The Committee, or any five members thereof 
shall be empowered to call a General Meeting ; or 
any twenty subscribers, whether annual or life sub¬ 
scribers, shall be empowered to do so by signing a 
requisition addressed to the Secretary, stating the 
nature and object of the business to be brought for¬ 
ward at such meeting, and twenty subscribers then 
present shall form a quorum for the purposes of such 
meeting ; provided that if twenty subscribers shall 
not be present after an hour shall have elapsed from 
the time at which such meeting was called, the 
Secretary be empowered to call another meeting or 
meetings until twenty subscribers shall be present. 
4. Twenty-one days’ clear notice shall be 
given to the subscribers or members of the General 
or Special General Meetings and Elections of Pen¬ 
sioners,and the Secretary shall make them acquainted 
with the business to be transacted at such meetings. 
VI.— New Rules and Alteration of Rules. 
No new rule shall be made, nor any of the rules 
herein contained or hereafter to be made, shall be 
amended, altered, or rescinded, unless with the con¬ 
sent of a majority of the members present at a 
general meeting of the Society specially called for 
that purpose. No amendment of rules is valid until 
registered. 
VII.— Appointment and Renoval of Committee of 
Management, Treasurer, Trustees and other Officers 
There shall be a Committee of Management, con¬ 
sisting of twenty-/our persons (one-third to be 
practical gardeners), three Auditors, a Treasurer, and 
Secretary. The Committee of Management, 
Treasurer, and Secretary, shall continue in office 
until the general annual meeting of the Society, un¬ 
less previously removed by a resolution of the major 
part of the members present at any meeting called 
for that purpose. One-fourth of the Committee shall 
retire] annually by rotation, but be eligible for re- 
election. And at every annual meeting a Committee 
of Management, Treasurer, and Secretary, shall be 
appointed for the ensuing year, or, in failure thereof, 
those last appointed shall be considered as again 
appointed ; and in case any member of the Committee 
of Management, Treasurer, or Secretary, shall die or 
be removed prior to such annual meeting, the 
Committee of Management shall appoint a person to 
fill the vacancy. There shall be three Trustees 
