Anniversary of the Brotton United Miners Benefit Society – 1872

Daily Gazette for Middlesbrough – Friday 19 July 1872 from the
https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/

ANNIVERSARY OF THE BROTTON UNITED MINERS’ BENEFIT SOCIETY.

The anniversary of this benefit society was held on Thursday, at Brotton. This anniversary is the important holiday of the year at Brotton, and it is yearly celebrated in quite a gala fashion, Messr. Morrison and Co’s pit, which furnishes a large quota of members, being entirely laid off. At nine o clock in the morning, the members assembled in front of the club house, the Crown Hotel, and then marched in procession to Brotton Church, where service was i conducted and a sermon preached by the Rev. M. Bell, who took for his text the 33rd verse of the 6th chapter of St. Matthew. The service being concluded, the members of the society formed a procession, numbering nearly seven hub dred, and marched to Mrs Morrisons’ residence adjoining the pit. The procession was headed by the Brotton Brass Band, gilt miner’s tools, emblematical of their underground toil, and a banner bearing on one side the words “The Brotton United Miners Benefit Society” and on the other “The Cleveland Ironstone Miners.” After several airs had been performed. Mrs Morrison, with her accustomed generosity, gave a donation of £5 towards the funds of the society, and Miss Jackson (the owner ot the surrounding royalties), who is at present a guest of Mrs Morrison, gave a similar amount, Rushpool Hall the residence of John Bell, Esq of Bell Brothers, was the next destination for the miners. Mrs and Mr Bell were from home, but the miners and their children were regaled with beer and tea ad libitum. The band made the beautiful valley resound to the echoes of their music, and the pleasure-seekers enjoyed themselves abundantly in the spacious grounds. The procession then left the grounds and went to the Zetland Hotel and the Alexandra Hotel before which the band played selections, and afterward wended their way back to Brotton, by Old Saltburn. Arrived at Brotton, the members of the society, with their friends, sat down to an excellent meal provided by Mr John Cowell of the Crown Hotel, in a commodious marquee, erected in a field belonging to Mr Morrison. Four tables ran down the marquee and at one end there was a platform from which the band discoursed pleasant strains during dinner. Upwards of 600 dined at two sittings down. The repast over, Mr Joseph Shepherd, President of the North Yorkshire and Cleveland Miners’ Association, was unanimously voted to the chair. Mr Robert Spinks being voted to the vice chair. The Chairman, in opening the meeting, said he thought they could not have done better than place some of the ratepayers of Brotton in the chair He believed their Society benefited the ratepayers to a great extent. They all knew that Brotton was a little pestilential place ; he did not know why the ratepayers of Brotton did not require a Local Board, because, as they were all quite aware, it was the mother of disease in Cleveland. It was second to none in that respect. Many of them were rate-payers, and they ought to demand a Local Board for it, and ease their burdens. Just imagine if they had to pay £1,011 0s 9 1/2d, which was the amount disbursed by the Society for sickness, accidents, and accidental deaths, and what a burden that would have been upon them. He thought they ought to weigh the matter over, and that the little town of Brotton ought to be better looked after than it had been in the past. Brotton was a healthy little place when he first knew it; but owing to overcrowding and the inefficiency of the drainage— for there was no thorough drainage in Brotton— they had had more small-pox in Brotton than anywhere else in Cleveland. They had the same remedy in Brotton as elsewhere, and if they were to take the matter up it would he for their benefit. When they had to pay the enormous sum of £50 per week for sickness and death, it was quite apparent that they were benefiting the ratepayers, who ought in turn to give them all the support in their power. He found that, during the past year, they had paid no less than £700 in that little village, and yet there were those who would tell them that the miners of Cleveland were not competent to conduct their own affairs. These facts showed that the Cleveland miners could conduct their own affairs ; and, if their employers would rally round them, more good results would be derived than from all the quackery of the Stock Exchange at Middlesbrough. The VICE-CHAIRMAN next addressed the meeting. He had seen a good deal of the Society during the three years he had been amongst them; he had seen much of the good it had done, and the progress it had made. It was a worthy, benevolent, and honourable institution, based upon a foundation that could not fail so long as it was properly conducted. Close upon £500 had been paid by the society during the past six months for sickness, accidents, and death. He was also glad to see that the members always paid their contributions without grumbling, and that as much as 2s a fortnight had been paid by the members for three mouth-, in succession. Such an institution made its members independent of all outside assistance, aud secured for them an honourable and straightforward position, and when it pleased the Almighty to take them away they could be buried in manner. A burial at the expense of the parish was a sad spectacle, and it was a melancholy satisfaction to be able to perform the last duty to their friends in a respectable manner. The allowance made in case of sickness was amply sufficient to supply all necessaries. He thought the society ought to have more honorary members. He was sorry to say there was only one in Brotton, and that was that benevolent lady who lived below, Mrs Morrison, who was always ready to support any deserving institution, for the firm of Morrison and Co. had subscribed altogether £20 during the last few months. (Hear, hear.) He hoped the next balance sheet would show a large increase in the number of honorary members.

Mr John Jackson, the secretary of the society, then read the balance-sheet for the past year as follows : — Income : Balance from last year, £69 17s 4d ; received from contributions, £789 9s 6d ; proposition money for new members, £18 6s ; received for rules and cards, £4 16s 11d ; fines for neglect of payment, £12 3s 6d ; received for tickets of last dinner, £21 2s ; subscriptions given on anniversary day, £13 15s ; received for tickets for tea party, £25 6s 4 1/2d; subscriptions given for tea party, £12 2s ; Morrison and Co.’s contribution for twelve months, £13 ; fines from Morrison and Co.’s office, £32 18s 8d ; fines from Bell Brothers, 9s 6d ; total, £1,011 0s 9 1/2d. Subscriptions for anniversary : Mr Morrison, £5; Miss Jackson, £3; Mr W. Temple, £1; Mr B. Cowell, £1 10s ; Mr R. Day, £1 ; Mr J. Biggs, 10s ; Mr Westall, 10s ; Mr Geo. Taylor, 5s ; Mr C. Jackson, 5s ; Mr W. Day 5s ; Mr J. Hindmarch, 5s ; Mr Tomkins, 5s ; total, £13 15s. Subscribers for tea party : Mr J. Fleming, £5 ; Mrs Morrison, £5 ; Mrs Hutchinson, £1 ; friends in Brotton, £1 2s ; total, £12 2s.

Expenditure : Paid for sick, £680 5s 9d ; funeral money, £100 ; anniversary expenses, £59 ls 4d ; paid to the Devonport Blind Asylum for J. Rouse, £15 ; paid to Mr Tomkins, painting banner, &c. , £5 5s ; paid to Mr Rapp, for stationery, £3 15s ; tea party expenses, £41 18s 4 1/2d ; paid to Messrs Bargate and Co., for club box, 13s 6d ; cash-box, 11s 3d ; postage stamps, 2s; expenses of management, £19 10s; rent for club-room, £3 ; auditors’ fees, £1 ; total, £930 2s 2 1/2d; reserve, £21 8s: cash in box, £59 10s 7d; total, £1,011 0s 9 1/2d; total worth of society, £80 18s 7d. Auditors for the first six months, John Hindmarch, and Thomas Crowe ; last six months, Robert Spink, and John Hindmarch. Number of deaths of members, 9; ditto half- members, 1 ; ditto members’ wives, 6 ; total deaths, 16 ; number of members in the society, 570.

The balance sheet was adopted, and a vote of confidence in the officials was passed on the motion of Mr George Cherry, seconded by Mr Joseph Bone The Chairman then said that he was glad to say that there were two honorary members of the society, both ladies,’ Mrs Morrison and Miss Jackson. The Vice-Chairman then proposed that a vote of thanks be given to Mrs Morrison and Miss Jackson, the honorary members, both of whom had that day given £5 towards the funds. The motion was put and carried, with three cheers for Mrs Morrison and family, and three cheers for Miss Jackson. Votes of thanks were also given to the various other subscribers to the Society, and to the host and hostess, Mr and Mrs Cowell. This brought the after-dinner proceedings to a close shortly after six o’clock ; and the marquee being cleared, a ball took place in the evening.