tack 00 093 Inbepenbcnt rber of ipnei A'rith. ON DON LODGE DRAFT CONSTITUTION Inbepenbrnt of 'rith. LON DON LODGE. DRAFT CONSTITUTION. I. O. B, B. ESTABLISHED 1843. PREAMBLE TO THE CONSTITUTION. " THE INDEPENDENT ORDER OF B'NEI B'RITH has taken upon itself the mission of uniting Israelites in the work of promoting their highest interests and those of humanity ; of developing, elevating and defending the mental and moral character of our race, of inculcating the purest principles of philanthropy, honour and patriotism ; of supporting science and art ; alleviating the wants of the poor and needy ; visiting and attending the sick ; coming to the rescue of victims of perse- cution ; providing for, protecting and assisting the widow and orphan on the broadest principles of humanity." Stack Annex DO Private and Confidential DIIAFT CONSTITUTION OF THE LONDON LODGE I O. IB. IB. Name and Objects. 'L+wA- Xd/r? 1. The name of the Lodge shall be " THE LONDON LODGE OF THE INDEPENDENT ORDER OF B'NEI B'RITH." 2. The objects of the Lodge shall be to work in conjunction with the Lodges of the I.O. B.B. throughout the world, or with ther bodies, or independently, for the purpose of developing and elevating the moral and material condition of people of the Jewish faith by (a) promoting Jewish philanthropic work ; (b) assisting the victims of persecution ; (c) furthering the cause of Jewish learning ; (d) encouraging the cultivation of Science and Art among Jews ; (e) providing opportunities for the discussion of matters affecting general Jewish interests ; and (/) generally carrying out the objects of the Order as set forth in the Preamble to the Constitution. 3. The Lodge shall adopt the general Eitual of the Order, and shall have a Common Seal. Qualification for Membership. 4. The Lodge shall consist of Jews resident in the United Kingdom who have manifested some practical public interest in any of the objects specified in paragraph 2 ; or who have otherwise rendered com- munal service ; or are likely to be able to promote the special work of the Order. Election of Members. 5. (a) The Election of Members shall be vested in the general body, but no person shall be put for- ward for election unless he has first been proposed by two members of the Lodge (one of whom must be a member of the Council) and the nomination shall have been approved by a majority present at some meeting of the Council. (b) Each nomination shall be accompanied by letters from the proposers, stating the grounds on which the candidate is recommended for election. (c) No candidate shall be deemed elected by the Lodge unless he obtains five-sixths of the votes of the members present. (d) On the election of a member, notice of his election shall be sent to him by the Hon. Secretary, together with a copy of the rules and a request for the payment of his entrance fee (if any) and annual subscription ; and if the same be not paid within one calendar month, the election of such person shall be void unless he satisfies the Council that there is reasonable excuse for the delay. Admission to the Order. 6. (a) At the first General Meeting of the Lodge, after election of a member, he shall attend the formal admission or initiation as a Brother of the Order. (b) A Certificate of Membership, signed by the President and Hon. Secretary and sealed with the Seal of the Lodge, shall be delivered to each Brother on his admission. The Certificate of Membership shall serve to admit the Brother as a visitor to any Lodge of the Order, so long as he remains a member of this Lodge. (c) Every Brother shall be expected to attend at least three meetings of the Lodge next following his initiation, for the purpose of making him- self acquainted with its work. (d) Every Brother may, subject to any regulations to be laid down by the Council, introduce friends who are members of the Order as visitors to the Lodge. Honorary Members. 7. The Members in General Meeting shall have the power, on the nomination of the Council, to elect by a unanimous vote as honorary members any Brothers of the Order, whether resident in the United Kingdom or not, who have rendered eminent services to the Jewish cause. Subscriptions and Entrance Fees. 8. (a) The annual subscription shall be One Guinea, payable on the first of January in each year. (b) After the inauguration of the Lodge, an en- trance fee of one guinea may be imposed by the Council, who may also vary the amount from time to time, subject to the approval of the members in general meeting. (c) The Council shall have power in special circum- stances to remit the payment of any subscrip- tion or entrance fee. (d) Any member of not less than five years' stand- ing may become a Life Member on payment of Ten Guineas, and shall then not be required to pay any further subscription. (e) Members of twenty years' standing shall be Life Members, and shall not be required to pay any further subscriptions. (/) Members in arrear with their subscriptions for more than one year may be struck off the roll of membership by resolution of the Council. Resignation and Expulsion of Members. 9. (a) When any member sends in his resignation, the same shall be submitted to and accepted by the Council, provided the Treasurer reports that he has paid all his dues and fulfilled all his obliga- tions to the Lodge. (6) A certificate of acceptance of resignation shall be issued to every retiring member requiring the same, provided he has fulfilled the requirements of the Council as set forth in the Constitution and Bye-laws, and has returned his Certificate of Membership, together with any official documents held by him. 10. (a) Any member whose conduct is considered dis- creditable to the Lodge may, on the recom- mendation of the Council, be expelled by a vote of the Lodge, by a majority of three-fourths of the members attending the meeting at which such expulsion shall be proposed, provided always that 14 days' notice of the intended motion for expulsion shall have first been sent to the member concerned. 6 (&) Any member who has been expelled shall not afterwards be admissible to any meeting of the Lodge, as a visitor or otherwise, and he shall have no rights or claims against the Lodge. Members' Meetings. 11. (a) An ordinary meeting of members shall be held once in each month (except in the months of August, September and October), but additional ordinary meetings may be convened by the Council to be held at any time. (b) A special meeting may be called : (i.) By resolution of the Lodge, (ii.) In case of emergency, by the President. (iii.) At the written request of ten members delivered to the President, such requisi- tion to state the object for which the meeting is desired. The President shall call such meeting within five days after receiving the requisition. (c) At a special meeting, only such business shall be transacted as appears on the notice summoning the meeting. (d) At all ordinary meetings, ten members shall form a quorum, and at special meetings, twenty members. (e) An Annual General Meeting of the members shall be held in the month of January in each year. A report with the balance sheet and statement of accounts for the year shall be pre- pared and distributed among the members ten days at least before the meeting. 12. Every member shall regard all proceedings of the Lodge as confidential, and shall not communicate the same, directly or indirectly, to any person not a member of the Order. Officers. 13. The Lodge shall have the following honorary officers : 1. A President, 2. A Vice-President, 3. A Treasurer, 4. A General Secretary, and 5. A Secretary for Foreign Correspondence, (all of whom shall be elected by the mem- bers.) 6. A Warden, and 7. A Guardian (who shall be appointed by the President for the time being) ; and 8. A Monitor, who shall be the immediate Past President of the Lodge. 14. (a) All offices shall be held for a term of one year only, from the meeting at which election is made until the next Annual Meeting, and no member shall be re-elected to any office unless three years have elapsed since his previous election. (b) Vacancies in any office occurring between An- nual Meetings shall be filled up by the Council. 15. The Council shall have power to appoint a per- manent paid Secretary, who shall be a member of the Order. Election of Officers. 16. (a) At least four weeks before the first of January in each year, the Hon. Secretary shall invite nominations for the vacant offices, enclosing a. list of members eligible. (b) Every candidate for office shall be proposed and seconded, and a list of the proposed candidates shall be issued by the Hon. Secretary to the members a week before the election. (c) The election shall take place at the Annual Meeting and voting shall be by ballot. Duties of Officers. 17. (a) Every officer must attend at the opening of the Lodge Meeting. Any officer absent on more than three successive occasions at meetings of the Lodge or the Council, without satisfactory explanation, shall be deemed ipso facto to have vacated his office. (b) Every officer shall continue to perform the duties of his office until his successor has been installed. 18. (a) THE PEESIDENT shall preside at all meetings of the Lodge. (b) He shall be an ex-officio member of all sub- committees. (c) He may vote on all questions where the voting is taken by ballot, but not where the voting is by a show of hands. In case of equality of voting, he shall always have the casting vote. (d) He shall deal promptly with all questions raised in the (complaint and suggestion book) to be provided by the Council for the use of members. 19. (a) THE VICE-PRESIDENT shall in the absence of the President take his place at all meetings, with the same rights as to voting and otherwise. (b) He shall, at least once in every six months, preside at a meeting of the Lodge, the occasions to be appointed by the President, 20. (a) THE TREASURER shall collect from members all subscriptions, entrance fees (if any) and dona- tions, and he shall be the custodian of all moneys belonging to the Lodge. (6) He shall pay all moneys into an account which shall be opened at a Bank approved by the Council, in the name of the Lodge, and he shall also place all securities of the Lodge at the said Bank. (c) He shall keep an account of all receipts and expenditure, and once a year at the Annual Meeting he shall present to the Council for submission to the members an income and expenditure account and a balance sheet. (d) In the absence of the Treasurer, the Vice- President (or in his absence the Monitor) shall perform the duties of the Treasurer's office. 21. THE GENERAL SECRETARY shall have in his custody the Seal of the Lodge. He shall keep accurate minutes of the proceedings of all meetings of the Council and of members, and shall bring all reports and notices before the Lodge, He shall, after con- sultation with the President, attend to all necessary correspondence, and shall hand over to the Treasurer all documents affecting finance. 22. THE SECRETARY FOR FOREIGN CORRESPONDENCE shall deal with all foreign correspondence in consul- tation with the President, and shall lay reports thereon before the Lodge. 23. The duties of the other officers of the Lodge shall be those prescribed by the Constitution of the Order. The Council. 24. (a) THE COUNCIL shall consist of all the honorary officers of the Lodge, ex officio, together with five ordinary members of the Lodge who shall be nominated and elected in the same manner as the Hon. Officers. 10 (b) The five elected members of the Council shall be eligible for re-election for one succeeding year only. (c) At any meeting of the Council five shall form a quorum. (d) The Council shall have power at any time to appoint sub-Committees consisting of members of the Order for any special purpose. (e) The Council may make, and from time to time alter, such regulations and bye-laws consistent with the Constitution as they shall think necessary for the conduct of the ordinary current business of the Lodge. Funds. 25. (a) The Lodge shall have, in addition to any funds for special purposes : (i) A GENEKAL FUND. (ii; A RESERVE FUND. (b) The receipts of the Lodge shall be appropriated as follows : One-half of the entrance fees and three-fourths of the subscriptions to the General fund ; and the balance of such entrance fees and subscriptions respectively to the Reserve fund, which, together with any surplus from the General fund, shall be available, on the recom- mendation of the Council, for the general public purposes of the Order. (c) Private collections among members, as members of the Order, shall, under no circumstances, be permitted. Notices. 26. All notices sent by post to the address of the mem- ber last furnished by him to theGeneral Secretary shall be deemed to have been duly delivered. 11 Change in Rules. 27. (a) Any change in the Constitution shall only be made after being submitted to a special meeting on the written requisition of at least ten mem- bers of the Lodge. (b) Notice of such requisition, stating the nature of the proposed alteration, shall be given by the Hon. Secretary to every member at least a fort- night beforehand, and the general question shall first be submitted to the Meeting, and if approved by at least two-thirds of those present, shall be submitted to the next general meeting for detailed consideration. (c) The Notice for such second meeting shall contain the terms of the proposed alteration, which shall then be adopted only if approved by a majority of three-fourths of those present at that meeting. DN1V. OF CALIF. LIBRARY. LOS ANGELES