Province Of Devon Masonic Educational Fund.

made to a similar Institution in Cheshire , and it was noted that this had been iu existence for fifteen years , and already had some £ 4 , 000 money to the good , advantageously invested , and yielding good interest . Cheshire , we must point out , has only thirty-seven Lodges in existence

now , and , when its fund was started in 18 G 3 , it had onl y twenty-seven , or it may be twenty-six . Devon , on the other hand , has the advantage of starting with a roll of forty-seven Lodges , or twent y more than its sister Province in the North . There is thus a far wider field for the

Fund to work upon , and once set going there is little doubt whatever that it should be in a position to afford immediate relief to those requiring its assistance , and lay by a handsome store for the morrow , and this not in the first year only , but year by year , so that in less time than

it has taken Cheshire to accumulate £ 4 , 000 , Devon should be able to accumulate nearly twice as much—the liberality of the brethren in the two Provinces being equal . x \ ud all this time , Devon , like Cheshire , will still havo a wide margin left for helping the Central Charities . However ,

that our Devonian friends may be able to judge for themselves of the full advantages of such a Fund , we append particulars of the Cheshire Institution beyond what were given at the meeting last week , the particulars being derived from tho Fifteenth Report published last spring . The

year opened with a balance brought forward of £ 47 G Gs , and the recei pts from all sources , to the amount of £ 499 lis 9 d , raised the total charge to £ 975 17 s 9 d . The expenditure on all accounts reached £ 511 17 s Id , and there remained a balance in Bank and Treasurer ' s hands

of £ 464 0 s 8 d to the credit of the Institution . Examining these fignrcs more in detail , we find the P . G . Master and his lady leading the way with £ 5 and £ 2 respectively ( the amounts of their annual subscri ptions ) followed by the Grand Registrar , AVIIO was also the Senior Grand Warden

of the Province for that year , with a donation of Twent y Guineas , so constituting himself a Vice-President , and £ 25 15 s the proceeds of sundry amateur performances and Masonic balls . The fees from Lodges and Chapters and the Donations and Subscriptions of Lodges , Chapters ,

and Brethren amount to £ 328 lis Gd , and the interest on Investments to £ 117 5 s 3 d . The expenditure of £ 511 17 s Id is thus made up : in tbe purchase of bonds , & c ., £ 355 5 s ; in the education of sixteen children £ 97 5 s 5 d , and the advancement of five children £ 24 9 s 7 d , or

together £ 121 15 s ; expenses of management , printing reports , circulars , Ac , & c , expenses of audit , stationery , postage , incidentals , £ 34 17 s Id . At the close of the account the Institution was possessed of moneys invested , awaiting investment , and in Treasurer ' s hands

together amounting to £ 3 , 202 2 s Gd . As showing with what rapidity the invested Funds of this Institution have gone on accumulating , we may mention that in the four years to 1877 inclusive the investments average but very little short of £ 300 per annum , the actual amount for the

four years being £ 1 , 194 2 s lOd—a highly satisfactory state of things , which we trust will be realised in Devonshire some short time hence . A word or two as to the qualifications of Governors and Candidates . An annual Governor subscribes five shillings and receives one vote . A

Life Governor gives five guineas or upwards in the course of twelve months and receives a vote for each guinea subscribed . Twenty guineas in one or more payments within two years constitutes the donor a Vice-President . A similar donation in three years by a Lodge or Chapter

gives twenty votes per annum during existence . A subscribing Lodge or Chapter is on the same footing as an individual . As to candidates , the father must have been a subscribing member for three years , and the child must be between seven and fifteen years of age—except where

both parents are dead , when the inferior limit is six years —to be admitted to the benefits of education , nor can it continue a recipient thereof after sixteen years , while the limits of age for admission to the benefits of advancement are twelve and eighteen years .

We had intended closing our remarks with these details of the Cheshire Institution , but having chanced to li ght on a report for the year 18 GG of the West Lancashire Institution founded in 1850 , we have thought it would be a further encouragement to our brethern in Devon to pursue

the work they resolved upon so courageously Inst week if we cited a few particulars from this report , especially as at the time it was made the West Lancashire Institution was only a year older than that of Cheshire at the period of the report from which we have been quoting . Well , at

Province Of Devon Masonic Educational Fund.

the close of 18 GG , when it had completed an existence of sixteen years the invested funds of this West Lancashire Masonic Educational Institute amouuted to £ 5 , 374 Us 3 d . Its total income from all sources including a balance brought forward on 1 st January of £ 454

amounted to £ 1 , 182 19 s 8 d , and its expenditure on all accounts to £ 793 15 s lid , leaving a balance in hand of £ 389 3 s 9 d . The recei pts were thus composed : Proceeds of Masonic Ball , £ 88 3 s . Interrst on In vestments and Bank Interest less Commission , together £ 234 19 s 2 d .

Fees from Lodges , Donations from Lodges and Chapters , and Members' Subscriptions nnd Donations £ 405 17 s Gd . The disbursements were for education of 30 children £ 267 5 s lid , iu purchase of a bond £ 500 ; printing , stationery , postages , & c , £ 26 10 s . Be it remembered that in 1 S 50 . when

the Institution was founded , but eighteen of the Lodges now ou the roll of the Province were iu existence , while in 1866 , the year of this Report , there were forty . Devonshire , of course , cannot hope < o rival West Lancashire , which now has eighty Lodges on its roll , or double what it

had in 1866—Liverpool alone being able to boast of thirt ytwo—but there is no reason why it should not be relatively as successful , and we sincerely hope it will . It should be added that the qualifications and privileges of Governors are almost the same as Ave have stated in the case of

Cheshire , a Vice-President's donation having to be made in one year instead of two . The qualifications for candidates for admission to Educational Fund were three years' subscription to a Lodge in the Province on the part of the father ; limits of age , eight and thirteen—whore both parents dead , seven

the inferior limit—and not to remain over fourteen ; for the Advancement Fund , no one admitted under twelve or over twenty-one , and none to continue receiving the benefits of the fund after attaining the latter age . With energy , perseverance , and economy , we shall find Devon equally well circumstanced , having due regard to its relative strength .

The Freemasons' Life Boat.

THE FREEMASONS' LIFE BOAT .

SERVICES OF THE " ALBERT EDWARD . " npHE Freemasons' Life-boat , the "Albert Edward , " X belonging to the National Life-boat Institution , « in l stationed at Clacton-on-Sea , was instrumental on the 2-1 th ult . in rendering most important service to a shipwrecked crew of 14 men . Signals of distress were seen from the

vessel in question about seven o ' clock in the morning , at which time the wind was blowing very strong from the east , accompanied by a heavy sea . The Life-boat promptly responded to the signals , and on reaching the Swin Middle Sands , she found a large barque ashore there

She proved to be the " Hebe " bound for London , with a cargo of timber . The sea was furiously breaking over the unfortunate ship , humping her on the sandbank , and threatening every instant to destroy her . The crew were

huddled together on the port quarter . They had previously lost four boats , and a steamer had tried to save them , but found it impossible to do so , and now they eagerly watched the efforts of their brave rescuers . The Lifeboat had no easy task before it . Three times it

was filled with water . Six times the plucky crew strove to get near the wreck and failed . Again they tried , and eleven lives rewarded their perseverance . Then the " Hebe " shifted , and the heavy sea and wreckage made it too dangerous to lie by her ; but after much anxious labour

and one or two narrow escapes , the rest , of the crow ( which numbered fourteen in all ) were _ hauled into the boat by means of life lines . A great number of people heartily welcomed the Life-boat and freight when returned . The f-hip-wreeked Norwegian sailors presented a pitiable

sig ht on landing . Several were unable to walk , from cold und cramp—among them the captain , a man advanced in years , who had to jump overboard with a life line , and in doing so struck heavily against a floating spar . In a room kindly opened to tlum by the spirited proprietor

of the Royal Hotel , the poor fellows received the utmost attention from Dr . Miin aud many other gentlemen , who aie always ready and foremost in rendering help in Ruch matters . . After the Life-boat took in the crew , its cable had to be slipped in order to save it and

its crew . Too much cannot be . ' -aid in praise of this noble and successful effort to save life , under the most trying