Festival Of The Boys' School.

FESTIVAL OF THE BOYS' SCHOOL .

THE Seventy . Eighth Anniversary Festival of this Institution was held on Wednesday last , at the Alexandra Palace , Wood Green , and wns very numerously attended , a fair proportion of thoso present being ladies . The Right Hon . Lord Leigh , R . W . Provincial Grand Master for Warwickshire occupied the chair . After Grace , the toasts were proceeded with . Lord Leigh in proposing that of

Her Majesty tho Queen , Patron of tho Institution , said he was sure no words were necessary to call forth a hearty response to this toast . Her Majesty had reigned over us for 39 years , and this was the anniversary of her coronation day . He asked thorn to drink to her not only as Queen of England , but also as the Patron of this Institution . He was pleased to see so many ladies present , and hoped they would

join in drinking the health of the best sovereign that ever ruled over us ; may she long live in the regard of her subjects ! After the National Anthem , the Chairman proposed H . R . H . the Prince of Wales , President of the Institution , and hoped he would long continue as our Grand Master . We must rejoice at the success of his Indian tour , and his safe return therefrom ; it has done a great deal to secure the good

feeling that exists with our Indian Princes . The Right Hon . the Earl of Carnarvon Pro G . M ., Lord Skelmersdale D . G . M ., and the Grand Officers , was the next toast . Lord Leigh said , that with an experience of 25 years , he had never attended so successful a meeting as the present one ; we must acknowledge that success is due to the heads of the Order . Never has Freemasonry stood higher than it

does at present . The Prov . G . M . for Middlesex is a brother esteemed throughout the country , and ho hoped that so important a province as the one over whioh he presides would long have such a Mason at its head . Colonel Burdett in replying said , it was with extreme pleasure he returned thanks for the toast of the Grand Officers , which had just been so heartily received . We all consider our officers

a credit , and never have we had more effioient ones than at present . He might dilate at considerable length , but thought all were acquainted with their merits . It gave him the greatest pleasure to propose a toast which he was sure would be acceptable to all . It was not the first time the present chairman had filled the position he now occupied . The province of Warwickshire holds up its head in a most

wonderful manner , and has always supported our Institutions nobly . He expressed his pleasure at seeing such a meeting of ladies as well as brethren , and gave the health of the noble Chairman . Lord Leigh in reply said , he felt most sincerely and gratefully the compliment paid him , and thanked Bro . Burdett for the flattering way in which he proposed the toast ; he considered it a great honour and a pleasure

to preside at the 78 th Festival of the Institution ; he felt satisfied that the ladies who were present felt a great interest in the School , and he thought he might address them as sisters . He then proposed , Prosperity to the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys , and pointed out the progress the Institution had made . 78 years ago , he said , there were 6 boys , and now we have 186 ; upwards of 1 , 300 boys have

been educated , clothed and maintained from the subscriptions of the Craft . They were not now placed out in various schools as formerly , but were accomodated in a building which was the freehold of the Freemasons . The debt on the building had been paid off , and lately a detached house bad been bought , to serve as an hospital . He then referred to the position the boys held after leaving the school , and

also at the examinations , and remarked that he was pleased to say a Warwickshire boy stood first at the local Cambridge Examination : great credit was due to the masters . He had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of the head master , Dr . Morris , and he considered him the right man in the right place . He had wished to seo for himself whether the charge of extravagance was well founded , and

had visited the Institution in company with Bro . Machin , the D . Prov . G . M . for Warwickshire , and he considered that the charge could not be sustained . In 1875 he said the cost per head was about £ 40 , and in 1874 about £ 43 , and it was clearly proved that a saving had been effected . He believed the Institution worthy of support , and considered it one of the best schools in the kingdom , and one

whioh the Freemasons ought to be proud of . He was delighted to find so long a list of Stewards . We all ought to feel indebted to those Stewards , and especially to Sir Henry Edwards , who acted as President of tho Stewards . He thanked those Stewards who came up from his own province , and hoped the Institution would continue to flourish . It has no funded property , and has to depend very much on

thefsubscriptions of Grand Lodge and members of the Craft , and if we continue to educate only 186 boys , as at present , the expense will bo £ 7 , 000 per annum , but we ought to increase that number to 200 . He would like to see some scholarships formed , to send our boys to Oxford and Cambridge , where he was sure they would be a credit to the school . Before concluding he wished to allude to an article which

appeared in a Masonio publication last February , which analysed the subscriptions received at the Festival of the Benevolent Institution . Allusion was made to the support accorded Lord Skelmersdale , who presided , by his province . So far he endorsed the remarks , but when a comparison was made between the amount subscribed by West Lancashire and that of the other provinces and London he

considered it unfair , especially with reference to the province over which he had so long presided , and which included , as stated in the article , the wealthy and important town of Birmingham . He felt sure that at the time the article was written the writer could not have known that the province had upwards of 80 stewards at work for the Boys' School , and that it was really impossible that the same province could support two of the Charities the same year , and in

addition 14 or 15 years ago tho Craft of Warwickshire came forward nobly to support this Institution , when the noble Lord also presided for two consecutive years , the province sent up large amounts to support the three institutions successively . He concluded by sayinw he did not consider that comparisons ought to be drawn between subscriptions raised in one province over another . As a matter of course the Masons of the province to which the chairman of the Festival belonged would do all they could to support him . He hoped they

Festival Of The Boys' School.

would soon hear that Warwickshire had subscribed a tolerable 3 nm to the charity this year , but would it be fair to compare it with any other province when they had their own P . G . M . to preside ? he was sure Warwickshire would support him that evening , and ho know they felt great pleasure in so doing . Ho hoped the remarks , which he considered somewhat personal to himself and

his province , would be exoused ; but he could not refrain from expressing his opinion on account of the kindness ho had received from the brethren in his province specially . He then gave the toast , and coupled with it the name of Bro . George Plnnkett , tho Treasurer of the Institution . Bro . Plunkett , in responding , said he had to thank the brethren for their liberal support hitherto , and ho

did not expect the subscriptions of the evening would be at all behind any of former years ; he considered the Institution owed much to tho Stewards , to his Lordship for presiding , and to their Secretary , who , he was certain , would begin to-morrow morning to provide for their next Festival . Bro . Binckes on rising stated that he had 280 Stewards . The first Festival after he was appointed Secretary was presided over by

Lord Leigh , and now , after a lapse of 18 years , he had the pleasure to see the noble Lord again at their head . He thanked him , and remarked that the best answer to newspaper articles would be the result he was about to announce ( the list of subscriptions whioh were announced as £ 12 , 100 odd , with 20 lists to come in , included £ 2 , 000 from the province of Warwickshire . ) The toast of tho Vice Patrons , & c . was

proposed by ROT . Bro . W . Bedford , and was responded to by Bro . Raynham Stewart . The Chairman proposed success to the sister Institutions . He hoped that Masons would give their support to the three Institutions so long as the world existed . Bro . J . Terry thanked the brethren for tho way tho toast was received , and also on behalf of the Institutions for the very handsome support received . We must congratulate ,

he said , the Chairman and Secretary , and all concerned , at being enabled to announce an amount nearly equal to that of last year . Tho sums raised for the three Institutions this year had amounted to £ 32 , 000 , and they hoped , with the assistance of tho brethren , to realise a sum far in advance of that for next year . " The Stewards" was proposed by Col . Burdett , and " The Ladies" by

the Rev . Bro . Randall , after whioh the company adjourned to the concert room . The number who sat down to the banquet was 535 . The musical arrangements were under the direction of Bro . Chaplin Henry , who had secured the services of Madame Thaddeus Wells , Miss Bessie Stroud , Mdlle Luigia Gardona , and Miss Marion Severn ; Masters Pitt . Pounds , Matthews , Mantle , Powell and Rorke ; Bros . Wilford Morgan , J . Large , Frank Elmore and R . Farquharson ; solo

clarionet Bro . H . Lazarus ; Bro . Fountain Meen very ably presided at the piano . The new Masonic song , " The Princo and the Craft , " was sung after the toast of the Grand Master , and was very well received , Bro . Frank Elmore rendering ib most creditably . Tho programme generally gave very great satisfaction , and Bro . Chaplin Henry is fully entitled to the thanks of all present for a highly successful result .

We append the List of Patrons and Stewards , with the several amounts collected or subscribed . Whero no amount is inserted tho list had not been receivod up to the time of our going to press .

PRESIDENT . R . W . Bro . Col . Sir Henry Edwards , Bart ., Dep . Lieut ., Prov . Grand Master of West Yorkshire . VICE-PRESIDENT . Y . W . Rev . Bro . W . X . Riland Bedford , P . G . C , P . M . 794 , P . P . G . C . Warwickshire , & c .

ACTING VICE-PRESIDENT . W . Bro . S . Rosenthal P . M . 435 , P . P . G . W . Middlesex , & c . HONORARY VICE-PRESIDENTS . Vice-Patrons and Vice-PreBidents of the Institution ; Present and Past Grand Officers ; Present and Past Grand Stewards ; Present and Past Provincial Grand Officers .

HON . TREASURER . W . Bro . Frederick Adlard , P . M . 7 , D . C . 167 , P . P . G . D . C . Essex , Ac . LONDON . Amount Name of Lodgo . No , Patron or Steward . £ s A Grand Stewards' . Bristow , William , P . G . Std ., P . M 15 15 0 Grand Masters' . 1 Gooding , Ralph , M . D ..

B . A ., F . L . S ., J . W . . 63 0 0 Antiquity . 2 Deacon , E . Parker , J . D . . 61 14 0 Fidelity ... 3 Perryman , Wm . Hy ., S . W . 47 17 6 Royal Somerset Houso 4 Mackintosh , H . R ., J . W . . 26 5 0 and Inverness St . George and Corner 5 Diaper , Alfred H . P . G . Std ., Stone W . M . . . . 42 0 0 Friendship . . 6 Prescott , Sir Geo . R ., Bart . 21 0 0 Royal York of Perse- 7 Adlard , Frederick , P . M . . 55 2 6 verance British ... 8 Geiger , John Lewis , S . W .. 14 14 0 Albion ... 9 Kimber , Edward , W . M ., P . M . 1415 . . . 28 7 0

Westminster and Key . 10 Le Strange , Hamon , W . M . 32 11 0 stone Enoch ... 11 Taylor , Edward , C , W . M . 115 10 0 Fortitude and Old 12 Clever , Joseph , P . M .. . 51 9 0 Cumberland Union Waterloo . . 13 Applebee , W . Pendred , P . M . 23 2 0 Tuscan . . . 14 Nash , Edmund , M . D ., G . Steward , S . W . . Old Dundee . . 18 Burt , John Mowlem , S . W . 38 17 0