The Benevolent Festival.

THE BENEVOLENT FESTIVAL .

IT is a source of gratification to us , as it must be to Brethren in all parts of the country , that ^ the first Anniversary Festival of the year , held on Wednesday on behalf of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution for Aged Freemasons and Widows of Freemasons , should call for the

heartiest congratulation in so far as its financial result is concerned , a total of £ 14 , 113 6 s being announced as the contributions received through the exertions of 323 Stewards , with eleven lists yet to come in .

This total is about £ 1 , 500 in excess of what was announced at the corresponding Festival of last year , which , it will be remembered , was held under the presidency of the recently deceased Bro . Col . Gerard Noel Money , who on

that occasion was heartily supported by his Province of Surrey , in which he was so deservedly popular ; but the enthusiasm of Somerset on behalf of its chief—Viscount Dungarvan , who presided on Wednesday—has produced even better results ,

although Somerset can only boast twenty-six Lodges , as compared with the forty of Surrey , for while Col . Money was last year able to point to £ 1 , 385 7 s as contributed by his followers , Lord Dungarvan was supported by Somersetshire

Masons this year to the extent of £ 1 , 654 6 s , a splendid total to record from this Province , which , as the Chairman said , is rather an agricultural district than a busy manufacturing centre .

No doubt the enthusiasm displayed by Somerset and the chief of Freemasonry in that county has had a marked effect on this year ' s total , but by far the greatest improvement as compared with last year ' s figures is to be found in the

London district , the return from which was £ 1 , 800 higher than in 1894 , and affords the very best possible proof of the activity displayed by Brother Terry as Secretary of the Institution , for as one \ distinguished Brother pointed out to

us on Wednesday , the success of 1895 was essentially a London one , the Provincial total being actually below that of last year , although the falling off -was less than £ 350 ; and

we think it is generally recognised that the London Lodges are essentially the " happy hunting ground" of the Secretaries , and the source from which exceptional efforts are most likely to lead to special results .

But we must not attempt to make out a good case for London at the expense of the Provinces , or vice versa , for both have done exceedingly well on behalf of the first Festival of 1895 , and if one section has not quite matched its efforts

of last year the other has nobly come to the rescue , made U P the deficiency , and put the grand total nearly fifteen hundred pounds above its predecessor . This result not only relieves the executive of anxiety in regard to its older Annuities ,

but would seem to amply warrant the recent addition to the roll of Male pensions and , let us hope , will provide the first instalment towards a justification for a yet greater extension at an early date .

The Benevolent Festival.

The Board of Stewards of Wednesday ' s celebration numbered , as we have already said , 323 , of whom 171 were accredited to London , and brought up £ 7 , 220 6 s , and 152 represented Provincial and outlying Districts , collecting among them £ 6 , 893 .

In another part of this issue we give fuller details of the different lists , which presented the usual marked variety , but may here mention that the Somerset total included a personal contribution of nearly 300 guineas fram the

Chairman of the day Lord Dungarvan ; the total of his Province being followed by that of Suffolk , which sent £ 654 16 s . Hertfordshire occupied third place in the roll of honour—the subscriptions therefrom including a personal donation of two

hundred guineas from Bro . Keyser , the chairman of 1893 , who then contributed five hundred guineas , a like sum to which he gave in 1892 , while his last year ' s contribution was

two hundred guineas , the same as this year ' s—the 1895 total from the Province was £ 450 ; and was followed by West Yorkshire , £ 441 ; Berkshire , £ 440 7 s ; Durham , Essex , Sussex , and others in turn .

A feature of the London List was the support accorded by Bro . Cannon , who enrolled his seven sons and five daughters as Stewards , and contributed a total from his family of upwards of £ 130 , and that after acting in a similarly generous

manner in June last , on behalf of the Boys School . The highest Metropolitan list was that of Bro . J . O'Dea Worshipful Master of the Perfect Ashlar Lodge , No . 1178 , whose total was £ 190 . Then came £ 183 15 s at the hands of Bro .

W . H . Burney W . M . of the Borough of Greenwich Lodge , No . 2332 ; £ 179 from Bro . James Terry the Secretary of the Institution as an unattached Steward ; £ 173 5 s from Bro . A . S . Hatchett-Jones W . M . of the Second Middlesex Artillery

Lodge , No . 2484 ; followed by the various smaller lists from London Brethren , which if not specially mentioned here were none the less welcome , and served to swell the general

total ; in fact it may be said that the small contributions supplied the respectable foundation , the few larger ones being fche ones that caused the " swelling . " Taken as a whole the Festival of 1895 on behalf of our

Old People ' s Fund can be regarded as a grand success . We are heartily pleased at the result , and while congratulating the Chairman , the Stewards , the Secretary , and all who took

part in it on the outcome , we cordially re-echo the desire expressed more than once at the Festival that the future may witness equally satisfactory announcements on behalf of this and the companion Institutions .

The Management Of The Craft.

THE MANAGEMENT OF THE CRAFT .

AN important suggestion is to be brought before Grand Lodge at the Quarterly Communication on Wednesday next , none other than a proposal to abolish the Colonial Board as a separate body , the Board of General Purposes submitting the matter for the consideration of Grand Lodge as " a subject of great