Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Approaching Festival Of The Masonic Institution For Boys.
THE APPROACHING FESTIVAL OF THE MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR BOYS .
THE time is now fast approaching -when tho third and last of the Anniversary Festivals of onr Charitable Institutions will be held . Those of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution and Royal Masonic Institution for Girls have already taken place , the former in "February ,
when Sir Henry Edwards , Bart ., P . G . M . West Yorkshire , occupied the chair , and a ' total of subscriptions amounting to £ 14 , 370 was realised ; the latter , on the 18 th May , under the presidency of Sir M . E . Hicks-Beach , Bart ., M . P ., the newly-elected Prov . G . Master of Gloucestershire , when the handsome total of but a little short of
£ 11 , 500 was contributed . The eighty-third Festival of the Royal Institution for Boys will be celebrated on Wednesday , the 29 th instant , at the Royal Pavilion , Brighton , when the chair will be taken by the most noble the Marquis of Londonderry , K . T ., the newly-appointed Prov . Grand
Master of Durham . The Board of Stewards , which already numbers some 230 brethren , includes Sir H . Edwards , Bart ., P . G . M . West Yorkshire , as President ; Bros . Rev . 0 . J . Martyn P . G . Chaplain D . P . G . Master Suffolk , George Lambert G . P . B ., and A . Dnff-Filer
P . G . S . B . as Vice Presidents , W . Roebuck G . S . Hon . Treasurer , and Bro . F . Binckes P . G . S . and Secretary of the Institution as Honorary Secretary . There is then every reason to anticipate that under such influential auspices , and with such a strong array of Stewards , which will
doubtless be very much more strong by the day appointed , the Festival of the Boys' School will be in every respect worthy of taking its place among the greatest of the many successes achieved of late years by our worthy and Wor . Bro . Binckes . He it was , it must be remembered , who
had the satisfaction of being first able to announce a total list of subscriptions and donations in excess of £ 10 . 000 . It was he who , at bis last year ' s Festival , was in a position to announce a sum of £ 14 , 000 , as the result of the combined efforts of the Chairman ( the Earl of Lathom ) , the
Board of Stewards , and himself ; and though by many it may be regarded as somewhat of a misfortune to come last in order of the Festivals , still Bro . Binckes has so often shown
ns that the last in order is very far from being the least productive , that we do not hesitate to repeat those anticipations of great success on the present occasion which we have alread y formulated .
There are special circumstances about the Boys' Festival for the present which justify our drawing attention to it somewhat earlier than usual , and there are special reasons wh y we shonld go a little out of our way , perhaps , to commend it to the notice of the Craft generally . Let us note these latter first . The School , as our readers are well
aware , has been very largely increased in numbers within the last few years . There are 215 pupils now , when , till very recentl y , there were but from 150 to 160 ; yet , in s P lfe of these additions to the numerical strength ' of the establishment the number of candidates who present
, , •-7 ...... V u U Lll \ J \ JL V / l WllIU < Ult ( , lH _» C » ¥ » II IJ LSI \ til / Al 1 ' emselves and are approved is always verv largely in excess of the vacancies . To take the last election in April tor Purposes of illustration . There were seventy-two candidates for twenty vacancies , and after deducting ' those
successful boys whose names have been removed from ie nst on the score of their being over age , there still rema no ] egs t | ] fln forty . peveil ^^ {\\ | , ave ari opportunit y of competing again in October next ; in fact , we may venture on reckoning that there will be an even
The Approaching Festival Of The Masonic Institution For Boys.
greater difference in the ratio of candidates to appointments from what there was in tho spring . In the case of the Girls' School this proportion of candidates to vacancies is far less unequal . There were in April last twentytight candidates for fifteen vacancies , and there remain
over for further trial or trials eleven girls who are still eligible in respect of age . No doubt this is owing to the still more recent purchase of Lyncombe House , and the additional twenty-five pupils it was found possible , in consequence , to receive into the Institution . Yet , whatever
may be the explanation that is forthcoming , there remains the fact that the number of candidates eligible for election into the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys is forty-seven ; that the total number approved will be about seventy ; and that the vacancies for which they will compete will be only
some eig ht or nine in number . This is a reason which , while by itself it is sufficient to fully justify a special and early appeal to the Masonic public , is also one which makes it imperative there should be a hearty and liberal response to the energetic appeals of the Stewards .
A further and equally pleasing reason why we should press the claims of Our Boys on the notice of the Craft will be found in the fact that while the Benevolent Institution has a total of invested moneys amounting to over £ 60 , 000 , and the Girls' School some £ 45 , 000 in Government Stock ,
the Boys' School can only boast of investments amounting to £ 15 , 000 , of which one-third or £ 5 , 000 was purchased as the result of last year ' s Festival . Thus against a rainy day , the Boys' School is about one-third as well off as the Girls ' , and one-fourth as well off as the Benevolent , while the
lastmentioned enjoys the inestimable advantage over both its sister Institutions of receiving from Grand Lodge and Grand Chapter together no less than £ 950 as against a little over £ 160 subscribed by those two Grand Bodies to each of the Schools . From this it follows that the Benevolent has a
permanent income of over £ 3 , 670 , the Girls' about ( say ) £ 1 , 500 , and the Boys' about £ 750—a very startling disproportion as between the Schools , especially considering the number of pupils in the two is so nearly equal ^ while the expense per head on education and maintenance is greater
in the case of the Boys than in that of the Girls . The Benevolent in a measure stands by itself , as it is under an obligation to find £ 11 , 600 a year in annuities alone , to say
nothing of the expenses of management , which cannot be less than £ 2000 . It is hardly possible under the circumstances to attempt anything like a comparison between the R . M . B . I . and the R . M . I . B .
"Nor must we pass over the excellence of the system of education adopted in the School , as shown by the splendid series of successes achieved at the Cambridge Middle Class examinations . These are irrefragable testimony to the pains bestowed by Dr . Morris and his staff , and prove that
the money that is subscribed for the maintenance and education of our orphan Boys is expended both wisely and well . We judge of the excellence of a tree by the quality of the fruit it bears , and here we have the tree of knowledge that is implanted in the mind of each pupil of our Boys '
School hearing , not only sound , but useful and nutritious fruit , so that those who partake of it become strong and better able to cope with the difficulties by which , on their entrance into , and career through , life , they will be surrounded . Were it otherwise , were the boys that are
turned out , year after year found to be below the average of those of their own age in respect of educational attainments ; were a lax system of discip line maintained , so that the boys were unruly in school and likely , therefore , to resist authority when p laced in some clerical or other office
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Approaching Festival Of The Masonic Institution For Boys.
THE APPROACHING FESTIVAL OF THE MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR BOYS .
THE time is now fast approaching -when tho third and last of the Anniversary Festivals of onr Charitable Institutions will be held . Those of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution and Royal Masonic Institution for Girls have already taken place , the former in "February ,
when Sir Henry Edwards , Bart ., P . G . M . West Yorkshire , occupied the chair , and a ' total of subscriptions amounting to £ 14 , 370 was realised ; the latter , on the 18 th May , under the presidency of Sir M . E . Hicks-Beach , Bart ., M . P ., the newly-elected Prov . G . Master of Gloucestershire , when the handsome total of but a little short of
£ 11 , 500 was contributed . The eighty-third Festival of the Royal Institution for Boys will be celebrated on Wednesday , the 29 th instant , at the Royal Pavilion , Brighton , when the chair will be taken by the most noble the Marquis of Londonderry , K . T ., the newly-appointed Prov . Grand
Master of Durham . The Board of Stewards , which already numbers some 230 brethren , includes Sir H . Edwards , Bart ., P . G . M . West Yorkshire , as President ; Bros . Rev . 0 . J . Martyn P . G . Chaplain D . P . G . Master Suffolk , George Lambert G . P . B ., and A . Dnff-Filer
P . G . S . B . as Vice Presidents , W . Roebuck G . S . Hon . Treasurer , and Bro . F . Binckes P . G . S . and Secretary of the Institution as Honorary Secretary . There is then every reason to anticipate that under such influential auspices , and with such a strong array of Stewards , which will
doubtless be very much more strong by the day appointed , the Festival of the Boys' School will be in every respect worthy of taking its place among the greatest of the many successes achieved of late years by our worthy and Wor . Bro . Binckes . He it was , it must be remembered , who
had the satisfaction of being first able to announce a total list of subscriptions and donations in excess of £ 10 . 000 . It was he who , at bis last year ' s Festival , was in a position to announce a sum of £ 14 , 000 , as the result of the combined efforts of the Chairman ( the Earl of Lathom ) , the
Board of Stewards , and himself ; and though by many it may be regarded as somewhat of a misfortune to come last in order of the Festivals , still Bro . Binckes has so often shown
ns that the last in order is very far from being the least productive , that we do not hesitate to repeat those anticipations of great success on the present occasion which we have alread y formulated .
There are special circumstances about the Boys' Festival for the present which justify our drawing attention to it somewhat earlier than usual , and there are special reasons wh y we shonld go a little out of our way , perhaps , to commend it to the notice of the Craft generally . Let us note these latter first . The School , as our readers are well
aware , has been very largely increased in numbers within the last few years . There are 215 pupils now , when , till very recentl y , there were but from 150 to 160 ; yet , in s P lfe of these additions to the numerical strength ' of the establishment the number of candidates who present
, , •-7 ...... V u U Lll \ J \ JL V / l WllIU < Ult ( , lH _» C » ¥ » II IJ LSI \ til / Al 1 ' emselves and are approved is always verv largely in excess of the vacancies . To take the last election in April tor Purposes of illustration . There were seventy-two candidates for twenty vacancies , and after deducting ' those
successful boys whose names have been removed from ie nst on the score of their being over age , there still rema no ] egs t | ] fln forty . peveil ^^ {\\ | , ave ari opportunit y of competing again in October next ; in fact , we may venture on reckoning that there will be an even
The Approaching Festival Of The Masonic Institution For Boys.
greater difference in the ratio of candidates to appointments from what there was in tho spring . In the case of the Girls' School this proportion of candidates to vacancies is far less unequal . There were in April last twentytight candidates for fifteen vacancies , and there remain
over for further trial or trials eleven girls who are still eligible in respect of age . No doubt this is owing to the still more recent purchase of Lyncombe House , and the additional twenty-five pupils it was found possible , in consequence , to receive into the Institution . Yet , whatever
may be the explanation that is forthcoming , there remains the fact that the number of candidates eligible for election into the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys is forty-seven ; that the total number approved will be about seventy ; and that the vacancies for which they will compete will be only
some eig ht or nine in number . This is a reason which , while by itself it is sufficient to fully justify a special and early appeal to the Masonic public , is also one which makes it imperative there should be a hearty and liberal response to the energetic appeals of the Stewards .
A further and equally pleasing reason why we should press the claims of Our Boys on the notice of the Craft will be found in the fact that while the Benevolent Institution has a total of invested moneys amounting to over £ 60 , 000 , and the Girls' School some £ 45 , 000 in Government Stock ,
the Boys' School can only boast of investments amounting to £ 15 , 000 , of which one-third or £ 5 , 000 was purchased as the result of last year ' s Festival . Thus against a rainy day , the Boys' School is about one-third as well off as the Girls ' , and one-fourth as well off as the Benevolent , while the
lastmentioned enjoys the inestimable advantage over both its sister Institutions of receiving from Grand Lodge and Grand Chapter together no less than £ 950 as against a little over £ 160 subscribed by those two Grand Bodies to each of the Schools . From this it follows that the Benevolent has a
permanent income of over £ 3 , 670 , the Girls' about ( say ) £ 1 , 500 , and the Boys' about £ 750—a very startling disproportion as between the Schools , especially considering the number of pupils in the two is so nearly equal ^ while the expense per head on education and maintenance is greater
in the case of the Boys than in that of the Girls . The Benevolent in a measure stands by itself , as it is under an obligation to find £ 11 , 600 a year in annuities alone , to say
nothing of the expenses of management , which cannot be less than £ 2000 . It is hardly possible under the circumstances to attempt anything like a comparison between the R . M . B . I . and the R . M . I . B .
"Nor must we pass over the excellence of the system of education adopted in the School , as shown by the splendid series of successes achieved at the Cambridge Middle Class examinations . These are irrefragable testimony to the pains bestowed by Dr . Morris and his staff , and prove that
the money that is subscribed for the maintenance and education of our orphan Boys is expended both wisely and well . We judge of the excellence of a tree by the quality of the fruit it bears , and here we have the tree of knowledge that is implanted in the mind of each pupil of our Boys '
School hearing , not only sound , but useful and nutritious fruit , so that those who partake of it become strong and better able to cope with the difficulties by which , on their entrance into , and career through , life , they will be surrounded . Were it otherwise , were the boys that are
turned out , year after year found to be below the average of those of their own age in respect of educational attainments ; were a lax system of discip line maintained , so that the boys were unruly in school and likely , therefore , to resist authority when p laced in some clerical or other office