The Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution.

THE ROYAL MASONIC BENEVOLENT INSTITUTION .

ri'VHE year 1890 has opened with somewhat grave - * - surroundings for the youngest of the Masonic Institutions—that one whose especial care is to assist in the maintenance of aged members of the Order , and their widows , and which , at the present time , is expending an annual amount of , £ 14 , 866 in annuities alone , dispensing its benefits to 180 Aged Masons , at the rate of £ 40 per annum each , and to 229 Widows , at £ 30 per annum each , while a few others

receive for a limited period moieties of their deceased husband ' s annuities . This brief summary of what the Institution is doing is practical evidence of the systematic benevolence of the Craft , and it seems almost unjust to say anything having even the semblance of dissatisfaction in connection with ifc .

Yet , lilcp . rthavlfis Dip . lcAnR T . AIIR ns in p . nrmoetiori with Oliver Twist , there is a continuous craving for more . It is not enough that the Craft should be paying , through this Institution , large annual grants to upwards of four hundred aged Craftsmen or Widows ; there is also an ever-increasing number outside of

this , continually asking lor similar help , all oi whom come forward well recommended and are acknowledged to be fully deserving of assistance , providing it lay in the power of the institution to afford it . But what can the charity do ? Its annual income—of a permanent character—is £ 3 , 600 , and although the Craft has

hitherto nobly and generously given sufficient to make this sum up to what is absolutely required to meet current expenditure , there is no means of compelling a continuance of such generosity , or of forcing its augmentation . We see here the great difficulty which

the executive of the Institution has to face at the present time , not only is there an immense amount required to meet current expenses—to pay annuities which were promised—but there is likewise an army of some hundred and fifty qualified candidates seeking

a participation in the benefits of the Institution , while at the present time there are but eleven vacancies to be divided among them . This enormous excess of candidates over the number of vacancies can hardly be allowed to continue , and yet , how is it

to be remedied ? The obstacles in the way of a solution of the difficulty appear almost insurmountable , and it is a matter that must receive early and careful consideration at the hands of the Craft . It will never do to allow an indefinite increase in the roll of candidates , with little or no possibility of their being

elected . The Craft will only continue to support the Institution so long as it gets a speedy return of benefits for those put forward as worthy to receive them , and although the Institution may continue to expend

as much as hitherto in annuities , and help as many of the distressed members of the Craft as it has hitherto been able to assist , it will not appear so prosperous in the eyes of those who are asked to

support it , if it can only relieve some ten per cent , of the applicants , as when it was in a position to take on onethird or even one-half of those who went to the poll . We can hardly hope for any material increase in the number of beneficiaries , and must therefore adopt the

other alternative—reduce the number of applicants . The question the Craft has now to consider is , how shall this be accomplished ? or by what other means shall an amelioration of existing difficulties be brought about ?

It is very certain the Institution cannot do more than expend the money contributed by the Craft , and the sums for which the Charity now stands virtually liable are sufficient to swallow up the whole of the

funds subscribed year by year , without speaking of making any adequate provision for the future by laying by a store for the day of adversity , which may

come upon this Institution just as likely as upon any other . On the other hand , it is all but futile asking the members of the Craft to so increase their subscriptions as to allow of an extension of the benefits

of this Institution ; the marvel to us is , not that more is not done , but that it should be possible to continue , year by year , the immense amount of relief that is being afforded by the Charitable Institutions of the Craft .

From the figures we published last week it will be seen a total of £ 48 , 443 18 s 3 d was received by the three Institutions during 1889 , and the same amount , or more , is actually required for the current year . How

is it to be raised ? It is idle to suppose it will come in of its own free will and accord , and with all the persuasive powers of our annual Stewards it is a stupendous task to undertake : but if this presents

difficulties , how much more so must any proposal to augment the income ? Yet there is an everincreasing craving for more , a craving , too , that must be met in some way or other , in face of the 150 candidates on the list for an election for which there

are now but eleven vacancies . We were very pleased to hear that the Benevolent Institution had secured the services of the Eight Hon . the Lord Mayor of London as President for its Annual Festival , and this pleasure has been

heightened on hearing of the way m which Sir Henry Isaacs approaches the work he has on hand . If ever a chairman made up his mind to " command " success the present is a case in point , and we hope , both for the sake of the distinguished Craftsman who has undertaken the responsibility , as

well as for the Institution for which he will plead , that the success he desires will be forthcoming . A glance at our report of the Alliance Lodge , at the meeting of which the Lord Mayor made a strong appeal on behalf of the Benevolent Institution , and even went so far as to arrange a really

businesslike bargain on its behalf—fully justified , even in Freemasonry , in the cause of Charity—will give an idea of the spirit with which the Lord Mayor approaches the task before him . But he enters the contest heavily handicapped in comparison with many