The Cost Of The Boys' School.

THE COST OF THE BOYS' SCHOOL .

THE statement of accounts of the Koyal Masonic Institution for Boys for the year 1891 has just been issued , and we think the Craft will endorse the opinion of the Board of Management that the friends of the Institution may be congratulated upon the gratifying result of their past year ' s work on its behalf . The total receipts for the year amounted to £ 27 , 297 Os 9 d ; made up of

Subscriptions and Donations £ 26 , 306 12 s Id ; Grants from Grand Lodge and Grand Chapter £ 160 10 s 3 d ; Legacy £ 52 10 s ; Dividends and Interest £ 643 8 s , and Sundry Eeceipts £ 134 0 s 8 d ; while on the other side we have General Expenditure £ 11 , 336 3 s Id ; Special Expenditure £ 718 9 s 7 d , and Pensions £ 79 18 s , leaving a balance of income over

expenditure amounting to £ 15 , 162 lCs Id , of which sum £ 7545 14 s has been invested during the year in the purchase of India 3 £ per Cents , and Consols , while the balance is in the hands of the Bankers and Officials of the Institution . Theso figures display an amount of prosperity for the Boys' School which is not only very pleasing , but at the same time eminently

satisfactory , as showing the desire of the Craft to place this Charity on a firmer and more substantial basis , by enabling it to considerably increase its invested funds , and theroby add to its permanent income from dividends , & c . Turning to the question of expenditure on each

boy m the Institution , we find a considerable increase during the year , the average on the general expenditure having risen to £ 41 19 s 3 £ d per head , as compared with £ 41 7 s lid for 1890 , and at the rate of £ 39 5 s per annum for the last half of 1889 , which was the first period included in the accounts of the new Committee . The Board of Management state the " expenditure will bear comparison with previous years , " but wisely refrain from showing what the

comparison will disclose . At the same time they mention that an increase has been unavoidable in some items , consequent upon a serious epidemic during the

autumn ; but as the additional outlay under the head of " Infirmary " only amounts to £ 105 16 s 3 d , or an average of 8 s 3 £ d per boy . on the establishment , that does not go far towards explaining the very considerable addition that has taken place in the average cost , as' compared with the last year , and the preceding six months . We should not think it necessarv

to call special attention to this increase were it not tor the boast made by the Provisional Management Committee , or by some one on their behalf , at the end of 1889 , that they had effected a saving of » 11 lis per boy per annum , by lowering the average cost from £ 50 16 s to £ 39 5 s . It will oe remembered that we contended at the time tfiis statement was made that this great reduction wa 8 only imaginary , or at least that it was a very temporary character , secured by some

The Cost Of The Boys' School.

special means which would not be found of a permanent nature , and we think the experience of the subsequent two years has fully justified our criticism . The average of 1891 stands , as we have said , at £ 44 19 s 3 id , but in the total on which we calculate

this average there are several items of expenditureamounting in the aggregate to £ 668 9 s 7 d , or an average of £ 2 12 s 5 d per boy—which , rightly or wrongly , should have appeared in the summary upon which the average was calculated in years gone by , so that on the whole the . saving of £ 11 lis per head has dwindled down to something under £ 4 a head , which

saving , at the present rate of absorption , will entirely disappear at no very distant date . But we did not intend stirring up the past when we sat down to review theso accounts of 1891 . We hope the troubles of a few years back have had their run , and that the future will be as satisfactory as the present management can desire . We assure them we shall use our

best endeavours to support them m their work , and if we occasionally find it necessary to criticise their actions , they must not imagine we are acting in any unfriendly manner , but rather as enthusiastic watchers of their efforts , anxious to keep them in the course they started upon—to administer the affairs of the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys with efficiency and rigid economy .

The Examination Of Visitors.

THE EXAMINATION OF VISITORS .

W HEN a lawfully warranted and duly constituted Lodge of Freemasons is tyled and at work , members are admitted by a particular form . A person claiming to be a Mason and seeking admission as a visitor , a special objection denies his request . If no

such objection , then he must be known to be a Mason , and that appearing to be so , tbe W . M . directs his admission . The forms that are essential in all theso cases we need not state . If the visitor is not known , and he

asks to be examined as to his qualifications to visit , a committee of the Lodge is appointed b y the W . M . and examines him . The report is final on the question of qualifications .

It it a very important duty entrusted to the examiners . In the first place the visitor is to be treated with that kind and fraternal courtesy which ever characterises Masonic

conduct . Dae deference is to be shown to tbe claimant . He is to be regarded as an honest , earnest man , seeking a Masonic privilege . If he is entitled to it , that is the duty of tho examiners to ascertain .

Every well-organised Lodge has at its meetings some members who are trained in Masonic law , work and ritual . They havo had proper teachings . They have experience . They , or one or more , are selected to conduct the examination .

Of course every Mason who knows anything about the law of Masonry , knowi we cannot here explain the duties of these examiners . But it is plain that their only object is to ascertain if the visitor is a Mason ; that he , " owes allegiance , and pays his obligations to a Lod ge of Free-