Need For Timely Preparation.

Jubilee year by admitting the whole of the candidates upon their list , without election , to the benefits of their splendid Institution at Battersea Rise . So far , therefore , as the " accident of circumstances , " so freely cited , goes , we do not pay too much regard to the intervention of the Jubilee celebrations affecting the fortunes of the Boys ' School . We have always felt confident that whatever

might arise , either the growth of other deserving Charities , or the shrinking of the benevolent purse in consequence of depression in trade and commerce , the great Masonic

Institutions , which are the apple of the Masonic eye , will always receive the constant and stedfast support of the Craft , nor diminish one iota in their respective spheres of usefulness and beneficence .

Another suggestion as to the falling off in the total announced at the Boys' Festival was that , unfortunately , it was found impossible to secure a President for that gathering until two or three weeks prior to the date fixed for the

event . Probably some amount of blame may be laid to the door of the Jubilee festivities for that contretemps , inasmuch as most men of distinguished public position and influence were more or less mixed up in the

national agitation , and were consequently unwilling to encumber themselves with too many engagements . But when Brother Binckes , at the eleventh hour , succeeded in obtaining a Chairman , it was one of the most

sterling character , and Brother Tew ' s acceptance of the office had unquestionably a great effect upon the attendance , and the generally satisfactory nature of the Festival . It must be further borne in mind that the

assembly at the Crystal Palace—of which we give a full report iu our Supplement to-day—was on the day immediately following the great representative meeting of English Freemasons at the Albert Hall , in commemoration

of tho fifty years of Her Majesty ' s glorious reign . It may be presumed that many brethren found it inconvenient to attend both these assomblies , following so close upon each other ; still there was no perceptible falling-off , in

comparison with preceding Festivals , in the audience over which Bro . Tew presided in so eminently able and practical a manner . The real cause , therefore , of the somewhat dwarfish total must be sought elsewhere , for of course , in

spite of the drawbacks we have referred to , many of the Stewards had been steadily at work iu their various districts for months previously , and their lists had been nearly , if not quite , compiled before the Jubilee celebrations

assumed active practical shape . There was a flush of enthusiasm , and the spur applied to the efforts of a certain section of the Stewards , when it became known that the Provincial Grand Master of West Yorkshire was to be the

President ; but this feeling , it is reasonable to suppose , was mainly centred in the Province over which Bro . Tew rules so wisely and so well , and probably one or two of the contiguous counties . Therefore , while we cannot express too

much admiration of the loyalty and pluck with which our northern brethren rallied around their chief , resulting in the substantial addition of nearly seven hundred pounds to the funds—the highest of all the lists—yet ,

taking the survey of the whole body of Masonry , we cannot reasonably think that an equally ardent inspiration was aroused in other parts of the country by the announcement that a distinguished brother and highly popular gentleman

had consented at the last moment to " step into the breach , " and to rally np his faithful followers to do a signal service to the Boys' Institution . As we have pointed out

the Stewards' lists were by this time filled as completely as the energetic representatives of Lodges could fill them ; and this local impetus could not , in any material degree , have altered tbe grand result .

The most cogent reason assigned for an apparent lack of interest in the Boys' Festival is the time of year at which that gathering is held . We have spoken plainly on this part of the subject before , and repeat our hope that the

rulers of the Institution will take it into their serious consideration . Whether or not the Jubilee festivities had any effect on this yejr ' s gathering or not is beside the question ; the Boys' Festival always

comes in the immediate wake of that of the Girls ' School , and sufficient time is not allowed , therefore , for a thorough canvass of the Craft . The ideas we recently embodied in an article on this subject appear to have been

accepted in many quarters , from which correspondence has reached us ; and wo shall be very pleased to receive other similar communications containing the opinions of those wbo arc interested in the future welfare of the Institution .

Need For Timely Preparation.

Without recapitulating the facts enunciated in these columns five months since—and to which we would direct the special attention of the readers of our Supplement—it may be well to again point out that the Festivals of the three Charities are crowded into one-third of the year , instead of being held at more distant intervals , which would afford the Stewards more breathing time and elbow-room for their work . The contention that the Boys' has always been a Summer Festival does not count for much . The Benevolent has the start

in this respect , that it is held early in the year , when Masonic business is in full tide of operation ; the lists are being formulated during the " festive seasons " of Yulotide

and the New Year , when even the closest-buttoned breeches pockets may be relaxed under the genial influences of "Christmas cheer : " and . beinc the firat F-asHval with a . ¦

i i © — •—•*¦ - -- * - " *¦ - ;» ..-- — . — lapse between it and the last of something like eight months , it is invested with more than ordinary freshness and interest . But the Boys' Festival , coming at the bottom

of the list , and following so closely on that of the Girls ' School , derives no such advantages . Falling in the very midst of the holiday season , when people are gathering up all their resources for "the annual outing , " it is less likely

to attract attention than if it were held later on , when our al fresco pleasantries have become matters of mere happy reminiscence , and when something new is needed to break the monotony that often sets in during the autumn months .

The deferring the Boys' Festival until October , or even later , could have no prejudicial effect upon the Institution so far as we are able to discover , and it might be productive of a vast amount of benefit . The Executive of the

Institution are , or shonld be , the best judges on this question ; which , however , we would once more impress upon their careful consideration , in view of next year ' s Festival . Anent this , we are reminded that next year brings with

it the Centenary of the Girls' Institution , and it is beyond question that extraordinary efforts will be put forth to render that occasion historical , both in the way of attendance and pecuniary support . This is as it should bo : but the

expansion of the coffers of that Charity must not be from any filtering away of the support accorded to the other Institutions , no leakage of tho normal flow of benevolence , which must be continued to " Our Boys " and the " Old

People . " It is perfectly clear , however , that , in order to cope with this exceptional circumstance , no time is to be lost in considering how and by what means the next Boys ' Festival may be spared from the rather galling result of

the present year . We do not think it is in any way premature or hasty to call the serious attention of our readers immediately to this important matter . The Boys' School compares favourably with any other similar Institution in

this or any other country ; but it is , nevertheless , the most in need of funds of all our Masonic establishments . It cannot afford any detracting influences to operate upon it , even in exceptional years , such as this one has been , and

the next will be ; the friends of the School , who we are glad to know do not diminish in number or energy , must buckle on their armour early—as soon as the session of Masonic labour is actively resumed . We think we may leave the Benevolent Institution in the safe and sure

hands of its devoted supporters ; for where Bro . Terry is , there will the friends of the Old Folks be gathered together . That the funds of the Girls' School will be richly replenished by the Centenary appeals is a foregone

conclusion ; and it is now that the true friends of the Boys ' School should band themselves together in earnest , and at once , in order to secure for their next Festival such a result as shall compensate Bro . Binckes and the Executive for

the tinge of disappointment they experienced in June last . This additional effort would be strengthened , in the opinion of many , were the Festival postponed until the latter part of the year . It certainly would give the Stewards a

longer time for their work , and , moreover , as the Lodges are in full work at that- time , exhortations on behalf of Charity would fall with greater weight upon the brethren than can be expected in the sweltering summer , such as we have this year passed through .

A few more words . It is well known to ^ a majority of the supporters of the Boys' School that their institution at Wood Green has not escaped the evil effects of the epidemic that has so sorely exercised the minds and the energy of

the Staffs of the leading Medical Institutions of the Metropolis . Some four months back scarlet fever developed itself amongst the pupils , and in spite of every precaution that could be adopted ; notwithstanding the most persever-