The Appro Aching Festival.

THE APPROACHING FESTIVAL .

fT'HE Anniversary Festival of tlio . Roynl Masonic Benevolenfc Institution , which takes place on Wednesday next , is looked forward to with considerable anxiety . On its result depends the welfare of a very large number of aged Freemasons and widows of Freemasons , who , in the cloning

years of their life , find themselves obliged to appeal to their fellows for assistance . It is not only the numerous candidates who are at present outside the benefits of the

Institution who will hail with dolisdifc a good result—or lament a poor one—but also thoy who have the distribution of the Funds amongst those who have

been elected as annuitants . In tho case of tho latter , a very grave responsibility attaches to the Craft . It is one thing to regret the inability of tbe Institution to take on more of the candidates than there are vacancies

for ; to urge the Committee to increase tho number of recipients , and to talk of the futnre taking care of itself but it is not exactly the future which calls for immediate attention , but rather the present time—the requirements

of the current year—and these are sufficient to cause all the anxiety which is felt as to the result of next Wednesday ' s meeting . A Festival such as a very few year ' s back would have been looked upon as a grand one , would now

be absolutely below actual requirements , and while we do not approve of continually looking on the black side of affairs , it is yet necessary we should point out that more energy is needed iu furtherance oftho cause of Charity now

than ever was the case . Large annual receipts have led to large increases in the number of reci pients , while a strong reserve fund and frequent investments have created au impression in some quarters that sufficient funds are

forthcoming year by year to meet the requirements of the Institution , without any extra efforts on the part of the Craft . We need hardl y say that snch a happy state of affairs has not yet arrived . The Festival of Wednesday

next will require every effort on the part of the English Craft , and we sincerel y hope that sufficient support will bo given it to enable tho Committee to carry on the work of the Institution during the current year ,

not only on the basis already agreed npon , but with even a still more extended number of annuitants . At the recent meeting of the Stewards the final arrangements for the Festival were completed . Thoy comprised the

appointment of the Ladies' Stewards , the Dinner Stewards , and the Eeception Stewards , the balloting for places , & c . It was announced that in addition to the usnal concert ( this

year under the management of Bro . Professor Lott G . O . ) , Lieutenant Cole would be present , and give his celebrated ventriloquial entertainment ,

Freemasonry And The Press.

FREEMASONRY AND THE PRESS .

THAT so many newspapers and magazines almost exclusively devoted to Freemasonry and its branches should exist , and apparently succeed in America , while so few are demanded in this country , strikes the mind as a

curious and unpleasant fact . When the truth is realised , it comes home with startling force and opens up issues pregnant with grave purposes . What may be the reasons for so great a disparity is a matter thafc ought to lead to

Freemasonry And The Press.

some heart-searching , and which should most certainly engage the e " insidiivatvo'A of the Neslors of the Craft in England The contrast at the present moment is too striking not to command attention , too painfully apparent not to awaken

feelings of deep aud serious disappointment . The causes that havo led to this disparity need close scrutiny . Tfiey arc problems of moment ; and the Fathers of the Englishspeaking Fraternity aro bound to try and solve them . It is

a general law of Nature tbat offshoots show moro life and elasticity than the source from which thoy spring . Their growth is mostly vigorous , sometimes wild and tangled . They live or die in proportion as the sap is sound and well

nourished . Tho parent troe rarely suffers by the loss of its young shoots ; as a rule it increases in dignity and massive strength , and only decays by violent moans , or not until the worthiest branch oftho parent stem has sufficiently matured its strength to take its place .

The American offshoots of English 1 ' rcemasoniy are not unlike the offshoots of the tree . Some are sturdy members of the old trunk ; others aro as wild and as hurtful as tho thorny briar . These abound in the shape of prophets

professors of new systems—empirics , who use the weapon of personal criticism untempered by a sense of responsibility . We in England are content to accept Craft Freemasonry as tho Mother of all that bears her name , and we deck her in

Blue , as pure and as beautiful as tho celestial sky itself . The Chapter , wedded to her , assumes a deeper hue . While admitting their origin and their indebtedness to the Craft , the Companions seek lo amplify and complete the

knowledge they gained in the Lodge ; and the Mark degree , though it is not an officially recognised Order , stands at tho present day as a living and growing scion of a venerable ancl noble family . Beyond these three Orders there

are other degrees , diving deeper into mysteries , and traversing ground that philosophers have trod . These are sufficient to employ the minds of tho most astute , and to satisfy the cravings of all honourable ambition .

America departs from the old-world practices , and has become , the nursing-ground of new shibboleths and singular inventions . With a zeal worthy of a better object men have arisen who have propounded extraordinary theories ,

who have found followers as enthusiastic as themselves , and who have started papers or magazines to back their pretensions . They nre the wild briars , the unhealthy growths , the sapless branches , that flourish for a time , and

either linger on in semi-obscurity , or wither altogether . These spurious Orders have doubtlessly stimulated the development of a certain kind of literature , but they do uot account for the disparity that exists between the Masonic

Press of England and America . Thoy are the fungi , the unwholesome products of ambitious minds , and too often the work of unscrupulous adventurers . Apart from the organs of now Orders , America provides a . mass of healthy

Masonic literature , beside which our own products dwarf into comparative insignificance . Sometimes oven in the genuine exponents of the Craft , theories of a bold aud questionable character are broached . A freedom is exhibited

that appears fo border on license . Still the bulk is soun 1 , often original , and always interesting . Wo in this country have rich mines of treasures which are hidden from the

large majority of tho bretnrcn , chieliy because ; t does not pay to work them , and patriotism is not strong enough to induce the continuance of undertakings that result in pecuniary loss . We have volumes enough to testify to tho genius ancl deyofcedness of our forefathers , but few consult