Correspondence.

CORRESPONDENCE .

We do not hold ourselves responsible for the opinions of our Correspondents . All Letters must bear the name and address of the Writer , not necessarily for publication , but as a guarantee of good faith . We cannot undertake to return rejected communications .

FINANCIAL TABLES FOR THE YEAR .

To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —1 beg to present to your readers my promised financial tables for the year ending in 1885 . I think the Craft may be congratulated on the handsome manner in which onr noble Institutions are supported by the Provinces

generally , for out of the 44 Provinces , with London , Channel Isles , and the Colonies , there are only 17 where the demand this year is greater than the average annual amount of supply for the last seven ye-r •, inclusive of 1885 . The largest annual deficiency , over £ 800—as might naturally be expected—is from the Colonies ; when , however ,

this fact comes to the knowledge of the residents , they will , I feel sure , make a strong effort to relieve us of some of this heavy burdeD , and thus take the weight off the shoulders of those at home . The next of these highest , over £ 740 , it will scarcely be believed—and I feel sure it cannot be generally known to the members of the Pro .

vinee—is Devonshire ; more than six-sevenths of this sum is againat the B » uevolent Institution ; the remainder belongs to the Boys ' School ; while as regards the Girls' School Institution , there is a balance of 8 s 6 d in favour of the Province . The next on tre list is Lincolnshire , with an annual deficiency of £ 640 . Now ,

this case is worse than the preceding , for while Devonshire is taking £ 1020 from the funds , she is contributing at the rate of nearly £ 378 per annum . Lincolnshire , on the other hand , is burdening the funds with £ 696 per annnm , to which she contributes something nnder £ 60 . I am given to understand this Province is starting

Provincial Charities of its own , and a very good thing too ; she should be just before she is generous , and not lay all the burden of her destitute Craftsmen and their belongings on the shoulders of the other Provinces . The Benevolent are short , by over £ 233 , the

Boys £ 216 , and the Girls £ 156 . No . 4 on the list will , I feel sure , astonish the members of the Province referred to , —if not the English Craft at large , —viz ., West Yorkshire . This is one of the richest , if not the richest , Province in England ; and that there should be an annual deficiency of just over £ 555 is certainly surprising . We

Correspondence.

all know that Yorkshire is celebrated for the business habits of her people , and that they will have value for their money ; but they are also known for punctual and ready payment for what they get . Consequently , this state of affairs has only to be known to the brethren genorally . and the deficiency will soon be made good . The

Benevolent , again , is the heaviest sufferer— £ 494 ; Boys £ 134 ; while the Girls have to the good £ 74 . That West Yorkshire con . tributes largely , nobody can deny ; but then she receives back far more largely still , as the contributions amount to £ 2164 against £ 2720 . This is the last of the heavy deficiencies . We now drop

down to £ 228 , Cheshire ; £ 220 Dorsetshire ; the former neglects the Benevolent to the tune of £ 290 ; which , however , is partly counterbalanced by her contributions to the Boys and Girls . The latter is short by £ 19 S for the Benevolent , and £ 92 for the Boys ; while it has a balance of £ 69 in favour of the Girls . Then follows Suffolk , with

£ 197 , and Cornwall £ 191 . In both these oases the Benevolent loses—£ 276 and £ 282 respectively . The Boys have a surplus of £ 104 and £ 23 , while the Girls lose £ 23 and gain £ 60 in the latter case annnally . Norths and Hunts lack—in regard to the Benevolent £ 77 , Boys £ 104 , and the Girls £ 34 ; this I suppose means inability ,

for one may feel sure that so energetio a member as Brother . James Terry , P . P . G . S . W . of the Province , would not fail to remind them of their responsibility . I think that the Channel Islands might reduce their annual deficiency of £ 180 if they exerted themselves . Northumberland ' s special shortcoming of £ 168 , with the exception of £ 8 ,

unfortunately falls entirely on the Benevolent , to whom she has not given one penny for the last eight years , yet she soruples not to take £ 160 annually from that Institution . The last Province that I shall take notice of is North and East Yorkshire ; she should give £ 56 more to the Benevolent , £ 64 to the Boys and £ 25 to the Girls to

equalise supply and demand . The remaining deficiencies do not require more than naming ; they are as follows : —Durham £ 79 , Hants £ 78 , Wiltshire £ 68 , Cumberland and Westmoreland £ 23 , and Herefordshire £ 24 7 s . This last-named Province may be said to have become Rip Van Winkled

its annual contribution for the last seven years is at the rate of £ 7 13 s per annum , or a total of £ 53 lis for the full term . Certainly it is only lately that she has been taking anything , but I should be sorry to attribute any such motive as merely giving with the hope of getting back ; still there must be a screw loose somewhere , if that is all they think sufficient , or can afford to give .

That these few remarks may be taken in a friendly spirit , and that they will rouse the backward ones to a sense of their responsibility , is the sincere hope of , Yours fraternally , P . M . 1607 .

Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution.

ROYAL MASONIC BENEVOLENT INSTITUTION .

Seven Years' Contri-Provinces . Coat this Year . bution from 1879-85 inclusive . £ £ s d London 4424 52448 8 0 Bedfordshire ... ... — —

Berks and Bucks ... — 1532 10 0 Bristol 72 639 17 0 Cambridgeshire ... ... — 106 11 6 Cheshire 400 756 15 0 Cornwall 360 541 5 0 Cumberland and

Westmoreland 64 228 18 6 Derbyshire 40 369 18 6 Devonshire 680 496 15 0 Dorsetshire 272 513 15 0 Durham 144 516 17 6 Essex 256 1343 7 6

Gloucestershire 96 2115 9 0 Hants and Isle of Wight 424 1915 4 2 Herefordshire ... .. 32 — Herts 32 2269 2 6 Kent 592 2443 12 0 Lancashire ( East ) ... 720 5186 14 0

( West ) ... 328 1506 2 0 Leicester and Eutland ... — 665 4 0 Lincolnshire 256 158 9 0 Middlesex 40 2442 15 6 Monmouthshire 72 693 2 0

Norfolk 208 372 17 0 Norths and Hunts ... 160 578 5 0 Northumberland ... 160 — Notts 32 413 2 6 Oxfordshire 96 859 13 2 Somersetshire 112 831 15 0

Staffordshire 64 515 10 0 Suffolk 448 1202 8 6 Surrey 80 1824 17 0 Sussex 280 1336 10 0 Warwickshire 144 329 5 0 Wiltshire 128 735 13 0 Worcestershire 64 718 4 3

Yorkshire ( North & East ) 240 1285 5 6 ( West ) ... 1320 5777 2 0 Wales ( North ) and Salop 32 320 18 6 Wales ( South ) -East ... — 90 0 0 Wales ( South ) -West ... 40 566 5 0 Channel Islands 248 517 13 0 Colonies 344 250 15 0

Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution.

Annual Average ditto . Surplus . Deficiency for Current £ s d £ s d £ s d 7492 6 10 3068 6 10

—218 18 7 218 18 7 — 91 8 2 19 8 2 — 15 4 6 15 4 6 — 108 2 2 — 291 17 10 77 6 5 — 282 13 7

32 8 4 31 11 8 52 16 10 12 16 10 — 70 19 3 — 609 0 9 73 7 10 — 198 12 2 73 16 9 — 70 3 3 191 18 3 — 66 1 9 302 4 2 206 4 2 — 273 12 0 — 150 8 0 — — 32 0 0

324 3 3 292 3 3 — 349 1 9 — 242 18 3 740 19 3 20 19 3 — 215 3 2 — 112 16 10 95 0 7 95 0 7 — 22 12 9 — 233 7 3 348 19 4 308 19 4 — 99 0 3 27 0 3 — 53 5 3 — 154 14 9 82 12 2 — 77 7 10 — — 160 0 0

59 0 4 27 0 4 — 122 16 2 26 16 2 — 118 16 5 6 16 5 — 73 12 10 9 12 10 171 15 6 — 276 4 6 260 13 10 180 13 10 — 190 18 1 — m i s

47 0 9 — 96 19 3 105 1 10 — 22 18 2 102 12 0 38 12 0 — 183 12 3 — 56 7 9 825 6 0 — 495 14 0 45 16 11 13 16 11 — 12 7 2 12 7 2 — 80 17 10 40 17 10 — 73 19 0 — 172 1 0 35 16 5 — 304 3 7