The R.M. Institution For Boys.

THE R . M . INSTITUTION FOR BOYS .

" Give me th' avow'd , th' erect , the manly foe , Bold I can meet—perhaps may tnrn his blow ; Bnt of all plagues , good Heaven , thy wrath can send , Save , save , oh , save me from the candid friend ! "

WE are within a few hours of the day fixed for the celebration of the Ninetieth Anniversary Festival of the Boyal Masonic Institution for Boys , the actual gathering being arranged for Wednesday next , the 27 th instant , on which occasion

the Bight Worshipful Brother Lord Ebrington Provincial Grand Master for Devonshire will preside at the dinner , to take place at the Freemasons' Tavern , London , when we hope he will be supported by an influential body of Craftsmen and their ladies , and

tnat tne result ot tne meeting will t > e ail tnat nis lordship and his friends can desire . Notwithstanding this close proximity of the Festival , we are sorry to find that the Institution is not enjoying the full meed of popularity which is so

essential just previous to one of its annual gatherings , and more particularly so at the present time , when the members of the Craft have but just completed one of the grandest works on which they have ever been engaged—the celebration of the

Centenary of the Girls' School . The cause of this unpopularity is to be traced to the action of one or two men , who , to serve their own dishonourable purposes , are attacking the Boys' School by means of

anonymous circulars , the Institution having been blessed , or cursed we may rather say , during the last few weeks , with the attentions of a " candid friend , " an infliction which , in the words of the author quoted above , is one of the greatest plagues kind heaven can

impose on mankind . It is no use shutting our eyes to the fact that the Institution is suffering in consequence of the attacks which are just now being levelled against it , but we are convinced that ultimate

good will result , and that so far from the anonymous and libellous utterances doing any permanent harm , they will have just the opposite effect , a result which , notwithstanding the statements put forth , is , we imagine , very far from what is desired by those who

are at the bottom of the conspiracy , their sole object appearing to be to make as much stir and do as much injustice as possible ; but they are particularly careful to do all they undertake in an underhand manner , in

the hope oi keeping themselves free of the prosecution they so justly merit and would assuredly experience if they were known . We have said we anticipate ultimate good from the attacks which are just now being made on the Boyal Masonic Institution for Boys , and in support of

our opinion we may refer to the business to be transacted at the annual meeting of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Berks and Bucks , to be held on Monday next , at High Wycombe . On that occasion Bro . John Tomkins Prov . S . G . W . will move :

The R.M. Institution For Boys.

That thia Provincial Grand Lodge of Berks and Bucks respectfully requests Grand Lodge to take into consideration the present condition of the Masonio Boys' School , and , if thought fit , to appoint a Committee to inquire into its discipline and management .

We fervently hope Bro . Tomkins will be supported in this proposition , and that the matter may be referred to Grancl Lodge "with . such support as will ensure an inquiry being instituted by the ruling power of the Craft . This would be the fairest way of

deciding the questions at issue between the Institution and its libellers , and we should be very much surprised if it did not lead to a better understanding on several points than exists at the present time .

But will Grand Lodge entertain the question ? Where is the need for inquiry ? What are the complaints ? and who is there to support them ? In answer to these queries we say that we do not believe 6-rand Lodge will consider the matter within its province ,

and will not interfere , although we should very much like to see a Committee appointed and an official inquiry instituted . The need for the inquiry may be said to exist in conseauence of the statements , which

J . _ 7 ' * have recently been circulated , but unfortunately those which call for action are useless , from this point of view , because anonymous . Grand Lodge would not nlace anv reliance on them , and we are afraid the

men who circulated them have not got the courage to establish their identity ; while the rulers of the Craft would be very unwise to take action on anonymous complaints , supported only by brethren equally in the dark as to their origin—or professing to be so .

It is ridiculous to suppose that the circulars to which we have referred have been as widely circulated as they have been without some one knowing their

author , and we must at once express our contempt for brethren who support the utterances contained in them , or refer to them as worthy of consideration , and at the same time profess ignorance of their

origin . We do not hesitate to say that in many cases they are telling deliberate falsehoods , and for this reason we think an official inquiry should be instituted . Surely Masons would not appear before

Grand Lodge and declare they knew riothing of circulars they had paid for , addressed of helped to circulate , when their sole object in distributing them was to " act in a fair spirit , with the good of our

Institution m view . . . . m order that the matters referred to might see a little daylight and be investigated . " The authors of the complaints have been " candid " enough to state their grievances , and

to give a reason for so doing ; would they be equally candid in answering questions put to them by a Grand Lodge Committee ? Our readers are tolerably well acquainted with the

anonymous attacks which are being made on the Institution , and to which we have referred , to need any further account of them necessarv on the

present occasion . We have also said what we hope will be the result of the Berks and Bucks proposition . All we can now do is to express a wish that every