The Festival Of The Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution.

THE FESTIVAL OF THE ROYAL MASONIC BENEVOLENT INSTITUTION .

We must confess to being disappointed at the result of Wednesday ' s Festival in behalf of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution .- The increase in the number of Stewards since Christmas had been so considerable that we were sanguine enough

to believe that the total realised , if not quite equal to that of 1888 , would certainly have exceeded that of last year , when the product was , in round figures , £ 13 , 500 . As a matter of fact , the sum announced by Bro . TERRY on Wednesday was £ 13 , 095 ,

or nearly £ 100 less than he announced last year ; but doubtless , when the outstanding lists have been returned , and those already received have in some few cases been amended , we shall have the result about on a level with the £ 13 , 500 obtained in 188 9 .

However , if our more sanguine expectations have not been fulfilled , there is at least the consolation of knowing that a goodly sum , sufficient with the permanent income to carry on the Institution for a further 12 months at its full strength , has been obtained ;

nor on the ground that all we hoped for has not happened , must we withhold the just measure of praise to which all who had a share in raising the total obtained are so properly entitled . The Lord Mayor , Bro . Alderman Sir H . A . ISAACS , though at the very last

moment he was prevented by indisposition from presiding , Bro . the Earl of EUSTON , who in his lordship ' s enforced absence so generously discharged the vacant duties , the Board of Stewards ,

and last , but not least , Bro . J AMES TERRY , the Secretary of the Institution , and his staff , — -all of them did their utmost to ensure the success of the gathering , and are entitled to the thanks of the friends and supporters of our youngest Charity .

United Grand Lodge.

UNITED GRAND LODGE .

The business to be transacted at the Quarterly Communication of United Grand Lodge on Wednesday next is not likely to engage the attention of the brethren for any length of time . Nor will there be any unusual excitement over the

election of a Grand Treasurer for the ensuing year , it being the lirst occasion since the adoption in 188 3 of the plan we then and have ever since so strenuously advocated of electing a new Grand Treasurer annually , on which no contest has taken place .

In December last , Bro . AUGUSTUS HARRIS , P . M . and founder of the Drury Lane Lodge , No . 2127 , was the onl y brother nominated for the office , and his election , therefore , is , as a matter of course , a foregone conclusion . One matter of

interest , however , is contained in the Report of the Board of General Purposes which is certain to arouse a stron ° * feeling of gratification , not only among those who may be present in Grand Lodge , but among the whole bod y of the English Craft .

We allude to the announcement that some time since Bro . Sir J OHN B . MONCKTON , P . G . W ., and Past President of the Board , offered for the acceptance of Grand Lodge a portrait of himself , which was presented to him some years ago by the Buckingham

and Chandos Lodge , No . 1150 , one of the many lodges which our respected brother has graced with his membershi p , and that the Board have accepted the gift with pleasure and directed that it shall be hung in the Board Room itself , as an honoured

memorial of one who generally , as well as in his particnlar capacity of President of the Board itself for the protracted term of ten years , has rendered such important services to Freemasonry in

this country . Our readers , and especially those who have known or been brought into contact with Bro . Sir JOHN MONCKTON , will be delighted to know that future generations of English Masons will be able to judge for themselves what

United Grand Lodge.

manner of man he was , who in his day was one of the brightest ornaments of our Society . Beyond this particular item in the report referred to , there is

nothing of moment to draw attention to ; but it is worth while noticing the exceptionally large number of warrants for new lodges which have been granted by his Royal Highness the GRAND MASTER in the course of the last three months . No less

than 21 have been issued during that period , of which four are located in London , 11 will meet in the Provinces , and the remaining six in foreign parts . One of the London lodges is named after the GRAND MASTER ' S son-in-law , Bro . the Duke of FIFE , while a second—the Warrant Officers' Lodge—will be composed

of military brethren , but working under a civil warrant . Of the 11 new Provincial lodges , three belong to Lancashire West , which now has more than a century of lodges ; one to Lancashire East ; one to Oxfordshire , to bear the name of its respected Provincial Grand Master ; two to Essex , raising the number on

its roll to 32 ; one to Bedfordshire , bearing the name of a philanthropic Bedford worthy ; one to Lincolnshire ; one to Durham ; and one to Hertfordshire , thus raising the lodges on its roll to a full score . Of the half-dozen new lodges abroad , two are added to the District Grand Lodge of Queensland ; two to that

of the Eastern Archipelago ; and one to the District of Bengal , while the sixth will have its home in the South African Republic . Last year , the total number of new lodges was only 43 , so that it

seems as if English Masons had determined that the reductions on the roll of Grand Lodge , caused by the establishment of the new Australasian Grand Lodges , should be replaced as speedily as possible .

Hotels V. Masonic Halls.

HOTELS V . MASONIC HALLS .

The strong feeling in favour of private places of meeting for Masonic lodges as against licensed houses , originated perhaps by the openly expressed feelings of the late revered Grand Master ,

Lord Zetland , on the subject , has borne abundant fruit . In almost every town we find lodges meeting under their own roof-trees , and where such conveniences do not exist we see the brethren

engaged in anxious efforts to secure the coveted accommodation . This is all very gratifying , because it exhibits an intense desire to do what is regarded as best for the welfare of the Craft , and it often proves that the brethren are ready to make great personal

sacrifices in order to carry out such objects . It may not , however be out of place to consider for a few minutes the exact position now occupied by Freemasons' Halls , and the advantages , or the reverse , of all this expenditure of money in bricks and mortar .

It may be as well to recall the fact that at the time when the cry in favour of the erection of Freemasons' Halls was first heard licensed houses were under very different regulations to those which at present rule their conduct . Practically they were

open all night , and even after the period when the first curtailment of hours began there was little or no excuse needed to obtain leave to suspend the closing rule . At that time also it was the rule for these houses to be daily and hourly frequented

by every class of person , and the amount of liquor consumed was , in proportion to the numbers , greater than at present . That the consumption of intoxicants amongst the lodges was greater than at this period of history is pretty evident from the old Treasurer's books which have come into our hands in modern

days , and that amongst the well-to-do classes the consumption of wines was larger than at present is a circumstance well known to all who have looked into the matter . Since those

good old days , the law has taken a very much firmer grasp of the licensed victualling trade , which is now carried on under restrictions so minute and jealously carried out as to be almost