Masonic Benevolence In 1891.

during 1890 , and as there is still no doubt a considerable amount of Association money still to be paid , no anxiety need be felt as to the Festival total being fully realised . The figures are as follows :

ROVAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR BOYS . Donations and Subscriptions ... ... ... ... £ 26 , 306 12 1 Grand Lodge ... ... ... ... ... 150 0 0 Grand Chapter ... ... ... ... ... 10 10 o Dividends and Interest on Cash at Call ... ... ... 560 3 5 Miscellaneous Receipts ... ... ... ... 253 15 y Legacy ... ... ... ... ... 52 10 o

£ 2 ; , 333 " 3 ROYAL MASONIC BENEVOLENT INSTITUTION . Donations and Subscript ons ... ... ... ... £ 16 , 463 11 1 Grand Lodge ... ... ... ... ... 1 , 600 o o Grand Chapter ... ... ... ... ... 150 o 0 Dividends ... ... ... ... ... _ , 6 So 10 0 Interest ... ... ... ... ... 292 3 4 Legacies ... ... ... ... ... 2 , 052 10 o

£ 22 , 238 14 5 ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR GIRLS . Donations and Subscriptions ... ... ... ... £ 9 , 626 12 3 Grand Lodge ... ... ... ... ... j ^ o o o Grand Chapter ... ... ... ... ... t 0 10 0 One Admission by Purchase ... ... ... ... 17 S 10 0 Admissions by Annual Payment ... ... ... 102 2 S

Dividends ... ... ... ... ... 2 , 007 ' 3 ° Interest on Deposit ... ... ... ... 4 , 14 0 Receipts for Musical Instruction ... ... ... 227 6 6 Income Tax Recovered ... ... ... ... 57 4 6 Sale of Books of Subscribers ... ... ... ... 2 1 4 9 Window Memorials ( including £ 500 from Grand Lodge ) ... 734 o 0 Legacy ... ... ... ... ... ... r o

£ 13 , 190 iS 2 The table that follows shows ( 1 ) thc amounts received by each Institution during thc seven years 1885—18 91 , the fourth column containing the aggregate for each year ; ( 2 ) the average per year for each Instiution , as well as for the three together ; and ( 3 ) thc average receipt per year per Institution for the septennial period .

R . M . B . I . R . M . I . G . R . M . I . B . Total . 18 S 5 £ 21 , 374 7 1 £ i 6 . 7 < 5 S 19 6 £ 16 , 272 iC 0 £ 54 , 416 2 7 1556 18 , 194 13 0 15 , 546 iS 10 13 , 056 15 5 46 , 798 7 9 1557 28 , 968 4 4 16 , 429 0 6 15 , 661 16 1 61 , 059 o u 1 S 88 21 , 361 15 1 49 . 259 4 4 12 , 283 2 5 S 2 . 904 1 10 1 SS 9 18 , 729 iS 7 14 , 986 9 6 14 , 727 10 2 48 , 443 iS 3 1 S 9 0 21 , 305 13 4 21 , 76 3 19 1 12 , 472 6 9 55 , 541 19 2 18 9 1 22 , 238 14 5 13 , 190 iS 2 27 , 333 11 3 62 , 7 6 3 3 10

lotal for ) r r r ~ the 7 years . j £ ' 52 , 173 6 4 £ ' 47 . 945 9 11 £ 111 , 807 ' » 1 £ 411 , 926 H 4 th ^ fJZ } ' ' ™ ° " £ 2 ' - ' 5 £ ' 5 . 972 „ 2 £ 58 , 846 , 3 6 Average per Institution ... ... ... £ 19 , 615 11 2 Thc following is a statement , month by month , of the cases relieved , and the sums expended in relieving them , by the Board of

Benevolence—CASKS RELI HIVED . AMOUNT . January ... ... , 9 ... ... £ 3 g 2 February ... ... 29 ... ... 1010 March ... ... 39 ... ... 9 s 0 April ... ... 3 ' ... ... 765 May ... ... 30 ... ... S 90

J une ... ... 22 ... ... 660 July •¦••••21 ... ... 615 August ... ... 12 ... ... 3 60 September ... ... 24 ... ... 575 October ... ... 30 ... ... 070 November ... ... 29 ... ... 710 December ... ... 40 ... „ " go 0

TOTAL ... 332 £ 8887 Last year the number of cases was 330 , and the amount distributed amongst them £ 7732 . While , therefore , there has been an increase of two only in the number of cases , thc amount distributed has swelled by £ 1 155 . But thc same policy is being pursued of keeping the expenditure within the income , which may be taken as amounting to between / 9000 and - £ 10 , 000 .

"Ars Quatuor Coronatorum."

"ARS QUATUOR CORONATORUM . "

'Ihe advent of the concluding part to Volume IV . of the Transactions of Hie " Quatuor Coronati Lodge , " No . 21176 , London , calls for special recognition and remark ; this extraordinary and valuable series now running to mo , ) pages , including the most useful " St . John ' s Cards " annually published .

Besides these four massive volumes , forming the best 111 ult 11 , 11 in parvo Masonic library ever issued , there arc also four separate works representing the " Masonic Reprints " of the lodge , which include a verbatim et literatim reproduction of thc "Constitutions of the Freemasons " for A . 11 . 1728 , termed

the " Basis of Masonic History , " and practically unobtainable at the present time ( copies being so rare ); and numerous facsimiles of the Old Charges of nrtttsh Freemasons , not only in extenso , but accompanied with commentaries oy Bros . Gould , Speth , Ike , which fully explains the character and value of these most precious documents dating from the fourteenth century .

lhen there have becn considerably over 10011 members enrolled in the Outer Circle , " requiring an immense amount of correspondence , as lhey arc widel y distributed over the " four quarters of the globe , " and do their part to hel p in the good work of making the " Quatuor Coronati Lodge " the literary Masonic centre of the universal Craft , which undoubtedly it has become . 1 am amazed , on looking this matter fully in the face , and on realising what labour has bcen rendered ( the main work , the enormous correspon-

"Ars Quatuor Coronatorum."

dence , and thc initiation of most of the methods ) by our esteemed Secretary , Bro . G . W . Speth , as thc editor of these splendid volumes and the actual manager of this enormous enterprise ; the success of which , much as others have helped , is chiefly due to his skill , genius , and indomitable perseverance . It is' remarkable that the varied contents of the volumes never fail to

interest the ever increasing roll of members , and that the value of the last part issued will bear comparison Masonically and generally with any of its predecessors . It may now be assumed that there is no lack of suitable material , thc supply being - practically inexhaustible , and that without any effort iu soliciting papers , competent brethren are ahvays ready to

contribute the result of their researches for the information of the " Circle , and to promote thc study of Freemasonry . So far , thc difficulty has been in making a selection from the superabundant papers offered by the members rather than from any lack of the right sort of articles , as was originally feared by many who were unduly anxious about the matter .

Wc may thus congratulate ourselves as members that our zealous Secretary has made such an able editor , and that hc has obtained so many contributors from the "Inner" and "Outer Circle" of the lodge , in order to render the Transactions all that can be desired .

Thc present Part 3 of Volume IV . is full of interest , and ranks with the best of its numerous predecessors . The " Sketch of the Earlier History of Masonry in Austria and Hungary , " is continued by Bro . Lad . De Malczovich , and is of great value . Our brother is an enthusiast , but at the same time is also sufficiently matter of fact to be reliable , and furnishes a

vast accumulation of details respecting thc Craft in these countries , which arc entirely unknown to British students . The drawings of the medals arc very curious and most suggestive , especially when associated with the article by Bro . F . J . W . Crowe , in thc current " Christmas Freemason , " which is

so fully illustrated with reproductions of medals kindly sent by thc same brother . To trace Freemasonry back to 1726 , as Bro . Malczovich has done in the country to which he belongs , is a remarkable feat lo perform , and he has our best thanks for his able services in that direction .

The Paper by Bro . C . C . Howard ( 2036 ) on " Naymus Grecus Identified " is a most welcome contribution respecting a difficult problem , which I believe he has solved tothe extent that the name is not that of an individual , but of a body of Nemaiistis Greeks , Colonists of Nemaitsus , or Nisnics , France . There arc man } - other points dealt with in thc paper which are of

importance , but not all to my satisfaction ; but thc solution commends itself to my judgment , though not to several of our number who have earned thc right to be heard on this subject , and whose opinions carry great weight . Thc subject is well handled by Bro . Howard , and should be read in connection with his previous paper , and the discussion which followed .

My paper on "English Royal Arch Masonry , 1744-65 , " will , I hope , be found useful , especially as Bro . Speth has had the original record of 1753 ( referring to that Degree being conferred ) reproduced to accompany the article , which was kindly sent me by Bro . Quinn , of Fredericksburg , Virginia , in which city the lodge is held that has the oldest minute extant of the Royal Arch being worked .

A contribution from Bro . John Yarker , respecting "The Yezids " of Armenia , opens up a wide question , and will be gladly perused by those who recognise the Druses as a branch of Freemasonry , which I do not . Bro . Vernon ' s " Early Home of Masonry " ( with the capital illustrations ) has pleased me very much , as I have kept on pressing that diligent student

to publish a volume on the old lodge at Melrose , having records from 1674 , and is now on the roll of the Grand Lodge of Scotland as No . 1 bis . This he has now engaged to do , in fact , is at thc work , and will soon have it ready for the press , including a history of thc ancient lodge of Kelso and other old Ateliers .

¦ " Notes and Queries " sustain the interest to the last , the " Masons Marks " making another collection of these valuable Masonic memorials of the past . " A New MS . Roll of the Constitutions" is mentioned by Bro . H . Sadler , similar to thc celebrated " Harleian MS ., No . 1942 , " of about the middle of the nth century . This is a fine acquisition for the Grand

Lodge Library , which is so well looked after by Bro . Sadler , and who is so solicitous for its treasures being added to and duly described . Thc Harleian MS ., No . 1942 , is reproduced in Vol . II . of our " Reprints , " and this newly discovered roll will probably form a part of Vol . IV . Bro . J . A , Farnfield has presented a copy of the the rare " Mrs . Dodd ' s MS . " ( 1739 )

to the same collection , reproduced by my respected friend , Enoch I . Carson , who also has a copy ; there arc only three or four known ; and Bro . H . J . Whympcr , CLE ., our most industrious member in India , has given the Grand Lodge thc original MSS . of Thory ' s " Histoire dc la Fondation du Grand Orient de France ( 1812 ) and his " Acta Latomorum ( 1815 ) . "

The Obituary contains notices of our lamented Bros . Dr . W . A . Barrett and John Hawksley Goddard , who were well known to many of us , and took great interest in the welfare of our lodge . Bro . W . H . Rylands , P . M . 2 , P . G . S ., is now the W . M ., and assuredly no more competent and zealous brother has been in the chair of No . 2076 .

His address on installation , as might be expected , is an able production , but wc want much more from his facile pen , and confidently look forward thereto . Bro . Gould has reviewed Bro . John Lane ' s artistic and important volume on " Centenary Warrants and Jewels , " and considers " it will rank with its best efforts . " Much else remains to be noted , but my space is exhausted . W . J . HUGHAN .

The Governors of the Charterhouse , the munificent foundation of Thomas Sutton , contemplate increasing the number of pensioners from 60 to 70 . The original number was So . Some years ago , owing to depreciation in the value of the property , it was found necessary to reduce the limit to 60 , but the income has now so far recovered jtself as to justify the re-opening of some of the closed apartments .