Analysis Of The Returns.

raised for the Boys' Centenary . Its previous " bests" were in 1 SS 7—the year of the Queen ' s jubilee—when the Prov . Grand Master wis Chairman for thU Institution , and the Province supported him to the extent of £ 1785 gs . 6 d ., out of a total raised during the year of £ 1882 19 s . Cd . ; in 1888—the year of the Girls' Centenary

—when "Our Girls" received . 1 * 1149 13 s . 6 d . out of £ 1355 is . 6 d ., and in 1892 , ¦ when this Institution celebrated its Jubilee and had £ 1345 19 s . 7 d . subscribed to it out of a total for the year of £ 1650 17 s . in 18 94 the subscriptions reached £ 951 gs . 6 d ., and in 18 97 £ 1149 12 s . 6 d . These are big figures , even for so strong a Province .

HERTFORDSHIRE is another of those Provinces which , though comprising only a moderate array of lodge ? , is both regular and liberal beyond its strength in its contributions to our Charities . It now has 24 lodges on its roll , as compared with the eight it mustered in 1874 , when its chief , Bro . T . F . Halsey , M . P ., was installed in office , and its contributions have more than kept pace with its growth . In 1 S 88 it raised

£ 45 15 s . 6 d . for this Institution and £ 649 19 s . for the Girls' Centenary , or together £ 795 14 s . 6 d . In 1892 , when the Benevolent Jublee was celebrated , it subscribed in all £ 2135 6 s . 6 d ., of which £ 1883 6 s - 6 d . was '" respect of that anniversary , while in 1893 , when Bro . C . E . Keyser took the chair at the Festival of tint Charity , he received support to the extent of £ 1455 18 s . 6 d . out of the year ' s product of £ 2106 14 s . In 18 9 8 it was again well to the front with a total of £ 2126 3 s ., of which £ 1614 Ss . 6 d . was raised for the Boys' Centenary , and last year , when

Bro . Keyser was Chairman at the 101 st Festival of that Institution , it subscribed £ 1151 4 s . 6 d . in honour of his Chairmanship , in addition to £ 384 ios . 6 d . to this Institulion in February , and ^ 179 to the Girls School in May , making the total for the year £ 1714 15 s . On Tuesday 10 of its lodges were represented mostly by a single Steward , and there were four brethren Unattached , thc total raised by the 15 Stewards being £ 54 , Bro . Keyser , representing No . 2518 , which bears his name , being entered for £ 105 .

KENT , with its 65 lodges , is decidedly a strong Province , and has the will to render help commensurate with its strength . In 1891 , when the Prov . G . Master—Earl Amherst—presided at the Benevolent Festival , it subscribed in ils behalf £ 4018 16 s . In 1892 , at its jubilee , it raised for it £ 1868 15 s . 6 d . out of the total of ^ 29 6 9 6 s . 6 d . for the year . In 1898 the total , including £ 5542 _ s . 6 d . to the Boys'Centenary , was £ 5671 16 s . Last year it stood at £ 1476 13 s . ; while , on Tuesday , the representatives of seven lodges compiled a total of £ 277 15 s .

The two Lancashires , which are far and away the strongest of our 4 6 Provinces , attach great importance to the necessity for supporting the Institutions they have established for helping their own people . Hence , except on very special occasions , they do not show to great advantage . Thus

LANCASHIRE ( E . D . ) , with its array of 113 lodges , had only three of them and the chapter attached to a fourth represented , the number of brethren who acted as Stewards , including two Unattached , being nine , and the amount raised by them , including Bro . Cheetham ' s £ 147 , £ 288 15 s . Last year its total , distributed among the three Institutions , was only £ 503 Ss . ; but in 1 S 9 8 it stood as high as £ 6081 6 s . 6 d .,

of which £ 5772 ? s . 6 d . was subscribed to the Boys' Centenary . In 1895 it raised upwards ol £ 4000 for its own Educational and Benevolent Institution . In 1892 it raised £ 266 7 5 s . for the Benevolent Jubilee , and in 18 S 8 £ 2873 14 s . 6 d . for this Institution , and £ 1350 16 s . for the Girls' Centenary , or , together , £ 4350 13 s . This year , no doubt , thc Returns will be small , ; is it is intended to hold a Festival in Mav for its own Insiitution .

Similarly , as regards LANCASHIRE ( W . D . ) , which musters 122 lodges , the ' total returned is £ 15 15 s . Cd ., the number cf lodges taking part in the gathering being two , and the number of Stewards fuiir of whom two were Unattached . Last year it contributed £ 152 5 s . to this

Institution ; £ i 6 H to the Girls' School ; and . £ 115 ios . to the Boys'School ; or together £ 435 15 s . ; but in 1898 , it raised in all £ 4525 3 s ., of which £ 4451 13 s . was in support of the Boys' Centenary . Its greatest success was in 1891 , when it raised £ 6126 14 s . 4 d . in support of the late Earl of Lathom ' s Chairmanship for the Boys' School . Crossing the Thames into the Metropolitan Province of

MIDDLESEX , we find the 42 lodges under the rule of Lord George Hamilton , M . P ., actuated by the same sympathy with our Charities , a sympathy they delight in exhibiting 11 uulurly and on special occasions to excellent purpose . Eight of these 42 lodges lii-ure in Tuesday's Returns , the Staines Lodge , No . 2536 , having four of its nitmbisi's to itpresent it . The total from the 11 Stewards reached £ 153 15 s . Last ior

vear the sum of £ 300 lis . 6 d . was raised for this Institution ; £ 4 . ^ 9 ios . thu Girls' School ; and £ 77 3 s . Cd . for the Boys' School ; the total of the three contributions being £ ^ 7 6 5 s . in 189 S , in common with other Provinces of equal weight and influence , it made a brave show , and after preliminary subscriptions of V , s . to this Institulion , and . £ 507 13 s . 6 d . to the Girls' School , it raised by the medium of 78 Stewards , £ 28 95 lOs . for the Boys' Centenary , the product of

the whole year biin ? £ 3587 6 s . 6 i . In 1897 , it was tor obvious reasons comp iranvely quiet , and distributed £ 1105 18 s . among the three Charities , but even this must be looked upon as a success , when we remember that 18 9 C is its " record " year , when the total raised was £ 3967 1 . 5 s . 6 d ., of which £ 3705 15 s . 6 d . was subscribed in support ot Lord George Hamilton ' s Chairmanship for this Institulion lt also figured well for £ 1315 9 s . at the Benevolent Jubilee in 1892 ; for £ 1000 at the Girls' Festival in 1890 , when the late Sir Francis Burdett , Birt ., presided at its Festival ; and for £ 1107 14 s . at tho Girls' Centenary in i 833 .

NORtOLK , though it muiters 18 lodges , is not a strong Province , but every now and then it does some exceedingly good work . Last year it confined its attention to this Institution , for which , by the hands of Bro . S . F . Stackard , it raised the sum of / i-2 17 s 6 d . ln 1898 , it went for the Boys' Centenary , for which it raised / 818 8 s ., or more than £ 300 in excess of any previous contribution at any singli Festival . In 1892 , it honoured this Institution with subscriptions a . munting to £ s i 6 ios ., while in 1888 , at the Girls' Centenary , it figured for £ 2 . 4 4 s . In 11836 , wnen Lord Suffield , till recently Prov . Grand Master , presided at the Boys School Festival , the sum total ol its donations and subscriptions was £ 420 . On this occasion it contributed £ 73 Wi . by Bro . Geo . W . G . Barnard , Prov . Grand

Secretary . Under the genial sway of the Earl of Euston , the Province of NORTHANTS AND HUNTS has developed an energy in supporting our Masonic Institutions , which it knew not befcrc and that energy has disp layed itself with commendable impartiality among the three charities . It has a muster roll of 16 lodges , and its earliest achievement belongs to the year 1889 , when the Prov . Grand Master took the chair at the Old People's Festival , and was supported by his lodges to the tune of £ 914 > oi . Od ln 1 I 93 » hin his lordship was in the chair for the Girls' School , the amount

Analysis Of The Returns.

raised was £ 1050 , while in 18 99 the total reached £ 1784 25 ., of which . £ 1621 7 s . was for the Boys' Centenary . Even in 1899 ihe proceeds were considerable , amounting to no less than £ 530 is . 6 d . ; but on Tuesday there was a respite , and two lists , each of £ 21 , per Bros . Manfield and Cockerill , represented the work of the Province .

NORTHUMBERLAND , with 33 lodges , figured in the Benevolent and Girls' School Returns of last year , the total of the amounts raised being £ 77 5 s ., and on this occasion a representative appeared in the person of Bro . Thos . Martin , whose list was for £ 47 5 s . These figures look small , but it has shown to advantage on several occasions , notably in 18 91 , when , including the sum paid for a Perpetual Presentation , it

raised £ 1364 4 s . for the Boys' School ; in 1895 , when it gave , per Bro . R . Holmes , D . P . G . M ., £ 2315 5 s . to the Girls' School , with a supplementary £ 186 18 s . to the Boys' School ; and , again , in 1 S 98 , when it subscribed £ 1290 gs . to the Boys ' Centenary , the principal item being the list of Bro . Sir M . White-Ridley , Bart ., M . P ., Prov . G . Master , for £ 1124 1 Is . A single Steward with a list of £ 10 ios . did duty for

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE with its array of 18 lodges . But last year Bro . Rorke for the Province as a whole , with Bro . Bradley , acting for the Newark Lotlge , No . 1661 , Newark-upon-Trent , and Bro . N . Ashurst , for the Rufford Lodge , No . 2553 , Nottingham , compiled a

total of £ igg ios . for the Girls' School Festival . In 1898 , it subscribed £ 777 to the Boys' Centenary , while in 1897 , it shared £ 309 4 s . between this and the Boys ' I nstitutions ; in 1896 , £ 397 6 s . between the two Schools ; and in 18 95 , £ 274 ns . 6 d . between the Boys' School and the Old People . Our attention is now turned to the Province of

OXFORDSHIRE which , though small numerically—it has but 12 lodges , all told—is nevertheless . 1 staunch friend of all our Charities . It would take us more time than we have at our disposal to ascertain the particular Festival during the last quarter of a century , in which it did not bear a part . Suffice it , however , to say that in 1892 it raised during the year £ 662 , of which £ 428 7 s . was subscribed to the Jubilee of

this Institution , while in 1 S 98 its total reached £ 917 13 s . 6 d ., of which £ 505 12 s . 6 d . fell to tho share of the Old People , at whose Festival the Earl of Jersey , Prov . G . Master , was the President ; £ 73 14 s . to the Girls' School , and . £ 33 8 7 s . to the Boys' School Centenary . Last year a total of ; £ si 6 14 s . 6 d . was realised , of which this Institution received £ 141 4 s . ; the Girls' School , ^ 209 4 s . 6 d . ; and the Boys' School , £ 166 6 s . On this occasion , six of the 12 lodges , took part in the work , thc aggregate of the seven Stewards' lists being £ 111 6 s .

SHROPSHIRE , 12 lodges , had two Unattached representatives in its respected Deputy , Bro . Row . and G . Venables , P . A . G . D . C , and Bro . W . Lascelles Southwell , the latter of whom returned a list of £ 21 . Last year the Province took part in only one of the three anniversary gatherings , the amount raised for this Institution by Sir Ofiley Wakeman , Bart ., Prov . G . M ., and Bro . W . Lascelles Southwell being £ 3 6 15 s . But this is not surprising . In 189 S Shropshire , after contributing

£ 89 5 s . lo this Institution and £ 3 6 15 s . to the Girls' School , raised no less than £ 1199 Ss . 6 d . for the Hoys' Centenary , the total of the three amounts being £ 1325 18 s . 6 d . In 1 S 92 it raised £ 456 15 s . for the Benevolent Jubilee out of a year ' s total amounting to £ 615 16 s . 6 d . ; in 1 S 88 it gave £ 770 15 s . to the Girls ' Centenary out of . £ 807 ios . ; while in 1887 , at the outset of its career as a separate Province , it supported its Prov . G . M . as Chairman for the Girls ' Festival to the extent of £ 1022 . It is not surprising that

STAFFORDSHIRE should make a small appearance on this occasion . The Earl of Dartmouth , Prov . G . Master , has kindly consented to preside at the Girls' SchoolFestival in May , and the Province is very naturally holding itself in reserve in order that its support of his lordship ' s presidency may be worthy of its respected chief . Thus the appearance of only a single Steward from one of the 34 lodges on the roll , with a personal donation of £ 10 ios ., is not to be wondered at . Last year the Province to in

put in some good work , subscribing ^ 178 i os . this Institution February , £ 420 to the Girls' School in May , and . £ 169 ios . to the Boys' School in June , the year ' s total being £ 768 is . This is the more creditable as in 1898 it laid itself out to support the Boys' Centenary , for which it raised £ 3845 8 s . out of a total forthe year of £ 4023 18 s . In 1892 , including £ 362 ios . to the Benevolent Jubilee , it subscribed in all . £ 7 62 ; in 1891 ^ £ 761 8 s . 6 d ., of which £ 452 was for the Boys ' School ; * nd in 1888 £ 617 17 s ., of which the Girls' School received £ 355 7 s . at ils Centenary , and the Boys' School £ 262 10 s .

There are few more regular supporters of our Institutions than SUFFOLK , and few which , having regard to its strength , contribute more generously . On Tuesday , six of its 22 lodges and one of its 10 chapters were entered in the Returns , their contributions , by the eight brethren who did duty as Stewards , amounting to £ 429 ios ., the principal list being that of Comps . Rowe and Martin ,

Chapter 1224 , for £ 126 5 s . Last year the total was much lower than usual , the amount distributed among the three Charities , only reaching the modest sum of £ 238 7 s ., but can we wonder at this when we remember the prominent part that Suffolk took in the work of the Hoys' Centenary , to which , by the hands of 33 Stewards , it contributed . £ 1510 17 s . Cd . out of a total for the year of . £ 156 3 7 s . Cd .

In 1888 , it subscribed in all £ 1105 I 2 S ., made up of £ 45 1 ios . to this Institution ; £ 517 12 s . to the Girls' Centenary ; and . £ 136 ios . to the Boys' School . In 1889 , it raised £ 1048 17 s . Cd ., of which £ 577 19 s . Cd . was subscribed in honour of Lord Henniker ' s Chairmanship at the Girls' Festival , while in 1 S 92 , including £ 1291 14 s . to the Jubilee of this Institution , it raised in all £ 1449 4 s . Passing to the Home Pr jvincc of

SURRF . Y , we find five of its 45 lodges is represented each by a single Steward , the aggregate of the lists being £ 196 14 s . This is a modest sum for so influential a Province , but it did extremely well last year , when it subscribed by the hands of 17 Stewards , £ 649 4 s . to this Institution ; £ 531 6 s . 6 d . by the same number of Stewards , to the Girls' School ; and £ 102 2 s < 5 d . by five Stewards , to the Boys' School ; giving a total for the year of £ 1288 5 s . 6 d . In 18 9 8 , it surpassed all its previous

performances by raising £ 39 68 2 s ., of which £ 3499 163 . was obtained for the Boys ' Centenary by the efforts of 85 Stewards . ln 1894 , when the late Bro . Col . G . Noel Money , C . B ., Prov . G . M ., presided for the Old People , the proceeds of the year , including £ 1399 2 s . to this Institution , amounted to £ 1673 4 s . Od . ; while in 1892 , a total , including £ 2148 os . Cd . to the Benevolent Jubilee , of ^ 2817 19 s . 6 d . » a . s subscribed . ln 1888 , the Returns amounted to £ 1298 14 s ., of which £ 1147 18 s . was in respect of thc Girls' Centenary .

SUSSEX , notwithstanding that its Piov . G . M ., H . R . H . the Dukeof Conn might has consented In preside at the Hoys' Festival in July , has come out exceedingly well , the Province itself being represented by Hro . J . AL Reed , I ' rov . Grand Treasurer , while 11 other brethren acted as Stewards for seven of its 33 lodges . The sum total of the lists is X 378 , the principal one being that of Bro . G , A . Hunt , of