Royal Masonic Institution For Boys.

ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR BOYS .

In the speech in which the Earl of LATHOM proposed the toast of " The Royal Masonic Institution for Boys" at the Anniversary Festival at Brighton , on the 24 th ult ., his lordship referred to two matters of surpassing interest to all who concern themselves about the welfare of this important Charity .

One of these had reference to the boys themselves and the time they should be retained at school , the other to the Institution and the locality in which it is situated . As regards the former , we shall be brief in the remarks we have to make . It is in fact

a question of money and money only . If the finances of the Institution , even under the more economical management of the new regime , will not admit of the boys remaining at school beyond the present limit of 15 years , that limit will have to be retained . But we recommend it to the serious consideration of the

authorities , whether it might not be possible to readjust the limits of age for admission so as to enable the boys to remain till 16 years . As these now stand a boy is admissible between the ages of seven and 11 years , and he remains till 15 years . A few years ago the inferior limit for admission was eight

years , the superior limit being the same as it is now , while the boys were kept at school till 16 years . We recognise that the process known as " chopping and changing " in these matters is most undesirable ; but were a return made to eight years as the inferior limit for admission ,

and 16 years for leaving the School , the maximum number of years during which it is now possible for a boy to remain on the establishment would remain unaltered , and the cost of his education and maintenance likewise . We lay some stress upon this point , because weare convinced it is more to the advantage

ofthe boys that they should remain till 16 years than that they should begin school at seven years . As to the generality of boys , it matters little whether they begin at seven or eight years , but the additional year from 15 to 16 years is of incalculable benefit to them all . Their mental powers have grown stronger ,

and the extra year ' s study enables them to comprehend better what they have previously been learning to a great extent mechanically . It is well worth the while of the authorities to consider this point to which Lord LATHOM has publicly called attention , especially as we have shown that by a very simple

read justment of the limits of age , the suggested change can be made without any extra cost to the Institution . ¦ As regards the greater question concerning the locality of the School , Lord LATHOM pointed out the disadvantages of the present site . In the first place , the School stands on a clayey

soil ; in the second , it is now almost entirely surrounded b y tenements of a very inferior class . When the greater portion of the present site was purchased some 35 years ago , the nei ghbourhood was but sparsely populated , Wood Green was a mere hamlet , and Lordship-lane may have been able to boast

of a few country houses scattered along its entire length from Wood Green to the main road at Tottenham . The price ° f £ 3500 paid for Lordship House and the 10 acres of ground in which it stood , shows that in those days land was to be had cheaply enough in the locality . But ever since the construction

° f _ the Metropolitan Railway and its connection at King's Cross with the Great Northern , the process of building in and around Wood Green has been carried on with such amazing energy and rapidity , that what was a large expanse of fields , dotted here and there with mansions and cottage tenements ,

ls now almost entirely covered with bricks and Mortar , the "desirable villa residence" which our jerry builder delights in , being conspicuous everywhere by its Presence . Noel Park , too—a most useful aggregation of houses tor the hoi polloi , but not desirable , as Lord LATHOM pointed t

ou , to have in the immediate neighbourhood of a large public school- —has sprung up during the last few years within a stone ' s nro \ v of the School , which , thus engirt on all sides , no longer etains the one great advantage it originally possessed of being 0 c ated in the open country . Add to this the serious disad-

Royal Masonic Institution For Boys.

vantage caused by the premises standing on a clayey soil , and the plea , in favour of a removal some miles further away from the Metropolis is , we think , very clearly established . But then there arises of course the question of cost , though , for ourselves , we think this need not prove a

very serious obstacle . The value of land in the neighbourhood has increased immensely since 1856 . Then , as we have said , Lordship House and its 10 acres of ground were bought for £ 3500 , that is at £ 350 per acre . Six years later a plot of rather less than an acre and three-quarters was purchased for £

865—say , about £ 500 per acre . In 18 72 , 34 perches were purchased in two separate lots for £ 262 , or at the rate of over £ 1000 per acre , while in 188 4 the Preparatory School site of about an acre and a quarter—elsewhere set down as about an acre and a half—on which stood Lindum Villas , Nos . 1 to 4 , cost £ 3100 ,

or at the rate of between £ 2400 and £ 2500 per acre . The whole of the site , covering upwards of 14 acres , cost £ 9013 ios ., and the present value is estimated at £ 30 , 500 , a sum which , if the authorities should resolve on moving the School further from London , would go a long way towards purchasing a far more

eligible site and the erection of the necessary buildings . However , the question is one for very careful consideration , and when the general body of Governors and Subscribers has been educated to see how desirable it is that the project which Lord LATHOM referred to so pointedly and yet so briefly in his speech

at Brighton should be carried out , we have little doubt the removal will be decided upon . In the meantime his lordship deserves the thanks of the Craft for having brought prominently to its notice a scheme which cannot fail to prove beneficial to the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys .

Provincial Grand Lodge Of Kent.

PROVINCIAL GRAND LODGE OF KENT .

The annual festival of the Provincial Grand Lod ge of Kent was held at Tunbridge Wells on Thursday , the 25 th ult . The Prov . Grand Master , Earl Amherst , presided , and there were also present the D . P . G . M ., Bro . [ . Smith Eastes , and a large number of Prov . Grand Officers and brethren

numbering upwards of 200 . The Prov . Grand Lodge was held in thc Pump Room , the adjoining premises of the Neville Club being given up for the occasion , and which were pleasantly decorated , thc exterior of the Pump Room with bannerettes and flowers , whilst the interior was decorated with plants .

The Provincial Grand Lodge was opened by Bro . Earl Amherst , under the banners of the Holmesdale Lodge , 874 ( 81-0 . A . T . Simpson , P . M ., W . M . ) , and the Pantiles Lodge , 220 o ( Bro . T . Ryder , W . M . ) , when the necessary routine of

business was gone through , and thc newly-appointed , officers were duly invested . The Prov . G . Organist , Bro . W . H . Longhurst , Mus . Doc , presided at the organ . The following officers were appointed :

Bro . Alfred Thomas Simpson , W . M . 874 ... Prov . S . G . W . „ George F . Alexander Smythe , P . M . 2195 ... Prov . J . G . W . „ Rev . fohn Stewart , M . A ., P . M . 1414 ... 7 D V- / - „ Rev . George Denncr Payden , M . A ., P . M . 709 ... j Prov ' ' Chaplains . ,, Alfred Spencer ( re-appointed ) ... ... Prov . G . Sec . „ Robert Jurel Cook , P . M . 213 ... ... Prov . G . Reg . ,, William Crawford , P . M . 127 ... ... " ) ,-, 0 r , ^ 0

,, „ Charles Baker , P . M . 1206 ... ... j ' ^ Ar ' ' „ Edward H . Joynson , P . M . 2147 ... ... \ p , . „ , „ Silas Wagon , P . M . 106 3 ... ... ) ' -l ' t , ' 1 ) s ' „ Richard Griggs , P . M . 133 ... ... Prov . G . S . of W . „ John William Court , P . M . 1096 ... ... Prov . G . D . C . „ William Francis , P . M . 558 ... ... Prov . D . G . D . C . „ John Hunt , P . M . 503 ... ... ... Prov . A . G . D . C . „ William Moulds , P . M . 1536 ... ... Prov . G . S . B . ,, Thomas Deane , P . M . 77 ... ... )„ n c , . ., „ William Robert Tanner , P . M . 1 S 4 ... ... j * mVl ( l' StcL Brs '

„ W . H . Longhurst , Mus . Doc , P . M . 31 ... Prov . G . Org . ,, Henry Iron , P . M . 1273 ... ... ... Prov . A . G . Sec . „ Jonas Hill , P . M . 483 ... ... ... Prov . G . Purst . „ Thomas J . Nye , P . M . 196 7 ... ... Prov . A . G . Purst . „ Thomas Bent , P . M . 784 ... ... ^ ,, Tibert Saunders , P . M . 1915 „ James Trueman Tanqueray , P . M . 1965 ••¦ lp mv a Stmvnrrk „ Francis William Wright , P . M . 2046 ... f Prov ' ' Awards . ,, Edward Cooper Fenoulhet , P . M . 2099 ... j ,, William Charles Cripps , P . M . 2200 ... J