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CONTENTS . LEADERS— PAGE . Approaching Festival of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution ... G 05 The Audit of Accounts ... .. ... ... ... GcG United Grand Lodge ( Quarterly Communication ) ... ... ... Go < 5 Mark Grand Lodge ( Quarterly Communication ) ... ... ... GoS Provincial Grand Lodge of East Lancashire ... ... ... ... Goo

Consecration of the Milton Chapter , No . 1231 ; ... ... ... 609 Craft Masonry ... ... ... ... ... ... Gio Mark Masonry ... ... ... ... ... ... 611 Royal Arch ... ... ... ... ... ... ... Gn Ancient and Accepted Rite ... ... ... ... ... 6 n MASONIC NOTESQuarterly Communication of United Grand Lodge ... ... ... G 13

Quarterly Communication of Mark Grand Lodge ... ... ... 613 New Masonic Hall at Williamsport ... ... ... ... 613 Annual Communication of the Grand Lodge of Missouri ... ... 613 Correspondence ... ... ... ... ... ... G / 4 Craft Masonry ... ... ... ... ... ... 614 Red Cross of Rome and Constantine ... ... ... ... Gi . s

The Freemasons at St . Paul's ... ... ... ... ... 61 G Royal Ark Mariners - ... ... ... ... ... ... 61 G Lodges and Chapter of Instruction ... ... ... ... G 16 The Late Countess of Lathom ... ... ... ... ... C 17 Obituary ... ... ... ... ... ... ... G 17 Masonic and General Tidings ... ... ... ... ... 618

Approaching Festival Of The Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution.

APPROACHING FESTIVAL OF THE ROYAL MASONIC BENEVOLENT INSTITUTION .

The time has come when , in accordance with thc custom we havo adopted for many years past , we consider it our duty to place before our readers the claims of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution to the support of the Craft , and thereby bring

Ihem , so to speak , more immediately in touch with the Anniversary Festival , which will be held in its behalf on Tuesday , the the 22 nd February , 1898—the day on which it is ordinarily held being Ash Wednesday . We have previously announced that the

chair on this occasion will be taken by Bro . the Right Hon . thc Karl of JERSEY , G . C . M . G ., who , at the same time , is Past Grand Master of New South Wales , and our hope and trust is that the Craft will second the efforts of his lordship in behalf of this

Institution to such an extent , that there will be no apprehension on the part of the Committee ol Management as to the year ' s income being sufficient to meet the requirements of the year ' s expenditure . It must be borne in mind that the responsibilities

which rest upon the Benevolent Institution are very serious , and that every year there has to be found a sum of about £ 19 , 000 to defray the annuities and the costs of management , as well as of maintaining the Asylum al

Croydon . Thus , as regards the Male Fund , there arc 200 annuitants , for which it provides pensions at the rate of £ 40 a year . On the Widows' Fund there are 242 annuitants , each of whom is in receipt of £ 32 a year from the funds of the

Institution , and in addition there are—or rather there were at the date of the last Annual General Meeting of the Governors and Subscribers in May of this year—28 widows , to each of whom is paid for a term of live years the half of her late

husband's annuity . Thus thc Male Fund disburses in annuities £ 8 ooo , the Widows' Fund £ 77 64 , and there is an additional £ 5 60 distributed in half-annuities ; the total sum required for thc year ' s outlay on annuities alone being £ 16 , 304 , while the

costs of management and thc maintenance of thc Asylum at Croydon absorb not far short of a further sum of £ 3000 , the total expenditure in round figures being fully £ 19 , . On the olher hand , the Permanent Income does not range much , if at

all , higher than £ 5250—say £ 5300—made up of annual grants by Grand Lodge of £ r 6 oo and by Grand Chapter of £ 150 , the balance being the dividends received in respect of invested capital . This leaves an annual deficiency of some £ 14 , , which must bc raised-year after year by means of voluntary

Approaching Festival Of The Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution.

subscriptions in order that the Institution may be able to meet the liabilities it has undertaken . This , it will be admitted , is a very formidable sum to be called upon to raise , not for a tingle year only , but regularly year by year lor all time , or at all

events for as long as the Freemasons of this country are financially in a position lo furnish it out of their own pockets and those of their friends ; and there is virtually only one source to look to for obtaining it , namely , the Festival which is held

annually in support of the Charity . 'I rue , there is a moderate list of lodges and brethren lhat subscribe annually , but the number is never great as compared with the amount that is required , and were it not for the successful Festivals whicli

have been held for some years past , the Committee of Management would be under the necessity cither of selling out a part of the modest capital they have been at such pains to accumulate , or of reducing the number of Old People who are in

receipt of annuities . Neither of these alternatives is a pleasant one to contemplate , and we shall not seriously grieve if the duty of facing one or the other is postponed till the Greek Calends .

We have said the chief source on which the Institution is compelled to rel y in order to make gootl its annual deficiency of some £ 14 , 000 is the Anniversary Festival . If this is successful ,

well and good ; but if the Returns fall short—that is lo say , to any serious extent—of what is required , the alternatives we have spoken of present themselves . But , in order lo ensure success , the services of a stron ° " and efficient Board ol Stewards must be

forthcoming , and we regret to say that at the present time lhe number of those whom Bro . TERRY has thus far had the good fortune to enlist is quite 50 short of what it was at the corresponding date ol last year for the 18 97 Festival . London is weakly

represented , and so are thc Provinces , and , to judge from the information that reaches us , wc fear that even those who have promised their help will not be able to accomplish very great things . For a part of this shortcoming we have been all along prepared . The

Boys' School will celebrate the centenary of its foundation next year , and it is only to be expected that , as in 18 SS , when the Girls' School celebrated the same auspicious Anniversary and in 1892 , when this Institution held its Jubilee—these two Institutions

will not meet with the same measure o ( support as they do ordinarily . The Boys' School Centenary , which will bc hehl some time during the early summer under the presidency of his Royal Hig hness the Prince of WALES , M . W . Grand Master , will

in the nature of things prove the great attraction of the year 18 9 8 , and hence , as wc have said , this Institution and the Girls' School may be expected to show smaller Returns

than usual . What , however , wc are desirous of impressing upon our readers is that while we fully recognise the claims of lhe Boys' School Centenary as paramount for the year 1 S 9 8 , the Old People ' s Institution will require some £ 16 , 300 for

annuities alone , and a further sum of close on £ 3000 tor the expenses of management and maintenance . Moreover , there are already close upon 100 candidates for admission to the benefits of the Institution , and before thc year is ended there

will be more . Thus , whatever else may betide this Charily next year , this £ 19 . 000 must be forthcoming , and as the frxed income docs not greatly exceed £ 5000 , an effort must be

madeand we anxiously trust it may be a successful effort—to raise as nearly as possible , the deficiency of £ 14 , , in order that the Institution may he able to pay its way during the coming year . In order to accomplish this , thc services of many additional