Royal Masonic Institution For Boys.

cipal lists being firstly that of Bro . John Warren , P . M . and Sec , who represented the Nelson Lodge , No . 700 , and takes the highest place among the Metropolitan Stesvards , with the very handsome sum of . £ 241 ios . Next to him we find Bro . G . R . Langley , P . M ., who did duty for the Lodge of Unity , No . 18 3 , and had the satisfaction of compiling ^ 189 . Bro . Nathan Salmon , W . M . of the Domatic Lodge , No . 177 , stood third with £ 132 6 s ., and Bro . W . Madge , Steward for the

Strand Lodge , No . 1987 , fourth , vvith £ 126 5 s ., the other three figure lists being those of Bro . H . Nelson Price , Steward for the Viator Lodge , No . 2308 , who obtained ^ 107 5 s ., and Bro . T . C . Sandeman , vvho worthily represented the Friends in Council , No . 1383 , and has standing to his credit the goodly sum of ^ 103 19 s . As they were only 6 9 lodges and four chapters represented , these half

dozen lists constitute after all not so bad a proportion of the London Returns . The Unattached Stewards were 29 in number , the sum raised by them being about the usual character , that is to say , comprising for the most part personal donations of 10 guineas , with a small sprinkling of hig her figures interspersed amongst them . So much for the Metropolitan section of the Stewards' Returns . Turning our

attention to THE PROVINCES vve find that , though only two-thirds of them are represented , the array of Stewards is a strong one , and there can be no doubt they have worked both earnestly and successfully in order to supply the Institution with the needful ways and means for the current year . The following are the 14 absentees from the present Festival ,

namely , BEDFORDSHIRE ( six lodges ) , vvhich has taken no part in the Festival celebrations of this year , possibly because the office of Prov . G . M ., which till lately was occupied by Bro . Col . W . Stuart , P . G . W ., is vacant , and the Province therefore is unsettled . However , it was among the contributing Provinces at the Boys ' Festival last year , and had a share in the Centenary of the Girls' School in 1888 , BRISTOL ( nine lodges ) has also been an absentee from the Festivals of the current

year , but it can give a very good account of itself in connection vvith those of previous years , and will doubtless figure again to good purpose vvhen its time for so doing is ripe . CUMBERLAND AND WESTMORLAND ( 22 lodges ) was represented on a modest scale at the Benevolent Festival in February , when it raised , £ 73 ios . for that Institution , and it also subscribed ^ 140 in 1889 , of vvhich the same Charity received over , £ 100 , and the Boys' School the remainder . In 1888 it figured for

1000 guineas ( , £ 1050 ) at the Festival of the Benevolent Institution , and ± 210 at the Girls' Centenary , while in 1886 , vvhen the Boys' Festival was held at Bri ghton , the total of its Returns was ^ 500 . H EREFORDSHIRE ( five lodges ) has had no part in any Festival since the Girls' Centenary , and though we are aware that it has its Charity Organisation , vve think it would do well to enter an appearance in these Returns at shorter intervals . LEICESTERSHIRE AND RUTLAND ( 12 lodges ) is one

of those Provinces of medium strength vvhich assist our Charities only now and again , and as it raised ; £ i 8 g for the Old Folks in February , its absence from the Girls' Festival in May , and on the present occasion need not excite any surprise . Nor , as regards LINCOLNSHIRE ( 23 lodges ) can vve wonder that it should have been unrepresented on Wednesday , seeing that it subscribed over . £ Too to the Benevolent Institution in February , and a fraction over . £ 542 to the Girls' School in

May . MONMOUTHSHIRE ( lolodges ) was among the supporters of the Girls' School in May , svhen its half-dozen Stewards raised amongst them £ 247 . Last year the Boys' Institution svas aided to the extent of upwards of . £ 300 ; in 1888 the Girls ' School received the bulk of the ^ 530 vvhich its brethren raised ; while in the year of the Queen ' s Jubilee the Old People svere favoured to the extent of ^ 300 , and the Girls'School received £ 62 ios . The Province of NORTHANTS AND HUNTS

( II lodges ) has been called upon pretty freely since Bro . the Earl of Euston vvas installed Prov . Grand Master , its principal effort having been made in behalf of the Benevolent Institution at its Festival last year , when his lordship occupied the chair , and the lodges under his obedience raised ^ 91410 s . 6 d . NORTHUMBERLAND ( 23 lodges ) svas moderately represented at the Girls' Centenary to the extent of 50 guineas (^ 52 ios . ) and in the February preceding it contributed . £ 900 to the

R . M . Benevolent Institution . It has lain on its oars since then , but vve have little doubt vve shall hear of it in the earl y future as figuring among the contributing Provinces at one of these Festivals with a large amount to its credit . SOUTH WALES , EAST DIVISION ( 16 lodges ) , having raised £ 400 for the Girls' School Festival the other day , may justly claim a rest from labour , while NORTH AND EAST YORKSHIRE ( 30 lodges ) has played a small part in the preceding Festivals of

this year , and at the same time has raised a very considerable sum for its osvn Educational Institute , svhich was started last year , so that its absence may readily be accounted for on Wednesday . The other three absentees are the CHANNEL ISLANDS ( five lodges ) , J ERSEY ( seven lodges ) , and ISLE OF MAN ( eight lodges ) , vvhich from time to time give evidence of the interest they take in our Institutions , and whose contributions are always svelcome . As regards the represented Provinces , we find that of

BERKS AND BUCKS in its usual place , and , what is more to the point , in somewhat greater force than usual . The number of its Stewards on Wednesday was less than at the Benevolent Festival in February , when 13 brethren , representing seven lodges and a chapter , raised £ 435 13 s . 6 d ., and also in May , when 10 brethren raised £ 142 17 s . 6 d . for the Girls' School . On this occasion nine lodges shared the

good work amongst them , four of them belonging to the Berks section of the Province and five to the Bucks , while one brother did duty as Steward for two lodges . The total amount subscribed vvas ^ 23 8 5 s ., vvhich added to the contributions in February and May makes the aggregate for the year £ 814 16 s . As this is the last time on which the two counties will act together as one Province , vve seize the opportunity of congratulating the brethren on the success

which has signalised their labours on behalf of our Charities during the current j ear and previously , nor have vve any doubt that when the change in their organisation as separate Provinces has been completed , the two will be found as firm friends of our Institution as ever , only instead of working together as one body , they will exert themselves in friendl y rivalry to achieve , as far as possible , the same beneficent object .

CAMBRIDGESHIRE , vvhich has but six lodges , figured in the Benevolent Returns in February for ^ 52 ios ., contributed by the hands of Bro . C . A . Vinter . It vvas not represented at the Girls' Festival in May , but on Wednesday its Steward , Bro . Benjamin Channel ! , Prov . S . G . W ., compiled a list of . £ 206 12 s ., which raises the total contributed during the current year to £ 259 2 s . Last year it raised - £ 315 all

, three Institutions obtaining a share , though more than half was handed to this Institution , and in 1888 it raised . £ 362 5 s . for the Girls' Centenary , the amounts it distributed among the three Charities in the previous two years being ^ S 37 us . in 188 7 and ^ 547 5 s . in 1 886 . These figures show what zeal , energy , and organisation on the part of even a small Province are capable of doing . At the last moment ,

CHESHIRE vvas saved from being in the list of absentees by Bro . W . Masters , Sincerity Lodge , No . 428 , Northwich , entering an appearance as Steward and handing a list of ; £ io IOS . In February , it contributed £ 120 15 s . to the funds of the

Benevolent Institution , and in May close on . £ 70 to those of the Girls' School , the aggregate for the three anniversaries being ^ , ' 201 5 s . But as we have said in previous analytical articles , the Cheshire Educational Institute naturall y has the first claim on the attention of the brethren , and therefore we cannot expect large contributions from this Province in aid of the central Charities .

CORNWALL , vvith its 30 lodges , has figured at the Festivals of all three Institutions during this year . It raised . £ Tio 5 s . by the hands of Bro . F . W . Thomas for the Old People in February . In May , with Bro . G . B . Pearce as representative , it gave . £ 132 6 s . to the Girls' School , and on Wednesday Bro . Major Ross raised . £ 137 ios . for this

Institution , the total for the whole year being . £ 380 is . Last year it distributed £ 3 62 5 s . among the three Charities ; in 1888 , . £ 465 5 s ., of vvhich ^ 372 15 s . was raised for the Girls' Centenary , and in 188 7 , Bro . G . B . Pearce being the Steward at all three Festivals , . £ 704 us . Only one of the 23 lodges in

DERBYSHIRE vvas directly represented on Wednesday , but there were half-a-dozen brethren acting as Stewards Unattached , and among them will .. be found the names of such well known Masons as Bros . A . Woodiwiss , J . P ., Percy Wallis , and George Fletcher . The total raised by the seven brethren was - £ 236 5 s ., which .

added to the £ 42 17 s . contributed to the R . M . B . I . in February , and the ; £ i 6 o ios . to the Girls * ' School , increases the aggregate for the year to ^ 444 12 s . Last year its total vvas over ^ 414 , and the average per year for the previous four years vvas ; £ 8 io , caused principally by its large support to this Institution in 1885 , when Bro . the Marquis of Hartington acted as Chairman , and its handsome contribution of £ 789 to the Girls' Centenary in 1888 .

DEVONSHIRE had two admirable representatives in Bro . Dr . Lemon—a veteran in this field of Masonic work , who acted independently—and Bro . the Rev . Harry A . Hebb , M . A ., | the new Head Master , vvho represented the Lodge of Union , No . 444 , Starcross . Their lists together amounted to . £ 74 us ., which , added to the . £ 207 ios . raised by Bro . Lemon in February for the Benevolent

Institution , and the £ 142 16 s . —of vvhich Bro . John Lane was responsible for all but £ 6 6 s . —for the Girls' School in May , gives a total for the year of ^ 424 18 s . In 188 9 the Province vvas included in the Returns for all three Festivals , but the sum contributed by Comp . Westlake , of Chapter No . 70 , was not stated , and we are able to trace , therefore , onl y . £ 94 ios ., the personal donation of Bro . Lemon to the Girls' School in May , and ^ 103 19 s . raised for the Boys' School in June ,

. £ 93 9 s . of the latter sum being Bro . Lemon ' s share of the contribution , the total for the year so far as it is ascertainable being ; £ ig 8 9 s . In 1888 it raised ; £ ioi 3 5 s ., of which the Boys' School , at whose Festival Bro . Viscount Ebrington , M . P ., P . G . M ., presided as Chairman , received . ££ 40 , the Girls' School at its Centenary £ 126 , and the R . M . B . I . £ 47 5 s . The last occasion on which the Province of

DORSETSHIRE vvas represented was at the Festival of the Benevolent Institution in February , 188 9 , vvhen it contributed . £ 156 10 s . Bro . Binckes , therefore , must have been well content to see it included in the list of Wednesday , when Bro . S . R . Baskett , who , by the way , is one of the prominent candidates for the vacant Secretaryship , raised a total of ; £ I 8 I 13 s . Bro . Baskett has acted in the same capacity on

previous occasions , and obtained ; £ ioo out of the ; £ i $ 6 ios . already mentioned as having been raised for the Old People in February , 188 9 , so that he deserves all the greater credit for his success on this occasion . In 1888 it returned ^ 294 at the Girls' Centenary , and was more or less substantiall y represented at one or more of the Festivals held in each of the three preceding years . Bro . C . D . Hill Drury acted as Steward on behalf of the Province of

DURHAM , the amount of his list being ^ 78 15 s . In February , though no brother undertook the office of Stesvard , the Province figured in the list as contributing . £ 7 8 15 s ., while in May Bro . John Sinclair , as the provincial representative , compiled a total of - £ 105 , so that Durham , vvith its complement of 30 lodges and upwards , has

raised during the current year . £ 262 ios . Last year its contributions to the three Charities reached a total of ^ £ 354 18 s ., while in the year preceding it amounted to , £ 751 3 s ., of vvhich the R . M . B . I . received ; £ i 22 15 s ., the Girls' School at its Centenary , £ 375 18 s ., and the Boys' School , . £ 262 ios . There are now upwards of 30 lodges on the roll of

ESSEX , and though in 188 9 it made a less successful display than in many preceding years , owing no doubt to its heavier work in connection with the Girls' Centenary in 1888 , it has undoubtedly made amends for any such shortcoming during the present year . In February it sent up 11 Stewards , vvho raised amongst them . £ 385 16 s . 6 d ., and in May its five Stewards together returned . £ 284 os . 6 d . On Wednesday seven of ils lodges sent Stewards , among them being the Chigwell ,

No . 453 , svith Bro . George Corbie as Steward ; the United , No . 697 , Colchester , with Bro . J . T . Bailey ; the Philbrick , No . 2255 , Chingford , vvith Bro . James Terry , Secretary of the R . M . B . I ., as its representative ; and the Lennox Browne , No . 2318 , with Bro . Dr . Scoresby-Jackson for Steward . The total returned is ^ 307 13 s ., so that the product for the whole year amounts to . £ 977 ios ., as against ^ 646 5 s . 6 d . in 1889 , £ i 2 gj 3 s . 6 d . in 1888 , and , £ 873 4 s . in the year of the Queen ' s Jubilee . Three out of the 14 lodges in

GLOUCESTERSHIRE , namely , Foundation , No . 82 , Cheltenham , and Royal Lebanon , No . 493 , Gloucester , and another , figure in the Returns as having been directly represented on this occasion , while Bros . R . V . Vassar-Smith , D . P . G . M ., and Sir Lionel E . Darell , Bart ., P . G . D ., acted as Unattached Stewards . These raised amongst them a total of , £ 6 9 6 s ., vvhich , with the sum of . £ 144 7 s . compiled by six Stewards for the Benevolent Institution in February , and Bro . Drew ' s ; £ ~ 2 i tor the Girls' School in May ,

makes the year ' s aggregate . £ 234 13 s . Last year it raised only , £ 199 ios ., but in 1888 it contributed the handsome total of . £ 621 3 s . 6 d ., of vvhich the Girls' School received ^ 520 18 s . In 1887 the Province vvas comparatively quiet , giving only , £ 221 us ., but during the three preceding years it averaged close on . £ 747 per annum , so that its respected Prov . Grand Master , Bro , Sir M . Hicks-Beach , Bart ., M . P ., has good reason to be proud of the body he presides over so successfull y . We have before stated as a reason why

HANTS AND THE ISLE OF WIGHT , though it has some 46 lodges on its roll , has not figured quite as conspicuousl y as in former years at our Festivals , that it has been raising from , £ 1800 to , £ 2000 for its Educational Institute . Hence , in February last it gave only ^ " 130 5 s . 3 d . to the Benevolent Institution , while in May its contribution to the Girls' School was still less , amounting only to ^ 85 is . Last year , too , it raised

no more than ^ 367 is . 6 d . for the three Charities . On Wednesday , however , eight of its lodges were represented , and the sum total of their lists reached . £ 266 12 s ., making the aggregate for 1890 . £ 481 18 s . 3 d . Still , these figures are much below those of 1888 , when the Returns amounted to ^ 1355 is . id ., of which the bulk was received by the Girls' Institution , as well as of those for 188 7 , when they were within sixpence of . £ 1883 , of vvhich the Benevolent Institution received

. £ 1 7 85 9 s . 6 d . in support of the Chairmanship of Bro . W . W . B . Beach , M . P ., P . G . M . Hosvever , it so much is not forthcoming from the Province in aid of the Central Charities , it is gratifying to know that the money finds its way abundantly into the treasury of the local Institution . Even so strong and influential a Province as this cannot always be raising a large amount of supplies both for home and outside purposes , so that Hants and the Isle of AVight may well be congratulated on the success of its latest contribution .