Royal Masonic Institution For Boys.

HERTFORDSHIRE had six out of its 20 lodges represented on this occasion , the total of their lists being £ 240 9 s . Bro . the Rev . W . Mills , W . M . of the Hertford Lodge , No . 403 , served his third consecutive Stewardship at this Festival , and so also did Bro . C . E . Keyser , who , however , has acted in the same capacity in many previous years , while during the current year he has divided his attention among the Watford Lodge , No . 404 , for vvhich he obtained a list of ^ 37 16 s . on Wednesday ,

the Lodge of Antiquity , No . 2 , London , vvhich he represented at the Girls ' School Festival in May , and the new Bushey Hall Lodge , No . 2323 , for which he raised . £ 92 8 s . at the Benevolent Institution in February . The total from Hertfordshire for the current year amounts to £ 66 7 8 s ., made up of ^ 297 lis . in February , . £ 129 8 s . in May , and ^ 240 gs . on Wednesday . Las t year the total for the three Institutions vvas ^ 371 7 s , and in 1888 ^ 796 14 s . 6 d ., of vvhich £ 649 19 s . was raised for the Girls' Centenary , and ^ 146 15 s . 6 d . for the Benevolent Institution .

KENT , which now has close upon 60 lodges on its roll , had just seven of them represented , Bro . Eastes , D . P . G . M ., acting for the Province , when the sum total contributed was - £ 379 os . 6 d . In February a contingent of 11 Stewards raised ^ 744 15 s . for the Old People , and in May three Stewards returned . £ 213 9 s . 6 d . The total , therefore , for the whole year amounts to ^ 1337 5 s ., as against ^ 14 60 16 s . 6 d ., of which the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution was fortunate enough to

receive £ 821 17 s . 6 d . in 188 9 . In 1888 it raised £ 374 8 s . for the Benevolent , £ 3059 9 s . 6 d . for the Girls' Centenary , and ^ 254 13 s . 6 d . for this Institution , making the total for the year , £ 3688 us . In the year of the Jubilee the total vvas ^ 1920 16 s . 6 d ., and as Earl Amherst , the Provincial Grand Master , has undertaken to preside at the R . M . B . I . Festival in February next , vve may may expect to find this generous Province more generously represented than usual .

LANCASHIRE ( EAST DIVISION ) , though it has over 100 lodges , contributes only a small total of . £ 67 as ., by the Stewards for four of its lodges , Bro . J . Kenyon , whose name is frequently returned in these lists , being one of them . In May four Stewards for as many lodges gave - £ 52 ios ., while in February 10 Stewards acting for ei ght lodges raised the more impressive total of £ 238 17 s ., the year ' s aggregate being

. £ 358 gs . Of course , this is far below what so large a province is capable of doing , and has done on special occasions , but , though vve certainl y think its contributions to the Central Institutions mi ght with advantage be enlarged , we bear in mind that it has its osvn Educational and Benevolent Institute to maintain , and it is only recently we pointed out how liberall y it contributes to its home requirements .

LANCASHIRE ( WEST DIVISION ) , also , has upwards of £ 100 lodges on its roll , and not one but three Charitable Institutes of its own to support . We do not , therefore , expect such great things from it as we should in ordinary circumstances . Nevertheless , it has done exceedingly well this year . In February it raised ^ 372 14 s . for the

Old People ; in May , £ 570 14 s . for the Girls' School ; and on Wednesday , £ 314 15 s . for the Boys' School , the total for 18 90 being ^ 1258 3 s . In 1889 , it amounted to no more than ^ 324 gs ., but in 1888 it reached the hi gh figure of , £ 257 6 12 s ., of which the Girls' Centenary engrossed ^ 2440 2 s . Notwithstanding that

MIDDLESEX played the important part of "Chairman ' s Province" at the Girls' School Festival in May , when the sum of its contributions was ; £ iooi 3 s ,, three of its 39 lodges sent Stewardson this occassion , whose lists together amounted to £$ i . In February it raised ^ 285 12 s . 6 d . for the Benevolent Institution , so that the year ' s total amounts to the goodly sum of £ 1337 15 s . 6 d . This a great advance on 1889 , when the contributions from this province to all three Charities only

reached ^ 593 14 s . 6 d . But 188 9 was comparatively a year of rest after the heavy calls of the previous year in behalf of the Girls' Centenary , when Middlesex raised in all . £ 1816 5 s ., of vvhich nearly two-thirds was absorbed by the Girls ' School . In 1887 the total for the three was £ 1265 7 s ., and in 1886 it stood at ; £ i 034 19 s ., so that Bro . Col . Sir Francis Burdett ' s Province is able to give a very good account of itself on most occasions when there is a demand for its services . At the Benevolent Festival in February the Province of

NORFOLK had three of its lodges represented , the total of the three lists amounting to . £ 229 7 s . 6 d ., and on Wednesday , United Friends , No . 313 , Great Yarmouth , contributed b y the hands of Bro . G . Harvey Harvey , P . M ., Sec , P . Prov . J . G . W ., the sum of , £ 26 < s ., making the total for the year - £ 255 12 s . 6 d . In 1889

it figured at the Boys' Festival for ; £ io 1 lis ., and in 1888 at those of the Benevolent and Girls' School , for £ 6 3 in the former case , and , £ 214 4 s . in the latter , or together for £ 277 4 s . In 1886 , when Bro . Lord Suffield , Prov . G . M ., presided at the Boys' Festival , its Returns reached . £ 420 . For an agricultural county these figures are commendable .

Five brethren , including Bro . C . K . Benson , acted as Stewards for four out of the 18 lodges in

NORTH WALES , and amongst them completed a total of £ 120 4 s . 6 d ., the most noteworth y list being that of Bro . Benson , who had the satisfaction of raising . £ 52 ios . In May , three Stewards , of whom Bro . Benson was one , made up a total of ; £ 68 5 s ., the product of the year being . £ 188 gs . 6 d . In 188 9 it vvas represented at the School Festivals , and in 1888 at those of the three Institutions , the Returns in respect of the Girls' Centenary amounting to the handsome sum of ^ 674 .

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE , vvhich had no part in either of the preceding Festivals of the year , sent two Stewards on Wednesday , Bros . R . C . Wills and J . M . McLeod , the latter of whom is one of the more prominent candidates for the post of Secretary to this Institution . Their lists amounted together to ^ , ' 178 ios .. This is the first time the Province has done anything since the Benevolent Festival of 188 9 , when it contributed the modest sum of ^ ' 57 15 s . In 1888 it

, raised , £ 52 ios . for the R . M . B . I ., and ^ 190 is . for the Girls' Centenary , the total for the year being . £ 242 us . In 188 7 it gave . £ 27543 . 6 d ., of which ^ " 231 ios . 6 d . was raised for the Boys' School , while in 1886 it had ^ 279 os . 6 d ., the Benevolent receiving . £ " 176 18 s . 6 d ., and the Boys' School the remainder , and in 1885 the sum distributed among the three Charities amounted to ^ 547 8 s . On this occasion the total was , £ 178 ios ., of which sum Bro . McLeod raised , £ " 141 15 s . The Province of

OXFORDSHIRE sent up three Stewards , one being a representative ofthe Apollo Universit y Lodge , No . 357 , and the other tsvo of the Windrush and Thames Lodges , Nos . 1 703 and 18 95 respectively . The sum of their lists is . £ 46 16 s . 6 d ., which , added to

the . £ 246 2 s . raised for the R . M . B . I . in February and the ; £ g 2 8 s . for the Girls ' School in May , makes the total for the year . £ 385 6 s . 6 d . Last year , the total was . £ 27 6 15 s . 6 d ., while in 1888 it reached the splendid sum of . £ 656 gs . 6 d ., the major portion of which found its way into the treasury of the Institution for Girls .

Four of the 11 lodges in SHROPSHIRE had Stewards to represent them on this occasion , and in addition there were the three Brothers Spaull and Bro . R . G . Venables , D . P . G . M ., to assist as Unattached

Stewards , the total of their Returns amounting to - £ 181 13 s . In February , two Stewards raised between them £ g 6 12 s ., so that the aggregate for the present year is . £ 278 5 s . Last year the Province raised £ 361 is ., of which the R . M . B . I . received . £ 210 18 s ., while the year previous its aggregate amounted to ^ £ 807 ios ., and in 188 7 to , £ To 22 17 s ., this latter sum having been raised for ( the Girls' School on the occasion of Bro . Sir O . Wakeman , Bart . P . G . M ., acting as Chairman . Such figures as these need no embellishing at our hands . The Province of

SOMERSETSHIRE had an excellent representative in the person of Bro . James S . Hadden , W . M . of the Lodge of Fidelity and Sincerity , No . 1966 , Wellington , whose list amounted to . £ 316 is ., while Bro . Ashcroft raised £ 42 , and so increased the total to - £ 358 is . It had no Steward at the Girls' School Festival in May , but in February

Bro . G . H . Perrett , who acted on behalf of the Province generally , compiled a list of ; £ igo 17 s ., so that the year ' s Returns amounted to ^ 548 18 s . This is a great advance on 1889 , vvhen its contributions to the R . M . B . I . and Boys' School only amounted to . £ " 162 5 s ., the smallness of the sum being , however , explained by its heavy contribution of ^ 946 is . to the Girls' Centenary in 1888 .

SOUTH WALES ( WEST DIVISION ) had Stewards at the Benevolent and Girls' School Festivals in February and May , but no Return was made in the former case , while in the latter the amount compiled by Bro . F , E . Remfry was . £ ( 58 5 s . On Wednesday Bro . Aaron Stone , acted as Provincial Steward and handed in a list of ^ £ 13 6 ios ., the total

for the year being £ 204 15 s . At the Boys' School Festival for last year its brace of Stewards together raised ^ 204 8 s ., and for the preceding February a brother Unattached gave in a list of . £ 52 ios . In 1888 the Benevolent and Girls ' School received ; £ io 8 ios . and - £ 105 respectively , so that the total for the three years is £ 675 3 s .

STAFFORDSHIRE had six Stewards , two of them , Bros . Tunnicliffe and Houson , representing the Menturia Lodge , No . 418 , Hanley , while Bro . John B . Ashwell did duty for the Portland Lodge , No . 637 , Stoke-upon-Trent , and the Gordon Lodge , No . 2149 , Hanley . The amount raised by these was ^ 304 ios ., and as the Province gave by the hands of Bro . M . Barker . £ 200 to the Old People in February , and ^ 94 ios ., per Bro . Ryder , to the Girls' School in May , the present year ' s total reaches the

capital sum of - £ 599 . In 1889 it amounted to £ 49 8 15 s ., of which the Benevolent Institution received . £ 210 , the Boys' School ^ 199 ios ., and the Girls ' School ; £ 8 g 5 s . ; while in 1888 the sum of ^ 617 17 s . vvas shared between the Schools , the Girls' Institution being benefited to the extent of - £ 365 7 s ., and the Wood Green Institution by ^ 262 ios . Here , again , we have every reason to be gratified with the amounts contributed . Four of the 21 lodges in

SUFFOLK figured in the Returns on Wednesday , and there were also t-vo brethren acting as Unattached Stewards , the total compiled by the six brethren being . £ 258 6 s . Bro . R . J . Symonds representing Royal St . Edmunds Lodge , No . 1008 , Bury St . Edmunds , compiled a list of ; £ go 6 s ., and Bro . A . R . Scott one of £ 63 . In February , four Stewards raised amongst them ^ 211 15 s ., nor were the claims of

the Girls' School in May overlooked , the sum raised by two Stewards—of whom Bro . Chas . W . Lord , acting for the Stour Valley Lodge , No . 1224 , and included in Wednesday ' s list , was one—being ^ 149 12 s . 6 d . Thus the sum raised b y Suffolk this year is ; £ 6 ig 13 s . 6 d ., which must be considered a very handsome figure after the ^ 1048 17 s . 6 d . contributed last year , the ; £ i 105 12 s . in 1888 , and the J 794 16 s . in the year of the Queen ' s Jubilee .

SURREY had a small contingent of half-a-dozen Stewards , who represented amongst them five out of its 30 and odd lodges , and the total they succeeded in obtaining was . £ 95 os . 6 d . In May there was the same number of Stewards , one being Unattached and the others representing four lodges and a chapter , while the amount obtained by them vvas £ 277 gs . In February 11 Stewards , of whom two were Unattached , raised . £ 274 16 s . 6 d . for the Old People , so that the result of Surrey ' s

endeavours in aid of our Charities during the present year appears in the form of a total sum of £ 647 6 s . This is a substantial advance on last year , when its total for the three Festivals vvas only ^ 496 4 s . ; but in 1888 it gave . ^ 1298 14 s ., of which the Girls' Centenary obtained £ 1147 18 s . ; in 1887 , . £ 797 13 s . 6 d . ; and in 1886 , vvhen the late Bro . General Brownrigg , Prov . Grand Master , presided at the Girls' Festival , ^ 1829 , of which the Institution for Girls received ^ 1346 . Two out of the 27 lodges in

SUSSEX , the Royal Brunswick , No . 732 , and the St . Cecilia , No . 16 3 6 , both of Brighton , figure in these Returns , the latter with two Stewards to represent its interests , while Bro . Charles Hudson acted as Steward Unattached . Their lists amounted to . £ 199 ios ., which , added to . £ 278 5 s . raised by three Stewards for the Girls' School in May , and ^ 247 6 s . by half-a-dozen Stewards in February for the Old People , makes the year ' s aggregate for the three Anniversaries . £ 725 is . Last year the

Benevolent and Boys' School were supported to the extent of . £ 62083 ., the former obtaining ^ 229 ios . 6 d ., and the latter . £ 390 17 s . 6 d ., while in 1888 the total was £ 946 13 s ., of which £ 884 gs . was raised at the Girls' Centenary , and the rest svas about equally divided betsveen the other Institutions . Its most successful venture was in 1885 , when the late Bro . Sir W . W . Burrell , Bart ., presided as Chairman at the Girls' Festival , and the Province raised in all . £ 1923 ios ., of which the must favoured Charity received . £ 1850 . Two brethren did duty for

WARWICKSHIRE , of whom Bro . J . C . Stackhouse , as Steward for the Temperance , No . 739 , Birmingham , gave in a list of £ 78 15 s . In February , three members of Hie Athoj Lodge , No . 74 , Birmingham , entered an appearance on behalf of tfie Province at the last moment , the donations from tsvo of them amounting to

. £ 21 , while in May the Province vvas unrepresented , so that the total lur the year is onl y £ 99 15 s . In February , 1889 , 14 members of the Athol Lodge , No . 74 , compiled £ 147 , and in 1888 the Province generally took part in tne Girls' Centenary , its contributions , including a list of ^" 315 made up by 30 brethren of the Athol Lodge , amounting to the large sum of . £ 1440 6 s . 6 d . After the very successful appearance of the small Province of

WILTSHIRE at the Girls' Festival in May , when Bro . H . Kemble , as Provincial representative , took up the admirable list of . £ 335 14 s ., we confess we hardly expected to see it again represented at so early a date . However , Bro . Harry Bevir , Prov . Grand Secretary , and a member of the Provisional Management Committee , seems to have considered this no obstacle to his appearing in the list of Wednesday , and to

accordingly we find him entered with the modest sum of ^ 42 ios . his ii ; nne . This makes the total of Wiltshire for the whole year , £ 378 4 s . In 1889 it supported the Benevolent Institution vvith £ 168 , in 1888 the Girls'Institution wilh ^ 340 8 s . 6 d ., and in 1887 the Boys' Institution with . £ 234 3 s ., so that , though a . small Province , it does each of our Charities a good turn periodically . One of the dozen lodges in

WORCESTERSHIRE , The Royal Standard , No . 49 8 , Dudley , upheld the credit of the Province , the Steward , Bro . Abraham Green , taking up a list of , £ 78 15 s ., and as Br ,,. 1 ' . R . Arter acted as Steward at the Festivals in February and May , contributing