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CONTENTS . PAGE L EADERSThe Approaching Festival of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution ... 641 The Province of Sussex ... •¦• ' ... ¦•• — G 42 United Grand Lodge of England ( Quarterly Communication ) ... ... 642 Royal Arch Masonry ... ... ... ... — 6 43 Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons of England and Wales , Sic . ( Quarterly

Communication ) ... ... ... ••¦ — " 44 Provincial Grand Lodge of Derbyshire ... ... ... — 644 Provincial Grand Lodge of Sussex ... ... ... ••• < H 5

M ASONIC NOTESOuarterVy Communication of United Grand Lodge ... ... ... 6 47 Quarterly Communication of Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons of England and Wales , & c . ... ... ... ... - 647 Half-yearly Meeting of Great Priory of the Temple ... ... ... 647 Regular Communication of the District Grand Lodge of Northern China ... 647 Half-yearly Convocation of the District Grand Chapter of Bengal ... 6 47

Correspondence ... ... ... ... ... — 648 Reviews ... ... ... ... ... ... •¦¦ 6 4 s Provincial Grand Chapter of Essex ... ... ... ... ... 64 S Provincial Grand Lodge of East Lancashire ... ... ... ... 649 Provincial Grand Lodge of Northumberland ... ... ... ... 649 Annual Supper of the Evening Star Lodge of Instruction , No . 1719 ... ... 65 a Annual Supper of the St . John ' s Lodge of Instruction , No . 16 7 ... ... 650

Royal Masonic Institution for Girls ... ... ... ... ... 651 Removal of the Boys' School ... ... ... ... ... 651 Craft Masonry ... ... ... ... ... ... 651 Royal Arch Masonry ... ... ... ... ... 6 53 Obituary ... ... ... ... ... ... ... " 53 Our Portrait Gallery ... ... ... ... ... ... " 53 Masonic and General Tidings ... ... ... — — 6 54

The Approaching Festival Of The Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution.

THE APPROACHING FESTIVAL OF THE ROYAL MASONIC BENEVOLENT INSTITUTION .

The time has come when it is necessary that we should bring prominently before the notice of the Craft the position of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution , its undoubted claims upon the generous support of the Craft , and the prospects which await

it in the near future , when its next Anniversary Festival will be celebrated . As to its position , we need say little more than that at the present time it stands committed to an expenditure in respect of annuities amounting to upwards of £ 16 , 300 , while

its total expenditure , includingcost of management and the maintenance of the Asylum , is fully £ 19 , 000 . This , in short , is the sum—which it is one of the principal duties of the Committee of Management to raise annually , and it is hardly necessary to

add that it is a duty which taxes to the uttermost the ability and energy of that Committee , and for this important reason . The permanent income of the Institution from all sources does not amount to much more than about £ 5500 , of which £ 1600

represents the grants from Grand Lodge and £ 150 those fiom Grand Chapter to the Male and Widows' Fund respectively . In other words , there is not far short of £ 14 , 000 to be raised annually by the voluntary subscriptions of the lodges and brethren

and their friends . As regards the claims of the Institution upon the Craft generally , it is possible to state them quite as clearly and emphatically . There are 200 aged and indigent brethren on the Male Fund , and 242 widows of brethren in similar

distressed circumstances on the Widows Fund , while according to the Committee ' s report presented at the annual meeting in -May last , there are 30 widows receiving each of them a moiety of her late husband ' s annuity . Thus the total number of

aged people in a state of poverty more or less absolute , who have heen elected to receive the benefits dispensed by this Institution is 47 2 and the amount annually distributed amongst these is , as we havebefore said , about £ 16 , 300 . As regards theprospectsawaiting

¦ t in the near future , let us , in the lirst place , state that the next Anniversary Festival in aid of the funds of this most deserving Charity will take place , as usual , in the great hall of the

Freemasons' Tavern , on Wednesday , the 24 th hebruary , 18 97 , and ll 'at his Royal Highness the Duke of CONNAUGHT , K . G ., M . W . " ast Grand Master of England , R . W . Prov . Grand Master of Sussex , and R . W . Dist , Grand Master of Bombay , has graciously

The Approaching Festival Of The Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution.

consented to preside on the occasion . Of course , during the recess—that is to say , since the beginning of July last—Bro . JAMES TERRY , P . G . S . B ., the indefatigable Secretary of the Institution , has been hard at work soliciting the services of brethren

to act as Stewards in behalf of lodges , chapters , and Provinces , and in this very onerous duty he has been ably assisted by his small , but competent , staff . But our readers must kindly bear in mind that there are three Secretaries of Institutions who are

constantly traversing the country in all directions , and visiting the lodges and chapters in the London district , for the purpose of enlisting brethren as Stewards , and , as the claims of all these three Institutions upon the support of the Craft are indisputable ,

and as the requirements of all three are becoming almost annually larger and still more large , they must not—indeed , they will notbe surprised at the ever-increasing difficulty which all three Secretaries experience in obtaining the requisite assistance . More

especially will they recognise the extent of this difficulty when we invite them to bear in mind that the ground they traverse is annually the same ; the lodges and chapters they visit the same ; and , we regret to add , the brethren they are compelled to look

to for help too often the same . The contributions of the 40 or 50 new lodges , and the 15 or 20 new chapters created year by year , even if they were all composed of wealthy members , and all in a position to render help , would go but a very small way

towards completing the sum which must be obtained annuall y in order to keep the Institutions in a state of efficiency . Hence it will not surprise our readers , though it will undoubtedly cause them a strongfeeling of regret , tolearn that Bro . TERRY , though he has put

precisely the same amount of energy into his work as in past years , and has been to the full as loyally and as ably backed up by his staff , has not been quite as successful as usual in obtaining the services of members for the Board of Stewards for the

approaching festival . I here are , it is true , a goodly number already enrolled , and doubtless between now and Christmas there will be sundry additions to that number , but to state the case briefly , his Board is from 40 to 50 short of what it was at

the corresponding period of last year . This is not a very pleasant position to be confronted with , when the Festival is due some 12 weeks hence , and the Christmas holidays form a

not inconsiderable portion of that period . We appeal , therefore , most earnestly to the Provinces , lodges , and chapters which are not yet represented on the Board of Stewards to commission each of them some one of its members to act as its

representative at the Benevolent Festival in February . Let them bear in mind what we have said , firstly as to the present position of the Institution with an annual expenditure of about £ 19 , , of which £ 16 , 300 is distributed in annuities alone , and

a permanent income amounting at the very outside to some £ 5500 . Let them bear in mind the benefits it confers upon some 470 aged brethren and widows who without its help would be in a state of . poverty and distress , with nothing to look

forward to but the workhouse . Let them also remember that though as year by year the older and- more decrepit of the annuitants die off , and are replaced by others who have been found worthy , there has not for many years past been an election ,

at which from 70 or 80 to loo old people of both sexes have not been compelled to stand aside and wait for at least another year to win election , because the resources of

the Institution are a long way from being equal to the very heavy demands which are being continuousl y made upon them ; and that , too , notwithstanding the frequent enlargements of the establishment which have been made from time to time