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CONTENTS . PAGF . L EADERSNext Week ' s Festival in aid of the R . M . I . for Girls ... ... ... 259 The Income and Expenditure of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution

for 1 S 95 ... ... ... ... ... ... 259 Supreme Grand Chapter of England ... ... ... ... 2 fio Consecration of the Bereford-Peirse Lodge , No . 2 C 10 ... ... ... 2 fii Consecration of the Southern Star Chapter , No . 1158 ... ... ... 2 ( ii Provincial Grand Mark Lodge of West Yorkshire ... ... ... 2 ( 11 Annual Banquet of the Henley Lodge of Instruction ... ... ... 2 f > 3 Third Annual Festival of the La Tolerance Lodge of Instruclijn , No . 53 S ... 2 ' \ 3 i \ victoria i i \ ism

Ladies- igncor ene rarK _ . oage , o . ... ... 204 Presentation to Bro . J . M . McLeod , P . G . S . B . ... ... ... 2 (\ i Ladies' Night ot the Columbia Lodge , No . 2397 ... ... ... 205 The Retirement of Miss Davis ... ... ... ... ... 265 Provincial Grand Lodge of Stirlingshire ... ... ... ... 2 ( 15 Masonic Notes ... ... ... ... ... ... 2 O ;

Correspondence ... ... ... ... ... ... 20 S Reviews ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 20 S Craft Masonry ... ... ... ... ... . ; . 26 S Royal Arch Masonry ... ... ... ... ... ... 271

Knights Templar ... ... ... ... ... ... 271 Ancient and Accepted Rite ... ... ... ... ... 272 Our Portrait Gallery ... ... ... ... ... ... 272 Lodges of Instruction ... ... ... ... ... ... 272 The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States ... ... 272 Obituary ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 272 Masonic and General Tidings ... ... ... ... ... 274

Next Week's Festival In Aid Of The. R.M.I. For Girls.

NEXT WEEK'S FESTIVAL IN AID OF THE . R . M . I . FOR GIRLS .

On Wednesday , the 13 th instant , will be celebrated an event lo which most , if not all , of us have , for a long time past , been looking forward with more or less hopeful anticipations—the 108 th Anniversary Festival in behalf of the Royal Masonic

Institution for Girls . On former occasions we have announced that the chair will be occupied by the Right Honourable and Right Worshipful thc Earl of YARISOROI'GH , Prov . G . Master of

Lincolnshire , and we rejoice to say that Bro . HEDGES has succeeded in bringing together a Board of Stewards consisting of some 370 ladies and brethren . This number will doublless be

augmented between now and Wednesday next , so that if thc mere numerical strength of a Board is any criterion of thc result which may be looked for the total of the donations and subscriptions which it will be the duty of the Secretary to announce on the

eventful evening should be considerabl y in excess of ( he £ 16 , 000 which was announced last year , when Bro . the Earl of MOUNT EDGCUMBE was the Chairman , and thc Board of Stewards numbered onl y 327 Members . But we do not anticipate any such

excess . The Board , though stronger in point of numbers , is seriousl y weak in many respects . Certain of thc larger and more influential among the Provinces are either not represented at all , or are entered only to a very slight extent . We have no right

10 complain in the case of most o ! these absentee or indifferentl y represented Provinces . In thc first place , the Institution looks mainl y for support to the voluntary contributions of the brethren , ai'd if a Province were required to contribute in proportion

1 ( 1 its strength , thc support would cease to be voluntary ; in the next place , most of those which will cut so indifferent a figure , ° r no figure at all , have done good service cither to this or the ot ' > er Institutions at former Festivals , and will in the natural

order of things , be equally , or it may be even more , generous on s ° me future occasion . As some compensation for these shortcomings wc are able to slate that Lincolnshire—the "Chairman ' s rovince "—is sending up a strong contingent of Stewards ,

"p ° st ol the Home Provinces will also be well represented . * ' h-iin there are more lodges in the London District entered on Uu ; Board , while the "Unattached" brethren , who as a rule •° 'Ucnt themselves with handing in a personal donation , arc not

1 l ° so numerous as we have known them to be in some former - J- 'irs , Thus wc have good grounds for hoping that the result suffice for the requirements of the School during thc present

Next Week's Festival In Aid Of The. R.M.I. For Girls.

year , or , m other words , that I he normal deficiency of about £ 11 , 000 or £ 12 , 000 in the income of ( he Institution will be supplied with , it may be , some £ 500 or fliercaboufs as a margin for unforeseen contingencies . To judge from what we have said , there ought , indeed , to be no very serious difficulty in securing

such a return . The School is doing its appointed work splendidly . It has about 270 girls on the establishment , and ( he character of the training they receive , as well physical as moral and mental , is beyond all praise . In fact , there is probably not another Institution of a similar kind in the ; Unifcd Kin-rdom

whose administration is attended with such beneficial results . Hence wc have no serious misgivings about the sum that is absolutely required being forthcoming , but with such a Board of Stewards as will support the Chairman on Wednesday next , we confess wc should like to see a < rood round total obtained , so

that the authorities may be able to augment the very limited amount of invested capital it has to rely upon for the proverbial rainy da ) -. Let all our Charitable Institutions be as urgent as

possible in their appeals for support so long as ( he country is in its present prosperous condition , so that they may be able year by year to increase their capital , and then ( here need no lonp-er be ( his somewhat undiynilied anxiety as lo whether the

result of this or that Festival will be on a level wilh ( he results of these or those previous years , while the pressure on the Craft itself will be less serious . At all events , wc trust the gratifying duty will devolve on . us next week of announcing a result such as will be a credit to ( he noble Chairman who will

preside and his Board of Stewards , and at the same time will place at ease the minds of the brethren who are charged with the responsibility of administering the School . The distribution of prizes and calisthenic display by the children will take place at the Institution , Battersea Rise , on

Monday , the nth instant , when , as we announced last week , the graceful function of handing the successful pupils their wellearned rewards will be performed by the Countess of YARBOROUGH . The occasion will be a more than usually interesting

one , as it will be thc last ceremony of thc kind with which Miss DAVIS , who has held the post of Head Governess for 35 years , will be associated , and wc doubt not that both the ladies and brethren present , and the children themselves , will unite in doing honour to one to whom honour is so particularly due .

The Income And Expenditure Of The Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution For 1895.

THE INCOME AND EXPENDITURE OF THE ROYAL MASONIC BENEVOLENT INSTITUTION FOR 1895 .

Next week will be an unusually busy one in Freemasonry . The Girls' School Prize Distribution and Anniversary Festival will take place , as mentioned in our previous article , on Monday and Wednesday respectively , while on Friday , thc : 5 th instant ,

there will be held at Freemasons' Tavern thc Annual General Meeting of the Governors and Subscribers of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution . At this meeting the Committee of Management will present their report and accounts for last year ,

and as thc statement of account was circulated with the voting papers , we are in a position to note the principal items of receipt and expenditure as set forth therein . The accounts are rendered in three separate sections , one for the Male Fund , one for the

Widows' Fund , and one for the Asylum Sustentation Fund , thc last of the three , however , being limited to a few figures only , while the expenditure in respect of nearly every item is equally apportioned between the two Annuity Funds . Thus , as regards the Male Fund generally , the balance brought forward