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CONTENTS . LEADERSThe Approaching Festival of the R . M . Institution for Boys ... ... 2 S 7 The Mother City of American Freemasonry ... ••¦ — 2 S 7 United Grand Lodge of England ( Quarterly Communication ) ... ,- .. 2 SS

Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons ( Quarterly Communication ) ... 289 Provincial Grand Lodge of West Lancashire ... ... ••••¦ 2 9 ° Logic Club ... ... ... ... . ... - - 2 9 ' Ireland—Provincial Grand Lodge of the Midland Counties ... — 291 Presentation to Bro . Sam Fay ... ... ... ••••••2 9 l

MASONIC NOTESQuarterly Communication of United Grand Lodge of England ... ... 293 Quarterly Communication of Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons ... 293 Provincial Grand Lodge of West Lancashire ... ... ... 293 Provincial Grand Chapter of West Yorkshire ... ... ... 293 Irish Freemasonry ... ... ... ... ... ¦¦•293

Correspondence ... ... ... ... ... ... 294 Provincial Grand Chapter of West Yorkshire ... ... ... ... 294 Consecration of the Strong Man Chapter , No . 45 ... ... ... 295 Craft Masonry ... ... ... ... ... ... 295 Royal Aich ... ... ... ... ... ... •¦•296

Mark Masonry ... ... ... ... ... ... 290 Cryptic Masonry ... ... ... ... ... ... 297 Obituary ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 297 Our Portrait Gallery ... ... ... ... ... ... 298 Instruction ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 29 S Masonic and General Tidings ... ... ... ... ... 300

The Approaching Festival Of The R.M. Institution For Boys.

THE APPROACHING FESTIVAL OF THE R . M . INSTITUTION FOR BOYS .

Though all of us are more or Jess prepared for a modest return of donations and subscriptions at the forthcoming anniversary meeting at Brighton on behalf of the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys , there is no reason why we should not follow the usual course of drawinp- attention to the circumstances in

which it is placed and do our utmost to enlarge , as far as possible , the amount which those who have undertaken to act as Stewards are endeavouring to raise . It is the fate of all Charities that depend for support mainly on voluntary contritributions that under no circumstances can they allow their

position and requirements to remain even temporarily in the background . However successful they may have been on certain special occasions , when there were particular needs to be met , they must still keep on presenting their claims for support

toagenerous public , or the fundswhich are theirs for the asking will iind their way into other channels . Last year , the Boys' School Centenary was a magnificent success , but the bulk of thc money then obtained will be devoted to the erection of the new premises at

Bushey , and , as far as its ordinary requirements are concerned , the Institution i * - , , financially , not so very much stronger than it was in 18 97 . The annual expenditure , amounting to between £ 13 , 000 and £ 14 , , is about the same as it was in that year ;

or , rather , we should say , it has been somewhat inci eased by the allowance it was resolved to make to each of the unsuccessful candidates at the 18 9 8 elections in commemoration of thc Centenary . The permanent income has , doubtless , been aup-mented

by the interest on the greater amount of capital which has been invested , and , as a consequence , the year ' s deficiency will be smaller to the extent of a few hundreds of pounds . But there will still be about £ 11 , 000 required in order to meet the

expenditure for the ordinary purposes of the School , and we hope this sum will be forthcoming when thc Festival is held , more especiall y as whatever doubts may have existed as to the success of the Benevolent and Girls' Festivals have been set at rest by the

munificence of the Craft , which subscribed about £ 19 , 600 in aid of the former and over £ 21 , 000 in aid of the latter . The Festival , as we have already announced , will take place at the Royal Pavilion , Brighton , on Wednesday , the 28 th instant ,

The Approaching Festival Of The R.M. Institution For Boys.

when Bro . CHARLES E . KEYSER , P . G . D ., Treasurer of the Institution , will preside as Chairman , and , we trust , will be supported by a Board of Stewards sufficiently strong to raise the modest total we have mentioned , and more if possible . The

preliminary meeting connected with this annual event is fixed for the preceding day at the Institution , Wood Green , where the prizes awarded to the successful , pupils during the past year will be presented by Mrs . CHARLES E . KEYSER , and those who

have the privilege of being present at the gathering will have the opportunity of judging for themselves , both from the reports that will be presented and from the conduct of the bovs themselves , how well the children are cared for , and how

admirable is the training , both mental and physical , they undergo . They will also be told of the successes which have been achieved at the Cambridge Local and other public examinations during the year , successes which redound to the credit

no less of the boys who have benefited by the knowledge imparted to them than to the Head Master and his Staff for the manner in which they have fulfilled their important duties . These successes , which are the outward arid visible sign of the

excellence of the educational system adopted in the School , are corroborated by the reports of the successive examiners appointed by the Cambridge University Syndicate to test year by year the progress made by the boys in their studies and in the mental and

moral training generally which is intended to fit them for their after career in life , and mould them into honourable men , worthy alike of the Institution in which they were educated and the Craft which founded and maintains the Institution . The Board of

Management has the satisfaction of knowing that its administration , as a whole , of the funds subscribed to thc School is regarded with favour , and that under its auspices it has thriven to an extent almost unprecedented in the annals of English Charitable

Institutions . VVe trust , therefore , that when the appointed day arrives , and the Stewards and their friends meet in the Royal Pavilion , Brighton , under the presidency of Bro . C . E . KEYSER , the donations and subscriptions will be such as will suffice to cover the year ' s expenses .

The Mother City Of American Freemasonry.

THE MOTHER CITY OF AMERICAN FREEMASONRY .

In our former article on this subject we mentioned that additional evidence had recently been discovered by a Bro . J ULIUS F . SACHSE in support of the late Bro . CLIFFORD P . MACCALLA ' S contention that to Philadelphia belonged the

honour of being the " Mother City of American Freemasonry , " this evidence being described at length in a paper which Bro . SACHSE read before the Grand Lodgeof Pennsylvania at itsannual meeting on the 28 th December , 18 9 8 , and which is reproduced in

the printed Report of the Proceedings of that Grand Lodge for last year . We stated that this evidence had been found in BENJAMIN FRANKLIN ' S " daily commercial account-book and first ledger , " which Bro . SACHSE had had the good fortune to

meet with " among a lot of FRANKLIN ' papers and material , " where it had reposed " for over a century in the archives of the American Philosophical Society at Philadelphia , of which FRANKLIN was the first President . " The book , as stated on the

fly-leaf , dates from 4 U 1 July , 1730 , and as regards its character contains "the daily entries , just as the young printer and shopkeeper made them from day to day , " and in the latter part , which is " paged and indexed , and called ' Ledger A , ' " the in-