The Mark Benevolent Fund.

a tone of the great celebrations of the year , ani that thc brethren should recognise the benefits which ladies directly and indirectly conferred upon Masonry . They wished that ladies would assist at all Masoi . ic ceremonies , because it would do away with a great deal of questioning which they all

underwent . He believed in one country in Europe ladies were admitted—( laughter ) —perhaps not to all the ceremonies ; but he believed in Spain there were lady Masons .- ( Laughter . ) He coupled with the toast Viscount Dungarvan , a bachelor , hoping it was the last time he would attend these festivals in that character .

Viscount DUNGARVAN , D . G . M ., responded , and thought that Bro . Tatton Egerton had taken counsel with the ladies before he expressed the wish they had heard . He hoped his constitution would allow him to attend many future festivals . If not . perhaps some brother as happy as himself would return thanks for the ladies . Each successive year brought a larger number of ladies to these festivals . He was most happy to-night because the Chairman ' s wife took care to see to the success of her husband . There was

no doubt the great success of this festival was d le to the ladies . The Earl of EUSTON proposed " The Visitors . " Bro . XAVIER LEON , District Grand Secretary Jamaica , and Bro G . W . HART , 370 , St . Helena , responded . Bro . Col . A . B . COOK proposed " The S'ewaids . ' ' Bro . A . STEWART BROWN acknowledged the toast , after which the com p . - . ny adjourned to the Crown Room and enjoyed a choice concert .

ANALYSIS OF THE RETURNS . The Returns we have published are eminently satisfactory . Last year , when Bro . C . Letch Mason , Prov . G . Master of West Yorkshire , occupied the chair , there was a Board of Stewards mustering in all 170 , and the total of the donations and subscriptions they succeeded in raising was £ 2411 iSs . Cd ., this being the

highest amount ever obtained at any Mark Benevolent Fund Festival . On Wednesday , there was a Hoard of 235 ladies and brethren , and the donations and subscriptions amounted in the aggregate to £ 3100 13 s ., the Chairman of the day being Bro . Lt .-Col . A . B . Cook , Prov . G . Master of Middlesex , whose Province is to be congratulated on the loyalty and generosity with which it seconded his efforts .

Taking LONDON first , we find that in addition to the ladies and members of the General Board , whose lists are not included in other sections of the Returns , there were 44 representatives of 14 lodges , and one lodge of instruction , and 27 Unattached , the total from all sources being CG 91 19- - . 6 d . The principal lists were those of

Bro . Thomas Fenn . who represented Grand Master ' s Lodge , and handed in a sum of . C 52 ios . ; and Bro . W . L . Russ . U , LP . M . of the Grosvenor Lodge , No . 144 , who compiled £ 49 7 s . The Euston Lodge , No . 399 , had quite a formidable contingent , several of its representatives being likewise entered under Provinces , still , after making due allowance for these , there was a capital return , which reached £ 108 13 s . Gd . Bro . F . C . Matier , Secretary of the Fund is entered

for £ CG 3 s ., and Bro . Herbert J . Ad ims was responsible for a list of £ 31 lor ., while llro . II . C . Houndle , W . M . Menatschim Lodge , No . 22 4 , raised £ 26 5 s ; liro . Rowland Plumbe , Carnarvon Lodge , No . 7 , . C 25 iSs . Gd ., and llro . J . R . Cleave , Mallet and Chisel Lodge , No . 5 , £ 22 17 s . Gd . Eight ladies together contributed £ 38 17 s ., and three members of the General

Board ; Ci 2 12 s . Last year the total from London was £ 630 gs ., of which six ladies contributed , £ 3655 . i four membersof the Hoard £ 42 ; 20 lodge representatives £ 457 14 s . ; and 11 Unattached brethren £ 94103 . In 1 S 95 the numberof Stewards was 65 , and the amount they had the satisfaction of raising was £ 662 19 s . Cd ., thus London has well maintained its position . As for

T HE PROVINCES , they did splendidly in 18 9 6 , when 119 Stewjrds compiled a total of £ 1781 gs . Cd ,, as compared with £ 1445 10 ; . raised by 104 Steward in 1 S 95 . On Wednesday , this stction of the Hoard music-red altogether 104 brethren , the aggregate of whose lists reached £ 2408 13 s . ( 3 d .

There were six Stewards from the Province ot BERKS AND OXON , two of them being Unattached , while one , Bro . W . Fenlon , acted as representative of the Province , and thus did duty as Steward for three of the six lodges , the total being £ 52 io- \ , of which £ 15 i . s > -. constituted the list of Bro . Fenton . Last

year four Stewards raised £ 47 4- - . G I ., and in 18 95 five Stewards , of whom four hailed from lodges , and the fifth was Dep . P . G . M ., raised £ 72 15 s ., while in 18 94 the sum obtained by the same number of Stewards was £ p 5 Ss . Cd . One of the five lodges in BUCKINGHAMSHIRE had Bro . Lord Addington , its W . M ., to represent it , his lordship's list , ain-. uniing to £ 10 ios . Two of the lodges in the CHANNEL ISLANDS—the Cesarean , No . 74 and the SarnianNo . 42?—which are to

, , be found in last year ' s list as contributing between them £ 31 ios ., were also represented on Wednesday to the extent of l ^ C 15 s . for 631 ios . of which Bro , Elias Bree , of No . 74 , was responsible , while ' Uro . J . Balfour Cockburn gave the remainder . The Prov . G . Master—Bro . the Hon . Alan de Tatton Egerton , M . P , —and Bro . Fred King Stevenson , Provincial Stewardmade up a total of £ 28 gs .

, for CHESHIRE , Bro . Stevenson ' s list being for £ 23 4 =., while last year two lodges together raised £ 16 iCs . One lodge in CUMIIERLA . NU AND WESTMORELAND—the Inglewood—had Bro . the Rev . VV . Cree , VV . M .. acting on his behalf , and his list was £ 5 Ss ., as compared with t-iG 5 s . which was contributed by Lord H . Cavendish Bentinck , M . P ., Prov . G . Master , and liro . the Rev . VV . Cree .

DERBYSHIRE , since it has been constituted a separate Province under Bro . A . Woodiwiss as Prov . G . Master , has done exceedingly well . Thus , in 1896 , its returns totalled up £ 149 is . Cd ., the number of Stewards being 10 , of whom seven were Unattached , and the other three lodge representatives . In 18 95 , the number of Stewards was 12 , and the amount they obtained £ ' 112 4 s . On Wednesday , five of the six lodges sent Stewards , and there were in addition eight brethren , including the

Prov . G . Master , Unattached , the sum total being £ 94 ios ., and the principal lists those of Bro . Hoskyn , representing the Derby Lodge , No . 302 , and Bro . J . R . Eastwood , Dove Valley Lodge , No . 353 , for £ 15 15 s . each . The Province of DEVONSHIRE had two Stewards to represent it—generally — Bros . John Taylor and F . B . Wistlake , who between them compiled a total of £ Gi 19 s ., to which Bro . the Rev . R . Peck , of the St . George Lodge , No . 15 , compiled an additional £ 20 , making in all £ 84 , which compares very favourably with the £ 49 2 s . obtained by the same Provincial representatives in 18 9 6

, and £ 38 2 s . obtained by Bro . Taylor acting alone in 18 95 . DORSETSHIRE , which returned £ 5 5 s . in 18 9 6 , and £ 52 ios . in 1895 , had two Stewards , one—the Earl of Portarlington—Unattached , and the other—Bro . R . Chaplin , Steward for Amity Lodge , No . 132—the former of whom gave £ 5 53 . ¦ Ien Stewards hailing from EAST ANOLIA niade up a sum of £ 31 ios ., there being J . l lodges on the roll , of which York , No . 334 , was represented ' by Uro . Dempster . ln . 95 i the Province was entered for £ 25 4--., and last year for £ 28 7 s ., there being two lodges included in the former year , and three in the latter .

The Mark Benevolent Fund.

GLOUCHSTERSIIIRE AND HEREFORDSHIRE , though it numbers but six lodges , sent up as many as seven Stewards , headed by Bro . ' R . V . Vassar-Smith , Prov . G . Master , while the Gloucester Lodge , No . 4 . 3 ) , had four of its members acting in that capacity , the tjtal a-nounting to tsj . 12-., as against £ 5 5 s . last year from Bro . Vassar-Smith , and l'io ios . the previous year from the same brother and his predeeessar in ofiice . In 1 S _> 5 . HA . MI'SIIIRE AND THE ISLE OF WKIHT were represented by live Stewirds , whose

contributions amounted to £ 21 ; but in 1 S 9 6 , though only three brethren , including Bro . R . Eve , Dep . P . G . M ., and l ! ro . R . Loveland Loveland , aeted on its hihilf , the total contributions was £ 52 10 s . llro . Mursell represented the Albany ( F . l . ) and Medina ( No . 140 ) Lodges , raising one half , and the D . P . G . M . and H'o . Loveland the other half between them . On Wednesday , there were live Stewards , of whom

Bros . R . Eve and Loveland were Unattached , and the remaining three acted for Lodges Nos . 2 and 17 , the total being 17 , 6 15 s . None of the live lodgis in HERTFORDSHIRE sent Stewards , but llros . George E . Lake , Dep . P . G . M ., and E . Apelt , acting independently , together contributed l'io ios . List ye ir and the year before , the totals were £ 7 7 s . and I'm 13 S . respectively , but in each instance one Steward ' s list appeared under the Province of Middlesex .

Three of the 20 lodges on thc roll of KENT were directly represented , while the Province itself as a whole sent 1111 Steward in the person ot Bro . Deacon , the Prov . Grand Master ( Vis : ount Dungarvan ) and his Deputy , together with three other brethren , being Unattathid . Tn .: total reached £ SG 15 s . Gd ., the principal item being L ' 23 2 S ., raised by Bro . A . W .

Orwin , M . D ., S . G . D ., of the Florence Nightingale Lodg j , No . 2 j ( . Last year there were five lodges represented and two Unattached brethren , the sum of whose contributions was £ 55 13 s ., the amount comparing very unfavourable with trusc of 1 S 95 and 1 S 94 , when £ 125 12 s . was raised in the former yeir an I d . 2 7 14 ; . in the latter . In 1 S 91 the subscriptions and donations reached 1 * 178 ios ., and in 1 S 90 U 117 is ., there being nine Stewards tint were responsible for the former , and 11 for the latter , total . In the Province of

LANCASHIRE there are 3 G lodges , of which four were represented by seven Stewards on Wednesday , Bro . Colonel Le Gendre N . Starkie , Deputy P . G . VI ., and two other brethren Unattached raising the full complement of representatives to 10 , while the sum they raised was £ 91 7 s ., the County Palatine Lodge , No . 15 G , which had as many as five strings to its bow , figuring for 1 ' 22 is . In IS 96 the total was £ 47 5 s ., of which C 31 ios . stood to the credit of the three

Stewards hailing from the County Palatine Lodge , while in 1 S 1 . 15 . when Bro . Lord Skelmersdale , son of the Prov . G . Master , presided as Chairman and the Province enacted the part ot "Chairman ' s Province , " the total was L'iGj 10 ; ., towards which his lordship's list furnished the considerable sum of C 115 ios . The Province of LEICESTERSHIRE AND RUTLAND was represented by Bro . VV . J . Freer , Dep . P . G . Master , and the Earl of Euston , Prov . G . M ister , Bro . \ . H . Thompson , Prov . G . Treasurer , and another acted independently , the full ammint being

£ 21 , of which , £ 10 ios . was to the credit of the Provincial representative . Last year the amount contributed was ( . ' 5 5 s . ; in 18 95 L ' 1 . 5 5 s . LINCOLNSHIRE , which musters nine lodges , is entered for (" . 15 15 s ., contributed by the Karl of Yarborough , P . G . M ., the Rev . E . 31 . Weigall , and Bro . J . II . Lee , representing the St . Oswald Lodge , No . ^ S ? , Crowle , in three equal parts . In 189 G it give £ ' 5 5 - > in ' 895 £ 21 , and in 1894 , when the Earl of Yarborough , Prov . G . Master , presided at the Festival , £ 214 5 s . Gj ., of which C 7 . 8 15 s . stood to thc credit of his lordship .

We now come to the " Chairman ' s Province " of MIDDLESEX , which since the death , in 1892 , of Bro . Col . Sir Francis Burdett , Bart ., Prov . G . Master of Middlesex and Surrey , has been a separate Province under Bro . Lieut .-Col . A . B . Cook as P . G . M ., and has generally done well , notwithstanding that even now , including the lodges consecrated this year , it musters only some 12 lodges . In 18 93 it raised £ 83 3 s . Gd . ; in 1 S 94 , L ' 27 Gs . ; in 1 S 95 , C 42 ; and in 189 G ,

£ 51 gs . On Wednesday it put forth it :- - strength to good purpose , the Prov . G . Master himself heading the array of 44 Stewards , with Bro . W . M . Stiles , Prov . G . Treasurer , supporting him independently , and representatives to the number of 41 from all thc lodges in the Province . The total compiled by these 44 brethren was £ 1251 13 s ., of which the Chairman ' s list was £ 799 is . Keystone Lodge , No . 3 , returned £ 42 by thc hands of eight Stewards ; Temple Lodge , No . 173 , L' 28 7 s . by the hands of two ; Sir Francis Burdett Lodge , No . 181 , per Bro . P . P .

Bonney , £ 17 17 s . ; High Cross Lodge , No . 2 S 4 , which had seven to represent it , £ 31 ios . ; Lodge Temperance-in-the-East , No . 350 , per Bro . A . G . Duck , L ' 20 ; Hampton Court Lodge , No . 44 8 , per 13 Stewards , Ci 08 ; St . Pancras Lodge , No . 494 , per Bro . W . A . Scurrah , VV . M .., t 2 i ; and Oxford and Cambridge Lodge , per Bro . J . C . Fitzroy Tower , £ 21 . Thus the total of I 751 5 s . raised by West Yorkshire , the " Chairman's Province " of last year , is very greatly exceeded , and would of itself make a very respectable total for a Festival , and testifies abundantly to the respect in which our Middlesex Mark brethren hold their Prov . Grand

Master . Bro . Col . Cook has , indeed , worked very hard for Freemasonry in all its Orders and Degrees , and in the Mark especially has borne himself bravely in more than one important office . We are not , therefore , surprised ! hat , on such an occasion as this , when he took upon himself the duties and responsibilities of Chairman at the Mark Benevolent Festival , he should have had his reward in the generous and devoted support of the lodges and brethren he presides over with such conspicuous ability . NORTHUMBERLAND AND DURHAM ,

as represented by Bro . Sir Gainsford Bruce , Unattached , and Bro . C . D . Hill Drury as Provincial Steward , returns £ 39 18 s ., as against C 36 iSs . contributed by one of its 12 lodges in 18 9 G . NORTHANTS , HUNTS , AND BEDS , of which the Earl of Euston is P . G . M ., was represented by his lordship and Bro . T . P . Dorm in , Unattached , liro . G . C . W . Fitzwilliam as Provincial Steward , and the representatives of two out of its four lodges , the total being C 112 7 s ., of which Lord Euston raised £ 54 12 s . ; Bro . Fitzwilliam £ 21 ; llro . T . P . Dorman £ 21 ; and

Bro . the Rev . V . P . Wyatt l ' io ios . NOTTINCHAMSIIIRK , with liro . VV . Percy Payne representing the Province , is entered for £ 33 us ., and one of the lodges —No . 444—in SiiROi'siiiRE , per liro . R . G . Venables , for £ 5 5 s . The Carnarvon Lodge , No . 119 , Keynsham , very creditably upheld the reputation of Somersetshire and its 10 lodges , liro . S . J . Lewis , who acted as Steward , handing in a list ot £ 35 . Last year , liro . Col . Thrale Perkins , as Provincial Steward , raised L ' 32 11-., and , in 189 : 5 , liro . S . R . Baskett ' s list contained donations , Sic , amounting to £ 26 Gs .

SURREY , which has been a separate Province since ' 892 , with a roll of eight lodges , sent up live Stewards , Bro . F . West , D . P . G . M ., acting for himself , and the other four being lodge representatives , the total reaching Cp 10 s . Gd ., of which Ci' . s iS > . was raised by Bro . C . W . Davis , W . M . of the Kintore Lodge , No . 333 . In 18 9 6 , there were , including Bro . West , six Stewards , and their lists amounted to £ 53 ' 5 - Gd . ; in 1 S 95 , the Stewards from the eight lodges sent in £ 43 lis . 6 i . ; and in 18 94 , , £ 49 iGs . Gd . was obtained by the efforts of five Stewards . In 18 93 , the late Bro . Col , G , Noel Money , C , B ., Prov . G . Master , presided at the Festival ,