Correspondence.

Correspondence .

VVe do nothold ourselves responsible for the opinions expressed by our correspondents , butwe wish , in a spirit of fair play to all , to permit—within certain necessary limits—free discussion .

PROPOSED REMOVAL OF THE BOYS' SCHOOL . To the Editor of the "Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , Would it not be a good plan to reserve the present buildings at Wood Green for London only , the provinces making their own arrangements for educating their own children and assisting their old people ? Perhaps some of your correspondents could inform me what necessity there is for the provinces to send their candidates to London . —Yours fraternally , P . M .

Festival Of The Mark Benevolent Fund.

FESTIVAL OF THE MARK BENEVOLENT FUND .

The 28 th Anniversary Festival of the Benevolent Fund attached to the Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons was held on Wednesday evening , at Freemasons' Tavern , Bro . Charles Letch Mason , Prov . Grand Mark Master for West Yorkshire , presiding . A large number of brethren and ladies sat down to dinner , which was admirably provided , and among them

were—Bros , the Earl of Euston , Pro G . M . ; Viscount Dungarvan , Deputy G . M . ; Richard Eve , R . Loveland Loveland , A . H . Bevan , Maj . Clifford Probyn , G . H . Parke , John Barker , Maj . J . Woodall Woodall , Lady Stuart , Geo . Everett , Gen . Sayer , C . B . ; Col . John Davis , A . D . C . ; Col . A . Thrale Perkins , Dr . J . Balfour Cockburn , Sir

Thomas Roe , Abraham Woodiwiss , Rev . Russell Finlay , Rev . V . P . Wyatt , Rev . C . W . Cree , Maj . C . W . Carrell , Hon . Mrs . Durant , daughter of Sir Hercules Robinson ; C . F . Matier , Grand Secretary , and Secretary of the Mark Benevolent Fund , and J . Matthewman , Secretary of the Chairman ' s Province . The usual toasts followed the dinner .

Bro . C . L . MASON in proposing the toast of " The M . W . Pro G . Master , the M . W . Past G . Masters , the R . W . Deputy G . Master , and the rest of the Grand Officers , Present and Past , " said it had been the good fortune of most Mark Masons to know the services the Earl of Euston had rendered to the Order ; he took a prominent part in all Degrees of Freemasonry . It was the same with Viscount Dungarvan . In both they had thorough Masons— Masons at heart . He could only hope and trust that they might have health and strength long to take an interest in Masonry .

Bro . the Earl of EUSTON , in reply , said as long as it lay in their power the Grand Officers would continue to do all they could for the gcod of the Craft and its advancement . They were present that night to celebrate a Festival of the Mark Degree and they had a very fine and large assembly .

He hoped that when the lists were read out the total would come up to what it ought to be in such a representative assemblage . He could assure the company that whenever the Grand Officers were wanted to do any work they would be only too pleased , if it was in the bounds of possibility , to do it wherever it might be , north , south , eastor west .

, Bro . the Earl of EUSTON next proposed " The Chairman , " which he said he did with much pleasure because Bro . Charles Letch Mason was one who had come forward to serve and aid the Mark Degree and who ruled over a province , not large , but strong , united , and doing good work . He

could congratulate Bro . Mason on the way West Yorkshire had come forward to support him , and he wished him long life to rule over it . Bro . Mason had worked very hard in his province to make this festival a success and it was to be hoped he would go back to his province thoroughly satisfied . God bless him in everything he undertook !

Bro . C . L . MASON , in acknowledging the toast and its hearty reception , said he had felt , and he thought his province had felt it a great honour that he was asked to preside at this festival and to take part in anything that tendered to the welfare of the Mark Benevolent Fund . West Yorkshire

was not , as Lord Euston had said , a large Mark province , seeing that it had but 13 Mark lodges and its muster roll of members was about 417 ; but he was glad to say that some 52 Stewards had come up from the province that day , and perhaps not the least gratifying fact was that 14 were ladies . It was a great advantage to have ladies take part in these festivals , and he felt most flattered in the knowledge that manv of those ladies had done It

good work . The lady on his right—Lady Stuart—brought up ^ 60 . was a very great honour that the brethren and ladies in such a distant province took so great an interest in Masonry . As far as they in West Yorkshire were concerned , they would do all they could to promote the prosperity of the Mark Benevolent Fund . He now came to what was the most agreeable part of his duly—to propose " Prosperity to the Mark Benevolent Fund . "

Biethrtn , as Freemasons , endeavoured to carry out , as far as they possibly could , the " excellent gifts of Charity , " and they held it an imperative duty to hilp a brother in distress and to assist him in misfortune or need . For that purpose they had the Mark Benevolent Fund , which came to his assistance or to the assistance of his widow . They had also an Educational Fund , which helped to educate his children , and an Annuitv Fund for

brethren and widows . That night he came to advocate the claims of all three branches—the Benevolent , the Educational , and the Annuity . The Benevolent Fund was established in 1868 , the Mark Grand Lodge having been formed in 1856 . The brother who was most useful and energetic in establishing that charitable part of the Order was the late Canon Portal-a name which would always be received with affection . Bro . Porlal was

initiated when he was an Undergraduate at Oxford , and from that day and after he Jiad received the Mark Degree he became a most enthusiastic Mason , and did all he could for the welfare of the Order . The Mark Benevolent Fund went on for a few years without much improvement , and perhaps it wou'd net be felt tedious if he narrated the amounts realised . The first festival , which was held at the Mitre Hotel . Hamnton Court , in 1 S 60 .

realised what they now thought a small sum— £ < jy . The Fund did not seem to have prospered much for five years , for in 18 74 they found the result of the festival was £ g 2 . In 1879 it reached the sum of £ sv- In 1 SS 4 , when the Piovincial Grand Master of North and East Yorkshire , Bro . Major Wocdall , whom he was pleased to see now present , presided , Ihey toppsd any previous amount by reaching the sum of / S 32 . But a

year afterwards , when Bro . Matier , to whom they owed so very much , became Secietary , the amount more than doubled itself , and the amount had never gor . e back from that date . In 1 S 89 . £ 2086 was raised , and in 1 S 94 , by a peculiar coincidence , the amount got together was £ 1894 . Last jear they raised ;/ 2 io 8 . The largest sum they ever collected was in 18 90 , when the present M . W . Pro G . Master was in the chair , and under Lord Kuston ' s presidency they raised the sum of - £ ^ 354 . It was not

Festival Of The Mark Benevolent Fund.

for him to say what Bro . Matier would reveal when he read the lists that evening , but he hoped that as when the Provincial Grand Master of the other Province of Yorkshire presided they topped the list , the Province of West Yorkshire would then do so . The educational branch of the fund was not commenced until 187 S , after Major Woodall ' s chairmanship . Let him commend to the brethren most earnestly and sincerely the welfare of

the Mark Benevolent Fund ; he did so strongly and conscientiously . In that very utilitarian age it was often remarked that although the Masnic Charities were excellent in aim and intention and were nobly supported , yet they failed to carry out the good they might do if they were reorganised and put on a proper basis . He was not going to say anything about that , but they in the Mark Degree were quite content

with the lines on which the Mark Charities were conducted . What were they doing ? They were then educating 16 children , and , in addition , were giving their parents £ 5 a year towards their clothing . They had educated , or assisted in educating , since the formation of the Education Fund , some 75 children . The Fund had not yet celebrated its centenary ; it was only a small society , and they were beginning to celebrate

their 29 th anniversary , and they had furthered in life many children , and they had not failed . They had nine aged annuitants—men—at £ 26 a year each , and eight widows at . £ 21 a year each , and at Christmas they gave them another ^ 5 each gratuity . Their Benevolent branch stepped in and alleviated the sorrow of those who were in distress by making immediate grants . He might say that the invested funds were not large , and he appealed to the brethren to come forward and subscribe liberally . Canon

Poitalsaidif they could raise £ 1000 for the Benevolent Fund they would do good work ; but societies , like individuals , when they increased in years their wants got larger and their aspirations hig her ; he was sure of this , that although the Mark Benevolent Fund had more than doubled the amounts yearly collected , if it was then £ 4000 or ^ 5000 a year it would be beneficially spent . He asked the company to give active loyal support and to take what he had said to heart . He then proposed the toast of " Success to the Mark Benevolent Fund . "

Bro . R . LOVELAND LOVELAND responded , and said , as President of the General Board , he was supposed to be the Chairman of the Benevolent Fund , and in returning thanks for the toast , and to Bro . Mason for taking the chair , said that the Chairman had taken immense pains for the Fund , had given valuable time to it , and had come a long distance to preside . Bro . Mason had set before them in a very vigorous way the many branches of

the Fund . Although they asked the brethren to subscribe to that particular Fund , they felt they were not taking money away from those grand Charities —the Girls' and Boys' Schools and the Benevolent Institution—because in distributing their money the Mark had no institution , no office expenses , and the money given for the education of young children was placed in the hands of those who would look after those children at home . The children were

sent to schools in their own neighbourhoods , and there were many delicate children who would be unfit to be candidates for the Masonic Schools . For then the parents could select their schools , and have their children at home under their own supervision . There was another feature that , perhaps , some people mig ht think a good trait . It had been said—he would not say with truth—that some children had a better education at the Grand Masonic

School , and that when they got home they looked down upon home . Well , that was not a blot upon the Mark shield . They saw the children properly educated . He could speak from experience , because he had had a good deal to do with the examination of those children ; the papers had passed through his hands , and the reports had come under his view , and the selection ot those childrenboys and girlsto whom they gave the medals , was

, , done according to the reports of the master or mistress of the School in favour of it . He thought that that said much in regard to the educational branch of the fund . With regard to the Old People and those who sought temporary relief , they gave to those who urgently wanted help , and the manner of their distribution was so well-known to all the brethren , that it

was not necessary to go into it . He would now thank the Chairman most heat tily for his kindness in coming to preside that evening . The way in which he had been supported by his province in not only sending so many Stewards , but also such large amounts , was a good example to other parts of England , which he hoped would follow his example . Bro . C . F . MATIER . G . Sec , then read the following :

STEWARDS' LIST .

LADY STEWARDS . £ s . d . 1 Mrs . Apelt „ J . Barker ( see West Yorkshire ) — Lady H . Cavendish Bentinck Mrs . Bevan 5 5 ° Miss Bevan 5 5 0

Mrs . Carrell ... 5 5 0 Lady Evelyn Cavendish ... 10 0 0 Mrs . W . W . Clayton ( see West Yorkshire ) ... — Miss Kate E , Cleeves ( see West Yorkshire ) ... — Mis . Clowes

„ Doiman 5 5 ° ,, Gration ... ~ | — „ Holdsworth 1 — „ T . G . Howell 1 ( see West — „ Lingard [ Yorks . ) — ., C . L . Mason — Miss Mason J —

Mrs . C . F . Mali . r 550 „ Gordon Miller „ W . J . Morris - ) — „ G . M . Parke (( seeWest — „ J . Rhodes I Yorks . ) — „ VV . E . Smithies J ,, Stewart Brown Lady Stuart ( see London ) ... — GENERAL BOARD . Bro . R . L . Loveland ( seeHants and Lie of Wight ) — ,, Frank Richardson ... no 10 o „ 'Ihe Earl of Euston ( see Norths , Hunts , and Beds ) —

„ Vitcount Dungarvan „ Victor C . W . Cavendish , M . P . ( see Derbyshire ) — „ Charles Belton 10 10 o „ A . Stewart Brown ( sec Middlesex ) ...

—Bro . Maj . C . W . Carrell ( see £ s . d . London ) — „ Richard Clowes ( see Sussex ) — „ Charles H . Driver ... 15 15 o „ Richard Eve ( see Hants and Isle of Wight ) ...

—„ G . C . W . Fitzv . lliam ( see Norths , Hunts , and Beds ) — „ Gordon Miller 5 5 ° „ Major Clifford Probyn ( see London ) — „ Frederick West ( see

Surrey ) — „ A . Woodiwiss ( see Derbyshire ) — „ Frcdciick Cleeves ( see W . Yoikshire ) ... — „ T . P . Dorman ( see Norths , Hunts , and

Beds ) — Lodg ; LONDON . Grand Stewards Bro . Waller E . Williams 21 o 0 1 Bro . W . F . Siuttafurd ... 15 o 0 8 „ W . B . Fendick ... 5 5 ° 10 4 „ H . C . Borradaile ... 11 11 o 23 'J „ James SpelU . ... 12 12 o 301 „ Capt . H . M . Dunstan 27 i < 5 0 363 „ Col . John Davis ... 21 o 0 3 ijy „ The Earl of Euston ( seeNorths , Hunts , and Beds ) ... — 3 J 9 » Viscount Dungarvan 10 10 o yyj „ Earl of Portarlington

( see Dorsetshire ) — 3 < j 9 „ G . C . W . Fitzwilliam ( seeNoiths , Hunts , and Beds ) ... — 39 y „ A . IL Bevan 52 10 " 400 „ Belgiave Ninnis ... 6 0 ° 411 „ Capt . G . I learn ... 11 n °