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CONTENTS . Approaching Festival of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution ... 17 Initiations at Lodge Consecrations ... ... ... •••' 7 Grand Lodge Calendar ... ... ... ••••••¦••' §

Mark Masonry ... ... •••••••••, •••lS Science , Art and the Drama ... ... «•••< •••* 9 The York Grand Lodge-A Brief Sketch ... ... ... ... zo Consecration of the Merton Lodge , No . 2790 ... ... ... 21 Craft Masonry ... ... ... •••••••••21

M ASONIC NOTHSMonthly Meeting of trie Committee of Management of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution ... ... ... ¦¦•»•23 The New Century ... ... ... ... ••••••2 3 Correspondence ... ... ... ... ••¦ •••24

The " Ecce Homo" ... ... ... ... ... ... 24 The Logic Club ... ... ... ... ... — 24 Craft Masonry ... ... ... ... — •••24 Royal Masonic Institution for Girls ( Quarterly Court ) ... ... ... 28 Instruction ... ... ... ... ... ••••••2 S The K . T . Ritual ... ... ... ... ... ... 28

THE C RAFT ABROADDistrict Mark Grand Lodge of Jamaica ... ... ... ... 28 Masonic and General Tidings ... ... ... — •••32

Approaching Festival Of The Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution.

APPROACHING FESTIVAL OF THE ROYAL MASONIC BENEVOLENT INSTITUTION .

We are now so far advanced in the New Year as to be within measurable distance of the earliest of our three great Anniversary Festivals—that of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution , which will be celebrated under the auspices of the

Right Hon . Lord ADDINGTON , Prov . G . Master of Buckinghamshire , on Tuesday , the 27 th February . We took occasion to refer to the event in one of our December issues and are pleased

to be able to report that the prospects of a successful result which then appeared to be so encouraging are still favourable , Bro . JAMES TERRY having met with more than his usual good

fortune in enlisting the services of ladies and brethren as Stewards . Then , if -we remember rightly , the names had been received of some 250 brethren and others who were prepared to do all in their power to promote the success of the

Anniversary to which we are so anxiously , and at the same time so hopefully looking forward . In the interval that has since elapsed , this number has been so considerably augmented that , notwithstanding the intervention of the Christmas holidays , the

board already musters some 320 members , with every likelihood uf still further accessions of strength between now and the penultimate day of February . Indeed , so satisfactory has been the result of Bro . TERRY ' S canvass for Stewards that we believe

we are correct in stating the number already enrolled is some 80 in excess of the number at the corresponding period of last year . This is good news , to which we are inclined to attach no little importance , owing to the circumstances in which the

country is' placed as compared with what they were 12 months a K ° - Then , no doubt , grave anxieties existed as to the maintenance of friendly relations with the Transvaal ; now , and for three months past , a state of war has prevailed , not only between

this country and the Transvaal , but also between us and the fransvaal in offensive and defensive alliance with the Orange Free State . Then there were only the regular institutions a ppealing for support which depend for their maintenance

wholl y or chiefly on the contributions of the benevolent ; now , » i addition to these , are the numerous funds which are being raised for the equipment of the Yeomanry and Volunteers , and ¦ or the relief of the sufferers by the war , and our lodges and the brethren individuall y have borne their part generously as usual

Approaching Festival Of The Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution.

in helping these Funds . Hence we must look to a multitude of Stewards to render the assistance that is required by our Institutions rather than to the Boards of between 300 and 400 members such as we are familiar with in ordinary years . We trust , therefore , that none will withhold their services on this

occasion because the Board of Stewards for the February celebration is already , numerically , somewhat stronger than usual . As for the claims of the Benevolent Institution , let it suffice if we state that at the annual general meeting of Governors and

Subscribers in May last , it was determined that provision should be made for 477 annuitants , namely , 207 brethren at £ 40 a year each ; 248 widows at £ 32 each ; and 22 widows in receipt of half their late husbands' annuities , that is to say , £ 20 per

annum ; the total sum required to meet these obligations being £ 16 , 636 . To this must be added the amount required for the expenses of Management and the Maintenance of the Asylum at Croydon , or about £ 3000 , placing the total expenditure for

the year at—in round figures—about £ 19 , 500 . The " per Contra" in the shape of assured income , consisting of the dividends in respect of the invested capital and the annual grants by Grand Lodge and Supreme Grand Chapter somewhat

slightly exceed £ 6000 , so that the deficiency to be made good as far as possible by the donations and subscriptions which will be forthcoming next month , if we allow a margin for unforeseen contingencies , should not fall very far short of £ 14 , 000 . It is a

large sum , no doubt , but we are not without hopes that it will be forthcoming if the lodges and brethren continue , as they have done till now , to volunteer their help towards raising it . And if an additional incentive to exertion is needed by those

who intend acting as Stewards , it will no doubt be found in the large number of brethren and widows who are candidates for the benefits of the Institution . Notwithstanding the additional annuities—five on the Male and three on the Widows' Fund

—that were created at the annual meeting in May , 18 99 , there remained , when the elections were over , between 60 and 70 Old People who had no option left them but to await with such calmness as they might be able to command , the chance

of their being fortunate at the next or some future ballot . This number has since been increased by the acceptance of over 40 petitions from widows and brethren , whose names have been entered on the lists for the annual meeting in May nex . t , while

the proportion of vacancies to candidates is still , as it has been for many years , most unfavourable to the latter . It is to be regretted that a means cannot be found of placing them more nearly on a level , but as this cannot be done without making

such an addition to the annual charge for annuities as the Committee of Management would justly decline to sanction , we can do no more than exhort the Stewards to infuse , if possible , a little more zeal and earnestness into their canvass , so that if the

fates are propitious , a further slight reduction may be made in the lists of candidates . Their first care , however , must be to obtain the £ 14 , 000 that is needed for the present establishment , and this , as we have said , we are not without hope they will be able to accomplish .

Initiations At Lodge Consecrations

INITIATIONS AT LODGE CONSECRATIONS

With reference to the letter we published last week from Bro . J . T . LAST , P . Prov . G . Registrar West Yorkshire , in which he mentions the initiation of three candidates at the consecration of the United Pilgrims Lodge , No . 745—now No . 507—on the 14 th March , 1845 , we observe that at or about that time ,