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Article THREE NOTEWORTHY MASONIC FESTIVALS. Page 1 of 1 Article THREE NOTEWORTHY MASONIC FESTIVALS. Page 1 of 1
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Three Noteworthy Masonic Festivals.
THREE NOTEWORTHY MASONIC FESTIVALS .
The record of our Masonic Festivals since thc memorable year of 1875 , when his Royal Highness the Prince of WALKS vvas installed M . W . Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England , is a splendid one , nor can it be doubted for a single moment that it will be found to surpass any similar record for a period of equal duration in thc case of any other
charitable institution . i here are only one or two out of the 17 years in question in which the aggregates of the amounts raised at our three annual Masonic celebrations has been less than £ 30 , 000 , while in several instances it has exceeded £ 40 , 000 ; in a few it lias been upwards of £ 50 , 000 , and in one memorable year , in vvhich thc Girls' School celebrated the Centenary of
its foundation , it vvas a few hundred pounds more than the magnificent sum of £ 75 , 000 . But of the 50 and odd Festivals which have been held during this period , two stand out conspicuously above the rest for the exertions whicii vvere made in their behalf , and the success which resulted from those exertions , namely , the Centenary Festival of the Girls' School and last year ' s
Festival of its sister Institution—the Royal Masonic Institution for Boysand before another fortnight has elapsed we anticipate it will be our privilege to announce that a third Anniversary has taken place , which in its resvilts svill surpass that of the Boys' School of last year , and very close ! ) ' approach ,
if it does not exceed , that of the Girls' School Centenary in 1888 . Be it our present task to briefly set forth the circumstances of the two Festivals whicii have been held , and the prospects which apparently await us in connection svith the Festival which is yet to come .
The Centenary of the Girls School -the senior in point of age of our three Masonic Charitable Institutions—of necessity attracted a large share of attention , and as the time for its celebration drew near and it became known that his Royal Highness the Grand Master had graciously undertaken to preside , thc enthusiasm vvhich vvas aroused surpasses all attempts
at description . Stewards poured in from every part of thc country . Lists of donations and subscriptions were compiled such as had never been dreamt of in the staid philosophy of our ancient Society , and a gathering vvas talked about which in point of splendour and the number of brethren and ladies present , and still more in the vast aggregate of contributions from
e \* erysvhere , would throw every other Masonic and non-Masonic celebration of a similar character completely into the shade . The forecasts of thc prophets were realised . The Royal Albert Hall vvas the scene of the gathering , and when the appointed day came round the Grand Master had the honour of presiding at a dinner party of some 1200 guests with twice that number of ladies
and brethren present in thc boxes and galleries as spectators of the scene . His Majesty the King of Sweden and Norway occupied the place of honour beside the Royal Chairman , and there svere present the Duke of CO . VNAUOIIT , his Royal Highness Prince AI . BKKT VICTOR , the Senior Grand Warden of the year ; the Earls of CARNARVON- and LATHOM , Pro Grand and Deputy
' ¦ rand Masters respectively ; Sir AIUIIIH . VLD CAMI ' IH- ' LL , Bart ., Grand Master Mason of Scotland ; the Marquis of HK . UII ' ORT , Senior Grand Warden of Ireland ; and a host of Provincial Grand Masters , and Grand Ollicers , Present and Past , such as had never been seen except at the installation of the Grand Master and the Masonic coiiiiiieinoration of the Oueen ' s jubilee the year previous . In thc course of the evening it vvas
announced that the total of the contributions exceeded £ 50 , 0-KI , and vvhen ¦ he final total was settled it was found that it amounted to within a shilling "' ; 6 . * i 1 , 517 . The number of Stewards to whom the Institution was indebted ' ¦ "" this result was 1475 , of whom some 5711 did duty for London , and the ' email ** tog- ( J 05 for the Provinces and abroad , there being about so lists in
-1-e former section of the Board which exceeded £ *<«* , while the total recorded in its behalf was £ 22 , 843 . The Provinces , of vvhich all in •"gland , together with the Isle of Man , werc represented—the •hannel Islands and Jersey being the only absentees -raised £ 28 / 174 W't contributing £ 3059— inclusive of the price of a Perpetual
' ' •esciitation—West Yorkshire , over £ 271111 ; West Lancashire , £ 2440 ; ^ arsvickshire , £ 1440 ; Fast Lancashire , £ 1350 ; Hants . ind the Isle of s ' f l ' " 5 "; Surrey , £ 1148 ; and Middlesex , 110 S . Other Provinces •'"•'has Berks and Bucks-then united under the late Sir D . Gooch , Bart . — erb yshirc , Essex , Hertfordshire , Leicestershire and Rutland , North W- I i-i ' I" - " UalNI * - | I -LJLU'HUt Slill ¦ * - til I i-l IMlLl-llill , ilUllll
Ka ' stV I 10 P sllirc ' Somersetshire , Sussex , Worcestershire , and North and H -if ° •C raisec - targe sums ranging from about £ 6511 in the case of Soniers l ' * ' " " "'^ / - ' ceslcrs , - * re al ** Jutland to £ 0 , 4 ( 1 in the case of hiiitl re > while thc rest were more or less successful in accumulating Inith ' I' rl ' it was a grand success , and vve feel that vve stated the ' " ° •" than the truth , when we remarked towards the close of
Three Noteworthy Masonic Festivals.
our analytical review of the Returns ¦ " We have seen no such list before , we have no knowledge of .-1113 * such list having been compiled before , and those who have borne a part , no matter how subordinate in the success which it
represents , must be very , vcry proud indeed of the result they have helped to achieve . " It should be added that on this occasion special privileges in thc shape of extra votes were granted to thc Stesvards , but not to donors and subscribers .
The Boys' School Festival of last year , when a Board of 767 Stewards raised a total of £ 29 , 6811 , is also a memorable event in the history of our Masonic Festivals , but from quite a different concatenation of circumstances . It presents to us thc result of certain special efforts vvhich it was found necessary to _ make in order to place the Institution on a sound pecuniar ) ' basis .
Public conlidence in the administration of this Charity had been rudely shaken some two or three years previously . Inquiry had been made inlo the causes which had produced this lack of conlidence , and in consequence of such inquiry a new system had just been inaugurated , the laws of the Institution had been recast , and a new Committee elected to carry out thc new system
of government . Under these circumstances an appeal to the Craft to show whether or not it accepted the changes in the spirit in vvhich they had been made was inevitable ; but no special inducements vvere held out either to the Stewards to exert themselves more than usual , or to lodges and brethren to make their contributions larger . It was , in fact , nothing more than an
ordinary Festival held under conditions of more than the usual importance , and the result was , as we have stated , that the Board of 7 C 17 Stewards had the satisfaction of raising £ 29 , 680 . London with 199 Stewards raised £ 8864 , there being some 20 lists ranging from £ 100 up to as high as £ 435 ; while the Provinces , of which only four vvere unrepresented , raised £ 20 , 816 by the
hands of its 568 Stewards ; West Lancashire , the Province of the noble Chairman ( the Earl of LATHOM , Pro Grand Master ) , heading the array with the vinpreccdented total of £ 6126 . West Yorkshire contributed £ 1685 , Essex £ 1265 , and Cheshire £ 1050 , while among others which distinguished themselves in this important respect , were Bristol , svith £ 59 , " ;; Derbyshire , with £ 843 ; Kast Lancashire , with £ 968 ; and Sussex , with £ 731 .
As regards thc third and last of our noteworthy hcstivals , that of the Jubilee of thc Roya ! Masonic Benevolent Institution , which will be held in the Theatre Royal , Covent Garden , on Wednesday , the 24 th instant , under the auspices of the Earl of Moi'NT EDGCUMBK , Deputy Grand Master , and Provincial Grand Master of Cornwall , we are unable lo do more than
hazard a few speculations as to the result that awaits us . Thc prospects are undoubtedly encouraging . Special privileges have been granted for this once only to Stesvards and donors and subscribers , and already the Board of Stewards is nearly 13011 strong—if , indeed , by the time these lines are published it docs not exceed that number . Thc London section of the Board
is upwards of 5011 strong , of whom quite 4110 are lodge and chapter representatives and the remainder Unattached , ln ( his respect the Board will undoubtedly compare favourably withthe London Board at thc Girls'Centenary there bcingalargcr proportion of its lodges represented , and by a larger number of brethren at this than al the Girls'Centenary , svhile ( he Unattached
Stewards are fewer . Of thc Provinces , only two are unrepresented at present , though there is still time for a Steward or tsvo from one or both to enter themselves as members of the Board . Of the 44 which have sent up representatives Cheshire , Derbyshire , Essex , Hants and the Isle of Wight , Hertfordshire , Kent , the two Lancashires , Suffolk , Surrev , Sussex ,
Warwickshire , and West v orkshire arc very strong , and though wc must not expect much from West Lancashire after its magnificent performance in June last in behalf of thc Boys , or that West Yorkshire , which has just purchased , or is on the event of purchasing , the " Tesv Perpetual Presentation " lo the Male Fund for 121111 guineas , will quile equal ils contribution
of £ 27011 at thc Girls' School Centenary , yet all the elements of a great success are present , and it will be the (" raft ' s osvn fault if the total on thc 24 th instant does not either vcry nearly approach or , it may even be , exceed that of the Girls' Centenary in 1 S 88 . For ourselves , though thc surroundings in this instance will lack much of llic splendour
which encircled the famous Girls' School Festival , sve are very liope / ul . Grand Lodge and Grand Chapter will head the list of contributions , the former svith 500 guineas and the latter with mo guineas , an . ! svith the enthusiasm svhich has been evoked by Bro . Tr . uuv and his coadjutors , and which is increasing in power day bv * day , it is on tlie cards thai the result vvhich is
so near at hand will , in sporting phraseology , " cut thc record . " Be it understood , however , lhat vve commit ourselves to no opinion . We are very sanguine because the outlook is very encouraging , but in any circumstances , the Jubilee of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution svill alsvays hold a foremost place in the annals of our Masonic Festival successes .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Three Noteworthy Masonic Festivals.
THREE NOTEWORTHY MASONIC FESTIVALS .
The record of our Masonic Festivals since thc memorable year of 1875 , when his Royal Highness the Prince of WALKS vvas installed M . W . Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England , is a splendid one , nor can it be doubted for a single moment that it will be found to surpass any similar record for a period of equal duration in thc case of any other
charitable institution . i here are only one or two out of the 17 years in question in which the aggregates of the amounts raised at our three annual Masonic celebrations has been less than £ 30 , 000 , while in several instances it has exceeded £ 40 , 000 ; in a few it lias been upwards of £ 50 , 000 , and in one memorable year , in vvhich thc Girls' School celebrated the Centenary of
its foundation , it vvas a few hundred pounds more than the magnificent sum of £ 75 , 000 . But of the 50 and odd Festivals which have been held during this period , two stand out conspicuously above the rest for the exertions whicii vvere made in their behalf , and the success which resulted from those exertions , namely , the Centenary Festival of the Girls' School and last year ' s
Festival of its sister Institution—the Royal Masonic Institution for Boysand before another fortnight has elapsed we anticipate it will be our privilege to announce that a third Anniversary has taken place , which in its resvilts svill surpass that of the Boys' School of last year , and very close ! ) ' approach ,
if it does not exceed , that of the Girls' School Centenary in 1888 . Be it our present task to briefly set forth the circumstances of the two Festivals whicii have been held , and the prospects which apparently await us in connection svith the Festival which is yet to come .
The Centenary of the Girls School -the senior in point of age of our three Masonic Charitable Institutions—of necessity attracted a large share of attention , and as the time for its celebration drew near and it became known that his Royal Highness the Grand Master had graciously undertaken to preside , thc enthusiasm vvhich vvas aroused surpasses all attempts
at description . Stewards poured in from every part of thc country . Lists of donations and subscriptions were compiled such as had never been dreamt of in the staid philosophy of our ancient Society , and a gathering vvas talked about which in point of splendour and the number of brethren and ladies present , and still more in the vast aggregate of contributions from
e \* erysvhere , would throw every other Masonic and non-Masonic celebration of a similar character completely into the shade . The forecasts of thc prophets were realised . The Royal Albert Hall vvas the scene of the gathering , and when the appointed day came round the Grand Master had the honour of presiding at a dinner party of some 1200 guests with twice that number of ladies
and brethren present in thc boxes and galleries as spectators of the scene . His Majesty the King of Sweden and Norway occupied the place of honour beside the Royal Chairman , and there svere present the Duke of CO . VNAUOIIT , his Royal Highness Prince AI . BKKT VICTOR , the Senior Grand Warden of the year ; the Earls of CARNARVON- and LATHOM , Pro Grand and Deputy
' ¦ rand Masters respectively ; Sir AIUIIIH . VLD CAMI ' IH- ' LL , Bart ., Grand Master Mason of Scotland ; the Marquis of HK . UII ' ORT , Senior Grand Warden of Ireland ; and a host of Provincial Grand Masters , and Grand Ollicers , Present and Past , such as had never been seen except at the installation of the Grand Master and the Masonic coiiiiiieinoration of the Oueen ' s jubilee the year previous . In thc course of the evening it vvas
announced that the total of the contributions exceeded £ 50 , 0-KI , and vvhen ¦ he final total was settled it was found that it amounted to within a shilling "' ; 6 . * i 1 , 517 . The number of Stewards to whom the Institution was indebted ' ¦ "" this result was 1475 , of whom some 5711 did duty for London , and the ' email ** tog- ( J 05 for the Provinces and abroad , there being about so lists in
-1-e former section of the Board which exceeded £ *<«* , while the total recorded in its behalf was £ 22 , 843 . The Provinces , of vvhich all in •"gland , together with the Isle of Man , werc represented—the •hannel Islands and Jersey being the only absentees -raised £ 28 / 174 W't contributing £ 3059— inclusive of the price of a Perpetual
' ' •esciitation—West Yorkshire , over £ 271111 ; West Lancashire , £ 2440 ; ^ arsvickshire , £ 1440 ; Fast Lancashire , £ 1350 ; Hants . ind the Isle of s ' f l ' " 5 "; Surrey , £ 1148 ; and Middlesex , 110 S . Other Provinces •'"•'has Berks and Bucks-then united under the late Sir D . Gooch , Bart . — erb yshirc , Essex , Hertfordshire , Leicestershire and Rutland , North W- I i-i ' I" - " UalNI * - | I -LJLU'HUt Slill ¦ * - til I i-l IMlLl-llill , ilUllll
Ka ' stV I 10 P sllirc ' Somersetshire , Sussex , Worcestershire , and North and H -if ° •C raisec - targe sums ranging from about £ 6511 in the case of Soniers l ' * ' " " "'^ / - ' ceslcrs , - * re al ** Jutland to £ 0 , 4 ( 1 in the case of hiiitl re > while thc rest were more or less successful in accumulating Inith ' I' rl ' it was a grand success , and vve feel that vve stated the ' " ° •" than the truth , when we remarked towards the close of
Three Noteworthy Masonic Festivals.
our analytical review of the Returns ¦ " We have seen no such list before , we have no knowledge of .-1113 * such list having been compiled before , and those who have borne a part , no matter how subordinate in the success which it
represents , must be very , vcry proud indeed of the result they have helped to achieve . " It should be added that on this occasion special privileges in thc shape of extra votes were granted to thc Stesvards , but not to donors and subscribers .
The Boys' School Festival of last year , when a Board of 767 Stewards raised a total of £ 29 , 6811 , is also a memorable event in the history of our Masonic Festivals , but from quite a different concatenation of circumstances . It presents to us thc result of certain special efforts vvhich it was found necessary to _ make in order to place the Institution on a sound pecuniar ) ' basis .
Public conlidence in the administration of this Charity had been rudely shaken some two or three years previously . Inquiry had been made inlo the causes which had produced this lack of conlidence , and in consequence of such inquiry a new system had just been inaugurated , the laws of the Institution had been recast , and a new Committee elected to carry out thc new system
of government . Under these circumstances an appeal to the Craft to show whether or not it accepted the changes in the spirit in vvhich they had been made was inevitable ; but no special inducements vvere held out either to the Stewards to exert themselves more than usual , or to lodges and brethren to make their contributions larger . It was , in fact , nothing more than an
ordinary Festival held under conditions of more than the usual importance , and the result was , as we have stated , that the Board of 7 C 17 Stewards had the satisfaction of raising £ 29 , 680 . London with 199 Stewards raised £ 8864 , there being some 20 lists ranging from £ 100 up to as high as £ 435 ; while the Provinces , of which only four vvere unrepresented , raised £ 20 , 816 by the
hands of its 568 Stewards ; West Lancashire , the Province of the noble Chairman ( the Earl of LATHOM , Pro Grand Master ) , heading the array with the vinpreccdented total of £ 6126 . West Yorkshire contributed £ 1685 , Essex £ 1265 , and Cheshire £ 1050 , while among others which distinguished themselves in this important respect , were Bristol , svith £ 59 , " ;; Derbyshire , with £ 843 ; Kast Lancashire , with £ 968 ; and Sussex , with £ 731 .
As regards thc third and last of our noteworthy hcstivals , that of the Jubilee of thc Roya ! Masonic Benevolent Institution , which will be held in the Theatre Royal , Covent Garden , on Wednesday , the 24 th instant , under the auspices of the Earl of Moi'NT EDGCUMBK , Deputy Grand Master , and Provincial Grand Master of Cornwall , we are unable lo do more than
hazard a few speculations as to the result that awaits us . Thc prospects are undoubtedly encouraging . Special privileges have been granted for this once only to Stesvards and donors and subscribers , and already the Board of Stewards is nearly 13011 strong—if , indeed , by the time these lines are published it docs not exceed that number . Thc London section of the Board
is upwards of 5011 strong , of whom quite 4110 are lodge and chapter representatives and the remainder Unattached , ln ( his respect the Board will undoubtedly compare favourably withthe London Board at thc Girls'Centenary there bcingalargcr proportion of its lodges represented , and by a larger number of brethren at this than al the Girls'Centenary , svhile ( he Unattached
Stewards are fewer . Of thc Provinces , only two are unrepresented at present , though there is still time for a Steward or tsvo from one or both to enter themselves as members of the Board . Of the 44 which have sent up representatives Cheshire , Derbyshire , Essex , Hants and the Isle of Wight , Hertfordshire , Kent , the two Lancashires , Suffolk , Surrev , Sussex ,
Warwickshire , and West v orkshire arc very strong , and though wc must not expect much from West Lancashire after its magnificent performance in June last in behalf of thc Boys , or that West Yorkshire , which has just purchased , or is on the event of purchasing , the " Tesv Perpetual Presentation " lo the Male Fund for 121111 guineas , will quile equal ils contribution
of £ 27011 at thc Girls' School Centenary , yet all the elements of a great success are present , and it will be the (" raft ' s osvn fault if the total on thc 24 th instant does not either vcry nearly approach or , it may even be , exceed that of the Girls' Centenary in 1 S 88 . For ourselves , though thc surroundings in this instance will lack much of llic splendour
which encircled the famous Girls' School Festival , sve are very liope / ul . Grand Lodge and Grand Chapter will head the list of contributions , the former svith 500 guineas and the latter with mo guineas , an . ! svith the enthusiasm svhich has been evoked by Bro . Tr . uuv and his coadjutors , and which is increasing in power day bv * day , it is on tlie cards thai the result vvhich is
so near at hand will , in sporting phraseology , " cut thc record . " Be it understood , however , lhat vve commit ourselves to no opinion . We are very sanguine because the outlook is very encouraging , but in any circumstances , the Jubilee of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution svill alsvays hold a foremost place in the annals of our Masonic Festival successes .