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CONTENTS . PAGE . L EADERSThe Approaching Festival of the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys ... 329 United Grand Lodge of Victoria ... ... ... ... 33 ° Consecration of the Sympathy Chapter , No . 4 S 3 ... ... ... 330 The Victoria Grand Lodge ... ... ... ... ¦•• 332 Provincial Grand Lodge of North and East Yorkshire and the Royal Masonic

Institution for Boys ... ... ... ... 333 Masonic Service at St . Augustine ' s Church , Honor Oak ... ... ... 333 M ASONIC NOTESGuys' Hospital Re-Endowment Fund ... ... ... ... 335 Arrangements for Festival of the Royal Masonic Institution ft r Boys ... 335 Athletic Sports of Boys' School ... ... ... ... 335 Confcration of the Hope Chapter , No . 574 ... ... ... 335 Special Meeting of Provincial Grand Lodge of Somersetshire ... ... 335 Correspondence ... ... ... •¦• ••• 336

Provincial Grand Lodge of Cumberland and Westmorland ... ... 33 G Provincial Grand Chapter of Cumberland and Westmorland ... ... 33 G Presentation to Bro . Sir W . Abdy , Bart ., P . G . D . England ... ... 337 Craft Masonry ... ... ... ... ... ... 337 Royal Arch Masonry ... ... ... ... ... ... 339 Mark Masonry ... ... ... ... ... ... 339 Masonic Service ... _ ... ... ... ... 339 Lodges and Chapter of Instruction ... ... ... ... 339 Masonic and General Tidings ... ... ... ... ... 34 °

The Approaching Festival Of The Royal Masonic Institution For Boys.

THE APPROACHING FESTIVAL OF THE ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR BOYS .

A few clays hence and the Anniversary Festival of the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys will have become an event of the past . It behoves us , therefore , to lay before our readers the claims it has upon the Craft and appeal , yet once again , for a

generous measure of that support which it so fully merits and which , on the whole , has never been appealed for in vain . We may premise that ( he prospects are assuring . The celebration is lixed for . Wednesday , the 24 th inst ., and will take place at the

Royal Pavilion , Brighton , under the auspices ol Bro . His Grace the Duke of DEVONSHIRE , Lord President of the Council , I'rov . G . M . Derbyshire . As for the Chairman ' s Province , which will occupy the central position on this occasion , we

both hope and believe that it will play its part in a manner worthy of its acknowledged reputation as a consistent and liberal supporter of all our Masonic Institutions . What it has done at previous anniversary gatherings has been faithfully recorded

in these columns ; but more especially is this the case in respect of the loyal support it gave to its Prov . G . Master—then Marquis of HARTTNG'TON M . P . —when he presided at the 87 th Festival of Lliis School in June , 1885 , and as regards the prominent position it

held among the Provinces generallyat the Girls' School Centenary in 18 S 8 ; at the Boys' School Festival held at Brighton , under the presidency of Bro . the Earl of LATHOM , Pro Grand Master , in 1 S 91 ; and at the Jubilee of the Royal Masonic Benevolent

Institution at Covent Garden Theatre in 1892 . Many of the foremost brethren who took a leading part on the occasions we have enumerated are still as vigorous in the discharge of their Masonic duties and as eager to sustain the prestige of their

I ' rovince as ever , so that we have little , if any , doubt that , ii the circumstances in which it is placed are as lavourable as they have been in the past , Derbyshire will spare no effort in order lo beat its own previous best on record ; firstly , because

Us respected chief will be the central figure at the gathering ; secondl y , for its own sake as a recognised supporter of Masonic ( lutrity ; and , lastly , but chiefly , because the cause for which it will be exerting itself is essentially a good one . As regards the

other Provinces , there are many of them in readiness to tlo K'ood suit and service , while London , we believe , is well represented , and will do its part as loyally as ever , the number of

ladies and brethren whose assistance Bro . MCLEOD has had the Sood fortune to enlist as Stewards being , up to the present time , about 450 . As regards the position of the School , and the claims it has

The Approaching Festival Of The Royal Masonic Institution For Boys.

upon the consideration of English Freemasons , we cannot add anything to what we have said in previous articles of a similar character ; but wc can repeat it as emphatically as ever and upon equally authentic data . The main point to be considered

is—how to defray an expenditure amounting to close on £ 14 000 out of an assured income of somewhat less than £ 2000—and the only solution to this problem is to be found in the Returns which we are awaiting at the Festival , which will be held some 10 days

hence at Brighton . A subsidiary , but still important , point is how to increase the permanent income of the Institution , so that the demands for money , which are now exceedingly heavy , may be made less urgent ; and , here , again , our only solution will

be found in the Returns we are looking forward to . If the approaching Festival results in a total of donations and subscriptions as large , or nearl y as large , as was obtained last year , then it will be possible , after defraying the regular

expenditure , to purchase a few more thousands of stock . The interest derived from this further investment will augment the annual income and create a corresponding diminution in the amount to be raised annually by voluntary subscription . The

diminution will , of course , be on a small scale when compared with this annual dclicit of about £ 12 , 000 , but we have an abiding faith in the policy we have been advocating for some time past of raising more than is required for the year ' s service , . and

utilising the surplus in augmenting the invested capital . This can be done now with comparative ease while the country and its trade and commerce are in a prosperous state ; while by way of showing that it is a profitable policy to follow , we have but

to contrast the permanent income of to-day of our Institution for Boys with what it was onl y live short years ago . Then the invested capital was £ 17 , 500 and the permanent income , all told , within £ 700 ; now the capital is £ 60 , 000 and the

permanent income , all told , within £ 2000 . Thus the policy we advocate has at least the twofold merit that it slowly , but surely , diminishes the demand for voluntary subscriptions , and , at the same time , so strengthens the monetary position of the

Institution that , when the inevitable rainy day comes , it will be better able to tide over the difficulties which are the necessary concomitant of a rainy day . As for the claims which the Institution has upon the generous consideration of the general body of

English Freemasons , they are as many and as undoubted as they are various . In the first place , it is beyond all question that the School has been well managed during the present regime , the fact we have alread y drawn attention

to , that in the course of the live years it has been in existence , the funded capital has been enlarged from £ 17 , 500 to £ 60 , 000 , being alone sufficient to justify our statement . But while this increase of capital has been in progress , the School itself has

been vastly improved . Independent examiners , after a strict and impartial investigation into the educational system now pursued , have borne ungrudging testimony to the excellence ol that system and the beneficial effects it has had in raising the tone and character of the School . The bovs are well cared for

mentally , morally , and socially . 1 hey are instructed physically as well as mentally , and in the competitions into which they enter , either in the examination hall against the boys of other middle-class schools , or in the playing fields , they manage , without serious

difficulty , to secure their full share of the honours to be awarded . However , it is not necessary wc should enter into fuller details in reference to these points . It is enough for us to have shown that the conduct of the Institution has latterl y been very successful both in respect of its administration and scholastically ;