The Provisional Committee R.M.I. For Boys.

THE PROVISIONAL COMMITTEE R . M . I . FOR BOYS .

The Provisional Committee appointed at the Special General Court on the 6 th ult . to administer the affairs of the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys have lost no time in entering on their task of re-organisation . At the meeting of the General

Committee on Saturday last , they handed in a first report , containing sundry important recommendations , and mentioning that other matters have been held over for further consideration . Among the recommendations was one which we had alread y

suggested—to the effect that the Provisional Committee should be entrusted ad interim with all the powers ordinarily exercised by the House , and Finance and Audit Committees , so that it mav be in a better position to give effect to the wishes of the Special Court which appointed it . It also recommended that the office of House Steward should not be filled

up for the present , that a new Matron in place of Mrs . DOVE , resigned , should be immediately appointed , that there should be a fresh Medical Officer , and last , but

not least , that " there should be a change at as early a period as possible in the office of Secretary . " These recommendations are such as we have been expecting . The office of House

Steward is by no means a necessary one ; or , at all events , its duties could very well be assigned to an officer occupying a less prominent position than was enjoyed by Mr . DOVE ; but the Matron is a necessary functionary , and the immediate appointment of a successor to Mrs . DOVE would enable the individual

chosen to enter upon her duties , if so required , at the close of the midsummer holidays . It is clear , too , from the Report of the Investigation Committee , that a younger and more active man is needed for the position of Medical Officer , and the

recommendation of the Provisional Committee for a change in that department is also one to which no exception can reasonably be taken . Nor , when we come to take all the circumstances into account , and wei gh them carefully and impartially , do we see how the

Committee could have offered any other proposition in respect of the office of Secretary . It is allowed b y all those Governors and Subscribers to the School , whose judgment is of value , that the duties assigned to this officer have

been most abl y and energetically performed b y Bro . FREDK . BINCKES during his a 8 years of service . But it is also clearly seen that under a new system of management it would be difficult for him to adapt himself to the ideas of the several

Committees when re-organised , and still more difficult , perhaps , for "m and them to work harmoniousl y together . It is evident the rovisional Committee believe in the necessity for a change in le personnel as well as in the system of administration , and as , - j - •**¦»•*" > - ' rt sm , * i ( . LsJ * -t UJU ^ y JLU 1 JJ \ JL UUJiilliJ ^ U CltJUXJ ; Cl . J . JW O . J ¦

e y recommend unanimousl y that a retiring allowance commen-¦ lu ate with his long and able services be awarded to him , we onsider it would be unwise as well as impolitic on his part to 1 ace any difficulties in the way of the recommendation being le [ 0 Ut ' ^ ^ y with him into his retirement the know-£ ' •"at he has rendered most important services extending e . a lon g term of years , to an Institution which needed the hit a , ° ^ so energetic an officer , and he will also take with Sr " le res pect of all the Governors and Subscribers of the shain i ° ' rather , of all but a few implacables . However , we and ti ^ ° PP t un ity of referring in future articles to this Com questions which are engaging the attention of the

The Craft In Middlesex.

THE CRAFT IN MIDDLESEX .

T \ V ; ] , note w'th pleasure that at the recent meeting at resol Uf ° the Provincial Grand Lodge of Middlesex , a future !? Was P assed unanimously to the effect that for the , "v . tlie r-ncf ^ f j . •__ _ . _ ii ,. T-. •. ^ , i annuallthe Provincial Calendar

should 1 i producing y Proving p efra yed > in the first instance , out of the funds of ' P ODo (¦•and Lodge , the lodges and chapters taking copies ^ as fuVi ? t 0 t ' ' r membership , at a small charge per copy . sh Qu icl h r resol ved that the duty of compiling the Calendar ^ ° 0 M , v * fw ertaken h y the Prov * G * Secretary , Bro . H . H . ' the assistance of Bro . W . H . LEE , Prov . Asst , G .

The Craft In Middlesex.

Sec , and consequently the bretliren in Middlesex will be furnished with a Calendar which , as it will be compiled from official sources under the direct sanction of Provincial Grand Lodge , may be relied upon for the sufficiency ancl accuracy of its information , while the outlay , as it will be spread amongst a large number of members , will be a burden to nobody . This is a far

better plan than to leave it to private enterprise to procure and publish the information which Provincial Calendars usually contain . Bro . H . LOVEGROVE , who is responsible for all but the last of the Middlesex Calendars which have been issued , deserves great credit for the manner in which he discharged his

selfappointed task . But it is hardly possible he could have had the same facilities for his work of compilation as the regular officers of Provincial Grand Lodge . In his case , it was open to any lodge or chapter to g ive or withhold the particulars that were asked for . while Bros . ROOM and LEE , as Prov . G . Sec . and

Prov . G . Scribe E ., respectively , will have in their official charge the whole of the returns which it will be necessary for them to consult , and their ability to do the work which is now entrusted to them has been fully proved by the success of the Calendar for 188 9 , which , though undertaken at short notice , is found to be in

all respects a trustworthy guide to the lodges and chapters inthe province . There is also another point on which we take leave to congratulate our Middlesex , brethren . It was resolved at the same meeting to invest £ 350 of the accumulated funds in the hands of the Prov . Grand Treasurer , so that the Province might

be in a position to make still larger grants than heretofore to the Masonic Charitable Institutions , and for other Charitable purposes . This is an additional feather in the cap of Middlesex , which during the 20 years it has been organised as a Province has shown itself ever able and willing not only to minister to the wants

of its necessitous members , but also to do all in its power to support the general Charities of the Society . Verily , Bro . Sir FRANCIS BURDETT must be as proud of the lodges and brethren under his charge as are the latter of the Prov . Grand Master who has presided over them so ably and so genially during the past 20 years .

The Tennant Testimonial.

THE TENNANT TESTIMONIAL .

The services which Bro . MARMADUKE TENNANT , P . A . G . D . C . of England , and D . P . G . M . of the Eastern Division of South Wales , has rendered to the lodges he has been connected with , the province he has helped to administer for 13 years , and the Craft generally , have been again and again recognised ; but never before has the recognition taken so precise and conspicuous a

form as at the recent meeting at Cardiff , on the 24 th ult ., when Bro . Sir GEORGE ELLIOT , Bart , M . P ., Prov . Grand Master , in open Provincial Grand Lodge , presented his worthy Deputy with a purse of gold and a handsomely bound album , containing the names of all the brethren who had subscribed to the testimonial .

Moreover , by a happy coincidence , the presentation was made just about the time when Bro . TENNANT was celebrating his silver wedding , and his brethren who had met to do him honour as a Mason were able at the same time to felicitate him on the occurrence of an event whic " . must have been especially gratifying

to him in his private and personal capacity . Reports of such proceedings as these are always pleasant reading , and to record them is an equally pleasant duty , especiall y when , as in this instance , it affords us the opportunity of tendering our congratulations to so able , distinguished , and so estimable a brother .

The Earl Of Kintore And The Grand Lodge Of South Australia.

THE EARL OF KINTORE AND THE GRAND LODGE OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA .

The reception accorded by the Grand Lodge of South Australia to Bro . the Earl of KlNTORE , Governor of the Colony , on the occasion of his recent visit to that body , appears from the accounts which have reached us to have been of a more than

ordinarily enthusiastic character . The compliments paid to him as the representative of the QUEEN demonstrated the loyalty of the Craftsmen , but those he received in his Masonic capacity exhibited in the strongest possible manner the feeling of brotherhood which exists among the members of different Constitutions .