The Approaching Festival Of The Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution.

THE APPROACHING FESTIVAL OF THE ROYAL MASONIC BENEVOLENT INSTITUTION .

With the commencement of the new year , we find ourselves once again confronted with the approach of the Festival which is annually held in behalf of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution , and the question which is—and for many weeks past has been—exercising- the minds of all who are interested in the welfare of this most important Charity is—Will the result

be at all commensurate with its requirements ? Of course , after the tremendous efforts that were made last year in order to insure the success of the Jubilee , and the splendid total of donations and subscriptions which resulted from those efforts , we cannot in reason expect that anything like an average return will be obtained . If we look to what London did in February ,

1892 , we find that a very large majority of its lodges confederated together and raised , £ 31 , 650 , a sum which , in itself , is more than twice the total of a highly successful Festival ; while , if we give our attention to what the Provinces accomplished during the same month , we find the total of their contributions reached . £ 37 , 350 , or a few hundreds more than was obtained at

the two exceptionally productive Festivals held in 1885 , under the presidency of Bro . Sir M . E . HICKS-BEACH , Bart ., M . P ., and the year of trie Queen's Jubilee ( 1887 ) , under that of Bro . W . W . B . BEACH , M . P . Of these 46 Provinces only one was an absentee , while of those which took part in the celebration , there were only some half-dozen which contributed less than

£ 100 , the smallness of the amount being in nearly every instance , either easy of explanation or requiring none . The bulk gave £ 500 , £ 1000 , £ 2000 , or even more , where in ordinary years their Returns were on a far more limited scale . Therefore , whether we look to London , from which a total of some few thousands of pounds is invariably forthcoming , or to the Provinces ,

which exerted themselves so nobly , wc are face to face with this difficulty , that everybody contributed so much to the Jubilee that , having regard to the claims of the Schools , there remains little or nothing to be contributed at the gathering which will be held next month in aid of our Benevolent Institution . But the year ' s expenditure must be met . There

are 430 annuitants on the establishment , among whom the Charity stands committed to distribute about £ 15 , 300 annually and in addition there are between 20 and 30 widows , to whom are paid for a limited number of years , the half of their late husbands ' annuities , and for whom a further £ 500 must be found . Lastly ,

there are the expenses of management and the maintenance of the Asylum at Croydon , which together absorb a further . £ 2500 . Thus the total required for the year is in excess of . £ 18 , 000 , towards which there is now a permanent income of about , £ 5500 , of which Grand Lodge contributes £ 1600 and Grand Chapter £ 150 , the balance consisting of the

dividends payable annually in respect of the invested capital . Thus there is a deficit , which must be made good annually , amounting to about £ 12 , 500 , and the point which so nearly concerns us now is whether there is any likelihood of so large an amount , or a substantial proportion of so large an amount , being raised at the Festival , which will be celebrated in

Freemasons'Tavern , on Wednesday , the 22 nd February . We are afraid the out-look is the very reverse of encouraging . Up to the present moment , the efforts of Bro . TERRY to obtain the services of some distinguished brother as Chairman have proved unavailing . It is only natural that a Prov . G . Master should hesitate about accepting what is in fact a very

great responsibility , \ vhen he knows how great an inroad was made last year on the spare resources at thedisposal of the lodgesand brethren under his charge , while it is equally natural that the members of a Province—as far as they have any voice in such a matter—should preferthat their chief should undertake such a responsibility when they know they are in a position to give him

effective support . Of course , there are many other distinguished brethren , either Present or Past Grand Officers , to whom a Committee of Management and its Secretary are justified in looking for help in such discouraging circumstances , nor , as a rule , do they look in vain . 'There have been several Festivals of late years at which the chair has been taken by a Grand

Warden or a Grand Treasurer ; but on these occasions there has been a sort of tacit understanding , or , at all events , a well-founded hope , that some special effort would be made to compensate for the absence of a "Chairman ' s Province . " But where can we look for such a Chairman now , and on

what foundation establish such a hope , when London is in the same plight as the Provinces ? However , Bro . TERRY is not the man to despair of ultimatel y accomplishing his purpose , and it may be that at the very last moment he will find one who is ready to undertake the role , which last year ' s brilliant success has rendered it so difficult to fill . The efforts of a Chairman , however , are not likely to be successful , even under the most favourable conditions . unless he has a strong Board of Stewards

The Approaching Festival Of The Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution.

to support his advocacy . But the circumstances which have rendered it so difficult for Bro . TERRY to secure a Chairman have had a similarly unfavourable effect on his efforts to enlist the services of brethren as Stewards . Brethren prefer undertaking this office when there is a fair chance of their obtaining something like substantial lists of donations and subscriptions ,

but their prospects in this respect are not particularly encouraging , especiall y as the Stewards for the School Festivals are already on the look-out to raise all the guineas they can lay their hands upon , in order to compensate the Institutions for which they are working for the comparative smallness and paucity of the contributions which they received in 1892 . Hence it is

that within six weeks of the day fixed for the celebration , Bro . TERRY finds himself with a Board composed only of some 125 brethren . Here again , therefore , the outlook is the reverse of encouraging , and we trust that in the brief interval that remains we shall hear of many more brethren volunteering for this duty .

There is , perhaps , one other consideration which must not be lost sight of . VVe are desirous of seeing a Return next month which will approximate somewhat towards the Returns it has been our duty to report in ordinary years , not merely because it is desirable there should be as nearly as possible an equilibrium between the income and expenditure of the

Institution during this as during every other year , but because the list of applicants for admission to the benefits of the Charity seems well nigh interminable . Notwithstanding the formidable number of fresh annuities , especially on the Widows' Fund , which have been created during recent years , the result of Wednesday's meeting of the Committee of Management shows that the list

of approved candidates for the election in May next contain no less than 118 names , of whom 61 are men and 57 widows . Of these 28 men and 38 widows remain from last year ' s election , the remaining 33 men and 19 widows having sent in their petitions and been accepted since the corresponding period of 1892 . But since the annual meeting in May last , the

Secretary has reported 21 deaths , namely , 12 men and 9 widows , and three men and three widows have in the ordinary course of things been told off to fill as many vacancies . Therefore , so far as our present knowledge goes , there are only 9 vacancies on the Male Fund and 6 on the Widows' Fund , exclusive of the three deferred annuities in each

case , available for competition among the approved candidates . No doubt other vacancies will occur between now and the general meeting in May next ; but in any circumstances the number of competitors will be hugely in excess of the number of annuities which will be competed for , and then we shall find ourselves gradually reverting to the difficulties of a

few years since—difficulties which have been only very slightly reduced by the amendment of the Regulations relating to candidates which took place in 1890 . However , let us hope for the best—that the Chairman will be forthcoming , that the Board of Stewards will be stronger than it is at present , and that after all , the proceeds of the Festival will not compare so unfavourably with those of ordinary years .

The Grand Lodge Of England.

THE GRAND LODGE OF ENGLAND .

Bro . G . W . Speth has contributed the following article to the Rough Ashlar , which is published in Richmond , U . S . A . It is mainly intended for our American brethren , but we venture to think , as we stated last week , that much of it will be found interesting , if not altogether new , to our English readers : -

You have done me the honour to ask me to describe for the readers of your excellent paper a meeting of the Grand Lodge of England . Seeing how differently our Grand Lodge is constituted from those of the U . S . A ., I have thought it well to exceed my instructions , and include within the scope of this letter a description of our Constitution and modes of procedure . You will find much probably which may appear to you defective and open to

amendment ; but it will be well to remember that circumstances alter cases , and that an organisation which would be highly suited to your country and surroundings might be very undesirable in ours , and vice versa . I shall , therefore , avoid instituting any comparisons , and merely do my best lo inform my brethren on your side of the actual facts as they apply to our own Grand Lodge .

Grand Lodge is made up as follows—1 . Lodge Representatives . I place these first and foremost , as constituting the basis and foundation of the whole structure , from whom all right and power , majesty , and strength ultimately derive their origin . They are the Master and Wardens of each lodge throughout the jurisdiction . These

may be said to form part of Grand Lodge ex-officiis , and cannot depute their powers ; if they do not attend the meetings their lodge remains unrepresented . But they are in no sense delegates ; it is not competent for a lodge to instruct its Master how to vote on any occasion , he exercises his own judgment , as do his Wardens , and they may possibly vote different ways .