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As regards HERTFORDSHIRE , which has steadily increased during the last tew years to 15 lodges , we shall content ourselves with repeating what we said in the Analysis of the last Benevolent Returns , namely , that considering how regular and generous are its contributions , it is to be regretted that Bro . Halsey , M . P ., the respected

Grand Master of the Province , does not venture on acting as Chairman at some one of our Festivals . We feel sure the lodges would support him well . A Province which has averaged an annual total of ^ 462 5 s . during 1884-5-6 , and has already raised £ 573 16 s . 6 d . during the current year , namely , £ 39 6 19 s . for the Benevolent in February , and £ 176 17 s . 6 d . on VVednesday would be sure to acquit itself successfully . After its heavy contribution of close on ^ 1228 to the Old Folks in February last , it would be unreasonable to expect from

KENT , even though it musters over half a century of lodges , more than one of its lesser totals . Still , the four lodges that were represented on Wednesday deserve credit for their labours , which would in all probability have realised more had not the surplus cash of the year been already so seriously trenched

upon . Their lists totalled up £ 160 4 s . 6 d ., and Bro . G . Adamson , Unattached ; with a supplement of £ 1 $ 15 s . raised the total to £ 175 193 . 6 d ., but in all probability the year ' s average will be reached , if not surpassed , the three years preceding this having yielded ^ 4635 ios ., or at the rate of £ 1545 per year . Tne two LANCASHIRES

have figured to less advantage than usual in this year of Jubilee , though , in the case of East Lancashire , the smallness of its Returns in February last and on Wednesday will be amply compensated for before the year is out b y the subscription it is engaged in raising as a memorial of the Jubilee for the Benevolent Institution . As regards West Lancashire , it has now suppleto the Old

mented its contribution of ^ 399 People in February with £ 136 10 s ., the pioduct of eight lists from five lodges and a chapter . Moreover , as we have again and again pointed out in these articles , both the divisions of the county have their local Charitable Associations , which do a world of good in relieving necessitous brethren and their families . It is evident the Girls' School stands as high as ever in the estimation of

MIDDLESEX , from which , in the days of the late Bro . Wentworth Little there was always a comiortable contribution forthcoming whenever the Institution had its Anniversary gathering , and Bro . Hedges has succeeded in retaining his hold on tne Province . This was shown on Wednesday , when 15 brethren gave their services as Stewards in behalf of ten lodges , Lebanon , No . 1326 , having as many as five representatives , and the Cama Lodge , No . 2105 ,

two . I heir lists amounted together to £ 418 2 s . 6 d ., Bro . Sansom acting for No . 1494 , being also a London Steward , and having his amount returned under that head . This does not materially differ from the Returns of February , when , by the hands of 13 Stewards , the Province gave ^ 43 1 17 s . Last year , the three Institutions received within a shilling of ^ 1034 , of which more than the half went to the Benevolent , the three years , 1884 , 1885 , and 1886 , yielding £ 2626 2 s . 6 d ., or an average per year of upwards of £ 875 . The three Stewards from the small Province of

MONMOUTHSHIRE have made up a small , but useful ^ 62 , one of the constituent items being apparently the personal contribution of the Steward . Having only eight lodges , we cannot , of course , look for very large Returns , but in 1886 this Institution received £ 199 10 s ., and the Boys' School £ 31 ios . In 1885 , the Old People obtained ^ 200 , and the Girls' School £ 61 8-. 6 d ., while a iVlon

mouthshire Lewis—Master Willie Watkins—figured among the Unattached Stewards with a list of £ 26 5 s . In 1884 , the Boys' School was thelavoured Institution , Bro . Capt . S . G . Homfray ' s list lor the Province amounting to £ 307 13 s . It is clear from this enumeration of Returns that Monmouthshire is impartial in its support of our Charities and generous to the full extent of its ability . Of the 16 lodges in

NORFOLK , The senior , the Union , No . 52 , of Norwich , was alone represented , the list ot its Sceward , Bro . H . G . rJarwell , amounting to £ 52 ios . As Lord Suffield , Prov . Grand Master , was in the chair at the Buys' School Festival at Brighton in June last , we must not be surprised at the comparative smallness of the total . Moreover , in February , another of the Norwich

Lodgesthe Social , No . 93—contributed , by Bro . Bridgman , the handsome sum of £ i 55 9 - > s 0 th < it the Province has acquitted itself famously during the present year . As we have pointed out in previous Analyses , too much is not to be expected from an agricultural district , especially in these days of severe agricultural depression . It is in the order of things that

NORTH WALES , with a vivid recollection of its old association with the Chairman ' s Province , should be found arrayed among his supporters , nor is it surprising that the two brethren representing it—or rather two of its eighteen lodges—should have exerted themselves to excellent purpose for their old comrade in Masonry . Bro . Col . the Hon . Sackville-West , P . G . W ., as Steward ofthe Royal Leek Lodge , No . 18 49 , Bangor , raised - £ u 6 us ., and Bro . C . K .

Benson of the Square and Compass , No . 1336 , Wrexham , £ 38 17 s ., the two together making up the capital total of ^ , ' 155 Ss . This is slightly in excess of the figures in February last , when lour Stewards of whom Bro . S . Pope , Q . C ., G . S . D ., was one , raised amongst them £ 152 is . Last year it distributed over £ 219 among the three Institutions , Xhe Girls' School receiving nearly half , or , to speak precisely , . £ 102 7 s . 6 d . If the " Men of Harlech " keep marching on at this rate , North Waleslwill in a few years be taking the lead of the Provinces .

A modest list of £ 16 16 s . from an unattached Steward--Bro . Thomas Salisbury—is all we have to place to the credit of

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE , with its roll of 14 lodges . But as in the case of Bro . the Rev . Bussell ' s list of . £ 27 in February , we must not take this as a measure of the strength which the Province is capable of putting forth on occasions . Last year , for instance , two of our Charities received between them a fraction over £ 279 ; in 1885 , the sum of £ 540 7 s . was distributed among the three , the Royal

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Masonic Benevolent Institution receiving £ 158 13 s ., this Institution , £ 261 14 s ., and the Boys' School £ 120 ; and in 1884 , the Old People and Our Boys' were favoured , the one with over ^ 142 , and the other with over ^ 231 the two returns amounting together to ^ " 374 5 s . No doubt , we shall hnrj Notts , well placed next month , when the Boys' School Anniversary is celebrated .

Five Stewards did duty for four out of the ten lodges in OXFORDSHIRE , the Alfred , No . 340 , the Apollo University , No . 357 , and the Churchill No . 478 , being all represented , the remaining lodge being the Windrush No . 1703 , of Witney . The sum of their lists is £ 14 s . 6 d ., which is a fair average Return from this Province . In February the total was close on £ 73 , the whole being obtained from the Alfred ( two Stewards ) , and the

Bertie , No . 1515 , the junior of the four lodges in the City of Oxford . Last year the total for the three Festivals was in round figures , £ 279 ; in 1885 , / 208 ; and in 1884 , ^ ' 293 . It will probably not have escaped the notice of our readers , or at least ol those who study the Returns of our Festivals that the lion ' s share of the support comes from the lodges in Oxford , and especially from the Alfred and Apollo University . A more equitable distribution seems desirable . It is hardly possible to speak in terms too laudatory of the efforts made by SHROPSHIRE

in support of its Provincial Grand Master , R . W . Bro . Sir Offley Wakeman , Bart , the chairman of the day . We have always extended a hearty welcome to the brethren in this county , on the occasions—and they were by no means infrequent—when , during the prolonged Provincial Grand Mastership of the late Bro . Sir VV . Williams-Wynn , Bart , the Masons of

Shropshire and North Wales figured by their representatives among the guests at these Festive Charitable Meetings . But since 1885 Shropshire has been a Province by itself , and though at the Benevolent Festival of last year , it sent up a Steward , just , perhaps , to mark the change in its position , it may be said to have made its debut on Wednesday . How well , how splendidly , indeed , it fulfilled its part will be seen Irom the figures which we record elsewhere , and

which proclaim more eloquently than any words of ours could do the benevolence in act as well as in word of our Shropshire brethren . In estimating the full value of these figures it must be mentioned that the membership of the Province , all told , is within 400 brethren , who are distributed among 11 lodges only , and that the expenses attending their organisation into aseparate Province must have been no slight burden for so limited a body to bear .

Yet they have defrayed all these , have established a Provincial Charitable Association of their own , and have shown by their latest perlormance that on the occasion of a grand function at which their respected ruler fulfils the duties of President , they are equal to a stout effort to support him , which will compare well with the efforts made by other and even stronger Provinces in support of their rulers at similar banquets . The total result of the

Returns from the Province is entered at ^ 1022 17 s ., being the sum of the lists handed in by the 17 representatives ot nearly the whole ot its lodges and a chapter . Bro . Sir O . Wakeman headed the array of contributing brethren with 100 guineas , his Deputy , Bro . Rowland G . Venables , and the Prov . Grand Secretary , Bro . VV . H . Spaull , being also among those who have rendered valuable assistance . We remark also among the list ot Stewards the

honoured name of Williams-Wynn as one of the Stewards for Lodge No . 1124—the St . Oswald , of Oswestiy . Bro . Bodenham , who does duty on behalf ot two other provinces likewise , figures here with a list of ninety guineas ( £ 94 ios ) . Bro . W . Lascelles Southwell , as one of the representative of the Castle Lodge , No . 1621 , Bridgnorth , is entered for 105 guineas ( £ 110 5 s . ); and even the Brownlow , No . 2131 , Ellesmere , the creation of yesterday , and

as such the youngest of the Salopian lodges , has a Steward in the person of Bro . the Rev . H . Kemble Southwell . In short , all have put their shoulders to the wheel with an energy which is both creditable to the Province and a cause of rejoicing to the friends of the Institution for Girls . For luller particulars of the exact Returns , and by whom contributed , we must refer our readers to the * ' Stewards' Lists . "

SOMERSETSHIRE is among the invariable participators in our Anniversary celebrations , and , as becomes the Province which is presided over by the Pro Grand Master , generally shows to advantage as regards the mite it casts into the Treasury . On Tuesday two of its 25 lodges were specially represented , and one of the Stewards appears to have drawn contributions from the

Province generally . The lists amounted to ^ 400 6 s ., of which £ 23 6 ios . was raised by Bro . Stothert , of the Royal Sussex Lodge , No . 53 , Bath , so that the somewhat rude injunction about " going to Bath" has a very felicitous meaning when applied to a journey thither in search of contributions lor our Institutions . In February , Bro . Adams , of the Unanimity and Sincerity Lodge , No . 261 , Taunton , raised the respectable sum of in

^ 132 8 s . Last year the Province gave all ^ 609 lis , of which the Boys Scnool obtained nearly one half ; while in 1885 the total was ^ 517 18 s ., this Institution being the most favoured , with £ 305 , and in 1884 it ranged as high as £ 640 14 s ., the Benevolent receiving , per Bro . R . C . Else , £ 5 ° S 5 ' This is indeed a famous record . R . W . Bro . Sir Geo . Elliot ' s Province of

SOUTH WALES ( EASTERN DIVISION ) contributes a round sum of £ 105 , its February contributions having been limited to a modest £ 36 15 s . Last year the Girls' and Boys' Schools were presented with £ 140 and ^ 105 respectively , in 1885 they obtained each xj ' h

and in 1884 the Girls' received ^ 160 , and the Boys' School £ 200 . *! v are mostly very fair amounts even from a province of 15 lodges , but douW " less in February next , when the respected Provincial Grand Master full " ' his promise of presiding at the Festival of the Benevolent Institution , there will be a grand rally of the lodges of this Province of South Wales , an their Returns will be largely in excess of any it has been our privilege

record hitherto . The 28 lodges of STAFFORDSHIRE , e like those of Somersetshire , have a happy knack of entering an appea-ran

at all our Festivals . We do not mean that all of them contribute at eve y Festival , but only that the Province ot which they are the constituent p makes a point of furnishing one or more representatives at each succes Anniversary . Their lists , too , are generally on a liberal scale ; the Stewards , who acted for five lodges , on VVednesday , having raised avf } ° l & them the excellent total of £ 320 5 s ., while in February , the one Steward ,