Centenary Meeting At The Royal Albert Hall.

Master and his assistants . The Board are anxious to extend the usefulness of the School which is another reason to move to another quarter where additional subjects of technical education may be taken . The School is entirely supported by voluntary contributions , and generally by these annual donations

I hope this Centenary Festival may go forth now and for ever in the annals of the Craft as the record Festival . There are many statistics I might give you , but I might weary you , and many are known to you . I ask you to do your utmost to obtain the sum which we require , and remember that we are here , although at

a charming convivial meeting , yet , at the same time , for one great purpose—Charity—to support an Institution which we all thoroughly approve of , and which deserves well of the country . ( Cheers . ) I thank you for the kind way in which you have listened to my remarks , and I feel very proud to occupy the chair

on this auspicious occasion . It affords me great pleasure to see so many to-night who are able to come and assist with me in what must be our common cause—'' Charity . " The toast I have

now to give you is " Success to the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys , " and it affords me great pleasure to connect with it the name of Bro . Keyser . ( Cheers . ) The toast having been received with loud applause ,

Bro . C . E . KEYSER ; P . G . D ., Treasurer of the Institution , in reply , said : May it please your Royal Highness , Ladies , and Brethren , —My position as Treasurer of this great Institution devolves upon me the privilege , and , at the same time , the great responsibility of replying to the toast so magnificently put

before you by his Royal Highness the Chairman . I feel before I say anything else , that on behalf ofthe Institution I must tender to his Royal Highness our most respectful and sincere thanks for the kind manner in which he has presided over us to-night . It is impossible to my mind to over-estimate the advantage that his

presidency will give our Institution , and I sincerely hope that the result which will shortly be announced will be such as to gratify him in coming here on this great occasion . Ladies and brethren , on most occasions it has been customary for the Treasurer to give some particulars with regard to the Institution , but his Royal

Highness has done that so thoroughly that I feel there is very little indeed—and fortunately for you—for the Treasurer to say . One point is the great question we have before us—the removal of our School from Wood Green to Bushey , and I will only refer to that again because when that question was first brought

forward it excited great opposition . There were many brethren who thought that in taking such a step we were making a great mistake , but I am able to say that everyone is acquiescing in it , and that some provinces which showed the greatest opposition I believe now are going to show their concurrence by bringing

up magnificent lists . There is one small incident I may bring before you as touching upon our present Centenary . Early this year his Royal Highness granted a warrant for the Old Masonians Lodge , No . 2700 , which was duly consecrated by the Grand Secretary towards the end of April , and that lodge has been

founded especially for the old pupils who have been educated in our Institution , and when that lodge was consecrated in Aprilwith the exception of myself , who had the honour of being its first Worshipful Master , and thc Junior Warden—every officer was an old boy educated in our School . I think you will agree that those old boys were young men and

Centenary Meeting At The Royal Albert Hall.

it is satisfactory to feel that so many young men , educated in our School , are so early in life placed in a position to be able to identify themselves with the Craft . Before I conclude I think it is only right to bring under your notice the immense amount of work that has devolved upon our Secretary in connection vvith

this Festival . Some of us have read of the labours of Hercules , but those labours will now have to take second place when compared with the amount of work which has devolved upon the staff of the Institution . That staff has been helped by a large number of volunteers and if any mistakes have been made , the

brethren will be charitable and remember the enormous amount of work entailed by such a Festival as this . In conclusion , as you all know this is the last toast , may I , on behalf of the Institution , express our most sincere gratitude to the Stewards for

coming in such numbers . May the result be gratifying to the M . W . G . Master and prove the grandest result that has ever been known in the annals of Freemasonry ! May we show , as Masons , that we are in earnest and that we are able to collect the

marvellous amount which 1 know is shortly to be announced ! I thank you all for the way in which this toast has been proposed and received . Bro . J . M . MCLEOD , P . G . S . B ., Secretary of the Institution , then read the lists , concluding by saying that his Royal Highness would announce the sum total .

H . R . H . the M . W . GRAND MASTER : As your Chairman tonight , it is my privilege to inform you that the sum total which has been subscribed amounts to the record sum of £ 134 , 000 . Bro . J . M . MCLEOD , Secretary of the Institution : With the permission of his Royal Highness , I beg to remedy a slight

omission I made . In the London lists there are two which are equal in amount—1200 guineas—from two brethren , one who is noted for big lists—Bro . Oscar Philippe , and the other , Bro . Daniel Meyer , the representative of the Royal Naval Lodge , No . 59—one of the two lodges which founded the Institution !

H . R . H . the M . W . GRAND MASTER : I have been asked to make a further announcement from the Mayor of Poole , who has promised 1000 guineas . The Prince then left , and the meeting dispersed .

DESCRIPTION OF THE RETURNS . In briefly describing the foregoing Returns , our attention is directed in the first instance to what

LONDON , with its 450 lodges or thereabouts , has done towards bringing about this marvellous result . Well , there can be no question as to London having done its duty by the Boys' School on the occasion of its Centenary Festival in a manner vvhich entitles it

to the respect and gratitude of the whole English Craft . We must not lose sight of the fact that at the very outside there are only , as we have said , some 450 lodges in the Metropolitan district , and if we place the average number of subscribing members

per lodge at 60 , the London contingent of brethren to whom an appeal in behalf of the Institution could be made would not exceed some 27 , 000 . But it was made clear to those who were present at this historic meeting in the Royal Albert Hall on Friday , the ioth instant , that the great majority of the 450

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CHRISTIAN_COMMUNITY. INSTITUTED BY THE HUGUENOTS , 1685 . r-iKsii-K . NT—SIR Ci EORGE WILLIAMS . | VICK-PRKSIDBNT—THE EARL OF ABERDEEN , K . 6 . I TREASURER—P . A . BEVAN ESQ BAXKKRS—MKSSRS . BARCLAY & CO ., 51 , LOMBARD STREET , E . C , AND 1 , PALL MALL , EAST , S . W . For Visiting and Preaching the Gospel in Workhouses and other Places . Also for regular relief of the poorest classes met with in the localities where the Mission Halls are situated . The following returns will show this kind of work for the past year . W HE Province of this Society is to preach the Gospel , and in other ways relievo two classes—those who cannot , and those who will not , attend the ordinary places of worship . The work of preaching and visiting is carried on by over 450 Voluntary Workers of both sexes , who give their time gratis . 540 Sent for a week . 15 , 000 Workhouse Inmates were visited every week in 10 , 000 Workhouse Inmates entertained at Christmas with concert-23 Workhouses , Infirmaries , and Casual Wards . Buns and Oranges being also distributed . 2 , 000 Lodging-house Inmates visited every week in Spitalfields , 1 Home for Working Girls , in which Stoke Newington , Poplar , Borough , and Hastings . 41 Girls were lodged , trained , and many others supplied with 8 Mission Halls entirely supported , in which situations . 2 , 231 Homeless Men were received into the All-Night Shelter . 1 , 500 Benefited hy Sewing , Cooking , and other Useful Classes . 23 , 000 Breakfasts , Teas , Cocoa Suppers , & c , given . 21 Open-Air Stations sustained . 1 , 298 Bread , Lodging , and other Relief Tickets distributed . 191 , 296 Tracts , Booklets , and Periodicals distributed . 26 , 100 Children ' s Dinners and Breakfasts Provided . 2 , 325 Attendances were made by poor Widows , employed in 2 , 328 Childrens and Adults taken into thc Country for a Day . making Clothing . 800 Garments were made and sold last year . Contributions or Donations ( N . B . Periodicals and Tracts are most useful , and may bo sent to the Secretary ) can he paid into tho Bank to the Treasurer , or will he very gratefull y received by tho Secretary , Mr . JAMES ATKINSON 25 , Brighton Road , Stoko Newington , N ,