Royal Masonic Institution For Girls.

Bro . the Rev . R . J . SIMPSON , P . G . C , in proposing the next toast , that of " The other Masonic Charities and Success to them , " said that whilst they were there to celebrate the Festival of the Girls' School they must not forget the other two noble Institutions , the Boys' School and the Benevolent Institution . He

was sure the brethren would . drink with all true heartiness and with the best wishes the prosperity of the Boys'School , now re-constructed ? and of the Aged freemasons and their Widows Institution . He would simply satisfy himself by coupling with the toast the names of the indefatigable Secretaries of those Institutions , Bro . Terry and Bro . McLeod .

Bro . MCLEOD said on an occasion like the present very little need be said in furtherance of any Masonic Charity . Knowing the needs of the Institution he was sorry the lists had not been larger ; it had been said that the Girls' School had passed through a period of prosperity , but he trusted on a future occasion ihey vvould get the lists largely extended . Yet the Institution was to be congratulated on one fact , and that was that they had succeeded in obtaining for their Chairman Bro . Lord Carrington . For the Boys' Festival , which was to be held on

the 24 th June , he claimed the support of the Craft which it deserved . Bro . J AMES TERRY also responded . In proposing the toast of " The Stewards of the Day , " Lord CARRINGTON thanked the Stewards in the name of the brethren for their hard work . He thoug ht the list was a magnificent one , and as the Chairman he was quite satisfied . He thoug ht the thanks of the Craft were due to the Stewards for their work , and he would call upon Sir John B . Monckton to reply .

Bro . Sir J B . MONCKTON , in reply , said he thought they had a very good collection .. Bro . Col . PETERS proposed the toast of "The Ladies , " and Bro . EUGENE M ONTEUUIS , P . G . S . B ., V . P ., Chairman of the Ladies' Stewards , replied . The brethren then adjourned to the Temple , where a splendid programme of music had been arranged by Bro . Frederick A . jewson . The artistes consisted of

Mdlle . Antoinette Trebelh , Miss Laura Brown , Miss Maude Hayter , Mr . Reddon-Curtis , Mr . Edward Shale , Mr . J . Fane , Bros . Alfred Moore and Alfred Izard , Madame Dunbar Perkins , and Bro . F . A . Jewson . A word of praise is due to the excellent arrangements made by the Ladies ' Stewards for the comfort of the ladies .

ANALYSIS OF THE RETURNS . We have expressed elsewhere our opinion that general regret will be felt at the comparative smallness of the Returns obtained at the 103 rd Festival of the Royal Masonic Institution for Girls on Tuesday , but at the same time that no one will be so ungracious as to regard the diminution as being in the slightest degree attributable to any lack of spirit or energy on the part of those who were officiall y engaged in the celebration . On the contrary , we believe that everyone , from the

noble Chairman who presided down to the junior clerk on Bro . Hedges ' s staff , did his utmost to promote the success of the gathering . The Stewards , however , had a difficult task before them . It was only a few weeks before the date at vvhich the anniversary is usually held that Lord Carrington ' s services as President of the day were obtained , while the successful Festival of the Benevolent Institution in February and the tremendous efforts vvhich are being made in behalf of the Boys '

School celebration next month must have exercised a decidedly unfavourable effect on the efforts of the Stewards in the prosecution of their canvass . However , though we speak of the Returns as small , they are so only in relation to the proceeds of past Festivals , in behalf of this and our other Charities . . £ 8617 is a sum which any society may be proud of having raised , and Lord Carrington and

bis Board of Stewards may restassured that our congratulations to them on the completion of their work are none the less hearty , because Fortune has been somewhat less generous in the bestowal of her favours than on other occasions . The total announced by Bro . Hedges vvas , as shown in the preceding list , £ 8617 2 s . 6 d ., the number of Stewards who constituted the Board being 265 . Of these 126 represented the LONDON

contingent , the amount of donations and subscriptions obtained by them , or such of them as had sent in their lists in time to be included in the announcement being _ 395 ° 3 s . 6 d . The bodies represented were 72 lodges , one lodge of instruction , five Royal Arch chapters , the Petitions Committee , and the General Committee Dinner Club , while the House Committee , as usual , formed a group by itself , and there were 35 brethren Unattached . The only remarks we need offer as to the

constitution of this section of the Board are ( 1 ) that the proportion of lodges represented was onl y about one-fifth , whereas we have ordinarily found 'I to be about one-third ; and ( 2 ) the number of Unattached is somewhat more formidable than we have been accustomed to see it . The threefigure lists were headed by that of Bro . W . Webb , who represented Lodge La tolerance , No . 538 , and with the assistance of his friends and a personal donation

° f £ 52 ios . compiled the excellent total of . £ 162 15 s . Bro . W . D . Church , of "ie Clapton Lodge , No . 1365 , was a good second , with . £ 1 3 8 12 s ., and Bro . G . Ward Verry , Unattached , third , with £ 120 15 s . Bro . Samuel Toye , of the Upton Lod ge , No . 1227 , was close on Bro . Verry ' s heels with . £ 115 ios ., and then followed Bro . Robert Kirk , Kilburn Lodge , No . 1608 , with £ 107 2 s ., Bro . T . C . Sandeman Friends-in-Council LodgeNo . 1383 with . £ 10 3 19 s . Bro . Thomas

, , , , Grummant , Rose Lodge of Instruction , No . 1622 , . £ 100 16 s ., and Bro . Charles Hammerton , of the House Committee , with ; £ ioo . Other good lists were those of . Bro . Charles Hunt , St . Paul ' s Lodge , No . 194 , £ 70 ; Bro . G . T . C . Rubardt , ~ 'ty of London Lodge , No . 901 , £ 82 8 s . 6 d ., Bro . Daniel Buckney , St . Clement ' s ^ nes Lodge , No . 1351 , . £ 84 , and Bro . A . C . Spaull , General Committee Dinner Unb . ; £ 7 _; 12 s .

THE PROVINCES , as was the case last year , had slightly the advantage in point of numbers , the Stewards in this section of the Board mustering 139 , and the aggregate of their ls ' £ 4666 igs ., the proportion of represented to unrepresented Provinces being •'Oiiiewhat hi gher than usual , there being 34 of the former and only 12 of the . utter . Xhe absentees were BEDFORDSHIRE ( 6 lodges ) which has taken no part

, n any Festival since that in aid of the Boys' School in 1889 ; CORNWALL ( 30 ., 8 p )> vvhich was satisfactorily represented in February at the Benevolent ,. 'val , and which has figured at nearly every celebration for the past four or , e years ; CUMBERLAND AND WESTMORLAND ( 20 lodges ) , which had a Steward in ruary , and from time to time sends up very considerable sums ; and DEVON-1

RE ( 152 lod ges ) , which was represented in February , at all the Festivals last ; ar ' and at those of the Schools the year previous . HEREFORDSHIRE ( five lodges ) , , fogret to say , looks like becoming a confirmed absentee , its last appearance t | J . g been at the Centenary of the Girls' School in 1888 . This , therefore , makes ( 211 " ! . " consecutive anniversary from which it has been absent . LINCOLNSHIRE lvjjj l ° oges ) entered an appearance in February last in behalf of the Old People , in , o *• year it raised . £ 542 for this Institution , and £ 100 for the Benevolent , lnj . 9 £ . 49 for the latter and £ 60 for the Bovs' School . MONMOUTHSHIRE ( io

in Pi ' ' ' a srnal ' Province , but it subscribed handsomely to the Old People r ecej e kruary , while in 1890 this Institution , and in 1889 the Boys' School , ( j . ed each of them a generous measure of support . NORFOLK d ^ j 0

Royal Masonic Institution For Girls.

contributed £ 52 ios ., after raising £ 1050 for the Old People in the preceding February . WILTSHIRE ( II lodges ) has done nothing this year at present , but it did excellent service in aid of the Schools , and especially the Girls' School in 18 90 , for the Benevolent in 188 9 , for the Girls' in 1888 , and for the Boys' in the year preceding . We may hope , therefore , to see it supporting the Boys' School next month . The CHANNEL ISLANDS ( 5 lodges ) , and J ERSEY ( 7 lodges ) , vvhich do sjood service occasionall y , complete the list of unrepresented Provinces , the number of lodges which have had no part in this particular Festival being 210 .

Taking the represented Provinces in their al phabetical order , we note that three out of the 13 lodges in

BERKSHIRE sent up Stewards , the sum of their lists being £ 86 2 s . In February , four lodges and the chapter attached to one of them subscribed . £ 146 3 s . 6 d . There is , therefore , every reason to suppose that Berkshire as a separate Province will fulfil its part at least as creditabl y as in the days when it was associated with Bucks under the genial rule of the late Bro . Sir Daniel Gooch , when , if we take only the year 1890 , the two counties together distributed £ 815 among the three Institutions .

This was the first appearance of BRISTOL ( nine lodges ) since the Benevolent Festival of 188 9 , when the late Bro . Purnell acted as its Steward and handed in a list of £ 52 5 s . Bro . Pierrepont Harris , who represented it on Tuesday , was , however , very much more fortunate in his

canvass than his predecessor , the sum total of his list being ^ 141 15 s , and as we believe the Province will figure in the Boys' School Returns next month , we shall in all probability find it has made ample amends for what , in its case , is an unusual absence from our Festival celebrations—an absence , moreover , which can be accounted'for by the establishment of a Provincial Charity Association . As regards the Chairman ' s Province of

BUCKINGHAMSHIRE , though the total of its Returns is not considerable , we consider it has done admirably . The announcement that its Provincial Grand Master , Lord Carrington , would preside at this Festival was not made till a comparatively recent date , and our Bucks brethren had but a short interval in which to raise anything like a large sum . But it sent up ten Stewards , seven out of its dozen lodges being represented

by eight Stewards , while two brethren acted as Stewards Unattached , the aggregate of their lists being . £ 300 , inclusive of the personal donation of the Chairman . In February , Bro . Joseph Bliss , of the Wycombe Lodge , No . 1501 , vvho vvas the most _ successful Steward on this occasion , took up a list of £ 3 6 15 s ., so that Bucks , like its nei ghbour and late associate , has done well during its opening year as a separate organisation .

CAMBRIDGESHIRE , which has six lodges on its roll , was absent from the Benevolent Festival in February , but on this occasion Bro . S . H . Sharman did duty for the Province generally , and the second senior lodge in Cambridge—that of the Three Grand Principles , No . 441—in particular , the amount of his list being . £ 84 . Last year it figured at the Benevolent and Boys' Festivals , its contribution to the former being £ 52 ios ., and to the latter , per Bro . B . Chenneli , ^ 206 12 s . In 1880

it raised £ 94 ios . for the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution , £ 57 15 s . for the Girls' School , and £ 162 15 s . for the Boys' School , making a total of £ 315 ; while in 1888 it reserved its strength for the Girls' Centenary , and raised no less than . £ 3 62 5 s . for that Institution . In 188 7 it gave £ 537 us ., and the year previous £ 547 5 - among them , and we understand it will figure at the Benevolent Jubilee in 1892 .

CHESHIRE had four out of its 41 lodges represented by as many brethren , with one chapter Steward , and one Steward Unattached , their lists amounting in all to . £ 134 10 s . It entered no appearance at the Festival in February , but last year it helped the Institutions to the extent of over £ 200 , of which the Royal Masonic Benevolent

Institution received ; £ i 20 . We are of the same opinion as Lord Egerton , Prov . G . M ., that this Province should do more for our Central Charities , but a reasonable apology for the smallness of its contributions to those Institutions will be found in the generous support it provides for its own Educational Institute , which naturally has a prior claim upon the benevolence of our Cheshire brethren . For a wonder , not one of the 24 lodges in

DERBYSHIRE was represented at the Benevolent Festival in February , but on Tuesday it mustered three Stewards , of whom one was Unattached , while the others did dut y for the Derwent , No . 884 , Wirksvvorth , and the Royal Alfred , No . 1028 , Alfreton , Bro . McLeod—Secretary to the Boys' School—compiling a total of £ 105 for the former lodge , and Bro . A . Schofield one of £ 21 lor the latter . The total

reached £ 136 ios ., and as we anticipate that this Province will take an active part in the approaching Boys' School Anniversary , we shall doubtless find that Derbyshire , though absent from one of the year ' s celebrations , has acquitted itself exceedingly well . Last year and the year before its totals were . £ 444 and . £ 414 respectively , and these , it must be noted , are for this Province by no means large Returns .

The Portland Lodge , No . 1037 , which had Bro . G . J . Freeman representing it , well supported the credit of DORSETSHIRE and its 13 lodges , the amount of his list being £ 63 . It did not enter an appearance at the Benevolent Festival in February , but last year Bro . S . R .

Baskett , as Provincial representative at the Boys' School Fes'ival , took up a list of £ 181 13 s ., while in 188 9 the same brother , acting for the Province , and Bro . Sir R . N . Howard for the Portland Lodge , made up a total of . £ 156 ios . In 1888 the Province sent up . £ 294 by the hands of five brethren to the Girls' Centenary , and . £ 113 3 s . to the Benevolent Institution . The 33 lodges constituting the Province of

DURHAM were represented to excellent purpose by Bro . W . C . Barron , whose list amounted to . £ 180 I 2 S ., and there was also an Unattached Steward in the person of Bro . A . de Lande Long , the total being £ igi 2 s . In February Bro . C . D . Hill-Drury took up ; £ i 68 , so that last year ' s total of . £ 262 ios . for the three Festivals has already been very largely exceeded , and we shall in all probability find the year

1891 more than usually successful as regards the work done by this Province . In 188 9 the amount distributed amongst the three Charities was . £ 354 18 s . ; while in 1888 , owing to the occurrence of the Girls' Centenary , and the large sum raised for the Boys' School a few weeks later , it reached £ 7 61 3 s ., the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution obtainingas its share . £ 122 15 s ., the Girls' School . £ 375 18 s ., and the Boys' School ^ 262 10 s .

ESSEX , which has been making such progress latterly that it now has 32 lodges on its roll , was represented at the Benevolent Festival in February by six Stewards , of whom four represented lodges and one a chapter , while the sixth was Unattached , the total of their lists reaching ^ 244 13 s . 6 d . On Tuesday three of its lodges sent up

Stewards , their joint lists amounting to £ 137 us . Last year the Province figured at all three Festivals , contributing £ 385 16 s . 6 d . to the Benevolent Institution , £ 284 os . 6 d . to the Girls' School , and . £ 307 13 s . to the Boys' School , or together £ gjj ios . In 188 9 its performances were on a modest scale , the sum of its donations and subscriptions only reaching