Royal Masonic Institution For Girls.

£ 646 5 - 6 d ., as a consequence , no doubt , of its heavier work the previous year , when it raised ^ 1297 3 s . 6 d . These are certainly high figures , and as the Province has become so much stronger , we trust it will maintain the reputation it has long enjoyed as one of the most generous , as well as one of the most regular , supporters of our Charities . None of the 14 lodges in

GLOUCESTERSHIRE were represented at the Benevolent Festival in February , but on this occasion two sent up Stewards , whose lists together amounted to £ ^ 63 . Its contributions during the four preceding years amounted to £ 1276 17 s . 6 d ., namely ,

in 1890 , £ 234 13 s . ; in 1889 , £ 199 ios . ; in 1838 , £ 621 3 s . 6 d . ; and in ii . 87 , ^ 221 lis . This represented an average of £ 319 4 s . 6 d . per year , which , however , was very considerably less than the average— £ 747—of the three years preceding . There are four out of the 47 lodges in

HAMPSHIRE AND THE I SLE OF WIGHT Included in the Returns of Tuesday , together with an Unattached Steward , the total being £ 218 17 s . 6 d . In February six lodges were represented by four brethren , whose lists amounted to £ 204 15 s . As we remarked , however , in our analysis of the Benevolent Returns , these figures are on a smaller scale than we have been accustomed to from this influential Province , and we can only account for the diminution by the efforts which the brethren have

been making in behalf of their local Benevolent Association , which has attracted into its coffers upwards of £ 2000 during the past three or four years . We trust , however , that the claims of the Central Charities will not be overlooked , though it is pardonable—indeed , on the principle that " Charity begins at home , " it is no more than just—that the local should be preferred to the general Charities . We are glad to find that

HERTFORDSHIRE has been contributing so largely . It is now a fairly strong Province , vvith 21 lodges on its roll , and in February , six of these were represented by as many brethren and thel ists totalled up the goodly sum of £ 3 6 3 3 s ., the most important contribution being that of the James Terry Lodge , No . 2372 , by the hands of its very worthy W . M ., Bro . James Terry , amounting to £ 167 10 s . On Tuesday the five lodges

represented , and Bro . C . E . Keyser unattached , compiled amongst them £ 194 2 s . Last year the Province raised £ 66 7 8 s ., all three Charities receiving support ; while in 188 9 the sum distributed amongst them was , £ 371 7 s ., but in 1888 the total reached £ 79 6 14 s . 6 d ., of which £ 649 19 s . fell to the share of the Girls ' School at its Centenary Festival , and the balance of £ 146 15 s . 6 d . to the Benevolent Institution . We should hardly have been surprised if the Province of

KENT , strong as it is with a roll of 57 lodges , had elected to rest for a time after its labours on behalf of the Benevolent Institution in February , when the amount raised by its 62 Stewards reached the formidable total of £ 3483 14 s . 6 d . However , five of its lodges , of which four were directly represented on that occasion , appear to have considered that the claims of this Institution must not be entirely

overlooked , and their representatives , with the assistance of a brother Unattached , raised amongst them what , under the circumstances , must be considered the excellent total of £ 264 is . 6 d . It is just as well , therefore , that Earl Amherst ' s eloquence did not succeed in extracting all the spare guineas from the pockets of his Kentish supporters , or the Girls' School total of Tuesday would have been less than it is by the sum we have just mentioned . Out of the 100 and odd lodges in

EAST LANCASHIRE , nine sent Stewards to this Festival , and Bros ,, Alderman Harwood and John Kenyon acted on their own occount . Amongst them they raised the modest sum of £ 188 13 s 6 d ., but possibly the Province is reserving itself for the Boys' Festival next month , when the Provincial Grand Master of the other division of the

county , Bro . the Earl of Lathom , will occupy the chair . Otherwise with so small a total as . £ 126 in February , and only the sum we have stated on this occasion , East Lancashire cannot be said to show to great advantage , even though , as we have always made a point of doing , vve ascribe the smallness of her contributions to the Central Charities to the more immediate claims of its Systematic Educational Institution .

Knowing , as we do , that WEST LANCASHIRE is working hard for the Boys' School Festival , we are content to find it so modestly represented on this occasion , thetotalsent up by the eleven representatives of eight of its lodges being £ 115 ios . Moreover , the Province has three Charities of its own vvhich are very generously supported by its brethren , and which are

enabled , therefore , to do a large amount of good . In February the Benevolent obtained £ 99 15 s . by the hands of four Stewards , while last year the sum distributed amongst the three Central Institutions was , £ 1258 3 s ., and in 1888 it was ^ 2576 12 s ., of vvhich the Girls' School obtained £ 2446 as ., the Earl of Lathom having been President of the Board of Stewards at the Centenary Festival of that Institution .

LEICESTERSHIRE AND RUTLAND vvas among the represented Provinces at the Benevolent Festival in February last , the representative of one of its 12 lodges taking up a list of . £ 70 6 s . 6 d ., but on Tuesday it had a general Steward in the person of Bro . John B . Waring , whose list amounted to ^^ S ios .. It rarely happens that this Province puts in an appearance at more than one of the year ' s Festivals its rule being to concentrate ail its efforts in support of one Institutionbut at the

, same time taking care that each shall have its turn . Thus the R . M . B . I . received £ 18 9 last year , the Boys' School £ 525 in 188 9 , and the Girls' School £ 648 us . in 1888 . So it was the three previous years , the Old People obtaining £ 250 in Jubilee year , the Boys' School £ 257 53 . in 1886 , [ and the Girls' School ^ 405 in 1885 . However , there is little likelihood of any objection being raised to Leicestershire andRutland figuring at two Festivals in the year instead , so long as the plan of giving each Institution support turn and turn about is followed

MIDDLESEX now has 40 lodges on its roll , and to its credit , be it said , makes a point of being represented at every Festival . In February six of its lod ges had Stewards and the amount they together raised in aid of the Old People vvas £ 207 3 s . On Tuesday three lodges did duty for the Province , and with the aid of an Unattached brother compiled a total of £ 53 ns . Last year , when its esteemed Prov G . M Bro

Col . Sir F . Burdett , Bart ., presided as Chairman at the Girls' School it supported him to the extent of £ 100133 ., nor were the other Institutions fo rgotten theBenevo-Ient in February receiving £ 285 12 s . 6 d ., and the Boys ' School in July £ 51 the total for the year being £ 1337 15 s . 6 d . In 188 9 , when the Province put forth ' less of its strength , the amount distributed among the three Institutions vvas only -6593 Ms . < 5 d ., but in 1888 it subscribed £ 1816 5 s ., of which about two-thirds was raised at the Girls' Centenary .

NORTH WALES sent up a single Steward as representative of the Square and Compass Lodjje No . 133 6 , Wrexham , in February , in the person of Bro . C . K . Benson whose list amounted to £ 26 5 s . At this Festival Bro . D . Davies , of thc Bala Lodge

Royal Masonic Institution For Girls.

No . 1369 , Bala , and Bro . Benson , Unattached , between them handed in £ 36 15 s . Last year and the year before the Province divided its support between the two Schools , while in 188 S all three Institutions vvere benefited , the Girls' School in honour of its Centenary celebration receiving close on . £ 675 . There are but 18 lodges in this extensive district , so that North Wales has well maintained the reputation it enjoyed when associated with Shropshire as a Province , under the late Bro . Sir W . Williams Wynn , Bart ., M . P .

NORTHANTS AND HUNTS , . with its 12 lodges , has figured on a small scale at both the Festivals thus far held during the current year . In February Bro . H . Carman , as Steward for the St . Peter ' s Lodge , No . 442 , Peterborough , took up a list of £ 31 ios ., and on Tuesday Lord Euston , Prov . G . M ., and the same brother acting on behalf of the same lod ge , between them made up a total of £ 21 . These are useful , if they are not large

contributions , and indicate a desire on the part of the Province to be represented frequently , while on important occasions it shows to very considerable advantage . One of the 15 lodges in NOTTINGHAMSHIRE , namely , the Duke of Portland Lodge , No . 2017 , Nottingham , sent up a Steward in the person of Bro . Richard Patchitt , whose name recalls to our memory the

frequent and considerable services rendered by a late Bro . Patchitt at the Festivals of our several Charities , and whose list amounted to the goodly sum of £ 37 16 s . 6 d . It vvas an absentee from the Benevolent Festival in February . Last year , however , it raised £ 17 8 ios . for the Boys' School , while in 188 9 the Benevolent , and in 1888 the Benevolent and Girls' Institutions vvere the recipients of its support . We have heard that it will figure at the Boys' Festival next month , and if so , it will doubtless render it good service .

OXFORDSHIRE had four of its 11 lodges represented on Tuesday , and Bro . Capt . Airey acted independently . The lists totalled up to _ £ g 8 is ., which , when added to the £ 6 g 12 s . compiled by four or five Stewards for the Benevolent Festival in February , gives a total thus far for the present year of . £ 16 7 13 s . Last year it

distributed £ 385 6 s . 6 d . among the three Charities , the R . M . B . I . obtaining as its share £ 246 . In 188 9 the total for the three was only £ 276 , while in 1888 , the year of the Girls' Centenary , it amounted to as much as . £ 656 9 s . 6 d . Such excellent Returns as these need no comment . The credit of

SHROPSHIRE

and its 12 lodges vvas well maintained on Tuesday by its one Provincial and two lodge Stewards , who between them raised . £ 1 39 15 s ., the list of Bro . E . A . Hicks , ot the St . John ' sLodge , No . 601 , Wellington—who also represented the Semper Fidelis , No . 529 , Worcester—amounting to _ £ 33 14 s ., while Bro . A . C . Spaull , who did duty for the whole of Shropshire , took up £ 106 is . Bro . Wicksted ' s list as Unattached being out-standing . In February the Province had two Stewards for the Castle Lodge , No . 1621 , Bridgnorth , and

the recently constituted St . Alkmund Lodge , No . 2311 , Whitchurch , the total on that occasion being £ 97 17 s . 6 d . Last year it contributed . £ 278 5 s ., of which the Boys' School received £ 8 I 13 s ., and the Benevolent Institution . £ 9 6 12 s ., while in 1 S 89 the total for the year vvas £ 361 4 s ., of which the latter Institution had the satisfaction of obtaining . £ 210 18 s ., and in 1888 it reached . £ 807 ios . In 1887 , when Bro . Sir Offley Wakeman , Bart ., P . G . M ., acted as Chairman at the Girls ' School Festival , Shropshire subscribed the very large sum of . £ 1022 17 s . Three out of the 25 lodges in

SOMERSETSHIRE vvere conjointly represented by Bro . F . T . Elvvorthy , vvho compiled the excellent total of £ 200 , and there vvas also an Unattached Steward—Bro . F . W . S . Wicksteed—whose list raised the total for the Province to £ 210 10 . In February Bro . W . J . Nosworthy did duty for the whole Province and obtained donations and subscriptions amounting to £ 92 12 s . for the Old People , so that , if , as vve

anticipate , the Province enters an appearance at the third and last Festival of the year it will have rendered a considerable amount of service to our Charities , seeing that since the close of June last it has been without a regularly installed chief . In 18 90 it raised ^ 548 18 s ., of which the Boys' School secured £ 358 is ., while in 1888 the Girls' School vvas favoured to the extent of . £ 946 is . One of the 18 lodges in

SOUTH WALES ( EASTERN DIVISION ) , namely , the Bute Lodge , No . 9 60 , Cardiff , was represented by Bro . John Munday , vvho succeeded in raising the sum of £ 7 8 15 s ., notwithstanding that at the Benevolent Festival in February and the Girls' School Festival in 18 90 , Bro . J . N . Davies as the sole Provincial representative raised the large sum of £ 380 for the former and the still larger sum of £ 400 for the latter . In 1888 , when Bro . Sir George Elliot , Bart ., M . P ., P . G . M ., presided at the Benevolent Festival , the lodges and brethren in this section of South Wales supported him to the extent of £ 86 K .

SOUTH WALES ( WESTERN DIVISION ) , which has but ten lodges on its roll , had also one of them represented , the Prince of Wales Lodge , No . 6 71 , Llanelly ; Bro . Bourne , who undertook the duty , returning a list of £ 106 is ,, of which ^ 105 was his own donation . In February ,

the two Provincial Stewards—Bros . Remfry and Aaron Stone—returned . £ 24 8 , while in 18 90 , the same brethren , but on different occasions , raised £ . 204 15 s - In 1889 the Boys' School obtained £ 204 8 s ., and the Old People £ 52 ios ., and in 1888 the Girls' School and the Old People received—the former , ^ 105 , and the latter , £ 108 ios .

Bro . Thaddeus Ryder , of the Tudor Lodge , No . 1792 , Harborne , vvas the solitary representative from the 29 lodges in

STAFFORDSHIRE , and his list amounted to \ £ iSJ ios . In February Bro . W . H . Bailey , Unattached , and Bro . J . F . Pepper , acting for the Province generally and the St . James's Lodge , No . 482 , Handsworth , between them , in nearly equal parts , raised £ . 152 5 s . i "

1890 the Province raised £ 599 , namely , £ 304 ios . for the Boys' School , £ 94 I 0 Sfor the Girls' School , and _ £ 200 for the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution . 1 " 188 9 the total for the year was ^ 49 8 15 s ., or about _ £ ioo less , but in 1888 il amounted to £ 627 7 s ., of which the Girls' School received £ 365 7 s ., and the Boys ' School £ 262 ios .

Notwithstanding the many calls which have been made on the lodges—22 in number—in

SUFFOLK , the members seem resolved there shall be a fairly good total to their credit at each succeeding Festival . In our analysis of the several Returns in February we pointed out that in the year of the Queen ' s Jubilee the Province raised £ 794 16 s . ; in 1888 £ 1195 lis .: in 1889 £ 1048 17 s . < 5 d . ;

and in 18 90 £ 619 13 s . 6 d . Yet at that Festival three of its lodges amongst them compiled a total of £ 160 12 s . 6 d ., while on Tuesday two lodges and Provincial Grand Chapter together returned ^ 243 12 s ., the principal list being the £ 112 7 s ., of Bro . P . de Lande Long , who is a member of the House Committee and evinces on every possible occasion the deepest interest in the Institution .

SURREY sent Stewards from three of its 35 lodges , and one brother acted on his own account , ; he total they obtained amongst them being £ ' 195 6 s ., while in February four lodges . ontributed ^ 115 19 s . Last year the Province raised . £ 274 16 s . 6 d . for the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution ; £ 277 9 s . for this Institution ; and £ 9 $ os . 6 d . W he Boys' School ; or together , £ 647 6 s . In 188 9 the amount distributed was