Contents.

CONTENTS .

LEADERS— PA ° The Support of our Institutions ... •¦• ••• ¦¦• 3 j >' Ars Ouatuor Coronatorum ... ... — ¦•¦ — 3 "

Freemasonry in Whitby ... ... — ¦¦¦ ¦¦• — . 3 " --Provincial Grand Lodge of Berkshire ... — — 3 jj 3 Provincial Grand Lodge of Buckinghamshire ... ... ••• 3 ° 3 Another List of Lodges ... ... ••• •¦• ••• 3 » 5 Summer Outing of the Leopold Lodge , No . 1571 ... - 3 ° 5

MASONIC NOTESProvincial Grand Lodge of Middlesex ... ••• ••• 367 Masonic Service at St . Mary ' s Church , Walthamstow ... ... 3 ' 7 Provincial Grand Lodge of Berkshire ... ... •¦• ¦• 367 Provincial Grand Lodge of Hertfordshire ... ... ... ... 367

Reviews ... ... ... ••• ¦•¦ — — 3 ®* * Great Priory of England and Wales ... ... - ... 36 S Consecration of the Plucknett Chapter , No . 170 S ... 368 Royal Masonic Institution for Boys ( Quarterly Court ) ... ... ... 3 60 Ladies ' Night at the Anderida Lodge , No 2434 ... ... ... 370

Summer Outing of the Finsbury Park Lodge ... ... ... ... 370 Craft Masonry ... ... - — — - 37 Royal Arch ... ... ••• ••• ••• — 37 The Recent Boys' School Festival ... ... ... ... ... 37 2 Masonic and General Tidings ... ... ¦¦• — ... 37 3

The Support Of Our Institutions.

THE SUPPORT OF OUR INSTITUTIONS .

A few montlis before Lhe Marquis of RlPON resigned liis connection with Freemasonry , his lordship presided at the annual Festival on behalf of the Koyal Masonic Institution ( or Boys—the very last that was held prior to the installation of

H . R . H . the Prince of WALES as M . W . Grand Master—and thc total of the donations ancl subscriptions announced on the occasion was just a trillc in excess of - £ 7000 ; and , in acknowledging the toast of his health , having , first of all , congratulated the

Stewards on the success of their labours , lie was careful to point out that the credit pertaining to so satisfactory a result belonged wholly and solely to those who , as Stewards or contributors , had

had a hand in bringing it about . Those who had done nothing , either as Stewards or contributors , had no right to claim any share in that credit . Since then the support which is given to our Institutions lias been distributed over a greater area ; but

his lordship ' s remark is as applicable to-day as when he made it in the summer of 1874 . ; the credit of raising the large sums which a >* e annually subscribed to our Institutions belongs to the Stewards and the donors and subscribers—not'to those who hold

aloof and do nothing . Now that the Festivals for tlie current year have been held , we have been at the pains of examining tlie Returns . The totals raised were as follows : at the Benevolent Festival in February ,

£ 19 , 000 ; at the Girls' School Festival in May , £ 16 , 000 ; and at the Boys' School Festival last month , £ 15 , 000 ; giving a grand total of £ 50 , 000 . Towards this total , LONDON , which comprises all the lodges that meet within a radius of 10 miles from

Freemasons' Hall , contributed—in hebruary , £ 10 , 405 ; in May , £ 8083 ; and in June , £ 8425 ; total , £ 26 , 913 . Now , according to Grand Lodge Calendar for the present year , there were at Lhe close of 18 9 6 , 439 lodges in this London district , and the result

of our examination of the Returns shows that 24 of these lodges were represented at all three Festivals ; 3 6 lodges at two out of the three ; ancl 18 9 lodges at one or other of the three . Hence the credit of raising the large sum of £ 26 , 913 during this period

clearly belongs , not to the whole of the 439 lodges meeting in London , but to the 249 lodges that were represented at one or more of tlie Festivals , there being as many as 190 lodges which

took no part whatever in tlie three celebrations . There were , as usual , a few of the London chapters which sent up representatives and there were , in each case , a number of brethren who acted -as Stewards Unattached , of whom some were present

The Support Of Our Institutions.

at all three , some at two , and the rest at onc of the meetings , but though the contributions from these sources were , as always , heartily welcomed , they did not amount to such a sum as to materially effect the general total , and they certainly have no effect upon our argument , or rather the argument we

have adopted from Lord RlPON , that it is those who give or help to raise , not those who hold aloof from the Festival altogether , who deserve the credit of having compiled this large amount for our Institutions during the present year . Those who have the leisure and inclination to look further into the question will lind

that every year there is a certain proportion of London lodges , varying , of course , in number , which are unrepresented at its Festivals , and if they extend their inquiries so as to embrace a period of three or live years or even longer , they will still find that the contingent of unrepresented lodges i . s by no means inconsiderable .

As regards the Provinces , it is not so easy to trace the work of individual lodges , as a Province * is frequentl y represented as a whole , and all the lodges on its roll are entitled to a share in the credit due to its contributions . But , taking the returns as we receive them from the Secretaries , the area of contribution

appears to be in proportion greater 111 tlie Provinces than in the London district . During the current year the former raised—¦ in February , £ 8608 ; in May , £ 7943 ; in June , £ 6606 ; giving a total of £ 23 , 157 . There are 4 6 Provinces , including those of Guernsey and Alderney , Jersey , ancl thc Isle of Man , and of these

28 took part in all three Festivals , three in two and 12 in one Festival , the majority of these last being Provinces of small size , which prefer supporting one Institution a year , and giving each in turn its share of support . Thus there are only three which have shown themselves total abstainers from the support of our

Institutions , while for a period of three or Wva years it "•"• 'ill be found that the number is for the most part restricted to one . We have said that we cannot trace the work of individual lodges , of which , according to the Grand Lodge Calendar for 1897 , there were 128 9 on the roll at the close of thc year , it

being no uncommon thing for a whole Province to be represented by one or more Stewards , but taking the particulars as we have described them , it is gratifying to know that whether the distribution of support lodge by lodge is greater or less than in London thc Provinces are fully sensible of their duty towards

our Institutions , and for the most part support them generously , each according to what it conceives to be the best of its ability . We trust that in saying this we shall not be understood as attempting any comparison between London and the Provinces as to the extent of the support they respectivel y furnish . Both

do their work well , so far as they are represen ; e < l ; but in London the Returns reach us lodge by lodge , and we are in a position to trace those that stand aloof ; in the country the ) ' reach us in some cases lodge by lodge , and some by groups of lodges , so that individual lodge work is not always capable of being traced .

Ars Quatuor Coronatorum*.

ARS QUATUOR CORONATORUM * .

We regret that , through the miscarriage of Part I . of the Transactions of the Quatuor Coronati Lodge for the current year , we have been unable to notice it , as usual , in our columns .

Ihis regret is all the greater from the fact that the contents of this Part appear to possess , in the case of one or two of the articles , more than ordinary interest . But let us , lirst of all , * Ars Qtmtunr Coronatorum . —Wing the Transactions of the Ouatuir Coronati Lo Ige , No . 2076 , London . Edited for the Committee by G . W . Speth , P A G D C Se ; . Volume X . Parti . Margate : Printed at " Keble ' s Gazette " Ollice . 1 S 07