The Royal Masonic Institution For Boys.

THE ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR BOYS .

It will be seen from the Report we publish elsewhere that the adjourned meeting of the General Committee of the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys was held as appointed on Saturday

last ; that the attendance , especially when we consider the time of year , was an unusually full one , and that the business which it was summoned to transact was dispatched satisfactorily , and with

something like an approach to unanimity . Bro . the Earl of EUSTON occupied the chair , and , as Chairman of the Provisional Committee of Management , presented the report of that body on the subject of the Secretaryship . Briefly stated , it amounted to this—that Bro . BlNCKES , who has held the office since 1861 ,

should retire on a pension of £ 350 per annum , in recognition of the long and valuable service he had rendered to the Institution , and that a successor should be appointed at a salary of £ 300 per

annum . They further requested authority from the General Committee to take the necessary steps for the appointment of the new Officer . After a brief discussion , the report , on the

motion of Bro . J . S . CUMBERLAND , was adopted , and there for the present the matter rests . It will be necessary that the minutes of this meeting should be confirmed , in order that the resolution it arrived at may obtain the force of law ; but we

anticipate there will be no difficulty on this score , and that , except as to the selection of the brother who will occupy the office , when declared vacant , the change is virtually settled . Thus terminates the official career of one of the ablest and

most energetic brethren . of our day , who , as Bro . CUMBERLAND very pertinently pointed out , " had been the pioneer in the interest of our Masonic Institutions . " It is not necessary we should repeat the oft-told story of Bro . BINCKES ' " valuable service to

the School with which he had so long been connected . " It is enouorh lor our purpose to state that when Bro . BlNCKES , as a member of the General Committee , first began to take an active part in the management of the Institution , the School , as distinguished from

the Institution , was on a very small scale and of recent establishment , whereas at the present time , when he is on the eve of retiring , it maintains over 260 boys , and stands high among this class of institution ; nor can there be the slightest doubt that it is

m great measure through his exertions that the School has made this wonderful progress . Many , probably , will be inclined to regard the amount at which the retiring pension has been fixed as being helow the deserts of Bro . BlNCKES , but it is possible that „_ . -. _ ..... _ , — . .., — - _ — x . __ .....,. _

u J proposal of a hi gher sum might have evoked a feeling ° * opposition , and it certainly appears to us to be preferable that r ° . BINCKES should retire into private life on a smaller pension , l | t with the good wishes of the general body of Governors and ' l , bsc ribers , than thathe should receive asomewhat larger amount , fir opposition had been offered to it by a section , more or less , u , merous , of the governing body .

As regards the election of the new Secretary , some of the ei ^ . ° f the General Committee who attended last Saturday ' s ^ 1 m § appear to have been ignorant of the law on the subject . n - , , cannot be the slightest objection to the Provisional Coma ee having authority to take the preliminary steps to elect Ge UCCe f to ^ ro . BlNCKES , but the election itself rests with the and Commi ttee , Law , No . 71 , being as follows : " The election mitt em ° ° ^ the Secretary shall be vested in the General Corneach ' r V 0 ^ S to be by balloting papers duly forwarded to such ? " ? , . member not less than 14 days before the election ; th eret allotin g papers must be signed by the party entitled ni ittep ' u ma y ^ presented by a member of the General Comthe l J ° " is 0 r her behalf , at the time of the election . " Thus can as V - - S 0 P . cise that it is difficult to understand how any one the Gen ^ i ri S ^ ° f election to the General Court in place of put f- i Committee , or desire that the Governors should be trouble trouble of altering the law—and the delay such dire ction mUSt lnvolv e—in order to effect a change in this

The Craft In Somersetshire.

THE CRAFT IN SOMERSETSHIRE .

The proceedings at the recent annual meeting at Westernsuper-Mare of the Provincial G . Lodge of Somersetshire were not as gratifying as they usually have been in this well-ordered district . A review of the principal events which had happened during the past year showed that while the Craft had gained in

solidity of organisation , and was making its influence for good more and more distinctly felt in the county , there were not a few losses among the members of the Fraternity to deplore . One brother in particular—the late Bro . Col . A . DAIR—had died suddenly in apparently the full enjoyment of his usual health and

vigour , to whom the Province of Somersetshire was greatly indebted , and for the memory of whose services it will always entertain the most sincere respect . Col . ADAIR was Prov . G . Master from 186 3 to 1868 , and had held the office of Grand Superintendent from the year 1880 , and the Earl of CARNARVON ,

who succeeded him in the former capacity , and was in the chair on this occasion , very gracefully referred to the services his . predecessor had rendered to the . Province , the tact and ability he had shown in the administration of its affairs , and the deep interest he always exhibited in the proceedings of the Fraternity ;

and he expressed the mournful satisfaction it afforded him to propose a resolution to the effect " That this Prov . G . Lodge desires to express its grief at the lamented death ofthe late Brigadier-General ADAIR , and its sympathy with the bereaved members of his family . " Bro ; ELSE , who secondedthe resolution ,

also bore willing testimony to the merits of our deceased brother , and spoke in the warmest terms of his kindness , geniality , and ability . A somewhat similar resolution was proposed and carried in connection with the late Bro . S . TOMS , who had died during his year of office as Prov . J . G . W . In all other respects , however ,

the proceedings were most gratifying . It was shown that the Province is in a very prosperous condition as regards its . funds and numerically , while the lodges where both regular and zealous in the performance of their duties . Moreover , in order to increase the efficiency of the Province in one important

branch of Masonic duty , it was resolved on the motion of Bro . S . R . BASKETT , to establish a Benevolent Fund for local Charitable purposes , and the subject was referred to a Committee , with instructions to inquire fully into the subject and report at the next meeting of Provincial Grand Lodge . VVe may anticipate ,

therefore , that in the matter of its Charity arrangements Somersetshire will soon be on a similar footing to many other Provinces , and will be able to assist its own distressed members and their families , and at the same time support the great central Charities , not more generously , perhaps , than it has done in the

past—for Somersetshire in proportion to its strength is liberal as well as regular in the performance of this duty—but in accordance with a better organised system . We congratulate Somersetshire

on its determination to adopt this course , and we trust that , at its next annual meeting , the record of what has passed may be as satisfactory as it was in this instance , but without the drawbacks occasioned by such serious losses .

Candidates For The Degrees.

CANDIDATES FOR THE DEGREES .

We referred at some length not long since to certain grave irregularities in lodge procedure which had been brought to the notice of Bro . E . WOODALL PARKER , Dist . G . M . of the Punjab , and on which he commented with just severity , in his address to the brethren in Dist . G .. Lodge on the 13 th April last . There

were , however , two other points in the same address which we did not allude to at the same time , because , as they are matters of great importance which are frequently the subject of remark by our Prov . G . Masters and G . Officers at home , it would have been impossible to say what was necessary without extending our

article to an unconscionable length . The first of these points had reference to the admission of candidates into Freemasonry . This , it must be admitted , is a vital question that affects us all , whether we are members of a London lodge , of a lodge in some

distant county , or of one which meets in the far East or at the Antipodes . The well-being of Freemasonry depends on the worthiness of its constituent members , nor is it possible to gauge the amount of detriment that may be caused to the whole of the