Royal Masonic Institution For Boys.

naturally imagine that on an occasion so important as that vvhich had •rathered them together that evening , it was with no object of promoting jhe interests of an individual , but , if he might be allowed the expression , with the imperial object of promoting the interests of the Institution . They were a great Institution . He had the greatest pleasure in the world to see so large a gathering assembled round those tables , although he might ,

perhaps , express his regret that many good friends had not retained their seats up to that moment . When he said he rose to respond for the handsome g ift that had been handed to him vvith mingled feelings of satisfaction and regret—with gratification that the few friends who had contributed to this substantial testimonial had recognised his services after 25 years ; ot intense regret that this presentation had been made on the occasion of a

Festival the results of which he had looked forward to with so much anxiety , and vvhich had been the least successful of their Festivals for a long series of years past , he could almost wish that this amount had been given to the Institution instead of to himself . The failure , or the comparative failure , which had attended their exertions for the Institution that evening was to him a source of unmitigated regret ; but when they looked back to

the earlier portions of this year—to the large success of the Benevolent Festival , to the success of the Girls' School , and to the enormous claims made in all parts in reference to the Jubilee—he had felt perfectly sure that the Festival of this Institution must of necessity suffer . Thank God , the Grand Lodge came to their relief the other night with £ 2000 , and the result of the magnificent demonstration yesterday of loyalty not only to the Queen on her throne , but to the Grand Master on the Masonic throne , gave them another X 2000 , which would place the Institution in a situation of solvency , and in a

state of hope for the future . He dared not at that late hour of the evening attempt to excite himself in addressing them ; but they would bear with him for a few moments , because he was not unmindful of the past nor ungrateful for the present . He had four classes to deal with . First , with the number of those with whom he laboured in his early years , the majority of whom had left this world for another , and he was satisfied with

their encouraging efforts in early days ; had they been spared their congratulations would have been as hearty as any he had now received . He had three other classes to deal with—those who knew his work and did not approve of it ; those who knew his work and did approve of it ; and those of the younger generation who did not know bis work at all . Those who knew his work , and did not approve of it , he would ask them to take the

most indulgent view , and give him credit for having had but one leading object at heart , to retrieve their Boys' Institution from the state of degradation in which he found it in 1861 . He had no doubt there had been dissentients from what he had recommended , but he had had independent Committees to deal with who would not have passed what he recommended if they had not approved of them . Of those who did approve of his work

there were many present ; but there were many of them who knew him only as an old fossil —( " Oh , no " )—charged with old conservative notions ; but if any one regarded him in that position , he vvould wish him to change his views ; he had been consistent in old conservative notions of all that was good , and it had been his aim to make those things vvhich had done good in the past produce more good in the future ; and as to the extension of the

Institution , should he not be ungrateful if he did not say that it was done with their approval and by their practical support ? Never mind what their partial failure had been on the present occasion ; but did they think that under the exceptional circumstances that he had any doubt of the future prosperity and success of the Boys' School ? No . They had had helore them as their guests that evening 25 sons of Masons educated in the

Institution now making their way more or less successfully in the world . He had hoped they would have had 50 ; but they could not be released from their duties . He ( Bro . Binckes ) was not what he was 25 years ago ; but he could tell them this—that he had a heart as sound and an energy as good as ever he had , now in his declining years , in advocating the cause of this Institution .

He could thiu evening say what he had done had not been altogether without their approval , and that while he might not have given satisfaction to every one , yet to the great majority of those with whom he had laboured he had given satisfaction , or they would not have testified in that manner this evening . There was no one in this world , however gifted he might be , or however sparsely gifted with intellectual or physical powers , who could

attempt in any shape or way to plead that he had given universal satisfaction . He had been from nineteen to nearly sixty-three years an active worker in public life ; he had stated his opinion ; ne had not been a neutral being trying

to please every one ; and he would not give a farthing for the man who said he was not willing to stand by his opinion . He honed to die in harnessand not

, to lose in Masonry those good friends whose sympathies had been testified that ni ght . The CHAIRMAN then proposed "Success to the other Masonic Institutions , " calling on Bro . Terry only to reply ; Bro .

Hed ges having been obliged to leave early in consequence ot the illness of Mrs . Hed ges . Bro . TERRY said , in replying to the toast , which the Chairman had been so kind as to propose—success to the other Institutions , that after the lengthened proceedings of the evening , on which he congratulated Bro . Binckes , as well as on the

Presentation that had been made to him , ne vvould not detain the brethren further than to state that the Festivals of the three Institutions had this year resulted in an

segregate collection of £ 43 , 000 , and he n ° ped that the next Festival , which would be that of the Benevolent Institution , would be supported more largely than

The next toast was " The Health of the Board of Stewaids , " vvith whom " CHAIRMAN associated the name of Bro . Eve , on whom the arrangements for that evening had devolved very much . They owed a debt of gratitude to Bro . Eve and the members of the Board for their patient atten-

Royal Masonic Institution For Boys.

tion and earnest labours in endeavouring to ensure the comiort oi those who had attended the Fe-tival . Bro . EVE briefly acknowledged the compliment . Bro . Lieut .-Col . BINGHAM , of Sheffield , proposed "The Health of

the Ladies , " for which Bro . Dr . HARLEY THOMAS ( son of Bro . J . L . Thomas ) responded , as the youngest Mason present ; the fact being that he was a Mason of only four hours old , having been initiated that afternoon . The favor worn by the Stewards , of which we give an engraving , was manufactured by Bro . George Kenning .

Analysis Of The Returns.

ANALYSIS OF THE RETURNS .

We should derive greater pleasure from fulfilling our usual task of analysing the foregoing Returns , if the picture they present had been more favourable . But while of itself , a benevolence of £ 11 , 000 must always be most welcome , we have become so accustomed of late years to the heavier figures , such as £ " 13 , 000 , £ 14 , 000 , and so on up to £ 23 , 000 that we feel disposed to grumble , when in fact the falling off is nobody ' s fault ; but the

result ol an unfortunate combination ot circumstances which were unavoidable . The Benevolent Institution wanted funds badly , and the Boys ' School was in precisely the same state . The former , which celebrated its Festival at the beginning of the season , got what it wanted , while the latter , which brought up the rear , has failed . Other circumstances there may have been which helped to make the failure more conspicuous , but we

need not take account of them . There is ample explanation without , and that explanation is that when the Benevolent success had swept everything before it , there was little left for the Girls' School and still less for this Institution . There were plenty of Stewards , but the bulk of the spare cash had been absorbed . So the Boys' School just managed ' to turn the corner of £ 11 , 000 and that is all .

We have said there was a good body of Stewards , but it was unusually divided into equal moieties of 145 Stewards each for London and the Provinces , and the former 145 raised amongst them £ 5306 is . 6 d ., and the latter raised £ 579 8 js . gd ., making the grand total £ 11 , 104 9 s- 3 < L As regards

LONDON and its section of the Board of Stewards , we find an increase in the number of bodies represented , though they are still below what we have always considered a fair average—that is to say , one-third . There were Stewards for 101 lodges , two lodges of instruction , four Royal Arch chapters , and the Committee Dinner Club , and 35 brethren unattached . The highest

Return was that of Bro . Richard tive , Grand Treasurer , whose list , as Steward for the Committee Dinner Club , just amounted to £ 210 , Bro . C . P . Bellerby , jun ., who represented the Queen ' s Westminster Lodge , No . 2021 , being second , with £ 165 5 s . Bro . Major H . A . Joseph , acting for Burlington Lodge , No . 96 , stood third , with £ 138 , Bro . Binckes himself , for the Grand Stewards' Lodge , being close up with £ 132 12 s . . As to the

former of these two , it should be remarked—as , indeed , Bro . Binckes was careful to point out in announcing the result—that Bro . Joseph's list included a donation of £ 52 ios . from the Goldsmiths' Company , and two other donations of 25 guineas each from the Plumbers' and Vintners' Companies respectively . Bro . H . Stockwell . Steward for the Lewis Lodge , No . 1178 , returned £ 117 12 s . Bro . J . L . Thomas compiled a list of

i loo lis . for the Granite Lodge , and one of £ 23 2 s . forthe Old Globe Lodge , No . 23 , and if vve join the sums together , we have a total £ 129 13 s . as representing the full result of Bro . Thomas ' s canvass , and entitling him strictly to the place next in order to Bro . Binckes . Bro . Elijah Eagle , the Selwyn Lodge , No . 1901 , was so fortunate as to obtain £ 106 is ., while Bro . Purchas , for the Friends in Council , No . 1383 , and Bro . W . H . Gardner ,

of the Montagu Guest , were level with £ 105 , Bro . H . Tapley closirg the array ot three-figure lists vvith £ too returned b y the Capper Lodge , No . 1076 . If any evidence were needed of the poverty of this list ot Returns as compared with the lists of past years , vve shall find it in the unusual paucity of the three-figure lists in the London section . There are generall y from 15 to 20 of them , and vve have knovvn even more , but on Tuesday they were only the nine as above described . A mere hasty glance at the list , so far as it affects

THE PROVINCES , will serve to show that the number of those which sent up Stewards on Tuesday was considerably below the average . At the Boys' School Festival last year , we congratulated the Craft on the area of Provincial representation having been largely extended . On this occasion we find it more circumscribed than has been knovvn for several years past . Only 29 Provinces

have sent up Stewards this time , as against 36 last year , out of a total of 44 Provinces and the Channel Islands , so that the number of absentees is 16 , as compared with nine in 1886 . This is a very serious diminution , which we had not anticipated , while , to make matters somewhat worse , the number of the Provincial Stewards is also lower . The absentees are as follow : — BRISTOL ( eight lodges ) , vvhich , however , figured largely at the Benevolent

Festival in February and modestly at lhat of the Girls' School last month , and which moreover is busily engaged just now in establishing a Masonic Charitable Association of its own ; CHESHIRE ( 40 lodges ) , which , while it has its own Provincial Association , has latterly been doing but little for our Central Charities ; CUMBERLAND AND WESTMORLAND ( 20 lodges ) , which did splendidly for this Institution last year , and is engaged in the task of

raising 1000 guineas as a Jubilee contribution to the Benevolent Institution ; DEVONSHIRE ( 51 lodges ) , which has only raised £ 50 for the Old Folks this year , though it has contributed liberally at previous Festivals ; DORSET - SHIRE ( 13 lodges ) , which raised over £ 113 for the Benevolent in February , and over £ 323 lor the Benevolent and Girls'School in 1886 . HEREFORDSHIRE ( lour lodges ) figured lor a small amount in Mav , and tor clo-. e on thrice as

much for the Girls' in 1886 , LEICESTERSHIRE AND RUTLAND ( 12 lodges ) raised £ 250 in February , and every year makes as go . * d a show , and sometimes even a better , for one of the three Institutions , wnile LINCOLNSHIRE ( 23 lodges ) has developed almost into an invariable absentee . NORFOLK U 6 lodges ) has figured at both the previous Festivals during the current y ar , and was one of the principal contributors at the Anniversary of thi-. Institution last year at Brighton , when Bro . Lord Suffield , its Provincial Grand

Master , was the Presidentof the day ; and NORTHUMBERLAND ( 21 lo ge * - ) , ' though it has done nothing this year , raised over £ 900 tor tne Girls' School in 1886 . and £ 160 in 1885 , and £ 1222 in 1883 lor the Boys'School . SHROPSHIRE ( u lodges ) has had enough on its hands dunntj the current season , its return ot nearly £ 1023 in May , when Bro . Sir Offl-y Wake-nan , Ban , its Provincial Grand Master , presided at the Girls' School Festival , b-ing a splendid one for so limited a province . SOUTH WALES ( WESTERN DIVISION )