Analysis Of The Returns.

< - > hool out of a total of £ 6341 14 s . 6 d . for the year . In i 8 2 it raised £ 1679 6 d and in 1894 , when the present Earl of Lathom acted for his father as rvfairnian at the Festival of this Institution , it raised in his honour £ 2500 out of total for the year of £ 27 68 2 s . Cd . In 1898 , it subscribed £ 4451 13 s . towards ( tip Bovs' Centenary , its minor contributions to the other Charities swelling the -r '< s " Returns to £ 4525 3 s . Last year it was content with distributing £ 435 15 s .

among the three Institutions , while during the present year it has given £ 15 b ios . to the Old People , and £ 274 9 s . 6 d . to . this Institution , the number of lodges that had a hand in compiling the latter amount being seven , and the number of Stewards 14 , of whom three brethren and a lady were Unattached , and the other 10 acted for the lodges . .. ... r The Province which next claims our attention is that ot

LEICESTERSHIRE AND RUTLAND . It has U lodges on its roll , and is one of those of about the same strength which gives their support annually to each of the three Institutions in turn , with an occasional supp lementary contribution to one or both of the others . Thus in 1892 it subscribed £ 388 ios . to the Benevolent Jubilee ; in 1893 , £ 26 7 to the Boys iosto this Institution the Benevolent

School * and in 1894 , £ 330 . . In 1895 , received £ 300 Cs . ; in 1896 , the Boys' School £ 231 ; and in 1897 , the Girls ' School £ 320 Ss . I" 18 9 8 , the Province supported the Boys' Centenary to the extent of £ 546 ios ., while last year the Old People ' s Institution , which had been displaced from its regular turn , obtained subscriptions amounting to £ 429 19 s . 6 d . On Wednesday Bro . Walter J . New did duty as the representative of the Province and had the satisfaction of compiling a total of £ 362 5 s .

LINCOLNSHIRE , twenty-five lodges , acquitted itself well both in 1898 and last year , being entered in the Boys' Centenary Returns for £ 1384 , and at the Benevolent Festival in 1899 , to which it subscribed £ 399 15 s ., with a modest £ 10 ios . ios- " Our Boys " in the June following . On Wednesday , an Unattached Steward in the person of Bro . W . Higen did duty for the Province , and handed in a list of £ 10 105 .

The Metropolitan Province of MIDDLESEX is strong ly represented , its contingent of Stewards being 22 in number , and of these only three were Unattached , the others being representatives of 17 out of its 42 lodges . The total obtained by the efforts of these brethren amounts to £ 1002 15 s . 6 U , the principal lists being those of Bros . A . Blenkarn and F . H .

Ford , of the Bushey Park Lodge , No . 2381 , for £ 178 ios . and £ 94 ios . respectively—making in all £ 273—and of Bro . John Price , of Roll Call Lodge , No . 2523 , for £ 149 as . In February , eight lodges , represented by 11 Stewards , contributed £ 193 12 s . Gd . to the funds of the Benevolent Institution , so that the present year will not be the least productive of advantage to our Institutions , or reflect less than the amountof credit which is justly due to this Province . Among the most successful of its past

efforts must be noted its contribution of £ 2895 iGs . to the Boys' Centenary in 189 8 out of a total for the year of £ 3587 Gs . ; the £ 3705 15 s . Gd . —out of £ 3967 15 s . Gd . —to the Benevolent Institution in 1896 , when Lord George Hamilton , M . P ., Prov . G . M ,, presided as Chairman at the Festival of the Old People ; £ 1315 gs . to the Benevolent Jubilee in 1892 ; £ iooo in support of the chairmanship of the late Sir Francis Burdett , Bart ., Prov . G . M ., of the Girls' School Festival : and £ 1107 14 s . for the Girls' Centenary in 1888 .

MONMOUTHSHIRE , with its 11 lodges , like Leicestershire and Rutland with its 14 lodges , supports year by year each Institution in turn . Last year , with a band of 12 Stewards , it raised £ 477 15 s . forthe Old People , and in 1898 , including the sum of £ 525 paid for a Life Presentation as a memorial of the late Capt . Homfray , £ 1088 8 s . to the Boys ' Centenary . In 1897 , it raised £ 346 ios . for this Institution . In 1892 , it seems to

have been pledged to the support of the Boys School , to whose funds it contributed £ 316 18 s ., and is accordingly entered for only £ 21 in the Benevolent Jubilee Returns , while in 1888 it was so . newhat similarly circumstanced , and having raised £ 438 3 s . for the Old People , contributed only £ 94 ios . to the Girls ' Centenary . On Wednesday the Province as a whole was represented by Bro

F . Phillips , and eig ht of its lodges had Stewards of their own , the total returned by the whole contingent , including Bro . C . R . Lyne , Unattached , being £ 500 . The principal list was that of Bro . T . Gill Williams , of Isca Lodge , No . 6 S 3 , Newport , for £ 137 os . Cd . The Province of

NORFOLK and two of its lodges had Stewards in Bro ? . W . P . Eversley and A . F . Hardyment , the former having the whole body and the Lodge of Union , No . 52 , Norwich , under his charge , and the latter the Walpole Lodge , No . 1500 , meeting in the same city . Their two lists made up a total of £ 246 8 s ., that of Bro . Eversley amounting to £ 130 i 8 s ., and Bro . Hardyment's | to £ 115 ios . In February ,

the Province , with Bro . G . W . G . Barnard , Prov . G . Secretary , as its sole representative , subscribed £ 73 ios . to the Old People , while last year it supported the same Institution to the extent of £ 122 13 s . Gil ., its representative on the occasion being Bro . S . F . Stackhard . Its greatest achievement was in 1898 , when it raised £ 818 8 s . for the Boys' School Centenary , its previous best having been in 1892 , when it subscribed £ 516 ios . to the Benevolent Jubilee . Two Stewards do duty for

NORTHANTS AND HUNTH , of whom Bro . Thos . Mattinson represented the Lodge of Fidelity , No / 445 , Towcester , and Bro . Harry Manfield , Grand Treasurer , was Unattached , the total of their lists being £ 3 6 15 s . In February , Bros . Manfield and A . Cockerill subscribed £ 42 in equal moieties . Last year , the Province contributed £ 243 ios . Gd . to the Benevolent Institution , £ 220 ios . to the Girls' School , and £ 68 5 s .

to the Boys' School , making in all £ 530 is . Gd ., while in 1898 , including £ 1621 7 s . for the Boys' Centenary , it raised £ 1784 2 s . In 1897 , lts total was £ 763 12 s ., of which £ 543 7 s . was in support of the Boys' School . In 1893 , when the Earl of Euston , Prov . G . M ., was Chairman at the Girls' Festival , the total , including ^ 1050 to that Institution , was £ 1107 ios . In 1889 , when his lordship presided for the Old People , the Province supported him with a total of £ 914 ios . Gd .

One of the 33 lodges in NORTHUMBERLAND took part in the Benevolent Festival in February and subscribed , per Bro . T Martin , the sum of £ G 8 5 s ., while on Wednesday another lodge , with Bro . S Hunter for its representative , contributed £ 87 . Last year the Province figured on a modest scale at the Benevolent and Girls' Festivalsthe same lodges

, and in one case with the same Bro . S . Hunter for Steward , contributing between them £ 77 5 s ., of which the Old People received £ 30 and this Institution the balance . In 1898 , under the guidance of Sir M . White Ridley , Bart ., M . P ., Prov . G . Master , the Province contributed £ 1290 ios . to the Boys' Centenary , the Prov . Grand Master ' s list amounting to £ 1124 1 is . The yeir in which Northumberland

appeared to the greatest advantage was 1 S 95 , when it gave £ 2502 3 s . to the Schools , this Institution being favoured to the extent of £ 2315 5 s ., and the Boys ' School with £ 186 18 s . Again , in 1891 , the Province gave largely , its contribution to the Boys' School , including £ 1050 for a Perpetual Presentation , being ^ 1364 45-

Analysis Of The Returns.

NORTH WALES can hardly be looked upon as a strong Province , even with a muster roll of 20 lodges , yet it is regular and impartial in its support of our Central Charities , and there are Festivals at which it has . shown up well . Thus in 1888 it raised £ 79 2 gs . Cd ., of which £ 674 17 s . 6 d . was for the Girls' Centenary . In 1892 its Returns reached £ 493 12 s ., the Benevolent Jubilee obtaining as its portion £ 222 14 s ., and the Boys' School £ 234 2 s ., the balance of £ 36 15 s . going to the Girls' School . In

1893 the sum raised was £ 474 18 s ., and in 1894 about £ 400 ; while in 1895 it just exceeded £ 300 , and the following year rose to £ 397 15 s . 6 d . In 18 97 the figures were again , on a small scale , but in 18 9 8 the total reached £ 1394 , of which the Old People received £ 294 , the Girls' Scool £ 10 ios ., and the Boys' School , in honour of its Centenary , £ 108 9 ios . Naturally , after such an effort , there was a falling off in 18 99 and £ 21 to the Old People , £ 55 is . 6 d . to this Institution ,

, and £ 78 15 s . to " Our Boys , " or , together , £ 154 16 s . 6 d ., represented the work of the year . In February the Province was unrepresented , but on Wednesday three lodges , two of which had the same brother as Steward , with the veteran Bro . C . K . Benson , Unattached , did duty for North Wales , and amongst them succeeded in returning a total of £ 178 ios ., of which £ 126 appeared on the list of Bro . Jas . Porter , in charge of Lodges , Nos . 755 and 2569 .

There is not much to be said in respect of the many and great services rendered by OXFORDSHIRE to our Masonic Institutions . The lodges are but 12 all told , yet during the last quarter of a century not a year has passed without a goodly show of Returns being recorded in its behalf . We cannot , of course , go through the whole of the figures , but in illustration of what Oxfordshire can do in special years It may be

mentioned that in 1892 , when the Old People celebrated their Jubilee , the Returns for the whole year reached £ 662 , of which £ 428 ys . was in respect of the Jubilee . In 1 S 98 the total was £ 917 13 s . Gd ., of which £ 505 12 s . 6 d . was raised in support of the Chairmanship of the Earl of Jersey , Prov . G . M ., at the Benevolent Festival , £ 73 14 s . to this Institution , and £ 338 7 s . to the Boys' Centenary . Yet last year , the Province was well up to its standard , subscribing £ 141 4 s . to the

Old People in February , £ 209 4 s . 6 d . to this Institution in May , and £ 166 6 s . to the Boys' School in June , the total for the year being £ 516 14 s . 6 d . In February the Benevolent Institution obtained £ 178 ios ., through the efforts of seven brethren acting for six lodges , while on Wednesday , when there were but three Stewards , two lodge representatives and the other Unattached , the amount subscribed was £ 37 1 is . 6 d .

SHROPSHIRE , like the preceding Province , has only 12 lodges on its roll , and , like it , fulfils its duties towards our Institutions consistently and impartially . At the very outset of its career as a separate Province , when Sir O . Wakeman , Bart ., Prov . G . M ., presided at the Girls' Festival in 188 7 , it made its mark by riising £ 1022 on the occasion , following up this in 1888 by subscribing £ 770 15 s ., out of a total for the year of £ 807 ios ., to the Girls' Centenary . In 1892 it raised in all £ 615 16 s . 6 d ., of which £ 456 15 s . was in respect of the Benevolent Jubilee . In 1898 its Returns

totalled up £ 1325 18 s . Cd ., the whole of which , with the exception of £ 89 5 s . to the Old People , and £ 36 15 s . to this Institution , was subscribed for the Boys ' Centenary . In 1899 the Province took part only in the Benevolent Festival to the extent of £ 36 15 s . In February the Steward for one of its lodges—Bro . W . Lascelles Southwell—and Bro . R . G . Venables , Dep . P . G . M ., Unattached , figured together for £ 31 ios ., while on Wednesday , Bro . C . W . Campbell Hyslop , of the Salopian Lodge , No . 262 , Shrewsbury , handed in a list of £ 3 6 15 s . After the heavy call that was made on

SOMERSETSHIRE last year , when Viscount Dungarvan , Prov . G . Master , occupied the chair at the Girls' Festival , and was generously sustained by his Province with a grand total of subscriptions amounting to £ 2191 17 s ., it is not surprising that the contributions should have been on a small scale at the Festivals that have since been held . In the June following Lord Dungarvan ' s Chairmanship , the Province figured for £ 26 6 s . in the Returns at the Boys' School , but it was unrepresented in February at the Benevolent Gathering , and on Wednesday only one of its lodges sent up

a Steward , and the amount of his list was £ 4 8 . In 18 9 8 it was entered at two of the Festivals for £ 31 ios . at that of the Benevolent Institution , and for £ 118 7 19 s . at the Boys' Centenary . In 18 95 , when Lord Dungarvan took the chair at the Benevolent Institution , the Province did good service bv raising £ 1657 17 s . 6 d ., the Returns forthe whole of the year amounting 11 £ 17 * 0 ' ••7 In 1892 the total was £ 841 15 s ., of which £ 613 ios . was subscribe ! t , ih-Benevolent Jubilee . Bro . J . D . Peirott , as sole Steward for

SOUTH WALES ( W . D . ) , is entered for £ 70 . The Province is far from being strong , comprising only 10 lodges , but every now and then it puts in an appearance , and generally to good purpose . Its last contribution was made to the Benevolent Institution in February , 1899 , when the same Bro . Perrott , acting in the same

capacity , compiled a list of £ 141 15 s . ; while in 1 S 9 8 it figured in the Boys ' Centenary Returns for £ 161 7 s ., the number of its Stewards being four . In 1892 it subscribed £ 32 us . to the Benevolent Jubilee , and £ 161 is . 6 d . to the Boys' School , making a total for the year of £ 193 12 s . Gd . As regards the " Chairman ' s Province " of

STAFFORDSHIRE , we cannot doubt that the Earl of Dartmouth is as much gratified with the generous manner in which it has backed up his chairmanship as the Institution itself , which has benefited so materially by his lordship ' s advocacy . We naturally regarded Staffordshire from the very first as the main strength of the Provincial section of the Board of Stewards . Wo had the experience of what it did for the Boys' Centenary to guide us in forming an estimate of what it

might , and probably would , do on this occasion , and weare rejoiced to find that our anticipations have been realised , and that the Province , on finding itself for the first time for over a score of years in the position it filled on Wednesday , has acquitted itself with such success , ft was in 1875 that the late Earl of Shrewsbury and Talbot , then G . Master of the Province , occupied the chair at the Benevolent Festival , while two years later , on the late Prince Leopold , Prov . G . M . of Oxfordshire , finding himself too ill to fulfil his engagement , his lordship ,

at 24 hours' notice , generously took the Prince ' s place , and presided at the Festival of the same Charity . Since then Staffordshire has followed the lead of other Provinces . In 1891 it raised £ 7 61 18 s . Gd , and in i 8 g 2 £ 762 , of which £ 392 10 s . was subscribed towards the Benevolent Jubilee . In 18 95 , '' returns reached £ 692 17 s . Gd . ; in 18 96 , £ 604 lis . ; and in 18 97 , £ 640 . In 1898 , after subscribing £ 21 to the Old People in February , and £ 157 ios . to this Institution in May , it turned its attention to the Boys' Centenary , and by the efforts of

a contingent of 204 Stewards , headed by Lord Dartmouth , and including representatives of 31 out of the 33 lodges then on the roll , it succeeded in raising no less than £ 3845 8 s ., the total for the whole year being £ 4023 Si . Last year , notwithstanding this splendid piece of work , it was by no means idle , figuring in the Benevolent Returns for £ 420 , inclusive of Lord Dartmouth ' s list of £ 28 3 ibs . ; in those of the Girls' School for £ 178 ios . ; and at the Boys' Festival for £ 160 is ., the aggregate o ! the three amounts being £ 767 us . la February , in