"C" On The Removal Of The Boys' School.

would have been able to say offhand , without the aid of a directory , where the place was situated . There is no reason why the Governors should reverse thc policy of boarding as well as clothing and educating the . children ,

which was contemplated from the very foundation of the . Chanty but which , owing to lack of funds , was not adopted till 1856 . The reasons which led them to adopt it are as valid now as they were 40 years ago . The local educational associations do a world

of good and no one—certainly not we who have written times out of number in their behalf and extolled them for the good they do—has a word to say in their disfavour . ' But they are , as they were always intended to be , subsidiary to the central

Institutions . They do locally , but m part only , what the latter does for the whole country . The two Provinces of East and West Lancashire together educate at Schools in the neighbourhood of

their own homes nearly 400 children , of whom it is no exaggeration to say that 19-20 U 1 S would obtain no assistance whatever towards their education but for the Local Educational Institutions

which these Provinces have founded . Many of the , smaller Provinces also have local educational Charities , but all Provinces , whether great or small , get their children into the central Schools whenever they can for the sake of the greater benefits to be

obtained , the number hailing from East Lancashire , cither separately or in conjunction with other Provinces being , according to the latest published lists of subscribers , 10 boys and 12 girls ; and from West Lancashire 10 boys and five girls . As for

the Mark Benevolent Fund , it has our heartiest sympathy , nor is there any one who has commended it more warmly and sincerely than we have done , but if is absurd for our

correspondent to dream of instituting a comparison between a rund which educates and otherwise partly helps from 15 to 20 children of both sexes—about as many as are assisted by the Durham Educational Fund—and our two central Masonic Schools which

between them clothe , educate , and maintain some 550 girls and boys . "C's" concluding reason is , at the same time , his weakest . It amounts to this—that we must not assist some of the children

of our deceased brother Masons , because , by doing so , we place them in advance of their brothers and sisters , and this " often causes dissension and unhappiness in the family circle , where none should exist . " Cur correspondent appears to have

forgotten that this applies equally—though to a less extent—to the local as well as to the Central Institutions ; those children who are not educated at the expense of the local Educational Charities having to put up with such education as they are able

to obtain at Board and other minor Schools . Hence this is an argument against giving any assistance , either local or central , and cannot be seriously intended by our correspondent .

As for the determination at which " C " has arrived , we trust he will see his way to pursue the same course he has adopted heretofore , and continue thc support hc has given to the Boys ' School . We are sure he will never have reason to regret the continuance .

Freemasonry In Durham.

FREEMASONRY IN DURHAM .

Tlie Transactions of the Provincial Grand Lodge and Provincial Grand Chapter of Durham for the current year , the receipt of which we briefly acknowledged last week , are very pleasant reading . There is , indeed , no reason wh y they should

be otherwise . 'Ihe Province has a compact body of 36 lodges on its roll , of which some half-dozen hold centenary warrants , while all but the youngest ten have been in existence for 15 years and upwards . Moreover , the aggregate membership , amounting

to 2788 , is exceptionally high , and , as a consequence , the average membership of 77 per lodge is exceptionally high likewise . Much of the success which has marked the career of Durham Masonry for some years past is , no doubt , due to the energy and ability ,

tact and judgment , of the more prominent brethren , and to the caution exercised in thc election of candidates ; but the lodges themselves deserve great credit for the regularity

and efficiency of their work , and tlie large amount of interest which is exhibited by the members individually in the proceedings of the lodges and Prov . Grand Lodge . As for the financial position of the Province , a good

Freemasonry In Durham.

balance in hand regularly maintained from year to year speaks for itself . The Statement of Account for the year ended 31 st August opens with a balance of £ 350 and closes with one of / ' 341 , the total receipts , including the opening balance , together

with Dividend on Consols amounting to £ 63 ios . iod ., being £ Si"j , while among the disbursements were the grants made in September amounting to £ 344 12 s . 6 d . Out of the closing balance of £ 341 the Committee recommended the appropriation

of 60 guineas to the Girls School , 60 guineas to the Boys ' School , and 70 guineas to the Benevolent Institution , together with the distribution of £ 110 among six applicants for relief , The Report of the Charities Committee is not quite so

satisfactory , there being a decrease of donations and subscriptions as compared with the previous year , of £ 95 . In 18 95 these items of receipt reached £ 458 14 s . ; but in 1896 they amounted only to £ 3 6 3 14 s . This is , of course , to be regretted , but for ourselves we are inclined to attribute the falline off to one of

those awkward fluctuations in the wrong direction to which all Funds of this description are liable , rather than to any diminution of sympathy on thc part of our Durham brethren with the objects for which the Fund was established . During the past

year the sum of £ l ^ o was expended on the maintenance and education of 19 children , while the number at present on the Fund is 17 , for whom it is estimated that an expenditure of

£ 170 will be required during the year 18 9 6-7 . The capital account shows a total of upwards of £ 2229 , the bulk of which is invested in Consett Water Works Preference Stock and New

South Wales Inscribed Stock , there being a balance in bank of over £ 27 6 , awaiting investment whenever a favourable opportunity presents itself . But , in addition to this regular Annual Report , the Committee presented a Special Report , in which they

recommended the establishment of a Benevolent Fund for granting annuities of £ 26 a year to aged poor brethren and £ 20 to thc widows of brethren . This Report was accepted , and the Rules and Regulations for the administration of the Fund , as

recommended by the Committee , were adopted unanimously . As regards Royal Arch Masonry , it will suffice if we say that at the annual meeting of Prov . G . Chapter the Gt . Superintendent

was able to congraulatc the companions on the stability of this branch of ancient Masonry , thc returns giving a total of 405 paying companions belonging to 12 chapters , or an average of between 33 and 34 members per chapter .

Provincial Grand Chapter Of West Yorkshire.

PROVINCIAL GRAND CHAPTER OF WEST YORKSHIRE .

A convocation of the above Provincial Grand Chapter was held at the Masonic Hall , Longeauseway , Dewsbury , on Friday , the 20 th ult ., under the banner of the ThreeGrand Principles Chapter , No . 208 , when there were present—Comps . Ensor Drury , P . Z . 139 , P . A . G . S . England , acting G . Supt . ; Hy . Smith , P . Z . 3 S 7 , P . G . P . S . England , Prov . G . H . ; J . L . Atherton , P . P . G . H ., as Prov .

G . J . ; C . Letch Mason , P . P . G . H . ; B . Broughton , P . P . G . J . ; Capt . Herbert G . E . Green , Prov . G . S . E . ; T . R . Vaux , P . P . G . J ., as Prov . G . S . N . ; James Bedford , P . P . G . S . N . ; J . W . Balme , P . P . G . S . N . ; Wm . Smith , Prov . G . Treas . ; J . Hy . Gration , P . P . G . Treas . ; F . Rand , P . P . G . Treas . ; P . Bancroft Coward , Prov . G . Reg . ; Theophilus Bates , Prov . D . G . Reg . ; D . Allison Shaw , P . P . G . Reg . ; H . Thomas , P . P . G . Reg . ; W . R . Thompson , Prov . G . P . S . ; F . C . Robinson , Prov .

snd A . G . S . ; HughS . Holdsworth , P . P . G . S . ; Thos . Pickles , P . P . G . S . ; John Thrippleton , P . P . G . S . ; Thos . Richards , P . P . G . S . ; John Seed , P . P . G . S . ; Cornelius Wheawill , P . P . G . S . ; Wm . Flockton , P . P . G . S . ; Henry Blackburn , P . P . G . S . ; Alfred Verity , P . P . G . S . ; John Richardson , P . P . G . S , ; T . I . Walker , P . P . G . S . ; T . Bland Wilson , Prov . G . S . B . ; H . S . Goodyear , P . P . G . Std . Br . ; V . G . S . Dearden , Prov . G . Std . Br . -, W . F . Wilkinson , P . P . G . Std . Br . ; Joseph

Hartley , P . P . G . Std . Br . ; Wm . Cockcroft , P . P . G . Std . Br . ; Edwin Billington , P . as Prov . G . D . C . ; William Allatt , Prov . A . G . D . C . ; W . F . Smithson , Past G . Std . Br ., P . P . G . D . C . ; John Barker , P . P . G . D . C ; Edmund Lord , Past Prov . G . D . of C . j John R . Fawcett , P . P . G . D . C ; J . K . Blakey , P . Z ., P . P . G . D . C ; John Constable , Prov . G . Org . James Milnes , | P . P . G . Org . ; J . J . Martin , Prov . A . G . S . E . ; Alfred Leach , P . P . A . G . S . E . ; T . Chester , Prov . G . Janitor ; Thos

Hoare Tanner , Wm . Laycock , and Lewis B . Brierley , Prov . G . Stewards ; and acting M . E . Zs ., P . Zs ., and companions of 36 out of the 42 chapters , viz . : Nos . 61 , ' 39 , 154 , 208 , 242 , 258 , 264 , 275 , 28 9 , 290 , 29 6 , 302 , 304 , 306 , 307 , 308 , 337 , 380 , 387 , 448 , 495 , 521 , 6 oo , 603 , 827 , 904 , 910 , 974 , 1001 , 101 9 , 4 , 1214 , 1462 , IS' 3 ) 20 G 9 , and 2491 . Those unrepresented were Nos . 265 , 408 , 458 , 652 , 837 , and 1283 .

Apologies were received from Comps . W . Lawies Jackson , M . P ., G . Supt . ; G . Buckley , P . Z . 61 , Prov . G . J . ; T . M . Holmes , P . Z . 387 , Prov . G . S . N . ; Tom Atkinson , P . Z . 2069 , Prov . 1 st A . G . S . ; C . W . O . Smith , P . Z . 974 , P . A . G . Std . Br . ; G . H . Holdroyd , P . Z . 275 , Prov . G . D . C . ; M . C . Peck and T . B . Whytehead , N . and E . Yorks ; J . Chadwick , E . Lanes . ; J . Terry , Sec . R . M . B . I . ; , F . R . W . Hedges , Sec , R . M . I . G . ; and upwards of 100 M . E . Zs ., P . Zs ,, and corripanions , '