The Festival Of The Royal Masonic Institution For Girls.

tell you we wish all success to those great Charities . First , the Benevolent Institution for Old Folk . I think " that has been very well served by the very magnificent total obtained at its Jubilee , and we hope and trust at the ensuing Festival of the Boys' School , under the auspices of Sir Michael Hicks-Beach " , a very large contribution will be made . But , sir , I think we cannot sufficiently estimate the importance of these occasions , because

they bring together the provincial and the Metropolitan Masons , who arc thereby instructed and refreshed and stimulated by all they hear and sec , and the provincial brethren go back to their respective provinces , where they in their turn try to stimulate others to renew their efforts for feeding this great fount of Charity . But there are brethren we always arc delighted

to sec in our midst in the provinces , and they arc the Secretaries of the great Masonic Charities , and I believe it is very much owing to the persuasive eloquence and the persevering diligence of those brethren that the large sums are sent up year by year . I am permitted to name in connection with this toast Bro . McLeod , Secretary of the Bo \ -s' School .

Bro . ] . MORRISON - MCLEOD , in reply , said in rising to respond to the toast so very happily proposed by the distinguished brother , Sir Edmund Lechmcre , he felt it a very great honour indeed to stand in that positionrespondent for the Boys ' and the Benevolent . His first duty was to congratulate the Board of Stewards on the handsome result of their labours . It must be very gratifying to them , and especially in view of the difficulties of

the present year after the Festival of one Institution that looked after the aged Masons and their widows . As his Royal Highness since observed , there was very little left for the other Institutions , but he was sure the whole of the 301 Stewards must be gratified . For his own part , speaking on behalf of the Boys' Institution , they were trying to do all they possibly could in the way of attention to fitting out in life the boys for looking after the girls that

were turned out by the Girls' School . ( Laughter . ) That being the case , the Stewards would in due course do the best they possibly could for the other Institutions , knowing the aim there was in view . He hoped under the able and popular Chairman they had on this occasion they would be able to announce on the 29 th June an amount which would cover the ordinal' } ' expenses of the Boys' Institution .

The } - were grateful indeed for the return which had been given to get them out of their financial difficulties ; but there remained much lo be done . The Boys' School had an invested capital of only £ 25 , 000 , and the brethren could imagine what a small annual income that brought in . They were hoping lo increase thai capital , which they did not wish to decrease , and he hoped the brethren would give every assistance to increase it . No words

were needed from him in the way of appeal for lhe Benevolent Institution ; after the way it had been supported this year , that Institution's welfare must be in the heart of every Mason throughout the country . The work il was doing was a good , grand work , and his good friend and colleague Bro . Terry was a happy man to be able to announce the large sum of £ 67 , 001 ) . He hoped it would be increased to £ 100 , 000 , and after that there would be some little left for the other Institutions . He thanked lhe brethren for

their generosity . The Duke of Cox . VAroirr : I have now to propose to you a toast which is a very comprehensive one . You have heard that the number of Stewards is 302 . Their duties have been of a most important and onerous character , and I am certain that the brethren will all recognise the zeal with which they carry out these duties . I am happy to be able to announce to you that

the amount of £ 10 , 000 has been completed . The I louse Committee ol to-day have announced that they will give 50 guineas each . We are all aware that however anxious the different lodgesare to subscribe to Institutions of this kind it requires great exertions by the Stewards to get up the lists , and we are greatly indebted to them for the admirable manner in which they have performed their duties . We have seen how the provinces have

been represented , especially the Province of Sussex . I need hardl y say that the aid they have given lo myself , as ihcir Provincial Grand Master , affords me extra satisfaction . I am pleased that lhe efforts of the Stewards of Sussex have produced so large an amount . Without taking up further of your time , I will ask von to drink " The Health of the Stewards of the da . " Bro . Sir W . T . MARRIOTT , O . C ., M . P ., Dep . Prov . G . M . of Sussex ,

responded , thanking the Duke of Connaught for having presided , and the brethren of Sussex for having subscribed one-tenth of the whole amount of lhe day ' s collection . The amount , no doubt , was ceillected on account of the in tercel of ( he Sussex brethren in the institution , but above all through the great respect and affection every Mason of Sussex felt for his Koyal Highness their Provincial Grand Master .

The Karl of KtsTox , P . G . M . for Norths and Hunts , proposed "The Ladies , " to which Bro . Peter de Lande Long , P . G . D ., responded . The company then adjourned to the Temple , where a beautiful concert , under the direction of Bro . Frederick A . Jewson , organist and master of the music to Regent ' s Park Chapel , was given , the executants being Madame Amy Sherwin , Miss Giulia Warwick , Miss Mercdyth Flliott , Miss

Kthcl Bcvans , Bro . Charles Chilley , Bro . Bainbridge I lardwicke , Mr . Harrington Footo , Mr . G . Fane ; solo violin , Madame Dunbar Perkins ( Gold Medallist London Academy of Music ) ; solo organ , Bro . Frederick A . Jewson ; solo pianoforte , Mr . Albert Fox ; conductors , Mr . Albert Fox and Bro . Frederick A . Jewson . Messrs . Broadwood and Sons' concert grand p ianos were used .

Analysis Of The Returns.

ANALYSIS OF THE RETURNS .

There is little need for any prefatory remarks on this occasion . The Returns ; ell their own tale , which , as we have pointed out elsewhere , is considerably more gratifying than the majority of the friends anil supporters of the Institution had reason to hope . Both sections of the Board of Stewards , however , appear to have worked hard , and the fact that their labours have resulted in the compilation of upwards of . £ 10 , 000 , will , no doubt , make some amends for the increased severity

of the duties they undertook to perform . Taking the Board of Stewards as a whole , we find that it consisted of 302 brethren , the grand total of their lists being £ 10 , 1102 10 s . Gs . Of this

LONDON , though it had the smaller number of Stewards 145 contributed the larger half , nearly £ s \ T 2 15 s . fid . The llvouse Committee , which , as usual , is grouped together , returned £ 406 7 s .. the principal lists being those of Bro . Sir John B . Monckton and C . Hammerton , of whom the former had the satisfaction of e :

ompiling £ 168 of which the / 105 given by Uro . Sir W . J . Clarke , M . W . G . M . of Victoria , formed a part and the latter £ l 2 G . The remaining £ 5066 Ss . Cd . was obtained by the representatives of 79 lodges , 5 Royal Areh chapters , and one Mark lodge -there being three lodges which sent up two Stewards , and two lodges represented by a single Steward—and 44 brethren anil two ladies Unattached . The three-figure lists , in addition to the two we have already named ,

Analysis Of The Returns.

were firstly , the £ 137 os . 6 d . from Bro . Fred Kedge , of the Belgrave Lodge , No . 749 , and then the list of Bro . C . H . Dancocks , of the Mizpah Lodge , who had the pleasure of compiling £ 127 is . Bro . F . G . Coates , one of two brethren who did duty for the Marquess of Dalhousie Lodge , No . 1159 , obtained the third place , and was closely followed by Bro . T . H . Roberts , St . Martin ' s-le-Grand Lodge , No . 1538 , with £ 123 6 s . 6 d ., and Bro . Edwin Venner , of the City of London Lodge , No . 901 , with £ 121 16 s . Next in order is Bro . Col . Ward , of the London Irish Rifles Lodge , No . 2312 , of which his Royal Highness the Chairman

is permanent W . M ., whose list , including his personal donation of . £ . 105 , amounted to £ 112 7 s . Bro . the Rev . Richard Milner returned £ 109 4 s ., as Steward for the Friends in Count : il Lodge , No . 1383 , the remaining lists in this category being each of them £ 105 , and having been returned by Bro . W . L . Crow , Capper Lod ge No . 1076 ; Bro . John Larkin , representing the Aldersgate Lodge and Chapter , No . 1657 ; Bro . F . Purkiss , of the Crystal Palace Lodge , No . 742 ; and Bro . H . Ffrench Bromhead , Unattached . As regards

THE PROVINCES , there were 31 represented , the number of Stewards being 157 , and the total of the sums they raised £ 4529 15 s . The following 15 were absentees , namel y : BRISTOL ( 9 lodges ) , which raised £ 595 7 s . for the Boys' School in June , iSgi and will be represented at the Festival of the same Institution next month CAMBRIDGESHIRE ( 6 lodges ) , which figured very successfully at the Jubilee Festival of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution in February for £ 302 18 s ., and

contributed / . 141 4 s . to the Boys' School in June last , as well as £ 8 $ 16 s . to this Institution the month preceding ; CORNWALL ( 30 lodges ) , which loyally supported its chief in February to the extent of £ 776 15 s ., while last year it furnished £ i ^ 8 10 s . for the Old People , and ^ " 131 5 s . for the Boys' School . CUMBERLAND AMI WESTMORLAND ( 20 lodges ) gave ^ 46 4 s . to the Benevolent Institution in February , 1 S 01 , and . £ 265 13 s . to the Boys' School in the June following , while in February last Bro . G . J . McKay , Prov . Grand Secretary , gave his

services as Steward , and as yet has handed in only a small instalment of the list which we believe he contemplates raising for the Old Folks' Jubilee . HEREFORDSHIRE ( 5 lodges ) entered an appearance , but on a very modest scale , at the Jubilee of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution , and showed to greater advantage at the Boys' Festival in June , 1891 , when its representative handed in a list of . £ 3 2 6 s . LEICESTERSHIRE ANIO RUTLAND ( 12 lodges ) raised . £ 388 10 s . in February last , while in 1891 it gave £ 70 6 s . 6 d . to the Old People , and £ 178 10 s .

to this Institution ; and one of its lodges will be represented next month at the Boys' Festival . LINCOLNSHIRE ( 24 lodges ) has been working hard of late , having raised £ 42 13 s . for the Old People in February , 1 S 91 , and / 418 us . ad . for the Boys' School in the following June , while at the jubilee in February last it contributed the very large sum of £ 660 5 s . MONMOUTHSHIRE , as a province of modest dimensions with only 10 lodges on its roll , finds it most convenient to give its main support to each Institution

in turn . Last year , the Benevolent was the favoured Institution , and received ^ 325 is . ; in 1 S 90 the Girls' School was supported to the extent of ^ 257 9 s ., and this year the Boys'School will have its turn . NORKOLK ( i 7 lodges ) liguredatthe Boys ' Festival in June last to the amount of ^ 225 5 s . , and at the Jubilee in February to the still larger amount of £ 516 6 s . ; 'while NORTHUMBERLAND ( 23 lodges ) , which when it does appear in the Returns invariably makes a brave show , is , we believe , reserving itself for the Festival of next month . Its last successful appearance was

at the Benevolent Festival in i 8 S 8 , when it raised £ 1050 for that Charity , but it has contributed smaller sums at other Festivals since , and has been raising ^ 1050 , with which it has purchased a Perpetual Presentation to the Boys' School , so that its absence from this Anniversary is scarcely to be wondered at . NOTTINGHAMSHIRE ( 16 lodges ) raised £ 37 16 s . 6 d . for the Girls' School , and £ 203 9 s . for the sister Institution at Wood Green in 1891 , and gave £ 157 10 s . to the Jubilee in February last . SOUTH WALKS ( East Division ) , with its 17 lodges , and SOUTH

WALES ( West Division ) , with 10 lodges , were both absent on Wednesday , but both were represented at the Festival in February , the Eastern Division figuring for . £ 180 and the Western for . £ 32 us . Last year the former raised ^ 380 for the Benevolent Institution , . £ 78 15 s . for this Institution , and £ 21 for the Boys ' School , or together , £ 479 15 s . ; while its Eastern neighbour gave . £ 248 to the Old People and £ 106 is . to this School , or together £ 354 is . The remaining

absentees were the CHANNEL ISLANDS ( 5 lodges ) and J ERSEY ( 7 lodges ) , the former of which r . iised £ 241 ioi , and the latter £ 63 for the Old People in February last , and have on different other occasions done equally good service . Here , then , we : have Provinces which muster amongst them 211 lodges that had no part in Wednesday ' s Festival , but which , as the few details we have given show , have on other occasions done good service to our Central Charities . There are thus very excellent reasons for their absence from this particular Anniversary .

We must now give our attention to the Provinces which had a hand in amassing the total which was announced by the Secretary on Wednesday , the first in alp habetical ordirr being that of BEIH'OK- 'SIIIRK , which , with only six lodges , has been latterly playing a very successful part at sundry of our mere recent anniversaries . In June of last yeir it contributed

£ 13 8 12 s . to the Boys' School by the medium of two Stewards , and in February three Stewards , of whom two were lodge representatives and the third Unattached , raised £ 126 for the Old People . On Wednesday two brethren—Bro . Fred . \ V . Webb , for No . 2343 , and Bro . John Smith , Unattached—made up a total of £ 26 5 s ., this being Bro . Smith ' s second appearance during the current year . Thus , at the last three Festival gatherings , it has raised in all , £ 290 17 s ., which , for a young and small Province , is a goodly total . Last year the Province of

BERKSHIRE , with its 13 lodges , distributed £ 38 $ is . among the three Institutions , the Benevolent receiving £ 146 3 s . 6 d . ; the Girls' School , £ g & 14 s . ; and the Boys' School , £ 140 3 s . 6 d . ; and in February , when the Province generally , together with 10 lodge * and a chapter , sent up 22 Stewards , the total of their lists reached the very handsome sum of . ( , 6 45 14 s . ( od ., the Ellington Lodge , No . 1566 , being conspicuous with a

total of , £ 158 , obtained by seven Stewards acting conjointly . On this occasion five lodges , of which tivo were unrepresented at the recent Jubilee , had the satisfaction of compiling £ 172 4 s ., the Ellington having three Stewards an " contributing £ 63 . An the Province will figure in the Boys' School Returns next month , there is no doubt that 1892 will be a red-letter year in the annals ol lit-rkshire .

Its neighbour and quondam associate of BUCKI WHIAMSHIRli , which musters 12 lodges , can also point with satisfaction to its performances in this field of Masonic work since it has been a separate Province . In 189 1 it raw ' £ 3 6 15 s . for the Old People , ^ 300 for the Girls' School in May in support of i ' respected Prov . Grand Master ' s Chairmanship , anil . £ 174 6 . s . for the Boys' Schoo , lodjjt

the aggregate of the three amounts being , 6511 is . In February , e : ght * were represented , and the sum of the lists compiled hy a majority of lts . ' - . Stewards was . £ 231 ; Hi . On Wednesday there were only two Stewards , one being a lodge representative and the other Unattached , their lists together amounting £ 3 > i . Ss-Much cculel hardly be expected of

CHESHIRE , C though it has over 40 ledges on its roll , after its splendid performances in ] l ^ last , when with a contingent of si Stewards it raised / 1050 for the Boys' So