Analysis Of The Returns.

the current year of £ 323 6 s ., which is a long way in advance of its performances in 1 SS 5 , and there is yet another opportunity , at the Boys ' Festival , for its distinguishing itself . But even if it should rest on its oars for a while , it has shown well , considering it has only a roll of 13 lodges .

DURHAM . Made a fair start in February , when Bro . Hans B . Olsen , acting on behalf of one of its 31 lodges , handed in a serviceable list of £ 105 for our Old Folks . On Wednesday , Bro . W . Logan , Steward for the Marquis of Granby , No . 124 , Durham—one of the oldest lodges in the provincemade up a list of 55 guineas ( £ 57 15 s . ) , which Bro . Holmes , as an

unattached Steward , supplemented with a personal donation of £ 10 ios . In 18 S 5 it helped the Benevolent and the Boys' School ; in 188 4 it was represented at the Festivals of all three Charities , while in the years 1881 , 1882 , and 18 S 3 , the sum of its charitable contributions , as entered among the different Festival Returns , exceeded £ 1700 , the lion's share ( £ 1024 ) being raised when the late Marquis of Londonderry , its P . G . Master , took the chair at the Boys' Festival at Brighton .

ESSEX , which has 23 lodges , bids fair to rival its performances of last year , when it raised £ 795 for our Institutions , namely , £ 456 for the Old People , £ 86 for for the Girls' School , and £ 253 for the Boys' School . In February , four Stewards , of whom Bro . R . Clowes was one , raised amongst them £ 115

5 s . 6 d ., while on Wednesday , seven Stewards , of whom two acted on behalf of Lodge 1421 , Ilford , and two—Bros . G . Cooper and E . Shedd—were unattached , made up an effective total of £ 271 19 s ,, while Bro . R . Clowes figured us usual , his list for Star-in-the-East Lodge , No . 6 30 , Harwich , amounting to £ 38 17 s . Bro . Lord Brooke has every reason to be proud of his East Saxon followers .

GLOUCESTERSHIRE , Had three of its 14 lodges represented , Nos . S 2 , 493 , and 592 , Bros . S . Bland and J . A . Matthews doing duty for No . 493 , while Bro . Vassar-Smith acted independently . The five Stewards raised amongst them £ 222 12 s ., Bro . Bland's list , which included Bro . Matthews's contribution , amounting

to £ 78 15 s . This is unquestionably a return which is worthy of the province , especially as , when Sir M . E . Hicks-Beach , Bart ., M . P ., acted as Chairman for the Benevolent Festival last year . itraised over £ i 2 io , andas including Wednesday ' s gathering , it has helped at three out of the four Festivals which have been held since . It does not often happen that the Province of

HANTS AND THE ISLE OF WIGHT . Sends in so small a total as it did on Wednesday , when its four Stewards made up amongst them £ 164 2 s . 6 d ., Bro . Gieve ' s list for the Harmony Lodge , No . 309 , Fareham , being the most considerable . True , in February last it raised for the Old People only £ 142 5 s ., but last year it figured for £ 550 for this Institution , for £ 277 for the Girls' School in May , and for £ ' - * 34 » n June for the Boys' School , making a total for the year of £ 1061 ; while in 18 S 4 it raised altogether £ nSo , and in 188 3 £ 1832 . These latter

are the returns we have been mostly accustomed to in connection with Bro . W . W . B . Beach ' s Province , but for the reasons we have suggested in the case of other Provinces , we must look for an occasional falling off , so that the brethren may not be always putting their hands in their pockets . Besides , who can tell but what Hants and the Isle of Wight may be reserving its strength for the Boys' celebration in June ? We gladly welcome

HEREFORDSHIRE . In the list of contributing Provinces . It is only a wee Province , as regards the number of its 1 odges , and we do not presume to look for it very frequently . Its presence , therefore , on Wednesday may be regarded as auguring well for the future , and the list— £ 74 11 s ., per Bro . the Rev . Evans , of the Royal Edward Lodge , No . 8 92 , Leominster—is a very creditable one . We shall be only too pleased lo extend to it the same cordial greeting on future occasions . There can never be too much of a good thing in the case of contritributions to our Institutions .

HERTFORDSHIRE does not often put forth any considerable portion of its strength at Festivals other than those of the Benevolent Institution , though it is a regular contributor to all three Charities . On Wednesday , ' however , two of its 14 lodges sent up Stewards , the Watford , No . 404 , Watford , having for its representative Bro . George E . Lake , the Provincial Grand Master , whose list amounted to £ 100 i 6 s ., while Bro . H . J . Gillcr acted for the other

lodge , the Ear ] of Clarendon , No . 19 S 4 , also hailing from Watford , whose total was £ 25 , making together £ 125 165 . In February it contributed £ 279 ss . 6 d . to the Benevolent , while in 1885 it distributed £ 411 amongour Charities , the Benevolent again receiving the lion ' s share of £ 322 , the Girls' School receiving only £ 42 5 s ., and the Boys'School £ 46 15 s . 6 d . This year , so far , at all events , the influence in favour of the Benevolent is not quite so preponderant as in 18 S 4 and 1885 .

KENT Did so well in February , when its total at the Festival of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution was £ 844 , that had there been a more considerable falling off from that sum , no one would have been justified in noticing it . But it raised £ 546 : 9 s . on Wednesday , there being an array of eight Stewards acting in behalf of seven lodges . Of these Bro . H . Mason , for the Pattison Lodge , No . 913 , PJumstcad , made up an admirable list of

£ 210 ios ., this being his third stewardship , and raising the total he has collected for our Institutions to not far short of £ 500 . In 18 S 5 , Kent contributed over £ 5 . 3 1 to the Benevolent Institution , £ 327 to the Girls' School , and over £ 7 . 25 to the Boys' School , making for the year some £ 1584 . Up to the present time it has given £ 1431 , or not very much less at two festivals than it did in 188 5 for the whole three . This shows glorious work even for a Province which , like Kent , has over 50 lodges on its roll .

LANCASHIRE ( EAST DIVISION ) . Mgures for £ 170 5 s ., of which Bro . Harcastle's list for the Albert Victor Lodge , No . 1773 , absorbed £ 60 , a number of minor contributions by different lodges being grouped together as one amount— £ 68 « . Were it

not lor the Provincial Charitable Association , which receives such liberal support from our East Lancashire friends , and is , consequently , doing such admirable work locally , the total we have stated would look small for so strong a Province . As regards

LANCASHIRE ( WEST DIVISION ) . t he total— £ 352 16 s . —is comparatively small , when we take into account tlie number of lodges on its roll . But it has several Provincial Organisations , which are generously supported , and not only are able to increase

Analysis Of The Returns.

their invested moneys from j-ear to year , but at the same time do a world of good for the indigent brethren in the Province and the orphans of deceased brethren . On Wednesday , 12 of its members acted as Stewards , Bro . W . Goodacre , Prov . G . Sec , heading the list with £ 147 , of which 100 guineas was voted by Prov . G . Lodge . Bro . Sinclair , of St . George ' s No . 32 , Liverpool , figures in the returns for £ 63 .

LEICESTERSHIRE AND RUTLAND , with its 12 lodges , cannot be considered a strong province , that is to say , strong enough to be represented regularly at the three annual gatherings . Nevertheless it does its duty bravely , as for instance at the Girls' Festival last year , when it figured in the returns for £ 405 , with a small supplement for the Boys' of 25 guineas , and again in the years 1 SS 4 and 1 SS 3 , when at

the Benevolent Festival in the former it raised £ 350 , and at that of the Boys' School in the latter £ 405 , giving an average for the three years of close on £ 400 a year . On Wednesday R . W . Bro . VV . Kelly , P . Prov . G . M . and Prov . G . Superintendent , handed in a personal donation of ten guineas , and so gave the province for which he has laboured so successfully a representation it would not otherwise have received .

MIDDLESEX , from old associations , may be reckoned upon as a regular contributory to the Girls' School Anniversary , though , as far as our experience goes , it plays this role in behalf of all three Institutions , and with a liberality worthy of the Metropolitan county . On Wednesday five of its 37 lodges sent up Stewards , the Lebanon , No . 1326 , Feltham , having a brace of them . Its total was £ 173 7 s . 6 d . The next stage brings us to the compact little province of

MONMOUTHSHIRE , Which , though it can boast no more than eight lodges , is an annual , if not a regular , supporter of our Charities . That is to say , like the Leicestershire and Rutland , of which we were speaking a little earlier , it enters an appearance at one of the Festivals as a matter of course , but its ability will not justify its going further as a rule , though we have known it do so ere

this . On Wednesday Bro . S . Davies , as Steward for the Province , handed in a list of £ 162 15 s ., and in addition , Master Willie Watkins , as Steward for his father ' s lodge—the Albert Edward Prince of Wales , No . 1429 , Newport—raised a list of £ 3 6 15 s ., the total for the Province being thus £ 199 ios . Last year it gave £ 200 to the Benevolent , with a supplementary gift of £ 61 8 s . 6 d . to this Institution in the Mav following by

the hands of this youthful Lewis , who also did duty at the Boys ' School Festival last June as an Unattached Steward , the total of his list then being £ 26 5 s . Thus the youngster has served three Stewardships in two years and helped the Institutions to a round £ 120 , while Monmouthshire itself , has fully maintained its reputation as a generous contributor to our Charities .

We had hardly anticipated that NORFOLK . Would have entered an appearance on this occasion . Its chief , Lord Suffield , has undertaken to preside next month at the Boys' School Festival , and , as a matter of course , there will be a great effort made to support his

lordship generously . However , we may be sure that Bro . Hedges will have been gratified to learn that , notwithstanding its engagement , it has been able to swell his total by £ 67 4 s ., of which the major portion emanated from the Cabbell Preceptory of Knights Templar , per Sir Knight G . W . G . Barnard .

NORTIIU . UBEKLAXIJ , during the last six or seven years , has devoted its chief attention lo the Boys' School , to which in 1 SS 0 it contributed about £ 640 , in 1 S 83 over ^ 1222 , and in 1 SS 5 nearly £ 163 . These sums , which together exceed £ 2000 , are grand gifts and , though spread over a fairly long period , could only be raised by a province which is well furnished with the sinews of

Charity , and the will to put them in action . This year the province has taken a new departure , and raised a subvention for the Girls' SCIIODI amounting to £ 905 2 s ., and this , though its lodges arc only 21 in number . The worthy brother , who has successfully exerted himself in the accumulation of these moneys is none other than Bro . B . J . Thompson , the Prov . Grand Secretary , the same who represented the province at the memorable Boys '

School Festival of 1883 , when the aforesaid list of £ 1222 constituted one of the principal items in Bro . Binckes ' s total on that occasion . It does not often fall to the lot of one man to achieve two such brilliant successes in the short space of three years , and hence we tender to Bro . Thompson our very hearty congratulations on this latest evidence of his energy and persuasive powers .

NORTH WALES Has improved on its first performance as a separate Province . In February it raised within a fraction of £ 30 for the Old People ; on Wednesday it benefited the Girls' School to the extent of a fraction over £ 102 , the Royal Leek Lodge , No . 1849 , P Bro . Col . H . Piatt , D , P . G . M ., contributing £ 70 17 s . 6 d ., and Bro . Benson , unattached , 25 guineas . This looks well for the new regime under Lord Harlech .

OXFORDSHIRE , with its array of ten lodges , contributes a useful £ 106 , made up of the contributions of three out of the four Oxford lodges—the Alfred , No . 340 , the Apollo Universijy , No . 357 , and the Churchill , No . 478—and the Windrush Lodge , No . 1703 , Witney . This is an appreciable advance on the £ 46 i 8 s . 6 d .,

which between them the Alfred , No . 340 , and the Thames , No . 1895 , Henley , contributed to the Benevolent in February last , so that we may reasonably expect that Oxfordshire will about realise its usual average before the present Festival year is over . The total raised by Lord Carnarvon ' s Province of

SOMERSETSHIRE is perceptibly lower than it is in the habit of contributing . This will be seen best from the following ennumeration of its figures at the preceding eight Festivals , namely , Boys'School 1883 , £ 357 ios . 6 d . ; in 1884 , Benevolent Festival , £ 505 5 s . ; Girls' School Festival , £ 71 8 s . ; Boys'School £ 6 . ) is ; in 1885 , Benevolent Festival , £ 176 8 s . ; Girls' School Festival , £ 305 ;

Boys' School Festival , £ 136 ios . ; and the Benevolent Festival in February last , £ 173 4 s . On Wednesday the sum handed in by Bro . Porritt as the Provincial Steward was £ 133 js . If we add these nine amounts together , we arrive at an average of over £ 213 per Festival , so that Wednesday ' s figure , if not the lowest , is a round £ iSo below the average we have just stated . It

will be noticed , however , that Somersetshire ' s range of subscription extends from £ 505 at the Benevolent Anniversary of 188 4 to as low as £ 64 is . at that of the Boys' School the same year , so that it is certainly not impossible , and by no means improbable , that the falling off on this occasion may be retrieved in June .