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CONTENTS . PAGE . L EADERSThe Approaching Festival of the Royal Masonic Institution for Bnys ... 291 The Recent Benevolent Elections ... ... ... ... 292 Consecration of the Household Brigade Lodge , No . 2614 ... ... 293 Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution ... ... ... ... 293 Provincial Grand Lodge of East Lancashire ... ... ... ... 294 Provincial Grand Lodge of Staffordshire ... ... ... ... 295

The" Old Masonians ... ... ... ... ... ... 295 Masonic Lecture at Gateshead ... ... ... ... ... 29 G Lodges and Chapter of Instruction ... ... ... ... 29 G Our Portrait Gallery ... ... ... ... ... ... 29 6 Knights Templar ... ... ... ... ... ... 297 General Committee of Grand Lodge and Board of Benevolence ... ... 29 / Craft Masonry ... ... ... ... ... ... 297 MASONIC N

OTESArrangements for Annual Festival of the Boys'School ... ... 299 Committee of Management of R . M . B . I . ... ... ... ... 299 New Lodges in West Lancashire ... ... ... ... 299 Grand Lodge Honours ... ... ... ... ... 299 Correspondence ... ... ... ... ... ... 300 Royal Arch Masonry in Scotland ... ... ... ... ... 300

Reviews ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 300 Craft Masonry ... ... ... ... ... ... 301 Royal Arch ... ... ' _ ... ... ... ... ... 303 Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution ... ... ... ... 303 Pioneer Life ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 303 Masonic and General Tidings ... ... ... ... ... 304

The Approaching Festival Of The Royal Masonic Istitution For Boys.

THE APPROACHING FESTIVAL OF THE ROYAL MASONIC ISTITUTION FOR BOYS .

Two of the great Anniversary Festivals of the year have been held and with a success in both cases , but more especially in that of the Benevolent Institution , which must be extremely gratifying not only to their friends and supporters , but also to the

whole body of English Freemasons . There only now remains , therefore , the Festival of the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys , which will be celebrated at Brighton , on Wednesday , the 24 th June , under the presidency of his Grace the Duke of

DEVONSHIRE , K . G ., Lord President of the Council , Prov . G . Master of Derbyshire , and as the interval between the gatherings on behalf of the two Schools has been curtailed at both ends—the Girls ' VliooiyiV *? being about a week later , and the approaching Boys ' School fete being fixed a week earlier than last year—there is

no time to be lost in placing the claims of the latter as prominentl y as possible before our readers . Not that we have anything new to urge in its behalf . The story is one that we have been called upon to relate annually during a long series of years , but if we did not repeat it , the idea might find its way abroad either lhat

the School was no longer in need of support or that something had happened which rendered its claims less worthy . Neither t'i these ideas would have the slightest foundation in fact . The School is not richer—not to any appreciable extent richerthan it was 12 months since ; the number of boys on the

establishment is , if anything , slightly greater , and thc work of training 'hem to a life of honourable usefulness when they have completed their course of study is proceeding as meritoriously as c * - * cr . There is , indeed , little , if any , change in the circumstances of the Institution and our appeal in its behalf i . s consequently as

urgent as it has been during any of the 20 or 25 years just past . 1 hus the permanent income consisting of the grants of £ 150 from Grand Lodge ancl £ 10 ios . from Grand Chapter and thc dividends on invested capital is within £ 2000 , while the permanent expenditure is between £ 13 , 000 and £ 14 , , so that ¦ - - annual sum whirh must b < - raisp- ! in nivW dial tin . ^ nlmnl

'" ay be maintained at its present state of efficiency is not less J £ 12 , 000 , and the main source upon which the authorities Q the Institution rel y in order to obtain this sum is the Annual estival . If the receipts from that event fall short to any serious x ent of what is required for the year ' s expenditure , the Board

The Approaching Festival Of The Royal Masonic Istitution For Boys.

of Management has two alternatives to choose from—it can either reduce the number of children in the School or it can trench upon its capital . It is unnecessary to say that both these alternatives

must be avoided if possible . There are already fully twice as many candidates as there are vacancies at successive elections , and to diminish the establishment would have the effect of

augmenting the lists of candidates and rendering their prospects of being admitted to thc benelits of which they have been declared worthy still less promising than they are at present . To draw upon the capital would result in a diminution of that permanent

income , which , as we have already shown , is unduly small by comparison with the permanent expenditure . But we go a step further . We say—Not only is it necessary that the difference between income and expenditure at present existing should be

made good in order to avoid the unpleasant alternatives we have referred to ; but while the circumstances of the country are so prosperous , while trade and commerce flourish , and the wealth that exists undoubtedly throughout the Empire is inestimably

great , unusual efforts should be put forth annually to raise as much more than is absolutely required as possible with a view to strengthening the permanent resources of the Institution , so that when times are less prosperous than they happen to

be just now and the difficulty of raising the necessary ways and means is proportionately greater , the deficit that must be made good annually may be smaller . A few plain ligures will serve to illustrate our point more clearly . Six

years ago the invested capital of the Institution was £ 17 , 500 and the permanent income , inclusive of the Grand Lodge and Grand Chapter grants , less than £ 700 ; now the invested capital is £ 60 , 000 and the permanent income less than £ 2000 . Thus

the sum that has now to be raised annually is £ 1300 less than it was six years ago , and if only the same rate of progress is maintained , we may reasonably look forward to the necessary sum being reduced by a further £ 1300 when a further period of six

years has passed . I his may seem to be a small matter just now when the country is prosperous , but let a commercial crisis overtake us or the country lind itself involved in war , and the Fraternity will then realise how wise is thc policy of those who

make all the hay they can while the sun shines . Mad the Board of Management of thc Institution for Boys been less considerate about the future , it would have been appealing to the Craft to make good a deficiency of some £ 13 , 500 instead of one amounting to about £ 12 , 000 .

But this i . s not the only point of importance on which it i . necessary we should lay stress in our appeal for the support of the Craft . Not only have thc affairs of thc Institution been successfully administered under the new n ' gime , so far as its

funds are concerned , but concurrently with the improved financial management , there has been an improvement in the tone and character of the School generally , while the scheme of education has been extended , and . at the same time , been made more

practical . There are more children on the establishment now than ever there were before , and while those who exhibit a higher order of ability than is ordinarily to be found amongst boys of 14 or 15 years of age are retained at school beyond the ordinary limit

of age in order that they may compete with better chances of success for scholarships at our Universities , Scientific Institutes , & c , those who exhibit greater aptitude for mechanical avocations

receive special training in that direction in addition to the ordinary education which is bestowed on all English youths of the middle-classes . The reports of independent examiners ,