Annual Festival Of The Mark Benevolent Fund.

WORCESTERSHIRE . Bro . A . F . Godson 5 5 ° 59 Bro . W . R . Williamson ... * j 5 ° YORKSHIRE ( TOWN UF HULL ) . Bro . Thos . Thompson , Una ached DTOREE OF ROYAL ARK MARINER . 265 Rrn . J . M VToI . pod ... 15 ° ° ROVvL AND SELECT MASTERS . Bro . Thos . Clark 33 12 o

ALLIED MASONIC DEGREES . Matier ( T . I . ) , B'O A . H . ] efferis Metropolitan ( T . L ) , Bro . H . Venn 10 10 o 15 Bro . H . C . Heard 10 10 o IS ,. F . T Bennett ... 15 15 o RED CROSS OF CONSTANTINE . Bro . T . Lamb Smith 7 7 ° ROSE CROIX , iS ° . 97 Bro . Geo ! Gregory ... 2100

SUMMARY OF THE PROVINCES .

£ s . d . Barbados , W . I . Benpal ... ... ... 5 5 ° Berks and Oxon ... ... 78 n 6 Cheshire ... ... ... 15 15 o

Cornwall ... ... ... 15 15 o Cumberland and Westmorland 68 8 o Devonshire ... ... 26 5 o Dorsetshire ... ... 20 o o East Analia ... ... 107 19 6 Eastern Archipelago ... 10 10 o Gloucestershire ... ... 5 5 o

Hampshire ... ... 32 12 o Isle of Man Hertfordshire ... ... 73 18 6 Kent ... ... ... 500 o 0 Lancashire ... ... 12 9 6 6 Leicestershire , Northants , Derbyshire , and Rutland ... 102 2 6 Lincolnshire ... ... 5 5 o

£ s . d . Middlesex and Surrey ... 343 8 o Monmouthshire ... ... 21 o 0 New Zealand ... ... 5 5 ° North Africa ... ... 31 o o

Northumberland and Durham 73 10 0 North and East Yorkshire ... 10 10 0 North VVales ... ... 5 5 0 Nottinghamshire ... ... 25 16 6 South Wales ... ... 14 o o Sussex ... ... ... 25 10 o Warwickshire ... ... 15 15 °

West Yorkshire ... ... 5 5 ° Worcestershire ... ... 10 10 o Yorkshire ( Town of Hull ) ... Royal Ark Mariners ... 15 o o Royal and Select Masters ... 33 12 o Allied Masonic Degrees ... 36 15 o Red Cross of Constantine ... 7 7 ° Rose Croix , 1 S ... ... 21 o o

LONDON —35 STEWARDS ... ... ... £ 360 13 o PROVINCES—125 STEWARDS ... ... £ 1899 7 ° GRAND TOTAL ... ... £ 2260 o o EARL AMHERST then proposed "The Stewards . " Bro . DAWSON , in reply , said he had been exercising his mind to find out the reason of his being selected as Treasurer of the Fund . It had occurred to him that it was in order that he should have the honour and privilege of

returning thanks for this toast . The Stewards had done all the work , and he had done nothing , and therefore he vvas sure he would be acquitted of eeotism when the said the Stewards had done nobly on the present occasion , and had performed an inestimable service to the Mark Degree . The Chairman had performed a most graceful act in proposing the vote of thanks to the Stewards , but he could not help saying they deserved those thanks . Bro . R . P . SPICE proposed " The Ladies . "

Bro . FRANK RICHARDSON , in acknowledging the toast , said , that as a single man it vvas very difficult thoroughly to appreciate the feelings of the ladies , but he thought he vvas at liberty to say they reciprocated all Bro . Spice ' s kindness . No doubt the ladies were the fountain of Charity , and without them Charity would come off b idly . The ladies had not many

opportunities of joining in Masonic festivities , but they , like Freemasons , enjoyed gaiely and a little banquet now and then , and thev looked forward to these entertainments of Mark Masons with very pleasurable feelings . He trusted this would not be the last muster , but that they mig ht meet the brethren for many , many vears to comp .

Bro . MCKAY , of the Canongate Kilwinning Lodge , No . 2 ( S . C ) , replied to the toast ol " 'I'he Visitors , " and said ihe Chairman had done him an enormous amount of honour b y including him in this toast , vvhich vvas always considered the principal toast , although slightly vicarious , in every Masonic lodge in this Kingdom . They had heard words from various brethren on the present occasion , vvho had talked about brethren unrepresented

and misrepresented , and soon ; and he thought a Scotch brother should have more to say on that subject than other people who had not so much to say . The Scotch Masons were supposed to be not so ritualistic or so clever as the majority o' the brethren who lived further south —( No , no)—and he could assure the brethren that vvith regard to the Canongate Kilwinning , No . 2 , they endeavoured to keep up those traditions of vvhich they had an archselogical framework in their own Indue . As far as another observation vvas

concerned about federation , he thought there vvas nothing finer . It was a pleasant idea in a country where they paid taxes , the dog tax for instance , in a country on whose dominions the sun never set , lo think federation , and if they could manaee that Masonically , colonially , it would be not only magnificent for their fellow countrymen generally , but for Masons in particular . The toast of " Our Next Merry Meeting , " given by Earl AMHERST , concluded the proceedings , which were altogether of a most satisfactory character .

Result Of The Festival.

RESULT OF THE FESTIVAL .

The most gratif ying feature about the result of the Mark Benevolent Fund Festival is the undoubted evidence it affords of its steady increase in popular favour . In 1 S 8 5 , the total announced was in excess of £ 1720 : last year , though there was certainly a falling off , the sum was close on £ 1530 ; and on Wednesday it reached £ 2260 . A passing fit of enthusiasm on the part of a particular Chairman or of sundry members of a particular

Board of Stewards might have produced any one ol these results ; but a succession of large totals such as we have enumerated is a sure sign that the Fund has established itself firml y in the good graces of the Mark Degree , and may reckon always upon receiving from the members a generous measure of support such as its increasing usefulness demands . Nor are the totals realised the only evidence of this steadiness of improvement . In 1885 ,

the Board of Stewards mustered 88 brethren ; last year there vvere 114 who gave their services ; while on Wednesday it was 160 , the bulk of these hailing from the Provinces , vvhich were far more numerously represented on this occasion than either last year or the year before . This gives one the idea that the Festival having made a name for itself in the Metropolis and Home Provinces , is now slowly , but surely , obtaining the support of the more

remote , but equall y loyal , Mark Provinces and if this surmise is correct , we may look for a continuity of these large returns almost as a matier of course . But , leaving surmises alone , we have in the total announced on Wednesday by Bro . C . F . Matier the strongest evidence we can desire of the sterling merits of the Mark organisation ; and though as vear succeeds

year we shall expect to meet with fluctuations in the Returns which will not be a ' ways in the ri ght direction , we have no misgivings as to the future of the Mark Fund . We recognise that its position is now assured , and that it will always be able to cope vvith the demands that may be made upon its resources .

Result Of The Festival.

As regaids the composition of the Returns , we find that London sent up 35 Stewards , as against 26 last year , while the total of their lists was £ 360 13 s . as compared vvith the £ 363 5 s . of 1886 . Of the 35 Stewards , 10 acted as representatives of seven lodges , St . Mark ' s , No . I , having three Stewards and Thistle . No . 8 , two . The remaining 25 vvere " General Board" and " Unattached . "

We have said that more Mark Provinces vvere represented than last year , the 125 Provincial Stewards compiling amongst them the eminentl y satisfactory total of £ 18 99 7 * BERKS and OXON sent half-a-dozen Stewards , of whom one seems to have worked on his own account , and the other five lor four lodges , the result being a total of £ 78 lis . 6 d . CHESHIRE had a couple of Stewards , one ( Bro . Friend ) acting for the Province , and the other ( Bro . Kohn ) for Lodge No . 11 . They raised together £ 15 15 s .

, , vvhich is precisel y the amount raised by Bro . Lake as Steward for the Province of Cornwall . Bro . G . Ryiie represented the Province of CUMBERLAND and WESTMORLAND to excellent purpose , seeing that his list reached the handsome total of £ 68 8 s . ; while Bro . Crouch , as Steward for DEVONSHIRE , with a list of £ 26 5 s ., and Bro . C . H . W . Parkinson for the St . Cuthberga Lodge , No . 99 , DORSETSHIRE , with £ 20 , did excellent service forthe Fund and brought kudos to the bodies they represented .

The Province of EAST ANGLIA , which , like that of Cumberland and Westmoreland , has the honour of being governed by a Past G . M . M . M ., makes an excellent show with a total of £ 107 193 . 6 d ., being the sum of four lists , one being for the Province as a whole , the other three for as many lodges . Bro . G . B . Courtney ' s list of £ 53 18 s ., as Steward for the Isaac Newton University Mark Lodge , No . 112 , Cambridge , vvas the

most important item . GLOUCESTERSHIRE sent up two Stewards , and HAMPSHIRE AND THE ISLE or WIGHT four , the returns from the latter amounting to £ 32 12 s . Eight out of the nine Stewards acting for HERTFORDSHIRE raised amongst them £ 73 18 s . 6 d ., the chief amount being £ 21 from Bro . F . Levick , as Steward for the Watford Lodge , No . 241 .

The Chairman ' s Province of KENT , vvith its contingent of 25 Stewards , of whom eight acted independently , and the remainder on behalf . pf 16 lodges , entered a splendid appearance , its total being £ 500 ., Bro . C . V . Cottre-1 , P . J . G . W ., leading the way vvith £ 109 18 s . ; Bro . J . S . Eastes , P . S . G . W . as Steward for the Invicta Lodge , No . 378 , standing next with £ 52 ios ., and Bro . the Rev . Hayman Cummings , P . G . Chap ., D . P . G . M .,

and Bro . Abel Penfold , of Excelsior Lodge , No . 226 , thitd vvith £ 42 each ; Bro . Horalio Ward , St . Martin , No . 262 , sending in £ 40 8 s . 6 d . Bro . E . Denton , of the Florence Nightingale Lodge , No . 44 , raised £ 35 3 * ¦ Ja \ > and Bros . Rev . J . B . Harrison and R . T . Emmerson as Stewards of the Holmesdale Lodge , No . 129 , gave , the former , £ 22 , and the latter £ 10 ios ; or , together , £ 32 ios . Such an evidence

ot zeal on the part of the Province lor the Fund and such loyalty to Bro . Earl Amherst , a Past G . M . M . M . and the respected Craft G . M . of the Province , are to be greatly commended ; and though all may not be equally strong , we trust that the provinces of successive Chairmen in future years vvill be able to point to an equal measure of success such as Kent has achieved on this occasion .

LANCASHIRE had 11 representatives , one for the Province and ten for seven of its lodges , St . John ' s Lodge sending three Stewards , and St . Andrew ' s , No . 34 , two . The total of the returns is £ 129 6 s . 6 I ., the principal item being that of Bro . H . M . Grmsby , Steward forthe whole Province , whose list was £ 30 5 s . LEICESTERSHIRE , NORTHANTS , DERBYSHIRE , and RUTLAND raised £ 102 2 s . 6 d ., the sum of half-a-dozen Stewards' lists , of

whom three served independently , and one for the Province , the other two , vvho acted for lodges No . 246 and 302 respectively , making b y far the best returns , Bro . VV . S . Hall ' s list ( No . 302 ) , amounting 10 ^ 39 7 s . 6 d ., and Bro . E . C . Milligan ' s ( No . 246 ) , to £ 26 . MIDDLESEX and SURREY sent up as many as 21 Stewards , of whom Bro . H . S . Goodall acted for the Province , and the other 20 for 19 lodges . The highest individual list is Bro . Faija ' s ( the Grosvenor Lodge , No . 144 ) , amounting to £ 57 15 s ., while Bro . the

Rev . T . Cochrane , for the Carnarvon , No . 7 , contributed £ 40 . Several of the remaining lists appear for substantial sums , the total being £ 343 8 s . which , like the still higher £ 5000 ? the Chairman ' s Province , would not very many years since have been looked upon as a very satisfactory return for a whole Festival . Were we to carry our investigations further , vve should find that the two great Mark Metropolitan Provinces , adding Wednesday ' s figures to those of the Central Charities for the year , have done a very large amount of Festival work in 1887 .

The Province of MONMOUTHSHIRE , per Bro . Samuel Davies , Prov . G . Treasurer , contributed £ 21 , and NORTH AFRICA , as represented by Bro . Capt . Williams-Freeman , £ 31 . NORTHUMBERLAND AND DURHAM sent two Stewards , both of whom have the same amount— £ 36153 . —standing to their credit , making the total £ 73 ios ., Bro . T . Y . Strachan , D . P . G . M ., doing duty forthe Province , and Bro . Col . Addison Potter , C . B ., for the Tristram

Lodge , No . 346 . NOTTINGHAMSHIRE figures for £ 27 16 s . 6 d ., Bro . E . C . Patchitt , as the representative of the Province , having handed in £ 22 ns . 6 d ., and worthy Bro . J . Toplis , of the St . Alban ' s Lodge , the balance of five guineas . SUSSEX also had two Stewards , the list of Bro . C . W . Duke for the Province ( £ 15 ) and that of Bro . H . VV . G . Abell , for the Southdown Lodge , No . 164 ( £ 10 ios . ) , making together £ 25 ios .

Bro . G . King Patten , of the Howe ( IM . ) Lodge , of Birmingham , worthily upheld the fame of WARWICKSHIRE vvith a contribution of £ 15 15 s ., and Bro . J . M . McLeod , the representative of Royal Ark Mariners , vvas almost as successful with a list of £ 15 . The Royal and Select Masters were fortunate in their champion—Comp . T . Clark , of the Grand Master ' s Council , No . 1—whose total of subscriptions was £ 33 12 s . ; while the Allied Masonic

Detrrees , vvith their four Stewards , are entered for £ 36 15 s , The Rose and Lil y Chapter of Rose Croix , 18 ° , with Bro . G . Gregory for Steward , worthily concludes the list vvith a sum of £ 21 , the subscriptions from the Provinces and Degrees amounting to £ 18 99 7 s ., vvhich , without the assistance of the London contributions , is very considerably in excess of the result of 1885—the highest ever previously realised .

It would seem churlish if we concluded these few remarks without ten dering our hearty congratulations to the respected Chairman , Bro . Earl Amherst , the Board of Stewards , and its officers , and in particular to Bro . C . F . Matier , who , as Secretary to the Fund , very naturall y charged himself with the duties of Honorary Secretary to the Board , and upon whom .

therefore , devolved the more " arduous of the duties of preparation and organisation . There can be little doubt about the zeal with which Bro . Matier has pressed the claims of the ' Mark Benevolent Fund on the notice of the lodges and members of that Degree , and , with the results which have attended its later Festivals before us , still less as to the success of his efforts . We are persuaded every one will rejoice with him in the hour of his greatest