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CONTENTS . P ^ - LB '' Apfproaching Elections of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution ... 217 The Punjab Masonic Institution ... — •¦• •••Jj ' jJ Ars Quatuor Coronatorum ... ... •¦• •••— 2 Consecration of the Mark Lodere of Eland , No . 493 ¦••- - 2 ' Provincial Grand Chapter of West Lancashire •... - - 22 ° District Grand Lodge of Bengal ... ... •¦••¦¦ •¦•2 "

Piesentation to Bro . William H . Barrow , Mus . Dec , P . M . 523 ... ... 221 Cryptic Masonry ... ... ... - - - 22 ' Masonic Notes ... ... - - - - " * Reviews •- ¦ •¦•¦¦¦ ••••¦ ' "' * * Masonic Notes and Queries ... ... ; - — — 22 4 EiVlith Annual Supper of the Star Chapter of Instruction ... ... 224 The Grand Lodge of Tasmania ... ... •¦•••¦ — 22 5

Board of Benevolence ... ... •- ••¦•— — 22 5 Grand Masters' Mark Lodge of Instruction ... •- ••¦••••22 5 Supreme Council of the Ancient and Accep ' ed Rite ... ... •¦• 220 Craft Masonry ... ... ... - - - 22 b Royal Arch ... ... ... •••- 22 1 Mark Masonry ... ... ... •¦•¦•••••22 7 Lodges of Instruction ... ... ... ... •¦¦ ¦¦¦ 22 ** Masonic and General Tidings ... ... ... •••— 22 ti

Approaching Elections Of The Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution.

APPROACHING ELECTIONS OF THE ROYAL MASONIC BENEVOLENT INSTITUTION .

The annual general meeting of the Donors and Subscribers of the Royal Masonic -Benevolent Institution will be held at Freemasons' Tavern on Friday , the 15 th May . The chair will

be taken precisely at 12 noon , and as soon as the ordinary business has been disposed of , a poll will be opened for the Election of 19 candidates on the Male Fund and 14 on the Widows ' Fund , the three deferred annuities being included in each case .

As usual , the lists of candidates are formidable in respect of numbers , and we regret to say there are several of the Old Folks who have been before the electors for six , seven , or eight years , while in a few instances the number of ballots they have stood is 10 , 11 , 12 , and even n . How the latter have contrived to exist

lor so long , considering thc abject state of poverty to which llu * y have been reduced , is a marvel , but their names are brought forward year after year , and , as far as we are in a position to judge , with diminishing rather than increasing prospects of

success . We are not alone in expressing a wish that some at least of these poor people should be preferred to other and more recent applicants . ' For the

MALE FUND " ) erc are , as wc have said , 19 vacancies to bc competed for , namel y , 16 immediate and three deferred , the number of candidates being 60 , of whom 34 remain from last year and 26 have been approved and had their names placed on the list during tne

last 12 months . London is responsible for 20 of these and "ie Provinces for thc remaining 40 , the London brethren being 'is follows : No . 8 , who has standing to his credit 1533 votes from 'our previous elections ; Nos . 9 and 10 , who commenced their candidature in 18 93 , the former having 2045 votes to be recorded

111 Ins behalf and the latter 2405 votes ; Nos . 12 , 14 , and 16 , who | » l make their third attempt at tlie approaching election , No . 12 wing ing forward 3181 votes , No . 14 2666 votes , and No . 16 only I & ' \ which , together with thc 40 further votes he is now entitled

° i will give him a modest start of 208 votes . Nos . 19 , 20 , 26 , ~ 7 > 28 , and 30 were candidates for the lirst time last year , the lrst two named having already in hand 678 and 688 votes rcl-cclivel y , while No . 26 brings forward 314 6 , and receives 20 llt * tlier votes . No . 27 will start with * " . < i 7 votesand No . 28 with

, 41 , which , all but 20 , arc derived from the last election , No . 30 v , ll g to his credit 146 9 votes . The remaining eight are candil : s for the lirst time , and rank on the list as Nos . 35 , 40 , 41 , 47 . r r - . 1 ,- .- ^ ,. . -, ... ... ¦

* - •Mi 55 > and 50 . Ur the 40 Provincial candidates , as any ; is seven j ia jj r rom t j ie p j nce 0 f Devonshire , No . 3 , who been before the electors since 1885 inclusive , having

Approaching Elections Of The Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution.

252 votes in hand ; No . 4 , who was 70 years of age when hc made his first appearance in 188 9 , and has r 39 votes to the good ; and No . 5 , who started a year later , and has 13 votes to help him on the way . No . 17 has made two previous attempts , but

without result , while Nos . 24 and 25 , who made their debut in 1 S 95 , have t 7 votes and 2 r vote ' s respectively in hand , the remaining candidate at No . 38 being an applicant for the lirst time . Kent furnishes live candidates , of whom Nos . 21 and 33 figured

in thc list in 18 95 , when they obtained support to the extent of 417 in thc former case , and 18 5 in the latter , while Nos . 39 , 44 , and 52 arc new cases . Cheshire is responsible for four candidates , of whom No . 18 has five votes in hand , and the others

standing at Nos . 37 , 4 6 , ancl 60 respectively , are new cases . Suffolk also furnishes four applicants , No . 22 bringing forward 22 votes from last year ' s election , and being entitled to 20 in

addition , and No . 31 , who scored 1 S 90 votes in 18 95 , and will have 20 more recorded in his behalf , while No . 34 polled 3 8 votes last year ; No . 45 being an applicant for the lirst time . There are live Provinces which contribute two

candidates each , the two hailing from Cornwall being No . 7 , who has polled no votes at six previous attempts , and a first applicant at No . 59 ; the two from Cumberland and Westmoreland being No . 13 , who starts with nine votes from the 1894 and

18 95 elections , and a first case at No . 4 8 ; and the two from Sussex , namely , No . 15 , who has 176 votes to his credit from two previous ballots , and A o . __ , who polled seven votes last year . East Lancashire is responsible for two new candidates at Nos .

49 and 57 respectively , and West Lancashire for Nos . 29 and 58 , who are both voteless , though the former was a candidate last year . The remaining lo are furnished by as many Provinces , one from each Province , namely , No . I from North and East

Yorkshire , who enters upon his 14 th ballot with 6 99 votes ; No . 2 from Northumberland , who has accumulated 360 votes from 12 previous elections ; No . 6 , Lincolnshire , who brings forward 505 votes from the last five elections ; No . II , Nottinghamshire , who

during the last three years has amassed 3 6 votes ; No . n , from the Province of Guernsey and Alderney , who polled 1163 votes in May , 1895 ; and No . 36 from Dorsetshire , No . 42 from Hertfordshire , No . 43 from Shropshire , No . 50 from Cambridgeshire , and No 53

from Warwickshire , who will bc candidates for the first time at this election . Of the whole 60 candidates there arc onl y three who were subscribing members for less than 10 years , and these are permanently incapacitated from earning a livelihood , while more

than two-thirds of them were subscribing Masons for _ o years and upwards , not a few among them having been such for over 30 , and one from upwards of 40 years . As for the circumstances which have brought them to this pass , let it suffice if we say .

firstly , that they are such as fully entitle them in every instance to the benefits of the Institution , or their petitions would not have been entertained ; and , secondly , that in very many instances they arc of the most painful character , showing , as they do , that

only here and there is a brother in possession of any means at all , while in some few instances they are dependent on their children or other near relatives for the everyday necessaries of life .

For the election to the WIDOWS' FUND , the number of candidates is 53 , and the number of vacancies

14 , namely , rr immediate , and three deferred . In this case , there are several of the widows who have been on the list for seven years and upwards , two of them having made their first appearance as fax back as 1884 , t ^ -3 > n & % 6 > and two in 188 7 .