Births, Marriages, And Deaths.

Births , Marriages , and Deaths .

¦»——BIRTH . SCHERLING . —On the 15 th instant , at Hull , the wife of Bro . J . N . Scherling ( J . W . Lodge 250 , E . of Chapter 250 ) , of a daughter . '

AlARRIAGE . DANCE—KENNEDY . —On the 15 th instant , at St . Mary Magdalene Church , Colchester , Bro . George Dance , of Melbourne , Australia , son of Mr . R . Dance , of Ipswich , to Sarah , eldest daughter of Mr . Kennedy , Colchester .

Answers To Correspondents.

Answers to Correspondents .

—»—All communications for THE FREEMASON should be written legibly , on one side of the paper only , and , if intended for insertion in the current number must be received not later than 10 o ' clock a . m . on Thursdays , unless in very special cases . The name and address of every writer must be sent to us in confidence .

We are indebted to an esteemed brother for an obituary of the late Bro . Nelson , but , as will have been observed , we had already given a notice of the deceased brother's masonic career . ST . MARK . —The Masonic Insurance Company is , we believe , still in existence , its offices are in Bridge-street ,

Blackfriars . " A Brother " is thanked for directing our attention to the subject , but as , we are told , the Grand Lodge authorities are now on the villain ' s track , it is better to leave the matter in their hands . Such publications merit the strongest condemnation .

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The Freemason , SATURDAY , MARCH 26 , 1 S 70 . THE FREEMASON is published on Saturday Mornings in time for the early trains . The price of THE FREEMASON is Twopence per week ; quarterly subscription ( including postage ) 3 s . 3 d . Annual Subscription , 12 s . Subscriptions payable in advance . All communications , letters , & c ., to be addressed to the EDITOR , 3 , 3 , and 4 , Little Uritain , E . C . The Editor will pay careful attention to all MSS . entrusted to htm , bnt cannot undertake to return them unless accompanied by postage stamps .

The Royal Masonic Institution For Boys.

The ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION for BOYS .

ALL the arrangements arc now completed for the' Seventy-second Anniversary Festival of the Masonic School for Boys , which will be held at Freemasons' Hall , Great Oueen-strect , on the 30 th inst ., and it is

well-known that His Hoyal Highness the Prince of Wales will upon that occasion preside for the first time as a Mason , over an assemblage of the brethren . A vast amount of interest has been naturally excited

by the announcement of this forthcoming event , and we cannot do better than place before our readers as briefly as possible thc regulations which have been adopted by the Board of Stewards to ensure thc comfort of

the ladies , and the numerous guests whose presence may be confidently expected at the Festival , premising that thc regulations meet with our hearty approval , and we arc

also satisfied that they are rules which will commend themselves to the good judgment and approbation of all interested in thc details : —

Every Brother , Stewards included , to present dinner ticket previous to entering the hall . Brethren generally to clothe in the " Dc Grey , " " Moira " and " Preston , " on the second floor , and in the " Yarborough , " on thc first floor .

Ladies' Stewards and House Committee to assemble and clothe in thc morning room adjoining the entrance to " Freemasons' Tavern . " Other Stewards clothe in thc " Dalhousie" on the first floor . Brethren to enter at the Grand Entrance to

Freemasons' Hall . Ladies , on arrival to enter at Freemasons' Tavern entrance , and proceed direct to the Grand Hall , Drawing Room , or to thc Galleries of lhe Dining Hall , and there wait until conducted to thc rooms

prepared for collation . The band of thc Coldstream Guards , under thc direction of Mr . F . Godfrey , will be stationed on the dais in the Grand Hall , and will play selections

from 4 to 6 o ' clock , and afterwards until 8 o'clock in the corridor adjoining the banquet hall . After collation Ladies to return to the Grand Hall , Galleries , or Drawing Room .

The Royal Masonic Institution For Boys.

None but Ladies' Stewards to have access to the Ladies' Galleries , or refreshment rooms . At 8 o ' clock the concert will commence in the Grand Hall , to which will be admitted Ladies , Grand Officers , and Stewards only . H . R . H . the Chairman will leave the banquet hall as early as practicableand at once proc eed to

, the concert hall . The "Sussex" room , immediately opposite the entrance to the Grand Hall , will be open after S o ' clock , and light refreshments may be obtained there throughout thc evening . No refreshments of any kind permitted in the concert hall .

We may add that it will greatly faciliate the labours of tlie Secretary , if the Stewards generally will forward their lists of subscriptions received to the office of the Institution before the day of the festival , in order that the announcement of the apgfregate sum collected may be as correct as possible .

A short account ofthe orgin ofthe Boys ' Institution may not be deemed uninteresting at the present moment , and we therefore reproduce an extract from the account which was published by its benevolent founders : —

In the year 1798 , thc members of the lodge No . 23 , on the registry of the R . W . Grand Lodge of England " according to the Old Institutions , His Grace John , Duke of Atholl , G . M ., " observing with regret the deplorable state ofthe sons of several of their deceased ancl indigent brethren , humanely

resolved on endeavouring to raise a fund for the benefit of objects of that description , and accordingly , with the aid of a number of brethren of other lodges , this institution was established . The assistance ancl encouragement which it has since received from its noble patron , His Grace the Duke of

Atholl , the R . W . the Grand Lodge , and a number ofthe Grand Officers , lodges , and brethren of thc ancient fraternity , have enabled thc governors , & c , annually to clothe ancl educate 50 boys , to which number such augmentation will from time to time take place , as thc funds of thc charity will permit .

Children arc eligible to be admitted at seven , and are continued until they arrive at thc age of fourteen , during which period they arc taught reading , writing , and arithmetic * , ancl when they quit school , are ( in certain cases ) bound apprentices to suitable trades , premiums being allowed towards placing them out to the best advantage .

Thc Governors , anxious to render the benefits of thc charity as extensive and efficacious as possible , intend ( as soon as a fund can be raised for the purpose ) to purchase or build a School House , sufficiently capacious to contain the children , ancl wholly to maintain as well as clothe and educate them .

Thc members of thc committee having briefly laid before the Craft at large and the public in general , the nature and design of this institution , ancl the principles upon which it is conducted , have only to express their anxious hope , tbat , by the laudable exertions of thc London , country , foreign ,

and military lodges in particular , and the benevolent in general , in support of the charity , thc kind and liberal views of the governors will speedily be realized . Thc members of the Ancient Craft may then congratulate themselves on having provided ( chiefly by their own efforts ) a comfortable asylum

for thc infant sons of their deceased and indigent brethren , in which they may be preserved from the dangers of vice , and furnished with such a portion of useful and religious knowledge as will qualify them to fill , with advantage to themselves and credit to the Craft , those situations in life in which it shall please divine providence to place them .

It was not , however , until 1857 , that a school-house was provided for the children , and then only upon such a limited scale as to accommodate but twenty-five boys . Increased exertions , however , soon reaped a golden reward , and as thc sympathies of

the Craft in thc proper maintenance of the school became generally aroused , it was resolved to extend thc benefits of the Institution . The result was that in 1 S 65 thc present noble building , which is really a credit to thc Masonic body , was formally inaugurated , and we believe no less than 200 children can be received therein pro-

The Royal Masonic Institution For Boys.

vided the necessary funds for their support can be obtained from the liberality of the brethren in England . The expense of constructing an edifice

so admirably adapted for the objects required , and one which combines architectural excellence with every internal comfort ,

was , as might have been reasonably anticipated , large in proportion to the resources of the Institution .

But when we consider that in building the palatial structure at Wood Green , the committee of the school were bound to pay deference to the taste of tlie age , and the

undoubted importance of the Masonic Fraternity , it may be fairly held that they were justified in the expenditure incurred ,

and that in their decision upon this point thc public reputation of the Craft was to a great extent involved .

The committee felt that they were in a certain sense trustees for posterity ; it was their belief that the building to be erected under their supervision ought to be one of

a permanent character , likely to endure to future ages , a monument of the wise prevision of its founders , the Freemasons of thc nineteenth century . We are not

advocates for extravagance , and there may unquestionably have been items in the building account of thc Boys' School to which brethren have fairly taken exception . Still ,

setting aside possible errors of judgment , the broad fact remains that the English Craft now possess in the " Royal Masonic Institution for Boys" a building in which

they can take both pride and pleasure ; and it is , we hold , the duty of every brother to assist in establishing it upon a secure and permanent basis .

In this cause , the Heir Apparent to the British Crown will plead on Wednesday next ; to effect this most desirable object he will for thc first time appeal to English

Masons , and we know that thc appeal will not be made in vain , as the long list of Stewards recorded in our advertising columns will amply testify . And here wc may make

a most gratifying announcement , namely , that Her Most Gracious Majesty thc Queen , who has ever been a most liberal patron ofthe Institution , will signalise the occasion

by contributing thc munificent sum of ONE HUNDRED GUINEAS . Under such royal patronage , and aided by the great and good

men of the Order , who can doubt the result of the coming festival or fail to discern that it will prove a triumphant success ?

To the zealous managers of the Institution , and especially to the indefatigable Secretary , Bro . Frederick Binckes , wc must pay a due tribute of praise for thc herculean

exertions they have made to free the school from debt , ancl wc arc sure that one of the most cherished objects of their hearts will be realised when "His Royal Highness the

Prince of Wales , Past Grand Master , " riscsto announce , as Chairman of thc festival of 1 S 70 , that debt , ancl difficulty and danger ,

shall no longer impede the progress and prosperity of "TlIE ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR BOYS . "