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CONTENTS . UADHR— PAGE The Benevolent Elections ... ... ... •••... 3 ° 9 Masonic Jurisprudence ... ... ... ' ... ... •••3 'o Great Priory of the United Religious and Military Orders of the Temple ... 3 " Annual Meeting- of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution ... ... 3 < 3 Provincial Grand Lodge of East Lancashire ... ... ... •¦•3 ' 4

M ASONIC NOTESAnnual Meeting of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Ei » t Lancashire ... 317 Consecration of the Cavendish Chapter , No . 2 G 20 ... ... ... 3 ' 7 Warwickshire Masonic Benevolent Festival ... . •. ... 3 > 7 The Benevolent Elections ... ... ... ... — 3 ?

Correspondence ... ... ... ... '¦•••••3 > S Reviews ... ... ••¦ — — — •••3 » 3 Ouebec Masonry ... ... ... ... ••••••3 * 3 Provincial Grand Chapter of Suffolk ... ... ... ... 3 > 9 Craft Masonry ... ... ... ... — ¦••3 ' 9 Royal Arch ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 32 i Science , Art and the Drama ... ... ... ... ... 322 Board of Benevolence ... ... ... ... •••... 323 Masonic and General Tidings ... ... ... ... — 3 ^ 4

The Benevolent Elections.

THE BENEVOLENT ELECTIONS .

There was a full attendance at the Annual General Meeting of the Governors and Subscribers of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution on Friday , the 18 th instant . There was also during the time the poll for the election of candidates was open

a good deal of excitement , and the polling , as may well be imagined , was very heavy , more particularly in the case of the Men ' s Fund , for which the last successful candidate obtained his place with only a few votes short of 5000 , while of the two highest

unsuccessful , one was only six votes behind , and the other 43 . For the Women's Fund there were more candidates , and more to be elected , so that there the voting was spread over a larger area , and a total of 2182 votes sufficed to carry the 29 th

vacancy . For the MALE FUND there were 46 candidates and 20 annuitants , including the three

deferred , to be elected , London , which furnished nine of the former , being able to secure the election of only four ; while the Provinces and Districts Abroad had the satisfaction of electing 16 out of 37 . The p lace of honour at the head of the

poll was taken by an applicant from Egypt , who obtained 702 3 votes at his first attempt , the next in order being also a neiv case from the District oi Bengal , who scored 6886 votes . The third

vacancy fell to a London candidate , who brought forward 4039 votes from May , 18 99 , and had no great difficulty in increasing Ms total to 6068 votes . One of the two brethren from

Warwickshire , who had to his credit only 10 votes from his three previous ballots , was fourth , with 6014 votes , while London supplied another of its candidates with 5934 votes , and thereby secured for him the fifth place . The next in order was one of

three candidates from Kent , who started with 655 votes in hand , a » d finished the day with 5857 , while No . 7 , a new case from London , polled 5717 votes . The Cheshire brother , who broug ht forward 7 8 votes , polled in all 5 665 votes , one of three

candidates from West Yorkshire being close up at his first attempt with 5 621 votes . The brother from West Lancashire ) who was also a candidate for the first time , won the 10 th vacancy with 5576 votes , and the Western Division of South Wales carried the next p lace with 5552 votes , of which 2168

The Benevolent Elections.

votes were already in hand from three previous attempts , and 3384 were polled on this occasion ; another London brother , who had 4258 to his credit , securing a total of 5541 , and thus winning the 12 th place . The two remaining West Yorkshire

brethren were placed 13 th and 15 th , and polled 5535 and 5516 votes respectively ; and two of the three candidates from E . Lancashire were the 14 th and 16 th , the former obtaining 5530 votes , and the latter 54 8 7 , of which 265 already stood to his

credit . The Middlesex brother , with 2240 votes in hand , increased his poll to 5333 , and one of the Suffolk candidates , who brought forward 659 , was next with 5208 votes . Devonshire , which furnished two candidates , carried one with " 5106 votes , of

which 255 8 were brought forward ; and Somersetshire , which was also responsible for two candidates , brought up the rear with 4987 votes , and of these 39 61 were brought forward from the election in May , 1899 . The two highest Unsuccessful , who

each obtain a shareof thejohn Hervey Memorial Fund , polled 4981 and 4944 votes respectively , the former being one of the four candidates from Sussex and the latter from Oxfordshire , while the third Unsuccessful , who takes the £ 5 given by the

Emulation Lodge of Improvement , was also Sussex , and polled 4594 votes . There were two others from London and Cornwall , who obtained 3179 and 3237 votes respective ! }' , and three others whose poll exceeded 1000 votes . The votes brought forward

from the previous election numbered 25 , 275 , and those issued for Friday 142 , 027 , making a total of 167 , 302 available , but only 119 , 056 of the new votes passed the Scrutineers , so that there were 22 , 971 that were unused or spoilt . Of the 59 candidates approved in February last for the

WIDOWS' FUND , two died before the appointed day , and one was withdrawn , so that only 5 6 went to the poll , and of these 29 were elected , namely , 26 to immediate and three to deferred annuities . No . 1

on the list hailed from Malta , and polled at her first attempt 6075 votes ; Nos . 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , and 6 all with claims on London , receiving 5910 , 5715 , 5 620 , 5545 , and 5394 votes respectively , the highest of the group being a new candidate ,

while the other four had each of them a considerable number of votes already standing to their credit from May , 1 S 99 . Of the four widows with claims on Suffolk , one stood seventh on the poll with 53 iovotes , of which 1725 were obtained at the last election , and

another with two votes in hand secured the 19 th vacancy with 4233 votes . London supplied the eighth in order who increased his 915 from last year to 5281 , and Nottinghamshire the next with 5250 votes . No . 10 hailed from Victoria and totalled 5113

votes , of which 418 9 were brought forward ; No . n , from London , with 16 99 to the good , finishing up the clay with 5077 votes , and No . 12 , from Hertfordshire , polling at his first attempt 5026 votes . North and East Yorkshire furnished the next successful

candidate , who scored 4957 , and London ( lie two next who polled 4932 and 45 8 7 votes respectively , the former having 26 35 and the latter 712 to her credit at starting . The Gloucestershire widow with two votes to the good polled 4534 votes , and the candidate

from Leicestershire and Rutland 4529 votes , while West Yorkshire polled 4331 votes for its one candidate . One of four candidates from Kent was placed 20 th on the list with 410 = ;

votes , of which all but 271 were cast on this occasion , an Essex widow with 1317 votes to the good , being next with 4039 votes , and two Londoners , of whom one brought forward 1757 votes , and one was a new candidate came next in order