Festival Of The Mark Benevolent Fund.

was pleased to occupy the post of Chairman , because he knew he was helping to promote the success of the Mark Benevolent Fund , which all the company present had so much at heart . When the Grand Secretary came to announce the Stewards ' lists he hoped that they would exceed all previous lists , and if it was so no one in the room would be more deli ghted than the Chairman of the evening . He took that opportunity of congratulating Lord Euston on having been promoted to the position of Deputy Grand Master . The brethren would all agree with him that they had the right man in the ri ght place , for no one would fill the office better .

The toast having been heartil y honoured , the Earl of EUSTON said he could not forget that he was comparativel y a young Mason , and had been but a few years in the Order . He could , however , say one thing , that since he had been a Mason he had followed up Masonry with the greatest eagerness . He had found since he had been in the Order that he had been received with that welcome and good feeling which should pervade all Masonry in this country and all

over the world . It was a great and glorious thing to feel that when one got up and said a few words about Masonry a most hearty response was given by all the brethren who wished success to the Craft . For himself he could say that his sole object in Masonry was the advancement of benevolent funds . He had very often before said , and he repeated it now , that he could never thank the brethren too heartily for the kindness with which they had always received him . He

only hoped they might never ask him to assist in any good work that he mi ght not be able to accede to ; whenever it was in his power to assist , it would give him the greatest possible pleasure to do so . He was sure that the Grand Secretary would presently tell them that the Mark Degree was rapidly increasing , that there were many applications for new lodges in the past year , for there were still many coming in . The Mark Degree had established itselfand it would compare

, well with other Degrees . Before he sat down he wished to kill two birds with one stone . He had next to propose "The Grand Officers of Grand Mark Lodge , Present and Past . " There were many of those brethren present , brethren who had over and over again served the office of G . Steward and had contributed largely to the funds . Not onl y had they done so with their money on behalf of Charity , but by their presence and by their work in

the different provinces they belonged to they had added to and increased the numbers of the Mark Degree , and brought it to that hi gh standard which all Mark Masons ought to maintain . If they had not officers to work like that the chance was that so good a result would not follow ; the lodges instead of increasing would decrease , and the festivals instead of becoming more successful year by year would dwindle away to a very small thing . Therefore he thought every

brother would wish most heartily prosperity , long life , and success to every Grand Officer present . He should call upon one to respond who had been latel y admitted to the ranks , and whom he ( Lord Euston ) had the pleasure of installing as Provincial Grand Master of Devonshire—Sir Stafford Northcote—one who showed signs that he would be what his father was before him —( cheers)—a good man , a true man , and a thorough Englishman .

Bro . Sir STAFFORD NORTHCOTE , Prov . G . M . of Devonshire , in replying , said he had not , till the last few seconds , had the sli ghtest suspicion that he had any personal interest in the toast otherwise than that which he enjoyed in common with every one else . In appreciating the toast just submitted by his lordship to the company , and which they had drunk with so much kindness , he must confess it did not occur to him that he should take the responsible position of replying to

the toast , and he felt great diffidence in replying for two reasons ; in the first place , he supposed he was the youngest of the Grand Officers present . The Chairman had told them that his Masonic experiences were not of long duration , but his ( Sir S . Northcote ' s ) were of a shorter period , and it was difficult for him to respond in presence of so many who had done such great services to the Order . In the second place , he felt diffidence lest he should say too much . Masons were told to

guard certain secrets from the world , and he must confess that he never more admired the Masonic power of reticence than when he saw the temptations to which Masons were daily exposed . He might be tempted in responding to divulge some ^ secrets which mi ght have some moot , painful consequences ; but he must say that all round him there was an elaborate network of toasts . If he were to make any general remarks with regard to the Mark Benevolent Fund , or to any

thing which might have been confidentially said to them , he would incur the displeasure of a friend of his who had something to say on the subject . > Under the circumstances he took the refuge of public men to say as little as possible , and sit down with the cheerful confidence that they had in no way committed themselves . Yet he would say , on behalf of the Past and Present Grand Officersthat

, he thanked the company for drinking that toast in such a kind manner . It would be his endeavour , as a very young Mason and as a much younger Grand Officer , to follow the footsteps of the Ri ght Worshipful brother in the chair , and should he ever be called upon again to respond to this toast , he hoped he should be able to feel that he had done something to merit the position .

Bro . J . H . WYNNE said , as one of the old Grand Officers who was present at the first of these festivals 21 years ago , he was pleased to be present on that occasion . He was also pleased to see such a gratifying assembly to witness the success of the Mark Benevolent Fund . He recollected on the first occasion that only about 50 were present , but now there were more than 200 . He sincerel y thanked the Chairman and all present for patronising so well the Benevolent Fund . He was one who had been mixed up with it many years , and he was thankful to see it so prosperous .

The Ear ] of EUSTON next said he felt a great deal of interest in putting the next toast before the company , a toast to which there was no response except the announcement of the Grand Secretary of what was the result of the Festival . They were met for one great object—that great object which characterised Freemasonry from the first moment brethren entered it until they were carried out of this world . Once a Mason , always a Mason , and that was what Masons were

most proud of . The ri ght and proper word used towards any Freemason was wholly and solely Charity , and the Charity they were now carrying on was such that they were proud of—they were doing good to those who belonged to the same Order , and to those who belonged to those who belonged to us ; to help their widows if they were so unfortunate as to be left in want ; to help their children to begin life with a good start if they could not do it with the means left

by the deceased brother . But they were also careful—and they were proud of being careful—to know that everyone who was relieved was thoroughly and wholl y entitled to the relief that they received . Now that was the great object to those who so liberally came forward to give their money , knowing that what they gave was thankfully received and faithfully applied , and he thought in this Mark Degree the administrators of that Fund could say it was absolutely faithfully

applied . The onl y expenses were the posting and printing circulars connected with it . They had no large building to keep up , no large salaries to pay , no salaries to persons to oversee head masters ; the whole of the money given to that Charity was absolutel y used in the way it was desired it should be used by those who gave it . It had begun as a very small thing , as everything must , and it had come up nowand he hoped it would increase year by year—to a sum to be proud of . It was not wasted . The first Festival was held in 1869 ; the late lamented Bro . Portal

took the chair . There were very few Stewards , but he believed that even then the ladies condescended to patronise it , and that Festival realised ^ , ' 97 2 s . 8 d . That was 21 years ago , and as luck , it was said , went in odd numbers , and seven was said to be a lucky number , he now onl y hoped with all his heart that , when the Grand Secretary informed them what he had got , the 21 st—or three times seven —year would prove to be a lucky number . When Lord Amherst presided two years ago the amount was ^ 2260 ; when Sir Lionel Darell presided the amount was , £ 2086 . Those were two hard records to beat , but he would not crow just

Festival Of The Mark Benevolent Fund.

now . In comparison with some Chanties there was nothing like the Masonic Charities . Money was not always given away as it was by that Fund . That Fund always gave it to real cases of distress . They were brought before the General Board , and thoroughly investigated . There was ^ ' 2900 invested , and year by year after these Festivals so much was added to the investments . The Educational Fund was another branch , and on that ^ 2400 was invested , and that

Fund was entirely used to educate children in the nei ghbourhood in which they resided , which was an enormous advantage , as they did not lose the influence of their parents . Great pains were taken to ascertain that the schools they went to were proper schools . The fees were paid by the Fund , and the children got £$ each per annum for their clothing . Notwithstanding that the Fund was gradually having every year money invested . Another branch of the Charity

was the Annuity Fund . It is one , he thought , which they ought to look to a great deal , because those who had been among the brethren and had done good service to the Order in their times of prosperity , both by subscribing and by being Stewards , if from unforeseen circumstances like depression of trade or failure of commercial enterprise they got into distress , when their cases were looked into , and it was found that they had done their work honestly at the time , got an

annuity , and perhaps they were able to start afresh if they were young enough , but if not there was the annuity for them . It might be interesting to know that they had 13 or 14 boys and 13 girls at present being educated by that Fund till they were 16 years of age , and if they successfully came out at the end of their education the Fund gave them a start in life . There were seven men and one lady annuitant at the present moment on the Fund , at the

rate of £ 26 a year for the men and £ 21 for the ladies , with ^ 5 given them at Christmas to make a festive season of it and be comfortable . He trusted that what the General Board did would meet with the approval of the supporters of the Fund , and would induce them to assist it in the future as they had in the past . He trusted that they would come up for many years to support the Fund . No applicant who came before the General Board who was well and properly

recommended had ever yet been refused since the Fund was started 21 years ago , and it was due to those who had helped the Fund from the beginning . Every case that was not worthy or that was found unsound was refused , and he did not think any brother would blame the General Board for doing so . If they knew how endeavours were made to get money from it—how the Board did not countenance Masons who came into Masonry for the one sole object of some

day applying for Charity , he thought they would commend the Board for their discretion . They wished to give to those who were thoroughly worthy , but they did not asist those who wished to be relieved over and over again ; they always gave to cases of real distress—to cases where the man had done good service to the Mark Degree . He would not sit down without one more word . He must thank those Lady Stewards who had honoured the Fund b y becoming Stewards

this year for the first time . By doing that they were encouraging the gentlemen . They also encouraged them by their presence . He asked their support in the future , and he was certain of one thing , that it would be a great benefit in the future if they could get ladies to assist them . Some ladies pooh-poohed Masonry as they pooh-poohed many other things —( laughter)—but he was sure when they saw what Masons did they

would be inclined to come forward , because they were at the bottom of their hearts more charitable than most men . There was one more branch of the Fund he had forgotten to allude to , and they need not say much about it , but he could assure the company that ^ 400 per annum was given away in small sums to assist Mark Masons who were in temporary difficulty , if they were properly brought forward and recommended . On all those grounds that toast deserved hearty

reception . He trusted the Fund was founded on a rock ; it had grown from ^ 90 to over . £ 2000 per annum , and if it went on increasing like that for the next seven years , whoever mig ht occupy the chair then if he obtained £ 3000 , he should be very glad . But let them take care to get good and true men into the Order who would keep up the Charity . The Grand Secretary , who was Secretary of the

Fund before he was Grand Secretary , took great interest in the Fund . The Fund was carried out at less expense than any charitable institution in the country . He gave the toast of "Success to the Mark Benevolent Fund , " and he hoped it would go on increasing by thousands . Bro . MATIER then read the following STEWARDS' LISTS .

LADY STEWARDS . £ s . d . The Marchioness of Hertford „ Viscountess Valentia ... „ Lady Eleanor Harbord ... 5 5 ° „ Lady Agnes Cooper ... 5 5 ° „ Lady Darell 5 5 ° „ Lady Hanson

Mrs . G . P . Airey ( see Bro . Capt . G . P . Airey ) ... „ R . Berridge 16 5 o „ A . B . Cook 5 5 ° „ A . R . Carter „ Samuel Kelly ( see Bro . Kelly )

„ Sim 5 5 ° „ C . J . Knightley 5 5 ° „ C . Fitzgerald Matier ... 5 5 ° „ Frederick Mead 660

„ John Ramsey 5 5 o „ George Rice 5 5 ° „ Alfred Williams 5 5 ° „ Gordon Miller ... Miss Berridge 5 5 °

„ Darell „ Kelly ( see Bro . Kelly ) ... „ Cleeves 220 „ Sim

GENERAL BOARD . Bro . the Right Hon . the Earl of Euston , D . G . M ., ( see Grand Master's Lodge ) „ Lieut .-Col . A . B . Cook 15 15 o

„ Frank Richardson ... 21 o o „ Right Hon . Viscount Dungarvan 3 * 3 ' 5 ° „ W . C . Gilles ( see Grand Stewards' Lodge ) ... „ Robt . Berridge 17 ' 7 ° r , pnrffp P . nrmi ^ r .. ... ^ K O

„ Rev . Hayman Cummings ( see Kent ) „ C . H . Driver ( see Old Kent Lodge ) „ Gordon Miller ( see Hants and Isle of Wight ) ... „ A . R . Carter 5 5 ° „ C . Belton ( see Middlesex and Surrey )

„ A . F . Godson , M . P . ( see Worcestershire ) „ James Moon „ Alfred Williams ... 15 15 °

LONDON . £ s . d . Lodge Grand Master ' s Bro . the Earl of Euston ... 146 5 o Grand Stewards' Bro . W . C . Gilles 660 Bon Accord ( T . I . ) Bro . W . G .

Lemon 15 15 o Old Kent ( T . I . ) Bro . C . H . Driver 17 17 o 1 Bro . Horatio H . Shirley ... 30 9 o 8 „ H . Von ) oel 24 13 6 22 „ G . W . Marsden , jun . 550 22 „ W . Klingenstein ... 550

363 „ P . de Lande Long ... 27 5 o 363 „ Frank Richardson ( see Gen . Board ) 406 „ Major C . W . Carrell 550

410 „ Richard Glasspool ... 35 14 o 415 „ Major Baker .., 15 15 o UNATTACHED . Bro . Jabez Church 5 5 ° Augustus Harris ... 10 10 o

„ „ Henry Massey ... „ H . Carman 5 5 ° „ Rudolph G . Glover ... 10 iu u ., John Ramsey 5 5 "

„ R . L . Andrews 5 5 0 „ W . Vincent 5 6 u „ J . H . Matthews 10 10 o „ Lennox Browne ... ... 10 10 o „ Major J . T . Ritchie ... „ Major Geo . Lambert ... 550

THE PROVINCES . BERKS AND OXON . f The Earl of Jersey 220 Province < Viscount Valentia 220 ( . John Tomkins ... 10 10 o

Lodge 55 Bro . P . Colville Smith ... 7 7 o 55 „ Rev . R . W . M . Pope 550 22 5 „ Sidney Payne ... 10 10 o 235 „ C . Higatt Tench ... 17 o 0 247 „ Capt . G . P . Airey ... " ) 247 „ W . H . Scary . ; . £ ¦ 22 11 o 247 ,, Edward Home , M . D . ) CORNWALL .

S 7 Bro . Nicholas J . West ... 550 CUMBERLAND & WESTMORLAND . 213 Bro . Rev . Jas . Anderson 21 o 0