Stewards' Lists.

against a lodge or Province from which we had hoped much or , peradventure , the said lodge or Province is absent altogether . But we are easily reconciled to the small return , or no return whatever , when , on the olher hand , wc meet with half-a-dozen big figures , or it may be more , the appearance of which was never dreamt of in our every day philosophy . We are aware there is nothing very original in this statement , but it is

everybod y ' s experience at almost every Festival , nor is it in human nature to hel p being sanguine as to certain things which , as it happens in the long run , do not take place at all , or are only in part realised , or hesitant in certain other things , which seem to come off almost as a matter of course . Thus as regards Wednesday ' s celebration , we had some misgivings as to the result . We knew there were causes at work which wore nol favourable to a very big total . But a big total has come nevertheless , not

so big as the one wc had the pleasure ot welcoming last year , but big enough lo place the result second among Bro . Terry ' s achievements for the Benevolent Institution , and third in order nmong the successes which have attended the Festivals of all three Charities . The result has been received with a general waving of hats and handkerchiefs and cheers all round , and we must hope that similar misgivings , should they overtake us in reference to future Anniversaries , will be disposed of by similar and equally well-founded displays of enthusiasm .

But our attention must be given to tne details of a result which has given such general satisfaction . The total , as announced by Bro . Terrv , was , in round figures , - £ 14 . 864 , or , as we make it , ^ 14 . 854 16 s ., the difference , however , being of no material account . In raising this sum , there were engaged the services of a Board of Stewards numbering 27 6 , of whom 146 acted for lodges and chapters in thc London district , and the other 130 for lodges and chapters in 31 out of the 45 provinces , & c . Thc former

section of the Board raised amongst them ^ S gfii 13 s . 6 d . ; while from the Provinces there came £ 5 8 93 2 s . 6 d . . ' This gives an average per list for London of about £ 61 , and lor the country of £ 45 ; while the average for London and country taken together is , in round figures , ^ 54 per list . This is excellent , and it would take us more time than we could well spare to discover where the all-round average has been higher than , or , indeed , so high as it was on Wednesday .

As regards London , there were 124 brethren representing amongst them 1 ifi Lodges and 9 Chapters , one companion acting in behalf of two chapters and one brother for the lodge and chapter attached lo it , while two of lhe lodges had each two representatives , the remaining 22 Stewards acting independent !}' . On turning to last year ' s analysis , it will be found that there were fewer London stewards by iS on Wednesday than there were last year ,

the return being , as nearly as possible , £ 1000 less—^ , ' 8961 , as against _ £ ( _) S 5 > There might , perhaps , have been a greater falling off had it not been for the three-figure lists , which , il " they are not more numerous than we have known them at previous festivals of this Institution , are in several cases exceptionally heavy ones . Thus th 6 Southwark Lodge , No . S 79 , which thanks to the energy of its representative , Bro . Walter Martin , and

the generous support he received , occupies the first place as regards amount , is entered for £ 450 , while in February last the Earl of Carnarvon Lodge , No . 1642 , which obtained the position of honour , did so by the aid of two Stewards , Mrs . Cama and Bro . F . C . Frye , who raised between them close on ^ 417 . Again in 1 SS 5 there was a great gap between the Earl of Carnarvon and the next highest lodge , Prosperity , No . 65 ,

which raised , per Bro . C . J . Rich , over £ 242 . On Wednesday , Bro . Martin had Bro . J . C . Flattely , of the Eccleston Lodge , No . 1 ( 124 , pressing close at his heels with another heavy total amounting to . £ 400 , while the Earl of Carnarvon , No . 1642 , per Bro . James Bartle raised £ " 250 , and the Great Northern , No . 12 S 7 , per Bro . C . Kempton , £ " 210 . The noble Chairman handed in a list of / 20 S 7 s ., of which = ; o his

guineas (^ 52 10 s . ) was own personal donation , and then there comes quite a small regiment of 21 Stewards , each of whom was so fortunate as to contribute £ loa or more towards swelling Bro . Terry ' s returns . These brethien and the lodges or chapters , if any , which they severally represented are as follow : the Victoria Park Lodge , No . 1816 , per Bro . C . N . Carrell , £ 15 6 17 s . fid . ; the Corinthian , No . 1382 , per Bro . J . Carnaby ,

£ 155 ; and the Empire Lodge , No . 210 S , which was consecrated only a few months since , and now by the hands of Bro . C . W . Eves , contributes the very handsome list of £ 154 17 s , fid . The Egyptian Lodge , No . 27 , per Bro . E . Bentley-Haynes , and the Merchant Navy , No . 7 S 1 , per Bro . ] . H . Pringle , tie for next place with £ 150 each to their credit , and then ' follow the City of London , No . 901 , with / " 141 15 s ., per Bro . H . Harbord ;

Prosperity Chapter , No . 6 5 , which , thanks to Comp . C . Daniel , is only a fraction behind with , £ 141 5 s . ; Temperance in the East , No . 8 9 S , contributing per Bro . G . Sidders , £ ' 136 ios . ; Bro . James Terry , who , in the midst of his general labours , seems to have found time enough to make up the very good list of , £ 135 ; the Abbey Lodge , No . 2030 , which continues in the path it marked out for itself at starting , and contributes per W . H . Baker , £ 126 ;

the St . Paul ' s Lodge , No . 194 , with £ 123 7 s . 6 . per Bro . Chas , Hunt ; the Burgoyne , No . 902 , which is entered for £ 1 20 iSs ., Bro . J . C . Cross having done duty as il . s Steward ; the University Lodge , No . illS , which by the hands of Bro . thc Rev . II . R . Cooper-Smith , contributes £ 119 3 s . ( 3 d . ; and the Friends in Council , per Bro . T . B . Purchas , and the St . Peter , Westminster , No . 1537 , per Bro . A . H . Robinson , the two contributing the same

amount precisely , namely , ^ 115 ios . each . Then comes a last group , composed of St . John ' s Lodge , No . 167 , Bro . Edwin Storr , Steward , £ iofi is ; the Domatic , No . 177 , whose W . M . Bro . H . Nelson Price , has further signalised the centenary celebration of the other day by raising ^ 105 193 . for the Old People ; the Wanderers Lodge , No . 1604 , which has often figured on these occasions , and on Wednesday

handed in , per Bro . Geo . Boulton , £ 105 ios . ; Bro . II . 13 . Marshall , P . G . Treasurer , unattached , and Comp . James Willing , jun ., candidate for the Grand Treasurershi p last year , and now Steward for the Metropolitan and Royal Savoy Chapters , Nos . 1507 and 1744 respectively , each of whom appears for £ 105 , and the Yarborough Lodge , No . 534 , which closes the procession wilh a round ^ 100 , its representative havinc ' been Bro . Hugh

Colter . It may seem a slight matter to notice onl y the more prominent lists , but no one knows better than Bro . Terry how far a compact little array of such returns goes in swelling his general total to the required dimensions . The jfi lists we have specified make up together only a few pounds less than £ 4200 . However , small sums tell as the big ones do , and

there is , to the credit of London be it said , a very good return all round , and from all kinds of lodges—those liigh on the roll , those of recent creation , and those which occupy a middle place between our senior and junior lodges : even the newly-constituted United Northern Connlies Lodge , No . 212 S , contributing a very appreciable mite of 30 guineas ( £ 3 1 ios . ) to lhc Benevolent . However , all that sent up Stewards laboured , we may be sure ,

Stewards' Lists.

to the best of their ability , and it will be found thai many , which figure for small amounts only , make up for it by giving often .

THE PROVINCES . Having completed our review of the London contributions , we pass to those from the country districts , and , speaking again in general terms , we may set clown the result , as far as they are concerned , as satisfactory . There are Festivals at which the aggregate of the provincial lists has been hi gher , and the array of provincial Stewards stronger in the sense of having been

more numerous . But having regard to the total , we think it will be found lhat the Provinces have borne their due part in the labour , and are deserving , therefore , of a due share of the credit Of the total number of Slewerds , 130 hail from the Provinces , and thc sum they have raised amongst them is xo . ) - 2 s . fid . These 130 Stewards represent 31 out of the 45 Provinces or districts into which the non-Metropolitan section of the

Cralt in England and adjacent parts is mapped , 43 of these disuicts being organised as Provinces , while one—the Isle of Man—is in course of being so organised , and the other—the Channel Islands—is without any local government . On comparing these figures with previous anniversary analyses , we find the number of Provinces represented is an average one , while as regards the 14 absentees , all of them have lent a helping hand at some

Festival or other , the majority navinir done their duty by our Institutions manfully . Thus Cumberland and Westmoreland ( 20 lodges ) has done good service for the Boys' School , while Leicestershire and Rutland ( 12 lodges ) has distributed its support with praiseworthy impartiality amongst all three Charities . Herefordshire ( 4 lodge ) , we regret to say , does little , and Lincolnshire ( 22 lodges ) , though nothing loath to avail ilsell of lhe

benefits conferred by our Schools and Benevolent Funds , is by no means liberal in die support it vouchsafes them . It has , or had , quite recently , four children in the Girls' School , six children in the Boys' School , and four male and three female annuitants on the Benevolent Institution ; while , per contra , it gave 50 guineas to the Boys' School in 1884 , and 8 5 guineas to the Benevolent in 1 SS 3 . It may seem harsh to find fault with a Province

because it receives so large a measure of support from our Institutions , yet no one will say we have exaggerated the position occupied by Lincolnshire towards our Charities , and the Province must pardon us for suggesting that it is time it turned over a new leaf b y doing one of two things , either ( 1 ) by giving more freely , or ( 2 ) by laking less . Monmouthshire ( 8 lodges ) was represented at the Boys' School in 1884 ,

its total on the occasion being £ 307 13 s ., and in 18 S 3 , at the Benevolent and Girls' School Festivals , its list for thc former amounting to £ 200 , and for the latter to £ 61 8 s . Cd . Norfolk ( 16 lodges ) raised , £ 200 for the Girls last year , and Northants and Hunts ( 10 lodges ) over £ ^ 213 for the Boys' School in 1 S 8 4 . Northumberland ( 21 lodges ) figured at the Boys' Festival in 1 SS 3 for over /' 1200 , and contributed to the

same Institution close on £ 16 3 in 1 S 85 . South Wales , Eastern Division ( 16 lodges ) gave £ 200 to the Girls and a like sum to the Boys in 1 SS 3 . and £ 160 to the Girls and £ ^ 200 to the Boys in 1 SS 4 ; while South Wales , West Division ( 10 lodges ) raised £ jo for the Benevolent in 1 SS 5 , and £ 262 ios . I ' or the Girls the previous year . Wills ( 10 lodges ) sent up . Stewards at four out of the six Festivals in 1 S 84 and 18 S 5 ; while both

the Channel Islands ( five lodges ) and Jersey ( seven lodges ) have given a generous support to the Benevolent on previous occasions . The Isle of Man ( five lodges ) is too remote for us to expect that it should figure in these Returns ; but , possibly , when its Prov . Grand Lodge is organised , it may now and then send up a Steward , whose list , we need hardly assure our Manx

friends , will always be most welcome . 1 his completes the absentee list , and from the particulars wc have furnished , it will be evident that in nearly every case the Provinces which figure in it arc not unmindful of the duly they owe to our Charities . The list of represented Provinces begins well .

BEDFORDSHIRE Has never hitherto had the opportunity of figuring in these returns as a Province , though on more than one occasion we have taken the liberty of pointing out that an occasional contribution from one or more of its five lodges would be very welcome . However , it has lost no time in entering an appearance since receiving a provincial organisation , Bro . R . 13 . Stafford ,

of the Stuart Lodge , No . 540 , Bedford , handing in a list of £ 53 12 s . This is a neat little beginning , and Col . Stuart , the P . G . M ., must be gratified at finding that the lodge which bears his name has set so excellent an example to its sister lodges . We have little doubt the latter will sooner or latter take a leaf out of the book of the Stuart Lodge . Four ot the 2 J lodges in

BERKS AND BUCKS Figure in the Returns for Wednesday , the lodges represented being Nos . 209 ( Windsor ) , 94 S ( Linslade ) , 1101 ( Reading ) , and 1770 ( Faringdon ) , thesum of their lists being ^ 159 lis . 66 . Last year it distributed close 011 £ fioo among

the three Institutions ( R . M . B . I ., £ 207 ; R . M . I . G ., £ 242 ; and R . M . I . B ., _ £ l 49 ) , while in 1 SS 4 it raised £ 4 6 4 , each ot the Charities being in turn assisted , though the Benevolent Institution had the lion ' s share ( £ 233 ) , Considering the Province is not , Masonically , a strong one , there can be no doubt about the loyalty of our Berks and Bucks friends .

BRISTOL , With its eight lodges , does good service every now and then , thc Institution which finds most favour with the brethren being the R . M . B . I ., to which it contributed £ 217 in 1883 , £ 293 in 1 SS 4 , and nearly _ £ Co last year , when the Boys' School also received a sum of £ 115 . On Wednesday Bro .

P . Harris , for the whole Province , and Bro . W . Purnell , who was Steward at each of the four Festivals we have specified , handed in together £ 318 ins ., Bro . Harris being responsible for £ 300 5 s ., and Bro . Purnell for the balance , This gives a total thus far for the last four years of over ^ 1000 , and an average per year of £ 250 ,

CAMnRIDGESIIIRF , Now has six lodges , and seems resolved on figuring in the returns regularly at one at least ol our anniversary celebrations . The Girls' School had the benefit of its support in 1 SS 3 , when a total was forthcoming of , £ 128 . In 18 . 8 4 the Wood Green Institution had its turn to the extent of £ 174 and On

, in 1 S 83 the Benevolent received over ^ Jiofi . Wednesday ihe two Stewards , Bros . Papworth and Welchman , made up a total of £ 143 . The lists at these several Festivals amount together to £ 55 1 , and there is the chance of its being very appreciably increased belore the year is out . The returns from

CHESHIRE , Considering it has as many as 38 lodges on its roll , are seldom formidable , but as we have stated times out of number , it has an Educational Institute of its own , nor can we blame our Cheshire brethren In" recognising the truth of the old saying that "Charity begins at home . " Its own people