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To ADVERTISERS . THE Circulation of THE F REEMASON being now at the rate of nearly Haifa-million per annum , it offers peculiar facilities to all who advertise . It is well known that the Fraternity of Freemasons is a large and constantly increasing body , mainly composed of the influential and educated classes of society ; and as The Freemason is now the accepted organ of the Brotherhood in the United Kingdom , and also enjoys an extensive sale in the colonies and foreign parts , its advantages as an advertising medium can scarcely be overrated . For terms apply to GEORGE KENNING , 2 , 3 , St . 4 , LITTLE BRITAIN , LONDON , E . C .

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NOTICE , The Subscription to THE FREEMASON is now 10 s . per annum , post-free , payable in advance . Vol . I ., bound in cloth 4 s . 6 d . Vol . II ., ditto 7 s . 6 d . Reading Cases to hold 52 numbers ... 2 s . 6 d .

Births Marriages And Deaths..

Births Marriages and Deaths ..

—*—BIRTH . WICKINS . —On the 19 th inst ., at Dulwich , the wife of Bro . Henry White Wickins , of a daughter . DEATH . WATSON . —On the iSth inst ., at Linwood , aged 53 years , Bro . James Watson , M . M . of Lodges Thistle ( 87 ) and Clyde ( 408 ) , member of St . Andrew's R . A . Chapter No . 69 ; late ol 38 , Carnarvon-street , Glasgow .

Answers To Correspondents.

Answers to Correspondents .

All communications for THE FREEMASON should be written legibly on ont 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 .

J . M . A . —Nearly every Grand Lodge but that of England adds the 4004 to the vulgar era to complete the "Annus Mundi , " or " Annus Lucis , " the year of light . The "Ancients" in England formerly used the same mode of computation . D . MACFARLANE . —The lodge "LaTolerance , " No . 538 , was formerly composed chiefly of French brethren , but it is not so now , and we cannot point to any lodge in the metropolis as being distinctively French in its membership . At 71 , Dean-street , Soho , you might get information on the subject . A READER . —Write to the Grand Recorder , Brother R . Wentworth Little , 7 , St . Martin ' s-road , Stockwell , S . W . LEX . —Pay no attention to the ill-conditioned fellow . There is no Masonic society in England which meets contrary to law , the enactment to which he refers having been superseded by one subsequently passed to prohibit Orange meetings .

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BOOKS RECEIVED . "History of Furness , " Part 4 ; J . Richardson , Times Office , Barrow-in-Furness . Proceedings of the Grand Chapter of New York . Proceedings of tlie Grand Chapter of Ohio .

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The Freemason , SATURDAY , J ANUARY 28 , 1871 . THE FREKMASON it published on Saturday Mornings in time for tne early trains . . . k ^ riminn ° f T F * I 1 tB . ? Twopence per week ; annual iufcscription , 10 s . ( payable in advance ) . All communications , letters , & c ., to be addressed to the EDITOR . 9 , 3 , aud 4 , Little lintain , E . C . wT « M « u ^"_ . «_ , tf / , Car' ' . ful a " eBlion . toal 1 MSS ' "trusted to him JJU eanaot undertake to return them unless accompanied by postage

Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution.

ROYAL MASONIC BENEVOLENT INSTITUTION .

CHARITY is again our theme ; afod the immediate object of our solicitude is the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution . Having said thus much , it may easil y be

Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution.

conjectured that the approaching Festival in aid of distressed Masons and the widows of poor Masons is the foundation of our present remarks , and of our desire to enlist the sympathies of our readers .

Some time ago , a French contemporary , the Monde Maconnique , whose voice is now unhappily silenced by the sterner notes of

war , observed , with reference to English Freemasons , that their charity was a system well organised and ably administered . Our contemporary , if we remember rightly ,

deprecated spasmodic efforts , snd commended the " long pull , the strong pull , and the pull altogether , " which had produced such creditable and lasting results

as the great Masonic Institutions of England . And , undoubtedly , the Monde Maconnique had reason on its side , because the education and nurture of destitute or

orphan children , and the permanent shelter and sustenance afforded to the aged , in those institutions far outweigh , in actual good to the recipients , any mere transient

relief to the needy , on however profuse or extensive a scale it may be . Not that we are disposed to discredit the practice of ready assistance of a temporary nature to

those who really require it ; but at the same time it cannot be disguised that more money is wasted on impostors and undeserving objects than would suffice to keep

one hundred more children in our schools , or as many annuitants on the funds of our Benevolent Institution . There is , however , another aspect to the question , and we

allude to it with regret , that more than four-fifths of the Craft in England do not contribute at all to any ofthe noble foundations established by their forefathers . Nay ,

some are content to apply for the benefits of those Institutions without ever having thought of them in more prosperous dayswithout ever having sympathised in the

sorrows , or really commiserated the distress of their aged brethren or of the widow and the orphan . Can we wonder , therefore , that many of the subscribers .

justly indignant at so lamentable an apathy , would fain exclude from the temple of charity those who have never sacrificed upon its beneficent altar ? Can we wonder ,

although we may not agree with them on principle , that many are anxious to restrict the benefits of our institutions to those who have subscribed to their funds

or who have shown , in better days , a practical interest in their welfare . Were it not for the comprehensive nature of Freemasonry , and the glorious catholicity of its

creed , the derelictions of duty manifested by many nominal Masons would recoil upon their own heads in the hour of penury and want . But , fortunately for

them , the ample cloak of charity covers their sins of omission , and all are allowed to participate in the advantages of education and maintenance for

their children , as well as sustenance for themselves , although , as we have already intimated , they have really no claim to the support of the Craft beyond the natural

Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution.

sympathy which is ever evoked in generous minds by tales of misery and misfortune . Still we are glad to record that of

late years great interest has been taken by many members of the Fraternity in the welfare of our charities . The increasing number of Stewards at each successive

Festival , with the augmented subscriptions on their lists , may be accepted as a healthy sign of progress ; but we shall not be

satisfied until the responsibilities of Freemasonry are brought home so forcibly to the breast of every brother that all " who profess and call themselves Masons " shall be

found eager to help the good work by fairly contributing according to their means . The Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution was , as many of our readers are aware ,

established with the view of providing an asylum for the veterans of the Craft in old age , and the widows of such brethren as had died in straitened circumstances . At

a later period a scheme for granting annuities to a similar class of deserving persons was promulgated under official sanction ,

and eventually the Asylum and Annuity Funds were amalgamated , with the happiest results .

On behalf of this invaluable charity a Festival is held annually , under the presidency of some distinguished Mason who has attained high honours in the Order .

This year the Right Worshipful Brother Colonel Francis Burdett , Provincial Grand Master for Middlesex , has undertaken the onerous but pleasing task of representing

the aims and claims of the Benevolent Institution at the usual Festival , which will be held on the 3 rd February ; and it is very gratifying to be able to announce

that the Stewards ranged under the Right Worshipful Brother ' s banner upon that occasion will number more than one hundred . We therefore anticipate a great

success for the Institution , and we know that the most praiseworthy exertions are being made to secure it . And when we consider how many deserving old Masons

are sheltered and secured from wanthow many widows are aided in like manner—few words are required to commend the cause to the warmest support of the

brethren ; but even at the risk of harping upon one string , let us advise those who are already subscribers to the various Masonic Charities to urge the imperative necessity

of subscribing upon all brethren in their respective lodges who may have been previously oblivious of the truism that

Freemasonry has its duties as well as its privileges , and that one ofthe highest , the holiest duties of a Mason is to do good to the household of the faithful .

There can be but few of us , however young in Masonry , who have not witnessed many strange vicissitudes and changes of fortune amongst our friends and

acquaintances ; there can be but few of us who have not passed hours in the house of mourning , as well as in the chambers of rejoicing . Young as we may bc , grief and