Contents.

CONTENTS .

L BADBRS— PAOR . The East Lancashire Educational and Benevolent Institution ... ... 35 Northumbrian Masonry ... ... ••¦ ••• 35 Grand Lodge Calendar ... ... ... ... — 36 Fourth Annual Ball of the Fellowship Lodge , No . 2535 ... ... ... 3 < 5

Masonic Service at AH Saints , Southport ... ••• ••¦ 37 Ladies' Banquet and Dance of the Eccleston Lodge , No . 1624 ...,, ... 37 Annual Supper of the Prosperity Lodge of Instruction , No . G 5 ... ... 38 Masonic Ball at Newbury ... ... •¦• ••• •¦• 3 Supreme Grand Chapter of England ( Agenda Paper ) „ . ... ... 38 Craft Masonry ... ... ... .. L ... ... 3 § MASONIC

NOTESAgenda Paper of Supreme Grand Chapter of England ... ... 41 Warwickshire Freemasonry ... ... ... ... ... 4 ' Death ol Bro . Alderman W . H . Marsden ... ... ... ... 4 ' Death of Bro . Henry Muggeridge ... ... ... . 4 Correspondence ... ... ... ... ... ... 42

Reviews ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 4 2 Craft Masonry ... ... ... ... ... ... 42 Royal Arch ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 44 Instruction ... ... ' ... ... ... ... ... 45 Obituary ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 45 Masonic and General Tidings ... ... ... -... ... 46

The East Lancashire Educational And Benevolent Institution.

THE EAST LANCASHIRE EDUCATIONAL AND BENEVOLENT INSTITUTION .

We have received copy of the annual report of the Finance and Audit Commiltee of the East Lancashire Systematic Masonic Educational and Benevolent Institution for last year , which will be submitted at the Annual General Meeting of the

Governors ancl Subscribers , to be held on the 27 th instant , and , on the whole , it would seem that the Institution has every reason ( 0 be satisfied with the proceedings of the past 12 months . There is a substantial reduction in the amount of income

received from Donations and Subscriptions ; but then it must be borne in mind that the Province lent a willing and generous hand in supporting the Boys' School Centenary , and , considering

that the total of its contributions to that anniversary fell onl y a vcry little short of £ 5800—a total which was exceeded onl y by that of the Province of West Yorkshire—it must

be gratnying to know that the diminution under this head , though , undoubtedly , as we have said , substantial , is restricted to about one-fourth part of the Donations and Subscriptions received in 1 S 97 . Thc Statement

of Account discloses the following facts : The total receipts in 18 9 8 including a balance of over ^ 1373 brought forward from 18 97 was , in round figures £ 3042 , thc Donations and Subscriptions reaching £ 1080 as compared with £ 1430 in 1 S 97 ,

while the income from investments was - £ 581 . The expenditure amounted to £ 2470 , of which £ 352—made up of , £ 247 for Grants for Relief and £ 105 Disbursements for Relief b y Almoners' Committee—was expended in Relief . The grants for

education reached £ 272 , the number of children benefited during the year being 32 , and in addition there was a grant of £ -0 for the advancement in life of one child . The sum paid in Annuities was £ 203 , the number of annuitants being 10 , and

there was a donation of 200 guineas ro the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys . The Establishment Charges reached - £ 159 ¦ •¦ " which £ 100 was paid to the Secretary for his services and £ -14 IOS . for printing annual reports , & c . fn addition , a sum of

0-r > o was invested in Ashton-under-Lyne Corporation Loan at 2 ' i per cent ., the balance remaining at the close of the account being between £ 572 and /^ 573 . The disburscmentsforrelief by the

Almoners' Committee amount , as we have said , to nearly , £ 105 , 1110 '• umber of cases relieved being 55 , as against 44 in 18 97 and 7- m 18 9 6 , while the number refused was 25 . This Committee

The East Lancashire Educational And Benevolent Institution.

in their report lay particular stress on the fact that " within "j ;{ ie last few months no fewer , than three impostors have been detected by the Sub-Almoner at Ashton-under-Lyne , and each of them convicted and imprisoned for obtaining relief under false

pretences , and your Committee have paid the solicitor ' s charges of - £ 4 4 s . for the prosecution . ' "' This statement , coupled with the fact that 25 out of a total of 80 applications for help were refused , shows that the Committee take every precaution

in ( he administration of the funds placed at their disposal by the Institution , and . that help is given only to those who are found , on inquiry to be worthy pf assistance . No system that has been , or can be devised , vviJl

have the effect of stamping out imposture , but it is well \ know that , in the second largest Province in England—which can boast of 113 lodges and between 4000 and 5000 subscribing members , relief is not administered indiscriminately , op

until the fullest inquiry has been made into the merits of the several cases brought to the notice of the Committee . We should like to see other Provinces taking similar precautions against impostors , nor is- there any reason to doubt that if a

general scheme , such as we have suggested in former articles , were adopted , the chances of successful raids upon the pockets of unwary brethren by Masonic vagrants would be reduced to a minimum . It remains ( or us to mention , as a further indication

of the sound financial position to which this East Lancashire Institution has attained , that its invested capital is of the nominal value of £ 18 , 78 7 , the cost price being upwards of - £ 20 . 000 . We congratulate the Province and the Executive of

the Institution on the prosperous condition of tlie Charity , and we trust our East Lancashire brethren , while not overlooking the claims of the great central Masonic Institutions , will continue to be as generous as heretofore in supporting their local Educational and Benevolent Charity .

Northumbrian Masonry*.

NORTHUMBRIAN MASONRY * .

The first two decades of the present century are among the most interesting periods of English Masonry , the earlier of the two , because the rivalry of the two bodies into which the Craft in this country was divided , though it was decidedly acute for

the first three or four years , became gradually less and less bitter ; and the later , because during its progress the negotiations for a union of the Societies , which vvere opened in 1810 , werc so successfully conducted , that on the 27 th December , 1813 ,

the " Ancient and " Modern Grand Lodges became one United Grand Lodge , under the presidency of H . R . H . the Duke of SUSSEX as M . W . Grand Master , and a new Book of Constitutions was compiled ; while in 1 S 17 the union of the two Grand

Royal Arch Chapters was accomplished , and English constitutional Masonry , in its two branches of Craft and Royal Arch , became , and have ever since remained , and , we trust , ever will remain , one and indivisible . Thus Chapter VII ., which treats of

the period from foot to 1813 , may be looked upon as not the least valuable section of Bro . STRACHAN ' compilation , containing , as it does , an admirable delineation of Northumbrian Masonry as it existed during those eventful years . This delineation is all the more valuable , because , though most brethren