The Royal Masonic Institution For Boys.

THE ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR BOYS .

It is evident , from a letter we published last week , and from information which has reached us from other quarters , that an attempt is being made by some lodges and brethren to hamper the action of the Provisional Committee , which has undertaken the heavy and responsible duty of placing the

administration of the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys on such a sure and certain footing that it will once again enjoy the confidence , not only of the Governors and Subscribers , but likewise of the whole body of English Masons . It must not be forgotten , however , that at the time this Provisional Committee was

appointed the utmost care was taken that it should be composed of brethren of weight and influence , who iii the steps they might think proper to recommend would have no other object in view than to preserve and promote the best interests of the Institution , and whose recommendations , therefore , it might reasonably

be expected , would meet with instant acceptance , if not in all their details with universal approval . We do not suppose that the Committee anticipated that everything they proposed would please everybody , but it was openly stated at the Special Court at which they were nominated to act

that the- Governors and Subscribers , in placing in their hands thc task of re-organising the management of the School , had the fullest confidence in their ability and rectitude of purpose , and were firmly convinced they would do the thing that was right . Till quite recently , the labours of the Committee have

met with very general approval . Many of their recommendations have already been acted upon , and the General Committee , at its last regular meeting in August , not without discussion , but in the end unanimously , accepted the latest series of proposals they have seen proper to make . Among these proposals , however , is

one for the retirement of the Secretary from his post at the end of the current year on a pension for life of £ 350 per annum , and not only are objections being raised to this particular recommendation , but we regret to say that threats are being uttered in various quarters that subscriptions will be no longer forthcoming

to the Institution if any part of its funds is appropriated to the payment of the proposed pension . Under these circumstances , what , we ask , becomes of that entire confidence on the part of the Governors and Subscribers which we were given to understand in June last they reposed in the ability and prudence of the Provisional

Committee ? Can we ever hope to obtain the services of our best men , of such men as this Provisional Committee is known to consist of , in such a crisis in the case of one of our Institutions as this , or , indeed , at any time , if the moment they recommend a step which in their judgment is both just and expedient , but

which it is known will meet with disfavour among some of the supporters of the Charity , the latter rise up in arms and threaten to wreak their vengeance on the Institution itself if . the proposal they object to is adopted ? We do not hesitate to say that conduct such as this is most unworthy , and at this moment

most impolitic . What is mostly needed now is that public conscience shall be restored in the administration of the Boys ' School . We have appointed a Committee with full powers ' to recommend the steps which , in their opinion , are necessary to secure this all-important consummation ; we have given them uientire

° - confidence , and we are in honour bound to accept their Proposals as a whole—as they have alread y been accepted by the General Committee of the School—even though some individuals amongst us may see fit to question the propriety or expediency ot one or other of the details . * - ;

The Late Bro. Æneas J. Mcintyre, Q.C., P.G.W.

THE LATE BRO . ? NEAS J . McINTYRE , Q . C ., P . G . W .

PCR news that Br ° ' / ENEAS J- MCINTYRE , Q . C , P . G . W . and all 1 " England , to whose very serious illness we briefl y < ucled in our issue of last week , is dead will be received every"HGre thrr , i , reU ^ ,. t- 4-1 , « „ ~ I : „ I , r ^ .. _ , f _ . ...: _ u j . l . _ . r l- r —iv / mi ugiun niu wiut LHC sincerest

ugnuuL . L . v ^ reelings or ^ irow . Our late brother had been officially connected with ^ rand Lodge for so many years , he had played so important ' 1 art m its council chamber , and rendered such valuable service

The Late Bro. Æneas J. Mcintyre, Q.C., P.G.W.

in his capacity of Grand Registrar , that at this early date it is difficult , if not impossible , to realise the extent of the loss which his death entails on Freemasonry . Latterly , indeed , owing to his appointment towards the close of last year to a County Court Judgeship in the North of England , his familiar figure had been

absent from the communications of our Grand Lodge ; but his zeal for Masonry and his desire to benefit it to the utmost of his ability at every opportunity were so well known , while the period in which he had been away was so brief , that the majority of the brethren must have been eagerly looking forward to the day

when it would be in their power to greet him as of old , and listen yet again to that wise counsel which so zealous , learned , and experienced a brother would be certain to offer in any cases of difficulty or doubt which might arise . Nor , though during the last three or four years his health had been seriously

affected by the exacting duties of his profession , and his still more trying labours as a member of Parliament from 1880 to 1885 , was he so advanced in age that any serious apprehension existed as to his retirement , for a few years at all

events , from the active pursuits of Freemasonry , much less of his death . There were many , indeed , who hoped that in the more dignified but less laborious career of a County Court Judge Bro . MclNTYRE might be able to recover somewhat of his former

strength and alacrity . Unfortunately , their hopes have proved fallacious . The voice which , till quite recently , was always listened to with such respectful attention in Grand Lodge will never again be heard within its walls ; while the heart which prompted the generous gift to our Institutions and the hand

which conveyed it are still for ever . He had but few equals in Grand Lodge in respect of ability , and fewer still who could point to so long and varied an experience in those more difficult questions which every now and then engage its attention . But the ability and the experience are lost to us henceforth , and there

remains only the consolation of knowing that , as in life he was esteemed and respected by all who knew him , whether personally or by repute , so , now that he is dead , and his place knows him no more , will the memory of his long and valued services and his many virtues be cherished wherever there is a home of Englishspeaking Craftsmen to show them reverence .

The Province Of Worcestershire.

THE PROVINCE OF WORCESTERSHIRE .

No one ever doubted , or indeed had the slightest reason to doubt , that the Province of Worcestershire , when it held its annual meeting , as it did at Stourport on the nth inst ., would be in a position to render a most excellent account of its proceedings during the past 12 months . Its respected Prov . Grand

Master , Bro . Sir E . A . H . LECHMERE , Bart ., M . P ., -and his chief advisers are men of such long experience in Masonry and such known devotion to its interests that it would be almost impossible for a Province which was placed under their direction to fare otherwise than satisfactorily . But though we have all been

anticipating the success which attended this annual Provincial Granel Lodge at Stourport the other day , it is not less desirable that we should express the pleasure we experience at finding the Craft in Worcestershire is so prosperous . It is a compact rather than a large Province , but its lodges work well within themselves , and their relations to each other are most harmonious . Their

funds are well and economically managed , while , as the Stewards' Returns at our anniversary Festivals have abundantly shown for several years past , the contributions to our several Institutions are on a most generous scale , indeed , far in excess of what might in reason be expected from a Province with only

12 lodges on its roll . It has , too , thanks to the great exertions made by Bro . GEORGE TAYLOR , G . Std . Br . of England , its Prov . G . Secretary , a library and museum , in which its lodges and members take a great interest , and of which , seeing how few of

our Provinces are similarly furnished , they are not unnaturally very proud . In short , if , in point of numerical strength , Worcestershire ranks among the smaller Provinces , it is quite on a level with those which have larger muster rolls to boast of in

all that constitutes excellence in Masonry , and we heartily congratulate our Worcestershire brethren on the excellence of their organisation and the thoroughness with which they discharge their appointed duties .