Analysis Of The Returns.

NORTH WALES , there being five of the 25 lodges directly represented . The total obtained by these brethren stands at £ 276 3 s , and is one of the best Returns from this Province . In February the Province , which had Bro . Benson for its representative , and a Steward from one of its lodges , had £ 79 16 s . to its credit , while last month with

three Stewards , of whom two were Unattached , it figured for £ 51 , so that the total raised during the year is £ 406 19 s . In 18 9 S it distributed among the three Institutions £ 1394 , of which £ 1089 ios . was subscribed to the Boys ' Centenary , £ 294 to the Benevolent Institution , and the small balance ol £ 10 ios . to the Institution for Girls .

r NOTTINGHAMSHIRE , with its r " oll of 18 lodges , acquitted itself successfully in 189 S , when it raised £ 777 for this Institution , its highest previous total for the year having been in 18 96 , when it apportioned £ 397 6 s . between the Schools . In 18 99 it subscribed £ 199 10 ? . to the Girls' School , and last year £ 10 ios . each to the Benevolent and Girls' Institutions , and £ 71 6 s . to this . In February it figured for £ 210 in the

Benevolent Returns , and last month for £ 10 ios . in those of the Girls' School ; while on Wednesday it had two Stewards acting independently , his Honour Judge Masterman , Dep . P . G . M . —who WJS also Steward for the Jerusalem Lodge , No . 197 , London—and Bro . Alfred Page , P . P . G . W ., the amount to the credit of the Province being £ 377 4 s ., and the total for the year £ 597 14 s . •Two of the 12 lodges in

OXFORDSHIRE took part in Wednesday ' s proceedings , the lists compiled by their Stewards reaching £ 19 3 s . 6 d ., and as the Province subscribed £ 208 13 s . 6 d . in February , there beirg eight lodges and 10 Stewards concerned in the work ; while in May seven of the lodges , represented by nine brethren , followed up this success by subscribing £ 258 ios ., the present year will be found to compare very favourably with

pievic us ordinary years . Last year , for instance , the total was £ 380 15 s ., and in 1 S 99 't amounted to £ 516 14 s . fid . ; while , as showing what it is capable of doing in extraordinary years , we may s ' ate that in 18 98 , it raised in all £ 917 13 ; . 6 d ., of which £ 505 12 s . 6 d . was subscribed for the Old People in honour of the Earl of Jersey , Prov . G . M ., who was chairman at their Festival , and £ 338 7 s . to the Centenary of this School .

During the whole of its career as a separate Province , SHROPSHIRE , albeit it musters only a dozen lodges all told , has acquitted itself with honour . In 18 S 7 , when as yet it had barely had time to settle itself down , it subscribed £ 1022 to the Girls' School Festival at which Bro . Sir Ofihy Wakemin , Birt ., its Prov . Grand Master , occupied the chair , and in the following year it raised £ 770

15 s . for the Centenary of the same School . In 1 S 92 , the year of the Benevolent Jubilee , it also showed to advantage , while in 18 9 8 , it surpassed all it had previously done by contributing £ 1199 15 s . 6 d . to the Boys' Centenary out of a total subscribed during the year of £ 1325 18 s . Gd . Last year its contributions , including £ 288 15 s . to this Institution , reached £ 357 , or at the rate of nearly £ 30

per lodge , while during the present year , though its figures are on a smiller scale , it has been able to spare a something for each of our three Charities ; the contribution to the Old People in February being £ 31 ios ., and to the Girls' School last month £ 73 ios . On Wednesday , three of its lodges sent up Stewards , the sum of whose lists was £ 84 , so that the total for the whole year is £ 189 .

SOMERSETSHIRE , with its 26 lodges , has done good service both on the special occasions when its services have been more particularl y in request and also at the ordinary run of Festivals . Thus when Viscount Dungarvan , P . G . M ., was Chairman at thc Benelent Festival in 18 95 , the Province backed up his lordship by subscribing £ 1657 17 s . 6 j . out of a total during the year of £ 1745 3 s . 7 d ., and again in 18 99 ,

when he rendered a similar service to the Girls' School , its contributions were on a larger scale , and totalled up no less than £ 2191 17 s . In 18 9 8 it figured in the Boys' Centenary Returns for £ 118 7 iys . Last year it not unnaturally took a rest , but in February it subscribed £ 262 12 s . 61 . for our Old People , and on Wednesday the Stewards Iron three ot its lolges , with Bros . James S . Haddon and Col . A . Thrale Perkins , compiled a Return of £ 295 us . 6 d ., placing the total for this year at £ 558 4 s .

Neither of the Divisions of South Wales were represented at the Benevolent and Girls' School Festivals , and hence their presence on this occasion is all the more welcome . There were three Stewards from

SOUTH WALES ( E . D . ) , namely , Lord Llangattock , P . G . M . ; Bro . W . A . Beer , representing the Province ; and Bro . G . S . Gilder , of the Duke of York Lodge , No . 2453 , Cardiff ; the total subscribed or obtained by these brethren amounting to £ 400 . The Province , which comprises 23 lodges , had three heavy years following consecutively ,

namely , 1897 , when the P . G . M . was Chairman at the Girls' Festival , and it subscribed a sum of £ 1050 ; 1 S 9 S , when it contributed £ 605 6 s . 6 d . to the Boys' Centenary ; and 18 99 , when his lordship presided at the Old People ' s Festival , and South Wales ( E . D . ) was to the fore with £ 631 . Rest after such efforts as these is most desirable .

SOUTH WALES ( W . D . ) Is a farsmaller Province with but 10 lodges on its roll , but rarely a year elapses without its contributing to at least oneof the Institutions . Thus in 18 9 3 , it raised £ 161 7 s . for the Boys' Centenary , in 1899 £ 141 15 s . lor the Old People , aid last year £ 75 12 s . for the Girls' School . O . i Wednesday Bro . Henry Studt acted as Steward for the Province , and handed in a sp lendid list of £ 420 .

STAFFORDSHIRE has invariably done good work in behalf of our Central Charities , and last year rendered a service to the Girls' School which will not be soon forgotten . It had already in i 8 S shown its rcgarj for this Institution by subscribing £ 3845 83 . to its Centenary , the number of Stewards who took part in raising this sum being 204 , while the total raised during the year was £ 4023 8 s . Even in 1 S 99 , after so

strenuous an effort as we have described , it distributed £ 7 6 7 lis . among the Charities , while last year , when the Earl of Dartmouth , Prov . G . Master , was Chairman at the Girls' Festival , it subscribed in honour of his lordship ' s presidency £ 3 800 14 s ., or only a little short of its record Return in 1 S 9 S . This year it has a ' so dono well . In February three , of its 34 lodges , with Uro . W . H . Bailey , Past G . Treasurer , Unattached , compiled a sum of £ 178 7 s . Last month a group of 13 Stewards-there is evidently no ill-luck to

, Our Girls in this supposed ill-fated number—raised £ 525 , one ot the Stewards being Unattached , while the other 12 did duty for seven lodges . On \ Vi di tsda ) there was again a goodly muster of 24 Stewards , of whom a brother ; nd three ladle : ; Acre Unattached , and 20 represented II lodges and the chapter attached to one of them . The sum obtained by these was £ 425 15 s , Thus the total raisirl by Staffordshire during the present year is £ 1129 2 s ., unti we congratulate both the Province and thc Stewards who hive done it this service ,

Analysis Of The Returns.

What SUFFOLK has done in the past for all our Institutions is so well known and so widely appreciated that it is unnecessary to do more than cite a few examples of its work . In 18 S 8—the year of the Girls' Centenary—it raired £ 1105 12 s . ; in 188 9 , when Lord Henniker , Prov . G . Master , presided at the Girls' Festival , £ 1048 17 s . 6 d . in 1 S 92—the Benevolent Jubilee year— £ 1449 14 s . ; and in 1898 , when the Boys ' '

School held its Centenary Festival , £ 1563 7 s . 6 d . Last year , too , its Returns though smaller , amounted to £ 841 16 s . But on this opening yeir of the 20 th century the Province has surpassed all its former achievements . At the Benevolent Festival in February the Province , with to of its lodges and two A . \ . chapters represented , together subscribed £ 1003 us ., the number of Stewards being 10 •and lasf : month , 10 Stewards , representing 10 lodges , and a brother Unattached ,

compiled a total of £ 886 4 s . Here , then , at these two Festivals alone we find a larger sum raised than in any previous ycir . Yet , on Wednesday , nine brethren from eight lodges raised amongst them £ 666 4 s . 6 d ., thus augmenting still further the year ' s total , and placing it at £ 2555 19 s . 6 d . The principal items in this latest Return are two of £ 121 16 s . each by Bros . Major Carthew , of No Si and E . VV . Lynch , of No . 555 . Well done , Suffolk .

SURREY invariably takes a part , and an honourable part , in the Festivals of our Institutions . We should have to scrutinise the Returns very closely to find one during the last 25 or 26 years at which some of its lodges—which now number 45—were not represented and generally to good purpose . Thus to go no further back than 18 94 , when the late Bro . Colonel G . Noel Money , C . B ., Prov . Grand Master , was

Chairman at the Benevolent Festival , and the Province supported him to the extent of £ 1399 2 s ., the total for the year reached £ 1673 4 s . 6 d . In 1 898 , it raised £ 3968 as ., of which £ 3499 163 . was in befulf of the Boys' Centenary , In 1899 , the total was £ 1288 5 s . 6 d ., and last year £ 1428 9 s . In February of the present year , 18 Stewards , of whom one was Unattached , and 17 did duty for 14

of its lodges , compiled a Return of £ 643 19 s . 6 d ., while in May , eight Stewards from six lodges raised £ 264 7 s . 6 d . On Wednesday , seven lodges were represented in the Returns , the number of Stewards , including one Unattached , being nine . The total amounted to £ 231 2 s . 6 d ., and places the aggregate for the year at £ 1139 gs . 6 d . Thus the opening work for the new century augurs well for the continued loyalty of this influential Province towards our Central Charities .

There are but 33 lodges in the Province of SUSSEX , but under the auspices of the late Sir W . W . Burrell , Bart ., and the Duke of Connaught , it has played its part admirably in supporting our Institutions . To go no further back than 1892 , it contributed in that year £ 1155 6 s . to the Benevolent Jubilee , and £ 1026 5 s . to the Girls' School in honour of the Duke ' s

Chairmanship at its Festival ; in 1 S 97 , it raised in all £ 1497 3 s . 6 d ., of which £ 1263 2 s . 6 d . was subscribed to the Old People in support of his Royal Highness ' s Chairmanship ; and in 18 98 it gave £ 2869 15 s . to the Boys' | Centenary out of a total for the year of £ 2932 15 s . In 1899 it acquitted itself by raising £ 96 9 15 s ., while last year it more than doubled this sum with a total of £ 1945 2 s ., of which £ 1365 fell to the share of this School , at whose Festival the Prov . G . Master had

arranged to preside . In February a contingent of 22 Stewards , of whom 20 were represen ' . ative of 11 lodges and two Unattached , compiled a Return of £ 436 3 s . 6 d . for the Benevolent Institution , and in May , when 18 brethren—15 as representing 13 lodges and a chapter , and three Unattached—gave their services , £ 435 19 s . 3 d . was raised for the Girls'School . On Wednesday , 11 brethren hailing from nine of the lodges and a lady Unattached increased the year ' s total to £ 1079 ios . 3 d ., by compiling a return of £ 207 7 s . 6 d .

WARWICKSHIRE , with its 34 lodges , has been doing well this year . In February 11 brethren , of whom five hailed from the Bedford Lodge , No . 925 , raised £ 162 15 s . for the Old People , and in May , thanks to the efforts of 18 Stewards , of whom one was Unattached and four belonged to the Athol Lodge , No . 74 , the sum of £ 309 4 s . 6 d . was subscribed to the Girls' School . On this occasion five lodges assisted , the Athol Lodge having seven representatives out of the 13 brethren who , with an

Unattached lady , did duty as Stewards , with the result that this Institution is the better by £ 163 4 s ., of which £ 65 2 s . was subscribed , per Bro . Foster , by the Athol Lodge . Thus the Warwickshire total for 1901 stands at £ 6 35 3 s . 6 d . Last year the amount subscribed to the central Charities was small , owing to the very suecessful Festival held in behalf of the Warwickshire Benevolent and Pupils' Aid Fund , to which about £ 3150 was subscribed ; but in 1899 it reached £ 572 5 s ., and that , notwithstanding the contribution by the Province of £ 5079 14 s . 6 d . to the Boys' Centenary .

There was a Steward from one of the 12 lodges in WILTSHIRE included in the Benevolent Returns in February , whose lists amounted to £ 4083 ., but the rule of the Province is to give its main support to each Institution in turn . Thus in 18 9 8 it raised £ 539 for the Boys' Centenary , with a supplementary £ 71

for the Girls' School ; in 18 99 , £ 288 for the Girls' School , with £ 10 ios . for " Our Boys ; " and last year £ 194 5 s . fortheOld People , with £ 10 ios . forthe Boys . On Wednesday Bro . P . S . Hancock , for the Province , with Bro . H . Bsvir , Prov . G . Sec , Chairman of the Board of Management , returned £ 410 ios . 6 d ., of which all but 10 guineas was contained in the former ' s list .

Five of the 15 lodges in WORCESTERSHIRE took part in Wednesday ' s proceedings , the sum raised by their seven representatives and Bro . E . J . Chambers , Unattached , being £ 300 6 s .. In February six lodges , represented by nine Drethren , made up a Return of £ 266 163 . 6 d . ; and

last month Bro . W . T . Page , D . P . G . M ., and Steward for the Province , placed £ 63 at the disposal of the Girls' School ; the proceeds of the year being £ 63 0 2 s . 6 d . Last year it subscribed in all £ 1160 16 s ., of which £ 908 ios . fell to the share of the Girls' Scho jl ; and in 1899 £ 415 16 s ., of which £ 379 is . was for the Old People , and £ 36155 . for "Our Boys . " In 1898 its Returns , including £ 1136 2 s . to the Centenary of this Institution , reached £ 1231 13 s .

As regards YORKSHIRE ( N . AND E . RIDINGS ) , Bro . the Rev . C . H . Steel , as Steward for the Province and Ferrum Lodge , No . 1848 , Middlesborough , conpiled a list amounting to £ 31 ios ., and this added to the £ 197 Ss . obtained by the seven brethren who represented the Province at the Benevolent Festival in February , and the £ 86 16 s . raised for the Girls' School

by Bro . the Rev . E . Fox-Thomas as Steward for the Province , the Stewards from two of its 34 lodges , and an Unattached brother , make thc total subscribed during the year £ 315 14 s . The Province has done well at previous Special and Ordinary Festivjls , but never—as far as our memory serves us—so well as in 18 9 6 , when its total subscription reached £ 1022 ios . —unless , indeed , we except last year , when it raised £ 1054 for its o // n Educational Fund , and £ 53 * for the Girls' School .