Contents.

CONTENTS .

I . EADKRS •-- ••233 United Grand Lodge 234 New Grand Officers 235 provincial Grand Lodge of Cumberland and Westmorland 237 Supreme Grand Chapter of England 237 Provincial Grand Chapter of

Cambridgeshire ¦ 237 provincial Grand Mark Lodge of West Yorkshire 238 Consecration of the Invicta Mark Lodge , No , 37 S 339 Catalogue of Masonic Books and MSS . ( I ) 240 Royal Masonic Institution for Girls 241 The Oueen ' s Jubilee 241

Presentation to Bro . R . 11 . Clemow 241 The Gavel Clnb Cinderella 241 CORRESPONDENCEImmediate Past Masters 243 The Jubilee Meeting at ihe Albert Hall -4 REPORTS OK MASONIC MEETINOSCraft

Masonry 243 Instruction 24 $ Presentation to Bro . V . P . Freeman , P . G . * Sec . Sussex 246 Mark Masonry in thc Island of Saint Helena 247 Masonic and General Tidings 247 Lodge Meetings for Next Week 248

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IT will be seen from the ample report we publish elsewhere T FestWai t ' lat t ' Grand Festival , on Wednesday , passed off with the customary eclat . In the absence of H . R . H . the GRAND and

the PRO GRAND MASTERS , Bro . the Earl of LATHOM , D . G . M ., presided , and , judging from the list of brethren appointed to Grand Office for the new year , it seems that Dame Rumour ' s indications , to which we gave currency last week , have been verified in all cases . As regards the

appointments , they appear to have given very general satisfaction , nor do we doubt that the new men will greatly strengthen the array of brethren who are entitled to seats on the dais . At the banquet which followed , the chair was occupied by R . W . Bro . T . VV . TEW , Prov . G . Master of West Yorkshire

and , under his genial auspices , the brethren enjoyed that full measure of harmony which is characteristic of our Grand Festivals . However , for the details of the gathering and the services of the Grand Officers for the year we must refer our readers to another part of our columns .

* # * „ .. ,. We feel it to be again our duty to refer to the approaching Festival of the Festival of the Royal Masonic Institution for Girls . The coo . date fixed for its celebration is the nth May prox ., and we find that , at the time of writing , the Chairman , Bro . Sir OITLEY WAKEMAN ,

Bart ., R . W . Prov . G . Master of Shropshire , will be supported by a Board oi Stewards numbering only 243 all told . However , if we assume that all the 243 serve , as they have volunteered to serve , and that between now and the nth prox-, they are increased in number to 250 brethren , still , even on these assumptions , so great a falling off in numbers must seriously affect

the receipts . Indeed there are strong grounds for believing that the decrease may amount to about ^ 2000 or £ 3000 , and that the Returns which slightly exceeded ^ 13 , 000 in 1 S 86 , will this year range at about from £ 10 , 000 to . £ 11 , 000 . This , then , is the prospect which faces us now within a lortnight of the eventful day , and considering it is the Jubilee year of the reign of Queen

VICTORIA , Chief Patroness of the Institution , it must be admitted the prospect is the very reverse of encouraging . We had looked for better things and principally on grounds which , as will be seen , are independent of all Jubilee associations . In the first place , it is admitted that the funds of the School ate welland economically administered and that the children are well cared 'or and educated . Of this latter fact we have annual evidence in the

successes achieved by them at the University local and other public examinat'ons . It is also known everywhere among the Craft that the number of pupils has been very largely increased during the past few years , and that 'he School premises have been extended by the purchase of , firstly , 4 'ncombe House for the Junior School : then of certain contiguous land ,

with a view to securing greater privacy and generally enhancing the value of tne property as property ; and lastly , during the current year , of the two villas and ground adjoining the Junior School , in order to ensure the t *' e complete isolation of the building and improve the frontage in the Wandsworth-road . These purchases have , of course , necessitated e outlay of very considerable sums of money , the / 2 : ; oo to be paid to

on ' L / ' ' * 2 St addition to the School property being - of the chief items of expenditure which will figure in the accounts of - \\ , rrenl * year - But with the 250 children now in the School , and a more of n ? r ' P *^ ° P ^ rty to keep > n effective order , the permanent responsibilities I * , Institution have increased likewise , and where £ 7000 or . £ 8000 was

to -T clent f ° year ' s supplies , it is imperative now that from ^ 12 , 000 sum v ?' ^ 'd be provided , and whence can the bulk of this immense be obtained , if not from the proceeds of the annual Festival ? The perf , „ . , lnc ° me , as regards which the Girls' School stands second

among-Cha C ^ ' lies J consists of Grand Lodge grant of £ 150 , the Grand mon f £ rant ° f £ 10 los-s and the interest at 3 per cent , on invested rece * ej , S announling to ^ 59 , , barely exceeds £ 1900 , and if the Festival tial ' ^ tS S ^ 0 w a . fa "' ng ° ff > not 0 I £ 2 °° or £ 300 only , but of so substan-¦ Hent SU {! 1 as it 2000 or £ 3 > lhe success of the year ' s financial arrangelest . , becomes seriously endangered , and there is a great risk ripVii- e . balance should be transferred from the credit , which is the

We 1 l ' account , to the debit , which is the wrong side , and l ^ ^ y have the Boys' School authorities lamenting a deficit , Press 1 i ' > when the Girls' Festival is over , we shall have occasion to nev j : e ' 3 retl-ren the necessity of wiping it out forthwith . But it will Ce Ption ° l ] have a Girls' School deficit as well ; and considering how exl ^ cas f ' ^ = '" he the financial responsibilities of the current year in or 0 [ " t 'his Institution , there is no small chance , either of this happening , ""less th mrn ' ttee being compelled to sell out a portion of their Stock , during th ^ P ects ° f the now fast approaching Festival brighten materially s me next few days . We say again , as we said in our article of the

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2 nd instant , that it will be "little short of an act of disloyalty to Queen VICTORIA , who is the mother of our GRAND MASTER and the Chief Patroness of our Girls' School , if the receipts of this year ' s Festival " compare " unfavourably with those of recent years , especially when the Institution has just incurred so large an amount of additional responsibility . " If there is any change at all in the Returns , as compared with those of 1886 , let it be of a character to place them in excess , not , as the chances indicate now , very seriously in defect of /* i 3 , ooo .

* # * Th M 1 ^ mere £ ' ance at 'he voting papers which were issued last Fund Election , week in respect of the approaching elections of the Royal R ' * * ' " Masonic Benevolent Institution , on Friday , the 20 th May , will suffice to show that our statements as to the great disproportion between the number of candidates for each Fund , and the number of vacancies to be

balloted for are by no means exaggerated . In the case of the Male Fund there are 51 candidates entered , while the vacancies to be balloted for , including the three deferred , are only nine . As regards the candidates , 26 of them remain . over from the last Election , No . i having been a candidate already five times , Nos . 2 and 3 four times , No , 4 three times , Nos . 5 to 9 inclusive , twice , and Nos . 10 to 26 inclusive , once ; the remaining 25 are now on the

eve of making their first attempt . It is further noticeable that 17 of the brethren hail from the Metropolis , one of them , however , having joined from a lodge now under the Constitution of the G . Lodge of Quebec , but originally English and ranking as No . 17 on our roll . The 34 remaining candidates are distributed among 20 Provinces and Guernsey , one of the Channel Islands , for which there is ac present no Prov .

Grand Lodge . N . and E . Yorkshire furnishes 4 candidates , Devonshire and Hants and the Isle of Wight three each ; Cheshire , Lancashire ( East ) , Lancashire ( West ) , and Northumberland two each ; and the rest in singles hail from Berks and Bucks , Dorsetshire , Essex , Kent , Lincolnshire , Middlesex , Norfolk , Oxfordshire , South Wales ( East Division ) , Suffolk , Sussex , West Yorkshire , and the Channel Islands aforesaid . With

comparatively few exceptions , they appear to have been subscribing members for long periods . In many cases they are returned as having done good service when they were in a position to do so , and there are some among them who , when they had the means , were not unmindlul of the claims of our Institutions on their support . The explanations offered as to their

present circumstances are sad in every case , while in not a few instances they are absolutely heartrending . It is enough for us to state in general terms that the claims of these candidates have , after a careful scrutiny by the Committee of Management , proved such as to justify their acceptance into the Institution , if the interest they are severall y in a position to command will procure them entrance .

* * * w'ri ¦ ^ * ^ resomt * i ° adopted by the Committee in February Fund Election , to increase the number of annuitants by 25 , the case of the R . M . B . I . Widows would have been serious indeed . At that time there were no vacancies to declare , and had the position remained unaltered , the ballot would have been limited to the election of the three deferred

annuitants from the formidable list of 77 candidates . And , even as it is , there will remain , notwithstanding the increase agreed upon , 49 candidates unprovided for , unless the Governors and Subscribers who attend the General Meeting consent to a lurther increase in the number on this Fund , in consequence of the unprecedented success of this year ' s Festival . However , we are not without some hope that such a proposition will be offered tor the

consideration of the meeting , and , if so , we dare say the brethren , having regard to the improved financial ability ot the Institution , will accept the proposition without demur , and so substantially reduce the number ot those who must be lelt out in the cold for , at least , another term of 12 months . It is , indeed , in consequence of the recent large remainders of unsuccessful candidates whose names have been carried forward year by year until they

are elected or die , that the list on the Widows' Fund has latterly became so unmanageable . For instance , of the 77 candidates now appealing to be elected into the Fund , only 25 have been placed on the list since last year ' s election was arranged for , the other 52 being old candidates , of whom No . 1 has been before the electors now lor nine years , Nos . 2 and 3 for seven years , Nos . 4 to 11 inclusive for five years , Nos . 12 to 18 inclusive for four

years , Nos . 19 to 31 inclusive for three years , and Nos . 32 to 52 inclusive for two years , having made their first attempt at the May election of last year . Unless , therefore , a determined effort is now made to grapple with this difficulty , we shall find the Widows' list in 18 S 8 almost as iormidable as it is at present . We remark that in 23 cases the husband was initiated in London , and in 54 cases , in the provinces or districts abroad , there being

six cases from Hants and the Isle of Wight , and as many from Kent ; five from Lancashire ( East ) , and five from Lincolnshire—one being originally an Irish Mason ; three each from Cumberland and Westmorland—No . 13 hailing , however , in the first instance lrom Ireland—Devonshire , and West Yorkshire ; two each from Berks and Bucks , Durham , Lancashire ( West ) , Suffolk , Sussex , and North and East Yorkshire ; and one each from Cornwall , Dorsetshire , Herts , Middlesex , Norfolk , Norths and Hunts , South

Wales ( West Division ) , Warwickshire , Wilts , Worcestershire , and Bengal . As regards the huubands' services , they seem to have extended over many years in most instances , and in some to have been attended with distinction , while in some likewise the deceased brethren had loyally supported our Institutions to the best of their ability , ln conclusion , we must express a hope that it will be several years before we have before us a list so painful and . as regards numbers , so formidable , /