The Approaching Elections For The Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution

23 votes from the last 10 elections , and No . 23 , with 514 vote s from last year ; Cheshire , No . 15 with 13 votes from 18 9 6 and 18 97 , and a new candidate at No . 25 ; Cumberland and Westmoreland , No . 1 , who starts with 614 votes towards her 15 th

ballot , and No . 7 , with 22 voles from six years' efforts ; Essex , Nos . 3 6 and 43 ; Hampshire and the Isle of Wight , Nos . 37 and 51 ; Kent , No . 22 , with 16 9 S voles to l . cr credit from 1 S 97 , and No . 51 ; Kast Lancashire , No . 2 , who has compiled

a total of 415 votes at her 14 previous ballots , and No . 3 8 ; West Lancashire , No . n , who has 16 votes to thc good from four elections , and No . 62 ; and Staffordshire , No . 6 , with 111 votes from nine ballots , and No . 9 , with 116 votes from four .

The following 12 had from as many Provinces—that is to say . No . 3 ( Durham ) , who has 84 to her credit from an experience extending over 12 years ; No . 12 ( North Wales ) , with 48 , and No . 13 ( Sussex ) , with 20 votes from three ballots ; No . 20 (

Middlesex ) , who has live votes , and No . 24 ( Bedfordshire ) , with 270 votes from last year ; and No . 28 ( Antigua ) , No . 32 ( North and East Yorkshire ) , No . 39 ( Victoria ) , No . 50 ( Suffolk ) , No . 52 ( Gloucestershire ) , No . 54 ( Cornwall ) , and No . 59 ( Hertfordshire ) , who are all new candidates . In rather more than half of tho

cases , the late husbands were subscribing members of one or more lodges for over 20 years , there being four of them who subscribed for upwards of 40 years ; but onl y two subscribed for less than 10 vears , the membershi p uf the others having

ranged between 10 and 20 years . In some few cases the husbands had held Provincial ofiice and in one he was a Grand Lodge oflicer , while sundry of them were supporters of our Institutions when they were in good circumstances .

United Grand Lodge.

UNITED GRAND LODGE .

The annual meeting of Grar . d Lodge for the installation of M . W . G . Master and Ihe appo ' mtrr . eT t and investiture of the new Grand Officers for the jear was held on Wednesday evening , at the Freemasons' Hall , London . Karl Amherst . R . W . Dep . G . Master , presided . Bro . W . W . B . Beach , M . P ., R . W . Prov . G . M . for Hants and ihe Me of Wight , aclrd as Deputy

Grand Master ; ar . d M ji . r-Gener . il J . Wi nburn Laurie , MP ., R . W . Prov . G . M . for South Wales ( VV D . ) , as Past Grand Master . The Karl of Portarlington , S . G . W ., occupied his appointed seat , and Sir John B . Monckton , P . G . W ., acted as J . G . W . liro . Thomas I *\ nn , P . G . W ., performed the duties of G . D . C About 700 brethren were present .

After Grand Lodge had been opened in form , Bro . K . LETCHWORTH , G . Sic , read the minutes of the Quarterly Communication of March 2 nd so far as they related to the elcclion ' of M . W . G . M . and of Grand Treasurer . Bro . THOMAS FENN announced that Grand Lodge was honou-ed that day wilh the presence of the M-ist Worshipful Grand Master of Tasmania , Bro the Hon . Charles Davies , and he called on the brethren to salute their Most Worshipful Brother with nine .

The salute was accordingly given , and Bro . D . avies bowed his acknowledgments . Bro . THOMAS FENN then proclaimed H . R . H . the Prince of Wales as duly installed M . W . G . M , and On Bro . Earl AMHERST annuincing that the Prince of Wales had been pleased to appoint the Karl of Lathom as Pro G . Master ,

Bro . FENN proclaimed the Karl of Lathom as Most Worshipful Pro Grand Master .

Bro . Earl Amherst having been re-appointed R . W . Deputy Grand Master , Bro . FENU proclaimed him , and the customary salute was given . The following is a list of the other Grand Ollicers :

Bro . Lord Burton ... ... ... ... S . G . W . ,, Viscount Folkestone ... ... ... J . G . W . „ Very Rev . the Dean of St . Asaph ... ... " ) ,-. , „ Rev . Brooke Lambert ... ... j G . Chaps . /„ Lieut .-Col . Clifford Piobyn ... ... G . Treas . <¦ - '

,, J . Strachan , Q . C . ... ... ... G . Reg . ,, " Heibert A . Kigg ... ... ... Dep . G . Reg . „ Kdward Letchworth ... ... ... G . bee . „ Sir F . Dixon Hartland , Bart ., M . P . ... ) „ John Houlding ... ... ... [ S . G . Deacons . v ^ ,, Charles L . Fry Kdwards ... ... ) „ Reginald J . Mure ... ... ,.. ") f „ H . W . Kiallmark ... ... ..., I . G . Deacons .

,, John Haviland ... ... ... ) „ Henry L . Florence ... ... ... G . Supt . Wks . „ Sir A . W . Woods ... ... ... G . D . C . „ R . L . Marshall ... ... ... Dep . G . D . C . „ Bsrra d F . Edyvean ... ... ... " ) „ JohnF . C . Winkfi . ld ... ... ... f A . G . D . Cs .

„ Henry Neville ... ... ... J ,, Capt . George Hfarn ... ... ... G . S . B . „ John H . Rutherglen ... ... ... D . G . S . B . „ John Read ... ... ... ... 7 , - c . 1 r , „ Arthur Stubbs j G . Sid . Brs .

„ AITred King ... ... ... ... G . Org . „ William Lake ... ... ... A . G . Sec . ,, C ;** 5 ar Kupferschmidt ... ... ... A . G . Sec . Ger . Cor . j ,, George Graveley ... ... ... G . Purst . „ Lewis Lazarus ... ... ... A . G . Purst . „ Henry Sadler .,. ... ... G . Tyler ,

United Grand Lodge.

Earl AMHERST , after he had announced the re-appointment of Sir Albert Woods as Grand Director of Ceremonies , said that the Prince of Wales had , at the express wish of Sir Albert Woods , appointed Bro . Thomas Fenn to wear the clothing of , and to act as , Grand Director of Ceremonies when Sir Albert Woods was not able to be present . Bro . his Honour Judge Philbrick , O . C , was appointed by the Prince of Wales as a P . G . W . ; Bro . R . Horton Smith , Q . C , as P . G . Registrar ; and the Lord Mayor of London ( Bro . Colonel Horatio Davies ) as P . G . T" ) .

Bro . LETCHWORTH read out the names and lodges of the following brethren who had been approved of by the Grand Master as Grand Stewards for the coming year : Bros . Hervey L . de Montmorency , I ; Francis Stanhope Hanson , 2 ; Wm . Ii . Tew , 4 ; Edward Hey Hartopp , 5 ; Ii . C . W . Currie , 6 ; William E . Sanger , S ; Harry Keep , 14 ; Charles W .

Sawbridge , 21 ; James W . Matthews , 23 : lidward John Leveson , jun ., 26 ; Edgar L . Waterlow , 29 ; Frederick Kreke Palmer , 46 ; Thomas Cameron Tanner , 5 S ; Otto C . L . W . Polenz , Co ; Ventura 13 . W . Zanchi , 91 ; Robert Percy Hughes , 99 ; Charles Edward Barry , 197 ; and Alfred Constsno Mitchell , 2 K 0 .

Grand Lodge was then closed in form , and the brethren adjourned to Freemasons' Tavern , where a beautiful banquet was provided by the following Stewards : Bros . W . H . Propert , 26 , President ; Fred . C Ivey , 99 , Treasurer ; \ V . H . C . Payne , 2 , Secretary ; Ernest M . Morriss , 1 ; W .

G . Fenn , 4 ; John Chandler 5 ; W . II . Neville Goschen , 6 ; John H . Jenks , 8 ; Rev . H . H . Lowe , M . A .., 14 ; H . L . Truman , 21 ; J . B . Verity , 25 ; G . Grant , 29 ; A . M . Hooper , 46 ; Thomas W . Noad , 58 ; A . H . Debenham , fin ; Leonard C . Best , 91 ; C . B . Orme Clarke , 197 ; and L . Mieville , 2 ^ 9 .

Earl Amherst presided , having Bro . Lord Portarlington on his right and Bro . the Hon . Charles Davies on his left .

After the banquet , the toasts of " I'he Queen and " The Princes ; of Wales and the other Members of the Royal Family " were first honoured . Bro . Karl AMHERST , in proposing " H . R . H . the Prince of Wales , M . W . Grand Master , " said the brethren would like to see his lioyal Highness n- ore frequently among them , but remembering what his duties were , he being about the hardest-worked man in these islands , and calculating the

enormous number of things he had to do , it was not surprising that he was not more often than he was with the brethren . The bsnefit he had been to Freemasonry was well known , and he ( Earl Amherst ) need not suggest —nobody , he supposed , who attended the Prince of Wales ' s first installation 23 years ago could possibly have thought the Order would have extended so much as it had since the Prince of Wales Ind been its

Grand Master . . Bro . Major-General LAURIE , Prov . G . M . for the Western Division of South Wales , proposed " The M . W . the Pro G . M ., and the R . W . Dep . G . M . " With the Pro Grand Master , he said , Grand Lodge had already expressed its sympathy with him in the sad bereavement he had suffered . It was not for the h-ethren again to speak of that and yet when the Earl of

Lalhom ' s name was mentioned it was right that they should all to some extent not allow it to be assumed that the sympathy they had expressed had passed out of thj feelings of the brethren . Of the brother who was presiding over them that evening he did not think he need say anything . Those of them who had seen him preside in Grand Lodge had witnessed the

method in which he conducted business , short , sharp , djcisve , straight to the point . Nobody else could conduct business better . Eirl Amherst was , to his mind , thc beau ideal of a presiding oflicer . The man must ba there . He must develope , hc must show the qualities of a soldier , and in Earl Amherst ihey had thc man , the Mason and the soldier , and he was exactly the sort of man to be a presiding officer over Grand Lodge .

Earl AMHERST , in reply , said hc was extremely obliged to the brethren for the very cordial way in which they had received the toastof his health , so kindly proposed by Major-General Laurie . It followed from what he had said that having presided over all sorts of committees and assemblies , many of which were not quite so obedient to the voice of the chairman as they were in Grand Lodge—if that experience had been of benefit to the Craft he was heartily repaid . lt was his great pleasure to

come amongst the brc ' . hrcn as often as he could in the oilice the Prince of Wales had conferred upon him to do the busincs ; of Grand Lodge . The kindness with wh ' xh the brethren had received his name he would never forget , and he would not so ill repay them as to make a long speech , when there were so much sweeter voices than his own waiting to entertain them in the Temple . He therefore preferred to say— " Thank you , one and all , and I pledge you in return . "

Bro . Earl AMHERST said the next toast was that of " The Sister Grand Lodges , " which was one the brethren always received wilh cordiality . Last year they had at Grand Festival to entertain a good many brethren from different parts of the empire in maintaining the usages of the Craft . Thit night they had the Grand Master of Tasmania with them ; it was his first

visit to the Grand Lodge of Kngland ; the brethren were very pleased to sec him , and were glad to hear that the Masonry of Freemasons' Hall was very nourishing throughout the Colonies ; they were glad also to hear that the Colonics did not forget the old country . The toast having been most enthusiastically received ,

Bro . the Hon . CHARLES DAVIES , M . W . G . M . of Tasmania , rose to reply . He said : R . W . Deputy Grand Master and Brethren , —I assure you I feel very Haltered indeed with the compliment which has been paid to me and to the Grand Lodge of Tasmania in coupling my name with this very important toast . If anything were necessary to prove the Fraternal regard with which you—which we all desire should exist among the sister lodges of the

world it is the cordial reception which you have given me and this toast . ' think I shall be studying the wishes and following the excellent example oi our previous speakers by making very few observations on this occasion ; but I should like to say that as far as thc Craft in Australia is concerned , 1 am sure you will all be very pleased to hear that it is placed on a very healthy basis and is very nourishing . Thc experience we had in former

days in connection with our sister Grand Lodges of thc old world we have endeavoured to profit by , and thc noble example which you have set us which adds to thc glory and renown of Freemasonry throughout the world we have in a very humble manner endeavoured to emulate . As colonists we have shown that we havc proved from time to time our patriotism and to

phil . iv . hropy and the very strong tics of kin and loyalty which bind us thc old country are indissoluble and sacred . ( Applaus 2 . ) As FYeemasons , the kindly recognition and encouragement wc have received from the Grand Lodgeof the old world , together with the lioyal patronage so graciously extended to our Grand lodge only intensifies those feelings of veneration