United Grand Lodge.

UNITED GRAND LODGE .

The agenda for the Quarterly Communication of United Grand Lodge on Wednesday is formidable enough in appearance , but we do not think the proceedings are likely to be of a very protracted nature . There will , no doubt , be a

considerable amount of interest excited in the election of brethren to serve on the Board of General Purposes . It will be seen , from the list we publish elsewhere , that about 30 Masters and Past Masters have been nominated , and

as several of these are striving hard to be returned , we shall in all probability find the honour of serving on the Board is very keenly contested . The Colonial Board and Committee of Management of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution will also

be elected , but as only the full number of brethren to be elected has been nominated , there will in these cases be no contest . In other respects the business to be transacted is mostly formal , with the solitary exception of a special report presented in

connection with the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution , in which , having regard to the approaching Jubilee Festival of that Charity , it is recommended that the laws defining the rights and privileges as regards votes conferred on the various

classes of donors and subscribers shall be suspended for a period of 12 months , and an increased number of votes granted to those who contribute to or raise contributions for the funds of the Institution at the aforesaid approaching Jubilee .

The recommendation , however , is not of a character to provoke any controversy , and will in all probability be acceded to by Grand Lodge without any discussion . As regards the list of

lod ges for which the Grand Master has been pleased to issue Warrants of Constitution since the March Communication , we have only to remark that the number is smaller than usual .

The Approaching Festival Of The Royal Masonic Institution For Boys.

THE APPROACHING FESTIVAL OF THE ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR BOYS .

the third and last important Anniversary Festival of the year —¦ that of the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys—will take place in the Royal . Pavilion , Brighton , on Wednesday , the 24 th Ju "e , and the circumstances under which it will be held are

unquestionabl y more promising than those connected with any Previous Anniversary of this , or , if we except the Girls' Centenary in 1888 , of either of the other Masonic Charities . In the , lr st place , the chair will be occupied by the Earl of LATHOM , the new Pro Grand Master of England , and for the last 18

years Provincial Grand Master of West Lancashire , who , as our readers are most probably aware , is one of the most experienced and influential—as he certainly has proved himself one of the most •"ccessful—Masonic Chairmen of our day . In 18 73 his lordship

au gurated his career as a Provincial Grand Master by presiding at the 8 5 th Festival of the Royal Masonic Institution for Girls , ^ , by the hands of some 145 Stewards , the handsome sum of /

~ o"u was raised . In 1876 he rendered a like service to the ° yal Masonic Benevolent Institution , and a total of donations n subscri ptions amounting to close on £ 9400 testified to the Recess of his lordship ' s advocacy . In 1880 he presided at the " School Festival , and the sum raised by a Board of 236 USt

on t Wa - ^ a littl e ' m eXC 6 SS ° £ l j ' - In l 8 SS > too > p l . OCcas ion of the Girls' Centenary , his lordship acted as ilia 1 ^ ° ^ ^ ^ oarc ' ° f Stewards which supported the Chair-Sni P of the Prince of WALES with such splendid success , so

The Approaching Festival Of The Royal Masonic Institution For Boys.

that there is . no brother of similar rank in the Craft who has exerted his influence more strenuously and , at the same time , more successfully than bur present Pro Grand Master . Moreover , on all these occasions the Province of West Lancashire

has most loyally and most generously supported the efforts of its chief , the highest amounts obtained . from this source being at the Boys' School Festival in 1880 , when West Lancashire figured for about £ 2500 , and at the Girls' Centenary three years

ago , when the sum of its contribution amounted to about £ 2250 . But , promising as are the facts we have just recited , namely , Lord LATHOM ' S previous successes in the chair , and the generous support vouchsafed him by his Province of West

Lancashire , they by no means exhaust the probabilities in favour of an exceptionally large return on this occasion . The brethren who have given their services as Stewards for the approaching Festival already exceed 700 in number , and , though it is earl y

yet to say anything positively as to the manner in which they are distributed among the lodges in town and country , there are reasonable grounds for believing that the support which the School will obtain next month will be more widely

dis-, tributed among the Craft generally than we have known it with a very few exceptions for some time past . We understand that more than one-third of the lodges in the Metropolitan district will be represented , while the array of

country Stewards will be most formidable . We confess , therefore , to being very sanguine as to the result which awaits us at Brighton during the latter days of next month . We do not anticipate that the total we have heard suggested in sundry

quarters will be realised , because we do not think that even with so numerous a Board of Stewards so large a figure , is obtainable ; but that the amount , whatever it may be , will amply suffice for the

immediate and prospective requirements of the Institution , and will at the same time leave a small margin for investment may we think be predicted with a certain amount of confidence .

But though the Craft generally is hopeful , we trust the brethren who are working with such amazing energy and goodwill will not be betrayed into relaxing their efforts in any direction or for one single moment while there is the slightest

chance of increasing their lists of donations and subscription ' s . Let them not lose sight of the fact that funds were never-so urgently needed by any of our Institutions as they are at this present moment by the Boys' School . The 1888 Festival ,

following as it did three weeks after the Girls' Centenary , proved a serious failure , and though the year following the , Returns were in excess of rather than below the average of the last 12 or 15 years ; yet in 1890 there was again a

tremendous falling off , and the sum announced was considerably less than £ 10 , 000 . And while the Festivals were yielding less than the annual expenditure , the supporters of the Institution were in a state of turmoil , and for a

time it seemed as though its interests were being seriously , if not permanently endangered . However a Committee of Investigation was in the first instance appointed to . thoroughly overhaul the management of the School ,

and when this had handed in its report the administration of affairs was entrusted to a Provisional Management Committee , with full powers to give effect according to its judgment to the recommendations of the Investigation Committee . The first

result of these measures has been to renew to a great extent the confidence of the Craft generally in the governing body of the School , and we trust it will not be very long before the evidence of this renewed confidence will be forthcoming in the shape of

those increased contributions to its revenue and permanent income which are so sorely needed . On these grounds we most earnestly appeal to our readers and the brethren generally to

give their cordial support to Lord LATHOM and his Board of Stewards in their present efforts to bring back some of its old financial prosperity to our Royal Masonic Institution for Boys .