The Benefits Of Freemasonry.

school so short a time , the Institution was originally established in 1798 , " with the benevolent intention , " as stated in tbe original Report , " of preserving from the danger of vice and immorality the infant sons of deceased and unfortunate Ereemasons , by furnishing them with

decent clothing and a plain education , ancl ultimately apprenticing them to suitable trades , so as to qualify them to fill , with advantage to themselves and credit to the Craft , those situations in life to which it should please Divine Providence to call them ; and , acting upon

the true principles oi Masonry , children of all religious denominations , and wherever resident , are eligible to be admitted candidates from the age of seven to ten , provided the fathers have been three years Masons , duly registered in the Grand Lodge Books , and continued

subscribing Members to a Lodge two years . After their admission they continue to be clothed , furnished with all necessary books , and educated at schools adjacent to their residence , until they attain the age of fourteen ; when , if they are found deserving , a premium ,

notexceeding five pounds , is allowed towards placing them out apprentice , or finding them clothes . " Erom that time to the present upwards of 000 boj's bave been

educated and assisted in the world ; and the new school was established witb the view of bringing tbe boys under more careful supervision ancl giving them a better education than could be attained under the old system ; and by adding maintenance to the advantages offered , the expenditure has been necessarily largely

increased . Whilst , however , the advantages of the school house are offered to all the boys elected , they are not forced upon them ; but those whose friends object to their entering the school on the ground of their religious creed , are allowed to be

educated under the old system . We should observe that the boys receive a first-class commercial education , with instruction in the French language , that where the parents or friends of the pupils desire it , and their own conduct deserves the indulgence , they are kept to the

age of fifteen , and the apprenticeship fee has been raised from £ 5 to £ 15 . We should also state that the total regular income of the institution is only about £ 550 per annum , whereas the expenditure last year exceeded £ 2 , 300 , the balance being entirely provided by the

voluntary contributions of the brethren . This we claim as a further benefit conferred by Ereemasonry on society ; and rank it as the second of our " evil " works .

We would next request a Ereemason ' s Wife to visit East Croydon , ancl a little to the left of the railway , proceeding from London , she will see a rather handsome brick building , to which she should at once make her way , as this is the Eoyal Ereemason ' s Asylum , in which are

lodged twenty-eight annuitants , being decayed Ereemasons , or their widows ( the buildmg is adapted for thirty-four ) , who in addition to their apartments witb , under present arrangements , fuel and candles , have annuities varying from £ 20 to £ 30 a-year , according to the age at which they were elected . Let a Ereemason ' s Wife

converse with these poor people , and then tell us whether this asylum is a Masonic benefit , or another work of " evil . " But this is not all that is done for the aged Mason and his widow , for after the last election in May , we bad

on the books of the Eoyal Benevolent Institution for Aged Masons and their Widoivs , 77 male annuitants , receiving in the aggregate £ 1736 a-year , and 4-i female annuitants , receiving amongst them £ 960 a-year ; and though the male fund was only established in 18-12 ,

and the Widows' Eund in 1 S 49 , 192 decayed Ereemasons' and 56 Widows have already received the benefits of the Institution—its advantages having been more than doubled during the last three or four years , through the exertions of a few brethren in

obtaining for the Institution the benefit of an annual instead of a triennial festival , which was all that was originally allowed , lest it should interfere with the support given to the Boys' and Girls' Schools—whilst experience has proved that as one Masonic Charity

advances iu prosperity , so do the others . The Eoyal Benevolent Institution is supjiorted by grants from Grand Lodge and Grand Chapter , in right of which every lodge and chapter in the United Kingdom are entitled to votes for annuitants and the voluntary

donations of the brethren , the latter constituting three-fourths of the income—ancl now generally reaching close upon £ 3000 per annum . We should not omit to observe that the widows of male annuitants receive one-half of the annuities of their deceased husbands for a period of three years , in order to give them an opportunity of being

elected on the Widows' Eund—ancl we do not recollect an instance where she has not been elected within the given time . There are four such annuitants at the present moment , receiving between them £ 50 per annum . Is the Eoyal Benevolent Institution for aged Masons

and their Widows to be ranked as a benefit bestowed by Ereemasonry , or another of its " evil" works ? Nor are these all the charities appertaining to our Order . Out of every payment made by a brother at / a lodge , a portion—but a small portion it is true— -has to

be paid over to the officials of Grand Lodge , to form a general Eund of Benevolence , now amounting to about £ 20 , 000 , which is administered by a Board consisting of the Masters of the various lodges , and other P . M . 's and P . Grand Officers , who meet once a month to consider applications for relief , and who dispense something like

£ 2 , 000 a-year , in sums varying from £ 3 to £ 100 , according to the necessities of the case—thus the distressed foreigner , who has no claims on the Ereemasons of England , excepting the one that is always acknowledged , of being a brother and in want , is enabled to return to his

home with a trifle in his pocket to assist him in the . world ; the tradesman who has been unfortunate is furnished with the means of recommencing business ; the decayed brother of supporting himself until he can be elected on the annuity fund ; or the widow placed in the way of obtaining a maintenance for herself and children .