Royal Masonic Institution For Girls.

ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR GIRLS .

"OOR the second time during the current year the Ju Freemasons of England have shown , in the most practical manner , their desire to maintain that reputation for benevolence which has long been associated with the'n , in connection with the three great charitable Institutions

of the Order . The Ninety-eighth Anniversary Festival of the Royal Masonic Institution for Girls was held on Wednesday , under the presidency of General J . Stndholme Brownrigg , C . B ., P . G . W ., Provincial Grand Master for

Surrey , and the result of the appeals to the craft of which that meeting was the climax , was an addition to the funds of the Institution of £ 13 , 029 3 s Od . This total is something like a thousand pounds short of what was announced

at the corresponding Festival last year , but even then it 13 a grand sum to raise as a year ' s contribution to one of tho three Charities of Freemasonry , especially when we consider it in connection with the equally satisfactory

total of £ 15 , 000 raised for the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution in February last . The total thus far for the year is therefore £ 28 , 030 , and if we may anticipate

that there will be no falling off in the support given to the Boys' School , the Festival of which will be held at Bri ghton in a month's time , this year ' s total will bear favourable comparison with any which has preceeded it .

The £ 13 , 029 raised on Wednesday was the result of the efforts of two hundred and seventy-four stewards , four of whom have yet to make a return , so that the average of

the lists sent in is upwards of £ 48 5 s Od . The honour of the largest list is ou this occasion secured b y a Provincial Steward—Bro . B . J . Thompson , representing the Province of Northumberland—who collected £ 905 2 s Od . He is

followed by one of the Surrey Stewards—Bro . Joseph D . Langton—who , although only representing a Private Lodge , the George Price , No . 2096 , brings up the grand sum of £ 407 18 s 6 d . To this brother must , we think , be

accorded the palm , for while his only competitor had the whole of the Province of Northumberland from which to solicit subscriptions , Bro . Langton had onl y a single Lodge , and that too a very young one , in a Province

which had twenty-one other Stewards at work , among them the Provincial Grand Master and his Deputy . One hundred and twenty-four of the Stewards appear on the London list : thirteen as members of the House

Committee , eighty-nine as representatives of Lodges , and twenty-two as unattached . The totals collected by these brethren were £ 679 10 s , £ 4 , 190 19 s 6 d , and £ 523 13 s respectively ; £ 5 , 394 2 s 6 d in all . Bro . Bernhard

Kauffmann heads the London Stewards , as far as total is concerned , his list , as representative of the King ' s Cross Lodge , No . 1732 , amounting to £ 164 17 s . He is followed b y Bro . Alfred R . W . Powles , with a list of £ 153 6 s from

the Selwyn Lodge , No . 1901 ; and then by Bro . Georgp Coop , from the Queen ' s Westminster Lodge , No . 2021 . with a round £ 150 . Thus we have three Lodges , all comparatively young , heading the list of London contributors

to the festival , and sending up amongst them close on £ 470 . This is an answer—and a most satisfactory one 'to the large body of Masons who lament the extension of

Freemasons' Lodges in the Metropolis ; who affirm that the granting of a warrant is a mistake , and that each one granted for years past has been detrimental to the interests

Royal Masonic Institution For Girls.

of the Order . Fourth on the l'oll of London Stewards is Bro . Frank Richardson , a member of the House Committee of the Institution , who has beou successful in securing towards this Festival a total of £ 138 10 s . He is

followed by Comp . Charles Tayler , of tho Eccleston Chapter , with a list of £ 120 15 s , who ia turn is succeeded by Bro . K . R . Murchison , a Steward from the Friends iu Council Lodge , No . 1383 , who figures for £ 108 . There

are threo brethren who share among themselves the honours of the next rank , lists of ono hundred guineas each having been subscribed by Bro . Horace Brooks Marshall- ( a member of the Houso Committee

of the Institution ) , Brother T . B . Daniell ( Merchant Navy Lodge , No . 781 ) , ancl Bro . Francis W . Shamp ( Perfect Aslilar Lodge , No . 1178 ) , while two other brethren , C . H . Bardouleau and Rowland Hirst bring up a similar

amount as joint representatives of thoir Lodge , the Lingthorne , No . 1421 . Bro . Chas . Hammerton , another member of the House Committee , answers for a total of £ 100 , as also does Bro . W . T . P . Montgomery , of Peckham Lodge ,

No . 1475 . These twelve lists bring us to tho end of tho three figure totals from the Metropolis , and as usual we here conclude our remarks on this section of the Festival . It must not , however , be assumed that we imagine anything

under one hundred pounds as being unworthy of mention ; on the contrary , we should much like to offer a few words of congratulation to each of the other Stewards individually .

It is only the necessity for keeping within the limits of the space at our disposal which compels us to draw a line , and that line has usually been at the close of the three figure lists .

We now turn to the Provinces , first among which comes , as should be the case , the district over which the chairman of the day presides as Provincial Grand Master . Surrey on this occasion sent up a magnificent sum , the

total of its contributions , at the hands of twenty-two Stewards , being £ 1 , 334 4 s 6 d , but we leave further consideration of this amount , as well as other Provincial contributions , until next week .

rriHE Ninety-eighth Anniversary Festival of this Institu-JL tion was held on Wednesday , at Freemasons ' Tavern , Great Queen Street , London , under the presidency of General J . Stndholme Brownrigg , C . B ., P . G . W ., Provincial Grand Master for Surrey . As stated above , the

result was a grand addition to the funds of the Institution , and one of which the Chairman , the Stewards , and all interested in the Charity , have every reason to be proud . The usual banquet was served by Messrs . Spiers

ancl Pond , Limited , and at its conclusion tho toasts of the evening were honoured . It was not merely as loyal subjects , said the Chairman , that those present should drink the health of Her Majesty the Queen , who had ruled over

the nation wisely and well for elo ^ e on fifty years , but also as Freemasons , for they could but romo-mbnr how intimately the Queen wns associated with the Order . Her father and three of hor sons had associatr-d themselves

with the Craft , while many other branches of her family were likewise members of it . She was also chief Patroness of the Institution the Festival of which they

were then celebrating . The toast was followed by that of his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales M . W . G . M ., Grand Patron ancl President of the Institution ;