The Royal Masonic Institution For Girls.

THE ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR GIRLS .

A GOOD reputation is a valuable acquisition to . 3- any man or body of men , but unfortunately it will not serve the same purpose as a good meal to the family of its possessor , and it may sometimes prove

an expensive luxury to those who have an exceptionally large number dependent on them . The Eoyal Masonic Institution for Girls is somewhat in this dilemma—it has the reputation of having achieved

more than either of the other Masonic Institutions , or indeed of any charitable fund of the world , by securing something like . £ 50 , 000 for its Centenary celebration , which occurred two vears back , nnd now

appears to be lacking support for its current Festival , in consequence of the great efforts then made . We are not surprised at this result , indeed we more than once predicted such would be the case ; but let the

past take care of itself in this respect—we have the present need and present calls of the Institution to deal with , and we hope the Craft will ere long show that the supreme effort made in 1888 did not wholly

cripple the charitable instincts of its members towards this most deserving Institution . Last year it was nothing more than reasonable to expect that the great success of the Centenary celebration would have

a considerable effect on the Festival results , but two years is almost long enough for the Craft to turn round in , and make up for the prolific harvest it brought forth for the great event of 1888 . We think

there are tew who will not now join in our wish that this , the oldest of the Institutions of the Craft , will speedily regain its old flow of supporters , and that we shall soon cease to hear that the Lodges have not vst

had time to recover from the Centenary Festival , which we believe is an answer frequently made use of lately to those who have solicited support for the Festival of the current vfin , i \

The Centenary celebration was , without doubt , a brilliant success , but successes are not always self supporting , and the case of the Girls' School is a prominent example in this respect . After the splendid

result of the 1888 gathering there were loud clamours for large extensions of the good work being carried on , and most liberal responses were made to the

requests by those who have the management of the Charity , but the responsibility of the Craft did not cease when they subscribed the funds necessarv for

the extensions , for in this instance extension of benefits meant continued increase of liability , and it is the increased annual liability that has to be met , not out of the large total subscribed in 1888 . but bv

iresh donations this year , next year , ancl year by year afterwards . It should only be necessary to forcibly impress this on the minds of those who worked to

ensure the success of the 1888 Festival to secure them as active workers for the similar gathering of this and future years . It may be hard to expect

The Royal Masonic Institution For Girls.

increased subscriptions from those who did exceptionally well two years back , but it is very certain the success of that period caused additional responsibilities tn bfi undertaken , and as a consequence special

appeals must be addressed , not only to the Craft as a whole , but particularly to those who started the good work , and by whose exertions an increase of benefits was brought about .

The Festival of the current year will take place on the 20 th May , under the Presidency of Col . Sir Francis Burdett , Bart ., Past Grand Warden of England , and Provincial Grand Master of Middlesex . So far , we

are afraid we must describe the outlook as very discouraging . At present there are only 218 Stewards on the list , a number 60 or more short of the average of past years , and a number which it will be found tne tnree weeics

very difficult to make up during which will elapse before the Festival takes place . In comparison with last year the roll of Stewards already stands out wellj but last year was such an exceptional

one in connection with this institution—tne announcement at the Festival being only £ 5 , 354—that we must not dare to compare the present with it . The repetition of such a result as was achieved at the Festival

last year would be little short of a calamity , ancl even if the total received then is doubled next month the Institution will still find itself in a difficult position , as even the increased amount would not nearly

provide for the current expenses of the year , and it would cause considerable regret if the reserve of the Charity had to be encroached upon year after year to make good the difference between income and expendi-+. nrA .

There are at the present time 264 Girls receiving the benefits of the Institution , the election to be held to-day providing for the filling of all vacancies that have occurred since the last election , through children bcnooianctother

having completed their term at the ., , causes . Of this large family of ' 264 twenty were permanently taken on last year as one of the results of the Centenarv Festival , so that it will be readily

understood what a difference that success made in the responsibilities of the Institution , while we must not forget that a considerable proportion of the extra

subscriptions received on that occasion were absorbedin the new building and enlargement schemes which were put forward as a part of the Centenary programme , and which are now being completed . If we look at the matter from every point we fear that

the success and the good reputation achieved by this Charity in 1888 will not only prove very expensive luxuries , but may even go far to lead the Institution into difficulties . Under

such conditions we have no hesitation in asking the Craft to weigh carefully the position in which they have placed the Royal Masonic Institution for Girls ,

and the members of the Order having satisheci their own minds on the point will have little difficulty in agreeing with us that something special must now be clone to bribg things up ' to the level that existed prior