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THE Festival was well attended by the Stewards of the year , the large Hall of Freemasons' Tavern being taxed to its full extent . Messrs . Spiers and Pond supplied a splendid banquet , which was well served under the direction of the manager of the establishment , who was ably supported by the large staff under his direction . At the conclusion of the dinner , and after grace , Lord George Hamilton

rose to propose the first toast . They would doubtless have anticipated that it would be in honour of Her ' Majesty the Queen . Affliction and sorrow had recently laid a heavy hand on Her Majesty and the Royal Family , and the nation had shown its respect by tendering its sympathy . The way in which Her Majesty had acknowledged that sympathy was truly characteristic of the Queen , who was always one with her people , whether in their sorrow or their rejoicing .

In submitting the Prince of Wales , the Princess and the other members of the Royal Family , the chairman said the mere fact that the heir to the throne accepted the position he did in connection with Freemasonry had been of great advantage to the Craft . Admiral Markham D . G . M . Malta proposed the Pro G . M ., D . G . M . and the other Officers of Grand Lodge . He regretted being called upon , not only for his own sake , but also for the sake of those who had to listen to him , for as they were probably aware , sailors were generally bad speakers , and he was no

exception to the rule . The names of those included in the toast had been so well received that it was quite unnecessary for him to say anything on behalf of it , except perhaps to say that the Grand Officers did their dutyamong them , it should be remembered , was their noble chairman . The present was the first time he had met the Chairman in Freemasonry , but he had had the honour and tho pleasure of being in his company when he so ably presided over the Admiralty a few years back , and if he only ruled the Province of Middlesex as he did that Department of the Service his Province was to be congratulated .

Bro . Rev . 0 . J . Martyn responded . It was at all times a responsibility to return thanks for the large and influential body included in the toast of the Grand Officers . The names of the two Brethren first included in the toast , however , wore so well known as to render the task somewhat easy . The Grand Officers rejoiced at the grand gathering that night , in support of the Provincial Grand Master of Middlesex . They felt the mere fact of his

name being associated with the cause would ensure a large gathering , but the cause for which they were met was also an attraction , and they hoped the result would be a gratifying one . He remembered , at the first Masonic Festival he attended , the Chairman announced , amid great rejoicing , the then unprecedented amount of £ 1 , 300 ; he knew the amount would be looked upon as very small now , but hoped the day's result would be as satisfactory

as that was . The Chairman next proposed the toast of the evening—Success to the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution for Aged Freemasons and Widows of Freemasons . He felt this was a toast that did not require any lengthened speech on his part to recommend it to those present , for whilst there were many good qualities associated with Freemasonry , the arch and foundation of their system was brotherly love . By that was meant , not merely kindly

intercourse and communication with others in the time of prosperity , but the relief of those among us who were less fortunate than ourselves , and who unhappily found themselves in such a position as to need the assistance of others . When he said the object of Freemasonry was Brotherly Love he hoped the Ladies—who , he was pleased to see , were present—would not accept it in the strict acceptation of tho term . This reminded him of a case he heard of some years back where a venerable friend , who numbered among

his congregation several ladies who enjoyed somewhat advanced views , was . waited upon by a deputation who wished to know if he could not commence the prayers with some other formula than "Dearly beloved Brethren . " His reply was to the effect that so far as his experience went , the Brotherhood embraced the Sisterhood , and unless the ladies of his congregation were different to others in this respect he did not see there was any need for a change— so was it in Freemasonry , where the Ladies were cordially welcomed and entered into the spirit of the Craft . Benevolence was

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recognised as ono of the main objects of individual Lodges , but their forefathers had felt , some fifty years back , that a central Institution should be created in addition , aud success had attended their efforts . There were at the present time two branches— those who live in the houses at Croydon , and those who receive their pensions at home . He had taken advantage of the quarterly visit of the Committee to the former to pay a visit to the Institution , and see for himself what was being done . He went with two

special objects in his mind , first to see in what way the benevolence was dispensed ; then , as in Freemasonry after benevolence came equality—for no ' matter what position a man occupied in the world , within the Lodge all were equal—he wanted to see if it was possible for the House Committee to carry out the work without departing from this feature and without bringing any degradation on the recipients of the bounty of the Craft . He was pleased to say he was more than satisfied with what he saw . He found a sense of

equality existing between the giver and the receiver that was essentially Masonic . Perhaps it was not possible to select any member of the Committee as evincing more concern in the Institution than the others , but he could not help noticing the effect of the presence of Brother Terry , the worthy Secretary , whose kindly chaff and cheery enquiries as he passed around among the annuitants had a marked effect on the residents at Croydon . He could not help a thought as to the future , for he found that the Institution

helped all sorts and conditions ; old widowers , old widows , and old bachelors , but they had no old spinsters , which called to his mind the remark of an old Irish woman who was told she was not eligible for a grant intended for widows , and replied she was the very worst of widows , for she was an old maid . In this connection he was not thinking of the present , but of the future , when the new woman would be in power , and he could but wonder whether , when their day came , they would deal more favourably with the

old bachelors than the Brethren of the present were dealing with the old maids—would they regard old bachelors as the worst of all widows ? At the present time the expenditure of the Institution was about £ 16 , 300 a year , while the annual income was only £ 5 , 300 , so that if the permanent income was not supplemented , 70 per cent of the 472 recipients of their bounty would be precluded from benefiting by it in the future . It was to make up this deficit that the annual Festivals were hold , and in the past , as the result

of them , not only had the deficiency been made up , but there had been a surplus , which enabled the number of recipients of the funds to be increased from time to time , and he trusted that would be the case on the present occasion . When he was asked to preside he consulted his two advisers in his Province , and asked them if under the circumstances of accepting the responsibility he was sure of the loyal support of the Province . The answer was favourable , and he might say the Province of Middlesex had

nobly responded to the appeal that had been made , and had sent in a total which had not only broken the record , but had also broken it by a considerable amount , and if Middlesex had done thus well he hoped other Provinces had done equally so . He now appealed especially to those who lived in London . London was not only the capital of England , it was the capital of the greatest Empire the world had ever seen—an Empire covering one-fifth of the habitable globe . They must remember that , in spite of the

increased wealth and luxury of the present day , competition was far more severe than it used to be , and the race could be run by the swift alone . The facilities for self-advancement and self-elevation were greater than ever before , but owing to a variety of circumstances , such as ill-health or ill-luck , a competitor might lag behind in the race , and it often happened that he

was never able to re-enter it . An appeal was being made that evening to those who had been successful , to be generous to those who had been less fortunate . The applications to the Institution for charity were many , and the vacancies few . He hoped that the result of that Festival would be to enable them not only to make good the deficit , but to extend still more widely the benefits of the Institution .

Bro . J . A . Farnfield acknowledged the toast . He thanked the Chairman on behalf of the Institution for the forcible speech he had made . The Committee had recently had to face a list of 113 Candidates , of whom it was only possible to elect 33 , so that , unless deaths occurred prior to the election ,

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Royal Masonic Institution for Girls , ST . JOHN'S HILL , BATTERSEA RISE , S . W . INSTITUTED 1788 . Chief Patroness—HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN . ' Grand Patron and President—H . R . H . THE PRINCE OE WALES , K . G ., M . W . G . M . Grand Patroness—EE & ROYAL HIGHNESS THE PRINCESS OF WALES . The 108 th ANNIVERSARY FESTIVAL WILL BE HELD AT THE FREEMASONS' TAVERN , LONDON , W . C , on Wednesday , the 13 th MAY 1896 . The Eight Hon . The Earl of Yarborough , Bdght Worshipful Provincial Grand Master of Lincolnshire , in the Chair . Brethren willing to act as Stewards on this important occasion are most earnestly solicited to send in their names to the Secretary as early as convenient . Stewards are greatly needed , and their services will be very gratefully received . E . R . W . HEDGES , Secretary . Offices--5 Ereemasons' Hall , London , W . C .