Analysis Of The Returns.

total of £ 790 13 * 5 . for the current year . In 1891 it contributed £ 408 2 s . to the funds of this Charity , and £ 63 to the Old People , while in iSSS , when Bro . Viscount Ebrington , P . G . M ., presided at the Boys' Festival , it raised in its behalf £ 840 . These are praiseworthy figures even for a Province which reckons 52 lodges on its roll . Tracing our steps northward , we find ourselves in

DURHAM , Which has now 35 lodges , and has been acquitting itself very handsomely during the present year . It started in February with £ 703 for the Old Folks' Jubilee , and following this up with a contribution of £ 105 to the Girls' School in May , has now completed its labours by subscribing £ 220 ios . to " Our Boys , " the brother who had the satisfaction of compiling this list being Bro . F . H . Bennett . Thus the total for 1892 is over £ 1028 , or considerably more than double the sum—£ 488 14 s . —it raised for the three Institutions in 1891 . Bravo , Durham I Of the 32 lodges on the roll of

ESSEX , there were four represented on Wednesday by as many brethren , while Bro . John Glass , of the Board of Management , was Unattached , the amount raised by four of the five Stewards being £ 82 15 s . In May the Girls' School had the satisfaction of receiving a sum of £ 193 4 s ., and in February , when the Benevolent Institution celebrated its Jubilee , Essex played a leading part , its 43 Stewards

together compiling the very handsome aggregate of £ 2296 12 s ., the product of the whole year being £ 2572 ns . Last year the Returns reached £ 1648 , the Old People receiving £ 244 13 s . 6 d . . the Girls' Institution - £ 137 ns ., and the Boys ' School £ 1265 15 s . 6 d . In 1889 and 1890 the Returns were on a lower scale , but in the year of the Girls' Centenary , the Province , it will be readily imagined , did its duty right generously . Thus all three Institutions have had their share of the good things so freely dispensed by this influential section of the English Craft .

A rapid transition from East to West carries us into the Chairman's Pro vince of

GLOUCESTERSHIRE , from which undoubtedly great things were expected , but which it will be Very generally allowed has acquitted itself even beyond the most sanguine expectations of its friends and members . Not only was every one of the 15 lodges , each of the three Royal Arch chapters , together with a Rose Croix chapter , a Templar preceptory , and the Provincial Grand Mark Lodge of the Province , represented in the Returns , but several of the lodges , notably Foundation , No . 82 ,

and Royal Union , No . 246 , of Cheltenham ; and Royal Lebanon , No . 493 , Royal Gloucestershire , No . 839 , and Zetland , No . 1005 , of the city of Gloucester , were represented by several of its members . Thus No . 82 , which has seven Stewards , raised £ 173 5 s . ; No . 246 , with five Stewards , £ 96 12 s . ; No . 493 , with 10 Stewards , £ 203 14 s . ; No . 839 , with five Stewards , £ 141 15 s . ; and No . 1005 , with six Stewards , £ 119 15 s . The Cotteswold , No . 592 , Cirencester , with two Stewards , sent up £ 105 5 s . ; the Sherborne , No . 702 , Stroud , four

Stewards , £ 63 ; and St . John ' s Lodge , No . 761 , Dursley , three Stewards , £ 85 is . ; and Zetland , No . 1005 , Gloucester , six Stewards , £ 115 ios . The total number of brethren , including the Chairman , Bro . Sir M . E . Hicks-Beach , Bart ., P . G . M ., whose list was £ 157 ios ., and Bro . Vassar-Smith , D . P . G . M ., with £ 88 is ., was 57 , and the amount of their contributions £ 1627 ios . Add to this the £ 52 103 . which was raised for the other two Institutions , and we have a grand total of £ 1680 from a Province which , as we have said , has only 15 lodges and three R . A . chapters on its roll , and cannot ,

therefore , be regarded as numerically strong . VVe most heartily congratulate the Prov . Grand Master , and the body of brethren over whom he so worthily presides , on this splendid result of their combined efforts . We judged from the manner in which they set about organising their contingent of representatives that our Gloucestershire brethren meant endeavouring to surpass all their previous efforts , and thanks to the advocacy of their leader , and the example he set them , as well as to Bro . Vassar-Smith , his able deputy , they have achieved a success which is most honourable . Pass we now to the Province of

HAMPSHIRE AND THE ISLE OF WIGHT , which is fortunate in having Bro . VV . W . B . Beach—a cousin of Wednesday's Chairman—for its ruler . It is a regular , as well as a liberal , supporter of all our three Institutions , and ot late years has performsd some excellent work , its most notable exploits having been at the Festivals at which its respected chief has occupied the chair . On Wednesday its representatives were six in number , one—Bro . Asher Barfield , Past Grand Treasurer—being Unattached , while the other live were representatives of as many as live out of its 47 lodges . Their lists

together amounted to ^ , 225 15 s ., which with the £ 1375 9 s . raised at the Benevolent Jubilee in February , and £ 64 8 s . Gd . for the Girls' School in May , gives a total for the year of £ 1665 12 s . Cd . In 1891 it distributed £ 695 1 is . Cd . in fairly equal proportions among the three Charities , and in 1887 , the year of the Queen ' s Jubilee , when its Provincial Grand Master presided at the Benevolent Festival , it raised on that occasion alone £ 1785 9 s . Gd . Be it added that latterly the Province has established an Educational Institution of its own , and it will be seen that Hampshire and the Isle of Wight enjoys a prestige which there is every reason to hope it will maintain for many a year to come .

HERTFORDSHIRE , which , now that it musters 21 lodges , is no longer entitled to the appellation of " Little Herts , " was represented on Wednesday by four Stewards , of whom one was a representative of the Watford Lodge , while the others—Bros . C . E . Keyser , J . G . D ., and E . C . Mulvey , and Mrs . Keyser—were Unattached , their lists amounting to £ 107 2 s . In February the Prov . Grand Master , Bro . T . F . Halsey , and 27 other Stewards had the great satisfaction of raising amongst them no less a sum than

£ 1872 iGs . 6 d ., the principal list being Bro . Keyser ' s for £ 628 19 s . In May , two of its lodges , with Bro . Keyser andalady Steward , Unattached , together raised £ 13913 s ., the chief item being Bro . Keyser ' s list of £ 84 , so that the total for the year reaches £ 2119 ns . 6 d ., or far and away the highest sum the Province has ever raised , tbe two previously most successful years having been 1891 , when the contributions to the three Charities reached £ 811 19 s . Gd ., and 1888 , when the total to the

Benevolent Institution and the Girls' School Centenary fell only a few pounds short of £ 800 . We heartily congratulate this home Province on the extent and regularity of the support it gives to our several Institutions , and we trust that for many years to come it will retain the foremost place it has secured for itself among the friends and supporters of those Charities . There were 11 Stewards hailing from the Province of

KENT , of whom Bro . H . Hollis was Unattached , while the other 10 acted in behalf of nine out of the 57 lodges on the roll . Bro . B . Snell representing the Invicta Lodge , No . 709 , Ashford , compiled the goodly total of £ 131 5 s ., and Bro . T . Ii . Blamiers , Royal Military Lodge , No . 1449 , Canterbury , figures for £ 109 4 s .: Bro . W . O . Kennett , Corinthian Lodge , No . 1208 , Dover , being responsible for

£ 105 ; Bro . A . Clemow , Pegasus Lodge , No . 2205 , Gravesend , £ 89 5 s . ; and Bro . W . T . Wiggins , of the Royal Kent Lodge of Antiquity , No . 20 , Chatham , £ 78 15 s . The total returned amounts to £ 778 13 s ., so that during the current year the land of hops , cherries , and other good things too numerous to specify , has contributed £ 2753 iGs . to our Institutions , the Benevolent

Analysis Of The Returns.

Jubilee obtaining £ 16 * 45 10 J -i and the" ] Girls' School , £ 329 135 . Last year when Bro . Earl Amherst presided at the Festival of the R . M . B . I . the total for that anniversary was £ 3483 14 s . Cd ., and for all three Charities £ 4018 6 s .

LANCASHIRE ( EAST DIVISION ) has more than 100 lodges on its roll , but on this occasion its representatives were only five in number , and the aggregate of their lists £ 94 ios .. Of course , such a Return as this from such a Province is hardly worth noticing , but , nevertheless , it has been doing admirable work , not only in the years gone by , but in 18 91 and

during the current year . In 1891 it raised £ 126 for the Old People , £ 183 8 s . Cd . for the Girls' School , and £ 968 125 . for this Institution , or , together , £ 1278 os . 6 d . This year its total is £ 2872 , of which the R . M . B . I . obtained £ 2714 105 ., and the Girls' School £ 63 . Almost precisely the same remarks may be applied to its immediate neighbour

LANCASHIRE ( WEST DIVISION ) , which , with upwards of 100 lodges under the control of its Provincial Grand Master , sent up only nine Stewards on Wednesday , who together compiled £ 105 . In February it returned by the medium of 33 Stewards £ 1139 4 s . Cd .

to the Jubilee of the Benevolent Institution , and in May £ 363 i 6 s . Gd . to the Girls' School , the total for 1892 being ^ i 608 is . Last year it raised the immense sum of £ 6341 193 . 4 d .,. of which £ 6126 14 s . 4 d . was contributed in support of the Chairmanship of Bro . the Earl of Lathom , Pro Grand Master , and Provincial Grand Master .

LEICESTERSHIRE AND RUTLAND has but 12 lodges within its borders , and , as we have several times pointed out , is in the habit of confining its attentions each year to a single Institution , so that it may make an effective show . Occasionally , however , it supplements this contribution with a smaller one , as during the present year , its main subscription of

£ 388 ios . having been raised for the Benevolent Jubilee in February , while on Wednesday Bro . the Hon . Paulyn Hastings , W . M . of the Ferrers and Ivanhoe Lodge , N o . 779 , Ashby-de-la-Zouch , raised £ 48 6 s . for " Our Boys , " the total for the year being £ 436 165 . In 1891 the Girls' School received £ 178 ios ., and the Old People £ 70 Gs . 6 d ., the sum total being £ 248 iGs . Cd .

MIDDLESEX , which can boast of 40 lodges , apart from the fact that it has been raising consider , able sums during the last few years , has sustained a grievous loss by the death of its beloved Prov . Grand Master , Bro . Col . Sir Francis Burdett , Bart ., and may be looked upon as being for the present , at all events , hors de combat . Nevertheless , on Wednesday the Stewards for one of its lodges and one of its Royal Arch The to

chapters between them compiled a useful ^ , 46 4 s . sum subscribed the Benevolent Jubilee in February was £ 1401 ns . Cd ., and to the Girls' School in May , £ 249 2 s ., so that the total for 1892 is £ iCgG 17 s . 6 d . Last year it was only £ 540 2 s ., but in 1890 , when its late chief presided at the Girls' School Anniversary , it was £ 1337 15 s . 6 d ., while in 1888 , the year of the Girls' Centenary , it reached the very high figure of £ 1816 5 s .

MONMOUTHSHIRE , with a muster roll of only 10 lodges , nevertheless does yeoman service every year , but after the manner already spoken of in the case of Leicestershire and Rutland . Thus in 1890 it supported the Girls' School to the extent of £ 257 9 s ., and in 18 91 it contributed £ 325 is . to the Benevolent Institution . On Wednesday it sent up

a contingent of eight Stewards , of whom Bro . Capt . S . G . Homfray , D . P . G . M ., and another did duty for the Province as a whole , while the other six acted for five of the lodges . The amount they had the gratification of raising reached £ 315 and as there was a small contribution of £ 21 to the Benevolent Jubilee in February , the year ' s total is £ 336 . Three out of the 18 lodges in

NORTH WALES sent up representatives on Wednesday , while the veteran Festival Steward , Bro . C . K . Benson , who makes a point of figuring in each successive series of Returns , acted independently . The amount thus raised amongst them was , £ 219 gs ., of which Bro . W . Llewelyn Davies , Segontium Lodge , No . 606 , Caernarvon ,

compiled £ 74 ns ., Bro . J . G . Tuxford , Madoc Lodge , No . 1509 , Portmadoc , £ 71 os ., and Bro . Benson , £ 57 15 s . In May , Bro . Benson and another handed in £ 3 6 15 s ., while at the Benevolent Jubilee in February the total was £ 222 14 s ., the year ' s contributions being £ 478 18 s . In 1891 it reached £ 247 16 s ., and 1888 it subscribed £ 6 75 to the Girls' Centenary . Under the auspices of Bro . the Earl of Euston as P . G . M .,

NORTHANTS AND HUNTS has been doing some highly creditable work . In 1889 , when his lordship presided at the Benevolent Festival , it raised upwards of £ 900 . Last year the total obtained was £ 26 7 5 s ., of which this Institution had the good fortune to receive £ 214 15 s . In February the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution was benefited to the extent of £ 255 8 s ., and last month the Girls' School received £ 23 2 s . On

Wednesday there were four of its members acting as Stewards , among them being Bros , the Earl of Euston , G . Ellard , and H . Carman , Unattached , and Bro . Whitsed , of St . Peter ' s Lodge , No . 442 , Peterborough , their combined Returns amounting to £ 64 os . Cd , and increasing the year ' s total to £ 322 ios . Cd . Next year we may expect still greater things , as the Provincial Grand Master has been invited to preside at the Girls' School Festival .

NORTHUMBERLAND _ is unquestionably a strong Province , but it is one of those which elect to appeal from time to time only , and when they do to very good purpose . Thus to give an example : In 1888 it figured among the contributing Provinces for £ 1050 , while

on Wednesday it returned £ 1377 8 s . by the hands of Bro . John Strachan , Provincial Grand Secretary . In this sum is included the £ 10 jo paid for a Perpetual Presentation , the balance being donations and subscriptions , which entitle those who make them to the customary votes . Of the iG lodges in the Province of

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE , sent up two representatives , the sum of their lists , however , amounting to no more than £ 48 6 s . But in February it raised £ 157 ios . for the Old People ' s Jubilee , and at the Festival of this Institution in 1891 it was represented to very good purpose . In this instance , also , the Province adopts the plan of supporting each Institution in turn , with an occasional supplementary contribution to one of the other two .

There is , perhaps , no Province which has figured so regularly at these meetings as

OXFORDSHIRE . It musters only 12 lodges , yet it shows to advantage always , while on special occasions it rivals in its performances other Provinces which are numerically its superior . On Wednesday , its four representatives , of whom two were members ot

Apollo University Lodge , No . 357 , Oxford , compiled a total of £ 85 ps . L * month it raised £ 99 2 s . 6 d . for the Girls' School , and in February , by the hands of 13 Stewards , a iraction over £ 3 80 , the grand total for the year being in rouno figures about £ 565 . In 1891 its total was . £ 414 2 s ., of which this Institution haa the good fortune to secure £ 246 9 s . In 18 90 , it was , £ 385 6 s . 6 d . ; in l °°