Analysis Of The Returns.

School Festival , and ils figures have since then been on a smaller scale than usual . Thus in 1 P 92 it subscribrd £ 1645 us . to the Boys' Institution , £ 21 to the Girls ' School , and £ 63 to the Old People , making in all £ 1739 us . for the year . Last year it subsscribed £ 58 3 s . fid . to the Old People , £ 147 to the Girls' School , and £ 99 15 s . to Our Boys , or together £ 304 iSs . Cd .

Of the 4 8 lodges on the roll of HAMPSHIRE AND THE ISLE OF WIGHT , four sent up Stewards , and the D . P . G . M ., Bro . J . E . Le Feuvre , Unattached , made a fifth . The total of the lists compiled by these brethren reached the sum of £ 208 iSs . 6 d ,, Bro . Richard Hodges , of Hengist Lodge , No . 195 , Bournemouth , being responsible for £ 109 3 s . fid . In June of last year eight Stewards

did duty for the Province at the Boys' School Festival , the sum they raised being £ 313 19 s ., while in the preceding May and February , the contributions were £ 294 is . fid . to the Girls' School and £ 72 3 s . fid to the Old People ; the total for the year being £ 6 So 4 s . In 1892 the amount distributed was £ 1650 17 s . fid ., or nearly £ 1000 more . Out of this the Benevolent Jubilee absorbed £ 1345 19 s . 7 d . and the Schools had to content themselves with the balance . In 1 S 91 the Returns

amounted to £ 6 gs 1 is . 6 d ., so that during the three years we have referred to , the sums subscribed by this Province reached the handsome aggregate of £ 3027 Ss . 7 d . Nor does this by any means represent the full extent of the efforts made by the lodges in this district in behalf of necessitous Masons and their families , the support given to the Provincial Educational Fund being on a corresponding scale of liberality .

As for HERTFORDSHIRE , five out of its 21 lodges and one of its seven chapters were represented in Wednesday's Returns , the aggregate of their lists being £ 359 gs . 6 d \ , of which £ 122 fis . was raised by Bro . C . E . Keyser , who acted as Steward for the Bushey Hall Lodge , No . 2323—as well as for the Union Lodge , No . 414 , Reading , under the head of Berkshire— £ 84 by Bro . H . Trask , VV . M . of the James Terry Lodge , No . 2372 , and £ 78 15 s . by Bro . F . C . Collingwood . who signalised his

accession to office as VV . M . of the Gladsmuir Lodge , No . 1385 , by undertaking a Stewardship for this Festival . Last year the total contributed Uy this Province was £ 2106 14 s ., the Benevolent Institution , at whose anniversary Bro . Keyser , a Past J . G . W . of Herts , acted as Chairman , receiving £ 1444 13 s . fis ., the Girls' School £ 257 5 s . and the Boys' School £ 404 15 s fid . In i 8 g 2 the total subscribed was £ 2135 6 s . fid ., of which £ 1883 6 s . 6 d . was raised in respect of the Benevolent Jubilee . Such facts as these redound immensely to the credit of this small but well-organised and liberal Province .

Passing hence into the Province of KENT , the land of hops and cherries , we find the same goodwill exhibited towards the Institution , and the same spirit of generosity manifested by the lodges and brethren . But the numbers and figures we deal with are on a more formidable scale , there being no less than 59 lodges on the roll of the Province . Thus , in 1893 the

aggregate of the year ' s returns was . £ . 2096 5 s . fid ., out ol which £ 1242 is . 6 d . was raised by 15 Stewards for the Boys' School , while the remainder was equally distributed between the Girls' and Benevolent Institutions . In 1892 the Returns exceeded £ 3000 , the amounts severally obtained for the three Charities being , £ i 858 15 s . fid . for the Benevolent Jubilee in February ; £ 361 for the Girls' School in May ; and £ 770 16 s . for the Boys' School in June . In 1 S 91 the Returns were as follows :

to the Benevolent Institution in support of the Chairmanship of Bro . Earl Amherst , P . G . M ., £ 3483 14 s . fid . ; to the Girls'School . £ 265 2 s . fid .: andtothe Boys' School , £ 2 fig gs . ; the grand total being £ 4018 6 s . Thus Kent in the three years iSgi , i 8 g 2 , and 18 93 raised the very splendid sum of £ 9118 5 s ., or at the rate of upwards of £ 3000 per year . A record like this is not to be met with everywhere .

It is but the other day we had occasion to refer to the Systematic Educational and Benevolent Institution which is maintained by the brethren of the Province of

LANCASHIRE ( EASTERN DIVISION ) , and lo remark in terms of commendation on the importance of the work done by this useful local Charity . But Provinces , which lay themselves out to provide for their own necessitous members and the widows and orphans of deceased members , cannot in reason be expected to play so prominent a p . irt in the Festivals of our central Charities as they might otherwise be in a position to take . For this

reason , and we sincerely believe for this reason alone , it is that East Lancashire , though it how has 107 lodges on its roll , rarely shows to such advantage in these Returns as many Provinces of a more limited extent . On special occasions—as when some years since Bro . Col . Starkie , its Prov . Grand Master , presided at one of the Festivals in aid of the Old People , and it compiled the goodly total of—in round figures— £ 3500 ; in 188 S , when it raised £ 2873 for this Institution and £ 1350 ifis . fid . for the Girls' School ; or last year , when its

contribution to the R . M . B . L was £ 2607 5 s . —it makes a brave show ; but at ordinary Festivals it takes note of its own requirements fust and is content to hand over a modest total to the central Charities . Thus in 18 93 , the sum distributed among the three Institutions was under £ 400 , and on Wednesday , the 13 brethren who did duty as Stewards subscribed , or raised , the comparatively small sum of £ 279 18 s . 4 d ., only six lodges being represented , the Zion Lodge , No . 179 8 , Manchester , which had live brethren acting for it , being one of the six .

As regards LANCASHIRE ( WESTERN DIVISION' ) , which likewise has 107 lodges on its roll ,. the course pursued by it is precisely similar to that of its eastern neighbour and for similar reasons . It holds that its own necessitous members have the lirst claim upon its support and has established three Institutions of its own , one for the education of members' children , and

the other two to provide annuities for members and their widows . But on particular occasions , it takes a prominent place , which is in every respect worthy of its numerical strength and inlluence . Thus in 18 91 , when its Prov . Grand Master , Bro . the Earl of Lathom , took the chair at the Boys' School , the sum of its contributions was £ 6126 14 s . 4 d . ; in 1892 it raised £ 1697 14 s . 6 d ., of which

£ 1197 8 s . 6 d . was in respect of the Benevolent Jubilee , while last year the result of its efforts was expressed by the sum of £ 777 3 s . On Wednesday it sent up three Stewards , of whom nvo were lodge representatives and one Unattached , the lists of two amounting to £ 35 10 ? . But the smallness of the sum is to be accounted for . Lord Lathom has undertaken to preside at the Girls' School Festival in May , and the Province is reserving itself for the occasion .

'The policy which for many years past has been adopted by LEICESTERSHIRE AND RUTLAND has been to support each Charity in turn , so that , though there appears in Wednesday ' s Returns only a sum of v . io 10 s . from an Unattached Steward , it must be taken as the gift of the individual brother , and not as part of the work done by the Province . In 18 93 the Boys' School had its turn , and was benefited to the

extent of £ 267 10 s . ; in iSy 2 it was the Old People , for whom £ 388 ios . was raised at the Jubilee Commemoration Festival ; while in 18 91 the Girls' School received £ i ; S ios ., a supplementary amount of £ 70 6 s . fid . having previously found its way into the coffers of the R . M . B . L It would thus appear that in the present year the Girls' School will be supported by Leicestershire and Rutland and its 14 lo . lgCi .

Analysis Of The Returns.

Out of the 39 lodges on the roll ot the Metropolitan Province of MIDDLESEX , only one—the Elliot , No . 1567 , Feltham— was rorr . sentei . ' , the total contained in the joint list of Bros . J . Mason , collector of th > . R . V . B . I ., and W . A . Brown , being £ ifio 18 s . Last year it raised in all £ 630 18 s ., cf which £ 417 13 s . fid ., obtained by the efforts of 14 Stewards , fell to the share of the Boys' School , £ iS 8 gs . to the Girls' School , and £ 24 15 s . fid . to this Institution . In

1892 , the total reached £ 1610 15 s . 6 d ., of which it is almost needless to say the Old People , in honour of their jubilee , obtained the lion's share— £ 1315 gs . 6 d . In i 8 gi , the Province rested a while , its efforts in the previous year having resulted in a contribution of £ 1337 15 s ., of which just a little over £ 1000 was in support of the late Col . Sir Francis Burdett ' s Chairmanship at the Festival of the Girls' School . We may therefore look forward to further useful work being done by Middlesex at the School Festivals .

NORTHANTS AND HUNTS . though it has only 13 lodges on it roll , manifests every sympathy with our Institutions , and though its efforts are attended by a varying degree of success , while at times it finds it desirable to figure among the absentees , it generally manages to acquit itself well . Last year , for instance , Bro . the Earl of Euston , for the second time since his appointment to ofiice as Prov . G . Master , consented to occupy the chair at one of the three Festivals , that of the Royal Masonic Institution for Girls , and so loyally was his lordship supported on the occasion , that his lodges

compiled the very large sum of £ 1050 , the minor contributions to tne other two Charities raising the year ' s total to £ 1107 15 s . In 18 92 , the Province subscribed £ 360 ios . at the Benevolent Jubilee , while in 1889 , when Lord Euston presided at the Festival of this Institution , the amount contributed was in excess of £ 900 . On Wednesday , his lordship and the representatives of six out of the 13 lodges , contrived to build up the useful sum of £ 17 6 2 s ., the principal list being that of Bro . Cockerill , of No . 360 , who had the satisfaction of handing in a sum of £ " 63 . '

OXFORDSHIRE . is one of several Provinces , which may be almost invariably relied upon to be present at all our annual Festivals . It musters only 12 lodges all told , and it is only now and then that the total of its subscriptions attains to any considerable dimensions . Still , it does its part bravely , and on Wednesday the result proved no exception to the rule , the total obtained by the representatives of five of its lodges reaching the very respectable figure of £ 122 16 s . fid . Last year the sum raised was £ 440 4 s . fid ., the amounts

apportioned to each Charity being—to the R . M . B . L , £ 175 13 s . 6 d . ; to the Girls ' School , £ 124 17 s . 6 d . ; and to the Boys' School , £ 139 13 s . 6 d . In 1892 the total was still higher in consequence of the occurrence of the Benevolent Jubilee in February and amounted to £ 631 19 s . fid ., of which the favoured Charity secured £ 428 7 s ., the balance being about equally divided between the two Schools . In 1891 the Returns reached £ 414 2 s ., the Boys School receiving £ 246 95 ., the Girls ' School £ 98 is . ; and the R . M . B . I . £ 69 12 s . The amount raised in the three years preceding 1891 , was £ 1317 16 s ., giving an average per year of £ 439 5 s . Remarks of a similar character may be applied to

SUFFOLK , which has , however , 22 lodges on its roll and is thus enabled to figure to gieater advantage . Thus in 1889 , when Bro . Lord Henniker , Prov . G . M ., presided at the Girls' School Festival , the total raised was £ 1048 17 s . 6 d ., of which £ 571 13 s . 6 d . was in support of his lordship ' s Chairmanship . In 1890 and 1891 the totals were £ 619 13 s . 6 J ., and £ 675 2 s . fid . respectively , but in 1892 the amount

reached the high figure of £ 1449 4 s ., out of which £ 1291 14 s . fell to the Benevolent Jubilee . Last year there was not unnaturally a reaction , and the totil of contributions fell to £ 533 gs . 6 d ., the Girls' School receiving £ 18 7 us . 6 d . ; the Boys' School , £ 276 12 s . ; and the Old People the small remainder . On Wednesday , three lodges and the chapter attached 10 a fourth , sent up Stewards , whose lists totalled up £ 184 18 s ., that of Bro . G . F . Hawkins , No . 1224 , being £ 64 ios . We now come to the Chairman ' s Province of

SURREY , and as it was the debut of Bro . Col . Money , P . G . M ., in the capacity of Presidenl of a Masonic festival , we may be sure the 3 8 lodges which owe him obedience , and their members , individually and collectively , were anxious to evince their loyalty towards him , as well as their goodwill to the Benevolent Institution . The circumstances , perhaps , were not as favourable as they might have been for a heavy Return . In 1892 the Province raised in all £ 2817 195 . 6 d ., of which the

Benevolent Jubilee absorbed £ 2148 os . fid ., while the Girls' School obtained £ 219 , and the Boys' School £ 450 19 s . Last year , too , the considerable sum of £ 913 3 s . fid . was subscribed among the Charities , this Institution being benefited to the extent of £ 131 14 s ., and the Girls' School , in May , to that of £ 121 15 s ., while in the lollowing month of June , 110 less than £ 646 14 s . fid . was raised for the Boys ' -School . Thus , after raising over £ 3730 in two years , Surrey was not in as good a conoition as it might have been to play the chief part in the proceedings

of Wednesday . However , it put its shoulders to the wheel , and with an array of 36 Stewards , of whom four , including Bro . F . West , D . P . G . M ., were Unattached , while the remaining 32 acted as representatives of 24 of its lodges and six of its 17 chapters , it had the satisfaction of raising the large sum of £ 1385 7 s . This , though very considerably below the amount already stated to have been subscribed towards the Jubilee of the Institution in 18 92 , is fully 50 percent . in excess of that which was contributed in 1883 , when the late Bro . General Brownrigg ,

G . M . of the Province , presided at the Festival of the Old People , and fairly on a level with what the Province raised for the Girls' School in 1886 , when the same respected brother was its Chairman . Thus Surrey has well discharged the onerous duty which devolves on these occasions on the Chairman ' s Province of setting a brilliant example to the rest of the subscribing Provinces . The principal

items included in the present total are as follows : £ 158 us . —including his personal donation of £ 52 ios . —compiled by the Chairman ; £ 157 ios . compiled by Bro . Charles O . Burgess , Steward for the Molesey Lodge , No . 2473 , East Molesey ; £ 113 8 s . sent in by Bro . Joseph Harrison , who represented the Addiscombe Lodge , No . 1556 , Croydon ; and £ 105 S =. standing to the credit of Bro . C . Welch , Abbey Lodge , No . 2120 , Chertsey .

SUSSEX , with its 30 lodges , has done extremely well under the circumstances . Like the rest of the country sections of the Craft , it has had many a heavy call upon its purse during the last three years . Thus in 18 91 , the Boys'School Festival was held under the presidency of Bro . the Earl of Lathom at Brighton , and the Province , as in duty bound , took a leading part in the celebration , the total of its contributions reaching £ 731 17 s . fid ., while the sum raised during the year was

/ . 13472 s . In 1892 . after subscribing £ 1156 fis . to this Institution , it backed up its illustrious Chairman , the Duke of Connaught , Prov . G . M ., when his Royal Highness presided at the Girls' School Festival , to the extent of £ 1038 7 s ., while in 18 93 its total was £ 1259 13 s . Cd ., of which £ 985 Oi . 6 d . was given to the Boys ' School , whose Festival was again held in Brighton ; £ 180 14 s . to the Girls ' School , and £ 93 19 s . to the Old People . On Wednesday , nine Stewards , of whom six represented lodges and the others were Unattached , together raised £ 208 3 s .

WARWICKSHIRE , whicli has 31 I jd ges , has once more adopted the plan , which it has favoured so often during th : wast hall-dozen years : but though the number ol its Stewards