Contents.

CONTENTS .

LEADERS - * PAGE ; The Approaching Festival of the Royal Masonic Institution for Girls ... 101 The Wist Lancashire Masonic Educational Institution ... ... roi United Grand Lodge ( Quarterly Communication ) ... ... ... 102 Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons ( Quarterly Communication ) . „ ... 103 Annual Festival of the Emulation Lodge * of Improvement ... ... 104

Consecration of the Ashbury Chanter , No . 1459 ... ... ... 106 Provincial Grand Mark Lodge of Derbyshire ... ... _ ... ... 10 G Annual Supper of the Earl of Carnarvon Lodge of Instruction , No . 1642 ... 106 Ladies'Night of the Selwyn Lodge , No . 1901 ... ... ... 107 Annual Ladies' Night of the Scots Lodge , No . 2319 ... ... ... 107 Ladies'Night of Sir Walter Raleigh Lodge , No . 2432 ... ... ... 107 Masonic Ball of the Nelson Lodge , No . 700 ... ... ... ... 107 Obituary ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 107

MASONIC NOTESQuarterly Communication of Grand Lodge of Mark Master Mason ... 109 Quarterly Ccmmunication of United Grand Lodge ... ... ... 109 Festival of the Emulation Lodge of Improvement 1 ... ... ... 109 Death of Bro . Lord Herschell ... ... ... ... ... 109

Correspondence ... ... ... ... ... ... no Reviews ... ... ... ••••••••••••no Instruction ... ... ... ... ... ... ... no The Craft Abroad ... ... ... ... _ ... ... no The Recent Festival of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution ... ... no

Craft Masonry ... ... ... ... ... ... no Mark Masonry ... ... ... ... ... ... 112 Royal Arch ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 112 Red Cross of Rome and Constantine ... ... ... ... 112 Ancient and Accepted Kite ... ... ... ... ... 112 Masonic and General Tidings ... ... ... ... ... 114

The Approaching Festival Of The Royal Masonic Institution For Girls,

THE APPROACHING FESTIVAL OF THE ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR GIRLS ,

The second of our great Anniversary Festivals for tlie current year—that of the Royal Masonic Institution for Girls —will take place at Freemasons' Tavern , on Wednesday , thc ioth May , under the presidency of R . W . Bro . Viscount

DUNGARVAN , Prov . Grand Master of Somersetshire , we , therefore , take thc earliest available opportunity of laying before our readers the claims which our senior Charity has upon their support and that of the Erglish Craft generally . Not that these

claims are altogether unknown to them ; but experience has taught us that what is virtually the policy , which President LINCOLN so aptly described as that of keeping on " pegging away , " is the best to pursue iu respect of all our Institutions ;

but more particularly is it the best when their respective Festivals are approaching , and the necessity for drawing attention to thc circumstances in which they are placed is urgent . The bulk of our readers must be aware that our

Institution for Girls maintains , clothes , and educates some 270 children — the orphan daughters of brethren who , when living , were in reputable circumstances . It is equally a matter of common knowledge that the training

and education , both mental and physical , of these children will compare favourably with thc best that can bc found at the most successful of our middle-class educational establishments , both in town and country . No doubt , also , it is tolerably well-known

lhat our Girls' School relies for support chiefly on thc voluntary contributions of thc Craft and their friends , but we question if they quite realise how considerable is the sum that is annuall y required in order to meet the heavy expenditure of the

Institution , and how laborious is the task of raising that amount . The permanent income of the Institution does not greatly exceed . £ 2500 , while the annual expenditure is certainly not less than £ n , Soo . The deficiency , therefore , is / ii , ooo , and this must

be raised or one of two courses adopted—that of reducing the number of children on whom the benefits of the School 'ire conferred ; or that of trenching upon the small amount "f invested capital which the administrators of the Charity have been able to accumulate . We feel sure there is

The Approaching Festival Of The Royal Masonic Institution For Girls,

not a single member of our Order who would desire to see either of these courses adopted , save under pressure of the direst necessity , and hence when we make these annual appeals

on behalf of this Institution we do so with a feeling of confidence that a ready and ample response will be forthcoming . But this year , owing to the special efforts that were made in 18 9 S in respect of the Centenary Festival of the Royal Masonic

Institution for Boys and the unprecedented success which resulted from those efforts , the task of raising , not only the sum ordinarily required , but an additional £ 2 , 000 as well , will be somewhat more difficult to fulfil than in ordinary years . Last year

the Girls' School Festival yielded some £ 9 , 500 , as compared with the average proceeds of the preceding half dozen years , namely , about , £ 16 , 000 , against which the onl y set-off was the grant of £ 2000 voted in June , 1 S 07 , to commemorate the

QUEEN S Diamond Jubilee , but not paid till early in 18 9 S . But after making allowance for this , the interest on capital , and the regular grants by Grand Lodge and Grand Chapter , there was still a falling-off in the receipts for the Festival , as compared

with the expenditure , of between £ 2000 and £ 2500 , so that to restore things to their old position the Festival in May next should yield not less than £ 13 , 000 or £ 14 , 000 . As far as we are able to judge , the prospects are encouraging , the able

Secretary , Bro . F . R . W . HEDGES , having already enrolled a goodly number oi ladies and brethren as Stewards , who may be relied upon to leave no stone unturned in order to raise what is possible in the way of donations and subscriptions .

Let us hope , then , that Bro . HEDGES will be as successful in the time that remains at his disposal as he has been heretofore in organising thc Board of Stewards , and if any special incentive is needed to ensure a Return such as we have indicated , that

incentive will be found , firstly , in the necessity for making o-0 od the unavoidable deficiency of last year , and , secondly , in the successful manner in which the School is conducted , and the prudence with which its funds arc administered . None need

hesitate about subscribing to the Girls Institution , when they know that thc amounts they subscribe are so carefull y and economically applied to thc training and education of the daughters of our deceased and indigent brethren .

The West Lancashire Masonic Educational Institution.

THE WEST LANCASHIRE MASONIC EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION .

We have carefully read the report of this Institution for the past year—for copy of which we are indebted to the courtesy of the Honorary Secretaries—and arc glad to find that , though 18 9 8 was in one respect a disastrous one , and though there are still some among the lodtrcs in the Province which have not contributed

towards the maintenance of this deserving and well-managed Charity , the income has been well maintained and the benefits conferred by it at least as great as in previous years . The year , as we have said , was a disastrous one owing to the loss sustained

by this and the other West Lancashire Charitable Institutions through the lamented death of the Earl of LATHOM , whose interest in all that related to the cause of Charity was known and appreciated everywhere throughout the Craft , and the

opportunity is taken in the opening sentences of thc report to pay a just tribute of respect to the memory of his lordshi p ' s services to the Fund . " From the commencement , " we are told " of his career as a Mason , he evinced a keen interest in our Institution , and immediately after his promotion to the rank of