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CONTENTS . PAGE . L EADERSFestival of the Mark Benevolent Fund ... ... ¦¦• ••• 3 G 9 Proposed Removal of the Boys' School ... ... ••• 3 6 9 Bro . Bain ' s Masonic Library ... _ ... ... ... ¦•• 37 ° Provincial Grand Lodge of Buckinghamshire ... ... ... ... 37 ' Provincial Grand Lodge of Middlesex ... ... ... ... 372 Summer Outing of the Leopold Lodge , No . 1571 ... ... ¦¦• 373

Summer Outing of Mount Calvary Encampment of Knights Templar ... 373 M ASONIC NOTESOuaitctly General Couit of the Royal Mssonic Institution for Girls ... 375 Cuaiterly General Ccuif of Ike Rcysl Msscnic Insiitution for Bojs ... _?_ A Ccuit of Governors cf West Lancashire Masonic Educational Institution ... 375 The Staffoidshire Masonic Charitable Asscciation ... ... ... 375 Correspondence ... ... ... ... ¦•• ... 37 G Reviews ... ... ... ... •¦• ••• ... 37 G

Royal Masonic Institution for Girls ... ... ... ... 37 G Presentation to Bro . Dawes , P . M ., & c . ... ... ... ... 377 Masonic Presentation at Dudley ... ... ... ... ... 377 Mosquitoes in England ... ... ... ... ... ... 377 Foyal Masonic Institution for Boys ... ... ... ... ... 37 S Craft Masonry ... ... ... ... ... ... 37 S Royal Arch Masonry ... ... ... ... ... ... 379

Mark Masonry _ ... ... ... ... ... ... 379 Lodge of Instruction ... ... ... ... ... ... 379 Allied Masonic Degrees ... ... ... ... ... ... 3 S 0 The Recent Festival of the Royal Masonic Institution fcr Boys ... ... 3 S 0 Presentation to Bro . H . Lovegrove ... ... ... ... ... 3 S 0 Funeral of Bro . Sir Augustus Harris , P . G . Treasurer ... ... ... 3 S 0 Obituary ... .. ... ... ... ... ... 3 S 0 Masonic and General Tidings ... ... ... ... ... 3 S 2

The Festival Of The Mark Benevolent Fund.

THE FESTIVAL OF THE MARK BENEVOLENT FUND .

Thc Anniversary Festival of the Mark Benevolent Fund will hc held at Freemasons' Tavern , on Wednesday next , tlie Sth instant , when Bro . C . LETCH MASON , Prov . G . Mark Master for West Yorkshire , will preside as Chairman . The Board of

Stewards which will support him will probably be augmented between now and the date we have specified to 150 ladies and brethren , those who have already volunteered their services numbering some 140 . We may therefore look forward to there

being a total of donations and subscriptions which will compare not unfavourably with those of the Iast » ten or a dozen years , especiall y when wc bear in mind that tlie Province over which the Chairman presides , though by no means so strong in the

Mark Degree as it is in the Craft and Koyal Arch , has been organising a Mark Charity Association and otherwise generally ' ¦ sorting itself in order to ensure , as far as possible , the success of this particular Festival . It is on record that last year West

icrkshire contributed £ 200 , and we may be very sure that if it raised so substantial a sum in support of some other distinguished Mark Master Mason ' s Chairmanship , it will spare no effort " to t * o one very considerably better" on behalf of that of its own

¦ 'speclcd chief . And with very good reason , for thc cause " vliich Bro . C . L . MASON will advocate , and the ladies and 1-rethren present will support , on Wednesday next , is an ' '•• ' ( 'lleiit one , in every way worthy of the large-hearted

'"' p it has received from the brethren of the Mark ' . s ree . The Benevolent Fund of Mark Grand Lodge is r , | "! , anised in three separate and distinct brandies . There is , firstly , l , u ' Benevolent Fund proper , which distributes temporary relief

among distressed Mark Master Masons and the widows and ' '" ilies of such as have died without leaving behind them any ''•"• ; it kast , but very limited means of support . Then there is ••¦ ' - Educational Fund , which provides for the education of

11 "' children of deceased or distressed Mark Master Masons , ' makes each of them an allowance towards clothing and " an-ilei- iancc . There is no Mark scholastic institution , where the ¦ '••¦ I'lren arc received , educated , and maintained , but each child is ¦¦

" "*» t to a good school in the neighbourhood of his home , the ' . ' * ' l 1 "a . ster—or , in the case of girls , thc schoolmistress—report' ^ annuall y to the General Board of Mark Grand Lodge on their ' onduet and progress , while the Board itself , by way of encour-

The Festival Of The Mark Benevolent Fund.

aging their young proteges , awards a silver medal to the child whose conduct and attainments appear to rank highest . There are , at the present time , 10 boys and five girls in receipt of the benefits of this Educational Fund , the amount expended

annually in their behalf being about £ 200 . Lastly , there is the Annuity Fund , which provides old and distressed Mark Master Masons and their widows with annuities of £ 26 and £ 21 each respectively , together with a bonus of £ 5 to each brother and widow at Christmas . On this Fund there are , at the

present tune , nine men and five widows , while the amount distributable amongst them , taking the annuities and bonuses together , is £ 405 . The invested capital of the Mark Benevolent Fund is £ 16 , 000 , the dividends on which , even at 3 per cent , per annum , are very little more than sufficient to

meet the outlay on the Annuity Branch alone , to say nothing of what is expended in connection with the Benevolent and Annuity branches and for the expenses of management , which , however , are on a very modest scale indeed . It is , therefore , most important , that a considerable sum should be raised at

these anniversary celebrations , so that , in the first place , the deficiency of income may be made good , and , in the next , that the invested capital may be still further enlarged . As the Mark Degree is very popular and its Benevolent Fund is well

organised ancl ably conducted , we have every confidence that the appeal which it will be Bro . MASON ' S duty to address to the Stewards and other guests at the gathering on Wednesday next , will be responded to with that readiness ancl liberality which have characterised our Mark brethren ever since their Benevolent Fund has been established on its present footing .

Proposed Removal Of The Boys' School.

PROPOSED REMOVAL OF THE BOYS' SCHOOL .

It is evident from the prominence that was given to the subject in thc speeches both of the Chairman at thc recent Festival at Brighton , when he proposed " Success to thc Royal Masonic Institution for Boys , " and of Bro . RICHARD EVE ,

P . G . T ., Chairman of the Board of Management , when he replied to that toast ; from the letters we published last week ; and from the opinions which we arc told have been expressed by different brethren , that the question of removing the School from its

present site at Wood Green to one that is likely to prove healthier and afford better accommodation will seriously engage thc attention of the Craft for some time to come . It appears to us , therefore , to be quite unnecessary that wc should offer any

apology for reverting to it , or say more by way of preface to this further article than that wc are prepared to offer both to those who differ from , as well as those who agree wilh , us as to the policy to be pursued , all reasonable facilities , within the limited

space at our disposal , for expressing their opinions . However , let us first of all , express our satisfaction at the statement contained in one of our correspondents' letters to thc effect that the article we published a fortnight since furnished our readers with

information that was greatly needed and enables them to undertand the question far better than they have hitherto done : an article which has accomplished this much has not been written in vain , But it seems to us that this plea of ignorance which has been

set up cannot with justice be allowed to pass unchallenged , seeing that thc sources of information which are open to us have been accessible to those who urge the plea . The speech

of the Earl of LATHO . M in 189 r , in which he advocated the removal on the grounds we specified in our recent article was reported in these columns a few days after it was delivered , and