Analysis Of The Returns.

There are 48 lodges on the roll of HAMPSHIRE AND THE ISLE OF WIGHT and of these , 12 , with the chapter attached to one of them , took part in . the proceedings of Wednesday , there being likewise three Unattached Stewards . These , i 5 Stewards raised in all £ 527 6 s ., Bro . Capt . M . Emanuel , of Peace and Harmony Lodge , No . 359 , Southampton , taking the foremost place with a list of £ S 8 14 s ., while Bro . George A . Mursell , who represented the

Medina Lodge , No . 35 , Cowes , the Albany Lodge , No . 151 , Newport , and Osborne Lodge , No . 2169 , East Cowes , compiled a total of £ 73 ios ., and Bro . George J . Tilling , of the Royal Gloucester Lodge , No . 130 , Southampton , £ 63 In February the sum raised by three lodges and a chapter was £ 142 5 s . 6 d ., while last month the total contributed b y five lodges reached £ 185 5 s . These figures contrast not unfavourably with those of 1 S 94 , when the Old People received £ 208 iSs . 6 d . j the Girls' School , £ 477 19 s . ; and the Boys' School , £ 264 12 s . ; the total for the three being £ 951 gs . 6 d . In 1893 , the contributions only realised

£ 680 4 s ., but the year preceding they amounted to £ 1650 17 s ., of which £ 1345 19 s . 7 d . was subscribed in behalf of the Old People ' s Jubilee . Nor do these sums represent the total devoted by the Province to Charitable purposes , as the Educational and Benevolent Fund which was organised a few years since is maintained in a creditable state of efficiency , and is able , therefore , to do a large amount of good among the distressed brethren of the Province and the families of those brethren who have died in poor circumstances . Five lodges and a chapter did duty for

HERTFORDSHIRE , out of 22 lodges and seven chapters , and there were a member of the Watford Lodge and a lady who acted independently . The sum raised by the six Stewards was £ 333 7 s . 6 d ., Bro . C . E . Keyser , who acted for the lodge which bears his name and meets at Hoddesdon , No . 2518 , and the Watford Chapter , No . 404 , heading the list of contributions with a sum of £ 115 tos ., while the lists of Bro . the Rev . W . Quennell , W . M . of the Berkhampstead

Lodge , No . 504 , and Bro . H , J . Grimwade of ithe Gladsmuir Lodge , No . 1385 , Barnet , were £ 54 12 s . and £ 53 os . 6 d . respectively . In February , the total compiled by eight Stewards for the requitements of the Benevolent Institution was £ 452 35 . 6 d ., and last month the same number of brethren amongst them raised £ 353 5 s . 6 d . Thus the year 1895 has yielded the very substantial crop of £ 1138 16 s . 6 d . in donations and subscriptions , as compared with £ 958 6 s . 4 d . in

1894 , when the Old People were supported to the extent of £ 464 9 s . 6 d . ; the Girls' School , with £ 227 6 s . fid . ; and this Institution with £ 266 8 s . 6 d . In 18 93 , when Bro . C . E . Keyser was Chairman at the Benevolent Festival , the total stood as high as £ 2106 14 s ., of which £ 1444 3 s . 6 d . was in support of his Chairmanship , while in 18 92 , when the Old People celebrated their Jubilee , it was £ 2135 6 s . 6 d ., the favoured Institution receiving support to the extent of £ 1883 6 s . 6 d .

Bro . John Kenyon , whose name is familiar to students of our Festival Returns , as Steward for the Mechanics Lodge , No . 245 , one of the seven on the roll of

J ERSEY , handed in a list of £ 10 ios ., this being the only contribution from this quarter during the present year . But in 1893 , it raised £ 263 for this Institution , and in 1892 , £ 63 for the Benevolent Jubilee . These contributions , like the occasional contributions from the neighbouring Province of Guernsey aud Alderney , are always welcome .

At the Festivals previously held during the present year , the Province of KENT , with its formidable array of 61 lodges , has shown to less advantage than usual , the Benevolent Festival in February producing Returns which amounted to only £ 253 us . 6 d ., while last month they were still lower , and yielded £ 228 18 s . On Wednesday , however , not only were the contributions from the 14 lodges and one chapter represented and a Lady Steward Unattached more considerable in the

aggregate , but a sum of £ 1260 will be found entered to the credit of the Province as a whole , the sum having been raised for the purpose of purchasing a Perpetual Presentation , as a memorial of the many important services rendered by Bro . J . S . Eastes , P . G . D ., D . P . G . M ,, during the many years he has been connected with Masonry , but more particularly during his long tenure of the important office of Deputy to Earl Amherst . Opinions are divided as to the propriety of including such a sum as this in the Returns at a Festival , but , as it has been done in other instances , it would be an act of injustice to Kent to hive omitted the

£ 1260 which it has set apart for honouring one of its most distinguished members . Thus the figures on Wednesday amount to £ 1838 4 s . 6 d ., inclusive of this particular amount , and raise the general total for the year to £ 2320 14 s . In 1894 they reached £ 1225 ios . 6 d . —the Old People obtaining out of it £ 582 17 s ., the Girls' School £ 239 5 s . 6 d ., and the Boys' School £ 403 6 s . In 1893 , 18 92 , and 1891 , the totals were very high , standing at £ 2103 12 s . 6 d . in the first mentioned ; at £ 3003 13 s . 6 d . in the second ; and at £ 4018 8 s . in the last , it being the year in which the Prov . G . Master presided at the Festival of the Benevolent Institution . We congratulate the Province which has so splendid a record as this .

LANCASHIRE ( EASTERN DIVISION ) . has not greatly strengthened its position by the amount of its subscriptions on Wednesday . It has 109 lodges , and we believe there ar « two or three others which will be constituted in the course of the present year , but only four of them are entered in the Returns , and the lists from these amount to £ 106 is . In F ' ebruary it raised £ 21 for the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution , and in May £ 102 14 s . for the Girls' School , so that the total for 18 95 stands at

£ 229 15 s as compared with £ 772 7 s . 4 d . for 1894 and £ 389 18 s . in 1 893 . What it is capable of doing will appear from the 1892 Returns , when its total was £ 2824 15 s ., of which £ 266 7 5 s . was raised for the Benevolent Jubilee ; from those of 1891 , when it totalled up £ 1278 os . 6 d ., of which over three-fourths were assigned to this Institution ; or from those of t 838 , when it supported the Old People to the extent of £ 2873 and the Girls' School at its Centenary Festival with £ 1356 16 s , 6 d ., and as it Ireely avails itself of the benefits conferred by our Charities , these latter figures harmonise better with what it ought to do than with

what it has been doing more recently in furtherance ol their interests . However , on Wednesday it was holding high Festival in behalf of its own Systematic Educational and Benevolent Institution , for which a very large amount of subscriptions—over £ 4000—was obtained , so that the modesty of its contributions to the Central Charities during the present year is well and creditably explained . Only we trust that our East Lancashire brsthren will not forget the general Masonic Charities altogether . Of the ui lodges on the roll of

LANCASHIRE ( WESTERN DIVISION ) tiere were 9 represented by a band of 11 Stewards , and two brothers acted independently , the total announced from all sources being £ 278 3 s . Of this , Bro . Thos . Forrester , West Lancashire Lodge , No . 1 403 , Ormskirk , compiled £ 128 2 S ., while Bro . J . M . McLeod , acting independently , handed in a list of £ 37 16 ., in

add . tion to the amount which appears against his name in the London Section of the Board . In February the Province raised £ 131 5 s . for the Old People , and in May £ 95 14 s . fid . for the Girls' School , so that the total for the year is £ 505 2 s . 6 d . This is not a very large sum for so large a Province , but then it subscribed heavily last yeir , when the Earl pf Lathom was Chairman at the Girls' School

Analysis Of The Returns.

Festival , the total for all three Charities being £ 27 68 2 s . 6 d . In 1893 the Returns were as low as £ 792 18 s ., but in 1892 , including its contributions to the Benevolent Jubilee , they reached £ 16 79 14 s . 6 d ., while in 1891 , when its Prov . Giani Master presided at the Festival of this School at Brighton , they were £ 6341 19 s . 4 d ., of which £ 6126 14 s . 4 d . was in respect of his lordship ' s Chairmanship , LEICESTERSHIRE AND RUTLAND ,

as we have many times remarked , is one of those Provinces which gives its sup . port to each Institution in turn , occasionally supplementing its yearly subscriptions with a contribution to one of the other Charities . It has 14 lodges , and in February Bro . H . Howe , as the representative of the Province , compiled a list of £ 300 6 s . for the Benevolent Institution . On Wednesday , Bro . W . S . Allen , of

the Ferrers and Ivanhoe Lodge , No . 779 , Ashby-de-la-Zouch , acted as Steward , but his list will be found under Derbyshire . In 18 94 , the amount was £ 393 ios ., of which the Girls' School received the main portion— £ 330 ios . ; while in 18 93 , this Institution was favoured to the extent of £ 267 17 s ., and in 1892 , the Old People with £ 388 ios . in respect of the Jubilee .

This is the first and only Festival of the present year in which LINCOLNSHIRE has borne a part , and the sum it raised on Wednesday is very considerable . Its lodges are 24 in number , and of these four , with the chapter belonging to one of them , were specially represented , while Bro . B . Beeson was the Provincial Steward , Bro . E . T . Wiglesworth doing duty on his own account . The total

reached £ 538 7 s ., of which the Provincial representative was responsible for £ 256 ios . 6 d ., and Bro . F . Barrett , Pelham Pillar Lodge , No . 792 , Grimsby , for £ 195 16 s . 6 d . Last year and the year before it contributed on a small scale to the Schools ; but in 1892 it subscribed £ 660 5 s . to the Benevolent Jubilee , and in 1891 , £ 481 to this Institution . These are creditable Returns , and we dare say that , under Lord Yarborough ' s auspices , the prestige of the Province will be maintained .

The Metropolitan Province of MIDDLESEX with its array of 41 lodges is a regular and , at times , a large supporter of all our Charities . In February it gave £ 168 19 s . to the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution , and last month £ 227 17 s . to the Girls' School , there being four lodges which took part in the former Festival and seven at the latter . On this occasion five were represented , the total raised by four of these being £ 73 1 is . Thus the

year 1895 has produced £ 470 7 s ., which is below the average , the product of 18 94 having stood at £ 1043 17 s . 6 d ., of 1893 at £ 630 18 s . ; of 1892 at £ 1619 15 s . 6 d . ; and of 1891 at £ 540 2 s . But the falling off is to be accounted for , Bro . Lord George Hamilton , Prov . Grand Master , having volunteered his services as Chairman at the Benevolent Festival for next year , and for this our Middlesex brethren are no doubt very properly reserving themselves .

This is the first appearance at any Festival of the compact little Province of MONMOUTHSHIRE , which , like other Provinces of about the same strength , gives its main support to each of the three Institutions in turn . Last year , for instance , the Girls' School received £ 297 us . 6 d ., while in 1893 the Benevolent was the recipient of £ 272 8 s . 6 d . In 1892 , this Institution was favoured to the extent of £ 316 18 s ., a

supplementary £ 21 being handed over to the Benevolent Jubilee , while in 1891 , the Old People had £ 325 is . raised for its requirements . At this Festival Bro . F . A . Powell took the Province generally under . his charge and compiled a list of £ 21 , while seven of the 10 lodges sent Stewards of their own , and Bro . W . L . Paynter was Steward on his own account . The total from all sources reached £ 116 us . Three of the 14 lodges on the roll of

NORTHANTS AND HUNTS were represented on this occasion , while Lord Euston , the Prov . Grand Master , and Bro . Henry Carman were Unattached Stewards , the aggregate of their lists being £ 126 . Add this to the £ 10 ios . placed to the credit of Beneventa Lodge , No . 2380 , Daventry , in February , and the £ 31 ios . contributed by the Prov . Grand Master and Bro . Adkins , of Lodge No . 1911 , to the Girls' School

last month , and we have a total of £ 168 for 1895 . Last year , the figures stood at £ 328 7 s ., of which £ 202 7 s . was contributed to the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution , £ 26 5 s . to the Girls' School , and £ 99 15 s . to this Institution . In 1893 , owing to the Prov . Grand Master being Chairman at the Girls ' Festival , the total was £ 1107 12 s ., of which £ 1050 was contributed in support of

his lordship's Chairmanship , while in 1892 , £ 388 ios . was subscribed , the greater part of which was absorbed by the Benevolent Jubilee . Indeed , during the whole time Lord Euston has presided over the Freemasons of this Province , they have given a steady support to all three Institutions , his lordship being himself one of the most frequent contributors and having twice occupied the position of Festival Chairman , After the very grand contribution of £ 2315 5 s . which

NORTHUMBERLAND made by the hands of Bro , R . H . Holmes , P . G . D ., Dep . P . G . M ., to the Girls ' School last month , we are very agreeably surprised to find that three of its 26 lodges took part in Wednesday's proceedings , the sum total of the amounts raised by the five brethren who acted as Stewards being £ 185 17 s . This , of course , is only a small sum , but it has the effect of raising the year ' s figures to £ 2501 2 S ., and establishes a record for this important Province which some day we hope to

see beaten . The last occasion on which it showed to advantage was at the Festival of this Institution in 1891 , when , including the sum of £ 1050 paid for Perpetual Presentation , it contributed £ 1364 4 s . In 1892 it gave £ 105 towards the Benevolent Jubilee , £ 94 ios . to the same Charity in 18 93 , and £ 80 17 s . to this Institution in 1894 . It will be seen , therefore , from the experiences of past years , that the current year ' s record will require a good deal of extra exertion on the part of our Northumbrian brethren to exceed it . At the Benevolent Institution in February , one of the 16 lodges in

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE and the chapter attached to it—the Commercial , No . 411 , Nottingham—were represented by Bro . Altred Page , whose list amounted to £ 107 12 s . 6 d ., and on Wednesday Bro . Lieut .-Col . Joseph Wright , of the Royal Sussex Lodge , No . 4 ° < Nottingham , had the pleasure of raising £ 162 15 s . ; the total for the year thus standing at £ 280 7 s . We welcome the re-appearance of this Province , which has

had no share in our Festival celebrations since May , 1893 , when it raised £ 131 5 s . for the Girls' School . In 1892 , it contributed £ 157 ios . to the Benevolent Jubilee and £ 34 13 s . to this Institution , while in 1891 the Schools were the recipients of its favour , the Girls' School receiving £ 37 16 s . 6 d . and this School £ 203 9 s ., making the year's total £ 241 5 s . 6 d . We trust that Notting hamshire will maintain the advance it has made on previous Returns during the period f " have traversed .

NORTH WALES was represented at the Benevolent Festival in February and at that of the Girls School last month , there being four Stewards , who raised £ 57 15 s . for the forme ' and four , including Bro . C . K . Benson and a lady as Unattached , who also mad'