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CONTENTS . LffADKRS— PAGE The Boys' School Festival ... ... ... ... ... 397 The Mark Benevolent Festival ... ... ... ... 397 French Prisoners' Lodges ... ... ... ... ... 397

Masonic Jurisprudence ... ... ... ... ... ... 393 Chaos and Confusion in New South Wales ... ... ... ... 399 Provincial Grand Lodge of West Lancashire ... ... ... S ' . g Provincial Grand Lodge of Somersetshire ... ... ... ^ ... 400 Provincial Grand Lodge of Buckinghamshire ... ... ... ... 401 Provincial Grand Mark Lodge of Surrey ... ... ... ... 401

S COTLANDInitiation of the Lord Provost of Glasgow ... ... ... 401 MASONIC NOTESQuarterly Court of the Royal Masonic Institution for Girls ... ... 403 Ouarterly Court of the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys ... ... 403 Committee of Management of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution ... 403 Fortitude and Old Cumberland Lodge , No . 12 ... ... ... 403 Annual Meeting of the Provincial Grand Mark Lodge of Middlesex ... 403 Ex-Pupils' Day at the Roya ! Masonic Institution for Girls ... ... 403

Correspondence ¦ ... ... ... ... ... ... 404 Masonic Notes and Queries ... ... ... ... ... 404 Royal Masonic Institution for Girls ... ... ... ... ... 404 Provincial Grand Lodge of Middlesex ... ... ... ... 404 Craft Masonry ... ... ... ... ... ... 406 Mark Masonry ... ... ... ... ... ... 406

Instruction ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 40 G Wills and Bequests ... ... ... ... ... ... 406 Science , Art and the Drama ... ... ... ... ... 407 Masonic and General Tidings ... ... ... ... ... 40 S Ancient and Accepted Rite ... ... ... ... ... 40 S Royal Arch ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 408

The Boys' School Festival.

THE BOYS' SCHOOL FESTIVAL .

On Tuesday , the ioth instant , the last of the Anniversary Festivals in behalf of our great Central Masonic Institutions will be celebrated under the presidency of the Duke of CONNAUGHT , who , we are pleased to say , will be supported by a Board of Stewards

composed of between 450 and 500 ladies and brethren . This , as we pointed out llic other day , is a goodly show and we doubt not the efforts which the bulk of them have been putting forth will be rewarded with as goodly a total of donations and subscriptions .

A fair proportion of the London lodges are represented , while fully three-fourths of thc Provinces have sent up Stewards , the Chairman's Province of Sussex and sundry others making quite a brave show and one which cannot fail to influence for good

the efforts of the entire Board . As for the arrangements forthe gathering , seeing they are in the hands of an experienced executive , we are confident that everything will go well , more especially as it has been decided that , in accordance with the

rule adopted for several ycars past by the Boys' School authorities , the ladies and brethren shall dine together instead of in separate rooms . Of the claims of the Institution we need not say more than we have said in previous articles , namel y .

that the permanent expenditure is about £ 14 , 500 and the permanent income about £ ' . ' . $ oo , so that a sum of £ 12 , 000 or thereabouts is needed in order to place the two sides of the account " 11 a level . To the admirable manner in whicii the Institution is

' ' oiuluctcd , the annual reports of the Board of Management and 'hose of the examiners appointed by the Cambridge Syndicate htar convincing testimony , so that intending donors and subscribers may rest assured that their contributions will not only

I" - gratefull y received , but also faithfully applied and to very S , ood purpose . In line , we are sanguine enough , in the circumstances we have described , to hope that next week it will be our privilege to report sucli an aggregate of Returns as will gratify

"is Royal Highness the Chairman and the Stewards who are 'listing him , and at the same time meet all the requirements of 'h < - Institution and leave a fair margin over , wilh which to augment 'l lurther the modest amount of invested capital which the •authorities have been able to accumulate .

The Mark Benevolent Festival.

THE MARK BENEVOLENT FESTIVAL .

It seldom happens that two important Festival gatherings occur in the same week , but the Boys' School Festival on Tuesday , thc ioth instant , will be followed on Wednesday , the nth instant , by the 31 st Anniversary Festival in behalf of the Mark Benevolent Fund . The Freemasons' Tavern will be thc

scene of both meetings , and very strenuous efforts are being made to secure that next Wednesday ' s celebration shall beat the record . The Earl of EUSTON , M . W . Pro G . Mark Master .

has very kindly undertaken the duties of Chairman , and it will be no fault of his lordship , or of the 300 ladies and brethren vvho have promised their services as Stewards , if the efforts thus beinsr made are not crowned with success . The Fund well

deserves the support it has received , and may be forthcoming on this occasion . It comprises a General Branch for relieving temporarily the necessities of those Mark brethren who may unfortunately need relief ; an Educational Branch , the revenues

of which are devoted to the education and partial maintenance of the children of deceased and necessitous Mark brethren ; and an Annuity Branch , vvhich permanently provides for aged and necessitous Mark Masons and their widows . The amount

of good vvhich the Fund has done , and is doing , is sufficientl y well known to members of the Mark Degree , and it is a p leasure to us to realise that , having regard to the influence

vvhich Lord EUSTON exercises in Mark Masonry , and the extent to which he will be supported in this instance , there is every prospect of a great success being achieved next week under his auspices .

French Prisoners' Lodges.*

FRENCH PRISONERS' LODGES . *

It is to be regretted thafc the information which Bro . THORP has succeeded in unearthing should not have been of such a character as to allow of his showing himself as the facile writer he is known to be . However , it is not his fault that the

particulars to be found in the new work of his are fragmentary , and that consequently it has not been in his power to build up a continuous as well as an interesting narrative . The wonder is that vvith such a paucity of material obtained from so many different sources he should have turned out so readable a book on a

branch of Masonic research , vvhich , if not entirely new , has not been dealt with connectedly by any of our writers . The period traversed lies between thc years 1756 , vvhen the Seven Years' War commenced , and 1814 , vvhen the first

NAPOLEON was forced to abdicate , and sent a prisoner to the island of Elba . During all these years , with here and there a short interval of peace , France and England vvere at war vvith each other , and as the latter vvas oftener than not the victor , the number of soldiers and sailors that were landed on our shores as

prisoners vvas very considerable . Moreover , as Freemasonry was very popular with the French army , especially during the Napoleonic Wars , it is not surprising that those of the French

ofiicers vvho were Masons should seek to drive away the ennui of their imprisonment by forming lodges amongst themselves and working according to their own rite . The earliest account of

FRENCH PRISONERS' LODGES . —A brief account of 26 lodges and chapters of Freemasons , established and conducted by French Prisoners of War in England and elsewhere , between 1756 and 1814 . Illustrated by 18 plates , c insisting of Fac-Sim > les of Original Do : uments , Seals , & c . By John T . Thorp , P . M . 523 and 2429 , P . P . S . G . W . of Leicestershire and Rutland , Hon . Mjm . of Lodges NJS . 51 , 1391 , and 2433 , Author of "Fifty years' Records of the ' John of Giunt 1 Lodge , No . 523 , " "Annals of the Chapter of •Fortitude , ' No . 279 , " ' * MemDiiaU of LoJge , No . gi , Antients , " "The Early History of the' Knights uf Milta' Lodjje , No . 50 , " Sic ., & c . Leicester ; Printed , by Bro . George Gibbons , King-street , IQOJ .