Approaceing Festival Of The Mark Benevolent Fund.

APPROACEING FESTIVAL OF THE MARK BENEVOLENT FUND .

The 25 th Anniversary Festival of the Mark Benevolent Fund will be held at the Freemasons' Tavern , on Wednesday , the 26 th inst . Bro . Col . NOEL MONEY , C . B ., Prov . G . M . M . of Surrey , has volunteered to act as Chairman , and we trust that the Board of Stewards , which stands greatly in need , of strengthening-, will succeed in maintaining the high average of

totals during the last few days . The Chairman is one who deserves , and vve feel sure will receive , the loyal support of the Mark brethren , and the Stewards are not the men we take them for if they do not give a very satisfactory account ofjtheir labours . There are , indeed , many incentives to them to discharge the duty they have entered upon with energy and

neal , the chief of these being the benefits so liberally bestowed by the Benevolent Fund in its several branches . The Benevolent Fund proper which was established about a dozen years after the constitution of Mark Grand Lodge , has , during the past decade , been expending a very considerable sum annually in grants to distressed Mark brethren and their

families , the lowest amount distributed in any one year having been , in 1 Sgo , when the grants were only £ 169 , while in 1884 and 1885 , and again in 1889 , they exceeded . £ 280 . This branch of the Fund has invested capital amounting to ^ 3400 , while in 1892 its receipts , from all sources , were close on £ 652 , and its disbursements , £ 243 . The Educational branch , which was

established in 1879 , provides for the education , and since 1887 has contributed towards the clothing of sundry boys and girls , vvho now number 31 . In this case the invested capital is ^ 2900 , while the total sum received in 1892 was £ 643 , and the total payments were £ 453 , the average payment per child for education being £ 9 as . 46 ., with a uniform grant of . £ 5 to each , whether

boy or girl , towards clothing . The remaining branch was originated at the instance of Bro . Lord EGERTON of TATTON—who was at the time Deputy Grand Master—in 1885 , for distressed Mark brethren . In 1890 its benefits were extended to the widows of Mark brethren , and there are now on the roll of annuitants eight men who received ^ 26 per annum and three widows

in receipt of . £ 21 , a Christmas grant of , £ 5 being made to each of the annuitants . This branch of the Fund has invested capital to the extent of / 4300 , and in 1892 its receipts amounted to . £ 700 and its disbursements in annuities to ^ 325 . Thus the invested capital of the whole Fund amounts 'o , £ 10 , 600 , and its receipts and expenditure for 1892 for grants and the

special purposes of its several branches were £ 1995 and £ 1022 respectively , To this latter sum must be added the cost of management , which , however , is on a modest scale , so that the outlay is amply covered by the income for the present . But we must not lose sight of the fact that the Mark Degree is year by year becoming more and more popular with the general

bod y of Freemasons , and the numerical increase which is consequent upon this greater popularity is accompanied by an increase in the number of claims upon the Mark Benevolent Fund in its several branches . This is clearl y set forth in the Calendar issued under the authority of the General Board of Mark Grand Lodge . A mere reference to the tables published in

'his useful little annual will suffice to show that as regards the Benevolent branch , the grants in relief exceeded . £ 100 in the aggregate only in two out of the 15 years preceding 1883 , while from 1 S 83 inclusive , the lowest aggregate was , as we have said , in 1890 , when the total reached £ 169 . In the case of the Educational and Annuity branches , the recipients have increased

ln number , as regards the former , from one in 1879 to 31 m 1892 ; and as regards the latter from two male annuitants in 1887 to eight male and three widow annuitants in 1892 . It is therefore most important that the a Ppeals to the Mark brethren which are made by means of these annual Festivals should be responded to liberally , so that the General Board may

ha ve it in their power to strengthen the capital of the Fund . We are anxious [ press this point on the attention of our Mark readers so that the approachm S Festival on the 26 th inst ., under the auspices of Bro . Col . MONEY , may ear its part in bringing about this desired consummation ; and for this reason it is that we desire to see the Board of Stewards , which musters only ' 3 ° ladies and brethren at the present moment , still further augmented .

The Scrutiny Of Votes In Grand Lodge.

THE SCRUTINY OF VOTES IN GRAND LODGE .

The manner in which the Scrutineers count the votes for the different Boards of Grand Lodge is a subject of such interest , that we think vve cannot do better than give as shortly as possible the details . In the first place , it is of great importance that some of the Scrutineers should be accustomed to handle figures . Ordinarily about 22 Scrutineers

are appointed , half of them by the Grand Master , from among those who have served on previous occasions ; the remainder are appointed by the Board of Masters . Great care is used by the Chairman that each brother appointed by that Board works with one appointed by the Grand Master .

This is easily arranged by balloting with slips of paper , numbered from 1 upwards , odd numbers being given to the one set of Scrutineers and even to the other , so that Nos . 1 and 2 work together , 3 and 4 and so on ; they then take their seats , which are numbered accordingly .

On arriving in the Board-room , the first duty is for the Scrutineers to select a Vice-Chairman , the ballot for the seats then taking place . Ft is advisable for the Chairman to ask one or two experienced Scrutineers to go round and see that the work is commenced properly , and then to collect sheets , add them , compare them , and draw the Chairman ' s attention to

discrepancies . The voting cards are first of all put into packets of 30 , and numbered by the Chairman 1 to 30 , 31 to 60 , 61 to 90 , and so on ; 1 to 30 handed to Scrutineers Nos . 1 and 2 ; 31 to 60 to Nos . 3 and 4 . When Nos . 1 and 2 have recorded their voting cards , they initial the recording sheet and

cards , handing the latter to Nos . 3 and 4 , who record them again on a different sheet , with a coloured heading for the purposes of identification and checking . These recording sheets are then compared , and the Chair-nan ' s attention is immediately drawn to any difference ; where necessary he refers to the particular card wherein the difference lies and corrects it .

The manner of tabulating the voting cards on the recording sheets is as follows * . Take for instance cards 31 to 60 , Scrutineers Nos . 3 and 4 on receiving them immediately number each card separately , and one Scrutineer reads out from the card the names of those for whom votes are given , which is recorded by the other on a sheet marked as follows :

Names . 31 3 * 33 34 3 S 3 ' 37 ] 38 39 4 ° and so on up to 60 . Total . Smith , I . F 1 1 I 1 1 1 fi . ones , H . P 1 1 I 1 1 j Robinson , I ' . N .... 1 1 I 1 1 1 1 7 Brown , li . A ill ,

Nos . i and 2 mark a similar sheet after 3 and 4 have finished , and the two sheets should agree exactly ; if they do not the mistake can be at once found out by reference to the card . It is preferable that the totals on the right of each recording sheet be added up by the Chairman and his assistants , and not by the Scrutineers who have made up the recording sheet . These recording sheets are then summarised as follows b y both thc Chairman and Vice-Chairman , so as to ensure a proper check :

NOS rVrI ° " Smith . Jon « . Robinson . Brown . „ 5 * ' " "f columns for Cards , •' names of candidates nominated I to 30 4 3 6 8 31 to 60 6 J j 3 61 to 90 3 ' 4 16 « " •• 13 »» 14 i ?

The column under each name is then added up , and the result is the exact number of votes recorded for each candidate . After several years' experience , one cannot but conclude that the system , which at first may appear complicated , is as perfect as it can be . It was suggested by Bro . Henry Bishop , P . M . 66 , and great credit is due to him for originating a scheme of double checks which renders the return absolutely

correct . The election in 188 3 was the first in which it was put in practice under the chairmanship of Bro . Thomas Fenn ( now President of the Board of General Purposes ) , who took a great interest in carrying out the details of Ihe scheme as is evidenced in many ways , more especially by the "Instructions to Scrutineers , " which to this day is in his handwriting , as he originally drafted them , and exhibits strong evidence of very careful forethought . At the last election for the Board of General Purposes and Colonial Board

there were altogether 34 candidates ; from among the numbers 21 were to be elected—14 for the Board of General Purposes ( of whom seven must be actual Masters ) and seven for the Colonial Board—over 900 voting cards being handed to the Scrutineers for examination . Considering the immense amount of labour involved in the scrutiny of so many cards , we think it little less than marvellous lhat it should have been completed and , the return handed in within three hours .