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CONTENTS . PAGE . LEADERSApproaching Festival of the R . M . B . L ... . „ ... ... 13 The Removal of the Boys' School ... ... ••••••13 Consecration of the Jubilee Lodge , No . 2633 , Brisbane , Queensland ... ... 14 Ball of the St . Marylebone Lodge , No . 1305 ... ... •••... IS New Year ' s Entertainment at the Royal Masonic Institution forGirls ... ... 15

Charities'Association of North and Yorkshire ... ... ... ... 15 Consecration of the Toowong Chapter , No . 2306 ... ... ... 16 Provincial Grand Royal Arch Chapter of Lanarkshire ... ... ... 16 Craft Masonry ... •••— - ¦ •••••lfi MASONIC NOTESConsecration of Byfield Lodge , No . 2632 ... ... ... ... ig Centenary of the Lodge of Virtue , No . 152 ... ... ... ig New Year ' s Entertainment at the R . M . B . L ... ... ... ig

Correspondence ... ... ... ... •••••¦ 2 ° Reviews ... ¦••••••••••••••••¦ 2 ° Craft Masonry ... ... ••••••... •••— 21 Royal Arch ... ... , ... ... ... ••••••21 Lodge and Chapter of Instruction .,. ... „ . ... ... 22 Knights Templar ... ... ... ... ... •••22

Cryptic Masonry .,. ... ... ... ••••••22 Secret Monitor ... ... ... ... ¦•••••22 New Year ' s Entertainment to the Old People ... .,. ... ... 22 Royal Masonic Institution for Girls ... ... ... ... 23 Royal Masonic Institution for Boys ... ... .,. ... ... 23 Funeral of Bro . Deputy Salmon ... ... ... ... ... 23 Masonic and General Tidings ... ... ... ... — 24

Approaching Festival Of The R.M.B.L

APPROACHING FESTIVAL OF THE R . M . B . L

It is satisfactory to know that even during the brief Christmas holidays Bro . TERRY has not been letting the grass grow under his feet , but has succeeded in obtaining a few additions to his Board of Stewards for the forthcoming Festival of the Royal

Masonic Benevolent Institution . These additions are very necessary . A few weeks hence the Festival will have taken place . On Wednesday , the 24 th February , the Stewards and their friends will meet at Freemasons' Tavern , under the

presidency of H . R . H . the Duke of CONNAUGHT , K . G ., Past G . Master of England , Provincial G . Master of Sussex , and Dist . G . Master of Bombay , and we are all hoping and trusting that the aggregate of the Returns they have been so fortunate as to

compile will amount toaveryconsiderablesum , a sum sufficient to meet the very heavy expenditure of the Institution and admit , if possible , of some slig ht addition being made to the ranks of the annuitants . There are reasons why we should be hoping for such a

result as this . It is not every year that one of our QUEEN ' S sons is able to take upon himself the responsibility of presiding as Chairman at one of our Anniversary Festivals , while by a happy coincidence this necessarily rare event will occur during the

year in which her Gracious Majesty will complete the 60 th year of her reign . Then as regards the Duke himself , throughout his whole Masonic career he has taken the greatest interest in our Masonic Institutions . In 18 7 8 , his Royal Highness presided at

the Boys' School Festival , when the Returns amounted to £ 10 , 142 . In 1892 , he acted as Chairman in behalf of the Girls' School , and again the total of the Donations and Subscriptions was slightly in excess of £ 10 , 000 ,

a larger total being out of the question in this instance , as the Jubilee of the Benevolent Institution had been celebrated only a few months previously with , enormous success . Thus his Royal Highness ' s Chairmanship next month will be , as it were ,

the completion of his responsibilities towards our Charitable Institutions , and for this reason , as well as for those previously stated , we trust the Craft generally will show its appreciation of the Duke ' s kindness by contributing an exceptionally large

amount of donations and subscriptions . But hoping and trusting will not , of itself , ensure this result . We must all of us put our shoulders to the wheel , and if we cannot all of us act as

Stewards or contribute , we can , at least , endeavour to influence others in one or other of these directions . A large accession of strength to the Board of Stewards is , indeed , most necessary . Last year it was stronger and the total of contributions in excess of

Approaching Festival Of The R.M.B.L

anything we have known at an ordinary Benevolent Festival , but the number of brethren who have given their services for this occasion does not at the present moment greatly exceed the half of what it was last year , while it is nearly 100 short of the number

that acted in 18 94 , when the Returns were nearly £ 15 000 . It is true that Bro . TERRY has made up some of the leeway we referred to in our former article on the subject , but he has still much to accomplish in order to raise his Board to a level with what it was

in 18 93 and 1894 , to say nothing of what it was in the record yearof 18 95 . We , therefore , address ourselves more particularly to those Provinces and lodges which have not as yet furnished representatives , to lose no time in nominating brethren

who will have time and to spare to do good suit and service on this occasion in behalf of our " Old People . " As for the claims of the Benevolent Institution to the

generous support of the English Craft , we have stated them at length in all our previous appeals . But in the case of a Charity of this kind , which depends almost entirely for its means on the voluntary contributions of the public we are addressing , there is no need that we should apologise for repeating them . The

number of poor old brethren and poor old widows of brethren whom it supports is 442 , of whom 200 are men in receipt of £ 40 per annum each and 242 widows receiving £ 32 per annum each , while in addition there are some 30 widows , each of whom receives for a term of five years the half of her late husband ' s annuity , that is to say , £ 20 per annum each ; the total sum disbursed in

annuities being in round figures some £ 16 , 300 . To this must be added the expenses of management and the cost of maintaining the Asylum at Croydon , the total expenditure year by year being over rather than under £ 19 , 000 . Towards this there is a permanent income , including the grants from Grand Lodge

( £ 1600 ) and Grand Chapter ( £ 150 ) , of from £ 5000 to £ 5500 . There is , therefore , a yearly deficiency of about £ 14 , 000 to be made good , and it is chiefly , if not entirely , upon the proceeds of its Anniversary Festival that the Institution has to depend for supplying this deficiency . . Moreoverthere is always a

, formidable array of candidates for the benefits of this Institution , while the number of annuities which fall vacant during the year are out of all proportion small by comparison . That the Committee of Management exercise a praiseworthy supervision over the expenditure is shown by the fact that during the year 18 9 6

the invested capital has been augmented b y the purchase of £ 7000 Stock , thereby permanently enlarging the income to the extent of the interest clue and payable on that amount . But many such augmentations of income must be made before any appreciable reduction will be effected in the amount which has to be raised

by voluntary subscription . We , therefore , renew our appeal for support in behalf of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution , so that the Festival which is approaching , and will be held under the auspices of one of the QUEEN ' S sons during the 60 th year of her Majesty ' s reign—already by a few months the longest reign

in English history—may be so far productive as to allow not only of the present expenditure being met , but also of some addition , however slight , being made to the number of annuitants , in commemoration of the 60 th year of her Majesty ' s " record " reign .

The Removal Of The Boys' School

THE REMOVAL OF THE BOYS' SCHOOL

The first step has been taken towards the removal of the Boys' School from its present site at Wood Green . The purchase of the new property at Bushey , Herts , is an accomplished fact ,

and therefore there is no longer any special reason why the discussion which has been carried on in these columns should be continued , at all events for the present . With the beginning of the New Year , what may be called the Festival Campaign was