Anniversary Festival Of The Royal Masonic Institution Fob Girls.

The first in alphabetical order among the represented Provinces is that of BERKSHIRE , which has 15 lodges on its roll , and signalised itself at the Festival of the Old People in February , when six of its lodges , represented by five Stewards , together raised the handsome sum of . £ 450 17 s . On Wednesday only three lodges sent up Stewards , and there were two brethren Unattached , the total of their lists being

. £ 131 ios . In 18 94 , the Old People received . £ 247 13 s . ; the Girls' School , . £ 20 7 Ss . fid . ; and the Boys' School , ^ 30 12 s ., or together ^ 583 16 s . 6 d . To judge , therefore , by what has been done thus far , the total of the amount will not be very far short of , or , better still , perhaps it may exceed the total of 1893 , when . £ 724 7 s . was distributed among the three Institutions . In 1 S 92 , the Province raised altogether . £ 954 11 s . 6 d ., of which . £ 661 gs . 6 d . was in respect of the Benevolent Jubilee .

BUCKINGHAMSHIRE , which now has iS lodges , had three of them represented by four Stewards , and an Unattached Steward in the person of Bro . James Stephens , the Dagmar Lodge , No . 2262 , Wraysbury , having two strings to its bow . These five brethren compiled amongst them . £ 199 10 s ., and , as the Province returned . £ 52 ios . to the Old People

in February , there is a good deal of ground to be covered in ordei to reach the total of 18 94 , when the amount raised for the three Charities was . £ 590 16 s ., or even that of the year preceding , when the figure was . £ 479 16 s . In 18 92 , the year of the Benevolent Jubilee , the year ' s total was £ 705 15 s ., and in 1 S 91 , when Lord Carrington presided at the Festival of this Institution , it reached . £ 511 is . Of the six lodges in

CAMBRIDGESHIRE , one was represented , the Isaac Newton University Lodge , No . 859 , Cambridge , whose Steward , Bro . R . Percy F . W . Simpson , returned ^ 131 5 s .. It was an absentee in February , so that we shall , in all probability , hear of it in connection with the approaching Boys' School Festival . Last year it distributed ^ 239 among the three Charities , and in 18 93 . £ 290 17 s . ; but in 1892 it confined its attention to the Benevolent Jubilee , the sum raised being . £ 326 8 s . These figures , though moderate , are highly creditable to a Province of such limited strength . It is an agreeable surprise to find

CHESHIRE taking part in Wednesday ' s gathering . It has long been known that Lord Egerton of Tatton , its Prov . G . Master , has undertaken to preside at the forthcoming Festival of the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys , and it is only natural that it should direct its energies towards ensuring as great an amount of success as possible for his lordship ' s presidency . It was unrepresented at the Benevolent Festival in February , and had it been so on this occasion likewise , its absence

would have been only too readily condoned . However , three of its 46 lodges , each represented by two Stewards , will be found in the Returns we publish elsewhere , the sum of four of their lists being ^ 42 . As for its work in recent years , we have again and again pointed out that it has a well-organised Educational Institution , which has been more than 30 years in existence , and during that time has rendered important services to the children of Cheshire Masons , while only

two years since it subscribed about £ 3000 towards the foundation of a Benevolent Fund . Moreover in 1891 , it raised . £ 1184 ios ., of which the Boys' School received £ 1050 and the Girls' School the remainder , and in 1892 the total of its contributions was . £ 216 9 ios ., of which . £ 1988 ios . was subscribed for the Benevolent Jubilee , . £ 117 12 s . for this School and £ 62 8 s . for the Boys' School . We now come to the " Chairman ' s Province " of

CORNWALL , which , though it has 30 lodges on its roll , is by no means a strong , or let us say rather , a wealthy Province ; indeed , a glance at the places in which its lodges are held , as shown in the Grand Lodge Calendar , will suffice to show that , however devoted they may be in their attachment to Masonry , its principles , and its Institutions , the bulk of them must be limited in membership . However , those who have been at the pains of reading our Festival Analyses during the

last dozen years must have learnt ere this that Cornwall gives generously of its means . Thus in 1 S 90 it raised £ 380 is . for the three Charities , and in 1 S 91 . £ 28 9 15 s . for the Benevolent Institution and Boys' School , while in iSg 2 , when its Prov . Grand Master , Bro . the Earl of Mount Edgcumbe , who the year previous had been appointed Deputy Grand Master of England , presided at the Jubilee Festival of the Benevolent Institution , it raised the very considerable sum of ^ 77 6 15 s . In 18 93 it

con-, tributed . £ 225 15 s . towards the Boys' School and apportioned . £ 241 ios . not very unequally between the Schools in 1894 . On Wednesday , as in 1 S 92 , Bro . E . D . Anderton acted as the representative of the Province , and there were five lodges , as compared with six in the latter year , which were specially represented , the Cornish Lodge in London , and one Steward as against two Unattached . In short at both these Festivals the Province and its lodges sent up a small but compact band of Stewards , or whom there were eight on Wednesday and nine in 1892 , while the total in this case was . £ 750 , the principal list being necessarily

that of Bro . Anderton , who compiled a total of £ 390 12 s ., while Bro . Chirgwin , of Mount Sinai Lodge , No . 121 , was responsible lor £ 73 ios . and Bro . Major Shanks , Unattached , for . £ 52 ios ; the CHAIRMAN ' S donation being . £ 52 103 . This is most creditable for Cornwall , which though it comprises 30 lodges , is neither strong nor wealthy . However , we most heartily congratulate it on the loyalty it has exhibited towards its respected chief , and the latter on the generous support he has received from the lodges and brethren who have been placed under his charge .

DERBYSHIRE began the year well in February , when it subscribed . £ 297 ios . to the funds of the Benevolent Institution , the Province having for its representative Bro . W . H . Marsdcn , J . P ., while five of its lodges sent Stewards . On Wednesday , there were only two Stewards , of whom one acted for the Buxton Lodge , No . 1688 , Buxton , and the other was Unattached , the total of their lists being ; £ 6 S 5 s . Last

year it raised , £ 648 5 s . 6 d ., that is to say , ; £ 6 oo ios . 6 d . for the Boys' School , and £ 47 15 s . for this Institution . In 18 93 its total was . £ 1025 8 s . 6 d ., of which all but . £ 10 10 s . was raised for the Boys' School , and in 1892 it reached the large sum of ^ 1738 14 s ., there being contributed to the Benevolent Jubilee , £ 1 3 62 16 s ., to this Institution ^ 126 , and to the Boys' School i ' 249 iSs . In 1891 the Schools were supported , the Girls' being benefited to the extent of , £ 1 3 6 ios ., and the Boys' to that of £ 843 17 s .

DURHAM , with 36 lodges on its roll , made a prominent figure in the Returns for the Benevolent Festival in February , when its Provincial representative and that of one of its lodges compiled lists amounting together to . £ 330 15 s . On Wednesday a sum of £ 84 appears to the credit of the Province , but the name of the Steward has

, not yet been forwarded . Last year the total distributed among the three Institutions was , £ 509 2 s ., and in 18 93 , . £ 3 88 2 s ., bat in 1 S 92 , the year of the Benevolent Jubilee , it reached . £ 1034 2 s ., of which . £ 72055 . was in respect of the said Jubilee . Of the 37 lodges on the roll of

ESSEX , there were seven which sent up Stewards , and of these two—Nos 1343 and 2184—had part in the Benevolent Festival last February . The total of the lists , including / 105 , compiled by Bro . C . E . Egerton Green , of the Angel Lodge , No . 51 , and £ 64 is . by Bro . C . Westwood , of St . John ' s Lodge , No . 1343 , amounted to , £ 20 7 2 s . 6 d . In February the Stewards were 10 in number , one

Anniversary Festival Of The Royal Masonic Institution Fob Girls.

being Unattached , and the other nine acting for lodges , the amount they obtained be'ng . £ 324 7 s . Last year , the total distributed amongst the three Institutions was £ ' 1123 , of which this Institution had the good fortune to secure . £ 723 13 s ., while the balance was pretty equally divided between the " Old People" and " Our Boys . " In 1 S 93 , when the Prov . Grand Master acted as Chairman at the

Boys Festival , the year's total was . £ 2258 3 s . 6 d ., of which all hut . £ 102 17 s . 6 d . was received by the Boys' School . In 1 S 93 , including , £ 2318 2 S . 6 d . for the Benevolent Jubilee , it reached i , " s 6 oS 5 s ., and in 1 S 91 , £ " 1648 , of which , £ 1265 15 s . 6 d . was in support of the Boys' School . The representatives of

GLOUCESTERSHIRE with Bro . R . V . Vassar Smith , P . G . D ., Dep . P . G . M . at their head , were six in number , the remaining five being Stewards from five out of the 15 lodges in the Province , and the total they together compiled . £ 224 14 s . This is a decided advance on the contributions to the Benevolent Institution in February , when three Stewards returned by two lodges , and the chapter attached to one of them , made up the modest total of £ 44 ns . In 18 94 the subscriptions amounted

, , to ; £ 42 S 6 s . 6 d ., the Benevolent Institution receiving 's ios . ; the Girls' School , £ 249 16 s . 6 d ., and the Boys' School , £ 105 . In 18 93 , they were on a somewhat smaller scale , totalling only £ 304 18 s . 6 d ., the Girls' School being the favoured Charity ; but , in 1 S 92 , when Sir M . E . Hicks-Beach , Bart ., M . P ., Prov . G . Master , took the chair at the Boys' School Festival , the year ' s subscriptions amounted to £ 1729 us ., of which "Our Boys" obtained . £ 16 45 us . Five of the 48 lodges on the roll of

HAMPSHIRE AND THE ISLE OF WIGHT were represented by as many brethren , of whom Bro . Loveland-Loveland , of the Sandown Lodge , No . 1869 , Sandown ( I . W . ) , will also be found among the House Committee in the London section of the Board . These brethren compiled a total of £ 'Ss 5 s ., the principal list being tha 6 of Bro . Francis Newman , of the East Medina Lodge , No . 175 , which amounted to . £ 63 . In February , three Stewards returned £ 142 Ss . 6 d . Last year the Old People received . £ 208 18 s . 6 d . ; the Girls' School £ 477 19 s ., and the Boys' School £ 264 12 s .,

making the total for 18 94 , , £ 951 93 . 6 d . In 18 93 it was on a smaller scale and reached only ; £ 6 So 4 s ., but in 1892 , the Province gave . £ 1650 17 s ., of which ; £ i 345 ' 9 - 7 d - was towards the Benevolent Jubilee . The Returns for 1891 were . £ 695 us . 6 d ., and as there has latterly been organised an Educational and Benevolent Fund for those brethren in the Province and their families who need assistance , it is beyond question that the Charity of Hants and the Isle of Wi ght fails not in the discharge of its duties and responsibilities . It looks very much as if the province of

HERTFORDSHIRE were bent on beating the records of all previous years , those of 1892 , when the Benevolent Jubilee was celebrated , and 1893 , when the chair was taken by Bro . C . E . Keyser , a leading Hertfordshire Mason , at the Benevolent Institution , being excepted . At all events , in February last , the sum of , £ 45 2 3 s . 6 d . was raised for the Old People , while on Wednesday , when the Stewards were eight in number , two—Bros . C . O . Burgess and W . Baddeley—being Unattached , and the others for seven of the 22 lodges on its roll , the

total of the lists was £ 353 5 s . 66 ., that of Bro . Keyser , as the representative of the Bushey Hall Lodg ; , No . 2323 , and No . 2518 , which bears his name and meets at Hoddesdon , amounting to , £ 91 17 s . 6 d . In 1 S 94 the total was ^ 958 63 . 6 d ., of which the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution received . £ 464 9 s . 6 d ., this Institution £ 227 6 s . 6 d ., and the Boys' School £ 266 83 . 6 d . In 18 93 , when , as we have said , Bro . Keyser presided at the Festival of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution , the year ' s total was . £ 2106 14 s ., and in 18 92 , the year of the Benevolent Jubilee , . £ 2135 6 s . 6 d . There were fewer Stewards from the Province of

KENT on Wednesday than at the Benevolent Festival last February , but on both occasions there were five lodges out of 6 t which sent Siewirds , and on both Bro . F . Hughes Hallett was Unattached . Only at the earlier of the two Festivals , one of the represented lodges had three Stewards , while on Wednesdiy e . \ ch lodge , sent a single representative . In February , the total of the lists was . £ 253 1 Is . 6 J ., one of the nine brethren having his Return included in the London section ; on Wednesday it totalled up ^ 228 1 S 3 ., the most imutirtint item being 'S

15-obtained by Bro . Geo . Wilks , M . B , of the S : our Lidge , No . 2305 , In 1 S 94 , the sum distributed among the Chirities w . n . £ 122 5 ios . 6 d ., the share of the Benevolent Institution being £$ Sz 173 . ; that of the Girls' Schml , i | 239 5 s . 6 d . ; and that of the Boys' School , , £ 403 63 . In 1 S 93 it amounted t . j , £ 2103 12 s . 6 d . ; in 1 S 92 , the year of the Benevolent Jubilee , it wai . £ 3003 13 * . 6 I . ; and in 1 S 92 , when Earl Amherst , P . G . M ., presided at the Festival of the same Charily , it was £ 4018 6 s ., of which the favoured Institution iccsived & M 83 I 4 « - 6 d . ¦ We regret to find that the Province of

LANCASHIRE ( EASTERN DIVISION ) is not more strongly represented than at the Festival of the Royal Masonic Benevo . lent Institution in February last , the only difference being that on Wedne-d . y three of its 108 lodges sent up Stewards , while in February one lodge was entered , but there was no Return , and there were two Stewards Unattached , whose contributions amounted to i ' 21 . As regards contributions , this Institution , however , has fared better , the total amounting up to , £ 138 15 s . As it has 11 girls in the School , and shares with other Provinces the responsibility of furnishing three

others , this sum is not excessive . However , it is organising a Festival in aid of its own Systematic Educational and Benevolent Institution , and wc presume , therefore , that this will absorb the bulk of its subscriptions during the Current year . In 1 S 91 it raised , £ 1278 os . 6 d ., most cf which was received by the Boys'School , whilst this Institution and the Benevolent shared the remainder between them . In 1 S 92 the year ' s total was . £ 2824 153 ., of which . £ 266 7 53 . was subscribed towards the Benevolent Jubilee ; in 1893 it stood as low as . £ 389 18-., and in 1 S 94 at £ 772 7 s . 4 d . Five of the 111 lodges in

LANCASHIRE ( WESTERN DIVISION ) , were represented by six Stewards , and there was alsi a Brother Unattached , the seven lists making up a total of . £ 126 143 . fn February , three lodges contributed by the hands of five Stewards , . £ 132 6 s . of which . £ 105 was returned by the representatives of the Prince Edward Lodge , No . 2109 , Heaton Moor . In 1 S 94 , the chair at the Festival of this School w . is taken by the Earl of Lathom , who is Grand Master of this Province , as well as Pro Grand Master , or rather by his son ,

Lord Skelmersdale , acting on his behalf , and the Province , supported his lordship to the extent of . £ 2500 , the subscriptions to the other two Institutions raising the total for the year to / 276 S 2 s . 6 d . In 1893 , trle sum was only . £ 792 18 s ., while in 1892 , when the Benevolent Jubilee was held , it reached . £ 1697 14 s . 6 d . ; but in 1891 , when a great effort was made to restore the somewhat dilapidated fortunes of the Boys' School , and Lord Lathom took the chair

at the Anniversary Festival , this Province raised £ 6126 14 s . 4 d ., the total for the whole year being , £ 6341 19 s . 4 d . Add to this that the Province has three Charities to meet its own necessities , one Educational and the others for Male and Widow Annuitants respectively , and we have no difficulty in realising that though West Lancashire may occasionally figure among the smaller contributors , it bears as full share in supporting the central Institutions . There were seven out of the 41 lodges in