Contents.

CONTENTS .

LEADERS— PAGE . The Approaching Festival of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution ... n Northumbrian Masonry ... ... ... ... •¦• n Still Another Masonic MS . ... ... ... ... ... 12

Obverse and Reverse of Medals ... ... ... ... ... 13 Royal Masonic Institution for Girls ( Quarterly Court ) ... ... « - ... 13 Masonic Ball at Nottingham ... ... ... ... ¦•• 13 Craft Masonry ... ... ... .,. ... ... 13 MASONIC

NOTESMonthly Meeting of Committee of Management of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution ... ... ... ... ... 17 Annual Supper of the Earl of Clarendon Lodge of Instruction , No . 19 S 4 ... 17 First Meeting of Board of Stewards of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution Festival ... ... ... ... ... 17 Initiation of the Earl of Ronaldshay ... ... ... ... 17 Transactions of the Prov . Grand Lodge and Prov . Grand Chapter of

Durham .,. ... ... ... ... ... 17 Correspondence ... ... ... ... ... ... iS Craft Masonry ... ... ... ... ... ... iS Obituary ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 20 Royal Arch ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 21 Freemasonry and Ocean Penny Postage ... ... ... ... 21 Instruction ... .., .., ... ... ... ... 21 Masonic and General Tidings ... ... ... ... ... 22

The Approaching Festival Of The Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution.

THE APPROACHING FESTIVAL OF THE ROYAL MASONIC BENEVOLENT INSTITUTION .

Now that we arc fairly settled down in thc New Year , it behoves us to give our attention to the first of thc great annual fixtures—the Festival of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution . This , as we have before stated , will be celebrated at

Freemasons Tavern on Wednesday , the 22 nd February , under the presidency of Bro . Lord LLANGATTOCK , Prov . G . Master of the Eastern Division of South Wales . There is , therefore , no very long interval of time in which to perfect the arrangements

that were made at the inaugural meeting of the Board of Stewards on the 5 th instant , or to emphasise that appeal for support to the brethren generally which it is one of our foremost duties to make , and which , under the circumstances that

have been described , is more urgent than usual in respect of this particular anniversary . We have noted from time to time that Bro . TERRY , the Secretary of thc Institution , has met with a fair measure of success in his endeavours to enlist the services

of brethren as Stewards for the occasion . Indeed , as regards mere numbers , the Board , as at present constituted , is not greatly inferior to that which assisted the Duke of CONNAUGHT in his chairmanship at the Festival of this Institution in 18 97 .

Six weeks before that successful gathering the number of ladies and brethren who had volunteered their services was about 250 , and we have reason to believe that there are nearly , H not quite , as many who have volunteered to assist Lord LLANGATTOCK in

the efforts he will make next month in behalf of the same Institution . But , though there can be no great difference between the two Boards in this respect , die difficulties which the brethren invariably experience in raising the necessary funds will be far

greater than they were two years ago . We have again and again remarked that £ 14 , 000 or thereabouts takes a lot of raising even when the circumstances of the time are favourable ;

and a fortiori must thc task be an arduous one , when we take into account the tremendous drain upon the resources of the Craft which was made last year .

But , while these difficulties will be far greater on this occasion , the circumstances of the Institution re : nain precisely the same as they have been for several years past . There are still

the-202 annuitants on the Male Fund at £ 40 a year , the 245 on the Widows' Fund at £ 32 a year , and the 25 or 30 widows at £ 20 a year , among whom upwards of £ 16 , 000 must be distributed , to say nothing of the £ 3000 or thereabouts required for

The Approaching Festival Of The Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution.

the costs of management and maintenance of the Asylum at Croydon ; and there is still the same formidable lists of candidates for admission to the benefits of the Institution and tlje same paucity of vacancies to be filled at the annual elections

in May next . The permanent income of the Institution is likewise the same , the annual grants from Grand Lodge and Grand Chapter and the interest on invested capital , producing ) as usual , between £ 5000 and £ 6000 . But as Bro . KEYSER , when

presiding the other day at the New Year ' s entertainment to the Old People at Croydon , remarked there is a certain sum of money which " must be collected every year to pay the annuities without trenching on thc capital . " This sum , in ordi nary years ,

amounts to about £ 14 , 000 , but bearing in mind that the 18 9 8 Festival was only moderately productive , we are of opinion that a somewhat larger total than usual will be necessary in order to restore matters to their normal state of equilibrium .

Unfortunately , while we have every reason to be satisfied with the progress which has been made in enlisting brethren as Stewards , the prospects as regards the amounts they will be able to obtain are the reverse of hopeful . Thc tremendous

sums that were raised in June , 1 S 9 S , not merely in a few isolated cases , but generally in London and throughout thc Provinces , have in this case and that of the Institution for Girls increased the difficulties which thc Stewards at all

our Festivals experience in obtaining thc necessary funds . However , the wherewithal to pay thc annuitants must be obtained next month or an inroad will have to be made upon the capital that has been accumulated , and it is our belief that

the general body of English Masons would prefer to make any sacrifice rather than have recourse to so unpleasant an alternative . We therefore appeal with more than our usual earnestness to lodges and brethren to give all the support in their

power towards the approaching Festival . More especially do we urge upon them the desirability of enrolling themselves as Stewards as soon as possible , so that they may be able not only to contribute out of their own funds , but also be in a position to invite others to contribute .

Northumbrian Masonry*.

NORTHUMBRIAN MASONRY * .

There is little doubt that this account of Northumbrian Masonry is one of the most interesting of the many lodge and Provincial histories which have been published of late years

Ihis is due 111 great measure to the wealth ' of the material which the author has had at his command , but , at the same time , it will , wc think , be pretty generally conceded that the success of the work is attributable to an almost equal degree to the ability

and judgment which he has shown in its compilation . It is not necessary to read more than a few pages in order to arrive at the conclusion not only that the history is written in a scholarly fashion , but also that the greatest care has been taken to separate

facts from theories and thereby establish what may properly be accepted as a fairly continuous history of Masonry in this northern Province from the earliest to tlie latest times . We can , indeed ,

j ' udge best of the spirit in which Bro . STRACHAN has set about his task from the opening lines of his Preface , in which he remarks— " As legendary lore the world over has been