Analysis Of The Returns.

Brighton under the late Earl of Lathom . In 1 S 92 , it subscribed £ 19 88 to the Benevolent Jubilee , and in 189 S £ 2000 to the Boys' School in honour of the presidency of its Prov . G . Master , Earl Egerton of Tatton ; while at the Boys ' Centenary in 189 S it figured in the returns for £ 2753 12 s . On other occasions its donations have bcen less impressive , owing no doubt to thc necessity our Cheshire brethren are under of maintaining their Educational and Benevolent Funds in a state of efficiency . The former of these has been in existence for over . 3 S years ,

and in that period has done material service to the Province . In February , three of its 53 lodges sent five Stewards , whose contributions amounted together to £ G 3 , and on Wednesday ten lodges , of which two were represented by the same Steward , compiled a total of £ 281 2 s ., which , with the sum raised for the Old People earlier in the year , represents donations to the extent of £ 344 2 s . Doubtless this figure will be swelled by a contribution for the Boys' School at its anniversary meeting in July . Under the head of

, CORNWALL will be found entered Bro . Sholto H . Hare , whose name , both as a representative and Unattached Steward , must be tolerably familiar to those who study our Festival Stewards' Lists . On this occasion he acted independently , and contributed £ 10 10 . In February Bro . Hare appeared as a lodge representative , and returned £ 10 ios . Last year the Province figured at all three Festivals , subscribing £ 238 ios . to the Old People , £ 242 us . to this Institution , and

£ 47 5 s . to the Boys , Bro . Hare being a Steward at all three meetings , and the year ' s total from the Province reaching £ 527 17 s . In 18 9 8 , including £ 854 19 s . to the Boys' Centenary , the year produced donations to the extent of £ 924 5 s . In 1 S 97 they amounted to £ 341 19 s ., and in 18 9 6 to £ 305 ns ., while in 1895 , when the Earl of Mount Edgcumbe , Prov . G . M ., presided as Chairman at the Girls' Institution , the total was £ 789 18 s ., of which all but £ 39 iSs . was raised for that School . Cornwall has a muster-roll of 31 lodges , so that the Returns we have quoted are creditable .

CUMBERLAND AND WESTMORLAND , with its array of 22 lodges , has been a stranger to our Festivals since the Boys ' Centenary in 1 S 98 , to which it contributed £ 222 is ., a total which would doubtless have been more considerable had not the Province made a great and successful effort in 18 97 , when Lord Henry Cavendish-Bentinck , M . P ., occupied the

chair at the Festival of " Our Boys , " and loyally supported him with a total Return of £ 1260 . On Wednesday an Unattached Steward in the person of Bro . J . Hogg handed in a list of £ 10 ios . . Now that the stress of the previous effort is over , we shall look forward with pleasure to a more frequent appearance of this Province at these necessary gatherings . Four of the 27 lodges in

DERBYSHIRE took part in Wednesday ' s proceedings , and together raised £ 200 17 s ., of which the list ot Bro . A . R . Brice of the Royal Sussex Lodge , No . 353 , Winshill , contained £ 111 Gs ., while in February an Unattached Steward gave £ 10 ios . at the Old People ' s Festival . Last year it gave its attention to the Schools , raising £ 399 ^ s . for this in May , and £ 251 4 s . for the Boys' School in June , the total of the two being £ 650 12 s . But these are small figures by comparison with

those we have noted in previous years . In 1891 it raised in all £ g 8 o 7 s . j in 1892 , £ 1738 14 s ., of which £ 1302 was subscribed to the Benevolent Jubilee ; in 1894 , £ 1025 8 s . 6 d . ; in 18 95 , when the Duke of Devonshire , Prov . G . Master , occupied the chair at the Boys'Festival , it supported his Grace with donations amounting to £ 164223 . ; while in 18 9 8 , which stands out as its record year , its total reached £ 2784 ios . 6 d ., of which a modest £ 30 8 s . Cd . was subscribed to the Benevolent Institution , £ 335 to the Girls' School , and £ 2419 2 s . to the Boys' Centenary .

DEVONSHIRE , which , with the new lodge at Cockington , whose consecration we reported last week , musters in all 60 lodges , has been doing some good work under the able and genial guidance of its present Prov . G . Master—Lord Northcote , and as among its members are such staunch supporters of our Institutions as Bro . F . B . Westlake and others , its contributions are yearly becoming worthier of so strong a Province . In February it sent up three Stewards to the Benevolent Festival ,

the total returned being £ 236 5 s . of which Bro . Westlake s list for Lodge No . 70 was £ 94 10 s ., and Bro . ] . R . Wilson ' s , for No . 954 , £ 141 15 s . On Wednesday Bro . Westlake was an Unattached Steward ; Bro . J . R . Wilson for Nos . 70 , 954 , and 1247 ; and liro . A . H . Fisher for Lodge , No . 1135 , the total reaching £ 136 ios ., of which £ 115 ios . constituted Bro . Wilson ' s list . Last year the

Kmount was small , and only reached £ 274 lis . ; but in 1898 , including £ 18 75 2 s . iod . subscribed for the Boys' Centenary , the total was £ 1961 4 s . iod ., while in 1 S 92 it was £ 923 Si . 6 d ., of which £ 807 8 s . 6 d . was raised for the Benevolent Jubilee . Its previous best was in 1888 , when Viscount Ebrington , then Prov . G . M ., took the chair at the Boys' Festival , and the Province subscribed £ 840 , the total for the whole year being £ 1013 5 s .

The Province of DORSETSHIRE had as its representative Bro . Percivale Beach , whose list amounted to £ 99 15 s ., am-, us in February , Bro . J . H . Whadcoat as Prov . Steward , returned £ 105 , this small Proviiii-e of mily 15 lodges has thus far done extremely well during the pr . M-nt year . In 18 99 ts contributions were £ 157 ios . to the Old People ;

£ 16 3 16 s . t . j thir . Institution ; and £ 15 15 s . to the Boys School ; or together £ 337 ' *¦ ; while in 1898 , including £ 2054 os . Cd . to the Boys'Centenary , the year produced subscriptions which totalled up £ 2127 ios . 6 d . In 18 97 it distri . buted £ 585 anioin ! thr three Charities , the Boys' Sr . hool being fortunate enough to reieive out K . ( it £ 375 . In 1892 it subscribed £ 521 6 s . to the Jubilee Festival of the benevolent Insiitution . Very fnv of the 37 lodges on the roll of the Province of

DURHAM appear to trouble themselves about sending Stewards to the Festivals of the Central Institutions ; but it would be a grave mistake to regard this as indifference on their part to the welfare of those Charities . On the contrary , Prov . G . Lodge , at its annual meeting , invariably makes a grant of 50 guineas and often more to each of them , and these grants appear in the Returns even though there is no Steward . Thus at the Benevolent Festival the Province gave £ 105 . wnile on Wednesday with Bro . C . T . Johnson representing the Province and Lodge ,

No . 940 figured for £ 112 7 s . to this Institution . Moreover it has dune well on occasions , as at the Benevolent Jubilee in 1 S 92 , when it returned £ 720 5 s . out of a total ol £ 1034 5 s . for thc whole year . In 18 9 6 it subscribed £ 566 IOI . ; in 1897 , £ 305 ns . : and in 1898 , £ 643 7 s ., of which £ 533 2 s . was in respect of the Boys' Centenary . Last year it gave £ 157 ios . to the Central Institutions , while it raised at a Festival on its own account about £ 2500 for its Educational and Benevolent Funds , and thus succeeded in placing them on a sound footing as regards capital .

Only three of the 45 lodges in ESSEX were represented at Wednesday ' s meeting , but the Stewards numbered 16 , there being 13 that hailed from the Seven Kings Lodge , No . 2749 , Romlord , and one vho was Unattached . The total raised by these brethren was £ 191

Analysis Of The Returns.

and of this sum £ 126 was furnished by No . 2749 . In February the Province made quite a brave show . There were 11 lodges represented by a con . tingent of 39 Stewards , and the total compiled by them amounted to £ 1346 195 . the principal items being £ 152 5 s . from the Albert Lucking Lodge , No . 2717 ' Southend-on-Sea , per Bro . F . England ; £ 346 ios . from No . 2749 , per Bro . Frank ' Evans and his 10 colleagues ; and £ 405 per Bro . J . T . Dormer and 21 other

members of the Charles Dickens Lodge , No . 2757 , Chigwell . Last year the Returns totalled up £ 1225 * 13 s . 6 d ., of which £ 726 ns . fell to the share of this Institution . In 1898 the total reached £ 4282 16 s ., of which the Boys' Centenary absorbed £ 4122 12 s . Cd . In 1892 the product of the year was £ 2608 5 s ., of which £ 2218 2 s . 6 d . was raised for the Benevolent Jubilee ; and in 18 93 it reached £ 2258 3 s ., the Boys' School , at whose Festival the Prov . G . Master , then Lord Brooke , took the chair , receiving out of it £ 2155 6 s .

GLOUCESTERSHIRE , though it comprises only 17 lodges , has a capital idea of what constitutes sup . porting Masonic Institutions , nor need this be matter for surprise seeing that it has a strong muster of brethren such as Bros . R . V . Vassar-Smith , Edwin Lea R . J . Kerr , ar . d R . P . Sumner in its ranks . In 1892 , when its Prov . G . Master—! Sir M . Hicks-Beach , Bart ., M . P . —presided at the Boys' Festival , it raised

£ 1645 us . for that Institution , and £ 1729 lis . during the year . In 1893 and 18 54 it rested somewhat , content ! ng ? itself with a total of £ 304 18 s . in the former , and £ 428 6 s . 6 d . in the latter . In 1896 its contributions approximated very closel y to £ 600 , the precise amount being £ 598 19 s ., while in the following year there was a slight decrease to £ 544 19 s . In 18 97 there was a reaction , and the total reached £ 675 18 s ., while in 1898 it culminated in the record sum of £ 2860 2 s ., of

which £ 2723 12 s . was for the Boys' Centenary . After such an effort it was natural there should be again a diminution—to £ 524 igs . 6 d . In February , two Stewards from the Royal Gloucestershire Lodge , No . 8 39 , Gloucester , and a brother Unattached , compiled a Return of £ 57 15 s ., while on Wednesday the representatives of five lodges and a Steward Unattached , making -in all six , together raised £ 349 15 s ., the list of Bro . R . P . Sumner for £ 99 15 s . being the most important .

There were 10 Stewards from the Province of HAMFSHIRB AND THE ISLE OF WIGHT , of whom two were Unattached and the others acted for- eight of the 48 lodges , the amount realised being £ 205 os . 6 d . In February a total of £ 117 us . appeared in the Returns , there being four Stewards , of whom three represented as many lodges and the chapter attached to one of them , and the fourth was Unattached . Last year £ 43 2 7 s . was subscribed to the Benevolent Institution .

£ 377 to the Girls' School , and £ 174 12 s . to the Boys' School , the total of these contributions being £ 983 19 s . In 1898 the Returns totalled £ 3343 13 s . 6 d ., of which the Boys' School secured £ 3238 13 s . 6 d . at its Centenary celebration , and the other Institutions the balance of £ 105 between them . In 18 97 the year ' s total was £ 1149 12 s . 6 d ., and in 1892 , including £ 1345 19 s . yd . subscribed to the Benevolent Jubilee , £ 1650 17 s . In addition , the Province has an Educational Fund of its own , which it supports most liberally .

HERTFORDSHIRE is a staunch supporter of our Institutions , though , as Bro . Terry , Secretary of the Benevolent Institution , has been one of its Provincial Officers for more than 30 years , it not unnaturally devotes the largest share of its attention to the Old People . Still , as its records show , it is not unmindful of the claims of our Schools , ln 1888 , it subscribed £ 649 19 s . to the Girls' Centenary out of a total

for the year of £ 795 14 s . Cd ., the remainder being given to the Benevolent Institution . For the Benevolent Jubilee in 18 92 , it raised £ 1883 6 s . Cd . out of £ 2135 6 s . 6 d . subscribed during the year , and in 1893 , the total of its returns was £ 2106 14 s ., of which £ 1455 18 s . Gd . went to the Benevolent Institution , at whose Festival Bro . C . E . Keyser was the Chairman . In 1898 , the figures for the year was £ 2126 3 s ., out of which the Boys' School obtained £ 1614 5 s . < Sd . at its

Centenary Festival . Last year when Bro . Keyser presided at the Boys' Festival , the year produced returns amounting to £ 1714 15 s ., and of this £ 1151 4 s . Cd . was subscribed in honour of Bro . Keyser ' s Chairmanship . In February , the sum of £ 545 12 s . was contributed to the Benevolent Institution , there being in all 15 Stewards , of whom four were Unattached , while the others did duty for 10 of its 24 lodges , the principal list being that of Bro . Keyser , representing the lodge

( No . 2518 ) which bears his name , tor £ 115 ios . On Wednesday ten brethren offered their services as Stewards , Bros . W . Baddeley , Billson , and Keyser being Unattached , and the other seven representatives of as many lodges . The total reached £ 291 4 s . 6 d ., the principal lists being those of Bro . II . J . Grimwade , Gladsmuir Lodge , No . 1585 , for £ 7 6 13 s ., and Bro . Keyser for £ 52 ios ., in addition to his Berkshire donation of equal amount .

The Province we come to next is that of KENT , which , with its roll of 65 lodges , is the strongest in the South of England , while in the work that it does and the money it raises for our Institutions , it stands second to none in the whole country . In 18 91 , when Earl Amherst , Prov . G . M ., was in the chair at the Benevolent Festival , it raised in his honour for our Old

People £ 4018 16 s . In 18 92 , its figures reached £ 3003 19 s . Gd ., out of which £ 1868 15 s . Cd . fell to the lot of the Benevolent Institution on the occasion of its Jubilee . In 1 S 93 , it raised £ 2103 12 s . Gd . ; in 1895 , £ 2399 9 s . Cd . ; in 18 9 8 it subscribed £ 554233 . Gd . to the Boys' Centenary out of a total of £ 5671 iGs . during the year ; while in 1899 it figured for £ 1476 13 s ., of which £ 818 18 s . was given

to the Old People , £ 388 19 s . to this Institution , and £ 283 ios . to the Girls ' Schools . In February the seven Stewards , of whom one was Unattached aud the rest represented six of its lodges , together raised £ 278 15 s . Cd . ; and on Wednes day ten lodges , represented by as many Stewards , returned amongst them £ 569 4 s ., the principal item being the £ 158 ns . raised by Bro . W . Sanders , of the Pattison Lodge , No . 913 .

0 : the two large and influential Provinces into which Lancashire is divided , that of

LANCASHIRE ( E . D . ) , which comprises 113 lodges , has arranged for a Festival to be held this summer in aid of its Systematic Educational and Benevolent Institution , and therefore we cannot in reason expect great things trom it in support of the Central Charities . Still , in February , nine Stewards , ot whom seven hailed from a chapter and three lodges and two were Unattached , compiled a total of £ 330 I 5 s ., the highest list

being that ot Bro . C . D . Cheetham tor £ 147 ; and on Wednesday five Stewards , three acting for as many lodges and two oeing Unattached , amongst them raised £ 247 18 s ., Bro . John Barlow , Unattached , being entered for £ 168 . Last year it took only a modest part in our Festivals , and raised £ 503 Ss ., but in 189 8 it took second place among the Provinces in supporting the Boys' Centenary , for which it subscribed £ 5772 7 s . Gd ., the total for the year being £ 6081 Gs . 6 d . In 18 95 , it raised £ 4000 and upwards for its own Institution .

LANCASHIRE ( W . D . ) , with its still more formidable array of 122 lodges , has also done some sp lendid work for the Central Charities , though it has four Institutions of its own to which it devotes its chief attention . In 1891 it raised £ 6126 14 s , Cd , for the Boys