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GLASGOW . St Enoch Hotel ( Adjoins Glasgow Terminus of the Midland and . G . & S . W . Railways ) . 'the St . Enoch Hotel is one of the linest in C . rcat Britain , and is the most conveniently situated for hoth pleasure and husiness centres . Lounge . K'cstaurant and drill Room . Good Cookine ,. Good Service . Electric I . ij < ht . Lifts . Bedrooms : Single from 4 s . ; Double from 6 s . 6 d . Station . "AYR . Motel New I . oun ^ c . Ekctric Li ^ hl . New Lift . Good Conkinj * . DUMFRIES . Station Hotel . for Hums' Country , Lovely Drives . Walks , Ciolf . Good Cooking . Electric l . i . ^ lit . Bedrooms : Single from 3 s . 6 d . ; Double from 6 s . 6 d . No ClIAKItK l- ' IIK ATTKXIIAXCI-: AX 11 Kl . KCTKlC LllillT . / - ' . ' /¦ ileserif-fi ' . r and interesting tariff ( freei , . i / ' / ' / v—Chief Office : — J . H . THOMAS , Alanaiicr , ST . ENOCH HOTKL , GLASGOW . (' .. & S . W . Hy . Co . ' s Hotels .

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PERRIER = JOUET & Co ' s . CHAMPAGNES . FINEST VINTAGE RESERVE-CUVEES . THE FAVOURITE MASONIC BRAND . Agent—A . BOURSOT , 9 , Hart Street , Hark Lane , London .

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ROYAL EXCHANGE ASSURANCE [ INCORPORATED A-D . 1720 . ] Fire , Life , Sea , Accidents , Burglary , Employers' Liability , Fidelity Guarantees , Annuities . TRUSTEES ^ rid EXECUTORS . Tile Corporation is prepared to undertake the following offices : — EXECUTOR OF WILLS . TRUSTEE UNDER WILLS . TRUSTEE UNDER SETTLEMENTS TRUSTEE FOR CHARITABLE AND OTHER INSTITUTIONS . I- ' unds in hand exceed UNIMPEACHABLE £ 5 , 000 , 000 SECURITY-. IVospevtus ; iinl \\\\ Jnlurmaiioii may be nhtainecl mi application to the Secretary , Head Office : ROYAL EXCHANGE , LONDON , E . C .

The Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution.

The Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution .

iDjusanc Bnwnaint

B EFORE we again address our readers , ( lie 79 th Annual Festival of the Benevolent Institution will have been held under the chairmanship of R . W . Bro . Lord Stanley , Provincial Grand Master of East Lancashire . Whilst

the Craft always throws its weight on the side of peace and concord , there is one direction in which strife and emulation are not only permissible , but even afford a gratifying spectacle . It is surely edifying , not only to Freemasons , but

also to the uninstructed and popular world , to behold the strenuous efforts made , as each year passes by , to excel in the illustration of that truly Masonic ornament , benevolence . What a healthy feeling is the sense of dissatisfaction that is experienced if one year ' s totals fail to surpass those of the year before , and there is nothing to account for the lack of

increase . And , too , what a gratifying reflection it is , that without any friction , without any feeling of being " taxed , " something like £ 80 , 000 can be raised every year for the central Charities . We will not say without work , because no one outside the Secretaty ' s of / ice can understand what

work is involved , but even if hard work is entailed it is free from the discouragement of ungrateful and unappreciated labour . The problem that confronts Bros . Lord Stanley and Colville Smith this year , is how to collect more than ^ 253 6 3 us . 6 d ., which was the sum realized by the

, festival last year . Without entering upon a financial analysis , it may suffice to state that the wants of no less than 560 annuitants have to be provided for , besides , of course , the cost of administration . In the last published balance sheet the total receipts were . £ 35 , 421 15 s . ud ., and this

included a legacy of . £ 550 and nearly £ 6000 interest on investments . Of that sum , . £ 17 , 993 went towards the support of the Charity , annuitants , and asylum , establishment charges were very nearly £ 3000 , including three pensions amounting to £ 950 , and the balance , together with some £ 4500 of the sum brought forward from the previous year , was invested .

The total amount of stock now possessed by the Institution , held in Government and other approved securities , is £ 239 , 610 2 s . id ., yielding an annual income of between £ 6000 and £ 7000 . To the outsider this may seem to be a highly satisfactory state of things . There are not a few similar institutions whose funds have increased beyond

their power of applying them , by reason of the appreciation of landed property , for instance , where the singular method of dealing with surplus income , such as providing highly salaried posts , etc ., has invited the attention of the Charity Commissioners . But we venture to think that if the attention

of the Charity Commissioners was ever invited to the Benevolent Institution , the result would be very unstinted admiration . The question always before the committee is how they may increase the benefits . How to diminish the list of disappointments . Some there must always be . There is not a fixed number ot vacancies to be competed for every year . There can only be a fixed total , and it is conceivable

that there might be no vacancies in any one year , lhen the committee would most probably create vacancies , and , in fact , they do so every year . Now , the Benevolent Institution differs from the schools in this interesting particular . Every new vacancy created in the latter is a charge for a limited number of years , and , therefore , the committee know exactly

the additional liability they have incurred . But annuitants are proverbially long lived . The freedom from that care and anxiety which shortens the life of the ordinary man promotes longevity , and for anything they know to the contrary , every new candidate admitted to the benefits of

the Institution may prove to be a very Methuselah . We by no means suggest a form of happy dispatch , such as that practised by the filial Hindu when he thinks his aged parent would be better off in another sphere , but we venture to point out that very considerable caution has to be exercised

in admitting new claims , that is , outside the list of vacancies created in the course of nature . The committee are , in fact , incurring unlimited liability .

Whilst the Freemason pays his poor rate with little more than a sense of chit }' , he makes his contribution to the Benevolent Institution with cheerfulness and pleasure . In spite of the best organization there are many recipients of help who have not the slightest claim or desert . Masonic Charities , however , are very highly organized ,

and we should say that only an infinitesimal proportion of those who profit by them are undeserving . Those who are chargeable to the Benevolent Institution , are , in nearly eveiy case , those who have once enjoyed a comfortable position in life , the change in whose circumstances has been brought