Contents.

CONTENTS .

EDITORIAL : THE ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR Bovs 251 QUATUOR CORONATI LODGE—No . 207 i > 252 MASONIC POET ' CORNER— "THE MASON ' S VACANT CHAIR . ' ' AND "DEAD" 253 PROV . GRAND MARK LODGE , MIDDLESEX AND SURREY ... 253 IRREGULARITIES IN LODGES 25 ;>

ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE 254 & 257 PROSPECTUS OF -THE 'MASONIC STAR , ' LIMITED" ... 255 & 25 „ ANNUAL OUTING OF THE STABILITY LODGE—Xo . 217 ... 257 OUR TRESTLE BOARD 257 NOTIFICATIONS 257 THE QUALIFICATIONS OF THE W . MASTER 258

PROPOSED MEMORIAL TO THE LATE CANON PORTAL ... 27 > $ PROVINCIAL GRAND LODGE OF MIDDLESEX 259 THE ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTIONS 250 LODGE REPORTS 259 GLEANINGS 2 G 0 METROPOLITAN LODGE AND CHAPTER MEETINGS FOR THE CURRENT WEEK 200 ADVERTISEMENTS Front coin ; 250 , 2 ( 51 , 2 U 2 , 2 ( 53 , 264

The Royal Masonic Institution For Boys.

The Royal Masonic Institution for Boys .

HE adjourned meeting of the General Committee of the Boys' School , which was the outcome of its meeting on the 1 st ultimo , was held on Saturday last at Freemasons '

Hall , London . From the report which has reached us—we were unable to attend personally—it would seem that

confidence in the ability of the Provisional Committee appointed by the Special Court , on the Gth June , to set all matters right again in connection with the administration

of the School , is entertained by the great majority of those patrons and subscribers who attended such Special Court and shared in its deliberations ; for these were absent on

the occasion we now refer to , when something less than forty brethren attended—a strong contrast to the overflow which characterised the assembly on the 1 st June . It is

also apparent that those brethren who sought re-election on the House and Audit Committees , and did not admit that the Provisional Committee of Management w as legally

competent to perform the duties with which the Special Court had entrusted it , have taken a common sense view of the situation , and do not now persist in claiming

presumed rights and privileges which would have been surely and sorely contested if any action had been taken by them in a corporate capacity . The question of election

of the subordinate Committees was naturally introduced as an uncompleted business , but it was at once admitted that , rightly or wrongly , as opinions may be , the Provisional

Committee had superseded them . The General Committee therefore continued the business comprised in the Agenda , receiving several petitions from new candidates , and

placing same on the list of applicants for next election . One of the successful candidates in April last elected , through his friends , to receive the education grant of £ 20

The Royal Masonic Institution For Boys.

in lieu of admission to the . Institution at AVood Green , and the request was complied with . Beyond the granting of a

few sums for outfits to ex-pupils on leaving the School , no further business was done . The next regular meeting of the General Committee is to be held on Saturday next ,

but under existing circumstances wo presume the business to come before it will be of a merely formal nature , and , in

anticipation of the action and report of the Provisional Committee of Management , no important proposition will be considered .

As we go to press , the Anniversary Festival of the Institution is commencing , and in common with many others of its best friends , we share the anxiety of the stewards who

have been zealously working for some time past to secure a respectable total of donations for the support of the school during and after the ensuing twelve months . There

can be but little doubt that such total will have been affected by recent events , and by the publicity given thereto as well in the general press as in the several

Masonic journals . Still , wo hope , and have reason to think , that the diminution , if any , from the average of the past two or three years will not be serious , and , if it be ,

that , nevertheless , more permanent good than temporary harm will be the result of the steps which have been taken to amend the general management of the institution .

Whatever may be the issue of this year's festival in a pecuniary sense , one thing is certain , that the many causes for dissatisfaction which have of late—and much more so

than many members of the Craft may imagine—hindered the flow of subscriptions from lodges and individuals , will no longer exist ; and that under improved regulations and

more stringently supervised instructions , the affairs of the institution will be restored to their former excellence , the strong affection of the Craft for " Our Boys" be further

strengthened , and the deficits of the present made good by increased efforts and larger contributions in the future . The Royal Masonic Institution for Boys is not to be

wrecked because some acknowledged and , we must admit , desperate abuses have existed which are brought to light , and are in course of remedy ; and it should not now be

further imperilled by factious disputation over matters which are beyond recall . To impugn in any manner the report of the late Committee of Enquiry is , at this moment ,

a dangerous proceeding , and should be universally condemned . What is absolutely necessary for safety is calm and deliberate action under the authority which lias been

conferred , and a patient reliance upon the judgment and experience of those to whom the conduct of affairs has

been entrusted . And equally , should all desire for vin dictiveness on the part of those offended—and all thing considered having reasonable cause for offence—be dis