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R EPORT S or M ASONIC M EETINGS :—Craft Masonry ' ,3Royal Masonic Institution for Boys j e

Royal Masonic Institution lor Gills "## ( 16Masonic and General Tidings , 16Masonic Notes and Queries jyNotes on Art !jRoyal Masonic Benevolent Instituti on 18A Note of Warning , ,8The Indian Famine Fund , , xgThe State of Trade 19Friendl y Advice 10Communirnie 19The Grand Orient of France and the Grand Orient of I taly 20Kenning's Masonic Cyclopedia , 20CORRESPONDENCE :—

The Grand Orient oE France 20The Order of St. John 20The Apollo University Lodge , 20Masonic Slander 20National Hospital for Diseases of the Heart and Paralysis... 20

Consecration of the Temp le Bar Lodge, No. 15-8 2cConsecration of the Chclmeley Lodge 23Opening of a new Masonic Hall in Liverpool 32Reviews 2aObituary 2^Royal Masonic Institution for Boys 2.1Lodge Meetings for Next Week 24Advertisements i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi. vii. viii.

C O N T E N T S .

REPORTS OF MASONIC MEETINGS.€Mt ItasiTO.

JOPPA LODGE (No. 188.)—The installationmeeting of this old loelge was held on Monday at theAlbion , Aldersgate-st., when Bro. Lewis Lazarus, W.M.,presided. Bro. Cox was passed to the second degree, anilG. J. Wyman was initiated, both degrees being admirablyworked by the W.M. Bro. E. P. Albert , P.M., P.G.P.,then presented to Bro. Lewis Lazarus, Bro. Joan T. Miller,the W.M. elect, and Bro. Lewis Lazarus impressivelyinstalled Bro. Milcr in the W.M. chair. The Board ofInstalled Masters, which numbered ao brethren , includedthc names of Bros. Hyde Pullen , Thos. Cubitt, John Boydand Col. Shadwell Clarke. Thc officers appointed wereBros. Speigal, S.W. ; Hyman , J.W. ; E. P. Albeit ,Secretary ; Bro, Campion , S.D. ; Baker , J.D. ; Isaacs,I.G. ; Gencse, D.C; Benjamin, Steward ; and Black,Steward. The sum of £5 was voted to the list of Bro.Speigal, S.W., who was deputed by the lodge to act asSteward at the forthcoming festival of the Royal Ma-sonic Benevolent Institution. Thc W.M. then rose andaddressing1 Bro. Lewis Lazarus, I.P.M., said:—I have in-vested all the officers whom it has been my privilege tonominate. You, Worshipful Sir, claim your rank ofP.M. as a light, and no words of mine can add to yourdi gnity. But a very pleasing duty now devolves upon me,and in the name and on behalf of the Lodge of Joppa Ipresent you with this P.M. jewel as a mark of the esteemand regard in which you are held by your brethren. Mayyour valuable life be long spared to wear this jewel,which I have no doubt you will with honest priele, andmay it be handed down in your family as a heir-loomfrom generation to generation. I could say a great dealmore as to your excellent working, and the satisfactorymanner in which you have discharged your importantduties, but I shall reserve what I have to say on thatsubject to a later pciiod of the evening, when I am surethe breth ren will honour with heartiness the mentionof your name. I thank you on my own behalf for yourmost excellent rendering of the ceremony of Installation ,which I can assure you has left a deep impressionupon my mind , with a lively sense of thegreat cost of time and labour the mastering of it musthave entailed upon you. Bro. Lewis Lazarus, in returningthanks for the presentation , said he could not find wordswhich would adequately express his feelings. He hailreceived much kindness from the brethren, and it would behis constant aim to do all in his power to promote theinterests of thc lodge. Lodge was then closed, and thebrethren , to the number of 168, adjourned to the bane[uettable, and under the presidency of the W.M., partook ofa sumptuous repast, provided by Bro. Jennings. Afte r ban-quet the usual toasts were proposed, and after that of " TheQueen and the Craft ," had been duly honoured , thc W.M.proposed " Thc Grand Master." In the course of his ob-servations on this toast he said the whole Craft felt justlyproud that the heir to the throne of this mighty empirefilled the important position of Grand Master of Freema-sons. It was a matter for much congratulation thatMasonry had made such great strides under His RoyalHighness's rule, and he thought that the more the Orderincreased the better it would be, provided the brethren ad-mitted worthy men ; for if Freemasonry was, as thebrethren believed it to bc, founded upon the purest princi-ples of piety and virtue, surely it shoulel be encouraged togrow. Moreover, every brother who introduced a candi-date conferred a great and lasting boon upon him. Ingiving the toast of " The Pro Grand Master, &c," theW.M. said that those who were entitled to attend GrandLodge (and there were a great many then present), musthave witnessed the dignified, effective and courteous man-ner in which the duties were performed by the Earl ofCarnarvon. He would for one moment refer to the pro-ceedings at the last Grand Lodge when in a powerfulspeech which should be read by every Freemason , the ProGrand Master referred to the recent action of thc GrandOrient of France. The brethren never need fear losing anyof their ancient landmarks whilst Masonry possessed sucha champion in the Earl of Carnarvon. Ignore T.G.A.O.T.U.and they destroyed the whole fabric of Freemasonry.Bro. Hyde Pullen , P.G.S.B., replied. Bro. L. Alexander,P.M., replying to the toast of " The Benevolent Fund ofthc Lodge of Joppa ," said that he had that day attainedhis majority as an Installeel Master. He also said thathe BentTolent Fund of the Lodge now amounted to £1400,

and it was invested in consols. Thc W.M. in proposing

"The Health of Bro. Lewis Lazarus ," I.P.M., said he neednot remind the brethren of thc Lodge of Joppa howadmirably Bro. Lazarus had worked the ceremonies duringhis year of office : but it was not only the members of thelodge but visitors had had that evening an opportunity ofwitnessing the grand ceremony of installation executed ina masterly and perfect manner by the I.P.M. It must bea source of much gratification to P.M. Lazarus that thebrethren appreciated his merits, a fact which was abun-dantly clear by the presentation of the P.M.'s jewel withwhich his breast had been adorned that evening. 3ro.Lewis Lazarus in reply said that having already addressedthe brethren in open Lodge it would be simply superfluousfor him to detain them now by making a long speech ;and the greatest satisfaction he felt in the receipt of thejewel was in the inward conviction that he had dischargedhis duties of the chair in a way that was pleasing to thebrethren. Bro. Lazarus then proposed " The Health ofthe W.M." and said that during the W.M.'s year thebrethren would find they had placed thc right man in theright place. The W.M. in acknowledging the toast saidI thank Past Master Lazurus very much for the kindexpressions he has made use of in proposing my health ,and I also desire to tender the brethren my most heaitythanks for the corelial , and , I might say, enthusiasticmanner in which they have receiveel it. A great man inreturning thanks recently for a toast drunk in his honoursaid that to disclaim all the kind things that had beenpronounced in his favour would seem to invite contraelictionand thereby reiteration. 5. -would therefore say at once 1I am thankful for your good opinion: it has been myconstant aim to secure it. You ha\e conferred upon methis evening the highest honour it is in the power of alodge to bestow on one of its members ; and I wish to assureyou of my profound gratitude for and appreciation of it.To tell you lhat I shall do my best to merit acontinuance of your confidence is to say very little ; thatis only what you have a light to demand of me; andwhen I look round upon the long and distinguished list ofmy predecessors who have so worthily filled this chair,many of whom have made their mark in the Craft , I maywell feel the deep responsibility of the trust you have re-posed in me. I shall strive, in season and out of season,in the lodge and out of it, to the utmost of my ability , topromote the interest and maintain the dignity of the Lodgeof Joppa . I call to mind with much pleasure and satis-faction this evening, six years ago, when I was initiated inthis lodge ; but the retrospect that causes me the greatestpleasure and thankfulness is the recollection of that gen-uine brotherly kindness and generous encouragement Ihave received from every member of thc lodge during theintervening period , as step by step I have worked throughthe various offices , and to this mainly I owe my proudposition to-night. Contiuue. to me that support you haveso freely given in the past, so as to make my year of of-fice eminently successful. Let us all be animated withone desire, the wel l being and prosperity of the lodge. TheLoelge of Joppa stands high in the Craft ; kt us strive toraise it higher. Our lodge is only a unit of a vast com-munity. Masonry is doing a grand work. Look at ourthree great and flourishing Institutions. What other bodyof men can boast of anything like them in the way ofcharity ? Each year as the festivals come round witnessesa larger sum of money contributed by the Craft , and thisenables thc authorities to increase the accommodation ,so as to extend thc benefit of the charities.The W.M. next proposed "The P.M.'s," and said thatfrom the newly-initiated brethren upwards there was afeeling of admiration for the veterans whose breasts weredecorated with jewels ; but the higher a brother advancedthc more he appreciated the P.M.'s, because he felt theneed of the experience and advice of the P.M.'s, whichthey were always willing to give. Bro. L. Alexander,P.M., replied. " Thc Visitors," and other toasts were thengiven , and the brethren separated after witnessing a mostsuccessful evening. The musical arrangements were un-der the direction of Bro. Grove Ellis, Bro. James Kift , pre-siding at the pianoforte. The music peiformed at theLodge of Joppa is always of a high order, andJ|on thisoccasion , when it was equal to the Joppa standard ,was participated in by Miss M. Lyiiton, Mr. C. Row-cliffe, Madame Alice Barnet , Bros. Kift and Ellis. Thefollowing were present as visitors :—Bros. Hyde Pullen ,P.G.S.B. ; John Cubitt , P.G.P. : John Boyd, P.G.P. andG. Steward ; C. F. Hogard , Col. Shadwell H. Clerk ,P.G.D. 1383; J. P. Cohen, W.M. 205; I. Peertree, W.M.185; W. H.'Gulliford , W.M. 1017; A. D. Loewenstark,I. Lazarus, S.W. 1017; G. Manners, 1589; C. Barnett ,1707 ; C, Taylor, 1426 ; A. Tisley, 8 ; H.I. Lyons, 205 ;A. I. Mawkes, 315; Murgloski, 398; C. Davis, 222 ;Lcchoritz, 1642 ; Williams, 933; Noble, 901 •, Dolling,1673; A. Barnard , 749 ; Maynard , 205 ; I. Beveriel ge,1319 ; Forge, 619; Morson, 1320; Jewell, 1559 ;C. Isaacs, 141; C. Horsey, 3 ; P. G. Jupe , J287 ; Hatter];W. Roroby, 917 ; B. Newton, 1201 ; J. Botobol, 1201 ;W. R. Phillips, 975; H. J. Lewis ejo7 ; H. E. Bonhein ,W. Birdseye, 711;; C. Coleman, 907 ; E. Lancaster, 1044 ;Hodgers , 902 ; Noble, 902 ; J. Colver, 1031 ; A, H. Brown ,174 ; Frankenberg, 73; Field, 65 ; Fletcher, 180; Rev.V. Rosonsten.

LION AND LAMB LODGE (No. 192).—Ameeting of thc above lodge was held on Thursday, the 3rdinst., at the Cannon-street Hotel, when there were pre-sent Bros. E. Jones, W.M. ; Legge, S.W. j Fellows,J.W.; George Kenning, P.M., Treasurer ; Uickwood ,Secretary ; Thomas Cohu , P.M.; George Abbott , P.M.;West, Henry Child, John Ken t, Charles Cann , ThomasFisher, S. T. Lucas, Wm. Cotter, W. Figes, GeorgeTaylor, Alfred Lewis, E. J. Kellaway, T. T. Hampton , C.Gale Sparrow, R. J. Dart, W. H. L. Davies, and others.Visitors, Bro. Farthing and another. The minutes of thelast meeting were read and confirmed ; the W.M. appointedBro. W, T. Rickwood as Secretary, pro. tern., in conse-

quence of ihe inelisposition of Bro. J. G. Marsh, P.M.Two gentlemen were proposed for initiation at the nextmeeting. The lodge was then closed. The brethren sat downto a very enjoyable banquet , served under the superinten-dence of Bro. Rand. The usual toasts were given by theW.M. Bro. Davies added much to the enjoyment of thebrethren by his performance on the piano.

KENNINGTON LODGE (No. 1381).—Thislod ge held its last meeting at the Surrey Club House,Kennington Oval , on thc ist inst., when there were pre-sent B103. H. Higgins, W.M. ; Reeves, S.W.; Walls,P.G.O. Middlesex, J.W. (Freemason) ; G. Everett, P.M.177, I.P.M.; E. Page, P.G.S., Treas. ; Stuart , P.M. 141,Sec ; Kohler, S.D.; Speedy, J.D.; Webb, I.G.; Robinson,D.C. ; Marsden, W.S.; Stokes, A.W.S. ; Gardner, P.M. ;Drysdale, P.M. ; Longstaff-, Tyler. The minutes of theprevious meeting having been read and confirmed , theW.M. raised Bros. Pim and Barry, and passed Bro.Webster, thc ceremonies being most carefully and cor-rectly performed. The elections for W.M., Treasurer,and Tyler, were unanimously in favour of Bros. Reeves,S.W. ; Page, P.M., Treas. ; and Longstaffe, Tyler ; Bros.Stranger , Fowler, and Higgins, jun., were elected Auditors,and a jewel voted to the out-going Master. The lodgewas closed, and the brethren adjourned to refreshment.Thc cloth having been removed, thc W.M. gave the pre-liminary toasts, which were duly drank. In proposing" The Health of the W.M.," the I.P.M. called attentionto the excellent manner in which the W.M. had dischargedhis duties during his year of office , and which officialyear was nearly at a cl ise. He had had a very onerousterm , and he had petformed the responsibilities of his posi-tion most ably, and he would carry with him in his re-tirement the well-wishes of every member of Number1381. In conclusion the speaker said that on that aus-picious occasion , being the advent of 1878, he should with-out further preface wish him good health and a mosthappy and prosperous new year. The W.M. briefly, inreply, thanked the brethren for the very hearty manner inwhich , on all occasions he had been received by them.He had endeavoured to do his duty, and he believed hehad given them every satisfaction in that particular, bothin and out of lodge, and in conclusion , he saidthat he had passed a most pleasant year, and one that heshould ever remember with satisfaction. "The Visitors "having been proposed, was responded to by Bros. Andrews,Hon. Sec. .115, in the absence of his colleague, Bro. Binga-mann , P.M. 5,5, &e. In introducing " The PastMasters," the W.M. said that thc lodge was to becongratulated upon having so many distinguish ed brethrenamongst them. Some of them were large supportersof the different charities, and he felt sorry that so few werepresent that evening, but their health notwithstandingwould bc drank none the less hearty. Bro. Drysdale inreply, having thanked the W.M. and the brethren forthc very cord ial manner in which the toast had beenproposed anil responded to, said that he consielered it theduty of every Past Master to attend the meetings of thelodge and to assist their younger brethren—and that with-out distinction—in the carry ing out of their multifariousand onerous responsibilities. The W.M. then rose, and saidhe was about to propose, and that for the first and lasttime, a most important toast, namely " The W.M. elect."They all knew the good and genial qualities of Bro.Reeves, who was moreover their first initiate. He hadbeen throughout his Masonic career most indefati gable inhis attendance, which characteristic augured well for hissuccessful occupancy of the Master's chair. In personal lywishing him a most prosperous year of office, he only ex-pressed that which was the unaminous hope of every mem-ber of his mother lodge. This toast having been r eceivedwith excellent " fire," Bro. Reeves duly replieJ. In pro-posing " The Health of the Treasurer and Secretary " theW.M. took occasion to speak of the careful manner i nwhich Bro. Page husbanded their funds , and also in otherrespects watched over their interests. In Bro. Stuart theyalso posse ssed an excellent Secretary, and one who at alltimes was ready to assist them with the benefit of hisadvice. The Secretary in response said he felt sorry thatthe Treasurer had been compelled to leave them at theconclusion of their Masonic labour, but he would take ad-vantage of that circu mstance to tell them that in Bro.Page they possessed one of the best Treasurers that hehad ever been associated with . He then in conclusionexpressed his own thanks for the compliment conferredupon him as Secretary. " The Officers " followed , andwas acknowledged by Bros. Walls, Kohler, Webb, andRobinson. During the evening Bros. Everett, Walls, andothers entertained the brethren , who separated at anearly hour. The installation of Bro. Reeves will takeplace on the 5th proximo.

BATH.—Royal Cumberland Lodge t,No. 41).—On Thursday, the 3rd inst., a regular meeting was heldat the Masonic Hall , which was unusuall y well attended.Among those present were Bros. F. Wilkinson , W.M.;Ashley, Treas., as I.P.M.; Falkner, S.W.j Rubie , P.M., asJ.W. ; Capt. Peel, as Dir. of Cer. ; Braham , Sec. : Gum-mer, S.D. ; Hunt , J.D. ; Robinson and Jacob Smith,Stewards; Bigwood, Tyler ; E. White, P.M.; Dr. Hopkins,P.M. 43 and 958, P.P.G.S.W. for Warwickshire ; F.Baldwin, W.M. 355. As visitors Bros. Sir John Floyd,654 •, Gen. Doheity, P.M. 53 and 906, ana P.P.G.S.W. ;Williamson , W.M. 906 ; Hill , P.M. 906 ; Dill , P.M. 906 ;Reeves, P.M. 906, P.P.G.O.; J. Shaw, S.W. 326 ; P. G.Young, S.W. 906 ; Howes, J.W. 906 ; Ha'yward , S.D.OoO ; Davis, I.G. 906 ; W. II. Young, 906 ; Besford , Sec,703 ; Ash, 703 ; Freeman, 90G. There were also manymembers of 41. The lodge having been opened at 7.40by thc W.M., the minutes of the last meeting were readand confirmed. At thc request of the W.M., Bro. Dr. Hop .kins reported the proceedings of the committee appointedto promote the interests of the family of the late Bro.

, Cooper, stating that the name of the youngest son had

been accepted as a candidate for admission into the MasonicBoys' School , that circulars had been issued to promotehis election , and that a letter had been received from thcGrand Secretary announcing that a grant of £40, subjectto confirmation, had been made by the Committee of theBenevolent Fund , in adelilion to the £21 from the Prov.Grand Lod ge. A letter was icail fro m ~

Bro. Brown , I P.M.,priy ing for indulgence on account of absence, owing tosevere bereavement in his family. Much sympath y wasexpressed for this worth y bro ther , and the Secretary wasdirected to forward to him a Utter cef sincere condolence.Bros. White and Ashley spoke at sonic length as to theelection of W.M. for next year, which had been discussedat a meeting of P.M.'s, and reported a recommendationthat under peculiar circumstances , both Wardens havingexpressed a desire that their elevation to the chair shouldbe postponed , the present W.M. sliou 'd continue in officeanother year, to which he had g iven his assent. A ballotwas then taken , which pioved to be in accordance wiehthis proposal. Bro. Ashley was in like manner rc-clectc:iTreasurer, and Bro. Bi gwood , Tvlcr. Mr. G. 13. Mann ,wno had previousl y been admitted by ballot , was introduced ,properl y prepared , and ini 'htcd by thc W.M. The chargeswere delivered by Bro. Dr. Hop kins , and the working loulswere explained by the: S.W. The l.xl ge was iipeue -d in theStcemd Degree, and Bros. Gregory , Cartme'tt , and T. V..Wilton were raised by th-: W.?.L, who then dismissedthem. In this lodge it is the custom for Ihe secrets to becommunicated afte r Hie return of thc newly made Maste rMasons, mid Ivy request from ihe chair this was done byBro. Dr. Hopkins, who also gave the traditionary historyof thc degree and the charge, Bro. Falkner, as before, ex-plaining the working tools. The lod ge was then broughtdown to the First Degree, arrangements were maile for thcannual banquet, anel no other business offering, except avote of thanks to the visitors , which was carried by accla-mation, thc procccelings were broug ht to a close at 10.40.

PLYMOUTH—Brunswick Lodge (No 159).—The annual meeting of this lodge was held at theHuyshe Temple,Plymouth. The W.M., Bro. J. II . Stephensprcsieled , anil the lodge being dul y opened the installationof the W.M. elect , Bro. John Andrews, was proceeded with.The ceremony of the installation was ably peifoimed byBros. Stephens, R. Lose, and George Stentifer , P.M.'sAfter the ceremony the W.M. a]-pointed his officers : Bros,Stephens, I. P.M.; F. Littleton , S.W.; J. B. Johns , J.W.;George Stentifer, Tieasurrr ; H. Miller , Secretary, O,Knowlcs , S.D. ; C. D. Stentifer , J.D. ; T. W. Tiivan ,I.G. ; H. Mortimer , D.C. : W. II . Carter, On;,, A. Itowe,S.S. ; J. W. S. Trev.tn, J.S.; James Bartlett , Ty ler. Thebrethre n subsequentl y ml] turned to Bro. Walter 's FarleyHotel , Union-street , where they sat elown to an excellentbanquet. The W.M., Bro. John Andrews, pvcsieleil , andthere were about sixty brethren present. The W.M. wassupported by his officers. In the course of the evening aPast Master 's jewel was presented on behalf of the loelgeby Bro. George Stentifer to thc I.P.iM.,wlio returned thanksin a graceful anil feeling ma mer.

ST. JOHNS LODGE (No. 279). —On Wednesday,2nd inst., the brethren of I lie St. John 's Lodge of Free-masons, No. 279—the oldest lod ge in the province ofRutland and Leicestershire, hell their annual festivalat the Masonic Hall , Leicester, for the installation of Bro.George W. Slatham , the Wii'slnpful Master elect for theensuing year. Tin re was a large attendance of themembers of St. John 's and other lodges in the townand district , as veil as from a distance , there being nofewer than three representatives of Lancashire lodges—two from Man chester and* one from Present , nearLiverpool . Bro. Clement Edwin Stretton (sou e;f hisWorshi p thc Mayor), P.P.G. Supt. of Woiks , the retiringW.M., opened the loel ge, after which Bro. W. Kell y,R.W. P. P.G.M., took the chair, anil proceeded to installthe W.M. elect , in a very able anil impressive manner.At the close of this ccremonv , the W.M. appointedand invested the following officers of the lodge forthe ensuing yi-rr :—llivi. Clement K. Stretton , I.P.M. ;S. Cleaver , S.W. ; J. Farnd.-ile , J.W. ; the Rev. P.Smith , Chaplain ; J. O. Law, Secretary ; Josephlessop, S.D.; T. Cullman , J.D.; I . P. Chamberlain ,I.G.; E. Newt, 11, D.C ; J. Rondkni glit anilM. A. Cook , Stewauls. Bro. C. Gurden was cordiall ythanked for his services as Treasurer during the yea r, andbeing unanimously re-elected , briefl y acknowled ged thecompliment. His Worship, the Mayor of Leicester , Bro.Clement Stretton , P.P.G.S.W., was unanimousl y re-electedthe P.M. to represent the lod ge on the Genera l PurposesCi niniillce. The W.M. then pre -ceedeel to present a veryhandsome P.M's jewel to Bro. Clement Stretton , I.P.M.,as an expression of the esteem in which he is held by theloel ge anil an acknowledgement of his very valuable anilefficient service s in the chair dming the past year. Thejewel bore the following inscri ption :—Presented to Bro.Clement Stretton , P.P.G., Siip'r i ieUndent of Works , bythe St. John 's Lod ge, No. 279 , as a mark of esteem ,and in recognition ol his valuable services as Worshi p-ful Master , 1877."—Sro. SliYttun , in briefl y acknow-led ging the complime nt said , " R.W.P. ProvincialGrand Master , W.M. and Brethren , I have be en frequentl ytold by my pu-di 'ccssor.* that no moment in their Masoniccarve r lias been so a] p a l l i n g In I hi in us when rising t > re-tu rn thanks feer a. P.M. jew el , I ut when I le ok ruuiul 011the fact s of those whom l a m p'oud to believe are myfriends , and see the i r o.pr.f.sioii cl k in d l y sympath y, I fe. i lmy fears changed into some di grre i f crniidence . WhenI was initiate ', e ix ye:n"s ago, I had very little hope of evera t ta in ing any position in the lodge-, and thcMaster's chair seemed as far removed as the: " Star in theEast." But the courtesy ot the brethren , anil thc efficiencyof my < dicers , have made the past year thc most pleaeantof my life. My health hav ing debarred me from an ac-tive life , Masonry has been an especial boon in every case,and my happ iest hours during the last six years, have

been spent between the four walls. I thank yr: u veryhear tily for this handsome jewel which I am well awarewill gain me admission inio any society of Masonry thatI may wish to ent- r. At- the elo.se of the lod ge the breth-ren sat down to a sumptuous banquet , admirabl y servedby M. A. Cook , the Bub' s i-cad Hotel. The lievvl y-in-stalled W.M., Bro . G. W. St-r tham , presided , and the fol-lowing were among the bi\ 'Ji:\ 11 present :—Bros. W.Kelly, P.P.G.M.; S. S. Partrid ge. P.G. Sec ; ClementStretton fMayor) , P.P .G.S.W . ; CI, m i t Edwi - i Stretton ,P.P.'3., Supt. of Works; J. Male 1-n McAPi- tor , P.P.G.S.D.;J. W. Smith , P.r.G.P. ; S. C'eav.r. I' .G.A.D. C. ; J. Fain-dale, P.G. Steward ; C. Gurden , I' .l' .G.S ."..; j. jessop,P.G.S.B. ; thc Rev. J. H. Smith; P. I' .G. Chaplain ; theRev. F. H. Richai-elson , P.G. Chap lain ; T. A. Wy kes ,W.M. ; John Orlando Law; Ed war.) Newton , jun. ,Thomas Dunn , Tj ler;S. A. Harris , .(. Hna i lk r i g ht , Alf -c - iPalmer , P.M. ; Frederick William liottrill , J .-m- s Jos-, phBird , Matthew A. Cook , R. A. Barker , P.M. ; UearlesStevens , William Langmore, H. H. Peach. The followingwere amongst the vis i t ing brethren :—E. Ma-neii , I.P.M. ;S. Kni ght , I I . Pcake, P.M., P.P.G. Supt. eif Works. ; ).Read , S.D. ; Edwin W. P. Iter , 1?. Taylor , S.W .; MulcyH. Lewin , I.P .M. ; W. l-l. Clianv-erl eiei , W. l!ri em , T.Worll i in gton , P.M.; J. Ya-ig h.-m , W .M., I.-u cshirc ; J.fandliach. P.M., Lauca.sl.ire ; S. G. Sia.p 'on , J .D. ; K.Praecar , Joseph CU-mmi-y, T. A. Wykes , W.M.; T. R.Pickering, J. M. Quinn , anil Owen Jones. Thc usualloyal and Masonic toasts were dul y honoured , and thewhole proceedings were: of a most enje.vable character.

MONMOUTH.—Loyal Monmouth Lodge(No. 457).—On Tuesday, January ist., Bro.the llcv. D. G. Davies was installed as W.M. of thislod ge, and thc ceremony was most abl y performed byBro. Captain S. Georee Homfray, P.A.G.D.C. anelD.P.G.M. Monmouthshire. The brethre n afterwards ad-journed to a banquet at the King 's f/eael Hotel , Mon-mouth , presided over by the W.M.

OXFORD.—The Alfred Lod ge (No. 340).—Onthe 19 th ult. Bro. F. W. Ansell , at tha t moment W.M.elect , entertained an influential party of brethren at dinnerin the banquet mom , consisting of the Past Masters of thcloel ge, anil of officers elert for thc ensuing year. Bro.Aldeiman Randall , P.M., Prov. G. Treas., in {.peaking tothe toast of his health on the occasion , complimented himon such a happy social galheiing, which augured welltowards the success of his year of office. The installationtook place at thc festival on St. John 's Day, Bro. !!¦ ught'inabl y performing the inte resting ceremony. After theinstallation of Bro. F. W. Ansell , P. Prov. G. Sup. of W.,as W.M , he preice eeled to invest his officers as follows :—Bros. John Pralt , P.P.G. Deacon , as P.M. ; James Jenkin ,P.P.G. Sword Bearer , S.W.; Rev. Henry Dcane, " P.P.G.Chaplain. .*). W.; Henry Houghton , P.P. |.W„ Treas ; W.R. ll..bbs , P.P.G. Sword Bearer , S.c.; T. F. B. Evans ,Assist. Sec ; F. Ryman Hall , P. Dir. of Cer. , S.D. ; J.Jess .- Hughe.-,-, J.D. ; Robert P.iyne, Senior M. of Cer. ; W.Ellis Knowlcs, Junior M. of Cer. ; James Mace Dormor,I.G. ; W. R. Buwden , P.G. Steward , Organist ; EdwardHorn and Samuel Harris , Stewards; William Step hensand George Norwood , Tylers. Tile brethren gave the i rannual ball in the Clarendon Assembly Room on Wednes-day, the ej-.h inst., when inure than 120 members anelfriends assembled , thc Cra ft appearing, by permission ofH.R.H. the Prov. G. Master , Prince Leopold , in ful l Masoniccostume.

DORCHESTER.—The Led ge of Faith andUnanimity (No. 417).—This lodge held its first regularinciting for thc ensuing year on the afteino:eii of Thurs-day, thc 2nd inst. There wa> a good muster of thebrethren to witness the ceremony of installing the W.M.elect , Bro. W. H. Dean , that ceremony being the mostimportant matter on the agenda piper for the meeting.Thc ceremony was abl y performed by the W.M., Bro . R.Case. W. Dean proceeded to appoint and inve-st thefollowing brethren as his officers for the year :—Brees. R.Case, I.i'.M.; W. K. Brymi-r , S.W.;T. Beviss, J.W. ; Rev.H. P. Paikes, Chap. ; T. M. Dron , Sec.; A. H. Lock , S.D.;E. Burnett , J.D. ; G. Gregory, D.C. P.M. ; R. D. Thornton ,I.G. ; W. P. Ci rkeiani , P.M., and W. How, Stewa rd s ; J.Robins -in , jun., Org. ; Talbot , Tyler; Ol.!, Assist. Ty ler.The annual banquet took place af te r the closing cf theloelge. The usual loyal and Masonic toasts we re pro-posed and abl y responded to. The evening was spent verypleasantl y, and with that harmony and good feeling socharacteristic of Masonic meetings.

PENRYN.—Three Grand Principles Lodge(No. 967).—The brethre n of this lodge assembl ed at theirlod ge-room, at the King's Arms Hotel , on Tuesday the istinst., to initiate the W.M. elect (Bro. Thomas Rickard).The lodge was close ty led at 4 p.m., when ihe ceremonyof installation took place, the beaut i fu l l i 'ua l of the Ordeibeing impressively pe rformed by I.P.M . G. W. Trencry,P.P.G.S.B. The Worshi pful Master invested his officersa; follows .—G. W. Trencry, P.P.G.S.B., I.P.M. ; ThomasGill , P.P.A.D .C, Treasurer; S. Saia , S.W. ; Thomas B.Hart , J.W. ; J. M. Vhenias , P.M., P.G.O., Organist; G.Chapman , Secutary ; R. Peters , S D.; II . Dawe, |.D. ; N.Gr~y , I.G. ; W. J. Thomas , D.C ; I'. Ce.rde , Steward ;R. Curler , Seen tan- , C.M.A.F. The following membe rsof Lod ge Love: an i l Honour (Fnlni oi i ih ) were present :—I I . . Tid y, W .M. ; P. L. Fox , S.W.; J . Wallace , J .W .The business l e a v i n g been comp le ted , and the lod ge closedin elue foini , t h e bu l l veil pri-e-cederl to thc ban quet ingroom , where a sum pi nous diuii i r was provided , served inBro. G. Chapman 's best sty le -. The usual loyal and Ma-sonic teas ts were g iven and responded to, ami a mostagreeable anil harmonious cvcnii if was spent.

PLUMSTEAD.—Pallison Lodge(No 913).—The regular meeting of the above lod ge took place onThursday, the .31-el inst. at Bre\ Tucker 's Assembly Rooms"Thc Lord Rag lan ," Burrage Road. Bro. H. Butter , theW.M., filleel the chair, and was suppottcel by thc following

officers:—Bros. W. T. Vincent , I.P.M. ; C. Coupland , P.M.and P.P.J .W. Kent. A Pcnfold , P.M. ; J . McDougall ,P.M. ; T. Smith P.M. ; T. Hayes, S.W.; W. B. Lloyd,J.W. ; E. Denton , P.M. and Secretary . James Chapman ,P.D. ; R. J. Cook , J.D. ; H. Ma -.on , I.G. and R. Lester,Tyler. Among the guests were Bros. Wctherilt , P.M. 166,I.C ; R. Hikon , '.S21;; W. Weiss , 1076 ; C. Joll y,(Freemason) etc. etc. The lod ge having- opened in elueform nivl with solemn piayer , the minutes am! accountswere read , anil parsed. Mr. C. Warbuvton Russell wasthen , after ballot ami approval , initlaleel into Masonry, andBro. F. W. Upson , after most anly answering thc usualquestions , was raiseel to the degree of M.M. It wasthen unanimously agreed that the sum of ten guineasshould be given to the Girls ' School Charity Fund , andultimatel y Bro'. Coupland and Smith were jointl yappointed to act :;s Stewards at the forthcoming festi valof tha t i i iMi t t i t iou . Thc lodge was then closed anelaf ter p u "aking if one of Bro. Tu:ker 's recherche littlesupper -- , the soei il board was spread and the brethrenrcus.-mbled f i r refreshment. Thc usual loyal andMasonic toasts were , as is always the case in this lodge,most heartil y resp .ineled to, and the name of Lonl Holmes-da 'r, P.CM. Kent , vwis received most enthuiastically.The toa-t of '• Br.>. Eastes , D.G.M- , and the rest of theGiand Officers , Past and Present ," was then given by theW.M., who in the course of his speech , said they had afair sprinkling of the P.G. Officers Past anil Present intheir lol ge, he instanced the names of Bros. Coup land ,Tongue , Denton , and Smith , as having hid the honour ofoffice in the Province , and especially they ought to feelproud of Bro. Coupland , who had taken the hi ghest posi-tion in the province , and who was both in his private, aswell as in his Masonic life , an honour to Plumstead anilthe lod ge-. (Cheers.) To those who hael the priv ilege o£seeing him (Bro. Couplanel) do the work in chapter, itwas a pleasure ever to be remembered. Many a goodMason hael come from London on purpose to sec him dothat woik , and there was but one opinion among them ,and they had left with , if possible, a higher opinion ofthe importance of Arch Masonry than they hail beforepossessed. (Cheers.) He then proposed the toast with"a good fire." Bro. Couplanel in response s^id it was amost unfortunate thing for him to have his name so oftencoupled with a toast of so much importance. (No, no.)Well , what he meant was that having so often to respondto that toast , he found it difficult to do other than keep onrepeating the same thing over and over again. (Cheers.)He had the piivilegc of meiling their esteemed GrandMa-tcr , Loril Holmesdale , several times during thc courseof the year , and as well the Deputy Grand Master, andif the brethren -.wound had the same privilege, theywould come to the same conclusion that he had arriveelat , and not only himself , but every officer in the province,namely, that in L'>rd Holmesdale and Bro. Eastes they hadat their head two of the best and hardest working Masonsit was possible to meet with. (Cheers.) No labourseemed too hard , and no responsibility seemed too heavy forthem , while charity wanned their hearts with an unely ingflame. Long might they live to guielc and govern theMasons of Kent . (Loud cheers.) Thc W.M. had beenpleased to allude to him as a " good Mason ," and whilehe felt it to he a hi gh honour to be called so, yet he feltlhat he only did his duty, and if all the brethren were todo so, and sink inelividuality in the general good of theCraft , it would be better for the future of Freemasonry,and b.tter for themselves. (A pplause). He then rcsumeelhis seat afte r thanking them most feeling ly for the toast.Bio. Vincent then in eulogistic terms proposed the toast of"The W.M.," and in reply, Bro. Butters saiel that with-out their support he WAS as no one. l i e was more con-vinceil than ever , that if there was not a bond of sym-pathy existing between himself and the rest of the loelge,he never coulel cirry on the duties with credit to himselfor satisfaction to them. (A pplause.) He then referred tocertain matters personal to the lodge-, and said that throughthe subordinate officers of it , as well as in the presentposition , he had .striven hard to render himself worthy oftheir choice, and he felt strong ly the undoubted sympathylhat existed between them , and which had so warmly, un-der recent circumstances , been tendered him. (A pplause).He meant to mainta in the credit and di gnity of the lodgewhile in that chair, and asked them to give him a con-tinuance cf that sympathy, which had under some littleUial separated him hnhcrto. Unless the true principles ofFreemasonry were kept by them all in view , howcould its attributes—bre.l lii rly love , good feeling,and affection , keep among t h e n ? He nskeelthem to let those; princi ples ever bc held asthe safeguard eif the i r Older , anil then , whilehe should do as lie trusted he had ever done , allthat lay 111 his power feir the prosperity of the lodge andthe happiness and welfare e f its numbers, they on the i rpart would feel within thun clics that they were assistingto carry cut a good wort , and would have their reward inthe harmony and l,,ve tha t should , ami always had pre-vailed in the working raid comfort of the lodge. (Louelchee rs.) The toast of " The Past Makers " was cspeciailyleft in thc hands of "r<> . Pinfold , who the W .M. eulog isedfor his constant and unwearied efforts for the benefit of thclod ge-, anil , in reply, lit- s i i l t ha t when he hael been rele-gated 10 Ihe posiii.m 1 f Past Meis'.-.-r lie thought he sboui 1have had an iippintunity of smoking bis p i pe in peace,and resting 011 hi } l.T.-ivls , but I e-ni g lit he f. -uiid he hadbeen la '.ouring unde r a v. ivne' - impression. He couldassure them the object alv.ay: ; held in view by thc PastMasters was to at all limes promote the ii.l rests of theloel ge by every means in their power. He knew Lhat if thewhole of the Past Masters we re out of it , Freemasonrywould still flourish. They were but units in the grandstructure of the Order, and while each lod ge formed oneof these units, so each brother formed a unit in his ownlodge, and it was by his conduct that the cohesion so

necessary for its stability was kept up, or otherwise. Byunity they became strong, but by division they must fa ll ;he trusted to see them all united in one bond of brother-hood, aiul then thc result would bc for them a strong andflourishing position among thc lodges of the province.(Loud cheers.) They had one of the best Mastersit was possible to have. He was equal to anyemergency, and should one arise , he mi ght bcsure of thc support of every Past Master, andhe felt as sure of every member of thc lod ge. (e\pp lause.)The toast of "The Initiate " followed, and Bro. Russellmodestly replied. " The Visitors " was eloquentl y re-sponded to by Bro. Wctherilt , who thanked the lod ge mosthearti l y for the conlial reception accorded to him , as atotal stranger that night , but although he was a strangerto them , yet thc name and character of the Pattison Lodgewas no stranger to him. His mother lodge was at Constan -tinople, and he was its I.P.M.; in fact he had to leave Tur-key so hastily that bc coulel not wait to receive his PastMaster 's jewel , which was presented to him at the UnitedMilitary Lodge, at their last meeting. He could tell themthat at Constantinople they read their Freemason , andevery week it was eagerly awaited, and when they met , itused to be a constant question , " Well ! how arc they get-ting on in Woolwich and Plum stead ? what arc they doingat the " Pattison ," or the "Nelson ," or the "UnionWaterloo " ? and when they read in the Freemason ofthe splendid progress they were making, it gladdened theirhearts for Freemasonry and old England. (Loud cheers) .So they migh t see that the Pattison Lodge and its doingswere no strangers to him. (Cheers.) He thanked themagain for their splendiel hospitality, and assured them ofjust such a hearty reception , should they ever visit the" Leinstcr,'' No. 166, I.C, at Cons'antinop le. (Cheers andlaughter.) The toast of " Thc Officers " followed , anelafter Bro. Hayes, S.W., hail responded in a stirring ad-dress, anil Bro. Pryce, who had that night received the col-lar of D.C. at the hands of the W.M., had said a fewwords, the Ty ler 's toast conclueled thc pleasures of theevening. Some excellent glees and part songs were ren-dered by Bro. Woodford , Edmonds , and Davies during thcevening, adJed much to its perfect enjoyment.

SOUTHEND.—Priory Lodge (No. iooo).—Theregular meeting of this lodge was held at the MiddletonHotel , Southend , on Thursday, the 20th ult., when therewere present , amongst others , .Bros. Rev. S. R. Wigram,Past Grand Chap lain , W.M. ;" Dr. E. E. Philli ps, P.M.379, I.P.M. ; W. Chaplin , S.W. ; J. C. Johnstone, P.M,20 (I. C), as J.W. ; Rev. H. Hayes, Chaplain ; J. A.Wardell , P.M. 160 and 1000, P.P.G.D., Secretary ; A.Lucking, P.M. 160, P.M. and M.E.Z. 1000, Prov. G.D.C,D.C. ; G. F. Jones, S.D. ; F. D. Grayson , J.D. ; W. H.Norman , I.G.; [. R. Hernmann , P.M., P.P.G.D. ; W. S.Cox, P.M., P.P.G.S.B. ; Rev. H. J. Hatch , P.M. 160,P.P.G. Chaplain ; II. Beecher, H. Briggs, E. liirkctt, H.Hassell , R. Barrett .JG. Berry. Visitors : Bros. Rev. — Heaton ,425 ; Dr. Fisher, J.W. 379 ; F. Calrony. The minutesof the previous meeting having been read anil confirmed ,the W.M. in a very able manner raised Bros. O. Bentalland W. Griffin to the Third Degree, and initiated Mr. W.Popplcwell into the mysteries of the Craft. The lodgethen proceceled to the election of a W.M. for the ensuingyear, when thc S.W., Bro. W. Chap lin , was unanimouslyelected ; Bro. F. Wood , P.M., P.P.S.G.W., was re-electedTreasurer , and Bro. A. B. Mountain re-electeel Tyler. AP.M.'s jewel was unanimously voted to the retiring W.M.,Bro. Rev. S. R. Wigra m, P.G.C, for the admirable man-ner in which he had governed thc lod ge during- his yearof office. There being no other business ol importancethe lodge was closeel , and the brethren adjourned to re-freshment. The usual toasts were given , and the brethrenseparated alter spending an enjoyable evening.

COCKERMOUTH,-Skidelaw Lodge (No.1002).—This lod ge celebrated the festival of St. John onNew Year's Day, in their new lodge room , Station-street ,when the W.M. elect was installed. Thc following memberswere present :—Bros. I. Evening, S.W. W. F. Lamonby,P.M. ami Sec., P. G. Reg., (Freemason) ; W. H. Lew-thwaite, P.M. and Org., P.G. Org. : Rev. E. M. Rice,M.A., P.M. and Chaplain ; T. Bird, S.D. ; G. Brash , J.D. ;C. Gibson , I.G. ; W. McQuha: and H. Dent , Stewards;W. Shilton , P.M., P.P.G.S.B. ; James Black , W.M. elect ;W. Martin , J.W 1660 ; Captain F. R. Sewtll, T. C.Robinson , J. 1 lallovvay, Richard Harrison , John Pearson ,H. Peacock , R. Bailey, and John Towers. The visitingbrethren were :—Bros. J. A. Salkelel , 9C2 , Workington ;J. W. Young, P.M. anil Sec. 1400 , P.G. Purst. ; JohnHartley, 1400 ; Thomas Wigham, 1400 ; Henry Irving,Sec 962; Thomas Mandle , P.M. 371; W. Lamonby, W.M.elect 1073, P.P.G.T. ; John Mclinore, 371 ; T. Weather-ston, 371 ; A. Tay lor , P.M. 310, P.P.G.S.B. ; JamesQuay, 1400 and 371 ; Joseph Pearson , P.M. 327, and J.Blackburn , 9O2. In the absence of the W.M., Bro. W.Taylor, Bro. Rev. E. M. Rice, M.A., opened the lodge, afterwhich thc minutes of previous orelinary and energencymcctings were read and confirmed. Bro. W. H. Lewth-waitc, P.M. P.G. Org., then assumed the Presiding Officer 'sposition as Instilling Master , when Bro. James Black ,W.M. elect , was presented. For eleven years consecutivelythe W.M.'s of Skieklavv Lod ge have been installed by Bro.Crowtlier Mortem, P.M. 872, 1002, 1267, W.M. 1G60,P.P.G.S.W., but some months since Bro. Moiton intimatedhis wish to retire from the duty in favour of ayounge r brother , and it was arranged that Bro. R.Robinson , P.M. and Treasurer , P.P.G.S.D., shouldperform the ceremony of installation. The suddenillness , however , of Bro. Robinson precluded thepossibility of his being present , and Bro. Lewthwaiteundertook the work at very short notice, and fulfilled itadmirably. After the lodge had been opened in the ThirdDegree a Board of installed Masters was formed , andworked in full , and officered as follows :—Bro. LewthwaiteW.M. ; Bro. W. Shilton, S.W. : Bro. W. F. Lamonby,

J.W.; Bro. A. Taylor, I.G. The board havin gbeen closeel , the newly installed W.M., was saluted anelprcc'nimed in the three degrees , this latter part ot theceremony, as also thc presentation and exp lanation ofthe working tools , investment of officers , and addresses tothc W.1L, Wardens , and brethren , being executed by Bro.W. F. Lamonby, P.M. The following ij a list of thenew officers :—Bros. Captain Sewell , S.W. ; Tom Bird ,J.W. ; T. C. Robinson , Secretary ; Lewthwaite , organist;C. Gibson , S.D.; W. McGuihce, J .D. ; IT. Peacock , I.G.The Treasurer , Chaplain , Stewards, ami Tyler will be in-vested next lodge night. Before the lod ge was closed Bro.Lewthwaite moved , Bro. Lamonby seconded , and ahearty vote of thanks was directed to be forvvareled to Bro.T.McMcchan , P.M. 327, Wigton , for his handsome presentto the Skiddaw Lodge of a portrai t of Bro. J. Lemon , P.M.and P.Z., 327, P.G. Treasurer. Bro Lamonby also moved,the W.M. seconded , anel it was unanimously agreed tovote the sum of £$ 5s. towards completing an additionalloelge vote for the Boys' School , the firsthalf of which was granted , in accordance withcustom , out of the church collection at theProvincial Gra nd Festival, held under the banner of theSkiddaw Lodge in September last. Thies being thc wholeof the business, and hearty good wishes having beentendered personal ly anel by telegram from Lodges 327,371, 9,62, 1073, 1267, 1400, 1532 , and 1660, the lodge wasclosed in form. Thc brethren then adjourned to thcStation Hotel , where a first-class banquet was provided byBro. Peacock and Mrs. Peacock, the service of which , also,was unexceptionable. Bro. Black , the newly installedW.M.," presided , and Bro. Captain Sewell , S.W., wasvice-chairman. Grace before anil after meat was said byBro. Rev E. M. Rice, M.A. Thc W.M. having proposed" The Queen , the Patroness of Masonry," followed by' The Princess of Wales, and the rest of the Royil

Family," Bro. Bolton gave " The Army, anil Navy, andAuxiliary Forces," which he coupled with the name of Bro.Captain Sewell , who maele a very suitable reply. Bro.Halloway next gave " Thc Bishop and Clergy of thcDiocese," which was responded tob y Bro. Rev E. M. Rice,M.A.,in one of his happ iest efforts. The Masonic part of thetoast list was then proceeded with , .trel Bro. W. F. La-monby proposed " The M.W. Grand Master of England ,H.R.H. the Prince of Wales.'' In these troublous times ,when Masonrv was uneler the ban of excommunication of aSovereign Pontiff , and when even in our midst a certainsection of the Craft had thoug ht fit to eliminate from itsConstitutions the fundamental princi ples of belief in aSupreme Being, thc Masonic brethren of Eng land ought torest doubl y assured , when they had at their head thc heirto the throne, with two of the Prince of Wales's brothers ,also holding hi gh office in the Grand Lodge. Under sohappy a reign they mi ght never fear they would driftinto that vortex in which the French GrandOrient had plunged itself , whilst , also, they couldalways afford to treat with contempt the harmless ana-themas of the Papacy. Bro. J. W. Young, P.M. 1400,next proposed "The Earl of Carnarvon , Pro Grand Mas-ter, Lonl Skelmersdale, Deputy Grand Master, and therest of the Grand Officers. " Bro. Rev. E. M. Rice, M.A.,followed with "The Health of the Earl of Bective, M.P.,R.W.P.G.M. of Cumberland and Westmoreland ." Bro .Bailey gave "Colonel Whitvvell , M.P., R.W. Deputy Prov-vincial Grand Master , and the rest of the Provincial Offi-cers, Present and Past," coupled vvitli thc names of Bros.W. F. Lamonby, Lewthwaite, Young, and Taylor , all ofwhom acknowled ged the compliment. Bro. W. F. La-monby then proposeel what he sty led thc toast of the even-ing, "The Newly-installed W.M. of Skiddaw Lodge," and ,in eloing so, congratulated Bro. Black in attaining thcexalted position he had that day. He (Bro. Lamonby)had known Bio. Black ever since he came to Cockcrmouth ,had closely watched his coneluct , both as a public mananel a Mason , anel was perfectl y satisfied he would per-form his duties in thc chair, and retire from office withthc goodwill and applause of his brethren. He (Bro. La-monby) was convinced Bro. Black's sympathies and en-deavours were in the important work he had undertaken ,and thc best proof of this was thc fact of their new W.M.having signified his intention to confer the degree of F.C.on the four brothers who were waiting to bc passed , onnext lod ge ni ght. Bro. Black , in reply, assured the breth-ren of Skiddaw Lodge that no effort should bc wantingon his part to insure the efficiency of the work during hisyear of office. He had hael some experience in havingtwice served as Secretary, anil then as Wa rden , and , be-sides, he had that day appointed a staff of officers whomhe had every confidence would give him their unitedand zealous support. He proposed " The Health of theNewly-investcel Officers. " Bro. Captain Sewell , S.W., assenior officer , first replied , and referred to a remark of Bro.Laraonby's when investing him that elay, which was tothc effect that, with one exception , he was the oldest Ma-son in Skiddaw Lodge, anel that he was the soil of aworthy brother, who, years ago, in conjunction with twoor three others, by their indcfati gabilily preserved fro moblivion , and propped up, what was now one of the mostflourishing lodges in the province of Cumberland andWestmoreland. iHc alluded to his mother lodge, Persever-ance, No. 371, and it had struck him thathe ought not to relax any endeavour tomerit thc compliments which Bro. Black hailconferred upon him by appointing him S.W. Heshoulel freely promise Bro. Black a regular attendance ,and further hoped to sec those desirable little notices atthe foot of their circular , relating to lodges of instruction ,very frequentl y. Bro. T. Bird , J.W. ; T. C. Robinson ,Sec. ; C. Gibson , S.D. ; W. M'Qulne, J.D. ; anil H.Peacock , I.G., also returned thanks. Bro. Bailey gave" The Retiring Officers ," which he associated with thenames of Bros. Evening, S.W., anel Lamonby, Sec, thelatter of whom congratulated Bro. Black, on succeeding

to office with a balance of nearl y £40 on the right siele,althoug h the lod ge had incurred consielerablc expense inthc removal of their furniture from the old to thc newlod ge room , and in thc purchase of new fittings. A con-siderable amount of their proceeds during the year hadarisen from arrears, and he threw out a hint to Bro.Robinson , thc new Secretary, to keep a sharp eye on mem-bers 111 that respect. The W.M., in complimentaryterms , proposeel " The Installing Masters," both of whomwere about the first acquaintances he made some tenyears ago, when he settled down in CocVermouth .Bros. Lewthwaite and Lamonby having rep lied , Bro.Lewthwaite proposed that they drink thc health ofBro. R. Robinson , who would have taken his place thatelay, but that sickness interferred . Bro. Robinson's healthwas drank most cordially, and with the warmest wishes forhis speedy recovery. Bro. Lamonby gave " The VisitingBrethren ," coupled with Bros. Mandlcs, Lodge 371;Pearson , 327 ; Salkeld , 962 ; W. Lamonby, 1073 ; andMartin , 1660, each of whom responded. Bro. Bolton , incomplimentary and fitting terms, proposed "The Healthof Bro. Cent," the architect of thc new lod ge- premises,who made a suitable reply. Bro. W. F. Lamonby nextgave " Thc Masonic Charities," and referred to the ex-cellent system recently adopted by the brethren of Sun andSector Lodge, No. 962, Workington , for the creation ofvotes in the three Institutions. That system consisted inas many members who liked subscribing the moderatesum of 2s. per month , and so soon as five guineas -wasraised a ballot was taken , and the member who drew theluck y number was entitled to a life-vote in whichever ofthe institutions he chose. Some members, also, weregiving up their chances to their wives and eldest sons,which , ail would know, was a elecided numerical advan-tage. He hoped so admirable a scheme would be set onfoot by the brethren of Skiddaw Lodge, and was sure Bro.Irving, the Secretary of No. 962 , whose name he asso-ciated with thc toast, would bc most happy to give moredetailed particulars of thc way in which the concern wasworked. Bro. Irving having replied , several members ofSkiddaw Lodge expressed their intention to join the" lottery " instantcr , one, wc are happy to say, being anEntered A pprentice. The W.M. having given "To allpoor anil distressed Masons," the toast list was exhausted,and the happy party broke up by sing ing "Auld Lang Sync."Bro. Lewthwaite, P.G. Org. had charge of thc musicalarrangements, which included, " Oh , who would not aMason be.'" " Three cheers, Brothers all ;" and " Brothers,all, of every Nation ," harmonised as glees, from Bro.Dr. Phil pots' collection ; as also other part songs andglees, with songs by Bros. Brash , Weatherston , andLamonby.

The General Committee of this Institution met onSaturday last, at Freemasons' Hall , Bro. William Roe-buck in the chair. Among the other brethren presentwere Bros. Hy de Pullen , Don. M. Dewar, Freel Aellard ,S. Rosenthal , Henry Cox , W. F. C. Moutrie, R. B. Webster,A. Durrant, Jesse Turner, John Boyd, C. G. Rushworth ,J. G. Chancellor, H. Massey (Freemason), C. F. Matier,Henry Norman , Charles Horsley, Geo. J. Palmer, Dr.Jabez H ogg, and F. Binckes , Secretary. Bro. Binckes in-formed the Committee that His Royal Hi ghness the Dukeof Connaught , Senior Grand Wartlen, had graciously con-sented to take the chair at the next festival of this Insti-tution , but the elay, in June: or Jul y, anil the place for thefestival would have to be fixed by his Royal Highness.He (Bro. Binckes) had a letter from Sir Howard Elphin-stone, in which he stateel that the Duke of Connaughtwould have great pleasure in presiding at the festival.

The brethren then proceeded with the petitions of whichthere were 21 on the list. Of these two were deferred.

An outfit of £5 was grantcel to an ex-pup il of the In-slitution.

The list of candidates for next election in April wasthen settled. There were 46 unsuccessful candidates atthe October election. Of these, one was taken off onaccount of his age, leaving 45. Twelve had been placedon the list since October, anel 19 had just been accepted,which would make 77. The two which had been deferredwould make 79. There were, therefore , a certain 77,and a possible 79. There would be ten vacancies, butBro. Binckes said the buildings were in a forward state,and he thoug ht 20 more boys might be taken on , making30 to be clcctcel at the Quarterly Court in April.

Thc necessary declaration of the number of candidatesand vacancies was then maele.

The House Committee was thereafter authorised to ex-pend £1500 on fencing, asphalting, and draining the newplayground , which is 250 feet by 200 feet , thc old play-ground having been taken up for the new buildings whichenlarge the school.

Bro. Roebuck said thc new playground would be amagnificent one.

Bro. Charles Horsley, without elesiring to make a motionon the subject , threw it out as a matter for the considera-tion of the brethren whether some rule should not bc laiddown , that the fathers of candidates for the school shouldhave subscribed to its funds. By far thc greater numberhad never subscribeel anything.

Several brethren opposed any such suggestion , on theground that to lay elown such a rule woulel be to make theschool a benefit society, winch was not at all elesirable.

Bro. Binckes said this was not at all a new idea. Ithad been mooted before, and was opposed on the samefooting as now, and was immediatel y dismissed.

Bro. Horsley said he diel not intend to make a motionon the point , but he mentioned it merely as a suggestion.

The Committee passed a vote of thanks to the Chair-man, and then separated;

ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FORBOYS.

The usual Twelfth Night entertainment to the pup ilswho remain in this school during the Christmas holidayswas given on Monday evening. There where only thirty-nine girls who elid not go home at Christmas, but thoughthese made but a small party, their number was supple-mented by several brethre n and members of their families,who arc generally to bc found at this favourite Institutionwhenever the girl s have an evening set apart for amuse-ment. The Twelfth Night entertainment is always a petpastime at this school , and though the old amusement ofdrawing for characters is no longer followed , the chilelrcnfind as much enjoyment in bonbons , and thc fancifuldresses which they contain , as their predecessors did inthose ill executed anel not always complimentary figuresand mottoes which were the accompaniment of theTwelfth-cake party. Looked forward to with thc most intenseanxiety by the children , the entertainment never fails to bclooked back upon with the greatest pleasure and satisfac-tion by both the children and the visitors, and the effortsof the former to make the evening pleasurable areequalled by those of the latter to lead the children towish for a renewal of the visit. Every person who goesto the Girls' School look s upon its inmates as a happyunited family, with the matron and governesses asstanding in place of the parents, and they find in thehealthy and cheerful appearance of the little girls the bestevidence that thc parental hand is most judiciously exer-cised. On Monday evening the visitors had another oppor-tunity of seeing the condition in which the schoolanil the pupils were, and it was universally acknowledgedthat there had been no diminution in the fostering carehitherto observeel by the management of the School. Thevisitors arrived about four o'clock, and were received bythe matron, (Miss Jarwood) thc governesses, (Miss Red-grave, Miss Ruck , Miss Triggs), thc matron's assistant,(Miss Shepherel), and the pup ils.

Among the visitors were Col. and Mrs. Burdett andfamily, Bros. S. Marsh , R. B. Webster, Thos. Robinson ,W.M. 309; H. Masscj', Miss Massey, and Miss A. Massey,H. Fulcher, I.P.M. 569, and Mrs Fulchcr, Griffiths Smith ,and Mrs. Griffiths Smith , H. C. Lcvaneler, Mrs. McManusof Philadelphia , Miss Rowland , Charles Jacobin , H. A.Dubois, two Masters Duboi s, and two Misses Dubois , N.B. White, Thos. W. White , Thomas Hingston , Mrs.Hingston , Miss Louisa Hingston , W. Winn , HerbertDicketts, John Faulkner, Ed ward Cox, Mrs. E. Cox , LouisHirsch anel Mrs. Hirsch , W. W. Morgan , jun., Mrs.Morgan , Dr. Jabez Hogg, K R. W. Hedges, Rev. I . W.Morris, S. Rawson, Bcni. Head, Miss Head, A. H.Diaper,Miss Muggeridge, Alfred Sack, Mrs. Sack, and JacckclFebercy, P.M., 851.

The visitors shortly after their arrival partook of tea,anel then proceeded with the amusements of the evening.By the liberality of thc Shakespeare Lodge, No. 99, thesewere on a more extended scale than usual, and Mr. AlbertJones, thc famous mimic and ventriloquist , who appearedin character costume, amused the company for two hoursby representations of Mr. Solemn Sides, who makes aspeech at a dinner, an Exeter Hall revcrenel of the mostlugubrious type, and a ventriloquist. After this he gavean impersonation of Mr. Sothern as " Lord Dundreary,"the Christy Minstrels, thc Wandering Minstrel , and thePeepshowman. All of these were highly amusing, andthc whole party were much pleaseel with Mr. Jones's repre-sentations. Then there was a good deal of dancing, andthen the childre n's supper , which was graced by a splendidcake, sent by Bro. and Mrs. Hirsch , frosted , and impressedwith the words, " Dear children, your friends, Mr. andMrs. Hirsch , wish you all a happy new year." AliceTaylor proposed " The Health of Mr. and Mrs. Hirsch ,with many thanks for the cake ; " and the children crackedtheir bonbons, adorned themselves with the costumes whichthe bonbons contained , and afterwards spent the remainderof the evening in the most perfect enjoyment. Bro. JaeckelFebeiey amused tnem for a long time playing on the piano•while they danced , and made them roar with laughter athis amusing songs, j"The Untidy Family," and "I'm sosleepy." It was late when the visitors left , and the partybroke up with feelings of regret that they coulel stay nolonger.

The January meeting of the RosicrucianSociety was held at thc Cafe' Royal , on Thursday, the 10thinst., under the presielency of Fratcr the Rev. W. B. Church ,supported by Fiaters Sigismund Rosenthal , Dr. W. R.Woodman , George Cooper, J. C Cox, George Kenning,and others. Thc minutes of the last meeting were reaeland confirmed ; two brethren were admitted to the M—C—; Frater T. B. Yeoman was elected Celebrant , thcother officers were aelvanced one grade. The Fratersafterwards dined together.

I understood that the Times intended at thebeginning of the year 10 give up its strange freaks inorthography anil eccentricities in punctuation. This whole-some reform was inaugurated on the 1st of January byheading an important paragrap h " Thc Prince and Prin-cess of Walse." There is every reason, the more, to sup-pose we may lock for consielerable sport in this j ournalthroughout thc year.— Thc World.

The directors of tfe Bank of England have re-duced their rate of discount from 4 per cent., at which itwas fixed on the 2qlh November last , to 3 percent.

The title of Mr. Tom Tay lor 's new comedy,in rehearsal at the Court Theatre, is "Victims." It will beproduced on the withdrawal of the late Lord Lytton 's"House of Darnley." Mr. John Clarke—who must not beconfounded with Mr. J. S. Clark e, the popular Americancomedian—has been engaged by Mr. Hare to sustain aleading part in thc piece.

ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FORGIRLS.

The monthly meeting of the Committee of this Insti-tution was held on Wednesday last at Freemasons' Hall.Col. Creaton , V.P., in the chair. There were also presentBros. [Benjamin Head , S. Rawson, J. M. Case, GriffithsSmith , F. Adlard , C. A. Cottebrune, W. Hale. L. Stcan ,Thos. Cubitt , Joseph Smith , Edward Cox, H. G. Warren ,George Bolton , James Brett , W. Stephens, Hyde Pullen ,Capt. N. G. Phili ps, A. H. Tattershall , John G. Stevens,G. Warel Verry, Thomas de L. Long, C. F. Hogard , C.J. Percival , Joh n Bcllerby, H. Massey (Freemason) ; andJames Terry, Secretary.

After the reading the confirmation of the minutes, Bro.Terry reported the deaths of two annuitants, one at Ware,anel the other at Wakefield. The Warden's report forDecember was read, and thc Secretary then reported thatthe entertainment given on the previous Wednesday tothe inmates of thc asy lum at Croydon was highly suc-cessful, and was greatly enjoyed by thc old people.

The report of the Finance Committee shewed a balanceto the credit of the Male Funel , to 31st Dec. 1877 of £2258s. Cd. ; to the credit of the Female Fund , £1035 16s.4<1. ; and to the credit of the Sustentation Fund , £35 iGs,gel.; or a total balance of £1295 is. 7el .

Thc Chairman was authorised to sign cheques, and thesalary of the clerk , W. Recknell , in the Secretary's office ,was raised £20 a year from the ist of March. £10 wasvoted to the collection , Bro. K111II, as a gratuity on sub-scriptions for which he had mailc application, but whichhad been paid at the Secretary 's office.

One case, which was deferreel from last meeting forfurther information , was placed on the list for election , thcenquiries which had ^becn made having proved verysatisfactory.

The petitions were then taken.- A great many caseswere placed on the list of both male and female candi-dates.

Notice of a motion for a small alteration of the laws wasgiven by Bro. H. G. Warren.

Bro. Joseph Smith, P.G.P., moved , and Bro. John G.Stevens seconded , a pension of ten shillings a weekto the late gardener of the Institution at Croydon. Themotion was carried unanimously.

The Secretary produced to the committee the returns ob-tained from the Ty lers, who are annuitants of this Insti-tution , of their total income independent of their annui-ties. They were all found to be within, thc £40 prescribed,y the laws.

ROYAL MASONIC BENEVOLENTINSTITUTION.

Thursday, the 14th February, was, at the request of thcSecretary, appointed as the next meeting of the Committee,the usual February meeting this year falling on thc dayappointed for the next festival. Thc Committee, however,will meet on the 13th , as prescribed by the rules , but onlyfor the purpose of aeljourning to the next day.

Before the Committee separated , Bro. Terry sai el thatthc receipts of this Institution for the year 187 7 , 3s thcbrethren had no doubt all seen announced in the news-papers, amounted to the sum of £16,480, alarger amountby a great deal than had ever before been received by anyone of the Listitutions in one year.

The Committee then separated.

Utiisonix \mo (Smural t&MmR OYAL MASONIC IN S T I T U T I O N FOR BOYS .—

The Quarterl y General Court of the governors and sub-scribers of this Institution , will be held at Freemasons'Hall on Monday next , at 12 o'clock.

The Duke of Connaug ht, after visiting PrtnceLeopold ac Windsor Castle, left oy the 10. 45 a.m. GreatWestern Train] for London. Prince Leopold remainsat Windsor Caste.

His Royal Hi ghness the Prince of Wales isabout to pay a visit to the Duke and Duchess of Hamiltonat Hamilton Palace. Accoreling to present arrangementshis Royal Highness will ariive at Hamil ton on Sunday,the 13th inst., and will leave on the Weelnesday following.Owing to the early meeting of Parliament he will not stayso long as was ori ginall y intended. The visit is of aprivate nature, Us object being to enable his Roy al High-ness to enjoy a few days' shooting in the extensive preservesof the Duke. Thc preserves include Cadzovv Forest , theonly part of the gnat Caledonian forest now remaining,anil in which a herd of the old breed of wild cattle is kept.There will be a granel bal l on thc evening of Tuesday thc15th inst., for which about 400 invitations have beenissued.

It is stated that the Prince of Wales and alarge number of German Princes will be present at themarriage ot Princesses Chailotte and Elizabeth e>f Prussianext month.

I N D I A N F A M I N E FITND.—The Freemason's ofDevon have, throug h their P.G. Master , forwarded the sumof £300 to the fund.

The Installation meeting of the Hundred 'ofEllor Lod ge (No 4G9) took place at the Masonic Rooms,Spalding, on Thursday last. Bio. G. F. Barrell being in-stalled W.M. for the ensuing year. A full report willappear in our next.

The German army estimates for the year1878-79 amount to 294,794, 240 marks, the mark ofthe newly denomination being equal to the Englishshilling. This amount shows an increase oE 1,820,000marks.

A new comic drama by Mr. Byron is in pre-paration at the Globe Theatre. Thc ltading characterswill be sustained by Mr. Toole and Mr. Collotte.

Two young men named Harris and Walkerwere onTuesday week charged at the Mansion House withbreaking a window in the shop of Bro. Kibble, a jeweller,in Gracechurch-strcet , and stealing four watches. One ofthem , on being apprehended , said he was h.-inl up at thetime, and committed the offence in order to be impiisoncd.They were remaneled.

Bro. Thos. Robinson, of Fareham, was in-stalled W.M. of the Lodge of Harmony, No. 309, onThursday week. This brother is, we think , one of theyoungest Masters in Eng land , having been initiated (asa. Lewis), in the year 1874, at the age of 19. A full re-port of the meeting will appear in our next.

Bro. Gerard Henry 's annual evening concertwas given at Wimbledon on Monday last, under the patron-age of Sir H. W. Peck , Bart., M.P., Sir Trevort Lawrence,Bart., M.P. , Sir Joseph Bazalgctte, and |several Jother dis-tinguished brethren. A numerous and fashionable audienceM as present , and the concert was a great success in everyway. The artistes were Miss Marian Williams, R.A.M. ;Miss Martha Harries, R.A.M. ; Mr. Walter Wadmore,Bro. Gerard Henry, Mr. T. Gatehouse (Violin) , Mr. W. D.Sumner and Bro. Stephen Jarvis (pianoforte), all ofwhom admitted themselves to the entire satisfaction of theaudience.

The sixth annual ball will take place in theTown Hall , Barrow, in aid of the Masonic Charities, onThursday, thc 24th of January, under most extinguishedpatronage.

R OYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR GIRLSThe Quarterly General Court of the governors and sub-scribers of this Institution , will bc held at Freemasons'Hall , this day (Saturday) at 12 o'clock.

In the letter of Bro. the Rev. C. J. Marlyn , last weekthc boy's name should bc Twitchett, not Mitchell.

The Installation meeting of the EclecticLod ge (No. 1201) took place on Friday evening, a reportof the proceedings at which will appea r in our next.Bro. E. J. Harty of Historica l Engraving Notoriety wasthe out-going W.M., and Bro. A. E. Tay lor the newW.M. A report of the meeting will appear in our next.

H OLUIWAV 'S O I .N I M F.M- NMi 1' n.Ls.—M uhitiules sulTcring undera complication of disorders mi«:lH obtain relief thre ,ugh thesehenlineran d purif y ing- remedies , which should be tniployed withouta elay 's delay. 'When '.he weather is variable anil colds andinfluenzas are preva lent, this Oii^menr , will nibbed upon thethroat anil chest , gives the greatest ease, ami checks all tendencyto inflammation in the lungs and other organs, 'the Pills assistthe curative action of the Ointment , inasmuch as they pnrif y theblood and so quickens the circulation that congestion is renderedalmost impossible. Hollovvay 's treatment deals most successfullytoo, with that very troublesom e and often tedious ailment , indi ges-tion, wh'cli is .he bane of thousands from overwork ami fast livingin the present day,—A DVT,

The first meeting of the Board of Stewards for the fes-tival of the 13th February, 1S7S , was held on Tuesdayafternoon , at Freemasons' Hall. Bro. Joseph Smith ,P.G.P.,occupied the chair. There were also present Bros , thc Rev,A. F. A. Woodford , P.G.C; E. Terry, C. J. Perceval , Ceil,Shadwell Clerke , W. H. Ph ythian , Edward Cox , G. WardVerry, H. John Hatch , D. W. Holncss, John T. C,Murchfield , Joseph Pawscn , Francis Ashbir, J. T. Briggs,W. Charter, J. G. Russell , C. W. Noehmer , Nare'lusGluckstei n , W. W. Morgan , H. Massey ( Free maioti) ,James Hew, Charles K. Killick , A. Leigh , W. Gamble,H. Vickcry, anel James Terry, Secretary.

Bro. Tetry saiel that he had had the permission ofHis Royal Hi ghness the Grand Master to invite somebrother of position to take the chair on the occasion ofthe festival which H.R.H. fixed for the 13th February.Consequentl y he wrote to the Earl of Mount Edgcumbe,Prov. G.M. for Cornwall , to occupy that position. Thenoble Earl , however, was unable to do so, anil he (Bro .Terry) consequently wrote to His Grace the Duke ofManchester, Prov. Grand Master of Norths and Hunts .Thc Duke of Manchester consented , and that had beenratified by His Royal Highness. After that, he (Bro.Terry) had now the pleasure to announce that he hadwritten to every lod ge, and had received in response thenames of 189 Stewarels—not so many as last year, butstill a very good list, and with the exception of last yearthe largest number of Stewards thc Institution had yet hadat a festival. With such a prospect he thoug ht a verysuccessful festival woulel be hail.

Bro. Edvvarel Cox proposeel , and Bro. G. Ward Verryseconded , Bro. Joseph Smith , P.G.P., as President of theBoard of Stewarels.

Carried unanimously.Bro. Verry proposeel , and Bro . Piiythian , seconded Bro.

Eelward Cox as Treasurer.Carried.Bro. Verry proposed , and Bro. E. Cox seconded , Bro. Jas.

Terry as Hon. Secretary, and this having been carried ,Bro. James Perry, in thanking thc brethren , saiel he hopedand trusted that his exertions , backed up as lie knew theywould be by such a board of Steward s as he now hael , t henext festival of the Institution would be eminently success-ful.

The details of the arrangements for the festival werethen made.

The Rev. Bre. A. F. A. Wooelford , P.G.C, moved thatthe Steevarel's fee should be two guineas.

Bro. G. Wavel Verry having seconeled thc motion, it wascarried.

It was arranged that complimentary ticket s should beissued to the M.W.G.M., the Pro G.M., the Deputy G.M.,thc G.S., the Assistant G.S., the Hon. Surgeon to the In-stitution , the Secre tary of the Girls' School , the Secretaryof thc Boys' School , the Secretary of this Institution, theCollector, the gentlemen in Granel Secretary 's office , theTimes, Dail y News, Freemason , and several other papers.

The musical committee was appointed , and after thesettlement of some other business the Board aeljourned tillthe 241I1 inst., at four p.m.

ROYAL MASONIC BENEVOLENTINSTITUTION.

ggfofctam tit mxoo; or p««raw statesBttfr (twenea.

CRAFT CERTIFICATE OF NO. 281, BARNSTAPLE ,OF 176G.

Your correspondent "Dryasdust" has elon ; well totranscribe the text of the old certificate of No. 2S1 , Barn-staple, of 6th January, 1766, as it is most desirable tohave such documents maele public for the benefit of thcMasonic students , now happ ily increasing in numbersand influence. The lodge in question was warranted inj 762 and was then No. 2S1 , thc number being altered in1770 to 22S , soon after which it became extinct. In1873, the " Loyal Lodge " was constituted in the sametown , as No. 453 ; in 1792 it became No. 365 ; in 1S14,(after the " union ") 469; in 1 S32 it was altered to 3 12 ,and last of all changed to 251 in 1S63. It was usual inthose early days for the lodges to issue their own certifi-cates, and, indeed , was even so done early this century.

WI L L I A M JAMES H I G I I A N .

R.W. BRO. HARRIOTT, 1729, LIST OF LODGES,I will answer our esteemed brother's note shortly, hav-

ing a copy of thc original of 1729, (not 17 19), and willtranscribe it for thc Fr eemason .

WI L L I A M TAMES H U G H A N .

LODGE CERTIFICATES.In your last number you gave us a copy of a private

lodge certificate (Fleece Lodge, in Barnstap le), dated Janu-ary 6th, 1766. Hereunder I send you a copy of a similarone, issued by Loelge Hannibal , held at the Masonic Hall ,St. George's, Bermuda , dated 5th November last , which isas follows '—

" To all whom it may concern ," Lodge Haur.ibal , No. 224, A.T. and A.M.

" Holelen under the Granel Lod ge of Ireland."We hereby 'certif y that Br J. Walter Askew is a regular,

registered Master. Mason, in the . Lodge Hannibal , 224holden uneler the Grand Lodge of Ireland : that he has ,during his stay vvit li us , behavcel himself as an honest andworth y brother , and as such we recommend mm to all thefraternity around the globe.

" In testimony thereof wc have hereunto set our hanels ,and affixed the seal of th: loel ge, at our loelge rooms, Ma-sonic Hall , St. George's, Bermuda , this 5th day of Novem-ber, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundredand seventy seven.

" Admitted 10th January, 1S77,"Declared off on the ^ th November, 1S77.

"William Wilkinson , P.M., W.M., P. TernP. J. Cheshire, S.W.Dan. Taylor, J.W.Wm. Wilkinson , Sec."

. T. SHAFLAND , P.M.

THE PLEIADES.Can one give me thc correct title of Bro. Halliburton's

book " The Relation of the Pleiades to the Primitive Tra-ditions, or the Origin of Races." He read a paper at 33,Golden-square, some time back on the same subject.

SIGMA .

The utilisation of subterranean heat forwarmine houses is suggested by an American engineerin Nevaua, who is perfecting a plan for heating the townof Virginia by means of the warmth generated in thcsubterranean regions of the mines. He believes there issufficient hea t in the lower levels of thc mines to warmevery house in *.ne city, anil recommcnels a system of pipesthrough which thc heat will be drawn out of the mines,and distributed about thc town.

The consumption of horseflesh in Paris ,which commenced in i860 in the face of great prejudices ,but which steadily aelvanceel and derived a great stimulusfrom the siege, has this year averaged 1000 animals permonth.

THE NEW HEDJCM. COLLEGE EDINBURGH .—A commencement lias been maele with the clearing of thesite to be occupieel by the new Medical College, Edinburgh .The houses occupy ing this site were built about a centuryago, and that portion of them constituting Park-place con-sisted of what were then first-class city residences. One ofthese, of very graceful design , is considered to be the workof one of the brothers Adam. It was thc town residence ofthc Campbel ls of Succoth , and was at one time occup ieelby Sir Islay Campbell , Lord President of the Court ofSession. This house, Mr. Anderson , the architect of thecollege buildings , proposes to re-erect and incorporate withthe general desi gn in such a manner as not to interfere withthc aesthetic effect of the Anatomy Court , of which it willform a feature. Another of these houses belonged to theTaits of Harviston , and in it the present Archbishop ofCanterbu ry was born , his mother having been a daughterof the Loi-,1 President Campbell above referred to. Theinteriors of these houses contain admirable specimens ofmantelpieces, doors, ecc, similar in Style to those so muchaffected by the modern Queen Anne school. These Mr.Anderson proposes to utilise as f.ira-i practicable in the newclass rooms. To carry out the portions of Mr. Anderson 'sdesign absolutel y required will entail a cost of about£188,000. Towards this sum the public have contributedabout £90,000, and the Government have promised tocontribute £80,000 conditionally upon the public sub-scribing thc balance.—Builder.

A statue to Thomas Camp bell has been erectedat Glasgow , thc poet's birthplace, anil forms a companionto the fi gure of Burns , at thc side of the Scott Memorial inGeorge Square. The bronze statue is 9 feet high, andrepresents Campbel l in the costume of the Prince Regent 'sperioel , holding a pencil and scroll.

A -folk-lore bociety lias just been formedfor the purpose of preserving the fast-failing relics of ourpopular fictions and traditions, legendary ballads, localproverbial sayings, superstitions , and old customs. Ac-coreling to the prospectus the new society " will gather to-gether the folk-lore articles scattered throug hout Englishliterature , and such communications on the same subjectas may be forwarded direct to thc society, anel select there-from articles of special interes t forpublication by thc society;and , as opportunities offer , it will print such accounts of thcfolk-lore of thc colonies and also of other countries as mayserve to illustrate and explain that of our own. As thcsociety increases and its means further develope , it is in-tended to extend the field of its labours so as to include thecollection and publication of the folk-lore: of aboriginalpeoples." Among thc members of the Council are Mr. F.Ouvry (President of the Society of Anti quaries), ProfessorMax Miiller , Mr. W. R. S. Ralston , M.A., and Air. EdwardSoll y, F.R.S. Mr. Thorns has consented to act as directorof thc society, anel Mr. G. L. Gomme, of 26, Merth yr-terrace ,Castlenau , Barnes, has undertaken the duties of honorarysecretary.

About jo telephones are now in practical usein Cincinnati as a means of communication betweenbusiness establishments. The longest connecting wire isfrom it distillery in Cumvninsville into thc city proper, aboutfive miles. The telephone has, however, been tested on thepolice telegra ph in that city, equivalent to nearly a hundredmiles of wire , anil is said to have given satisfactory results.Philadelphia Ledger.

THE GU L F OF M EXICO .—Professor A.Agassiz, with an assistant, is to be; accommoelated on boardthc United States Coast Survey steamer Blake , which hasjust sailed on a survey ing cruise that will occupy this winter.\iy a stuely of the animals dredgeel from the bottom of thegulf , Professor Agassiz will be enabled to make importantcomparisons with thc fauna of the Atlantic, and especiallyas to growth , habit« , migrations , and changes of livingforms found in the waters near thc British islands and theScandinavian Peninsula. The expedition is under thccommand of Lieutenant-Commander Charles D. Sigsbee,United States Navy, who has had several years' experienceon coast survey eluiy, and has been notably successful indeep-sea soundings.—Natm-e.

PURE WATER .—In the last session of theDeutsche Gcscllschaft fur dffentliche Gesundhcitsp fiege, Dr.Falk described anew method of testing thc purity of drink-ing water by electrical experiment. From researches car-ried out in the laboratory of thc School of Artillery inBerlin , it appears that the conductive properties of waterfor the electric current vary Tapidly according to its degreeof purity, the resistance decreasing with the purity of thewater. It is possible, in this manner, to detect with greatease the presence of small quantities of organic matter inwater.—Nature.

The Mercers' Company have given noticethat the lectures founded by Sir Thomas Gresham will beread gratuitously to the public on the following eveningsat 6 o'clock in the theatre of Gresham College, Basinghall-street—viz., Rhetoric (Mr. T. F. Dallin), January 15, t6,17, am! 18 ; Law (Dr. Abdy), January 22 , 23, 24, and 25 ;Physic (Dr. Synics Thompson), January 20, 30, and 31,and February 1; Divinity (the Dean of Chichester), February5, 6, 7, and 8 ; Astronomy (the Rev. E. Ledger), February12, 13, 14, and 15; Geometry (the Dean of Manchester),February 19, 20, 21, and 22; and Music (Dr. HenryWy lde), February 26, 27, and 28, and March 1.

The Farnesina Palace in the Transtevere ,Rome, well-known for its magnificent frescoes by Rap hael ,has been closed to the public by its owner, the Duke deRi palta , a Spaniard, on the pretext that the Govtmmentworks for thc improvement of thc Tiber trespassed on hisgrounds and enilangcred the safety of the building. Billsto this effect were posted on thc walls, but the police torethem down and declared that they were illegal , havingbeen placed there without the visa of the authorities.Built more than three centuries and a half ago, theFarnesina is a fine monument of the Italian Renaissance,and contains not only the mytholog ical paintings ofRaphael—notabl y the story of Cupid and Psyche—butworks by Peruzzi , Sebastian del Piombo, and a colossalhead attributed to Michael Angelo.

MUSICAL NOTATION .-— A correspondent fromBreslau writes to the Frankjurlcr Zcitung that the ; musicaldirector , Heir H. J.Vincent, the latest advocate of thc newkey-boarel , delivered a few days ago a lecture on thissubject in the music-hall of the University of Breslau.The new key-board has already given rise to enuch elis-cussion in Germany. Herr Vincent asserted that the in-troeluction of a new noUtion was a " pastulate" necessa-rily associated with it as its writte n image. Both are con-sequences of that new view of the essentially ch romaticcharacter of the sound-world , which is ( hej seiiel) forcingits way into universal acceptance. Both of them are thcexpression of this view in its elouble relation ; for the chro-matic key-board is nothing else but an embodied notation ,while the notation may be described as an abstract writtenkey-boarel ; they reciprocal ly correspond to each other.The lecturer eleclareel that the only road to a really simpletheory of music was to accept the chromatic system asthe origin and foundation of the diatonic. The scile ofseven notes must be viewed and treated a? a corollary de-duced from the! scale of 12; therefore the chromatic is theparent of the diatonic system. But this theory lead s usdirectly to the adoption of the new chromatic; key-boa rd,and a system of notation adapteel to it without keys orclefs. Herr Vincent purposes visiting most of the princi-pal towns in Germany to lecture on his special subject.

NOTES ON ART, &c. Sixteen farms have been entered in com-petition for the prizes, to the value of £240, offered for bestmanaged farms by thc Bristol Local Committee for pro-moting this year's Show of the Royal Agricultural Societyof England. The competition is limited to tenantfarmers in Gloucestershire, thc Eastern Division ofSomersetshire , and the Northern Division of Wiltshire.Of the number entered 13 are dairy or stock farms, onlythree coming in the classes for arable farms,

Captain Nelson, of the American ship Sacra-mento, recently arrived at Melbourne , reports that on J uly9, in lat. 31 59 N-, and long. 37 W., he saw a sea serpent.Some 50ft . of the monster was observable. It appeared tobc about the size of a flour barrel in girth and of ayellowish colour.

The actual demolition of Temple Bar wasbegun on Wednesday week. All thc stones have beencarefully numbered and lettered with a view to its re-erection at some future time.

The Channel Tunnel Works at Sangatte havemade special progress of late, according to Engineering.A shaft has been sunk 335 feet below thc sea, and, start-ing from this shaft , it is proposed to pierce an experimentaltunnel about five-ei ghths of a mile in length. If this trialshould succeed the actual tunnel would be begun at once.

Mr. Charles Matthews has written to thepapers contradicting a rumour that he has an intention ofretiring fro m the stage. He is not , he observes, " of aretiring disposition ," and is, besides, too fond of his pro-fession to relinquish it voluntarily.

POST OFFICE O R P H A N HOME.—This institu-tion celebrated its annual Christmas Festival on Thursday,3rd inst., at the rooms of the Young Men 's Christian Asso-ciation in Aldcrsgate-strect , thc chair being occup ied by,\Ir. It. W. Johnston , acting Postmaster of the EasternCentral District , and the arrangement; generall y beingsuperintended by Mr. W. Poevlej-, the honorary elirectorand treasurer of the home. It appeared fro m a brief ad-dress delivered by the chairman that , although the homehad been in existence for something under eight years,there are as many as 70 chilelrt n on thc books, and thatten additional boys and girls will be brought withm its pro-tection within a few day s, making a total of 80 orphans,who will bc clothed , fed , and educated at thc expense ofthe institution. Thc home has for its patrons the Post-master-General and several of the chief officers of the PostOffice, as well as many of the bankers and merchants ofthc City of London ; and its chief boast is that it has nobuilding, no debt, and only one: salaried official. In fact ,it is a rrooel instance of thc success of thc much-abuseelboarding-out system.

THE G U I L D H A L L L I B R A R Y .—It will be recol-lected that as an experiment anil in deference to the wishesof many 1-i rgc firms in thc city, the; Corporation ofLondon determined that their library in the Guildhallshould be opened to thc public for 12 months on every even-ing during the vveek, except Saturelay, until 9 o'clock.Mr. Overall , F.S.A., thc librarian , reports that the totalnumber of readers availing themselves of the additionalprivileges granted by the Corporation had been 49,434—namely, those staying at 5 o 'clock, 14,738, and thoseafterwards arriving, 34,696. The average attendanceeach evenin g had been 201 readers, and , taking themonths separately, it appeared that the maximum occurredin an evening in Fcbuary (259), and the minimum inJune (170). Thus, as might be expected , the publicmake more use of the library in thejwinter months thanin thc summer. The c'ass of readers using the libraryand reading-room in the evening would appear to bc,for the most part , young men engaged in mercantilepursuits during the day. The literature cj nsulteel mightbcthus classeel—1, history, topography, heraldry, andbiography; 2, philosophy, science, and the fine arts ; 3,poetry, drama, and fiction ; 4, voyages, traveled, anil geo-gra phy; and 3, classical and English literature andbelles-lettres. There was not a single instance of anyone injuring the books intrusted to them. The works of themost popular historians had been duplicated , and a pur-chase hail been made, under the bequest of the late SirDavid Solomons, of a liberal selection of works uponscience and the fine arts. The staff arrangements madeby the library committee hail worked veiy satisfactoril y.The actual cost of the evening opening had been £1277for the year. In 18 74 thc total number of readers anil visit ->rswis 173,559; in 1S75, 192 ,7 16; in 187 6, 220,237 ; and in thefirst six months of; last year, 121 ,619 • the elaily averageattendance for these years being respectivel y 603, 724, 76 7 ;and for the six months in last year, 816. In conclusion thelibrarian states that , jud ging from thc rapid increase in thenumber of readers and the usefulness rf the library in allits branches since it has been opened by the Corpora-tion as a free library, and including thc evening openingduring the past year, he was certainl y of op inion that ,as the facilities afforded and the gnat value of thc col-lection in the library became more generally known , theresults in the future would bc even more favourable.The library committee, having carefully consielered thclibrarian 's report on thc details of thc working of thelibrary, and having regarel to the v ery satisfactoryevidence as to the extent to which the public had been bene-fited by the evening opening, recommended thc Court toauthorise its continuance , and permanentl y sanction thearrangements which during - the experimental perioel haelbeen found to provide so effectively for the care, main-tenance , and supervision of th c library. This recom-mendation has been adapted.

Sir John Astley, Bait., M.P., in considerationof thc three very bael seasons which have done so muchdamage to agriculturists , has returned 10 p.r cent, tohis Lincolnshire tenants whose rentals arc over £200 perannum , and 15 per cent, on those uneler that amount.

TO OUR READERS.The FREEMASON is a Weekly Newspaper, price

2d. It is published every Friday morning, andcontains the most important, interesting, anduseful information relating to Freemasonry inevery degree. Subscri ption , including- postage :

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Twelve Months IOS. 6d. 12s. od. i js. J.d.Six „ 3s. 3d. 6s. 6d. 8s. 8d.Three „ 2s. 8d. 3s. 3d. 4s. 6d.

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Communications on literary subjects and books forreview are to be forwarded to the Editor. Anonymouscorrespondence will be wholly disregarded , and the returnof rejected MSS. cannot be guaranteed.

Further information will be supp lied on application tothe Publisher, inS , Fleet-street, London.

IMPORTANT N OTICE.COLONIAL and FOREIGN SUBSCRIBERS are

informed that acknowledgments of remittancesreceived are published in the first number ofevery month .

It is very necessary for our readers to adviseus of all money orders they remit, more espe-cially those from the United States of Americaand India ; otherwise we cannot tell where tocredit them.

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larly requested that ALL communications forthe FREEMASON , may be addressed to theOffice , 198, Fleet-street, London.

TO ADVERTISERS.The FREEM ASON has a large circulation in all parts of

the Globe, its advantages as an advertising medium cantherefore scarcely be overrated.

ADVERTISEMENTS to ensure insertionin current -week's issue should reach theOffice, 198, Fleet-street, by 12 o'clock onWednesdays.

anste to (kxtessQWtnteBOOKS &c, RECEIVED.

"Thc Delusion of the Day," "Man's Best l'ood ;"" The Masonic Eclectic j " " The Scottish Freemason ; "" Bulletin du Grand Orient ; " " The Freemason 's Re-pository ;" " Keystone ;"" Science for all ; " "Wallace'sWonderful Water ;" " Proctor's Planet Earth ;" "Mr.Lockyer 's Logic ; " " Journal of Travels ; " " YoungFolks ; " " Canadian Craftsman ; " " Voice of Masonry ; "" The Fight between Aleck and Humid; " " Israel'sJubilee 1882."

E R R A T U M .—For "300,000 Masons " read " 1,300,000in the worl d ," in the Freemason , December 29.

PA N A C H E .—In our next.CONSTANT R EMIER .—Unfortunately too late ; in our

next.

§\np t pimingcs, nna gcatp[The charge is 2S. 6d. for announcements , not exceed

ng four lines, under this heading.]BIRTHS.

BA R H E H .— On the 6th inst., at Westbourne-terrace, HydePark , the wife of J. Barber , Esq., of a son.

FAHR .—On the 31st ult., the wife of Dr. A. Fair , of adaughter.

PACKE .—On the 6th inst., at Charles-street , Herkelcy-square, the Lad y Alice Packe, of a son.

WA L K E R .—On the jth inst., at St. Ann's-villas, Notting-hill , the wife of W. G. Walker, of a son.

MARRIAGES.ROIT E—POWELL .—On the 22nd ult., at Garsington , nea r

Oxford , C. Marceloff Roffe, to Emil y, daug hter of thclate W. Llewellyn Powell , of Instow, Nort h Devon.

TO H R E N S —H A R B I S O N .—On thc 3th inst., at St. Peter 's,Eaton-square , by the Rev. Thomas Millington , vicar ofWooiihouse-Eav c , William M.'Cullagh Torrens, M.P.,to Emil y, third elaug hterof the late William Harrison , ofEastland House , Leamington.

DEATHS.A LDUAM .— On thc 5th inst., at Braeldock Rectory, Cornwall,

Jane Seymour , wife of the Rev. V. H. Aldham.DOYI .E.—On the 5th inst , at 14, Mount Pleasant , Liver-

pool , aged So, W. Doyle, P.P.G.J.D. W.L., P.M. andTreasurer, 667.

H A R M S .— On thc 4th inst., at Villa D'Este, Ryele, I.W.,George Douglas Harris , late Capt. 19th Rcgt.

W R I G H T .— On the 2nd inst., at Duke-street , Southport , H.Wright , J.P., aged 64 years.

ROYAL MASONIC BENEVOLENTINSTITUTION.

The annual Festival of this admirable Institu-tion of our Order will take place on the 1,3thFebruary, 1878 , under the distinguished pre-sidency of the Duke of Manchester, R.W., Prov.G. Master of Huntingdonshire. A very numer-ous Board of Stewards has alread y been formed ,among whom may be named Bro. the Marquisof Hartington and the Earl of Mount Ed gcumbe,together with many Present and Past Grand andProvincial Grand Officers. Up to the presenttime the Stewards number 195 ; which largelist may well be increased before the secondmeeting of the Stewards on the 24th of January.This we trust will prove to be the case, and weneed hard ly add that if Bro. Terry can open ourCharitable Festivals for 1878 with 200 Stewards,it will be indeed a good augury for the cause ofMasonic Charity in this new year of light andgrace. At the first meeting of the Stewards onthe 3rd inst.,Bro. Joseph Smith, P.G. Purst., wellwell known to most of us, for many good genialqualities, was elected Chairman. Bro. EdwardCox , an old and worthy member of our Order ,was chosen as Treasurer , and to our zealous anduntiring Bro. Terry, was delegated the importantoffice of Secretary to the Board of Stewards , notonly "virtute officii ," but as a special mark offraternal regard and confidence. The Stewardsvery wisely fixed the amount of deposit forStewards at the reasonable figure of two guineas,and we are inclined to think that this fact mayinduce many other worthy brethren to volunteerto act as Stewards to this most deserving charityof our Order. For let ns remember what theRoyal Masonic Benevolent Institution reallydoes do. It is now giving annuities to 145 agedand decayed brethren , of ££40, equivalent tod6j8oo annuall y, and annuities of £32 to 130widows, amounting to s€+160. Thus it is pledgedto an annual expenditure of /"oo6o. In additionto this the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institutiongives to 13 widows (this is an unique arrangementof our excellent Masonic Charity ) one half theamount of their late husband 's annuity . Thuson the whole, the payment to the annuitants willabsorb somewhat over £10,200, andwe may wellbear in mind that during the last five years wehave added 99 annuitants and s£±6oo annuallyin allowances. These are facts to be recordedand realized. We may observe that of theseannuitants fourteen brethren and fifteen widowslive at Croydon, where they have comfortablerooms and coals provided for them. We makebold to say that there is not one Charity of ourOrder which is in itself more useful and valuable,or more deserving the kindly support of the entireCraft. It does as much good, humanl y speaking,as can be done by any other similar charity , anddoes it simply, straight-forwardly, and unostenta-tiously. It has been sometimes said that theInstitution is a rich institution , but that is acomplete mistake. It has no doubt a considerableamount of funded property, but the interest ofthat, which amounts , in both the funds to about,£1440 annually, in round numbers, as will beseen, bears but a small proi^ortion to the sumnecessary to carry on the Institution , namely6e§io,20o annually at the very least. It hasbeen remarked that the balances of the Institutionare large, and so they are, and well it is that theyshould be so, as the Committee and Bro. Terryvery properly alway s bear m mind that seasons ofprosperity may be followed by the chilling honrsof adversity, and that it is always wise to keep onthe "credit" side if possible of your Banker 's ac-count. The "debit " page is a bad one for societiesand individuals. We feel it to beourduty strong lyto commend the claims of this excellent Institu-tion to the notice and sympath y of our manyreaders. We shall hope on the 13th of February ,to hear Bro. Terry announce a noble total , andshall be glad to think that thus our old English

Craft remains true to its high mission, theinculcation of Masonic brotherhood , the practiceof kindl y and discriminating true hearted charity.May our antici pations be realized, and theanniversary of 1878 demonstrate that EnglishFreemasonry is " moving on."

A NOTE OF WARNING

Those who know most of what is going onin Freemasonry are the fullest of some littleanxiety for the future. We have at thismoment before us the spectacle of a weekly in-creasing Order, and of an enormous list of can-didates for Freemasonry. A large numberof lod ges have their agenda papers covered posi-ivel y with the names of the app licants, whetheras initiates or joining members. And thoughit is very pleasant to us old Masons to witnessthe appreciation of an Order, to which some ofus have devoted the best hours of our lives.we still feel , and feel strongly, that thereis another side to the picture, not socheerful, and certainly not so welcome.It is the old saying, " After the dinnercomes the reckoning," and after we have thusadded to our numbers, rapidly and indiscrimi-nately, what then r We now wish to point out toour readers two ways in which this untimelyhaste of admission is likely to injure the prestigeand prosperity of the Craft. We shall suffergreatl y from a lowering of our standard of ad-mission. It is an undoubte d fact that in orderto swell lodge funds many candidates are ad-mitted who have no claim to be admitted at all.Too many brethren forget both the responsibi-lity of a Freemason and the need there is thatthey should have some knowledge of the candi-date. Many candidates get in in a sort of hap-hazard way like this. Bro. Jones says to Bro.Ji ggins, " l a m going to propose Beckington ,will you second him ? " " 1 don 't know him "says Jiggins, '' but if you propose him I will.""Capital good fellow :s Powter," says Napper—'' let's have him in our lodge, Johnson." "Tdon 't know him," says Johnson, " but if you dothat's quite enough." Accordingly, Beckingtonand Powter are proposed, seconded , and admitted.We have known of a case where candidateswere admitted on the fiat of one brother, thoughunknown to the other brethren, and at thismoment no possible enquiry can be madeas to those who are trooping in , and on whomwill depend the future of Freemasonry. Of theabove there is no possible doubt ; though itsremedy may not be so easy to find , and then,secondly, let us remember, the evil accruingto us as an Order, in respect of overwhelmingdemands on our Charities. Ask Bro. Terry, orBro. Binckes, or Bro. Little, all of whom knowthe working of Freemasonry well, and theywill tell you, we feel sure, that the presentrapid increase of brethren fills them with mostserious considerations for the future. Of thosewho now are so carelessly admitted in such largenumbers, a very sensible proportion willbecome inevitably candidates for our Chari-ties. And whet we realize what has beendoing, what is doing in this respect, we oftenask ourselves, what is to be the possible limit 5What will be the probable result of such a start-ling increase of our numerical membershi p? Wethen beg, respectfully, with tho beginning of1878, to call the attention of W. Masters to thismost important subject. Let them set theirfaces against this extraordinary facility of pro-position and of reception , and let us all remem-ber that if our lod ges are to continue to bewhat they are meant to be to us, we should en-deavour to make them a family party to us all ,in which all are known, all are loved , all are onterms of affection , and happy when with us.Freemasonry is not and never will be strong be-cause of numbers, but it is and must be strongin the heartfelt sympathy and Masonic fellowshi pof all the members of its kindl y lodges.

THE INDIAN FAMINE FUND

The result of the appeal from the MansionHouse to the benevolent public forthe relief of our

The Freemason ,SATURDAY , J A N U A R Y 12, 1878

distressed fellow subj ects in India, must bedeeply gratif y ing to patriotic Englishmen andFreemasons. Up to Tuesday evening, Januaryist , 1878 , the Indian Famine Fund now beingraised at the Mansion-House reached the splendidtotal of -£500,000 sterling, or reckoning it inIndian currency, over five and a half millionrupees. It will be in the remembrance of someof our readers , as our contemporary, the Times,clearly points out : " The fund was opened onthe T ejtli of August last when, at the re-quest of the Duke of Buckingham , theGovernor of Madras, the then Lord Mayor (SirThomas White) , made a public appeal for help.The donation of the Prime Minister came bythe first following post, and those of Her Ma-jesty and the Prince of Wales the same week.Since then over 16,000 separate donations havebeen paid in at the Mansion-House, besides manymore remitted direct to the bankers. The fundwas distinct from those collected at Manchester,Liverpool , Blackburn, Glasgow , Edinburgh, andBradford , which were kept purposely quite apart ,and sent to India. Dublin , however, contributed£13,000 to the Mansion-house Fund, and alarge number of other cities and towns through-out the King dom and in the Colonies also senttheir donations through the Lord Mayor. It isstill not the case, as it has been asserted , that thegreater portion of the money received was ob-tained by the action of provincial organizations,for the bulk of the collection was contributed byprivate donors ; by bankers and merchants in theCity, and through church and chapel offertories.The largest sum received in any one day at theMansion-House wasc£r3,oco. In the box outsidethe Lord Mayor 's residence over £1000 was con-tributed in coin by passers-by in the space of sixweeks. U p to the present time £475,000, or over5,000,000 rupees have been remitte d toIndia , but a further large remittancewas made at the meeting of the Com-mittee on Monday. The Central ReliefCommittee in India , at the head of which is theDuke of Bucking ham, have all along been full ofgratitude for the aid rendered by the Englishpeople, resulting in the saving of a vast numberof lives, and in the prevention of much misery.Yesterday ,=£8500, including £2000 previouslyadvised , was received through the Mayor ofSydney as an instalment of the contributions inNew South Wales ; and £200 also came fromNew Plymouth , New Zealand. These sumsbrought up the fund to the half mil-lion, in repl y to a message from birThomas White, General Sir ThomasBiddul ph telegraphed from Osborne on Tuesday,the 1st. ult. :—' The Queen is much gratifiedat the magnificent result of the Mansion-housecollection.' " And while, then, we congratulatethe poor sufferers in India on so noble a con-tribution , and while we rejoice to think how wiseand patriotic was the timely movement of thethen Lord Mayor, as the head of the greatestmunicipality in the world, we also thinkit well to point out another fact to ourmany readers. In addition to the half-millionraised at the Mansion-house for the relief of thesufferers by the famine in India , ,£54,21<5 wasalso received there during the Mayoralty of SirThomas White for the purposes of charity—viz.,Hospital Sunday Fund , £26,082 19s. id. ; theInundations Relief Fund, £0904 14s. 3d. ; theWelsh Miners' Fund, ^4674 12s. 5d.; the St.John, New Brunswick, Fire Relief Fund , £70625s. tod. ; and the North Sea Fishery DisastersFund , £,"49 1 16s. 3d. Thus the year's result torcharitable appeals at the Mansion-house amountedto the magnificent sum of 6^54,000. Wethink that there will be but one feeling ofsatisfaction and gratitude at so eminentl y suc-cessful an appeal , and we congratulate the lateLord Mayor most sincerely on the pleasantmemory which his mayorality must affoVd him ,of a great work carried on and achieved, in thenoblest of all causes, the claims of suffering hu-manity. Too much praise cannot be accordedto the zealous labours of a distinguished com-mittee, and especially to those humbler officialswhose labours have been untiring, and whosepunctual attention to all letters is worthy ofimitation by all who are placed in a similar posi-tion of importance and trust.

THE STATE OF TRADE,

Various suggest ions have been made as to thereasons of the abnormal and unwelcome depres-sion of trade. Some seem to think that we maytrace it to : the unfortunate strikes in varioustrades, which have marked the last year -, somenumerous other causes, proximate and recon-dite , which we need not dilate upon in thesepages. We believe that much of it must be laidat the door of the unsettled state of affairs abroad ,the alternating doubts as between war and peace,and the great drain such an untoward war is sureto cast both on the finances and resources ofEurope. We always distrust those persons whotalk glibl y and cheerfully about war , as if it werea pastime of idleness or a freak of folly. It isthe witty French writer, " Scribe," who saysthat most wars have begun about a trifle , andas ,1 rule we are inclined to agree with him. AsFreemasons we are friends of peace, not of war,because war brings in its train not only its ownattendant horrors, but because, also, it inevitabl yoverthrows for the time the peaceful strugg les ofcommerce, the leg itimate channels of trade. Ifpeace, shall happily reward the efforts of media-tion , and the new year behold an armistice , aspreliminary to a conference, we shall , we think ,soon witness a revival of trade amongst us. Weare not amongst those who take a depressedview of the prospects of the Chancellor of theExchequer ; on the contrary , we venture tothink that the result of the year's returns willj ustify both his cautious anticipation , and hiswell-balanced Budget. If such should prove tobe the case it will be a great satisfaction to allclasses of the community, and it will be a signalproof of calm calculation and faithful statistics.We always have croakers amongst us who de-light in possible deficiencies and probable short-reckonings, but we fancy that this year , as last,the Chancellor of the Exchequer will prove to bein the ri ght , and will announce to the House ofCommons a sufficiency of receipt, and a satis-factory equilibrium. In the present state oftrade it is clear that the revenue must suffer, asthey say, " by sympathy," but it will be no littlemerit, no slight proof of ready resource andtranquil confidence , if the returns justif y the es-timates, and the House of Commons applaudsonce more the announcement of a surp lus, be itmore or be it less, instead of a deficit. Thefigures on the face of them , though close run-ning, no doubt , point , we think , clearly to such ahappy contingency, and we venture to hope thatwe may be in due time permitted to hail a"consummation " so "devoutly to be wished for "by us all alike.

FRIE NDLY ADVICE.

We do not profess to give "advice gratis ;"but we think , every now and then we can affordto be both philanthrop ical and large-hearted , andso endeavour to be both to-day. Two cases inthe Law Courts have recently struck our atten-tion forcibly. The one is the case of a gentle-man, who ought to have known better, certainly,who married a young woman 45 years youngerthan himself, and did not find a congenial hel p-mate or a happy home. Very strange this, is itnot ? Yes, it came to pass, that the fair andyouthful wife took it into her head that shecould live more comfortabl y separate , and so shesuggested that he should live apart from her,while she enjoyed his well-furnished house.After a little the reality of the isolation cameso congenial and common to her mind , that she.actuall y forgot that she was married at all , andshe went to a broker, as a single woman, andasked him to sell her furniture . At this mo-ment, however, when the furniture was gone, asense of " sentiment " lingered with her, andso she asked her darling husband to pay her alittle visit , (having remembered that shewas married all the while), and whenhe reached his well known house of connubialbliss and joy, and saw, as Lord Byron says, hishousehold gods shivering on the hearth , Sec. Nomore dramatic situation can well be realized.How well Bro. Toole would act the sufferinghusband. The court of law restored to the in-jure d man his " household stuff ," but nothing issaid of the partner of his jo ys and his bosom,

and of his property. On the whole wc thinkthat he is perhaps happ iest, " alone once more inthe world." with no "dear gazelle " to look onhim with "tender eyes," and we earnestlydeprecate the notion of any old man or any oldMason, be he who he may, marrying a charm-ing young woman only forty-five years youngerthan himself. The chances of happ iness seemdubious and hazy,—verbum sat sapienti. Inanother case, a young man obtained £250 dam-ages from an Irish jury , because his young ladydeclined to marry him. Her excuse for notmarrying the ardent swain is both peculiar andsuggestive. She said, she "did not care very muchabout him ," and , she " should not be dictatedto when coortin." On the whole we agree withthe young woman strongly. She clearly knewbest whether she liked the young man or not,and she certainly had a mora l right not to be" dictated to when coortin. " The young manwas poor, the young lady rich , and so an Irishjury , ever waim-hearted and sympathetic , gavethat young "lovisr " ^250 damages, toconsole his " blighted affection, and to heal abroken heart." It is just possible substantialjust ice was done in the matter , but fro m someremarks of the able jud ge we are inclined tothink , that had he had to assess the damages theymight have been somewhat less. We trust thatour young men will not be encouraged to pro-pose to young ladies in order to obtain damagesfrom young ladies who "don 't care for them verymuch," and who " will not be dictated to."Had we been upon that jury , we think , yes, wethink, that we should have considered the"smallest coin of the realm " sufficient damagesfor the wounded evidence of such ardent affec-tion. We, however, may be wrong, and thejury who saw both in court , complainant and de-fendant , were probabl y right. But thc precedentis a serious one, and in the present state of ouryoung men may lead to much liti gation. AnEnglish jur y, we think it right to remark , maynot be so very liberal.

COMMUNIQUE.

We are very much pleased to be privileged tocommunicate to the Craft the following trans-lation of a letter from the Grand Secretary of theSt. Joh n's Hungarian Grand Lodge, and whichis the best possible reply to many assumptionsand unwarranted assertions. All Anglo-SaxonMasons will rejoice to hear that the St. John 'sHungarian Grand Lodge is not committed tothe suicidal course of the Grand Orient of Prance.

[T R A N S L A T I O N .]Or. Buda Pest, 13th Dec. , 1877

V. W. and B. Brother,—_ The circumstance that our Hungarian

St. John's Grand Lodge has some time sincebeen added by the English Masonic Newspapersto those Grand Lodges which ought to be de-clared proscribed , in consequence of having abol-ished the belief in God , like the Grand Orient ofFrance, induces me to write.1 his assertion evidentl y rests upon error and

wrong information , and I therefore consider itnecessary to call your attention to the point, thatalthoug h our brethren have considered this ques-tion in a semi-official conference, it never hasbeen brought officiall y upon the agenda, and

scarcely ever will be brought under discussion inthis thorough-going sense. Not only does ourconstitution , and upon the faith of which we havebeen sanctioned by our government in part II.number I., very minutely settle the question, buteven our ritual , which with us is an addition tothe constitution , informs the individual to be in-itiated that he would be mistaken if he believedthat in our Temple anything would be sufferedthat was in opposition 'to God and the govern-ment , as also that the initiation is effected to theglory of the G.A.O.T.U.

All this is very far removed from atheism , andyou would very much oblige me, if you couldcause this to be inserted in the Fre emason in thesame way as was the one with reference to theGrand Orient of Italy, in the number before last.

Off ering you my best services in return , andin case of necessity or want of exp lanation ex •pecting to hear from you ,

1 am » (Si gned) UHL , G.S.

THE GRAND ORIENT OF FRANCEAND THE GRAND ORIENT OFITALY.

Notwithstanding the bold statement of theenergetic Bro. Desmons, (more zealous than dis-creet), we have always felt assured that oar dis-tinguished Bro. J. C. Parkinson was perfectlycorrect when lie said that the Grand Orient ofItaly had not followed in the wake of the GrandOrient of France. Had it done so it would haveundoubtedl y lost all Britannic and American andCanadian sympathies. That Bro. Parkinson isabsolutely correct in his welcome statement inthe Freemason , is proved by the last Bulletin duGrand Orient , which though it publishesthe " affectionate sympathies " of the GrandOrient of Ital y " envers le Grand Orientde France.. " dans les circonstances difticilesqu 'elle traverse" does not deem it wise evidentl y,as it says, ta print the document " in extenso. "To use a somewhat slang expression thi GrandOrient of Ital y refuses to go the " entireanimal." Where then is the Grand Orient ofFrance ? We fear that the answer must be , asbefore Cosmopolitan Masonry, in complete iso-lation. The letter we publish abov? fromthe Grand Secretary of the St. John 's GrandLodge of Hungary proves how unwise and un-founded have been those rhapsodists and sec-tarians, who have backed up the insane act ofthe Grand Orient of France, and what a fearfulamount of injury is accruing to CosmopolitanFreemasonry by the ill-directed agitation of theintolerant and revolutionary .

KENNING' S MASONICCYCLOPAEDIA.

Dear Bro. Kenning, —I rejoice to tell you that the whole of

the Cyclopaedia is in print, and that the list ofsubscribers is printing. Under these circum-stances I think that with the aid of our goodfriends, Messrs. Hazell , Watson, and Viney, wemay undertake to deliver the book to our subscri-bers quite early in February, at latest. Wehave to make allowance for binding, &c, but Ido not anticipate that we need now hesitate tolook forward to this early delivery of the longexpected work. I am Sir,

Yours fraternally, THE EDITOR .

©riflinal f amwutaf omt.t\Ve do natho ld ourselves responsible for, or even as approving

of thc opinions expressed by our correspondents , but we wish, ina spirit of lair play to all, to permit—wi -.hin certain necessaryinvits—(tee discussion.— ED.1

GRAND ORIENT OF FRANCE.To the Editor of thc " Freem ason."

Dear Sir and Brother ,—Yours of the 5th inst. contains a report of the

annual meeting of the Lodge Mother Killvvinning, on21 st December, at which it was agreed to call the at-tention of the Grand Lod ge of Scotland to the "un-fortunate step taken by the Granel Orient of t rance."&c. In order to guarel against the impression that insuch an important matter the Grand Lodge of Scotlandrequires to be urged in its duty by a lodge in Ayrshireacting upon the suggestion of a brother living in Banff-shire, I beg through you to intimate that the GrandMaster Mason of Scotland , Sir Michael K. Shaw-Stcvvart, Bart., anil his Committee sitting at Edinburgh ,had taken action in the matter three weeks prior to thedate at which the Kilwinning Lodge resolved to addressGrand Lodge on the subject. This will be seen from thefollowing excerpt e.{ minute of the Grand Committee ofthe Grand Lodge of Scotland of 27th November last, acopy of which is in possession of the Grand Orient of France.Thc same excerpt minute was published in the " ScottishFreemason " of 7II1 December:—

" The Granel Secretary directed the attention of GrandCommittee to the recent change in the Constitution of thcGrand Orient of France, whereby belief in God is not nowessential to admission as Freemasons. Bro. Dr. Loth , re-presentative from the Grand Orient , who had been askedto be present , having satisfied the Committee upon certainpoints in con; eclicvt with the subject upon which they de-sired information , the fallowing resolution was adopted e>nthe motion of lira. William Mann , P.M., No. 65, secondedby lira. R. S. Brown , I'.M., No. 124 :—" Having hadtheir attenti on directed by the Grand Secretary to therecent change in the Constitution of the Grand Orient ofFrance , whereby a profession of belief in Almi ghty God,the Great Architect et the Universe , and the immor-tality of the soul , is not now exacted of candidates foradmis-ion as Freemasons , and having maturely con-side-reel the same, instruct the Grand Secretary to in-timate to the Grand Orient of France that, should it bethe case that such a radical change in the fundamentalprinciples of Ar.cient Freemasonry has indeed been con-

firmed by the Grand Orient of France, Grand Commit-tee will be under the necessity of recommending toGrand Lodge to sever the fratern al relations that b.avcfor so long a period subsisted between it and the GrandOrient of France.' "

As regards the sending .1 copy of the Kilwinning reso-lution to the Grand Orient of France, I may state that itwas an instruction by Grand Committee at their meetingon thc 24th December, that 1 snould intimate " that it isbeyond the province of Mother Kilwinning' or any otherlodge holding of the Grand Lod ge of Scotland to com-municate direct with any forei gn Grand Lod ge onthe sub-j ;ct of Freemasonry."

I am, yours etc., D. Men HAY LYON ,Secretary to ilie Grand Lodge.

Freemasons' Hali ,Edinburg h , ;th January, 1S7S.

THE ORDER OF ST. JOHN.[We give the two followin g letters from the Times

in oreler to keep our readers "au cou raut " of the pro-gress of the late controversy, and we shall continue to doso. We may adil that the Marquis of Carabas, who be-gan it, states that he lias as much right to call himself K.G.Practicall y, the g ist of his second letter , as of the first ,is that the English Order of St. John is a pseudonym. —ED ]

To the Edi tor of the Times.Sir,—The Order of St. John or of Malta being a mili-

tary boel y, I cannot enter into a public controversy aboutit. But when so distinguished an officer as ColonelPorter denies the existence of the Grand Master , I feeljustified in rep ly ing. The present chief is John BaptistCeschi di Santa Crocc. His title is " Pro Magistcr ," orLieutcnant of the Magislcrium. This title has been usedsince 1805, because the Grand Master having the rankof a Sovere ign Prince , with the sty le of "Most Eminent 1Highness," ew " Serene Highness ," would have to keep up Ia state which vvoulei be inconvenient under present circum-stances.

I have before me thc official roll of the Order , contain-ing thc names of all the members—a book of 157 pages.The succession of chiefs from Hompscii is ?.s follows :—Paul I, Emperor of Russia , 179 8-1800 ; John Tommasi ,1802-1805 ; lniiieo Maria Guevara , 1S05-1S14; Andreai!i Giovanni , 1814-1821; Antonio Busca , 1S21-1834 ;Carl o Candida , 1834-1845 ; .Filippo di Colioredo, 1845-1S64 ; Alcxanelcr Borg ia , 1SO5-1872; John Baptist Ccsctiiell Santa Croce, elected the 14th of February, 1872 , inaccordance with the statutes of the Crder. Colonel Porterwill find him duly recorded in the Almanack of Gotha ,and his election <vas notified to all the Continental Courts.The Older has a resilient Minister Plenipotentiary atVienna. His Imperial Highness the Ccsarevitch a fewmonth s ago asked for the Cross of the Order , and it wasgranted by Count Ceschi di Santa Croce as Lieutenant orPro Grand Master. I am aware of the facts regardingthe supposed revival of the Langue and Priory of Englandand the story of Sir Robert Peat, which was full y ex-plained to me by the late Gaiter King at-Arms, Sir Charles1 oung.

] regret that Col. Porter has sought to bring in religiousprejudice by saying that we are "under the patronage of thePope." The Oreler has resided for some years in its ownpalace at Rome, and has enjoyed the status of a SovereignPrince.

I remain , Sir, your obedient servant,GEORGE BOWYER .

To the Edito r of thc Times.Sir,—If Colonel Whitwoith Potter will refer to the

" Almanach de Gotha " (p. 810 of the edition of 1877) hewill find the information he requires as to the presentorganisation and gov crnment of the Order of St. Joh n setforth with all the accuracy of that valuable publication . Ifhe should require more detailed information , he may referto the " Ruolo Generate del Sovrano S.M. Ordine Geroso-limitano," of which a new edition was published at Romeby the Fratelli Pallotta a few months since.

The Order of St. John is, as every student of historyknows, a religious Order of the Roman Catholic Church ,just as much as the Benedictines or the Jesuits. It has, asother Catholic Orders have, lay brothers and honorarymembers, who take 110 vows and are not monks. It hasalso honorary members , who are not even Roman Catholics.They are very few in number , and of very eminent rank.Thc Prince Consort was a Kni ght of St. John. Hisbrother , the Duke of Saxe-Ceiburg Gotha , Duke Charles ofSchleswi g-Holstcin , Duke Augustus of Saxe-Coburg, andthe present Cesaievitch li3ve, as Prince Albert had , thehonorary Grand Cross of the Oreler. The German Princesf have named are ranked on the "Ruolo" under the GrandPriory of Bohemia. The Cesarevitch is classed among themembers of the Oreler who are uneler the immediate juris-diction of what Colonel Porter play f ully calls "the fragmentof the Order resident at Rome under the patronage of thePope." Of course, there is no reference in the -'Ruolo "or the "Almanach de Gotha" to " the philantrop ic associa-tion presided over by the Duke of Manchester ," as it wasquite correctly described in the Times, on the occasion ofits adding an august lad y to its list of members lastautumn.

1 am , Sir, your obedient servant ,January 4. C. H.

THE APOLLO UNIVERSI TY LODGE.To the Editor if thc " Fre emason. "

Deat Sit renel Brother ,—Wc think that Bro . Riach , in the letter which,

appeare d in the Freemason of the 29th of December ,showed a little too much confidence in his powers ofmemory. We do not wish to parade the names of thosewho have been elected members of the Apollo UniversityLodge, thoug h they were neither present nor past mem-

bers of the University of Oxford , nor among the founders fthe loelge; but we could refer him to pages 76, 79, 84, 90,106, 11O, and 118 of the last edition of the bye-laws. Oneach of these pages he will find the name of one whosename appears in the list of the ordinary members ofthe loelge, and not in the univer sity calendar among thcmembers of the university. He is quite right as to theexisting bye-laws.

We are, dear Sir anil Brother , yours fraternall y,THE E D I T O R S OF THE LAST E DIT ION- or THE BYE-

LAWS OF T H E A POLLO U N I V E R S I T Y LODGE .

MASONIC SLANDER.To the Editor of thc " Freemason. "

Dear Sir anel Brother ,—On the evening of the last day of the year 1877(not three hundred miles from the "Great City"') I heard

thc character of a very 111. Brother traduced in a railwaycarnage, by a person professing to be a .Mason. Wi.houtentering into all thc particulars of the affair , permit methroug h your valuable paper, to protest publicl y, as thenI did in the railway carriage , against such conduct , thetraducing thc character of a brothe r , whether hi gh or lowin rank , and that in his absence.

Any novice in Masonry must know that such conductis whoh y un-masomc, anel entirel y opposed to the spiritand teaching of Masonry. Many may think , and per-haps some may ask , " Play, what is Masonry ?" Well , tomy mind , and to my way of thinking about .Masonry—ifI am wrong, 1 hope some kind brother will put me ri ghton this yi -iut — Masonry is not merel y a profession;Masonry is not ritual , ceremonv , exc. ; Masonry is notself-love and self-seeking ; Masonry is not cant andhypocrisy ; Masomy is not a wind-bag ; but true Ma-sonry throug hout the world is, I think , the dail y endeavourto put into practice thc noble and sublime princi pleswhich she teaches to her pup ils , so that they may showto the outer worl d , that in all dimes, and amongst allrations , her teachings when practised elevate the mindand ennoble the character of the man who is her truedisci ple.

A Mason! For to be a Mason in fact and in eleedshould be, to bc a man whom all could trust , love , andhonour , both as a man and a citizen.

Masonry . I think , teaches that Masons shall in the cvery-elav walks of life endeavour to practise cvcrytliim> that istine , noble-, high-minded , and God-insp iiuig. The key-stones are Faith , Hope, and Charity, and so long as thebrotherhood shall continue to build in their daily work oilthe imperishable foundation-stones of Masonry, so will theworld at large, fvovw E. to \V., a.vu.1 Cram. N. to S., rejoice tosee that Masonry is not a fashionable toy, a commercial ad-venture, a dramatic bauble , or an evening entertainmentfor young men , but that its actual workings are produc-tive of good, both to the Mason and to the world ingeneral.

I am , elear Sir and Brother , yours fraternall y,(Signed) "B ILLY D—,'-'

as requested by the Brother.

NATIONA L HOSPITAL FOR DISEASES OF THEHEART AND PARALYSIS.

To the Editor of the "Freemason. "Dear Sir and Brother,—

The violent storms of the last few weeks have soseriously injured this hospital as to have necessitated allthc back walls and the roof being propped up with heavybeams of timber. To enable thc entire outer walls to berebuilt , at an estimate of £1400, funds are most earnestlyneeded.

Many serious cases of heart disease have been sent totheir homes, and very bad cases are awaiting the restora-tion of the building before they can b'' admitted.

Diseases of the heart have greatly increased eluring thelast 10 years, and it is melancholy to see so many youngpersons and even little children suffering from this terriblemalady, and most serious to reflect in some of the casesas to the s?.d future which is in store for them , manyhaving inherited the disease.

It is however, most encourag ing to find how subservientcettain heart affections are to prompt and proper medicaltreatment.

Rheumatic fever is a great generator of heart disease,but the very large number of cases annuall y relievedand cured at the above institution is most satisfactory, asnumerous and most grateful letters from patients testif y.

The Treasurer of the chanty is the Rig ht Hon. theEarl of Glasgow, who would most gratefull y receive andacknowledge donations.

I am elear Sir anel Brother , ycurs fraternally,V INCENT A MULEU ,

One ot the Ph ysicians to the Hospital.

On Friday evening, the 4H1 inst., while the olel struc-ture of Temple Bar, by some considere d anomameiit , byothers an eyesore, ;inel by all an oostruciion , was in thecourse of being demolished , a lodge of Freemasons ,bearing the title of " Ihe Temp le Bar Lod ge" (No. 1728),was consecrated in the spacious and commodious roomsof " The Lonelon ," Fleet street , a few yard s only fromthe edifice which was being removed. Venerable andancient as Temple Bar was, the heartiest wishes were ex-pressed at the consecration of the lodge that it might bestill more venerable and ancient than the structure fromwhich it took its name.

Starling under most favourable ausp ices, there is noreason for doubting that these wishes will be realised , andwhen those brethren who took part in the ceremony arecrumbled into dust and are as much forgotten as the headthat a century ago figured on Temple Bar and defaced

CONSECRATION OF THE TEMPLE BARLODGE, No. 1728.

the civilisation of what was then considereel an en-lightened age, it may stand forth as a monument ofprogress and adorn the Order which it seeks to propagate.

The ceremony of consecration was performed by Bro.|. Hervey, Grand Secretary, who was assisted by Bro.the Rev. R. J . Simpson , Past Grand Chaplain , as Chap-lain, and Bro . H. G. Buss, Assistant Grand Secretary, asDirector of Ceremonies. Bro. C. A. Murton , Past GrandDeacon, acteel as Senior Warden ; Bro. Thomas Fenn ,Past Granel Deacon , as Junior Warden ; Bro. Nelson Reed ,W.M. 1671 , as Secretary ; and Bro. John Constable, P.M.j S5, as I.G. The musical arrangements were under thedirection of W. Bro. Capt. Reginald W. Williams. M. A.,P.P.G. Org., Middlesex , W.M. 137s , &c. &c. The otherbrethren present wete Bros. E. I crry, W.M. 13195W. S. Lavlham , P.M. 1116; J. Dann , P.M. 72; W,Bansor, W.M. elect 15S0; J. Penderbith , 1598 ; G.H. Atkinson , 1622; C. Lovebond , J.W. 1707; A.Reed , W.M. 1671 ; C. Butcher, 975 ; J. Dixon , 1558;C. A. Mutton , P.G.D. ; H. Goodall , P.M. 7S4 ; T. W. C,Bush , W.S. 18;; A. E. Staley, 185 ; Rev. R. J. Simpson ,P.G.C. ; B. Lyons, S.W. 1227 ; G. Adamson , P.P.G.A.D.CKent ; R. Harris , 1185 ; G. S. Symmons, 1707 ; W.WMedcalf, J.W. 1671 ; R. A. Morgan , W.S. 167 1; BBuckworth, 747 1 ; W. Hitchcock, 733 ; W. Poore, W.M1306 ; D. McNiven , 1426 ; J. Kimpton , 1C01 ; R. WGillard , 725 ; F. Buckworth , 1471 ; B. Goodwin , S.W733 ; G. Coleman , 1614; J. Bergmann , J.D. 1671 ; JGow, 619 ; C. Payne, G.T. ; W. D. Bayley, iS , ; T. L.Jones, W.M. i6 ;o ; W. S. Whitaker , P.M. 1572 ; E. Chet-wynd .J.W. 153S ; C Goodwill , 1623 ; S. B. Wilson, P.M.59; F. Binckes, P.G.Std ; T. Sleap, W.M. 1558 ; H.Massey, (Fretmas on), P.M. 619 ; J. B. Tielmarsh, 1C71.

After the lodge had been opened ,Bro. Hervey saiel : Brethren , I have so often addressed

you on the occasion of consecration , and I have so repea-teelly said that I can iinel no new subject to address youupon , that I am sure you will pardon me if 1 make very fewobservations this evening. Anel if there be one whichI may venture to make it is that the ceremony of theconsecratioii of a lodge is perhaps one of the most beauti-ful ceremonies which we have in the Order. It is one whichof late years has been of frequent occurrence in the city ofLondon , and its immediate vicinity, and not only in Londonproper, but the lodges have also been extending themselvesin every part of the country, for we find both in the homeprovinces anil in the northern ones Frecmasonry^has con-tinued to spread , anil , I hope , to prosper. But thcadvance of Freemasonry has not been confined to England ,fur in India , Australia , and every colony where the Eng-lish tongue is spoken and to which the constitution t>( theUnited Kingdom extends—in every one of those districtsMasonry has flourished and advanced. I trust that weare advancing, too, not only in numbers but also in effi-ciency, in the manner in which the work of the lodges iscarrieel out and in the way in which the brethren lookupon the Order—with that respect with which I thmk itought to be regarded, and which I am sure all those aroundthis room would wish it to bc regarded . It has been anobjection to us on many occasions, and one wV.ich I do notthink we are fairl y open to, that we look more to enjoy-ment than we do to the working of the Craft , but I maysay that the working of the Craft is to many of usa great enjoyment, anil I think a good many look to theworking of the Craft in its proper spirit much more thanthey do to the social enjoyment of the Craft , and muchmore than they would .lu to the mere pleasures of the tableI think that in recent years when we look to the Charitiesof the Order, hoiv much they have advanced and theprosperous condition in which th ey now are, we must feelthat Masonry in that respect at any rate has maele a greatadvance and that we have for some years past efftctedan object—a good object—anil one which I hope will con-tinue to flourish and prosper during many years to come.But there is one thing to be said in our prosperity, and thatis that it may draw a great many in to the Craft whoseabsence we might tolerate very well, and who simply come111 for the purpose of what they can get and for whatthey may derive of benefit* from being a memberof the Freemasons ' Society. Now a very good frien d ofmine told me—we were only speaking of it this week—that in his own lodge a surgeon desired to be proposeel asa member, and in the course of conversation said to him ," Well , but what benefit would it be; would it extendmy practice .'" Thc answer was, " You need not say any-thing more, because I must elecline to propose you in myloelge." The answer, I think , was one which if many ofus maele when we were asked to propose a candidate wouldbe very much to the purpose. And in looking to thc pros-perity of the Order wc must necessarily have many whocome into it solely for the purpose of what they may ob-tain from it. Now, in my position , I know that from thepublicity which is given to the grants which are made byGrand Lodge, app lications come in from all sides fromchaiities, for contributions of all descriptions, not onlyfrom England , but from fore ign lands, simp ly becausethe applicants think that the Grand Lodge of Englandis rich , that it is generous, and that it will give. Nowthat is another inconvenience we are subject to fro m thetrumpet voice of fame blazoning forth what has beendone for charities , and what has been votcel by GrandLodge to various objects , such as the Indian Famine, thefires in different parts of America , &C. Now, brethren ,while we congratulate ourselves upon our prosperity wemay, 1 fear, have some reason to think that it would bewell that when brethren are requested to propose candi-dates that they should understand , anil it should be un-elerstood generall y, that the Craft is not to bc maele anieilium of success in a profession or in a pursuit of what-ever descri ption , but that a man if he joins Masonryjoins it to do good and not to be done good by. Such ismy view, brethren , of what Freemasonry ought to be;such is my view, which I am sure many around

this room entertain , of what ought to be donein the Craft , and what ought to be the qualificationsfor i t ; that we may not be led into difficulties hereafter. Iam sure 1 need not say that I and that you all cordial lycoincide with me in th is op inion; and in the ceremonywe are about to perform this day I trust that we shall goaway after it has been performed with a still higheropinion of Masonry even than we at present possess, andthat we may look back to the 4th Jan., 1878, with plea-sure and gratification at having introduced a new clementinto the Craft , or a new vehicle by which many will be in-troduceel into Masonry who will be a credit and an orna-ment to the society to which we belong.

After the customary formalities the Rev. R. J. Simpson,P.G.C, delivered the following address : W.M., Wardensand brethren ,—You will pardon me if I follow the coursewhich I have adopted on occasions like this of avoidinganything in the shape of a formal address, and rathergiving myself and the brethren such thoug hts as may besuitable to the occasion or suggested by the particularlodge which miy be at the time consecrated . I cannotbut feel , the more one regards life, that it is a life of pull-ing down and building up, and that the observation appliesnot Ic?s to man than to the things around us in the ma-terial world—with this great difference, that we men andMasons believe ourselves to be members of two worlels in-stead of one. I remember some beautiful lines, familiar Idare say to many of my brethren , fro m the old AmericanpoeT—

" Art is long, and life is fleeting,And our hearts , though stout and brave,Still like muffled drums are beatingFuneral marches to the grave. "

But he adds:—" Life is real, life is earnest,

And the grave is viol its goalDust thou art, to dust returnest.Was not spoken of the soul."

And hence when we look to-day at the peculiar circum-stances in which we find ourselves suggesteel by thc nameof the lodge about to bc consecrated , we find within ear-shot of this place an ancient landmark of our countrybeing demolished, and wc find within these walls anotherlandmark being erecteel ; but I need scarcely say that inthe latter case there will be cneluring elements in referenceto thc edifice that we raise to-night which cannot be saielof that after which this lodge is called. I have spokenof art ; and I look upon att especially in thc light of thepresent day , as one of the grandest witnesses to the bene-ficence , the wisdom , strength , and glory of the GreatCrea'or; and I am bold also to add , whatever others maysay, wiser perhaps and far more able than my unworthyself , that science too, so far from in any way derogatingfrom the majesty, the power, and the omnipotence of theGreat Creator, becomes daily more and more a witness toHis unbounded power and love. The idea of art at oncesuggests to us a design , and there cannot bc a design with-out a designer. That very ielea of a design must inti-mate at once, and necessarily that there must be a greatmind in which that design will find its source,and hence I look upon it that every great workof art , ministering as it shoulel , not merely to the pleasuresof man but to the glory of God , should be regarded as afragment of the Divine Image, the Divine Power, theDivine Wisdom , and the Divine Love by which the worksof this wonderfu l worlel have been completed. But it ismore than that. At the present day you anel I are wellaware that from the very bowels of the earth elisenlombcdcities come up to bear witness to the truth s of history, andthus in their place supp lying a wonderful power on which wemay rely for those hig her and more sacred histories whichwc all as Masons venerate. The eliscoverics at Nineveh ,to say nothing of others , have thrown the grandest lightupon the truths of this Divine Volume, and the recent d'.s-coverics of Dr. Schliemann have, as you know, proved tous that even before thc present era we have witnessesraised up from the earth to testif y to the truths of history,and that what wis believed by men to be mere fable hasturned out to be fict. But not only in the region of art ,but in the region of science do wc look for these greattestimonies to the power and thc wisdom of the GreatCreator. No one at the present day can look around himand sec thc discoveries of science, without feeling with oldShakespeare that there are secrets in nature which our phi-losophy has not even yet elreamt of , that there are to be de-veloped wonders of science which shall yet make our pos-terity wonder even to their latest day ; and surel y when welook at these things, when we look not tosecondary causes but to the Prime First GreatCause from which all these laws must proceed, we cannotbut be struck with admiration and awe as from time totime we find the development of science, its latest develop-ment in this marvellous instrument , which , by the by, hashad a very long pedigree--for the idea which led to thetelephone has, as you are aware, as set forth , I daresay, in the heating of some of my brethren by Mr. Bell theother evening, had a long pedigree—has been worked outby the brains of many men , for many years past , andhas now attaineel to a marvellous excellence , and will pro-bable/ yet be a greater wonder. Can we doubt with thatmarvellous science that He who planted the ear must bcable to hear , ever mechanical ly, if the waves of sound canbe converted into electricity and reproeluced at almost anydi-.tancc—who can doubt , that even mechanically thesound of prayer shall not reach the ear of Him who plantedthe ear and must hear. This idea may perhaps seemto some far-fetched ; but I venture to say that to myselfit has brought an immense amount o£ consolation . Onethought more. This monument outside is as you perceivenumbered—every stone is numbered—with a view to itsbeing rebuilt in some other place. Masonry I look upon

as in some measure analogous. Every stone of Masonryis numbered .- its landmarks ,-ire clear and distinct. Ifthat monument yonder were not so numbered , if it wasfound that any stone was added to it in its new position ,or any stone teikcn from it , it would not be Temple Bar ;and I venture to think , especially in thc light of passingevents, that Masonry, to be identical with what it hasbeen , is, and I hope shall be, shall not suffer from the ad-elitions of one nation or the subtractions of another ; butthat it shall permeate the universe, holeling fast the greatfundamental truths which I have reasons to believe weretaught »t the beginning. Under such circumstances letme hope and trust that thc Temple Bar Lodge, bound by-name as well as by Masonic nature to hold fast the greattiuths taught from Masonic anti quity, will prove to bewitnesses among the other witnesses I have mentioned tothe glory of God , to the furtherance ot peace and brother-hood amongst men , and above all for building up thatwhich is the noblest -work of God, the living temple ofman , adorning it with wisdom , strength , and beauty, mak-ing it fit at last to be transplanted into that world wherethere shall be no decay.

The ceremony of consecration was afterwards conduct ed,and at its close Bro. John Dixon was installed by Bro;Hervey as W.M. of the lod ge. The officers invested wereBros. Charles Butcher , S.W. ; Thomas W. C. Bush , W.S.185, J.W. ; G. Adamson, P.M. 199 and 1208,P.P.G.A.D.C. Kent , Treasurer ; Nelson Reed, W.M.1671, J.W. 1572 , J.W. 1601, S.D. 765, Secretary ;A. E. Staley, S.D.; K. Harris, J.D. ; D.McNiven , I.G. ; B. Buckworth , D.C ; J. Kimpton,Steward ; and Church, Tyler. The addresses were deliveredby Bros. Hervey, Murton , and Fenn ; after which , on themotion of Bro. Nelson Reed , seconded by thc W.M., Bros.Hervey, Simpson, Buss, Murton , and Fenn, were electedhonorary members of the lodge. Bro. Hervey havingacknowledged the compliment, Bro. Reed read a largenumber of propositions for joining and initiation, and thenannounced that he had received letters of apology forabsence from Bros. Sir Albert Woods, J. B. Monckton ,Wooelward , W.M. 1538 , (the recommending lodge),Williams, 1538, Windale, Palmer, Pearce and Child.Lodge was then closed , and the brethren adjourned toa sumptuous banquet , provided by Bro. Percival Reed.After dinner the usual toasts were proposeel and honoured ,and several excellent songs were sung, Bro. Bergmann , J.D.Carnarvon Lodge, presiding at the piano.

Bro. Thos. Fenn, P.G.D., replying to the toast of '* TheGrand Officers ," coligratulateel thc lodge on taking thename of " Temple Bar." That old landmark of Londonwas very ugly and obstructive and many persons were veryglad to have it removed. Still the brethren liked to keepit in remembrance because there were some pleasantrecollections suggested by it. Many of the brethren mightrecollect as he did an old clock standing in front of Temp leBar at St. Duiistan's Church with a giant on each side theclock to strike the hour. To his mind it brought some plea-sureable reflections of Temple Gardens at a time when menof business lived in Loudon and their children walked inTemple Gardens. He rcmcmbcreel flirtations he as achild had there at thirteen or fourteen years of age—atime of life when wc loved more ro mantically andunselfishly than in our mature periods. Those were theold days of yellow hackney coaches with granel armorialbearings , elriveii by the many-caped jarvics represented inpictures. If this lodge had been consecrateel a week ortwo later Temple Bar would have disappeared. Now,however, some members would be able to relate to initiatesthat they remembered this lodge before Temple Bar wasremoveel. He hoped the lodge would long prosper andexercise the same hospitality it had that evening.

The W.M. reply ing to the toast of his health ,which was proposed by Bro. Muiton , P.G.D.,said it was a difficult thing for a W.M., as he was thatevening for thc first time, to be quite au fait in his duties,but he hoped at a future time to be better able to eliscliargethem. He trusted that during the twelve months he wasin the chair he would be able to follow out his duties.He, would do his best to make the Ttmple Bar Lodge themost prosperous in Loneion , anel when he handed thewarrant to his successor he hoped it would have acquiredsome lustre.

Bro. John Hervey, G.S. reply ing for "The ConsecratingOfficer ," said it had often struck him that instead of beingthe Consecrating Officer it shoulel be the ConsecratingOfficers , because the Consecrating Officer could do nothingwithout assistance. He did not know what he shonl d havedone without the adequate support he hael received from thetwo Wardens. Then again there w.is Bro. Bass, who at•all times rendered most efficient service ; and he could notforget the excellen t address which was delivereel by Bro,Simpson. The brethren had estimated his own servicesin a way that almost made him blush. He wishedsuccess and prosperity to the. lodge, and that it mightexist longer than the Bar which was now being removed.

After the toast of " The Visitois " hat been proposed ,drunk , and responded to,

Bro. the Rev. R. J. Simpson , P.G.C, proposed "TheMasonic Institutions. " He said : No one can eleny that wehave great pleasure in meeting together in our lodges toperfoi m the very beautiful and significant ccrcm onicswhich are attacheel to oar Order, nor can wc ignore for amoment the pleasant and happy social intercourse whichis derived from what is called the Fourth Degree ; but Iventure to say without any possibility of contradiction thatthere is still a residuum of happ iness and satisfaction ,which Masons must value after all , above even the plea-sant happ iness of the lodge or even the social gathering.We have been told to-night in many forms that thehappiness of life as well as its material fabrics mustcrumble and decay ; but we are also full y assured thatthere are certain institutions , certain elements of Ma-sonry which like charity shall survive for ever ;

and I take it that there is no more thoroug h ,significant, and eloquent representative of that abidin gclement than our noble charities — our Boys' Schoolturning out into life hundreds of boys , well and pro-perl y cd'icatcd to fulf i l their duties as good citizens andas men who arc unde r a respons ibility to God ; our Girls 'School turning out girls who will be, I trust , thc futuremothers of our English homes, conducting them as I be-lieve they shoulel be conducted , as the great unit s andcentres of civilization , anil of all that is hol y and of goodreport ; and our Benevolent Institution , supporting ouragt-el men and women , the representat ives, to some, of bye-gone chattels who are to be put on the shelf as useless,hut who to noble men and Masons are the remnant of•vhat once was gooel and noble , labours well and trulydone , anel to whom if we be true men we shoul d pay thatrespect and sometimes veneration which is due to the agedwhich is one of those olel lessons in our Eng lish school,which even in School Boarel days wc must read again. Ifeel , there fore , that in proposing to you the toast of " ThcMasonic Charities " I am not proposing a formal toast,but a good toast, and one which you will all drink withthc zeal which becomes Masons , and thc intelli gencewhich is the characteristic of eilucated men . I have neverdone much myself on behalf of our Masonic Charities ;but I need not remind you how heartily, and thoroug h])-,and liberally they are supported by the great body of ourbrethren. The magnificent collections at our festivalsspeak trumpet -tongued , anel therefore it would be sur-plusage if I were to attempt to paint the lily in regard tcthe support which they receive. But I am bound as anhonest man and Mason to say that our Masonic Charities ,like all human institutions , arc neither infallible nor per-fect, and that there is scope, and great scope, for reformin the mode of election to the chanties. (Cries of" Question , Question.") It is the question cf thc day,and must come forward. Honesty is the primeattribute of Englishmen. I never hunted forpopulari ty, and never will do so; and I havethat trust and confiilence in my brethren , whetherEnglishmen , whether Christians or Jews, or whatever theirprofession may be, that I feel that honesty is paramountand stands above all other attributes. (Renewed cries of" Question.") It is the question , I am ri ghtly remindedby my brother—the question of the day, and it is thequestion which must come to the front , and I will be theone that will bc ready to sacrifice my popularity on lhatquestion. I say that there is jobbery (cries of no, no,) inregard to all charities in England ; and therefore 1 holdthat our brethren will do well to take" stock with regard tothe manner in which candidates arc elected to our Masoniccharities. 1 say it quietl y, dispassionatel y and deliberatel y,and I am quite sure that investi gation into the differentclaims of candidates forms one of the first necessities ofour charities being properl y worked ; anel secondl y, thatthe more we carry our charities out of the happy-go-luck yand hap hazard system into thc intelli gent and deservingcategory the better it will be. Now, brethren , I do notwish for a moment to throw any cold water on the chari-ties. I air. thoroughly disinterested ; but I am bound asa Mason and an Englishman to speak what I feel ; anelwhat I say I believe to bc true. But while I say this , thatour Masonic charities are capable of improvement , (andI hope no man at this table will say thc charities are per-fect and incapable of improvement) , I say it is thebour.dcn duty of every one of us Masons, so far as Godgives us power to do so, compatible with the other claimsupon us, by our voice , our money, our influence , to makethem perfect. Many and many a time have I wished Iwas a rich man to support those charities more than I do;but this I will say, 1 have done what I recommend thebrethren all to elo, young anil olel, to visit the charities tosec thc fruits of the labour of our Sectetaries , and oursubscribers , and of the great men who have helped on ourcharities. Notwithstanding thc imperfections whichmust attach to them , as to every other charity,we should be reaely to come forwarel to hel pthose charities , and where there is an oppor-tunity to support them. Let me just before I sitdown mention a case in a charity I am professionall y con-nected with : A little while ago a dear and excellent col-league died of cancer , leaving a wielow a share of £(ioo.The interest of that was all the poor widow had to liveupon , and we were anxious to get the child into theClergy Orphan School . The widow hael to go to thc ex-pense of £\ I os. Od. to print cards. 1 protestcil against it ,and 1 am happy to say that this morning we have by per-severance got one great leading member of the com-mittee to give his liat against that hoiriblc waste oimoney,\vhich could benefit onl y the printer. It is the abom-inable system , and I elenounce here as a disgraceful waste,for it is either something or nothing. If the cards arc ofno use, wh y then it is waste to have them ; if they are ofuse, then the persons who can put them forth by thethousauds, and others by the tens or hundreds , there is aninequality, and the poorest suffer and go to the wall. Bro,Simpson concluded by asking the brethren to join himheartily in elrinkiug the toast of " The Masonic Institu-tions."

Bro. Binckes in reply, said that nothing ever gave himgreater pride , pleasure , or gratification than to have hisname associated with this toast. He knew what the In-stitutions were now , anil what they had been years ago.Many of the brethren equall y knew what they were ,thc most sanguine among them a few years ago,never could have antici pated thc success that now attciuleelthc Institutions. A few years ago thc number of childrenthe school supported could almost bc counted on the fin-gers. Now they supported more than 300 children , andvery shortl y there would be more than 200 boys in theBoys' School. Thc Secretaries were most deep ly gratefulfor the enormous support rendered to those Institutions,and he for one was proud that for the last 25 years of

his life he had spent his time (he would not go into thcquestion of paiel or unpaie ))in thc support of those institutions .He saiel it without fear of contradiction , that contrastthose institutions , and their annual expenditure ,as thc brethren might with other Institutions , theywould not find any more honestl y or faithfull y adminis-tered than the Masonic Institutions. As we said in one oiour ceremonies whatever you choose to contribute shall begiatefull y received and faithfull y app lied , and we mightsay so it was with these institution' . He rose to respondthat evening under perhaps greater circumstances ofdifficulty than ever he eli el during the last 25 years. Heknew Bro. Simpson 's feelings aael notions about thesecharitable matters ; but he (Bro. Binckesi eliel place it be-fore the brethren (and the breth ren should either deny orendorse what he said) that anything more unjustifiablethan the opportunity taken by Bro. Simpson of introducinga question of charitable aelministration at a Masonicmeeting like that could not have been imagined. It wasnot fair. We might all have our opinions as to howcharities should be aelministered , as to how childrenshould bc educited , but these questions should come be-fore the Quarterl y Courts , and net bc introduced atMasonic Lodges, where the brethren met for the singlepurpose of the Craft , and not for the discussion of questionswhich might lead to divergence of opinion and perhapsto feelings far stronger than was desirable among brethren .He did not think it ri ght , anil he vvas speaking there111 the presence of distinguished members of thc Order,and he said it with his impulsive feelings , but he neverfor one instant had alloweel himself to ventilate thisquestion in a private Masonic Lodge. He hail beenappointed as one of a deputation to wai t on the PrimeMinister of this country, anil had stated his views on thcsubject there, and he would state them at the Quarterl yCourt ; but he would say, in Heaven 's namedo not let us have these iliffcrences of opinion broug ht intoprivate Masonic meetings. A greater mistake vvas nevermade than for Bro. Simpson to introduce this question toa Masonic meeting of how the boys and girls shoulel beelecteel to the schools, or thc old p.-ople to the BenevolentInstitution. Why vvas he (Bro. Binckes) there as thehonoured guest invited by thc lud ge. He felt the compli-ment very hi ghly anil appreciated it most sincerely. Donot let them think him egotistic when he saiel he expectedhis name woulel be coupled with this toast. He wasproud to say the Institution ; had had a most successful yearin 1877. Over£4 2,000 had been contributed to them , andhe believed that in the current year, spite again of com-mercial depression they weulel exceed what they hael donein the past. He was going to be plain—if he was notplain and could not speak his mind he v$as nothing—andhe would say, elo not allow—and he asked the W.M. withall submission and respect—elo not for a moment allowadministrative questions to be discussed over the socialtable. There were the House Committee , where everybrother had the most perftct right of enunciating hisopinions in the most open way. Notice of motion coulelbe given to alter the laws, and on a majority being founelto be in favour of the alteration it woulel bc made. Butwhen .at a Masonic meeting the ton it of "Success to theMasonic Institutions " was proposed , he held that nogreater solecism coulel be introetuced by any body thanto bring forwaid his private opinions on thequestion of administration. If a brother wished'heartily success to the Institutions, he (Bro. Binckes)could tell him how it was to be achieved. Let them givetheir money, let them give their names as Stewards. Allthe Institutions were enjoy ing a large amount of suc-cess. Thc Benevolent Institution had a large amountof funded property ; thc Girl s' School thesame ; but the Boys' School was not so fortu-nate. Questions hael been raised whether they shouldhusbanel their resources. They were both husbandingtheir resources for the future anel taking care of thc present.They had funded £Sooo, and they were going to makeup the number of boy s to 220 or 225. The Duke of Con-naught woulel take the chair at next festival , and when ina few days I emp le Bar would bc a thing of the past, hethought ths Temple Bar Lodge woulel raise a lastingmonument in connection with Freemasonry by sending aSteward to represent it at the next festival of the Boys'School . Without quarrelling with Bro. Simpson on thcquestion of administration , he for one would never surren-der the right of private ju elgment. The most deservingcases should be admitted , anil if he gave his ten , twentyor fifty guineas he woulel exercise his votes as he liked ,and give them to thc case he thought most deserving. Ifpeop le liked to spend £$, J^ IO , or £15 in canvassingcarels, wh y shoulel they be debarred ? He concluded bysaying that he would not leave the room without takingthe name of a brother as a Steward for the Boys' School.

Bro. Binckes afterward s announced that the W.M. hadkindly consented to take the Stewardshi p for the Boys'School .

The other toasts were given , anel thc brethren sepa-rated.

The above lodge was consecrated on Wednesday lastat the Alexandra Palace', by Bro. John Hervey, GrandSecrctaiy, assisted by Bro. Henry Gustavus Buss , Assist.Grand Secretary ; Bros. ill. J. Mc.lntyre and ThomasFenn , as Wardens ; and the Rev. C. W. Arnold , G.C,as Chaplain. Bro. Henry R. Cooper Smith , vvas thc W.Master designate; Bro. Thomas Clarke Tatham, S.W.;and Bro. John Bradley Dyne, J.W.

H.R.H. THE PR I N C E OF W ALES .—A well-executed Crayon Portrait of His Royal Highness thePrince of Wales, with a Biographical Sketch , appeared inlast Saturday 's Whitehall Review.

CONSECRATION OF THE CHOLMELEYLODGE No. 1731.

Another striking cviilence of thc steael y progress ofFreemasonry in the Province of West Lancashire,especially in anel around Liverpool , was furnished onWednesday, the 2nd inst., by the opening and dedicationof a commodious and well constructcel hall for Masonicpurposes , the ceremony attracting the largest and mostinfluential meeting of the Craft seen in Liverpool for along time. The building has been named the Skelmers-dale Masonic Hall (out of compliment to our esteemedDeputy Grand Master and Provincial Grand Master otWest Lancashire), and is situated at the corner of Kirkstall-street anel Westminster-road , Kirkdale, Liverpool , havingbeen erected for thc purpose of giving accommoelation forbrethren at the north-end of the town. The formaldedication of the building to Masonic purposes took placein connection with thc annual installation of the WaltonLodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, No. 10S6,and the ceremony was most impressivel y performed byBros. H. S. Alpass, P.G. Sec, assisted by a large gatheringof P.G. OfPccrs, W.M.'s, P.M.'s, anel prominent membersof other lod ges.

Amongst the brethren connected with thc Walton Loelgepresent were Bros. G. E. Hanmer , W.M. ; f. C. Lunt,P.M. ; John Lunt, P.M., P.P.G.D.C. ; T. P. McArthur , P.M.;J. Ellis , P.M. ; R. Abraham , P.M. ; W. Scphton , P.M. ; G.J. Tovvnscnd , S.W. ; W. Walker , J.W. ; W. Archer , P.M.,Treasurer ; Rev. Dr. Hyde, Secretary ; I. Leece, J.D.; G.Riley , E. Plummer, M. Lansing, W. Blcase, J. J. Mills ,W. Hughes, W. Temple, R. Woodend , A. Rod gers, H.Gill , T. Haslam , R. Beckett , J. Evans, E. Atkinson , H.Spencer, H. Walker , T. Lewis, J. Davies W. Smith , R.Pa rry , G. Marsden , F. S. Halpin , E. H. King,J. Parry, G. Cain , W. Roberts, H. Hughes, J.Griffiths H. Woithmgton , Sec. 1574 ; E. Smith , T.Balsbaw, R. Roberts, W. Copestake, J. Whalley, W.Roberts, anel W. Evans. The long array ofvisitors included the names of Bros. H. S. Al pass, P.G.Secretary ; Dr. S. J. McGcorge, P.G. Reg. ; H. Jackson ,P.G.A.D.C ; J. Wells , P.G.S. ; J. E. Jackson , P.G.S. ; H.Pearson , P.G.S. ; P. Macmulelrow , P.G.S.D. ; W. fyrer,P.G.S. of W.; E. C. Cooper , P.G.S.; J. Skeaf , P.G.O. ; J.R. Ross , S.D. 1289 ; W. Pulford , W.M. 477 ; W. McGau-k-y, 724 ; W. B. Townscnd , S.D. 1211; J. P. Hewitt ,1239 ; E. O. Simpson , P.G.S. ; J. Calvcrlcy, 1211 ; J. B.Sprake , 1211 ; W. Quay le, W.M. 1505 ; J. Armstrong,W.M. 1250 ; T. McWcan , J.W. ' 1035 ; J. W.McWean. S.W. 103; ; J . Smith ," 77 ; C.Stop ford , 14 ; J. Beesley, 823 ; R . H. Webster , 823 ; W.Biadshaw, 673 ; C. Arden , Sec. 135 6; H. Williams , P.M.249 ; J. B. Gill , 1054 ; J. Normanton , 6C 7 ; H. W. Hick-son, J.D. 1713; T. S. Atkinson, J.D. 110S •, j. Cobham,P.M. 24 1 ; R. Seddon , 1035 ; Joseph Wood , Treasurer1094, (Freemason) ; W.Jones, P.M. 220, 1299, 1675 ; G.Fowler, W.M. 155 ; W. Atkinson , 203 ; S. E. Ibbs,' P.M.594, P.P.G. St. B. ; E. T. Gee, 1035 ; A. Willis , W.M.1035 ; J. Croxton , 249 ; J. H. Carter, 1570 ; P. M. Asher,477 ; J. Queen , 673 ; J. D. Thomas, 1289 ; T. Dixon ,477 ; W. Roberts, 1264; G. Lloyd, 477; T. F. Carter, 1G09;T. Hug hes, 216 ; T. Chesvvorth, P.M. 724 ; J. Busfielel,216 ; C. Haswell , 203 ; W. Fish , 1264 ; Fred. I. Pentin ,S.W. 1713 ; A. Hart , S.W. 724 ; S. J. Henochsberg, J.D.1502 ; W. Webster , D. R. Davies , 1264 ; J. K. Moore,431 ; H. Burrows, W.M. 673; W. Curtis , 1035; J. Roberts ,1182 ; W. H. Vevers, '594; J. Davison , 724 ; A. Fitz-simons, 220 ; J. Threlfall , 1035, and others.

The hall is Gothic in style, with ornamental brickwork ,having an Ionic doorway, and has cost about £2000. Itconsists of a lodge room on the seconel floor , with ante-rooms, lavatories , Ax, and a large dining- hall on theground floor , with the necessary offices , cloak-room , &c.The latter room is seventy feet by twenty-eight feet , beingsixteen feet hi gh , and thc lodge room is fi fty-five by twenty-eight feet, with segmental archcel ceiling, which greatlypromotes its acoustic properties. Messrs. R. Wells andCo., the contractors, while observing architectural outlines.have admirably kept in view the requirements of Free-masonry, and the result is that a hall of the finest capacityhas been provided. The building operations were person-ally superintended by Bro. J. Wells, P.G.S., P.M. 680. Astriking novelty in the fitting of the building arc thepneumatic bells and speaking tubes , fitted by Messrs.Homfray and Co. (by their Liverpool agent , Bro. W.Scphton, P.M. 1086), and the communication thu s readilyestablished between the W.M. and the Tyler will bc agreat advantage for Masonic purposes. Messrs. Chappellhad charge of thc brickwork ; Mr. P. Stock executed theplastering ; Bro. W. Griffiths thc painting ; Bro. J. Hayesthe plumbing; Bro. W. Jones the gasfittings ; and Messrs.Walker and Pendleton were entrusted with the heatingapparatus , which seems to be admirable.

There was an attendance of about 150 brethren , andthe influen tial nature of the meeting may be seen by thefact that there were no fewer than thirty-six Past Mas-ters present. After the lodge had been dul y- opened byBro. G. E. Hanmer, W.M., Bro. Alpass , P.G. Sec, tookthe chair, and dedication prayer was offered by Bro. thcRev. Dr. Hy de. Boyce's anthem , " I have built surelyThee an house," was then sung by Bros. C. Haswell , I.Busfield , J. Queen , and T. J. Hug hes, Bro. J. Skeaf ,P.G.O., presiding at the harmoniu m. Bro. II . S. Al pass,as thc Presiding Officer , in dedicaiing the building to Ma-sonry, referred to thc great advantage of having hallsspecially dedicated to the purposes of Masonry, and saidthat in Liverpool there were happ il y only three loel geswhich now met at an hotel. This state of things , as com-pared with lhat which formerl y existed , hael in a greatmeasure secured the success of Masonry in this town andprovince. In West Lancashire there were more subscribingmembers than in any other in the kingdom, and the num-bers continued to increase most steadily. He was certain

OPENING OF A NEW MASONIC HALLIN LIVERPOOL.

that it was thc wish of thc mieldlc class, from which thcranks of Freemasonry were largely recruited , that theirOrder should be as much as possible disassociated fromhotels, and in consequence of that lee-ling this beneficialchange had taken place with such excellent results fo" thcCraft. hi the exercise of temperance', Masons of thepresent day were in advance of the age, and their chari-ties bad been highly assisted by thc removal of lod ges fromhotels. In conclusion , Bro. Al pass expressed his sense ofthe honour conferred on him in being asked to perform theceremony that day ; and he hoped the Walton Lodge,which now numbered over ioo members, would continueto prosper.

Bros. Hanmer, the retiring W.M.; and Archer , P.M.,thenpreset ted the W.M. cle'ct, Bro. G. J. Townsend , for instal-lation , the ceremony being ably performed by Bro. Alpass,p.G. Sec, the remainder of the work , after the Board ofInstalleel Masters—orations and charges—being most im-pressively delivered by Bro. John Lunt , P.M. loSfi ,P.P.G.D.C A cordial vote of thanks vvas ordered to berecorelcd on the minutes to both these officiating brethren.

The officers were appointed and invested as follows :—Bros. G. E. Hanmer , I.P.M. ; W. Walker, S.W.; Rev.Dr. Hvde , J.W. ; W. Archer , P.M., Treasurer ; J. Leccc ,Sec; Casey, S D.; Riley, J.D. ; R . Beckett , I.G. ; f. Lunt ,P.M., P.P.G.D.C, D.C; II . Gill , S.S. ; and J. S. Tcm-pleton, J.S- About too of the brethren subsequentl ydined in thc large hall , the b inquet being most satisfac-torily served by Pro. Casey. During the evening a valu-able P.M.'s jewel v> as presented to Bro. Hanmer, I.P.M.,in recognition of his valuable services to the lod ge. Acapital musical programme vvas given by Bros. Hug hes,Busfield , Haswell , Queen (with Bro. Skeat as acorn -panist) ; and Bro. H. Gill , S.S., again elelighted the aueli-ence by his most delightful performance ein the fairy bells.The menu card and toast list were marvels i f Shake-spcrian gems, anil the " toasting " was cordial , pointed ,and enthusiastic.

fibicfos ." Freemasonry : Its Two Great Doctrine0, the Existence

of God , and a Future State," by Bro. CI I A L M E II S I.PATON . Reeves ami Turner, 196, Strand, Lonelon.

Important , most important , as the subject is, which hasthus been most a'el y treated by our Bro. ChalmersI. Paton, we should not be honest reviewers if we diel notcommence our remarks with one or two notes of Masonicreserve. What we mean and wish to say is this. Wethink that , in all such important discussions, we shouldbe most precise in stating, most careful in lay ing down ,the outlines of our argument , the facts of the case, anelthat we should never either start with a "petilio prin-cipii" or put forward as the basis of our thesis what issomewhat in excess of the actual facts of thecase, ror such consciou-i and unconscious exag-geration always reacts not only upon itself hutupon the combatants. It renders the battlemore arduous to fi ght , the v ictory more difficult to win.It provokes retorts and replications, ami as it must beactually eltfended , leaves yourself and your allies often atthe mercy of the common enemy. We say this, becausewe fear that those opponents whom Bro. Paton seeks toconvince and confute, may fairl y ask fur a proof of his state-ment , in the first instance, that belief in the two great andneedful truths he seeks to strengthen and to up hol d, hasbeen declared indispensabl y requisite on the part of everyFreemason, and without profession of which no canelidateis ever admitted into the Order. And here consists ourelifliculty. Weare not aware e.f any such declaration , and aswe cannot be too particular in such assertions, we think itwell to guard ourselves fro m assenting, as a matter offact , to them. Strictl y speaking, the only pre-requi-dtcdeclaration required from candidates by our B- ok of Con-stitutions , our " Lex Sciipta ," is the one given at page85, .iiiel no mention of relig ious belief occurs in it.

But by the " Lex insrripta " of Freemasonry, its commonlaw, vv-c act as a rule on the charges and ritual as well.The charges declare that " A Mason is obliged by his tenureto obey the Moral Law, and if he ri ghtl y understands theArt , he will never he a stup iel nthei»t , nor an irreli giouslibertine ." Whatever thc exact force of these words maybe, they have always beer, held to excluele atheists andlibertines from Freemasonry.

Beyond this , we are aware of no official declaration onthe subject , but though we say this, because we deem itbest, in the interest of all , that we should not expanel orexaggerate the fact beyond what it will fairly prove, we dcnot disagree with Bro. Paton , except in form of expression.In spirit and substance we are full y in accord with him.That is to say, we hold with him that in our Ritualthc immortality of the soul is distinctl y taught ,and that as we accept the Bible. "The Volume of theSacred Law," anel are bid to " consider it the uneiringstandard of truth and justice ," and to " regulate ouractions by the divine precepts it contains," we accept themoral law of God and the revelation of God with all theirsolemn and personal responsibilities for ourselves in everyscene, every circum.-lance of life.. The difference , then , between Bro. Paton and us consistsin this We acc-pt thc two great truths which he upholdsso firm ly, as tau g ht us partl y by our charges and cere-monial , but we cannot quite concur in his dictum thatthe admission of belief in God and thc immortal i ty olthe soul are officiall y kid down as pre-requisitc conditionsfor imtiaton. Practicall y they arc taug ht , but theyarc not

^officiall y laid down as pre-repuisite. This is not "a

oistinction without a difference ," but it is a very importantdistinction and difference. For were we to assent to Bro.M °n'S statement as a fact > officiall y in respect of Englishmasons, we should not be correct. And if we cannot do so wcthink it better not to weaken our true position, by statingthat which is doubtful and debatable.

Acctually, there is no great difference of opinion betweenBro. Paton and us, as the happy and distinct teaching ofEnglish Freemasonry, as a fact , is to impart to all itsmembers a distinct assertion of these great truths. Butwe arc sticklers for accurate: terminology, and matter offact statement just now , noting often how much harm iselone by loose assertions and untenable arguments. If Bro.Paton will permit us to say so, we think his own pos:Uonwould be strengthened, and the value of his work in-creased ,were he to recognize thc difference vvchave soug htto point out , namely, that while Freemasonry having by-its common law, its immemorial usage, proclaimed beliefin God , it is also inculcates in its ritual acceptance of theereat truth of the immortality of the soul. Indeed , thcteaching of Freemasonry in these respects may be consideredmost expressive anel direct.

Wc think Bro. Paton's work valuable in this, that itserves to point out what is, to those who study its"aporreta ," the admitteel teaching of Freeiwasomy. Wcare inclined to hope that his undoubtedl y clear and con-nected argument in respect e,f the truth of the DivineExistence and a Divine Revelation is needless, happ ily forFreemasons. We do not hclievc lhat ice have reall y andtrul y a sing le unbeliever amongst its. At least if he be SJhe has no business to remain in our Order , whichequall y rejects stup id atheism and polished unbelief.

At the same time there is unfortunatel y a good deal ofscepticism and mateeial infidel i ty and independentmorality afloat in society just now, and weconwnend Bro. Paton's lucid arrangement of the argu-ment to all non-believers in God and in Revelation. If notaltogether novel in for m anel substance, if these whohave carefully studied " the evidences may be reminded ofolder writers and familiar position-', we yet think the workone of much meritorious compilation.

Wc trust that our words will not be misunderstood ; wehave lived so long that wc are full y aware of the courseand consequences of ail such discussions as these. Havingstuelied the matter carefull y ourselves, thoug h we have nodoubt of the ultimate issue of the strugg le, that truthwill master error, that God's kingdom will prevail amongmen ,we yet think it always best to give no vantage ground ,to lend no unhappy weapon by any weakness or defect inour argument to our watchful and restless foe.

No doubt the position of the controversy just now , asbetween the impugners of Revelation and the defenders , isone of some little anxiety ; bat we never for one momentlose our faith or trust in that vindication of His owneternal wisdom , and goodness, ard power, and truth , whichT.G.A.O T.U., in His own good time, will make manifestto all.

We thank Bro. Paton for a very readable book , and weshall hope to hear that it is largely patronised by thcCraft.

•' Piaclicc of the Supreme Court of Judicature and of theHouse of Lords on A ppeal " by Lococi; WEIIII , Esq.Q.C., Buliervvoi til's, 7, Fleet street

Bro. Locock Webb is well known to our Order as onewho has eloi.e the Cr ,ft good service, and as an aide andleading Q.C, at the Chancery Bar.

The remembrance of his Masonic career , predisposes usto regard his name with favour, while his merits as alawyer would faidy claim due regard and rcspcci. Butwell known as he is, and few more hard working mem-bers ol a great profession exist, and much esteemed as he is,he is now before us in a new character. No longer in for-ensic wig and gown , he has, as Sergeant Siiubbin saidin Pickwick , the " car of the court ," but appeals boldly onIns own merits, as an author in the great public thoroug h-fare of literature. And though his work be technical , nodoubt , and special , it has many claims to perusal anilattention , and wc can hontstly pronounce it to be a greatsuccess. We have reason to believe that the work , as a" vade mccum ," on the subject 011 which it treats, is re-garded with unan imous approval by those distinguishedmen who adorn the judicial bench of this country, whilein his own profession there is but one opinion as to itsmerit , importance and value.

We note that some of our legal contemporaries havespoken in high terms of praise of the labours of our dis-tinguished brother, and we th ink that their commenda-tions are most ful l y justified. The " Law ExaminationJournal" says—" This work is the mest exhaustive thathas yet appeared on the new procedure." The " J usticc ofthe Peace," observes :—"We think this a most us t fu landseasonable volume to all who are actively enga ged inpresent litigation , and in the practice of the High Courtof Justice, not omitting the two Courts of Appeal." The" Law Times," points out.that "This is a work of.undoubtedmint, and is in every way superior to the books of prac-tice under the Judicature Acts already published. . . .We congratulate Mr. Webb on the fact that he has notadopted the role of a bookmaker. With the aid ofseveral competcnt assistants, h e g ivi s to the profession apith y treatise on Jurisdiction , Law, and Procedure. Someof what may be called the brief essays on the differentheads embraced , are moelrls of concise statement. . . .This volume must prove a most welcome addition to thelibrary of thc judge and the practitioner. "

No one can peruse its pages without feeling stronglywhat an amount of carefui thou g ht and consider-ation , of study and research, must have ban exercisedby Bro. Loccck Webb, in order to enable him to write, socleat lv , so fnil y, and so well. This ve ry valuable "Hand-book " is composed of six books , which are as follows .—Book I.—Constitution and Jud ges of the Supreme Court

—Jurisdiction anil Law—Sittings anel Distribution ofBusiness—Trial and Procedure—Officers and Offices—Jurisdiction of Inferior Courts—Fees and Pcr-centages—Unclaimed Dividends.

Book II.—Rules of Court—Rules and Orders relating toCosts—Court Fees—Pcr-centages and Stamps

Book III.—Statutory Jurisdiction as to (inter alia) Ad-ministration—-Arbitration—Charitable Trusts—Confirm-ation of Sales—Copy holds—Declaration of Title—Im-provement of Land—Infants ' Custody—Settlements——Inclosurc—Land Clauses Consolidation Act— LandReg istry—Leases and Sales of Settled Estates—LifeAssurance—Liquidations—Lord Mayor's Court—Mar-ried Women 's Property—Merchant Shipp ing—Partition—Patents—Perpetuation of Testimony—Petitions ofRi ght—Property Law Amendment—Railways—Rectifi-cation of Register—Rivers Pollution Prevention—Solicitors—Special Case—Trade Marks—Winding up—Vendors and Purchasers.

Book IV.—Bankrup tcy—County Palatine of Lancaster andihe Stannaries.

Book V.—A ppellate Jurisdiction of the House of Lords andStanding Orelcrs.

Book VI. (A ppendix) comprises Forms—Schedule ofCosts—Oreler as to District Registrars—Schedule ofCourt Fees—Rules as to Solicitors—Fees of OfficialRefe rees—Stamps—Forms cf Jud gement by Default inthe Chancery Division—Rules lelating to Proceedingsfesv Divorce ami other Matrimonial Causes—Trustee

. Relief Acts—Bankers' Book Evidence Act—The WinterAssizes Act and Orders in Council thereunder—Pro-visioi s of Regulations of Railway Act , 18715, relatingto Cases from the Railway Commissioners—Forms andMethod cf Proced u re on A ppeal to the House of Lords—Lord Cairn 's Chancery Amendment Act , iS^S , andSir John Rolfs Chancery Amendment Act. 1862.We have before observed that we think these words of

praise are full y borne rut by the book itself , which can bcprofitabl y studied by all , even non-professionals , who wishto understand the present position and practice of the HighCourt of Judicature anil the other branches of legal juris-diction and machinery. We especiall y commend thatpeirtion of the work which relates to the House of Lords asdisplay ing alike archaiologicil researches well aslegal pre-cision , and we can assert that the work is not only mostclear in its statement of facts, and is never elry, but onthe contrary is very readable. It is in fact a work muchneeded by thc profession , anil most useful for daily hand yreference in chambers, and in solicitors' offices , and as alarge contingent of the legal profession , whether as bar-risters or solicitors , belongs to our Oreler, wc think itwell to press upon their noii;e this useful and compen-elious work. The changes which have come alike uponthe constitution and practice of our Jaw courts are manyand great , and we feel that both the public and the pro-fession are greatly indebted to Bro. Locock Webb for histimel y work , of which we see he speaks very modestly,but which is, we know , hi ghly valued by allwho consult its " dicta ," or stuely its pages.In thus mentioning its seasonable appearanceand prevailing merits , with a grateful and admiring ap-preciation of its undoubted importance and authoritywe wish also to say that we hope this is not the lasttime we shall hail Bro. Webb as well in the guild ofLiterature as in our good old Masonic Order. Thereare many other subjects interesting to the public whichwe think lie might well elucidate anel illustrate with hisfacile pen and clear statement , and we shall always bepleased to record his new triump hs in the field of ourgreat expanse of literary warts, as in that profession ofwhich he has been so long a leaeling member , especially111 his own branch. We feel sure that all our brethrenwhose professional enga gements or lega l tastes inducethem to study Bto. Locock Webb's practical work will beg lad to find for themselves not only how- very readablethc hook reall y is , as we said befoie , but how great is itsintrinsic value , as a correct : xposition of those princi plesand that practice which are so important , whether forbarristers or solicitors , carefully to master anil clearlyto comprehend. Thc book is destined to be a success.

1 he Cure of Cata ract anel other Eye-Affertions," By Bro.J AIILZ H UGO ; Bailliere, Tindal & Co., ejo , KingWilliam-street , W.

Our well known brother Jabez Hogg, whose services inthe Royal Westminster Opthalmic Hospital are widelyappreciated , has published a very useful anel interestingwork on this, always to us, affecting subject. There isperhaps hardly any form of human suffering which si?appeals to our inntr sympathies as deprivation of sigh'.Happ ily, of late years, much has been done to improve ;the condition of the blind , especially mental ly and 'may allude here, "en passant " to Dr. Moon's praise ,worthy efforts for many years in this most needful and im-portant direction.

Bio. Jabcz Hog g comes before us with a little workclearly written , and admirably illustrated , which may bewell pcruseel not only by those who make opthalmic affec-tions their study, but those who like to see ami to realizewhat the curaiiv-c skill of a great profession can do Malleviate the many and constant sufferings of humanity.At the same time, strictl y speaking, the w.irkis more pro-perl y adapteel to professional readers, and we have no doubtthat it will be trul y welcomed by all to whom the diseasesof the eye are a constant source of anxious experimenta happy treatment and skilful cure-. Wc have a largenumber of that most valuable body of citizens , " Sur-geons ," amongst our f r iendl y readers , and we arc gladto call their fj eeci.-il attention to Bro. Hogg's importantwork .

At the meeting of thi 'S Eton ion Lod ge, No.209, he-id at Wiiidsi.r on Saturday, besides the Ferns,Palms, I lowers etc., several novelties in device for flowerswere placed on the table, consisting of Square-, Level , anelPlumb-iule , Square and Compasses , and five pointed Star,these being placed opposite the respective efficers. Weneed hardly mention that the decorations, which were sup-plied by Bro. Dick Radclyffe and Co. were much admired .

©Mtuarjr ,BRO. J. SUTCLIFFE.

Our readers will have learnt with regret of the death ofour much esteemed Bro. John Sutcliffe, as recorded in theFreemason of December 29th. The following particularsof his Masonic career (which reached us too late for in-sertion last week) will doubtless be read with much in-terest.

Bro. Sutcliffe was made a Mason , we believe, at Heck-mondivikc; he was also a member of thc Lodge of Harmony,Bradford , and was a subscribing member to that lodge formar.y years. At West Hartlepool he took a prominentpart in the direction of the Harbour of Refuge Lodge, ofwhich he was the first W.M. He served the office ofP.G.J.D. for Durham. He became a member of thePelham Pillar Lodge, and was one of the founders of theSt. Alban's Lodge, of which also he was first Master. Hetook the office of P.G.S.W. for Lincolnshire, was afterwards,as a member of the Remigius Mark Lodge, Lincoln , madeP.G.M.M. for Lincolnshire. He was subsequently maeleP.G.M. for Lancashire and Cheshire, for the Royal Orderof Scotland. He took the Knights Templar Degree inHull , and the Rose Croix in Sheffield. He was a'so amember of the Oliver Chapter of Royal Arch Masons atGrimsby. He continued to subscribe to the whole of theseLodges and Orders to the last. His death is a very greatloss to the Masons of Lincolnshire, as he entered into thcbusiness of Masonry with much spirit and method. Hemade all arrangements himself, to the minutest details,previous to the meetings, more particularly those of theProvincial Grand Mark Lodge.

BRO. W. DOYLE.It is with much regret we have to announce the some-

what sudden death last Saturday, of Bro. Wm. Doyle,P.P.G.J.D., at his residence in Mount Pleasant , Liverpool.Our brother was well known and highly respected , and anextended notice of his Masonic career and largely attendedfuneral last Tuesday, will appear in our next issue.

BRO. W. H. WRIGHT.It is our melancholy duty to rccorel the death of W. H

Wright, Esq., J.P. of Bolton and Southport, which tookplace on the 2nd inst., at his residence, Duke St., South port ,in the 64th year of his age. More than eighteen monthsago he became enfeebled in health and removed fromBolton to South port , where he remained up to his death ,his last visit to Bolton being about eleven months ago.Suffering from a painful internal complaint , he has beenconstantly attended by Dr. Heath , of Southport , but hisconstitution gradually broke up and he succumbed athalf-past three o'clock on the 2nd. inst.

The late Bro. Wright was initiated into Masonry in thcAnchor and Hope Lodge, No 37 (then No. 44) Bolton , inJune, 1850, anel after serving the various subordinateoffices in the lodge was installed W.M. of the lod ge in1858, and in June , 1862, he vvas appointed ProvincialJunior Grand Warden of East Lancashire. Bro. Wrightwas exalted to the degree of Holy Royal Arch , and inthe same year was installed as a Kni ght Templar inthe St James's of Jerusalem Encampment in Bolton , andin this Order the deceased was perhaps more universallyknown and esteemed for his labours than any otherKnight in the Province of Lancashire. He soon obtainedthe position of Eminent Commander of his Prcctptory andfilled the office of Provincial Grand Chancellor for severalyears anel on the 14th Nov., 18G7, he vvas appointed DeputyProvincial Grand Commander. Throug h the failinghealth of Bro. A. H. Royds, Provincial Grand Commander,Sir Kni ght Wright was frequently called upon to representthe province at the meetings oi Grand Conclave, where hisface vvas exceedingly familiar , and where he was ashi ghl y respected as he was known. For many years heattended the Grand Master 's Council , and was a member ofthc Ritual Commission. In 1873, on thc installation ofH. R H. the Prince of Wales as Grand Master of the Orderof the Temple, Sir Knight Wright was promoted to therank of Knight Commander of thc Older , for the eminentservices renelered by him. He was also Registrar of theUnited Prcccptory at Manchester for a gieat number ofyears.

He was also a member of thc Palatine Rose CroixChapter, at Manchester, and one of the promoters of theSt. George's Rose Croix Chapter, at Bolton. Indeed , itmay truly be said that during a great portion of the lateBro. Wright's Masonic career, and until failing healthcompelled him to relinquish the bulk of his Masonic en-gagements, no brother so zealous or more universall y es-teemed could be found in thc province, and his loss willbe lamented by a large circle of friends and brethren.

On the same evening that the Twelfth Night Entertain-ment was given at tlie Girls' School , Battersea Rise , anentertainment was likewise given to the Boys at theirSchool at Wood Green. Mr. Brid gemau Smith , who hason former occasions affordeel much amusement bya elisplayof his inimitable dissolving views, again entertained theboys with the same work of art , representing this time thevarious scenes in the tour of His Royal Hi ghness thePrince of Wales in India. Mr . Brid gman Smith's dissol-ving views are so well known that it is unnecessary to givea descri ption of them , further than to say that they werehighl y appreciated , and with some chromatropes andcomic views afforded great amusement to the boys andthc company assembled , among whom were the Rev. Dr.Morris and family, thc Misses Binckes, and Miss Pullen.

ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FORBOYS.

METROPOLITAN MASONIC MEETINGSFor the Week ending Friday, January, 18, 187S.

SATURDAY , JANUARY 12.Quart. Gen. Court , Girls' School , at 12.Lodge 10S, London , Ship and Turtle, Leadenhall-st.

„ 17C , Caveac, Albion Tav., Alelcrsgate-st.„ 1328 , Granite, F.M.H.„ 1361, United Service, Grey hound Hot., Richmond.„ 1426 , The Great City, Cannon-st. Hot.

Chap. 1293, Burdett, Mitre Hot., Hampton Court.LODGES OF INSTHUCTION.

Lily, Greyhound , Richmond.Manchester, 77, London-st., Fitzroy-sq.Star, Marquis of Granby, New Cross-rd .Eccleston , Grosvcnor Club , Ebury-square, S.W.Percy , 113, Southg-ate-road , N.

MONDAY, JANUARY 14.Quart . Gen. Court, Boys' School , at 12 (See advt.)Loetge 5, St. George's and Corner Stone, F.M.H.

„ 29, St. Alban's, Albion Tav., Aldersgate-st ,„ eg, Royal Naval , F.M.H.,, 90, St. John's Albion Tav., Aldersgate-st.„ 193, Confidence, Anderton's Hot., Flect-st,, 1366, Highgatc, Gatehouse Hot., Highgate.

Chap. 22 , Mount Skn, Guildhall Tav., Gresham-st„ 1118, University, F.M.H.

R.C. Con., 2, Plantagenet, Regent M.H., W.LODGES OF INSTRUCTION .

Prince Leopold, Lord Stanley Tav., Kingsland.Strong Man, Old Rodney's Head, Old-st., E.Sincerity, Railway Tav., Fenchurch-st. Station.Camden, Stanhope Arms, Up. James-st., Camden Town.Tredegar, Royal Hot., Mile-end-road .St. James's Union, Union Tav., Air-st.Wellington , White Swan, Deptford.Perfect Ashlar, Victoria Tav., Lower-rel., Rotherhithe.Upper Norwood , White Hart Hot., Church-rd.Marquis of Ripon , Pembury Tav., Amherst-rd., Hackney.Loughborough, Wa rrior Hot., Brixton.West Smithfield , New Market Hot., West Smithfield.Leopold , Woolpack Tavern, Bermondscy-st.St. George's, Globe Tav., Greenwich.London Masonic Club, at 101, Queen Victoria-st. E.C,

2nd and 4th Monday every month, at 6 o'clock.TUESDAY, JANUARY , 15.

Board of Gen. Purposes, at 4.Lodge 30, United Mariners', Guildhall Tav.

„ 73, Mount Lcoanon , Brid. IIou. Ho., London-bd g.„ 95, Eastern Star, Shi p and Turtle, Leailenhall-st.„ 162 , Cadogan , F.M.H.„ 105, Honour and Generosity.„ 194, St. Paul's, Cannon-st. Hot.» 435i Salisbury, F.M.H.„ 704, Camden , Bull and Gate, Kentish Town.

Chap. 46, Old Union , Albion Tav., Aldersgate-st.„ 890, Hornsey, Anelerton's Hot., Fleet-st.

LODGES OF IN S T R U C T I O N .Metropolitan, 269, Pentonville-rd.Yarborough, Green Dragon , Stepney.Domatic, Surrey M.H., Camberwell New-road.Faith , 2, Westminster Chambers, Victoria-st.Prince Fredk. Wm., Lord's Hot., St. John's Wood.Dalhousie, King Edward , Triangle, Hackney.Prosperity, Hercules Tav., Leadenhall-st. tFlorence Nightingale, F.M.H., William-st., Woolwich.Constitutional , Bedford Hot., Southampton Bdgs., at 7.Israel , Rising Sun Tav., Globe Road.Royal Arthur, Prince's Head, York-road , Battersea.Beacontrec, Red Lion, Leytonstone.Excelsior, Commercial Dock Tav., Rotherhithe.St. John of Wapping, Gun Hot., High-st., Wapp ing.Islington , 23, Gresham-st.Metropolitan Chapter , Jamaica Coffee Ho., Cornhill.Mount Edgcumbe, 19, Jermyn-st., St. James's.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 16.Gen. Com. Grand Chapter.Lodge Grand Stewards.

„ 17 4, Sincerity, Guildhall Tav., Gresham-st.„ 190, Oak, F.M.H.„ G19, Bcadon , Grey hound Tav., Dulwieh.„ 700, Nelson , M.H., William-st., Woolwich.,, 969, May bury , Inns of Court Hot., Lincoln's-inn.„ 1044, Wandsworth , Spread Eagle, Wandsworth.„ 1340, Friars, Cheshire Cheese, Crutched Friars.„ 1382 , Corinthian , George Inn , Cubitt Town.,, 11507, Metropolitan , Anelerton's Hot., Flect-st.„ 1624, Eccleston , Grosvenor Hall , Ebury-st., S.W.„ 1(173, Langton, 101, Queen Victoria-street.

Chap. 141, Faith , Anderton's Hot., Fleet-st.,, 192 , Lion and Lamb, Cannon-st. Hot.

Maik 144, Grosvcnor, 08, Regent-st. W.„ 1S1, Francis Burdett , Albany Hot. Twickenham."

LODGES OF IN S T H U C T I O N .Confidence , Railway Tav-., Railway-place, Fenchurch-st.Mt. Lebanon , Winelsor Castle Tav., Southwaik-bdg.-rd.Pythagorean, Portland Hotel , Lonelon-strect , Greenwich.New Concord , Rosemary Branch Tav., Hoxton.La Tolerance, Horse and Groom , Winsley-st., Oxford-st.Peckham , Maismore Arms, Park-road , Peckham.Stanhope, Thicket Hot., Anerley.Finsbury Park, Finsbury Park Tav., Seven Sisters'-rdSouthwark, Southwark Park Tav., Southwark ParkDuke of Connaught , Havelock Tav., Dalston, E.United Strength , Grafton Arms , Kentish-town.Whittington , Black Bull Tav., Holborn , at 8.Lewis, King 's Arms Hot., Wood Green.Royal Jubilee , 81, Long Acre.Langthorne, Swan Hot., Stratford.

THURSDAY , JANUARY 17.Lodge 25, Globe, F.M.H.

„ 5J, Constitutional, Inns of Ct.Hot.,Lincoln's-inn.

Lodge 63, St. Mary 's, F.M.H.,, 169, Temperance , White Swan,High-st.,Deptford.„ 179, Manchester, Anderton 's Hot., Flcet-st.„ 181, Universal , F.M.H.„ 813, New Concord, Rosemary Branch , Hoxton.„ 1139, South Norwood , Public Hal l, South Norwood.„ 1278 , Burdett Courts, Approach Tav.,Victoria Park.„ 1287, Great Northern , F.MJH.„ 1365, Clapton , White Hart Tav., Clapton.., 1512, Hemming, Lion Hot., Hampton.„ 1623, West Smithfield, Market Hot., W. Smithfield

Chap. 733, Wcstbourne, Lorel's Hot., St. John 's Wood.Encampt. E., Observance , 14, Bedford-row.

LODGES OF INSTIIUCTION.Onion Waterloo , Chatham Arms, Thomas-st., Woolwich.Egyptian, Hercules Tav., Leadenhall-st.Fidelity, Yorkshire Grey, London-st., W.Finsbury, Jolly Anglers' Tav., Bath'-st., City-road.Temperance in the East , Catherine-st., Poplar,libury, 12, Ponsonhy-st., Milbank.Highgate, Bull and Gate, Kentish-town.The Great City, M.H., Masons' Avenue.High Cross, Coach & Horses, High-road, Tottenham.Salisbury, Union Tav., Air-st., Regent-st.Southern Star, Crown Hot., Blackfriars-rd.Great Northern , Berwick Arms, Berners-st., Oxford-st.Prince Frederick William Chapter, St. John's Wood.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 18.House Com. Boys' School, at 4.Lodge 6, Friendship, Willis's Rooms, St. James's.

„ 143, Middlesex, Alb ion Tav., Aldersgate-st.» 197, Jerusalem, F.M.H.„ 201 , Jordan , F.M.H.„ 1389, St. Dunstan's, Anderton's Hot., Fleet-st.

Encampt. 48, Kemeys Tynte, xx, Golden-sq., W.LODGES OF INSTRUCTION .

Robert Burns, Union Tav., Air-st., Regent-st.Belgrave, Constitution , Bedford-st., Covent Garden.Unions Emulation (for M.M.'s), F.M.H.Temperance, Victoria Tav., Victoria-road, Deptford.Clapton , White Hart, Clapton.Metropolitan , Portugal Hot., Fleet-st, at 7.St. Marylebone, British Stores Tav., St. John's Wood.Westbourne, Lord's Hotel, St. John's Wood.United Pilgrims, Surrey M.H., Camberwell New-road.St. James's, NewTanners'Arms,Grange-rd., Bcrmondsey.Duke of Edinburgh , Silver Lion , Penny-fields, Poplar.Doric, Earl Grey Tav., Mile-end-road.Burgoyne, Grafton Arms, Prince of Wales's-road , N.W.St. Luke's, White Hart , King's-rd., Chelsea.Chigwell, Prince's Hall , 13ucklmrst-hill.Burdett Courts, Approach Tav., Victoria Park.Royal Standard, The Castle, Holloway-rd.Ranelagh, Bell and Anchor, Hammersmith-rd.William Preston , Feathers Tav.,Up.Gcorge-st.,Edgware-rd.Hervey, 99, Fleet-street, at 8.Earl of Carnarvon , Mitre Ho., Goulbomc-rd., Notting-hill.Pythagorean Chapter,Portland Ho., London-st., Greenwich .Sir Hugh Myddelton , 25, King Eelwarel-st., Livcrpool-rd.,N.

ror thc Week ending Saturday, January 19, 1878.

MONDAY, JANUARY 14.Lodge 613, Unity, Palatine Bdgs., South port.

„ 703, Clifton , Clifton Arms, Blackpool.,, 292 , Sincerity, M.H., Liverpool.,, 314, Peace and Unity, Militia Rooms, Preston.„ 721 , Independence, Eastgate-row, Chester.„ 1021 , Hartington, Custom House Bdgs., Barrow.„ 1398, Baldwin , Castle, Dalton-in-Furness.„ 149 6, Trafford , Northumberland Hot., OldTrafford„ 1350, Fe-rmor Hesketh , M.H., Liverpool.

Chap. 14 8, Elias Ashmole, C.R., Warring ton.Derby L. of I., M.H., Liverpool.Reel Cross Instruction , M.H., Liverpool.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 15.Loelge 667, Alliance, M.H., Liverpool .

„ 897, St. Helen's Loyalty, Fleece Inn , St. Helen's.,, 986, Hesketh , Grapes Inn , Croston.„ 1225, Hind pool , Hartington Hot., Barrow.„ 125 6, Fidelity, Bull Hot., Poulton-le-Fylde.„ 127 6, Warren , Stanley Arms, Seacombc.„ 1325, Stanley , M.H., Liverpool.„ 1570 , Piincc Arthur, M.R., N. Hill-st., Liverpool.

Merchants L. of I., M.H., Liverpool.Boolle L. of I., 146, Berry-st., Bootle.

WESg-ESDAY, JANUARY , 15.Lodge 8G, Loyalty, Crown Hot., Prescot.

„ 484, Faith , Gerarel's Arms, Ashton-in-Makerficld.„ 537, Zetland , M.R., Birkenhead.„ £80, Harmony, Wheat Sheaf , Ormskirk.„ 758, EUesmere, M.H., Runcorn.„ 823, Everton , M.H., Liverpool .„ io8f) , Walton , Skelmersdale Hall , Kirkdale.„ '345, Victoria , Cross Keys Hot., Eccles.„ 1353. Duke of Lancaster, Athenaeum, Lancaster.

Chap. 580, Unity, Wheat Sheaf , Ormskirk.De Grey and Ripon L. of I., M.R., N. Hill-st., L'pool.Downshire Lodge, M.H., Liverpool .Dovvnshire, do., M.H., Liverpool.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 17.Lodge 203, Ancient Union , M.H., Liverpool .

11 3+3> Concord , Militia Rooms, Preston .„ 425, Cestriau , Eastgate-row, Chester.„ 605, Combermcre, Seacombc Hot., Seacombc„ 950, Hesketh , Royal Hot., Fleetwood.

Chap. 249, Mariners, M.H., Liverpool.„ 1032 , Townley Parker , Howard's Arms, Whittle.„ 1070, Starkie, Black Horse Hot., Kirkham.„ 1299, Pembroke, Rawlinson's Hot., W. Derby, j

MASONIC MEETINGS IN WEST LANCASHIRE ANDCHESHIRE.