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Article OUR ROLL OF LODGES AND CHAPTERS. Page 1 of 2 Article OUR ROLL OF LODGES AND CHAPTERS. Page 1 of 2 →
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Our Roll Of Lodges And Chapters.
OUR ROLL OF LODGES AND CHAPTERS .
IT will have been seen from the Agenda Paper which appeared in our columns last week , that the newest of the Lodges holding under onr United Grand Lodge is numbered 1886 , and it is just possible that in the six weeks between the date on which the last return of new
Lodges was made up , and the end of the year the roll of Grand Lodge will have reached to No . 1890 . This , however , —assuming our anticipation proves correct—will b y no means represent accurately the number of Lodges in full working order which yield a willing obedience to our
Grand Lodge . A glance through the list in the new Freemasons' Calendar will show there are some 130 Lodges which , since the last closing up in 1863 , have been erased or have dropped from the Roll , either because they have transferred their allegiance to a newly erected Grand
Lodge , as that of Quebec , or from some other cause . Hence we may take it there are , in fact , some 1760 Lodges , of which about 300 are held in the Metropolitan district , some 1 , 000 in the Provinces , and the remaining 460 in districts abroad or as Military Lodges . If we allow an
average of sixty members per Lodge—which , by those who have looked into the returns for different Provinces and Districts and the Metropolis , will be recognised as a liberal allowance—we have a total subscribing membership in the Grand Lodge of England of over 105 , 000 .
We have , in more than one previous article , dealt with figures in connection with this subject , but figures are always useful , and we do not know that we can do better than select the present occasion for submitting a fresh , but consistent , variation on the original theme of the condition
of Freemasonry in this country . Premising that the numbers we are about to give are not exact , but approximately so , it is , for instance , interesting to know there are 330 Lodges still in existence , whose Constitution dates from before the Union of Ancients and Moderns . Only six
Lodges anterior to this epoch have dropped or been erased from the Roll , since 1863 . There are remaining 140 Lodges warranted by H . R . H . the Duke of Sussex during his Grand Mastership of the United Grand Lodge of England from 1814 to 1843 . Twelve have lapsed since 1863 , while .
doubtless , many other Lodges established both before and after the Union , have been struck off , especially in connection with the establishment of the Grand Lodge of Canada , to say nothing of those which passed
from the Roll in 1832 . Of the Lodges warranted during the Grand Mastership of the late Earl of Zetland , there are still some 750 in working order . Apart from those which lapsed in 1863 , there are one hundred which
have passed to other jurisdictions , or are in abeyance or dead since that year . About 180 Lodges were constituted during the period of the Marquess of Ripon ' s Grand Mastership , which may be reckoned to have lasted four years .
Seven of these at this present moment are somewhere else than on the Roll of Grand Lodge of England . Taking the Grand Mastership of the Prince of Wales as having endured during the six years 1875-80 , both inclusive , we find that 360 new Lodges have been added to the list . The highest number for 1875 is 1528 , the lowest for 1880 at
Wednesday ' s Communication of Grand Lodge was 1886 , the exact number constituted therefore during- that period being 359 . We liave it on the authority of His Royal Hi ghness that latterly the average annual number of certificates granted to new members of our Society has been 10 , 000 .
Our Roll Of Lodges And Chapters.
This , of course , represents au amazing increase to the strength of the Craft in this country , though to estimate the full value of our position , we should likewise be informed of the average annual retirements from active membership . It is also noteworthy that with the Masters ,
Wardens , and an average allowance per Lodge of three Past Masters for those 360 Lodges , the representatives in Grand Lodge havo been increased by some 2200 If we proceed further with our analysis in respect of these 359 Lodges , it will be found that of the sixty-six
constituted in 1875 , there were fifteen which were added to the strength of the Metropolis , with thirty-seven new Provincial Lodges and fourteen new Lodges in Districts . In 1876 , sixty-nine new Lodges were warranted , namely , twentyfive Metropolitan , twenty-eight Provincial , and sixteen Districts Abroad . In 1877 the number still further
increased to seventy-three , of which twenty-six were Metropolitan , twenty-three Provincial , and twenty-four Foreign . In 1878 , of sixty-five new Warrants granted , eleven were for the Metropolis , thirty-three for the Provinces , and
twenty-one for Abroad . Fifty-three were constituted in 1879 , namely , eleven Metropolitan , twenty-one Provincial , and twenty-one Abroad ; while in the current year the number of new Lodges is thirty-three , of which fourteen have been added to the Provinces and nineteen to Districts
Abroad . Thus in these six years , of the 359 newly constituted Lodges , eighty-eig ht are Metropolitan , 156 Provincial , and 115 Foreign . Not a single Lodge has been added to the Metropolitan District this year . Perhaps it will interest our readers to learn how this
increase has graduated in these six years . In the year 1874 , when the Marquess of Ripon resigned his Grand Mastership—and with the whole of which for the sake of convenience we credit him—forty-five new Lodges were added to the roll , making , of the whole number constituted during his
four years' tenure of office , as nearly as possible one-fourth part . In 1875 , the first year the Prince of Wales was in office , the number was sixty-six , showing an increase of 47 per cent , on the preceding year . This rose , as we have shown , to sixty-nine in 1876 , ' and reached its culminating
point of seventy-three in 1877 . In 1878 it fell to sixtyfive ; in 1879 , to fifty-three ; and this year , up to the present time , to thirty-three ; or reckoning for the whole year , we may , perhaps , set down the new Lodges for 1880 as thirty-eight . We cannot but think this diminution is prinb
cipally due to the additional precautions taken y the authorities to not unnecessarily multiply Lodges , especially in the Metropolitan area , where , as we have already said , there are , in round figures , some 300 already in working order . We will go further and say , that wc think this greater
caution must bo largely due to the wise counsels of our late respected Bro . John Hervoy Grand Secretary , who never missed the opportunity of pointing out , in his kind and therefore the more impressive manner , how necessary it was the utmost care should be taken in order to keep
Freemasonry select , that is , as regards worthiness of character . That new Lodges should spring up in the Provinces and Abroad is but natural , especially in the case of the latter as applied to our Colonial possessions and
dependencies , where new centres of industry are always being created and the old ones go on by leaps and bounds . ^ It is noticeable , however , in the case of the Metropolis , that while the whole increase for the six years reached eightyeight , sixty-six , or three-fourths of that number , were constituted in the first three years , and only twenty-two in the
Inst three . A recapitulation of the actual figures for each year will prove instructive . In 1875 , fifteen new Lodges ;
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Our Roll Of Lodges And Chapters.
OUR ROLL OF LODGES AND CHAPTERS .
IT will have been seen from the Agenda Paper which appeared in our columns last week , that the newest of the Lodges holding under onr United Grand Lodge is numbered 1886 , and it is just possible that in the six weeks between the date on which the last return of new
Lodges was made up , and the end of the year the roll of Grand Lodge will have reached to No . 1890 . This , however , —assuming our anticipation proves correct—will b y no means represent accurately the number of Lodges in full working order which yield a willing obedience to our
Grand Lodge . A glance through the list in the new Freemasons' Calendar will show there are some 130 Lodges which , since the last closing up in 1863 , have been erased or have dropped from the Roll , either because they have transferred their allegiance to a newly erected Grand
Lodge , as that of Quebec , or from some other cause . Hence we may take it there are , in fact , some 1760 Lodges , of which about 300 are held in the Metropolitan district , some 1 , 000 in the Provinces , and the remaining 460 in districts abroad or as Military Lodges . If we allow an
average of sixty members per Lodge—which , by those who have looked into the returns for different Provinces and Districts and the Metropolis , will be recognised as a liberal allowance—we have a total subscribing membership in the Grand Lodge of England of over 105 , 000 .
We have , in more than one previous article , dealt with figures in connection with this subject , but figures are always useful , and we do not know that we can do better than select the present occasion for submitting a fresh , but consistent , variation on the original theme of the condition
of Freemasonry in this country . Premising that the numbers we are about to give are not exact , but approximately so , it is , for instance , interesting to know there are 330 Lodges still in existence , whose Constitution dates from before the Union of Ancients and Moderns . Only six
Lodges anterior to this epoch have dropped or been erased from the Roll , since 1863 . There are remaining 140 Lodges warranted by H . R . H . the Duke of Sussex during his Grand Mastership of the United Grand Lodge of England from 1814 to 1843 . Twelve have lapsed since 1863 , while .
doubtless , many other Lodges established both before and after the Union , have been struck off , especially in connection with the establishment of the Grand Lodge of Canada , to say nothing of those which passed
from the Roll in 1832 . Of the Lodges warranted during the Grand Mastership of the late Earl of Zetland , there are still some 750 in working order . Apart from those which lapsed in 1863 , there are one hundred which
have passed to other jurisdictions , or are in abeyance or dead since that year . About 180 Lodges were constituted during the period of the Marquess of Ripon ' s Grand Mastership , which may be reckoned to have lasted four years .
Seven of these at this present moment are somewhere else than on the Roll of Grand Lodge of England . Taking the Grand Mastership of the Prince of Wales as having endured during the six years 1875-80 , both inclusive , we find that 360 new Lodges have been added to the list . The highest number for 1875 is 1528 , the lowest for 1880 at
Wednesday ' s Communication of Grand Lodge was 1886 , the exact number constituted therefore during- that period being 359 . We liave it on the authority of His Royal Hi ghness that latterly the average annual number of certificates granted to new members of our Society has been 10 , 000 .
Our Roll Of Lodges And Chapters.
This , of course , represents au amazing increase to the strength of the Craft in this country , though to estimate the full value of our position , we should likewise be informed of the average annual retirements from active membership . It is also noteworthy that with the Masters ,
Wardens , and an average allowance per Lodge of three Past Masters for those 360 Lodges , the representatives in Grand Lodge havo been increased by some 2200 If we proceed further with our analysis in respect of these 359 Lodges , it will be found that of the sixty-six
constituted in 1875 , there were fifteen which were added to the strength of the Metropolis , with thirty-seven new Provincial Lodges and fourteen new Lodges in Districts . In 1876 , sixty-nine new Lodges were warranted , namely , twentyfive Metropolitan , twenty-eight Provincial , and sixteen Districts Abroad . In 1877 the number still further
increased to seventy-three , of which twenty-six were Metropolitan , twenty-three Provincial , and twenty-four Foreign . In 1878 , of sixty-five new Warrants granted , eleven were for the Metropolis , thirty-three for the Provinces , and
twenty-one for Abroad . Fifty-three were constituted in 1879 , namely , eleven Metropolitan , twenty-one Provincial , and twenty-one Abroad ; while in the current year the number of new Lodges is thirty-three , of which fourteen have been added to the Provinces and nineteen to Districts
Abroad . Thus in these six years , of the 359 newly constituted Lodges , eighty-eig ht are Metropolitan , 156 Provincial , and 115 Foreign . Not a single Lodge has been added to the Metropolitan District this year . Perhaps it will interest our readers to learn how this
increase has graduated in these six years . In the year 1874 , when the Marquess of Ripon resigned his Grand Mastership—and with the whole of which for the sake of convenience we credit him—forty-five new Lodges were added to the roll , making , of the whole number constituted during his
four years' tenure of office , as nearly as possible one-fourth part . In 1875 , the first year the Prince of Wales was in office , the number was sixty-six , showing an increase of 47 per cent , on the preceding year . This rose , as we have shown , to sixty-nine in 1876 , ' and reached its culminating
point of seventy-three in 1877 . In 1878 it fell to sixtyfive ; in 1879 , to fifty-three ; and this year , up to the present time , to thirty-three ; or reckoning for the whole year , we may , perhaps , set down the new Lodges for 1880 as thirty-eight . We cannot but think this diminution is prinb
cipally due to the additional precautions taken y the authorities to not unnecessarily multiply Lodges , especially in the Metropolitan area , where , as we have already said , there are , in round figures , some 300 already in working order . We will go further and say , that wc think this greater
caution must bo largely due to the wise counsels of our late respected Bro . John Hervoy Grand Secretary , who never missed the opportunity of pointing out , in his kind and therefore the more impressive manner , how necessary it was the utmost care should be taken in order to keep
Freemasonry select , that is , as regards worthiness of character . That new Lodges should spring up in the Provinces and Abroad is but natural , especially in the case of the latter as applied to our Colonial possessions and
dependencies , where new centres of industry are always being created and the old ones go on by leaps and bounds . ^ It is noticeable , however , in the case of the Metropolis , that while the whole increase for the six years reached eightyeight , sixty-six , or three-fourths of that number , were constituted in the first three years , and only twenty-two in the
Inst three . A recapitulation of the actual figures for each year will prove instructive . In 1875 , fifteen new Lodges ;