Kent.

KENT .

THE annual meeting of this Provincial Grand Lodge will be held on Wednesday next , 13 th inst ., at Gravesend , under the banner of the Lodge of Freedom , No . 77 , which will celebrate its 150 th Anniversary on the occasion . It is

also the fortieth anniversary of the installation of Earl Amherst as Provincial Grand Master of Kent , and there will therefore be additional cause for rejoicing .

The Brethren will assemble in the Public Hall , Gravesend , at 12 . 30 p . m ., and Provincial Grand Lodge will be opened there at one o ' clock . At 2 . 15 the Brethren will

attend Divine Service at the Parish Church , Gravesend , and , after the closing of the Lodge , will assemble at Banquet in * the New Public Hall , at four o ' clock . We hope to fully report the proceedings in a later issue .

Cumberland And Westmorland.

CUMBERLAND AND WESTMORLAND .

ri ^ HE half yearly meeting of this Provincial Grand Lodge _ L was held at Whitehaven , on Friday , 25 th ult . In the absence of the Provincial Grand Master Lord Henry Cavendish Bentinck , M . P ., who is now in South Africa , Col . F . B . Sewell Deputy Prov . G . M . presided .

There was a large attendance , every Lodge but two being represented . Bro . Geo . White , ex-Mayor of Carlisle , was invested as Prov . S . G . W . A resolution congratulating the Prince of Wales on his

recent escape trom assassination was agreed to , and another was passed wishing a speedy and safe return from South Africa of the Provincial G . M . It was recommended to the Prov . G . M . that the annual meeting of the Provincial Lodge be held at Maryport . A meeting of the Provincial Grand Chapter was afterwards held , at which Officers were appointed lor the year .

It is with extreme regret we hear that our Bro . John Purrott P . M . 1479 and a Past Provincial Ul ^ cer of Herts is seriously ill , and we tender him our sincere wishes for a speedy recovery . Bro . Purrott was one of the small band of Brethren who associated themselves together twenty-six years

since and founded the FREEMASON ' CHRONICLE , of which he has been a regular supporter ever since . Bro . Purrott enjoys the distinction of being the oldest member of the Yeomanry

forces of the kingdom , his record of service extending far beyond an ordinary lifetime , and we aie sure his Brethren in arms will unite with his Brethren of the Craft in wishing him a return to good health .

Bro . John Solomon W . M . of the Lodge of Freedom No . 77 > wno went up as a Steward at the recent Festival of the Girls School , was enabled to take up an amount in pounds equal to the number of his Lodge . We congratulate

him upon this , as well as upon the honour about to be conferred upon him by Lord Amherst Prov . Grand Master of Kent , who has offered him the rank of Provincial Grand Deacon .

It would appear that there was an informality in the declaration made at Grand Lodge , on Wednesday , as to the candidates elected to act as members of the Board of General Purposes . Two Past Masters of the same Lod ge were declared to be duly elected , which declaration is inconsistent with Law 255 of the Book of Constitutions .

Gloucestershire.

GLOUCESTERSHIRE .

HHHE annual meeting of Provincial Grand Lodge was held 1 on the 5 th inst ., at Gloucester , the Provincial Grand Master the Right Hon . Sir Michael E . Hicks Beach , Bart ., presiding . It is five years since the city had the opportunity

of extending its Fraternal greeting to the Brethren assembled for the Lodge , and the arrangements made this year by the three Lodges of Gloucester for their reception followed very closely the programme in 1895 .

Before the assembly of Provincial Grand Lodge , " Lodges of recreation and instruction , " arranged by Brother the Dean of Gloucester Past Grand Chaplain of England , were enjoyed . These included an organ recital by Bro . A . H . Brewer , the Cathedral organist , and the privilege of

listening to the musical treat provided in the grand old church . was embraced by a large number . The Dean himself acted as guide and lecturer to those Brethren—there were manywho desired to make a more detailed inspection of the

monument of whose history Dr . Spence has made a life-study and whose care he has specially identified himself with . Naturally not the least interesting were those sections of the fabric which had been selected by the Province in previous years for restoration and repair .

The Lodge itself assembled at two o ' clock under the presidency of the Provincial Grand Master , who was accompanied by his Deputy Bro . R . V . Vassar-Smith . The Brethren upon the dais included the Very Rev . the Dean of Gloucester P . G . C ., and other members of Grand Lodge ,

while the attendance of Brethren from the various Lodges in the Province overtaxed the seating accommodation of the historic Chapter House . Lodge having been opened , adjournment was at once made to the Cathedral , the procession , forming in order of seniority , juniors leading , and passing through the cloisters , up the nave into the choir .

The service at the Cathedral was choral and brightly rendered . The sermon was preached by Bro . Dean Spence , who prefaced his discourse as follows : —Brethren of the Order , — ' Our annual meeting is always a solemn occasion , but this

occasion will perhaps stand out in the annals of our Order as the most important , the most momentous for us Masons , who are loyal of the loyal , the most staunch defenders of the Throne . It is indeed a striking coincidence that at the very time we were entering this great House of God the news was

being flashed to England that the flag of this nation was waving over the capital of our enemy . The news was flashed from the Field Marshal himself , so there is no doubt of it . Now , we do not receive this news with feelings of

exultation or of triumph , but only with the sense of deep thankfulness—thankfulness that God still remains over , still protects this our England as He has aforetime , that He reserves to us a greater and a mightier work even in the future than we have effected in the past .

And now to my subject ;—To the Brotherhood of Freemasons- —to us who have firm faith that our Order makes for peace , good feeling , charity , chivalry , and especially for religious earnestness ; that it is a strong bulwark of order and stability ; that in the great England you and I know , and in

the yet greater England beyond the sea , the greater England with which the late events have forged a bond of friendship and of union stronger even than had existed before ; that it is in the two Englands a mighty power , a power that will grow as time rolls on , because it is founded upon the religion

we love—to us English Masons who have this faith in our Order , any contribution to the story of the Craft is valuable and interesting . That is why I have ventured to-day—when we Gloucestershire Masons are met together to praise the Great Architect of the Universe in our proud Cathedral—to . p iece together a little tapestry of Masonic lore . I do so with