Mark Masonry.

of their warrants to districts where the Degree is more understood and appreciated , so that when my term of office shall expire , I may hand over to my snccessor a roll of active Lodges , worked by zealous and loyal Mark Master Masons . I offer to my Brethren r > f the Britannia Lodge my hearty and sin . cere thanks for their kind invitation to hold the meeting last Ootober

under their banner ; and when that , under peculiar circnmstances , conld not be accepted , so kindly renewing their invitation for the present meeting , ancl for their kindness in making the preparation for and hearty welcome of Provincial Grand Mark Lodge this day 3 and I am sure I may , at the same time , convey the thanks of every member of this Provincial Lodge .

Brethren , before I sit down , let me for one minute call your attention to the last anathema that has been hnrled against UB as Freemasons . We are told that " Freemasonry , which is ever assuming more terrible proportions , aims at the rnin of the Throne , the Altar , and of the publio welfare . " The classification of Freemasonry , Socialism , and Communism tinder one category , and the declaration that their

common object is the subversion of nil civil society , and the destrnotion of religion , is as far as regards Freemasonry suoh an utter disregard for all Truth , that the langriage used in the Encyclical about to be issued is incredible . We , aa Freemasons , know better than this . Does the teaching of " the correction of irregularities and the subjugation of onr passions" lead to the dishonour of God , our Sovereign , or

the welfare of society ? Those charges have been made before , and tbey will be made again . One of the newspapers states that the information on which the Enoyolical is founded is on a mass of doouments which some short time ago was commnnioated to the Pope by a personage in a high position who once was a Freemason . That I emphatically deny , —not that our ritual and symbolic teaching may

have been commnnioated , but that there is nothing in Freemasonry , as practised in England or the United States of America , that can , even in the most distorted form , be made the groundwork on whioh to bnild such statements . Resting assured in the dignity and grandeur of our Order , and firm in conscious rectitude , let us quietly pursue our course , unimpeded by such attacks , so that we may be enabled in all Truth to say , —

Have we mark'd well , Great Overseer , A work to last beyond our time P Each his allotted task fulfilled ? The glory and the praise be Thine . In this degree we find the Trntb , On earth below , in Heaven above ; The corner stone of every work Should be unselfish , lasting love .

Still will we work , and working pray , Trusting that in a better land Our mystic keystone may be raised And fitted by Thy Master hand . The R . W . Provincial Grnnd Master , in a feeling speech , then spoke 0 L ^ srreat loss wnich the 0 rclep had sustained by the sudden death

„ of H . R . H . the Duke of Albany , M . W . P . G . M . M ., and moved that the condolence of this Provincial Grand Lodge be forwarded to Her Majesty the Queen and also to H . R . H . the Duchess of Albany , and that the same be entered on the minntes . This was forcibly seconded by the W . Depnty Provincial Grand Master , supported by other Brethren , and carried unanimously .

The only visitor present was Bro . Morton , P . G . Sec , Lincolnshire . Bro . Monckman , P . P . G . W ., on behalf of the Old York Lodge , T . I ., having invited the R . W . Prov . G . M . M . to hold the annual mef ting at Bradford in October next , the P . G . Lodge was duly closed , and the Brethren spent an exceedingly pleasant evening together until the time arrived for the various trains to take them to their respective homes .

Consecration Of The Kintore Lodge, No. 333.

CONSECRATION OF THE KINTORE LODGE , No . 333 .

A N important addition to the roll of Lodges in the degree of Mark -f ^ Master was made on Tuesday , the 29 th ult ., by the consecra-1 , qf-J , Killtore Lodge , at the Surrey Mnsonio Hall , Camber . well , S . E ., nnder most favourable auspices , and in the presence of a Jt n \ tmber ° f Grand 0 fficers and other distinguished members of the Order . It was expected that tbe proceedings would be honoured by the presence of the Right Honthe Earl of Kintore MWGMMM

. .. .... ?? ' , who had taken great interest in the formation of the Lodge which bears his name , and had promised to attend . Unfortunately , however , his Lordshi p , who had travelled from Scotland expressly , took a severe chill on thejonrney , and was thns prevented from attend . T 5 8 a „ meet , ' £ where his absence was deeply regretted . The R . W . Bro . bir Francis Burdett , Bart ., Prov . Grand Master Middlesex and

ourrey , who had undertaken to perform the consecration ceremony , was also unexpectedly detaiaed elsewhere , and deputed the R . W . Bro . * redk . Bmckes P . G . W . ( G . Secretary ) , toofficiate on his behalf . Bro . Binckes was supported by ( amongst others who had omitted to sign the attendance book ) the B . W . Bros . A . M . Broadley P . P . G . M . Mediterranean , Frederick Davison Grand Treasurer D . P . G . M . Middlesex and

Surrey , the V . W . Bros . H . C . Levanrler G . R . of Marks , James Stevens P . h . J . O . ; Bros . H . Lovegrove P . G . D . Wks ., F . H . CozenB P . G . Org ., Ihomas Poore P . G . I G ., T . 0 . Walls P . G . W . Middlesex and Surrey , J . Mason , Clements , & o . The Founders of the Lodge , seven in num . ber ^ viz ., Bros . G . H . Newington Bridges 22 , Thomas Edmonston 22 ,

J . Hepburn Haatie 104 , Cliarles Fountain 104 , Philip Dakers 41 , B . R . Bryant P . M . 22 and W . H . Thomas 104 were present , as were also Bros . W . H . Saunders S . D . 238 , R , J . Voiaey S . W . 22 , Georg . Waterall 104 , Thompson Old Kent T . I ., W . Liddall 104 , Goss 22 , Ac , and in attendance for advancement were Bros . G . Norrington . and J . R . Rontledge of the Royal Leopold Craft Lodge 1669 , Capt . C . H . Nevill , H , C , Ingram and R . A . Marshall of the Macdonald Draft

Consecration Of The Kintore Lodge, No. 333.

Lodge 1216 , G . J . Venables of the Surrey Masonio Hall Craft Lodge 1539 , W . G . Temple of the St . Paul ' s Craft Lodge 194 , and J . S . Terry of the United Pilgrims Craft Lodge 507 . The brethren assembled punctually at the hour named in the summons and awaited in the Temple the commencement of the interesting proceedings of the day . The pedestals and furniture of the Temp le were most tastefully

draped in crape , relieved by silver cord , and corner knots to pedestals and cushions ; and , in accordance with the mandate of the Mark Grand Lodge , mourning was worn by all present in memory of His late Royal Highness the Duke of Albany , Past Grand Master of the Order . A Mark Lodge having by special dispensation been opened by Bro . B . R . Bryant P . M . 22 , Bros . Walls aoting as S . W ., Lovegrove

as J . W . and T . Poore as S . D ., the candidates for advancement , as above named , were introdnoed and dnly advanced into the Order , the admirable working of Bro . Bryant deserving espeoial mention for its perfeot and eloqnent style of delivery . With suoh able assistance as that rendered by Bros . Poore as Deacon and Cozens as Organist , the whole oeremony was without fault or blemish , and formed a most

interesting introduction to the more important business which followed . The Grand Officers having been received in due form , the R . W . Bro . Binokes P . G . W . and Grand Seoretary assumed the ohair of A ., and appointed the following brethren to assist him , viz ., R . W . Bros . Broadley Orator , T . C . Walls S . W ., H . Lovegrove J . W . and J .

Stevens Direotor of Ceremonies . He then proceeded with the ceremony of consecration in ancient form , most impressively rendering the invocation and the dedication . The following Oration by Bro . Broadley was listened to with earnest attention , and at its conclusion was received with Masonio applause .

RIGHT WORSHIPIUI . SIR AND BRETHREN , We are assembled here to-day in accordance with our traditional rites and ceremonies to place one more stone on the ever . rising fabrio of Mark Masonry . If anything could lend a greater interest to the fact that our labours this evening will result in the addition of another Mark Lodge to the muster roll of the Order , it must , I think . be found

in the oircumstances surrounding the origin of the lodge we are now about to consecrate . The Kintore Lodge of Mark Master Masons is destined to commemorate and perpetuate the accession to supreme office in the Mark Degree of one whose skill , energy , and assiduity in the past confidently inspire us with the highest hopes for the future of Mark Masonry during the time he will rule over its fortuues and

guide its destinies . The elevation to the Graud Mark Mastership of so distinguished a member of the Grand Lodge and Grand Chapter of Scotland as Lord Kintore is no unimportant epoch in our history , for we feel that it cannot but more closely strengthen and cement the union of Mark Masters on both sides of the Tweed . An oration or address has from a remote period in the history of our Craft formed

part of the consecrating ceremony whioh precedes the solemn decnca . tion of our Lodges . I know of no morediffioult task than an attempt to compress any general disquisition on the fruitful theme of Free , masonry into the short space whioh this oration or address should with propriety occupy , and I must be pardoned if I shrink from so ambitious an effort and limit the few remarks I shall trouble you with

to what I conceive to be the characteristic and distinctive features of the Mark Degree . I assert without fear of contradiction that the history of the rise , progress , and prosperity of the Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons finds no parallel , or indeed anything like a parallel , in the annals of the Craft . There is one at least amongst us to-day who can look back throngh the vista of 27 years to the time

when that Grand Lodge was first called into existence , and I will ven . ture to say that its present prosperity and unrivalled vitality have surpassed the most sanguine expectations of the most enthusiasts of its founders . To what , then , must we attribute the signal and peculiar success of the Mark Grand Lodge ? We owe mncb , no doubt , to the individual energy and high administrative ability of its successive the

rulers , as well as to the untiring labours and dauntless aotivity of Grand Secretary , that veteran in the ranks of Mark Masonry—Bro . Binckes—but it seems to me there is something more than ability and activity to account for the proud position our Order has come to occupy . For myself , I have no difficulty in finding this secret of success in the inherent value and peculiar interest of the degree itself . It is pre . the

cisely of two features of the inherent value and peculiar interest of Mark Degree that I purpose speaking to you this evening . I allude to the wholly unequalled archaeological associations which surround it , as well as to the practical and cosmopolitan nature of its symbolic teaching . I conceive that both the one and the other have contributed not a little to the general popularity of our Order . I may be pardoned

if I endeavour to make my meaning clear to you by an allusion to my own personal experiences as a humble worker amongst Mark Masons beyond the seas . My lot happened to be cast on ground richer perhaps than any other in the Masonic traditions of the remote past-Tunis , Carthage , Malta , the Knights of St . John , Egypt . What timehonoured memories each of those well-known names are capable or

calling into existence . It is on such classic sites as these that we can appreciate perhaps better than anywhere else the legends which are ireasnred up in the teachings of the Mark Degree . It has often been my privilege to explore with Masonic brethren from a distance the ruins of the wondrous city of Carthage—at once the marvel pud the terror of the day of her zenith—where even yet one can view toe

traces of those , ancient Tyrian builders , our fathers and ancestors in Masonry , our operative prototypes , to whose genius we owe directly or indirectly those art treasures which are the boast of all age 3 and the patterns for all time . The creators of these wondrous fabrics , tho architects and sculptors of these exquisite stones , have engraved their names in undying characters , and havo moreover individually

distinguished each man his work by means of that cipher which even to this day is practised—I mean the Mason's mark . Brethren , our legends come to ns from the period of the erection of that stately edifice which crowned the Mount of God in Jerusalem , and we are tola that in the process of building that Temple the sound of workmen s tools was not heard . Why ? Because the stones were all cut , marked in the quarries , and the marks guided the builders , who with square ,