Masonic Portraits. (No. 56.)

Provincial Grand Steward was conferred upon him . In Juno 18 \ 2 , or within four years of his initiation , he was elected to till tho chair of his Lodge ; and this being the highest honour Avhich his brethren could confer upon him , it must bo evident ho had displayed far above tho

ordinary zeal and capacity for Masonic study . In 1843 he was appointed Provincial G . Sword Bearer . In 1840 , when the Provincial Grand Lodgo was hold at Richmond , under the presidency of tho lato Earl of Zetland , who was Grand Master of the Province as well as Grand Master of England ,

he was the guest of his lordship at Aske , and was appointed Provincial Grand Junior Warden ; and such wero his undoubted abilities , that he was reappointed the year following . In 1858 he took a leading part in tho reconstitution of the Minerva Lodge , No . 250 , then No . oil

and so highly did the members appreciate his services that they unanimously elected him an honoraiy member . On tho death , in 1860 , of the late Bro . Jer . Stark , who had filled the office of Prov . Grand Secretary for thirteen years , he was specially invited by his lordship tho Grand Master of

tho Province to undertake the duties . He did so , and continued to occupy the post for some time , though at a considerable sacrifice of time and labour . In I 860 , Bro . George Marwood , the Deputy Provincial Grand Master , retired from tho Province , aud our able brother was

appointed to the post , tho duties of which ho discharged with signal ability and success till 1873 , when the late Earl of Zetland died . On tho reconstitution , the year following , of the Provincial Grand Lodge , with the late Earl ' s nephew , the present Earl of Zetland , as Prov . Grand Master , lie was

reinstated in his office as Deputy , and that office he still continues to hold . This rank he has now held for close on twelve years , while his earliest Provincial laurels were gained some thirty-seven years ago . So worthy a career

as this would almost of necessity receive some higher recognition still ; and therefore it is with pleasure , but with no feeling of surprise , that we record his appointment to be Grand Senior Deacon of England in 1872 by tho then Grand Master , the Marquis of Ripon .

In R . A . Masonry he has been as successful as in Craft . In 1851 , and again the year following , he filled the First Principal ' s chair in the Humber Chapter . He was solicited iu 1858 to accept , and he accepted , the same office in the Minerva Chapter , and was , as in the former case , re-elected

the year ensuing . Indeed his lectures and addresses on Royal Arch Masonry have boon generally appreciated , and especially as they evinced so much learning and archaeological research . In 1859 he was appointed Third Principal in the Provincial Grand Royal Arch Chapter , and in 18 G 6

he attained the highest Provincial honours in tho Arch , being in that year appointed to the post of Provincial Grand Superintendent . He retains this position still , and under his auspices Arch Masonry has flourished abundantly .

Ihis , in all essential particulars , completes the list of his official achievements , for Hippocrates , like his late distinguished chief , and unlike many other foremost Craftsmen , has confined himself entirely to constitutional Masonry . Thus his name is missinc * from tho roll of worthies in

Mark , Templar , and High Grade Masonry respectively , though had he chosen , and had he found the time , to interest himself in their mysteries , there is little doubt he would have carved ont for himself as great a reputation as he has done in the legitimate branches of the Craft .

We have said that , in 1860 , he was appointed Provincial Grand Secretary , and during his tenure of that important office ho compiled a Code of Bye-Laws , which after having been submitted to a Sub-Committee of Prov . G . Officers

was approved by Prov . G . Lodge , which accorded him a special vote of thanks for bis valuable services . There is one other work , likewise , with which his name will always be associated , and that is the establishment of a Provincial Grand Lodge Benevolent Fund . He had lonsr felt there

was a need for the erection of such a fund , from which grants might be made to deserving cases of distress in the Province , independent of those made from the Grand Lodge Benevolent Fund . Some of tho Lodges , he found , had funds of their own , while others were not in a position

to relieve adequately any cases that might be brought under their notice . Accordingly , he set himself to the task , and so favourably did the Prov . G . Lodge regard his proposal , and so vigorously and successfully did he labour ,

that in two years the Fund was established and in working order , with a code of Bye-Laws which he himself had compiled . A handsome sum is now invested , and not only has the Fund enjoyed the satisfaction of relieving many

Masonic Portraits. (No. 56.)

deserving cases , but it has also voted sums of money to our Central Charities . Being thus wrapt up in the success of his own Provincial scheme , it would be too much to expect he should have been in a position to devote much attention to the principal Masonic Charities , but we must not omit to mention that ho is a subscriber to all three of

them , and we believe ho has on tho carpet a scheme for contributing annually to their funds without pressing too severely on tho members in tho Province . Tlafc all theso services should have passed without substantial recoo-nition from his brethren is not to bo

expected , and on the occasion of his appointment to tho Grand Junior Dcaconship tho opportunity was taken of presenting to him a silver cpergne and salver worth 250 guineas , together with a handsomely bound volume containing an address and a list of the subscribers . Tho

presentation was mado at the Masonic Hall in Hull , and was followed by a banquet , at which a large and distinguished company wero present . He has moreover taken part Masonically in laying the foundation-stone of sundry buildings , and on two occasions , when he laid tho stone of

the Falcon Lodge , Thirsk , in 1873 , and in 187 t > , when ho performed a similar office for the Londesborough Lodgo , Bridlington Quay , tho handsome trowels , each bearing a suitable inscription , were presented to him . Wc havo now but one other aspect in which to regard

him . Wc havo noted him in his professional career ; we havo followed him as a Mason in his Lodge , as a ruler in his Province , as the recipient of Grand Lodge honours most worthily bestowed , and as ono who in all his different capacities has exerted himself as well to uphold the best

and truest interests , as to advance one of the chief purposes , of the Craft . As the promoter of Lodges and Chapters , he has done much to extend its influence in the Province ; as the promoter of its Provincial Benevolent Fund , he has been equally fortunate in confirming that

influence , and in strengthening the bonds of good fellowship , which it is so desirable should unite all members of the Fraternity . There is one other claim he has upon onr

respect , and that is , as a Fellow of tho Masonic Authors Society . We have incidentally alluded to his lectures and addresses on Royal Arch Masonry as having drawn forth hioli eulo . oinms from those who heard them . But when

he compiled a code of bye-laws for his Province , he also compiled and appended thereto a history of Freemasonry in that portion of tho county which was comprised within its limits , and this history contained much interesting and valuable information never before made public . In 1866 ,

or a few years later , he published his Masonic Chart , devised in the form of a stream , and entitled "The Stream of English Freemasonry , " in which were shown at one glance the rise and progress of the Craft in England , including the origin of the Royal Arch . Simple as such a

publication may seem to the average Mason , there is no question it must have involved a vast amount of patient research . The author , at all events , had the satisfaction of receiving many and just encomiums from his brethren , not only

from those in his own province , but likewise throughout the whole of England , and a reprint of the Chart would seem to be very desirable , now that greater interest is being taken in the history of the Society . Onr task is now ended . We have traced the career of

an eminent Mason , without exaggeration or detraction . We have felt that such a one will be judged best if he is presented to our readers in his proper character . He needs no additional lustre iu the shape of flowery language or high colouring . Men of inferior culture and less

intellectual capacity stand in need of these adjuncts , but not he whose virtues are all his own , and who has achieved his high position by the exercise of those virtues . Wo trust he may livo yet many years—an ornament alike of the profession he has followed so successfully , and of tho Society he has served so loyally and with such fervour .

The committee for securing the election of Bro . F . R . W . Hedges , as Secretary to the Royal Masonic Institution for Girls , held its preliminary meeting on Monday afternoon , at Freemasons' Tavern . Bro . Rev . Dr . Brette occupied the chair , and among those present were Bros . Rev . A . F . A .

Woodford , Tisley , Rev . P . M . Holden , Farrington , Murlis , Penn , Southwood , Atkins , Thomas Holland , Gladwell , Woodward , Baldwin , Falkner , W . Wellsman , & c . etc ., & c . Arrangements were made for effectually supporting the candidature of Bro . Hedges .