Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Reviews.
REVIEWS .
All Books intended for Review should be addressed to the Editor of The ITeemason ' s Chronicle , 23 Great Queen Street , W . C . The History of Freemasonry in the District of Malta , from the year 1800 to the present time . By W . Bro . A . M . Bro . idlev , of Lincoln's Inn , Barrister-at-Law ; P . M . 1717 ; W . M . 1835 ; P . D . D . G . M . Malta ;
P . G . M . M . M . for Tunis and Malta ; P . G . M . of the Cryptic and Allied Masonic Degrees for Tunis and Malta ; D . Intondant-Goneral of the Red Cross for Malta and Tunis ; P . G . C . and G . P . ancl P . P . Prelate and Chancellor K . T . and K . M . for the Mediterranean ; and P . M . W . S . 18 ° . Published for the benefit of tho District Benevolent Fund . London : George Kenning , " Freemason " Office , 198 Fleet-street , E . C . 1880 .
[ Continued from p 101 . ] With tho yonr 1815 may bo said to begin the history of modorn Freemasonry in this island . Tho arrival of Bro . Wright was a piece of good fortune for the Anglo-Maltese , and on 18 th February of that year twouty-five brethren addressed a letter to him , requesting he Avonld exercise his influence with the Governor for the erection of a
Lodgo of Freemasons , and further give thorn the benefit of his eonnsel and experience . This led to the issue of a dispensation for tho establishment of a Lodge , bearing the stylo and title of St . John and St . Paul , No . 673 , and on the 15 th April the said Lodge was consecrated , Bro . Slytho being installed the first Worshipful Master by Bro . Wright , who , in tho interim , had been appointed Prov . Grand
Master for Malta and Gozo—a title subsequently altered to that of Prov . Grand Master of the Mediterranean . Bro . Slythe , however , appears to havo boon only nominally the first Worshipful Master , for no sooner had he been inducted into office than he vacated the chair in favour of Bro . Wright , and at all future meetings was described as Past Master . Twenty-eight brethren met together on this occasion ,
and no less than twenty candidates were proposed , of whom all but three were elected . The Lodge continued to meet weekly , under the personal direction of Bro . Wright , and their progress was sufficiently satisfactory to arouse the anger of the Roman Catholic Bishop , who sought an interview with the then Governor , Sir Thomas Maitland , for the purpose of remonstrating against the establishment of
Freemasonry in his jurisdiction , the grounds of his complaint being that our Society was not only subversive of the Catholic Religion , but directly in antagonism with Christianity itself . Sir Thomas Maitland , after consultation with Bro . Wright , dismissed the complaint , and declined in any way to interfere . For his vindication of the aims and purposes of Masonry on this occasion Bro . Wright received
a vote of thanks from the Lodge . At the next election Bro . Wright was re-elected Worshipful Master , and each of the Wardens , on appointment , nominated his own Deacon . The Lodge went on prospering more or less , under the presidency of Bro . Wright or other member , but with nothing of moment intervening till August 1829 , when its sittings woro suspended—presumably owing to the interference of the local
Government—and remained so until the beginning of the year 1822 , when tho brethren received permission to resume their labours . During the first ten years of its existence the Lodgo received several accessions of strength , among others that were elected being Visconnt Mancleville , subsequently sixth Duko of Manchester , Lord J . S . Churchill , afterwards Junior Grand Warden of England , Right Hon .
J . Hookham Frere , General Gardiner , R . A ., and Sir Montagu Stopford . On tho completion of this period , Bro . Wright proposed that a special jewel—au illustration of which is given at p 18—shonld be worn by tho members of tho Lodge , and this proposal was acted upon . In the year 1826 Bro . Wright died , and a funeral Lodge was held to commemorate his worth , tho oration being delivered bv the Worshipful
Master , Bro . Whitmorc . From the opening paragraph wo give the following extract : — " No one possessed of sense or feeling could ever have known our deceased brother who did not honour and esteem him ; but wo , my brethren , bound to him by every moral and social tie , our friend , our brother , tho brightest ornament that ever graced our bodv , the
estabhsher aud constant supporter of this Lodge—how great is our cause for sorrow , how long and deeply must we d"plore his loss Within tho Lodge , zealously rigid and eminently efficient in the execution of his own dnties , he expected the same attention and obedience from others he was wont to pay himself ; nor did any consideration of private gratification , nor sickness , nor sufferingr
ever prevent his attendance at all duties of the Lodge , which he continued to uphold and exalt to the last moment by example and precept . As a Mason perhaps unequalled , and excelled ( I presume ) by none . Most enlightened and refined , through a long and brilliant career the pride and beauty of the fraternity ; its readiest source from which to gain instruction , its purest fountain of information .
As a man , a profonnd and elegant scholar , a perfect gentleman , and uniformly constant in the oxerciso of every moral virtue . In his profession eloquent , just , and upright , unbiassed by partial or unworthy motives ; honour and humanity guided his steps , and tho goodwill and admiration of mankind were the crown of his labours . His mind a compound of all that was noble and generous , enriched
hy learning and dignified by conscious integrity ; benevolent , kind , courteous , and affable ; to rich and poor alike a friend , with a heart ever opon to sympathise with distresses of his follow creatures , and a hand ever ready to relievo their wants . An uncommon greatness of soul and mental vigour supported his enfeebled frame under long and acute bodily sufferings , and enabled him to perform tho dnties
of his hiyh station almost to tho very moment of his death . " Bro . Wright was buried in tha Misidfi Bastion Cemetery at Floriana , and in 1840 a monument was erected to his honour by the Lodge of which ho was the founder , the inscription on which , by the Right Hon . J . H . Frere , reads as follows : — "To tho memory of Brother Walter Rodvvell Wright , of the county of Suffolk , P . G . M . for tho Mediterranean , aud founder of the Lodge of St . John and
Reviews.
St . Paul at Malta , President of H . M . High Court of Appeal , and senior member of the Supreme Council of Justice in this island . Early distinguished for high literary attainments , and throughout life for uniform benevolence and a strict sense of honour , he secured to himself the confidence and goodwill of the population of this island , and the respoct and esteem of his British fellow-countrymen . He
died on the 26 th April 1826 . Bonus atquo fidus Judex honestum prtotnlit ntili . This monument is erected by tho Lodgo of St . John and St . Paul to mark their deep scmse of departed worth . " For somo years after Bro . Wright ' s death , tho Lodgo was the reverse of prosperous . " During the years 1830-31 , " writes Bro . Broadley , " tho Lodge seems to have had a hard struggle for bare
existence ; " but on the rejoining of Bro . Whitmoro , who had resigned his membership in 1828 , there followed a great renewal of activity . In 1832 , by the closing up of the Lodges on the roll , the Lodge became No . 437 , and in 1863 this was again altered to its present No ., 319 . Among those who joined the Lodge during these years , may bo mentioned Admiral Sir Lucius Curtis , Bart ., P . G . M . Hants ,
Admiral Sir Thomas Fellowes , Sir Godfrey Webster , Robert Langston , H . M . Attorney-General for the island , Archdeacon Burrows P . G . M . of Andalusia , subsequently P . G . M . for Malta , the date of his appoint , ment being early in tho year 1847 , or close on one-and-twenty years subsequent to Bro . Wright ' s death . The progress of things during these years seems to have been generally uneventful , only a few
incidents occurring which appear to be worth noticing . Thus , on 20 th June 1828 , the Lodge was visited by Lord Yarborongh , P . G . M . of the Isle of Wight , and afterwards D . G . M . of England . His Lord , ship , however , would not seem . to have been a very expert Brother , for the Officers that were sent out to examine him , reported that " he was not provided with his certificates , and was apparently imperfect
in the signs and words of the first two degrees ; at the same time he was possessed of so much as gave every reason to believe that he had lawfully obtained such degrees , upon which he was admitted . " In 1833 a complaint was made against a Bro . Reade , on tho ground of his having given " Masonic signs in a pnblic manner at the Mitre Tavern , in Yaletta . " In March 1843 , the thanks of the Lodge were
passed to a Bro . Harding " for the very handsome present of two stones , one of them being from the rock of Mount Sion , to be designated the rough ashlar , and the other from the stone of Bethlehem , of which the church of St . James at Jerusalem is being built , to be designated the perfect ashlar . " On the same occasion a Bro . Salih Effendi , of H . M . S . Monarch , was initiated , and took the
obligation on the Bible and Koran conjointly . In October of thia year a pastoral letter , denouncing secret societies , and especially Freemasonry , was issued by the Bishop of Malta , the effect of which was such as to expose the brethren , especially of the Union of Malta Lodge , to the insults and even violence of the populace . Letters were addressed to the Grand Lodge of England and the
Chief Secretary of the Malta Government , by Bro . Leonard , of the Lodge of SS . John and Paul , but the effect of such remonstrances does not appear to have been entered on the records . To tho end of 1850 the minutes of the proceedings in the three degrees were kept separately , but thenceforward a change was made , and the minutes were entered in the usual manner .
A singular mistake appears to have occurred at the meeting on tho 1 st March 1852 , when a German brother , a member of the Zetland Lodgo who was only au E . A . P ., remained during a portion of the second ceremony , bnt it was remedied by the Brother being then and there passed . On the 15 th May in this year , the Lodge , it seems , was opened in the degree of P . M ., and five members
admitted thereto , a record which is chiefly curious as showing till how comparatively recent a period the practice of conferring this degree lasted . Another curious custom is noted , that of allowing brethren to vote by proxy at tbo election of W . Master , a resolution to this effect having been adopted in December 1851 . The influx of troops into the Island at the time of the Crimean war ,
caused an extra activity in this and the other Lodges , and several officers were elected , one of them being Lieut .-Col . ( afterwards General ) D . ilrymplo , C . B . In the autumn of 1856 , a Masonic Ball was held , with a view to raising funds for the Charities of the Lodges , and erecting a memorial to those brethren of the Island who fell during that gallant struggle . About this time , too , we meet with the
names of two brethren , that are familiar to all English Craftsmen , namely , Captain N . G . Philips and Liout .-Colonel , then Captain , Shadwell H . Clerke , our present Grand Secretary . Both won golden opinions from the Craft , and the latter remained long enough to occupy the chair of the Lodge , and very much it prospered under his hands . A curious circumstance is mentioned in . connection , with this
distinguished brother . During his Mastership of St . John and St . Paul , a Captain E . 0 . Johnson , of tbe Rifle Brigade , was initiated and passed , but did not receive the third degree till 1876 , or after an interval of sixteen years , when it was conferred upon him in tho Bayard , No . 1615 , in tho presence of Lieut . Colonel Clerke and Colonel R . Douglas , to whom he was mainly indebted for snch
Masonic light as ho had previously received . Another and still more distinguished brother—tho Earl of Limerick , P . G . M . Bristol , then Viscount Glentworth—was initiated iu the Lodge in February 1861 , while of local brethren of high repute wo notice Bro . Edwards , M . D ., who in 1863 succeeded Archdeacon Burrows as D . G . M . ; Bro . William Kingston , the present holder of
the D . G . Mastership ; his Depnty , Bro . Rosenbusch , aud a former Deputy , namely , tho learned author himself , Bro . Broadley . Daring tho Mastership of the Hon . W . Hylton Jolliffo , the Lodge was visited by Sir W . W . Wynn Bart ., M . P ., P . G . M . North Wales and Shropshire ; and somewhat later , the Lodge took part in tho presentation of a , beautifully-illuminated address to H . R . H . tho Prince of Wales
M . W . G . M ., to which a gracious answer was vouchsafed . It was during this visit that an emergent meeting was held , at which Lord Suffield P . G . M . Norfolk , and Lord Cariugton wero present as visitors ; and Earl De La Warr , Bro . W . Howard Russell , LL . D ., the well-known Times correspondent , and others were initiated . If to what we have already noticed we add that in 1877 tho Lodgo favourably recom-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Reviews.
REVIEWS .
All Books intended for Review should be addressed to the Editor of The ITeemason ' s Chronicle , 23 Great Queen Street , W . C . The History of Freemasonry in the District of Malta , from the year 1800 to the present time . By W . Bro . A . M . Bro . idlev , of Lincoln's Inn , Barrister-at-Law ; P . M . 1717 ; W . M . 1835 ; P . D . D . G . M . Malta ;
P . G . M . M . M . for Tunis and Malta ; P . G . M . of the Cryptic and Allied Masonic Degrees for Tunis and Malta ; D . Intondant-Goneral of the Red Cross for Malta and Tunis ; P . G . C . and G . P . ancl P . P . Prelate and Chancellor K . T . and K . M . for the Mediterranean ; and P . M . W . S . 18 ° . Published for the benefit of tho District Benevolent Fund . London : George Kenning , " Freemason " Office , 198 Fleet-street , E . C . 1880 .
[ Continued from p 101 . ] With tho yonr 1815 may bo said to begin the history of modorn Freemasonry in this island . Tho arrival of Bro . Wright was a piece of good fortune for the Anglo-Maltese , and on 18 th February of that year twouty-five brethren addressed a letter to him , requesting he Avonld exercise his influence with the Governor for the erection of a
Lodgo of Freemasons , and further give thorn the benefit of his eonnsel and experience . This led to the issue of a dispensation for tho establishment of a Lodge , bearing the stylo and title of St . John and St . Paul , No . 673 , and on the 15 th April the said Lodge was consecrated , Bro . Slytho being installed the first Worshipful Master by Bro . Wright , who , in tho interim , had been appointed Prov . Grand
Master for Malta and Gozo—a title subsequently altered to that of Prov . Grand Master of the Mediterranean . Bro . Slythe , however , appears to havo boon only nominally the first Worshipful Master , for no sooner had he been inducted into office than he vacated the chair in favour of Bro . Wright , and at all future meetings was described as Past Master . Twenty-eight brethren met together on this occasion ,
and no less than twenty candidates were proposed , of whom all but three were elected . The Lodge continued to meet weekly , under the personal direction of Bro . Wright , and their progress was sufficiently satisfactory to arouse the anger of the Roman Catholic Bishop , who sought an interview with the then Governor , Sir Thomas Maitland , for the purpose of remonstrating against the establishment of
Freemasonry in his jurisdiction , the grounds of his complaint being that our Society was not only subversive of the Catholic Religion , but directly in antagonism with Christianity itself . Sir Thomas Maitland , after consultation with Bro . Wright , dismissed the complaint , and declined in any way to interfere . For his vindication of the aims and purposes of Masonry on this occasion Bro . Wright received
a vote of thanks from the Lodge . At the next election Bro . Wright was re-elected Worshipful Master , and each of the Wardens , on appointment , nominated his own Deacon . The Lodge went on prospering more or less , under the presidency of Bro . Wright or other member , but with nothing of moment intervening till August 1829 , when its sittings woro suspended—presumably owing to the interference of the local
Government—and remained so until the beginning of the year 1822 , when tho brethren received permission to resume their labours . During the first ten years of its existence the Lodgo received several accessions of strength , among others that were elected being Visconnt Mancleville , subsequently sixth Duko of Manchester , Lord J . S . Churchill , afterwards Junior Grand Warden of England , Right Hon .
J . Hookham Frere , General Gardiner , R . A ., and Sir Montagu Stopford . On tho completion of this period , Bro . Wright proposed that a special jewel—au illustration of which is given at p 18—shonld be worn by tho members of tho Lodge , and this proposal was acted upon . In the year 1826 Bro . Wright died , and a funeral Lodge was held to commemorate his worth , tho oration being delivered bv the Worshipful
Master , Bro . Whitmorc . From the opening paragraph wo give the following extract : — " No one possessed of sense or feeling could ever have known our deceased brother who did not honour and esteem him ; but wo , my brethren , bound to him by every moral and social tie , our friend , our brother , tho brightest ornament that ever graced our bodv , the
estabhsher aud constant supporter of this Lodge—how great is our cause for sorrow , how long and deeply must we d"plore his loss Within tho Lodge , zealously rigid and eminently efficient in the execution of his own dnties , he expected the same attention and obedience from others he was wont to pay himself ; nor did any consideration of private gratification , nor sickness , nor sufferingr
ever prevent his attendance at all duties of the Lodge , which he continued to uphold and exalt to the last moment by example and precept . As a Mason perhaps unequalled , and excelled ( I presume ) by none . Most enlightened and refined , through a long and brilliant career the pride and beauty of the fraternity ; its readiest source from which to gain instruction , its purest fountain of information .
As a man , a profonnd and elegant scholar , a perfect gentleman , and uniformly constant in the oxerciso of every moral virtue . In his profession eloquent , just , and upright , unbiassed by partial or unworthy motives ; honour and humanity guided his steps , and tho goodwill and admiration of mankind were the crown of his labours . His mind a compound of all that was noble and generous , enriched
hy learning and dignified by conscious integrity ; benevolent , kind , courteous , and affable ; to rich and poor alike a friend , with a heart ever opon to sympathise with distresses of his follow creatures , and a hand ever ready to relievo their wants . An uncommon greatness of soul and mental vigour supported his enfeebled frame under long and acute bodily sufferings , and enabled him to perform tho dnties
of his hiyh station almost to tho very moment of his death . " Bro . Wright was buried in tha Misidfi Bastion Cemetery at Floriana , and in 1840 a monument was erected to his honour by the Lodge of which ho was the founder , the inscription on which , by the Right Hon . J . H . Frere , reads as follows : — "To tho memory of Brother Walter Rodvvell Wright , of the county of Suffolk , P . G . M . for tho Mediterranean , aud founder of the Lodge of St . John and
Reviews.
St . Paul at Malta , President of H . M . High Court of Appeal , and senior member of the Supreme Council of Justice in this island . Early distinguished for high literary attainments , and throughout life for uniform benevolence and a strict sense of honour , he secured to himself the confidence and goodwill of the population of this island , and the respoct and esteem of his British fellow-countrymen . He
died on the 26 th April 1826 . Bonus atquo fidus Judex honestum prtotnlit ntili . This monument is erected by tho Lodgo of St . John and St . Paul to mark their deep scmse of departed worth . " For somo years after Bro . Wright ' s death , tho Lodgo was the reverse of prosperous . " During the years 1830-31 , " writes Bro . Broadley , " tho Lodge seems to have had a hard struggle for bare
existence ; " but on the rejoining of Bro . Whitmoro , who had resigned his membership in 1828 , there followed a great renewal of activity . In 1832 , by the closing up of the Lodges on the roll , the Lodge became No . 437 , and in 1863 this was again altered to its present No ., 319 . Among those who joined the Lodge during these years , may bo mentioned Admiral Sir Lucius Curtis , Bart ., P . G . M . Hants ,
Admiral Sir Thomas Fellowes , Sir Godfrey Webster , Robert Langston , H . M . Attorney-General for the island , Archdeacon Burrows P . G . M . of Andalusia , subsequently P . G . M . for Malta , the date of his appoint , ment being early in tho year 1847 , or close on one-and-twenty years subsequent to Bro . Wright ' s death . The progress of things during these years seems to have been generally uneventful , only a few
incidents occurring which appear to be worth noticing . Thus , on 20 th June 1828 , the Lodge was visited by Lord Yarborongh , P . G . M . of the Isle of Wight , and afterwards D . G . M . of England . His Lord , ship , however , would not seem . to have been a very expert Brother , for the Officers that were sent out to examine him , reported that " he was not provided with his certificates , and was apparently imperfect
in the signs and words of the first two degrees ; at the same time he was possessed of so much as gave every reason to believe that he had lawfully obtained such degrees , upon which he was admitted . " In 1833 a complaint was made against a Bro . Reade , on tho ground of his having given " Masonic signs in a pnblic manner at the Mitre Tavern , in Yaletta . " In March 1843 , the thanks of the Lodge were
passed to a Bro . Harding " for the very handsome present of two stones , one of them being from the rock of Mount Sion , to be designated the rough ashlar , and the other from the stone of Bethlehem , of which the church of St . James at Jerusalem is being built , to be designated the perfect ashlar . " On the same occasion a Bro . Salih Effendi , of H . M . S . Monarch , was initiated , and took the
obligation on the Bible and Koran conjointly . In October of thia year a pastoral letter , denouncing secret societies , and especially Freemasonry , was issued by the Bishop of Malta , the effect of which was such as to expose the brethren , especially of the Union of Malta Lodge , to the insults and even violence of the populace . Letters were addressed to the Grand Lodge of England and the
Chief Secretary of the Malta Government , by Bro . Leonard , of the Lodge of SS . John and Paul , but the effect of such remonstrances does not appear to have been entered on the records . To tho end of 1850 the minutes of the proceedings in the three degrees were kept separately , but thenceforward a change was made , and the minutes were entered in the usual manner .
A singular mistake appears to have occurred at the meeting on tho 1 st March 1852 , when a German brother , a member of the Zetland Lodgo who was only au E . A . P ., remained during a portion of the second ceremony , bnt it was remedied by the Brother being then and there passed . On the 15 th May in this year , the Lodge , it seems , was opened in the degree of P . M ., and five members
admitted thereto , a record which is chiefly curious as showing till how comparatively recent a period the practice of conferring this degree lasted . Another curious custom is noted , that of allowing brethren to vote by proxy at tbo election of W . Master , a resolution to this effect having been adopted in December 1851 . The influx of troops into the Island at the time of the Crimean war ,
caused an extra activity in this and the other Lodges , and several officers were elected , one of them being Lieut .-Col . ( afterwards General ) D . ilrymplo , C . B . In the autumn of 1856 , a Masonic Ball was held , with a view to raising funds for the Charities of the Lodges , and erecting a memorial to those brethren of the Island who fell during that gallant struggle . About this time , too , we meet with the
names of two brethren , that are familiar to all English Craftsmen , namely , Captain N . G . Philips and Liout .-Colonel , then Captain , Shadwell H . Clerke , our present Grand Secretary . Both won golden opinions from the Craft , and the latter remained long enough to occupy the chair of the Lodge , and very much it prospered under his hands . A curious circumstance is mentioned in . connection , with this
distinguished brother . During his Mastership of St . John and St . Paul , a Captain E . 0 . Johnson , of tbe Rifle Brigade , was initiated and passed , but did not receive the third degree till 1876 , or after an interval of sixteen years , when it was conferred upon him in tho Bayard , No . 1615 , in tho presence of Lieut . Colonel Clerke and Colonel R . Douglas , to whom he was mainly indebted for snch
Masonic light as ho had previously received . Another and still more distinguished brother—tho Earl of Limerick , P . G . M . Bristol , then Viscount Glentworth—was initiated iu the Lodge in February 1861 , while of local brethren of high repute wo notice Bro . Edwards , M . D ., who in 1863 succeeded Archdeacon Burrows as D . G . M . ; Bro . William Kingston , the present holder of
the D . G . Mastership ; his Depnty , Bro . Rosenbusch , aud a former Deputy , namely , tho learned author himself , Bro . Broadley . Daring tho Mastership of the Hon . W . Hylton Jolliffo , the Lodge was visited by Sir W . W . Wynn Bart ., M . P ., P . G . M . North Wales and Shropshire ; and somewhat later , the Lodge took part in tho presentation of a , beautifully-illuminated address to H . R . H . tho Prince of Wales
M . W . G . M ., to which a gracious answer was vouchsafed . It was during this visit that an emergent meeting was held , at which Lord Suffield P . G . M . Norfolk , and Lord Cariugton wero present as visitors ; and Earl De La Warr , Bro . W . Howard Russell , LL . D ., the well-known Times correspondent , and others were initiated . If to what we have already noticed we add that in 1877 tho Lodgo favourably recom-