Copy Of Centenary Warrant. No. 31, Canterbury.

They mast not overlook the fact that the brethren had thought fit to have these Institutions , and therefore it was their bonnden duty to support them . The Aged Masons and Widows looked to the Craft to render their declining years oomfortable , and the lads and lasses also looked to the Craft genernlly for that

education which should fit them to battle with the world . They iu the North had a fund to whioh every subscribing member contributed half a crown , taken from his subscription , while 10 s was given from joining and initiation fees , and this money was nsed for oharitable purposes . He should like to see suoh a system

exercised generally , so that every Lodge should contribute to the Charities , for it had occurred to him that the few were the real subscribers to those Charities , and that the many did not do their duty as they should . With respect to the executive officers at the head of the Institutions , he thought the Craft should support them so

long as they felt they were doing their duty . As far as the Benevolent Fund was concerned , he thought it would be a good thing if relief was only given once to applicants , iu view of the increasing demands made upon it . He wished every brother joining the Order to feel he was not joining for benefits to be received , but for the good

he could do and the help he could give to those needing it . In whatever direction they nsed their efforts for the benefit of Charity they must not forget that their prinoipal aim should be to support tbe three Masonio Institutions , and he trusted the brethren would per . form that duty to the best of their ability . Bro . Cumberland ' s

remarks seemed to be much appreciated by the Brethren , and his utterances were delivered with the characteristic fervour that invariably prompts him on these occasions . Brother Dr . Morris , Head Master of the Boys' School , responded } with regard to the Masonio Charities no brother had taken more interest in them

than himself . During the past fourteen years he had laboured hard to bring the Boys' School to its present state of efficiency . Freemasonry had of late become immensely popular , and they already had a different class of ohildren to those formerly in the Institution . It therefore behoved Freemasons to be careful whom they admitted to

membership , for once a man became a Mason it was their duty to help him in time of need , to the best of their ability . Bro . W . Masters I . P . M . proposed the health of the Worshipful Master ; the members were oonvinced that their votes had fallen on the right man in selecting Bro . G . J . Wood for the post . They were rather

unfortunately placed , the Senior Warden and Junior Warden being unable to go on . It was necessary therefore that a P . M . should take the chair , and the choice fell upon Bro . G . J . Wood P . M . 1028 , of whioh Lodge be was W . M . in 1881 . He believed there was a brother with them who was present when Bro . Wood was initiated , and there were

many Derbyshire brethren who desired to congratulate him on his installation . He was sure that at the end of the forthcoming year the members wonld not be dissatisfied with their choice . Bro . G . J . Wood said he was grateful to the brethren for the kind manner in which his health had been received . The I . P . M . had said

that perhaps next year they would drink his health more heartily than they had that night , but he thought nothing could exceed the kindness with which the toast bad been received . He had simply done what he had been asked to do . He had undertaken certain duties , and if he had pleased them he was satisfied . He should

endeavour to do his best—and he did not use that expression idlyto carry on the work , and , with the help of the Officers , on whom he oould rely , he hoped to present a clean bill of health at the next meeting . He would now ask them to turn their attention to the next toast , which was the I . P . M . and Past Masters . They all

knew what Bro . Masters the I . P . M . oould do . Much of the happiness of that evening's gathering could be attributed to the credit of their I . P . M ., for he had taken considerable trouble to arrange for the comfort of the brethren . It was an honour to have suoh a brother in the Lodge , and it was a pleasure to him ( the W . M . )

to have such a friend as Bro . Masters . He hoped the I . P . M . would be with them for many years to give them tbe benefit of his advice and support . Bro . Masters said that anything he had done had been a labour of love . If Masonry meant anything it should mean happiness among men , and since he joined that Lodge he had been

brought into contact with brethren he would never otherwise have known , but whom he was proud to call his friends . He thanked them for the many kindnesses he had received during his year of office , and also for their handsome present , which he should wear with pride , and should prize as long as he lived , Bro . Smithson replied

for the Past Masters , and said with reference to Bro . Cumberland ' s remarks on the subject of Charity , he did not think that since the formation of the Lodge it had been absent at any Festival . The W . M . had kindly consented to take up a Stewardship for the Royal Masonio Institution for Boys , while the I . P . M . Bro . Masters

had represented the Lodge at the late Benevolent Institution Festival . The Installing Master was the next toast . The W . M . said they were indebted to Bro . Ward for having come a long distance to instal an old friend . They could not have had the ceremony better performed ; he hoped it was not the last time they should

have Brother Ward with them . Brother Ward in response said it was a matter of congratulation to him when Brother Wood asked him to perform the installation ceremony . He trusted the W . M . would have a successful year , and he had no doubt he would prove a credit to the Lodge and to the Province of Derby . He

thanked Bro . Tew for hi 3 complimentary remarks respecting the working . The Initiate responded to the toast given in his honour , and then the Visitors were complimented . Bro . Theo . H . Tilton responded . It had given him great pleasure to be present to witness the beautiful ceremony in tbe Lodge ; he had never seen that

ceremony rendered more impressively , either in England or America . It had been a pleasure to visit the Lodge two years ago during the administration of Bro . Cumberland , and he could note the progress

made since that time . It must have been gratifying to Brother Cumberland to have been the first Worshipful Master of the Lodge , and to know that Freemasonry had been promulgated in the Northern Counties to tbe exteut evinced by the large array of

Copy Of Centenary Warrant. No. 31, Canterbury.

brethren he saw present that evening . In America the Lodges numbered more members , but the fraternal feeling oould not be in advanoe of that shown in this country . The brethren in England were ever ready to extend the right haud of fellowship and brotherly love to those coming over here , while they on the other side of the

Atlantic would always extend that same cordial feeling to English brethren going to America . This was bringing the two countries closer together , more than anything that could po 98 ibly be thought of , and was cementing the great Anglo-Saxon race . There was not anything that could bring the people of those two great countries

more closely together than the Masonio Fraternity , supported by the three great principles of brotherhood , justice , and truth , and resting upon the great fonndation stone of Charity . Bros . Schofield P . M . 1021 and Major Spicer also replied . The Officers' toast was given , and

replied to by Bro . Bullock S . W ., after whioh the Tyler brought a successful and pleasant evening to a close . An excellent selection of music was rendered by Bros . Strognall , Arthur Weston , L . Fryer , H . J . Dutton , Fred Stevens , and Stott .

The Committee of Management of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution held ita monthly meeting' at

Freemasons' Hall , on Wednesday , Bro . J . A . Farnfield presiding . There were also present Bros . Newton . Tattershall , Purchas , Hugh Cotter , Joseph Freeman , Cottebrune ,

Cubitt , Perceval , Hogg , Webb , Kempton , Berry , Durrani , Forsyth , Lacey , and James Terry ( Secretary ) . After the minutes had been read and confirmed , the Secretary reported the death of a widow annuitant , and the

Warden ' s Report for the past month was read . The Secretary announced that at the annual Festival of the Institution , at the Freemasons' Tavern , on Wednesday ,

the 27 th ult ., under the presidency of Bro . the Earl of Euston , Provincial Grand Master of Norths and Hants , the amount of subscriptions and donations was £ 13 , 055 , with 25 lists to come in , and that this sum had since been increased to £ 13 , 330 , while the number of outstanding lists had been reduced to 17 . A heart ?

vote of thanks to his lordship for presiding , and to the Board of Stewards for their services , was passed unanimously , tbe vote to be engrossed on vellum for

presentation to the Chairman . An application by a widow to be allowed the half of her late husband ' s annuity having been acceeded to , the Committee adjourned , after the usual vote of thanks to the Chairman had been passed .

Origin Of Masonry.

ORIGIN OF MASONRY .

UPON the base of the " Cleopatra needle , " which Egypt has given to America , are certain mysterious characters which so closely resemble the emblems of Freemasonry that prodigious stir has been

caused among Masons in this country as to the real character of the inscriptions . If they could be shown to be truly Masonio they would establish the great antiquity of the Order which is so boastful of its

age and descent . Among Masonio scholars the widest differences of opinion exist as to the age of the Institution , some dating it back to the time of Solomon , or even remoter time , and others ascribing ita genesis to the period since whioh comes within the range of " ancient history . " Still , there seems to be a prevalent opinion that however

ancient the Institution may have been , and whatever traces of it can be discovered in remote times , the Masonry of to-day is a reconstruoted and modernised system . An eminent Masonio authority ( Colonel Thomas Picton ) , who takes this view of it , says that the origin of modern Masonry can be attributed to Lord Bacon . In the

" New Atlantis there is a description of Solomon and his house , and it is there said that the King set apart different days for prosecuting the arts and sciences . The " New Atlantis " was excessively popular among the learned men of Bacon ' s day , and they tried to establish a society , taking Solomon as an exponent of wisdom . It was

encouraged by tbe court of James I ., and his successor , Charles I ., until the revolution broke out . Then the royalists , after the death of Charles I ., reorganised their society for religious and political motives —the religion for the re-establishment of the church , the politics for tho restoration of the monarchy . Next they invented what is called

the legend of the third degree . Hiram Abiff was the murdered monarch . Hiram , the King of Tyre , was the King of Franoe . Solomon was the church . Hiram's three assassins were the three kingdoms : England , Scotland and Ireland . The Masons of that day , who were the conspirators—the Jacobites—were necessarily a secret

society . They called themselves , as the Masons of the European continent do to the present day , the Sons of the Widow , inasmuch as the King had been beheaded and bis son had not been recognised . After the restoration the leading men of the movement formed the Royal Society , which exists to the present day , and they openly

continued the work of the house of Solomon . The Jacobites in France continued their benevolent organisation . In England , immediately after the Restoration , a number of those who had been previously affiliated conjoined with a guild of so-called operative Masone , a body of freemen of London , meeting iu Masons' Lane .

They then became free and accepted Masons . In 1717 there appeared to be fonr Lodges in London . They met in the Apple-tree Tavern , placed the oldest Mason in the chair , and proceeded to organise a Grand Lodge , electing Sir Christopher Wren Grand Master . From that budy originated all the Masonic Lodges at present known to be in existence . Notes and Queries ,