New South Wales.

NEW SOUTH WALES .

A SPECIAL Communication of this Grand Lodge was held on the 11 th June , on which occasion the M . W . the Grand Master Bro . J . C . Remington said he regretted that

during the past few days he had been suffering from a severe indisposition , and was that evening so ill that he would have felt himself justified in being absent from any other engagement of a less pressing character than the meeting of that evening . His voice was so seriously affected

that he would ask the Deputy Grand Master ( Bro . Trivett ) to read his quarterly address to Grand Lodge , which that Officer then proceeded to read , as follows . The last quarter of my second year of Office has proved fully as pleasant

and progressive as any that have preceded it . The various reports , to be submitted to you later on this evening , record details of advancement which may well rejoice our hearts , but which I need not now more particularly refer to , as I have a number of other matters to mention .

First naturally comes the reply sent on behalf of His Most Gracious Majesty to our message of sympathy and loyalty in January last . It is from the Grand Secretary , London , and runs as follows . " I have received the commands of the King to ask you to be so good as to convey to

the members of the Grand Lodge of New South Wales His Majesty ' s grateful thanks for their kind and fraternal expression of sympathy with him in his great sorrow . " As you are aware , His Majesty King Edward VII . has ceased

to be the Grand Master of English Freemasonry , and his brother the Duke of Connaught has been elected in his stead . W e shall doubtless hear almost immediately of his installation as Grand Master , and it will be appropriate then to despatch at once our congratulation by cable .

On the arrival of His Royal Highness the Duke of Cornwall and York in Sydney , I deemed it fitting that we should not be behind other loyal subjects in presenting an address of welcome , which , as you have doubtless seen by the Masonic press , I did as follows . " May it please your

Royal Highness—The United Grand Lodge of New South Wales of Ancient , Free and Accepted Masons , and its 185 daughter Lodges , desire to join in the sincere and hearty welcome which greets your Royal Highness on your arrival in Sydney , the capital of the mother State of Australia , from

all the loyal subjects of your illustrious father , Plis Most Gracious Majesty King Edward VII . Your Royal Iiighness will not need to be reminded that Plis Majesty has none more loyal or devoted than are the members of the Craft of which in England Flis Most Gracious Majesty has so

long been Grand Master . The same sincere loyalty has ever distinguished Freemasons in this territory , and they renew the assurance of it to your Royal Highness , praying

that you will be graciously pleased to convey it to His Most Gracious Majesty whom may God preserve . For and on behalf of the Freemasons of New South Wales , J . C . REMINGTON Grand Master . Sydney , 29 th May 1001 . "

His Royal Highness made a gracious reply in general terms to the representatives of all public bodies , as you will already have gathered from the newspapers . Our relations with other Grand Lodges have continued

on their uniformly Fraternal footing . I sent congratulations on your behalf to the newly installed Grand Masters of Western Australia and Victoria . From the former I received

a most cordial letter of thanks ; and I gather from the Masonic press that the latter caused my telegram to be read . The Grand Lodge of Denmark recently addressed to me an important communication , which is briefly referred to in the Board of General Purposes report this evening ; but

with regard to which I must say another word or two . Their grievance is that the Masonic territory of Denmark has been invaded by the Grand Lodge of liamburg granting a Warrant for a Lodge at Copenhagen . The Grand Master of Denmark having addressed me in my dual capacity , as your Grand

Master and as the Representative here of his Grand Lodge , I propose replying that while we are , and always have been , in friendly relations with the Grand Lodge of Denmark , we have no official knowledge of the Grand Lodre of Hamburg .

and that we are in hearty sympathy with the doctrine that when any Masonic territory has been legally occupied by the establishment of a Grand Lodge therein no other Grand Lodge has , or can have , any authority to create new Lodges m such territory .

New South Wales.

You will have before you to-night the report of the special Committee with regard to the proposed Masonic scholarship for girls , in memory of the good Queen Victoria , and , pending the results of that , I cannot say anything very definite with regard to an application which has been made

to me to bring before you the claims of the Queen Victoria Memorial Fund . I understand that its Flonorary Secretary has already addressed each of our Lodges individually with an appeal for subscriptions for the purpose of establishing a Masonic Ward in the Prince Alfred Hospital . Plis letter arrived too late to be submitted to the Board of General

Purposes at their last meeting , and the matter must therefore stand over for further consideration . I may , however , take this opportunity of saying that if such a step should be

decided on , it will be necessary to take care that our privileges with regard to the Ward are very clearly defined , and not lost sight of , as they were when our predecessors endowed another similar charitable institution for the sick .

208 Master Mason Certificates have been issued during the quarter , making a total of 880 for the year . The previous year showed J 19 , and the year before 670 ; so it is evident our Order is making progress in members as well as in funds . Thirty-nine dispensations have been granted during the

quarter , for the following reasons : —Change of night of meeting , Clause 115 , 15 ; to continue as Worshipful Master for a third year , Clause 118 , 1 ; change of place of meeting , Clause 140 , 1 ; emergencies , Clauses 155 and 167 , 9 ; initiation of a Lewis , Clause 157 , 2 ; permission -to wear regalia , Clause 178 , II .

I now desire to once more thank most sincerely the Grand Lodge Officers , and Brethren generally , who have made this second year of Office such a pleasant one to the Grand Master . The indefatigable zeal which they have shown will doubtless be fully appreciated by the Craft , not only now

but in future years . I certainly never remember a time when our Ancient Order was more in evidence , or held in greater esteem by the outside world than it is to-day . Let it be our task to continue such a faithful allegiance to its Landmarks and traditions , that this worthy reputation may be preserved and transmitted to those who shall come after us . — " Masonry . "

freemasonry was very much in evidence at Altrincham on Saturday , 3 rd inst ., on the occasion of the laying of the foundation stone of the Linotype extension by Bro . Green , the Lord Mayor of London , who performed the ceremony to the utmost satisfaction , supported by Bro . Sheriff

Lawrence . Local Lodges were represented , amongst others , by Bro . J . W . Byron , Mayor of Altrincham , Bros . F . R . B . Lindsell , Dr . Renshaw , James Hamilton , all Past Masters of the Stamford Lodge , No . 1045 , Bro . Alderman Griffin , Bro .

S . Thompson , ex-Mayor , and others . It is noteworthy that the ceremony of presenting to the Lord Mayor an address of welcome on behalf of the ancient Court Leet by Bro . J . W . Byron passed off most successfully .

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