Provincial Grand Lodge Of Sussex.

name of the brethren present , whoso wishes lam sure I anticipntcthank yon , Sir , for calling ns together , and so givinrr us flua opportu nity of expressing our loyalty to our Sovereign the Qneen , and onr joy at her merciful preservation . Within the last twelve months , no less than threo attempts have been made on the lives of the chinf rulers of kingdoms and states . Two of them yon know wore fatal .

But , happily for England , our beloved Sovereign has escaped tho danger of assassination , and we have the satisfaction of knowing that the atrocious crime had no origin either in political rancour or in personal revenge . But yet there are those who say that in the manifestations of rejoicing throughout the land and the numberless addresses of congratulation which are daily pouring in , wo are

making a great fnss about nothing , seeing that Her Majesty was not only not killed , but neither hurt nor frightened . Now , brethren , wo may bemakingagreatfuss , but it is not about nothing , for had tho deed been fatal , instead of now being transported with joy , we , and not only we , the English people , but the wholo of Europe , America , and tho civi-Used world , would be mourning the loss of the very best monarch who

ever sat npon the throne of England . It is no idlo supposition that the attempt might have been fatal , for tho pistol was loaded , tho bullet waa discharged , and had the aim been true , who can tell what the disaster might have been ! Had it been fatal , it would have been small consolation to us to have known that Her Majesty lost her life at tbe hands of a miscreant or a madman ; instead of bra political

assassin , as was the case with the late Emperor of Russia , or by diabo-Heal and malignant revenge , as was the case with tbe late noble President of the United States of America . Therefore wo do rejoice , and rejoice in onr rejoicing , that it has pleased Almighty God to spare the life of our beloved Queen . The remarks of Bro . Scott were received throughout with warm xpressions of appreciation , and at the close thereof the motion wns

pat and nnanimously adopted , The Prov . G . M . again rose , he said : I now move , " That the brethren of the Province of Sussex do offer the heartiest congratulations to H . R . H . the Prince of Wales , the M . W . Grand Master , on tbe happy escape of Her Majesty from the cowardly attack which has so recently endangered her life . " The following address to H . R . H . was then read : —

To His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales M . W . G . M . of Free and Accepted Masons of England , K . G ., & c , & o . May it please your Royal Highness . At a meeting of the Freemasons of the Province of Sussex , held at tbe Royal Pavilion , Brighton , on Saturday , 11 th March 1882 , the

E . W . Bro . Sir W . W . Burrell Bart ., Prov . G . M . in the chair , for tho purpose of voting an address of congratulation to Her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen , and the M . W . the Grand Master H . R . H . the Prince of Wales , on the happy deliverance of Her Majesty from recent danger ,

It was unanimously resolved : " That the Brethren of the Province of Sussex offer their heartiest congratulations to H . R . H . the Prince of Wales , their M . W . Grand Master , on the happy escape of Her Majesty tbe Queen from the cowardly attack which has so recently endangered her life . '"

The Prov . S . G . W ., Mayor of Brighton , seconded . He observed—The occasion of our meeting is both extraordinary and exceptional . It is a meeting of Masons congregated together for the purpose of expressing their thanks to Almighty God for the preservation of our beloved Sovereign from the dangerous attack of a would-be assassin . The occasion is of so exceptional a character that even the

history of the Brighton Corporation ( a meeting of which , assembled for a similar purpose , I attended yesterday ) can present no similar record . I am especially glad to be present at this large and influential assemblage of Masons to-day , for the purpose of congratulating Her Majesty and His Royal Highness , and to have this opportunity of expressing towards them how strong are our feelings of loyalty

and devotion . This motion also having been unanimously adopted , tbe brethren rose en maise , whilst Bro . Broadbridge , accompanied by Bro . Boo , gave the salvos , all uniting in the beautiful semi-national anthem "God bless the Prince of Wales . "

Bro . Hallett Prov . S . G . W . again rose , and moved that the address agreed to be engrossed on vellum , signed by tbe Prov . G . M ., D . G . M ., G . R ., and G . S ., and forwarded for presentation . Bro . Noakes Prov . G . J . W . briefly seconded , and the motion being carried new . dis , Grand Lodge was closed in solemn form .

At the last meeting of the Royal National Lifeboat Institntion Mr . Thos . Chapman in the chair , rewards amounting to £ 130 were granted to the crews of different lifeboats of the institution , for fMn rendered during the past month . Payments amounting to * 1 , 100 wero made on some of the 270 lifeboat establishments of the institution . A lady had forwarded a contribution of £ 400 towards the

renewal or endowment of the lifeboat she had presented lo the " ¦ amotion a short time since ; £ 100 had also been received from Mr ni / emon Land , and a contribution from the school boys of Christ ' s "oapital , per the bead master , Bro . the Rev . R . Lee . The late Mrs . ncfeotnbe , of Brighton , had left tbe institntion a leeacv of £ 1 . 500 ¦

r . ¦ Osgood Torkington , of Clapham , £ 1 , 000 ; Mr . William Slocomb , y uoiioway , £ 900 : Mr . Horace Watson , of Wimbledon . £ 200 ; Mr . Wptt ' ' ° f Birm , ' 2 l > am , £ 200 ; and Miss E . W . Daniel , ot sent 1 n . "s P er- . Mare . £ 100 . Bro . the Lord Mayor of London has contion v P ' over the forthcoming annua ! meeting of tbe mstituinatant ^^ ** beW at tbe Mansion House , on Thursday , the 23 rd

J V Q ° MWines ™ , ? 9 ° ' ' Yi m Merchant ( Experts and Valuers ) . Well fermented - anu , matured Spirits . 2 Albert Mansions , Victoria-street , London , S . W .

Correspondence.

CORRESPONDENCE .

All Letters must hear the name , and address of the Writer , not necessarily for publication , but as a guarantee of good faith . We do not hold ourselves responsible for the opinions of onr Cor . respondents . We cannot undertake to return rejected communications .

THB GRANT TO THE EOYAL MASONIC BENEVOLENT INSTITUTION .

To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —Having seen most of the Statements of Account flora which your Table , published a fortnight since , wns compiled , I am in a position to verify its contents , at least in thoir main features . What , however , puzzles ino most , and has induce ! mo to address to yon theso few lines is , that so distinguished

a Craftsman ns Bro . Philbrick should havo been ignorant of the resources of the Board of General Purposes , being , as he is , a member of that Board . That he might not have been able to state off-hand the amount of its invested funds is likely enough , bufc it passes all belief that he should not havo known that it was in receipt of a large annual rental , thafc the contribntions of Lodges amounted

to several thousands per annum , and that Grand Chapter contributed one-fifth of the amonnt disbursed in salaries . He ought to have known , or , at all events at the expenditure of a very little time and trouble , ho might have ascertained , that the Board had latterly been making extensive purchases of stock , and had a very considerable balance to its credit . I say it is not unreasonable to snppose thafc a

member in Bro . Philbrick's position , when ho contemplated making the motion he did at last Grand Lodge , would take the precaution of obtaining beforehand all the necessary information . Who is to know tho resources of the Board of General Purposes if not the members themselves ? I wonder it never occurred to some member

of Grand Lodge to rise in his place and draw attention to some of the points I have referred to . Had this been done , I can hardly bring myself to believe the motion for the non-confirmation of tho additional grant to the Benevolent Institution would havo beeu agreed to . Fraternally and faithfully yours , A CONSTANT READER .

The Late William Preston Lodge Of Instruction, No. 766.

THE LATE WILLIAM PRESTON LODGE OF INSTRUCTION , No . 766 .

To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . 13 th March 1882 . DEAR Sin AND BROTHER , —My attention has been drawn to your issue of the 4 th instant , and I must express my extreme surprise at the gross misstatements made by your correspondent " Q ., " and also afc your editorial remarks thereon . I have not yet had the pleasure

of perusing the subject in your issue of the 18 th ult ., so will confine my observations to the correction of somo of tho various errors of your correspondent " Q . " and yourself . Firstly . The circular sent out on the 30 th January was not sent to a portion of the members only , as you allege ( and ns Bro . Tribbel was so credibly informed ) , but to every member of the Lodge , whose

address I had the means of obtaining . Secondly . Tho circular , as you will see by the enclosed copy , reads as follows : —Dear Sir and Brother , —At tho next meeting of the above Lodge , on Friday , 3 rd February , tho following business will be bronght forward : Report of the Audit Committee , Election of Officers , and other important business connected with the Lodge ,

and I request the favour of your presence to take part in the same , as it may affect the future of the Lodge . I am , & o . " In your version the words "to take part" are omitted , and you substitute tho word " fortune" for fntnre—lo my mind n very important omission and substitution , more especially as you informant mnst have been iu possession of the printed circular .

Now , Sir , I am totally unaccustomed to taking part iu correspondence through the medium of the press , but I purpose giving the following facts concerning the William Preston Lodge of Instruction , which , I-think , will be the best means of answering " Q . ' s " letter and your editorial , instead of wading through the whole of the inaccuracies and groundless charges contained therein .

Our Bye-laws state that a Preceptor , Treasurer , and Secretary shall bo annnally elected in December . This was nofc complied with in December last , for the very adequate reason , that on four consecutive Fridays in that month no Lodge was held , owing to the want of attendance of sufficient brethren to form a Lodge ; bufc on the 6 th of January a Lodge -was held ( opened at 9 p . m . ) , seven brethren only

present . Bro . Hayes then bronght tho subject of tbe election of Officers before the Lodge , stating ho should not stand for re-election as Preceptor , I also stated I should decline standing for re-election as Secretary . After clisenssion , and at the request of each member present ( particularly Bro . Tribbel ) , Bro . Hayes and myself consented to continue in office until the first Friday in February , one clear month ,

so that tbe members should have an opportunity of finding other brethren to take onr relative positions . Dining that month I saw many members , some of whom came occasionally to the Lodge , and the conclusion invariably arrived afc was—if brethren could not be fonnd to accept onr positions there was no other course open but to close

the Lodge . Then , Sir , I sent tho circular convening tbe meeting for Ihe 3 rd of February to each member of the Lodgo whose address was on the Lodge Book , or known to me , and not to a fovv only , as suggested . We mustered sixteen only at that meeting in response to more than sixty circulars sent ont . The following ia a , copy of the minutes of tha meeting -,-r-.