Freemasonry In India.

FREEMASONRY IN INDIA .

IT is announced in the " Delhi Morning Post" that Bro . Bertie Scott has been deputed by the Grand Lodge of England to visit India for the purpose of collecting information with the view of publishing the " History of Freemasonry in India . " The particulars sought for from each

Lodge are as follow : —I . The date of the Lodge ' s Charter ; 2 . The names of Brethren who were concerned in forming the Lodge ; 3 . The names of the Worshipful Master and Officers ; 4 . The names of distinguished Brethren who have at various times occupied chairs ; 5 . Any special functions

the Lodge has participated in ; 6 . The Lodge ' s original and present strength ; 7 . History of Lodge ; 8 . The names of present Worshipful Master and Officers . The introductory chapters , it is said , will deal with the origin of Freemasonry in India , and thus Craft Lodges will be incidentally referred to again , while space will be devoted

to Chapters and other higher Degrees , and about 1 , 500 photographs will be dispersed through the book , considerably adorning its pages and enhancing its interest . Brother Scott has personally visited several stations , where several Masters and Secretaries have furnished him with the required

particulars , but as there are 16 4 Lodges under Charter in India and its dependencies , and it is not possible for him to visit all , he has asked the Secretaries to furnish the information , and in doing so to collaborate with the Worshipful Master and others with the view of making these records as complete

as possible . He hopes that by next April , when he returns to England , to be in possession of all the information required to' enable the Grand Lodge to publish the book by October next , and he informs Secretaries of Lodges that the Grand

Lodge was fully aware of the amount of trouble they might be put to , and he asks them to bear in mind the power the book will wield in a few years when it will have become the official reference for the Craft in India for ever .

[ Much of this reads very strange to us , and we can but expess our wonder that Grand Lodge is displaying such active interest in the work . Is it really true all that is here recorded?—Ed . F . C . l

Irish Charity.

IRISH CHARITY .

THE Governors of the Masonic Orphan Boys School of Ireland have published a full statement of the School ' s position , with an urgent appeal to their Brethren . The Governors asked the Council of the Royal Dublin Society not to let their Balls Bridge premises to others for the year 1900 without giving them an opportunity to hold a Century

Celebration for the Boys , on the same lines as the successful celebration that they gave for the Girls , in 1892 . This the Dublin Society ' s Committee have refused ; and the Masonic Committee unwillingly offered £ 300—or three times as much

as in 1892 . Since then the Society have demanded £ 500 down , or else £ 100 down and three per cent , of all the profits . Now , supposing the Century Celebration is as successful as that of 18 92 , this would mean £ 756 5 s id to the Society , while the alternative means five times as much as

the charitable Masons paid in 1892 ; and more than thrice what the Military Tournament people paid ! Are there no Masons in the Society ? It certainly seemed rather hard ; and the Dublin Society people are likely to lose the substance for the shadow . For the Masons , being unable to offer so

much , have made the appeal among themselves , with the result that in four weeks no less than £ 1 , 800 has been subscribed towards the £ 5 , 000 that is so urgently needed to suit the Boys School to present requirements . The list is headed by the Irish Grand Master the Duke of Abercorn , who subscribes £ 50 . — " Vanity Fair . "

A company of more than 100 Brethren assembled on Wednesday , at the Hotel Cecil , to witness the fourth installation of a Worshipful Master of the London County Council Lodge , No . 2603 , now three years old . It has already had as Masters the Earl of Onslow , Lord Harrisand

, Bro . Nathan Robinson , says the " Daily Telegraph , " and now Bro . George S . Elliott has been dulv installed into the municipal Masonic chair which King Solomon once adorned . Among those present were Bros , the Earl of Onslow , R . Horton Smith

, Q . C ., Past Grand Registrar , Sir Joseph C Dimsdale Past Grand Treasurer , Sheriff Lieut-Colonel Clifford Probyn Grand Treasurer , Dr . Ralph Gooding Past Grand Deacon , John Houlding ( late Lord Mayor of

Irish Charity.

Liverpool ) Senior Grand Deacon , Sir George D . Harris Past Grand Deacon , Luxmore Marshall Deputy Grand Director of Ceremonies , C . F . Matier Past Grand Sword Bearer , and R . J . Mure Grand Deacon .

At the installation meeting at Frascati's , of the Fellowship Lodge , No . 2535 , which has earned for itself the undying record of having raised for the Craft Charities nearly £ 2 , 000 in the four years of its existence , a novel experience

occurred , entirely unprovided for in the Book of Constitutions , says the "Daily Telegraph . " The mystic business being over , before the Brethren adjourned to the banqueting hall the newly-installed W . M . Bro . E . Rogers introduced his

beautiful greyhound , Black Fury , the recent winner of the Waterloo Cup , who trod the tesselated floor and sniffed the pedestals in the east , west , and south with all the sangfroid

that characterised his winning the great match . He was , of course , elected an Honorary Member of the Sporting Lodge , and a suitable collar ordered to be provided , continues our contemporary .

Bro . Frank Martin announces that his annual concert will be held on Tuesday next , 21 st inst ., at the Masonic Hall , Leytonstone , under the presidency of Bro . Ffrench Bromhead , who will be supported by Bros . George Graveley

P . G . P ., S . Fennell , and other well known Masons . Our Bro . Martin is very popular in his district , and has secured the patronage of many of the local Clubs and Associations ,

as well as the Burdett Coutts , Upton , Victoria Diamond Jubilee , Clarence and Avondale , and Earl of Warwick Lodges . We wish him every success on the occasion .

An interesting presentation was made to Bro . F . Guy I . P . M . of the St . Cecilia Lodge , No . 1636 , Brighton , to commemorate the birth of a son during his year of office . ' The presentation took the form of a handsome silver salad

bowl , and bore the following inscription , "Presented by the Brethren of the St . Cecilia Lodge , No . 1636 , to Bro . and Mrs . F . Guy , to commemorate the birth of their son , Frederick John , during his father ' s year of office as W . M ., January 1 st , 1899 . "

The Alfred Newton Lodge of Instruction , No . 2686 , meets every Tuesday evening , at 7 " 45 , at the Royal Palace Hotel , Kensington , W ., and enjoys the same accommodation as the Mother Lodge , whose members and their friends are

warm supporters of the Instruction meetings . Brethren of the district will find here the means of passing a few enjoyable and instructive hours each week , in one of the best appointed Lodges of the metropolis .

Referring to our suggestion that Masonic Cycling Clubs should be established for London , our contemporary "The Mallet , " in "Glasgow Evening News , " says that more than one Lodge in Glasgow—particularly the GaelNo . 609—has

, an institution of the kind suggested for London , and many enjoyable runs have been made into the country , where Lodges have been visited .

Bro . Paul Becker , of the Clapton Lodge , No . 1365 , wellknown to Brethren frequenting the Lodges held at the Great Eastern Hotel , Liverpool Street , E . C ., has been appointed to

the management of the Company ' s Hotel at Harwich . We congratulate him upon his promotion , and heartily wish him success in his new sphere .

The regular meeting of the Angel Lodge , No . 51 , Colchester , is to be held on Thursday next , 23 rdinst ., at 6-45 p . m . The business will include the balloting for a joining member , the ballot and , on approval , the initiation of a gentleman into the Order , and the raising of three members of the Lodge .

Bro . Bevan ' s election as Grand Treasurer is received in many quarters with great satisfaction by Brethren who know his worth , and how peculiarly he is qualified for the exalted position . He is already Vice Patron of the three Institutions , and has long been a most devoted member of the Order .