The Hon. Sir Frederick Whitaker.

THE HON . SIR FREDERICK WHITAKER .

P ROVINCIAL GRAND MASTER NORTH ISLAND OF N . Z ., S . C . ON the afternoon of 4 th December passed quietly away from earth , in his SOth year , one of tho most honoured members of the Fraternity in New Zaaland , and who , by his consistent life and actious had over been a living embodiment of the principles of

Freemasonry , presenting an example well worthy of imitation by all professing to regulate their lives by Masonic line and rule . Our late Brother first saw the light of Masonry on 23 rd July 1839 , in Alfred Lodge , No . 340 , E . C , Oxford , when about 27 years old , and only a short time before ho left the shores of England to seek

his fortune in the then far-distant and little known Australian Colonies . Arriving in Syduoy in 1810 he almost immediately came on to New Zealand , and has sojourned among us ever since . His name has been intimately and honourably associated with the history of the Colony for the last fifty years , and no less olosely and

creditably with the annals of the Craft during the same period . Bro . Whitaker was , in 1842 , installed as first Worshipful Master of Lodge Ara , the first Lodge established in New Zealand , and continnod for many years an aotive and prominent member , until the cares of publio office compelled him to discontinue bis regular attendance .

In 1878 , when the North Island of New Zealand was constituted a Province under the Scottish Constitution , Sir Frederick was by acolamation ohosen for its first Provincial Grand Master , and mos . t ably and satisfactorily has he ever since filled the office . To thosn intimately conneoted with him in Masonio matters it has always been

a source of wonder and admiration that one afc his great age , whoso time and thoughts were so much occupied by the affairs of State and the engrossing cares of bnsiness , could succeed in mastering tho details and attending to the minutim of work connected with tho Craft . But thoroughness and methodical precision wero Btrong

traits in his character , and whatover he undertook to do was done " to the best of his knowledgn and ability . " He was not content to oocupy a merely ornamental or honorary position , but was ever the active , directing and controlling power of Provincial Grand Lodge . By every member of that Provincial Grand Lodge Bro . Whitaker

was looked up to with feelings ot veneration and respect , and hia oheery and cordial warmheartedness endeared him to all who came under the magical influence of his oharming and lovable manner . In deoiding questions of MaBonio jurisprudence or in conducting trials for offences against the laws of the Fraternity , Bro . Whitaker

brought to bear all his skill as an acknowledged leader in hia profession , combiued with that patience , precision , and attention to details whioh so strongly characterised him ; while running through all was ever present and visiblo so much of kindness and good nature that even those under reproof or punishment felt they were being

disciplined in " sorrow , not in anger , and were ever ready to submit to and kiss the rod . Shortly before being installed Provincial Grand Master in 1878 Bro . Whitaker affiliated to Lodge Sir Walter Scott , No . 532 S . C , and continued a member up to tho data of his decease . He wan also

a subscribing member of St . Andrew , No . 418 . About five yeav 3 ago he took the degree of Royal Aroh , in Zialandia Chapter S . C , and manifested a strong interest , in Capitular Masonry . When the proposal to establish a Grand Lodge in this Colony was first mooted , Bro . Whitaker assumed a neutral position , freely

stating his conviction that although the movement might be somewhat premature , it was only a question of a vory few years before all would be working under the one government . Subsequently , he somewhat varied from the course he had first laid down—that , namely , of letting each Lodge decide the question

for itself—and more actively opposed the movement ; but there is strong reason to believe that he bad recently bpcome convinced that it would be well to gracefully accept the inevitable , and , had he been spared for another year , would probably have been instrumental in bringing about a settlement of our unhappy differencefi .

Onr late Brother literally died in Masonic harness , his last thoughts , no doubt , being occupied in considering how he conld best contribute to an amalgamation of the opposing forces ; for , when death summoned him , he was waiting in his office for his Provincial Grand Committee to assemble , in response to his invitation " to

consider the present position of Masonic matters" in this district , consequent on so many of hia Lodges having joined the Grand Lodge of New Zealand . That no feelings but those of respect and veneration for our departed Brother find a place in the hearts of New Zealand Masons was amply testified by the fact that a large majority of those

assembled round his grave , to pay the last tribute of respect to hiB memory , were members of Lodges under the New Zealand Constitution , and by none will he be more sincerely mourned . Despite the olond that of late yean arose between us , we are never likely to forget his skill as a legislator , his integrity as a citizen , and his fidelity and zeal as a Mason .

Indomitable zeal inspired his worn and weary feet , And moved his earnest soul to make the work of life complete . MALCOLM NICCOL . THE R . W . P . G . Master DeputeBro . William McCullonghdelivered a

, , high and eloquent testimony to the memory of the deceased Brother , before the Brethren assembled to take part in the funeral services . We extract the following from Bro . McCullongh ' s remarks , as they supplement the Obituary published above : —

Onr late Provincial Grand Master , Sir F . Whitaker , was favoured by Almi ghty God with length of days , and his work in the quarries of this world commenced before the majority of those present were born , when the titree and the wild fern grew upon the hillsides of our city , and the shores of our harbour were the resort of the fishing parties of the Native race . In those early days he was called upon

The Hon. Sir Frederick Whitaker.

by those in authority to discharge duties to the Church and State . Fifty years ago his great abilities were recognised , and how well he served Church and State may be traced in the Constitutions under whioh both now work . So well did he discharge his duties to the State that Her Most Gracious Majesty tho Queen marked her approval by conferring upon him a patent of knighthood . As a

citizen of Auckland , he always held the highest place in tho regard of the people . This was shown by his being called , upon to fill the highest places and the most honourable in the gift of the citizens , and also by his being chosen , times without number , to represent his fellow-colonists in the councils of the State . His kindly manner , his modest , and obliging disposition , united with great abilities and a

strict sense of justice and equity , made him at all times the friend , as well as the wise adviser . As a father , he was loved and respected for his consistent , moral , and upright character ; and the example he set of a godly , sober , and conscientious life may well havo been that piotured in the mind of the poet Longfellow , when he wrote his magnificent ' Psalm of Life '—

Lives of groat men all remind us We can make our lives sublime ; And , departing , leave behind ns Footprints on the sands of Time . Footprints , that , perhaps another ,

Sailing o'er life's solemn main , A forlorn and shipwrecked brother , Seoing , may take heart again . Bnt , as a Mason , we are here mostly called upon to speak , for his intercourse with the members of this Lodge was most frequent , and with the members of the Mnsonio Craft most fraternal . How great

onr loss is , we are , at this hour , incapable of estimating , and only when we require his COUIIROI and advice , and feel the want of his experience and wisdom , will we realise how much he was oar dear and esteemed brother and chief . He was , as it were , a landmark in Freemasonry in this Colony , for nearly half-a-centnry ago he was the applicant for a charter for a Masonic Lodge , and was chosen the

first Master of the first Lodge opened in New Zealand . From that day to his latest he was an aotivo and an efficient member of the Order . His interest never flagged , and , although younger men succeeded to the more aotive management of the subordinate Lodges , he oocupied the hig hest station as Chief Ruler in this Island under the Grand

Lodge of Scotland . The history of the Colony may be said to be the history of his life , and when , in the future , there will arise a great writer and historian , no inconsiderable part of his work , when dealing with the first half-oentnry of the colonisation of theae Islands , will be , most undoubtedly , the part played by onr late Brother . —New Zealand Craftsman .

Do Freemasons Pray For The Dead ?

DO FREEMASONS PRAY FOR THE DEAD ?

S ( E , — 'Having read two letters in recent issues of your paper on the above subject , signed by Freemasons , which I think are calculated to mislead the uninitiated , I feel that it is due to the Crafb that Bome fuller explanation should be giveu . My two professed brother * appear to me to know very little of Masonry , or its principles and practices , or they should remember that tho Bible ( afc least tho Old Testament ) is

the foundation on which it is built , and which shonld be a Freemason ' s guide , and in that book , or in any prayer or lecture I ever heard under Masonio rule , I never found or heard of any suoh prayer as they describe . On the subject of the exclusion of Romanists from Masonic Lodges , yonr correspondents appear to be nnder a heavier cloud of

ignorance , as I never saw or heard of any impediment in the way of the admission of Romanists as Masons , nor of any person , not an atheist , who was of good character and position otherwise . And as a further practical proof , I have met in Lodge many times , more than one Roman Catholio who held high degrees and one of them said on good authority that the late Pope ( Pio Nono ) iu his early

days was a member of high degree . In fact , it was only after the first quarter of the present century that even priests of Rome withdrew from the same Lodge to which I belong . Now to be a Freemason in Ireland is as bad with priestcraft as being an Orangeman , the only offence of the Mason to

Romanism being , that a Mason will not tell his seoret at confession , while the offence of an Orangeman is , th » t he declares himself a Protestant and loyal to his Sovereign the Queen , and to her dynasty . AN IRISH ROYAL AKCH MASON . Cork , 2 nd March 1892 .

Sir , —The burial service used at the funeral of the late Colonel Gough was that of the Church of England , with variations not recognized by the Fraternity . ONE wno WAS PEESENT . Wolverhampton , 4 th March 1892 .

We have received notice from the Directors of Spiers and Pond Limited that a third instalment , of 4 s per share , less income tax , on account of dividend , will be posted to tho shareholders of the Company on the 31 st instant , and that the share transfer books will

be closed from the 21 » t to the 31 st inst . inclnsive , for the purpose of preparing the warrants . This payment , with the two instalments paid on the first of October and the first of January last respectively , makes 12 s per share on acconnt of the year ending 31 st March 1892 , the full dividend for which will be declared in July next .