West Lancashire Province.

WEST LANCASHIRE PROVINCE .

THE following appeared in a recent issue of our contemporary , the ' * Liverpool Daily Courier : "

TO THB EDITOB 0 _ THE MVEBPOOL COUBIBB . SIB , —The Masonic body are deeply indebted to you for the reports respecting Masonio gatherings which appear in your paper from time to time . The record of the death of the Provincial Grand Master the late Earl of Lathom was of especial interest , and which interest is only exceeded by the

question of who is going to be his successor . I have heard that the present Earl of Lathom has been nominated or appointed by the Grand Master his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales , but as he has not yet been installed into the position his value as Provincial Grand Master is nil , the Order being left practically at the present moment under the rule of the Deputy Provincial Grand Master and the paid Secretary .

You wi'l no doubt have heard that there is a project on foot to divide this very large Province—the largest under the English Constitution of Freemasonry—but on a subject of this character there are two opinions , viz ., one for retaining things as they are , and the other one to divide the Province . Well , surely Sir , this is a matter which could easily be settled if a meeting

were called , and taking the vote of the members on the question , but the two officials I have alluded to above deny the right of any member even to raise the question , and threaten all sorts of pains and penalties upon all those who dare to mention such a horrid thing and thus endanger their august and exalted position .

I enclose you a form of petition , together with a circular which has been sent out by the Blackpool people , and which , to my mind , seems quite legal , respectful , and quite in order , and moreover was started before the reputed appointment of tha present Provincial Grand Master the Earl of Lathom . But even if it had not been commenced before his appointment ,

the central powers in London knew quite well—and have known quite well for many years—that it was the wish of a great number that this division should take place . I therefore think that tho fairest way in which to settle the question would be to call a general meeting , and not be dictated to by two members , no matter how high their position . Yours , & c , 17 th . Jan . 1899 . A MEMBER .

Duties Of Past Masters.

DUTIES OF PAST MASTERS .

R _ _ 1 _ IX 1 JNG to a toast at an installation banquet a l . M . made the following reference to the responsibilities of those who have " passed the chair , " which may be perused with advantage . He said : " I have no sympathies with those who imagine that after they have served their term as Master the sun has set on their Masonic working day . On the contrary , their work as P . M .

has only just begun . Up to that time Masonry has done everything for the man who has occupied the chair ; ifc surely then becomes his duty to endeavour to repay some of the obligations he owes to his Lodge . Our besfc lessons are bought in the school of experience , and it is as we attend to these that we can make progress . I defy

any man to serve a term as W . M . without acquiring a fund of experience which will be invaluable to him and profitable to his Lodge , and it is only right that he should give his Brethren the opportunity of drawing on that fund when they require to do so . The Past Masters are the veterans of the Craft by whose

experience we may profit , the patriarchs with whom we may take command , and on whose judgment we may rely , the Gamaliels at whose feet the others may sit and learn . They should

therefore be always available , and even if they are not required to do any part of the ritual work , they can greatly assist both Master and fche Lodge by the moral support fcheir presence gives . — " New Zealand Craftsman . "

Brotherhood.

BROTHERHOOD .

A FOUNDATION stone of our Institution is Brotherhood . It is exemplified in our Fraternity ; it has been an element that has characterised this century now drawing to its close . It is a principle about wbLh we often speak when we are together as Masons ; we are bound together as men , or as brethren , having

something in common . "We are not there as members of any particular political party , or as members of any particular religious organisation ; we are not . there as learned men or as ignorant ; we are not there as rich men or as poor . We come into this Institution simply and purely upon our merits , upon our characters

as men . That is the only thing fchat is inquired into by the committee appointed upon an application . Has the candidate done those things that he ought to do , and left undone those things that he ought not to do ? Has be acted ever simply and purely as an honourable man ? If such is found to be the case , the report is favourable , no blackballs are cast , he is initiated ,

passed , and raised to the honourable position of a Master Mason . Such , brethren , are the members of our Institution , and such is the influence tbat this Institution has ever exerted ; showing that there is something in humanity that calls for such a relationship as this , and something that finds a satisfaction in the Brotherhood that is established by this Institution which we so much honour and so much love . But this characteristic is not something that

Brotherhood.

is confined to Freemasonry . We have bufc to look about us to see thafc it is a matter that has characterised the work and the progress of this century . What is the principle that has united Germany ? In the early part of this century , what is now Germany was a number of independent States . They felt that there was a common interest and a common blood that inspired

fche heart and ran through the veins of the peoples of those several States ; and acting upon that feeling , and the impulse of national Brotherhood , they have come together under one mighty empire of the German Confederation . It is evident thafc it was this principle of Brotherhood , that same principle which is the foundation' of our Institution , that united and cemented that

empire . We find the same thing in Italy . The Italian States , weak and severed as they were , have been brought together , and Italy stands before the world to-day as a nation representing the Brotherhood of thafc people .

The same principle has changed France from an empire to a republic . It was felt by that nation from the time of the reign of the first Napoleon down to the time of the reign of the third Napoleon . Individual independence and fraternity have come to the front , and to-day , upon the ruins of that empire , stands a free republic . If there is anything that belongs to a free republic

which distinguishes it from an empire , it is the fact that this principle of Brotherhood is felt and realised . We mighfc go the world around ; it is precisely the same principle that has opened China to commerce and civilisation . . China felfc for ages that she was a nation by herself , capable of standing apart from the rest

of the world ; she did not realise that she was ' one of the family of nations and a member of the great Brotherhood of the human race . But she has commenced to feel the truth of that principle * and her great walls , as it were , have been thrown down , and the world has been bidden to enter . The same is true of Japan .

Then we . might come to our country , and take up another line of thought and see how it works along on the same principle . If there has been one thing tbat has characterised and brought out this great element of Brotherhood in our civilisation it has been some of the wonderful inventions that have been made in thia

country during the present century . The one thing that has done more than anything else to bring people together ,, and make possible the universal Brotherhood of man , has" been the introduction of railroads . It was only in 1826 that the first line of railroad in this country was built ; it ran from Boston to Quincy . It was only in 1844 that the first telegraph line was

installed , running from Baltimore' to Washington ; audit was not until a much later date that man * has been enabled , by means of the telephone , to whisper to his Brother over leagues of space . All these inventions have a tendency to unite this race" of ours , cementing us more closely together and binding lis one to another as men .

Freemasonry is a potent agency in this beneficent work , reaching for the same results , helping along the progress of civilisation , which has made such vast strides during fchepresent century . Bufc I cannot stop without calling attention to one other thing which runs along this same line of progress . During the early part of this century , as before , disputes among nations were settled

by force of arms . How are they settled to-day ? They are settled by arbitration . When England and the United' States differ ' , whether ifc be with respect to Alabama claims , or whether ifc _ e because they think that Venezuela ought to have a little more or a little less territory , there is a peaceful way provided-for the settlement of the controversy , and that is by arbitration .- All this goes to show the strong hold which this principle of Brotherhood has taken on the peoples of the world .

Now , I say , let Freemasonry , and all other institutions , go forward and do what they can to hasten that day when all nations shall know each other as Brethren ; when war shall cease : and be no more ; and as we journey towards that end we shall find that we are entering upon that glad day when we wilL know no

man except as our Brother . Let Freemasonry continue to help every one into that noble life which it is everyone _ privilege and right to enjoy ; and which he may have if he will . Thus I say , Blessed be Freemasonry now and for evermore . —Albert L . Harwood Deputy Grand Master Massachusetts , in " Voice of Masonry . "

A social function , at which the lady friends of the members were invited , was held under the auspices of the Forest Lodge , No . 1852 , in the Mansfield Town Hall , on Tuesday evening . The decorations were carried out on a very elaborate scale , Bro . G . H . Andrews being entrusted with the work . Amongst the

vocalists was Bro . H . Stubbs , St . Paul's Cathedral , London . Those present numbered upwards of a hundred , guests from the Ashfield and other Lodges being amongst tbe number . The Worshipful Master Bro . Harry Smith and Mrs . Smith received the company .