New Temple At Kelvedon.

Assembly for Westmoreland and speaker of the House ) , a member of the Harmony Lodge , No . 281 , as Provincial Grand Master . Bro . Blake died before his Provincial Grand Lodge met , and the vacant office was at once conferred on Bro . William Vick , who , with Bro Joseph Dunokerley as Deputy , organised the Province in 1797 . This action appeared to have sealed the fate of Lodges in Jamaica

under rival Constitutions , by absorbing those already in existence and in effectually closing the rival Provincial Grand Lodge of the " Moderns , " while it was instrumental in ushering into being a number of new Lodges . The Patent of appointment of Provincial Grand Master for the " Atholls " covered the power to constitute new Lodges under a local Warrant or Dispensation .

The compiler of this history cannot find any authority for the statement made in Gould ' s History of Freemasonry , that Bro . Dr . M . B . Clare was Prov . Grand Master under the " Ancients "; the earliest accounts referring to him as Prov . Grand Master in Jamaica are in 1814 , when he met his Provincial Grand Lodge under the United Grand Lodge , and presented the Lodge with a set of Officers' Jewels . Bro . Clare continued to rule the Province until 1831 , when he left the island , and died soon after .

In 1846 an attempt was made fco revive the Provincial Grand Lodge , and a petition was prepared and forwarded to the Grand Master by Bro . D . Jacobs P . D . P . G . M ., nominating and recomcomending Bro . John Edwards , Receiver-General of the island , for the vacant office of Provincial Grand Master . The recommendation was opposed by the Royal Lodge , with the result that Brother Edwards was not appointed , and the Provincial Grand Lodge continued in abeyance .

In 1858 the Brethren again moved for the appointment of a Provincial Grand Master ; all the Lodges , except the Friendly Lodge , of Montego Bay , joined in naming Bro . Dr . R . Hamilton P . M . of the Sussex Lodge . The petition was favourably received , and Bro . Dr . Hamilton was appointed under patent dated Sth November 1858 , to preside over East Jamaica , the Friendly Lodge of Montego Bay having been permitted to communicate direct with the Grand Lodge .

The Royal Lodge had the honour of receiving the newlyappointed Provincial Grand Master under its banner on the 6 th June 1858 , the Worshipful Master of the Royal , Bro . Robert McClelland , performing the ceremony of installing Bro . Dr . Hamilton as P . G . M . Thus the Provincial Grand Lodge was again established , several Brethren oi the Royal holding office .

In the year 1873 Bro . J . W . Whitboume was appointed Deputy District Grand Master , and Bro . Dr . Hamilton D . G . M . left the island for a protracted visit to the mother country . During the five years following , the Craft continued to flourish under the guidance of the Deputy D . G . Master , whose able rule and popularity was recognised on several occasions by the presentation of addresses and valuable testimonials , and finally , by the District

Grand Master on his return to the island in 1878 , when , in addressing the Brethren in reply to their hearty welcome back to the District , he was pleased to write : — "I feel a deep debt of gratitude to our highly esteemed and Most Worthy Brother J . W . Whitboume the Deputy District Grand Master , for his able administration and for tho judgment and skill with which he has carried on the business of the District , at times under trying

circumstances . Bro . Hamilton continued in charge of the Province until his lamented death on the 20 th May 1880 , when the Province ( which in the meanwhile was changed by Constitution to District , with

continuity ) was left for some years under the care of the Deputy District Grand Master Bro . Altamont De Cordova , who retired from the office in 1885 , and whose zeal and ability was rewarded in 1887 by the M . W . Grand Master nominating and appointing him to the rank of Senior Grand Deacon .

On the 3 rd April 1886 , a Patent was issued appointing Bro . J . C . MacGlashan as District Grand Master for Jamaica . The installation ceremony was performed in District Grand Lodge by Bro . J . W . Whitboume P . D . D . G . M ., on the 22 nd July 1886 , the Royal Lodge being the first to present an address of congratulation and hearty good wishes to the District Grand Master .

In 1887 the Senior P . M . of the Lodge , Bro . Henry Garsia , had conferred on him the rank and precedent of a Deputy District Grand Master in honour of the Jubilee Reign of Her Gracious Majesty the Queen . In 1890 the Lodge joined in erecting in the Kingston Parish Church a beautiful stained glass window as a memorial to tho late Bro . Dr . R . Hamilton D . G . M . of Easfc Jamaica .

As the Centenary of the Lodge approached the interest naturally grew ; and in July 1872 Bro . Henry Garsia brought to the notice of the Lodge fchat the Centenary was fast approaching , whereupon he and the late Bro . Broadhurst were appointed to look up old Minutes , and communicate with the Grand Secretary on tho

subject . In October of the same year , the Committee reported •that the Grand Seei'efcary had , through the District Grand Master , pointed to the date of the Warrant ( 10 th May 1794 ) . In 1878 , Bro . William Andrews , then a P . M . of the Lodge , whilst on a visit to London , addressed the Grand Secretary on the subject wifch the same result .

In 1884 Bro . J . M . Simpson , whilst in the chair of the Lodge , addressed the Grand Secretary again on the question of the Centenary , when that Brother replied by referring fco the date of the Warrant , and adding : — "In reference , however , to your remark thafc the Lodge has always been regular in transmitting its returns to the Grand Lodge of England , I may perhaps as well call your

attention to the fact that this Lodge ( 207 ) does not appear to have made any returns until its admission into the Book of Lodges at the Union of the Grand Lodges in 1813-14 . Consequently , should application be made for Centenary Warrant after 1894 , the onus will rest with your Lodge to prove its uninterrupted existence for 100 years and that ifc was in continous working between fche years 1794 and 1814 . " Under date February 1889 , Bro . W . J . Hughan sent to Bro . W . A . Feurtado a list of payments to Grand Lodge from 1817 to 1844 .

New Temple At Kelvedon.

in which it was shown that in 1817 the Lodge paid in £ 12 18 s and in 1824 , £ 24 13 s 6 d , and it was indicated that these payments covered previous periods ; but on the examination of the Grand Lodgo books by Bro . Leon in 1889 , it was found that fche first named payment covered the Registration fee of 43 Brethren admitted in 1814-15 , 16 , and the latter payment for 73 Brethren from 1818 to 1823 , and a contribution to Benevolent Fund .

In 1889 Bro . E . X , Leon P . M . personally interviewed the late Bro . Shadwell Gierke G . Sec . at Freemasons' Hall , London , and obtained permission to search the books and old papers of the " Ancients " or " Atholl" Grand Lodge for the evidence wanted to establish the working of the Lodge from 1794 to 1814 . With the courteous assistance of Bros . A . A . Pendlebnry and Henry Sadler , the search was made , when among other old documents was found

the printed Quarterly Communications of the " Ancients" or " Atholl" Grand Lodge , in the accounts attached to which was discovered the acknowledgments of several returns and payments made by the Royal ( 283 ) , during the years 1795 to 1814 . The particulars of this " discovery , " with other information obtained from Grand Lodge books , were communicated to the Wor . Master of the Lodge by Bro . Leon in a letter , dated London , 26 th june 1889 , which is recorded in the Minutes of the Lodge .

In 1893 the Centenary Committee submitted to the Lodge a draft Petition to the Most Worshipful Grand Master asking for the Centenary Warrant , the Petition was adopted , ordered to be signed , and forwarded to the District Grand Master , who was respectfully asked to verify the local circumstances referred to in the Petition ,

and to add the weight of his recommendation . A Deputation from the Committee , consisting of Brothers Leon and Feurtado , waited on the District Grand Master in support of the Petition , when Bro . J . C . MacGlashan stated that after giving the Petition his careful consideration he had pleasure to say that he would give it his fullest support . The prayer of the petition was subsequently granted .

Through the permission of the Rev . G . W . Downer P . G . Chaplain and Rector of the Parish Church , the opportunity was afforded the Brethren to attend a Special Thanksgiving Service , on the date of the Royal Centennial Celebration ( 14 th May 1894 ) . Within the walls of thafc Church repose the mortal remains of many distinguished Brethren who have long ago rested from their

labours , and whose memory is still cherished by the Craft . Among these the Royal Lodge number many dear departed ; and as the Brethren proceeded in Masonic order from the porch of the Church to the Sacred Altar , they passed over the ground encircling , if not actually over the graves of two of the founders of

the Lodge : —Bro . John Brown the first Master in 1789 , No . 699 , who died on the 14 th June 1796 , and Bro . John Misskelly the first Senior Warden in 1789 , No . 699 , who died on the 22 nd November 1799 , a coincidence that might fairly be considered as unique in the Centennial history of a Lodge . ( To he continued . )

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CRITERIONRESTAURANT. EASTEOOM FOK BEOHEBOHE DLMEES&SUPPERS ALACARTE. THE WESTROOM, DINNER,hi,SUPPER,4/-Instrumental Music 11 . 0 to 12 . 30 . GrandHall3/6Dinner, AT SEPARATE TABLES , 6 TO 9 . Accompanied by the Celebrated "8PIERP0N"ORCHESTRA. Academy Luncheon in West Boom , 2 / 9 .