Preferment In Lodge.

position of a private , for no other reason than to satisfy some personal whim or caprice ; and it is absolute nonsense to take shelter for such a proceeding under the flimsy subterfuge that it was done in the interests

of the Antient Charge of the Craft , which lays it down that all promotion is grounded upon real worth and personal merit only . The Master of a Masonic Lodge is , it is true , invested with despotic powers ; he may , if

he choose , upset everyone of the Officers in the Lodge , and introduce an entirely new set to assist in the ruling and government of the Lodge during his term of Office .

but long custom and practice forbids such a course , and probably such a wholesale disregard of precedent would occasion trouble of a nature which would

necessitate official action , did such an event really happened . And if such a wholesale departure from the unwritten laws of the Craft is regarded as almost a

Masonic crime , why should not a single instance of it be equally a departure from the principles of Freemasonry ?

Unfortunately cliqueism is not entirely unknown in our midst , and it is in this matter of promotion " by merit " that it very frequently shows itself . The whole system is wrong , and the sooner it is so recognised by

all who have the interests of the Craft at heart the better it will be for everyone concerned . Merit in this direction consists in the ability to act honourably , to faithfully exercise the powers that nature has given us

and to work diligently in the cause of Masonic Brotherhood .. A Mason who so conducts himself , and is put aside from Office in favour of some more " meritorious " member , is the victim of circumstances—perhaps

perfectly legitimate , but more likely than not of an entirely opposite character . To avoid charges of unmasonic action a Master should , therefore , shelter himself by promoting the Officers strictly in rotation , and turn a

deaf ear to those who , to gratify some personal pique or quarrel , urge him to remove one of his Brethren from the roll , or introduce another over the heads of his fellows .

Grand Chapter Of Scotland.

GRAND CHAPTER OF SCOTLAND .

THE annual meeting was held in the Freemasons' Hall , Edinburgh , on the 20 th inst ., Colonel Ivison Macadam , V . D ., Depute First Grand Principal presiding in the absence , owing to a cold , of the Earl of Haddington First Grand Principal . The Office-bearers who had been nominated at the

previous meeting were elected for next year , and those present were installed . The members thereafter celebrated the festival of the Vernal Equinox , Colonel Macadam presiding . Comp . W . A . Dinwiddie Provincial Grand Superintendent of Dumfriesshire proposed the toast of the evening' " Supreme

Grand Royal Arch Chapter of Scotland , " and the Chairman replied . He mentioned that the income for the year had been £ S 6 o , that eight Charters had been granted to new Chapters , that 1 , 115 new members had been registered , and that £ 170 had been added to the Benevolent Fund .

Church Service.

CHURCH SERVICE .

ON Sunday an interesting Masonic Service was conducted in the First Presbyterian Church bv Bro . Rev . Wm . Wright , the popular and able minister of First Newtownards . Previous to the Service the Brethren assembled in the Masonic Hall , whence a procession was formed to the church . The sermon , preached by Bro . Wright , was founded on

the text— " Know ye not that ye are the temple of God , and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you "—and was exceedingly appropriate to the occasion , being listened to with rapt

attention . At the conclusion he made a pathetic appeal on behalf of the Down Masonic Widows Fund , and also the Soldiers and Sailors Widows and Orphans Fund , which was generously responded to , not only by the Brethren , but also

Church Service.

by a ' 'large number of others present , the amount realised being £ 37 . , . . The Committee beg to thank most sincerely Bro . Rev . Wm . Wright for his able and instructive sermon to the Brethren , who came at much inconvenience , and also to the collectors invited , for their generous response .

An interesting Masonic meeting is likely to take place at the Mansion House at an early date , if the necessary . dispensation can be obtained from Grand Lodge to allow of the innovation . As will be seen . by a . reference to our report of the Alfred Newton Lodge , in another part of this issue , Bro .

- H . K . Newton , son of the Lord Mayor , who'was on Saturday installed as W . M ., announced that he hoped to hold the next meeting of the Lodge—of which the Lord Mayor was the chief founder , sponsor , and first Master—at the Mansion House . We think it is right to say that such a gathering

would be unique in the annals of the Craft , as we do not remember a regular Lodge having previously been held at the home of the chief magistrate of the City of London . It would be an interesting event , and one likely to cement the already cordial relations existing between the City and the Masonic Craft . '

Bro . T . J . Railing P . A . G . D . C . Prov . G . Sec . Essex referred in feeling terms to the illness of the Prov . G . M . the Earl of Warwick , and the Dep . Prov . G . M . Col . Lockwood ; when responding to the toast of the Provincial Officers , at the installation meeting of the Mistley Lodge , last week , and

said he was sure the sympathies of the Brethren would extend to wishing them a speedy return to health . Referring to the suggestion of the Grand Master that each Lodge should

contribute something towards the relief of the Masonic Brethren in the Transvaal , he said their sympathies should be shown in a practical manner . No doubt many had already given in some form or other , and he was glad to find that the Mistley Lodge had decided to contribute two guineas .

•' . Regimental Lodges are very scarce on the Register Of the Grand Lodge of England , and it is unusual to read of their assembling , but we notice that a meeting of the Glittering Star Lodge , the regimental Lodge of the Worcestershire Regiment , was recently held for the annual installation of

Officers . There was a good attendance , and after the business was finished a banquet was held , and a very enjoyable social evening was spent . The Lodge is a very ancient one , dating back as far as 1759 . Many of the most notable military men of the past and present have been members of it . ;

We are pleased to place on record another instance of a Provincial Grand Master attending a meeting . of a Private Lodge under his rule , the Cambrian Lodge , No . 364 , Neath , being honoured at its recent installation by the presence of the Prov . G . Master Lord Llangattock ,. and his Deputy Bro .

Marmaduke Tennant . Bro . H . P . Charles , Mayor of Neath , was re-installed for a second year on the occasion , and later ; in the evening Lord Llangattock favoured the company with " John Peel , " and also another song . —Truly a "fine old English gentleman . "

The members of the Jordan Lodge , at Torquay , have decided to perpetuate the memory of the late Bro . John Lane P . A . G . D . C . Eng ., by . purchasing the bulk , of his valuable , library . Bro . W . J . Hughan P . G . D . Eng ., and Bro . Lane ' s

Masonic executor , has offered the library to the Lodge on special terms , and it will form a valuable reference library , which will enhance with age , and be inestimable in many ' respects .. Probably no more fitting memorial could be devised ..

We recently referred to the approaching meeting of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Kent , under the banner of the Lodge of Freedom , No . 77 , at Gravesend . The occasion will be the fortieth anniversary of Earl Amherst ' s installation as Provincial Grand Master of Kent , which also took place under the banner of No . 77 , in i 860 .

The Fifteen Sections will be worked at the Friars Lodge of Instruction , No . 1349 , held at the Aldgate Distillery , Aldgate , E ., on Thursday , 29 th inst ., commencing at . 7 p . m . Bro . N . Goldman J . D . 1349 W'M preside .