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m ^^^ j ^ . K ^ . ' . ' SEi ^^ llSSJV ^^^ JVMJSS ^ a ^^^^^ W ^^ fl SATURDAY , 30 TH APRIL 1898 .

Supreme Grand Chapter.

SUPREME GRAND CHAPTER .

ri ^ HE Quarterly Convocation of Supreme Grand Chapter 1 will be held at Freemasons' Hall , London , on "Wednesday next , 4 th May , at six o ' clock in the evening . BUSINESS . The Minutes of the last Quarterly Convocation to be read for confirmation .

Installation of Principals and Investiture of Officers for the ensuing year . The Eeport of the Committee of General Purposes .

To the Supreme Grand Chapter of Boyal Arch Masons of England . The Committee of General Purposes beg to report that they have examined the Accounts from the 19 th January , to the 19 th April 1698 , both inclusive , which they find to be as follow :

To Balance , Grand Chapter £ 635 16 7 „ „ Unappropriated Account 214 ; 16 0 „ Subsequent Beceipts 648 19 5 -81 , 499 . 12 0 By Disbursements during the Quarter £ 402 9 3 „ Balance 863 3 3 „ „ Unappropriated Account 233 19 6

£ 1 , 499 12 0 which Balances are in the Bank of England , Law Courts Branch . The Committee have likewise to report that they have received the following petition : From Companions Astley Herbert Terry as Z ., Thomas Bobin Ogier as H ., John Stranger as J ., and nine others for a Chapter to be attached to the St . Sampson ' s Lodge , No . 2598 , Guernsey , to be called " The St . Sampson ' s Chapter , " and to meet at the Masonic Hall , St . Sampson ' s , Guernsey .

The Committee have likewise received Memorials , with extracts of Minutes , for permission to remove the following Chapters : "St . Wulstan Chapter , No . 280 , from 85 High Street , to the New Masonic Hall , St . Nicholas Street , Worcester . "

" Imperial Chapter , No . 1694 , from Cloot ' s Bestaurant , Victoria Street , to the Holborn Bestaurant , High Holborn , London . " " St . John of Jerusalem Chapter , No . 203 , from the Masonic Hall , Hope Street , Liverpool , to the Alexandra Hotel , Dale Street , Liverpool . " " The Grove Chapter , No . 410 , from the Cock Hotel , to the Masonic Temple , Sutton . "

" The Bedford Chapter , No . 157 , from the Holborn Bestaurant , High Holborn , to Mark Masons' Hall , Great Queen Street , London . " " The Israel Chapter , No . 205 , from the Cannon Street Hotel , to the Holborn Restaurant , High Holborn , London . " " Chapter of Prudence , No . 12 , from the Ship and Turtle Tavern , Loadenhall Street , to the Albion Tavern , 173 Aldersgate Street , London . "

" The Andrew Chapter , No . 834 , from the Windsor Castle Hotel , Hammersmith , to the Brook Green Hotel , Hammersmith , London . " " Temperance in the East Chapter , No . 898 , from the Town Hall , Stratford , to the Masonic Hall , Romford Boad , Forest Gate , London . "

A Memorial , with particulars , has also been received from the Companions of the Britannic Chapter , No . 312 , Whitby , praying for a Charter authorising them to wear a Centenary Jewel . The Memorial being in form , and the Chapter having proved an uninterrupted existence for 100 years , the Committee recommend that the prayer thereof be granted . ( Signed ) ROBERT GREY , Acting President . Freemasons' Hall . London , W . C ,

20 th April 1898 . After the ordinary business had been disposed of , the following Resolution was passed : " That the cordial thanks of the Committee be tendered to E . Companion Sir George D . Harris , their President , for the very able and courteous manner in which he has presided over

its Meetings during the past year , and this Committee desires to express tho hope that he may be speedily restored to his usual good health . " ( Signed ) ROBERT GREY . Election of the Committee of General Purposes for the ensuing twelve months .

The Teachers' Conference.

THE TEACHERS' CONFERENCE .

IpOLLOWING a precedent set at Brighton and Swansea on the occasion ' of previous Conferences , the Brethren o £ one of the two local Lodges , the Boyal Union , No . 246 , offered the hospitality of their Lodge to the Masonic Brethren of the N . U . T ., on Thursday evening , 21 st inst ., when a Lodge of Emergency was held at the Masonic Hall , Cheltenham , for the purpose . The result was a very pleasant evening of work and entertainment , and notwithstanding that the accommodation of the Hall was strained to the

The Teachers' Conference.

utmost by the largoness of the attendance , the arrangements were excellently devised and carried out . The invitation to visiting Brethren was conveyed through Bro . Hamilton P . M ., the Treasurer of the Union , and through his agency the majority of the teachers who were also Masons was reached . In order that the visitors should see the Lodge in its ordinary working , a ceremony was taken , the W . M . Bro . H . Waghorne presiding over a full complement of Officers .

The Deputy Provincial Grand Master Bro . B . V . Vassar-Smith had intended being present , but was prevented by an important meeting in London . Bro . Rev . Canon Childe Grand Chaplain , and Bro . Col . Rogers , the Mayor , were present as members of the Lodge . After Lodge , the Brethren were entertained at dinner , the party numbering over sixty , and being catered for by the Hall Steward . The succeeding toast list was a short one , speeches alternating with , the

items of an excellent musical programme under Bro . Forty ' s direction . There was , of course , frequent reference to tho ' emergency ' of the occasion , and especially so in connection with the toast of the Visiting Brethren , proposed by Bro . Norman Prov . S . G . W ., and acknowledged by Bros . Ellery and Me *> ch , and that of Worshipful Brother tho Mayor , proposed by Brother Hamilton , and received with the utmost cordiality by the Brethren of the N . U . T . — " Schoolmaster . "

Correspondence.

CORRESPONDENCE .

We do not hold ourselves responsible for the opinions of our Correspondents . All Letters must bear the name and address of the writer , not necpssarily for publication , but as a guarantee of good faith . We cannot undertake to return rejected communications .

CHARITY FOE ALL COMEES . To the Editor of the FBEEMASOS ' S CHBONICLE . DEAR SIB AND BBOTHEB , —Instead of adversly critioising the splendid efforts the Boyal Masonic Institution for Boys is making to provide for the orphan sons of the Craft in this year of its centenary , with every indication of great extensions to meet the requirements of the future , I think you might go out of your way to applaud what is being done .

I am working hard in support of the coming Festival , and am pleased to think the Craft is responding so nobly as to render a grand success all but certain , and I hope , for the sake of the Grand Master who will preside , as well as in the general interests of the Institution itself , that the six figure total aimed at may be reached , and not only so , but that there may be a handsome surplus beyond .

The offer to give £ 20 a year to each boy unsuccessful at the two elections is most gracious , and I think any Province or organisation of Brethren who sought to take an unfair advantage of it by rushing a large number of candidates would be very ungenerous , and hardly worthy of being regarded as true Masons . The event we are looking forward to will , I hope , prove orie

of the grandest in the annals of Freemasonry , and to ensure this every Mason in the land should come forward and contribute as far as he is able for the good cause . Yours , & c , A MASTEB MASON .

To the Editor of the FBEEMASON ' CHRONICLE . DEAB SIB AND B BOTHEB , —While agreeing with much you say under this heading in last week ' s issue I thiuk you take too extravagant a view of what is likely to happen in response to the apparently reckless offer on the part of the Boys School . It is one thing to pass a resolution in connection with our Charitable Institutions , and quite auother to carry it into execution ,

as witnes ' s the action of the Girls Sctiool Quarterly Court on the 16 th inst ., when a decision arrived at in regard to the acceptance of 1 , 300 guineas for a perpetual presentation was upset 011 the confirmation of the minutes , a proceeding which I prefer to leave standing alone before the Craft , rather than attempt to give a name to it , lest 1 might hurt the feelings of some of those who took a prominent part in arranging the transaction , I will call it , as being a ' neutral" sort of designation .

Depend upon it if boy candidates come forward in their hundreds , as they might reasonably be expected to do if the offer was regarded as genuine , some worthv Brother would rise at the next Quarterly Court and propose the non confirmation of the minutes , or that portion of them referring to this particular item , and , strange as it seems to me , it appears the whole question could be re-opened on such a plea , and the offer deliberately withdrawn .

I find very many Brethren are , like myself , considerably surprised to find that it is quite useless to come to a decision at a stated meeting , imagining that the subject is then settle . 1 . I always though the confirmation o £ the minutes was simply to decide whether or no they were properly recorded , and with all due deference to the Brother who presided at the Girls

meeting referred to , I can but thiuk he was wrong in his ruling . Most certainly it will be vu * y unfortunate in many cases if it comes to be recognised that the tactics practised on that occasion are perfectly legitimate , and no proposition , however worthy , will be safe against the onslaughts possible in tbis direction ; but this is going away from the subject I started upon .

The offer of the Boys School to give £ 20 a year to each of the unsuccessful candidates is a sort of " heads I win , tails you lose " arrangement . If it works all right it will be referred to as a splendid example of open handed generosity on the part of the Institution , if not it will be upset on the confirmation of the minutes , or such at least is the opion of Yours , & c , STEADFAST .

THE May arrangements nf the Midland Railway include the appearance of new carriages , with first and third class dining cars for their principal Manchester expresses , additional breakfast and dining accommodation for Nottingham , Leeds , Bradford , and Manchester , and through trains between Carlisle and Edinburgh in connection with the dining expresses leaving St . Pancras at 2 * 10 p . m . aud i p . m .