The New Province Of Bedfordshire.

desire to attend future Masonic meetings . Bro . Cumberland Prov G . S . W . replied . He had great pleasure , and at the same time felt an amount of diffidence in responding . He was vary sorry that the ill hr-nlth of the Depnty Provincial Grand Master had taken awav the richt brother to

respond to this toast . He was delighted to be present thafc day , and begged to congratulate the brethren of the county on having at last been formed into a Province , and that , too , under the most favourable auspices . They were

also pleased in having ^ o distinguished a head as Colonel Stuarfc . Personally he was very grateful for the office conferred on him that day . Next to the Provincial Grand Master he was one of the oldest Masons in the Province .

He hoped the working together of the brethren of the district would be attended with the greatest success , and that they would soon prove themselves to be equal to other Provincial Grand Lode-es in true Masonic work . The

Provincial Grand Mister then submitted the next toast — one he was sure the brethren wonld honour and respect . They had drunk to the health of the rulers of the Craft , and also to tho rulers of fche Province , all of which toasts had

been received with tlie greatest respect , and cheerfully and heartily responded to . Ho now asked them to drink the health of one who had como down to Bedford to help them out of their difficulties , and as the mouthpiece of the Grand Master had regularly started them as a Provincial Grand

Lodge . It was the duty of the Grand Secretary of England to keep up an acquaintance with every part of the country , he might say of the Empire , for in all of the Colonies there were Lodges looking up to the Grand Lodge

of England , even if not actually affiliated to it . The Grand Secretary was in daily communication with Masons in all parts of fche world , and no member of Grand Lodge was better acquainted with the amount of Masonic work to be transacted than he was . He it was who had to set all

matters right before they were submitted to the Grand Master or other heads of the Craft ; while the Grand Master relied on him to dissect and arrange everything and to superintend the working of English Masonry . In all

these duties Bro . Gierke displayed great tact and judgment , winning confidence and respect wherever he was known , and there was not a Lodge under the English Constitution where his name was not familiar . He had been most ably

assisted that day by Brother Frank Richardson , Brother Rev . Spencer Stanhope , and others , to all of whom their best thanks were due . He hoped the Installing Officer thafc day might go back fully impressed that he had done a

good work in Bedfordshire . Brother Gierke tendered his thanks for the truly flattering way in which the toasfc had been received . It was quite true he had the honour of

holding a very important and onerous office . His whole heart and soul was thrown into the work , and if he could only secure the approval of the brethren he was satisfied . Theirs was the third Provincial Grand Master he had

installed within the past week ; he having installed Sir Offley Wakeman as ruler of Shropshire on the previous Thursday , and Lord Harlech as Master of North Wales the following day . It was a great honour to be the representative of the Grand Master on three such occasions . In

his official capacity he had to watch over and study the interests of some two thousand Craffc Lodges and about one thousand Chapters . This entailed a heavy correspondence—some 150 or 200 letters reached him each day —and other duties which rendered the office no sinecure .

It had been a great pleasure to him to do what he could that day towards starting their Provincial Grand Lodge , which he hoped would progress year by year , and ere long occupy a prominent place among the Provincial Grand

Lodges of England . The Chairman felt ifc bufc right they should pay some respect to those who came to see them . Masons liked visitors in their private Lodges and were

equally well p leased when some of their neighbours attended such meetings as thafc day ' s had been . The visitors around him had no doubt come to see what an

infantile Provincial Grand Lodge was like , and he hoped they had approved of what they had seen . Perhaps if they would come again on some future occasion they might see something 1 which would be of service to them

elsewhere . Freemasons were agreed upon certain point ? , but some of them felt that one district took a moro prominent part , or was more efficient than others , and for this

reason visiting was most useful , as it gave them opportunities of making actual comparisons . Bro . Butler Wilkins Grand Standard Bearer England and Deputy Provincial Grand Master Norths and Hunts replied . It

The New Province Of Bedfordshire.

afforded him great pleasure to be among them tint day . ft had been a matter of surprise to him that the Pn < vincial Grand Lodge of Bedfordshire had not been established

years ago ; he was now pleased to see it fairly started . Representations were made some few years back to tho Provincial Grand Master of Norths and

Hunts , with a view to his taking the Lodges of Bedfordshire and combining them with the others under his rule . He ( Bro . Wilkins ) had opposed this , because he felt it

would spread the Province over too wide an area ; that it would occasion jealousy among fche older Lodges of the Province ; and also because he felt that sooner or later

Bedfordshire would secure a Provincial Grand Lodge for itself . His surmise had proved correct . He urged on the brethren to work together in tlie cause of Charity , and assured them that much might be done if they would only

combine for their mutual advantage . Brother Taylor and others having also replied to the toast , the Tyler gave the usual concluding charge , and the proceedings were brought to a conclusion .

Prov. Grand Lodge Of Shropshire.

PROV . GRAND LODGE OF SHROPSHIRE .

SIR Offley Wakeman , Bart ., M . P . was regularly installed as first Provincial Grand Master of this new district on Thursday , the 22 nd inst ., at Shrewsbury , Bro . Colonel Shadwell H . Gierke acting as Installing Officer .

Prov. G. Lodge Of North Wales.

PROV . G . LODGE OF NORTH WALES .

rjiHE constitution of North Wales as a separate Province ¦ * - took p lace on Friday , tho 28 rd inst ., when Brother Lord Harlech was regularly installed as Provincial Grand Master by Col . Shadwell H . Gierke . Grand Secretary of

England . The following is a lisfc of the Officers who wero appointed on the occasion : — Bro . Colonel Henry Piatt - - Deputy Grand Master Samuel Pope , Q . C . - . - - Senior Warden , T . F . Edisbury . - - Junior Warden Rev . K H . Williams - - ] chaplain 3 Rev . W . L . Probheroe - - )

J . Salmon .... Treasnrer T . G . Tuxford - - - Registrar T . E . Harris - Secretary John Hughes - - - Assistant Secretary T . M . Taylor ... Senior Deacon J . F . Jesse .... Junior Deacon R . J . Davids ... Superintendent of Works D . Wynn Williams - - - Director of Ceremonies C . W . Richards - - - Assb . Dir . of Ceremonies

J . Danilly , C . C . - - - Sword Bearer Hugh Jones- - - ' ) Standard B . ~ arers H . A . Steer - = - - \ Major Casson - - - Organist G . F . Felton - - - Pursuivant . W . Evans . ... Assistant Pursuivant Henry Owen - - - " } T . L . Evans - - - - f Stewards John Owen - - - ¦ ) H . P . Stubingfcon - - - Tyler

Ventilation Of Masonic Halls.

VENTILATION OF MASONIC HALLS .

fipHE absolute need of pure air for human beings is so -1 obvious , and its absence in our Lodge rooms is so conspicuous , that a few words on tho subject may not be deemed out of place , now that the Lodges are beginning to meet again after their summer vacation .

Tn all my visits to Lodges , and in my conversation with Brethren from different sections of the country , I have never seen or beard of a Lodge room constructed with any regard to the fact thafc Freemasons , in common with their

fellow-men of fche profane world , rausfc have fresh air to breathe . Even our Temple at Boston , so spacious and magnificent , and constructed by so many celebrated artists , has escaped nofc the unsparing ravages of barbarous impure

air . That Freemasonry still survives in the Olcl Bay State is a proof of the inherent vitality of fche Institution , as well as of the physical endurance of its devotees . I have frequently heard brethren at meetings of tlie Grand Lodge ,

and at other meetings in the Temple , comment very unfavourably on the want of the mears of anything like adequate ventilation in that building for which we have

paid so much . There are times when the air in it is so foul as to make every one present actually stupid . Liberal Freemason .