The Control And Audit Of Lodge Accounts.

find profit in thc business of company promoting . Our lodges ; appeal to none but their own members , who contribute each a stated annual subscription , and the sum of these annual subscriptions is supplemented

from time to time by initiation and joining fees . The necessary expenditure is restricted to the . lues payable to Grand Lodge , and , in the case of country lodges , to the Provincial Grand Lodges to fees payable to Grand Lodge for initiations ancl

joinings ; to rent of premises , Tyler ' s honorarium ; purchase and wear and tear of furniture , postages , printing of summonses , and sundry other small items . The expenditure for dinners on ordinary nights and for the banquet on installation nights is fixed

by the lodge itself , while , in addition , nearly every lodge votes a somethin" * annually to onc or more of our Charitable Institutions . There is , therefore , little , if anything , in the way of regular annual expenditure of which every member of the lodge is not

cognisant , or may not be cognisant if hc cares to trouble himself about ascertaining the particulars . Hence the annual audit of a lod- >* e account resolves itself for the most part into a simple arithmetical operation . Thus , on receipt side—so many annual subscriptions at £ ; so many initiation and joining fees at

£ ; so manv visitors' fees for dinners and banquet at £ ; total—so much ; balance , if any , against the lodge , so much , Per Contra ; so many dinners and banquets at £ ; printing and postages ; rent of rooms ; dues to Grand Lodge —* and , in

fhe case of a country lodge , to Provincial Grand Lodge ; Tyler ; donations or subscriptions , if any , to one or more Masonic Institutions : balance , if any , in favour of lodge . The audit of this simple statement of account may be made as stringent as the

members of the lodge may desire , and if trustworthy persons are elected or appointed to the offices of Treasurer and Secretary , it appears lo us lhat the danger of anything going wrong is reduced lo a minimum . We know there are here and there

cases in vvhich things have gone wrong ; but we do not see that the wrongdoing would have been averted by a professional audit One of the articles of our Masonic creed is ( haf wc should

respect the privacy of private lodges , and we are selling this profession of faith at naught when we suggest the public or professional audit of private lodge accounts .

Brooklyn Masonic Veterans

BROOKLYN MASONIC VETERANS

The second Saturday in December has been a gala occasion with the Brooklyn Masonic Veterans ever since their organisation in iSSS . December nth was the occasion of their ninth annual feast , and was no exception to the rule . The Veterans and thiir guests , ( o the number of over 300 , assembled in the Aurora Grata Cathedra ) , and at seven o ' clock marched to the supper-room ,

where , after a blessing had been asked by the Venerable Chaplain , Rev . Cornelius L . Twing , D . D ., those present did ample justice to a carefully-selected menu , niter which the Most Venerable President , J VV . Moir , in a few happy remarks , called on the senior Past M . V . President , General James H . Warwick , to respond to the first toast of the evening— " Our Departed Brethren "—which was drunk in

silence . Bro . WAKWICK gave some interesting reminiscences of the early history of the Association ; then those present sang " Auld lang syne . " The toast of " The Grand Lodge of the State of New York , " was responded to by M . W . CLINTON F . PAI : K , P . G . M . ; " Masonry as an Educator , " by Ven . Bro .

JOHN MICKI . I * . . HOI'OI ;<* H , Principal of the High School for Boys ; "Secrets , " b y Ven . liro . TIMOTHY L . ROI-. KHTS ; '' Possibilities of the Greater . Vew York , " by M . V . SILAS B . DITLIIKH , Past President ; "Our Wives and our Sweethearts , " by Ven . Bro . Judge A JSKA . M H . DALY ; and " Our Mother Organisation , " by M . V . JOHN * AI . SDOKTII , President of the New York Masonic Veterans .

The "dessert , " as usual , was delivered by Ven . Bro . Rev . COKNKI . ICS I . T \ tiN ( i , D . D ., who is always witty , and was well received , after which Ven . Bro James Huggins , Vice-President , on behalf ol the Veterans , presented M . V . Bro Mott with a handsome basket of ( lower ? . Letters were read from M . W . Bro . William A . Sutherland , G . M . ; R . W . Bros Wright D . Pownall , D . G . M . ; George Hayes , G . Treasurer ; E . M . L . Ehlers

G . Secretary ; the G . M . of the District of Columbia ; M . W . Bros . William Sherer , P . G . M . ; John Stewart , P . G . M . ; Gen . John C . Smith , P . G . M . Illinois and Chief of the Illinois Masonk Veterans ; R . VV . Bros . Geo . R . Metcalf , M . D ., Chief of the Minnesota . Masonic Veterans ; Daniel Sickles , the fa titer of th ] Masonic Veterans ; H . C . Haft , D . D . G . M . 1 st District ; Josiah Smith , D . D G . M . 2 nd District : Walter F . Sykes , D . D . G . M . 3 rd District ; and William 1 Hughan , P . G . D . England , . tc . The feast closed with the glorious old anthem , " Praise God from whom al ] blessings How , " and Benediction by the Venerable Chaplain .

An Oration.

AN ORATION .

The following oration was delivered by Comp . T . Fenn at the consecration of the Philbrick Chapter : The traditions of Craft Masonry are , as you well know , derived from the building of the first Temple at Jerusalem , wheii the children of Israel had long been in possession of ( lie Promised Land , and had become—according to a pro-

An Oration.

mise made by their forefather Abraham—a great and mighty nation . It was a the z .-nith of their greatness that that magnificent Temple was erected by King Solomon , and became an object of wonder and admiration to the surrounding nations . The legend on which the Royal Arch Degree is based relates to a period which claims our special sympathy . That great and mighty people , once so highly favoured of the Lord , had fallen from their greatness . They had been

visited with dire affliction ; their stately and superb Temple had been destroyed ; their holy city desolated , and the 12 tribes of Israel led into humiliating captivity-Ten of the tribes , who had fallen into hopeless idolatry , were heard of no more . They are supposed to have been driven as slaves into countries eist of Persia or even , as some think , to the north of India , where their nationality , and even alt trace of their origin were in time obliterated . There were , however , amongst the

two other tribes of Judah and Benjimin , who had been carried captive to the city of Babylon , many adherents to the old religion of Moses and the Prophets , who , in spite of cruel persecution , continued to worship the true God and to live in strict obedience to His laws and commandments . Their integrity and uprightness in the midst of a corrupt and idolatrous people , r . nd the blessing of the Almighty , which manifestly attended all their undertakings , in time attracted the notice of their

oppressors and marked them out for positions of trust , and even for appointment to high offices of State . It was to these men that , after a lapse of years , Cyrus gave permission to return to Jerusalem , accompanied by all who had held fast to the true faith , in order to rebuild the Temple of their God . Few , indeed , of those who had beheld the glories of King Solomon ' s Temple could have survived their long captivity , but doubtless the younger and stronger of those who went

up 11 Jerusalem had been taught by their fathers to look forward to this event as the fulfilment of a prophecy , and had been enjoined to assist to their utmost in the great and glorious undertaking . Our legend leaves off almost at the commencement of their labours ; it closes with their discovery beneath the ruins of the form- r structure , but it tells us also of the many difficulties against which they had to contend and their pious determination to overcome them ; how they had

to work with the sword at their sides to resist the unprovoked attacks of their enemies , and we learn from sacred history that such were the interruptions and opposition to which they were subjected that it was not until the seventh year of the reign of King Darius , many long years after the Edict of Cyrus , that the building of the second Temple was completed . Companions , we are taught in Craft Masonry , by means of allegory and symbols , that sublime and comprehensive system of morality which forms the solid and enduring basis of our

Masonic edifice . In the Royal Arch Degree we are led to contemplate on the essence , the majesty , the attributes , and perfection of the great Jehovah . Let us follow the example set us by our ancient brethren , the children of the captivity , and while bending with awe and reverence before the sacred name of the Most High , let us continue to regulate onr lives and actions by those sublime principles of practical molality inculcated in the earlier Degrees , to walk justly and uprightly before God and man , to practice Charity , maintain harmony , and endeavour to live in amity and brotherly love .

Laying Of The Corner Stone Of A New Masonic Hall At Blyth.

LAYING OF THE CORNER STONE OF A NEW MASONIC HALL AT BLYTH .

On Thursday , December iCth , the annual meeting of the Blagdon Lodge , No . 6 59 , was held in the lodge room . Mechanics' Hall , Blyth , under the presidency of Bro . VV . T . Richardson , W . M . In connection with the meeting the ceremony of laying thc corner-stone of the Masonic Hall , which is being erected on a site in Beaconslield-street , the gift of the Prov . G . Master , Bro . Sir M . W . Ridley , Bart ., M . P , took place .

The ceremony of laying the stone was performed by Bro . Alderman Richard Henry Holmes , Dep . Prov . G . Master of Northumberland , who was assisted by the following officers : Bros . F . Corder , acting Hep . P . G . M . ; Seymour Bell , P . S . G . W . ; J . C . Moor , acting P . J . G . W . ; the Rev . J . Golightly , P . G . Chap . ; F . Turnbull , P . S . G D . ; J . Carmichael , P . P . G . Std . Br . ; Wm . Bel ) , P . G . S . of W . ; J . Straker Wilson , D . C , P . P . S . G . W . ; J . A . Armstrong , P . P . G . Std . B . ;

J . U . Simpson , P . A . G . Sic . ; E . Forster , P . P . G . Std . Br . ; John Coull . P . P . S . G . W . j VV . A . Ogilvie , P . J . G . W . ; G . Foggon , P . G . Std . Br . ; John Tweedy , P . P . G . S . of VV . ; J . R . Forster , P . P . G . D . ; W . Percy , P . P . G . P . ; J . S . Holme , P . G . Stwd . ; F . J . Cullen , P . P . G . Stwd . ; R . Robinson , P . P . G . Stwd . ; James Harney , P . P . G . Stwd . Wm . Robinson , P . P . A . G . P . ; Wal . VV . Heron , P . P . G . Std . Br . ; A . C . Richardson , W . M . 1626 ; j . Duncin , VV . M . 636 ; J . Curry ,

P . G . lyler ; and others . A trowel was presented to liro . Holmes , inscribed as follows : " Presented by Bro . VV . T . Richardson , VV . M . Blagdon Lodge , on behalf of the Building Committee , to Bro . Aid . R . H . Holmes , J . P ., P . G . D . of England , VVorshipful D . 'puty Provincial Grand Master of Northumberland , on the occasion of laying the corner stone of the Masonic Hal ) , Blyth , on Thursday , Dec . 16 , A . L . 5 S 97 , >

¦ 897- " The stone-laying was carried out with the usual Masonic ceremonies , after which Bro . Aid . R . H . HOI . MKS delivered an address . He saidit was his duty to thank most heartily and most sincerely in the name of the brethren of the Blagdon Lodge their Right VVorshipful Provincial Grand Master , Sir Matthew White Ridley , Bart ., AI . P ., for his great kindness in presenting the brethren of that lodge with

' . he site , which , he believed , would be conveyed to them free ot charge . ( Applause . ] He believed they wouldall feel itwasa noble thing for their P . G . M . to do for them . ( Applause . ) Of course , a building of that kind was far more than appeared to the eye ; it was not a mere question of laying the corner stone , or of an erection of brick and mortar ; but in it would be symbolised all that attached to the principles and tenets and moral truths of Freemasonry . He commended the interests

of the Craft to their charge , and he hoped they would ever act as true and loyal Masons , and be an example to tht : world as to what the principle and tenets of the Order were , and of what they involved to them personally . Might they have no cause to regret that they took part in the erection of that building to the honour and glory ol the Great Architect of the Universe , and for the use and purpose of their English Freemasonry now and for ever ' . ( Loud cheers . )

Subsequently , in the lodgi * room at the Mechanics Institute , the W . M . was installed for the ensuing year . The Masonic anthem was splendidly rendered by Bro . W . E . Lyall , the brethren joining in the chorus .

- » - H . R . H . TUP . PKINCR OF WALKS , Princess Victoria , the Duke of York , Prince and Princess Charles of Denmark , Princess Louise Duchess of Fife , the Duke of Fife , and the ladies and gentlemen of the household attended divine service at St . Mary Magdalene , in Sandringham Park , both on Christmas morning and on Sunday last .