Presentation To Bro. Metham, P. Prov. D.G.M. Devon.

n on of England , and as he had taken special care f the children whose fathers had fallen in the Crimean \ V r Bro . Latimer addressed a circular to his brother Y , ' to which they have handsomely responded . When as seen that the funds would allow of it , it was deter'' ' ed to have a special gold medal for Mrs . Metham , who HI' ? been her husband ' s right hand in all his work during IT these years of jubilee , and it was thus that the

Comttee wished in some befitting manner to associate her "" with the celebration . The Earl of S T . LEVAN , who presided , spoke well of .. mer itorious services of Bro . METHAM , who , in his mentioned some most interesting circumstances , " hnwi ' ne- how the work that the institution had done came

home to the benevolent emotions ot the public The jubilee has now passed , but it will live in the memories of many of those who were present on the 24 th St and , above all , we trust that it will be a red-letter dav ' for years to come in the minds of the chief recipients —Bro . and Mrs . Metham . — Western Daily Mercury .

A Masonic Lodge Held " Al Fresco."

A MASONIC LODGE HELD " AL FRESCO . "

Bro . H . D . Cole , P . P . G . Sec . Isle of Wight , writes to the Hampshire Independent as follows : " In 1 S 49 an interesting event occurred in the annals of Freemasonry , and as I am nearly the only surviving brother who was present , it will be of interest to the Craft to record what I can remember of perhaps an unique occurrence which took place now 40 years ago . At a meeting of the

members of the Albany Lodge , then No . 176 , now 151 , held at Newport , Isle of Wight , it was resolved to hold a Lodge of Recreation at Freshwater-gate , to have a substantial tea at the hotel there , ivhich v . as kept by a brother Mason , and to transact any busii ess that may be brought forward ; and it was also resolved that each member of the lodge be at liberty to invite any brother or brothers to meet

the lodge thereby paying the proper share of their refreshment ; but none but brother Masons be allowed to join the party at any period of the day . The lodge was accordingly adjourned for the purpose . "On the appointed day a large number of the brethren drove over to Freshwater , and happily it was a lovely fine day . When all had arrived , including several officers from

Parkhurst Barracks and brethren from different parts of the island , an adjournment was made to the neighbouring Down , where a spot was selected in a chalk pit , well adapted for the purpose ; and , as we had brought our necessary furniture and paraphernalia , not forgetting our lodge warrant , & c , with us , we quickly formed the semblance of a proper working lodge , adopting the

manners and custom of our ancient brethren , who held their meetings ' on high hills and low valleys , 'when they had no regularly built lodges . I may remark , en passant , that I was initiated in a private house belonging to a Bro . Williams , in Pyle-street , Newport , in the presence of two D . P . G . M . 's , as the present Masonic Hall was not then built . Before opening the lodge in ancient form , four

brethren were selected to act as Outer Guards to prevent the approach of intruders into Masonry , and , most fortunately , it was necessary to ask only one person to kindly walk on one side , and which he most willingly did . "The lodge was opened in form , being ' strictly closed , guarded , and watched , ' and to make the occurrence more interesting , a candidate living in the neighbourhood had

previously applied to be admitted into the Fraternity , and , being duly approved of , he was initiated in ancient form . Lectures were given to some F . C men , and when all other business was transacted , the brethren adjourned from labour to refreshment at the hotel , where the substantial tea alluded to was partaken of , consisting of chicken and ham , and other cold meats , with lobsters and prawns ad libitum ,

atacostof two shillings to each , and after being thoroughly enjoyed , the lodge was closed in peace and harmony . As far as my recollection goes , I think there were about 40 brethren present ; and , as everything passed off with such unbounded pleasure , it formed an agreeable topic of conversation for many years afterwards . I was Secretary of } he lodge at the time , and perhaps this circumstance " has

impressed the event more strongly on my memory . In conclusion , may I suggest that this narrative may prove of interest to those members of lodges who would wish to arrange a summer ' outing ; ' and I am sure many brethren , like myself , who are past active work , would gladly join for

the day , if invited . It would be necessary , however , to obtain the P . G . Master's dispensation , authorising the removal of the lodge to the place appointed . Many of our brethren are owners of parks and houses with private grounds , who would , I should imagine , gladly allow the holding of such a lodge ; and may I be there to see . "H . J . "

Dedication Of A New Masonic Hall At Monkwearmouth.

DEDICATION OF A NEW MASONIC HALL AT MONKWEARMOUTH .

On Monday af Iernoon , the 20 th ult ., the dedication of the new lodge building of the Williamson Lodge , No . 949 , of Ancient

, Free , and Accepted Masons , took place at Monkwearmouth , when the ceremony was performed by the f , Y- G . M ., Sir Hedworth Williamson , bart ., assisted by we Dep . Prov . G . M ., Bro . Canon Tristram , D . D .. P . G . ' -hap . England , and the officers nf Prov . O . Lodrre . There

af fv , !? ^ attendance of brethren . The officers acting Y 'Jj ? dedication were , in addition to the above -. Bros . H . J- furnbull , acting P . S . G . W . j J . Potts , P . J . G . W . ; "ev T . Randall and Rev . ] . Haworth , P . G . Cha ' ps . j R . "odson , P . G . Sec , P . G S . B . Eng . j J . Stonehouse , P . G . ireas ; W . Logan , P . P . G . Reg ., P . G . D . C ; D . P . nuntley , P . S . G . D .: W . Mavson . P . LCD .: R .

Sino-le' ° n , f . j . GD . Charles Spencer , P . G . S . of W . j J . R . p £ ° > P-A . G . S . ; T . Hardy , P . G . P . ; and T . Potter , CL j , 'y'er . Among other Prov . Officers were Bros . R . £ « ° rth , p . p . s . c D M Douglass p . p . G . D . j F . Su ^' ^ -P 0 - - ; J . G . Kirtley , P . P . J . G . D . ; W . Portl' r , o - -5 A - T - Munf ° P . P . G . S . B . '; G . H » Hri'A - - -S A . Gray , P . P . G . S . of W . ; R . W . UneTp ' iW- P'S J- D . ' Todd , P . P . G . S . B . ; C . S . Henl -J-G-t ) - ; Robert Kinmond , P . P . G . P . ; Thos . C ? l erson 'P-P-G . S . B . j J . C . Moor , P . P . J . G . D . ; H . wTrvr , - -G-D . Middx . ; E . J . Gibbon , P . P . G . O . ; P . P G s , > P-P . G . P . ; J . Hudson and J . J . Wilson , BroQ r « , A' and among Masters of lodges and others J- Hudson w A "' o W M - 9495 E . Milburn , W . M . 2019 ; "uoson , W . M . 80 ; J . G . Marshall , W , M . 97 j J , W .

Dedication Of A New Masonic Hall At Monkwearmouth.

H . Swan , W . M . 94 ; J . R . Smart , P . M . 94 ; G . Wanhvs , P . M . 94 j C . F . Sutc ' liffe , W . M . 240 ; G . B . Hall , P . M . 949 ; J . Deans , P . M . 2039 ; J . R . Cutter , S . W . 97 ; R . A . Brown , S . W . 2039 ; G . Craven , S . W . 94 ; R . Todd , S . W . So ; and W . E . Moffatt , S . W . 240 . The brethren assembled at three o ' clock at the new hall , and the Williamson Lodge , No . 94 g , was duly opened by

the W . M ., Bro . G . W . Bain . A procession of the Prov . Grand Officers and Past Masters , with the P . G . M . and the D . P . G . M . at the head , were received by the brethren standing . After the usual formalities , Bro . R . HUDSON , the P . G . Sec , on behalf of the lodge , requested the P . G . M . to dedicate the lodge room for Masonic purposes .

The P . G . M ., Sir HEDWORTH WILLIAMSON , Bart ., expressed the pleasure it gave him to perform the ceremony , especially considering the name which the lodge bore . The solemn ceremony customary to the dedication of similar Masonic premises then took place . The prayers were said by the Chaplains , and the anthems and sanctus were sung by a choir , under the direction of Bro .

McCallum , D . C , Org . 949 , assisted by Bro . E . J . Gibbon , P . P . G . O . Northumberland . Afterwards , Bro . the Rev . Canon T RISTRAM , D . D ., the D . P . G . M ., who responded to the call of the P . G . M ., delivered a most eloquent address to the brethren . The erection of a lodge at Monkwearmouth , he said , was a Masonic duty which had only been too long delayed . When they remembered

that Monkwearmouth had an ecclesiastical and architectural history , by the side of which such modern creations as Sunderland and Bishopwearmouth were mushrooms ; that Monkwearmouth Church was one of the oldest edifices in the kingdom , and that Benedict Biscop had been its presiding genius ; that Benedict Biscop and others were not only scholars but men of the world , and held the secrets of

architecture and science , as far as they were then known , in their hands , he could not but feel that Benedict Biscop knew very well , and valued the secrets of Freemasonry as acquired by him . He ( Canon Tristram ) felt it was peculiarly appropriate that Monkwearmouth , the mother of ecclesiastical architecture , the first recipient of the Oriental arts and sciences in the west of Europe , should at last have

offered a permanent home to that masonry which was part and parcel of all Oriental and mediaeval civilisation , and the best wish he could offer to the Freemasons of Monkwearmouth was that their lodge , and its material representation of it , might be represented in that true and massive form as long as the representative of Christianity had stood in their midst in the church now nearly 1250 years old . In the

course of an eloquent address , he proceeded to say there was a far higher revelation of Masonry in the subsequent revelation of Christianity that did not do away with the advantages and blessings of Masonry , because Masonry , springing from the ideaimpressed alike upon Solomon and upon his Phoenician allies , of the spirituality and simplicity of Divine worship , bound all men together j and , therefore ,

Masonry was in itself the very foundation and at the bottom of all monarchical and democratic constitutions . It was impossible to have a true monarchy or a true democracy unless they were founded upon the very principles upon which Masonry existed and was built— " Order and liberty , founded on subordination to authority . "He congratulated their P . G . M . and the brethren of Monkwearmouth upon

the erection of their new hall . 'The P . G . M . asked to be allowed , in their name , to thank Canon Tristram for his eloquent address . They congratulated him upon his return , in restored health , to this country , and he ( the P . G . M . ) congratulated the lodge upon the successful ceremony that had taken place . He remembered that he was the first W . M . of the lodge upon

its foundation in 1 S 63 , and he was very pleased to see some of the original members present that day , viz ., Bros . LiddeH and Halfnight . After the dedication of the new hall , the ordinary business of the lodge preceded , the W . M ., Bro . G . W . Bain , in the chair . Bro . Bain was also re-installed as W . M . by Bros . G . Porteous , P . P . G . O ., and W . Liddell ,

P . P . G . D . Bro . Bain invested the following as his officers for the ensuing year : Bros . F . Maddison , P . M ., P . P . G . D ., l . P . M . ; Remigius Blake , S . W . j L . R . Davies , J . W . ; J . G . Kirtley , P . P . G . D ., Treas . ; A . Logan , Sec . j J . S . Chatt , S . D . ; T . Hunter , J . D . ; G . Porteous , P . M .,

D . C ; J . McCallum , Org . ; L . R . Simpson , I . G . ; Brady Swain , Tyler ; and R . Cook and J . Turner , Stwds . The lodge business afterwards terminated . In the evening the festival of the lodge was held at the Queen ' s Hotel , Fawcett-street , the W . M ., Bro . Geo . Washington Bain , presiding . There was a large company present .

The Poet Burns.

THE POET BURNS .

It was not my intention to add anything to my last contribution to this controversy , but , as Bro . Officer states that he presumes " all has been said on it by both sides that can be said , " I must record that I have a very different opinion . At the same time , I do not think it necessary to enter further into any lengthy details .

Amongst my worthy brother's well-established " contemporaneous facts and circumstances" I do not find any reference to Allan Cunningham ' s remark in his life of Burns , when speaking of the relics of that once numerous bodythe Jacobites—the leading members of whorn had , in 17 S 7 , made their rendezvous in Canongate Kilwinning Lodge . Cunningham says " the Poet was received with acclamation

and the dignity of LAUREATE was conferred upon him . " Probably there are other references of a similar nature , and I may state that when Bro . Anthony O'Neal Hay held the office in 1 S 63 , he began the introduction to his volume of " Songs and Ballads " by stating that " the Laureateship of the Canongate Kilwinning Lodge was instituted to do honour to Robert Burns , " & c

Bro . Officer says that Bro . Marshall " adroitly suppressed" statements in his " Winter with Robert Burns , " and therefore it is hatdly fair for him to quote so copiously from that work to assist in attacking my chapter on Burns , which is based on the lodge minutes . One more remarkand it is a repetition of the fact as stated in my history of

the lodge—that when the picture of the Inauguration was being painted by Bro . Stewart Watson—a painting equally entitled to ourrespect for truthfulness as , say , that of "The Finding of Moses , " by Schopin—there was alive at the time —1845—at least one member of the lodge ( William Petrie ) who bore oral testimony to the fact of the Inauguration as having been present on the occasion .

The Poet Burns.

Before closing , and in connection with the whole subject , I think it may be of interest to many of the brethren to record here some of the particulars relating to the grave and mausoleum so frequently alluded to in the course of this correspondence . The spot in St . Michael's Churchyard , Dumfries , where all that was mortal of the bard was deposited on Monday ,

the 25 th day of July , 1796 , had been selected by himself in the north-east corner of the cemetery . In one of his published letters we find him using this proud language : " When I am laid in my grave , I wish to be stretched at my full length , that I may occupy every inch of ground that I have a right to . " The bard ' s countrymen in their generation are not unlike the rest of the human family that

are said to "build up tombs of those prophets whom their fathers had persecuted to death . " In process of time , they conceived that Burns was entitled to occupy a much larger space of ground than he had humbly claimed as his own . Accordingly , in 1815 , they erected the present mausoleum upon a site in the south-east portion of the same burial ground , the change of position being requisite ,

because the poet's own comer was too contracted to hold so bulky a structure . At the solemn hour when night and morning meet , the remains of the bard and his two boys ( Maxwell Burns , a posthumous child , who lived two years and nine months , and Francis Wallace Bruce , who died in

1 S 03 , aged 14 ) were carefully disinterred , and placed in the magnificent habitation thus prepared for their reception . A ponderous Latin inscription was composed , with the view of telling visitors that "Hoc Mausoleum " was built "in ceternum honorem Roberti Burns , Poetarum Caledonirfi ; " but , by the rarest good fortune , it was never put up . A . MACKENZIE , Edinburgh , iSth May . No . 2 .

The Late Bro. Col. W. A. Adair.

THE LATE BRO . COL . W . A . ADAIR .

The Grand Secretary General of the Supreme Council , 33 , of which the late Bro . Col . Adair was a member , has issued the following : " Dear Sir and Brother , "The Supreme Council , 33 ° , have to announce , with very deep sorrow , the death of their friend and colleague ,

Brigadier-General Alexander William Adair , who departed this life on Thursday , the 16 th instant , at Bath . " Bro . Adair was a distinguished member of the Masonic body , being Grand Superintendent of Royal Arch Masonry for Somersetshire , and a Past Provincial Grand Master for the same county . He was also a Past Great Constable of the Temple , and a Past Grand Warden in the Mark

Degree . " He was for many years an active and enthusiastic member of the Ancient and Accepted Rite , and served on the Supreme Council from the year 1 S 6 S . " By his death the Order has lost a most useful member and a true | friend . " As a tribute of respect to the memory of our deceased brother , the Supreme Council request the members of the

Ancient and Accepted Rite within this jurisdiction to appear in mourning when sitting in chapter for a period of 60 days from the date of his decease . " I am , dear Sir and Brother , yours fraternally , " HUGH D . SANDEMAN , 33 , " Grand Secretary General . " 33 i Golden-square , London , W ., " 27 th May , 1 SS 9 . "

Carnarvon Lodge, No. 1572, And The Boys' School.

CARNARVON LODGE , No . 1572 , AND THE BOYS' SCHOOL .

The following circular has been issued by the above lodge ; reference to it is made in our leader columns : —¦ " 2 S , Warwick Lane , " Paternoster Row , London , E . C , " May 21 st , 1889 .

" At a meeting of subscribers to the Masonic Boys ' School from the Carnarvon Lodge , No . 1572 , held on May 20 th , 18 S 9 , it was resolved—( 1 . ) That the action of the W . M ., appointed as Steward for the Boys' School , in withdrawing from his Stewardship , be confirmed . ( 2 . ) That under present circumstances of the School no subscriptions be paid to it .

( 3 . ) That this meeting tenders its most grateful thanks to the Committee of Investigation for its report , and hopes all the reforms named by it may be carried into effect . ( 4 . ) This meeting considers that the confidence of subscribers in the Institution can only be secured by the resignation of the House and Audit

Committee , and the removal of all the officials implicated in the report . ( 5 . ) That the subscriptions received shall be paid into the Benevolent Fund of the Carnarvon Lodge , 1572 , and there remain at the disposal of the subscribers .

( 6 . ) That a copy of these resolutions be sent to the Grand Registrar , Grand Secretary , and to each subscribing member of the Carnarvon Lodge , 1572 . " J PAIGE , W . M . 1572 , " Sec . Savage Club Lodge , 2190 . "

Fit For Freemasonry.

FIT FOR FREEMASONRY .

The following letter has been addressed to the Editor of the Natal Mercury : "Ladismith , March 30 . " Sir , —I was much surprised upon reading a report of affairs Masonic in your paper this week to observe the ruling of D . G . M . Finnemore respecting the incapacity of a one-armed ( left ) man . These questions are best left for

discussion elsewhere than in a public newspaper j but since this ruling has been by authority ( as neccessarily it must have been ) published in your columns , allow me to say that , so far as my instruction goes , it is entirely foreign to the fundamental principles of Freemasonry , that any one who by misfortune or the ' act of God' has lost a

limb , is debarred from the privilege which , I understood , was open to every free , honest , and upright man . Though I have never joined , or even visited , any Natal lodge , I would , in the interests of the Craft in Natal , suggest that the ruling be referred to a hi gher Masonic tribunal for decision , rather than that Jong-cherished tenets and beliefs