To Correspondents.

To Correspondents .

We must again claim the indulgence of several correspondents whose contributions we are compelled to hold over for another week , in consequence of the space necessarily devoted to the biography of the late Grand Secretary . SATURDAY , J ANUARY 2 , 1892 .

Masonic Notes.

Masonic Notes .

Very gladly and in accordance with our usual custom we avail ourselves of the present opportunity of wishing all our numerous friends and readers a " Happy and Prosperous New Year . " May their cares

be fewer and their responsibilities lighter , and if in the lapse of time we again find ourselves confronted by the Jour de Van , may it be our good fortune to congratulate both them and us on the fulfilment of our

wishes ! And , further , may it be our good fortune to realise that the kindly relations existing between them and us have been strengthened and confirmed , and the respect we mutually entertain for each other as thorough as it is at this moment .

We remind our readers that the winter entertainment to the Old Folks at Croydon will take place at the Asylum on Wednesday , the Cth instant . Thc South-Eastern Railway Company have , as usual , arranged for a special saloon carriage to be attached to the 12 . 52

train from Charing Cross and 1 . 4 p . m . from Cannonstreet , so that those who intend visiting our aged brethren and sisters at the Benevolent Asylum will be comfortably accommodated . We trust the day may prove as successful as previous anniversaries have done .

# # # The Provinces of Devon and Cornwall will , we hope and believe , show their appreciation of the Masonic services of the Deputy Grand Master , the Earl of Mount Edgcumbe , by loyally supporting him on the

occasion of his filling the chair at the forthcoming Festival of the Benevolent Institution . Both Provinces have steadily contributed year by year to the funds of the three Institutions , and no one can say that in this respect they have any lee-way to make up , but the

respect and regard in which the Chairman is held in his own Province of Cornwall , and in scarcely a less degree by the Province of Devon , will , we feci sure , induce " one and all" to make strenuous efforts to signalise the event by contributing a sum worthy of the occasion .

Reports Of Masonic Meetings.

REPORTS OF MASONIC MEETINGS .

Craft nDasonn ? .

METROPOLITAN MEETINGS . St . Leonard Lodge ( No . 1766 ) . —The annual ™ " ? of the above lodge was held at the Town Hall , shoreditch , on Wednesday , December iCth , when there was a large attendance , numbering upwards of Co members and visiting brethren . The lodee was opened bv Bro . H . I .

Ihrower , W . M ., assisted by his officers and several Past Masters , including Bros . G . T . Barr , E . Benjamin , J . A . Jones , J . I'unston , and F . Matthews . A-nongst the visitors were the following : Uros . Richardson , P . M . SGo ; L . A . Smith , P . M . 193 ; VV . IL Brand , P . M . 1524 ; and W . L . Sturtevant , P . M . 127 S .

The business in luded the report of the Audit Committee , the passing of Bros . Shea and Bugler , the initiation of Messrs . J . Whiting , H . H . Marks , and A . Cunnington . tiros . J . K . Bowen , C 5 , and T . Carrell , 1392 , were received as joining members . The W . M . elect , Bro . W . Beasley , was presented for installation by Bro . G . T . Barr , P . M ., and the ceremony was ably worked bv the W . M . The

new _ v . _ rtS . al ! ed W . M . appointed and invested his officers as follows : Bros . H . J . Thrower , I . P . M . j W . Shurmur , P . M . 1 . 71 , S . VV . ; S . C . Kaufman , J . W . ; B . Nicholson , nf , ? ,. _ Co .., * - * Scc -i S . Batcheler , S . D . ; G Bishop 1 . 1 ) . ; \ y . li . Johnson , I . G . ; G . Colls , D . of C ; l . li . Abbott , A . D . C ; R . Jeremy and li . Jacobs , Stwds . ; and J . Very , lyler . The addresses to the Master , Wardens , an - members of the lodge were admirably given by Bro . Ihrower , I . P . M ., to whom Bro . Beasley , W . M ., presented , on behalf of the lodge , a handsome bar , attached

Reports Of Masonic Meetings.

to his Past Master ' s jewel , to mark the appreciation of the brethren of the manner in which Bro . Thrower had carried through his second year of oflice . The sum of X ' 10 I 0 S - voted from the Benevolent Fund to be added to Bro . Thrower ' s list on his representing the lodge as Steward at the Festival of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution . Two sums of like amount were voted in the cause of Charity . The lodge having been closed , the brethren adjourned to

banquet . The usual loyal and Masonic toasts were duly honoured , and soni- vc-y c mgratulatory speeches were made during the evening . Ihe proceedings were enlivened by an excellent selection of music , rendered in an admirable style by Miss Marie Riversdale , Miss Meiklejohn , Bro . Donald , Mr . C . Schuberth , and Mr . Percival Craig , whose musical sketches were greatly enjoyed . Miss Alice Montford accompanied on the pianoforte . The meeting was highly successful , both as to the working and the more social features of the occasion .

Gallery Lodge ( No . 192 S ) . —The installation meeting of this lodge was held on Saturday , the 14 th Dec , at Anderton's Hotel , on which occasion there was a large attendance of the members and numerous visitors . The W . M ., Bro . W . T . Perkins , well supported by his officers , opened the lodge at an early hour for the dispatch of regular lodge business , when Bro . F . Vincent was raised to the Third Degree , and the various other items in the agenda

paper were disposed of . Among the members present were Bros . H . Wright , I . P . M . ; H . F . Bussey , P . M . ; W . M . Duckworth , P . M . ; J . C . Duckworth , P . M . ; E . E . Peacock , J . W ., W . M . elect ; H . Massey , Treas . ; T . Minstrell , Secretary ; C . K . Moore , S . D . ; C . Lock , Director of Ceremonies ; J . C . Manning , I . G . ; F . W . Husk , Org . ; H . Sanderson , Stwd . ; G . M . Rendle , G . Farrar , F . W . Brodie , G . H . Ribbons , L . F . Gaving , P . R . Harris ,

G . F . Vincente , R . S . Masson , F . G . Scott , J . Moore , C . W . Kent , H . Lewis Bell , R . R . Dodds , j . Walker , E . H . Peachey , A . H . Robbins , C . Basil Cooke , S . James , J . D . Irvine , G . E . Saunders , W . G . Kirby , H . J . Fisher , and J . Allan . The list of visitors included Bros . W . E . Chapman , W . M . 2190 ; H . F . Bing , P . M . 1962 ; J . Harrison , Sio ; J . T . Maybank , 3 ; E . H . Home , 227 ; Barcham Cooper , P . M . 1441 ; Edgar Barnes , 21 S 2 ; T . Merton

Clark , 21 S 2 ; E . C . Massey , 1297 ; r . A . Darlington , mo ; I . White , W . M . 205 ; Sir J . Somers Vine , 2190 , P . G . D . ; Charles Townley , 2190 ; and Sir Algernon Borthwick , M . P . After a brief recess , the brethren re-assembled for the installation ceremony , when Bro . E . E . Peacock , the W . M . elect , was presented to the Worshipful Master lor installation , and a Board of Installed Masters havingbeen formed ,

he was duly installed by Bro . Perkins into the chair of K . S ., the ceremony being performed in the most perfect and imp ressive manner . Bro . Peacock then proceeded to appoint his officers for the coming 12 months , of whom the following is the list : Bros . C . K . Moore , S . W . ; J . C . Manning , J . W . ; Henry Massey , P . M ., Treas . ; Thomas Minstrell , P . M ., Sec . ; Charles Lock , S . D . ; 11 . Sanderson , J . D . ; Percy W . Husk , I . G . j H . E . F . Bussey , P . M ., D . C . ;

George Tarran , A . D . C ; Berthold Striem , T . McD . Rendle , S . James , and R . S . Masson , Stwds . ; and James Very , Tyler . Bro . Perkins having brought the ceremony to a close by reciting , in a manner that won for him the admiration of all present , the customary addresses to the officers and lay members of the lodge and the oration on the principles of Freemasonry , Bro . Peacock rose and said that it was a custom , though not an invariable one , to

present thc outgoing Master with a Past Master ' s jewel as a mark of personal esteem and of approval of his conduct in the business of the lodge . On this occasion it fell to his lot to act as the mouthpiece of the lodge , and he said honestly and sincerely that he believed none of his predecessors had ever had to discharge that duty , which now devolved on him as W . M ., with the amount of pleasure he now felt . The brethren knew that when the I . P . M . was installed into

the chair , they entertained the highest anticipations as to the way in which the work of his year of oflice would be done . Those who knew him principally in Masonry , knew him to be distinguished by the greatest prudence , the greatest zeal , and the most indefatigable assiduity ; those who knew him outside of Masonry , knew that he would bring a breadth of view and a recognition of the rights of everyone with whom he was brought into contact which

could not fail to make his path and their paths harmonious and sympathetic . Hc might say that in both respects the brethren had not been disappointed , for during the year which Bro . Perkins had presided over them he had not only fulfilled but had far exceeded tlieir anticipations . There had been a period of successful working never surpassed , and for that Bro . Perkins was entitled to their thanks ; there had been during his period of oflice as

Master an entire absence of irritation , j ? alou _ y , and illfeeling , between any members of the lodge which was remarkable in any body of men so numerous . For that result they were indebted to their late W . M ., and speaking as the mouthpiece of thc lodge , he ( Q 10 . Peacock ) said that now that he retired from the chair he would carry with him the gratitu-leaf the members of the lodge . He would not weary Bro . Perkins ' and the brethren by dilating further

upon what they owed their late Master ; they all recognised the debt , and he was but inadequately representing the sentiments of the brethren when he said to Bro . Perkins , in presenting him with a Past Master ' s jewel , that they were but giving the smallest recognition and slightest expression of the feelings of gratitude and affection they had for him . He had great please e in investing Uro . Perkins with the badge of a Past Master of the Gallery Lodge , and he hoped

that for many years to come it would remind Bro . Perkins of the affectionate regard of the present members of the lodge , and that brethren coming into the lodge would recognise it as a badge that Bro . Perkins hid done good service to the Gallery Lodge . Bro . Perkins , in reply , accepted with sincere thanks this mark of the approval of thc lodge of his p . rsonal conduct . He was sure , also , tint Bro . Peacock would fill the c ' . iair of the only Press lodge in the world in a way worthy of the

lodge and the profession . Thc pleasure he had in the gift was enhanced when one carried away the good wishes of the brethren such as hc might fairly say were represented in the Past Masters in whose ranks they had been good enough to put him . After the dinner which followed the closing of the lodge , the usual loyal and Masonic toast list , with sjme additions , occupied the company till a late hour . In proposing " The HealfTi of the Karl of Lath . , Pro

Reports Of Masonic Meetings.

Grand Master , the Earl of Mount Edgcumbe , Deputy Grand Master , and the rest of the Grand Oilicers , Present and Past , " Bro . Peacock said he would only observe that with regard to the Pro Grand Master , his lordship had expressed his desire to attend one of the meetings of the Gallery Lodge , and he had consequently been invited to attend that evening , and he had received a letter from him in which he expressed his extreme regret that a

long-standing engagement for that day , which lie could not postpone , prevented his attending , but he hoped that on some day within his year of office he would have the pleasure of being with them . Bro . Sir J . R . Somers Vine , P . G . D .. said it was always a high privilege for any Mason to be called onto respond to the toast which conveyed a compliment to the members of Grand Lodge . He had had the pleasure of answering that

toast in many lands , but he never failed to feel that he had to answer for a body which endeavoured to fulfil its obligations to the Craft . He was assured that with such men as Lord Lathom and Lord Mount Edgcumbe nothing would be wanted to f u rther the interests of Mason ry in every degree and every part of the globe , and he might say of the Grand Lodge of England that a respect is feltforit in faroff countrieswhich it was difficult to convey to people at home . He had been in

Africa , America , and Asia , and could testify that in those countries people invariably considered the Ptinceof VVales as the Grand Master and the English Grand Lodge as the Grand Lodge of the World . At Kimberley he was told of some brethren who travelled some 300 miles on horseback to be present at a Masonic meeting , in order that he ( Bro . Vine ) might be able to say that they did not fail in tlieir duty when a Grand Officer was in that part of the world . For the toast

he responded with a great amount of pleasure , which , however , was tinged with some little remorse because hc remembered that he was an original member of the Gallery I _ odge . The only reason he left it was because of the inconvenient hour and days of meeting . He could only say that they of the Savage Lodge regarded the brethren of the Gallery Lodge as being brothers ( he hardly knew how to put it , the brethren of the Gallery Lodge would take it

from him ) , as being brothers of the first rank with the brethren of the Savage Lodge—as being closer to them than the members of any other lodge . He trusted that the kindly feeling would always continue . He was anxious to say to them how much the Savage Club Lodge appreciated the hospitality shown to them , and how much they appreciated visits from the Gallery Lodge to the Savage Club Lodge .

Bro . Perkins , I . P . M ., then rose and said that it was his privilege for the first time to propose "The Health of the VV . M . of the Gallery Lodge , " and , as they might imagine , he discharged that duty with infinite pleasure , because it would be impossible to conceive a brother in Masonry who would fill the chair of that lodge more creditably than their Bro . Peacock . In the ordinary walks of Bro . Peacock ' s life there was no name that was more respected and

appreciated than his . The reputation of the Gallery Lodge stood high , but he was sure that in being committed to the hands of Bro . Peacock it would lose none of its lustre , but that the proceedings of his year of office would be carried on with conspicuous harmony . Those who knew Bro . Peacock outside Masonry knew that he was a man of whom every one spoke well , and he thought that they could have no better evidence of that general appreciation than

that their Brother Sir Algernon Borthwick , who attended that meeting , was his respected employer , and he need scarcely say that if in the estimation of his employer hc stood as high as he did in the estimation of others he would not be outside a just appreciation of his worth . He was sure the 1 would all join him in drinking this toast in adopting the words of their beautiful installation ceremony , and hoping that God would give him health and strength to

discharge his duties with credit to himself and advantage to thc lodge . Bro . Peacock , in reply , said that in rising for the first time as Master of that lodge , to respond to the toast of his health , he had to acknowledge with all gratitude the loyal support his brethren of the lodge had given him , and especially that night . He had also to acknowledge the kindness with which the I . P . M . had spoken of him , and

also the hearty support he had extended to him for hisyear of office . He should have many opportunities during thc course of the year of saying more fully to them what was in his mind at that moment , and what would be in his mind until his term was finished , and he therefore would content himself with the few inadequate words of thanks he had already uttered . He might observe , however , that he did owe one word of

acknowledgment of their kindness that night , and there was nothing that had struck him more than that one brother , who had b ; cn absent from the lodge for yea's had returned that night , lie heartily welcomed back Uros . Mclntyre and Peachey , and those brethren whom they had not been accustomed to sec as frequently as usual . Having said thii much , he now turned to a " more important matter . This was th ; first occasion in the year that the Master of

the lodge was able to propose the health of his I . P . M . lie had already stated in lodge his feelings towards Bro . Perkins , lie repeated them briefly now , and slid that those who saw him installed twelve months ago there welcomed him , b . ciuse they knew he would not discredit the lodge or the profession to which they belonged , and were now proud to acknowledge that their anticipations had been more than fulfilled , and in a manner that made it

difficult for him ( Uro . Peacock ) to follow him . He had now , however , a further word to say in connection with this toast . They all knew that the hours of leisure in their profession were exceedingly few ; they all knew also that any journalist who tojk up Alasonry and attempted to devote Himself to it must deprive himself of a very Urge percentage of the very few hours he would otherwise be able lo give to his home . In this lodge thtv had Uriven to identify thc

other sex with the interests ofthe bdge . They had their ladies ' night ; their picnic , to which ladies were invited ; they had striven to enlist the sympathies of the better half of creation in the prosperity of the lodge . But however bad it might be for the wives of most of them who were but Master Masons to lose the little opportunities of domestic intercourse which fell to thc Iotof Pressmen , it was tenfold morchard to the

wife of the VV . M . And not only so—not only was the penalty inflicted upon his wife in that respect , but at every social gathering in connection with the lodge they had to rely for their success much less upon the VV . M . than on the W . AI . 's wife . Seeing how much the social gatherings they had had during Bro . Perkins' year of ollice had depended for their success upon the lady who had presided at them ,