Knights Templar.

Commandery . We are known wherever Knights Templar go as a live , hospitable , and progressive bodyof Templars ; have taken and maintained our stand with the leading commanderies of the country , always putting in months of hard work on drills and making preparations to entertain citizens and guests and to contribute to the revenue and charity funds of the conclave , through either competitive or exhibition drills as they have come up , taking as our reward only the good will and honours ' that await the valiant Templar . '

Pittsburgh is making very elaborate preparations , building acres upon acres of ground into pavilions and review stands , making new boulevards for the grand parade , illuminating the streets by strings of electric lights and arches , the United States and local courts , public officials and even the public schools have agreed to suspend during conclave week and give up their rooms and buildings for the use and pleasure of visitors .

" There will be yacht racing on the three rivers , daily railroad and steamboat excursions to outside points of interest . * Nothing which can possibly be crowded into the space of three days will be left undone for the comfort and enjoyment of our guests' is their modest announcement . Pittsburgh is an ambitious city , full of very hospitable people , trained in recent years in the art of caring for big gatherings of people and conventions , beautifully

situated in the heart of the Allegheny Mountains where the Monongahela and Allegheny Rivers unite to form the great Ohio , and , surrounded by charming mountain scenery . While at Pittsburgh we will climb Mount Washington , go through the great oil and gas fields , window and tableware glass factories , the great Homestead mills , and all the big Industrial plants we can find time to visit .

'Special arrangements are being made for the entertainment of the ladies of St . Bernard party . Seats will be secured in grand stand for the parade . An elaborate ' afternoon tea' with the ladies of Pittsburgh and visiting Knights Templar ladies as guests will be one of the features of our trip , and of which our ladies will , of course , have charge . "

Instruction.

Instruction .

PROSPERITY LODGE , No . 65 . A meeting was held on Wednesday , the 31 st ult ., at the Weaver ' s Arms , 17 , London Wall , E . C . Present : Bros . D . J . Harlow , P . M . 65 , Preceptor , W . M . j Brown , S . W . ; E . Croft Wise , J . W . ; William Baker , Treas ., acting Preceptor ; Meadows , P . M . 1571 , Sec . ; John G . Robeson , S . D . ; Gernon , J . D . ; Rix , I . G . ; James Smith , P . M . 192 Asst . Sec . ; C . Butcher , W . M . 902 ; Palmer , Read , Farr , and J . J . Wise , A Masonic treat was thoroughly enjoyed by the brethren present under the able

presidency of the Preceptor , as W . M ., who , ably assisted by two W . Ms , as Wardens , rendered the ceremonies in a most perfect manner , which proved a useful and instructive lesson to the Masters as well as the other aspirants to the chair present . The lodge was opened in due form , and the minutes of the last meeting read and confirmed , the W . M . opened it in the Second Degree , when Bro . C . Butcher , acting

as candidate for raising , answered the usual questions , and was entrusted . The lodge was then opened in the Third Degree , and Bro . Butcher was raised to the Degree of M . M ., the Master giving the traditional history in his well-known able style . The brethren then rehearsed Masonic Drill , after which the W . M . closed down in the three Degrees , and rising the usual times , closed the lodge in due form . Bro . William Baker , W . M . 192 , will occupy the chair next Wednesday evening at 7 .

Importance Of Secrecy In The Ballot.

IMPORTANCE OF SECRECY IN THE BALLOT .

We extract the following from the report of the Grand Lodge of Louisiana : " Lodge 249 has an applicant for initiation ; the ballot was spread and declared dark ; the W . M ., in order to make sure that no error or mistake

had taken place , ordered a second ballot , when it was found still dark . The W . M . decided that the candidate was ' rejected . Immediately thereafter the lodge was called to refreshments , and the brethren assembled in the anteroom ; while there considerable discussion took ' place , and denunciation of the brother who cast the black ball . The result of this discussion induced

Bro . T . S . Williams to admit he had cast the black ball . Finally , whether by persuasion or otherwise , this brother declared his readiness to change his ballot , if opportunity was offered . On calling the lodge to labour , a motion was made to have a third ballot , and Bro . T . S . Williams arose , stated that he had cast the black ball , and , for reasons assigned , withdrew his

objections and requested to be allowed to correct it . The W . M ., who is a young Mason , conferred with some of the older brethren , took their advice , and ordered a new ballot ; whereupon the candidate was elected , introduced , and received his degree of Entered Apprentice . A full statement of this case was laid before the G . M . by R . W . Bro . L . E . Robinson ,

D . D . G M ., of the Nineteenth District . The G . M . at once wrote a letter to Bro . Robinson , directing him to notify W . M . of Lodge 249 that violation of the secrecy of the ballot-box was a serious offence ; that permitting a third ballot was absolutely null and void ; that the initiation of the

candidate in the E . A . Degree seriously aggravated and complicated the gravity of the offence . He , therefore , ordered the lodge to receive no application for advancement from the candidate or other proceedings to be taken j "i his case until further orders . The cumulation of the offences and the

serious questions involved , induced the G . M . to convene thc Committee on Masonic Law and Jurisprudence , and lay the whole subject matter before them . After careful investigation , the Committee , in their report , among other things , said : ' By forcing the violation of the secrecy of the ballot , the members of the lodge individually committed little less than a Masonic

ni'siemeanour ; and as to the action of the W . M . in permitting the third ballot , it is sufficient to say that it was absolutely null and void , being in oirect violation of the express law of the Grand Lodge . ' The Committee cf

vere the further opinion that Lodge 249 merited severe punishment , and "ggested the Grand Master exercise his high prerogative and carry out Th ' ^ ° mmen dation , which was to suspend it for a period of six months . ne G . M . carried out this suggestion , and instructed the D . D . G . M . to bvh- fr ? m the W - * ol Lod S 49 its charter ; to be held and retained r nim until the period of the suspension of the lodge should , expire , " »

Presentation And Unveiling Of A Portrait Of The Late R. Wor. Bro. Dr. R. Hamilton, D.G.M.

PRESENTATION AND UNVEILING OF A PORTRAIT OF THE LATE R . WOR . BRO . DR . R . HAMILTON , D . G . M .

A very interesting function took place in the Hamilton Lodge No . 1440 , Spanish Town , Jamaica , on the evening of Thursday , the 7 th ult . A portrait of the late Rt . Wor . Bro . Hon . Robert Hamilton , M . A ., M . D ., who was for nearly 22 years District Grand Master of Jamaica , and who was one of the founders of the lodge , was presented to the lodge by Wor . Bro . R . W . Campbell , the I . P . M . The picture was unveiled by the Rt . Wor .

Deputy Surgeon-General , Bro . C . B . Mosse , C . B ., Deputy District Grand Master of Jamaica in charge , who , with his D . G . Wardens , Chaplain , and Secretary attended by invitation to perform the ceremony . There was a large number of Past Masters and members of other lodges present . The Wor . Bro . R . W . CAMPBELL , in a very appropriate speech , made the presentation , and askecd the D . D . G . M . to unveil the picture .

The D . D . G . M . pulled a cord , and the veil rolled back , exposing the beautiful picture . The D . D . G . M . then , in a speech couched in very choice language , enlarged upon the virtues of the late brother , who , he said , had initiated him into Freemasonry many years ago , and from whom he and many others

had received valuable instructions in matters relating to the Craft . He exhorted the officers and members of the Hamilton Lodge to do all that lay in their power to make the lodge worthy of the noble name it bore , and all the brethren present to endeavour to follow in the footsteps of such a glorious Masonic example .

Bro . W . DUFF , the D . G . Sec , in the course of a speech , stated the interesting fact that the regalia which the late Bro . Hamilton was depicted wearing was the same set that the D . D . G . M . was then clothed in—Bro . Dr . Hamilton having bequeathed it as a legacy to the District Grand Lodge to be worn by his successors . A vote of thanks to the generous donor was passed by the lodge , and conveyed to that brother by the W . M ., Bro . W . M . Fraser .

A Newly-Installed Worshipful Master's Power.

A NEWLY-INSTALLED WORSHIPFUL MASTER'S POWER .

A rather nice question was recently raised in a Melbourne Lodge and it has cropped up again so soon as to be worthy of comment . " When do the duties and powers of an Installing Master end ? " Some Past Masters hold strongly that the moment the W . M . is installed and the gavel is placed in his hands he has supreme power and can call upon whom he likes to continue the ceremony . It is urged that his first act is to invest his I . P . M . That

may be admitted , but after placing the gavel in the newly-installed W . M . ' s hands the Installing Master should resume it and according to the best rituals , he , and not the newly-installed W . M ., closes the Board , admits Masons in the various Degrees and makes the proclamations and presentations . AH this goes to show conclusively , we think , that the Installing Master ' s powers are absolute until after proclamations and addresses have

been delivered . If the W . M . is to invest his I . P . M . he does so at the request of the Installing Master , nor is it essentially the W . M . ' s province to do it . It comes even better from the Installing Master , who can appropriately explain the jewel , work which comes most absurdly from a newlyfledged W . M . The advice also to support and counsel the new W . M . comes better from an Installing Past Master than as a request from the W . M .

himself . The addresses to the W . M ., Wardens and brethren are essentially work appropriate to a Past Master , and in the first and second the W . M . himself is specially alluded to in terms of direction and advice . The Installing Master also instructs the W . M . to invest his officers , or depute some one to do so , and the whole adjuncts of the ceremony go to show that the W . M . is a cypher until the final address to the brethren has been concluded .

Indeed , that is a proper time for the Installing Master to congratulate the W . M ., and hand him his gavel with some appropriate remarks . Custom in Victoria , and , indeed , elsewhere , places the investment of the I . P . M . in the W . M . ' s hands whilst the Board of Installed Masters is sitting , and if the I . P . M . be the Installing Master he cannot well invest himself . If , however , it is done by the newly-installed-W . M ., he should be formally requested to

do it , and his subjection for the present thus shown . Without the warrant of the lodge , which has yet to be presented to his keeping , and without the Book of Constitutions and by-laws , he is unfitted to take control of the lodge . At the Duke of Albany Lodge , Victoria , during the recent ceremony there ' was a disposition to wrest the ceremony from the hands of the I . P . M ., but , fortunately , better counsels prevailed , though not until some discussion

had taken place . The investment of the I . P . M ., if he be the Installing Officer , might be gracefully done by the senior past or present Grand Lodge Office in attendance . The fact that the jewel has to be explained according to some rituals , indicates that the incoming W . M . could not have the knowledge necessary in time to commit it to memory , and the inference is that the investiture is meant to be carried out by some one else . At a recent

installation meeting a contention arose as to when the I . P . M . should be invested . Bro . W . B . Edwards contended , and we think properly , that the W . M . has no power until after he has been proclaimed , and Bro . Sinclair , whilst agreeing in the main with this , admitted that custom at least had recognised that the W . M . should do the work . The situation is interesting because in the possible event of friction or petty jealousies arising , some

definite line of action should be recognised . We believe that the gavel should not be delivered to the new W . M . until after the proclamations nor before the conclusion of the ceremonies . The ascension of a Queen or King of England is followed by coronation on a subsequent day . The arrival in these Colonies ofa Vice Regal representative is followed by the swearing , which completes the

legal powers he requires , though already nominally the Governor of the Colony , and in our own ceremonies the newly-installed W . M . is not fitted to fulfil his duties until the Installing Master has fully rendered the ceremonies relative to that position . A reference of such a difficulty to the Board of General Purposes would no doubt be dealt with on some such lines .

Happily the occasions are very rare when a decision may become of any great importance , but because they are rare is not a reason why some such definite ruling should not be obtained , for , as witness the recent ceremonies at the Duke of Albany Lodge , a scene was narrowly averted upon this very point of dispute , —Mason ry , Melbourne , N . S . W *