Consecration Of The Eclectic Chapter, No. 1201.

Health of the M . E . Z ., " and passed a hearty complimen to all the Principals for getting up the chapter . The M . E . Z . replied and said , it would be a great honour to be thc first Z , of a chapter or the first W . M . of a lodge . He thought however that he was scarcely competent to fulfil the duties properly ; but he woulel nevertheless trv during the year that was before him to show

the companions that he had thc interest of the chapter at heart , and to carry out the duties lie had undertaken to the satisfaction of the chapter . Comp . Harty , H ., replying to tlie toast of " The Second and Third Principals . " said it was one of the darling wishes of his heart , when he was W . M . of the Electic Lodge-, after having broken the ice by introducing banquets to the Eclectic

Loelge , to form the Eclectic Chapter . He hoped the chapter would go on well ; in its youth be industrious ; in its midelle age respectable ; and in its old age a credit to thc Stock . It was the wish of thc founders that it should be so , and all their efforts would be used to that end . Comp . Large , also replied . Comp . George Kelly replied for " Thc Visitors , " in a very few words , as time

was running short . Ccmp . James lerry . responded for "The Charities , " and referring to thc death of Comp . Little said that lie and Comp . Little had worked together in Grand Secretary ' s oflice , and they were both elected Secretaries of their respective Ins ' . itutions about the same time , Comp . Little to the Girls'School on thc last Thuisday in November , and himself to the Benevolent Institution on

the second Wednesday in December . He was sorry that Comp . Little ' s career of usefulness had b-en but short , and he hoped thc Girls' School would not suffer from it . The Gilds' School was dear tn all the companions , and they all knew how well it had heen conducted , and what admirable results followed . Comp . Woodford in his oration mentioned the name of ihe founder of that School , the Chevalier

Ruspini , and the name ought to bc honoured . After noticing the Boys' School in flattering terms , Comp . Terry mentioned the Benevolent Institution , and said that for fifteen years he had endeavoured to promote its interests to the best of his ability . For thc result of his labours he begged to refer the companions to thc fact that last year £ 16 , 400 had been collected fur that Institution , and he

could assure thc brethren that the old people for whom it was subscribed were very grateful for what the- Craft had done . The companions shortly afterwards separated . The intervals between the toasts were enlivened by some capital music from the professional companions , Theo . Distin , G . Large , G . T . Carter , and Marcellus Higgs , with the assistance of Dr . Edwin Payne , Organist of the chapter .

The Prince Of "Wales And The Freemasons

THE PRINCE OF "WALES AND THE FREEMASONS

( From the limes of April 25 th . ) The Prince if Wales entered yc-. te . rday on liis fourth year of office as Most Worshipful Grand Master of tlie English Grand Lodge of Freemasons . The ceremonies of the occasion , which we describe in another column , were ,

of course , most impressive . It is by lis external splendours that Freemasonry is best known to the world outside its ranks . Its gorgeous dresses , its mysterious tokens of rank and oflice , and its dignified method of procedure , are well calculated to impress the mind with due reverence for those awful secrets of the Craft which they at once veil anil svmbolisc . Nothiiijj was wanting yesterday to thc full

effect of the elay . There was a large and distinguished company , inclueling among the guests the Crown Prince of Denmark , Grand Master of thc Danish Freemasons . There was a profuse display of the well-known insignia of the Freemasons' order . The sun and the moon , the compasses , the . squares , and the triangles weie resplendent amid the gold and silver and blue of the aprons , or shone

upon the breasts of the assembled brethren as marks of a nobility at once the highest and the most venerable of any . Freemasonry has had its dark days . It has met with suspicion and persecution from Church and State . Its practice , even in this country , has been forbidden by express statute . Elsewhere it has been uneler the ban of the Inquisition , and its members have suffered accordingly .

It has had its martyrs an I confessors , its false and weakhearted brethren , its schisms and discords from within , its relentless enemies , who have been ever on ihe watch to surprise it nnd put it down . It has passed safely through all these dangeis . It has survived with unbroken front , guarding its secrets meanwhile from an intrusive and hostile world . In this country it has been its good fortune for

some time patt to enj-iy the favour of Royalty . The ceremonial of yesterday is not the first of tile kind that the English world has seen . From the days of King Henry VI ., who passed suddenly from a persecutor tn an admitted member of the , Oreler , the connexion of thc English Royal Family with Freemasonry lias been close and frequent . At the present day , with its ; , ixteen hundred lodges , its innumerable band of brothers , and with the Heir-Apparent

as its Grand Master , English Freemasonry stands more firmly than ever . Ils enemies , if such it has , must be looked for among the sex which is debarred for ever from its privileges . Women , it is well known , unhappily for themselves and for Freemasonry , have an evil reputation for not keeping secrets . The great ceremonial of yesterday was , therefore , less perfect than it mi ght have been made if the sex had been less frail .

Fhe Freemasons arc , beyond all dispute , a very ancient body indeed . Their descent has been variously traced deiwn from thc patriarchs eif olel elays . Solomon , Ncah , and Adam have all been claimed as founders or prominent members of the Order . Probable evidence in all its degrees must be

taken for what it is worth 111 a case of this kind , where strict proof has now ceased to be possible . The finisher of the great Temple must , in all reason , be thought to haye been conversant with thc builder's art . His workmen , it not himself , were certainly Masons ; and , as the presumption is that a man s free in the absence of proof to the contrary ,

The Prince Of "Wales And The Freemasons

wc may venture to speak of them as Freemasons . From these early members of the Masonic order , through Pythagoras , and with a process of filiation not very strictly made out , we come next to the Masons of the early middle ages , to the constructors of the magnificent Gothic churches which in this country and on the Continent are among the most precious monuments of antiquity . The men who erected

these buildings where certainly possessed of secrets which have not yet been divulged . Their unapproacheel supremacy as artists is sufficient proof of this . Nor need we have any difficulty in believing that they were frequently united in a kind of brotherhood of the Craft known to one another in their necessary wanderings from place to place by signs ol their own , and possessed of professional km-wledge which

they guarded jealously from outsiders . All this is so likely that it would need proof that the . old builders were not something of this kind rather than that they were ; whereas , in point of fact , the evielence , such as it is , is almost wholly confirmatory . But between these men and the modern Freemasons there is only one more chasm to be bridged over , and it is not nearly as broad and difficult as the pre \ ious on

which we have already passed . As lime went on , and as the constitution of society changed , the early trade companies of Europe lost , together with their uses , a good deal of their original meaning . There has been a process of transformation in a good many of them . The guild has survived , but it has been less and less closely connected with the craft or business lrom which it took its name .

Modern Fscemasonry has no very close connection with the building tiade . It scarcely , indeed , affects to have any in thc ordinary sense of the words . Its buildings are cf a kind not made with hands . Virtue and brotherhood and good-fellowship are the intangible results at which it is contenteel to aim . But we may still , in spite of the wide difference between old and new Masonry , trace some , at

least , of the steps by which the process of development has been carried on . Before the time of modern Freemasonry there hael already been something of mystification introduced into the Masonic Order . When the obvious uses of that Order were at an end , it was thought wise to devise something or other by way of justifying ils continued existence . Curiosity was piqued by half glances which

thc world was suffered to have into the inner secrets of thc Order . This was thc s ! . ile of things which went on apparently until the seventeenth century , anel thc genius of Elias Ashmole gave Freemasonry a fresh start . Ashmole , in his various characters as heiald , astrologer , and antiquaty , was well fitted ' for thc worV ; and Freemasonry ripened into a perfection which could scarcely have been expected .

It is of the symbolism cf Freemasonry that we must be undcrstooel as speaking . Of its real secrets wc car , of course , say nothing . They have been made public a dozen times since Ashmole's day . Scotchmen and Americans , with an imperfect sensejaf humour , or with a want of love for the mysteiious , have come forward to divulge them . Weak members have been foiced into betraying

them , sometimes by downright violence . Tlie Grand Inquisitor of Portugal—so the rccorei runs—joined tlie Order of the Freemasons for the express purpose of betraying them to their enemies . But . from whatever cause it has happened , the secret ofthe Order—if secret indeed there be—has never been made known . The world sees it as a society which unites practical benevolence with good-fellowship , anil is

contented to honour it for its more obvious as well as for its more occult excellences . Thc patronage of the Prince of Wales , however honourable , is not ne-eeleil for keeping it in popular favour . Its great charity alone suffices to give it real merit , by which thc outer world may be satisfied to judge of it . Its secrets are its own affair , and we are not bold enough to indulge even the wish of prying into them .

Freemasonry And Civilization.

FREEMASONRY AND CIVILIZATION .

Some few weeks ago we sketched for our readers' edification some of the beautiful and interesting objects in the studio of Mr . Rowe , the eminent sculptor , of Buckingham Palace-road . One of those exquisite objects to which we then elrew attention—a statuette of the Princess Victoria—( From a Correspondent . )

has procured for Mr . }{ owe a summons to Windsor , obeying which , Her Majesty the Queen expressed her highest approbation of it , and graciously consented to its exhibition in the Academy . During the same visit wc were shown another excellent specimen of the sister-art , painting ; but as it was then in an unfinished state , our lips were sealeel upon the subject . To-day the seal of secrecy

is removed , anel we hasten to draw our brethren ' s attention to a beautiful specimen of the pictoral art , to be published by Bro . E . M . Haigh , of Regent-street , and painted by Mr . Rosenberg , of New York . Occasionally we hear disparaging remarks about our greater pronencss to refreshment than labour , but that this expression is unwarranted is abundantly manifested ,

when wc are informed that this result of labour really hail its birth during the period of refreshment—for it was at a Masonic dinner that the idea " of the picture was first suggested to Bro , Haigh by Bro . James Stevens . This conception was elaborated , thc suggestions of feyeral brethren learned in the art being worked into it , by Bro . Haigh , until the talenteel composition before us is the

result . The painting in question represents pictorially the teaching of one of the sections of our Second Lecture , and is beautiful in the extieme , whether we look at the idea or the result , whether wc examine thc composition as a whole , or stuely the minutest details . To describe it at length

would occupy too much space here , and we can therefore only stay now to ask our readers to study the matter of the descriptive pamphlet by Bro . Haigh , which we may shortly print in extenso . So admirably does the picture tell its tale of Masonry and its resultant and companion Civilization , that we award it our highest commendation in saying that it

Freemasonry And Civilization.

should form an instructive ornament' to the brethren collectively in every lodge , as well as a pleasant reminder to every individual brother in his home .

Provincial Grand Lodge Of West Yorkshire.

PROVINCIAL GRAND LODGE OF WEST YORKSHIRE .

The following is the address delivered by Sir Henry Edwards , Bart ., emitted from our report last week . Sir Henry Edwards said : —Officios and Brethren of this Provincial Grand Lodge , —Accept from me thc assurance that I am gratified for tlie manifestation of cordiality

which you liaie exhibite-d towards your Provincial Giauel Master , and which I interpret as faithfully reflecting the fraternal sentiments of the Craft in this province towards mc , and in which the Leeds brethren also have displayed so much goodwill and enthusiasm . The ( rouble the committee , as the representative of thc seven lodges , has taken to hold our annual meeting in this town has been great

a meeting which uninitiated persoi . s , outside thc Masonic cir c ) e , wou Id criticise , peliaps , as a gathering of a peculiarconi " munity merely to exchan gea few complimentary remarks of fraternal greeting , but which is of itself to us here assembled a well understood symbol of the eloctrines anel charitable principles represented by our Masonic costume , and which I interpret as the expression of your deep

attachment to our ancient and time-honoured Order . I thank thc seven lodges for their reception of Provincial Grand Lodge ; and I thank you all , brethren , for your silutatiiin , under circumstances of eventful interest to the brotherhood in West Yorkshire . The pleasure of greeting you all here to-day is , I am bound to say , tinged with melancholy . What was intended b / the committee of the seven

lodges to have resulted in one of the most brilliant ane ! joyous of our annual assemblies , and upon an extended scale of hospitality , has been curtailed to a . simple reception of Provincial Grand Lodge , from respect to the memory tf a distinguished brother , lately amongst us as a bright and shining light in Freemasonry . ( Hear , hear . ) Bro . Jefferey , tlie Secretary to tlie committee of the seven

lodges , has , therefore , postponed to amore fitting occasion the entertainment to this Provincial Granel Lodge , which formed the original programme . But I heartily acknowledge tlie obligations to this committee on the union of the seven lodges , and thank them all again for their invitation to meet at Leeds for the third time during my occupation of the chair of this province . At this moment

we have not recovered from the shock the Craft has sustained by the death , last month , of the late Deputy of this province and Grand Superintendent of Royal Arch Masons . Those tics of friendship which commenced between himself and the Masonic body on the 15 th January , 1846 , when he was initiated a member of theLodge of Harmony , at Huddtrsfie-ld , have been snapped asunder

by tlie death of Bro . Bentley Shaw . This province has been eli-prived of the services anel experience of one of the ablest of her counsellors . Those amongst us who have been sinee ' 1846 associated with the late Deputy in an official capacity must now again acknowledge and appreciate his qualifications for administering * the affairs of this province , the brightness of his intelligence , and the judicial

impartiality of his conduct when fulfilling thc eluties of this chair . I trust , brethren , you will reciprocate in thc elesirc of your Prov . Grand Master , that our united sympathies , by a resolution of condolence , should be passed by this loelge , and conveyed to Bro . Shaw ' s family . The expression of sentiments of regret by this resolution , which stands in my name , is a Masonic principle hallowed by all our

traditions and ancient customs , " to weep with them that weep , to mourn with them that mourn . " We beseech the Great Architect of the Universe to give to the family o f our departed brother His richest consolation under the domestic bereavement with which it is visited , and may we all be , as we veiily believe he was , when our span of life is ending , ready to enter the Grand Loilge above , eternal

in the heavens . ( Applause . ) I again congratulate the Craft on the re-election of the Prince of Wales as Grand Master cf England . Freemasonry is spreading in all directions um ' er his administration . Last year sixty-three warrants for new lodges were granted , and 8465 Grand Lodge certificates issued to new members in the Order of the Grand Lodge of England . Tbe foundation of every

new lodge is a stone added to the edifice of Masonic civilisation , and each new member a link to the fraternal chain of brotherly love , charity , and mercy , which binds together peaceful lovingcenimunities of the earth . I mention with pleasure the sum of £ 604 ce , ntributed by the lodges anel brethren of this province to the Royal Masonic Fund on the i . -jth February , at which my Deputy was present .

The circumstances of the limes are not more settled than when I addressed you in January last , rather the political anxieties of the moment arc intensified , and there is that consequent depression of trade which prevents the Craft from contributing more liberally at present ; nevertheless thc total sum announced amounted to upwards of £ 11 , 000 Our Charity Committee reports five candidates for our votes

at the elections , and may I hope that you will all without delay send in your voting papers to thc committee , so that they may not be hampered in the conduit of the elections and give disappointment to expectant applicants , when success ought to crown united exertions , and the more as by Bro . Shaw ' s death wc lose 114 votes , which lie always placed at the disposal of the Charity Committee . Since preparing my address , I have been informed ofthe election

of three out of the five candidates . ( Loud applause . ) It is with delicacy I refer , as eloes the charity report , to the failure of a London bank in which thc voluntary contributions of the Craft to the extent of £ 268 9 had been entrusted . The late Grand Treasure *" , it appears , was connected with this banking firm . A committee has been appointed to consider and report upon the finance arrangements generally , and those relating to tbe late Grand