To Our Readers

TO OUR READERS

The Freemason is a sixteen-page weekly newspaper , price 2 d . It is published every Frielay morning , and contains the most important , interesting , and useful information relating to Freemasonry in every degree . Annual subscription in the United Kingdom , Post free , 10 / - P . O . Oi ' s ' tb be made payable at thc chief office , London .

NEW POSTAL RATES . Owing to a reduction in the Postal Rates , the publisher is now . enabled to send thc " Freemason" to the following parts abroad for One Year for Twelve Shillings ( payable in advance ) : — -Africa , Australia , Bombay , Canada , Cape of Good Hope , Ceylon , China , Constantinople , Demerara , France , Germany , Gibraltar , Jamaica , Malta , Newfoundland , l ^ ew South Wales , New Zealand , Suez , Trinidad , United States of America , & c .

COLONIAL AND FOREIGN SUBSCRIBERS are informed that acknowledgments of remittances . received are published in the first number of every month . NOTICE . —It is very necessary for our friends to advise us of all money orders they remit , more especially those from the United States of America and India ; otherwise we cannot tell where to credit them .

To Advertisers.

TO ADVERTISERS .

The Freemason has a large circulation in all parts of the Globe , its advantages as an advertising medium can therefore scarcely be overrated . For terms , position , fire , apply to GEOBOE KENNING , 198 , Fleet-st .

Answers To Correspondents.

Answers to Correspondents .

AU Communications , Advertisements , & c , intended for insertion in the Number of the following Saturday , must ' reach the Office not later tha _ 12 o ' clock on Wednesday morning * . The following stand over : —Reports of Lodges : Royal Oak . No . 871 ; Urban , No . 1196 ; Chaucer , No . 1540 ; Lodge of Unanimity , No . 12 . 36 , Blenheim ; Churchill , No . 478 , of Instruction , No . 198 ; Star Lodge of Instruction , No . 1275 ; Metropolitan Lodge of Instruction , No . 1507 ; Je-rusalem Chapter , No . 18 5 ; Lodge St . John , No . 262 , Galashiels ; Consecrati m of a Lodge at Pontypridd ; Letter from Bro . Yarker , " Ancient and Primitive Alasonry ; " Testimonial and Dinner to Bro . W . M . Herbage ; Masonic Ball Oxford ; Phoenix , No . 904 , Rotherham ; Stuart , No . 5 . 10 , Bedford ; Commercial , No . 131 ) 0 , Leicester ; Percy Lodge at Dunbar ; Obituary , ' Bro . Kerr ; Masonic Female Orphan School , Dublin .

Remittances Received.

REMITTANCES RECEIVED .

A s - " Alford , Jas ., The Cape ( Draft ) on •> Batchelor , J . C , U . S . A . ( P . O . O . ) 1 16 o Brown , M . D ., Monrovia ( P . O . O . ) 1 4 o Buchanan , . ] ., Malta ( P . O . O . ) o 16 6 Cole , P . A ., ' Madras ( P . O . O . ) 210 o Goetze , W ., Shanghai ( P . O . O . ) 200 Harris , J . A ., U . S . A . ( P . O . O . ) o 10 11 Hayelen , L ., U . S . A . ( Cash ) o 10 0 Howard , VV . C , The Cape ( Draft ) 1 6 f . Joseph , H . M ., N . S . VV . ( Cash ) 1 4 o Imlarh , R . VV ., Demerara ( P . O . O . ) 1 4 o Lcworthy , R ., Sydney ( P . O . O . ) 200 Loxton , S ., The Cape ( Draft ) o 19 9 Maskell , D . W ., Cape Colony ( P . O . O . ) 212 0 Norton , J ., U . S . A . ( Cash ) o 14 o Parker , jno ., U . S . A . ( Draft ) 2 o Rastall , J . H „ U . S . A . ( P . O . O . ) o 12 o

Births, Marriages, And Deaths.

Births , Marriages , and Deaths .

[ The charge is 2 s . 6 d . for announcements , not exceeding four lines , under this heaeling . ] BIRTHS . ASIIIIV . —On tbe 27 th ult .. at Vine House , Grantham the wife of A . Ashby , of a son . BAKER . —On the 29 th ult ., at Abingdon , tbe wife of S . I . Baker , of a dauehter .

BAKING . —On the 17 th ult ., at Constantinople , the wife of W . Baring , Esq ., of a daughter . CUNNINGHAM . —On March 28 , at Roorkcc , N . W . P ., India , the wife of Capt . A . Cunningham , R . E ., of a son . INCI - . —On the -joth ult ., at Edinburgh , the wife of A . B . Inglis , Esq ., of a daughter . MARRIAGES .

MACKF . NzrE-B 11 iDUi . 1-11 . —On Jan . 12 , at baree , Shoalhaven , New South Wales , by the Rev . VV . Grant , M . A ., Hugh , youngest son of Kenneth Mackenzie , Esq ., Dundonnel , Rosshire , Scotland , to Bella Mary , eldest daughter of T . T . Biddulph , Esq ., and granddaughter of the late Rev . Theophilus Biddulph , of Bristol . HAIIDY-GI . A _ STONE . —On the 29 th ult ., at St . Anne ' s ,

Bowden-hill , Reginald , son of Sir J . Hardy , Bart ., of Dunstall Hall , Staffordshire , to Lucy Marion , daughter of the late Capt . Gladstone , R . N ., >' . P . DEATHS

AKF . IIS . —On thc 271 I 1 ult ., at Tunbridge Wells , James Ramsay Akers , Esq ., in his 63 rd year . DERHY . —On the 26 th inst ., at 15 , Cromwell-road , Emma Caroline , Dowager Countess of Derby , aged 71 . KEiirt . —On the , 30 th ult ., at Church-street , Galashiels , Bro . Wm . Kerr , aged 73 years . WYATT . —On the 25 th ult ., at Holland-grove , Brixton , Augustus , son of the late C . Wyatt , Esep

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TheFreemason, SATURDA _ , MAY 6 , 1876 .

Our Royal Grand Master's Return.

OUR ROYAL GRAND MASTER'S RETURN .

Our Roynl Grand Master has left Madrid , and is now at Lisbon . His reception in both countries has been most enthusiastic . That he cannot have failed to have been deli g hted alike with Spain and its kindly people—its great memories , and its wondrous interest , is , we apprehend , undoubted . Lisbon and the Tagus and Cintra and

its associations will have for him a potent spell . We feel how enjoyable is his trip . He will soon be crossing the Bay of Biscay on his way home . May he have favouring breezes , a calm sea , and may a kindlv Providence speed him safely onwards , to that warm welcome and loving family awaiting his glad return .

The Provincial Grand Mastership Of Norfolk.

THE PROVINCIAL GRAND MASTERSHIP OF NORFOLK .

We understand that H . R . H . the Grand Master has been graciously pleased to offer the Grand Masteiship of this province , vacant by the death ofthe late Hon . F . Walpole , M . P ., to Lord

Suffield , and that in due time his lordship will signify his acceptance of it . A brilliant . gathering may , therefore , be expected in Norfolk , as we believe the •installation ceremony is lobe performed by H . R . H . the Grand Master .

The Grand Festival.

THE GRAND FESTIVAL .

Our last Festival was an exceptional one , and in one respect it was ' * Hamlet" without the Prince . Our Grand Master was still enjoying the brilliant reception of Madrid , Lord Carnarvon had to leave early on account of Mr . Hennessy and Barbadoes , Lord Skelmersdale was

kept at home by a very great family affliction , and so on Bro . Col . Burdett descended alike the position and the duties of the vi . M . We need hardly say that nothing was lost to the Craft in the hands of that urbane and genial brother , and that the Festival ended as it

begun , successfully , in peace , love , and harmony , as might well be expected . The ladies , our fair sisters , being greatly pleased with the soft sounds and the ccoling lic-uids , which the foresight and liberality of our worthy Grand Stewards had so judiciously and bountifully provided . Of

course the absence of the principal " diamatis personx" could not fail to be a disappointment to man )* , though like the Irishman ' s , it was a disappointment that was " expected , ' and so the Festival of 18 ) 6 will appear to some to be somewhat shorn of its normal or especial

brilliancy ! But let us look on to 1877 , and let us trust , we who still survive , that there will then gather around our M . W . Grand Master a loyal band of faithful brethren , in honour alike of his ever welcome presence , and in unwavering attachment to our good old Craft .

Masonic Etiquette.

MASONIC ETIQUETTE .

Our contemporary , the Evening Standard of April 25 th , has the following remarks , in a letter from its correspondent at Gibraltar , with reference to a Masonic ceremony in which our Royal Grand Master took part . He first gives the account of the day ' s proceedings on the 18 th

April as follows : — " While the Prince of Wales was thus engaged in the south , great preparations were being made for a similar ceremony at the other end of the town , where the first stone ofthe new market was to be laid , with all Masonic honours , by the Grand Master of England .

A procession of nearly 200 Master Masons , with all their proper insignia , and preceded by a military band , had marched through the town and taken up their position at the angle of the old market where the foundation stone of the new

was to be placed . On the Prince s arrival Ihe District Grand Master and other Masons of high degree were first presented to him . His Excellency the Acting Governor then read an address , to which His Royal Highness responded as follows : — ' Your Excellency , —I am very glad to

Masonic Etiquette.

have this opportunity of publicly expressing how much pleased and gratified I am at the kind and cordial welcome given me by the inhabitants of Gibraltar . I am proud to have the honour of laying the first stone of a building which has been approved of and assisted by Her Majesty

the Queen , which will , I am sure , prove of the greatest utility to all classes in Gibraltar . It is with feelings of great pleasure I see around me so many members of my fellow Craft . ' The Prince then proceeded to lay the stone in the manner above described , and then followed a short

religious ceremony , conducted by Mr . Richmond , District Grand Chaplain . " And then comes the commentary : — "Much surprise has becn expressed that a Wesley an minister should ha \ e been invited to officiate , while the Bishop of Gibraltar and many other clergymen of "the

Church of England were present , particularly as the market will be a Government building . I cannot ofFer any explanation , unless it may be that he was a Mason and the others not ; however , it is a prevailing topic of conversation . " Now it is quite clear , first of all , that " our own

correspondent is not a Mason , and , secondly , that he has made a mountain of a molehill . If the subject be a " prevailing topic of conversation" among the good folks at Gib ., the old Rock must . be greatly changed from what it used to be in very happy hours , alas ! nowa long long while

ago , "Consule Planco . ' Indeed , our natural feeling would be , what a singular lack of matters to talk about mustexist within the walls of "Calpe , " if such an allegation be in any way correct . That Bro . D . G . C . Richmond , should , despite his being a Wesleyan minister , officiate at a Masonic

ceremony was a simple matter of necessity from the very nature of the case . The ceremony was a Masonic ceremony , and those engaged in it were Freemasons , and as the foundation stpn . was laid by the D . G . Lodge it was a matter " de rigueur " that its D . G . Chaplain should officiate .

Why any surprise should be felt is , we confess , inexplicable to us . Indeed , the correspondent of the " Evening Standard" suggests the reply to his own query when he says * ' unless it may be that he was a Mason and the others not . " This reallv is the " dignus vindice nodus , " and the

one real explanation of the apparent difficulty , the happy solution of the enigma of our contemporary ' s ingenious cot respondent . We call attention to the matter , simply because we think it well that all fhould understand the princi p les on which we act , and the Masonic etiquette ,

which is alike needful and becoming on all such occasions . Bro . Richmond , having been appointed D . G . C , was the only proper person to officiate , and whether he was a Roman Catholic priest , or Wesleyan minister , it made no difference , and if all the Bishops of England had been

present it could have made none . On such occasions our own officers , our own Chaplains , naturally ( ill their proper places , and do their proper work , in all Ma _ onic ceremonials , and we should be cowards and something worse if we allowed anything like outside pressure or the

opinion of " Mrs . Grundy " to make us deviate one jot or tittle from what the customs of Freemasonry sanctioned and the rules of our own excellent Order enjoined . The question is in itself hardly worth mooting or mentioning , except that it allows us to lay down clearly and calmly the first princip les of our Masonic code , alike of etiquette and of usage .

Rule Britannia.

RULE BRITANNIA .

Freemasons are not politicians but they are patriots , simply because they ar citizens , and they do not ignore their duties . and sympathies as citizens because they become Freemasons . Certainly not . This would indeed be a " reductio ad absurdum . " But while as

citizens they uphold their privileges and priacip le ? , they also bear carefully in mind the teaching and temper of Freemasonry . They do not confound one with the other , they do not forget their citizenship in their Masonry , nor their Masonry

in their citizenship . In all that appertains to the greatness and glory of their country they remain as devoted as ever , and they rejoice to say ; with entire sincerity , and strong , warm feelings , 'Tis a glorious charter , deny it who can , That breathes in the words , I ' m an Englishman ,