Contents.

CONTENTS .

20 $ ' pSSStai * 'SSI Royal Arch Chapter of East Lancashire ™ f ^ L ^ of ' the •Ro ; -arMas ' onVc '' insti : ' ° ^ f . tion for Girls from its Origin , 1588 , to 1 , s Centenary , iS & S-iConlimted ) 206 n ., / iynBNC 8—

Teema ^ and Education 209 ^^ eteo Twi ^"" ::::::::::::::: ^ Notes and Queries 209 S PORTS OF M ASONIC MKTINGS' toft Masonry = ° 9 Instruct ' 1011

REPORTS OF MASONIC MEETINGS ( Continued)—Royal Arch 2 ra Mark Masonry 2 r 2 Knights Templar 213 Scotland 213 Ireland 213 Annual Dinner of the Logic Club 213 Masonic Farewell to the Seaforth

Highlanders 213 Royal Ark Mariners 213 Freemasonry and Education 214 Royal Masonic Institution for Girls 214 The Craft Abroad 214 Masonic and General Tidings 215 Lodge Meetings tor Next Week 216

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WE are in a position to announce that the Prince of WALES , " toSy our M . W . G . M ., has graciously consented to preside at the Festival . Centenary Festival of the Royal Masonic Institution for Girls and that his Royal Hig hness has appointed Thursday , the 7 th June

-the day which fellows the next quarterly meeting of United Grand Lodge -for the celebration . This is indeed good news , and will be received everywhere throughout the English Craft with the utmost satisfaction . Most of us were sanguine enough to believe that this welcome announcement would be forthcoming sooner or later , but the demands on the Prince ' s time are so pressing that it was necessary to keep always in mind that his

engagements mig ht not admit of his accepting the chairmanship on this auspicious occasion . Hence the pleasure we experience is all the greater , when we find the justifiable expectation of yesterday has been converted into the certainty of to-day . It now rests with the Craft generally to do what lies in their power towards insuring the success of the Girls' School Centenary , and if the efforts of the executive officers of the Institution are seconded in the

spirit and to the extent they deserve to be , we have no doubt the result will be worthy alike of the illustrious Chairman and the cause he will advocate . Already one thousand brethren have tendered their services as Stewards , and as there are still two full months to elapse before the anniversary will be held , there is good reason to hope that the names of from 200 to 300 more

brethren will be added to the present list . 1 hen as regards the locus in quo —the room or hall in which the anniversary will be celebrated—there are only one or two buildings in London where so vast a body of Stewards , with their accompanying friends and supporters , can be accommodated , and of these the Royal Albert Hall at South Kensington , which is so intimately

connected with the two principal events in the Masonic career of his Royal Highness the Grand Master , has , we are glad to say , been chosen . The engagement of this Hall—to say nothing of the cost of converting it for the nonce into a vast banqueting room—will necessitate a large outlay ; but even if there had been a wider choice of buildings to select from , its Masonic

associations would have given it a decided preference over all rivals . Moreover , the distribution of prizes , which is an impottant part of the Anniversary proceedings , must , under any circumstances , have been held elsewhere than in the School hall at Battersea Rise , which is seriously overcrowded even in ordinary years , and consequently the Albert Hall will be available for both

ceremonies . Then , as regards the necessary arrangement 5 , we have every confidence in the wisdom and discretion of the brethren on whom will devolve the onerous task of making them , and who , we are assured , will spare no effort or hesitate about incurring any just expense in order that they shall be as complete as possible . As to the task to be performed , with every

confidence in the help which will be readily given by the Stewards and others , it Will indeed be a most formidable one . To begin with , the usual subscription of about £ 13 , 000 or £ 14 , 000 will be needed for the expenses of the current year , a » d then the Centenary Memorial Scheme , if it is to be carried out in its entirety , will necessitate the raising of an additional ^ 20 , 000 at least , so that

w 'tb something like ^ 35 , 000 to be obtained , the duties of the Stewards , ev , en though they may number from 1200 to 1300 , will be no child ' s play , but w "l seriousl y tax the energies and resources of them all , both individually a j } d collectivel y , while with such a number of brethren engaged in the work j ? canvassing it is hopeless to expect that the Returns will show anything

, "e the average amount per List , and instead of their ranging from £ 45 to p 5 ° per List , as in ordinary Festivals , we shall probably find them averaging rom £ 25 to £ 30 . Still , what has been attempted in the preliminary stages as prospered , and the success thus far achieved augurs well for the success lhe entire nrnr . eedincrs . At all events , the Stewards and all concerned

ust now look to the Craft to assist them to the utmost of their power in order 0 make the celebration of our Girls' School Centenary a landmark in the . "ajs of our Charitable Festivals , and we believe they will not have to look ln vain .

* * * Fice mason WE see no reason why such an important and wide-spreading Ed *" ,- organisation as Freemasonry should not avail itself of any legitimate advantage which may be gained through its encal strength , provided always no attempt is made to further the ints of the Craft to the prejudice of the general public , or in a manner

rary t 0 our tenets < por ^ls reason We do not hesitate to call the on « p ° ° our readers to the letter of " A Past Prov . Grand Chaplain " is , reemason ry and Education , " and the appended scheme . The idea Cet ' t - 6 aS ' ' worln y ° f careful consideration , for in these days of keen comttle h ° WC cannot aff ° rd to lose any opportunity of getting " our boys " est possible education at the least possible cost , There can be little

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doubt that it the scheme has the good fortune to secure the expressed approbation and patronage of some of the public-spirited brethren , whose rank in Masonry and in the social world makes them our natural leaders , and if the proposed Council be composed of men of well-known integrity and zeal , a sufficiently large number of brethren will be

only too glad to invest in an undertaking which should profit them in more ways than one . One particularly pleasing feature in the plan is the proposal to draft into the College a few pupils from the Royal Masonic School , who have proved themselves worthy of an extension of their education . For the great majority of the boys there educated ( up to

the age of 15 ) , the training they receive is , we believe , sufficient for the positions in life open to them , but there must be some among the large number whose talent and good conduct would justify our giving them an extra push on . As in all other matters of interest connected with the Craft

we shall be very glad to let our pages be a medium for an interchange of opinion on the merits of this movement , and should a Committee be formed for carrying out the project , we may be sure that the members of it will feel strengthened and encouraged by hints from their brethren .

* * * , r IT is gratifying to know , from the proceedings of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Grand Lodge of Shropshire at its recent annual meeting at Shrops ire , Shrewsbury , that its position is so well established . It is true that our Salopian brethren , having been associated with North Wales for

so many years under the late Bro . Sir VV . WILLIAMS -WYNN , Bart ., as P . G . Master , are by no means inexperienced in the ways of provincial organisation , but it is creditable to them , as constituting the lesser half of the late Province of North Wales and Salop , that they should have done so much in so short a time . In the two years of their separate career they have generously

supported all our Charitable Institutions in turn , but especially the Girls School , for which their Provincial Grand Master , Bro . Sir OFFLEY . WAKEM . YN , Bart ., undertook the Chairmanship at last year ' s Festival , when his lodges and their members raised the sum of £ 1000 . Yet the reports rendered at the recent meeting of the Provincial Grand Lodge show that

the balances of the various lunds are on the right side , and we know also that one new lodge has been added to the roll since 1885 . In short , Bro . Sir O . WAKEMAN , Bart ., has every reason to be satisfied with what the lodges and brethren he rules over have done for Freemasonry during the period of his Provincial Grand Mastership , and the lodges and brethren must

be equally gratified at having so able and genial a ruler . We congratulate them all , and trust that the bright experiences of the past two years may be continued , and that the good fortune of to day may be still lurther strengthened .

The recent expressed a hope in our article of last week on " The House Boys' bchjoi Committee of the Boys' School and the boy MOTION , " that we " iies . ion . had heard the last of this unhappy controversy . It is evident , however , from the letters we have received on the subject , and especially from one signed "A London P . M ., " that there are many who hold the

opposite opinion , and would gladly see the discussion continued , it may be even to an unlimited extent , though if they were hard pressed for a reason for this opinion , it is more than probable they would have great difficulty in giving a sufficient answer . The House Committee have exercised the powers entrusted to them with discretion ; but should the controversy be prolonged ,

there are sure to be some weak-kneed brethren who , in the belief that " discretion is the better part of valour , " will affirm it would have been better if the House Committee had not shown the courage of their opinions , and , as as one of the speakers at the S pecial Court expressively , if not very classically , put it , had " let the whole tiling slide . " But , most wonderful of all

there are breihren who conscientiousl y believe that a continuance of these attacks on the School authorities will prove beneficial to the Institution . Their arguments , as addressed to the House and General Committees and their supporters , are to this effect ;—( a . ) If all is as correct as you assert it is , the granting of the Committee of

Inquiry we ask for will do you no harm , but glorify you rather , seeing that you will emerge from it with flying colours , ( b . ) We have never troubled you with a demand of this kind before ,- what you have done in the discharge of your official duties has passed without inquiry or any steps being taken to obtain an inquiry . Therefore , as we have never dreamt of

interfering with you before , our desire fcr interference in connection with this particular case is the more reasonable . Our readers may think we are exaggerating , but of this complexion are some of the arguments we have heard in favourof this proposed MOTION inquiry , and there are serious-minded people who seem aggrieved that the Committee has not been granted . To

us it seems an overwhelming leason inlavourot the rejection ot tne inquiry by the Special Court that the House Committee have to administered the affairs of the School to the present time , that no demand lias ever before been made lor an inquiry into its conduct ; while as to the earlier argument —that the House Committee would gain by the inquiry—it is sheer nonsense ,

No one gains by having distrust shown and the decisions he arrives at made the subject ot investigation . However , the case is so clear , and the whole question has been so well threshed out , that we must decline to be a party to any further discussion or correspondence on the subject , unless , indeed , it should be revived in another form on some future occasion .