Supreme Grand Chapter Of England.

AT DC- A C . Spaull , P . A . G . D . C ; G . H . Moreton , Chas H . Driver , P . G . CR ' ' Henry Maudslay , P . G . S . B . ; Reginald St . A . Roumieu , P . G . Std . Br . ; c V Abraham , P . A . G . D . C ; Henry Garrod , P . A . G . D . C ; F . H . Goldney , P AG S W . M . Bywater , P . G . S . B . ; T . C Walls , P . G . D . C ; Her . ry J . P , n . Vrrias P G . S . B . ; George Lambert , W . F . Smithson , J . G . Ritchie , P . D . G . S . B ., rharlesE Keyser , P . G . S . B . ; Ralph Gooding , M . D ., P . A . G . S . ; A . M . Trendell ,

PC s B ¦ Hugh Mackintosh , P . G . Std . Br . ; J . Lewis Thomas , f . G . S . ti . ; K . Lr . Plover PG Std . Br . ; R . Clowes , P . G . Std . Br . ; Herbert J . Adams , P . D . G . D . C . ; T W Whitmarsh , P . A . G . D . C . ; Lennox Browne , P . G . Std . Br . ; W . Lake , Asst . r ' sE- T 1 . Briginshaw , M . E . Z . 2256 ; George H . Lewis , J . 2048 ; W . A . Scurrah , PZ 749 William Bigg , M . E . Z . 8 9 8 ; William A . Sproat , P . Z . 174 ; C . N . Mclntyre North , P . Z . 1275 ; Henry Lovegrove , M . E . Z . 2416 , P . Z . 72 , 1549 ; M . Alfred Charles

Slaughter P . Z . 17 6 ; Molony , M . E . Z . 2346 ; Kempton , P . Z , L ,. Rev . C . E . K . Wright , J . 2 3 6 ; Neville Green , P . Z . 154 ; J . W . Harding , MEZ . 1017 ; A . J . Berry , P . Z . 1524 ; J . W . Burgess , M . E . Z . 591 ; C . J , Tavlor T . W 8 ; H . Massey , P . Z . 619 and 1928 ; John Williams , P . Z . 591 ; M Goldstein , M . E . Z . 1572 ; P . J . Davies , H . 68 ; Henry Wright , P . Z ., S . E . 16 , 5 . Richard P . J . Laundy , M . E . Z . 890 ; J . H . Cureton , M . E . Z . 2182 ; N . Salmon M . E . Z . 177 ; and Arthur H . Scurrah , P . Z . 2048 .

, On the motion of Comp . Sir GEO . D . HARRIS , P . A . G . Soj ., acting for Comp . Robert Grey , President of the Committee of General Purposes , < econded by Comp . F RANK RICHARDSON , P . A . G . S ., charters were granted for new chapters to be attached tothe White Rose of York Lodge , No . 1101 , Sheffield ; the Eccentric Lodge , No . 2488 , London ; the Fellowship LodgeNo . 2535 London ; the Carrington Lodge , No . 2421 , Amersham ,

, , Bucks ; and the Southern Star Lodge , No . 1158 , London . A charter of confirmation , moved and seconded by the same two companions , was granted to the Bulwer Chapter , No . 1068 , Cairo , the original charter having been destroyed by fire , and it was resolved that , inasmuch as the Rock Chapter , No . 260 , Trichinopoly , Madras , has ceased to woik , the charter be returned .

It was also resolved that St . Peter ' s Westminster Chapter , No . 1537 , London , having ceased to work and returned its charter , the chapter be erased . The Amity Chapter , No . 171 , London , havirg ceased to work , it was decided that the chapter be summoned to show cause why it should not be erased from the roll of chapters .

Bro . Sir G EORGE DAVID HARRIS next said that he had been requested by the President of the Committee of General Purposes , who was not able to be present , to ask the permission of Grand Chapter to move a resolution , notice of which had , unfortunately , been omitted from the agenda paper . He would read it— " That the sum of ^ 50 be given from the funds of Grand Chapter towards the proposed establishment of the Endowment Fund of a Scholarship in connection with the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys , the funds for which are being raised . "

Bro . FRANK RICHARDSON seconded , and said the object was an excellent one . Leave was unanimously given . Bro . Sir GEORGE D AVID HARRIS then moved the resolution . Bro . RICHARD EVE , P . G . Treas ., in seconding the motion , said that at

present there had been raised £ 850 to that fund , and he believed that Grand Chapter would grant a contribution to it , the same as Grand Lodge had done . Tie motiin was carried , and Grand Chapterwas then closed .

Consecration Of The Joppa Lodge, No.11, Of Royal Ark Mariners.

CONSECRATION OF THE JOPPA LODGE , No . 11 , OF ROYAL ARK MARINERS .

This the first Royal Ark Manners lodge in Cheshire was consecrated on Friday , the 31 st ult ., by Bro . Charles Fitzgerald Matier , P . G . W ., G . Sec , assisted b y Bros . W . Vincent , P . A . G . D . C ; Wm . Goodacre , P . G . D . ; J . H . Barrow , P . P . G . W . Lanes . ; W . Piatt . P . P . G . W . Lanes . ; and others .

Being favoured with the presence of Bro . Vincent , the Piecep ' . or of the Grand Master ' s Lodge of Instruction for Mark Master Masons , the W . M . of the Joppa Lodge of Mark Masons , Bro . John Armstrong , in order to bring the working of the Degree into harmony wilh the best practice , suggested the idea of a Mark lodge of instruction to be opened an hour earlier

than the Ark Maiiner lodge , to which Bro . Vincent readily assented , and which was carried into effect . The ceremony of advancement was worked under the guidance of Bro . Vincent , and from this the members of the Joppa Lod ge gained much real information on many points of detail about which gieat diversity of opinion had previously prevailed . The information

and instruction given by Bro . Vincent earned for him the unanimouil y expressed gratitude of those privileged and fortunate enough to be present . Precisel y at three o ' clock a lodge of Royal Ark Mariners ( for which a dispensation had been grant . d ) was opened , wiih Bro . Vincent in the chair , who appointed Bros . Fletcher , W . C . N . 359 as S . J . ; A . CrossS . S . 350

, , , 38 p ' . J' Cl R ° hinson , P . C . N . 359 , as S . S . j and John Arn . s' . ong , 359 , as Guardian , when the following duly qualified and approved Maik Masons were admitted and elevated to the Degree of Royal Ark Mariner in Bro . Vincent ' s well-known and impressive

mannerros Rev . C Chetwynd Atkinson , M . A ., Rev . G . R . Johnson , E . W . Armstrong , Clarl / A u'J ? eo' Barcla y . J- F- Booth , Dr . C . S . Brewer , J . E . Buckley , Jos . FrlZ ' it' - Covene y > L - Crosthwaite , W . Dykes , J . S . Derbyshire , P . Duff , John Martv Q ? ?/ ? ' - Hudson , J . H . Jackson , Owen Jones , Sam Jones , F . W . Dr Gin , ' ,, V . ° " Newt 0 " . - Kobinson , W . V . Robinson , Jas . Smith , and other ! ' J" Thom P ' H E- Thompson , J . G . Wallace , Wm . Williams ,

lod £ = ° ° Ck the G - Stc ' > Br 0 - Chas . Fitzgerald Malier , entered the Or # rP ' rc _ Tpanied ^ , ar 8 e "umber of Grand and Provincial Grand cer ., and on assuming the chair appointed Bros . Goodacre , P . G . D ., as D . C ; ; n "' w ffi p p r" % 3 £ 'Vr W * Vi"CU , t ' - A-G . O . C as A / IPI - uV J ' - " -W ., as Guardian . heiina ¦ „ able addless fr , om lhe Chair ' the founders of the lodge , num . VINCENT , ' p AG Dc" '" ° rder a d the wa rant read b y Br 0 - w - Of Ro " va ? A ? tM g ° rati ° L W ™ s then delivered upon the history and principles « oyal Ark Masonry by Bro . the Rev . C . E . L . WRIGHT , M . A ., P . G .

Consecration Of The Joppa Lodge, No.11, Of Royal Ark Mariners.

Chaplain of North and East Yorkshire , and W . C . N . York Lodge ( T . I . ) as follows : The circumstances under which we are met together to-day must ever be of great interest in the annals of Royal Ark Masonry , since the lodge which we are about to consecrate is the very first in the Royal Ark Mariners Degree which has ever been founded in the Province of Ch eshire . I esteem it a great privilege that I should have been asked to officiate as Grand Chaplain , and to deliver this

oration , not only because the occasion is so unique , but also because , though I now live in the south , I spent many years of my life in Lancashire and Cheshire , and 1 am glad to think that when I have to come so near my old home , it should be to fulfil so interesting a duty as this . The Royal Ark Mariners Degree is of great antiquity , though it is impossible to say exactly how it originated . It was much in favour , and extensively worked during the iSth century , under a Grand Lodge of its own , and in the year 1703 we find H . R . H . the Duke of

Clarence , afterwards King William IV ., as Grand Commander of the Order . Their Royal Highnesses the Dukes of Kent and Sussex also belonged to it . But from various causes after this period , the Degne languished , arid at last , after many negotiations , an arrangement was made by which it was transferred to the Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons , Canon Portal , who was then Grand Master , being the first Grand Commander Hence it is that the Degree is only conferred upon a regular Mark Master Mason ,

and that every Iodge of Royal Ark Mariners must be attached to a Mark Master Masons lodge . In Scotland , the possession of the Royal Arch Degree is also required , and it is extensively worked in America and in many of the colonies . The Degree itself was founded , as you are well aware , to commemorate various interesting circumstances connected with the Flood . We live in days , in which , I am sorry to say , the simple faith which animated our forefathers has largely given way to a spirit of scepticism . Many people in the present day refuse to

believe what they cannot absolutely prove . And to so large an extent has this sceptical spirit involved us that even the sacred writings which are given us as the rule and guide of our faith have not escaped . Thus people will tell you that the teachings of the Volume of the Sacred Law are not in accordance with science , and yet it is an extraordinary thing , but the further science advances , the more it confirms the truth of the bible . And it must be remembered that science is continually changing . The theories that are held to-day have to be given up

to-morrow owing to some new discovery , but the bible never changes . That Sacred Volume stands grim and immutable , and when science has said her last word , the sacred record will remain triumphant . Again , with regard to the object which this Degree commemorates . Some people will tell you that Noah and the Flood were only a mylh—that Noah never existed , and that the Flood was only invented as a sort of pretty little story . I do not think any Royal Ark Mariner would say so , since , by taking the Degree , he pledges himself to belief in Noah and the events therein recorded , and , as every Mason is taught

to regard the Volume of the Sacred Law with unbounded veneration , it should be his especial care to guard it from the attacks of the insidious . But yet if there were no Flood , do you not think it is an extraordinary thing that all the nations of the earth seem to have heard of it ? I do not say whether it was total or partial , or that we ought to accept literally every statement about it in the Book of Genesis , any more than we should take the days of creation to be literal dayi , when we know that the word means period , and in many cases thousands of years . But that there was a flood of some kind is undoubted , and every nation of the earth has some traditional account of it . It is to be found in the traditions of

India , amongst the Greeks and Romans , and even the Red Indians of North America include a flood amongst their mythology . And we must remember , too that the earth is in a very different condition now to what it was then . What exactly was the scientific cause of the Flood we do not know ; but it has been suggested that it was caused by the changing of the Polar line by the attraction of the central line round which our system now revolves . This would cause vast fields of ice to be thrown from the Poles to the Equator , which , as we know , took

place during what we speak of as the glacial epoch , when all the tropical vegetation and those enormous creatures which we still speak of as antediluvian monsters were destroyed . There is , perhaps , less esoteric teaching amongst our Royal Ark Mariners than in any other Degree in Freemasonry . The lessons which are inculcated therein are not of that deep import which may be found elsewaere ; but , though of a very simple nature , they are eminently practical , and should be thoroughly laid to heart . They more especially teach us pur duty to our

fellow-men , and particularly to our brethren in distress . They exhort us earnestly to the practice of the five cardinal virtues , to remember always that it is more blessed to give than to receive , and in general to act up to that precept which tells us " to do unto others as we would they should do unto us . " I trust that in fulfilling these precepts you may have a long and prosperous career before you , but , in conclusion , let me give you one word of advice . In this Degree , as in all other Degrees in Masonry , it is important to get the right sort of me . i to join your

lodge . Think more of quality than of quantity . To have 20 earnest , zeal vus , enthusiastic Masons is much better than to have double that number of me . i who take but little interest in the Degree when they have once got it . As a rule you will find that men who take up the higher Degrees in Freemasonry have so lar proved their devotion to it by their proficiency in other ones , that t . iere is less

danger of this to be apprehended , but still , never be tempted to try and get men into the Order for the mere sake of increasing your numbers . Be careful to see , so far as in you lies , that all who are proposed tor the honour of elevation are good men and true . Thus you may hope to advance the interests of the Order and the prosperity of your lodge , and may the S . G . CO . T . U . have you in His Holy keeping both now and for ever .

The lodge was afterwards formally consecrated and constituted , and Bro . John Armstrong was installed by Bio . Vincent as first W . C . N , of the lodge , and Bro . Given Jones was passed the chair and cons . ituted P . C . N , of we lodge . Bro . Armstrong invested his officers as follows : Bros . John Frazer ,

S . J . ; James Hamilton J ackson , S . S . ; Rev . G . R . Johnson , Chap . ; A . H . Baird , Treas . ; Dr . C . S . Brewer , Sec ; Josepn Clarke , S . D . ; W . F . Robinson , J . D . ; J . C . Robinson , P . C . N ., D . C . ; Wm . Hudson , O g . ; L . Crosthwaite , G jardian ; Dr . Geo . Tale , F . W . Marsh , Geo . Barclay , and W . J . Newton , Stwds . ; and J , Djran , Warder .

Befoie the lodge was closed , the VV . C . N . pioposed , and Bio . the Rev . G . R . J OHNSON seconded , that the Consecrating Officer , Bro . C . Fitzgerald Matier , P . G . W ., G . Sec , and his assistants , Bro . Vincent , P . A . G . D . C , and Bro . the Rev . C . 1 £ . L . Wright , P . G . Chaplain North and East Yorks , be elected hon . members of the lodge , and the motion being unanimously carried , Bros . MATIER , G . Sec , VINCENT , and WRIGHT severall y acknowledged the compliment .

Bro . Matier was afterwards presented with the first founder ' s jewel of the lodge , Bro . Vincent the second , and Bro . Wright the third . The W . C . N , and officers , together with Bros . Samuel Junes and Peter Duff , were elected a Committee to draw up the by-laws for ihe government of the lodge . The best thanks of the members having been tendered to the Grand Secretary and his assistants for coming specially from London to perforin the ceremony , the lodge was closed , and the brethren adjourned to dinner and subsequently honoured the usual toasts ,