Mark Grand Lodge.

Adelaide , he must invite him . His ( Bro . Richardson's ) visit there was ade by Chief Justice Way most enjoyable . He had the greatest pleasure | n moving this resolution . The Earl of EUSTON seconded the motion . He had served under the Chief Justice in the colony , and received the greatest kindness and con-•deration from Wm . From his knowledge of the Chief Justice , and the kindness he had experienced from him himself , he could say that Bro . Richardson ' s visit must have been most enjoyable .

The motion was carried . Moved by Bro . F . RICHARDSON , seconded by Bro , ALFRED W ILLIAMS grant of £ 20 to the widow of a late brother was confirmed . On the motion of Bro . F . RICHARDSON , seconded by Bro . R . BERRIDGE the report of the Board was adopted . The Marquess of HERTFORD then said he had to announce that H . R . H

the Prince of Wales had been unanimously elected again as M . W . G . M ., and he congratulated the Order on the fact that the Prince of Wales would again be the G . M . of Mark Masons . The Prince of Wales was then proclaimed by Bro . BERRIDGE as again duly installed G . M . of Mark Master Masons of England and Wales , and the Colonies and Dependencies of the British Crown .

The following brethren were appointed Grand Officers for the year : Bro . Lord Egerton of Tatton ... ... ,,, Pro G . M . Marquesss of Hertford ... ... ,., D . G . M . Lord Cremorne ,., ... ... S . G . W . „ Sir Lionel Darell , Bart . ... ... ... J . G . W . „ Richard Vassar Vassar-Smith ... ... G . M . O . W . G . Lemon ... ... ... S . G . O . „ Butler Wilkins ... ... ... J . G . O . ., Rev . Dr . Herbert Kynaston ,., •¦¦\ r r ^™* „ Rev . Trevor Parkins j G . Chaps . „ Henry Faija ... ... ... ... G . Treas . „ Frank Richardson ... ... ... G . Reg . „ Earl of Euston ... ... ... Pres . Gen . Bd . „ F . Binckes ... ... ... ... G , Sec . ,, Felix Sumner Knyvett ... ... ... ) c r > r » ^ W . Goodacre ... ] S G D „ Henry Stocker ... ... „ , ) „ H . E . Cousans ... ... ... ) J-L ,, U " „ Rowland Plumbe ... ... ... G . S . of W . „ Robert Berridge ... ... ... G . D . of C . „ J . H . Matthews ... ... •¦•lAGDnf C „ J . B . Bridgman ... ... J A . U . U . otu „ Dr . T . B . Purchas ... ... ... G . S , B . „ W . T . Christian ... ... .,. 7 _ -, _ , _ ,,, . ; A . R . Carter j G . Std . Br . „ Thomas Troman ,., ... ¦ ... G . Org . „ C . F . Matier ... ... ... ... A . G . Sec . „ Joseph Manwaring ... ... ' ... G . I . G . „ J . Unwin ... ... ... ... A . G . I . G . „ A . Walkley ... ... ... ... G . Tyler .

ihe following are the Grand Stewards for the year : Bros . J . M . Collins , Bon Accord Lodge ; E . M . Money , Old Kent Lodge ; Philip Saillard , 144 ; Edwin Storr , 234 ; T . E . Biddlecombe , 244 ; G . H . Newington Bridges , 333 ; J . W . Howard Thompson , 144 ; Henry Fisher , Warwickshire ; William Denne , 378 . G . J . Brady , Dorsetshire ; W . R . Felton , Gloster and Hereford ; S . Knight , Berks and Oxon ; K . McEwen , North Wales ; and G . P . Airey , 247 .

The following are the members of the General Board : —( Nominated by the Grand Master ) Bros . F . Davison , Alfred Williams , James Moon , C . H . Driver , Thomas Cubitt , and George Cooper . ( Nominated by the brethren ) -Bros . Dr . George Mickley , P . M . 97 , P . G . D . ; John E . Dawson , D . P . G . M . Herts ; R . Loveland Loveland , D . P . G . M . Hants and I . of VV . ; A . F . Godson , M . P ., Prov . G . M . Worcestershire ; and Rev . Hayman Cummings , P-G . C , D . P . G . M . Kent .

Letters of apology were announced by Bro . Binckes as having been received from a large number of distinguished brethren for absence , and Grand Lod ge was then closed . A . choice banquet was subsequently partaken of in the Venetian Room , presided over b y Bro . W . Kelly , when the usual toasts were duly proposed a "d honoured .

In proposing " The Queen and Mark Masonry , " Bro . KELLY mentioned the fact that he had been a Mason 50 years , and a Provincial Grand Master ! 3 * years , and in giving the toast of " The M . W . G . M ., " he stated that > n the earl y days of the Mark Grand Lodge Mark Masonry was in very low

water . The late Earl of Zetland ' s cold shoulder had been turned to it , out when Bros . Canon Portal , Beach , Lord Leigh , Lord Holmesdale , and owners , together with the Apollo Lodge at Oxford , worked for it it suce ed . If ;_ __ _ not been for tn ; s j t wou ] c j not nave iasted very _ ong . hen he attended to be installed as Provincial Grand Master the attende of brethren was not more than would occupy one of the tables at which e y were now sitting . But when the Prince of Wales became Grand , „ Cr ^ k Masonry was nourishing , and it was now a very strong body , ^ d would continue to ' be so . ^ ro . Col . SHADWELL H . CLERKE proposed " The Pro Grand Master , and P p P ^ - Grand Master , and the rest of the Grand Officers , Present in h ^ ' •^ k Grand Lodge had been very fortunate for many years ^ l In £ lts ranks recruited from some of the best and most excellent ° ne of " h Under thC Masonic ^ 's England . The Marquis of Hertford is and C ; * ) hat * P res'ded in Grand Lodge that evening with dignity hi . m . T , and '" tlle most en ^ ' manner , and they were all proud of affairs f ' ^ ^ ^ ^ otner S ^ Masons appointed to preside over the the Craft , gentlemen who honoured the Craft . Many years past

Mark Grand Lodge.

there had been a long array of excellent Masons to fill the Grand Offices of this Degree . The Rev . Dr . H . KYNASTON , G . C ., replied , and said that having received Grand Office the Grand Officers would do their best for the Order

and would faithfully and worthily bear their collars . When they spoke of Grand Officers they ought not to forget those who had gone to the Grand Lodge above , and it was on their behalf as well as for living past officers he returned thanks .

Baron DE FERRIERES proposed " The Mark Benevolent Fund , " of which he said they might well be proud . Comparisons were odious , and , therefore , without comparing the Mark Benevolent Fund with other Charities , in these days of criticism , when it was the fashion to find fault with everything , he might say that no one had found fault with this

Charity , which was laid on good lines . It gave assistance in their own homes to brethren who had met with reverses , and to their widows ; but above all it paid for the education ol children in their own neighbourhoods , and this was also a right line , for the children after school hours had the benefit of parental care . He hoped the brethren would all support the

Mark Benevolent Fund . They might be proud of the fact that there were not the calls on this Fund that there were on other branches of Masonry , which he thought was due to the fact that a man

who became a Mark Mason had his brains in the right place , and it was only when he died , and his children were left on the support of others , this Fund stepped in and assisted them . He felt assured that the Mark Benevolent Fund Festival would be well supported .

The Earl of EUSTON replied , and said that last year they had 166 Stewards , but at the present time there were only 142 ; but he hoped before the Festival came on , in another month and a half , the brethren would work their lodges up to subscribe . The great object was not to touch the in * vested funds , but rather to add to them , so that they might amount to such

a sum that it would not be necessary to ask the brethren annually to sub » scribe . This Mark Fund was entirely separate from others , and the brethren ought to support it without thinking about the other Charities of the Craft , It had been started with a good will and intention to keep it up .

What was the good of looking back when you had put your hand to the plough ? Undoubtedly they would keep up the other Charities as well as their own . The Stewards of the coming Festival would do their best to make the meeting a success .

" The Visitors , " proposed by Col . RAMSAY , was responded to by Bro . LEON , of Jamaica . Bro . KELLY responded to the toast of his health , and other toasts

followed before the meeting broke up . A beautiful selection of vocal music was performed under the direction of Bro . W . Stevenson Hoyte , F . C . O ., P . G . Org ., assisted by Bros . H . J * Dutton , L . Fryer , T . W . Hanson , and Mr . R . E . Miles .

DEGREES . —This word , which properly means " steps , from the Latin " gradus , " refers to those distinctions in Masonry which are called grades , which term is in fact synonymous . The question of Masonic Degrees , is not an easy one to settle—not so easy as some writers , at any rate , seem to think . The evidence on the subject is not to our mind conclusive , for many reasons , and it must still be left somewhat in suspense . The theory that our present degrees are the

product of the 1717 Revival we cannot accept , though we are quite willing to admit that , owing to careless or incorrect nomenclature , it is not very easy for the Masonic student to-day to speak dogmatically on the subject . It appears to us that the degrees as we have them now existed practically the same , though with a little difference of ritual accessories and arrangement ; and that there always was a distinction between the Master , the Fellow , and the Apprentice . The Scotch

Lodge minutes , or the acknowledged statutes of the Cratt Lodges ( 1598 ) , show two steps ( or degrees ) to have then existed . Apprentices got " the Mason Word ; " then , in the admission of " Fellow or Master , " there was some sort of ceremony , at which Entered Apprentices should ( nay , must ) be present . Subsequently , Apprentices were excluded on the admission of Fellows and Masters . The Apprentices were turned out in 1759 . Bro . Mackey seems quite to have misread

Anderson . Anderson , in the Constitution of 1723 and 173 b , under the 4 th charge , uses the same words—Master , Wardens , Fellows , and Prentices—and makes precisely the same statement . We do not , we confess , understand Mackey's argument , as founded on some alteration in the two editions , because there is essentially none . The alterations are those of convenience alone . It is quite clear that in 1720 the three distinguishing names of Master , Fellows , and Prentices were

known to the Craft . In the old and new regulations , in the edition of 1738 , there is no doubta variation in the context , as where , in Regulation xiii . Master Mason in 1738 is submitted for Fellow Craft in 1723 : and in Regulation xxv ., where in 1738 "Brother " is substituted again for Fellow Craft in 1723 . But in Regulation xiii ., in 1723 , the Apprentices were to be made in the private lodge , the Fellows and Masters in Grand Lodge We may , therefore , take it for granted that in 1717 the

same nomenclature prevailed—indeed , Dermott distinctly states that there was a separate Master ' s Degree in 1717 , though his words require to be taken " cum grano . " Whether in those days the grade of Master was confined to those who were Masters of lodges we are not quite prepared yet w to say . but there is a good deal to be advanced in favour of such a view . In our humble opinion , the grades of Apprentice and Fellow , and Actual Master , if you like , were distinct grades ,

and it is incorrect to say that previous to 1717 only one grade , that of Entered Apprentice was known . Mackey's argument , as based on Anderson , is , as we have ventured to say , untenable , and we cannot , therefore , accept the conclusion to which he seems to have come . According to our esteemed Bro . D . Murray Lyon , Ancient Craft Masonry in Scotland , till shortly before institution of Grand

Lodge , was composed oitwo Degrees- " Entered Apprentice" and "Fellow or Master . " A Third Degree was , he informs us , unknown in Scotland " pro tanto " prior to Desaguliers ' s visit in Edinburgh in 1721 ; he might then tell the Edinburgh brethren of it , but it is several years alter his visit that the first trace ot it appears . We fancy that after all it is only a question of arrangement and terminology —Kenning ' s Cyclopedia of Freemasonry .

BERKELEY HOTEL ( late St . James ' s ) , 1 , Berkeley-street and 77 , Piccadilly , London , W . First class accommodation for residents , with a Restaurant newlyattached for high class luncheons and dinners , at fixed prices and a la carte . <—C . DIETTE , Manager . [ ADVT . ]