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PRICE 5 s . THE GRAND REGISTRAR'S BOOK ON '" -pHE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CRAFT IN ENGLAND . " In consequence of a request for a cheaper issue of the work on "NORTHUMBRIAN MASONRY , " BY R . W . Bro . STRACHAN , Q . C , Grand Registrar of England , Bro . G EORGE KENNING has arranged for stout paper copies to be supplied at 5 s . each , as well as in the more expensive binding and finish at 10 s . 6 d . Among other items of interest in this work will be found the evidences of Masonry anion . ; the Ancient liritons , thc introduction of travelling bands of " Cemcntarios " by Benedict ISiscop and St . Wilfrid ; their Art carried into Scotland , Wales , and the Midlands ; how Masons became " Free ; " the wages of Craftsmen and Masters ; the ' . 'Marks" on the works ; verifying Masonic tradition by records and circumstances ; the relation of Guilds to Lodges ; thc first record of a "Speculative" initiate in England ; the identity of early English Operative and Scottish Speculative Lodges ; how tlic latter crossed the IJordcr ; how the Lodges came under central authority . The celebrated Masonic Orations given b y V . W . Bro . CANON TKISTRAM , F . K . S ., Past Grand Chaplain , the historian of the Holy Land , have been collected , and will be found in the appendix , revised by their author for this work LONDON : GEORGE KENNING , 16 & 16 a , Great Queen-st . And may be ordered through any BookselUr .

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A BROTHER WANTS A BERTH as Housekeeper , Caretaker , or place of trust ; Flats , Chambers , or Offices ; good caterer , excellent references . —Address , M . M ., 137 , Winston-road , Stoke Newington , N . of

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T ^ IRBY LODGE INSTRUC 1 ION The Committee would be glad to Purchase Copies of Annual Programme of Work or Festival Programme of this Lodge for any years earlier than 1 S 9 S . Address the Secretary , liro . F . W . WARD , Midland Grand Hotel , St . Pancras , N . W .

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SATURDAY , NOVEMBER g , igor .

Masonic Notes.

Masonic Notes .

We have much pleasure in announcing that His Majesty the King has graciously consented to become Patron of Ihe Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution . This will be good news indeed for Bro , Terry , the Secretary , to report at the meeting of the Committee of Management , on Wednesday , the 13 th instant .

* * # The Quarterly Convocation of Supreme Grand Chapter was held at Freemasons' Hall on Wednesday . Comp . the Rev . Canon Brownrigg presided , and there

was about the usual attendance of Grand Ofiicers , Present and Past , and of the representatives of private chapters . The business on tho Agenda was dealt with .

St . Thomas ' s Hospital was the scene of a grand Masonic function on Monday , when the Cheselden Lodge , No . 2870 , which has been founded for the convenience of brethren connected with this fine old institution was consecrated , its first W . Master

installed , and thc officers for the year invested . But for the unfortunate slate of the weather , tbe Duke of Connaught , M . W . G . M ., would have been present and assisted at the inauguration of the new lodge . However , the ceremony ot installation was , it is hardly

necessary to say , most imprtssivtly performed by the Grand Secretary , who afterwards installed Bro . T . Wakley . jun ., as the first W . M . There are already several lod ges connected with our London Hospitals

on the register of Grand Lodge , and all of them , as far as we know , have experienced the best of good fortune . We tiust the Cheselden rmy folio */ in their Wake and emulate their success .

Masonic Notes.

The Province of West Yorkshire made a brave show in our columns last week . In tbe lirst place , we published a report of the proceedings on Tuesday , the 22 nd ult ., when a new Craft lodge—the Regent , No . 2856—was consecrated at Barnsley , thus augmenting the number of lodges on the Provincialregister to 83 .

The ceremony was performed , in the absence of the Prov . G . M ., by his respected Deputy , Bro . Richard Wilson , P . G D , and when the lodge was constituted , Bro . W . Senior , a Past Master of the Friendly Lodge , No . 1513—which is now the senior lodge in the

townwas installed in the chair as the first W . M . There was a very numerous muster of Present and Past Prov G . Officers and other brethren , and we cordially echo the hearty good wishes that were expressed on the occasion for the success of the new lod ^ e .

* Another and fuller report appeared in the same issue of the proceedings at the half-yearly meeting on the 24 th ult ., of the Prov . Grand Mark Lodge of West Yorkshire , from which we gather that the Mark Degree is yearly making greater and still greater

progress . No additional evidence of this fact—for fact it is—is needed , but none the less gratifying is it to find that the Mark is not " marking time " but " advancing" by rapid strides in the esteem of our West Yoikshire brethren . This is not to be wondered at . The present Prov . G . Master , Bro . C . Letch

Mason , has been in office for 18 years , and has just had his patent renewed for a further term of three . He has shown himself throughout his long official career a wise and energetic ruler , and it is not therefore surprising that his Province should be now about three times as strong as when he was first appointed to office .

An exceptionally pleasing episode occurred during the progress of the Mark Provincial meeting . It seems that in the interval that had elapsed since the previous meeting the worthy Dep . Prov . G . Mark Master , Bro . John Barker , had taken to himself a wife , and to show their esteem and respect for him , the brethren had

presented Bro . and Mrs . Barker , on this auspicious occasion , with a wedding gift , consisting of silver plate and table cutlery , with a Russia leather travelling bag for Mrs . Barker , and the Deputy took advantage of the meeting to express to those present his heartfelt thanks for their kindness .

We call attention to the cutting from a Retford newspaper , whicb will be found in our Tidings columns . It is some satisfaction to know that this particular " Masonic Vagrant" has had his deserts in the shape of a sentence passed upon him by the Retford bench of magistrates of 21 days' hard labour . But there is a

very old saying that " Prevention is better than cure , " and if English Freemasonry would establish some such Association as has existed for several years in the United States , by which many thousands of dollars are annually saved from- being wasted on the relief of the worthless fellows who bring discredit upon the Craft , t ' -. ere would be some chance of putting down this .

kind of fraud , or , at least , of making it so difficult and dangerous a practice to indulge in as to reduce it to a minimum . The mere knowledge that such an association existed with blanches all over the country would have a deterrent effect , and , at the same time , perhaps , compel these vagrants to seek an honest Means of livelihood .

But in this country we are slow to learn from experience . Englishmen are splendid men of business as regards their private affairs , but in matters that affect the general community they care little about taking the initiative in remedying grievances and putting down abuses . Hence , while Masonic vagrancy

is admittedly a great nuisance affecting the comfort and credit of the whole fraternity , no one tries to put it down . The nearest approach to anything like a serious attempt to cope with it was made some time since in West Yorkshire , where it was suggested that the chief constables of the big cities

and towns in the Province who happened to be Masons should be appointed Lodge Almoners , and we have little doubt that where thc suggestion was possible and has been acted upon , the nuisance has been mitigated . Chief constables easily acquire a knowle ' ge of many things that are seldom dreamt of in the average man ' s philosophy , and the vagrant , with the

plausible tale of luggage detained or not arrived , or the non-receipt of his usual remittances from Australia , who tackles a loJge Almoner who is likewise a chief constable , is far more likely to get his deserts , as the visitor to Retford did , than the wished-for crown or half-crown to help him on his road to thc nearest lavern .

Masonic Notes.

Still , if we omit from the reckoning the three Provinces of Man and the Channel Islands , West Yorkshire is only one out of 43 Provinces in England and Wales , and if West Yorkshire , and it may be East Lancashire , and a few other Provinces are , to a certain extent , closed against these gentry , when they

are hard up for a drink , there are the rest of the Provinces , where the number of unwary benevolent brethren is legion , and the vagrant , so far as his malpractices are concerned , finds himself in clover . But why should not the Provinces combine with London in forming some kind of Central Association , with as

many local and district centres as may be thought necessary , and let these circulate periodically for private use lists of all of these itinerant applicants for relief . We venture to think that if such a scheme were adopted , the interests of the poor but worthy brother would not be jeopardised , while the unworthy would find his little game of preying upon benevolent

brethren j ust a trifle more risky than it appears to be at present . Some such organisation as this has been found to answer extremely well in the United States and Canada , and , as we have said before , it has been the means of saving many thousands of dollars annually to the benevolent . Why should it not be attempted here , and with similar success ?

# # » We have received copies of the Proceedings of the Grand Lodge of All Scottish Freemasonry in India at ( 1 ) a Quarterly Communication , held at Freemasons ' Hall , Bombay , on the 27 th April , and ( 2 ) a Special Communication , held on the 31 st August , in memory

of Bro . Capt . C . D . Wise , Hon . Past G . M . Depute , G . Secretary , deceased . On both occasions , in the unavoidable absence of H . E . Lord Northcote , G . M ., Bro . Dr . J . Pollen , G . M . Depute , presided . The appendices to the former report show that financially the Grand Lodge is in a prosperous state , there being

at the close of the account for . the year ending . 30 th November , 1900 , a sum of 3 rupees at fixed Deposit in the Hong Kong Bank at 4 per cent ., and a balance on current account in the same Bank of 2923 rupees , while on the account for the same period of the Scottish Masonic Fund of Benevolence there was a

balance in the Bombay Bank of 18 31 rupees , irrespective of a sum of 1000 rupees due by the Scottish Masonic Benevolent Association in India , which was lent to it in 18 98 . The account ofthe Freemasons ' Hall Committee for the half year to the 31 st December 1900 , showed abalanceof 3196 rupees . These figures are most satisfactory .

The Special Communication on the 31 st August was held , as we have said , for the purpose of doing honour to the memory of Bro . C . D . Wise , who after 12 years' eminent and continuous service as Grand Secretary , died on the 27 th July , in the 66 th year of his age . Bro . Wise was initiated under the Scottish

Constitution in January , 1866 , and 10 years later affiliated to a lodge under the English Constitution , and in both he won high distinction as a Grand Oflicer of the one and a District Grand Officer of the other . But he will be best remembered as the Grand Secretary , A . S . F . I ., to which office he was appointed in 1889 , and in whicb , to quote the words of Bro . P . N .

Wadia , Past Dep . G . M ., in his oration at the meeting , he''had exceedingly endeared himself to one and all of us , and to those who had the privilege of his personal friendship and his fraternal confidence , it seems as if it was but yesterday that he was amongst us . " ••»

There was a very large attendance of the brethren at the Special meeting , and when the service in memory of the deceased was over , ' and Bro . Wadia had delivered his oration , a resolution was passed in solemn silence to the effect that the Grand Lodge " desires to place on record its sense of'the great loss which

Freemasonry in general , and the Scottish Constitution of all India in particular , has sustained in the death of our highly esteemed R . W . Bro . Capt . C . D . Wise , Hony . P . G . M , Depute , Grand Secretary A . S . F . I . His attachment to the principles of our Institution , as well as his upright and devoted discharge of his duties as

a Mason and as a Man , ever entitled him to our respect and esteem , and will cause his memory to be held in lasting and loving remembrance amongst us . " It was also agreed that a copy of the above should be transmitted to the deceased ' s family " as a tribute of respect in vvhich he was held by his brethren . "

# # * It is with regret we report the death on the 30 th ult ., of Bro . C . Kupferschmidt , Asst . G . Sec . for German Correspondence . The funeral , which took place on the and inst ., was very numerously attended .