Freemasonry In 1897.

apportioned equally among the three Masonic Institutions . The Pro G . Master then rose and in the name and on behalf ol Grand Lodge requested the G . Master ' s acceptance of one of the jewels specially designed to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee and his Royal Highness having graciously accepted it

and expressed the pleasure it had afforded hint to preside on the occasion , the procession of Present and Past G . Officers left the Hall in the order in which it had entered , the brethren dispersed , and one of the grandest meetings of the Craft ever held in this or anv country was brought to a close , lt mav not be out of

p lace to mention here that the address voted on this occasion was in due course presented to the Oueen , by whom it was oraciously received , and that at the Quarterly Communication in September a letter announcing this fact and her Majesty ' s most graceful thanks in reply was read from the Right Hon . the Home

Secretary ( Mro . Sir M . White Ridley , Mart ., M . P . ) , and , on the motion of the ( irand Master in the chair , duly seconded , and ordered lo be recorded on the minuies . The other occasions on which the M . W . G . Master took tin chief part , were on Thursday , the 7 II 1 January , and Saturday ,

thc 23 rd October . On thc former day his Roval Highness , who was accompanied to the scene of the proceedings by the Princess of Wales and the Duke and Duchess of Sutherland , visited Longton in North Staffordshire , for the purpose of laying the foundation stone of a proposed "Sutherland" Institute , to be

used as a F ' ree Library and Technical Schools , and erected on a site presented by the Duke of Sutherland . At this gathering there was a large and imposing body of brethren present , headed bv thc Prov . G . Lodge of Staffordshire—which had met tinder the presidency of Bro . the Earl of Dartmouth , P . G . M ., some

time prior to the ceremony and voted an address ol welcome to his Royal Highness , while the Prince as M . W . G . Master , was attended by his ( irand Officers and very gracefully and with the accustomed formalities performed

the duty he had undertaken . On Saturday , the 23 rd October his Royal Highness visited Horsham in order to fulfil a like duty by laying the foundation stone of thc new buildings about to be erected on the estate of Stamnierham—which had

been purchased for the purpose—for the accommodation ol the pupils of Christ ' s Hospital . On this occasion , his Royal Highness who acted as the representative of the Queen , was attended by Bros , the Earl of Portarlington and Sir Reginald Hanson , Bart ., M . P ., Grand Wardens ; the Very Rev . the Dean of

Rochester ( Rev . S . Reynolds Hole ) , G . Chaplain ; the G . Treasurer ( Alderman Vaughan Morgan , who is also Treasurer of the School ) ; the Grand Registrar , the President of the Board of General Purposes , Sir John B . Monckton , as G . Secretary , Sir A . Webster , Sir F . Boileau , and Sir S . B . Bancroft , G . Deacons ;

Thomas Fenn , P . G . W ., as G . D . C ; F . Richardson , P . G . D ., as Dep . G . DC ; G . L . Eyles , G . S . B ., and the G . T yler . Among the others present were the Duke of Cambridge , President of Christ ' s Hospital , Sir Joseph Savory , Bart ., M . P ., Vice-Chairman of the Committee of Almoners , tin ; Lord Mavor ( as a

Governor of the Institution ) and the Lady Mayoress , Sir J . W hittaker Ellis , Bart , and Lady Ellis , and many others , together with the boys from the London and Hereford Schools with Bro . the Rev . Richard Lee , the headmaster , and the other masters . The

ceremony was performed in the usual manner , the trowel used by his Royal Highness being the same as was used by his granduncle the Duke of York when laying the foundation stone of the Great Hall facing Newgate-street on the 28 th April , 1825 .

Another memorable meeting of the year and one . which for years and years to come will occupy a position by itself in the annals of Masonry is the great gathering which was held in St . Paul's Cathedral on Thursday , the 2 nd December , lo commemorate the 200 II 1 Anniversary of the opening of that sacred

edifice and out of respect for the tradition that its great architect , Sir Christopher Wren , was a Mason and Master of the Lodge of Antiquity and that the workmen who carried his designs into execution were also members ol our Society . On this occasion the Cathedral was reserved for the use of the brethren , the

available space in the vicinity of the choir being , however , occupied by ladies , of whom each ( irand Officer had the privilege of inviting two . The M . W . G . Master was himself unable to be present , but Bro . W . W . B . Beach , Al . P ., Prov . G . M ., Hants and Isle ol Wighl , acted as his representative , and the assemblege both as

regards numbers and Irom its including all greater lights of the Fraternity who were able to attend , was in all respects worthy the great anniversary which had brought it together . The sermon was preached by the Bishop of London , and the offertory , which amounted to the sum of / . 809 will . be devoted to the decoration

of a bay or panel with mosaics in conformity with the plans now in progress under ( he direction of Sir F . Richmond , R . A ., a suitable inscription being placed at foot or near the panel lo indicate the body by which the cost of the decoration was defrayed . Be it added lhat the arrangements made bv the Dean

and Chapter ot the Cathedral were carried out under the direction of a Committee of which the Archdeacon of London was the president . It should also be stated that among those who were present were the Right Hon the Lord Mayor and the Sheriffs of the City of London , who are all of them members of our Society

and attended in State with the Officers of tbe Corporation . Of other meetings and functions which have marked the progress of 18 97 and of which the number is well nigh legion , there is , firstly , the attendance at divine service in the collegiate church of St . Saviour ' s , Southwark ,

of a very numerous gathering of the brethren headed by the Earl of Lathom , Pro G . Master , in commemoration of the Queen ' s Diamond Jubilee . The arrangements had been entrusted to Bro . Thomas Fenn , P . G . W ., and , it is almost needless to say , were most successfully carried out . There was an exceptionally

large congregation , who were attracted by so unusual and so brilliant a spectacle as that of thc Freemasons in all their splendid regalia , and a most eloquent sermon was preached by Bro . the Very Rev . Dean Hole , of Rochester , G . Chaplain , the offertory , which amounted to / , 234 c ) , being subsequently devoted

to the Church Restoration Fund , as a mark of respect to the Prince of Wales , who had evinced a dee ]) interest in the restoration of this venerable edifice , and some while ago laid the first stone ol the new nave . There have been many other services similarly attended by Masons and in celebration of the great

imperial event of the year in cathedral and other churches throughout the country , and in every case the offertory has been devoted to purposes of Charity either local or Masonic . Another important event in connection with the Diamond Jubilee which deserves an honoured place in this record was

tbe banquet given by the Empire Lodge , No . 2108 , which was founded in 188 5 for the express purpose of affording a Masonic home to brethren visiting this country from the Colonies and British possessions abroad , and the membership of which is restricted to Masons more immediately connected

with or interested in those Colonics and possessions—to the many distinguished brethren at the time in London in connection with the celebration of the both anniversary of the Queen ' s accession to the throne . The Hotel Cecil was the scene of the gathering and the number present at the splendid function

was not far short ol 250 , the most distinguished among them being Bros , the Earl of Lathom and Earl Amherst , Pro G . M . and Dep . G . M . of Fingland respectively ; the Duke of Abercorn and Lord Saltoun , G . Masters of Ireland and Scotland ; the Earl of Jersey , Prov . G . Master of Oxfordshire and Past G .

Master of New South Wales ; Lieut .-Gen . J . Wimburn Laurie . M . P ., Prov . G . M . South Wales ( W . D ) and Past G . Master of Nova Scotia ; the Right Hon . Chief Justice Way , M . W . G . Master of South Australia ; C . J . Egan . M . D ., Dist . G . Master of South Africa ( E . D . ); George Richards , D . G . M . Transvaal ;

the Bishop of Perth , Past G . Chaplain ( Western Australia ) ; Rear-Admiral A . II . Markham , Past Dist . G . M . ( Malta ); ( i . Owen Dunn , Dep . Dist . G . M . ( Bombay ) ; the Rajah of Kapurthala , Past G . W . ; with several Colonial Premiers and leading officials . The presiding officer was Bro . A . Davidson

Kemp , W . M . of the Empire Lodge , and the credit of the highly successful arrangements belongs to a Committee of the members , with Bro . Lennox Browne , D . G . D . of C . at its head . There was also another banquet in honour of the same event held in the banqueting hail of Earl ' s Court , at

which Mro . the F , arl of Fusion , Prov . G . Master of Northants and Hunts , presided , the guests , of whom the number was 120 , being all of them W . Masters of London lodges . In this case , also a great success , due principally to the excellence of the arrangements made by Bros . Imre Kiralfy and

Thomson Lyon , was achieved . Among other evenls of the same or a similar character which it is proper to refer to are the celebration of the Jubilee b y the Constitutional Lod ^ e , No . 294 , Beverley , on which occasion a present from American brethren was handed to Bro . the Earl of Londesborough , a

P . M . of the lodge ; the Masonic services held in the churches of St . Mary Abbot ' s , Kensington , in the cathedral at Shanghai , when the Dist . G . Lodge' of Northern China attended ; at St . Mary ' s , Walthamstow-, and Hereford Cathedral in

November , when the Prov . G . Lodge of Herefordshire attended , and a most eloquent sermon was preached by the Hon . and Very Rev . Dean Leigh , of Hereford . Nor must we pass unnoticed that addresses of congratulation from all parts of the l-jnpire Acre voted to the Oueen , and

to these must be added three from the United States of America , to be forwarded through H . R . H . the Prince of Wales , one from the ( irand Lodge of New York at its annual

Communication in June , one from the ( irand Lodge of Pennsylvania at its Quarterly Communication in September , and the third from the Masonic Veterans' Association of Illinois , of which his Royal Highness is a member .