Contents.

CONTENTS .

L EADERS— PAGF . The Grand Lodge of Manitoba ... ... ... ... 4 ' 5 Alasonic Reprints and Historical Revelations ... ... ... 415 United Grand Lodge ( Quarterly Communication ) ... ... ... 416 Grand Lodgeof MarkMaster Masons ( Quarterly Communication ) ... ... 417 MASONIC N OTES— of

Provincial Grand Lod ^ e Cornwall ... ... ... , ... 419 Quarterly Communication of District Grand Lodge of Queensland ... 419 Quarterly Communication of Mark Grand Lodge ... ... ... 419 Quarterly Communication of United Grand Lodge ... ... ... 419 Correspondence ... ... ... ... ... ... 420 Free and Freemasonry ... ... ... ... ... ... 420

The " Jno . T . Thaap Masonic M . S . " ... ... ... ... 421 R . A . Masonry in Whitby ... ... ... ... ... 421 Scotland—Presentation to Comp . Major F . W . Allan ... ... ... 421 Craft Masonry ... ... ... ... ... ... 421 Instruction ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 422 Masonic and General Tidings ... ... ... ... ... 424

The Grand Lodge Of Manitoba.

THE GRAND LODGE OF MANITOBA .

It is marvellous how great is the progress which has been made by most , if not all , of thc more recently established Grand Lodges on the continent of North America . In the United States this progress is not perhaps so noticeable , because the

extent of territory is so vast and the population so enormous ; but even in Britisli North America where , though the territory is of immense extent , the population is more sparsely distributed , Freemasonry may bc looked upon as one of thc institutions of

the country , and Manitoba , though a Province that can boast of only a few years' organisation , is very far from being an exception to this general good fortune . Thc 23 rd annual communication of its Grand Lodge was held in the Masonic Hall , Winnipeg ,

in the early days of June last , and in the course of his address the Grand Master—M . W . Bro . THOMAS ROBINSON—referred with no little pride to the development of the Craft in his jurisdiction . At the preceding annual meeting the Grand Lodge liail been honoured with a visit from the Grand Master of

Minnesota , and Bro . ROBINSON took occasion to refer to "tlie more than fraternal ties " that bound the Masons of Manitoba to the ( irand Lodge of Minnesota . It was , as he pointed out , in the ) t * ar 1864 , that sundry of the residents at Fort Garry—now the

City of Winnipeg—were made Masons in the Northern Light Lodge , Pembina , in tlie jurisdiction of thc Grand Lodge of Minnesota . The following year this lodge obtained P' -rrnission to remove its quarters from Pembina lo Fort

Garry , but troubles arose in the neighbourhood , and after < * i liricl interval the lodge cease working . In 18 70 took place tin : Red River Expedition , under the command of Colonel—now Field-Marshal Viscount—WOLSELEY , and among thc troops who

¦ villained to garrison Fort Garry wcre a number of brethren who Petitioned and obtained permission from the Grand Lodge oi Cuiada to form a lodge , which was formally constituted as Prince Rupert ' s Lodge early in the year 1871 . In 1873 Lisgar Lodge

w-is founded , and thc year following Ancient Landmark Lodge ; and on the 12 th June , 1875 , these three lodges met together , and founded the Grand Lodge of Manitoba . Durtrg the 23 years ll' - 'il have since elapsed these three lodges have increased and

Multi plied to such an extent , that at the present time there are " 0 lodges on the roll of the Grand Lodge , with an aggregate "u rnbershi p of some 2700 brethren , the average strength per ¦ l * 'l gc being 45 .

But progress has by no means been restricted to mere numerical 11 , 1 ' rease , which is not always , or , at all events , not of itself alone an 0 l'i \ vard and visible sign of prosperity . The Grand Lodge is far lr "in being a wealthy body , and yet during the past year it has voted money towards the cost of erecting a Freemasons '

The Grand Lodge Of Manitoba.

Ward in the Jubilee wing of the Winnipeg General Hospital . Again , the Grand Lodge is the proud possessor of a considerable library , and to judge from the Librarian ' s report , which is included in the record cf proceedings , not only are important additions

made annually , but increasing facilities for stud y are being provided from time to time . But there is one paragraph in Bro . ROBINSON ' address which deserves special attention . After enumerating the lodges which he had been able to visit during

the year , hc goes on to state that , on the occasion of his visits , he took the opportunity of giving lectures on Masonic Law , " I cannot help remarking , " said Liro . ROBINSON , " that while it was a very great pleasure to pay these visits , and while I

received great personal courtesy and attention whenever it was my privilege to be present , yet I realise more forcibly than I ever did before , the necessity of more frequent lectures on Masonic subjects . " After stating that the finances of Grand

Lodge wcre not such as to allow of the payment of a Grand Lecturer , the Grand Master proceeded : "There is a great lack of Masonic knowledge . I quite understand that it is impossible for people who arc so occupied

with their usual business avocations to devote very much time to acquiring Masonic knowledge , since it requires a great deal of study and thought to delve into its history and philosophy . I recognised my own deficiency for the same reasons . On the

other hand , a continual repetition of the ritual in time begins to pall upon the mind , and it is impossible not to feel that there is a universal want of something to further stimulate Masonic zeal "

in this direction . He concludes his remarks by suggesting that Grand Lodge , as soon as its finances would allow , should have a Grand Lecturer , and that in thc meantime lodges should take

every opportunity of encouraging those who are able and willing to impart knowledge on subjects ol" interest and importance . It is clear from this , that our Bro . LOVELL does not stand alone in

his desire that the brethren should have greater facilities afforded them for the acquisition of a higher class of Masonic knowledge than seems possible in the present circumstances .

Masonic Reprints And Historical Revelations.

MASONIC REPRINTS AND HISTORICAL REVELATIONS .

The new work from the pen of Bro . HENRY SADLER , the publication of which wc had the pleasure of announcing in last week ' s issue , in every way justifies the high expectations we had indulged in . It constitutes a further and most valuable addition

to our store of knowledge of the earlier history of Freemasonry . Nearly the whole of the contents of the volume is new matter , and what is not new has been written by Bro . SADLER himself in order that his readers may be in a better position to appreciate what he

has had the good fortune to unearth , or has bcen compiled b y him from the official records of Grand Lodge , of which , in his capacity of Sub-Librarian , he may be said to be the custodian .

In addition , we have thc Introductory Chapter written b y Bro . CHETWODE CRAWLEY , in illustration of the first reprint in facsimile of "A letter from the Grand Mistress of the Female Free-Masons . " This Chapter is valuable not only from the light it throws upon Bro . SADLER ' reprint , but also from the full account