Contents.

CONTENTS .

LEADERS— PAGE Freemasonry in Victoria ... ... ... ... •••55 ' Masonic Medals ... ... ... ... ... ¦•• 55 Still Another Old Masonic Manuscript ... ... ... •••552 Provincial Grand Lodge of East Lancashire ... ... ... ... 553 Provincial Grand Lodge of Warwickshire ... ... ... " * ... 55-1 Provincial Grand Mark Lodge of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight ... 554

SCOTLANDGrand Lodge ... ... ... ... ... ... 555 Edinburgh Freemasons and the Gordon Highlanders ... ... 555 Consecration of the Yorick Lodge , No . 2771 ... ... ... ... 55 6 Jubilee Guildhall for Cheshire ... ... ... ... ... 550 Mark Masonry ... ... ... ... ... ... 557

Ancient and Accepted Rite ... ... ... ... ... 557 Art and the Drama ... ... ... ... ... ... 557 MASONIC NOTESAnniversary Festival of Royal Masonic Institution for Boys ... ... 559 Craft Masonry in Natal ... ... ... ... ... 55 a Meeling of Committee of Management of the Royal Masonic Benevolent

Institution ... ... ... ... ... ... 559 Consecration of the St . Alban ' s Lodge ... ... ... ... 559 Visit of the Queen to Bristol ... ... ... ... 559 Reviews ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 5 60 Masonic Notes and Queries ... ... ... ... ... 5 C 0 Consecration of the Lator Chapter , No . 22 GG ... ... ... 5 60

IRELANDMasonic Conceit at Par-onstown ... ... ... ... 561 Craft Masonry ... ... ... ... ... ... 5 G 2 Instruction ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 5 C 5 Interesting Presentation at Bournemouth ... ... ... ... 5 G 5 Provincial Grand Chapter of Warwickshire ... ... ... ... 5 GG

Royal Ark Mariners ... ... ... ... ... ... 5 66 Mark Masonry ... ... ... ... ... ... 56 ( 1 Knights Templar ... ... ... ... ... ... 5 6 C The Craft Abroad ... ... ... ... ... ... 5 GG Masonic and General Tidings ... ... ... ... ... 5 6 S

Freemasonry In Victoria.

FREEMASONRY IN VICTORIA .

It is only ten years since that the United Grand Lodge of Victoria was constituted , and yet in that brief space of time it appears lo have prospered famously . Firstly , under thc late Bro . Sir \ V . J . CLARKE , Hart ., as M . W . G . Master , and since his

lamented decease , under Lord BRASSEY , thc Governor of the Colony , the Craft has increased in numbers , and , what is far better still , in the completeness of its organisation . That this progress has been continuous , and is likely to be so , may be

gathered from the reports of meetings which are to be found in the Aiislrn / ian Keys / one—the official organ of the Grand Lodge * and also of the Grand Lodge of Tasmania—for thc month of September , which publishes accounts of the proceedings at thc

meetings of thc Grand Lodge , Grand Chapter , and Grand Mark Lodge , the last of which has only been organised this year . Ordinarily , Grand Lodge meets in thc Masonic Hall in Melbourne , the capital of Victoria , but on this occasion its

Quarterly Communication took place in the City Hall , Ballarat , on Wednesday , the 20 th September , under the presidency of Bro . Lord BRASSEY , M . W . G . Master , who was supported by thc Pro G . Master , a strong muster of Present

and Past G . Oflicers , and tlie representatives of numerous private lodges ; indeed , as regards the attendance , though this was necessarily mon : restricted than it would have been in Melbourne , the

experiment of holding a Grand Lodge outside the capital appears to have been fairly successful . The regular business included the consideration of the Reports of the Boards of General

Purposes and Benevolence , the chief item in the former having relerence lo the issue of the revised Book of Constitutions . I he Report of the Board of Benevolence showed an expendiditure during the quarter of over £ 300 , but from the Grand

i reasurer ' s Statement of Account , which was subsequentl y presented , it seems there is a balance to the good in respect of this Fund of nearly , £ 5750 , while the balance in hand on the General Fund is nearl y £ 250 . An audited balance sheet of

Freemasonry In Victoria.

the " Clarke Testimonial Fund " was likewise submitted , showing receipts amounting to over £ 604 , and an expenditure of not quite £ 597 , the small balance of seven guineas being ordered to be handed over to the Freemasons' Charitable Institution of

Victoria . Then followed what will always be looked upon as an exceptionally pleasing episode , the presentation of a gavel to His Excellency Lord BRASSEY , as a memorial of thc iirst meeting of Grand Lodge in the City of

Ballarat . The duty of making the presentation devolved on the Pro Grand Master , who concluded his speech by handing thc gift to his lordship , at the same time remarking that " it was made of historical wood , suitably inscribed , and was ornamented

with Ballarat gold . " The Grand Master made a kindly reply , in thc course of which he observed that " Masonry was a powerful instrument for good in thc community . It bound class and class together and inculcated noble sentiments , so that he was

glad to do all he could to promote its success . ' ) hey had the assurance of the Grand Secretary that the Order was in a most flourishing state in Victoria , and he was sure it would take a further sweep onwards under the Federal Government . "

Subsequently on Grand Lodge being closed , the brethren adjourned to the Alfred Hall , where the Ballarat Lodges had prepared a musical " At Home " in honour of the occasion , and here also he M . W . Grand Master experienced a most cordial reception .

On the day previous , but at Freemasons Mall , Melbourne , was held the Quarterly Convocation of the Supreme Grand Chapter . At this meeting the M E . Grand Z . and Pro G . Z ., with other Grand Officers , were unable to be present , but there

appears to have been a fair attendance , more particularly of the representatives of the private chapters . The audited balancesheet for the year ending the 30 th June , 18 99 , showed an excess of income over expenditure of upwards of £ 105 . The other

business had reference , for thc most part , to the revised edition of the General Regulations , and the Committee appointed in 1 S 9 S to revise them having been discharged from its duties , it was

resolved that they should come into operation on the ist December , and that they be printed and published under the supervision of the Committee of General Purposes .

We have already mentioned that thc United Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons was only established during the present year , yet the lirst Quarterly Communication since its inauguration , which was held at Freemasons' Hall , Melbourne , on the

30 th August , appears to have been fairly well attended , and some good work was done during the meeting , especially in connection with the preparation of thc necessary forms , & c , and also wilh the drawing up of the Book of Constitutions , it being

agreed , on the r -commendation of the Board of General Purposes , that the laws of Craft Masonry should be adopted so far as they are applicable to Mark Masonry , and that " such special Laws and Regulations only as may be required " should be

drawn . It was also agreed that provincial warrants should be issued to those lodges which have given in their allegiance to the Grand Lodge , and which already appear to be 14 in number ,

and that for the present , at all events , until the period fixed for lodges giving in their allegiance has expired , applications to other Grand Lodges and Grand Chapters for recognition be postponed .

Thus , on all sides , there is strong evidence forthcoming that Freemasonry is taking almost yearly a still firmer hold on our Victoria brethren , and we sincerely hope there may be no interruption to thc progress which has been made during the past ten years .