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^ffi^cSasonl SATURDAY , J UNE 12 , 18 97 .

Masonic Notes.

Masonic Notes .

We have much pleasure in announcing that on Tuesday next , the 15 th inst ., one of those pleasant entertainments which are given from time to time to the children of our Scholastic Institutions will take place at the Boys' School , Wood Green , Bro . William Short , of the Derby Allcroft Lodge , No . 2168 , and friends

having very kindly arranged to give a " musical and miscellaneous entertainment" under the able direction of Bro . R . D . Cummings . Doors will open at 2 p . m ., and the proceedings commence at 2 . 30 p . m . Tea and coffee will bc served in thc Dining Hall at thc close ol the performances .

? * # According to the Indian Masonic Review , Lodge Waltair , No . 2592 , which meets at Vizagapatam , in the District of Madras , though it was only warranted last year , is already a great success . This is not

a irprising . Our contemporary , in speaking of the April meeting , says each of the Degrees was worked and that proceedings in lodge occupied three hours . But this is not all . There was a full attendance of members , and several travelled long distances in order to be present . One important officer covered 150 miles b y stages—12 miles on horseback , then 24 miles by bullock , then 16 miles on horseback and 18 by

Masonic Notes.

buliock-cart , and lastly So miles by rail , the last 114 miles being covered in 24 hours . We cannot say offhand whether this has been equalled or surpassed by other brethren in out-lying districts , but we are inclined to think this looks very much like a record journey to attend an ordinary lodge meeting .

* * * The District Grand Master appears to have been able to speak favourably of the condition of Freemasonry in the District of Madras at the regular communication of his District Grand Lodge on the 20 th February . There has been an increase during the past

year in the number of subscribing members from 784 to 812 . The finances , too , are reported to be in a sound condition . True the balances ia hand on the 20 th February last were very much smaller than at the conesponding date of the previous year , but in the interval the invested capital had been substantially

increased , there being 5500 rupees invested in respect of the District Grand Lodge Fund as compared with 3500 rupees at thc close of 1895-6 , and 16 , 500 rupees as compared with 14 , 000 rupees in respect of the District Grand Charity Fund . The District Grand Master , on reference to the mode of celebrating the

Queen ' s Diamond Jubilee , was pleased to suggest —and the suggestion appears to us to be an excellent one—that contributions should be made in aid of the Famine Relief Fund in the District . His idea is that thebrethren mig ht raise amongst them a sum of 4000

rupees and that this might be supplemented by a donation of 2000 rupees from the District Grand Charity Fund , making the total contribution—6000 rupees . Such a gift would be in every way worthy of the District and of the occasion .

* # # Bro . Major-General Sir G . B . Wolseley , K . C . B , District Grand Master of the Punjab , at the annual Communication of his District Grand Lodge on the nth March , in his review of the events of the past year , is reported in the Indian Masonic Review to have

very severely condemned the conduct of one 01 the lodges in his District for " working with Books in open Lodge . " This is a very grave offence , and should be put down with a strong hand . It is the more to be condemned , because the custom no longer exists , which prevailed in times not very remote from the present ,

when one or two Installed Masters who were well up in the ritual traversed whole districts , rendering the assistance which was needed by the lodges , in working the Degrees and installing the Master . Thanks to the numerous lodges ot instruction which are to be found

not only in London , but also in the large Provincial and District centres , the knowledge of the ritual is pretty wel ! diffused among the brethren , so that there is , or ought to be , no necessity for the kind of prompting , which the District Grand Master of the Punjab so justly condemns as " un-Masonic . "

* But if a brother is elected Master of his lodge who is not sufficiently posted in the ritual of the Three Degrees and the installation of the Master , to be able to discharge this part of his duties , it is far better that he should invite some competent brother

to do the work for him than that he should adopt the mean alternative of "cribbing" from a book . The members of his lodge know pretty well before they elect him to thc chair , that though he possesses most of the qualities which help to make a good Master , he is not , nor does he make any pretentions to be , a ritualist .

They regard him as a splendid fellow , and one who is likely to help the lodge over any serious difficulty , or maintain and hand on to his successor the prestige and prosperity it may have attained . His ignorance of , or indifferent acquaintance with the ritual proved no bar to their electing him to the chair , and , therefore , he

need not fear that he will not lose their good opinion if he should invite a P . M . to do the work for him . We admire the Mastcr who does his work in conferring thc Degrees and installing his successor , and docs it thoroughly , but we must not lose sight of the fact that a brother may bc a splendid ritualist , and at thc same time a very indifferent orator .

. » From the report of the proceedings of thc District Grand Lodge of Queensland at its regular Quarterly Communication at Freemasons' Hall , Brisbane , on the 3 rd March last il appears that towards the close of the meeting a suggestion was thrown out that the 60 th

anniversary of the Queen ' s Reign should be celebrated " by the establishment of an Orphanage for the sons and daughters of Freemasons in Queensland or by some other permanent Masonic Charity . ' It was explained that a letter containing a resolution to that effect had been forwarded by the North Australian

Masonic Notes.

Lodge , the senior in thc District , and should have been brought to the notice of the District Grand Lodge , but unfortunately thc letter had miscarried . The suggestion found favour with the District Grand Master and the brethren , but the former took the opportunity of pointing out that District Grand Lodgo

could do no more at that meeting than express its approval , and he thought it better that the various lodges in the District should be invited to consider the proposal , and when that had been done , it w ould be easier for District Grand Lodge to take up the question . Bro . Barnett , P . G . Deacon , Dep . D . G . M .,

gave expression to a somewhat similar opinion , and there for the present the matter rests . There is no doubt , however , that of all modes of commemorating the Queen ' s Diamond Jubliee that of establishing an orphanage or other permanent Masonic Charitable Institution is about the best that could be chosen .

We rarely take up an American Masonic periodica ! without finding among its original or quoted matter a few soul-stiring remarks , if not an elaborate essay , on the subject of " non-affiliates . " The mere mention of thc term has about the same effect on some American rulers and writers as a red rag is said to have

upon a bull . Cry " Non-affiliate " and off they go into fits of rage , and , perhaps , the mildest penalty which some of them propose should be adopted towards those brethren , fa / Is just a trifle short of eternal perdition . Yet , the non-affiliate goes on his way , not , it may be , rejoicing , but apparently indifferent to the turmoil to

which his existence has given rise . But , why cannot these American experts who are continually worrying themselves and everybody else about those non-affiliates , try another lack and what will be the effect of leaving them alone , or rather of ignoring their existence altogether . We are supposed to know a little

about Freemasonry in England , but the non-affiliate never troubles us for the best of all reasons , that nobody takes the slightest notice of him . He left our ranks freely and as he had the right to do just as hc joined them freely , and there the matter rests . # * *

The fact is that the non-affiliate is in himself a perfectly harmless being and if left alone cannot possibly exercise thc slightest influence one way or lhe other on the fortunes of Freemasonry . Hc joined us and he has left . But he will become—we should say that in the United States he must already have become

—one of the pests of Masonic society . Nearly every Grand Master and reviewer of correspondence suffers every now and then from " non-affiliate" on the brain , and the result is that he is the subject of more legislation and more condemnation than if he had devoted

the whole of his life to petty larceny or murder on the high seas . For their own peace of mind we advise our American brethren to have nothing more to do or to say about him . Ignore him altogether , say , by way of experiment , for the rest of the 19 th century , and then perhaps there will be no non-affiliates worth troubling about . * * . *

The \ oicc of Masonry for last month records thc death of Bro . Theodore Schreiner , who was born on the 15 th June , 1811 , and had consequently attained thc ripe age of 85 years . Bro . Schreiner , we are told , was initiated in August , 1856 , exalted Royal Arch in 18 57 , installed a Knight Templar in 1 S 64 , and had taken the

32 ° in thc Ancient and Accepted Rite . He was appointed Grand Tyler of the Grand Lodge of Iowa in June , 1857 , and held the off'cc at the time of his death , while he had acted in a corresponding capacity for the Grand Chapter of Iowa since 1863 , and for the Grand Commandery since 1864 . •* *

We have much pleasure in announcing that at the regular meeting of Lodge Harmony , No . 156 , Plymouth , on Tuesday , the Sth inst ., it was unanimously resolved to give 25 guineas lo the South Devon and East Cornwall Hospital in commemoration of the

Queen ' s Diamond Jubilee ; thc Life Governorship of this Charity being vested in Mrs . C . S . Stebbing , wife of Bro . C . S . Stebbing , who is now occupying the chair for thc second time , having already served in that capacity in 1895 .

* * « We regret to Jay thit we are under the necessity , in consequence of the heavy demands upon our space , of holding over till next week a long and interesting account of a visit paid by a strong force of brethren

from the Province of Antrim , accompanied by ladies , to the Masonic Orphan Schools in Dublin . However , compensation will probably be found for the omission in the report we publish elsewhere of the installation of Bro . Dr . W . Creed Meredith as Deputy G . Master of Ireland , vice Bro . R . W . Shekleton , Q . C , resigned .