Consecration Of The Apollo Lodge, No. 2042.

of Bro . the Earl of Lathom , who was detained in London on official duty , proceeded with the consecration ceremony , which is of the most impressive nature . He was assisted in thc ceremony by Bros . Thomas Armstrong , P . P . G . Treas ., acting P . G . S . W . ; John Houlding , P . P . G . R ., . acting P . G . J . W . ; R . Wylie , P . P . G . S . D ., acting P . G . Sec ; Dr . K . Bailey , P . P . G . S . D ., acting P . G . S . D . ; J . Bell , P . P . G . J . D ., acting P . G . J . D . ; T . Davis , P . G . P . ; and P . Ball , P . G . Tyler .

The ACTING PROV . GRAND MASTER first addressed the assembled brethren , explaining the object for which they had met , and the duties of young lodges to the mother province . He pointed out that it would be the duty of the Apollo Lodge to emulate what had been done by the older lodges in regard to works of benevolence , and also in maintaining the credit and honour of their ancient Craft . Thc Order , he said , was at present being assailed by many

persons from outside . The very fact of their being a secret society was almost alone sufficient to invite unfavourable criticisms , and therefore it was all the more necessary they should be careful in their conduct as Masons , so that the evil-disposed might have no reason to carp at their institution or find fault with their doings as members of it . If they , as Masons , only acted up to the principles inculcated in the " ancient charge , " no one would find fault with them ,

and they would , without question , be a credit to theirOrder , and be able to show to the world that Freemasonry was what it professed to be—brotherly love , relief , and truth . Whilst they could not disclose to the outside public anything regarding their ritual inside their lodges , they would be able ' to ask the world to judge of their actions and say whether they deserved all the hard things that had been said about them in recent times .

The ceremony of consecration was then proceeded with , assistance in the imposing ritual being given by Bros . R . Wylie , the Rev . H . G . Vernon , Armstrong , and Houlding . The musical portion of the arrangements were under the direction of Bro . Joseph Queen , each piece appropriate to the service being rendered with telling effect by a strong body of vocalists . As a compliment to the W . M . designate , Bro . Skeaf ' s musical setting was selected , and . rendered by

the following brethren : Bros . Child , Davies , Haswell , Bryan , Busfield , W . Lewis , Quayle , D . VVilliams , Nicholls , . Muir , Keith , Hobart , Rowlands , J . T . Jones , VV . Burnett , A . Benedict , and E . F . Lloyd . At the conclusion of the consecration dlremony , Bro . Joseph Skeaf , P . P . G . O ., presented by Bros . Dr . Bailey an * d R . Washington , P . P . G . S . D . ' s , was installed the first W . M . of the Apollo Lodge by Bro . H . S . Alpass , acting

P . G . M ., the subsequent sections belonging to the ceremony , including the addresses to the officers , being well worked by Bro . R . Foote , P . G . S . The first officials of No . 2042 appointed and invested were Bros . R . Foote , P . G . S ., P . M . ; Thos . XV . Scigcant , S . W . ; Thos . Hatton , J . W . ; H . H . Smith , Treas . ; Joseph Oueen , Sec . ; James A . Muir , S . D . ; Henry J . Nicholls , J . D . ; D . Keith , I . G . ; W . Lewis , S . S . ; Win . ' Brogden , J . S . ; Rev . H . G . Vernon ,

Chap . ; Col . Wm . Townshend , S . VV . SG , D . C . ; and Bro . Watson was unanimously elected Tyler of the lodge . Before the business concluded , propositions were made with respect to several new ' members * for initiation , and about 40 joining brethren from other lodges in Liverpool , Bootle , Belfast , & c . Adjourning to the banqueting room , about 100 " brethren sat down to a good dinner , served by Bro . Casey , House Steward , the chair being occupied by Bro . J . Skeaf , W . M . The iisuarioyal and Masonic toasts were given and received

with much enthusiasm . Thc WORSHIPFUL MASTER , in proposing " The Health of the Right Hon the Earl of Carnarvon , " said : The next toast I have before me is one of great importance . As a matter of course we go through our toast list , and this one seems almost from its frequency to lose much of that consideration which it demands . The utility of toasts like this cannot be too highly appreciated , for it is to the heads of

our Order that we look for that guidance which shall place us in a proper po .-itipn not only with ourselves , but also the ' world at large . It is because " the powers that be " in the Masonic Order are so * irreproachable , as well as the glorious and universal principles we profess , that we are able to treat those ignorant atyl libellous statements which have of late been so freely directed against . our institution with indifference and scorn , for every outward and visible evidence gives

the lie-direct to such fulminations , whether uttered in the so-called name of religion or political strategy . Brethren , you are aware we have a Past Grand Officer present , Bro . 'H . S . Alpass , whose familiar name will be received by all with enthusiasm . in responding to the toast , Bro . H . S . ALPASS said his lordship was peculiarly well adapted at the . present crisis in the historvof Freemason ™ to preside over the Grand Lodge

in the absence of the Prince of Wales . The words uttered by his lordship were not the words of passion or resentment . . He showed an anxious desire to answer the charges that had been brought against their Order —( hear , hear)—but at the same time , in replying to . those charges , his aim was not to be betrayed into anything like invective . ( Hear , hear . ) In the present crisis they ought to emulate their Pro Grand Master . The position of Freemasonry in this

country and in all free' countries was so strong that they could afford to set at defiance the groundless charges that were brought against their Order . ( . Hear , hear . ) At the same time , it did not quite do to let those charges pass unnoticed ; but , on the other hand , they should follow the example of Lord Carnarvon , and not allow the persons who brought these charges against them to fancy that their allegations were of the slightest importance to them . ( Hear ,

hear . ) In giving the toast of "Success to the Apollo Lodge , " the WORSHIPKUI . MASTER said : Brethren , to-day has witnessed the consecration of another lodge , and , while we may congratulate ourselves that the M . W . G . M . has entrusted to our keeping a new warrant , still that is not the only benefit to be obtained either by the Craft or ourselves . The great object for which new agencies are required is the use or necessity for their existence . In this respect , I think ,

we , as members of Apollo Lodge , may well claim to occupy a position exceptional and important . Some 17 years ago , . when first I had the honour to fill the office of Prov . Grand Organist , musical matters were at a very-low ebb : —perhaps about six or seven brethren was about the extent of talent to be drawn upon in the event of anythingspecial being required , and in many cases two or three singers were only available to do duty , for the four , myself putting a note in now and then ; and here let me mention two ' of those present—Bros . Haswell and Armstrong—who were always to

Consecration Of The Apollo Lodge, No. 2042.

be depended upon if there was any possibility of their getting from business , Bro . Armstrong also , as you are aware , occuping a prominent position in Grand Lodge . But time rolled on , and musical matters began to look up . A slight attempt was made to start an Apollo Lodge ; but there did not exist that energy which vjiould warrant us proceeding further in the matter ; but the still further increase has been cn larrr ^ thaf if nnlv renuired the reauisite Derseverance and

determination which has brought matters to the present successful issue . Many thought the Dramatic Lodge would have answered the object for which we claim a distinctive place ; but the hour of meeting proved a fatal objection , and here I may say the members of the Apollo desire , in the fullest and most complete manner , to tender to the officers of 1609 their most sincere and cordial thanks for the recommendation of bur petition to G . Lodge , for , asyou are aware ,

it is necessary such petition should be supported by a lodge , and it came with singular appropriateness from them . In proposing success to the Apollo Lodge I must not omit to mention that the one element of success is earnestness . Let us all be animated with this spirit of earnestness , such as that displayed by the worthy musical brother whose name I am about to couple with this toast . I allude to Bro . Major H . J . Nicholls , whose incessant efforts during

the formation of the lodge cannot be too highly appreciated . Let us hope his successor , our present Secretary , will be animated with a similar zeal and that all the officers will emulate each other in fully developing the resources of the lodge , for whose establishment he has laboured so assiduously . Bro . Major N ICHOLLS replied . A number of valuable contributions were made to the

"Apollo" by the brethren identified with its foundation , including the officers' clothing and regalia , the lodge jewels , silver almsdish , ebony and silver almsbox , & c . Bro . Major Nicholls' gift was a set of silver lodge jewels and wands , and Bro . Martin gave a highly-artistic almsbox in ebony and . silver . The lodge will meet on' the first VVednesday of each month , and the musical arrangements of the ceremonies will be under the skilled direction of Bro . J . Oueen , formerly conductor of the Liverpool Vocalists ' Union .

The Papal And Priestly Fulminations.

THE PAPAL AND PRIESTLY FULMINATIONS .

With respect to the recent unfounded attacks by his Eminence Cardinal M'Cabe , the Liverpool . Mercury thus speaks : " Cardinal M'Cabe , the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Dublin , has fulminated against Freemasonry in a most extraordinary style , the occasion being the nomination of Mr . James Winstanley—who happens to be a Freemason

—for thc Lord Mayor ' s chair in the Town Council of Dublin . The quarrel between the Pope and the brethren of the mystic tie is , of course , a very old one , but the Cardinal has revived it on his side with much more than thc ancient bitterness . He can only see in the Masonic Society a confederation which has for its object ' the destruction of religion and the overthrow of every civil frovernment . ' He points to France , Belguim , and Italy as

his illustrations abroad , while he maintains that the succession of revolutions which have shaken society for thc last loo years can be easily traced'to the influences surrounding Masonry , which he condemns in the plainest terms as simply ' an irreligious association . ' Language like this may well fill with astonishment the members of the different Masonic lodge ' s throughout the United Kingdom , who in one single breath are pronounced by Cardinal M'Cabe to be

infidels and conspirators . VVe tear the knowledge of history possessed by his Eminence must be very limited . Freemasonry in its modern form was both born and developed in this country . Yet our ' civil government ' has not been destroyed , and ' religion' has not quite died out ' of the land . ' Whatever ' revolutions' may have shaken society for the last 100 years in this country have all been in the direction of the welfare of the people

—Catholic emancipation , for example—and certainly the plots of Freemasons have had nothing to do in thc way of bringing them about . Even such outbreaks as the Irish rising of 179 S and the Fenian conspiracy of 1 S 67 were no more the contrivance of Freemasonry than they were of Cardinal M'Cabe . There have been such bodies in Ireland as 'The Republican Brotherhood' and' The Invincibles , ' and both have been most anxious to accomplish the overthrow of

' civil government' in Ireland , but by far the vast majority of their members are not Freemasons . Mr . Winstanley happens to be a supporter of Mr . Parnell , but the honourable member himself , we believe , is not a Freemason . The fact is that the Cardinal is wrong at every point . It is possible enough that in some of the continental countries referred to by his Eminence the principles of Freemasonry may have sometimes been perverted for political purposes ; but he might find it a profitable historical inquiry to try to

ascertain if Roman Catholicism has not often had quite as much to do with the matter as Masonic guilds , whose very- ' raison d ' etre ' was the recognition of the bonds and obligations of our common humanity . VVe do not think we shall err far when we say that the Cardinal sees very clearly that many members of his own flock in Ireland , and even some of his clergy , are beginning to think for themselves , and that their ecclesiastical superior does not altogether like it . "

In the same journal of last Monday appears the following excellent letter , and , as it emanates from abrother who has considerable influence in the province of West Lancashire , it should have all the greater weight * : "I entirely agree with the admirable remarks made by Bro . H . Alpass , Past Grand Std . Br . of England , at Southport this week , and also with the . tone and terms of your excellent and well-timed leader of yesterday morning , with

respect to the most recent attack on the Order of Freemasonry by an ecclesiastic who has gone out of his way to denounce a body of men of whom there are none more loyal in acknowledging her Majesty ' s rule . It seems to me that the time has now arrived when , as thc voice of the Fraternity in this country and throughout the Queen ' s dominions , the Grand Lodge of England should make an

unmistakeable protest against denunciations which are both unjust and unfounded . It is quite true , as Bro . Alpass said , that frequent repetitions of these reckless assertions will have a tendency to lead some who arc now doubters to believe that there is an element of truth in the accusations , and that Freemasons must , in some measure at least , be identified with 'infidelity , ' ' sedition , ' and

The Papal And Priestly Fulminations.

kindred sentiments , when his Eminence Cardinal M'Cabe chooses to designate it ' a confederation which is organised for the unholiest purposes . ' In answer to his Eminence , I have to say that Freemasonry in this country hasone of the noblest of purposes in its institution—the promotion of the purest Charity , as well as unswerving devotion and loyalty to the Throne . The eminent Irish ecclesiastic who sits in judgment upon us and condemns us so thorouehlv

may be surprised to hear that there are many children now , even in this province of West Lancashire , who , bclonirinir to the Catholic Church , are beine : educated at schools identified with the faith of their fathers at the erpensc ° f ty '' 'unholiest of confederations . '" " 'Let us not be accused of bigotry and intolerance , ' says Cardinal M'Cabe . I do not accuse him of either ; but this issue

practical I must certainly put , viz ., that his Eminence must be either very foolish 6 Y deliberately unjust , to put it in mild terms . If he knows nothing about Freemasonry , then he is exceedingly foolish to condemn the Order in the manner he has thought proper to do ; and if he does know in any measure the instincts and aspirations of the Order , then he is still more to blame for uttering that which he must know has not the shadow of a foundation on which to rest .

" 1 he periodical fulminations of the Head of the Roman Catholic Church from time to time , it may be said , are doubtless founded on information received of the operations of some so-called Masonic societies as they exist on the continent , with which English Freemasonry has not the slightest sympathy , and certainly no dealings ; but Cardinal M'Cabe ,. with means of observation which are not possessed by the Pope , must surely go with eyes blindfolded , by the bi

'gotry and mtolerance' which he disclaims , if he does not see that Freemasonry here , in its teachings , requirements , and objects , is as far removed from the revolutionary continental associations as pure truth is from the foulest error . Whether it be the feared loss of ecclesiastical supremacy , personal antipathy to the particular member of the Order upon which he poured the vials of his wrath , or a deliberate attempt to damage a Brotherhood which is

to-day returning * good' in the shape of charity to Catholic children for the ' evil ' of his unwarranted aspersions , I leave the world to judge ; but , as a Freemason of many years' experience , I must strongly insist upon some steps being taken , both in Grand Lodgeand throughout the various provinces , to counteract the effects of a priestly deliverance which attempts to bring into disrepute the conduct of thousands whose aims and object are tj preserve and promote the

peace which Cardinal M'Cabe rudely disturbs . Let me say , ere I close , that 1 have had a large acquaintance with my brethren of the Emerald 'Isle , and all that I have claimed on behalf of the Fraternity on this side pf the Channel can justly be accorded to my fellow countrymen * and brethren in Ireland . Their institutions show their charity , and their actions their loyalty , notwithstanding all that the Cardinal-Archbish 6 p of Dublin may say to the

contrary . It would be . well for 'Poor Ould Ireland' if the Masonic spirit of its people were more largely cultivated , and received more kindly encouragement than it does at ' the hands of its most prominent leader in the pure religion of ' Peace and goodwill among men . ' The leading characteristic of Freemasonry is contentment to do its charitable work and inculcate its exalted moral teachings without ostentation ; but when so cruell y attacked as it lias been within the last few days , vindication and justification of our

teachings and strong repudiation of false representation should beat-once carried out by our Masonic leaders—preeminent among whom stand out his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales , the Earl of Carnarvon , the Earl of Lathom , Colonel Stanley , and others high in the councils of thenation , none of whom , I fancy , are open to the ' ehargeof being banded together for the prom ition of infidelity , sedition , and revolution . " THOMAS M'CRACKE . V . "Liverpool , June 2 . 3 th , 1884 . "

Royal Masonic Institution For Boys.

ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR BOYS .

THE RECENT FESTIVAL . ' In our repoit of the Festival of the Boys' School the following brethren should have been described as

Vice-Presidents , of the Institution , viz .: — Lodge No . Bro . Scurrah , VV . A . ... ... * ... „ 1744 ,, Laurence , James ( VV . Lane . ) „ Staley , A . " E . .. ' „ 185 „ Boulton , J . ... ... ... „ I 056 The following brethren acted as Special Stewards on the

: — SPECIAL STEWARDS . Bro . Mather , J . L ., V .-Pres . of Institution" ) „ Berridge , Robert „ „ j „ Cooper , George , V .-Pat . of Institution . Unattached . „ Matier , C F ., V .-Pres . of „ | „ Torkinr-ton , A ., V .-Pat . of „ J „ Tyler , F . J Lodge 59

„ Belton , ClUrles , V .-Pres . of Institution „ 105 „ Hogard , C . V ., V .-Pres . „ „ 205 „ Joyce , H . E „ 507 „ Jenkins , H . ... „ soo „ Driver , Charles H . „ 901 „ Festa , G , P ., V .-Pat . of Institution „ 1900 „ Brittain , J „ * 13 S 5 „ Ferguson , Alexander „ 1538

,, Taylor , Charles ... ... ,, 1 G 24 „ Miller , T . Hastings , V .-Pres . of Institution „ 1964 „ Clowes , R ., V .-Pres . of Inst . Prov . of Essex . „ Eve , Richd ., V .-Pat . of Inst . Prov . of Hants , & c . „ Hacker , H . V .-Pres . of Inst . Prov . of Surrey . „ Romieu , G . F „ „ „ Broadley , A . M ., No . 1777 , Ancient Carthage * Lodge , Tunis , V .-Pres . of Inst .

„ lerry , J „ Lodge 22 S „ Boulton , J . ... „ „ 105 G „ Verry , G . Ward „ „ 1625 „ Clever , Jos ... „ Unattached „ Keeble , F . T . C Lodge 1426 „ Scurrah , W . A „ , 744 „ Maidwell , T . J . ... ... Prov . of Middx . „ Conbe . r , L . P Lodge 13 G 5 „ Bridges , N ... „ K 36 9

THE GENERAL COMMITTEE Of the Institution met on Saturday at the Freemasons ' Hall , Bro . Edgar Bowyer presided . The minutes of the