Contents.

CONTENTS .

LEADERS— PAGE . Masonic Impostors ... ... .., ... ... ... 535 The New York Masonic Home ... ... ... ... 535 Old Masonic Charges ... ... ... ... ... ... 536 Consecration of the Albert Lucking Lodge at Southend-on-Sea ... ... V 5 G

Provincial Grand Mark Lodge of Surrey ... ... ... »¦ ... 537 Provincial Priory of Staffordshire , Warwickshire , and Leicestershire ... 537 Grand Council of the Allied Masonic Degrees ... ... ... 53 S Ladies' Night of the United Northern Counties Lodge , No . 212 S ... ... 53 S The Masonic Bazaar at Belfast ... ... ... ... ... 539 Negro Masonry ... ... ... ... ... ... 539 Craft Masonry ... ... ... ... ... ... 539

MASONIC NOTESAnnual Meeting of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Sussex ... ... 541 Royal Masonic Institution for Boys—Recent Quarterly Court ... ... 541 Annual Meeting of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Cambridgeshire ... 541 Correspondence ... ... ... ... ... ... 542 Masonic Notes and Queries ... ... ... ... ... 542 Craft Masonry ... ... ... ... ... ... 542

Royal Arch ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 544 Ancient and Accepted Rite ... ... ... ... ... 544 Mark Masonry ... ... ... ... ... ... 5 . 4 Instruction ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 545 Grand Lodge of Scotland ( Quarterly Communication ) ... ... .. 545 Obituary ... ... ~ ... ... ... ... ... 545 Masonic and General Tidings ... ... ... ... ... 54 6

Masonic Impostors.

MASONIC IMPOSTORS .

Yvc are under great obligations to Bro . JAMES NEWTON , Prov . G . Secretary of Hast Lancashire , for the trouble lie takes in exposing the doings of the Masonic vagrant . Last week , but not for the first time , he kindlv furnished us with particulars

of a case in which a person claiming to be a member of the Cornubian Lodge , No , 450 , Haylc , in the Province of Cornwall , is going about obtaining assistance from lodge Almoners . But inquiries have been made as to the truth of this allegation

with the result that the Secretary of No . 450 declares that " no such name has ever been attached to that lodge and that he has had several inquiries about this man during the last 12 months . " Bro . NEWTON further informs us that the fellow has been

travelling the country under several a / iascs and concluded with the hope that " Almoners will be on their guard against him . " Our readers will no doubt call to mind that for a considerable time past we have been urging upon the lodges in town and

country the necessity for adopting some plan for the prevention of imposture . Some few years since the Secretarv of a lodge in Tonbridgc brought a very flagrant case of the kind to the notice of his brother Secretaries and Almoners in the

Province of Kent . A special meeting was held with a view to considering what measures should be adopted in order to put an end to the nuisance . Indeed , matters were carried so far that the subject was mentioned at the

next annual meeting of the Provincial Grand Lodge , but nothing resulted , except , it may be , that for a time the Lodge Almoner was rather more on his guard than usual against the trickery and deceit of the Masonic vagrant . But since then ,

though we have received many cautions from different parts of the country to beware of this or ( hat person , who was travelling lhe country under many aliases and doing his best to levy toll on the Lodge Almoner , no concerled action has been taken .

> Ve are as far off as ever from putting down the impostor , and ; dl because those who are chiefl y interested in getting rid of him "ill not take a little trouble . So the vagrant still thrives , and l'ic Almoner is still worried , and often "done" out of lhe

moneys entrusted to him for genuinely benevolent purposes , ^ et in Canada and the United States , or at all events in very '" ¦ my of the Masonic jurisdictions in the United States , tiiere is in

¦ association which has been speciall y organised to cope with l » is evil ; and though it would be an exaggeration to say that S 1 | iee its establishment some 20 or more years ago the Masonic

Masonic Impostors.

impostor has been stamped out of existence , there is little doubt that his game is now hardly worth playing . The system adopted works admirably , and , as a result , the lodges and brethren in the jurisdictions which subscribe regularly to the Central Association

annually save many thousands of dollars , which would otherwise find their way into the pockets of the vagrants . But this will be more clearly seen if we quote a few of the cases contained in the last report of the New York Board of Relief in

illustration of their methods of dealing with applications for help . The first case—No . 1322—is one of a brother from " Jamaica , West Indies , with wife and two children . " The applicant had been sent from " Oakland , Cal . Board of Relief

to New Orleans , under the impression that a steamer sailed from there to Jamaica . " But as there appears to have been none , he was sent on to New York " by New Orleans Board of Relief , and by us to his home . " It was declared to be " an

excellent case for generous outlay , and gladly helped . " Another case —No . 1327—is that of a brother who had been " a thriving business man of Montreal , Canada , three years ago . " It was ascertained that " his unfortunate condition was due to habits which he

did not appear able to break , " but many of the members of the New York Board " knew him personally and well , and . because of his generosity and true Masonic kindliness , we helped him liberally . " No . 1348 is said to have been "the case of a man

who applied to us soon after our organisation in 1880 , and was recognised , though denying his former application . He mi ght have changed his name , and did not . His features could not be so easily altered , and his untruthfulness did him

no good . " No . 1352 , who is said to have figured in the previous year ' s report as No 1241 , is described as " an elderly but frisky " brother , who , notwithstanding his experience of the previous year , visited New York , lost all his money " upon the Bowery , " and then

applied to the Board " lor sympathy and money . The remark appended is : " He got little of the first , none of the last . " No . 1368 claimed membership of a lodge in Boston , and produced certificates of membership of a Chapter and Templar Commandery

in that city . On inquiry it turned out that he was not a member of the lodge . He was , however , a member of the other bodies , but had swindled several of his Companions and Sir Kni ghts . The Board report that he was given " a little money pending

investigation ; but , it is added , that they "have satisfaction in knowing his career as a Masonic beggar is checked . " Now if some such system as this were adopted , with a Central Association in London , and a Board or corresponding Ahroner in each

province , we , too , might have "the satisfaction of knowing " that at no very distant date the careers of our " Masonic beggars" would be " checked . " But what is everybody ' s business is nobody ' s . When a more than usually flagrant case

occurs , information is sent to us , and we insert the warning we are invited to publish ; but otherwise the demands of the Masonic impostor are never noliced . He goes about the country relieving the benevolent of their spare cash , and with the proceeds is able to fare more or less sumptuously every day .

The New York Masonic Home.

THE NEW YORK MASONIC HOME .

We are naturally and justly proud of our Masonic Charitable Institutions , and the brethren in other jurisdictions , but especially in those of the United States , commend our efforts to assist

our aged and indigent members , their widows , and their orphan children . The praise from American Masons is all the more valuable , because they , too , are not unmindful of the claims of their poor brethren , widows , and children , and though