Contents.

CONTENTS .

LEADERS— PAGE Our Diamond Jubilee Commemoration Number ... ... ... 131 The April School Elections ... ... ... ... ... 131 Consecration of the Alleyn Lodge , No . 26 47 ... _ ... ... ... 132 Red Cross of Roman and Constantine—Grand Imperial Conclave ... ... 133 Centenary Meeting of the Lodgeof Stability , No . 217 ... ... ... _ r * 133

Re-Opening of the Masonic Rooms in Rochdale ... ... ... 135 Ladies' Night at the Finsbury Park Lodge , No . 1288 ... ... ... 135 Masonic Conversazione in Bournemouth ... ... ... ... 136 Conversazione of the Waterloo Union Lodge , No . 13 ... ... ... 13 C Consecration of the Chaloner Lodge , No . 26 44 ... ... ... *'•137 Mark Masonry ... ... ... ... ... ... J 137 Royal Ark Mariners ... ... ... ... ... ... 137

Sec ret Monitor ... ... ... ... ... ... 137 MASONIC NOTESGirls' and Boys' School Examinations .. ... ... ... 139 Masonic Vagrant ... ... ... ... ... ... 139 Correspondence ... ... ... ... ... ... 140 Masonic Notes and Queries ... ... ... ... ... 140 Reviews ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 140

Craft Masonry ... ... ... ... ... ... 140 Royal Arch ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 143 Our Portrait Gallery ... _ ... ... ... ... ... 1 43 Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution ... ... ... ... 144 The Recent Festival of Ihe Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution ... ... 141 Lodges and Chanter of Instruction ... ... ... ... ... 144 Ancient and Accepted Rite ... ... ... ... ... 144 Masonic and General Tidings ... ... ... ... ... 140

Our Diamond Jubilee Commemoration Number.

OUR DIAMOND JUBILEE COMMEMORATION NUMBER .

For some time past the public mind lias , been engaged in considering how most fittingly ' to commemorate the completion of thc 60 th year of tlie QUEEN ' reign . So far , only two schemes have been sanctioned , one—the thanksgiving service at St .

Paul ' s Cathedral , which her Majesty will attend in State—being national ; and the other—the Princeof WALES ' S Hospital Fund for London—being Metropolitan . But it is probable that every town in the United Kingdom , and every society and institution ,

but more especiall y those which minister to the needs of the poorer classes , will adopt its own method of celebrating this auspicious event . What the Masons throughout the Empire may decide upon doing is as yet unknown , but there can be little doubt that

a Society whose watchwords are " Loyalty " and " Charity , " will be equally forward with the rest of their fellow-subjects of her Majesty in rendering honour to a lady whose reign , of unprecedented length , has at the same time been one of

unprecedented progress and prosperity . But though we cannot utter what we do not know as regards the form which any Special Masonic Commemoration of the Diamond Jubilee that may ultimately be decided upon mayassume , we take an early opportunity

of announcing our intention of publishing a special number , to be called " The Royal Diamond Jubilee Commemoration Number , " on similar lines to that which we issued in 188 7 in commemoration of the QUEEN ' Jubilee . Tlie contents will

include a review of Freemasonry in the United Kingdom , from 188 7 to 18 97 , in continuation of the similar review from 1 S 37 to 188 7 , which appeared in the Jubilee year ; and as the QUEEN ' S Family has been so closely connected with the Craft during the

past 160 years , there will also be an article entitled " Royalty and Freemasonry , " in which Masonic particulars will be given of all those members of the Royal Family who have been members of our Order . In addition , there will be articles by Bro .

W . J . HUGHAN and other eminent Masonic writers , the whole being profusely and appropriately illustrated . Wc shall spare no pains in order to make this number worthy of the Craft and

6 f our own reputation as its representative organ , and we trust that at least an equal measure of success will attend this as attended the previous Special numbers we have published . Additional particulars will be found on page 14 6 .

The April School Elections.

THE APRIL SCHOOL ELECTIONS .

The voting papers for the School Elections , which will bc held on the second Thursday and Friday in April , rcspectivelv , have been issued , and we are in a position to furnish such

general information as to the numbers and distribution of the candidates , and the vacancies which will bc filled up in the two Schools . For the election inlo fhe

ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR GIRLS , which will be held in Freemasons' Tavern , at the close of the ordinary business of the Quarterly General Court of Governors and Subscribers , on Thursday the < STh prox ., there are 20

candidates , of whom the lirst six were unsuccessful in October last and bring forward the votes they then obtained , and the remaining 23 have ; had their claims approved and placed on the list during the last six months . The vacancies are 20 . so lhat

each of the candidates , but more particularly ( hose who enter upon tin * poll with a goodly array of votes to their credit , has a fair chance of winning a place , and as there are four Inst cases , there is every reason to hope that these will receive such an

amount of support as will secure ( hem from ihe unhappy lot of being sent empty away . The candidates are distributed between town and country as follows : London is responsible lor live and has a part interest with the Province ol" Surrey in earning the

election oi ' a sixth , the remaining 23 being Provincial . The live London girls are placed at Nos . 4 , 12 , 17 , 21 , and 22 , the lirst mentioned having been a candidate at the election in October , 1 S 9 6 , when she had the good fortune to poll 16117 vo , ( ' i which

will be ol" essential service lo her mi ( his occasion , more especially as this is her last chance of winning admission into the School . The London-Surrey girl at No . 1 is also a candidate for tin * last time , but as she brings forward 2711 *) voles from

last October , it will be exceedingly hard lines indeed if she does not succeed in finding a place among the successful at the approaching contest . As regards the 23 girls from ( IK * Provinces , four of them , who are all new to election experiences , and rank

in thc list as Nos . 9 , 14 , 20 , and 25 , are furnished b y West Yorkshire , No . 20 being a last case ; Gloucestershire is responsible for Nos . 7 and 15 , and the Western Division of South Wales for No . 2 , who has already 2041 voles lo her credit from last

October , and No . 11 . The other 15 Provincials are distributed singly among the following Provinces , or groups of Provinces , namely : Surrey ( No . 3 ) ; Warwickshire ( No . 5 ) ; North Wales and South Wales ( W . D . ) ( No . 6 ); Cornwall ( No . 8 ); Middlesex

( No . 10 ); West Lancashire ( No . 13 ) ; North Wales ( No . 18 ) ; Northants and Hunts ( No . 19 ); Oxfordshire ( No . 23 ); Cambridgeshire ( No . 24 ) ; Kent ( No . 26 ) ; Staffordshire ( No . 27 ) ; Berkshire ( No . 28 ); Lincolnshire , N . and K . Yorkshire , Surrey ,

and Staffordshire ( No . 29 ); and the District of Bengal ( No . 16 ) The only remark we are called upon to make in respect to any one of these cases is that the Staffordshire girl ( No . 27 ) has but this one chance of being admitted , and it will behove her friends

and supporters to work their hardest in order to ensure her admission . Taking the candidates collectively , we note that 23 of them are fatherless , three have lost both parents , and three have both parents living . In by far the largest number of cases the father

was a subscribing member of a lodge , or lodges for 10 years and upwards , and in three cases for upwards of 20 years , while in about one-fourth of them he had been a supporter of , or had acted as Steward for , one or more of our Institutions , Many of them also had worthily filled oflice in lodges and Prov