Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Contents.
CONTENTS .
LEADERS 5 U J The Revised Constitutions . —Ill 56 s Royal Masonic Institution for Boys 568 Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution 5 6 9 Laving the Foundation Stone of a Masonic Hall at Paisley 56 9
The Morgan Monument 509 Royal Arch S 9 CORRESPONDENCEThe Status of Past Masters S 70 Prefixes for Grand Officers J 70
Our Educational Institutions 570 Roval Masonic Institution for Girls—Proposed Alteration of Rules ? 7 t Masonic Amenities 571 How History is Written < 7 '
Reviews S 71 Masonic Notes and Queries 571 Provincial Grand Lodge of West Lancashire S 71
Provincial Grand Chapter of West Lancashire SI ' REPORTS OF MASONIC MEETINGSCraft Masonry 573 Instruction 576
The Theatres 577 Music 577 Science and Art 577 Masonic and General Tidings 578 Lodge Meetings for Next Week 579
Ar00101
IT is striking , and at tne same time affecting , often , to realize to what beneficent uses our great Charities arc put , and what melancholy cases of sickness , suffering , bereavement , poverty they help and meet . In the inscrutable wisdom of T . G . A . O . T . U . many are the afflictions of our common humanity , many the unforeseen visitations , the inexplicable trials to which
mortality is heir to here . Hardly a day passes over our heads , not a biennial election returns , but we are , and must be , impressed with the extent of human suffering and the need , value and blessing of our Masonic Charities . Thebread-winner struck down by some mysterious disease , in full activity ; the mourning widow and the bereaved children ; all these cases come before us
often in sad plenitude and succession , and they are such as seem necessarily to appeal to our Masonic sensibilities , to touch our memories and to melt our hearts . This week , as we are again approaching another election-period , we may be well reminded of the serious necessity and beneficial outcome of our great Educational Institutions ; and may the thoughts , thus realistic
and opportune , stir us all up to even still greater exertions on behalf of these great Charities of ours , which appeal so strongly to our personal feelings , evince so markedly the absolute need of their existence , attest so forcibly the sincerity of our Masonic professions , and illustrate so truly the genius , the mission of true Freemasonry in the world and amongst ourselves at this hour . * * *
LONDON , fifty years ago , as our contemporary , the City Press , tells us elsewhere , was a very different city to what the " little village " now appears to us . Its changes have been many and great ; its transformations striking and numerous . Indeed , some of the old loiterers by the " sweet shady shade of Pall Mall , " those who , like Dr . J OHNSON , liked to stroll
along Fleet-street , would hardly know now those once familiar spots . And what London will be fifty years hence who can tell or venture to predict ? Will the historical New Zealander stand and mourn in silence on Westminster Bridge ? or some good old Mason deplore in Great Queen-street the vanished glories of Freemasons' Hall ? In the present movement , —may we say mania ?
forimprovingeverything , it seems just possible that great changes may take place in and around Lincoln's Inn Fields , for instance ; and it might be wise in our rulers if they took " time by the forelock , " and looked out a little ahead for what is within the bounds of probability and possibility . There was an old nobleman who used to talk of the " blessed lights of London , "
and certainly , we think , that there is a good deal to be said for the Metropolis on the part of those who live under its shadow , and mingle in its civilization . That London is changing rapidly to " outward sight " is clear , even to each careless " flaneur " who passes on half-unhecdingly ; and , as Freemasons always arc friendly to reasonable improvements and . 'esthetic
influences , we should rejoice to note how narrow streets are widened , and foul alleys disappear , and wretched haunts of misery and disease are rooted out ; and how more light , more air , more cleanliness , and more health are attainable by those toiling masses of ours who crowd our streets and make up our annually increasing population .
* * * WE think the suggestion of a correspondent last week , that some of the Grand Stewards of the year should be from the Provinces , deserves consideration . There are , however , some difficulties in the way , to which we
will call attention next week . We believe that originally , whether under the Antients or Moderns we know not , there was a recognition of Provincial Stewards as Grand Stesvards ; but Bro . Gould can more clearly inform us on this point . We will allude to the subject again , as we said just now , next week .
* * IN French Freemasonry a notable change has taken place . Bro . ST . J has retired from the head of French Freemasonry , and Bro . BELAT has
Ar00102
been elected in his stead , though Bro . ST . J remains champion of the " Commission " of which Bro . BELAT is a member . This seems to be a funny proceeding . The convent rejected the proposed " concordat " between the Grand Orient and the Grand Lodge Symbolique . Bro . GRIMAUX , the editor of the Monde Maconnique , like ourselves , has always
pointed out the absurdity of the proposal . Wc do not augur much good from such a change for French Freemasonry . Bro . ST . J has always been of the moderate party ; has , in difficult times , shown great courage and dignity ; is an old and loyal Freemason , and has always manifested the greatest personal courtesy and friendship to Freemasons of other countries
and jurisdictions . We know nothing of Bro . BELAT , though , probably , he has Masonic antecedents , and he has evidently numerous friends . But , unfortunate ! )' , politics are so mixed up with French Freemasonry that it is difficult to know why , Masonically , much takes place . We are amused to note that the Monde Maconnique complains of the ] " noise and confusion at
the banquet , " and that a "brother from Alsace could not get a hearing . " What next ? Have not our prophesies been fulfilled ? Has not the course of the Grand Orient of France been downward ever since that fatal day that the ) ' broke with their old traditions , and severed themselves from cosmopolitan Freemasonry ?
WITH respect to a leaderette of ours a short time back , anent the GRAND SCRIBE of the Grand Chapter of Scotland , we hasten to say that by a little regrettable error , currency has been given to a mistaken statement that there is , or is likely to be , a vacancy in the office of G . S . E . Such is not the case .
V . W . Comp . EDWARDS has been duly appointed and invested , is G . S . of the Scottish Grand Chapter , and has no intention of resigning his important post . We are sorry if our announcement should have given the slightest annoyance to Comp . EDWARDS or his friends , and , therefore , call the attention of our readers to his explanation .
* * * THE annual police report suggests many thoughts and considerations . We all must be grateful for the protection afforded to our overgrown Metropolis by , perhaps , the most effective police force in the world ; and we must rejoice to bear our kindly and grateful testimony to the uniform civility and
carefulness of that well-disciplined body of men , which , a mere handful , numerically , manages , amid overpowering masses , to keep the QUEEN ' S peace and protect the lives and prosperity of almost countless peaceful citizens . In all great towns there is a mournful " residuum , " that " classe dangereuse , " that vitiated " proletariat , " which feeds on the garbage , and
forms the difficulty of crowded capitals . Thanks to the Metropolitan Police , crime is not on the increase , and , despite some few drawbacks , which will gradually disappear , London is probably now the safest , the healthiest , and the most comfortable home in the world . Still , amid all our skilled arrangements and police precautions , it is rather startling to find that a
certain number of persons disappear annually from society and their friends , of whom nothing more is known or even heard . What becomes of them ? Where do they go to ? These are questions which it is apparently impossible to answer . Mr . VINCENT , the energetic head of the Criminal Enquiry Department , —we believe , by the way , a brother of our Order , —gives us some
very interesting figures and facts as to the labours and success of the body under his special direction , and we trust before long that a well-trained and expert cohort of detective officers will still more decisively and effectually track out crime and criminals , and ensure the safety of persons and property in our densely-peopled metropolis . Absolute security we cannot reasonably
expect ; entire exemption from villany we cannot anticipate ; since the knave and the chevalier d'industrie must ply their vocation , though their wings be clipped ; and no great aggregation of human beings , as in London , can ever be divested of those greater and lesser criminals , male and female , who fill up the records of our police courts , and live on the plunder , and
destruction even sometimes , of their fellow creatures . Mr . VINCENT ends with a needful and seasonable warning against " special agents" of both sexes , and "inquiry offices . " He even echoes the words we have often taken the liberty to use in the Freemason . Many of that class being old police officers , carrying with them the tradition of the force , as money is potent ,
and " squaring efficacious , are not very particular often in the names they use and the means they adopt to compass their end , which may be reasonable or needful , but may be , let us remark the height of infamy , wickedness , cruelty , and illegality . It is undoubtedly the fact that many
special agents succeed , by apeing the manners , claiming the prestige , and using the technicalities of police work suggested by their own experience ; and Mr . VINCENT deserves the thanks of all who believe in law , and law alone , as the foundation of an Englishman's privileges , the guardian of his rights , and the aim and limit of all his proceedings and all his undertakings .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Contents.
CONTENTS .
LEADERS 5 U J The Revised Constitutions . —Ill 56 s Royal Masonic Institution for Boys 568 Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution 5 6 9 Laving the Foundation Stone of a Masonic Hall at Paisley 56 9
The Morgan Monument 509 Royal Arch S 9 CORRESPONDENCEThe Status of Past Masters S 70 Prefixes for Grand Officers J 70
Our Educational Institutions 570 Roval Masonic Institution for Girls—Proposed Alteration of Rules ? 7 t Masonic Amenities 571 How History is Written < 7 '
Reviews S 71 Masonic Notes and Queries 571 Provincial Grand Lodge of West Lancashire S 71
Provincial Grand Chapter of West Lancashire SI ' REPORTS OF MASONIC MEETINGSCraft Masonry 573 Instruction 576
The Theatres 577 Music 577 Science and Art 577 Masonic and General Tidings 578 Lodge Meetings for Next Week 579
Ar00101
IT is striking , and at tne same time affecting , often , to realize to what beneficent uses our great Charities arc put , and what melancholy cases of sickness , suffering , bereavement , poverty they help and meet . In the inscrutable wisdom of T . G . A . O . T . U . many are the afflictions of our common humanity , many the unforeseen visitations , the inexplicable trials to which
mortality is heir to here . Hardly a day passes over our heads , not a biennial election returns , but we are , and must be , impressed with the extent of human suffering and the need , value and blessing of our Masonic Charities . Thebread-winner struck down by some mysterious disease , in full activity ; the mourning widow and the bereaved children ; all these cases come before us
often in sad plenitude and succession , and they are such as seem necessarily to appeal to our Masonic sensibilities , to touch our memories and to melt our hearts . This week , as we are again approaching another election-period , we may be well reminded of the serious necessity and beneficial outcome of our great Educational Institutions ; and may the thoughts , thus realistic
and opportune , stir us all up to even still greater exertions on behalf of these great Charities of ours , which appeal so strongly to our personal feelings , evince so markedly the absolute need of their existence , attest so forcibly the sincerity of our Masonic professions , and illustrate so truly the genius , the mission of true Freemasonry in the world and amongst ourselves at this hour . * * *
LONDON , fifty years ago , as our contemporary , the City Press , tells us elsewhere , was a very different city to what the " little village " now appears to us . Its changes have been many and great ; its transformations striking and numerous . Indeed , some of the old loiterers by the " sweet shady shade of Pall Mall , " those who , like Dr . J OHNSON , liked to stroll
along Fleet-street , would hardly know now those once familiar spots . And what London will be fifty years hence who can tell or venture to predict ? Will the historical New Zealander stand and mourn in silence on Westminster Bridge ? or some good old Mason deplore in Great Queen-street the vanished glories of Freemasons' Hall ? In the present movement , —may we say mania ?
forimprovingeverything , it seems just possible that great changes may take place in and around Lincoln's Inn Fields , for instance ; and it might be wise in our rulers if they took " time by the forelock , " and looked out a little ahead for what is within the bounds of probability and possibility . There was an old nobleman who used to talk of the " blessed lights of London , "
and certainly , we think , that there is a good deal to be said for the Metropolis on the part of those who live under its shadow , and mingle in its civilization . That London is changing rapidly to " outward sight " is clear , even to each careless " flaneur " who passes on half-unhecdingly ; and , as Freemasons always arc friendly to reasonable improvements and . 'esthetic
influences , we should rejoice to note how narrow streets are widened , and foul alleys disappear , and wretched haunts of misery and disease are rooted out ; and how more light , more air , more cleanliness , and more health are attainable by those toiling masses of ours who crowd our streets and make up our annually increasing population .
* * * WE think the suggestion of a correspondent last week , that some of the Grand Stewards of the year should be from the Provinces , deserves consideration . There are , however , some difficulties in the way , to which we
will call attention next week . We believe that originally , whether under the Antients or Moderns we know not , there was a recognition of Provincial Stewards as Grand Stesvards ; but Bro . Gould can more clearly inform us on this point . We will allude to the subject again , as we said just now , next week .
* * IN French Freemasonry a notable change has taken place . Bro . ST . J has retired from the head of French Freemasonry , and Bro . BELAT has
Ar00102
been elected in his stead , though Bro . ST . J remains champion of the " Commission " of which Bro . BELAT is a member . This seems to be a funny proceeding . The convent rejected the proposed " concordat " between the Grand Orient and the Grand Lodge Symbolique . Bro . GRIMAUX , the editor of the Monde Maconnique , like ourselves , has always
pointed out the absurdity of the proposal . Wc do not augur much good from such a change for French Freemasonry . Bro . ST . J has always been of the moderate party ; has , in difficult times , shown great courage and dignity ; is an old and loyal Freemason , and has always manifested the greatest personal courtesy and friendship to Freemasons of other countries
and jurisdictions . We know nothing of Bro . BELAT , though , probably , he has Masonic antecedents , and he has evidently numerous friends . But , unfortunate ! )' , politics are so mixed up with French Freemasonry that it is difficult to know why , Masonically , much takes place . We are amused to note that the Monde Maconnique complains of the ] " noise and confusion at
the banquet , " and that a "brother from Alsace could not get a hearing . " What next ? Have not our prophesies been fulfilled ? Has not the course of the Grand Orient of France been downward ever since that fatal day that the ) ' broke with their old traditions , and severed themselves from cosmopolitan Freemasonry ?
WITH respect to a leaderette of ours a short time back , anent the GRAND SCRIBE of the Grand Chapter of Scotland , we hasten to say that by a little regrettable error , currency has been given to a mistaken statement that there is , or is likely to be , a vacancy in the office of G . S . E . Such is not the case .
V . W . Comp . EDWARDS has been duly appointed and invested , is G . S . of the Scottish Grand Chapter , and has no intention of resigning his important post . We are sorry if our announcement should have given the slightest annoyance to Comp . EDWARDS or his friends , and , therefore , call the attention of our readers to his explanation .
* * * THE annual police report suggests many thoughts and considerations . We all must be grateful for the protection afforded to our overgrown Metropolis by , perhaps , the most effective police force in the world ; and we must rejoice to bear our kindly and grateful testimony to the uniform civility and
carefulness of that well-disciplined body of men , which , a mere handful , numerically , manages , amid overpowering masses , to keep the QUEEN ' S peace and protect the lives and prosperity of almost countless peaceful citizens . In all great towns there is a mournful " residuum , " that " classe dangereuse , " that vitiated " proletariat , " which feeds on the garbage , and
forms the difficulty of crowded capitals . Thanks to the Metropolitan Police , crime is not on the increase , and , despite some few drawbacks , which will gradually disappear , London is probably now the safest , the healthiest , and the most comfortable home in the world . Still , amid all our skilled arrangements and police precautions , it is rather startling to find that a
certain number of persons disappear annually from society and their friends , of whom nothing more is known or even heard . What becomes of them ? Where do they go to ? These are questions which it is apparently impossible to answer . Mr . VINCENT , the energetic head of the Criminal Enquiry Department , —we believe , by the way , a brother of our Order , —gives us some
very interesting figures and facts as to the labours and success of the body under his special direction , and we trust before long that a well-trained and expert cohort of detective officers will still more decisively and effectually track out crime and criminals , and ensure the safety of persons and property in our densely-peopled metropolis . Absolute security we cannot reasonably
expect ; entire exemption from villany we cannot anticipate ; since the knave and the chevalier d'industrie must ply their vocation , though their wings be clipped ; and no great aggregation of human beings , as in London , can ever be divested of those greater and lesser criminals , male and female , who fill up the records of our police courts , and live on the plunder , and
destruction even sometimes , of their fellow creatures . Mr . VINCENT ends with a needful and seasonable warning against " special agents" of both sexes , and "inquiry offices . " He even echoes the words we have often taken the liberty to use in the Freemason . Many of that class being old police officers , carrying with them the tradition of the force , as money is potent ,
and " squaring efficacious , are not very particular often in the names they use and the means they adopt to compass their end , which may be reasonable or needful , but may be , let us remark the height of infamy , wickedness , cruelty , and illegality . It is undoubtedly the fact that many
special agents succeed , by apeing the manners , claiming the prestige , and using the technicalities of police work suggested by their own experience ; and Mr . VINCENT deserves the thanks of all who believe in law , and law alone , as the foundation of an Englishman's privileges , the guardian of his rights , and the aim and limit of all his proceedings and all his undertakings .