Australia.

gathering of the Craft from all parts of the colonies . Bro . Sir William Clarke , Bart ., the present District and Prov . Grand Master of the three British Constitutions , was to be asked to accept the position of Grand Master of the new body . lhe following is a copy of the basis of union under which the Masonic bodies at present existing under the

English , Irish , Scottish , and Victorian Constitutions have agreed to unite and form one Grand Lodge , to be called the United Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Victoria : — i . That the Masters , Past Masters , and Wardens of lodges , under the existing four Constitutions , viz ., English , Irish , Scottish , and Victorian , meet mutually ( by

summons ) , and form themselves into a Grand Lodge , to be called "The United Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Victoria . " 2 . That Sir W . J . Clarke ( if willing ) be elected first Grand Master . 3 . That the United Grand Lodge adopt lhe Book of Constitutions and mode of procedure of the Grand Lodge

of England , so far as the same may be applicable , until otherwise decided . 4 . That the lodges under the "United Grand Lodge " ( when formed ) shall be registered , and rank in precedence according to the dates of the warrants they at present hold under their respective Constitutions ; and where two lodges shall have adopted the same name , the older lodge shall

have the right to retain the name . 5 . That the United Executive shall be appointed a Committee to nominate to the M . W . Grand Master the first Grand Lodge Officers to be appointed , same to be confirmed by Grand Lodge . The question of election or appointment of Grand Lodge Officers shall be submitted to the votes of all lodges in Victoria within six months after

formation of the United Grand Lodge . 6 . That whatever rank any brother at present holds , or has held , under any ot the four Constitutions shall be confirmed , and that relative Past Grand Rank be conferred on all Grand , Provincial , or District Grand Lodge Officer , Present and Past . 7 . That the M . W . Grand Master shall , at the time of

appointing his first officers , have the privilege of conferring Past Grand Rank on brethren in acknowledgment of past services rendered to the Craft . 8 . That the officers of private lodges may either be appointed by the VV . Master or elected by the members , as their by-laws may direct , until otherwise decided . The United Executive Committee met on the evening

succeeding the foregoing proceedings , when the draft of the Articles of Union was submitted , and appioved as amended . The Executive Committee was appointed a Committee of the whole to make the necessary arrangements for the inaugural ceremonies , as aho the installation of the M . W . Grand Master , which it was decided should take place on the day following his election , in the Town

Hall , Melbourne . lt was also agreed to invite Lord Carrington , M . W . Grand Master of New South Wales , and Mr . Justice Way , M . W . Grand Master of South Australia , to perform the ceremony of installation . The following is the draft copy of the "Articles of Union " : - Articles of Union of the United Grand Lodge of Ancient

Free and Accepted Masons of Victoria : Freemasonry was first established in this Colony in the year 1839 , by the Lodge of Australia Felix , No . 697 ( now 474 ) , English Constitution , under dispensation . It was followed in 1843 by the Australasian Kilwinning Lodge , No . 339 , under the Scottish Constitution ; and in 1 S 47 , the Australia Felix Lodge of Hiram , No . 349 , vvas opened

under the Irish Constitution . The Provincial ( now District ) Grand Lodge of Scotland was opened in the year 1 S 47 , and has now working under its jurisdiction 13 lodges . The Provincial ( now Distiict ) Grand Lodge of England vvas opened in the year 18 57 , and has now 102 lodges working . The Provincial Grand Lodge of Ireland was opened in 1856 , land has now 16

lodges working ; and in the year 1 SS 3 , the Grand Lodge of Victoria was established , and has now working under its jurisdiction iS lodges . lt is expedient , in the best interests of Freemasonry , and for the better ordering of the Craft in this Colony , that there should be full , perfect , and perpetual union , and uniformity of obligation and discipline among the members

thereof , at present divided into , and working under , the above four separate and distinct Constitutions , so that in all time to come they shall fo-m and constitute but one Brotherhood , and be represented in one Grand Lodge . In conformity vvith the Basis of Union adopted and confirmed by the representatives of the said four Constitutions , IT IS HEREBY AGREED :

Article 1 . 1 hat the Masters , Past Masters , and Wardens of lodges , under the above Constitutions , having been summoned , attend a meeting on the nth day December next , at the Freemasons' Hall , Collins-street , Melbourne , and form themselves into a Grand Lodge , to be styled "THE UNITED GRAND LODGE OF ANCIENT FREE AND ACCEPTED MASONS OF VICTORIA , " and

proceed ( hen and there to elect some distinguished brother to be the Grand Master of the said United Grand Lodge . Article 2 . That the United Grand Lodge adopt the Book of Constitutions and Mode of Procedure of the Grand Lodge of England as far as the same may be applicable , until otherwise decided . Article 3 . That the lodges shall be registered and rank

in precedence according to the dates of the warrants they at present hold under their respective Constitutions ; and where two lodges have adopted the same name , the older lodge shall have the right to retain the name . Article 4 . lhat whatever rank any brother at present holds or has held under any of the four Constitutions shall be confirmed ; and that relative Past Grand Rank be

conferred on all Grand , District , or Provincial Grand Lodge Officers , Present or Past , provided lhat they had been subscribing members of some lodge in Victoria , vvhich shall have given in its adhesion to the United Grand Lodge of Victoria . Articles . That warrants under the Seal of the United Grand Lodge of Victoria be issued for those lodges that

within MX months have declared their allegiance to the said United Grand Lodge . [ For the foregoing w eare indebted to Bro . W . F . Lamonby , who , it will be noticed by th .- dates , lost little time in dispatching the particulars by the very first mail , which lelt Melbourne the very day after the latter proceedings . —Ed . Freemason . }

Christmas Railway Arrangements.

CHRISTMAS RAILWAY ARRANGEMENTS .

THE LONDON AND NORTH WESTERN RAILWAY COMPANY . The London and North Western Company announce that the ticket offices at Euston , Broad-street , Kensington , and Willesden Junction will be open throughout the day

from Monday , December 17 th , to Monday , December 24 th , inclusive , so that passengers wishing to obtain tickets for any destination on the London and North Western Railway can do so at any time of the day prior to the starting of the trains . The tickets will be dated to suit the convenience of passengers . Tickets for all the principal stations on the London and North Western system and its connections

can be obtained at any time—Sundays and bank holidays excepted—at the following Town Receiving Offices of the Company : 15 , Queen-street , E . G . ; Spread Eagle , 3 , Whittington Avenue , Leadenhall Market , E . C ; Svvanwith-Two-Necks , Gresham-street , E . C ; 13 , Eastcheap ; Cross Keys , Wood-street , Cheapside , E . C . ; 22 , Aldersgate-street , E . C . ; 65 , Aldgate , E . ; 30 , West Smithfield ,

E . G . ; 8 and 9 , Clerkenwell Green , E . G . ; Bolt-m-Tun , 64 , Fleet-street , E . C ; 116 , Holborn , E . C ; George and Blue Boar , 285 , High Holborn , VV . C ; 43 , New Oxford-street , W . C ; Universal Office , Spread Eagle , Piccadilly Circus , W . j Golden Cross , Charing Cross , W . C . j Hotel Windsor ( late Army arid Navy Hotel ) , Victoriastreet , S . W . j 231 , Edgware-road , W . j Atlas Office ,

167 , Tottenham Court-road , W . C . j 70 , St . Martin ' slane , W . C . j Lion , 10 S , New Bond-slreet , VV . j 49 6 , Oxford-street , W . j Griffin ' s , Green Man and Still , 241 , Oxford-street , W . ; 33 , Hereford-road , Bayswater , VV . ; Knightsbridge , 34 , Albert Gate , S . W . ; Kensington , 33 , High-street , W . ; 117 , Borough , S . E . ; 233 and 234 , Blackfriars - road , S . E . ; Surrey Railway Office , 13 S ,

Newington Causeway , S . E . ; 194 , Westminster Bridgeroad , S . E . ; Islington , " Angel , " 5 , Pentonville-road , N . ; and at Gaze and Son ' s Offices , 142 , Strand , VV . C A special train for the conveyance of horses and carriages will be run from Euston at 12 . 20 noon each day from December 17 th to 22 nd inclusive . Horses and carriages for Bletchley , Northampton , Rugby , Stafford , Shrewsbury , Crewe , and

the North will be conveyed by this train instead of by the r . 15 p . m . from Euston . On Saturday , December 22 nd , a special express vvill leave Euston Station at 2 . 50 p . m . for Bletchley , Northampton , Rugby , Trent Valley , and Stafford , at 4 . 20 p . m . for Rugby , Coventry , and Birmingham , and at 6 . 50 p . m . for Rugby . On Christmas Eve the night Irish mail , due to leave Euston at 8 . 20 p . m ., will not

leave until 9 . 15 p . m . Passengers from Birmingham , Liverpool , and Manchester for Holyhead and Ireland will leave at the usual hours , and vvill be taken forward to Holyhead in advance of the London train . The mail packet for Kingstown will not leave Holyhead until the passengers from London are on board . The 12 . 0 night train from London ( Euston ) , due at Warrington at

5 . 15 a . m . on Chiistmas Day , will be extended from Warrington to Carlisle , Edinburgh , and Glasgow . The train will call at Wi ^ jan at 5 . 3 6 a . m ., Preston at 6 . 2 a . m ., Lancaster at 6 33 a . m ., Carnforth at 6 . 45 a . m ., Windermere at 7 . 55 a . m ., Oxenholme at 7 . 12 a . m ., Tebay at 7 . 43 a . m ., Penrith at 8 . 18 a . m ., and reach Carlisle at S . 45 a-m . On Christmas Day the usual Sunday service of trains will be

run , wilh the following additions : —Ihe 5 . 15 a . m . Newspaper Express Train from London will run to Northampton , Birmingham , Stafford , Shrewsbury , Liverpool , Manchester , Warrington , Wigan , Preston , Lancaster , Carnforth , Kendal , Windermere , Penrith , Carlisle , Edinburgh , and Glasgow , but will have no connection to Chester and North Walts . The 7 . 15 a . m . Down Day Irish Mail from Eustcn to Holyhead , and the 11 . 30 a . m . Up Day Irish Mail from

Holyhead to Euston , will be run on Christmas Day the same as on week-days , and will also call at Bangor , the Down Mail at 12 . 45 ?•" ** •>and the Up Mail at 12 . 3 noon . On Bank Holiday , Wednesday , December 26 th , the express trains to and Irom the City , St . Albans , Watford , aud Kensington will not run . Numerous residential trains in the neighbourhood of important cities and towns will not be run on Bank Holiday .

GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY COMPANY . The Great Western Railway Company have , as on previous occasions , made liberal arrangements for the convenience of their Christmas passengers . Following their usual custom , they have arranged to issue tickets at no less than 11 of their Ci : y and West-end offices in the Metropolis , viz .: —193 and 407 , Oxford-street ,

23 , New Oxford street , Holborn Lircus , 29 , Charing Cross , 5 , Arthur-street , London Bridge , 82 , Queen Victoria-street , 43 and 44 , Crutched Friars , 26 , Recent-street , 67 , Gresham-street , and 4 , Cheapside ; at either of which places tickets can be obtained on and after Tuesday , December iSth . The issue of tickets at these offices cannot fail to be a boon to those travellers who desire to avoid the

trouble of obtaining a ticket at a crowded railway station . The booking office at the Paddington Station will also be open for the issue of tickets each day during the week preceding Christmas day . Ordinary tickets obtained in Loi . don between December iSth and 24 th will be available for use on any day between ( and including ) those days . Cheap tickets at reduced fares vvill be issued from

London to the Yeovil and Weymouth districts , and to stations in the West of England ; similar tickets vvill also be issued from those districts to London . In order to meet the extraordinary demand upon the company ' s resources , occasioned by the enormous parcels traffic despatched both from and to London at Christmas time , special fast trains carrying parcels only , and calling

at lhe principal intermediate stations , will run between London and Plymouth , Birkenhead , Worcester , and New Milfoid . On Saturday , December 22 nd , the 6 20 p . m . Fast train from Paddington , usually running to Bristol only , will run to Extter ; and on Saturday , December 22 nd , and Monday , December 24 th , the 1 . 0 and 5 . 0 p . m . Fast trains ( 1 , 2 , and

3 class ) , from Paddington to Plymouth will be extended to Falmouth and Penzance ; a special Fast tiain to the VVest of England going through to Penzance , will leave Paddington at 12 o ' clock midnight on December 22 nd and 24 th , and carry third class passengers at reduced fares . On Monday , December 24 th , special trains vvill leave Padington at 9 . 45 and 10 . 0 p . m . for Penzance and New Milford ,

Christmas Railway Arrangements.

calling at the same stations as the 9 . 0 and 9 . 15 p . m . ordinary trains . On the Christmas day the usual Sunday service of trains will be run , but for the convenience of persons who are unable to leave town before the morning of Christmas day , the 5 . 30 a . m . train will run as on week days to Oxford , Bristol , Weston-Super-Maie , and Swansea .

South Africa.

South Africa .

MARK MASONRY . DURBAN . —Port Natal Lodge ( No . 288 ) . —The annual installation meeting of this lodge was held on September 30 th las * , in the Masonic Hall , Smith-street , Bro . Julius Schulz , M . D ., in the chair , and vvas numerously attended , the Prov . Grand Master and officers having been announced to visit the lodge . There were present Bros . R . I . Finnemore , P . G . M . ; T . Cook , Deputy P . G . M . ;

W . F . Stanton , P . S . G . O . ; J . Crowe , P . J . G . O . ; H . W . Hampton , P . G . Sec . ; H . Rutherford , P . G . Treas . ; G . Leask , P . S . G . D . ; } . Fletcher , P . G . Inspector of Works ; T . L . B . Tuckett , P . G . D . of C . j G . Pullock , P . G . Org . j C . H . Dunn , P . G . l . G . ; T . H . Upton , T . W . Bower , A . Elstob , St . Clair Liston , Hammond , H . O . Sahlstrom , and others .

After the ordinary routine business of confirmation of minutes , reading of correspondence , ballot for and advancement of approved candidate , & c , Bro . T . Cook took the chair , and , as Installing Master , installed Bro . J . Crowe , as W . M . for the ensuing year , who appointed his officers as follows ; Bros . Dr . Schulz , I . P . M . ; G . Leask , S . W . ; T . L . B . Tuckett , J . VV . ; H . Rutherford , Treas . ; T . W .

Bower , Sec . ; St . Clair Liston , M . O . ; Hammond , S . O . ; A . Elstob , J . O . ; T . Cook , S . D . ; J . H . Upton , J . D . j G . Pullock , Org . ; H . O . Sahlstrom , I . G . j and J . P . Carter , Tyler . A lodge of Royal Ark Mariners was then opened , and Bro . J . Crowe installed as Commander , vvith the following

officers for the ensuing year : Bros . G . Leask , S . W . ; T . L . B . Tuckett , J . W . j H . Rutherford , Treas . ; T . W . Bovver , Scribej T . Cook , S . D . j J . H . Upton , J . D . j and G . Pullock , Org . The brethren afterwards assembled at the banquet table , when the customasy loyal and Masonic toasts were heartily given and received .

Births, Marriages, And Deaths.

Births , Marriages , and Deaths .

BIRTHS . BARBOUR . —On the 7 th inst ., at Bolesworth Castle , Cheshire , the wife of George Barbour , of a daughter . CLIVE . —On the Sth inst ., at Taganrog , the wife of Edward Clive , Esq ., of a son . GUNSTON . — On the 7 th inst ., at Lindisfarne , Ellison-road , Streatham Common , Surrey , the wife of Arthur Percy Gunston , of a son .

MARRIAGES . DONKIN—PALMER . —On the Sth inst ., at St . George's , Hanover-squre , Dr . Donkin , of 108 , Harley-street , eldest son of Bryan Donkin , Esq ., of Blackheath , to Auguste Margarethe , widow of Professor E . H . Palmer , of Cambridge .

GREEVES—WHITE . —On the 5 th inst ., At St . Mary's Church , Stoke Newington , N ., Arthur Owen Greeves , of Great Yarmouth , to Kate , eldest daughter of Alexander Dow White , of Green-lanes , N .

DEATHS . BOYLE—On the 6 th inst ., at Newquay , Cornwall , Bro . Thomas Boyle , Surgeon , aged 54 years . GUMMING . —On the 7 th inst ., at Alabama House , Brixton , Isabel A ., the wife of Bro . John B . Gumming , P . M .,

Ireas . Anglo-American Lodge , No . 2101 , and daughter of the late Rev . John S . Ebaugh , " of New York . American Masonic papers please copy . LEITH . —On the ioth inst ., at Heidelberg , Edward Tyrrell Leith , of Bombay , Barrister-at-Law , aged 4 6 .

PUGH—On the gth inst ., at Toronto , Canada , William Carrington Pugh , only son of Emma and the late William Pugh , Esq ., of Croydon , aged 39 .

We are able to confirm our preliminary notice regarding the new drama by Bro . H . Pettitt , which is nightly drawing crowds to the Princess ' s . " Hands Across the Sea " beats all the dramas vvhich have lately been played there . VVe are of opinion that it is the best play of that kind since the days of "lhe Silver King" at this theatre . The plot , though not in the least intricateis too

, lengthy for our columns just now . It is well worked out , and for the most part is quite probable j but we would suggest an alteration in the prison scene , where Bro . Henry Neville is made to escape from his cell by knocking down at least half-a-dozen stalwart warders . The distinguished actor gets a great cheer trom the gallery boys at the expense of common sense . Miss Mary Rorke charmingly

plays the heroine . Bro . H . Morell , as a " " Chicago pig sticker , " is betier than we have ever seen him . Mr . R . W . Garden and Miss Webster play the comedy parts , and cause much laughter by their smart lines . Mr . Pateman well deserves his cheers for his portrayal of the part of a French gambler . His death scene sends a thrill through the house , which no one will easily forget . Miss Ina Barnard , who , vve understand , is a young lady of

large means , and who is the principal , if not the sole , financier of the drama , has modestly contented herself with a very small part . As she has not yet learnt the art of using her voice , or of acting , she shows much wisdom in not obtruding herself . When ladies have a large stake in a play , they usually cast themselves for the best part , disregarding their unfitness , and then wonder why they are

not as well received as those who can act . They often live in a fool ' s paradise , for few have the courage to tell a lady she cannot act if she thinks she can . " Hands Across the Sea" ought to have along run at this home of the real drama , lt has a healthy vein of sentiment running through it . Its story is well worked out , and interests all classes and ages .