Contents.

CONTENTS .

R ( P 0 RTS OK MASONIC MEETINGS :-Craft Masonry ^> ;*« S S I-o . lSe Oxfordshire - * 4 = P "" S ; Grand Lodijc of Lincolnshire 24 = provincial ( . jam' 1 , Yorkshire = 4 » '" ' da Grand Chapter of West Yorkshire = 4 =

„ nn Masonic Benevolent Institution = 43 r ? 0 v Masonic Institution for Boys = 43 M ^ o iicand General Tidings . = 43 n heLa ^ t Oi . arterly Common cation = 44 ?• . masim * ** Before the Law Courts = 44 A" ! Ev ' c ' hant-es wrong in Charity Voting = 4 + A Recent Incident in Pans = 45 A Wine Menu ! V - - * 1 * Freemasons Before thc Law Courts * i = 4 j r , aR £ M'ONnENCE — Exchanges Wrong ? = 45

Arc CuitaVleil Reports = 4 <> The Enemies of the Order = 4 6 An Impostor = 40 Masons' Marks , Runic Signs and Letters = 4 6 ¦ Misuse of Masonic Emblems = 47 S ^ Meet i ^ * H ** Advertisements 24 S , 1 . 11 . 111 .-v . v . vi .

Reports Of Masonic Meetings.

REPORTS OF MASONIC MEETINGS .

toft Iltosjmr ^

LODGE OF AMITY ( No . 17 : ) . —The installation meeting of this lodge was held on Tuesday , the 5 th inst ., at the Ship Hotel , Greenwich , liro . Chailes Perry Whiteley , W . M ., in the chair . There were also present Bros . J . H . ' Batlv , who acted as S . W . in the absence of Bro . PaitrioVe ; j . W . Clever , J . W . ; C . Harcourt , Treas . ; Joseph Clever , Sec . ; J . H . Batty , S . D . j " VV . H . Bateman , J . D . ;

E . Phillips , I-G . Among the members present were Bros . Dawson , E . D . Maddick , J . D . Birch , Leslie , Straiih , Austin , and Mardon ; and among the visitors Bros . J . W . Smith , W . M . No . 14 , Tuscan ' Lodge ; W . P . Willson , Hertford , 40 . -,-, S . L . Joyce , late No . 715 ; S . D . Birch , l-jfi ;; 11 . Massey ( Fretmason ) . After thc confirmation nf the minutes of the last meeting , tbe ballot \ v » s

talcn fir Mr . Grantham Robert Dorti ' , solicitor , and Mr . Fiederick Charles Dution Fenn , civil engineer , anil having been declared in Iheir favour , Messrs . Dodd and 1-enn were admitted and initiated in due form into tlie mysteries of the First Degree , after which Bro . Frederick Groombridge Dawson was passed to

the Second Degree , both ceremonies being peifoimcd in a very able manner by the W . M . The ordinary business of the evening being now concluded , the Secretary , Bro . Clever , assumed the chair , and the W . M ., Bro . Whiteley , presented to him Bro . Joseph Henry Batty , the W . M . elect , to receive at his hands the benefit of installation , and he

having been obligated , was afterwards presented to a Board of Installing Masters , and duly installed into the chair of K . S . Tlie brethren were afterwards re-admitted , and paid the usual honours to the newly-installed W . M . The ceremony was very ably performed by Bro . Clever , whose delivery of the orations appropriate to the occasion were delivered in a most thoughtful , feeling , and

impresshe manner . The officers appointed for the ensuing year arc Bros . Clever , jun ., S . W . ; Bateman , J . W . ; Harcourt , Treas . ; Clever , sen ., Sec . ; Phillips , S . D . ; Mardon , J . D . ; Leslie , I . G . ; Smith , Tyler . On the last-named I eing summoned and re-invested , he returned thanks for the honour conferred on him for the twentieth time , and took advantage of the occasion to thank the members of the lodge for

the great assistance they had rendered bim in securing his election as an annuitant upon the funds of the Institution for Aged Freemasons . Bro . Green , P . M ., said : I have very great pleasure , W . M . and brethren , in proposing that a Past Master ' s jewel be presented to Bro . Whiteley for Ws services as W . M . during the past year . I had the pleasure of instilling Bro . Whiteley , and it is a pleasure

to me , as I am sure it must be to all of you , in reviewing the work of the year to note the suc-ess with which Bro . Whiteley has performed the duties of his oflice , and the Prosperous condition in which lie lias left thc lodge ; and Ilhenfore move that a Past Master ' s jewel be presented to Bro . "Whittley , with the greatest confidence as to the manner in which the motion will be received . Tlie motion

"aving been seconded by Bro . Clever , Secretary , was put and carried nem . con . Thc W . M . said -. Bro . Whiteley , I have great pleasure in thinking lhat one of the first acts of mine , as Master of this lodge , is to present you with this jewel , and I onl y hope that at the end of my year of office the brethren may deem me worthy of such commendation as they have given you , and that I may deserve it as

much as you do . Bro . Whiteley having returned thanks , 'he report of the Audit Committee was presented , received , and ordered to bc entered on the minutes . An application •or relief from Bro . Outridge , formerly of Australia , and of St . John ' s Lodge , Alexandria , was read by the Treas ., an < l a sum of £ 2 was voted to his immediate relief , and it was agreed that before any further assistance was

ren"ercu inquiries should bc made by Bros . Harcourt and Cooper . The lodge was then closed , and the brethren adjourned to banquet , which was served in a style worthy of , e S , 1 'P Hotel . After the usual loyal and Masonic toasts lad been proposed and duly honoured , Bro . P . M . White' <*) " rose and said : Brethren , there is yet a little duty devolves

upon me as a sequel to my year of office ; it is that "' Proposing the health of our W . M ., Bro . Batty . Bro . a 'ty has been installed into the chair this evening , and , ¦ " tar , he has given every promise of a successful year ol ' nee . His subordinates , I think , may all congratulate eniselv es on the prospects of the year before them . He worked hard , and has made himself a most efficient

Reports Of Masonic Meetings.

Master , and I have no doubt he will do the great things we all expect of him . The W . M .: Brother Wardens and brethren , all I can say in reference to the hearty way in which my health was put in the toast just now , is that I hope it may come to pass . As I told you before , I intend to make the lodge , in my year of office , a thorough working lodge , but you must remember that it does not

depend upon the Master alone . If the Master is not supported it is utterly impossible you can carry on the work of a lodge in the way that it should be carried on . We have every prospect that , during my year of office , there will he a great deal more work than heretofore , and it will be to our disgrace if we do not show that we can do the work . 1 have been in a great many country lodges , and

have seen the work anything rather than what it . should be , but I must say that in the Great Hertford Lodge , where I was some time ago , I saw such a wonderful example of good working that they quite took th- ** : conceit out of me as a London Mason . I trust , that , though not very large in numbers , the Amity will become a great working lodge , but it depends upon the

officers ; and I therefore trust that the officers will come and work with me in will and deed , more especially as they knew it to bc my fixed intention to do my duty . Thc " Health of Tht : Initiates " was then proposed by the Master and responded to , and acknowledged bv Bros . Dodd and Fenn . The other toasts " The Visitors , " " The Past Masters , " " The Officers , " " ' rospeiity to the Amity

Lodge , " were also duly pioposcd and honoured by the brethren present ; the " Tyler's " te ast , as usual , closing the proceedings . During the evening , the pauses between the speeches were enlivened by some excellent songs and instrumental music hy members of the lodge , the musical

arrangements being under the direction of Bro . Leslie , the songs being all pre-arranged in a printed programme . The musical arrangements were most successfully carried out , and Bro . Leslie certainly deserved the thanks accorded to him in an extra toast which was proposed by the W . M .

CRYSTAL PALACE LODGE ( No . 742 ) . —The installation meeting of this lod-. rc was held on Thursday wak , at the Star aiid Gaiter , Kew Bridge , Bro . Thomas Elsey , W . M ., presiding . The other brethren present were Bros . Chas . D . Hume , S . W . ; Robert Roberts , J . W . ; T . Foxall , Treas . ; W . Land , Sec . ; H . Speedy , S . D . ; Past Masters W . M . Baxter , S . P . Acton , H . Cox , G . Palmer ,

W . Watson , and II . T . Thompson j and Bros . G . Weeks , B . Blunsum , Ed . Ayies , J . W . Lassam , Seymour Smith , Freilk . Eyre , Fred . Speedy , H . Hagtlman , H . J . Rulfe , Dick E . Radcliffe , and G . Cole ; and visitors , Bros . G . Cole , Dixon , P . M . 209 , P . P . G . D . C . Berks and Bucks ; J . D . Carter , P . M ., 209 , P . G . D . C . Berks and Bucks ; J , Wilson , P . M . 2 co , P . P . G . J . D . Berks and Bucks ; John

Maclean , 1319 ( Gaiety Theatre ); John S . Tolley . P . M . 771 ; E . T . Hentnan , 142 J ; H . Casselton , 95-, E . W . Mackney , P . M . 134 ; and II . Massey , P . M . 619 ( Freemason ) . The W . M . passed Bra . Ayres to the Second Degree , after which Bro . Foxall , Treas ., assisted by Bro . C . D . Hume , W . M . 209 , installed Bvo . R . Roberts as W . M . The brethren appointed tn office were Bros . C . D ,

Hume , S . W . ; H . Speedy , J . W . ; Thomas Foxall , Treas ; II . Land , Sec . ; Blundell , S . D . ; Hadwick , J . D . ; Eyre , I . G . ; Seymour Smith , Org . ; W . J . Lassam , W . S . ; and T . Woodstock , Tyler . The newly installed W . M . initiated Messrs . Rolfe and George Cole . The report of the lodge was received , from which the following satisfactory state of affairs was gathered . Cash received during the year ,

£ 125 2 s . Od . ; lodge expenses , £ 110 ios . fid . ; donations made during the \ ear , £ 60 15 s . od . ; balance in hands of the Treasurer , £ 28 14 s . » d . Benevolent Fund account : Boys'School , £ 13 15 s . od . ; Benevolent Institution , £ 40 ; donation to a brother , £ 3 . Five guineas was voted to bc placed on Bro . Baxter ' s list as Steward for the next festival of thc Royal Masonic Institution for Boys . Bro . W . Watson

thanked the brethren for their votes , and announced his election at the last annual meeting of the Benevolent Institution . Lodge was then closed , and thc brethren adjourned to a choice banquet , provided by the proprietor of the Star and Garter ; alter partaking of which they honoured the usual toasts . As time was running very short , the brethren wishing to get back to town by an early

tram , there were no formal speeches . The opening toast of " The Queen and the Craft" was introduced by the W . M ., with an apology for being given shortly on account of the flight of time , but with the assurance that , though briefly given , the heartiness of its reception would bc none the less . "The Health of the M . W . G . M . " was even shorter , and that of " The Pro G . M ., the D . G . M ., and the

Grand Officii rs ' * was thc first that led to any remark , and this remark was that it must be a source of great gratification to all Masons to see three princes of the Blood Royal in the three piincipal chairs of Grand Lodge . " The Initiates " was then given , and the W . M . having informed them of the pleasure lodges always felt in introducing good and worthy men into the Order , told them that

though the brethren liked to see one at every meeting , three or four would please them better . Bro . Cole responded , hoping he should never see any cause to regret his introduction into this time-honoured Craft . In proposing the toast of " The Visitors , " the W . M . said it was not often he was fortunate enough to see all those to whom he sent invitations present ( which

was genera'ly the case with other brethren of the lodge as well ) , still he had much pleasure in having his invitation availed of by those who did accept it . Bro . George Dixon , P . M . 209 , in the course of his reply said he had been associated with thc W . M . and S . W . in another lodge , and

both of these brethren were in this peculiar position , that the W . M . of this lodge was S . W . of the other lodge , while the S . W . of this lodge was the W . M . of the other lodge . It was with great pleasure the visitors saw the W . M . installed in the chair of the Crystal Palace Lodge . He was much beloved in the Etonian Lodge , and never

Reports Of Masonic Meetings.

went there without being met with the smiles of all the brethren . The brethren of that lodge would only he too pleased when they could see him installed as their Master . Bro . John Maclean , 1319 ( Gaiety Theatre ) , also replied , and said he was spmewhat unfortunately placed , for while he frequently had invitations to lodges it was seldom he could avail himself of them . It was his misfortune , not

his fault . But when on a few occasiops he was able to accept an invitation he had thoroughly enjoyed himself , as he had that evening , for he had always found himself well entertained and most heartily welcomed . Bro . Charles Elsey , the P . M ., proposed " The Health of the W . M . " The brethren were most delighted at having placed in the chair so good a W . M . Ever since he had been in office

in the lodge he had done his duty , and now that he was W . M . the dignity of the lodge would be quite safe in his hands . The W . M . responded . He felt that he hardly deserved the compliments which had been bestowed on him by the W . M ., but he sincerely trusted that by his conduct of the business of the lodge he would give entire satisfaction to the brethren . He then proposed the toast

of "The Past Masters , " and to save time included the names of the Treasurer and Secre ' ary . Without the assistance of the P . M . ' s the duties of W . M . would be veiy onerous and difficult . He had been in the Crystal Palace : Lodge long enough to know lhat every W . M . was indebted greatly to the P . M . ' s , who brought their cxperiei . ee to btar on the conduct of the business of the lodge . Those

brethren who had been in the lodge some time would be able to add thcit testimony to his of the importance < . f the P . M . ' s assistance in the working of the lodge . Br *) . G , Palmer , on behalf of himself and the other P . M . ' s , thanked the W . M ., but thought that while there were so many grind singers present it would be a pity , as lime was short , that speeches should take the place of the admirable harmony

which the brethren were so ready to give . The W . M . next gave "The Health of the Officers cf the Lodge , " thanking th . m for the aid they were .-ilways ready to gilt , and congratulating them on their having obtained the distinctions which had been confirm ! on thim . The S . W . ( Bro . C . D . 1 lurne ) replied , and " The Tyler ' s Toast " brought the cveninrr , which had bci . n enlivened with som-:

excellent singing by Bros . Pcymour Smith , K . VV . Mackney , John Maclean , and other I rcthren , to a close . The meeting was a most agreeable one , and the business was conducted with an order , calmness , and regularity which rendered the enjoyment of the brethren complete . THE ECLECTIC LODGE ( No . 1201 ) . —The " Feast of reason and tlie flow of soul" is a quotation

which may in part introduce a report of the proceedings at the last meeting of this lodge , held on the 8 th inst ., at Freemasons' Hall , and serve to indicate the high character of its work . The quotation can give no txaggtrated idea of the intellectual feast in the lodge , from the very perfect manner in which each performed his task , or of the pleasantness of the after lodge meeting . We can

heartily congratulate the W . M ., our Bro . E . J . Harty , that the heavy and responsible duty of preparing the grand Masonic picture has not in the slightest interfered with his perfect knowledge of the ceremonies , and his knowledge , memory , and strength were alike put to the test on this occasion , for our brother had to work the three ceremonies , and one of these was performed in part four

times over . " Like master like raen " is an old proverb , and its general truth ( for we know some instances , in Masonic lodges , too , which show that it is not universally applicable ) , was evidenced in the officers of thej Eclectic proving themselves to be " eclectics " truly in working . They might , some of them , be termed " perfect to a fault , " seeing that in one respect the candidates were

prompted to an answer which ought to be the unprompted response of every fit candidate for our mysteries . There is no necessity to indicate the point we touch upon—those who know the ceremonies and the laws of the Order will see our meaning at once , and those who do not have yet to learn both . One broad hint we may give to all who have to discharge the office of Deacon , and that is to read

the first of the " Antient Charges of a Freemason " given in the Book of Constitutions , and they will at once see the point on which there should be no prompting—a point of great and of growing importance . Bro . Taylor was in the S . W . chair , Bro . Saul in that of the J . W ., Bro . Watts gracefully occupied the pleasant position , when the W . M . knows his work , of I . P . M ., Bro . P . M . Higgs as Organist ,

Bro . W . H . Barber was at his laborious and responsible post as Secretary , Bro . Lee as S . D ., Bro . Dobbingas J . D ., and Bro . Moss as I . G . There was a great array of visitors , most of whose names we shall mention presently . The lodge being raised to the Second Degree , the W . M . proved two brethren in their then positions as Apprentices , and finding that they were not wanting gave them the

benefit of a step . Four gentlemen , one the son of a Mason , Mr . Everett , son of the Senior Warden to the Worshipful Company of Coopers , Mr . Manchester , the Rev . James Browne Dixon , LL . D ., and Mr . P . Caralambar Bavers , a Greek gentleman in business in London , were severally initiated . The first named , being the son of a Mason received the benefit of his father ' s position by being initiated

first , and the task of the W . M . and officers was rendered an arduous one from the candidate being very hard of hearing . There was in the minds of some a fear that the ceremony could not be proceeded with in this case for this reason , but the great capabilities of the W . M . surmounted all difficulties , and the young man was rescued from the path of the profane . They were of course excluded while

their brother of a higher degree was still further taught , by undergoing the mysteries necessary before one can attain to the three rosettes—a ceremony which was most touchingly rendered , and with a religious force which added greatly to tbe effect . The organ accompaniment of Bro . Higgs , most appropriate throughout , was especially exquisite at certain points , as the solemn chords of gloom and doubt gave way to the sweet cadences txpressive of