Contents.

CONTENTS .

LEADERS- ^ GE The Masonic Vagrant Again ... ... ... — — 453 The " Spurious and Clandestine" Mark Lodge ... ... 453

"The Craft and Greater Britain " ... ... ... ••• 454 Provincial Grand Lodge of Cnmberland and Westmorland .-- ... 455 Consecration of the Ambleside Lodge , No . 2745 ... ... — 455 M ASONIC NOTESCambrian Lodge , No . 65 6 ( E . C . ) New South Wales ... ... ... 457 Ashton Mark Lodge ... ••¦ •¦• ••• 457 Voting Papers for the School Elections ... ... ... •¦• 457 Meeting of the Committee of Management of the Koyal Masonic Benevolent

Institution ... ... ... ••¦ . 457 Installation of Bro . J . C . Remington , as M . W . Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of New South Wales ... ... 457

Correspondence ... ... ... ••• 45 ^ Provincial Grand Chapter ot Wiltshire ... ... ... ••¦ 45 s Craft Masonry ... ... ... ... ••• 45 $ Royal Arch ... ... ... •¦• - - 459 Instruction ... ... ••• ••• ••• ••• 459 Obituary ... ... ... ... ... ••¦ . 459 Tour Through the Tyrol ( Austria ) , the Engadine , and Zermalt ( Switzerland ) 459 Masonic and General Tidings ... ... ... ••• — 4 ^ -

The Masonic Vagrant Again.

THE MASONIC VAGRANT AGAIN .

We have experienced no small amount of satisfaction from reading a pamphlet on the subject of the Masonic Vagrant and for these reasons . In the first place , wc gather from the " List of Masonic Impostors" which forms an appendix to the Report

contained in the said pamphlet , that the proportion of cases m which these disreputable persons have come off second best in their encounters with warv lodge Almoners and others who study

their movements carefully is by no means small . In the second place , it is gratifying to find that the influential Province of West Yorkshire—to the courtesy of whose Secretary ( Bro .

HERBERT G . E . GREEN ) WC are indebted for our informationhas taken the fellows in hand and determined , whenever an opportunity presents itself , of procuring for them , if possible , the board and lodging and healthy exercise they so earnestly declare

themselves in need of and are all so eager to obtain . Ihe first step in this direction was taken at the instance of the new Deputy Grand Master of the Province , Bro . RICHARD WILSON , P . G . D ., who suggested and presided at a conference

of West Yorkshire Lodge Almoners , which was held at the Provincial Offices , 2 , Park-place , Leeds , on ihe 20 th July last . After a long and interesting discussion in the course of which the experiences and recommendations of

l > ro . MORTON , the Chief Constable of Huddersfield , and Bro . J . W . POWNALL , Almoner for the Ashton-under-Lyne District , were laid before the meeting , a resolution to the effect " That Gits Conference of Almoners respectfully calls upon the

Provincial Grand Lodge of West Yorkshire to consider the subject ( jf Itinerant Masonic Impostors , and urges upon them to make a representation to the Grand Lodge of England lhat it is desirable to formulate a code of instructions to Almoners throughout

f -ngland , so that a united stand may be made against an evil which menaces the interests of Freemasonry / ' was proposed by , J , ro . MORTON , and having been seconded by Bro . J . H . FORD , ° > Leeds , was adopted unanimously . We offer no opinion at

present on the proposal to invite Grand Lodge to formulate a ' -ode of instructions to Almoners , but we consider that by the adoption of the resolution a step in the right direction has at 1

1 )( 'iigth been taken , and , as we have said already , we are glad the matter has been brought officiall y before so influential a Province .

The Masonic Vagrant Again.

It is more than four years since the subject of Masonic Vagrancy was brought prominently under our notice by the Almoner of a lodge in the Province of Kent , and we then , and have since on more than one occasion , pointed out that it was a

matter which could only be dealt with adequately by the combined action of the whole English Craft . We remarked that if only a few Provinces here and there took up the question with a determination to put down the impostor—as far as such an

evil is attainable—the Vagrant would transfer himself to other Provinces where Almoners were less familiar with , and , therefore , less on their guard against his various schemes for relieving them of the Charity Funds at their disposal . We ,

therefore , suggested that some kind of general Association should be established , to which every Province and Iodge in England , if it desired to do so , might subscribe a small fee periodically , in return for which they should be furnished , also periodically ,

with a list ol all known impostors , with particulars of their aliases , the visits they had paid , the relief , if any , they had received , & c , & c . We offered our services in promoting such a scheme , and mentioned that an Association of the kind existed in North

America , was supported by very many of the Grand Lodges in the United States and that of Canada , and that , by its means , the members of the subscribing Grand Lodges were saved annually many thousands of dollars , which , but for the

information it obtained and circulated , would otherwise have found their way into the pockets of these worthless vagabonds . But in matters of this kind there is far too much apathy , the result being that the Masonic impostor , in spite of the risk he runs of

being caught and punished , finds it worth his while to prey upon the benevolent brother , while the poor , but honest Mason , who really needs help , is oftentimes sent empty away . Now that West Yorkshire has made up its mind to go for the vagrant , and

has the sympathy of East Lancashire , whose Prov . G . Secretary , Bro . jAMfcS NEWTON , was present at the conference in Leeds , perhaps the Provinces of Kent and Surrey , with others

that have suffered not a little at the hands of these beggars , will lend a helping hand towards putting an end , as far as possible , to Masonic vagrancy .

The " Spurious And Clandestine" Mark Lodge.

THE " SPURIOUS AND CLANDESTINE" MARK LODGE .

The letters and comments on this subject which have recently appeared in our columns throw additional li ght upon the early career of the lodge which was so strenuously denounced

at the Quarterly Communication in June last of MarkGrand Lodpe . The particulars set forth in the Report of the General Board , on which was based the action of the Grand Lodge , are more than confirmed by the statements contained , firstly , in Bro . FOREMAN '

letter of the 28 th ult ., and then in Bro . ] 0 U > 1 YAKKEK ' , which we published last week . Bro . YARKKR ' account as to the origin of the Mark Lodge for the Ashton-under-Lyne District tallies ir essentials with that published in the Report of the

General Board . Both declare that , from the information they had received , the lodge in question is said to have been founded towards the close of last century by a non-commissioned officer , who had received the degree or degrees in India , and that at the

outset of its career it was known as "The Mark , Link and Ark . " The Board ' s Report also stated that the records , however , only date back to July nth , 1830 , that is , more than a quarter century before the establishment of Mark Grand Lodge . Bro .