Contents.

CONTENTS .

L « AD « R 5 JOS Provincial Grand Chapter of Wiltshire ... 506 provincial Grand Lodge of New Yoik under the "Ancients "—( Continual ) 506 " Ars Quatuor Coronatorum , " 1 S 86-7—V . 507 The History of the Royal Masonic Institution for Girls from its Origin , 1788 , to its Centenary , 1888—( Continued ) Jo ? Royal Masonic Benevolent

Institution—Financial Table , 1887 JoS Roval Masonic Benevolent Institution Jog Royal Masonic Institution for Boys 509 Grand Lodge of South Australia 509 C ORKES PONuENOSThe Three Institutions jn The Attack on Bro . Meyer Jrr The Only Lady Freemason jn Past Masters' Collars jn Reviews jn

Notes and Queries , 511 . REPORTS OF MASONIC MKETINGSCraft Masonry Jn Instruction 513 Royal Arch J 14 Instruction 514 Mark Masonry $ 14 South Africa 514 The Queen ' s Jubilee in Queensland 514

Consecration of the Sanddown Bay Lodge of Royal Ark Manners ' Jij Presentation to Bro . Dr . George Welford , P . M . No . 80 , at Sunderland gig Masonic Tribulations 515 Obituary JiS Theatres 51 J Masonic and General Tidings 516 The Craft Abroad 516 Lodge Meetings for Next Week iv .

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„ . NOTWITHSTANDING the arrangement by which the whole The Coming , , . ,. , n . b J . . , Girls' School body of candidates—20 in number—was admitted into the Election . School in April last , there is a formidable array of 30 children offering * themselves for election at the approaching Quarterly Court in

October , and of these it will be possible to elect exactly one-half . Out of the 30 g irls London contributes a far more modest proportion than usual , there beingonly seven who hail from the Metropolis , viz ., Nos . 8 , 13 , 14 , 17 , 19 , 28 , and 30 , while another ( No . 15 ) is partly Norfolk and partly London . Devonshire furnishes four candidates—Nos . 11 , 12 , 18 , and 27 : Dorsetshire two

candidates—Nos . 21 and 25 ; and the Western Division of South Wales also two—Nos . 7 and 10 . The remaining 14 girls hail from 13 Provinces and the District of Victoria , the Provinces being Cambridgeshire , Cornwall , Cumberland and Westmorland , Essex , Hants and Isle of Wight , Hertfordshire , Kent , Northumberland , Somersetshire , Suffolk , Sussex , Wiltshire

and Yorkshire West . Six of the children have both parents living , 21 have lost their father , and three have lost both father and mother . In five cases the father during lifetime contributed of his means towards the support of one or more of our Institutions . The fathers of two of the children had been subscribing members of lodges for nearly a quarter of a century , and

there are 11 others whose fathers had belonged to a lodge or lodges for upwards of 10 years . Finally , there are four children—Nos . 1 , 3 , , and 28—who have this one and only chance of success , and who , if unfortunately they should happen to fail , will have their names removed from the list . In

these cases we trust the friends will be able to obtain sufficient votes to place their charges among the successful children . The election will take place at the Quarterly Court , which will be held on Saturday , the Sth prox .

••• „ . _ . THE Boys' School election will take place at the Quarterly Boys' School Court , which will be held on Monday , the ioth October next , ec lon * when 11 children will be elected from an approved list of 54 candidates . This is a heavier disproportion between the number to be

elected and the number of applicants than has characterised the last few elections into this Institution , the erection of the Preparatory School buildings having enabled the Executive to increase from time to time the numbers on the establishment . Next month , however , owing to the comparatively

indifferent success of the Festival in June last , there will be no such good luck for the candidates , and , as matters stand now , nothing is more certain than that the result of the ballot which is fixed for the aforesaid ioth October will cause more or less serious disappointment to the friends of over 40 children , whose claims to admission into the School have been

recognised by the Committee . Let us hope that among them will not be included any of the six—Nos . i , 9 , 17 , 36 , 37 , and 54—who must succeed on this occasion or be forthwith excluded from all chance of admission . An examination of the list will show that London is responsible for 18 of the candidates—Nos . 2 , 10 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 17 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 24 , 25 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 40 , 41 ,

45 i and 47—while it has a share in the interest attaching to Nos . 18 and 33- West Yorkshire has four candidates—Nos . 28 , 42 , 50 , and 51 ; and Somersetshire three candidates—Nos . 19 , 36 , and 3 8 , and shares with evon the responsibility for No . 26 . Cornwall furnishes two applicants'Os . g ancj 29—and has an equal interest with Devonshire in Nos . 4 and

37 * Cumberland and Westmorland , Durham , Essex , Norfolk , and Warwickshire , together with South Africa , send up each two ; while Cheshire , Devonshire , Kent , Middlesex , Monmouthshire , Norths and Hunts , onhumberland , Surrey , and Sussex send up one each . No . 48 has ivided interest derived from the contiguous Provinces of Cheshire

a West Lancashire . Thus one-third of the list is composed of noon , and two-thirds of Provincial candidates , there being , however , ,. ° . ^ e latter portion which may be said to have a divided giance . From another point of view , we find that 17 boys remain over tne April election , and of these six bring forward votes ranging ^ ° S ° 5 in the case of No . 3 to 1262 in the case of No . 8 . Of these 17 ' * has -made six unsuccessful attempts for a p lace ; No . 2 , four attempts 5

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No . 3 , three attempts ; Nos . 4 to 7—both inclusive—two attempts ; and Nos . 8 to 17 , one attempt . There are 4 6 of the children who are fatherless , and one motherless , while five have both parents living , and two have lost them both . In only 10 cases were the fathers when living in a position to assist our Institutions , while but about one-third of them had been

subscribing members of a lodge or lodges for 10 years and upwards . Such are the particulars which it will no doubt occur to our readers to be on the look out for , but , at the same time , vve must take upon ourselves to point out that the

claims of all the children have been thoroughly sifted and approved , and that all have been accepted by the Committee as being qualified for admission . The question is , which boys will be chosen , and to that the electors must furnish the answer on Monday , the ioth prox .

* # * Improper WE are not surprised to learn that considerable dissension has Restrictions on been caused in the -jurisdictions of certain Grand Lodges in Masonic J o

Membership , the United States , which have passed laws against the initiation of " liquor dealers , " alias " publicans , " into Freemasonry , or their affiliation to subordinate lodges , while some have even gone so far as to pass laws for their expulsion from the Society . Masonry has nothing whatever to do with a man's calling . It is necessary that any one who seeks admission

into our ranks should be a reputable person as regards his worldly circumstances and his character . He must also , and above all things , be a believer in GOD and a future state , as well as a man of full age and free to act on his own responsibility . But there the restrictions imposed by Freemasonry as regards the qualifications of candidates end .

A man may follow any calling he pleases that is compatible with these conditions , and if the members of a lodge are prepared to admit him he is admitted . We hold that it is an act of tyranny on the part of any Grand Lodge when it enters on such a course of legislation . In the first place , it condemns a calling which the law recognises , and in the next it brings the

whole weight ' of its influence as an organised body to bear in order to compel people to act contrary to the opinions they are free to hold on the subject of the liquor traffic . A man is at liberty to be himself a total abstainer from liquor , and to have no fellowship with the liquor dealer , but he cannot lawfully compel other people to obey his example . Moreover , to

be logically just , a Grand Lodge which condemns the liquor dealer to remain outside the pale of Masonry should condemn the manufacturers and drinkers of liquor to remain there likewise . We yield to none in our

respect for the principles of temperance , which is among the chiefest of the Masonic virtues , but at the same time we recognise the wholesome truth that intemperate legislation is not the likeliest means of promoting their observance .

* * * AMONG the evils which it is the duty of Freemasons to guard Over-Legislation against , that of excessive legislation is one of the most important . Nothing is easier , and atthe same time nothing is more destructive to the vitality of any organisation than to keep on passing

laws about everything and everybody , while nothing is so difficult as to leave things alone , permitting people to go about their business with the fewest possible restrictions . Certain general regulations are necessary for the government of every organised body , but within the limits imposed by such laws and regulations the utmost possible latitude should be

given to every member of such organised body to do as he pleases . This , we imagine , is one great reason , if not the greatest reason , why Freemasonry in England has attained to such a height of prosperity , namely that our Grand Lodge has allowed the lodges , and the lodges their members , to follow their inclinations

in what they do , the only limits of this freedom being in the one case the laws provided in the Book of Constitutions , and in the other case , the general laws as so provided , together with the lodge by-laws . These laws and by-laws have been found sufficient for the government of our Society , and though it has occasionally happened that special circumstances have

rendered necessary the intervention of the authorities , there has never been found any serious difficulty in reconciling the requirements of a particular case with those of the general law . We get along splendidly , because vve make a point ol having as little as possible to do with law making . We are in fact a large club , into which

everybody who is worthy of being dubbed a thoroughly good fellow is elig ible to be admitted , lhe Grand Lodge is our head-quarters , and the lodges scattered everywhere throughout England and the Colonies are the offshoots from the parent stem . ' We do a fair amount of solid work every year , but it is done without labour , and the brethren are not harassed and

annoyed by all kinds of petty restrictions during its progress . We fear we cannot compliment all our American brethren on having followed so successful an example . We dare say we shall be considered presumptuous in saying this ; but it is often our duty to scan the reports of Proceedings of different Grand Lodges in the United ,