Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Contents.
CONTENTS .
n ^ UneTodKeV ' Nol ' ara *) .. " 94 Consecration of the Concord Chapter , No . 632 91 " Ars Quatuor Coronatorum 97 C ORRESPONDENCEAn Old Lodge at Chichester 99
"A Question of Custom" 100 Onr Masonic Charities—A Suggestion ... ioo Notes and Queries 100 R SPORTSOF M ASONIC MEETINGSCraft Masonry 100 Instruction i <« Royal Arch 106 I Instruction 106
REPORTS OF MASONIC MEETINGS ( Continued)—Mark Masonry 106 Ancient and Accepted Rite 106 West Lancashire Masonic Educational Institution toi Alpass Benevolent Institution 107 The Third Annual Ball of the ISehvyn 1901 107
Lodge , No . Masonic Ball , Leicester 107 The Liverpool Masonic Hall 107 History of the Lodge of Unanimity and Sincerity , No . 261 107 Obituary 107 Masonic and General Tidings 10 S Lodge Meetings for Next Week iv .
Ar00101
IT is not necessary we should apologise to our readers for the T ? ng Festal ' urgency with which we have been endeavouring to impress of the R . M . B . I . upQn their mindS ) tllat the day app 0 jnted for the celebration of the first great Masonic Festival of the year—that of the Royal Masonic
Benevolent Institution—is rapidly approaching , that a sum not far short of . £ 15 , 000 is required to meet the expenditure for the current year , and that as the Board of Stewards is more than usually restricted in point of numbers , the services of brethren who are willing to act on the Board are earnestly solicited . We are again in a position to announce that some slight progress
has been made during the past week , and that the Board of Stewards , which seven days since numbered about 240 brethren , is now 246 strong . But though we are gratified at this slight increase having been made , and have some grounds for hoping that between now and the 29 th inst . some further names may be added to the list , we are under the necessity of
pointing out that even then the Board will be decidedly below the average annual strength , and that if anything like an approach to the required total of ^ 15 , 000 is to be raised , it can only now be achieved by an additional amount of exertion on the part of its members . There is ample time still for a brother to send in his name as Steward and his
qualification as a Life Governor , but the interval remaining , though not too short to allow of his canvassing among his friends for contributions , is hardly sufficient to justify him in anticipating any appreciable measure of success as a canvasser . We must , therefore , as we have said , rely principally upon the exertions of those who are already Stewards for a favourable
return , and we have every confidence that they will do whatever is required of them . There is nothing out of the way in the composition of the Board of Stewards , so far as it goes . There may not be , perhaps , quite as many London lodges represented as at other Festivals of the Benevolent Fund , but the Provinces muster in about the usual proportion , and if intending
donors will only permit themselves to be charmed by the eloquence of Bro . TERRY into writing cheques for 20 guineas instead of for 10 guineas , or for 50 guineas instead of for 25 guineas , it is even yet possible that the announcement of the total on the 29 th inst . will not be the least satisfactory of those
it has been his privilege to make . We shall have a few final remarks to offer next week on the eve of the celebration , and in the meantime we express a hope that the result will be better than , from the present appearance of things , we feel warranted in anticipating .
* # * The D ^ con gratu ' te the members of the Drury Lane Lodge on Lodge , the signal success which attended its third installation meeting on Tuesday . Such an assemblage , not only of distinguished
brethren but likewise of men , who , albeit they are young as Masons , have won some of the hi ghest distinctions attainable in civil or military life , is but rarely e | d , and to find anything approaching a parallel to it , we must go back to the year 1857 , and the scene in the Westminster and Keystone Lodee , No . 10 ,
w !" ien our present Pro Grand Master , Bro . the Earl of CARNARVON , was ins ailed for the first time as Worshipful Master of that ancient and respected od ge , in the presence of the late Earl of ZETLAND . Grand Master , and a
0 I * midable muster of Present and Past Grand and Prov . Grand Officers , and ^ her brethren of distinction . On Tuesday Bro . Sir J E . GORST , Q . C , * who now succeeds Bro . AUGUSTUS HARRIS as W . M . of Drury Lane T „ — . ,, „ , ., ane Lod those
ge , was equally fortunate , and Bro . BROADLEY and _ worked so energetically with him to ensure the success of the st Proceet *' & s more than merit the generous praise that was besu h ° ' ' ^ directions f ° ^ eir unwearied labouis . With a roll of members as the lodge can now boast of , with a succession of such ahl / a ffi and * 1 , ° s as have administered its affairs during the past two years , dist ' * a cont ' nuance of the encouragement it has received from the most doubf *! mem ^ ° f ou Society , there cannot be the shadow of a one f at t' 1 C 'oc * £ '" uphold it ** prestige , and remain , as it has begun , our most popular as well as most prosperous lodges ,
Ar00102
THERE is every prospect that the Annual Festival of the Lodgeof Emulation Lodgeof Improvement , which will take place at Improvement . Freemasons' Hall , on Friday next , the 24 th instant , will be as great a success as in past years . Bro . Alderman Sir REGINALD
HANSON , Bart ., has kindly consented to preside , and the Board of Stewards includes among other distinguished Craftsmen Bros . Sir J . B . MONCKTON , P . G . W . ; THOMAS FENN , President of the Board of General Purposes ; F . A . PHILBRICK , Q . C , G . Registrar ; Col . SHADWELL H . CLERKE , G , Secretary ; ROBERT GREY , President of the Board of Benevolence ; and
J . . PARKINSON , P . G . D . The lodge contribution towards the anniversary will comprise the several sections of the second Lecture , which will be worked by sundry brethren , while the arrangements for the supper which follows are of the usual kind , and will no doubt give general satisfaction , Full particulars as to tickets , Sec , may be learned from our advertisement columns .
* * * THE address which it is customary for the Grand Master of a Sensible Grand Lodge in the United States to deliver at the expiration Address . Q r y year C 0 fljce consists for the most part of a review of the most important events that have occurred , and an exposition , or it
may be a defence , of the acts done by him in his official capacity . Sometimes , however , and especially among the younger jurisdictions , there is a tendency to go further , and a Grand Master considers he has not discharged his duty , or discharged it imperfectly , unless he indulges in a long and elaborate description of the beauties and principles of Freemasonry , the part
it is called upon to play in the world s affairs , and the influence it is likely to exercise , for good or evil , according as its principles are actively promoted or disregarded by the brethren . We cannot say that we attach much importance to these annual displays of eloquence , whether adorned or unadorned . They are nearly all of them cast in the same mould , like our after
dinner speeches , and if a non-Mason were called upon to read a score or two of them as being calculated to afford him an insight into the character of our Society , we fear that any admiration or respect he might be inclined to entertain towards it would not be materially enhanced . In some of these addresses Freemasonry is elevated to a religion , in some it is degraded to
the level of a mere benefit society , in others it has a special mission assigned to it , as if it were a Society to provide flannel vests and moral pockethandkerchiefs for equatorial Africans ; but in all there is apparent the same vain gloriousness , the same love of tall talk . But Grand Master GEORGE H . DAVIS , of Idaho , has formed a more modest , and therefore more correct ,
estimate of Freemasonry . " Masonry , " he tells us , " was never designed for the gratification of foolish vanity or the mere employment of idle hours . She holds out to her votaries no promise of pecuniary gain , or gratified ambition , or social or political preferment . " On the contrary , " her aim is to elevate humanity by awakening in every brother a deeper appreciation of
his own dignity as a man , and a proper regard for the dignity of his brother man . " Nor is it " a system of religion , as some have erroneously thought . She does not aspire to usurp the place of the Church , but she bows to this as the human to the divine . " Beyond the one requirement in the belief in a Supreme Being and a future state , it * ' has no religious test , " and while it
teaches " a profound reverence for Deity and for the divine attributes—temperance , truth , and justice—her toleration is as broad as the grand brotherhood of human kind . " Equally sound is Bro . DAVIS ' S advice to the brethren " to look well to the outer door , " that is , " to the moral character of every candidate . Masonry is not a reformatory institution . If she
receive a bad man , he is likely to continue bad , to her shame and annoyance . " These are far more sensible remarks than are usually to be found in the annual addresses of American Grand Masters , which partake too much of the character of sermons to be either attractive or impressive . Masonry , while it respects all religions , has no claim to be regarded as a
relig ious system . It is a system of morality , which does its work quietly and unobtrusively within its own limits , but it has no call to go about moralising the human race . Last week we referred to an item of news in the Voice of Masonry to the effect that the " Grand Lodge of Indian Territory , U . S . A ., " had joined " the Masonic temperance movement which is
zealously promoted by the Grand Lodge of Missouri and other bodies , " and we pointed out that , while temperance is among " the chiefest of the Masonic virtues , " it is entirely outside the scope of Freemasonry to take part in any so-called temperance or teetotal movement , or indeed in any movement whatever , be it religious or moral ,
political or social . As members of the community to which they happen to belong , Masons individually take their full share of duty and responsibility , but they take it as members , not as Masons . The principles of . Freemasonry may incline them—are intended to incline them—to play their part
in the world ' s affairs with greater zeal and earnestness and more thoroughly and conscientiously , but it was never intended that they should prescribe the particular manner in which that part should be played . It would be iust as reasonable for a body of Masons to exert their influence in favour
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Contents.
CONTENTS .
n ^ UneTodKeV ' Nol ' ara *) .. " 94 Consecration of the Concord Chapter , No . 632 91 " Ars Quatuor Coronatorum 97 C ORRESPONDENCEAn Old Lodge at Chichester 99
"A Question of Custom" 100 Onr Masonic Charities—A Suggestion ... ioo Notes and Queries 100 R SPORTSOF M ASONIC MEETINGSCraft Masonry 100 Instruction i <« Royal Arch 106 I Instruction 106
REPORTS OF MASONIC MEETINGS ( Continued)—Mark Masonry 106 Ancient and Accepted Rite 106 West Lancashire Masonic Educational Institution toi Alpass Benevolent Institution 107 The Third Annual Ball of the ISehvyn 1901 107
Lodge , No . Masonic Ball , Leicester 107 The Liverpool Masonic Hall 107 History of the Lodge of Unanimity and Sincerity , No . 261 107 Obituary 107 Masonic and General Tidings 10 S Lodge Meetings for Next Week iv .
Ar00101
IT is not necessary we should apologise to our readers for the T ? ng Festal ' urgency with which we have been endeavouring to impress of the R . M . B . I . upQn their mindS ) tllat the day app 0 jnted for the celebration of the first great Masonic Festival of the year—that of the Royal Masonic
Benevolent Institution—is rapidly approaching , that a sum not far short of . £ 15 , 000 is required to meet the expenditure for the current year , and that as the Board of Stewards is more than usually restricted in point of numbers , the services of brethren who are willing to act on the Board are earnestly solicited . We are again in a position to announce that some slight progress
has been made during the past week , and that the Board of Stewards , which seven days since numbered about 240 brethren , is now 246 strong . But though we are gratified at this slight increase having been made , and have some grounds for hoping that between now and the 29 th inst . some further names may be added to the list , we are under the necessity of
pointing out that even then the Board will be decidedly below the average annual strength , and that if anything like an approach to the required total of ^ 15 , 000 is to be raised , it can only now be achieved by an additional amount of exertion on the part of its members . There is ample time still for a brother to send in his name as Steward and his
qualification as a Life Governor , but the interval remaining , though not too short to allow of his canvassing among his friends for contributions , is hardly sufficient to justify him in anticipating any appreciable measure of success as a canvasser . We must , therefore , as we have said , rely principally upon the exertions of those who are already Stewards for a favourable
return , and we have every confidence that they will do whatever is required of them . There is nothing out of the way in the composition of the Board of Stewards , so far as it goes . There may not be , perhaps , quite as many London lodges represented as at other Festivals of the Benevolent Fund , but the Provinces muster in about the usual proportion , and if intending
donors will only permit themselves to be charmed by the eloquence of Bro . TERRY into writing cheques for 20 guineas instead of for 10 guineas , or for 50 guineas instead of for 25 guineas , it is even yet possible that the announcement of the total on the 29 th inst . will not be the least satisfactory of those
it has been his privilege to make . We shall have a few final remarks to offer next week on the eve of the celebration , and in the meantime we express a hope that the result will be better than , from the present appearance of things , we feel warranted in anticipating .
* # * The D ^ con gratu ' te the members of the Drury Lane Lodge on Lodge , the signal success which attended its third installation meeting on Tuesday . Such an assemblage , not only of distinguished
brethren but likewise of men , who , albeit they are young as Masons , have won some of the hi ghest distinctions attainable in civil or military life , is but rarely e | d , and to find anything approaching a parallel to it , we must go back to the year 1857 , and the scene in the Westminster and Keystone Lodee , No . 10 ,
w !" ien our present Pro Grand Master , Bro . the Earl of CARNARVON , was ins ailed for the first time as Worshipful Master of that ancient and respected od ge , in the presence of the late Earl of ZETLAND . Grand Master , and a
0 I * midable muster of Present and Past Grand and Prov . Grand Officers , and ^ her brethren of distinction . On Tuesday Bro . Sir J E . GORST , Q . C , * who now succeeds Bro . AUGUSTUS HARRIS as W . M . of Drury Lane T „ — . ,, „ , ., ane Lod those
ge , was equally fortunate , and Bro . BROADLEY and _ worked so energetically with him to ensure the success of the st Proceet *' & s more than merit the generous praise that was besu h ° ' ' ^ directions f ° ^ eir unwearied labouis . With a roll of members as the lodge can now boast of , with a succession of such ahl / a ffi and * 1 , ° s as have administered its affairs during the past two years , dist ' * a cont ' nuance of the encouragement it has received from the most doubf *! mem ^ ° f ou Society , there cannot be the shadow of a one f at t' 1 C 'oc * £ '" uphold it ** prestige , and remain , as it has begun , our most popular as well as most prosperous lodges ,
Ar00102
THERE is every prospect that the Annual Festival of the Lodgeof Emulation Lodgeof Improvement , which will take place at Improvement . Freemasons' Hall , on Friday next , the 24 th instant , will be as great a success as in past years . Bro . Alderman Sir REGINALD
HANSON , Bart ., has kindly consented to preside , and the Board of Stewards includes among other distinguished Craftsmen Bros . Sir J . B . MONCKTON , P . G . W . ; THOMAS FENN , President of the Board of General Purposes ; F . A . PHILBRICK , Q . C , G . Registrar ; Col . SHADWELL H . CLERKE , G , Secretary ; ROBERT GREY , President of the Board of Benevolence ; and
J . . PARKINSON , P . G . D . The lodge contribution towards the anniversary will comprise the several sections of the second Lecture , which will be worked by sundry brethren , while the arrangements for the supper which follows are of the usual kind , and will no doubt give general satisfaction , Full particulars as to tickets , Sec , may be learned from our advertisement columns .
* * * THE address which it is customary for the Grand Master of a Sensible Grand Lodge in the United States to deliver at the expiration Address . Q r y year C 0 fljce consists for the most part of a review of the most important events that have occurred , and an exposition , or it
may be a defence , of the acts done by him in his official capacity . Sometimes , however , and especially among the younger jurisdictions , there is a tendency to go further , and a Grand Master considers he has not discharged his duty , or discharged it imperfectly , unless he indulges in a long and elaborate description of the beauties and principles of Freemasonry , the part
it is called upon to play in the world s affairs , and the influence it is likely to exercise , for good or evil , according as its principles are actively promoted or disregarded by the brethren . We cannot say that we attach much importance to these annual displays of eloquence , whether adorned or unadorned . They are nearly all of them cast in the same mould , like our after
dinner speeches , and if a non-Mason were called upon to read a score or two of them as being calculated to afford him an insight into the character of our Society , we fear that any admiration or respect he might be inclined to entertain towards it would not be materially enhanced . In some of these addresses Freemasonry is elevated to a religion , in some it is degraded to
the level of a mere benefit society , in others it has a special mission assigned to it , as if it were a Society to provide flannel vests and moral pockethandkerchiefs for equatorial Africans ; but in all there is apparent the same vain gloriousness , the same love of tall talk . But Grand Master GEORGE H . DAVIS , of Idaho , has formed a more modest , and therefore more correct ,
estimate of Freemasonry . " Masonry , " he tells us , " was never designed for the gratification of foolish vanity or the mere employment of idle hours . She holds out to her votaries no promise of pecuniary gain , or gratified ambition , or social or political preferment . " On the contrary , " her aim is to elevate humanity by awakening in every brother a deeper appreciation of
his own dignity as a man , and a proper regard for the dignity of his brother man . " Nor is it " a system of religion , as some have erroneously thought . She does not aspire to usurp the place of the Church , but she bows to this as the human to the divine . " Beyond the one requirement in the belief in a Supreme Being and a future state , it * ' has no religious test , " and while it
teaches " a profound reverence for Deity and for the divine attributes—temperance , truth , and justice—her toleration is as broad as the grand brotherhood of human kind . " Equally sound is Bro . DAVIS ' S advice to the brethren " to look well to the outer door , " that is , " to the moral character of every candidate . Masonry is not a reformatory institution . If she
receive a bad man , he is likely to continue bad , to her shame and annoyance . " These are far more sensible remarks than are usually to be found in the annual addresses of American Grand Masters , which partake too much of the character of sermons to be either attractive or impressive . Masonry , while it respects all religions , has no claim to be regarded as a
relig ious system . It is a system of morality , which does its work quietly and unobtrusively within its own limits , but it has no call to go about moralising the human race . Last week we referred to an item of news in the Voice of Masonry to the effect that the " Grand Lodge of Indian Territory , U . S . A ., " had joined " the Masonic temperance movement which is
zealously promoted by the Grand Lodge of Missouri and other bodies , " and we pointed out that , while temperance is among " the chiefest of the Masonic virtues , " it is entirely outside the scope of Freemasonry to take part in any so-called temperance or teetotal movement , or indeed in any movement whatever , be it religious or moral ,
political or social . As members of the community to which they happen to belong , Masons individually take their full share of duty and responsibility , but they take it as members , not as Masons . The principles of . Freemasonry may incline them—are intended to incline them—to play their part
in the world ' s affairs with greater zeal and earnestness and more thoroughly and conscientiously , but it was never intended that they should prescribe the particular manner in which that part should be played . It would be iust as reasonable for a body of Masons to exert their influence in favour