Contents.

CONTENTS .

L BADERS 4 S 1 Old Warrants , —XVIII . —XIX . —XX 482 Grand Lodgeof Iowa . 482 Provincia Grand Lodge of Essex . 483 Prnvincal Grand Lodge of North and cV = t Yorkshire .. 484 fonfecration of the ' Lochfyne Lodge , No . » " 4 ( S-c- ) 4 s- Summer Outing of the John Hervey Lodge , No . 1260 48 $ Colonel MacLeod Moore 48 J Southern Counties Cyclists" Camp 48 $ C ORRESPONDENCE— Masonic Jurisprudence 487

Notes and Queries 487 REPORTS OF MASONIC M ESTINOSCraft Masonry 48 J Instruction .., ' . 488 ;„ . Queensland 48 I An Incident in Colonial Freemasonry 4 89 Excursion of the Coleraine Lodge , No . 3 $ j ( I . C . ) 489 Former Days that Tried Masons'Souls ... 489 The Craft Abroad 489 Theatres 490 Masonic and General Tidings 491 Lodge Meetings for Next Week 493

Ar00100

WE are exceedingly grieved to read the announcement and The late Bro . Dr . Rob most appreciative memoir in the Keystone for the 4 th inst . of the decease of the veteran Craftsman Bro , Dr , ROE MORRIS . At

the age of 70 , vigorous and active as ever at the time , he was seized with paralysis , and in a few days passed away . His family were with him , so he was surrounded with his loved ones , who would have kept him with them

if they could . Dr , MORRIS , the gifted Poet-Freemason , was born on August 31 st , 1818 , and died on July 31 st , so that he was within a month of reaching the " three score and ten . " As a Masonic Historian and Lecturer he had scarcely a rival in America , his works being numerous and valuable ;

but it was as the Poet-Laureate of the Fraternity that he was in reality unapproachable , some of his poems having immortalised his name , especially that exquisite lyrical gem , "The Level and the Square , " which has become the Masonic classic of the universal Craft for all time . He will be mourned by brethren in all parts of the world , and will long be remembered as one

of the most enthusiastic , cultured , and loveable men the Society has ever known . We regret much he has not lived to complete his " Life of ROBERT BURNS , as a Poet and Freemason ; " but vve hope that the manuscript was well onward , so as yet to be published , for Dr . MORRIS was so

enraptured with the subject as to render any volume on BURNS by that distinguished Past Grand Master of Kentucky both interesting and instructive . We tender to Mrs . MORRIS and family our heartfelt sympathy .

* # * A full programme of good , useful business was gone successor fully through at the Quarterly Communication of the Grand Lodge of Scotland , held at Edinburgh , under the presidency

of Sir ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL , Bart ,, M . P ., M . W . G . M ., on the 2 nd inst . The financial report showed that the income of Grand Lodge for the first six months of the year , amounting to ^ 2894 , was slightly in excess of that

for the corresponding period of the previous year , while the last quarter ' s income exceeded its expenditure by - £ 523 . The reports presented by the Provincial Grand Masters were particularly satisfactory , that of Bro . Sir W . PEARCE , Bart ., M . P ., P . G . M . Glasgow , showing that the number of

intrants , or initiates , during the year had been 590 , the number of lodges in the province being 33 . The report of Bro . MARTIN , P . G . M . Dumbartonshire , spoke in very complimentary terms of the manner in which the lodges without exception discharged their duties , while the Grand Lodge Sub-Committee appointed to visit Aberdeen City Province spoke in favourable

terms of the effect of their labours , and expressed a belief that , owing to the measures adopted , the harmony of the province would soon be completely festered . Bro . VILLIERS , P . G . M . Dumfriesshire , referred in . equally complimentary terms to the excellence of the work that was being done in his Province , so , with these as our guide , we cannot be otherwise

than hopeful as to the prosperity which has latterly attended the Grand Lodge of Scotland being continued . A charter for a new lod ge "•Edinburgh , intended for artists and members of kindred professions was , ° J- the motion of the Grand Master , unanimously granted , the Grand Committee having already rejected by a majority of more than two to

one a petition from the Masters of 11 Edinburgh lodges against its issue . It •s also gratifying to note that measures are being taken to give greater facilities to brethren to consult the valuable collection of works on . asonry ' Grand Lodge library , and that on the occasion of the approachvisit to the Glasgow Exhibition a loyal address will be presented to the ^ ,, « uiuii / Jul uuuivgj UlLSi / llkUU

es " - -- •— -w-. w-ww u ....-.. «_•. " vvm-L UU IU LUG yueen , who will be the guest , during her brief stay , of the Grand Master at Bl ythswood . In short , the report of the recent Communication , as it Ppeared in our columns last week , is excellent reading , and points unmisabl y not only to a continuance of that zeal and activity which for several

jj f . llas characterised the proceedings of our brethren in Scotland , but W ' ll ^ k ' l ° tlle Vei T great P robab " * tythat such zea - activity , if continued , ' be attended with very beneficial results to the Craft everywhere within 116 Jurisdiction of their Grand Lodge .

Ar00101

As far as the Returns and particulars contained in the Calenof ' dar of the Great Priory of the Temple in England and Wales the Temple . £ or ^ year T 833-9 are concerned , the year that has just passed would appear to have been a fairly prosperous one . Some 97 Preceptories

paid their Fees and Dues to the General and Benevolent Funds respectively ; about - £ 120 was received in the way of interest on investmentsrather more than one half for the General , and rather less than one half for the Benevolent Fund ; and on drawing out the Treasurer ' s statement of account , the balances are found to be on the right side , that on the

Benevolent Fund amounting to nearly £ 239 , and that on the General Fund to £ 68 . The expenditure , including a donation of 100 guineas to the Imperial Institute , seems reasonable enough and far from extravagant ; and , taking all things into consideration , the position appears to have improved at the close of the year . But though it is impossible to take exception to

the Report which the Council of the Order presented at the annual meeting of Great Priory in May last , whether generally or in respect of any of its details , it strikes us that the position of Masonic Knight Templary in England and Wales is very far from being as sound as it might , could , and should be . It is an advantage to have removed from the roll the 15

preceptories which had made no returns for seven years or upwards , but the friends of the Order will regret to learn that 15 other preceptories are suspended for non-payment of dues for periods ranging variously from upwards of one year to five years , and that a third batch of 12 preceptories omitted to send their returns in 188 7 . It looks

very much as if there must be a screw loose somewhere in the Templar organisation , when out of rather more than 120 Preceptories , about one-tenth of the whole number are in arrear for last year , and an additional one-eighth are under suspension for arrears extending over a still longer period . It may be that the fees are heavy , or the meetings of

the subordinate and superintending bodies too few and far between ; or , there may be some other cause or causes at work which are not apparent on the surface . But whatever the reason , or reasons , it will be generally considered strange that a body of which some of the subordinate branches can show an uninterrupted existence of a century and upwards , does not make its

presence in the world of Masonry more conspicuously felt ; or , in other words , that its members , severally and collectively , do not exhibit greater zeal and activity , and so strive , to the best of their ability , to strengthen and promote the wellbeing of the Order . We are very far from wishing our Templar bodies to follow the example of their American brethren , and go parading

about our cities and towns in semi-military fashion , but there is plenty of useful work for our Templars to do , and they will do it all the better if they avoid display and ostentation . Still , the sooner some endeavour is made to put an end to the present state of lethargy , the better it will be for the " United

Orders of the Temple and Malta . " It is not creditable to an honourable organisation like that of the Temple that it should spend the greater part of its existence in a kind of Sleepy Hollow , now and then waking up a little just to show it is not quite dead , and then relapsing into its normal condi * tion of torpor .

* * * THE statistical and financial particulars contained in the Year Councii A . and Book of the Supreme Council , to which we referred last week , A . Rite . show how much in favour with the English Craft is the system known as the Ancient and Accepted Rite , and how steadv has been its

progress during the last few years . Since the year 1875 , when the Prince of WALES was installed chief ol constitutional Freemasonry , there have been constituted upwards of 40 chapters of Rose Croix , and of these , all but four , are in active working . Twenty of these are in foreign parts , eight in London , and the remainder scattered throughout the provinces ; and as

there were but some 60 Rose Croix chapters in existence previous to the Prince ' s acceptance of the Grand Mastership of England , it is clear that the number of chapters subordinate to the Supreme Council has almost doubled itself within the 14 years from 1875 inclusive to present date . The years which seem to have been the most successful—if the number of

newlywarrantedj chapters is an evidence of success—are 1876 , when London obtained two , and the Provinces three new chapters ; 1878 , when one London , two Provincial , and three Colonial chapters were added to the roll ; 1882 , when one new Provincial chapter and four chapters abroad were constituted ; and 1887 , when two London , two Provincial chapters , and a South

African chapter were added to the list . Aconsiderable proportion of these new chapters is well furnished with members , and the reports which are constantl y appearing in these columns of Ancient and Accepted Rite doings show that the interest in the system is well sustained . With so satisfactory a record

in the matter of numbers it follows , almost as a matter of course , that the . financial progress of the Council has been equally gratifying . The Treasurer-General ' s statement of account for the year from ist July , 1887 , to 30 th June , 1888 , discloses a total of receipts amounting to - £ 3142 3 s . 6 d ., of which over £ 409 was in respect of dividends , £ 1000 for sale of 2 , Upper