Ar00100

CONTENTS . LBADBRS— PAGE Freemasonry in South Africa and the War ... ... 3 ' Negro Masonry in the United States ... ... ... 3 > Consecration of the Scarsdale Lodge , No . 529 , of M . M . M . ... ... 32 Science , Art and the Drama ... ... ... ... 33 The York Grand Lodge—A Brief Sketch . ... ... ... ... 34

Royal Masonic Institution for Boys ( Quarterly Court ) ... ... ... 35 M ASONIC NOTESAnnual Meeting of the Divisional Conclave of Kent ... ... 37 Quarterly Court of the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys _ ... ... 37 Approaching Festival of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution ... 37 Consecration of the John Brunner Lodge ... ... ... 37

Correspondence ... ... ... ... ... ... 3 S The Army Service Corps ... ... ... ... ... 39 Craft Masonry ... ... ... ... ... ... 39 Royal Arch ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 41 Instruction ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 42 Obituary ... ... ... ... . 7 . ... ... 42

POETRYTo Many Fitends in Many Lands .. ... ... ... 42 Masonic and General Tidings ... ... ... ... ... 40

Freemasonry In S. Africa And The War.

FREEMASONRY IN S . AFRICA AND THE WAR .

Last week wc had the pleasure or publishing the first list of subscriptions to the Fund which is being raised on behalf of those of our Transvaal brethren who have suffered , not so much by the operations of the war itself as by the circumstances

which preceded its outbreak , and resulted in the flight into Cape Colony of some thousands of British men , women , and children , including , of course , those English Masons who were members of the lodges under the government of Bro . GEORGE RICHARDS .

Dist . G . Master of the Transvaal , and who , until that time , had been all of them in reputable , and very many in affluent , circumstances . These brethren , to the number of about a thousand , together with the wives and children of those who are married ,

are now , in the great majority of cases , homeless and penniless ; nor is it likely that' in the three short months that have elapsed since Presidents KRUGER and STEYN declared war against this

country , they can have had either the time or the opportunity to obtain for themselves and their families the , every day necessaries of life or the wherewith to purchase them . We trust , therefore , that this Fund which has now been started will meet

with that support which it deserves , and that at no very distant date it may be in the power of Bro " . RICHARDS—who , in his capacity of Dist . G . Master , is beyond question the most competent person , as in his personal capacity he is among the

most willing—to render all possible help to meet the most urgent needs of our Transvaal Refugee brethren . They are all willing to help themselves if the chance is afforded them , but it must be borne in mind that there arc thousands of people

fro m the Boer country who are in the same predicament ; that help cannot be found for all these thousands at once ; and that if we Masons at home are < iblc to render our brethren material assistance we shall be doing no more than our duty towards them as brother Masons .

That the Masonic section of the great refugee host from the 1 ransvaal have not been so far and will not be for the future left unassisted by the lodges and brethren in the other districts in South Africa may be taken for granted , but though

about one-fifth of our 500 English Colonial lodges are located in S . Africa , it would be an act of grave injustice to place the dut y of relieving the Transvaal Refugee brethren entirely upon tbe Masons in South Africa , more especiall y as since the outbreak

Freemasonry In S. Africa And The War.

of the war the distress must have extended into the other Districts . Thus of the eight lodges which are on the roll of the District Grand Lodge of the Central Division of S . Africa three meet in Kimbcrley and one in Mafeking . Among the 30

lodges under the rule of Bro . Dr . C . J . EGAN , as District G . Master of S . Africa ( E . D . ) , are included the lodges which meet in Aliwal North , Barkly East , Bloemfontein , Dordrecht , East London , Molteno , and Ouecnstown . The Western

Division , under Bro . the Very Rev . BARNETT CLARKE as District Grand Master , with its 15 lodges , is probably the least affected of the live Districts ; but that of Natal , whose 18 lodges are presided over by Bro . WESLEY FRANCIS , must be in the

very thickest of the war , and no one can tell how long it will be before active operations will be transferred east , west , or north of this Colony . As for the Transvaal District , the 26 lodges which , according to the Grand Lodge Calendar ,

constitute its District Grand Lodge , have been for the time being virtually wiped out of existence , and the four-fifths of the members who are of English nationality are enforced wanderers from their homes , and without means or the hope of obtaining any .

Thus our poor Transvaal brethren cannot . look for much assistance from the rest of the South African Masons , because very many of the latter must themselves be suffering to a very . erious extent by the war . Hence the duty becomes all the more

imperative that the Craft at home should furnish , as far as may . be , that assistance which is so sorely needed , and we both hope and believe the response that will be made to the appeal of Bro . RICHARDS will be in every way worthy of English Freemasonry .

Negro Masonry In The United States.

NEGRO MASONRY IN THE UNITED STATES .

In the Report on Foreign Correspondence which is appended to the Proceedings of the Grand Lodge of Ohio , at its 90 th annual Communication , at Toledo , in October last , and for which we are indebted to Bro . W . M . CUNNINGHAM , Past G . M .

and Chairman of the Committee on Correspondence , will be found in that brother's review of the position taken up by the Grand Lodge of the State of Washington in respect of negroes , some very interesting particulars relating to that question . It

will be in the recollection of our readers that the Grand Lodge of Washington , at its annual meeting in 1 S 98 , adopted a series of resolutions which were tantamount to a recognition of the legitimacy of the Negro , or Coloured , Lodges established in

that State , it being , we belie / e , pretty generally understood that Bro . W . H . UPTON , Grand Master , was the originator of this movement in favour of Coloured Masonry . The result of that course must have been the reverse of encouraging to Bro . UP ION . No sooner did it become known among the other Grand

Lodges in the United States , than it was followed by such a chorus of rebukes , remonstrances , declarations of non-intercourse , and the like , as has rarely been heard on any question . As successive Grand Lodges met in annual

communication , the action of the Grand Lodge of Washington was denounced in the angriest and most indignantterms , and the onlookers could hardly have been surprised if Bro . UPTON , his Grand Lodge , and all its private

lodges had there and then come to an untimel y end . Hard words , however , do not break bones , but the outspoken denunciations , coming as they did from all parts of the United States , had the effect of awakening the brethren in Washington to a sense of the responsibility which their Grand Lodge had under-