Royal Arch Masonry In West Yorkshire.

ROYAL ARCH MASONRY IN WEST YORKSHIRE .

There are but few Provinces , vve imagine , which , in proportion to their Craft strength , can boast of so formidable an array of Royal Arch Chapters as West Yorkshire . Its lodges are 7 6 in number , and of these no less than 42 have chapters attached to

them . The average membership , too , must be high , seeing that tlie number of those who have been exalted to this Degree amounts in the aggregate to 1335 or upwards of 30 per chapter . Under these circumstances it is not surprising that at its recent

annual convocation there should have been a large attendance , and that the report of the chief executive officers should have testified to tbe existence of a stronger feeling of attachment to this branch of constitutional Masonry than is to be met with generally

throughout England . Unfortunately , there is a heavy grief weig hing upon this Province at the present time owing to the comparatively recent death of its beloved Grand Superintendent , Comp . THOMAS W . TEW , who , though , in consequence of failing

health , lie had found it necessary to resign the more onerous duties of Prov . G . Master , had retained in his hands the superintendence of its numerous chapters , and the companions gave expression to their sorrow at their first gathering after his demise

by passing a resolution recording the deep sense of the loss they had sustained by his death and their sympathy and . condolence with his widow and the members of his family . Comp . HENRY SMITH , too , who , in his capacity of Prov . G . H ., presided at the

convocation , referred in sympathetic terms to the same mournful event , at the same time expressing it as his belief that "'his ( Comp . TEW ' S ) gracious and noble services to the Craft and this Supreme Degree will not soon be forgotten . " However , Comp

SMITH felt himself in a position to offer the companions some slight consolation by adding , " We have now to look for his successor , and I believe it will be shortly announced that our distinguished companion the Right Honourable WILLIAM LAVVTES J

ACKSON has been appointed as our future ruler . " We do not for one moment imagine that our worthy companion would have given utterance to this belief in open Prov . G . Chapter if he had not felt there were good grounds ( or the statement , and therefore we

may anticipate that in November next , when the usual half-yearly convocation of Prov . , G . Chapter is held , the new G . Superintendent of West Yorkshire will be formally installed in office , and the direction of the Royal Arch , as well as of the Craft Degrees ,

again entrusted to the hands of one and the same ruler . We heartily congratulate our West Yorkshire companions on the prosperous condition of their affairs , and we have every

confidence that under their new , as under their late respected chief , this condition of prosperity will be maintained and even strengthened and extended to other localities in the Province .

The Future Influence Of Freemasonry.

THE FUTURE INFLUENCE OF FREEMASONRY .

The proceedings at the recent annual meeting of the Prov . G . Lodge of Gloucestershire , as was to be expected in the case of such a well-ordered Province , proved a great success . Gloucestershire is by no means strong numerically . It has but

16 lodges on its muster-roll , and if we assign to each of them 11 fair complement of members , we shall , in all probability , find that the aggregate of subscribing brethren does not exceed , or ,

at all events , does not greatly exceed 800 . But if it does not occupy a p lace in the front rank of our Provinces in respect of its numerical strength , it is unquestionably entitled to the very hi ghest commendation for the excellent manner in which its

The Future Influence Of Freemasonry.

lodges carry out their appointed duties , and the enthusiasm it consistently exhibits for the fundamental principles of the Craft . No one has ever had the slightest reason for calling in question

its loyalty to the powers that be , neither has it occurred to any one to suggest that it has ever wittingly allowed its charitable instincts to remain dormant . Indeed , there have been many notable occasions on which it has extorted the admiration of the

whole bod }* of English Freemasons , by the exceeding generosity of its contributions to our centra ! and other Masonic Institutions . Hence , as we have said , it is not surprising that its recent annual meeting should have passed off so satisfactorily . But

there is one part of the proceedings to which we desire to call attention . The brethren , as is their custom at these provincial gatherings , attended divine service , which , on this occasion , was

held in Gloucester Cathedral , and they enjoyed the privilege of hearing one of the most eloquent expositions of the good that has been done by tlie Craft in bygone days , and the beneficial influence it is calculated to exercise on the future of our countrv .

I he preacher was none other than our V . Worshipful and V . Rev . Bro . DONALD M . SPENCE , D . D ., Dean of Gloucester , who in April last was appointed to the oflice of G . Chaplain o ( England . In his sermon , which deserves lo be most attentively

studied by all who love the Brotherhood , our Very Rev . Brother , in speaking of the Masons in England described them as a bod )* of brethren numbering many thousands which was knit together by the most solemn vows " to be true and loyal , generous and

pure , chivalrous and brave' ; " to be servants of God , devoted to our Queen and Country "; " a goodly company , a very bulwark , indeed , of the land we love . " Having described the English Freemasons of to-day in these terms , our distinguished

brother traced their origin to the "Guilds of Masons which , . " in association with the great building Abbots of the Middle Ages , " erected the many stately , matchless , ecclesiastical edifices , which are happily still preserved to us in so many parts

of England , 'lliese edilices he designated as " books of stone , " which in the days " when few could read , when printed books existed not , and written books were rare and costl y , " taught the fundamental truths of Religion by means of a

" symbolic language , partly plain ami obvious to the simpler man , partly shrouded in not less attractive mystery , " and therefore comprehensible by men of learning and culture . Then addressing the non-Masonic members of his congregation , he

asked them what the secret was which had " the strange power of drawing together all sorts and conditions of men . What , " said he , " is the magnet which attracts tht ; sovereign prince and the peasant , the highly-cultivated scholar , the thoughtful

merchant , the great statesman , the learned ecclesiastic of our Church of England , the lawyer and the doctor , the artisans of our people ? What magnet draws all these together and welds with one great company the old man Hearing

the city which has loundations , and the younger man just stepping over the mysterious threshold of life ? What draws them here together ? What fills the ranks of our Masonic Brotherhood of England with so many willing faithful

companions ? " And the answer to these questions was at once supplied by the DKAN himself in the following words : " It is something , believe me , nobler , grander far than mere enjoyment ;

something more far-reaching than good-fellowship ; it is , I think , the initiation into that Divine sympathy which is the secret of our Order , which so wonderfully , so happily , finds an echo in so many hearts , and draws us so many and such varied recruits . "