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SATURDAY , J ANUARY 23 , 18 97 .

Masonic Notes.

Masonic Notes .

The Masonic Hall in Golden-square was the scene ° a brilliant gathering of our most distinguished brethren on Wednesday evening , when the Studholme

Lod ge , No . 1591 , celebrated the 21 st anniversary of its constitution , and Bro . the Right Hon . Walter Hume ^ "g , M . P ., President of the Board of Agsiculture , , . S , G - Deacon of England , was installed in the fair of W . M ., the ceremony being performed by Bro .

Masonic Notes.

the Right Hon . the Earl of Lathom ( Lord Chamberlain ) , Pro G . Master . Amongst those present were Bros . Lord Halsbury ( Lord Chancellor ) , P . G . W . ; Lord Balfour of Burleigh ( Secretary for Scotland ) , P . G . W . ; the Right Hon . Lord George Hamilton , M . P . ( Secretary of State for India ) , P . G . W ., Prov . G .

Master of Middlesex ; the Right Hon . Sir Michael Hicks-Beach , Bart ., M . P . ( Chancellor of the Exchequer ) , P . G . W ., Prov . G . Master of Gloucestershire ; the Right Hon . Sir M . White Ridley , Bart ., M . P . ( Secretary of State for the Home Department ) , Prov . G . Master of Northumberland ; and the Right Hon . A . Akers-Douglas M . P . ( H . M's . First Commissioner of

Works ) , P . G . W . ; who are all of them colleagues of Bro . Long in the Cabinet of Lord Salisbury ; and the following ex-Cabinet Ministers , namely , Bro . Lord Herschell ( who was Lord Chancellor under Mr . Gladstone and the Earl of Rosebery ) , P . G . W ., and the Right Hon . W . L . Jackson , M . P . ( Secretary for Ireland in a former administration of Lord Salisbury ) , Prov . G Master of West Yorkshire .

* * In addition , there were also present Bros , the Right Hon . W . C . Gully , Q . C , M . P . ( Speaker of the House of Commons ) , the Earl of Yarborough , P . G . W ., Prov . G . Master of Lincolnshire ; the Earl of Essex , the Earl of Portarlington , the Earl of Euston , Prov . G .

Master of Northants and Hunts ; Viscount Dungarvan , Prov . G . Master of Somersetshire ; Lord Ampthill , Prov . G . Master of Bedfordshire ; Lord Skelmersdale , P . G . W . ; Lord Charles Montagu , Lord Addington , Prov . G . Master of Buckinghamshire ; Lord Herbert Vane-Tempest , W . W . B . Beach , M . P ., Prov . Grand

Master of Hampshire aud the Isle of Wight ; and others . Such a gathering at the installation meeting of a private lodge is very exceptional and Bro . Long is to be congratulated on having had such a number of the most prominent Masons of England to witness his induction into the chair of K . S .

* * * Two new lodges were added to the roll of the London district list week . On Monday , the nth inst ., the Byfield Lodge , No . 2632 , was consecrated , with Bro . James Boulton , G . P ., as its first W . M . ; while on Saturday last the Guardian Lodge , No . 2625 , the

membership of which it is intended to restrict to those officially engaged in the administration of Poor Law relief in the City of London , was ushered into existence , with Bro . Tollworthy as its first presiding officer Both lodges started on their career under the most encouraging auspices , and both have our best wishes for their future success .

The Annual General Meeting of the East Lancashire Systematic Masonic Educational and Benevolent Institution will be held at Freemasons' Hall , Manchester , on Tuesday , the 26 th inst ., when the report of the Finance and Audit Committee will be presented , the officers and members of the General Committee elected for the ensuing year , and the other business proper to such a meeting disposed of .

* * ? The report of the Finance and Audit Committee is an eminently satisfactory one . Of course , any comparison with the year 1895 , when the first great Festival was held in [ behalf of the Institution and the sum of , £ 4413 raised in donations and subscriptions ,

is out of the question . Yet the Returns of 1806 compare very favourably with those of any previous year . The donations , & c , from individual brethren and lodges , chapters , and other Masonic bodies amounted t 0 . £ 354 9 s - 9 ' -, . £ 21 8 s . 4 d . more than was received in 1894 . On the other hand , the disbursements in

relief , for educational purposes , and in annuities amounted to ^ 892 lis ., or nearly , £ 150 more than in 18 95 . There was also invested in mortgage at three per cent , on the Manchester Masonic Hall the sum of ^ 5000 , by which the total of investments belongingto the

Institution was increased to £ 18 , 755 14 s . sd . The number of children to whom grants for educational purposes were made during the year was 29 , and there are seven annuitants on the Fund , each receiving the sum of £ 26 per annum . * * *

From the Treasurer ' s Statement of Account we learn that , including the large sum of £ 4837 6 s . 8 d . in hand on the ist January from previous account , the receipts reached £ 6713 3 s . 3 d ., including Donations and Subscriptions , as already stated in the previous

Note , and £ 506 16 s . 4 d . interest on investments . The Disbursements for relief amounted to £ 454 14 s . ( 3 d ., for educational purposes to £ 205 16 s . Cd ., and for annuities to £ 182 . The establishment charges , ineluding Bank Interest and Commission , amounted to

Masonic Notes.

; £ i 4 S ios . iod ., and £ 5000 , as before stated , was invested on mortgage , while £ 210 was subscribed to the Central Masonic Institutions , one-half of it being assigned to the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution , and the other apportioned equally between the two

Schools . The Balance in hand and at bank on 31 st December last amounted to £ 44 1 1 is . 5 d . We congratulate the Institution on this very satisfactory account , and trust that future annual accounts may never be less satisfactory . * * *

We learn from the Australasian Key , tone , that the Masters and Wardens' Association , held its regular monthly meeting at Freemason ' s Hall , Melbourne , on the i ( 5 th November last , when a recommendation that a warrant should be applied for to open a lodge of instruction in connection with the Association was held over to the following meeting , in order that the

proposal might be inserted on the agenda paper and members attend prepared to discuss the matter fully . A paper was then read and discussed on " The Opening and Closing of Lodges in the Three Degrees , " that is so far as the reading and discussion could be carried , the First Degree ceremonies only being completely dealt with , while the discussion on those of the Second Degree was adjourned till the next meeting .

# # # On the same authority we learn that the Lord Brassey Lodge , No . 180 ( V . R . ) , was consecrated at Bair's Hotel , Leongatha , on the i 8 : h November last . There was a very large attendance of the brethren and the ceremony of consecration was performed by Bro . Geo . Baker , Dep . G . Master , the oration on the Nature

and Principles of the Institution by the G . Chaplain—Bro . the Rev . E . W . Rodda—being described as most eloquent . On the completion of the ceremony Bro . John Jeffrey was installed as the first W . Master . The customary banquet followed , after which the toast list was gone through , that of " Prosperity to the New Lodge " being drunk with the greatest enthusiasm . ? *

According to a communication received from a correspondent of . the St . f-ames ' s Gaaetlc , there has recently died at Tramore , County Waterford , a Mr William Congreve Rogers , who was a centenarian , and who , though he would never tell his age , is reputed to have been from 105 to no years . He is said

to have been a member of our Society , and also of the Society of Friendly Brothers for over 80 years . Our contemporary was informed that Bro . Rogers retained his faculties to the last , and had never been known to suffer from any ailment . He is said to have died at last for lack of further vitality .

* * * When will those of our American Grand Lodges which are rabidly intempeiate in their crusade against intemperance learn to understand that what is sanctioned by the laws of this country cannot be opposed to the laws of Masonry . Those who are engaged in

the liquor trade in the United States are so engaged with the lull sanction of the law , and therefore it cannot be an offence against Masonry either to sell or buy , any more than it is to consume , alcoholic liquors . The members of a lodge may agree among themselves not to elect a candidate for initiation or joining

who is engaged in the liquor traffic , just as they may agree not to accept as fellow members candidates who are lawyers , doctors , bootmakers , butchers , & c . But it is distinctly ultra vires on the part of any lodge to go about denouncing what the law sanctions . It is the

duty of Masons , as citizens of the United States—which they do not cease to be when they become Masons—to obey and respect the laws of their country . Moreover to condemn the liquor traffic and liquor consumers in this fashion is to condemn the great bulk of the Craft , who use God ' s gifts temperately , not abuse them .

But , though all this must , be patent to every man of common sense , we find the Grand Lodge of Wyoming at its communication in September last , adopting the following : "It shall be , and is hereby made the imperative duty of lodges in this jurisdiction to sustain as

far as possible the course of intemperance and hereafter no subordinate lodge shall admit by initiation or affiliation any person engaged in the manufacture or sale of intoxicants . Engaging in such business hereafter by any brother shall be considered a Masonic offence , and if after trial he be found guilty of the charges he shall

be suspended or expelled , as the case may require , and for the faithful performance of this duty each lodge shall be held accountable to the Grand Lodge . Provided , that the above provisions shall not be deemed to apply to persons who are regularly engaged in the business of druggist and inn-keepers , nor to dealers in liquors

used exclusively in the arts and sciences . " We yield to none in our admiration for the virtue of temperance and in our desire to see its principles universally adopted . But only evil will follow to the [ Craft if Grand Lodgjs thus insist on placing the laws of Masonry above the laws of the land .