Board Of Benevolence.

This was the first evening that the Board met at five ' clocfe instead of six p . m ., the resolution of Grand Lodge ? i | which was moved by Bro . Robt . Grey , having Lgn confirmed by Grand Lodge at the Quarterly Comlunication of September 7 th . The attendance of brethren , as will be seen from the above list , was small , hut all expressed themselves pleased with the new

arrangement . The list of candidates for relief was also small . The brethren first confirmed recommendations to the Grand Master made at the August meeting to the inio- nt of i . 170 . There vvere only 16 cases on the new list qualified through lodges in the London District , and at Grays ( Essex ) , Ipswich , Chelmsford , Rochford , Jamaica , Truro , Bromley ( Kent ) , Wigton , Halifax

( Xova Scotia ) , Madras , Haverfordwest , Sunderland , and South Shields . Two of the petitions were dismissed , and four were deierred for further information . The remaining 10 were awarded a total of . £ 245 . One petitioner received

j recommendation to Grand Lodge for £$ 0 , and one was recommended to the Grand Master for £ 40 . Two were recommended to the Grand Master for . £ 30 each ; four were relieved with _^ 20 each ; one \ vith _ £ io ; and one with . £ 5 . The Board rose at 20 minutes to 7 p . m .

East Lancashire Systematic Masonic Educational And Benevolent Institution.

EiSr LANCASHIRE SYSTEMATIC MASONIC EDUCATIONAL AND BENEVOLENT INSTITUTION .

A meeting of the General Committee of the above Institution was held at Freemasons' Hall , Cooperstreet , Manchester , on Friday , the 16 th inst . Bro . E . G . Harwood presided , supported by Bros . J . H . Sillitoe ,

Vice-Chairman ; James Newton , Sec . ; and brethren representing the following lodges , all of which were represented at the previous meeting : Nos . 993 , 381 , 2 S 8 , 219 , 1773 , 210 , 1219 , -45 , ion , 126 , 581 , 1129 , 935 , " 6 , 1504 , 34 s , 128 , 1634 , 1178 , 21 S , 283 , 1134 , " 45 , 64 , 152 , 1723 , 163 , 999 , 1218 , 1129 , 1064 , 2363 , ij' 9 , ' 948 , 1634 , 2 3 20 , 369 , 191 , 268 , 286 , 1147 , 274 , 1723 , 269 , 317 , 2056 , 277 , 1009 , 221 , 1161 , 2193 , 1253 ,

815 , 2 3 , 300 , 266 , 42 , 1868 , 1723 , 34 8 , 16 33 , 1392 , 459 , 992 , 344 . 350 , and 633 . The minutes of the meetings held respectively on nth March and 13 th May were read and confirmed , as also were the minutes of the Finance Committee held 27 th May and the 6 th inst . Six petitions were before the Committee , and all were adopted for the Education Board , which would receive due consideration .

Masonic Crioket Match.

MASONIC CRIOKET MATCH .

After the serious cricket of the annual festival , st Scarborough , the match arranged for Thursday , the 15 th instant , was about the greatest contrast tliat could be imagined , ft will be remembered that last year a match was organised by the Freemasons in aid of the Hospital and Dispensary , and

the venture was so successful that a match on similar lines was again got up . The conditions were that the players should be Freemasons and should be dressed "inyeolde style , " viz ., in top hats and braces . Some of the costumes were remarkably correct , though the play , in the majority of cases , was little less than a « oel on the cricket of the good old days . There was a

good show of spectators , and the cricket was at least 'Meresting . Bro . Sir Charles Legard ' s eleven—though that gentlemen was not playing—went to the wickets « st , Bros . Sir George Sitwell and the Rev . F . Holt , howling to Bros . W . Plews and D . Fletcher . The 'ormer scored at a tremendous rate , and , when the first "jcKet fell at 44 he had scored 41 of that number

, , * Mst when he was bowled by Bro . Holt at 59 , his swre stood at 55 . Matters went badl y afterwards , "nd six wickets went down for 78 . The last playerwo . D . H . Thompson—had spared no pains to make ls attire correct , and his stay at the wickets caused PWls of laughter . The ninth wicket made a prolonged and

, Bro . Fletcher being at last persuaded , after con'wrable discussion to retire Ibw , the innings closing at ^ ' 45 tor 116 . The opposing team , however , entirely "psed their performance , the first wicket falling at but K r - ° ' ^ ty an ( * Holt played very free cricket , tr , L ca P ' ' w ** ° came next , retired after putting 'Whc-r .,.. Wickets aftprwarrk foil fnct Rrn Hr

ey , a substitute , dismissing the four last batsmen . " An-i „ George and Lad- / Ida Sitwell held an oj noine" on the ground , for which a large number Orcl _ nVlUtl 0 ns were accepted . Madame Schipek's 4 n . i . * the People ' s Palace played selections """" g the afternoon .

"Truth" And Freemasonry In The Army.

"TRUTH" AND FREEMASONRY IN THE ARMY .

Ti , aCorr e /! r ° ml Arrow prints the following letter from * n . t » _ P ° . ' e' * t , in reference to a communication which "S , '" l ast week ' s TrHth — yo _ ' '~ ' ^''' l you allow me through the medium of app ( . pa P . to say a few words on a paragraph which tid . ea m Truth nf Rtl . Q » l . mh » . 9 T _« __ . it ..,. ...

ma J nous journal alluding to the influence of Free-Arm y / 8 S feting promotion and disci pline in the a . ai ' ,, : ' 4 sergeant ° f a certain corps , of which Was , tk - f P ° rtion of officers and sergeants are Masons , * ni | j ' lai _ d ot f | er day , brought into the barracks by the ele l

* Va 'eJ . ij no P = siy arunu . A corporaor a s * Eeant have fared badly in such a case * The Was merely admonished ; a few days later he

"Truth" And Freemasonry In The Army.

was promoted to be company sergeant-major . ' Without dwelling on the vagueness and puerility of these remarks , it is perfectly clear that the information was derived from a very unreliable source , it being selfevident that the sergeant himself would not take the trouble to furnish this information , and equally certain that no Mason would feel called upon to correspond

with Truth on this , or possibly any other , subject . It is therefore fair to assume that Truth ' s informant is our aspiring corporal , who may have been anxiously waiting to step into the Bacchanalian sergeants' shoes , and who may or may not have been in possession of accurate information on the subject on which he is so ready to enlighten the editor of Truth . As to a private or

corporal faring badly in such a case , I wonder if the editor of Truth is aware of the fact that soldiers of all ranks , particularly the rank and file , are novv-a-days , as . 1 rule , merely ' admonished' for drunkenness , if not on duty , the tendency being to deal leniently with all comparatively venial offences . But the culminating point , in Truth's opinion , is reached

when a few days later the sergeant in question was promoted company sergeant-major . Truth continues ' About the same time a company sergeant-major who had failed to obtain his first-class certificate , was promoted to warrant rank . As I understand it , this is distinctly contrary to Queen's Regulations , and the only explanation of . it is—Freemasonry . ' The latter

part of this paragraph condemns the whole , and shows its utter worthlessness , besides displaying the inability of the writer to deal with the subject fairly and without prejudice . So , on the principle that ' any stick will serve to beat a dog , ' he declares that the only explanation is' Freemasonry . ' Truth will possibly be surprised te learn that during the past two or three years many

N . C . officers who are not Masons have been promoted to warrant rank without the supposed requisite firstclass certificate . I am , I believe , perfectly right in saying that the particular N . C . officer to whom Truth refers is not a Freemason , but that he obtained his promotion ( ostensibly , at all events ) for service in the field . Truth proceeds : ' From what 1 know of Freemasonry ,

I see no reason to doubt that such things have occurred , or that they will occur again , and the only way to prevent them is to exclude all the lower ranks of the Service from participating in Masonic rites . " This is meaningless twaddle . I should be glad to know how and why the lower ranks of the Service are to be excluded from ' participating in Masonic rites , ' or the

rites of any other order to which they may belong . But the weakness which the writer exhibits is surpassed by the dexterity he displays in not attacking Masons as a body , but only that portion of the Masonic community which happens to belong to the lower ranks of the Army . —Yours , & c , " H . G . D . " Dover , 13 th September . "

Scotland.

Scotland .

INSTALLATION OF BRO . It . KING STEWART AS PROV . GRAND MASTER OF LANARKSHIRE There was a large assemblage of the Masonic fraternity in Hamilton on the Sth inst ., to mark the importance of the installation of Bro . Robert King Stewart of Murdostoun as Prov . Grand Master of Lanarkshire ( Middle Ward ) . All the lodges in the

province and some of the neighbouring provinces were represented in goodly numbers ; indeed , the large hall of the County Buildings was taxed to its utmost capacity . There was a large deputation present from Grand Lodge , including the M . W . G . M ., Bro . the Right Hon . the Earl of Haddington ; Bros . J . Dalrymple Duncan , G . S . W . ; Col . J . Campbell , G . J . W . ; D . Murray Lyon ,

G . Sec . ; D . Reid , G . Cashier ; Colin Galletly , G . J . D . ; G . C . H . Macnaught , G . B . B . ; G . Dobbin , G . Bard ; Major F . W . Allan , G . S . B . ; Lieut . G . B . Wishart , G . Marshal ; J . M'Naught Campbell , G . I . G . ; J . M . Markin , Dumbarton , R . J . Jamieson , President of G . Stewards ; J . Muir , V . P ., and W . Phillips , G . Stwds . ; and others .

These and the officers from the Provincial Grand Lodges of Glasgow , Lanark ( Middle Ward ) and Lanark ( Upper Ward ) were entertained to dinner by the new Provincial Grand Master in the Commercial Hotel , and thereafter joined the members of lodges , who had meantime formed in processional order , and with torchlight and band music marched to the County Buildings , where the Provincial Grand Lodge was

opened by Bro . Col . J . Clark borrest . The ceremony of installation was performed in an exemplary manner by Lord Haddington , who congratulated the province in having selected as their head a good man and a good Mason . At the close the newly-installed P . G . M . addressed the assembly , and thereafter the brethren were entertained to cake and wine .

The Craft Abroad.

The Craft Abroad .

CONSECRATION AND DEDICATION OF TUB PROVINCIAL GRAND ROYAL ARCH CHAPTER OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN REPUBLIC ( S . C . J On Saturday evening , July 30 th , a very interesting

and important ceremony to Freemasons took place in the Masonic Temple , St . Andrew-street , Pretoria . This was the consecration ar . d dedication of the above Provincial Grand Chapter . The Acacia Royal Arch Chapter , No . 231 , having

The Craft Abroad.

been ' opened , a deputation retired to introduce the Consecrating Officer , Comp . John Edward Green , P . Z ., and the other acting Provincial Grand Officers . The Consecrating Officer then proceeded to appoint the new office-bearers , and afterwards to consecrate and dedicate the newly - inaugurated Provincial Grand Chapter .

This ceremony concluded , he then invested as Grand Superintendent , Comp . Dr . T . P . O . Mathew , and subsequently the office-bearers , as follows Comp . J . H . Hartley , P . Z Prov . G . H . ,, A . Newman , Z Prov . G . J . „ C . M . de Wet , H Prov . G . S . E . „ Robert Baikie , H Prov . G . S . N .

„ J . Kincaid , P . Z Prov . G . Treas . „ J . W . Cooper , J Prov . G . P . Soj . „ J . Finck , H Prov . istA . G . S . „ B . Danziger , P . H Prov . 2 ndA . G . S . „ J . Munro , J * > „ M . Hanson , P . H j Prov . G . Stwds . „ E . Maxtead Prov . G . Janitor . At the close of the proceedings the companions sat

down to an excellent supper , provided by Comp . H . Burger , to which ample justice was done . Various congratulatory speeches were made , expressive of the good feelings with which Scotch Royal Arch Masonry is regarded in the Transvaal , and the wish that success may attend the newly-inaugurated Provincial Grand Chapter , which is the first Provincial Grand Masonic Institution in the Transvaal . —Transvaal Advertiser .

Obituary.

Obituary .

BRO . VALENTINE DAV , W . M . S 62 . We regret to announce the death on the 9 th inst . of Bro . Valentine Day , W . M . of the Whittington Lodge , No . 862 . The sad event occurred at his residence , Woolley Lodge , Chestnut-road , West Norwood , and on Friday , the 14 th inst ., the remains were consigned to their last resting-place in Norwood Cemetery ,

several members of the lodge being amongst those present to pay their last tribute of respect to the memory of our late brother . Bro . Day was a Steward at the Jubilee Festival of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution in February , when he took a goodly list of between . £ 90 and . £ 100 . Bro . Day had been ailing for some time past , the cause of death being heart disease .

Cocoaopolis And Cocoa.

COCOAOPOLIS AND COCOA .

Those who desire to know more of the process by which Messrs . Fry ' s Cocoas and Chocolates are manufactured , should read the article in the British Journal of Commerce of the ioth inst ., bearing the above title , and written by a contributor who signs himself " Lesser Columbus . " The article is laudatory , but not more so than the subject justifies , and while it serves to convey an excellent idea of

Messrs . Fry ' s factories in Bristol , is not too crowded with statistical matter , but that it can be easily understood and appreciated by the general reader . After a preliminary flourish , in which the city of Bristol has its full share of pleasant chatter all to itself , the writer finds his way into one of the factories— " the handsomest commercial building in a city of stately warehouses and factories " —and describes what he saw on the various floors and the cellars beneath . Here and in other factories the " thousands of

sacks filled with the cocoa-nibs , " which are kept in store in great warehouses , are converted into cocoa and chocolate , being first roas ' . ed , thtn shd into huge hoppers , freed from their outer shell , ground , and compounded with the necessary quantity of pounded loaf sugar , and then placed in huge " revolving pans and worked by unceasingly revolving granite rollers into paste . " This paste is then drawn over

a legion of rollers and granite cylinders , being flattened and rolled out b y some beautiful machines , and makes its next appearance in a perfect chocolate stage . " The next process is making the different kinds of sweetmeats and the blocks of plain chocolate for drinking . In one of the departments devoted to this are to be seen " great crowds of neatly-dressed and cheerful-lookinir trirls occuoied in

covering the different kinds of creams which lie in little moulds before them with the brown chocolate . In another , what is called the ' French ' department , a number of experienced white-capped and aproned chefs are busily engaged in pouring into hundreds of little spaces the myriad compounds of gelatinous and sugar-: logging substances , which are so much easier and pleasanter tu eat than to describe . "

Elsewhere great piles of cream undergoing the process of coolifig , and then again in another part is carried on the manufacture of " Fry ' s Pure Concentrated Cocoa , " which is " really the essence of all that is good , all that is best , all that is most nutritious in the tocoa separated by extraordinary methods from its inferior constituents , and made to form , in its compressed sense , the purest and most

perfect nutriment in a given small space , brought together by the ingenuity . of man . " Having given some idea of thc manner in which this *• Concentrated Cocoa" is prepared , " Lesser Columbus" describes the packing room , " where men are engaged in filling tins of cocoa in its various forms ready to be despatched to all parts of the world , and the department in which hundreds of girls were at work filling tins and bags , packets

and boxes with the differently shaped and differently confectioned morsels of delight . " The article concludes with " a few dry facts " as to the firm itself , its constitutution , its establishment , its ramifications , and the numerous awards , which at different times and in different countries have been awarded to its manufacturers . The article , we repeat , is well worth reading , containing what will surely enlighten without bewildering what is known as the general reader .

During the last few years the quantity of butter imported into this country has , according to certain returns published by the Board of Agriculture , increased from 304 , 722 cwts . to 8 7 0 , 211 cwts ., and from Sweden from C . / . Sai cwts . to 2 34 , 9 S 7 cwts .