Ad00905

GOULD'S HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY . Three vols ., as new . Cost five guineas . Will sell for three guineas , carriage paid . C . A . MAYS , 75 WILKINSON STREET , SHEFFIELD .

Ad00908

" In this hour of hopeful joy Great Architect we pray . " ODE or INVOCATION for Male Voices , Suitable for Special Masonic Celebrations , Centenaries , Installations , & c . Composed for and Dedicated to BRO . R ICHARD WILSON , P . M ., P . P . G . Treas ., & c , Centenary Worshipful Master of the Lodge of Fidelity of Free and Accepted Masons ( 2 S 9 ) , Leeds , AND THE OFFICERS AND BRETHREN OF THE LODGE , BY WILLIAM SPARK , P . M . 2 S 9 , P . P . G . O ., Mus . Doc , Organist of the Town Hall , Leeds , Composer of the Cantata and Oratorio , " Immanuel , " & c . COPYRIGHT , PRICE FOUR SHILLINGS . LONDON * . GEORGE KENNING , 16 and I 6 A , Great Queen-st ., W . C .

Ad00907

A ' ow Ready . Fifth Edition . Price is . 6 d . "I WTASONTC " POINTS , " C ONTAINING CUES IN THE MASONIC RITUALS OF THE E . A ., F . C , AND M . M . DEGREES , And of those in the HOLY ROYAL ARCH . AUTHORISED BY H . R . H . THE M . W . G . M . Bro . GEORGE KENNING , 16 . Great Queen-street , London , W . C ,

Ad00906

PARTRIDGE & COOPER , « THE " STA TIONERS , 191 & 192 , FLEET STREET , LONDON . THE ROYAL COURTS NOTE PAPER . This is the cheapest paper ever introduced to the public , it being slightly tinted , thick , and pleasant to write upon . Price 4 s . per ream . THE VELLUM WOVE CLUB-HOUSE PAPER . The best paper made . Send for sample box of paper and envelopes , post free for 2 s . Catalogues Post Free .

To Correspondents.

To Correspondents .

OUR PORTRAIT GALLERY OF WORSHIPFUL MASTERS . In future numbers of the Freemason we purpose giving a series of portraits of Worshipful Masters who have been recently installed . Recognising the fact that no greater honour can be bestowed on a brother than to be elected the Master of his lodge , we

desire to do our part towards creating a permanent record of such event in his Masonic history by placing his portrait before our readers . We shall be pleased to furnish Secretaries of lodges and others who may take an interest in our project whatever information may be desired as to our proposed method of procedure .

The following communications , amongst others , unavoidably stand over * . Caur LOIKISS . —Falls , No . « 6 ( I . C . ) * , I-ove and Honour , No . » 8 ji Harmony and Industry , No . -8 . ; United Pilgrims , No , 507 j Doric , 933 ; Wolsey , No " . 16 5 6 ; Pimlico , No . 177 a 1 I . odge of Golden Fleece , No . ao 8 t ; and Benevcnta , No . 1380 . MARK LODGKJ . —Porchester , No . 37 j Caesaren , No . 74 .

ROVAL ARCH CHAFTEKS . —Tudor , No . 2771 and Selwyn , No njoi . Consecration of Lodge No . 99 ( I . C . ) . Consecration of St . Paul ' s Mark Lodge , No . 455 . Centenary Celebration l . odire of Sincerity , No . ay * . Provincial Grand Lodge of Herefordshire . Presentation to Bro . A , Thompson at Dublin .

Ar00909

SATURDAY , FEBRUARY 25 , 18 93 .

Masonic Notes.

Masonic Notes .

I he lirst of the great Masonic Festivals of the year was held at Freemasons' Tavern under the presidency ° Uro . Charles E . Keyser , and though , after what happened last year , the Board of Stewards was com-P'irativel y small and the Returns amounted to no more ian ^ 8305 , the result must be regarded as a success .

owever , we congratulate the Chairman , and the ladies hrethren who so earnestly supported him , on the £ mp ] etio n of their task , and the satisfactory proof they ave furnished that something considerable is still Possible after the strain of last year ' s effort , if people onl y CXert themselves to achieve it .

Masonic Notes.

At thc Quarterly Communication of United Grand Lodge , which will be held on Wednesday , the ist prox ., two motions will be brought forward on behalf of his Royal Highness the Grand Master , which there can be no doubt will command the sympathy of the whole English Craft . The first of them proposes that a sum

of . £ 210 shall be voted to our Newfoundland brethren who suffered grevious losses of property by thc destruction of their hall and its contents in the conflagration which laid in ruins the whole of the city of St . John ' s . The vote will no doubt be carried by

acclamation , and will be doubly acceptable by the Craft in the colony —( 1 ) as relieving them pro tanto of the pressure on their means in order to replace what vvas burnt ; ( 2 ) as an exhibition of the fraternal sympathy which their losses have elicited from the English brethren .

* * * The other motion is to vote a grant of ^ 105 in aid of the sufferers by the recent earthquakes in the Island of Zante , and will equally command the sympathies of

Grand Lodge and the brethren generally . Such a vote in a case of this kind is especially valuable , as it shows that though Freemasonry recognises the force of the adage that— " Charity begins at home "—it does not limit its charitable operations to the home circle .

* * We note that since the last Quarterly Communication in December , the M . W . Grand Master has granted warrants for the constitution of 16 new lodges , of which five meet in London , eight in the Provinces , and three in Districts Abroad . The new

Provincial lodges are situated in Berkshire (^ Buckinghamshire ( 1 ) , Durham ( 1 ) , West Lancashire ( 2 ) , East Lancashire ( 1 ) , South Wales , East Division ( 1 ) , and Isle of Man ( 1 ) . The three lodges abroad are located in the Argentine Republic , Bermuda , and Natal ( South Africa ) respectively .

A novel point in connection with the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys has arisen in connection with the recent alteration of the date of the Council meeting . The laws specify that the election of one-third of the members of the Board of Management shall take place

at the Quarterly Court in April , and that iioiiiiimti ' oits for this Board shall be made ut the Council in March The Council in March this year happens to fall on Good Friday , and , by an exceptional clause of Law 48 , the meeting is postponed to the following Friday

( April 7 th ) . Hence there is no Council in March . We venture to think , however , that the meeting on April 7 th is the March meeting , and that nominations made at the later or postponed date will be perfectly valid . This " crux " is only another instance of the difficulties created by a moveable Easter .

* We regret to record the death , quite suddenly , on Monday last , of Bro . C . J . Banister , 33 ° , in his 78 th year . Bro . Banister has been ailing for some time but no apprehension of his immediate death were entertained by his family . Bro . Banister was a much respected member of the 33 ' *' , having' filled the ollice of

Inspector-General of the North Eastern District for many years . He was also a P . G . S . B . in the Craft , P . G . D . C . in the Royal Arch , and Prov . Prior K . T . Northumberland . We shall hope to give some account of our brother ' s Masonic career in a future issue , and in thc meantime we tender our respectful sympathy to the family .

Correspondence.

Correspondence .

I We do not hold ourselves responsible for the opinions expressed bi * our correspondents , but we wish in a spirit of fair play to all to permit—within certain necessary limits—free discussion . ]

THE PREFIX OF WORSHIPFUL . To the Editor of the "Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , My reply to the letter of your correspondent , " Not a Steward , " which appeared in your issues of last week and the previous week respectively , was scarcely an answer to the question he raised ; at least , I have come to think so on further consideration .

I ought to , and do , thank him for calling my attention to the point . I have since had my attention directed tithe Book of Constitutions , which shows hc is perfectly correct in his assertion that all brethren who have attained to the rank of Installed Master are entitled to the prefix W . ( for Worshi pful ) . I must

therefore ask him , and all whom it may concern , to regard the omission as an oversight on my part . I have great reluctance to writing letters for publication , for an error in print is a standing vexation . Could I write my letter of last week again ! should withdraw the words * ' nor does this lodge ; " because certainly this lodge abides rigidly by the Book of Constitutions .

Correspondence.

It is evident that I , personally , made an error of omission . —I am , yours truly and fraternally , W . G . KENTISH . February 23 rd .

To the Editor of the Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , I feel bound to acknowledge the good-natured courtesy of Bro . Kentish ' s letter in reference to mine , anent the prefix " W ., " and to thank him for his kindness in offering me an invitation to the supper next Friday , and I regret I am unable to accept it .

I have for some years hoped to have had the pleasure of attending this supper , and , indeed , still indulge the hope ; but eheri , fugans anni liibuntur . I would also ( as I thought I had already done ) assure him that it was not in my mind that the omission was an act of intention . —Faithfull y and fraternally yours , NOT A STEWARD .

P . S . —If I sent him my card he would but still exclaim , " Who is he '* " so that it is useless to trouble him with it . February iSth . To the Editor of the "Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother .

It is not my custom to interfere in matters which do not concern me , but I have been so struck by the letter of W . Bro . Kentish in your last issue , that I cannot refrain from asking you to allow me to comment on it . W . Bro . Kentish , who is : \ P . M . of two lodges and a

P . P . G . D . ( as I see by advertisement of the Festival ) , states that he " was not aware that the late Grand Secretory had laid it down as law that the prefix should be used in connection with the names of ordinary brethren who have not attained to Grand Lodge honours " ( the italics are mine ) ; and , again , "I do not

pretend to be an authority on such matters , nor does this lodge . " Can it be possible that the Secretary of the premier " Lodge of Instruction and Improvement" has never read his Book of Constitutions V How else can one account for a Grand Secretary being given credit for

laying down as law the rule given in the note to Constitution 6 ( page 20 ) , where it expressly states "The title or address of 'Worshipful' ( W . ) is to be used . . . . hy the present und post Masters of lodges . " Observe , it does not say " may be used . " Surely every document emanating from the

Emulation Lodge of Instruction ought to be a model of corredness , and thc Secretary ought to be an authority on such an ordinary point as the knowledge of the correct prefix due to each brother . It seems to me an extraordinary thing to say that

this lodge , to which we are all accustomed to look up to as an authority on Masonic procedure , avows ignorance on such matters , and I , for one , cannot admit that any portion of the Book of Constitutions is too trivial to be obeyed . —Yours fraternally , PAST PROVINCIAL .

To the Editor of the "Freemason , " Dear Sir and Brother , It is rather amusing to note that the brother who complained in yours of the nth inst ., and also the Secretary of the Emulation Lodge of Improvement by his reply , both appear to be unaware that the proper use of the prefix is authoritatively settled by the note to Rule 6 , Book of Constitutions . —Yours fraternally , PROVINCIAL . February I Sth .

Tothe Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , It is somewhat singular that " Not a Steward " and W . Bro . Kentish both allude to a circular issued some years ago from the Grand Secretary ' s office on the subject of prefixes , whilst neither refers to the Book of Constitutions—Note to Rule 6 , which says :

" The title , or address of ' Worshipful' ( W . ) is to be used by the rest of the Present and Past Grand Oflicers of the Grand Lodge and by the Present and Past Masters of the lodge . " I am accustomed to refer to the ritual of lhe Emulation Lodge of Improvement as the standard of perfection , and am surprised not to find it in the advertisement referred to .

I am not surprised at the Stewards nut complaining ; they naturally leave it to others to draw attention to the omission , to give them the honour to which they are entitled . —Yours fraternally ,

W . P . M . PROVINCE OF MIDDLESEX AND SURREY . To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , At the dissolution of the above province thc Treasurer had over ^ 100 in hand , and it appears to me that the amount belonged equally to the 29 lodges who

had contributed to it . The notice on the agenda of Grand Mark Lodge provides for this sum being paid to the 11 lodges forming the new Provinces of Middlesex and Surrey , and the lodges left in the London District get nothing . Surely the only fair way of dividing the money is to give each lodge of the old province about £ 2 ios . —Yours fraternall y , JUSTICE ,