Our Institutions And The Critics.

promised contributions of brethren or write off the latter as "bad debts , " when they are not paid by the 31 st December of the year they belong to . Perhaps , however , some stern critic will formulate a plan by which it will be possible for each Secretary to announce at the Festival of the Institution he is connected with—not the total of the donations and

subscriptions which have been returned to him in the Stewards' lists , but the total of the donations and subscriptions which have been and will be paid during the year ending 31 st December . To enable him to do this it will be necessary he ( the Secretary ) should possess the power of divination and foretell the total of the year ' s receipts , six , eight , or ten months

before the year is ended . Perhaps , also , the same or another critic will explain why the limit of the 31 st December , beyond which all promised but unpaid contributions must be written off as " deficiency " or " bad debts " is to be applied equally to all three Institutions , seeing that they hold their respective Festivals at different periods of the year—the Royal Masonic

Benevolent Institution at the end of February ; the Girls' School , as a rule , about the middle of May ; and the Boys' School at the end of June ? Why must the Benevolent Institution be allowed ten months for collection and the Boys' School only six ? Yet this will be the case if a hard and fast line is to be drawn at the 31 st December .

But we cannot prolong this article indefinitely . Indeed , we have prolonged it thus far , only because our I nstitutions are being attacked , mercilessly and without cause , while the brethren whom we have described as having no particular opinions of their own , and no desire to form any , will imagine there must be some foundation for charges and innuendoes , which are made

so clamorously and to which the authorities assailed very properly vouchsafe no answer . We write under no " inspiration , " but such as is supplied by our own knowledge , and by means of this knowledge—which every one of these assailants might have obtained for the asking—we are enabled to denv point blank some of the most flagrant of their assertions ,

and demonstrate beyond the possibility of question the utter fallacy of others . We do not claim infallibility either for ourselves or for the authorities of our Institutions—indeed we cheerfully acknowledge that whatever is human must exhibit some imperfections . But taking our cue from the well-known maxim , which forbids us attaching too great importance to trifles , we assert ,

without fear of contradiction that , while it is quite possible there may be some things in the management of our Charities which are capable of improvement , their administration as a whole has been most beneficial to the English Craft , a credit to our Society , and worthy in every way of the

encomiums it has elicited from all just and honourable men . We maintain that it is impossible that the affairs of our Institutions can have been irregularly or improperly administered , when it can be shown that , during the ten years which have elapsed between the summer of 1878 and now—during which the present Secretaries of all three Charities have been in office .

( a ) . THE GIRLS' SCHOOL has increased its establishment of children from 189 to 244 ; has spent many thousands of pounds in the purchase of Lyncombe and other houses and contiguous grounds , and in re-arranging them for the purposes of the Institution ; and , at the same time , has augmented its invested capital by some £ 22 , 000 , and doubled the value of its original property .

( b ) . THE BOYS' SCHOOL has increased the number of its children from 195 10 263 ; has purchased Lindum Villas and ground and built a new Hall and Preparatory School at an expense of over £ 22 , 000 ; and enlarged its invested capital from £ 8000 to £ 17 , 000 .

( c ) . THE BENEVOLENT INSTITUTION has increased the number of its annuitants from 145 on the Male Fund to 180 ; and from 125 on the Widows' Fund to 229 : and has raised its expenditure in annuities from £ 10 , 182 to close on £ 15 , , and its invested capital from between £ 51 , 000 and £ 52 , 000 to £ 71 , 000 .

We readily concede that different men may hold different opinions as to the adoption of this or that policy—as in the matter of employing a Collector , after the plan adopted by the R . M . B . I ., or not employing one , as is the case with the two Schools . But we deny the right of the knownothing critic , merely because he happens to be a Mason , and it may

be , not even a contributor to our Charities , to hold up to public ridicule and contempt Institutions which are the glory of our Craft , and would be an honour to any society in the world ; which have done their work so admirably in the past ; and which , if their progress is not too seriously hindered h y these groundless attacks , will continue to do still more beneficial work in the future .

Installation Of Bro. Lord Saltoun As P.G.M. Of Aberdeen.

INSTALLATION OF BRO . LORD SALTOUN AS P . G . M . OF ABERDEEN .

CONSECRATION OF THE SALTOUN LODGE , No . 761 . On Tuesday , the 15 th inst ., a great Masonic ceremonial took place in Aberdeen , when Lord Saltoun was installed as Grand Master of Aberdeen City Province , and a new lodge , to be known as the Saltoun Lodge , was also consecrated . The ceremonies were performed by the Grand Master

Mason of Scotland , Sir Archibald Campbell of Blythswood , who was accompanied by Lord Haddington ( Depute Grand Master ) and other office-bearers of the Grand Lodge . The paraphernalia of the new lodge , it ls stated , are of an exceedingly rich and ornate character , the badges being all of Saltoun tartan and the jewels bearing the Saltoun arms . At the

consecration , the Rev . Somerville , Glasgow , the Grand Chaplain , gave an address on the nature and objects of Masonry , declaring that every ° dge was dedicated to virtue and set apart to the purpose of preserving the memory of St . John the Baptist and St . John the Evangelist , and was the sacred shrine of Jehovah .

Installation Of Bro. Lord Saltoun As P.G.M. Of Aberdeen.

Lord Saltoun , who is R . W . M . of the new lodge , was presented by the Grand Master with a beautiful emblem of office , and Sir ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL , in making the presentation , said it was well known that Lord Saltoun had already done good service to the cause of Masonry , and the fact that he had been presented with this jewel showed that they had confidence that he would do equally good work in the future .

Lord SALTOUN replied , thanking the Grand Master and other members of Grand Lodge for coming to Aberdeen to open the new Iodge . The installation of Lord Saltoun as Provincial Grand Master took

place m the Masonic Hall in the presence of a large number of Freemasons , and Lord Saltoun , having taken the oath and been invested with the insignia of office , introduced the office-bearers whom he had appointed , who also took the oath .

Sir ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL afterwards addressed the brethren of the province , and expressed a hope that the divisions which had existed among them for some time past would now disappear under what he was sure would be the able and prudent guidance of the new Provincial Grand Master .

Lord SALTOUN , in reply , said he entered on his duties thoroughly assured that they would all cordially co-operate with him in restoring harmony and good feeling among the brethren of the province . In the evening a banquet was held under Lord Saltoun ' s presidency .

Lord SALTOUN gave "The Health of Sir Archibald Campbell , " who , in reply , said there was at present a great revival among the lodges in Scotland . He also asked the cordial support of the Aberdeen Province to a contemplated great bazaar in order to add £ 10 , 000 to the Grand Lodge Benevolent Fund .

In the course of other speeches the hope was generally expressed that under Lord Saltoun all the differences which existed among the Body in Aberdeen would disappear . The lodge was furnished by Bro . George Kenning ,

Bro. Hughan's New Work.

BRO . HUGHAN'S NEW WORK .

Another work by Bro . Hughan , of Torquay , England ( formerly of Truro ) , will be good news to many in America , especially as it to some extent concerns this country . Its title is " The Engraved List of Regular Lodges of A . D . 1734 . In Facsimile . With an introduction and

explanatory notes by William James Hughan , P . S . G . D . of England , etc ., " and the price will be § 1 * 25 , post free , if remittances are made direct to the author , to the foregoing address . The volume will be bound in blue cloth , 8 vo ., and being now ready for the binder , its advent may be expected in a few days .

We have before us a proof of the facsimile portion , and unhesitatingly pronounce it to be a perfect and handsome reproduction of the original and unique copy , owned by Bro . James Newton , of Bolton , England . It seems that after one of 1729 , the onl y one known is for the year 1734 , and then but this solitary copy . The value of the reproduction is considerable , but in Bro . Hughan ' s hands is still more so , as the sketches he furnishes of the

several lodges , with their quaint " signs" where they assembled , taverns , inns , & c , in 1734 , are all fully described , and particulars duly given of those still on the roll . Special attention will be drawn , doubtless , to the number of old lodges that joined the Grand Lodge , from time to time , working by " Time Immemorial" rights , as Bro . Hughan claimed , in the columns of the Keystone , for the lodge meeting in the " City of Brotherly Love , " in 1731 , & c .

ihese lodges comprise 23 now on the English roll , besides ioo more , either long ago extinct oc still existing under the wing of other Grand Lodges . First and foremost is the " Lodge of Antiquity , " and also that of the "Royal Somerset House and Inverness , " with one farther down called the " Fortitude and Old Cumberland , " being the present tris , out of the quartette or more which formed the premier Grand Lodge of England in 1717 .

There are several noted in the Provinces , of which the senior is the " Anchor and Hope , " No . 37 , Bolton , Lancashire ; followed closely by "St . John the Baptist , " No . 39 , Exeter ; the "Regal Cumberland , " No . 41 , Bath ; the "Relief , " No . 42 , Bury ; and "St . Paul ' s , " Birmingham , of 1732-3 . Two others , ori ginally London , are also noted , viz .: " Royal Kent . Lodge of Antiquity , " No . 20 , Chatham , of A .. D . 1723 , and the " Medina , " No . 35 , Cowes , Isle of Wight .

The second foreign lodge on the roll vvas No . 51 , Gibraltar ; the next being No . 72 , Bengal ; but the first was held at Madrid and numbered 50 . One at Paris was formed in 1732 , as No . 90 ; at Hamburg in 1733 as No . 124 ; in Boston , New England , during the same year , as No . 136 ; and Valenciennes , possibly in 1734 , as No . 127 .

Intending subscribers will do well to obtain copies at once , as Bro . Hughan ' s books are soon at a premium . One of our respected collectors in our city last month , had to pay S 6 . 50 for a copy of Bro . Hughan ' s " Memorials , " 1874 , in open competition , though published at . * ? 2 . 5 o . "A word to the wise is enough . "—Keystone .

MERZDORF , J . L . T . —Born in 1812 ; a learned German brother Mason , who has published some most valuable contributions to Masonic archaeology . He was initiated in the Lodge "Apollo , " at Leipsic in 1834 , and resuscitated the Lodge " Zum goldenen Hirsch , " Oldenburg , of which he was for many years the Deputy Master . He also took part in other Masonic revivals , at Emden and Bremerhaven . He published

" Die Symbole , die Gesetze , die Geschichte , der Zweck der Masonei schliessen keine Religion von derselben aus " : Leipsic , 1836 ; "Die Denkmunzen der Freimaurer Bruderschaft " : Oldenburg , 1852 ; Lessing ' s " Ernst und Falk , historisch kritisch beleuchtet " : Hanover , 1855 ; " Geschichte der Freimaurer Bruderschaft in Schottland , " 1861 , and other valuable essays . —Kenning's Cyclopaedia of Freemasonry .

BERKELEY HOTEL ( late St , James ' s ) , 1 , Berkeley-street and 77 , Piccadilly , London , W . First class accommodation for residents , with a Restaurant newly-Attached for high class luncheons and dinners , at fixed prices and fi la carte . C . DIETTE , Manager . [ ADVT . ]