Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Ar00100
CONTENTS .
LEADERS 31 $ Provincial Grarul Chapter of Middlesex ... 37 G Rojal Arch Masonry in West Yorkshire ... 377 Freemasonry in Bournemouth 378 Installation o £ H . R . H . the Duke of Connaught , P . G . S . VV ., as Provincial Grand Master oi Sussex 379 Book of Constitutions , 1733 381 The New Mark Constitutions 3 S 1
C ORRESPONDENCEBoys' School Festival 384 lnstallaiion of H . R . H . the Prince of Wales and the Grand Mark Masons ... 384 Past Masters 384 Reviews 384 REPORTS or M ASONIC MEETINGSCraft Masonry 3 8 4 Instruction 3 $°
REPORTS OF MASONIC M EETINGS ( Continued)—Royal Arch 386 Mark Masonry , 386 Scotland 387 Egypt 387 Malta 387 Masonic Exhibition of Curiosities , & c , at Shanklin . Isle of Wight 38 ,
The Approaching Boys' School Festival ... 3 S 7 Bovs' School Distribution of Prizes , Wood Green 388 Boys' Schorl Festival 388 Royal Order of Scotland 388 Freemasonry in Manchester 388 The Craft Abroad 388 Masonic and General Tidings 38 9 Lodge Meetings for Next Week 390
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THE installation of the Duke of CONNAUGHT as Provincial Grand Master of Sussex by his brother , the Prince of WALES , Most Worshipful Grand Master of England , proved a great success , and all who had a hand in preparing or perfecting the arrangements necessary in the case of so important a Masonic gathering must be gratified at the result of their labours . It
is by no means an easy task so to arrange matters that everything from first to last shall proceed smoothly , with every one told off to his appointed duty , and prepared to carry it out effectively . The task , too , is far greater where a considerable portion of those invited , or entitled to be present , must be gathered together from a number of widely-scattered places all more or less
distant from the general trysting place . In such cases as these the powers of organisation of Provincial Grand Secretaries and Provincial Grand Director of Ceremonies are subjected to an unusually severe test , and our Sussex brethren must be proud indeed of an executive which has emerged from so trying an ordeal with so large an amount of ciedit . But a successful
gathering on an extensive scale is by no means a rare experience in the annals of the Craft , nor on this account only should we have thought it necessary to lay so much stress on the proceedings of Tuesday . There are other considerations which cannot be lost sight of , and among the more important of these is the evidence these proceedings
afford of the progressive interest which is taken in the concerns of Freemasonry by the general public , its greater popularity with the world at large , as well as the steady and determined consolidation of its strength within its own borders . In this last particular it may justly be said of Masonry , as it has been said of a mighty river which keeps on
increasing in volume as it flows onward , " vires acquirit eundo , " while , as regards those previously referred to it is comparatively but a few years since the influenceoft he Cralt was hardly felt in the outer world ; and now there is scarcely a prominent or unusual event happening in our midst which does not attract to itself the notice of the community generally . This is partly
owing to the character of our Society , which , though it scrupulously guards certain things secret from the uninitiated , is the reverse of secret in its laws and regulations ; and partly to its constitution , being , as it is , composed of men of all grades of society , provided only they are reputable . Everyone must feel an interest in a body to which everyone—be he prince or
peasant—may belong , and whose highest ambition is to win the sympathy of the world by its benevolence and good works . It is , no doubt , in great measure owing to these considerations that the ceremony in the Royal Pavilion , Brighton , on Tuesday , attracted so large a measure of public
notice , and the brethren of Sussex will be all the better pleased at knowing that the excellence of the local arrangements , for which they alone were reoponsible , has been recognised on all sides as wo rthy of themselves , the occasion , and the Fraternity ,
« , * THE last of the three great Masonic Festivals of the current year will take place on Wednesday next , when R . W . Bro . Lord SUPFIELD , Prov . G , Master Norfolk , will preside on behalf of the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys , and by his earnest advocacy and personal example will use his utmost
endeavours to obtain from the Craft a plentiful supply of those subscriptions , by which alone the beneficent work of the School can be continued . In common with all our readers , we sincerely trust those endeavours will prove successful , and as his lordship is a chairman of great experience , we have no misgivings as to the result , so far as he and the influence he is able to
exert are concerned . We have in our mind the recollection of his success at the 89 th Festival of the Girls' School , in 1877 , when the demands upon the resources of our Charities were not so heavy , and the Stewards' Returns
were on a somewhat more limited scale than they are now . Yet even in those days his lordshi p had the satisfaction of diverting something like £ 10 , 000 from the pockets of the brethren into the coffers of the Institution , and the good fortune which attended him then we look upon as a favourable
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augury of what the result at Brighton , on Wednesday next , will be , only upon a proportionately increased scale , in order to meet those heavier demands of to-day , which we have already referred to . Nor , as far as mere numbers go , is the constitution of the Board of Stewards which will assist Lord SUVFIELD suggestive of any serious diminution in the total as compared
with the Returns of past Boys' School Festivals ? These Returns of necessity are always fluctuating , but on the whole , and making proper allowance for the ever-changing circumstances under which they are held , our Masonic Festivals will be found to yield a certain average during a given term of years . Last year , for instance , the Boys' Festival was
very considerably below the average , as only ; £ i 2 , 000 was raised while , in 1884 the total was ^ 14 , 000 . In order , therefore , to restore the equipoise , the total of Wednesday next should exceed the latter figure by as much as it exceeded the return of 1885 , or even by more , if we have regard to the fact that the Preparatory School is now in working order , 25
additional boys having been taken upon the establishment of the Institution since the Festival of 188 5 . But the times are unfortunately out of gear just now . The commercial outlook is not particularly promising , while in the political world there is a tremendous convulsion such as only occurs once in the course of a century or two , and few people have anything else to think
about than the General Election . It is hardly possible that a celebration such as that which will take place next week should escape uninfluenced by this combination of untoward circumstances , and we must content ourselves with hoping for the best , in the full persuasion that whatever is possible will be done in order to secure something like an average total . We should like
to have seen more London lodges represented , this being , as in the case of the Girls' School Festival last month , the weak point in the constitution of the Board of Stewards , the lodges which have sent up representalives being , so far as we have been able to ascertain , quite a dozen below the average , while the increased number of the Unattached is by no means a sufficient
compensation . The provinces appear to be fairly well represented , the number of those sending up Stewards being greater than usual , while the number of provincial representatives on the Board is slightly in excess of what it was last year . But Norfolk , we are sorry to see , is doing very little . One of its lodges and a brother Unattached are its representatives , and the
prospect from this quarter is by no means encouraging , though it is possible the two Stewards may between them compile a total which will well maintain the reputation of the province . Still , as its PROV . GRAND MASTER was giving his services as Chairman , we should have inclined to the belief that every one of the lodges—and there are 16 of them in the province
—would have been glad to take a prominent part in helping him . However , it is possible the county may have a surprise in store for us on Wednesday next , and that , though the workers may be few , the subscription lists they hand in will be very formidable . Several of the other provinces are , we hear , well represented , and we have no doubt when the eventful day comes
round that their returns will be worthy of their past renown . We must bear in mind , too , the additional reason we gave some time since in favour of a large return for this year ' s Boys' Festival , namely , thct it will be the 25 th Anniversary held since Bro . BINCKES was appointed to the Secretaryship . This , we think , is a reason that should have great weight with many ,
and the weight may possibly be all the greater if it is remembered that brethren who desire to mark their sense of Bro . BINCKES ' S long career of service to the School by contributing more largely , or inducing others to contribute more largely , than they otherwise might have done , will also lend a helping hand towards restoring the equipoise which the diminution in the
receipts . for 1885 has disturbed so seriously . In any circumstances , we trust the gathering at the Royal Pavilion , Brighton , on Wednesday next , will be worthy of the Chairman , his Board of Stewards and their Hon . Secretary , and the Institution itself , and that the total of the subscriptions then announced will place the Boys' School more nearly oh a level with its best achievements during the past few years .
*«* IT does not often happen that three orfour important Masonic gatherings are crowded into the comparatively short space of a few days . This week we have had the installation of the Dukeof CONNAUGHT by the Prince of WALES , at Brighton , and our readers will have barely had time to study the very full
account we publish elsewhere of this brilliant gathering ere they will find themselves in the very thick of the Boys' School Anniversary Festival , with the Speech Day and Distribution of Prizes at Wood Green to-morrow ( Saturday ) , and the banquet at the Royal Pavilion , Brighton , on
Wednesday next . This over , we shall find ourselves on the day following—Thursday , the 1 st July prox . —translated , as if by magic , to the great hall at Freemasons' Tavern , where H . R . H . the Prince of WALES will be solemnl y installed Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons of
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Ar00100
CONTENTS .
LEADERS 31 $ Provincial Grarul Chapter of Middlesex ... 37 G Rojal Arch Masonry in West Yorkshire ... 377 Freemasonry in Bournemouth 378 Installation o £ H . R . H . the Duke of Connaught , P . G . S . VV ., as Provincial Grand Master oi Sussex 379 Book of Constitutions , 1733 381 The New Mark Constitutions 3 S 1
C ORRESPONDENCEBoys' School Festival 384 lnstallaiion of H . R . H . the Prince of Wales and the Grand Mark Masons ... 384 Past Masters 384 Reviews 384 REPORTS or M ASONIC MEETINGSCraft Masonry 3 8 4 Instruction 3 $°
REPORTS OF MASONIC M EETINGS ( Continued)—Royal Arch 386 Mark Masonry , 386 Scotland 387 Egypt 387 Malta 387 Masonic Exhibition of Curiosities , & c , at Shanklin . Isle of Wight 38 ,
The Approaching Boys' School Festival ... 3 S 7 Bovs' School Distribution of Prizes , Wood Green 388 Boys' Schorl Festival 388 Royal Order of Scotland 388 Freemasonry in Manchester 388 The Craft Abroad 388 Masonic and General Tidings 38 9 Lodge Meetings for Next Week 390
Ar00101
THE installation of the Duke of CONNAUGHT as Provincial Grand Master of Sussex by his brother , the Prince of WALES , Most Worshipful Grand Master of England , proved a great success , and all who had a hand in preparing or perfecting the arrangements necessary in the case of so important a Masonic gathering must be gratified at the result of their labours . It
is by no means an easy task so to arrange matters that everything from first to last shall proceed smoothly , with every one told off to his appointed duty , and prepared to carry it out effectively . The task , too , is far greater where a considerable portion of those invited , or entitled to be present , must be gathered together from a number of widely-scattered places all more or less
distant from the general trysting place . In such cases as these the powers of organisation of Provincial Grand Secretaries and Provincial Grand Director of Ceremonies are subjected to an unusually severe test , and our Sussex brethren must be proud indeed of an executive which has emerged from so trying an ordeal with so large an amount of ciedit . But a successful
gathering on an extensive scale is by no means a rare experience in the annals of the Craft , nor on this account only should we have thought it necessary to lay so much stress on the proceedings of Tuesday . There are other considerations which cannot be lost sight of , and among the more important of these is the evidence these proceedings
afford of the progressive interest which is taken in the concerns of Freemasonry by the general public , its greater popularity with the world at large , as well as the steady and determined consolidation of its strength within its own borders . In this last particular it may justly be said of Masonry , as it has been said of a mighty river which keeps on
increasing in volume as it flows onward , " vires acquirit eundo , " while , as regards those previously referred to it is comparatively but a few years since the influenceoft he Cralt was hardly felt in the outer world ; and now there is scarcely a prominent or unusual event happening in our midst which does not attract to itself the notice of the community generally . This is partly
owing to the character of our Society , which , though it scrupulously guards certain things secret from the uninitiated , is the reverse of secret in its laws and regulations ; and partly to its constitution , being , as it is , composed of men of all grades of society , provided only they are reputable . Everyone must feel an interest in a body to which everyone—be he prince or
peasant—may belong , and whose highest ambition is to win the sympathy of the world by its benevolence and good works . It is , no doubt , in great measure owing to these considerations that the ceremony in the Royal Pavilion , Brighton , on Tuesday , attracted so large a measure of public
notice , and the brethren of Sussex will be all the better pleased at knowing that the excellence of the local arrangements , for which they alone were reoponsible , has been recognised on all sides as wo rthy of themselves , the occasion , and the Fraternity ,
« , * THE last of the three great Masonic Festivals of the current year will take place on Wednesday next , when R . W . Bro . Lord SUPFIELD , Prov . G , Master Norfolk , will preside on behalf of the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys , and by his earnest advocacy and personal example will use his utmost
endeavours to obtain from the Craft a plentiful supply of those subscriptions , by which alone the beneficent work of the School can be continued . In common with all our readers , we sincerely trust those endeavours will prove successful , and as his lordship is a chairman of great experience , we have no misgivings as to the result , so far as he and the influence he is able to
exert are concerned . We have in our mind the recollection of his success at the 89 th Festival of the Girls' School , in 1877 , when the demands upon the resources of our Charities were not so heavy , and the Stewards' Returns
were on a somewhat more limited scale than they are now . Yet even in those days his lordshi p had the satisfaction of diverting something like £ 10 , 000 from the pockets of the brethren into the coffers of the Institution , and the good fortune which attended him then we look upon as a favourable
Ar00102
augury of what the result at Brighton , on Wednesday next , will be , only upon a proportionately increased scale , in order to meet those heavier demands of to-day , which we have already referred to . Nor , as far as mere numbers go , is the constitution of the Board of Stewards which will assist Lord SUVFIELD suggestive of any serious diminution in the total as compared
with the Returns of past Boys' School Festivals ? These Returns of necessity are always fluctuating , but on the whole , and making proper allowance for the ever-changing circumstances under which they are held , our Masonic Festivals will be found to yield a certain average during a given term of years . Last year , for instance , the Boys' Festival was
very considerably below the average , as only ; £ i 2 , 000 was raised while , in 1884 the total was ^ 14 , 000 . In order , therefore , to restore the equipoise , the total of Wednesday next should exceed the latter figure by as much as it exceeded the return of 1885 , or even by more , if we have regard to the fact that the Preparatory School is now in working order , 25
additional boys having been taken upon the establishment of the Institution since the Festival of 188 5 . But the times are unfortunately out of gear just now . The commercial outlook is not particularly promising , while in the political world there is a tremendous convulsion such as only occurs once in the course of a century or two , and few people have anything else to think
about than the General Election . It is hardly possible that a celebration such as that which will take place next week should escape uninfluenced by this combination of untoward circumstances , and we must content ourselves with hoping for the best , in the full persuasion that whatever is possible will be done in order to secure something like an average total . We should like
to have seen more London lodges represented , this being , as in the case of the Girls' School Festival last month , the weak point in the constitution of the Board of Stewards , the lodges which have sent up representalives being , so far as we have been able to ascertain , quite a dozen below the average , while the increased number of the Unattached is by no means a sufficient
compensation . The provinces appear to be fairly well represented , the number of those sending up Stewards being greater than usual , while the number of provincial representatives on the Board is slightly in excess of what it was last year . But Norfolk , we are sorry to see , is doing very little . One of its lodges and a brother Unattached are its representatives , and the
prospect from this quarter is by no means encouraging , though it is possible the two Stewards may between them compile a total which will well maintain the reputation of the province . Still , as its PROV . GRAND MASTER was giving his services as Chairman , we should have inclined to the belief that every one of the lodges—and there are 16 of them in the province
—would have been glad to take a prominent part in helping him . However , it is possible the county may have a surprise in store for us on Wednesday next , and that , though the workers may be few , the subscription lists they hand in will be very formidable . Several of the other provinces are , we hear , well represented , and we have no doubt when the eventful day comes
round that their returns will be worthy of their past renown . We must bear in mind , too , the additional reason we gave some time since in favour of a large return for this year ' s Boys' Festival , namely , thct it will be the 25 th Anniversary held since Bro . BINCKES was appointed to the Secretaryship . This , we think , is a reason that should have great weight with many ,
and the weight may possibly be all the greater if it is remembered that brethren who desire to mark their sense of Bro . BINCKES ' S long career of service to the School by contributing more largely , or inducing others to contribute more largely , than they otherwise might have done , will also lend a helping hand towards restoring the equipoise which the diminution in the
receipts . for 1885 has disturbed so seriously . In any circumstances , we trust the gathering at the Royal Pavilion , Brighton , on Wednesday next , will be worthy of the Chairman , his Board of Stewards and their Hon . Secretary , and the Institution itself , and that the total of the subscriptions then announced will place the Boys' School more nearly oh a level with its best achievements during the past few years .
*«* IT does not often happen that three orfour important Masonic gatherings are crowded into the comparatively short space of a few days . This week we have had the installation of the Dukeof CONNAUGHT by the Prince of WALES , at Brighton , and our readers will have barely had time to study the very full
account we publish elsewhere of this brilliant gathering ere they will find themselves in the very thick of the Boys' School Anniversary Festival , with the Speech Day and Distribution of Prizes at Wood Green to-morrow ( Saturday ) , and the banquet at the Royal Pavilion , Brighton , on
Wednesday next . This over , we shall find ourselves on the day following—Thursday , the 1 st July prox . —translated , as if by magic , to the great hall at Freemasons' Tavern , where H . R . H . the Prince of WALES will be solemnl y installed Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons of