Article 213.

ARTICLE 213 .

It must be conceded that " LEX SCRIPTA , " in the letter we published of his last week on the subject of "Article 213 and Lodge La Caesaree , " employed argument in support of his views rather than assertion , but we do not think he strengthened , much less established , his case against the Grand Registrar , Bro .

PRINSEP , and ourselves . Both he and Bro . STEVENS maintain that the lodge was justified in refusing to grant the necessary certificate because it was not applied for in the manner in which , as we stated in our former article , such a certificate would be applied for in co out of every 100 cases .

They appear to have entirely ignored the old familiar dictum that there are exceptions to every rule , and this was just one of those exceptional cases in which , as the law was silent as to the manner in which the application was to be made , a departure from the customary manner might be allowed . Lodge La

Csesareeon the assumption that it was conversant with the prescriptions of the law or laws bearing upon the subject of clearance certificates—appears , from the very outset , to have concerned itself more about its own particular interpretation of those prescriptions than the requirements of our unfortunate Bro . WALTER

DURELL , who was a few thousand miles away in Mashonaland . They appear also to have paid a very poor compliment to the character for veracity of Bro . WALTER DuRELL ' s father , who might , perhaps , have been a little more communicative in his first letter to the W . M ., but who , when writing it , was probably

under the impression that , as he had three times occupied the chair of the lodge , and had served likewise as its Treasurer , his word would be a sufficient guarantee without tendering his son ' s letter in support of the application . The same

anxiety in support of their own reading of the law was exhibited , when the father , having pointedly drawn their attention to Article 213 , declined to ask as a favour for what he considered his son was entitled to

as of right . Then , when the matter was brought to the notice of the Prov . Grand Master and there vvas every prospect of the trumpery difficulty being overcome , Bro . DURELL is toldlet us hope without authority from the lodge—that if he attends for the purpose of exhibiting his son ' s letter of authorisation ,

which had been seen in the meantime by the P . G . M ., he will not be admitted . Thus the difficulty was revived in greater intensity than ever , and in the result the lodge was suspended from its functions , and that too , because it lacked the judgment to perceive that , even if its original interpretation of the law was justified ,

the case had assumed a different aspect from the very moment when the Prov . Grand Master , who had seen the son ' s letter to his father or had had it read to him , suggested that a certain course should be adopted which would have upheld the credit of both the lodge and Bro . DURELL ,

sen . In fine , the lodge was not justified in the first instance in refusing the certificate—the granting of which , as the GRAND REGISTRAR pointed out in his speech in Grand Lodge , would have done no harm to the lodge or anyone else , and no good to

anybod y but Bro . DURELL , jun ., —and even if it had been so justified at the outset , it was guilty of contumacy in not carrying out the arrangement proposed by the Prov . Grand Master , which would have set all things straight .

The Cheshire Fund Of Benevolence.

THE CHESHIRE FUND OF BENEVOLENCE .

During the last year or two the Province of Cheshire has been revising its by-laws and re-organising its Committee of Benevolence , and , in order that the latter might be strengthened as much as possible and receive the support of every lodge , a recommendation was adopted in the report which was submitted

to Provincial Grand Lodge last year to the effect that a Charity representative should be elected on the Committee by every lod ge in the month of October in each year . This recommendation was made in the hope that its adoption would awaken interest in the Masonic Institutions , and lead to greater zeal

The Cheshire Fund Of Benevolence.

being shown in promoting the Provincial Fund of Benevolence . The Report of the Committee of this Fund , which will be presented at the annual meeting , at Runcorn , on Wednesday next , the 30 th inst ., of the Prov . Grand Lodge , bears conclusive evidence to the fact that the hoped-for improvement has been fully realised .

The Committee commence the account of their stewardship during the past year by announcing that " the year 18 90-91 , so far as the Province of Cheshire is concerned , in its relation to Masonic Charity , has been a most eventful and satisfactory one , whether as regards the results actually achieved in the support

accorded to the Charities of our Order , or as regards what is perhaps of even greater importance , viz ., the increase and interest in Masonic Charity which has been aroused in the lodges in the Province , consequent on the amended organisation which

has now come into operation , which interest there is every reason to believe will not only be maintained , but be even still further stimulated and developed . " The report goes on to state that in accordance with the revised by-laws of the Province the Committee had been reconstituted " on a broader and more

representative basis , ' and consisted , " in addition to the Provincial Grand Officers for the year , and other ex-officio members , " of the lodge Charity representatives elected in October last . This new and enlarged Committee met for the first time at Crewe on the 26 th November , 1890 , and the result of its labours ,

which is recorded at length in the pages of the report , appears to have been most gratifying . As regards the Central Masonic Charities , we are told the Province raised £ 124 on behalf of the Royal Masonic Institution for Girls at its annual Festival in May last , and ^ , 1039 6 s . 6 d . —the sum was stated atthe time as ^

1050—in aid of the Boys' School at its anniversary on the 24 th June . As regards the Cheshire Educational Masonic Institution , " the new departure of having an elected Committee appointed at the annual meeting soon , " we are told , " began to show good fruits , " and on closing the accounts for the year ending in March last .

it was found that the contributions from the lodges and brethren " exceeded by over £ 150 the amount ever contributed in any year" since the establishment of the Fund , there being " only six lodges in the Province that had failed to send in a Return . " The sum raised for this " admirable local Institution is stated

elsewhere as amounting to £ 4 68 13 s . 3 d ., and as a consequence of this increased support the Committee have been enabled " to increase their grants" instead of being obliged , " as the previous Annual Court of Governors had decided , to limit them to £ 300 ; the grants made for education , clothing , and advancement at the

March meeting , amounting to ^ 335 ios . for 40 children . " After commending this local Charity " to the sympathies of the brethren" on the ground that it is " doing an incalculable amount of good , quietly , unostentatiously , and economically / - ' and having explained the course they had adopted in respect of

the Cheshire candidates for the Central Charities , the Committee draw attention to "the desirability of providing a local Fund for granting smaller annuities to deserving old Masons or their widows , until such time as the Province is in a position to elect them on the Central Charity . " They remark that " a local Fund ,

with only £ 1000 of invested capital , would provide the means of granting half the Benevolent Institution annuity , to one old Mason and one old Widow , say £ 20 and £ 16 , " until such time as they could be elected to the ampler benefits of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution ; but they leave it an open

question , to be determined hereafter by thebrethren themselves , as to whether a separate local Fund should be established for this special purpose , or the scope of the present Educational Institution extended so as to include an annuity branch for old Masons and their Widows . Other matters are dealt with , such

as the steps successfully taken to secure the election of the Cheshire candidate for the Boys' School , and the adoption of a code of by-Jaws for the government of the Committee , which will be submitted to the meeting at Runcorn on Wednesday next , but they are of comparatively small importance by the side of the substantial fact that under its