Summer Entertainment To The Masonic Annuitants At Croydon.

Mis . E . J . Guy , Mrs . Hubbert , Mrs . A . E . Ayres , Mrs . Clara Cook , Bro . W . H . Hibbert , Bro . G . E . Fairchild , Miss M . Metcalfe , A . A . Pool , Miss J . Stoddart , Brc . Robert Manuel , Bro . J . Aldis and Mrs . Aldis , Mrs . Newton ' , Bro . Charles and Mi s . Kempton , Bro . W . H . Purkiss , Bro . Alex . Mullord and Mrs . Mullord , Bro . K . J . Ar . ning , Mrs . and Miss Anning , Bro . John Newton , G . P ., Mrs . Newton , and Misses F . and Clara Newton , Brcs . R . H . BtatchfordE . HetheringtonGeorge F .

, , Cook , Phillip Woodman , Bro . George J . and Mrs . North , Bro . A . H ., Mrs ., and Miss Hickman , John Woodman , Bro . Hugh Cotter , and Misses Harriet and Annie Cotter , Miss Kate Terry , Bro . James Terry , jun ., Mrs . Gertrude Terry , Bro . C . H . Webb , Bro . Charles Frederick Hogard , Bro . Dr . H . J . Strong , Miss Aida Crutch , Miss Cecilia Crutch , Bro . H . Massey " and Misses Charlotte and Ellen Massey , and Mr . A . T . Faull and Mrs . Faull .

A very tasteful tea was provided in ihe large hall , and the company sat down to it under the presidency of Bro . Fairchild , who , with the assistance of Bros . Terry , John Newton , G . P ., and J . G . Stevens , took care that there should be no want of cheerfulness to encourage the numerous ladies who took charge of the tea and coffee urns . Tea over , the room was prepared for tl e evening enterlainment , while the ladies and brethren paid their cuslomary visits to the annuitants .

The evening s entertainment consisted of performances by the Royal Ciiterion Hand Bell Ringers and Glee Singers , the conductor ol which corps is Bro . Harry Tipper , A G . P ., whos , e services are always at the disposal of any of the Masonic Charities . Bro . Tipper was assisted by Miss F . E .

Tipper , R . C . M ., Bro . Brittain , and Messrs . Ryall and Belton . The annuitants expressed themselves as very much pleased with the entertainment , which lasted for two hours , an interval being allowed for providing the company with wine , cake , and fruit . At the conclusion of the entertainment ,

Bro . FAIRCHILI ) made a happy little speech , asking the party to agree with him in thanking Bro . Harry Tipper and his company for performing and causing the annuitants and others to spend a pleasant evening , and also to agree in acknowledging the services of Bro . Terry , who was the originator of the summer and winter entertainments to the Old People ,

Bro . HARRY TIPPER very briefly replied to the ready acquiescence of the visitors and annuitants in the remarks of Bro . Fairchild with reference to the musical performance , and Bro . TERRY gave some instructive facts in the course of his remarks , acknowledging Bro . Fairchild ' s observations with respect to the position he , as Secretary of the Institution , occupied . First , he said , he was the oldest

of all the Masonic officials , having first entered the services of the Benevolent Institution 31 years ago . In those 31 years great changes had taken place . When he was first collector of the Institution , there were comparatively few annuitants , and the Institution distributed among them only ^ 1800 a year . At the present time the amount paid in annuities was over £ i 6 , coo a year . Thirty-one years ago the annuitants received—the women

from £ 15 to £ 24 a year each ; the men from £ 16 to £ 26 each . Now they were receiving—the women ^ 32 a year each , and the men £ 40 . Of course , the increase in the amount of money received and paid away entailed an increase of official work , but from that work he had never flinched , as he had his heart in it , and if he could in any way assist the brethren in their endeavours to make the latter days of aged brethren and ladies more happy and enjoyable than they otherwise would be , it was a labour of Jove to him ,

and they could always rely on his aid . He himself had also to thank Bro . Tipper for his services ; it was not the first time Bro . Tipper had contributed to the entertainment cf the old people in that Institution , and whenever asked he had most readily consented . Bro . Terry hoped that they would have many more such enjoyable meetings . The next entertainment in regular course would be on New Year ' s Day , 189 ( 1 , and he hoped that the brethren and ladies would rally round him on that occasion , and pass a very pleasant day . The company returned to town between nine and ten , after spending a very pleasant day .

The Social Enjoyments Of Masonry.

THE SOCIAL ENJOYMENTS OF MASONRY .

Some brethren enjoy the Craft most for one reason and some for another , but all delight in the unparalleled social features of the Fraternity . It is evident that we all meet on the level there . Some of us may be students and scholars , some profound thinkers , some forcible speakers , but all are enamoured of the Fraternal characteristics , which in teality makes every assemblage of Freemasons a band or society of friends and brothers .

Not more quickly is the electric current communicaied by good conductors , than the Fraternal current is when one brother clasps another brother by the hand . There is something in that hand-clasp which instantly indicates mutual friendship , esteem , respect , and love . It is because of this outcome of Masonic fellowship that Freemasons love so often to " meet upon the level and part upon the square . "

A Masonic meeting is a sort of inspiration . We find there our other self , our double , and many of them . No one so readily as a Freemason can put himself in another ' s place—in his brother ' s place . The secret of this is the profound sympathy which exists between and among all of those who have been " brought to light . " In the language of Bro . David Garrick ,

" A fellow feeling makes one wondrous kind . " The beauty of the social enjoyments of the Craft is that they take so many forms ; their name is legion . The meeting with a brother on the street is not like a meeting with a profane . It does not require the presence of the mystic surroundings of the lod ge room to make us sensible of the power of Freemasonry .

Any spot on earth is holy ground where we meet a Mason . While it is true that Freemasonry travels around the globe in the persons ° f Us initiates , and thus find a link in the myitic claim in every land and clime , it is also true that the Mystic Tie is strongest and most highly appreciated when brethren meet within the recesses of a tyled lodire . There we

are separate from the world . There envy , hatred , malice , and all uncharitableness are excluded . There the banner over us is love . There we may ° pen our hearts to each other . There we may share our joys and divide our sorrows . There v . e may behold the entering , passingand raising of candidates , thus living over again our own experience . There—but who is able 'o enumerate all of the enjoyments of the lodge room , all of the privileges

The Social Enjoyments Of Masonry.

of Craftsmen , all of the pleasures which flow from " harmonising in the light" with our brethren ? Freemasonry not only has sociability but conviviality with which to regale its members . Indeed , a vein of this conviviality accompanies a Freemason wherever he gees through the world . Two brethren meeting anywhere away from home , at once form a sort of lodge of their own , and have both labour and

refreshment-But the refreshment which refreshes most is that which is found at the banquet boatd . Who shall detail the pleasures which are incident to a Masonic meeting when our legs are " under the mahogany ? " It is a species of table whether a Table Lodge be formally opened or not . There is Masonic abandon and

good humour attending all the proceedings . Every one in advance ha-j made up his mind to enjoy himself and he does it to repletion . The hours are all too short for his use . He would like to set the clock back , to have the moon stand still . He would be glad to lengthen the nights out into dajs , and the days into years . This is the best possible evidence of his supreme satisfaction while mingling with his brother Masons .

Eye to eye , hand to hand , heart to heart , with a Mystic Tie uniting every brother to every other brother , who shall be able ever to sever this fraternal chain ? Shall anti-Masons , of whatever stripe or name ; shall Papal bull or Protestant protest ? Not if genuine fellowship continues among Craftsmen . Not unless Freemasonry degenerates into a mere name . Not if brotherly love permeates ever , as now , the Brotherhood .

Freemasonry has no standing army or navy , no material bulwarks to protect it ; all sufficient is its shield of honest hearts , of humane purposes , of desire to honour the Great Architect of the Universe , and diffuse good will among Freemasons of all mankind . — The Keystone .

Laying Of A Foundation-Stone At Chorlton-Cum-Hardy.

LAYING OF A FOUNDATION-STONE AT CHORLTON-CUM-HARDY .

On Saturday , the 20 th inst ., the corner-stone of the new south transept of St . Clement ' s Church was laid with Masonic rites . The church itself , which replaced a very ancient structure , was built some 35 years ago . A north transept was afterwards added , and the addition , of which the cornerstone was laid on Saturday , is a replica of it .

It will provide accommodation for something over 100 worshippers , and will cost to complete about . £ 1500 , of which amount ^ 1000 has been subscribed or promised , and it is hoped that the balance will soon be forthcoming . The Right Hon . Bro . the Earl of Lathom , Pro Grand Master ,

Prov . Grand Master of West Lanes ., had undertaken to perform the ceremony , but he was unexpectedly called to Windsor to discharge his duties as Lord Chamberlain on the occasion of the leave-taking of the Shahzada , and his place was taken by Bro . Robert Wylie , Dep . Prov . G . Master of West Lanes .

At half-past three o ' clock a special Provincial Grand Lodge was opened at the Masonic Hall , Bro . Wylie being assisted bv Bros . Captain J . D . Murray , P . G . Treas . Eng ., as acting Deputy ; VV . E . M . Tomlinson , M . P ., P . P . G . W ., as S . W . ; J . W . Maclure . M . P ., S . G . D . Eng . ; Wm . Goodacre , P . G . Std . Br . Eng ., Prov . G . Sec ; R . VVhite , P . G . D . C ; R . G . Bradley , P . P . G . D . C . ; G . S . Smith , P . G . Org . ; Charles Cooper , Prov . G . Purst . ; J . J . Lambert , P . P . G . Reg . ; T . Forrester , P . G . Std . Br . Eng . ; and J . Christian , P . G . S . of W .

There was a large attendance of Present and Past Prov . G . Officers of West Lanes ., E . Lanes ., and Cheshire , and members of various lodges . A procession was formed , which , headed by an excellent band , matched to the church . The route was lined with spectators , and the churchyard was also filled . The clergy present included the Dean of Manchester ( Dr . Maclure ) , the Rev . Canon Birley , and the Rev . R . S . Stoney , Vicar of Wrea Green , P . G . Chap .

The Rev . E . F . THOMAS , rector of Chorlton-cum-Hardy , and Chairman of the Building Committee , requested the D . P . G . M . to perform the si gnificant office which , he said , they had assembled to celebrate . The D . P . G . M . explained that it had been postponed consequent on the General Election , which had upset many of their arrangements , and which , he regretted to say , explained the absence of Lord Egerton of Tatton , who

had been a munificent contributor to the present erection , and who had just co iveyed the site for ever for the use of the church and the parishioners . Sir VV . Cunliffe Brooks was absent from the same cause , he having had to vote in Aberdeen on the previous day , and in the Prestwich division that day . They had also to deplore , owing to a serious illness from which he had

recently suffered , the absence of one of their warmest friends , Mr . Jamts Lowe . The addition which they were now about 10 make would complete the church , which had not yet been consecrated . The work of completion was associated with the nameof their late rector , the Rev . J . li . Boothe , who had long desired that it should be carried out , but had not lived to see the fulfilment of his hopes .

Bro . J . W . MACLURE , M . P ., in the absence of Mr . J . Lowe , presented to the Deputy Prov . Grand Master a silver trowel with which to liy the corner-stone . The DEAN OF MANCHESTER said that , on his own behalf and on that of the Cathedral Chapter , who were the patrons of the living , he had great

pleasure in being present at the ceremony , which , he hoped , was a happy augury of the extension , in the very best sense of the word , of church feeling and sympathy in that now very important parish . The Deputy Prov . Grand Master then proceeded to lay the stone in accordance with Masonic ritual .

With the able superintendence of Bro . Jonn Christian , P . G . S . of W ., a phial containing coins , & c , was placed in a cavity beneath it , and a plate affixed to it brraring an inscription recording the circumstances under which the work was performed . Mr . VV . Higginbottom presented the plans , and the service was proceeded with .

At the close an offertory was taken in aid of the Building Fund , and the sum of over £ 40 was the result , and the Masonic verses of the National Anthem were sung . The Masonic procession was then re-formed , and a return was made lo the Masonic Hall , where the Prov . Grand Lodge was closed . The success of the proceedings was marred to some extent by rain , which fell heavily during the afternoon .