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Masonic Notes.

Masonic Notes .

SATURDAY , J ANUARY 28 , 18 99

Ihe Quarterly Convocation of Supreme Grand Chapter will be . held at Freemasons' Hall on Wednesday , the ist prox ., when the business transacted will be ol the usual character . We learn from the report of the Committee of General Purposes that petitions for as many as seven new chapters have been presented

since the Convocation in November last , of which two —the Jordan Chapter , to be attached to the lodge of the same name , No . 1402 , Torquay , and the Sir Francis Drake Chapter , No . 2649 , Plymouth—will be placed on thu roll of Devonshire ; the Conovium Chapter , N ° - 25 G 0 , Colwyn Bay , will be in the province of North Wales ; and thc St . Edmund ChapterNo . 1983

, , Halesworth , in that of Suffolk . Two of the remaining lod ges—the Germiston Chapter , No . 245 8 , and thc Metropolitan Chapter , No . 2538 , Capetown—will be located , the former in the Transvaal , and thc latter in 'he W . Division of South Africa j and the third—the St . George Chapter , No . 549 , Bombay-in the District ot Bombay .

Masonic Notes.

The Masonic Hall , Birmingham , will be the scene of an interesting and important ceremony on Saturday , the 4 th prox ., when a new Iodge , which will be known by the style and title of " The Loyal Travellers ' Lodge , No . 2733 , will be ushered into existence . The Consecrating Officer will be the Grand Secretary , Bro .

Edward Letchworth , F . S . A ., who will be assisted by Bro . Frank Richardson , P . G . D ., in his familiar post of Director of the Ceremonies , while the Wardens , Chaplain , and Pursuivant of the Prov . G . Lodge of Warwickshire will act as Wardens , Chaplain , and I . G . on the occasion . A meeting of the Prov . G . Lodee will

be held in honour of the event , and when the lodge has been constituted , Bro . R . A . Matthews , P . M . No . 493 , P . P . G . D . Gloucestershire , will be installed as firs ' W . M . of the new lodge . The Wardens designate are Bros . E . S . Sumner , P . M ., and W . O . Lewis . The meeting is timed to commence at 2 . 30 p . m ., and the customary banquet will be served at 5 . 30 p . m .

We anticipate that the proceedings will be witnessed by an exceptionally strong muster of the brethren . It is upwards of 12 years since a similar ceremony was performed in the great Midland province , the youngest Iodge at present on the roll of Warwickshire being the Swan of Avon Lodge , No .

2133 , which was consecrated at Stratford-on-Avon in 18 S 6 . This , too , was a rare event , it being necessary to travel back a further eight years in order to meet with a similar experience , and then it was the Machen Lodge , No . 17 S 2 , Coleshill , that was consecrated , the date of its warrant being 1878 . In 18 7 6 there were

constituted the St . Michael's Lodge , No . 1630 , Coventry , and the Alma Mater Lodge , No . 1644 , Birmingham ; while in 18 75 was consecrated in the latter city the Lodge of Charity , No . 1551 . Thus , of the 31 lodges now on the Warwickshire roll , there

are only five that have been warranted since H . R . H . the Prince of Wales was installed in office as M . W . G . Master , and the Lodge No . 2733 will make the sixth . There are not many among the more important provinces that have had so few additions to their muster rolls in the last quarter of a century .

* * A On the other hand , if Warwickshire has not many new lodges to boast of , it stands well as regards the age of its senior lodges . Its St . Paul's Lodge , No . 43 , Birmingham , dates from the year 1733 , when English Masonry was not vexed by the rivalries of

the " Ancient " and " Modern " systems . The Athol Lodge , No . 74 , also of Birmingham , dates nominally from 1760 , when " Ancient " Lodge , No . 83 , was warranted at Stockport , in Cheshire , But the warrant was cancelled in 1 793 , and was not revived till 1 S 11 , when it was placed at Birmingham , and the lodge working

under its authority took the name of Athol . Thus it ranks numerically second among tho Warwickshire lodges , but is junior in point of constitution to Trinity Lodge , No . 254 , Coventry , and Shakespeare Lodge , No . 284 , Warwick , the former of which was constituted by the Moderns in 1785 , has a centenary warrant , and has always been located in Warwickshire ;

while the latter , which is also Modern , dates from 1792 and has a Centenary Warrant , but was originally located in the city of Norwich , its association with Warwickshire commencing from 1797 , when it became connected with the Warwickshire Militia , and permanently settltd at Warwick in 1 S 08 . » * »

The Apollo Lodge , No . 301 , Alcester , is also of " Modern " origin and a centenary lodge , having been constituted in 1794 and has always been Warwickshire , Guy ' s Lodge , No . 39 s , Leamington , was founded in 1829 ; Abbey Lodge , No . 432 , Nuneaton , in 1836 ; the Lodge of Light , No . 468 , and Faithful Lodge ,

N ° - 473 , both 0 I Birmingham , in 1 S 40 and 1841 respectively and the Lodge of Rectitude , No . 502 , Rugby , in 1844 , and are all old enough to have celebrated the Jubilee of their constitution , while the Lodge of Unity , No . 567 , Warwick , was founded in 1849 , and will , doubtless , commemorate thc auspicious event

some time during the present year . The next group of lodges , commencing with the Howe , No . 587 , B rmingham , which wiU not be 50 years old till 1901 , have- been warranted during the period from 1851 till 1 S 73 inclusive . 'Thus , of the whole array of lodges there are four that have received centenary warrants ,

one that dates from 1811 , six others that are 50 years old and upwards , and 15 that vary in point of age between 50 and 25 years . Hence , thc majority of those that are located in Warwickshire are well established , and there is no doubt have most encouraging prospects before them . We trust the lodge which is about to be consecrated may prove as successful .

Masonic Notes.

It may be as well to point out that if during the last quarter of a century only five—or , if we include the lodge No . 2733 , which is already organised , if not formally constituted , six—lodges that have been warranted , there are no less than 20 which have been

started into existence under the auspices of Lord Leigh as Prov . G . Master , that is to say , since the month of August , 1852 . There can be no question , therefore , as to the progress which Freemasonry has made in Warwickshire during his lordship's tenure of office .

* * Freemasonry in Derbyshire has lost one of its ablest and most enthusiastic supporters by the death on Saturday , the 14 th instant , of Bro . Alderman W . H . Marsden , J . P ., at the age of 62 . Bro . Marsden had won distinction in all the branches of Masonry with

which he was connected . He was appointed . G . S Bearer in United Grand Lodge and G . Std . Bearer in Supreme Grand Chapter in 1893 . He was Prov . S . G . W . of Derbyshire in the Mark Degree , a Past M . W . S . and had attained to the 30 in the Ancient and Accepted Rite , and was a P . E . Preceptor and Past Prior

of the Orders of the Temple and Malta respectively , as well as an officer of the Prov . Priory of Warwickshire , Staffordshire , & c , & c . Above all , he was a most generous supporter of our great Central Charitable Institutions , was a Patron of the Boys' School and a Life Governor of theGirls'and Benevolent Institutions ,

in addition to which he had served some 14 or 15 Stewardships , the last occasion on which he acted in that capacity being in June , 1898 , when he was a Steward Unattached at the Boys' Centenary . He was , indeed , a most energetic and capable brother , and we

greatly sympathise with our Derbyshire brethren , who by his death are deprived ol his valuable services . We also offer our most respectful sympathy to the family and friends of the deceased , a brief account of whose services will be found in another column .

# * ¦* . There has died within the last few days a venerable brother , who , though he may have been comparatively unknown to the present generation of brethren , was in his day one of the most prominent figures in Metropolitan Freemasonry . We allude to Bro . Henry

Muggeridge , P . M ., P . / LL ., who was familiarly known among his most intimate friends as "Old Mug . " Bro . Muggeridge had done good service as Collector for the Royal Masonic Institution for Girls , from which post he retired on a well-earned penion some 20 years ago . But he was still better known as the Preceptor

of the Stability Lodge of Instruction , which in its palmiest days—indeed , until Bro . Muggeridge was under the necessity of retiring from active Masonic duty—the great rival of the Emulation Lodge of Improvement . Our deceased brother , who had been a member of our Order for close on 60 years , h ad been ,

in fact , first a close student , and then a distinguished exponent , of our ritual from the very commencement of his Masonic career , and though , as we have said , hc was comparatively unknown , except by repute , to latter day Masons , his memory as a grand old instructor will , we trust , be ever cherished most sacredly by all who love to hear our beautiful rituals well rendered

» * + From the printel record we have received of the Proceedings at the Quarterly Communication of the District Grand Lodge of Queensland , which was held in Brisbane on the 7 th September last , as well as from the several reports that were then presented , there can

be little doubt that English Masonry in that distant colony is in a very prosperous condition . The District Grand Treasurer ' s statement for the quarter showed a balance of nearly £ 126 on the General Account , and one of ^ 37 8 on the Account of the Fund of Benevolence . From the Report of the District Board of

General Purposes , it appears that the Board consider it in some way desirable that the lodges in the northern and central districts should be visited occasionally by representatives of the District Grand Lodge , in order to keep them more closely in touch with the lodges in the metropolis of the colony ; and ,

having ascertained that such a course was practicable , and would readily be adopted by the brethren affected , they recommend that Bro . Barron L . Barnett , Deputy District Grand Master , should be requested to visit their lodges , and thc District Grand Master having

acceded to the request , they report that Bro . Barnett had arranged to leave Brisbane fcr the purpose , accompanied by Bro . H . C . Luck , the District Grand Treasurer . Thc announcement was received with the utmost satisfaction by the brethren present , and the Report of the Board was adopted unaiimously .