Contents.

CONTENTS . PAGE .

LEADERSFreemasonry Abroad ... ... ... ... 75 > Quatuor Coronatorum Antigraphia ... ... ... ... 752 National Great Priory ... ... ... ... ... ... 753 Consecration of the United Service Lodge of Mark Master Mesons , No . 489 .. 754

Consecration of the Dramatic Lodge , No . 4 S 7 , of Mark Master Masons ... 754 Annual Dinner of the Islington Lodge of Instruction , No . 1471 ... ... 755 First Ladies' Night ot the St . Marylebone Lodge , No . 1305 ... ... 755 Craft Masonry ... ... ... — — 755 Ancient and Accepted Rite ... ... ... ... ... 757 Secret Monitor ... ... ... ... ••¦ ¦¦• 757 Lodges and Chapters of Instruction ... ... ... ... 757

Boys' School Scholarship Fund ... ... ... ... ... 757 Masonic Notes ... ... ... ... ... ... 759 Correspondence ... ... ¦•• ••• ••• ... 760 Reviews ... ... ••• ••• ••• ••• 7 ° Royal Arch ... ... ... ... ••• ... 7 i Our Portrait Gallery ... ... ... ... ... ... , 6 z Masonic and General Tidings ... ... ... ... ... 564

Freemasonry Abroad.

FREEMASONRY ABROAD .

It will have been seen from the review of " Freemasonry in 1 S 95 , " which appeared in our Christmas Double Number of the 7 th instant , that , as regards the United Kingdom and the lodges

in our Colonies and Dependencies which owe allegiance to it *? Grand Lodges , the Craft has been very prosperous ; and it will be most ^ ratify ing to our readers to be informed that , as far as wc are in a position to judge from the correspondence and periodicals

we have received , Masonry in the numerous other jurisdictions which exist throughout the civilised world has been similarly successful . Directing our attention , in the first place , to those Grand Bodies which have been established on British territory ,

but are independent of the Grand Bodies of England , Ireland , and Scotland , we lind that in British North America there are , as we stated in our recent review , seven of these Grand Lodges , the oldest and most important , as regards membership , being the

Grand Lodge of Canada ( Province of Ontario ) , which has upwards of 3 60 lodges on its roll and a membership which is considerably in excess of 20 , 000 . Its 40 th annual communication was held in Massey Hall , Toronto , in July , under the presidency of the M . W . Grand Master , Bro . VV . R . WHITE , Q . C . there

being some 1300 brethren present . From the various reports that were then presented there is little doubt that thc Craft had every reason to congratulate itself on the proceedings of the preceding 12 months , and that , both in respect of its finances

and its membership , it had made solid substantial progress . Thc Grand Master , in his address , spoke very strongly against the practice of canvassing for office , which , from information he had received , appeared to be year by year becoming more and more

prevalent , while a resolution was passed by Grand Lodge that no other work should be permitted in the lodges except lhat which had received thc sanction and approval of Grand Lodge , save in thc case of lodges possessing special privileges . Bro . WHITE

was re-elected Grand Master for a further year , and Bro . J . J . MASON still continues to occupy the position of Grand Secretary , which he has held with such signal advantage to the Craft formany vears . The annual convocation oi the Grand Royal

Arch Chapter was held in the same city the day previous to the meeting of Grand Lodge , and those privileged to be present had the pleasure of hearing a singularly eloquent address from the M . E . Grand Z . Comp . J . ROSS ROBERTSON , which was

subsequently published in full in these columns . In this instance , also the Presiding Officer had thc satisfaction of congratulating his audience on the prosperous state of Royal Arch Masonry in the jurisdiction , but , at thc same time , he took thc opportunity of

Freemasonry Abroad.

throwing out several valuable suggestions which merit the earnest attention both of Grand Chapter and the private chapters on its roll . Comps . Ross ROISERTSON , T . SARCA . NT , and HUGH MURRAY were re-elected to their offices respectively of Grand

Z ., Grand Scribe E , and Grand Treasurer , while Grand Chapter resolved on altering the date for holding its annual meeting from July to January . In August the 12 th annual conclave of the Sovereign Great Priory of Canada was held in St .

John ' s , New Brunswick , under the presidency of Sir Knight E . E . SHEPPARD , Supreme G . Master , but lhc attendance was not large . The chief reason for selecting this city for thc annual meeting appears to have been satisfactory ,

namely , that many of the fratres were desirous of attending the triennial meeting at Boston , Mass ., of the Grand Encampment of thc United States , but circumstances proved unfavourable , and hence the paucity of those who were present at thc conclave .

However , the Grand Master was able to point to an increase in thc membership during ( he preceding year and to speak favourably of the finances of Great Priory , while , on his recommendation , warrants for two new preceptories were ordered to bc

issued . The Grand Lodge of Quebec held its 25 th annual communication in Montreal on thc 30 th January , and Grand Master JOHN P . NOYES appears to have been able to present a very favourable review of the previous year ' s proceedings . On the

particular matter in which English brethren feel an interest , namely , the relations between the Grand Lodges oi Quebec and England , Bro . NOYES may be held to have described them very aptly as " harmony on sufferance , " and as there does not appear

to be any hurry on the part either of England or of Quebec to determine the question pending between them as to the English lodges in Montreal , we can only hope lhat this "harmony on sufferance" may be continued . It is decidedl y preferable to

anything in the nature of active or even of passive hostilities between the two , and who knows but that , if it is protracted long enough , some beneficial result may not follow ? Thc Grand Lodges of Nova Scotia , New Brunswick , and Prince Edward

Island have well maintained their position , while the Grand Lodge of British Columbia has gained strength , and lhat of Manitoba is making rapid progress , so that in a few years we may lind it in respect of its lodge roll as strong as sonic of ( he older

organisations in this part of the British Empire . The 20 th annual communication of the last-named Grand Lodge was held in the City of Winnipeg in June , under the presidency of Grand Alaster THOMAS TWEED , and from the tabular statements in the

published proceedings , there appear to be just over 50 chartered lodges and four others under dispensation , wilh an aggregate membership of nearly 2500 . During his year of ofiice Grand Master TWEED laid the corner-stone of an Anglican church , in the town

of Regina , in thc District of Assiniboia , North West Territories , and two days prior to the annual meeting of his Grand Lod ge performed the same function in respect of another Anglican church in the village of 11 art ney , Province of Manitoba . The

Grand Master ' s review of the preceding year was favourable , and the finances oi Grand Lodge appear to be in a sound condition . We trust that Masonry in the various jurisdictions we

have referred to may become more and more prosperous every year , and that thc relations of those bodies wilh the Grand Lodges in the United Kingdom may , at the same time , become more friendly and harmonious .

Of Freemasonry under the banners of the several Grand Lodges in Australasia we can onl y say that the position does not appear to have altered materiall y since 1804 , The . senior