Reports Of Masonic Meetings.

REPORTS OF MASONIC MEETINGS .

Craft flDasonrp .

METROPOLITAN MEETINGS .

Belgrave Lodge ( No . 749 ) . -The annual meeting of this lodge took place on Wednesday , the 12 th inst ., at Anderton ' s Hotel , Fleet-street . There was a large attendance of members and visiting brethren from the Abbey , Clapton , Crystal Palace , Star of the East , Leopold , and other lodges . 'I he installation ceremony vvas performed by Bro . Weeks , P . M ., eliciting the admiration of those

present for the impressive manner in which it was done . The unanimous vote of the brethren of the lodge fell on Bro . Edward Triggs as W . M ., who appointed the following officers : Bros . Austin , S . W . ; Turnpenny , J . VV . ; Parsons , P . M ., Treas . ; H . Garrod , P . M ., P . G . P ., Sec ; Brand , S . D . ; Bank , J . D . ; Joseph VV . Hobbs , P . M ., D . C ; J . Mahon , l . G . ; Kedge , P . M ., A . D . C ; Benns

and Doresa , Stewards ; and Hornewood , Tyler . During the evening Bro . Henry VV . L . Hobbs vvas presented with a handsome jewel in recognition of his services as W . M . during the past year . ' At the banquet that followed the installation the usual loyal and Masonic toasts were given and responded to . The musical arrangements were under the direction of Bro . Govier , Org ., and a most pleasant evening was spent .

Merchant Navy Lodge ( No . 781 ) . —A regular meeting of this lodge , probably the largest of the East-end lodges , vvas held at the Silver Tavern on the 12 th inst ., under the presidency of Bro . S . W . Timson , W . M ., assisted by the following officers : Bros . Pastield , J . W . ; T . B . Daniell , P . M ., Treas . ; C . Breden , P . M ., Sec ; F . R . Guoch , S . D . ; W . E . Turiff , j . D . ; E . 1 .

Anderson , I . G . ; J . Grout , Org . ; and Ellingford , P . M ., Tyler . Among the Past Masters present were Bros . F . Robinson , A . Scheerbaum , G . Palmer , H . Shepherd , and Gaisford . The brethren present numbered nearly 60 , amongst whom were Bros . E . H . Seage , W . H . Vickers , J . VV . Hockley , J . Lancett , and others . Visitors : Bros , j . Lusty , jun ., 1250 ; H . E . Mountford and Allen , 1716 ;

A . R . Morrison , 66 9 ( S . C ); J . Bennett , H . V . Geary , J . Mills , all of 1765 ; and E . C . Corbett , 737 , Mauritius . The lodge being opened , and the minutes read and confirmed , Bros . Walsh and Vickers were raised . After the usual formalities , Bros . Hockley , Spurgeon , Huet , Lane , and Francis were passed . Messrs . C A . Badcock , W . Beale , W . Dailey , and C . Todd were initiated . Bro . S .

W . Iimson was aided in his arduous duties by Bros , Shepherd , P . M ., Scheerbaum , P . M , and Palmer , P . M ., and worked the ceremonies with his wonted precision and impressiveness . The lodge being closed , the brethren adjourned to refreshment and harmony . After the usual warm reception of the loyal toasts and that of "The Grand Officers" Bro . Shepherd , P . M .,

proposed "The Health of the W . M ., " and congratulated the lodge on the possession of so thorough a Master of the Craft as the VV . M ., to which Bro . Timson adequately replied . For "The Past Masters" Bro . Gaisford , in a very practical speech , referred to the working of the lodge and the spirit shown by its officers . He hoped the initiates

would not regard the beautiful ritual they had just heard as a mere form of words , but trusted they would stamp its principles in their hearts . " The Officers " were represented by Bro . P . M . Breden , Sec , who referred to the labour of love he now undertook

in looking after the interests of so large a lodge . Bros . Pasfield , Seage , Burgess , and others ' replied . For " The Visitors" Bros . Allen , Bennett , and others replied . The musical shire of the evening was performed by Bros . Grout ( piano ) , George Palmer , J . Bennett , and J . Anderson .

Capper Lodge ( No . 1076 ) . —After many years of faithiul serviceBro . JamesTytheridge , S . VV . and W . M . elect of the above excellent lodge , vvas , on Thursday , the 13 th instant , at the Guildhall lavern , Gresham-street , City , and in the presence of brethren from all parts of the metropolis and adjacent provinces , placed in the chair of K . S . as its Master .

The lodge was opened by Bro . A . T . Dale , W . M ., and the minutes of the previous meeting having been conlirmed , Bro . l . D . Dunning was raised by the VV . M ., and Bro . C R . Short was passed by Bro . J . Doyley-Mears , I . P . M . Bro . Dale then resumed the chair , and installed his successor in ancient form . Bro . Tytheridge , having been saluted , appointed and invested his officers as follows : Bros .

Dale , I . P . M . ; W . L . Crow , S . VV . ; J . H . VVhite , J . VV . ; J . Dorton , P . M ., Treas . ; VV . H . Ware , Hon . Sec ; F . C . Ward , S . D . ; C R . Sayers , J . D . ; J . F . Oates , l . G . ; C . R . Higgins , D . C ; T . H . Maple , H . W . Lea , Stwds . ; M . Sherwin , Org . ; and A . K . Turberfield , Tyler . Bro . Dale then proceeded to give the addresses . He was accorded a hearty vote of thanks , the same to be

inscribed on the minutes of the lodge , and it was further resolved that they be engraved and illuminated on vellum , mounted and framed , and presented to him at the cost of the lodge . He was also presented with a valuable Past Master's jewel , suitably inscribed , for all ancl several of whicli our excellent brother feelingly responded . The long and valuable services of Bro . 1 . Dorton , P . M .,

Ireas ., were recognised by the presentation to him of a banc ' s ime Treasuier ' s jewel of the value of io guineas , for which he returned his heartfelt thanks , assuring the brethren that although he never expected any other reward for his services than their approbation , yet the handsome jewel presented to him that day would be prized by him more than he could find words to express . As in

the past , so in the future , while he enjoyed tlieir conlidence he should carry out the duties of his office , and endeavom to deserve their esteem . Bro . Holliday , P . M ., vvas reelected President of the lodge Charity Committee , and returned thanks , and after " Hearty good wishes " from the visiting brethren , the lodge was closed . The banquet , thanks to the active superintendence oi Bro . J . Marcham , chief of the staff , was splendidly served

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Grace having been sung , and the usual loyal and Grand Lodge toasts honoured , Bro . Dale proposed the toast of "The W . M ., " remarking he felt sure that their VV . M . would , in the well-ruling and governing of the lodge , give them every satisfaction , and prove himself worthy of the proud position he had that day achieved .

Bro . Tytheridge , in response , said he knew no language adequate to convey his thanks to them for their kind reception of the toast . He had for many years , as they all knew , aspired to the Mastership of the Capper Lodge , and now that he had attained it , nothing should be wanting on his part to sustain its undimned prestige , or to render himself worthy of the trust reposed in him . He then proposed

the toast of "The Installing Officer , " ancl paid a welldeserved eulogium to Bro . Dale for his good service as Installing Officer that day . Bro . Dale thanked thebrethren fortheirenthusiasticreception of the toast . He had been actuated with but one desire , and that was to perform the ceremony of installation to their satisfaction , and if there had been any shortcomings they

must excuse them . He could only than « them and the officers for their consistent and genial support to him during his year of office , and trusted they would continue that support to their new and esteemed Master , who he had had the pleasure of installing that day . Bro . Knox , in responding for "The Past Masters , " said he believed he was the oldest Past Master of the lodge , and

was pleased to be present and see his old friend , Bro . Tytheridge , placed in the chair as its Master . They were brother initiates together , having been initiated in that lodge 20 years ago last Alarch . He sincerely trusted that his old friend would have a good year of office , and be a credit to the lodge ; at any rate , he could assure him of one thingand that was the hearty support and co-operation of the Past

Masters . Bros . Jolly , Woolley , Wood , and Dippie having responded for "The Visitors , " "The Masonic Press" vvas enthusiastically received and acknowledged . Bros . Crow and VVhite briefly returned thanks for " The Officers . "

The lyler s toast concluded one of the most pleasant of Masonic re-unions . The toasts were interspersed with some splendid singing by Mrs . Crow , Misses Amy Egerton and Alice Higgins , Bro . R . Bayley , and Messrs . C Legg , H . J . Chatterton , and C . Harding . Miss J . Badger and Bro . VVormold accompanied , and the whole affair was a perfect and memorable

success . Sphinx Lodge ( No . 1329 ) . —The annual installation oi this lodge vsas held on Saturday , the 15 th inst ., at the Surrey Masonic Hall , when nearly 120 brethren attended . Bro . David Dixon Mercer , Grand Pursuivant , VVorshipful Master , presided , and among the brethren who supported him were Bros . G . H . Goldschmidt ,

I . P . M . ; Thos . Ed . vard Webb , S . W . ; J . N . Turney , I . W . j J . C . Reynolds , Treas . ; R . Elgar , Sec ; C Wilson , P . M ., S . D . ; J . A . Thornhill , J . D . ; J . C . Bradley , A . D . C ; Dr . C . Gross , P . M ., I . G . ; R . ] . Pitt , Org . ; C . Gooding , Stwd . ; B . T . Whitehead , Asst . Stwd . j and a large number of members and visitors . After the lodge had been opened , and the usual

preliminaries disposed of , the W . M . passed Bros . VV . K . Burton and C . E . Head to the Second Degree , and the report of tlie Audit Committee , which was exceedingly favourable , was received , adopted , and ordered to be entered on the minutes . Bro . Thomas Edward Webb , S . W . and W . M . elect , was then presented to Bro . Mercer for installation , the ceremony being performed in splendid style . The Board

of Installed Masters consisted of some 40 brethren , an indication of the great popularity of the lodge , and of the out-going and the newly-installed Masters . The following brethren were appointed officers of the lodge for the ensuing year : Bros . D . D . Mercer , I . P . M . j J . N . Turney , S . VV . ; C . Wilson , P . M ., J . VV . ; J . C . Reynolds , Treas . ; Robert Elgar , Sec ; lames A . Thornhill , S . D . ; Dr . Charles

Gross , P . M ., J . D . j P . A . Nairne , P . M ., D . C ; John C . Bradley , A . D . C . ; Robert Irvine , i . G . ; Robert J . Pitt , Org . ; Charles Gooding- and B . T . Whitehead , Stwds . ; and George Harrison , Tyler . After Bro . Mercer had delivered the addresses to the VV . M ., Wardens , and brethren , Bro . Reynolds , Treasurer , in a neat little speech , gave notice of motion for the next meeting , seconded by Bro .

Voisey , P . M ., to present to the Secretary a Secretary ' s jewel in recognition of his valuable services to the lodge , without which , Bro . Reynolds said , his own duties must have been rendered much more arduous than they had been . The speech was received with enthusiasm , the brethren all acknowledging that the onerous work of Secretary to such a large lodge as the Sphinx had been

exceptionally well carried out by Bro . Elgar , who , notwithstanding his heavy secretarial labours , had found time to perfect himself in all the ritual of Freemasonry . Several propositions for initiation and joining were afterwards given in . 1 he Secretary having announced that he had received a communication from the Secretary of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution , asking for a Steward from the

sphinx Lodge for the next I'estival of that Institution in February , 1 Sg 1 , the VV . M . said he was going to take that Stewardship himself , and he hoped the lodge and the brethren would strongly support him , as he knew the old people were greatly in need of assistance . The lodge was then closed . A superb banquet followed in the large hall , after which

the usualtoasts were honoured . Bro . Mercer , G . P ., responded to the toast of " The Grand Officers , " and assured the brethren that the Grand Officers were always ready to do their duty , and to render any services in Freemasonry that might he required of them . Bro . Mercer , I . P . M ., in proposing " The W . M . of the Sphinx Lodge , " said thebrethren had seen that night—and

many of them no doubt had been taken by surprise at itthe way in which Bro . Webb had done his work in the lodge . It augured very well for what they would see during his year of ollice , and he felt quite sure that Bro . Webb would follow in the footsteps of the Past Masters whom they had seen g-o before him , and that he would sustain tlie character of the Sphinx Lodge which had already been established .

The Worshipful Master , who , on rising to respond , vvas received with hearty applause , thanked Bro . Mercer , first for the very kind way in which he had proposed the toast , and next the brethren for their hearty and generous response . He could assure them it vvas a very proud moment of his life when he was called upon to preside over the brethren of . the Sphinx Lodge for the first time , and he was

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glad to see such a goodly array of distinguished brethren around him . He had gone up to the chair step by step , and now that he had arrived at it he vvas astonished and surprised that there were so many of the founders of the lodge in the company . He hoped he should never do anything unworthy of the Sphinx Lodge . His feelings were heartily with the lodge , its interests were his interests , and he would

endeavour to promote those interests in every possible way . He now wished to propose another toast—a double toast , in fact—that of " The Immediate Past Master and the InstallingMaster , " which wereindeed concentrated in Bro . Mercer . He could not stop to tell the brethren how many offices Bro . Mercer held ; he was a great man at Grand Lodge as well as in the Sphinx Lodge . None of the brethren ever saw the

installation ceremony better worked than it had been that evening by Bro . Mercer ; it was a great credit to him and an honour to the lodge . While asking the brethren to drink Bro . Mercer ' s health most heartily , it gave him great pleasure to present him vvith a Past Master's jewel , which had been voted to him by the lodge . _ Bro . Mercer's breast was already covered with Masonic jewels , but there

was still room for that one , and it gave him great pleasure to place it in such good company . He hoped he would live many years to wear it , for he had shed great lustre upon the lodge by having risen to the proud position of one of the Grand Officers in Grand Lodge . The brethren of the Sphinx Lodge thanked him for that , and he could assure him he would always be kindly remembered by them .

The toast having been enthusiastically drunk , Bro . Mercer , in reply , said the past year had been to him a year of the very greatest pleasure that any Mason could have passed through . A year ago he thought he had arrived at the summit of his ambition in becoming the Master of his mother lodge ; but he had endeavoured to cap that by putting the final stroke to his year of office by installing

Bro . Dr . Webb as VVorshipful Master in succession to him . He held it to be an object of the greatest ambition as a Mason to undertake the office of Master . In the Sphinx Lodge they had endeavoured to carry it out in practice , and he hoped the brethren would live many years to see it done by all succeeding Masters . Dr . Webb had intimated to him that he would leave no stone unturned to

qualify himself in that respect . He ( Bro . Mercer ) hoped that Dr . Webb would find during his year of office the same good spirit , kind feeling , and brotherly love from every member of the lodge as he ( Bro . Mercer ) had during his year . He thought he could conscientiously say that in leaving the chair of the Sphinx Lodge he left it with the fullest ' sympathy and affection of the brethren . If Dr .

Webb should in his year of office require any assistance from him , he would most gladly and heartily render it . For the way the brethren had supported him during his year , he most heartily thanked them , and he hoped they would extend the same support to Dr . Webb . He thanked the brethren for the Past Master ' s jewel just presented to him . He valued it not for its intrinsic worth , but far above

anything in that form : he hoped he would always look upon it as a memento of the kind feeling of the brethren , of the kindness and brotherly love expressed by every brother of the lodge . l'he Worshipful Master next proposed "The Visitors , " whom the brethren of the Sphinx Lodge were always pleased to see .

Bros . Hague , W . M . 2105 ; Jeffery , W . M . 1622 ; and Robert Davis , W . M . 2266 , replied , each expressing his pleasure at seeing Dr . Webb in the proud position of Master of his lodge , and acknowledging the unbounded hospitality which had been extended to the visitors . Bros . Sugden , P . M ., and Goldschmidt , P . M ., responded to the toast of " The Past Masters . " Bro . Sugden said that some years ago many kind

friends of his applied to the then Grand Master for a warrant for a Camberwell lodge , to be called the Sphinx Lodge , and it vvas granted , and he vvas very pleased to know that a large proportion of the members of the lodge consisted of Camberwell men . But they had also had some distinguished brethren from all parts of London connected with them that is , they were initiated in the lodge , and had served the different offices . His dear friend on his

right ( Bro . Mercer ) he initiated , and he vvas very proud of him , but he thought that was the first time they had had a Camberwell man occupying the chair . He lelt sure the VV . M . would never do anything to disgrace the lodge . He had known him from a boy , and he knew he had never done anything to disgrace the parish or himself . Dr . Webb now occupied a very prominent position in the parish as a medical

man , and they were proud to rub shoulders with him , not only in the lodge , but out of it . He congratulated Dr . Webb most sincerely on the position he held , and trusted he would have a most successful year of office . Nothing would be wanting on the part of the Past Masters to render him any assistance in their power . With respect to Bro . Mercer , he hoped that before they met again the lodge would supply

him with a set of Grand Lodge clothing , an act which , by accident , had been overlooked up to the present . Bro . Goldschmidt promised the W . M . all his support , and was quite sure every other brother would give his assistance . There could be no doubt of a successful year of office , as four candidates had been proposed that evening to begin with . He vvas sure they would be good men and true from

the names of their proposers and seconders . The lodge had had many years of success , and thc brethren might look forward to further years of success . Bros . Reynolds and Elgar responded to the toast oi " The Treasurer and Secretary , " and the Senior and Junior Wardens replied to the toast of "The Officers . " The Tyler ' s toast closed the proceedings . Under the direction of Bro . Robert J . Pitt , Org ., a most

agreeable performance of vocal and instrumental music took place , in which the executants were Miss Helen Hughes , Miss Lena Seymour , R . A . M ., Bro . Edward Holland , the Unity Vocal Quartette , consisting of Bros . Vernon Lee , VV . H . Wheeler , VV . H . Pocklington , and Walter Syckelmoore . A fine solo on the violin was performed by Mr . Joseph H . Pitt , Corporation Exhibitioner , Guildhall School of Music . Bro . k . J . Pitt presided at the pianoforte .

Islington Lodge ( No . 1471 ) . —The regular meeting of this lodge was held on Thursday , the 13 th inst ., at the Cock Tavern , Highbury , when the following officers and brethren were present : Bros . Sidney Napper , VV . M . ; H . Hunt , I . P . M . j J . M . Scarlett , P . M ., P . J . G . W . Essex , S . VV . ; H . B . Harding , J . VV . ; J . L . Mather , P . M ., P . A . G . D . C , Treas . ; E . Blinkhorn , P . M ., Secj CM . Coxon , S . D . j K . Loomes , J . D . j A . Cox , I . G . ; H .