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pAIETY RESTAURANT , STRAND . LUNCHEONS ( HOT AND COLD ) At Popular Prices , in BUFFET and R ESTAURANT ( on First Floor ) , also Chops , Steaks , Joints , Entrees , & c , in the GRILL ROOM . AFTERNOON TEA , Consisting of Tea or Coffee , Cut Bread and Butter , Jam , Cake , Pastry , ad lib ., at Is . per head , served from 4 till 6 in RESTAURANT ( First Floor ) . DINNERS IN RESTAURANT , From 5 . 30 till 9 , at fixed prices ( 3 s . 6 d . and 5 s . ) and a la Carte . In this room THE VIENNESE BAND petforms from < 5 till 8 . Smoking after 7 . 45 . AMERICAN BAR . THE GRILL ROOM is open till 12 . 30 . PRIVATE DINING ROOMS for large and small Parties . SPIERS & POND , Ltd ., PROPRIETORS .

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Zo Correspondents , ORGANIST . —The I . G . takes precedence , being one of the regular officers of the lodge , while the other is only an officer whom the Master may appoint if he thinks proper . See Article 120 , B . of C .

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Mre ^ ittasoijl S ATURDAY , J ANUARY 30 , 18 97 .

Masonic Notes.

Masonic Notes .

The regular Quarterly Convocation of Supreme Grand Chapter will be held at Freemasons' Hall on Wednesday , the 3 rd prox . We publish elsewhere the

agenda , from which it will appear that the business will not be of a very exacting character . Warrants for four new chapters have been granted since November , two being located in London , one in Cheshire , and one in Essex .

Masonic Notes.

We are very glad to be in a position to announce that since we last drew attention to the subjnet , very considerable progress has been made in strengthening the Board of Stewards for the approaching Festival of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution . Thenumber

of ladies and brethren who have volunteered their services is not far short , if , indeed , it does not already equal , the number who acted at the Festival in 1895 . This , however , is a long way from being equal to the

Board of last year , and , as this is the year of the Queen's Diamond J ubilee , and one of the Queen ' s sons will preside on the occasion , we sincerely trust the record of last year will be beaten . We shall have occasion to refer to the subject at an early date .

We have very great pleasure in announcing that Bro . the Right Hon . Lord Llangattock , has very kindly consented to preside as Chairman at the 109 th Anniversary Festival of the Royal Masonic Institution for Girls , which will be held about the usual date in May

next . His lordship , as our readers are aware , is Prov . Grand Master of South Wales , Eastern Division , and as upwards of three months will elapse before the celebration takes place , there will be ample time for the Province to makes its arrangements for supporting the

presidency of their chief . In iSSS , Bro . Lord Llangattock's predecessor in office , the late Bro . Sir George Elliot , Bart ., M . P ., presided at the Festival of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution , when , notwithstanding that the Girls' School Centenary was going

to be held in the summer , the very large total of . £ 15 , 29 6 was obtained by the exertions of a Board of 276 Stewards , the contribution from the Chairman ' s Province being , £ 865 . Doubtless , South Wales East ,

especially as it has since been strengthened by the addition of sundry lodges , will endeavour to beat these figures ; at all events , we may be sure it will do its utmost to support its present Prov . Grand Master .

» * An absurd rumour has found its way into the Dublin press to the effect that Earl Cadogan , Lord Lieutenant of Ireland , and Lord Roberts , the Commander of the Forces , were initiated in a Dublin lodge on Tuesday ,

the 19 th inst ., and Irish Society , which claims to be " the only Society Journal in Ireland , " regards it as " an honour to Dublin Masons to have secured two such eminent noblemen for initiation in one of their lodges . " It happens unfortunately for Irish Society

that , as regards Bro . Lord Roberts , he was initiated in an English lodge in India some 40 years ago , and was appointed S . G . W . of England in 18 95 , while as regards

the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland we have the authority of a well known Irish Mason , a Grand Officer of Ireland , for stating that the rumour has absolutely no foundation .

* General sympathy will be felt with Bro . Lord Roberts , Commander of the Forces in Ireland , at the news that his son , Lieut . Roberts , of the Royal Fusiliers ,

while engaged in playing polo , was struck in the eye by the ball , which smashed the glass he was wearing and drove the splinters in so that the sight of the eye is gone .

* We have been favoured with a copy of the proceedings of the Grand Chapter of Maryland , during the year 1896 . The annual convocation was held on the 10 th November , under the presidency of Comp . VV . H .

Shryock , G . H . P ., who delivered a very interesting address . It was announced that the Committee of the Centennial Celebration of the Grand Chapter had prepared and recommended certain arrangements , which were approved and adopted , the principal being

that a special convocation should be held on Thursday , the 4 th June next — the anniversary of the date of formation—at the Masonic Hall , Baltimore , to which

all R . A . Masons in the State should be invited , and that a bronze medal , commemorative of the occasion should be struck and distributed by subscription . Comp . Gen . Shryock is still in office as G . H . P .

* * At the Quarterly Communication of the District Grand Lodge of Queensland , which was held at Freemasons' Hall , Brisbane , on the 2 nd December last , a resolution to the effect that " the services of a reporter

who is a member of the Craft be obtained for the purpose of reporting the proceedings at meetings of District Grand Lodge , " and that it be " an instruction

to the Board of General Purposes to make the necessary arrangements to give effect to the same . " The motion was made at the instance of Bro . A . J , Stephenson , M . L . A ., Past Dist . S . G . W .

Masonic Notes.

At the same meeting the District Grand Master—Bro . the Hon . C . A . Gregory , C . M . G . —gave an account of sundry visits which , in company with the District Grand Secretary—Bro . John Fenivick—he had made to the lodges at Rockhampton , Charters Towers , Ravenswood , Townsville , and Cleveland , in the interval

between the September and December Communications of District Grand Lodge , and we are glad to say that the District Grand Master reported most favourably , not only of the hearty welcome which he and his District Grand Secretary had experienced , but also of the admirable manner in which the duties of the lodges were being carried out .

It seems that in Charters Towers the District Grand Lodge , under the Scottish Constitution , has appointed " a duplicate Dep . Dist . G . Master and other officers , " and that this is regarded as "apparently giving them a higher status or prestige than the English brethren .

and , as they say , to their disadvantage generally . " Under these circumstances and as such duplicate officers could not be appointed under the English Constitution , Bro . Gregory considered that personal visitation was the best policy to adopt and hence these visits .

The Craft in Massachusetts held the usual important communications in the month of December last . On the 8 th ult . the annual meeting took place under the presidency of Bro . Edwin R . Holmes , M . W . Grand Master , who in his address very carefully reviewed the

events of the past year . From what he said it appears that the number of lodges at present on the roll is 234 , and the aggregate number of members 37 , 7 6 3 , showing an increase of close upon 500 as compared with the previous year . We learn also that the Masonic Charity Fund belonging to Grand Lodge amounts to 115 , 000

dollars , which at an early date will be increased by the generous bequest of 50 , 000 dollars , by the late Bro . John Collamore . Bro . Holmes , however , does not appear to be satisfied with the sum , and considers that no time should be lost in raising the Fund to 500 , 000 dollars (¦ £ 100 , 000 ) .

* * * In the course of the proceedings a report was presented , in which it was recommended that the Masonic Hall in Tremont-street should be re-built at an estimated cost of 260 , 000 dollars , the object being to afford increased comfort and accommodation to the

Craft . However , the proposal was deferred till the next Quarterly Communication , and the remainder of the session was devoted to the election of officers for the ensuing year , the principal being Bro . Charles C . Hutchinson , M . W . G . Master ; Bros . Edward F . Smith , S . G . Warden ; Joseph H . Gleason , J . G .

Warden ; John Carr , Grand Treasurer ; and Sereno D . Nickerson , Recording Grand Secretary . The installation of the Grand blaster elect and the investiture of the new Grand Officers took place on the 28 th December . * * *

The annual convocation of the Grand Chapter of Massachusetts was held at the Masonic Hall , Boston , on the Sth ult ., under the presidency of Comp . J . Gilman Waite , G . H . P ., who delivered the customary address . The work pertaining to the usual Degrees having been exemplified , the election and installation

of Grand Officers for the ensuing year took place , Comp . Seranus Bowen being the G . H . P . ; Comps . S . F . Hubbard , Dep . G . II . P . ; A . H . Libbey , Grand K . ; and R . Walter Hill , G . Scribe . Comps . E . A . Holton and J . Albert Blake are the Grand Treasurer and Grand Secretary respectively .

* * * Certain tabular statements have been going thc round of our Masonic contemporaries , from which it appears that the estimated number of lodges in the world is 17 , 262 , and the aggregate of subscribing members 1 , 054 , 0-56 . Of these there are 11 , 943 lodges

with a subscribing membership of 783 , 644 in the United States and Canada , while the remaining 5319 lodges and 270 , 392 members are distributed throughout the other countries in which Masonry has established itself . As regards the United Kingdom , England is credited with 1874 lodges and 91 , 000 members ;

Ireland with 396 lodges and 20 , 000 members ; and Scotland with 540 lodges and 27 , 000 members . Who is responsible for these estimates we are unable to say ; but in the case of England , the number of lodges in the jurisdiction of United Grand Lodge is stated in our

official Calendar to be 2190 , and if we take 50 members per lodge as the average , as suggested in the Masonic Token , we have a total of not far short of 110 , 000 , or 19 , 000 in excess of the number stated above .