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CONTENTS . LSADERS - PA ° Freemasonry in Essex ... ¦¦¦ ••• ¦•• 3 S 5 Grand Lodge Decisions — 3 § 5 Provincial Grand Lodge of Surrey ... ... ... ... •¦• 3 ^ 0 Provincial Grand Lodge of Norfolk ... ... •¦• 3 7 Provincial Grand Chapter of Surrey ... ... ••¦ •¦• 3 § S Consecration of the Abbey Chapter , No . 2030 .. ... ... ... 3 $ S

Supreme Grand Chapter of England ( Agenda Paper ) ... ... ... 3 ^ 9 The Centenary of the Lion Lodge , No . 312 ... ... ... ... 3 sg Summer Outing of the Lodge of Industry , No . 1 SG ... ... ... 39 ' ' Presentation to Bro . Franklin Thomas ... ... ... ... 3 Q 1 Freemasonry and the Diamond Jubilee in the West Indies ... ... 39 ' MASONIC NOTESQuarterly Convocation of Supreme Grand Chapter ... ... ... 393

Annual Meeting of the Provincial Grand Lodge of North and East Yorkshire ... ... ... ... ... — 393 Annual Meeting of the Provincial Grand Chapter of Wiltshire ... ... 393 Correspondence ... ... ... ... ... ¦•¦ 394 Masonic Notes and Queries ... ... ... ... 394 Masonic Jubilee Service at Shrewsbury ... ... ... ... 394 Installation of Bro . Richard Dunn . Thomas as District Grand Master of New

Zealand ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 394 Provincial Grand Mark Lodge of Buckinghamshire ... ... ... 395 Craft Masonry ... ... ... ... ... ... 395 Royal Arch ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 395 Red Cross of Rome and Constantine ... ... ... ... 397 United Grand Lodge of New South Wales ... ... ... ... 397 Masonic and General Tidings ... ... ... ¦•• — 39 S

Freemasonry In Essex.

FREEMASONRY IN ESSEX .

Essex , as our readers know full well , is essentially a strong Province , not so much on account of tlie number of lodges on its roll as in . consequence of the zeal and energy and ability with which these lodges fulfil their duties , and the regular and

generous amount of support which is always forthcoming from their members on behalf of our Institutions . This year , for instance , this Province , with its 3 S lodges , has subscribed upwards of £ 800 to the three Institutions , and there can be no

question as to this being a very considerable total , especially when it must be remembered that Essex is mainly an agricultural county , and has not for a long time past been in clover . Yet , to its infinite credit , we must go back to the year 1 SS 9 to

lind a smaller annual total , and then with a roll of some 28 lodges , it distributed close on ^ , 650 among our Charities , while in the interval that has since elapsed , there are two years—those of 1802 , when the Benevolent Institution

celebrated its Jubilee , and 1 S 93 , when the P . G . M . presided at the Boys' School Festival—in which the amount subscribed was considerably in excess of £ 2000 . Hut this is only one part of the picture . There are the lodges which have contributed all

this support , and we may be sure they arc not only well organised but likewise that they carry out ably as well as faithfully their appointed duties , Bodies that are not well looked after are not , as a rule , given to setting a bright example to other

similar bodies to follow . But there are sections of English Freemasonry that might take a leaf out ol the book of Essex and derive no little advantage to themselves through so doing . The fact is that Essex has been fortunate in possessing for many years an

able and popular ruler in the Earl of WARWICK , a similarly able and popular Deputy P . O . Master in Bro . PlllLURlCK , Q . C ., G . Registrar , and an experienced Executive officer in the person of

Bro . T 11 OMAS J . RALLlNG , P . A . G . D . C , as Prov . G . Secretary . Under the guidance of these brethren , and ably supported as they have been by Bros . LENNOX BROWNE , JAMES TERRY , WILLIAM SIIUR . MUR , W . J . CRUMP , and others , the Province

has gone on prospering so that in the 15 years Lord WARWICK has been Grand Master of the Province , the number of Jodges on the roll has nearly doubled , while the goo

subscribing members or thereabouts have swelled to a body of over 2000 , giving the healthy average of more than 50 per lodge . Many of these evidences of prosperity were referred to at the

Freemasonry In Essex.

recent annual meeting of tlie Prov . G . Lodge at Colchester , while the strength of the kindly and generous feelings of the brethren was further exemplified by the handsome subscription which was raised at the gathering itself from the funds of Prov . and private lodges , as well as from the Prov . G . Master and

other brethren towards alleviating the distress caused in the county by the recent disastrous hailstorm . A sum of £ 230 , raised within an hour , at a meeting of about 250 persons , speaks volumes in favour of the kindness of our Essex brethren and proves clearly enough , though such proof is hardly needed , that

they by no means restrict their benevolence to objects which are purely Masonic . There was , however , just one "incident in the course of the proceedings which must have had the effect of materially diminishing the sense of pleasure which those present must have experienced at the success of the recent meeting . We allude to the announcement which it

unfortunately devolved on the Prov . G . Master to make , to the effect that he had received a letter from Bro . Pllll . HRICK , in which that respected brother expressed the opinion that in consequence of the claims upon his time b y reason of his appointment to a judicial office in the West of England , it would be necessary for

him to resign his position of Dep . Prov . G . M ., as the brethren had a right , not only to the interest which he should never fail to take in their proceedings , but also to his bodil y presence in their midst . It is doubtless in every way desirable that a Dep . P . G . M . should be able to move freely amo ng tin

lodges , but let us hope that a way may be found by which the severance of a connection which has been so advantageous to the Province of Essex and so honourable to Bro . PIIILBKICK himself may be avoided . But should ( he necessity arise there is this consolation , or rather these two consolations , which will

somewhat reconcile us to the change , namely ( i ) , that Lord WARWICK considers he will be able to nominate a brother for the post who will be acceptable to the whole Province ; and ( 2 )

that after all , perhaps Bro . PiilLBRlCK , by retaining his office of Grand Superintendent , will not wholly terminate his longestablished connection with a Province for which he has laboured so successfully and which respects him so highly .

Grand Lodge Decisions.*

GRAND LODGE DECISIONS . *

We have said that the idea which our Rev . Bro . J . T . LAWRENCE has carried out in this pamphlet is an excellent one and that the manner in which he has done his work of editing , arranging , and annotating is for lhe most part satisfactory . It

is impossible , indeed , for any brother to study this book without acquiring a considerable amount of knowledge of the law and practice of Masonry under our Grand Lodge . But while we fully recognise the merits of Bro . LAWRENCE ' S compilation as a

whole ; while from a long experience in similar fields of labour we are in a position to realise far better than the great majority of our readers how arduous must have been the task he set himself when he resolved on accumulating and issuing in the form

of a handy guide or manual the decisions of our Grand Lodge on the more momentous questions which arise from time to time in our lodges ; and while we are able to accept his views in the great majority of the cases in which he has considered it necessary or expedient to express an opinion , there are some instances