Provincial Grand Chapter Of Cheshire.

J . ; C . H . Coates , P . S . ; James Gerrard , ist Assist . S . ; E . G . Simpson , 2 nd Assist . S . ; J . S . Mort , D . of C . ; Wm . Fair , Sd . B ; James Goodwin , Std . B . ; T . Kirk , Org . ; John Wood , Reg . ; G . AV . Latham , E . ; John Siddeley , N . ; F . Jackson , Treas . ; Alcock , Janitor .

Lomp . J . P . Piatt , m the absence of the Treasurer , read the . finaucial statement , which showed a balance in hand of ^ 32 15 s . 4 d . On the motion of Comp . Lord de Tabley , seconded by Comp . T . Piatt , M . E . H ., the accounts were passed .

On the motion of Comp . Cope , P . P . G . H ., seconded by Comp . Kirk , P . G . O ., twenty guineas were voted to the Royal Masonic Institution for Girls .

His Lordship having announced his attention of holding the next Provincial Grand Chapter at Crewe , the chapter was closed , and the companions banqueted together in the evening at the Town Hall , under the presidency of Captain Cope , P . P . G . H ., Lord de Tabley being unable to attend in consequence of the state of his Iiealth .

The Mark Mason.

THE MARK MASON .

Revised and reprinted from the Sussex Daily News , October 19 th , 1 S 74 . " Perseverance clear , my Lord , Keeps honour bri ght : to have clone is lo hang Quite out of fashion , like a rusty mail , In monumental mockery . "

Passing events in the local Masonic world during the last year or two lead us to ask the question , AVhat is the " Mark Degree " in the Masonic Order 1 and the near approach of the constitution of a Province of Mark Masons in Sussex , which will take place on Friday next ,

October 23 rd , at the Old Ship Hotel , Brighton , suggests an inquiry into the origin ofthe degree , the value of its practice , and the more immediate object of its establishment . First in order comes the question , "AVhat is the Mark Degree 1 " At once it may be said that no degree

m the whole Masonic system can lay a claim to greater antiquity than this . The degrees of " Mark Man , " "Mark Mason , " and " Mark Master Mason " were perfected at the time of building the Temple of Solomon . At that period ofthe world ' s history it was found

necessary , 111 order to ensure perfect accuracy and completeness in all departments of the work , to establish a system of grades amongst tlie immense number of workmen employed , each member of each grade marking his work with some peculiar mark or symbol , which enabled

the overseers to know the hands from whence each piece of work came . Even to this day it is the custom in stone quarries and in the mason's yard to keep up a similar practice , and no doubt the modern practice of " Trade Marks , " as applied to manufactured goods or articles of

a speciai character , took its rise from this circumstance . It had another object besides thc discovery of each individual ' s work . This was to bring men of each grade together for mutual protection from the misfortunes of life , and to enable the unfortunate worker to lay some claim

for assistance on his more fortunate brother , and thereby encouraging every worker to endure fatigue and hardship , to exercise the thinking faculties , and to use the cunning of his hand to the advantage of his employer and the ultimate reward of himself . In another sense the

practice of the " Mark Degree " was of value for the purpose of encouraging a proper study of and practical working in the arts and sciences , without which the magnificent structures of the East , the splendid castles of Germany , the noble abbeys of France , the gorgeous cathedrals of

England , the palaces of Italy , the Affghan Topes , the Buddhist temples , or the peculiar buildings of the Chinese could not have been erected , either to the honour of God or for the comfort of man . The Mark Degree is an

essentially practical degree , and the wise , and good , and benevolent craft Freemason will be the better enabled to understand the peculiar mysteries , the potent teaching , the practical benevolence , and the broad adaptability of the Masonic system

The Mark Mason.

to the world-wide wants of the human race , by seeking within the lodge of the Mark Mason the truth as to the practice of the Mark Degree . By this course , much that appears hazy and uncertain will be cleared and explained . This will account for the very large number of craft

Masons , men holding a distinguished position in the arts and sciences , in politics and religion , in peaceful or warlike pursuits , tlie teacher and the scholar , the painter and the sculptor , the poet and the author , the mechanic and the engineer , the philosopher and the divine , and all

true Masons extend their researches into Mark Masonry . From the Mason of title down to the most humble Masonic worker , all join in working the Mark Degree , and practise in their daily lives the exalted teachings of its symbolism . The Craft Mason , in speaking of the

Royal Arch Degree , says : — " It is the Master Mason ' s degree completed . " But the Mark Mason goes further still , and says , " Craft Masonry is practically and really incomplete until the Mark Degree has been taken between the degree of Master Mason and Royal Arch

Mason . ' The Mark Mason thus places the Masonic order of things under existing circumstances : — " Ancient Freemasonry consists of five degrees and no more—viz ., ist , the Entered Apprentice ; 2 nd , the Fellowcraft ; 3 rd , the Master Mason ; 4 th , the Mark Master

Mason ; 5 th , the Holy Royal Arch . " And it is with this view of Masonic matters before them that intelligent and generous-minded members of the craft degrees have taken to , worked in , and supported the Mark degree . At the present time the Mark Degree is acknowledged and

practised by nearly every Grand Masonic jurisdiction in the world . Scotland , Ireland , America , Germany , and other countries make it a " sine qua non " to the Royal Arch Degree , and English Royal Arch Freemasons have frequently been refused admission to R . A . Chapters ,

under foreign jurisdiction , for the want of a knowledge ofthe Mark . Some Craft Masons , a few of whom live in Sussex , have hitherto opposed and still continue to oppose the spread of the Mark Degree , but their sole objection is , "The Grand ( Craft ) Lodge of England does not

acknowledge it . " This , at best , is a poor argument , because some sixty years ago the few men who then held the reins of authority chose to exclude the Mark Degree , which up to that time had been practised in the " Craft" lodges throughout the country . It must be remembered

that this was a period when the readiness of intercommunication of men with each other was not of so easy a character as it is at present . The penny post , tlie railway train , and the telegraph have in a peaceful manner revolutionised the world , and brought the thinkers

and the workers of all countries into one common brotherhood . If sixty years ago Masons could have readily interchanged thoughts of interest to the Order , it is not likely that so useful a degree , at that time extensively practised , would have been excluded . The universal

character of its practice and teachings would have rendered it necessary to be included in " Pure and Ancient Freemasonry" at that time as it does to-day . The world of Masonry does not stand still , and therefore to oppose this Mark Degree to-day because

a few ancient brethren chose to do so " sixty years ago " is puerile . Notwithstanding this , " The Mark Degree continued to be extensively worked , especially in the Northern and Midland districts of England , the lodges being held under immemorial constitution , derived

from the old Athol York Grand Lodge . " Again , in a report issued by the Grand Lodge of Mark Masters , the following paragraph appears , and has never yet been contradicted : " In England , the knowledge and working of the degree has never been lost , but it has been practised from the earliest time in distinct and independent

Mark lodges , which have never acknowledged the jurisdiction of either the Craft Grand Lodges of 1717 or 1813 , or of the Grand Royal Arch Chapter of 1813 . " Since the establishment ofthe Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons » nn 18 56 , the degree has steadily progressed . The num ber of lodges has increased , and many provinces

The Mark Mason.

formed . Its muster roll now comprises nearly two hundred lodges and nineteen provinces , in many instances presided over as Provincial Grand Mark Masters by the Grand Masters of the Craft Province . Notably is this the case in Somersetshire , the Mark Past Grand Master

being also the Craft Provincial Grand Master , the Deputy Grand Master of England , the Right Honourable the Earl of Carnarvon . It is thesame in South AVales , Leicestershire , Middlesex , Cumberland , Westmoreland , and other counties . In

Sussex the Mark Degree has been taken upwarmly by the principal Craft Masons of Brighton , Eastbourne , Lewes , and Hastings . Theopposition which , has been accorded to it has , to a certain extent , helped its success , and it is to be hoped that for the future the Craft Masons of Sussex will cease

from opposition , and will spend their time in emulating the benevolence which the Mark Masons personally and through their lodges have evinced towards those institutions where the young of both sexes are sheltered , educated , and trained to meet the requirements of their future

lives , and the aged and distressedare pensionedfor a life of comfortable ending . Mark Masoniy especially inculcates a deep and lasting respect for the wants of others . Its charity tends to lead the distressed to comfort , to diminish the aggregate of human woe , to diffuse unalloyed its

beautiful influence amongst every grade of universal Freemasonry . The members of the Mark Degree have but to remain tnie to their lodges and to their obligations . This done , they need never fear the opposition of the ungenerous few , or be dismayed by the faint and heartless approbation of those who fear a bolder and

more honourable course . The time has long since passed when such influence can prevail . The liberty of action , of thought , of enterprise , and , above all , of pure benevolence , has been secured , thanks to the good influence of Craft , Mark , and Royal Arch Freemasonry in combined action , and represented by true members of the brotherhood throughout the globe .

Reviews.

REVIEWS .

The " COSMOPOLITAN MASONIC CALENDAR ' for 18 74-75 . George Kenning , 198 , Fleet Street . AVe have to congratulate Bro . Kenning on the

appearance once again of his valuable " Cosmopolitan Masonic Calendar . " Our enterprising brother likes to " take time by the forelock , " and in this year of light appears tlie first in the field with his goodly and useful Masonic vademecum .

At a time when so many violent and unscrupulous attacks are being almost daily made by the ignorant or the intolerant on our benevolent brotherhood , it is most satisfactory to note and to realize , nevertheless , what progress Freemasonry is making in all parts of tlie world , and

in this respect Bro . Kenning s " Cosmo . ' comes before us as a seasonable reminder of Masonic advance , and as a most interesting record of Freemasonry itself . For Bro . Kenning takes us all over the world ,

like a Masonic " Cook , " and his convenient and portable pocket book certainly well deserves the name of Cosmopolitan . Indeed , when Dr . Johnson wrote those memorable lines , " Let observation , with extensive view ,

Survey mankind from England to Peru , he clearly foresaw the day when Bro . Kenning was to issue his Cosmopolitan Calendar , which was to transport us , like the magic carpet in the Arabian Nights , in a moment of time , wherever Masons or Masons lodges are to be found ,

whether within the " Bills of Mortality " or in any quarter of the habitable world . AVe can also safely say this , that the Calendar is well printed , well arranged , and well got up , and reflects every credit on Bro . Kenning and his staff .

And when we take up the " Cosmo . " and turn over its well-filled pages , it appears very difficult to ascertain where , just now , despite maledictions and manifestoes not a few , Freemasonry is not to be found . North and south , east and west , in lands civilised and lands uncivilised , there are Free-