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CONTENTS . PAGE . L BADKRSThe Provincial Grand Lodge of West Yorkshire ... ... ... 575 Freemasonry in Kansas ... ... ... ... ... 576 Supreme Grand Chapter of England ( Agenda ) ... ... ... 576 Provincial Grand Lodge of Leicestershire and Rutland ... ... ... 577

Provincial Grand Chapter of Cheshire ... ... ... ... 577 The " Old Masonlans " ... ... ... ... ... ... 577 Provincial Grand Lodge of Gloucestershire ... ... ... ... 578 Roman Catholicism and Freemasonry ... ... ... ... 578 Removal of the Boys' School ... ... ... ... ... 57 S Craft Masonry ... ... ... ... ... ... 579 MASONIC

NOTESThe Removal of the Boys'School ... ... ... ... 581 Special Meeting of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Devonshire ... 581 Consecration of the Alfred Wootton Chapter , No . 127 ... ... 582 Lodge Quatuor Coronati , No . 2076 ... ... ... ... 582 Correspondence ... ... ... ... ... ... 5 S 2 Craft Masonry ... ... ... ... ... ... 582

Royal Arch Masonry ... ... ... ... ... ... 584 Lodges and Chapter of Instruction ... ... ... ... ... 5 S 5 Knights Templar ... ... ... ... ... ... 585 Our Portrait Gallery ... ... ... ... ... ... 585 Masonic and General Tidings ... ... ... ... ... 5 S 6

The Provincial Grand Lodge Of West Yorkshire.

THE PROVINCIAL GRAND LODGE OF WEST YORKSHIRE .

It is evident from the report we published last week of the halfyearly meeting of this Provincial Grand Lodge—which was held by permission of the Mayor , Bro . GEO . JOHNSON . P . M ., of the entertaining lodge—Integrity , No . 3 80—in the handsome new

Town Hall of Morley , that far greater interest than usual was taken in the proceedings , and consequently there was an exceedingly numerous attendance of the brethren from all parts of the Province , there being only one out of the 7 8 lodges on

the roll which was not represented . There were , indeed , two items on the Agenda which were certain to arouse the feelings of our West Yorkshire brethren , the first being a proposal emanating from the Charity Committee of the Province for the establishment of an Educational and Benevolent Institution to

be known as " The West Yorkshire Educational and Benevolent Institution , " while the other was a resolution having reference to the proposed removal of the Royal Masonic

Institution for Boys . As regards the first of the schemes , we have no hesitation in at once expressing our most cordial approval , the only other feeling that actuates us being one of

surprise that so strong and influential a Province as that ot West Yorkshire should have been so long in following " ) the footsteps of the two Lancashires , Cheshire , Durham , N ' . and E . Yorkshire , Devonshire , Hampshire and the Isle of Wight ,

and other Provinces , which for periods of greater or less duration have established and successfully maintained one or more Institutions of this character . True , such a scheme was ventilated some 20 years ago by Bro . C . LETCH MASON , though nothing came of

't at the time ; while for some years Leeds has had a local Association of its own of this character , which has rendered valuable assistance to the poorer members of the Fraternity in that city . ^ 'H , West Yorkshire , as a whole , has been without a Provincial

9 'ty , and the establishment of this " West Yorkshire Educatlo nal and Benevolent Institution" has our heartiest sympathy and s "Pporl . Us objects were declared at this meeting to be to '"aintain , clothe , and educate , wholly or in part , the children of

ceased r-reemasons , and make grants towards their advancement on leaving school ; to grant temporary relief or annuities a ged and decayed Freemasons and their widows ; and gener-1

« J promote the cause of Masonic Chanty . " These are e objects which West Lancashire , with its three local Institup , Cheshire , with its two , and East Lancashire and other s ° Vlnces , with their Institutions , have for years past set themes to accomplish , and the best evidence we can refer lo of

The Provincial Grand Lodge Of West Yorkshire.

the success with which these objects have been earned out are the reports which have appeared from time to time in our columns . We trust—indeed , we are assured—that West Yorkshire , with its known energv , and the resources it is able to

command , will not be long behind its sister Provinces in placing its local Charity on a sound substantial basis , and that when this has been effected , it will hold a foremost place among the

supplementary Charities of the Craft . It will do for \\ est Yorkshire on a modest scale , yet sufficient withal , what the great Central Institutions do for the whole body of English Masons .

As regards the second of the items—the removal of the Boys School from Wood Green—we cannot say we regard what happened with anything like equanimity . It i \ as generally understood that West Yorkshire was opposed to the removal ; at all

events , if any doubt ever existed on the subject , it must have been set at rest by the speech which Bro . W . C . LuPTON delivered at the Quarterly Court of the Subscribers to the School on the qth instant . But Bro . LuPTON and those who spoke and

acted with him at that Court were in a hopeless minority of nine in a meeting of about 170 . A more favourable opportunity for the consideration of the course adopted by the Board ol Management in reference to the proposed removal could hardly

have presented itself . It was election time , and as nearly as possible one-half of the Subscribers present hailed from the Provinces , and yet the minority in opposition to the resolution confirming the steps taken by the said Board amounted , as we

have said , to only nine . We note that Bro . LuPTON , at tlir-West Yorkshire meeting on the . 14 th instant , is reported to have " poinded out how West Yorkshire and other Provinces were hopelessly ignorant as to what was really taking place . " Yet

Bro . EVE , the Chairman of the Board , explained , in a clear and concise speech , what had been done in the selection of a new site at Bushey ; the opinions of the experts were read out by the Secretary , or so much of them as would enable the . meeting

to judge of the character of the property to be purchased ; a plan of the said property was exhibited in the hall ; and the objections raised to the proposal by sundry speakers were promptly answered by members of the Board . How under the

circumstances "West Yorkshire and other Provinces" could have been in ignorance of what was taking place we fail to understand , The Chairman at all events ( Bro . W . W . B . BEACH , M . P . ) appeared to know what was passing , and when the resolution had been

carried , gave his opinion in favour of the arguments in support of the scheme rather than to those in opposition to it . Having done this , he went on to express the hope that as the question had been settled , opponents and supporters equally would do

all they could to secure its success . And what is West Yorkshire ' s response to this generous appeal ? A resolution passed unanimously in open Provincial Grand Lodge five days later to the effect "That this meeting of the Provincial Grand

Lodge of West Yorkshire protests-against the sale of the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys , and the purchase of a new site for the Schools , and considers no steps should have been taken in this direction until the opinion of the general body of the

Subscribers had first been ascertained . We are afraid we cannot congratulate this Province which has done so much for our Institutions on the attitude it has taken up in response to Bro .

BEACH ' S appeal . We are afraid , too , we have no alternative but to point out how unfavourably this attitude of West Yorkshire contrasts with that which Bro . ROBERT WVLIE , P . G . D ., Deputy P . G . M . of West Lancashire , assured the Court of