Contents.

CONTENTS .

LEADERS io _ Freemasonrv in 1 S 87 , 705 ' TheRev . A . ' F . A . Woodford , M . A ., P . G . C . —In Memoriam 509 Consecration of the Frederick VVest Lodge , NO . 2232 5 " > Consecration of the Iirooke Chapter , No .

200 . 5 io Drummond ' s History of Portland Lodge , No . 1 }*' C ORRESPONDENCECharitable Associations 513 Reviews 513 Notes and Queries 713 Rowing Clubs Lodges 713

REPORTS OF MASONIC M EETINGSCraft Masonry , 714 Instruction 71 $ Mark Masonry 7 ^ Laying the Foundation Stone of the New Grammar School , Cheltenham 71 J Presentation to John Osborn

Bro . , P . P . G . Std . lir . Middx 716 Royal Masonic Institution for Girls 717 Chine Lodge , No . 1884 , Shanklin 717 Theatres 7 * 7 The Craft Abroad 717 Masonic and General Tidings 718 Lodge Meetings for Next Week iv .

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IT is by no means the first time it has devolved upon us in 'Fhela'e . p the discharge of cur duties to record a painful occurrence at A . Woodford , this season of the year , when the festivities of Christmas are * ' ap " in full career , and the contrast between grief and pleasure is

necessarily so marked ; but we cannot call to mind a single occasion on which we in particular and the whole body of our readers were so sorely afflicted as when , towards the close of last week , the intelligence came upon us like a thunderclap that our respected brother the Rev . A . F . A .

WOODFORD , P . G . Chaplain , was no more . We were looking forward to those frequent gatherings of friends which occur at Christmastide , and suddenly we heard that one of the oldest and most familiar of them all would never again exchange with us the friendly grip or genial salutation of this

or any other season . Elsewhere in our columns may be read an admirable description of our deceased brother by one of his oldest and most valued collaborators in the field of Masonic literature , Bro . W . J . HUGHAN , P . G . D ., and from the close relation which existed between the two for some twenty

years , our readers will be able to gather from that account a fuller knowlodge of Bro . WOODFORD , and what manner , of man he was , than could have been furnished perhaps by any other of his intimates . But greatly as we value Bro . Hughan ' s kindly and respectful tribute to our

departed brother , it is a duty we owe to ourselves and to our constituents that we , too , should exhibit , as far as words can do so , our sense of the loss which English Freemasonry has sustained through Bro . WOODFORD ' death our own sincere regret at its occurrence ,

and our sympathy with the large circle of Masonic and other friends who , as they esteemed and respected him so highly when living , are now mourning for him when dead so deeply . It is well known that for many years Bro . W OODFORD was editor of this journal , and that even when a sense of

duty required him to speak out boldly and unflinchingly , he invariably eliminated from his remarks every suspicion of unkindliness . It is equally well known that in the course of his long career as a literary Mason he rendered incakul able service to the Craft by his articles , his essays , his

Defence of Masonry , and , above all , by the work he accomplished as editor of " K ENNING ' S Cyclopaedia of Freemasonry . " His orations in lodge were always listened to with pleasure , while in the social life of Masonry he was always genial and kindly , and always , therefore , a welcome addition to

any gathering . However , it will be some slight consolation to those who knew him most intimately and who lament his death so sincerely , that Bro . GOULD , one of his closest and most distinguished literary friends , tended him most kindly during the closing days of his life , and was present at the

final scene of all ; and that Bro . HUGHAN , the second of his more intimate fellow-workers , has paid to his memory the kind and graceful tribute which appears elsewhere . No doubt , also , it will be a further consolation to them

to feel that though dead , Bro . WOODFORD will still live in our hearts , and that while his works remain as evidences of his learning , ability , and zeal , his memory , as that of a brother who laboured unceasingly for the Craft , will ever be kept sacred . HimiliU IUIIili'll | --MII MII ' iflUJLi'lilil . 'Unf ' il i ill' ^ ll ) i | 'lil » i | i ' i llti"llilll' | - | H'Hll * MIW » i / llli | IM 1 mil il 'C

IN presenting to our readers the usual Summary of the Samma ry ! Masonic History of the year , which ends this week , and the Chronological Table of Occurrences for the 12 months , from ist December , 1866 , to the 30 th November , 1887 , we take the opportunity of

wishing them a " Happy New Year , " and expressing the hope that the year 1888 , on which we enter on Sunday next , will be as productive of good fortune to the Craft of Masonry , not only throughout the British Empire , but in all other countries likewise , as the year 188 7 has been .

Freemasonry In 1887.

FREEMASONRY IN 1887 .

We have been so accustomed since the time when his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales was graciously pleased to accept the office of Grand Master of Masons in England to describe the years that have elapsed under his auspices as being remarkably , if not exceptionally , prosperous , that people must begin to regard the statement as being too regularly made to be altogether justifiable . But though our successive annual summaries may

have been somewhat highly coloured , as men are apt to make them when the course of events has been smooth and satisfactory , they have been sub > stantially true in their details , and have been in the main corroborated by outside observers who have watched our progress narrowly , and at the same time from an impartial standpoint . But even if some of our annual pictures of Freemasonry in the jurisdiction of the United Grand Lodge of

England are open to the charge of slight exaggeration , there is no doubt as to the year which will end with the last day ot this week , having been one of conspicuous activity , and of a success , which , if we except the year 1875 , in which the Prince of Wales was installed as G . Master , is unparalleled in the annals of the Craft . The celebration of the Queen's Jubilee was certain to evoke a grand display of enthusiasm on the part of her Masonic

subjects , as well as of the community generally . But even the most sanguine expectants of a stirring year must have been astounded at the universality and heartiness of the loyalty and affection displayed towards our gracious Sovereign , not because loyalty and affection are by any means uncommon among Britons , but because our people are not as a rule particularly demonstrative of their feelings , and yet the year has been an almost unbroken

ser . ies of demonstrations of love and respect for her Majesty . And in these demonstrations our Fraternity , both as a separate body and conjointly with their fellow subjects , have borne their part successfully , so that years hence , when those who have had a hand in making the history , of our time have long since passed away , the stirring events of Queen Victoria ' s Jubilee year will still occupy a foremost place in our annals . Nor apart from the special

proceedings which have attended this particular celebration has the year 1887 been wholly uneventful . Our regular gatherings have been as numerous and as imposing as ever ; our muster roll points to quite as considerable and substantial an increase of lodges ; the government of our Society has been as successfully administered ; and there has been as marked an absence of anything like serious dissension in our ranks , or of disturbance in our relations with our other Masonic jurisdictions . Omit from the record the Jubilee

rejoicings and what came of them , and the year will still remain one of which we may justly feel proud . The general public have seen more of our pro , ceedings , and the more they see of us , the better they seem to understand us , and the greater becomes their sympathy with the aims and objects of our being . In short , as the following narrative will show , we have done well during this year of grace and are entitled to indulge in a little pardon * able display of pride at the result of our labours .

CRAFT MASONRY . Since the Quarterly Communication in December , 1886 , warrants for 52 new lodges have been granted by the M . W . G . M ., the highest number on the roll as published in the Grand Lodge Calendar for 1886 being 2234 . Of these only six are located in the Metropolis , namely , the Savage Club , Anglo-American , and Highbury Lodges , the Regent ' s Park , Hendon , and

Old Westminsters ' . However , if the additions are necessarily few , the Metropolis being already so well furnished with lodges , they are undoubtedly of a high class character , and the first two named—the Savage Club and Anglo-American Lodges—have met with a degree of consideration which is rarely extended to such young lodges . The Anglo-American , indeed , has more than fulfilled the purpose for which it was established , and

even during its brief career has amply justified the brilliant expectations to which its constitution gave rise . The new Provincial lodges are 27 in number , and of these four have been added to the roll of West Lancashire , Nos . 2215 , 2216 , 2229 , and 22 3 1 , it being intended that the Lathom , No . 2229 , shall be limited as regards membership to Present and Past Prov . G . Officers , with Bro . the

Earl of Lathom , who is G . Master of the Province as well as Deputy G . Master of England , as the first W . Master . Kent has three additions ( Nos . 2195 , 2200 , and 2205 ); Hants and the Isle of Wight , two ( Nos . 2203 and 2208 ); Lancashire East , two ( Nos . 2 i 8 Sand 2 i 93 ); Monmouthshire , two ( Nos . 2186 and 2226 ); Surrey , two ( Nos . 2222 and 2234 ); and Sussex , two ( Nos .

2187 and 2201 ) j while one has been added to each of the following , namely , Berks and Bucks ( No . 2228 ); Cumberland and Westmorland ( No . 2217 ); Derbyshire ( No . 2224 ); Devonshire ( No . 2189 ); Essex ( No . 2184 ) . Hertfordshire ( No . 2218 ); Middlesex No . 2183 ); Isle of Man ( No . 2197 ); Staffordshire ( No . 2214 ); and Wiltshire ( No . 2227 . ) Many ot these have already taken their appointed places in the Provincial ranks and are doing good service or holding out fair promise of good service in the future , and the

others will no doubt play their part as successfully , when they have been consecrated and had time to settle themselves in harness . The remaining 19 have gone to swell the number of our Colonial and foreign lodges , the District of Victotia being enriched by the addition of five trom No . 2209 to No . 2213 , both inclusive , and New South VVales by four , viz ., Nos . 2198 , 2199 , 2223 , and 2230 ; Queensland by No . 2207 ; and Tasmania bv No .

2294 , The Districts of Canterbury ( New Zealand ) , and Auckland ( New Zealand ) , have one new lodge each , namely , No . 2194 and No . 2207 respectively , and South Africa has two , of which the West Division receives No . 2220 ; and there are four others located on the Malabar coast ( No . 2188 ); in the West Indies ( No . 2196 ); in Upper Burmah ( No . 2219 ) and on the Malay Peninsula ( No . 2225 ) . The fact that Victoria and New South Wales have sought and obtained warrants for so many new lodges is sufficient evidence , as we pointed out in our last year ' s summary , that the