Freemasonry In 1892.

FREEMASONRY IN 1892 .

During the year which is now on the eve of closing , the Craft in the United Kingdom and throughout the colonies and possessions of the British Empire , though it has sustained many grievous losses , has nevertheless enjoyed a fair measure of prosperity , while in one particular branch of duty it has the satisfaction of knowing that it has surpassed all its previous efforts . There has been a reasonable , but by no means an exceptional , increase in

the number of lodges , chapters , and other bodies which have been constituted , and , as far as we have had opportunities of judging , the financial position of the several Grand and private lodges has remained satisfactory . Templar Masonry and the United Orders of Rome and the Red Cross have remained for the most part stationary , the former having exhibited just a trifle more , and the latter perhaps a little less , than the average amount of

activity ; but in Craft , Arch , and Mark Masonry there has been a decided progress , and these latter branches of our system remain as firmly established as ever in the good opinion of the public . Our Charitable Institutions —both central and local—have had extended towards them the same largehearted sympathy as in former years , and in the case of one of the former a more generous support than it has ever previously been its good fortune to

receive , the result being that the beneficent work to which they are devoted has been carried out with the same efficiency as ever , and in the case of the particular Institution we have just referred to , though not by name , on a more extended scale . In fine , but for the losses which have befallen us the year 1892 would have been far more memorable than it has proved to be ,

and might with justice have claimed for itself a foremost place among the most successful of the man }' , many years of success it has been our privilege to enjoy . The following review of the principal events which have happened during its progress in the several branches of our modern system of Masonry will , in our humble judgment , be found to demonstrate this very clearly .

CRAFT MASONRY , as the root or stem , from which all the other branches of Masonry derive their existence , has well maintained its ground . But few , if any , of the lodges which had been constituted prior to 1892 , have fallen into abeyance , while here and there a lodge , which had been compelled to cease working for lack of the necessary support , has resumed its labours under conditions

which promise well for the future . Some , too , have forsaken their allegiance to our United Grand Lodge , but on the other hand , his Royal Highness the Grand Master has issued warrants for the constitution of 36 new lodges , the majority of which have already entered on their career with fair prospects of success . Six of these are located in the London district , namely , St . Stephen ' s Lodge , No . 2424 , Lewisham ; the Wood Green Lodge , No .

2426 ; the Hampden Lodge , No . 2427 ; the Sir Walter Raleigh Lodge , No . 2432 ; the Guildhall School of Music Lodge , No . 2454 ; and the St . Martin's Lodge , No . 2455 , Charing Cross . Of the 20 lodges which have been warranted in the Provinces , one—the Downshire , No . 2437 , Wokingham , and so named after a former Prcv . Grand Master of Berks and Bucks—has been added to the roll of Berkshire , which , owing to the sad death of the

Duke of Clarence and Avondale , is for the time being without a ruler , while its neighbour and old associate of Buckinghamshire has been strengthened by the addition of four—the Ferdinand de Rothschild , No . 2 4 20 , Waddcsden , named after a member of the Rothschild family , who , though a Mason of several years' standing , has never previously taken an active part in our proceedings , but is the first S . W . of his namesake lodge ;

the Carrington Lodge , No . 2421 , Amersham , named after Bro . Lord Carrington , the present Prov . Grand Master ; the Runymede Lodge , No . 2430 , Wraysbury ; and the Wincslai , No . 2435 , Linslade . Cheshire has added to its roll the Minerva , No . 2433 , Birkenhead , and Derbyshire the Ecclesburne Lodge , No . 2425 . By the constitution of the St . Clement ' s Lodge , No . 2442 , at Leigh , the number of lodges in Essex has been augmented to

33 . In Kent , that favourite seaside resort of Broadstairs , which has hitherto been dependent on Margate or Ramsgate for its Masonry , now has a lodge of its own—the Bradstow , No . 2448 , while Bro . the Earl of Euston , P . G . M . Norths and Hunts , has had the pleasure of consecrating an additional lodge at Northampton—the Kingsley , No . 2431—thereby increasing the number on the roll to 13 . East Lancashire has had two consecrated during the

year , the Palatine , No . 2447 , and the Duke of York , No . 2449 , both located in Manchester , and North Wales one—St . Mark's , No . 2423 , meeting at Connall ' s Quay . Two have been added to the roll of Leicestershire and Rutland , trie Gracedieu , No . 2428 , being located at Coalville , and the Lodge of Research , No . 2429 , at Leicester . The other Provinces which have been strengthened during the past year are South Wales ( Eastern Division ) , which

now has a Duke of York Lodge , No . 2453 , as a fourth lodge at Cardiff ; Surrey , which with the Ebbisham Lodge , No . 2422 , at Epsom , and the Noel , No . 2444 , at Kingston-on-Thames , can boast of 37 lodges ; while Sussex , including the Anderida , No . 2434 , Eastbourne , and the Loxfield , No . 2453 , Uckfield , musters in all 29 lodges . The remaining ten new lodges are

located abroad , the District G . Lodge of Bengal having raised its numbers from 37 to 42 by the creation of the following five , to wit , the Ligonier , No . 2436 , Muttra ; the Mount Everest , No . 2439 , which , though lodges are believed to have been held on the tops of mountains in pre-hisloric times , we are glad to see is not located on Mount Everest—the highest mountain in the world—but at Darjeeling ; the Invicta , No . 2440 , Chakrata ; the

Freemasonry In 1892.

Thomas Jones , No . 2441 , Calcutta ; and the Nripendra Narayan , No . 2446 , Cooch-Behar . Bombay , by the constitution of the Lodge of Faith , No . 2438 , Manora Karachi , has 24 instead of 23 lodges ; while Western Australia now has 11 lodges on its roll , by the constitution of the Lodge of Albany , No . 2443 , Albany , and the Lodge of Unity , No . 2452 , Perth . The Eastern Division of South Africa has one additional lodge in the Charles Blakeway , No . 2451 , meeting at Engeobo , in Tembuland ; and there has

been warranted at Blenheim , Marlborough , in New Zealand , a lodge bearing the significant title of Reunion , and we trust the day is not far distant when the prevalence of a better feeling than presently exists in th . it Masonically distracted colony will bring about a reunion of the various constitutions therein established . But this very desirable consummation will not take place till the brethren realise that neither the desire for a new order of things , nor a preference for the old , justifies them in abusing each other violently .

As regards United Grand Lodge , its earliest proceedings were of a mournful character . A Special Communication was held on the 27 th January , for the purpose of adopting resolutions of condolence with her Majesty the Queen and his Royal Highness the M . W . Grand Master , on the grievous calamity which had befallen them and the nation at large , by reason of the sad and unexpected death of the Duke of Clarence and Avondale . In the

absence through severe indisposition of the Pro G . Master , Bro . the Earl of Mount Edgcumbe , D . G . M ., occupied the chair , and the resolutions which were proposed by his lordship , and seconded by Bro . Col . Le Gendre N . Starkie , P . G . M ., East Lancashire , in manly and sincerely sympathetic terms , were , it is needless to say , carried with unanimity , as , indeed , were the resolutions of a similar kind which were submitted at special or the

regular meetings of many Provincial and District G . Lodges as well as in many private lodges in London , the Provinces , and abroacl . It was everywhere recognised that so terrible a blow had rarely , if ever , befallen our Royal Family before , and the great heart of Masonry , as of the whole country , was filled with sorrow at an event which had stricken them so suddenly , just when the future before them was so bright and promising .

Nor were the proceedings at the regular communication in March of a very inspiriting nature . When the Earl of Lathom , who presided , had read the gracious replies of the Queen and the Prince of Wales to the addresses which had been sent to them , his lordship moved that a sum equivalent to half a year ' s salary be granted to the Trustees of " The Shadwell Clerke Trust , " as a slight mark of respect to the late Bro . Col . Shadwell H . Clerke , G . Sec ,

who had died , after only a very brief illness , on the preceding Christmas Day , leaving a widow and daughter by no means amply provided for , and the resolution , having been duly seconded by the Deputy Grand Master , was passed unanimously , Subsequently Bro . J . D . Murray , P . M ., was electetl by a large majority of votes over Bro . J . S . Cumberland , to fill the office of Grand Treasurer during the ensuing year ; and it having been agreed on

the recommendation of the Board of General Purposes that for the future the salary attached to the office of Grand Secretary should be £ 1000 per annum , and the other items on the agenda having been dealt with , Grand Lodge was closed and adjourned . A few days later Bro . Edward Letchworth , whom the Grand Master had been pleased to appoint Grand Secretary in succession to the lamented Bro . Col . Clerke , was privately invested

by the Pro Grand Master , and at once entered upon the duties of his office . At the meeting in June nothing of moment occurred . An appeal by a brother against a sentence of suspension for 12 months from all his Masonic rights and privileges by the District G . Master of Bengal was , on the advice of the Grand Registrar , dismissed , and it was agreed , on the motion of Bro . Robert Grey , President of the Board of Benevolence , that in future the

Board of Masters and the Board of Benevolence should meet at 5 p . m . instead of 6 p . m . In September , however , the proceedings attracted a great deal of interest . In the first place , the full length portrait , in oils , of Bro . the Earl of Lathom , Pro Grand Master , which Grand Lodge in December , 1891 , had resolved should be painted and hung on its walls , was found to have been placed in its appointed panel , and Bro . the Earl of Mount

Edgcumbe , acting Grand Master , in a few graceful sentences , drew the brethren ' s [ attention to the picture , which , he said , reflected credit on the artist , and was in every way worthy of the brother it represented , and the Society which had desired it to be painted . When the applause was over which greeted these remarks , the report of the Board of General Purposes was submitted , and so much of it as

recommended that the drainage and sanitary arrangements of the premises should be placed in a state of thorough efficiency at a cost of not far short of £ 600 , was , after considerable discussion , adopted ; but a scheme for increasing the number of Grand Officers to be appointed annually by the Grand Master which the Board recommended for adoption was , in the end , withdrawn . Exception was taken to the proposed appointment of an additional

legal adviser bearing the title of Grand Chancellor , and having rank next after the Grand Wardens , and the opposition in this case proving successful , the President of the Board , not feeling himself at liberty to proceed with the other recommendations , withdrew the proposal in its entirety with a view to consulting the Pro G . Master , the author of the proposal , on the further steps

which it might be thought desirable to take under the circumstances . But , though the opposition to a new legal officer with a novel title and occupying a placein theorder of Masonic precedence to thetleti iment of theG . Chapl . 'iinsniid G . Treasurer , proved thus successful , the scheme , which it was recognised would prove beneficial to the Society , after undergoing some necessary modifications , was brought forward at the December meeting and carried