The Province Of Ken T.

The new lodges for that period , 1853-60 , are St . John and St . Paul , No . 615 , Belvedere ; the Invicta , No . 709 , Ashford ; and the Wellington , No . 784 , Deal . On the 1 Sth of June , i 860 , the Earl Amherst ( then Viscount Holmesdale , M . P . ) was appointed by patent of the revered Earl of Zetland , M . W . Grand Master , to be

Provincial Grand Master of Kent , being the eleventh on whom that honour has been conferred from the year 1770 , but not one of his lordship ' s successors has held that honourable office anything like so long , nor indeed have any worked to the same extent for the welfare of the province . There were seventeen lodges in Kent when the present Provincial Grand Master was appointed , the first granted

FIELD-MARSHAL THE RIGHT HON " . SIR SAMUEL HULSE , PROVINCIAL GRAND MASTER OF KENT , 1811-182 !) . since then being the Sydney , No . 829 , Sidcup , which was constituted in November , the month after his lordship's installation at Greenwich . There are now sixty-seven , an

extraordinary advance , and proves how wonderful has been the prosperity of the Craft in Kent . during the genial and efficient rule of their beloved Provincial Grand Master . The membership cannot now be less than 5 , , a still greater increase during the period .

Another indication of the remarkable vitality of the brethren in Kent is to be found in the sums donated to the Central Masonic Charities , over ^ 18 , 000 being subscribed during the i \ ve years , 18 9 8-1902 .

One can quite understand the pride felt by the brethren in seeing their Provincial Grand Master raised to the exalted position of the Most Worshipful Pro Grand Master of England , an honour conferred by H . R . H . the Prince of Wales ( now His Majesty King Edward VII . ) in 1898 , and likewise confirmed by H . R . H . the Duke of Connaught as the

Most Worshipful Grand Master ; Lord Amherst having been the Right Worshipful Deputy Grand Master from 18 9 6 to that year ; the vacancy created being due to the decease of the lamented Earl of Lathom , G . C . B ., the long esteemed Pro Grand Master .

Lord Amherst has been ably supported by his Deputy Provincial Grand Masters for the time being , and particularly by most energetic Provincial Grand Secretaries , and other more or less permanent officers . Bro . W . F . Dodson , M . P ., was the Deputy Provincial

Grand Master from i 860 , followed by Bro . Edward Water ( formerly Provincial Grand Secretary ) in 1873 , and by the lamented Bro . lames Smith Eastes , P . G . D ., in 1874 . On his

OLD TAVERN STGXS . decease , the Provincial Grand Master appointed Bro . Alfred Spencer , P . G . Swd . Br ., who has been the indefatigable Provincial Grand Secretary from 1873 . His successor as the Secretary of the province is Bro . S . R . Macartney , who ,

though young in years , Masonically and generally , is undoubtedly the right brother in the right place , and being fond of work is sure to get it . Portraits of these brothers so distinguished , will be found in recent numbers of the MASONIC ILLUSTRATED .

The Province of Kent has long been favoured with an excellent Freemasons' Manual , which was originated and ably edited by the late Bro . T . S . Warne , of Rochester , in 18 7 8 . On his decease , quite recently , Bro . Frank Hitchens , P . M . ' ] ' ] , Past Provincial Grand Registrar , succeeded to the editorial

chair , the duties of which he discharged most admirably on the lines previously laid down . On his retirement in 1902 , the twenty-sixth edition has been under the care and most efficient supervision of Bro . S . R . Macartney , P . M . 146 4 , the present Provincial Grand Secretary .

Festival Of The Emulation Lodge Of Improvement.

Festival of the Emulation Lodge of Improvement .

THE Annual Festival of our chief , or what might very properly be called our official , school of Masonic ritual and ceremony was held at Freemasons' Hall , Great Queen Street , on the 27 th February . The chair was occupied by Bro . li . Clay Sudlow , P . A . G . D . C , who presided as

Worshipful Master , and was supported by Bros . Lord Barnard , Provincial Grand Master for Durham ( President of the Festival ) ; George Richards , District Grand Master of the Transvaal ; Sir Edward Letchworth , Grand Secretary ; and many other Grand Officers and brethren , numbering

upwards of 450 . Bro . E . Cutler , K . C ., P . G . Organist , presided at the organ , and played selections during the assembling of the brethren . The work was the First

Festival Of The Emulation Lodge Of Improvement.

Lecture , in which Bros . Sudlow , Oliver Notcutt , J . F . Roberts , Algernon L . Collins , W . R . Bennett , J . H . Jenks , R . L . Devonshire , and T . W . Allsop , took part . It was listened to with wrapt attention , and at the close was heartily applauded .

Lord Barnard , in proposing a vote of thanks to those brethren who had taken part in the work , said that it had been with a feeling of profound admiration that he had listened to the lecture that had just been concluded . The very earnest reverence and the marvellous eloquence of the

recitation must , he thought , have appealed to every brother who had heard them . He felt confident that the repetition of the ritual and the eloquence of its great teachers could not