British Burmah.

classes carrying on commercial transactions on a largo scale . There are two banks in Rangoon , and oue in Moulmein ; while the large and important dwelling bouses and business offices speak plainly of the progress of trade and the wealth of those engaged in it . British Burmah may well be termed " The Granary of the East . " A most fertile soil readily yields yearly , magnificent crops of the staple commodity , rice , in quantities far beyond the

necessities of the province . Thus in the year ending 30 th of April , 1865 , the exports of rice from British Burmah amounted to four hundred and seventy thousand tons , of the value of two millions and a half sterling . The local value of the trade of tbe province , that is imports and exports during the past year , was upwards of ten millions of pounds sterling . Two thousand six hundred aud ei ghty slnps cleared out of the different ports , with an aggregate of nearly

eight hundred thousand tons . And yet this is but the beginning of what British Burmah will be . Tbe most important division , that of Pegue , we have only had in our possession twelve years , and its progress has been unprecedented in the East . It has the advantage of possessing the magnificent river Irawaddy , navigable for hundreds of miles to the frontier of China : crowded with quickly rising towns on its banks ending with the City of Rangoon , close to its mouth in a position unrivalled for the facilities it affords for the development of trade . There is regular steam communication between British

Burmah aud India , the five vessels of the British India Steam Navigation Company , running four times a month between Calcutta , Madras , and the Burmese seaports .. There is also on the Irawaddy a strong fleet of steamers , the property of a private company which keep up communication with the City of Mandelay , the capital of the Burmese kingdom , some six hundred miles from Rangoon , and arrangements are now being made to develop largely this internal traffic .

At first British Burmah carried on its trade and commerce through the capital cities , Calcutta and Madras from whicli the bouses of business were mere branches , but now it has an independant and direct trade , and the province has risen into the position of a self contained and important portion of the British possessions . - Similarly the details of Government have developed with the of the

prosperity country ; and the administration is now so extensive that it offers wide field for the several officers , irrespective of any needed transfer to the true Indian Presidencies of Bengal , Madras , or Bombay . This is morally due to the fact that the people of the country are different iu language , customs , and religion , from the inhabitants of the Indian Peninsula , and thus the experience and qualifications for Government service

in British Burmah tend to keep the officials there during the length of their service . It has , therefore , on this account a class of officials more generally permanent in the duties assigned to them than is the case in any of the Indian Presidencies .

Blasonry in British Burmah has fully kept pace with the material and commercial progress of the province ns the following list of lodges will show : — No . Name . Locality . A ?_ afce of , J Warrant . 542 Philanthropy Moulmein 1 S 47 614 Star of Burmah Rangoon 1853 646 Lodge Arrakan Akyab 1855

674 Astrea Lodge Thayetungo 1856 832 A'ictoria in Burniah Rangoon 1860 1095 Greenlaw Lodge Tonghoo 1865 Lodge of Isles Port Blair 1865 These lodges are all under the English Constitution , and with the exception of A ' ictoria in Burmah , are under the District Grand Lodof Southern India ( Madras )

ge . Each of the five first named lodges have substantial and suitable lodge rooms , properly fitted up , and used solely for Masonic purposes , the remaining two have only been opened during the current year . The fact that the lodges have each their properly dedicated Masonic halls , is proof sufficient of the earnestness and liberality which have marked the action of the Craft in British Burmah ; and we may add that in regularitv and puritof workingthese lod

y , ges will bear comparison with tbe best of these in India , or even those at home . While steadily advancing during previous years in extending and strengthening our Orders , the past year , 1865 , was especially

marked by a rapid development of Masonic energy . This was due to the return from England of R . W " . Bro . Col . Greenlaw , on whom the Grand Master had conferred the high honour of Past Senior Grand AVarden of England . Bro . Greenlaw had always been a zealous and working Mason , and during his stay in England on leave , bad not forgotten the province to which he was attached . Arriving in Burmah in the end of 1864 , he brought with him

the warrant for the A'ictoria and Burmah Lodge of Mark Master Masons No . 68 , under the English Constitution , and this particular degree soon spread both in Burmah , Bengal , and Madras . During the year , R . W . Bro . Greenlaw was appointed Provincial Grand Master of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Mark Masters for Madras and Burmah ; and the great success which has attended the introduction of this degree of Masonry cannot be better shown than by giving the following list of

lodges attached to tbe Provincial Grand Lodge : — No . 61 St . Mark's Lodge Madras . „ 68 A'ictoria in Burmah Rangoon . „ 77 AVilliamFigg ; ... Akyab . „ So Astrea Thayetungo . „ 79 Philanthropy Moulmein . „ 81 Keystone Bellary . Hiram Bangalore . James Edward Cannanore . Star of Burmah Rangoon .

AA bile two Mark lodges m Calcutta and one at Umballa and Meerut have been transferred to the Provincial Grand Lodge of Mark Masters in Bengal , which has just been established . Thus in Mark Masonry no less than twelve neV lodges have been opened during the past year , and the Provincial Grand Lodge has been most successfully established . AA e now come to Royal Arch Masonry , and in that degree also we are able to record that two chapters have been opened

during the past year , viz .: the Royal Burmah Chapter , attached to A'ictoria in Bnrmah ( No . 832 ) , and the "Morning Star " Chapter , attached to Star of Burmah ( No . 614 ) . It may be expected too that a chapter will be attached to " Philanthropy " at Moulmein , and to the " Arrakan Lodge in Akyab . " And now to complete the record of the new degrees of Masonry opened in British Burmah , there still remains to be told that during the past year also , the Royal Burmah Encampment

of Knights of the Holy Temple and Sepulchre , as well as a Priory of Knights of Malta and the Mediterranean Pass was opened in Rangoon , and that R . AA . Bro . Greenlaw has since been appointed A ' ery Eminent Commander of the Provincial Grand Encampment of British Burmah , and doubtless this degree will shortly extend as all the others have heretofore . These then are the doings of the Masons in British Burmah , and they are thus shortly told because the record of work done and accomplished ' sufficiently speaks for tbe zeal and capability of the workers . But there is still another good work to describe ,

and that is the movement originated by R . W . Bro . Greenlaw , to establish Masonic Orphan Funds , for the support of the children of poor or deceased brethren in India . The movement has been most warmly taken up by ' the lodges throughout India Seme discussion has usefully and necessarily taken place as to the working details , and indeed until a little experience has been gained , these of course , must be only tentative , but tho grand thing is the regular subscription to a fund

in each province , which shall be devoted specifically and exclusively to tho education of the children of Masons , and there seems no doubt that this most praiseworthy object will be gained . Now it is felt in British Burmah that there is something wanting to consolidate the Order , and to reward the healthful ambition which all good Masons should possess , and that is thc establishment of a District Grand Lodge of Craft Masonry

ivhere the lodges are so numerous as in this province . The members form a large and influential body , working cheerfully and willingly in their respective lodges , but feeling the wantof that higher form of administration ivhich they think requisite for the further success of the Order . Dr . Oliver puts the following words * in the mouth of the In stalling Officer when inducting an imaginary Provincial Grand Master , and they seem quite applicable to the position of British Burmah : — " This is an age of progress ; aud Freemasonry in common