EAST LANCASHIRE.As a rule the off meeting's even of our largest Provinces fare

badl y, both as regards attendance and the business appointed fortransaction , by comparison with the princi pal meetings , but therecent Half-Yearl y Communication at Manchester of the Pro-vincial Grand Lodge of East Lancashire appears to have beenan exception. The attendance was by no means inconsiderable ,only four of the one hundred and odd lod ges in this division ofLancashire being unrepresented , while the business done , thoughquickl y dispatched , was of great importance , and is in every waycreditable to our East Lancashire brethren. In the first place , itwas agreed that the interest on a sum of £700 vested in theTrustees of Provincial Grand Lodge should be regularl y paid tothe East Lancashire Systematic Educational and BenevolentInstitution , on condition that the latter should maintain anannuitant out of the said interest whenever called upon to doso. In the next place, 100 guineas was voted to the Boys'School and 50 guineas each to the Girls' School and BenevolentInstitution , the larger sum being allotted to the Boys' Institutionon the ground that Bro. the Earl of LATHOM , Provincial GrandMaster of West Lancashire , was going to preside at its AnnualFestival , and East , as well as West Lancashire , is desirous oflending him all the support in its power. Subsequentl y, acheque was handed over for £150, being the amount realised forthe Charities by the garden party held at the Royal BotanicalGardens , Old Trafford , in the course of last summer , and therewas similarl y handed over a donation to the Charities of30 guineas , being the surp lus of the Starkie Portrait Fund.These various sums are pretty considerable , even for soimportant a Province as East Lancashire , and the appropriationof some, and the receipt of others , may be held to represent agood day's work—a day's work on which we think our readerswill join with us in congratulating the Province.

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PROVINCIAL GRAND LODGE OFWILTSHIRE.

In the absence, through illness, of the Provincial Grand Master , Bro. the Ri ghtHon. Lord Methuen , the meeting of the members of this Provincial Grand Lod ge,held at the Town Hall , Marlboroug h , on the 3rd inst., was presided over by BroSir Gabriel Goldney, Bart., P.G.W., the Deputy P.G.M., who was supported byupwards of 50 members of the Prov. Grand Lodge.

After the roll of lodges had been called , and the minutes of the last Prov.Grand Lodge; held at Trowbridge, had been confirmed , the report upon the accountsof the Prov. Grand Treasurer , Bro. Frederick Hastings Goldney, P.G.D. Eng.,was taken , showing a balance in hand on general account , after pay ing the ex-penses of the year , of £12 os. 2d. It appeared from this account that not onlyevery lodge, but also every chapter in the Province had sent a subscri ption , throughthe Prov. Grand Treasurer , to the Binckes Pension Indemnity Fund , whichappeared to indicate that the Wiltshire brethren viewed with satisfaction what hadbeen done by their Prov. Grand Secretary since he had served upon the ProvisionalManagement Committee of the R.M.I, for Boys.

It appeared from the Charity accounts that a balance of ^88 as. 3d. remainedin hand , after the payment of grants ot £21 to the Girls ' School , and .£10 10s. tothe Boys' School during the year. It was resolved , out of this balance , to makea grant of .£31 10s. to the Boys' School , and to make such an addition to the in-vestment in Consols as would bring up the invested fund to an even sum of ,£300Consols.

The Provincial Benevolent Fund account appeared to be steadil y increasing,and , as there was no drain upon it , the Prov. Grand Treasurer was instructed toadd the ^59 3s. Ad. shown to be in hand to the existing fund , thus bring ing upthe Stock held on this account to upwards of ^55°-

The P.G. Reg istrar's report , which bad been printed , was then taken as read ,and was adopted , with a vote, of thanks to Bro. Foley for the trouble he had takenin preparing so careful a report.

The D.P.G.M. then moved the adoption of the report of the Provincial Bene-volent Fund and Charity Organisation Committee, and , in so doing, tendered to

Bro. Henry Kemble , the Provincial Steward at the last Festival of the R.M.I.G.,and to Bro. Bevir , the acting Charity Secretary of the province , the thanks of themembers of the P.G. Lod ge.

The report was adopted neni . con.The D.P.G.M. then addressed the brethre n , and alluded to the regret with

which every Wiltshire Freemason would receive the news of Lord Methuen 's ill-ness , and promised to convey to his lordshi p the kind expressions of the brethren.He went on to say that he regarded with much satisfaction the substantial fundsbeing built up in the province as shown by the P.G. Treasurer 's accounts just pre-sented , and said that such funds would become general in all well-managed andcarefull y administered provinces. He further referred to the re-organisation ofthe R.M.I.B., and thoug ht that the province was indebted to Bro. Bevir for havingserved upon the Provisional Management Committee. He expressed a hope thatit would at no distant date be found practicable to do something further for promis-ing boys at the Institution by supp lementing the education given at the School by-exhibitions at South Kensington or something of that kind , by which lads ofability mi ght get a good start , and have a chance of rising to prominence.

All offices having been declared vacant , Bro. F. H. Goldney was re-electedP.G. Treasurer , and Bro. W. Dean was elected P.G. Tyler.

Bro. John Savory, the late P.G. Ty ler , who has held the office since 1869, waspresent at the Prov. Grand Lodge, and as a mark of the respect and esteem enter-tained for him by his brethren , a grant of £3 5s. was directed to be paid to himfrom the General Fund, for which mark of good feeling to him Bro. SAVORYexpressed his thanks.

The new laws of the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys were then referred toby Bro. F. H. GOLDNEY , and upon his proposition , seconded by Bro. B. H. WATTS,the Provincial Grand Lodge nominated Bro. Bevir , on behalf of the province, as acandidate eligible for election in April next upon the Board of Management to bethen constituted.

A sli ght alteration was made in the b y-laws of the province by providing thatthe P.G.S.E. of the P.G.R.A. Chapter of Wilts should be a member of the CharityCommittee, and thus ensure the Charity work of the province in both Craft andArch Masonry being carried on upon the same lines.

The following officers were then appointed and invested:—Bro. B. H. Watts , 335 and 626 ... ... ... Prov. S.G.W.

„ W. T. Briscoe , 626 ... ... ... ... Prov. J.G.W.„ Rev. W. Gardiner , 1533 ... ... ... Prov. G. Chap.„ F. H. Goldney, P.G.D. Eng., 335, P.P.S.G.W. Wilts, 626 Prov. G. Treas.„ R. W. Merriman , 1533 ... ... ... Prov. G. Reg.„ Harry Bevir , 33s, 355, 592 ... ... ... Prov. G. Sec.„ W. S. Bambridy e , 1.S33 • ¦• ... ... Prov. S.G.D.„ John Rumbold , 5S6... ... ... ... Prov. J.G.D.„ F. A. Brooks-Hill , 1533 ... ... .... Prov. G.S. of W.„ John Chandler , P.P.S.G.W. Wilts , 355, 1295 ... Prov. G.D.C.„ J. K. Read , 1478 ... ... ... ... Prov. A.G.D.C.„ George North , 1295... ... ... ... Prov. G.S.B.„ Richard Dean , 586 ... ... ... ... Prov. G. Purst.„ W. H. Godding, 1533 ... ... ... Prov. G. Std. Br.„ C. 1. Hibbard , 626 ...„ G. M. Wilson , 586 ... ... ... ... ! _ „ c. ," n r „„ , ,„s f Prov. G. Stwds.„ E. Cruse, 1470,, H. Reeves, 2227„ Wm. Dean, 355 ... ... ... ... Prov . G. Tyler.After the close of the Provincial Grand Lodge between 30 and 40 brethre n sat

down to the banquet , at which Bro. Sir Gabriel Goldney presided.I he usual Masonic toasts were duly honoured , and the pleasures of the evening

were much added to by the excellent musical programme arranged by Bro.Bambrid ge.

The whole of the arrangements for the reception of the Provincial GrandLod ge were carried out in a capital manner by the members of 1533.

CONSECRATION OF THE ST. CLAIRCHAPTER , No. 2074.

The very unusual ceremony of constituting and consecrating a Royal ArchChapter in the Province of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight , drew together alarge attendance at the Masonic Hall , Commercial-road , Land port , on Friday, the28th ult.

The St. Clair Lodge, No. 2074, was constituted six years ago, and was namedafter its first W.M., Bro. Capt. W. H. C. St. Clair , R.N. , P.P.G.R., a brother whohas taken deep interest in the Craft , not onl y in this province, but likewise in theMediterranean and other p laces. The lodge, numbering some 140 odd members,may now congratulate themselves upon having a chapter connected with theirassembly.

The ceremony of consecration was most impressivel y performed by Comp.W. W. B. Beach , M.P., G. Supt., assisted by Comps. J. E. Le Feuvre , P.G.H.;Col. J. F. Crease, C.B., P.P.G. }., acting as P.G.J.; E. Goble, P.G.S.E. ; G. J.Tilling, P.G. Treas. ; E. Nay ler , P.G. t>td. Br. ; W. Milles , P.A.G.D.C ; and alarge number of Provincial Grand Officers , present and past , and companions ofother chapters.

All Princi pals having assembled in the chapter , formed a column on eitherside, when the Consecrating Officers entered , solemn music being played duringthe procession. The three Princi pals having opened the chapter , the companionsentered and saluted the M.E.Z.

Comp. W. W. B. B EACH , G. Supt. , addressing the companions on the nature of

the meeting, said they were assembled on that occasion for the purpose of con-stituting and consecrating the St. Clair Chapter. It was nothing but natural andnot unreasonable that when a lodge succeeded well in carrying out the princi plesof Freemasonry that they should seek for a chapter to beattached , so that brethrenwould be able to attain the privilege of Royal Arch Freemasonry. In some casesit .was not advisable to have a chapter , but in the present instance it was quitedifferent , as the St. Clair Lodge had a number of members attached to it , and hebelieved they all felt themselves imbued with a spirit of Royal Arch Masonry, andthey would do their utmost to carry out the princi p le of the chapter. Thosebrethren belonging to the lodge and to the new chapter will feel that the credit ofthe chapter should be sustained by them. Those companions already members ofthe Royal Arch Degree will feel bound to extend their knowled ge in the Arts ,Sciences , and Mystery cognisant to themselves. He felt that the consecration andconstitution under such happy auspices as he saw that day would leav e no doubtwhen he saw the names of the first princi pals and founders.

The founders having formed in two columns and the companions standing, theP.G.S.E. read the petition , which was signed by 22 companions , and likewise thewarrant. The G.Supt. inquired of the companions it they approved of the princi palsnamed in the charter to preside over them , and they having signified their approvalin proper form , resumed their seats.

The first portion of the dedication prayer was given by the J v who also gave amost instructive and interesting oration upon the nature and objec t of the RoyalArch Degree.

The usual ceremonies having been performed , the G. Supt. then consti-tuted the chapter , and the J. gave the patriarchal benediction , and the choir sangan anthem. The P.G.D.C. presented the Princi pals, who, having been already in-stalled , were inducted into their respective chairs.

The Princi pals were Comps. W. H. C. St. Clair , R.N., P.Z., Z.; J. Bnckwood ,P.Z., H.; and W. Dart , P.Z., J. The following were balloted for and investedwith' their collar of office , the Z. ably giving the usual address to each recipient :Comps. C. V. Birch , Z. elect 804, S.E. ; F. H. Woodrovv, Z. elect 1428 , S.N.; W.C. Webb, H. 903, Treas. ; H. Silvester , P.S. ; W. Bates , J. 487, ist A.S.; G. R.Sherman , 2nd A.S. ; J. Taylor , P.Z., D.C ; J. Prior , Org. ; Capt . W. A. Chauncyand Lieut. C. Organ , Stewards; and J. Exell , Janitor.

The foregoing, and Comps. E. Boorman, H. Williams , T. J. Hill , F. T. Ads-head , S. Robbins , A. N. Y. Howell , C E. Little, F. Jerome, and G. Morley com-prise the founders.

The M.E.Z. said he had a duty to perform to thank Comp. W. W. B. Beachfor his kindness in being present that evening. The companions knew his timewas much occupied , and especially so now, and they also knew of his many excel-lences that it would be superfluous for him to eulogise them.

Comp. W. W. B. BEACH , G. Supt., thanked the M.E.Z. and companions , andassured them it gave him great pleasure to be present , and to see so much happ i-ness in store and prosperity in the future of the St. Clair Chapter. It had startedunder happy auspices and with such well-known and good Princi pals, and he hadtherefore no doubt as to its success. He hoped to attend on some future occasionto see that his antici pations had been realised.

The M.E.Z. proposed , and the H. seconded , as honorary members, Comps. W.W. B. Beach , M.P., G. Supt. ; J. E. Le Feuvre, P.G.H.; J. Cole, P.G.J.; E.Goble, P.G.S.E. ; and Col. Crease , C.B., P.P.G.J.

Nine names were proposed for exaltation , and three as j oining members.The chapter was then closed.During the ceremony Comp. I. W. D. Pellovv, P.P.G. Organist , played several

selections , and the choir , which was most proficient , consisted of Comps. G. F.Lancaster, P.P.G.J. ; F. Sanders, P.P.G. Org. ; G. Pearman , P.P.G. Org. ; J.Jenkins , H.; C. W. Bevis , J. ; and G. Sperring.

The companions then adjourned to the banqueting room , where amp le justicewas done to a capital banquet , and the usual loyal arid Masonic toasts were dul yhonoured.

GRAND LODGE OF SCOTLAND AND THEFESTIVAL OF ST. ANDREW.

The Grand Lodge of Scotland celebiated the festival of St. Andrew , on theist inst.. by the usual banquet in the Masonic Hall , George-stveet , Edinburgh.Previous to the dinner , the annual communication of the Grand Lodge was held ,when the following office-bearers were elected for the year , and those present weredul y installed :—Bros. Col. Sir Archibald C. Camp bell of BI ythswood , Bart., M.P., Grand Master; SirMichael R. Shaw-Stewart of Greenock and Blackhall , Bart., Past Grand Master ; theEarl of Haddington , Grand Master Depute ; Sir Charles Dalrymp le of Newhailes,Bart., M.P., Substitute Grand Master; Lord Saltoun , Senior Grand Warden ; J.Dalrymp le Duncan , Junior Grand Warden ; D. Murray Lyon , Grand Secretary ; DavidReid , Grand Cashier; Rev. John Glasse and Rev. John Murray, Grand Chaplains ;Lieut. -Col. John Campbell , Senior Grand Deacon ; Robert Nisbetjunior Grand Deacon;P. L. Henderson , Grand Architect ; F. D. Rait, Grand Jeweller; Colin Galletl y,Grand Bible Bearer; George Christie , Grand Director of Ceremonies ; David Pry de,LL.D., Grand Bard ; Major F. VV. Allan , Grand Sword Bearer; James A. Moonie,Grand Director of Music ; Robert Davidso n , Grand Organist ; George C. H. M'Naug ht,Grand Marshal; J . MacGregor Malloch , Grand Inner Guard ; and Andrew Landells,Grand Tyltr.

About 150 brethren were present at the dinner , the Grand Master, Sir ArchibaldCamp bell , M.P., presiding, and the Grand Wardens acting as croup iers.

After dinner , and the lodge having been constituted , the GRAND M ASTER gavethe toasts of "The Queen and Craft ," and " The Prince and Princess of Walesand other members of the Royal family. "

Bro. J A M E S BOYD proposed "The Navy , Army, and Reserve Forces," forwh' ch Sir James Buchanan , Major Disney Innes , and Major F. W. Allan rep lied.

Lord SALTOUN , in giving "The Grand Master and the Grand Lod ge of Scot-land ," said that of all the Grand Masters who had gone before Sir ArchibaldCamp bell , no one had done so much for Grand Lodge, or had devoted so muchtime and energy to the Craft

The GR A N D M ASTER , in responding, said he felt most deep ly the confidencereposed in him , a confidence which he entirel y reci procated. In giving a fewstatistics for the past year , he said thtse augured well for Grand Lod ge and forthe fi'ture of Scottish Masonry. What they had to do was to bring Masonry asa permanent and fi ghting force before the peop le of the country, and in thebazaar of the present week they would do a great deal towards that end. Letthem do what they could to show that they were determined to make Masonry inScotland what it was in Eng land and elsewhere—a really charitable insti tution—which should embrace all clashes upon that great p lane and level of which theywere so proud , and in doing so they would add one more great link to the chainwhich they were forg ing, and which led up to absolute prosperity. He felt certainthat the efforts which the brethren were making on behalf of the benevolent move-ment would be crowned with success.

Colonel L UMSDEN of Pitcap le gave the toast of " Lad y Campbell , and Successto the Bazaar."

The GR A N D M ASTER acknowledged the toast.A number of other toasts followed.During the evening a band , under the leadershi p of Bro. H. Dambmann , dis-

coursed music, and songs were given by severa l of the brethren.

GRAND MASONIC BAZAAR IN EDINBURG H.

There was opened in the Waverley Market , Edinburg h , on Tuesday, the 2nd inst.,a grand Masonic bazaar , the obj ect of which is to raise a fund to be app lied in therelief of necessitous brethren or the widows and orp hans of Freemasons. Since1888 an Annuity Fund has been in existence , under the management of the Com-mittee of Grand Lodge, but its benefits have been uncertain and restricted. Lastyear, out of 147 deserving app lications , the Committee were able to deal only with45, a number rightly held to be " totally disproportionate to the distress in so largea body as the Freemasons' holding of the Grand Lodge of Scotland." In execu-tion of an idea conceived by Sir Archibald Campbell , M.P., Grand Master ofScotland , Bro. J. Maclntyre Henry, Grand Architect , the Waverley Market wastransformed into as close a likeness to the interior of an Egyptian temple as, per-haps , with wood and painted canvas, it is possible to reach. The stalls werenumerous , and the character of the exhibits denoted to some extent the localitiesfrom which the work had come. Thus, Glasgow City Stall showed , among otherthings , a coup le of sailing boats, and one of them was more than a model—"full-rigged and ready for the water." Ayreshire produced many specimens of herneedlework , pottery, furni ture , and what speciall y interested all followers of" the rearin ' game," curling stones. An autograph poem of Burns was also onview. Lanarkshire sent silk handkerchiefs and mufflers woven in the county,while the work at the Indian and Colonial Stalls need not be more particularly speci-fied. The attendants at each stall had each their own well-defined colours, andthe kaleidescop ic variety of costumes on view was not one of the least attractivefeatures of the show. The amusements provided included entertainments ofvarious kinds in a neat little theatre, a gipsey tent , a menagerie, a shooting gallery,and Edison 's phonogra ph.

The opening ceremony was conducted by Bro. Sir Archibald Campbell , andamong the large company present were—Bros. Sir Michael Shaw Stewart, P.G.M. ; Earl of Haddington , D.G.M.; Sir CharlesDalrymp le, Sub. G.M.; Lord Saltoun , S.G.W. ; J. Dalrymp le Duncan , J.G.W.; D.Murray Lyon , G. Sec. ; Rev. John Glasse, G. Chaplai n ; G. C. H. M'Naught, G.Marshal ; Lieut.-Colonel Campbell , S.G.D. ; David Reid , G. Cashier; Marquis ofBreadalbane, P.G.M. Perthshire East ; Lord Glamis ; Sir Alexander Mackenzie ;Major D. Innes, P.G.M. Kincardineshire ; F. E. Villiers of Closeburn, P.G.M. Dum-friesshire ; John Graham of Broadstone, P.G.M. Glasgow; J. M. Martin of Auchin-dennan , P.G.M. Dumbartonshire ; the Hon. T. Cochrane, P.G.M. Ayrshire ; H. R.Wallace, D.P.G.M. Ayrshire ; Col. Lumsden, of Capel , P.G.M. Aberdeenshire West ;J. Berry, P.G.M. Forfarshire ; P. M'Lagan , M.P., P.G.M. Linlith gowshire ; J. T. S.Elliot of VVolflee, P.G.W. ; Gen. J. J . Boswell , Sub. P.G.M. Roxburg hshire andSelkirkshire ; and Provost Brand , D.G.M. Haddingtonshire.

The brethren having assumed their regalia in the theatre, marched thence inprocession to a platform in the hall , where Bro. Sir Archibald Campbell was calledon to preside.

The Grand Chap lain having , opened the proceedings with prayer, and the" Old Hundredth" having been sung,

Lord SALTOUN said he had come as a spokesman for the Provinces of AberdeenCity and East and West Aberdeen.-hire , in order to present a chequ e for the pro-ceeds of the auxiliary bazaar held in Aberdeen last week. His lordshi p pointedout that it was with considerable difficulty that the permission of Grand LodgeCommittee was granted for the holding of this bazaar , and that he then promisedthat three provinces would be able to raise a sum of X600 or £100. Since thattime every Mason had done his utmost both in the city and the provinces , and theresult was one which must be very gratif ying to the Grand Lodge and to every-body interested in the object of this bazaar. The proceeds were made up asfollows : From East Aberdeen , 82 guineas ; from West Aberdeen , 150 guineas ;and from the City Province of Aberdeen , ^1169 3s. <cd. Sundries amounted to£139 11s. 5d., and the total to ^1541 odd. They would understand that therewere many expenses connected with the bazaar , but he had now the honour ofhandin g to the Grand Master a cheque for 1200 guineas , with the assurance thatsome small sums now being collected would afterwards be made over to the Com-mittee of the Grand Lodge.

Bro. Sir A R C H I B A L D CA M P B E L L suitabl y acknowledged the gift , and thankedhis brother Masons for the honourable position he had been called upon to fill inthat day 's proceedings. The object they had in view was to raise as large a sumof money as they could , and to invest it , for the purpose of using the income ,added to the hall of the free income of Grand bodge, entirely for charitable pur-poses. The money had previously been devoted to the widows of Masons , to oldMasons , and to the education of children. The Grand Committee looked overevery claim , and this year they were giving over ^1700 for the purposes he hadindicated. He trusted that they mi ght be able to add considerabl y to that sum.During the past year over 300 app lications were made, every one of them beingvouched for most particularl y by the Masters and Wardens of the lodges to whichthe app licants belonged, and it was with great difficulty that the Committee wereable to discern between the cases, and with a sore heart that they were obliged fromwant of funds to decline to give ap ittance that they were so willing and so anxious togive to many who desired it so much. They felt that something more ought to bedone by Scottish Maonry than had been done in the past ; that thoug h it wasestablished on a firm basis , it did not , as it ought , embrace all classes, as Masonrydid in Eng land and in Ireland. They felt that the reason of that must be becausethey were not a sufficientl y active force, and that if they could once bring to thepeop le of Scotland a knowled ge of the power they were and might be, theirposition would be altered , and men of position and of wealth would be added totheir ranks. He had to thank all the ladies , and the many kind friends who didnot belong to their Order , for the amount of work that they had done , and all thosewho in distant parts of the country and in all parts of the world—in New Zealand ,Canada , Australia , and India—had lent their aid. He trusted that the bazaarwould be a success , and would begin a new era in Scottish Masonry by placingthem on the foundation they desired to be—that of a Charitable Institution.

Lord HADDINGTON said that in his visits to the various lodges in the extensiveprovince over which he presided , he had met with nothing but a ready response tohis appeals , and an earnest endeavour on the part of all to render the special pro -vincial stall of that great bazaar a success. Nor was it from the rich , nor from themiddle classes alone , but fro m the poor that he had received even money con-tributions. Nothin g was more grateful to their senses than to see the gratitude ofthe poor for what they received , and nothing more touching in its beauty than thenoble , the great-hearted way in which the poor came forward to render assistanceto a brother man when called upon to do so. He had to move a vote of thanks tothe ladies, who, he said , could not but sympathise with an order whose rock andfoundation was reli gion , and whose mainsprings were charity and benevolence.Freemasons owed much to the ladies , but they as women owed much to Free-masonry.

The motion was cordiall y approved , and another Psalm having been sung theGrand Chap lain asked a blessing, after which the Grand Master declared thebazaar open. The drawings on the first day were as follows :—Stalls, ^3248;entertainments , ^44 ; admission , £144 : making a total of £3616. The £1260received from the Aberdeen Provinces made the grand total .64876.

The bazaar was continued on~Wednesday and Thursday with all the successwhich characterised the opening day, and throug hout the afternoon and eveningthe market was thronged , and an extensive business was done. During the after-noon and evening the theatre at the East-end was turned to good account in theway of special entertainments. The total recei pts for the three days was ^8503.

ROYAL MASONIC BENEVOLENTINSTITUTION.

The Committee of Management held the ir regularmonthl y meeting at Freemasons' Hall , on Wednes-day. Bro. Jabez Hogg, P.G.D., occupied the chair ,and there were present Bros. C. A. Cottebrune , P.G.P.;David D. Mercer , G.P. ; W. H. Hibbert , James Brett ,P.G.P.; Charles Lacey, J. Newton , A. H. Tattershall ,Charles Daniel , Charles Kempton , Robert Griggs, W.M. Bywater , P.G.S.B.; W. H. Making, Thomas G.Bullen , G. Std. Br. ; Alex. Mullord , Thos. Cubitt ,P.G.P. ; Stanley J. Attenboroug h , C. H. Webb , J. S.Cumberland , James P. Fitzgerald , Hug h Cotter , JohnLarkin , and James Terry , P.G.S.B., Secretary.

The minutes of the previous Committee having beenread and verified , the Wardens' report for the pastmonth was read . Seven petitions (six men and onewidow) were duly considered , with the result that allbut one of the male petitioners were accepted , and thenames directed to be entered on the list for the electionin May, 1891. A vote of thanks to the Chairman con-cluded the proceedings.

We omitted to notice at the usual time that two deaths(male) were reported at the November Committee ,and that of eight petitions (four men and four widows)presented and considered , one man 's case was deferredfor proof of age, and the rest were accepted and theirnames ordered to be placed on the list of candidates.

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EAST S U R R E Y L O D G E OFCONCORD , No. 463.

ANNUAL FESTIVAL.The annual festival of this successful lodge of

instruction was held on the 25th ult., at the GreyhoundHotel , Croydon , under the presidency of Bro. Fred.West, Deputy Prov. G.M. in charge, Surrey, who wassupported by a number of Prov. G. Officers and otherbrethren.

The lodge was formal ly opened and closed, and thebrethren having enjoyed an excellent repast, thecustomary toasts were given.

Bro, R. C. SVIDLOW , G. Std. Br., reply ing for "TheGrand Officers ," said he felt extremely diffident inresponding, as there was a senior officer present. ' Hecould not help thinking that Grand Officers were intheir proper place at such a meeting as this , for it wasa very important feature in the Masonic world thatthere should be lodges of instruction , and they mustnecessarily take a very great interest in knowing thatthe ritual was worked well. Personally he was verypleased to be present , as the East Surrey Lodge ofConcord was his mother lodge in which he was initiatedby Bro. Sharpe, who urged him to immediately becomeacquainted with the ritual. He took the hint and wasenrolled a member of the lodge of instruction , as theritual to which he was now wedded was not then taught.Bro. Hobbs was not then Preceptor , and that was hisloss, because when he migrated he had to unlearn agreat deal of what he had carefully studied. Hethanked them for the great honour recently conferredupon him by electing him an honorary member , andwas glad of the opportunity of saying he appreciatedthe comp liment very highl y indeed , and hoped to beallowed to come amongst them now and again , to con-gratulate them on the success he saw they had attained.

Bro. H. M. H OBBS, P.P.G.W., proposed "TheHealth of Bro. F. West , D.P.G.M. in charge, theChairman of the Evening," to whom they all owedallegiance in Surrey. t or many years the provincehad a most distinguished brother as Provincial GrandMaster , under whom Masonry increased aud multi-plied exceeding ly. It was with great regret they heardof his death , as they had previousl y suffered the loss oftwo Deputy Grand Masters in Bros. Arnold and Green-wood. Under these circumstances it would not havebeen a matter for surprise if Freemasonry had suffered,but they rejoiced in the fact that not onl y had thelodges and chapters increased , but the number of mem-bers was also larger. This result was in a very largemeasure due to the distinguished brother in the chair.It was not enough that Bro. West had to preside over200 or 300 - brethren at Provincial Grand Lodge, andcarry on the other affairs of the province , and provehimself an able worker , but it was to his credit that hedid so much to encourage an institution such as thatlodge of instruction. They all thanked Bro . West sin-cerely and heartily for the kind interest he alwaysevinced in them and their Masonic work , and moreespecial ly in attending and making the meeting such agreat success.

Bro. F. W EST, D.P.G.M. in charge, in rep ly, said hevery much appreciated the distinguished privilege ofoccupy ing the chair that evening, and further did hevalue the. very kind terms in which Bro. Hobbs hadproposed the toast, and the acclamation with which ithad been received. It was an encouragement when onereceived , as. a leader of a province , such a welcome.The Province of Surrey was a large one, so far as thelodges were concerned , and the great area over whichthey were spread , and it was very difficult to visit themall quite as frequentl y as he could wish. He was gladto know he .had a pretty accurate estimate of theabilities of every lodge, and he thoug ht he had visitedthem all , and had had a good opportunity of comparingtheir different management and the way in which theritual was performed. He felt proud to say theprovince-would - rank with any other so far as the workof the lodges, the ritual, and the enthusiasm of Masonrywas concerned. .. If one could only hear from time to

time that their efforts were appreciated it was a matterof great satisfaction. He very much appreciated thekindness he had received in the province , andparticularly in the borough of Croydon , where therewas a large centre of Masonry.

" The Provincial Grand Officers " was given in cordialterms from the chair , and ably responded to by theProv. Grand Chap lain , Bro. Rev. Cator.

In giving " Prosperity to the East Surrey Lodge ofConcord Lodge of Instruction ," Bro. WEST said nobrother could properly learn his duties unless herehearsed them at a lodge such as they were cele-brating the festival of that evening. He did not thinka Master was qualified to fill the chair who couldmerely render the Masonic ceremonies, for a brother toproperly fill that position ought to be not only acapable instructor and able to manage the affairs ofthe Lodge, but ought also to have practised businesshabits and be well qualified to deal with a body of menin a businesslike way. As far as the instruction wasconcerned , he would leave it in the hands of Bro. H.M. Hobbs , the Preceptor. The Province of Surrey wasimmensely p leased to have the opp ortunity of raisingthat brother to the position he now holds , because Bro.Hobbs was a man who had been raised to that post bymerit. He gave it to the brethren present in thestrongest terms of recommendation to follow in Bro.Hobbs 's footsteps, and he saw no reason why in futureyears they should not occupy quite as exalted a position.

Bro. H. M. H OBBS , P.P.G.W., having returnedthanks, said the lodge of instruction was a far moreimportant matter , and he was glad to say it was neverin a more successfu l and prosperous condition than now.Every year they lost members, but every year they hada larger number coming on to assist with their ex-perience and talents. It was pleasing to think he hadhad some small share in its success , but that successwas not due to himself alone, but also to Bro. Rid path ,who always took his place when he was absent , andBro. Fox Hawes, the Secretary. He hoped to beassociated with the brethren for many years to come,and was convinced that as long as the brethre n evincedthe same spirit as in the past, that lodge of instructionwould go on and prosper.

"The Treasurer and Secretary " was next given bythe CH A I R M A N , who referred to the excellent servicesrendered by Bro. Streeter, Treasurer, whom they wereglad to see present , and well enough to join in thefestivities. How well Bro. Fox Hawes performed theduties of Secretary was best known to all present , forhe was hi ghl y respected in the lodge and j ustly so. Hecould well understand why he had had placed in hishands a very beautifu l gold pencil case and an illumin-ated address, which he was called upon to hand to theSecretary, Bro. Fox Hawes, when he knew that brotherto be the present W.M. of the East Surrey Lodge ofConcord and the'present Prov. Grand Registrar. Theyknew the Secretary gave up a great amount of time tothe management of the affairs , and of that he wouldsay little. He would simply ask Bro. Fox Hawes toaccept the gifts he had mentioned as an expression ofgratitude , subscribed for by all the members of the lodgeof instruction , and nothing he could say would enhancethe charm it would be to the recipient to receive them.

Bro. STREETER , Treasurer , having responded , Bro.Fox H AWES , Prov. Grand Registrar , said he was utterl ytaken by surprise , and could only thank them for thekind way in which they had expressed their satisfaction.The pencil case presented to him would remind him ofthe members, and he thought his services to the lodgehad been but small , althoug h he had done his best topromote its prosperity. He felt certain that those whoattended and worked carefully under Bro. Hobbs wouldin time attain hi gh honour. H is feelings on the presentoccasion were too deep for words, and he would simplythank them for the kind gifts , which he should appre-ciate even more when he had had time to think overthe events of the evening.

Bro. J. H. PRICE , W.M. 1321 , rep lied for " TheVisitors ," and Bros. R IDPATH and KILVINGTON for" The Testimonial Committee."

Other toasts were given before the brethren separated ,a p leasant evening having been spent by all present.

Cr yptic flDaaonn?.Grand Masters' Council (No. i).—This

old council met at the Grand Mark Hall, Great Queen-street, on the 2Sth ult. Among those in attendance wereBros. H. J. Lardner, P.G.M., T.I.M.; Baron de Ferrieres,acting D.M. ; K . 13. Bryant, P.C.W.; Capt. T. C. Walls,P.G.D.M., P.T.I.M., Recorder; George Powell, C. o fC;E. Storr and R. Roy, Marshals; Sir Love-Jones Parry,Bart., N. Proiver, M.A., Andre w McDowali, Pakes, Briggs,Goffin , and others .

The minutes of the previous meeting were read and con-firmed. The ballot was taken on behalf of Bros. Vincent ,P.M., &c, and Crook , P.M., &c, and, it being unani-mous, they were impressively admitted and greeted as mem-bers of the Order. The resignation of Bro . Brittain wasreceived with regret. A vote of condolence was passed toBro. D. P. Cama, P.T.I.M., &c, on the great loss he hassustained by the death of his wife.

Apologies for non-attendance were received from Bros.Major G. Lambert, Major J. E. Anderson, Captain W. B.Williamson , J_.P., R. L. Loveland, J.P., T. Cubitt , G.Graveley, G. Everett, and others.

The council was then closed, and adjourned in the Degreeof Select Master, and the brethren dined at the HolbornRestaurant. The usual toasts followed.

The Princess of Wales has presented her portrait to theband of the Royal Horse Guards in recognition of their ser-vices last week at Sandringham.

In Chancery " is one of Bro. Pinero 's funniestfarcical comedies, and Bro. . Edward Terry does well torevive a p lay which met with hearty support at theGaiety some six years since. As the man who througha railway accident has entirel y lost his memory—webelieve this is founded on fact—and does not evenknow his name—Bro. Terry is seen in one of the bestcharacters he has everyet portrayed. It is very quaintto hear him say that if a man is married the chancesare he would know if he is married , yet, as Mr.Jolliffe , he is quite oblivious as to whether he is abachelor or not. Bro. Terry is supported by a goodcompany , consisting of Mr. Julian Cross, Mr. Dana,and Mr. Prince Miller ; Miss Rose Dearing, MissKate Mills , and Miss Elinor Leyshon. When ' " InChancery " has had its run , we would advise Bro.Terry to revive another of his old successes " TheRocket."

* * *We can only confess to a feeling of disappointment

at Mrs . Langtry 's Cleopatra , for we had felt that shewas our actress, who is fitted by nature for such a diffi-cult character. We think her recent severe illnessmust have inj ured her physically, for, though Mrs.Langtry looks lovely, she does not look a queen. Thereis nothing maje stic about her Cleopatra, and she neverappears to be great . It is all throug h only acting.Still , as a stage production it isarchreologically magni-ficent , and when years have rolled by, Mrs . Langtry 'smounting of " Antony and Cleopatra " will be wellremembered. For this reason it behoves- every one in-terested in the drama and Shakespeare to visit thePrincesses Theatre. Mr. Coghlan 's Antony is a re-markab ly strong piece of acting, and a contrast to Mrs.Langtry, who is too gentle , soft , and graceful as thequeen. We thought she would have insp ired passionin the heart of the man she loved , but she fails j ustwere we antici pated she would be strongest. In thedrawing-room comedies and dramas of to-day, such as" Peril ," Mrs. Langtry is seen at her very best.

* * *To many p laygoers " London Assurance " is only a

name. One of the earliest pieces of the late Mr. DionBoucicault , it is still one of his best. There are manyliving who remember its production at Covent Gardenhalf a century ago. Since then it has frequentl y beenon one or other stage, the latest instances in Londonbeing at the old Prince of Wales and the Vaudeville.Its revival at the Criterion will be welcome to all andnew to many. Bro. Chas. Wyndham has added freshinterest to this reproduction by dressing the comedy inthe costumes worn at the time it w..\s written , andthough they may not be particularl y p icturesque , yvtthe elaborate cravats, the coloured waistcoats, the bluecoats and yellow buttons of the gentlemen , and theloose sleeves and flannel dresses of the ladies of thosedays have a charm about them which the Criterionmanagement have put to the best use. We need saybut little regarding a caste including such talentedmembers of the profession as Mrs. Bernard-Beere , LadyGay Spanker ; Miss Mary Moore , Grace Harkaway ;Bro. George Giddens , Doll y Spanker; Mr. W. Farren ,Sir Harcourt ; Mr. Cyril Maude, Cool ; and Bro. Chas.Wyndham , who, as Dazzle , p lays in his own mercurialfashion , in which he has no equal.

It is quite certain that " The Pharisee " will have alonger run at the Shaftesbury than did " The SixthCommandment." It deals with a subject not altogethernew to the stage , in which a woman has won the loveof an honourable man , and lived happ ily with him fora number of years. But she has a past history, whichbecomes known to her husband throug h a friend of his ,who turns out to be the very man who had in earlierdays betrayed the woman who is now a wife. Herfather—a designing and wicked man—had promisedbefore the marriage to inform the husband of hisdaughter 's false step, and lied to her by telling herhe had done so, and that the husband had agreedthat neither he nor his wife were ever to allude toit. When the truth is out, and the husband' s andwife's happ iness is about to be wrecked , allends well , through their being in possession ufone of those jewels of married life—a sweet littlechild , for whose sake the husband forg ives thetreachery of his father-in-law, and the wife once againis made an honest and happy woman. The acting in" The Pharisee " is without a fault. Never have weseen Mrs. Lancaster Wallis so well suited to a part.In the first act she won the sympath y of her audience,and in the third she quite moved the whole house byher intense earnestness. Miss Wallis is now fittedwith a character in which she can disp lay her artistictalent. Mr. Lewis Waller again played excellentl ywell. Dear little Minnie Terry got a round of app lausewhen she appeared , and was cheered again and again forher perfect rendering of her part as a child. Miss SophieLarkin and Bro. Marius p lay the light comedy parts , andto them fall some of the cleverest lines. Not one pointdo they miss or fail to make their audience appreciate.Nearly the whole of the second act they have to them-selves. Mr. Herbert Waring, as the wronged butforg iving husband , plays with his accustomed skill.Althoug h in three acts the play is one set scene, therebyreminding us of " Sweet Lavender."

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FANCY COSTUMES SUPPLIED FOR BALLS,FETES, AND CARNIVALS.

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Also Dress Suits for Banquets, Balls, &c.Estimates and Catalogues of Goods forwarded on application.

84 & SG, TABERNACLE ST., FINSBURY SOUARE,LONDON.

STAMMERERS should read a bookby a gentleman who cured himself after suffering

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AUTHOR OF "MASONIC FACTS AND FICTIONS,"With a Preface by

WILLIAM HA R R V RYLANDS , Esq., F.S.A.

The Work will consist of about 300 pages of letter-pressand the following Portraits , reproduced by the autotypeprocess, from rare mezzotint engravings in the BritishMuseum:—His Majesty King George II . of England; Dunckerley 's

reputed father.H.R.H. Frederick Lewis, Prince of Wales, son of the

above ; the first of the Royal Famil y who was made aFreemason.

Thomas Dunckerl ey in Masonic regalia, with facsimile ofhis autograp h. His Book-Plate, Seals, &c.

It will be published , by Subscri ption , in January, 1S91,Price, 7s. 6d. ; to Non-Subscribers , 10s. ; Carriage Free inthe United Kingdom and the United States and Canada.

Prospectus can be had on app lication toH. SADLER, care of D IRROSH and BATEMAN ,

Sheffield-street , London, W.C.

FOR SALE—Price £5—Engraving ofTHOMAS DUNCKERLEV , in Oak Frame, at the

Masonic Show Rooms, 1,2,3, an(l 4> Little Britain , London.

ANDERTON'S HOTEL & TAVERNFLEET STREET, LONDON.

In connection with the Royal Clarence Hotel , Ilfracombe ; andPeacock Hotel , and Royal Hotel , Boston , Lincolnshire.

The central position of ANDERTON'S renders this Tavernunequalled for

Masonic Banquets, Public Dinners , Wedding Breakfasts ,Meetings of Creditors , Arbitrations or J ovial Gatherings

The Rooms reserved tor the above business consist of DININGH ALL , PILLAR HALL , MASONIC HALL , CHAPTER , and numerousSmaller Rooms.

The RESTAURANT on Eastern Side of Hotel Entrance is opento the Public from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. for BREAKFASTS , LUNCHEONS .TEAS, and D INNERS .

F. H. CLEMOVV , Proprietor.

U A N C H E S T E R H O T E L ,•"¦*¦ ALDERSGATE STREET-

N OTICE TO SECRETARIES OF M ASONIC LODGES,CLUBS, AND OTHER INSTITUTIONS .

The Proprietors of the above Hotel, having recently addeda number of commodious Rooms to the Establishment,suitable for LODGE M EETINGS, BANQUETS , D I N N E R S , &C,will be glad to furnish Terms and Particulars for the use ofsame on application.

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THE MASTER MASON'S H A N D -BOOK , by Bro. FRED . J. W. CROWE, with an

Introduction by Dro. VV. J . H UGHAN , P.G.D., &c. TheMaster Mason 's Handbook is acumpendium of all informa-tion necessary to a knowledge of English Masonry, com-prising—A n Historical Sketch of Freemasonry—The GrandLodge: Its Origin and Constitution—Private Lodges,Metropolitan anu Provincial—Visiting Private Lodges—Titles, their uses and abbreviations— i he Great MasonicInstitutions—The " Higher " or additional Degrees, andhow to obtain them.London : GEORGE K ENNING , 16, Great Queen-street, W.C.

Price 5s.HISTORY OF THE A P O L L O

LODGE, YORK, in relation to Craft and KoyalArch Masonry ; with Brief Sketches of its Local Prede-cessors and Contemporaries; the " Grand Lodge of AllEngland " (York Masons) ; the Provincial Grand Lodge;and various Lodges from 1705 to 1S05. By W ILLIAMJ AMES H UGHAN , Author of " Urigin of the English Kite ofFreemasonry," &c. With valuable Appendices.London : GEORGE KE N N I N G, 16, Great Queen-st., W.C.

ORGANIST WANTED.—Six Meet-ings — October, November, January, February,

March , and April—meet at Anderton 's second Wednesdayin month , bend Terms and Particulars to E. TRIGGS,l, Clover-road, Forest Gate.

GRASON HOPE (Organist 2128) isopen to supp ly full Musical Programme (both in

and out of Lodge] with the aid of THE LYRIC VOCALQ UARTETTE .—Apply GRASON HOPE, Streatham , S.W.

F R E E M A S O N ' S H Y M N . —THEJ7 MYSTIC TIE. Words and Music composed byF. j. STEIN .

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ENGINEER.—Wanted by a Brotherreturned from Australia, with large and varied

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DUTCH BULBS, DUTCH BULBS.SALES every MONDAY , WEDNESDAY & SATURDAY .

In Large and Small Lots, to suit all Buyers .

MR. J. C. STEVENS will SELL byAUCTION at his Great ROOM, 38, KING

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On view Mornings of Sale and Catalogues had.

"THE C H R I S T M A S N U M B E R1 OF THE "FREEMASON "

Will be ready on the 20th inst., and will contain Articlesand Tales by well-known Masonic and other writers. With

Illustrations and a separate Double Page Portrait of

THE EARL OF M O I R A ,From a Rare Engraving.

P R I C E N I N E P E N C E .Orders should be sent at once to the Office , 16, Great

Oueen Street, or to any Bookseller.

BRO. D O U G L A S B E A U F O R T ,Lodge S65, is open to accept Engagements for

Banquets , &c, to give his highly-re .ned Entertainment ofPUKE SLEIGHT OF HAND (e -ely without apparatus),VENTRILOQUISM , and MUSICAL SKETCHES (a laGrossmith and Corney Grain).

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Dear Sir,Their Royal Highnesses the PRINCE

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C. NEEDHAM ,Lieut.-Col. ist Life Guards.

TERMS — In Town , £5 5s. ; Country, expenses extra .ADDRESS—1, W1GHTMAN ROAD, FINSBURY PARK,

LONDON , N.

44 TDK OIHERHOOD ," Masonic OdeJLJ by Bros . R. ANDRE and I SIDORE DE SOLLA . This

stirring composition that met with such an enthusiasticreception at the opening of the New Masonic Hall,Northampton , is now published by Bro. ROBERT ABEL,Northampton , and ORSBO RN and T UCI-CW JOD, London."Admirably suited to all Masonic celebrations." Postfree, Two Shillings.

THE attention of Masonic Lodgesis called to the facilities afforded at the LORN

EXCHANGE TAVERN , 58, Mark-lane, E.C, for tneholding- of Lodge Meetings, Lodges of Instruction , &c.'I he Large Hall is a room of noDle proportions, and thebuilding generally is admirably adapted for Masonicpurposes .

Zo Correa ponfcente ,The following communications unavoidably stand over :

CRAFT LOIIOE — Derwent , No. 40; Scientific, No. 88 ; St.John 's, No 104 ; St. Luke 's, No. 144 ; Unanimity, No.2^7 ; Pattison , No. 913 ; St. Thomas 's, No. 992 ; Prince otWales , No. 1003 ; Kcnington , No. 1381 ; Clausentnni ,No. 1461 ; Henley, No. 1472 ; Duke of Cornwall , No .15291 Mount Edpcumbe ,. No. 1544 ; Arle.don , No. 1660 ;and Kensington , No. 1767.

Loiiaies or Ixsi SUCTION --Robert Burns , No. 25- • Clarence, No.263 ; Zetland , No. 5 11 ; Prince Fredetick 'William , No. 753;Hyde Park , No . 1425 ; Islington , 147 1; Kensington , 1767 ;Chiswick . No. 2012; Warner , No. 2192 ; and HornseyI hapter , No. 890.

R OYAI . A RCH CHATTER —Kennington , No . 1381 .M ARK LODGES ,— St. Andrew 's, No. 34 ; and St. Martin 's, No

144.Provincial Prion'of Hants.

riDaaonic Botes.

^ ^ -^^. M^^ ^ S^ ^ J^J jb ^J^

SATURDAY , DECEMBER 13, 1890.

Ihe installation of the Duke of Clarence and Avon,dale, P.S.G.W. of England , as Prov. Grand Master ofthe newly-constituted Province of Berkshire, will takeplace on Monday next , the 15th instant , unless anythingintervenes between now and then to the contrary ; theceremony will be performed by his Royal Hi ghness theM.W.G.M. in person. The Duke of Connaug ht , Prov.G.M. of Sussex , has also announced his intention ofbeing present , so that there is little doubt that theTown Hall , which will be the scene of the unusualspectacle, will be crowded to its utmost capacity. Itis certain also that the proceedings will pass off amidsthearty demonstrations of loyalty and fraternal goodwill.The event , as we remarked in a former number of thisj ournal , is uni que in the annals of the Craft, and thosewho may be present at it will have good reason to beproud at having enjoyed so great a privilege.

We have been requested to state that as the specialtrain , which by the courtesy of the Great WesternRailway Company has been placed at the service ofbrethren visiting Reading to take part in this ceremony,will return at the early hour of 3.10 p.m , those whofind themselves not ready to leave so soon will beallowed to return to Paddington , or intermediatestations, by any of the ordinary trains the same dayand , in consequence of the early return of the specialtrain , the Provincial Grand Lodge will be opened at12 o'clock , and the luncheon will be at 1.30, insteadof 2 o'clock , as previousl y announced.

We must not omit , in making reference to this im-portant ceremony, to offer our warmest congratulationsto the Craft in Berkshire on their being constituted asa separate and distinct province. When the lamentedBro. Sir Daniel Gooch , Bart., was appointed Prov.G.M. of Berks and Bucks, in 1868, there were not asmany lodges in the two counties combined as there arenow in either one of them. This shows how admirab ly

Freemasonry fared under the guidance of the late SirDaniel , while at the same time it encourages us tohope that under the auspices of his Royal successor inBerkshire the influence of our Society will be stillfurther strengthened and extended. We do not desireto see any undue multi plication of lod ges—the consti-tution of lodges, where there is no absolute necessityfor them—either in this or any other county. But Berk-shire is populous enough and rich enoug h to allow ofMasonry being extended without detriment to the in-terests of the lodges already established.

* * *The Grand Masonic bazaar organised by the

Aberdeenshire provinces in aid of the extendedscheme of Benevolence sanctioned by the GrandLodge of Scotland , which was held in the MasonicHall , Aberdeen , on Friday and Saturday, the 2:st and22nd ult., appears to have been a magnificent success.The ceremony of opening on the former day was per-formed by Bro. Sir Archibald Campbell , Bart., M.P.,Grand Master of Scotland , who travelled at an earlyhour all the way from Glasgow to Aberdeen in orderto be present and discharge the duty. On the latterday, the bazaar was declared open by Bro. LordSaltoun , Prov. G.M. of Aberdeen City, who is a mostenergetic Mason and popular throug hout his ownand the neighbouring provinces. The result of thetwo days ' fete was announced late on Saturday eveningas amounting to upwards of ^1500, of which nearly£826" was received on the opening aud the balance onthe second day. We are deli ghted to find that theCraft in the three provinces into which the city andcounty of Aberdeen are divided have achieved so con-spicuous a success , while it must have been especiallygratifying to Bro. Sir A. Campbell , M.W.G.M., to havehad such excellent news to communicate on the occasion of his organising the great bazaar held at Edinburgh last week in aid of the same scheme.

* * *It will be seen from the report we publish elsewhere

that the success of the princi pal bazaar , namely, theone held in Waverley Hall , Edinburg h , like the subsi-diary at Aberdeen above referred to, has proved a mag*nificent success, the proceeds of the Edinburg h gather"ing for the three days being upwards of ^8000. Indeed ,we have heard the total result stated at £15,000. Butwhether this is so or not , Masonry in Scotland has justachieved a grand success , and merits the heartiest con-gratulations which can be expressed in words.

The District Grand Secretaries of Otago and SouthIsland , Bros. Sydney James and Henry Neill (forScotland and Eng land respectively), have just officiallyissued a table exhibiting all the lodges under each ofthe District Grand Lodges in New Zealand that haveremained under their parent Grand Lodges, and thosewhich have joine d the new Grand Lodge. The statis-tical table has been carefull y prepared down to the dateof issue—October ist , 1890—the following being theresult :—

Lodges under Eng land , Ireland , and Scotland... poLodges which have seceded ... ... ... 52

So that out of a total of 148 lodges in New Zealand ,the large proportion of 96 retain their allegiance.Surely these figures are remarkable , and jus tify all wehave contended for.

A special Communication of the so-called GrandLodge of New Zealand was held in the Oddfellows 'Hall , Dunedin , on the 14th October , when Bro. CharlesJ. Ronaldson was installed W.M. of the Lodge ofOtago (lately No. 844, E.C), and appointed his officers.The Grand Master (Bro. Henry Thompson) was present ,and at the banquet which followed a number of speecheswere made, that of Bro. Thompson himself being forthe most part conceived in excellent taste, while whatBro. A. H. Burton. Grand Superintendent of theOtago District , is reported to have delivered , seems tobeen as objectionable in tone as it was coarse in language.The conduct of a brother who , in the first instance,had been favourable to the establishment of an inde-pendent Grand Lod ge, and then retracted his op inion ,he describes as "renegadism." The inclusion of sun-dry lod ges in a list purporting to be composed of thelodges remaining loyal to their old allegiance is statedpoint-blank to be " a lie," while certain other lodgesin which an opinion as to the advisability of jo ining ornot joining the new and irregular body were prettyevenly balanced are said to have been held back fromjoi ning " by the pi gheadedness of a few , and thestup idity of brethren who unworthily for a time heldoffice." His speech concluded as follows : " Let us re-solve that we will be true Masons at all hazards , andthat as for us and our lodges we will serve the Lord. 'The statements we have quoted require no comment.

LONDON and NORTH WESTERNRAILWAY.

CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY S, 1890.

Tickets for all the principal places on the London andNorth-Western system, available from either EUSTON orKENSING TON (Addison-road), and dated to suit theconvenience of passengers, can be obtained at the SpreadEagle office, Piccadill y Circus, and other princi pal TownReceiving Offices of the Company, and at Messrs. Gazeand Sons' Office, 142, Strand, W.C, as well as at theRailway Stations.

On CHRIS TMAS EVE, WEDNESDAY , DECEMBER24TH , Special Expresses will leave EUSTON at 2.35 p.m.-for Bletchley, Wolverto n, Northampton , Rug by, p rincipalStations on the Trent Valley, and Stafford; and at 4.25p.m. and 6.55 p.m. for Coventry and Birming ham.

ON THE SAME DAY the Night Irish Mail , due toleave Euston at S.20 p.m., will not leave until 9.0 p.m.Passengers from Birming ham, Liverpool , and Manchesterfor Holyhead and Ireland will leave at the usual hours,and will be taken forward to Hol yhead in advance of theLondon train. The Mail Packet for Kingstown will notleave Holyhead until the passengers from London are onboard.

The 12.0 night Train from London (Euston), due at War-rington at 5.15 a.m. on Christmas Day, will be extendedfrom Warrington to Carlisle, Edinburgh, and Glasgow, ason ordinary week days, and will by special arrangement takepassengers for Kendal and Windermere.

CHRISTMAS DAY.—On Christmas Day the usualSunday service of trains will be run , with the followingadditions -.— '1 be 5.15 a.m. Newspaper Express Train fromLondon will run to Northampton , Rugby, Birming ham.Nuneaton , Tamworth, Lichfield , Rugeley, Stafford , Crewe,Liverpool , Manchester , Warrington , Wi gan , Preston , Lan-caster, Carnforth , Oxenholme, Kendal , Windermere, Tebay,Penrith , Carlisle, Edinburg h, and Glasgow, but will haveno connection to Chester and North Wales. '1 he 7.15 a.m.Down Day Irish Mail from Euston to Holyhead , and the11.30 a.m. Up Day Irish Mail from Hol yhead to Euston, willbe run on Christmas Day the same as on week days. TheDown Mail will call , it reo.uired , at Rhy l, Conway, andBangor, and the Up Mail , if required , at Bangor, Conway,Colwy n Bay, Rh yl, and Holywell.

On BANK HOLIDAY, FRIDAY , DECEMBER 26th,numerous residential Trains in the neighbourhood ofimportant Cities and Towns will not be run.

For further particulars, see Special Notices issued by theCompany .

G. F1NDLAY, General Manager.Euston Station, December, 1S90.

p REAT WESTERN RAILWAY.

CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS.

On D ECEMBER iSth , and during the week precedingCHRISTMAS DAY, CHEAP THIRD CLASS RETURNTICKETS, available on forward journey from December22nd to 25th , and for return up to December 29th inclusive ,will, as also ordinary tickets, be issued at PADDINGTON ,Victoria , Battersea , Chelsea, West Brompton , Kensington(Addison-road), Uxbrid ge-road , Hammersmith , Shepherd'sBush , and VVestbourne Park , and at the Company'sReceiving Offices, viz. :—193 and 407, Oxford-street ; 23New Oxford-street; Holborn Circus (Bartlett 's Buildings);26, Regent-street ; 269, Strand ; 29, Charing Cross ; 5,Arthur-street East, London Bridge; 82, Queen Victoria-street ; 43 and 44, Crutched Friars ; 67, Gresham-street;and 4, Cheapside, to Bath, Bristol , 'Taunton. Barnstaple,Ilfracombe, Exeter, Torquay, Plymouth , Falmouth , Pen-zance, 81c. ; also to the Yeovil and Weymouth Districts, andto most of the STATIONS WFST OF BRISTOL. Thetickets will be available by all trains-

Ordinary tickets issued in London between DecembertSth and 24th, will be available any day between andincluding those dates.

On WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24th , the 11.45 a.m.from Paddington will carry passengers to the MineheadBranch. The 1.0 and 5.0 p.m. trains fro m Paddington toPlymouth will be extended to Falmouth and Penzance.The 6.20 p.m. from Padding ton to Bristol will run toExeter calling at Weston-Super-Mare , Hig hbrid ge, Bridg-water, Taunton , Wellington and Tiverton Junction , reach-ing Exeter at 11.55 p.m., and will convey passengers forstations on the Barnstaple and Bridport Branches. ASPECIAL FAST TRAIN will leave Paddington at 10.0 p.m. forNew Milford calling at the same stations between Swindonand New Milford as the 9.15 p.m. ordinary train. Aspecial will leave Oxford at 10.4 p.m., Radley 10.15 andCulham at 10.23 p.m. in connection with this train , return-ing from Didcot after arrival of the 10.o p.m. special. ASPECIAL FAST TRAIN will leave Paddington at 11.50p.m. midnight, for Reading, Swindon , Bath , Bristol,Bridgwater, Taunton , Exeter, Dawlish, Teignmouth ,Newton Abbot (for Torquay and Kingswear) , Totnes,Kingsbridge Road, Plymouth, and Stations thence toPenzance.

On CHRISTMAS DAY the usual Sunday trains willrun, but the 5- -aO a.m. newspaper train will run as on weekdays to Oxford , Weston-Super-Mare, and Swansea. Thetrain will be five minutes earlier than usual betweenDidcot and Oxford, so as to connect at Oxford with the7.25 and 7.40 a.m. trains, thence to Banbury, Leamington,Birmingham, Worcester, Malvern , Kidderminster, Wolver-hampton, &c.

For the convenience of Passengers returning to Londonon SUNDAY, DECEMBER 28th, special trains will be runin the afternoon , from PLYMOUTH , SWANSEA andWOLVERHAMPTON , calling at the princi pal inter-mediate Stations.

First, Second and Third Class Passengers are nowconveyed by all trains.

For further particulars see special bills obtainable at theCompany's Stations and Offices.

HENRY LAMBERT, General Manager.

/^ REAT NORTHERN RAILWAY.

CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS.

DECEMBER 20th , 22nd , 23rd , and 24th Tickets will beissued in advance , and dated as required , at King 's Cross,Moorgate-street , Aldersgate-street , Victoria (L.C. &D.R.),Ludgate-hill , Farring don-street, Holloway, Finsbury Park,the various West End , City, and other offices , and at theoffices of Swan and Leach, 3, Charing Cross, and 32, Picca-dilly-circus.

DECEMBER 2nth , the S.o p.m. EXPRESS will be runfrom London to York , Newcastle, and Edinburg h. The8.30 p.m. EXPRESS from King's Cross will run to Edin-burgh, Glasgow, Perth , and the North of Scotland.

DECEMBER 24th , ADDITIONAL TRAINS will berun to meet requirements of traffic. The S.o p.m.,S.30 p.m., and 10.40 p.m. EXPRESSES from King 's Crosswill be run to York , Newcastle, Edinburgh , Glasgow, andother places as advertised in November Time Tables, and aSPECIAL EXPRESS will leave London (King 's Cross) at12.0 midni ght for Welwyn , Stevenage, Hitchin , Biggles-wade, Sandy, St. Neots, Hunting don , Peterboroug h,Spalding, Boston , Gri msby, Grantham , Line In , Notting-ham , Newark , Retfo rd , Doncaster, Wakefield , Leeds,Bradford , Halifax , Selby, York , Darlington , and New-castle.

CHRISTMAS DAY the Trains wilt run as on Sundays,except that the 5.15 a.m. EXPRESS from King's Crosswill be run to Peterboroug h , Essendine , Stamford , Bourn ,Grantham, Lincoln , Nottingham, Newark , Retford , Bawton ,Doncaster , Wakefield , Leeds, Brad ford , and Halifax ,stopping at the Intermediate Stations at which it ordinaril ycalls , and will be continued to York , Newcastle, Edinburgh ,Glasgow, Perth, Aberdeen , &c.

HENRY OAKLEY , General Manager.London , King 's Cross, December , 1S90.

We have to acknowledge receipt of the proceed-ings of the Regular Communication of the DistrictGrand Lodge of South Africa , Eastern Division , heldat Port Elizabeth , on the 4th June last. The reportsincluded are very favourable , that of the Prov. GrandTreasurer showing a balance in bank at close of theaccount amounting to ^131. The statement showingrecei pts and expenditure in respec t of the MasonicEducational Fund shows that the receipts, includingbalance from previous account , amounted to over .£676,while the sum expended for the education of childrenexceed ^181. The difference between these amountsis the balance on deposit or in bank. Our SouthAfrican brethren of this division have good reason tobe proud of such work.

Corree ponDence.[We do not hold ourselves responsible for the opinions expressed

by our correspondents , but we wish in a spirit of fair play loall to permit—within certain necessary limits—free discussion .]

ROYAL ARCH COLLARS IN CRAFT LODGES.To the Editor of the "Freemason, "

Dear Sir and Brother,For the information of "P.P.G.J.," whose

letter appeared in your issue of the 29th ult., I beg tostate (from recollection) that Rule No. g7 of the pro-posed Royal Arch Regulations was rejected in 1886,because the members of the Grand Chapter were ofopinion that it did not come within their province tospecify what clothing should be worn , or should not beworn , in Craft lodges, that being a matter for the GrandLodge to determine , not the Grand Chapter. I dis-tinctly remember one of the companions present at themeeting, stating that in his op inion the rule was super-fluous, as it was not likely anyone would wish to weara Royal Arc h collar in a lodue, and upon being informedthat it was done in some of the provinces , heexpressed surprise , and said that the Master of anylodge at which a brother appeared in a R.A. collarmight request the wearer to remove it as it formed nopart of the regalia of Craft Masonry. As the Book ofConstitutions clearly specifies the regalia appertainingto the several Degrees and offices of Craft Masonry , itseems to me that it would be irregular to wear insignianot mentioned therein. If officers of Provincial GrandChapters are to be permitted to wear their collars inCraft lodges, why should they not wear their apronsand sashes also, and why should not officers of theSupreme Grand Chapter and the officers of privatechapters be similarly distinguished ? It is my impres-sion that Rules 94 and 95 of the existing Regulationswere proposed by the Revision Committee in lieu of 97,and that Grand Chapter approved of the alteration asbeing sufficient to meet the case.—Yours fraternall y,

P.Z.

RE GRAND TREASURERSHIP , 1891.To the Editor of the Fre emason.

Dear Sir and Brother ,Will you kindl y permit me throug h the

medium of your valuable paper to exp lain to thosebrethren—London and Provinci al—who had kindl yoffered me their support for the above, why 1 was notnominated at the meeting of Grand Lodge onWednesday last.

First , let me say that , at the request of many brethren ,I agreed to be proposed , as it was felt that it was the'turn for a provincial brother to come forward , seeingthat the last thre e Grand Treasurers were from Metro -politan lodges, and if Bro. Everett were elected , hewould make the fourth in succession.

Bro. Everett was a candidate in 1889, when Bro.Edward Terry was elected , and in 1890 he stood asidefor the present Grand Treasurer , Bro. Augustus Harrisbut was again to be proposed for the coming year.

After consulting with my friends, and in order toavoid a contest , I decided not to be nominated this year ,and so allow Bro. Everett to be elected unopposed 'being well aware of his standing in the Craft and howmuch be bad done for many years past for all theMasonic Charities.

A strong op inion , however, was expressed by myfriends that I ought to be proposed in order to placemyself in evidence before the Craft even if I after-wards withdrew in favour of Bro. Everett , but I feltwere I to do this it might look like an arrangement , I ,therefore , adopted the course which I thought was thebest. &

I am only writing this letter so that the brethren mayknow why I was not nominated , especial ly as I havehad the question put to me many times since Wednes-day night last.

I have consented to be nominated next year , and Iventure to hope that some courtesy will be extended tome by Bro. Everett and his supporters , and that I maycount upon the generous and fraternal assistance of thebrethren generally.—Yours very fraternally,

J. S. CUMBERLAND ,P.M. 161 1 and 2128, P.P.G.W. North andEast Yorks, P.Z. 1611 , P.P.G.T. North andEast Yorks.

December 8th.

To the Editor of the. " Freemason. "Sir,

I trust you will allow me, with your usualkindness , to make an appeal again this Christmas onbehalf of this Charity, which has been at work amongstthe poor and homeless of London for nearly half a cen-tury. The demands upon our resources are so greatthat we cannot meet them without an increase ofpublic support. I shall be happy to send a report toany of your readers who may wish to have one , but Imay briefly say that the benefits conferred upon thepoor week ly amount to upwards of 3500, in addition tothe maintenance of over 250 men , women , and childrenin our homes and refuges. The Committee desire alsoto provide Christmas dinners , as usual , for 700 homelessmen and women , about 500 poor deserving families ,and 700 poor childre n . Contributions will be thank-fully received by our Treasurer , W. A. Bevan , Esq., 54,Lombard-street, or by your obedient servant ,

PEREGRINE PLATT, Secretary.December 4th , 1890.

WEST HAM HOSPITAL.To the Editor of the "Freemason ."

Dear Sir and Brother ,In connection with a fund the Freemasons of

West Ham (West Ham Abbey Lodge) are raising inaid of the West Ham Hosp ital—the foundation-stoneof which was laid some two years ago by his RoyalHighness the Duke of Cambrid ge, and formall y openedby his Grace the Duke of Westminster—1 have, ashonorary secretary, received cheques this morning for^50 from Lord Salisbury and £10 from the Duke ofWestminster, accompanied by letters of good wishes.The Borough of West Ham , with its 200,000 popula-tion , consisting chiefl y of the working-class element ,has been hitherto severely taxed for want of hospitalaccommodation , and althoug h the number of beds, weare happy to say is on the increase , the provision inthis respect at the present time is still very inadequate.

Every effort is being made to supplement the fundamongst our influential local bodies and residentgentlemen , and we are in hopes of raising a furthersubstantial sum . by giving a ball at the Town Hall ,Stratford , on the nth of this month. The munificentgifts alluded to above I hope may operate as a stimulusto others in assisting us in this laudable effort , howeversmall the amount may be.

I am very reluctant lo make an appeal to publicgenerosity at this period , when so many calls are beingmade upon it , but the goodness of the cause must bemy excuse.—I am , dear Sir , your obedient servant ,

W. G. NORMAN , Hon. Sec.December 3rd , 1890.

FIELD LANE REFUGES AND RAGGEDSCHOOLS—CHRISTMAS APPEAL.

surmounted by a hand-sketch of a coat-of-arms, whichI read as follows:—S.ible , a chevro n argent betweenthree castles of the same, 2 and 1. Motto : ' In theLord is al our Trust. ' Part of the last clause isdamaged by damp, but these words remain : ' Thesecharges that we have worded untoe you ye shall welland truely keep to . . . yr power, soe hel pe yrGod ,' &c. It is signed ' Edward Thompson , Ann6Domi 1687.' Unfortunatel y I am not a free andaccepted Mason , but I believe that such an early recordof the Craft is a rarity. Will some Masonic readergive information on this point V

" WALTER HAMILTON ." Elms-road , Clapham." ¦'Have heard since from Mr. Hamilton , who says he has

promised the MS. to three gentlemen in turn , and that onthe chevron is a pair of compasses, extended , sable. I hopeone or more of those who are to see it will report to the"Freemason , or to W. J. H.

925] FRATERNAL COURTESIES.I have received the usual " annual" from Bro.

Berry, as follows, and hope the ever increasing"circle " in Great Britain and Ireland will rememberto respond about 5 p.m.

W. J. H UGHAN ." Portland, November 25, 1890.

" Dear Sir Knight ," Will you j oin the Temp lar Correspondents on

Christmas, December 25th , at noon Eastern Standardtime (equivalent to 5 p.m. Greenwich), in a libationp ledging Grand Master John P. S. Gobin , the senti-ment to be—

'" To our Grand Master , with Christmas Greetings,from 84.000.American Templars.'

'' The Grand Master sends the following response :"' Responsive greeting to the great army of Temp lars,

an incomparable body of Christian Kni ghts, withhearts united in fraternal bonds, and glowing with

" ' The all-absorbing flame,Which , kindled by another, grows the same, . . ¦Wrapt in one blaze.'

" Will you also extend the invitation to your friends.—Courteousl y and fraternally yours,

"STEPHEN BERRY ," Temp lar Correspondent Maine. ¦

"R.S.V.P."

Malta .DISTRICT GRAND LODGE.

We are glad to hear from this active Masonic centre,with which many of us have such pleasant associations.The regular half-yearly Communication of the DistrictGrand Lodge was held in the Masonic Hall, Valetta ,on Tuesday, the 25th ult. Bro . Col. MarmadukeRamsay, D.G.M., occupied the throne. The DistrictGrand Lodge was received by the Union of MaltaLodge, No. 407 (E.C.) The D.G.M. entered the lodgein procession , preceded by his officers , being receivedwith the usual honours.

The District Grand Lodge having been opened, theD.G.M. expressed his pleasure at seeing the brethrenaround him in such numbers . The demise of the ProGrand Master , the late Lord Carnarvo n , was referredto ; also the circumstance that the Dist. G.M. had pre-sided as M.W.G.M. at the September meeting of GrandLodge, and was called upon to perform the sad duty ofproposing the vote of condolence in Grand Lodge onthat account. The Dist. G.M . also gave some interest-ing details of the meetings of Grand Lodge which heattended while in England.

The address of the D.G.M. bore p leasing testimonyto the harmony existing in the district , the generalgood working and the progress of the lodges, bothnumerically and financially. The Malta MasonicCharities Association was another pleasing reference.This useful channel of hel p for the widows and orp hansof Malta Masons thrives well under its new by-laws,revised by the present D.G.M., who had the pleasureof announcing that the funds had doubled since theMarch Communication. The organization is now com-plete , and two local cases are in hand , besides thecandidature of the girl Eng land for the Girls' School , forwhich she will present herself in Apri l next for the 6thand last time.

DISTRICT GRAND MARK LODGE OF THEMEDITERRANEAN.

The regular half-yearl y meeting of the DistrictGrand Mark Lodge of the Mediterranean was held inthe Masonic Hall , Valetta , on Friday evening the 28thult., Bro. Col. Marmaduke Ramsay, D.G.M.M. on thethrone. District Grand Mark Lodge was received bythe Union of Malta Mark Lod ge, No. 263, and therewas a numerous gathering of officers and brethren.

Many of our readers will be interested to hear thatLodge Leinster , No. 387 (I.Q., which has held itsmeetings in the Masonic Hall , Strada Due Porte, Isola,Malta , for upwards of 40 years, has been removed toStrada San Giuseppe , Isola, and in the same neighbour-hood.

There was a lawn meet of the West Norfolk Hunt atSandringham on Saturday, the attendance, which includedthe Prince and Princess of Wales and their daughters, thePrincesses Victoria and Maud , being very numerous.About noon a move was made for the coverts, and a "nodafternoon's sport was the result.

923] COLONEL MCLEOD MOORE.I was very p leased to read the appreciative account

of my lamented friend , Colonel W. j . McLeod Moore,by Bro. Dr. Clarke, in the Freemason of the 6th inst.As the writer states, " It will be a long time before thevoid made by his remova l can be filled up ." There isa biography of our dear brother deceased , in theFreemason for December 17th , 1870, and on reading itonce more I find he was initiated 17th August , 1827,whilst " under age,'' in No. 333, Scotland (? 328, then257, Glenkind y, since extinct), and ten years later was" exalted " in Aberdeen. Snme of the particularsgiven do not seem to be quite correct , but the year1844 is noted when our brother received the K.T. justas Dr. Clarke states. In 1S49 he was the W.M. of" St. John and St. Paul' s " Lodge, Malta , so that Col.Moore belonged to the three jurisdictions of Eng land ,Ireland , and Scotland . Brethren interested in thecareer of this zealous and veteran Knight Temp lar,whose eloquent addresses have been the admiration ofthe Temp lar world , should consult the excellent historyof Kni ghts Temp lars in Canada, now published by myfriend , J. Ross Robertson , of Toronto , the distinguishedGrand Master of Canada.' Colonel Moore had noequal as an exponent of Templar law and practice.

W . J . H U G H AN.

924J ANOTHER MASONIC MS.My friend Bro. Andrew Hope , of Exeter , has j ust

sent me the annexed excerpt from Notes and Queriesfor December 6th , 1890. I have communicated withthe writer, Mr. Hamilton , and hope to be favoured witha rep ly ere long, as well as sight of the document.Another Masonic student has been for some time onthe trace of a copy of the " Old Charges," at Newcastle ,and this doubtless is the roll in question. More anon.

W. I. HUGHAN."' December 6th , 1890.

'" FREEMASONS ' CHARGE , 1687.—A friend has sentme from Newcastle a parchment roll , 12 feet long by7i inches wide, which is endorsed as above. It con-sists of six skins neat ly sewn together , and is closelycovered , on one side only, with old fashioned writingin faded ink , and the orthograp hy of the period. It is

* George Kenning, London.

mmmMmmmm iiimm mo^^

Craft flDasonrp,atBB^ jgflflDBgK

j p METROPOLITAN MEETINGS.

* ¦ Wloira Lodge (No. 92). — The anniversaryfestival of this ancient lodge, which dates its existence fromthe year 1755, was held at the Albion Tavern , Aldersgate-street, on Friday, the 5th inst. The lodge was opened byBro. Colonel Sir Norman W. D. Pringle, Bart., W.M.,supported , by Bros. Gotthelf Greiner, S.VV., W.M. elect ;J, P. Murrough, J .W. ; T. L. Wilkinson , P.M., Treas. ;R. F. Gould , P.M., P.G.D., Sec. ; R. W. Tweedie, I.P.M.;H. Tarter , P.M. ; Adam Pringle, P.M.; Bertram Noakes,P.M.; VV. Bohm , P.M.; S. Shorter , P.M.; G. C.Andrew, P.M. ; M. F. Tweedie, S.D.; J . P. Fearfield ,J.D. ; J. M. Mitchell , Rev. R. I. Woodhouse , J . M. Davis,iVI. A. Tweedie , and A. J. P. Wise. Visitors : Bros. Col.Shadwell H. Clerke, G. Sec ; E. J. Barron , P.G.D.;Raymond H. Thrupp, P.A.G.D.C. ; Hy. Reid , l.P.M. 142 ;G. R. Ousey, P.M. 59; C. Kup ferschmidt , P.M. 23S ; J.Peeke Richards, P.M. 15S4 ; F. Hallows , P. M . 861 ; Geo.Gardner, P.G.S.B. Bucks; VV. M. Bywater, P.G.S.B.; W.H. Hooker , S.W. 1670; H. M. Beddington , 10; CharlesOberthur,23S; J. M. Hamm , 23S; H. A. Reed, P.M. 1S1;C. 1. Naylor, 14C5; Lewis Wilson , P.M. 1465; J. H.Smith, 279 ; J. C. Partridge, 1974 ; Aro n Saxon , U.S.A. ;E. J. Castle, P.M . 143 ; B. Newton , 1169; F. VV. Pisley,150 ; ¦ Dr. C. Harrer , VV. Bentham , 293 ; W. Ganz , P.G.Org. ; T. Roe, M.P., P.G. Treas. Derbyshire ; and VV.W. Lee, S.W. 23S1.

The lodge having been opened , the minutes of the lastmeeting were read and confirmed. Bro. Gotthelf Greiner ,was presented to the chair, and dul y installed with the usualformalities. The following are the officers for the year:Bros. Sir Norman Pringle, Bt., l.P.M.; Michael F. Tweedie,S.VV.; J. P. Fearfield , J.W. ; Wilkinson , P.M., Treas. ;Gould, P.M., Sec. ; E. Greiner, S.D. ; M. A. Tweedie,J.D. j I. M. Mitchell; I.G. : VV. Noakes , Stwd. : Rev. R.I. Woodhouse, Chap, j and Banks, Tyler. The addresseswere then effectively rendered by Bro. Gould, P.G.D.Expressions of regret at being unable to attend the meetingwere announced from the G. Master of Scotland; the GrandSecretary of Scotland; Bros. Philbri ck, G. Reg. ; Fenn ,Pres. B.G.P. ; Dr. Gooding, P.G.D. ; Magnus Ohren ,P.A.G.D.C ; T. B. Whytehead, G.S.B. j Major Lambert ,P.G.S.B. ; Walter Besant, Dr. W. Westcott, and others.

The lodge was then closed, and a well served banquetwas followed by the customary loyal and Masonic toasts.' "The Queen and the Craft " and "H.R.H. the Princeof Wales, M.W.G.M., " having been heartily honoured ,the W.M. proposed "The Deputy Grand Master and theGrand Officers ," and referred in sympathetic terms to theloss sustained by the death of the Earl of Carnarvon ProG.M. _ For the last time in that lodge they were wearingmourning on account of that loss, but the memory of thelate Pro G.M. would remain as long as Masonry existed,for never was there a better Mason, or a Statesman of greaterintegrity, ability, or upri ghtness of character. He waspleased to be supported that evening by no less than fivedistinguished brethren of the upper house, and it was there-fore unnecessary for him to dwell on the toast.

Bro. Col. Shadwell H. Clerke, G. Sec, said he felthighly honoured at being permitted to return thanks for sodistinguished a toast as the Grand Officers—a toast whichcomprehended so many good , true , and worthy brethrenwho had given long service to the Craft , and who had done ,he ventured to say, good work for the furtherance of theOrder , and who were only too pleased to do in the futurewhat they had done in tl e past. He was quite sure the GrandOfficers were exceedingly pleased to be present at the inter-esting ceremony of installation in so distinguished and olda lodge as the Moira Lodge, which went back fornearly 140 years, and one which had always held anexcellent position in the Craft , and to the present dayhad upheld the princi ples of Masonry to a hi gh degree.He believed that over 100 years ago that lodge adopted foritself a very charming name, calling itself in 1777 the Lodgeof Freedom and Ease. 'That name it kept for 26 years,and although at the end of that time it assumed the highername of the Moira Lodge, yet he thought that perhapssome brethren of the present day looked back with lingeringeye to the delightful symbol of freedom and ease. tinderthese circumstances he would not detain them further butagain thank them.

Bro. T. L. Wilkinson, P.M., Treas., in an eloquentspeech, asked the brethren to drink "To the Memory ofthe eminent brother whose name the lodge bears ." He saidit was impossible to propose the toast he was about to givewithout experiencing a feeling of sadness. It broughtvividl y to the mind the fact that during the year which wasnow rapidly drawing to a close they had experienced twogreat losses. By the death of Bro. George Atkins the lastlink , so far as this lodge was concerned , was snapped withthe generation in which the Earl of Moira was a power inthe country. The toast he was about to give was firstgiven in that lodge at the anniversary dinner of 1S27, a fewdays after the news of the death of the Earl of Moirareached England. Bro. Atkins was present as an EnteredApprentice on the second occasion, in 1S2S, and only passedaway during the present year. Their brother died as theywould all wish—in peace, and an honoured member of thelodge in which he had spent so many hours. The secondloss they had sustained was one which they shared with allMasons—for the Masonic services of the distinguishedbrother for whom they were in mourning were rendered tothe Craft in general. The distinguished services of theEarl of Carnarvon had been already mentioned by theW.M., and he would not therefore mention them on thatoccasion were it not that it seemed invidious to dilate uponthe Pro Grand Master who ruled during the 16 years pre-ceding 1814, whilst remaining silent about him who ruledduring the 14 years preceding 1S90. Ahhough the Earl ofMoira and the Earl of Carnarvon differed widely in manythings—in politics, in life, temper, and tastes, their devotionto Masonry showed a marked similarity. The Earl ofCarnarvon, a conservative, a scholar, statesman, and man

of letters differed from the Earl of Moira , a liberal amongstliberals , and a soldier who seemed to breathe forth everyyear the lines of Scott , "Sound , sound the clarion ," buteach sprang from an ancient historical famil y. Each hadancestors who had been read y and willing to lead whereverEng lishmen were ready and willing to follow. Each hadshown a rare independence in thought and action , whenthe interests of the country were being sacrificed in theinte rests of a party, and it could be said , as of the idealkni ght of King Arthur , that each had "The desire of fameancf love of truth , and all that makes a man. " It redoundedmuch to the honour and advantage of the Craft that itshould have numbered such devoted and hi ghly placedbrethren. As of all ancient Institutions, so with Masonry,the question must arise—" Of what good is i t ?" Andalthough they might reflect with pride that the world isinfinitel y richer by the labours of operative Masons to whomthey owed the name of Winchester and many other splendidworks which yearly attracted cultivated men from everyquarter of the globe, vet it was that system of moralit ysuch as they knew by the name of speculative Masonrywhich was calculated to touch the heart and which had fro mgeneration to generation affected the greatest lights of thecountry, and numbered many of the ruling men of England.It was because the Earl of Moira was a great Mason anda great man that they kept his birthday and bore his name,and he a-ked the brethren to join him in drinking to thememory of Francis, second Earl of Moira .

"The Health of the W M." was given by Bro. Col. SirNorman Pring le, Bart., I.P.M., who said hecould hardl y dofuil justice to the toast after the eloquent and glowing speechand tribute to the past which had been delivered. TheVV.M. possessed all those good qualities necessary to makea man noble, having great Charity, sing le-mmdedness, anda strong faith in ,Masonry, and he would remind them to usethe words of the poet, that—•

" Kind hearts are more than coronets ,And simp le faith than Norman blood. "

He congratulated the lodge on having selected Bro .Greiner as its Master, for, althoug h a young Mason ofonly six years' standing, that brother was so earnest in hisMasonry that he was a member of no less than six lodges.Amongst those lodges the Moira was hismother lod ge, and thenext was the Pilgrim, N0.23S, alodge workingin theGermanlanguage, which had in England been uni que in its charactersince its foundation in 1779. Bro. Greiner had alsojoined the Correspondence . Circle of the Quatuor CoronatiLodge, which was of new birth , but which had made a pro-gress hitherto unknown to the annals of the Craft , and hadshed a light on Masonry of which every Mason should beproud. The W.M. had also joined two lodges of in-struction, and was not an idle man , being on the senior liveryof one of the City guilds. Bro. Greiner had furthershown his appreciation of this country by choosing in theland of his adoption an English lady for a life-long com-panion. The VV.M. was surrounded that evening by manycompatriots and members of the Pil grim Lodge, who hehoped would take away such a greeting that they would oftencome and support him while in the chair. He (the l.P.M.)congratulated the W.M. on attaining the hi ghest dignitythe brethre n could bestow, and he felt certain that whenhis time came to join the phalanx of the Past Masters, hewould see that his efforts had been crowned with success,an 1 that the Past Masters would consider he had addedfresh laurels by his accesston to their number.

Bro. G. Greiner , VV.M., said he did not know how toreply, as the l.P.M. had spoken of him in terms which herealiy did not deserve . 'Those who were present last yearwould remember how eloquently the VV.M. responded tothat toast, and he would be delighted to give them a similartreat if it were in his power. He came from a place inGermany where Masonry was unknown in his day, and con-sequently he could not point to a roll of Masonic ancestorssuch as their l.P.M. was able to bring before them on thelast occasion. He modestl y hoped , however , that at somefuture time a Greiner mi ght point back to that night withpride , and refe r to the honour they had done him in drink-ing the toast in such an enthusiastic manner. He wasafraid he should never shine in speech-making, but he woulddo his very utmost to further the welfare of the Cra ft ingeneral, and of that lodge in particular.

" The Visitors " was briefl y given fro m the chair, andappropriatel y responded to by Bros. Castle, Roe, andHamm.

The Worship ful Master next proposed "The Past Mas-ters," and said that as the hour was late, he could notre fer to each individuall y, but he felt obli g'ed to say a fewwords of special commendation respecting their l.P.M.The l.P.M. could not only look back on his ancestorswith pride from a Masonic point of view , but also for theirmilitary achievements, his father having commanded the21st Regiment of Foot, or Royal North British Fusiliers ,at the battle of New Orleans, and his grandfather havingfought with thesame gallant corp-i at the battle of Culloden.He had special gratification in referring to that illustriousregiment, as their worth y Grand Secretary served in itthroughout the whole of his military career, including thebattles of the Crimea. The l.P.M. joined the 3Sth Regi-ment in 1S5S, and served in it for 31 years, in the latterportion of which he held the command. His Masoniccareer commenced in the Moira Lodge in 1SS0, where indue course he attained the rank of J.D., but being suddenlycalled away with his regiment could not reach the chair inthe regular rotation. U pon his return , howeve r, they werepleased to again receive him in the lodge, also to see himplaced in the S.W. s chair, and from the manner in whichhe had occup ied that position , and afterwards presided overthem as VV.M. ast year, there was no doubt he had wonthe esteem and respect of every member of the lodge.

Hro . Col. Sir Norman Pring le, Bart., I.P .M., in thecourse of his reply to the toast, thanked the VV.M. for hiskind words, and said that any little trouble he had takenhad been quite a labour of love. He then proceeded tog ivethe brethren some interesting informatio n respecting pre-vious Past Masters who had rendered good service to thelodge, including Bro. J . H. Sarratt, who in 1S13, at theUnion of the two Grand Lodges of Eng land , was selectedby the Duke of Sussex as one of the nine brethre n to benominated by himself as members of the Lodge of Recon-ciliation; Bro . Phillins , who transcribed the famousHarliean manuscri pt now in the British Museum , and whichwas published in 1S35 i Bro. John Bigg, who was Masterfor two years, during which time he initiated 35 can-didates, and at the end of his term of office was presentedby the lodge with a jewel of the value of £40 j Bro . IsaacWalton ,,who shared with Dr. Crucefix the honour of having

founded what had since become the R. M.B.I.; to the latterbrother being due the credit of having created the asylum ,and to the former one that of having successfull y carried outthe scheme of an Annui ty Fund. ( The two institutions wereseparate organisations until 1S50, when an amal gamationwas effected); and Bro. Potter , P.G.D., who was for alengthened period their Treasurer, and who at theanniversary meeting - 19 yea rs ago, when standing up in re-sponse to the toast of his health , was struck down byparalysis, but insisted on being propped up again by thosesitting next to him , and actually comp leted his speech.These were memories which the lodge, dating back from1755, had a right to be proud of , and the l.P.M. said thathe felt honoured in being associated with such a lodgein the ranks of the Past Masters.

Bro. Tweedie, S.W., on behalf of "The Officers ,"thanked the VV.M. for appointing them , and assured himof their intention to do their utmost to make the comingyear as successful as that of his predecessor.

In giving "The 'Treasurer and Secretary," the W.M.said Bro . Wilkinson , P.M., Treas., initiated him , which hebelieved was the last occasion he performed a ceremony inthe lodge. The "Treasurer managed the finances in anexemp lary manner , for during a long course of years thebalance had invariabl y been on the right side. He did notknow what he could say of Bro . Gould, the Secretary,because he was a Grand Officer , and the greatest authoritythey had in this country, or any other, on Masonry . Bro.Gould was the author of a history of Masonry, which he(the VV.M.) strongly recommended the brethren to study.

Bro. Wilkinson , P.M., Treas., having very briefl y returnedthanks,

Bro . R. F. Gould , P.G.D., Sec, said he should like tosay a great many more words than time would permit. . Heregarded the speech of the Grand Secretary as admirablyconceived and expressed , and as showing his singularlacility of remembering at just the ri ght time the mostpleasing traditions of his heare rs, when visiting- lodgesthroughout the country in which he held a position ofsuch honour and distinction. He felt great pridein being a Grand Officer , but when he was present at theMoira Lodge his only thought was that his position therewas that of a Past Master in it. The Treasurer andSecretary would endeavour to carry out the intentionsexpressed by the S.W., and if they did not possess theyouth attributed to the officers by the VV.M., they wouldact as if they had it , and do their best. A year previouslythey had heard another brother speak to the toast for whichhe was then repl ying, and in taking over the books andpapers from him he felt there was no one could have betterperformed the du.ies of Secretary than his predecessor inthat office . He wished to mention that circumstance becausethe l.P.M. would no doubt have referred to it when speakingof the distinguished Past Masters if time had permitted.The greatest attraction (continued Bro . Gould) that coulddraw him to any lodge to which he belonged , was the factthat there was work for him to do when he got there .Hence, in attending the meetings of the " Moira ," he notonly had the pleasure of associating with very old friends,but enjoyed the comforting reflection that he was perform-ing a certain amount of useful work on their beha lf. While,therefore, they remained satisfied with the manner in whichhis duties were performed , it would afford him the highestpossible gratification to continue in the office to which hehad that evening been re-appointed.

The Ty ler 's toast then closed the proceedings .A most excellent programme of music enhanced the

enjoyment of the brethren . Miss Marie Groebl (of D'OylyCarte's new Theatre Company), Bro. VVilhelm Ganz,P.G. Org. ; Bro . Chevalier C." Oberthiir, and Bro. Dr.C. Harrer, friends of the W.M., rendered good service inthis direction , whilst enjoyable items were also furnishedby Miss Ada Patterson , Miss Marie Schumann, MissLouise Schumann, and bros. J. Gawthrop, Stanley^Smith , J. Lawler, and Fountain Meen.

^ tr **-^Faith Lodge (No. 141).—This old lodge met at

Anderton 's Hotel, Fleet-street, on the 25th ult. Amongthose present were Bros. Walter Langdale, VV.M. ; Shep-pard, S.VV.; Welsh, J .W. j W. Stuart, P.M., Sec-Taylor, S.D. j Trott, I.G.j C. Wetzlar , l.P.M. j E.Hopwood , P .M., P.P.G.S.B.; Capt. T. C. Walls, P.M.,P.P.G.VV. j Frommholz , P.M. j Hudson , P.M. j Hakim ,P.M.j Nathan Godfrey, and others.

The minutes of tne previous meeting were read and con-firmed. The case of a distressed brother was referred tothe Benevolent Committee to adjudicate upon. Bro . Carter,P.M., Treasurer, sent an apol.igy for non-attendance .The lodge was then closed and adjourned till the last Tues-day in January next. There was no banquet.

Farringdon Without Lodge (No. 1745),This civic lodge met at the Holborn Viaduct Hotel , HolbornViaduct , on the 24th ult. Among those present were Bros.R. Webber, W.M. j Philli ps, acting S.W. ; NelsonPrower, M.A., ] .W.; H. J. Lardner , P.P.G.D.C;Surrey, P.M., Treas. ; W. H. Jackson , P.M., Sec. ; P.N. Lardner, J.D. ; Capt. T. C. Walls, P.M., P.P.G. VV.,D.C ; Matson , A.D.C ; Bachnoffner , Stwd. ; J. Young,P.M.; T. Simpson , P.M.; G. Herbert , P.M.; Schultz ,P.M.; and others.

I he minutes of the previous meeting were read and con-firmed. Bro. A. E. Salt was then impressivel y raised,Bro . F. Kent , S.D., sent an apology for non-attendance .

The lodge was then closed, and the brethren and theirvisitors adjourned to the banquet. Among the latteiwere Bros. Seton , VV.M. 1965; Armitage , P.M. S59 ;Dalman , 143 1 j Headley Cams, Org. 1S91 j and others.

The customary toasts received amp le justice.During the proceedings Bros. IT. Carus, P. N. Lardner,

G. Herbert , J . Young, S. Shapcott , and others, instru-mentally and vocall y entertained the brethren.

Borough of Greenwich Lodge (No.233 2 ) - —The extraordinary success that has attended theabove lodge since its foundation in November , 1SS9, mayfairl y lead all those who have the success of the Craft atheart to reflect upon the necessity of relief for some of thegreatly congested portions of the London district that at thepresent moment are craving- for it. 'The Boroug h of Green-wich Lodge was consecrated just 12 months ago, and has soincreased during that time that it now has no less than OSmembers on its books, a majority of whom are ini-tiates made in the lod ge. The first Master , liro. T. VV.Boord , M.P., P.G.D. England , installed his successor onWednesday, the 26th ult., and so concluded his year 's excel-lent work in the lodge with eclat.

The lodge having been opened , Bro. A. H. Bateman ,acting l.P.M., initiated Messrs . J. T. Andrews , E. Dawes,and R. Oakes, and passed Bros. Pace, Pain , and Pocock.Bro. Boord then assumed the chair , and raised Bro. Relf inrare form. Bro . H. Roberts, P.M., J.W., and VV.M. elect,was then presented to him to receive at his hands the bene-fits of installation , and in due cou rse that worth y brotherwas placed in the chair of K.S., and saluted. He appointedand invested his officers as follows : Bros. T. Carter , S.W.;J. Thomas, P.M., J.W. ; W. T. Hunt , P.M., 'Treas. j VV.Huntley, Sec. ; A. 'Oakley, S.D. j T. Newton , J .D. ; J. J .Pitt , P.M., I.G. , A. H. Bateman , P.M., D.C. ; W. Car-penter and J. Pearson , Stewards; and E. Spinks , Tyler.Bro. Boord then delivered the addresses in a most impres -sive manner, and so concluded a splendidl y worked cere-mony. He was presented with a handsome Past Master 'sjewel and a vote of thanks , the latter to be inscribedon the minutes of the lodge, for both of which he returnedthanks. The Grand Officers present were saluted, and thelodge was closed.

The brethren sat down to one of Bro. G. Burney 'shandsomely served banquets , the manner of which wasperfect.

Among the other brethren present were Bros. W. Ki pps,P.M. and P.P.G.O. Kent; H. Cross, J. O. Pearson , T.Evans, G. VV. Hi ggs, A. Witsh ire, S. W. Philli ps, F.Burney, J. F. Sexton , VV. J. Frooms, G. Burney, W.Burney, G. Burney, jun., T. Janes, D. Bean , H. McCann ,J. S. Newson , C Featherstone , R. H. Brutton , E. Eades,F. Winter , C. R. Huskinson , E. Dawes, J. Anderson , C.Warren , J. Smith , and E. Burrell , all of the lodge. Amongthe visitors were Bros. R. Gooding, M.D., P.M. i , P.P.G.D.Eng. ; VV. Bristow , P.M., P.G. Std. Br. Eng. ; E.Stidol ph, P.M. ; Col. E. Hughes, M.P ., W.M. 913; E.E.J . Gittens, VV.M. 17 6; J. NewalLW.M. 73 ; F. Frigout,W.M. 171 ; W. Tailby, P.M. 13; J. Watts, P.M. 15S ;A. Holmes , P.M. 54S ; B. R. Banks , P.M. 147 ; C VV.Syder, P.M. 79; W. C. Burney, M.D., P.M. 140 ; J. A.Wardell , P.M. 200 ; E. J. Williams , P.M. 1539 ; T.Heaps, Sec. 1973 ; G. Bolton , sen., J. W. 1155 ; G. E.Femister, P.G. Org. ; W. T. Marney, S.D. 1297 ; E. T.Edwards, Stwd. 1S93 ; A. Bargent , 1632; J . Horrock ,13S2 ; F. VV. White , A . C. Crofield , 547; W. C. Hett ,S60 ; G. Case, 1556 ; G. Pooley, S13; C Smith , 21S6 jT. Pegwell, 21S2 ; C. Jolly, P.M. Sec. 1472 ; and others.

"The Queen and the Craft ," and "H.R.H. the Princeof Wales, G.M. of the Order " having been dul y honoured ,the W.M. gave that of "The Deputy Grand Master , andthe rest of the Grand Officers , Present and Past." He saidit was a most important one, and he was proud to say thatthree of that august body were present in the persons ofBro. Boord , their esteemed I.P.M., and Bros. Gooding andBristow. He had had the pleasure of knowing them for agood many years, and hoped to have that pleasure a goodmany more. He asked the brethren to drink the toast withall the enthusiasm it deserved.

Bro. Gooding said it had fallen to his lot to say somethingin response to the toast so eloquentl y put , and so heartil yreceived by the brethren , but would at once say that it hadbetter have fallen into the hands of Bro. Boord , who wasthe senior officer of Grand Lod ge present. Now they hadall heard their W.M. say that the speeches must be cur-tailed , so as to give way to those vocal powers that theyalways heard with so much pleasure , but he must say some-thing about those distinguished English gentlemen andbrothers, whom he had that night the honour to represent.They had lately sustained a great loss, and a great loss tothe Craft , by the death of their late beloved and estimableBro. Lord Carnarvon , their Pro Grand Master , one whowas acknowledged not only to be a perfect Eng lish gentle-man and a noble peer, but a most excellen t Mason. Whatthey could do at Grand Lodge without the services of theirregretted brother he did not know, but as the appointmentrested in the hands of their Grand Master there was nodoubt that he would do his best to find a good successor.Those of the brethren who attended the meetingsat Great Queen-street knew how thoroughl y the duties of theGrand Officers were carried out , and the importanc e of theirdeliberations, more especiall y with reference to matterstouching the consolidation of their rule in the Colonies andDependencies of the British Crown. 'Their positi on to theGrand Master was identical , or, at least, much the same asthe position held by the Past Masters of a lodge to theW.M., and it was their duty to advise, assist, and carryout the result of those deliberations , and the ceremoniesattached to their respective offices. He then spoke of thepersonal work he had done as a Grand Officer at Oxfordand elsewhere, and concluded by asking the brethre n neverto drink the toast in a conventional or perfunctory manner,but to remember that , while they were honouring the toastthey were honourin g their Grand Master , and for the mannerin which they had that ni ght received it, he thanked themmost heartily.

Bro. Bristow said it simp ly remained for him to thankthem. He was present when the lod ge was consecrated ,and it seemed to him as if it was going to be popular , andlive to a good old age, and while they had such good Mastersas Bro . Boord and his energetic successor he had no fear ofits decadence.

Bro. Boord then proposed the toast of "The W.M."He said the W.M. had entrusted to him the gavel, which,by the bye, wanted mending, but the use he was about toput it to was a very important one. 'That evening they cele-brated a very important occasion , for they celebrated theinstallation of the first Master chosen by the brethre n of thelod ge generall y. He himself had been chosen under dif-ferent circumstances. He trusted and believed that undertheir new Master the lodge would go on smoothl y, and thatbeing so, he asked them to drink "his health cordiall y, andwish him every prosperity during his year of office.

Bro . Roberts, in response, said he owed a deep debt ofgratitude to Bro. Boord , not onl y for his kind remarks thatnight , but for the admirable manner in which that excel-lent brother had installed him that day . He was very gladto be the Master of such a lodge as theirs , and woulddo his best. He had been a Mason over 25 years, andhad , he trusted , done something for Masonry during thattime. He was pleased to say they had formed a looVe ofinstruction , and urged its usefulness on the you-igerMasons present. He concluded by (hanking them mostheartily for their general reception of the toast.

Bro . Boord , who was heartil y cheered when he rose torespond to an enthusiastic reception of the toast of "TheInstalling Officer ," said he was obliged to them for theirreception of the toast, and to the W.M. for the comp li-mentary words with which he had introduced it. Instead,

however , of their thanking him for having performed theceremony, and thereby merely doing his duty, he though tthat he ought to thank them for giving him an opportunityof so doing the work, by placing- him in the chair of thelodge at its consecration. He felt further grateful tothem for giving him an opportunity of resuming hisacquaintance with the ritual and lodge work afte r someyears of abstention from the practice of either. However,he found that a little practice had enabled him to carry outthe duties of the position , but felt that a little more wouldbe of great service to him. Althoug h his actual work in thelod ge would now cease, his interest in it would not. Nowwith regard to their lodge of instruction , there were twosystems of instruction in London , one the emulation ,and another, which differed in some most importantdetails , and he should be sorry to find their Preceptorwas not perfectly accu rate, as it was of the utmostimportance that the phraseology of the ritual shouldbe perfect , and he believed that the most perfect was thattaught in the various lod ges of instruction using the emula-tion ritual and working. He thanked them both for theirkind reception and for the opportunity given him of resum-ing some of his earliest moments in Freemasonry.

The other toasts were "The Initiates ," "The Visitors ,""The Past Masters," " The Officers ," and Tyler's toast.

Bros. T. Powell , E. Smith, and A. Hubbard , under thedirection of and accompanied by B. Ki pps , sang selectionsduring the evening, and the whole affair was a completesuccess.

Warrant Officers Lodge (No. 2346).—Ata meeting held at Freemasons' Hall , on the 21st ult., a longand interesting discussion took place with the object ofstarting a Benevole n t Fund in connection with the lodge,and the Secretary was instructed to draw up a rule for theapproval of the brethren. Mr. Fred. R. Binskin wasinitiated , and four gentlemen were proposed as candidates,also one member for affiliation. 'The VV.M. gave thecharge in a very able manner to all this year's initiates(seven in number.) " Hearty good wishes " were givenfrom Nos. 337, 39S, i2o3 , 1327, 1C04, and 1 S90.

The lod ge was then closed , and the brethren adjournedto dinner.

-?- —PROVINCIAL MEETINGS.

ALDERLEY EDGE.Alan Lodge (No. 2368).—The regular meeting

of this lodge was held on Wednesday, the 3rd inst., at theQueen 's Hotel. In the absence, throug h Parliamentaryduties , of Bro. the Hon. Alan de Tatton Egerton , M.P.,the W.M., Bro. A. Lawley, P. A.G.S., Treas., took his placein the chair. 'There were also present Bros. H. GordonSmall, S.VV. ; T. VV. Markland , J .W. ; F. Baxter , jun.,Sec ; A. Keymer , S.D. ; J. B. Gemmell , J.D. j VV.Ramsden. P.M., P.P.G.D., D.C ; A. VV. Henry, Org. jJ. Moffatt , I.G. ; J. Walsh, Stwd. ; and others.

After the confirmation of the minutes of the previousmeeting, the ballot was taken for the Rev. James HenryWhitehead , and this proving favourable , he was initiatedby Bro. Lawley, P.A.G.S., acting VV.M. Bros. JamesGow and E. A. Crompton were then passed to the Degreeof F.C. in a most creditable manner by Bro . E. T. Everett ,P.M., P.P.G.D., and the charge given by Bro. Small,S.W. Bros. VV. R. Dambull-Davies and R. L. Bournewere then raised to the Sublime Degree of Mister Masons,the former by Bro . VV. Ramsden , P.M., P.P.G.D., and thelatter by Bro . A. Lawley, P.A.G.S. Two very interestingpresentations were made to the lodge, the first being a setof three books, beautifully made, for the circulars of thethree princi pal officers , by Bro . VV. Ramsden , and the seconda handsome American organ (by the Dominion Company,walnut and 10 stops) by Bro. Jones, P.M., one of thefounders of this lodge.. Bro. Jones, in a few appropriateremarks , asked the lod ge to accept his gift from the greatinterest he had in Freemasonry at large, and of this lodgein particular. Bro . Henry then played a voluntary to testthe merits of the beautiful instrument , which was declaredperfect. The lodge was then closed.

BEAMINSTER.Beaminster Manor Lodge (No. 1367).—

The nSth regular meeting of this lodge was held at theWhite Hart Hotel , on Tuesday, the 2nd inst., when therewere present Bros. J. S. Webb, P.S.G.W., W.M. ; C.Toleman , l.P.M.; H. Maunder , S.W. ; C. G. Purkis ,P.J .G.D., Org., acting J AV.j A. Hann , Sec ; J. Andrews,P.J.G.W., Treas. ; O. M. Beament, S.D. ; VV. Oxley,I.G. j J . Keech , Tyler; C. Hann , P.M. ; R. Toleman ,P.P.G. 'Purst. ; VV. R. Pile, and F. P. Kitson.

After the lodge had been opened , the ballot was taken forthe Worshi pful Master for the ensuing year , and theunanimous choice of the brethre n fell upon Bro . HarryMaunder , S.VV., who acknowled ged the compliment paidhim in appropriate terms. Bro . T. Andrews, P.M., wasre-elected Treasure r, and Bro. J. Keech was re-elected as'Ty ler. The following brethren were appointed to audit theaccounts of the past year—Bros. C. Hann , P.M., II.Maunder , VV.M. elect, and A. Hann. The opinion of thebrethren having been asked as to the desirability ofadmitting ladies to the banquets held after Provincial GrandLodges, it was found that it was unanimous in disapprovingof such a step. 'The name of a brother having been pro-posed as a joining member , the by-laws of the lodge and theinventory of the furniture of the lod ge were read , afterwhich the lodge was dul y closed, and the brethren adjournedfor the customary refreshment.

BOLTON.Anchor and Hope Lodge (No. 37). —A

meeting was held on Monday, the ist inst., at the Free-masons ' Hall , when there were present Bros. R. Nighten-gale, W.M. ; W. Golding, S.W.; VV. Forrest, J.W. ;W. R. Clayton , P.P.G. Chap., Chap. ; John Booth , P.M.,Treas. ; R. H. Hinnell , Sec ; Thos. Murphy, S.D. ; JohnThompson , J .D.; V. VV. Briscoe, Org. ; T. Barnes , I.G. ;I1 . Brockbank and 1'. \V. Broadbent , Stwds. ; T. Hi gson ,P.P.G.T., as Ty ler ; S. Rawsthorn, Asst. 'Tyler; J. Nay lor,l.P.M. ; John Hardcastle , P.M. ; E. G. 'Harwood ,P.M ., P.P.J.G.W. ; T. B. Longe, P.M.; H. Mason ,Gidlow Fell, F. VV. Isherwood , G. E. Greenhal gh , Thos.Cooper, t,ilbert J . French , and Harold O. Bailey . Visitors :Bros. W. Nicholl , P.M. 317, P-P-G. Treas.; G.A.Crighton ,ion ; VV. Hasselgrea, Prov. No. 2, Gotenburgh ; J. W.

Poyntz ; W. Long, Sec. 146 ; Hugh White, H. Mitchell,and J. F. Elliston , all of 221 j and Harry Thompson,Constantinople.

The lodge was opened, and the minutes of the lastmeeting were read and confirmed. A ballot was takenfor Mr. Gilbert J. French , which proved unanimous,when he was initiated bv the Worshipful Master, whoalso gave the charge and address. Bro. John Booth ,Treas., then took the chair, and passed Bro. Harold O.Bailey to the Second Degree. The chair was afterwardstaken by the Rev. W. R. Clay ton, P.P.G. Chap., whoraised Bro . Gidlow Fell to the Sublime Degree of a M.M.The whole of the ceremonies were performed in a verycreditable manner , and well befitting such an ancientlodge.Bro . rorrest , J.W., was elected the W.M. for the ensuingyear, Bro. Booth was re-elected Treasurer, and Bro. Raws-thorn , Tyler. A Past Maste r's jewel was ordered to bebought at the lodge expense for the W.M., and to be pre-sented at the next meeting. " Hearty good wishes " havingbeen expressed by the visiting brethren the lodge was closed,a very enjoyable evening being spent.

DERBY.

Arboretum Lodge (No. 731).—The usualmonthl y meeting was held at the Masonic Hall , Gower-street , on Wednesday, the 12th ult., when there werepresent Bros. John Walker, W.M. j G. Sutherland , S.W.;Dr. W. N. Wri ght, J.W. ; Rev. Thos. Orrell, Chap. ;VV. Whittaker , P.M., Treas. ; G. N. Ward , Sec. ; JohnJones, S.D. ; A. Smith , J .D. ; W. W. Neywood , D. of C;R. Legge, Org. ; G. C. Copestick , I.G. ; L. Linkler andA. Butterworth , Stwds. ; T. Day, Tyler, T. Cox , P.M.,P.P.S.G.W. ; J. Bland , P.M., P.P.J.G.D. ; C. Webster,P.M., P.P.S.G.D. ; E. Home, P.M., P.P.G.R. ; A,Woodiwiss , P.M., P.P.S.G.W. ; F. Ball, J. Melrose, W.Forman D. Woollak, H. Home, T. Jordan, W. Lynch,W. Walkerdine, D. Ottewell, B. Toft , W. Sayer, andW. N. Toft. Visitors : Bros. A. J. Flint , W.M. 253 ;G. S. Smith , VV.M. S02 ; K. VV. Pike, W.M. 10S5 ; J.O. Manton , P.M. 10S5 ; and Dr. Rowan, S02.

The minutes of the previous meeting- having been readand confirmed , Bro. Arthur Roberts was raised to the SublimeDegree of M.M. by the VV.M., who presented the workingtools and gave the charge. A notice of motion was thengiven by Bro. J. Bland , P.M., "That two guineasbe voted towards the Masonic Stalls Fund for Peter-boroug h Cathedral." Four gentlemen were proposed ascandidates for initiation. Attention was also feelinglycalled to the continued illness of Bro. G. T. Wright, theoldest Past Master of the lodge, and Bros. S. Taylor andJ. Copestick , Past Masters, to whom messages of condo-lence were sent.

The lodge was then closed, and the brethren adjourned tothe Lower Hall for refreshment.

After supper the usual loyal and Masonic toasts weregiven by the W.M.

The toast of " The Provincial Grand Lodge " was en-trusted to the able hands of Bro. Sutherland, S.W., andthat of "The W.M." to Bro. Bland, P.M., who, in thecourse of his speech, read some interesting extracts fromthe lodge minute book with respect to the November meet-ings, which were closely listened to by the brethren.

Bro. Whittaker , P.M., Treas., with much warmth, pro-posed " The Visitors."

As some of the principal ones had left, the following re-sponded : Bros. A. J. Flint, W.M. 253; J . 0. Manton,P.M. 10S5 ; and Dr. Rowan , S02.

Of the remaining toasts Bro. T. Orrell , Chap., proposed"The Past Masters," and Bros. E. Home and J. Blandsuitably responded.

The W.M. proposed "'The Officers ," which having beenresponded to by the S.W., J.W., J.D., and Steward, theTyler's toast closed a happy meeting.

HERTFORD.Hertford Lodge (No. 403).—The installation

meeting of this lodge was held at the Town Hall, on Thurs-day, the 27th ult. Amongst those present were Bros, theRev. VV. Mills , W.M.; A. Baker , S.W. ; G. Price,J.W. ; Rev. C W. Harvey, P.M., Chap, j J. R. Cocks,P.M., Treas. ; T. S. Carter, P.M., Sec. ; J. L. Campling,SD. ; O. Wiggmton, J.D. ; C. E. Keyser, P.M. ;W. P. Willson , P.M. ; J. D. Medcalf , P.M.; J. Chalmers-Hunt , P.M. ; E. A. Simson, P.M.; J. Boatwright, P.M. jRev. W. d'A Crafton , P.M.j and W. J. Morris, P.M.Visitors : Bros . G. E. Lake, Deputy P.G.M. j J. Purrett,P.P.G.S.B. j VV. Wurr , P.P.G. Org. j Dr. Trevor Dagg jRev . P. Deedes, P.P.G. Chap, j and others.

Bro. Cocks, P.M., initiated Mr. James Farley in a veryable manner. Bro. Chalmers-Hunt , P.M., installed Bro.Alfred Baker , S.VV., P.P.G.S.B., as W.M. of the lodge,the ceremony being performed in a most impressive manner.The VV.M. appointed and invested as his officers Bros.J. L. Campling, S.W.j G. R. Durrant , J.W. j Rev.C W. Harvey, Chap. ; J. R. Cocks, P.M., Treas. j T. S.Carter, P.M., Sec j A. Wigginton , S.D. j Col. Daniell,j.D.; M. Heywood, Org. ; J. A. Waddington, I.G.;A. G. Thorowgood , D.C. ; J. T. W. Wells and J. E.Burnard , Stwds.

The brethren afterwards partook of a banquet in theShire Hall, which was well served by Bro. Campling.

LIVERPOOL.Kirkdale Lodge (No. 1756) .— It is now 12

years since this lodge was launched on what has proved tobe a remarkabl y successful career, in which each year hasadded prosperity to the preceding one, until it has attainedthe proud position of being placed among the leading andmost influential lodges in the province. Since its consecra-tion this lod ge has taken a prominent part in supporting theMasonic Charities, especially the three local Institutions—the Hamer , the Alpass, and the West Lancashire. Fromthe balance-sheet of the past year, it appears that a con-siderable sum has been thus contributed, while beyond this£32 has been given to relieve immediate cases of distress,and a further sum handed over to the lodge benevolentfund.

Ihe installation ceremony on Wednesday, the 26th ult.,was attended by over 130 brethren , including some of themost influential in the district. Bro . J. Molyneux , W.M.,opened the lodge, supported by the following officers :—Bros. E. Johnston , P.P.G.D.; J. A. Kellie, P.M. ; R.T. Britten , P.M. and W.M. S23 ; H. Marshall, P.M. ;H. Ferguson, P.M.; J. Grierson , P.M.; R. E. Stitton,P.M. ; C. Johnson, S.W. ; W. Bushell , J.W. ; J. Milne,

Sec ; J. Macaulay, S.D. ; Dr. Ricketts , J.D. ; Rev.Dr. Hyde, Chap.; C Bargery, P.P.S.G.D., D.C. ; T.Hood E. r. Gaskell , and C F. Rei d, Stewards ; and E.Watson , Tyler. 'The visitors included Bros. Councillor J.Moulding, P.P.G. Reg. ; Dr. D. D. Costine, P.P.G. Reg.;W. C. Erwin , P.P.A.G. Sec. ; J. Whalley. P.P.G.D.C. ;J. R. Bottomley, P.P.A.G.D. of C. ; George Broad-bridge, P.P.G.D. of C; J. Williams, P.P.G.D. ;J. Pilling, P.P.G. Std. Br.; B. Armitage, P.P.A.G.S. ;C. Birch , P.M. 203 ; J. Booth , P.M. 12S9 ; M. Davies ,P.M. 249 ; W. Mackney, P.M. 1620 ; J. Boyle, P.M.S23 . W. Jones, P.M. 220 ; VV. Maddox , P.M. S23 ; J .W. Hounsell, P.M. 203 ; J. Unsworth , P.M. 10S6 ; L.Peake, P.M. 1035 ; J. Hogarth , VV.M. 1473 ; R. Foote,W.M. 2335 ; J. VV. Baker, W.M. 203 ; and W. Raws-thorne, W.M. 11S2. After preliminary business, includingthe initiation of a candidate, had been transacted , theW.M. elect, Bro . C Johnson , was presented for installationby Bros. C. Bargery, P.P.S.G.D., and E. Johnston ,P.P.G.D., and the ceremony was most efficiently performedby Bro. Molyneux , the retiring W.M. Bro. Johnston theninvested his office rs for the ensuing year as follows : Bros.J. Molyneux, l.P.M. ; William Bushell , S.W. ; J. Milne ,J.W. ; Rev. Dr. Hyde, Chap. ; J. Croxton , Treasurer(re-elected seventh time) ; J. Macaulay, Secretary ; Dr .Ricketts, S.D.; T. Hood, J.D. ; C. Bargery, P.P.S.G.D.,as D.C; C. F. Reid, I.G. ; E. C. Gaskell, J. Hughes,T.Hillman , and J. O. Ellams, Stewards ; and E. Watson,Tyler.

The investiture being over, the brethren subsequentl ydined together, after which the usual loyal toasts were givenby the VV.M., and heartily responded to.

Bro. Johnson , in proposing "The Heal th of Bro . Mol y-neux, I.P.M.," presented him with a handsome gilt draw -ing-room clock, subscribed for by the members of the lodgeas a slight token of their esteem for him , in addition to theusual Past Master 's jewel, manufactured by Bro. GeorgeKenning.

Bro . Molyneux approp riately responded.During the evening the following brethren , conducted by

Bro. George Eyton , gave musical selections : Bros. Pug-mire, Nicholls , Williams, and Fargher.

RICHMOND.Richmond Lodge (No. 2032).—A meeting of

this lodge was held on Tuesday, the 2nd inst., at theMasonic Hall , Greyhound Hotel, when there were presentBros. J . M. Margason , W.M.; A. Crewe, S.W.; A.Aldin , J.W. ; Reynolds, Treas. ; G. C. Rowland , Sec. ;Aldridge, S.D. ; Trinder , l.D. ; Abell , I.G. j Nash ,Stwd. j Mitchell , Tyler j Sapsworth , l.P.M. j B. E.Blasby, P.M.j E. Dare, P.M.j Pentelow , Robinson ,Breadmore, Syrett, Pouling, Laker , Downs, Skewes, Cox,Nash, Grey, Merritt , Hopkins, Goddard , Bray, Skene,Ford, Keyes, Hester, Axten , Mouflet , Amy, Ambrose, Payze,Williamson , Smith , and Hampton. Visitors : Bros.Rydon, S20 J Brodrick , 2309 ; Dawson, 679 ; Butler, 55;Long, 206 ; and Wickms, 1744, 471.

The minutes of the previous meeting were read and con-firmed , and Bros. Merritt and Axten passed to the Degree ofFellow Craft. The ballot was taken for Mr. Charles WilliamCapel Smith, and proving unanimous , he was initiated intoFreemasonry. The by-laws of the lodge were read. Fiveguineas were voted to the W.M. as Steward to one ofthe Charities.

SALFORD.

Newall Lodge (No. 1134) .—The regular meet-ing of this lodge was held at Adel phi House on Tuesday,the 2nd inst. This being the first night afte r the installa-tion of Bro. A. H. Duffin , VV.M., a large number of friendsgathered together evidentl y to see how the new officers didtheir respective work, for there were over 40 brethren pre-sent, amongst whom were the following : Bros. A. H.Duffin , W.M.; T. W. McClel land , l.P.M.; George S.Smith , P.M., S.W. ; E. Webb, J.W. ; John Holroyd ,Treas. ; John Waring, Sec.; Ben Eckersley, S.D. ; C.Driver, J.D. ; H. Waterhouse, I.G. ; J. B. Knot, Tyler;J. B. Aske, P.P.G. Treasurer ; H. Maimvaring, P.M. ;j. W. Nicholl, P.M.; John Ogden, R. W. Martin , A. K.Boothroyd, H. F. Atkinson , W. J. Wright, Jas. Green ,and W. E. Hands. Visitors : Bros. H. Whitcombe , H.Thornton, E. VV. Ogden , G. Gaskell, E. Winter Hotton ,Isaac Thompson , J. M. Graham, P.M. ; E. L. Littler ,P.M., P.P.G.P. ; VV. Jones, 654; and A. T. McGregor,P.M. 654.

The lodge was opened by the W.M., every newly-ap-pointed officer being in his place punctuall y at the time.The minutes of the previous meeting were read and con-firmed. 1 he ballot was taken for a candidate , which havingproved favourable , he was initiated by Bro. Duffin , W.M.The working tools were presented by Bro. E. Webb, J.W.,the charge being given by Bro . G. S. smith, P.M., b.vv .'The Third Degree ceremony was performed by the VV.M.A notice of motion by Bro . G. S. Smith , S.VV., that thesum of 10 guineas be given to the East Lancashire System-atic Benevolent Inst itution , who spoke in hi gh terms of thisinstitution , was warmly seconded by Bro. T. McClelland ,l.P.M., and supported by Bros. John Barker , P.P.G.T. ;John Holroyd, P P.G.S. of VV. ; and the VV.M., andcarried unanimousl y. The balance-sheet for the previousyear was adopted, which showed a considerable balance inhand.

After other important business, the lodge was closed, andthe brethren adjourned to the festive board, were the usualloyal and Masonic toasts were given and responded to.

All the visitors expressed themselves in high terms re-specting the work they had witnessed, and congratulatedthe VV.M. and officers on the great efficiency they hadattained.

SALTASH.Zetland Lodge (No. 1071).—The annual in-

stallation meeting of the members of this lodge was heldon Tuesday, the 2nd inst., in the lodge room , Alexandra-square. 'The VV.M. elect , Bro . Thomas Shaddock , beingwell known and hig hl y respected, there was a large attend-ance of brethren. The ceremony of installation was ablyperformed by Bros. T. Nancarrow , the retiring VV.M., andR. C Revell, P.M., Bro . VV. R. Rawling, P.M., deliveringthe charges to the VV.M., Wardens, and brethren in anadmirable manner. The Board of Instal led Masters wascomposed of Bros. E. Herring, P.M., P.P.S.G.D. ; J.Pearce, P.M., P.P.G. Purst. ; T. D. Deeble, P.M., P.P.G.Stwd. j E.|R. Doney, P.M.j E. C. Vosper , P.M. j JohnDeeble, P.M.j R. Pearce, P.M.j John Niness, P.M. 699,P.P.G.R. j J. Pearce, P.M. 1136 j H. Bowden, P.M. j and

the following Devonshire brethren : Bros. Major M. Tracey,R.A., P.M. 1247, P.P.S.G.W. ; Rev. Dr. T. W. Lemon ,P.M. 1S9 , P.P. j.G.W.; J . R. Lord , P.M. 1247, P.P. G.T.;F. Aitken Davies , P.M. 1099, P.P.G.S. of VV. ; R. Pike,P.M. 230, P.P.G.O. ; B. S. Johns , P.M. 159, P.G.S.B. ;James Gidley, P.M. 2025, P.G. Stwd. ; F. R. Thomas,'P.M. 1S9 ; John Bray, P.M. 1212; VV. H. Williams ,P.M. 1S47 ; VV. L. Lavers, P.M. 1255 ; J . T. Rook ,W.M. 1S47 ; John G. E. Elliott , P.M. 1212; John Wallis,P.M. 1212; and VV. H. Crimp, P.M. 1255. The Boardof Installed Masters being declared closed , the VV.M. in-vested the following breth ren as his officers for the ensuingyear : Bros. T. Nancarrow , l.P.M. j John Lander, S.VV. jT. D. Netting, J .W. : E. R. Doney, 'P.M., Chap. ; Jas.Pearce, P.M., P.P.G. Purst./Treas. ; T. D. Deeble, P.M.,P.P.G. Stwd., Sec ; R. T. Meadows, S.D. ; F. A.Rawling, J.D. j J. Brooking, D.C. j E. Prout , I.G. ; J.Braund and J. T. Brooking, Stwds. ; and J. Deeble, P.M.,Tyler.

The other brethren present , in addition to those named ,included Bros. Geo. Payne, W.M. elect, 223 ; C. F.Matthison , J.W. 2025 ; S. G. Hallett , C. Smale, and J.Cocks, all of 1212; G. T. Keys, 202 ; A. J. Williams,230; J. Berry , 1212 ; J. Angwin , 1212; H. G. Runnalls ,159 ; H- McCullough, 230 ; Thos. Vickery, C. Tay lor,Wm. Hearn , J. B. Pearce, VV. H. Hun ' , J. Mitchell , F. C.Keasr , W. \V. Harvey, and J. Moon , all of 1071.

The annual banquet took place on Wednesday, the 3rdinst., at the Commercial Hotel.

TEDDINGTON.Sir Charles Bright Lodge (No. 1793).—

This prosperous lodge met at the Clarence Hotel , on the26th ult., when there were present among others Bros.A. J. R. Simmonds , VV.M. ; Barns , S.VV. ; Play ford,acting J.W.; John Piller, P.M., Treas. ; R. W. Forge,P.M., P.P.G.D.C, Sec.; VV. Mkldleweek , S.D. ; Ruffell ,Org. ; B. Miiller , D.C. ; Capt. Walls , P.M., P.P.G.W.,Stwd.; W. J. Porter , l.P.M.; E. W. Warner , P.M.,P.P.A.G.D.C. j J . Finch , P.M., P.P.G.S. of VV.; F.Chandler , P.M. 1656, P.P.G.P. ; J. Barns, T. Mkldleweek,J. Hall , K . Hall , and others. Bro. Beard, P.P.A.G.D.C,was a visitor.

The minutes of the previous meeting- having been readand confirmed , Bro . Edwin Grice was impressivel y passedto the Second Degree. Bros. J. R. Barns was elected VV.M. ;J. Piller , Treas. ; and J. Gilbert , Tyler. The by-laws, asrevised by the permanent Committee, were adopted withthe exception of a few trifling amendments. A Past Maste r 'sjewel was unanimousl y voted to the VV.M. Bro. Forge,P.M., Sec, proposed " That a.Benevolent Fund be formedfor the relief of distressed brethre n in the Sir CharlesBri ght Lodge, and that 5 per cent of the lodge incomeshould be set apart for the support of the fund." This wasseconded and carried unanimousl y. Bro . Capt. Walls gavea notice of motion " That the sum of five pounds be votedfrom the lodge money to form a nucleus to such fund. "

The lod ge was then closed, and the brethre n adjournedto refreshment.

A few toasts were given , and an excellent programmeof music carried out by Bro . J. E. Ruffell , assisted by Bros.J . and E. Hall , T. Middleweek , and others .

' THORNE.

St. Nicholas Lodge (No. 2259). — Themonthly assembly of this lodge was held on the 3rdinst., at Peace Hall , when among those present were Bros.J. H. Bletcher, VV.M.; A. L. Peace, l.P.M.; VV. G.Winter , P.M. ; S. H. C. Ashlin , S.W. ; J. Constable ,J .W. ; Rev. J .J . Littlewood , Chap.; W. P. Robotham ,Sec ; A. Goodhend , Org. ; T. Livingstone, Almoner ; G.Kenyon , S.D. ; VV. Martin , J .D. ; VV. Pickering, I.G. ;T. Barber and R. N. Brunyee, Stwds.; VV. Chamberlain ,P.M. 14S2 ; VV. Robinson , 14S2 ; T. Turner , 14S2 ; H.J. Pawson , F. Webb, T. Foster, 242 ; W. Ainlay, 242 ; H.Simpson , 1221 ; and others .

The lodge was opened , after which the VV.M. initiatedMr. F. P. Turner, being ably assisted by Bros. Peace andAshlin.

The brethre n afterwards adjourned to their club roomfor refreshments , when the usual Masonic toasns were given ,interspersed with songs by the VV.M., and Br.is. Ashlin ,Peace, Constable, Pawson, Webb, Simpson, Littlewood ,and others.

YORK.Albert Victor Lo dge (No. 2328).—The in-

stallation meeting- of this lodge was held in Freemasons'Hall , St. Saviourgate, on Tuesday, the 25th ult. The lodgewas opened , and an accepted candidate—the Rev. E.Buhner—was initiated. There were present Bros, theDean of York , P.G.C , W.M. ; T. B. Whytehead ,G.S.B., S.VV. ; H. L. Swift , J.W. ; Rev. H. LowtherClarke, as Chap.; W. Lawton , P.M., Treas. ; C. E.Wright, Sec ; J. E. Jones, S.D. j F. Shaun, I.G.j J .R. Parker, Tyler j J . VV. Woodall , P.G.T. j J. Melrose,Capt. Grant , A. H. Russell ; and the following visitors : —Bros. T. W. Tew, P.G.M. West Yorks j VV. H. Cowper,P.M., Provincial Charity Representative; C. M. Forbes,W.M. 336 J T. S. Brogden , W.M. elect 236; G. Lamb,W.M. 1C11; J. E. Wilkinson , W.M. 1991 j J. Ramsay,236 j J. Todd, P.M., Vice-Chairman Charities Association jI-i. E. Cousans, P.M. j F. R. Hansell , VV.M. 1416 J Rev.H. Puxley, P. Pearson, and VV. S. Child (who kindl y pre-sided at the organ).

The W.M. elect , Bro. T. B. Wh ytehead , was presentedto the W.M. for installation , and having gone throug h theceremonies, a Board of Installed Masters was formed , andBro . Wh ytehead was placed in the chair with the usualceremonies by the Dean of York , who then closed theBoard. The ceremonies were then taken up by Bro . J. W.Woodal l and comp leted. The VV.M. appointed his officersas follows : Bros. H. L. Swift , S.W. j Donald Grant,J .W. ; W. Lawton , P.M., I reas. ; C. E. L. Wright,Sec ; Rev. R. Blakeney, Chap. ; J . E. Jones, S.D. ;F. Shaun , J .D. ; A. H. Russell, I.G. ; C G. Padel , P.M.,Org. ; and J. R. Parker, Ty ler. Several letters of con-gratulation were read from absent members and honorarymembers of the lodge, and the name of a candidate foiinitiation having been proposed , the lodge was closed.

'The brethren subsequentl y dined together in the supperroom with their visitors. Owing to the limited space avail-able it had been determined to limit the attendance ofinvited guests, so that the comfort of the party should notbe destroyed as would otherwise have been the case by over-crowding. The W.M. presided, and some excellent speeches

were made by Bro. the Dean of York , the P.G.M. ofWest Yorkshire, Bro. VV. H. Cowper , P.M., and otherbrethren.

During the proceedings the W.M. announced that hepurposed being a Steward for the Boys' Festival next year,and would be supported by his Wardens, also as Stewards.

IRopl HrcD.YORK.

Eboracum Cha pter (No. i6n).—The regularmeeting of this chapter was held on the 2nd inst., in Free-masons ' Hall , St. Saviourgate , when there were presentComps. T. B. Whytehead , P.Z., as Z.; vV. Brown , P.Z.,as H.; S. J. Dalton , J. j J. Kay, S.E. j F. VV. Halliweli ,as S.N. j G. Chapman , P.S.j and others .

Ballots were taken for two candidates, and both wereelected. The scroll was then taken for principals andofficers , resulting- thus : Comps. J. T. Seller, P.Z., Z. j S.J. Dalton , TL; G. Chapman , ].; J. Kay, S.E.; G. Lamb,S.N. j T. B. Whytehead, P.Z., Treas. j VV. Cheeseman,S N. j VV. Storey and J. H. Shonksmith , Asst. S.; J. T.Watson , Org. ; and P. Pearson, Janitor. On the motionof Comp. Brown , ten guineas were voted from the funds tothe restoration fund of an hall. 'The names of two candi-dates were proposed. Two auditors were appointed, andthe chapter was closed.

The companions afterwards supped together , and enter-tained the visitors from other chapters who were present.

flDarfc flDaaonr p.Grand Stewards Lodge. —The installation

meeting of this lodge was held at Mark Masons' Hall ,Great Queen-street , on Monday, the ist inst. Bro. W. C.Gilles, Grand Treas., VV.M., was supported by Bros. C. F.Hogard, P.G.S.B., Sec, VV.M. elect; F. Driver , S.W. ;J. Tomkins , M.O. j VV. E. Stewart, P.M. j W. E.Williams , R. of M.; H. Stone, l .D. : J. Boulton , I.G. ;G. Powell , P.M. ; C. F. Matier, P.G.W., G. Sec ; T.E. Biddlecombe, H. H. Shirley, J . S. Cumberland , and H.Von Joel . Visitors : Bros. E. Stone, 54j H. L. Warner ;and W. W. Lee, J .D. 400.

The lodge was opened , and the minutes confirmed. Thereport of the Audit Committee was submitted and adopted.The following Grand Stewards were unanimousl y electedjoining members : Bros. H. H. Shirley, VV.M. 1; L. Steele,vV .M. 350J J. H. "Thompson , 194 ; G. Gregory, P. .VI.355;G. F. Edwards , VV.M. S;

^ and Capt. G. P. Airey, S.O.

247. Bro. C. F. Matier , G. Sec, then assumed the chair,and impressivel y installed Bro . C. F. Hogard, P.G.S.B., asVV.M. The following officers were appointed and invested :Bros. F. Driver , S.W. j J. Tomkins , J .W. j VV. C Gilles,P.M., Treas. j J. E. Anderson, P.M., Sec. ; D. P. Cama,M.O. j W. B. Williamson , S.O. ; VV. E. Williams , J.O. ;J. S. Cumberland , R. of M.; H . Stone, S.D. ; J. Ramsey,J .D. ) Boulton , D.C; H. Von Joel , I.G.j F. LevickandG. Allen, Stewards ; T. E. Biddlecombe, Org-.; and Mills,Tyler. 'The addresses having been delivered by the Instal-ling Master, the VV.M. presented Bro. Gilles, I.P.M., witha Past Master 's jewel as a slight recognition of his valuableservices to the lodge. Bro . Gilles, LP.M., appropriatelyacknowledged the gift , which would remind him of a pleasantconnection with the lodge. Five guineas was voted to theOrgan Fund in memory of Canon Portal , and other busi-ness having been transacted , the lodge was closed.

The brethren adjourned to the Holborn Restaurant, wherea recherche repast was served , at the conclusion of whichthe customary toasts were honoured.

Bro. C. F. Matier , P.G.W., rep lying for "The GrandOfficers ," said it was an honour to respond for this toast ina lodge, the membershi p of which was restricted to thosebrethren who had filled , or were filling, the distinguishedoffice of Grand Steward. It was a great pleasure to him toh ave installed Bro . Hogard as VV.M. that evening, for thatbrother was the Grand Recorder of another Order withwhich he was connected , and a most valued colleague of hisown. He was present at the consecration of this lodge, andhad been present on every occasion since in sp irit , if notactuall y. He thanked the lodge for all it had done for theMark Benevolent Fund , and especially his friend andcolleague the I.P.M., Bro . Gilles , whom he initiated , passedand raised , advanced , and installed into the first chair heever held in St. Andrew 's Lodge at Manchester.

Bro. Gilles, I.P .M., proposed "The VV.M.," and saidthey had been indeed fortunate in installin g Bro . Hogard astheir VV.M., for he was a brother who had done good suitand service in this Degree for many years. During the timeBro. Hogard had been associated with them they knewwhat work he had done, for he had everything to do inorganising the lod ge and seeing- it run smoothly. They hadgreat pleasure in honouring their present VV.M., of whomit would be needless to say more to ensure a hearty receptionfor the toast.

Bro . C. F. Hogard , W.M., said he was much obliged forthe manner in which the toast had been proposed andreceived. It was quite true he had been the Secretary sincethe formation of the lodge, and had watched it from a verysmall beginning to what he might call fair proportions.They did not wish to make a large lodge, but one whereevery member was a friend and also a welcome guest .That was the ideal of what a lodge should be, and he thoughttheir lodge was of that standard. Their selection waslimited to those who had been appointed Grand Stewards,and they were always ready to welcome those who wished torall y round them. It wasquite true, as the Grand Secretaryhad said , that they had supported the Mark BenevolentFund , for hardl y a year passed without a Steward beingsent up from the lod ge, and such assistance voted as theircircumstances warranted. I hat Benevolent Fund was uni queon account of the expenses being small. He hoped theyshould continue to support that Charity, and he believedthe Grand Secretary had his (the VV.M. 's) name already asa Steward for the next Festival , and he should appeal tothe members to assist him. He thanked them heartily,and presumed he had discharged his duties as Secretary totheir satisfaction , or he would not have been placed in thehonourable position of VV.M.

Bros. H. H. Shirley and Steele respond ed for " TheJoining Members," after which the VV.M. proposed " ThePast Masters," and said they ought to be proud of their

I.P.M., Bro. Gilles, who received , the unanimous suffragesof the brethren in June last for the office of Grand Treasurer ,than which no higher honour could be conferred.

. Bro . W. C. Gilles , I.P.M., said he was pleased , if in thefulfilment of his duties , he had been considered to havedischarged them satisfactoril y. It was a distinguishedhonour to be placed in the chair of such a lodge as this, be-cause it was the acme of Mark Masonry.

Bro. G. Powell, P.M., also responded , after which "TheVisitors " was given in cordial terms, and thanks dul yreturned.

Bro. Driver , S.W., replied for "The Officers ," and theTyler 's toast closed a pleasant evening.

BELVEDERE.Saye and Sele Lodge (No. 309).—The

installation of the above lodge took place at the MasonicRooms on Thursday, the 27th ult., when Bro. T. Heaps,P.G.I.G., S.W., and W.M. elect , was installed VV.M. byBro. A. H. Bateman , P.M., P.G.M.O., and Sec, in amost perfect manner ; Bro . F. Wood , P.M., P.P.G.M.O.,actino- as S.W. He appointed and invested his officers asfollows : Bros; H. E. Russell , P.P.G.O., I.P.M.; C VV.Blaxland , S.W. (by proxy) ; II . T. Crump, J.W. ; W. O.Robinson , P.M., -P.P.G.D.C, 'Treas. ; A. H. Bateman ,Sec. ; C. Jolly, P.P.G.O., M.O. ; H. F. Greig, S.O.; Dr.A. Greenaway, J.O. ; and H. VV. Church , S.D. Theaddresses having been given , and a cordial vote of thankspassed to Bro . Bateman. Bro. Russell was presentedwith a Past Mark Master's jewel , and both those worthybrethren returned thanks. The lodge was then closed,and the brethren sat down to a superb banquet served inthe dining-room of the establishment, Bros. Dr. G. Mickley,P.G.D. Grand Mark Lodge, and VV. H. Thomas represent-ing the visitors.

Bro. Mickley, in responding for the toast of "TheGrand Officers Present and Past," said so far as the Grandand Deputy Grand Masters were concerned it would illbecome him to say one single word of praise , because theirsplendid work for Masonry, both in the Craft and.Mark ,spoke for itself. So far as the rest of the Grand Officerswent, he could only say that they were men of good positionin life, as well asm Masonry , and who had the interest ofthe Mark Degree at heart. Those who were at the presenttime in office would , as those who had preceded them haddone, do their best for the Order , and then make way forothers to take their place. He-thanked them for their kindinvitation , and would always be pleased to attend a lodgewhere the Grand Officers were evidentl y so well esteemed.

The Worshi pful Master then proposed the toast of " Bro.Robinson , Prov. Grand Master , Bro. Hayman Cummings,D.P.G.M., and the rest of the Provincial Grand Officers ,Present and Past." He said that lodge had received anumber of favours from Prov. Grand Lod ge. He was sorrythat their Prov. Grand Master had not attended because atthe late meeting of Prov. Grand Lodge at Tunbrid ge WellsBro . Robinson had promised to attend , but at the lastmoment was unable. He was sorry, because Bro. Robin-son was a splendid installing officer. He, however , askedthem to drink the toast heartil y.

Bro . Wood having briefly responded ,Bro. Russell ,- in suitable terms, proposed the toast of

"The W.M.," who, in response, said he was proud of theposition , and as Bro. Russell had set him so good an ex-amp le, he should follow it. He hoped to have two or threegood advancees during his year of office , and would en-deavour to do the work to their satisfaction , althoug h nowthat he was getting on for Co, they must not expect toomuch from him.

Several other toasts followed , and the evening was inevery respect a most delightful one.

%OX>QZQ ant ) Cba pters of3nstniction ,

RANELAGH LODGE (No. 834) .—A meeting washeld on the 5th inst., at the Six Bells Hotel , Queen-street,Hammersmith , when there were present Bros. E. Lucas,W.M.; F. Craggs, S.VV. ; H. F. Williams, J.W. ; A.Williams, P.M., S.D. ; R. Reid , J .D. j H. Blackman ,I.G. ; J .Sims, P.M.; j. H. Wood , P.M ; H. Wake, andR. H. 'Williams, P.M., P.P.J.G.D. Middx.

The lodge was opened in due form , and the minutes ofthe previous meeting were read and confirmed. The cere-mony of initiation wasreheaised. A brother having offeredhimself as a candidate for passing, proved his proficiencyin the former Degree, and was entrusted. The lod ge wasopened in the Second Degree, and the ceremony of pass-ing rehearsed. The lodge was resumed to the First De-gree. Bro. Sims, P.M., was congratulated on his recoveryfrom his sickness, and elected VV.M. for the next meeting,on which ni ght the Fifteen Sections will be worked. Thelodge was then closed.

The annual supper of this lodge of instruction will takeplace on Friday, the 19th inst., at 7.30 p.m.

FINSBURY PARK LODGE (No. 12SS) .-A meeting ofthe above lodge was held on Saturday, the 22nd ult., at theCock Tavern , Hi ghbury, when there was an unusuall ylarge attendance of members and visitors to hear a re-hearsal of the Third Degree , with full musical accompani-ment , assisted by an efficient choir. The interest in theproceedings was still further enhanced by the presence ofseveral Grand Officers . Bro. Dr. Lott, P.G.O., presided atthe organ. Among those present were Bros. H. Hill ,P.M., W.M. ; J. H. Cohen , P.M., S.VV.; Hod ges, J.W. ;J. Oldis, P.M., Treas. ; M. H. Hale , P.M ., Sec ; G.Reed , S.D. ; Macnamara , I.G. ; T. Williams , Tyler; J.Terry, P.G.S.B. ; C F. Hogard , P.G. Std. Br. ; J. L.Mather, P.A.G.D.C ; J . M. McLeod, P.M., Secretary,R.M.I.B. ; and over 100 members and visitors.

The lodge having been opened , and the minutes of thelast meeting read and confirmed , the VV.M. rehearsed theDegree of M.M. in a most faultless manner , which wasrendered still more impressive by the beautiful musical accom-paniment , which was most ably rendered by the following choir ,Bros. H. Macfarlane , Org.; W. T. Glaisher , V. Lee, H.Reynolds, T. Powell , W. H. Pocklington , VV. Sicklemore,andE. Smith , which was most ttcntivel y listened to. Bros. Dr.Lott, P.G.O., andJ .M. McLeod ,P.M., Sec. R.M.I.B., wereunanimousl y elected honorary members , and a hearty voteof thanks was unanimousl y passed to Bro. Dr. Lott for hisgreat kindness in so efficientl y presiding at the organ.These propositions having- been severally responded to,

the W.M. proceeded to give a short account of the aim andobject they had in view in rehearsing these musical cere-monies, claiming that they were the first to introduce theminto the London district. It was, he said, becoming moreand more an admitted fact that the ceremonies which werevery impressive in themselves, were rendered very muchmore so by the addition of suitable music, such as they hadjust heard , and suggested the formation of a MasonicMusical Association to give concerts and entertainments forthe benefit of the Charities. There being no furtherbusiness the lodge was closed, and the brethren went awaygratified at having had a uni que Masonic treat.

COVENT GARDEN LODGE (No. 1614) .—The usualmeeting of this lodge was held at the Criterion , Piccadilly,S.W.-, on the 4th inst., when there were present Bros.G. A. Bergholz , VV.M. ; G. H. Reynolds, S.VV. ; E. J. D.Bromley, J .W. ; W. Brindley, Preceptor; J. Greenway,Deputy Preceptor ; G. Reynolds, Treas. and Sec ; F. M.Noakes , S.D. ; F. S. Jarvis , J.D. ; T. C. Seary, Org. ;A. Cogliati , I.G. j T. E. Weeks, Tyler j J. Rowe, A.Mulvey, VV. Hancock, D. Gall , and A. Cator.

The lodge was opened in due form ,. and the minutes ofthe last meeting were read and confirmed. The Pre-ceptor worked the 1st Section , the Deputy Preceptor the2nd Section , and the Preceptor the 3rd Section of the FirstLecture. Bro. James Burgess having offered himself as acandidate for initiation , the VV.M. rehearsed the ceremony.On rising for the second time, Bro . G. H. Reynolds, S.VV.,was unanimousl y elected W.M. for the ensuing week,and appointed his officers in rotation. On rising for thethird time , the Secre tary proposed that the by-laws be sus-pended on Thursday evening, the Sth January, 1S91, thatthe VV.M. and the W.M. elect of the mother lodge may

I have the opportunity of rehearsing the ceremony of instal-lation ; seconded by the Deputy Preceptor , supported bythe Preceptor , and carried unanimousl y. Nothing furtheroffering for the good of Freemasonry, the lodge wasclosed.

EARL OF CARNARVON LODGE (No. 1642).—Ameeting of this lodge was held on Friday, the 5th inst., atthe Kensington Park Hotel , Lancaster-road , NottingHill , VV. Present : Bros. J . C. Conway, VV.M. ; E. Rogers,S.VV.; F. L. Chandler , |.W. ; G. Davis, P.M. 167, Pre-ceptor; W. J. Mason , "VV.M. 2246, Sec ; H. Armfield ,S.D.; J. Powell , J.D. ; VV. H. Armfield , I.G. j G.Gardner, H. Foskett , and E. J. Day.

The lodge was opened in due form , and the minutesof the last meeting were read and confirmed. 'Theceremony of initiation was rehearsed , Bro. H. Foskett beingthe candidate . Bro. G. Gardner having answered the ques-tions leading to the Second Degree, was duly entrusted.I he lodge was opened in the Second Degree, and theceremony of passing rehearsed , Bro. G. Gardner beingthe candidate. The lodge was closed in the Second Degree.The S.VV., Bro . E. Rogers, was elected VV.M. tor the nextmeeting, and appointed his officers in rotation. After" Hearty good wishes," the lodge was closed.

CREATON LODGE (No. 179O.-A meeting was heldon Thursday, the 4th inst., at the Wheatsheaf Hotel,Goldhawk-road, Shepherd 's Bush, VV. Present : Bros.VV. Hillier , VV.M.; VV. G. Jennings , S.VV. ; Alfred Love,J .W.; John Davis, W.M. 169, Preceptor; E. Austin ,P.M., Treas. ; F. Craggs, Sec. (pro tern.) ; John Arnott ,S.D. ; T. S. Stevens , J .D. ; T. Kington , I . ' ,.: ' C R.Cross, P.M.; H. P. Gilbert , P.M.; J. H. Richardson,T. J . Head , T. Jobson , R. N. Larter, and T. Stonnill.

The lodge was opened in due form , and the minutes ofthe previous meeting read , confirmed , and signed. Theist and 2nd Sections of the Lecture were worked by theVV.M., assisted by the Preceptor and the brethren . Bro.Head offered himself as a candidate for passing, and he wasexamined and entrusted. The lodge was opened in theSecond Degree, and ceremony rehearsed. Bro . Richardsonanswered the questions leading to the Third Degree. Thelod ge was resumed to the First Degree. Bro . Jennings waselected VV.M. for the next meeting, and the lodge wasclosed.

THE ABBEY (WESTMIN STER) LODGE (No. 2030) .—A meeting of: this lodge was held on Friday, the 5thinst., at the 'Town Hall , Westminster , when there werepresent Bros. R. White, VV.M.; Chabot, S.VV. ; Saunders,J .W. j Gibson , P.M., Preceptor; Coughlan , P.M.,Treas. ; Budd , Sec ; Hobbs, S.D. ; Badderley, J .D.;Hay ler, I.G. ; Balchin , Stwd. ; Brindley, P.M. ; Green ,P.M.; Dunstan , Barber, Pi per , Wilson , Stutfield ,Bonwick , and Edwards.

The lodge was opened in due form , and the minute s ofthe last meeting were read and confirmed. The ceremonyof initiation was rehearsed , Bro. Barber being the candi-date. The W.M. vacated the chair , and Bro. Dunstantook the chair. 'The lodge was opened in the SecondDegree Bro . Hobbs, a candidate to be raised to the ThirdDegree, answered the usual questions and was entrusted.The lodge was opened in the Third Degree, and the cere-mony of raising was rehearsed, Bro. Hobbs being thecandidate. The lodge was resumed to the First Degree.'The VV.M. re-occup ied the chair. Bro. Chabot was unani -mously elected VV.M. for the ensuing week. A vote ofthanks was also unanimousl y recorded [on the minutes forthe able and efficient manner in which the W.M. had carriedout the duties of the chair for the first time. Nothingfurther offering, the lodge was closed.

STAR CHAPTER (No. 1275). - The usual weeklymeeting of this chapter was held at the Stirling Castle,Camberwell , on the 5th inst., when there were presentComes. Kimpto n, M.E.Z. ; Scott Young, H.; Phillip s,P.Z., J .; F. Hilton , P.Z., Preceptor; C. H. Stone, 1275,S.E. ; V. T. Murche, 1329, S.N.; Grummant , P.Z.,Treas. elect 1275, P.S. ; Voisey, P.Z., S.E. 1329, Treas. ;Goodwin ; G. Powell , P.Z. ; Benedetti , Z. elect 1275 ;Davis, 1329 ; H. Martin , A.S. elect 1275 ; North, J. elect1275 ; F. H. Smith ; J. H. Price ; Axford ; C VV.Davis , 1216 ; T. C. Edmonds , P.Z. 1507 ; and J. J. White,1329.

A conclave of Third Princi pals was formed , and Comp.Hilton , P.Z., installed Comp. Philli ps, P.Z., into the thirdchair. The minutes of the last meeting were read and con-lirmed. _ The ceremony of exaltatio n was rehearsed , Comp.Goodwin personating the candidate. Comps , Davis, White ,and Edmonds were elected joining members. Comp. ScottYoung was elected M.E.Z. for the next meeting. Itwas unanimousl y resolved that the three installation cere-monies should be rehearsed on January gth, 1S91.

STOCKWELL LODGE OF INSTRUC-TION , No. 1339.

The annual banquet of the above was held at theWhite Hart , Abchurch-lane , Cannon-street , on Monday,the 24th ult., when the following members and visitorswere present : Bros. C. G. Scott , P.M. 452, W.M. ; F.H. Harvey , 1339, S.W. ; W. D. T. Turnpenny, J.W. 749,J.W. ; Herbert Moss, P.M., P.Z. 1339, Preceptor ; T. H.Ellis , 1339, Asst. Sec. ; A. W. Davis; F. S. Smyth , S.W.1982 ; E. Attenborough , A. L. Butters , S. W. Minns ,C. H. Bryson , W. H. J. Alexander , S. G. Southcombe,C. R. Blyton , F. Blyton , J. W. Curtis, W.M. elect 733;A. G. Boswell , P.M., Z. 1339 ; G. Anderson , P.G.S., P.M.60: and J. H. Proff. Visitors : Bros. H. Darbyshire,P.M. 581 and 199 ; A. H. Barnard , S.D. 2024 ; E. HRolfe , P.M. 125 and 2147 ; J. Pollard , P.M. 2147,J.W. 1339 ; A. Jones, 1339 ; D. Hickson, 2147 ; and GBlyton , 2148.

After a sumptuous repast provided by the host , Bro ,Anderson , the W.M. rose to propose the first toast." The Queen and the Craft ," and said this toast is onealways received with heartiness and all honour that isdue to it , and without further comment I will thankthe brethren to rise and assist me in drinking it.

After the National Anthem , the next toast being thatof "The M.W.G.M., H.R .H. the Prince of Wales," theW.M. said : Brethren this toast requires no commenda-tion from me, it recommends itself to every member ofthe Craft. During the time he has been our M.W.G.M.Masonry has made unprecedented progress, and I hopeour M.W.G.M. will long be spared to fill that high office.

The toast hay ing been dul y honoured , the WOR -S H I P F U L M ASTER rose to propose that of " TheDeputy Grand Master and the rest of the GrandOfficers , Present and Past," and said : This toast,brethren , is one that is always well received. It is verylamentable that we have had during the past year a lossthat would be very difficult to replace, I refer to thedeath of the Earl ot Carnarvon , our late Pro G.M.Most of us can bear witness to the assiduity with whichhe carried out his work , and to which all who have theprivilege of attending Grand Lodge can testif y.With regard to the Grand Officers , we cannot honourthem too much for the manner in which they performtheir respective duties. It is good we can findsuch men to lead us. We have with us this evening abrother who is a Past Grand Steward—I mean Bro.Anderson , and althoug h not a Grand Lodge Officer , Ishall coup le his name with this toast.

The toast having been suitably acknowledged byBro. ANDERSON ,

Bro. BOSWELL , P.M., roseandsaid: Worshi pful Master,Wardens, and Brethren ,—You are perfectly well awareof the reason I am in possession of the gavel , it is topropose the toast of " The Worshi pful Master." It is aneasy task, for this reason , I feel quite sure that every wordof commendation from me will receive an echo in theheart of every brother present , and , certainly, everymember of the Stockwell' Lodge of Instruction , andthose who have known Bro. Scott longest can bestappreciate his merit. We have many estimable Masonsin this lodge of instruction , and we have in its Treasurer(our W.M. this evening), a brother who is muchesteemed. He has been a member from its foundation ,being one of the few brethren who founded the lodge.He is also a most constant attendant, and has the wel-fare of the lodge at heart. It is not necessary for meto say more, and I feel perfect ly sure that you will risewith the greatest p leasure to assist me in the drinkingof the toast.

The WORSHIPFUL MASTER said : Bro. Boswell ,P.M., and Brethren ,—I thank you for the very kindmanner in which you have proposed my health , andyou , brethre n , for the way in which you have .receivedit. . I can assure you that at all times it will be myvery best endeavour to do what I can for this lodge ofinstructio n . • I am sure in looking round me we shallso build up the lodge as to make it second to none, andI feel confident the brethre n will go hand in hand tomake it a success.

The next toast being that of " The Visitors," theWO R S H I P F U L M ASTER said : This is a toast alwayswell received. There is no greater pleasure than to seeour brother visitors. 1 trust they will all be with us nextyear, and hope we shall be able to enrol them as mem-bers of this ' lodge of instruction , and I am sure theywill not have cause to regret the Masonic knowledgewhich our Preceptor is able to impart to them. Thevisitors who have honoured us with their presence thisevening are numerous, and I have much pleasure incoup ling the names of Bros. Darbyshire, Pollard ,Rolfe , Barnard , and G. Blyton with this toast.

The visitors having rep lied ,The WO R S H I P F U L M ASTER rose and proposed " The

Stockwell Lod ge of Instruction , Root and Branch ,"and said ¦ You have heard how this lodge took its risewhen a few of us met in a small room in St. MaryAxe. We began with the very humble number of fourmembers, now we have about 50. It is an instance ofwhat comes of very small beginnings. As a result ofthe instruction received we have many who can gothroug h the ritual of the Three Degrees in a perfectmanner. We are well aware that unless we have re-ceived some tuition how very small we feel , and withwhat little confidence fill important offices. It is onlyin a lod ge of instruction that we can gain the know-ledge which is necessary. This lodge of instructionhas alway s had in view the benefit of its members ; itis chiefl y. for that reason that those who are not alreadymembers should become so at an early opportunity. Itrust. the lodge will still continue to increase in num.-

bers, therefore , I give you "The Stockwell Lodge ofInstruction , Root and Branch." There is just oneother matter I should like to call your attention to—that is our late Preceptor , Bro . Frances. We are notinsensible to the great benefits he conferred on us ; weappreciate to the utmost the great advantages of histuition. It would be difficult to find a more efficientPreceptor, and we must not let the toast pass withoutevincing our gratitude to him , and I am sure all presentwish him every happ iness. I coup le with this toast thenames of our late Preceptor , Bro . Frances, and ourpresent Preceptor, Bro. Moss.

The Preceptor , Bro. Moss , then replied as follows :Worshi pful Master, Bro. Wardens , and Brethren ,—Imust thank the W.M. for the very kind manner in whichhe has proposed this toast , and you, brethre n , for theway in which you have received it. As regards our Bro .Frances, I am sure his knowled ge of Freemasonry isexcelled by none and equalled by few. I am compara-tively a young Preceptor , but am an old Secretary,having held the latter position since the formation ofthis lodge of instruction. I take this special oppor-tunity of thanking the brethren who are attendingregularly, and who have supported the lodge from itsfoundation. Everything points to this becoming—asthe W.M. has already informed you—one of the strongestlodges of instruction. It has always been to me a greatpleasure to assist in anything connected with this lodge,and I trust always will be, and I ask all present tosupport me. What we desire is good fellowshi p, com-bined with instruction. We have sent up a very fairamount to the Charities, and , now we are increasing innumbers , hope to send up a great deal more.

The WORSHIPFUL M ASTER next proposed the toast of" The Secretary and Assistant Secretary," and said :Before referring to the present Secretary and AssistantSecretary, I thinkthisafi t t ingopport unity to referto ourPreceptor. While he held the post of Secretary we allknow what a hard worker he was, how he has stuck toit from the first , and has been present at all meetings.We cannot but be grateful to our Bro. Moss, P.M., forall he has done in the past. He has done the work inadmirable form , and I am quite sure we shall find thathe performs the duties of Preceptor as he has donethose of Secretary. With regard to our present Secre-tary, Bro. E. H. Minns , it is extremely regretfu l to findhim suffering fro m a very severe illness , for a moreconscientious worker it would be difficult to find. Likehis predecessor , he has always been present , and I amsure we all sympathise with him on account of hisillness and wish him a speedy recovery. We have inthe Assistant Secretary, Bro. Ellis , one who will carryout the duties of his office in a thoroug hly satisfactorymanner , and who, I am sure , will do in the future allhe has done in the past to promote the interests of thelodge.

The toast having been acknowledged by Bro. E LLIS ,the W.M. proposed " The Ser ior and Junior Wardens ,"and- said : Brethren , we have all noticed the rap id stridesmade by our S.W. When he first joined the lod ge, hisknowledge of the ritual was very limited. He is now ableto fill any office , and is a constant attendant. As regardsour J.W., we all know how energetic he is and whatgreat progress he has made. It is not an easy matterfor any brother to go throug h all the Degrees ; itrequires close app lication and assiduity, a brother mustattend regularly, and it is absolutely necessary if hewishes to work the ceremonies with satisfaction tohimself and those in the lod ge to be painstaking ; inthat respect , both with regard to our S. and J. Wardenswe have all those qualities.

The SENIOR WA R D E N rose and said .- WorshipfulMaster and Brethren ,—I thank you very much for thekind words you have said of me. I have since I joinedthis lodge endeavoured to be a constant attendant , andavail myself of the advantages offered as regardstuition . This lodge is remarkable for the number ofPast Masters who still attend it , and who, I trust , willcontinue to do so.

The J UNIOR W ARDEN rose and said : It is a very greatpleasure to me to be here this evening, and certainl y tohold the position I hold. I am very proud to be a mem-ber of this lod ge of instruction , for in its members wehave thoroug h good , hard-working Masons , brethren whowill do their utmost to serve a (riend or brother in timeof need, and who will do their utmost to promote theinterests of the lod ge.

The Tyler's toast brought to a close a most har-monious and enj oyable evening.

MASONRY AT DID SBURY.Bro. G. S. Smith , W.M. of the Doric Lodge, No.

2359, has taken the initiative in a very praiseworth yundertaking which must commend itself to the Craftin general. On Friday evening, the 5th inst., theW.M. and his officers entertained some 700 children andtheir parents , at the National Schools , consisting of alime-li ght trip to the Isle of Man , comp rising some100 views of the most interesting spots in the island.Perhaps the most pleasing feature was the sing ing olapprop riate hymns , during the representation of thevarious church views, by a choir of well trained boy s,with the W.M. presiding at the organ. We must alsomention a very excellent view of a White Star Linesteamer in motion , rendered more effective by theaccompany ing song, " Rocked in the cradle of thedeep."

The humorous portion of the programme was mostably and amusingly deleniated by Bro. Fred Stretch ,D.C., not forgetting the graphic manner in which Bro.Edgar Towell , the S.W,, performed his duties as

lecturer. Mr . Ernest Towell , assisted by Mr. JohnBarke mani pulated the limeli ght views and effects withtheir customary skill. We cannot conclude this noticewithout awarding a word of praise to the Head Masterof the school , Mr. Samuel Brown , for the excellentmanner in which the children had been trained—amore orderly and well-behaved number could not bedesired , showing their appreciation of the efforts madeby the members of the Doric Lod ge to please the eyeand improve the mind.

Bro. Jos. Ward , assisted by Bros. Langley andSharp ies , very successfull y looked after the comfort ofall concerned.

The evening was broug ht to a close by the wholecompany singing " God bless the Prince of Wales."

The ticket offices at Euston, Broad-street , Kensington ,and Wiilesden Junction will be open throug hout the dayfrom Monday, December 15th , to Wednesday, December24th

^ (Sunday excepted), _ so that passengers wishing to

obtain tickets for any destination on the London and North-western Railway can do so at any time of the day prior tothe starting of the trains. The tickets will be dated to suitthe convenience of passengers. 1 ickets for all the principalstations on the London and North-Western system and itsconnections can be obtained at any time—Sundays and BankHolidays excepted—at the following town receiving officesof the company :—15, Queen-street , E.C ; Spread Eagle,3, Whittington-avenue , Leadenhall Market , E.C ; Swan-with-two-Necks, 65, Gresham-street, E.C. ; 13, Eastcheap ;Cross Keys, 1, Wood-street , Cheapside, E.C. ; 22, Alders-gate-street , E.C. ; 65, Aldgate, E. ; 30, West Smithfield ,E.C ; S and 9, Clerkenwell-green , E.C. ; Bolt-in-Tun , 64,Fleet-street , E.C ; 116, Holborn , E.C; George and BlueBoar, 2S5, High Holborn , W.C; 43, New Oxford-street ,W.C ; Universal Office , Spread Eagle, Piccadill y-circus,VV. ; 34, Parliament-street , Westminster; Golden Cross,Charing-cross , W.C. j Hotel Windsor , Victoria-street ,S.W. j 231, Edgware-road, VV. j Atlas Office , 167, Totten-ham-court-road , W.C j 70, St. Martin 's-lane W.C. ; 3,James-street, Covent Garden , W.C ; Lion , 10S, NewBond-street , VV. ; 496, Oxford-street, VV. ; Griffin 's GreenMan and Still , 241, Oxford-street , W. j 33, Here ford-road, Bayswater , VV. j Kni ghtsbridge, 34, Albert Gate,S.W.j Kensington , 33, High-street, VV. j 117, Hi gh-street ,Borough, S.E. j 233, and 234, Blackfriars-road , S.E. ;Surrey Railway Office , 13S, Newington Causeway, S.E.;194, Westminster Bridge-road, S.E.j Islington, "Angel,"5, Pentonville-road , N . j London , Brighton , and SouthCoast Company 's Office , S, Grand "Hotel Buildings ,Charing Cross j and at Gaze and Sons's Offices , 142 ,Strand , W.C Theordinary serviceof express and mail trainswill be supp lemented by additional express train s as namedbelow: On Christmas live, Wednesday, December 24th , aspecial train will leave Euston at 2.35 p.m. for Bletchley,Wolverton , Northampton , Rugby, princi p al stations on theTrent Valley Line, and Stafford , in advance of the 2.45 p.m.ordinary train from London (Euston). The 4.30 p.m.,Euston to Birming ham , will be divided—the first portionwhich will run expressto Coventry and Birmingham , will leaveEuston at 4.25 p.m.j the second portion of the train willleave Euston at 4.30 p.m. as usual , and convey passengersfor Northampton , Rug by, Coventry, Birmingham , Walsall ,Dudley, and Wolverhampton. The 7.0 p.m., Euston toBirmingham , will be divided , the first portion , which willrun express to Coventry and Birmin g ham, will leaveEuston atG.55 p.m., the second portion of the train will leaveEuston at 7.0 p.m., and convey passengers for Bletchley,Northam pto n, Rugby, Coventry, Birmingham , Dudley,Wolverhampton, and Walsall. 'The night Irish mail ,

LONDON AND NORTH-WESTERN RAILWAY.

due to leave Euston S.20 p.m. will not leave untilg.o p.m. Passengers from Birming ham, Liverpool , andManchester , for Holyhead and I reland , will leave at theusual hours, and will be taken forwa rd to Holyhead inadvance of the London train. The mail packet for Kings-town will not leave Hol yhead until the passengers fromLondon are on board . The 12.0 night train from London(Kuston), due at Warrington at 5.15 a.m. on ChristmasDay, will be extended from Warrington to Carlisle, Edin-burg h, and Glasgow as on ordinary week days, and will ,by special arrangement , take passengers for Kendal andVVindermere. On Christmas Day the usual Sunday serviceof trains will be run with the following additions: The5.15 a.m. newspaper express from London (Eu*ton) willrun to Northampton , Rugby, Birming ham, Nuneaton , Tam-worth , Lichfield , Rugelev, Stafford , Crewe,. Liverpool , Man-chester, Warrington , Wigan , Preston , Lancaster, Carn-forth , Oxenholme , Kendal , VVindermere , Tebay, Penrith ,CarTsle , Edinburg h , and Glasgow. The 7.15 a.m. downday Irish mail from Euston to Holyhead , and the 11.30 a.m.up day Irish mail from Holyhead to Euston will be' run onChristmas Day the same as on week clays. The down mailwill call , if required , at Rh yl , Conway, and Bangorj andthe up mail , if required , at Bangor, Conway, Colwyn Bay,Rh y l, and Holywell. The 11.17 a.m., Chester to Birken-head , will wait at Chester the arrival of the 7.15 a.m. fromLondon. On Friday (Bank Holiday), December 26th,numerous residential trains in the neighbourhood of im-portant cities and towns will not be run.

Scmtb Hftica,ORDER OF THE SECRET MONITOR.

DURBAN.Prudent Brethren Conclave (No. 15).—

The annual installation meeting of this conclave was heldat the Masonic Hall , Durban , Natal , recently, underthe presidency of Bro . R. I. Finnemore , 320, Grand Guide,when Bro . VV. F. Stanton, 300, was inducted into the Order,and Bros. L. E. S. Torg ius, 1S0, G. Leask, and VV. H.Harris were advanced to the Second Degree of the Order.Bro. Thomas Cook, 31° was installed as Supreme Ruler ,and appointed Bros. J. Schulz , M.D., 300, as Counsellor,and Treasurer bro tern. ; VV. H. Harris , Guide ; G. Leask,Sec ; L. E. S. Torg ius, V.D. ; and VV. F. Stanton , I.G'The 'Treasurer reported a balance in hand of £y 19s. Draftby-laws were broug ht up and passed , subject to approval ofGrand Council. " Hearty good wishes " were conveyedfrom two other South African conclaves , viz : SouthernCross Conclave, No. iS, and Natalia conclave, No. 19.

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GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY.The company have made arrangements for the issue of

tickets of all classes at no less than 12 of their City andWest End offices in the Metropolis , viz. :—193 and 407,Oxford-street ; 23, New Oxford-street ; Holborn-circus ;29, Charing Cross ; 5, Arthur-street East, London Bridge;S2, Queen Victoria-street; 269, Strand; 43 and 44, CrutchedFriars ; 26, Regent-street ; 67, Gresham-street; and 4,Cheapside ; at either of which places tickets can be obtainedon and after Thursday, December iSth. This arrangementcannot fail to be a boon to those travellers who desire to avoidthe trouble of obtaining a ticket at a crowded railway station.The booking office at the Paddington station will also beopen for the issue of tickets each day during the week pre-ceding Christmas day. Ordinary tickets obtained in Londonbetween December iSth and 24th will be available for useon any day between and including those days. Cheap thirdclass tickets at reduced fares will be issued from London tothe Yeovil and Weymouth districts and to stations in theWest of England; similar tickets will also be issued fromthose districts to London. In order to meet the extraordi-nary demands upon the company 's resources occasionedby the enormous parcels traffic despatched both from andto London at Christmas time, special fast trains carry ingparcels only, and calling at the princi pal interme-diate stations will run between London and Ply-mouth , Birkenhead , Worcester, and New Milford .Un Wednesday. December 24th , the 1.0 and 5.0 p.m. trainsfrom Paddington to Plymouth will be extended to Falmouthand Penzance ; and the 6.20 p.m train from Paddingtonto Bristol will run to Exeter , a special train will leavePaddington at 10.0 p.m. for New Milford , and will call atthe same stations as the 9.15 p.m. ordinary train , and aspecial express to the West of England will depart at 11.50p.m. (midni ght.) On Christmas day the usual Sundayservice of trains will be run , but for the convenience ofpersons who are unable to leave town before the morningof Christmas day, the 5.30 a.m. train will run as on weekdays to Oxford , Bristol , Weston-Super-Mare , Worceste r,Banbury, Leamington , Birming ham , Dudley, and Wolver-hampton , in which towns the London morning papers willconsequentl y be distributed at the usual hour. On theafternoon of Sunday, December 2Sth, special trains will runto London from Plymouth , Swansea, and Wolverhampton ,calling at the princi pal intermediate stations.

- - -r

CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY A R R A N G E M E N T S .

The Great Northern Railway Company announce that onSaturday, December 20th , the S.o p.m. express will be runthroughout from London to Edinburgh. The S.30 p.m.exprpss from King 's Cross will run to Edinburgh , Glasgow,Perth , and the North of Scotland. On Wednesday, Decem-ber 24th , the S.o p.m., S.30 p.m., and 10.40 p.m. expressesfrom King 's Cross will be run through to Edinburg h , Glas-gow, and other places in Scotland at times advertised inNovember time tables. An additional express train willleave King 's Cross station at 12.0 midni ght for Wehvyn ,Stevenage, Hitchin , Biggleswade, Sandy, St. Neots, Hunt-ingdon, Peterboroug h, Spalding, Boston , Grimsby, Grant-ham , Lincoln , Nottingham , Newark , Retford , Doncaster ,Wakefield , Leeds, Bradford , Halifax , Selby, York , Dar-lington , and Newcastle. On Christmas day, December25th , trains will run as on Sundays , except that the 5.15 a.m.express from King 's Cross will be run to Stamford , Bourn ,Lincoln , Notting ham , York , Wakefield , I eeds, Bradford ,andHalifax , stopp ing at the intermediate stations at which itordinaril y calls.

Aspecial express,conveymgparcelsonl y, will leave London(King 's Cross) at 9.55 p.m. on December 20th , 22nd , and23rd , for Lynn , Norwich , Yarmouth , Notting ham , MeltonMowbray, Leicester, Derby, Burton , Lincoln , Sheffield ,Manchester , Liverpool , Wakefield , Leeds, Bradford , Keigh-ley, Halifax , York , Hull. Newcastle, and all places in theNorth of Eng land and Scotland. To prevent inconveniencefrom crowding at the Company 's principal terminal station,King 's Cross, arrangements have been made for the issueof passenger tickets, dated in advance, at King 's Cross, atother London stations, and at the following offices : StarOffice , 13s, Victoria-street , S.W.; Albert Gate Office , 1,William-street , Lowndes-square ; 169, Edgware-road ;2S5, Oxford-street ; 90, Tottenham Court-road ; 264, Hi ghHolborn ; in , Strand ; Royal Oak Office , 6, Porchester-road , Westbourne-grove; 3, King Edward-street , Newgate-street ; 22 , Wood-street ; 44, Bread-street ; ^ Whitting-ton-avenue , Leadenhall-street; 16", Fish-street Hill j BeeHive, Whitecross-street j 43 and 44, Crutched Friars ; So,Bishopsgate-street Without; Charles-street , Farringdon-street; 95, High-street ; Borough ; igo.t, WestminsterBridge-road ; Great Northern Company 's Poplar DocksStation , Preston-road ; Victoria Docks and Albert Docks(G.N. Offices) ; 7, Beresford-square , South Woolwich ;and at the offices of Swan and Leach, 3, Charing Crsss,and 32, Piccadill y Circus.

GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY .

liiisaiiSSteii ^fT^ cf ^&wtn/tf WBfflW!Miil&?i

IsiiMLilisilThe consecration of the Clarence Lodge will take place

at Chester on Saturday, the 2oth inst.The partnershi p heretofore subsisting between Bro. j. A.

Mallett, and Bro. Pearse Morrison , C.C., has been dissolvedby mutual consent.

The Duke of Connaught dined with Lieut. -Col. the Hon.J. C. Vanneck , and the officers of the 2nd /Batallion ScotsGuards , at the Victoria Barracks , Windsor .

Bro. James Gardiner , J., F. R. Sewell Lodge of RoyalArk Mariners, 213, was unanimousl y elected N., and Bro .Thos. Atkinson , C.N., was elected Treasurer , on the2Sth ult.

It is intended to hold a Masonic ball at Blackburn earlyin January, 1S91. Bro. Col. Le Gendre N. Starkie, Prov.Grand Master East Lancashire, will be present on theoccasion.

The Prince of Wales , accompanied by Bro . the Duke ofFife, and the Duke of Clarence and Avondal e, with a largeparty, were present at the Comedy Theatre on Mondayevening.

By the kind permission of Bro. Henry Irving, M. Maurel ,the celebrated baritone , gave a lecture at the LyceumTheatre on Monday afternoon , on the " Modern Develop-ment of the Lyric Art. "

The revival of "Much Ado About Nothing " at theLyceum is announced for the 5th proximo. The cast isexceptionall y strong. On the 20th and 27th inst., " TheBells " will be revived.

A special meeting of the Swansea Town Council washeld on Monday, when it was unanimously decided to in-vite her Majesty to visit Swansea in August next on theoccasion of the National Eisteddfod.

Bro. T. Sutherland , M.P .. presided at the annual meet-ing of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Com-pany on 'Tuesday, when a dividend of 9 per cent, wasdeclared, and a sum of £85,000 carried over to the reservefund.

Bro. Wm. Dewsberry, S.W. 441, P.P.G O , has beenunanimousl y elected VV.M. for the ensuing year of theThree Grand Principles Lodge, Cambrid ge, in succession toBro . J. F. Symonds, and will be installed on Mondayevening, the 5th prox.

The students of Trinity College, London , gave a verysuccessful orchestral concert at Princes ' Hall , on Tuesdayevening. There was a large attendance , and the programmewas well carried out. The vocalists were Miss May Pinneyand Mr. John Buller Guy.

The Stock Exchange Orchestral Society gave their open-ing concert of the season at St. James's Hall on Tuesday.There was a large and friendl y audience , and the severalittms of the programme well deserved the applause whichwas liberall y awarded them.

The Prince of Wales occupied the chair at a meeting onTuesday of the Council of the Hackney Horse Society,and on the proposition of his Royal Highness , the Princessof Wales, the Duke of Clarence and Avondale, and PrinceGeorge were elected members of the Society.

VVe regret to announce the death of the Countess ofRavensworth , who was married to Bro. the Earl of Ravens-worth in December , 1S52. The sad event occurred quitesuddenl y on Monday evening, and is attributed to her lady-ship having taken a sudden chill.

The betrothal of Princess Louise , youngest daughter ofPrince and Princess Christian , to Prince Aribert , third sur-viving son of the Duke of Anhalt-Dessau , took place onMonday. The Prince , who is 26 years of age, is a lieu-tenant in the First Reg iment of Dragoons of the PrussianGuards. The Princess is in her 19th year, having been bornon the 12th August , 1S72.

Among the guests invited by Lord and Lady Alington tomeet their Roja! Highnesses the Prince and Princess ofWales and famil y at Crichel are Bros, the Earl of Hard-wicke, Sir Frederick Johnstone , Bart., and MontagueGuest. The Royal visit will terminate to-morro w (Saturday),when the Prince and Princess will go to Windsor on a visitto her Majesty , in order to be present at the memorial ser-vice to the late Prince Consort on Sunday, the 29th anni-versary of his death.

A meeting of the Court of Governors of the West Lanca-shire Hamer Benevolent Institution was held on the 5thinst., at the Masonic Hall , Hope street , Liverpool , underthe chairmanshi p of Bro. T. Banner Newton , one of theVice-Presidents of the Charity . An app lication for thebenefits of the Insti t ut ion from a distressed broth er wasapproved ; and it was further resolved in future to close theannual accounts of the Institution on the 31st December . ACommittee was appointed to revise the by-laws.

Under the presidency of Bro. Dr. T. Clarke , P.P.G.R.,Vice-Chairman , a meeting of the members of the MasonicBall Committee was held at the Masonic Hall , Hope-street ,Liverpool , on the 5th inst , when it was announced thatBro. Councillor J. J . Bamford had most generousl y under-taken to provide the bad ges for the ball Stewards, who nownumber about 200. A cordial vote of thanks was accordedto Bro . Bamford for his generous gift in aid of the fundsof a deserving Charity, the West Lancashire MasonicEducational Institution.

A most enjoyable ball was held on the 4th inst. at theCity Hall , Eberle-stieet , Liverpool , under the ausp ices otthe Worshi p ful Master , Bro. Foote , P.P.G.T., and theofficers of the Cycling and Athletic Lodge of I- reemasons ,No- 2335. '1 his is the first social event in connection withthe lod ge, the previous "At Home ," held a coup le ofmonths ago, having been promoted by the members of theClub as distinguished fro m the lodge. The proceedings lastnight were carried to a successfu l issue under the abledirection of Bros. T. P. Hod gson and 1. C. Robinson asMasters of Ceremonies. There was an active body ofStewards engaged , and these were assisted by Bro . AMorecroft , Treasurer, and Bros. T. G. Parkes, VV. 0.Callow, and J. F. Walker , Hon. Secretaries.

The Doric Lodge, No. 2359, is held at Didsb ury on everysecond Saturday in each month , at Didsbury Hotel.

Bro. the Earl and Countess of Lathom , who have beenvisiting the Earl and Countess Howe, have returned toLathom House, Ormskirk.

In accordance with orders received from the Admiralty,the new cruiser Mohawk has been prepared for sea, to takethe place of the ill-fated Serpent , and will be ready byto-morrow (Saturday).

Mr. Spence r J. Portal , second son of Bro. WyndhamS. Portal , Past G. Warden of England , and Mary, eldestdaughter of the late Lieut.-Col. Muir , were married at HolyTrinity Church , Sloane-strcet, on the 4th instant.

The Queen and Princess Beatrice left Windsor Castle onSaturday last , and , travelling via. the South-Western Rail -way to Farnborough , visited and lunched with the EmpressEugenic at Farnboroug h Hill , returning to Windsor by5.30 p.m.

The death of " Honest John ".'iPhel ps~'of Fulham , thewell-known Thames boatman , will cause very g'eneral regret.Phel ps, who was aged S6 years, died on Saturday last , afte rhaving been a prominent fi gure in aquatic circles forupwards of 50 years .

The Queen has been pleased to grant a charter ofincorporation to the Newspaper Press Fund , which wasfounded in 1S64, and of which Bro . Sir A. Borthwick , M.P.,is President. It numbers about 700 members and has anaverage income of about £2500.

Bro. the Earl of Jersey left England for New SouthWales on Friday, 5th instant ,travelling from Victoria stationfor Brindisi. The Countess of Jersey is now able to get upevery day, and on Thursday next will leave for Stonelei ghAbbey, the residence of her father , Bro. Lord Leigh.

Prince and Princess Christian left England for Berlin onSaturday last , travelling by the Queenboroug h and Flushingroute , their object being to bring back to Eng land their twodaughters, who have been staying with the EmpressFrederick. Their Royal Hi ghnesses will return in about afortni ght in time to spend Christmas at Cumberland Lodge.

We learn that Bro. Jas. Stevens , P.M., P.Z., has re-signed the office of Preceptor of the Camden Lodge of In-struction , No. 704, and Bro. A. A. Drew , P.M., hasbeen elected in his stead. Under his able Preceptorshi p,last Thursday , the 4th inst.. at the Lewisham MasonicRooms , the ceremony of initiation was worked in the presenceof a large number of local brethren.

Bro . Lord Mayor Savory and the Lady Mayoress , accom-panied by Sheriffs Farmer and Bro . Augustus Harris ,visited the Crystal Palace on Saturday last for the purposeof attending the annual distribution of prizes. Thedistribution was made by the Lady Mayoress, andthe vote of thanks to her ladyshi p for her kindness in under-taking the duty was acknowledged suitabl y by Bro. theLord Mayor.

The 93rd annual show of fat stock by the Smithfield Clubwas opened at the Royal Agricultural Hall , Islington , onMonday , and will remain open till the evening of to-day( Friday). The number of entries is larger than in anyprevious year , with the exception of iSSS , while the qualit yof the exhibits is admirable. The Queen i.-> one of the prin-cipal exhibitors, and at the same time one of the mostsuccessful.

The Prince of Wales left Sandnngham for London earlvon Monday morning in order to visit the Cattle Show, andwas followed by a later train by the Princess of Wales andthe Prince sses Victoria and Maud. On Tuesday theirRoyal Hi ghnesses, accompanied by the Duke of Clarenceand Avondale and their two daug hters, left Marlborou ghHouse for Crichel , near Wimborne, on a visit to Lord andLady Alington.

The Guel ph Exhibition , which will be opened at the NewGallery, in Regent-street , at the beg inning of the New Year,will comprise upwards of 400 portraits , besides miniature sand personal relics. Among the contributors are herMajesty the Queen , who lends 33 pictures, the Prince oiWales, Princess Louise , the Duke ot Cambrid ge, Bro . theDuke of File, Bros, the Earls of Chichester , Crawford , andWharncliffe , Bro. Earl Bathurst , the Duchess of St.Albans , the Baroness Burdett-Coutts , the Bodleian Library,and the Corporation of London.

It is understood that Her Majesty, on leaving Osborne forWindsor in February next , will land at Portsmouth dock-yard , and be present at and take the chief part in launchingthe Royal Soverei gn , twin-scre w armoured battle-shi p ofthe first-class , and the twin-screw cruiser Centaur . It is 30years since Her Majesty took part in such a function atPortsmouth. Her Majesty will afterwards honour Bro.Admiral Sir E. and Lady Commerell with her presence atluncheon , at Admiralty House . It isalso believed that in thecourse of the summer the Queen will be present at a reviewof the troops in garrison at Portsmouth , under the commandof the Duke of Connaug ht , who will enter upon the dutiesof his command on New Year 's day .

The Duchess of Albany and suite attended a specialservice at the Dutch Reformed Church , Austin friars , heldon the 4th instant , in memory of her late brother -in-law ,William I I I . King of the Netherlands. The Dutch ministerin London and ins staff , and the Consul-genera l and otherofficials were present , as was likewise a numerous congre-gation , which included many of the forei gn Ambassadorsand Ministers in London , representatives of the Queen , thePrince and Princess of Wales, and other members of theRoyal Famil y, Bro . Sir James Fergusson , Bart. , M.P., re-presenting the Foreign Office ; Bro . Lord Mayor Savory,accompanied by Sheriffs Farmer and Bro. AugustusHarris , and Bro. Sir J . Whittaker Ellis, Bart., M.P ., andSir Polydore de Keyser.

Hoi.i.nw.w 's Pm.s —Nervous Debility. —Nopar t of the humanmachine recj ui es more watching than the nervous system—uponit hangs health and life itself . These pills are ihe best regulatorsand strengtheners of the nerves , and the safest genera l puriliers .Nausea , headache , g iddiness , numbness , and mental apath yy ie d to them. They despatch in a summary manner tiinse dis-tressing dyspeptic symptums , stomachic pains , ful lness at the p itof the stomach , abdominal distension , and overcome both capri-cious appetities and confined bowels -the commonl y accompany-in g si gns of defective or deranged nervous power. Hodowa y 'spills are par t icular ly recommended to persons of studious andsedentary habits , who graduall y sink into a nerv.n -.s and debili -tated state unless some such restorative be occasionall y taken,—Anvr.

Bro . Charles Arkell , Commission , Shipping, and Insur-ance Agent , has removed from Trinity-square, to 9, Union-court , Old Broad-street.

Bro. George Kenning has purchased the stock of Masonicgoods from Bro. Joseph Starkey, of Conduit-street , in con-sequence of the department being discontinued.

Bros. Lord Halsbury (Lord Chancellor), Lord GeorgeHamilton , and Sir M. E. Hicks-Beach , Bart., attended theCabinet Council held at the Foreign Office on Monday.

Bro . Lord Mayor Savory, Sheriffs Farmer and Bro.Augustus Harris, Bro. Sir B. Samuelson, Bart., M.P., andothers , were the guests of the Plumbers ' Company on Mon-day evening.

'The annual meeting of the Provincial Grand Lodge ofDerbyshire will be held at the Masonic Hall, Derby, onMonday next , under the presidency of the Prov. G.M., theMarquis of Hartington.

Bro. the Duke of Fife visited the People's Palace onWednesday evening, and distributed prizes to the pup ils ofthe Technical Schools, now the Drapers' Company 's Insti-tute . There was a large and enthusiastic attendance.

The Duke of Connaug ht , who is honorary Colonel of theregiment , distributed the prizes to the London Irish Riflesat Freemasons' Tavern on Monday , and congratulated bothofficers and men on the continued efficiency of the corps.

We are asked to state that the Duke of Connaught Lodgeof Instruction will in future meet at the Nava rino Tavern,Navarino-road , Dalston. 1 he first meeting at the newaddress will take place to-morrow (Saturday), at eighto'clock.

The annual festival of the Langton Lodge of Instructionwill be held at the White Hart Tavern , Abchurch-lane,E.C, on Thursday, ib 'th inst., at 6.30 p.m., and the nextregular meeting of the lodge will be held on Thursday, theSth prox.

A life-size statue of Bro. Henry Irving has just been pre-sented to the Corporation of London by the scul ptor, Mr.E Onslow Ford, A.R.A., and has been placed in the per-manent Art Gallery, which is open free to the public. Bro .Irving is represented seated, in the character of Hamlet.

VVe would remind our readers of the approaching annualbenefit concert to be given by Bro. Seymour Smith, at thePeckham Public Hall , on Monday next. The programmecontains as usual a goodly array of names well-known inthe musical world , and from past experience we are justifiedin assuring those who can be present they will have a mostenjoyable musical evening.

Bro. Henry Clarke, P.M., 1S27, is a candidate for thevacant directorshi p of the Board of the London Life Associa-tion. 1 he election is in the hands of the members, amongstwhom we recognise many members of the Craft both inLondon and the country . Bro . Henry Clarke is a memberof the Corporation of the City of London, and also of theLondon County Council.

At the meeting of the Gallery Lodge, No. 192S, atAnderton 's Hotel , to-morrow (Saturday), when Bro. W. T.Perkins will be installed Woishi pful Master, a musicalentertainment will be provided by the following artistes,who have volunteered their services ;—Bros. DalgetyHenderson , Lucas Williams , Sackville Evans, James Budd,H. VV. Schartau , M'Call Chambers , Fred Cusins, andMorton Clark.

The first annual dress ball of the Perseverance Lodgewas held on the 3rd inst. in the Artillery Drill Hall, Heb-burn. 'There was a large number of couples present , whodanced till an early hour in the morning. 'The music wassupp lied by Bro. Amers ' band, while the refreshments werepurveyed by Mr. VVaug h, of the North-Eastern Hotel,Jarrow. Bros. Storey and Matheson acted as M.C.'s,while Bros. Roy and Voss officiated as stewards. Bro . J.B. Pratt was the secretary of the committee that had chargeof the arrangements.

We remind our readers that Bro . James Stevens willdeliver his lecture on the ritual and ceremonial of the Sym-bolic Degrees in Freemasonry in the Great City Lodge,No. 1426 , at the Cannon-street Hotel, E.C, this (baturday)afternoon. Lodge will be opened at four o'clock by Bro .C. T. Smith , VV.M., under the united banners of the TyrianLodge, No. 253, and the Arboretum Lodge, No. 731. Bro.Stevens will lecture at the Masonic Hall , Derby, on Fridaynext , the 19th inst. ; and on the 13th of January in the NewCross Lodge, No. 1559, at the Portland Hotel , Greenwich.

'I he palatial Savoy Hotel is the latest addition to the listof Masonic homes. 'The Castle Lodge of Harmony, No. 26,having left Willis 's Rooms, has taken up its quarters atthe Savoy, and , jud ging from the satisfaction expressed byits members at the meeting held on the 24th ult., we thinkit will be a long time before they will wish to make anotherchange. Bro. E. Echenard, the courteous manager, madethe most careful preparations for their reception , and pro-vided a " tavoy " banquet.

The Wo'ld this week has the following notice of theportrait of Bro. Fenn presented to Grand Lodge lastweek : " At the Grand Lodge of Freemasons on Wednes-day an emp hatic comp liment was paid to ' Brother 'Thomas Fenn , probabl y the most distinguished and hard-working all-round Mason of this generation. An excellentportrait by Mr. B. S. Marks , and paid for by private sub-scription , was accepted by Grand Lodge and ordered to beplaced in the board-room , to perpetuate for all time theeminent and useful services rendered by Brother Fenn to theFreemasonic body, to which he has belonged nearly 40years."

1 he Carl Rosa Company, at their visit to the Metropolisat Easter, will , in all probability, not occupy Drury Lane'Theatre . Arrangements are being made for some otherhouse, and it is more than likely that a home will be foundfor English opera for a month or six weeks at the GrandTheatre , Islington . This arrangement is necessitated bythe fact that Bro. Harris has in contemplation a cheapItalian season at Covent Garden in the spring, and the run-ning of opera at both houses at the same time would imperilthe prospects of each. How far a "cheap " season atCovent Garden would affect the season proper in thesummer will , of course, have to be considered ; but if Bro .Harris does not undertake it , someone else may at anotherhouse ; hence the shrieval impresario would prefer to bewounded by his own hand rather than by a thrust fromanother man 's weapon.