TABLE OF CONTENTS.

Footsteps of Freemasonry i .VFreemasonry and Isralitism 13 ~Presentation of the Robert Wcntworth Little

Testimonial i ?i-Presentation of Testimonial to Bro. J. Rowe, Sec. 105 t .S4Masonic Ball at Torquay 1 ,i4CoRllKSl 'O.vnEXCB

The Agression of the Grand Chapter ofScotland on English Mark Masonry 135

Masonic Tidings—British , Colonial and Foreign i .l.iPoet Masons i ,1<>Freemasonry J 36CnAFT M A S O N R Y :—

Metropolitan 1.18Provincial ] ,38

ROYAI . A RCH :—Provincial 1 ,,S

Mark Masonry ' 139Onnr.ns OR CH I V A L R Y :—

Red Cross of Constantino 139Annual Festival of the Royal Arch Chapter of

Improvement 1 •,')Masonic Meetings for next week 141Advertisements 129, 130, 141, 142 , 143, 144

THE FOOTS TEPS OF MASONRY;OR ,

FR E E M A S O N R Y IN R E L A T I O N - TO AU T H E N T I C

HISTORY .By \V. VI S E R BUDOI .FI:, M.D., J.W., 1329. Hon '

Secretary Sphynx Lodge of Instruction.

Before recommencing the exp lanation of the.remaining "fra gwonts," we may in passing re-mark that several points would have been broughtmore prominently forward , but from a desire toavoid opening out the interior of Masonry, forfrom what lias been already said it is evident thatthe externals of our calling do not necessaril yconvey any knowledge of the inner manifesta-tions.

It might for instance have been more dramaticto have imag ined an F.C. presenting himself tothe S.W., or his deputy, sitting beneath the de-picted emblem of the " Ear of Corn and Fall ofWater," at the foot of the winding staircase whichlead to the "Tablinum or Inner Chamber." Inthis position , as he demanded of him Quid Velis ?(What do you want ?) wc mi ght curiously listento the reply "Tribesthai. "—(I desire) to bewinnowed or tried , and there seems little doubtbut that the modern word is derived from thisancient form.

J remark here that I. [shall shortl y have tocall attention to a sign in common use amongstthe Romans, and holding a precisely similarsignification amongst ourselves. This sign , in myopinion forms definitel y anil log icall y an indisput-able link between Roman times and our own ,—between us and them—and could by no othermeans have got into Masonry except by actualtradition.

Althoug h most important , it will , on the abovementioned principle, be merely simp ly referredto iu due course , and without other remark.

We have alread y referred to the " Cowan ,"who prowls without , and to the "Tyler " whoguards our gates ; the next personage to beexp lained should be the

I N N E R GU A R D .There is, however, no record of any such officerin the ancient collegiu m or lod ge.

The one who nearest seems to approach tothat oihee was the Precon , Herald , or Crier, andwho still exists in the College of Can.finals—theundoubted "analogue " of the College o!Augurs.

The ancient Precon had to announce theceremonial entry of the person admitted , whethercandidate or otherwise, and to proclaim theedicts of the W. Master , ml urh.m el orlem , oras St. Paul , hath it , not merely " to those within,"

but " to those without. " We may state that itis very remarkable how this sentiment of " thosewithin " and " those without " pervaded theancient Roman world.

At the present day a R. C. Bishop, howeverappointed or elected , cannot enter canonicallyinto office until he has been invested andofficiall y proclaimed or pra-conised by com-mand] of the Pope , the Pontifex Maximus , theW. Master of the College of Cardinals , wherethe ancient term of Pr.T.con is still retained .

As, however, Masons do not proclaim theiracts to the external world , but only amongstthemselves, the Inner Guard may be consideredas the modified Torm in which the ancient" precon " has come down to our days.

DE A C O N S .The office bearers of this name, in Greek , rW;<oi/o,

are not difficult of identification. It is , how-ever, although ancient , an ecclesiastical term , theroot KOI '/ W, being an old Ionian or Italianword , and signified those who served the tableat meals.

Thus at the feast of Cana of Galilee , theS MKOI 'OI , or Deacons, are especiall y mentioned ,we must bear in mind that at this epoch theJews had become Romanised in the ir manners,for instead of eating the Passover with staff' inhand and shoes on feet , the beloved disci plereclined "wore Romano " on the bosom of hismaster.

] n this case we may infer that , as it is dis-tinctly stated , that the " Deacons " obeyed theApxirp ucXwos, or Worshipful Master of thefeast , so evidently the custom of the Romans wasthat a Deacon was one who obeyed in private , orsemi-private, or social assemblies, the commandsof the Worshi pful Master , as now with us.

Having thus far completed the offices , beforeproceeding to the highesth among them viz., theWardens or Tribunes , and the W. Master , let us,going from grave to gay, dall y a short time longe rin the flowery mead of research , and discoursea little concerning our clothing.

" Whose pr imi t ive tradition reachesAs far as Adam's first green breeches."

for so says Butler.We have hitherto considered Masonry in its

political organization and philosophical tendencies ,but wc must not forget that it has also a milderand more social aspect ; a livel y and festive char-acter, dear to us all ,and this we must associate withour garb, the emblem at once of labour , innocence ,and j oy. Let us then, at once come to

THE A P R O N .The gown makes the Monk , and the apron the

Mason ; and it is not in modern times onl y thatthe question ol vestments has agitated the publicmind.

The Romans w ere a gow ned , or gens toganation , and desp ised the Gauls , who , like themoderns , were a Iraeeala , breeched , or rnlollenation. We, as masons follow really and li terall ya more ancient custom than either ; for althoug hwe may look upon (he A pron as the badge of aworking mason , yet , like many other thing., in

our mysterious Craft , it has a secondary or em-blematic meaning, and there is little doubt thatour curt habit had its origin in primeval innocence,and PandtciW- measures , when wild in woods thenaked savage ran.

In study ing a mixed institution like our own ,a full solution of its origin is not to be obtainedby looking at it in its purely civil character, anda study of the " sodalities" of Rome, whichalthough religious in their origin , had the elaiacelement developed in , or associated with them ,throws li ght upon it. These associations wereall accustomed to their festive meetings whenthe good brethren did not fail

"To mix frugality with winsAnd honest mirth with thoughts divine. "

Cicero , Aldus, Gellius, and others refer tohese associations , but Horace uses the termsada/es to signify a festive companion , an iiveident of his finest odes.

As an examp le, let us take the Liip erccrlii , anassociation connected with the grand Romanfestivals to the God Pan. This Sodality, orbrotherhood , derived its ori gin from the ancientpriests of Pan ; two of its lod ges were very ancient ,a third was established in the time of Caesar, andcalled hence the Julian. Marc Antony, thegreat Consul , the lover of Cleopatra , and forwhose sweet sake he lost the world , was thefirst master.

Cicero in his "Oration for Coelius " speaks ofthem thus, " Nor am I startled at his say ing, thatCu-lius was his mate at the Lupercal festivals,for the institution of those meetings is moreancient limn that of goreriunenl and lairs. Itsodge fellows not only mutuall y accuse each other,but in their accusations mention even their verybye-laws, as if they feared any one should not dis-cover that they belonged to this brotherhood."

I fear , indeed , we sometimes copy this or i-

ginal a little to closely, for a quaint old authorremark s, " they had , it seems, an odd and savagecustom of exposing one another s faults, and evenprofessed that members of their societies actedconsistentl y with the laws of their associationwhen he endeavoured to blacken his brotherLnpercus."

It was in his capacity as Master of a Lodge ofthe Liiper endii , that Mark Antony, at the headof his brethren in grand procession , and , as it isexpressel y slated , wearing aprons of goat-skinoffere d the king ly crown to Cesar.

" You all did see that in the Luercpal ,I thrice presented li ini a king ly, crown ,Which he did thrice re fuse."

Now this was not onl y a sodality or brother-hood , partaking as such in our own characteristics ,c la iming and acknowled ge to be ancient , governedby byc-iaws , and each member owing specialduty to his fellows. But for us, their specialcharacteristic was that they were literall y clothedwith white aprons of goat skin , and that MarkAntony and his procession actuall y wore such on011 this world-renowned occasion.

The Apron is the oposite to tht Chigultiin orgirdle of the soldier , the one being a mill i tar y ,the other a festive decoration.

This characteristic "̂ !' while[aprons of goat-skinthey bore from jthe period of |their introductioninto Ital y by Kvander 'before file bui l d ing ofRome , and continued .unt i l j -hc' brothu 'hood wasformall y dissolved by the Emperor Anasiasiuii

in the sixth century after Christ, the era of theS.T.xon Heptarchy.

Here then is an instance of an institution per-forming mystic, social , and festive duties, inwhite aprons, for a period of 1300 years, andafter that time, the custom of the apron doubt-less lingered long, traditionall y handed down bythe " Old Mortalitys" of the period , as a badgeof festivity and broth erhood.

It is in memory of these ancient and mysticfestivals we still continue its use, and althoughwe do not as in banquets of old.

" Braid our locks with Ivy twineBreathing perfumes , dropp ing wine."

yet wearing that time-honoured ensign, we stilldrain a bumper to the memory of Auld LangSyne ; and some, unwisely lingering after theTyler's toast may, even drink like Monks ofold to "one saint more."

Trul y then may we desi gnate the Apron asmore auciert than the Roman Eagle, more honour-able than the Garter or any other order in exist-ance, being (in memory of that Silver Agewhence it originated) the Bad ge of Innocencend the Bond of Friendshi p,' " and such may it

ever remain.In our next we hope to continue the " Frag-

ments."

FREEMASONRY AND ISRAELITISM.AN E PITOME OP BRO . CA R T E N T E R S A RTICLES

ON THIS SU B J E C T .

BY W. K N., No. 766.

I am glad to find that the suggestion of anepitome or resume of the articles latel y pub-lished on tne abov e subj ect m the r reeniasonmeets with the approval ol" Bro. Carpenter , andI greatl y regret to learn that he feels unable toacomp lish this task himself , and am heartil ysorry for the cause he assigns for his inabilit y.

As I have offered to prepare this resume iorpub lication , in the event of Bro. Carpenter beingunable to do so, I will endeavour , to the best ofmy abili ty, to redeem my promise. I must ,however , claim your readers ' indul gence, espe-cially that of Bro. Carpenter , for any short-comings.

People usuallv do not peruse scientific , literary ,or historical w orks, as ihev do works of fictionor amusement. The student of the former ,fre quentl y finds it necessary to re fer back 10previous page s for more certain information, orto correct , modify, or confirm impres sions onsome particular point

I ' nless an amp le index or resume of 'diecontents of the book be pro\ ided. the- search fora p articular part , contained perhap s, in a fewlines , will be very tedious. Hence good indicesare very useful , in fact are almost indispensablefor scientific worKs and books ol reference. NowBro. Carpenter , in the 25 articles that hav eappeared in the Freemas in/, under the aboveheading, has collected a vast array of evidence ,and has supported his eonelusims bv a numberof very ingenious arguments; but as this v\ :t\e:) tv.and these arguments , and the facts deducedtherefrom , are spread owr twenty-f ive numbersof the Freemason , and extend over some six orseven months ol' t ime , the difficult y of masterin g.•ti l the details wil l be self -eviilenv. ' It is sati s -factory to find that Bro . Carpenter 's articles onthis most intere ting Mibject are to to lie collectedand published in the form of a book or pamp hlet ,to which , no doubt , an amp le index will be ap-pended ; but as all the readers of the Freemasonmay not purchase Bro. Carpenter 's book , it willbe convenient for those , who do not do so,to cave such an ep itome of the articles thathave appeared in the Freemason as will enablethem to refer back for more ample detail ifdesired.

To this end it is proposed to take thearticles seriatim, refer to their date of publication ,and give an ep itome of the i'acts and statementsset forth ; but omitting, as a general rule, thearguments upon which the conclusions arefounded.

In Art No. i , published May, 27th , 187 1,the writer commences by pointing out as a re-markable fact , that numbers of professingChristians in the United Kingdom, America , theBritish Colonies, France, Germany, and else-where, have adopted a system (Freemasonry)which is obviousl y founded on Judaism or Israel-itism. No person is now prepared to carry theorigin of the Craft to a period anterior to theChristian Era , and yet the ritual of Free-masonry is based on Judaism. Much labourhas been thrown away in attempts to identif yancient peop les with Freemasonry, but its ori gincan be plainly fixed in Christian times, andamong Christian people. How is it then thatFreemasonry, its traditions , ceremonies, andritual , a.re rooted in Judaism ? The Saxonbranch of the Teutonic race fun e great tenacityof will in holding to opinions , convictions ,and princi ples, and no revolution has ever beeneffected amivusr them until after loner conflicts andmuch sufienng. How comes it then that a Chris-tian peop le do not scrup le to accept obli gationsbased upon a Jewish foundation ? The solutionol the problems full of interest , and points toa conclusion of hi gh import.

No. 11. June , 3rd.—The consideration 01this problem furnishes one link in a chain of cir-cumstances which leads to the conclusion , thatwe ( the Eng lish and some other EuropeanNations ) bear a close aff ini ty to the Hebre wrace. The whole history of Israel , and theprophecies pointing to the future of this people ,are amomrst the most wonderfu l works of God.

In treatin g of the subje ct , two things are takenfor granted.

1. That the conquest of the king dom ofIsrael by Assyria is an authentic history .

2. That the prophecies of the Old Testament ,relating to this people have been , or will befulfilled.

Here follows a short review of the history ofIsrael ; Abraham. Isaac , and Jacob were power-ful Princes or Emirs. They were Chiefs , Priests ,and Jud ges over their families , which (with theirdependants) formed large bodies of persons.

1 he twelve sons ol J acob ruled their familiesin like manner , but when their desendants in-creased in numbers , they formed distinct tribes :each having a prince as its ruler. This form olgovernment exists at the present day among theArabs , and was maintained bv the Hebrew s evenin Egypt. On the departure of the Israeliteslrom Egypt , the worshi p of God was so con-nected with the political structure of the nation ,that Jehovah became their Law '-giver , Jud ge, andKing. The laws were unalterable , and wi thoutthe sanction of |ehovah no important measurecould be under taken .

W hen t.'ie peop le took possession of the Pro-mised Land , thee settled dow n under their princesor heads ol tribes, with a divinel y appointedjud ge as clue!' mag istrate or supreme ruler.

( j el l ing tired of this form of <_ro\ eminent, theyultimatel y set up a king and electe.l Saul torei gn over them. The king ly power did not re-main long in Saul' s famil y, but was. by God' sdirection , confered upon David , who , after astrugg le of some years w ith famil y of Saul , wasproclaimed kin g over " all Israel. " David ' s rei gnwas a gionous one , and Ins victorious arms ex-tended the empire to the Eup hrates. He thendesired to buiid a tem p le to God , but this honouru as reserv ed lor his son , Solomon , w ho bui l t amagnilicient temp le , which was the glorv of theempire , and dazzled all strangers.

Solomon s rei gn was also a glorious one, un t i lit became ta in ted with idolatr y , w h i n it de-generated , and at length , under his son Kehoboam ,the emp ire collapsed , and was broken up intotwo kingdoms , known afterwards as ludah andEphraim or Israel. The two kingdoms w ereperpetuall y striving for the mastery under thei rrespective kings , Ephraim representin g therevolted ten tribes , and J udah the t w o tribesof Judah and Benjamin , who remained faith -ful to the house of David.

No. III. June ijstij j 137j,-—The, r iiasfftY.'tion

of Ephraim and the northern tribes having grownin Solomon's prosperous but burthensome reign ,culminate d under his successor, and under theguidance of Jeroboam, Ephraim took the leadand split the emp ire in two. A jealousy betweenthe two nations ensued, and continued for manyyears, and although both were God's chosenpeople, they frequentl y were guilty of idolatry,more especially the revolted ten tribes, whoursued the downward course of imp iety and sin ,until the Israelitish kingdom was finall y des-troyed by the Assyrians, and the princi pal in-inhabitants were transported to the river Kur ,which runs into the Araxes, and empties itselfinto the Casp ian Sea. After the lapse of a fewyears Shalmanezar carried away the rest of thepeople to Iialah, Habor, and Gozan , in Mediaand Assyria. Thus Ephraim or "the King domof Israel ," was utterly destroyed 2 ,Syears afterthe revolt and , 722 B.C.

The king dom of Judah was not so utterlydepraved , and althoug h it frequentl y replapsedinto idolatry, many of the kings punished and .endeavoured to extirpate this sin. Wickednessand rebellion against God, ultimatel y, however ,obtained the upper hand , and the nation waspunished by being invaded by Nebuchadnezzar ,who destroyed the Temple at Jerusalem , carriedaway all that was valuable , together with manyof the Hebrew nobility , including Daniel and histhree friends. A remnant of the people wereleft under Zedekiah , who plotted with Egyptand rebelled against the King of Bab ylon , and theywere in the end utterl y destroyed , .387 years afterthe revolt of the ten tribes, and 134 years afterthe destruction of the king dom of Israel , 588B.C. In the kingdoms of both Judah andIsrael a succession of bold honest prophets re-proved and warned both kings and people, butwith no useful result. The captivity of Judahwas unlike that of Israel ; that of the formerwas only to last for 70 years, and under Cyrus, Kingof Pesira , the people were allowe d to return totheir own land. The temple was re-built andthe Jewish nation re-established , but althoughthe nation never relapsed into idolatry they fellinto other sins, for which they were again pun-ished by being utterl y uprooted under Vespa-sian , A.D. 70. They have not been destroyed ,but are now dispersed throug hout the wholecivilized world , waiting lor their restoration , whileEgypt , Assyria, Baby lon , and Rome no longerexist as nations , they having mightil y oppressedGod' s peop le; while the Persians who showedthem kindness , still remain an establishedkingdom.

On Saturday evenin g iast , a company of fortybrethren assembled at a ban quet at the Cannon-street Hotel , to present the testimoni al (which weannounced a fortni ght since , consisted of a splendiddock and a purse of 300 soverei gns) to Bro. RobertWcntworth Little for the services he has renderedthe caurse of Freemasonry . About two years agoit was suggested that such a testimonial shouldbe subscribed for , and the movement receivedthe support of ourselves , and our old Masoniccontemporary The Era . The matter was takenin hand by some energetic brethren , and a com-mittee was formed , of which Bro. John Hervey,G.S., became Treasurer , and Bro. John ThomasMoss , the Secretary. The difficulties which be-set any new undertaking are well known , butthe perseverance of the brethren who took thismatter in hand , and the magnificent amount of¦£'.300, with a surp lus to purchase an enduringmemento of the respect of the subscribers wasraised. As no testimonial is supposed to be pro-per ly presented without some accompany ingconvivial i t y , the necessary " go " was given tothe Li t t le testimonial , as we have said , by a ban-quet , and it would be unfair to pass over the eventwithout our presenting a verbal testimonial toBro. Spencer , the proprietor of the Cannon-street ,Hotel , and his manager, Bro . Davies , by savin"that a belter supp lied or bette r served ban quet wehave never partaken of. The company whoassisted at the ceremonies of banquet and pre-sentation comprised Bro, Colone l Francis Burden,

PRESENTATION OF THE ROBERTII 'EN 'FIIVRTII LITTLE 'TESTIMONIAL.

Provincial Grand Master of Middlesex, who pre-sided as chairman , and Bros. John Hervey,George Kenning, H. C. Levander, Charles Coote,Barnett, John Boyd, W. Carpenter, Stedwell,W. Smeed, Magnus Ohren, Horsley, A. Thiel-lay, John Coutts , James Brett , W. Roebuck ,George S. Slater, Williams , Hurlstone, LI. G.Buss, Major Finney, T. Finney, junr. F. Davison,Odell, Thomas, S. Rosenthal, Thomas W. White,Taylor, T. Cubitt ,D. D. Beck, Brown , }. Adlard ,W. H. Scott, G. Scott, John Cockburn, T. B.Yeoman, H. Parker, J ohn J. Moss, and H. Mas-sey. Bro. Little occupied a seat immediately onthe chairman 's ri ght , and Bro. F. Davison tookthe vice-chair. In the course of the eveninsr thefollowing telegram, dated 7.45 p.m., was receivedfrom Bro. "W. J. Hughau , Truro :—" Sorry Icannot be present. Warmest congratulations toBro. Little. Hearty good wishes to brethren,and success to Freemasonry every where."

When the cloth -was removed and grace sang,the toasts were introduced.

The Chairman said, although he was chairmanof a very large and pleasant party he did notthink it was necessary to inflict long speechesupon the company. They were met together topass an agreeable evening, and for one other par-ticular purpose, at the same time the}' met asMasons, and a convivial party of f reemasonsnever met without drinking, as the first toast ,"The Health of the Queen. " They all felthow much they were indebted to her, and howmuch they mi ght hereafter be indebted to herand to her son , the Prince of Wales, who hadlatel y passed through a most critical illness. Wehoped to see him in public amongst us againsoon, not only as Prince of Wales, but as abrother Mason. He coupled the two names inone toast so that he might not tresspass on thebrethren 's time

Hie Chairman again rose, and said it had sel-dom fallen to his lot to have the opportunityeither of proposing a toast , or making a proposi-tion similar to that which he was now going tosubmit the brethren; andhefelt thatheencounteredsome difficulty in performing the duty whichdevolved upon him ,because, as the representativeof every brother present, he was obli ged to dohis utmost, thoroug hly to embody their feelingsin wdiat he had to say. He felt that every onewould wish all his own sentiments to be conveyedwith respect to the benefit that had been con-ferred upon themselves and the Craft at large, byone who, he was happy to say, was present onhis ri ght hand , and was their guest. That guesthad served the Masonic Order with the greatestability, and the greatest kindness. Though he(the Chairman) had started with a short speech ,he must tresspass on the brethren 's patience andindulgence now, because he could not do justiceto the subj ect he had in hand in an effectualmanner, if he was very brief. On this accountonly he would almost have preferred that someother brother who was more eloquent than he—should have taken the President 's chair, (cries of" No, No." He was much obli ged for theirkindness, but while almost wishing that anotherbrother should have presided, he felt that nobrother 's speech would have been dictated bygreater feelings of admiration of Bro. Little thanhis. Still they must not measure his feelings byhis poor language, and he would not delegate theprivilege of presenting the testimonial to any oneelse. He had great pleasure in proposing " Thehealth of Bro. Little." He might , perhaps neverhave the opportunity of doing so again in public,and in conjunction with it , expressing the grati-fication he had in presiding over a company, whoconfessed Bro.Little 's merits,andwere desirous ofrewarding them. Very likely many of thebrethren were aware of his feelinsrs towards Bro.Little. He had had the pleasure of knowinghim for some time : many of the brethren per-haps had known him longer and muchbetter, and could better appreciate hisworth and excellence than he; but he shouldbe very sorry , when he had the opportunity ofexpressing his feelings, not to do so. Manybrethren no doubt would be glad to express theirs ,but has he had been honoured with the positionof Chairman he hoped that what he said wouldbe taken as convey ing all their views. He hadjust said he had known Bro. Little some time ;he must make that observation that the more he

knew of him, the better he liked him. He lookedon him , not only as a brother in the Masonicorder, but as a brother in the world in general,for he had instructed them to do what they couldfor the welfare of others. In their intercoursewith him they had experienced a sincere feelingof fellowship fro m him—a feeling which they felthappy to return to him again as far as lay in theirpower. He would be happy to say much moreof Bro. Little , if he was not present , but even inhis presence he would not refrain from saying,he had done everything in his power to promotethe interest of the order , and every thing forhis brethre n individuall y and collectivel y. Hiskindness, beneficence , and general behaviour toall was what the brethren appreciated mosthighly. He (the Chairman) had great pleasure inpresiding on this occassion ; he had never occu-pied a chair with greater pleasure, and he nowbegged to hand to Bro. Little, in the name of allthe brethren a purse, of 300 sovere igns and ahandsome clock, the inscri ption upon which Bro.Moss, the Secretary to the Testimonial Fund,would read. (Great cheering). The presentationwas made in recognition of Bro. Little's servicesto Masonry , and as a return forthekind behaviourhe had shown towards all the brethren ,

The Chairman then presented the purse ofsovereigns, and Bro. Moss read the followinginscri ption on the plinth of the clock :—

" Presented , with a purse containing £.300, toBro. Robert Wcntworth Little , P.M. 975 and1273 P.Z. 177 and 975, Provincial Grand Secre-tary, Middlesex , by several brethren , in token oftheir hi gh admiration of his peersonal qualities,and in recognition of his ability and zeal in pro-moting the interest of Freemasonry in all itsbranches."C OL . FRANCIS B URDETT , P.G.M. Middlesex.

"J OHN THOMAS AIoss , ) Hon." HENRY C LFAWXIVKR, $ Sees.

" J OHN HERVEY , Grand Secretary of England ,Treasurer.

" February, 1872 ,"

The chairman said the purse containing thesovereigns had been made and presented gra-tuitousl y by Bro. Kenning, to whom they wereindebted for a like kindness when a Testimonialwas given to Bro. James Brett.

BRO . LITTLE .—Most Worshi pful Chairmanand Brethren ,—To some extent 1 feel myself inthe position of the member of the House olCommons who rose for the first time to makea speech, and who said, " Mr. Speaker, Irise, impelled by a sense of the duty I owe tomy consti.uents"—but found he could get nofurther , and ultimatel y felt himself bound by asense of duty to his constituents to sit down.Well , sir , I rise with some diffidence , but I can-not say I appear before my constituents, but Ican say I meet here my friends. There is notone here to night of whom I cannot say it ; infact , their presence is evidence that they are myfriends, They have evinced that good, true,masonic feeling which every brother ought tohave towards another , so long as he pursues thepath of duty, and acts honourably and upri ghtlyto all men. But , sir, my difficulty increaseswhen I approach the subj ect which you have sogracefully alluded to , and when I give to the Sub-scribers, the Committee, and the Brethren presentmy sincere thanks for their kindness. Baethren,the Right Worshipful Chairman has told youthe brethren represent much larger numbers thanthose who attend here to-night. I have to thankyou , brethren , as representing them , the com-mittee, and the masons generally, for the magni-ficent token of their esteem and regard which hasbeen presented to me. Whatever services I mayhave rendered to the cause of Freemasonry, how-ever great you may have been pleased to thinkthem , I have considered them but slight. I fearthey have been over-estimated ; and I cannot seewhy I should have been deemed a fit recipient ofsuch a testimonial. However, Ri ght Worshi pfulSir, and brethren , as it has pleased ycu and othersto present me with this testimony and mark ofyour esteem, I must tender to you, and throughyou to them , my heartfelt thanks for the com-pliment paid to me. I accept it, sir, as an evi-dence of that boundless good-will which hasbeen one of the tenets of our ancient order, andreceive it as a stimulus to greater exertion in my

future career. I shall strive to be, if possible,more deserving than I may have been in the postI have occupied, more deserving of the estima-tion and confidence which has been this day re-posed in me. I will only say I will not detainyou longer. You have justly said that longspeeches were to be deprecated on the presentoccasion. I can Onl y tender you, from the bottomof my heart , my thanks and gratitude for thatestimation and affection which has been mani-fested towards me this evening. (Great applause.)

Bro. Davison proposed " The health of theChairman ," testifying, at the same time to hismerits as a mason, and to the readiness withwhich he came forward to assist the Little Testi-monial movement when h was set on foot.

The Chairman said he was much gratified withthe kindness of the brethren. Although he haddone what he could to support the movement, hecould have done very little without the assistanceof others. A great many brethren round thetable had aided him materiall y ; but it was labourwell bestowed, for no one hail assisted him in theorder more than Bro. Little. Not only so, butBro. Little had brought him forward in a mannerthat could not be done by any brother In theCraft. Several of the brethren at the table hadcontributed their services to the same end, and toall of them he felt himself indebted for his posi-tion of Grand Master of Middlesex. Bro. Her-vey, Bro. Little, and Bro. Moss took a leadingpart in the work , The province had to be esta-blished , and that entailed great difficulty andtrouble. Middlesex was now in a position whichnobod y could regret ; and no one would denythat it was standing, well as compared with otherprovinces. It was a great honour to be the Pro-vincial Grand Master of Middlesex , and while heoccupied that distinguished position he shoulddevote his attention to promoting the prosperityof the province.

The Chairman then proposed " The health ofthe Treasure r and Secretary, Bros. John Herveyand John Thomas AIoss," and informed the bre-thren , that the time, trouble, and expense ofgetting the testimonial up were incalculable.

Bro. John Hervey said he had a very smallinterest in this toast. He had had very little todo, but that little which consisted in acting asTreasure r to the Fund gave him great satisfactionto have it in his power to do. He had a fanc yfor supporting all who did their duty. He knewand felt that Bro. Little had done his duty ;therefore he had supported him, and on the sameshould continue to support him. (Cheers). They,the subjects of this toast, must be very muchgratified with the result which had been attained.For himself he should have been sorry indeed if agood result had not been obtained. It wouldhave been a prievous thine if it had failed. Hehad played a subordinate part. The giant 's parthad been played by Bro. Moss, which was quiteright, as he had app liances at hand which othershe had not , and a purse at hand which they hadnot. Bro. Levander was an able coadjutor of Bro.Moss, as for myself, continued Bro. Hervey,laughing, I have made a fortune out of themoney during the time it had been in my hands.I have profited most largely by the interest I havereceived on the deposits ; and 1 am gratified atany rate that the cheque which was included inthe purse this evening could not be handed overwithout me. (Cheers and laughter.) I do hopethat the cheque will be paid when it is presented,because if not I shall be.placed in an unfortunateposition . (Cheers).

Bro. J. T. Moss in responding said althoughhe had experienced a good deal of labour in work-ing this movement it was to hint a source ofgreat pleasure.

Before he undertook the duties of Secretary hedid not know he should have to write to so manybrethren. When he wanted some circulars Bro.Kenning printed a thousand , all free of expense,too, which would show what were his sentimentstowards Bro. Little. Bro. Kenning expressedthose sentiments in words, and said he believedhim to be the right man in the right place. Heafterwards printed another thousand circulars,and in the end another thousand. Bro . Kennins"had also advertised the Testimonial , and he (Bro.Moss) thought injustice would be done to Bro.Kenning if his liberality were not made known.

. Bro. H. C. Levander also replied, but could

not pretend to have done nearl y so much as Bro.Moss, but he had done what he could , and intro-duced the movement to . the attention of manybrethren.

The Chairman proposed " The health of Bro.Davison , the Vice-chairman."

Bro. Davison in reply said he had spent a verypleasant evening. He would have been sorry tomiss it, and should look back on it with greatdel ight.

The Chairman next gave "The Press ," cou-pling with it the name of Bro. Kenning.

Bro . Kenning, in thanking the Chairman andbrethre n, stated that thoug h a newspaper pro-prietor he was not yet used to respond at dinnersfor this toast , He had started The Fr eemason atconsiderable expense, because he believed a suit-able organ for the craft was not at the time inexistence, and he had had a long and tedioustime to wait while it established itself on a foot-ing which encouraged him to hope it would pay .Brethren who had not tried the experiment hadno idea of what the cost of a newspaper was ;but he might inform them that unless a man hada large capital at his back ; unbounded energy,and dauntless cotirege, it was no use attemqtingto establish one. Fortunatel y, he had cap ital ;no one accused him of want of business energ y ;and he thought the brethren , if they knew thetrials an up hill working of a newspaper entailed ,would not think him egotistic if he laid claim tosome courage in treading fearlessl y lorward. 77/1

The Chairman at this point retired , and de-puted Bro. Hervey to succeed him.

Bro. Hervey proposed "The Charities of Lon-don , especiall y those of the Masonic Order."

Bro. F. Adlard acknowled ged the toast." The health of those brethren who have

written on Fremasonry,' -was afterwards pro-posed, and Bro. W. Carpenter responded , afterwhich the company separated.

The musical arrangements were under the abledirection of Bro. H. Parker , and the songs sungduring the evening were " The Tempest of Life,"by Bro. Moss ; " My Father 's Apprentice , byBro. Magnus Ohren ; "Mistress Malone ," byBro. Horsley ; " Sunny Days will Come Again ,"by Bro. Parker , "When other Li ps," by Bro.Moss ; a comic song by Bro. Charles Coote, andthe "Red Cross Song," by Bro. II. Parker.

TESTIMONIAL TO BRO. J . ROWE,SEC. IOJ , PLYMOUTH.

A strong muster of the officers and brethren ofLodge Fortitude , No. 105, assembled at the GlobeHotel , Plymouth , on the 21st. instant , for thepurpose of pay ing a tribute of esteem and regard totheir tried and valued Secretary, Bro. James Rowe,and presenting him with a purse of thirty guineas ,as a small recognition of his services.

The Worshi pful Master , Bro. Martin Will iams ,presided , and after the brethren had done amp lejustice to the good things of this life , admirabl yput on the table by Bro. Watts , the usual loy aland Masonic toasts were given and suitabl yresponded to.

The Wovshiplul Maste r requested the Y.W.Bro. R. Rodda , P.M., P.P .G.R., to propose thetoast of the evening, and to make the presentation ,and who , on rising, said :—Worshi pful Masterand brethren ,—At your command , I rise toexecute a very pleasant duty in acknowled ging themeritorious services ol Y.W. Bro . James Rowe,P.M., P.I' .G.T., who for upwards of 24 yearspast , has been the industrious , indefati gable, andeminentl y successfu l Secretary of Lodge Fortitude ,now numbered 105 on the roll of the UnitedGrand Lod ge of Eng land , and althoug h it wouldhave been more satisfactory to me , had somemore worth y brother been selected to performthis office, who would render it more efficientlythan I can possibly do, yet I will not hesitateto say that I yield to none in my desireto pay a tribute of respect to the distinguishedMasonic abilites of our excellent brother , and tojoin my song in the united and harmonious chorusof Lodge Fortitude , and shout " Thus shall it bedone unto the brother whom the Lodge delightethto honour. " I think it is not always in the besttaste to laud and magnif y a person in his presence,or expatiate on and extol the Masonic merits of

a brother other than in his absence ; but thebrother whom we have met this evening tohonour is an exception to the rule , if ever therule afforded one.

On the escutcheon of his Masonic career fornearly jj o years past, has been sculptnred m suchbold relief, " that he who runs may read ," thatmotto dear to every true and faithful brother ofthe mystic tye—namely, strict and unflinchingfidelity to the principles of our illustrious order.By a long and consistent life he has throughl yproved his attachment to our hallowed institution ,and for a quarter of a century has his flag beenhoisted at the mainmast of the srood old frigateto which we are all proud to belong, throu g hevil report and throug h good report, in sicknessand in health , in adversity and in prosperity ,under the murky clouds of an obscure sky, aswell as in the bright sunlight and azure firmament ,he has illustrated the Duke 's motto , " I am here."He has stuck faithfull y to the old cralt and kepther afloat , and during the whole period to whichI have referred , no Maste r has left the chair with-out acknowled ging a debt of gratiude to Bro. J amesRowe, and without admitting that whateversuccess crowned his year of office , it was in agreat measure due to the unwearied services anduntiring zeal of the excellent Secretary. FewSecretaries have evinced such peculiar aptitudefor the office , as that for which our Brother JamesRowe has acquired so just a reputation. Duringthe two years I had the honour of filling the chairof Lodge Fortitude , I had frequent and amp leopp ortunities of acquainting myself with the greatcorrespondence and heavy resp onsibilities whichdevolved upon the Secretary , and of yvit-nessing the unwearied zeal and unabated perse-verance w ith which he devoted himself and hisvaluable time to Freemasonry in general , and toLod ge Fortitude in particular. And it is to tes-tify the hi gh estimation in which he is sodeservedl y held , and to mark their appreciationof his worth , that the Worshi pful Masters , PastMasters , and Brethren of Lodge Fortitude havemet this evening to present him with a smalltribute of their regard and esteem. (Turning toBro. Rowe) And in asking your acceptance ofthis gold , my dear brother , it by no means repre-sents our measure of your worth. You are nowseventy-four years of age, you have passed thetime allotted by Heaven to man , and we shoulddeep l y regret your passing away fro m amongstus without evincing some slight recognition ofyour most valuable services ; and althoug h wehope that you may yet live many years to affordus your counsel , instruction , and assistance,which you are so admirabl y qualified to do, wealso sincerel y pray that when you shall lay downyour working tools to resume them no more ,when the buildin g of this life shall be completedthe last stone fixed with shoutings of grace untoit , and the clarion of death shall sound to callyou hence , then may the sp irit of the blessed benear you to waft your enfranchised soul to theabode of everlastin g peace. May the portals ofthe everlasting mansions in the Grand Lodgeabove be thrown open to receive your disem-bodied sp irit , and may the first sound that fallsupon your ears , as you enter that blissfu l region ,be the voice of your Great Grand Master , wel-coming you with the crowning plaudit of "Welldone." There may you—" Rest with the saints whose race is run ,

Whose virtues track their fli ght to Heaven ,The goal is gained , the battle won ;To the him palm , the crown be given ,Which conquerers in that region wear ,Where all is lasting , bri ght anil fair. "Bro. Rowe replied in a feeling and impressive

manner , recognising the kindness of his brethrenas most gratif y ing to himself and his famil y. I iealso gave some statistics of the lodge, and thefriends present afterwards spent a right genialand pleasant meeting.

l i l l K A K I A S T . I'>l" ' s O K O A. G l lATKI 'CI . AM ) ClIM-r i i i i - i ' iN/ i . —" By .'i thoroug h knowled ge of tiie natura l lawswhich goiern the operations of di gestion and nut i i t ion , andby a careful app lication of the fine pro peities of well-selectedcocoa , Mr. K pps has provided our breakfast , tables with adelicatel y-flavoured bcicragc which may sate us manyheavy doctors ' bills ,"— Ciril Service Gazette Made simp lywith Boiling Water or Milk. Kach packet is labelled—" ,|AMI :S 1M»I'S & Co., Homoeopathic Chemists, London."Also, nia'-iers of Epp's. Milky. Cocoa ( Cocoa and Con-densed M'dk.

TORQUAY ANNUAL MASONIC BALL.

The second ball under the ausp ices of St.John 's Lodge, (No. 328), Torquay, was held onMonday, February 12th , in the Bath Saloon , andproved the most successful ball that has takenplace in Torquay during the present season, therebeing ,300 present. The arrangements wereeverything that could be desired , and reflectedgreat credit on the Committee :—Bros. D. Wat-son , W.M. ,328 ; T. Olliver , I.P.M. ; I. Chap-man , iS°, S.D. ; H. Day, Steward ; and F. M.Millar. The railway accommodation enabledthose from Plymouth , Exeter, and other parts toarrive and depart in good time, showing thatnothing had been left undone to make the wholea success, which it proved to be. The room wasbeautifull y decorated with Masonic devices,emblems, flags and flowers. Over the entrancedoors were the mottoes, " YT irtue , Honour , andMercy," and "Truth , Peace, and Concord." Theroom used for last year 's ball , was on this occasionappropriated for refreshments, and was amp lyfurnished with the choicest viands and wines,which drew forth the praise that follows suchsuniputouspreparations. The dancing commencedat ten o'clock , and was preceeded by the brethrenforming a guard of honourto the Lady Patronessesas they entered the ball room. The brethren intheir various Masonic uniforms, ranging up tothe ,32° ; in connection with the rich military andnaval costumes of the officers in Her Majesty 'sservice, together with elegant dresses of theladies , made up one of the most brilliant scenesever witnessed in Torquay. Bro. Henry Round'sQuadrille Band , gave forth those strains of musicthat secured the approbation of those who tri phedthe li ght fantastic toe. Among those present wenoticed :—

LADIES ..—Baroness Burdett Coutts , the Dow-ager Lady Erskine , Miss. E. Erskine , Lady MariaCrosse, Lady Macgregor , Lady Theresa Boyle,Miss. Boyle , Lady Bishopp, Miss Bishopp,Lady Col qulioun , Miss Agnes Temple, MissKate Temp le, Mrs. Col. Kirkman , Miss J.Hinton , Mrs. and Miss Hearder, Mrs. T. Oliver,Misses and E. Haswell , the Misses ClarkeJervoise , Miss Maude Kenny-Tynte, Mrs. EastonCox , Mrs. Boy d Fawcett, Mrs. Cosway, MadameGarcia , Madame Mistowski , Miss Swete,Madame Yon D'Orlick , Misses M. and E. Brad-ford , Misses Vicaray, Mrs. Fitzgerald , MissesRobertson , Miss Pynsent. Sec.

GE N T L E M E N .—Lord Houghton , Major-Genera lSir George Macgregor, K.C.B. ; Colonel theHon. Dalzell , C.B. ; lion. S. Skeffington ; Hon.R. Pynsent , Z.C. ; Bro. L. P. Metham , D.Prov.G.M. of Devon ; Bro. I. Latimer, (Mayor ofPlymouth) Prov.G.Sec . of Devon ; Hon. E.Ewitt , Maj or Leith , Bro. Major Shadwell , H.Clerk , Prov.S.G.W. of Devon , .32° ; Bro. J.Oxley ()xland , .32° ; Bro. Col. EHiot 't,|Prov.S.G.W.300 ; Col. Camp bell , Col. Kirkman , Col. Cup-page, Col. Gardener , Dep-Controller Penno, Bro.Capt . Boyd Faw cett, K.T. Genera l Stockman ,Capta in A. N. Clay, (79th Cameron Highlan-ders), Captain Gordon Money, (79th CameronHi ghlanders ,), Bro. J . C. Curtice, Prov.G.S.B. ;Bro. S. Jones, Prov .G.S.D., .300 ; Bro. J. Chap-man, 180 ; Bro. Captain Costley, R.A ; Bro.Easton Cox, K.T ; Captain Jenkins , CaptainJames Brown, Captain Patterson , Captain A. F.Perkins, Captain and Adjutant Philli ps, R.N ;Bro. Captain W. H. Haswell , R.N. ; Lieut-Col.Turnbull , Captain Cookes, CaptainIley land ,Cap-tain Morton Pitt , Cap tain Miller , Captain MorayBrowne, (79th Cameron Highlanders,) CaptainApphn , Capta in A. Gary, Captain Bloxland ,Capta in Magor , Captain John Costley, R.A. ;Capta in Southerby, Lieutenant Thomas Martin ,Bro. D. Watson , W.M. 328 ; Bro. ThomasOliver , I.P.M. .328 ; Bro. J. Westhead , Dr.Radcliil 'e Hall , Dr. Macgregor, Dr. Rawlins , Dr.Ramsay, Dr. Brooking, Dr. Maryarti , MarchPhilli ps, Esq., J .P. ; C. Birch , Est)., OctaviusToogood , Esq., Bro . Si gnor Garcia , Bro. J. Iinde ,Senr. II.R.A. ; Dr. II. Gaze, Bro. J. Greenfield ,Prov.G.J.D. of Devon ; H. W. de Schmidt , Esq.Bro. Mons. J. Mistowski , Moms. H. Velthtiscn ,F. Camp bell , Esq., Mr. Donald Macgregor , Bro.W. Heartier, Bro. B. Fallwood, Bro. F. M.Millar , Mr. Cecil Clerk Jervoise, &c,

©viginal Coraspnkntt.

SIR AND B ROTHER .—A curious document haslately come into my possession which throwsconsiderable light on the estimation in which theGrand Chapter of Scotland was held by theGrand Lodge of Scotland , as lately as 1818,twenty-one years later than the date of thepresent minute book of the Mark Lodge atBolton. The notion of a modern body, so utterlyrepudiated by the Masonic authorities in Scotland ,claiming to interfere with the antient and inde-pendent Mark Degree in England, is so inexpress-ibly ridicuous, that one wonders the absurditydoes not strike our worthy neighbours themselves—unless it is true, as Sidney Smith once said , thata surgical operation is necessary in order to j/eta joke into the head of a Scot. The followingextracts will speak for themselves .

First comes a long remonstrance from the thennewly established Grand Chaptei of Scotland ,dated Jul y 20th , 1818, to the Grand Lodge ofScotland , beginning thus—

' " Most Worshipful Grand Master and Brethrenof the Grand Lodge of Scotland.—It is withsurprise we hear that a law has been passed bythe Grand Lodge of Scotland , excluding from theright of sitting or voting in that body, all Masonswho may hold offices in Masonry that acknow-ledge a higher degree than the three first."

Next comes the action taken by the GrandMaster of Scotland on the memorial of the GrandChapter.

At the quarterly communication of the GrandLodge of Scotland , held in Freemasons' Hall , this3rd day of August, 1818—

"The Grand Secretary stated that he hadreceived a letter from a Mr. M. Pringle, RecorderSupreme Grand Royal Arch Chapter of Scotland ,enclosing a communication, subscribed by certainpersons as the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Most ExcellentGrand Principals of the Supreme Royal ArchChapter of Scotland ; Whereupon James AllanMaconochie , Esq., R.W. Proxy for MotherLodge, Kilwinning, stated ; That as the GrandLodge acknowledged no higher Degree or Orderof Masonry, than that of St. John 's, consisting ofApprentice, Fellow Craft , and Master Mason ;and as the Grand Lodge had even by her stand-ing laws, strictly prohibited all Masonic com-munication with any such pretended higherOrders or Degrees, he would object to any suchcommunication being either received or read.And accordingly he moved that the communica-tion in question be rej.cted without reading.This motion was seconded by Bro. James Dallas,Esq., R.W. Master of Canongate and Leith ,Leith and Canongate Lodge. Bro. GeorgeBurnet, Esq., R.W. Master of jCanongateKilwinning Lodge, seconded by Bro. JamesNeilson, Esq., R.W. Proxy for New AbbeyLodge, moved that the communication should beread ; and the vote being put ' reject ,' or ' read ,when 51 voted reject , and 32 read. The com-munication was therefore rejected by a majorit yof 19."

Yours fraternall y,AN ENGLISH M ARK MASTER .

BRO . A. M. SI L B E R , of the Tuscan Lodgefof the well-known firm of Silber and Fleming,Wood-street , City), has been elected an Associateof the Society of Civil Engineers. Last year thatgentleman read a paper on a new description oflight, which if carried out in railway's and placeswhere gas cannot be easily obtained , will be agreat boon , not only from the saving of expense ,but also from the brilliancy of light exhibited.The various trials at several public places hasbeen a great success ; and the very elaborateand talented paper read by him before the Societywas listened to with great attention , and thatgentleman , it is hoped , will reap a reward , not•nly in an honorary sense, but also in a pecuniaryone, which he so well deserves, not onl y fromthe simplicity of his invention , but also for thetalent shown in its development .

THE AGGRESSIONS OF THE GRANDCHAPTER OF SCOTLAND ON ENGLISH

MARK MASONRY.

llVasoiiit ©ibtogs.BRITISH , FOREIGN, AND COLONIAL.

TURK 'S ISLAND .—The annual installation meet-ing of the Forth Lodge, No. 647, (E.C.)washeldatthe Masonic Hall, in Grand Turk, Turk's Island ,when the W.M. elect, Bro. John T. Astwood,S.W., having been regularl y installed Ri ght Wor-shipful Master for the ensuing year, was pleasedto appoint the following brethren to be his office-bearers ; vix :—Bros. C. R. Hinson , I.P.M.,Treas ; James Maclean, S.W. ; Edwin J. Ast-wood, J.W. ; Joseph A. Gardiner , Sec. ; JamesW. Milbourne , S.D. ; Michle Victoria , J.D,;Henry Kennedy, I.G. ; James Astwood, andT. J. Godet , Stewards ; Anthony Francis, Tyler.

CONSTANTINOPLE .—The Masonic Ball , (forthe benefit of tht poor of all kinds) was held atthe Greek Theatre, under the patronage of theDist . G.M., Bro. J. P. Brown, and under theausp ices of the four lodges working under theEnglish constitution , was attended by upwardsof 300 persons, and went off" with gre-at edut.The theatre was prettil y decorated with flags andevergreens, and presented a brilliant lout ensemlUe.In the intervals light refreshments were served tothe ladies. Dancing commenced shortly after 9p.m. and continued until five o'clock in themorning.

A Masonic Lodge is in contemplation at Bag-dad, in Mesopotamia, the supposed primitiveabode of man , where there is, already, quite anumber of Freemasons, among whom are somePersian Mussulmans. The Chief Minister ofthe Shah of Persia , the Commander-in-chief ofhis army, and many other of his highest func-tionaries belong to the order. It is believed thata lodge will soon be founded at Teheran , thecapital of Persia , if, indeed, one does not alreadyexist there, under the Grand Orient of France.

Another lodge (Eng lish) is about to be foundedin Jerusalem , the ancient city of Kings Davidand Solomon. The Consul of the United Statesof America has taken the initiative in its forma-tion. Besides a goodly number of resident bre-thren there, Jerusalem is annuall y visited by tra-vellers of all faiths and nationalities , who areFreemasons ; thus the great order of universalbrotherhood , after making the circuit of the en-tire world , returns to the scene of its pr imitivecreation , and the Temple of Solomon will oncemore shed light upon the footsteps of Freemasons.The "Jerusalem Lodge" is to contain as much ofthe ancient fragments of the " Lodge of Solomon"as can be collected together. The cedars of MountLebanon will furnish its working tools ; Joppaand Baalbek will lend their aid in the reconstruc-tion of the edifice ; and Hiram , King of Tyre,live in the memories of those who humblyimitate his faithful career in life, as well as in hisfaith.

Notwithstanding the misconceptions existingamong many Mussulmans of Turkey regardingthe princi ples of Freemasonry, it graduall y re-commends itself to their better op inion , It tendsvery much to dispossess them of their great ani-mosity against men of all other reli gious bodiesthan their own. It is to this hostility that maybe attribute d the slow progress made amongstMussulmans in mental culture and improvement ,evenin the arts and scinces of eother peoples andcountries. Everything, therefore , which tendsto dispel it , must be a great advantage to them ;and it is only when it has been removed , andreli gious hostility fides away before the genialli ght and warmth of one universal brotherhood ,that there will exist not only harmony betweenthe Moslem and men of all other faiths, but asincere sympathy among them.

HA L I F A X .—St. J ames's Lodge (No. 44S).—OnTuesday, January , ,30th, the annual festival ofthis lodge was celebrated at the Freemasons'Hall, St. John 's Place, Halifax , where there wasa numerous attendance of brethren. Prior to thebanquet the lodge was opened in the threedegrees by Bro. J . Ibbertson , W.M., and afterthe transaction of business Bro. W. F. Wilkinsonwas duly installed W.M. for the ensuing yearby Bro. Normanton , P.M., P.P.G.S.D., assistedby ^Bro. F. Waddington , P.M. ("of the SavilleLodge, Elland , who conducted the installationceremony in an excellent maimer. The W.M.then proceeded to invest his officers , Bro. R.jessop being conducted to S.W.'s chair. Bro.A. Mattbewson , J.W.; Bro. T. Whitaker, S.D. ;Bro. Taylor Whcelhouse, J.D. ; Bro. C. T.Rhodes, I.G. ; and Bro. I. Greenwood , P.M..Tyler. The lodge havin g been closed thebrethren dined together in the dining-hall , theW.M. presiding, being surrounded by Bros. H.Gaukroger, W.M. of Probity, No. 61 ; W. H.D. Horsfall , W.M. of De Warren Lodge, andseveral visiting brethren. The loyal and masonictoasts were proposed by the chairman , that ofthe Provincial Grand Master and Officers of theProvince being responded to by Bro. Normanton ,P. Prov. G.S.D., and Bro. Fred. Whitaker , Prov.G.S.D. The "W.M. of St. James's Lodge "was proposed by Bro. Ibbertson , P.M., and re-ceived with hearty cheers, to which the chair-man responded. The " Installing Officers "was proposed by the chairman , responded to byBros. Normanton and Waddington. The " PastMasters of St. James's Lodge " was proposedby Bro. Mattbewson , to" which Bros. E. Wal-shaw, P.M. ; Normanton , P.M. ; Lupton , P.M. ,and Ibbertson , P.M., responded. "Our Visi-ting Brethren " was introduced by Bro. E. Wal-shaw, and replied to Bros. Beaumont and Mac-kenzie, of the Saville Lodge, Elland ; SuteliffeP.M., Todmorden ; Hartley, Todmorden , andBelton. " The Senior and Junior Wardens andOfficers of St. James 's Lodge " was proposed bdBro. Lupton , P.M. ant! responded to by thyWardens. "The W.M., P.M., Officers aneBrethren of the Lodge of Probity, No. 61," wasproposed by the chairman , and gracefull y res-ponded to by Bro. Gaukroger , W.M. of Probity."The W.M., P.M., Officers and Brethren ofthe De Warren Lodge, No. 1302 ," proposedby the chairman , to which Bro. W. H. D. Hors-fall , W.M. ; J. Firth , P.M. ; and F. Whitaker ,P.M. responded. "The Masonic Charities "was proposed by Bro. T. G. Knowles, respon-deiFto by Bros. E. Walshaw , and Normanton ,who spoke of the value of Masonic institutions ,and felt sure that the brethren could visit theSchools and the Home for Decayed Masons theywould be induced to assist those institutionsmore liberall y. Bro. F. Whitaker also responded ,and spoke of the large amount of good done bythose institutions. He had taken a great pridein them , and not only in them , but in othercharitable institutions at home. For some timehe had made a practice of devoting a certain percentage of his income to these charities, and henever yet felt, however, much he had given , thathe was the worse; on the contrary, the more hegave the more he seemed to receive. But thatwas not his sole motive ; he was sure that toassist such institutions was to act on the trueMasonic princi ple, which blessed both the giverand the receiver. He urged all the brethren toadopt the same plan , and they would neverregret it.-—The toast of the " Poor and DistressedMasons " was given by the chairman. Theevening was very pleasantl y spent , several songsand recitations being given.

I I OI .I.OWAV 'S Pn.1.1..—Liver Complaints and Disorders ofthe Bowels, ft is impossible to exaggerate the extra-ordinary virtue of this Medicine , in the treatment of all •affections of the Liver or irregularities of the Uowels , Incases of depraved or superabundant Bile , these Pills takenfreely, have never been known to fail. In Bowel complaintsthey are equall y efficacious , but they should then be takenrather sparing ly, for every every medicine in the form of anaperient requires^ caution when .the Bowels'a.re disordered,though a more gentle or more genail aperient than thesePills in moderate doses has neier yet been - discovered - If -taken according to the printed instruction s they not only curethe complaint but improve the whole system.

NOYrA SCOTIA.

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POET MASONS.

It is a somewhat curious fact that few of ourgreat poets appear to have been members of theMasonic Fraternity, and that still fewer seem tohave added to the poetic literature of the Craft.

This is the more remarkable, when we considerthat the traditions of Freemasonry offer a fittingfield for the imag ination, and that some of itslegends convey philosophical instruction under thefanciful guise of allegory and parable.

True, we possess one gem of poetic lustre inDuganne's " King Solomon 's Temple," and it isa specimen which at once attests his scholarlyattainments and masonic zeal. It is also truethat Burns's "Farewell," and Rob Morris 's" We meet upon the Level and part upon theSquare," are each perfect in their way ; butwhen we have mentioned these, we may be saidto have exhausted the list of masonic lyrics whichthe Craft will not willingly let die.

These somewhat desultory utterances make uslament that none of the masters of song havefavoured us with a more exhaustive productionon so worth y a theme as Freemasonry, which com-bines the rom ances and mythicism of the past

with the matter-of-fact realities of the present. Itis, however, gratifying to know that one of thesweetest and purest poets of the day is a true andpractical Freemason—that one who can kindledazzling thoughts at the fire of his own heart andbrain is also one who can spread the cement ofbrotherl y love, as a fellow labourer in our midst—that the work of Freemasonry is to such a mind acongenial and pleasing task , because he believes itit to be consistent with man's highest and holiestaspirations.

It will be within the remembrance of ourreaders that we hailed the appearance of Bro.William Sawyer 's first poetic volume, " TenMiles from Town," with sincere sentiments ofpleasure and delight. As far back as the 1stMay, 1869, we bore testimony to his genius inthe following words :

" In Bro. Sawyer we recognize a true poet, oneof the gifted few who possess the faculty ofpenetrating into the inner life of man, and reveal-ing its mysteries of cloud and sunshine, of hopeand joy, or of doubt and darkness," How wellour eulogium was merited, time has alreadyproved, and the latest creations of Bro. Sawyer'sopulent muse will still more amply" ju stify oursomewhat prophetic praise.

From a perusal of his last work , " The Legendof Phyllis, ' with "A Year of Song," we haverisen with feelings of unalloyed satisfaction , andwe may fairly add that some of its conceptionssurpass in colour and brilliancy nearly anythingthat we have seen in the wide range of modernpoetry . Bear witness the following passage, whichdescribes the meeting of the Prince Demaphoon ,the son of Theseus, with the Royal Phyllis :—

" She, in her queenly sp lendour girt about ,Went forth to meet him. And DemaphoonUplifting eyes, beheld her as she moved ,Regal , with scintillant glint and interglowOf blending gems. Wound gold about her brow,The gold of gathered tresses woven fair,Glittered for diadem. Around her feet ,Wide as a wave, a robe of shimmering sweep,Purple and gold inwoven , thread for threadSparkled its shining way. Enmeshed in light,Her bosom netted in a diamond netShone pearl-wise, and for girdle, glitteringWith gems through all its undulant length, a snakeOf tri ple coil circled her waist and lolledA heavy head with onyx asp ic eyes.So moved she lustrous, gleaming in the sun ,' o a — ----,In the matched movement of the absolute primeOf beauti / , blossom-brief, and in the touchOj its own ripe perfection p erishing.So glorious drew she near Demaphoon,Who, uuregardful of aug ht else, beheldHer face, and looking in her face, saw youthAnd beauty shining in the light of youth ,And seeing loved."

We shall resume our consideration of Bro.Sawyer's exquisite poems next week.

FREEMASONR Y.BY BRO. J. P. B.

To limit Freemasonry to any portion of time,or to restrict it to any portion of the globe, is todeprive it of the universal interest which its prin-cipler have always possessed in the opinion ofmankind. The name which it bears is calculatednevertheless to convey a very inadequate definitionof its real character and objects. Indeed, it wantsone of a more significant analyzation , and bettercalculated to bear with it a more satisfactory ex-planation . And yet, when pro perl y interpreted

even its name will be seen to denote that it doesclearly refer to the nature and princi ples of aworld-wide institution.

The Almighty Creator, not only of thisworld, but also of the entire universe whichsurrounds it , is called its Architect. Architecture,or the art of constructing habitations for man,must have been the very earliest one to which theminds and thoughts of the offspring of Adamand Eve ever turned, after leaving the temporaryabode prepared for them, prev ious to their creation,by the Almighty.

It may be supposed that the progenitors of thehuman race, in the beginning, had no need of any"house built with hands," and that that theyactually did reside Aery much in the open air,sheltered only by the trees, and couched upon thefoliage of the locality, wherever it was, in whichtheir Maker created them. In the course oftime, exposure to the elements of heat and coldand the rains, compelled their descendants to en-deavour to provide, for these inclemencies, by theconstruction of artificial covers, in the same man-ner as the original pair made for themselvesclothing from the leaves of trees.

Indeed , the earliest history of mankind is fullyconnected with nature and its seasons. Therugged surface of the world , and the starry firma-ment above it , must have deeply impressed theearly human inhabitants of our globe.

What we now call civilization , its wantsand its vices, were wholly unknown to Adamand Eve, and, unbiassed by almost all of thepassions of a confined existence, thy were guidedonly by the ordinary impulses of nature. How-ever, that they knew and full y recognised theCreator of all things, the writers of the Bibleclearly tell us, and their earliest attempts at Archi-tecture must have been humble efforts to imitatethe works of the J.Great Architect of every thingwhich surrounded them, and came within thelimits of their corporeal powers of vision. Ifthey possessed none of the instruments of Archi-tecture now in use, nature will have suggested toto the offspring of Adam and Eve the only rulessuitable for the construction of their humbleabodes. The branches of trees, as well as theirleaves, must have been the first materials used bythem for such purposes. Stones and earth wouldnaturally be the next used.

The form of their edifices , such as they were,would, in all probability, be square or triangularand all upright, as a matter of necessity. An en ¦

trance would be left for the inmates, probablytowards the East, or sun's rising, so that its otherthree sides would be directed to the West, North,and South points of the horizon. Or, if thisdisposition of the earliest edifices constructed byhuman hands is erroneous, the entrance mighthave been, possibly, placed to the West, and theportion of it occupied by its Arch itects, in thedepths of the enclosure, viz., the East.

As the talent of architecture increased, and be-came more developed among mankind , an im-provement must have been made in the imple-ments used for such a purpose. It may be sup-posed that , with many, the circular form wasadopted in the construction of dwellings, imita-tions of the visible feature of the surroundingworld. The tent still in use among the wander-ers of the desert, is of this form, in place of

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E R R A T U M .—Page 119, column 2 , line 30, for Strandread Grand.

The Freemason ,SATURDAY , MA RCH 2, 1872.

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being square ; and no other reason may beassigned for such a shape. The few exceptionswhich exist to such a theory, would not bealleged as a proof of its fallacy. Indeed,the entire art of architecture, if not a divine one,is at least one based upon nature, and humbly imi-tative of the works of the Great Architect of theUniverse. As it progressed, it, in its highestbranches, became still more so, and the sublimityof the domes of the loftest edifices, are onlyimitations of the greater dome of the Heavens.The bodies of trees, originally used as supports ofthe dwellings, erected by the earlier architects, be-came, at a later period supplanted, by stone andmarble columns ; ornamented by imitations of thebranches with which the former were adorned bynature, and the foliage of the more beautiful

plants.

In this manner, architecture must have beenthe very earliest art of mankind, in the beginningof human existence, and has, since then, beenprogressing down to the present period of itsperfection. It is the noblest, the most sublime ofall the arts and sciences, and there is. therefore,no need for surprise, that in view of its originand commencement it should become a mysticalone, and its implements, so many symbols,applicable to laws of mortality and Humanity.

For the reasons above stated , architecture, orMasonry, is intimately connected with geology,philosophy, and the divine laws of nature. TheGreat Architect of the Universe is the author andarchitectalsoofthemovementsofthecelestial bodiesthe changes of the seasons, the return of day andnight, the phases of the moon, and consequentlyof the divisions of time, into years, months, weeks,days, and hours. With all of them, Freemasonryis intimately connected. The whole vast universeis the lodge of the Almighty Architect. Thissingle globe, is the work of His sublime art. Thearch of the Heavens is His footstool , and thisearth , probably, only one of the infinite atomscomposing the columns of His incomprehensibl yvast edifice.

The reunions of the Grand Lodges occurduringthetwo poetic seasons of Spring and Autum,when nature is vivified, and again growsold. It has been most truly stated that nothingin nature is ever at rest. All nature is in move-ment and only when it stops, life will seem to exist .Even time is said to pass in cycles ; to humancomprehension, everything in nature is circular,and the ancients, therefore , used the serpent withits tail in its mouth, as a visible symbol of thisbelief. A ring, placed on the finger of a brideis an emblem of perpetual love and fidelity. The,world revolves in a perpetual circle, and sodo the stars in the firmament above, which, so mesuppose, isthe abode of the Divine Architect. Notso do the four seasons, but also the subdivision ofthe year. It is, therefore, usual for the lodges tomeet once a month, thus also showing the con-nection of Freemasonry with time, and the

phases of the moon, and the divisions of theyear.

Freemasonry lias an intimate connection, also,with man, in the divisions of the time allotted himto live. Youth, maturity, and old age, are clearlypointed out in its three degrees. The rejuvenes-cence of man is one of the symbols of the Ilosicru-

cians, asj fallacious as was the "Fountain of Youth"

so much sought after during the Middle Ages.It was thought that as nature seemed imperish-able, and Spring succeded Autumn and Winter,the fall of leaves followed by returning verdure,that human life, in this world, could be perpetuated or restored by chemical means. Alas ! forso much delusion and error. Man is to be bornagain, but will live in another world ; and not inthis even will he progress towards a better know-ledge of the Divine architecture, to perfection,or retrograde in the degrees of existence. Theresjaonsibility of his career in life seems to be leftwith himself, If he really acqu ires light, (so touse one symbolic term for knowledge) and isguided by it in the true path, he will rise up-wards ; if not, he will probably sink beneath hispresent state. Will he ever be annihilated fromexistence, or will he be one ejected from withinthe very Lodge of the Great Architect of theUniverse ?

Such are the reflections which still, and proba-bly always will, occupy the minds of reflectingmen in their search after Divine light.

Freemasonry may, therefore, be considered ash eoretic imitation of the divine art of Archi-tecture, divested of its actual and natural signi-fication , and applied to the equall y sublime edificeof man, in the structure^ of his morality andhumanity.

It is a strange though covert fact, that truereligions, as well as politics, seem to separatemankind , in place of bring ing them together.Fancied inspirations have the effect of creatingimag inary convictions of the faculty of j udgingthe beliefs of others. It is a result of humanfrailty, in man 's search of the divine light, to for-get that all are the children of our commonCreator, who alone knows which of them is ri ghtand which is wrong.

Freemasonry has, for princi ple, to rej ect allsuch vain pretensions in mankind , and to leavethe Great Architect of the Universe the only trueju dge of men 's hearts. It enj oins its membersto fully recognize the existence of a DivineCreator , and the justr ) of His providences. Iturges the Christian to be a sincere and good oneand the same of the Jew and the Moslem, eachin their particular faith. It seeks to convertneither the one nor the other from his own con-victions. It has no respect for whoever is onl ytolerant of his peculiar faith. The hypocritepossesses such sympath y. It places all mankind onthe one common platform of breth ren , withoutany regard to their religion or political convictions.It is enough for the Freemason to meet a brother(and in this view all men are brethren) in distress,in poverty, in suffering, to hasten to his succour,without any regard to his religion , his nationality,or his political creed.

In this manner, it forms an universal brother-hood, among all men who full y recognise oneuniversal God and Creator , under whatever namethis may be.

Though some may not be fully aware of thisfact, it is the real origin and perpetuation ofFreemasonry, and the cause of its extension overnearly the whole of the globe. It cannot be theseprinciples to which the prejudices can be ascribed ,existing against Freemasonry in the minds ofmany persons. They are now too well known,I believe, to have so unfortunate a result. Theirtenets are too often visible, in their charities, their

assistance and their sympathy, bestowed uponthe poor, and the needy, to have so unfortunate aresult. Often , also, the fruits of our institutionare unknown to the public,—for Freemasonryseeks for no popularity or commendation.

The real cause of its condemnation, on the 'part of many excellent persons, is it secret signsof individual recognition amongst its members,and the erroneous interpretations given to itssymbols. Innocent as they are, and totally di-vested of any connection with rel igion, they seemunfortunately to inspire the most erroneous ap-prehensions. Innumerablebooks have been writtenand published on the real nature and character ofFreemasonry, there being now little unknown to thepublic regarding them, and yet, these harmlesssigns and symbols cast a dark shade over thewhole most ancient institution.

Nothing entirely renders them perfect, andthere are unfortunately very many bad Freemasons.Some are intemperate, othters immoral, andothers again, far from being actuated by thesentiments of universal fraternity which are itsvery basis, and yet it comprises on the otherhand, millions of the highest and best of men. Soit is with Christanity. How many there are, who,would deem themselves always insulted if theircharacter as Christians were put in doubt , butwhose whole actions and lives fully show that theyare not actuated by high and true Christianprinciples.

It is too well known to be matter of anysecrecy, that the implements of architecture areused now by Masons as so many symbols ofmorality. An upright edifice serving as a termviz., an upright man, all of whose acts are squareand not tortuous, and in this manner theSquare and Compasses are used as so manydefinitions of what should be the conduct of allmankind in their dealings with each other. If anyother benevolent or philanthropic society, shouldadopt private words, or even signs for mutualrecognition, they certainly would have a perfectright to do so.

In the olden times of Christianity, men greetedeach other with a holy kiss, in modern days theydo so by a mere shake of the hand, as so manytokens of kindl y recognition. Why, thereforemay not the Freemasons , have a peculiar shakeof the hand, by which to recognise and distinguisheach other, without increasing the penalty of con-demnation on the part of those who are not ofthe benevolent fraternity ? Certainly the outerworl d is unju st to us, and disposed to judge of us,ratnerby what they do not know than what they dodo regarding our object. When the Christian isseen to succour the poor Jew, or the Moslem toaidthe poor Christian , simply because they meeton the common platform of pit)', of ami niversalbrotherhood , irrespective of their individualreligious faiths, the outer world, which in itsnarrow sentiments of bigotry and religious pride,considers itsel f superior to any such sentiments,cannot in its heart condemn us.

Be this, however, as it may, Freemasons, maywell afford to disregard opinions based upon sofallacious a supposition , We feel and know thatthe All Seeing Eye of the Great Architect of theUniverse—the Almi ghty Creator of all men, seesinto the very depths of our hearts. He, alone isthe supreme judge of our princi ples, and of ourconduct } and we humbly submit them to Hisall just judgment.

REPORTS OF MASONIC MEETINGS.

draft Ulasjmtg.METROPOLITAN.

CRY STM. PALACE LODGE . — An emergencymeeting has been convened for Friday, March/ th., when a special banquet is to be given toBros. Bertra m and Roberts, in recognition of theirpublic and Masonic services at the Crystal Palace.

PASMURB LODGE (N O. 720).— This lodgemet at the Balham Hotel , Balham , on Mondaythe 19th ultimo., the W.M., Bro. H. F. Huntley,being supported by Bros. H. F. Hodges, S.W. ;T. Poore, J.W. ; J. M. Young, P.M., Sec. ;H. Payne, S.D. ; C. Pulman , J.D. ; Lane, I.G. ;Holmes, Maddern , Trussler, Lilley, R. W.Huntley, and other members. Visitors :—Bros.James Stevens, P.M. 710, 1216. There beingno busines , before the lodge, the sections of thethird lecture were ably worked, the questionsbeing put by Bro. Stevens. Propositions forinitiating at ensuing meetings were taken, andthe lodge having been duly closed , the brethrenadjourned to|supper,and at an early hourseparated.

MIDDLESEX.LEBANON LODGE (NO. 1,326).—The regular

meeting of this flourishing lodge was heldon Thursday, 15th inst , at the Red LionHotel , Lion Square , Thames Street, Hampton.Bro. Samuels Wickens, W.M., opened the lod geat three o'clock there were present during , theafternoon Bros. J. Haywood , as S.W. ¦ f . Catch-pole, as J.W. ; |. T. Moss, P.G. 'Steward ,Middlesex , P.M., treas. ; F. Walters, P.M. Sec.3J. W. Jackson as S.D. ; W. Hammond, P.M.,J.D. ; J . Pallett , as I.G. ; H. Potter , P.M., W.S. ;F. C. Sinclair, G. M. Sol ly, W. Taplin , I. G.Donald , E. Gilbert , ] . W. Balwin , J. Wells, f .Greason , E. Hopwood , P.M. ; A. Beresford , C.F. Payne, R. R. Miilington , W. II. Payne, W.Lyons. The visitors were Brothers J. T. II.Moss, 1693 R. R. Mabson, 100 3 T. Clark , 2S2 ;E. Hazel , 569; T. Pallett , 1.306. The minutesof the previous lodge and an emergency meetingwere read and unanimously confirmed. Ballotswere taken for the admission of Brother WilliamStanton , .52.5 ; as a j oining member , and Messrs.Woolf Lyon , Robert R. Miilington , (Nephew ofthe late Brother , A. U . Thiselton , Secretary ofBoy 's School), William F. Payne, and James R.Moore, as candidates for initiation. Brothers W.Taplin , J. G. Donald , and J. W. Baldwin , wereraised. Brothers H. Cutress, and f . Greavsonwere raised , and Messrs. "\\ oolf Lyon , and R.R. Milkington , and W. F. Payne were passed ,several candidates were afterwards proposed.Bros. Thielley, 145 ; L. Beck , 205 ; R. R. Mab-son, 100 ; T. Clarke ,282; T. Pallett , 1,306; wereproposed as joining members. The businessbeing ended the lod ge was closed. Banquet anddessert followed.

DEVONSHIRE.TOTNES .—Pleiades Lodge (No. 7 10)- "Y\\e

monthly meeting was held at the Masonic Rooms ,on Thursday, February , 22nd. Soon after half-past six the chair was taken by Bro. A. B. Niner ,W.M., supported by Bros. Wm. Cuming, I.P.M. ;T. E. Owen , P.M. 5 J . Marks , P.M.; Dr. Hop-kins, P.M. and P. Prov.G.S.W. ; Stafford , S.W.;Preswell , J.W. ; Maye , Secretary ; Westhead ,S.D. ; Dronnan , I.G.; Tay lor , Organist ; Fowle,Past J.D. ; and other brethren. The lod ge hav-ing been opened , and the minutes of the previousmeeting read and confirmed , a ballot was takenfor Mr. P. David , a candidate fori nidation , whichproved unanimous in his favour. He was thenadmitted , properl y prepared. The ceremony wasvery abl y conducted by the W.M. especiall y as itwas the first occasion of his performing it , indeed ,in points both of sty le and verbal exactitude , itwould be excelled by but few even of long ex-perience. The exp lanation of the working toolswas given by the J .W. the charge by the W.M ;and the lecture on the first tracing board by Bro.Dr. Hopkins. Some important pr ivate businesswas discussed , and the lod ge was closed.

DURHAM.SU N D E R L A N D .-— Phicnit Lodge (No. 94) .—

On Monday evening the officers and membersthe Phoenix Lodge, No. 94, gave a comp limentarydinner to Bro. T. Henderson, P.M., at the house

of Bro. T. Cairns. During the evening Bro.John Potts, J .P., P.M. and P.P.G.J.D., pre-sented Bro. Henderson, in the name of the sub-scribers, with a handsome gold Past Master 'sjewel, bearing the following inscri ption :—" Pres-sented to Brother Thomas Henderson, P.M., asa token of respect and esteem, by his brotherofficers and members, and in recognition of hisvaluable services as W.M. of the Phoenix Lodge,No. 94, Free and Accepted Masons, during theyear 1871.

LANCASHIRE (WEST).LANCASTER .—Lodge of F ortitude (No. 28.1).—

The regular meeting of this lodge was held onWednesday evening, the 14th instant , at theMasonic Rooms, Athenreum. In the absence ofthe W. M., the chair was occup ied by Bro. Dr.Moore, G.S.B., the immediate Past Master , whowas supported by the following officers andmembers :—Bros. Edmund Simpson , P.M. andSecretary ; W. Fleming, S.W. ; Edward Airey,J.W.[; W. J. Sly, S.D. ; Jas. Taylor, J.D- ; R.Gregson, Steward ; R. Tayler, Tyler ; and others.The usual business having been transacted , theW. M. proposed that an address of congratulation ,which he produced and read to the Lodge, bepresented to Her Majesty the Queen , and to thePrince and Princess of Wales, on the conva-lescence of our Royal Brother from his recentserious illness. This was seconded by Bro. Fle-ming, S.W., and passed unanimousl y. Bro.Moore 's Lecture on Masonic Clothing was, atthe request of several members , postponed untilthe next regular meeting of the Lodge.

LEICESTERSHIRE.PR O V I N C I A L GR A N D LODGE .

A special meeting of the Provincial GrandLodge was held at Freemasons' Hall, Leicester,on Friday, the 2 ,3rd tilt., numerousl y attended bypast and present Provincial Grand Officers , andby representatives of each Lodge in the province.

St. John 's Lodge, No. 279, having beenopened in the three degrees, the Provincial GrandMaster and his officers were received in dueform. I he Provincial Lodge having been opened ,and the roll called , Bro. A. Pell , M.P., Prov. G.Reg., read addresses of congratulation to HerMajesty, and to the Prince of Wales , which hadbeen prepared.

Bro. W. Kell y, Prov. G.M., moved the adoptionof the address the Queen , which was secondedby Bro. H. Halford , Prov. S.G.W., and carriedunanimousl y.

On the motion of Bro. A. Pell , Prov. G. Reg.,seconded by Bro. Dr. Haycroft , P. Prov. G.Chaplain , the address to the Prince of Wales wasalso unanimousl y adopted.

Bro. H. Deane , Prov. [. G.W., proposed, andBro. Rev. J. Spittal , P. Prov. S.G.W., seconded ,that the addresses be signed by the ProvincialGrand Master , and countersi gned by the Pro-vincial Grand Registrar and the ProvincialGrandSecretary , which was carried unanimousl y.

The Ri ght Hon. the Karl Ferrers , P. Prov.J.G.W., havin g taken an O.B., as to the govern-ment ol the province, was installed and salutedas D. Prov. G.M., and expressed his acknow-ledgments for the honour which had been con-ferred on him.

A resolution expressive of sympath y with thefamil y of the late Bro. W. G. Palmer , P. Prov.S. G. W., was, on the motion of the ProvincialGrand Master , seconded by Bro. Deane, Prov. J.G. W., unanimously adopted. The deceased , whowas one of the oldest Masons in the province ,was universall y esteemed both by his Brethren inthe Craft , and the inhabitants generally of thenei ghbourhood in which he resided.

On the motion of the Provincial Grand Master ,seconded by the Rev. W. Langley, P. Prov. S. G.W., and supported by the Rev. J." Spittal , P. Prov.S. G. W., a donation of £$ ijs. to the Boys'School , to be made in the name of the ProvincialGrand Secretary for the time being, was unani-mously carried.

Bro. Duncomb , Prov. G. J. D., desired toexpress the gratification of the Lodge at the reco-very of the Provincial Grand Master from hisrecent illness. The Rev. J. Denton , P. Prov. S.G. W., also made some remarks to the sameeffect ; after which the Provincial Grand Lod ge,and afterwards the Lodge of St. John 's, wereclosed in due form.

STAFFORDSHIRE.PR O V I N C I A L GRAND LODGE .

A Provincial Grand Lodge of Emergency washelp in the Staffordshire Knot Lodge Room , Staf-ford , on Friday, the 22nd ult. About fortybrethren were present, including several of theProvincial Grand Officers.

Ihe Lodge was opened by Bro. Pilling, theW.M. of the Staffordshire Knot Lodge, and theProvincial Grand Lodge, was subsequently openedin due form by the Right Worshipful Brother theEarl of Shrewsbury, Provincial Grand Master,who, on assuming the gavel , was saluted masoni-c.illy by the brethren.

The Divine blessing having been invoked byBro. the Rev. Jos. Westbury, Prov. G. Chaplain ,the Prov. G.M. called upon him to deliver a shortinaugural adpress on the business which hadcalled the brethren togethes, namely, the adoption01 addresses of congratulation to the Queen andthe Prince of Wales, on the recovery of HisRoyal Highness from his recent severe illness.This having been done, the Te Deum was chanted ,as well as the 10,3rd, 121st, and 145th Psalms,Bro. Barlow, P.G. Organist ,presiding at the organ.

It is quite impossible, from the crowded stateof our columns, to give more than a reference tothe subsequent loyal and patriotic speeches whichcharacterised the moving and seconding of theaddresses. The noble Prov. G.M. thanked theprovince generally for the ready manner in whichthe brethren had joined in their congratulations ;every lodge in the province had prepared ad-dresses to her Majesty and to His Royal High-ness the Prince of Wales, the whole of which,together with the two beautiful addresses fromthe Province , would be forwarded to the Marquisof Ri pon for presentation that evening.

The addresses from the province were thenread by Bro. W. Cartwright, P.G. Sec, and (to-gether with those from the various lodges) placedon a table for subsequent inspection by thebrethren.

The addresses having been adopte d, the R.W.Prov. G. Master remarked that he hoped thoselodges which had provided the more elaborateaddresses would exercise increased liberality tothe various masonic charities, and that thosewhich had not been so extravagant wauld expendtheir reserved resources on the same admirableobjects.

Bro. Bodenham, P. Prov. S. G. D., then movedthat 50 guineas should be presented from the fundsof the Provincial Grand Lodge to the Masonic In-stitution for Boys, on the occasion of the R. W.Prov. G. M. presiding at the Anniversary Festival.

The suggestion was seconded by Bro. Howells,Prov. G. Treasurer, and adopted.

SUFFOLK.Beccles. —Ap ollo Lodge (No. .305), — The

following reply to an address of congratulationfrom the W.M. and Brethren of Apollo Lodge,has been received : — " Sandringham, King'sLynn , January 22 , 1872. General Sir WilliamKnollys is desired by the Prince of Wales to re-turn to the Worshi pful Master and Brethren ofthe Masonic Lodge Apollo , ,305, his gratefulthanks for the resolution forwarded to him duringhis dangerous illness, and for the prayers theyoffer in it for his recovery. It is with profoundthankfulness to the Almighty that H.R.H. isenabled to profi t by his restoration to expressthese acknowledgments. — The W.M. of theApollo Lodge."

Uojal Urcl..CORNWALL.

TRURO .—Royal Cornubian Chapter (No ,3.31).—The compan ions of this chapter held theirannual festival on the 27th ult., at the NewPublic Buildings. Companion Mayne presidedas the installing Z. Comps. T. Solomon wasinstalled First Princi pal ; E.D. Anderson, SecondPrinci pal ; and Richard John Third Princi pal ;Comps. May and Surpell , Scribes; W. LakePrinci pal Sojourner; Guy and Griggs, Assis-tant Sotirjourners ; G. Clyma, Standard Bearer ;Crago, Organist ; Crago and Modee, Stewards.Comp. E. T. Carlyon, P.Z., was re-electedTreasurer. At the conclusion of the business thecompanions adj ourned to the banquet, which

was served in the supper-room of the lodge byCompanion W. Rooks.

DURHAM.SU N D E R L A N D .'— Chapter of Strict Benevolence

(No. 97).—The annual meeting for the install-,ation of Princi pals and the investiture of officers,was held at the Masonic Hall , Park Terrace, onThursday afternoon , when the following com-panions were dul y installed and invested, viz.,George Lord , Z. ; M. Allison , Ii.; W. Liddell ,J .; J ohn Lindsay, Treasurer ; R. Humphrey,E. ; S. P. Austin , N. ; J . H. Coates, P.S. ; W.I. Chambers and J. Athay, Assistant Sojourners ;and J. Thompson , Janitor. The companionsdined together after the ceremony in the banquet-ing room of the hall. There was a goodattendance.

lUai'Ii Iffasonrg.WEST YORKSHIRE.

PR O V I N C I A L GRAND LODGE .On Friday, the 16th instant , the half-yearly

communication of the West Yorkshire ProvincialGrand Lodge of Mark Masters , was held at theMasonic Hall , Surrey-street , Sheffield , at the in-vitation of the Britannia Lod ge of Mark Masters,No. .5,3. The R. W. Prov. G.M.M., Bro. Thos.Perk in ton , of Halifax , was accompanied by thefollowing officers :•—Bro. H. Matthews, Prov. S.G. W., Bro. Allison , Prov . J.G.W., Bro. Roberts ,Psov. G. M. O., Bro. Firth , Prov. G. S. O., Bro.Hartley, Prov.G.J .O., Bro.Burgess, Prov.G. Reg.,Bro. Cooke, Prov. G. Sec, Bro. Bennett , Prov. G.S. D., Bro. Schofield, Prov. G.J.D., Bro. Horsfall ,Prov . G.I. of W., Bro. Holroy d, Prov . G. S. B.,Bro. Oakden , Prov. G. St. B., Bro. Whitaker ,Prov. G. Org., Bro. Lobley and Bro. Crossby,Prov. G. Stewards, and Bro . Greenwood, Prov. G.Tyler. The Britannia Lodge having been openedby the W. M. and officers , the Provincial GrandOfficers were duly formed by Bro. Roberts , actingProv. G. D. of C, and entered the lodge room,when the Provincial Grand Lodge was proper lyopened. On the rol l of lodges and officers beingcalled over, it was found that one lodge was unre-presented , and seven officers absent from duty.Bro. Wordsworth , D. Prov. G. M., and Bro. Arnii-tage, Prov. G. D. of O, each sent an apology fortheir attendance. The minutes of the previousmeeting having been read and confirmed , a codeof bye-laws, previousl y drawn up by a committeeappointed for that purpose , and circulated throug h-out the province , was then considered , and , afterone or two alterations had been made, duly passed.An invitation to hold the next provincial meetingat Eastwood was then given to the Prov. G.M.M.,from the Prince Edward Lodge, No. 14, afterwhich , there being no other business to transact ,the Provincial Grand Lodge was duly closed. Bro.Thomas Oakden , Prov. P. G. St. B., presenteda magnificent banner and stand , with the arms ofthe Provincial Grand Lodge thereon , which wascordiall y accepted. A banquet , presided over bythe Prov. G. M., was provided , at which a goodlynumber was present. The usual loyal and Ma-sonic toasts were given and responded to, and alto-gether a very agreeable evening was spent by thoseassembled , the Sheffield brethren doing theirutmost to add to the pleasure of the visitors.

%\t\> Cross of Constantino.HAMPSHIRE.

PORTSF.A .— Aaval and Militar y Conclave, (No ,35).—This flourishing conclave assembled in theirHall , Freemasons ' Tavern , Portsea , on the 16U1inst , under the presidency of the M.P.S., SirKni ght Robinson , assisted by Sir Kni ght Miller ,M.E.U ; Sir Kni ght McAskie, IS.G. ; SirKnight Skcvins , I.G. ; Sir Kni ght Howell ,Recorder ; Sir Kni ght M. Cormack , Sentinel ;Sir Kni ght Ellis , If. Many other Sir Kni ghtswere also present. The conclave having beenopened in due form by the M.K.P.S., Bro.H. S. Williams , who had been previousl y pro-posed, seconded , and balloted for , being in at-tendance, was duly installed a Sir Kni ght of theRed Cross. The charges, the lectures, and thehistorical orations , were most ably delivered bySir Knight McAskie. Five certificates weredelivered to Sir Kni ghts previousl y installed.The conclave was closed in due form byM.E.P.S., at 10 p.m., in F.U.Z.

TILE ANNUAL FESTIVAL OF THE ROYALARCH CHAP TER OF IMPROVEMENT.

The second annual festival , closing the secondseason of this Chapter of Improvement, was heldon Thursday week at Freemason 's Tavern , afteran evening's work at Freemasons' Hall. Thesuccess which was antici pated for the Chapterwhen it was started , has during the two years ofits operation been more than realised , and it iswith considerable "'ratification we have heard thatthe attendance of the companions desirous ofreceiving instruction has been both regular andnumerous. It appears , however, not entirel y toentirel y to meet with the approval of the Precep-ter of the Chapter , that some of the companionswho honoured it by becoming its founders havenot further assisted . it by attending its weeklymeetings, and Comp. Brett , it will be seen, in theremark s he made after the dinner on Thursdayni ght, points this conduct out as a failing. Ofcause there always two sides to a question , andthe companions who are guilty of such lax con-duct might perhaps, if they were heard, submitgood reasons for their absence. Business engaga-ments may peradventure be more important tothem than a knowled ge of Masonic working, andthey may not feel disposed to let the Masonicworld witness their orphans suppliant for relieflrom destitution occasioned by their parents toogreat devotion to the learning or imparting aknowled ge of Craft or Arch ritual. Excepting tothe Preceptor , unqualified satisfaction has beengiven to the members. Following in the steps ofthe Emulation Lodge of Improvement , the Chap-ter, affording the same sound instruction , hopedthe same amount of support. Their hopes havebeen realised , and comparing roughly the totalnumber of Craft Masons with that of the Arch ,the good workers of the Degree are about on apar. The attendance at the festivals of the twodegrees, is also comparativel y the same, so thatthey would seem to be running neck and neck.

Among the companions who attended onThursday week we noticed the Rev. C. J. Martyn(Chairman at the banquet) , John Hervey (Trea-surer), James Brett (Preceptor), John Boy d,Capt. C. F. Trower (Prov. G. P. S. Hants),James Self , Alfre d Clayton , S. Rosenthal , G. K.Lemann , W. West Smith , W. Nicholas, H.Dicketts , W. H. Green , C. Godfrey, II. II.Pearse, C. Saxon Hooper , T. Bull , W. Carpenter ,H. Chapman , T. Cubitt , John Coutts, W. Good-yer, Rev. W. Cochrane, K. S. Warrington , G. A.Ibbetson , J. L. Thomas, Bosworth , T. II. Ed-munds , J. A. Farnlield , J . W. Barnett , Kingston ,T. K. Tippett. Trcadwell , R. W. Crane, G.Cooper, R. Wcntworth Little (S. E.), Thos. W.White (Asst. S. E.), G. Kenning, II. D'Arcy,Mitchell , C. A. Long, Davis , A. H. Thiellay,W. Roebuck , W. Tavcrner , Maj or Finney, Fin-ney, jun., II. M. Levy, Joseph Last , f . K . Stead ,J . Warner , D. D. 'Beck , C. J . Sinithers , G.D'Arcy, George States , and I f . Masscy.

The Chapter was opened by the Compan ions ,with the following Companions as officers :—James Brett , Z.; J. Boyd , H.; H. Dicketts , J. jG. K. Lemann , N.; R. Wcntworth Little , E.;W. West Smith , P. S.; James Self, ist A. ; W.H. Green , 2nd A. ; and John Coutts, I G.

Comi). Brett gave the historical oration , andwas followed by Com]). Self , who worked theist clause, Comp. W. West Smith the 2nd , andCom]). W. H . Green the 3rd. Comp. Brett thenexp lained the jewel worn by the Companions ofthe Order , and Comp. If . Dicketts gave the his-torical portion of the ceremony, which falls tothe J. of a chapter. The readiness with whichtill these divisions of the ritual were delivere dwere the theme of universal approbation , andCompanions of Chapters where the ceremony ishobbled through , would have done well to seewhat benefits accrue from a little attention toeducation in Masonic ceremonies. After someformal chapte r business had been conducted , thecompan ions adj ourned to an excellent repast infreemasons Tavern , where Mr. Fiancatelli hadshown great skill in catering, and when the ban-quet had been disposed of , grace was said , andthe toasts of the evening followed. In givingthe first toast , " The Queen ," kc, the Chair-man said a peculiar interest attached to thistoast ju st now, as in a few days her Majestywas coming to take part in a great national

rejoicing. Every one of her subjects would hailwith joy the fact that she was once more among ¦her people; and the citizens of London would doall in their power to give her a suitable welcome.As Arch Masons we had to look at the event inanother point of view. It was our duty to sub-mit ourselves to all lawfully constituted authority,whether of masonic or civil jurisdiction , and,therefore, we should drink with all the honour,and the greatest enthusiasm,the health of thejQueen

The Chairman then said he would go out ofhis way as president of a Royal Arch gathering,for which he would ask pardon , and propose thehealth of the Prince of Wales. It was not aright thing, that though his Royal Highness wasnot a Royal Arch Mason, his name should beomitted in assemblages of Royal Arch Masons.We knew what he was in other departments ofthe order he had taken up, the energy he haddisplayed , and the interest he had taken in thecharities. He (the Chairman) would give, andhe trusted the companions would drink with allcordiality, " The Health of His Royal Highness,"and would express, in the name of all his hearers,how rejoiced he was at the Prince 's recovery, andhow thankful he was to the Almighty for it. Hiecelebration of next Tuesday was a public offeringof such thankfulness , and he hoped that the ill-ness which it was feared would terminate fatallywould be the beginning of many a happy year ofuseful life.

The Chairman, after giving " lhe Health ofthe M.E.G.Z.," proposed that of the G.H. andG. J., and in doing so, said he was aware thathe was proposing the health of exemplary andworthy men. As he had said at the festivalof the Benevolent Institution a few weeks ago,he had the honour of being exalted in RoyalArch Masonry fifteen years ago, with the G.H.,the Earl of Carnarvon , and ever since that timethe noble companion had worked well andworthil y for the cause of Masonry. He wouldcouple the names of Companions Hervey andBrett with the toast.

Companion John Hervey said the difficulttask of returning thanks had fallen him, who wasleast entitled to do so; but he did not the lessappreciate the kind expressions the M.E. hadmade use of. He felt himself very small on thatoccasion, as Comp. Brett had carried off' all thehonours of the evening, had done all the duties,and performed them satisfactoril y. Speaking forthe Grand Princi pals, they were two noblemenwho deserved well of the Craft. The M.E. hadstated what he knew of the G.H., and he (Comp.Hervey) \\ ;is sure that Lord de Tabley in his ownprovince of Cheshire had done all he could topromote Masonry in general , and Royal ArchMasonry in part icular. As Comp. Brett wouldspeak for himself , he (Comp. Hervey) wouldthank the companions in his own name only, andwould assure the companions how much hevalued the kind expressions used by the M.E.toward s the Grand Princi pals and the GrandOfficers.

Comp. John Hervey then proposed " theM.E.Z., Conij ). the Rev. C. J. Martyn ," whodeserved well of all the companions. The Rev.Companion had said how admirabl y Lord Car-narvon had performed all his duties during thelast fifteen years, but he (Comp. Hervey,) wouldappeal most confidentl y to all the companionspresent , whether Com]). Marty n had not duringthe same time, done all he could to increase theusefulness of the Craft , and uphold its honour.In the province , of Gloucestershire , he had for along time presided , over both lod ge and chapter ,in a most efficient manner. He then migratedin a slight degree, to London , inasmuch as hewas appointed a Grand Officer , and during thetwo years that he was Grand Chap lain in theCraft , and while he was Grand Officer in theArch , every one of his duties was performed tothe satisfaction of both Craft and Arch . Now,he had mi grated to Suffolk , in which province,he had also app lied himself to carry out theduties of Masonry, there he was now Master ofa lodge, and propagating the Craft with hisusual vigour. They .were under peculiar obli ga-tions to him that evening, for coming fromSuffolk , a distance of 120 miles , to preside overthem. They were quite alive to the value ofthese services, and would show their appreciationof them by drinking his health .

The Chairman said, he rose to thank the com-panions with feelings of real espect and deepgratitude, and for this reason, that he knew manyof them, at all events, had been pleased to takehim to a certain extent on trust. Livinrr so faraway, he must be unknown to many, not perhapsby name or report , but still actuall y and person-ally, then he could say—it was one of the verygreat pleasures of life that one had the opportu-nity these meetings offered , of being put intoconnection with those, whom, without such op-portunity of meeting, one would not come incontact with. He sincerely thanked themthem for their kindness in accepting the healthproposed by Comp. Hervey. It was quite true,as that Companion had said , that he endeavouredto promote the interests of the or der, and devoteda good deal of time to that object , He wishedhe had been able to devote r/crir but when hecame to think that he had dutits cf turner sortto perform , he could not suppose that it was re-quired of him to follow Masonry closer than hedid. With respect to his coining from Suffol kto attend this meeting, a subject also alluded toby Comp. Hervey, he could only add that he hadthe greatest pleasure in doing so. Touching thesame Companion 's mention of his (the Chair-man's) zeal in Masonry, he might inform thecompanions , without self-laudation , that he hadto start off" next morning early by train , and whenhe reached the station in Suffolk , would have todrive 22 miles to attend the Provincial GrandLodge which was to be held that day, to passresolutions congratulating the Queen and Princeof Wales on the happy recovery of the latter.After this he would have to preside at his ownlodge to perforin three initiations , a passing, anda raising, in Craft Masonry . He was not altoge-ther a drone in Masonry. Some months agowhen he was asked to preside that evening, hesaid he would do his best , but wished they couldfind some one who would do it better. He had,however, done his best ; it was not much butsuch as it was they were most heartil y welcometo now and at any time.

The Chairman next said—I will ask your per-mission to propose as a toast " Prosperity to theRoyal Arch Chapter of Improvement ," which Iam certain you will receive as I srive it , with allcordiality . In the Chapter to-night we have allof us—and I for one took the liberty of sayingso—been del ighted with the great treat we havehad, and I am quite sure we shall all go away—at least I shall , impressed with all I have heard ,determined , still more than I have hitherto been ,to follow our Royal Arch Masonry, and makemyself acquainted with the details of its even-part. You must all konw pretty well, that theexcellence could not have been arrived at but bythe most patient assiduity being bestowed on it byComps. Brett , Boyd and others in the Chapter ;and as it has been said by an old English proverb,that the proof of the puddin g is in the eating,so the proof of Comp. Brett has been found in theadmirable Masonic repast he has provided for usto-night. 1 give you " Prosperity to the RoyalArch Chapter of Improvement," and couple withit the names of Comps. Brett , Boy d, Dicketts, andthe three Princi pals to ni ght , and also the healthof all those of other Companions who have assistedso admirably—Comps. Self , West, Smith, andGreen. We cannot sing le out one name in drink-ing this toast ; and I therefore think I shall haveconsult your wishes, as well as my own by givinghonour where honour is due , and proposing " TheHealth of Comp. Brett."

Comp. James Brett , G.D.C. said he feltthat he could not return thanks as he oughtfor the toast which had jus t been drunk , ifhe had been responding onl y for himself , butthere was an outlet for him when he saw otherCompanions standing 111 acknowled gedmentof the toast who had assisted him in the duties olthe Chapter. In the lirst place he thanked theM.E. for presiding that evening, and everymember of the Chapter felt indebted to him forthe able and graceful way in which it had been done.Much had been said by the M.E. in praise in theway in which the evenings work had been con-ducted , and for thiscompliment he (Comp. Brett ,)in the name of himself and of all those who hadtaken part in it, begged to thank him. On thepoint of the working of the Chapter he feltstrongly. There were those present who were

the first promoters of the Chapter—he might saythe first to suggest it, as a society to which theymight resort for instruction , in which smokingand drinking would not be permitted during thework. Ever since he had been a Royal ArchFreemason they had been in the habit of meetingfor instruction in taverns, where he must confess,he had learned a great deal, and where he ven-tured also to say they had enjoyed themselves ineach other's company. But there were distin-guished Masons who thought it was not a properthing for Royal Arch Masons to do, and theyproposed to him a Chapter similar to the Emula-tion Lodge of Improvement. At fi rst he did notsupport the idea—he would not say he threw coldwater on it ; but after a little consideration hesaid he would do all he could to further theirwishes. Soon a great number came forwardwho approved of the movement, and they mettogether and started it. A great many put downtheir names as founders, and, although he did notnow stand up for the purpose of making a com-plaint , they must pardon him for say ing, not un-kindly, that, with few exceptions, those whoadvised, persuaded , and induced the establishmentof this Chapter , had not since supported it bytheir presence at the weekly meetings as he hadhoped they would. .There were, however, hewas proud to say, those present this evening whohad supported the projectors , and it was due tothem that the Chapter stood in its presentprosperous position. Still he thought theyought to meet in a much prouder and moreprosperous position even than that ; a large num-ber ought to attend both of founders and Grandofficers , men who had done good suit and servicein Masonry, and were proud to be rankedamong them. Sometimes they came amongthem , though he did not see many before him,but thev did not , as a rule , come forward andhelp them. They must not understand him ascomp laining. He had given his own time tothem , and had not been absent once last year,without leaving an efficient substitute to performhis duties , so that the companions had neversuffered from hisabsence. To those brethren whohad honoured him by tak ing his place hereturned his best thanks. Allow him to returnthanks for the companions , who had helped himto perform the ceremonies this evening. Comp.Boyd, one of them , he mi ght say, was thefather , or the founder , or the Frst Princi pal , ofthe Chapter of Improvement. He was the firstM.E. of the Prudent Brethren Chapter , underwhose warrant , those, who were visitors here forthe first time , mi ght learn the Royal ArchChapter of Improvement. That chapter wasestablished but three years ago, and it became verynumerous. That chapter was the first to have apublic ni ght , to explain to Royal ArchMasonstheworking of the Royal Arch , and those publicni ghts had given universal satisfaction. Comp.States , the S.E. of the Chapter , Comp. Boyd ,and others, were at the head of the movement,and the Royal Arch ( )rder generally had muchto thank them for , as also Comp. Dicketts , the J.of the same Chapter. They were all satisfiedwith the way in which he had done his work .Then thev came to Comp. Self , who was capableof taking any office ; he was one of the com-panions who started the Chapter , and had neverdeserted it. Comps. West , Smith , and Green ,had left the banqueting room , but they werealso deserving of the thanks of the companions.Comps. Warrington , Thomas, and Finney, whobelonged to the committee, and had worked hardfor the Chapter , were equall y deserving of thecompanions ' recognition of their services. Inconclusion , he would say he hoped they wouldmeet in still larger numbers in future , for thecompanions must bear in mind that when thepereeptors came there to perform the ceremonies,it was ncccssarv to have an audience as well asperformers , and nothin g would give him greaterpleasure that others gave assistance as well ashimself. (Frequent cheers greeted Comp. Brettduring the delivery of this address.)

The Chairman ,proceeding with the toasts, gave"The health of Visitors ," and prefaced hisspeech with the observation that he himself mostheartil y merited the condemnation of Comp.Brett for having assisted in founding the Chapter ,and not having frequently attended subsequentl y.He confessed himself one of the erring ones, but

regretted there were many who followed hisexample. His own excuse was that he lived agreat way oft". On the subject of the tocst, hewould remark on the great use visitors were, andsaid it frequently happened that they becamej oining members. Such was the case with Comp.Nicholas, whom he associated with thistoast. To those who did not know him, he (theChairman) would say he was the indefetigableand hard working Secretary of the Asylum forIdiots at Earlswood. Diverting for a momentfro m his subject , he begged the Comps. to con-sider the great and glorious gifts of reason pos-sessed by themselves, and to think on the wantsof those who were admitted into th_> Asylum forIdiots. No more religions no more Masonic dutycould have been performed than that to whichCom]). Nicholas ' life had been devoted, and as aworthy visitor , of whom he would have saidmore in his absence, he begged to propose Comp.Nicholas' health.

Comp. Nicholas replied. This was his firstvisit to the Chapter, and as a member he shouldcome as often as he could to atten d to his duties.He hoped to become faithful and dili gent andtry to follow the footsteps of the Illustrious Pre-ceptor, Comp. Brett. The Earlswood Asylum ,to which the Chairman had been kind enough toallude, would shortly be put before the order as aMasonic Institution. It was intended shortlyto erect an Infirmary [to it. and the Prince ofWales had promised to lay the fi rst stone ; onaccount of his illness , however, it would not bedone this year. The Infirmary would cost £3000,and it was proposed to raise this sum among thecraft of this country . Just a word or two on itsbeing a Masonic charity . He had j ust heard itsaid that in a Masonic sense it was not legal. HeM ould answer that everything that was good wasMasonic , and therefore that it was legal . More-over the Asy lum for Idiots might be said to sup-plement the Freemasons' Boys' and Girls' School,for it admitted within its walls those Freemasons'children , the weakness of whose intellect excludedthem from those Institutions. The Asylum forIdiots scarcely ever had an election at which someof the candidates were the children of Freemasons.A clergyman , one of the subscribers to theAsylum , always asked him if there any clergy-men 's children on the list to whom he could givehis vote, and if there were not , then he wouldgive them to Freemasons' children , because heconsidered it his duty as a clergyman and aFreemason to give them to these before all others.He (Comp. Nicholas) hoped that when the timecame the Freemasons would feel proud to pointto an inscription which it was intended to put inthe front of the building that it was erected bythe Masons of Great Britain as a tribute of respectto their Brother His Royal Highness who wouldlay the first stone, and as an expression of thank-fulness to the Almi ghty that He had restored himto health. He (Comp. Nicholas) felt himselfundul y honoured [by this toast being . proposed ,but he took it not so much as in honour to him-self as to the Institution of which he wasSecretary .

THE CH A I R M A N .— Companions, be goodenough to do all honour to the toast of " TheOfficers of this Chapter of Improvement." Thereare severa l of them, and they all commend them-selves to your attention. They are Comp.Hervey, G.S.E., the Treasurer ; Comp. Little,whose name is always received with great delightin masonic Circles, and whose services manymasons are looking forward to reward in a moresubstantial way than with mere words. Thereis also one companion upon whom the greatestamount of work connected with this happy andsuccessful gathering has fallen—Comp. ThomasW. White, the Assistant S.E. He, in his turn ,has been assisted by Comp. Finney, and I amsure that these two last companions especially,are entitled to your thanks for the admirablearrangements which have made everyone so com-fortable this eveninrr.

COMP . THOMAS W. WHITE .—On behalf ofmyself and the officers of the Royal Arch Chap-ter of Improvement , I beg to thank you mostsincerely for the manner in which you have drunkour health. With respect to myself, all I can say is •anything I can do to further the interests of thisChapter in particular, and Royal Arch Masonry

generally, I shall be most happy to do. As mybrother officers are waiting to return their ownthanks individuall y, I shall simply thank you,and leave it to them to say what they see fittestto this occasion.

Comp. John Boyd.—For the honour you havedone me as an officer of the Chapter in proposingthis toast, my best thanks are due. What I havedone in connection with this Chapter is but anearnest of what-1 will do. I pledge myself onsome future occasion to show -you somethinggreater than you have yet seen. This is only apassing way of exhibiting our art. I trust on thenext occasion it will be proved that this will onlybe a stepping-stone to some further improvementin this Chapter of Improvement , and that whenvou come again to a similar meeting to that overwhich you, Most Excellent, have so ably presided,you will be able to discover some superior workina:.

Comp. Geo . S. States.—I own I took somelittle trouble in forming this Chapter of Improve-ment , but what trouble I took is most heartilyat your service. It has been amply recompensed,and it was from the first a labour of love.

The Companions then separated.

THE " FREEMASON" LIFEBOAT.(M A I N T E N A N C E C O M M I T T E E .)

At the meeting which took place on the 6thult., Bro. E. Gottheil having expressed his wishto be relieved of the duties of Hon Sec, it wasproposed and agreed upon that Bro. D. Davis ,141, who announced his willingness to acceptthe post , should be appointed.

The report in The Freemason , of Nov . 18, 1871,.shows a balance in the hands of Bro. D. Davis,Treasurer , of— ^21 1.3 oReceived since that date :—

Angel Ledge, 51 r 1 oDevonsh ire—Glossop ^ 8 oUnion , 246 1 1 oKeystone M.M. 10 1 1 oUnanimity Chapter, 82 1 1 oCollection by Bro. Wm. Forth 1 15 o

Total £,3,3 o o

Communications are henceforward to be ad-dressed to D. Davis, 230, Whitechapel-road , E.

For the Week ending Friday, March 8, 1872.The Editor will be jrlad to have notice from Secretaries

of T.idges and Chapters of any change in place or time ofmeeting.

SATL ' l lDAY , AlAIU' l l 2.Lodge 142 , St. Thomas's.Chap. 0.75, Hose of Denmark , Star and Carter , Kew

Bud ge.General Committe Boys' School , at Freemasons' fla i l , at 5.Stai Lodge of Instruction (12 75), Marquis of Granby,

New Cross-road , at 7 : Bro. C. S. Dillcv, Preceptor ,Sphinx Lodge of Instruction C'^2 9), .Stilling Castle,

Camberwell, at 7 ; Bios. Thomas and Woi thington ,Preceptors.

Mount Sinia Chapter of Instruction, Union Ta\em , Air-street , at 8 ; Comp. Brett , Preceptor.

M O N D A Y , M A H C I I 4.Lodge 12 , Fortitude and Old Cumberland , Shi p and

Tuitle, Leadeuhall-street.„ 25, Robert Burns , Freemasons' f la i l .„ 72 , Hoyal Jubilee , Andeiton 's I lotel , Fleet-street.„ 8.1, United Lodge of Prudence , Albion Tavern ,

Aldcrsgate-street.„ 144, St. Luke 's, '.Masons' Hall , Basinghafl-street.„ 171 , Amity, Ship 1 lotel , Greenwich.„ 188, J oppa , Albion Tavern , Aldersgate-street.„ 256, Unions , Fieemasons' f l a i l .„ 13 10, Asaph , Freemason's Hall.

Chap. 174, Sinceiity, Cheshire Cheese Tavern , CrutchedJ'nars.

„ 1056, Victoiia , Masons' Hall , Masons' A\enue,Basinghall-street.

Piemier Conclave, lied Cross, Freemason's Tavern , GreatO: ej :11-st cet.

Sincerity Lodge of Instruction (174), Railway Tavern ,Fencluucli-stieet Station , at 7.

Strong -Man Lodge of Instruction (45), Old JerusalemTavein , St. John 's Gate, Clerkenwell , at 8; Bro.James Terry, Pieceptor.

Camden I-od gc of instruction (704) , Adelaide Tavern ,Haverstock-hill , at <S ; Bro. T. A. Adams, Preceptor.

Eastern Star Lodge of Instruction (05), Royal Motel , Mile-end-road, at 7.30 ; Bio. E. Gottheil , Preceptor.

METROPOLITAN MASONIC MEETINGS.

British Oak Lodge of Instruction , Bank of FriendshipTavern , Mile End , at 7 for 8.

St. James's Union Lodge of Instruction (180) , Horse andGroom Tavern , Winsley-street, (opposite the Pantheon),Oxford-street , at 8 ; Bro. J. R. Stacey, Preceptor.

Wellington Lodge of Instruction , White Swan Tavern ,Deptford , at 8; Bro. C. G. Willey, P.M. 1155,Preceptor.

St. John of Wapping Lodge of Instruction (1306), GunTavern , High-street, Wapp ing, at 7 ; Bro. T. Mortlock ,Preceptor.

TUKSIUV, MAHCII J.Colonial Board at 3 o'clock.Lodge 7, Royal York and Perseverance, Freemasons'

Hall.„ 9, Albion , Freemasons' Mall.„ 18, Old Dundee, London Tavern , Bishopsgate-

street ,„ 101 , Temple, Ship and Tuitle, Leadenhall-strcct.„ 172 , Old Concord , Freemasons' Hall.„ 217, Stability, Andeiton's Hotel , Fleet-street.,, 765> Kt - James's.„ 1257, Grosvcnor, Victoria Station , Metropolitan

District Railway, Pimlico.„ 1259, Duke of Edinburgh, New Globe Tavern ,

Bow-road.„ 1261 , Golden Rule, Masons' Hall , Masons'-avenue.„ 129 8, Royal Standard, Marquess Tavern , Canon-

bury.Chap. 1 fi g, Temperance, White Swan, Tavern Deptford.Metropolitan Chapter of Instruction , Poitugal Hotel ,

Fleet-street , at 7 ; Comp. Brett , Preceptor.Domatic Lodge of Instruction , Palmerston Tav., Grosvenor-

park , Camberwell, at 7.30. _Faith Lodge of Instruction, Aitillery Arms, Rochester-row,

at 8 ; Bro. C. A. Cottebrune, Preceptor.Yarboroug h Lodge of Instruction , Green Dragon, Stepney,

at 8; Bro. Isaac Saqui , Preceptor.Prince Fredk. William Lodge of Instruction (753) Knights

of St. John's Tavern , St. John's Wood ; 15ro. V. G.Baker, Preceptor.

Dalhousie Lodge of Instruction , King Edward , Triang le,Hackney, at 7.30. Bro. J. Saunders, Preceptor.

Sydney Lodge of Instruction , (,829), Cambridge Hotel ,U pper Norwood , at 7.30.

Ben Johnson Lodge of Instruction , Ben Johnson , Good-man's-yard, at 8.

Florence Nightingale Lodge of Instruction , Masonic I Jail ,William-street, Woolwich , at 7.30.

Prosperity Lodge of Instruction , Gladstone Tavern ,Bishopsgate-st. Within , at 7.30; Bro. Bolton , (W.M.1227), Preceptor.

St. Mary lebone Lodge of Instruction (1305), British StoresTavern , New-street , St. John's Wood , at 8; Bro. T.A. Adams, Preceptor.

VVK I I N E S I I A V , M AHCII 6.Quarterl y Communication Grand Lodge, at f> for 7 p.m.Lodge 511 , Zetland , Andeiton 's Hotel , Fleet-st reet.Pythagorean Lodge of Instruction (79), Prince of Orange,

Greenwich , at 8 ; Bro. J. Robt. Nash , Preceptor.United Strength Lodge of Instruction (228), the Grafton

Arms, Prince of Wales' Road , Kentish Town, at 8 :Bro. J. N . Frost , Preceptor.

Israel Lodge of Instruction , Rising Sun Tavern , Globe-road ,at 7.30 ; Bro. Isaac Saqui , Preceptor.

New Concord Lodge of Instruction , Rosemary BranchTavein , 1 loxton , at 8.

Confidence Lodge of Instruction , Railway Tav., London-sticet , City, at 7.30.

Royal Union Lodge of Instruction , Horse and GroomTavern , Winsley-street , Oxford-street , at 8. Bro. T. A.Adams, Preceptor.

Peckham Lodge of Instruction , Maismore Arms, Park-road ,Peckham ; Bro. David Rose, Pieceptor.

Temperance in the Fast Lodge of Instruction , George theFouith , Catheiine-stieet , Poplar.

Stanhope Lodge of Instruction , Thicket Hotel , Anerl y, at7.30. p.m. ; Bro. I I . W. Lindus, Preceptor.

InuiiSD.VY , M A H C I I 7.

Lod ge 10, Westminster and Kev stone, Freemasons'Hall.

„ 27, Egyptian , Andeiton 's Hotel , Fleet-street.„ 45, Strong Man , Old Jerusaleum Tavern , St.

John 's Gate.„ 136, Goorl Repoit , City Terminus I.Iotel , Cannon-

street.„ 192 , Lion and Lamb, City Terminus Hotel Can-

non-street.„ 227, Ionic, Ship and Tuitle , Leadenhall-strecl.„ 231, St. Andrew 's, Freemasons' Hall -„ 538, La Tolerance, Freemasons' Hall.„ 554, Yarborough , Green Dragon , Stepnev.„ 822 , Victoria Rifles , Freemasons' I lall.„ 115S, Excelsior , Sydney Arms, Levvisham-road.„ 1351 , St. Clement Danes, 265, Strand.„ 13(10, Royal Aithur 's, Duke of Edinburg h Hotel ,

New Wandswoith .Chap. 2, St. James's Freemason ' Hall.Annual Festiva l of the General Grand Conclave of Kni ghts

of the Red Cross of ConstantinopelThe R.A. Chapter of Improvement , Freemasons' Hall ,

at 7 ; Comp. Brett , Preceptor. Ceremony, explanationof R.A. Jewel and Solids, pait sections.

Fidelity Lodge of Instruction (2), Goat and Compasses,Euston-road , at 8 ; Bro. T. A. Adams, Preceptor.

Panmure Lodge of Instruction (720) , Balham Hotel , Bal-<ham , at 7 ; Bro. Joh n Thomas, Preceptor.

Finsbuiy Lodge of Instruction , Jolly Anglers' Tavern ,Bath-stivct> City-road ; Bio. Stcan , Preceptor.

United Mariners' Lodge of Instruction , Three Cranes,Mile-cnd-roatl , at 8; Bro. T. J. Barnes, Preceptor.

St. George's Lodge of Instruction (140), Globe Tavern ,Royal Hill , Greenwich, at 8.

Whittington Lodge of Instruction (862), Crown Tavern ,Holborn , at 8: Bro. Lewis Alexander, P.M. 188,Preceptor.

Chigwell Lodge of Instruction, Bald-faced Stag Hotel,Buckhurst Hill , at 7. 30.

General Grand Conclave and Annual Festival of the GrandImperial Council of the Knights of the Red Cross ofRome and Constantine, Freemasons' Tavern.

FRIDAY , M ARCII 8.Lodge .},}, Brittanic, Freemasons' Mall.

„ 134, Caledonian, Ship and Turtle, Leadeivhallstreet.

„ 157, Bedford , Freemasons' Hall.„ 177, Domatic, Anderton 's Hotel , Fleet-street.

Unions Emulation Lodge of Improvemet for M.M.sFreemasons' I lall , at 7.

Metropolitan Lodge of Instruction , Portugal Hotel, Fleet-street, at 7 ; Bro. Brett, Preceptor.

Belgrave Lodge of Instruction , Duke of Wellington Hotel ,Spring-gardens, Charing-cross ; Br. Pulsford , Preceptor.

Doric Lodge of Instruction , Three Cranes Tavern , Mile-end-road , at 8 ; Bro. Tsaac Saqui, Preceptor.

Stability Lodge of Instruction , Guildhall Tavern , 33,Gresham-street, at 6 ; Bro. Muggeridge, Preceptor.

Robert Burn s Lodge of Instruction , Union Tavern , Air-street, Regent-st., at 8 ; Bro. W. Watson , Preceptor.

Burgoyne Lodge of Instruction, Grafton Arms, Prince of' Wales'-road, N.W., at 8.St. Luke's Lodge of Instruction (144), Gladstone Tavern ,

Brompton-road , S.W.United Pilgrims Lodge of Instruction, Duke of Edinburgh,

Shepherd's-Iane, Brixton , at 7 ; Bro. J. Thomas, P.M.,Preceptor.

Duke of Edinburgh Lodge of Instruction , Silver Lion ,Penny-fields, Poplar, at 7 ; Br. D. S. Potts, Preceptor.

St. James' Lodge of tnstruction, Gregorian Arms Tavern,Jamaica-road, Bermondsey, at 9.

Temperance Lodge of Instruction , Victoria Tav., Victoria.road , Deptford , at 8.

Burdett Coutts Lodge of Instruction (1278), ApproachTavern , Approach-road , Victoria-park, at 8; Bro. Geo,W. Verry, Preceptor.

Clapton Lodge of Instruction , White I fart , Clapton , at 7.30;Bro. John Saunders, Preceptor.

Royal Standard Lodge of Instruction (1298), The CastleTavern , I Iollowa) , at 8 ; Bro. R. Lee, (P.M. 193, W.M,1298 ,) Preceptor.

Pythagorean Chapter of Instruction (No. 79), Prince ofOrange, Greenwich-road , at 8 ; Comp. W, West Smith ,Preceptor.

H b&frtisemcitts.ELECTION, MAY, I 872.

R OYAL BENEVOLENT INSTITUTION. KOIv AGED I'KI'.K.MASONS OR Til KIR WIDOWS.

The favour of vour Votes ami Interest is earnestlv solicitul onbehalf of

WiLLIAM ALLISON ,AciKD 02 Y KAKS .

He has been a Mason 27 years , having been initiated into the Har *ton Lod ge, No. 723, in Hamilton , Canada West , in 1H44 ; Kxaltedin the Royal Arch Chapter , Xo. 733, in 1845 ; Joined the WaterlooLodge, No. 13, in 1S4S. Meeaine a Kni ght Templar in 1S56. Hesutiered a considerable time from disease of the throat , renderingit necessary for him , thirteen years ago, to undergo an operation ";the result of which , and old age, unfits him to contribute anythi ngInward s his own support. He is entirel y dependent on the smallsum he recches from three Lodges and one Chapter as Tyler. Hewas formerly in good circumstances , having been a Foreman hi aHoot anil Shoe Makers * Warehouse , in Canada.

The case is stronglv recommended bv—ISro. the Right Worshi pful Frederick Pottison", P.G.W. 157 Old

Ihoud-strcer . K.C.7 I) . ) u>inm , J\M. 109, J4 7, uiS, l\Z. 109 ; Russell-street , Kothcr-

hithe.t C. Coupland , P.M. 913, A.S. No. 13 Chapter; Burra ge-road ,

PlumsU;id , S.K.t Samuel ,M;iv , 1\M.,P.G.S. 33, 101, 780,87, uS?, Grand Steward s,

Lod ge, V.'F.1* Hdward Arnoulin , P.SAV., No. 12 , 172 ; St. JohnVstreet , Cler-

kenwell.t C. W. Ashdov.n , S.W. 107(1 ; Lime Villa , Gurncv-road , Strat-

ford , K.t J'\ T. P. Jiirts , 13, P.M. S29; Powis-stveet , Woolwich

G. IL Davis , W.M. 13; Wellington-street , Woolwich|. Dellagane , P. JAW , No. 12, 172 ; St. John 's-street*C. A. KllU , P.Mland W.M. No. 9 12; I 9 Vicarage Park , Plum-

Mead .John Gray don , P.M. 13 and 913, P.Z. and M.L.Z. 13 Chapter ,

V. Prov. G.S.l) . Kent; Royal Arsenal , Woolwich.t W. J, Graham , W.M. 700 ; Albion-terrace , Charlton.t. ] ¦ Henderson , P.M. 13, 829, 913, no7,jP.Z. 13 ; 33 LIcanor-road ,

Woolwichf McKicrman , 192 , 128S ; 62 St. John 's-snuarc , Clerkenwellf KnighL W.M. 1107, J .W. 913, V.G.S. Kent.1 George Kenning, ( \ .1 *.,; P.M. 192 , F.J . W. G.I). 1293, Middle -

sex ; U pper Sydenham , S.K.t S. IL Pain , S.W" . 913, 1107 ; ArtilL-ry-placc , Woolwichf Picking, P.M. 13 and 1227, J076 ; zH Victoria-Grove , South Horn *scy.f J. Rowland , P..M. 700

I'. J. Sutton , P.M. 55 and 1107, P. Prov. G.A.lLC. Kent; s6SC itv-road.

t Kdwaid We.rf , W.M. 1337, P.M. 107;. , S.G.lL, Herts: NoTthWoolwich

GeiiUeincn against whose names t wi l l be thankful lo receive;proxies ou bdiaU' of William Allison , 44 Willam Street , Wool-wich.

(Joys and Girl' s Proxies wi l l be gladly received for the purpose ofexchange , at Bro. W. Francis *, No. S, Red Lion *.scjnare, London ;Pro. Kd. West , North Woolwich ; and IJro. Kenning, Upper Syden-ham , London.

jy[R. RICHARD RING , Solicitor, of 26f''rei!ei'iek-.-,ticct , Gniy '.s-inn, kegs to inform his clients

that he has opened an office at 23, Worshi p-street, Einsbury,and that Divorce Cases are conducted. Arrangements withCreditors promptly made under the present Bankruptcy Act,

MASONICA S S U R A N C E O F F I C E ,

9, NEW BRIDGE-STREET,Chairman, London Board - - Dr. Bctmnn.

„ Portsmouth ,, - - Aid. Ford.„ Leeds ,, - - Aid. Addyman.„ Plymouth „ - - Major Studdy.

This Company invites the attention of the Craft to itsentirely novel and original instrument of POSITIVE Lin;POLICY .

FU E D K . Bico , P.M., Manager and Actuary.

LOANS GRANTED.

NEW YORKLIFE INSURANCE COMPANY ,

ESTABLISHED 1845.

Conducted under the official supervision of theState of New York.

$100000 have been deposited with Trusteesin England.

Lif e Assurance only . Purel y Mutual. All Profitsannually to Policy Holders.

Accumulated Funds, December 31st, 1870 ""... .£'3,172 ,244Surplus over all Liabilities, and Reserve Fund 389,322Income for Year 1870 1,317, 27 1

Bro . M. X. C O H E N ,SPECIAL AGENT ,

76 & 77, CHEAPSIDE , E.C.Norwich and London

ACCIDENT INSURANCEA S S O C I A T I O N .

E S T A B L I S H E D 1S56.

SUBSCRIBED CAPITAL £100,000.t'or Insuring against

A C C I D E N T A L DEATH ,With

Compensation for Personal Injury ,Caused by Accidents

CH I E F OFFICES—ST. GILES'S STREET, NORWICH.LO N D O N : 10, OLD JEWRY CHAMBERS.

Secretary : CH A R L E S R. OI L M A N , Esq.London Manager: Mr. GEOHOE POWELL .

THE LOMBARDEXCHANGE AND NEWS ROOM ,

LoMiiAii i ) STHEET , LO N D O N , E.C.TERMS: £. s. (I.

Entrance fee ... ... ... ... 3 3 oAnnual Subscri ption ... ... ... 3 3 oMembers residing and carry ing on business

at a distance of fifty miles and upwardsfrom London , Merchants , Captains , andClerks to Subscribers (no entrance fee) 1 1 oThe Room is well supp lied with newspapers , telegrams ,

and books of reference. It includes a Post-office , PosteRestante , Telegra ph-office , Reading and Wri t ing Room ,Restaurant , Lavatories , A;c. ; also copy ing machines forthe use of subscribers.

Bro. |OIIX I I . YOUXGHUSBAXD ,P.M., P.Z., P.E.C , P.P.J.G.W., \-c, Manager.

THE "EXPRESS "GENERAL STEAM PRINTING OFFICE ,

Tj i .U'FOR D - S T K K K T , i 1 UL.M K,

M A N C H E S T E R , S.W.T^KO. .MASOX begs to

state that he can for-ward PRIXTIXG 10 any address in the country, car-

riage paid.too Cards 1 1 (\, 2/0 , 2/33 .0 and 3 65,000 Handbil ls i 2 ; f> , 20/0 , 2 5/0 , 34/0 to ,so;o12 Funeral Cards i/ fi , 2/0 ; 24 ditto , 2/( 1, 4/6100 Posting Bills 5/0, 7/6 , 10/ 6, 12/ 6, 15/0 , 20/050,000 Wake's or Paulden 's Annual Circulars ... £87/ 10Gentlemen 's or Ladies' Prhate Cards 50 for 2/ 6 ; 100 3/612 Window Bills 1/0 , '1/6 , 2/6 , 5/0 , 10 7/( 15,000 Billheads , at per 1 ,000 5/0 , 6/0, 7/( 1, 1 0/ fiSociety Rules , 16 pages, 30/0, 35/0 , 40/0, 45/0, 10 105/0

ESTIMATES OX APPLICATION.

ftRO. ADLARD S JEWEL ATTAC11ER.XJ U K l i l S T K U K I i .

Masonic Clothier , cVc, 22 5, Hi gh Ilolborn , W.C.~BXJLL F A V O U R S 7~NEWEST DESIGNS.

MASONIC DEPOTS 2 , 3, \- 4, I.JTTl.i; BIUTAIX ,AXD inS , FLEET S'tUEET , E.C.

LONDON AND SUBURBAN

MUTUAL BUILDING SOCIETY,Enrolled in iS< $, pursuant to Act of Parlahncnt.

SHARKS , £2$ each , may be paid in one sum, or by MonthlySubscri ptions of <s. per share.

INVESTING MEMBERS receive $ per cent. Interest , andShare of Surp lus Profits.

MONEY ADVANCED ON MORTGAGE , without Premium ,for any term of years." Bro. JONATHAN - TAYI .OK (Doric 933), Secretary.

Office:,;—107a, Fendmrch-street , E.C.

THE BIRKBECKIs the onl y Ilnilding Society whose Annual Recei pts exceed

O N K M I L L I O N !!It) ~v to Purchase u House for 7'iro (luinncas per Month ,

With immediate possession and no Rent to pa v. App lv atthe Oniceof the HIRKBECK B U I L D I N G SOClf-lTY, 29 & 30,

Southampton-bindings , Chancery-lane.//»v(* to purchase a Plot of Land for l-'h-e Shillings per Month ,

With immedalc possession ,either for Bnildingor Gardening purposesapp ly at the Office of the BIRKBECK FREE! 10LD LAND

SOCIETY , 29 & 30 Southampton-buildings , Chancery-lane.JIo -w to Invest Money ivith safe ly at £4 per cent Interest ,

App ly to the Office of the BIRKBKCK BANK.All sums under £-.0 repayable upon demand. Current accounts

opened similar to Ordinary Bankers. Cheque Bonks supp lied.Office hours from 10 til l 4 daily, on Mondays from io till n > and onSaturdays from 10 till 2. A small pamp hlet , containing full par-ticulars , may be obtained gratis , or sent Post-free on application In

FIUNCIS R A V E N M ROIT, Manager.

rpi-IE SOUTH-WESTERN INDEX LISTof Furnished and Unfurnished Mouses to be let , and of

Estates for sale in the South-west of London , is publishedIMonthlv bv

MR. IAS. STEVENS , AUCTIONEER & ESTATE AGENT ,CLAPHAM COMMON , S.W.

A useful work of refe rence for those seeking Residences , and savingmuch trouble in obtaining information of properties for

disposal in the S.W. district .Send post-cardwith your address, and a copy will be forwarded

by return post.

rp II E L O N D O N M I R R O R .Published every Saturday ; juice .pi.

The object of this journal is 'to set forth the claims of the manyReli gions , Educational , Benevolent , and Prudential Ins t i tu t ions titthe United King dom ,and week by week to report thcirproceedings ,whether as Meetings , Sermons, Anniversaries , or Elections , so as topresent these National Ins t i tu t ions to the favour of the Public.

Oilice , 59, Southampton-row , Russell-square , London , W.C.

ct 'T'HE FREEMASON " OF ST. LOUIS.—The Largest Masonic Monthl y in the World. Published1

at St. Louis , Mo., by George Frank Gnulcy, Grand Secretary andRecorder of the four Grand Bodies ol " Missouri.

The Freemason contains t idings from every quarter of the world ,and will he found of grea t advantage to all Masons , especially thoseinterested in American atVaivs. Terms s": per annum ,and to thosewho subscribe for the London Freemason the price will be 1 £50cerrencv. Postage free.

Subscri ptions received by the London " Freemason. "

rp i-IK MASONIC TROWEL.—-A MasonicJournal , published on the 15th of every month , by IL G.

Rcvno'lds , Junr., Spring field , Ill inois , United States of America.Sixteen pages , large quarto . Circulation 20.000 monthly.Terms to be obtained , and Subscri ptions received at the Free-

mason Oilice, 2, 3, and 4, Little Britian , and forwarded free otcharge.

"T KVI U ML " SI PR E V A I L ."—Common Sense .Lamps, Baths , Cutlery, Brushes , Fenders and Fire Irons , Electro-

plate and Nickel-Silvcv Goods ,

R. D. PARR ,General House Furnishing Ironmonger ,

4:, l i l .ACKMA N .STKKICT, BOKOL 'CII.

f") PEERS n othing extraordinary, but R KALLY^^ I n H i n Articles :rt f.'iir ;unl rc.'i>nnribli- prit 't-H. Hi- ilocs tintkeep .-111 " ImniL -nse Stuck ," lint Mill i i -kn t ly lai- iie I 'nr rniv peiMin Inselect l imn. Me (Iocs not sell " che.-iper tlKin every other house inthe Tnulc ," hut quia- :is cheap as am .

A vi.-tt wi l l , at all rime.-, be very much appreciated.

rn H E J E W I S H C H R O N I C L EIVice Twopence.

01-TU'K: 4J l ' INSHU RY SOUARK , I-..C.

GLENFIELD STARCHis tlie onlv kind u>ed inHer Majest y 's Laundry .

Thn-c Ladies who I KUC not • et u-ed the Glenl ield Starch , arcresjiectfullv solicited to give it a tr ia l , and , carefully follow out thedirections "printed on every package. It is rather more di l l icul tto make than oilier Starches , but when this is overcome , they willsay, l ike the (Jttcen 's Laundress , that it is the iincst Starch theyever Used.

When you ask for the Glenlield , see that you get it .

QE N E R A L F U N E R A L ESTABLISH-M K N ' T, Si , Ci ty - roml , ICC , opposite the J ' i n sbur y

Schools , and 24, South ;,r.'i!c-i 'o;i'l , Dc lieauurii' Town , N.

Bros. S I N C L A I R & SONbej,' to call the publ ic a t ten t ion 1.) their Scale of Chargesto suit all classes, to any of t '.ic Metropolitan Cemeteries, orother places. For f inther informat ion , see Illustrated Hookand Kst'mtatcs, forwarded on app lication.

No connection with any other establishment.

W . Tvi A R C H A N T ,\ C I I O I , l : S . t I . i : A M ) I I K T . U I .

Dealer in China , Glass , Earthenware,HiON.YlONGIiUY, TIN HOODS , BRUSHES

A N D 15HOOMS.China l-' i y r i r c - . and Ornament - , Musical Instruments ,

Metal Goods , Japanned Dit to , America I'ails ,and Impor ter of l-'iuei '̂u Glass.

License! Victuallers .supplied with every descri ption ofGlass , cVc. Goods Lent on I lire.

82. LOWER MARSH. LAMBETH. LONDON.

T H E G U E A T W E S T E R N H O T E L(SNOW II11. 1. STATION )

B I R M I N G H A M ."One of the most elegant , comfortable and economical Hotels

in the three kingdoms.—The Field , July 31, iSGg. "" From experience gained by repeated visits , we arc happy

to be able to testif y to the exceeding comfort of this Motel. Wchave much pleasure in recommending it."— 'The Engineer , October14, 1S70.

*' An establishment remarkable for its able management reason-able charges , and general comfort."— Hell' s Life , June , 31, 1S71.

(load skcommodatiou for Lodges, Chapters , £"'c.

Guildhall Tavern , Gresham-st., E.CQPACIOUS Dining-rooms, Chop and Steak-

rooms , Luncheon-liars , and Smoking Rooms. Rooms;of all si/.es, suitable for Auction Sales, Consultations , Arbitrations ,Huilding Societies , &c.; also for Freemasons * Lod ges and Banquets ,Private Dinners , &e.Guildhall Tavern Company (Limi ted) , 32 and T, T„ fbesham-strect ,

CiKouiiE Cu.uvnwn , Manager and Secretary .

The Alexandra Restaurant ,7, CONDUIT-STREET , REGENT-STREET.

Public and Private Dining Rooms ,First-class Cooking and Wines.

Open for Suppers after the Theatres.Bro. F. HiM- 'KKi cii , Proprietor.

Masons ' Hall Tavern ,MASONS * AVENUE , 13ASINGHALL-STREET , CITY.

THE above old-established Tavern is NOWX OPF.N, newly decorated , by llro. CHARLES GOSHEN ,

late Manager of the Freemasons ' Tavern Company. Every accom-modation will be found for Lodges, Chapters , Mark and other degrees ,for their Meetings , Dinners , Suppers , See, and every attention willhe paid to their comfort and enjoyment by (lie new* Proprietor..

J^EEVES , SON and CO., Printers , WholesaleStationers , and Account Hook Manufacturers ,

PLAYHOUSE YARD , IJLACKPR1ARS , LONDON , E.C.Next the " Times " Office.

Caledonian Hotel ,ROHERT STREET, ADELPMI TERRACE ," STRAND.

/7J .EXTLEMEN and Families visiting Londonwill find every accommodation , combined with comfort and

moderate charges , at the above Motel.Heds from 2s. j Sitting Rooms from 3s.; Uveakt 'asts from 2^ .J

Table d'Mote 6.30, 3s. fnl. 'Every accommodation for Masonic Meeting s anil Danquets.

A spacious and cheerful Cot lee Room overlooking the Thames.Bro. G KOUOI ; STATES , Manager.

City Terminus Hotel , Cannon-street,LQXDOX.

AMTELL adapted for Banquets , Balls , AmateurDramatic Entertainments , Public Meetings , and Arbi-

rations . The large Mall is capable of seating upwards of TwelveHundred people.

SYDNEY SCENCE **, Manager.

R EEVES , SON and co.,Kngr.-m rs ailn Dic-Sinkcr ;.

Rt f E V K S, SON and CO., ofl'er many advan-to Manufac ture rs and all persons rerjuir ing large qualities of

Paper and Printi '.'g, as they pu-se^s ilie miiM approved machinery,as well as every oilier faci l i ty for executing orders entrusted to themin the cheapest and best manner.

A , P U I i L I S H HRS, their Uilicea ate very central , and they renderaccuunts munthly.

REEVE S, SON and co.,Publisiiera.

REEVES , SON and co.,Newspaper Printers.

R EEVES , SON and co.,Magazine Printers.

REEVES , SON and CO.,I.nw Printer?.

REEVES , SON and CO.,CommLicial Printers.

R EEVES, SON and co.,Slum- Canl Printer *.

REE\ 'ES SON and CO.,I.;ilicl Prininv.

REE\ r ES , SON and CO.,Ornamental and Colour Printer:. .

REEVES , SON ami co.,Hankers * Cheque Printer ; .

REEVES , SON and co.,Copper Plate Printers.

j ^EEYES SOX and CO.,Lithographic "Printers.

REEVES, SON and co.,

REEVES, SON and co.,Map Printer- ; and Coloiuvrs.

REEVES , SON and co.,Desi gners.

R EEVES, SON and co.,Slcu-i ' !vm-r.< .