West Yorkshire.

WEST YORKSHIRE .

AS briefly reported in our issue of the 19 th ult ., the halfyearly meeting of this Provincial Grand Lodge was held in the Town Hall , Dewsbury , on Wednesday , the 16 th ult . After preliminaries the Provincial Grand Master addressed the Brethren , in the first place referring to the loss sustained by the Province by the death of Bro . T . Bateman Fox . Since the

last meeting , he continued , the hand of death had been very busy , and had fallen heavily upon the Craft . Bro . Richard Carter , a Past Warden of the Province , had passed away , as also had Bro . A . P . Perkins P . M . ; and he could not refrain from mentioning the singular instance of Lodge 910 , Pontefract . No

sooner had they lost the founder of St . Oswald and its main supporter , the lamented Bro . Tew , than death in rapid succession took away from them Bro . Isaac Kaberry Prov . G . Registrar , who did not live to take his collar ; Bro . Samuel Slack , a most active and useful Past Master ; Bro . W . H . B . Atkinson P . M . ;

and finally Bro . John Morrell , the W . M . of the year . These , perhaps , were warnings ; yet they must also recognise that all this notwithstanding , they must face their difficulties manfully , and that it was their bounden duty to walk straightly and uprightly in the steadfast discharge of their duties .

During the year it had been a gratifying circumstance to consecrate a new Lodge , the Furnival , No . 2558 , Sheffield . The time when a large number of new Worshipful Masters would be chosen was now nigh at hand . He took the opportunity to express the hope that onlv those Brethren would be selected

who were in all particulars fully fitted to occupy so important a position . No Brother could claim the office by right—it was a privilege which the Brethren conferred , and it was their duty to see that this most valuable privilege was only granted to those whose Masonic ability and moral fitness were commensurate with

the position . He need hardly argue the question of the importance of this matter . The privilege involved serious responsibilities , and the men so chosen should be those who , sensible of their duties , lead daily blameless lives , and are prepared to maintain the traditions in this respect which the Province long had cherished .

It vs * as his wish and hope that the various Lodges from time to time would invite Provincial Grand Officers to visit them . Unfortunately it was not in his power to do as he should wish ; the Brethren recognised this , and were good enough to excuse it , and he considered the Prov . G . Officers owed it to him as well as

to the Brethren to discharge the duty which he was thus unable to fulfil . By doing this they promoted good feeling amongst the Brethren , harmony in working , and hept all the Lodges in touch with the executive , so bringing about the smoothness and sympathy which are so desirable .

In concluding , the Prov . G . M , said : Brethren , we sometimes dream dreams . To-day we meet in this handsome building , replete with every convenience , and there are few places , perhaps , where the Craft can so comfortably assemble , but I sometimes dream that the time may come when it will be for us to consider

whether Prov . G . Lodge may not have some central home worthy of the Province . It is , I know , a large question , and the cost will be a heavy item . If , however , the Brethren in the distant future ( shall I say ?) should be moved to take a step in this direction , it would , I feel sure , meet with no cold response . I

make no proposition—it is a question of the gravest consequence , aud to make the result certain and satisfactory we must be practically unanimous . If it is found that there is a general

feeling in favour of this step , it might then be considered , and the suggestion I make would take form and-substance . I thank you heartily , Brethren , for your kind salutations , and I deeply appreciate your attendance in such large numbers .

Bro . Henry Smith Deputy Provincial Grand Master then rose and said :

Brethren , The statement which in a few words I am about to make to you , is one for which you must all more or less be prepared , as I have foreshadowed ifc at various times in Provincial Grand Lodge and at private Lodge Meetings . When I tell you that initiated in 1852 I served the office of Worshipful Master in

1857 ; that I was made Prov . Senior Grand Deacon by the Earl of Mexborough in 1859 ; that I have worn the Badge of our Order with pride and pleasure for over forty-three years ; that I filled the onerous post of Prov . G . Secretary for fifteen years ; that I have occupied the still more responsible position of Deputy

Grand Master in this Province for ten years ; that I received the Collar of Grand Deacon of England in 1888 ; tbat before I became Prov . G . Secretary I was present at Provincial G . Lodge thirty-six times , and that out of seventy-eight meetings since that date I missed only one—when I put my Masonic career

thus briefly before you , I think you cannot fail to agree with me that the time has come when I am entitled to retire hom active service amongst you , and to be relieved from the burden and anxiety which the tenure of the office of Deputy entails—a burden which I must confess begins to feel more that I can , with justice to you and with comfort to myself , continue to endure .

West Yorkshire.

A Masonic experience like mine , Brethren , is perhaps without a parallel ; and I venture to think that a brief retrospect may not prove uninteresting . At my initiation in the Hope Lodge , Bradford , then £ 79 , now 302 , on the 3 rd May 1852 , the entire number of Lodges

under the Grand Lodge of England did not exceed 600 . Only the other day a Lodge was consecrated which was numbered 2581 . I do not mean to say that there are actually 2581 Lodges

on the roll , for some have dropped out , whilst others in the Colonies have withdrawn to form Grand Lodges of their own , but there are certainly over 2000 existing Lodges , which , compared with 600 , shows a marvellous increase .

In West Yorkshire at that period there were twenty-nine Lodges only . Every one of the Lodges , I rejoice to say , is still on our list , and most of them , I may add , are in a far more flourishing condition than was the case at that time . For

instance , one returned a total of only six members ; foi . ii' had less than ten on their books , and six others did not number twenty each ; whereas now , there are seventy-seven Lodges in the Province , and only one of them has less than twenty subscribing members .

The total number of Masons in West Yorkshire in 1852 was under 1 , 000 , to-day it is rapidly approaching 4 , 000 . Leeds at that time had three Lodges , now it has eight ; Bradford had two , now , counting Eccleshill , it has seven ; Huddersfield had three , it at present has six ; whilst at Sheffield , where Masonic progress

is most striking , there were in those days but two Lodges , in contrast with the eight which it now possesses . The same thing has occurred more or less throughout the Province ; but what is

perhaps a more striking feature to notice as illustrating the growth of Freemasonry , is the establishment of Lodges in small towns , little more than manufacturing villages , some of them .

By the time I became Provincial G . Secretary in 1870 , in succession to Bro . Richard Reed Nelson , from twenty-nine the Lodges had increased to fifty-four ; so that during the last twenty-five years we have added twenty-three Lodges to our roll , an average of one a year almost ; and at the consecration of every ,

one of these I have been present . At that time there were but three Lodges in the Province which had kept their Centenary—Probity 61 , Halifax ; Britannia 139 , Sheffield ; and Unanimity 154 , Wakefield—now there are thirteen , and next year two more will be entitled to this distinction .

With respect to charity matters , I may say that along with others , most of whom have now passed away , in the year 1859 I was one of the promoters of the West Yorkshire Charity Committee , and since its formation I have rarely missed attendance

at its meetings . By means of this organisation we have in this Province raised for the benefit of our Masonic Institutions over £ 60 , 000 ; whilst the total sum subscribed in the whole country during the same period has reached the enormous sum of three quarters of a million sterling , averaging £ 30 , 000 a year for 25

years . During those same years there have been 125 elections of candidates for the benefits of these Institutions , and when I tell you , Brethren , that of these 125 meetings , held all of them in

London , I have been present at ancl taken part in 123 , you will agree with me that I have not been unmindful of the charitable business of the Province . My absence in both instances arose from the fact that I was visiting some friends in Canada and the United States .

With our extraordinary success at these elections you are all well acquainted , and I need scarcely dwell upon it , yet you will be interested , I am sure , to learn that between the years 1870 and 1895 , by means of these elections , we in West

Yorkshire pufc sixty-six Boys and fifty-seven Girls into the Schools , besides placing forty-five Men and thirty-five Widows upon the Annuity Fund . We carried all our 203 candidates , in addition to whom we have by means of our presentations added many

others . Many more interesting details could I give out of my varied experience , but I do not want to weary you . After a service

like mine , during which I have seen five Prov . G . Masters of West Yorkshire , and held office under all of them , you cannot deny that I have a fair claim to be relieved from official cares and responsibility .

That I have tried to the utmost of my ability to benefit the Province , with whose organisation I have been so long and so closely associated , I freely admit , and I have ever been conscious of and grateful for the indulgent spirit in which my poor services have been received , and the recognition which my efforts have

ever met with at the hands of you all . At times we may nofc have looked at matters from the same point of view , and it is possible that what I deemed the conscientious discharge of my duty may have brought me into

conflict with some of you . Believing , as I do , most firmly that only by adhering strictly to certain rules , by adopting , in fact , a thorough and complete system , could the organisation of this Province approach anything like what you and I would have it »