Reports Of Meetings.

LODGE OF INTEGRITY , No . 163 . THE festival of St . John was celebrated at the Freemasons ' Hall , Manchester , on Wednesday , 31 st ult ., Bro . Thos . Hy . Scholfield W . M . There was a numerous attendance , comprising rhe folk-win " , viz ., H . H . Warburton P M . P . P . S . G-. D ., J . Wildgoose PM P P . J . G . D ., John StuddP . M . P . P . G . D . C , J . M . H . Blarney s w ! R . Alf . Hepworth J . W ., J . M . Sinclair P . M . P . P . J . G . D . Treas .,

Samuel Gaskill Sec , Fred . Walmsley I . G ., J . G . Mead Org ., R . L , McMillan P . M ., A . Hope P . M ., Wm . D . Waddell P . M ., R . Simister P . M . Ed . Roberts P . M . Asst . Prov . G . T . ( FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE ) , Arthur Nield , Robert Acomb , H . A . Owles , J . Grime , 0 . Slee , A . B . Scholfield , A . Dunn , J . Brittaner , J . H . Studd , Wm . Morton , Ben Eastwood , James Mitchell , Edward Graham Wood , James Clemmey ,

James Gardner , F . Nield , John Thornton , H . R . Yates , John Allen , B . Buzzard , C . Cookson , G . Taylor , W . Pearson , J . W . Mottershead , Geo . Garlick , Wm . Moorhouse , J . Ingleby , and J . W . Wallworth Visitors : —Bros . John Chadwick P . G . Swd . B . Prov . Grand Sec . 44 , Nathan Heywood W . M . 44 , Joseph Jackman W . M . 139 2491 , Robert Fox S . W . 2482 , W . Collins I . P . M . 1565 , Alfred de Botton

I P M . 1798 , W . L . Liphory P . M . 257 , T . E . Chambers P . M . 1313 , W . ' . Fryer P . M . 1375 , M . B . Salt S . W . 1588 , William Wild 128 ,

John Farley 269 , Thos . Guest 204 , S . Kelly P . M . 645 , W . H . Paget 441 45 , John Walmsley 613 , A . H . Duffin P . M . D . of C . 1134 , S . D . Funnall 1550 , W . F . Osterstock 2269 , Major G . Herbert Bates 2322 , Oatos Rushton 2449 , Peter Bratt 2482 , and others . The minutes having been confirmed , and tbe Treasurer ' s account and the Auditors' report presented , the ceremony of installing Bro . J . M . H . Blarney S . W . was undertaken by Bro . J . Wildgoose P . M . P . P . G . D ., who was assisted by Bros . H . H . Warburton S . W ., John

Studd P . M . P . P . G . D . C . J . W ., R . L . McMillan P . M . I . G . The candidate was presented by Bro . Scholfield W . M ., and afterwards obligated and installed according to ancient custom . Bro . Blarney was subsequently addressed by Bro . Scholfield upon the duties appertaining to the chair , Bro . Warburton performing a similar task with regard to the Wardens , whilst Bro . Wildgoose addressed the brethren . Bro . Studd gave the honours .

The Officers appointed were : —Bros . R . Alfred Hepworth S . W ., Samuel Gaskill J . W ., J . M . Sinclair P . M . & c . Treas ., J . Clemmey Sec , H . A . Owles S . D ., Fred Walmsley J . D ., John Allen I . G ., John Studd P . M . & c . D . of C , A . B . Scholfield Org ., J . H . Studd , Henry R . Yates , Geo . Taylor , B . Eastwood and W . Morton Stwds ., H . H . Warburton P . M . Charity Representative .

The annual banquet was held in the large dining room of the hall , under the personal supervision of Mr . and Mrs . Phillips , hall caterers . Loyal and Masonic toasts were submitted and responded to , the visitors paying a well deserved tribute to Bro . Wildgoose for the admirable manner in which he had performed the ceremony of installation .

Bro . John Chadwick Prov . Grand Secretary contrasted the present with a former period , when one well known Past Master performed tho major portion of the ceremonies in many Lodges . He congratulated them upon the fact that a change for the better had long since taken place , and that W . M . ' s themselves were now capable of discharging the various duties devolving upon them .

Bro . Wildgoose proposed the health of the W . M . He felt honoured by having had the duty to perform , of installing such a capable Officer into tho chair . It was a position to which Bro . Blarney had aspired for some time , and the dignity of which he would fully maintain , for he was undoubtedly the right man for such a high and important office .

Bro . Blarney replied in a speech which was a masterpiece of elocution , and one which held his listeners spellbound ; a speech which was delivered without the slightest hesitancy , with fervour , and a true appreciation of the entities of timo and circumstances . He said , " Brethren , it is with mingling feelings of nervousness and courage , of pride and humility , of pleasure and anxiety , that I rise

to respond to the toast of my health , so kindly proposed by Bro . Wildgoose . At the greatest inconvenience to himself Bro . Wildgoose is present with us to-night , and it is with the deepest sense of personal obligation that I return him my most sincere thanks for the honour he has done me in submitting to you the toast of the Worshipful Master . Your enthusiastic reception of tbe toast as

shown in the song so ably led by Bro . Mead , and in your applause of the sentiments uttered by Bro . Wildgcose , I shall ne-ver forget as long as I live . This reception from you forms the fitting and natural sequel to your unanimous selection of my unworthy self a month ago to fill the chair of King Solomon in this Lodge during the ensuing year , and , while returning thanks to you , the members of

my own Mother Lodge for your kindness , I wish also to acknowledge very sincerely my obligations to the brethren from other Lodges , and other Provinces who have come ( some from long distances : Devonshire , Cambridgeshire , East and West Lancashire , Yorkshire , and Cheshire ) to unite with you in forming a sure column of mutual defence and support , and who have joined with you so heartil

y and cordially in the expression of their good wishes for my health and success . At such a moment as this one ' s thoughts naturally revert to the past . As I stand here I cannot but think of the last Wednesday in October 1885 , during the year of office of Bro . Ben Williams . It was then I saw the light of Masonry for the first time . I think also of the ordeal through which I passed

that night , when I responded to the toast of the newly-initiated Brother . But I stood on firm ground then , for although I was an absolute stranger to everyone in the Lodge , nevertheless I was the son of a Mason of 50 years' experience , and my only desire in becoming a member of the Craft , was to follow in the footsteps of a worthy and honoured father . I remember that the fact of being the of

son a Mason was considered a guarantee of my respectability . A mutual friend had introduced me to Bro . John Studd , and after inquiries had been made ( which I afterwards heard of ) , a proposer ? na seconder were found for me . From that moment to this , instead of being a stranger and a sojourner in a strange city , I have never been without friends . I was received by EO or 90 gentlemen as a brother and an equal . But for Masonry , many \ cars must

Reports Of Meetings.

have elapsed before I could have gained such a position , and have enjoyed such privileges as I at once entered into . That fact alone is a sufficient definition of the Masonic term ' Brotherly love , ' and it illustrates perfectly what is referred to in our ceremonial as one of tho great and invaluable privileges of Freemasonry . ' And now , brethren , after a little over 8 years' membership ( mostly spent in

office ) , you have done me the greatest honour which it is in your power to bestow , by electing and installing me the Worshipful Master of this , my Mother Lodge . I thank you most sincerely for that honour , and beg to assure you that it will be my constant endeavour and pleasure during the year , to rule with the help of the Past Masters and my Officers , in such a manner as to fully justify

the confidence which you have reposed in me . In my immediate predecessor I have a very difficult one to follow , for Bro . Scholfield is a Mason possessing great tact , clear judgment , and unusual ability , and I am afraid that I shall test to the uttei most your stock of patience and affection . We shall never forget the masterly speech which he delivered last year at the Albion Hotel , nor his

able and dignified working in the Lodge during the year . And I must warn you now , somewhat after the manner of Shakespeare , that—I am neither a lawyer , nor an orator , as Bro . Scholfield is , ' But as you know me all , a plain

Blunt man who loves his brethren , And that you all know well who sit and listen to me , For I have neither wit , nor words , nor worth , Action nor utterance , nor the power of speech to stir your hearts . I only speak right on , I tell you

That which you yourselves do know , Show you the good deeds of the Lodge and of the Craft , And bid them speak for me . ' Brethren , our old Lodge has been in existence now for 128 years , and as old age demands respect , let us do homage to it upon this occasion . For more than a century and a quarter the Integrity

has existed , and it has justified its existence by a noble exemplification of the three grand principles of Masonry . Integrity has been its name , and integrity has been its character . laithful to its high commission from Grand Lodge , honourable in all its relations , and upright in all its dealings with all men . One hundred and twenty seven brethren of proved uprightness and integrity have

preceded me in the chair—men who wore devoted to the Craft and to this Lodge , links in a mystic chain binding the brethren of the past with the present into one united bond of brotherly love . The Lodge , like the king , never dies ; its Masters , its Officers , and its members appear in ever changing succession upon tho scene ; they do their duty and perform their allotted task , and then pass away ,

but the good old Lodge remains for ever . It remains like the stately cathedral and the venerable abbey , as a home for the brethren ; it remains as an institution for the succour of the widow , the fatherless , and tho distressed . It remains as a permanent and genuine authority to each succeeding generation , and as an active agent in the spread of its principles;—principles , brethren , which are

divine in their origin , sublime in their history , and twice blessed in their exercise and application . Masonry without the exercise of its three grand principles is a hollow mockery and a sham . It is like a ship canal without water , like a Portland Street warehouse without stock , like a palace without a ruler , like a throne without a

monarch . But Masonry properly carried out by a Lodge , actuated by true Masonic principles , constitutes a power for good among men second to no other human organisation in this or any other age . This is the ideal we must ever keep before us , and as year succeeds year , and Master follows Master , our Lodge will continue to prosper , and will finally accomplish its high and benign destiny . "

O O 0 LODGE OF ANTIQUITY , No . 178 . T ) EO , Rev . T . H . Leeson , of Charnock Richard , was installed

JLJ W . M . at tne meeting on the 17 th ult ., at Wigan , by Bro . C . B . Holmes P . M . P . P . G . P ., assisted by Bro . J . Brindle P . M . P . P . G . Supt . Works . Subsequently the brethren adjourned from the Masonic Hall to the Conservative Club , where a capital banquet

was served under tho superintendence of Mr . Wise , the secretary . The usual Loyal and Masonic toasts were honoured , and a capital musical programme was rendered by members of the Apollo Lodge , No . 2042 , consisting of Bros . H . Hollis , E . Edwards , W . Lewis P . M ., G . Piatt , and H . J . Nicholls P . M . O o o

ST . ANDREW LODGE , No . 231 . AT tho installation banquet which took place at Freemasons ' Tavern on the 1 st , there was a large and distinguished company , Bro . John W . Sherwell the newly-installed Master in the chair . Ihe usual loyal toasts having been given and responded to , Bro . Sir John Monckton , in an excellent speech , heartily applauded , replied for the Grand Officers . Lieut .-General Lawrie performed a

similar office for the Visitors , in submitting which toast the Master ( Bro . Sherwell ) alluded to the nomination of Bro . Alderman and Sheriff Dimsdale for the office of Grand Treasurer , expressing warm hopes of his success , and adding that St . Andrew ' s Lodge would support him to a man . o o o

YORK LODGE , No . 236 . MONDAY , 15 th ult ., witnessed the annual meeting of this Lodge , at York , Bro . Jno . B . Sampson presiding over a

large number or members and visiting brethren . The chair was subsequently occupied by Bro . Jos . Todd P . M . P . P . S . G . W . Prov . G . Treas ., for the purpose of installing Bro . Arthur Jones . In the ' evening a banquet was held at Barker's Hotel .