St. Paul's Cathedral.

ST . PAUL'S CATHEDRAL ,

IF we are to credit the remarks of Mr . W . Woodward , whose letter to the daily press and replies thereto we last week wave in extenso , members of the Craft will ere long have placed before them convincing support of the statements he made in rpeard to Sir Christopher Wren ' s association with Freemasonry .

If Mr . Woodward is able to carry out his promise he will certainly win the thanks of the Order , and he will equally win renown as a Masonic student ; bub we fear the very careful and comp lete analyses of the history of the past that have already been made preclude the possibility of convincing evidence being forthcoming of what he propounds .

It is , however , gratifying to learn from Mr . Woodward's letters that the suggestion he has made has " received the hearty and complete support of Freemasons , " and that " Freemasons , as a body , intend to give hearty support to bis suggestion . " Of course he may have better means of judging on this matter than

we have , and he may be more sanguine than we should be under similar circumstances , but so far as we have been able to ascertain the Craft laughs at his proposition , and will quietly allow it to die the natural death it deserves . There may be a surprise in store for us , but we do not anticipate Grand Lodge will take the course Mr . Woodward seems to expect . The following have appeared in the " Standard" and " Daily Telegraph " respectively :

ENGLISH FREEMASONS AND THE ADORNMENT OF ST . PAUL'S .

To tho Editor of " Tho Standard . " SIB , — " The Grand Superintendent of Works , " whose letter to " Tho Standard " I have just read , supports , I am happy to say , tho general idea I ventured to put forth , but objects to tho association of the suggestion with " gastronomical " influences . I may , however , remind " The Grand

Superintendent of Works ' that it was to tho sacrifice of those "baser" influences I directed attention , and Freemasons have only to point to their three great charities , and to the dispensation of their benevolent funds , to silence any outside critic who may object to Freemasons dining as much as they like at their own expense .

I do earnestly trust that Grand Lodge will treat this important matter with energy , and that in a short time we shall be able to point to St . Paul ' s as containing valuable artistic work due to the pockets of Freemasons throughout England . I may add that , so far as I have had an opportunity of judging , the suggestion I made has received the hearty and complete support of Freemasons . Grand Lodge will know how to carry this support into effect .

I am , Sir , your obedient servant , WM . WOODWABE Hotel du Luxembourg , Bayeux ( Calvados ) , April 11 th .

The question of Sir Christopher Wren ' s connection with Freemasonry , and the desirability of members of the Craft joining in the adornment of St . Paul ' s appears to excite considerable interest . Among several letters on the subject which we have received is one from the originator of the suggestion , Mr . W . Woodward , who writes from Bayeux ( Calvados ) : " I have just read here the extract from Mr . Gould ' s letter which you havo been good enough

to publish in the 'Daily Telegraph . ' Mr . Gould ' s credentials as an exponent of Masonic lore nobody questions , but on this matter of Sir Christopher Wren he is entirely at fault ; and when I return to England I hope to be able to place before him convincing support of the statements I have made . But , Sir , I should be sorry indeed if the general idea which I have put forth ,

and to which you have so kindly given prominence , should suffer in the very least from the comparatively unimportant question as to whether Sir Christopher Wren was or w as not a Grand Master , at a particular date . I hear from all sides that Freemasons , as a body , intend to givo hearty support to my suggestion , which will , I trust , also be encouraged by Grand Lodge . " — " Daily Telegraph . "

Cumberland And Westmoreland.

CUMBERLAND AND WESTMORELAND

ON the occasion of the installation of Lord Henry Bentinck as Prov . Grand Master of Cumberland and Westmoreland , at Kendal , a service was held in the Parish Church , and was numerously attended . As reported in our issue of 13 th October

last the sermon was preached by the Rev . C . H . Gem Chaplain of the Solway Lodge , No . 1220 , from Jeremiah vii , 4 : " Trust ye not in lying words , saying , The temple of the Lord , The temple of the Lord , The temple of the Lord , are these . "

Our Reverend Brother said : "Our proceedings to-day remind us , that while welcoming and congratulating ourselves on the installation of a new P . G . M ., we have to regret the loss of our late Master—the Earl of Bective—whose life as a Mason shows us that it is in the power of an individual , by his work in

the world for his fellows and his country ' s good , to reflect honour on the Order , and display to the outside world that Masonry is no mere association for amusement , but a veritable school ancl teacher of the highest and noblest social virtues . What man has

done , man may do . Let the example of our late Master unite us to a move earnest recognition of our duties towards the Graft , that we may indeed show to the world that lieth in darkness something of the light wherewith we have been enlightened .

Cumberland And Westmoreland.

Brothers in Masonry , how do we individually fulfil the solemn obligations which are upon each of us ? We have each of us received in allegory teachings almost divine , we have each of us received mystic tools by which we can raise a spiritual temple to the honour of the Great Architect . What are we

doing ? how are we carrying out those lessons in our conduct towards our Brethren when we go out from our Lodge into the world ? Brothers in Masonry , does not our conscience strike us many a time and oft , that we are far readier to talk of our high and noble duties within the shrine , than carry them out in our

daily life ? I am sure you would blame me , and rightly too , if I , your unworthy Chaplain , did not in God ' s house , when our hearts and souls are sanctified by the solemn atmosphere of the service , if I did not press upon you , and myself , the obligation which lies upon each of us , and exhort you and myself to remember the vows which are upon us .

Brethren , we took these obligations upon us voluntarily of our own free will , no one inviting us , no one inducing us . We took them upon us well knowing what we were doing , at the moment when " light" first shone on us in the mystic shrine , and we took them in the name of the Great Architect of the Universe .

Yes , it is His vows that are upon us . By His Word we have sworn to rule our daily lives . Would that all our actions , all our dealings with those who are bound to us by the mystic tie , were marked by a loyal obedience to the high principles we

profess . Granted that some of our Brethren fail in their obligations towards us , and act unworthily of the name by which they are called , that is no excuse for our failing in our duties towards them . It is a peculiar kind of moral arithmetic to say two wrongs make a right .

Let us , in this our solemn assembly , pray that we may be daily more and more imbued with the true spirit of Masonry , that we may not be found wanting in the glorious virtue of Brotherly love . May the Great Architect of the world so rule and direct our hearts and lives by the volume of the Sacred Law ,

that all the world may know that a good Mason is synonomous with a good man , and be able to say in no taunting spirit , but with deep ancl earnest truth , as they see our lives devoted to the service of the Most High and our fellow men , the temple of the Lord , the temple of the Lord , the temple of the Lord , are these .

And that so , when our earthly temples dissolved are all in dust , we may in the Resurrection rise in glory with the just . When the heavenly Lodge is opened may the Master on his Throne accept us as true Masons and receive us as his own . — " Westmoreland Gazette . "

Masonry And Church Work.

MASONRY AND CHURCH WORK .

THE arrangements for the laying of the memorial stone of the Old Church at Arbroath , by Sir Charles Dalrymple of Newhailes , Bart ., M . P ., Most Worshipful Grand Master of Scotland have now been completed , and the function promises to be one of the most interesting of its kind that has ever taken place in the town . The proceedings will commence with the

opening of the Provincial Grand Lodge in the Sheriff Court House at 2-30 p . m ., when the Grand Master and a deputation from Grand Lodge will be received . Brethren from the various Lodges in the Province and from other places will be marshalled in the Corn Exchange and Market Buildings , and , being joined

by the Provincial Grand Lodge , will march to the Church . The memorial stone is to be laid as the foundation stone of one of the central pillars , and in it will be placed coins of the realm , copies of newspapers , & c . A space will be reserved round the stone for the Grand Master and representatives of the Grand Lodge , the

Provincial Grand Lodge , and the Building Committee . The stone will be laid with the usual Masonic ceremonies , and the Grand Master will afterwards be presented with a silver trowel by Provost Keith . Spaces will be reserved for the Brethren of the Masonic Craft , and accommodation will also be provided for

a number of ladies and gentlemen to whom invitations have been sent . During the ceremony the customary music will be sung by a choir under the leadership of Mr . Beardmore . At the close of the proceedings in connection with the laying of the stone , the Brethren will march back to the place from which they set out ,

where the Proviucial Grand Lodge will be closed in due form . Arrangements have been made for the holding of a banquet in the White Hart Hall , to which the Grand Master Mason , representatives of the Grand Lodge and the Provincial Grand Lodge , members of the Building Committee , and others have been invited . —" Dundee Advertiser . "

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