Masonic Portraits. (No. 47.)

Master Mason , to bo Provincial Grand Mark Master of China , but , singular to say , his patent of appointment was only recently discovered among the Mark archives . In Templar Masonry lie has won similar distinction . He was E . Commander of the Cross of Christ Encampment in the

year when it changed its title to that of St . George . He was the founder of the Celestial Encampment at Shanghai , and has also served tlie important office of Provincial Grand Commander of China . On his leaving Shanghai , a grand banquet was given in his honour , and a valuable testimonial

was presented to him by the Knights of tho Province . Further , he has always taken a deep interest iu the Ancient and Accepted Rite , and is one of the fortunate men on whom the rank of 33 ° has been conferred , the Eastern District being that over which he presides as Deputy Inspector General . He is Senior Graud Warden of the Provincial

Grand Chapter , in London , of the Royal Order of Scotland , and it is onl y the other day that he was initiated into the mysteries of the Order of St . Lawrence . We must supplement this enumeration of the hie-h distinctions he has had

conferred upon him b y stating that at the present time he is Treasurer of the Friends in Council Lodge , No . 1383 , Z . elect of the Royal Arch Chapter connected with that Lodge , and likewise a member of the Studholme Chapter of Rose Croix .

So far we have given the several dignities which have been bestowed upon him , but it would be entirely wrong to suppose that onr brother ' s sphere of usefulness has been confined to the government of Lodges , Chapters , or Provinces . This is a task which it is in the power of few to

be able to discharge . Such hi gh appointments are comparativel y few in number , and , moreover , the qualities which a ruler should possess are not too commonly found . There is , however , one direction in which we can all render service of inGnite value , and in this our worthy brother

has not been found wanting . He has clone his duty towards our central charitable institutions to this extent " that he is a Vice-President of both tho Boys ' and Girls ' Schools , and has served the office of steward to ali of them , on several occasions . He has thus contributed of his own

funds , and , moreover , has the satisfaction of knowing that he has been the means of inducing others to contribute of theirs . He also takes an active part in the government of these Institutions . He seldom allows a Committee to meet at which he is not present , and those who have seen him

working hard , and with the zeal and energy of a beginner , have reason to be proud of a fraternity which includes such men as him . There is perhaps no amount of hard duty which he is not both willing and able to fulfil , even to the comparative ' y thankless task of presiding as the scrutineer of votes at the elections to this or that Institution . Ifc is

not , indeed , so very long since a friend of ours most graphically described the subject of this portrait as counting and re-counting votes , examining , sorting , checking them , and directing and aiding his fellow scrutineers in their duties , with all the freshness , vigour and

enthusiasm of a young and newly-made brother . And yet we must not lose si ght of the fact that he is one of our Con . scri pt Fathers , one who has served long and faithfull y for over six-and-thirty years . He has probabl y seen more of Freemasonry than tbe majorit y of Craftsmen . Many

among us are members of several Lodges , and have , therefore , a considerable acquaintance in the fraternit y ; but it falls to the lot of only one in a thousand to have been initiated in Calcutta , exalted in Madras , and presided over a large and influential district in

the Celestial Empire as Grand Master , Grand Superintendent , and Grand Commander . In addition to this , he has distinguished himself in the old country , and is fairly entitled to tbe designation we have conferred npon him , —our Cosmopolitan Brother . He is , indeed , a true

citizen of the world , a travelled brother who has seen all the magnificence and squalor of the East as well as the more practical unassuming substantiality of the West . He must have encountered many a peril by sea as well as by land , for in the days when he commenced the battle of life the

voyage to the East was a far more formidable undertaking than it is now . And now that he has won almost every distinction which a Craftsman can look forward to , now that he has earned for himself a just title to rest on his

wellearned laurels , we still find him ready to fulfil a tiresome duty , willing to preside over the fortunes of a Lodge or a Chapter , and assisting in the work of benevolence as warmly as ever . ' 1 his is the class of men we have reason to be proud of . The wallflowers are occasionally ornamental

Masonic Portraits. (No. 47.)

and in such case do good service in setting off the more active scenes of our life ; but we do not p lace so high a value on them as we do on those who play their part zealously and actively , and ifc is in the active duties of life that our brother has always shown himself so capable . He is , in

short , one whom it would be wrong to place in any p icture of still life , for the simple reason that nothing pleases him so much as to have some task appointed him to fulfil ; and the harder tho task the more resolutel y he sets about it , nor pauses one single moment till he has accomplished it .

He has our heartiest good wishes for a long continuance of that career , both in private and in public , which he has followed so long and prosperously . He is well known in

onr ranks ; there are indeed bat few who are so well known , and we may add , without fear of contradiction , so deservedly popular . We trust the day is yet far distant when his place in Lodge or Chapter shall know him no more .

Facts, Suggestions And Questions

FACTS , SUGGESTIONS AND QUESTIONS

BY BRO . JACOB NORTON . SECTION XIII . of the 1723 Constitution ordained that " Apprentices must be admitted Masters and Fellow Craft only here [ in the Grand Lodge ] , unless by Dispensation . " Suggestion . —If tho Lodges had enjoyed the right of passing and raising , they would not have parted with that important privilege in 1723 . Nor can I imagine or conjecture any reason for the said law , unless I come to tho conclusion that those degrees were newly con .

cocted , and the concoctors were desirous of confining them to as few brethren as possible . 22 nd November 1725 , it was ordained that " The Master of a Lodge , with his Wardens , and a competent number of the Lodge assembled , can make Masters and Fellows at discretion . " Query . —Had the Masters of tbe Lodges been accustomed to

confer those degrees from time immemorial they would , immediately after the repeal of that obnoxious law , have resumed their time , honoured privilege , and each Lodgo would have worked tho three degrees tho same as wo do now ; such , however , was not the case . In the Constitution of 1738 , the Lodge list shows that there was in the Metropolis at that time 106 Lodges , but there was only ten

Masters' Lodges in London ; and among the 46 country Lodges in the said list I find no indication of a solitary Masters' Lodge having existed in their midst . Bemember , that such was the state of Masonry twenty . one years after the organisation of the Grand Lodge , and thirteen years after the repeal of the obnoxious law above re . ferred to , when only ten Masters * Lodges existed under the

jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of England . Another fact , to the same purpose , may be mentioned here , viz ., Henry Price left England in 1733 , and established a Lodge in Boston , in America , in the same year . But there was no Masters' Lodge in Boston before 1738 , and during the Coloninl peril id , the brethren who were subordinate to the Grand Lodge of England could be raised to

the Master ' s degree only in that Lodge . The Masters Lodge had its own officers , its bye-laws , and its days of meeting . In short , it was no more dependent on the Lodge in Boston than a Eoyal Arch Chapter is to-day . Price must have obtained that fashion from England , and Anderson ' s list of 1738 shows that snch a fashion did then exist in England . If , then , the few 1723 Lodges had all worked

the three degrees before the Constitution was adopted , such a fashion would never have been established after 1725 . I shall now transcribe from Anderson ' s list the first three Masters' Lodges that were seemingly connected with chartered Lodges ; witk this difference , however , Anderson numbered them respectively , 31 , 43 and 47 , while I give the numbers copied from Pyne .

" 39 , Swan and Hummer , Finch Lane , where there is also a Masters Lodge , Feb . 2 nd 1725-6 . 2 nd and 4 th Wednesday . " " 68 , Vine Tavern , Long Acre , where there is also a Masters' Lodgo , April 28 fch 1730 . 2 nd and 4 th Wednesday . " 76 , Queens Head , Old Bailey , where there is also a Masters ' Lodge , 1730 . 2 nd and 4 th Monday .

"Where there is also a Masters' Lodge ! " What does it mean ? Was there any connection between the Lodge and the Masters ' Lodge P Were they constituted at the same time ; if not , I would like to learn when the Master ' s Lodges were constituted ? I was also puzzled why the earliest Lodges did not have Masters' Lodges meeting in their respective meeting taverns . In order to solve these

puzzles , I first consulted Bro . Hughan's Lodgo List of 1730 ( Masonio Mag ., Vol I ., pp . 246-7 ) , containing 67 Lodges , the last one on the list was dated May 22 nd 1730 . I found therein , that a Lodge was held at the Swan and Hummer , no Masters' Lodge met either there or anywhere in 1730 .

I next consulted Rawlinson ' s List , containing 116 Lodges , the last Lodge on the list , viz ., 116 , was constituted between May 22 nd and July 26 th 1733 . This list , of course , embraces all the three above named Lodges , but no Masters' Lodges held meetings at either of those taverns durinsr Midsummer of 1733 .

One Masters' Lodge only did I find in Bro . Eawlinson ' s List , viz ., No . " 116 , Bear and Harrow , Butcher Row , a Masters' Lodge . " We see now , that the first permanent Masters' Lodge was chartered as MC / I during the summer of 1733 , and here we discover the model Masters' Lodge , which Henry Price copied iu Boston iu 1738 . I next examined Pyne ' s ( or Pine's ) List , which brings down the Lodges to 5 th November 1734 . 1 found therein two additional Masters . ' Lodges , . viz ., Nos . 117 ana 120 , both constituted also in 1733 ,