The Mark Grand Lodge.

THE MARK GRAND LODGE .

ON Tuesday , the 30 th inst ., will be held , at the Freemasons' Tavern , the Winter Half-Yearly Communication of the Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons of England and Wales and the Colonies and Dependencies of the British Crown . Grand Lodge will be opened at 5 p . m ., and all Grand Officers , Present and Past , the W . Masters ,

Wardens , and Overseers of subordinate Lodges , and all duly registered Mark Master Masons are invited to be present . The business will include the nomination of a Grand Master in succession to the Earl of Lathom , whose three

years term of office will expire in the summer of next year . We antici pate that Lord Henniker , the present Deputy Grand Master , will be nominated , and seeing how earnest and energetic have been his lordship ' s efforts in furtherance of the interests of this degree , we trust our anticipations will be realised . Among other matters to be submitted

for the consideration of the brethren is the report of the General Board , and considering the flourishing condition of the Mark , we do not need to apologise for devoting somewhat more than the accustomed space to a review of the contents of said report . There can be no question as to the

progress ot this degree during the last few years , but were any proof needed of this fact , it would be found in the rapid increase in the number of advancees , who at the close of the half-year ended 30 th September last , amounted to 14 , 086 , to 572 of whom certificates were granted in the

half-year then terminated . In the same period , Warrants for seven new Lodges were granted , and as other three Warrants have since been issued , there are now on the roll of this Grand Lodge no less than 271 , or , including 1 the

lime Immemorial Lodges , 281 Lodges in England , Wales , and abroad . These figures speak for themselves . The Eoyal Ark Mariner Degree has also exhibited a fair state of progress , as ninety-nine certificates of elevation thereto , and Warrants for five new Lodges , have been granted in the oi tne

course same halt-year . The Urand Treasurer ' s accounts , moreover , strengthen the feelings of satisfaction which all lovers of Freemasonry must experience at the undoubted prosperity of the Mark Grand Lodge . The receipts from all sources , on account of the General Fund , amount to £ 623 17 s 6 d , and there were balances on the

30 th September last in respect of the different Funds as follow—namely , on the General Fund , £ 293 2 s Id ; on the Benevolent Fund , £ 289 7 s 3 d ; and on the Educational Fund , £ 243 lis 7 d . Investments have since been made to the extent of £ 400—namely , £ 200 in respect of the

Benevolent , and £ 200 in respect of the Educational Fund . To this must be added the purchase of £ 400 Queensland 4 Per Cent . Debentures , during the half-year itself—namely , £ 300 on behalf of the General Fund , and £ 100 on behalf

of the Educational ; so that , since the last Half-yearly Communication , the permanent resources of the Mark Grand Lodge have been increased by £ 800 additional stock , yielding 4 per cent , per annum interest .

The other circumstances to which the General Board has

drawn attention in its report are equally satisfactory . The Twelfth Annual Festival on behalf of the Benevolent Fund was held at the Crystal Palace , on 7 th July last , under the auspices , as chairman , of R . W . Bro . Col . Sir Francis

Burdett , Bart ., Prov . G . Master of Middlesex and Surrey , and the aggregate amount of the donations and subscri ptions handed in by the thirty brethren who acted as Stewards on the occasion reached £ 550 9 s 6 d . A new Province also has been constituted , or rather , the old Province of North Wales and Cheshire has been reconstituted ,

The Mark Grand Lodge.

Cheshire retaining the old organisation , while North Wales is now a Province by itself , with an admirable chief to preside over its destinies in the person of the R . W . Bro . W . Bulkeley Hughes , M . P ., and a capable Deputy to support him in the person of Bro . Captain Charles Hunter .

The other points that are mentioned may be disposed of shortly . The grant of a sum of £ 25 to F . C . K . from the Benevolent Fund will be recommended . The law which

requires the qualification of a three years contribution to a Lodge by a Brother in order to render his son eligible for the assistance afforded by the Educational Fund is deemed to have operated " arbitrarily and prejudicially , " and the Board will submit a motion for the suspension of

this requirement , " reserving , ' however , " the right of Grand Lodo-e to restore it , should circumstances in their opinion justify its re-enactment . " Another resolution that will be submitted has reference to the status of Honorary Members of Lodges , and in order to remove certain

misapprehensions which appear to exist on this point , the Board will propose the insertion in the Book of Constitutions of the following enactment : — "Brethren who have deserved well of this Order , or of a Lodge , may bo admitted as Honorary Members of a Lodge under the same

conditions as Subscribing Members . But Honorary Membership shall convey no rig hts or privileges beyond that of being present at Lodges and attending banquets on payment of tbe same fee as Subscribing Members . " Finally , as the tenancy of the offices occupied by Grand Lodge at

2 Red Lion-square will determine on Lady Day 1881 , the Board will recommend that it be empowered to make the necessary arrangements for , and incur the expenditure required in connection with , the provision of suitable accommodation for the Executive Officers of the Grand

Lodge . We have now described in detail the business which will be submitted for the consideration of the Mark Grand Lodge on Tuesday next , and it only remains for us to offer mir nrmoratnlations to our brethren of that degree , and

especially to the Earl of Lathom , M . W . G . M . M . M ., Lord Henniker , his Deputy , and Bro . F . Binckes G . Secretary , with his able and obliging coadjutor Bro . Donald M . Dewar Assist . Grand Secretary , on the marked degree of prosperity which has attended their efforts in the course of the

last five years . A Grand Lodge which can only point to an existence of less than the one-fourth part of a single century —the degree itself is of course much older—may well be proud of an array of Lodges not very far short of 300 , of a membership which exceeds 14 , 000 , and of so

satisfactory a condition of its finances as to show at the close of its last half-yearly account , balances on its several Funds amounting in the aggregate to a fraction oyer £ 826 , with a very satisfactory nest-egg into the bargain in tho shape of a considerable amount of invested moneys . Of

course , no one who has studied the progress of the Mark will feel at all surprised at this , especially when they call to mind the eminent brethren , beginning with that sound " constitutional" Mason , Lord Leigh , elected G . M . in 1856 , and terminating with the present noble occupant of the

throne , to whose merits we have just paid our humble tribute of respect . But though it almost goes without saying that an Order which has the good fortune to number nrrmno- its fthififs such men as the Earl of Carnarvon , Pro

Grand Master ( Craft ) of England , Viscount Holmesdale , Earl Percy , M . P ., and the Earl of Limerick , should fare prosperously , it is none the less our duty , as it is a pleasure , to felicitate it on its present stability and future prospects .