Royal Arch.

ROYAL ARCH .

— : o : — SUPREME GRAND CHAPTER .

A QUAETEELY CONVOCATION of the Supreme Grand Chapter will be held at Freemasons' Hall , London , on Wednesday next , 3 rd February , afc six o ' clock in fche evening . BUSINESS . , The Minutes of the last Quarterly Convocation to be read for confirmation .

THE REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE OF GENERAL PURPOSES . To the Supreme Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of England . The Committee of General Purposes beg to report thafc they have examined the accounts from the 20 th October 1896 , to the 19 th January . 1897 , both inclusive , which they find to be as'follows :

To Balance , Grand Chapter - - £ 1 , 102 3 11 „ „ Unappropriated Account - 217 19 8 „ Subsequent Receipts - - - 531 17 7 £ 1 , 852 1 2 By Disbursements during the Quarter £ 351 10 9 „ Balance .... 1 , 304 7 3 „ „ Unappropriated Account - 196 3 2

£ 1 , 852 1 2 which Balances are in the Bank of England , Law Courts Branch . The Committee have likewise to report that they have received the following Petitions : — 1 st . From Companions William Shurmur as Z ., John H . Wildash as H ., William Harris as J ., and twenty-three others for a Chapter to be attached to the Beaconsfield Lodge , No . 1662 , to be called the " Philbrick Chapter , " and to meet at the Masonic Hall , Walthamstow , Essex .

2 nd . From Companions Richard Newhouse as Z ., William Fearnside Robinson as H ., Andrew Henry Baird as J ., and twenty-two others for a Chapter to be attached to the Minerva , Lodge , No . 2433 , Birkenhead . 3 rd . From Companions James Hill as Z ., Sydney F . Macway as H ., Henry Baldy Buckeridge as J ., and six others for a Chapter to be attached to the Skelmersdale Lodge , No . 1658 , London .

4 th . From Companions James Spiller as Z ., Walter Edward Sutton as H ., Reuben Loomes as J ., and fourteen others for a Chapter to be attached to the Crusaders Lodge , No . 1677 , London .

The foregoing Petitions being regular , the Committee recommend that , subject to an alteration of the designation of the first named Chapter , it being borne by a neighbouring Lodge which contemplates having a Chapter attached to it , the prayers thereof be respectively granted . The Committee have also received Memorials with extracts of Minutes , for permission to remove the following Chapters : —

" The Harmony Chapter , No . 309 , from the Red Lion Hotel , to 31 West Street , Fareham . " The Fermor Hesketh Chapter , " No . 1350 , from the County Hall , to the Masonic Hall , Merton Road , Bootle . " The Montefiore Chapter , " No . 1017 , from the Cafe Royal , Regent Sfcreet , to the Trocadero Restaurant , Piccadilly , London .

" The Frederick Chapter of Unity , " No . 452 , from the Masonic Hall , to the Public Hall . Croydon .

The Committeo having satisfied themselves of the reasonableness of the requests , recommend that the removal of these Chapters be sanctioned . The Committee recommend that inasmuch as the Albion Chapter , No . 2020 , Woodstock , South Africa , has never been consecrated , and has failed to reply to the summons sent to it by order of Grand Chapter , it be erased .

The Committee recommend that the Philanthropic Chapter , No . 405 , Port of Spain , Trinidad , which has made no return of work since 1875 , be summoned to show cause why it should not be erased from the Roll of Chapters .

The Committee recommend that the Orion-in-the-West Chapter , No . 405 , Poona , Bombay , which has made no return of work since 1878 , be summoned to show cause why it should not be erased from the Roll of Chapters .

( Signed ) GEORGE DAVID HARRIS , President . Freemasons' Hall , London , W . C . 20 th January 1897 .

ZETLAND CHAPTER , No . 236 . A MEETING was held on the 27 th inst ., at the Masonic HaU , Duncombe Place , Ytrk , when there was a good attendance , Comp . C . M . Forbes M . E . Z . pre iding . Two new members were exalted . The installation of Principals and Officers for the ensuing year l hen took place as follows : — Comp . Rev . C . E . L . Wright Z ., H . L . Swift H ., and 0 . Tweedy J .

In the course of other business the M . E . Z . proposed a vote of condolence with the family of the late Comp . J . Todd , late Treasurer , and expressed the great loss the Chapter had sustained in his death . Comps . G . Kirby , Rev . C . E . Wright , and A . Buckle P . Z . suitably endorsed the remarks of the speaker . The vote was received with becoming silence . Some routine business having been transacted , the Chapter was closed in due form .

KING EDWIN CHAPTER , No . 660 . THE annual installation meeting was held at the Freemasons' Hall , Malfcon , on Tuesday , 12 th inst ., when Comp . W . H . Rose P . P . G . H . P . Z . was duly installed as Z ., John Hudson P . P . G . H . P . Z . as H ., and J . W Marshall P . P . G . O . P . Z . as J .

Royal Arch.

SHURMUR CHAPTER , No . 2374 . A CONVOCATION of this Chapter was held at fche Royal Forest Hotel , Chingford , Essex , on Thursday , 28 th inst . Comp . John Byford Z . presided , assisted by Comp . G . Graveley P . Z . A . G . D . C . as H ., and Comp . William Gower J . There were also present Comps . William Shurmur P . Z ., James Speller P . Z ., D . H . McGowan P . Z ., S . 0 . Kaufman P . Z . S . E ., 0 . H . Bestow S . N ., Percy Trickett P . S ., J . R . Carter A . S ., Archdeacon Archibald Dunbar , J . J . Lowman , A . C . Lowry , H . Osborne , Thomas William , Amos Oakden , John Hamilton , A . D . Aves , and John Ives Janitor .

Visitors : —E . Elton Hawkins , of the Metropolitan Chapter ; and Orlton Cooper P . S . of the Gallery Chapter . After the Chapter had been opened by the Principals the Companions were admitted , and the minutes of the last convocation were read and confirmed . The ballot was then taken and proved unanimous in favour of Bros , the Rev . William Henry Langhorne , vicar of Walthamstow , of the Shurmur Lodge , and William Greeves , of the Temperance in the East Lodge ,

The former gentleman being present , be was admitted and regularly exalted as a Companion of the Supreme Degree . The ceremony was beautifully rendered by Comp . William Shurmur , by special request , and he also gave the Mystical Lecture in * a very clear and perfect manner . Comp . Gower delivered the Historial Lecture , and Comp . Graveley that relating to the

Symbolical . Both the latter were admirably rendered , and elicited fche hearty approval of the Companions . Another member of the Shurmur Lodge , Bro . Payne , was proposed as a candidate for exaltation at the next convocation . Scribe E . read several letters of apology from various members , and there being no further business the Chapter was duly closed and the Companions adjourned to supper .

The Grand Master In Staffordshire.

THE GRAND MASTER IN STAFFORDSHIRE .

EEPLYING bo a correspondent , the Editor of " To-day " makes fche following remarks in connection with fche recent visit of the Grand Master to Longton : Royal visits do not always prove blessings to municipalities . They sometimes cause confusion when they take place , and leave behind them little local jealousies . What you say in your letter proves that Longton has found this out in connection with the visit of the Prince and Princess of Wales .

You have described things so neatly that I have decided to quote what you say : " The day was wet ; people paid guineas for shop windows , and had a good view of a closed carriage . Stands were erected on a road where the procession did not pass , and so forth . The Town Councillors had new gowns for the occasion , and this accounts for the auger they displayed when the procession started too soon , presumably before they could discover whether the fit was perfection . After some angry questioning , it was discovered that

a Corporation official gave the order to start , having regard to the fact that the Earl of Dartmouth and the Freemasons were waiting outside in the rain . The Council turned to rend the official , but , luckily , he was absent , a stream of water having fallen upon him through the covering of the marquee where the royal stone-laying took place . By some misunderstanding , tlie band did not come in time to head the civic procession , which , in the opinion of one Councillor , would have been a ' scrubby ' lot without thc Freemasons . This

unparliamentary expression was withdrawn , and ' a disgrace to the town ' substituted . The crowning point of this amusing Council meeting was reached when inquiries were made as to why the procession deviated from the authorised route on its return . A Councillor rose to explain . Some one hundred and twenty to one hundred and thirty Masons , said he , got in front of the band , and led the way out of the marquee . Ho followed them some distance , and then told them thoy wero going the wrong way . Thoy politely

rejoined hy telling him to go to a place not namcable in polite society . The shocked gentleman fled , and let the misguided Masons go their own way . It is not recorded that the Masons mentioned their own destination . " When Royalty and rain visit a town together , there is no telling what will happen . Longton seems to have done just as badly as it was possible for it to do . If Royalty honours it with another visit , it must adopt the French fashion of rehearsing for the great-event .

Masonic Gleamings.

MASONIC GLEAMINGS .

Allegory seen in Capitular work , by Companion R . A . Jones Knight Commander , 32 ° , Seattle , Washington , and pictured for Seattle Chapter .

A GREAT deal of labour has been expended upon the study of Masonic history , and as a result of fche efforts of learned scholars in thc art , we havo at this day as complete a record of tho origin of the various Masonic degrees as of any other series of events , which must , of necessity , be traced hack through the same number of centuries .

All readers of Masonic literature are more or less conversant with those facts by which we trace our mysteries back to the building of Solomon's temple . All members of the chivalric order , who have studied even that part of the history of Templarism found in the ritual itself , well know the general history of that Order .

The Scottish Rite bodies have , j > erhaps , the most complete history of their rite which can be obtained ; more full in particulars than the history of any of the other bodies . But it is nofc in history alone , nor in tho traditions which necessarily surround all subjects not within the memory of present generations , thafc all

of tho truths relating to the origin of Masonry and thc intentions of its founders are to be discovered . Every devotee at the altars of our Order is constantly discovering that out of the mystic rites themselves , more or less hidden , as the case may be , there comes a secret gleaming , which , of itself ,

throws light upon the foundation stones of our mystic temple and the ritualistic characters carved thereon ; which cannot be read by the ordinary light of day , but which mnst be deciphered under the brighter rays of thafc mental light which is given to all men who earnestly and truthfully search for more light than that which nature furnishes .