Provincial Grand Mark Lodge Of Kent.

Bro . J . G . Podovin ( re-appointed ) ... ... ... Prov . D . G . M . „ R . K . Miller , W . M . 294 Prov . G . S . W . „ H . Penfold , W . M . 237 ... Prov . G . J . W . „ A . Penfold , I . P . M . 226 ... ... ... Prov . G . M . O . ,, | . Gieseman-Chillingworth , W . M . 309 ... Prov . G . S . O . „ E . Page , W . M . 255 ... Prov . G . J . O .

„ Rev . J . B . Harrison , M . O . 129 ... ... Prov . G . Chap . „ G . Page , P . M . 129 , and P . P . G . M . O . ... ... Prov . G . Treas . „ A . Escott , Sec . 294 ... ... ... ... Prov . G . R . M . „ H . M . Baker , P . M . 152 ( re-appointed ) ... Prov . G . Sec . „ H . B . Black , I . P . M . 69 Prov . G . A . Sec . „ Dr . W . Murdock , l . G . 255 Prov . G . S . D . „ F . C . Abbott , J . VV . 235 Prov . G . J . D .

„ E . Hire , J . VV . 266 ... Prov . I . of Wks . „ T . Blamiers , J . W . 262 Prov . G . D . C . „ G . Spinks , J . W . 226 Prov . G . A . D . C . „ J . B . Brown , S . O . 255 Prov . G . Swd . Br . „ J . Hart , J . O . 255 Prov . G . Std . Br . „ C . Jolly , 226 Prov - £ •9 , £ - „ V . Cotterell , S . W . 323 ... ... •••Prov . G . I . G . „ T . Ovenden , J . D . 226 ; and Jas . Taylor , D . C . 237 Prov . G . Stwds . R . T . Rolfe 129 ( re-elected ) Prov . G . Tyler .

„ , Two Auditors , Bros . Harrison and Hughes-Hallett , were then elected by the lodge , and the Prov . G . M . appointed Bro . Eastes as his Auditor . Bros . Fenn , Terson , Lukey , ? . nd Smith were chosen as a General

Purposes Committee . ' Bro . PODOVIN then rose and proposed "That the best thanks of this Prov . Grand Mark Lodge be and are hereby given to the Rev . T . Robinson , M . A ., M . W . G . M . M . of the Province of Kent , for the beautiful banner presented by him to the Prov . Grand Lodge of Kent . " In so doing he said their Prov . Grand Master had had no end of trouble and correspondence with

the best authorities on the matter of the banner , and their opinion , coupled with his ( Bro . Robinson's ) own knowledge of heraldry , had produced the handsome and effective banner that then surmounted the throne of Prov . Grand Lodge . Bro . MILLER , S . W ., seconded , and the vote was carried with acclaim . The PROV . GRAND MASTER in response detailed the means whereby he had arrived at a correct solution of the important question as to what their

banner should be . Through the kindness of Bro . Col . Gough , Prov . G . M . of Staffordshire , and Bro . Kelly , Prov . G . M . of Leicestershire , he had enlisted the services of Bro . Stephen Tucker , Somerset Herald in Heralds' College , and under his instruction the heraldic painter at Heralds' College had designed the one that now was at the back of his chair . The idea was to have the banner of Grand Lodge with the Prov . Grand Lodge arms in the centre .

He believed that it was correctly designed , and for that correctness they had to thank Bro . Tucker , who was present . ( Loud cheers . ) For himself , he thanked them and would propose "That a cordial vote of thanks be presented to Bro . Stephen Tucker , of Wulfruna Lodge , No . 1 S 6 , Wolverhampton , for his valuable assistance in designing the Prov . Grand Lodge banner , and that he be elected an honorary member of the Grand Mark Lodge of the Province of Kent . "

Bro . EASTES seconded , and the proposition was carried unanimously . Bro . TUCKER briefly returned thanks for the exceeding courtesy shown him for the small services rendered . He was exceedingly anxious to be present , and certainly felt gratified as to the cordial reception given him . He regretted , however , that a previous engagement prevented him stopping to dine with them , but thanked them most sincerely for the honour done him in electing him an honorary member of their Provincial Grand Lodge . ( Applause . )

Bro . D . M . DEWAR , P . G . M . O . and Asst . G . Sec . England , made an appeal on behalf of the Mark Benevolent Fund . They had 16 boys and girls now being educated through it , and he earnestly asked the lodge to send up a Steward to the next Mark festival , In answer to the appeal Bro . Dr . W . WATSON , W . M . elect 237 , P . G . A . D . C . England , and P . P . G . S . D . Kent , responded , and consented to act as

Steward in July next . A vote of thanks was then unanimously accorded to the R . W . the Mayor of Rochester for the use of thc Guildhall ; and after the sums of ten guineas to the Royal Masonic Institution for Girls and fifteen guineas to the Mark Benevolent Fund had been voted , the Provincial Grand Lodge was closed in due form , and the brethren adjourned to the King ' s Head Hotel , where a superbly appointed banquet awaited them .

Among the other brethren present , besides those above enumerated , were : — Bros . Captain Eugene Sweny , I . P . M . 44 , P . P . J . O . ; M . J . Sullivan , P . M . C , P . P . G . D . C ; H . A . Johnson , W . M . 6 , P . P . G . I . of Wks . ; G . T . Green , S . W . 6 , P . P . G . Orsr . ; R . I . Brown , I . W . 0 , P . P . G . A . D . C . ; L . 8 . Biggs , M . O ., Treas . 237 ,

P . P . G . I . of Wks . ; R . H . Flatten , J . O . 0 , P . P . G . Std . Br . ; G . Ashdown , P . M . 237 , P . P . G . S . W . ; T . Wyles , P . M . 237 , P . P . G . M . O . ; T . S . Warne , P . M . 237 . P . P . G . S . W . ; E . J . Penney , P . M . 6 , P . P . G . J . W . ; E . Goreham , P . M . 6 ; G . Parsons , 237 ; F . Wood , S . W . 309 ; A . Tuke , 237 ; C . Cooper , S . O . 69 ; A . Davis , 6 ; T . Pikher , Sec . 237 ; T . Lemon , Org . 237 ; T . Higham , 237 ; G . Paine , 237 ; F . Nicholls , 237 ; and others .

The banquet having been discussed , the Grand Master gave " The Queen and Mark Masonry , " which was cordially greeted . The next toast was that of " The M . W . the Grand Mark Master , " and in putting it , the Prov . Grand Master said their esteemed Grand Master , Lord Henniker , was a most excellent Mason and would hand down to his successor a prestige worthy of the Order and a title honoured all over the world , more especially in England and its dependencies . ( Applause ) .

Bro . EASTES proposed the next toast , that of "The R . W . the D . G . M . M . M ., and Grand Officers Present and Past , " and said he felt proud to have the company of Grand Officers at their meetings . It vvas to them the brethren looked up to for support , and led as they were by such able leaders as Lord Henniker and the Earl of Kintore the Degree was sure to prosper . He asked them to drink the toast with all the cordiality it deserved . ( Cheers ) .

Bro . DEWAR in responding said he felt it a very great privilege to be allowed to respond to the toast . He knew from his own experience that the Grand Officers , especially the Grand Master and Deputy Grand Master , were worthy of all the compliments so often and heartily paid them . As to the subordinate officers , they all rose to the position they occupied by reason

of the services they had rendered , both to their own lodges and the Order in general . He had heard that day the Prov . Grand Master refer to one of the Prov . Grand Officers as being a Scotchman ; now , their Deputy Grand Master was a Scotchman , and a worthy one too . ( Cheers . ) If the time should arrive , and most likely it would soon , that he should be elected to rule over their Order , they would have a most excellent Grand Master , and one

Provincial Grand Mark Lodge Of Kent.

who would most likely at the same time be G . Z . of the Grand Chapter of Scotland . ( Applause . ) Their present ruler was an excellent one , and the marvellous attention he paid to Mark Masonry was the undoubted cause of its latterly increasing prosperity . He thanked them for the toast , and then proposed that of "The R . W . the Prov . G . M . M . of Kent , Bro . T . Robinson . " He said they had all had the pleasure of meeting Bro . Robinson

before , and every time they met him their admiration for him increased . They all knew how the degree had improved and increased in the province under his ( Bro . Robinson ' s ) guidance . It was a small province when he was appointed head of it ; but now it had 14 lodges , and every one of these were doing well . It was a very difficult thing to praise a man to his face ; but he knew they all had a deep affection and respect for Bro . Robinson , and he asked them to drink the health of their brother with all the enthusiasm it

deserved . ( Applause . ) The PROV . GRAND MASTER in response said it was now some few years since he was elected to preside over them as their Grand Master . At that time there were six lodges , and now they were 14 . When he was elected he threw his heart and soul into the work , and if he had succeeded in making Mark Masonry something more than a name in the province , he could only

say that he was proud of it , but must attribute that success not so much to his own efforts as to the united help and zeal shown by every lodge in the province . ( Cheers . ) He strongly advocated an earlier sending in of the returns from the lodges ; which should be sent in not later than September , whereas they came in many of them in October , so that , when he asked brethren to receive the purple , he was informed that some of them

were either dead or gone away . He thanked them for the very kind way in which they had drunk his health , and assured them that as time rolled on they , he trusted , would like him the better , as he felt sure he should like them ; but above all he urged them to still go on as he , with the help of the G . A . O . T . U ., should do , and make the Provinceof Kentoneof the foremost in the ranks of Mark Masonry . ( Loud cheers . )

The next toast was " The VV . the D . P . G . M . M . and Officers , Present and Past , of the Provincial Grand Mark Lodge of Kent . " In giving the toast the P . G . M . spoke admiringly of the services of the D . P . G . M ., and also of the earlier struggles of the " Mark , " and regretted the absence of the P . G . S . W . He coupled the toast with the name of Bros . Podovin , Prov . D . G . M ., and A . Penfold , Prov . G . M . O .

Bro . PODOVIN said he must be very brief in his remarks as he had to catch a train . There were 14 lodges in the province and 545 members had been registered . Out of that number , owing chiefly to the exigencies of the military and naval services , to which a great proportion of the original members belonged , 277 had resigned ; but they being scattered over the face of earth and water had carried the principle of Mark Masonry with them , and

founded lodges all over the globe , the birth of which could be seen by a perusal of the Freemason every week . With new members they had now 315 good on the books of Grand Lodge . ( Applause . ) During the year they had made 48 new members . As the Prov . Grand Master had told them , death had during the year thinned their ranks ; yet they were prospering and going on well . He thanked them for the toast .

Bro . PENFOLD said it was very gratifying to him to find his name associated with the toast . He could assure them that he and the Grand Officers would do all they could to promote the interests of Mark Masonry in the province , and support their esteemed Grand Master . The grand meeting they had had that day showed that they were not asleep , but were progressing ,

and he felt sure that the time would come when the Grand Master would be , as their Prov . Grand Master in the Craft , Lord Holmesdale , said he was , like " the old woman who lived in her shoe , she had so many children she did not know what to do . " He trusted it would be so , and cordially thanked them for the toast . ( Cheers . )

In response to the Grand Master , Bro . DEWAR gave someaccountof the charities connected with the Mark Degree , and said the Benevolent Fund was formed 14 years ago , and began very low down the list , until last year they had some . £ 750 handed in by the Stewards at the festival . He gave an exhaustive account of the use made of the fund , both for benevolence and education , and said that any further enquiries would gladly be answered by him from Red Lion-square . The toast of " The Entertaining Lodge , St . Andrews , " responded to by Bro . H . PENEOLD , concluded the proceedings .

Sir Christopher Wren.— A Study.

SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN . — A STUDY .

CAN nothing be done to settle one " vexed question , " the Masonic reality of Sir Christopher Wren ' s membership . Was he a Freemason ? or are all earlier and later statements of Masonic writers a " fad " and a " myth ?" The evidence " pro and con . " may be briefly summed up thus ! We have Aubrey ' s MS . assertion 5 a London paper of 1723 alluding to that "worthy Freemason , " and the declaration of Anderson in 1738 of Wren ' s Grand

Mastership . We have in addition the constant tradition of the Lodge of Antiquity , the possession of the mallet , the candlesticks , & c . We have since 1738 a " consensus " of Masonic writers ; the evidence of the " Parentalia " and " Elmes . " " Per contra , " we have several considerations to deal with which seem to militate with any such theory . Why did not Anderson claim the great architect as a Freemason , ( which he does not ) , in 1723 ? A

very able brot her thinks he sees in the frontispiece of the 1738 edition a representation of Wren as presented by the Duke of Montague to King William III ., with likenesses of Sayers , Desaguliers , and Anderson , but such , however probable , is still only an ingenious hypothesis . The same argument which affects Locke ' s claim interferes with Wren ' s , and it is not easy to understand if Wren was a Freemason and had been Grand Master , why Anderson did not say so in 1723 .

We once set some store by Aubrey . We do not now . His words are only "they say , " and we feel sure that there is only one possible position , one probable solution , either the Masonic accounts are correct , or they are in error , a credulously perpetuated error . The " Parentalia " does not hesitate to assert the fact of Wren's Grand Mastership , and though in 1723 the Grand Lodge made no sign , yet an explanation may be found in Dermott ' s statement , ( who is not altogether reliable ) ,

and the fact that Sir Christopher seems to have had some serious questions to deal with as regards his financial administration at St . Paul ' s , and from contemporary pamphlets and works , trying and disagreeable disputes with some of his employes . His Latin diary moreover does not allude to the subject . We are as yet aware therefore , of no actual document throwing light on the subject , except old and cherished tradiiions . His Latin diary is no doubt the compilation of Christopher Wren the son , but still is evidence " ad hoc . "