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Craft Masonry.
MASONIC LITERATURE . In this branch of Masonic work , the year which is now approaching
its close has been a particularly hrilliaut one . In the first place , there have been issued second editions of two valuable works comp iled by two of our most eminent writers , which had long been out of print . It is not necessary we should refer to them here at any length . We have already , to the best of our humble judgment ,
expressed with no uncertain voice the very high opinion we entertain of their surpassing merit . It will be sufficient , therefore , if we say we are alluding , firstly , to Bro . John Lane ' s "Masonic Records , " the copyright of which he presented last , year to Grand Lodge , and the second edition of which , with corrections and additions to the present date , was published by Grand Lodge during the past summer . The other work is the Second Edition of the " Old Charges of British
freemasons , by Bro . W . J . Hughan , P . G . D . The first edition was issued as far back as 1 S 72 , and as in the interval that has since elapsed there have been discovered many new MSS . and printed versions of the " Old Charges , " our readers will have no difficulty in picturing to themselves that the now work , though it has been compiled on the lines of the earlier one , contains a far greater amount
of information . In fact , though other MSS . may be—indeed , have alread y been—discovered , it is hardly likely that , among them will be found one which will differ materially from those which he has described and classified with so much ability . As Bro . Watson of West-Yorkshire very justly remarked in these columns only a fewweeks since , had this been the only work that had emanated from the
pen of Bro . Hughan , it would be still difficult to estimate the extent of the services he had rendered to Masonic literature by its publication , and the corresponding extent of our indebtedness to him for his labonr . There is yet a third work which , as it deals with the earl y history of Freemasonry in the British Islands , deserves that it should be mentioned here , though as it has been compiled by an
Irish Grand Officer and treats strictl y of early Irish Masonic history , it would be more appropriate if we mentioned it in our review of " Ireland . " The work we alluded to is Part I . of the " Caunentaria Hibernica , " for which we are indebted to Bro . Cbetwode Crawley , LL . D ., S . G . Deacon of Ireland . Of this , likewise , we have expressed our opinion in former articles , and therefore it is unnecessary to say
more now than that the more we study it the more are we convinced of its great merit as a compilation , and its exceptional value us a basis for some fnture history of the Craft in Ireland . But these lire very far from being the full tale of Masonic works which have been published during the present year . To Bro . J . Rainsden Riley , author of the " Yorkshire Lodges , " than whom there is no greater
authority on "Masonic Certificates , has issued , under the auspices of Lodge Quatnor Corovnvti , No . 2076 , a work on the subject which eontains a rare amount of information which we have not previously seen brought together in book or pamphlet form . Bro . R . F . Gould , P . G . D ., has also written a Memoir of the Duke of Wharton , G . M ., 1722-23 , and the Order of the Gormogons , being the sixth of his
well-known and able scries of Masonic Celebrities , which have tppeared from time to time in the Transactions of Quatuor Coronati Lodge . In addition to these arc quite a number of Masonic Histories , notably , " The History of Freemasonry in Lincolnshire , " b y Bro . William Dixon , which is well written and contains a vast amount of information respecting the earlier lodges that were constituted in
that Province ; the History of St . John the Baptist Lodge , No . 39 , Exeter , by Bro . Andrew Hope , W . M ., with an Introduction by Bro . Hughan . This is dedicated to Bro . Viscount Ebriiigtou , Prov . G . Master of Devonshire , and though the record is far from complete —the minutes prior to 1777 having been lost—there is every reason why we should congratulate ourselves on the publication of Bro .
Hope ' s Book , especially as the original charter is preserved , and constitutes the principal feature in the volume . Among the other works of a similar character which have appeared during the year will be found the "History of Lodge St . Michael ' s , Kilwinning , No . 63 , Dumfries , " which has been very admirably compiled b y Bro . James Smith , P . M ., Prov . G . Treasurer of Dumfriesshire ; the
" History of the Lodge of St . James , No . 448 , Halifax , 1837—1890 , " h y Bro . Austen Roberts , P . M .. P . Prov . A . G . D . C . West Yorkshire , who is to be congratulated on the manner in which he has accomplished his task ; and the " Illustrated History of the St . Mark ' s Mark Lodge , No . 1 , " b y Professor P . L . Siininonds , P . M ., Past G . Stwd , with an introduction'by Bro . W . J . Hughan . This is dedicated by permission
•o the Earl of Euston , Pro Grand Masler , and contains a fund of valuable information respecting the Mark Degree . To these must he added those exceedingly useful compilations by Bro . Fred . J . W . Crowe , P . Prov . G . Organist , Devon , with , in each case , an introduction bom Bro . W . . 1 . Hughan , namely "The Scottish Master Mason ' s Handbook , " and "The Irish Master Mason ' s Handbook . " These
» ave been modelled precisely on the same lines as " The English Master Mason ' s Hinidbook , " which had some time previously been written b y the same author , and the three will be found most useful jrnides to the Craft , Arch , Mark , and other organisations established '" the three Kingdoms . There remain to be noticed , Parts Land II ,
"f Vol . VIJL of "Ars Quatuor Coroiiatorum , " which under the ! ll | le and painstaking JMitorship of Bro . G . VV . Speth , Sot ; ., of ' " V ' o . 2076 , arc becoming more and more valuable , especially in the ' ''¦ partnicnt of Masonic antiquarian lore . It is well nigh impossible ,, J speak in terms of exaggerated commendation of the articles and 1 ssays which appear in successive volumes of this publication .
Craft Masonry.
OBITUARY .
The losses which our Society has sustained by death are not , perhaps , more numerous than in previous years , but ( hey include several brethren who , in the course of their several Masonic careers , have ranked high among the most- prominent Masons of onr time , and not a few from whom , if it had pleased Providence to prolong their lives , even greater services than any they had previously
rendered , might , in reason , have been expecfed . Chiefesf anion " those whose death will be the subject of long-continued sorrow art Bro . Thomas W . Tew , . 1 . P ., Past Prov . G . Masler and G . Superintendent of West Yorkshire , who died on ( he 29 th March , and Bro Col . Gerald Noel Money , C . B ., Prov . G . Masler , ( . ) - . Superintendent , and Prov . G . Mark Master of Surrey , and Prov . Prior in the Ordei
of the Temple for Kent and Surrey . The former of these had been a prominent member of the Order in West Yorkshire for full y 20 years , firstly , from 1875 to 1885 , as Deputy to the late Bro . Sir II . Edwards , Bart ., and then as his successor from 1885 until his health failed him , and he found himself under the necessity of resigning the more laborious ollice of Prov . G . Master , but still eontiniiiii <> - to
retain that of G . Superintendent , to which he had been appointed the same day as he became P . G . M . His services to Craft , Arch , and Templar Masonry , and the generous support he gave to , and the active interest he exhibited in , our Institutions , are tn well known and too fresh in the minds of onr readers to need reca pitulation here . It is enough for us to say that he had succeeded in winniii"
the respect and affection of those he presided over , and of those with whom he came in contact , and that though for sonic time prior to his death he had been compelled to abstain from active parUcip-. v' . ion in the duties of Masonry , his loss was a great blow to the Province of West Yorkshire , indeed , to the whole bod y of English M isous , and will be the subject of never-failing grief on the part of all who
knew him . As regards Bro . Col . Money , C . B ., as his death was unexpected—it was only a mouth before he died that he consecrated the Ember Lodge at East Molesey—so has the loss we have sustained been more severely felt . Col . Money wasin his very prime , and duriii " the three years he had ruled the Province of Surrey in the Craft , Arch , and Mark Degrees , anil that of Kent and Surrey in the Ordei
of the Temple , had accomplished great things . He succeeded a "ood man—the late Bro . Genera ! Browurigg—who had held ollice for many years ; but he had not been long at his post before he and those ho presided over were on the friendliest footing , and it will be easily imagined that d y ing , as he did , not in the fulness of years at the end of a long and honourable career , but at the very outset
of a career , which though so brief , was of the bri ghtest promise , his loss , as we have before said , has caused the greatest grief among the lodges and brethren with whom he was associated . Anion" - other notable brethren who have passed away are Bro . the Rev . G . VV . Spencer-Stanhope , Past G . Chaplain of England , and G . Superintendent and Provincial Prior of Cheshire ; Comp . Sir Henry Bromley ,
Bart .. G . Superintendent of Nottinghamshire ; Bro . the Rev . Thomas Robinson , M . A ., Past G . Chaplain of England , and Prov . G . Mark Master for Kent ; Bros . Lord Alccster , and Sir F . Wyatt Trnscott Past G . Wardens of Ji ' nglan'd ; Bro . James Salmon , Ass . G . D . C , a leading Cheshire Mason ; Bro . J . Laurence Mather , Past A . G . D . C ., who till a few years since had taken a very active part in onr
proceedings botli in London and the Province of Hertfordshire ; Bro Col . H . Radcliffe , Past G . Stwd ; Bro . Thomas Dinning , P . Prov . ( . '{ - . Warden Northumberland ; Bro . Joseph Nicholson , P . Prov . G . Warden Cumberland and Westmoreland ; Bro . W . Davidson , P . Prov . S . G . W . Northumberland ; Bro . Earl Cowley , P . Prov . G . W . Wiltshire ; Bro ' Earl Cowley , P . Prov . G . W . Wiltshire ; Bro . Hyde Clarke , who had
taken the 33 ° of the A . and A . Rile , in the Supreme Council of France ; Bro . A . Kirk , P . Prov . G . W ., Prov . G . Treasurer ( R . A . ) , Lincolnshire ; Bro . T . Bateman Fox , P . Prov . G . W . West Yorkshire , and for . years the Chairman of its Charit y Committee ; Bro . W . B . Williamson , P . Prov . G . W . Worcestershire ; Bros . E . White , P . Prov ! G . W . Somersetshire , and W . Woodward , of the same Province- Bro
W . E . Gompert / ., P . M . 869 , P . Prov . G . D . Hertfordshire ; Bro . Carl J , H . Got / ., a prominent supporter of the Institutions in East Lancashire ; Bro . Dr . 11 . St . John Clark , a Past Grand Warden of the Victorian Constitution ; Bro . the Rev . M . Valentine , P . Prov . G . Chap . N . and E . Yorkshire ; and Bro . Thomas Rix , P . M . No . 697 1 \ Prov . G . S . B . Essex . Among others may he mentioned Bros '
Rawle , W . M . 19 ; George Denton , P . M ., P . Z . ; John Harnett . P . M . ; J . W . Lee , P . M . 226 , who died in Paris while on his honeymoon- A ' J . Dixie , P . M . 453 ; J . R , Stacey , P . M ., P . Z . ISO ; William Mastery J ' . M ., P . Z ., a member of the Board of Management of ( he Royal Masonic Inslitutioii for Boys , who died suddenl y in his office-T . Glass , P . M . 8 ( 50 ; M . M . Keniially , J . W . 975 ; G . S . Alford PAl '
P . Z . ; Thomas Beard , P . M . 101 , a former Deput y Sheriff of London-Deputy Rose-Lines , a prominent member of the London Corporation ' Alfred ' Gray , P . M . 949 ; Giovanni Segond , P . M . 515 , Malta ; James Burton , P . M . 1287 ; G . R . Cobham , P . M ., P . Z . ; ][ . A . Pocoek I'M 902 ; W . II . Kirby , P . M ., P . Z ., Preceptor of the Clarence Lo . W of
Instruction , 2 ( 59 ; K . Y . Jolliffe , P . M ., Sec . and P . Z . 1657- George Herbert Reynolds , P . M . 1614 ; and 2191 and VV . Edwards , 1052 . These by no means represent the full tale of the losses which Freemasonry has had to mourn during the year 1895 , but they are a formidable number , and by themselves have created " -aps in our ranks which it will not be easy to fill .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Craft Masonry.
MASONIC LITERATURE . In this branch of Masonic work , the year which is now approaching
its close has been a particularly hrilliaut one . In the first place , there have been issued second editions of two valuable works comp iled by two of our most eminent writers , which had long been out of print . It is not necessary we should refer to them here at any length . We have already , to the best of our humble judgment ,
expressed with no uncertain voice the very high opinion we entertain of their surpassing merit . It will be sufficient , therefore , if we say we are alluding , firstly , to Bro . John Lane ' s "Masonic Records , " the copyright of which he presented last , year to Grand Lodge , and the second edition of which , with corrections and additions to the present date , was published by Grand Lodge during the past summer . The other work is the Second Edition of the " Old Charges of British
freemasons , by Bro . W . J . Hughan , P . G . D . The first edition was issued as far back as 1 S 72 , and as in the interval that has since elapsed there have been discovered many new MSS . and printed versions of the " Old Charges , " our readers will have no difficulty in picturing to themselves that the now work , though it has been compiled on the lines of the earlier one , contains a far greater amount
of information . In fact , though other MSS . may be—indeed , have alread y been—discovered , it is hardly likely that , among them will be found one which will differ materially from those which he has described and classified with so much ability . As Bro . Watson of West-Yorkshire very justly remarked in these columns only a fewweeks since , had this been the only work that had emanated from the
pen of Bro . Hughan , it would be still difficult to estimate the extent of the services he had rendered to Masonic literature by its publication , and the corresponding extent of our indebtedness to him for his labonr . There is yet a third work which , as it deals with the earl y history of Freemasonry in the British Islands , deserves that it should be mentioned here , though as it has been compiled by an
Irish Grand Officer and treats strictl y of early Irish Masonic history , it would be more appropriate if we mentioned it in our review of " Ireland . " The work we alluded to is Part I . of the " Caunentaria Hibernica , " for which we are indebted to Bro . Cbetwode Crawley , LL . D ., S . G . Deacon of Ireland . Of this , likewise , we have expressed our opinion in former articles , and therefore it is unnecessary to say
more now than that the more we study it the more are we convinced of its great merit as a compilation , and its exceptional value us a basis for some fnture history of the Craft in Ireland . But these lire very far from being the full tale of Masonic works which have been published during the present year . To Bro . J . Rainsden Riley , author of the " Yorkshire Lodges , " than whom there is no greater
authority on "Masonic Certificates , has issued , under the auspices of Lodge Quatnor Corovnvti , No . 2076 , a work on the subject which eontains a rare amount of information which we have not previously seen brought together in book or pamphlet form . Bro . R . F . Gould , P . G . D ., has also written a Memoir of the Duke of Wharton , G . M ., 1722-23 , and the Order of the Gormogons , being the sixth of his
well-known and able scries of Masonic Celebrities , which have tppeared from time to time in the Transactions of Quatuor Coronati Lodge . In addition to these arc quite a number of Masonic Histories , notably , " The History of Freemasonry in Lincolnshire , " b y Bro . William Dixon , which is well written and contains a vast amount of information respecting the earlier lodges that were constituted in
that Province ; the History of St . John the Baptist Lodge , No . 39 , Exeter , by Bro . Andrew Hope , W . M ., with an Introduction by Bro . Hughan . This is dedicated to Bro . Viscount Ebriiigtou , Prov . G . Master of Devonshire , and though the record is far from complete —the minutes prior to 1777 having been lost—there is every reason why we should congratulate ourselves on the publication of Bro .
Hope ' s Book , especially as the original charter is preserved , and constitutes the principal feature in the volume . Among the other works of a similar character which have appeared during the year will be found the "History of Lodge St . Michael ' s , Kilwinning , No . 63 , Dumfries , " which has been very admirably compiled b y Bro . James Smith , P . M ., Prov . G . Treasurer of Dumfriesshire ; the
" History of the Lodge of St . James , No . 448 , Halifax , 1837—1890 , " h y Bro . Austen Roberts , P . M .. P . Prov . A . G . D . C . West Yorkshire , who is to be congratulated on the manner in which he has accomplished his task ; and the " Illustrated History of the St . Mark ' s Mark Lodge , No . 1 , " b y Professor P . L . Siininonds , P . M ., Past G . Stwd , with an introduction'by Bro . W . J . Hughan . This is dedicated by permission
•o the Earl of Euston , Pro Grand Masler , and contains a fund of valuable information respecting the Mark Degree . To these must he added those exceedingly useful compilations by Bro . Fred . J . W . Crowe , P . Prov . G . Organist , Devon , with , in each case , an introduction bom Bro . W . . 1 . Hughan , namely "The Scottish Master Mason ' s Handbook , " and "The Irish Master Mason ' s Handbook . " These
» ave been modelled precisely on the same lines as " The English Master Mason ' s Hinidbook , " which had some time previously been written b y the same author , and the three will be found most useful jrnides to the Craft , Arch , Mark , and other organisations established '" the three Kingdoms . There remain to be noticed , Parts Land II ,
"f Vol . VIJL of "Ars Quatuor Coroiiatorum , " which under the ! ll | le and painstaking JMitorship of Bro . G . VV . Speth , Sot ; ., of ' " V ' o . 2076 , arc becoming more and more valuable , especially in the ' ''¦ partnicnt of Masonic antiquarian lore . It is well nigh impossible ,, J speak in terms of exaggerated commendation of the articles and 1 ssays which appear in successive volumes of this publication .
Craft Masonry.
OBITUARY .
The losses which our Society has sustained by death are not , perhaps , more numerous than in previous years , but ( hey include several brethren who , in the course of their several Masonic careers , have ranked high among the most- prominent Masons of onr time , and not a few from whom , if it had pleased Providence to prolong their lives , even greater services than any they had previously
rendered , might , in reason , have been expecfed . Chiefesf anion " those whose death will be the subject of long-continued sorrow art Bro . Thomas W . Tew , . 1 . P ., Past Prov . G . Masler and G . Superintendent of West Yorkshire , who died on ( he 29 th March , and Bro Col . Gerald Noel Money , C . B ., Prov . G . Masler , ( . ) - . Superintendent , and Prov . G . Mark Master of Surrey , and Prov . Prior in the Ordei
of the Temple for Kent and Surrey . The former of these had been a prominent member of the Order in West Yorkshire for full y 20 years , firstly , from 1875 to 1885 , as Deputy to the late Bro . Sir II . Edwards , Bart ., and then as his successor from 1885 until his health failed him , and he found himself under the necessity of resigning the more laborious ollice of Prov . G . Master , but still eontiniiiii <> - to
retain that of G . Superintendent , to which he had been appointed the same day as he became P . G . M . His services to Craft , Arch , and Templar Masonry , and the generous support he gave to , and the active interest he exhibited in , our Institutions , are tn well known and too fresh in the minds of onr readers to need reca pitulation here . It is enough for us to say that he had succeeded in winniii"
the respect and affection of those he presided over , and of those with whom he came in contact , and that though for sonic time prior to his death he had been compelled to abstain from active parUcip-. v' . ion in the duties of Masonry , his loss was a great blow to the Province of West Yorkshire , indeed , to the whole bod y of English M isous , and will be the subject of never-failing grief on the part of all who
knew him . As regards Bro . Col . Money , C . B ., as his death was unexpected—it was only a mouth before he died that he consecrated the Ember Lodge at East Molesey—so has the loss we have sustained been more severely felt . Col . Money wasin his very prime , and duriii " the three years he had ruled the Province of Surrey in the Craft , Arch , and Mark Degrees , anil that of Kent and Surrey in the Ordei
of the Temple , had accomplished great things . He succeeded a "ood man—the late Bro . Genera ! Browurigg—who had held ollice for many years ; but he had not been long at his post before he and those ho presided over were on the friendliest footing , and it will be easily imagined that d y ing , as he did , not in the fulness of years at the end of a long and honourable career , but at the very outset
of a career , which though so brief , was of the bri ghtest promise , his loss , as we have before said , has caused the greatest grief among the lodges and brethren with whom he was associated . Anion" - other notable brethren who have passed away are Bro . the Rev . G . VV . Spencer-Stanhope , Past G . Chaplain of England , and G . Superintendent and Provincial Prior of Cheshire ; Comp . Sir Henry Bromley ,
Bart .. G . Superintendent of Nottinghamshire ; Bro . the Rev . Thomas Robinson , M . A ., Past G . Chaplain of England , and Prov . G . Mark Master for Kent ; Bros . Lord Alccster , and Sir F . Wyatt Trnscott Past G . Wardens of Ji ' nglan'd ; Bro . James Salmon , Ass . G . D . C , a leading Cheshire Mason ; Bro . J . Laurence Mather , Past A . G . D . C ., who till a few years since had taken a very active part in onr
proceedings botli in London and the Province of Hertfordshire ; Bro Col . H . Radcliffe , Past G . Stwd ; Bro . Thomas Dinning , P . Prov . ( . '{ - . Warden Northumberland ; Bro . Joseph Nicholson , P . Prov . G . Warden Cumberland and Westmoreland ; Bro . W . Davidson , P . Prov . S . G . W . Northumberland ; Bro . Earl Cowley , P . Prov . G . W . Wiltshire ; Bro ' Earl Cowley , P . Prov . G . W . Wiltshire ; Bro . Hyde Clarke , who had
taken the 33 ° of the A . and A . Rile , in the Supreme Council of France ; Bro . A . Kirk , P . Prov . G . W ., Prov . G . Treasurer ( R . A . ) , Lincolnshire ; Bro . T . Bateman Fox , P . Prov . G . W . West Yorkshire , and for . years the Chairman of its Charit y Committee ; Bro . W . B . Williamson , P . Prov . G . W . Worcestershire ; Bros . E . White , P . Prov ! G . W . Somersetshire , and W . Woodward , of the same Province- Bro
W . E . Gompert / ., P . M . 869 , P . Prov . G . D . Hertfordshire ; Bro . Carl J , H . Got / ., a prominent supporter of the Institutions in East Lancashire ; Bro . Dr . 11 . St . John Clark , a Past Grand Warden of the Victorian Constitution ; Bro . the Rev . M . Valentine , P . Prov . G . Chap . N . and E . Yorkshire ; and Bro . Thomas Rix , P . M . No . 697 1 \ Prov . G . S . B . Essex . Among others may he mentioned Bros '
Rawle , W . M . 19 ; George Denton , P . M ., P . Z . ; John Harnett . P . M . ; J . W . Lee , P . M . 226 , who died in Paris while on his honeymoon- A ' J . Dixie , P . M . 453 ; J . R , Stacey , P . M ., P . Z . ISO ; William Mastery J ' . M ., P . Z ., a member of the Board of Management of ( he Royal Masonic Inslitutioii for Boys , who died suddenl y in his office-T . Glass , P . M . 8 ( 50 ; M . M . Keniially , J . W . 975 ; G . S . Alford PAl '
P . Z . ; Thomas Beard , P . M . 101 , a former Deput y Sheriff of London-Deputy Rose-Lines , a prominent member of the London Corporation ' Alfred ' Gray , P . M . 949 ; Giovanni Segond , P . M . 515 , Malta ; James Burton , P . M . 1287 ; G . R . Cobham , P . M ., P . Z . ; ][ . A . Pocoek I'M 902 ; W . II . Kirby , P . M ., P . Z ., Preceptor of the Clarence Lo . W of
Instruction , 2 ( 59 ; K . Y . Jolliffe , P . M ., Sec . and P . Z . 1657- George Herbert Reynolds , P . M . 1614 ; and 2191 and VV . Edwards , 1052 . These by no means represent the full tale of the losses which Freemasonry has had to mourn during the year 1895 , but they are a formidable number , and by themselves have created " -aps in our ranks which it will not be easy to fill .