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CONTENTS . LRADBES- PAGE The Province of Devon ... ... ... ••••••5 5 Victorian Freemasonry ... ... ... ... •¦•5 5 The " Beaumont M . S . " ... ... . - - 526 United Grand Lodge of England ( Quarterly Communication ) ... ... 526 Consecration of [ the Birkenhead Lodge , No . 2 S 210 ... ... ... 527 Mark Grand Lodge ( Quarterly Communication ) ... ... ... 52 7 Masons' Patriotism ... ... ... ... •••••¦5 2 S Craft Masonry ... ... •••¦ ••••••••5 2 i > Science , Art and the Drama ... ... ... ... •••5 9

M ASONIC NOTESQuarterly Communication of United Grand Lodge of England ... ... 531 Quarterly Communication of Mark Grand Lodge ... ... 53 l Heath of Bro . Sir Hi-dworth Williamson ... ... ... ... 53 ' Death of the Earl of Portarlington ... ... ... ... 53 ' Freemasonry in the Isle of Man ... ... ... ... 53 ' Royal Arch Masonry in Burmah ... ... ... ... ... 53 '

Reviews ... ... ... ... ... •¦••••53 New Masonic Hall for Devonshire ... ... ... ... 532 Mark Masonry ... ... ... ... ... ... 533 Instruction ... ... ... ... ... ... ¦¦•533 Obituary ... ... ... ... ... ... •» 533 Masonic and General Tidings ... ... ... ... ... 53

The Province Of Devon.

THE PROVINCE OF DEVON .

Our Devonshire : brethren have' substantial grounds Cor satisfaction with the progress which Freemasonry has been making in their midst for several years past , nor lias the year just closed witnessed any relaxation in the course of that progress . On the contrary , thc Craft is decidedly stronger numerically anel

financially on a firmer footing than it was 12 months ago . It is much to be regretted that Lorel NORTHCOTE , the Prov . ( Jrand Master , who , early in the year , was appointed Governor of Bombay , and to whom so much of Devonian prosperity is eluc ,

was not present at the recent annual meeting of the Provincial Grand Lodge , anel an eye witness of the healthy condition e > f things that now exists in iiis Province , but his lordship ' s duties and responsibilities' are ; being most ably fullilleel b y his worthy Deputy liro . G . G . DAY 1 E , P . G . D . Fnglantl , of whose

services it would be > well nigh impossible to speak too highly . The attendance : at the meeting , which was hold , as arrangeel , at the : Freemasons' Hall , Plymouth , on the : 2 SU 1 ult ., was exceptionally large :, owing in part no doubt , to the number of lodges in the Three

I owns , but principally , we imagine " , to elo honour to a brother who is deservedly popular both in the' Province anel generally . Ihe Prov . G . Secretary reporte-d that on the : 31 st December last the number of subscribing members of the 5 ej Ioelges then

on the : roll was 4065 , there being an increase of nearl y 200 over the previous year ' s return , lie also reported that a new lodge —the Three Pillars ., at Cockington—had since been consecrated , and twei ne : w Masonic 1 lalls . at Ilfracombe anel St . P . udeatix

respectivel y , deelicate : el ; while a thirel was in course : eif erection at Oke : hamplon . lie likewise made sympathetic reference : to the losses the Province had sustained by death , anel more : especiall y by that of Pros . J LANE anel J BKEWEK , both

of them Past A . G . I ) . Cs . England , and both eif whom had done good service lo the Craft in Devonshire as Prov . G . Oflicers . I he Treasurer ' s Report was equally satisfactory , there being : i balance in hand of over ^ " 354 ; while- the' appeal in

I'chalf of the Reel Cross Fund had resulted in all but three ' ^ the lodges making favourable : response , and the : total con Unbilled amounted to £ 3 84 . Grants were made on tin

n eoniniemdation of the Committee of Petitions among certain 1 * "' stressed brethren anel wielows to ( he extent of / , ioo , while : of , lu ' balance : remaining available' 100 guineas were : voled to the

The Province Of Devon.

Benevolent Institution , to be placed on the list of the Provincial Grand Secretary as Steward at thc Festival in February next ; 30 guineas to the Boys' School ; and £ 25 to the South African Masonic Relief Fund . As regards thc Fortescue Annuity Fund ,

which provides for 16 annuitants , the Hon . Treasurer ' s statement was satisfactory , and in all respects encouraging . The receipts for the past year , including the balance from previous account , reached , £ 1 9 84 , while the expenditure amounted to ^ 1843 , of to

which ^ , 435 was paid the annuitants and ^ 1394 invested , the small remainder of only ^ , 14 representing the expenses of management , printing , postages , & c , while the balance in bank on current account of the Fund was returned as ^ 1450 . At the

same time , the Committee , while cordially thanking all those lodges and brethren that had done service to the Fund , took occasion to point out that "there were still many lodges and a large number of members who apparently took no interest in

the maintenance ot the benevolent organisations which did so much to mitigate the trials that unexpectedly may have fallen on brethren or their families , " while elsewhere it was remarked that " some lodges had contributed absolutely nothing , even though

m some cases considerable sums had been paid to annuitants of their own lodges . " The conduct which elicits such remarks as these is neither j ' ust to the lodges which do contribute nor

creditable to those which do not , anel we trust that before the Managing Committee is again called upon to make its report , at least some of those * lodges that were : referred to will have taken upon themselves their share of the common burden .

I his was the one exception from the generally acceptable tenour of the several reports that were laid before the Prov . G . Lodge , anel it only remains for us to add that the remaining business included the presentation to Bro . F . B . WESTLAKE of

an illuminated address together with the receipts for £ 100 from each of the three Masonic Institutions , which had been subscribed with a view to making him a Patron of each . The presentation was made by Bro . DAVIE , the acting Prov . G . Master , on

behalf of the Province , nor can we recall a case in which a brother who may have been similarl y honoured , more full y deserved such a mark of the approbation and respect of his brother Masons .

Victorian Freemasonry.

VICTORIAN FREEMASONRY .

We are glad to learn , from the reports in the Australasian Keys / one for July , that Royal Arch and Mark Masonry are both of them making satisfactory progress . The annual convocation of Supreme Grand Chapter was held on the tSth of the month ,

the chair of Grand First Principal being occupied by Comp . A . J . PEACOCK , with Comps . J . D . DREW and J EBB as Grand H . and Grand J . respectively . The Report of the Committee of General Purposes was aelopted , and in accordance with its

recommendation , a charter was granted for a new chapter at She'pparton' to be known as the Goulburn Valley Chapter . The Grand Treasurer ' s statement eif account showed a balance in hand of upwards eif £ <) o . The : Grand Principals for the

ensuing year having been installed anel the : Grand Oflicers invested , the proceedings terminated , and the companions under the new regulation sat down lo banquet , which is said to have been well attended and which will no doubt atld materiall y to the popularity of the : Royal Arch . Tin : annual Communication ol the United Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons for the Colony was held on the 30 th May ,