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Masonic Notes.

Masonic Notes .

S ATURDAY F EBRUARY II 18 99

The deepest sympathy will be felt with the Queen and Royal Family in the severe bereavement they hive just suffered through the death of Prince Alfred , the only son of the Duke and Duchess of Saxe-Coburg atid Goths , more familiarly known tous as thc Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh . The young prince , who was heir to his father's duchies , appears to have

been always in delicate health . But the blow to the Duke and Duchess and the Queen , his grandmother , is not the less serious because it may have been anticipated sooner or later . The deceased Prince was in his -15 th year , having been born on the 15 th October , 1 S 74 , and by his death the succession to the dukedoms of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha will , it is said , devolve upon the Duke of Connaught .

Masonic Notes.

We are pleased beyond measure to learn that since we wrote our article of last week , Bro . Terry has met with still further success in organising the Board of Stewards for the Festival of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution on Wednesday , the 22 nd inst . On the 31 st ult . the number of those who had

volunteered their services was between 330 and 340 ; now , we are glad to say , there are about 390 , and during the 10 days that must elapse between now and the celebration of the Anniversary , we may reasonably expect that the . Board will be increased to 400 and

upwards . This is most encouraging , and if only the Returns are up to the average of ordinary years it is clear the Benevolent Institution will recover the ground it lost last year . » * »

The consecration of the Harlow Lodge , No . 2734 , augments the number of lodges in the Province of Essex to 41 , and of these as many as 21 have been constituted since 1882 , when Bro . LordTenterden was succeeded by the present Prov . G . Master , Bro . the Earl of Warwick , who has been recently appointed

Deputy Grand Master of England . Of these 21 lodges ^ five are located at Buckhurst Hill and five at Chingford , the remaining II having their homes at Brentwood , Clacton-on-Sea , Halstead , Harlow , Kelvedon , Leigh , Manningtree , Purfleet , Rainham , Southend , and Wyvenhoe . Thus , Masonry is

admirably distributed throughout the Province , and whereas at the close of 18 S 2 there were only 18 towns in the county which could boast of having lodges , and of these only two—Colchester and Maldon—that had more than one , there a-e now as many as 28 towns that are thus happily circumstanced , Chingford having six , Buckhurst Hill five , and Brentwood , Colchester ,

Maldon , and Southend two each . Indeed , there is not a place of any importance in the county which is not , Masonically , well furnished . This is splendid progress to have made under a single ruler in little more than the space of 16 years . But then every Province is not so fortunate as to have an Earl of Warwick to preside over its Freemasonry .

* * * So , too , in the Royal Arch . Under the genial and able rule of Comp . Philbrfck , Q . C , there has been a similar—indeed , proportionately , ev < en a greater—rate of progress . At tho close of 1882 there were onl y four chapters , located at Chelmsford , Colchester , Romford , and Southend respectively ; now there are

13 , of which five meet at Chingford , and the others at Buckhurst Hill , Halstead , Maldon , and Rainham , in addition to the four in existence , as already stated , in 18 S 2 . In the other branches of Masonry , Essex has been also fortunate , so that there is not a county , for ils size , in which Masonry is more firmly and more prosperously established . #

* * By the way , it may be as well to remind our Essex brethren ofthe Maik Degree that Bro . the Earl of Warwick—who , when Lord Brooke , presided over Warwickshire as Prov . G . Mark Master from 18 S 2 to

1 SS 6—has very kindly consented to preside at the Festival which will be held on Wednesday , the 12 th July , in behalf of the Mark Benevolent Fund , and we trust that the celebration will be proportionately as successful as those in aid of the Central Charitable Institutions at which his lordship presided .

« « We have been requested to state that a lodge of instruction has been established under the sanction of t ' le Italia Lodge , No . 2 GS 7 . It meets every Monday evening from 9 to 11 . 30 p . m ., at the Restaurant Fumagelli , Nos . 12 , 13 , Wilton-street , Victoria , and the duties of thc lodge arc carried out in Italian . We trust it will receive the amount of support it deserves .

* * In our issue of last week it was stated that in the Masonic Service held at the Congretational Church , Kingsland-road ,-on the 29 'h ult ,, "an innovation was made , which is unique in the annals of Nonconformity , " and that Masonic services in places' of worship ' hitherto have been confined to the Established

Church . " It appears , however , that the reporter was at fault . On referring to our issue of 31 st July , 18 97 , page 38 9 and 390 , wc find , therein a long account of a . Masonic service which was held at the Whitby Congregational Church , on Sunday , nth July , 18 97 , in connection with the celebrations of the centenary of thc Lion Lodge , No . 312 of that town .

The brethren on that occasion , in accordance with thc invitation officially issued , assembled at the Masonic Hall , and , having assumed their Masonic regalia , were formed in profession , and then pro-

Masonic Notes.

ceeded to the Congregational Church . When the service of song and prayer was ended , Bro . the Rev . E . Fox-Thomas , P . M ., P . P . G . Chap ., Chap , of the Lion Lodge , No . 312 , preached an eloquent sermon , taking for his text Psalm Ii ., verse t 8— " Build thou the walls of Jerusalem . " At the conclusion of the sermon a collection was taken , partly for the Royal

Masonic Charitable Institutions , and partly for the funds of the church . The Masonic hymn , " Almighty Sire , our Heavenly King , " composed and sung on the occasion of opening the new lodge , Whitby , on June 24 th , 1813 , was then sung , and the Benediction having been pronounced , the congregation rose while the brethren left the church to the strains of the

closing march from Masonic service music . » » * The installation meeting ofthe Royal Savoy Lodge , No . 1744 , was held on the 23 rd ult ., when Bro . A . B .

Fox was du ly installed into the chair . We regret that a full report of the proceedings has not been published in ^ our columns in consequence of the serious illness of our representative who attended the meeting , but we hope the report will appear in our next issue .

» * ? The Committee of Management of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution held their regular monthly meeting at Freemasons' Hall on Wednesday , the Sth instant , under the presidency of Bro . J . A . Farnfield , P . A . G . D . C , Treasurer and . Patron of the

Institution . The business , as usual , consisted for thc most part , of finally determining the lists of Candidates and declaring the numbers of vacancies to be competed for at the annual election in May . As regards the lists , there are 55 for the Male Fund and 68

for the Widows fund , making a total of 123 , while the vacancies are as follows , namely , for the Male Fund 15 , including the three Deferred Annuities , and forthe YVidows' Fund 12 , that is to say , nine immediate and three deferred . ? * *

We have much pleasure in drawing attention to the report of the Quarterly meeting of thc Grand Lodge of Scotland , which will be found in another column . From this it appears that the Grand Lodge has followed the course adopted by us last year in recognising thc Grand Lodge of New Zealand as an

independent Grand Lodge . The conditions on which it has consented to take this step are practically the same as those submitted by us and accepted by New Zealand , namely , that the rights and privileges of those lodges which elect to remain under the banner of Scotland , as . well as of the three Dist . G . Lodges shall be respected We understand that the Grand Lodge of Ireland has

ollicially recognised the new order of things in the Colony so that there is no longer any reason why the harmony of the several Constitutions should be disturbed . A little soreness , as we have said before and say elsewhere , will doubtless remain , but this will disappear under the benign influence of that good-fellowship , which is part and parcel of Freemasonry .

* * * Bro . James Berry , J . P ,, Prov . G . Master of Forfarshire , is to be felicitated oa the tokens of respect and affection which were presented to him at the recent meeting , as described elsewhere in our columns , of the Prov . G . Lodge of Forfarshire , and also upon thc

honour paid to his Province by the Grand Master Mason ' of Scotland . Bro . B ; rry has been a promi * nent member of the Scottish Craft for a long term of years and his administration of the Province entrusted to his charge has been most successful . It is , there , fore , nothing more than might have been expected that

when a favourable opportunity presented itself , the brethren should resolve on paying him honour . Hence , when the meeting of his Prov . G . Lodge was officially attended by Bro . Lord Saltoun , M . W . G . Master , and a number of his Grand Officers , his lordship was in . invited—and most cordially acceded to the

invitationto present Bro . Berry with a solid gold chain and jewel of office in appreciation of his uniform kindness and courtesy and the marked success with which he had presided over them . And as Bro . Bsrry announced his intention of placing this present among the

possessions of the Province to . be worn by his successors , the brethren made him a further present of a handsome silver salver , which should find an honoured plaie-among his personal belongings . The proceedings passed off most satisfactorily .

* * * According to the Aew Zealand Craftsman of the ist ult . H . R . H . the Prince of Wales , M . W . G . Master , has graciously consented to become Patron of thc

Grand Lodge of New Zealand—a position he has occupied from their very foundation in the case of the other new Australasian G . Lodges . His Royal Highness has also approved of Bro . the Earl of Onslow being the representative of the newly recognised body at our G . Lodire .