Consecration Of The St. Mary Abbotts Lodge, No. 1974.

CONSECRATION OF THE ST . MARY ABBOTTS LODGE , No . 1974 .

1 his lodge was consecrated on Thursday , at the Town Hall , Kensington , by V . W . Bro . Colonel Shadwell H . Gierke , Grand Secretary , assisted by W . Bro . Capt . N . G . Philips , P . G . D ., as S . W . ; Bro . Robert Freke Gould , P . G . D ., as J . W . ; V . W . Bro . Rev . A . F . A . Woodford , P . G . Chaplain , as Chaplain ; W . Bro . Frank Richardson , P . G . D ., as D . of C . ; W . Bro . H . G . Buss , Asst . G . Secretar }' , as I . G .

In due course the W . M . designate , W . Bro . Captain Adolphus Nicols , P . D . G . S . of Works Punjab , was presented and installed , and he having been saluted , formally appointed the brethren named in the warrant as the Wardens , viz ., Captain Henry Smith Andrews , S . W ., and Francis Henry Gruggen , J . VV . ; the latter was , in consequence of an accident , unfortunately prevented from attending . W . Bro . Colonel Martin Petrie , after unanimous election , was appointed Treasurer .

Ihe W . M . stated that as the brother who would act as Secretary was not yet a member of the lodge , he proposed to make thc appointment to that office , as also to the other minor offices later on , but in the meantime would ask Bro . Colonel Petrie to act as Secretary ; Bro . Captain Charles Francis Compton , as S . D . ; XV . Bro . Francis Charles Compton , as J . D . Bro . Austin was elected and invested as Tyler .

Ihe names of five brethren as candidates for joining , and of one gentleman as a candidate for initiation , were handed in . A vote of thanks to the consecrating officers was proposed by the W . M ., seconded by , the S . W ., and acknowledged by the Grand Secretary . A Committee was appointed to draw up the Bye Laws , and a vote of thanks passed to the brethren who had contributed to the ceremony by their musical abilities , after which the lodge was closed , and the biethren proceeded to banquet . A full report , together with the Chaplain's oration , will appear in our next .

The Grand Lodge Question In Australia.

THE GRAND LODGE QUESTION IN AUSTRALIA .

BY BRO . VV . F . LAMONBY , P . M ., P . Z . I promised in my last communication to the Freemason to discuss the question of the formation of a separate and united Grand Lodge for the colony of Victoria . Since I last wrote I have had abundant opportunities for ascertaining the real feeling anent thc proposed change in Melbourne .

Primarily , I may say that Victoria has little short of 100 Craft lodges , over sixty of which belong to the English Constitution , twelve to the Scotch , and sixteen to thc Irish . I find the question has been in agitation for some time back , principally amongst the members of the lodges hailing from the two sister constitutions .

Your readers must understand , however , that the agitation is of a merely informal character , an out-of-door discussion , as it were ; no regular meeting so far as I am aware , having been held . At lodge banquets I have not infrequently heard the matter broached and dovetailed into speeches , one brother going so far as to assert that if a plebiscite were taken of the whole Craft in the colony , nine out of every ten would be in favour of an independent Grand Lodge of Victoria .

Now , as to the reasons for the proposed severance from the mother Grand Lodge—and bear in mind that many English brethren support the same arguments—it is urged that the quarterages sent home are good money thrown away , inasmuch as distressed colonial brethren very rarely seek assistance from the home Fund of Benevolence . And , again , the great majority of relief cases in Victoria emanate from lodges in the old country ,

the proportion of new arrivals who affiliate with colonial lodges being very small indeed . Lastly , it is maintained that a United Grand Lodge of Victoria , numbering , say 100 lodges , under one supreme head , resident in the colony , would get along more smoothly than the three subordinate bodies now do , at a distance of 15 , 000 miles from their respective Grand Lodges , whilst the sphere of usefulness would not onl y be increased to a large extent , but centralised .

The loregomg arrangements , as I have previously remarked , are merely of an informal character , and in the matter of bringing the question to a legitimate issue , the more calm and reasoning of the new Grand Lodge advocates say , that if it ever has to become a " fait accompli , " it must be by resolution or a majority of the lodges . under the three jurisdictions ,

supplemented by petitions to the Grand Lodges of England , Scotland , and Ireland for separation and acknowledgment as a Grand Lodgeof Victoria . Such , then , is the situation as it at present stands , and I may be allowed to add , that I myself express no opinion in the matter , one way or the other ! I simply give you the points of what at the present time ( June 24 th ) , is the one topic of interest amongst " coteries " of Melbourne Masonry .

Under The Tongue Of Good Report.

UNDER THE TONGUE OF GOOD REPORT .

Every Mason knows well what the above phrase . signifies , and when we recollect how much it does really mean , how important is it that we should guard with great care the portals of the Lodge-room . " Guard well the outer door" is a maxim the Hirainite should never forget ; it is his sworn duty to do so . Would he receive into his house , or take to his house as a

friend a man destitute of moral character , or introduce into his home circle the libertine or the profane ' . ' No . How dare hc then permit one , whom he knows to be a libertine , a gambler , or a blasphemer , to cross the threshold of the Masonic Lodge . Accept not any candidate that does not come literally and truthfully " under the tongue of good report . "

The object of every Mason should be to raise the standard of Freemasonry ; to make the Fraternity what it should be , a brotherhood in the highest sense of the word , of honourable , true and upright men . To be negligent in this respect shows a criminal carelessness that is deserving of the highest censure . The brother that is careless in this particular , and neglects the duties of his Lodge , will never make a good Hiramite or prove to be true to the principals of the Order . How can he ? If he does not

care sufficiently for thc material of the foundation of the temple , what regard can he have for thc superstructure ' . ' NONE ; and such a Mason is not worthy to be called a follower of the Widow ' s Son . The importance of securing the best men for the first three degrees is all important . We cannot lay too much stress upon this . Generally speaking the practical benefits of the Craft are distributed by the Blue Lodge , and is is the universal Masonry that is acknowledged wherever civilization has penetrated . It is Freemasonry that brethren of every degree must

Under The Tongue Of Good Report.

acknowledge , and that is known and practised in every part of the world ; and it matters not to how many branches of the Order a brother may belong , his first allegiance is due to Symbolic Masonry . Hence the great and paramount importance to be attached to regular duties . If bad men , or even careless men , are accepted , the welfare of the society is at stake , and every Mason should be sufficiently interested in the Brotherhood to examine well the character of those who seek admission to our sympathies .

We entirely fail to understand how any Hiramite can be so lost to his sense of duty , and so regardless as to his obligations , as not to pay strict attention to the nature of the material that is brought up for the building of the Temple . We are presumed to be engaged in a sacred work , and if we are derelict in our duties and careless with regard to our

responsibilities , we have forgotten the principles that we promised to support , and negligent of those important lessons that it should be our pride to teach and our glory to practice . Thc Mason that will admit a candidate to our mysteries that he knows to be unworthy should be expelled from our Fraternity , for he is striking a death-blow to our institute , and he has woefully perjured himself in the sight of God and in the eyes of his brethren .

The Lodge should be the Masonic home of every Hiramite , and , in order to keep it so , none must be admitted excepting those who are " under the tongue of good report . " We are a great social and moral organization , professing certain fixed principles and advocating certain dogmas . To admit a man amongst us who openly violates these , and by his course of life shows his utter disregard for them , is a heinous offence . We , by so doing , destroy our Masonic home and drive from the lodge those whom we love to

honour . The swearing , cursing , blaspheming Mason is a hideous nightmare to those who understand our traits . The scoffer at religion and the habitue of the gambling hell are surely not fit companions for a band of men who have professed their belief in the Divine God-head and acknowledged their faith in the brotherhood of man . That creatures so demoralized do at times gain admission within our portals cannot be denied ; but if gentle admonition and kindly advice fail to reclaim them , it is our duty to drive them from our midst .

Our foul-mouth animal , in form of a . man , in heart a loathsome creature , will do more in one year to demoralize a lodge and disgrace Freemasonry than ten good men can do in the same length of time to purify and reclaim it . This is a stubborn fact ; consequently , let every Mason ever guard well the outer door , and see that none are initiated into our mysteries who do not live a pure and moral life , and believing in the heaven inspired doctrines of Freemasonry , are " under the tongue of good report . " —Masonic Tablet .

The Third Degree—Its Mysterious Darkness.

THE THIRD DEGREE—ITS MYSTERIOUS DARKNESS .

In the ancient mysteries perfectly initiated aspirants were reputed to have obtained a state of pure and ineffable light , and supposed to be safe under the protection oi the gods , while the profane , who had not undergone the purifying process , were declared reprobate ; doomed to wander in the obscurity of darkness ; to be deprived of the divine favour , and condemned to a perpetual residence in the infernal regions .

During the Persian initiations this doctrine was enforced " ex cathedra . " Thc Archimagus informed the candidate at the moment of illumination that thedivine lights were displayed before him , andafter explaininglhe nature ol the mysteries in general , he taught that the universe was governed by a good and evil power , who were perpetually engaged in contest with each other , and as each in turn prevailed the world was characterised by a corresponding

succession of happiness and misery ; that uninitiated men and immoral men were votaries of the evil power , and the virtuous of the good ; that each would go to a separate world—one to ascend by means of a ladder to a state of eternal light , where exists unalloyed happiness and the purest pleasures ; the other would be plunged into an abode of darkness , where he would suffer a disquietude and misery in a desolate place of punishment situated on the shore of a stinking river , the waters of which were black as pitch and

cold as ice . Here the souls of the unitiated eternally float . Dark columns of smoke ascend from the stream , the inside of which is full of serpents , scorpions and venomous reptiles . The multitude , being thus amused with fables and terrified wilh denunciations , were effectually involved in uncertainty , and directed to paths where only error could be found ; for every degree was mysterious , and every mythological doctrine shrouded under a corresponding symbol , all was dark .

The allegorial fables became popular ( and so has the story of Hiram ) , the simple rites of primitive worship soon assumed a new and more imposing form , and religion was at length enveloped in a veil so thick and impervious as to render the interpretation of the symbolical imagery extremely difficult and uncertain . In all the ancient mysteries , before an aspirant could claim to participate in the highest secrets of the institution , he was

placed within the pastos , bed , or coffin , or , in other words , was left alone for a period—that he might reflect seriously ia seclusion and darkness on what he was about to undertake , and be reduced to a proper state of mind for the reception of great and important truths . This was the symbolical death of the mysteries , and his deliverance from confinement was the act of regeneration , or being born again , or , as it was termed , raised from the dead .

Clement , of Alexandria , tells us that in the formula used by one who had been initiated , he was taught to say , " I have descended into the bedchamber . " The ceremony here alluded to was , doubtless , the same as the descent into Hades , and we are inclined to think that when the candidate entered into the mystic cell , he was directed to lay himself down upon the bed whicli shadowed the tomb of the great Master , and while stretched upon the holy

couch he was said to be wrapped in the deep sleep of death . The candidate was made to undergo these changes in scenic representations , and was placed in the tomb in perfect darkness for the space of three days and nights . In different nations this time varied : in Britain it was nine days ; in Greece three times nine ; in Persia fifty days and night of darkness , want of rest and fasting . ( W . Arch Tri . fifty apud Dav . ) Porph vit Pyth .

A celebrated piece of antiquity was recently standing near Maidstone , called Kit ' s Coty House . This was a dark Chamber of Probation for Kit , in no other than Ked thc British Ceres , and Cctti or Cotti means an ark or chest . Hence the compound word referred to the ark of the

diluvian Noah , whose mysterious rites were celebrated in Britain . Voltaire , in speaking of the Eleusinian mysteries , says : This pure religion consisted in thc acknowledgment of one Supreme God , of his providence , and of His justice . That which disfigured these mysteries , il we can believe Tcrtullien . wasthe ceremony of regeneration , — Masonic Review ,