Mark Masonry.

MARK MASONRY .

Few things so marvellous have happened m latter-day Masonry as the rapid development of the Mark Degree . It is difficult for a brother of only a few years' standing to realise that 33 years aoo there was no such body in existence as the " Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons of England and Wales , and the Colonies

and Dependencies of the British Crown , and that the Degreewhich was then , as now , unrecognised by United Grand Lodge as constituting any part of Antient Free and Accepted Masonry as defined by the Articles of Union of 1813—was worked in this country , either under warrants derived from a foreign body or by

the members of our Craft lodges outside and independent of their Craft warrant or authority . Since 1856 , however , upwards of 25 , 000 brethren have been registered as Mark Master Masons under the Mark Grand Lodge of England , and the lodges which now acknowledge obedience to this body are about 400 in number , while the Provinces and Districts into which all but the London

section of the Order is divided are nearer 50 than 40 strong . Moreover , it is a wealthy body , having an income which is more than sufficient for its needs , with close on . £ 3000 invested as a Fund for General Purposes , and upwards of £ 7000 invested in the various branches of its Fund of Benevolence . Its annual

Mark Benevolent Festival is one of the chief events in the Masonic year , and is quite as productive as the Festivals of our principal Charitable Institutions were about the year i 860 . In the course of a few months it will occupy , as the tenant of our Craft Grand Lodge , suitable and commodious premises

in Great Queen-street , adjoining Freemasons' Hall ; and last , but not least , it has for its chief ruler the same illustrious Prince who for the last 15 years has presided with so much tact and ability over the supreme governing bodies of our Craft and Royal Arch Masonry . A progress , such as is indicated by these facts , is

indeed astounding , and yet the reasons are , after all , neither so very far to seek , nor so difficult to understand . Much of it is , of course , due to the ever-increasing favour with which Freemasonry generall y has been regarded during the whole of this period , but especially since the Prince of WALES became a member of our

Society . During the earlier years of its existence the Mark Grand Lodge fared prosperously . Its rulers were popular men , and possessed such weight and influence in the Craft that numbers followed their leadership in the belief that what they approved of and encouraged must be worthy of approval . The

executive officers , also , were men of rare energy and ability , but for several years after 1856 the system of Mark Masonry , if not exactl y in the position of a house divided against itself , was nevertheless divided into two sections , of which one owed

alleg iance to the Mark Grand Lodge , while the other derived its authority from Scotland . In 18 72 , however , a union of these wo bodies was effected , and the benefit to Mark Masonry was a'most immediatel y apparent . In 18 75 , the Prince of WALES was installed head of the Craft and Arch Degrees , and at once

n lf npetus was given to everything directly or indirectly associated with Freemasonry , which is still felt , and which will , no Qoubt , continue to be felt for many , many years . Of this impetus la rk Masonry has experienced its full share , and in the last 15 years there have been added to the roll of its Grand Lodge some ? ° lodges , while the number of its Provinces has increased tr ° m about 18 or 20 to not far short of half a hundred .

We have said that the earlier rulers of Mark Grand Lodge •* l popular brethren , and , at the same time , men of weight and 11 luence in the Craft , and that its executive officers were men of are e . rgy and ability . Of this there cannot be a moment ' s 9 "estion . Lord LEIGH , who was chosen first Grand Mark Master ^ ason in 18 56 , was at the time Prov . Grand Master of Warwick-, under United Grand Lodge , and has again and again been escribed as a strict " constitutional" Mason . In i 860 he gave EaTi " tlle ^ ^ ° f CARNARVON , who was succeeded in 1863 by , AMHERST —then Viscount Holmesdale—bv Bro . W . W . R

Eari p ' l 8 . ' by the late Rev- Canon PORTAL in 186 9 , by Bro . AM \ ERCY m 18 73 , & c , & c . All these are prominent Craft and Part- •asons > and have taken , or still are taking , a principal tj 0 . "J the government of the two branches of " constitute 1 freemasonry . As regards the chief executive officers , lave but to mention the names of the late Bro . PORTAL and

Mark Masonry.

Bro . FREDERICK BINCKES , to justify our statement . Bro . MATIER , too , though it is only recently that he has been an executive officer , has long exercised a great influence in the council chamber of its General Board , while in the preliminary negotiations which resulted in the union already referred to of the

English and Scottish systems of Mark Masonry , he played so conspicuous a part that he was appointed Junior Grand Warden in recognition of his services . It is to these men in particular that Mark Masonry is indebted for the excellence of its organisation ,

and though Bro . PORTAL is dead , and Bro . BlNCKES has retired , after a protracted service as Grand Secretary of 28 years , their mantles have fallen on able shoulders , in the persons of Bro . Lord EUSTON and Bro . C . F . MATIER .

Those , however , who would know more of Mark Masonry and its organisation than it is possible for us to describe in the brief space of a single article , must consult the Report of its proceedings during the past year , which has just been issued , and contains full particulars , not only of the doings in Grand Lodge ,

but also of the position which the Mark now occupies , the condition of its funds , and a complete roll of its lodges , with full particulars appended to each of its date and place of meeting , and the date of its constitution . ' Here also will be found—pp . 81-96—the manner in which the Mark Lodges are distributed in

Provinces and Districts , with the names of the several P . or D . G . Masters , Deputy P . or D . G . Masters , and P . or D . G . Secretaries , the Provinces and Districts being carefully and methodically arranged in alphabetical order , so that those in search of

information on this or other heads will have no difficult y in learning what they desire to know . It is indeed an excellent and trustworth y compilation , which is most creditable to Bro . MATIER and his staff , and which only needs that it should be portable in order to be regarded as the Mark Master Mason ' s Vade Mecum .

Masonry In The Diamond Fields.

MASONRY IN THE DIAMOND FIELDS .

Rough and ready as the style of life must be in a newl ysettled country , the brethren in the Diamond Fields appear to have generous notions about the manner in which the rites and ceremonies of the Craft should be observed , and the places in which those rites and ceremonies should be practised . The lodges

are necessarily scattered , but distance is clearl y no obstacle to the members visiting each other , and on special occasions a lodge may reckon with tolerable certainty on having a numerous attendance of visitors , to whom a most hospitable reception is readil y and invariably accorded . Nor in a district , the very name of

which is suggestive of wealth inexhaustible , is there any lack of comfort , or even of luxury , and when an installation is appointed to take place , or the still more rare event occurs of a hall to be dedicated or have its first stone laid , there is never any difficulty or hitch in the proceedings , which go forward from beginning to

end as if every brother present , whether as host or visitor , were a born Director of Ceremonies . It is not surprising , therefore , that when announcement was made of Thursday , the 14 th August last , being the clay chosen for the solemn dedication of

the new Masonic Hall in Kimberley , there should have been an unusual stir among the members of the lodges within a circuit of a few hundred miles , or that , when the day arrived for the ceremony to be performed , there should have been such a concourse of brethren as

is seldom seen—or as many 01 us at home would scarcely consider possible—in so new a country . The town itself also put on its gala attire in honour of the occasion , and the visitors from afar received almost as hearty a welcome from the people as from the brethren of Kimberley . From the description furnished

in the Diamond Fields Advertiser , the Hall , which , including furniture and fittings , will have cost from first to last about £ 7500 , appears to have been built with a clue regard to the comfort and convenience of those whom it is designed to accommodate , while particular attention has been directed to the

arrangement and decoration of the building , the result being most creditable to the architect and contractor , as well as to the Committee which has been in charge of the arrangements , and exercised a general superintendence over the work as itproceeded . The dedication ceremony was likewise , from the accounts with