Mark Masonry In The Province Of Middlesex And Surrey.

MARK MASONRY IN THE PROVINCE OF MIDDLESEX AND SURREY .

It seldom happens that a Provincial Grand Master feels himself called upon to summon a special meeting of his Provincial Grand Officers , . but the lamented death last year of Bro . FREDERIC DAVISON , D . P . G . M . M . of Middlesex and Surrey ,

furnished Bro . Sir FRANCIS BURDETT , Bart ., P . G . M . M ., with an occasion for calling together the Mark brethren of his Province in order that the distinguished and much respected brother whom he had invited to succeed his late Deputy might be duly

obligated and invested in their presence . Hence the recent special meeting at the Ship and Turtle , Leadenhall-street , of the Provincial Grand Mark Lodge of Middlesex and Surrey , of which we published-a full report last week . On this occasion , respect having been shown to the memory of the late Bro . F . DAVISON —and also to that of the late Bro . the Rev . G . W . WELDON ,

P . G . Chap ., who had likewise died during his tenure of officeby the usual votes of condolence—which , indeed , had in these instances been considerately anticipated by the Provincial Grand Secretary on behalf of the Provincial Grand Mark Master—it

was announced that the Provincial Grand Master ' s choice of a brother to fill the responsible post of Deputy Prov . Grand Master had fallen upon Bro . C . HAMMERTON , who for several years had acted as Provincial Grand Treasurer , and who is as well known

throughout the Craft by his ability and energy in the work of Freemasonry as he is by his generous support of our Masonic Institutions . The announcement was received with general satisfaction , and Bro . FlAMMERTON was thereupon obligated and

invested and took his place as Deputy Provincial Grand Master . It then became necessary that the brethren should exercise their rightof electingasuccessor to Bro . HAMMERTON , who had resigned his post of Provincial Grand Treasurer , and two brethren having

been nominated , the choice fell by a small majority on Bro . L . G . GORDON ROBBINS , who was at once invested and congratulated on his success . Thus while it is impossible for us not to express our sympathy with the Mark brethren of Middlesex and

Surrey on the loss they have sustained by the death of a brother so well known and so universally respected as their late Deputy Provincial Grand Master , we have every confidence that the duties of that important office will be ably and conscientiously

discharged by Bro . HAMMERTON . It is also beyond doubt that the addition of Bro . L . G . G . ROBBINS to the roll of executive officers will be of great advantage to the Province , of which Bro . Sir F . BURDETT has been so long the chief .

The Savage Club Lodge And Its Late Secretary.

THE SAVAGE CLUB LODGE AND ITS LATE SECRETARY .

The incident which occurred at the installation meeting of the Savage Club Lodge , and was so fully described last week in our report of the proceedings , is probably unique in the annals of Masonic lodge history , and well deserves a word or two of

comment . It will be in the recollection of our readers that the late Bro . ARCHIBALD MCNEILL , one of the founders and first Secretary of this distinguished lodge , having had occasion to visit France n the discharge of his duties as a journalist , was foully murdered

on the very eve of his return by steamer from Boulogne . His bod y was found on the beach , but it has never been discovered b y whom the deed was committed . It was known , however , that

the deceased had money and valuables about him , and the numbers of certain Bank of England notes , which were in his possession , having been published , their negotiation became impossible , and they were sent in an anonymous letter , all

The Savage Club Lodge And Its Late Secretary.

stained and mutilated , to the Municipal authorities of Boulogne . From these they were purchased by Bro . HENRY S . WELLCOME to aid him in discovering the murderer . But the investigations into the mystery proved fruitless , and Bro . WELLCOME , considering these sad relics of his departed friend and brother too

sacred for his own use , and not knowing how otherwise to apply them , bethought him of presenting them as a gift from the late Bro . MCNEILL to the Benevolent Fund of the lodge he had helped to found , and in whose welfare and prosperity he had taken so deep an interest . They were accordingly forwarded in an explanatory

letter to Bro . J PAIGE , the present Secretary of the lodge , by whom the circumstances were related as we have stated them . A better way of appropriating the recovered property of the

late first Secretary of the Savage Club Lodge could not have been devised , and we congratulate both Bro . WELLCOME on an act which is at once a benefit to the lodge and a mark of respect to our late brother .

The Approaching Jubilee Of Victorian Freemasonry.

THE APPROACHING JUBILEE OF VICTORIAN FREEMASONRY .

In the course of next month the fraternity in Victoria will be celebrating its jubilee , the Lodge of Australia Felix , lately No . 474 on the roll of the United Grand Lodge of England , but now No . i on that of the United Grand Lodge of Victoria , having

entered on its career in what was then known as Port Philip , but is now the flourishing city of Melbourne , in March , 1840 , and at a meeting of the Gordon Lodge , No . 99 , in November last , it was proposed , as a desirable and appropriate mode of celebrating

this auspicious event , that the Craft be invited to take the necessary steps for establishing a fund for providing annuities for the widows of Freemasons , and educating , clothing , and

maintaining their orphan children . The Gordon Lodge appears to have been moved to adopt this resolution by an address delivered by Bro . W . F . LAMONBY , who hailed formerly from our Province of Cumberland and Westmorland , but who is now a

Past Senior Grand Warden of Victoria . The subject of this address was " Our Charities ; what they are , and what they ought to be , " and in the course of his very eloquent remarks , Bro . LAMONBY gave a full and accurate sketch of the character and extent of the Masonic Institutions which are established in

England for the relief of distressed brethren , their widows , and their children , and the means adopted for their support . He explained that these Institutions , except for a small grant annually made to each of them , are independent of Grand Lodge , and

that the necessary funds for their efficient maintenance are subscribed by the brethren generally , the bulk of the subscriptions being obtained at the Anniversary Festivals held in their support . He further pointed out that there are many of our English

provinces—such as East and West Lancashire—which have their own especial Benevolent and Educational Associations for the relief of the fatherless and the widow . All this , he explained , was done irrespective of the relief afforded by our Grand Lodge

Fund of Benevolence , and he impressed on his audience the necessity of their following the example of their English brethren and founding in Victoria one or more such Institutions as already exist in this country . He suggested that the approaching

celebration of the jubilee of Victorian Freemasonry in March next , would furnish an excellent opportunity for the inauguration of such a scheme , and he recommended that the Grand Master of Victoria , Bro . Sir WILLIAM J . CLARKE , Bart ., should be

approached on the subject with the view of enlisting his powerful influence and support in its behalf . The immediate result of Bro . LAMONBY ' S advice was that the Gordon Lodge adopted the

resolution we mentioned at the outset of our remarks , and we trust its future and lasting effect will be the establishment , on a firm basis , of such a fund or association as he proposes .