Craft Masonry.

Craft Masonry .

Gallery Lodge ( No . 1928 ) . —The installation putting of this lodge vvas held on Saturday , the Sth inst .. at Andrrfon ' s Hotel , Fleet-street , under the presidency of the VV . M ., Bio . J . C . Manning . The meeting vvas one of the most successful of all the successful meetings the lodge ha * had during its nearly i . j years of existence , and was rrknowledged to be sn by every brother who attended , whether a member of the lodge or a visitor . About 70

biethren were present , among them were all the oilicers and Past Masters W . M . Duckworth , J . C . Duckworth , 11 . Wright , W . T . Perkins . K . li . Peacock , C . K . Monro . 11 . Massey , with joining P . M . ' s cf other fudges , | . G . Fretwell , Scott , J . Hurdell , and Geo . Saunders . The visitors ' list included the names nf Bros . Richard live , I' . G . Treas . ; Lennox Browne , Dep . G . D . C ; \ V . li . Abraham . P . M . 72 ; ! . Read . P . M . 12 . 1 , & c . ; I . S . Albeit , P . M . 227 ; G . L .

Ilorne , P . M . and Secretary 227 ; VV . ( . Fisher , I . P . M . 2190 ; John Northcott , Sjy , i , j / j , and W . M . 21 yd ; li . Schuberth , i ; S ; T . J . Gardner , 22 R ; R . Sherington , 1 S 21 j J . LSune , late iy 2 S ; David Lowe , 15 S 7 ; T . Hello , 2190 ; John B . Hart and R . Wilson , 171 J 0 ; Bernard , W . M . 1974 ; J . H . Scot ' , 1673 ; E . D . Jackson , . 569 ; J . Budd , vov -, Reginald Groome , V 929 ; A . Weston , 101 ; W . T . Spencer , 2201 ; Templer Saxe , 2 iyo ; Haton

Ederesin , late 2 ; H . E . Joyce , P . M . 507 , Sic . ; Fdwin Bending , late 2 iyo ; VV . If . Kidson , 2395 ; C . Rawle , W . M . 2369 ; and Passmore Edwards , 23 C 9 . Bro . J . C . Manning , VV . M ., initiated in excellent style , for the last time during his year of office , Mr . Timothy O'Neill Lane , vvho had been proposed by a very popular member of the lodge ( Bro . Baines ) , and seconded by another and equally popular member ( Bro . Perkins , P . M .

and Sec ) , and , with the exception of the introduction oi a prosperous balance-sheet of the lodge and a splendid report as to the Benevolent Fund , this constituted all the business but the installation . This last ceremony vvas performed by Bro . Manning , who , on the presentation by Bro . li . li . Peacock , P . M ., D . C , addressed the brethren , and the W . M . elect , Bro . Charles Lock , of the Parliamentary stall of the Morning Advertiser . I lis unqualified assent having

been given to the " Excellent Charges and Regulations , " he was obligated in the Second Degree , and subsequently , in a Board of Installed Masters , vvas placed in the chair of K . S . according to ancient custom . After Bro . Lock had been properly saluted and greeted he invested as his oilicers for the year thc following brethren , giving tn each his charge as to the duties ol his ollice without any abbreviation and with compliments , vvhich he was so

gracious as to say they vvere , from his knowledge of the work the brethren had done , thoroughly deserved : Bros . J . C . Manning , I . P . M . j Percy VV . Husk , S . W . ; Geo . Tarran , J . VV . ; VV . M . Duckworth , P . M ., Ilea's . ; W . T . Perkins , P . M ., Sec ; Bert Striem , S . D . ; SamiH fames , J . D . ; E . A . Peachey , I . G . j The Rev . J . S . Barrass , Chap . ; II . E . Peacock , Org . ; Henry Massey , P . M ., D . Cj F . W . Brodie and L . F . Gowing , A . D . Cs .

G . H . Ribbons , H . L . Bell , J . D . Irvine and W . G . Kirby , Stwds . j and J . Very , Tyler . Bro . Manning then delivered the addresses to the VVorshipful Master , Wardens and brethren , with fluency and exactitude , and after Ihe cheering vvhich followed the completion of his work , he was presented vvith a Past Master ' s j ^ vvel , his remarks on vvhich the W . M . defened till alter the banquet . Nothing now remained , but according to ancient custom , to partake

of this hospitable meal , and the lodge was closed for that purpose . The usual toasts succeeded the disposal of the repast , and the W . M . proposed "Ihe Queen and the Cralt , " and "The Most VVorshipful Grand Master , " with the greatest brevity , and the brethren heartily responded . The Benevolent Box yielded £ 3 3 s . 3 d . Bro . Richard Eve , P . G . T ., was tne first to reply to the toast vvhich included " The Grand Officers , " ot whom he

vvas an " elected , " and not an " appointed , " member . He claimed from the Craft a cosmopolitan character , and also that it vvas democratic , and really outside all other institutions , lt cared not what colour a man was so long as he vvas a free man—black , white , yellow , red , or brown ( Lennox Browne ) , vvho was only a shade brown , it might be sienna brown . Religion , too , made no difference in the acceptance of a man in Masonry ' s ranks . Divinity

vvas represented , and so vvas the stage—even among the Grand Treasurers . Reference would be made by the proposer ot the toast to the work of Grand Ofiiceis in the cause of Charity , and he was happy to say that the Grand Ofiicers had done much in that great work . He quite concurred vvith the proposer of the toast that that vvas the great object they , as well as the Gallery Lodge , had in view . Nobody knew what might

happen , and it was quite right to provide against any disaster that might befall widows and orphans . As the Older vvas largely extending , no doubt it would become necessary to enlarge the institutions j but they had already done great work , and were now supporting some 403 Old People , 2 O 3 Boys and 2 O 3 Girls . Forty years ago when he joined the Cralc ^ 2500 vvas a large collection , but only two years ago one Institution alone gathered together nearly

£ 70 , 000 . Very likely the Prince ol VVales becoming Grand Master had much to do in this great success , but it was the inherent strength of the Institution vvhich was the support of it . Bro . Lennox Browne also responded . Bio . J . C Manning , I . P . M ., in pr . posing "TheW . M ., " said he supposed it fell to his lot to submit that toast because in his Masonic capacity as I . P . M . ol the Gallerv Lodge he

knew perhaps a little more of the inner Masonic power of their present W . M . than any other member ot the lodge , and he was quite sure while he possessed that power he had also a splenuid subject on vvhich to expend it . Bro . Lock joined ihe lodge in the old days when it met at Brixton , and the work lie had done for tlie lodge as a Masjn would stand as a splenoid record in connurtion with the lodge . The woik he had done in pu .-hing forward the charitable aspect of ihe lodge would also stand as a satisfactory rccoid

ot his career . 'Ihe fact that he was now the W . M . ot the lodge vvas a sufficient guarantee that he deserved the brethren ' s respect and that lhey appreciated his conduct . He should , therefore , in proposing tlm health of the W . M . contend that he was a living embodiment of the three chief principles sUtcc' in ihe ritual as being ihe necessary qualifications of a W . M . —a man of good report , tiue and trusty , and held in high estimation amongst Ins brethren anil fellows . On those grounds hc proposed with every feeling of confidence the health ol the VV . M . of the Gallery Lodge .

Craft Masonry.

The toast was drunk with the heartiest enthusiasm . The W . M ., in reply , said he had to thank the I . P . M . for the kind terms in which he had proposed his health , and the brethren for the enthusiastic manner in vvhich they had responded to the toast . The lustre which attached to the position of Master of the Gallery Lodge lie conceived to be of a two-fold character , and to have little or no connection vvith the brother who , for the time being , happened

to occupy it . All the glory was to the Ancient Institution of Freemasonry , in the first place , and in the second place to the splendid status to which the lodge itself had attained . Their lodge vvas , as they were all proudly aware , the only purely Press Lodge in the world , and it vvas , moreover , as he ( the VV . M . ) had known it , a most creditable school of Masonic teaching and practice . As such it had been that evening handed to his keeping for the ensuing 12 months ;

as such lie trusted to b-2 privileged to maintain it . He did ii ' t intend to be long . Tu Pressmen , at any rate , one song was worth a multitude of speeches , always excepting they were not on "lineage " ; but there were one or two matters to which he felt bound to briefly refer . First , what was their present position , and what were the future prospects of the lodge ? I le vvas not going into statistics , but should content himself vvith saying that , bothjfinancially and numerically , the

Gallery Lodge was now in a better position that it had been at almost any previous period of its history . Their debt was insignificant ; their present assets were good and substantial , and the lodge at that moment vvas a long way in advance of the degree of being perfectly solvent . To whom vvas this improved condition of things due . ' I n his opinion it was attributable to several reasons and to several persons . First , it vvas due to the exercise of a wise economy ;

secondly , to the exhibition of a s ^ lf-denial on the part of tbe biethren , without which that economy would not have been possible , and , thirdly , it vvas due to an increased spirit of earnestness on the part of the ofiicers and brethren as a whole . Whether this necessary economy had been most promoted by Bro . Peacock , P . M ., Bro . C K . Moore , P . M ., or the I . P . M ., he would not now stay to consider , lt was sullicient for them , he

thought , that it had been a policy which had been fraught vvith very beneficial results ; and it was a policy which , during his year of ollice , he should himself do his utmost to maintain . He had nothing more to say in reply to the toast of his health , but before he sat down it became his duty , as it was also his pleasure and privilege , to propose to them the toast of " The I . P . M . " Now , what should they say of their Bro . Manning ? That he vvas a jolly good

fellow , nobody could deny . Ashe ( the W . M . ) had already pointed out , the I . P . M . had been a just and not too generous guardian of their finances . In addition to that , he had worked the ceremonies of the lodge and presided over its business generally , and , above and beyond that , had discharged the onerous duties of Installing Master that day in a manner which had not only shed lustre upon himself , but which had brought credit on them all . Nor was this ail he had done , for , by his interest and perseverance , he had

succeeded in establishing , on a most substantial basis , an excellently equipped lodge of instruction . The want of such a lodge had long been felt , and it vvas not too much to say that i's formation had already been fraught with Masonic advantages . In this matter , as well as in the others to which he had alluded , Bro . Manning had done that which would make his name long remembered in the Gallery Ludge as one of its most notable and encniplary Masters . He therefore asked the brethren to drink , in a bumper , to the continued health and prosperity of their I P . M .

Bro . J . C . Manning , I . P . M ., in responding to the toast , which was received with the same heartiness as the previous toast , said he hardly knew how to begin the few remarks lie had to make ,- he was almost afraid that the brethren would become weary of the monotonous measure of his intonations—they had heard so much of him that evening . Hc vvas exceedingly obliged to the W . M . for presenting his ( Uro . Mannings ) name to the brethren in such glowing

colours , he hardly knew what to think , or how to express himself in thanking him and the brethren for the way in vvhich his name had been submitted and received . The little hc had done in the Gallery Lodge for Masonry had been in response to an instinct he had in his mind vvhich dictated his conduct—that they ought at least in their progress through the Masonic life to be able to " make both ends meet . " It was a very simple social problem , but a

very dilhcult one to achieve . He vvas very pleased to know and to say that the Gallery Lodge had discovered that secret ; it had bcen at that secret for thc last three or four years ; that night they saw the happy results —thc happy elucidation of that particular pijblem : they had made both ends meet , and tbey stood now linancially in a better position than at any period in thc history of the lodge . He looked back vvith a good deal of interest on the

growth of the Benevolent tund of the lodge ; he looked at the Benevolent Fund in much the same light as a Chancellor of the Exchequer looked at the National Debt : it was the glory of the Gallery Lodge to have a good , substantial Benevolent Fund , as it was the salvation of the country to have a good , substantial National Debt . It vvas one of the most gratifying features in connection with the Gallery Lodge , from the time of its inception to the

present moment , to think that without swerving or hesitating at all , it had gone on loyally accumu l ating a Benevolent Fund until it stood at £ 120 , as a good asset of the lodge . With all their shallow linance was the phrase—paying live per cent , on borrowed money to pay tavern bills , when three times more than was wanted was owing by members —or borrowing £ 50 from the Benevolent Fund to help pay for a picnic , and then getting an over-dralt at the bank at

live per cent , interest to rehabilitate the depleted fund . He called that very shallow linance indeed , and that was the finance he meant . He was very glad they had seen the end of it . V'es , their Benevolent Fund was a thing the lodge had a right to be proud of . It had gone on growing , witn all their troubles and drawbacks j and in their hankering after economy every suggestion that their contribution to the fund should be less had been persistently avoided , and they had sought rather to curtail their luxuries in other

ways . By this method their drift to the leeward had been made up , their course righted and made clear , and their Benevolent Fund remained substantial and intact . It vvas a thing most sacred to the lodge . Th » y had ministered to it , they had fostered it and given money to it when they could ill afford it ; and he said it stood as a good record of thc loyalty and good feeling of the Gallery Lodge , that it should have such a good Benevolent Fund at its back , lie had helpel u little towards that consummation ; cvry

Craft Masonry.

brother of the lodge had done the same . The brethren had seen there vvas a policy at work in bringing matters to a more wholesome condition than they were in times gone by , not from any fault of the lodge , but from the fault of the circumstances on which lodges were built up . They were out of the wood ; they breathed freely , and saw the blue sl < y , as their friend Stanley saw the blue sea and blue sky out of the forest , and felt he breathed freely , he

was proud to say and to think that he had helpedwith others—to bring that result to a head . ¦ He then thanked the brethren for their kindness during hii year of ollice ; for the consideration they had shown him he could not say too much . He had done his best ; it had been done with one single object—to further the interests of the lodge ; and he was proud to lind by the brethien ' s appreciation that his endeavours to please-to use a

hackneyed phrase—had been crowned with success . He had been told by the VV . M . that it vvas his duty now to propose a toast , and it was one which was always welcome to the Gallery Lodge as it must be welcome to all lodges . 'They could not get on without an infusion of new blood ; he was a drop himself-a little drop—and he had now to submit to the brethren the toastof "The Initiate . " Bro . Lane was a good si / . ed drop , but he was , he believed , a

drop of good blood . Bro . Lane could look back on a record of 20 years' experience of journalistic work in the Metropolis . He ( Bro . Manning ; had known him 10 years ; other brethren had known him longer . He could safely say that a more genuine biend , a more kind-hearted man , or good natured acquaintance did not exist . Bro . Lane responded , and said he was very much struck vvith the beautiful ceremonial through which he had passed ,

as well as by the impressive manner in which vt was conducted by Bro . Manning . He was proud to become a member of the Order and of that lodge , and he hoped to be a worthy member of the Cralt . Bro . Peacock , P . M ., proposed "The Savage Club Lodge , " with which the Gallery Lodge was closely allied . Bro . Northcott , W . M . 2 iyo , responded , and said he had been told he would have a very pleasant eveningand it

, certainly had proved so , both as regards the work . ng , the hospitality , and the mu-ic . Bro . VV . T . Perkins , P . M ., Sec , in proposing "The Visitors , " said : the W . M . has honoured me by entrusting to my charge a toast wh'Ch , after that of his own health , is one of the most important toasts of the even . ng , for it is that of the visitors . During the 13 years of its existence the Gallery Lodge has received many distinguished visitors .

It has given welcome to the noble and learned lord who now adorns the woolsack ( Lord Herschell ); it has welcomed the noble lord who has rendered conspicuous service as one of the Ministerial whi ps in the Upper House ( L / rd Kensington ); it has equally welco-ned the present cniet whip of the Conservative party in the House of Commons ( Bro . Akers-Uuuglas ) , showing that Masonry recognises among her sons no distinction of party politics ; it has

welcomed a brilliant advocate in whom vve have special pride , inasmuch as we have seen him rise from the ranks of journalism to occupy one of tne highest legal positions in the State , that of her Majesty ' s Solicitor-General ( Sir Edward Clarke ) , and , finally , it hasjextended a wrdial welcome to two prominent American citizens who came to its doors as perfect strangers on the very day of their arrival in London . These and many other distinguished Masons have received

welcome within our walls , and to-night we are favoured vvith a memorable list of visitors , vvhich is so long that , at this late hour , I am reluctant even to read their names . It includes the entertainers vvho have contributed so much to the remarkable success achieved to-night . I doubt whether it lias ever been the fortune ot any Masonic lodge in England to count among its visitors such a galaxy of line musical talent as we have on this

occasion enjjyed . On behalf of the VV . M .. officers , and brethren , I beg to tender to our entertainers our profound thanks , and 1 trust that vve may see them all again . Brethren , I beg to associate with this toast the name of the last comer , Bro . Passmore Edwards , who , after taking his Second Degree to-night in the Cornish Lodge , has , with the W . M . and S . W . of that lodge , honoured us with a visit even at this late hour . I further couple with the toast the name of Bro . James Budd , on behalf of out musical visitors .

Bro . Passmore Edwards said that during a somewhat eventful career he had experienced many surprises , but no surprise had been so great as that which he felt when he heard his name mentioned in connection with this important toast by Bro . Perkins , the Secretary of the Gallery Lodge . He was honoured by such an unexpected compliment , he was delighted to enter such a trulMasonic

y and Bohemian assembly , and he hoped to have other opportunities of visiting the Gallery Lodge . Bro . James Budd vvas loudly cheered on rising to reply for " The Artists . " He briefly thanked the lodge for the acknowledgment made of their services , and said he hoped that this , his first , visit to the Gallery Lodge would not be the last .

" The P . Ms ., Treasurer , Sscretary , and O . Bcers" was the next toast , and the Tyler ' s toast closed tne proceedings . The following artistes contributed to the remarkable musical entertainment of the evening : —Bros . James Budd , Dilgety Henderson , Templer baxe , Arthur Weston , Keginald Groome , Herbert Grover J . StrugnellGeorge

Ridge-, , wel , Maurice t ' arkoa , Frank Undo ( cnaracler delineator ) , I' . Russell ( ventriloquist ) , E . Schuuerth ( violoncello ; , li . W . I . Spencer , the Veinon Lee part sin ^ cis ( Vernon Lee , alto ; William Fell , tenor ; Arthur Beckivitn , baritone ; Wingrove Ives , bass ; , with Bro . Edwin Bending as the able accompanist .

CONVERSAZIONI ; . —There vvas a large company at the fourth social gathering for Freemasons and their friends at the Masonic Hall , Princess-square , Plymouth , when a conversazione and dance were held . Songs were given by Bro . R . White , W . TI . Crimp , and J . Jacobs . At the dance Bro . E . II . Hedger officiated as M . C , assisted by Bros . H . J . Barter , and S . Horswili . Light retreshments

were supplied by Mrs . Harvey the able and genial stewardess of the club , and Mr . G . Miller directed a small orchestra , Mrs . C . Barter being at the piano . The whole thing was a thorough success and all spent a most enjoyable evening . The arrangements were admirably carried out by the Recreation Committee of vvhich Bro . VV . L . Lavers is Chairman . A smoker will be held next month , and a cluo bail about Valentine ' s Day .