Reports Of Masonic Meetings.

should know that they are not allowed to be worn in the Craft . In conclusion , after carefully considering the Book of Constitutions , the Royal Arch Regulations , and the points raised by your several correspondents , I have no doubt that the Officers of Grand and Provincial

Grand Chapters are justified , and in fact , that it is absolutely necessary for them to wear the tricolour collars to carry the jewels of office they have been honoured and entrusted with , and which they are entitled to wear in lodges and chapters , should they desire so to do .

' Thanking you , Bro . Editor , for your courtesy , —I am , yours fraternally , January 12 . P . P . G . J .

Reviews

REVIEWS

IRISH FREEMASONS' CALENDAR AND DIRECTORY FOR A . D . 1891 . Published under the sanction of the R . W . the Grand Lodge of Ireland . Dublin -. Printed by Underwood for the Grand Lodge of Ireland .

This useful book of reference will be found to contain all needful information as to the Grand Lodge of Ireland , its Grand Officers and Committees , and its roll of lodges , as well as their distribution into provinces ; the Grand Chapter , the Order of . the Temple , the Grand Chapter of Prince Masons , and the Supreme

Council of the Ancient and Accepted Rite , and it is evident the greatest care , has been taken in its compilation , so that the information thus furnished maybe accepted as trustworthy . Then follow brief particulars relating to the Grand Lodges of England , Scotland , and other countries , as well as to the Masonic Orphan

Schools in Dublin , in whose welfare our Irish brethren take so deep and abiding an interest . Lastly , there is a roll of the Grand Masters of Ireland . It should be added that the Calendar is well and clearl y printed and neatly bound , and to us and others like us , who have such frequent occasion for referring to its pages and those of similar compilations , it is invaluable .

Masonic Notes And Queries.

Masonic Notes and Queries .

927 ] COPY OF THE " OLD CHARGES , " 1687 .

As announced in the Freemason of to-day ( ioth January , 1 S 91 ) , my friend , William Watson , has become the fortunate purchaser of the old parchment roll of the year 168 7 , as first noted b y me in the Freemason for the 13 th December , 1890 . Bro . Watson has consented to its becoming the property of the West

Yorkshire Library , and hence the esteemed Provincial Grand Master ( the R . W . Bro . Thomas W . Tew , J . P . ) has signified his desire to me that the document shall be called "The William Watson MS ., " as a welldeserved compliment to the Honorary Librarian . The roll itself is now in my hands for transcription

and description , and I hope will be ready for publication in a week or two . Meanwhile , I may state that the text is a most valuable one , and differs materially from every other roll of the seventeenth century . Some 600 and more lines of the celebrated " Cooke MS . " are almost exactly reproduced in the " William Watson MS ., " but the latter portion of the roll of

A . D . 1687 partakes in some respects of the " Dauntesy " MS ., and so I propose to number it 24 A , according to Bro . Gould ' s numeration in his invaluable commentary to tbe " Regius" MS . ( Vol . 1 " Masonic Reprints , " Lodge No . 2076 ) . Permit me to add my

congratulations to those of the editor of the Freemason in the accession of such an important version of the " Old Charges" to the West Yorkshire Library . W . J . HUGHAN .

Reports Of Masonic Meetings.

REPORTS OF MASONIC MEETINGS .

dratt flDasonry .

METROPOLITAN MEETINGS . Albion Lodge ( No . 9 ) . —The installation meeting ol this old lodge was held at Freemasons' Hall , on 1 uesday , the Oth inst ., when as there was also a considerable amount of other business to be got through , the lodge was opened by the W . M ., Bro . Waller . After the

readinoand confirmation of the minutes of the proceedings at the previous lodge meeting , the Auditors' report was received and adopted , and other administrative matters disposed of . The ballot was then taken for the admission as a joining member of Bro . Chas . F . Treble , and for Messrs . Howard Kent and Edwin Brydges as candidates for initiation , and was found to be in their favour . Bro . Walter Kettle was then

raised to the Sublime Degree of a Master Mason , and thereafter Mr . William Brydges , being in attendance , was initiated into the secrets and mysteries of the First Degree . The lodge was called off for refreshment , and adiourneri tn

the Gavel Room , where tea and coffee were served . In about half an hour the lodge was called on again , when after the usual preliminaries the W . M . vacated the chair in favour of Bro . S . Vallentine , P . M ., P . Z ., A . G . P ., the recognised Installing Master of the lodge , and Bro . Ernest Augustus

Reports Of Masonic Meetings.

Hamblyn ( late S . W . ) , was presented by Bro . Willey , P . M ., D . C , as the W . M . elect to receive at the hands of Bro . Vallentine the benefits of installation . Bro . Vallentine thereupon proceeded to address the lodge upon the Masonic custom in regard to the succession of the occupants of the chair , and the W . M . elect upon the obligations attaching to the office , and Bro . Hamblyn having then given his assent to

the ancient charges as recited by the Secretary , Bro . Harvey , was duly obligated as W . M . elect . All but Installed Masters then retired from the lodge room , and these being formed into a Board of Installed Masters , Bro . Valler-tine , in their presence and in a highly impressive manner , performed the customary ceremony with which a Master is inducted into the chair of K . S . The

new W . M . was then saluted and congratulated by the members of the Board . The officers for the ensuing year were then invested by Bro . Hamblyn as follows : Bros . E . Waller , I . P . M .. A . G . Pritchard , S . W .: C . Sucker , I . W . ; H . S . Friend , P . M ., Treas . ; L . W . Harvey , P . M ., Sec . ; VV . Willey , P . M ., D . C . j H . Kettle , S . D . j VV . Drew , CD . ; E . Russell Beardmore , I . G . ; A . Izard ,

Org . ; S . U . Thompson , P . M ., Steward ; and James Rawles , Tyler . The ceremony was concluded by Bro . Vallentine delivering the customary addresses to the Master , Wardens , and Fellows , concluding with the oration upon the nature and principles of Freemasonry . Bro . Hamblyn then presented Bro . Waller with a Past Master ' s jewel , after which the lodge was closed , and the brethren adjourned

to the banquet room , where they did ample justice to an excellent dinner , to which between 50 and 60 sat down . At the conclusion of the dinner the customary loyal and Masonic toast list was proceeded with . After the toasts of "The Queen and the Craft" and "The M . W . G . M ., H . R . H . the Prince of Wales , " had been honoured with true Masonic enthusiasm ,

The Worshipful Master proceeded to propose " The Health of the D . G . M ., the Earl of Lathom , and the rest of the Grand Officers , Present and Past , " and as the Albion Lodge possessed a Grand Officer of its own in Bro . Vallentine , A . G . P ., he called on that brother to respond , in doing which Bro . Vallentine said that he was so young in office as a Grand Officer that the brethren must not expect him

to say much about that grand body to which he had now the honcur to belong . AU that he could venture to say was that the Grand Officers were among the most serviceable members of the Craft . In heathen mythology there were superior and inferior deities . He was one of the inferior deities of Grand Lodge , notwithstanding which he was very proud of his office . When he was at the big function at

Reading a while since , and saw representatives of the Army and Navy , and the noble and the mighty assembled round the Grand Master , the question arose in his mind—How were all these men , who had no ordinary interest in Freemasony , congregated together to meet the Grand Master . He had found an answer to that question in a quotation from Geraiut aud Enid , which that night he found upon

the toast list : "Grateful is the noise of noble deeds to noble hearts , " for on that occasion he saw the Prince engaged in the noble deed of installing his son into the chair of K . S ., even as he ( Bro . Vallentine ) had installed the VV . M . that day . Bro . Waller , I . P . M ., then rose and said he had much

pleasure in proposing the toast , which was in every way the toast of the evening , "The Health of the W . M ., Bro . Hamblyn . " ( Applause . ) That applause accorded well with one of the quotations which stood under that toast upon the list : "A general welcome salutes you . " ( More applause . ) The second quotation under the toast was eminently appropriate to their VV . M .:

" Worthy man 1 He cannot but with measure Fit the honours which we devise him . " The brethren knew that he ( Bro . Waller ) was not a fluent speaker , but that quotation was so apt that it expressed all that he would be able to say if he were to speak for a week in honour of their W . M . Bro . Hamblyn had passed through all the offices in the lodge before arriving at the chair , and

there was _ no ground for doubt that he would fulfil the duties of his new office with honour to himself and credit to the lodge . Bro . Hamblyn , who on rising was received with a lon <* --round of applause , said that he felt deeply the few words which the I . P . M . had spoken . He thanked them all most heartily for having proved to him practically that a general

welcome awaited him . That quotation contained more sentiment than could have been expressed if the speaker had spoken for a week . The welcome that had greeted him upon rising was so spontaneous that he could not do otherwise than feel it greatly . That was not the first occasion , he had felt that the kindness of the brethren had been extended * to him ever since his appearance there as an

entered apprentice . Proud as he felt of the welcome he had received , he thought he ought to say that one of the most powerful impressions made upon him was when he attended the Board of Installed Masters in November last ; it was not until then that he realised the solemnity of the obligations he wits expected to assume upon taking office . He would add that he had not sought distinction , nor looked

for popularity ; but from the time when he was initiated he had just worked gradually forward from the office of I . G . Modesty forbade his appropriating the second quotation attached to that toast on the programme ; but he could assure them that it would be his endeavour to be the worthy man they believed him to be , fit to bear the honours they had devised him . Bro . Hamblyn then proceeded to say that in proposing the next toast he felt the obligations

attaching to the honours they had devised him . What young Mason would not feel the task somewhat beyond him of proposing the health of their Installing Master ? Ihe simple truth was told in the quotation attached to the toast , " We needs must love the highest when we see it . " Bro . Harvey could not have found a quotation more appropriate to that grand old Mason who had that day installed

him . They had dear old friends in Bros . Friend , P . M ., Willey , P . M ., Harvey , P . M ., Holroyd , P . M ., and many others j but he was sure that there was no brother that occupied the same position in their hearts as that held by their dear old friend , Bro . Vallentine , P . M . He felt that it would be out of place in him to eulogise a man who had been a Mason nearly double as many years as he ( Bro . Hamblyn )

had lived ; it would be like holding out a Iucifer-match to an electric light , or a glowworm seeking to add brilliancy to the moon . He would only , therefore , apply that quotation to Bro . Vallentine , and ask the brethren to join him in wishing health and long life to Bro . Vallentine , P . M ., the Installing Master .

Reports Of Masonic Meetings.

Bro . Valentine , in responding , said it was true he was a very old Mason , and was proud to believe that during the long years he had passed in Masonry he had endeavoured to do his duty to the Craft . The might of installation was an occasion of great pleasure ; it awoke in him recollections of some of the giants of Masonry which the Albion Lodge had possessed . It recalled times when it was most

unusual for a lodge to have an Installing Master . Those were times when a brother who , perhaps , had not been successful on the rugged way of life would eke out a scant y income by attending lodges for the purpose of installing the Master . Times had altered , and he was quite aware that there were a number of brethren in the Albion Lodge who could take his place at any moment , and

that was true of many other lodges also ; but he questioned whether , with all that proficiency , they had the same number of earnest Masons as they had in former days . Thanking the brethren for their good wishes , Bro . Vallentine then proceeded to propose "The Health of the Initiate , Bro . Brydges , " in doing which he urged him to persevere steadily , and mentioned the fact that after his

own initiation he was associated with Masons whose notions of Masonry did not square with his own , and he decided to proceed no further . An old friend , however , had persuaded him to persevere , and he had taken that friend's advice , and after many years of useful work , had now been rewarded with Grand Office . The Initiate having replied , "The Health of the Past

Masters" was proposed by Bro . Sucker , J . W ., and was replied to by Bro . Waller , I . P . M ., and Bro . Willey , P . M . " The Health of the Visitors " was proposed by the W . M ., and responded to by Bros . Woolmer-Williams , P . M . 1275 j Baron de Bush , W . M . 1827 ; and Harry Marks , P . M . ' 349 ^ " The Health of the Treasurer and Secretary " was

replied to by Bros . Friend and Harvey , after which the toast of "The Officers of the Lodge" was duly honoured and acknowledged , and then the proceedings of a very pleasant evening were brought to a close by the Tyler ' s toast . The following brethren were among the visitors present : Bros . T . P . Bullen , 254 ; R . Rulli-Johnston , P . M . 1777 j R . W . Forge , P . M . 1793 j S . Birkin , 1599 ; W . Druyff , 65 ; D . Annan , I . G . 1 S 04 ; J . G . Tongue , P . M . 534 ; R .

Gilles , D . C . 2242 ; J . Vogleman , P . M . 6 _ 7 ; Nelson Prower , J . W . 1745 , * C . Woolmer-Williams , P . M . 1275 j F . VV . Izard , 1617 j F . J . Eedle , P . M . 1441 ; C . J : Page , 109 ; H . T . Marks , P . M . 1349 ; O . Newman , 901 j F . B . Smith , 1743 j R . R . Green , VV . M . 1 S 04 J E . Isaacson , iSS j C . M . Simpson , 1056 ; Baron de Bush , W . M . 1827 j H . T . Birkbeck , 534 j J . VVilliams Cook , 1572 j J . W . Marsell , 156 3 j and F . Hurdle , 54 S .

DomatlC Lodge ( No . 177 ) . —PRESENTATION TO BRO . W . J . FERGUSON , P . M . —This * centenary lodge held its installation meeting on the gth instant at Anderton ' s Hotel , when Bro . Nathan Salmon , W . M ., presided , supported by a very full lodge , in which a large number of its Past Masters were ranged . There was no work before the brethren but the installation , and Bro .

Salmon , after the minutes had been disposed of , installed Bro . Thomas Bradley Goodfellow , P . M ., S . W . and W . M . elect , as Master of the lodge . Bro . Salmon was invested as I . P . M . ; Bros . E . A . G . Smith , S . W . j A . Piper , J . W . j George Everett , P . M ., Treas . j Thomas Morris , Sec . j John Barnett , jun ., W . M . 2192 , S . D . j W . E . Wigmore , J . D . j George Gardner , P . M ., I . G . j Carl Riechelmann , Org . ; T . H . Hobbs , D . C ; James Stephens , P . M .,

A . D . C . j T . M . Morris , Stwd . j and A . Walkley , P . M ., Tyler . A Past Master's jewel was presented to the outgoing Master . Bro . George Everett then introduced the great feature in the evening ' s meeting , viz ., the presentation of a beautiful chiming clock , of the value of 25 guineas , to Bro .

Ferguson , P . M . Bro . Everett said that for the last 25 years it had been their happiness and good fortune to have had associated with them in the management of the lodge a most genial soul , a good man , and an able and earnest Freemason j a brother who , by his uniform kindness and unassuming manners , had endeared himself to everyone of its members .

The worthy brother to whom he alluded was their valued friend , Bro . W . J . Ferguson , P . M ., familiarly known by those who were his intimate associates as " Fergy , " and occasionally with a prefix , such as " Good Old Fergy , " " Dear Old Fergy , " and such like . Bro . Ferguson filled the chair in that lodge 19 years ago , and from that time until the present he had been one of its most useful and

popular members j in fact , he had been a sort of standing" council to the lodge , for whenever a difficulty arose it was always , " Ask Fergy , " and his advice was generall y followed . For many years he had regularly attended at the opening of the lodge , and was always prepared to fill any office that might be vacant . Certain of the brethren thought , with himself , that the time had arrived when they

should recognise in some way the many sterling qualities of their friend by presenting him with a testimonial . The movement when set on foot was , as was to be expected , readily and heartily responded to , and the result was the handsome clock now before them . It bore the following inscription : " Presented to Bro . W . J . Ferguson , P . M ., by the members of the Domatie Lodge , No . 177 , as a mark of

esteem , and in recognition of the many kindly services rendered to the lodge in his capacity of Past Master since 1 S 72 . January gth , 1 S 91 . " The honour of making the presentation had been deputed to him , and he assured them it was one of the most pleasing duties that had ever fallen to his lot . The token was one worthy to be handed down to Bro . Ferguson ' s descendants , and one that his

children s children might point at with pride , and say , this was " my Grandfather ' s clock . " He had now on behalf of the subscribers to beg Bro . Ferguson ' s acceptance of this small mark of their esteem and regard , and he trusted he might be spared for many years to hear its pleasing chimes , and as he listened to its ticking he hoped it would remind him of the many hearts that beat in unison with his own on the gth of January , 1 S 91 .

Bro . f erguson , who was very much affected , thanked the brethren for their presentation , and hoped it would be appreciated by his descendants as much as it was by himself . After the lodge was closed , an excellent banquet was partaken of , and the toasts were proposed . The VVorshipful Master proposed the usual opening toasts of " The Queen and the Craft , " " The Most Worshipful Grand , Master , " and "The Deputy . Grand Master