Bro. Sir Charles Warren.

In proposing " The Health of General Warren , " the Chairman , Bro . ] . P . J OAQUIM , said it was a unique position in the annals of Freemasonry in the Eastern Archipelago for a chairman of a banquet to be supported by such distinguished brethren as H . E . the Governor and H . E . the General Officer Commanding the Troops . The toast of the health of the latter

needed little commendation . Sir Charles Warren ' s military career could only be described as a brilliant one . Joining the Royal Engineers in 1857 , after being stationed in Gibraltar for a short time only , he was selected to conduct researches in Palestine and explorations at Jerusalem , a work which had been a credit to himself , a benefit to the world , and of the

greatest advantage to Freemasonry . He had since been on active service in many parts of the world , notably in South Africa , where his exploits had gained him high distinction . He was also Chief Commissioner of the Police at London , a position he gave up to the advantage of the Straits , for he found them here in ah insecure state and would leave them in one

of efficiency . As a scholar their R . W . D . G . M . was no less distinguished , being a F . R . S . His Masonic career was , however , particularly interesting to them . He first saw the light of Freemasonry in i 860 in Lodge Friendship , No . 345 , Gibraltar , and thus commenced a 34 years' active connection with the Craft . The Palestine explorations were of the utmost interest to

Freemasons ; and Sir Charles Warren held in the quarries at Jerusalem the first lodge of instruction , probably since the time of King Solomon . In 1876 he founded and became the first W . M . of Lodge " Quatuor Coronati , " whose researches had been so widel y appreciated throughout the world . The same activity had been shown by him in connection with the Eastern

Archipelago ; he had always attended to matters himself ; and owing to his exertions the Craft had prospered greatly . The Borneo Lodge was an instance , and the holding cf the D . G . L . in Penang was another , bringing the brethren into peace and harmony . They would join him in regretting his approaching departure and wish their R . W . brother a

long life to do service honourably for the Queen , and faithfully to the Craft . Bro . Sir CHARLES WARREN , in reply , said he wished he could thank them as he ought to do , and express to them the sentiments he felt on that occasion . Thit was quite impossible . Whe he came to Singapore he felt himself to be a bird of passage , as many of them

no doubt had felt themselves to be . Somehow or other , after a period of five years , he had become so welded and blended in the Straits Settlements that he felt as if he belonged to the place . He felt considerable emotion in leaving ; and , touching the sympathy which had been expressed towards him on that occasion , he assured them he could not express his feelings towards

them . One point particularl y in the address had touched him and that was , whatever might have been said about his administration nothing had affected him so much as that they could look upon him as a brother and a friend . It was pleasing to think that , amongst Masons , one should be looked up to as a friend in every respect . They knew that - ' one touch of nature

makes the whole world kin "; and when it was felt that one could be looked upon as a friend , as a Mason was , that was all one wanted . One particular point of Masonry was to bring people together ; and one of its grand points was that men were not classified . When Masons were brought together they were brought together on the - 'level , " and became

friends ; and when they parted on the " square " they never forgot that meeting on the " level . " There were two or three other grand points in Freemasonry which he hoped would never be forgotten . He considered that Freemasonry , as it was established , was one of the safeguards of their State . Masonry was a ' ways a safeguard of law and order . Therefore Masonry should

always be regarded with a kindly feeling by their governing bodies—as it was now . Their Royal families , the highest in the land , always supported Freemasonry because they knew it to be an eminent factor in favour of law and order in the country . In England in the same way the clerical bodies knew of the value of Masonry . They knew that every Mason

believed in a Supreme Being to whom the Mason looked up . There was another point in connection with Freemasonry ; although Freemasonry was so absolutel y democratic or socialistic , it was also most aristocratic because every Mason knew he had the privik-ge of meeting brethren on the " level , " and then came me parting on the " square" and the resumption of the

Position he kept in lite . Although all that could be » i ' had been said aD ° the progress and position of Masonry in the Peninsula he felt it would be out of Place if he were not to mention the great cordiality ' ' ' ng among the Masons here ; and , wherever he "adbtenin the Peninsula , there , was but one feeling among Masons—that of working entirely in unison

and of progressing at the same time . It was of very R'eat importance that they had with them that evening * uch a distinguished guest as the Governor of tho tra , ts Settlements . He felt that the Governor could «> nie there knowing that Masons never took advantage 1 their positions . Masons with Masons had their rules . during the whole IS vears in which hp ( Sir fharlee

• Varren ) had been a Mason , he said he never once ad occasion to regret his being a Mason with gard to relative positions with other Masons . e had learned to form friendships in every ^ ss m society ; and he assure d them that his ¥ experience in Masonry had had a veiy fasf C c ? ' " pon him lIurin K his career . Some of the u "g friendshi ps of his life had been amongst men

Bro. Sir Charles Warren.

and Masons in all classes of life . Some of his happies recollections in leaving Singapore would be in connection with Freemasonry , and lodges here . They would also recollect that they were all birds of passage , were going home and would meet again ; and he hoped when meeting again they would meet on terms of even stronger friendships . He praised the work of his

officers in Masonry . His ( the speakers ) method was to bustle about and try and do a thing when he found it was not being done . But finding a thing being done properly he did not take any notice but allowed it to go on . He eulogised the work done by the District Grand

Lodge ; and he added that the progress of Masonry in the Peninsula was entirely due to the cordial co-operation he had always received from everybody connected with Freemasonry in the place . He would go away feeling that there was nothing like Freemasonry for cementing friendships .

Our Portrait Gallery Of Worshipful Masters.

Our Portrait Gallery of Worshipful Masters .

BRO . ; R . S . *„ TAYLOR ] was initiated into Freemasonry in the Mozart Lodge on the 6 th of March , 1886 , by the late Bro . Wm . Aynsley , his sponsors being Bro . Fredk . Flood ( now I . P . M . and Sec . ) and Bro . Hedley Carus . He is a Life Governor of the R . M . B . L for Aged Freemasons . Springing as he does from an old Masonic family , our

brother could not but be deeply interested in Freemasonry . Almost from the very first he was attracted to the minuti .-e of the lodge management , and he has rendered most valuable assistance in that direction . The clearness of his mental vision and his strength of purpose have been abundantly manifested during his rapid progress through the offices , while his aim ,

always most clearly expressed , has been to establish his mother lodge upon a sound financial basis . He is also strongly of opinion that the Order would be benefited by a more rigid application of the rules affecting admission . Now that Bro . Taylor holds the

reins , the Mozart Lodge is to be congratulated upon the accession of a Master who unites in a remarkable degree the sttaviter in modo with the fortiter in re Under his vigorous rule the lodge cannot but flourish . A report ot the proceedings of Bro . Taylor ' s installation appears in another column .

Monument To Generals Wolfe And Montcalm.

MONUMENT TO GENERALS WOLFE AND MONTCALM .

The following account of the laying of the foundation stone of a monument to Generals Wolfe and Montcalm with Masonic ceremony is from the Edinburgh Weekly ' Journal , of 13 th February , 1828 :

" By the Quebec Mercury , a copy of which has just been handed us , we find that the foundation-stone of a monument to the rival heroes of Quebec was laid in presence of his Excellency the Governor in Chief , of the Countess of Dalhousie , and a large party of fashionables , on the 15 th November last . The fund

for this purpose had been raised by public subscription , in which his Excellency took the lead . At the commencement of this interesting ceremony of laying the stone , his Grace delivered the following address : ' Gentlemen of the Committee , we are assembled

upon an occasion most interesting to this country , if possible more so to this city . We are met to lay the foundation of a column in honour of two illustrious men , whose deeds and whose fall have immortalised their names and placed Quebec in the rank of cities

famous in the history of the world . ' The Rev . Dr . MILLS , Chaplain to the Forces , then offered up a prayer , after which the preliminary Masonic ceremonies tollowed , and the subsequent proceedings derived peculiar interest from th

Monument To Generals Wolfe And Montcalm.

presence of Mr . James Thompson , one of the few survivors ( supposed to be the only man in Canada ) of that gallant army which served under Wolfe on the memorable 13 th September , 1759 . This venerable Mason , in the 95 th year of his age , walked with the party which accompanied the Earl , and stood near his lordship , leaning on the arm of Captain Young of the 79 th Highlanders , the officer

whose pencil produced the chaste and appropriate design which has been adopted for the monument . His lordship called upon the patriarch to assist in the ceremony in these words -. ' Mr . Thompson , we honour you here as the companion in arms , and a venerable living witness of the fall of Wolfe , do us also the favour to bear witness on this occasion by the mallet in your hand '

Mr . Thomson then with a firm hand gave the three mystic strokes with the mallet on the stone . An appropriate prayer Was then pronounced by Dr . Harkness , the Provincial Grand Chaplain . The ceremony closed with a feu de Joi from the troops under the command of Colonel Nicol , and the band playing the King ' s Anthem . ' '

The Almighty Force And The Importance Of Truth.

THE ALMIGHTY FORCE AND THE IMPORTANCE OF TRUTH .

As a student of the traditional lore of Freemasonry , I often find myself asking the question ( though , I trust , in a different spirit ) , which Pilate asked of the Master , " What is Truth ? "

Referring to the Deity , we are told that " His Word is Truth , " and that " By the Word of the Lord were the heavens made . " In this light truth appears to me to be the formal manifestation , in active , creative efficiency , of love . For " God is love . " This is His inmost essence ; infinite , unselfish love , which can only find gratification in the communication of its own

blesset ' ness to others . This is the mainspring j of creation—the heart-life of the Great Architect of the Universe . The love which God in , is the Father , from which is eternally begotten His infinite Wisdom , by which He creates and sustains the stupendous forms in the descending series of Being , from the highest heavens

to the bed rock . All things which exist are , therefore , finite forms , which are moulded and infilled with life , through the truth , and each individual atom , in . its place and degree , is the manifestation or expression of the Divine truth acting from and revealing the Divine love . Therefore , " the invisible things of God are clearly

seen in the things that are made . " Hence the study of nature is one of the methods by which we may confirm the teachings of Revelation . If God has created man into . His own image and likeness ; has given to him the power of loving , and of developing and establishing his love in forms of truth ( which are the works of finite hands ) , in imitation of the infinite , surely it is

reasonable to suppose that such love in the Creator would not leave the wants of such a creature unprovided for . God must , therefore , have revealed something of the characteristics of His own nature to man , and have foreshadowed to man the destiny which awaits him . And here is where the wonderful teachings of

Masonic tradition till us with profoundest awe and gratitude . They show us that such instruction has been given ; they show us how , in the exercise of his human volition , man has at times abused and perverted his privileges and opportunities ; they tell us how the fair temple of innocence and purity , built up within the soul of man ( in which the spirit of God was

the ever-present Shekinah ) , has been overthrown and laid waste , and the holy affections of the heart carried away into captivity and made to do the work of slaves , while the cruel lusts of the flesh and the infernal love of self have ruled over them . They teach us how , in the fullness of time ( at the end of the symbolical " seventy years" ) , the Truth has come to secure their

release from captivity , the restoration of the exiles and the re-edification of the living temple . And all this is so fully and variously and wonderfully wrought out in the minutest detail , with so much of symbolic instruction , that we cannot help but be moved with love and gratitude towards Him who has revealed to us His great and holy Name , with all its ineffable

power and glory . In some form or other , the " secret art and mystery " of the Word has been taught through all the ages , and it is because of this underlying and inherent burden of Divine signification and value that these mysteries have such persistence among men . Many thousands there are , no doubt , who come to study these mysteries

who never get beyond the outer veil of the tabernacle in their hearts . He only who has a love lor the truth , which is the form and expression of the goodness which is of God , will succeed in finding his way into the Sanctum Sanctorum , and really learn how to pronounce the true and ineffable Name of the I Am . While wo give all praise to the faithfuljworkers among the Craft , who strive to hand down the " ancient work , "

unchanged in its external form , we would also urge the still greater importance of each member of the Craft being raised , in his heart , to a love of the Truth , as well as in his understanding , to a perception , of its beauty , so that by a union of the love with the wisdom , the almighty force and the importance of Truth may be " established in strength " in the deeds of his life . - Francis II , Hemfierley in the Keystone .