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CONTENTS . L EADER- PAGE Attractive Lodge Meetings ... ... ... ... - 223 Masonic Jurisprudence ... ... ... ... — 223 Provincial Grand Lodge of West Yorkshire ... 22 4

I RELANDLaying the Foundation-Stone of a New Masonic Hall at Limawady ... 225 Provincial Grand Lodge of Shropshire ... ... ... - 226 Mark Masonry ¦•• - - - - . 220 Science . Art and the Drama ... ... ... ... - 22 7

M ASONIC N OTESMeeting of the Board of Stewards for Festival of the Royal Mascnic Institution for Girls ... ... ... ... ... — 229 Girls'School Election ... ... ... ••• 229 St . George ' s Day ... ... ... ... ••¦ ¦•• 229 Devon Masonic Educational Fund ... ... ... — 22 9

Correspondence ... ... ... ... ••• 230 Masonic Notes and Queries ... ... ... - — 230 Board of Benevolence ... ... ... ... ... — 230 Craft Masonry ... ... ... ... ¦•¦ 230 Royal Arch ... ... ... - ... ¦•• ••• 232 Obituary ... •¦; ... ¦•• ••• •¦• 232 Masonic and General Tidings ... ... ... ... •¦• 233

Attractive Lodge Meetings.

ATTRACTIVE LODGE MEETINGS .

Many and valuable arc the suggestions which have been thrown out from time to time by the Grand Masters of American Grand Lodges in their annual addresses , in the columns of our American contemporaries , and elsewhere with a view to

making Lodge meetings more attractive . It is held that where the lodge work is almost invariably restricted to the initiation , passing , and raising of candidates , with , once a year , the

installation of a new W . Master , and the subsequent investiture of his officers , the constant repetition of the same ceremonies must in time become irksome , and if the members

are not as regular in their attendance as in duty they are expected to be , that it is not necessary they should go very far afield for an excuse . Hence in the United States , where , as a rule , the members of a lodge

meet on the stated evenings and separate when the work is done , it has of late been not unfrequently urged by Masons of experience that on these occasions the brethren should make themselves acquainted with what is here known as the " fourth degree ; " or in cases where there are but few facilities for such

an arrangement , that the monotony of the work in lodge should as often as possible be relieved by the delivery of an address or lecture , either in elucidation of our ceremonies or of the history of Freemasonry . In lodges under the English jurisdiction the

fourth degree " is already a recognised item in the evening ' s programme , but every now and then it happens that there is no ceremonial work to be done , and on such occasions a short address or lecture ol" the character we have indicated

would not be unwelcome . At all events the experiment has been made and lectures of a most interesting and instructive kind have been delivered by such able Masons as Bros . VV . J . HUGHAN , R . F . GOULD , G . W . SPILTH ,

H . SADLER , . and others in many of our lodges , which have always been appreciated . This example has been followed b y brethren of lesser note , not always , perhaps , successfully , but with such an evident desire to enlighten their hearers , that

'io one has the heart to criticise their efforts in an unkindly spirit , much less in anything approaching to severity . Vet it seems desirable to remind brethren who may be desirous of adopting this mode of enlightening their fellow members , that the present

Attractive Lodge Meetings.

facilities for obtaining an insight into the history of our Society are great in comparison with what they formerly were . Thanks to the untiring and successful labours of the distinguished brethren we have mentioned , of the late Bros , the Rev . A . F . A . WOODFORD

and J LANE , and of others , it has become possible to trace the progress of English Masonry in all matters essential since the establishment of our Grand Lodge in 1717 . We may not , as yet , be able to determine how many Degrees were

worked in the early days of our Grand Lodge , or what were the causes that led to the schism in English Masonry which broke out about the middle of the iSth century . But it is not difficult to distinguish what is merely legendary in our history from what

is fairly capable of demonstration . Hence we strongly advise brethren who may think of delivering an historical address at a lodge meeting to consult the works of the brethren we have named , with a view to their becoming better acquainted with Masonic

history as it is now set forth in those works rather than as it was in the pages of those who wrote a generation or two ago , when the spirit of historical inquiry was not so rife amongst us and had not produced such splendid results as have now been ascertained . Had the author of the lecture which was

delivered at the recent 500 th meeting of the Royal Alfred Lodge , No . 8 77 , Jersey , and which appeared in our columns last week , adopted this course , we feel sure his early effort as a lecturer on Masonic history would have proved more successful .

Masonic Jurisprudence.

MASONIC JURISPRUDENCE .

II . —THE GRAND LODGE { Continued ) .. [ COMMUNICATED . ] Besides the Board of General Purposes , there existed until 1895 , a Colonial Board , nominated and elected in the same manner . The two Boards exercised concurrent powers , each

making its reports directly to Grand Lodge . In . March , 18 95 , the President B . G . P . moved , in Grand Lodge , that his Board be requested to consider the question of unif ying the two Boards and restoring the condition of things that existed up to 18 56 , when the Colonial Board was formed . This was agreed to , and

in June certain proposals were brought up , but it was felt that Colonial opinion ought to be elicited on the proposed change , and the question was accordingly deferred till December . In December it was stated that nearly 550 communications had been sent out to the Colonies , but only five replies had been

received . It was then decided that the Board of General Purposes should appoint from among its members , a committee of seven , to consider all Indian , Colonial , and Foreign matters ; this committee to consist , as far as could be , of W . Ms . or P . Ms , of Colonial , Indian , or Foreign lodges , working under the

English Constitution . Other changes were made in the Book of Constitutions in order to keep them in line with the new proposal . The question of Colonial representation on the committee was discussed at length , but nothing was done towards

solving the difficulty that would arise if no Colonial , Indian , or Foreign worshipful brother were to be elected or appointed on the Boaid , as in such a case the committee would be composed entirely of brethren without the requisite experience .

In March , 18 97 , some very important additions were proposed to be made to the Book of Constitutions regarding the procedure to be adopted when brethren in forei gn parts desired to form themselves into a Sovereign Grand Lodge . After reference to a small sub-committee , these were passed at the

next communication . Previous •¦ to the adoption of these rules there was no law on