Ad00506

SECOND-HAND CRAFT FURNITURE . —Any London Lodge having any to dispose of , in good condition , send particulars to C . M ., Freemason Office , 16 and I 6 A , Great Queen-street , W . C .

Ad00510

LARG E MASONIC STEEL ENGRAVING ( King . Solomon and the IronWorker ); very scarce ; 41 by-321 ns . ; massive walnut frame ; price £ 4 4 s . —Address , WILLIAMS , 12 , Green-terrace , Islington ( after 7 p . m . )

Ad00509

FREEHOLD BUILDING LAND FOR SALE . Splendid Sites . — Leigh-on-Sea , Southend , and Herne Bay Land Co ., 92 , London Wall , E . C .

Ad00508

T ? REEMASONtS HYMN . —THE " . MYSTIC TIE . Words and Music composed by F . J . STEIN . Price is . 6 d . nett ; landon : GKORGF KENNING , 16 & I 6 A , Gt . Queen-st .

Ad00507

E ; A & TRIDGE & COOPER , "THE" STATIONERS , 191 & 192 , FLEET STREET , LONDON , . Would invite attention to their LARGE AND WELL - SELECTED STOCK OF GENERAL & FANCY STATIONERY , Suitable for . presents , such , as Inkstands , Stationery , Cabinets , Ladies' and Gentlemen ' s Dressing Bags , Travelling and Brief Bags , & c , all of which are enumerated in their New Illustrated Catalogue , sent free on application .

To Correspondents.

To Correspondents .

OUR PORTRAIT GALLERY OF WORSHIPFUL MASTERS . In future numbers of the Freemason we purpose giving a series of portraits of Worshipful Masters who have been recently installed . Recognising the fact that no greater honour can be bestowed on a brother than to be elected the Master of his lodge , we

desire to do our part towards creating a permanent record of such event in his Masonic history by placing his portrait-before our readers . We shall be pleased to furnish Secretaries of lodges and others who may take an interest in our project whatever information may be desired ' as to our proposed method oi procedure .

Ar00511

Mp^Sa^H ^^ ^^^^^ i' ^ v ^^ ^^ j ^ m SATURDAY , SEPTEMBER 23 , 1893 .

Masonic Notes.

Masonic Notes .

On Wednesday next , the 27 th inst ., what will undoubtedly be one of the most important , and may well be ' the most brilliant Masonic gathering of the year vvilltake pla . ce at Leeds . On that day Bro . the Right Hon . W . L . Jackson , M . P ., of Northallerton Hall , Prov . G . Master nominate of West Yorkshire , will be

installed in office , the ceremony being performed by Bro . the Right Hon . the Earl of Lathom , Pro G . M . There is every reason to believe that the attendance of Grand Officers as well as of brethren from London and the other Provinces wilt be very large , and there , is no

doubt whatever that our West Yorkshire brethren will use every effort in order to ensure that , as regards their own contingent of the English Craft , the meeting shall be worthy , both of so important an occasion and so influential- a Province .

* * * Next week , indeed , will be an exceedingly busy one in country Masonry . Not only will there be the gathering at Leeds we have just referred to ; but on Tuesday the Provincial Grand Lodge of Durham will hold its annual meeting at Bishop Auckland under the banner

of the . Wear Valley Lodge , No . 1121 , while on Wednesday the Provincial Grand Lodge of Warwickshire is summoned to meet at Coleshill under the banner of the Machen Lodge , No . 17 S 2 , It is unfortunate that the West Yorkshire and Warwickshire meets should clash . They are both inlluential Provinces and the

distance between the two is not so great but that many would gladly exchange visits if such exchanges were Possible . However , this cannot be during the present year , and all the two Provinces can do is lo wish each other a successful meeting and that , wc arc assured , w 'll be done in both cases right heartily .

* We are pleased to be able to accord a place in our correspondence columns to a letter with which Bro . " •P . Lamonby has favoured us ; but we fail to see how an y advantage will be gained by discussing what after a 'l are mere details , and so prolonging a controversy * hich can have no result . If a mistake has been made

Masonic Notes.

in not calling for the returns vvhich formed the subject of Bro . Laiiionby's motion in Grand Lodge on thc 6 th instant at the proper time , that is , when the several Australasian Grand Lodges vvere recognised by our Grand Lodge , it is manifestly too late to ask for them now that the dissolved District Grand Lodges vvhich formerly paid us allegiance have ceased to exist .

* * * Let Bro . Lamonb y ask himself the plain questionnot whom will it advantage to pursue this matter further but vvho is there who will not be annoyed or even angered by such a course V For ourselves , during the various controversies which have arisen in connection

vvith sundry of these Grand Lodges , but especially over the New Zealand difficulty , we have observed a stridtly independent line of conduct . Grand Lodge has adopted our views in more than one instance , in all probability because those views were urged temperately and respectfully , and without the slightest evidence of a

desire on our part to hamper the action of the authorities in the policy they might see fit to adopt . And this being so , vve must decline to continue , or to offer our columns as a medium for continuing , a discussion , which , if it has any result at all , must result in

causing friction between our own and the new Australasian Grand Lodges . We have no doubt Bro . Lamonby will appreciate the force of our present remarks when he examines more carefully into the circumstances vvhich he is anxious to discuss further .

A noticeable sign of coming activity in Masonic circles is the announcement , which appears in our advertising columns , of the resumption of work at the Emulation Lodge of Improvement . The place which

this school of Masonry fills in the Order is an important one , and each year , as the importance of a perfect training in our beautiful ritual and observances becomes more recognised , its value becomes more appreciated .

* * * At the funeral of General de Mirabel , at Grenoble , last week , a discourse was delivered by Mgr . Fava , Bishop of Grenoble , in which he violently attacked the Freemasons : " It was thc English Freemasons , " said the Bishop , " who pushed on France to join ht thb

Crimean War against Russia , in order that she might exhaust her gold and treasure in the needless combat . It was the French Freemasons vvho incited France to fight Austria , a Catholic nation , in order to bring about the unity of Italy , which at this day was threatening

the Alp ine frontier of France , and resisting the temporal power of the Pope . " It has been left to the worthy bishop to discover the cause of a great war , which to not a few of vis has hitherto , like many a war before it , been shrouded in mystery . We congratulate him on the discovery .

Correspondence.

Correspondence .

f We do not hold ourselves responsible for the opinions expressed by our correspondents , but we wish in a spirit ot lair play to ill to permit—within certain necessary limits—free discussion . ]

DISSOLVED DISTRICT GRAND LODGES . To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , There is generally a reason for everything ; also there are two sides to most questions . In all probability had one of these considerations entered your editorial mind , your leading article on my notice of

motion at the last Communication of Grand Lodge would , at least , have been very considerably modified in its tone . The origin and the meaning of the said notice of motion are , I think , pretty well known by this time . Suffice it to say , that certain brethren , members of a lodge in a dissolved Australian district , are not on the books of our Grand Lodge . These

brethren explain that their returns were made to the late District Grand Lodge , in accordance with Article in , & c . The Colonial Board once , if not twice , is asked to verify the truth or otherwise of this statement by communicating with the late District authorities ; but , with strange perversity , declines to take any action . There your readers have the matter in a nutshell .

Another point , by way of explanation , if you will permit mc . The Grand Registrar and the Deputy Grand Master , in Grand Lodge , as well as yourself , in your leading article , inferred that my notice of motion was in the character of a demand on thc late District Grand Secretaries . It was nothing of the kind—merely a courteous request , which , I am sure , the brethren

concerned would have been onl y too happy to have complied with ; indeed , I imagine one of them would be ready and willing to part with the books and documents , if for no other reason than to get rid of an accumulation of lumber , in the shape of waste paper . In conclusion , this question will doubtless appear to many brethren as another side-light on the clear in-

Correspondence.

sufficiency and unsuitability of our "Book . of Constitutions" so far as they refer to DistrictGrand Lodges and their establishment as independent Grand Lodges . As for instance , Article 221 provides for the return to our Grand Lodge of all books and papers belonging to dissolved private lodges , but dissolved District Grand Lodges do not seem to have been anticipated during

the compilation and revision of the two last editions of the " Constitutions . " Here is surely food for serious reflection , and it remains to be seen whether any brother or . brethren will be found bold enough to come to the front , and say that the period has arrived when we should throw our " As-it-was-in-the-beginning-and ever-shall-be" policy overboard and sail with the times . —Fraternally yours .

W . F . LAMONBY . September 18 th . VISITING BRETHREN . To the Editor of the "Freemason , " Dear Sir and Brother , An incident which occurred at a recent meeting of a lodge to which I belong would seem to point to a laxity in some Provincial lodges , truly

reprehensible . The lodge had been called off , and as we were about to resume labour , a man walked in and took his seat . As he was not clothed , the attention of the W . M . was called to him , and I was asked to look into the matter . I asked him if he was with any brother , to which he replied that he was . not , but was

a P . M . and P . Z . I reminded him that he was not clothed , and he said it did not matter , he was willing to be proved . I invited him to accompany me outside , when I asked for his certificate . He said he did not travel about with his certificate in his pocket . I therelore refused to proceed any further . Upon returning

to the lodge a visitor informed me that he knew him to be a Mason and a P . M . Thereupon I retired , looked him up , and informed him that a brother was in the lodge who vouched for him and invited him to enter . He refused to . do so , declaring that he had been insulted , and when thc lodge closed , I heard him in the bar haranguing the by-standers on the insult he had

received on being refused admission to a lodge . Now , Sir , here was the P . M . of a lodge , who evidently considered it the correct thing to walk into a lodge where he was a perfect stranger , and without clothing , take part in the proceedings without molestation . Is it possible that such a thing is allowed anywhere ?

Am I wrong in maintaining that any one presenting himself at the door of a lodge in which We is entirely unknown should be required to produce his Grand Lodge certificate : —Yours fraternally , P . M .

FREEMASONRY IN BRAZIL . To the Editor of the ''Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , I notice in your issue for June 24 th , on page 338 , that you cite the Duke of Clarence Lodge , of Bahia ( Brazil ) , as being the largest in South America .

This is far from being the fact , as in the city of Buenos Aires alone there are three lodges working under the Grand Lodge of England who outnumber it , namely , the Excelsior , No . 617 , with over 70 members ; Star of the South , No . 1025 , with over no members ; and Victoria , No . 2329 , with over 50 members .

It is also outnumbered by the English Lodge Light of the South , No . 1553 , in Rosario , and equalled by several other lodges out here . With best wishes for the success of your valuable paper , —I am , dear Sir and Brother , yours fraternally , NEWELL E . DAVIS , Sec . 1025 . August 21 st .

Reviews.

Reviews .

PAPER , ITS HISTORY . By J KAY . ' London : Smith , Kay , and Co ., 42 , Rathbone-place . This is a . very pleasantly written book on a most attractive subject , though but little understood , for who is not interested in " paper , paper ? " Bro . John Kay takes a wide view of the subject , and treats of all kinds , of materials used as paper belore paper vvas introduced , and

thus the brochure is of value historically , as well -is a guide for present day purposes . Of course , China is reierred to , as the " gifted celestials" are supposed to have had the first of everything , but it is questionable if that country was familiar with papyrus so early as many people think . After writing most instructively as to numerous materials , hard or soft , brittle or substantial , employed for the

preservation of records , Sic , particular attention is paid to papyri leaves and parchment , especially as they were chiefly used prior to the era of paper , as we now understand the word . Mr . Kay believes the oldest manuscript written on cotton paper is of the 1 ith century . That may be so , but if that is the most ancient preserved , undoubtedly paper made from cotton is of much older date , lt is

said the first paper mill erected in this country vvas at Dartford , Kent , in 1588 , but vve agree with the author that this date is not early enough , for the premier English printer , William Caxton , alludes to paper making in a printed book of a century earlier . Possibly we owe more

to the Huguenots as to this matter than is generally supposed . Down to the last century the paper was handmade , but since then the increase of this industry has been tremendous , and now paper is manufactured from almost anything that is at all fibrous . In thc British Museum is a book printed in Dutch , made up of some Co specimens of different materials from which the paper has been made .