Grand Lodge Calendar, 1894.

Eleven centenary jewel warrants have been added to the roll of lodges having worked for too years or more , beginning with No . 205 , and then introducing 10 from 290 to 300 inclusive , omitting No . 297 , which possibly will be in the Calendar for 1895 . Eig hteen Royal Arch chapters have _ also centenary jewel warrants , of which , and much else full particulars are given .

Then there are the rolls of Provincial Grand Masters from the earliest times , the list of erased lodges , the names of all the Grand Officers from 1814 , and a rich mine of particulars on so many other points that I conclude , before attempting more , by warmly congratulating all concerned in the preparation of this most accurate , useful , and comprehensive Masonic calendar . W . J . HUGHAN .

Provincial Grand Mark Lodge Of Cumberland And Westmorland.

PROVINCIAL GRAND MARK LODGE OF CUMBERLAND AND WESTMORLAND .

A special meeting of the above Provincial . Grand Lodge was held in Freemasons' Hall , College-street , Whitehaven , on Tuesday , the l 6 th instant , presided over by Bro . Col . F . R . Sewell , D . P . G . M ., for the purpose of recommending a brother to the M . W . G . M . for the office of Provincial Grand Master . Bro . P . DE E . COLLIN , P . M . 151 , P . G . D . Eng ., moved— " That Bro

Col . F . R . Sewell be the brother for recommendation , " which was seconded by Bro . E . B . PENRICE , P . M . 151 , P . P . J . G . W ., and ably supported by Bro . Rev . W . Cree , P . P . G . C . The motion was put for confirmation by Bro . COLLIN , and it was unanimously agreed to with hearty applause , in the presence of a large gathering of Mark Masons . Provincial Grand Lodge was then closed .

Provincial Grand Lodge Of Banffshire.

PROVINCIAL GRAND LODGE OF BANFFSHIRE .

The annual communication of this Provincial Grand Lodge was held in the St . John ' s Lodge Room , Banff , on Saturday , the 20 th instant . In the unavoidable absence of both the Prov . Grand Master and his Depute , R . W . Bros . Capt . W . T . Reid and W . F . D . Stewart , the lodge was opened and presided over by Bro . Capt . W . R . Arnold , R . A ., P . M ., P . Z . 1789 ( E . C ) ,

and J . \ V . 52 ( S . C ) . The brethren present were Bros . J . Geddes , P . M . 224 ; A . L . Gillan , P . M . 746 ; J . Gray , P . M . 653 ; F . W . Cooper , R . W . M . 52 ; J . Geddes , S . W . 92 ; VV . Simpson , A . Scott , W . J . Marsden , 92 ; J . Smith , 713 ; S . Lyall , S . W . 653 ; A . Dick , A . Pennie , A . Henderson , F . Watt , 52 ; and J . Macdonald , P . M . 589 , Prov . G . Sec .

Before the Prov . Grand Lodge was opened , the PROV . GRAND SECRETARY read a telegram from the R . W . Prov . Grand Master authorising Bro Arnold to preside at that meeting , and also to the effect that he had appointed Bro . Arnold Substitute Master of that Provincial Grand Lodge in succession

to the late R . W . Bro . James Simpson , who was accidently killed on the morning of the ist December last by being thrown out of his trap . Prov . Grand Lodge was then opened by Bro . Arnold , and the business as follows proceeded with : Minutes of last meeting read and confirmed .

The Prov . Grand Treasurer ' s report for the past year was read and adopted . The election , appointment , and installation of office-bearers as follows then took place : Bro . Capt . W . R . Arnold , P . M ., P . Z . 1789 ( E . C ) , •_ Substitute Prov . G , J . W . 52 ( S . C . ) ... ... ... j Master .

„ James Gray , P . M . 653 ... ... ... Prov . S . G . W . „ Capt . J . C Grant , P . M . 746 ... ... Prov . J . G . W . „ A . L . Gillan , P . M . 749 ... ... ... Prov . G . Treas . „ ¦ John Macdonald , P . M . = 589 .. ... Prov . G . Sec .

„ Rev . W . R . Pirie , B . A ., 713 ... ... Prov . G . Chap . „ J . Clarke , 746 ... ... ... Prov . S . G . D . „ Capt . J . J . George , R . W . M . 653 ... ... Prov . J . G . D . „ F . W . Cooper , R . W . M . 52 ... ... Prov . G . Stwd . ,, F . D . Robertson , 713 ... ... ... Prov . G . Architect . . . G . G . Simoson , R . W . M . 02 ... ... Prov . G . Teweller .

„ J . Geddes , P . M . 224 ... ... ... Prov . G . D . of C „ J . H . Smith , 28 9 ... ... ... Prov . G . D . of M . „ J . Chalmers , P . M . 92 ... ... ... Prov . G . Bible Br . „ J . Robertson , 713 ... ... ... Prov . G . S . B . „ J . Smith , 713 ... ... ... Prov . G . Std . Br . „ A . Pennie , 52 ... ... ... Prov . G . I . G . „ A . Scott , 92 ... ... ... ... Prov . G . Tyler . Bros . Lieut . J . Young , 746 , and R . T . Mackay , 589 , were elected

Auditors . A vote of condolence to the widow and relatives of the late R . W . Bro . James Simpson , of Inverboyndie , was duly passed , and Provincial Grand Lodge was closed . It was decided that the next quarterly communication was to be held at Dufftown . After the meeting , the brethren of St . John ' s Lodge , No . 52 , Banff , entertained Provincial Grand Lodge with suitable refreshment before the visiting brethren entrained for their homes .

The Traditions And Symbolisms Of The Mark Degree.

THE TRADITIONS AND SYMBOLISMS OF THE MARK DEGREE .

( Continued from page 26 ) . I think I may here very fitly repeat some appropriate lines written by our late learned Yorkshire brother , the Rev . A . F . A . Woodford , who was known to our Provincial Grand Master and many brethren here , including , I am proud to say , myself :

UBIOHK . How wonderful it seerrs , to think Jerusalem's all holy walls , In this , our world , lo-day , Elephanta's mystic cave , Wnere ' er our hurr } ing ft otsteps rove , Where the sad 1 yrian ruins

'Mid lands all far away : I'nnge the blue sea wave ; Where ' er we go , where ' er we rest— Where Egypt's mighty pyramiJs Amid the desert ' s glare , Still startle pilgi ims there ; Or in the far and wond ' rous West— Amid the temples of Peru—Our Craft is everywhere . Our Craft is everywhere .

The Traditions And Symbolisms Of The Mark Degree.

From North to South—from East to West , O , wond'rous legacy of the Past !—On many a ruined shrine , O , legend quaint , of old , On many a crumbling- edifice , Which in thy pleasant Fellowship On Fome fabric still divine : D jst loving hearts enfold ! The tokens of our 13 r < tlieihood How should each Craftsman loyally Yet all mysterious stare , Stand by that banner fair , Proclaiming ever to us still , Which in unfaltering voice proclaims Our Craft is everywhere ! Our Craft is everywhere .

At the building of King Solomon s- Temple , you will lemetvtbcr that no work was allowed to pass the gates , but such as was duly approved , and that no craftsman was entitled to receive his wages until that had been done . So in ancient mythology we find the world was divided into two realms—Elysium , the abode of the Gods and the Infernal Regions ; and each of these was accessible by three gates , through which mortals had to pass . And

in tic Gehcni a of the Jews th . re were th ec gates , or openings , which were supposed to be situated in the wilderness , in the sea , and at Jerusalem . Allusions to gates are also frequent in the Holy Scripture—e . g ., Gates of Heaven and Gates of Death ; whilst on the triumphal arch of the beautiful Church of S . Maria Maggiore at Rome , there is still to be seen a

representation of a symbolic gateway , arched over , at the bottom of a geometrical staircase , another midway up , and the third at the top , all symbolic of the Gates of Heaven , which are opened to admit all who have faithfully performed their duty to God , their neighbours , and themselves . May we not , brethren , appl y the same symbolic teaching to the three gates of our Mark Degree with much advantage ?

The regulations at the gates of King Solomons Temple were both necessary and wise , so as to ensure the reception of good and true work only , and by them we are surely symbolically taught to try all our actions by the square of virtue , that we may finally enter the gates of the new Jerusalem , and receive our wages from the Grand Overseer of the Universe .

In fine , brethren , the Mark Degree typifies the trial of the Great Day when every man ' s work will be tested by the Grand Overseer ' s Square , whether it be good or bad ; and so the morals of Freemasonry are the same as those of Christianity , bc . ause they are alike drawn from the same source , and built upon the same sure foundation of the Volume of the ' Sacred Law . Indeed , the resemblance between Christianity and Freemasonry is very

striking , and may be traced in many respects . And Bro . William James Hughan , who is , I suppose , one of the greatest of our living Masonic authorities , goes so far as to say , in his preface to Bro . Crowe ' s " Master Masons' Handbook , " that , although all direct Christian references were eliminated from Craft Masonry during the last century , " even now it is quite easy to illustrate the fact that the Society of Freemasons was ori ginally a Christian body , by an appeal to the ritual still in use . " Let me , however , draw

your attention to one or two instances . The Church of Christ is one , undivided and undivisible , being " built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets , Jesus Christ being the chief corner-stone ; " and it is aptly compared to a " building fitl y framed together , and growing into an hol y temple in the Lord . " So Freemasonry is one . Go where you will in the world , and you will find one bond of unity and brotherhood , all its members arc stones of one building , some rough ashlars , some made more or less smooth and perfect , but still all stones of one great temple .

Again , when first initiated , the Freemason pledges himself to the practice of every social and moral virtue , and the Christian is pledged at his baptism to the service of that God into whose family he is then received . Yet , both Christians and Freemasons are , alas , found who are very far from carrying out the principles to which they have been pledged , and so , the shortcomings

of both are urged against the systems they represent . But such reasoning is surely not just , brethren , in either ca ; -e . If men do not act up to their profession , that cannot be an argument against the profession , but rather proves from the fact that unworthy Christians and Freemasons are looked upon as inconsistent—that Christianity as a religion and Freemasonry as a system of morals are alike good .

But , —and this is most important for all to remember—as the whole exceeds the part , there is a vast difference between the teachings of Christianity and the maxims of Freemasonry ; for the latter are only calculated to regulate the outward actions of a man ' s life , whilst the former go to the very root of man ' s being , and strikes at the heart . Let none of us , then ,

brethren , rest satisfied with being proficient in and with the outward practice of these precepts of Freemasonry—however excellent as they undoubtedl y are—but strive , each one of us , to be made partakers of the rich blessings of the Gospel of our Saviour , so that our morality may not onl y be pleasing in the sig ht of our fellow-men , but that it may also be acceptable in the si ght of God , The Great Overseer of the Universe .

Thus may we hope to pass safely under the protection of the Great Overseer of the Universe through the journey of our life here , and , with His hand still upholding us in the valley of the shadow of death , may we finally arise from the tomb of transgression to shine as the stars , for ever and ever . Amen .

DISPENSATION means properly a permission to dispense with the normal regulations of any institution or body , politic , social , or religious . In Freemasonry the power of dispensation is generally vested by the Book of Constitutions in the Grand Master , in some specified cases in the Provincial Grand Master alternately , and also in other specified cases in the District Grand Master . The Grand Master alone can grant a dispensation , for non-residence of Provincial Grand Officers , for a brother to

be Master of two lodges at the same time , and as is generally understood to initiate more than five brethren in one night . The Provincial Grand Master can also , as well as the Grand Master , grant a dispensation for the Master of a lodge to continue more than two years in succession ( which , however , is properly very seldom done ) , to initiate a minor , to allow the master of a tavern to hold office , to admit a Tyler or serving brother , for attendance on a Masonic funeral or other public procession ,

to wear clothing at any funeral or public procession , to wear clothing , & c , at any ball , theatre , or assembly , or meeting , or at any place of public resort . District Grand Masters may grant provisional warrants or dispensations for the formation of new lodges . It was formerly the practice that lodges in England could be holden under dispensation , previous to constitution under warrant , but we doubt the legality of any such procedure , according to a strict construction of the

English Book of Constitutions , which reserves this power of dispensation to lodges under District Grand Masters alone , and it is not now done , we understand . For the removal of one lodge to another town the permission of the Provincial Grand Master and concurrence of Grand Master are requisite , and no lodge can be moved from one province to another without joint consent of Provincial Grand Master and Grand Master . —Kenning ' s Cyclopedia of Freemasonry .