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CONTENTS . LEADERS— P AGE . A Fair Subject for Inquiry ... ... ... ... .. 593 Cole ' s Constitution ... ... ... ... ... ... 59 + United Grand Lodge ( Agenda Paper ) ... ... ... ... 594 Mark Grand Lodge ( Agenda Paper ) ... ... ... ... 595 Provincial Grand Lodge of Cambridgeshire ... ... .. ... 595 Consecration of the Calcaria Lodge , No . 2677 ... ... ... 595

Opening of a Masonic Hall at Braintree , Essex ... ... ... 596 Our Portrait Gallery ... ... ... ... ... ... 596 The Craft Abroad ... ... ... ... ... ... 597 Craft Masonry ... ... ... ... ... ... 597 MASONIC NOTESAgenda Paper of United Grand Lodge of England ... ... ... 599 Agenda Paper of Mark Grand Lodge ... ... ... ... 599 Half-yearly Meeting of the Priory of the Order of the Temple , & c . ... 599 Death of the Countess of Lathom ... ... ... ... 599

Sixth Annual Festival of the Kirby Lodge of Instruction ... ... 599 Two Hundredth Anniversary of the Opening of St . Paul ' s Cathedral ... 599 Death of Bro . C . J . Shoppee ... ... ... ... ... 599 Provincial Grand Mark Lodge and Chapter of Hertfordshire ... ... 599 Correspondence ... ... ... ... ... ... 600 Craft Masonry ... ... ... ... ... ... 600 Provincial Priory of Sussex ... ... ... ... ... 602 Royal Arch ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 603 Obituary ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 603 Masonic and General Tidings ... ... ... ... ... 604

A Fair Subject For Inquiry.

A FAIR SUBJECT FOR INQUIRY .

We have no great faith in the employment of severe language in condemning acts which in our opinion are worthy of condemnation . It has been trul y said that hard words break no bones , and wc shall not succeed in making an act more or

less flagrant according as wc describe it in terms that are harsh or in terms that for their moderation may be irreproachable . But we must confess to have experienced no small amount of amazement and indignation on reading an account

of certain circumstances which have just been brought to our knowledge , and which , in the exercise of our discretion , we feel called upon to lay before our readers—at all events in general terms . We may premise that these circumstances which we are about to describe have occurred in one of the more remote

Districts holding under the Grand Lodge of England—the Central Division of South Africa , which has for its Craft ruler Bro . RICHARD MILLS ROBERTS , who was appointed to the office of District Grand Master in October , 18 95 . In a District

so far removed as this is from the Central authority and the majority of whose lodges are of comparatively recent creation —the senior on the roll dates no further back than 1 S 72—it is not surprising that irregularities should every now and then

occur . The knowledge of our ritual according lo " Emulation " working or any other system which may have found exponents in our lodges of instruction is not likely to be very perfect , nor is the acquaintance with our laws , whether

written or unwritten , likely to be very profound . ft is within the knowledge of most of us that irregularities take place both in work and in matters which are duly provided for in our Book of Constitutions , in our lodges at home ; and it fortiori must we

expect to hear of them 111 the lodges which have been established in the more recently-occupied portions of the British Empire . Hence ( he authorities make a practice of dealing leniently with the offences which are brought to their notice , in the very

natural belief that in 99 cases out of every 100 lliey have been committed through error of judgment , or from ignorance of law or custom , rather than deliberately . It is a mistake to imagine that our Grand Lodge authorities are indifferent to the well-being

of Colonial Masonry . But the distance from home of man ) ' oi our lodges is very great . Time is required—oftentimes a very long interval of time—before the true nature of what has

happened in these more distant lodges becomes known , and when this has been ascertained , it is probable that an equal period of time must elapse before they can be properly adjusted . There is

A Fair Subject For Inquiry.

also another difficulty in connection with Colonial Masonry which must not be too lightly estimated , and which arises out of thj fact that the three home Grand Lodges of England , Ireland , and Scotland exercise concurrent jurisdiction in all British Colonies where there arc no

independent Grand Lodges established . As a rule , the lodges and other bodies which have been set up abroad under these three Constitutions work side by side most harmoniously . They arc for the most part strictly loyal to the particular

Constitutions under which they exist , but they respect each other s loyalty , and while each is ready enough to help the others in what is just and reasonable and for the general good of Freemasonry , each is , as a rule , true to its own flag . It is inevitable

that every now and then a little friction should arise among the bodies holding under the different Constitutions—and in South Africa , there is a Netherlands Constitution as well as the English ,

Irish , and Scottish—but it seldom happens that there is any difficulty in smoothing matters . -Knowing this we are the more amazed at the circumstances of which we have been informed

and which briefly stated are as follows : According to the Grand Lodge Calendar , there are eight lodges in the central division of South Africa under the rule of Bro . R . M . ROBERTS . D . G . M . To some of these are attached

Royal Arch chapters , but as yet no District Grand Chapter has been established , and our English brethren there who are Royal Arch Masons are not unnaturally anxious to have one organised for their benefit as soon as the authorities deem it expedient to

grant them a District Grand Chapter organisation , Quite recently , we are informed , the members of an English lodge which meets at a place that shall be nameless , being anxious to know how they should proceed in order to obtain a warrant for a

Royal Arch chapter , addressed themselves for information to the District Grand Lodge Officer , who , in their opinion we suppose , was the most competent to advise them , and in reply they were recommended to apply to the Grand Chapter of Scotland . The

fact of this recommendation having been made very speedily came to the knowledge of the members of the two English Royal Arch chapters at Kimberley , and a letter of remonstrance has been forwarded to the District Grand Master of Central South

Africa , to which are appended the signatures of the three Principals and the Fast Zs . of each of the chapters . It is possible , of course — though we imagine it will be very difficult—for the English District Grand Lodge Officer , the

loyalty of whose conduct is thus impugned , to offer a satisfactory explanation of his conduct . It is difficult lo assume that he can be so ignorant of English Masonry as not to have heard of the existence of the Supreme Chapter of England , and if he does

know of its existence , it is still more difficult to explain why he , who is an English Mason and a District Grand Lodge Officer into the bargain , should advise the members of an English lodge to apply for a Royal Arch warrant to the Grand Chapter of

Scotland . These are the circumstances as they have been described to us , and as they are authenticated by a copy of the letter of remonstrance before mentioned as having been addressed to District Grand Master ROBERTS by the Principals and Past Zs ,

of the English Royal Arch Chapters at Kimberley . We pass no judgment upon the circumstances , because , though authenticated as we have said , our information is still necessarily ex parte

and a satisfactory explanation may be forthcoming ; but if none such is furnished , we have no hesitation in describing the act of the officer in question as a grave scandal .