Ad00903

ARMFIELD'S SOUTH PLACE HOTEL , FINSBURY , LONLON , E . G ., This new and handsomely-furnished Hotel is now FULLY LICENCED . Its position is central , .-nd charges are moderate ; the sanitation is perfect . Passenger lift to each floor . SPECIAL CONVENIENCE FOR MASONIC LODGES , D 1 NN .. KS AND CINDERELLAS .

Ad00904

A Feature of t :: c Metropolis . SPIERS fc POND'S / CRITERION RESTAURANT , PICCADILLY CIRCUS , LONDON' , W . EAST ROOM . Finest Cuisine , unsurpassed by the most renowned Parisian Rei ' aurants , Luncheons , Dinners and Suppers a la car ' . c rnd prix fixe . Viennese Band . GRAND HALL . Musical Dinner 3 f . < 5 d . per head . Accompanied by the Imperial Austrian Band . WEST ROOM . Academy Luncheon 2 ; . CJ ., Diner Parisien 5 s ., during both of which the rcno . r . ed Mandolin Quartette performs . BUFFET & GRILL ROOM . Ouick service ;' i la carte and mod . rate prices . Joints in each room fresh from thc Spit every half-hour . AMERICAN BAR . Service of special AmerLan Dishes , Grills , & c . Splendid Suites of Rooms for MilHniy and other Dinners .

To Correspondents.

To Correspondents .

F . J . J . —VVe think the W . M . ' s scrutiny was quite sufficient , but theie can be no objection to a scrutiny by the Waidens as well , if such a custom prevails in a lodge .

Ar00906

' w ^^^^^^ i ^^ Y ^^^ TI ^' fj ^^ ^^^T ^ n ^ ai . ' ' JYM^mtismr&mr^ SATURDAY , OCTOBER 30 , 18 97 .

Masonic Notes.

Masonic Notes .

For the second time during the present year the Prince of Wales , as M . W . Grand Master , has performed the ceremony of laying the foundation-stone of a building of great public utility . On the first occasion it was that of thc Sutherland Institute , at Longton , in

Staffordshire , the building in question being intended to serve the two-fol J purposes of a public Library and Technical Institute . The second , which is by far the more important , happened on Saturday last , at Stammerham , near Horsham , in the Province of Sussex , when his Royal Highness , attended by his Grand

Officers , laid the fir-t stone of the buildings about to be erected for the accommodation of the pupils of that grand old institution—Christ ' s Hospital , or , as it is more familiarly known , " the Bhiecoat School "founded in the year 1532 by Edward VI ., of pious and

immortal memory . Why London should slowly , but surely , be denuded of all those line old institutions to which it is so largely indebted for its fame , is a question which it comes not within our province to discuss . It is enough that thc fiat which deprives London of its •Religious , Ro- al , anj Ancient foundation of Christ ' s

Masonic Notes.

Hospital has gone forth , and two or three years hence the site , which for close on three centuries and a half , has been the home of s iccessive generations of bluecoat boys , will have become the property of a railway company .

Yet there are those to whom the change commends itself as a necessary , albeit a trrrible sacrifice to thc utilitarian spirit of the age . The boys will lend as healthy , as happy , and , let us hope , as profitable a school life as did their predecessors in the buildings enclosed by Giltspur and Newgate-streets , and Little

Britain and old St . Bartholomew's . At all events , the prospect of the change did not damp their youthful spirits on Saturday , the 23 rd inst ., when their President , the Duke of Cambridge , formally invited the Prince , as Grand Master , acting as the representative of her Gracious Majesty the Queen , to lay the

foundationstone of the new School buildings , and his Royal Highness , acceding to the request of his Royal Kinsman , performed the ceremony with that grace and impressiveness which characterise his every act . The spectacle , too , was a grand one , as all such spectacles are in which our Grand Master and his attendant

Grand Officers take the prominent part , while if there were anything that could lend additional interest to the occasion we shall find it in the fact that his Royal Highness used the same trowel which his grand uncle , the late Duke of Vork , used in 182 *; when laying the

first stone of the Great Hall of thc School which faces Newgate-street . We trust that Christ ' s Hospital , which in its London home has done such signal service to the State , will be as successful in its new abidingplace in Sussex .

* * * The Ouarterly Convocation of Supreme Grand Chapter will be held at Freemasons' Hall , on Wednesday , the 3 rd prox ., at 6 p . m ., when , after the Report of the Committee of General Purposes has been dealt with , sundry motions , of which due notice has been given , will be successively submitted for the

consideration of the companions by Comps . J . Strachan , Q . C , P . D . G . Reg . ; j . E . Le Feuvre , P . G . S . B . ; and S . R . Baskett , P . P . G . Reg . Dorset . Only two new chapters are recommended to be warranted by the Committee , of which one will be attached to Lodge No . 17 S 7 , and meet in the town of Buckingham , while the other will be attached to the Papyrus Lodge , No . 2562 , to meet in London .

We are aware that objections have been raised at different times , both in the United States and here , to Masonic processions through the public streets ; but latterly some people have gone a step further , and set their feces against thc attendance of brethren arrayed

in their clothing and regalia attending Divine service , thc principal reason they assign being that Masonry is non-sectarian in matters of religion , and that to attend service in a particular church involves a departure from non-sectarianism . We do not ourselves see the force of this objection . The attendance of brethren at

Divine service should be looked upon , in our opinion , at least , as a mark of respect on the par . of the Alasonic community towards Religion generally , rather than to the particular form of religion whose church is attended . Men are often called upon to attend ( he services of some religious body of which ( hey are not

members , and to whose profession of faith they conscientiously object , yet the instances are very rare in which we hear of them declining to be present . They are content to show , as we have said , their respect for Religion generally , and the outside public fully realises that this is the motive which leads them to attend .

* * * The subject was referred to somewhat pointedly at the recent annual meeting ol the Prov . Grind Lodge of West Lancashire . The Prov . G . Master , Bro . the Earl of Lathom , Pro G . M ., presided , and in the course of thc brief address lie delivered , his lordship is

reported to have declared that processions connected with tho laying of foundation and memrriil stones were perfectly legitimate , but as awards other demonstrations , he was strongly opposed to " Masonic processions through Ihe streets . " Having further declared that " Masonry was distinct from Forestry

and Oddfellowship , he proceeded to make still more clear that it was the public exhibition of Masons parading the streets in their clothing and regalia to which he was so strongly opposed . " At the great service in Southwark Cathedral not more than . 10 or

50 brethren , " said his lordship , " had to go outside the building to put on their Masonic clothing , and in the case of a proposed Masonic Service likely soon to be held at St . Paul's , clothing within thc precincts of the sacred edifice would be feasible . "

Masonic Notes.

Here it will be observed that there is not a word of objection to brethren attending Divine service in their Masonic clothing , but only to their parading the streets clothed as Masons . Those who attended the service in Southwark Cathedral , including Lord Lathom himself wore their Craft clothing , and those

who will attend thc service which will be held a few weeks hence in St . Paul's , will do so likewise ; but in the former case only a very few were seen by the outside public , while at the approaching attendance at St . Paul ' s , there will not be the slightest necessity for a single apron , collar , or jewel to be seen by the crowds who will doubtless gather about the sacred edifice .

Unfortunately there are those who have mixed together the two questions , and are anxious to have it believed by the Craft generally that our Gr . ind Lodge authorities have set their faces not only against Alasonic processions through the public streets , xcept in connection with the laying of found'tion and

memorial stones , but also against the attendance at Divine service of brethren wearing their clothing and insignia . What the Prov . Grand Master of West Lancashire laid stress upon was the appearance in the public streets of brethren wearing their clothing , not of their appearance similarly clad in places of public worship . There is not a single word that he

uttered in the various reports of his speech we have read that can be interpreted into an objection to brethren appearing as Masons in church , but only to their parading as such through the streets in order to appear there . The distinction he drew is a very important one and we are desirous it should be full y understood by our readers .

# # ? The Province of West Lancashire is to be congratulated on the progress it has made during the past 12 months as evidenced by the several reports which were submitted for the consideration ofthe brethren at their recent annual meeting . Three new lodges have

been added to the roll , increasing the number to 117 , and considering that Lord Lathom declared in his address that he was always ready to accede to any proposal for the establishment of a new lodge , when it was demonstrable that the need for such an additional lodge existed , we may reasonably infer that , notwithstanding the formidable array of lodges already in

existence , the Province is not overcrowded . The roll of subscribing members shows a total of 7 603 , being an increase of between 300 and 400 on the p ' revious years' return , the number of initiates having been 6 95 . This gives an average of as nearly as possible 65 members per lodge , which , considering the strength of the province , is remarkably high .

The Prov . Grand Treasurer ' s statement of account was likewise eminently satisfactory . The year opened with a balance in hand of . £ 725 . The fees from lodges yielded . £ 837 , > d fees of honour Irom Provincial Grand Ofiicers , £ 67 . The receipts in connection with the Charities Fund were . £ 383 , with the Provincial Grind Lodge Fund , . £ 651 , and with the Fund of

Benevolence . 6657 , the three items together amounting lo £ 1692 . Per contra , the payments for the Charities Fund reached £ 13 6 , for the Pravincial Grand Lodge £ 36 $ , and for the Fund of Benevolence , £ 366 , making a total of , £ , 859 . The balance at the close of the year was £ 833 . * *

But it is in its local Charitable Institutions that West Lancashire stands out so prominently , and of these there are now four : the Educational Institution , the Hamer , and the Alpass , while during the year that is now closed , the brethren , in order to commemorate the Queen ' s Jubilee , started a fourth , which is known

as the West Lancashire Victoria 1 < und of Benevolence , and towards which some C 4 lodges contributed over , £ 800 , while the donations promised by individual brethren raised the total to close upon . 61150 . It has also done some good for the Central Charities , and before the meeting separated a sum of . £ 200 was voted

to the Royal AIasonic Institution for Boys at its approaching Centenary Festival , and the hope was expressed by the Deputy Prov . Grand Master , who moved the grant that West Lancashire would make a point of contributing on a very large scale to that important anniversary .

* * * The installation meeting of the Lodge Quatuor Coronati , No . 2076 , will be held at Freemasons' Hall , on Monday , the 8 ih prox ., when Bro . Sydney T . Klein , the VV . M . elect , will be installed in ofiice , and appoint and invest his ofiicers for the ensuing Year . An

illuminated address and Past Master ' s jewel will be presented to the retiring W . M ., Bro . C . Kupferschmidt , Assistant Grand Secretary for German Correspondence The new VV . M . will deliver his inaugural address , and the brethren will afterwards dine together at the Holborn Restaurant .