The Late R.W. Bro. Sir John B. Monckton, P.G.W.

it was as an Officer of Grand Lodge that Bro . Monckton rendered such invaluable services and achieved so great a distinction . He Avas appointed Senior Grand Deacon in 1872 and in the same year Principal Grand Sojourner in Supreme Grand Chapter , and in 1 S 74 , after having served as Vice-President of the Board of General Purposes , he Avas ,

on the death of Bro . Horace Lloyd , Q . C ., appointed President . The ten years folloAving , during which he filled that office , Avas a period of remarkable activity and progress in Freemasonry , and the influence of the President of the Board in directing and shaping the groAvth of our Order

during that time has left an indelible mark on its constitution . No abler or more courteous officer has ever filled the Presidential chair , and it is said of him that even those to whom he had to administer admonition and rebuke left his presence with the feeling that next to an expression of approval from his lips his condemnation Avas a thing to be grateful for . On relinquishing this office in 1884 the

rank of Past Grand Warden Avas conferred on him , but his retirement from the chair and his advancement in office did not cause him to

retire from the Board or to slacken his energies in the legislative and administrative work of Grand Lodge . He AA ; IS

a regular attendant for many years after , and no important decisions Avere come to in which his knoAvledge and

experience Avere not put under contribution . In almost all Degrees

of Masonry Bro . Monckton took an active interest , but it Avas in connection with the Masonic Charities that the most attractive

points of his manysided character Avere observable . The Royal Masonic Institution for Girls , especial !}* , was the

object of his constant solicitude and devoted service . No more delightful spectacle could be imagined than the

tall form of Sir John in the midst of a group of merry , laughing children at the Girls' School , or on

some festive occasion to see him as the partner of some tiny mite in the dance . His personal interest in each individual inmate Avas remarkable , and for many years past every pupil , to the number of nearly 300 , Avas known to him by name . To such an extent Avas he interested that he formed a collection of photographic portraits of the scholarsnumbering

, many hundreds . It is needless to add in vieAV of this phase of his Masonic character that he was an ardent supporter of our Masonic Charities . He Avas a Vice-President of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution , at the Festival of A \* hich , in 188 4 , he acted as Chairman ; a Vice-President of

the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys ; and a Patron of the Royal Masonic Institution for Girls , for which latter Institution he had served fifteen Stewardships . At both Grand Lodge and Grand Chapter he was a constant attendant , and so recently as the Quarterly Communication , in December , he filled the Chair of Senior Grand Warden , and proposed and carried an amendment

THE LATE BRO . SIR J . ]) . . AIOXCKTON , P . G . AVARDEX .

reversing the decision ot the Board of General Purposes on appeal against its ruling in reference to the qualification of a Warden for the Master's chair , by the Regent ' s Park Lodge , No . 2202 . In civic life , as TOAVII Clerk of London , Sir John Monckton ' s career was one of brilliant usefulnessand

, his loss is mourned not only by the Corporation of London , of Avhich body he Avas the most distinguished officer , but by all those whom duty or pleasure brought into contact with him . He Avas , in the Avoids of the Avriter of a special memoir in the City Press , an officer

Avhose zeal in the public service , and loyalty to the body he had served for so many years , had AVOII for him the esteem and affection of all with Avhom , in the course of his civic duties , he became associated . To speak of the Guildhall without thinking almost as by instinct of the Town

Clerk of London , Avas an impossibility . Unhappily the hand of death has IIOAV removed from the ranks this devoted public servant , and left the

City the poorer immeasurably by his loss . Sir John Avas the recipient of many distinctions beyond that of knighthood , Avhich

was conferred on him in 1880 , but they are too numerous to particularise ; Ave may , IIOAVever , mention that of

the Belgian order of Leopold , the Order of the Redeemer of Greece , the Lion and Sun of Persia , and the Golden

Lion of Warsaw , which were conferred on him in connection witli the prominent part he took in connection with the

receptions given at the Guildhall to those Royalties , Avho thus signified their appreciation of the compliment paid to them .

The funeral took place on Friday , the 7 th of February . A service was held at St . Peter ' s , Cranley Gardens , within a short distance of our

late brother ' s residence , whence the coffin Avas borne to Brompton Cemetery . The remains Avere followed by Lady

Monckton , Bro . Lionel Monckton , and the other members of the family , as well as by many intimate friends , Avhich included a large number of Grand Officers and other members of the Masonic fraternity . A beautiful cross was placed upon the coffin by Lady Monckton , and

there was a large number of Avreaths and other floral tributes . A memorial service Avas also held in the Church of St . Lawrence , Jewry , which was attended in state by the Lord Mayor and Sheriffs , together with very many members of the Common Council .

His Majesty , the King , through Bro . Sir Francis Knollys , has written a letter to Lady Monckton , expressing sympathy with her and her family in the loss which they have sustained in the death of Sir John Monckton , whom His Majesty had known for many years .

We are pleased to learn that Avith the consent of Lady Monckton and the family , a monument will be erected over the grave by our late brother ' s colleagues , the Grand Officers .