The Province Of Surrey.

with the Province of Surrey , however , soon ceased , as this No . 123 was to be found at the " King ' s Arms , " Great Wild Street , London , in 1738 , and some seven years later was removed from the roll . Another lodge at Kingston-on-Thames was held at the same "Castle" Inn by virtue of a

charter of 17 68 , and was numbered 420 . It lasted long enough to obtain a second number ( 356 ) in 1770 , but live years afterwards was erased . The Royal Mecklenburg Lodge , which was started in London in 17 6 3 , was for over twenty years domiciled at the

" Bricklayer ' s Arms , " High Street , Croydon , having been transferred from the " Barley Mow , " Piccadilly , to that tavern in 1784 . After patronising the hosts of the " White Lion " and the " Green Dragon , " the year 1809 saw its last appearance on the list as No . 170 . It was 199 previously ( i . e ., before 1792 ) , whilst at Croydon .

URO . W . A . LATIJOM , PROVINCIAL ASSISTANT GRAND SECRETARY . On the plea of " never say die , " or some other reason , a second attempt was made at Croydon . This time it was a re-issue , apparently , of a warrant for a London lodge ,

started in 1766 at the Haymarket , but lapsed about 1775 ; so its fortunes were tried anew in 1783 . The members began well with a good name , the " Patriotic , " and the meetings were held at the " Greyhound " Hotel , High Street , Croydon , the number being 245 on the roll . In 1792 it took the

number 206 , and at the " Union " received 258 , but even three different numbers failed to keep it active , so it was erased in 1822 , having made no payments since 1813 . A summons of the " Patriotic " is preserved of the year 1785 . Reigate was selected as the abode of the Holmesdale

Lodge of Freedom and Friendship , as No . 456 , in 1784 , but its life was very brief , having , in 1798 , as No . 3 68 , to succumb to the unalterable rule of " no pay , no privilege , " so disappeared from the register . The St . John ' s Lodge , No . 631 , Guildford , represented a new departure , compared with those previously constituted

, as it was assigned the extinct warrant of No . 78 , Norwich , erased in 1809 , which was formed in that city in 174 8 , but was originally held in London ( 1737 ) . This was clue to the Act of Parliament of 1 799 , which was supposed to provide for those lodges only on the roll in that year . The new

charter was dated 1812 , and though the brethren managed to hold on long enough to secure a position in the enumeration of 1814 as No . 638 , and still worked on for a bit , they finally retired from the scene in 1827 , dispirited and defeated . There are three lodges now in Guildford , viz ., the Royal Alfred , No . 777 ( 18 59 ) , ¦»«! Nos . 2234 and 2858 . It is a very curious fact , noticed in looking through the lamented

Bro . John "Lane ' s Masonic Records , 1717-1894 , " that the original number of the Royal Alfred , Guildford , in 1859 , was given to a lodge at Guildford , Victoria , in 1865 . The "Ancients" did but little in Surrey . No . 272 , which was established in the 45 th Regiment in 1792 , was transferred by endorsement as a civil lodge to Guildford in 1809 , and

certainly if names would have kept it alive , it had the best of chances , for soon after its opening in that town it was called the Trinity , then , in 1825 , it was known as the Lodge of Economy , and in the following year it was changed to Equanimity ; yet it was erased in 18 3 S . A still older

"Ancient" lodge met as a sojourner in Guildford in 1808 , viz ., one held in the 7 th Regiment of Light Dragoons as No . 262 , altered to 331 in 1814 , but warrant returned in 1824 . Its stay in the town , however , was only for a few months , when it went to Dorchester , then Weymouth , and afterwards to

Ireland . Bro . Gould's " Military Lodges " is the best work to study as to such charters . A lodge which began at Epsom in 1770 as the Fortitude and Perseverance , at the " Fox , " ended its days ; at the same tavern in 1800 , having tried the virtues of the " Spread Eagle" in the interim , and obtained the numbers 401 , 310-1 and 260 , prior to its collapse .

In quite recent times the Studholme Lodge , No . 1591 , which was constituted at Surbiton in 1876 , was transferred to the Metropolis in 1 S 81 , where it remains as an active inhabitant . The Provincial Grand Lodge of Surrey consists of fortyseven lodges , the senior of which—St . George ' s , Chertseywas chartered in 1823 , followed by the Grove , No . 410 ,

Sutton , of 1832 ; the Surrey , No . 416 , Reigate , being of the year 18 34 . These and the Frederick Lodge of Unity , No . 452 , of 18 3 8 , with the Croydon Lodge of Concord , of 18 39 ( both being domiciled in Croydon ) , constitute the senior quintette , the next oldest being twenty years later in origin ,

viz ., the Royal Alfred , Guildford , No . 777 , of 1859 . A valuable history of No . 416 , Reigate , was written by Bro . John Lees , and issued in celebration of its jubilee in 18 S 4 . The province is in a prosperous condition financially ,

numerically , and generally , under the fostering care of the Deputy Provincial Grand Master ( Bro . Frederick West , P . G . D . ) , the Provincial Grand Secretary ( Bro . Charles T . Tyler , P . A . G . D . C ) , and the Provincial Assistant Grand Secretary ( Bro . W . A . Lathom , P . M . 410 , & c ) , with the other active members . One of the most complete and ably

arranged of Provincial Calendars is published annually , under authority , by the Provincial Grand Secretary and the Provincial Assistant Grand Secretary as editors . The lodges with the brethren generally are generous supporters of the Central Masonic Charities , having over 10 , 000 votes to their credit ;

the Provincial Grand Lodge alone donating about . £ 2000 during the last fifty years , in the early part of which period the province was but small ; besides nearly . £ 500 for other charitable purposes .

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As was usual in previous years , so on Whit Saturday , the 30 th May , the popular passenger steamers , " Royal Sovereign " and " Koh-i-noor , " belonging to the New Palace Steamers Company , commence their sailings from London Bridge ( Old Swan Pier ) to Southend , Margate , and Ramsgate ,

at same times of sailing as last year , viz ., " Koh-i-noor " at 8 . 50 a . m . for Southend and Margate and back , and " Royal Sovereign " at 9 . 20 a . m . for Margate and Ramsgate and back , the fares will also be the same as before . The Company announces that during the past winter months the steamers

have been thoroughly overhauled and all the Board of Trade requirements have been complied with and improvements made , so that the public may rest assured that everything possible has been arranged for their comfort . The Company also announce that they are prepared to

offer specially reduced fares for parties of twelve and over , and party organisers will do well to write to the Company at their offices at 50 , King William Street , E . C ., for particulars of their trips before deciding on their excursion . The catering on board the steamers will be on the same liberal scale as hitherto , and worked entirely by the Company .