Freemasonry In India.

Freemasonry in India .

A GROUP OP SCOTCH MASONS IN MADRAS .

The District Grand Lodge Of Natal.

The District Grand Lodge of Natal .

THE forty-second communication ( being the twenty-first anniversary of its establishment ) of the District Grand Lodge of Natal was held in the Masonic Temple , Smith Street , Durban , on Friday , the 27 th March last , when there was a large muster of Masons , some hundred brethren being present . The District Grand Master , Bro . Wesley

Francis , P . G . Sword Bearer England , presided , and was supported by the following District Grand Officers : — S . Marriott , D . D . G . M . ; P . K . Francis , S . G . W . ; J . Fletcher , J . G . W . ; the Rev . A . Ikin , D . D ., P . S . G . W ., as Grand Chaplain ; S . J . Mason , Grand Treasurer ; T . Reid , Grand Registrar ;

W . J . O'Brien , President Board of General Purposes ; W . J . Marriott , S . G . D . ; A . G . Knox , J . G . D . ; I . A . Jackson , Grand Superintendent of Works ; A . N . Scott , G . D . C . ; J . A . McLaren , A . G . D . C . ; J . R . Davis and D . Saunders , Grand Standard Bearers ; W . H . Bennett , P . D . G . O ., as Grand Organist ; Fred .

C . Loney , Assistant Grand Secretary ; J . M . Wilson , Grand Pursuivant ; and S . T . Downes and S . Pipes , Grand Stewards . Among others present were : —Bros . E . Terry , P . G . Treasurer England ; T . Rabob , P . P . G . R . Isle of Wight ; H . Wilkinson-Rider , P . D . G . W . ; and H . Buxton Browne , T . Cook , B . Ireland , A . W . Cooper , G . H . Edmonds , and S . H . James , all Past Wardens of the Natal District .

Before opening the lodge the District Grand Master called attention to the fact that he was going to use a new gavel which had been presented to him by a Past Grand Treasurer of England , Bro . Major Woodall-Woodall . It was a replica of one he had presented to the District Grand Master of the Transvaal , and was made from wood cut in

Sherwood Forest from a yew tree 1 , 500 years of age , and was as near as possible a replica nf the one which was a treasure of the Lodge of Antiquity of London . It was his intention to have it further inscribed and to present it to the District Grand Lodge .

District Grand Lodge was opened in due form and the minutes of the last communication read and confirmed . The District Grand Master , in welcoming the brethren ,, expressed his satisfaction at seeing so many present , especially those who had come from long distances . At the time of their last meeting in Durban , two years ago , they met under

a cloud , when many of their brethren were unable to be present , and when many were present who would rather have been in their own country , but were precluded by the then state of war , and it was with an intense feeling of gratitude that they realised that that state of affairs had

passed away , and that once more this country was united , pray God never again to be separated from the Crown of England . It was also a source of great satisfaction to know that these brethren were back again in their own country , and with the assurance that in the future they might work in peace and harmony , and he honestly believed it was the

feeling in the hearts of many of them that they would be a potent factor for friendship , brotherly love , and amelioration of the country , greater and stronger than any other force which could be looked forward to . Amongst those present he was particularly pleased to see the representatives of the Bethlehem Lodge , a lodge which of all others in the District

had suffered most from the ravages of the war , and which for so long a period had been cut off from its Masonic working . He had to thank those who had carried on the work of the District during his recent visit to England , and especially were his thanks due to the Deputy District Grand

Master and the District Grand Secretary . One point he should like to refer to—and it was one touched upon by the Earl of Lathom at a recent meeting of the Skelmersdale Lodge in Maritzbtirg , of which the Earl was Patron and a member—and that was that they should be very careful who they initiated into Masonry . Looking at it from the lowest