Provincial.

OXFORDSHIRE . ONFOED . —Apollo University Lodge ( No . 357 , )—The 50 th anniversary festival aud banquet of this lodge was held at the University Masonic Hall , on Thursday the 18 th uit ., when Bro . Captain George Nead Ltimert , P . M ., of the Castle Lodge of Harmony , No . 26 . B . A . and Fellow Commoner of Worcester College , was installed W . M . for the ensuing year .

YORKSHIRE ( WEST ) . PEOYINCIAL GltAND LODGE . The 20 th nit . was a great day with the Masons of Sheffield , when they were visited by the Provincial Grand Lodge of West Yorkshire , and a grand banquet and Masonic ball took place . It is impossible to fix the precise date at which Freemasonry was first introduced into this townbut certain it is that more

, than 100 years ago there was one or more lodges here . Tradition says that it is a very old institution in Yorkshire , dating its introduction as far back as the time of the Saxon King Athelstane—nearly 1000 years ago . There is no direct historical ovidence of the truth of this assertion , but the tradition itself is at least 500 years old , and in an ancient MS . engrossed upon vellum now existing iu the British Museum , and purporting to

be the traditions of Freemasonry , and admitted to have been written in the sixteenth century , the articles of Freemasonry are prefaced by a short history of the Craft , in tho course of which occur the

lines" Thys craft com ynto Englond as y zow say Y n tyme of good kyng Adolestun's day . " Masonic tradition says that Athelstane granted a charter to the Freemasons , and that his brother , Prince Edwin , established a lodge in York , under himself as Grand Mrster , A . D . 926 , and this is corroborated by another manuscript similar to the first mentioned iu the British Museum , and dating some time in the fifteenth centurywhich contains the following : — " There was

, a worthy kyng in England yt was eallyd Athelstone , and his yongest sone lovyd well ye sciens of gemetry , and he wyst well yt hand craft had ye practyke of ye sciens of gemetry so well , as Masons wherefore he drewe hym to counsell , and lernyd practyke of yt sciens to his speculatyf . For of speculatyf he was a master , and he lovyd well masonry and masons , and he bicome a mason hymseif . And he yaf them charges and names

as hit is now usyd id Englond , and in othere countries . And he ordeyned yt yey schulde haue resonabull pay . And purchased a fre patent of ye kyng that they schulde make assembly whan thei sawe reasonably tyme a cum to gedir to their counsellors of ye whicho charges manors and semble as is write and taught i ye boko of our charges . " Freemasonry has always been patronised by the nobility , and

the Grand Master of England has been , if not of Royal blood , at least one of the peers of the realm . Connected with our own neig hbourhood there were notable instances of this fact . In the year 1587 Charles Howard , Earl of Effingham , whose

name will be especially familiar to the people of the Rotherhain district—was Grand Master . The family of the Lord of the Manor of Sheffield , too , has at one time been associated with the honours of Freemasonry . In the year 1633 Thomas Howard , Earl of Arundel , the progenitor of the Norfolk family , occupied the proud position of Grand Master , and in 1827 , at a Grand Lodge held at the Devil Tavern , the Duke of Norfolk was elected Grand Masterwhich office he held for the two

succeed-, ing years . As a proof of his Grace's attachment to the Craft , he transmitted from Venice to England the following handsome presents for the use of the Grand Lodge : — "First , £ 20 to the charity ; second , a large folio book of the finest writing paper for the records of the Grand Lodge , richly bound iu Turkey and gilt , with a curious frontispiece in vellum , containing the arms of Norfolk amply displayed , and an inscription of the family

titles , with the arms of Masonry elegantly emblazoned . 'Third , a sword of state for the Grand Master , being the old trusty sword of Gustavus Adolphus , King of Sweden , which was next worn by bis brave successor in war , Bernard , Duke of Saxe-Weimar , with both their names on the blade , and further enriched with the arms of Norfolk in silver on the scabbard . " As to the early existence of the Masonic Craft in Sheffield , we learn that in 1765 the Rose and Crown Lodge was

consecrated in Sheffield under a warrant from the Grand Lodge at York . The name was changed on the 8 th April , 1795 , to that of the Britannia Lodge , under which title it is still known , but two years previous to the transition , or in the year 1793 , another

lodge—the Royal Brunswick—was also established , and this lodge , too , still holds on in its honourable career . It may be mentioned , however , that , although no reliable information appears to be within our reach respecting any other lodges which existed iu tho town , there is good reason to believe that such was the case , as is evidenced by the fact that " twenty members of other lodges were admitted subscribing- members of the Britannia Lodge on the Sth April , 1796 . "

Freemasons have been sometimes accused of , to some extent , neglecting the fair sex , but this charge is not substantiated either by the records of the past or the events of the present time . For instance , wo find that on the 14 th May , 1 S 00 , a motion was made that an entertainment should be held on the evening after the feast of St . John , and it was agreed " that each brother should have the liberty of introducing two ladies to partake of the evening's entertainment . " The extent to

which tho Masons went in the introduction of luxuries on the occasion of these " entertainments / may be gathered from the fact that " on the 25 th of October , 1 S 09 , being the jubilee day of his Majesty entering the 50 tb year of his reign , the brethren of both lodges [ the Britannia and the Royal Brunswick ] met at nine o ' clock iu the morning , with suitable music and dresses , in white aprons , white glovesand white stockingsand such

, , jewels as each thought proper , and returned from the church to dine together at three o'clock , tickets 2 s . Cd , each , to cover dinner and malt liquor . After that each brother drank what he chose , and paid for it . The lodge jointly paid the music 21 s . with a quart of ale to each musician ; and also paid the waiters , and for tobacco , aud for advertising once in the Iris and Mercury . " Quaintly enough these records read at the present

time , and probably some of the aristocratic members of the lodges , as they now exist , might be ready to smile at the doings of their predecessors , were the minutes of their proceedings of the more remote period once more brought to light ; but it must be remembered that things have greatly changed in every respect during the last sixty years . Always loyal , too , the Masons of England have a claim to be classed amongst the

highest patriots , and the brethren connected with the Sheffield lodges have kept up the credit of the Craft in this respect . For example , we find that on the 14 th March , 1798 , Samuel Robinson , the then Master of the Britannia Lodge , proposed a subscription "in support of the Government against a foreign country , " and the amount subscribed was £ 21 . With regard to Masonic ballswhich after all are not the least interesting of

, the events crowded in the annals of Freemasonry , the first record of the kind we have is that in 1801 . " It was agreed to hold the Masonic ball at the most convenient evening after the signing of a definite treaty of peace . " So much for the past ; and now for the present .

The Provincial grand lodge was held at the Cutlers' Hall , under the banner of the Royal Brunswick Lodge , of which Bro . W . H . Brittain , is the W . M . The Prov . G . L . of West Yorkshire itself was presided over by Bro . Bentley Shaw , the D . Prov . G . M . the Right Hon . the Earl de Grey and Ripon , D . G . M . of England and Prov . G . M . of West Yorkshire , being unavoidabl y prevented from attending on account of important engagements in London . There was a large attendance of brethrenamongst

, those present being the Rev . Dr . Senior , Grand Chaplain of England ; Col . Child , of Leeds ; Fredk . Binckes , Secretary of the Freemasons' Boys' School ; Major Woodall , Prov . S . G . W . of the North and East Riding , and Mayor of Scarbro '; T . W . Tew , Justice of the Peace , Wakefield , and Prov . S . G . W . of West Yorkshire ; Major Nelson , Prov . Grand Sec ; J . Peace , Esq ., Pro . S . G . W ., Huddorsfield J . FreemanProv . SGW

; , ... Huddersfield ; G . II . Westerman , . LP ., Castle Grove , Wakefield , P . P . S . G . W . ; W . White , Esq ., Sheffield , P . D . C . ; E . Drury , P . G . S , ; W . Short , P . P . S . ; Her . rv Smith , Wakefield ; W . Longden , P . P . S . G . D ., Sheffield ; W . Rhodes , P . G . W . ; J . Lamb , Esq ., S . B ., & c ., & c . Brother the live . Peter Browne , M . A ., officiated as chaplain , and Bro . Graham Stuart officiated as D . Prov . G . organist . A letter was

read from the Right Hon . the Earl de Grey and Ripon , expressing deep regret at being uuable to be present owing to his official engagements , and assuring the brethren that had it not been for his dut y to the State , he should have esteemed it his pleasure to have been amongst them Bro . Binckes , the secretary of the Masonic Boys' School , made an eloquent appeal on behalf of that charity . With regard to the present spocial effort , he expressed an earnest hope that the dignity and honour of the province would be upheld by the mauner in which