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THE / -iRITERION RESTAURANT PICCADILLY CIRCUS . DINNERS & SUPPERS A LA CARTL IN THE CELEUKWT . D EAST ROOM , AND AN E X C E L L E N T 4 / - S U P P E R IS NOW SERVED FROM 10 . 30 10 12 . 30 IN THE WEST ROOM , BOTH ACCOMPANIED BY INSTRUMENTAL MUSK .

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PARTRIDGE & COOPER "THE" STATIONERS , 191 & 192 , FLEET STREET , LONDON , Would invite attention to their LARGE AND WELL-SELECTED STOCK OF GENERAL & FANCY STATIONERY , Suitable for presents , such as Inkstands , Stationery , Cabinets , Ladies' and Gentlemen's Dressing Bags , Travelling and Brief Bags , & c , all of which are enumerated in their New Illustrated Catalogue , sent free on application .

To Correspondents.

To Correspondents .

The following communications , amongst others , unavoidably stand over : CRAFT LODGES . —Philanthropic-, No . 30 . 1 ; Scuts , No . J 319 ; and Woodgrange , No . 1409 . KbVAi . AH : H CIIAITERS . —Prudence , No . 13 , and Star , No . HISLadies' Night of the Southern Star Lodge , No . i > jf * . Provincial Grand Ch rter of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight . Masonic Library for Hanley .

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I ZO & BLJ » JkJtAAXJk ^ £ & att *& -A . AAAAX S ATURDAY F EBRUARY 318 94

Masonic Notes.

Masonic Notes .

The Quarter ly Convocation of Supreme Grand Chapter will be held at Freemasons' Hall , on Wednesday next , the 7 th instant , when , as will be seen from a letter we published last week from Comp . LeFeuvrei

an attempt will be made to non-confirm that portion of the minutes of the November Convocation , which contained the resolution adopted by a large majority for reducing the interval between being " raised " and arched" from 12 calendar months to four weeks .

We trust that any such attempt will prove unsuccessful , not merely because at the time the resolution was adopted , we hailed its adoption with satisfaction ; but for the following still more important reasons . In the hrst place , it is almost invariably a sign of weakness in

any governing body when it seeks to undo one moment what it has been at the pains of doing only a short time previousl y ; and secondly , because we truly believe the reduction will prove beneficial to Royal Arch Masonry .

It is hardl y necessary that we should call the attention of Comp . I . e Feuvre and thuse who agree with him to Article I . of the " Constitutions of Free and Accepted Masons , " in which it is laid down in accordance with the Act of Union of 1813 , that "the Supreme Order of the Holy Royal Arch " is an

Masonic Notes.

integral part ot " pure Antient Masonry . " This being so , why , we ask , should there be the long delay of 12 calendar months between being raised and exalted ? A brother may be advanced to the Mark Degree , which is separate and distinct from " pure Antient Masonry , "

as soon as he has become a Master Mason , but he may not be exalted until an interval of 12 months has elapsed ! Were the Royal Arch a separate order of Masonry , one could understand Supreme Grand Chapter laying down such a law as to the eligibility of

candidates for exaltation ; but if , as the Book of Constitutions tells us , it is included in the Craft system of " three degrees and no more , " the interval is needlessly long , and calculated to inflict serious injury upon the well-being of the Royal Arch .

* * Again , no one has ever been able to show that there is a specific virtue in the 12 months' interval—no one , at all events , so far as we are aware , has ever attempted to show cause why such an interval was imperatively

demanded—and we are at a loss to understand why it should be insisted upon . Its maintenance as we have said is notoriously detrimental to the interests of the Royal Arch . Brethren are not eager to be exalted under the present law , because they appear to regard Craft and Arch Masonry , not as parts of one system ,

but as separate systems . Under the proposed new law , which makes the interval between raising and exaltation the same as between the inferior Degrees , this appearance of separateness will no longer exist , and the Royal Arch will become in practice what it has always been in theory—an integral part of " pure antient Masonry . " # #

* There is one point in connection with the proposed new rule which must not be overlooked . It will not b e obligatory on a chapter to exalt a Master Mason of four weeks' standing , but it will be lawful for it to do

so if occasion should arise . As a matter of fact , there will almost of necessity be , especially in country towns of moderate size which are fortunate enough to have chapters attached to their lodges " , an interval of some months between raising and exaltation . Chapters , as compared with lodges , meet but seldom , and when the

rule holds good that a candidate for exaltation must be proposed at one meeting , and , if accepted , exalted at the next , it is clear that three or four months must elapse before the Master Mason is entitled to be dubbed companion . In short , the new law will permit , not compel , exaltation after a four weeks' interval .

We understand that , in view of the very large number of brethren who are expected to attend the next Quarterly Communication of United Grand Lodge on the 7 th March , arrangements are being made by which

the votes for the several candidates for the office of Grand Treasurer for the ensuing year may be recorded with all possible dispatch , and in such a manner as to prevent any unseemly overcrowding .

We are able to announce that Bro . the Earl of Lathom , Pro Grand Master and Prov . Grand Master ot West Lancashire , has arranged that the Festival on behalf of the Royal Masonic Institution for Girls , at which he has undertaken to preside as Chairman , shall

be held on Wednesday , the 9 th May . * # » The festival of the Emulation Lodge of Improvement is fixed for Friday , the 23 rd inst ., and according to the list of Stewards , which will be found in another

column , the event will be again worthy of this distinguished university of Freemasonry . None of our readers , we think , need to be reminded of the excellent work carried on by this distinguished Lodge of Improvement . Its graduates bear the hall mark of efficiency and the effect of its teachings are , especially of late

years , observable in the improved working in almost all London lodges . The Craft certainly owes a debt of gratitude to the brethren who , at much sacrifice of time and great labour , have done so much to preserve our beautiful ritual from the hands of the spoiler .

On Tuesday , the 23 rd ult ., Bro . Ernest St . Clair , Grand Steward , so well known in connection with the La France Lodge and Chapter , was installed W . M . of the Tuscan Lodge , No . 14 , in the presence of a large number of distinguished brethren , including 15 Present and Past Grand Officers of England . Under the very

able direction of Bro . Tito Mattei , the musical arrangements after the banquet proved to be most enjoyable . By a curious coincidence another member of La France Lodge , Bro . Henri Bin ' -, P . D . G . D . C ., was to-day ( Friday ) installed in the chair of First Principal in the British Chapter , No . 0 .

Correspondence.

Correspondence .

THE NEW ROYAL ARCH REGULATION . To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Companion , I am somewhat astonished at the very erroneous impression many appear to have received in regard to the resolution agreed to at the last meeting of Grand Chapter for reducing the period within which

a Master Mason may be exalted to the Royal Arch . Rule 73 of the Regulations of Royal Arch Masons provides that " No Mason shall be exalted to the Supreme Degree unless he has been a Master Mason for 12 Calendar Months at least , of which satisfactory proof should be given . " The alterations carried at the last Grand Chapter and which will be submitted for

comformation at the next , substitutes one calendar month for 12 . Now what I wish particularly to point out is that if such proposed alteration becomes law , every chapter would be perfectly free to exercise it own unfiltered discretion as to the period which should elapse after

becoming a Master Mason before conferring the Royal Arch Degree on any candidate . It would be perfectly competent for any chapter to decline to elect a brother who had been a Master Mason for less than one year or even two years should they consider that such a course would be for the benefit of

the chapter or Royal Arch Masonry . No brother can claim to be admitted a member . The object of the proposed clause is simply to provide that in the event of a brother who has been raised one calendar month being anxious to take the Royal Arch Degree , it should be permissible for a chapter to exalt him if , in the opinion of the members of such chapter , it should

be desirable to do so . I do not suppose that in one case out of a thousand a brother would be exalted within the minimum period of one calendar month , as it rarely happens that the chapter connected with the lodge holds its meeting precisely within one calendar month after the lodge meeting .

It seems to me that the objectors to the proposed alteration have entirely overlooked the fact that it rests with the members of each individual chapter really to determine what period shall elapse between the receiving of a brother and then receiving him as a member of their

chapter . There cannot be the slightest doubt that the present hard-and-fast rule has deterred very many from joining the Royal Arch , who have not hesitated to join other branches of Masonry which do not insist on so long a period of probation . —Yours fraternally ,

A PAST PROVINCIAL GRAND REGISTRAR

To the Editor of the Freemason . Dear Sir and Ex . Comp . I have been patiently waiting for someone to write in the sense in which Comp . Le Feuvre has done respecting the upsetting of the old landmarks in Royal Arch exaltation , and if I am able to attend Grand Chapter on the 7 th inst ., I shall gladly support

him . It seems to many of us that the proposed change from 12 months to four weeks is not desirable , that it is unpractical , and further that it will not have the result expected . It is a bad plan to hurry young Masons through their Degrees ; the whole thing becomes a jumble

when intervals of four weeks only intervene . It might well be impressed upon a candidate at his raising , that any defects in present knowledge will be made good in the Royal Arch , and that he should patiently await his exaltation therein . A Royal Arch . Mason at an interval of only three or four months from his initiation may avoid the Mark ,

Ark , & c , but will probably try Templary or anything else for which a Royal Arch Mason is eligible , so that if the proposed change is made , the expected result will probably not ensue . The proposal is unpractical , because a Master Mason is not generally registered within four weeks , nor likely to have a Grand Lodge certificate . One

must surely have some proof beyond the mere assertion of himself or friend that a Master Mason he is Again the by-laws of private chapters would have to be considered . 'The companion who objected that the proposal had been " sprung" upon the Order may have been technically wrong , but he was practically right . The usual

notice of motion had been given , but Grand Chapter circulars lie on the table at the place of meeting often for months , get lost , or in the general apathy , go into the waste basket unread . At our last Provincial Grand Chapter in November , I brought forward the proposal for the consideration of the companions . Only two or three of those present

heard anything of it ! 1 he contemplated change was regarded with amazement , and a resolution against it would have been certainly carried , but the Acting Grand Superintendent declined to receive it , ruling it out of order for a Provincial Grand Chapter to criticise the action of Grand Chapter . Let the question be postponed for six months , and meanwhile let a circular be issued to c \ ery private

chapter , or at any rate to every Provincial Grand Chapter , directing them to assemble and consider two points , viz . : 1 . is it desirable to alter the present 12 months' period ? and if so . 2 . What shall the inteival be V Four weeks as proposed by some , or six months , which would probably be accepted by most r—Yours fraternally , January 29 th . C . H . W ., Prov . G . S . E .