Contents.

CONTENTS .

LEADERS iosf Consecration of the Swan ot Avon Lodge , No . 2133 , at Stratford-on-Avon 106 Consecration of the Wilberforce Loilge , No . 2135 , Hull 106 Centenary Festival of the Domatie Lodge ,

REPORTS OF MASONIC MEETINGS ( Continued)—Royal Arch JiJ Mark Masonry 11 C Ancient and Accepted Rite 116 Ladies' Night of the Ranelagh Lodge , No . 834 116

No . 177 107 CORRESPONDENCERe the Regalia of the New Royal Arch Regulations . " 109 Notes and Queries no REPORTS OP MASONIC MEETINGSCraft Masonry no Instruction ni I

Cornwall Masonic Chanty Association no Annual Ladies' Night of the Eccleston Lodge , No . 1624 116 Principals of the Israel Chapter , No . 20 ; ... 117 Board of Benevolence 117 Complimentary I ) nner to the Members of the Aldersgate Lodge , No , 16 ^ 7 117 Masonic and General Tidings 118

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IT is imperative we should again remind our readers that the Anniversary Festival of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution will take place at Freemasons' Hall , on VVednesday next , the 24 th inst . We pointed out last week that the prospects , so far as it was possible at the time to form an opinion , were by no means encouraging , and that the Board of Stewards ,

the strength of which is a tolerably safe criterion as to the total of the subscriptions and donations which will be announced during the celebration , was very much below what it was at the corresponding period of 1885 . We regret to say the position has become still le > s hopeful , and that Bro . TERRY ' S prospects for Wednesday are more clouded than they were when

we wrote last week . Then , at all events , a comparison of the relative numerical strength of this and last year ' s Board of Stewards showed the latter had the advantage over the former by between 50 and 60 members . Now the figures are still more unfavourable , as the Stewards for Wednesday next muster only 260 brethren , as against 350 in 1885 ; and , to make matters

still less encouraging , the noble Chairman who has kindly undertaken to preside is not , as the Chairman for last year was , the Grand Master of a province , and consequently has no nucleus , as it were , of a list on which he can specially rely . We must therefore urge upon our readers the necessity there is , even during the few days that remain , that further exertions should be

made in order to minimise the falling off from last year ' s total , which seems inevitable . It were too much to expect that , with only so brief an interval available , the 18 S 5 Board of Stewards could now be equalled in point of numbers by that of Wednesday next , the difference between the two being almost enough to constitute a small Board of itself . But this need not deter

some among the hundreds and thousands of brethren who are not pledged already to act as Stewards for one or other of our Institutions during the current year from volunteering their services . They may not be able to do much in the way of canvassing for subscriptions , but if they do nothing more than contribute personally of their means , they will be rendering help

where help is sorely needed . It must be borne in mind that the close on ^ 14 , 000 required for the year's annuities must be forthcoming , whatever the result of the Festival may be , and that the payment of the further sum required for expenses of management , maintenance , & c , will still have to be met under any circumstances . Vet so large a falling off

in the number of Stewards—from 350 to 260—implies a corresponding diminution in the amount received , and that , at the average per list of last year , means a decrease of quite £ 4500 . To put the matter differently , and as a mere matter of arithmetic : —If , as we know was the case , the 350 Stewards of 1885 raised a total of £ 17 , 700 , the 260 Stewards of 1886 , even

at the same high average of £ 50 per list , cannot be expected to hand in much above , £ 13 , , or about £ 1000 less than is required for the annuities alone . We have said nothing as to the 130 poor candidates who are anxiously awaiting election upon one or other of the Funds of the Institution . We fear the majority of them—rather over than under two-thirds—will be

compelled to remain with their necessities unrelieved for another twelvemonth , and this because the question of the moment is not whether anything can be done to reduce their number by creating more annuities , but whether the Festival will yield enough to maintain the number of annuitants at its present strength .

* # * IT is but a short while since we had occasion to announce the death of one of our most popular provincial chiefs , R . W . Bro . Sir W . W . BURRELL , Bart ., Prov . G . M . of Sussex , and now another and equally popular ruler has been taken from our midst—R . W . Bro . Lord WAVENEY , Prov . G . M . of Suffolk ,

during the last quarter of a century . The loss , following , as it has done , so speedily upon that of Sir W . BURRELL , will be felt the more acutel y throughout the whole of the English Craft , but those who will have most cause to grieve will be our worthy brethren of Suffolk , who in Lord

WAVENEY , had a genial ruler who will not be easily replaced . His lordship's patent as Prov . Grand Master dates from the year i 860 , but he was not installed in office till July of the following year , and since then Freemasonry in this part of East Anglia has been steadily and increasingly

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prospering . In the 25 years that have since elapsed as many as 11 out of the 21 Suffolk lodges have been constituted , the eldest of the eleven being appropriately named the Waveney , No . 929 , and the next in seniorityquite as appropriately—the Adair Lodge , No . 936 , Aldeburgh . These two lodges , the one bearing the title conferred upon our deceased brother in

1873 , when he was created a peer , and the other the name by which he had previously been known , will constitute the most suitable memorial to his services to Freemasonry in the Province of Suffolk ; while the regret that is

everywhere felt at his unexpected death bears testimony to the services he has rendered during a long and honourable career to the Craft generally throughout England . We sincerely sympathise with the family and friends of the deceased , as well as with the lodges and brethren throughout Suffolk .

* * * THE Supreme Council of the Ancient and Accepted Rite did a graceful act on Wednesday , the ioth inst ., when they not only conferred the 33 ° on Bro . FRANK RICHARDSON , P . G . D ., but likewise presented him with the clothing appropriate to that Degree , as a slight mark of the esteem and respect in

which our worthy brother is held by the powers that be in Golden-square . Bro . RICHARDSON , as one of the chief functionaries of the Council , has rendered signal service to this offshoot of Masonry , as , indeed , it is his custom to render signal service to whatever branch or offshoot of Masonry ,

he may turn his mind to . Bro . RICHARDSON delights in hard work whenever he considers it will benefit the cause of Masonry , and both he and the Supreme Council are to be congratulated on the event of Wednesday week —he as the recipient of a well-merited honour , and the Council on their handsome recognition of the services he has rendered .

*»* IT has already been announced in these columns that Bro . J LANE , of Torquay , is engaged on the compilation of a complete set of " Masonic Records , " extending from the foundation in 1717 of the Grand Lodgeof England to the present time . These " Records " will comprise a list of all

the lodges , both at home and abroad , and whether still existent or defunct , which have been constituted by our four English Grand Lodges , together with such brief but well-authenticated particulars as will serve to trace them during the term of their existence . It will be , as we have said before , an invaluable work , and has secured the countenance of the GRAND MASTER

to whom , by his Royal Highness s permission , it will be dedicated , as well as the cordial support and encouragement of Bro . W . J . HI * C , , P . G . D ., who has kindly undertaken to write the Introduction . The work will , of necessity , involve an immense amount of labour on the part of Bro . LANE , who has already devoted several years to its compilation . Only a limited

number will be issued , and the price , therefore , has been fixed at Two Guineas { £ 2 2 s . ) per copy . It may be as well , however , if we add that Bro . LANE , though he has cheerfully given both his time and labour , is anxious to guard himself from any monetary loss , and that he has resolved , therefore , on not incurring the responsibilities of publication unless a list of

100 subscribers is assured to him beforehand . This , then , is the position in which matters stand . Bro . LANE ' S " Masonic Records " will be published if 100 lodges or brethren put down their names as subscribers for that number of copies . There ought to be no difficulty in filling up the required

number , for the work , as we have said , will be invaluable and the price is moderate . But should it be found impossible to obtain the 100 subscribers , then it is our duty to point out—these " Masonic Records" will not see the light of day .

* # » BRO . SADLER ' S interesting communication in last week ' s Freemason , respecting a "Modem" Masonic certificate of 1767 , reminds us of a still earlier one noted by the veteran Mason , R . W . Bro . WILLIAM KELLY , in his " History of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Leicestershire and

Rutland' ( 1870 ) . It was issued by the "Ancient" Grand Lodge to a Bro . WILLIAM LICSUORICH , and bears date September ioth , 1764 . The document is " in the beautiful handwriting and bears the si gnature of LAURENCE

DERMOTT , " as the Grand Secretary , the lodge noted therein being No . 91 , Leicester , warranted in 1761 . The design of the seal then , was a square and compasses , surmounted by a dagger within a circle ^ the motto being " Virtue and Silence , Grand Lodge of London . "

« # * IN the report of the consecration of the Grand Masters Chapter , No . 1 , which was inaugurated under such distinguished auspices a few days ago , it is stated that the "Ancient" Lodge under whose banner the chapter is to work , was originated in 1759 . As a matter of fact the lodge existed and was working sometime before the issue of the Warrant , and consequently