Ancient And Accepted Rite.

Ancient and Accepted Rite .

lnvicta Chapter , No . 10 . The last meeting of the season was held on Friday , the iGth ultimo , at 33 , Goldensquare . Bro . H . C . Heard presided , and Bros . J . _ J . Tickle , C . C , and Octavius Marsland were perfected , the ceremony being impressively rendered by the veteran 111 Bro . W . M . Bywater , 32 ° , assisted by the officers . Among those present we noticed 111 . Bros . McGowan , 31 ° ( visitor ); H . Lovegrove , 3 i ° j J . J . Pakesj George Powell , 30 ° ; Manningj Welldon j J . Read , 30 ° j P . Laird , J . Songhurst , C . B . Barnes , G . W . Capel ( visitor ) , and many others .

Lodges And Chapter Of Instruction.

Lodges and Chapter of Instruction .

LA TOLERANCE LODGE , No . 533 . A meeting was held on Wednesday , the 12 th inst ., at the Frascati Restaurant , Oxlord-street , W ., when there were present Bros . M , Beedle , W . M . j H . Raphael , S . W . j H . Mullins , J . W . j J . Paul , P . M ., Preceptor j G . Hill , P . M ., Treas . j W . E . Willby , P . M ., and T . W . Smale , P . M ., Sees , j J . Goldstein , S . D . j E . Hornwood , J . D . j H . Cross , I . G . j W . Proctor , Tyler j Plucknett , Pinnell , Parker , Bowden , Sturgess , Leather , Zeppenfeld , Carnaby , Isaacs , and Butcher .

The lodge was opened in due form and the minutes of last meeting read and confirmed . The lodge was opened in the Second Degree , and the ceremony of passing was rehearsed , Bro . Parker being the candidate . The lodge was resumed in the First Degree , and the ceremony of initiation was rehearsed , Bro . Isaacs being the candidate . The W . M . rose for the first time when the dues were collected . At the second rising of the W . M ., Bro . H . Raphael , S . W ., was unanimou sly elected W . M . for the ensuing fortnight , and appointed his officers in rotation . The W . M . rose for the third time , and the lodge was then closed .

ISLINGTON LODGE , No . 1471-The usual weekly meeting was held on Tuesday , the iSth inst ., at the Cock Tavern , Highbury , when there were present : Bros . C C . Renaud , W . M . j W . F . Roberts , S . W . j L . Danielsson , J . W . ; J . W . Clarke , P . M ., P . G . P . Middx ., Asst . Preceptor ,- C . M . Coxon , P . M ., P . P . G . D . Herts , and J . Duncan , P . M ., Sees , j A . F . Hardyment , S . D . j A . L . Langton , J . D . j C . Nicole , I . G . j C . Smith , S : Cload , W . J . North , F . H . Johnson , W . Rapley , R . F . Upton , P . M . and

H . R . Bower . The lodge was opened and the minutes read . The ceremony of initiation was then rehearsed , Bro . Johnston being the candidate . The Ancient Charge was given . The W . M . vacated the chair in favour of Bro . Johnson , and part of the ceremony of raising was rehearsed , Bro . Rapley being the candidate . Bro . Roberts was elected W . M . for the ensuing week and appointed the officers in rotation . The lodge was then closed .

STAR CHAPTER , No . 1275 . The usual weekly meeting was held at the Stirling Castle Hotel , Church-street , Camberwell , S . E ., on Friday , the 7 th inst . Present : Comps . W . Dawson , M . E . Z . ; W . R . Smith , H . j Hy . Cornford , J . j T . Grummant , P . Z ., Preceptor j C . H . Stone , P . Z ., S . E . j Hy . Hardman , S . N . j Blum , P . S . j Longhurst , Rankin , Remington , Eckersall , Derham , Lundie , Reed , and Barr .

The chapter was regularly opened , and the companions admitted . The minutes of the last convocation were read and confirmed . The ceremony of exaltation was rehearsed , Comp . Derham personating the candidate . Comp . Smith , H ., was elected M . E . Z . for the next meeting . Comp . Geo . Rankin , 1329 , was elected a member . The chapter was placed at the disposal of the M . E . Z . 2182 , on Friday , the 21 st inst ., at p . m . The chapter was then closed .

The Craft Abroad.

The Craft Abroad .

MARK MASONRY . Avondale Lodge , No . 460 The installation meeting of this flourishing lodge was held on Friday evening , the Qth ult ., at the Masonic Hall , Nevis-street , St . John ' s , Antigui , West Indies . Those present were Bros . R . H . K . Dyett , Dist . G . I . of W ., W . M . j Hon . A . W . H . aCourt , I . P . M ., Dist . G . S . W ., as S . W . ; Charles Griffin , J . W . ; T . S . G . Pigott , M . O . ; M . R . Higgins , S . O . ; C . W . Watkins , J . O . j Rev . Charles H . Branch , B . A ., Dist . G . Chap ., W . M . elect , Chap . ; J . T . Thilon , Treas . ; G . E . Pierez , M . D ., R . of M . j

P . J . O'L . Bradbury , Sec . ; Thorn is H . Foster . S . D . j W . H . Evans , J . D . j G . 1 . Gallwey , Org . j C U . Melanson , I . G . j J . F . D . West , acting Tyler j and many other members and visitors . The lodge was opened , and the minutes of the previous meeting were read and confirmed . The usual preliminaries having been concluded a ballot was taken for Bro . James H . D . Wall , 492 , which proved favourable , and h : being in attendance was duly advanced to the honorary Degree of a Mark Master Mason by the W . M .,

Bro . the Hon . A . W . H . a Court then presented the W . M . elect , Bro . the Rev . C . H . Branch , B . A ., Dist . G . Chap ., to receive the benefit of installation , and a Board of Installed Masters having been formed , he was duly installed by the W . VI ., Bro . R . H . K . Dyet f , and saluted according to ancientcu-torn . The nswly-installed W . M . appointed and invested the following officers : Bros . M . A . Higeins , S . W . ; R . Bell , J . W . j T . S . G . Piggott , M . O . ; C W . Watkins , S . O . ; P . J . O'L . Bradbury , J . O . ; L . Read , Chap . j I . H . Thilon . re-elected Treis . ; H . B . Moore . R . of M . j J . H . D ,

¦ Wall , Sec ; G . E . Pierez . M . D ., S . D . ; Tho * . H . Foster , J . D . ; C . U . Melanson , D . C ; G . T . Gallwey , Org . j J . E . Dyett , I . G . ; and H . C Nibbs , re-elected Tyler The usual eharges were delivered bv the Installing Master , and attentively listened to b y the brethren . The Audit Committees' report was read and adopt s ^ , by which it appeared that t' e lodge was in a prosperous condition , b : ing free of debt , and having a snug balance in the Treasurer ' s hands . A vote of thanks was accorded to the retiring Master , bro . Dyett , for his zealous and untiring services to th" : Order .

The lodge was then closed , and the brethren separated , having passed an entertaining and instructive evening . A portrait of the Insta'ling Master , Bro . R . H . K . Dyett , will be found in another column .

Obituary.

Obituary .

M . W . BRO . SIR W . J . CLARKE , BART . A newspaper cable , last Saturday , announcing the awfully sudden death that day , in the streets of Melbourne , of M . W . Bro . Sir W . J . Clarke , Bait ., Pro and Past Grand Master of Victoria , must have come as a shock to many who knew him in England , as it did to the writer of this notice , who for several years had had the honour of his close friendship , Masonically , as well as in other walks of

life . Although it was no secret that the health of our eminent brother had recently assumed a precarious and anxious cbaracter , no one could have anticipated the tragical close to his long and useful life , during which he was one of the foremost figures of Australian society . William John Clarke was the eldest son of the Hon . William John Turner Clarke , a member of the Upper House ol the Victorian Legislature , descendant of an old Somersetshire family , who emi . grated to Tasmania , then known as Van Dieman's Land , in 1840 . Embarking in

Obituary.

pastoral pursuits , he eventually acquired considerable landed property , and in th early " forties " turned his attention to the continent of Australia , taking up large tracts of country in the colony now known as Victoria . At his death , the subject of this notice , a native of Somersetshire , succeeded to the vast estates in Victoria . Much of the land in the neighbourhoods of Melbourne and Ballarat being cut up into farms , and it will suffice to say that the happiest relations always existed between Sir William Clarke and

his numerous and prosperous tenantry . He succeeded his father as a member of the Legislative Council of the Colony for the County of Bourke , and time after time was returned unopposed as the representative of one of the finest districts of Victoria . With his vast wealth and naturally generous disposition , it is but reasonable to suppose that our late distinguished brother encouraged and liberally supported every measure and project that might tend to the

development of the pastoral , the agricultural , and the commercial interests of Victoria . Science , art , and literature owned him as one of their most liberal patrons , as instance his foundation of Trinity College , connected with the Melbourne University , and a scholarship in the Royal Academy of Music for native Victorians . During the first great Indian famine he subscribed ^ 10 , 000 to the relief fund , also a like sum to the building fund of the Anglican Cathedral of St . Paul ' s in Melbourne . Nor must we omit the establishment and maintenance at his own

expense , of a battery of horse artillery , a detachment of which distinguished itself at the Royal Military Tournament three years ago . In 1882 , her Majesty the Queen conferred on Sir William Clarke , the dignity of a baronetcy , and , up to his death , he was the first Victorian ever so honoured . He was further an LL . D . of Cambridge University . By the way , the motto on his coat of arms significantly runs : "Signum guserens in ¦ acllere" ( "Seeking the sign in the wool" ) . But it is with his Masonic career that we are mostly concerned . Initiated in an Irish

lodge in Tasmania , when quite a young man , the future Grand Master took no active part in Masonry for many years . In the latter part of 1881 , however , a vacancy having occurred in the Provincial Grand Mastership of Victoria under the Irish Constitution , Sir William Clarke was selected and his name submitted to the late Duke of Abercorn , Grand Master of Ireland , and being approved , he was duly installed . From this incident was evolved one of the brightest ornaments in British Freemasonry , as may readily be imagined from the well-known

kindheartedness and energy of the brother so honoured . Commencing as ruler over some dozen lodges , the following year there occurred vacancies in the heads of the English and Scottish Constitutions , and the happy idea of inviting the chief of the Irish Masons to accept both those offices was conceived , subject to the approval , of course , of the M . W . Grand Masters of England , Scotland , and Ireland . This mutual arrangement was readily conceded , and in March , 1884 , was witnessed the most imposing Masonic ceremony ever known up to that time , namely , when

Sir William Clarke was installed District Grand Master of the English and Scottish Constitutions , in the city of Melbourne . Our late brother thus found himself at the head of about 120 lodges , under three Constitutions , a unique combination , that we believe stands by itself in the history of Freemasonry . The year following Sir William laid the corner stone of the Freemasons' Hall and Club , in Melbourne ^ property of which he was at the time of | his death a three-fourths proprietor . Meanwhile Masonry in Victoria under such happy auspices progressed by leaps

and bounds . Passing over the second attempt to found a Sovereign Grand Lodge of Victoria , which succeeded , and which Sir William Clarke declined to countenance , owing , as he expressed it , to his disinclination to " cut the painter " that bound Masonry under his sway to the Grand Lodges of England , Ireland , and Scotland , and to his disbelief in the now pretty well exploded theory that three lodges can form a Grand Lodge , where no supreme body is supposed to exist—it was in 1888 that serious steps were taken to consolidate Masonry under

one Constitution . The visit of the late Earl of Carnarvon to Australia had a conciliating effect in both New South Wales and Victoria , where discord then prevailed , consequent on the foundation of unrecognised Grand Lodges in both those colonies . South Australia had already assumed independent government , and had been recognised , the movement in that colony having been practically unanimous—indeed , there is only one lodge existing at the present time outside the Grand Lodge , and that an Irish one . Then succeeded New South Wales , another instance of practical unanimity , only one lodge of three

originally now standing out ; and in 1889 Sir William Clarke became the Most Worshipful Grand Master of the "United Grand Lodge of Victoria , composed of 94 English , 18 Irish , 13 Scotch , and 18 Victorian , or a total of 141 lodges , two English lodges holding aloof , one of which subsequently joined , whilst the last , the Combermere , No . 752 , in Melbourne , is now presided over by Lord Brassey , Governor of the Colony and Grand Master of Victoria , while Sir William Clarke was a subscribing member of it' till the day of his death . Since Sir William Clarke's induction as Grand Master

of Victoria — which magnificent function , by the bye , was performed by Lord Carrington , assisted by Chief Justice Way , respectively first Grand Masters of New South Wales and South Australia—Masonry has still further advanced , and there are now over 160 lodges in the jurisdiction . Last year , to wide-spread regret , our departed brother decided upon relinquishing his important office , prior to doing which , however , he nominated as his successor Lord Brassey , and , as a proof that his sympathies were still with the Craft , he

accepted the position of Pro Grand Master , as provided by the Victorian Constitutions , whenever the Governor of the Colony is Grand Master . Lord Brassey was to be installed last month for the second time , with Sir William Clarke as Pro Grand Master , which office , in consequence of his death , is now vacant . The late Sir William Clarke was head of the Supreme Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of Victoria . He was also a member of the Mark Degree and a Knight Templar . In the permanent monuments of Masonic Charity in Australia and

England , he ever took the warmest and most substantial interest , and during his periodical visits to the old country , he qualified as Patron of the Boys' School and Vice-Patron of the Girls' School , while Lady Clarke , too , is a Patroness of the former School . Our late brother was 66 years of age at the time of his lamented death . He had been twice married , and from this end of the British Dominions we are sure sincerest and most respectful sympathies will be conveyed to Lady Clarke , to the new baronet , Bro . Sir Rupert Havelock Clarke ( born in 1865 ) , and his relatives in their terrible affliction .

BRO . STEPHEN HENRY GREENSTREET , P . M . 125 . Bro . Stephen Henry Greenstreet , P . M ., of Prince Edward Lodge , No . 125 , Hythe , passed away after a short illness , on the 10 th inst . Bro . Henry Greenstreet was an accomplished musician , and held the office of Organist of his lodge , at Hythe , and also of Radnor Lodge , No . 2587 , Folkestone . He had occup ied the position of master of the National Schools of the village of Chereton for over a generation , and in his calling he was very successful , as testified by the Government Diocesan Inspectors' reports from time to time . For many years he

had acted as churchwarden and organist of the Chereton Parish Church . He was also Secretary of the lodge pf Oddfellows of his village , and also the Chairman of the Parish Council . His musical talent often provided good entertainment in his village in order to relieve it of some of its natural monotony . He was a director of the Hythe Building Society . Masonically , he was a frequent visitor to the various lodges in the locality . His funeral was attended by hundreds of old friends of various spheres of life , and many more testified to their esteem , as proved by the host ol floral tributes that were laid on his grave .