Provincial Grand Lodges And Chapters.

subscribing members had increased from 5 , 751 in 18 S 8 to 6 , 096 in 18 S 9 . The Lodges consecrated during the past year were—Peace , No . 2 , 26 9 , Wigan ; Fairfield , No . 2 , 289 , Fairfield ; Blundcllsands , No . 2 , 290 , Great Crosby ; Wavcrtrcc , No . 2 , 294 , Wavertree ; Scarisbrick , No . 2 , 295 , Southport ; and Prince's , No . 2 , 316 , Liverpool , all of which had as Masters and Wardens Brethren of experience and ability , and gave promise of a healthy and vigorous career . Warrants had also been granted for three other Lodges , to

meet at Harwich , Southport , and Wigan . The Benevolence and Charity Committee had met twice during the past year , and a sum of , £ ioS had been voted in aid or four widows and five distressed Brethren of the Province . Two girls and one widow had been elected on the foundations of the Royal Masonic Institution for Girls and the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution , and the Committee , at its last meeting , promised the support of the

province to three candidates for election on the foundation of the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys . It was , therefore , hoped that every Lodge and individual vote-holder would loyally support the Committee by sending their votes for the use of the Province . Bro . Bourne , S . W . 32 , attended the last meeting of the Committee , and gave some interesting information regarding the work done by the Provisional Committee of the Royal Masonic Boys ' School , more especially in reference to a proposed retiring allowance to -Bro . F . Binckes , the Secretary of the Institution , whereupon the Committee resolved that P . G . Lodge should be asked to express an opinion " That a payment not

exceeding , £ 200 a year is considered sufficient as a retiring ; allowance to Bro . F . Binckes . " Thirty-six dispensations had been granted during the year , and all the Lodges had made returns , and paid the necessary dues , though some of them were very much after the time provided for . After referring to certain inegularities in these returns , the report went on to state that harmony appeared to prevail in the Lodges , with two slight exceptions , into which inquiry would be made , and

unanimity , it was hoped , would be restored . While the year had been distinguished by great progress , its history had not been entirely an unclouded one . The P . G . Secretary concluded : — "It has pleaded the G . A . O . T . U . to call to his rest at an early age one near and dear to our R . W . P . G . Master , and I am sure the action taken by the present P . G . officers , when they addressed to your lordship a letter expressive of their sympathy , will be endorsed by

every Brother to-day . The province has further to mourn the loss of three Brethren of distinction who have died since we met last year—Bro . Albert Crossley , P . M . Lindsay Lodge , whose love to our Order has been evinced by his munificent gift of 2 , 000 guineas to the Masonic charities ; and Bro . Richard Brown , P . P . G . Treas ., who in his best days did good work , and exerted himself nobly on behalf of the West Lancashire Masonic Educational Institution . The most recent loss is that of Bro . Shuttleworth , P . S . G . W ., who died very suddenly on Saturday last , and round whose grave some were gathered yesterday to pay the last sad office of respect to departed merit . "

The I ' rov . Grand Master having expressed his thanks to the ProvincialGrand Officers for their address , the following officers were then appointed and invested : —Bros . E . H . Cookson ( Mayor of Liverpool ) , Senior G . W . ; W . B . Richardson , Junior G . W . ; Rev . J . Kirby Turner , G . Chaplain ; J . R . Jolly , G . Treas . ; T . Clarke , G . Reg . ; W . Goodacre , G . Sec . ; T . Adams and W . Webster , G . S . Deacons ; R . Walker and G . S . Willings , G . J . Deacons ; J ,

Brindle , G . S . of W . ; E . George , G . D . C . ; J . N . Patterson , G . A . D . C . ; J . C . Robinson , G . A . D . C . ; J . Queen , G . Swordbearer ; J . Pilling and J . Tumbull , G . St . Bearers ; Josef Cantor , G . Organist ; R . Betley , G . A . Sec . ; P . Yates , G . P . ; T . Westwood , G . A . P . ; J . E . Boden , H . Kidson , J . M . King , J . Chadderton , G . Nelson , and W . Turvey , G . Stewards ; and P . Ball , G . Tyler .

In St . Mark ' s Hall , Glasgow , on the evening of the 31 st ult ., Bro . Robert Freke Gould , author of the " History of Freemasonry , " delivered a lecture on " The Antiquity of Craft Degrees " to the Glasgow Royal Arch Chapter , No . 50 . There was a large attendance , including deputations from the other Royal Arch Chapters of the city , and representatives from the Supreme Grand Royal Arch Chapter of Scotland . Bro . Edward M'Bean , First Principal of the

Chapter , presided . A Masonic ceremonial of more than ordinary character will take place in Belfast on the 9 th , the occasion being the installation of the Most Hon . the Marquis of Hertford as R . W . Provincial Grand Master of the Province of Antrim . No similar ceremony has taken place here since the installation of the late Marquis of Donegall in 1864 . The Marquis of Donegall was at his

death succeeded in the Provincial Grand Mastershi p by the late Sir Charles Lanyon , D . L ., and the official position rendered vacant by his decease is now about to be filled by the appointment of the Marquis of Hertford , the gift of this dignity being the special prerogative of the M . W . Grand Master of the Freemasons of Ireland , his Grace the Duke of Abercorn . A special meeting of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Antrim will be

convened on the 9 th inst ., in the Exhibition Hall , Botanic Gardens , at three o ' clock in the afternoon . At that meeting his Grace will preside , as Grand Master of the Craft , and will be attended by the Deputy Grand Master , Bro R . W . Shakleton , Q . C , and the officers of the Grand Lodge of Ireland . The newly-appointed Provincial Grand Master will then be formally installed with all the customary ceremonies and honors by the Duke of Abercorn , and , having been duly saluted , the Provincial Grand Lodge will be closed .

The Church Congress And The Grand Treasurer.

THE CHURCH CONGRESS AND THE GRAND TREASURER .

ON Tuesday , at Cardiff , Bro . Edward Terry read his paper on Popular Amusements in Relation to the Christian Life , " and so eager were the local people to hear him that he had to read his paper over again to an overflow audience in another part of the town . The reception of Bro . Terry at each meeting was most enthusiastic . What Bro . Terry thinks : — " It may seem a very strong assertionand I may be considered as speaking

, from my own point of view as an actor , but I will venture to say that the stage is a necessity of the times . It is the refined pleasure of the people , from the happy fiction of the scene , and the consequent seeming reality—the action is , as it were , example , and precept is then enforced by its verification in practical life . Then , as we may learn to practise virtue and avoid vice by the instructive lessons of the drama , cannot the stage be made to answer the most useful ends ? A perfect tragedy is one of the noblest

products of human nature , and capable of giving the mind one of the most improving entertainments— 'A virtuous man , ' says Seneca , 'struggling against misfortune , is such a spectacle as gods might look upon with pleasure . ' May we not experience such a pleasure in witnessing the representation of a well-written play ? I know it has often been contended that the same , or even more , satisfaction can be obtained by reading , as by witnessing the performance of a play . That , in short—it is more enjoyable in

the study than on the stage . I totally dissent from this view . Is there not frequently almost as much in the manner as in the matter ? Can it be urged , for an instant , that reading a sermon at home would have the same effect , and do an equal amount of good , as in hearing it delivered by an eloquent preacher ? Would those great divines , who have adorned both church and chapel , by their eloquence attracting and swaying multitudes , leading them to better lives by the effect upon their emotions—would the printed sermons of those divines have had the same result ? I cannot think so .

" Can it be said there are no sermons in Shakespeare's plays ? The text abounds with them . In ' King Lear' what a picture is given of the sinfulness of filial ingratitude and its punishment ! In ' Othello , ' does he not plead for temperance in the words , ' O that man should put an enemy into his mouth to steal away his brains , ' and 'Every inordinate cup is unblessed , and the ingredient is a devil' ? Can any individual witness the sleep-walking scene in ' Macbeth' without almost sharing the remorse and horror of Lady Macbeth at her terrible crimes ? Mark the lesson and warning against overweening ambition he gives in Cardinal Wolsey ' s lamentation : —

' Had I but served my God with half the zeal I served my king He would not in mine age have left me naked to my enemies . ' Then note the effect upon an audience—aye , and frequently upon the players themselves—when a clever actor holds the 'mirror up to Nature , shows Virtue her own features ; Scorn her own image . ' These great lessons are , of coursenot limited to Shakespearebut as our greatest and best-known

, , dramatic poet I use his works for illustration . The majority of dramatists have written with the same purity of motive , from the time of Heywood , whose 'Woman Killed by Kindness'is a splendid example , to that of Addison , Colman , Oliver Goldsmith , Sheridan , Sheridan Knowles , down to the authors of the present day , of whom we may justly be proud . It may surprise many of my hearers to know that among the writers for the stage the clergy have been strongly represented—notably by Dean Milmanwhose tragedy of

, ' Fazio ' is an admirable work . " Now and again there is an outburst of bigotry , which , from sheer ignorance of the subject , is unscrupulous in slandering an honourable profession and a great art , but the good sense of the people revolts against the injustice . I remember being once shocked by a clergyman in the Midlands , who , almost arrogating to himself the attributes of the Almighty , declared that the burning of the theatre and loss of two lives was a judgment

of God on such a place of entertainment ; forgetting entirely the calamities that have taken place in other buildings ; notably the Cathedral at Santiago . Really one felt tempted to exclaim , ' Oh , for the rarity of Christian charity under the sun !' " I have alluded to occasionally impure plays , fortunately exceeding rare , and mostly , I am glad to say , of foreign origin , and I cannot help thinking that for these performances the clergy are somewhat to blame by holding aloof

from the theatre , and condemning the stage and its belongings unseen and unheard , whereas by their very presence they might ensure propriety from the respect due to their cloth . Let them not forget the lesson given in Puritan times , when the theatres were suppressed , and the general body of actors treated as rogues and vagabonds ; and mark the result in the degraded drama of the Restoration , when the people , naturally rebelling against the suppression of a wholesome amusement , went to the other extreme , and supported a drama which was a disgrace to the nation . Thank Heaven there is no fear of a repetition of this state of things . "

Bro . Terry concluded his discourse , which was listened to with wrapt attention and frequently applauded , with this wholesome belief : " I reiterate , the Theatre is a necessity in the social life of the people . At the present time there are over fifty theatres in London catering for different degrees of intellect , but all representing pure plays . I have no doubt many of my hearers have never been inside the walls of a theatre , and have been told

they are sinks of iniquity . To them I would say , judge for yourselves . It is not in accordance with British ideas of fair play to condemn without a hearing . The drama has survived many , many years of unmerited slander , and at present stands higher than it ever did . The stage is the amusement for the people ; and whether the Stage is pure or degraded rests entirely with them , for remember' The Drama's laws the Drama ' s patrons give , For those who live to please must please to live . ' "