The Grand Lodge was opened in Ample Form, with prayer by R.. W... FREDERICK S. PARKHURST, Grand Chaplain.

On motion of W... CHARLES E. ABBOTT, Master of Lafayette Lodge, No. 64, all Master Masons in regular standing were permitted to be present during this session of Grand Lodge, except at such times as are prohibited by the Book of Constitutions.

The following telegram from R.. W... CLARENCE A. SLONE, Past District Deputy Grand Master, was read:

JAMESTOWN, N. Y., May 1, 1900.

WRIGHT D. POWNALL,

Grand Master of Masons,

New York.

Masonic greetings to you and the Grand Lodge. May this communication be one of the most beneficial to our noble Craft.

CLARENCE A. SLONE.

The following letter from R.. W.. JOHN D. WILLIAMS, Past Junior Grand Warden, was received:

EDWARD M. L. EHLERS,

Grand Secretary:

ELMIRA, N. Y., April 29, 1900.

Dear Sir and R.. W... Brother: I find myself unable to attend the coming session of the Grand Lodge. An accidental fall last Monday injured one of my legs so that I cannot walk a step. Am writing this in bed, where I am likely to remain some days yet. I am much disappointed, as this will be the second time I have missed the annual meeting of the Grand Lodge since June, 1858.

Please convey my regrets to the Most Worshipful Grand Master and all other friends.

Yours truly and fraternally,

JOHN D. WILLIAMS.

On motion, R.. W... JAMES M. DEGARMO, Representative of the Grand Dieta of Mexico; R... W... GEORGE A. BENTON, Representative of the Grand Lodge of Maine; R.'. W... PHILIP M. NAST, Jr., Representative of the Grand Lodge of Porto Rico, and R... W... JOHN H. CUNNINGHAM, Representative of the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia, were excused from attendance at this session of the Grand Lodge.

On motion, the following telegram was ordered forwarded to W.. ADNA A. TREAT, Past Master of Apollo Lodge, No. 13, the oldest permanent member of this Grand Lodge, BRO. TREAT now being 103 years of age:

ADNA A. TREAT, Denver, Colo.

NEW YORK, May 1, 1900.

The Grand Lodge of New York, in annual session assembled, sends you its heartiest greetings.

EDWARD M. L. EHLERS,
Grand Secretary.

The Grand Lodge was visited by M.. W.. JOSEPH E. MOORE, Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of New Jersey; M.. W... THOMAS W. TILDEN, Past Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of

New Jersey; M.. W.. GEORGE W. FORTMYER, Past Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of New Jersey; M... W... JOSIAH W. EWAN, Past Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of New Jersey; and R... W... MATTHIAS H. HENDERSON, Past Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania.

M... W... WRIGHT D. POWNALL, Grand Master, delivered the following address:

Brethren of the Grand Lodge :

"Time stoops to no man's lure." What tyrant so relentless, so invincible as time-unvanquished time-the conqueror of conquerors? Who has escaped its ravaging tooth or eluded its devastating touch? And who has not looked with pity upon the sorrowing hearts that strew the trail blazed by its resistless progress?

And yet so soft has been its hurrying tread, so insidious its advance, each little moment at another's heels, that scarce has died upon the air the echoing sound of the gavel descending upon the labors of the last General Assembly of Masons than again its resounding call is heard, commanding the Craft of the Empire State to the faithful performance of the duties which pertain to the One Hundred and Nineteenth Annual Communication of the Grand Lodge.

Since last-with many a fervent "God be with you!"-we took affectionate leave one of the other, the swiftly speeding earth has well-nigh completed its majestic orbit round the sun, and yet the sweet accents of the farewells then so gently spoken linger in our ears and mingle with the greetings of to-day as we joyfully acclaim the presence of the representatives of Freemasonry's mighty host.

Let us, then, speak kindly of time. We are the heirs of its benevolence no less than the victims of its malevolence. Its running sands have rapidly borne to us the pleasures and profit of this happy and important reunion. Its unceasing flow has brought a wealth of material blessings to the Craft of this imperial jurisdiction, and its eternal ebb recedes upon an era of unparalleled prosperity.

The servants of the Craft, those upon whom you so recently

conferred the honors and responsibilities of official place, find much that is gratifying in the accounts of their stewardship, which they now, obedient to the constitutional requirements, present for your inspection and approval. That we have been richly "blessed in basket and in store" must clearly appear from the following

SUMMARY OF NUMERICAL AND FINANCIAL STRENGTH.

Seven hundred and forty-eight active lodges appear upon. the roll of the Grand Lodge, and these lodges have reported, as of date January 1, 1900, an aggregate membership, in good standing, of 101,548 Masons.

The Grand Secretary will report receipts and payments to the Grand Treasurer for the year ending December 31, 1899, amounting to $78,069.52.

The Grand Treasurer has disbursed, May 15, 1899, to April 15, 1900, $75,832.77, and reports an unexpended balance amounting to $51,021.01.

The Permanent Fund has been increased during the term by $12,728.21, and now amounts to a total of $90,314.40.

The Trustees of the Hall and Asylum, because of the adoption of the constitutional amendment changing the date of our Annual Communication from June to May, will, in like manner as the Grand Treasurer, present an exhibit covering a period of eleven months only. Their receipts from all sources, excluding interest accruing to the Reserve Fund, amount to $82,063.44. They have disbursed the aggregate sum of $80,183.86, apportioned as follows:

In support of the 247 inmates of the Home, $42,052.56; for Hall Account and Expenses, $21,406.13; and for maintaining the equipment and for permanent betterments at the Home, $16,725.17. There remains in the hands of the Trustees a cash balance of $9,799.42. In addition, the reserve fund in the hands of the Trustees, and reported April 30, 1899, at $198,605.38, has been increased in the sum of $6,470.67 by interest receipts accruing from investments and deposits, thus making the total of the reserve fund, at date March 31, 1900, $205,076.05.

The grand total of the cash balances and funds, the investment of the latter having been confined to bond and mortgages, in the hands of the Grand Treasurer, the Trustees of the Permanent Fund, and the Trustees of the Hall and Asylum, amounts to $356,210.88.

The Home at Utica is being enlarged by the addition of a new dining-room extension, upon which there has been expended up to April 1, 1900, the sum of $9,700. A new horse barn with connections has been completed at a cost of $2,473.16. The sum of $1,657.75 has been expended in improving the grounds. Other necessary and permanent improvements to the interior and exterior of the main and memorial buildings have cost $2,894.26. The cost of these permanent improvements, when added to the amounts previously expended in building and equipping the Home, shows a total investment in the Utica property of $391,616.65.

The value of the Hall in this city, including the ground upon which it stands, has been appraised at $1,500,000.

The grand total, therefore, of our present assets, real and personal, has been increased during the year by $40,417.22 and now reaches the sum of $2,247,827.53.

STATE OF THE CRAFT.

Where peace abides, love vanquishes hate, and discord yields to harmony; the voice of factious opposition is silenced, and co-operation is the directing genius by which our powers are multiplied and comfort and happiness are diffused among the mass of the people. Our heavenly Father, with infinite compassion, has heard and answered the Craftsman's prayer, "Let brotherly love prevail, and every moral and social virtue cement us." We have inherited and conserved an honorable peace. We have dwelt in harmony and wrought in unity. And when the historian shall review the labors and the triumphs of our Fraternity during the closing year of the nineteenth century, he will write that never in its history has the Craft in this State been more united, never have its aims been higher nor its ideals loftier, and never has its efficiency been greater for the performance of labors which may tend to the glory of our "beloved Master" and the exaltation of his Holy Name.