Freemasonry In India.

FREEMASONRY IN INDIA .

A S we fully expected would prove to be the case , **** the item we published last week under this heading , from the " Delhi Morning Post , " to the purport that a " Bro . Bertie Scott " had been deputed by the Grand Lodge of England to visit India for the

purpose of collecting information with the view of publishing a " History of Freemasonry in India , " was —to say the least of it—based on a misapprehension . We are authorised to state that the Grand Lodge

of England has not deputed " Bro . Bertie Scott , " nor any other Brother , to do anything of the kind , nor has that body in contemplation the publication of a History of Freemasonry in India , or anywhere else .

It may be asked why , feeling sure the information was incorrect , we published the extract at all , and in explanation we may point out that had we simply referred the matter to Grand Lodge we should have been confirmed in our surmise—and there the matter

might have ended ; whereas now that public attention has been directed to it there is some hope that steps may be taken to deal with the matter in a stringent manner , as we feel it should be dealt with by our own and the Indian authorities .

Gloucestershire.

GLOUCESTERSHIRE .

THE Right Hon . Sir Michael Hicks Beach , Bart ., M . P ., has appointed Tuesday , 23 rd May , for the . holding of this Provincial Grand Lodge . The meeting will take place at Cirencester . -

"On the Square , " who compiles some excellent "Notes for Freemasons" in the "Kilmarnock Herald , " commences his last week ' s column with the following strongly worded yet fully deserved criticism—that is to say , assuming that he took the original paragraph seriously . He seems to have

overlooked the fact that the Brethren of the Fellowship Lodge completed their " mystic" business before the introduction of the famous greyhound , "Black Fury , " and under such circumstances our contemporary ' s indignation is perhaps a trifle too strongly expressed . He says : "My

correspondent who wrote so scathingly about a dog being admitted to a Masonic Lodge ( Frascati ' s , London ) did not go a bit too far . The action of the W . M ., and all present , deserve a good deal more than censure . If the Grand Lodge of England knows its business it will teach said Lodge a

much needed lesson . When I first saw the par . I treated the thing as a huge joke ; but the fact that it appeared in the sober and influential columns of the London " Daily

Telegraph " gave it a different aspect . I trust that those in authority will exercise their powers to the very utmost . The withdrawal of the Charter would be the measure of the gross offence . " 5

Often enough a mayoral nomination for the Shrievalty is a mere formality , but the Lord Mayor probably meant business on Tuesday , 14 th inst ., when he named to his fellow aldermen Mr . Alfred Henry Bevan , Citizen and Brewer . It is understood that Mr . Bevan will go before the Livery next

Gloucestershire.

Midsummer Day hand-in-hand with Alderman Treloar , to whom Alderman Vaughan Morgan gives way on the ground of indifferent health . Though he belongs to a family that has been connected long and honourably with the City , Mr . Bevan has not hitherto taken any active interest in civic

affairs . Still , he has many friends among the Livery , and possesses high qualifications for the coveted distinction . The simple fact that he has just been elected Grand Treasurer of English Freemasons makes him an exceedingly strong candidate , considering the extensive ramifications of Masonry

in civic and livery circles . Mr . Bevan is a director of the old brewing firm of Barclay Perkins and Co ., Limited , Southwark . It is believed that Alderman Newton , who is next in seniority for the mayoralty , looks with favour upon the prospect of having Alderman Treloar and Mr . Bevan for

his sheriffs , and in view of this fact we do not expect that Mr . Walter Judd will press his candidature further . — "London Argus . " [ We regret to see it thus publicly stated that Freemasonry has any power in City affairs , although we feel that it is generally supposed that Brethren are apt to work together , even as Aldermen of our great city . —Ed . F . C ] 000

Bro . Henniker-Heaton , M . P ., received civic recognition on Thursday , of his efforts on behalf of Imperial penny postage , by the freedom of the City of Canterbury , which he represents in Parliament , being conferred upon him . The ceremony took place in the Guildhall , which was filled with

a distinguished company . The Mayor ( Mr . George Collard ) made the presentation of the burgess ticket , which was enclosed in a handsome casket , and Bro . Henniker-Heaton , in reply , said he had never , in his postal efforts , considered himself more than an instrument for carrying out what was

pre-eminently a Christian and a civilising work . He thanked Canterbury for the honour , and assured the citizens that the casket with which they had presented him would be handed down as an heirloom in his family . The Archbishop of

Canterbury congratulated the newly-made freeman upon his success in bringing about a change which so many desired , and which he believed would prove of great value to the human race .

Rumours that the Pope has had a relapse , says a contemporary , lend interest to a personal detail of his recent illness . Dr . Lapponi , the regular physician to his Holiness , is a Catholic , but Dr . Mazzoni , who performed the operation , is a Freemason . At first the Pope demurred to calling in a

member ofthe body which he has so often publicly condemned . " Holy Father , " persisted Dr . Lapponi , "I have always distinguished between politics and medicine . Mazzoni is one of our best surgeons , and that should suffice . " " You are right , " the Pope replied ; " call him in . " Dr . Mazzoni says

that his relations with his patient were of the best . If gratitude to the surgeon should enable the Pope to be less vehement in his denunciation of the Craft , and more unbiassed in his judgment , both our Order and his Holiness would be benefited . So mote it be .

We are pleased to know we are occasionally sympathised with , in having to listen time after time to the same old rigmarole and backscrubbing utterances which are termed " speeches " at our Masonic banquets . A Brother who sat near us on a recent occasion wrote us the following day :

"There were certainly no ' points' about the speeches last night , and what you are going to report I am rather curious to know . Usual platitudes , you might say . Considering most of those who spoke were ' swells' in the Craft , the speeches were very disappointing—really inferior to what is heard at ordinary meetings , I consider . "