Masonic And General Tidings

MASONIC AND GENERAL TIDINGS

Bro . Sir Albert J . Altman has been elected Master of the Joiners' Company for the ensuing year . Bro . Sir James Whitehead is , we are glad to learn , making steady progress towards recovery . We understand that he is able to sit up for a short time each day . THE SHRIEVALTY . —The badge and chain of office for presentation to George Hand , Esq , is being made at George Kenning's manufactory , Little Britain , E . C .

A band-stand for the accommodation of the Press Bind has been erected in the small public garden on the Victoria Embankment facing the buildings of the London School Board . Our greatmistake in education is , as it seems to me ( says Sir John Lubbock ) , the worship of book-learning—the confusion of instruction and education . We strain the memory instead of cultivating the mind .

In his will , the late Mr . John Hill , of Streatbam , leaves £ 250 each to the British Home for Incurables , the London Orphan Asylum , the Deaf and Dumb , Asylum , the London General Porters' Benevolent Association , and the Great Western Railway Widows and Orphans' Benevolent Fund .

Our American cousins are now reaching us in large numbers . According to Mr . Low , the American passenger agent , there is an increase of 75 per cent , compared with the number who visited London last year . The season , in fact , is proving quite equal to the phenomenal one of 1 S 02 .

If we would be Freemasons in thought , word , and action , as well as in name , we must look deeper than the ritual . We must study the true meaning of the beautiful symbols and ceremonies of thc Order . With a true knowledge of these ever in our minds , that our lives may be controlled and guided by them , we will be bound together in one universal brotherhood , seeking only the greatest good for ourselves and our fellow man . —Address by Bro . W . L . Rush , of Colorado .

MASONIC PICNIC . —The annual picnic in connection with the Hamer Lodge , No . 1393 , was held on Wednesday , the 25 th ult ., at Llangollen . On arrival the party took boat to the chain bridge , and visited the Horse Shoe Waterfall and church , returning to the Royal Hotel , where dinner was served . Various places of interest in the neighbourhood

were subsequently visited . Votes of thanks were passed to the caterer , and to Bros . T . A . Laidlaw , VV . M . ; N . Chnstensen , J . W . ( Secretary of the Picnic Committee ) ; and R . J . M . Kynaston , P . M . and Treas ., for their unwearied exertions in bringing to a successful issue one of the most enjoyable picnics ever held in connection with the Hamer Lodge .

Mr . lohn H . Wood , who has been appointed engineer of the San Paulo Gas Company , was made the recipient of several testimonials previous to leaving South Shields . The directors of the South Shields Gas Company , through their chairman , presented him with a valuable gold watch as a mark of their appreciation oi-his services , which had extended over a period of 19 years ; and at a meeting of

the officials and workmen , presided over by Mr . J . H . Penny , the secretary of the Company , Mr . W . J . Warner , the engineer , on behalf of those present , handed a dressing case to him . His Masonic brethren also testified to their esteem by presenting Mr . VVood with a silver-mounted writing cabinet , the presentation being made by the Mayor of South Shields , at a large gathering of members of the Craft . —Gas World .

. FRESH AIR FOR EAST LONDON CHILDREN . — " For several years , by the generosity of your readers , " writes the Rev . J . W . Atkinson , of Latimer Church , Bow , "our committee have given a day in the country to thousands of poor , and in many cases orphan and sickly , East London

children , who , without such help , would not have a single day ' s country holiday during the whole year . The entire cost , including rail fare and substantial meal , is under one shilling per head . May we hope for the practical sympathy of your readers again this year ? " Subscriptions should be sent to Mr . Atkinson , at Claremont , Cawley-road , E .

A HAIH'V STRIKE AT THE WILD WEST . —Colonel William F . Cody ( Buffalo Bill ) and Nate Salsbury , his partner , were recently elevated to the 32 of Masonry . On Saturday , the 13 th ult ., morning bugle notes sounded about 10 o'clock , and there was a gathering of the clans near the grand-stand of the Wild West . Then , headed by the cowboy band , a procession marched through the grounds , halting before Buffalo Bill ' s tent . Colonel Cody came out

to see what it all meant , when J . M . Burke , general manager of the Wild West , stepped forth and said that as it was all the fashion these days to strike , the Wild West had decided to strike . Major Burke , however , hastened to assure Cody that it would be a gentle strike , and it was . In fact , it was a ten-strike , for the smiling Major presented to the astonished Buffafo Bill a handsome Masonic badge studded with valuable diamonds and rubies . He also struck

Mr . Salsbury in the same pleasing fashion , and in a graceful speech congratulated the two Masons of high degree . " You and Mr . Salsbury , " said Major Burke , " are such good people now that if the Masons have made you thirty-two degrees better they have made you perfect . " Both Colonel Cody and Mr . Salsbury made feeling replies .

Mr . Salsbury , who is an eloquent speaker , closed his remarks with a reference to the strikes , impressing upon his hearers the duties of citizenship . " He makes the best citizen , " he said , " who is most loyal to his Government . So long as you claim a Government as yours , obey its laws implicitly ; be loyal to that Government . "

. -C' 10 , 000 A YI : AK . —How one might piny the part of Prince Dount'firl on such an income ! What comfort anil relief one could bring lo the poor and lo thc sum-Ting . And yet , even without money one can do good if one has the will . If I see a fellowcreature sulleringfrom ague , fevers , or disorders of the stomach ;

or Irom gout , rheumatics , neuralgia , or live like , I don't need to be a man of wealth in order to show liim the way to health . If 1 point out to him the wonderful ellicacy of Holioway's I'ills and Ointment , I have perchance done more good by that one thoughtful action than I could have achieved with all the wealth of all tlie Rothschilds .

Masonic And General Tidings

The Archdeacon of London , Bro . Archdeaon Sinclair , will spend this month and next in Scotland . Bro . Sheriff-elect Hand distributed the orizeson Saturday last at the athletic sports of the boys of S juthga'e College . Bro . Archdeacon Sinclair distributed the prizes on Saturday at the close of the sports to the members of the Finsbury Polytechnic held on the Tee-to-Tum Ground at Stamford Hill .

A series of afternoon trip * - to the country and seaside his been arraneed by the Voluntary Eirlv Closing Association , whose President is Bro . Sir Blundell Maole , for the benefit of those who receive a Thursday half-holiday . MAS ) NIC CHARITY IN WEST LANCVSIIIRE . —I ' nder the presidency of Bro . P . Armstrong , P . M ., a meeting of the Court of Governors of the VVest Lancashire Hamer Benevolent Institution was held on Friday evening , the 27 th

ult ., at the Masonic Hall , Hope-street , Liverpool . Seven distressed brethren were elected on the foundation of the Charity at an annual cost of £ 162 , the largest sum which has ever been voted at a single meeting in connection with the Institution , of which Bro . J . R . Bottomley is . the Honorary Secretary . A special service will be held at Knotty Ash Church on Sunday , oth September , under the auspices of the Bootle-Wilbraham Lodge , No . 2463 , when a collection will be made on behalf of the " Hamer " funds .

Acting on the suggestion of Colonel Savile , the Catford Cycling Club arr organising * a relay ride from London to Edinburgh and back , and trying to obtain the sanction of the military authorities to convey a despatch from the War Office to the General Commanding at Edinburgh , and bring back his reply , thus demonstrating the utility of the cycle as a means of transport for conveying messages , & c , when

communication hi telegraph or railway is stopped . The points are as follows : The first ride of its kind in England ; each stage covers about 20 miles ; ridersjwill be duplicated to prevent delay in case of mishap ; approximate distance , Soo miles , timed to ba covered in 50 hours ; start Whitehall

10 a . m ., August lfiih , finish same place 12 noon , August iSth . The Catford C . C . will take the despatch to the top of Alconbury-hill , and it will be taken on in succession by the Huntingdon , Stamford , Newark , Yorkshire Roads , Darlington , Dunelm . Northumberland County , Morpeth , Berwick , and Waverley Roads Clubs .

What one man regards a sacrifice another considers a desirable privilege . Attendance upon Masonic gatherings , giving and doing for the advancement of the interests of the Fraternity , cultivating the goodly fellowship enjoined by the Craft teachings , are estimated by some brethren as irksome tasks . " I have never got any profit out of Masonry " said a brother once in the hearing of the writer . He felt

that he had received no special benefit by his connection with the Craft . He had not been helped in "basket or store" by his membership in the lodge . But thinking a little more broadly and truly he might have to admit that many and great olessings had come to him through Freemasonry . In speaking of his regard for the Institution , Dr . Winslow Lewis once remarked : "Truth and my

feelings prompt the declaration , that in Masonry I have found the best friends , the best social ties and comforts ; and the whitest hours of my life , apart from my family , have been when surrounded by my brothers , and around that altar , where heart beats responsive to heart , and all mingle into bliss . "—Freemason ' s Repository . Dunmow ' s world-famed flitch will on Monday be

presented to the couple who take the required oath that for one year and one day they have neither in deed , thought , nor word offended each other , and who are judged by the jury of six maidens and six bachelors entitled to the prize . There will be three pairs of claimants this year , one couple coming from Dublin , one from- Leominster , and the third

from a village in Warwickshire . The trial will take place in a marquee which has been erected in a field outside Dunmow for the occasion , the judge being Mr . J , M . Welch , a local auctioneer ; the " counsel " for the claimants is Mr . Robert Marsh , an Essex corn merchant ; and for the donors of the bacon , Mr . F . W . Bartley .

THE EMPIRE OF INDIA EXHIBITION * . —It will be good news for both Londoners and country cousins , to learn that next spring the first of a series of gigantic Exhibitions , under the direction of the London Exhibitions , Limited , will be inaugurated at Earl ' s Court . The . Empire of India is happily selected to be the subject of the company ' s initial venture , and should prove one of the mast attractive

exhibitions London has yet been favoured with , if only a tithe of the support promised from the most influenzal quarters is secured to the enterprise . Mr . Imre Kiralfy , of Venice fame , has here a subject exactly suited to hi , peculiar genius , and we may confidently expect from him a great spectacle of both historical interest and Oriental gorgeousness of display . It is gratifying to know that the exhibits

themselves will be unique , costly , and , above all , really representative of our great Indian Empire , and not the customary stale bazaar element Londoners are weary of . Both the Albert Palace and the Paris Hippodrome buildings will be re-erected in the grounds at Earl's Court , and form handsome permanent structures worthy of London ' s most beautiful pleasure garden .

MIDSUMMER MAS'INKY . —Masonry is properly an allthe-year-round institution . Its benefactions and its goodly influences cannot be confined to any season , or to any particular locality . Otherwise it would cease to be universal , and would not deserve that venerati in its world-wide existence receives . Masonry isnota myih ; it is emphatically a real institution . It has been a reality , performing its

beneficent offices for many generations . Whether or not it is precisely the same institution in ritual and ceremony that it was in the days of Antony Sayer and his coadjutors , who formed the Grand Lodge of England in 1717 , matters little . In teaching and in fundamental principle , in cerem my and obligation , it remains unchanged . Indeed the student of Masonic history will be surprised to find how closely , in quaint language , much of the present work in the lodges

conforms to that of Anderson and Preston . The essentials of Masonry are and have been ever the same . These essentials , which are esoteric in character , are landmarks which no advancement in education , no changes in language , no refinement of expression can alter . They are the same . They are presented to-day in a different form of words , in some respects , from that in which they were taught in the beginning , but the thought , the principle , the symbol and the lessons are exactly what they were . — New York Dispatch .

Masonic And General Tidings

Bro . Thomas Murray Janes has been elected Renter Warden of the Joiners' Company for the ensuing year . The boys and girls who are enjoying the benefits of the various establishments conducted by the National Refuges was on Thursday entertained by the Earl of Jersey , the President , at Osterley Park .

The Prince of Wales an 1 the Du' -e o York will arrive at Coves , in the . Royal yacht Osborne to-day ( Friday ); and the Duke and Duchess of Cinnaught and children and Prince Chri-tian on Saturday . The German Emperor arrives at Cowes in the Hohenzollern on Monday

afternoon AUSTRALIAN * IRRIGATION * COLONIES . — . " -amongst the thousand and one announcements for Bank Holiday we notice that Bro . James Stevens ( Representative of the Irrigation Colonies ) will illustrate , with the assistance of a series of recently-prepared dissolving views , a Record of Six Years' Progress in the Fruit Colonies of Mildura and

Renmark , in Victoria and South Australia respectively . The lecture will take place at the Industrial Exhibition , Earl ' s Court , in the Lecture Room , near the Fine Art Gallery , at 2 p . m . and 7 p . m . Admission free by tickets , to be obtained at the Kiosk and Fruit Trophy , opposite the Post Office at foot of staircase from Earl ' s Court Entrance to Nave .

For the famous Balaclava Charge only one Victoria Cross was awarded to an officer . The honour fell to Lieut . Alexander Roberts Dunn , for savin j the life of Sergeant-Major Bentley , nth Hussars , by cutting down three Russian lancers who were attacking him from the rear , and for subsequently rendering similar service to a private in the same regiment who was at the mercv of a Russian

hussar . Oi Wednesday this interesting decoration was put up to auction by Messrs . Sotheby , with a number of other war distinctions won by this officer , whose portrait by Chevalier Desanges was included in the " lot . " The whole fetched £ 155 . Lieut . Dunn exchanged from the nth Hu-sa'S into the 33 rd Regiment in 1 S 66 , and served as Lieutenant-Colonel of the latter in the Abyssinian War .

LYRIC THEATRE . —The second edition of " Little Christopher Columbus" was given at the Lyric Theatre on Wednesday night , to a crowded house . Much interest was created by the first appearance of Miss Florence St . John , in the part of Chiistopher , and by the return tothe stage of the Lyric Theatre of Miss Geraldine Ulmar . Both ladies were enthusiastically received . Several new songs ,

duets , and dances have been added to the book , and some very ' * catchy " melodies were accorded a hearty welcome . A new duet between Christopher and Mrs . Block ( Mr . John F . Sheridan ) was encored , and the duet between Christopher and Guinivere was well received . A new song for Guinivere was redemanded . Mr . E . J . Lonnen played

O'Hooligan with his accustomed spirit , and Mr . John F . Sheridan , in new frocks , as Mrs . Block , was much applauded . A waltz melody , sung b y Miss Geraldine Ulmar , also excited great enthusiasm . Miss Mabel Love was compelled to repeat her dance with Mr . Lonnen in the "Marionette Courtship . " Many bouquets were presented to the two principal ladies .

ROVAL NATIONAL LIFEBOAT INSTITUTION * . —A meeting of this institution was held at its house , John-street , Adelphi , Sir Edward Birkbeck in the chair . Mr . Charles Dibdin , the Secretary , having read the minutes of the previous meeting , rewards were granted to the crews of lifeboats of the institution for services rendered during the past month , and to the crews of shore boats and others for

saving life from shipwreck on our coasts . Payments amounting to i , 1527 were ordered to be made on the 30 S lifeboat establishments of the institution . Among * the contributions recently received were , 1 , 2000 from Mrs . Roget , for the endowment of her lifeboat at Clovelly , the Elinor Roget ; £ 421 gs . 4 d ., collected by S . Penfold , Esq ., late Mayor of Folkestone , in aid of Folkestone

new lifeboat establishment ; £ 200 from the Ancient Order of Foresters , annual subscription in aid of the support of their three lifeboats ; £ 110 from his Grace the Duke of Westminster ( i , toa donation and £ 10 annual subscription ); £ 75 horn E . F . White , Esq ., and Miss White ( annual subscription ); £ 50 " In Memoriam , Ellen Bridges ; " and

£ 7 7 s . from A . C . Allen , Esq ., contents of contribution box ( additional ) . It was reported that very successful " Lifeboat Saturday " demonstrations and collections had taken place in various towns since the last meeting . Reports having been read from the district inspectors and organising secretaries on their visits to various places , the proceedings terminated .

Speaking of the triennial visitation of Knights Templar at Denver , a correspondent of the Masonic Guide writes : " Two things oppressed me there , first , the display of the Cross oversaloons , and , second , the oft-repeated salutation of 'Sir Knight' upon the street . Surely the hearts of many good men and true will go out to the frater for the manly and christian way in which he spoke of the

desecration of the Cross , used as it was over the doors of barrooms . It was simply horrible , and no palliation of so serious an offence against common decency can be offered . The encampment was powerless to prevent it , and nothing could be done to eradicate from the beautiful streets of Denver this shameful exhibition of misp laced hospitality . At its recent conclave the Grand Commandery

of Alabama passed a motion t < overture the Grand Encampment on this subject , with the view of recording its own hearty disapproval of what was observed at Denver , and of endeavouring to forestall , if possible , a repetition of the offence at Boston . We are frank to say that we do not see how it can be prevented , but protests against it are very much in order . As to the other episode of the Denver

trip , there is more of hope . It is particularly tying to many excellent men , Knights Templar and devoted to the Order , to be singled out and addressed as Sir Knig ht This , and Sir Knight That , and Sir Knight the Otner , until the very name becomes obnoxious . What is tne use of the appellation , any way ? It is , of course , proper and necessary within the asylum or when in line , but we can

think of few things more disagreeable than to walk along the crowded streets ot a large city and be accosted at every other step as ' Sir Knight . ' It is ridiculous , puedle , and exasperating , and should be deemed sufficient provocation for instantaneous and implacable annihilation , without benefit of clergy . " We entirely agree with the writer . Tnere is a little too much of this with English Masons in public .