The Craft Abroad.

The Craft Abroad .

Cambrian Lodge of Australia , No . 656 , E . C . The usual monthly meeting of this , the only English lodge in New South Wales , was held at the Protestant Hall , Sydney , on the 5 th August , there being a large attendance , notwithstanding the heavy rain . The W . M ., Bro . Parkinson , presided , and after reading the voluminous correspondence , including a cablegram to the M . W . G . M . offering fealty and congratulations , and the cablegram from his Royal Highness and Grand Lodge of England in replyBto . H . A . Podmore , P . M ., was invited to take the

, chair and initiate three candidates , one of whom was his eldest son , who had just rt turned f rem the Transvaal . This is the second occasion within the past two months that Lewises have come forward , on the previous month two out of the five being sons of Masons . The Secretary reported that the Arbitrator , in the case of the Lodge v . New South Wales Constitution , had given his award against the defendant , and he hoped that in a short time the matter would be at an end .

The lodge is increasing its numbers , and great care is being taken to ensure the acceptance of only reputable candidates . After the lodge had been closed , the usual loyal toasts were drunk . The toast of " The M . W . G . M . " was given for the first time since the installation of his Royal Highness a fortnight previously . The Royal Standard Lodge , No . 39 S ( E . C ) , Nova Scotia , was accorded an unanimous vote of thanks for the loan of the original letter of the Grand Lodge in 1 S 71 on the Coquelette case , which confirmed the right of minorities to hold the lodge warrant in spite of the action of seceding members .

Masonic And General Tidings.

Masonic and General Tidings .

THE REV . HUGH PRICE HUGHES , M . A ., chaplain to Bro . Sheriff-elect Horace Brooks Marshall , has published an interesting volume entitled " The Morning Lands of History : The Story of a Tour to Greece , Palestine and Egypt . " ON THE 17 th July , the local Free and Accepted Masons of Victoria Lodge , No . 2392 , Accra , under the Grand Lodge of England , loyally and respectfully commemo-. rated the occasion of the installation of the M . W . Grand Mister ot England , H . R . H . the Duke of Connaught , K . G ., & c , by a banquet , for which almost every Mason in Accra provided himse'f with a ticket .

BRO . DR . MORDAUNT SIGISMUND will deliver a lecture on " Grand Orient Masonry in Juxtaposition to English and American Masonry " before the Regent ' s Park Lodge of Instruction , No . 2202 , at the Restaurant Prascati , Oxford-street , W ., on Monday evening next , the 23 rd instant . The lodge will be opened promptly at 7 . 4 s p . m ., and visiting brethren will be cordially welcomed .

TRUSTEE SAVINGS BANKS . —During the year ended November 20 th , 1 9 00 , 435 of these banks transferred their funds to the Post Office Savings Banks , the amounts transferred being . £ 8 , 201 , 193 in money , and ^ 240 , 300 in Government stock . At the end of the year the depositors in the trustee savings banks numbered 1 , 625 , 023 , arid the average amount of each deposit account was / 31 13 s . 4 I .

A PROVINCIAL GRAND LODGE of Mark Master Masons of the County Palatine of Lancaster will be held under the presidency of the R . W . Prov . Grand Master , Bro . the Right Hon . the Earl of Lathom , P . G . W ., at the Town Hall , Todmorden , on Wednesday , the 2 nd prox . The business before the Prov . Grand Lodge will be to receive the report of the committee appointed to revise the bye-laws , and the transaction of the annual business of the province .

IMPORTANT MASONIC APPOINTMENT . —An important Masonic appointment applicable to the eastern district of Scotland has been made . Bro . David Guthrie Shiell , B rechin , will shortly be installed to the office of Grand Superintendent for Angus and Mcarns of the Royal Arch Chapter , liro . Shiell is widely known amongst Freemasons in the county , and the honour which has been conferred upon him is legarded as a highly popular step in Masonic promotion .

THE NEW OSWESTRY MASONIC HALL .-A Grand Lodge of the Province of Shropshire will be held at Oswestry on the 17 th prox ., when the foundation stone of the new Masonic Hall will be laid by Bro . Sir Oflley Wakcman , Prov . Grand Master . lhe contract for the building has b ecn let to Messrs . W . Griffiths and Son , Kllesmere , for £ 1614 . Bro . W . H . Spaull , F . R . I . B . A ., Past A . G . D . of C . and Prov . G . Sec , is the architect . The site of the hall is at the junction of Roft-street and Smithfieldroad .

HOUSE OF REST FOR CLERGY . —A fund has been opened at the London and Westminster Bank , Lothbury , with the object of carrying into effect the earnest desire of the late Bishop Creightin to establish a home of rest for overworked clergy of the London diocese . Some £ 1500 will be required . Prebendary Ingram is receiving donations at St . Margaret's Rectory , Ironmonger-lane . The Archdeacons of London and Middlesex have given from the reserve fund the first instalment of money necessary to secure the lease of the property which it is desired to acquire .

BRO . THE EARL OF MOUNT EDGCUMBE unveiled , at SaUash , Cornwall , on Wednesday , a memorial to the late Gene : a ! Sir William Penn Symons , erected in the Victoria Gardens . The monument is of gianite , 30 feet in height , the sides of the ta « e and the shaft being ornamented with rock facing , and the terminal carved crown heavily gilded . At the base is a bronze medallion , with life-size bust of the distinguished officer , and a bronze tablet blaring the fotlowirg inscription : "This monument wai erected by his countrymen at home and abroad to the memory of Major-General Sir William Penn Symons , K . C . B ., of Hatt , who fell while commanding the troops at Ta ' ana Hill , Natal , on the 20 th October , 1 S 99 . "

BRO . PITT-LEWIS , K C , Deputy-Judge of the City of London Court , gave seme itteresting information , during the hearing of a case before him , respecting the distini tion between payment by cheque and payment by cash—a difference which ought to be generally known among business men . Two or three hundred years ago , he said ' , it u £ td to be held that it could not be regarded as payment in satisfaction to offer £ 1 for a ^ 5 debt . The House of Lords had corrected that , and said that , while giving a

sovereign in payment of £ , 5 was no discharge , the handing over of & cheque for the smaller sum constituted " satisfaction . " A c hcque was a different instrument in law to current coin of the realm . When the former was tendered for a smaller sum than that which was demanded , it inferred , if accepted , a stipulation that it was full payment of the larger sum . Once taken , the acceptors could not afterwards say , " Oh , we took it on 2 ccount . " Business men ought to remember that , and the legal profession might also , with advantage , bear it in mind .

THE RETIREMENT of Bro . James Berry from the office of Provincial Grand Master of Forfarshire is , we ( Dundee Advertiser ) understand , about to be officially announced . Bro . Berry , who for many years has taken a leading part in Scottish Masonic affairs , has been constrained to resign for the reason that the state of his health prevents him from devoting the attention to the discharge ot the duties of the office which for many yeatshas characterised his occupancy of this high and honourable post . Bio , Berry ' s connection wiih Freemasonry has been long and honourable . When a young man he became initiated in the mysteries of the Craft . Thirty years ago he

was appointed to an official post in Provincial Giand Lodge . Ten years later he succeeded the late Bro . David Small as Prov . Grand Secretary . Subsequently he became Depute Master , and in iSSS , on the unanimous nomination of the district , he was elected Provincial Grand Master by Provincial Grand Lodge , in succession to Bro . the Hon . F . Lyon . In 1 S 93 , when his commission ceased , on the urgent representation of the piovince , he was re-elected , an honour again repeated when his five years of office expired . The retirement of the Provincial Grand Master will , it is understood , come beiote a Committee of Grand Lodge on an early date .

ANGLO-INDIANS AND OTHERS seeking genuine Indian-manufactured condiments , currie stuffs , chutnees , preserves , poppidums , Bombay ducks , Nepaul pepper , & c , send to the original firm . C . Stembridge and Co ., 18 , Green-street , Leicester-square , London ; and Calcutta . Established ISZI . Write for price list . ( Removed from 33 . Leicester-sauare ) .

Masonic And General Tidings.

PRINCESS STEPHANIE , the former Crown Princess of Austria-Hungary , an ! Count Lonyay have arrived in town , and are staying at Claridge ' s Hotel . AN ENTHUSIASTIC reception was given to "The Great Millionaire , " Mr . Cecil Raleigh ' s new autumn melodrama , at Drury Lane Theatre , an the iSth inst . MANCHESTER is threatened with a disastrous water famine , unless the long . delayed rain falls , the Thirlmere works yielding as yet but one-sixth ofjtheir full supply , THE DUCHESS OF SUTHERLAND'S manv friends will be glad to hear that the results of the accident which befell her Grace the other day while out horse-riding are no longer serious .

WE ARE REQUESTED to state that the Hendon Lodge of Instruction , No . 2206 , meets at the Volunteer Hotel , Upper Baker-street , W ., on Tuesday evenings at eight o'clock . AMONGST the latest contributions received at the Bank of England for the Prince of Wales's Hospital Fund for London are the following annual subscriptions : Bro . Sir Henry living , jt , 100 ; Duke of Westminster , £ 50 .

AUSTRALIA'S Sword of Honour fcr General Baden-Powell his now reached London , and is under the care of the Hon . Henrv Copeland , Agent-General for New South Wales . The date of presentation is not yet fixed .

PRINCESS LOUISE ( Duchess of Argyll ) , who is staving at Roseneath , continues to manifest the keenest interest in her Wounded Soldiers' Home . Her R oyal Highness daily superintends the arrangements for the comfort of the men . THE CONSECRATION of the Borough of Islington Lodge , No . 2 S 61 , will take place on Wednesday next at the Masonic Temple , Beale ' s Restaurant , Holloway-road , at 4 . 30 . V . W . Bro . E . Letchworth , G . Sec , will perform the ceremony .

THE KING has appointed Brevet-Major Charles Henry Strutt , late of the Royal ( Bombay ) Artillerv , to be a Military Knight of Windsor on the Lower Foundation , in place of Major Clement | Headington Dale , who has been promoted to the Royal Foundation .

BRO . THE DUKE AND DUCHESS OF DEVONSHIRE are at present staying at the Grand Hotel des Thermcs , Salsomaggiore , near Milan , where they went after leaving Aix-les-Bains . They are expected to arrive at Devonshire House on the 29 th inst ., and next day go to Newmarket . BRO . VISCOUNT AND VISCOUNTESS CASTLEREAGH have arrived at Plas Machynlleth , North Wales , the Welsh residence of the Dowager-Marchioness of Londonderry , where his lordship is to be presented with a portrait by Ellis Roberts of his grandmother , the gift of the inhabitants of Macnynlleth .

THE ST . JOHN AMBULANCE ASSOCIATION have published an " Emergency Book , " containing a series of simple instructions for rendering " first aid " in cases of accident or sudden illness . The book is ingeniously arranged to supply the required information in any emergency without a moment ' s delay . THE DUKE OF CAMBRIDGE attended Easingwold Agricultural Show on Wednesday . Sir George Wombwell ' s house party at Newburgh Park , to meet his Royal Highness , included Bro . the Duke of Marlborough , the Marchioness of Londonderry and Lady Helen Stewart , Bro . the Earl and Countess of Yarborough , and Col . FitzGeoree .

IN THE PRESENCE of many thousands of his mourning fellow-countrymen , the remains of the murdered President McKinley were interred at West Lawn Cemetery , Canton , Ohio . Although severely simple in character , the ceremony was very impressive , and the presence of large bodies of troops served to enhance the importance of this national funeral .

THE CROWN PRINCE OF SIAM , accompanied b y his brother , Prince Purachatra , and attended by Phya-Rat , one of the bodyguards of the King of Siam , is spending the week in Gloucestershire . To-day ( Fridiy ) they will be shown over Gloucester Cathedral by Bro . Dean Spence . After lunching at the Deanery , the distinguished visitors return to London .

HIS MAJESTY has expressed a wish to retain as a memento the figure-head of the Royal yacht Elfin , which is now being broken up at Portsmouth . The vessel was purchased by the Prince Consort some years after his muriate with Quit Victor ! a , and was used principally for giving short sea trips to the young Princes at . d Princesse s when the Royal Family was at Osborne .

THE TORPEDO-BOAT destroyer Cobra foundered off Grimsby . She left Tynemcuth on Tuesday on her way to Portsmouth , fell in with a heavy gale , and apparently , owing to the action of the seas , drifted on the Dudgeon rocks , near Grimsby . Almost immediately , she broke in two . Only 12 survivors of the crew of over 70 men were picked up by a passing steamer .

THE MARQUIS OF LANSDOWNE , Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs , was desirous of ~ coming to London from Ireland for the purpose of attending the memorial service for the late President of the United States in Westminster Abbey , but his lordship has not yet entirely recovered from the attack of sciatica from which he wis suffering when he left town , and was compelled to postpone the journey .

ON THE 19 TH INSTANT King Edward and Queen Alexandra left Fredjnsborg for Sorgenfri Castle , where their Majesties lunched with Prince and Princess ChrUtiin . Queen Alexandra , King Christian , and some other members of the Royal Family then drove to Bernstorff Castle , returning afterwards to Fredensborg by train . King Edward and the rest of the Royal paity returned from Sorgenfri by motor-car .

SUMMER VACATION at the Royal Military College has now ended . Among the new cadets who have entered are Prince Mahomed Ali Bey _ j a son of General Gitacre : Hon . C . A . J . Annesley ( son of Bro . Viscount Valencia ) , and the Hon . M . A . Wingfield ( sen of Bro . Viscount Powerscourt ) . Captain F . R . H . Chapman , of th : Indian Staff Corps , has been temporarily appointed Instructor in Hi idus tani .

BRO . EARL ROBERTS has consented to unveil a statue of the late Queen Victoria in Piccadilly , Manchester , on October 10 th . The funds were raised at the time of the Diamond Jubilee celebration , and after the payment of £ 5000 for the monument , a balance of about £ 14 , 000 will remain to aid the rebuilding ot the local infirmary . On the following day Bro . Earl Roberts will open a military tournament in Manchester .

MAJOR-GENERAL SIR HENRY TROTTER will on the 28 th inst ., in Kennington Park , present war medals to members of the Volunteer Service companies of ths Queen's Royal West Surrey Regiment and East Surrey Regiment . The men to be decorated belong to the 3 rd ( Bermondsey ) V . B . Queen ' s , 4 th V . B . Qiieen ' s ( Newstreet , Kennington Park ) , 1 st Surrey Rifles ( Camberwell ) , and 4 th V . B . East Surrey ( St . JoWs-hiH , Clapham J unction ) .

MEMORIAL SERVICES for the dead President were held throughout the country . The di p lomatic and official element in metropolitan society attended Westminster Abbey where his Majesty the King was represented by the Earl of Pembroke . St . Paul ' s Cathedral was ciowded by a congregation chiefly composed of the civic and commercial classes . Signs of mourning were everywhere apparent , many places of business being closed during a portion of the day .

BRO . W . MILES , Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature , has kindly consented to give a dramatic , humoroup , and musical recital , comprising scenes from Lord Lytton ' s " Lady of Lyons , " zither recitals , and humorous selections , before the scholars and friends of the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys , at Wood Green , on Monday next , at 7 p . m . Tickets may be obtained on application to the Secretary , Bro . J . M . McLeod , or members of the Board of Management .

Death.

DEATH .

LAMP . F . RT . —On the 12 th instant , at 12 , Coventry-street , Bro . Major Georg e Lambert , F . S . A ., third son of the late Francis Lambert , of Coventry-street and Acton , Middlesex , in his 7 8 th year . Friends will please accept this , the only intimation . No flowers by desire . The funeral took place on the 17 th instant at Kensal Green Cemetery ,