Masonic And General Tidings.

MASONIC AND GENERAL TIDINGS .

The death is announced of Bro . William Herbage , who for some years had been connected with , and was a Past Master of , the Israel Lodge , No . 205 . A Special Provincial Grand Lodge of West Lancashire will be held at the Conservative Club , Eceles , to-morrow ( Saturday ) , at half-past three o ' clock , and subsequently proceed to lay the foundation-stone of St . Andrew ' s Schools , Eceles . The Right Hon . the Earl of Lathom , G . C . B .,

Pro Grand Master , Provincial Grand Master , will perform the ceremony . The Richmond Horse Show , which was to have been held on Wednesday , will be opened to-morrow ( Saturday ) , when the Princess Mary , Duchess of Teck , with the Duke of Teck and their daughter , the Princess Victoria Mary , and the Mayor and Corporation will be present . A silver horse shoe will be presented to the Duchess as a memento of the occasion .

Bro . Lord Herschell , Lord Chancellor of England , is staying at Deal Castle , where he intends making a sojourn of some weeks ; and Bro . Shaw-Lefevre , her Majesty ' s First Commissioner of Works , is at his seat at Oldburyplace , Ightham , Kent . Bro . Lord Randolph Churchill , M . P ., has been invited to become President of the Sunday Concert Society .

Bro . the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire have been staying at Hardwick Hall , one of the Duke's ancestral seats , it being the first time for nearly a century that it has been visited by a Duchess of Devonshire . Thev will pay a longer visit later in the year , and will entertiina succession of shooting parties in October and November , after wliich thev will proceed to Chatsworth .

Over 1 joo persons were present on Sunday last in the galleries of the Royal Society of British Artists , which were thrown open to the public through the instrumentality of the National Sunday League . The galleries at Grosvenor House were also , by permission of the Duke of Westminster , again thrown open , and visited by several hundreds of people .

At a meeting of the Earl of Carnarvon Lodge , No . 1642 , held on the Sth inst ., Bro . F . Ernest Pocock , M . D ., P . M . 1 S 91 , V . P . of the Board of General Purposes , was unanimously elected W . M . Bro . Pocock was initiated in the Earl of Carnarvon Lodge in 1 S 7 S , and has thus served a 14 years' apprenticeship before attaining to the chair in his mother lodge .

It is expected that her Majesty s staghounds will commence forest hunting next month preparatory to the opening of the regular season in November . It is generally supposed that this v . ill be the last season of the pack , but many landowners and tenant farmers are believed to favour its continuance , and steps are being taken to present a petition to the Queen against the disestablishment of the Royal Hunt .

It is proposed to erect a memorial in Peterborough Cathedral to the late Bro . the Rev . Dr . Magee , who only a short time before his death was translated from the See of Peterborough to that of York . Upwards of £ Soo has been already subscribed , and the committee have accepted the design of Mr . Pearson , R . A ., for the cenotaph , while Mr . James Forsyth , sculptor , of Hampstead , has been commissioned to execute the work .

We are pleased to state that Bro . James Smith ' s new work is nearly ready for issue , entitled " History of the Old Lodge of Dumfries , " now denominated Dumfries Kilwinning , No . 53 , with an introduction on the Ancient MS . Charges ( the property of the lodge ) , by Bro . Wm . James

Hughan , P . G . D ., & c . This volume will embrace an account of the transactions of the Lodge from iGS ( i to the present day ; with a frontispiece , showing facsimile of a page of the first Minute Book ; copies of two Ancient Charges , with an introduction by Bro . W . J . Hughan , and other interesting information valuable to the Craft .

MASONIC BAZAAR AT HAWICK . —A three days' bazaar in aid of the fund for building a Masonic Hall for Lodge St . James , Hawick , was opened in the Exchange Hall , on the 15 th instant by Bro . the Right Hon . the Earl of Haddington , Grand Master of Scotland . The Grand Master , who arrived by the mid-day train , was accompanied by a Grand Lod ire deputation , including some of

the chiefs of Scottish Masonry . The visi-. ors were met at the station by the two local lodges , who escorted them to the Exchange Hall for the opening ceremony . The hall was lilted up to represent a street in Jerusalem , and thc stalls , which were artistically arranged , were loaded with useful and ornamental articles . Lord Haddington , in opening thc bazaar , which was attended by the leading

Masons of the district , congratulated the Province of Roxburgh andStlkirk on the progress made in recent years . The la . les , by providing a rich and abundant collection of goods , had shown their faith in Masonry and in Masons , and indications were not wanting that their enterprise would be attended with success . On the call of Bro . Elliot , Wolllee , the Grand Master was thanked for his attendance , as was also Bro . Dr . Middleton , P . G . M ., for presiding .

We understand that Messrs . M . B . Foster and Sons , Limited , the celebrated mineral water manufacturers , have devised a method of obtaining absolutel y pure water , and supplying it for general table consumption at a price that will bring it within reach of all . This is a step in the right direction , for water , unlike many beverages on which much scientific thought and experience isexpended , is an absolute

necessity , and in these days it is an equal necessity that it should be free from all suspicion of impurity . Messrs . Foster have devised a unique plan that ( jives a chemical purity to the fluid by boiling , a mechanical purity by filtration , and . a crisp , palatable quality to the water by aeration . Boiling kills any possible bacteria in the water ; filtration

eliminates all solid matter , if any ; aeration makes the pure water , crisp , and palatable . ! The process is , we believe , completely unique . It has never in its combination been tried before , and we believe that the "Forester " brand of pure water will be the one recommendation ol doctors should the dread cholera visit England ; and under any circumstances it is the purest and best beverage existant .

Masonic And General Tidings.

The Walthamstow Lodge of Instruction will resume its weekly meetings on Monday evening , October 3 rd , at 8 o ' clock p . m . The new Empire Ballet , " Round the Town , " suggested by Mr . George Edwardes and produced by Madame Lanner , will be presented on Monday next . The music has been specially composed and the incidental popular

airs arranged by Monsieur L . Wenzel . Spiers and Pond , Limited , notify that the share transfer books will be closed from the 19 th tothe 30 th instant , both inclusive , for the purpose of preparing dividend warrants for the first instalment of 4 s . per share ( less income tax ) on account of the dividend for the year ending the 31 st March , 1 S 93 , which will be posted to the shareholders on the ist October next .

Ameeting of the Charity Committeeof the Provincial Grand Lodge of East Lancashire was held in the Freemasons' Hall , Cooper-street , on Friday , the 16 th inst ., at 3 o ' clock , Bro . E . G . Harwood in the chair , supported by Bro . J . H . Sillitoe , Vice-Chairman , John Chadwick , Sec , and other brethren . Four candidates were adopted , two for the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys , and two for the Royal Masonic Institution for Girls .

The County Palatine of Lancaster , Provincial Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons , and the consecration of the Clarence Mark Lodge , No . 447 , will be held in the Masonic Hall , Hope-street , Liverpool , on Thursday , the 6 th prox . Bro . the Right Hon . the Earl of Lathom , Past G . M ., Prov . G . M ., will preside , and will be assisted by Bro . Col . Le Gendre N . Starkie , Deputy Prov . Grand Master .

Her Majesty has been pleased to order that the sister and brothers of Lord Barnard and the sisters and brothers of the Earl of Glasgow shall " hold and enjoy the same rank , title , place , pre-eminence , and precedence , " as . if , in the one case , their father , the late Sir Henry M . Vane had survived the late Duke of Cleveland , and succeeded to the title of Lord Barnard , and in the other case , as if their father had succeeded to the earldom of Glasgow .

Following the usual summer vacation , the Manchester Lodge of Instruction , No . 5 S 1 , resumed its meetings on Thursday , the Sth inst ., at the Old Boar ' s Head , Withy Grove , Manchester . The position of W . M . was assumed by Bro . W . Bee , P . M ., 1459 P . P . G . S . ; that

of S . W . by Bro . F . G . Berry , W . M . elect , 44 ; and that of the J . W . by Bro . G . T . Lenard , Treas ., 1077 , upwards of 30 members and friends taking part in this , the initial meeting of the season . The business , which was of a formal character , lasted an hour , when the lodge was closed .

DICKENS ANII THE FREEMASONS . —On a visit to the Workhouse of St . George ' s in the East one of the paupers took him aside , and said : " I beg your pardon , sir , but I have seen better days . " " I am very sorry to hear it , said Dickens . " "Sir , I have a complaint to make against the

Master . ' " I have no power here I assure you , and if I had "— " But allow me , sir , to mention it as between yourself and a man who has seen better days , sir . The Master and myself are both Masons , sir , and 1 make him the sign continually , but because I am in this unfortunate position , sir , he won't give me the countersign . "

It is evident , from fhe decisions arrived at by the General Conference of Freemasons of France , that Freemasonry , as understood in this country , is defunct on the other side of the Channel , and that , like most other French institutions , it has become a mere politicil reflex of , it need hardly be said , the most extreme Radical proclivities . Henceforth all the members of the Council of the Order must undertake in writing that they will leave instructions for

their civil burials in case of death , and every Freemason who shall become a candidate for the Legislature must sign an agreement to vote the separation of Church and State , the suppression of the Budget of Public Worship , and the withdrawal of the French Embassy to the Vatican . All this is utterly alien to the spirit of Freemasonry , which , in this country , has neither political nor religious bias . A Mahommedan might , at a lodge , sit next to a Protestant , a

Catholic , a Jew , or a Parsee , a Socialist might dine with a lory , and all might be equally good Freemasons . It is lamentable to see that our neighbours—even in an institution of which brotherly kindness , charity , and a broad tolerance are distinguishing features—cannot abate one iota of their political rancour . Every man must give up his own opinion in favour of that of the majority , under pain of expulsion , and the leading point of their tenets appears now to be a hatred of religion . —Evening Standard .

I ' m . A 1 . H .. MH 1 ... ALTERATIONS AND DECORATIONS . — The partial re-construction of the Alhambra was entered upon eight weeks ago , and completed on Monday last . Important structural alterations have been made , but the redecoration of the entire house has been the most marked feature . In re-decorating the grand lounge and stalls , the Alhambresque style has been somewhat intentionally disregarded , in order to get a lighter and more elegant effect . The

whole of the d ( corative tone is therefore kept cream , white , and gold , with a little grey blue to relieve it , and it now looks much lighter and loftier . The fronts of the balconies and proscenium haze been entirely re-decorated , and the private boxes draped with amber brocatel . The foyer has also been re-decorated in the same light manner . But the great alteration has been in the grand circle balconv , which has been advanced six feet , giving additional seats and passage room , and a much improved view of the stage . The theatre

has been re-carpeted and upholstered in colours and material to suit the general scheme and a complete system of electric lighting , entirely new , with electroliers of special design , have been placed round the balcony fronts , upwards of 120 new electric lamps having been fitted in front of the mirrors in the grand circle and stalls . The whole of the work has been carried out without closing the theatre for a single night , thanks to the admirable organisation of the establishment .

IIIILLOWAV ' S OINTMKXI AMI PILLS . —Travellers and Immigrants--Those who cross the seas change the climate , hut thev do not change the constitution . Th . altered condition of life , the exigencies of travel and other causes reader the traveller and emigrant peculiarly liable to diseases and accid . nts when far from eliicient aid . With these associated remedies at hand they

IT ay he said to have a physician always at their call , and they may he certain that Munitions will he constantly arising in which they will require a rcdy resource in time of need . The directions for use which accompany each box and pot of Hollow ? y' » Pills and Ointment , are svrittcn in plain and simple language , and arc applicable in all cases ,

Masonic And General Tidings.

EMPIRE THEATRE . —The management have secu rei the services of Senorita Otero , a celebrated Spanish sin _ - » t and dancer , who will make her debut on Monday next , We are asked to state that the Creaton Lodge of Instru ,. tion is now holding its meetings at the Bush Hotel Shepherd ' s Bush , W ., instead of at the Wheatsheaf Hotel as heretofore . '

Messrs . Protheroe and Morris , whose sales during the season of plots of land at seaside places contiguous ( 0 London have been so successful , will offer on Tuesday next some attractive p lots at Leigh-on-Sea , on the West Cliff Estate , overlooking the Channel , and close to the railway station . This , we believe , is to be their last sale for the season .

Bro . Lord Mayor Sir David Evans , K . C . M . G ., having kindly offered to present a Welsh goat to the Royal Welsh Fusiliers , to take the place of that which was accidentall y killed last week , and which was the gift of the Queen , the gift has been accepted with very great pleasure b y the regiment .

The Birkbeck Bank will be deservedly better and stand higher in public estimation after the crisis it has so success , fully passed through . Between the and instant , when the London and General Bank and the Liberator Building Society stopped-payment , and the 15 th instant , when the

run came to a close , the withdrawals reached £ 1 . 578 , 005 , and the receipts ... 250 , 738 , the difference being met by the sale of a portion of the Bank ' s Consols . On the 16 th inst . the sum paid in exceeded £ 50 , 000 , and the manager , Mr . Ravenscroft , is in hopes that the Consols will be speedil y replaced .

Bro . Lord Mayor Sir David Evans , K . C . M . G ., accompanied by the Sheriffs and several members of the Court of Aldermen , attended in State the usual St . Matthew ' s Day service in Christ Church , Newgate-street , on Wednesday . There was a large congregation , and the

sermon was preached by an "Old Blue . " The Civic dignitaries afterwards proceeded to the Court Room of Christ's Hospitals , where the lists of Governors of the Royal Hospital were handed to his lordship , and by him delivered to the Town Clerk , to be preserved among the City Archives .

At the Masonic Hall , Hope-street , Liverpool , on the iCth inst ., ameeting was held for the purpose of making arrangements for a grand Masonic reunion in Liverpool . It was decided that the reunion should take place on the 30 th November , in the Masonic Hall , with his Worship the

Mayor as president . Committees were appointed to make the necessary arrangements . Nine years ago a Masonic reunion was held in Liverpool , and the proceedings then passed off in a very successful manner . Hopes are entertained that the forthcoming reunion will be one of the most successful and pleasing events of the season . Among the patrons are the Earl of Lathom and Lord Skelmersdale .

The Mason who wants to reject a candidate for reasons personal or foreign to ^ Masonry , not only abuses the " silent powers " vested in him , but forfeits respect and confidence as a Mason . If the candidate is worthy to be a Mason , personal considerations should not influence the exercise of ballot . To act otherwise is to employ a dangerous power

to gratif y personal spleen against a helpless party , whom he stabs in the dark where he is protected by law , and the petitioner is wholly defenceless . While the secret billot is a bulwark to Masonry it should not be changed into the assassin ' s dagger , or the footpad ' s bludgeon to strike at the character of the unprotected and unsuspecting . —John D . Vincil .

THE LATE BRO . SIR F . BURDETT ' WILL . —Probate duty has been paid on _ £ 6 g , 304 13 s . 4 d . ( the gross value being £ 80 , 613 is . 1 id . ) , as the value of the personal estate of Col . Sir Francis Burdett , late of Foremark , Derby , Ramsburv , Wilts , and Ancaster House , Richmond , seventh baronet , J . P . and D . L . ( High Sheriff 1 SS 0 ) . Prov . Grand Master of Freemasons , Middlesex , who died on May 31 st

last , aged 79 years , at 6 , Chesham-place , and of whose will , dated July 17 , 189 1 , the executors are the Hon . Henry Dudley Ryder , of 59 , Strand , banker , and Mr . William Joseph Jarrett , of 16 , Lincoln ' s Inn Fields , solicitor , to each of whom , for the executorship , the testator bequeaths £ 100 , and he bequeaths to them in trust , to devolve as heirlooms with the baronetcy , the presentation

plate and chest presented to him by the Freemasons of Middlesex , the shield and address presented to him by the inhabitants of Richmond , the silver goblet given to him 1 ' )' Sir Henry Peek , the centre piece given to him by his sister , Mrs . Ramsden , a gold repeater watch given early in this century to the testator's late father by his brother , Sir Francis Burdettthe fifth baronetthe pictures at Foremark

, , and all pictures and miniatures relating to the Burdett family and the Jones family . His jewellery and the books , pictures not otherwise disposed of , and household effects at Ancaster House Sir Francis Burdett bequeaths to his wife . Dame Mary Dorothy Burdett , with one-half of his p late and plated articles not otherwise bequeathed . > ne remainder of the effects at Ancaster House and the xaioor

and outdoor effects at Foremark and Ramsbury he bequeaths to his son , now Sir Francis Burdett , eighth baronet , subject to the payment by him to Lady Burdett and the testator s daughters , Maie Georgina and Maud Clara Francis , of the amount at which the said effects are valued for probate . « sum of £ 20 , 000 charged upon the family estates , and formerly belonging to Mrs . Trevenionis to be in triist as

, to one moiety thereof for the testator's two said daug hters , and as to the other moiety for Lady Burdett for her li'f-i and subject to her life interest for his two said daug hters , ! trust for whom he leaves all the residue of his Pj , ' estate . He leaves all his real estate to his son , and trtia that his "dear boy Frank . " if Lady Burdett does not live at Ancaster House , will allow her to live at Foremar _ 0

Ramsbury until he marries , and that he will not mVJ , withou . her full consent and approbation , for he may ] ' . assured that her judgment is good . The testator a ^< , that he should be buried at Foremark , and that his fune " should be unpretentious . He expressed the hope tna his son when he mariied should live at Foreman " , ancient home of the f . W . ly , he woald allow his mottie

live at Ramsbury . —Illustrated London News . A GOOD PLAN . —The Eleventh Annual Edition " Explanatory Book , sent free , gives valuable and ' ' j information how to operate successfully in Stocks Shares and obtain handsome profits . —Address , Geo . - 1 and Co ., Stockbrokers , 11 , Poultry , London , E . C . j