Masonic And General Tidings.

Masonic and General Tidings .

BANK-RATE REDUCED . —The directors of the Bank of England , at their meeting on Thursday , reduced the Bank-rate from 4 per cent ., at which it has stood since 25 th January last , to 3 J per cent . A PARTIAL ECLIPSE of the sun will take on Monday afternoon next between three and five o ' clock . FOR THE purpose of a central day school for blind children , the School Board for London has purchased Elm Court , Court-road , in the West Lambeth Division , of Sir Albert Altman for the sum of £ 4600 .

BRO . THE LORD MAYOR AND LADY MAYORESS have consented to perform the opening ceremony at a bazaar to be held on Monday , the 25 th prox ., in the newlyerected schools of the parish of St . John , Clapham , in aid of the school building fund . BRO . EMRA HOLMES has received , "by command , " the thanks of her Majesty the Queen for his verses on the attempted assassination of H . R . H . the Prince of Wales , M . W . G . M . He has also received a graceful letter from Miss Knollys conveying the thanks of H . R . H . the Princess of Wales .

WE ARE pleased to learn that Bro . Sir Alfred Bevan , Past G . Treas ., Sheriff of London has so far recovered from his recent illness as to enable him to attend to his official duties during the daytime : but his medical advisers absolutely prohibit his attendance at any dinners or evening functions for the present . ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR BOYS . —Their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Connaught will drive to Wood Green on Friday afternoon , 1 st June , to distribute the prizes to the boys of this Institution . A limited number of tickets will be issued by the Board of Management on application to Bro . J . M . McLeod , Secretary .

ALDERSGATE PAST OFFICERS' CLUB . —The monthly meeting was held at the Manchester Hotel last week . Bro . T . Briggs , Q . C ., president , occupied the chair , and tbere were present : Bros . Deputy Gooding , T . Murray Janes , W . T . Roberts , and J . Mayhew ( hon . secretary ) . It was settled that the summer outing should take place on Thursday , the 21 st prox ., at the Abercorn Arms , Stanmore , starting by coaches from the Manchester Hotel .

BRO . W . R . MABY , the eminent Bristol musician , who lately had the honour of being presented to her Majesty the Queen , completed his S 6 th anniversary on Wednesday last . Besides the best of all good wishes from many relatives , he was the recipient of hearty congratulations from numerous musical and Masonic friends . Some brethren of his lodge have just given our venerable brother a suit of Provincial Grand Lodge clothing , which they and we trust our venerable brother will live long to wear .

SOUTH AFRICAN SHARES . —During the past week interest in the South African market has centred almost entirely in Rhodesian shares , and there has been a rise in the price of nearly everything Rhodesian . Things are ripe for a boom in Rhodesian snares , and those in Dewar ' s Matabele Reefs , Limited , should be well worth the attention of the speculative investor who can afford to buy , pay for , and hold them . The totil capital of the company is only £ Go , ooo , in shares of £ \ each , of which 43 , 000 are issued and fully paidthe remaining 17 , 000 being working capital reserved for future issue if

, required . Dewar ' s Matabele Reefs , Limited , own 14 miles of gold reefs , containing 5 ioduly registered claims , equal to an area of about 1200 acres . A number of the claims contain ancient workings , and the whole of the reefs are fortunately situated within 15 miles of Bulawayo , in the best-known and most important gold-mining districts of Rhodesia . Careful surveys have been made of each of the reefs , and every claim has been registered and marked out in accordance with the British South Africa Company ' s regulations . Questions of title cannot , therefore , arise , and as the claims

themselves have in a great many instances been proved to be of a very high grade indeed , many elements of risk have been eliminated . The sale of one set of 20 claims will give enough to pay a sum , in the way of dividends , equivalent to the entire capital of the company . Probably in a few months , when the extent and richness of the property owned by Dewar ' s Matabele Reefs , Limited , are realised , and its value reckoned at a standard of price governing similar great land and exploring companies , this company ' s shares should be quoted at a far higher price than that of about L 1 each , at which they are now dealt in on the London Stock Exchange .

FOR THR WHITSUNTIDE HOLIDAYS the Great Central Railway Company announce a series of excursions from London ( Marylebone , near Baker-street and Kdgewaieroad ) . On Thursday , 31 st May , an excursion for ifi days will be run to Ireland via Liverpool . On Friday , 1 st lune , to Northallerton , Darlington , Newcastle , Berwick , Fdinburgh , Glasgow , Oban , Fort William , for 5 , S , and 16 days , and to Douglas ( Isle uf Man ) , for 3 , 8 , 10 , 15 , or 17 days . On Friday midnight , ist June , and Saturday midnight . 2 nd June , to Rugby , Lutterworth , Leicester , Loughboro' , Nottingham ,

Shtffield , Manchester , Liverpool , & c , for 2 and 3 days . On Saturday , 2 nd June , lo Bridlington , Filey , Middlesboro ' , Newcastle , Scarboro' , York , Knutsford , Northwich , St . Helens , Southport , Wigan , Cleethorpes , Doncaster , Hull , Retford , Rugby ( Central ) , Loughboro' , Leicester , Nottingham , Sheffield , Stockport , Warrington , Liverpool , Guide Bridge , Manchester , Bulwell Common , Chesterfield , Pilsley , Staveley , Brackley , Culworth , Finmere , Helmdon , Woodford , Hinton , and Penistone , for 3 , 6 , or

S days . Every Saturday during June to Bridlington , Filey , Scarboro' , Saltburn , Redcar , Douglas , Liverpool , Southport , Blackpool , St . Anns , Lytham , Fleetwood , Cleethorpes , New Clee , Grimsby , and Chester , for 3 , S , 10 , 15 , or 17 days . On Monday , 4 th June , to Finmere , Brackley , Rugby , Lutterworth , Leicester , Loughboro ' , and Nottingham , for . } day and 1 , 2 , or 3 days . For full particulars see our advertisement columns .

MIDLAND RAILWAY . —Whitsuntide Holiday Arrangements . —The Midland Railway Company will run cheap excursion trains from London to Dublin , Cork , Killarney , & c , 16 days , via Liverpool , on Thursday , May 31 st , and ¦ y / VriMorecambe on Friday , June 1 st ; also to Belfast , Londonderry , and Portrush for Giant ' s Ciuseway , via Birrow and via Liverpool , on Thursday , May 31 st ; to Londonderry , via Liverpool , or via Morecambe , on Saturday , June 2 nd , to return within 1 C days as per bill of sailing- ; on Friday night , lune 1 st . to Carlisle , Castle Douglas , Dumfries , Heltns ^ urgh , Edinburgh ,

Greenock , Glasgow , Stirling , Perth , Dundee , Aberdeen , Inverness , Billater , & c , reluming the following Tuesday or Friday , by which third class return tickets at about a single ordinary fare for the double journey will also be issued , available for returning on any day within 1 G days ; on Friday midnight , June 1 st , for 3 days , and Saturday midniehf , June 2 nd , for 2 days , to Leicester , Nottingham , Derby , Manchester , Liverpool , Sheffield , Leeds , Bradford , & c . ; on Saturday , June 2 nd , to Leicester , Nottingham , Newark , Lincoln , Birmingham , Walsall , Wolverhampton , Burton , Deiby , Manchester ,

Liverpool , Preston , Wigan , Blackpool , Blackburn , Bolton , Oldham , Sheffield , Leeds , Bradford , Scarboro' , Newcastle , the Furness and Lake Districts , Carlisle , & c , returning the following Monday , Thursday , or Saturday . On Whit-Vlonday , June 4 th , to St . Albans , Harpenden , Luton . Bedford , and Kettering , for 1 day ; to Leicester , Loughbrough , and Nottingham , for 1 , 2 , or 3 days , and to Birmingham for 1 , 2 , 4 , or G days . To Manchester ( for the Races ) , and to Stockport , Nottingham , and Sheffield on Thursday ( Midnight ) , June

7 th , returning Sat irday , June rjth . Tickets for these trains lor starting from St . Pancras Station can be obtained on the two days previous to the running of the trains at the company ' s City and West-end Booking Offices . Cheap daily and week-end excursions to Southend-on-Sea , as announced in time tables and bills . The season excursions from London ( St . Pancras ) to Matlock , Buxton , Liverpool , Southport , Blackpool , Lytham , St . Annes-on-Sea , the Isle of Man , Morecambe , Lancaster , the English Lake District , Scarboro ' , Bridlington , Whitby , & c . will commence on Saturday , June 2 nd . The

tickets are available for passengers to return in either 3 , S , 10 , 15 , or 17 days . Cheap week end tickets are now issued every Friday and Saturday from London ( St . Pancras ) and other principal Midland Stations to the chief seaside and inland holiday resoits , including the " Peak " district of Derbyshire , Yorkshire , the Lake District , the iNjrth east Coast , and Scotland . The tickets arc available for return on the following Sunday the Whitsuntide

( wher <» train service permits ) , Monday , or Tuesday . For holidays these tickets will also be available for returning up to and including Wednesday , June Oth . Cheap excursion trains for 5 or 8 days wili also be run to London from Carlisle , Bradford , Leeds , Sheffield , Liverpool , Manchester , Blackburn , Burnley , Bolton , Bury , Rochdale , Oldham , Lincoln , Newark , Burton , Derby , Nottingham , Leicester , & c , or Saturday , June 2 nd , and for 3 or 0 days on Monday , June 4 th .

Masonic And General Tidings.

THE SHAH has left Teheran on his European tour , in the course of which he will visit the Paris Exhibition and London . H . R . H . THE PRINCE OF WALES will lay the foundation-stone of the Diamond Jubilee Memorial Hospital at Newcastle-on-Tyne on June 20 th . THE ' ! E \ v J ENNY LIND INFIRMARY FOR SICK CHILDREN . Norwich , which has been erected at a cost of £ 12 , 000 , on a site given by the late Mr . J . J . Colman as a memorial of his wife , will be opened by H . R . H . the Princess of Wales on Saturday , the 30 th prox .

THE COUNTESS OF WARWICK , who presided at a meeting of the Agricultural Association for Women , said a very large number of women were now desirous of devoting themselves to the minor hranches of farming , and the three houses of the Hostel at Reading were full to overflowing with young ladies successfully studying the subject . Lady Warwick said she was quite sure such well-trained and practical ladies would enjoy far better matrimonial chances than their sisters who took up clerkships or the work of governesses .

THE URBAN CLUB . —The ' members closed their formal meetings for the season on the iSth instant , at Anderton ' s Hotel , Fleet-street . Bro . Thomas Catling ( the editor of Lloyd's ) presided , and was supported by Bro . Alderman and Sheriff Sir William Treloar ( th » special guest of the club ) , Dr . John Pnene , F . S . A ., Dr . Appleby Stephenson , Mr . Fisher ( editor of the Daily Chronicle ) , the Rev . T . W . Wood , the Rev . G . B . Doughty . Mr . J . Edward Cockett , Mr . J . Northcott , Mr . A . H . Hance , Mr . John Hollingshead , Mr . John Coleman , and Mr . R . N . Fairbanks , of Vermont .

BRO . SERGEANT-MAJOR BRADFORD , of the Eldon Lodge , No . 175 s , was , on Saturday last , the recipient of a pleasing mark of distinction . For many years he has been associated with the Royal Artillery in various parts of the globe . He is now Drill Instructor to the 1 st Gloucestershire Artillery Volunteers , and those brethren who knew him in Canada and in the Channel Islands will be pleased to note that at the recent inspection at Clifton he was presented with a silver medal for long service and good conduct . Lieut .-Col . A . Mansell , D S . O ., R . G . A ., commanding the Northern Section , Plymouth , congratulated Bro . Bradford on securing the medal , and reminded his hearers that such decorations were not easily won .

Two OF THE birthday honours will give especial satisfaction to those who take an active interest in civic life . I refer to the knighthoods conferred upon Bro . H . Homewood Crawford , who since the year 18 S 5 has held office as City Solicitor ; and Mr . John Watney , who for a long course of years has been the clerk of the Mercers' Company . In each case the honour is well bestowed . Bro . Crawford not only has served with

loyalty and ability the great municipal body whose office he is , but in various waysnotably by his membership of the late Unification Committee , and by the part he has played in unravelling crime—has rendered distinguised services to the community at large . Sir Homewood Crawford is numbered amongst the most popular officers of the Corporation , and on all hands he will certainly be the recipient to-day of congratulations heartily expressed and thoroughly meapt . —City Press .

THE GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY COMPANY announce excursions on Thursday , May 31 st , to Cork , Killarney , Belfast , Armagh , Giant's Causeway , & c . ; on Friday , June rst , to Gloucester , Cheltenham , Worcester , Hereford , Shrewsbury , Oswestry , Aberystwyth , Bala , Dolgelley , Barmouth , Manchester , Chester , Birkenhead , Liverpool , Rhyl , Llandudno , Bangor , Carnarvon , Waterford , Tipperary , Limerick , Bath , Bristol , Weston-Super-Mare , Taunton , Minehead , & c . ; on Friday night , to Exeter , Plymouth , Falmouth , Penzance , Chepstow , Newport , Cardiff , Swansea , Carmarthen , Milford ,

and other stations in South Wales , Chester , Liverpool , Douglas ( Isle of Man ) , & c . ; on Saturday , June 2 nd , to Newbury , Yeovil , Dorchester , Weymouth , Minehead , Lynton , Lynmouth , Ilfracombe , Exeter , Torquay , Plymouth , Penzance , Oxford , Birmingham , & c . ; and on Saturday night to Swindon , Bath , Bristol , Gloucester . Chepstow , Newport , Cardiff , Swansea , Carmarthen , & c . On Friday and Saturday , June 1 st and 2 nd , excursion tickets , at a return fare of 24 s . Gd ., will be issued to Guernsey and Jersey , by trains leaving Paddington at 0 . 20 a . m .. and Waterloo at 9 . 50 p . m . The

service to and from the Islands being now worked jointly by the Great Western and London and South-Western Railway Companies , passengers travelling on the former journey viii Paddington and Weymouth may . if they so desire , return viit Southampton and Waterloo , and those proceeding viii Waterloo and Southampton may return viii Weymouth and Paddington . On Whit Sunday a cheap train will run to Swindon , Cirencester , Stroud , Gloucester , Cheltenham , & c , and at Midnight an Excursion will leave Paddington for Oxford , Birmingham , Wolverhamoton , & c . On the Bank

Holiday cheap trains will be run to Reading , Newbury . Devizes , Panebourne , Goring , Wallingford , Bath , Bristol , Weston-Super-Mare , & c , and on Whit Tuesday an Express half-day Excursion will be run to ' Banbury , Leamington , and Stratford-on-Avon . Excursions will be run to London from most of the principal stations , and cross country trips have also been arranged . Cheap tickets are issu'd dailv from London aid many suburban stations to Staines , Windsor , Taplow , Maidenhead , Henley , Goring ,

Wallingford , and other riverside resorts . These tickets can be obtained throughout the Whitsuntide holidays , and , in fact , during the whole of the summer months . The train service to and from the riverside stations has also been considerably improved . The booking offices at the Paddington Station will be open all day on May 30 th , 31 st , June 1 st and 2 nd , so that passengers wishing to obtain tickets for any destination on the Great Western Railway can do so at their convenience . Ordinary tickets will be dated to suit the convenience of passengers .

WHITSUNTIDH HOLIDAY ARRANGEMENTS . —The Great Northern Railway Company announce that on Friday , June 1 st ( for 5 , 8 , and iG days ) cheap excursions will leave London ( Woolwich ( Arsenal and Dockyard ) , Greenwich ( S . E . and C ) , Victoria ( S . E . and C ) . Ludgate Hill , Moorgate , A'dfrsgate , Farringdon , King ' s Cross ( G N . ) , Finsbury Park , & c ) , for Northallerton . Darlington , Richmond , Durham , Newcastle , Berwick , Edinburgh , Glasgow , Helensburgh , Dumbarton , Stirling , Perth , Dundee , Dalmally , Oban , Fort William , Montrose , Aberdeen , Inverness , and other stations in

Scotland . Passengers holding 5 days tickets return on Tuesday , 5 th June ; 8 days tickets on Friday , Sth June ; and 16 days tickets on any day up to and including Saturday , iGth June . On Saturday , June 2 nd , cheapest excursions for 3 , 6 , or 8 days will leave London ( Woolwich ( Arsenal and Dockyard ) , Greenwich ( S . E . and C ) , Victoria ( S . E . and C ) , Ludgate Hill , Moorgate , Aldersgate , Farringdon , King ' s Cross ( G . N . ) , and suburban stations ) , for Accrington , Bacup , Blackburn , Bolton , Burnley , Burton , Bradford , Boston , Cromer , Chesterfield , Cleckheaton , Darlington , Darwen ,

Derby , Doncaster , Durham , Edwinstowe , Egginton , Elland , Filey , Grantham , Grimsby , Halifax , Harrogate , Hartlepool , Huddersfield , Hull , Horncastle , Ilkeston , Kimberley , Keighley , Leicester , Lincoln , Liverpool . Lynn , Leeds , Manchester , Mirfield , Melton Mowbray , Middlesboro' , Mundesley-on-Sea , Newark , Norwich , Nottingham , Newcastle-on-Tyne , Oldham , Pontefract , Preston , Pudsey , Peterboro ' , Retford , Richmond , Ripon , Rochdale , Rotheiham , Scarboro' , Sheffield , Stamford , Stoke , Stockton , Stockport , Sunderland , Spilding , Sleaford , Sutton-in-Ashfield , Thirsk , Todmorden ,

Thornhill , Thornton , Tynemouth , Wakeheld , _ Whitby , Warrington , Wigan , Worksop , Yarmouth , York , and other principal stations in the Derbyshire , Lincolnshire , Nottinghamshire , Staffordshire , Lancashire , Yorkshire , and North-Eastern Districts . Saturday , 2 nd June , and each Saturday until September 30 th ( for 3 , S , 10 , 15 , or 17 days ) , to Skegness , Sutton-on-Sea , Mablethorpe , Grimsby , New Clee , Cleethorpes , Bridlington , Filey , Scarborough , Whitby , Robin Hood ' s Bay , Saltburn , Redcar , Tynemouth , Whitley , Cullercoats , Liverpool , Southport , and Djuglas ( Isle of Min ) ,

from Moorgate , King's Cross ( G . N . ) , & c . Saturday , 2 nd June , for 1 , 3 , or 4 days , and Whit Monday , 4 th June , for 1 dav , to Skegness . Sutton-on-Sea , Mablethorpe , from Moorgate , Aldersgate , Farringdon , King's Cross ( G . N . ) , Holbway , Finsbury Park , & c , & c . Whit Monday , 4 th June ( for one day ) , to St . Albans , Hertford , Wheathampstead , Harpenden , Luton , Dunstable , Hitchin , - daldock , Royston , Cambridge , Biggleswade , Sandy , Temp ^ ford , St . Neots , Huntingdon , and Peterboro' , from Victoria ( S . E . & C ) , Ludgate Hill , Moorgate , Aldersgate , Farringdon , King's Cross ( G . N . ) , & c , & c . Thursday night , 7 th June ( for two days ) , to Sheffield , Stockport , and Manchester

( Races ) , from Moorgate , Aldersgate , Farringdon , King's Cross . The cheap week-end tickets usually issued each Friday and Saturday will be issued on Friday , June 1 st , and Saturday , June 2 nd , available for return on Sundiv ( if train service admits ) , Monday , Tuesday , or Wednesday , June 3 , 4 , 5 , or 6 . The double line to Skegness is now opened and the train service has been improved and accelerated . The additional summer trains commence on June 1 st . To prevent inconvenience from crowding at the _ Company ' s principal terminal station , King ' s Cross , tickets dated in advance , will be issued at King ' s Cross ( G . N . R . ) , Victoria ( S . E . andC ) , Ludgate Hill , Moorgate , Aldersgate , Farringdon , and suburban stations ,