Ad00503

PHCENIX FIRE OFFICE , 19 , LOMBARD ST ., & 5 T > CHARING CROSS , LONDON . —Established 1782 . Cow « T Current Rates I Assured free of all Liability Liberal and Prompt Settlements Electric Lighting Rules supplied W . C . MACDONALD , ( loint F . B . MACDONALD . I Secretaries .

Ad00506

TTOFAN rs HIGH-CLASS CIGARETTES . UNEQUALLED POR QUALITY . m rt ~!* m * TEOFANl'S CIGARETTES have been awarded Two Gold Medals for Quality and Make , International Tobacco Exhibition , 1 S 95 . TEOFANl'S are sold at the leading Hotels , Restaurants , and Tobacconists throughout the United Kingdom .

Ad00504

A Feature of the Metropolis . SPIERS & POND'S pRITERION RESTAURANT , PICCADILLY CIRCUS , LONDON , W . EAST ROOM . Finest Cuisine , unsurpassed by the most renowned Parisian Restaurants , Luncheons , Dinners and Suppers k la carte and prix fixe . Viennese Band . GRAND HALL . Musical Dinner 3 s . 6 d . per head . Accompanied by the imperial Austrian Band . WEST ROOM . Academy Luncheon 2 s . Cd ., Diner Parisien 5 s . BUFFET & GRILL ROOM . Quick service k la carte and moderate prices . Joints in each room fresh from the Spit every half-hour . AMERICAN BAR . Service of special American Dishes , Grills , & c . Splendid Suites of Rooms for Military and other Dinners .

Ar00505

^^^^^

Masonic Notes.

Masonic Notes .

The annual meeting of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Worcestershire will be held at Kidderminster on Wednesday , the 14 th September , and , as this will be ' ' ne first occasion the brethren have met since their SATURDAY , AUGUST 27 , 18 9 8 .

respected Provincial Grand Master received at her Majest y ' s hands the honour of knighthood , no doubt ' ^ o . Sir A . F . Godson will be the recipient of their "tarty congratulations .

» » * We have great pleasure in congratulating the '• "Indian Craftsman on the completion of a further v ° lunie . The July number was the first issue of its 33 rd volume , and we trust that for many , many years '' will be our privilege to express the admiration we ec ' for the manner in which it fulfils its duties . In

Masonic Notes.

face of what we have said on previous similar occasions , there is no need for us to dilate upon its merits . We are not the only Masonic journal that looks upon the Craftsman as one of the best-edited and best-conducted of Craft periodicals , while as

regards its monthly budget of news , we have again and again expressed our indebtedness to it for much valuable information , which we should not have readily obtained elsewhere . The Craftsman has our heartiest good wishes for its continued success .

* * * It seems that the Kansas Freemason has been taking the Grand Lodge of New Brunswick very severely to task for having contracted to have the portraits of its Past Grand Masters painted at a cost of 75 dollars

each , and hung around its hall , our Kansas contemporary regarding " such an expense , in the face of a world-wide and constantly increasing demand for money for charitable purposes , as unjust , and un-Masonic as it is unnecessary . " The Canadian

Craftsman is not of this opinion , remarking—as we have done on several occasions— "that , while 'Charity'is a leading virtue in the casket of Freemasonry , it is not the only one . " If our Grand and private lodges are never to spend any of their moneys

on other than charitable objects , we are very much afraid that the fears of many clear-headed and farseeing brethren will be realised , and that Freemasonry will degenerate into a huge benefit society , and , as a consequence , that it will lose much of the prestige it now enjoys in the world's estimation .

? # * People are apt to forget that it is our Charitable Institutions which were established for the purposes of Freemasonry , not Freemasonry for the maintenance of Charitable Institutions . It is to our credit that we have founded Schools and Annuity Funds for the

relief of our indigent members , their widows and families , but having regard to the hundreds and thousands of charities that exist in all directions , we venture to think there are not many who join our ranks merely for the purpose of helping and supporting certain Charities . They can do that anywhere , without becoming Freemasons .

* » * At the regular half-yearly meeting of the District Grand Mark Lodge of Bengal , which was held early in the year , at Freemasons' Hall , Calcutta , and at which , had his life been spared , the late lamented Bro . Mai ..

Gen . Yeatman-Biggs , C . B ., would have been installed in office as District Grand Master , a letter was read from Bro . Sir John Edge , in which he explained his reasons for resigning oflice and leaving India , the reasons being the failure of his health through

overwork and a severe domestic bereavement . But though unable to bid the brethren farewell in person , he did so in eloquent and kindly terms in his communication , and at the same time expressed his gratitude to those over whom he had presided for their loyalty and courtesy to himself .

* * He further said that , though he was an old Mason and had enjoyed opportunities of observing Masonry in many countries , he was persuaded there was no country in which "the principles of Masonry" were " better understood and more loyally adhered to "

than India , and that he was confident the future would be as bright and prosperous as the past ; adding " Masonry will flourish and must flourish and extend so long as Masons and Masonic lodges continue to be guided as they have been guided in the past by the honest desire to regulate their conduct according to the true principles of Masonry . " ^

* # After the new District Grand Oflicers for the ensuing 12 months had been appointed and invested , Bro . J . J . D . La Touche , G . S . I ., Dist . S . G . W ., proposed , and Bro . J . R . Maples , Past D . S . G . W ., seconded , a

resolution of regret at the retirement from office of Bro . Sir John Edge , and of gratitude for the many and valuable services he had rendered to Masonry . This resolution was carried by acclamation , as also was another , but in this instance in " solemn silence , " in

which District Grand Mark Lodge expressed a desire to place on record " its deep sense of sorrow at the death of Rt . Wor . Bro . Major-General Arthur Godolphin Yeatman-Biggs , C . B ., Past District Grind

Senior Warden , and District Grand Master nominate of Bengal , and the loss sustained by the Mark Master Masons " of the District by his untimely death . The new District Grand Mark Master is Bro . the Hon . Mr . Justice Burkitt .

Masonic Notes.

The new Masonic Half which has recently been erected in Providence , Rhode Island , for the Grand Lodge which presides over that jurisdiction was formally dedicated by Bro . C . M . Van Slyck , M . W . G . Master , on Friday , the 24 th June , the address being

delivered by Bro . Joshua M . Addeman . There was a very large attendance on the occasion of the officers of the Grand Lodge of Rhode Island as well as of the officers and members of the private lodges , and of the membtrs of the Templar Bodies in the State .

* » » According to an editorial note in the Melbourne Masonic journal , which rejoices in the title of Masonry , the I . P . M . of a New South Wales Lodge in responding to the toast of his health , remarked that " his year of

office had not been a notable one , that is , in' the number of initiates . " This , however , appears to be explained by the fact that the lodge would not accept as a candidate any man without " making a proper and thorough investigation into his antecedents and character . " As a matter of fact , several candidates

presented themselves , but were refused . Our contemporary remarks that if this practice were more generally followed , the status of Freemasonry in the Colony would be raised . It appears to us that the practice might be very desirably followed elsewhere as well as New South Wales to the undoubted advantage of the Craft .

* * * From the same source we learn that it was in con « templation to hold a ball some time during last month in the Town Hall , Sydney , in behalf of the New South Wales Freemasons' Benevolent Institution , and

it was expected that the net proceeds would reach £ 500 . The grounds for this expectation are not unreasonable , the Ball Committee having cleared towards the support of the Institution ^ 256 in 18 94 ; . £ 315 in

• SpS ; . 4406 in 1896 ; and . £ 460 last year . Our contemporary suggests that whether a brother is able to be present at the fete or not , the least he can do is to take a ticket in aid of so worth y an object . We think so , too .

* » * It appears from a report in the Indian Masonic Review for last month that Lodge [ Faith , Hope , and Charity , No . 1285 , Ootacamund , held an emergency meeting on the 13 th June last , when it was honoured

with the presence as visitors of Bro . Lord Sandhurst , M . W . G . M . of All Scottish Freemasonry in India and Pro Dist . G . Master ( E . C . ) of Bombay , and Bro . Col . Sir G . M . J . Moore , Dist . G . Master of Madras . A double welcome was accorded to the former , the W . M .

of the lodge , in greeting him , taking the opportunity of referring to the admirable manner in which his lordship had surmounted the difficulties with which his administration had been confronted in coping with the plague and famine that had raged in Bombay ] while , in acknowledging the welcome , Lord

Sandhurst paid a high tribute to the brethren of the Craft there for the sympathy and assistance which , he said , he had always received from them in dealing with the difficulties which had arisen . " The W . M ., in introducing the reference to a political matter apologised for doing so , but we hardly think any excuse was necessary .

* * The other welcome was tendered b y Bro . Col . Sir George M . J . Moore , G . Master of thp District in which Faith , Hope , and Charity is located , and in doing this the District G . Master expressed regret that he had been unable to attend the ceremony of laying

the foundation-stone of the new Masonic Hall in Bombay , and likewise , that Lord Sandhurst ' s tour would not extend to Madras , where he ( Sir G . Moore ) was assured that his lordshi p ' s reception would be most cordial . These kindly wishes were heartily reciprocated by his lordship , and shortly afterwards the proceedings terminated , and the lodge was closed .

* * The Masonic Home of New Jersey at Burlington in that State , was formally dedicated by the Grand Master of Masons in the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge , Bro . J . W . Ewran , assisted by his principal Grand Officers , on the 24 th June last in the presence of

a large concourse of brethren and spectators . The programme arranged for the occasion appears to have been admirably carried out and we can only hope that the success of the day ' s proceedings will prove a favourable augury for the future prosperity of the Home .

BRO . THE RIGHT HON . SIR JOHN R . MOWBRAY , M . P ., has left England in the P . and O . steamship Egypt , for a voyage in the Mediterranean .