Masonic And General Tidings.

MASONIC AND GENERAL TIDINGS .

The Chancellor of the" Exchequer has recently forwarded to the Royal College of Music the sum of £ 500 , being the amount of the annual grant by Parliament to that body . At the regular meeting of the Albert Victor Lodge , No . 232 S , in Freemasons' Hall , St . Saviourgate , York , on Tuesday last , Bro . C . E . L . Wright was elected VV . M ., and Bro . W . Lawtin , P . M ., was re-elected Treasurer .

The 14 th annual Brewers' Exhibition was opened at the Agricultural Hall , Islington , on Monday , and will remain open till to-morrow ( Saturday ) . The display is in excess of the high standard of excellence hitherto attained . Prince and Princess Henry of Prussia left Balmoral for Buckingham Palace on Monday at the conclusion of their visit to the Oueen . Their Royal Highnesses have since left England for Germany on their return home .

About 150 members of thc medical profession were present at the dinner given at the Hotel Metropole on Tuesday to congratulate Sir Walter Foster , M . P ., on his appointment as Parliamentary Secretary to the Local Government Board .

Bro . Lord Mayor Sir David Evans , K . C . M . G ., and the Lady Mayoress , concluded their series of festivities at the Mansion House on Wednesday , when a numerous party was invited to meet the Chairman and members of the General Purposes Committee of the Corporation .

Mr . Alderman Knill , Lord Mayor elect , and his Lady Mayoress have become members of the General Committee of the Irish Distressed Ladies' Fund , and the former has very kindly consented to receive donations at the Mansion House on behalf of the Charity .

An influential meeting was held at the White Hart Hotel , Windsor , on Saturday last , to protest against the discontinuance of Ihe Queen's Buckhounds , and a strong committee was formed lor the purpose of taking all reasonable and proper measures to prevent such an interference with sport .

At the last meeting of the City of Westminster Lodge , No . 1563 , Bro . W . H . Bolt , S . VV ., was unanimously elected VV . M . for the ensuing year , and Bro . C . M . Brander , P . M ., was elected Treasurer , vice Bro . J . A . Hammond , P . M ., Treasurer resigned . The W . M . elect will appoint a Secretary to succeed Bro . J . E . Shand , P . M ., who has held the office for the last 10 years , but who has now resigned the lodge .

The 23 rd annual exhibition in pottery and wood-turning was opened by the Worshipful Company of Turners at the Mansion House on Wednesday . The exhibits are comparatively few in number , but there is compensation for this in the excellence of the workmanship . Among amateurs who contribute is Lady Amherst , wife of Bro . Lord Amherst of Hackney , who sends a case containing some fine specimens of wood and ivory work done by her own hands .

The Vestry of Battersea has agreed to vote a sum of £ 5000 towards the purchase of the Albert Palace as a place of public recreation , and in consequence the whole district was en fete on VVednesday evening , binds of music parading the streets , which were thronged with people

desirous of expressing their sympathy with the movement now in progress to recover this place to the people for ever . The London County Council has also voted £ 5000 , and as £ io , oco has been promised by an anonymous donor , the Palace may be said to be as good as purchased already .

Bro . Lord Mayor Sir David Evans and the Lady Mayoress entertained at dinner at the Mansion House on Monday evening the Master of the Trinity House ( H . R . H . the Duke of Edinburgh ) and the Elder Brethren , among the distinguished guests present being the Duke of Norfolk , the

Gaekwar of Baroda , the Earl of Rosebery , Bro . Sir E . J . Reed , M . P ., and Lady Re < d , Bro . Sir E . Clarke , M . P ., Bros . Sir Charles Hall , M . P ., Sir J oseph Savory , Bart ., Sir R . Hanson , Bart ., M . P ., SirH . E . Knight , Sir J . H . Puleston , Sir J . Whitaker Ellis , Bart ., and Sir Leopold M . Clintock .

A large and representative meeting was held on Friday , the 21 st inst , at the Masonic Hall , Hope-street , Liverpool , for the purpose of making preliminary arrangements for the annual ball in aid of the West Lancashire Masonic Educational Institution , Bro . R . Foote , P . F . G . T ., & c , presiding . It was resolved that Bro . I . Duncan , P . P . G . D . C , be invited to be Chairman of the Ball Committee , and the following

brethren were appointed oflicers : Bros . E . R , Latham , P . M . 5 Q 4 , Vice-Chairman ; L . Collister Jones , P . M . 1325 Treasurer ; John Edwards , P . M . 11 S 2 , Secretary ; and H . M . Molyneux , M . C . It was dec'ded to hold the ball on the second Tuesday in January , subject to the convenience of the new mayor . SOMETHING REALLY BEAUIIKUI . AND USEEI-I . FOK

NOTHING . —Messrs . Cornish and Co . ' s , whose advertisement appears in this paper , have just issued an entirely new catalogue and handbook of the pianos and organs manufactured by them at their immense factory at Washington , New Jersey , U . S . A . This new catalogue is exquisitely illustrated with photo-lithographs of every instrument made in the Cornish factory ; it is double the size of the last

catalogue issued , and is printed in colours after designs by the most eminent artists . It can be had for nothing ; all our readers have todo is to write and ask for it , giving nameof paper . An entirely novel plan has been adopted by Messrs . Cornish in this new catalogue . 'They have printed in plain figures opposite every piano and organ illustration the exact factory cost of the instrument ; this will show at once to all

who are contemplating the purchase of a piano or organ what they can save by getting it from Messrs . Cornish . The immense profits made by agents and dealers are given to the public . Our readers should write for a catalogue to Messrs . Cornish , of Washington , New Jersey , U . S . A . It will cost them nothing , and they will be agreeably surprised with the result .

A GOOD PLAN . —The Eleventh Annual Edition of Explanatory Book , sent free , gives valuable and reliable information how to operate successfully in Stocks and Shares and obtain handsome profits . —Address , Geo . Evans and Co ., Stockbrokers , 11 , Poultry , London , E . C .

Masonic And General Tidings.

Bro . Walter Besant presided at the third anniversary dinner , held at the Holborn Restaurant , on Wednesday , on behalf of the London Booksellers' Society . H . R . H . the Duke of York has accepted the office of President of the Royal Counties Agicultural Society for 1 S 03 , when the show will be held at Southampton .

Her Majesty has very kindly forwarded through Sir Henry Ponsonby a donation of £$ 0 to the Great Western Railway Servants' Widows and Orphans' Fund , on the resources of which there has been an increasing demand for some time past .

On Tuesday , the Sth prox ., by her Majesty's command , a performance of Donizette ' s opera , " The Daughter of the Regiment , " will be given at Balmoral by the Carl Rosa Opera Company . The part of the heroine will be taken by Mdlle . Zelie de Lussan .

It is said that the Queen has placed Osborne Cottage , Isle of Wight , at the disposal of the Duke and Duchess of Connaught . Her Majesty has done this in consideration of the Duchess's state of health , but it will not in any way interfere with the Duke ' s military duties at Portsmouth .

The Fishmongers' Company has presented a donation of IOO guineas ( £ io _) to the London Fund of the Missions to Seamen , for the erection of a Seaman ' s Institute and other buildings for the port of London . H . R . H . the Duke of York is President of the Committee for carrying out this project .

The Pope is preparing an important Allocution to be pronounced at the Consistory in December . In it he will protest against the recent erection by the Freemasons of a monument to Paolo Sarpi , the rebellious priest at Venice . His Holiness will also declaim against Freemasonry in general . —Daily Chronicle .

The contest for the championship of the North London Rifle Club was brought to a close on Wednesday , when Corporal Carter , 3 rd Middlesex Artillery , was declared champion with the grand aggregate of 1056 points , the winners of the other principal prizes being Barker , Customs , Burton , L . R . B ., Skilton , L . R . B ., Munday ,-H . A . C , and Luff , L . R . B .

Mr . Alderman Knill , Lord Mayor elect , gave his presentation dinner at Goldsmiths' Hall on Tuesday to his brother Aldermen and the high officials of the Corporation . The day previous Mr . Knill had attended at the Royal Courts of Justice , and received at the hands of the Lord Chancellor ( Bro . Lord Herschell ) her Majesty ' s gracious approval of his appointment .

The 38 th anniversary of the Battle of Balaclava was celebrated by a banquet at Limner's Hotel , on Tuesday , when the chair was taken by the Earl of Lucan . There was also a banquet held at St . James's Hall , at which Lieut . Wightman presided , and at which there were present a number of the survivors of the charge of the Light Brigade . Among the toasts was that of the late " Poet Laureate , " which was drunk in solemn silence .

The Echo is responsible for the following : rormerly the Masonic lodges of Constantinople counted among their members a considerable number of Turks , who were strongly attached to the Craft . At present any Ottoman becoming a Freemason would incur the high displeasure of the Sultan , a calamity attended by disastrous consequences . The reason for this is alleged to be the fact that the ex-Sultan Mourad . when heir presumptive , under the reign of Abdul

Aziz , was initiated into a French lodge at Pera . A discourse has recently been pronounced in a lodge at Paris , and communicated to other lodges affiliated to the Orient , in which the present Sultan is denounced , in no measured terms , as ' indulgent to the assassin , to theft , to waste , to the prevarications of his entourage , and pitiless to men of intelligence from whom he thinks he has something to fear . '"

Some time ago the Masonic fraternity at Brooklyn , U . S . A ., commenced the erection of a fine two-storey building , 30 by 70 feet in size , with lodge rooms above and an opera house below . On the 26 th ult . the members of Brooklyn , Napoleon , and Liberty Lodges , and their families , assembled to dedicate the building . Grand Master VV . P . Innis conducted the dedicatory exercises , and a pleasing programme was rendered , after which the

Master announced that the ladies of the Eastern Star had prepared a repast , to which all were invited . Covers were laid for 165 , and the tables were nearly filled the second time . Grand Master Innis made some pleasing remarks , congratulating the Fraternity on the forward step taken , and complimenting the ladies of the Eastern Star for the bountifull y - laden tables . 'The floor was then cleared , and those inclined spent a pleasant time dancing .

HAMER BENEVOLENT FUND . —Bro . R . roote occupied the chair at the annual meeting of the supporters of this fund at the Masonic Hall , Liverpool , on Friday , the 21 st inst . The summons calling the meeting having been read , the minutes of the last General Committee and the Court of Governors were passed . The increased annuity was also passed to four deserving old men of the ' province , and

the following brethren were elected on the Oeneral Committee for the ensuing year : Bros . Bradley , 249 ; Sherwood , 7 S 6 ; Tunstall , 1035 ; Cotter , 12 G 4 ; Hignett , 1393 ; Brewster , 1473 ; Hawkings , 1675 ; Lewis , 2042 ; K . K . Ellis , 2335 ; and Wolfenden , 24 * 5 . Bros . Dr . J . K . Smith , Dr . Christison , Dr . Irwin , and Dr . Challoner were re-elected Hon . Medical Officers ; Bro . R . H . Leake , Hon . Solicitor ; and Bros . Pittaway , 11 S 2 ; Coxon , 1 G 75 ,

P . P . G . S . ; and I . lurner , 594 , P . P . G . S . B ., were elected Audi'ors . Bro . T . J . Farmer , P . M . 1325 , was re-elected Treasurer , and Bro . J . R . Bottomley , P . P . G . D . C , was again unanimously chosen Secretary . During the yeir the by-laws have been revised , and the annuity of each increased to £ 26 per annum . Votes of thanks to the various oflicers were carried , and replied to by Bros . Leake , Farmer , and Bottomley , and Bro . Foote , as Chairman .

HOLLOWAY ' PILLS . —This medicine hai resisted every test which time , prejudice , and vested interest could impose upon it , and it at length stands forth triumph tnt as the most reliable remedy for those derangements of the system so common at the change of season . vVhcn tlie air grows cooler , and the functions of the skin are retarding , an occasional dose of HoIIoway's

Pills will call on the liver and kidneys fur greater activity , and i-ompensatc the system for diminished cutaneous action . As alteratives , aperients , and tonics these Pills have no equal . To every aged and delicate person whose appetite is defective , digestion infirm , and tone of l . caith low , this medicine will be a precious boon , conferring both case and strength .

Masonic And General Tidings.

Bro . Harry Nicholls , we much regret to 1 developed an abscess on one of his lunes , and t , ;„ earr ' hajhas is critical . hls con di « o nlion Opera-goers will learn with satisfaction that Sir A Harris has just renewed for a further period the tn U ^ us '" s * us the Royal Opera House , Covent Garden . ""nancy „ f' of We are asked to state that the first meeting * session of the Andrew Chapter of Instruction , No s ' - e ^ e ueiu ai ine vvinusor notei

ue -uasue , isang-street Ha "urm smith , on Wednesday next , 2 nd prox ., at eight o ' clock n , er er His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales win 1 ' , ' , ' foundation-stone ofthe Clarence Memorial Winn- ^ S ¦ Mary's Hosoital on December 17 th . A presentat '** purses , containing not less than live guineas , in aid T v ° ' Clarence Memorial Fund will take place on the occasi "

Bro . the Rev . J . Jackson Wray , late of VVhitenell' ' Tabernacle , Tottenham Court-road , is lying dang-erm ^ i -I I at Market Weighton . in Yorkshire . Since his retire m from the ministry at White-field ' s Tabernacle , hishealfh h _ i been gradually improving , and hopes were entertained ( 1 his speedy recovery , but a fresh stroke of paralysis causing his friends great anxiety . Is '

Bro . G . F . Travers-Drapes , Editor of the " Madra Masonic Calendar , " and of the " Indian Masonic Review " asks us to intimate to the editors of provincial calendar in England and abroad that he would be glad to recen- copies thereof , and he will have great pleasure in recipJ ] eating their courtesy . His address is Bangalore , Southern India .

On Tuesday evening , the iSth inst ., at the Masonic Hall Hope-street , Liverpool , a very pleasing ceremony in the after proceedings of the Prince Arthur Lodge , No . ; 0 took place , when Bro . S . Kirkham , of the Dramatic Lodjje '

ivo . 1009 , was tne recipient 01 an eiaoorate gold jewel presented to him as a mark of the esteem in which he is held by his brother Masons . It may be mentioned that fro . Kirkham was the medium through which an organ vvaspre ! sented to the Order by the ex-Mayor , J . B . Morgan .

A Committee meeting was held in Mr . W . Bell-Ed gar ' s ¦'' office at Moffatt on Thursday , the 20 th inst ., with a view of 1 arranging as to the opening of the new hall , which has ] been built by a company formed principally of the Free- j masons of the district , lt was arranged that the ceremony j should consist of the consecration of the lodge room by the j

Provincial Grand Master with the usual Masonic ceremonial . ] In the evening a ball will be held , confined exclusively to 1 Masons . A small Committee was formed for the purpose of communicating with the Provincial Grand Master . The hall was originally Morison ' s School , and it was purchased

by a company on behalf of the Freemasons about six months ago . Extensive alterations have been made , with the result that a most useful and comfortable hall has been constructed . The Craft is to be congratulated on having i procured such an admirable building .

Messrs . Barnett and Foster , the well-known manufacturers of soda water machines and general appliances for , the wine , beer , and cyder trades , have a most extensive and interesting exhibit at the Brewers' Exhibition this week , and their stand , occupying the position they have for many years past near the main entrance , is one of the most

attractive in the exhibition . The enormous increase in the consumption of mineral waters and other aerated beverages has brought into existence various firms of manufacturers of machinery and appliances for their production , at the head of which without doubt stands the firm of Barnett and

Foster , whose enterprise in this direction his been rewarded by a steady support on the part of the trade . This show at the Agricultural Hall embraces every possible requirement of dealers and manufacturers , and is a most interesting exhibit in itself .

The statement is no , v made that Neill , the poisoner , so far f . om being a Roman Catholic , is aScotch l ' lesbjterian , and that he taught the Bible in Chalmers' Sunday school in Quebec . If any furtner evidence of his lack of sympathy witn the Roman Catholic faith were wanted it would be found in his anxiety to become a Freemason , which it s well known is contrary to the decrees of the Pope . Ntuj

seems to have had some wild idea that Masonry \\ u" > protect him from the hands of the police ; and lie made the manager of the Three Nuns Tavern large offers ol reward if he would see him through his initiation . Needless to say , Neill's career in America , where he was guilty oj many offences and was convicted of murder , would derar him from acceptance in any Masonic lodge .

The funeral of the late Duke of Roxburghe took p lace at Kelso Abbey on Thuisday . lt was semi-private , only the tenants being invited . A short service was conducle *' at Floors Castle previous to the removal of the coll" . iK mourners , who followed on foot to the place of interment , included the Alarquis of Bowmont , Lord Alastair Innes-IIILIUUCU mc maiuuis ui uuwiuuui , . UIU OWJ . — 1 bd

Ker , Lord Charles Innes-Ker , the Right Hon . *«« Marjori'mnks , M . P ., Lord Kensington , Lord ToKvorin . . Lord Curzon , M . P ., the Earl of Dalkeith , the fcari <» Haddington , the Earl of Minto , and Lord Dditymple- » John CoA'ell represented the Queen , and inclucled in large number of wreatns sent was one from her Ma )

Another was sent by the Prince of Wales . The Great Western Railway Company has issued the ; following notice : * ' Notice is hereby given that " Western tickets of all kinds are issued at the u mentioned booking offices . It may be pointed out tn ; obtaining tickets beforehand at the booking ol " * j , '' * free ; i »« rs are saved time and trouble at Paddineton , and ar :

to look after their luggage immediately on *'" rw inl ¦ station—4 , Cheapside , 2 fi , Regent-street , 29 , J- - n Cross , 193 , Oxford-street , 67 , Gresham-street , - ! ¦ " . ( l ) r j . Circus , 5 , Arthur-street East ( London Bridge ) , 4 ° 7- . et , street , 23 , New Oxford-street , 82 , Queen Viewr aj » 43 , Crutched Friars , 269 , Strand , and London , ' * " fc , - , - , and South Coast Company ' s ollice ( under Uranu , Trafalgar-square . " | * Young lady artist , daughter of Exhibitor at the ^^ .. * Academy , artistically colours photograp hs : Carte ' , , jzf , ; cabinets , 2 s ., 3 s . Gd . Photographs enlarged up w ) v ( JfJi and finished in oils , water colour , or mon-JChroinc . ^ miniatures faithfully reproduced from p hotograp . ^ ( he , most delicately painted . Special care tal * e " nt , bili <)' ' \ colouring of regalia . Highest testimonials troi , ^ toii , * ¦ & c .-Mabel Vernon , Craven House , Beacons" * - New Southgate , N . I