At The Sign Of The Perfect Ashlar.

At the Sign of the Perfect Ashlar .

We are pleased to note amongst the first of the ecclesiastical appointments of the King ' s reign , that of the Yenerable Thomas Stevens , Archdeacon of Essex , to be Bishop Suffragan of Barking in the diocese of St . Albans . Bro . Archdeacon Stevens has long been an active worker

in the Craft , and was appointed Grand Chaplain in conjunction with the Bishop of Llandaff in 18 9 6 . Among the sixteen of the King ' s first Counsel to be appointed , is Bro . Herbert F . Manisty , the Secretary of

the Northern Bar Lodge , No . 16 JO , which lodge , by the way , claims as a member the Speaker of the House of Commons . Bro . Manisty is also Senior Warden of the Lodge of Antiquity , No . 2 , and will in the ordinary course be installed as its Worshipful Master next year .

' & ¦ $ . . - & The Shuttleworth Memorial Fund , which is to take the form of a provision for our late brother ' s wife and family , has , we are glad to say , reached , according to the last printed list of subscriptions , the sum of £ 1 , 15 8 , and has since been increased to nearly £ 2 , 000 . The list of subscribers includes many who are members of the Craft .

** - _> , «» We congratulate the Grand Lodge of Scotland on the step recently taken in increasing the minimum initiation fee for candidates . Masonry has in many quarters been much too cheap , and although we should deprecate any tendency to narrow the universality of the Order b y making it

inaccessible to those otherwise acceptable but whose means are limited . Yet it must not be forgotten that the Craft is not a benefit society , and that many worth } - men would more properly consult their interests and that of their families by joining such excellent organisations as the Oddfellows ,

Foresters , and other similar societies , which not only embody in their principles and ceremonies much of the Masonic spirit , 'but offer tangible benefits to members who may need pecuniary help in time of trouble . The action taken by the Grand Lodge of Scotland is said to be only partial , and that

a further addition will be made later . We feel sure that good results will follow and that in the interest of the Craft generally the policy is a sound one .

" Mallet , " the well-informed contributor of the Masonic column to the Glasgow Evening Xeres , has a short note in a recent issue to the effect that the Provincial Grand Lodge of Glasgow is awakening to the fact that it is too much governed by laws of its own making . This , we think , is the position of a great number of private lodges under the English

Constitution . A committee appointed to frame the by-laws of a lodge often resolves itself into an amateur legal bod y , and straightway proceeds to frame a code of unnecessary rules , which , at the best , are merely recapitulations of the Book of Constitutions , and which are more likel y to confuse

than enlighten the brethren for whose benefit they are compiled . The laws necessary for the governing of a private lodge are very few and simple , and the larger interests of the Craft are best safeguarded by the Book of Constitutions .

At the ordinary meeting of the Lodge of Asaph , at Freemasons' Hall on the 4 th inst ., Bro . Louis Honig , S . W ., read an interesting paper on the history of Asaph , the ancient musician , after whom the lodge is named .

Two interesting items of news from the City this month are the gift of a panel to the Royal Exchange by Bros . Alderman Yaughan Morgan and Joseph Laurence , Sheriffs of London , in commemoration of the proclamation of the King at that place , and the news that 'Bro . Horace Brooks Marshall , J . P ., one of the candidates for the Grand

Treasurership , is a candidate for the Shrievalty for the ensuing year . _* : < - ' X , . * % -,

Whatever differences of opinion may exist as to the introduction of music into the ritual and ceremonies of Masonry , it is not open to dispute that if there is to be music it should be good . Aluch so-called Masonic music has been written both for the use of lodges and for the less serious gatherings of the Craft , but we cannot on the whole

congratulate the Order on possessing anything of a very high standard that has been specially written for Masonic lodges . A distinct advance , however , in this direction has been made by Bro . Franklin J . Mountforcl , P . M . of Lodge No . 331 , Truro , and Past Prov . Grand Organist Cornwall , in a Masonic

musical service for the Three Degrees , which is at once appropriate , original , and comparatively easy of execution , some of the numbers being especially graceful . The words are written by Bro . Stanley Norton , also of Lodge No . 331 , who contributes two original odes to the work , which is

dedicated to the Provincial Grand Master , the Earl of Mount Eclgcumhe .

UliO . TJIK REV . X . OItTlMKlt ff KA TH . — , /' , W « Si ' , u /; mii . (• . '» ., Cliflou ) .

Bro . the Rev . Mortimer Heath was initiated in the year 186 3 in the St . Cuthberga Lodge , Wimborne , and filled the chair of W . M . in 1867 , and is also a member of many other lodges in Dorset , Wilts and , Hants . The Provincial Grand Master of Dorset had already conferred on him all the

Masonic honours it was in his power to bestow , when in 1886 the Most Worshipful Grand Master appointed him to the office of Grand Chaplain in the ( band Lodge of England . Since then our Rev . Brother has consistently maintained his interest in the Order . In the Mark Degree Bro . Heath has

shown especial interest , and for a considerable period he occupied the position of Deputy Provincial Grand Master . As regards our Charitable Institutions , lie has been a regular snpporter of them all , having served as Steward on several occasions . The Province of Dorset possesses no more worth y exponent of its Masonic principles than Bro . the Rev . Mortimer Heath .