Bro. Colonel James G. Stowe.

Bro . Colonel James G . Stowe .

~ VTTE have the pleasure this month of publishing a y V photograph of one of the most prominent of Masons whose appreciation by us in England is all the keener from a three-fold reason ; first , that he holds a most distinguished position in the Masonic world ; secondly , that the

ties of kinship link us closely together , for he is a citizen of the U . S . A ., and thus our cousin in blood and unity ; and thirdly , that he has shown himself in the South African campaign a gallant and courageous soldier .

BRO . COL . . 1 . CI . STOWE .

Bro . Col . James G . Stowe , who for a period of three years was Consul-General for the U . S . A . in South Africa , quitted England on December oth hist to return to his native land , but prior to his departure we were able to glean a number of facts from him in reference to his part in the

South African campaign , which will be , we feel confident , specially interesting to all Masons . The gallant Colonel is in every sense of the word an enthusiastic and practical Mason , and evidence of that enthusiasm is clearly to be found in the various offices which

he has ascended to in the Craft . He was initiated , we believe , in the year 1870 , in the Yeatman Lodge , No . 2 , Cincinatti , Ohio , and is P . M ., P . Z ., and is a member of the Mark , Rose Croix , Knights Templar , Knights of Malta , and Royal Order of Scotland , for the past ten years conferring all

Degrees from the fourth to the thirty-second . He has filled the chair in all bodies of the Scottish Right , & c , & c . He has proved himself practical in his actual knowledge and working in the States , in Mexico , Japan , China , and especially in South Africa . He is one of

the founders of the Lord Roberts Lodge , Somerset West . In Cape Town , he was made lion . P . M . of the Goote d'Hoope Lodge , and active P . M . of the British Lodge , N o . 334 . During his three years' work , he has delivered considerably over 200 speeches , Masonic , educational , social , & c .

But the attributes of courage which naturally commends itself so keenly to our appreciation in this warlike time is the dominant feature in the career of the gallant Colonel and the story of his exploits in connection with the war in the Transvaal read more like a chapter

culled from the realms of romance than a record of pure matter of fact achievement . To quote Kipling , it is not all " killing Kruger with your mouth , " but some handto-hand work . The strain of his multifarious duties at the Cape , social , political , diplomatic and Masonic , told upon

his health , and in the autumn of last year he felt that the interests of his countrymen compelled him to move up to Johannesburg to recruit , and it was on his journey that his railroad saloon car was held up by the Boer leader ( Theron ) who , on discovering who it was , and being a

Mason himself—a member of a Krugersdorp lodge—treated him with the greatest courtesy , and released , at his request , fortv-nine British prisoners .

The appreciation which Bro . Col . Stowe commanded at Cape Town was very great , and before his regretted departure from South Africa , occasion was taken to fete him at a banquet . The occasion produced , perhaps , the largest gathering of Freemasons that ever assembled in Cape

Town when the British Lodge met in the British Temple in Rollond Street "to extend a 'farewell' to the United States Consul-General , R . W . Bro . Colonel J . G . Stowe , who is shortly leaving for America . " The Worshipful Master of the lodge , W . Bro . Finch , in

proposing the toast of the evening , "Our Guest , " said , in the course of a telling address , " the reception of their guest's utterances , both in public and private life , was sufficient to demonstrate to all that in the personality of Col . Stowe the United States possessed a Consul completely

in accord with the popular idea that he was what a highminded Consular-General should be . His presence in Cape Town had been felt , and would be missed because they had found that he was one to whom the burdened heart could pour forth its sorrow , to whom the distressed could prefer their suit , whose heart was guided by justice , and whose hand was extended in benevolence . "

The Colonel's reply showed how deeply he felt the honour that the Freemasons of South Africa had bestowed upon him . After a brief reference to his early departure across the Atlantic , he said : — "To the British Lodge , the lodge of my adoption , the Good Hope Lodge , who so kindly

conferred upon me the honour of Honorary Past Master , and all other lodges of every degree , I stand upon the threshold about to say those saddest of words , ' Good-bye' to Cape Town , my home for several years . Whether the parting will be brief or for ever , none can tell . A thought has impressed

itself upon my mind all through my stay , and it is this : Why should a plain business man be received with such generous hospitality , open arms , and kind words ? My pathway here has been strewn with many happy surprises , and my heart is overflowing with gratitude for the many expressions of

esteem , goodwill , and love that have fallen to my lot . Received all along the line with pleasant faces , kind words , cordial hand grasps , and much assistance in my duties , thereby assuring me that we are brothers in every land of the great brotherhood of mankind ; but more than that , in the case of those present , brothers of the ' Mystic Tie '—the tie that binds . "

After such utterances as these there cannot be a Freemason who will not be proud to know that it numbers under its banner such a man and brother . We wish him God speed .