At The Sign Of The Perfect Ashlar

It may be of interest to tlie lodges meeting at Freemasons Hall to know that the Freemasons' Tavern will be closed , probably for at least a year , from midsummer next , for the purpose of carrying out the important alterations and decorations which have been decided on by Grand Lodge , amountingas far as the interior is concernedalmost to

re-, , construction . All the lodges meeting in the Hall will lind it necessary to make other dining arrangements , which we apprehend will be mostly of a temporary character , and those lodges which desire to return to Freemasons' Tavern will be well advised in retaining the occupancy of the Lodge Rooms

in Freemasons' Hall , in view of the fact that the improved dining facilities will undoubtedly attract many desirous of meeting at headquarters , but who have hitherto preferred to dine amid the more attractive surroundings of the West End Hotels .

© © © The Grand Secretary , Sir Edward Letchworth , attained his 72 nd birthday on March 20 th , and congratulations and hearty good wishes appeared in the press from " Lands End t . ) John o' Groats . " We desire to join in this expression of esteem and regard to one who is not only an able exponent of t ' . ie ritual and ceremonies of the Order but whose personality represents all that is truest and best in Freemasonry .

© © © Sir Edward was made a member of Grand Lodge of England eight-and-twenty years ago , and succeeded the late Colonel Shadwell Clarke in the office he now so worthily fills . In his early days the Grand Secretary was a lawyer of some eminence , and was for many years a Chief Steward of Queen

Victoria ' s Manors . The Volunteer movement of iive-andf . nty years ago owed much to his unflagging enthusiasm , and the Foundling Hospital and " Bart ' s . " have both good cause to be grateful to him . Three years ago Sir Edward became a Benedict , espousing the charming widow of Mr . Thomas Blaikie , of Aberdeen .

© OO Some of our Scottish brethren are of opinion that as there is no given interval of time in Grand Lodge laws for tlie renomination of a candidate for Freemasonry , the members of Grand Lodge should set themselves to the duty of providing for a lime limit . His grievance is that in a lodge in a

neighbouring province to Glasgow a candidate has been brought up at three consecutive meetings and balloted for , and each time rejected . It seems as if there was a desire on the part of those in authority to steal a march on the objectors—a very un-Masonic proceeding .

© © © We often hear that some one has done much for Masonry . Did ever it occur to you that no one ever did as much for Masonry as Masonry does for him ? The ledger ever shows a large balance to the credit of Masonry . May we not sometimes wonder whether our novitiates are indeed

uninfluenced by mercenary motives ? As man is a creature of his environment , may he not be expected to partake of the spirit of rapacious greed that masks under the name of commercial activity ? Will he , who is a Mason in truth and spirit and who practises the true principles of the artbe one

, who will lind a Masonic offense in an indebtedness of business or a violation of contract , to adjudicate which civil courts are provided ? When a defeated candidate at tlie polls arraigns the members of his lodge because they did not support him , is lie properly wielding the working tools of

the craft ? When the tongue of scandalous report sets the pack upon a man , does tlie true Mason join , or does he seek to drive the hounds back into their kennels ? Are the teachings of the institution such that one can for a moment doubt the line of his duty ? Should we mercilessly pursue

the unfortunate man whose appetite leads him to debase his profession and deslroy his faculties ? Should we hasten to our lodge with formally prepared charges against such a one ? Or should we go to his side and lift him up , set his feet right and hold up his hands ? Is the efficiency of Masonry to be measured by the number of neophytes whose coming to our altar is too often ( he result of an activity

which should be found only in commercial circles ? Have the accessions of the past two years , the greatest our jurisdiction has ever known , added strength to the moral influence of our jurisdiction , or only dollars to our treasury ? Is there Masonry in the effort to distort fancies into facts that the Masonic life of one may be placed in jeopardy ,

whose views on some rule of government do not coincide with ours ? If the length of a lodge be trom east to west , its breadth from north to south , its height from the earth to the heavens , is there then therein any abiding place for narrowness ? We may well ask these questions of ourselves and spend lime with the thoughts the inquiries produce . — Beslor G . Iirowii . P . G . M Kansas .

We record with great regret the death , on Wednesday , April 5 th , of Bro . George Blizzard Abbott , Editor of the Freemason . He had for some time been failing in health , but was not thought to be seriously unwell until a shorl time before his death . Bro . Abbott was educated at Christ ' s Hospitalwhere he became a Grecian , and afterwards became

, an Associate of King ' s College . He commenced life in the Civil Service , but like many other Civil Servants of literary tastes and aspirations , he soon joined the ranks of journalism , associating himself with Lund mid Water , of which he was sub-editor , Chambers Jo urnal , and other publications . His

first contributions to the Masonic press appeared in the Freemasons' Chronicle , and consisted of a series of bright and piquant biographical sketches of eminent living Masons , which attracted much attention at the time , and were , we believe , republished in book form . A short time after he

became an occasional contributor to the Freemason , and about ten years since its editor . His history of Freemasonry in Hertfordshire is a fair example of his painstaking and exhaustive methods in dealing with Masonic history , whether of local or cosmopolitan importance .

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