At The Sign Of The Perfect Ashlar

It appears that the methods adopted by candidates for a seat on the Board of General Purposes in the Grand Lodge of England are not unknown to Colonial Freemasons , as the folloAving extract from the Australasian Keystone will SIIOAV : — " The evidence of electioneering tactics in the election of the Board Avas very pronounced ; canvassing Avas actively engaged

in , both in the lobbies and in Grand Lodge . The sight of large groups of brethren congregating together , adjusting their votes , and the exodus of nearly half of those present immediately the poll Avas declared closed , did not exhibit commendable taste or Masonic spirit . "

iffii 4 f > •©• Bro . Sir Charles Dalrymple , M . P ., Avho is a Past Grand Deacon oi Ireland , and not an infrequent visitor to our Grand Lodge , is one of the quiet men of the House of Commons who are not often heard but yet do plenty of Avork . Nowhere ( states " T . P . " ) does one see more than in that House that

strange readiness to do work Avithout pay and without distinction , which is so characteristic of the British race . If a member does Committee work , as does Bro . Sir Charles Dalrymple , nobody ever hears of it outside of the Committee rooms themselves . Committees meet in the day-time before Parliament opens , sometimes as early as eleven o ' clock in the morning . & -6 h -A

His Majesty King Oscar II . of SAveden and Nonvay is the Grand Master of Swedish Freemasonry , and is also a Past Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of England . An interesting article , having for its subject the private and public life of the King , appears in a contemporary , from which Ave may draw the conclusion that the " Poet King , " as

he is called , is a most amiable monarch , and is extremel y popular with his people . Many anecdotes of his courtesy are related , one of Avhich Ave give .

" A year or two ago he Avas passing through Gothenburg on his Avay to inaugurate a new railway . At the station he was accosted by a JeAvish journalist , Avho had been sent to the inauguration as a reporter to some big Danish paper . The journalist Avanted a copy of the speech to telegraph to his paper , because he had no time to Avait for its delivery , if the

speech Avas to appear in his paper the next morning . So he asked the King to give him a copy of the speech Avhich he intended to deliver . ' That is impossible , ' said the King . ' 1 have not Avritten it out yet . ' The journalist Avas not , liOAvever , to be baffled . He explained that it Avas of vital

importance that a copy of the speech should appear in his paper ; that he , personall y , Avould be in despair if he did not get it , and so worked on the King's feelings that he cried out : ' Oh , well , come into my carriage , and I will tell you what I am going to say . ' The newspaper man needed no second bidding . The King , without the use of any notes , dictated to him the Avhole of the long speech Avhich it Avas his intention to deliver . "

© < S > < 3 » All the daughters of Lord and Lad y Amherst , states a contemporary , have been brought up to cultivate some hobby , and while the Hon . Mrs . Evelyn Cecil has taken tip gardening for her study , two of her sisters ( Florence and Sybil ) rear poultry and make a speciality of Emden ducks ,

which they have shown at many exhibitions . The Hon . Mrs . Cecil , the same contemporary states , was the last English lady to see President Krtiger before the war Avas declared , having been present at her husband ' s intervieAV with him after the last despatch had been received from England .

Masonic halls multiply apace , the latest projected building being the new Masonic Temple at Marlborough , Wilts , the laying of the foundation-stone of which was the first Masonic act of the neAV Provincial Grand Master , the Earl of Radnor , on the 3 rd July , after his installation . The new hall Avill be a spacious building of brick with stone dressings . It stands

on the edge of the Avon , in grounds of its own , and contains Availing and lodge rooms , a banqueting hall , and the usual offices .

Bro . Passmore Echvards ' s munificent gifts to the public appear to have no limit or signs of ending . Recently the foundation - stone of a Sailor ' s Palace in the Commercial Road Avas laid by the Duke of Fife . The building tvill cost £ 12 , 000 and the endowment another £ 12 , 000 , mainly the contributions of our philanthropic brother .

The ceremony Avas attended by the Lord and Lady Mayoress and a large number of Members of Parliament and other distinguished personages . " Jack ' s Palace " AVI' 11 be a great boon to the seafaring population of London , and Ave can imagine with what gratified astonishment some of Jack ' s friends of former generations would behold the transformation

scene from the sordid surroundings of those clays to the bright and cheerful homes that in recent years have been provided for him .

< s > >@ © It is interesting to note that R . W . Bro . the Right Hon the Earl of Wanvick , our Deputy Grand Master , Avhose entertainment to the Essex brethren is referred to in another column , has been recently appointed to the office of Lieutenant and Ctistos-rostulorum for the County of Essex in the place of Baron Rayleigh , who has resigned .

The following is a facsimile of an interesting document sent us from the Woodstock Lodge , South Africa . It is probably the lirst official recognition of the Ty ler ' s sAvord , as a weapon of offence , which might be used against His Majesty's loyal subjects :

aEEAGE PRESERVATION ACT , 1878 . LICENCE to carry ctn < $ have Arms in the Tilslrlots enumerated in Proclamation < Ao . Itoftlie 17 th Januarfy , TOOL . I , the undersignecL having been duly appointed in that behalf *'

under & L No . 13 of 187 H f-jnt * hiled' * Tfte Ifcace Preflervatkn AJC * . 1878 J' do hafbhyt gran > to wi ^ L- ^ S ^ a ,,.. ^ f ^ : ' i ^^ % - -...,. .- ^ . . . in the District of . . C >~& j &&^ - *~ -r *• a lidenbe to have and carry the following arms and ammunition within the Districts of the Cape , Wynberc-Aand Simon ^ a Town . < 3 rtm OT \ VOOT . Rouafo „ , „ . , lUjaniU OtW Ann * ot Atrmnnition « erolYe » or futoli

VumbttBtrfDeaoripHon . . . Ammunition Weapon * . TT'ff ^ f ^ y

v & .. 3 s ...., & $ im . . \ k & Z ( X & £ ? : ? *^ T

MS-X / ir " «—> wo *«* * f * J I' .-aaTiliH'rflWlJ'W ^ ijplUlniOa-. jUlUS « S' < S- "I ' -

ll is not generally known that Bros , the Right Hon . Walter Long , Past Grand Warden , and Colonel Chaloner , Past Grand Deacon , are brothers , not only in the Craft , but in actual relationship . When Bro . Chaloner ( stales " T . P . " ) represented Xorth Wiltshire in Parliament he acted for some time as Secretary to his brother . Having no love for oratory ,

Colonel Chaloner didn't care to listen to speeches , and having a room as Secretary of a Minister and some work to do , he stuck there steadil y throughout the Avhole night , with this result , that while nobody could ever say that they s ; iw him in the House of Commons itself , he figured disgustingly

high in the list of divisions . He came in Avhenever a division Avas called , and went back to his room immediately after-Avarcls , and so piled up divisions and avoided the House—an achievement Avhich deserves recording . Bro . Col . Chaloner lost his seat at the last election , consequent , no doubt , on his being tit the time at the seat of war in South Africa .