At The Sign Of The Perfect Ashlar

The Most Worshipful Grand Master of Victoria ( Australia ) , is included in the Coronation honours list , his title now being the Hon . Sir A . J . Peacock , K . C . M . G . He was installed Grand Master for the third time in April , and was recently Premier of the State of Victoria .

€ »©«!?> Bro . Alfred Greenham , P . M . of the Chine Lodge , No . 188 4 , Isle of Wight , writes as follows : — " On Thursday , January 30 th , 1 9 , Bro . A . H . Atherley was initiated in Chine Lodge , No . 188 4 , by the Provincial Grand Master of West Aberdeenshire ( Colonel H . Lumsden ) , and on May

29 th last he was raised to the Third Degree by the Provincial Grand Master of Hants and the Isle of Weight , Sir Augustus W ebster , Bart . For one candidate to have the exceptional honour of two degrees conferred on him by two Provincial Grand Masters is surely unique in the history of Freemasonry . "

© © © The lodges in Chester are exceptionally fortunate in securing the services of the Chief Constable of the City , Bro . J . H . Laybourne , as Almoner . An old offender , one Alfred Studcly Owen , an ex-convict , was charged at the police court with attempting to collect alms under false

pretences . Prisoner went to Chief Constable Laybourne , and , representing that he was a Freemason , asked for assistance . The Chief Constable , however , recognised Owen as having reported himself to him ten years ago in Liverpool as a convict , and he discovered he was not a Mason . He was

sentenced to a month ' s hard labour . We would recommend all lodges possessing such a valuable asset as a chief constable amongst its members to forthwith create him Almoner of the lodge .

According to the Star , an advertisement appears in a contemporary to the effect that " the W idow of a Freemason having eight near relatives , one a Grand Master (?) , implores immediate help . " The Star considers the " eight near relatives " are behaving in a very un-Masonic way , and we entirely agree . It is unnecessary for us to add that the

claims of a widow of a Mason who himself was eligible for relief would receive proper consideration at the hands of the Board of Benevolence if a petition were presented to that body .

We have received a communication from Bro . D . Edwards Radclyffe whose signature is somewhat reminiscent of the Bro . Dick Radclyffe who some years ago so strenuously but unsuccesfully advocated the formation of an Institution called the Masonic Pupils' Assistance Fund , which its promoters thought would act as a useful adjunct to the Girls '

and Boys' Schools . The Craft , however , thought otherwise , and it failed to obtain the support necessary to carry their views into effect . A similar fate befell the promoters of the scheme for dividing the Metropolis into Districts or Provinces —a sort of Impcriiim in Imperio—which Bro . Radclyffe now

wishes to revive . We fear our good brother is destined to be a champion of lost causes , at least as far as these two schemes are concerned , for each has been weighed in the balance and found wanting .

It is to be regretted that pressure of space prevented a reference in our last issue to the lamented death of Bro . Dr . Curnow , who was a Past Master of the University of London Lodge , No . 2033 , and of the Cornish Lodge , No . 2369 . Our late brother was no less distinguished in his profession than he was zealous in all that concerned Masonry . His medical

attainments were of a rare order , and as a good fellow and a sterling Mason also the late Bro . Dr . Curnow will not soon be forgotten .

© © © Since the initiation of the Hon . Mrs . Alchvorth , of ancient memory , little has , we believe , been heard of lady Freemasons in the British Isles . The well-known Order of the Eastern Star , however , continues to flourish " on the other side . " The rumour that any such innovation is contemplated in this country cannot be considered with any degree of seriousness .

The latest addition to the roll of lodges , the Richard Clowes Lodge , No . 293 6 , named after Bro . Richard Clowes , P . G . Std . Br ., will not fail to be received with the hearty congratulations of the Craft . The popularity of Bro . Clowes has long been admitted , and no worthier way of acclaiming the fact can , we think , be found than by the formation of a lodge to bear his name .

Many changes have been witnessed by playgoers at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane , but not since the death of Bro . Sir Augustus Harris has there been a more remarkable happening than the contemplated opening of Bro . Sir Henry Irving at our National Theatre . Both the distinguished actor and Bro . Arthur Collins will receive the good wishes of

the Craft in the venture which the public will shortly be privileged to witness . £ . » © > £ ¦'

A correspondent of The Guardian , in which some letters have appeared asking for information respecting Freemasonry , writes : — " No one has any right to expect from Freemasonry more than it is prepared to give . Although the bulk of its members are Christians , yet in no sense is it a substitute Unfile Church of Christ . The religious test is simply a belief in

the Deity . Regarded as a social and moral force it is capable , in the hands of right-minded men , of exercising a tremendous inlluence for good in any parish . For years I was a member of the C . B . S . and E . C . U . I claim to be a good Catholic . In the place where I reside there exists a

lodge ; formerly its reputation was decidedly bad , so much so that I considered it my duty not to enter the lodge . But it was pointed out to me that under proper supervision a reform could be easily accomplished . As an earnest of the desire for reform I was elected Master of the lodge , and the

result has exceeded 1113- most sanguine expectations . Men who had never worshipped in our church began to attend , and the lodge to-day is a power for good . I know of a similar case where the church was built up entirely through the agency of Freemasonry . The question is simple .

Freemasonry is a wonderful organisation spread throughout the world . Is it good policy for the Church to allow its influence to be entirely in the hands of the enemies of the Church ? "

© © © One of our most fondly cherished beliefs , that a sense of the humorous was not one of the mental deliciences of which we could be fairly accused , has received a rude shock at the hands of our contemporary , the American Tyler . The editor of that journal had quoted a despatch from Nebraska stating

that W illiam J . Bryan , the defeated candidate at the last election for the presidency , was a short time before elected a member of the Order , and that " not a single black ball was cast against him , although the lodge was largely republican . " This was followed up by an editorial comment that "

members of a lodge as a rule cast their votes strictly on party lines . " Upon this we proceeded to deliver a homily on the heinous sin of permitting political dissensions within the sacred precincts of the lodge . © © ©

It appears , however , that we were dealing with a specimen of American humor , and that the paragraph in question was " rote sarcastic . " Mark Twain we knew , and the immortal showman we knew , to say nothing of lesser literary lights , but we had not hitherto made the acquaintance of the Masonic humorist , and his sudden appearance in the pages of our

sober contemporary was an apparition for which we were unprepared , hence the momentary lapse . If our brother editor will be good enough to label his " goaks " for a time until we become used to the subtle character of his humor we shall hope to avoid similar pitfalls in future .

© © © It will be noticed with interest that the portrait of the late Bro . Sir Arthur Sullivan , Past Grand Organist , painted by Sir J . E . Millais , R . A ., which was bequeathed to the National Portrait Gallery , has been received by the Trustees , who , in this special instance , decided to suspend their usual rule as to the expiration of ten years from the date of the deceased .