At The Sign Of The Perfect Ashlar.

he had held for thirty-four years . He was also a founder and P . M . of the Campbell Lodge , No . 1415 , and an original member of Drury Lane Lodge , and P . P . G . W . Middlesex . © © © In the Royal Arch he was a P . Z . of the Union Waterloo Chapter , and was the founder and first M . E . Z . of the Granite Chapter , being in 1900 elected M . E . Z . for the third time . In

Tlll'l I . ATK lllto . . IAMK . S I . KWIS THOMAS , P . A . O . D . C . the Mark Degree he was advanced in the Thistle Lodge , No . 8 , in 18 ( 59 , and became Worship ful Master after going through all the offices , and was a member of the Grand Officers Lodge of Mark Master Masons .

In 1887-8 , the Secret Monitor Degree was introduced into England by the late Dr . Zacharie and Bro . Lewis Thomas , assisted by the late Bro . Col . Shadwell Clarke , G . S ., ivc . The Order was soon joined by the elite of the heads of the Craft , and is now in a flourishing condition . Bro . Lewis

Thomas was the first Deputy Ruler of the Order , and on relinquishing this office to Lord Brooke ( now Earl of Warwick ) he was made a Past Grand Supreme Ruler . In other side Degrees he was closely associated with the late Bro . Wentworth Little , and was M . P . S . of the Plantagenet Conclave , No . 2 , Red Cross of Rome and Constantine , before the Premier ,

No . 1 , was in working order ; was a Preceptor of the Kemys Tynte Precejrtory ; and was M . W . S . of the Palestine Chapter of the Rose Croix Degree . He was Senior Substitute Magus in the Rosicrucian Society , and had been annually re-elected to the office of Treasurer-General in the High Council since 1883 . He was a long way the senior frater on the roll of the college .

© © © In 1875 , Bro . Lewis Thomas was made Provincial Grand Superintendent of Works Middlesex , and in the following year Provincial Grand Warden . In 1878 he received the honour of Grand Office , as Assistant Grand Director of Ceremonies , at the bands of ll . R . ll . the Prince of Wales , who that evening

occuj ) ied the throne , and the same year he was made Grand Sword Bearer in Grand Chapter . The following year he was appointed Senior Grand Deacon in the Mark , and Grand Aide de Cam ]) in the Grand Priory . He lilled several Grand Offices in the Red Cross , and finally Junior Grand General . Our brother was Vice-President of the three Masonic Charitable

Institutions , and had been Steward of the several Festivals eighteen times . It will be seen that Bro . Thomas had been a Mason fifty-six years , and a Grand Officer of England twentysix years .

He married in 1851 , Eliza Anne , eldest daughter and co-heiress of the Honourable Henry Cecil Hodge , Barrister-at-I jaw , a nephew of the first Marquess of Exeter , and leaves four sons , one of whom is a Mason , viz ., Bro . Major G . Harlev Thomas , R . A . M . C ., P . D . G . S B . Gibraltar .

© © © Among the many excellent men and Masons who have filled the important office of Grand Treasurer , there has been no more worthy or popular brother than the well known manager of the great firm of Bass , Ratclif'fe and Grattan . He

has recently been the subject of an article in the Clubs Gazelle , from which we extract the following : — " Few men , if anv , " says the writer , " are better known or more highly respected in ' the trade ' than Bro . W . H . Bailey . For the past thirty-five years he has been connected with the firm , making hosts of friends both in Burton , where he resided for eighteen years ,

and subsequently in the metropolis , to which he returned in 1887 . Bro . Bailey , previous to becoming connected with the brewery industry , was in the Civil Service . The distinction with which he passed his competitive examination for the

Paymaster-General s office attracted the attention of the late Mr . Michael Thomas Bass , then M . P . for Derby . At his request Bro . Bailey quitted the service and settled down at Burton . The change from the quietude of a Government office to the hustle and hustle of a mammoth trading concern was indeed a drastic one , but in Bro . Bailey ' s case it gave him an unrivalled

opportunity to show the qualities of which he was possessed . He threw all his energies into his new duties , and set to work to thoroughly master the complicated details of the business . That Mr . Bass had made a wise selection was soon evident , and step by step Bro . Bailey advanced from one position to another . In each he carried with him the good wishes of

all with whom he was thrown into contact , his genial and cheery disposition rendering him universally popular . " In 1887 , Bro . Bailey , at the request of the firm , and to the great regret of his friends , left there to become London manager .

© © ¦ £ > " It need hardly be stated that Bro . Bailey makes an ideal clubman . He is not only a popular and much respected member of the Constitutional Club , but is also a member of several other clubs scattered over the metropolis . In these

institutions Bro . Bailey takes a genuine interest , and watches with great satisfaction the improved condition and tone of clubs used by the better class artisan . Bro . Bailey possesses just those qualities essential to make a good Mason , and it is not surprising to learn that he has filled exalted offices in the Order . He was initiated as long ago as 1873 , his mother lodge

being at Burton-on-Trent . In 189 ( 3 he was elected Grand Treasurer of England—a post highly coveted by members of Craft . In the words of one of his employees , he is ' one of the very best , ' and his countless friends are one in hoping he may long be spared to fill the important position in which he is so conspicuous a success and deservedly popular . "

© © Nothing could better illustrate the wide divergence between what in France is called Freemasonry and the Masonic cult in almost every other country , than the recent political scandals in connection with the French War Office . It is alleged by

M . Vadecard , Secretary of the Grand Orient , that the documents which have been published in various papers showing how espionage is practised in the army were stolen . Recently the Matin publishes a story as to how the papers came to be stolen . M . Delpech , senator of the Ariege , who is one of the dignitaries of French Freemasonry , makes the assertion that they were

stolen by M . Bidegain , who is the Assistant Secretary of the Grand Orient . For twelve years M . Bidegain had been attached to the office of the Order in the Rue Cadet . He was fully trusted by M . Vadecard , and when the General Secretary went on holidays be invariably performed his duties . When M . Vadecard went on his holiday in August , M . Bidegain was

g iven the key of the cabinet in which all the confidential correspondence and secret papers are kept . It is alleged that ,, profiting from the General Secretary ' s absence , he sold the papers for £ 800 .