Masonic Festivities.

following morning , Roger de Coverly bringing the programme to a close ; the company then parted . "Happy to meet , happy to part , and happy to meet again . " THE LATE MASONIC BALL AT LIVERPOOL . IT ivill be very gratifying to those brethren who take an interest in Masonic charities to learn that so very successful has been the result of

the Masonic ball held in this . toivn , on the 10 th January last , that Bro . Maivdesley , the Treasurer to the ball fund , has been enabled to hand over the handsome sum of £ 180 17 .-.-. —being the net proceeds—to Bro . Samuel B . Brabner , Treasurer to the AVest Lancashire Masonic Educational Institution , for the education and advancement in life of the children of deceased and distressed Freemasons , in aid of whose funds the ball was held .

Obituary.

Obituary .

BRO . GEO . JAS . STEBBING . DIED , OU Friday , the 21 th February , after a brief illness , at his residence , Pimlico , Bro . Geo . Jas . Stebbing , of the Meteorological Department of the Board of Trade , aged fifty-eight ; ho was one of the Past Masters ofthe Portsmouth Lodge , No . 717 . Portsmouth , and its first AVorshipful Master , as well as one of the founders . The deceased brother was a well informed Mason and eldest son of the late Geo . Stebbingof

, Portsmouth , an ardent and energetic supporter of the Phoenix Lodge of that toAA'ii for more than forty years ; some other sons and members of his family continue to take an interest in the ancient and honourable fraternity AA'ith lA-hich their forefathers have been associated for more than tw'O hundred years .

BRO . JOHN ASPLET . Tins brother , known as " The Quaker , " because he refused to serve in the militia , to tike oaths , & c , died at St . Peter ' s , Jersey , on the twenty-first inst , at the age of seventy-two j'ears . He was buried on Monday afternoon with all the honours of Masonry , of which Craft he was a veteran member . The Chroinquc , a French local paper , says : — " AVe have to announce the death of Mr . John Asplet , a respectable old manwhose whole life lias furnished a striking le of fidelity

, examp to conscientious convictions . He was a member of the society of Quakers , and among those who in all periods have been persecuted for theiv refusal to bear arms and to do military service , he is conspicuous , as having suffered from measures of extreme severity on the part of the government . Not being able to overcome his opposition , ivhich AA'as based on the opinions generally entertained by members of the body to which ho belonged , and most scrupulously by himself , the royal court condemned him '

, after repeated fines , to be banished from his native island for a year . He did not sink under this rigorous sentence , but quietly submitted to the decree . After a long ancl honourable life , bearing poverty with resignation , and faithful to his convictions , he died yesterday morning in the parish of Sfc . Peter . Mr . Asplet was seventytAA-o years of age , AA- .-IS the oldest member of the Masonic fraternity in this islandand was universallloved and respected bthe brotherhood

, y y . He had but one earthly ambition on the near approach of death—that of being buried with full Masonic honours , by the side of his late attached Bro . Dr . Cuquemelle . The wishes of the venerable old man ivill be respected and carried out . " Bro . Asplet was a native of Jersey , and followed the occupation of a plasterer until the last two years . During the early portion of his life , in common with all natives and others obtaining a liA'elihood in the islandhe was obliged to serve as a soldier

, , and was a member of the artillery corps . The exact date of his joining the Society of Friends is not known , but it appears to have been about forty years ago , nor can the circumstances by which he was induced to take this step be ascertained , but it probably arose from his repugnance to war , and possibly by a chance acquaintance with some Quakers ivho visited Jersey , to whom he made knoivn his sentiments . No members

ot this body reside in the island ; hence the singularity , in the eyes of the inhabitants , of his opinions and of his dress , and his usual soubriquet , of " The Quaker . " In default of attendance at drill on the part of himself and his sons , the authorities seized his goods and sold them by public auction , on his refusal to pay the fines . The papers , of which there are several , bear the elates of 1827 and 1 S 2 S . Other documents of the latter date are signed by Hugh Godfray and Francis Godfi-ay , in their official capacitbeing summonsesat tho instance of the

Proctireeuy , , General , to appear before the royal court to answer for his persistent neglect of military duty , and contempt of the laivs of his country . He obeyed this order , and , according to another document , signed by Francis Godfray as Greffier , was tried on the 13 th of September , 182 S , and sentenced to be banished from the island , an interval of a month being alloAvcd him to arrange his affairs ; he was also forbidden to return until he should be disposed to conform to the kuvHe arrived at

. Guernsey , in compliance with the terms of his sentence , on the IStli of November , 1828 , where he obtained employment in his trade , and after a residence there of sixty-three days , returned to Jersey . As there is an interval of nearly two months between the period of the condemnation and the arrival of John Asplet afc Guernsey , he must have been imprisoned for his offence , since there is a certificate from the governor of the prison , to the effect that he suffered confinement in the criminal

Obituary.

cell from September 13 th , to October 2 < th , 1 S 2 S . After his return there is nothing to show that he subsequently suffered molestation , as he paid the- fines for exemption . Bro . John Asplet was initiated into Freemasonry in the year 1 S 10 in the Lodgo of Fortitude , whieh does not now exist On the establishment of the Lodge La Cesaree a few years ago , he was of course one of the first members , as he AA-as thus enabled to join in the ceremonies with zest , tbe French language being adopted in the workingfor he had but slight

, acquaintance ivith English . He here filled the office of Director of Ceremonies , and none who have been iu the habit of visiting the Lodge can forget his cheerful smile , his ready attention and promptness iu the performance of his duties , and especially his courtesy to all with AVIIOIU he Ai-as associated in the Craft . He continued punctual in his attendance till within a few mouths of his death . Though a member of the Society of Friendsof whom but feiv belong to our OrderJohn Asplet was

, , warmly attached to it , and when on his death bed , was delighted to receive visits from his brethren , of ivhom he saiv several every day . His list words at the close of any interview were , generally , " Come again ;" but the writer of this account was struck , on the Sunday previous to his death , at the change iu his parting expression . It was , then , "Fareivell , brother ; my time is short ; I am happy . " He died on Tuesday , February 21 st , peacefully and AA'ithout a struggle—a fit commentary

on his life . His conscientious scruples , or rather his rigid adherence to what he conceived to be right , had obtained for him a certain notoriety ; bufc he appears to have been knoivn , beloved , and respected by all classes from the highest to the lowest . His resistance to lawful authority had , hoivever , the natural affect at the time of causing an estrangement on the part of some of his friends . A short time before his decease he expressed to the R . AV . the Prov . Grand AIaster , who often visited him , his ivish to be buried AA'ith Alasonic honours ; that his body should be

conveyed from the Lodge , after the customary rites of the Craft had beeu performed , to the parish church of Sfc . Helier , for tho funeral service to be read by the P . Prov . Grand Chaplain , Bro . the Rev . Charles Marefct , M . A ., Rector of St . Clement , and thence to the central cemetery , to be deposited by the side of the remains of Bro . Dr . Cuquemelle , to whom he was much attached , and who had similar respect paid to him by the fraternity at this time last year , as recorded in our number of March 30 th , 1859 . The cemetery being , however , uuconsecrated , the

arrangements and regulations of the Church of England are such that one of fche three requests cannot be complied with . It was therefore determined to omit the third . The funeral service , both iu the Lodge and at the grave , was to be conducted by the Prov . Grand Master .

The Week.

THE WEEK .

TUB COUBT . —On Saturday last , the Queen , accompanied by the Prince Consort and Prince Arthur , visited Lincoln ' s Inn Hall , to view the neiv fresco paintings there . 'The Princo Consort this week has visited the Royal Patriotic Schools at AVandsworth , Mid lias presided at meetings of the British Association , and the Council of the Duchy of Cornwall . On Tuesday the royal midshipman , Prince Alfred , arrived at Buckingham Palace , on leave from the Enryulus . In the evening the Queen , the Prince Consort , and Princess Alice went to the Haymarket Theatre .

The Court Journal , ivhich sometimes picks up a fact among the tittletattle which it prints , says , that the Prince of AVales is ' going to Canada , which we hope is true , mid we are sure that his mother ' s son will receive a warm welcome if he does go . Our brilliant contemporary says : — " His royal highness ivill take his departure at tho latter end of May or the beginning of June . The names of the suite thafc will attend him and the details of his visit have not yet been settled , though we hear tho Renown , 91 guns , has been fixed upon to convey the prince .

I . MI'EIUAI . PABT . IA . IIKNT , —On Monday , in the HOUSE OF LORDS , Lord Teynham gave notice that he would , on the Kith Alarch , move that votes at elections be taken by ballot Lord Brougham called attention to the sufferings undergone by women and children at bleaching and dyeing manufactories . Children of tender age were sometimes kept eighteen hours at work , and deprived of sleep for several , hours together . Lord Granville promised to make inquiries on the subject . The Earl of Hardwicko called the attention of the house to the state of the naval

reserves . The Duke of Somerset stated that the Admiralty had adopted the plan of obtaining a supply of men and boys for the naA-y by means of training-ships at the principal ports . At present the naval reserves numbered between 11 , 000 and 12 , 000 men . The Earl of Ellenborough thought that the real reserve lay in the unemployed seamen . On Tuesday Lord Brougham , in presenting a petition , took occasion to explain a misapprehension ivhich had arisen . He had been represented as having said that he wished bribery to bo made felony . AVhat he did say was

that , until the giving ami receiving of bribes was made by law an infamous offence , it ivould not be finally suppressed . HOUSE OF COMMONS . —On Monday Lord John Russell replied to Air . Bentinck that advantages Avould he conferred on Spanish w-ine similar to those conferred ou French wines . The house Avent into committee upon the Customs Acts , and the Chancellor of the Exchequer proposed a resolution substituting , in lieu of the present charge , a duty ut Ss . per gallon upon the importation of red and w ' ute wines until the " 1 st of March , 1 SG 1 . In an explanatory statement-the right hon .-gentleman gave his reasons for the postponement until the 1 st of April , ofthe regulation for the wine duties by alcoholic tests ; the chief of these reasons being that