Masonic Club Wanted.

among all the members of the four Craft Lodges which are in active being in Douglas . But there are two disadvantages under which Douglas Freemasons labour . They have no common meeting ground , and the Masonic Hall which they occupy for the purposes of their meetings is not secured

exclusively for Masonic purposes . Dealing with the first point , it is obvious that the members of the Fraternity are unable to derive full advantage of that pleasant interchange of good feeling which should obtain among Masons , and members of different Lodge have too few opportunities of

making and renewing acquaintance with each other . As regards the second point it is to Freemasons a serious drawback that the precincts of the Lodge room are liable to invasions at any moment by any person who may casually require to pass along the corridors or staircases of the Masonic

Flail . Here , then , are two distinct ways in which Douglas members are handicapped , and for a considerable time past the double grievance has been the subject of discussion wherever Freemasons congregate . It is not to be understood , of course , that any outside authority is responsible for the

faulty state of affairs ; on the contrary , we believe that the owners of the Masonic Flail have been ready at all times to meet the Masonic Fraternity in a considerate manner . If anyone at all is to blame for the unsatisfactory status it is the Masons themselves , who have not undertaken the

necessary troubie and expense of providing a remedy for it . Latterly a suggestion has been put forward , which appears to provide a practical solution of the difficulty , it being the opinion of many prominent members of the Craft that the time has arrived when a Masonic Club should

be started to which all Douglas Freemasons should have the right of access , on condition only that they pay the subscriptions and observe the rules . In connection with the formation of the Club , an effort would be made to secure the tenancy of the entire building for Masonic purposes , and

the club-rooms would be . fitted up in an appropriate manner , so as to provide for the comfort and amusement of the members . It is pointed out that this scheme , while it would involve no formidable financial difficulty which need deter a business-lnve and spirited body of men , would tend vastly

to improve the status of the whole Craft in Douglas . In the first place , it would get rid of the almost intolerable nuisance of outsiders hanging about the approaches to the Lodge room when a Lodge is in session ; and in the second place , the possession of comfortable club-rooms where

members could meet at any time to read or talk or even to transact various business , would prove a great attraction to Masonry itself , giving it an enhanced value in the eyes of Masons themselves , and also in the eyes of the " popular and uninstructed world . "

It seems to us that the subject is fully ripe for discussion . In fact , it is already being discussed in an informal way , and it only requires , we are convinced , that it should be taken up in a definite and practical manner in order to achieve what is most certainly wanted . We would suggest

that the Master and Wardens of each Lodge should be delegated to form a Committee to consider and discuss the whole question , and to report to their Lodges at the earliest possible date

. By adopting this or any analagous procedure the proposal which we have mooted would be put in a business-like shape , and possibly it could be carried out without much difficulty . — " Isle of Man Times . '

Yorkshiremen In London.

YORKSHIREMEN IN LONDON .

YORKSFIIRE men who have occasion to visit the Metropolis from time . to time , and those who are resident there , have at last got a Masonic Lodge for their convenience . The Warrant for the White Rose of York ( London ) Lodge , No . 2 S 40 , has just been granted , and the Founders are busy in

making necessary arrangements . Amongst the Founders are Bros . Sir Alfred J . Newton , Bart , W . M ., James Graham S . W ., Henry W . Dobb J . W . ( Rotherham ) , W . D . Forsdike ( Sheffield ) , Henry J . Barker , M . A ., Dr . Thomas Haliwell ( Dewsbury ) , Wm . Metcalfe , Dr . Wm . Briggs , M . A . ( Leeds ) ,

F . Kershaw , George Russell ( Pluddersfield ) , Rev . William Harrison , M . A . ( Whitby ) , T . Chadwick ( Bridlington ) , Frank Pattison , J . J . Fretwell , Thomas Oldroyd , John Briggs , M . A . ( Leeds ) , and J . W . Harrowing , C . C . ( Whitby ) . Meetings will be held four times a year in the Temple of the Holborn Restaurant , namely , on the first Fridays in January , March , September , and November , Yorkshire Brethren , non-resident

Yorkshiremen In London.

in London , who wish to become joining members or country members should communicate at once with Bro . H . J . Barker , M . A ., Clopton House , Amity Grove , Raynes Park , S . W . The joining fee ( tlrree guineas ) will be considerably raised

after a brief space of time . The date of Consecration will shortly be fixed . At that ceremony the Venerable Archdeacon Sinclair ( Leeds ) , Canon of St . Paul's , and other distinguished Yorkshire Brethren are expected to be present . •••

There is a chain of love that binds man with his God ; we name it religion . There is another chain of friendship , which binds man with his fellow-man , and we term it Freemasonry . —G . F . Moore , Alabama .

''A Sprig Of Acacia.''

''A SPRIG OF ACACIA . ''

ALL that was mortal of our much regretted Brother Col . Hugh Mackay Gordon , V . D ., J . P ., of the Court Yard , Eltham , and Abergeldie , Aberdeenshire , was laid to rest in the churchyard of the quaint old village of Eltham , Kent ,

on Saturday , 23 rd ult . The first portion of the funeral ceremony was held in the Parish Church ( a large congregation attending ) . Col . Gordon was a prominent Mason , a liberal supporter of our Institutions , P . G . S . B . of England P . P . G . D . of Middlesex P . M . and , until just prior to his death , Treas .

of the Burdett Lodge , No . 1293 ( a position which he vacated in consequence of failing health in favour of Bro . W . G . Kentish ) , P . M ., Treasurer , first Senior Warden and senior surviving Founder of the West Kent Volunteer Lodge , No . 2041 , a Lodge in which he took especial interest , and which

was founded in 1884 in connection with the 2 nd Vol . Batt . the Queen ' s Own . Royal West Kent Regiment . The deceased was long a member of this Battalion , having joined it at the commencement of the volunteer movement in 1859 , and being for many years Capt . Commandant of the 3 rd

( Lee ) Kent R . V . C ., subsequently attaining field rank , and retiring about twelve years since with the rank of Colonel . We are informed that only recently he was appointed Deputy Lieutenant of the County of Aberdeen— -an honour which unhappily he did not live long to enjoy . Among those of

our Order who attended to pay a last mark of respect were Ero . W . G . Kentish P . G . Standard Bearer P . M . and Treas . of the Burdett Lodge , Bro . Surgeon Major H . W . Roberts P . P . G . W . Middx . P . M . of the Burdett and West Kent Volunteer Lodges , Bro . Col . Francis Wm . Frigout , V . D ., P . M . and

now senior surviving Founder West Kent Volunteer Lodge , No . 2041 , A . A . Frigout P . M . 2041 P . P . G . Supt . of Works Kent , Sergt . Major Parsons P . M . 2041 , Colour Sergt . Albion

G . Collins P . M . 2041 , Sergt . John Ward I . P . M . 2041 , Henry C . Loney W . M . 2041 , Sergt . Edward John Jarratt S . D . 2041 , Sergt . Wm . H . Gomer D . C . 2041 , Sergt . Samuel Fallows 20 4 , G . vv ^ . Coleman 2041 , R . White 2041 , & c .

THE death occurred m Nottingham at an early hour on Saturday morning , 23 rd ult , of Bro . Nathan Ashurst , in his sixty-third year . The late Bro . Ashurst was a Lancashire man , who for many years had carried on business in Nottingham with a number of large and important firms in the

cotton spinning industry . It will be from his interest and labours on behalf of the Masonic body and other institutions that he will be remembered for his philanthropic disposition . Fie was initiated in the St . John Lodge , No .. 104 , Southport , and for upwards of a ouarter of a century had been connected with the Craft . Fie was a Founder and Past Master

of the Fairfield Lodge , No . 2224 , at Long Eaton . While a member of the Lodge he was honoured by the receipt of Provincial rank as Junior Deacon , Derbyshire . In Nottingham he was a member of the Annesley Lodge , and a Founder and Past Master of the Rufford Lodge . Here also he held

Provincial rank as Assistant Director of Ceremonies , and took part in the installation of his Grace the Duke of Portland as Provincial Grand Master for Nottinghamshire . Bro . Ashurst was also P . Z . of the Annesley Chapter . The deceased had been an energetic and enthusiastic worker on

behalf of Masonic Charity , and was the recipient of many tributes of appreciation . Fie was never very prominent politically , but had evinced a deep interest in many local organisations of a social and athletic character , notably the Nottingham Glee Club and the Nottingham Rowing Club .

WE regret to have to record the death of the wife of Bro . the R ' ight Hon . W . _ L . Jackson , M . P ., Prov . Grand Master of West Yorkshire , which occurred suddenl y in London on the 27 th ult ,