Masonic And General Tidings.

Masonic and General Tidings .

BRO . THE DUKE OF ABERCORN has arrived at Hampden House , Green-street , from Dublin . BRO . ALDERMAN AND SHERIFF SIR WILLIAM TRELOAR has been re-elected the president of the National Sunday League . AN INSTALLATION CEREMONY in connection with the Gloucester Mark Lodge , No . 439 , was held on the 2 ( 5 th ult ., at the Bell Hotel , Gloucester , when Bro . E . W . Henley , P . P . G . R ., was installed VV . M . by the Prov . G . Master , Bro . R . V . Vassar-Smith , assisted by the Past Masters of the lodge .

H . R . H . THE PRINCE OF WALES will , by command of the Queen , hold a Levee at St . James ' s Palace , on behalf of her Majesty , on Monday , the 28 th inst ., at two o ' clock . It is the Queen's pleasure that presentations to his Royal Highness at the Levee shall be considered as equivalent to presentations to her Majesty . . FREEMASONRY IN THE TRANSVAAL . —At the last meeting of the Kendal Franks Lodge ( I . C ) , held at Jeppestown Masonic Temple , Bro . Dr . J . Taylor-Brown was elected W . M . for the ensuing year , the installation to take place as soon as possible after the termination ofthe war . Bro . Dr . Rendal Franks , I . P . M ., was elected D . C .

THE LORD CHANCELLOR ( Bro . the Earl of Halsbury ) has received an intimation that a limited number of tickets will be available for peers to witness the Naval Brigade Review at the Horse Guards Parade on Monday , the 7 th inst . Peers may obtain them on application to the Lord Chancellor's Private Secretary , Mr . E . H . Alderson , House of Lords .

BRO . CHAS . F . FORSHAW , who was recently elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature , is a well-known Masonic writer , and is at the present time preparing a work entitled " Masonic Musings , " which will shortly be published . The volume will he handsomely bound in cloth , and will contain upwards of 200 poems illustrative of the Craft . Bro . George Kenning is the London publisher .

THE J . CARPENTER CLUB . —A conversazione will beheld at the galleries of the Institute of Painters in Water Colours , Piccadilly , on Thursday , the 17 th instant . The programiue will include an entertainment by Dr . Byrd Page , a concert by artistes of the Guildhall School of Music , and a Cinderella dance in the large Art Gallery . The president , Mr . A . T . Pollard , M . A ., will receive the members and guests .

ON THE 9 TH INSTANT the Prov . Grand Lodge of Guernsey and Alderney will hold its annual meeting at the Market Hal ) , at 3 . 30 p . m . After the Prov . G . Lodge Officers have been appointed some important business will be transacted . After a brief interval the Balfour Cockburn Lodge , No . 2 S 05 , will be consecrated in solemn form by the Prov . G . Master , Bro . J . B . Cockburn , assisted by several distinguished brethren . When the ceremony of consecration has been performed , the Prov . G . Master will be installed as the first W . M . of the lodge . The Wardens designate are Bros . J . B . Nickolls and W . H . Lovell . At 7 . 30 a banquet will beheld at Gardner ' s Royal Hotel .

THE Q UEEN and her Royal Highness Princess Henry of Battenberg drove out at Windsor o " n Monday afternoon , attended by the Hon . Harriet Phipps . Their Royal Hi g hnesses Prince and Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein , with her Highness Princess Victoria , dined with her Majesty in the evening . Lieutenant-General Sir George White , G . C . B ., V . C , and Lady White arrived at the Castle , and had the honour of dining with the Queen and Royal family . Sir George VVhite had the honour of an audience of her Majesty before dinner , and the Queen conferred on him the Grand Cross of the Victorian Order .

THE DUKE AND DUCHESS OF CONNAUGHT are to arrive on the Sth inst ., at Howick Hall , Northumberland , on a visit to Lord and Lady Grey . On the 9 th inst ., the Royal guests and the party at Howick will proceed by special train from Bilton to Newcastle-upon-Tyne . The Duke is to formally open the new buildings of the Young Men's Christian Association , and the Duchess will receive purses at the ceremony in aid

of the funds . The Mayor will afterwards give a luncheon in the Assembly Rooms , and then the Duke and Duchess of Connaught are to visit Messrs . Armstrong ' s works at Elswick before returning to Howick . The Royal guests will leave Howick for Buckingham Palace on the ioth inst ., travelling by the " Flying Scotsman " express . On Saturday , the 12 th inst ., the Duke of Connaught will visit Watford and Bushey , and lay the foundation stone of the new Schools of the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys .

LONDON SCHOLARSHIPS . —The following are among the winners of the scholarships offered by the Technical Education Board of the London County Council : Artizan class , Frederick Gardiner , litho artist , Holt-court Technical School , and Frederick Brook Hitch , carver and sculptor , City and Guilds Institute . Junior Artizans , Richard Oswald Allen , litho designer , Bolt-court Technical School j Edwin Harvey Morgan , stone carver , City and Guilds Institute j Lilian Emily Skelsey , art needlewoman , City of London College j and Alexander Waddington , lithographer , Bolt-court Branch Lithographic Classes . Henry E . Chappell , of the Finsbury Technical College , has b : en granted an extension of a junior aitizan evening art exhibition for a year .

ON TUESDAY Princess Christian opened at Kensington Town Hall a pretty " May Day Fair , " organised in aid of the Church of England Waifs and Strays Society , whose object it is to provide homes for orphan , outcast , destitute , and ill-used children of all denominations . Her Royal Highness , who was accompanied by Princess Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein , and attended by Miss Loch and Colonel the Hon . C . Eliotwas

, foimally welcomed by Canon Pennefather , Vicar of Kensington . The Princess , who accepted a bouquet of pink and damask roses and lilies from the hands of Miss Constance Tufnell declared the sale opened , and thereafter , together with Bro . Lord and Lady Llangattock and other members of the Committee , went the round of the prettily-decked stalls .

WE LEARN that the jewel subscribed tor by the English Freemasons of Sind for piesentation to Lord Sandhurst was delivered to him on Friday evening last by Dr . Pollen , Commissioner of Customs , in the presence of Sir Lawrence Jenkins , Chief Justice , and the Lord Bishop of Bombay , who kindly constituted an informal deputaticn for the occasion . His Excellency was deeply touched by the kind remembrance of

the Sind Lodges , and the very handsome jewel , symbolising their sentiments , was very greatly admired . His lordship will , in due course , communicate his acknowledgment of the gift , but in the meantime Dr . Pollen has conveyed to the Sind lodges his graceful and grateful acceptance of the token , and his own gratification at being selected as the channel of communication on this most gratifying occasion . —Sind Gazelle , 23 rd Febtuaiy .

CORDWAINERS' BENEVOLENCE . —The Cordwainers' Company have decided to give up the greater part of their entertainments this year to enable them to make large contributions to the funds in connection with the war and Indian famine without curtailing their grants to ordinary charities . This company have already contributed h-io to the C . I . V . Fund , and ^ 250 to the Indian Famine Fund , and it is now intended to make a substantial contribution to the War Furd . In addition to the above , this

company have recently made the following donations to ordinary charities , viz .: Game ' s Clergymen's Widows , £ IOO J Boot ' and Shoe Trades' Provident and Benevolent Institution , 30 guineas ; United Clickers and Assistants' Benevolent and Pension Society , poor of the parish of St . Anne and Agnes , and the Edmonton parochial charities , 10 guineas each j Maternity Charity and District Nurses' Home , and the Cordwainer and Breadstreet Ward Schools , live guineas each .

THE BRITISH ASTRONOMICAL ASSOCIATION . —Mr . W . H . Maw , F . R . A . S ., presided at the monthly meeting at Sion College , Thames Embankment . Some i teresting statements were made in reference to the arrangements for observing the total solar eclipse on Monday , the 2 Sth inst . A party will go to Wadesborough , North Carolina j another to Algiers , and a third to Portugal . The United States Naval Department and the Portuguese Customs Authorities have granted facilities for the passing through of

the instiuments without examination ; but up to the present the Spanish and French Governments have not expressed their intention regarding the matter . Mr . Nevil Maskelyne , who forms one of the American party , will direct the telescopic kinematogiaph upon the corona throughout the totality , and expose a long film in an ordinary kiremafegraph camera diiected towards a chosen point of the landscape for a period commencing somewhat before and terminating somewhat after the totality . The inner and ouler corona will also be photogrephed , and the usual incidents of the eclipse will be attended to in a similar manner ,

Masonic And General Tidings.

DOWN TO THE 3 RD INSTANT the Indian Famine Fund amounted to £ 214 , 000 . THE DONATIONS on the 3 rd inst . for the Mansion House War Fund amounted to ^ 89 0 , 000 . H . R . H . THE PRINCE OF WALES has consented to become president of the Evelina Hospital for Children , Southwark Bridge-road .

BRO . SIR HENRY H ARDEN will open on Wednesday , the 20 th prox ., the new open air wing at the North London Hospital for Consumption , Hampstead . THE SAILORS of II . M . S . Powerful , after being entertained at tea at Lloyds on their way through the City on Monday , will each be presented with silver tobacco-boxes in celebration of the occasion . THE GOLD AND SILVER WYRE DRAWERS' COMPANY have issued invitations for a dinner at the Cannon-street Hotel , on Thursday , the 31 st inst . The chief guests will be Bros , the Lord Mayor and the Sheriffs .

TO-MORROW ( Saturday ) at the Mansion House Bro . Sheriff Sir Altred Bevan will be presented with a testimonial by the Associated Friendly and Philanthropic Societies of London in acknowledgment of his services to the cause of Charity . BRO . EMRA HOLMES has been informed by Sir Arthur Bigge that his poem addressed to the Queen on her visit to Ireland , and which appeared in our last issue , has been submitted to her Majesty . The verses have been published in the Waterford Citizen , tho Northern Figaro , Aberdeen , and other papers .

HOLIDAYS IN the old Flemish cities and the Ardennes . Under this title the Great Eastern Railway Company publish a most interesting booklet , describing new inexpensive holiday tours via Harwich and Antwerp , in Flanders and the Ardennes , It is well illustrated and gives every information as to route , the various places of interest , and the chief attractions of each .

AT THE Queen's Birthday Parade at the Horse Guards , on the 23 rd instant , the Colour to be trooped will be that of the 1 st Grenadier Guards , who will supply four companies for the ceremony . The 3 rd Coldstreams will supply three companies , and the 3 rd Scots one . With the exception of the new Irish Regiment , the three battalions men tioned are the only Guards' units left at home .

ON THURSDAY the hospital ship Maine , flying the Stars and Stripes and the Union Jack , left Southampton at one o ' clock . It was originally intended that Lady Churchill and a party should accompany the vessel as far as the Needles ; but , owing to the boisterous weather , which would not have admitted of the party being transferred to a tender , they followed in a pleasure steamer , and subsequently returned to London .

BRO . ARCHDEACON SINCLAIR presided at a representative meeting of London Scotsmen at the Scottish Corporation Hall . A letter recently received from Major-General Hector Macdonald was read , and consequent on the statements it contained it was decided to establish a fund for the purpos ; of sending a gift of tobacco and pipes to the men of the Highland and other Scottish regiments now at the front . It was resolved to call the fund the Scottish Regiments' Gift Fund .

ROYAL AGRICULTURAL S OCIETY ' S ANNUAL SHOW AT YORK , J UNE ICTH TO 22 ND . —In connection with this important show , the Great Northern Railway Company are making special arrangements for _ the working of through vehicles with live stock and other exhibits . Information with regard to rates , train service , & c , can be obtained on application to any of the company ' s agents or at King ' s Cross Station , London . Through fast trains with exhibits will be run to York from Great Northern Station southern lines and other parts ot the kingdom in connection with the Great Northern Railway .

THE DUKE OF YORK left London on Thursday for Belin . to rapr ; sent the ; Queen at the festivities in connection with the coming of age of the German Crown PTince . His Royal Highness drove from York House , St . James's Palace , to Charing-cross Station , attended by Major the Hon . Derek ICeppel and Major-General Swaine , and travelled in a special train to Dover . At the station to receive the Duke of York were Count Wolff Metternich ( the German Minister in London ) , Mr . G . Abbott ( station superintendent ) , and Mr . G . Thompson ( superintendent of the line ) , who was in charge of the train . According to present arrangements , the Duke will return to London about Tuesday .

THE QUEEN dicveoutat Windsor Castle on Wednesday afternoon , attended by the Duchess of Buccleuch and the Dowager Lady Southampton . Her Majesty ' s dinnerparty in the evening included their Royal Highnesses Princess Henry of Battenberg , the Duke of York , his Serene Highness Prince Louis of Battenberg , the Duchess of Buccleuch , the Dowager Lady Southampton , the Hon . Hairiet Phipps , Miss Bulteel ,

Ihe Earl of Kintore , the Right Hon . G . J . Goschen , M . P ., Admiral of the Fleet Sir Edmund Corr . merell , Captain the Hon . H . Lambton , C . B . ( her Majesty ' s ship Powerful ) , Commander F . C . A . Ogilvy ( her Majesty ' s ship Terrible ) , Lieutenant A . VV . Heneage ( her Majesty ' s ship Powerful ) , and Major A . G . Urmston ( Royal Marine Light Infantry ) .

ROGERS' GOLDEN GATE , LIMITED . —Some mines have the character of industrial undertakings , as their regular production of gold can be thoroughly relied upon , and in this category should be placed Rogers' Golden Gate , Limited , which company has made regular returns of gold since its incorporation in April , 1 S 99 , the total output averaging over one ounce of gold per ton . The property of the company , which comprises 50 acres , is situated on the Croydon Goldfield , North Queensland , Australia , and its total capital is only £ 100 , 000 , in £ 1 shares , of which 70 , 000 are issued and

fully paid , the remaining 30 , 000 shares being working capital , reserved for future issue , if required . An important fact to be borne in mind in connection with Rogers' Golden Gate is the richness of the adjacent gold mines on both sides , on the same line of reef , which is now proved to be one of the most valuable lodes in North Queensland . The mine is being worked and thoroughly developed , and the amount of quartz which has

been raked and crushed , according to official returns , is 21 , 519 Ions , yielding 30 , 620 ounces , of an approximate value of ^ So . ooo , being an average of about £ 3 155 . per ton of oie . It is stated that the company have already sufficient funds in hand to enable them to pay a dividend . The reports from the mine continue most favourable , and handsome dividends for the shareholders seem assured . Careful speculative investors should note the above .

THE ANNUAL MEETING of Miss Weston ' s work in the Royal Navy was held on the 1 st instant . Miss Weston presided , and said : She would pass over the ordinary routine of work and focus the attention of the meeting on what had been done in connection with the war in South Africa , Sir George VVnite had sail " that hid the bluejackets not reached Ladysmith when they did , the town would have fallen . " They had sent ou ' . during the war 1 , 284 , 000 copies ot their monthly periodical , Aihore and Afloat , and of the Monthly Letters , and with the cordial approval of Dr . Edghill , the

Chaplain-General of the 1-orces , large quantities of Ashore and Afloat had been distributed to the regiments serving in South Africa . In all , 135 , 503 parcels of literature , weighing over 30 tons , had been sent all over the world . Articles to the value of about £ 2500 , including between 12 , 00 and 15 , 000 pairs of socks , 12 , 000 packets of writing material , and from 15 , 000 to 20 , 1 . 130 Tarn O'Shanters , had been despatched to the Cape , and had mostly reached their destination at the front . Fourteen thousand pledge cards had been issued during the year , and 1348 honours bestowed on men in the Royal Navy

for periods ol total abstinence ranging from one to 20 years . At the Royal Sailors' Rests at Portsmouth and Devonport 597 S pledges had been taken ; 23 members of the Royal Naval Temperance Society had been through the siege of Ladysmith . One of the members , Mr . Wright , a warrant oflicer of the Royal Navy , was mentioned by Sir Redvers Buller in despatches for great bravery at the battle of Colenso j another , belonging to H . M . S . Tartar , was now a prisoner in Pretoria . A great deal was being done to help the wives and mothers of men serving at the front . They had no elaborate machinery which prevented them from moving , and therefore they were able to meet cases of necessity

before the National Funds were available . Miss Winlz stated that at Portsmouth and Devonport they had in 10 manths taken over the counters nearly , 6 * 20 , 000—an increase of i ' liii over the previous year j 200 , 26 7 men had been provided with sleeping accommodation . The total of meals supplied was 338 , 004 , an increase of about 11 , 000 . Miss Weston announced that new buildings were needed for the work at Portsmouth and Devonport , at a cost of about £ 10 , 003 . Several bluejackets and Royal Marines addressed the meeting , including a seaman of H . M . S . Powerful , just returned from Soulh Africa .