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SATURDAY , OCTOBER ' 27 , 1900 .

Masonic Notes.

Masonic Notes .

There is not cne of our readers who will no sympathise most deeply with the family and friends of our late Bro . A . Stewart Brown in the loss they have sustained by his de-ith in the prime of his manhood . At the same time their sympathy will be accompanied

by a sense of admiration at what one of our evening contemporaries has described us the "fatal heroism " which caused his death . Bro . Brown had sustained some injuries to his spine through a carriage accident , and was en route for the Continent in order ' . o recruit his health and strength , when on arriving oil' the iiu iv at

Masonic Notes.

Boulogne he saw a man fall into the water . Without a moment ' s thought for his own injured condition , he descended into the sea , got the man out , and then , in his wet clothes , set to work to restore animation . In this he succeeded after two hours , but the effort cost him his life . He became so alarmingly ill that he was compelled to return , and died of pneumonia on the

i / th instant . That Bro . Brown was greatly respected , and his abilities as a medical practitioner as greatly appreciated in the neighbourhood of his home , only adds to the general sorrow that is felt at his death , but let us hope that this respect and the admiration which his noble self-sacrifice has evoked , will not be without their effect in assuaging somewhat the grief of his family .

Nor will the grief be restricted to the home and his numerous circle of friends . Bro . Brown was as much respected by his brethren in Masonry as by his non-Masonic friends and those to whose ailments he ministered so successfully . He was one of the most active and energetic members of our Society . In 189 7

—the year of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee—he had conferred ^ upon him the rank of Past Grand Deacon in Grand Lodge and Past Asst . Grand Sojourner in Supreme Grand Chapter . Moreover , he had won distinction in every branch of Freemasonry with which he had become connected , and the news that some

fresh honour had been bestowed upon him was always most cordially greeted , not only by his immediate and most intimate friends , but also by the general body of brethren who knew him only by repute as a thorough Mason in every act and deed of his life . His loss will be a serious one more especially to the lodges ,

chapters , and other Masonic bodies of which he was a member , nor will they readily find such another to occupy his place . For ourselves , we can do no more than tender our sympathy to the bereaved family and friends and brethren in Masonry of our deceased brother . * * m

The Lord Mayor was exceedingly happy in one part of the speech he made at the recent Masonic meeting at the Mansion House in responding for the toast of his health . As his lordship very truly pointed out , the members ot the Order are not animated by political , religious , or party feelings , nor by any feelings of mere

personal aggrandisement . Their belief is that " as Masons they could perform a great duty to their country and their countrymen , and it was these feelings which so earnestly and vigorously animated everyone of them . " Under these circumstances , it is not to be wondered at that Masons should be proud of the

position which the Society has assumed , and which , so long as they remain actuated by the same feelings , it will retain . Their first and most important charge was not to seek to aggrandise themselves ur to advance their own interests , but . to do all in their power to promote

the well-being of Freemasonry . Those who have followed tho career of Bro . Sir Alfred Newton , Bart ., during his Mayoralty must have remarked that his practice in office has been in complete harmony with the precepts he so briefly , and yet so eloquently , enforced at this meeting .

* * # There is a trite old saying about truth being oftentimes stranger than fiction , and this was abundantly illustrated at the meeting referred to in the preceding Notu . In the first place , the Lord Mayor , though the host on the occasion , did not occupy the principal

seat at the festive board , but only a place of honour not far removed from the chair , just as his lordship would have done at any other lodge meeting . Again , it was not the father , but the father ' s son , who presided in the very presence of his father , not only in

the lodge room by virtue of his office as W . Master , but also at the banquet and after when the toasts were being honoured . Throughout the whole proceedings it was the son who ruled the father , not the father the son j and to crow . n all , father and son are brothers—in Masonry .

With reference to the letter on " Visiting W . Ms . " which appeared in our issue of the 13 th instant , there is perhaps greater difliculty than at first sight appears in formulating an opinion on the point by which our correspondent has become " Perplexed . " There is no mention of " Honorary members" in the Book of Constitutions , while as to the wearing of collars Article

303 prescribes that " the collars of the Officers of private Lodges are to be worn only in their own Lodges , or when representing their Lodges as Masters or Wardens in the Grand Lodge , or in their Provincial or District Grand Lodges . " There is nothing here nboiit a W . M . wearing his collar when officially visiting a Private Lodge .

Masonic Notes.

We believe , however , there is a custom that when the W . M . and Wardens of a lodge are officially invited as such to visit a lodge it is permissible for them to wear their collars . When a W . M . visits a lodge " in the ordinary way , " it is in accordance with etiquette as well as with the Article we have quoted

that he should appear without his collar , and an honorary member who happens to be W . M . of another lodge would , in our opinion , be in the same position . But the point raised by " Perplexed " is slightly more complicated . The brother in this case is not an honorary member of the lodge through any service he

may himself have rendered it , but because he happens to be the W . M . for the time being of a particular lodge . He is not a visitor in the ordinary sense , and being , of course , a subscribing member of some lodge , he has the privilege of entree to the lodge of which he is an honorary member .

* * » Carrying the case a step further , if he attends lodge A . as an honorary member , it appears to us that he cannot be described as officially visiting it as W . M . of Lodge B . On the other hand , he would not be

honorary member at all of Lodge A ., if it were not for the fact of his being the official representative of Lodge B . On the whole , we incline to the opinion that he had better present himself without his collar ot office , but as we have not met with a case on all fours with

this before , we shall be glad if any of our readers will favour us with an opinion . * » * We have much pleasure in announcing that his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales , M . W . G . M ., has been pleased to appoint the Earl of Radnor , Past G . Warden of England , to be Prov . Grand Master of

Wiltshire in succession to his father the late Earl of Radnor . We are also in a position to announce that the office of Grand Superintendent of Royal Arch Masons for thc Province of Durham , rendered vacant by the death of Comp . Sir Hedworth Williamson , Bart ., has been conferred by his Royal Highness the M . E . Grand Z . on Comp . the Rev . Canon Tristram , D . D .

# * # The annual meeting of the Prov . Grand Lodge of Leicestershire and Rutland will be held at the Freemasons' Hall , Leicester , on Wednesday , the 31 st instant , the hour fixed for the commencement of the proceedings being 3 . 30 p . m . At five p . m . the

customary banquet will take place , tickets for which , at 6 s . each , should be applied for not later than tomorrow , Saturday , the 27 th ircstant . The paper of Agenda is , as usual , a full one , and will include the consideration of the Reports of the Provincial

Committee of General Purposes and the Charity Committee , and that of the Kelly Memorial Fund , as well as a recommendation from the General Committee to vote a sum of 10 guineas to the South African Masonic Relief Fund .

As regards the third annual report of the Kelly Memorial Fund , we quite agree with the Committee that" the duty of supporting our local Benevolent Fund ought to receive more prominent support . " They , therefore , urge " that lodges should make a point of annually contributing , so that from the present small

beginning a Fund may at no distant time be provided sufficient to deal with all local cases that may arise . " At present the assets of the Fund amount to £ 470 , of which . £ 300 is invested in Corporation Debentures , £ 104 is balance in bank to Capital Account , and £ b 6 to Relief Account . There is , we regret to say , a

falling off in the contributions during the past year as compared with the year preceding it , but perhaps we ought not to be surprised at this , having regard to the numerous claims that have been made upon the brethren . We hope the appeal of the Committee will be productive of a larger amount of receipts in the future .

* » * Our Kentish brethren and more particularly those located in Ashford have sustiined a great loss by the death of Bro . Benj . Kelley Thorpe , Past G . Std . Br . Bro . Thorpe had been a member of our Society for 43 years , and had been awarded Provincial honours in Craft ,

Royal Arch , and Mark Masonry , his best services having been rendered to Provincial Grand Lod ge and Provincial Grand Chapter in the office of Treasurer to which he was annually re-elected for a long succession of years . His services to Kent were worthily recognised at the Queen ' s Jubilee in 188 7 , when Bro . Thorpe was made Past Grand Standard

Bearer of Grand Lodge and Past Assistant Grand Director of Ceremonies in Supreme Grand Chapter to the gratification of the whole Province . We tender our respectful sympathy to the family , friends , and brethren of the deceased worthy and trust that his long and meritorious career may not be without its influence on the younger generation of Masons and induce them to follow in his footsteps .