Masonic And General Tidings.

Masonic and General Tidings .

' THE REPORT of the Council of the Order of the Secret Monitor is unavoidably held over till next week . BRO . EX-SHERIFF HAND has been placed on the Commission of the Peace for the County of London . BRO . R . D . M- LITTLER , Q . C , has been re-elected Chairman of the Middlesex County Council . A BALL , under the banner of the Albany Lodge , No . 151 , will be held at the Drill Hall , Newport , in aid of the Masonic Charities , on Thursday , the 16 th prox .

THE DUKE AND DUCHESS OF SAXE COBURG GOTHA concluded their visit to H . R . H . the Princess of Wales at Sandringham on Monday , [ and returnee ! to Clarence House , St . James's . BRO . ALDERMAN TREI . O AR will preside at the Bohemians' next smoking concert at the Crystal Palace on the 31 st instant . The Royal Artillery Band and the Westminsters Singers have been secured .

BRO . SIR AUGUSTUS HARRIS has very kindly promised to take part in the organisation of the entertainments which are to be given in connection with the forthcoming East London Trades , Industries , and Arts Exhibition . BRO . THE EARL OF LATHOM has very kindly consented to preside at the anniversary Festival , which will be held at the Hotel Metropole on Saturday , the 30 th May , in behalf of the Gardeners' Royal Benevolent Institution .

BRO . LORD MAYOR SIR WALTER WILKIN and the Lady Mayoress , Bro . Sir J , Blundell Maple , M . P ., and Lady Maple , and Bro . Sir Augustus Harris are giving their patronage to the carnival which is to be held in Eastbourne in the month of May . BRO . LORD HERSCHELI . ( ex-Lord Chancellor ) has agreed to open the Whitechapel Picture Show in the Toynbee Hall , Commercial-street , on Tuesday , the 31 st instant , after vvhich the exhibition will be open free on weekdays and Sundays until Sunday , the 19 th prox .

AN APPEAL , supported by the Bishop and Dean of Rochester , Bro . Lord Charles Beresford , Bro . Sir Charles Warren , and others , has been issued in behalf of the fund for the restoration of the old parish church of St . Mary , Chatham , the sum required being about £ 3000 . ON THURSDAY , April 23 rd , the Fifteen Sections will be worked in the St . John ' s Lodge of Instruction , at the Court House , Harlesden , by Bro . William Hillier , P . M . 136 C , 2090 , Preceptorj assisted by Bros . James Lawrence , P . M . 132 G , P . P . G . D . C . Middx . j G . E . Higginson , P . M . 1791 j and Arthur Williams , P . M . S 34 and 2090 . The Iodge will be opened at G . 30 precisely .

A THREE DAYS' CRICKET MATCH at Cape Town between Lord Hawke's team and an eleven of the Western Province had to be abandoned on Thursday , the 19 th inst ., in consequence of rain . The two days' play resulted as follows : Lord Hawke's team , fiist innings , 224 ; second innings , 16 S for nine wickets . Western Province , lirst innings , 122 .

A GRAND CONCERT , under the patronage of their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Wal es , the Duke and Duchess of York , the Duchess of Albany , the Duchess of Fife , and the Duchess of Teck , will take place at the Queen ' s Hall on the nth June in aid of the Ladies' Association Endowment Fund , Great Northern Central Hospital , vvith a view to providing for the permanent maintenance of the Victoria Mary Ward .

WE HAVE BEEN REQUESTED to announce that a preliminary meeting of the Board of Stewards for the ioSth Anniversary Festival of the Royal Masonic Institution for Girls ( to be held in May next ) , will take place in the Board Room , Freemasons' Hall , on Tuesday , the 31 st instant , at five o'clock precisely , to elect the officers of the Board , and to make such arrangements for the dinner , & c , as may be considered desirable .

EARL AND COUNTESS STANHOPE gave a dinner party at their house in Grosvenorplace on Saturday last , and at the reception which followed the dinner , there were present , among ethers , the Danish Minister and Madame de Bille , the Netherlands Minister and Baroness Goldstein , the Earl and Countess of Dundonald , Lady Lucy Hicks Beach , Bro . Sir James Fergusson , Bart ., M . P . ; B 0 . G . J . Shaw-Lefevre ; and Bro . the Right Hon . C . Stuart-Wortley .

PECULIAR INTEREST was attached to the recent meeting cf the St . Dunstan ' s Lodge , No . 1589 , held on Wednesday last , at Anderton's Hotel , Fleet-street . Upon the conclusion of the usual business , a presentalie , n was made on behalf of the members e f the ledge by the Master , Bro . Hcnty ^ L . Buck , to the late Master , Bro . Walter lleniy Wellsman ( son of Bro . Wellsman , C . C ) , to mark his approaching maniage . The gift took the nature of a very handsmome silver punch bowl , a suitable inscription being attached to the stand .

MESSRS . DIGBY , LONG , ANB Co . have in the press , and will publish immediately , a book that is likely to create a considerable amount of controversy , and will , no doubt , be read with avidity by all who are interested in the South African problem . The work , which is entitled " Boer and Uitlander , " is from the pen of Mr . William F . Regan , the well-known South African financier , of 41 , Threadneedle-street , London , and is an attempt to present the various issues and episodes in the Transvaal from the Boer point of view . The book will contain portraits and map .

THE DUCHESS OF TECK opened an industrial exhibition of work done by Sunday School children , at the Town Hall , Bermondsey , on Tuesday , a most cordial reception being given to her Royal Highness by the large crowds which lined the streets on the line of route . Outside the hall a guard of honour of the 3 rd Volunteer Battalion of the Royal West Surrey Regiment was on duly , and Col . Bevington , of the same regiment , escorted the Duchess to the platform , where an address was presented and acknowledged . Before leaving , her Royal Highness inspected the display , and expressed her satisfaction with the quality of the exhibits .

THE DUKE AND DUCHFSS OF VORK , who visited Lancashire on Monday , and remained the guests of the Earl and Countess of Derby , at Knowsley , opened the new ipfiimary , at Lancaster , on Tuesday . As this vvas the lirst occasion since 1 S 51 that the town has been visited by any member of the Royal Family , the reception their Royal Highnesses met with was of the most enthusiastic character . At the Town Hall an

address of welcome was presented , and suitably acknowledged by the Duke , a similar address being presented by the Committee of Management at the infirmary . The Duke announced that the Queen had given her gracious permission that the new building should be known as the Royal Lancaster Infirmary . After the Duchess of Vork had received a number of purses , for the benefit of the institution , the party returned to the Town Hall , where luncheon was partaken of under the presidency of the Mayor .

THE ANNUAL MEETING of the supporters of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution was held in St . Martin's Town Hall on Saturday last , under the presidency of the Duke of York . His Royal Highness , in moving the adoption of the annual report , drew attention to the principal services rendered by the institution during the past year . The lifeboats were launched 437 times , and saved 533 lives , while 35 vessels were saved by them , the number of lives saved by the shore-boa's being 17 G . These figures raise the

total number of persons rescued from death by means of the institution since it was established in 1 S 24 to 39 , 354 . His Royal Highness alio referred , in terms- of deep sympathy , to the disaster which befel the Kingston lifeboat on Christmas-eve , and the loss of the whole of its crew of 15 men . He mentioned that £ iG , Soo was raised last year by the Lifeboat Saturday Fund , and announced that Saturday , the iGth May , had been chosen for the first Lifeboat Saturday in London . A vote of thanks to the Duke closed the prcceedings .

THE e , oon DIE VOLWC . —Unlike mnst ] io ] nil ,-ir sayings , this h .-is very link- Irutli in it . Kxperience every day proves that some at least of llic good arc spared in make llic world brighter and better , and a more pleasant place to live in . In fact , om- experience is that good peo ]> ie , ; , ind good tilings generally , live the longest , l- ' nr example , consider tlie thomamls ( if articles which have been widely ad ' vertised and arc now forgnttcn . Why ? Because they were bad . tin the other hand , we have Holloway's Pills and ( Jintment , which have j . roved Ihe faithful friend of poor humanity for fifty years and more , Why ' : lie-cause they are good . Of a truth , that whicii is good does not die , but lives for time .

Masonic And General Tidings.

THE EIGHTH annual banquet of the London Press Gang will be held at Anderton ' Hotel , Fleet-street , on Saturday , the nth proximo , under the presidency of Bro H Lawson , M . P . ' ' THE MEMBERS of the Royal Choral Society propose to place a bust of the late Bro Sir Joseph Barnby in the Royal Albert Hall . Mr . J . Hedley , who is acting as Treasurer " of the Fund , may be communicated with at the Hall .

THE DUCHESS OF SUTHERLAND , accompanied by Sir Donald Currie , M . P ., i Lady Currie , opened a bazaar in Myddelton Hall , Upper-street , Islington , on Tuesday in aid of the Islington Presbyterian Church , Colebrooke-row . THE FIFTEEN SECTIONS will be worked in the St . Luke ' s Lodge of I nstruction No . 144 , on Good Friday , April 3 rd , at the Victoria Tavern , Gertrude-street , Chelsea ' under the presidency of Bro . VV . Cleghorn , P . M . 12 S 7 . The Iodge will be opened at ' 6 , 30 precisely .

THE QUEEN ' S WESTMINSTER LODGE OF INSTRUCTION , NO . 2021 , which con . sists of thcTamalgamated Lodges of the William Preston , No . 7 6 G ; Great Northern No . 12 S 7 ; St . Marylebone , No . 1305 ; and the Queen ' s Westminster , No . 2021 , being desirous of obtaining the services of Bro . Major E . J . Reed , of the Queen ' s Westminster Lodge , as Secretary , decided , at a meeting held at the Criterion Restaurant , Piccadilly , circus , on Friday , the 20 th inst-, to change the nightof meeting from Friday to Monday , the first meeting to be held on Monday , the 13 th prox ., and at the same meeting Bro . Major E . J . Reed was unanimously elected Secretary .

AN EXTRAORDINARY CASE of committal for contempt of court is _ reported in a Chicago paper . Mr . VV . H . Freeman appeared in the interest of a client in the Superior Court of Anderson , Indiana , before Judge Devin , who is a Freemason . Freeman , who also belongs to the Craft , wore a " Masonic pin "—whatever that may be—and as the case proceeded he gave the " Masonic sign of distress . " This was quickly recognised

by the Judge and by some Masons on the jury . The Judge forthwith sent Freemin to gaol for contempt of court . The advocate , who denies having made any signs at all , threatens to appeal to the Grand Lodge for vindication . Meanwhile , another judge , Seymour D . Thomson , has made a statement to the effect that he has been frequentl y approached while on the bench by persons giving Masonic signs . —Morning .

WE HAVE MUCH PLEASURE in announcirg that the City of Westminster Lod ge , No . 1563 , held at Ihe Mascnic Temple , Cafe ! Royal , Regent-street , W „ have formed a ledge cf instruction and holds its meetirgs every VVednesday from 8 to 10 p . m . in B Rocm . The Preceptor is Bro . W . C . Smith , P . M . and Sec . of thc mother lodge , and many of cur readers will remember him as late Preceptor to the Emblematic , Covent

Garden , Londesbmough , Albion , and Ecclectic Lodges of Instruction , which offices he lesigned in 1 S 87 , business requiring his residing at Leeds . On his return to the Metropolis he wasappoinled Secretary of his ledge , and the brethren have now obtained his services as Preceptor . The Treasurer of the lodge , Bro . Branden , P . M ., has accepted the office of Treasurer , Bro . T . H . Beach , a Past Warden , the Secretaryship , and Bro . J . Swift that of Asst . Secretary .

THE GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY COMPANY announce that on the nightof April 2 nd , a cheap excuision will leave London ( Woolwich Arsenal , Woolwich Dockyard , Victoiia ( L . C acd D . ) , Ludgate Hill , Moorgate , Aldersgate , Farringdon , King's Cross , & c ) , Ior Newcastle , Berwick , Edinburgh , Glasgow , Helensburgh , Stirling , Perth , Dundee , Oban , Mcntrose , Aberdeen , Inverness , and other stations in Scotland , returning en Monday , Gth , or Friday , ioth April . Good Friday night , April 3 rd , fortwo or three days , from London ( Woolwich Arsenal , Woolwich Dockyard , Victoiia ( L . C .

and D . ) , Ludgate Hill , Moorgate , Aldersgate , Farringdon , and King's Cross to Edinburgh and Glasgow , returning on 5 th and 6 th ApriL Tickets at a single fare for the double journey will also be issued by above excursion to places named , available for return by cne fixed tiain en any day within 16 days , including days of issue and return . On Truisday , April 2 nd , cheap excursions will also be run for six days to and from London ( King's Cross ) and Scarboro ' , Whitby , York , Bradford , Keighley , Halifax , Leeds , Wakefield , Doncaster , Huddersfield , Liverpool , Southport , Manchester , Sheffield ,

Leicester , Dei by , Nottingham , Hull , Grimsby , Lincoln , Gainsboro , Lynn , Yarmouth , Norwich , Spalding , Wisbech , Cambridge , St . Ives , Ramsey , & c On Good Friday , April 3 rd , the 5 . 15 a . m . express frcm Kirg ' s Goss will be runlhrcugh to Lincoln , Nottingham , Sheffield , Manchester , Wakefield , Leeds , Bradford , Halifax , York , Newcastle , and Scotland . On Good Friday , April 3 rd , cheap two or four days' excursions will be run from Manchester , Oldham , Sheffield , Hull , Keighley , Halifax , Bradford , Leeds , Wakefield , York , Sic , to London . On Saturday , April 4 th , cheap three days' excursion trains will be run

from Manchester , Oldham , Huddersfield , Wigan , & c , to London . On Easter Monday , April Gth , cheap day excursions will be run from Victoria ( L . C . and D . ) , Ludgate Hill , Moorgate , King's Cross , Finsbury Park , Sic , to St . Albans , Wheathampstead , Harpenden , Luton , Dunstable , Hitchin , Royston , and Cambridge . A cheap day excursion will also be run from Moorgate , King ' s Cross , Holloway , Finsbury Park , & c , to

Skegness , Sutton-ein-Sea , and Mablethorpe . Cheap day excursions to London will be run from Derby , Nottingham , Lincoln , Peterboro' , Huntingdon , Cambridge , Luton , Dunstable , Sic To prevent inconvenience from crowding at thecompany's principal terminal station , King's Cross , tickets , dated in advance , will bi issued at King ' sCross ( G . N . R . ) , Victoria ( L . C . and D . ) , Ludgate Hill , Moorgate , Aldersgate , Farringdon , and Finsbury Park Stations , and at all the company's ticket offices .

ON APRIL 2 ND , CHEAP EXCURSION TRAINS will be run from London to Leicester , Nottingham , Newark , Lincoln , Birmingham , Burton , Derby , Manchester , Blackburn , Bolton , Rochdale , Oldham , Liverpool , Sheffield , Leeds , Bradford , Scarboro' , Newcastleon-Tyne , the Furness District , Carlisle , Sic ., Sic , returning the following Tuesday ; and from London ( St . Pancras ) to Edinburgh , Glasgow , Greenock , Perth , Stirling , Aberdeen , Inverness , fire , returning Monday , April Gth , or Friday , April lothj also on Friday , April 3 rd , for two or three days , to Eelinburgh and Glasgow ( for International Football

Match , England v . Scotland , at Glasgow , April 4 th ) from St . Pancras at 9 . 15 p . m . T ickets will also be issued by the Scotch excursion at a single ordinary third class fare for the double journey , available for returning on any day within 16 days from date of issue . On Easter Monday , April Gth , cheap day excursion trains will be run to St . Albans , Harpenden , and Luton . Cheap week-end and day excursion tickets will also be issued to Southend-on-Sea during' the Easter holidays , for particulars of which sec special bills . Tickets for joining the trains at St . Pancras Station can be obtained on

the two days previous to the running of the trains at the offices of the Company . Cheap excu-. sion trains for six days will also be run en Thursday , April 2 nd , to London from Carlisle , Bradford , Leeds , Sheffield , Liverpool , Manchester , Blackburn , Bolton , Lincoln , Newark , & c , and from Birmingham , Wolverhampton , Walsall , & c , for five or six days . On Good Friday , April 3 rd , from Bradford , Leeds , Sheffield , Blackburn , Bolton , Oldham , Manchester , & c , for two or four days , and from Burton , Derby , Nottingham , Birmingham , Leicester , Sic , for one , four , or five days . Passengers will be booked by

these trains at cheap fares to Brighton , and other South Coast stations , and to the Continent j those for the Continent having the privilege of returning by any ordinary train within iGdays . Cheap three-days ' trips will also be run to London on Friday night , April 3 rd , from Colne , Blackburn , Bolton , Rochdale , Oldham , & c , and on Saturday , April 4 th , from Manchester , & c . On Easter Monday , single day trips will be run from Burton , Derby , Nottingham , Leicester , Northampton , Bedford , Luton , St . Albans , Sic , and a one or two days' trip from Birmingham and the South Stafford District .

To prevent inconvenience and crowding , the Booking Offices at St . Pancras and Moorgate-street Stations will be open for the issue of tickets all day on Wednesday , Thursday , and Saturday , April ist , 2 nd , and 4 th , and tickets to all principal stations on the Midland Railway will also be issued beforehand at any of thtir offices . The tickets obtained at these offices will be available from St . Pancras Station , and will be issued atthe same fares as charged at that station , and dated to suit the convenience ot passengers . On Good Friday , the trains on the Midland Railway will run as appointed

for Sundays , with the following exceptions : The Newspapir Express leaving St . Pancras at 5 . 15 a . m . will mn to Bedford , Leicester , Nottingham , Derby , Sheffield , and Manchester . The 8 . 55 a . m . local train , Sheffield to Leeds , Sic , will await the arrival of the Newspaper Express at Sheffield . The Up Night Express leaving Edinburgh at 9 . 45 p . m ., Glasgow at 9 45 p . m ., and Carlisle at 12 . 38 a . m . for London , will run on Good Friday night , April 3 rd , and Saturday morning , April 4 th , the same as on ordinary

weekdays . The 3 . 32 a . m . Carlisle to Stranraer , and 8 . 50 p . m . Stranraer to Carlisle , in connection with steamers to and from Ireland , will run on Good Friday , the same as on ordinary week-days . The steamers between Barrow and Belfast will sail on Good Friday in both directions . That from Barrow will await the arrival of the 4 . 5 p . m ; ' ! . from Leeds . On Easter Monday , April 3 rd , certain booked trains will be discontinued , of which due notice viiU be given by special bills at the station .