At The Sign Of The Perfect Ashlar

All that was mortal of Bro . Colonel Hugh Mackay Gordon , V . D ., J . P ., was laid to rest in the churchyard of that quaint old village of Eltham , Kent , on Saturday , March 23 rd . Colonel Gordon was a much respected member of the Craft , and a liberal supporter of the Institutions connected therewith . A Past Grand Sword Bearer of England , a Past

Prov . Grand Deacon of Middlesex , and , until just prior to his death , Treasurer of the Burdett Lodge , No . 1293 , a position which he vacated in consequence of failing health in favour of W . Bro . W . G . Kentish , and a Past Master 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 188 4 in connection with the 2 nd V . B . Queen ' s Own Royal West Kent Regiment , of which the deceased was long a member , having joined it at the commencement of the Volunteer movement in 18 39 , and

having been for many years Captain 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 . W ^ e are informed that only recently he was appointed Lord Lieutenant of the County of Aberdeen—an honour which unhappily he did not live long to enjoy .

Among those who attended to pay a Past mark of respect were Bros . W . G . Kentish , P . G . Std . Br . ; Surgeon-Major H . W . Roberts , P . P . G . W . Middlesex ; Col . Francis Win . Frigout , P . M . 2041 ; A . A . Frigout , P . M . 2041 , P . P . G . Supt . 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 . E . J . Jarratt , S . D . 2041 ; Win . H . Gomer , D . C . 2041 ; S . Fallows , 2041 ; G . W . Coleman , 2041 ; and R . White , 2041 .

At a recent meeting of the Royal Warrant Holders Lodge , No . 278 9 , Bro . T . B . Tipton , P . M ., 2550 , whose portrait appeared in our first issue , was unanimousl y elected W . M . for the ensuing year . He is a well-known and popular W estend Mason , and we congratulate him upon this new honour which is well deserved , as he took a very prominent part in founding this successful lodge .

© © CThe following letter has been received in reply to an address to His Majest y the King from the Governors and Subscribers of the Royal Masonic Institution for Girls : — Sandringham , Norfolk .

Sir Francis Knollys is commanded by the King to thank the Governors -and Subscribers of the Roval Masonic Institution for Girls for their address and kind expressions of sympathy on the occasion of the death of Queen Victoria . His Majesty desires at the same time to convey his

sincere appreciation to the Governors and Subscribers for their congratulations on his accession to the Throne . 19 th April , 1901 .

Bro . John Hare ' s retirement from the stage will be genuinely regretted b y all classes of playgoers . Bro . Hare retires in the very height of his popularity . He is not really an old man yet—only fifty-seven . That is to say . he is six years younger than Bro . Sir Henry Irving , one year the junior of Bro . Charles Wyndham , and the same age as

Bro . Edward Terry . Bro . Hare , however , has never taken very kindly to the business side of the stage , and it is to escape the worries incidental to theatre management that Bro . Hare contemplates retirement .

It was in Robertson ' s comedies—Society , Ours , Caste , £ r „ that Bro . Hare made that impression which raised him at once into the front rank of light comedians . His "nice old gentleman " became the talk of the town , and it was to this type that he almost exclusivel y devoted himself . His make-up was almost perfect to fastidiousness , but Bro . Hare himself tells how he was once caught tripping by the King

( then the Prince of W ales ) , who pointed out to him that the decorations he wore in the part of Prince Perovsky in Ours were absurd . " The Prince was very quick to detect these things , " said Bro . Hare , " and the fact was , in the hurry I had allowed myself to wear a rather mixed lot , among them being a Masonic order !"

We cannot but admire the energy that Bro . Sheriff Lawrence lias displayed in desiring to add Parliamentary honours to the duties of his Shrievalty . His candidature for the Monmouth Boroughs , formerly represented by Dr . Rutherfoord Harris , whose return was successfully petitioned against , has been adopted by the local Conservative and Unionist Association , and no doubt ere this appears in print the choice of the Constituency will have been made .

© © © Our brethren at Bellary , Madras , have suffered a serious loss bv fire of their Masonic Temple , which was built by subscription about eighteen years ago . The origin of the lire is unknown , but suspicion points to its being the work of an incendiary .

(?•< © ¦ PYeemasonry in the Channel Islands grows apace , and its progress in Guernsey and Alderney is very noticeable since those islands were constituted into a province in 18 94 , and RAY . Bro . J . Balfour Cockburn , P . G . M ., is to be congratulated upon having such an energetic Provincial Grand Secretary as

Bro . J . B . Nickolls , who is the life and spirit of the province . The latest news to hand is of the formation of a Royal Arch Chapter in Alderney , which will be the lirst consecrated there . The petition is being extensively signed , companions in Guernsey being enthusiastic in their support of the sister island . It is to be named the St . Ann ' s Chapter . © «•

Upon the duration of the war in South Africa will depend how long the Province of Sussex will be minus a Provincial Grand Master , as the M . W . Grand Master , H . R . H . the Duke of Connaught , has appointed as his successor the Earl of March , who has sailed with his regiment , the Sussex Militia , for the front .

© © . i > The roll of lodges in the Province of Staffordshire will receive an increase upon the consecration of the Victoria Lodge at W ' olverhampton by the Prov . Grand Master , the Earl of Dartmouth , which will take place very shortly . This will bring the total of lodges in the town up to four , the oldest being St . Peter's , Xo . 419 , which was founded in 18 34 .

© © © W e make the following extract from the Windsor Magazine for April , as being the most lucid conception of what Freemasonry really is that we have ever seen in the non-Masonic press : — " In round numbers , PYeemasons dispense in charity and benevolence an average of , £ 300 a clay in England

alone ; and when the contributions of Scotland , Ireland , our Colonies , America , and other countries are added , the total must be enormous . This liberality is the more astonishing because , in spite of a common delusion to the contrary , Freemasonry as such is neither a charitable institution nor a benevolent society . Xo man should be received into its

ranks unless there is a reasonable probability that he will never want to draw one penny from its funds , directly or indirectly . So far from this , he is expected to contribute something , according to his ability and means , towards its resources . PYeemasonry is a ' system of morality , ' but charity , in its best sense , is an outward expression of

Masonic tenets , and is intended , primarily , for those of its members who , from unavoidable and unforseen circumstances of calamity and misfortune , are plunged into poverty and distress ; for their widows and orphans or other relatives and dependents . The wants of these lirst claimants being satisfied , PYeemasonry then turns her attention to the

sufferers by war , famine , pestilence , Hood , earthquake , or shipwreck , and with no niggard hand applies herself to the Daily Masonic task of alleviating , as far as may be , human pain and misery . "