At The Sign Of The Perfect Ashlar.

death of the members of the Royal Family on the occasion of the recent outrage in Spain . A very delightful concert was provided by Bro . Harry Barratt , who is a much-esteemed member of this lodge . The various items were ably rendered by Bros . Barratt and Godden and Air . W . J . Higginbottom , with Bro . John Brittan , the organist of the lodge , as accompanist . © © ©

Lord Ludlow , treasurer of St . Bartholomew ' s Hospital , has received from the Rah ere Lodge of Freemasons a donation of . £ 105 towards the rebuilding fund . © © © The Rahere Chapterin connection with the Rahere

, Lodge , was formally inaugurated in the Great Hall of St . Bartholomew's Hospital on June 12 th in the presence of a large and distinguished gathering of medical and other Freemasons . The founders entertained their guests afterwards at a banquet at the Imperial Restaurant .

© © © Lord Lathom , speaking to the Provincial Grand Lodge of West Lancashire Freemasons at Old Trafford recently , expressed a hope , which is echoed by all members of the Craft in the County Palatine , that His Royal Highness the

Grand Alaster may be able during the summer to visit Lancashire . The object of the visit will be to lay the foundation stone of the Lathom Memorial Chapter House of Liverpool Cathedral . That would have been already accomplished but for the death of the Duchess of Connaught ' s

mother having made impossible the fulfilment of the engagement at the time fixed . The Provincial Grand Alaster naturally takes the deepest interest in the proposed memorial to his venerated father , the first Earl of Lathom , his predecessor as Ruler of the Province , and he did all that was

possible to obtain the services of the Prince of Wales so as to prevent the disappointment caused by deferring the function . But the Heir-Apparent had too many arrears of duty awaiting his return from India to permit of such an arrangement . There are nearly n , ooo brethren in the West

Lancashire Province . A sovereign a head from them alone , apart from Masonic contributions from elsewhere , would suffice to build the Chapter House , and it is highly satisfactory to note that already the sum of £ 6 , 000 has been promised without the slightest diminution in the support of

the nourishing charities of the Province . Since writing the above we learn that the visit of the M . W . Grand Master to Liverpool is fixed for the 17 th July .

© © © The Rev . Canon Horsley , Grand Chaplain , in a letter to the Church Times , in controverting a statement made by a correspondent in a former issue that he had " pointed out that Freemasonry in this country is not anti-Christian , " states

that what he said was , it was nowhere anti-Christian , and that in the sole country from which Romans drew what they considered a justification for their attitude towards the Craft , there are only pseudo Alasons who have been formally repudiated as Masons on account of the Agnosticism they unhappily force upon all members of Lodges under the Grand Orient of France .

$ > © © There is no reason , he goes on to say , in Freemasonry why a Catholic anywhere should not join it . The apparent exception in France is no exception , for French soi-disanl Francmacconnerir is not recognized by our rulers as being

Freemasonry at all . They are excommunicated by us , and we can only hope for the day of their repentance and return to the fold . For this two things are needful—that they should rescind their resolution to eliminate the name and the recognition of God from their ritual , and that Rome should

abandon its ignorant banning of till that is called Masonry without discriminating between the true and the spurious . If Romans in England , America , and elsewhere were allowed to become Masons , it would benefit both them and us , and incidentally tend to the reunion of Christendom .

People often argue as if we were , or ever professed to be , a Church with a creed and prayers of our own different from that of the Catholic Church ; and so " ALB . " asks where he can find this creed and an explanation thereof . The truer comparison would be this , there is in England our Christian

Social Union . But suppose it were determined to found a wider Social Union for the civilized world with the same kind of aims , and that its constitution offered membership to men of all races and creeds , stipulating only that they should believe in the first eight and the last eight words of the

Nicene creed—in God and immortality—would any sane and just person describe this as an anti-Christian body ? Some excellent societies to which I belong—e . g ., the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children—include men of various faiths united for a moral work , but do not require any

profession of faith whatever from their members . Is it maintained that therefore they profess to be " a body of Christians , " or that they are anti-Christian .

© © © It is something in these clays to attend occasionally meetings in which quarrels about religion or politics are rendered absolutely impossible by the laws of Masonry , while the whole tendency and aim of the order is to promote the religious spirit and a loyalty to the government of whatever land in which we find ourselves .

© © © A deputation from the Alasonic Lodge St . David , No . 3 6 , Edinburgh , recently paid a visit to Lodge St . James B . U . R . A . No . 424 , Hawick , headed by the R . W . AI . Brother Peter Smellie , solicitor . In the course of the proceedings it was

mentioned that the fourth Duke of Buccleuch ; Sir Walter Scott , Bart . ; his father , Walter Scott , W . S . ; Robert Scott , his elder brother ; and the Rev . Henry Scott Riddell , author of " Scotland Yet " were made Freemasons within the portals of the Lodge St . David . In a minute of meeting held

on 9 th April 1740 , it was recorded that the health of Brother David Buchanan was proposed , and responded to with great enthusiasm , the Lodge having just received the news that he was the first man to get in at the Iron Port of Puerto Bello , in the Isthmus of Panama , and placed the British

colours there when taken by the British fleet under Admiral Vernon . Sir Walter Scott was initiated into Freemasonry at an emergency meeting of the Lodge held in the old Lodgeroom in Hyndford's Close , Nether Bow , on the 2 nd March 1801 .

© © © The eighth festival in aid of the Educational Fund of the Masonic Province of North and East Yorkshire was held in the York Lodge , Duncombe Place , York , under the presidency of Bro . Lieut .-Colonel Pudsey , P . M ., P . P . G . W ., ( Kingston

Lodge , Hull ) . The Education Fund was established in 18 77 , for the benefit of children of deceased or necessitous Freemasons of this Province , and it has met with most encouraging support from the Members of the Craft . The grants to the children on the Fund at present are £ 10 , £ 12 , and . £ 14 ,

according to age , the children being admitted at six years of age , and retained on the fund until 15 years of age , and the amount thus paid since the establishment of the Fund has been . £ 3 . 345 . It is a gratifying fact that the money subscribed is devoted directly for the object intended , there

being no establishment charges . Since the institution of the fund , grants have been made for the education of 82 children , 12 of whom have b ^ en elected into the Masonic Schools 50 have ceased by age , and at the preset time there remain 20 children receiving the benefits of the fund , at a cost hist

year of £ 23 1 6 s . 8 d ., whilst the income from investments last year was £ 174 2 s . 6 d . A pleasing feature in connection with the administration of the fund is that every application brought before the Committee has been entertained , without the necessity of issuing voting papers for the election of

candidates , the donations and subscriptions having hitherto been sufficient to admit of this being done . It may also be mentioned that since the operation of the Elementary Educa-