At The Sign Of The Perfect Ashlar

The committee who have in hand the proposed testimonial to Bro . Aid . R . H . Holmes , P . G . D . Eng ., Deputy Provincial Grand Master , Xorthumberland , have decided that it should consist of a suitable personal testimonial of the value ol" 100 guineas , and that the remainder be used to form the nucleus of a Masonic Benevolent Fund for the Province of Xorthumberland , and to be called the " Holmes Fund . "

<© © © The Hon . Alan de Tatton Egerton , M . P ., became Provincial Grand Master of Freemasons of Cheshire on the retirement of his brother , Earl Egerton of Tatton , in 1900 . At that lime there were fifty-four lodges in the province , an increase of fourteen

during the fifteen years that his Lordship had been practically in command of the province . Since then , the number has gone up to sixty-six , with a corresponding increase in membership , which is now nearly three thousand live hundred . At the Provincial Grand Lodge meeting at Alderlev Edge ,

Mr . Egerton ' s suggestion that a festival in aid of the local Masonic charities should be held in July next year was received with great cordiality . Early last year the brethren gave special proof of their devotion to the cause of chanty and their attachment to their Provincial ruler b y subscribing

£ 3 , 500 , an average of over fifty guineas a lodge , to signalise his chairmanship of the annual festival of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution for Girls . After such a precedent on behalf of one of the general Masonic charities ( here should be no fear of a successful effort in aid of the Benevolent and Educational Institutions of the fraternity in Cheshire . It

may be remembered that a festival for the Masonic charities in the neighbouring Province of East Lancashire , held at the Botanical Gardens , Old Trafford , in 1901 , realised nearly ten thousand pounds . But East Lancashire has twice as many lodges as Cheshire , and is a more wealthy locality .

The Rev . Henry Adair Pickard , ALA ., who died on Thursday , was a prominent Freemason , not onl y in Oxfordshire but also in London . When the Kev . Charles William Arnold , M . A ., G . C ., Deputy Provincial Grand Master for Surrey , went to America in 1877 , Bro . Pickard was joined with

the Rev . William Lake Onslow as one of the Grand Chaplains for the year , and he served the following year with the late Rev . William Alfred Hill . In Grand Lodge and Grand Chapter he was for years a conspicuous figure , in the latter frequentl y taking the First Grand Principal ' s chair . For a very considerable period , however , he had not been seen in either . He was one of the brethren who assisted at the

installation of the late Duke of Albany as Provincial Grand Master for Oxfordshire , and he succeeded His Royal Highness as Grand Superintendent of the Royal Arch of the county . © © © The editor of the Masonic department in an Eastern

paper advises lodges to procure for their Masters a fashionable silk hat each year . He deplores the frequent appearance of a Master wearing a ' vaudeville hat . " In which , of course , he is quite correct , says the editor of The America 11 Tyler . If a hat is to be worn , it certainly should be some sort of

headgear worth y of the dignity of the office . While the custom is one of " time immemorial , " we see no necessity of the Master adhering to it with the udnost rigidity . The wearing of a hat in the East is not a requirement but a privilege , and almost any Master could afford to abandon his headgear occasionall y without fear or loss of dignity . We quite agree

At The Sign Of The Perfect Ashlar

with the Trier , that if a hat is to be worn it should be a good one , but entirely dissent from the view that the wearing of any sort of headgear in a lodge is a privilege . © © © The Earl of Lathom , as Provincial Grand Master , laid the

foundation-stone of Christ Church Infants'School , Preston , on the 23 rd Sept . The ceremony was preceded by an especial Provincial Grand Lodge Meeting . There was a large gathering of the chief officers of the lodges of West Lancashire , and Archdeacon Clarke . Rev . H . S . Butler , Rural Dean , Alderman

Margerison and Major Preston were also in attendance . His Lordship expressed delight at the progress education was making in Preston , and invoked God's blessing on the children who wottld assemble in the school .

© © © The annual meeting of the Provincial Grand Lodge of South Wales ( Western Division ) was held on Tuesday , September 26 th , under the banner of the Prince of Wales Lodge , Xo . 671 , Llanelly . In the absence of the Right

Worshipful Prov . Grand Master , Lt .-Gen . Laurie , C . B ., M . P ., the chair was occupied by the Deputy Provincial Grand Master , the Rev . David Bowen . The Llanelly lodge Intel made excellent arrangements for the comfort of the visitors , the Worshipful Master ( Bro . W . Lewis ) , the Secretary ( Bro .

Gavin Henry ) , and the other officers being indefatigable in this direction . There was an excellent muster of brethren , among the visitors being Bro . Lord Kensington and Bro . Arthur Lewis , the recently-appointed stipendiary of Pontypridd . Later on the company sat down to luncheon at the Thcmas Arms Hotel .

It is not inopportune to suggest that those of the brethren who desire to make themselves acquainted with the rules and regulations of the Order , as all Masons who desire preferment are expected to do , should possess themselves of the latest edition of the Constitutions , which contain the numerous

alterations and amendments which have been passed by Grand Lodge during the past few years . The alterations in regard to the Election of Grand Treasurer and the rules of the Board of Benevolence , arc the latest changes of importance .

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