At The Sign Of The Perfect Ashlar.

at 45 , thirty to be elected . The income of the Institution for 1905 was / . " 3 8 , yo 6 18 s . The chairman for the 108 U 1 Anniversary Festival in June will be the Marquis of Hertford , Provincial Grand Master for Warwickshire . The thirty-third annual Xew Year ' s entertainment to the

annuitants of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution for Aged Freemasons and Widows of Freemasons , resident in the buildings at Croydon , was given on Wednesday , Jan . 3 rd , and a large company of brethren and ladies attended at the institution to assist in giving a few hours' enjoyment to their

old friends . Some Grand Officers , with members of their families , went to Croydon for the occasion , among them being Bros . P . Colville Smith , P . G . D ., Deputy Prov . G . M . Cornwall " ; Dr . Henry John Strong , P . A . G . D . C , Hon . Consulting Surgeon to the Institution ; Thos . Hastings Miller . C . C , P . G . S . B . ;

James Terry , P . G . S . B ., and Thomas Cohu , P . G . St . B . The entertainment consisted first of a dinner , in which turkeys beef , fowls , Christmas pudding , and mince pies formed the chief features . Dr . Strong , who for over thirty years has attended these festivities , explained in an after-dinner speech

that not a halfpenny of the cost came out of the funds subscribed lo the Institution , the expenses being voluntarily and cheerfully found by private individuals and lodges , notably by the Lodge of Tranquility , Xo . 185 , and the Playgoers ' Lodge , Xo . 2705 . After the repast the ladies of the party visited the annuitants at their homes , and in the evening the two lodges mentioned provided a first-class concert .

© 00 The death of Captain Nathaniel George Philips , Past Grand Deacon , removes a prominent and distinguished personality from London Masonic circles . His commanding figure was familiar to all frequenters of Grand Lodge and in the Mark Degree , but it was to the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite

of which he was for many years the ruling spirit that he devoted his greater energies , and the meetings of that body will hardly appear the same without him . Two years after the King , then Prince of Wales , was installed as Grand Master at the Royal Albert Hall , his Majesty appointed

Captain Philips one of the Senior Grand Deacons in Grand Lodge , the other being Bro . Peter de Lande Long , who died two years ago . The same year Captain Philips received the rank of Grand Scribe X . in Supreme Grand Chapter , and Bro . de Lande Long that of Principal Grand Sojourner . Captain Philips was Grand Junior Warden in the Mark in 1876 . and Bro . Long Grand Senior Deacon in 1803 .

0 ¦ < f > Bro . Samuel J . Cockburn , P . M ., P . P . G . P ., the oldest member of Fawcett Lodge , Xo . 661 , Seaham Harbour , has presented the brethren with an ivory snuff-box , on the lid of which various Masonic emblems are carved . The box is of considerable antiquity , and was stated by Bro . Cockburn to

have been in possession of his family for two hundred years . Bro . Cockburn presented it to the lodge as a tangible token of his attachment to the ' * Fawcett , " and expressed the hope that an old custom of the lodge would be revived in connection with his gift , and that it would be regarded as a memento

of himself . On behalf of the brethren , the W . M . ( Bro . W . Hall ) accepted the gift in suitable terms , and it was decided to record the gift and the circumstances under which it was presented in the minutes of the lodge . < 2 » *

At the last monthly meeting of the York Lodge , No . 236 , the W . M . informed the brethren that Bro . C Forbes had

sent to him for presentation to the Lodge a framed painting of an ancient pedestal top discovered at Pompeii , and in presenting it to the lodge he spoke of its great value and interest , at the same time explaining its symbolic meaning . A vote of thanks was accorded to Bro . Forbes for his gift At the same meeting Bro . G . Garbutt , one of the Past Masters presented to the lodge a portrait of himself , and was alsoaccorded a vote of thanks . ¦

«» < 5 > " 3 » We regret to announce the death of Bro . the Yen . H . J . Spence Gray , late Archdeacon of Lahore , which occurred on thc voyage to England , just before the boat reached Marseilles . When Bro . Spence Gray left Lahore , a month ago ,

he knew he should never see India again , for he was suffering from that incurable malady known as " Bright's disease , " but he was far from realising that the end was so near ; in fact , the doctors had held out to him the hope that with complete rest and continuous care he might live for some years . There

has probably never been a more popular chaplain in India . He was pre-eminently a soldier ' s padre , and int merely a padre , but a friend . Bluff and hearty , intolerant of the more conventional restraints of his order , a foe to all shams , warm and earnest in all his relations with men , he led a lite of

transparent sincerity that gained for him universal confidence and affection ; and it was the unremitting zeal of his labours for the good of others that perhaps led to , and certainly hastened , his death . It was not until medical orders had become peremptory that he would consent to lay down his

onerous charge . In Freemasonry he was a light and ornament , and in 18 97 was made a Past Grand Chaplain of England . The Bishop of Lahore , in preaching before the Prince of Wales , at Jamniu , referred sympathetically to the sad event .

The Bi-Centenary of the founding of the Grand Lodge of England although it will not occur until 1917 is already the subject of much comment and preparatory suggestions amongst our American brethren . The Tylcr-Kcysloiic in a

recent issue has the following : — "Many noted Masons , such as Bros . W . J . Hughan , W . J . Chetwode Crawley and John T . Thorpe , of England , and the Grand Lodges of Iowa , Washington , and other States have passed resolutions endorsing Bro . Morcombe ' s suggestion first published

expressly for and in The Keystone , that the Bi-Centenary , or Two-hundreth Anniversary of the founding of the ' Modern ' Grand Lodge of England , in 1717 , should be celebrated by a grand gathering of the Masonic Clans from all over the earth , to a celebration of the event in London , England , in

the year 1917 . A long time to look ahead , but it would lake quite a time to make all the arrangements , and for the invited guests in the uttermost parts of the earth to receive their invitations and notify their acceptances . It would be a magnificent assemblage , such as the world has never seen ,

and would be productive of great progress on the road to the millenium , prayed for and promised ; a universal brotherhood of man , for the best and most beneficent purposes . "

< s > < a > < j » Does a brother hailing from another jurisdiction with Grand Lodge rank retain that rank when visiting or afliliating with a lodge in this jurisdiction ? is a question that has been submitted to the Editor of Toronto Masonic Sun , and is answered as follows : — " The rank a brother attains in any recognised foreign Grand

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