The Political Situation In Europe.

Sceptre " rescued them on the tenth day . The survivors bear testimony to the extraordinary kindness they experienced from Captain Jahnke and his crew . More dead than alive , they were left in hospital at St . Helena ,

from Avhence they are but recently arrived , apparently little the Averse for their sufferings . The cause of the fire we shall probably never knoAV , though it is supposed to have had its origin in the boatswain ' s locker , Avhere tar and other combustible matters were stowed .

But the cause of the terrible loss of life may be accounted for to a very great extent by the fact of tAvo of the boats being burned before they could be lowered , and , secondly ,

by the inability o £ the crew to loAver all the others . We are glad to find that a subscrip tion is being raised , under the auspices of the Lord Mayor , for the benefit of the relatives of the lost .

Whilst the Midland Railway is effecting a general surprise in the abolition of second-class carriages and the reduction of first-class fares , the Great Northern is distinguishing itself in a manner not likely to prove so satisfactory to the parties dependent on its management . For

some weeks past , the gross unpunctuality of many of the trains , especially those Avhich may be termed " business " trains , has called forth loud and Avide-spread expressions of dissatisfaction . The evening trains cannot be said to observe better time . It is high time the matter Avas taken

up in earnest . " Punctuality is the soul of business , " is a truism which every-day travellers recognise . A meeting to consider this subject , together with the system lately introduced by the company , of granting season-tickets , was held last Aveek at Cannon-street Hotel . We trust

the deputation to the directors , Avhich was then determined upon , may lead both to a reAfision of the neAv tariff and to some improvement in the suburban train service . Perhaps

the latter may be attained to some extent Avhen the new line from Finsbury Park to Broad-street is opened , as the delays which occur are doubtless attributable to the block on the Metropolitan Railway ; but , nous vermis .

The latest returns of the Registrar-General furnish some startling facts , Avhich the severity of the season Avill account for in no small degree . It is an abnormal state of affairs that the deaths should exceed the births in any locality . We find , hoAvever , that in eleven out of

twentyone tOAvns for Avhich returns have been furnished , this state of affairs exists , and supplies a total of 669 . Glasgow is pre-eminently conspicuous in this respect ; where the deaths exceed the births by no less than 247 in one Aveek , the actual death rate being 60 per 1 , 000 .

Liverpool stands next with 51 , Manchester and Salford Avith 50 , Avhile Oldham and Dublin shoAV 45 , Nottingham 44 , Bradford and Bristol 43 , and Edinburgh 42 ; London exhibits 37 . These , with twenty other towns , make the average of the 21 no less than 41 per 1 , 000 . These rates

are so much in excess of the usual returns , that Ave are at a loss to account for them , notAvithstanding the recent trying nature of the weather . Looking at the returns for Paris and Brussels , Avhere the actual cold exceeds that in

this country , Ave find , in the former , a rate of 24 , and , in the latter , one of 25 per 1 , 000 . In the case of Brussels , the return relates to a Aveek previous to the last , when the death-rate of London Avas 31 per 1 , 000 .

'We learn , from the Mauritius , that it is proposed to hold a Masonic reception in honour of the Right Hon . Lord Lindsay , Provincial Grand Master of West Aberdeenshire . A programme has appeared in the Mauritius Sentinel , in

Avhich brethren are invited to offer such suggestions as seem fit to them as regards the manner , while his Lordship is invited to state his pleasure as to the date for holding the reception ,

Elsewhere in ouv columns Avill be found an account of the installation of His Grace the Duke of Ahercorn , Lord Lieutenant of Ireland , as Grand Master of the Most Ancient and Honourable Society of Free and Accepted Masons of

Ireland . Those , however , of our readers , Avho are desirous of perusing a fuller and more detailed account of the ceremony should consult the columns of the Irish Times , which contains a list of the Brethren present , together with particulars of the installation and names of tho principal officers of Grand Lodge .

The Irish Freemasons.

THE IRISH FREEMASONS .

His Grace the Duke of Abercorn was , on Wednesday evening , the 6 th January , installed Grand Master of the Freemasons of Ireland , an office held for over 50 years by the late Duke of Leinster . Tho ceremonial was held in the Masonio Hall , Molesworth-street , and -was invested with all the pomp and pageantry which the Order

could impart to it . All the Grand Officers and a numerous host of Masters and Past Masters of Lodges , including many representing the Provinces , were present in full Masonic costume , with the decorations of the several ranks , and formed a brilliant assemblage . On tho arrival of his Grace from the Viceregal Lodge he was

conducted by the Deputy Grand Master ( Mr . Shekleton ) and the Grand Officers to the Small Lodge-room , where he was formally installed as Master of the Grand Master ' s Lodge . They then proceeded to the Grand Lodge-room , where the Lodge was opened in due form , and the Grand Master elect was conducted to the dais , while a

Masonic march was played on the organ . After prayer by the Grand Chaplain , his Grace knelt , and the obligation of bis office having been administered to him , he was invested , by the Deputy Grand Master , with the official insignia , and conducted to the throne , while the Duke of Connaught ' s Grand March was played on the organ . A selection

was also sung from a Masonic ode , especially composed for the occasion . The director of the ceremonies , Mr . St . George , then proclaimed his Grace , amid a flourish of trumpets , declaring with impressive formality all his titles , and , last of all , that of Grand

Master of the Ancient and Honourable Order of Free and Accepted Masons of Ireland . The proclamation was followed by the enthusiastic cheers of the Assembly , and Mr . Shekleton , Deputy Grand Master , on the part of the Order , congratulated his Grace on his acceptance of the office . In the course of his address he said : —

" It was a matter of great satisfaction to us that your Grace was enabled to accept the office for which you were selected by the numerous and enthusiastic suffrages of your Irish brethren ; selected not from any political motives—for all who hear me know that when we cross the portals of this building we Masons discard

considerations of party , and remember only that we are members of a brotherhood , linked together by ties of universal charity and love , knowing no distinction of class or creed , —but selected aa an Irish nobleman who has been neither ashamed nor afraid to reside among us , and who , both in private life and while discharging high and responsible

functions , has obtained the respect and esteem not merely of those who entertain the same religious and political views as your Grace , bnt of those who are most diametrically opposed to them . ( Loud applause . ) To be called upon in such a way as your Grace has been to preside over a society so widely diffused and so influential as the

Masonic body is unquestionably an honour of which any one , no matter how exalted in rank , might well be proud . Your Grace has been elected in succession to one whose memory is , and will , I trust , he ever cherished among us—one who for a period exceeding the span of most men ' s lives ruled over our Order with mild and courteous

sway . Wo cannot , in the course of nature , anticipate so prolonged a tenure of office for your Grace , but we most fervently trust that the bond of union which has this day been cemented between your Grace and the Masons of Ireland may not soon be severed , and wo

can assure your Grace that though the office of Grand Master is an annually elected one , so long as your Grace is willing to preside over us you need not apprehend any desire for change on the part of your constituents . "

His Grace was saluted according to ancient usage , amid the cheering of the whole assembly , with groat enthusiasm . The Grand Master , in returning thanks for the honour conferred upon him , expressed his sense of the responsibility which it involved , especially when he recalled the memory of the late Grand Master , to

Avhose loss he referred in terms of the deepest regret , warmly eulogizing his administration of the office and his distinguished character . His Grace said it would be his earnest desire to follow the example

so worthily set by his predecessor , and to use every endeavour in his power to maintain the dignity of the Grand Lodge and to advance the great and important influence which Freemasonry exercised towards mankind . His connection with the Order was of no recent

date . It was now forty-three years since he Avas admitted into the Apollo University Lodge in Oxford , and the course upon which he then entered as a novice culminated in the honour now conferred upon him . His Grace then added : — " It has not needed that long experience to teach me what you all

know , and what has been so well expressed to-night—tho great objects of Freemasonry . We know that its objects are not political ( hear , hear ) ; that they are not confined to any denomination or any sect ( hear , hear ) ; but that , as a Avidely-spread community , for tho extension of human sympathy and human brotherhood , it has been

the means of embracing myriads of men of all nations and of all creeds in one common bond of amity . ( Hear , hear , and applause . ) Brethren , it is not necessary for me in this place to remind you that the name of your illustrious patron , the Prince of Wales

( ' hear , hear , ' and applause ) is a sure guarantee that loyalty to the Sovereign is our true and sterling watchword ( cheers ) ; and we have the experience of 3 , 000 years to know that charity to mankind and love to the brethren are , and have been , the leading and guiding prinoiples of our noble Craft , and tho great and ultimate aims of our Association , (' Hear , hear , ' and applause . ) Bretbrep , I tbank yon