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Mr. T. A. Peteekin, W.M., Westport, to Sir R. Stout, Wellington. (Telegram.) 29th April, 1893. Membees of Lodge Aorangi deeply sympathize with Mrs. Ballance with the loss of our brother. ,

Mr. J. Faiebuen, Secretary of the St. Andrew Kilwinning Lodge, Wanganui, to Mrs. Ballance. (Telegram.) 28th April, 1893. The members of the St. Andrew Kilwinning Masonic Lodge desire me to express their heartfelt sympathy, and condole with you in your great affliction upon the loss of our worthy brother, your affectionate husband.

The Seceetaey, Waitohi Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, 2036 E.G., to Mrs. Ballance. Madam,— Picton, Bth May, 1893. I am instructed by the W.M., officers, and brethren of Lodge Waitohi to offer you this formal expression of our truest brotherly sympathy in the great affliction that has befallen you. You have lost far more than any of us, but it will, we trust, be some mitigation even of your heavy sorrow to know that the country and the craft also feel in their inmost hearts a very deep sense of loss, and mourn with you in all sincerity. May He who has chastened strengthen you to bear; may the God of the widow fill with His love the void in your heart, and grant you by-and-by a grand reunion with our brother gone before, and who is rejoicing even now, we trust, in some measure of reward for his labours as a true and faithful craftsman, and for his service to the country that he loved even better than life. With the assurance of my own personal sympathy, believe me, madam, on behalf of the W.M., officers, and the brethren of Lodge Waitohi, — Yours fraternally, Mrs. Ballance, Tinakori Road, Wellington. W. D. James, Secretary.

The Plon. Seceetaey, Southern Star Lodge, No. 735, to Mrs. Ballance. Deae Madam,— Nelson, Bth May, 1893. I have the honour, in compliance with a resolution of the brethren of the Southern Star Lodge of Freemasons, to convey to you the expression of their deep sympathy and sorrow because of your recent sore bereavement, and to convey to you their opinion that the loss sustained by the colony in the death of Mr. Ballance, its premier statesman, is second only to your own personal and irreparable loss. I remain, &c, John Geaham, Hon. Secretary. Mrs. Ballance, Wellington.

The Secretary, Manawatu Kilwinning Lodge, No. 47, N.Z.C., to Mrs. Ballance. Dear Madam,— Palmerston North, 25th May, 1893. I am instructed, on behalf of the officers and members of the above lodge, to offer you our condolence and sympathy for your loss, sustained through the untimely death of our late respected brother, J. Ballance, Esq. I have, te., F. E. White, Secretary, No. 47. Mrs. Ballance, Wanganui.

The Seceetary, Leinster Lodge of Freemasons, to Mrs. Ballance. Madam,— Wellington, Bth May, 1893. I have been directed on behalf of this lodge to express to you the sincere sympathy of the brethren in the sad loss sustained by you in the untimely death of our late brother, the Hon. J. Ballance. Whatever of human sympathy would console you in your sorrow you have from us, and, where sympathy fails, may you derive comfort and consolation from the knowledge that the life of the deceased was not in vain, and that he died as he lived—the friend of the people, and " a man without exception." I have, &c, Mrs. Ballance, Wanganui. Frank Hyde, Secretary.

The Secretary, Lodge Stratford, No. 75, to Mrs. Ballance. Dear Madam,— Stratford, 22nd May, 1893. I have been instructed to inform you that at a meeting of this lodge a unanimous vote of sympathy was passed on your late sad bereavement, and to express our deep sorrow at your loss. I am, &c, Mrs. Ballance, Wanganui. C. Oechaed, Secretary.

The Grand Seceetaey, Grand Lodge of New Zealand, to Mrs. Ballance. Dear Madam, — Grand Secretary's Office, Auckland, 11th May, 1893. I am instructed by the Most Worshipful the Grand Master Mason of New Zealand, Brother Malcom Nicol, to forward you the enclosed resolution of condolence with you in your bereavement, passed by the members of Lodge Waikouaiti, No. 57, of Waikouaiti, on the 2nd instant. I am sure you will receive it as a token of warm-hearted sympathy with you in your great grief, and as a proof that the brethren of the mystic tie are anxious to show their appreciation of our late brother's masonic status.