Correspondence.

CORRESPONDENCE .

We do not hold ourselves responsible for the opinions of our Correspondents . We cannot undertake to return rejected communications . All Letters must hear the name and address 0 / the Writer , not necessarily for publication , but as a guarantee of good faith .

WHICH IS CORRECT ? To the Editor of THE FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . DEAR . Slit AND BROTHER , —After duo consideration I havo decided not to continue this controversy , which , if continued , wonld lead mo beyond the bounds I at first contemplated . My public and privato avocations alike forbid it .

I have had but one object in view—viz ., tho improvement of our philosophical teaching , for such it claims to bo , and such it ought to be considered by all thinking men . I do not know by what right my friends who havo opposed mo assume themselves to bo representatives of the Craft , but apprehend

that , when the Craft does earnestly bestir itself in this very important affair , as sooner or later it will , leaders will be choson who will not content themselves with mere verbal quibbles , or who , in matters of fact , accuse their opponent of being " unimaginative " For the reasons above stated , I now withdraw from the contest ,

not doubting that , even after many days , the good seed I havo sown will bear fruit . I have nothing to withdraw . I have offered , as an individual rulei of the Craft , thoughtful addresses to thoughtful men , in all

eartuestness and truth ; and if tho exercise of my duty has in any way caused pain to friends , I can only express regret , and trust all ill-feeling •will be mutually forgotten . With thanks , Mr . Editor , for your courtesy in inserting my letters ,

J am , fraternally yours , W . YIXER BEDOLFE M . D ., P . M . 1329 , Author of " Footsteps of Masonry . " Dulwich , 30 th October 1876 .

[ We regret the determination our esteemed brother has come to , and that he will take no further part in this disenssion . We had looked forward to deriving no small amount of profit from his well-known ability , and careful study of Masonic doctrine . ED , FREEMASON ' CHRONICLE ] .

To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' CHRONICLE . DEAR S IR AND BROTHER , —If any remarks in my last letter have given pain to Bro . Bedolfe , or if he considers I have dealt hardly with him , I know , he will forgive me when I assure him that they wero directed not to him personally , but against some of his statements , which , as an humble Preceptor of a Lodgo of Instruction , I felt it my duty to

combat , and , if possible , to controvert . A discussion of this kind can with very little difficulty bo conducted in a calm and dispassionate spirit , seeing that the aim of cither disputant can only bo to promote the interest of the cause ho is proud and anxious to serve . Actuated by the samo principle , I will pass by tho first sentence in tho second paragraph of his last letter , " His paper is

written with undoubted talent ; he eludes each point with wonderful tact , " and I am willing to look upon tho questionable compliment with a forgiving eye . According to my friend's dictum an opponent should give his replies categorically . This is not easy , unless tho propositions nnder consideration follow consecutively , and are methodically numbered . He will , therefore , in this instance allow me to stato

my views as they happen to present themselves , and ho must connect them as he thinks best . I will now proceed to examine what further forces have been marshalled to sustain tho onslaught upon one of the redoubts of the Masonic citadel . The Doctor starts by proclaiming that he has given his aid to introduce certain modifications , which , as has been pointed out , are gradually being adopted in varions

Lodges . I am not disposed to question the fact . Ho further inquires , " Is it presumption to ask to be a fellow labourer ? " Certainly not . But why does my friend stigmatise as " tinkering , " work which ho seems anxious it should be known ho has helped to perform ? The necessity for improvement , and the advantages likely to arise if many matters in onr system are modernised and rendered more consistent

with the present mode of thought has already been conceded . Is it , then , fair criticism to cull a passage here and there and exclaim , " How can you tell your pupils that which you know to bo untrue ? " The system has been handed down to us in its imperfect form , and tho elimination of its discrepancies is by no means an easy task . Tho process must be gradual , and extreme caution is necessary lest all resemblance

to the original be destroyed . The Doctor either mis-read or mis-conceived the purport of my remarks , when he acensed me of having stated that the "lectures aro simple tradition . " Such an assertion would bo silly . I can also only express myself in proportionally grateful term 3 for his considerately volunteering to defiue the term " tradition . " It is many years since I left school , but I havo not

forgotten it . My friend opines that it is incumbent upon me to provo in what manner the story of Ishmael , Hagar , and Isaac is applicable to the origin of " Freeborn . " I do not admit that I am called npon to do anything of the sort , but will , nevertheless , endeavour to show that it is a useful and pointed illustration . Freedom is an important ,

and , indeed , necessary qualification to a Mason desirous of performing his duties faithfully and conscientiously . Few , if any , whoso time and talent are tho property , or at the disposal , of a master , can become profitable servants of the Order . Indeed , as numberless examples ia OBJ own experience have abundantly proved , tho whim

Correspondence.

or misfortune of tho master will invariably render tho servant a burden and incumbrance , when it was hoped ho might havo been a source of strength and snpport . ITngav occupied what might have been deemed an unassailablo position in tho household of Abraham . Yet being after all only a hired dependent , eaprico and importunity easily succeeded iu contriving hor banishment , and to reduce her to a condition of divo want and distress . Can it bo said tho illustration .

is entirely devoid of fyrco ? In tho samo narrativo wo aro also admonished to guard tho young against vulgar aud low bred associa « tions , and by keeping them freo from baneful influences prepare them for an upright and virtuous life . Tlie learned doctor persists in regarding men who attend Lodges of Instruction as a parcel of school bovs . Ho seems to gango their intellectual power by a

singularly low standard . Ho assumes , upon what ground I am un . able to conceive , that tho Scripture narratives aro " unwisely adopted , " and when used an isolated facts , aro productive of " unspeakable sin , misory , and crime . " Ho wonld raise no objection if each were followed by a suitablo explanation . But what reason has ho to assumo that tho brethren who study tho Lectures aro incapable , nob

only to explain , bnt to draw a fitting moral from these passages . Tho doctrine that these matters aro nnfit for tho common understanding , and should not bo read excopt by the light of those who aro supposed to possess the capacity to explain them , is one which I believe was abolished at tho timo of tho Reformation , and is scarcely consistent with tho freedom of thought which should prevail

in all truly civilised communities . In his former paper my friend indulged in wholesalo condemnation . Ho contented himself by simply enumerating what ho conceived to constitute dark aud ugly blemishes in tho system of Masonic Instruction . Fault finding is , howovcr , a mighty easy task ; and I have heard it said that to some tho occupation affords tho most , unalloyed gratification and

pleasure , and is often preferred to any other mode of recreation . But experience teaches us that the adverse critic is rarely tho one capable of suggesting a way by which the imperfections complained of might be removed or amended . I never for a moment entortained tho idea that the Doctor ' s strictures wero objectless . Being sure that he is not one who would carelessly lay bare the wounds of a patient with

out having a definite purpose in view , I felt somo curiosity as to the remedy he was likely to propose in order to relieve Masonry of its complicated disease aud shocking disfigurement , especially as I con . ccived that no one know hotter than himself that to obtain a radical euro an exact knowledge of tho discaso is indispensable , nis diag " nosis of some timo since was sufficiently alarming , and calculated to

dishearten tho timid , and drivo them to despair . But his latest bul - letin is mnch more reassuring . To judge by tho proposed treatment , tho disease after all cannot bo of a very virulent or malignant type . REVISION is to bo the panacea . From this it may be concluded that thoroisno immediate risk of dissolution ; indeed , wo may confidently dismiss tho idea of imminent danger . The learned doctor has not

as yet thought proper to enlighten us as to how tho remedy is to bo applied . It will , therefore , behove tho friends of the patient to bo particularly vigilant lest it provo worso than tho disease , and to bo prepared against any fatal consequences that might possibly ensuo from its application . I must once moro refer to the distinction between the originator of this controversy

and my esteemed Brother Bedolfe . Tho Doctor advocates allopathic treatment . Doctor James Stevens wisely , to my think , ing , prefers tho homoeopathic . Doctor Bcdolfo stands , scalpel in hand , ready to amputate or excise , as the exigencies of tho case may require Doctor Stevens , on tho other hand , likes to pursue the somewhat slow bnt sure , and at the samo timo less dangerous , although

probably in this instance much more efficacious , process of pilules and infinitesimal closes . We shall certainly have to make our choice between the two . My friend makes known his " pain and mortification" at tho recital of tho exploits of a freebooter , tho slaughtor of forty thousand Ephraimites , and the plunder of Ammonitish cities . But why should tho histories of battles , because recorded in tho

Sacred Book , be considered moro revolting than those of tho wars of our own time , with their attendant inhumanities and brutalities , the reports of which are placidly read from day to day by millions all over the world ? The fact is , war , the irresistible engine of destruction and desolation , and the evil genius whose sinister influences turn mankind into tho semblance of wild beasts uncontrolled and uncontrollable , has

alwayi been full of horrors . And until Utopia is established , or tho Millennium has arrived , individuals and nations will continue to quarrel and fight , and sympathetic sentirnentalism must bo resigned to softer " pain and mortification . " For His own unfathomable purposes the Most High suffered theso things in tho days of old ; we can only suppose they aro deemed necessary now , and must bow in humble submission to His alhviso decrees . The Doctors differ and a « reo .

They are at one as to tho necessity of rectif ying all matters incongruous and obsolete , to round off tho slightest excrescence which might have a tendency to mar tho beauty and symmetry , and to polish away tho least speck likely to degrade the brilliancy and lustre of onr cherished institution . They join issue as to tho methc . cl in which the onerous , but at tho samo timo pleasant , task is to bo accomplished . May this discussion result in discovering the best way to bring about the much-needed aud greatly-to-be-desired consummation . Yours fraternally , E . GOTTHEIL .

The Two Doctors.

THE TWO DOCTORS .

To the Editor of THE FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . DR . W . VINER BEDOLFE , M . D ., DR . G . OLIVER , D . D ., 187 ( 1 . IS tfi .

" A RE wo children to be taught " IN tho time of Euclid the river to repeat that , as historical Kile overflowed so far that many fact , a Lodgo of Masons existed of tho dwellings of the people of