Correspondence.

CORRESPONDENCE .

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

— : o : — THE MASONIC RITUAL .

To the Editor of TIIE FREEMASON ' CHRONICLE , DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —Brother Jacob Norton , in his communication to you of the 26 th March , objects to that beautiful passage in Ritual , " And lift your eyes to that bright morning star whose rising brings peace and salvation to the faithful and obedient of the human

race . " It is not " salvation " but " tranquillity , " as Bro . Norton will find if he refers to the " English Ritual . " I am afraid he allows his susceptibilities to outrun his discretion . For myself I am content ; I do not wish to parade my roligious opinions ; sufficient to say , they wonld not be acceptable to many of tho sects of Christians , but I am

content with the literal interpretation of that passage , much as I feel convinced that in many respects our Ritual needs revision . Through the whole of our ceremonies in Craft Masonry we have one emblem continually before ns , the " Sun . " As the sunrises in the eastto open and enliven the day , so is the W . M . placed in the eastto

, , open his . Lodge , " & o . The blazing star or the glory in the centre reminds us of that grand luminary the " Sun , " which by its divine influence dispenses its blessings to mankind . The sun to us Masons of every sect and opinion represents our God ; it is the bright mornintr star anxiouslv looked for after the Bloomy darkness of night . It

is the bright morning star dawning on tho heart of gloomy sorrow , and driving away the black clouds of despair . It is the brightest portion of nature , teaching us that the " Lord of Life" will trample the king of terrors—Death—beneath our feet . Why shonld we fear Death when we can lift our eyes to that bright morning star— " The

Most High , of which the sun is the representative ; and know that in Him the human race finds peace and tranquillity . This theory of the " Sun " or the " Blazing Star " is no new idea ; it is held by the most primitive race of human beings . The Santhals , a

very low race , worship the sun under the name of Chando ; they told the missionaries who settled among them that Chando had created the world , and when told that it would be absnrd to say that the sun had created the world , they replied : — " We do not mean the visible Chando , but an invisible one . "

Max Muller , in his translation of the Vedio Hymns , says : — " The sun rises , the bliss-bestowing , the all . seeing , The same for all men ; The eye of Mitra and Varuna , The God who has rolled up darkness like a skin .

" The brilliant ( sun ) rises from the sky wide-shining , Going forth to his distant work , full of light ; Now let men also , enlivened by the sun , Go to their places and to their work . " Again he says , — " Seeing the light rising higher and higher above

the darkness , we came to the highest light , to Surga , the God among Gods . " In Hyde—De Votero Religione Persaram—is a figure of a lion with a bee between his lips , and over his back is a star emblematical of the " Sun God . " " The Sun ' s strength is in his word , " the bee

signifying " the word . " Near the small town Babain in Upper Egypt there still exists in a grotto a representation of a sacrifice to the sun , where two priests are seen worshipping the sun ' s image . The Preonians of Thrace wero sun-worshippers ; and they adored an image of the sun in the form of

a dish at the top of a long pole . When the good king Josiah set about tbe work of reformation we read that his servants proceeded thus . " And they brake down the altars of Baalim in hi 3 presence , and the images ( margin—snn images ) that were on high above them he cut down , " ( 2 Chron . xxxiv . 4 ) . Benjamin of Tudela , the great Jewish

traveller , speaking of the Cushites of the East says : — "There is a temple of the posterity of Chus addicted to the contemplation of the stars . They worship the sun as a god , for half a mile round their town is filled with great altars dedicated to him . By the dawn of morn they get up and run out of town , to wait the rising sun , to

whom , on every altar , there is a consecrated image , not in the likeness of a man , but of the solar orb , framed by magic art . And as the snn rises , these orbs take fire , and resound with a great noise , while everybody there , both men and women , burn incense to the sun . " And here in this country , in many so-called Christian churches , a plate of

silver or gold " in form of a snn " is placed on the altar , so that overy one who adores at that altar , must bow down in reverence before that " image of tho sun . " From all this it is manifest that the " sun " or the "bri ght morning star "was one of the recognised symbols of the Greater Divinity ; and as the Vedic poet sang , " He who wakes us in

the morning , who recalls tbe whole of nature to new life "— " He who by his might looked even over the waters , which held power and generated the sacrificial fire , He who ' alone is God of all gods . ' "Even so sang king David , " My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning , " Psalm cxxx . 6 .

Yours faithfully and fraternally , TOM B . ROSSETER , J . D . No . 972 , St . Augustine , Canterbury . 5 th May 1880 .

Correspondence.

MODE OF ELECTING CANDIDATES .

To the Editor of the FREEMASON S CHRONICLE . Cranfurd College , Maidenhead , lth May 1880 . DEAR SIB AND BROTHER , —Having read with much interest tho various letters in your journal on tho subject of helping unsuccessful candidates for admission into ono or other of our threo great Charities ,

may [ crave space to make some remarks on the subject ? 13 not , I wonld ask , the whole system of admission to the bonefits of a Charity by votes wrong , and most opposed to tho three principles of Charity ? Who wero meant to be assisted by theso Institutions ? was it not the poor , friendless , aged Masons , their widows and orphans ? Yet , as a matter of fact , those who have tho most friends get the

most votes , and consoqnontly become the successful candidates . To my mind there is hardly a more painful task than to scan tho " list of candidates " periodically placed before us . Take , for instance , the Girls' List of 10 th April . Thero aro , to begin with , 45 candidates , and only 13 vacancies ! A little way down the list we find a mother , a widow , with seven children ; she has one vote to bring forward , and

in your issue of 17 th April , I seo she scored at the late Eleotion twenty-one more . Evidently friendless ! Yet should not this fact make her still more worthy of a Mason's help . Does not her case rather remind us of the poor diseased man in the Gospel , who , though for thirty-eight years in sight of the healing waters , yet had no friend to dip him therein ? I need not take up your time and space by quoting

further examples , yonr readers have only to examine the lists for themselves to find many such ; but , for the remedy . The first wonld be to abolish tho whole system of admission b y votes , and substitute instead admission throngh a committee , whoso duty it should be to examine every case , and admit each in turn on its own merits . Large Charities have , I believe , already adopted

this system , with the satisfaction of seeing its approval marked in the increase of their subscription lists . A better remedy still , and one worthier by far of our great Order , would be to reject none who were found deserving of help . I hold it a disgrace to us that we shonld say to Nos . 70 and 71 ( see Boys' List April 1880 ) , Yes , yonr cases are deserving , your fathers were

Masons of some standing , one even assisted two out of oar three Institutions , but you have no friends , you cannot get votes . Go , wo will not help you to that which at least should be the right of every Mason's child , —a good education . Perhaps it would be a heavy strain to give to all the high class

education now given at Wood Green , but is this necessary ? Would it not be possible to give a more technical and cheaper education to those in the lower ranks of life . Money would never be wanting if it were known that in case of unexpected misfortune our children would certainly receive at the hands of our brethren an education of some kind to fit them for their

life s struggle . The views I have laid before you , Mr . Editor , may seem quixotic at first sight , but on second thoughts it will be seen that they are in true accordance with that virtue of which the Masons proudly boast , — Charity .

I am Sir , yours truly , EDWARD DE EWER , A P . O . Berks and Bucks , Chaplain 1566 .

A PLEA FOR THE CANDIDATES TO THE R . M . B . I .

To the Editor of the FREEMASON s CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —As an instance of those cases to which Bro . Parsons alludes in last week ' s CHRONICLE , that of the unsuccessful candidates who , after several attempts , fail in obtaining admission to the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution , I beg to state

tho following caso : —A brother belonging to Peterslield , Hants , was accepted as a candidate to the Institution , bub was not successful at the first election . His name was on the list the following year , but before the polling day he died , I regret to say , an inmate of the Petersfield Workhouse , and was buried by the parish .

Had there been some fnnd to assist our aged brother in " keeping the wolf from the door , " and to provide the common necessaries of life a little while longer , most likely he would not have rested in a pauper ' s grave , and the Craft would havo been ablo to sootho and sustain him in his last hours . Yours fraternally , THOMAS AILING .

Royal Masonic Institution For Girls.

ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR GIRLS .

NINETY-SECOND ANNIVERSARY FESTIVAL .

Amonnt announced in the FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE of 24 th April . ... £ 13 , 637 8 6 Lists since received : — Province of Monmouth ( Bro . W . Pickford ) £ 99 15 0 Amonnt announced ... 57 15 0 42 0 0 Lodge 708 ( Bro . A . G . H . Gibbs ) ... ... 15 15 0 Various small additions to lists ... ... 53 9 0

Total £ 13 , 718 12 6

J . E . SHAND & CO . ( "Fair Traders , " registered ) , Wine and Spirit Merchants Experts and Valuers ) , 2 Albert Mansions , Victoria / street , S . \ V . Price Usts on application .