Correspondence.

CORRESPONDENCE .

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

THE HERYEY LODGE . To the Editor of THE FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . DEAR SIB AND BROTHER , —I trust to your well-known impartiality for permission to enter a little more fully than has been done elsewhere into the question whether a member of my Lodge was right in proceeding to extremities against one of its members who declined to pay his initiation fees , and endeavouring by legal means

to recover a debt of honour freely and voluntarily contracted by him . On the 11 th ult . a contemporary of yours introduced into one of its articles the respected name of our Grand Secretary , and , upon something which fell from his lips at a public dinner , proceeded to charge the Hervey Lodge with having committed " various blunders , too numerous to mention . " Ho then proceeded to express an opinion that

" every step the Lodge has taken is constitutionally wrong and illegal . " To the first part of the charge I simply reply , that it is recklessly untrue . The Lodge , like other young Lodges , may have passed through vicissitudes of good or bad fortune . It may have had persons enter it , for purposes of their own , whom it wai afterwards

found necessary to exclude for non-payment of dues , or other causes , and thus have made a few enemies ; bnt this gives no one any right to charge the Lodgo with innumerable blunders , neither does it show " a laxity of system , " or that tho character of the Lodge " has been sacrificed to obtain funds . " It ia exceedingly malicious on the part of any one to suggest anything of the kind ; for , at the worst , it merely

proves that the best regulated society is human , and that Masonio Lodges can no more expect to be free from the danger of receiving " incongruous or heterogeneous elementa , " than any other institution , or even a family circle . The most damaging charge , however , brought against our Lodge is , that it has acted " unconstitutionally and illegally , " because , forsooth , it did what it believed to be right , and

took steps to compel an initiate to pay a just and honourable debt , or in the words of our ancient charges , " act honourable to all men . " The journal which has mado this charge , condemns my Lodge , without judge or jury , although it politely intimates that it may have to answer for its misdeeds before the Board of General Purposes . Now , I ask , is this doing as one wonld like to be done by , or is this the way

to cultivate brotherly love in Freemasonry ? In as few words as possible I will endeavour to place before your readers tho facts of the case , and I think it will be admitted that the Hervey Lodge neither acted "unconstitutionally" nor " illegally " in this matter . The person against whom it was decided to enforce payment holds a responsible public appointment , of

considerable trust and importance . At his initiation he gave a reasonable excuse for not coming provided with tho entrance fee—namely , "that he had been given to understand he was to present himself ' poor and penniless . ' " He joined the brethren at the banquet , and expressed himself thoroughly well satisfied . Some time elapsed , and his proposer communicated with him . The Secretary wrote , and so did

other brethren who had some acquaintance with him . Ultimately , he promised to attend the duties of the Lodge and settle his arrears . This , however , he failed to do , and treated all further applications with contemptuous silence . It was then thought , as a last resource , that one of our members , who was learned in the law , might make somo impression on him , and it was agreed that he should apply in a

semilegal form . This mode of attack met with no better success , and , with feelings of indignation and disappointment , our brother took the case into the County Court . In this he was , no doubt , somewhat hasty , and certainly committed an error of judgment , for it turned out that , if he sued at all , it should have been in the name of the Secretary ( or of hia proposer , as for money lont ) , obviously not in

the name of the Lodge . In my opinion , it would have been little short of a Masonio scandal had the Lodge permitted an educated , well . to-do man to escape " soot free , " and treat his solemn obligation as some well-devised joke , to be kept or broken at pleasure . I also consider , in a matter of this kind , Masons owe a duty to aociety , as well as to the Craft , and that it is against public morals and policy

to submit to dishonour , and permit a man to regard a solemn obligation , which ho has already acknowledged " to be binding on him as long as he shall live , " as a mere farce . If such a notion gets abroad , it must inflict a mortal injury on Masonry , and good bye to all itR attempts to spread among men active virtue and enlightenment . We are told , however , that such a case is provided for in the Book of

Constitutions . This is a question fairly open to discussion . The rule , as set forth at page 86 , Art . 9 , is to the following effect i" No person shall be made a Mason for less than three guineas , exclusive of the registering fee , nor shall a Lodge , on any pretence , remit or defer tho payment of any part of the sum . The member who proposes the candidate must bo responsible to the Lodge for all

the fees payable on account of the initiation . " The latter part of this rule is governed by the first . It clearly follows as an eventuality , and neither invalidating nor superseding what precedes it , and may or may not bo put in force by the Lodge . It is in no wise compulsory , and in the case of the Hervey Lodge it was decided not to remit any part of the sum , although in tho first instance there was

no help for deferring payment , for neither the Initiate nor the proposer was at the moment able to pay . Again , ifc appears that Grand Lodg 3 intended this rule to be relaxed or modified nt the pleasure of the Lodge , otherwise there could have been no occasion at all for any bye-law , which , having received the sanction of the G . S ., is a good and valid rule , This law is to the effect that "the brother proposing

Correspondence.

a candidate shall deposit one guinea on account of the initiation fee , " * and the forfeiture of this sum ia held to be sufficient in all cases . In this particular case , the Lodge unanimously decided not to call upon the proposer , but rather proceed , to extremities , against tho person

who had evidently madoup his mind to avoid , if possible , payment of •> just debt freely and voluntarily incurred—an educated gentleman ! who had sworn " to conform to all the ancient usages and established customs of the Order . " This is what your contemporary has designated " unconstitutional and illegal . "

I remain , Dear Sir and Brother , youra fraternally , A P . M . OF THE HERVEY LODGE . November , 1876 . [ We havo refrained hitherto from offering any comments on the difficulty recently encountered by the Hervey

Lodge . The less that is said publicly of such matters the better . We think , however , it would have been more judicious had the Lodge excluded the defaulting member , and reported him to the Board of General Purposes for expulsion from tho Society . But we do not consider the

member who represented the Lodge , or the Lodge itself , acted either "illegally" or " unconstitutionally . " The attempt to recover a just debt by legal means may be unwise , or inexpedient , but it cannot be either "illegal" or " unconstitutional . " Nor do we see how , under the

circumstances as described above , any blame whatever can possibly attach to the Hervey Lodge . We have known cases where candidates have attended -without bringing with them the initiation fee , " but in these the momentary

default was promptly made good . We should not reject the apology of a person " holding a position of trust and importance " for not bringing his fees , nor should we think of distrusting his promise to pay them forthwith . —[ Ed . FBHKMASON ' CHRONICLE . ]

"Erratic Shillings."

"ERRATIC SHILLINGS . "

To the Editor of THE FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —I am very pleased to aee you again refer to the question of Pounds versus Guineas with regard to the Royal Masonio Benevolent Institution . I have frequently heard comments made on this subject , and think that if the authorities only had the matter put before them officially , they would devise some

means for altering it . Where do you find a brother who would object to giving the odd shilling when he ha , s made up his mind to contribute ? Ask any Steward if he would have had any more difficulty in getting 21 s than he had in getting 20 s . With respect to the larger amounts , it is tho same , and yet , when we consider the amount collected , these " erratic shillings " would now amount to

£ 500 a year . The question is , would any one be worse off ? Certainly not . Bnt put the question the other way round , —Would anyone be better off ? and a vory different answer can bo given . Suppose , for instance , we decide to allow , out of this fund , annuities at the rate of £ 26 per annum ( 10 s per week ) , in its present ; proportion wo could relieve twenty persons to this extent , and yet tho matter is allowed to rest . If between now and February next all

tho Stewards who intend to support onr Royal brother , Prince Leopold , would unite and work for the " erratic shillings" I do not think he would refuse to accept the little amount it wonld realise , and it would be a compliment to him , giving him a reason to look back on his Chairmanship with pride , and his name might be handed down to future generations as the founder of the Leopold Annuities . Brother Stewards , assist in this matter . Remember , we are working for 10 s per week for twenty brethren by means of " erratic shillings . " Yours , & c , ALPHA .

On Thursday evening next a Concert will be given at the Bow and Bromley Institute , Bow Railway Station , E ., for the benefit of the Masonic Charitable Institutions . This promises to be a great success . Any brother wishing for tickets , or any information , should apply to the

Treasurer , Bro . E . J . Moore P . M ., 14 Oriental-street , Poplar , E ., or to the Hon . Sec . Bro . C . Blain , Bromley-by-Bow , E . Special inducements are offered for the sale of

tickets by allowing each brother who sells one guinea ' s worth to participate in a ballot for a Life Governorship . We hope to see a large amount handed over as the proceeds of this entertainment .

The Fifteen Sections will be worked by the Royal Union Lodge of Instruction , No . 382 , on Wednesday , the 13 th inst ., at the Horse and Groom , Winsley-street , Oxfordstreet ( opposite the Pantheon ) . Bro . I . L . Co ,-. " > i . \ M . 382 will preside . Bros . Ferguson P . M . S . D ., C . VV . iJavia W . M . 382 , J . W . The Lodgo will be opened at seven o ' clock . Brethren are invited to attend .

We are pleased to state that Bro . John Coutts P . G . P . ia recovering from his severe indisposition ,