Correspondence.

CORRESPONDENCE .

We do not hold ourselves responsible for the opinions of otir C '« r respondents . All Letters must hear the name and address of the Writer , not necessarily for publication , but as a guarantee of good faith . We cannot undertake to return rejected communications .

DISCORD versus HARMONY . To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' S CIIUONICLK . DEAR SIR AND BKOTHER , —Your remarks upon this qnestion , contained in the last issue of tho FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE , were brief and to the point , and I trust they will be taken seriously to heart by all

whom they may concern . There are some Lodges which I know where the hints and suggestions yon make most strikingly apply , although they are too far away from London to admit of any personal rpferenco on yonr part . I remombar one in particular , in which a Brother who conld not fly with sufficient rapidity into office loft no

stone unturned in order that ho might split tho Lorlge into contending sections , with the sole object of forming the malcontents whom he had made into a separate body , so that he might the moro easily reach a position to which he had aspired ( and failed to attain ) in his mother Lodge . The natural outcome of his success in this respect

proved his utter failure in another , for in the chair ho reigned with an "ironhand , " and so disjointed the whole of the interior economy of the Lodge that the first two or three years of its existence it displayed a far greater amount of the leaven of discord than tbe harmony which had been promised and hoped for . Tho consequence was that

many who had desorted the object of their first love and followed their leader" into a new sphere discovered it were better to have borne the ills—real or imae * inary—they had than to fly to others which they knew not of . I know of another , in which favonritism having supplied tho place of deserving

merit , a most unfair preference was given to incompetent brethren in the appointment of Officer ? , and hero again the proverbial " apple cart" was most effectually overturned . This corroborates your own assertion , that " in certain hitherto prosperous and industrious Lodges unfortunate discords have arisen to mar the harmony and

comfort of the brethren , and in one or two cases conduced almost to anarchy n mongst men who had erstwhile worked together in peace and harmony . " Let us hope that the advice yon give may prove " a word in season " to many sections of the Craft into which friction and dissensions have crept , inadvertently it may be , bnt more often

throngh tbe arrogance or injudicious rule of Worshipful Masters , and that they may learn a lesson from the timely admonition contained in the able article which I perused with a considerable amount of satisfaction , from the experience I have had of Lodges where members have actually abstained from attendance rather than suffer the unpleasant consequences of a " house divided against itself . " I am , Dear Sir and Brother , yours very fraternally , A PROVINCIAL .

The Schools Elections.

THE SCHOOLS ELECTIONS .

To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —In reference to the annexed Table , it may not be generally known by the brethren that tho children elected in October do not enter tbe School until the beginning of the following February , and those eleoted in April until the beginning of the

following September , so that the calculations of cost are made up to February , and contributions to January 18 S 5 . Now , a few remarks as to London and the Provinces will not , 1 think , be out of place . London , as might naturally be supposed , stands pre-eminently forward in the list of contributors , with an

annual average for seven years of £ 11 , 048 6 s ; though only reaping the benefit of less than half that sum , viz ., £ 5 , 071 , and this is very fortunate for some of the Provinces , who reap out of all proportion to what they sow ; most notably Lincolnshire , who takes out £ 406 against an average of £ 38 18 s , —not the cost

of one boy , and but little over that of a girl . This Province has given nothing to the Girls' since 1880 , and only 50 guineas to the Boys' in the same period ; while nothing at all to the Benevolent since 1879 . Whatever may be the cause of this dilatoriness , it cannot be for want of means , for one of its members hinted that it

had it in contemplation to raise 3000 guineas for the Boys' Institution , and work that one against the others for their candidates . I am sure the appearanco of Brother Binckes ' s face , if such a result happened , would do one ' s heart good ; it would indeed be a Godsend . Whatever the cause may hitherto have been , I trust the brethren will

find some way of giving something nearer an equivalent for what they receive . Bedfordshire has given nothiug to the Boys since 1879 , or to the Girls since 1 S 80 , and then bnt a small amount in each case . On the other hand , she takes nothing out , so that her mite is all to the good . Berks and Bucks contributes handsomely

to each Institution every year , and beat London in the proportion of what it gives , for she averages £ 412 ( is against a cost of £ 79 . Bristol has a slight balance in her favour , £ 18 v £ 45 . Cambridgeshire , like Bedfordshire , takes nothing out , but her annnal average is £ 13 4 a . She has a candidate forward this time , and I hope he will be

successful . Cheshire is a constant subscriber , averaging £ 320 8 s v £ 418 cost . Cornwall is a liberal contributor for what she receives £ 94 15 s v £ 34 cost ; Cumberland and Westmoreland a little more

than balance the debtor and creditor , with £ 267 10 s r £ 248 cost . Derbyshire is very liberal , with £ 295 6 s against £ 113 . Devonshire ! which is a strong and rich county , should show better than she does ' , costing £ 474 at an expenditure of £ 301 2 s . Dorsetshire shows a

The Schools Elections.

balance in her favour of £ 68 5 s . Durham has about £ 20 against her . Essex is manificenfc— £ 570 r £ 24 S cost . Gloucestershire likewise £ 635 4 s r £ 316 cost . Hants is rather lop-sided , costing £ 678 against £ 618 2 s . Herefordshire receives nothing ; her average contribution for the seven years ia £ 9 3 s . Hertfordshire is liberal ,

with £ 245 lis against £ 158 cost . Kent is bountiful , giving £ 1065 for £ 757 . Lancashire East nearly balances , giving £ 649 for £ 688 . Lancashire West has £ 130 balance in her favour . Leicestershire and Rutland are also on tho right side , with more than £ 100 . Middlesex has a surplus of £ 146 , Monmouthshire £ 142 , Norfolk

minus £ 20 , Northumberland minus £ 32 , Norths and Hunts £ 139 deficit . Nottingham stands £ 11 to the good . Oxford ' s annual average contribution , £ 202 18 s is all to the good , as she has no pupils in eithor Institution . Somersetshire wants £ 112 to bring hor level . Staffordshire is well to tho fore , with £ 134 . Suffolk has £ 26 in her

favour , and Surrey within £ 5 of £ 100 . But Sussex stands out well to the good , with £ 218 , and Warwickshire with £ 185 . Wilts lacks her average by £ 87 . Worcestershire has a comfortable balance of £ 120 . Yorkshire ( N . and E . ) , and Yorkshire ( West ) , show very even balances , in each instance a little over £ 32 against them . North

Wales and Salop have £ 44 , South Wales ( Eistern Division ) £ 90 , and South Wales ( Western Division ) £ 6 in their favour . The Channel Islands are very much behind , with £ 93 ; and lastly the Colonies , from whom , for a varioty of circumstances , we cannot expect much , yet certainly might do better than take so large a balance as £ 471 ,

which has to be made good for them . By tho foregoing- context to tho Tablo you will see that most of the Provinces contribute liberally , but some — snch as Lincolnshire , Colonies , Somersetshire , Wilts , Channel Islands , Norths and Hants , and Devonshire—are very remiss in taking their proportionate share

of the burden ; and were I to include the Benevolent Institution some of them wonld show even worse still . In conclusion , I have endeavoured to submit an impartial

summary , and as the cry is that more pupils cannot be admitted for lack of funds , should f bo tho medium of stimulating any of the backward Provinces to put their shoulders to the wheel , and help to supply tho deficiency , I shall not have written this letter in vain . I am , Dear Sir , yours faithfully and fraternally , P . M . 1607 .

P . S . —I do not vouch for tho absoluto correctness of tho figures below , but they avo sufficiently accurate for the purpose I havo in view . < s u Boys . Girls . Applicants . ^ g ^ ¦&

o > 43 a GO Provinces . J ti J i 2 ~ •§ ^ n ui a B jf p . . " 3 ' a ¦ £ fl a £ S 3 £ _ § o . a 3 § g | g { L , m yA free ,-5 cq a < J < J ° ° £ £ s d

London 53 5 79 2 26 10 5071 11648 6 0 Bedfordshire ,., _ — — _ — _ _ 12 90 Berks and Bucks ... 1 — 1 1 — 1 79 412 16 0 Bristol i _____ _ 45 43 0 0 Cambridgeshire ... — — — — 1 — — 43 4 0 Cheshire 4 1 7 — — — 418 329 8 0 Cornwall — — 1 — — — 34 94 15 0 fiiuiueriuuu iiuu

Westmoreland ... 4 — 2 — — — 248 267 16 0 Derbyshire 1 — 2 — — — ' 113 295 6 0 Devonshire 6 16 111 474 301 2 0 Dorsetshire ... 5 — — — — — 225 294 15 0 Durham 4 — 3 — 2 — 282 263 5 0 Essex 4 — 2 — — 2 248 570 0 0 Gloucestershire ... 4 1 4 — 1 — 316 635 4 0 TTn * if-a onrl Tctlo r \ t

JL _ . « I 1 UO UUU JLOIIS ui Wight 6 2 12 2 4 4 678 618 2 0 Herefordshire ... — 930 Herts 2 — 2 — 1 — 158 245 14 0 Kent 7 1 13 — — 3 757 1065 0 0 Lancashire ( East ) ... 10 3 7 3 2 — 688 649 5 0 Lancashire ( West ) ... 8 — 8 — 1 — 632 769 15 0 Leicestershire and

Rutland 1 — 1 — — — 79 180 18 0 Lincolnshire ... 6 1 4 1 1 2 406 38 18 0 Middlesex 6 — 5 — — — 440 586 16 0 Monmouthshire ... — — 1 — 1 1 34 176 5 0 Norfolk 3 — 1 — — 1 169 149 8 0 Northumberland ... 5 — 3 — 2 1 327 295 17 0

Norths and Hunts ... 3—1—1—169 30 15 0 Nottinghamshire ... — — 2 — — — 68 79 70 Oxford ____ i _ _ 202 18 0 Somersetshire ... 5 2 5 — — — 395 283 14 0 Staffordshire ... 4 — 4 — 1 — 316 450 18 0 Suffolk 1 — 5 1 — 2 215 241 7 0 Surrey 3 — — — — — 135 230 16 0

Sussex 4 — 3 — 4 2 282 500 8 0 Warwickshire ... 3 1 5 1 — — 305 490 7 0 Wiltshire 2 1 6 1 — — 294 207 8 0 Worcestershire ... 3 — 2 — — — 203 323 15 0 Yorkshire ( N . & E . ) 4—6121 384 349 3 0 Yorkshire ( W . ) ... 15 1 21 2 2 3 1347 1319 7 0 W " n [ f >« NnvMi nrul

Shropshire ... 3 — 2 — — — 203 247 11 0 Wales , South Eastern Division 1 — 5 — 1 — 215 305 5 0 Wules , Western Division 3 — 2 1 1 — 203 209 12 0 Channel Islands ... 3 1 — — — — 135 42 17 0 Colonial 9 1 8 — 1 — 677 206 8 0