Our Pupils And Thrift.

OUR PUPILS AND THRIFT .

THIS is an age of compulsion . Mankind are exhorted to he virtuous , sober and provident . If they fail to keep within the narrow boundary , too often determined by bigots , doctrinaires , and enthusiasts , coercion is sought , threatened or enforced . Moral offences are to be met bv

penal punishments , and to snch lengths has the physical force argument been carried , that little would be left to man ' s free agency w * -re it to succeed . It is difficult to define } ioxv far the State is warranted in interfering with

the liberty of the subject . There are certain broad lines , however , which cannot be mistaken . A fatherly Government is a limited good , even when it is pure , strong and intelligent ; it is a great curse when it is arbitrary , dogmatic

and selfish . We need go no farther than the Romish Church for an example of the evils of a paternal Government . Individual liberty in that case is subjected to one pattern , and absolute obedience is the penalty of

membership , nofc only in religions , bnt in all other matters . That is the principle ; the practice , happily , does not now follow completely , except in isolated cases , owing to the general diffusion of knowledge , and the consequent desire for

more personal freedom . Ifc would be well in all instances to consider the necessary consequences of prohibitive and compulsory leg ' slation . It sets up a rival authority to moral suasion and religious duty , and puts the material in

fche placo of the spiritual . Men are taught obedience by fear , and love in its general application degenerates into a mere sentiment . The effect is seen in some Lodges , and in other systems , where men sacrifice spirit to form , inward

grace to outward observance . Where force is employed , assent is compelled . Resistance necessarily follows , with its attendant evils of lying , deceit and hypocrisy .

Education in morals , therefore , should be the primary object of teaching , so that citizens should understand the liberty that makes thera free , and the responsibility and obedience that real freedom enjoins .

Of course , these arguments apply chiefly to adults . For the young a somewhat different treatment is required . Even in their case it is wise to allow of as much frepdom

as possible , in order to develop that spirit of self-reliance which is the stamp of manhood . The parental principle , however , is paramount in their case , and the question for parents and governors , teachers and heads of schools is ,

how to promote prudence without selfishness , how to encourage thrift without the alloy of meanness , and how to develop courage without fear and cowardice . Without entering into all the points mentioned it is worth while to

consider some aspects of the question of the training of children . The Craft have undertaken grave responsibilities m the two educational establishments connected with the Order , and if the matters we are about to refer to are taken

up m the right spirit , we shall augur a bright future for the pupils of our Schools , and even for the Charities as a whole . Waste , gratitude , self-denial and thrift are important principles in the training of the young . Waste J - , _ ---- _ - --. __ , " ~ .. - •¦ . v .

aoes not consist of merely throwing away that which m -ght he useful , but also in excessive indulgence , nnd we are glad to learn , therefore , that in the Boys' School , at least , pocket-money is to be made a matter of control .

gratitude means more than giving thanks . To be prac-•Cal ifc should enforce imitation , and that implies sclf-. enial . To give should be the outcome of receiving , Just ns kindness ought to beget kindness . The due exorcise

Our Pupils And Thrift.

of thrift would prevent waste , would enable the thrifty to practise gratitude , one of the best and most loveable features of whioh would be self-denial . An indiscriminate supply of pocket money , especially among children iu

schools , where all are upon a social equality , creates an injurious distinction . It subjects some to obligations that are sure to become galling , and very often destructive of self-resneot . It encourages waste and selfishness , and

puts worldlypower and moral worth in antagonism . To draw a lesson that shall be useful we will state a case , which shall apply to both Schools . Suppose for example , that each boy should be allowed threepence per week pocket

money and no more . We would divide the expenditure thus : one penny per week to be devoted to a foundation fund for the snpport of a boy , to be called the pupils ' fund , either with or without the power of voting , as

wisdom and experience might determine . One penny should be put in the Savings Bank , and the other penny for free use . We would make the first operation compulsory , the other two optional . One penny per week among

so large a number as are in our Schools we should imagine would be amply sufficient to permanently maintain one foundation scholar , and if the subscribers had a vote , an intei-est would be awakened that might last through life .

All the best instincts of a boy's nature would be brought into active exercise , and those principles we have broadly defined would be developed in actual practice . Permissive saving would allow scope for

individual peculiarities , and for self denial , which would bear good fruit in the time to come . We would encourage the giving of prizes to those who saved most , and for taking care of clothes , and thus excite a laudable

spirit of emulation . We are not unmindful of the generosity of subscribers to the prize fund . We would not curtail the list of subjects or of gifts . We would , however , make the former as comprehensive as possible , so as to

embrace every principle that shall tend to the moral and religious , as well as to the physical and intellectual culture of youth . It is only by such a combination that Governors who stand in the position of parents , can fully discharge

their responsibilities , that boys can learn the lessons that shall make manhood a blessing to themselves and others . We are justly proud of our Charities , but we have

obligations to the Schools that do not apply to the other Insti tutions , and it is to make them fulfil the conditions of life in their noblest and best forms thafc we have ventured

upon a subject which we know is as present and as dear to their Governors as to ourselves . We desire to make the government of our Schools as broad and far-reaching as intelligence can conceive and

experience demonstrate . The wealth of the Craft is most generously given in the cause of Charity . Our Institutions are the admiration of the world , and if we can make them as perfect in moral and religious influence as they are

effective in relief and help , Freemasonry shall stand confessed the grandest outcome of civilisation , the most perfect system of faith without dogma , ever established by human agency .

The fonndation stone of a new Masonic Hall was laid at Falmouth , on Thursday , the 2 nd inst ., by the Deputy Provincial Grand Master , Sir C . B . Graves-Sawle , assisted by the Provincial Officers , the brethren of the Love and Ilonon ** Lodge , No . 75 , Falmouth , and a 1 ugo number of visiters from other Lodge ..