Correspondence

CORRESPONDENCE

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

CRUCIAL TESTS OF FITNESS FOR THE BROTHERHOOD .

To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —I am greatly afraid that Bro . "Au-CUSTIN " has undertaken a task which ia beyond his strength , notwithstanding his lengthened experience of six and-twenty years as a Mason , " both here and in the Colonies . " "' Tho Constitutions prescribe certain qualifications for candidates for initiation into our mysteries .

Distinguished brethren , like Bro . John Hervey , for instance , are con stantly impressing on our Lodges the necessity there is for the exercise of due caution iu the proposal of candidates . I have also seen in your columns , and elsewhere , articles bearing on the same subject , and inculcating views similar to thoso enunciated by Bro . Harvey . B ro . " A UGUSTIN " seems desirous of going beyond the Con

stitutions , the distinguished Craftsmen of whom I have cited one , and the Masonic press . Ho not only recommends caution , bnt prescribes Ihe directions that snch caution should take , and with all due respect I take leave to state that , wero I not a Mason , but anxious to become one , I should resent as inquisitorial , if not impertinent , the kind of preliminary examination ho thinks I should undergo . The Constitutions

require that a candidate should bo "in reputable circumstances . " The chances are that in seeking to be made a Mason , I can ask the assistance of a friend who knows me for snch , to propose me , and another friend to second mo , or failing two Masonic friends , a friend of my kind friend fulfils thafc duty . In fact these two brothers publicly vouch for the repntability of my circumstances , and the result is

my election . Bufc if those brethren , possessing such knowledge , and being prepared to avouch ifc in open Lodge , shonld venture to question me as to my means ; whether , in addition to paying my initiation fee and annual subscription , I was able , and , if so , inclined to contribute to our charitable institutions , I should , if I succeeded iu keeping my temper , quietly tell him to mind his own bnsiness . He could judge

for himself from tho knowledge he possessed— or supposing him to bo comparatively a stranger , from the inquiries it would bo his duty to make—as to my character and antecedents , whether I was a fit and proper person to bo admitted into the brotherhood . With that knowledge , or tbe result of thoso inquiries , ho would be obliged to rest contented , prosntning him at least to be a fit and proper person

to propose a man " in reputable circumstances as a candidate for admission into Freemasonry . It is enough that I satisfy him , directly or indirectly , that I habitually fulfil my duties in the station of life in which I am placed , and that I contract no obligations I am not prepared or not likely to carry it out . He dare nofc venture to inquire further as to what I may be able or inclined to do afc somo future

time . This would be tantamount to his prescribing a condition not warranted by the Constitutions , and moreover would initiate a system in direct antagonism to tho true spirit of Masonic charity , namely that a Mason shall assist his brother , provided it bo not detrimental to himself or hia family . Again , at the timo of my initiation my means may have been such that an annual subscription ( say ) of three ,

five , or ten guineas may havo been comparatively a trifle , and I may also have had a guinea or two to spare towards aiding those in less favourable circumstances than myself . But eight or ten years afterwards I may not bo as well off . I may have married in the interim and have a little family about mo . The income from my trade or profession may have fallen off , or I may havo lost money by the failure

of some bank , and though I continue paying my subscription I find that what was once regarded as a trifle has become a burden , and tho ono or two guineas towards our institutions are no longer forthcoming . Am I a less worthy brother by reason of this increase in my expenditure or this diminution in my income ? I answer emphatically , No ! And if I wero the brother whoso position I have

been imagining , I should with a clear conscience affirm that , though neither a Life Governor nor even a a Life Subscriber to either of our Charities , I bad done my duty as a Mason . Thero ia another point to be considered . When the Masonic bod y became moro numerous , thenumberof distressed brethren necessarily became prater . Hence were established , firstly , in 1788 , the Girls '

School ; then in 1798 our Boys School ; in 1812 our Benevolent Fund for Freemasons ; and in 18-19 the Widows' Fund . They are the ii ; . ! crnl and legitimate result of tho growth of Freemasonry . Bufc to use a familiar figure of speech , Bro . " AurifsriN " has pnfc the cart beforo the horse , and by insisting that every initiate must have the means and iuclii ulion to subscribe to these Institutions , be virtually lays

it down thut Freemasonry was established for the purpose of supporting them , whereas it is I hay which havo been established in order tho better to fulfil the designs of Freemasonry . This is tantamount to saying that Freemasonry is neither more nor less than a large benefit society—a view I must certainly , yet respectfully , decline to endorse . That greater caution should bo exercised in the proposal of

candidates is admitted on all hands , but it is utterly subversive of tho principles of Freemasonry , when it is proposed that a " crucial test" for u candidate ' s fitness for admission shall be the length of his purse and bis inclination to open it for certain purposes . The very fact of his allowing there are " brethren who have been more or less fo'tunate "

than himself or myself shows the inacceptability of his proposal . If mere means were a test of fitness there would be few , if any , " poor and distressed Masons , " and consequently there would be little , if any , need for our noble Charitable Institutions . Again , as to the educational test . It is undoubtedly painful to hear a brother murdering the Queen ' s English , as the saying is . I often

Correspondence

look about mo to see if I cau pick up the H . ' s which Bro . A . B . G , so plentifully drops in his after-dinner speeches , or in the fulfilment of his Lodgo duties . I as often marvel afc the seemingly inexhaustible supply he has of that ill-nsed letter , and the facility with which he introduces them in places where I should prefer seeing them " con . spicuous by thoir absence . " Bufc I know be is a very good fellow , and

will not say anything ill-natured of a living aoul behind his back . A bird has whispered me thafc when Bro . X . Y . Z . was laid up with fever , those luscious grapes , that strength-giving wine and cordial which did so much to revive his strength , came by a circumbendibus from Bro . A . B . C . ' s establishment , or at his cost ; aud if he has a guinea or a five-pound note to spare for one of our Festivals , that he gives afc

once without ostentation . Therefore , in spite of his " want of educa . tion so often exhibited , " I greet him most cordially wherever I meet him , and at tho same time I cannot help thinking I should enjoy the society of Bro . D . E . F ., who can write Latin and Greek verso by the yard , to say nothing of his knowledge of the Gulf Stream , and tho respect he entertains for tho Equator and the North Pole , if ho

bore a stronger Masonic resemblance to Bro . A . B . C . Let me point out to Bro . " AUGVJSTIN" that an uneducated man may possess a rare store of knowledge , and be , in truth , a far worthier candidate for Masonic initiation than a Senior Wrangler of Cambridge , or a firstclass in litei'is humaniorilus of Oxford . To impose on candidates for admission to our brotherhood an educational test , aa is done in the case of Civil Service candidates , would bo opposed to the true

principles of Freemasonry . What , in case of such a test , would become of our boasted universality , or of the assertion we tako pride in making , namely , that the Masonic body is composed of men of all grades and conditions , provided they are free , of full age , thoir own master , in reputable circumstances afc tho time of their initiation , and are able to subscribe their name to a particular form of declaration ? I am sure we need havo no fear about the future of Freemasonry if proposers will take proper caro theso conditions are satisfied . I remain , Dear Sir and Brother , Yours fraternally , TRUE TEST

ELECTION OF THE GIRLS' SCHOOL COMMITTEES .

To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —What is the vise of your correspondent "INVESTKIATOR " worrying himself about ; the merits of the vavions candidates who were nominated for the House and Audit Committees ? Docs ho for one moment suppose that such trijles as past exertions

will avail anything , or that reward will be offered to those who exert themselves for tho good of others . No . Unless he has long since concluded that elections , whether Masonic , parochial or any other , are carried moro by personal interest than by merit , I am afraid ha must be very young , or had littlo experience . Yours fraternally , A . IT .

THE PRESTONIAN LECTURE

To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —Afc the risk of being charged with being troublesome , I once more beg to call the attention of my brothel Masons to the subject of tho Prestonian Lecture , and I feel somewhat surprised that no brother of the Lodge of Antiquity has in any way responded to the queries contained in my former communications , as

I shonld havo been led to believe that they would have been anxious to afford some information . I will , Sir , in tho first place repeat tbe statement which is conveyed in tho Freemasons' Calendar ( issued by authority of tho Grand Lodge ) amongst the " Remarkable occurrences in Masonry" which contains tho following paragraph— " Brother William Preston , of the Lodgo of Antiquity , author of the "

Wustrations of Masonry , " bequeathed amongst other Masonic gifts £ 500 Consols to tho Fund of Benevolence and £ 300 Consols for the Prestonian Lecture , 1819 . " This statement is repeated in the Masonic Calendar year after year , and therefore I again ask who is responsible for the bequest of tho donor being carried out , and as this Lecture has not been delivered for many years—the last time I

behove by Bro . Henry Georgo Warren—I venture to ask in whose hands tho accruing interest of the funded property is placed and to what purpose ( if any ) it is applied . In former years this Lecture was frequently given , but the recital of ifc is now a matter of history , and I should really like to know why this Masonic legacy , left by Bro , Preston for tho benefit of future Masons , has been allowed to die out ,

little or nothing of it being known as to tho former existence of such a thing by the present generation of Masons . On the 27 th of October 1858 , the Lodge of Antiquity assembled afc Freemasons' Hall , at which tho W . M . Bro . Colonel Western presided , when there was a great attendance of its members and visitors to hoar tho Prestonian Lecture delivered by Bro . Thiselton , a worthy and talented

Freemason , bufc previously to his doing so Bro . W . P . Scott , M . P ., addressed the brethren as to the origin of tbe Prestonian Lecture , the principal parts of which , for the information of young Masons , it may not be out of place hereto repeat . He said— "Tho founder of this Lecture is widely known in tho Masonic world as the author of the most popular of Masonic publications . Tho' Illustrations of

Masonry' has passed through many editions , annotated by later writers , who havo added a continuation of the History of the Order from the time at which Bro . Preston ' s narrative stops . According to the traditions of the Lodge of Antiquity , of which that distinguished brother was a Past Master , he bestowed constant labour for many years on the compilation of that lecture which now beara hia name ,