Thoughtless Words.

and loiters at the town corners , rattes on with a mass of nonsense , caring little whose sensibilities he wounds with his silly sallies and senseless witticisms—he is always a brainless coxcomb ; but he is , at the same time , a dangerous man—not intentionally dangerous , but ne vertheless au unfit guide for the yonng , a bad companion for those of his own age , and unfortunate associate for those of matnier

years . The trifler has no place in Masonry . He who by thoughtless words wounds a brother ' s feelings , as a rulo , deserves censure . A . man may and does occasionally give a stab , quite unintentionally , but that , of course , is an unforeseen mistake . We allude to tho 3 e brethren who rattle ou about anything and everything , retailing every " tidbit" of scandal , dilating with glee upon tho slips and falls

of a neighbour , and goasipping and tattling upon all the small talk of the honr . Such men ( if men they can be called ) should never be admitted within the pale of Freemasonry . We want only earnest men , good men , thoughtful men . The miserable , rattle-brained retailer of " small talk " is a first cousin once removed from "the liar , " and the liar is a brother of the murderer and seducer ; for he

who would take away the character of a brother by loose and careless talk is very olose to him who wilfully lies , and he who would blacken the character of a Mason by thoughtless words , would only hesitate through cowardice to rob the innocent maiden of her virtue , and stab her father in the dark , if he thought it would save him from detection .

Thoughtless words do great harm , and cause much misery ; brethren , therefore , should be very careful in all their expressions as well as actions . It is a duty they owe to the Craft and to themselves . We cannot tell how much unhappiness we may cause in a family by a word lightly and thoughtlessly spoken . Wounds are often thus made that take years to heal , and even then leave ugly

gears , and at times sores , that will ever and again break out in all their original virulence . We cannot be too guarded in onrexpresgions , too careful in not hurting the feelings of others . Some are so sensitive , the least whisper onts them like the surgeon ' s knife , but , like it , does not cut to heal , but becomes a deadly taint in the system like the jagged wound from the poisoned arrow . A

thoughtless word , a senseless , meaningless expression , may rain tbe character of the man we call " brother , " or destroy the fair name of a pure and virtuous woman . How careful then should we be to guard that unruly member , the tongue . Hiramites are bound by every sacred tie to be very guarded , to be very particular in this

respoct ; they should weigh well every expression they use , and never by a single word blacken the name of any man , woman or child . Freemasonry teaches this , the God of Freemasonry has declared it , and we as followers of the Widow ' s Son are bound b y every tie of honour and truth to obey . Brethren , never indulge in " THOUGHTLESS WORDS . "

Correspondence.

CORRESPONDENCE .

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

THE FUTURE OF THE FUND OF BENEVOLENCE .

To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —While I do not agree entirely with you in the remaks you made last week on tbe Fund of Benevolence , I must say the statistics you have obtained , and which I presume I

may accept as trustworthy , show an excess of zeal on the part of the Lod ge of Benevolence in disbursing the funds entrusted to its care with which I should not otherwise have credited it . From what you state it appears that in grants of £ 100 and upwards the Lodge has

given away £ 4 , 950 during tbe last two years as against £ 3 , 825 in the preceding four years ; or , at the rate of £ 2 , 475 per annum in the one case , a

sixteen persons have received among them grants to the amount of *^ , 9 o 0 , while the thirty-five relieved with sums ranging from £ 100 upwards in the years 1876 , 1877 , 1878 , and 1879 received , as before sated , £ 3 , 825 , or , again striking : an averasre . £ 1 . 475 Tier annum in

™ e two and £ 956 in the four years . This shows that the Lodge of enevolence during the two years in question has been distributing rath "" , S ' grants in exce 8 s ° f £ l °° alone , at a rate which is fnn 6 r m ° ^ an ba ^ muca a & a in what it was in the preceding ° ur years , even with srants of £ 100 inolndorl . Tfc is nnf ,

snrnrJgJnoas an * tn ' . rty-six large grants in two years amounting to £ 4 , 950 , £ 3 82 ^ u tmrfc y-n 7 e Iar 8 e grants in four years amounting only to nnt io J £ Lodge of Benevolence should have been obliged to sell 0 * d , 000 , m ordfir tn hrinc if . aolf lo ^ ol

four vir * ^^ on ' s proposition to increase the quarterages from brethr 7 P < 3 r annnm t 0 s ! x shillings in the case of London 0 f p ^? ' * , *" rom two shillings per annum to three shillings in that first silhT bretureu , tho proposition seems reasonable enough at W— ° . ' ? » moreover , the amounts are reallv insisnificant . But

solntpiv g tbis pIan > * think ifc wonld ho we 11 to see if 't s ab'ocome I T , possib , e for tbo Lodgo of Benevolence to live within its interfere am V 6 ry f & T from sa ££ i" £ there should be nny undue ° f whit •? ° r tha pai-t of Grand LofI " e with the recommendations boan ' in | , r * its ow » chosen Committee of Charity , and it would of Benev i eren . . J vith tbe delicate fuuctions eutrusted to the Lodge voience if Grand Lod ge declined to confirm the grants for any

one year because in the aggregate they exceeded the income for the year . No , of the two ideas I prefer Bro . Clabon ' s . The Lodge of Heuevolence will know well how to guard itself against unworthy applicants , and the quarterages , even when increased , will be no more likelv to be mis-spent than thoy have been heretofore . If tbe income

of the Fund is now insufficient to meet the annual demands regularly made upon it , either tho Reserve Fund must be drawn upon until it is exhausted , and then the quarterages will havo to be iucroased , or the quarterages , as suggested by Bro . Clabon , must be increased now .

Where tho mistake lies is , in my opinion , in tho great increase in the number of the larger grants , which are becoming far too frequent to be pleasant . Yours fraternally , H . H .

[ Our correspondent , in the above letter , has been kind enough to take our figures on trust ; but for our own sake , as well as for that of the general body of our readers , we think it right to append tho following statement of particulars . One slight error in connection with oar statement

of last week must be noted . In tho first three quarters of 1877 there will be found two grants of £ 200 each , and three of £ 150 each . According to our former reckoning these were one grant of £ 200 and . four of £ 150 each . The

difference— £ 50 only—is immaterial ; but we think it desirable on all occasions to be as accurate as possible . We may add that the statement is derived from the several agenda papers of Grand Lodge . —ED . F . C . ]

Quarterly No . of Total ££££££ £ £ Communication . Qrants amount . " % . , T 1 , £ . iX- -tin iJvn nen recommended . £ 50 60 75 100 125 150 200 250 March 1876 5 325 2— 3— — — — —

June „ 6 350 5 — — 1 — — — — Sept . „ 4 200 4 — — — — — — — Dec . „ 7 450 5 — — 2 — — — — March 1877 6 600 3 — — 1 — 1 1 — June „ 10 900 3 — 2 3 — 2 — — Sept . „ 6 525 3— 11 — — 1 — Deo . „ 6 450 3 — — 3 — — — — March 1878 4 250 3 — — 1 — — — — June .. 5 400 1 — 3 — 1 — — —

Sept . „ 3 150 3 — — — — — — — Dec . „ 6 450 3 — — 3 — — — — March 1879 10 * 800 3— 2 # 5 — — — — June „ 8 475 6 — 1 1 — — — — Sept . „ 10 800 4 — — 6 — — — — Dec . „ 17 1000 13 — 2 2 — — — — March 1880 15 fl 075 6— 5 f 4 — — — •—June „ 13 1300 5—23— 1 1 1 Sept . „ 10 J 800 6 — — 2 — $ 2 — —

Deo . „ 11 750 6 — 2 3 — — — — March 1881 10 725 5 — 3 1 — 1 — — June „ 12 1275 5—12— 2 1 1 Sept . „ 11 1225 3—14— 1 1 1 Dec . „ 14 1125 7—32— 1 1 — March 1882 19 1360 10 143 — — 1 —

T 2 tquS : l ^ £ W 0 117 1 35 53 1 11 7 3

Average per recommendation about £ 77 18 s . * March 1879 . One of the grants recommended this quarter was made on behalf of the widow of a brother to whom £ 100 was recommended at the previous meeting , but which was rendered void by the death of the brother before confirmation . The £ 100 recommendation of March 1879 is therefore really in lieu of one of the same amount which appeared in the previous quarter .

t March 1880 . The petition of a brother to whom £ 100 waa recommended at the December Communication having been referred back , the same was reconsidered , and the recommendation was repeated . This recommendation of £ 100 therefore appears twiceviz ., in December 1879 , and March 1880 totals . X September 1880 . One of these recommendations for £ 150 was referred back , and ultimately cancelled , except so far as the £ 10 paid on account was concerned .

THB GIRLS' SCHOOL .

To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —I am very glad your correspondent , Bro . " B . L . F ., " has drawn attention to what I will call the pace at which the number of pupils in the Girls' School is being increased . Heaven knows I would be the last to suggest any undue limitation of tbe scholars , but it strikes me we are going too far ahead . We ought

to have a little more " backbone" before we further increase the liabilities of the Craft in regard to this Institution . As " R . L . F . " points out , it is not so very long ago that we provided for 150 Girls . Now we have 235 , and have spent besides , as he says , quite £ 20 , 000 in respect of buildings and additional accommodation . It is of course quite true there is plenty of room just now , and I doubt not there are , presently , ample funds for the immediate expenditure . But the

present is not our only consideration . We have to take into account the future as well , and the question very naturally arises , —Is it safe to go on increasing , at rapid pace , our liabilities , when , in the nature of things , it must beat least doubtful if it will be always , and of a certainty , possible for us to 7 uect the demands on us in respect of this Institution , to say nothing of those we are continually increasing in respect of the other two . I remain , youra fraternally , A .