Supplementary Masonic Charities.

been inquired into , with the l-esult that they have been deemed worthy of relief ? We pause for a reply , and only hope that somo one may bo ablo to show us a good and sufficient reason for what we must admit looks very much

like stolid indifference . Thoso who oppose tho grant may not , we hope they never will , know tho want of so small a sum as £ 6 ; but any one who takes the slightest interest in the welfare of their less fortunate brethren will bear

testimony that the removal of such a burden as tho School bill , with the addition of a few shillings to be expended in wearing apparel , would be of tho greatest service to many a family . Such work would be dono quietly and without

show . Can it be the love of pointing to a largo establishment that prevents brethren expending any part of tho School funds among tho smaller habitations of tho applicants themselves ?

Bro. S. B. Wilson And The Boys' School Committees.

BRO . S . B . WILSON AND THE BOYS ' SCHOOL COMMITTEES .

EROM certain letters wo publish elsewhere , it will be seen that tho dispute between Bro . S . B . Wilson and the Boys' School has reached a crisis , and that nothing remains for him but to obtain a settlement by means of the law . We consider this is very much to be regretted , firstly , because a difference of this kind should be kept out of the

law courts , and secondly , whichever party prevails , a waste of good money without profit to either of the disputants must inevitably follow . No one ever calls in the assistance of the gentlemen of the long robe without finding the balance at his bankers' more or less affected , and invariably

to his disadvantage . Even a favourable verdict with costs involves costs as between attorney and client . And if the successful litigant is something out of pocket , through gaining his suit , the unfortunate man who loses is hit still more considerably , we may be sure . Ifc would , of course ,

but ill become us to offer any comments on the merits of a case which is still pending , but having briefly noted that whichever side wins the day there will be much money wasted over the dispute , wo feel justified in offering a few remarks on matters which are beside the main point at issue .

The proper court will decide whether Bro . Wilson ' s charges are just or not , but there are some other matters which may fairly be touched upon . We notice that a motion was made and carried at the recent Quarterly Court endorsing the action of the House Committee in this affair , and we admit

that such endorsement is by no means unnatural . It is , however , an open question whether Bro . Wilson , who seems to have been bandied about from House Committee to General Committee , and then to the Quarterly Court , has not just reason to complain of the delays which have been

interposed by the authorities . He seems from the very first to have been quite willing to submit his case to arbitration , and he even went so far as to namo one of the most distin - guished of his profession as arbitrator . The offer was rejected , however , on the very ridiculous ground that the

gentleman in question was a Freemason , as though that fact was likely , in the slightest degree , to influence the impartiality of his decision . It strikes us as being very much in the nature of an insult to suggest that Sir H . Hunt , from the fact of his being a Mason , should be unfit

to adjudicate , with tho utmost i ' airness , as to the correctness or incorrectness of a certain account , because it happens to have been rendered by a brother * . Indeed , the mere fact of his being a Freemason would seem to constitute him a better arbitrator than one who was not , his professional

qualifications to act as such being open to no doubt whatever . It would rest with him to decide between a Masonic institution and a Mason , so that his sense of justice would impel him in neither direction . But , assuming the version we have received as correct , other obstacles seem to have

been interposed . Thus , there is the letter of Mr . Paraire , acting as Bro . Wilson ' s representative , in which he informs Mr . Stanley that every information is at his ( Mr . Stanley ' s ) disposal for the examination of the Committee , and offers to meet him by appointment . To this

there appears to have been no response . But while there would appear to havo passed several communications between the contending parties , probably a whole year has passed without a question being settled which mi ght perhaps be arranged in half an hour . One question very naturally arises , whether it wonld not on the whole have

Bro. S. B. Wilson And The Boys' School Committees.

been more judicious for Bro . Wilson to have withdrawn the account as rendered in tho first instance , and substituted for it one containing tho particulars requested . Bro . Wilson

proposes doing this now , but he says the amended statement will be heavier in amount , as he afc first charged less than ho is entitled to according to tho scale sanctioned b y the Institute of British Architects . We cannot blame Bro .

Wilson for this , as ho has been waiting an unusual time for tho settlement of his account ; and if it turns out that his views are correct , tho Committee will have only themselves to blame if the charges thoy are called npon to pay ultimately exceed thoso they were asked for in the first

instance . It is well known that for tho discharge of certain professional duties , certain scales of charges are sanctioned by the proper authorities , and it strikes us as being a bold thing when people who are not members of the profession in question take upon themselves to doubt the

propriety of the charges mado , but more especially when the professional man offers to submit his case to the arbitration of a duly qualified third person , and abide by the result . One way out of tho difficulty yet remains , before having recourse to legal proceedings . Let Bro . Wilson submit a

fresh account altered in the manner proposed . The Committee will have the particulars they ask for , and if , as we assume will be the case , they are in accordance with the

authorised scale , tho authorities cannot resist payment , even though the sum total of the account should exceed the old one . However , we trust that , whatever may happen , recourse to a legal settlement will be avoided .

Quarterly Court Of The Girls' School

QUARTERLY COURT OF THE GIRLS' SCHOOL

THE Quarterly Court of the Governors of and Subscribers to the Eoyal Masonio Institution for Girls was held last Saturday at the Freemasons' Tavern , Lient .-Col . Creaton , Grand Treasurer , presided . On the motion of Bro . J . A . Eucker P . G . D ., seconded by Bro . E . Letchworth , Colonel Creaton was again unanimously elected Treasurer of the Institution . Bro . Hopekirk jun . was elected a member of the General Committee . After a slight discussion the

following motion by the Chairman was carried : — " It being desirable to enlarge the Eoyal Masonio Institution for Girls , by maintaining , clothing , and educating twenty-five girls , in addition to those already in the Institution , tho House Committee be directed to make the necessary arrangements to accommodate such twenty-five girls , and that such twenty-five girls be elected at the next election , after the

House Committee shall have reported the completion of the arrangements necessary for the reception and accommodation for snob , iwenty-five girls . " Bro . W . A . Spaull Prov . G . Sec , North Wales and Shropshire , proposed , and Bro . Black seconded , " Thafc the third and every subsequent Stewardship to ^ this Institution , accompanied by a donation of £ 5 5 s , shall entitle the brother to two votes . " Bro .

A . J . Duff Filer P . G . S . B . objected to the proposition , as likely to entail a great deal of labour on the officials . Bro . Henry Smith Prov . G . Sec . West Yorkshire intimated that Bro . Spaull ' s intention was to hold out an extra inducement to brethren to come forward as Stewards . The motion was lost . Bro . H . T . Thompson moved " That the sum of £ 6 be voted to each of the twenty-five children

next highest on the poll to the successful candidates afc this election , in aid of their maintenance and education until the election in October next . " Bro . Thompson said thafc one of the duties of that Court was to select from an approved list of 45 candidates 13 children for admission to the full benefits of the Institution , and there would be 32 qualified applicants disappointed in their hopes of obtaining

that benefit which the General Committee had certified they were entitled to . On behalf of tho latter he proposed thafc the subscribers should make a grant of £ 150 to be equally divided amongst 25 of these children , many of whom had been before the Court at previous elections . He did not propose to bind the Institution to any particular course of action in the future , but simply to deal with the

present circumstances when with a fairly large balance ( about £ 1600 ) of income over expenditure for the pasfc year they had an unusually large number of candidates in comparison with the vacancies at their disposal . Doubts had been expressed as to the legality of the proposal , but reading Law 2 on the Objects of the Institution he contended that if they wore unable now from want of accommodation to

elect the whole of the candidates to the f nil benefit of the Institution , they could confer a portion by voting a grant of money as empowered by Law 34 , under which clause the requisite notices had been given . He had that morning seen an opinion thafc the passing of this motion would commence the downward course of a benefit society which would practically tend to demoralise the Order . He asked the Court

to dissociate Freemasonry from the Girls' School in considering the motion . The former should certainly not be considered a benefit society , but the latter included amongst its subscribers ladies , minors , and others , not amenable to Masonic laws , and was undoubtedly a charity or benefit society , and he failed to see why a money granb in aid of the maintenance and education of unsuccessful candidates until they

conld- next apply for admission should more tend to pauperise the Order than tho grants of the Fund of Benevolence to distressed Masons , or the amenities of tho Benevolent Institution to decayed Masons and their widows . Tho amount he proposed was a moderate one j ho believed the motion to be for the benefit of those for whom the money had been subscribed , and strictly in accordance with the laws now in force . Brother Tattershall moved