The Boys' School Inquiry.

THE BOYS' SCHOOL INQUIRY .

THE Report of the Committee of Investigation , appointed to inquire into the discipline , expenditure and administration of the Eoyal Masonic Institution for Boys , has now been distributed

throughout the country , among the Subscribers and Governors who , it was arranged , should receive it . It has , we believe , been posted to every registered subscriber of the Institution , and therefore it might be considered by some that its contents are available

to all who have an interest in perusing them , and , accordingly , that any extension or reproduction of them in the public press is unnecessary ; but such is not the case , for while the Report has been freely circulated among past supporters of the Institution ,

those on whorh the Charity must rely for its conduct in years to come have no ready means of studying it , and it is on this account we propose to deal with it somewhat exhaustively in the pages of the FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE .

Last week we were enabled to give the conclusions and recommendations of the Committee in full , although , as we then said , we were not in a position to vouuii ior 11 *!

men auiuenuuiiiy . now prove * fciiey were correct in every particular , all that we omitted being the names of the brethren who were answerable for these opinions and suggestions . These were as

follow : —Bros . Fred . A . Philbrick , Q . C , Grand Registrar , Vice-Patron of the Institution , who acted as Chairman of the Committee ; John Derby Allcroft , P . G . Treas .. Patron : Alderman SirReeinal Hanson .

Bart ., P . G . W ., Vice-President ; Samuel Pope , Q . C , P . G . D ., Vice-Patron , of London ; John C Malcolm , P . Prov . G . R ., Life Governor , of Leeds ; Lieut .-Col . A . Thrale Perkins , P . G . D ., Life Governor , of Wells ,

Somersetshire ; and Robert Wylie , P . G . D ., P . Prov . S . G . W ., Life Governor , of Liverpool . From this list it will be seen the Committee was a representative

one , wnue those who Know the character ol the brethren , as well as their public positions , must admit they were qualified to discharge the duties with which thev were entrusted . We onlv regret thev did not

have a more satisfactory task , or at least that they did not feel justified in recording more that was good against the long list of complaints they publish against

the management and condition of the Institution . But in this respect it must be remembered—and it is very important to bear this in mind—that they were appointed expresslv to investigate complaints and

discover faults . Had they been entrusted with the work of impartially investigating the affairs of the Institution , with the view of preparing an elaborate

and laudatory report of its management and condition , they would in all probability have been able to give as good an account of themselves as thev do now , when ,

after a diligent search for evils , they do not appear to have lost sight of one matter—even of the most trivial character—likely to tell against the Institution .

The Boys' School Inquiry.

Knowing , as we do , much of what goes on day after day , both at Wood Green and in the offices , of : the School , we cannot help the feeling that the

Commission of Inquiry have made the most ol what is unsatisfactory , while they have overlooked much that might have been urged on the other side . Of course ,

they were justified in doing this , —from the fact , as we have said , that they were appointed to find "out whether certain charges made against the Institution

were justifiable or not . Doubtless they have proved there was ample justification for an inquiry , but' we cannot believe they have done all they might have

done , —in the interests ofthe Institution . We do not for one moment question the sincerity of the brethren whose Report is before us ; no doubt

they are conscientious in their opinions and it is fair to believe they were justified by what was brought under their notice in strongly expressing themselves ,

but at the same time we question the wisdom ol the course they have taken in printing and publishing everything they found out , without giving the parties

interested a chance of amending their action , or , so far as we can yet see , any opportunity of defending themselves . We think their Report would have been equally satisfactory , and would have been more

likely to do immediate good , if they had drawn up a separate section for the House Committee , another for the Secretary , and another for the Head Master ,

m all of which the matters personally concerning each should have been privately referred to ; while the Subscribers to the Institution could have been

informed that the Committee had discovered much of a personal nature that required amendment , all of which they had communicated to the parties

concerned ; at the same time all the evils of a general character might have been given in extenso , as they now appear in the Report . Such a course would have saved much heartburning , ' would

have been equally effective , and would have been more justifiable than the course pursued , where individuals , whose very existence have

depends on their character , oeen mercilessly attacked , and their whole actions held up to ridicule and contempt . It is because the Committee ' s Report

appears so vindictive that we cannot regard it as wholly impartial , and such is the opinion we have heard expressed in various quarters . The principal cause of trouble appears to be the differences which exist among the officials , and these , we believe , could have been immediately set upon a proper basis

if they had been officially , but privately , brought to the notice of the parties interested . Now we shall be much mistaken if the whole subject is not taken up

by the supporters of the Institution , who , setting aside all other considerations , will elect to support one or the other side in the controversy that must ensue .

Instead of the strife being a matter of unpleasantness between some half a dozen individuals , it will now become a popular question , and the wider it spreads the less likelihood there will be of its early settlement .