Correspondence.

CORRESPONDENCE .

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

WITHDRAWAL OP VISITORS .

To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . 9 th December 1880 . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —I am surprised that so experienced and astute a Craftsman as Bro . Constable should have failed to see that , however well vouched for he may have been , he had no ground

whatever for remaining in the Goodwill Lodge , Port Elizabeth , during the consideration of its private bnsiness . The footnote to your report of the Tranquility Lodge , No . 185 , published on 27 th November , distinctly states that " when the minutes were about to be read , the W . M . requested tho Visitor to retire , as some matters would have to

be discussed in which a stranger had no concern . " It was not only therefore , a matter " of course" that the W . M . ' s ruling should be obeyed , but Bro . Constable should'have retired gracefully , without first stopping " indignantly " to inquire " whether a Brother Mason , so well introduced and vonched for , was unfit to be entrusted with Lodge

matters of any description . " His indignation was uncalled for , and is inexcusable , as he will discover if he refers to that part of Oliver ' s Masonic Jurisprudence , which treats of " Visitors . " He will thers find it laid down as a suggestion by that admirable type of a courteous Freemason , that though there may be no written law on the

subject , a certain delicacy of feeling by which all brethren are presumed to bo actuated will prompt them to withdraw of their own motion , from tho Lodge during the discussion of matters " in which a stranger " has " no concern . " Bro . Constable , therefore , must pardon me if I take the liberty of pointing out to him that the resentment

he displayed at a very natural request , and his quitting tho Lodge " not to enter it again , " resolve themselves into a very silly exhibition of spleen , while the perpetuation of his folly in the footnote referred to will only havo tbe effect of making him appear still more ridiculous in the sight of others . He must bear in mind that the

meeting of Lodge is , in many respects , a kind of family gathering , and no ^ mere visitor , with any sense ^ of delicacy or politeness , would ever dream of intruding at a time when family matters with which they " had no concern " were being considered . There is nothing unusual , and it is impossible there can be anything offensive—anything

calculated to evoke a sense of indignation—in hinting at or requestin g the withdrawal of Visitors when Lodge matters are about to be considered ; but there is something very silly and very likely to create a feeling of annoyance in the minds of a Master and the members of a Lodge , when a Visitor is hardy enough to regard a very natural

request as an act of grave discourtesy . Were I in Bro . Constable ' s shoes I shonld wish your reporter had been discreetly silent respecting the " incident" that occurred during the visit to Goodwill Lodge . Fraternally yours ,

THE IRREPRESSIBLE TOMKINS . [ In support of onr correspondent ' s view we draw the attention of our readers to a report , which appears elsewhere in our columns , of the Peace and Harmony Lodge , Du Toits Pan , S . Africa . It is there stated , that " The Lodge

was opened , and the minutes of previous meeting read and confirmed . After some other business had been gone through several visiting brethren were admitted . " This shows , at all events , that while our South African brethren , in this or that Lodge assembled , extend a hearty welcome

to Visitors , they do not think it a part of their duty to receive them into their confidence in respect of the private concerns of the Lodge , and small blame to them for so thinking . It would better have become Bro . Constable had he clone what our correspondent suggests he should have

done- —retired gracefully and unhesitatingly . He has , ere now , met with more than one rebuff for his attempted interference in Lodge business , and if he consults his own dignity—to say nothing of his desire to stand well in the

estimation of the Craft—he will cultivate a little more that " certain delicacy of feeling by which all brethren are presumed to be actuated " toward each other , whether individually or collectively in Lodge assembled . —ED . P . C ]

A Dissertation On Freemasonry.

A DISSERTATION ON FREEMASONRY .

To the Editor of the FREEMASON s CHRONICLE . DUAR SIR AND BROTHER , —I read with much interest the Dissert . ation on Freemasonry delivered recently in the Montefioro Lodge , and since pnblished in your columns . I do not say it contained much that was novel in the way of information , or that the opinijus it

expressed were very striking ; so much as this could hardly have been expected from so young a Mason . But it is always a ptensure to find a newly-accepted brother busying himself with the concerns of Freemasonry , aud especially with what relates to its cut meter for enlightenment . I should be sorry to see any disturbance o ' , ' what are known as the Landmarks of Freemasonry , but I do not thiuk the

A Dissertation On Freemasonry.

retention of those Landmarks need prove an obstacle to the many improvements for which thero ia ample scope in the language of our ceremonies and lectures . The educated Mason may not altogether approve of much that he finds in these , but he knows or can determine with something like accuracy the sources from which they have been compiled . Ho may not , indeed he cannot , accept them literally :

but he reads between the lines , so to speak , and fully appreciates the grand truths which , are hidden beneath the surface . On the other hand , the uneducated , and probably not over-intelligent , brother is unable to distinguish between what is true in the letter , and what is only partially true or true in the spirit . Again , a Lodge of Instniction , as Bro . Sigismnnd pointed out in his letter of last week , is

not the school for enlightening the raw recruits of Masonry . The members who attend are willing enough to learn , but in too many cases the Preceptor is unable to teach . He can work a lecture and rehearse a ceremony , just as the clerk in a parish church is np to leading the responses ; but with a few notable exceptions , I question if there is any serious difference between the Masonio

Preceptor and the average parish clerk—that is , in their respective fields of labour . Both say what they have to say becanse it is " in the book ; " but it wonld puzzle them to explain why it is there or what it all means . 1 agree with Bro . Pollitzer that " it is only by the expression of our opinions that we can convince each other whioh is right or wrong ;"

bnt I think matters of a controversial nature shonld be reserved for discussion outside the Lodge . Hence tact is necessary on the parfc of those who give Dissertations on Masonry , especially if they are bnt initiates of yesterday . I daresay that Bro . Sigismnnd will gather experience as he goes , and avoid in future even a passing reference to what is calculated to promote differences . Yours faithfully and fraternally , TATJ .

The Devon Educational Fund.

THE DEVON EDUCATIONAL FUND .

To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —As an ardent well-wisher of , and one who took an active part in founding the Devon Fund , I fail to see the utility of drawing useless comparisons that bear no affinity to each other . Referring to the paragraph in your last issue , stating that a

concert was about to take place in Plymouth to aid the Devon Fnnd . This paragraph you ( by footnote ) acknowledge as a reprint from the Western Daily Mercury , pnblished in Plymouth . The writer , after stating each child on the Fund costs on the average £ 13 per year , then goes out of the way to show the children elected into the great Masonic schools cost between £ 50 and £ 60 per

annum . I ask , What is the motive of this nseless comparison ? The great Schools , gives an education fitting the students to fill any position in life ; a good home , with varied and liberal diet ; clothing , which bears no charity stamp ; the moral and religions training supervised by men of ability , tact , and judgment ; and with these manifold advantages strict economy is practised .

Knowing well what the Devon Fund was initiated for , I do not cast a slnr or disparage it when I point out it simply pays the day school charges of a poor child elected on the Fund , giving clothes when necessary—the child returning during school intervals to its meals , which meals are not paid for out of the Devon Fund , but by the child's friends . With all my heart do I wish more could be done for each child .

May the forthcoming Concert be a decided success , is heartily responded to by the writer . Yet I would suggest that it is not wise to raise a false standard . Let this local Fund go on , it will surely prosper on its own merits ; but , for the information of the Committee of Management , I conld point to a Provincial Masonic Educational Fund that gives the same benefits as tbe Devon Fnnd at onethird less cost per child per year than the £ 13 quoted as the average cost to Devon .

I remain , yours faithfully , CHARLES GODTSCHALK , Representative of the Committee of Petitions for Devon at the Masonio Charities .

The Great Arthur Street Mission, St. Luke's, E.C.

THE GREAT ARTHUR STREET MISSION , ST . LUKE'S , E . C .

WE have great pleasure in calling tbe attention to the admirable philanthropic work that is being done in one of the most crowded and poorest districts of tbe City of London by Mr . Reuben May . We speak with a personal knowledge of the man . We know what good he has done in the course of the last twenty years , and is still bent on doing . We know there are hundreds of the poorest

among our fellow citizens who are indebted to him for much kindl y aid and advice , and for many an ample meal in the day of their distress . Wo knew , and therefore can appreciate , the self-denial by whioh he is actuated . He is one who is at any time prepared to share his last penny with tbe poorest outcast . The Mission he has established in Great Arthnr-treet , Golden-lane , E . G ., has done a vast amount of good already , but it needs support , especially at this season , when

the ordinary sufferings of the poor are intensified by the weather . We urge , therefore , on our readers that they will send even . a few postage stamps or packages of cast-off clothing to this worthy man . Such timely help will bo most acceptable , and they may be sure the gifts , whether in money or kind , will be wisely and worthily dist ; ibnted . Mr . Reuben May ' s address is " Mission Hall , Great Avthur-street , Golden-lane , E . C . "