Integrity Lodge, No. 163, Manchester.

•» itl of our Central and othor Charities , we find that in the ' o f the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys , it has given £ jgg to the General Fund , and £ 84 to the Building Fund , together £ 252 , for which it is entitled to seventy-four votes , S , ' , nh aro thus apportioned : Tho W . M . is a Vice-Patron ,

with forty votes ; and the I . P . M ., S . Warden , and Treasurer Vice-Presidents , witli fourteen , ten , and ten votes respectively ; and thereare four votes for the annual subscription of two guineas . To the Girls' School it has given £ 189 , for which it receives thirty-threo votes in perpetuity , the

W . M . boing a Vice-Patron , with twenty-three votes , and the I . P . M . Vice-President , with ten votes . There aro also four additional votes for the annual subscription of two guineas . To the Male Fund of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution the Lodge has given £ 265 10 s , for which

it enjoys seventy-two votes in perpetuity , the W . M . and I . P . M . being Vice-Patrons , with thirty votes apiece , and the S . Warden a Vice-President , with twelve votes . The annual subscrip tion of ono guinea commands four votes .

To the Female Fund it has given £ 223 10 s , and is entitled to fifty-eig ht votes , the W . M . being a Vice-Patron , with thirty votes , and the Junior Warden and Treasurer Vice-Presidents , with eighteen and ten votes respectively . It has four votes for its annual guinea . To the Provincial

Fund it has given £ 141 , for which it receives 141 votes at every election . Thus Integrity has given to our Central Charities £ 930 , for which it is entitled in perpetuity to 237

votes , irrespective of those it receives for its annual subscriptions of six guineas ; and if we add the £ 141 it has given the local Masonic Institution , we arrive at the very handsome contribution to Masonic Charity of £ 1 , 071 . It

has also subscribed £ 57 15 s , for which it receives annually one vote from December 1869 , and ten votes annually from December 1876 , to the Manchester Warehousemen and Clerks' Orphan Institution . There are whole Provinces in England which have not subscribed the half , or even the

quarter , of what Integrity , No . 163 , has subscribed to our Masonic Institutions . We shall abstain , therefore , from offering further comments on a glorious statement which speaks for itself more eloquently than any words of ours could do .

Correspondence.

CORRESPONDENCE .

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

Aged Members Of The Craft.

AGED MEMBERS OF THE CRAFT .

To tlie Editor of the FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —Yon will , I . know , be only too pleased to correct an error in . last weeVs CHRONICLE as to the oldest Freemason in England . That title has been borne for some time pa 3 t by Bro .

aorris , Warden at the Eoyal Masonio Institntion at Croydon , now m his ninety-second year , and none tbe worse for the severe illness of thi 3 last winter . Bro . Norris was initiated in 1812 , whereas tlie late Bro . Wi gginton was not admitted till six years after—viz ., 1818 .

Tours truly and fraternally , H . J . STRONG , M . D ., Hon . Surgeon to tbe Institution . Northend , Croydon , 18 th April 1881 .

The Attendance Of Past Masters.

THE ATTENDANCE OF PAST MASTERS .

To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —Bro . Sims is very angry about a very trivial matter . He has , so to speak , employed a Nasmyth hammer to crack a nut . He conld not have been more violently emphatic in his language , if I had been so rudo as to describe tho Past Blasters of the SirHngb Myddelton Lodge as a parcel of old women . I will not

, however , imitate his example and work myself into a pnroxysm of anger over his letter , which many a man would feci justified in describing as impertinent . I prefer having a good hearty laugh over it . J am quite willing to acknowledge that I derived my knowledge from t , io report which . appeared in your columns a fortnight since . I plead Bmlty to the soft impeachment of knowing some of the members ,

anu , thongh tho information I received may have been incorrect , I certainl y did hear that it was not the first time all the P . M . 's had i ! en absent together . What there is in this to lead him to regard '" e as one of those pest 3 of society who attend to everybody ' s business bnt their own , I fail to see . I suggested that it would be well , " Possible , if one at least of the Past " Masters might manage to be present , especially at so important a meeting as that of the elcctiou

The Attendance Of Past Masters.

of the W . Master mid Treasurer , and tho suggestion im based on a report published in tho columns of tho FREEMASON ' S CHROMCM ; , which I think it will bo generally admitted is a Fair subject For independent comment . I added further , that from tho mannor in which the work was said to havo boon done , ifc was ovidnnfc that tho Past Masters must havo done their duty fnmonsly . Why , then , this oxplosion of anger on tho part of Bro . Sims , when thoro was nothing

rudo in my letter , and much that was complimentary to thoso it referred to ? If I folt that my poor little innocent criticism had given offence , I should apologise forthwith , and so far as the absence of tho Past Masters was unavoidable , I do so , of course , with a great deal of pleasure . But my criticism has this trifling merit , that it was based on an accurate report , and is itself accurate as regards the particular absenco allnded to , while Bro . Sims is nnablo to speak , from his own knowledgo , as to its never having hnpponod on any

previous occasion . I remain , fraternally yonrs , E . YAK DOXOP . London , 20 th April 1881 .

To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' S CAROXIOLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —With all dno respect to Bro . Sims , I think your correspondent , Bro . " E . VAN DOXOP" was justifiod iu drawing attention to tho absenco of tho Past Mastors from tho election meeting of the Sir Hugh Myddelton Lodge ; nor do I think tho

severity of his strictures is warranted by tho circumstances . Your cor . respondent spoke in terms of praise of the manner in which tho different ceremonies were rehearsed , proving , as it did , that if the Past Masters were absent on tho occasion referred to they had , at all events , been not unmindful of their duty . Moreover , your correspondent's

remarks were legitimate enough , as thoy wero gronnded on a published report j and that , of course , is public property . However , what I wish to point ont is that the present race of Past Masters appears to be nnder the impression that Freemasonry wonld die a nntnral death were it not for the services they render . They think they are

above criticism , and are occasionally ovorbearing in their treatment of younger brethren . I respect them when , by the moderation of their demeanour , they prove to tho Masonic world that they respect themselves . If they fail in this respect , they cannot expect their jnniors to show them due consideration . Faithfully and fraternally yonrs , A MASTER MASON .

The Qualifications Of Preceptors.

THE QUALIFICATIONS OF PRECEPTORS .

To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —Perhaps some of your readers will kindly inform me if there is any qualification required in the caso of a brother who is appointed Preceptor of a Lodge of Instruction . Or , to frame my question more clearly , Is a brother appointed to be tbe Preceptor of such a Lodge because he is desirous of filling tho office , or because he is capable of filling it ? We all know there are many

Preceptors who would be all tho better for a little instruction in English Grammar , and they would be in still better form if thoy exhibited now and then a small modicum of common sense . Perhaps , however , EngliBh . Grammar and common sonse aro not deemed requisite qualifications in the Preceptor of a Lodge of Instruction . I shall be much obliged if you or some one of your readors will onlighteu mo on this point . Fraternally yoni'S , AlPIIA .

The growth of Masonry in the great West is evidenced by tbe fact , that a little over thirty-five years ago , nine brethren united to form the present Grand Lodgo of Michigan , which now has a membeiship in its Lodges of twenty-six thousand brethren . —Keystone .

The death of the Earl of Beaconsfield , E . G ., is a serious loss to the country . A Mason has nothing to do with politics—that is , of course , in his Masonic capacity * but ho cannot be otherwise than interested in the well-being of his country , and wo all know the well-being of the country

depends , in great measure , on the ability and integrity of its statesmen . It may be truly said of the deceased Earl , that no man of his time achieved a grander measure of success than he did . By his own splendid talents he raised himself from the comparatively humble , though honourable ,

position of clerk to a firm of attorneys to bo twice Prime Minister of Great Britain , and he passed away , iu the fulness of years , an honoured Member of the hereditary House of Parliament , and a Knight of the most noble Order of the Garter . For over a quarter of a century he was the

leader of the great Conservative party , yet his Liberal opponents were well-nigh as enthusiastic in their admiration of his brilliant abilities and patriotic conduct as his own supporters . No public m . in ever strove more arduously

to win a place on the Roll of Honour than did tho late Benjamin , first Earl of Beaconsfield and Viscount Hughenden , K . G . ; and , bo it added , for the edification of others , no one ever more fully deserved the honours that he won .