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  • July 24, 1875
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  • REPORT OF LODGE MEETINGS.
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The Freemason's Chronicle, July 24, 1875: Page 5

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Correspondence.

CORRESPONDENCE .

We do not hold ourselves responsible for the opinions of our Cot ' respondents . We cannot undertake to return rejected communications . All Letters must bear the name and address of the Writer , no necessarily for publication , but as a guarantee of good faith .

ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR BOYS . To the Editor of THE F REEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —It is much to be regretted that you havo not thought proper to imitate the prudent reticence of your contemporary , the Freemason , in refusing publication to highly coloured e . v parte statements , in reference to recent occurrences in this Instition .

The circnlar I issued on receipt of Bro . Tew ' s extraordinary " report" was not a " reply , " as it is termed by tho Head Master , with his accustomed accuracy . In that circular will be found tho following passage : " I simply now , in the interests of the Institution , and in my own name , and on behalf of others , beg you to suspend your judgment , until a reply can be given to the ex parte statements

to which your attention has been drawn . " Of this circular I forwarded you a copy , and though it contained nothing of a controversial character , you declined to publish it . On the other hand , your contemporary , regarding it merely as an appeal , " audi alteram partem , " inserted it . Is it consistent with common fairness to give publicity to renewed

gross accusations against Commi tee and officials pending the issue of a reply to the charges alleged in Bro . Tew ' s " Report P " Is it justifiable to throw the weight of your editorial opinion into tho scale , as yon have evidently done in the leading article in your last number , " The Retiring Masters of the Boys' School , " founding that opinion on a letter signed by them , which they ought to be

ashamed of having written , so utterly at variance with truth are some , and so preposterously absurb are other , of the statements therein contained ? I admit that you say , " We have no intention whatever of passing judgment on the contents of these documants , " but no one can fail to detect the bias throughout the article .

I contend that it is manifestly wrong to encourage young men , in the position of the " retiring Masters , " to air their fancied grievances in the columns of a newspaper ; that it is utterly subversive of discipline , and most mischievous in every respect . Supposing their grievances to have an established foundation , the proper tribunal before which they should be brought is the governing body of the

Institution . To that tribunal they did appeal , and anything more ridiculous than their appearance—anything more contemptible than the evidence ( it is a burlesque of terms to use the word ) they adducod in Bupport of their grave charges was never witnessed or listened to . Before a decision could bo given , they sent in their resignations . Why ? They knew , within themselves , there could be but one result .

They say , through Mr . Perrott , " because they were not satisfied with the way in which their evidence was received ; " in their own names , they say , we left the room thoroughly dissatisfied with their ( the Committee ' s ) proceedings . " Doubtless they wero " dissatisfied , " on perceiving that the Committee , with every desire to bo impartial , detected at once the animus by which they wero actuated , and the

weakness of the trumpery testimony by which they sought to bolster up their case . They ask , " What is to be said of tho Secretary who makes a scries of charges against the School which it is his duty to serve and guard , charges which he cannot prove , but which , if true , ate calculated to drive away every subscriber from tho Charity , and who chooses the

time just before tho Annual Festival for such action ? " The rich vein of insolent pomposity displayed in this question , and it pervades tho whole of tho lettor under consideration , is most amusing—but what are the facts ? " The Secretary" not only has not brought " a series of charges , " but has not made any charge against tho School , which he is solemnly warned "it is his duty

to serve and guard . I had for sonic time noticed a change in the demeanonr of the boys . I had noticed many departures for the worse from former habits and conduct . I was painfully aware of the increased destruction of books , & c . and of clothing , and had expressed my opinion ou those matters in the proper quarter , as , with all deference to the collective wisdom of " the four , " I contend I was

perfectly at liberty to do . Tolerably accurately gauging the real condition of affairs , I was not altogether surprised , though much mortified , at rccoiving representations from residents in the neighbourhood of the misconduct of our pupils . The words which , with so much pertinacious perversit y , I am charged with using , were not my words , but were quoted b )/ me

in a letter to the ( then ) Head Master , as the description given by a gentleman who had called npon me , and I informed him that it would be my duty to submit the representations I had received to the next meeting of the Committee , together with any statement or explanation he might be disposed to favour me With . So much for this accusation . " The Secretary made similar charges last year . " Every one is

familiar with the word which expresses the opposite of truth . The Secretary made no such charge . A charge of specific misconduct was made by a member of the Committee ; but the witnesses were difficult of access , and it was deemed better not to commence an investigation , unless the proofs of misconduct could be adduced . I was , myself , most

anxious for enquiry , but it was decided otherwise . It is idle to pursue the subject further . The familiarity displayed by " the four " with occurrences which took place long antecedent t . o their appointment affords prima facie evidence of a concocted plan of operation between the ( fortunately ) lato Head Master and his assistants . This has exhibited itself in a systematic attack npon

Correspondence.

the Secretary and the Matron . " Throw mud enough , and some will be sure to stick" has been their rule . This is exemplified in a second pamphlet , addressed to the " Yorkshire Vice-Presidents , " presumably under the same auspices as the first . In this appear , set out in full , the whole of the allegations against the Matron . If they are thought worthy of serious consideration—disproved as they most of them have

been—and more or less satisfactorily accounted for , as others have been—there is no difficulty whatever in giving answers to them seriatim . Shonld this be demanded and conceded , matters will assume a very different complexion from that under which they have been presented by presumptuous subordinates , coached up by an unscrupulous superior , in a histoiy of events of which they could havo no personal

knowledge . On the Report of the Examiner , I shall only observe that there has been a breach of trust somewhere . A copy was sent to me a few days ago by Mr . Finlaison , in compliance with official instructions to the Secretary of the Syndicate . That Report is the property of the

Committee , who alone can order its disposition . It has not yot been presented to the Committee . It is issued on the distinct condition"If this Report is published , it must bo givon in extenso . " Spite of this , I read extracts from it in your columns , and " tho four " also quote from it . Tho customary clever tactics—the usual questionable morale .

On the evidence afforded in the Report as to the educational condition of the School , I shall offer no remarks , because it is a document not yet fairly in court . On discipline and conduct , I shall merely observe generally that the demeanour of boys before an examiner for three days , or before a company assembled on an occasion such as the distribution of prizes , affords no test of general behaviour .

What I have witnessed I believe in . Whatever defects there may be , I do not blame , or in any way censure , those whom I have always regarded as my young friends , and for whom I have laboured cheerfully . Spero meliora . Before this can appear in your columns , my " reply " to Bro . Tew and the lato Head Master will be before the public , who will form

their own conclusions on tho various points at issue . Unfortunately , fresh matter suggests itsolf , and I could amplify my statements almost indefinitely , supporting them with irrefragable testimony . Mr . Perrott ' s circular , of 25 th June , shall have due notice , and his " crucial" questions shall bo " crucially" answered . We shall see what is the value of the "veracity , " with reference to which he

" dare not be silent . " As regards " self-commendation " and " scurrility , " I have found our late Head Master so perfect an adept in the ouo , and so inflated by the other , that I am content to loave him in the full enjoyment of both . I shall conclude , deeply rogrettiug the painful necessity of thus

being compelled to vindicate my conduct , after fonvteen years of faithful service , with a protest against the " ill-weaved ambition " which prompted the lato Head Master to boast of " having the honour to preside over the Institution , " which at ouco affords an insight into his character , and a clue to the sad chapter of our history in which he has figured so prominently .

I am , Dear Sir and Brother , Yours faithfully and fraternally , FREDERICK BINCKES . London , 19 th July 1875 .

Report Of Lodge Meetings.

REPORT OF LODGE MEETINGS .

To the Editor of THE FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE , DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —Having just returned from the Continent , I tako the first opportunity of thanking Bro . Magnus Ohren for correcting my letter that appeared in No . 26 of THE CHRONICLE-. I being dull of heariug led to the mistake , which I regret . Yours fraternally , M . M . M .

Our Freemasonry.—Sir C. Wren, &C.

OUR FREEMASONRY . —SIR C . WREN , & c .

To the Editor of THE FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —It will , I suppose , bo useless to refer our redoubtable Bro . Buchan to my "Speculative Freemasonry " ( page 110 ) , where ho will find a quotation from Aubrey ' s Natural History of Wiltshire ( page 277 ) . "This day , May the 18 th , being Monday , 1 G 91 , after Rogation Sunday , is a great Convention at

St . Paul's Church , of the Fraternity of Adopted Masons , whon Sir C . Wren is to be adopted a brother , and Sir Henry Gooderic of the Tower , and divers othci-s . " This is the sole minute , yet known to be preserved , of Sir C . Wren ' s initiation ; but this , coupled with tho undoubted fact that the 1717 Masons always acknowledged him as a brother , seems to bo authorifcivo evidence of his actual initiation .

Whilst writing to Bro . Baohan upon this subject , I may call his attention to another confirmation of the Rosicrncian part of my Masonic work and theory , which was so jauntily handled by your airy critic , first in the review of my work itself , and , secondly , iu a notice of this part by a pamphlet issued by the Sovereign Sanctuary of the Antient and Primitive Rite of Masonry , with which I have

the honour and pleasure to be connected . At page 113 I gave an extract , furnished to me by Bro . M . Cooke , from a llosicracian work printed in 1722 , and dedicated to the Grand Lodge , 1 st March 1721 ; a copy of this book now forms a part of the coutents of the fino library of that worthy brother , Capt . F . G . Irwin , and is entitled

"Long Livers , " by Engcuins Philalothes , 1722 . Bro . Irwiu has kindly collated the extract for me , and states that it is acenrat ^ . Having ceased advising and remembering Craftsmen of many things , ho commences a new paragraph thus : " And now my brethren , you of the higher class , permit me to add a few words for you are but few ,

“The Freemason's Chronicle: 1875-07-24, Page 5” Masonic Periodicals Online, Library and Museum of Freemasonry, 1 June 2025, django:8000/periodicals/fcn/issues/fcn_24071875/page/5/.
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WHAT NEXT ? Article 1
THE RETIRING MASTERS OF THE BOYS' SCHOOL. Article 1
THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE, Article 2
GRAND LODGE OF MARK MASTER MASONS. Article 3
SPENCER'S GREAT LIBRARY. Article 4
CORRESPONDENCE. Article 5
REPORT OF LODGE MEETINGS. Article 5
OUR FREEMASONRY.—SIR C. WREN, &c. Article 5
PRACTICE versus PRECEPT. Article 6
" WHAT FREEMASONRY HAS DONE." Article 6
REVIEWS. Article 7
THE DRAMA. Article 7
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OUR WEEKLY BUDGET Article 8
COUNCIL OE ROYAL AND SELECT MASTERS. Article 10
SYSTEMATIC CHARITY. Article 10
ENGLISH AND ITALIAN FREEMASONS. Article 10
MARRIAGE. Article 10
ESSEX PROVINCIAL GRAND LODGE. Article 11
DIARY FOR THE WEEK. Article 12
NOTICES OF MEETINGS. Article 12
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Correspondence.

CORRESPONDENCE .

We do not hold ourselves responsible for the opinions of our Cot ' respondents . We cannot undertake to return rejected communications . All Letters must bear the name and address of the Writer , no necessarily for publication , but as a guarantee of good faith .

ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR BOYS . To the Editor of THE F REEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —It is much to be regretted that you havo not thought proper to imitate the prudent reticence of your contemporary , the Freemason , in refusing publication to highly coloured e . v parte statements , in reference to recent occurrences in this Instition .

The circnlar I issued on receipt of Bro . Tew ' s extraordinary " report" was not a " reply , " as it is termed by tho Head Master , with his accustomed accuracy . In that circular will be found tho following passage : " I simply now , in the interests of the Institution , and in my own name , and on behalf of others , beg you to suspend your judgment , until a reply can be given to the ex parte statements

to which your attention has been drawn . " Of this circular I forwarded you a copy , and though it contained nothing of a controversial character , you declined to publish it . On the other hand , your contemporary , regarding it merely as an appeal , " audi alteram partem , " inserted it . Is it consistent with common fairness to give publicity to renewed

gross accusations against Commi tee and officials pending the issue of a reply to the charges alleged in Bro . Tew ' s " Report P " Is it justifiable to throw the weight of your editorial opinion into tho scale , as yon have evidently done in the leading article in your last number , " The Retiring Masters of the Boys' School , " founding that opinion on a letter signed by them , which they ought to be

ashamed of having written , so utterly at variance with truth are some , and so preposterously absurb are other , of the statements therein contained ? I admit that you say , " We have no intention whatever of passing judgment on the contents of these documants , " but no one can fail to detect the bias throughout the article .

I contend that it is manifestly wrong to encourage young men , in the position of the " retiring Masters , " to air their fancied grievances in the columns of a newspaper ; that it is utterly subversive of discipline , and most mischievous in every respect . Supposing their grievances to have an established foundation , the proper tribunal before which they should be brought is the governing body of the

Institution . To that tribunal they did appeal , and anything more ridiculous than their appearance—anything more contemptible than the evidence ( it is a burlesque of terms to use the word ) they adducod in Bupport of their grave charges was never witnessed or listened to . Before a decision could bo given , they sent in their resignations . Why ? They knew , within themselves , there could be but one result .

They say , through Mr . Perrott , " because they were not satisfied with the way in which their evidence was received ; " in their own names , they say , we left the room thoroughly dissatisfied with their ( the Committee ' s ) proceedings . " Doubtless they wero " dissatisfied , " on perceiving that the Committee , with every desire to bo impartial , detected at once the animus by which they wero actuated , and the

weakness of the trumpery testimony by which they sought to bolster up their case . They ask , " What is to be said of tho Secretary who makes a scries of charges against the School which it is his duty to serve and guard , charges which he cannot prove , but which , if true , ate calculated to drive away every subscriber from tho Charity , and who chooses the

time just before tho Annual Festival for such action ? " The rich vein of insolent pomposity displayed in this question , and it pervades tho whole of tho lettor under consideration , is most amusing—but what are the facts ? " The Secretary" not only has not brought " a series of charges , " but has not made any charge against tho School , which he is solemnly warned "it is his duty

to serve and guard . I had for sonic time noticed a change in the demeanonr of the boys . I had noticed many departures for the worse from former habits and conduct . I was painfully aware of the increased destruction of books , & c . and of clothing , and had expressed my opinion ou those matters in the proper quarter , as , with all deference to the collective wisdom of " the four , " I contend I was

perfectly at liberty to do . Tolerably accurately gauging the real condition of affairs , I was not altogether surprised , though much mortified , at rccoiving representations from residents in the neighbourhood of the misconduct of our pupils . The words which , with so much pertinacious perversit y , I am charged with using , were not my words , but were quoted b )/ me

in a letter to the ( then ) Head Master , as the description given by a gentleman who had called npon me , and I informed him that it would be my duty to submit the representations I had received to the next meeting of the Committee , together with any statement or explanation he might be disposed to favour me With . So much for this accusation . " The Secretary made similar charges last year . " Every one is

familiar with the word which expresses the opposite of truth . The Secretary made no such charge . A charge of specific misconduct was made by a member of the Committee ; but the witnesses were difficult of access , and it was deemed better not to commence an investigation , unless the proofs of misconduct could be adduced . I was , myself , most

anxious for enquiry , but it was decided otherwise . It is idle to pursue the subject further . The familiarity displayed by " the four " with occurrences which took place long antecedent t . o their appointment affords prima facie evidence of a concocted plan of operation between the ( fortunately ) lato Head Master and his assistants . This has exhibited itself in a systematic attack npon

Correspondence.

the Secretary and the Matron . " Throw mud enough , and some will be sure to stick" has been their rule . This is exemplified in a second pamphlet , addressed to the " Yorkshire Vice-Presidents , " presumably under the same auspices as the first . In this appear , set out in full , the whole of the allegations against the Matron . If they are thought worthy of serious consideration—disproved as they most of them have

been—and more or less satisfactorily accounted for , as others have been—there is no difficulty whatever in giving answers to them seriatim . Shonld this be demanded and conceded , matters will assume a very different complexion from that under which they have been presented by presumptuous subordinates , coached up by an unscrupulous superior , in a histoiy of events of which they could havo no personal

knowledge . On the Report of the Examiner , I shall only observe that there has been a breach of trust somewhere . A copy was sent to me a few days ago by Mr . Finlaison , in compliance with official instructions to the Secretary of the Syndicate . That Report is the property of the

Committee , who alone can order its disposition . It has not yot been presented to the Committee . It is issued on the distinct condition"If this Report is published , it must bo givon in extenso . " Spite of this , I read extracts from it in your columns , and " tho four " also quote from it . Tho customary clever tactics—the usual questionable morale .

On the evidence afforded in the Report as to the educational condition of the School , I shall offer no remarks , because it is a document not yet fairly in court . On discipline and conduct , I shall merely observe generally that the demeanour of boys before an examiner for three days , or before a company assembled on an occasion such as the distribution of prizes , affords no test of general behaviour .

What I have witnessed I believe in . Whatever defects there may be , I do not blame , or in any way censure , those whom I have always regarded as my young friends , and for whom I have laboured cheerfully . Spero meliora . Before this can appear in your columns , my " reply " to Bro . Tew and the lato Head Master will be before the public , who will form

their own conclusions on tho various points at issue . Unfortunately , fresh matter suggests itsolf , and I could amplify my statements almost indefinitely , supporting them with irrefragable testimony . Mr . Perrott ' s circular , of 25 th June , shall have due notice , and his " crucial" questions shall bo " crucially" answered . We shall see what is the value of the "veracity , " with reference to which he

" dare not be silent . " As regards " self-commendation " and " scurrility , " I have found our late Head Master so perfect an adept in the ouo , and so inflated by the other , that I am content to loave him in the full enjoyment of both . I shall conclude , deeply rogrettiug the painful necessity of thus

being compelled to vindicate my conduct , after fonvteen years of faithful service , with a protest against the " ill-weaved ambition " which prompted the lato Head Master to boast of " having the honour to preside over the Institution , " which at ouco affords an insight into his character , and a clue to the sad chapter of our history in which he has figured so prominently .

I am , Dear Sir and Brother , Yours faithfully and fraternally , FREDERICK BINCKES . London , 19 th July 1875 .

Report Of Lodge Meetings.

REPORT OF LODGE MEETINGS .

To the Editor of THE FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE , DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —Having just returned from the Continent , I tako the first opportunity of thanking Bro . Magnus Ohren for correcting my letter that appeared in No . 26 of THE CHRONICLE-. I being dull of heariug led to the mistake , which I regret . Yours fraternally , M . M . M .

Our Freemasonry.—Sir C. Wren, &C.

OUR FREEMASONRY . —SIR C . WREN , & c .

To the Editor of THE FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —It will , I suppose , bo useless to refer our redoubtable Bro . Buchan to my "Speculative Freemasonry " ( page 110 ) , where ho will find a quotation from Aubrey ' s Natural History of Wiltshire ( page 277 ) . "This day , May the 18 th , being Monday , 1 G 91 , after Rogation Sunday , is a great Convention at

St . Paul's Church , of the Fraternity of Adopted Masons , whon Sir C . Wren is to be adopted a brother , and Sir Henry Gooderic of the Tower , and divers othci-s . " This is the sole minute , yet known to be preserved , of Sir C . Wren ' s initiation ; but this , coupled with tho undoubted fact that the 1717 Masons always acknowledged him as a brother , seems to bo authorifcivo evidence of his actual initiation .

Whilst writing to Bro . Baohan upon this subject , I may call his attention to another confirmation of the Rosicrncian part of my Masonic work and theory , which was so jauntily handled by your airy critic , first in the review of my work itself , and , secondly , iu a notice of this part by a pamphlet issued by the Sovereign Sanctuary of the Antient and Primitive Rite of Masonry , with which I have

the honour and pleasure to be connected . At page 113 I gave an extract , furnished to me by Bro . M . Cooke , from a llosicracian work printed in 1722 , and dedicated to the Grand Lodge , 1 st March 1721 ; a copy of this book now forms a part of the coutents of the fino library of that worthy brother , Capt . F . G . Irwin , and is entitled

"Long Livers , " by Engcuins Philalothes , 1722 . Bro . Irwiu has kindly collated the extract for me , and states that it is acenrat ^ . Having ceased advising and remembering Craftsmen of many things , ho commences a new paragraph thus : " And now my brethren , you of the higher class , permit me to add a few words for you are but few ,

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