Correspondence.

Willing , but the spite against Bro . Woodall is painfully manifest . Would it nofc have been as well to have said that Bro . Woodall is Provincial Grand Mark Master of North and East Yorkshire , and thafc even so recently as lasfc July he presided at the Festival in aid of the Benevolent Fund of the Mark Grand Lodge , at whioh was

subscribed tho largest amount that has ever been contributed ? If Bro . Woodall is not quite as generous as the writer referred to would have ns believe , he has at least tho merit of drawing out the generosity of others . I do not agree that this fight for the Grand Treasurership is a

battle London versus the Provinces , and I do not think much of a brother who would provoke strife by the bare mention of such a possibiliby , and I certainly cannot refrain from rebuking him for his want of patriotism in doing his worst to bring about a war of classes . Whether Bro . Woodall's friends have gone too far or not

in their mode of canvass , I do not know , but it appears to me something like kettle versus pofc , for the writer in your contemporary to condemn in others what he himself practises . In his desire fco promote the success of Bro . Willing he forgets the respect thafc is due fco others , and uses means that , to sav the least , smack of tho

gutter . If fche course pursued by fche friends of Bro . Woodall ia wrong , then the action of Bro . Willing's friends is alike condemned , and as Bro . Cama seems to have imitated neither , he stands out as the champion of parity of election and of good taste . I think the best thing the brethren can do ou Wednesday next is to elect Bro . Cama

and thus scotch the too obtrusive action of some of our Provincial brethren , and snub tbe pretensions of a select few in the metropolis whose aim it is to rule the roost . " A plague o' both your houses , " say I . There is one sentence in the article to which I am alluding that puzzles me . It is as follows : " Few Masons have done more to

carry out the high social teachings of tbe Order than Bro . Willing . " "High social teachings ! " What are they ? Do they belong to the Lodge room or to the bauquetting hall ? If to the former , all we can say is , that Bro . Willing ' s fame as a teacher has not reached far ; if to the latter , then we have too much of that kind of teaching already .

I am , Dear Sir and Brother , Yours fraternally , ALEX

"THE GREAT LIGHT . " To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —In your issue of Saturday lasfc appears a very beautiful extract from the " Masonic Home Journal , " setting forth what the Light of lights defines . To give the exact words will be advisable . They are recorded thus : " The Bible , that

great Light and Guide defines " ( True religion and undefiled . ) To visit the widow and fatherless in their affliction , and keep yourselves " unspotted from the world . . " I will now deviate a little , and return to the subject after a few words . Some little time since I was in the West of England , and sought admission to a Masonic Lodge .

Business had caused me to bo late , and the Lodgo was at work . After dne examination I was admitted ; prior to entering , not discovering the degree in which the work was progressing in a way in which you generally ascertain the same , I inquired , and was t Id that npon entering I shonld find what I required in the West . I

there saw " The Great Light , " supporting those implements which are to regulate our actions and keep us in due bounds with all mankind , & c . These three lights , directed me to the class of work going , and I acted in accordance . A pedestal set apart for tho support of so great a light did indeed appear to mo the correct thing ; so

hallowed a book as the V . of S . L . shonld have nothing near it of a mean order . I have seen it before occupying snch an exalted position , b * ai in how many Lodges do we see it covered up with missives , correspondence , and accounts , which have to be passed from the Secretary to the Worshipful Master to be signed in open Lodge ? To " owe

no man anything' is a Divine command , but I do not think it was ever intended that " tho Great Light " should be used as a support or platform for the Master of the Lodgo to attest the correctness of an account by appending his signature . No . That sacred volnme was

intended as a support for higher aspirations . To cover it up reminds me of the candle hid under a bushel . My time is fully occupied . Perhaps somo learned Masonic orators or students will give their opinions . Yours fraternally , A BUCKINGHAMSHIRE APPRENTICE .

MISS Marie Davis , a debutante , made her appearance at Her Majesty ' s Theatre , on Monday night . The song '" Ruth" was artistically rendered by her ; it was loudly applauded ancl deservedly encored .

COAST DEFENCES OF NEW SOUTH WALES . —Port Jackson , Newcastle , and Botany Bay , the thx-ee most important points , from a military point of view , on the New South Wales coast , havo been formidably strengthened , according to the most approved appliances of modern warfare , and there are now about 60 pieces of heavy ordnance

mounted , besides others on their way to the Colony , and exclusive also of batteries of position , consisting of 10 pr . B . L . Armstrong gnus and field batteries of 111 pr . " . L . R . guns . The torpedo defences aro also upon a formidable scale , and every

arrangement has been made for the prompt and effective disposition of these torriblo weapons , so as , in case of active hostilities , to form a comp ' et'j la-ricade across the harbours of Port Jackson and Newcastle . Other fortifications are in courso of preparation .

Election Of The Grand Treasurer Of Freemasons.

ELECTION OF THE GRAND TREASURER OF FREEMASONS .

FROM THE EVENING NEWS . GREAT excitement prevails amongst the members of the Masonic Brotherhood , and , if we are to believe well-anthenfcioafced rumours , nexfc Wednesday will see fche largest gathering ever assembled within the mystic portals of the Hall in Great Qaeenstreefc . To the uninitiated this untoward commotion may savour somewhat of a storm in a teacup , but we are assured by those who

ahould know , that the matter is one of extraordinary importance . The Grand Treasurer , it seems , has little or nothing to do , and incurs a responsibility which is merely nominal , bnt , on the other hand , tha honour belonging to the office ia almost the only distinction which fche Craft at large has the power to bestow by its suffrages . The

battle in fcho present instance , if we are informed aright , is to be London versus the Provinces , and it will be fought out to the bitter end . We hear of special trains from York and Liverpool , and it is expected that the Hall will be besieged at an early hour by a compact mass of north-country Masters and Pasfc Masters in eager if

som - > what undignified haste to support by vote and voice the candidate of their choice . All this is fair enough , for the overflow meetings will accommodate the London brethren , and we presume due care will be taken that every Mason within the four corners of the bnilding shall have an opportunity of exercising hia privileges . A

circular issued by tho Committee of the Prov . candidate is , we believe , a very different matter . Although the vote is to be recorded by secret ballot , each brother is asked to give his assurances and state his choice by prepaid post card , and an attempt is thus made to unduly influence the opinion of each individual elector . This proceeding

will , if we are rightly informed , give rise to some serious protests , arid may possibly involve the nullity of the election . We shall hear a go 0 d deal more about Masonic electioneering next Wednesday , and wo fear a Masonic Corrupt Practices Act mnst shortly find a place in Mas onic jurisprudence . The candidates are three in number , bufc

only two can be regarded as serious competitors , viz ., Bro . Woodall , of Scarborough , and Bro . James Willing Jan ., of London . Bro . Cama , of Bombay , is practically unknown to Masonic fame , bufc we are told that his father has built a hospital , and thafc he has himself given £ 300 iu his wife ' s name to tbe Masonic Charities . Major Woodall ia a

wealthy Yorkshire banker , and knows how to exercise in a very high degree the traditional hospitality of thafc ancient shire . The brethren of the Mark Degree who visited York last summer will nofc easily forget the reception which awaited them , and ifc was evidently an oversight ; when the visitors were first asked to pay a penny for

admission to the banquet-room , and then , in many instances , to pur . chaae the tickets which entitled them to share in the entertainment itself . When some Whytehead of the f utnre cornea to tell the story of modern Yorkshire Masonry , nofc the least remarkable or the least interesting page will be that which hands down to posterity the

details of Bro . Woodall ' s unostentatious munificence in the matter of providing the regalia for his Grand Mark Lodge , an instance of rare Masonic disinterestedness which his detractors fail to rightly appreciate . If tho Grand Treasurer had any longer to keep a tight bold on tho pnrse-strings of Grand Lodge , there could be little doubt

of tho singular fitness of Major Woodall for the office . Unfortunately for the Craft , however , tha fiduciary functions once attached to the post have ceased to exist . Except as far as these memorable visita to York are concerned , nobody in London knows anything of Bro . Woodall , but thero is probably no Metropolitan Mason who is not more

or less acquainted with James Willing . Few Masons are more popular , and few have clone moro to carry out the high social teachings of the Order than Bro . Willing . He haa already made his mark in the Board of General Purposes , and has undoubtedly a prosperous Masonic career before him . He haa not asked the London brethren

to guarantee him their suffrages by return of post , nor have his friends set forth his many qualifications in a pompous prospectus . He never has , nor ever will , attempt to vie with Major Woodall in the exercise of the virtue of hospitality . We hope the brethren of London will resist as one man the threatened combination of special trains ,

return posfc-cards , specious circulars , and hall-packing , and give thoir utmost support to the genial brother they have known so long and so favourably , and who is fighting their battle at the present moment against such formidable odds . The London brethren should

resist all attempts to introduce class considerations into Masonic elections , aud they can only effectually do so by assembling next Wednesday in such force as will ensure , beyond a doubt , the election of James Willing as Grand Treasurer of England .

The Fifteen Sections

THE FIFTEEN SECTIONS

AVI „ L HE WORKED By the Members of the King Harold Lodge of Instruction , No . 1327 , afc the Four Swans , Waltham Cross , Herts , nexfc Saturday , 7 th March Bro . John Eobinson W . M ., Iteilly S . W ., Lowis J . W . Firsfc Lecture—Bros . Bickle , Searle , Middlehnrst , Reilly , Davis , Lewis , an 1 Sproat .

Second Lecture—Bros . Rogers , Noyes , Gilbert , Robinson , and Fisher . Third Lecture—Bros . Hanchet , Wyatt , and Etherington . Brethren to appear in Masonic clothing . The proceedings will commence at five o'clock . A banquet will take place at eight p . m . Tickets 3 s . Bro . A . II . Hanchet Secretary .

The ccremoi . y of It stallation of Principals will be rehearsed iu the Metropolitan Chapter of Improvement , at tbe White Hart , Abchureh Lane , E . G ., on the 10 th March next , at 5 . 30 p . m . Comp . Browu , the Preceptor of the Chapter , will occupy the chair .