Correspondence.

CORRESPONDENCE .

All letters must lear the name cm I 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 oitr Cor . respondents . We cannot undertake to return rejected communications .

THE PRECEDENCE QUESTION

To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —With all due deference to the Grand Registrar and the Rev . Bro . Arnold P . G . Chaplain , the interpretation you place on the Constitutions is correct . It ia absurd to imagine , as your Correspondent suggests , that the framers of our Constitutionswhen they said that Provincial Graud Officers had the rank

, and privileges of Grand Officers in their own distriot , meant nothing else than that Provincial Grand Officers had the rank and privileges of Provincial Grand Officers . Again , aa to the D . Provincial Grand Master , if that Officer haa the right to fulfil the several duties of the Provincial Grand Master , if , in other words , he ia the offioial alter ego of his chief , then it strikes me as being clear and undeniable that in

the presence , as well as in the absence of the Provincial Grand Master , he cannot do otherwise than take precedence of all Grand Officers of the rank of Grand Warden inclusive . As for the argument that all Grand Officers are entitled to priority of place over the Grand Officers of the Province , it is absurd to plaoea past Grand Pursuivant—or Inner Guard—above the Prov . Grand Senior or

Junior Warden . That he is superior outside the limit of the Pro . vince , is a point that can be allowed unhesitatingly , but it is nonlense to suppose a Grand Senior Warden in hia own Province is his inferior , when the Conatitutiona have plainly laid it down that a Provincial Grand Officer has the rank and privileges of a Grand Officer in his own Province . Fraternally youra , OHE !

What Next ?

WHAT NEXT ?

To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' CHRONICLE . BEAU SIR AND B ROTHER , —To judge from the statementa contained in the letter of " R . E . KITTS , " which appeared in your issue of last week , Freemasonry in the United States of America is very seriously departing from its true character . Masonry is not a religion , and stands in need , therefore , of nothing in the shape of a church in

which to celebrate its rites . It has nothing theatrical about it , and consequently the provision of " a stage , with shifting back and scenes , " ia quite unnecessary . The public installation of Officers ia contrary both to the spirit and the letter of our Constitutions . The leas of display there is in connection with Masonic ceremonies the better it is for the Craft . The brother who weara a score or two of

jewels is—I will not say necessarily , but in all probability—the worst informed member of his Lodge . There are occasions—as , for instance , when Hia Royal Highness the Prin ce of Wales Most Worshipful Grand Master laid the first stones of Truro Cathedral— -when it is not only lawful , but expedient likewise , tha fc Masonry shonld emerge from the secrecy in which it envelopes itself ; but save on these occasions ,

and in connection with our Charitable Institutions , the less of publicity that is associated with Mason ry the bettor . We degrade the Craft when we go unnecessarily oufc 0 f o ur way to make it publicthat ia , common . As to the A . and A . RitSi it ia no doubt interesting and instructive , aa the reviewera say , but it is not , never has been , and , I truat , never will be , legitimate Masonry . Faithfully and fraternally youre , G . S . STORBEN .

P.G. Lodge Of South Wales (Western Division).

P . G . LODGE OF SOUTH WALES ( WESTERN DIVISION ) .

To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —I think I shall be only expressing the general sense of the Craft in the Province when 1 aay that your report of the proceedings , by reason of its fulness and accuracy , has afforded us the utmost gratification . Permit me , however , to

suggest , as a mere aot of justice to a most worthy brother , that the floral decorations of the room in which the Provincial Grand Lodge held itB meeting , were presented by Bro . C . B . Mansfield , of the

St . Peters Lodge , and most tastefully arranged by Bro . Hall , of Lodge Neyland , No . 990 . Trusting this will not be the last occasion by many on which the representative of your eateemed journal will be with us ,

I remain , faithfully and fraternally yours , CAMBRIA . - [ We sincerely thank our brother for his complimentary expressions and we have great pleasure in meeting his wishes , in order to make good the omission of which we

were unintentionally guilty when we allowed to pass unnoticed in our Report the very handsome decorations referred to . Our correspondent is by no means overstep , ping the mark in describing this arrangement as " tasteful . " They were more than tasteful , they were artistic . —Ed . F . C . ]

Paucity Of Candidates For The Chairmanship At The Committee Meetings And Courts Of Our Institutions.

PAUCITY OF CANDIDATES FOR THE CHAIRMANSHIP AT THE COMMITTEE MEETINGS AND COURTS OF OUR INSTITUTIONS .

To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —I am very glad the attention of your readers has been again drawn to the invariable presidency of Lt . -Col . Creaton at the Committee metings and Courts of our Institutions . I agree with " BETH" thafc to allow the tone of the Institutions to be influenced by one man , no matter how zealous or painstaking he may

be , is directly opposed to their interests . Aa " BETH saya , we do not desire " Creaton always , " and it wonld well become that brother if he , individnally , went out of his way to suggest that some one else than himself should occupy the chair occasionally . Perhaps , however , the quality of modesty wonld be strained a little by his so doing , in which case , of course , it would be better that some brother should have

the courage or the assurance—whichever you like to oall it—to sug . gest the presidency of another brother . All that is needed ia just a " leetle " of this said courage or assurance in order to acquit the exeoutive of our Sohools and Benevolent Fund of being able to boast of only one member who is presumed to be capable of presiding at an ordinary meeting . I remain , fraternally yours , A . E . C .

Bro. Massa And The Grand Treasurer.

BRO . MASSA AND THE GRAND TREASURER .

To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' CHRONICLE . 4 Dowgate Hill E C , 27 th July 1881 . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —Your readers will be aware that at the June meeting of the Board of General Purposes it refused to entertain my complaint against Bro . Creaton , Grand Treasurer , for using offensive language when presiding as Chairman in the precinct of

Grand Lodge . Aa , while my aide waa , perhapa , not represented at the Board , the Grand Treasurer's side was , perhaps , defended by his numerous fellow Grand Officers , three members of his own Lodge , and other interested brethren , and the matter discnssed em parte , I was anxious to know on what arguments , pleas , and laws the Board founded its

decision , I therefore applied to the Grand Secretary for permission to see the minutes , which you will see , by the following letter from him , is denied me , and I think illegally . The Board of General Purposes being merely a sub-Committee of ] Grand Lodge ( though only 14 out of the 30 membera are elected ) , by what law or regulation does it refuae a member of Grand Lodge

acceas to the records of its proceedings regarding himself , and exempt the Grand Treasurer from the landmark , " Boldly repel the slanderer of his good name ? " i I shall be very grateful if some brother will enlighten me on the subject before I appeal to Grand Lodge . I remain , Dear Sir and Brother , Tours faithfully , THOMAS MASSA .

[ Copy ) Freemasons Hall , London , W . C . 18 th July 1881 . Bro . T . Massa P . M . Dear Sir . and Brother , —Having laid before the Board of General Purposes this day your letters of the 9 th , 14 th , and 18 th instants , i am directed , in reply , to transmit to yon a copy of the resolution of the Board thereon : —

" Resolved—That Bro . Massa ' s letters and the Grand Secretary ' s replies thereto having been read to the B-ard , the Board sees no rea-Bon to depart from , or add to , the resolution passed at its last meeting , the substance of which was communicated to Bro . Massa by the Grand

Secretary on the 22 nd June . " The Board cannot recognise the right of any brother to inspect the minutes of the Board , and therefore declines to accede to Bro , Massa ' s demand to that effect . "

I am , Dear Sir and Brother , Tours fraternally , SHADWEH , H . CLERK * Col . Grand Secretary .

We extract the following letter from the pages of the Canadian Craftsman : — . MY DEAR BRO . TRATES , —Nothing like prompt payment , I enoloae for my subscription to Craftsman , dola 1 . 50 . I always read with regret your complaint 8 about the laxity or

indifference of the Craft as to the Craftsman ; the many arreara of payment of subscription , and the still greater number that do not subscribe at all ; what is the cause ? what should be the remedy ? As to the answer to the first question , we know from experience that to the great majority of the brethren the whole system , after the

first novelty of the I . P . and R . is passed ; they begin to feel indifferent about hearing a constant repetition of one and the same form and ritual , and only those few who aspire to the East keep up at least an apparont interest , but also drop off after they become W . M . or P . M .,

and finding nothiug further attractive in the Lodgp , they see nothing of interest in the Craftsman , of which about one-half relates to meetings and proceedings of the different Masonic bodies . 1 Second , aB to the remedy . The answer as regards the " what 13 simple , i . e ., create a general interest in the Lodge and in f ?* '