Correspondence.

CORRESPONDENCE .

We do not hold ourselves responsible for the opinions of our Correspondents . We cannot itnclerfa & e to return rejected communications . AU Letters must bear the name and address of the Writer , not necessarily for publication , but as a guarantee of good faith .

ORDER OF PROCEEDING AT LODGES OF INSTRUCTION . To the Editor of THE FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —I can hardly understand a Lodge of Instruction finding itself in the difficulty described by Bro . Ockenden . Surely one among the brethren present might have been found equal to the emergency . Why was ifc nofc proposed to suspend the standing

orders for the occasion , and then open in a higher degree ? There would then have been no fear of censure . Or , perhaps , tho W . M ., or another brother , might hare volunteered a short ; exposition of tho ceremony . Ifc would havo been ia keeping with tho work assigned by tho

byelaws for the particular evening , aud , better still , would have been somewhat of a change from the monotony that attends travelling over the same ground again and again without any variation whatever . We need this relief occasionally . Yours fraternally , VIATOR .

Which Is Correct?

WHICH IS CORRECT ?

To the Editor of THE FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —My numerous engagements of late have precluded my giving the attention I desire to this correspondence , but I shall be glad if yon will , by insertion of this letter , assure " Vigilant , " and other brethren interested , thafc I have not " lost

sight of , nor exhausted the subject . " I will write further as soon as opportunity is afforded me 5 meanwhile , if other pens were employed in promoting the discussion , so thafc the opinions of several might be ascertained , with a view to arrive at a just decision in respect of the variations already referred to , ifc would materially assist the discussion .

Yours truly and fraternally , JAMES STEVENS , P . M ., P . Z . Clapham , 28 th December 1876 .

Masonic Queries.

MASONIC QUERIES .

To the Editor of THE FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —I shall feel greatly obliged to any Brother who will answer the following questions : — 1 . Why is no provision made in the Constitutions for filling tho

vacant chair when any officer , from S . W . downwards , dies , or otherwise •withdraws during his year of office ? 2 . What is the usual practice in the oldest Lodges under such circumstances ?

3 . " The Tyler may be removed afc any time by a majority , " & c . Can a successor be appointed in the same way ? 4 . The W . M . is entitled to three TAUS on his apron . Is ifc ignorance or design that constantly attaches them upside down , so as to look like three levels ?

5 . What is the origin and date of the Ritual employed in opening a Board of Installed Masters ? 23 rd December 1876 . W . M . CL .

Ifc has been justly said that the Granville Hotel afc St . Lawronceon-Sea is tho establishment par excellence of all the hotels in the country , in fact , we might say , iu the whole world . It is a residence combining all the luxurious domesticity of wealthy English life , with the manifold conveniences of an hotel . Originally planned for a terrace of magnificent private mansions , the Granville has been

made into an hotel , and families may enjoy withm its walls the delights of home comfort , aud partake of the intellectual and fashionable amusements of the age , without leaving the grounds which surround the vast building . In winter , the climate of Ramsgate is especially pure , bracing and delightful , the more so from comparison with tho dinginess and smokiness of the Metropolis , and we cannot

imagine a greater treat for the jaded City or professional man than a run down to this bright and really picturesque little sea-port , with a stay at the Granville Hotel for somo days . For such delightful fcxcursions , the South-Eastern Railway and the management of the hotel have combined to offer unusual facilities , by arrangements for a special private express to run , every Friday afternoon , to

Ramsgate , in two hours , returning every Monday . So short a railway journey is not an onerous undertaking , even for an invalid , and , considering the wonderful sanitary arrangements of the establishment , its facilities for baths of every description , its faultless cuisine and magnificently furnished suites of apartments—each a

luxurious home in itself—ifc is certain that many persons would benefit far more by a winter ' s residence in the Granville than by going to a foreign country , worn out and exhausted by a fatiguing journey , which only lands them in a warmer clime , where more than half the comforts of English home life are unknown .

Royal Veterans Preceptory, Plymouth.

ROYAL VETERANS PRECEPTORY , PLYMOUTH .

A regular meeting of this Preceptory was holden on Tuesday , 19 th inst ., at tho Huysho Masonic Temple , Plymouth . Present—E . Sir Knights Charles Godtschalk P . P . G . D . C . Preceptor , J . Watts P . E . C . P . P . G . T ., V . Bird P . E . C . P . P . G . B . B . Reg ., J . Austin P . E . C . P . P . G . E . Treasurer , T . Heath , J . B . Gover P . P . G . T . Con ., L . D . Westcott P . P . P . G . C . L . Prolate , S . Jew P . G . T ., Marshal ,

J . H . Keats 0 . of G ., Jas . J . Cevery Sub Mar ., J . P . Rogers , H . A . Arnold P . G . O . Organist , H . F . Hearle P . P . G . E ., F . P . Holmes , T . Smith . The Preceptory having been opened in ancient form , and the call of muster roll over , tho minutes of last meeting , on the 19 th September , wore read and confirmed . Apologies from the following Fraters were read and accepted , Sir Knights J . Harris

P . E . P ., Hifley P . E . P ., and Browning . Comp . John James , already incepted , was then announced , and received his initiate . Tho ceremony of installation and investment was most impressively performed by the E . Preceptor Sir Knight Godtschalk , whose zeal for and knowledge of the Order was never better displayed than in hia admirable working iu this exalted degree . The further business of

the Preceptory was to elect the E . P . and Treas . for the year ensuing . Sir Knight Charles Godtschalk E . P . on rising , remarked , He should avail himself of tho privilege of nominating a firm and staunch friend , in private life ; an able and thoroughly hard working Mason , whether in Lodge , Chapter or Preceptory , one who did his work with love for tho true interests of Masonry ; ono who not only worked

with talent and skill in tho various degrees , but who was closely identified with tho Masonic Charities of our Province , in the real interests of which he was ever ready to work . Ho therefore proposed their esteemed Brother Sir Knight J . B . Gover as Eminent ; Preceptor for the ensuing year . This proposition being seconded b y Sir Knight L . D . Westcott , was put to tho ballot , which was unani .

mous . The Treasurer , Sir Knight Austin P . E . P ., being proposed and seconded to retain that office , received tho united votes of all present , added to which came tho thanks of tho Preceptory , freely expressed , for the able manner he had , for so long , carried out the duties of his office , to the well-being of the Veterans Preceptory . Sir Kuight J . B . Gover , Constable of the Preceptory , expressed hia

deep sense of tho honour conferred by the Sir Knights , by their unanimous election , of himself to fill the chair of Eminent Perceptor , giving his heartfelt thanks , and stating it would bo his special privilege to maintain the reputation and position the "Veterans" had earned for their Preceptory . Tho Treasurer , Sir Knight Austin P . E . P ., in giving a few words of thanks for the honour of election and

tho kindly sentiments of all present towards himself , stated thafc what ho had done in the past would , to tho best of his ability , bo repeated in tho future . TJpon tho suggestion of Sir Knight J . Watts P . E . C , supported by Sir Knight Charles Godtschalk , who severally detailed what had taken place at the last meeting of Convent General , on 8 th December last , in London , at which meeting certain

resolutions were carried in reference to tho words " Masonic , " " First and Second Captains , " " Post Rank , " & c , and urging energetically upon all Sir Knights who had the right of voting in Convent General , the necessity and advisability , even at personal inconvenience to themselves , to be present and record their votes in favour of those resolutions being confirmed . The Preceptory having been closed , the Fraters retired , after a most successful and pleasant meeting .

ABDUCTION OP WILLIAM MORGAN . —In the year 1826 , a painful circumstance occurred , which for awhile created a panic . Masonio societies had for some time existed in the United States to a very considerable extent ; but it was not generally supposed that there was anything objectionable in their character . A man , however , named William Morgan , living at Batavia , in Genesee

County , New York , conceived a dislike to these associations , and , knowing something about their organisation , announced his intention of publishing a book which should disclose what he called the secrets of Freemasonry . On Monday , 11 th September , this man was taken from his home , under pretence of a criminal process , conveyed into Ontario County , a distance of fifty miles from his domicile , examined ,

and discharged . In the evening he was again arrested on a charge as frivolous as tho first , thrown into goal by the persons who had taken the original proceedings , once more discharged , aud immediately afterwards once more seized—this time in the obscurity of night . The last arresfc had a much moro alarming character than tho two former . Tho man was gagged , bound , and forced into a

carriage , which was rapidly driven off . In this way he was conveyed a hundred miles without interruption , and , as relays of horses were prepared along the whole lino of road , it was evident that his abduction was the result of an organized scheme . It came out in subsequent inquiries that Morgan was carried towards the Canadian frontier , ' where he was lodged within tho walls of an

unoccupied fort . What ultimately became of him has never been clearly known . He mysteriously disappeared , and although it could never be proved that ho was murdered , it is nofc easy to avoid the conviction that he met his death by treachery and violence . Ifc is supposed that he was taken in a boat by night to the Niagara , and there drowned . A body , thought to bo thafc of Morgan , was

subsequently found below Forb Niagara ; but it was impossible to identify it , and , notwithstanding thafc the Legislature of New York passed an Act ordering a strict investigation of the subject , and some Freemasons were charged with murder , a conviction could not be obtained . The report of the New York Committee of Investigation confirmed the general suspicion that the unfortunate man had been

assassinated , and the agitation of the public mind was so great thafc it was proposed to exclude Freemasons from oflico . An anti-Masonic party was formed , which , having in a few years spread over several States , held a convention at Philadelphia in 1831 . This party endeavoured to influence the elections , but , after a brief period of activity , collapsed aud disappeared . —From " Cassell's History of the United States . "