Correspondence.

CORRESPONDENCE .

We do not hold ourselves responsible for the opinions of our Cor . respondents . All Letters must bear the name anl address of the Writer , not necessarily for publication , but as a guarantee of good faith . We cannot undertake to return rejected communicdttoiis . — : o : —

CANDIDATES FOR THE SCHOOL

To the Editor of the FREEMASON s CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —As the April elections of Boys and GirlB to the Schools of the Royal Masonio Institutions will take place very shortly , a few statistics concerning the candidates might not prove uninteresting or out of place . I must premise that my figures are approximate only , not fractionally correot . There are

65 boys and 28 girls anxionsly looking forward for the resnlt of the polling j ' of the 65 boys , 12 only can be elected , whioh , with two cases , Nos . 32 and 60 , withdrawn , leaves 51 to try again in October , or be left oat in the cold through being disqualified by age ; as there are no less than 11 with whom this is the Inst chance . The average age of the boy applicants is 9 years , varying from 7 years and 5 months to

10 years and 11 months ; one case being one month within the extreme limit , the fathers of these three have subscribed from i to 32 $ years , or an average of 9 years 7 £ months , bnt only 13 of them , or one-fifth of the whole number , are recorded as having served a Stewardship or made thotnselves Life Subscribers , Governors , or Vice-Presidents of any of our Institutions . Of the 78 girl applicants

22 are to be elected , leaving only 6 unsuccessful . There is only one girl ( No . 5 , Mason ) with a last chance , but as she brings forward 1 , 388 votes , her snccess may be looked upon as a certainty . The average age of the applicants is 9 years 7 § months ; from 7 years 4 months to 10 years 9 months ; their fathers have subscribed from 3 J years to 24 years , or on an average of over 9 | years , but 5 only

are credited with in any way assisting the Masonic Institutions . Of the total of the candidates ( 91 ) 5 have both parents living—74 have the mother only—3 the father only—and 10 neither . The number of children dependent in each family ranges from 1 to 10 , making an average of 4 i to each . While writing on this subject , I would call attention to what to me appears—if I may say so call

it—handicapping a candidate unfairly . I allude . to the case of Simpson s , No . 14 , last chance ; one of 5 dependent on a widowed mother . What right has this case to be singled out for the remark that he has a brother in Christ's Hospital , when I am informed , on undoubted authority , that the father of Pratt , No . 24 , one of three only , and the

mother alive still , is in receipt of a government pension ; yet there is no mention of that circumstance against that boy's name , and he has four more opportunities . If it is necessary or wise to mention what extraneous aid outside Freemasonry any member of a candidate ' s family may receive , it shonld be done in all cases , or none . Yours fraternally aud faithfully , P . M . 1607 .

The Late Election Of Grand Treasurer.

THE LATE ELECTION OF GRAND TREASURER .

To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —Without entering into the question of the advisability of making the Grand Treasurership a yearly appointment , it would seem that seme explanation should be given as to how it came to pass that the proposer of the Grand Treasurer elect stated

openly that that " Brother had faithfully served the Craft for forty years . " The brother in question was initiated in Lodge No . 46 , in December 1846 , and continued a subscribing member for two years .

He did not join again until December 1876 , —as can be proved by Grand Lodge Returns , —when he became first W . M . of the Aldersgate Lodge , No . 1657 . How can any one , in the face of this , make out " forty years membership P " Yours faithfully and fraternally , " ON THE SQUARE . "

APRIL FOOLS ?—We could not help asking ourselves who really were April Fools on Wednesday last , though March bad not left us , and the day dedicated to fools proper was yet some days off . It happened in this wise . We paid a visit on the day mentioned to the London Cottage Mission , 67 Salmon ' s-lane , Limehouse , at the new Hall there , and saw one of the weekly Irish Stew Dinners given to the

• wretched lot of children who crowd in hundreds to be fed , and not only children , but men and women—the men mostly discharged labourers and such like , out of work , and the women either their wives or the wives of those too ill to leave their miserable homes and crawl as far as the Mission Hall , and whose share of Irish Stew was sent to them in jugs , basins , or cans of all sorts and sizes . Then came the question

as to April Fools . We all—that is most of ns—spend a great deal of money in a lot of useless ways , and even when we do give any away , give it away to anybody that asks us without asking a question . Is that an act of folly ? Now , here is a case where we can all be sure we are acting wisely by sending all the little help we can to a really deserving charity , and can feel on Sunday next that our first act on

the 1 st of April was one we can look back again on with real pleasnre and without any fear of being classed with those whose " nameday " it is . The offices of the London Cottage Mission are at 44 Finsbury Pavement , E . C , where Mr . Walter Austin , the Director of the Mission , will most thankfully receive all contributions , as will Miss Napton , the Lady Superintendent , at 304 Burdett-road , Limehouse , E .

Masonic Tidbits.

MASONIC TIDBITS .

FROM THE VOICE OF MASONRY .

TjINJOYMENTS . —It is a little singular , and yet no leas true , that J-i the enjoyments of old people are , to a certain extent , similar to those of youth . The yonng look forward with hope and gladness to a future glowing in the warm sun of the spring . time when the flowers are fresh and fragrant , and the birds are shouting their songs from orchard and forest . The future is yet in the shadow , dark clouds may yet lower , bnt they are still below the horizon ,

and the rumbling of the tempest is too far off to be heard . Hard struggles and dark days , anxious cares and diappointed hopes , with , many a gloomy hour and sleepless night await them , but the young and hopeful know it not , —and they are happy ! But the aged have passed through it all . They have made the voyage , wrestled with the storm , and , after having endured it all , are now nearing the haven of quiet and safety , where there is secure anchorage and perpetual rest—song and crown and fadeless youth :

" They are standing by the river , They are waiting on the shore . " MASONIC VETERANS . —These thoughts were suggested by reading lately , in some Masonio paper , about a re-nnion of Masonio veterans in some Eastern State , I think . Near a hundred venerable workmen from the Temple sat down to a sumptuous banquet , prepared for

them by the members of the Lodge located in the town where they met . The good things which burdened the table were enjoyed , amid the sunshine of familiar faces , kind fraternal greetings , and warm grasps of the hand . Old times were talked over , old memo , ries revived , anecdote and incident came in to brighten the scene and shed a richer glow on table and group—grey heads and

tottering limbs . Ifc was the enjoyment of young life again , enriched by the toils and cares and experiences of many years . And so passed the evening away , while the table and the hall , and the gathered fathers enjoyed the life and warmth of sunnier days once more . And why not more of such re-nnions ? Why not make them as regular as the annual meetings of the Grand Lodge ? Many years

ago I arranged for suoh an organisation in Ohio—the first in the West , and wrote out in brief the nature and objects of it . The late Judge Thrall , Past Grand Master , George Rex , subsequently Grand Master , John M . Barriere , Kent , Jarvis , and other old and distinguished Masons , most of whom are now under the sod , gave the movement their cordial approval and support . Arrangements were

made for a meeting of the veterans , to which was added a collation . I secured the attendance of a yonng brother who was a fine vocaliifc , with a promise that he would sing a song for the " old folks . " After the supper and greetings and reminiscences , the song was called for . It was appropriate , and bore the title of " Forty Years Ago , " and he sang it well . The veterans listened , their faces wreathed in smiles ,

old names and old memories came back , and the co-workers in forest and quarry and Temple seemed to mingle in the throng , and many a tear rolled down venerable cheeks—and all were happy . I never shall forget that evening of social enjoyment with the old workmen who had " borne the burden aud heat of the day , " and were now enjoying the companionship , in the evening of life , of

their fellow-labourers of other and earlier years . It was like the summer sunlight after the dark clouds had rolled away , and the tempest had hushed and folded its wings in slamber . That association still lives and prospers , and its annual re-unions are green spots in the declining years of the fathers , and are looked

forward to with most pleasant anticipations . Why not have such an association in every State , and even in the large cities ? Give the fathers a cheer on their downward pathway , and add to their enjoyment while they " rest from their labours "—awaiting the summons to " come up higher , "—Where Faith is lost in sight , Hope ended in fruition , and Charity alone remains .

REPORTS ON MASONIC CORRESPONDENCE . —We can learn much from little things—from small items picked up from the highways and byeways of Freemasonry . Indeed , if we were to observe with more care the small matters which go to make up the aggregate , we shonld have a better knowledge of larger things—the greater thoughts and greater information . Life is made up of minutes , and great

inflaences and great achievements are woven from infinitesimals . I have often thought that if Freemasons would more oarefnlly study the small items that may beionnd all along the paths of Masonio lifefrom Lebanon to Zarthan , and then to Moriah—it would be better for all interested . We might not have suoh expensive halls and furniture , nor such grand displays and gorgeous regalias , nor so

many expensive banquets and receptions ; but we should know more about pure Freemasonry , understand it better , and practise its precepts more closely . I have been reminded of all this by reading some Eeports on Foreign Correspondence sent me . We all know the general object and character of snch Reports , but we rarely study the valuable

items that are compressed into these larger documents , by the often un-requited labour of some patient and hard working brother . We might gather many a little scrap of Masonic knowledge , the aggregate of which would add largly to our stores . There are questions about Masonic law and usage settled , details of events transpiring among the Craft j notices of movements and measures designed to promote the usefulness of the Institution and increase its general

prosperity . I do not know of any collection which contains so much of the current history of Freemasoury for thirty or forty years past as do the Reports on Foreign Correspondence made to the Grand Lodges of the United States . Every Freemason should endeavour to procure , as published , as many as possible of these Reports , and file them away in his library . If he has not time to read them as prooured , they can wait for future inspection . Besides , they constantly increase in value , as copies become scarcer and more difficult