To Our Readers.

TO OUR READERS .

The Freemason is a sixteen-page weekly newspaper , price 2 d . It is published every Friday morning , and contains thc most important , interesting , and useful information relating to Freemasonry in every degree . Annual subscription in the United Kingdom , Post free , 10 / -

NEW POSTAL RATES . Owing to a reduction in the Postal Rates , the publisher is now enabled to send the " Freemason " to the following parts abroad for One Year for Twelve Shillings ( payable in

advance ) : —Africa , Australia , Bombay , Canada , Cape oi Good Hope , Ceylon , China , Constantinople , Demerara , France , Germany , Gibraltar , Jamaica , Malta , Newfoundland , New South Wales , Neyv Zealand , Suez , Trinidad , L ' nited States of Ameiica , Sic .

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COLONIAL AND FOREIGN SUBSCRIBERS are informed that acknoyvledgments of remittances received are published in the first number of every month . NOTICE . —It is very necessary for our friends to advise us of all money orders they remit , more especially those from the United States of America and India ; otherwise we cannot tell where to credit them .

To Advertisers.

TO ADVERTISERS .

The freemason has a large circulation in all parts of the Globe , its advantages as an advertising medium can therefore scarcely be overrated . For terms , position , & c , apply to GEOROE KENNING , 198 , Fleet-st .

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NOW READY . VOLUME 8 OF THE " FREEMASON , " from January to December , 1875 , bound in cloth , with richly embossed device on cover . Price 15 shillings . This volume forms a first class reference and chronology of the leading events in Masonry during the past year . It may be had through any bookseller , or at the oflice , 198 , Fleet-st ., London . NOW READ ** . Reading Covers , to take 52 numbers of the " Freemason , " price 2 / 6 , may be had at thc office , 19 S , Fleetstreet .

Answers To Correspondents.

Answers to Correspondents .

All Communications , Advertisements , & c , intended for insertion in the Number of thc following Saturday , must reach the Office not later tha . r 12 o ' clock on Wednesday morning . YOUNG COMP . —We believe on the left . BOOKS RECEIVED . "Bengal Freemasons' Diary" for n 76 ; "Shipping Legislation ; " "The Advertisers' Manual ; " "A guide to Furnishing , " by Oetzmann & Co . ; " Ricordo della Festa dell Ordine Della R . Log . Areopago e Cap . anziani Virtuosi all Or . de Livorno , " Firenze , 1876 ; " Le Monde Maconnique ; " "Ten Years' Retrospect , " by Bro . Rev . R . H . Baynes , P . P . G . C . Warwickshire , and P . M . 254 ; " Revista Internazionale , " Firenzi , 1876 . The following communications stand over : —P . G . Mark Lodge , Leicestershire ; Chislehurst Lodge , 1531 ; Valparaiso Lodge of Harmony , 1411 ; St . Mark's Lodge , 857 ; Masonic Ball at Liverpool .

Births, Marriages, And Deaths.

Births , Marriages , and Deaths .

[ The charge is 2 s . 6 d . for announcements , not exceeding four lines , under this heading . ] BIRTH . HARDCASTLE . —Wife of Mr . Edward , M . P ., of a daughter , at Elvaston-place , Quccn ' s-gate , Alarch 26 . MARRIAGES . RoBiNs-BuTTnitiiELo . — On the 25 th ult ., at St . George ' s , Hanover-square , Francis , son of C . T . Robins , of Buckhurst-hill , Essex , to Fanny Maria , daughter of the late F . Butterfield . STOVF . L-SAXBV . —On 21 st ult ., at Faversham Church , Ebcnczer Stovel , of New York , to Harriet , only daughter of W . Saxby , Esq ., of Faversham . DEATHS . Buititoyvs . —On the 25 th ult ., at Brighton , Bro . Sir John Cordy Burrows , aged 62 . SciviEn , Mrs . ( for many years matron of the Cancer Hospital ) , aged 64 , March 23 . HALL , Mr . Thomas J ., late Chief Metropolitan Magistrate , at Leamington-road-villas , Paddington , aged 87 , March : o , VIGNE . —On thc 26 th inst ., at Pembridge-place , Bayswater , Caroline , widow of A . Vigne , Esq . REYNOLDS . —On the 27 th inst ., at his residence , 81 , Caversham road , N . W ., Thomas ( Tom ) Reynolds , second son of William Reynolds , ol Dartmouth House , Dartmouth Park Hill , N ., and Charterhouse-street , E . C , aged 34 . KonnEST . —At Killigreyv-street , Falmouth , on the 18 th ult ., Charles , fifth son of the late Mr . Thomas Forrest , a ^ ed 16 years .

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TheFreemason, SATURDAY , Aran 1 , 1876 .

The Return Of Our Royal Grand Master.

THE RETURN OF OUR ROYAL GRAND MASTER .

Baron Reuter announces in the " Times " of Monday that the Serapis , that His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales , arrived at Suez on Saturday morning at 8 o ' clock , an J that he left Cairo at a quarter to I the same afternoon ,

accompanied by M . de Lesseps , Zaki Pasha , Casim Pasha , and Chereef Pasha . Our Royal Grand Master arrived at Csiro at 6 . 40 a . m . on the 26 th , and was received by the Khedive , the Croyvn Prince , Mohamed Tewlick , the Prince

Hussein Kamil Pasha . The Grand Duke Alexis of Russia yvas likeyvise present . A guard of honour was drawn up in line , and a military band p layed " God save the Queen " as the Royal train entered the station . The Khedive

conducted the Prince to the Ghezireh Palace , yvhich has been assigned to His Royal Highness and the members of his suite as a residence while in his capital . The " Times " special correspondent telegraphs from Cairo on the 26 th ult . as follows : —From the departure from Aden , at

I . IJ on Monday morning , the 20 th , until the arrival at Suez on Saturday , at 8 a . m ., the weather ¦ was favourable for the voyage of the Serapis , accompanied by the Raleigh and Osborne . The sea was quiet and smooth , the thermometer standing at 80 . No incidents worth recording

occurred during the voyage . The cement of the hull of the Serapis was covered by an accumulation of barnacles , which prevented a hi gh rate of speed being attained . On anchoring in Suez Roads the Egyptian men-of-war saluted the squadron . Lord and Lady Lytton , Colonel and

Mrs . Burne , Chereef Pasha , Mustafa Pasha , General Stanton , Mr . Gordon , M . de Lesseps , Captain Willoughby , Mrs . West , and others were received on board the Serapis by the Prince of Wales at breakfast . Lord Lytton had a long conversation with His Royal Highness , and

accompanied the Prince to the station , where he took a cordial farewell . A special train conveyed the Prince to Cairo , where the Khedive and the Princes , the'Grand Duke Alexis of Russia and suite , and many distinguished persons awaited his arrival . At 6 o ' clock p . m . the Prince drove

to the Ghezireh Palace with the Khedive and a grand Guard of Honour . The Khedive there took leave of the Prince , who entertained the Grand Duke Alexis at dinner , and went to the Opera in the evening . Cairo is very full . The Prince visited the Khedive , with some of the

suite , privately , and had a long conversation with him . Sir Bartle Frere had interviews with the Khedive after the visit of the Prince , and also with General Stanton and Mr . Rivers Wilson . Lord Alfred Paget left for Italy this morning .

The Prince dined with the Grand Duke Alexis at the Viceroy ' s Palace of EI Noussa this evening . The Prince leaves for Malta on Saturday evening . The Grand Duke accompanies him in a Russian frigate .

The Plans For The Enlargement Of The Girls' School.

THE PLANS FOR THE ENLARGEMENT OF THE GIRLS' SCHOOL .

We have abstained from alluding to the various proposals put forward because we are inclined to think , on the whole , that such matters are best left to the proper authorities , and because we have often seen the evil of outside pressure in favour of some special scheme , which enlists in

its favour what the Americans term the "lobby . We have previously said that we truit in all the proposed alterations the interest of the school and the welfare of the Craft will mainly , nay , solely , be considered , and that , we venture to deem , should be the great aim of the

Subcommittee ' s recommendation , and of the General Committee and the Quarterl y Court ' s approval . Any questions of personal consideration or of personal interest ought at once to be suppressed , alike for the sake of our orphans and

in deference to our generous Craft , whose gifts are prompted solely by a wish to befriend the forlorn children of our brethren , and to advance the great and good cause of Masonic benevolence ! Two proposals seem mainly to commend themselves to our notice , those of Bros .

The Plans For The Enlargement Of The Girls' School.

Col . Creaton and Monckton , while Bro . Nunn seems to be desirous still of looking on , and building the school of the future . The great objection to moving from the present site seems to be that there is no evidence so far that it is likely to be wanted , as was said originally , for railway

purposes for some time to come , and therefore on every ground we are bound it appears to us , to utilize our present commodious and healthy situation . If by an extension of the present school buildings anything like fifty additional pupils can bs comfortably accommodated we

would say , by all means let us adopt our Bro . Col . Creaton ' s , as we understand , modified proposal , as we are bound to guard against a tendency , common just now , unnecessarily to increase the annual demands on the school , to cheapen too much , so to say , the great

privileges of our noble Orphan Institution . Some able brethren hold that we must be on our guard against a proneness to pauperize Freemasonry , by holding out too many inducements of material advantage and benefit to be obtained by Masons , and we confess that we feel there is

some force in their arguments . But to a reasonable and practical proposal like that of our gallant Bro . Col . Creaton , whose worth and zeal we all equally admire and acknowledge , there can be no possible objection , and we hope that it may receive the unanimous support , as no doubt it

will , both of the Quarterl y Court and the Craft . To Bro . Monckton ' s proposal no objection could be made , if need be found for the admission of eighty instead of fifty new pupils , except that which necessarily arises from two establishments and two sets of teachers , lt is obviously better

to concentrate all our efforts on one school , on one system , under one efficient head , than run the chance of having opposing systems , and even rival elements , introduced into the organization of the Girls ' School . If indeed it could be shown that the present site is unhealthy , or

being closed in , or likely to be wanted in a short time , then we would respectfully say , build and prepare for the future elsewhere , and sell the existing site ; but if not , prudence and economy alike suggest to us the advisability of not running into large building operations needlessly , but of

making the best use we can of existing materials , for a judicious and sufficient enlargement of the school . If we educate well 200 orphans we shall be doing a good work . There are noyv 15 z girls in the school , so that if we can accommodate fifty more we shall bring up the number to 200 , leaving a small margin for purchased admissions ,

which probably average two or three yearly . May the decison of the General Committee and Quarterl y Court tend to the happy progress of that most meritorious and well managed institution—the Royal Masonic Institution for Girls . We shall recur in our next to the decision of the General Committee . which met on Thursday last .

Masonic Morality.

MASONIC MORALITY .

It is very odd how persevering are the charges against our peaceful and well conducted fraternity , which uniformly represent thern it , in the ecclesiastical and classic style of the Vatican as composed ofthe "children of Satan , " or as secret conspirators , enemies to religion , to society , to order ,

and to law . Whence comes this hopelessness of utterance ?—this plethora of abuse ?—this extremity of ignorance ?—this pomposity of impertinence ? It is indeed very difficult to say . If in some foreign countries it be true even that some individual lodges and Masons have signalized themselves by indiscreet words and

unjustifiable avowals , we are not aware of any Grand Orient or Grand Lodge which has done so , and certainly in the whole of Anglo-Saxon Freemasonry there can , in this respect at any rate , neither be room for suspicions nor cause for complaint . Indeed , we are sometimes to-day astounded at the recklessness with which the bitter

writers ofa Jesuit or Ultramontane school invent , yes , purely invent , libellous charges against our Order . It is true that in France and Belg ium , as we venture to think , very unwise changes have been made a short time back in the "

landmarks , " so to say , of Freemasonry—so much so as to lend what force there be in Bishop Dupanloup ' s irate , if polished , criticisms . But even admitting this to be so , a fact we in common with all Anglo-Saxon Masons sincerely regret , it by no means justifies the wholesale