Original Correspondence.

" C ' est done a la charite' Europe ' enne que nous faisons _ p Cl . Elle ne nous fera pas defaut certes ! "Nous commenceror . s par nous occuper des veuves et j , orp helins . " Le President ,. ] . D'Istria . " Philippopolis , le 8 Aout , 1876 . « Lc Comite est compose comme suit : —President , M .

1 d'Istria , Vice-Consul de France ; Vice-President , M . ' it . E . Tacchella , ne ' gociant Italien ; members , M . Schuyler Secre ' taire de Legation et Consul-Ge ' ne ' ral des Etats 0 , ' , * .- ; d'Amerique a Constantinople ; le Prince Tzeretelew , Secrf taire d'Ambassade charge du Vice-Consulat de Rus' . * . » . M . d'Adelbourg , Vice-Consul d'Autriche-Hongrie ;

j / . A . Matala , Vice-Consul de Grece . Secre ' taire , M . j \ r"hiritch , Drogman du Vice-Consulat d'Autriche-Honnrie ; Caissier , la Maison Tachell 1 et Vermazza . " Les dons peuvent e ' tre adresse ' s a Constantinople aux Coi ' . sulats-Generaux de France , de Russie , d'Autriche-Hongrie , d'ltalie , et des Etats Unis d'Ame ' rique . "

LOST ON WASTDALE . The following letter has been addressed to the Editor of the " Times " : — Sir , —As I am now staying for a few days at the Wastdale Hotel and have been able to collect all that has been isrrrtained UD to the uresent time relative to Mr . Barnard

jt will probably interest his many anxious relatives and friends to know the results of a fortnight ' s unremitting search . Local opinion seems now to have settled down into the belief , —either ( 1 ) that he missed the track near ihis place or ( 2 ) that he missed it when in Ennerdale , and may have missed the stream-course that is nearly opposite the spectator when at the top of the Black Sail

pass . If the first supposition is taken , then it is thought probable that Air . Barnard diverged from the path near the « -ate out of the first enclosure from this place , went up the Afosedale stream-course to the steep and rocky ground under what is called Windy Gap , and so crossed the ridge , and made for the low ground of Ennerdale either by the

Eastern or Western flanks of the mountain called Steeple . Two young men actually made this mistake last Saturday afternoon , and went up the stream-course above-mentioned , but finding themselves enveloped in mist and on very rough ground prudently returned to Wastdale . If the second supposition is taken , then it is thought that after Mr . Barnard went a certain way up the streamcourse " opposite to Black Sail ) , he took a rough sort of

mm to the left , passed a small tarn , and , after sighting Buttermere , attempted to descend by a precipitous descent under the Haystacks , down what is , I believe , locally called Black Beck . A sandwich and a half , wrapped up in a portion of the "Newcastle Daily Chronicle" of August 10 th , was found yesterday on the Eastern slope of Steeple , two-thirds of the way down . As Mr . Barnard was locally connected with Newcastle , this possible clue is being closely followed

up . This is all that has been ascertained after a fortnight ' s steady search . Our fears are now , either that Mr . Barnard sank exhausted in the rough ground between Steeple and the track from Black Sail or that he lies among the rocks of Ulack Beck . I will only venture to add that , after several conversations with Mr . Barnard ' s cousin , Mr . lames F . Barnard , I

have come deliberately to the opinion that Mr . Barnard is Mill to be looked for on these mountains . Mr . , | ames F , Billiard has been staying here for ten days and has been untiring in his efforts and in conducting and pro ng the search . Your obedient servant , C . J . GLOUCESTER AND BRISTOL . Wastdale Head Hotel , August 28 , 1876 .

A Little Friendly Gossip On Some Of The Topics Of The Day.

A LITTLE FRIENDLY GOSSIP ON SOME OF THE TOPICS OF THE DAY .

BY 1 'HII . ANTHROPOS . ; { H ' ritten Especially for Ihe " Freemason . " ) No . 3—EDUCATION . —Continued .

1 think we have arrived at this deduction from all that kas been antecedently stated , that Elementary Education must be universal and compulsory by some means or ° fer , but that it is by no means necessary or advisable to ' * y down any hard and fast line of a rigid uniformity , inasmuch as there is clearly room for two principles of

rfucation , the Board School and the Denominational It would be highly unjust to endeavour to force down upon " 1 unwilling people one so called comprehensive system , lll < l in order to do so to compel the Denominational school 1 ( 1 close , or to be transferred to a School Board . 11 is quite clear that not only is there room for both

s )' stcm <* , but that they arc actually needful to the elasticity 5 na freedom of our English national life and sympathies . " ¦ "long as the denominational schools conform to the re-1 ui " cmcnts of the State , so long as they take the public "" "ley , and submit to public inspection and the directing c'Je of the Council of Education , so lone as thev are

con-UU < - < efficiently and properly , so long have they a right '" y ground of fair play and consideration to the tolea , ' <* e and countenance of the State . . "y several recent provisions , very wisely enacted . toy opinion , the position of denominational schools will rendered , I think , somewhat easier , and that

inexbtt con » lct and rivalry which were rapidly rising up r '' Board Schools , erected and carried on by public I , es ' and national and denominational schools supported j ^ voluntary subscriptions and a capitation grant will , I ftat ' * Put a stop to . It is evident on the face of it ( 'hat Boar" * 1-icn & 0 ' system cannot be carried on directly , ra , ls t 0 sa y > of large schools maintained out of public alone ) , without one of two things happening , either

A Little Friendly Gossip On Some Of The Topics Of The Day.

that the voluntary system goes down before the Board School system , or that the denominational schools are handed over to the . School Board , inasmuch as those whose pockets have already had to contribute to the School rate , will hardly , even for conscience sake , pay twice over for the same thing . In this way an unhealthy and unnatural competition is

created as between the two sets of schools , and the average of expenses and of salaries being higher under the School Board system than under the denominational , it follows that wherever School Boards exist , the voluntary schools , to use a sporting phrase , are too heavily handicapped in the race . Everything , therefore , that tends to give the

denominational system free course , a fair field and no favour , is to be greatly desiderated in the interests of education . For let us be just in this matter , which , in the heat of party strife , and in the fervid declamation of the platform and the political caucus or for a set purpose in public , we very often are not . Let us remember gratefully what strides education has made in

this country within the last quarter of a century , long before Board Schools existed , and entirely owing to the denominational system . Indeed , it is not too much to say that had the half-time system been applied to all trades and labour twenty years ago , education in this country would have made by this time a giant ' s progress .

As it is , we should never lose sight of the great and progressive ~ impn > vement in the educational status of great Britain , which we ourselves have witnessed year by year , for the last twenty-five years . I know that some foolish persons , some perverse partizans , have averred that in all denominationalism has done it has only sought to perpetuate the influence of the

denomination , not to educate the people , and that , therefore , we owe no thanks for what has been carried on , chiefly to promote the great end and the lasting principles of denominational selfishness . But I , for one , utterly deny that such proposition is in any sense true , and 1 utterly repudiate any such motives or views on the part of those who have so laboriously and so self-sacrificinglv sought to give

a religious education to our English people . Neither do I think that it is fair to charge any religious body , much less the Church of England , with being hostile to education per se , and only tolerating it and trying to keep it in its own hands , for its own purposes . As Lord Sandon well and truly said in the House of Commons , persons do not voluntarily subscribe

ten millions , for instance , for a purpose of which they do not approve , or which they are hostile to , or which they da not really care for , and ' are insincere about . And whatever stump orators may from time to time advance , the great mass of the working classes in this country is fully aware and convinced that none have worked harder or laboured more manfully , from the first , to

extend education generally , than those poorly paid , and zealous and devoted men who make up the working clergy of the Church of England . Canon Mosely , long a Government Inspector of Schools , said , once upon a time , not so very long ago , that it was no exaggeration that , when he spoke , two-thirds of the education of the country was kept up by the personal influence and personal

sacrifices of the clergy . Let us hope that wc have heard the last of these foolish charges , which seem principally to come from " iconoclasts " and agitators , but aie never , as far as I am aware , and never will be endorsed , I may boldly aver , by the real working classes in this country . I have said all this because I am anxious to meet a popular theory , that for

the sake of uniformity , arc , it would be better to have one system of elementary instruction all through England , and that had better be the Board School system . Now I entirely differ from this view on the grounds previously stated , and because I for one do not feel that confidence in the Board School system or administration which would justify me in depriving the denomination of its absolute

and inherent claim to educate , in ignoring the conscientious objection of the parent or religious teacher , and in attempting by an unhealthy competition to close the denominational schools , and thus practically to confiscate their property , and deprive them ; arbitrarily both of a privilege , a liberty , and a right . Many of the proceedings of the Board Schools have not commended themselves to the English mind . The unwise persecution of the rasrrred schools

doing a good work , the harshness shewn in many cases to the poor , the tendency to multiply schools unnecessarily , and to run them , so to say , in opposition to existing schools , the grave expenditure in general , and the high ratio of administrative charges in particular , all make thinking people hesitate before they aid in destroying a system which has done and is doing so well , and in setting up another of which the present position is hazy , and of which the future success is problematical .

I say all this with some reserve , as the statements are perhaps a little colouied , but on the position I have already laid down , 1 object to an enforced uniformity of system . Admitted , if you like , that there was a necessity for the School Board pet se , for sch . iols for our educational centres , concede if you will , that it was most advisable to

supplement existing deficiencies , and to developc available means , to revive , perhaps , what was languishing , and to throw fresh vigour into that which was dormant or decaying—in all this most , I think , will concur . But when it is seen that concessions have not satisfied the clamorous , and that changes have not appeased the lovers of change ,

but that what is really wanterl and sought for is a substitution of a State elementary system for the denominational system , a very large section of us all will have welcomed the recent enactments of wise legislation , which have not encouraged such hopes or plans , but have , on the contrary , sought to solidify and to strengthen the great sys-

A Little Friendly Gossip On Some Of The Topics Of The Day.

tem of denominational schools which like a network spreads all over the country . The Boards of Guardians have been most properly made the judges as to the inability of parents to contribute to the education of their children , while the conscientiou convictions of even such " poor people" have been as properly considered , by enabling Boards of Guardians to

consult their legitimate wishes , or to the school to which their children should be sent . So that if in a given town or district a Methodist parent , or a Roman Catholic parent , or a Church of England parent , or a Baptist parent , receives aid from the rates , the child may be sent to the day school of which the parent conscientiously approves . And against this simple , English , thoroughly-fair , and

manly proposal we have listened recently to objections made in the wildest language , and with the most illogical inconsistency . There is one great gain which arises out of all these discussions , which is , that the attention of the public generally is drawn to this most vital of subjects , most important for us all alike , and that it is no longer to be left

to the mercy of sciolists , to the passions of schools , to the vehemence of political perversity , to the burning animosities of the intolerant , or to the reckless unconcern of the uninterested , the sceptical , and the antagonistic . The feeling of the great mass of Englishmen and Englishwomen of all classes alike undoubtedly is , " Education we will have , education if need be compulsorily , and

we will no longer allow ignorance to stalk in our midst , or our children to grow up as ' wild arabs , ' ' wastrels , ' 'derelicts , ' in the fulness of our contentedness and our civilization , our affluence and advance , our national plenty and our magnificent professions . " But one condition we will add—such education shall also be religious . And , therefore , as the tendency seems

to be even to forbid the Bible to be read ( strange result of all our tolerance and liberty of thought and conscience ) , in sr , me Board schools , and it is quite clear that at any time a popular majority for some reason or other might enforce such a rule in any district where a School Board exists , we prefer to give fair play to that great system which seems to be founded on the religious sympathies of our true hearted people , and which , subject to a conscience

clause , securing the rights of all , and religious liberty and toleration for all , still offers in many thousand schools , a sound and economical , a useful and a religious education to an overwhelming majority of English children . In my next I will give an analysis of the last report of the Committee of the Privy Council on Education , which I have already prepared , but which would make this letter too long .

United Grand Lodge.

UNITED GRAND LODGE .

The following is the agenda of business for the Quarterly Communication on Wednesday , 6 th September , 1876 * . — The minutes of the Quarterly Communication of the 7 th of June for confirmation .. Report of the Lodge of Benevolence for the last quarter , in which are recommendation ' s for the following grants , viz : —

£ s . d . A brother of the St . George and Corner Stone Lodge , No . 5 , Loirdon 50 o o „ „ of the Crystal Palace Lodge , No . 742 , London 50 o o The five orphan children of a' brother of the Lodge of Truth , No . 044 , Bombay so o c

The widow of a brother of the Lodge of Perfect Friendship , No . 376 , Ipswich ... 50 o o Report of the Board of General Purposes to tile United Grand Ledge of Ancient , Free , and Accepted Masons of England : — " Tne Board of General Purposes beg to report that their attention having been directed to an application dated 24 t !>

May , 1876 , from the Lodge of Love and Honour , No . 75 , Falmouth , for the usual Grand Lodge Certificate for the Tyler , who was initiated so long ago as the 8 th April , 1861 , and to certain letters in which it was stated that the said brother was initiated without the necessary dispensation required by Article 9 , page 87 , Book of Constitutions . The Board , after due consideration , although none of the

brethren then in office are now members of the lodge , felt that the lodge—as a lodge—must be held responsible for such a grave irregularity on the part of its farmer officers , but at the same time did not treat the offence with the severity which would under the circumstances have been extended to it . The Board therefore simply ordered that the lodge should pay a fine of one guinea , and that the

Grand Secretary should be empowered to issue the certificate on payment thereof . " The Board desire to especially direct the notice of the Masters and Secretaries of lodges to Art . 26 , page 69 , of the Book of Constitutions , attention to which would at once prevent annoyance to their successors , and the necessity of an appeal to the Executive of Grand Lodge .

( Signed ) " PETEH DE L . LONG , " Vice-President of the Board . " To the report is subjoined a siatem-. nt of the Grand Lodge accounts at the last meeting of the Finance Committee , held on Friday , the nth day of August , showing a balance in the hands of the Grand Treasurer o £ . - ( 228 16 s . , tjd . ; and in the hands ot the Grand Secretary , for petty cash , £ 75 ; and for servants' wages ,

£ nG 15 s . Proposed motions : — 1 . —By V . W . Bro . the Rev . Robert James Simpson , P . G . Chaplain , — That , in accordance with the resolution passed at the last Quarterly Communication of Grand Lodge , the following brethren constitute a Special Committee to consider the best mode of perpetuating in some charitable form our thankfulness to Almi ghty God for the preservation and