The Craft In Surrey.

THE CRAFT IN SURREY .

The annual meetings of tlie Provincial Grand Lodge and Provincial Grand Chapter of Surrey were held recently at Caterham , under the presidency of Bro . FRED . Wl'ST , tlie D . P . G . M . and qrtin ° ' Grand Superintendent . The proceedings in Provincial Grand Chapter , which met first , were brief , and need not be

particularly referred to ; but the remarks in the address delivered by the Deputy in Provincial Grand Lodge on the present position of the province are worthy of being noticed . Bro . WEST pointed out that it was the first time the brethren of Surrey had met since the death of their respected chief , the late Bro . Gen .

BROWNRIGG , and that , though immediately on the mournful news of his death reaching England , he , as acting head of the Surrey Craft , had expressed the sympathy of the province with the widow and family of their late P . G . M ., it would be his duty to submit

for their acceptance a resolution of condolence , so that the grief they all felt at the loss might be duly recorded in the minutes of Provincial Grand Lodge . At the same time , he took the opportunity of laying before them in detail the valuable services which their late Provincial Grand Master had rendered to the

Craft in Surrey , pointing out that at the date of his appointment in 1871 the province mustered only 12 lodges and 5 chapters , whereas at'his death there were 34 lodges and 12 chapters . He referred also in terms of eulogy to the interest their late ruler had taken hi everything connected

with Masonry , and especially in the Masonic Institutions , at the Festivals of two of which he had presided as Chairman , while he had personally assisted by his votes and the votes he was able to command , in promoting the success of the Surrey candidates for admission into the

Charities . It was true , Bro . WEST added , that General BROWNRIGG was a strict disciplinarian , but he was also himself strict in the performance of his duties , and so set an example to the brethren , which it would be wise for them to follow . Moreover , he threw his whole heart into the work , and thus , by his

enthusiasm , tempered as it was by his ideas of discipline , he was enabled in the 18 years he presided over them , to increase so largel y the strength of the Craft and extend its influence . Subsequentl y , Bro . WEST submitted a resolution of sympathy on the part of Prov . G . Lodge and Prov . G . Chapter , with Mrs .

BROWNRIGG and her family in their bereavement . Before doing " "is , however , he mentioned the more interesting events which had happened during the past year , such as the celebration of the Jubilee of the East Surrey Lodge of Concord and the success of the Surrey candidates at the School elections . He also gave

some excellent advice to the lodges as to the manner in "Inch their duties should be carried on , and especially on the I 1 ( 'ecssit y there was for them to exercise the greatest caution in admitting candidates into Freemasonry . The other proceedings passed off admirably , f . nd we heartily congratulate Surrey on the Sl " -cess of its annual meeting for 188 9 .

The Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution.

THE ROYAL MASONIC BENEVOLENT INSTITUTION .

tl 1-1 Br ° ' LETCH MASON announced in his letter of last week at he had now concluded his argument , we have but little to m- > 1 ° ~ ° rmer ai'ticle on the expenses incurred in the manage-1 . the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution . He has of H some ° f the points we set before him , while in the case r ° ers ) he has evidently misunderstood the purpose of our shaljf S ' therefore , in the exercise of our right of reply , we cas ' ^ moS < : P * ' ^ t ourselves with summing up the " - - as it now stands between him and us .

leeto - ' 1 aS re S ards the ¦ " duaI set P accounts " and the " Colin ' l s cha rges . " He admits , as regards the former , that it " is ev cnts JI " With ArticIe 47 ' " and there - for the P resent at all opinio ' , f-l 1 " . must enc * - We ' mve already expressed outset [ " ft would save . time and trouble to prepare only one direct ; i ? UntSj" " b T none P ° bab ly ' would a change in this ; thc i n °"., more heartily welcomed than by the official staff of I ; : which '" J }? - ' before this-can be done , Grand Lodge , I established the Male and Widows' Funds , and approved of

The Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution.

the terms and conditions on which they were amalgamated with the Asylum Fund , will have to be consulted . As regards thc ¦ f Collector's charges , " Bro . LETCH MASON says thev " may be ,

and no doubt are , in accordance with the terms and conditions on which" that officer " was appointed , " so that here again any further argument is unnecessary . Whether it would be more to the interest of the Institution that these " terms and conditions "

should be altered on the occurrence of the next vacancy in the Collectorship , or the office abolished altogether and " the work clone in the Secretary ' s office " is a question which the Committee of Management will be called upon to decide when the vacancy occurs .

We are sorry our " criticism on the word ' generally , ' " does not meet with the approval of Bro . LETCH MASON . We were merely desirous of pointing out that the word was too loose a one to employ in argument , and he admits this when he says that our illustration—it was not an " argument . " nor was it intended

as such—could have been carried further , viz ., " one-fifth in every seven years or two-fifths in every ten years . " That was just our point , that the word was vague instead of being precise , and that was why we inserted the word " say " in brackets before " two years out of every three , " & c .

" Printing and Postages , £ 850 16 s . 2 d . " Comparisons are " odorous , " as some one has said . We were not writing about the Girls' School , but about the Benevolent . It is impossible for us to explain why a particular item of expenditure is heavier in the case of one Institution than of another .

"Votes of thanks to Stewards . " With all deference to Bro . LETCH MASON , the principle here involved is whether the Institution shall treat the brethren to whose exertions it is indebted for the bulk of its income shabbily by leaving them to pay for their own votes of thanks and their own entertainment at Croydon , or whether it shall treat them generously to a vote

of thanks all round , with a little tea and toast thrown in for those who wish to see what the Asylum is like , at the " trifling " cost in this instance of "sixteen shillings for every £ 100 " raised through their exertions . The votes of thanks and the hospitality are the small return which the Institution makes to the

Stewards for their services ; the Stewards badges are rightly paid for out of the fees , as they are for the decoration of the brethren who are entitled to wear them . If , however , the " principle " so sturdily maintained by Bro . LETCH MASON is to prevail

in the future , we see no reason why the Stewards should not carry the joke—we beg pardon , the " principle "—a little further and pass the vote of thanks to themselves for their own services . Perhaps the absurdity of the whole thing might then become apparent .

As for the costs for working the Institutions as they stand , it was Bro . LETCH MASON , not we , who entered upon the work of calculation . We maintain that a critic has no right to charee the expenses of the Asylum against the two Annuity Funds , but that is what he did , when he reckoned the cost of obtaining each

annuity at £ 8 2 s . iod . Nor when we spoke about the money spent in the purchase of Stock , had we any idea of suggesting that the actual expense of purchase was more than the trumpery sum paid for brokerage and commission . We dealt with the same figures as Bro . LETCH MASON , and as he seemed desirous

of entering upon a little calculation , we offered him the choice of reckoning the costs of Management either with or without the cost of the Asylum against either the total actual

receipts or the total actual expenditure , less , of course , the working expenses . This is very different from suggesting that the purchase of stock cost anything like an appreciable part of the working expenses . .

We have now done , and it only remains for us to add that we shall always be pleased to engage in argument with Bro . LETCH MASON or any brother who conducts his case as temperately and as courteously as he-has done .

The Question Of Jurisdiction Again.

THE QUESTION OF JURISDICTION AGAIN .

It is difficult to understand how and why it is there should be so many conflicting opinions about a plain question , and still more difficult to explain why some attempt is not made to arrive at a settlement that will prove acceptable and honourable to all