Correspondence.

Correspondence .

W . M . IN THE CHAIR . To the Editor of the "Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , As it is very likely that brethren will " agree to differ " as to which is , " according to Cocker , " in the

absence of the law , and as there would be nothing to settle if the Book of Constitutions distinctly declared it obligatory on the part of every W . M . to perform all the functions of his ofiice , lohirh wilt not work , however desirable that might be , I bee ; to quote an instance not inappropriate perhaps at this statje .

Nineteen years ago , the W . M . of a lodge of which I was Secretary asked me to undertake the Third Degree ceremony for him next lodge meeting . I was Preceptor at the time , and consequently very well up ; but was working out an idea of my own to keep as many Past Masters in harness as possible , and , on explaining this to him , the W . M . agreed to ask another P . M . 1 declined ,

however , to recommend . I had hardly taken off my coat next lodge night before I was button-holed by the W . M ., and led into the lodge room , where three Past Masters were talking together . " The W . M . will have it , " said one , " that he is compelled to give up his chair to the P . M . who works the ceremony . We say he is not . What do you

" If I were in a difficulty , " I said , " and asked one of you to help me out of it , 1 could hardly make conditions , but the W . M . certainly need not give up his place unless he likes -it has been customary in this lodge , and , in my opinion , there is nothing more safe to follow than the courtesies of preceding Masters . " " Exactly , " they said , and nothing further then

passed . To my surprise a hitch occurred eluring the evening , and the W . M . called me to the dais . " Bro . P . M . , " he whispered , " won ' t work the ceremony except from the chair . Will you do it for me r " " I am very sorry to decline under the circumstances . "

" But 1 will give up thc chair to you ! " " Worse and worse , " I said , a bit disgusted , and the candidate was shabbil y treated ; the ceremony postponed , and the lodge lost a good member , all through —well , I need not say . However , it settled the question , and no other similar case occurred during the 15 years I was A POPULAR SECRETARY .

To the Editor of the "Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , Your correspondent " P . G . " confuses the individual with the ofiice . The position is defined by paragraph 141 of the Constitutions , and a strict order of precedence prescribed among the Past Masters as to

presiding " in the Master s absence . " In the further instance of a Master not being able or willing to elo a particular ceremony , he cedes his ofiice for the time being to the P . M ., who takes his place , and becomes temporarily a private member . If we take things as literall y as * ' P . G ., " a ceremony must be performed

by the W . M ., it present , and he must withdraw to entitle a P . M . to do it for him , which would not always be desirable , The provision prohibiting the Warden from occupying the chair , implies that a P . M . may , on the correct rendering of that much abused saying , "the

exception proves the rule , with regard to things not excepted . '' 1 would remind " P . G . " that the W . M . has to yield his position , by tbe Constitutions , to the Grand Master or Provincial Grand Master , his Deputy or his delegates . HAROLD LEWIS , P . M . 6 S 6 .

FOR THE GOOD OF FREEMASONRY IN GENERAL . Tothe Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , I do not wish to enter upon the wide discussion opened b y Bro . J . E . Carver , but lo set him right on a

question of tact . F . ach lodge can make what arrangements il thinks just with regard to refreshments . There is no compulsion in the mailer , and there is no uniformity of practice , as Bro . Carver assumes , probably from a purely metropolitan experience . The dinner

after every meeting is looked upon as a London institution . I ran speak for several provinces where an annual dinner is all that is indulged in , and in sonic cases there is no refreshment alter lod ^ e . A P . P . G . OFFICER .

To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir anil Brother , Yoiircorrespondeiil , liro . j . E . Carver , will be glad to know that , within six miles of "the shadows of the Alexandra Palace , " under whicb he resides , there has been established for more than 25 years a lodge which

goes far beyond the statement prescribed by him for lodges generally . It is , and it is not , a banqueting * lodge , as , although after the closing of the lodge , a good , but inexpensive , repast is provided ; it is paid for by those members only

who partake of it ; and visitors , oi whom there is always a goodly number , invariabl y speak highly of the manner in which they are entertained . Tiie lodge , having no banquet lo piovide for out of ltj fund .., lias made its subscription , suni' . wlidl lower

Correspondence.

than those which have to bear that expense , keeping it , however , sufficiently high to ensure the exclusion of undesirable members . All sums received by the lodge are , after deducting working expenses , devoted entirely to Charity , and when a distressed brother applies for aid , he never

fails , if found worthy , to receive substantial relief . A member going up as Steward to either of the Masonic Charities , and there are sometimes two in a year , may always reckon on a vote of 10 or 15 guineas . Nor is the outside world forgotten , as is sometimes shown by their grants at times of exceptional distress or calamity ,

and yet , with all this , I believe it is a rare thing for the balance in hands of Treasurer to fall below three figures . That this method is satisfactory to the members was proved about 10 years ago , when a brother proposed

to change its constitution , and make it a banejueting lodge . The brethren were so unanimous against any such alteration , that the proposition was only seconded for the sake of discussion , and was eventually withdrawn .

Bro . Carver speaks of 20 per cent , for the Chanties as a maximum ; here there is more than 50 per cent , as a minimum , with a substantial balance for emergencies , and the soundness of the system on which the lodge is worked is prove ' d by its steadily increasing prosperity , the large average attendance of its members , and the efficiency of its ceremonial working , which is second

to no lodge in the province where it is situateel . If Bro . Carver and others of a similar way of thinking would use their endeavours to promote the founding of more lodges on a similar basis , 1 am confident they would conduce much to the good of Freemasonry in general , and the support of Masonic Charities in particular . —I am , dear Sir and Brother , yours fraternally ,

P . M . Wood Green , April 30 th .

GRAND LODGE CERTIFICATES . To thc Editor of the "Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , Will you kindly permit me to ask , through the medium of your valuable paper , the following question : Is the production of Grand Lodge

certificates indispensable when visiting lodges r I am prompted to ask this question for the following reason : On the 19 th ult . I presented myself at the Emulation Lodge , Great Queen-street , and informed the Tyler that I desired to be admitted . I was asked if I had my Grand Lodge certificate with me , and I said no ; but

informed him that 1 was fully prepared to undergo the ordinary Masonic tests . These tests did not seem worthy of consideration , and 1 was distinctly told that I could not enter . If the Grand Lodge certificate is indispensable at the Emulation Lodge , wh y is it almost always dispensed with in other lodges , both in London

and the provinces ' : This is a matter of the greatest importance , and , therefore , ought to be more clearly understood . If you or some brother in authority would make this matter clear , a valuable service would , I am sure , be rendered to the Craft generally . —Yours faithfully and fraternally ,

JAMES KAYE , P . M . 275 , P . P . G . D . C . West Yorkshire .

Westbourne House , Dalton , Huddersficld .

ST . PAUL'S CATHEDRAL AND THE CRAFT . To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , I have read with much interest the various letters and articles on this subject and shall be glad if you will allow me a little space . I cannot agree with your

leader as regards the paragraph beginning " It is not every country , & c , " as there are many other fine cathedrals in this country in the grand old Gothic style , while in other lands there are many grand cathedrals exhibiting the very hig hest skill in design . Then why state that St . Paul's Cathedral is the only

one planned and built by Englishmen ' i Surely this is incorrect , as although we know that many of our cathedrals owe much to continental artists , we must be assured that natives did the greater part of the work , and the modern cathedral at Truro is essentially English .

It would be a grand thing if the Craft could assist in the decoration of St . Paul's Cathedral , but we must not forget that as Freemasons we have a dillicult work before us lo keep our thrce Charities in a nourishing condition . —Yours fraternally ,

HENRY LOVEGROVE , P . M ., V . V .. Hboracuin , Heme lIilI , S . E . I ' . S . On page 220 . letter of P . G . I may stale lhat il is a very ordinary thing for the W . M . to vacate the chair to enable a P . M . to perforin a ceremony . —II . I ..

"MASONIC VAGRANTS . " To the Editor of the "Freemason , " Dear Sir and Brother , Your leader of the 30 th March last , should be p laced in the hands of and read by all Secretaries and Almoners , ane ] , in fact by every Mason . F ' or some long

time : past I havc been advocating some system being aelopted to prevent the numerous frauds that are being perpetrated by these " Masonic pests , " especially upon < younger Masons . On Thursday last a man calling himself a Mason came to me for relief . F'inding be had alitad y been in in tlieeaily muiiiiiii ; , enquiiiiii ; uf my

Correspondence.

assistant whether I was young or old , or an invalid , & c . ( to none of which questions he received satisfactory replies ) I asked him if he had a certificate ? He replied in the negative , and as he became argumentative and abusive , I declined to relieve him and told him to leave , unfortunately without noting down his name and the number of his lodge ( if any ) .

Afterwards , he visited ( in some cases two or three times , myself included ) nearly every brother in the town ( he admitted to the court 15 ) , evidently having a most complete list . At last he was taken by the police for begging , and , on Friday , was sentenced to seven days' hard labour ; and , from the way in which he defended himself and argued his case in court , he evidently thoroughly understands his profession . I

trust , ere long , some means may be found to stop this ever-increasing nuisance . I may mention I am now in correspondence with our Prov . Grand Secretary to try and arrange a meeting of the Secretaries of the various lodges in the province , as was done in Kent , and trust other provinces will do the same to discuss this important matter . —Apologising for the length of this letter , 1 am , Dear Sir and Brother , yours faithfully and fraternally ,

WILLIAM SMITH , P . M ., Sec , and Almoner , Sondes , 996 , P . G . Treas . , Norfolk . East Dereham , Norfolk , 29 th April . P . S . —Since writing the above , 1 have , to-day ,

received two more visitors , one professing to belong to the Royal York Lodge , No . 315 , Brighton , and another to the Athol Lodge , No . 15 ( S . C . ) . The former carries no certificate , but a well-worn lodge receipt for initiation fees , 1871 , and the lattcra very dirty , and , 1 should say , frequently-used certificate . —W . S .

Masonic Notes And Queries.

Masonic Notes and Queries .

1068 ] SPANISH FREEMASONRY . A Spanish History of Freemasonry is announced from the pen of Don Nicolas Dias y Perez , to consist of about 67 S pages . The most extraordinary thing about it is that the announcement informs us that Mosen Rubi in 1514 established a Masonic Temple at Avila , and that in 1519 the celebrated Admiral Coligni initiated a great number of Spanish personages in

Catalonia , and later elsewhere . He is the Cologni whose signature is appended to the alleged 1535 charter of Cologne . If these two statements admit of proof , it is clear that as yet the credited historians of the Craft know very little of it . The mistake in methods of history is that all foreign countries have cut themselves adrift from the traces of the Craft in their own countries , in order to establish an English origin for everything . J OHN YARKER .

Reviews.

REVIEWS .

THE INDIAN FREEMASONS' ALMANAC ANO D IARY FOR THE YEAR 1 S 95 . "—This compilation is of an exhaustive character , the particulars covering the whole of British India anti Burma , giving the places , names , times of meeting , & c , of all the lodges , chapters , and other Masonic organisations , with a variety of information " respecting every Degree in Freemasonry , " the editor being the zealous

Craftsman , Bro . P . C . Dutt , Deputy District Grand Master of Bengal , & c , & c , Sx . The printer and publisher , H . J . Haider , Victor Printing Works , 10 , Old Post Office-street , Calcutta , has also done his part admirably . The work runs to over 200 pages , small octavo , so it may be accepted as the largest volume of the kind published under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of England . The directory is

historical , as well as official in character , many of the items of information being of a most interesting character , and evidently carefully digested from trustworthy sources . The "Masonic Notabilia " for each district are features that might well be followed in our Home publications , and there is so much else to be found in this ever welcome and us jj ! ' annual , that we may well be excused referring to thc duet

points in its favour when copies may be had for a rupee . The work aptly illustrates the progress of the Craft in India under English and Scottish auspices , and proves how deep rooted is the love of the Fraternity in that far-oil region , not only with Anglo-Indians , but with Parsees , Hindoos , and Mohammedans . Bro . Dutt spares no pams to ensure accuracy and completeness j and has undoubtedly succeeded in a most satisfactory manner .

"NEW INSTRUCTIONS IN THE SECRET S CIENCES . ' lt may interest thc Rosicrucian members of the Craft to say that Mr . Robert IL Fryar , of Claremont , Bath , has in course of publication the continuation of the Comic HC Cabal is . Thc second part ( complete in itself ) is entitlcei "New Instructions in the Secret Sciences , " is ready , wr the and has been translated for thc first time into

press , English , together with an introduction by Bro . John Yarker . It is . 1 series of witty , satirical , and metaphysical discourses based upon the physics of Jordanus Brunus and Kene Descartes . The former was practically , if not literally , Rosicrucian , and was burnt alive at Venice , in tlie ? ifjao : some Masonic lodtres in Italy and Spain have Dee

named after him ; and Brunus has been adopted as a KO Croix pseudonym by many . Descartes was obliged to » K refuge at Stockholm under the protection of H . " if . ( Jueen of Sweden . The third part ( also comp lete in itse' */ will follow the second , and is probably the most *" tere r ™ '*** . of the thrce . The Relator is a friend of Marshal ™ n ° \ . ber-, who make * , the acquaintance uf Matiiamara , an nu