Masonic Notes.

" We think the Past Master ' s Degree may no longer be regarded as requiring further notice . It is an excrescence at best , that either disfigures or deforms the true ritualistic ceremonial of the subordinate lodges . " This is the opinion of a writer in the Voice of Masonry , published in Chicago .

The same writer thus delivers himself on the question of public installations : " On the subject of public installation of officers of lodges we have fully explained our views . All criticism on them that we have read rests on that special pleading called in profane

jurisprudence ' Confession and Avoidance . It is approved , when approved , because it is—and why it is ? is answered that it is a sort of rule . We have yet met with no argument in favour of the innovation which pretends to defend it as within the strict letter of either Masonic law or landmark . "

I he following advertisement appeared in the Times of Oct . 3 , 1798 . In the same number is a despatch from "Sir Horatio Nelson , " recording the Battle of the Nile , with list of killed and wounded :

MASONIC CHARITY for CLOATHING and EDUCATING the SONS of INDIGENT FREE MASONS according to the OLD INSTITUTIONS . A GENERAL MEETING of the SUBSCRIBER to

this INSTITUTION will be held at the King ' s Arms , Greenback , Wapping , on Friday next , the 5 th day of October inst , at 6 o ' clock in the evening , in order to receive Twelve Children into this Charity .

J . Montefiore , Attorney-at-Law , Sec , Sampson ' s Gardens , Oct . 1 , 179 8 . * * # Bro . the Ri ght Hon . the Earl of Lathom , D . G . M . Prov . G . M . of West Lancashire , will lay the foundation stone of the new church SS . Simon and Jude , High

Park , Southport , on Thursday , the nth instant , with Masonic ritual . It is expected that the Fraternity in this large province will muster in strong force , not only to support their honoured chief , but also to hel p the popular rector of the parish , Bro . the Rev . C . Hesketh Knowlys , in this laudable undertaking .

Bro . Col . Le Gendre N . Starkie , Prov . G . M . of East Lancashire , is with the fine regiment under his command ( 3 rd battalion East Lancashire ) now in camp near Southport , for the usual annual 28 days' training . We understand that a petition has been presented to

the M . W . Grand Master for a warrant for a new lodge , to be named the " Centurion , " to be composed exclusively of officers of the auxiliary forces . It is intended to establish the lodge in Manchester , so that

the name will be appropriate , not only on account of its military character , but , if granted , the lodge will be the one hundredth on the roll of the province of East Lancashire .

I he Masonic contributions to the relief fund in aid of the sufferers from the terrible floods at Johnstown and elsewhere , in Pennsylvania , according to the list published in the Keystone , exceeded 826 , 000 . The consecration of the Lennox Browne Lodge , at

Buckhurst Hill , on the 15 th instant , bids fair to be a very interesting function . The promised attendance of many brethren of " ' li ght and leading " in the Craft ,

and the attractions of the nei ghbourhood , to say nothing of the merits of the genial brother whose name it bears , will ensure for the meeting more than ordinary success .

I he announcement in the Court Circular of the 28 th ult . that the Queen had been pleased to give her consent to the engagement of her granddaughter the Princess Louise of Wales , the Prince of Wales ' s eldest daughter to the Earl of Fife . K . T ., has been received

everywhere with the greatest satisfaction , nor is there a Society in her Majesty ' s dominions to which the news can have been more welcome than the Freemasons , who are proud of having the illustrious lad y ' s father for their Grand Master or Grand Patron , proud of

numbering in their ranks the Duke of Connaught and Prince Albert Victor of Wales , and who must be gratified beyond measure to know that the intended husband of their Grand Master ' s eldest daughter is a prominent member of the Fraternity , and has been

Prov . G . Master of Banffshire , under the Grand Lodge of Scotland , for many years . We respectfully congratulate his lordship and the Princess on their

betrothal , and we sincerely trust their union may be productive of all the happiness which they themselves and the members of their families can desire for them .

Masonic Notes.

Bro . Jehangir Kothari , whose visit to London is chronicled in another column , is no stranger to the brotherhood of the metropolis . On the occasion of his last visit , about three years since , he contributed very

generously to our Masonic Institutions , and constituted himself a Vice-President of each . Since his return to India , he has received the appointment of Junior Grand Warden of all Scottish Freemasonry in India .

Bro . Kothari was present at the reception ol the Shah at the Guildhall on Wednesday , and was a guest at the subsequent luncheon . V . 111 . Bro . Frank Richardson , 33 ° had the honour of entertaining the other members of the Supreme

Council , 33 ° at dinner in the Oak Room of the Junior Athenaeum Club , on Thursday , the 27 th ult . The members present were V . 111 . Bros . Captain Philips , M . III . Lt . G . C . ; Major-General Clerk , G . Treas . General ; Hugh D . Sandeman , G . Sec . General ; and

Col . Shadwell H . Clerke , G . C . of G . There were also present to meet the members of the council 111 . Bros . J . H . Matthews , 32 ° the G . D . of C . ; Lieut .-Col . Somerville Burney , S . G . I . G . 33 ; F . A . Philbrick ,

Q . C ., 32 , Lieut .-Col . George Haldane , 30 ( nominate ) , and the Earl of Euston , 30 . V . 111 . Bro . the Earl of Lathom , M . P . S ., G . C , was prevented by the illness of his son from attending-.

Many of the remarks in the speech of Bro . Brackstone Baker at the Anglo-American Lodge last month were very happy . In the matter of the silver inkstand presented vicariously to Bro . J . C . New ( by the way , he is a Colonel , which , according to Max O'Rell , is the

status of the majority of the 60 millions forming the population of the United States ) for Bro . Consul General Waller , Bro . Baker asked the recipient to fix his Spread Eagle eye on the jewel of the Anglo-American Lodge encrusted on the inkstand—the motto

" e pluribus unum , indicated the many members of the lodge concentrating their desire to honour the late Consul-General , a kind of posthumous apotheosis—and , as Col . New would be a joining member , to " speed the parting , welcome the coming guest . "

His quotation from the Orator of the Annual Communication of the Grand Lodge of Illinois , claiming that " the institution of Masonry was even old in

history when Abraham was a wandering shepherd , and trod the yet unpeopled wilds of Palestine , " he characterised as rather " tall talk , " with which , we think , our readers will agree .

Correspondence.

Correspondence .

ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR BOYS . To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , In his letter in your issue of the 29 th ult ., Bro . Godson says , in effect , that the Committee of Inquiry have desired to wash the dirty linen in public , and

in saying so he is alike unjust and ungenerous to that Committee , as they simply did what Bro . Godson desired should be done in the resolution he proposed at the Quarterly Court of July 27 th , 1888 , viz . —submit their Report to a subsequent Quarterly Court . As a matter of fact , they handed in their Report sealed up ,

and whatever publicity has been given to the Report has arisen from the action of that Court , and not in the least caused by the Committee of Inquiry . Bro . Godson himself proposed Bro . Philbrick as the convener of the Inquiry Committee , and all the other six

members of that body were brethren of the hi ghest repute ; yet , because their absolutely unanimous Report differs from the anticipations of Bro . Godson , he stigmatises it as "crowners' quest law "—a " precious report" founded on " unreliable" and "tainted evidence . "

Of the Report , Bro . Godson says— " Cui bono . " If he thought that the conscientious Report of a Committee of Inquiry would not do any good , why did he propose that such a Report should be made ? On the subject of neglected heads , at Wood Green , Bro . Godson says that no witness could give the name , time , or date of

any boy affected . In my evidence I gave the name of a boy whom I had personally seen , shortly after his arrival at home , from Wood Green , on two separate and distinct vacations , with his head in a lamentable state , from neglected ringworm . I lodged a statement upon oath made by the boy ' s mother confirming my statementthe boy was in the Institution at the moment I gave

evidence , and could have been produced there and then if the allegation of "unreliable" and "tainted" evidence had then been made . I stated , moreover , that I saw this same boy a short time after his arrival from the Institution with his hands in festering wounds from neglected chilblains , in which state he was sent out from Wood Green , with only a rough wrapping of grey

Correspondence.

calico , to travel 150 miles at Christmas time , and I lodged in proof of this a certificate from an M . D f London University . Is this " tainted " evidence in th eyes of Bro . Godson i ° Bro . Godson shows that on beating apparatus alon at Wood Green . £ 497 8 has been spent , which reckon ^ the outside number of 350 boys is a capital account J

about £ 15 per head , and yet in 1887 the expenditure for coal , coke , and firewood was £ 412 17 s ., a capital and working expenditure , I make bold to say , not tob . equalled in any similar Institution in England . Bro . Godson fears that the Report will assist those who wish local funds to be distributed in the locality

but tie does not add wh y this wish has arisen—it y , C been created by the bad management and extravagance of the Boys' School . All this complaint is no new matter—it has been expressed year after year—15 yKlrs ago the Province of West Yorks proved it up to the hilt ¦ but the management treated that report with scorn '

Let the Wood Green establishment be well and econoi mically managed , and no brother will be so foolish as to divert support from an Institution where ^ 95 , 000 capital has been sunk . Old and hard-working sub . scribers are to be remembered gratefully , and their loss deeply to be regretted if , unhappily , it occurs ; biit after all , we must look largely for current supplies from

the daily additions to the ranks of the Craft and their influence , and if they can onl y be convinced that the three great Masonic Charitable Institutions are well and wisely administered , their hearty support and cooperation may as safel y be relied upon in the future as it has been obtained in the past , —Yours faithfull y and fraternally , E . V . GREATBATCH .

To the Editor of tlie " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , In my former letters I have described the leading facts in Bro . Binckes ' s career as Secretary of the Boys' School and during the five years of his Life

Govership of the Institution which preceded his election tu office . I have shown that I derive these facts from the minute books of . the Institution itself , and the various recognitions of his great services , as well as the eulogies passed upon them by prominent Masons of our day , either from those minutes or from reports

published at the time in the Masonic neswpapers . I have also shown , from the minute books of the Girls''School , what is not generally known to the brethren , namely , that that Institution is likewise greatly indebted to him for the improvements which were introduced into its system of education in 1858 , and also for the increased

support obtained for it from the provinces . I mi ght easily have prolonged this sketch . I mi g ht have repeated the oft-told tale how during his Secretaryship the School has increased from 70 to 260 boys ; how the whole of the splendid pile of buildings at Wood Green has been erected under his guidance , and mainly

through his never-ending appeals to the lodges in London and ail parts of the country ; and how the stocksold out for building purposes has been more than replaced by the savings from successive annual incomes . All this and much else I might have set forth , but I do not think that , if I had done so , I should have made it

more clear than I have , that the marvellous success ot our Boys' School is due , as many distinguished Craftsmen have again and again acknowledged in public , primarily to Bro . Binckes and his crusade in its behalf during his 28 years' tenure of office . However , if ' have not thought it necessary to recite every one of the successes he has achieved in order to demonstrate to

your readers what the majority of them alread y knowthat Bro . Binckes ' s career as Secretary has , take it as a whole , been wonderfull y successful—there are nevertheless one or two questions which may reasonably be addressed to the Governors and Subscribers of the

School at this present time . In the first place , I take up the Report of the Committee of Investigation , and therein I find that , so far as the Inquiry was carried , the management and expenditure are utterly condemned , while the education is

favourabl y spoken of , and I am invited b y imp lication , if not in words , to lay all the blame for this maladministration and extravagance on Bro . Binckes , who for years past has had the entire Institution under litf thumb . I then turn to the records of the Institution ,

in which I find him repeatedly thanked for his services , and every now and then some honorarium voted to him or his salary increased , while the Masonic newspaper * tell me how on certain special occasions the Cra't presented him with certain splendid testimonials m recognition of his long and valuable services to the

Boys' School . Will some Governor and Subscriber be kind enough to tell me if the Bro . Binckes , wh ° i according to the Report , has been so utterly mismanaging the School , is the same Bro . Binckes who is so often thanked and complimented in the minutes , and , according to the Masonic newspapers , has been

presented on sundry occasions with these handsome recognitions of his merits V If he is , then 1 have | alternative but to believe that this Bro . Binckes , « ' has spent the best years of his life in endeavouring tu enlarge and improve the School and make it what the

minutes and the newspapers tell us it is , namely , , great success , has at the same time being doing nlb very utmost to bring it to the verge of ruin . In the next p lace , I ask the Governors and Su" * scribers and the Craft generally , how it is possible tha 1 having , up to the 14 th June , 1887 , endorsed , with th el approval and thanks and testimonials , the acts wntf