Correspondence.

Correspondence .

We do not hold ourselves responsible for the opinions expressed by our correspondent . ?! but we wish , in a spirit of fair play to all , to permit—within certain necessary limitsfree discussion .

KIRBY LODGE OF INSTRUCTION , No . 263 . To the Editor of tht " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , Will you kindly allow me through your columns to thank the

orethren of the above lodge of instruction for the handsome testimonial so graciously presented to me by Sir Forrest Fulton , P . G . D . R ., on their behalf , at the ioth annual festival , held at the Midland Grand Hotel , on Tuesday , the 19 th ult ., the numerous subscribers precluding the possibility of my thanking them individually .

I also wish to express my high appreciation of the kindly feeling and assistance ever extended to me in my efforts to promote the success of the lodge . —Yours faithfully and fraternally ,

WILLIAM BAKER , P . M . 2205 . 56 , Caversham-road , N . W .

MASONIC VAGRANTS .

To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , My attention has been called to the letters on the above subject which appeared in the issues of your paper on the iCth and 30 th of November . I am , and have been for upwards of 15 years , an Almoner of " The Birmingham Itinerant Fund , " to which every lodge in Birmingham , except one or two others in the immediate neighbourhood , contribute—18 in all . When I first accepted the

office , it was uaderstood that each lodge should contribute at the rate of is . per member . Many do not contribute at that rate , but I can generally reckon upon an average of two guineas from each of the 18 lodges . I am not limited in any way to the amount of relief I may give . Everything is left to my discretion . I agree with Bro . Morton that the office is a thankless one , and , I may add , that it is one which , in Birmingham , at any rate , Is by" no means a sinecure . I endeavour to administer the fund with scrupulous fairness , but , at the same time , with generosity , in what I convince myself are really deserving cases . It occasionally

happens that the certificate is not forthcoming , and in all such cases I insist upon very strict proof that the applicant is a Mason , - and unless he can give me that proof he obtains no relief from me . I would certainly emphasise the suggestion made in the correspondence in your paper , that in every large town there should be one Almoner for the whole of the lodges in that town . I think that each lodge should contribute to the Almoner ' s fund in proportion to the number of its members , and that no relief should be given by any individual member of a lodge to itinerant Masons , but that they should be referred to the general Almoner .

During my term of office I have relieved over 1300 cases . I keep three books , a receipt book , a cash book , and a ledger . The first is , of course , signed by the applicant , and at the head of each receipt I enter the name and number of the lodge , the profession , calling , or occupation of the brother relieved and the amount and nature of the relief given , and any particulars of the mm or the case

that strike me , and from time to time copy those entries into the cash book which is carefully indexed for future reference , so that , when any brother applies to me , I can at once by referring to the index and page of the cash book ascertain whether I have relieved him previously ( always assuming that he has given his proper name ) , and also the amount and nature of the relief given .

I need hardly say , however , that many of what I may term the vagrant class in contradistinction to the honest itinerants apply to me more than once and would many times ; and when many find that I will not give them anything many come months or perhaps a year or two afterwards under another name , and in all such cases many profess to have lost their certificates and offer to be proved . As my recollection of faces is pretty good , if I have reason to think that I have seen the man before I do not at once refer to my books but ask him to write down his

name and the name and number of his lodge on the ground that I am rather deaf—which is , unfortunately , the fact . I then refer to my book , and if the man has given a wrong name , of course , I cannot find it , but it is in my experience invariably that these men although they give a different name from the real name and number of their lodge—probably because they do not know the number even if they know the name and place of any other lodge . They all know that I have a calendar to refer

to , and upon several occasions by taking a considerable amount of trouble in looking through the receipt-book for the name and number of the lodge , I have been able to confront one impostor with bis own signature and to compare his writing with that of the false name he had signed a few minutes previously . The last case of this kind occurred only a few weeks back . A man applied whom I was positive I had seen before . I told him to write his name , and the name and number of his lodge . He wrote "Joseph Marchant , Solon Lodge , 771 , New

York . ' I asked him for his certificate . He replied he had lost it , and in further reply to my questions said he had never been to me , or indeed in Birmingham before . Upon looking back through my receipt-book I found that on August 16 th , 1900 , 1 had relieved a man namedjoseph Barber of that lodge , and on comparing his signature in the receipt-book with the name he had written down , the name " Joseph "was identical , so much so that the one might have been a tricing of the other .

Many , and I should think nearly half , of those who apply to me for relief are foreigners—Germans , Poles , Russians , Italians , and Americans , and some colonists from the Cape , & c . Some profess to be in search of work ; to these I give only two or three shillings , and as I feel sure that they are not likely to get work in Birmingham even if they are in earnest in wishing to do so , the only way in which I relieve them a second time is by giving them a railway ticket for some neighbouring town , it being my object to get them out of Birmingham as quickly

as possible whenever they go to the lodge and are a nuisance . On the other hand many , and indeed most , of the respectable Masons are those who are on their way to London , Liverpool , Bristol , Cardiff , and other seaports , nnny seafaring men , some commercial travellers . To those I give their railway tickets with a few shillings over to provide for the night's lodging when they get to their destination j but under no circumstance do I give the money unless my cleik is

out . I givemyclerk the money , and he has strict orders not to give the ticket or the balance of the money until the man is actually starting , as some years back one of my clerks was twice imposed upon . In one case he gave the ticket when he got it at the booking-office , and the man bolted ; and in the other he gave it when the man was actually in the train a few minutes before the train started , and he got out and made a bolt of it ; and , no doubt , both these men went back and sold their tickets for what they could get . With respect to foreigners , I was for some time greatly assisted by the lato Bro . Van Heldcn , who was the Chief of the Detective Department ot the Bir-

Correspondence.

mingham Police Force , and an admirable linguist ; and when I had a foreigner apply to me whom I could not understand , I sent him with a note to Bro . Van Helden , and he invariably sent me a reply with all the information necessary . I was greatly indebted to him , and much regret his death , which took place a few months ago , and which was a serious loss to Masonry in Birmingham , as well as to the force of which he was one of the most prominent members .

In conclusion , let me say that if at any time I can be of any assistance to the Almoner of any large town or group of lodges my experience of 15 years is at his service . —Yours fraternally , J . LONON WARREN , •P . M . 276 , 468 , and 887 , P . P . S . G . W . Warwickshire .

Reviews.

Reviews .

Tho Temple Bible . —We have received from the publishers , Messrs . J . M . Dent and Co ., London , and Messrs . J . B . Lippincott and Co ., Philadelphia , the first two volumes of fie above work , being the books of Genesis and Exodus complete in each volume . The binding of this work , which is edited by A . R . S . Kennedy , D . D ., is most ornate , and the letterpress and marginal notes as clearly printed as could be desired . The texts , as numbered in the authorised version , are so numbered in the margin , but the letterpress is arranged as ordinary

narrative , in paragraphed texts , or as poetry , as the sense may require . The Book of Genesis is prefaced by a scholarly introduction , in which the antiquity ot the Pentateuch , the theme and character of the book , the civilisation of the ancient world , Babylonian culture and libraries , also the authorship , date of composition , and purpose of the book are discussed , as well as the Babylonian and Egyptian elements . There are copious notes at the end , also a synchronism of

ancient history , maps , and references to the Book of Genesis in English literature . The introduction to the Book of Exodus deals inter alia with the historical literature of the Hebrews , the place , title , and contents of the hook , the literary problem of the Pentateuch , and Exodus as literature , history , and the lessons it teaches . At the end are similar addenda to those mentioned above as occurring at the end of Genesis .

Mining in Egypt ( Past and Present ) , by an Egyptologist . Pub . lished by F . W . Potter and Co ., 11 , Wormwood-street , Broad-street . Price 2 s . — A very handsomely bound and beautifully illustrated brochure , dealing with Egyptian mining by one who is evidently an expert . The work deals with the references to the mines of Egypt to be found in the Bible , ancient papyrus and hieroglyphics , and in the classics ; also the modern reports of M . Bellefunds Bey , Sir J . G . Wilkinson , M . Flozer , C . J . Alford , F . G . S ., M . I . M . M ., and A . Knox Brown , M . I . M . E . The plates illustrating the booklet are works of art in themselves .

The Craft Abroad.

The Craft Abroad .

DISTRICT GRAND LODGE OF THE PUNJAB . The minutes of tne proceedings of the autumn Communication of the District Grand Lodge of the Punjab have been printed and circulated . ^ It is announced that the lodges in the district have been regularly inspected during the year . Two new ' lodges have been added , viz ., Lodge Excelsior , No . 2832 , at

Dagshai , and Lodge Grey , No . 2844 , at Dharamsaia , the former has taken the place of Lodge Excelsior , No . 1722 , which was one of the original lodges at the foundation of the District Grand Lodge of the Punjab . No . 1722 became extinct when Dagshai was closed for two years on account of the prevalence of enteric fever .

The District Grand Master , General Sir POWER PALMER , K . C . B ., G . C . S . I ., called the attention of Worshipful Masters to the necessity for imparting instruction in the mysteries to our newly-initiated brethren . Regular courses of lectures should be instituted . The D . G . Master stated that he was glad to see from the inspection reports that some lodges have this system of lectures . He wished that in

this mode of instruction should be general . New Masons learn a great deal this way . Even old Masons will find they have more to learn . He , for one , on referring the other day to some recent books on Freemasonry , found to his surprise that he was quite ignorant regarding the antient history of Freemasonry , especially with regard to the antiquity of Grand Lodge , first establishedj . m « 7 ' 7- " ™ ,

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