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Article THE QUARTERLY COMMUNICATION. Page 1 of 1 Article THE BALANCE SHEET OF THE IRISH GRAND LODGE. Page 1 of 1 Article Original Correspondence. Page 1 of 2 Article Original Correspondence. Page 1 of 2 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Quarterly Communication.
THE QUARTERLY COMMUNICATION .
Owing to our going to press early on Thursday , we shall defer any remarks on the proceedings of Grand Lodge until next week .
The Balance Sheet Of The Irish Grand Lodge.
THE BALANCE SHEET OF THE IRISH GRAND LODGE .
We have received from a kind correspondent in Ireland , and carefully studied the official return of the Irish Grand Lodge . We are glad tn note the prosperity of our Hibernian sister
Grand Lodge , though we are struck with the fact that so influential a body has so little funded property , apparently . The credit side of the Grand Treasurer ' s Budget is made up as
follows : — £ s . d . Balance to credit 1272 o 6 In D . G . Secretary ' s hands 90 1 n Annual dues 37 2 6 7 Passing candidates at Committee ... 25 8 5 o
Certificates and registry 904 18 8 New warrants and affiliations 18 7 9 2 Collections at Grand Lodge and charity fees , & c 256 19 5 Contributions , rent of lodges , and High Grades , & c 754 5 8 Deposit receipt carried to account 7 'Jo 00
Interest of Masonic Hall shares ... o 10 o Banker ' s interest 529 Sale of publications 1 , 33 18 $ Capitation for Dublin lodges Oi 1- ; o
Dispensations and Fines 44 14 0 Sundries o 12 6 Committee dinners 165 o 6 Other small items . Inall ^ 5817 o 10
£ s . d . Per contra—by charity orders 194 10 0 Rent of Masonic Hall 600 o o Taxes , & c 166 13 11 Salaries to G . Secretary , Assistant
Secretary , Clerk , Tyler , Assistant Iyler , Hall Porter , & c 10 ^ 1 4 o Printing , & c 223 4 o Coals and gas 250 12 3 Committee dinners 149 18 6 Postage 66 9 6
Repairs 216 1 1 Petty charges 45 6 1 Grants to the two Orphan Schools 200 o o Deposit receipt 750 o o Purchase of house 1000 o o Balance in bank for General Account 48 9 8 10 For Charity Account 41 ? 18 3
£ 3817 o 10 We confess that we do not quite understand one or two points . What does the item " Passing Candidates at Committee , £ 2 5 8 jjs . " mean ? Can any good Irish brother tell us ? Againhow do the items , "For dinner receipts and
dinner payments , " amount to exactly the same in the General and Charity Account ? Is it a repetition , or a coincidence Hibernice ? If the deposit ? f £ 75 o is made annually , practically there is yearly a balance of receipts for the close of 1876 over expenditure in round numbers
of £ 2000 . Would it not be as well , however , to separate for clearness the two funds , as some of the items appear to be " duplicated , " so to say , and render the balance sheet not so lucid or business like as it well might be . For curiously enough , while three of the items of the Charity
Fund appear in the general account , one of the items does not , and no clue is given as to the fund , from which the "Grand Lodge Grant " is made of £ 200 . We are a little afraid , from this account , that the Provincial Lodges in Ireland , pay no capitation or benevolent fees , a very great mistake . The weakness of Scottish
Masonry is to be found in the fact , that the lodges make noactual capitation payments annuallycompulsoril y , as in our Grand Lodge , and until that | s the case , the finances of any Grand Lodge will
hardl y be what they should be . We say this in no carping spirit of criticism or faultjfinding , 'but w'th most sincere good wishes for the progress j-nd prosperity of our good Irish brethren , and •he Grand Lodge of Ireland .
Original Correspondence.
Original Correspondence .
[ We do not hold ourselves responsible for , or even as approving of thc opinions expressed by our correspondents , but wc wish , { in a sp irit of fair play to all , to permit—within certain necessary limits—free discussion . —ED . ]
THE MASONIC GIRLS' SCHOOL . To tlie Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — Before another festival of the Masonic Girls ' School takes place I should like to ventilate through your columns a matter which appears to me of vital importance . I allude to the absurdity of giving the scholars an
education which only fits them for governesses , a class which is at present sadly overstocked . At the last festival ( 1876 ) , at which I was present , Lord Carnarvon presided , and speaking of this school expressed the astonishment and pleasure he and Lady Carnarvon felt at the proficiency the scholars had attained in French and German , and the high-class education afforded
them . Being of a somewhat practical turn of mind I wrote on a piece of paper , " Can the girls make a suet pudding or boil a potatoe ? " and sent it across the table to a brother I knew , who gave it to one of the House Committee , who most courteously gave me some details of the management ot the school . He subsequently introduced me to the matron , who in reply to my enquiry admitted that there were no means at her disposal whereby
instruction in thc art of cookery could be afforded . She informed me the house was kept in order and the clothes made by the girls , & c . I ventured to remark that that seemed hardly sufficient , and that general domestic knowledge and usefulness could not be acquired by learning to turn down a row of beds to a hair ' s breadth , or sweep a floor , and that the rough edge of life had to be taken off by making the best of old garments rather than making
new . My notion was , and so I told our brother and the matron ( to both of whom I beg to express my warmest thanks for their courtesies ) , that it was a serious defect in any elemosynary establishment to instruct children above their rank , and at the same time to fail to give them that practical , common sense , every-day life education ,
which was essential for their own well-being , as also the houses of which they by-and-bye might become the mistress . A question may be asked , From what class of society are these girls gathered ? The answer given is an analysis of the list of candidates . Take , for instance , that for the last October election .
PROFESSIONS . — Major-General , Surgeon , Engineer , 2 Solicitors . TRADES . —4 . Licensed Victuallers , Confectioner , Ironmonger , Carriage Builders , Color Merchant Iron Merchant , Tobacco Factor , Printer , Job Master , Draper , Copper Smith , Bookseller , 2 Jewellers , Brass Founder , Woollen Manufacturer , Merchant , Land Agent , Auctioneer , House
Decorator . CI - EIIKS AND GENEHAL . —Manager , 2 Brewers' Travellers , 3 Clerks , Relieving Officer , Quarter-Master , Sergeant-Major . [ Some of the above descriptions are very vague ] . For a child to become a candidate her father must have been in needy circumstances . Had he lived his daughter
would have been fairly educated , had thrown upon her thc care of the family clothing and the duties of arranging and cooking the family meals ; and thus become domesticated and useful , and fit to be the wife of a person requiring that his better half should indeed be a "help-meet " rather than a " speaking doll . " I wish particularly to guard against the idea that I am
adverse to a liberal education , or one even affording high accomplishments . Most distinctly do I say and mean , that " these things ought the House Committee to do , and not to leave the others undone . " I presume the House Committee are not so entirely above the run of ordinary mortals but they wish their daughters to be taught to assist in the management of
their households , to cut out and make their own garments , tidy a house , " make a suet pudding or cook a potatoe , " either for their own table or the poor ; not because they may be required to do it , but that when the time comes for them to have establishments of their own , they may be able , by good management , and winning , and educated manners , to make their homes so bright , joyous , and
comfortable that their husbands may have no desire to run off to clubs and other places for comforts they would not otherwise get at home . Why then should these hundreds of children be cast out upon the world with no more knowledge of " ways and means " than a child from thc workhouse , and so become , probably , more a curse than a blessing to a husband ?
I trust that the Masons of England will join me in endeavouring to induce the rulers of this institution to see the urgent necessity of having thc girls under their care taught the great lesson of practical domestic economy in all its branches . I venture to write on this subject , as I think it of vast interest to the community , and , as a guarantee that I am
acting conscientiously and in good faith , I have no hesitation in signing my name . lam , Sir and Brother , yours fraternally , HENRY C . TOMBS . P . S . G . W ., P . G . Sec , P . G . S . E . Wilts , P . M . and P . Z .
P . S . To show that I feel some interest in our charities I may say that I took up for my two Stewardships last year £ 318 , and that could not be obtained without hard work , as well as hearty co-operation from the brethren of my province . [ We insert this letter , but we do not agree with our es - teemed correspondent , as we consider the education im-
Original Correspondence.
parted in the Girls' School to be thoroughly practical and sound . After some experience of the subject , we do not know its equal anywhere in this or any other country . No doubt our Bro . R . W . Little will see this letter , and probably reply to it , as he is so well able to do . —ED . ]
MEETINGS OF COMMITTEES OF OUR CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS . To the Editor ofthe " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — Would it not be well if the brethren were
generally and regularly reminded in some way of the meetings of the General Committees ? The result of the present system is that few remember the day of meeting , and that fewer still attend . Yours fraternally , A LIFE GOVERNOR .
HISTORICAL ACCURACY . To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — As a Mark Mason , I am anxious to ask you a question or two with reference to one or two statements in the last printed report of the Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons .
It is there stated , page 1 , that "there is probably no degree in Freemasonry that can lay greater claim to antiquity than those of Mark Man or Mason , or Mark Master Mason . " Allusion is made in the same page to a report of a committee of Grand Royal Arch Chapter of Scotland in 186 5 , which states that from "time immemorial , and long before the institution of the Grand Lodge of Scotland ( in 17-16 ) ,
what is now known as the Mark Master Degree was wrought by the operative lodges of St . John ' s Masonry . " A statement is added , that in ' •159 8 , Wm . Schaw , Master of Works [ to King James VI ., orders the marks of all Masons to be inserted in their work . " Hence the implied and quasi-proven contention is , that the present Mark system and that of the Operative Mark Masons is identical , or that the latter is a continuation of the former .
Now what I want to know , is the present system either identical with , or a confirmation of , the old Mark system ? I am under the impression that the present Mark system is quite modern , and , at the outside , an adaptation of an older system . But even this is not quite clear , for I have been credibly informed that in older warrants the
modern Mark Masons " hailed , " so to say , not from operative Mark Masons , but St . Mark . Can Bro . W . J . Hughan , or D . Murray Lyon , or any of our Masonic pundits throw any light on the question , and tell us what is the known earliest Mark warrant , for instance , and if there be any truth in the statement that
such old lodges were dedicated to St . Mark ? We live at a time when Freemasons , like others prefer historical truth and certainty to the " on dits " of careless historians , to the semi-fabulous assertions of too credulous students . I am , dear Sir and Brother , yours fraternally , A MARK MASON .
MASONIC QUERIES . To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir , and Brother , I quite agree with " Rough Ashlar " that much valuable space is taken up in your paper by questions answered beforehand by the published laws of Masonry , and I confess my inability to see the value of his suggestion
that a cheap edition of the Book of Constitutions should be published , when any number can be had at is . 6 d . per copy . I cannot agree that with the present minimum fee for initiation any lodge can plead poverty as an excuse for not handing to each initiate a copy of the Constitutions , as
well as of the bye-laws of the lodge , and I go further and assert that the ritual is not complied with unless both books are actually handed over to him for perusal at his leisure . I am glad to say I know of no lodge possessing only one copy of the Book of Constitutions . Yours fraternally , F . L . E . J .
THE EXCLUSION OF JEWS IN GERMANY . To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — The Montefiore Lodge has sent round to all the lodges a request to sign an enclosed petition to the Grand Lodge of England respecting the " obnoxious law " existing in Germany , by which Jews arc not admitted in
Freemasonry . There must be an error somewhere . Last month we have been informed that the Lodge of Joppa have appointed a committee to inquire into the matter respecting one of the German Grand Lodges having such a law . Now the Montefiore state in their
circular that the three German lodges do not admit Jews in Masonry . Who is right ? It is a pity that the Jewish lodges in Englaud , who are a very powerful body and good Masons , should not first agree on how to act . I am , dear Sir and Brother , fraternally yours , E . P .
STAMPS ON RECEIPTS FOR LODGE DUES . To Ihe Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — At the last meeting of the City of London Lodge ( 901 ) , Bro . Secretary Alder asked me whether it was necessary to use receipt stamps in Masonic Lodges , as he had been informed that it was not . I said certainly you must , as in all other business matters , give a stamped receipt for all monies of £ 2 and upwards . A P , M .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Quarterly Communication.
THE QUARTERLY COMMUNICATION .
Owing to our going to press early on Thursday , we shall defer any remarks on the proceedings of Grand Lodge until next week .
The Balance Sheet Of The Irish Grand Lodge.
THE BALANCE SHEET OF THE IRISH GRAND LODGE .
We have received from a kind correspondent in Ireland , and carefully studied the official return of the Irish Grand Lodge . We are glad tn note the prosperity of our Hibernian sister
Grand Lodge , though we are struck with the fact that so influential a body has so little funded property , apparently . The credit side of the Grand Treasurer ' s Budget is made up as
follows : — £ s . d . Balance to credit 1272 o 6 In D . G . Secretary ' s hands 90 1 n Annual dues 37 2 6 7 Passing candidates at Committee ... 25 8 5 o
Certificates and registry 904 18 8 New warrants and affiliations 18 7 9 2 Collections at Grand Lodge and charity fees , & c 256 19 5 Contributions , rent of lodges , and High Grades , & c 754 5 8 Deposit receipt carried to account 7 'Jo 00
Interest of Masonic Hall shares ... o 10 o Banker ' s interest 529 Sale of publications 1 , 33 18 $ Capitation for Dublin lodges Oi 1- ; o
Dispensations and Fines 44 14 0 Sundries o 12 6 Committee dinners 165 o 6 Other small items . Inall ^ 5817 o 10
£ s . d . Per contra—by charity orders 194 10 0 Rent of Masonic Hall 600 o o Taxes , & c 166 13 11 Salaries to G . Secretary , Assistant
Secretary , Clerk , Tyler , Assistant Iyler , Hall Porter , & c 10 ^ 1 4 o Printing , & c 223 4 o Coals and gas 250 12 3 Committee dinners 149 18 6 Postage 66 9 6
Repairs 216 1 1 Petty charges 45 6 1 Grants to the two Orphan Schools 200 o o Deposit receipt 750 o o Purchase of house 1000 o o Balance in bank for General Account 48 9 8 10 For Charity Account 41 ? 18 3
£ 3817 o 10 We confess that we do not quite understand one or two points . What does the item " Passing Candidates at Committee , £ 2 5 8 jjs . " mean ? Can any good Irish brother tell us ? Againhow do the items , "For dinner receipts and
dinner payments , " amount to exactly the same in the General and Charity Account ? Is it a repetition , or a coincidence Hibernice ? If the deposit ? f £ 75 o is made annually , practically there is yearly a balance of receipts for the close of 1876 over expenditure in round numbers
of £ 2000 . Would it not be as well , however , to separate for clearness the two funds , as some of the items appear to be " duplicated , " so to say , and render the balance sheet not so lucid or business like as it well might be . For curiously enough , while three of the items of the Charity
Fund appear in the general account , one of the items does not , and no clue is given as to the fund , from which the "Grand Lodge Grant " is made of £ 200 . We are a little afraid , from this account , that the Provincial Lodges in Ireland , pay no capitation or benevolent fees , a very great mistake . The weakness of Scottish
Masonry is to be found in the fact , that the lodges make noactual capitation payments annuallycompulsoril y , as in our Grand Lodge , and until that | s the case , the finances of any Grand Lodge will
hardl y be what they should be . We say this in no carping spirit of criticism or faultjfinding , 'but w'th most sincere good wishes for the progress j-nd prosperity of our good Irish brethren , and •he Grand Lodge of Ireland .
Original Correspondence.
Original Correspondence .
[ We do not hold ourselves responsible for , or even as approving of thc opinions expressed by our correspondents , but wc wish , { in a sp irit of fair play to all , to permit—within certain necessary limits—free discussion . —ED . ]
THE MASONIC GIRLS' SCHOOL . To tlie Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — Before another festival of the Masonic Girls ' School takes place I should like to ventilate through your columns a matter which appears to me of vital importance . I allude to the absurdity of giving the scholars an
education which only fits them for governesses , a class which is at present sadly overstocked . At the last festival ( 1876 ) , at which I was present , Lord Carnarvon presided , and speaking of this school expressed the astonishment and pleasure he and Lady Carnarvon felt at the proficiency the scholars had attained in French and German , and the high-class education afforded
them . Being of a somewhat practical turn of mind I wrote on a piece of paper , " Can the girls make a suet pudding or boil a potatoe ? " and sent it across the table to a brother I knew , who gave it to one of the House Committee , who most courteously gave me some details of the management ot the school . He subsequently introduced me to the matron , who in reply to my enquiry admitted that there were no means at her disposal whereby
instruction in thc art of cookery could be afforded . She informed me the house was kept in order and the clothes made by the girls , & c . I ventured to remark that that seemed hardly sufficient , and that general domestic knowledge and usefulness could not be acquired by learning to turn down a row of beds to a hair ' s breadth , or sweep a floor , and that the rough edge of life had to be taken off by making the best of old garments rather than making
new . My notion was , and so I told our brother and the matron ( to both of whom I beg to express my warmest thanks for their courtesies ) , that it was a serious defect in any elemosynary establishment to instruct children above their rank , and at the same time to fail to give them that practical , common sense , every-day life education ,
which was essential for their own well-being , as also the houses of which they by-and-bye might become the mistress . A question may be asked , From what class of society are these girls gathered ? The answer given is an analysis of the list of candidates . Take , for instance , that for the last October election .
PROFESSIONS . — Major-General , Surgeon , Engineer , 2 Solicitors . TRADES . —4 . Licensed Victuallers , Confectioner , Ironmonger , Carriage Builders , Color Merchant Iron Merchant , Tobacco Factor , Printer , Job Master , Draper , Copper Smith , Bookseller , 2 Jewellers , Brass Founder , Woollen Manufacturer , Merchant , Land Agent , Auctioneer , House
Decorator . CI - EIIKS AND GENEHAL . —Manager , 2 Brewers' Travellers , 3 Clerks , Relieving Officer , Quarter-Master , Sergeant-Major . [ Some of the above descriptions are very vague ] . For a child to become a candidate her father must have been in needy circumstances . Had he lived his daughter
would have been fairly educated , had thrown upon her thc care of the family clothing and the duties of arranging and cooking the family meals ; and thus become domesticated and useful , and fit to be the wife of a person requiring that his better half should indeed be a "help-meet " rather than a " speaking doll . " I wish particularly to guard against the idea that I am
adverse to a liberal education , or one even affording high accomplishments . Most distinctly do I say and mean , that " these things ought the House Committee to do , and not to leave the others undone . " I presume the House Committee are not so entirely above the run of ordinary mortals but they wish their daughters to be taught to assist in the management of
their households , to cut out and make their own garments , tidy a house , " make a suet pudding or cook a potatoe , " either for their own table or the poor ; not because they may be required to do it , but that when the time comes for them to have establishments of their own , they may be able , by good management , and winning , and educated manners , to make their homes so bright , joyous , and
comfortable that their husbands may have no desire to run off to clubs and other places for comforts they would not otherwise get at home . Why then should these hundreds of children be cast out upon the world with no more knowledge of " ways and means " than a child from thc workhouse , and so become , probably , more a curse than a blessing to a husband ?
I trust that the Masons of England will join me in endeavouring to induce the rulers of this institution to see the urgent necessity of having thc girls under their care taught the great lesson of practical domestic economy in all its branches . I venture to write on this subject , as I think it of vast interest to the community , and , as a guarantee that I am
acting conscientiously and in good faith , I have no hesitation in signing my name . lam , Sir and Brother , yours fraternally , HENRY C . TOMBS . P . S . G . W ., P . G . Sec , P . G . S . E . Wilts , P . M . and P . Z .
P . S . To show that I feel some interest in our charities I may say that I took up for my two Stewardships last year £ 318 , and that could not be obtained without hard work , as well as hearty co-operation from the brethren of my province . [ We insert this letter , but we do not agree with our es - teemed correspondent , as we consider the education im-
Original Correspondence.
parted in the Girls' School to be thoroughly practical and sound . After some experience of the subject , we do not know its equal anywhere in this or any other country . No doubt our Bro . R . W . Little will see this letter , and probably reply to it , as he is so well able to do . —ED . ]
MEETINGS OF COMMITTEES OF OUR CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS . To the Editor ofthe " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — Would it not be well if the brethren were
generally and regularly reminded in some way of the meetings of the General Committees ? The result of the present system is that few remember the day of meeting , and that fewer still attend . Yours fraternally , A LIFE GOVERNOR .
HISTORICAL ACCURACY . To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — As a Mark Mason , I am anxious to ask you a question or two with reference to one or two statements in the last printed report of the Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons .
It is there stated , page 1 , that "there is probably no degree in Freemasonry that can lay greater claim to antiquity than those of Mark Man or Mason , or Mark Master Mason . " Allusion is made in the same page to a report of a committee of Grand Royal Arch Chapter of Scotland in 186 5 , which states that from "time immemorial , and long before the institution of the Grand Lodge of Scotland ( in 17-16 ) ,
what is now known as the Mark Master Degree was wrought by the operative lodges of St . John ' s Masonry . " A statement is added , that in ' •159 8 , Wm . Schaw , Master of Works [ to King James VI ., orders the marks of all Masons to be inserted in their work . " Hence the implied and quasi-proven contention is , that the present Mark system and that of the Operative Mark Masons is identical , or that the latter is a continuation of the former .
Now what I want to know , is the present system either identical with , or a confirmation of , the old Mark system ? I am under the impression that the present Mark system is quite modern , and , at the outside , an adaptation of an older system . But even this is not quite clear , for I have been credibly informed that in older warrants the
modern Mark Masons " hailed , " so to say , not from operative Mark Masons , but St . Mark . Can Bro . W . J . Hughan , or D . Murray Lyon , or any of our Masonic pundits throw any light on the question , and tell us what is the known earliest Mark warrant , for instance , and if there be any truth in the statement that
such old lodges were dedicated to St . Mark ? We live at a time when Freemasons , like others prefer historical truth and certainty to the " on dits " of careless historians , to the semi-fabulous assertions of too credulous students . I am , dear Sir and Brother , yours fraternally , A MARK MASON .
MASONIC QUERIES . To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir , and Brother , I quite agree with " Rough Ashlar " that much valuable space is taken up in your paper by questions answered beforehand by the published laws of Masonry , and I confess my inability to see the value of his suggestion
that a cheap edition of the Book of Constitutions should be published , when any number can be had at is . 6 d . per copy . I cannot agree that with the present minimum fee for initiation any lodge can plead poverty as an excuse for not handing to each initiate a copy of the Constitutions , as
well as of the bye-laws of the lodge , and I go further and assert that the ritual is not complied with unless both books are actually handed over to him for perusal at his leisure . I am glad to say I know of no lodge possessing only one copy of the Book of Constitutions . Yours fraternally , F . L . E . J .
THE EXCLUSION OF JEWS IN GERMANY . To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — The Montefiore Lodge has sent round to all the lodges a request to sign an enclosed petition to the Grand Lodge of England respecting the " obnoxious law " existing in Germany , by which Jews arc not admitted in
Freemasonry . There must be an error somewhere . Last month we have been informed that the Lodge of Joppa have appointed a committee to inquire into the matter respecting one of the German Grand Lodges having such a law . Now the Montefiore state in their
circular that the three German lodges do not admit Jews in Masonry . Who is right ? It is a pity that the Jewish lodges in Englaud , who are a very powerful body and good Masons , should not first agree on how to act . I am , dear Sir and Brother , fraternally yours , E . P .
STAMPS ON RECEIPTS FOR LODGE DUES . To Ihe Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — At the last meeting of the City of London Lodge ( 901 ) , Bro . Secretary Alder asked me whether it was necessary to use receipt stamps in Masonic Lodges , as he had been informed that it was not . I said certainly you must , as in all other business matters , give a stamped receipt for all monies of £ 2 and upwards . A P , M .