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¦ n OYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION J < FOR BOYS , WOOD GREEN , LONDON , N . Office—6 , FREEMASONS' HALL , W . C . GRAND PATRON : HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN . PRESIDENT : uK ROYAL HIGHNESS THE PRINCE OF WALES , HKs K . G ., & c , M . W . G . M . THE NINETY-FIRST ANNIVERSAKY FESTIVAL WILL BE HELD AT THE ALEXANDRA PALACE , WOOD GREEN , N ., ON WEDNESDAY , 3 BD JULY , 1889 , UNDER THE PRESIDENCY OF The V . W . Bro . RICHARD EVE , PATRON OF THE INSTITUTION , P . G . Treasurer , Past Prov . S . G . W . of Hampshire and the Isle of _ Wight . President Board of Stewards—V . W . BRO . H . B . MARSHALL , J . P ., P . G . Treasurer , Patron of the Institution . Hon . Treasurer—W . BRO . CHAS . FRED . H 0 GARD , P . G . Std . Br ., Vice-Patron of the Institution . Full particulars will be duly announced . FREDERICK BINCKES , ( P . G . Swd . Br . ) , V .-Pat ., Secretary . . OFFICE—4 Freemasons' Hall , London , W . C , 31 st May , 1889 . The services of Brethren as Stewards are most earnestly solicited . The Annual Stewards' Visit , Entertainment , and Distribution of Prizes to Pupils , ¦ will take place at tlie Institution , at Wood Green , on Thursday , the 27 th June .

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PROVINCIAL GRAND LODGE OF MIDDLESEX . R . W . BRO . COL . SIR FRANCIS BURDETT , BART ., P . S . G . W . of England , Representative from the Grand Lodge of Ireland , PROVINCIAL GRAND MASTER . 30 , Eardley Crescent , Earl's Court , London , S . W ., June 15 th , 1889 . THE ANNUAL MEETING of the Provincial Grand Lodge will be held AT THE TOWN HALL , TWICKENHAM , On SATURDAY , J UNE 2 gth , At Three o ' clock p . m . By command of the R . W . Provincial Grand Master , HOWARD H . ROOM , P . M ., Provincial Grand Secretary . N . B '—The TOWN HALL is in the centre of the Town . BANQUET AT THE TOWN HALL AT 5 . 30 . ( COLD ) . TICKETS , SS . 6 d . each ( exclusive of Wine ) . Brethren intending to dine are requested to apply for tickets ( with a remittance ) to the Provincial Grand Secretary on or before June 26 th , otherwise it will be impossible to make satisfactory arrangements , and in order to secure 'he comfort of those Brethren who have obtained Tickets , none can be issued after that date . Trains from Waterloo , 2 . 0 , 2 . IO , 2 . 17 , 2 . 20 . „ „ Twickenham , -very frequent . There will be a short Service at the Parish Church , Twickenham , at 4 . 30 p . m . ( Saturday being Market Day at i . wickenham , the Brethren will not go to Church in Procession or in Masonic Clothing . ) MORNING DRESS .

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ROYAL ORDER OF SCOTLAND . Provincial Grand Lodge of London and the Metropolitan Counties . 1 ~ Knight Companions will meet in Council at 33 , Golden S quare , W ., on SATURDAY , the 13 th J , V , W J * * for 3 p . m . precisely , and the R . W . Prov . u * dcsires the attendance of all duly qualified Brethren . and-ri ? and addresses of Candidates with name of Lodge July pter * must be sent to me not later than the 3 rd 'Garf ANNUAL BANQUET will be held at the Zoological "ens , Regent ' s Park , N . W ., at 6 . 30 precisely . By Order , , 0 „ ,, FRANK RICHARDSON , ' ^ W en Square , W . Prov . G . Sec .

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TELEGRAPHIC ADDRESSES ( Inland ) . For the Freemason Printing Works—FREEMASON , LONDON . For Jewels , Clothing , Banners , and Furniture—KENNING * , LONDON .

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Let ' s Rally Round the Standard , A RED CROSS SONG , Composed by II . PARKER ; Words by E . W . LITTLE . Price 3 s . GEORGE KENNING , IG & IGA , GREAT QUEEN STREET , LONDON , W . O .

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WANTED—Two Copies of " The ROSICRUCIAN " for April , 1 S 77 , and one for January , 1 S 79 , yellow covers . —Apply to Dr . WYNN WESTCOTT , 39 6 , Camden-road , N .

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A WIDOW in Distress wishe ' s to DISPOSE of Three Volumes of the " History of Early Freemasonry" by Robert Freke Gould ; handsomely bound in Morocco leather and all as good as ney . Offers to ARTHUR J OHNSON , 23 , Crutched friars , E . C .

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ADVEETISEMENT SCALE OF " Vaz f reemaeon . " IlfSEIiTIOH * . SINGLE C OLUMN per inch £ 050 ONE PAGE 10 o o ONE C OLUMN 3 10 ° PUBLIC C OMPANIES' & PARAGRAPH ADVERTISEMENTS , IS . PER LINE . WANTS , & C , FOUR LINES , 2 s . 6 d ., and 6 d . PER LINE additional .

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FRAZER'S Purify the Blood , Improve the Complexion , Insure ————— Good Health , Make 'Work a Pleasure , and Life S ULPHU R Enjoyable . Sold by Chemists at i / ij , or post free ^———— 15 Stamps from FRAZER' & Co ., 29 , Ludgate Hill , TABLETS London . Agents Wanted . Liberal Terms . Whole-^——¦"— " sale : The Grocers' Association , Ltd ., London , S . E .

To Corrspondents.

To Corrspondents .

W . M . No . 72 . —While agreeing ; with much that our correspondent writes , we think nothing is now to be gained by attacks on individuals . The Provisional Committee , composed as it is of brethren who possess the entire confidence of the Craft at large , can be trusted to protect the interests of the Subscribers on the one hand , and on the other to see that no injustice is done to individuals .

Several communications unavoidably stand over . BOOKS . Sec , RECEIVED . " The Tyler , " " New Zealand Freemason , " " Proceedings of the Grand Hodge of All Scottish Freemasonry in India , r 88 o , " " Keystone" " Masonic Chronicle " ( Ohio ) , " Liberal Freemason , "

, " Revista Masonica , " "Freemasons' Journal , "Victorian Freemason , " "South African Freemason , " " Masonic World , " " Voice of Masonry , " " Die Bauhutte , " " Masonic Review , " ' * Boletin Oficial , " " The Freemason " . ( Toronto ) , and " Masonic Advocate . "

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SATURDAY , JUNE 15 , 1889 .

Original Correspondence.

Original Correspondence .

THE BOYS' SCHOOL INQUIRY COMMITTEE . To the Editor of the "Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , I extremely regret I was not able to be present at the meeting on the 6 th instant . From what I have read and heard , I fear that on that occasion any appeal to the sense of justice of the meeting , or any defence of the House

Committee of 1888-9 , would have received scant hearing . It is impossible , in any letter that I could expect you to print , to go into one-tenth of the points raised by the Report of the Committee of Inquiry . Still , with your permission , I propose to touch upon some few of the most important matters therein advanced . We , the House Committee of 18 SS-9 , are blamed for

the sins of omission and commission of all our predecessors , while no praise is given us for what we and they have effected in the last few years . The improved educational tests and discipline in the School , the establishment of a New Hall and Preparatory School , the improved heating , & c , are all passed by without a sign of recognition . It is well the Craft should understand that , owing to the

fact that the members of the House Committee are engaged in business , and that the Inquiry Committee naturally consulted their own convenience as to the time of sittings , it so happened that more than one witness gave his evidence in the absence of any representative of the House Committee . The Secretary appeared for himself . It would , therefore , have been fairer and more in keeping with ordinary justice if , when I offered , on behalf of the

House Committee , to give any . explanation or information on any point the Inquiry Committee might wish for , that questions should have been put to me on all the points on which they have reported so strongly against us and our predecessors . Most confidential communications respecting the future government of the Institution passed at that interview , no reporter being present during a great part of the time . Had any hint been given me that censure would

Original Correspondence.

be attached to any member of the House Committee , past or present , I should have asked for time to produce evidence to rebut the charges now fulminated against us . Unfortunately , I was completely deceived ; and , at the next meeting of the House Committee , I stated that no charge had been formulated against us by the Inquiry Committee . The few notes that were taken will show that

I was justified in so believing . I may therefore claim to deal as shortly as I can with the most important among the many points raised . ist . The Inquiry Committee state ( Report , p . 17 , par . 3 ) that our conduct in dismissing all the Assistant Masters at once , in June , 1 S 87 , subjected the discipline of the School to a severe strain . Now , on p . iS , par . 6 , they state that

— "The Masters who inflicted corporal punishment , against the rules , were dismissed , and the rules are now adhered to . " They forget to state that several of the Masters the House Committee dismissed ( as mentioned on page 17 ) were those who broke through such rules . They consequently blame us and praise us for the same thing . We supported the Head Master in the dismissal of three of

these , but we found that others he did not dismiss had also broken through the School regulations . We applied an equal measure to all . That we were right is proved by the admission of the Head Master— "That he never had so good a body of Assistant Masters as he has now , and that the discipline of the School has much improved since they came . "

2 nd . We are accused of being a "one-man" Committee . This is not complimentary ; in fact it is equivalent to saying of a barrister that his clerk writes his opinions . One telling instance to the contrary can be deduced in the calling into existence of the Inquiry Committee itself . This , although it is not mentioned in the Report , was brought about by a resolution proposed by me , on behalf

of the House Committee . There were differences of opinion in our Committee , and the Secretary was appealed to in several of the points raised . The Secretary thereupon gave his opinion , and though that coincided with the adverse views previously expressed , yet the proposal was carried . Had the " one-man" prevailed , the Inquiry Committee would never in all probability have been called

into existence . Not one instance of the House Committee allowing their opinions to be over-ruled has ever been proved . 3 rd . The great " vermin" question ( Report , page 21 , paragraph 1 . ) "We had evidences of neglected heads —cases of vermin . " As I read the evidence , only two cases are suggested . It is difficult to say what number of

cases the evidence refers to , inasmuch as no witness could give any time , date , or name of boy affected , nor was any boy produced who suffered , and so it was impossible to test this evidence . The Masters ( two ) who said they detected the cases were among those dismissed by the House Committee . Until the Inquiry Committee sat , the House Committee had not

heard a word of any such thing happening . It was every Assistant ' s duty if he saw such a thing to at once communicate with the Head Master . These dismissed Masters never pretended that they had said a word to him , and the Head Master denied that he knew of any such cases . The next witness on this point was also a Master . The vermin case , therefore , as reported upon against the House

Committee , depends upon the evidence of one dismissed Master , _ which was ordered to be struck out , and of one other dismissed Master . Both these were examined by the House Committee , "before their services were dispensed with , " and the then unanimous conclusion arrived at was that any statement of theirs vvas absolutely unreliableThe

. Inquiry Committee agree with us as to the " unreliability" of one witness ; we now ask the Craft to agree with us as to the other , and call upon our brethren to conclude that the Inquiry Committee have committed an error of jud gment in putting the wei ght of their authority to this unfounded stigma upon our boys and the Institution .

4 th . The Inquiry Committee report ( page 21 , par . 6 ) that though many complaints were made about the bad heating of the schoolroom , "nothing was actually done until July , 1887 . " Let the Craft compare with this assertion the following accounts ( laid before the Inquiry Committee ) of monies actually expended in improving the heating apparatus during the time that " nothing * was

done . Up to 1 S 84 about £ 2000 had been spent upon the heating apparatus . In 1 S 84 we spent £ 136 , and in 1885 £ 468 . In 1886 we spent £ 300 . Again , it was known to everybody concerned that the old boiler power was weak and worn out , and that until the new boilers for the new School and Laundry could be put in the system of warming the School , & c , could not be perfected . This

was accomplished in 18 S 8 at a final expenditure of £ 374 . And yet it is asserted " that nothing was done up to 1 S 87 . " Moreover , these amounts do not include the sum of £ 1700 expended with the same object in connection with the New Buildings . 5 th . As to the bad sight prevalent among the boys . Complaint was brought to the House Committee on this

subject , and immediately we heard of this the Medical Officer was instructed to make inquiries and report to the House Committee . This was done , and then new lights were put in , and in some of the rooms the lights were lowered . The boys complained that this caused great heat to their heads . 1 may add , further efforts were under consideration .

_ But a most damaging and erroneous statement has been circulated in the Report , which has been brought before the notice of the Inquiry Committee in a letter of our Treasurer a fortnight ago , but to which no answer has been attempted . The Report asserts ( p 14 , par . 2 ) "that the Hon . Surgeon Oculist told us that double the ordinary per centage of defective sight occurs among the pupils . "

During the last few days I have been obliged to consult Bro . Dr . Jabez Hogg professionally , and 1 learnt that this assertion of the Committee had " astonished him . " As he allows me to refer to his evidence given to the Inquiry Committee , I will quote what he did say : — Question : —There was a larger per centage ( of short sight ) than you would expect in boys in such a school ?

Answer : —Just so ; the shortness of sight was not a bigger per centage than we get in such like schools , and in Germany it is double what we get in England . That is a very _ remarkable thing , and he explains the amount ot bad sight prevalent as partly due to constitutional causes , to which causes he more especially refers I have now examined cases which show that—1 st , some ot the Inquiry Committee ' s conclusions are negatived by