To Our Readers.

TO OUR READERS .

The FREEMASON IS a Weekly Newspaper , price 2 CL » It is published every Friday morning , and contains the most important , interesting , and useful information relating to Freemasonry in every degree . Subscription , including postage :

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Office Orders or Cheques are preferred , the former payable to GEORGE KENNING , CHIEF OFFICE , LONDON , the latter crossed London Joint Stock Bank . Advertisements and ether business communications should be addressed to the Publisher .

Communications on literary subjects and books for review are to be forwarded to the Editor . Anonymous correspondence will be wholly disregarded , and the return of rejected MSS . cannot be guaranteed . Further information will be supplied on application to the Publisher , 108 , Fleet-street , London .

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w IMPORTANT NOTICE .

COLONIAL and FOREIGN SUBSCRIBERS are informed that acknowledgments of remittances received are published in the first number of every month .

It is very necessary for our readers to advise us of all money orders they remit , more especially those from the United States of America and India ; otherwise we cannot tell where to credit them . Several P . O . O . ' s are now in hand , but having received no advice we cannot credit them .

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NOTICE . To prevent delay or miscarriage , it is particularly requested that ALL communications for the FREEMASON , may be addressed to the Office , 198 , Fleet-street , London .

To Advertisers.

TO ADVERTISERS .

The FREEMASON has a large circulation in all parts of the Globe , its advantages as an advertising medium can therefore scarcely be overrated . ADVERTISEMENTS to ensure insertion in current week's issue should reach the Office , 198 , Fleet-street , by 12 o ' clock on Wednesdays .

Answers To Correspondents .

Answers to Correspondents .

Bro . JBurgcr ' s letter is too pcrsonaljforjourpages . He has quite misunderstood the drift of the words he quotes , which did not and could not refer to himself . We elo not think it well to publish " Querist ' s " letter , as the Freemason is officially neutral in the contest .

J . D . —In our next . An interesting note by Comp . Hvsglian on the Royal Arch will appear in next Freemason ; and also a communication from " Masonic Student , " about a " Cole ' s List of Lodges , " of 1770 .

BOOKS , i \ c , RECEIVED . " Hull Packet ; " " Scottish Freemason ; " " Dick Radclyffe and Co . ' s Plant Catalogue for 1878 ; " "Broad Arrow j " " Medical Examiner ; " " Pantile Papers ; " " Risorgimento ; " " Masonic Herald ; " " Australian

Freemason ; " "My Holiday : Where shall I spend it ? " "Advocate ; " "Bye Laws of the Oxford University Rose Croix Chapter ; " " Watchmaker and Jeweller ; " "Hatters ' Gazette ; " " Hebrew Leader ; " " Masonic Advocate ;" "Young Folks'Budget ; " " Keystone ;"" Natal Witness . '

Births Marriages And Deaths.

Births Marriages and Deaths .

[ The charge is 2 s . 6 d . for announcements , not exceedrig four lines , under this heiding . ]

BIRTHS . FAIIIEN . —On the i . sjth ult ., at Port of Spain , Trinidad , the wife of C . A . Fabicn , of a son . IIEVVVAHI ) . —On the 8 th inst ., at Jerez de la Frontera , Spain , the wife of J . Heyward , of a son . MONTGOMERY . —On the 10 th inst ., at Ranelagh House . Maidenhead , the wife of E . C . Montgomery , of a son ,

DEATHS . D OC (; I . AS . —On the 8 th inst ., at Lansdownc , Bath , Louisa H . Douglas , aged 74 . Li . ovi ) . —On the 8 lh inst ., at Cjomb , Llanstephen , Susan , wife of J . Lloyd , Esq .

PALMKII . —On the loth inst ., at Anstey , near Alton , Hants , Sarah , widow of the late Capt . W . W . Palmer . WEIISTEH . —On the nth inst ., at Lansdownc-hill , Bath , Sclinn , widow of the late Major T . Webster , aged 78 . WHITE . —On the 12 th inst ., at Lansrlowne-place , Blackheath , William Joseph White , Est ) ., in his 5 8 th year .

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TheFreemason, SATURDAY , MAY 18 , 1878 .

The Girls' School Anniversary.

THE GIRLS' SCHOOL ANNIVERSARY .

The last anniversary of this excellent Institution , under the able presidency of Lord Carnarvon , has resulted in the return of a £ ? 86 oo , in round numbers . After the large sums we have been accustomed to , there may seem to some , at first sight , a slight retrogression , a partial falling

off , in our charitable efforts and receipts . But we are inclined to believe that such a view is altogether i ? n erroneous one . We fancy that the diminution , such as it is , is easily accounted for . Firstly , the slackness of trade ; secondly , the fact that the Girls' School has a large amount of

funded property , which indisposes many to make exertions for so prosperous a charity , the more so as they think that the Institution has a large amount of property en which to fall back in case of emergency . But , as Lord Carnarvon well pointed out , such is not a generous or a Masonic

appreciation of the real state of the case . True it is that the Girls' School has about .= £ ' 40 , 000 in funded property , but then the interest arising from the capital makes up part of its necessary income . It has £ 1 , 50 per annum from Grand Lodge , it has the income of the capital , and

donations and subscriptions j but it has a normal expenditure of something like ^ 10 , 000 to meet , and it is therefore entirely dependent , I ike the other Charities , on its Annual Festival for the great bulk of its absolutely required income . It has lately made some needful increase of its

buildings , and some judicious purchases of adjacent property , under the skilful direction and prevision of Bro . Colonel Creaton , and it has 200 girls to educate . It therefore claims , as we feel sure that , it will receive , the liberal and loyal support of our most benevolent Craft . Indeed , we

may be permitted tosay , that the amount of Friday last , which some deem small , would , a few years ago , have been considered impossible , and when we compare the results of the last few years , ( a developement of Ihe Provincial movement which commenced about 1859 ) , we may well be

astonished and proud at the contrast . And yet some reflections force themselves upon us , when we consider carefully the last return of the Stewards , for the Girls' School which we think it well to communicate in all frankness and fairness to our many readers . On the

last occasion the metropolis beat the provinces by about £ 900 the former collecting ^ 4784 , the latter , £ 3852 . It is very remarkable that this large amount has been sent up by 8 <; London lodges and chapters , and 73 provincial lodges and chapters , though many lodges send up

more than one Steward , and one lodge sends up i 9 ' ( 74 ) . 139 sends U P 8 > a 7 - 3 ; 75 ° ' 5 and No . 4 , 2 ; and others mig ht be named . The metropolitan lodge which remits the largest amount is 1642 , which is credited with , £ 27655 . Sd , Brc . W . Stephens , Steward . The next is 1628 ,

Bro . Geo . Everett , Steward , £ 176 os . ; and the next is No . 1388 , Bro . Hon . R . W . H . Giddy , Steward , £ 115 ; and the next is No . 4 , our worthy Grand Registrar and Captain Bennett being Stewards , £ 105 . In the provinces , West Yorkshire , ever zealous , comes up

with the goodly amount of £ ( jco and twentyfour Stewards . Somersetshire follows with , £ 318 3 s ., and Wiltshire succeeds with , £ 267 5 s . South Wales ( Eastern Division ) closely presses upon Wiltshire with , £ 236 5 s ., and Leicestershire is not far behind with s @ 233 ids .

Gloucestershire is to the "fore " with c £ zi < j i < 5 s . 6 d ., and Berks and Bucks appear with cQii ' i 5 s . ; while Warwickshire , represented by one good Lodge No . 74 , ( let us note this ) , gallantly advances with ^ £ 207 18 s . Middlesex next appears with £ 177 8 s . 6 d ., Hampshire and the Isle

of Wight produce £ 117 12 s ., South Wales , East Division , £ 7 , while Dorsetshire sends up £ i \ 6 14 s . from the Royal Arch Masons ; and Cheshire ends the list , which we think it needful to mention , with £ 104 8 s . There are many provinces which send up less than £ 100 , which serve to swell the list meritoriously , but

The Girls' School Anniversary.

we always think that when the amount exceeds £ 100 , it displays alike praiseworthy and valuable exertions , and deserves remembrance accordingly , but under that amount there seems to us , though we may be quite wrong , nothing that requires at any rate

special note or commendation . Two provinces are conspicuous by their absence , Cornwall and Yorkshire , North and East—our good Bro . Hughan can perhaps best tell us why Cornwall , ever zealous in a worthy cause , is not represented on the present list . We cannot fail to be struck with

this one fact , and we beg to press it on the attention of all whom it may concern , that not one new lodge below 1732 is represented at all , and only five lodges from ' 700 to 1732 . This cannot be right , and points to a state of things easily understood by experts , and which is much

to be regretted by all Freemasons , and requires to be rectified at once by the brethren of these new lodges . We have authority to state that there is every reason to believe that before the close of 1878 the returns of the Girls' School Festival will reach £ 9000 . With these remarks we bid farewell to the recent Anniversary of 1878 .

The Emperor Of Germany.

THE EMPEROR OF GERMANY .

All English Freemasons will be deeply shocked to hear of the despicable and detestable attempt recently made to assassinate their august brother the Emperor of Germany , by a fanatic Socialist of the name of Htidel Lehmann . All will equally rejoice to hear and to know that in

the good Providence of God this desperate effort of a senseless miscreant utterly failed , and a life so valuable to Germany and the world , so worthy and so honoured , has been happily preserved , let us hope , for many good years to come . The Emperor , who was returning from a drive with

his only daughter , the Grand Duchess of Baden , was perfectly unmoved by the double attack of the would-be assassin . His daughter was greatly and naturally overcome with distress and agitation at so cruel and so terrible an outrage , but the good old soldier displayed the greatest " sang

froid , " and even transacted official business immediately after the occurrence . The Emperor was received with enthusiasm at the opera , and the innate loyalty of Ikrlin and Germany has since then been thoroughly roused , and countless telegraphic congratulations from all

sources and countries have been received by the patriotic monarch . As Freemasons , knowing well the friendly patronage offered to our Masonic Order by the House of Brandenburgh , ever since the days of Frederick the Great , and remembering that the Emperor is Grand Patron

of the Order in Germany , and an honoured ruler of our Craft , while we shall grieve for the intense wickedness of such desperate high treason , we gladly hasten to express our heartfelt happiness that the protecting hand of Providence has hindered the accomplishment of so fell and so foul

an act . Our Grand Lod ge will no doubt send a vote of congratulation to our illustrious and Imperial brother at an early date , at . d we feel sure that we express the unanimous feeling of our ever loyal Order , when we repeat to-day that while we have been shocked to hear of such a

reckless deed of infamy on the part of some crazy Communist , we do offer our heartfelt congratulation : 't the Emperor ' s entire and pi evidential escape from the grave peril with which he was menaced . It is mosthnmiliating to realize

to what lengths of devilish wickedness or insane malevolence the dangerous teachings and perversity of Communism seem to be leading many just now , alike in Europe and America . All loyal Englishmen and Freemasons will say with us , " May God preserve the Emperor . "

How Is Freemasonry Free ?

HOW IS FREEMASONRY FREE ?

We are asked this question , as our readers will note , in a letter printed elsewhere , and we venture to seek to give a reasonable answer to so simple a question . But we request our

readers before running through this leader to peruse the letter in question , as they will thereby gain a better idea of the gist of the question itself and the relevancy of the reply . Freemasonry is free , not in any hackneyed technical explanation of the