Correspondence.

Correspondence .

We do not hold ourselves responsible tor the opinions expressed by our correspondents , but we wisb , in a spirit of fair play to all , to permit—within certain necessary limitstree discussion . ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR BOYS . To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother .

BOYS ELECTION , 8 TH OCTOBER . Will you kindly permit me to intimate to your readers who may be Subscribers to this Institution , the fact that since the Voting Papers were printed , another extraordinary vacancy has occurred , which has been filled by the Board of Management , who have admitted to the benefits of the Institution

ARTHUR DOUGLAS EALES , No . 7 on the List of Candidates for the above Election ? The List of Candidates is , therefore , now reduced to 47 , from whom 15 will be elected on Friday , Sth October .

Thanking you in anticipation , —I am , dear Sir and Brother , yours faithfully and fraternally , J . M . McLEOD , Secretary . Oflice—6 , Freemasons' Hall , W . C , 16 th September .

CANVASSING AND TOUTING AT ELECTIONS . To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother Referring to my notice of motion on the above question , which fell through in consequence of illness and absence from town , I am afraid that the

apparently vague statement of the V . W . the Grand Secretary might infer , thit the distinguished brother whom 1 desired to act in my place was at least lukewarm on the subject at issue . Lest such a thought should arise in the minds of any brethren , may I be permitted to quote from a letter I received in reply to my request :

" Had I been in London I should have attended Grand Lodge and been very happy to comply with your request , as I entirely and fully sympathise with your views on the question in hand . I will write a line to the Grand Secretary , to tell him of my absence , and I will at the same time name your request and my regret at being unable to comply with it . "

I may further be permitted to add , that I do not intend to allow the matter to drop , but shall invite the V . W . the President of the Board of General Purposes to take action , in any way that may seem to himself and the Board most desirable and effective . It must , at all events , seem clear to the English Craft at large , that moral suasion is utterly thrown away on the brethren who resort to these unfair and un-Masonic practices , and that , therefore , the strong hand of the law is the only preventative .

Now , I know there are brethren of high rank who strongly condemn canvassing and touting at our elections , but who are so strangely pessimistic as to urge that no possible remedy or antidote can be devised . Is there any other Constitution in Masonry were such a weak-kneed policy would be accepted in the matter of a serious and acknowledged abuse ? I venture to ask . The answer , 1 think , will be in the negative .

I am fully conscious of the fact that such a notice of motion , when promulgated by a private member , is looked upon with disfavour and indifference by the " powers that be . " On the other hand , there have been many alterations and additions made in our " Book of Constitutions " which possessed not a tithe of the importance of the subject under discussion ; but , being impressed with the stamp of Grand Lodge rank they became law as a matter of course .

I trust , therefore , the V . W ., the President of tho Board of General Purposes may see his way to step into the breach , and remove at once and for all time the foul blot that has so long been quietly permitted to contaminate the otherwise good name of English Freemasonry . —Fraternally yours , W . F . LAMONBY . Matlock , September 9 th .

CAUTION TO ALMONERS . To the Editor of the "Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , The number of impostors now preying on the Masonic Almoners and the Fraternity generally seems to me to be greatly on the increase . It is difficult to lay down a rule how to deal with itinerants seeking assistance . A safe

rule generally is to insist upon the production of a Grand Lodge Certificate , but even this is not always sufficient , as only , 1 short time ago one of these tramps Tippiied to me with a certificate granted by the Grand Lodge of Scotland to Bro . James Stewart and claimed to be that brother . I was rather chary about the applicant and declined to relieve him , and at once wrote to the lodge in Scotland and received a reply that the certificate belonged to a brother of that name , but had been stolen bv some one who broke into his house .

For the last 18 months there has been going about in this province , and probably elsewhere , an individual pxssing under different aliases , and claiming , as it suited his purpose , to belong to one or other of the following lodges : Newjtead No . 47 , Nottingham ; Tyrian , No . 253 , Darby ; and Devonshire , No . 625 , Glossop ' . 1 recently cautioned privately several of our Almoners about this person , and a few days ago he called upon thc Almoner at Ashton-under-L yne , seekin "

assistance , and , being forewarned by me , the Almoner taxed him with being an impostor , which , after a lengthy conversation , he admitted to be the case . The Almoner called in the assistance and advice of two expsrienced brethren , and acting under their advice , he allowed the fellow to depart on signing an admissioa of his guilt and a promise not to repeat the offence . It may be stated that he had obtained assistance al Ashton-under-Lyne under three of his aliases . —Yours fraternally ,

JAMES NEWTON , Prov . Grand Sec . East Lancashire . 2 , Cooper-strcct , Manchester , September Sth .

LODGE CONSECRATION QUERY . To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , 1 have read the letter of " Secretary P . M . " in your issue of to-day ,

and although I do not profess lo be an authority on thu subject 1 may , for the information of your correspondent , inform him that the Etheldreda Lodge , No . 2107 , was consecrated in the Jockey Club rooms at Newmarket , and the lodge is held at the White Hart Hotel opposite . 1 admit if Ibis was informal two wrongs do not make a right , but I have

Correspondence.

often visited Provincial Grand Lodge when it has been held in a more convenient room , say the Town Hall ( as at Wisbech ) . I am of opinion that it is the Iodge which can , by resolution , be removed to any place and not the room that is consecrated , lodges are often moved from the hotel where they were first consecrated to perhaps a newly-built Masonic Hall ,

and I do not suppose anyone would contend that the room still remains consecrated when nothing but secular business was transacted therein . —I am , Sir , yours fraternally , P . P . S . G . W . Cambridgeshire . Cambridge Masonic Hall , 12 , Market-hill , September nth .

MASONIC MEDALS . To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , The medal referred to in your last number by Bro . Hughan , copy of that in possession of Bro . McGachen , is the same as mine , which is of silver , was

exhibited in 1886 as No . 56 in the Shanklin Exhibition , and in 1887 as No . 158 in the Devon Exhibition . The principal feature of interest is the foot on the sinister side of the obverse . I have never seen a foot on any other medal or even in any engraving of Masonic emblems or designs . J . E . LE FEUVRE . Southampton , 12 th September .

Masonic Notes And Queries.

Masonic Notes and Queries .

1105 ] — SUPREME GRAND CHAPTER REGULATION , No . 43 . 1 have carefully read the second communication of Lex Scripta on the question as to whether Regulation No . 30 applies to the appointment of Provincial Grand Registrars in Provinces and Districts , and I quite think with him that it did rml and does not , and that 43 concerns only the transaction of business by such Bodies in accordance with the usage of Provinces , & c . I had thought of

offering some more reasons why the opinion of the esteemed Deputy Grand Registrar of the Grand Chapter on Nos . 30 and 43 should not be accepted as the decision of the Grand Chapter ; but , after perusing the report of the meeting on the 4 th August , it appears to me wholly unnecessary , as we really are as toe were . Bro . Le Feuvre ably introduced the matter , according to the view of many of us who could not be present , and the result of his temperate speech is most

satisfactory , for the M . E . Z . in ihe Chair declared"It would be most unfortunate if we were bound in the Provinces or in District Grand Chapters to appoint Provincial Grand Registrars in the Craft tothe same position in the Royal Arch " — and the Deputy Grand Registrar emphatically stated that " we may disregard his reasons , " and yet " acceptthe conclusion , " i . e ., agree tothe dismissal of the appeal

and the confirmation of the minutes , so that we stand exactly where we did before . Would it be argued that because the Grand Registrar has to be an Installed First Principal , the Provincial or District Grand Registrars must also be Installed First Principals ' . ( Vide Rule 30 . ) It seems to me that the advice of the Deputy Grand Registrar is well worth following by some companion giving notice , as he suggests , with respect to Rules 28 and 30 . I hope Bro . Le Feuvre will do so , and thus complete the good work by having the matter set at rest . W . J . HUGHAN .

Reviews.

Reviews .

"THE TRANSACTIONS OF THE LODGE OF RESEARCH , No . 2429 , LEICESTER , " for thc year 1 S 96-7 , are now ready , and may be had of the Secretary , Bro . J . T . Thorp , P . M ., P . Prov . S . G . W ., Freemasons' Hall , Leicester , for 2 s . per copy . It nukes a larger volume than usual , as it includes the history of the John of Gaunt Lodge , No . 523 , and also the annals of the Chapter of Fortitude , No . 279 , from 1796 to 1896 , each being written by the editor oi the Transactions , Bro , Thorp . _ The latter may be had separately for is . The handsome little back will be reviewed in these pages shortly .

The Grand Lodge Of Pennsylvania And Oscar Ii., King Of Sweden And Norway.

THE GRAND LODGE OF PENNSYLVANIA AND OSCAR II ., KING OF SWEDEN AND NORWAY .

The following is the text of the address adopted by the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania at its meeting on the 1 st inst . and ordered to be forwarded to his Majesty Oscar II ., King of Sweden , on completing 25 years as Protector and Grand Master of Masons : " Whereas , The Oriental Chair in the Grand Lodge of Free and

Accepted Masons of Sweden , for a period of 25 years , has bsen occupied by the King of Sweden and Norway , his Majesty , Bro . King Oscar II ., as Protector and Most Worshipful Grand Master , and by virtue of his wisdom and profound knowledge great lustre has been shed on the Craft in the Scandinavian countries ;

" Whereas , The King of Sweden and Norway , his Majesty , Bro . King Oscar II ., will , on the 18 th inst ., celebrate the 25 th anniversary , not only of his ascension to the throne of Sweden and Norway , but also of his installation as Protector and Most Worshipful Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Sweden ; therefore be it

"Resolved , That the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Pennsylvania , at this Quarterly Communicition , send fraternal greetings to his Majesty , Bro . King Oscar , II ., tendering him our heartfelt congratulations on his success as Protector and Most Worshipful Grand Master ; of the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Sweden .

" Resolved , That we humbly thank the Great Architect of the Universe , who has vouchsafed to grant 25 years of uninterrup'ed prosperity to our sister jurisdiction , and pray that a Merciful Province may grant a long continuation of this prosperity under the guiding hand of the present Protector and Most Worship ful Grand Master .

" Resolved , That a copy of these resolutions , properly signed ^ and attested , be forwarded to the King of Sweden and Norway , his Majesty-Bro . King Oscar II . "