Royal Masonic Institution For Girls.

ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR GIRLS .

This Institution ' s Governors and Subscribers held their Quarterly Court on Saturday last , at Freemasons' Hall , under thc presidency of Lieut .-Col . Creaton , Vice-Patron . The Court was composed of Bros . Griffiths Smith , Raynham W . Stewart , A . H . Tattershall , James Morrell , John

Faulkner , H . A . Dubois , W . F . C . Moutne , Z . D . Berry , S . Rawson , Frederick Binckes , H Massey ((• Ycemttson ) , fohn W . Dennison , J . A . Rucker , William Roebuck , the Rev . A . F . A . Wootlford , James Terry , Peter de Lande Long , W . Nicol , Dr . F . W . Ramsay , John Boyd , E . J . Barrow , Leopold Ruf , and Louis Hirsch . Bro . Robert W . Little ( Secretary ) was too unwell to be permitted by his

medical adviser to leave home , and his place was filled by Bro . F . R . VV . Hedges . After the reading and confirmation of the minutes , the brethren declared eight vacancies in the School for thc April election ; antl as the House Committee recommended , consequent upon the completion of the new buildings , the admission of ten extra children at thc April election ,

a resolution was come to that the number to be eligible at the next Quarterly Court be eighteen . The number of children then in the Institution will be , including three admitted by purchase , 19 8 . One petition was deferred at the last meeting of the General Committee for further information . Several letters had since been received in answer to enquiries , and the

brethren the relore put Ore case on the list . Col . Creaton , upon the recommendation of the Building Conimillce . tben moved , pursuant to notice , "Thatauthority be ^ iven for thc purchase of a slip of land adjeiining the school . " He said the object of the purchase was to give freer space , thc grountl at that . south-east corner of the premises bei-. g very much contracted . He believed there

vvas a chance nf lining a larger piece of ground than that referred to in this motion , as h- ; had seen one of the proprietors a few days ago , who promised that he woultl speak to his brother and see if the piece to be bought could not be increased . At present the piece was thirtythree yards , hut hc hoped they woultl be able to get double that . Thc price hc v . t . uld name in his motion was , not

exceeding £ 100 . Bro . J . A . Rucker saitl , in seconding thc motion , that thc piece of land to be acquired would get rid of a vcry disagreeable elbow . Col . Creaton added thai the cost of the thirty-tliree yards would be a' -out £ 35 , but it was a most important tiling for the Institution that they should gel it .

The mt-tion was carried . Col . Creaton also moved , " That a wall be built from the new laundry to the end of the new grounds . " Thc new piece of land just authorised to be purchased was an extension from ihe wa ! now standing beyond the new laundry . That wall went on to the end of the piece of land just referred to . The wall would cost about £ 250 .

It was very important they should have this wall , and the Building Committee having thought the matter over very seriously resolved to recommend to the Quarterly Court , that the wall shoultl be built . Iu fact , it was a necessity . Bto . Griffiths Smith seconded the motion . Bro John Symonds a-ked whether the wall wa * thf partition from the surrounding grounds .

Col . Creaton said il was . Thc motion wa ? then put and carried . Bro . Raynh-im VV . Stewart next moved , according to notice , " That a commitiee be appointed to consider the system of edu . ation which is pursued in the School , with a view of ascertaining whether any improvement can be effected . " He said that in bringing this motion forward

he was not casting any reflection on thc House Committee , but he had heart numerous observations from many brethren thai they were neglecting a very important duty to thc children by not having sufficient attention paid to their domestic education , and too much to the elementary part of it . The brethren all knew that the poor girls- in the Institution came from all classes , and they were

educated in the school for a position far above that which many of them coultl expect or hope to be in at home . Thc Institution should educate them all for a position which they might all occupy—a domestic position . But in this school too much regard was paid to teaching the children geometry , Latin , French , German , dancing . By doing so they were unfitting them for domestic lite , an education

for which should be part of the system of thc establishment . Hc simply asked for a committee of enquiry , as he was sure it woultl satisfy many brethren , and even if it did no gootl it could tlo no harm . He was satiificd of this , that if they attended more to the domestic education of the girls than to the higher education they would be able to take many more children into the school .

Bro . Dr . Ram-ay seconded the motion , because he thought it might be advisable to have a discussion on thc subject . It was quite clear that observations were made out of doors with reference to the system of education pursued al Ibis Institution ; and he gathered that those observations referred to the higher branches of education being given in preference to an education in domestic

dutie ? . Whether the fact was so or not , he did not know , but if it was , and there were observations to that effect , it was quite proper that the House Committee should arm themselves with the means to defend it ; if it was not , then they should have the power to refute it ; and cither way put themselves forwartl as worthy of the hearty

support of the Craft . Bro . John Faulkner said he failed to see that the elementary part of the education was over-estimated at the school , or that it unfitted children for thc performance cf domestic duties . For his part , he thought the higher education children received , the more thoroughly it fitted them for domestic duties . He was of opinion that the

Royal Masonic Institution For Girls.

brethren would find that those women who attended to their domestic duties the best were the women of the best educated classes . It was only the uneducated classses that did not attend to their domestic duties . Partial education prevented attention to domestic work . When he went to the Girls' School one week , he fountl some of the children cleaning their boots . This was not like what it was at

some orphan asylums , where the children were less refined . He would like to see the girls taught laundry work , which hc thought was very useful , antl would not detract from any of the children ' s other education . Col . Creaton said he could answer the question as to what elome-stic duties the children performed . In the first place , there werc a certain numtocr told off every week to

go into the kitchen ; a certain number were told off to go round with the matron every morning ; and in addition to that , the girls made every stitch of their clothing ; in fact , they did everything in the establishment except cleaning floors , carrying coals , and washing . They assisted in thc household work , attended in the kitchen , and to the cooking . Of course they had no one to wait upon them

in laying the tables ; that they did themselves . I'hey assisted at folding in thc laundry , but they did not do the washhouse work . Bro . John Symonds would only like to atld his protest to Bro . Faulkner ' s against the idea that there was anything antagonistic in high education to attention to domestic tluties . His own experience among peoiile he knew was

precisely the reverse . He found gencially that if hc visited a heme presided over hy a lady who was vcry well educated she attended to her domestic eludes ; but if he happened to visit a home where the lady was not well educated , domestic duties werc not attended to . Bro . Stewart hail laiel down thc principle that high education was antagonistic to domestic economy , and that

r was palpable th it those who werc taught trench and German , and Latin and geometry , would not attend to domestic duties . He heard him distinctly say so . He thought that was a motion which all He breihren should protest against . He was about to go further antl say that if he went into a house where there w is a lady at the httatl , educated in lhat style which prevailed when m iny of the

brethren were younger , some years ago—that was , if she was imperfectly educated—he fountl her absorbetl in notions about dress or how she should improve her own jiersonal charms , or she was reading frivolous novels . The more highly educated a woman was the more she woultl attend to domestic duties . Hc would no more expect a daughter who was highly educated to neglect her

domestic duties than he would expect a son who had received a high education to neglect his duiii , if he brought him up as a merchant . The idea that girls coultl be overeducated was exploded ; we heard over and over again that with women it was so , but it was a lallacy , and the sooner it was thrown overboard the be ter . The Rev . A . F . A . Woodford took up the same course of

argument . He entirely disagreed wilh Bro . Raynham Stewart . His experience of the MasOi . ic Girls' School was that there was no other school iu England conducted on the same principle that met with the same success . The Freemasons in their schools had to deal with various classes of children ; antl the House Committee very wisely preferred to give them a maximum of education fitteel

to all the giils in the school . Whenever there was a variety of classes of girls got together it was a very signal proof of success if those girls were lurnel out capable 0 ! filling such situations as the girls from the Masonic Girls' School fille 1 . Hc , for one , protested against a statement going foith lhat such an education as that given iu this school unfitted the girls for domestic tluties . Some of the

brethren might remember a meeting held some years ago in a houM - t on the other side of the street , when the late Grand M ister , the Earl of Zetland , presided , and proposed the same thing- that Bro . . Stewart now proposed . Notwithstanding the views of thc then Granel Master , thc whole of the brethren present unanimously refused to atlopt them , and they resolved to let thc Girls' School go

on 111 thc way it was going on , giving satisfaction as it still tlitl to thc great body of the Craft . Bro . Griffiths Smith said that Bro . Stewart had remarked that if they gave the girls a less education they would be able to lake in more . Already the building- had been increased , antl they were now filling it up . Bro . Stewart : We shall increase again , I suppose .

Bro . Griffiths Smith-. That is a question of funds . Bro . Stewart ' s motion was then put and lost . Col . Creaton saitl he thought it better to state now than to have a meeting for the purpose of selling out funds that at the end of last year the funds at the banke-s' were so low as to require accommodation from those gentlemen . It was only temporary . He hatl also to report that the new buildings were - * ompleted , the laundry also , antl

that work woultl commence on Monday . He also saitl that at the last Quarterly Court and election the room in which it was held was not nearly large enough , and that the next court would require to be held in a larger room . After some conversation it was resolved to ask the Board of General Purposes to allow Ihe use of the great hall for thc purpose . The meeting closed with a vote of thanks to the Chairman .

Royal Masonic Institution For Boys.

ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR BOYS .

The Quarterly Meeting of this Institution ' s Govemois and subscribers was held on Monday , in the Board Room , Freemasons' Hall . Bro . John Symonds , V . P . and Trustee , presided , and there were also present Bros , S . Rawson , S . B . Wilson , F . Adlard , the Rev . A . F . A . Woodford , Col , Creaton , Wm . Roebuck , H . Massey I freemason ) , J . J .

Royal Masonic Institution For Boys.

Berry , R . B . Webster , John Mason , and F . Binckes , ( Secretary ) . After the reading and confirmation of the minutes , two cases which stood over for further information since last General Committee were taken , and the information having been obtained , one case was declared ineligible , and the other was placed on the list for next election .

Thc settlement of the list of candidates for that election was then taken , and on the subject being brought forward , The Rev . A . F . A . Woodford , P . G . C , adverted to the point he mentioned at a former meeting , antl read the following Law 56 of the Institution— " At the meetings ct the General Committee in January and July thc numbei

of vacancies shall be ascertained and stated , due enquiries having been previously made by the Secretary of the several parties who have children on the list of candidates as to their own circumstances , and thc eligibility of such candidates , the replies to such enquiries being officially reported to the General Committee . " Thc Chairman sa d that as this matter hail been raised ,

and the Rev Bro . Woodford had referred to the fact of the recommendation being requited , this would be a convenient time to allude to what took place at a former Quarterly Court . It woultl be remembered that Bro . Woodford gave notice of a motion to confer upon the Quarterly Court thc power << f approving or rejecting candidates recommended by the General Committee , and was

under the impr . sswn that Bro . Clabon had ruled that such power did not exist in the Quarterly Court . He ( Bro . Symonds ) at the time stated that he believed that Bro . Woodfortl was under sonic error , that he urtoondek tc communicate with Bro . Clabon . This he had done , and he asked Bro . Clabon to be present at this meeting , if he coultl , and take the chair , in order that he might give

his own explanation . Bro . Clabon had written to him that he woultl endeavour to do so , but as he had net come it was evident that business prevented him . He ( Bro . Symonds ) did not know that he need go into the matter fully , but Bro . Clabon ' s letter called attention to Law 57 , which stated , " The names of candidates shall be approved and declared at thc Quarterl y General Court

immediately preceding each ele . tion , and no candidate unless so approved shall be placed on the list for such election . " He did not know how any of the brethren coultl say alter such a law that it was imperative on a Quarterly Court to place candidates on the list for election if recommended , without laking thc recommendation of the Committee . That , he thought was , what Bro . Clabon

meant , and that must set the matter at rest . It did not only rest on thc mere fact of the preceding law as read by Bro . Woodford just now that they recommended the cases ; but here was a distinct statement of the law that thc names of candidates should be approved at the Quarterly Court . " No candidates unless so approved 'that really could not mean that the functions of this

court were merely ministerial , and that it was bound to put the candidates on . The Rev . A . F . A . Wootlford said he thought it very satisfactory that this had been matle clear on the high authority of Bro . Clabon , because he hatl understood that Bro . Clabon , an old member , stated the rule of the Boys ' School had been to accept the recommendation of the Committee as final , antl thc Quarterly Court had no power to VUPKC it .

Bro . W . Roebuck said it was so understood , but that had been shown to be wrong . Bro . the Rev . A . F . A . Woodford—Now , however , it is clearly understood that there is a power in the Quarterly Court of rejection if they think fit . On thc motion of Pro . W . Roebuck , sccontlcd by Bro . Col . Creaton , it was tleclared that thirty bovs should be

elected in April out of a list of seventy-eighr . The Chairman saitl there was one point hc should like to refer to , and hc thought thc Committee would do well to give it some consideration . The point was whether after the improvements and additions to the Boys' School had been completed they could not endeavour to arrive at a rule to admit as nearly as possible the same number of

candidates each half year . That was a rule at the St . Ann ' s and the London Orphan Asylum . They seldom varied more than one or two each I alf year , antl the friends of thc candidates coultl form some idea of the number of votes required . The difficulty in the Masonic Boys' School experienced by thc friends of candidates when five or nine were to be elected was that a very large quantity of votes

were required , ant ! now they saw the result , for nine or ten boys who were among the candidates at last election were taken off the list on account of their being over age . If this Institution hatl a similar rule to the two institutions he had named probably these boys would now be enjoying the benefits cf this school If thc brethren desired to admit twenty or twenty-five , or even fifte-cn at each election , the

elections would be vcry much simplified , and it appeared to him that there would be really less disappointment . They might , perhaps , not always fill up the whole number of vacancies , and sometimes , perhaps , they might put in one or two more boys beyond thc number of vacancies . By this means they woultl equalise thc number to be admitted each time . It seemed to him

to be for the interest of thc candidates . Some ten boys were taken off last time , and at the next election there would be some who would not require to poll any at all . He did not wish to make a motion on the subject , but hc merely threw it out as a suggestion for the brethren to consider whether after the alterations were

completed they coultl not endeavour to get into a certain groove , to admit as far as possible a certain number at each election , and prevent those tremendous struggles which occasionally occurred at the elections . The Rev , A . F . A . Wootlfortl wished to know what the Chairman meant by saying that some cp-ndtdates at next election woultl nit require to poll any votes .