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letters have been printed without the names of their writers . I must say that I consider th : * - language of most very ungentlemanlike and wholly unmasonic , and can only presume the writers are ashamed to say openly what they print anonymously . There are occasions when anonymous writings are

justifiable and necessary , but surely a personal attack on . a gentleman in the column of a newspaper which is headed ' Thc Editor is not responsible , " & c , is not one . I make no reference to the " Order" which M . Rhodocanakis is said to lay claim to , nor do I care whether he is or not rightly

styled Prince ; but I want to stop what I believe to be an infraction of our Masonic rule , and this would , in my opinion , best be accomplished either by excluding letters containing personal accusations from your columns , or requiring the writers' names to be published . Yours fraternally ,

JULIUS A . PEARSON . F . S . A ., Aug . ioth , 1870 . M . M . No . 10 .

( To the Editor of Thc Freemason . ) BEAR SIR AND BROTHER , — " Brown , Jones , and Robinson , " I observe by a reference to THE FREEMASON of the 6 th instant , still perpetuate their celebrity—one now writes too well , another not well

enough , while the third cannot write at all . From the opinions expressed by "A Barrister , " I infer that your correspondent merely adopts that dignified nom-de-plitms , or he may indeed be one of those who try their unfledged wings in " Moots . " Be this as it may , I like his sententious and didactic

style , and have little doubt that if not overtasked in early life , he may yet rise to the honours of the silk gown , or even the Woolsack . Nothing is impossible . As for " Common Sense , " he might have saved the Roman Capitol had he lived in the early times of that Republic . At present , Lux a non lucende

would perhaps have been a more suitable iiom-deplitmc ; but as he seems to have entirely effervesced in his own wit , it is scarcely worth while to analyse the dregs . The third "good boy" in his "corner" has

evidently not finished his education , and has mistaken his plum for something else ; but as Christmas with its pies comes once a year , no doubt five months hence he will have learnt what it really is that he gets under his thumb . KEW SEE .

( To thc Editor of The Freemason . ) DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —I think that I am fairly justified in repudiating the charge of personality brought against me by your correspondent "J . A . H . " , for I have only treated him in his literary capacity , as Macaulay ( not that I institute

any precise comparison ) treated Robert Montgomery . There is a wide difference between challenging thc public and authoritative productions of a writer , and invading the sanctity of his private character . But " J . A . H . " must surely concede to me the

liberty of correcting his errors , and therefore I shall now proceed to point out more than one in his letter ( THE FREEMASON , p . 380 ) of August 1 st . In thc first place , in order to sustain inyassertion that " J . A . H . " might be better informed on the subject which he has taken up , I may draw

attention to thc fact that he styles Ulster " King- <*/ - Arms , " whereas " at-Arms " is distinctive of a particular description of mediaeval soldiers , and not of any heraldic authority—the heads of these institutions in { the three kingdoms being Kmgs- <*/" -Arms . This being undeniable , "J . A . H . " will , I hope , take

the correction in good part , for it is a pity that the two distinct names should be confounded . Secondly , Sir Bernard is only the compiler of his " Peerage and Baronetage " and " Landed Gentry , " and has not published them authoritatively as '' Ulster" —a mistake into which some persons have

fallen ; and therefore thc reference made to thc former work by thc Baron dc Bliss amounted to 'lathing , and could only have satisfied those unconversant wilh the subject . Moreover , Sir Bernard does not , and could not , be expected to vouch for the absolute correctness of thc titles and pedigrees

of the foreign nobility appended to his peerage , for all arc not included ( as , for instance , the ex-royal famil y of France and the Maharajah Dulccp Sing , the members of which families have been long resident in England ) . In fact , Sir Bernard states that ° "' y those foreign noblemen " born in England "

are included j and even in this respect the rule is lot strictly adhered to . In addition to this , thc veracity neither of thc pedigrees of thc " Peerage and Baronetage , " nor of the " Landed Gentry , " ' is 'nsistcd on , the author having merely conserved those sent to him in some instances , and obtained

V him in others . In these efforts Ulster has done a great public service , by affording an insight into a scattered mass of documents , some genuine and some spurious , which would probably luvor otherwise have been made available for public criticism . " ut , as I have said , this collection is not complete ,

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nor does its talented author profess it to be so . With regard to " Thc Book of Knighthood , " it is , in like manner , useful and instructive , but necessarily not immaculate , for there are orders omitted , such as that of the " Dooranee Empire , " members of which are still living ; while amongst the medals given in the appendix , at least ten now worn by authority are not mentioned . This is no

detraction from the merits of Sir Bernard s contributions to knowledge ; but , at the same time , it tends to show that " J . A . H . " , as I before remarked , has jumped at conclusions rather hastily . Whereas , had he studied the subject , he would have acquired the knowledge which , in all humility , I am guiding

him towards . I must say that the two last paragraphs of " J . A . H . ' s" letter contain personal insinuations which throw entirely into the shade any that 1 may inadvertently have made against himself , and I do not consider them as creditable to a writer in the

public press ; while , at the same time , assertions are advanced without any references by which , as a matter of business , they could have been tested . As "A Barrister" has , along with "J . A . H . " , condemned , by inference , my imputation of malice agjinst "J . A . H . " , lean only say that , as there was

no occasion for the bitter remarks of the latter , and as he seemed to go out-of his way to make them , I naturally concluded that there must be some animus in the matter . "A Barrister " seems to fall into the mistake that loss of territory implies the loss of hereditary claims—a refutation of which doctrine is

to be found in all the ex-royal houses of Europe . And , moreover , the same writer overlooks the fact , that the dictum of legal right to certain titular distinctions is scarcely to the point , for , by the same argument , he would justify our refusing such honours to the eldest sons of those peers who have

second titles , and who , when described in legal documents , do not retain them ; and , in like manner , the same objection would tell against 999 out of every 1 , 000 gentlemen to whom society regards it as an affront to refuse , on legal grounds , the style of " esquire . " Where this is so , " A Barrister ' s " dictum

can hardly be said to weigh against pretensions substantiated by genealogical proofs , the public recognition of society , and the testimony of historians , & c , for the last 400 years . In conclusion , one of the writers in question seems to forget that thc pursuits of commerce arc

not incompatible with rank , as wc know from thc historyof the Medici and other noble Italian houses . Moreover , there are at this moment peers of the realm who are professional bankers , merchants , and even cattle-dealers . Sterne ' s " Marquis of La Vendee" teaches an instructive moral ; Sir Bernard Burke ' s " Vicissitudes of Families" tells the same

story , while the Prince dc Comic , on thc expulsion of the Bourbons , became a bookseller ; Louis Philippe a schoolmaster ; and many other persons of distinction have , on the loss of territorial possessions , been obliged to yield to an adverse fortune , but without forfeiting the consideration due to their illustrious ancestry . Sp . Bedford , August 6 th , 1870 .

( To the Editor of The Freemason . ) DEAR SIR AND BROTHER ,-- With all respect to Bro . Hughan , I sec no analogy between King Charles il . ancl Mr . Rhodocanakis . Let mc ask Bro . Hughan if he could imagine any one saluting the present Lord Bute—who has been said to be "a

Stuart of the Stuarts " —as " Your Majesty . ' ' Air . John Timbs has told us of a butcher at Halesowen who is a direct descendant of thc Tudors—is he a prince ? If so , where are these titles to end ? Moreover , Charles II . had always a large number of faithful adherents in England , but Prince

Rhodocanakis can find no one to render him allegiance in Turkey or Greece , and has no ' followers " except a few Freemasons in England . Your correspondent "S . " quotes a farther letter from Sir Bernard Burke , which in a remarkable degree corroborates what I stated in myletterwhich appeared in THE FREEMASON for July 23 rd :

1 said : "Sir Bernard dis- "S . says : Sir Bernard owned all knowledge of " had no knowledge of the ' His Imperial Highness . ' " Prince or thecasc . " Now , the partisans ofthe " Prince" seem incapable of seeing the point of thc whole matter , namely , tbat , if Mr . Rhodocanakis were a prince , Sir Bernard

Burke is the one person in Europe 10 ) 10 ought to be able to testify to the fad . But Sir Bernard has " no knowledge" of the matter , and Sir Bernard's works on " Orders of Knighthood , " Sec , contain no mention of thc prince . These facts speak for themselves .

" Philalcthes " is wholly illogical , since he charges mc with being " anonymous , " and then intimates that he knows that I lack tbe "distinction" of " social worth . " If " social worth " means that I do not claim to be a " prince , " I admit the charge ; but if this correspondent , who is himself " anonymous , " lias anything to say against my personal character , I am prepared to afford him a fitting opportunity of

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vindicating his charges in a court of law . I have sought to avoid all personalities in this matter . I have never impugned Mr . Rhodocanakis's " respectability" in his private capacity , inasmuch as the matter in hand is entirely removed from personal

questions . Possibly , Mr . Rhodocanakis is as sincere in believing himself a " prince" as was the amiable Mr . Levi in supposing himself " Dictator of England , " when he recently attempted to take possession of Windsor Castle .

I subjoin a " memorandum , " which will show you that Mr . Rhodocanakis is not recognised as a prince in Greece . Similar inquiries show that he is unknown in Russia . There are no princes in Turkey . Then , let us ask , in what country and under what government is Mr . Rhodocanakis a prince ? Yours fraternally , London , Aug . 15 th , 1870 . J . A . H .

[ MEMORANDUM . ] The undersigned having been appointed a deputation to visit the Consulate-General of Greece in London , for the purpose of inquiring into the pretensions of the so-called "Prince Rhodocanakis , " we this clay , August li , 1 S 70 , waited upon the Consul-General in the discharge of onr duty . The Consul-General received us with great courtesy , and having explained our business , the questions we put

and the answers we received were as follows : 1 st Question : "Can you oblige us with any authorised list of the Greek nobility ?" Anr . ver : '' There are no titles of nobility existing or recognised in Greece . " 2 nd Question : "Are you aware lhat a Greek merchant in Manchester has assumed the titles of " His Imperial Highness Prince Rhodocanakis ?"

Annoer : " Lie may call hWtself ' what he likes , but he is no prince . " Thanking the Consul-General for his courteous reception of vis , we then withdrew . ( Signed ) j . A . H . G . n . A .

SCOTCH MASONRY . ( To the Editor of The Freemason . ) DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —In reference to your correspondent's able letter on Scotch Masonry , let me observe that he appears to have been made in a lodge in Trinidad , and though his lodge is under thc jurisdiction of the G . L . of Scotland , I am afraid it

cannot be taken as a fair sample of the manner lodges are worked under that jurisdiction—I wish I could think otherwise—and in reply to the query at page 379 , I would refer him to the reports of the English Lodge of Benevolence during any given

time , and I feel certain the larger number of non-English Masons who receive relief from that fund will be found to be Scotch brethren , and would ask him to give a reason for this fact , as the Scotch are proverbially considered so very provident , thrifty

and industrious . I am , yours fraternally , 16 August , 1870 . AN ENQUIRER . FOREIGN TITLES .

( To the Editor of The Freemason . ) SIR AND BROTHER , —I have no particular interest in thc discussion now being carried on in your paper respecting thc claims of a foreigner to high-sounding titles , but having bad some experience of similar gentry , 1 desire to warn your readers against placing implicit confidence in ex parte statements when

uncorroborated by proof . 1 remember , some years ago , a Greek who used to frequent tbe " Sultan , " a noted place of resort in Manchester , and invariably '* treated" all present who saluted him as " Prince , " or " Count , " 1 forget which . Thc following extract from thc Times of September 3 rd , 1858 , is also apropos : —

" The man calling himself Count Viala was yesterday arrested ; and in his lodgings were seized numerous fa ' se patents of Knighthood , and about a dozen diplomas of lcarnc . 1 societies . Ore of the patents was of the Order of the Gilded Militia , or Goldcd Spur , which purported to be granted by the Duke of Sfoivia ( sic ) , a Roman Prince , ami which set forth thai , in addition to the Order , it

conferred the title of Count . Others ofthe pretended patents were of the Order of Malta and that of St . Gregory the Great . The soi : disaiit Count de Viala has been rccjgnised ar a professional Greek , who is well known , both in Paris and at all the German watering places , lie has at limes passed by the name of Count cle C-issan , and has been condemned for cheating at cards . " I must therefore say that the safe side is to be , like Yours fraternally ,

INCREDULOUS . PROVINCE OF CORNWALL , AND ALFRED NUTT .

( To the Editor of ' The Freemason . ) DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —Allow me to thank Bro . Hughan for his correction of the error in the report of the meeting of the Prov . Grand Lodge of Cornwall , that our local candidate for the Boys ' School had been successful at the last election . Would that it had been , so ! ...