Correspondence.

Correspondence .

[ We do not hold ourselves responsible for the opinions expressed by our correspondents , but we wish , iu a spirit of fair play to all , to permit—within certain necessary limits—free discussion . ]

BOARD OF INSTALLED MASTERS . To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , On the 15 th November , 1889 , a distinguished company of Grand

Oflicers went to Manchester to consecrate the Centurion Lodge , and install the Prov . Grand Master of East Lancashire , Colonel Le Gendre Starkie , as the first W . M . I had the honour of an invitation , and as it was during my eight years ' tenure of office as Grand Secretary for the Province of Leicestershire and Rutland , I paid close attention to the proceedings .

The Board of Installed Masters was simply " declared open " and " declared closed . " The Grand Officers present were , as I remember , Bros . Col . Shadwell Clerke , G . Sec . ; Philbrick , Fenn , Richardson , Matier , and Col . Philips . When the subsequent banquet at the Queen ' s Hotel broke up , we had a talk in the corridor , and somehow the question of opening and closing an Installed Board can * ie up , with the following result . Our late Bro . Grand Secretary asked

me directly whether it was worked in my province . I replied , certainly : and that though I had not received the benefit of it myself when installed by our late Bro . Conrad C . Dumas , P . A . G . D . C , I had practised it ever since , and that I worked it up because some of our brethren intimated that I had not got all the secrets , and that probably Bro . Dumas being a London Mason did riot know them . Bro . Philbrick called it " rank heresy . " Bro . Fenn said the practice had been " formally forbidden by the Board of General Purposes ; " but I have never

seen any circular on the subject . Bro . Shadwell Clerke allowed that it was certainly antient and interesting , but that it had not been adopted by the present Grand Lodge of England at the Union ; that the working had gone over sea to America , and had been re-introduced into England ; and that so long as , Grand Lodge authority was recognised , we ought to accept its ruling as to what is or is not irregular . I replied that our province would certainly accept the ruling . The Prov . Grand Master did so , and I believe that no Installed Board has been opened or closed in form therein ever since .

I was asked whether Bro . Sadler ' s book had not convinced me . I replied no ; it only convinces me that he and the worthy veterans whom he consulted were simply in ignorance of the working . I then ventured to inquire what does the present Installed Board represent ? Does it represent that Board which Bro . Sadler says was established in London and sat to initiate all comers ? Those who took part in the conversation seemed to think it does .

The late William Kelly , P . P . G . M ., used to tell me that in his earlier days as an Installing Master he knew nothing of it , but that his predecessor , Sir Fred Gustavus Fowke , did , and that in his earlier days there was an actual Board of Masters of Arts and Sciences to which the candidate for the Master ' s chair was previously presented , and that a certain sign and salutation is a survival of the same .

The working seems to have been introduced into this province by a brother from Birmingham , a founder of the Commercial Lodge , No . 1391 , circa 1872 . Bro . Shadwell Clerke added this cogent argument against the practice , viz ., that in trying and proving a brother who claims to be an Installed Master one has no right to doubt or reject him because he is not in possession of certain additional secrets which have not been imparted to him . —I am , Sir and Brother , with respect , yours fraternally ,

CHAS . HENTON WOOD , Clerk , M . A ., P . P . S . G . W ., P . P . G . Sec . Leicester , nth September .

OBJECTIONS TO MASONRY . To the Editor of the "Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , The objections that have been put forward in your last issue arc not without a legitimate foundation , inasmuch as the lodges profess to teach its members the science of Architecture and of Geometry in particular . And yet

how very few of the Craft understand what a triangle is , or a square , much less a parellellopipedon . Ask them if they know what the flavour of Scotch whiskey is , they will doubtless give you a favourable answer , for why ? They are not true Masons , and are better known in the lodges as " 4 th men , " more fond of feasts than by their presence in assisting the Worshipful Master and his officers in conducting the order and working of their respective lodges . Hence it is that

Masonry , though veiled in mystery , is really opened to ridicule . Then again , how few of the Craft act up to their obligations to the lodge . Why is it that they do not act on the square with all mankind ? Simply because they are actuated by selfish instincts , and merely enter a lodge for furthering and carrying out their mercenary motives . Hence the freedom and carelessness in their manner of showing the grips , signs , and tokens , & c , of the Craft , while Masonic studs , rings ,

and watch chain appendages are displayed to the best advantages . It is now mooted , that the Fraternity are thinking of doing away with all jewels , badges , and other visible insignia of the Craft , and it would be greatly to its advantage if they did , as such distinctive indications are being very much overdone . The true mystery about Freemasonry is this fact , that a young Entered Apprentice on

having passed the First Degree in the lodge is very much disappointed at not being made all at once acquainted with the secrets from the i ° up to the 33 ° . The Roman Catholics point this fact out to would-be aspirants to Masonic honours , and wc know that the Roman Catholics are bitter enemies to Masonry . —Yours truly , MELCOMBE SMITH . London , 14 th September .

Provincial Grand Mark Lodge Of Cumberland And Westmorland.

PROVINCIAL GRAND MARK LODGE OF CUMBERLAND AND WESTMORLAND .

INSTALLATION OF BRO . LORD HENRY I 3 ENTINCK , M . P ., AS P . G . M .

The annual meeting of the above Provincial Grand Mark Lodge was held at the Keswick Hotel , Keswick , on the 12 th inst ., under the banner of Bective Lodge , No . 4 . 5 . * . The principal business was the installation of Bro . Lord Henry Cavendish Bentinck , M . P ., as Prov . Grand Master , in succession to the late Earl of Bective . The following were present : Bros , the Earl of Euston , M . W . Pro Grand Master ; Colonel Frederick Robertson Sewell , Deputy Prov . Grand Master ; C . F . Matier , P . G . W ., Grand Sec ;

Provincial Grand Mark Lodge Of Cumberland And Westmorland.

T . Argles , P . G . D . ; G . Dalrymple , P . A . G . D . C ., P . G . Treas . ; Rev . W , Cree , Grand Chap . ; Col . Gandy , P . P . S . G . W . ; Dr . Gore Ring , P . S . G . W j T . Mason , P . J . G . W . ; Rev . Canon Rawnsley , P . G . Chap . ; T . Mandle ! P . P . S . G . W . ; James Gardiner , Past Grand Steward ; W . F . Lamonb y , P . P . G . Sec . ; and others .

The Provincial Grand Lodge having been opened by Bro . Col . Sewell , and the minutes confirmed , the roll of lodges was called , all the 10 lod ges comprising the province being represented , with the exception of Cumberland Lodge , No . 60 , Carlisle . The Prov . Grand Treasurer ' s report , showing a balance in hand , was read and adopted .

A deputation of Present and Past Grand Officers then retired to escort the M . W . Pro Grand Master into the room , and he having entered , took the chair , and was saluted . The patent of the Provincial Grand Master having been read by the GRAND SECRETARY ,

Bro . Lord Henry Bentinck , M . P ., was announced , and he was installed into the chair and saluted , after which he installed Bro . Col . Sewell as his Dep . Prov . Grand Master . The following officers were invested :

Bro . W . F . Lamonby ... ... ... Prov . S . G . W . „ Rev . W . Cree , G . Chap . ... ... Prov . J . G . W . „ S . Broadbent ... ... ... Prov . G . M . O . „ Dr . Braithwaite ... ... ... Prov . S . G . O . „ G . W . Turney ... ... ... Prov . J . G . O .

„ Rev . Canon Rawnsley ... ... ... Prov . G . Chap . „ G . Dalrymple , P . A . G . D . C . ... ... Prov . G . Treas . „ J . F . Hope ... ... ... ... Prov . G . R . of M „ J . C . Thompson ... ... ... Prov . G . Sec . „ J . P . Bennett ... ... ... Prov . S . G . I ) . „ VV . Hodgson ... ... ... Prov . J . G . D . „ J . Bouch ... ... ... ... Prov . G . I . of W .. W . Sheldon ... ... ... ... Prov . G . D . C .

„ J . Wilkinson ... ... ... Prov . A . G . D . C . „ J . B . Thwaites ... ... ... Prov . G . S . B . „ W . Shaw ... ... ... ... Prov . G . Std . Br „ J . Gibson ... ... ... ... Prov . G . Org . „ J . Meneely ... ... ... ... Prov . A . G . Sec . „ J . Iveson ... ... ... ... - ) „ H . S . Wilson ... ... ... I n - / - c . J il G . Brooker J Prov . G . Stwds . „ G . A . L . Merry ... ... ... J „ W . Atkinson ... ... ... Prov . G . Tyler .

The following were appointed the Committee of General Purposes : Bros . Sewell , Lamonby , Cree , and Dalrymple . The PROV . GRAND MASTER announced , amid applause , his intention of representing the province as Steward at the next Festival of the Mark Benevolent Fund , and the sum of £ 20 was voted to his list from the funds . It was unanimously resolved that Bro . J . Clifton Thompson , P . G . Sec , be recommended to his Royal Highness the M . W . Grand Master for the collar of Grand Steward next year .

A hearty vote of thanks was accorded to the Pro Grand Master for his kindness in coming to the North to perform the important duty of the day . " Bro . LAMONBY moved , Bro . MANDLE seconded , and it was carried unanimously : " That this Provincial Grand Lodge desires to place on record its profound sense of the great loss Mark Masonry has sustained through the death of the senior member of the Order in the province , Bro . Joseph Nicholson , P . P . S . G . W ., P . G . D . of England . "

With "Hearty good wishes" from the Provincial Grand Lodgeof Lancashire , Provincial Grand Lodge was closed , and the brethren adjourned to a well-served banquet .

The Craft Abroad.

The Craft Abroad .

INSTALLATION OF BRO . LORD SANDHURST AS PRO DISTRICT GRAND MASTER OF BOMBAY .

On the 23 rd ult ., at the Town Hall , his Excellency Bro . Lord Sandhurst , Governor of Bombay , who specially came down from Poona on the preceding evening , was installed as Pro District Grand Master of Bombay in the presence of a grand and imposing assemblage of brethren of Bombay . A special Communication of the District Grand Lodge of Bombay and its territories under England was held for the purpose at six p . m ., in the Durbar Room of the Town Hall , which had been converted for the occasion into a

lodge room , perfect in all its parts , and beautiful in its arrangements . An excellent bust of the Grand Master , H . R . H . the Prince of Wales , which was presented to the District Grand Lodge some years ago , was advantageously placed on an elegant stand behind the Pro Dist . G . Master ' s chair . A special robing room had been prepared for the Pro District Grand Master and another for the rest of the brethren . The arrangements for the lodge

room , and the decorations for the banquet , which was held in the large hall , were entrusted to a sub-committee , composed of Bros . E . J . Smi'h , District G . Secretary ; Framroz R . Joshi , J . F . Pennock , D . R . Chichgar , Cowasjee Ukerjee Kharras , G . Mackenzie , Dinshaw D . Mistri , and A . Beniston . All the arrangements and decorations were ably carried out in their details , considering the limited time at the disposal of the sub-committee ; and the members of it deserve to be congratulated on the judgment and good tasle

with which they acquitted themselves . The brethren generally , after putting on their Masonic clothing in the robing room , took their places in the lodge under their respective banners , which were all hung up , and were seated by six p . m . Bro . H . Wynf " Barrow , the Deputy District Grand Master in charge , in the absence of Br ° * I . M . Shields , accompanied by the officers of the District Grand LodgCf entered the lodge in procession , and took the chair soon afterwards , and