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TELEGRAPHICADDRESSES(Inland). For the Freemason Printing Works—FREEMASON , LONDON . For Jewels , Clothing , Banners , and Furniture—KENNING , LONDON .

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TO OUR READERS . THE F REEMASON is published every Friday morning , price 3 d ., and contains the fullest and latest information relating to Freemasonry of every degree . Subscriptions , including Postage : — United States , United Kingdom . Canada , the Continent , India , China , Ceylon , the Colonies & c . Arabia , & c . 13 s . 6 d . 15 s . 6 d . 17 s . 6 d-Remittances may be made in Stamps , but Post Office Orders o £ cheques are preferred , the former payable to GEOROE K ENNING , Chief Office , London , the latter crossed London joint Stock Ban !* .

To Correspondents.

To Correspondents .

The following communications unavoidably stand over— ., INSTRUCTION . —Temperance Lodge , St . Luke's Lodge , Queen ' s Westminster and Marylebone . C ORRESPONDENCE—A London P . M ., W . Darley , P . M . 158 . NOTES & QUERIES— "A Provincial Grand Portrait Painter . " "' Alliance Lodge Banquet .

BOOKS . & c . RECEIVED . " Cassell ' s National Library , " " La Revista Masonica , Lancaster Daily Examiner , " •' New York Dispatch , " " El Pentalpa , «¦ Jewish Chronicle , " "Sunday Times" ( New York ) , "Masonic Advocate , " " Citizen , " " Masonic World , " ' •Court Circular "Sunday Times " ( London ) , "Hampshire Independent , "Orient , " Keystone , " and ' * Allen ' s Indian Mail . "

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SATURDAY , JANUARY 22 , 1887 .

Original Correspondence.

Original Correspondence .

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

A CURIOUS JEWEL . To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , Can any of your readers tell me to what degree the jewel belongs which has now been in my possession for

some time ? It is in the form of a silver triangle with a golden heart in the centre , transfixed by a silver arrow , barbed and feathered . , My wife gives it the poetical name of the Jewel of the Stricken Heart . It was given to me by a valued friend , a very old Mason , in Ipswich many years ago , and I have often wondered what it was . —Yours fraternally , EMRA HOLMES , 31 ° , K . C . T .

THE JUBILEE CELEBRATION . To the Editor of the "Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother ,

All the brethren on reading your article in Saturday ' s Freemason must have been struck with the grand ideas and opportunities shadowed forth for the coming Jubilee . The Imperial Institute will be a splendid National Memorial . The jubilee jewel will be something

for Masons to wear in remembrance of that happy event . •The fees proposed to be charged for admission to the Albert Hall or Olympia will no doubt bring a substantial and welcome addition to the Funds of the three Charities . ° ut I would ask is this all we can do to commemorate 'his joyful time ? In your issue of the 20 th November you particularly called the attention of the brethren to the number of

applicants for the R . M . B . I ., which was likely to be further 'ncreased to nearly or over 150 , with only about ten vacancies , so that about 140 of the approved candidates will again have to stand over unless something very suby ? nt ' ' ^ to a " t ' ' state ° * *' 8 ' s * Here is the opportunity for all Masons , wherever dispersed , and owing allegiance to our M . W . G . M ., to assist in this grand Work .

Original Correspondence.

A Masonic commemoration jewel will be struck , of a certain value , say two guineas ; this , I suppose , will have to be applied for by the brethren through their lodges . My suggestion is that all those wishing to wear the jewel should subscribe say two and a half guineas or three guineas to a fund to be collected by the W . M . or Treasurer of the lodge . The jewel should then be presented in the usual way . The balance , after paying for jewels , to be presented

to the R . M . B . I ., and the votes so obtained to become the property of the lodge . This should realise something like £ 20 , 000 , and would be a most welcome addition to the Funds of the Institution . Every brother could then wear his jewel with pride , knowing that he had assisted to commemorate such a double event as the Jubilee Year of hei Most Gracious Majesty , and the permanent assistance of so many of our dear old brethren and friends who so sorely stand in need thereof . —Yours fraternally , I 535- 865 .

To the Editor ofthe "Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , Referring to the circular of the Sth inst ., issued by the Pro Grand Master , and your leader in No . 932 , on the 15 th inst ., I would suggest that a bar or scroll , with a

suitable inscription , be allowed to be worn in addition to the jewel by all those who personally attend the celebration at the Albert Hall or Olympia . If you think this suggestion a good one please make use of it in any way you like , but I feel sure it would be well received in the provinces . —Yours faithfully , W . C . PEACE , Cardiff , January 17 . P . M ., Treasurer 960 .

BURNS AS POET LAUREATE . To the Editor of the "Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , The festivities of the season have prevented me sooner noticing the interesting notanda by Bro . Hughan in your " Notes and Queries , " entitled " Burns as Poet Laureate of No . 2 . "

There can , I think , be no doubt that Burns never held the office of Poet Laureate of the Canongate Kilwinning Lodge , No . 2 ( S . C . ) No record of the creation , or even existence , of such an office exists in the minute books of the lodge so far as I can remember , and I examined them all some years ago very carefully , with the object of ascertaining how this matter stood , and , according to my

recollection , there is no record of such a fact . There can be no doubt that Burns was assumed as a member of the lodge in March , 1787 ; but the minute books disclose nothing more . It has been the immemorial and inveterate usage of Scotch lodges to declare all their offices vacant at the end of each Masonic year . At the annual meeting in June , 1787 , the whole offices of the Lodge Canongate , Kilwinning ,

were in like manner declared vacant . The offices enumerated as then existing did not embrace that of a Poet Laureate . Burns died nine years afterwards , and during that period office bearers were annually elected to every office in the lodge , but the records make no reference to Burns as the holder of any of them , nor to the existence of that of a Poet Laureate .

In his correspondence , written at the time , he makes allusions to Masonic meetings , but he does not refer to the alleged appointment , which would have necessarily gratfied him very much . It was not till 1 S 15 , nineteen years after Burns' death , that , for the first time , the lodge records the statement that he had been "Poet Laureate of the lodge . " But ,

apart from this incidental allusion , the office itself had no existence , at least upon the records of the lodge , until the "Ettrick Shepherd" was appointed to it in 1835 . It is impossible to believe that , had such an office been created and conferred on Burns , he would not in some of his numerous letters , written at the time , have referred to the compliment thus paid to him , and that the contemporaneous

records of the Iodge itself , and those of the other Edinburgh lodges , would have been all silent on the subject of his installation . Had it occurred as described , deputations from the other sister lodges would have been present , and they would have made their reports to their respective lodges , and those reports would have been recorded in their minutes , in conformity with Masonic practice , but no

such reports were made . It , however , appears from the statement of Bro . Hunter , P . M . 8 , in his interesting little work , entitled " Burns as a Mason , " to which Bro . Hughan refers , that the lodge did not confer the office upon Burns , but that it was the Master of the lodge who did so . The Master of a Scotch lodge had no such power . Bro . Hunter ' s statement therefore tends to show that the office had no existence .

It must be kept in view that Burns' works had in March , 1787 , been only recently published , and that his fame was consequently local , for time had not permitted the general public to know of his great merits as a poet , and thus he was not then looked on as the great genius he undoubtedl y was , and was thus less likely to be canonised by the Craft . —Yours fraternally , Edinburgh , January 15 . W . O ., P . M . 1 ( S . C . )

MUSIC IN LODGES . To the Editor of the "Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , Following up the letters on this subject in the Freemason , I may state that in several lodges in the Province of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight sacred and vocal music is always practised at the opening and closing of the Iodge , and I can vouch for the solemnity of spirit which it throws over the ritual . That its introduction " into our

ceremonies" would as "P . M . " suggests , "add to the beauty and attractiveness of our lodge working , " few men with half a soul can doubt . What , 1 ask , would be said , if it were proposed to abolish singing in our consecration ceremonies . If that singing be legal—and if not I hope no one will attempt to raise the point—why should the same privilege not be allowed in ordinary lodge business . —Yours fraternally , H . L ., P . M ., P . S . G . D . HANTS .

THE COLLAR QUESTION . To the Editor of the "Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , I am much afraid to make myself any more disliked upon this question . Some consider it of no importance , but generally I find these very considerate (?)

Original Correspondence.

brethren rank amongst the Grand Oflicers of all ilks . To those brethren who may have been expecting to see something from me upon this subject , I may say I have been silent in order to learn , if possible , something from my opponents ; the study has not been very profitable , yet I have gleaned something . I regret your report of the proceedings at Grand Ledge

is not sufficientl y full to make much use of in the form of quotation for the benefit of any who did not find it convenient to be present , and to quote from memory may expose me to adverse criticism . The question now is , what next ? W . Bro . Pope , Q . C , G . D ., has done me the honour to almost unsay , in his letter in yours of iSth Dec , all he was

pleased to say in such glowing words in Grand Lodge in order to squash both me and the question at issue , and yet he cannot make the amende honorable without a fling at the unimportance of the question . To some , however , it may appear that if the subject is or was of sufficient importance as to induce those who compiled the Revise of the Constitutions to introduce a new articleand to

, do so in a very imperfect form , it mayj be worth the attention of others to try to correct their mistakes , and I trust Grand Lodge will not grudge the necessary ti me for this purpose . Bro . Pope now appears to think that Grand Lodge ought to concede almost all I asked—that is , to allow Past Masters to wear collars on all occasions—all else that I asked for was that the collar of a

Past Master should be a distinctive one . Personally , I care not what is the distinction provided I get one . Some brother has suggested green—possibly he would not be averse to something still more Scotch , and advocate a tartan with the bagpipes as a badge ; it is very easy for some folks to be ridiculous . Of course , while admitting that the Board of General

Purposes has scored a victory , yet I think 211 against 210 is scarcely so pronounced a decision of the United Grand Lodge as to warrant me in considering the matter closed , yet I labour under a great disadvantage in having to come so far at considerable expense of time and money , and to cause several other provincial brethren equal cost and inconvenience to support my theory ; in such a case there

ought to be some concession and consideration given in some way . I can hardly expect the Board of General Purposes to Stultify themselves by proposing anything further , and yet I fear it will be incumbent upon me to propose the non-confirmation of certain portions of the minutes , or give notice of another series of motions for amendments , or both if no middle course can be found .

Although I greatly fear to trespass further upon your space , I would like to point out one absurdity in Article 308 , as altered by last resolution , viz ., the collars of officers and Past Masters are to be worn only in their own lodges , or in Grand , or P ., or D . G . L ., and yet even a P . G . M . or a D . G . M . has power to grant a dispensation to wear Masonic clothing upon certain occasions , as per Article 206 . Putting these two rules together , they simply mean that all officers

beloiis the rank or office of Warden may wear by dispensation their full regalia , but Masters , Past Masters , or Wardens may not , nor can they have a dispensation ; no , not even from the Grand Master himself ! Finally , I will be glad if all brethren who are interested in this question , either in favour or otherwise , will kindly note that I purpose , if possible , to attend at Grand Lodge on the 2 nd of March to assist at the arrangement of this question . —Yours faithfully and fraternally , W . NICHOLL , P . M . 317 .

CONTROL OF LODGE FUNDS . To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , My attention has been called to some letters in your paper with reference to what took place at the Cama Lodge . What I ruled was . that the brethren at the hannuet

table could not vote away the funds of the lodge . —Yours fraternally , RAYMOND H . THRUPP , Deputy Provincial Grand Master Middlesex . Brook House , Twickenham , January 15 th .

" MASONIC RECORDS . " To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , With reference to Bro . Shackles ' s letter in your last issue , and Bro . Gould ' s remarks in your issue of the Sth inst ., I desire to draw the attention of these brethren to a German book , published in Leipzicin 1859 entitled

, , "List of all Grand and Provincial St . John's Lodges , and Scottish Lodges and Chapters , and of the so far known Clandestine Lodges in Germany , founded , extinct , and still existing since the year 1737 ; with historical notes , giving the names of the Grand Lodges to which they belong , the time of foundation , alteration , and extinction , by Aug . fr . Polick . " ¦* - ¦

This work gives , in a similar way , I believe , to that of Bro . Lane ' s , information about the German lodges . If any brother should want to consult the book , I shall be very happy to lend it on hearing from him . —Yours fraternally , C . KUPFERSCHMIDT , P . M . Pilgrim Lodge , No . 23 S . 23 , Woodberry-grove , Finsbury Park , January iSth .

$ _ Bro . J . D . Blackman was installed W . M . of the Constitutional Lodge , No . 294 , Beverley , on Thursday , the 6 th inst ., Bro . Tom Turner , the ex-Mayor , being the Installing Master . There was a large attendance , both in lodge and at the banquet at the White Horse Inn afterwards .

At the annual meeting * , on the 5 th inst ., of St . Anne's Lodge , No . 970 , East Looe , Bro . G . White vvas installed W . M . in the presence of a numerous gathering of members and visitors , the ceremony being very ably carried out by Bro . J . Doney , P . M . S 56 . The banquet

followed at the Ship Hotel , the usual toast list being duly honoured and the speeches relieved by occasional interludes of singing and instrumental music . TOBACCONISTS COMMENCING . —An Illustrated Guide of no pages , " How to open respectably from . _*?_ o to j *? 2 ooo- " three stamps , H . Myers & Co ., 10 9 , Euston-rd ., London , Telephone No . 7541 . —[ ADVT . ]