Bro. Binckes's. Reply.

have a duty to perform to the Craft superior to aCy suggestions whatever of private views or personal consideration , and we treated this matter , as we shall continue to treat all others , when they arise , simply as affecting the general interest of the fraternity . We have evinced on

many occasions how deeply and truly we have the welfare of our excellent Educational Institutions at heart , but we should not be discharging , as we deem it , our bounden duty , or maintaining our true position , in respect of our Order , if we did not fairly and fully , but temperately ,

state our candid opinion , without fear and without favour , on any matter which appears to require notice or demand animadversion . We spoke in the most friendly tone , but we expressed our opinion honestly and openly , simply because it was our opinion , and we have reason to believe

that such opinion agrees not only with that of the great majority of Grand Lodge present on December and , 1874 , but also with that of most of our readers . We are the last persons in the world to refuse to any brother an impartial hearing , or to undervalue the opinion of the

competent and the well-informed , and Bro . Binckes may feel assured that we shall always be ready to insert his communications , and always willing to consider carefully any suggestions emanating from his known experience , or dictated by his long connection with the Boy ' s School .

Masonic Questions And Answers.

MASONIC QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS .

We have latterly received so many questions on points of Masonic jurisprudence and other matters , which are apt to be overlooked in our columns of correspondence , that we shall in future devote a small space to all such questions and their answers . Any brother who will favour us with his question , under a signature or

initials , clearly written , and which reaches us on Tuesday , will be answered in the impression of Saturday . As our brethren are aware , we go to press on Thursdays j so that , in order to avoid delay and omission , it will be necessary to have the questions forwarded to the Editor , 198 , Fleetstreet , E . G ., not later than Tuesday in each week .

Original Correspondence.

Original Correspondence .

IWe do not hold ourselves responsible for , or even as approving of the opinions expressed by our correspondents , but wc wish , in „ spirit of fair play to all , to permit—within certain necessary limits—fre * e discussion . —lio . ]

THE INSTALLATION OE THE GRAND MASTER . To the Editor of the Freemason . Dear Sir and Brother , — In the early part of November last , you kindly inserted in the Freemason a letter of mine , advocating Albert Hall as the most suitable building for the ceremony of thc installation of the M . W . the Grand Master , H . R . H .

the Prince of Wales . Since then I have had frequent opportunities of ascertaining the feeling of the brethren upon the subject ; anil in every lodge , chapter , or other Masonic meeting that I have attended , the opinion has been unanimous in favour of ceremony taking place there . It is true some objections have been stated , and to those

objections I will endeavour to reply . It is said : — 1 Albert Hall is not consecrated . 2 We cannot have the banquet at Albert Hall . 3 The building cannot be properly tiled . 4 Albert Hall is too large . So far as No . 1 is concerned , it is out of the field at once . Albert Hall is not consecrated for Masonic purposes , and it

is not necessary that it should be . None of the great City halls in which the installation of Grand Masters took place were consecrated ; therefore , if precedent is required , here is ample . No . 2 : —There is no necessity for a banquet at Albert Hall , unless it could be shown that it might be easily arranged b y some of the great contractors ( such as Spiers & 1

. ond for instance ) . The Past and Present Officers of Grand Lod ge and a certain number of brethren could dine as usual at Freemasons' Tavern ; Provincial and other lodges could make their own arrangements prior to the day , and it at either of the large hotels , or other houses where Masonic meetings usually take place . As to No . 3 objection : —If I am rightly informed , Albert 'all can be properly tiled ; the keeper has a master key , shut

ran out every one from the building the night before , and onl y admit those privileged . And it is but for the •¦• i-ecutive of Grand Lotlge to say that a hundred Past 'asters are required to tile different tloors , and another '" ndred to act as sentinels , both woultl be forthcoming mm « fiatcly , and double the number if necessary . V ° - 4 objection should eventually turn out tojbe cor-J * J » it " will be found a very good fault , if fault it can be w " « a- and must certainly be far preferable than having

Original Correspondence.

the meeting in a place far , very far too small , which would be the case if the hall in Great Queen Streeet is appropriated for the purpose . The only objection that I can see , is one that I have not yet heard mooted : viz ., that there are Freeholders and Renters who have certain privileges . Will they kindly abstain from enforcing their privileges

upon such an occasion ?—one certainly not contemplated when the Hall was built . No doubt they would , knowing they could not be present unless members of the Craft , and unless waiving their rights , the ceremony could not take place there . Now as regards thc ceremony taking place in our own hall , galleries must he erected , which would mar the effect

of the whole proceedings , and , under any circumstances , the room could not be arranged to accommodate more thanperhaps a tenth of the brethren seeking admission . If the number is limited by tickets , great dissatisfaction would be caused , and if unlimited , the crush would be so great that it is not at all improbable some serious accident may ensue . Wc arc approaching thc greatest event in Masonry in modem times—let it be worthy the occasion . It is to be

hoped that those with whom the arrangements rest will be fully alive to the important responsibility in their hands . So long as Masonry exists , this installation will be remembered ; then let it be worthy of being remembered , but let it be remembered with gratification and satisfaction by the members of an institution who care not to interfere with others , but whs hope and believe tbey can hold their own . Yours fraternally , J OHN- BOYO , P . M ., P . Z .

MASONIC JURISPRUDENCE . To the Editor of thc Freemason . Dear Sir and Brother , — As no determination seems as yet to have been come to on the points ( as well subsidiary as principal ) raised by your correspondents , will you kindly grant me space to state what I believe to be the law of the case . For the sake of clearness , I shall begin with the last-raised

issue . If any P . M ., being a member of Grand Lodge , does not continue to be a subscribing member of some lotlge , he loses the permanent scat in G . L ., which his installation in the chair of K . S . gave him . Shoultl he be appointed W . of a lodge , he re-enters G . L ., but only temporarily : i . e ., during the continuance of his

Wardenship . Should he be again installed W . M ., he again becomes possessed of a permanent seat in G . L . ; but he is entitled to it on account of his recent , not his former , installation . Thus , in Grantl Lodge , his former P . M . counts for nothing more than a degree which , being once attained to , cannot he taken away , although , its duties having been abandoned ,

its privileges tlo depart . Exactly so in the lotlge in which the degree was gained . By non-continuance of subscription the member of a lodge severs his connection with it , and if he joins it again , does so on exactly the same terms as any other Mason of a like degree . Now it is quite clear that a strange P . M . joining a

lodge can have no seniority with respect to the P . M . 's of thc lodge itself , for at whatever point in thc line of succession such a l ' . M . should break in , a manifest injustice would be done to all below that point . Strange P . M . ' s , then , ought to be taken no heed of on any point of precedence ( except amongst themselves ) , nor asked to rule thc lodge in thc absence of the W . M ., so long as any actual officer of the lodge , callable of discharging the duty , be

present ; and this shoultl undoubteilly also be the case with the P . M . who lapses and rejoins . In Grantl Lotlge such a P . M . must begin ab initio , and if such be the case there , the same rule must hold good in every private lodge . Faithfully and fraternally yours , WM . TEBBS , VV . M . 285 , and P . Prov . G . Chaplain , Somerset . Jan . 18 th , 1873 .

To thc Editor if the Freemason . Dear Sir and Brother , — Brother E . F . says that the Book of Constitutions distinctly states that Wardens of private lodges are members of Grand Lodge ( by virtue of the office of Warden ) , and that a P . M . " having for twelve months ceased to subscribe to any lodge , shall no loncer continue a

member of the Grand Lodge , nor can he regain that privilege until again installed Master of a lodge . " He then goes on to say , if thc P . M . in question were to rejoin his lodge , and happened to he appointed as Warden , he could not , during his Wardenship , attend Grand Lodge ; and then he asks " how is this difficulty to be surmounted ? " I reply , that he has quite correctly quoted the Book of

Constitutions , and that I am quite at a loss to sec any difficulty in the matter . It is quite clear anil distinct that a seceding P . M . loses his Grand Lotlge privileges , and can only regain them on a certain condition , very clearly defined by the Book of Constitutions—viz ., that he be again installed a Master of a lotlge . I presume it is the same Bro . E . F . asking the

question— " Who is thc W . M . elect of a lotlge "—under certain circumstances — viz ., that Bro . B was elected Master by a majority of one vote , and , on arriving at the lodge , and being acquainted wtth the result of the ballot , " declined to be installed . " I consider that Bro . B was premature , at that meeting , in declining to be installed because he could not be installed until after the

confirmation of thc minutes at the next following meeting ; and the chances are that the minutes would not have been confirmed , as it is quite clear he hatl not gained the goodwill nor respect of thc members of the lodge then present , and might have hatl even more against his election at the following meeting , when ' the minutes were put for confirmation ,

Original Correspondence.

He , however , very wisely , as I think , declined the honour conferred upon him by one vote , in a lodge of , possibly , as many as fifteen or twenty members . If he had declined at the following meeting , after the minutes had been confirmed , or the minutes had not been confirmed , then the brethren must have been summoned " to again proceed to elect a Master ; " but as Brother B then and there

declined to serve the office of Master , on the strength of the one vote , the brethren being summoned for the purpose \ of electing a Master , and the brother elected declining to stand—more especially as he " left the matter in the hands of the brethren , " and retired from thc lodge—the W . M . was perfectly right in requesting the brethren to vote again , in order to test the true sense of the meeting ;

and the ballot then being in favour of A—the then W . M . —A is clearly the W . M . elect , and if the minutes are confirmed at the next following meeting , he can be installed again , as the Masonic law allows a Master , if re-elected to serve two years in succession . Yours fraternally , M . O ., P . Prov . G . J . W . Surrey .

To the Editor ol' the Freemason . Dear Sir and Brother , — I have read with much interest the several communications under this heading in your paper , and I perfectly agree with the latter part of " Magnus Ohren ' s " letter in your last number , where he says , " With respect to the status of a P . M . in his own lodge , that is a right , not

a privilege , to be recognised as a P . M . and he must be senior P . M . The fact has nothing to do with subscription , but refers to the date he passed the chair . On being re-elected in his lodge he will take his place in the lodge according to the date of his passing the chair . " If any brother wilt take the trouble to refer to the Book

of Constitutions , he will find that all a P . M . loses by leaving his lodge for 12 months , is his membership with the Grand Lodge . I cannot see that there can be two opinions on the point . Yours Fraternally , AN OLD P . M . ONE , & c .

To the Editor if the Freemason . Dear Sir and Brother , — I think that the so-called contradictory statements contained in the Book of Constitutions upon the above subject will be found easy of reconciliationif : be borne in mind that Grand Lodge is composed of two distinct classes of members—permanent and temporary .

The former class comprises present and past Grantl Officers and Past Masters ; the latter comprehends the Grantl Stewards of the year , and the Master and Wardens of lodges . Looking at thc matter in this light , it will be seen that a Past Master who has for twelve months ceasetl to subscribe to any lodge , loses his permanent membership of Grand Lotlge , nor can he regain it until after he has been a second time installed in the eastern chair . By

appointment to a Wardenship , he can but acquire thc limited right of attending Grand Lodge during his year of ofiice , and , I take it , this is not the sense in which the wortls " member of the Grand Lotlge" are used in the first of our regulations . There they must refer to the permanent membership which I have mentioned , as the context surely admits no other construction . Yours fraternally , II . MAHTIN GHEEV , P . M .

MARK MAN AND MARK MASTER MASONRY . To the Editor of thc Freemason , Sir and Brother , — Did time permit , I should like to allude at length to Bro . Walter Hill ' s letter , interesting for many reasons , and especially as a communication from our intelligent Brother in New Zealand .

The difficulties Bro . Hill alludes to as to the Regulations of different Grand Lodges and Grand Chapters which affect " unoccupied " Masonic Countries , are neither few nor unimportant , and , indeed , cannot well be surmounted , until such Lodges and Provinces are strong enough and able to preserve their own independence . What affects the brethren in New Zealand as Mark

Masons , in a similar manner also troubles them in the Craft and Arch Masonry . One Grand Lodge permits the three degrees to be given in a night , whilst another requires a certain time to elapse between the conferring of each degree . One Grand Chapter accepts candidates for " exaltation" without any regard to their age as Master Masons , antl another requires each candidate to have been Master

Masons for a certain period prior to admission . It would be strange , then , if the Mark Grand Lodge were any exception to the rule , and in fact it is not , for the fees for advancement being additional antl independent of those for exaltation , frequently acts injuriously to its interests , especially in the Colonies . However , experience soon tells in its favour , because , under its rule , more time antl attention

are devoted to thc degree in question than under a system which looks at it in the light of a preliminary ceremony only . Under thc Grand Chapter of Pennsylvania there are several Mark Lodges , with hundreds of members , and we think , as a natural consequence , there is no state wherein thc Mark Degree is more valued .

The earliest record in this country of thc working of the Degree untler consideration , was communicated by me in the columns of this paper soon after its advent , anil is dated A . n . 1778 . The Mark Man was conferred on Fellow Crafts , anil the

Mark Masters on Master Masons , and it is because of the Mark Man being a ceremony in connection with the " Choice of ye Mark , " also given to Fellow Crafts , that the Mark Grand Lodge , in its reformed Ritual , has wisely returned to the old custom ; and whilst it would be awkward to ^ confer thc Mark Man on Fellow Crafts actually , brethren