Royal Arch.

thought has occurred to a great many of us , and not infrequently , what a jolly thing it must be to be born a prince . You have , under these citcumstanccs , everything that you can wish for in this world—possibly health—but certainly riches , and the goodwill and good feeling of all your fellow creatures . But there is a reverse to the medal ; and a prince in this country and in this century has no

easy time of it . Where wc look upon it as civilians as a great pleasure , he must look upon it as a great bore in many instances ; and at the present time our M . E . G . Z . is doing very heavy duly indeed in a hot clime . Any one who follows his progress must be fully aware that no Indian servant , no member of the Army , or of the Civil Service ever has or would be liable to work so hard as our

Prince and G . Z . is working at the present moment . We all of us feel when he is engaged in anything that the matter is sure to come right ; we feel that he is a capable man in every way , and that is why , as Masons , we feel so comfortable to have him at the head of our Order . We feel that whatever he is called upon to do he will do at a proper time , in a proper manner , and in princely style .

This toast having been duly honoured , the M . E . Z . said , There are three companions who sometimes one hears coupled in chapters with the former toast ; but I think that considering the work that they have to do , they are deserving , as far as they can be , of a separate recognition , that is the Pro Grand Z ., the Grand H ., and the Grand I . They are hard-working Masons in every sense of the

word , and it strikes me that during the time our M . E . G . Z . is in the chair they will have a tolerably hard time to keep pace with thc Grand Z . We must always remember that as they together form the Grand Arch ; the bigger the Keystone the more pressure he puts on the neighbouring stones ; so that as we have a very big Keystone in the Prince of Wales , it will require the others to

be strong in proportion to support him . ( Hear . ) Comp . J . E . Walford , I . P . Z ., proposed " The Health of the M . E . Z . " He felt himself , he said , quite unequal to the task of doing this properly ; but as the duty fell to him as the P . Z . he did it-with great pleasure . 'The companions who had been in chapter were winesses of the perfect way in which he could perform his work , and it must have

afforded them all the greatest satisfaction ; but especially was it gratifying to the P . Z . ' s to see that their successors were treading in their footsteps , and that they were quite equal to their task whenever it was imposed upon them . He was sure that the M . E . Z . and his immediate supporters would do honour to this famous chapter , and worthily tread in the steps of their predecessors . 'They were

deserving of all thc praise that could be given thini , and it was a . pleasure to see officers coming up so well in rotation for the chair . ( Cheers . ) The toast was most heartily rcceived , - and the M . E . Z . said , in acknowledging it , Companions , I hardly know what to say in returning you my thanks for the very gratifying way in which you have received any little thing I have been able to do for the

chapter . I feel quite new in my present position , and 1 do not like to say too much of what I can da or what I will do . But this much I will say , that I will endeavour to do the best I can for the interests of the chapter , and in any way in which I can serve it by thc work that I can do in the chair , or iu any other way in or out of the chair , I shall be only to happy to serve it . At present it seems

too early a time to speak about it ; but at the future time , perhaps this lime next year , I may be able to say something of what I have done . Now , it is a carte blanche in front of me , and I really hardly know how to fill it up . But 1 suppose circumstances will arise during my year of office that will enable me to distinguish myself in some way before the chapter , and I trust I shall benefit the

chapter and the companions in doing so . I am not , as I sometimes say , an eloquent man ; but if I had all the eloquence of Cicero , or the rhetoric of Demosthenes , or any of those gieat men of history , I could not say more than that I thank you from the bottom of my heart for the way in which you receive me and treat me . In proposing "Thc Newly-exalted Companions , " the M . E . Z . saitl

that it was well known that in every structure it was necessary to have some good materials ; it was the -very first thing that a builder looked to in raising a structure . That evening they had had some distinguished brethren , whom they had raised from the Craft to their Sublime Degree . He felt certain from the way in which they had received the small amount of tuition which they could have

that evening , that they bade fair to be very honourable members of Royal Arch Masonry ; that they would continue to progress in that branch of Masonry the same as they had in the Craft ; and that some day the companions would see them passing through that chair , very much to their own credit , and ceitainly to the benefit of the chapter . " The Visitors " was the next toast , and the M . E . Z .

observed that when King Solomon completed his temple at Jerusalem he asked the princes of his own country and the princes of neighbouring states to come and view it . The Chapter of Prudent Brethren had that evening completed their new building , and they had asked the ptinces and rulers in thc Order to come and see what they had done . He trusted that their verdict would be equally

favourable with that of the princes of Solomon ' s time , to the builders of their modern temple . His only regret was that there was no Queen of Sheba present . On behalf of the chapter he might say he was much pleased at the distinguished array of visitors , who , he trusted , would find themselves so comfortable , that whenever they had an opportuity they would come again . ( Hear , hear . )

Comps . Cottebrunne , Barnes Amor , and John Read responded . The M . E . Z . next gave " The Past Principals . " We always value , said he , the opinion of any one who has really earned his knowledge by experience , and therefore it is that , as Principal of this chapter , I very . highly value the opinion and advice that I receive from my Past Principals ; they have gone through all the work , all thc hard work , for some years , and therefore their advice and their

Royal Arch.

opin ion on any subject on which I consult them is to be esteemed most highly . 1 have found very great service from consulting the Past principals of this chapter , because it is no easy matter , as many companions will know who pass through thc chair of their lodges , to take the command of any institution , and any body of men . There are certain things which it is necessary for a

Principal to consult his predecessors upon , and to draw upon their experier . ee to a certain extent . A man would make a very bad hit if he did not look for information to the experience of others . I have found the greatest benefit from consulting my Past Principals , and 1 have no doubt that during my year of office they will give me the same good advice and

kind consideration as they have given nieup to the present time . ( Applause . ) Comp . Walford , in the course of a brief reply , said the Past Principals were always ready and anxious to render what service they could to the Principals of thc chapter ; and it mattered not what office might be vacant they were always prepared to fill it . ( Hear , hear . ) Referring to the old adage that " two

were company , but three were none , " the truth of which he could not see , the M . E . Z . proposed "The Health of the H . and J . " He reminded the companions of what they had heard in chapter , and of the unhesitating and smooth way in which his two subordinate Principals delivered their portion of the ritual . Trusting to sec them in due course in his own exalted position , he called on the companions

to honour the toast . This having been clone , Comps . Bull and Moody replied . " The rest of the Officers " was the succeeding toast . The M . E . Z . said—The architect may strike his arch , and the mason may put most accurately the stone in answer to the drawings supplied him by the architect ; and the arch may be thoroughly well formed ; but it would cut but a very poor figure indeed in

architecture if it had not exactness and solidity in the foundation on which it was set . We have erected an arch this evening , and , as I said before , we trust to complete it . I look forward to the support of my officers as a sure substratum for building upon , and for making our undertaking a great success . 1 am sure that the companions

who form the other parts of the structure are fully equal to the office they have undertaken . Comp . E . 11 . Thiellay , P . S ., replied , promising a faithful performance of his duties , and feeling confident that his Assistants would do the same . The Janitor ' s toast was then given , and the companions separated , after having spent an instructive and delightful evening .

Original Correspondence.

Original Correspondence .

( We do not hold ourselves responsible for , or even as approving of the opinions expressed by onr correspondents , but we wish , in a spirit of fair play to all , to permit—within certain necessary limits—free discussion . —ED . *

ADMISSION OF NEW MEMBERS . To the Editor of Ihe Freemason . Dear Sir and Brother , — The letters by " 1446 " and "Ad Rem " deserve the particular attention of all interested in the real and permanent prosperity of the Grand Lodge of England . " The number of publicans who belong to our Order , " mentioned

by " Bro . 1446 , " is certainly very great , and leads many not members to consider Freemasonry to be an eating and drinking institution . The pernicious system of the "feeding" lodges , receiving never more than 24 s . annually in subscriptions from their members , and yet , at every monthly meeting , having " a glass of grog , " & c , and also the annual banquet , defrayed out of the fundsof the lodge ,

cannot be too severely condemned . Indeed , there is actual need of Grand Lodge legislation on the subject , the extent to which some lodges spend their funds being lamentably un-Masonic , and a disgrace to their profession . It is much to be desired that the Grand Lodge authorities were as explicit and as authoritative as to keeping the moneys for subscriptions and banquets distinct from those paid into

the lodge for thc General Fund anil for the Grand Lodge . We have proved to members " over and over again " that by attending thc lodge regularly , and " sitting down afterwards , " also by being present at thc quarterly suppers and annual banquets , they receive in "feeds" more than their stipulated subscriptions , and hence thc lodge has to pay out of the funds every year their annual fees to the

Provincial and Grand Lodges , and their fair quota of the ordinary expenses . We do not , of course , allude now to those lodges who have inclusive and exclusive terms of subscription to the funds and banquets , neither do we speak of those who charge sufficient to defray the ordinary and banqueting expenses combined , but simply of those lodges , as before stated , who permit their members to feed monthly

at the expense tA the funds , to the detriment of the Order , and to the injury of themselves , the subscriptions not being sufficient to defray the bills for thc " suppers and banquets . " Hence , such lodges are either deeply in debt or by securing initiation fees use that money to meet the gormandizing propensities of its members . Lodges being held in hotels doubtless induce increased expenditure in this direction ,

but the chief evil lies in the system of allowing such wholesale waste and extravagance , and in not being sufficiently careful in the choice of members . Wilh respect to Bro . " Ad Rem ' s " remarks—excepting those as to the " low level" of Scottish Freemasonry , wholly out of place—I quite concur with him in regretting the present facilities for men blackballed in one town beinjr

accepted and installed in another , to the great injury of our society . Worthless fellows , quite the scum in a neighbourhood , have thus been received into our ranks , by being proposed and accepted by lodges held in towns in which they are strangers , excepting probably to thc proposer , and thus this system of initiation out of towns in which the candidates reside is fraught with danger , and requires imme

Original Correspondence.

diate legislation by individual , Provincial Grand , and Grand Lodges . This evil has been provided for by the Grand Lod ge of Ireland , the extract from its constitutions being inserted below , and in this country the Provincial Grand Lod ges are gradually doing what ought to be done by the Grand Lodge . In the Provinces of West Yorkshire , East

Lancashire , Cornwall , Leicestershire / and Rutland , and probabl y others , the following law is in operation , with slight variations , and we can speak from actual observation that the regulation works exceedingly well , excepting that while it answers thoroughly for the provinces in question , candidates blackballed under their jurisdiction can be again proposed in neighbouring provinces , and initiated .

'Sometimes good men have been blackballed , and in such cases the necessary enquiry would simply reveal them to be of good report , but generally the setking of membership away from one ' s own town or province is a suspicious occurrence , and should be distrusted . I hope that other provinces will take the matter up , and , when ripe , that the Grand Lodge will deal with the

subject , as it has done in so many other instances for the welfare of the Craft . Believe me , yours fraternally , WILLIAM J AMES" HUGHAN . Truro , 11 th December , 1875 . Constitutions , Grand Lodge of Ireland , 1875 , p . 38 : — " A lodge shall not ballot for , or initiate into Freemasonry ,

any person who is not a resident in the town , village , or neighbourhood in which the lodge into which he seeks to be admitted holds its meetings , until due enquiry shall have been made of such lodge or lodges as may exist in the neighbourhood of his residence respecting the character of the applicant for admission , and a satisfactory reply shall have been received and read in open lodge , under a penalty

of having its warrant suspended or cancelled , or of payment of a fine not exceeding five pounds , as the Grand Lodge may determine . " Bye-laws Provincial Grand Lodge of East Lancashire , 1872 , pp . 25-6 : — " In case any person resident in a town or place where a lodge is established shall become a candidate for admission into any lodge established elsewhere

within this province , it shall be incumbent on the Master of the lodge wherein he so seeks admission , to make enquiry in writing of the Master of some lodge established in the town or place wherein the candidate resides , touching the character and moral fitness of such candidate . And it shall be incumbent on the brother from whom such enquiry shall be made , if within this province , to make prompt reply thereto in writing , and to set forth any ground of objection

within his knowledge to the admission of such candidate into Masonry , but if not within this province , then the Master of such lodge shall be respectfully requested to furnish the foregoing particulars as far as his knowledge or information may extend , and the purport of the reply shall be made known to the brethren of the lodge into which the candidate seeks admission , before the ballot for such candidate takes place . A copy of this bye-law shall accompany the enquiry . "

MASONIC FORBEARANCE . To the Editor ofthe Freemason . Dear Sir and Brother , — Your article on " Masonic Forbearance" last week can only command approbation from every brother who has read it . 1 was , however , pained to find a flagrant exception , to what wc plume ourselves upon possessing ,

very shortly after reading thc article I mention . Last Saturday week , returning from our lodge at Wood Green , Lewis , No . 1185 , five of the brethren got into a compartment by themselves . We all had left the train except one brother , who , just before arriving at Aldersgatestrcet , saw a small parcel on the seat , and having no doubt it belonged to one of our lodge , opened it , and

found it to be a Masonic apron , belonging , however , to a member of another lodge . As you , Sir , and , no doubt , any Mason , would have done , he tcok the apron home , wrote to the Secretary of the lodge , saying what he had found , and if the brother to whom it belonged would call at his business address , in Cheapside , he should be pleased to hand it to him .

'the brother called for his apron in due course , and , instead of thanking the finder , actually bullied him for not leaving the parcel where he saw it , saying that he had hail thc trouble of going to the lost property office about it . I say bullied , and with reason , for when he had gone some friends who wcte standing by , and had heard his gross incivility , said to our brother , " ls that fellow a brother ?"

Our brother was also called upon by an authority at King ' s Cross to give an explanation of his conduct in taking a par-el away out of their carriage . I know , Sir , your principles are thoroughly antagonistic to such conduct , especially in one who has been raised to the Sublime Degree of a Master Mason . Yours faithfully and fraternally , Dec . 16 . " YOU . VG Lnwis . "

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