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BRO . BINCKES' PRESENTATION FUND . President—THE EARL OF LATHOM , D . G . M ., & Prov . G . M . W . Lancashire . Treasurer—Bto . GEORGE PLUCKNETT , P . G . D . England , and Treasurer of the R . M . I . B . Hon . Secretary--Bro . C . F . HOGARD , P . M ., P . Z ., & c . Subscriptions to the above Fund will be received by Bro . GEO . PLUCKNETT , 4 6 , Connaught-sq ., W ., or by Bro . C . F . HOGARD , 45 a , Cheapside , London , E . C , by whom also all further particulars will be furnished .

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

To Correspondents.

To Correspondents .

THE FOLLOWING UNAVOIDABLY STAND OVERCRAFT LODGES : —Derwent , No . 40 ; York , No . 236 ; Abbey , No . 1184 ; Kennington , No . 1381 ; Metropolitan , No . 1507 ; Wolsey , No . 1656 ; Temple Bar , No . 1728 ; Beaumont , No . 2035 . LODGES OF INSTRUCTION : —Chaucer , No . 1540 ; Chiswick , No . 2012 ; Loughborough . CHAPTER . —Jerusalem , No . 1 S 5 . CHAPTER OF IMPROVEMENT . —Hornsey , No . 8 go . Provincial Grand Lodge of Derby .

BOOKS . & c .. RECEIVED . " Cassell ' s Illustrated Almanack , " " Jewish Chronicle , " " New York Dispatch , " " Cycling Budget , " " Sunday Times" ( London ) , " New Zealand Freemason , " " Building News , " ** Freemasons ' Journal " ( New York ) , " Leeds Times , " "Sunday Times" ( New York ) , "Christmas Number of the Gardener's Magazine , " " The Freemason " ( Toronto ) , " Lancaster Daily Examiner , " " Transactions of Pennsylvania Council of Deliberation Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite , " Scribner ' s Magazine , " " La Acacia Buenos Ayres , " and "Allen's Indian Mail . "

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SATURDAY , DECEMBER 25 , 1886 .

Original Correspondence.

Original Correspondence .

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

THE WEARING OF COLLARS IN PRIVATE LODGES . To ( he Editor of the "Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , I must beg to be allowed to say a few words in

reply to your observations ( in last week ' s Freemason ) on the few remarks that I made on the ist inst . in Grand Lodge on the subject of oflicers of private lodges wearing their collars of office in private lodges in which they do not hold oflice .

Original Correspondence.

In replying to me , you state that " the officers of a lodge have their several places assigned to them , ar . d the visiting brethren theirs likewise . Consequently no brother who knows where he is and what he is about , when in his own lodge or visiting another lodge , should have any difficulty in distinguishing between the officers ofthe lodge and the visiting brethren who are officers in their own lodge . " I deny the correctness of your premises and well as of your

conclusion . Passing by the unpleasant innuendo ( which ;! do not suppose for a moment that you , with your well-known courtesy , ever intended ) , that I—a P . M . of 19 years' standing , and of three different lodges , and with a 29 years' varied experience in Freemasonry—much of which time has been spent in regular attendance at such large lodges as the Apollo University Lodge , Oxford , and the Westminster and

Keystone , No . 10 , London— " do not know where 1 am or what I am about when in my own lodge or visiting another lodge , " I would ask what places in the lodge or at the banquet table are assigned to such officers as the following , all of which exist in both of the lodges that I have named , and , I believe , in most other large lodges : Chaplain , Senior Master of Ceremonies , Junior Master of Ceremonies , Wine Steward , and Organist ? There , at once , you

have , at least , six regularly " collared brethren belonging to the lodge , sprinkled about the lodge and the banquet table withoutany special " place" being "assigned to them . " Then , with regard to visitors , it is not the custom in the lodges that I belong to , nor I should suppose in other lodges where the social comfort of the brethren generally is consulted , for visitors ( except perhaps on installation nights in some lodges ) to be all lumped together on the

right of the W . M . ' s chair ; but visitors sit with the friend , or friends , that invited them in any and all parts of the lodge and of the banquet table , the only exception being in the case of the W . M . ' s own guests or very distinguished visitors , such as the official staff of Grand Lodge , a Grand Officer of eminence , or the P . G . M . or D . P . G . M . of the province , or other officially invited guests , who are formally placed at or near the immediate right of the W . M . ' s chair .

I think that I have now said enough to prove that if it were the law that " the Masters , Past Masters , and other officers of a lodge should wear their collars upon all Masonic occasions , " " there would be" ( according to the custom prevalent with regard to visitors in many lodges of distinction ) very considerable " difficulty in distinguishing among ths multitude of collared brethren who were the officers of the lodge , " even to the brother who thoroughly " knows where he is and what he is about . " —Yours fraternally ,

THOS . COCHRANE , P . G . Chap . [ We trust our Rev . brother will lay aside any suspicion that wehadhimin mind in the "inuendo , " as he describes it , which he quotes from our recent editorial paragraph on P . M . ' s collars . —ED . F . M 7 \

THE BATTLE OF THE COLLARS . To the Editor of thc " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , The " nisi prius" speech , as Canon Portal so aptly described it , against tbe collars made by our eminent Grand Deacon , contains two , at least , very curious and erroneous assertions : ( 1 ) That Rule 149 means no mute than that brethren are to visit other lodges—when they are

invited—to enjoy the hospitality of the lodge ; or , as we call it in the provinces , the Fourth Degree ! If we place this new and fictitious rendering side by side with the genuine rule its utter fallacy will be at once apparent : THE NISI PRIUS , A FIC- THE GENUINE RULE 149 TITIOUS VERSION OF 149 . — AS PER BOOK OF CONSTIThe Master and Wardens of ruriONS . —The Master and a lodge are enjoined to visit Wardens of a lodge are

enother lodges as often as they joined to visit other lodges conveniently can , in order as often as they conveniently that when the lodge is closed can , in order that the same they may enjoy the hospit- usages and customs may be ality and innocent mirth of observed throughout the the Fourth Degree . Craft , and a good understanding cultivated amongst Freemasons .

Now , false premises lead to false conclusions , and the arguments based on this fallacious rendering of 149 are as unsubstantial as their foundation . The wonder is that any , except brethren who belong exclusively to lodges that banquet and never work , should be imposed on by such " airy nothings . " The second assertion , "That "Masters and Wardens merely hold oflice but not rank , " is an ingenious attempt

at hair splitting , but not very successful ; for , whilst it is quite true that Past Masters , as their very name implies , enjoy rank but not office , it is equally true that present Masters and Wardens have both rank and office too . With present officers rank and office are held conjointly . It cannot be otherwise , and the nisi prius premises being false in this case as well as in the first , the conclusions are false , as a matter | of course , and the whole speech is found

to be unsound . I should like to ask , how the brethren , who form and attend the Lodge of Benevolence be will affected by this proposed change of law and custom ? Unless the brethren happen to be Grand , or Provincial , or District Grand . lor Past Grand Officers , the proposed rule will render the collar illegal at the Board meetings , for no nisi prius reasoning can turn the Board of Benevolence into the Grand Lodge .

Our " Board of Installed Masters' will , as a matter of course , be very much " undressed " should this inconsistent proposal become law . There are some other weak points in the speeches against the collars , which , if you grant space , shall be noticed in a subsequent letter . Past Masters , Masters , and Wardens can meanwhile ponder , and think of the best course to take to preserve and regain their long accustomed privilege . —Yours fraternally , E . T . BUDDEN .

SUBDIVISION OF THE LONDON LODGES . To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , In view of the evident desire on the part of a majority , as I bslieve , of the members of the Craft affected by the regulation No . 152 in the Book of Constitutions ,

which dehnes that "All lodges held within 10 miles of Freemasons' Hall , London , are London lodges ; " and in order to test , once and for all , whether the sub-division of those lodges so as to bring them into similar relation with the Grand Lodge of England as are the country lodges in respect of provincial organization , I propose to submit a

Original Correspondence.

notice of motion for consideration at the ensuing Quarterly Communication for the abrogation of that resolution . There surely can be no principle upon which such notice of motion can be refused , and upon its introduction in the proper assembly the affirmation or rejection of the proposal will rest with the body qualified to determine on its merits , and further steps can be taken according to such decision .

On the ist January , 1 SS 2 , the proportion of London lodges to those of country lodges was as 312 to 1000 . Nearly five years have since elapsed , and , without making a close calculation , it may be generally stated that the increase in lodges bears the same proportion to town and country . The exact numbers may be ascertained by reference to the latest Calendar issued . At the above date

the smallest province in respect of area was Bristol ( City ) with eight lodges , the largest , North Wales and Shropshire with 27 . Five of the largest provinces in respect of numbers , viz .: East Lancashire , 93 , - West Lancashire , So ; West Yorks , 66 ; Devonshire , 50 ; and Kent , 46 ; together had but 23 more than those comprised within the Metropolitan area . The lodges in tht London district have

not similar privileges to those accorded to country lodges , and the members thereof , although required to contribute towards the funds of the Grand Lodge twice the amount subscribed by members of Provincial lodges , are debarred from many advantages of supervision and honours which the latter possess . It is this anomaly in representation to which the attention of the brethren should be directed . — Yours faithfully and fraternally , JAMES STEVENS , P . M ., P . Z . Clapham , December 18 th .

CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES . To the Editor of the "Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , The point raised in your leader on this subject in last week ' s issue is a very important one . You contend that a resolution passed at one meeting can

be negatived at the next by the particular minute being negatived . Those who dissent from your view of the case , and I am one of them , are entitled to maintain , and do maintain , that unless the Constitutions , or other constating instruments of Freemasonry so provide , the proceedings of each lodge meeting are final and effective , and require no confirmation by the ensuing meeting * .

As a matter of convenience , but for no other reason whatever , the minutes of each meeting are produced at the following one for the purpose of being signed , but most certainly not for that of being confirmed , except perhaps in the matter of correctness of form and diction . If it were otherwise , and each meeting had appellate jurisdiction over the resolutions of its

predecessor , the position , as I interpret it , would be a perfectly absurd one , because prompt action in such circumstances would be quite impossible . Let me illustrate this by citing a fact which , in this connection , is worth a pound of theory : At a lodge meeting the other evening , at which I was a guest , it was inter alia resolved that a sum of money be at once paid for the relief

of a brother then in urgent necessity , and the amount was promptl y handed over to be used accordingly . Now , if your dictum is ri ght , that resolution to be operative requires ratification next month . Well , I do not think it does , and I go further , and affirm that no lodge

proceedings except those specially reserved are subject to review by a subsequent meeting . To sum the matter up in one sentence : The minutes are " read and signed , " not " read and confirmed . " The distinction is a very important one . —Yours fraternally , Liverpool . T . A . BELLEW . December 15 th .

BEGGING MASONS . To the Editor of the "Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , In order to prevent the increase of Masonic paupers , I beg to offer a suggestion , which would no doubt have the desired effect , viz .: "That the Calendar should have a list of the lodges , with the names and addresses of

the Almoners , " as it is quite certain that the Calendar is procured by this class of the Fraternity , in order to be at each town at the time of the lodge meetings ; and , as a W . M ., I do object to be constantly visited by those who make a business out of Masonry ; and the sooner this is put a stop to the better , as no doubt the worthy now have to suffer for the unworthy . —I remain , dear Sir and Brother , yours fraternally ,

W . H . WINGFIELD , W . M . 1360 . Church-road , Wimbledon , December 15 th . A PORTRAIT OF THOMAS DUNKERLEY . To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother ,

mere is a portrait of Bro . Dunckerley , Prov . Grand Master of Hampshire , and the South of England generally , in the " Freemason ' s Magazine " of September , 1793 . It is after a painting by T . Beach , and it would be interesting to know if the different portraits shown at York , Worcester , and Shanklin are copies of it . —Yours fraternally , p . L . E . J . December 21 st . 1

WAS THE ETTRICK SHEPHERD A FREEMASON ? To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , Some of your correspondents have very justly expressed surprise that 1 failed to notice in the Freemason Quarterly Review the fact that the celebrated James Hogg , the Ettrick Shepherd , ultimately became a member

ot tbe Canongate Kilwinning Lodge . My not doing so arose from my copy of the Review—which was kindly handed in parts into my chambers by some unknown friend—wanting the number recording that interesting fact . Bro . Hughan in his Notanda states that Robert Burns was elected to and held the office of Poet Laureate of the Canongate Kilwinning Lodge . I examined some years

ago the whole minute books of that lodge , and in 1787 , the date when Burns is said to have been elected and installed in the lodge as Poet Laureate , there was no such office , nor did such an office exist in it until after the lapse of many years . It is not until 1 S 15 that any reference is made in the minutes to Burns having held such an office , I believe that Hogg was the first person that held it , unless it be thc case that Burns was his predecessor .