Correspondence.

Correspondence .

Wc do not hold ourselves responsible for the opinions expressed by our correspondents but we wish , in a spirit of fair play to all , to permit—within certain necessary limitsfree discussion .

MAJOR LESLIE AND ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR GIRLS . Dear Sir and Brother , To the Editor of the " Freemason . " I admire my friend ' s courage in dealing vvith what certainly appears a most unsuitable case for charity , for though vve call this and the other two

Institutions , they are charitable in origin and character , neither more nor less . ' In the instance objected to by Major J . H . Leslie , the Father of the candidate is living , and apparently in better circumstances mm than ever before , having only one little girl dependent on him , and his income probably more than when he vvas initiated as being in suitable circumstances ; the child also being freely housed and educated .

It seems to me a very grave question is opened up by Major Leslie , and one , unless settled as it shculd he ( there is only one way , and that is by the Subscribers having the name removed from the List on April next ) , will operate against the election of Candidates from Regiments for Initiation , vvhich I should much regret .

If a soldier ' s circumstances are good enough for him to join the Craft , surely they should be sufficient subsequently . In the present case the Father is as well as , or better off , than vvhen hc entered the Fraternity ; why , then , should his daughter be elected in the Royal Masonic Institution for Girls and keep another little girl cut who is deserving ? I entirely agree vvith my friend , and trust , for the credit of the Craft , the matter will be put straight . —Yours fraternally , W . J . HUGHAN .

FRIENDLY LODGE , No . 239 . To the Editor of the "Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , Last week I drew attention to the Centenary Warrant of this bd ^ e , and stated that if the reprint of the Warrant published in the " History " of the lodge wts correct it was much to be deplored lhat one of thc newest of these documents should contain a most inaccurate recital .

Bro . Lake , Asst . G . Sec , has very courteously forwarded to me a copy of t he Centenary Warrant vvhich is very unlike that printed by Bro . Emil X . Leon in the " History of the Friendly Lodge . " From the " History " I quote : " Whereas by the Records of the Grand Lodge it appears that in tli 2 ycir 1797 a Warrant of Constitution was granted to certain Brethren therein nimsd authorizing and empowering them and their regular successors to hold a Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons at Kingston , Jamaica , and which lodge was then registered in the Books of the Grand Lodge as No . 342 . "

. It was to the latter clause I took exception . The recital in thc Copy Warrant sent to me is as follows .-" Whereas by documents in possession of the Grand Lodge it appears that in the year 1797 a Provincial Warrant of Constitution vvas granted to certain Brethren theren - named authorizing and empowering them and their regular successors to hold a Ledge of Free and Accepted Masons at Kingst m , Jamaica , and which Iodge was then regi-stercd in the Books of the Provincial Grand Lodge as No . 8 ; anil that on lhe 31 st January , jSmj , tin ' s Warrant was superseded by a Warrant from the Giand Lodge of England bearing No . 34 J . "

The italics are mn e , and 1 ask you to be good enough to insert thc foregoing with a view of at once rem iving any misapprehension as to the real contents of the Centenary Warrant , I must leave Bro . Leon to reconcile or explain the matter . —Yours frateri ally , JNO . LANE . Torquay , Maic ' i 22 nd .

Reviews.

Reviews .

"MASONIC CALENDAR FOR SHROPSHIRE , iSySy . " —This most useful Directory for the Province of Shropshire is considerably enlarged and improved this year , the -Jitor , as before , being Bro . Rowland George Venables , P . A . G . D . C , thc esteemed Deputy Prov . Grand Master , whose portrait in Masonic clothing forms the appropriate and welcome frontispiece . There is a brief , but vcry appreciative biography of this worthy brother , signed by "A . G . " ( probably Bro . A . Graham , the historian of the " Salopian , " No . 2 C 2 , e f Shrewsbury ) . There arc 12 lodges in the province , with a total membership of 3 C HI , being the largest yet returned , though the average per lodge

( talher under 31 ) is Mill much lower than usual in the provinces . The two numerical tables are excellent compilations and must have involved considerable labour , as well as the lists of subiciibing members under each lodge , and in order of seniority , with years of initialio .-i or joining , and dates of service of each of the Past Masters . All this , in addition to the ordinary information concerning dates of warrants , days and places of meeting , lists of officers , Sc , and a complete Register of the Present and Past Ollicers of the Provincial Grand Lodge . There ate only two Royal Arch chapters and one Mark

lodge , having a total of 39 and 29 members respectively , particulars as to these being as lull as for t ) e Craft lodges . 'I he votes for the Masonic Institutions are also very fully attended to , the total being 22 HI , which is a proof of great zeal and generosity by thc firovince and a number difficult to beat . An interesting article bv Bro . H . R . Giles , ' . P . S . G . W ., en " Freemasonry in iSijy ; " " Masonic Noles " by Bro . A . S . Townsend , Prov . J . G . W ., and a long account ot the last Provincial Grand Lodge meeting arc most attractive features of this year ' s issue . Bro . Venables is , indeed , a model edit jr .

"BELL ' CATHI-DRAL SKKIES , WITH PLAN AND ILLUSTRATIONS . " ( London : Gecrge Bell and Sons , 1 S 9 S ) . — lhe more one sees of this series , the stronger becomes the conviction that Messrs . Bell and Sons are rapidly supplying a long-felt want of a handy , compact , and accurate miniature Library of the English Cathedrals , beautifully illustrated , and written in a very interesting manner by accepted authorities . They are carefully edited by Messrs . Gleeson White and E . F . Strange , and are uniformly bound and sold at is . 6 d . each , 10 already having been published , viz ., Canterbury ,

Salisbury , Chester , Rochester , Oxford , Exeter , Peterborough , Winchester , Norwich , and Lichfield , and Hereford is promised shortly . Others are also in preparation , so that ere long the series will be complete . Eight have been reviewed in the Freemason , and just lately Norwich and Peterborough have been received . Norwich has been written by Mr . C . H . B . Quennell , and has 40 illustrations , both its Cathedral and its claims as an ancient city being duly considered and faithfully pourtrayed by the author , who evidently is in love with his subjects , and does justice to both . Peterborough has been described

by the Rev . VV . D . Sweeting , M . A ., who is most competent for that purpose , and a very entertaining volume he has made ; undoubtedly one of the best of the series , though all are very good and thoroughly to date , as well as scrupulously exact and abundantly illustrated , the latter being a distinguishing characteristic of all the volumes . We cordially recommend these artistic little books , and feel assured that our readers will only be too pleased to have been informed of their existence if they take our advice and procure the set at once .

Reviews.

"MASONIC CALENDAR AND DIRECTORY FOR THE PROVINCE OF GUERNSEY AND ALDERNEY , 1 S 9 S . "—The Editor of this carefully-compiled annual is Bro . A . C . Quick , P . M . and Sec . 16 S . As our zealous brother has considerably added to the contents of this year's issue , it is to be hoped that his services vvill be valued accordingly . There are six lodges in the province , returning 323 members . The names of all these are given under each lodge in chronological order , and numbered consecutively , the average being 54 to each lodge . Then there is a valuable table of all the lodges war .

ranted in Guernsey , with dates of subsequent alterations in the numbers , from the " Lily Tavern " Lodge , of A . D . 1753 , to the "St . Sampson , " No . 259 S , of A . D . iSg 5—22 in all —of vvhich six are still on the roll . There are two Royal Arch chapters and a Mark lodge , as well as a conclave of the Red Cross of Rome and Constantine . The list of voters in the Central Masonic Charities should show the complete total of each Institution , and the name of any voter should only occur once . It is the first compilation of the kind vve have seen for Guernsey , and vve sincerely congratulate Bro . Q rick on doing his woik so well and so promptly .

English Freemasons In The Holy Land.

ENGLISH FREEMASONS IN THE HOLY LAND .

LODGE HELD IN KING SOLOMONS QUARRIES . On the 20 th January a large party of Freemasons gathered from all parts of the United Kingdom , and travelled from London to Marseilles by special train . At Marseilles they embarked on the Midnight Sun en route for the Holy Land . The object of the expedition was to pay tribute at the shrine of King Solomon , whose name must always occupy a prominent place in the Masonic ritual .

Discussions have from time to time arisen in the Masonic journals as to whether King Solomon was or was not a Freemason , and those discussions have disclosed the fact that there is no historical evidence of his ever having seen the inside of a lodge . Why , then , it may be asked , do modern Masons accord him such honourable recognition in their ritual ? The answer is eas'ly given . To them King Solomon typifies that great principle of wisdom without which no earthly plan can mature—wisdom , strength , and beauty to

conceive , to execute , and adorn . King Solomon has been seized upon as the wisest of mankind , and made to stand sponsor for Freemasonry , and this out of deference to the Oriental conception of wisdom . This conception is altogether foreign I o our Occidental and modern habits of thought , and is based for the most part on witty and soul-searching epigrams . Asa Mason King Solomon has , therefore , no veritable existence , but as a type of wisdom he embodies one of the greatest principles of human life .

There was a time when every Masonic writer unhesitatingly affirmed that Freemasonry was first organised in the Temple of Solomon , and Freemasonry became so closely connected with the known facts of Temple history that the House of the Lord at Jerusalem has been the foundation-stone of Masonic symbolism . To the Mason , therefore , everything of history , of tradition , of myth , of relic , or of scene touching the Temple erected by Solomon , Israel ' s greatest king , on Mount Moriah , in the city of Jerusalem , in the year of the world 3000 , is of peculiar and fascinating interest .

This statement of the position held by King Solomon in the traditions of Freemasonry will explain the eagerness and interest which the members of the Craft on board the Midnight Sun displayed when , under the guidance of the Bros . Ven . Archdeacon Stevens , P . G . C , and the Rev . C . j , Martyn , P . G . C , they sailed for Jaffa .

Unfortunately a dispensation for the holding of a lodge by the party in King Salomon's Quarries was not secured , and ; twj gentlemen who came out specially to be initiated into the mysteries of the Craft on that interesting spot had to return disappointed . O . i the night before we arrived at Palermo , the Masons on board the Midnight Sun held a meeting to discuss the situation , when the following resolutions were passed :

1 . That the brethren shall assemble in King Solomon ' s Quarries at Jerusalem on a day and at a time to be fixed by the Committee hereafter nominated , after each member had been vouched for and proved to be a Mason . 2 . That the senior brother then present shall be called to the chair . 3 . That the principles and tenets of the Masonic Order shall then be discussed , vvith special reference to the building of King Solomon ' s Temple .

4 . That a resolution shall be proposed ' tendering to our Host Worshipful Grand Master our most respectful , sincere , and hearty fraternal greetings , and wishing him long life and happiness . 5 . That such resolution be forwarded to the M . W . G . M . by telegram . 6 . That minutes of the assembly be formulated and signed by each Mi ^ on taking part in thc cruise .

7 . That the minutes in question be afterwards printed , and copy be given ( 0 each brother as a memento of this most interesting event in his Masonic car . er . A Committee to carry those resolutions into effect was then elected , consistin ; of the following brethren , viz . : Bros , the Rev . C . J . Martyn , P . G . C . ; the Ven . Archdeacon Stevens , P . G . C . ; Col . Newton , S . A . Bell , T . Pickering , R . Robinson , and S . Pegler . Bro . the Rev . Canon Ingram was asked to act as Secretary . The Worshipful Master and officers of the Royal Solomon Mother lish

Lodge , No . 2 <) 3 , Jerusalem , however , came to the rescue of the Eng brethren , and on Thursday afternoon , Februiry 3 rd , held a regular lodge meeting in the Quanies , to which they invited the Masonic visitors . An historic occasion truly—an occasion that must live in the memories of all who took part in the proceedings . Exactly opposite the Grotto of Jeremiah , 100 paces east of the Damascus Gate , and 19 feet below thc ground , there is an entrance through the foundation of the city wall to subterranean Jerusalem , or the Quarriesof King Solomon .

The lodge assembled on the afternoon of Thursday , February 3 rd , " that part of the Royal Quarries which opens out into the road "ear the Damascus Gate , but which , for strictly Masonic purposes , is again and again guarded against intruders . Sad to relate , the approach to this venerated spot is through the heaps of town rubbish , which are deposited here as the common dumping ground of ths modern citv . The officers an

brethren of the R . S . M . Lodge present were : Bros . William Henry Kay at ' W . M . ; George Harram , British Pro Consul , S . W . ; Demetrius N . I- ** - "' nian . J . W . ; Joshua Lyons , I . P . M . ; Khalil Saadeh , Sec . ; David Jama ' S . D ., - Adolph Datze , J . D . ; Constantine N . Yadros , M . C . ; Is . Gregory D'Arbela , M . D . ; William H . Dunn , A . Howard , Chas . A . Hornstei" . I . G . ; Edwin S . Wallace , United States Consul ; G . Krikoriene , and lv G . Palmer . 1 The afternoon was beautifully fine , the air warm and invigorating . *" the arrival of the Masons at the Quarries was watched with lively interest )