Original Correspondence.

for addressing through your columns , my Masonic brethren throughout England and Wales , if not the universe , as I strongly desire the memory and name of the lamented and learned Doctor Oliver , of Lincolnshire , to be connected therewith . Atacommittee meeting of the Lincolnshire Grand Lodge , held at Grantham , in the month of May , 18 74 ., I first

mooted the question . Some brethren then expressed an opinion that such a scheme as that which I propounded , if carried into execution , might take a poor lad out of his sphere , as if goodness , learning , and talent were necessarily confined to any one class of society . Such , I believe , was not the late Dr . Oliver ' s opinion , When about to appeal to our late Grand Master on this

interesting subject , 1 was deterred by his lamented secession from our fraternity . The question has again been raised at our Lincolnshire Grand Lodge , held at Boston , this year . The sum of nearly £ 200 seems to have been raised to the memory of the late Doctor Oliver , who accomplished so much for universal Masonry by his energies and pen ;

but after forty years' experience , however elastic the voluntary principle may be , I have not found that money easily flows into any exchequer without a specific object , a strenuous endeavour , and a wise organization . Now , without determining thc appropriation , the Grand Lodge of Lincolnshire has now voted £ 200 to the Oliver memorial , making the sum of £ 400 . In my judgment ,

the suggestion to confer small annuities out of this limited capital—at 5 per cent ., would not exceed £ 20 annuallywould be chimerical in its effects as to any real benefit ; and further , such wretched doles , confined to the province of Lincoln , would be unworthy of the name , pen , and zeal of so distinguished a Mason as the late Dr . Oliver . That eminent member ofthe theological faculty lived in

days when Masonic proceedings were under a clerical ban , when no high preferment was accorded to him for his selfdenying and unremitting labours . Nevertheless he was content to work for Masonry under the shade of a cathedral . with a contemptible pittance , as a remuneration for his multifarious labours , simply because he did not bask under Episcopal smiles .

Yet he did his work for Masonry throughout the world ; and what more appropriate memento to his undying fame can there be than a scholarship for a talented boy , a poor Mason ' s son , he may be an orphan , to one of our English universities ' , to evince to mankind that Masonry has something to do with literature as well as with good cheer ; and that our avowed charity leads us , as in days of yore ,

to provide for the lambs of the fraternity ; and where goodness and mental parts , with diligence and perseverance , are found to be the distinguishing traits of a poor , forlorn lad , mental culture shall be secured for him , to bless and improve society . A lad that can earn one scholarship may earn one or two others . He may try . Surely , many of our Masonic

brethren belong to that " Try company , " whose motto is " Nil desperandum . " Six hundred subscriptions , of one sovereign each , from Masons in England and Wales , would accomplish this benevolent object . Yea , double that sum could be raised , and that quickly , for the scholarship . Up and doing , my brother Masons ' . And I am confident that if Bro . Binckes , with his analytical skill , his

comprehensive views , his descriptive and suggestive powers of organisation , would give momentum to the project , the thing is done . Meanwhile my pen , and my time , » i far as I can command it , shall be at thc service of the project , with a view to help those who may be able to help themselves and others : a project which , whilst it would perpetuate in literature the memory of the late-Dr . Oliver ,

would tend to expand the mind of a Masonic stripling , and adorn Masonry with one of the brightest gems of Masonic charity . I am , Sir , yours respectfully , DANIEI . Ac _ , D . D ., P . P . G . Chaplain for Lincolnshire , Laughton Vicarage , near Gainsborough , June 16 th , 1875 .

EMBLEM . To the Editor of the Freemason . Dear Sir and Brother , — Can any of your readers inform mc if they know anything of an emblem or badge as follows : —A paste star with ten points on enamel circle centre , with a lion statant , ribbon , and motto over lion , " Vivitur reciproca Fide ?" Yours fraternally , Tlr . x .

THE INSTALLATION CHARGE OF THE R . W . PRO G . M . AND "THE 1717 THEORY . " Tothe Editor of the Freemason . Dear Sir and Brother , — If the brethren generally had not considered that Bro . Buchan ' s captious exception to our M . W . Pro G . Master ' s speech were better received and passed over in

silence ( I call it " captious " because it must certainly have appeared so to the Cratt at large , however worthy its promulgator ' s intentions may have been ) you would doubtless , ere this , have been flooded with cxposlulatory replies . You , Sir , correctly reported the M . W . Pro G . Master ' s words , in which he uttered a simple truth , familiar to many outside thc Craft as well as in it , for I well remember , as

a child , being taught in my " Outlines of English History " that our ancient ecclesiastical buildings were reared by wandering companies of Freemasons . Is Bro . Buchan prepared to disprove this well-known fact ? If not , the denial in his letter was , however well meant , not only uncalled for , but incorrect . Bro . Buchan , as I take it , has simply made use of this denial as a peg on which to hang the resuscitation of his

Original Correspondence.

" 171 J theory . " That peg is removed , audi think that every brother will agree with me that , if this controversy is to be revived , it should be upon its own merits , and not upon such a false issue as the one in question . No one assuredly will deny Bro . Buchan thc right of stating his opinion , but it would certainly be preferable not

to start a discussion concerning it upon subject matter not only entirely wide of the mark but also so thoroughly exempt from criticism as the Installation Charge in question . With fraternal greetings , 1 remain , faithfully yours , WM . TKBUS , P . M . 285 , P . P . G . Chaplain , Somerset . Caterham Valley , June 14 th , 1875 .

HOW MASONS ARE MA . D _ .. To the Editor of Ihe Freemason . Dear Sir and Brother , — When the eyes of enthusiastic Masons are gladdened by the appearance of long paragraphs in the newspapers , giving accounts of densely thronged Masonic meetings in various parts of the country , and reporting " Great

spread of Freemasonry in , " does it ever occur to them to reflect for a moment whether thc large number of persons who are daily flocking to our banners are " fit and proper persons to be made Masons ? " Unhappily , every day ' s experience teaches us that such is not so , but that our once noble Institution is rapidly becoming crowded with a class of men , who 20 or even 10 years ago would never

have dreamed of applying for admission to our ranks . That such an unfortunate state of things does exist is abundantly testified by the repeated cautions given by P . G . Masters , at the meetings of P . G . Lodges , about the care that should be taken before allowing any one to become " one of us . " Now , what is the most fruitful source of this admission

of unfit subjects to the privileges of our Order ? I think there can be no doubt , that it is principally due to the initiation of candidates in lodges held in towns other than those in which the candidates reside . The Grand Master of England deemed the matter of such importance that , some time ago , he caused a circular letter to be forwarded to every lodge ( I believe ) calling attention

to , and severely reprobating this custom . It is painful however to find that , in spite : of this official warning , the evil , instead of diminishing , has been daily growing in magnitude . As an illustration of the extent to which this practice may be and is carried , I wish emphatically to bring before the brethren generally the contents of a current circular ,

of what wc will call " Lodge A , " which has just fallen into my hands . According to this circular , the business to be transacted on the ensuing lodge night consists in balloting for 0 candidates , one as a joining member and the remaining 5 for initiation . Now , will it be credited that , of these 6 there is not , according to the addresses given in the circular , a single one of the candidates who is a

resident in " Lodge A " town ? Can anything be more scandalous than this ? I don't use a term a bit too strong if I characterize such a circular a disgrace , not only to the lodge which issued it , but to thc Order at large . Such I am sure will be the opinion of every true and loyal Mason . But perhaps the reader may think that this extraordinary list of non-resident candidates may have been brought

about by the fact of there being no lodges in their own immediate vicinities . Let us sec . We will pass over the joining member , as it is probable that he may intend to locate himself in his new lodge town . Of the 5 candidates for initiation , we find that No . 1 resides in a little village in which there is no lodge , about n miles from "A , " and to get at which he must , if he go

thc direct road by railway , pass through a large town in which there is an irreproachable lodge held . Nos . 2 and 3 reside in the same town , about a distance of 8 miles from "A . " The opportunities this town offers to local candidates may be estimated when it is mentioned , on the authority of the " Cosmopolitan Masonic Calendar for 1875 , " that it contains not less than 23 lodges . No . 4 is an inhabitant

of a town still more remote , being distant from " A " at least 12 miles , and , in addition , is in another county altogether . This town is provided with two lodges . I am sure I shall surprise ( and I hope shock ) many of my readers when I tell them that No . 5 is not only a non-resident , or even a dweller in " Lodge A's" county , but that he actually lives in a certain little island out of England , anti distant from

"A" close upon no miles . The island has three lodges , two of which are in the candidate ' s own town . Why is this lodge favoured with so many candidates from a distance ? It is not poor , so can't want money—it can't want establishing , for I am informed it sports a centenary jewel . Perhaps son .. of its ofiicers will explain , and in order to

make identification of thc lodge alluded to more easy , I will state that it is held in an old and very sleepy little town not 100 miles from Liverpool , and that the above candidates will be ballotted for on the 16 th inst . To the above I may add that in my own town I know casts ( all occurring in a very short time ) of four gentlemen who were either unable to find proposers amongst the

members of or had been blackballed at our lodge , and yet who were speedily made Masons in neighbouring towns , some of them , I must in justice state , at Lodge "A . " Is there no remedy for this indiscriminate and wholesale manufacture of Masons ? I think so , anti a vciy simple one too . Let the proper authorities enact , ist . That no candidate shall under any circumstances be initiated in

a lodge held in any county in which he is not a resident . Breach of this rule to be punished by suppressing the lodge . 2 nd . That every lodge in which a candidate shall have been blackballed shall at once transmit to the P . G . Secretary the name and address of such candidate . 3 rd . That no candidate shall be initiated in any strange lodge ( in his own county ) till the next lodge night but

Original Correspondence.

one after his proposal , and that in the meantime the Secretary shall ascertain from the P . G . Secretary if such candidate has been blackballed in his own lotlg-e town , ant ] , if so , his candidature shall not be proceeded ' with ; but if the reply is in the negative , then the Secretary shall enquire from thc lodge in the town in which the candidate resides

as to his character anti probable motives for being proposed in a strange lodge , and after the reply has been read in open lodge the ballotting may be proceeded with . If these rules be violated , let the offending lodge be admonished , and if the violation be persisted in , then let its name be crasetl from Grand Lotlge list . By observing the above simple rules , no hardship would

be inflicted upon anyone , and if not . 1 stop , at all events a great check be put upon this pernicious system of Masonry made easy . I trust the paramount importance of the subject under consideration will be sufficient justification for the length of this letter . Yours fraternally , L . of L . Liverpool , 14 th June , 187 ; .

PRECEDENCE . To the Editor ofthe Freemason . Dear Sir and Brother , — Neither brother has any " claim to the office " whatever . The Constitutions say : " He ( i . e . the newly-installed W . M . ) shall appoint his Wardens and other

officers , except the Treasurer" ( page 62 , sec . 2 . ); and" All preferment among Masons should be grounded upon real worth and persona ! merit ; therefore , no brother shall be elected Master of a lodge , or appointed to any office therein , merely on account of seniority of rank . " ( page 76 , sec . 1 . )

The W . M . was , therefore , quite right in putting into office such brethren as he deemed the fittest . The question of " precedence" of merely lodge membership would be settled by thc order in which the brethren in question became members of the lodge by Ihe ballot of the brethren . The entire difficulty ( as far as can be gleaned from

" Bro . Hatlley ' s " Ietter ) seems to have arisen from the indiscretion of the W . M ., who , by stating his intended appointments before thc proper time , gave an opportunity to the disappointed ones to take the extremely unmasonic course of marking their sense of the preference by refusing to confirm thc minutes . Respecting the effect of this last step , I hope to address a few lines to you on another

occasion . Faithfully and fraternally yours , WILLIAM Tons Caterham Valley , June 14 th , 1875 .

TEMPERANCE LODGE . To the Editor of the Frccmuxm . Dear Sir and Brother , — May I ask through the medium of your columns if any of your readers know of a Masonic lodge conducted on temperance principles , where a total abstainer would feel at home with his brethren . Yours & c , SOUTH LONDON- .

THE DUKE OP WELLINGTON . To the Editor ofthe Freemason . Dear Sir and Brother , — In the January number of the " Masonic Magazine" it is stated that the late Duke of Wellington was a Freemason . In my mother lodge , Edinburgh St . David ' s ,

No . 3 6 , S . C , there vvas , iu 1861 , a letter from the Duke , in which he distinctly stated that he did not belong to thc Order ; doubtless 011 application to the R . W . M . you might get a copy of it . I am , yours fraternally , WILLIAM W . S «_ iit _ s , K . H . } o ° .

THE INSTALLATION OF THE M . W . G . M . 7 b Ihe Editor ofthe Freemason . Dear Sir and Brother , — As one of the fortunate brethren present at thc Installation of H . R . H ., our GrantI Master , at the Albert Hall , I was highly gratified to hear thc confirmation of

thanks from Grand Lodge last quarterly communication to those distinguished brethren for their efficiency in the organisation of such an event , well remembering the general anxiety and fears which I and a great many others indulged in at thc possible exclusion of junior members of Grand Lodge , owing to thc tin : necessary and suitable space required . I therefore venture to state that in the name

of those juniors I beg 10 tender our humble , but nevertheless sincere , thanks to Brother Boytl , Past Grand Pursuivant of England , who was thc first to suggest publicly in your valuable pages , likewise to demonstrate the practicability , of using the Albert Hall for such an eminent purpose , thus giving out the timely spark that ignited the whole success of that memorable day . I am , KxT , s . W ., 14 ; .

MASONIC ARCHAEOLOGY . To the Editor of the Freemason . Dear Sir anil Brother , — I see that our good Bro . Albert Mackey , strangely enough , falls into thc not uncommon mistake of supposing that Hiram , the widow ' s son , vvas not an architect or a

stonemason . In the Voice of Masonry for June ( page 403 ) he says " It is worth noticing that a similar creed occurs in the still retainctl legends of the SolomonicTemple , where Hiram Abiff , who , like Tubalcain , was only a worker in metals ,

and not a stonemason , is called thc master builder of the Temple . The coincidence is striking , and the problem is one not easily to be solved , why in both the older and newer Masonry a silversmith should have been called a Mason and a builder . " Our good brother has surely for-