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Article THE COMING REPORT OF THE HOUSE COMMITTEE OF THE BOYS' SCHOOL. ← Page 2 of 2 Article BOYS' AND GIRLS' SCHOOL VOTING. Page 1 of 1 Article BOYS' AND GIRLS' SCHOOL VOTING. Page 1 of 1 Article THE WELSH MINERS AT PONTYPRIDD. Page 1 of 1 Article THE WELSH MINERS AT PONTYPRIDD. Page 1 of 1 Article IN MEMORIAM. Page 1 of 1 Article WAR OR PEACE. Page 1 of 1 Article Multum in Parbo, or Masonic Notes and Queries. Page 1 of 1
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Coming Report Of The House Committee Of The Boys' School.
better to judge the actual requirements of the school than we are now . We are among those who believe in the future of the Boys' School , We feel sure that the eventual increase to 300 will not long suffice to meet the wants of our growin" Craft , and that in all probability a
preparatory establishment of 100 if not 200 boys may be necessary eventually as a training school for the larger institution . But it is better to leave to the future the things and wants of the future , and utilize the present as best may be done for the improvement of our goodly school , and the
welfare of our Masonic Orphan Boys . For all these reasons , and others , which we will not dilate on now , we take the liberty humbly of suggesting , that if we now increase the school to 200 boys , we shall have as much on our hands for the next two years as we can carefullv attend to , and comfortably support .
Boys' And Girls' School Voting.
BOYS' AND GIRLS' SCHOOL VOTING .
As always happens with disappointed candidates , we have complaints to deal with , with respect to those who either have not succeeded , or have been practically rejected altogether , and therefore we think it right to call attention to the matter to-day , as there is no one subject ,
perhaps , on which more fallacies exist , even in this age of fallacies , if illogical ones , of clap-trap appeals , " ad hominem" and " ad sentiment . " We are going to lay down , in the outset , the following two laws of voting action , having had much experience in the matter : —1 . That where
a candidate fails , it is through the inherent ¦ weakness of the case , a want of proper " backing up" by its supporters . 2 . That no really good case need be unsuccessful . For , curiously enough , the very cases often which are cited are a proof , if proof be needed , that there is a screw loose
somewhere , either as regards the profession or practice of those who support particular candidates . The boy Cox , about whom onr esteemed Bro . J . C . Martyn wrote to us a short time ago , ( whose communications we always welcome ) , is a case in point . With all deference to our
excellent P . G . C , had Cox ' s supporters only done their duty , the boy most certainly would have got in . But he has not polled up to the present time the actual repetitive votes of his professed supporters , or of his province . Had his province only duly supported him he must have been carried in
long ago . Why , then , are other persons to be blamed because they do not do what the good brethren of Devonshire and his own supporters have left undone ? It is idle to accuse the system of weakness or the Craft of unreason , as some do apparently in such a case as this , when , had a
proper understanding been arrived at between his friends and the province , he must have been returned . The truth is , we are just now acting under a mistaken notion altogether of what the responsibility of the voting paper means , and in our haste to remedy
imaginary evils , more or less , we shall probably perpetrate a lasting unjustice on all future applicants for eleemosynary aid and inflict lasting injury on our charitable foundations . It is idle , and more than idle , to suppose that any two or three minds , or any committee of men or Masons , can arrive
at an agreement of what is absolutely " the most distressing case . " All we can expect to reach , it appears to us , is an agreement , " coeteris paribus , '' as to " a sufficiently distressing case " to claim our sympathies and invoke our help . It would be quite impossible to lay down any direct conditions of what constitutes the most
distressing case , so as to constitute a paramount claim upon our votes . We all of us probably take a somewhat different view ° f the necessities of the particular applicants . Some may think a total orphan ought to have a preference over a semi-orphan . Others may
consider length of Masonic affiiliation a great ¦ ngredient as to the pressing nature of the application , others contend that the children of those who have subscribed to the Charities themselves should have a prior claim . Some
ma 7 hold that there ought to be a conation of many years' subscription , while others m ay look at the number of the family , or the presence of any other member of it in the School already . And then there comes in this
Boys' And Girls' School Voting.
further and most important question , —What is the actual position of the relatives of the orphan ? It is to be greatly feared that many candidates are put forward , whom their friends ought to provide for , on this selfish ground , that as the deceased brother subscribed to Masonry , and
these institutions exist , therefore he has as much right as any one else to participate in their benefits , though they could afford to educate the child themselves . Now , this , though purely human selfishness , is , we fear , not unknown in Freemasonry , and constitutes , as all are aware who
have given attention to the subject , one of the most difficult problems which we have to solve , in common with our charities in general , and charity voting in particular . ^ Hence the difficulties of coming to an abstract agreement as to the most distressing case are inseparable , and we
can only arrive at a case , it' ] appears to us , fairly worthy of our support . Any idea that such a realisation of an abstract absolute claim , could be arrived at by a close committee better than by open voting is , we venture to hold , an utter fallacy . In our honest opinion such a system can
only lead , from the nature of the case , and in the infirmity of human nature , to the most intensified jobbery . We feel sure , as we have often said before , that as regards our provincial brethren at any rate , there is but one course open to them , if they wish to succeed in the elections ,
namely , to form Charity Committees of their own , and to select their provincial candidates for whom the aggregate of the votes of the province can be polled . We are aware that such views as these will not commend themselves to the reformers or pessimists of the hour , but they are
the result of honest conviction and long experience , and , we have reason to believe , in entire accordance with the opinions of those who have had most experience in the matter . Sure we are , at any rate , that they are dictated by a most sincere desire to uphold the best interests of our great charitable educational Institutions .
The Welsh Miners At Pontypridd.
THE WELSH MINERS AT PONTYPRIDD .
It is not without emotion that all Englishmen and all Freemasons will rise from the perusal of the accounts which have been flashed by the sympathetic wire for the last few days from one end of England to the other . All will rejoice to
think that the lives of the five imprisoned ones have been spared , thanks , under Providence , to the heroism of their rescuers , though they will deeply regret that any lives have been lost through one of those mournful accidents to which the
best regulated collieries are subject . As the Times most truly says : — " A scene as tragic and heroic as any that can be presented by the war now about to commence has during the last week been enacted in the depths of a Welsh Colliery .
It was on Wednesday evening in last week , nine days ago , that the original catastrophe occurred . On that evening , in the Tynewydd Mine , near Pontypridd , the men were on the point of leaving their work when a roar of rushing water was
heard . The men at once fled , and many of them succeeded in gaining the shaft of the mine and escaping to the surface . But fourteen men and boys were found to be missing , and volunteers afc once came forward to descend the shaft . A
mine of this kind is a labyrinth . From the perpendicular shaft tunnels are cut horizontally , or at gentle inclines , and from these again smaller galleries , or headings , penetrate the coal right and left . The water had broken into the mine
from the abandoned workings of an adjacent mine , and , of course , it flowed rapidly into all the ' stalls , ' ' headings , ' and ' roadways , ' until it found its level . The volunteer party at once ascertained that all the workings within a few
hundred yards of the bottom of the shaft were filled with water up to the roof , and it was natural to conclude that the missing fourteen men had all been drowned . But a knocking was soon heard , as if from some men who were
imprisoned behind a wall of coal ; and the volun teers at once set to work to cut through this wall . In this instance the thickness to be cut through was about forty yards , and as the missing men had been without food for five days , it was most improbable they could work at their own side of the wall . All that could be done was
The Welsh Miners At Pontypridd.
for relays of men to be working night and day , in narrow galleries three feet high , gradually diminishing the distance between themselves and their comrades . They had to do this , moreover , at the cost of imminent and obvious peril to their own lives . The water having once broken
into the mine , it was impossible to be sure it could be kept under by pumping 5 and even if they reached the prisoners , it was too possible that another explosion of air might be fatal to the rescuing party , while the water within , re lieved from pressure , would drown those for
whom all these efforts were being made . It was a kind of forlorn hope , and the bravery which sustained it deserves as much honour as any deed of arms . " The names of the men who first volunteered , and whom the Times calls , not improperly , " a band of heroes , " may
well be recorded here , their names are : —John Hughes , Isaac Pride , Daniel Owens , William Rollins , Thomas Ash , William Parsons , and Charles Parsons , all living at Forth . While remembering the workmen who braved everything the officers in command should not
be forgotten , and the name of Mr . Wales , Her Majesty ' s Inspector of Mines , Mr . James Thomas , a veteran in coal-mining , whose age would have been sufficient excuse for keeping away , Mr . Edward Thomas , Llwynclyn , Mr . De Thomas , Brithwemydd , Mr . David
Davis , Cilylai . Mr . William Davis , Coedcoa . While the roar of the tempest was at its highest pitch , and the blue flame of gas flashed in the Davy lamps , they stood with heroic courage with the noble band who were forcing their way towards the men beyond . On Friday
at 2 . 30 p . m ., the five sufferers who had been imprisoned this long space of time were brought safely up the surface , and are now under medical care—it is hoped they will eventually recover . All classes have been interested in this extraordinary case , from Her
Gracious Majesty , always full of deep consideration even for the humblest of her subjects , to every class and condition of English women , men , and children . We are glad to be permitted in these pages to recount the gallant devotion of Welsh miners , and to express in the Freemason our sincere sympathy , especially with that most
industrious class of our fellow countrymen , the coal miners , whose good qualities we , from long personal acquaintance with them , much better than most people , perhaps , fully recognise and appreciate . We are not at all surprised at that courage and self denial , and what the Times terms heroic devotion to duty , which have been evinced by these humble colliers in Wales .
In Memoriam.
IN MEMORIAM .
Many of our readers will deeply regret to note the death of Bro' Montague Scott . He was well known in metropolitan Masonry , alike in his genial qualities and his ritualistic lore , while
his ready utterance and his elocutionary powers , no Jess than his obliging disposition , gained him a large circle of admiring friends , and by very many of our brethren his loss will be truly felt and long deplored .
War Or Peace.
WAR OR PEACE .
" Jacta est alea 3 " the Russian army has crossed the Pruth , and Russia and Turkey are now at war . When we next greet our readers we may have something more to say on the subject ;
Multum In Parbo, Or Masonic Notes And Queries.
Multum in Parbo , or Masonic Notes and Queries .
MASONIC WORK BV W . BBO . EMU A HOLMES . SO many brethren are enquiring as to the advent of Bro . Holme's Masonic Work , and I really cannot afford the time to answer the numerous enquiries , would the author or the publishers ( Bros . G . M . Tweddell and Sons ; , kindly state in the columns of the Freemason the probable time of its appearance .
Under the peculiar circumstances of its publication , I have taken a lively interest in its sale , antl one friend of mine , to whom I introduced the matter ( VV . Bro . S . B . Ellis , W . M . 1239 , Sheffield ) , has actually obtained over 100 subscribers for the work . " Deeds speak louder than words , " and it is pleasant to find brethren , as Bro . Ellis , always ready to aid a good cause . WILLIAM J AMES HU « IIAK .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Coming Report Of The House Committee Of The Boys' School.
better to judge the actual requirements of the school than we are now . We are among those who believe in the future of the Boys' School , We feel sure that the eventual increase to 300 will not long suffice to meet the wants of our growin" Craft , and that in all probability a
preparatory establishment of 100 if not 200 boys may be necessary eventually as a training school for the larger institution . But it is better to leave to the future the things and wants of the future , and utilize the present as best may be done for the improvement of our goodly school , and the
welfare of our Masonic Orphan Boys . For all these reasons , and others , which we will not dilate on now , we take the liberty humbly of suggesting , that if we now increase the school to 200 boys , we shall have as much on our hands for the next two years as we can carefullv attend to , and comfortably support .
Boys' And Girls' School Voting.
BOYS' AND GIRLS' SCHOOL VOTING .
As always happens with disappointed candidates , we have complaints to deal with , with respect to those who either have not succeeded , or have been practically rejected altogether , and therefore we think it right to call attention to the matter to-day , as there is no one subject ,
perhaps , on which more fallacies exist , even in this age of fallacies , if illogical ones , of clap-trap appeals , " ad hominem" and " ad sentiment . " We are going to lay down , in the outset , the following two laws of voting action , having had much experience in the matter : —1 . That where
a candidate fails , it is through the inherent ¦ weakness of the case , a want of proper " backing up" by its supporters . 2 . That no really good case need be unsuccessful . For , curiously enough , the very cases often which are cited are a proof , if proof be needed , that there is a screw loose
somewhere , either as regards the profession or practice of those who support particular candidates . The boy Cox , about whom onr esteemed Bro . J . C . Martyn wrote to us a short time ago , ( whose communications we always welcome ) , is a case in point . With all deference to our
excellent P . G . C , had Cox ' s supporters only done their duty , the boy most certainly would have got in . But he has not polled up to the present time the actual repetitive votes of his professed supporters , or of his province . Had his province only duly supported him he must have been carried in
long ago . Why , then , are other persons to be blamed because they do not do what the good brethren of Devonshire and his own supporters have left undone ? It is idle to accuse the system of weakness or the Craft of unreason , as some do apparently in such a case as this , when , had a
proper understanding been arrived at between his friends and the province , he must have been returned . The truth is , we are just now acting under a mistaken notion altogether of what the responsibility of the voting paper means , and in our haste to remedy
imaginary evils , more or less , we shall probably perpetrate a lasting unjustice on all future applicants for eleemosynary aid and inflict lasting injury on our charitable foundations . It is idle , and more than idle , to suppose that any two or three minds , or any committee of men or Masons , can arrive
at an agreement of what is absolutely " the most distressing case . " All we can expect to reach , it appears to us , is an agreement , " coeteris paribus , '' as to " a sufficiently distressing case " to claim our sympathies and invoke our help . It would be quite impossible to lay down any direct conditions of what constitutes the most
distressing case , so as to constitute a paramount claim upon our votes . We all of us probably take a somewhat different view ° f the necessities of the particular applicants . Some may think a total orphan ought to have a preference over a semi-orphan . Others may
consider length of Masonic affiiliation a great ¦ ngredient as to the pressing nature of the application , others contend that the children of those who have subscribed to the Charities themselves should have a prior claim . Some
ma 7 hold that there ought to be a conation of many years' subscription , while others m ay look at the number of the family , or the presence of any other member of it in the School already . And then there comes in this
Boys' And Girls' School Voting.
further and most important question , —What is the actual position of the relatives of the orphan ? It is to be greatly feared that many candidates are put forward , whom their friends ought to provide for , on this selfish ground , that as the deceased brother subscribed to Masonry , and
these institutions exist , therefore he has as much right as any one else to participate in their benefits , though they could afford to educate the child themselves . Now , this , though purely human selfishness , is , we fear , not unknown in Freemasonry , and constitutes , as all are aware who
have given attention to the subject , one of the most difficult problems which we have to solve , in common with our charities in general , and charity voting in particular . ^ Hence the difficulties of coming to an abstract agreement as to the most distressing case are inseparable , and we
can only arrive at a case , it' ] appears to us , fairly worthy of our support . Any idea that such a realisation of an abstract absolute claim , could be arrived at by a close committee better than by open voting is , we venture to hold , an utter fallacy . In our honest opinion such a system can
only lead , from the nature of the case , and in the infirmity of human nature , to the most intensified jobbery . We feel sure , as we have often said before , that as regards our provincial brethren at any rate , there is but one course open to them , if they wish to succeed in the elections ,
namely , to form Charity Committees of their own , and to select their provincial candidates for whom the aggregate of the votes of the province can be polled . We are aware that such views as these will not commend themselves to the reformers or pessimists of the hour , but they are
the result of honest conviction and long experience , and , we have reason to believe , in entire accordance with the opinions of those who have had most experience in the matter . Sure we are , at any rate , that they are dictated by a most sincere desire to uphold the best interests of our great charitable educational Institutions .
The Welsh Miners At Pontypridd.
THE WELSH MINERS AT PONTYPRIDD .
It is not without emotion that all Englishmen and all Freemasons will rise from the perusal of the accounts which have been flashed by the sympathetic wire for the last few days from one end of England to the other . All will rejoice to
think that the lives of the five imprisoned ones have been spared , thanks , under Providence , to the heroism of their rescuers , though they will deeply regret that any lives have been lost through one of those mournful accidents to which the
best regulated collieries are subject . As the Times most truly says : — " A scene as tragic and heroic as any that can be presented by the war now about to commence has during the last week been enacted in the depths of a Welsh Colliery .
It was on Wednesday evening in last week , nine days ago , that the original catastrophe occurred . On that evening , in the Tynewydd Mine , near Pontypridd , the men were on the point of leaving their work when a roar of rushing water was
heard . The men at once fled , and many of them succeeded in gaining the shaft of the mine and escaping to the surface . But fourteen men and boys were found to be missing , and volunteers afc once came forward to descend the shaft . A
mine of this kind is a labyrinth . From the perpendicular shaft tunnels are cut horizontally , or at gentle inclines , and from these again smaller galleries , or headings , penetrate the coal right and left . The water had broken into the mine
from the abandoned workings of an adjacent mine , and , of course , it flowed rapidly into all the ' stalls , ' ' headings , ' and ' roadways , ' until it found its level . The volunteer party at once ascertained that all the workings within a few
hundred yards of the bottom of the shaft were filled with water up to the roof , and it was natural to conclude that the missing fourteen men had all been drowned . But a knocking was soon heard , as if from some men who were
imprisoned behind a wall of coal ; and the volun teers at once set to work to cut through this wall . In this instance the thickness to be cut through was about forty yards , and as the missing men had been without food for five days , it was most improbable they could work at their own side of the wall . All that could be done was
The Welsh Miners At Pontypridd.
for relays of men to be working night and day , in narrow galleries three feet high , gradually diminishing the distance between themselves and their comrades . They had to do this , moreover , at the cost of imminent and obvious peril to their own lives . The water having once broken
into the mine , it was impossible to be sure it could be kept under by pumping 5 and even if they reached the prisoners , it was too possible that another explosion of air might be fatal to the rescuing party , while the water within , re lieved from pressure , would drown those for
whom all these efforts were being made . It was a kind of forlorn hope , and the bravery which sustained it deserves as much honour as any deed of arms . " The names of the men who first volunteered , and whom the Times calls , not improperly , " a band of heroes , " may
well be recorded here , their names are : —John Hughes , Isaac Pride , Daniel Owens , William Rollins , Thomas Ash , William Parsons , and Charles Parsons , all living at Forth . While remembering the workmen who braved everything the officers in command should not
be forgotten , and the name of Mr . Wales , Her Majesty ' s Inspector of Mines , Mr . James Thomas , a veteran in coal-mining , whose age would have been sufficient excuse for keeping away , Mr . Edward Thomas , Llwynclyn , Mr . De Thomas , Brithwemydd , Mr . David
Davis , Cilylai . Mr . William Davis , Coedcoa . While the roar of the tempest was at its highest pitch , and the blue flame of gas flashed in the Davy lamps , they stood with heroic courage with the noble band who were forcing their way towards the men beyond . On Friday
at 2 . 30 p . m ., the five sufferers who had been imprisoned this long space of time were brought safely up the surface , and are now under medical care—it is hoped they will eventually recover . All classes have been interested in this extraordinary case , from Her
Gracious Majesty , always full of deep consideration even for the humblest of her subjects , to every class and condition of English women , men , and children . We are glad to be permitted in these pages to recount the gallant devotion of Welsh miners , and to express in the Freemason our sincere sympathy , especially with that most
industrious class of our fellow countrymen , the coal miners , whose good qualities we , from long personal acquaintance with them , much better than most people , perhaps , fully recognise and appreciate . We are not at all surprised at that courage and self denial , and what the Times terms heroic devotion to duty , which have been evinced by these humble colliers in Wales .
In Memoriam.
IN MEMORIAM .
Many of our readers will deeply regret to note the death of Bro' Montague Scott . He was well known in metropolitan Masonry , alike in his genial qualities and his ritualistic lore , while
his ready utterance and his elocutionary powers , no Jess than his obliging disposition , gained him a large circle of admiring friends , and by very many of our brethren his loss will be truly felt and long deplored .
War Or Peace.
WAR OR PEACE .
" Jacta est alea 3 " the Russian army has crossed the Pruth , and Russia and Turkey are now at war . When we next greet our readers we may have something more to say on the subject ;
Multum In Parbo, Or Masonic Notes And Queries.
Multum in Parbo , or Masonic Notes and Queries .
MASONIC WORK BV W . BBO . EMU A HOLMES . SO many brethren are enquiring as to the advent of Bro . Holme's Masonic Work , and I really cannot afford the time to answer the numerous enquiries , would the author or the publishers ( Bros . G . M . Tweddell and Sons ; , kindly state in the columns of the Freemason the probable time of its appearance .
Under the peculiar circumstances of its publication , I have taken a lively interest in its sale , antl one friend of mine , to whom I introduced the matter ( VV . Bro . S . B . Ellis , W . M . 1239 , Sheffield ) , has actually obtained over 100 subscribers for the work . " Deeds speak louder than words , " and it is pleasant to find brethren , as Bro . Ellis , always ready to aid a good cause . WILLIAM J AMES HU « IIAK .