Original Correspondence.

There may be objections to such a plan which are not at the moment apparent to me , but if there are , some of your readers will doubtless find them out and expose them . — Yours fraternally , H . G . MORSE , Grand Chaplain .

To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — I do not believe in Past Masters , whether of or in the lodge , descending to the level or " position of the rank and file , " for my experience forbids the thought of any such possibility unless the cause be one which would equally affect both classes . If a Joining Past Master does so

descend , depend upon it he will benefit nothing by having the precedence gained in another lodge forced upon that he has joined . No lodge will accept a joining Past Master without cheerfully according to such Past Master all the privileges it can give him . As to his rank , it is his own fault if he loses that by neglecting to subscribe to any lodge . The

position he may acquire amongst the Past Masters of the lodge is of course one of courtesy , but is it not the fact that notwithstanding the distinction in and of lodges which now appears so obnoxious in the minds of some of vour correspondents , a joining Past Master frequently holds a position far higher in the estimation of the lodge generally than many of its own Past Masters ? After all , this is the

precedence most worth , coveting ? In lodges where it is difficult to pass the W . M . ' s chair ( either by reason of the great expense it entails or on account of an unwritten law which plainly declares that every elected Master shall be capable of properly working his lodge ) , both officers and members not in office are led to ioin a less particular lodge in which they can rise more

rapidly . Suppose a brother succeeds in obtaining the honour in five years ( I have known it done in much less ) , of what benefit has he been to his former lodge during six years at least ? If you ask him why he never attends his mother lodge he will tell you that he has quite enough to do now in the lodge he has joined . Now , will it benefit the Craft to encourage these temporary withdrawals from

lodges ? I say temporary , because such brethren continue members of their former lodge with the intention of _ returning to it , as in most instances they do , when the object has been attained for which they left it . In its turn the mother lodge receives back its truant , and can it be wondered at that others ( perhaps really valuable members ) take the earliest opportunity of doing likewise ?

I say that whatever good opinion has been previously formed of them in the mother lodge , such P . Ms , generally find on their return that it has decreased ; yet the case I have named is one in which the law as it now stands for confirmation would create a grievance not to be compared to any individual hardships , for it would compel the lodge not only to place such a Past Master in a position it could

not willingly offer him , but also ( practically ) to reward his conduct to the certain encouragement of others . Let us not hastily consider this question . Many Past Masters are not individually affected by thc change , and care little about it ; whilst others of the same class approve of the alteration as they would the removal of any grievance , forgetting that the present legislation is for the Craft

universal . I think our brethren in the colonies have an undoubted right to an opinion in this matter . If I did not sincerely believe that the amended law would be productive of results in lodges seriously detrimental to our Older , I could very well personally support the confirmation , as there appears to me to be already voluntarily

conceded to Past Masters by lodges quite as much ( and sometimes more ) , without any alteration of the old law , as is sought to be obtained under compulsion by the new . — Yours truly and fraternally , J . RAMSDbN RILEY , P . M . and Sec . 3 S 7 . Bradford , September 35 th .

To the Editor of "the Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — I was very glad to notice in the correspondence column of your last issue the letters signed "Inner Guard " and " A Provincial W . M . " respectingthestatusof PastMasters . The suggestion there madeas toobtaining an expression of opinion on this matter from the Craft in general is , I have

thought all along , the only safe way of solving what promises to become a very vexed question . Seeing that the proposed change is one that will more or Jess alfect every lodge , 1 should have thought our rulers would have been glad to hear the voice of the Craft for their guidance in a matter so serious . I have had conversation on this point with many brethren , but have not yet met with one who is in favour of the proposed change .

There is time enough before Grand Lodge meets in December for almost every lodge to furnish the Grand Secretary with the result ot a vote taken on this matter , and I feel sure if such vote was taken the result would be to fairly astonish the defenders of the proposed change in Grand Lodge at the smallness of their following in the Craft generally . —Yours fraternally , A MASTER MASON

531-INSTRUCTIONS TO THE SPECIAL BUILDING COMMITTEE . To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — Is it correct to say "that the Special Building Committee was debarred from obtaining alternative plans , because not authorised by Grand Lodge ?

1 am assured that the motion as submitted by Bro . Havers , and put by Lord Carnarvon , and carried , enabled tlie Special Building Committee to do this . The instructions are as follows : " That such Committee ue and are hereby instructed to obtain plans and designs for the rebuilding of Freemasons' Hall , and to deposit such plans in the library or other convenient place for the

inspection of the brethren generally previous to any decision being come to in Grand Lodge . " Bro . Havers in his ¦¦ peech stated what occurred when the present house was built , and strongly recommended that the plans should be offered to competition and appropriate premiums be given . I here seems to have been a good deal of confusion that

evening in Grand Lodge , and other motions I believe were put forward , and there was a good deal of what is called chopping and changing . " But if the allegation above alluded to be correct , would it not be advisable to rectify a •"' stake which has practically nearly landed us in a complete dead lock ?—Yours fraternally , LEX .

Original Correspondence.

BRO . BINCKES'S OFFICE AND THE CANDIDA TURE OF EDWARD BRAMBLE GREEN

AN EXPLANATION . To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — I regret the circular soliciting votes for the above candidate , the son of the late much respected Bro . Past Master Green , should have been so worded as to have occasioned pain and annoyance to the very efficient

Secretary of the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys , our esteemed Bro . Binckes , and so called forth the letter which appeared in your columns on Saturday last . The paragraph in question , stating that through inadvertence in the oth ' ce the name was omitted from the list of candidates , had no allusion to his office , but referred entirely to the office of the Freemasons' Hall and Club Company , Portsmouth .

The facts are as follows . I handed the document in question to the Secretary of the Company , in his office , under the impression that it would be forwarded , while he thought that as W . M . of the lodge 1 shouldsend it officially ; and so it came about that the petition was not sent till too late—a fact I deeply deplore . I trust , however , that the Life Governors and Subscribers who would

have given their votes to the candidate will not let this error of mine interfere with their good intentions , but that they will kindly forward them to meat their earliest convenience , so that they may be loaned till April , 1 SS 4 , election , when we trust , with the promises of support received , the boy's election will be secured . The case is a most deserving one , the widow being left with nine children , most of whom are

dependent on her ; and this is the candidate s only chance . The importance of explaining what would otherwise appear as a gross imputation on the businesslike habits of Bro . Binckes is my reason for troubling you to insert this in your next issue . —I am , dear sir and brother , yours fraternally , THOS . H . WILLIAMS , W . M . 1776 . Freemasons' HaU and Club , Landport , September 26 th .

THE OCTOBER ELECTIONS . Dear Bro . Kenning , — As numerous votes are lost every election through hesitation or procrastination , I beg once more to ask many kind friends to send me their voting papers if they have no case of their own at once . —Fraternally yours , A . F . A . WOODFORD . 25 A , Norfolk-crescent , Hyde-park , VV ., September 26 th .

BRO . JACOB NORTON . To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — Bro . J acob Norton is an interesting if eccentric writer , and his good natured dogmatism and want of logic are oftentimes very amusing . However , his " bark is worse than his bite , " and though he terms some of our

leading students in one of his discursive criminations "Masonic blunderers , " ! have reason toknow they only smile at it . I send you a characteristic extract from the Philadelphia Keystone , which sets before us his latest views on Bro . Gould ' s really great work . I give it with the introduction of the able editor , Bro . C . H . McCalla— " I he Compagnonage hypothesis of alleged connection between certain mediaeval

trades associations of France and Freemasonry , broached by Bro . R . F . Gould in his * History of Freemasonry , ' which we have heretofore noticed at length in the Keystone , finds a vigorous opponent in Bro . J acob Norton . " He says : ' Our clear-headed Bro . Gould , who so cleverly drags our Fraternity out of several swamps , himself become fascinated with the Compagnonage swamp . '" Well done , Jacob !—Yours fraternally , STUDENS .

Reviews

REVIEWS

VERMISCHTE SCHRIFTEN . J . G . FINDEL . Leipsic , . lSS 3-'Ihis collection of the esteemed and learned historian of Masonry , Bro . J . G . Findel , has an interest for all who happily understand German . It is a reprint of various little articles of his which he has collected into a volume . Among some , which will only naturally interest German Freemasons , ate two original articles as to his voyage to

England in 1 S 64 , and on Masonry at York . The latter might well be translated . VVe all of us who have read carefully Bro . Findel ' s Masonic works , and they deserve careful perusal , ace aware that he holds strong views on Craft Masonry , and expresses them distinctly . He is not favourable to what is termed High Grade Masonry , and we have said before what we say now , without offence to him , as he looks at everything from an historical point of

view alone , that the one defect , according to our view , in his very valuable history , is his utter ignoring of Hermeticism in its relation to and effect upon Freemasonry . We know , however , from personal acquaintance , that Bro . Findel is a strictly honest writer . He sought to give his countrymen and the Craft a reliable history of Freemasonry , and there can be little doubt that he has placed all Masonic students , present and future , under a debt of gratitude to

him for a thoroughly painstaking and reliable work . One question , perhaps relying too much on Fallou , he treated too hastily and discursively , namely , the Monastic origin of the Steinmetzen Ritual . We are not going to discuss here ivhethertheGerman Steinmetzen had any symbolic teaching , though we are ourselves inclined , pace our excellent friends Bros . Gould and Speth , to think they had ; and it may be true that the monks , at a time when all

learning and Hermetic teaching seem to have been mainly confined to the monasteries , guided and patronized the Masonic lodges , and aided to form and direct their ritual , & c . But still , despite Fallou , whose " wish" is too often "father to the thought , " and is not reliable , we have , so far , no available evidence of monastic connection with the Steinmetzen . And what English

students have lately felt is this , a " crux which seems to have escaped Bro . Findel ' s notice , that , whereas in England our earliest _ authorities claim a connection with the Operative gilds , in Germany , as in France , all knowledge both of the Steinmetzen and Compagnonage seems tohave been repudiated . The word "Freimaurer" is unknown apparently until about 1730 , and though the Steinmetzen gilds

Reviews

existed , as Kloss points out , the line of demarcation between those and the movement in Hamburgh is deliberately maintained . We know of noacknowledgment of the Steinmetzen in Germany , ( though such may exist ) , until the Abbe Grandidicr , who in order to ridicule the pretensions of Masonry , declared that the Freemasons descended from the Operative Masons at Strasburgh . Equally in France the

Compagnonage was ignored , the only word which seems to point to a connection being Lufton , or Louveteaux , of very doubtful origin still , both as to its use and real origin . As Bro . Findel is happily now restored to health , a fact all Masonic students will

be glad to hear , he perhaps may deem it well to send _ us a communication on this important point , the Steinmetzen and Freimaurer . As we have many Masons amongst us who understand German , we recommend Bro . Findel ' s last Masonic work to their notice and study .

Masonic Notes And Queries.

Masonic Notes and Queries .

235 ] OLD YORK WORKING . Will Bro . Hollon kindl y let me sec the Old York Working ? I have sought for it in vain for years . Much that has been said to bc " York " is clearly not so . If Bro .

Hollon would let mc see what his MS . really is , I can tell him at once whether it bc a real representation of what it professes to be , or whether it be only a clever adaptation of one or more workings , dubbing it with the time honoured name of "York . " MASONIC STUDENT .

23 < iJ _ LODGE WARRANTS . VVhat is Bro . Hollon ' s authority for saying that the senior lodges in towns granted warrants to other lodges in the same towns in England ? I know of no such case , and I fancy , like myself , Bros . Hughan and Gould will be somewhat startled to read Bro . Hollon ' s words . Is Bro . Hollon thinking of Scotland ? In England , as far as I know , no

lodge has ever affected to " warrant" another lodge ! When the " Lodge of Antiquity " did so it did not profess to do so qua the " Lodge of Antiquity , " but as the " Grand Lodge South of the Trent . " But such an act does not tall y with the alleged custom of senior lodges in towns giving warrants to other lodges , as stated so distinctly by Bro . Hollon . Perhaps he will kindly give us a " note " on the subject . MASONIC STUDENT .

237 ] MASONIC ARCHAEOLOGY . I have read with pleasure a very genial notice of the chief points to be remembered in the study of Masonic antiquities , and the dangers to be avoided . The Editor acknowledges the indebtedness of the Craft to several of us Masonic students , but one special name is omitted from the list , which was unavoidable under the circumstances , as the

paragraph was written by the brother to whom I refer . Whenever our able Bro . Gould in his ( emphatically the ) " History of Freemasonry" takes a glance at contributions and aids to Masonic archaeology by brethren during the last quarter of a century or more , the name of the Rev . A . F . A . Woodford , M . A ,, will be one of the most honoured , and the most prominent , either under his now well-known " nom

de plume" of "Masonic Student" or otherwise . I most cheerfully acknowledge my indebtedness to Bro . Woodford , particularly in the earlier stages of my researches , and have always found him ready with his extensive library , his special opportunities , and his most friendly council . I trust he will long be spared to continue as our senior student of the once little , but now increasing , band of Masonic investigators . VV . J . HUGHAN .

23 SJ _ CHARLES SACKVILLE . Bro . Thieme , keeper of the medals of the Minerva Lodge , Leipsic , writes to Bro . Findel to say that a silver Sackville medal otic e existed in the Lodge of Minerva , but no longer is traceable , and he refers Bro . Findel to Merzdorff . Bro Findel states further that he agrees with the conclusions of the " Handbuch , " which , as ne adds , "is written with great care , and after perusing all other scientific materials . "

" This conclusion is that the medal is a Strict Observance Fable ! As regards the medal itself , Marvin takes from Merzdorff , and Merzdorff differs from Bode (?) , 1777 , in this , that he puts "Lawrence Natter , 1733 , " instead of "L . N ., 1733 , " as in the Almanack of 1777 , Another point has been started which deserves note . Is not the use of Arabic numerals in preference to Roman letters

very suspicious in 1733 ? I must leave that point to numismatists . When Findel wrote his original and valuable history he probably did not set so much store by the "Handbuch" as he does now . The "Handbuch " all round , is certainly one of the most clear and satisfactory works I have ever seen . Whatever he held formerly , he clearly now gives up the medal . In the mean time I have

written to the British Museum , and may be able to give a supplementary note to this ; or forward another next week . 239 ] DRYASDUST . Since I wrote the above , I have received from Mr . R . S . Poole , keeper of the medals , British Museum , the following note : — "The British Museum possesses a specimen in silver of the medal of Charles Sackville by Natter . It corresponds to your description , except that beneath the

bust on the obverse appears the inscription , "L . Natter , F , " and a date , the first three figures of which are tolerably plain 173 , but the fourth is obscure . Our specimen was acquired some years ago from the collection of Mr . Edward Hawkins , the antiquary . On lhe descriptive card accompanying it in the Museum cabinet , the date is given as 1733 . " I will write fully next week on this " find . " DRYASDUST .

During the absence of the Queen and Court in Scotland considerable improvements and repairs are being carried out in the interior of Buckingham Palace . The Lord Mayor and Corporation of the City of London will , according to the latest arrangements , leave

town next Wednesday to dedicate Buvnham Beeches to the use and enjoyment of the public for ever . An anniversary dinner , commemorative of the Relief of Lucknow , was given on Wednesday evening last at lhe Army and Navy HoUl , Westminster . Lord Napier of Magdala presided , and among the speakers were Sir H . Havelock-Allan , General Willis , and General Olpherts .