Correspondence.

Pursuivant I gradually rose to the rank of S . W . ' in the latter , under present circumstances , I would refuse any position which might be offered to me . The result of my observations is , that this part of our arrangements ( Provincial Grand Lodge ) is of very little real advantage in any case , and that under our peculiar form of government , ancl in truth in some

respects very peculiar it is , presenting strange anomalies , it may he , e . nd sometimes is , productive of positive evil in various ways . In the Province with which I was first connected , on the whole things Avorked well . The tAvo Provincial Grand Masters under whom I had the honour to

serve are noblemen of high position , unblemished character , generous sentiments , ample pecuniary means wherewith to be liberal , Avhether in the cause of charity or the promotion of social enjoyment , and a disposition thus to obtain popularity , though offence may occasionally have been given to individualswho

, , possessing undue self-esteem , thought their own merits entitled them to higher appointments than were bestowed upon them , great fairness in this respect was generally exhibited , ancl character and skill in the Craft were never long unrewarded . So far then I was

not disposed to question the benefit of a Provincial Grand Lodge , since the badge of the purple apron , being indicative of merit , was consequently au honour eagerly sought , and trie annual meetings , ivhich w ere punctually held , afforded pleasant opportunities of intercourse between Masons residing a few miles

apart ; more than this , it is there the custom to change the Deputy Provincial Grand Master about once in three years , _ on whom , under the sanction of his chief , the principal direction of the Province belongs , and thus the labour does not become too irksome by long continuance in office . I witnessed four such

changes in ten years . The agreeable impressions thus produced have however been sadly effaced by what I have seen in another quarter during the last eight years . A Provincial Grand Master not possessing the respect of those under his jurisdiction , nay more , whose removal would be universally hailed Avith delight , refusing to

act upon advice to resign , because , as he alleges , it would be giving a victory to what he calls his enemies , though in reality those are his best friends , who would release liim from an unenviable position ; jaot UOAV a member of any Lodge or Chapter in the Province , owing to non-payment of subscriptions in

several to which he did belong ; without pecuniary means to maintain a high social position , indeed frequently before the court for the recovery of petty clehts ; utterly devoid of many other qualifications of a most ordinary character which it Avould not be prudent to enumerate , though evidence thereof is

strong ancl readily producible ; pompous , vain , ambitious , vacillating , not punctual in the exercise of his duties , aud yet at times descending in a most unworthy manner to acts which are thoroughly infra cliff . ; one Avhose decisions have been more than once reversed on appeal to Grand Lodge ; capricious in his appointments to Provincial offices , often selecting

men for the highest positions who have nopretensiousto ability or eminence in the Craft , indeed who have been members of it only a few months ; uncertain in his arrangements for holding Provincial Grand Lodge meetings , between which intervals of nearly two years sometimes occurnotwithstanding clause 8 on

, , page 48 , of the " Book of Constitutions ; " allowing his deputy to retain his rank for many years together as a complete sinecure , since he evinces not the slightest interest in the proceedings of the Province in any Avay , and rarely attends his own lodge , much less any other .

Under such circumstances , can it be a matter of surprise if many of the brethren entertain an opinion that it would be preferable to have no Provincial Grand Lodge , especially as the state of things is well known and much commented upon among those ivho do not belong to the Craft , and who are thus led to form a low estimate of it ?

Now , to my purpose in drawing this contrast . Does it not show that there is something radically wrong in our Constitutions ? Should it be possible that such a state of things can continue ? Painfulas it is to make such statements , does it not become a duty to point out defects which appear to require removal in a society whose objects are professedl

y , more than those of most others , of a moral tendency ? "What course ought to be taken by the Masons of the province to obtain a change ? for experience hasshown the difficulties that lie in the way , and the futility of representations to those in Avhose power the appointment to the headship of a province rests , when ,

the Prov . G . M . openly declares his intention to < retain his place against all opposition so long as he shall think proper , even though entreated to resign by those in whom he confides in other respects . It has been found that such a man has every facility for obstinacy in his determinationarising from a

, natural unwillingness on the part of Masons to combine to do an unpleasant thing ; the obstacles to thecollection and presentation of evidence at a great distance from the tribunal ; the cost and trouble of a long journey to London ; the formalities Avhich must

be complied Avith ; the apathy of' the majority of Masons , who are not sufficiently anxious about the matter to make any personal effort ; the recommendation to silence in regard to the feelings of a brother ,. Avhich should , hoAvever , be set aside Avhen the Craft as a body suffers thereby ; and many other hindrances .. A commission of inquiry sent from London to the

province would , perhaps , be the best course in the special case . " The Grand Master of England is elected annually ,, aud if he were to practice one-half of the vagaries common in the province alluded to , a successor would . doubtless soon be found . The mistake appears to

bein consigning to Mm , instead of to each province , the selection of a Prov . G . M ., for it is unreasonable to suppose that he can adequately judge _ of the wants ancl feelings of the brethren in a district into which he never enters , perhaps hundreds of miles distant , or of the local fitness of the person Avhom he may

choose . What benefit can possibly arise from the appointment of an incompetent . ; injudicious , or unpopular man , in whom the Masons under his charge can place no confidence . And yet , under present arrangements , they are obliged to submit .