Correspondence.

than he would like to confess , your readers will , no doubt , exercise a little more charitable forbearance than "Bro . Investigator , " and suspend their judgment . In the meantime , the Lodge No . 600 Avill best consult its own dignity , by treating his letters Avith that contempt Avhich all anonymous slanderers merit . Tours fraternally ,

Oct . 8 th , 1863 . FIAT JUSTITIA . TO THE EDITOR OP TUT ! FREEMASONS' MAGAZINE AND 3 IAS 0 NIC 3 I 1 EROR . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —I have read Avith some interest the letters that have lately appeared in your MAGAZINEin allusion to the above lod . IAvith many

, ge , others , are anxious to knoAV how the Harmony funds are managed , and , therefore , appeal to " Bro . Investigator " to come out in his true colours , so that fhe AA'hole thing maybe laid bare . " Bro . Ward " offers very fairly to answer " Investigator , " Avhen the latter shall have thrown off his mask . I , therefore , do hope , that an Englishman's love of fair play will at once cause " Investigator " to submit

-to these conditions . Tours fraternally , Oct . 8 th , 1863 . VERITAS .

The Boys' School.

THE BOYS' SCHOOL .

TO THE EDITOR OF THE FREEMASONS XAGAZIXE AND MASONIC XIltROR . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —With reference to tho letter of an " Old Subscriber , " which appeared in your number of 3 rd instant , it is not certain , from his signature , Avhether his long-continued subscription has been to the Institution for Boys , or to your journal . If he be an old subscriber to the Boys' School , it is

evident that he has taken small pains to make himself acquainted Avith the IUAVS of tho Institution . Had he done so , he Avould not have committed himself to such erroneous statements . He charitably speaks of the new laAV , with respect to voting at elections , as a " fraud on the part of the managers of the Institution . " The managers , or committee ,

have no power to alter or abrogate laws , or to enact new ones . This power rests exclusively with general meetings of subscribers ; and as these meetings are constantly attended by brethren Avho have subscribed to and taken au interest in tho Institution for years , if any fraud has been committed , it has not been by the managers upon old subscribers , but by old subscribers upon themselves . The Avriter of the letter states : — " An old subscriber has a right to record one vote , at every election , for as many boys as are to be elected , but he cannot accumulate

them in favour of one or more . " The latter part of this law Avas abrogated some years since , and about the same time a new Jaw was enacted allowing the votes polled for unsuccessful candidates to bo carried to their credit at subsequent elections . Both these ' changes ivere , to my mind , improvements , as far as they Avent . The original prohibition to

accumulate the votes rendered it impossible to carry the election of any candidate , except by adopting a system of exchanges . Supposing there happened to be eight boys to be elected from a number of twenty candidates , the supporters of any one candidate had small chance of success , unless he could arrange Avith the several supporters of seven other candidates , that each of them

should vote for his case , on condition of his filling up an equal number of proxies with votes for theirs . This advantage could only be obtained by those Avho Avere able personally to attend tho elections , and tho system operated injudiciously to country cases , unless taken up by a London brother , or by a country brother who could come to London . It was to remedy this , and to enable country subscribers to realise the full \ aluo for their votes , Avithout the necessity of a journey to London to effect exchanges , that an alteration in the law , so as to allow the

accumulation of votes in favour of one candidate , Avas , after due notice , brought forward at a General Court , carried , and confirmed . The carrying forward the votes of unsuccessful candidates to their credit at subsequent elections , enables those candidates Avho have not the good fortune to obtain the support of the most influential brethren , to hope ,

nevertheless , for ultimate success as the reward for their expenses and exertions . I allude to these circumstances to show that alterations of laws are not made lightly , but after due deliberation ; and that the object has been to redress the grievances of subscribers , aud to extend , as Avidely as possible , the advantages of the Institution .

It has been Avith the same deliberation , and acting on the same principles , that the recent alteration of the laAV as to voting Avas , after due notice and advertisement , brought forward and carried ,- —not at a meeting of the committee , which Avould have been illegal , but at a General Court of the Governors and Subscribers ; and it Avas confirmed at a subsequent Court .

The reasons which led to the alteration Avere two . In tho first place , the A ery large number of votes , arising from the greatly inci'eased number of subscribers , caused immense labour to the scrutineers , and even Avith all their care it Avas scarcely possible to avoid errors . At the election in April last , a governor , who knew that more A-otes had been polled for one candidate than Avere

reported , demanded a scrutiny . Other brethren were appointed to assist the original scrutineers , the error which led to the demand of the revision of the votes , and alsoother errors , were detected , and the result of the election , Avhich had commenced at one o ' clock , was finally declared at ten at night . It is possible . hoAvever , that the advantages of lessoning

the labours of the scrutineers and diminishing the chances of error might not have been deemed sufficient to induce an alteration of the law , had it not been for another and more important consideration , viz ., that , as the number of candidates to be elected A'avied at each election , according to the number of vacancies to be filledit Avas impossible for any subscriberunless certain

, , of carrying his case at one election , to know the real value of his votes . To illustrate this , suppose that at some one election there Avere three candidates to be elected , and at the succeeding election eight . Suppose 100 subscribers ( either annual or life , it makes no difference as regards tho result ) to poll : —¦ Proxies . Votes .

At the election of three candidates ... 100 300 And suppose ( the candidate for whom they A oted not having succeeded ) 100 subscribers ( the same or other , it makes no difference for the purposes of the illustration ) to poll : — At the election for eight candidates ... 100 800

In all ... 200 1100 Suppose further , 150 subscribers to poll in favour of a candidate AY ho had no votes carried forward from the previous election : — Proxies . A otes . At the election for eight candidates ... 150 1200 The 150 subscribers ' Ayould beat the 200 by 100

votes . Under tho laAV as it now stands , such an anomaly as this would be remedied , and each subscriber Avould have the full value for his proxy , neither more nor less . The result , under circumstances precisely similar in all other respects to those above stated , Avould be as follows . In the one case .- — Proxies A ' otes

. . At the election for three candidates ... 100 100 At the election for eight candidates ... 100 100 In all 200 200 In the other : — At the election for eight candidates ... 150 150