Correspondence.

an error m your report of the unprepared and imperfect speech addressed by me to the Lodge of CEconomy at Winchester—an error I should not notice were it not for circumstances to which I need not more particularly allude , but the existence of which may lead some to imagine that your report is correct , and the phrase was intentionally used by me . I spoke of Freemasonry as

an institution " admirably adapted for ameliorating suffering humanity , " . your report reads "Christian humanity . " I am , dear Sir and Brother , ~ - Tours fraternally , FEEDEEICK BINCKES . Secretary Eoyal Masonic Institution for Boys . 16 A , Great Queen-street , W . C „ June 15 th , 1863 . [ The East Lancashire very rarely let us know what is going on in their province . "]

The Plans And Designs For Freemasons' Hall.

THE PLANS AND DESIGNS FOR FREEMASONS' HALL .

10 TUB EDITOR OP THE FREEMASONS' MAGAZINE AND MASONIC MIRROR . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —No one can reasonably object to your excluding any remarks on the plans and designs for Freemasons' Hall , whilst the subject was under the consideration of the committee , but now , I apprehend , there cannot be the same necessity for withholding a few comments on them , as the mountain in

labour has at last brought forth one of the tinest of mice . A careful examination of the plans at St . Martin ' s Hall , was not encouraging . It showed that , in the majority of competitors , the idea of a Freemasons' Hall was taken to be a building for a society of Freemasons , who were totally unacquainted with architectural science or practice , and the same opinion seems to have been entertained of Grand Lodge , and by the committee chosen from its members , to undertake the selection of the

prizes . The first thing that was particularly noteworthy in the recent exhibition , was the total absence of a set of plans of the present property as it stands . This , surely , was a great omission , as it pre-supposed an intimate acquaintance with the site and its uses , which very few could know much about , and it was strongly

commented on by many who went to see the designs , & c . An analysis of the twenty designs sent in showed that there were but eight which could lay the remotest claim to be considered as the production of architects . Of these eight there were but six which came near the requisite conditions issued to competitors—more especially in the feature that was made so much ofviz .: —a new

, hall capable of dining and serving five hundred persons . Deducting from these six , t ivo , which had no other approach to merit than the mere fact of providing the accommodation' required , there remained but four to choose from , sixteen being out of court from not complying with the instructions . How many of the selected

did so comply it is needless to state . The set marked with " a double triangle , " coloured red and blue , the production of Bro . Garling , the government prize architect , embraced no Jess than sixteen separate drawings , giving two distinct plans with elevations applicable either to the property treated in separate parts , or as one grand whole . In both plans the offices were

well arranged , but the new dining hall could not accommodate five hundred . The elevations were striking and had the appearance of a public building of importance . "Experientia , " Bro . S . W . Daukes , sent in nine drawings . The offices and rooms were well dispersed , and the author , from his office of Grand Superintendent of "Works , knew more of the nature of the ground at his disposal

than any competitor could have known , still although he affectedly marked out his space in the new hall , by setting forth an array of chairs and tables , he could only find . ' room to dine 475 . How they were to be served was a mystery known only to himself , The elevation consisted of two separate buildings of mediocre design , one ticketed

most vulgarly , "Eoyal Masonic Banquetting Rooms . " How such a building is to become " Eoyal , " is a questtion at present undecided , and the remainder of the inscription is in such bad taste , that if carried out it would have rendered the property more tavernish than ever . ' 'Pour yparvenir" numbered eleven drawings . The new hall will not dine the required number . There is on

the ground floor , a corridor running from the front to the back of the buildings and about eight feet and a half wide , as the only means of ingress and egress . The elevation showed two uninteresting private houses . " L'Union fait la force , " by Bro . Cockerell , which gained the first prize , consisted of fourteen drawings . The plans were somewhat confused , and the new hall could nob

dine the required number . The elevation , with the columns in front and a segment of a circle , very much like one of the bays at the Great Northern Station , King ' s Cross , is not peculiarly happy , but elevation No . 4 , despite its French tone , is a perfect gem . The interior of the new hall bears more than a suspicious resemblance to the pictures we see about of the interior

of the Turkish baths , whilst it is also said that elevation No . 4 , the gem before alluded to , is the work of Ehene Spiers , a young and rising architect of note . " Justice " ( in a triangle within a circle , ) sent in eight drawings . His arrangement of the passages in the plans are on the verge of the property and necessitates innumerable turnings , to go from one office to another .

The hall , in this plan , does find room for 500 to dine . The tavern is distinct , being shown as a red-brick building , and the Masonic portion of the property has a really bold portico crowned , on the second floor , by statues . " Virtus in Arduis , " sent in four drawings . The plans have no peculiar feature to recommend them , the dining hall is the same size as the present hall , and a similar

corridor to that of " Pour y parvenir " runs along from front to back . The elevation reminds one , very strongly , of a shoppy , but more decorated , copy of certain houses in Westbourne Terrace . " Stability , " by Mr . Charles Barry , to which the second prize was allotted , comprised eight drawings . In this p lan , there was not room to dine the 500 , the

new hall being the same size as the old . The offices are in a mezzanine floor not over light or well ventilated . The elevations showed an interior of a saloon , very pretty , but sadly crippling the space , every inch of which is required . The banqueting hall has double galleries which remind the beholder of one of the halls in Nash's Mansions of the Olden Time . The architect takes credit

for introducing the whole of the five Orders into the elevation and a very pretty design it is , but the motto selected is a misnomer , for in the plan of the upper story , there is no stability , as iron supporters are depicted upholding the roof without anything to stand upon . The saloon and banquetting hall were agreeable ictures to look at .

p "A point within a circle , " by Bro . E . Eoberfcs , was a very neat design for a bank in . a , second-rate country town . The new hall is larger than the present , but does not find the prescribed accommodation . The arrangement of the offices were somewhat peculiar . The Grand Secretary was to be placed on the ground floor , and to look out into the street , behind his room

was the clerk ' s office and waiting room , whilst on the other side of the passage was a very large office for the Girls' School , a much smaller one for the Boys , both facing the street , and the Aged Freemasons were thrust into the dark np the passage . If the charity offices are to brought forward prominently they should all fare alike , and not make capital for some at the expense of othp , rs .

"Sic nos non nobis , " by Mr . J . W . Papworth , was comprised in eight drawings . The elevation was very good and the new hall could accommodate the stipulated 500 . The plans were very carefully adjusted , and