The Grand Officers.

Their rewards were fairly earned ere Bros . Slight and Pocock had ever seen the light of Masonry ; but these two latter are friends , and natives of the same town , and their means of advancement may obviously be traced to one and the same source . Bro . " IL T . " states that lam ignorant of the prevailing feelings of the Craft as to these appointments : the ignorauce , however , rests with him . Had

Bro . "K . T ., " like myself been present in Grand Lodge when these honours were conferred , he would have observed the marked silence with which they were received ; and which betokened , more plainly than words , how unmerited they were considered . I shall , therefore , continue to urge the expediency of selecting a portion of our own Grand Officers . We are none the less loyal subjects of our sovereign because we have surrounded the throne with constitutional checks ; nor should we he worse Masons if

we acted in a similar manner with our Grand Master . In conclusion . I must allude to a paragraph iu the letter of Bro . Cole , P . M . of No . 996 , which appeared in your Magazine of the 1 st instant , wherein he writes , that " it is a mystery why all really distinguished Masons , such as Bros . Hervey , Savage , Havers , Wilson , & c ., ' & c , never get higher appointments than Grand Deacons , when brethren who have never been heard of before , get into the highest offices in Grand Lodge without

trouble ! " A mystery it is , but nevertheless a fact . With a few honourable exceptions , the Past Grand Wardens of England are a class of men almost unknown as Masons , and who , in many instances , by having the highest honours of the Craft undeservedly thrust upon them , have justly added to their former indifference a feeling of contempt for the Order . Whilst such a system exists , the collar of a Grand Warden will be deemed a mere badge of Masonic ignorance and incapacity ; whereas , it ought to be the coveted reward of active service and zealous labour for our institution .

Social position will ever carry its weight in society , and , when well sustained , has a just title to due respect ; but we should feci greatly astonished , and vastly indignant , if ire heard of a man who had just entered the army , or who had seen no service in it , being promoted to the rank of general , or created a C . B ., simply from the feet of his being auoblentan , or member of a high family : yet many of our own appointments are no less monstrous or inconsistent , and are undoubtedl y equally open to public ridicule .

_ I would assure Bro . "K . T . " that I am not , as he imagines , amongst " the disappointed or factious . " I will continue to give a firm support to all measures calculated to promote the prosperity of the Craft , whether they are brought forward by the dais , the Observer , or any other party . "Measures , not men , " has always been my maxim , and I trust that I shall ever continue a conscientious , and , at the same time , an independent June 16 ^ , 1859 . P . M .

The Office Of Secretary.

THE OFFICE OF SECRETARY .

10 THE EDITOR OF THE FREEMASONS' MAGAZINE AND MASONIC 31 IRR 0 R . DEAR SIR AX . D BROTHER , —Having been conversant with the affairs of several Lodges , and observed then practical management and working , in which different plans have prevailed in respect to the Secretary , I desire to