Confirmation Of Minutes.

CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES .

TO THE EDITOE OP THE PBEEMASONS' MAGAZINE AND MASONIC MIBBOB . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER ,- —My attention has been called to the " Agenda" paper inserted in your number ofthe 1 st inst ., in which it is stated in the report ofthe Board of General Purposes , in the case of Lodge No . 1056 , that one of the charges upon which the board was to decide , was " and for closing it ( the lodge ) , without having the

minutes books for confirmation , " thafc the board decided " That Bro . Potts was fully justified , under the peculiar circumstances ofthe case , in pursuing the course he had adopted . " As this decision has led some to believe that a lodge may be closed without the minutes being put for confirmation , and as any Master in doing so might feel himself

justified under the particular circumstances of his case . I have been requested to ask you to give us , if possible , the particulars ofthe case of 1056 , that we might know when we are justified in not putting the minutes for confirmation , ancl not leave the matter entirely to the opinion of the presiding officer , who might be led astray by such a vague decisionand consider his case a peculiar one

, . I remain , yours fraternally , YOUR NORTHERN CORRESPONDENT . Newcastle-on-Tyne , March 26 th , 1862 . [ It is not in our poiver to state the nature of charges brought before the Board of General Purposes . ]

Masters And Wardens.

MASTERS AND WARDENS .

TO THE EDITOU OE THE l'nEEMASOXS * MAGAZINE AND MASONIC MIREOH . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —I am obliged to R . E . X for the information contained in his letter . The regulation mentioned by him had escaped my notice , as affecting the subject in question , in consequence of its being included amongst the rules relating to the Grand Lodge . Still my query is not entirely satisfied ; in the lodge of

which I am a member , neither the W . M . nor any of the P . M . ' s , of whom there are six , are competent to conduct either of the ceremonies ; under these circumstance , is it legal for the S . W ., who is able to do so , to initiate , & c , in their presence ? Yours fraternally , EXCELSIOR . [ The Warden cannot claim the right to do so—but the W . M . has the power to ask his assistance and allow him to perform the ceremonies . ]

Aged Masons' Wives.

AGED MASONS' WIVES .

TO inn EDKOE OP THE EBEEMASONS * MAGAZINE AND MASONIC MIEEOB . I wish to call the attention of the brethren of our Order to a class of individuals apparantly overlooked by the Committee of the Aged Masons Benevolent Institution . Aced Masons are elected year after year , as also widows who are awarded annuities from £ 20 and upwards per annum , but there is no consideration for the wife

, on whom the aged brother has to look for many comforts by her assistance in his declining years , and when he is awarded only £ 20 per annum , the sum allowed to those elected under 70 years of age , it is too small a sum for any two persons to subsist upon , and it is often the case that they can get no assistance from relatives or friends . I would therefore suggest that a sum not exceed-£ 10

ing per annum be allowed for each brother ' s wife in addition to his annuity of £ 20 per annum , or £ 5 per annum for those receiving £ 25 per annum , to be discontinued on the death ofthe wife , unless the husband should become incapacitated from doing for himself through paralysis , blindness , or any other affliction . Should the wife outlive her husband she will then become a candidate for the pension as a widow for the £ 20 annuity per annum as the law now stands . No wife who has not been married to her present husband at least ten

Aged Masons' Wives.

years previous to his election should be eligible to receive the allowance of £ 10 per annum as before named . These measures , if adopted , would add much to the comforts of the married annuitants . Trusting this proposition will meet with approval , I submit it with all respect . AN AGED MASON .

Hele.

HELE .

I TO THE EDITOB OP THE PEEEMASONs' MAGAZINE AND MASONIC MIEEOB . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —Last week two correspondents published a reply to my letter , which appeared in the FKEEMASONS' MAGAZINE of the 15 th inst ., and I beg your permission to be heard again on the subject in question . One of them says , "had it been pronounced Hele Hell

( ) there would have been two l ' s . " This would be true if any one had maintained that the word should be pronounced like "Hell , " but the vowel being long , I must confess I do not see the force of the argument . As the quotation with which he concludes does not contain the word , nor any analogous one ' ( the e in cattelle being short ) , it appears to me to have no bearing on tho

question . The argument of your second correspondent is that " if the first e in ' Hele' were pronounced as a , the final ewould also have to be sounded . " As far as I know a silent e may terminate any word , whatever the previous vowel may be . How does he apply his dictum to the word "there ? " Does he mean to say that because the first e in " there" is pronounced a , the final e must therefore bo sounded ?

Having thus briefly considered the arguments of your correspondents of last week , permit me to repeat my opinion that the word "Hele , " however spelled , should be made to rhyme with " fail , " fort-he following reasons ; 1 st . Because it is almost a pure Anglo-Saxon word , never properly naturalized iu our modem English , and should therefore be pronounced like other adopted words , such fetetete tete &

as , a , c . 2 nd . In the corresponding word in other languages L find the first vowel pronounced a , not e . See the Latin celo ; French , celer ; German , hehlen , & c . In fact in all languages , except modern English , the character e is what we call a . 3 rd . The fact of our ancient brethren spelling the word hailhowever mistaken

, their orthography , shows clearly how they pronounced it . I have a book dated 1802 ; wherein it is so spelled . As I do not wish to occupy your space with a subject in which your readers generally may feel little interest , I shall not trouble you again ; but if any brother would like to prolong the discussion , a letter addressed to the following initials , Exchange News Room , Liverpool ,, would receive my best attention . J . H . Y .

High Priesthood.

HIGH PRIESTHOOD .

TO THE EDITOB OP THE PEEEMASONs' MAGAZINE AND MASONIC MIBBOB . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER . —In answer to L ' s query in "Notes and Queries" of last week ' s MASONIC MIRROR , "What are the priestly orders ? " he will find in Machey's Lexicon a degree called the Order of High Priesthood ; I quote from the work : "This is an honorary degree , conferred only on the

High Priest of an Arch Chapter ; it may be conferred by three High Priests , but when the ceremonies are performed in ample form , the presence of nine High Priests are required ; in it is communicated an ancient circumstance which occurred to a priest of god . " I have no doubt this is the order L . seeks information about ; it is most probably American . I am , dear Sir and Brother , yours fraternally , J . T . A ., a High Priest under the Constitutions of ihe Grand Chap ter of Ireland .