Contents.

CONTENTS .

EDITORIAL : INVESTIGATION 107 & 168 THE MASONIC INSTITUTIONS lt > S MASONIC MEMORIAL AVINDOW 1 <; 8 MASONIC "POET ' S CORNER" li . ! l

OUR TRESTLE BOARD lG'J ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE 170 MASONIC ' BITTER-SWEET " 171 . NOTIFICATIONS 171 COLONIAL , DISTRICT AND FOREIGN ITEMS 171

PROVINCIAL 171 REPORTS OF LODGES , _ 172 & 173 ADVERTISEMENTS Front cover , 16 ( 5 , 173 , 171 , 175 , 17 ( 5

Investigation.

Investigation .

N the 27 th July , 1888 , at a Quarterly General Court of the Eoyal Masonic Institution for Boys , it was unanimously Resolved : —

That , having regard to the charges recently made against the management of this Institution , without recognising in the least that such charges are in any degree well founded , this Court is of opinion that , in the interests of the Institution , it is desirable that an impartial

investigation into its discipline , expenditure , and administration , be forthwith undertaken ; and that the Grand Eegistrar of the Order ( V . W . Bro . F . A . Philbrick , Q . C ., Vice-Patron , Deputy Grand Master of Essex ) , be invited to

associate with himself such members of the Craft , selected in equal proportions from London and the Provinces , being at least Life Governors of the Institutions ,

as he may think proper for the purposes of such enquiry . The result to be submitted as a Report to a subsequent General Court .

In conformity with the terms of the foregoing Resolution , the Committee was constituted as follows : —Bro . P . A . Philbrick , Q . C ., Grand Registrar , Vice-Patron , Chairman . London : —Bros . John Derby Allcroft , P . G . treas ., Patron ; Alderman Sir Reginald Hanson , Bart .,

P . G . W ., Vice-President ; and Samuel Pope , Q . C ., P . G . D .,

Vice-Patron . Provinces : —Bros . John C . Malcolm , of Leeds , P . Pro . G . R ., Life Governor ; Lieut . Col . A . Thrale Perkins , of Wells , Somersetshire , P . G . D ., Life Governor ;

and Robert Wylie , of Liverpool , P . G . D ., P . Pro . G . S . W ., Life Governor . Resolutions were also passed empowering the Committee to take all necessary measures to make the proposed investigation exhaustive .

It has been a long and anxious period for many interested in the welfare of the Institution from the date of the

passing of the above Resolution to that of the presentation of the Report , and its general circulation amongst Governors and subscribers , but at last it is placed before them . And

wo dispassionate reader can rise from its perusal with even the shadow of a doubt that the enquiry has been abundantly justified . The exposure , for it is surely nothing else , of the mal-administration of many past years , dis-

Investigation.

closes the most astounding neglect of details of management which should have even more than ordinary attention in Institutions supported by voluntary contributions as are

those connected with our Order . There are very many probably a large majority , of the supporters of our Charitable Institutions , and amongst them ourselves , who could not

have believed , until this Report was issued , that such a thorough " setting in order , " as is recommended by the Committee of Investigation , is absolutely necessary . Last

week we spoke of certain charges as being merely rumours , and were cautious to base our opinions on the possibility that such might not be correct ; but we find not only that

they are true , but that they are supplemented by others quite as grave . We reiterate , therefore , all our comments then made , and for the sake of the future of the Boys '

School , hope that the Special Court which will have the Report of the Committee of Investigation before it for consideration will adopt such of the recommendations

therein made , and such other measures as may be deemed advisable , to take the Institution out of the " road to ruin " it has been of late pursuing , and place it on the highway to better management and fortune .

We refrain from selecting for reproduction in the pages of a public journal a number of most extraordinary statements beyond those contained in the summary of the

Committee ' s report , which we shall append hereto . Most of our readers have doubtless had the opportunity to note them as we have done ( indeed our copy is more fully

scored than was ever any report yet perused by us ) , and will assuredly seek explanations , which we hope , for the sake of those most nearly interested , will be forthcoming and

satisfactory . It would seem that already members of the respective Committees of the Institution desire to repudiate some of the suggestions made in the report , and challenge

the propriety of the inferences drawn from the evidence taken . As will be seen by reference to our Correspondence columns , they require the publication of the shorthand

writer ' s notes , to which they state they fearlessly appeal . So absolutely necessary will it be for the good of the School that the scales of justice should be held with equal

poise in this particular instance , having in view the certainty that where neglect or mal-administration shall be proved the penalty will be severe , that wo hope unrestricted

access to the stenographic notes will be accorded to the appellants . The paragraph in the report to which they take exception reads thus : — "We comprehend fully the

difficulty of the present members of the House Committee , on which are brethren whose independence and character

are beyond question . But they have followed in the course of their predecessors , and , except on some few occasions when they have asserted their views in opposition to the