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® Ij £ JItasmttr ^ iar * THURSDAY , ^^^^^ JUNE 20 , 1889 . Edited by W . BRO . JAMES STEVENS , " P . M ., P . Z ., & c , & c .

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Published every Thursday Morning , price ONE PENNY , and may be had from all Newsagents through the Publishers , 123 to 125 , Fleet Street , E . C . Subscribers to THE MASONIC STAR residing in London and the Suburbs will receive their copies by the first post on THURSDAY MORNING . Copies for Country Subscribers will be forwarded by the NIGHT Mail on Wednesday .

TERMS , including postage , payable in advance : — United Kingdom and Countries comprised Places not in ( . eiiCTsU comprised ia India , Postal Union . Postal Union . iS Brindisi . Twelve Months ... 6 s . 6 d . . . . 8 s . 8 d . . . . 10 s . 10 d . Six Months 3 s . 4 d . . . . 4 s . 6 d . ... 5 s . 6 d . Three Months ... Is . 9 d . ... 2 s . 4 d . ... 3 s . Od .

Post Office Orders , payable at the General Post Office , London , E . G ., to Messrs . ADAMS BROS ., 59 , Moor Lane , London , E . C . Postal Orders and Cheques should be crossed & Co . and all communications concerning Subscriptions and Advertisements should be addressed to " Manager . "

All other communications , letters , & c , to be addressed " Editor of THE MASONIC STAR . 59 , Moor Lane , Fore Street , London , E . C . "

Publishing Offices : 123 to 125 , FLEET STREET , E . C . VOLUME I « In Masonic Cloth Cover—Now Ready — Price 3 s . 6 d .

Original Correspondence.

Original Correspondence .

Without iu any way holding ourselves responsible for , or even approving of the opinions expressed , we freely throw open our columns for the proper discussion of all matters of a general character relating to Freemasonry . Correspondents must be as brief as possible , must write plainly , only use one » ide of the paper , and cannot expect the return of rejected contributions . Every contribution must be accompanied with the . name of the writer , not necessarily for publication , but as a guarantee of good faith .

To the Editor of THE MASONIC STAH . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , The Report of the Special Court , held in London on Gth inst ., as reported in your issue of 13 th inst ., is very unpleasant reading , and I feel certain had you felt yourself at liberty to reproduce the inconsiderate , not to say malicious , language made use of , which

you have suppressed , the wave of bitter feeling would very much abate , especially as regards the secretary , who , notwithstanding the uufraternal howling of the infuriated mob who cried " Crucify him , crucify him , " must still be venerated not only as the chief organiser of the Boys' Institution , but as , to a very great extent , the energetic advocate of Masonic charity generally , who put nerve

and active life into the other two institutions , not only by his advocacy but by his unflagging energy and business ability . I know a few of the members of the various Committees personally , and although I cannot clear them of blame , yet I know they were ever anxious to do the best in their power to assist the efforts of the secretarj' to bring the Institution into the highest

state of perfection , and had the House Committee of 1887 dismissed the Head Master as well as the Assistants , matters would have gone on much better than they have ; and yet Dr . Morris is the only one who escapes , although , throughout the Report of the Investigation Committee , he frequently appears as the rusty hinge that perpetually creaks and keeps things uncomfortable all round

THE ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR BOYS .

while , on the other hand , it is made distinctly evident that were it not for the indomitable energy and perseverance of the secretary , this great Institution would have come to grief long ago ; in short , he had not only to do those duties allotted to him , but had to originate , organise , and also to intervene frequentl y both as a shield and a buffer to keep matters in working order . Whatever may be

the result of the recommendations of the Provisional Committee , there is one thing quite certain—the Institution will never have another such secretary as Bro . Fredk . Binckes , if they , at this time , dispense with his services . I sincerely hope they will be better advised than to do so . Yours fraternall y , A VICE-PRESIDENT .

To the Editor if THE MASONIC STAR . BEAR SIR AND BROTHER , There seems a tendency to attempt to obtain peace among the subscribers to the Boys' School by gentle means . Such action must

surely fail . The General Court is divided into sides . How can such a governing body succeed 1 If public confidence is to be regained the PROVISIONAL COMMITTEE must : — I . Make a clean sweep of the whole discredited staff , by pensioning , or otherwise .

Original Correspondence.

II . Appoint a young and energetic secretary at a reasonable salary ( £ 200 , rising to £ 400 by annual increase of not more than £ 10 , would be ample ) . III . Establish a nucleus of a RESERVE POND , and annually aid to it bv fixed amounts .

IY . Reduce the cost per head by at least one-third . Y . Frame rules for the new Committees to help them in their work . It is useless to attempt to defend anybody . Yours fraternally , MASTER MASON .

To the Editor of THE MASONIC STAR . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER . From the tone of some of your contemporaries there seems to be an idea extant in certain quarters that at the meeting of General Committee in June the election of House and Finance Committee was postponed , —whereas ^ the Chairman ruled " that under the

Laws no election could take place , as the hour of 5 o clock had passed . " Consequently , all nominations at the May meeting must then have lapsed by effluxion of time , because the adjournment of the June meeting only took place AFTER the Chairman had given the aforesaid ruling , and the whole election question was void and at an end . Yours fraternally , SEMAJ .

To the Editor of THE MASONIC STAR . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , I see by your report of the above Court , held on fith inst ., that " a number of communications from representatives of the provinces of East and West Lancashire , Cheshire , West Yorkshire , Staffordshire , Nottinghamshire , Bristol , Shropshire , and Hampshire and

Isle of Wight , and from sundry lodges and individual brethren , were directed to be read , " and that "these were in every sense in full approval of the recommendations of the Committee of Investigation , and unmistakably condemnatory of the committees and officials of the institution . " I feel somewhat curious as to whether all these reports ,

recommendations , approvals , or whatever else they may be called , were cooked , hatched , concocted , or fabricated in the same manner as the will-soon-if-not-now-be-famous-one of East Lancashire . As one of the Vice-Presidents of the Boys' School , of which rank , and of higher , we have in this province a goodly number , as also many Life Governors , several of whom have served two , three or

more stewardships , giving each time their own ten guineas and two guineas fee , besides collecting and influencing what funds for the institution they possibly could , I would like to know—though you cannot , my dear sir , I fear , answer me the question , yet I would much like to have the answer from some source—how many of these aforesaid Life Governors and others had any intimation , verbal or otherwise , of an intended meeting to consider the report

of the Investigation Committee , and to decide upon a course of action , or formulate a motion to submit to the . Special Court ? I had no such intimation ; I have asked several Life Governors , Vice-Presidents and others in Manchester and vicinity , and all were as uninformed as myself until the receipt of a circular of which the following is copy : — " Secretary ' s Offices—2 , Cooper Street , Manchester , 30 th May . 1889 .

"Re ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR BOYS . " Dear Sir and Brother , —At a Meeting of Charity Representatives of the Provinces of West Yorkshire , East and West Lancashire . Staffordshire and Cheshire held to-day at the office of the Provincial Grand Secretary of East Lancashire , it was unanimously resolved that the following proposition be made at the Special General ,

R . M . I . B . SPECIAL COURT .

Court of Governors and Subscribers , which will be held at Freemasons' Tavern , Great Queen Street , London , on Thursday next , at Twelve o ' clock prompt : — " ' That having considered the Report of the Investigation Committee , this Special General Court is of opinion that an entire change in administration , and a thorough breaking

away front the present practice must take place . ' ' You are urgently and respectfully requested to attend the above Special General Meeting , and give the resolution your entire support . ( Signed ) E . G . HARWOOD , Chairman . JNO . CHADWICK , Secretary . " Supported by the United Provinces , Bristol , and others . "

You will notice this circular is dated the 30 th May , and although the Provincial Grand Lodge was held on the previous day , not one word was said about this meeting of the would-be representatives . nor of the report of the Investigation Committee , although various other reports were read of Election Committees , & c , except some after-dinner speeches may be taken as of sufficient authority , where

not one-twentieth of those dining were donors to the Institution . and where wine more than calm judgment reigned . Although the first line is very guardedly worded , viz ., " at a meeting of Charity representatives of the provinces , " it seems to convey the concensus of opinion of all the subscribers to the coursedecided upon by these self-constituted would-be representatives of

those who have acquired by their money the voting power m our Charity Courts . Some of those who , I am informed , attended this hole-andcorner meeting have not even one vote in the Court of the Boys School , and never gave a penny in their lives towards the support of the School , except , peradventure , through the charity-box of

their respective Lodges , and several others have only two to four votes at elections . Is this the class of men , I ask , who should determine the destruction of such men as constituted the Committees and the Secretary of this Institution , and imperil its very existence ? Our only hope now is that the Special Provisional Committe e will