Ar00403

W$tJEastfttk^tar, THURSDAY > ^ _^^ ^ ^ ( FEBl 21 ' 1889 >

Edited by W . BRO . JAMES STEVENS , P . M ., P . Z ., & c , & o .

Ar00404

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 Avill be forAvarded by the NIGHT Mail on Wednesday .

TERMS , including postage , payable in advance : — United Kingdom and Countries comprised Places not in General comprised in India , Postal Union . Postal Union . via Brindisi . Twelve Months ... 6 s . 6 d . ... 8 s . 8 d . ... 10 s . lOd . Six Months Ss . 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 , B . C ., to Messrs . ADAMS BROS ., 59 , Moor Lane , London , E . G . Postal Orders and Cheques should be crossed & Co . and all communications concerning Subscriptions and Advertisements should be addressed to " Manager . " All nthpr _ vm . mT _ T _ i _ iAt _ if . riK . lettersfen . to he addvAssed " F . r ) i +, nr > - ¦

, , _ - _ - _ ., _ w-. __ . w _ . --. , . , w _ . _ ... - of THE MASONIC STAR , 59 , Moor Lane , Fore Street , London , E . G . " Publishing Offices : 123 to 125 , FLEET STREET , . 0 .

VOLUMEI, In Masonic Cloth Cover—Now Ready —Price 3 s . 6 d .

Original Correspondence.

Original Correspondence .

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

BOARD OF INSTALLED MASTERS .

To the Editor of THE MASONIC STAR . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , Permit me , as an old Installing Master , to offer a few remarks in reference to the letters you have inserted on the above subject . I do not think any authority can be found authorizing the " opening a Board of Installed Masters , " nor is there apparently

available any authoritative dictum against it ; consequently probabilities become an important if not decisive factor in the case . It would appear that Avhen the arrangement between the so-called ancient and modern Freemasons for a uniform working of the ceremonies was agreed on and sanctioned by Grand Lodge , that of installation Avas , from some cause or other , unaccountably omitted ,

with the consequence that the then Installing Masters Avorked possibly on systems which must have varied according to Avhether they followed the ancient or the modern practice . A hybrid composition of both , this want of regularity in a system in which all should be perfect as the smooth "Ashlar" must have been a source of regret to the Avorkers in the craft ; in consequence of which it would

seem a representation was made to the then M . W . G . M ., the late Duke of Sussex , who , in 1827 , appointed a "Lodge or Board of Installed Masters , " consisting of 10 brethren , Avho were authorized to communicate information and instruction in the ceremonies of installation , the form of which had previously been approved and sanctioned by him .

Unfortunately no record , I believe , has been found as to the orders of these brethren . And now as to probability . One of the ten above-mentioned was Bro . Cant , of the Albion Lodge , No . 9 ( of which I have had the honour of being " Installing Master " for many years ) . This Bro . installed me some 40 years since in the chair , with no more than

the simple declaration respecting the Board , and without one ( even smallest ) allusion to opening it in a more formal manner . The importance of this must not be lost sight of , because if this formality had been decided on by the lodge—a Board of Installation—he Avho had been authorised to communicate " instruction and information , " would have been hardly likely to have forgotten or omitted to have

performed the ceremony in its fullest manner . Besides this , the knowledge I have of Bro . Cant's horror at the smallest violation of the ceremonies or deviation from the laws laid doAvn in the Book of Constitutions , Avould convince me that he would have been one of the very last men who would have done so . Subsequent to my installation , I heard him repeat the ceremony

in precisely similar form many times . A favourite pupil of Bro . Cant's , a Bro . W . Watson , an excellent mason , was my preceptor in the ceremony , and from him I learned it in the same manner . I might recommend to your inquirers Bro . Sadler ' s paper ' s " Notes on the Ceremony of Installation , " as containing very interesting and indeed valuable information on the subject .

Original Correspondence.

From the circumstances I have Avritten of , I can come to no other conclusion but that the "Opening a Board of Installed Masters" is a masonically illegal practice . Yours fraternally , S . VALLENTINE , P . M . 9 . % * For many reasons , ivhich , to our mind , are equally apj > licable to a reverse opinion , ire are not in agreement with our correspondent . Probably other of our readers may be . able to afford information , in relation to this vexed question . —Ed . M . S .

To the Editor of THE MASONIC STAR . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , There has of late been a very large accession to our numbers , but unfortunately an increase in numbers , is not necessarily an increase in strength , and from my own observation and enquiries I fear in the present instance it is the very reverse . Candidates

are being constantly admitted Avhose pecuniary position should altogether debar them from joining our ranks , for they cannot do so Avithout detriment to themselves and connections . I speak advisedly Avhen I say that a man only earning 25 s . a Aveek , who has a wife and family , and Avho is actually obliged to borroAV the money to pay his initiation fee , and can only hope to

repay it by a feAv shillings a week , should not become a member of our body . HOAV can this state of things be remedied ? There undoubtedly exists a general false idea that Freemasonry is a rich benefit society , and that in joining it a man is providing in the future for his Avife , his family , and himself , and I am sure

many have of late years entered the craft Avith this feeling uppermost in their minds . I have long felt that those Avho seek to join us should be explicitly informed upon this point , as well as upon the obligations and responsibilities they undertake . A leaflet pointing this out might be given to each candidate before his name is submitted to a lodge , and I am certain that many a Avell meaning man would immediately

perceive that instead of joining ns he should go to the Foresters , or Odd FelloAvs , or insure his life . If our ranks are recruited , as in many districts of late , our Charities Avill be literally sAvamped by applicants , and our inability to help our brethren will in fact become a bye-word . The ratio of subscribing members to the charities Avill of necessity , from sheer pecuniary inability , become year by year less , whilst at the same time the applicants for succour will annually become more

numerous . Surely it is time an effort to avert so dire a catastrophe Avere made , and I shall be happy to suggest a form of leaflet with this view in a future communication if you Avill kindly permit me . Yours fraternally , February 15 th , 1889 . " IN STRENGTH . "

CANDIDATES FOR FREEMASONRY .

* * * - # _ / att moans make the suggestion . The question , raised by your letter is if absolutely vital importance to the Order . —ED . M . S

SOLDIER LODGES .

To the Editor . / "THE MASONIC STAR . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER . " P . M . 1436 , " in his feeble attempt to answer the letter on the above subject Avhich you so kindly inserted in your issue of the 7 th inst ., entirely misses the point , and only succeeds in corroborating my statements . My contention Avas , that soldier masons .

through their frequent moves , lose chance of advancement in the Order in ordinary lodges ; but when , in the course of their Avanderings , they join a lodge Avhere they form the bulk of the members , this disadvantage disappears . I pointed to the Sandgate Lodge as an example . I said that , this year , only one office ( and that the lowest in the lodge ) , was held by a military brother , and that last

year only tAvo . I might have gone back a feAV more years , but thought that sufficient . To confute me , "P . M . 1436 " says that there have been a number of soldiers officers of the lodge . I daresay there have been in times past , but not of late years . The fact is , that the lodge was formed by military brethren for the convenience of military brethren—as

P . M . intimates ; but the civilians gradually increased until they formed a majority ; they then took the reins into their own hands , and now take good care that no soldier gets the " box-seat . " Let me quote " P . M . " He says " Our esteemed tyler , himself a retired warrior , is at once ( sic ) evidence of the goodwill with which his comrades would be welcomed . " Why , he was appointed

not by a civilian but by a military War . Master some 15 years ago . I do not advocate Class Lodges , but I do think that , looking at the strength of the Sandgate Lodge , and the number of nonaffiliates in camp Avho are eager to join a lodge where they Avould get fair play , that no dog-in-the-manger spirit should prevent such a lodge being formed , and the soldiers here being placed in the same position as our military brethren at Dover , Aldershot , Woolwich ,

Chatham , London . Colchester , & c . " P . M . 1436 " knoAvs that the grievance Avants no " creating . " It exists . Does he remember the time when a neighbouring lodge would not allow soldiers to join , and they were threatened with being kicked doAvn stairs merely for being soldiers ? Yours fraternally , PUNJABI .

Press Exchanges And Books Received.

Press Exchanges and Books Received .

South African Freemason ; Latomia , Neuc Zeitchrift fiir Freimaurerei , Bro . B . Cramer , Editor , Berlin ; Lancaster Masonic Calendar for 1880 , Bro . H . Longman , Lancaster ; Soeiety ^ os . 578-9 A brief Retrospect of Masonry in Mansfield , Bro . J . Lvnney , Manefield ; Symbols and Legends of Freemasonry , by Bro . J . Finlay Finlayson ( review next week ); Masonic Record , of Western India , , Allahabad