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THURSDAY , " ^^^^^ 30 , 1888 .

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All communications concerning Subscriptions and Advertisements should be addressed to the Publishers as above . All other communications , letters , & c , to be addressed " Editor of THE MASONIC STAR . 38 . Bow Lane . London . E . C . "

Original Correspondence.

Original Correspondence .

QUALIFICATION OF BOYS AND GIRLS . To the Editor of THE MASONIC STAR .

Dear Sir and Brother , I was glad to learn that Bro . C . Perceval had been successful in carrying his resolution . — " That no girl should be eligible for the benefits of our Institution , whose father had not been a subscribing member of a Lodge for at least three years . " As there is no rule

without an exception , I would venture to suggest the addition oi the following words ; " Unless he shall have previously made himself a Life Governor of the Institution . " and I feel sure it will be readily adopted by the Quarterly Court . This matter is also before the Committee of the Boys' School , who , I hope , will follow in the same lines . Yours fraternally , 27 th August . 1888 . FAIR PLAY .

To the Editor of THE MASONIC STAR . Dear Sir and Brother , I heartily wish every success to your undertaking . Your first number touches on a subject of great interest . If properly considered , it should be found of great importance to the Craft . I allude to the note respecting the exercise of voting power

by Brethren who are not Master Masons . Fancy an E . A . sitting in a Lodge for the first time , when everything is dark and unknown to him , naturally excited by what he has just seen and heard , and quite ignorant of Masonic rules and procedure , called upon to vote on what may probably be a matter of vital importance to the welfare of the Lodge . What can such Brethren possiblv know how they should properly vote . '

I am able to give you a point of fact which lately happened in a Lodge . There was a motion to exclude a Brother for using outside the Lodge unmasonic language . There were three E . A . ' s and two F . C . ' s and their respective proposers instructed them what to do . Consider the subject fairly , and you will no doubt be strongly supported by the Craft , and reap ultimately great benefit . Yours fraternally , August 25 th , 1888 . S .

Answers To Correspondents.

Answers to Correspondents .

A Visrroit . We cannot ; possibly insert your letter ; we have been " taught to be cautious , " and so , we presume , have yon . In our case we desire to carry out the injunction : in yours , we lear personal feeling engenders recklessness . Asm . AH . We are greatly obliged by the promise of that support which your . Masonic position will ' render most valuable . We utilise your suggestion in another part of this issue . . 1 . Or . ivKlt . -Keep your copies clean for a few weeks ; probably by then we shall have arranged ' for the eases , you suggest .

Addresses of the following Lodges wanted . Notices have been returned through post . Townley Parker Lodge No . 1032 Studholme ,, 15 . 11 Strangeways ... ... ... ... ., 121 !) AVharton ., 2045 Northern Bar .. 1010

Our Trestle Board

OUR TRESTLE BOARD

' For the Master to lay lines and draw designs upon . "

OUR first duty this week is to acknowledge the support already accorded to us . and which we at once recognise by increasing the number of our pages . This we shall continue to do as circumstances may justify , and in order that preparation may be made for extension , we must impress upon our readers and friends the importance of an early intimation to us of their intention to swell our subscription list .

A suggestion has been offered us by a well-known Provincial Brother that we should open a column in this Journal as " A Masonic Exchange and Mart Column . " restricted to matter solely Masonic , and avoiding trade advertisements . We shall consider the propriety of carrying out this suggestion in due course : and , meanwhile , should be glad to have opinions on the subject from our readers .

W . BRO . THOMAS FENN , P . G . D .. President of the Board oi General Purposes , on the occasion of the last Annual Festival of the Emulation Lodge of Improvement , London , remarked : — "At the Union of the two Grand Lodges , in 1813 , it was found that the so-called Modern Masons had lost , oi allowed to fall into disuse , much of the ancient ritual . The Lodge

of Reconciliation was therefore formed under the authority of the United Grand Lodge to arrange a ritual which might be adopted by all the Lodges under the United Grand Lodge of England . Dr . Hemming was appointed the first Master of the lodge , and under him the work made considerable progress , but he was struck with mental incapacity , which made him incapable

of continuing the work , which was then entrusted to Dr . Williams . Under him a great deal of the ritual which had been compiled under Dr . Hemming was simplified , shorn of a redundancy of words , completed , and afterwards adopted by the United Grand Lodge in IS 16 . In 1823 that Emulation Lodge of Improvement was formed by some expert Brethren who had learned their Masonrv in

the Lodge of Reconciliation under Dr . Williams . It was established for teaching the ritual as it was ordered to be adopted by the Grand Lodge a few years before , and as a means of preserving in its purity the authorized ritual , and transmitting it to all time by oral tradition from generation to generation . At the first meeting of that lodge there were present a large number of members of the Grand Stewards '

Lodge who considered themselves the custodians of the pure ritual , the then Grand Secretary , Bro . Harper , who had acted as Secretary to the Lodge of Reconciliation , and many other distinguished Masons who expressed their unanimous approval of the proceedings . Bro . Peter Gilkes was the first president . Bro . Stephen Barton Wilson ( whose son he believed was present that night ) succeeded Bro . Peter

Gilkes . He had the benefit of personal instruction from Bro . Peter Gilkes and from Bro . Stephen Barton Wilson . The late Bro . John Hervey . Bro . Mui ton , and Bro . Richards and he ( Bro . Fenn ) learned the ritual by personal instruction . He thought , therefore , as this tradition had only passed through three generations after Bro . Dr . Williams , namely , Bros . Gilkes . Stephen Barton Wilson , and

themselves , the Emulation Lodge could claim that their ritual was the actual ritual that was ordered to be adopted by the United Grand Lodge in 181 ( J . He ha . d had an opportunity of hearing many versions of the ceremonies in London and in the provinces : and he had no hesitation in saying that in terseness and correctness of diction , none of those versions would bear any comparison with

the work that was tauyht in that lodge . " We are in full agreement with our distinguished brother as to the undoubted perfect oi of the ritual claimed by the Emulation Ledge of Improvement as " theirs , and the actual ritual ordered to be adopted in J SIC . " as a result of the labours of the Lodge of Reconciliation . We should like to be equally certified that that e . rarf ritual has remained intact in regard to ' terseness and correctness of diction " from the

date of its adoption to the present time ; and it would be most satisfactory to many members of the Craft , as well as to ourselves , if it could be ascertained what has become of the ] 81 ( . M . S ., for such a document must surely have been prepared and submitted for consideration before adoption by United Grand Lodge . A reference to an original MS . would settle many moot points which have arisen of late years .

One of the appeal cases before Grand Lodge , at a recent meeting , touched the question of length of service as a Warden before installation as W . M , An objectkn had been made to the installation into the chair of K . S . of a lodge at Sydney . N . S . W ., of a Junior Warden who had been elected as Master at the expiration of the first eleven months of his Wardenship . the regular installation

meeting taking place one day earlier by the calendar than the date of his appointment as Junior Warden in the previous year . The grounds of objection were , that the brother elected had not been twelve months a Warden at the date of such election , and in the alternative that the full twelve months of service had not absolutely expired . The appeal was dismissed , and it is declared by such

decision that no election is practically made until confirmation of the former vote ; and that twelve months' service means the period between one regular installation meeting and another , irrespective of difference in calendar dates . Whilst referring to appeal cases we would express our surprise that so great a majority are made from our foreign and colonial lodges , and those mostly in regard of most trivial matters .