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® Ij £ JRasmtic Max . THURSDAY ^ ISKI ^ JAN . 311889 .

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

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Published every Thursday Morning , price ONE PENNY , and may J be had from all NeAvsagents 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 he fonvarded by

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Original Correspondence.

Original Correspondence .

*» * ll e do not hold ourselves responsible for the opinions expressed by our Correspondents . - — THE MASONIC CHARITIES .

To the Editor of THE MASONIC STAR . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER . In your impression , of the 17 th inst . appears a letter which I addressed 3 ou under the above heading . Under date January 20 th , ¦ ' The Organ of the Craft " I find , sets about me in what it no doubt considers a most merciless and trenchant manner in its allusions

to Critic No . 1 in a lengthy article entitled " Our Institutions and the Critics . " In my letter it seems I used language Avhich appears to have been for some reason unpalatable to the Avriter in your contemporary , Avho now retaliates in a long-winded diatribe of essentially a personal nature ; but I am luckily impervious to " quibbles quick and paper bullets of the brain . " and am not to be terrified by

abuse or " bullied by reviewers . " I haA'e no desire whatever for any personal controversy Avith the gifted author ( " scribbler " is evidently galling to him ) of the effusion to Avhich I have alluded , and Avhich could in no way aid the main object I had in addressing you ; still , some of his remarks are of such a nature as to call for a reply , and I can safely say that I should not attack him had he not

commenced on the offensrve . At the outset of his remarks he says " those who are IIOAV assailing our institutions with charges of gross mismanagement must not be surprised if their assaults are resented in language Avhich is not particularly complimentary to their sense of self-esteem " ; and continues thus— " the bulk of the Avarfare is conducted in a manner

opposed to all good feeling , the principal Aveapons used being not reason and argument , but abuse , assertion , Avordy declamation and innuendo . " All this is most true ; assaults haA r e been " resented in language " which fulfils those conditions in the most ample manner ; but I fail to discover these qualities in the so-called attacks ! His present article is a good specimen of his abusive poAvers and

journalistic intemperance . As for instance , besides giving the lie direct , and speaking of making pretence , he alludes to people unknoAvn to him as " stupid , " " exceptionally ignorant , " ' man of ignorance , " & c ., and accuses one of making a " clumsy attempt at apology for his ' oven ignorance . " I merely draw attention hereto for the sake of showing that he and he only is the author of heated vituperative

language so far as this controversy is concerned ; and I am surprised that " the Organ of the Craft" should admit such commonplace vulgarity to a space in its columns . I maintain that the system under which a collector is entitled to draw a commission of . C 039 in one year out of our R . M . B . I . funds is AVRONG , and this I feel convinced must be the opinion of all who

have the good of the charity alone at heart . " The organ of the Craft" a ? sort ;¦¦ my statement to the effect that " it appears , however , that no nii . tter through what agency fundi ; may flow into the coffers of the charily . Mr . Collector gets a percentage thereon , " to be a suggestion certainly untrue ( by the way what is a '' suggestion certainly untrue ' " . ' ) . AVhy do not the charity authorities place their

account ' .- ; in : \ comprehensible maimer ' ! Ihey say that . CO . 'i' . l 15 s . Sd . is the col lee tor ' s commission , and return the takings as being £ 18 . 200 l . 'is . lOd . No rate of commission is stated , and if part of this sum accruus to the charity intact why is it not shoAvn . and not left to a newspaper writer to state that " there mush have ( not hare ) been sums paid to the institution under this head of receipt , amounting to about £ 5 , 500 on which no commission whatever Avas

Original Correspondence.

paid . " ( I wonder whether the £ 2 . 070 mentioned by Bro . Birch is included herein ) . On the statements of account my letter was correct ( jiot untrue ') . The accounts should be rendered clearly , and ought not to necessitate visits , as suggested , either to the secretary or Mr . Collector , for information which ought to be printed and published for the benefit of all concerned . Anyhow , whatever the

amount taxable may be , the levy is far too great . No doubt , Avhen appointed to the post , the sum total was so much smaller that commission on it represented a fair recompense for his trouble , and I should like to know what his share of it amounted to at that time . It is absurd to talk about the " conditions of his bond . " Surely he holds the post in the same manner as scores of others in similar

vocations , and any such thing as a " bond" only exists in the fertile brain of the writer Avho alludes to it . If , as I suppose , the agreement of the society is to pay him a certain commission , is there no possible termination to such an agreement . ' The statement of the Avriter in " The Organ of the Craft " to the effect that " the conditions on which he is emploj'ed were clearly defined at

the time of his election to office , and that the sums he has since received as commission have been strictly in accordance therewith , " is doubtless correct . I do not for one moment blame the collector for his share in the transaction ; the agreement , and those Avho made it Avith him are the points I take exception to , and say that a new departure on economic principles is Avanted .

Personally , I belieA e as much money Avould be got together Avithout a collector as with one * but eA-en if one is necessary , I repeat it is preposterous to pay anything like the smm now appearing in the accounts , and Avhich amount Avould suffice for the relief of 18 more old people annually . The idea of one official ( especially in face of the immensely preponderating number

of cases to vacancies ) being so exorbitantly remunerated is a nast y pill to sAvalloAV , always bearing in mind the large salary of the secretary . My friend of the ' Organ" quasi apologetically says that "it should be stated to the credit of Mr . Collector , that night after night , and at his mon expense ( italics are mine ) , he visits lodges in town and country pleading the cause of charity . " If this

is the case , what is the meaning of the items "provincial and other expenses , " £ 80 0 s . Id . appearing in both male and female accounts ? AVhere are these £ 3 a week laid out , and by A \ hom ' . ' The concluding sentence of the foregoing paragraph . " and obtaining many a SteAvard and many a handsome contribution as the result of these voluntary services , " is so charmingly childlike in its beautiful

bathos as to be quite refreshing , coming as it does m the midst of the terrific indictment of Ave poor " silly critics . " If my friend Avould refer to any of the " men of business " he talks of , I do not think he Avould find them describe as "voluntary" the services of one of their employes travelling on- commission . As regards my ,: flagrant case of error" in respect of publication of boys' school

accounts , my statement is , that having consulted the book dated February , 1888 , containing list , laws and balance sheets to 31 st December , 1887 , of the R . M . I . G ., I turned to Avhat I considered Avas a similar production relating to the boys , and as I stated in my letter to you , I could find no balance sheet in it . I IIOAV learn that a separate " annual report" Avas issued by this

institution in May , 1888 . This information , I am glad , has been published , as many subscribers Avho , like myself , Avere not aware of its existence , Avill IIOAV be able to obtain ( I suppose ) and peruse it . The tabular statement , so far as the expenditure was concerned , Avhich it is asserted appeared as an advertisement , I knoAV nothing about , advertisements being a class of literature haAdng but little

interest for me . One of the points in my letter relating to the grant of 100 guineas to the Secretary of the Benevolent Institution is commented upon Avith the " eloquence of silence . " Perhaps this Avill have future attention in " the Organ of the Craft , " as I am therein told that my assertions are done Avith , at all events for the present . I fear I

have already overstepped the limits of space this letter will require , but must say in conclusion that so far from " holding up to public ridicule and contempt" our Institutions , my object in having addressed you was and is to draAV attention to details which ( amongst others ) have been and are the cause of remarks in all quarters of anything but a flattering character to those responsible

for the administration of the charities . If these latter are not aAvare of their nature , they must indeed live " secluded from the Avorld . " I repeat , the whole internal Avorking arrangements ( let there be no false issue ) , for it is these Avhich . are being attacked , not the institutions , of our various charities require revision and reorganisation , but it requires a Hercules to crush the Hydra and to combat the enemies of reform Avho stop the way , and prevent

much of intended relief ever reaching those for Avhom it is meant , and who are poAverless to fight the battle of right against wrong themselves ; but , to quote the preface of a well-knoAvn Avork— " If the writer succeeds in merely bruising one of the heads of the serpent , though his OAVH hand should suffer in the encounter , he will be amply satisfied . " Fraternally yours , SUBSCRIBER .

To the Editor of THE MASONIC STAR . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , I asked for an egg and I get a stone—The Avriter in the Freemason '' furnishes" me with some of the " exuberance of his own verbosity ; " what is the use of that . ' Audi ride tace , excellent motto , and Avell acted up to by those responsible for the charities . My friend the " scribbler . " in your contemporary resembles that

noble instrument of music called the bagpipes , all his " notes " are discord , and the nimble Avay lie hops about recalls the sword dance of the street Scotchman . Once more I assure him I don't care a button for what he may " dub " me—rather like it in fact—as it gives me his measure to a hair , but I really cannot Avade through and remark on such a vapid mass of uninspired (?) " chatter of irresponsible frivolity . " I daresay he thinks it capital " copy . " Here ' s a sample of his reasoning powers— ' the truth is that this matter of