Correspondence.

CORRESPONDENCE .

H "« do not hold ourselves responsible for the opinions of our Cor . JV ' . S ' i onilerits . All tetleis must heir tlte name and address of lie TFrirer , not necessarily for publication , but as a guarantee of good faith .

ANNUAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE CHARITIES

To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . DEAR SIK AND BKOTHEH , —I am rather surprised that you , in your usually interesting appeals on behalf of our Masonic Institutions , seldom , if ever , urge an extension of the number of annual subsorip tions . They are small fry , it is true , but little fish are sweet , and

in time an annual subscription may do as much , or even more , good than a pretentious donation . I think there is room for a very widely extended system of annual subscriptions to our three Institutions , and if the Craft could enlist your sympathy it might stand a better obanoe of success in this respect . Will you kindly give the matter consideration ? Yours fraternally , A LIFE GOVERNOR R . M . B . I .

MASONIC PATRONS

To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —I cannot imagine a more mischievous application of Freemasonry than that suggested by your correspond , ent " P . M . P . Z . P . P . G . C , 18 ° , & c , " in your last issue . Surely he cannot be sincere in what he writes ? Personally I do not attach

muoh importance to the views he expresses—further than to wholly dissent from the —for the reason that I do not think there is any fear of Freemasonry ever becoming a power in influencing the dis . tribntion of Church Livings , but I am extremely surprised that any one—particularly one apparently high in the Craft—should even

BUggest the nse of Frwemasonry's influence for such a purpose , whioh , after all , U only worldly preferment . Your correspondent commences by telling you the matter is one which exercises his own mind , in common with those of many of his Clerical Masonio brethren . Once for all , I very much doubt the

accuracy of the latter portion of this sentence . I cannot believe his views are " oomtnnn with many Clerical Musonio brethren , " and I hope , for the sakn of the Church and the honour of Freemasonry , that some means wi I present itself to prove how erroneous his views are . I am of opinion his ideas would be repugnant to every trne

Freemason , be he Lay or Clerical , and from instances which have come nnder my notice , where Freemasonry has been made use of in business , any attempt to combine the two would have an exactly opposite result to what was detiied . I argue a man could be neither a good minister of religion nor a good Mason who would seek to

advance peraonnl ends through the iufluence of the Craft . I cannot believe you will allow any discussion in your pages on the general question of Church Patronage , and I will therefore confine my remarks to the Masonio anpect of the case , pure and simple , except that I would like to R « y I consider it impossible for any man

to Hssign a reason—pxcept in a small nnmberof cases —for a Patron ' s choice , when it becomes his duty to appoint some one to a Living . Who knows but that Freemasonry itself may have been at the bottom of the seleotion , and that the very power your correspondent asks for bad not been the means of deciding the question ? More is

the pity if it was . I feel your correspondent is a disappointed man , and on that account we should " be to his faults a little blind , " else how can we exouse such an exposition of Freemasoory ' s " Brotherly Love and Relief" as he gives , or the remarks with which he concludes hia

letter—that be is " becoming Fadly awakened to the fact that ( with the exception of tbe support rendered to our Masonic Charities ) there is litth beauty and less truth in the pracHce of the tenets and principies of oar Order . " Oh ! that a Past Provincial Grand Chaplain should have occasion to thus express himself to the Craft at large

Religion , apart from Freemasonry , should teach him better , unless I have misunderstood the lessons set me , or my tutors have wrongly instructed me . He appears to have profited by neither the one nor the other—Beligion or Freemasonry—and , to make matters worsn , has attempted to mix the two , a proceeding wbiob I am convinced

will never be tolerated by the Craft or listened to by the lenders of the Church . For this reason I feel it would be in vain for your correspondent to Maaonically address the present Lord Chancellor , or any other Masonic Patron of Church Livings . If he cannot secure preferment in the ordinary course , I strongly urge on him to refrain

from departing from the spirit of Freemasonry , whioh enjoins on its members to be uninfluenced by mercenary or other unworthy motives in all their dealings with tbe Craft . I should heartily reioioe to hear that my brother ' s 25 years' aotive work had been

rewarded , but not in the manner he suggests , and whioh , on further consideration I hope he will admit , is hardly consistent with the tt & obings of the Craft . Fraternally yours , MYSTIC .

To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —The letter you published last week under this head might have gone farther than it did . The experience of your correspondent is confined to one subject , that of Church Patronage ; but I would ask why it is that Freemasons do not always give the preference to Masons , all other things being equal ?

Correspondence.

I am of the same opinion as " P . M ., & c , " only that I would carry his ideas throngbont life ; if "Masonry means anything" it should mean that one brother should give preference to Masons on every occasion , if equal advantages wore off-red by the M-ison ; whereas in practice I find very little attention is p » iid to the principle of one

M . ison helping another . I did not join Freemasonry for what I could make out of it , but I certainly thought there would be more mutual help among its members than I have since discovered . It seems to me that the fact of being a Brother Mason counts for nothing outside of a Lodge ,

unless it is to be appealed to by those who profess to be brothers in distress , but who in many cares are , I believe , nothing but professional beggars . I consider there are plenty of oases , occurring every day , where one

could help another , and that , too , without doing wrong ; but most , if not all , of such opportunities are neglected , and , as a consequeuce , Masons become disgusted with the Order , which , as your corres . pondent says , is all very well in theory , but a little less beautiful and less truthful in praotioe . I am , yours fraternally , A BELIEVER IN MUTUAL HELP .

OUTSIDE TITLES IN FREEMASONRY

To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —If you have not already in type a reply to " I . G . ' 8 " last letter in your issue of the 25 th inst ., I offer this one for yonr acceptance . "I . G . " is evidently not so young as he pretends to be , and

possibly knows , or thinks he knows , a great deal more than the brothers he disagrees with ( as he states in his previons letter ) . I do not therefore write for his benefit , but for the benefit of those young Masons who , when placed in the position of I . G ., would be desirous of doing their duty to the best of their ability . I tell them that

when a gentleman of rank or high standing in society becomes a Mason he does not reduce himself to tbe level of men who think , and act , like "I . G . " ; but that he , of course , retains his social position in Lodge , as well as out of Lodge , and should be treated accordingly . I tell I . G . 's that they are to use " that dear term of equality "

Brother , but that it is right and proper to add thereto the titles , Masonic or otherwise , of the brother they announce . "I . G . " would probably say in answer to the " report , " W . M ., Bro . Burdett . The W . M . would no doubt say , Ask what Lodge the brother belongs to ? " I . G . " would reply , without asking , " Oh , the Tyler said h 9 was the

Grand Master for Middlesex ! " Now the proper way to announce such a brother would be—W . M ., the R . W . Bro . Sir Francis Burdett , Provincial Grand Master for Middlesex . If a nobleman ia to be announced who is not a Grand Offioer or Provincial Grand Officer Present or Past it should be—Bro . Lord , or

Bro . Sir William , or Bro . General , or Bro . Admiral ; but if he be a Grand Officer or Prov . Grand Officer his Masonic title should be added . The Tyler , if a visitor be unknown to him , has the opportunity of seeing the signature and Masonic title of the visitor , and is generally intelligent enough to give the proper announcement to the I . G . Yours fraternally , PQ ADO Sydenham , 29 th February 1888 .

OUTSIDE TITLES IN FREEMASONRY

To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —While I consider you and your correspondent " I . G . " perfectly right iu objecting to add the prefix of " Churchwarden , Town Councillor , or Vestryman" to that of a brother in Masonry , or , for the matter of that , outside of it , he is

wrong in wishing to drop naval , military or similar distinctions ; and for this reason : —A brother holding Her M « j 'sty ' s Commisniou in either of the Services is by right entitled to be addressed by such title on all occasions , either in pnblic or private life , and for such reason in Masonry also . The same does not apply to parish or

other officials of a similar character , any more than it does to distinguished Craftsmen . In would certainly be ont of place to address a Vestryman as Mr . Worshipful Muster So-and-so , and for the came reason equally out of place to bring the title Vestryman into Freemasonry . But , as I have said , the same does not apply in the case

of Commissioned Officers , aud , I may add . Clergymen , Doctors , and a few others who , by right , custom and courtesy , are entitled to distinction . Although I feel perfeotly convinced in my own mind & H to which titles should be meutioned and which ignored , I admit I am unable

to give exact details to " I . G . " as to where he should draw the line , I do not think , however , there is any one outside of those mentioned above who are entitled to an " outside title in Freernaionry . "

Hoping my expression of opinion may be of service to your correspondent , I remain , yours , & c . PROVINCIAL . [ Tbe above is tbe generally accepted opinion in regard to titles . —ED . F . C . ]

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