Correspondence.

CORRESPONDENCE .

All Letters must bear the name and address of the Writer , not necessarily for publication , but as a guarantee of good faith . We do not hold ourselves responsible for the opinions of our Cor . respondents . We cannot undertake to return rejected communications . — : o : —

THE REVISED BOOK OF CONSTITUTIONS . To the Editor of ffie FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —I am pleased to see that you have begun the task of comparing , and commenting on , the New Rules and the Present Edition . Nothing could bo more desirable for tho benefit of those members of the Craft who are too indifferent , or ton much occnpied to consider or digest tho matter for themselves . I

think the correspondent you allude to was right as to the relegating Rule 6 to Rale 3 , and adjusting the others accordingly , and rot , as you suggest , simply transposing them , because by so doing you destroy the natural sequence in which those rules should arise . Your comments on Nos . 5 and 6 are to the point , and worthy of adoption . A further proviso in No . 7 is much required , viz ., that , besides bein «

" brethren of eminence and ability , who havo done service to the Craft , " they must have passed the chair of a Lodge before being eligible for Grand Lodge or any post of distinction therein . I pai " ticnlarly call attention to this , because , on looking over the names of the Present and Past Grand Officers , and the names of the contri . butors to our Institutions , we find that a large proportion of the

former are conspicuous by their absence , and however much the powers that be may try to draw the line of distinction between the Craft and the Institutions , they are so incorporated the one with the other that the head may as well be said to be capable of existence without the body as Masonry without its Institutions . Charity is our grand characteristic ; Brotherly Love and Relief are two of the

principles upon which our Order is founded , and the finger of Truth can be extended with pride towards our noble Institutions . Let then those whom the G . A . O . T . U . has prompted to contribute to , arid support , these glorious undertakings , receive the just reward of their benevolent ) actions , and not be passed over by those who have done little or nothing to support the foundations of the Order to which

they profess to belong ; and as each member of a private Lodge should only rise to the highest honour in it by merit and ability , so should the honours in Grand Lodge be conferred only on those who have proved their proficiency by their deeds as well as words . I agreo with yon that in Clause 18 tho Grand Registrar shonld stand apart , the same as Grand Treasnrer : also that tho verbal alterations in

No . 26 are not so good as the present reading . The liability to fines by certain G . Officers for absence from duty never having been enforced , it would have been a farce to have retained the samo . With regard to No . 35 , in my opinion the Grand Secretary having undertaken the responsible duties of the G . Treasurer , for which he ( tho G . Treasurer ) , according to tho present rules , was required to find security for

the due performance thereof , a similar bond should be reqnired of the Grand Secretary . Nobody , I am sure , would have foreseen or expected the calamity which overtook our late highly respected Grand Treasurer ; the most unexpected event often happens ; therefore , as a double safeguard and security , no Grand Secretary , or an elect to that office , could object to enter into the same bond as all Grand Treasurers have hitherto done . Yours truly , St . AUGUSTINE .

THE BANQUET AT THE MANSION HOUSE

To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —All must admire the loyalty to Craft customs exhibited by recent Craft Lord Mayors , and their earnest desire to extend Civic hospitality to representatives of Masonry . Lord Mayor Ellis this year , like Lord Mayor Trnscott iu 1880 , has entertained the Officers , past and present , of Grand Lodge , and the

Officers and members of Lodge No . 1 , at the Mansion House . The two banquets are such as to arouse a feeliug of pride and respect ftmong all brethren . But how is it invitations have been so sparsely distributed among the representatives of City Lodges ? . And why , in particular , has Tho Great City Lodge been apparently left , on both occasions , out in the cold ? This Lodge , I would remind your readers , entertained Bro . Lord Mayor Stone and the Sheriffs at a grand

banquet in March 1875 , and thus set the example of this interchange of cordialities between the City and Freemasonry . Yet those who had charge of the duty of arranging the recent invitations appear to havo ignored tho claims to representation on such occasions of this particular Lodge , aud thus , entirely against their inclination , both Sir J . Ellis and Sir F . Trnscott have been made to offer a slight to a 'nost wurthy section of the Graft . Fraternally yours , Nor A " GREAT CITY " BROTHER .

THK VALUE OF OUR BOYS' SCHOOL VOTES .

To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —My attention has just been called to i ' uur aiticlo ou this snbject , and I shall be glad of a little space to

Correspondence.

point out that ( 1 ) there is no force in tho reasoning , and ( 2 ) that no object is to be gained by writing such an article . ( 1 ) Tho voting question in its naked simplicity is one of exchange Tho School says to tho Craft—Wo depend for our existence on your subscriptions ; and , to encourage you to give , as well as to sustain , your interest in onv welfare , we offer you votes in exchange for voni

money , according to a certain tariff ' . The donor of a guinea shall havo ono vote at each of the two elections occurring during tho year of his donation , or two at one election . The donor of fivo guineas shall be called a Life Subscriber , and havo a vote at every election during his lifetimo , while ten guineas will qualify a brother for a Lifo Governorship with two votes at each oleotiou during his life , and so

on with the Vice-Presidents and Vice-Patrons , who respectively givo more and receive more iu exchange . What has this to do with tho valuo of votes , which depends not on tho amounts subscribed by individnal brethren , but on tho number of candidates , and a variety of other circumstances affecting their candidature ? But you say , in your article , with referenco to tho election now passed , " It seems

pretty certain that at the election , on Monday next , nothing short of 2 , 500 votos will be safo for a boy ' s caso , " and you then proceeded to rockon np their value . I suppose every ono will agree with yon that if two votes equal one gninea , 2500 votes' equal 1250 guineas , or £ 1312 10 s . The most diminutive pnpil in tho Boys' Sohool probably knows that much . But what then ? Oh , say von , bnt a purchased

admission costs only 170 guineas ( £ 178 10 s ) , and therefore , there must be something wrong somowhere . With all due deferonco , there is nothing wrong anywhere . Tho 170 gnineas is tho present average value of the sum annually expended on each pnpil during tho year ho is in tho School , and has no doubt been determined by an actuary or equally competent authority . At all events , any average

arithmetician , with the data before him , could determine tho valne of a purchased presentation . Hence , to snpposo any one would be guilty of the absurdity of subscribing 1250 guineas to secure his prote ' ge " s election is to set him down as a proper candidate for admission into Colnoy Hatch or other lunatic asylum . I neod not say that your attempted argument about the Lifo Governors is equally obnoxious

to common sense . ( 2 . ) What is gained by thus writing ? Does it holp the School ? Does it secure a candidate's success ? Does it promote satisfaction among the subscribers ? In a word , does it do . any good of any description whatever to anybody ? To all these queries I take upon myself , to answer most emphatically , No ! Subscribers are satisfied

with the tariff of votes , and the purchase price of a presentation has been fixed by authority , which no one with the slightest knowledge of figures dare call in question . If you gave an annnal subscriber twenty votes in his year of subscription , a life subscriber twenty votes per annum for life , a life governor forty votes per annum , aud

so on , the saiho difficulty in carrying a candidate would oconr , because instead of requiring 2 , 500 votes , you would havo to poll 25 , 000 , while the value of a purchased presentation must remain unalterable . Kindly tako my advice , and imagino you havo not written tho article to which this refers .

Fraternally yours , "Q . " [ There is somo force , perhaps , in Bro . " Q . ' s " criticism , but we think he has written in a more fiery style than is usual even with him . —ED . F . C . I

At tho meeting of the Lodge of Prosperity , No . 65 , on Thusday , the 26 th ulfc ., at tho Guildhall Tavern , Bro . J . Roberts , the Worshipful Master , announced his intention to act as Steward for tho Lodge at the next Festival of tho Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution . We may also state the brethren have resolved to give a ball next month in aid of the Masonic Charitable Institutions .

** We have personally tested the different cocoas and chocolates manufactured by Messrs . F . Allen aud Son , of Canal . road , MileEnd , aud have great pleasure in testifying to their excellence and nndoubted nutritive properties . They rightly claim for their Essential Extract of Cocca , which is made from the finest nibs , that it retains no oily matter , and is suited to the most delicate palate , while their

Homoeopathic Cocoa is in all respects as palatable as any of a similar kind we havo ever tasted . There are , of course , certain well known cocoas which will always maintain their reputation , so long as they are prepared with tho skill and care hitherto shown . We do not suppose Messrs . Allen and Sou's cocoas will supersede these , but they will

jog along side by sido with them in honourable rivalry for the public support . Their chocolates are equally to be commended , and will bo sure to find increasing patronage as Christmastide approaches us more nearly . We may add that we are likewise mnch struck with the neatness and prettiness of the boxes containing their Chocolate Bonbons .

HOILOWAY ' Prrxs . —Provision . —AS autumn treads on winter , slender , delicate , and pale-faced youths become listless , languid , : i ; id debilitated , unless an alterative , combined with some tonic , be administered to ouicken their onfeoblcd organs . This precise requirement is supplied in these noted Tills , which can and will accomplish all that is wanted , provided the printed instructions Riirivminliir-j them meet , with scrupulous attention . Hollon-ny ' s Pills are especially adapted to supply the medical wants of youth , because Ids medicine acts jreull . v , though surely , as a purifier , regulator , alterative , tonic , aud mild aperient . A very few doses of these Pills will r"n \ ince nav di (¦ inr-¦ iged invalid that his cure lies in bis own bauds , and a little perseverance only is demanded for its completion ,