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Correspondence.
CORRESPONDENCE .
We . do not hold ourselves responsible fa' the opinions of our Cor . respondents . We cannot undertake lo return rejected communications . All M ' ers ; , i . nst bear the name an I address of the Writer , wl necessarily fas publication , but as a guarantee of good faith .
THE GRAND LODGE MINUTES .
To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . DEAK SIR AND BROTHER , —In reply to a fraternal query from Bro . Jacob Norton—as to whether the English Grand Lodgo records from 1723 to 1735 , are original , that is to say , entered at the time , or whether thev were copied into tho existing book at some later
period—I hasten to state , and cau do so without any further inspection of the Minutes themselves ( which is not practicable at the moment of writing ) , that Bro . Norton is quite accurate in his recollection of having seen the actual signatures of Dosaguliers and other Grand Masters , which
along with those of tho Grand Wardens , wore frequently appended to tho recorded Proceedings of Grand'Lodgo between 1723-35 . As I feel , however , thafc what Bro . Norton wants , is not my impression , but my deposition , I will recur to tho subject when I havo again examined tho Minute-books . Yours fraternally , F . R . GOULD .
THE BOYS' SCHOOL FESTIVAL LIST .
To the Editor of THE FREEMASON ' CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —I see thafc Beds—in spite of its solitary spurt in April last—and Cambs aro again conspicuous by their absence from the Subscription List . Tho two together have , I believe , at the eighteen Festivals which have fallen during the period of your existence as an organ of Masonic opinion , contributed
less than £ 70 , which , as the one has five and the other four Lodges , gives an average of about eight shillings per Lodge , per Festival . This , reckoning each Lodge to have on an average forty members , is equivalent to a contribution of about twopence halfpenny each , at each of the Festivals during tho last six years . This is certainly a largo sum , and if the other Lodges in England had
contributed at the same rate , our Institutions would havo been , as regards voluntary contributions , about as they wore during the first two or three years of their existence . Now , if each of these Lodges meets ( say ) seven times a year , and each member spends only five shillings each regular meeting , and ten shillings on installation night on refreshment—no very extravagant sum ifc will be allowed—then
each Lodge spends £ 80 a year on the pleasures of the table , and this multiplied by 9 for the number of Lodges , and 6 for the number of years , gives a total expenditure under this head of service of £ 4 , 320 . In other words , the contributions to our central Institutions , in the course of this particular period , aro to the amount expended in eating and drinking , in the ratio of 1 to 62 , as nearly as may be . I
think that when a Lodgo meets there shonld be a certain amount of conviviality , as it tends to promote goodfellowship among the members but the duties of charity should not be overlooked or observed to so insignificant an extent as to bo almost laughable . Somo time ago one of your correspondents suggested that Beds would be all the better if it wore presided over by a Prov . G . Master , and had an
array of Grand Officers . This may be so , but it at least has done better than , or , taking into account the number of its Lodges , as well as Cambridge , which has a Provincial organisation . These nine Lodges are not all of them ignorant of the existence of our principal Institutions , for I have occasionally seen a candidate from one of them for the benefits from one or other of our Institutions . I have
never heard of their having local Masonic Institutions of their own , which in a measure would account for and excuse their seeming apathy . There must , then , be a screw loose somewhere in the organisation of the nine Beds and Cambridgeshire Lodges , when the total of their subscriptions in six years is less than one-fourth of what Herts , with its ten or eleven Lodges only , has raised for this last
Festival of the Boys' School . I trust ; that in future years this manifest indifference to the claims of our Institutions on the support of all our Lodges will pass away , and that our brethren in the counties I have been referring to will be as regular in contributing as hitherto they have been irregular . Fraternally yours , FIDELIS .
BALLOTS FOR LIFE-GOVERNORSHIPS .
To the Editor of tho FREEMASON s CHRONICLE . DEAE SIE AND BEOTHEE , —I think it must require a very prolonged stretch of tho imagination to traco any resemblance between the venture known as the "Bentinek Racing Association "—to which Mr . Poland , on behalf of the Treasury , recently called tho attention of Sir Thomas Ingham , and which thafc worthy magistrate so righteously condemned—and the little schemes every now and then
organised by brethren for tho purpose of benefiting our Blasonic Institutions . It is unnecessary to describe the former at great length . Ifc was a speculation for the purchase of a stud of race horses . Tho necessary capital of £ 10 , 000 was to bo issued in shares of £ 150 , £ 50 , £ 10 , and £ 1—so many of each value . An analysis of the principal races was to bo sold at a shilling per copy , and purchasers of this were to have a chance , for each of the copies so purchased , in a
Correspondence.
lottery for shares of the Association , a modest deduction for expenses being first made from tho profits of tho sale . Thus , for the outlay of ono shilling , a man stood to win a share ranging , in value , IVom £ 1 to £ 150 , or if he preferred money ' s worth , ho might sell his share at full prico , less only 5 per cent , for discount . I need uot characterise this venture , as Sir Thomas Ingham expressed his opinion
by fining its originator £ 25 on each of the throe summonses taken nut against him , and , in default of payment , ordered him to bo imprisoned for nine months . On tho other hand , tho ballots for Life-Governorships which Bro . Dick Radclyffe and other Masons occasionally get up aro undoubtedly lotteries , but with a difference . The proceeds go into tho coffers of tho Institution for which one is
organised , and all tho winner gets is a couple of votes at each election annually for life , tho exorcise of which some people care about , and some do not . In the ono case , the Company sought to benefit itself at tho expense of the public ; in tho other , the originator of the ballot proposes to raise a sum of money whioh will benefit one of our Institutions . To institute a comparison between the two schemes is
an absurdity , and yet the writer of a Communique " , which appeared in last week ' s nnmber of your contemporary , takes the " Bentinek Racing Association , " which has been exposed by one of our foremost criminal lawyers , and condemned by our most experienced Metropolitan magistrate , as the text of a sermon against these well-intended ballots . The one has been publicly proclaimed as an intolerable
nuisance—a " little game " that would nofc stand a moment s inquisition ; the other has been the means of raising considerable sums of money for our Schools and Benevolent Fund . I say ifc is an insult to common sense and common decency to put the two plans on the same footing . And as if the insertion of this Communique" were not enough , the Editor of the journal I refer to draws to it the attention
of " all who otherwise might be tempted perchance to take parfc in dubious proceedings or hurtful schemes . " What must Bro . Radclyffe have thought , if he read the two paragraphs , when he found himself placed in the same category with the adventurer who started the " Bentinek Racing Association , " and who is now , it seems , undergoing a sentence of nine months' imprisonment ? Yours faithfully , QUERIST .
'JACHIN AND BOAZ . '
To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' CHRONICLE . DEAR SIE AND BEOTHER , —Brothers Walter Spencer , Hughan , and " W . " are puzzled about when the first edition of the above-named pamphlet was printed . Bro . Spencer follows the opinion of Dr . Oliver that 1750 was its first appearance . Bro . Hughan follows the opinion of Bro . Carson , of Cincinnati , that ifc first appeared in 1760
and Bro . W . inquires for a Nicoll ' s edition of that work . Now , we have here , in the Masonic Temple , a copy of that work , which I shall describe . Afc tho foot of the title-page is printed : — " London : Printed for W . Nicoll . Dublin : Reprinted for , and sold by , Thomas Williamson , Bookseller and Stationer , No . 40 Wine Tavern Street , where may be had all sorts of Freemason's books . "
" The pages of the first leaf are marked [ in ] and [ iv ] , which begins thus : — " An Address to Freemasons . " The next leaf is marked 1 , and begins : — " An authentic Key to the DOOR of Free Masonry . " The same page , second paragraph , says : — " In all countries where Masonry is practised or established at this Time , There is a Grand Master ; but formerly there was only one Grand Master , and he was an Englishman . The person on whom
this Title or Dignity is bestowed , such as the present Lord Aberdour , governs all the other Lodges iu Great Britain . " Now , Lord Aberdour governed the English Craft between 18 th May 1757 and 3 rd May 1762 : hence " the present Lord Aberdour " must settle the question , that the pamphlet in question was not printed before 1757 at least . Dr . Oliver was , theref i re , wrong in his date of 1750 . The probability is , therefore , that Bro . Carson ' s copy , dated 1760 , is the original edition .
Yours fraternally , JACOB NORTON . Boston , 25 th June 1880 .
THE MASONIC BAZAAR .
To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —Can the Bazaar Committee explain why or how ifc was the ladies who presided afc the different stalls during the late Bazaar received no hospitality—at least after the opening day ? I dare say the Committee were anxious to keep the expenses
within the narrowest possible compass , but many of these ladies must ; havo come from a distance ; many contributed articles for sale , while all of them worked gratuitously , and their efforts have been most highly spoken of . Yet after Tuesday not even a cup of tea or coffee was to be had , except on payment . So at least I have heard . CURIOUS .
To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE .
DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —I have it on indisputable authority that the Committee of the above Bazaar courteously sent tickets of invitation to the Grand Officers for the year , and that some of these had the discourtesy to return them . The Committee , having
fulfilled what they conscientiously regarded , no doubt , as a duty aa well as a pleasure , have nothing to reproach themselves with ; but will the same remark apply to the lofty-minded gentlemen who needlessly went out of their way to insult the Committee , and in doing so seem to have forgotten thafc they were afc the same time insulting the Earl
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Correspondence.
CORRESPONDENCE .
We . do not hold ourselves responsible fa' the opinions of our Cor . respondents . We cannot undertake lo return rejected communications . All M ' ers ; , i . nst bear the name an I address of the Writer , wl necessarily fas publication , but as a guarantee of good faith .
THE GRAND LODGE MINUTES .
To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . DEAK SIR AND BROTHER , —In reply to a fraternal query from Bro . Jacob Norton—as to whether the English Grand Lodgo records from 1723 to 1735 , are original , that is to say , entered at the time , or whether thev were copied into tho existing book at some later
period—I hasten to state , and cau do so without any further inspection of the Minutes themselves ( which is not practicable at the moment of writing ) , that Bro . Norton is quite accurate in his recollection of having seen the actual signatures of Dosaguliers and other Grand Masters , which
along with those of tho Grand Wardens , wore frequently appended to tho recorded Proceedings of Grand'Lodgo between 1723-35 . As I feel , however , thafc what Bro . Norton wants , is not my impression , but my deposition , I will recur to tho subject when I havo again examined tho Minute-books . Yours fraternally , F . R . GOULD .
THE BOYS' SCHOOL FESTIVAL LIST .
To the Editor of THE FREEMASON ' CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —I see thafc Beds—in spite of its solitary spurt in April last—and Cambs aro again conspicuous by their absence from the Subscription List . Tho two together have , I believe , at the eighteen Festivals which have fallen during the period of your existence as an organ of Masonic opinion , contributed
less than £ 70 , which , as the one has five and the other four Lodges , gives an average of about eight shillings per Lodge , per Festival . This , reckoning each Lodge to have on an average forty members , is equivalent to a contribution of about twopence halfpenny each , at each of the Festivals during tho last six years . This is certainly a largo sum , and if the other Lodges in England had
contributed at the same rate , our Institutions would havo been , as regards voluntary contributions , about as they wore during the first two or three years of their existence . Now , if each of these Lodges meets ( say ) seven times a year , and each member spends only five shillings each regular meeting , and ten shillings on installation night on refreshment—no very extravagant sum ifc will be allowed—then
each Lodge spends £ 80 a year on the pleasures of the table , and this multiplied by 9 for the number of Lodges , and 6 for the number of years , gives a total expenditure under this head of service of £ 4 , 320 . In other words , the contributions to our central Institutions , in the course of this particular period , aro to the amount expended in eating and drinking , in the ratio of 1 to 62 , as nearly as may be . I
think that when a Lodgo meets there shonld be a certain amount of conviviality , as it tends to promote goodfellowship among the members but the duties of charity should not be overlooked or observed to so insignificant an extent as to bo almost laughable . Somo time ago one of your correspondents suggested that Beds would be all the better if it wore presided over by a Prov . G . Master , and had an
array of Grand Officers . This may be so , but it at least has done better than , or , taking into account the number of its Lodges , as well as Cambridge , which has a Provincial organisation . These nine Lodges are not all of them ignorant of the existence of our principal Institutions , for I have occasionally seen a candidate from one of them for the benefits from one or other of our Institutions . I have
never heard of their having local Masonic Institutions of their own , which in a measure would account for and excuse their seeming apathy . There must , then , be a screw loose somewhere in the organisation of the nine Beds and Cambridgeshire Lodges , when the total of their subscriptions in six years is less than one-fourth of what Herts , with its ten or eleven Lodges only , has raised for this last
Festival of the Boys' School . I trust ; that in future years this manifest indifference to the claims of our Institutions on the support of all our Lodges will pass away , and that our brethren in the counties I have been referring to will be as regular in contributing as hitherto they have been irregular . Fraternally yours , FIDELIS .
BALLOTS FOR LIFE-GOVERNORSHIPS .
To the Editor of tho FREEMASON s CHRONICLE . DEAE SIE AND BEOTHEE , —I think it must require a very prolonged stretch of tho imagination to traco any resemblance between the venture known as the "Bentinek Racing Association "—to which Mr . Poland , on behalf of the Treasury , recently called tho attention of Sir Thomas Ingham , and which thafc worthy magistrate so righteously condemned—and the little schemes every now and then
organised by brethren for tho purpose of benefiting our Blasonic Institutions . It is unnecessary to describe the former at great length . Ifc was a speculation for the purchase of a stud of race horses . Tho necessary capital of £ 10 , 000 was to bo issued in shares of £ 150 , £ 50 , £ 10 , and £ 1—so many of each value . An analysis of the principal races was to bo sold at a shilling per copy , and purchasers of this were to have a chance , for each of the copies so purchased , in a
Correspondence.
lottery for shares of the Association , a modest deduction for expenses being first made from tho profits of tho sale . Thus , for the outlay of ono shilling , a man stood to win a share ranging , in value , IVom £ 1 to £ 150 , or if he preferred money ' s worth , ho might sell his share at full prico , less only 5 per cent , for discount . I need uot characterise this venture , as Sir Thomas Ingham expressed his opinion
by fining its originator £ 25 on each of the throe summonses taken nut against him , and , in default of payment , ordered him to bo imprisoned for nine months . On tho other hand , tho ballots for Life-Governorships which Bro . Dick Radclyffe and other Masons occasionally get up aro undoubtedly lotteries , but with a difference . The proceeds go into tho coffers of tho Institution for which one is
organised , and all tho winner gets is a couple of votes at each election annually for life , tho exorcise of which some people care about , and some do not . In the ono case , the Company sought to benefit itself at tho expense of the public ; in tho other , the originator of the ballot proposes to raise a sum of money whioh will benefit one of our Institutions . To institute a comparison between the two schemes is
an absurdity , and yet the writer of a Communique " , which appeared in last week ' s nnmber of your contemporary , takes the " Bentinek Racing Association , " which has been exposed by one of our foremost criminal lawyers , and condemned by our most experienced Metropolitan magistrate , as the text of a sermon against these well-intended ballots . The one has been publicly proclaimed as an intolerable
nuisance—a " little game " that would nofc stand a moment s inquisition ; the other has been the means of raising considerable sums of money for our Schools and Benevolent Fund . I say ifc is an insult to common sense and common decency to put the two plans on the same footing . And as if the insertion of this Communique" were not enough , the Editor of the journal I refer to draws to it the attention
of " all who otherwise might be tempted perchance to take parfc in dubious proceedings or hurtful schemes . " What must Bro . Radclyffe have thought , if he read the two paragraphs , when he found himself placed in the same category with the adventurer who started the " Bentinek Racing Association , " and who is now , it seems , undergoing a sentence of nine months' imprisonment ? Yours faithfully , QUERIST .
'JACHIN AND BOAZ . '
To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' CHRONICLE . DEAR SIE AND BEOTHER , —Brothers Walter Spencer , Hughan , and " W . " are puzzled about when the first edition of the above-named pamphlet was printed . Bro . Spencer follows the opinion of Dr . Oliver that 1750 was its first appearance . Bro . Hughan follows the opinion of Bro . Carson , of Cincinnati , that ifc first appeared in 1760
and Bro . W . inquires for a Nicoll ' s edition of that work . Now , we have here , in the Masonic Temple , a copy of that work , which I shall describe . Afc tho foot of the title-page is printed : — " London : Printed for W . Nicoll . Dublin : Reprinted for , and sold by , Thomas Williamson , Bookseller and Stationer , No . 40 Wine Tavern Street , where may be had all sorts of Freemason's books . "
" The pages of the first leaf are marked [ in ] and [ iv ] , which begins thus : — " An Address to Freemasons . " The next leaf is marked 1 , and begins : — " An authentic Key to the DOOR of Free Masonry . " The same page , second paragraph , says : — " In all countries where Masonry is practised or established at this Time , There is a Grand Master ; but formerly there was only one Grand Master , and he was an Englishman . The person on whom
this Title or Dignity is bestowed , such as the present Lord Aberdour , governs all the other Lodges iu Great Britain . " Now , Lord Aberdour governed the English Craft between 18 th May 1757 and 3 rd May 1762 : hence " the present Lord Aberdour " must settle the question , that the pamphlet in question was not printed before 1757 at least . Dr . Oliver was , theref i re , wrong in his date of 1750 . The probability is , therefore , that Bro . Carson ' s copy , dated 1760 , is the original edition .
Yours fraternally , JACOB NORTON . Boston , 25 th June 1880 .
THE MASONIC BAZAAR .
To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —Can the Bazaar Committee explain why or how ifc was the ladies who presided afc the different stalls during the late Bazaar received no hospitality—at least after the opening day ? I dare say the Committee were anxious to keep the expenses
within the narrowest possible compass , but many of these ladies must ; havo come from a distance ; many contributed articles for sale , while all of them worked gratuitously , and their efforts have been most highly spoken of . Yet after Tuesday not even a cup of tea or coffee was to be had , except on payment . So at least I have heard . CURIOUS .
To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE .
DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —I have it on indisputable authority that the Committee of the above Bazaar courteously sent tickets of invitation to the Grand Officers for the year , and that some of these had the discourtesy to return them . The Committee , having
fulfilled what they conscientiously regarded , no doubt , as a duty aa well as a pleasure , have nothing to reproach themselves with ; but will the same remark apply to the lofty-minded gentlemen who needlessly went out of their way to insult the Committee , and in doing so seem to have forgotten thafc they were afc the same time insulting the Earl