Correspondence.

CORRESPONDENCE .

We do not hold ourselves responsible for the opinions of our Correspondents . All Letters must bear the name and addreaa of the "Writer , not necessarily for publication , but aa a guarantee of good faith . We cannot undertake to return rejected oommunioationa .

THOMAS DUNCKERLEY .

To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —I am particularly anxious to ascertain the whereabouts of a pamphlet bearing the following title , " A Sermon preached at St . Peter ' a Church in Coloheater , Jnne 24 th

1777 . Hy W . Martin Leake j before the Provincial Grand Master and tbe Grand Ledge of Essex . To whioh ia added , a Charge , by Bro . Dnnckerley , and an Address , by Bro . Henry Chalmers . " Coloheater 1778 . Shonld any of yonr readers be able to afford any information relative to the above I shall be much obliged by their

communicating with , Yonrs fraternally , H . SADIER ,

Freemasons' Hall , London , W . O .

Bro. Norton's Puzzles.

BRO . NORTON'S PUZZLES .

To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BRO . —The strange Puzzles propounded by Bro . Norton , in the strangely written paper inserted in your last issue , wonld appear to me as requiring the skill of OHdipus to answer ; nor , even were ifc possible to solve them , onr Brother pretty clearly indicates in hia last paragraph how the solutions wonld be received

by him , as he says , " As Gregory ( the Pope ) flourished between 590 and 604 , where did he get hia information abont events that occurred in 303 F" Granting the Nortonian conundrums were answered , would such answer not be something like , —Where do yon , in 1890 , gefc your knowledge of events that occurred so many centuries since ? I will not at this moment enter upon the question either of the

" Regius , " the " Hub , " or other MS . being genuine , nor as to the names , tradea , professions , and Patrons of the Fonr Martyrs , but wonld confine myaelf to a few words reapeoting the writer recogniaed aa " Gildaa the Wise , " or " Gildas " Sapiena , and the exiatence of a " St . Alban , " intereating fco na as Freemasons , he being , it is said , onr earliest English Patron .

Brother Norton says , "I first read all that Bede wrote about St . Alban , and nexfc I got hold of' Gildaa the Wise' ( I think he shonld have reversed the order of his reading ) , and I found that though Gildas waa the very firafc who wrote about St . Alban , that aomehow Bede knew more wonderful things about St . Alban than ' Gildaa the Wise . '" My Brother Norton will pardon me if I think he shonld

have written Bede wrote not knew moro wonderful things . Bede , beyond doubt , waa a man of much knowledge , bnt the nonsense that pervades his writings show that he was also most credulous , and I believe wrote mnoh about St . Alban that Gildaa never heard of ; but does it follow tbat because he wrote these foolish things that the Saint conld not have been bnt ¦* , myth ? Onr erudite Brother doea not

atop here , but having satisfied himself on this point he also places Gildas among tbe mythical , as he , being the promulgator of the St . Alban story , mnst also be a myth . For the purpose of his theory he quotes a preface of Dr . Giles to an edition of Gildas . In this preface he refers to a Mr . Stevenson , who wrote : " We are unable to speak with certainty as to his ( Gildaa ' s )

parentage , hia conntry , or even his name , the period when he lived , or the worke of which he waa the anthor . " Of thia Mr . Stevenaon I must confess I know nothing . Dr . Giles was a man of many attain , ments , though but little known except as a translator , a clergyman , I believe , of a small parish and with a . small atipend ; having to work

hard with hia pen , I am afraid to the injury of his interests . Against these opinions I place firafc that of Sir Richard Baker ' s Chronicles , which I think disposes of Mr . Stevenson ' s doubts . That work commences "A Catalogue of writings , both Ancient and Modern , out of which this Chronicle has been collected . " The first name reads

Gildns Brittanicus , surnamed the Wise , an Ancient writer of our English nation , who , amongst other his works , wrote a " Treatise des Escndia Brittanica . " He waa born in the year 493 , and died in the year 580 . In another part Sir Eiohard saya , " Certain it is , that the doctrine of Christianity waa about this time planted in this Island , though it afterwards made but small progress ,, and tbat witb

some persecution as in which time bt . Alban suffered martyrdom at Vernlam . Camden Clarenceanx , King at Arms abont 1620 , in his great work , "Britannia , " quotes Gildas Sapens as saying in reference to his own writings , that he took all out of foreign writers , and not out of any writing or records left by his own couutrytuen , for if there ever had been any such , theae were in his time quite lost , having

either been burnt by the enemy at home , or carried by exiles into foreign parts . * In the same work , under the head of English Saxon History , Camden quotes Gildas . As to St . Alban he thus writes : " Vernlam ( St . Albans ) was quite ruined by these Wara , when OEfo , tho most potent King of the Mercians , founded over against it , in a place they called Holmehurst , a very largo and atately monastery , to

the memory of St . Alban , or aa his Charter expresses it , unto Our Lord Jesus Christ and to St . Alban the Martyr , whose reliques tho Divine Grace has discovered . " I also find that when Offa presented the Pope with the Peter pence of his kingdom , the Pope permitted the Church of St . Albans to retain for its own use thafc collected by them . Pope Hadrian IV ., who was born near Vernlam , granted to the Abbot of thia Monastery , " These are tho words of the privilege

Bro. Norton's Puzzles.

that aa St . Alban ia well-known to be the Proto-martyr of the Enghah Nation , so the Abbot of hia Monastery ahould be reputed the firafc in dignity of all the Abbots in England . " Giraldua Cambrienaea givea St . Amphiboloua aa the inatruotor in

the Christian faith of St . Alban . Having trespassed on your space to a greater length than I at first intended , I conclude by offering Bro . Jacob in return for his Christmas Pnzzlea , aome " nuta to crack . " Yonra fraternally , S . VALLENTINE P . M ., & C .

Peterborough Masonic Educational Fund

PETERBOROUGH MASONIC EDUCATIONAL FUND

To the Editor of ihe FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . SIR , —Aa a provincial Mason , I am not surprised to notice constant appeals from country brethren to the wealthier organisations whose abode ia in cities , but a recent circular from Peterborough , referring to a Maaonio Memorial Fnnd there , appeara likely , owing fco ita

intense audacity , to defeat the writers' object . The writers aoold brethren and Lodgea for not replying to a previous appeal , and , oddly enough , after a blatantly aggreasive opening , tone down towarda the finale of their lucubration in the direction of hnmbleneas , not to say

servility . Surely , brethren , even those unfortunately chained up as far from fche hub of the universe as Peterborough , muat at one period have learnt , though they now aeem to forget , that applioanta for charity ahonld adopt conciliatory methods , and if theae fail , others are absolutely ineffectual .

I am , yonrs faithfully , A SURREY MASON , P . M ., & c . Chertaey , 11 th November 1890 .

The Boys' School Election.

THE BOYS' SCHOOL ELECTION .

THE WITHDRAWAL OF HART , NO . 47 ON THE LIST

To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHLR , —I note thafc in yonr Hat of unancceasfnl candidates for the Boys' School yon have included Aubrey Oswald Hart , No . 47 on the List , as having polled 15 votes only . By inolnding hia name ou thia liat it may mislead friends who gave me

their votea for thia caae , as I withdrew his name after the voting papers had been issued , having made arrangements for him to go in the School on the Sir Wafckin Preaentation . In order to prevent any miaunderatanding , may I add that fche

votes given me for the Boy Hart were not thrown away , but were of practical uae to fche caae for whioh fchey were intended . May I alao state that Hart waa the protege of North Wales only . Yours fraternally , C . K . BENSON , North Walea Representative

Masonic Temple At Henley.

MASONIC TEMPLE AT HENLEY .

THE building whioh waa erected for the use of the members of fche Thames Lodge haa now been completed , and on Monday , the 27 th nit ., the ceremony of consecration took place . There waa a fair bnfc nofc a large attendance in the Lodge . •Tbe gathering was shorn of some of its interest in consequence of the absence of the Prov . Grand Master Bro . fche Earl of Jersey , and of fche Deputy Prov .

Grand Master Bro . Reginald Bird ; the latter was unable to attend in conaeqnence of indisposition . The ceremony of consecration was consequently performed by Bro . the Rev . H . Sayers , and was followed by that of the installation of the Worshipfnl Master for the ensning year . The choice of the brethren had fallen npon Bro . Jessop , who was accordingly installed by his predecessor in office , Brother E . Carlisle . In recognition of Bro . Carlisle's services to the Lodge , a

handsome Past Master ' s jewel was presented to him . After being installed , the W . M . proceeded to invest his Officer- * , as follow : — Bros . E . Carlisle , M . A ., I . P . M ., W . D . Mackenzie S . W ., F . H . Holmes J . W ., Rev . A . R . Pritchard P . M . Chaplain , G . E . Brakspear Treasurer , A . R . Llovda Secretary , J . B . Coumbe S . D ., A . Cartwright J . D ., F . Marsh D . C , T . Riggs I . G .. E . H . Simmons Organist , J . W . Rhodes and R . Ovey Stewards . In the evening there was a banquet at tbe Red Lion Hotel .

New Masonic Hall For Wallsend.

NEW MASONIC HALL FOR WALLSEND .

PLANS were passed afc a special meeting of the Wallsend Local Board , on fche 5 th insfc ., for the erection of a Masonio Hall at that place . The ZocaZe of the proposed structure is in Station Boad , abont midway between the railway atafcion ancl the Athena * am . The now building , which will cover an extensive area , will represent tue Elizabethan style of architecture . The exterior will be constructed

of red brick , with stone facings , and the upper story will be devoted exclusively to members of tho Masonic Order . The principal renin on this flat will be upwards of 40 feet long , 25 feet broad , and 20 foot from floor to ceiling . There will also be a large refreshment hall and build

several anterooms aud lavatories . The estimated cost of the - ing , which has been designed by Mr . Hope , architect , Shields aud Newcastle , ia £ 2 , 500 . Building operations will be commenced at once , and it ia expected that the whole will bo comp leted wittim six months .

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