Correspondence.

CORRESPONDENCE .

We do not hold ourselves responsible for the opinions of our Correspondents . All Letters must bear the name and address 0 / tiFie Writer , not necessarily for publication , but as a guarantee of good faith . We cannot undertake to return rejected communications .

SCHOOL TRAINING .

To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —I have just read a report in a daily paper of the inspection of the pupils and the distribution of prizes at the Roval Military Asylnm , or as it is more popularly known , the Duke of York's School . LI . R . H . the Duke of Cambridge inspected

the lads and presented the prizes , after which " many of the Visitors were conducted through the workshops , aud witnessed an excellent athletic display in the gymnasium . " My object in referring to this matter is to compare the training of the lads at the Duke of York's School with that of the pupils in the Masonio Institution at Wood

Green , and although I may bo wrong , I believe the latter are sadly neglected in regard to the education they receive in matters of a purely mercantile character . That we aro efficiently educating our boys in the three R . ' s I am willing to admit , but I consider we shonld do more . I think wo shonld do all that lies in our power to

discourage our lada from swelling the already fearfully overstocked clerical market , while we shonld encourage them to devote their energies to tho various branches of manufacture which their inclinations lead them to . There may bo branches of trade in which our lads would be somewhat out of place , and tho education bestowed on

them in a measure wasted ; but , on the other hand , there are few mechanical pursuits in which sound education cannot be turned to good use or in which those who are well versed in the recognised branches of a sound English education cannot turn their knowledge to account . There is an old saying that the dirtiest work makes the

brightest money , and I am of opinion that a lad who knows how to dirty his hands in any practical branch of commerce need never fear he will die from want of employment so long as ho has health and strength to follow tbe business to which he has devoted his abilities . I therefore feel we should be doing an additional service to the lads

we take under our care if we could fit up a workshop , in which they might have an insi ght into the practical working of some of our more important industries , where they could receive that practical knowledge which wonld fit them for the factory as soon as they left school , and without which lads often waste most important time

in deciding what thoy shall turn their hand to , oven if they do not lose appointments which would have meant employment and comfort for tho remainder of their days . There are numbers of supporters of our Boys' Schools who would willingly give their experience and their aid to establish a workshop for onr boys , and not a few who

would provide situations for thoso who showed a liking for any par . bicular trade , on their leaving the school , bnt unless some taste 01 knowledge is apparent in a lad it is not easy to secure a recommendation . Heaps of boys can bo found who are good scholars , but many of them have an idea that to a'art life in a workshop is

derogatory ; they all waut to fill managers ' , cashiers ' , or other—to juvenile minds—light employments , without tha knowledge that managers should be those who can bring a practical knowledge of their business and a sound education to bear on tho work entrusted to them . A lad who leaves school with a good education , and at

once take his place in the busy workshop with some knowledge of its routine to back him is , to my mind , worth twenty who spend the first year or two of their business life in worrying themselves and their friends , trying to decide what they shall turn their hands to , and who , after all , settle down to eko out an existence on tho

miserable pittance doled out to tho clerks in our mercantile centres . I again say I am convinced an immense amount of good would follow tho establishment of workshops at our Boys' School , and I hope I may have your assistance in making my views known to the general body of subscribers to the Institntion . I am , yours fraternally , AN EMPLOYER OF LABOTTR .

Skill And Assiduity In A W.M.

SKILL AND ASSIDUITY IN A W . M .

To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —All brethren who have tho true interests of the Craft at heart must have perused with pleasure the sensible observations on this subject contained iu yonr leader in a recent issue of the F . C . It has been frequently pointed out , in

your columns especially , that in tho minds of many of our brethren tho summit of that " laudable ambition" which is enjoined upon all Masons , namely , to reach the chair , has been attained when tho year of office having expired ho hands down tho insignia of his office pure and unsullied to his successor . Bur , what sort of legacy does he

leave to him who follows in the responsible governance of the Loch'o ? If , as you rightly suggest , the Worshipfnl Mister of a Lodge his climbed to his position on the shoulders of favouritism arid popn . larity , with merely a knowledge of the ritual , and with bnt little administrative ability , tho task of his successor is rendered doubly

hard , inasmuch as he has not only to discharge the functions which ordinarily at ach to tho position , but he has also to rectif y any possible errors which may have been committed b y his predecessor . Thero must be many in our ranks who havo seen that men have

struggled through the various offices in methodical form , and havo striven with apparent zeal to reach the chair , but who , having enjoyed tho fleeting popularity of a year , subside itnmediatel y ° into " aeroand yellow leaf obscurity , content with the Past Master ' s

Skill And Assiduity In A W.M.

affix—and jewel—and henceforth manifest no active interest whatever in the interests of the Lodge in which they were at one time ao enthusiastic . This accounts , in many instances , for the " greatest difficulty" which , as yon observe , many incoming Worshipful Masters experience with those who have passed the chair . Granted

snch cases are exceptional , but I havo heard of some in which brethren who have been raised to tho presidency of Lodges have found that instead of receiving the assistance they had a right to expect from those who have immediately preceded them , the latter , having " strutted their brief hour upon the stage , " have been

fain to relax altogether whatever little interest they possessed in the Lodge , and thns the new Master has been left almost entirely to his own resources in the management of the Lodge ' s affaira . Of course , the embarrassment of such a situation ia not so great in localities where opportunities are freqnent of attending Lodges of

Instrnction , but I imagine it must be peculiarly awkward in the country districts , especially where such means of attaining proficiency are not so abundant as they are in tbe metropolis and other large centres of Masonic activity . As you very properly observe , the Worshipful Master is to all

intents and purposes the " ruler in his own Lodge , jnat in the same sense as that there can only be one captain on board a ship . But aa a general rule , it will bo fonnd that a brother who haa been installed into tho high and exalted position of Master of a Lodge is not onl y willingto accept , but is grateful for , any advice and assistance which

his seniors can give him , and thus to derive the benefit of their experience and wisdom . I havo known cases—and one particularl y in tho City not long ago reminda me of the fact—in which preco . cious Masters who have risen rapidly to the position have osten . tatiously proclaimed the superiority of their intelligence and admin .

istrativo ability , and who have disdained to accept the proffered aid and counsel of their Past Masters . Need it be said that such egotism and obstinacy have invariably resnlted in failure , and that the humour excited by the former has been overshadowed by the dire results of the latter ? Happily as a rnle the newly-installed Master ia only too

ready to receive the benefit of the experience gained by those who havo preceded him , and thus the work proceeds in that spirit of harmony which should be " characteristic of Freemasonry . " As you truly say , the Past Masters of a Lodge have no doubt a claim to be considered , and their opinion shonld be respected , though that

view is qualified by the assertion , "but only so far aa a Master can coincide with their views , or at least only so far as their views may not be in direct opposition to his own , is it safe for him to go without somo independent advice . " I fail to seo the analogy or the service of that "independent advice , "

which should be bronght to bear adversely upon that of those who havo passed tho chair . Unless the Past Masters were of the sample whioh I have endeavoured to describe—apathetic and satiated with their brief spell of office—or have combined in au effort to carry out a certain and objectionable policy , I can conceive of no " great gulf "

between them and the lay memb va of the Lodge which the Worship , fill is expected to bridge over . Such cases , I imagine , mnst be very few and far between , and must , inevitably be the result of that failure which yon suggest in the opening sentences of your article , of the newly-elected ruler of a Lodge to estimate his responsibilities , and

his inabilry , therefore , to carry them out . It is fortunate that in a majority of onr Lodges kissing does not go by favour , and that merit is the chief recommendation to office of any kind . 'I bus by the time a brother reaches tho distingnished position to which he aspires , he has learnt not only the superficial part of his work and a

" mere knowledge of the rtual , but has obtained an insi ght into the details of working , which are of vit-il importance to his Lodge , and he therefore shapes his course whilst iti the chair in such a manner as he might deem conducive to the best interests of his Lodge . Invariably he is assisted by tho kindly and ready counsel

and co-operation of tho Past Masters , and when this is so , harmony and peace mnst prevail , and prosperity be secured . It is only in the caso of men who scramble into office for the mere sake of popularity that they subside into the position of drones amongst the working " veterans , " and even they would do wisely if they

abstained from Lodge altogether , and rested upon the honours they have gained , rather than cause any friction by their apathy or useless interference . After all , it is with the lay members of a Lodge to provide against such a calamity , which they can do by a little jndgment and forethought . A Worshipfnl Master is not elected by his

seniors , but by the Lodge collectively , and the brethren should take particular care to gauge the qualifications and fitness of an aspirant to the chair before proceeding to the ballot . The system of

appointing " Officers by rotation" may be in the main good , and result satisfactorily ; but there are circumstances under which an exception might be made to the accepted rule , and , like in many other similar cases , tho brethren should say , "May t e best man

win . " I remain , Dear Sir ancl Brother , yours fraternally , PAST MASTKB .

Renumbering Of Lodges.

RENUMBERING OF LODGES .

To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' CHRONICLI . DEAR Sue AND BROTHER , —I hare carefully perused tho remarks of your various correspondents on the above subject , and cannot help ' celing amused at the absurd position taken up by the advocates of ihis new-fangled notion , whose only argument is that , by upsetting

¦ lie wholo of tho arrangements which bave worked so well up to the present time we should be able to ascertain the "actual strength of the Craft , " and the number of Lodges ranged under its banner . In

my humble judgment , and in the opinion of all with whom I have conversed on the matter , we may rest content that the numerical strength of Freemasonry ia already sufficiently ascertained and recorded on the roll of Grand Lodge . It ia a point with many of the