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Correspondence.
CORRESPONDENCE .
We do not hold ourselves responsible for the opinions of our Co > : respondents . All Letters mnst bear the name anl address of the Writer , not necessarily for publication , but as a guarantee of good faith . We cannot * undertake to return rejected communications .
CHARITIES AND CANDIDATES . To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —Eeferring to your leader of the 12 th instant , respecting candidates for the benefits of the Royal Masonic Institutions , I am credited with saying that the number of candidates was very large , and that something should be done to inquire what services they had rendered . Permit me to say that observation did
not , nor was it intended to apply to the 126 candidates then on the list for annnities . Although the Committee of Management should have the fullest information as to the circumstances of all applicants for the benefits of the Institution—seeing the small number of vacancies , namely , seventeen only at the next election in Maywhich will leave unsuccessful upwards of one hundred poor old
candidates , to go away with sorrow and grief , only to linger on for another twelve months to meet with a similar disappointment in the future . This is a state of things that must cause some amount of anxiety to the Board of Management , who are at all times actuated by feelings of sympathy in the discharge of the important dnties they are called npon to perform . Therefore , vour fears that many
deserving cases are now but imperfectly considered does not apply to the Benevolent Institntion . With regard to what may have been done in aid of the fnnds of the Institntion by those brethren who are coming forward to seek its benefit ; wonld it not be an improper question to submit—knowing that some of the applicants are only just eligible , by the fact of their being ten years a subscribing mem . >
ber to a Lodge , withont having contributed to the funds of this Institntion , although they may have been in a good social position , and surrounded by friends , while other applicants who have contributed liberally for many years , and outlived their circle of acquaintances , consequently are placed in a less favourable position with regard to the progress of their candidature ? Therefore , upon these grounds it
has been deemed advisable to ventilate the question , and to ascertain the opinions of the subscribers . You also state , if the theory of reciprocity is to be established , it should be adopted in the selection of candidates . In reply I would say , shonld the increase in the nnmber of applicants continne at the same rate it will be absolutely necessary to make some alteration , both as regards the qualification
and eligibility of applicants , with the view of extending to the greater nnmber that help whioh their necessities require , and the funds of the Institution is enabled to sustain . Brother Terry , the Secretary of the Benevolent Institntion , has stated on several occasions that provided the majority of the members of the Craft
contributed the small sum of five shillings per annnm to the Institution there would bo ample fnnds to meet the wants of every distressed brother or widow . This proposition is a grand one , not difficult to realise ; and I do most sincerely hope , for the sake of our aged and deserving brethren or their widows , it will be liberally responded to at the forthcoming Festival . Believe me , Dear Sir and Brother , Faithfully and fraternally yours , CHARLES LACEY P . M . 174 . & c .
To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —I readily admit that the question how best to meet the increasing demands made upon our Charities by the apparently ever-increasing number of candidates is a perplexing one . Thus there are , I will suppose , some forty or fifty candidates at two or three successive elections to the Boys' School , and the number of
vacancies at each election averages about eight or , at the most , ten . The Craft , noting carefully these untoward cirenmstances , makes a supreme effort at one of the Boys' Festivals . An additional £ 2 , 000 or £ 3 , 000 is subscribed , and the nnmber of pupils is forthwith increased by some ten or fifteen . This momentarily relieves the pressure on the resources of the Charity , bat two or three years elapse
and the same state of things is again found to prevail . There are again forty or fifty candidates to fill only eight or ten vacancies , and if tbe list is again to be lightened momentarily , there seems to be no other course possible but to repeat the previous policy of increasing the School . Then , as to the Benevolent Institntion . Notwithstanding that in the last ten or twelve years the number of annuitants has
been increased by some 70 or 75 per cent ., the cry is , still the candidates keep on increasing , and in May next , according to present appearances , there will be less than twenty vacancies , but over 130 candidates . So is it with the remaining Institntion—the Girls ' School j no matter what may be done in the way of extending its sphere of operations , fresh candidates are always forthcoming , and this
alternate increase , first in the number of pupils , and then in the number of candidates , apparently stands a fair chance of being continned , unless resolute measmes are taken to establish something like an equilibrium between the vacancies to be filled and the applicants to fill them . But will this result be accomplished by giving special votes to brethren or the widows or children of brethren who have contributed to the funds of our Institutions ? I for one am
inmclined to think not j but rather , that instead of having fewer , we Hhall havo more candidates offering themselves for acceptance , and for this reason . If once the idea is accepted that benefits conferred on our Institutions must be reciprocated , we shall have ostensibly well-to-do , but really needy brethren , giving donations and subscriptions , not to benefit our Charities , bnt ultimately to prove of service to themselves and their families . Even people in indifferent circumstances will contrive to scrape together £ 50 or £ 100 , and present it
Correspondence.
to an Institution when they know that by so doing they are virtually securing a pension for life , after a certain age , to themselves , and it may be afterwards to their widows , or maintainment and education for one or moro of their children for a term of years . In fact , Free , masonry will descend to tho level of a benefit society , and a large number of its members will give of their substance , not so much to
meet the wants of others , as to lay up a pension for themselves and their widows in their declining years , or for their children in the event of such pension becoming necessary . If we would reduce tho claims that are being made on our Charities , we had better say as little as possible about holding out additional inducements to brethren to support them . I think we are far more likely to succeed in
our object if we follow the advice of the lato Bro . John Hervey , and that is , to exercise additional caution whenever people offer themsolves as candidates to be received into Freemasonry . So long as it is apparently a matter of indifference who become Masons , so long shall wo find the applicants for admission into our different Institutions steadily increasing in numbers . Fraternally yours , M . M .
BRO . YARKER'S HISTORY . To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —In your issue of Saturday , the 12 th instant , I find three shafts directed against me , of which two are some , what envenomed . All this correspondence has come upon me at a time when I am worked almost beyond my strength , but , nevertheless , I mnst ask you to oblige me with space for a few lines on these
three articles . The article , "Let the Mill Grind , " is forwarded to you doubtless with the intention of damaging our A . and P . Bite , and no doubt would do so with those who are ignorant of its details . I would , therefore , inform your readers tbat in the United States there is a spurious and irregular Rite of Memphis , with which we have neither
relation or sympathy . Thero is only one regular Sovereign Sanctuary of the A . and P . Rite in America , viz ., that presided over by Professor Alexander B . Mott 33-95 ° , and it is the only body with which we have established representatives ; Dr . Mott is an honourable gentleman , bnt indolent in Masonio matters , and it is against the spurious Egyptian Rite of Memphis that certain State Grand Lodges have
adopted certain regulations which , in effect , recognises the A . and A . Scottish Rite , and makes the spurious Rite of Memphis penal . This want of toleration has already produced its natural effect in the organisation of spurious Craft Lodges ; and whilst I , for one , regret the existence of this spurious Rite of Memphis . I cannot blame them for adopting one nn-Masonic course wherewith to meet another . Let
the sly fox form himself a lair in the den of the stupid ass j the noble band of brothers will scarcely find imitators in this country , unless it may be in Ireland , where the Masonic World for December alleges that the spurious Rite of Memphis has already established a branch , as well as in Glasgow . The Mill of God grinds slowly , bnt it grinds surely . Let it grind to dust all intolerance , whether in Masonry or
out of it , I certainly deserve all tbe censure that your reviewer has heaped upon me for my carelessness in accepting the accuracy of the list headed " Ancients" without examination . I ought to have remembered that it was shown at the time to be a list of the present Grand Lodge ,
and the description of No . 1 Lodge alone ought to have put me right . For a dozen years I have paid very slight attention to these matters , as they are a species of inquiry which , however necessary for the Masonic historian , do not pay intellectually the great trouble and loss of time which they involve . I hit upon the list accidentally , and accepted it hastily : it is an error into which even the best may fall .
The letter of Bro . P . M . H . Sadler commends itself , and I think he has made good his claim for supposing that Bro . Sayer ' s reprimand was for circumstances occurring within his own Lodge , whatever those may have been . I am at the present moment preparing a lecture upon the Old Craft Constitutions , and it strikes me that it is not unlikely that the thin end of the wedge of this dispute between
the " Ancients and "Moderns was introduced early in the 17 th century . I may here give my views upon these Constitutions shortly , as follows , and will forward you a more lengthy paper when it appears . If your reviewer desires to have another fling at me , he may . 1 . 1350 MS . This informs us thafc the first part of the
document was the original ( or Euclid ) Charges of the Masons of Athelstan ; the second part being a commentary . Here I may observe that this Egyptian tradition is taken from Herodotus , who carried it back to Sesostris ; Euclid's name was attached from his having amended Greek Geometry . 2 . 1500 . This Constitution gives a lengthy introduction to what ,
we are told , are the actual Charges of Euclid . As the writer gives bis authorities , he was evidently the first to embody the introductory matter . 3 . 1532-1583 . Grand Lodge MS . Thia follows the last-mentioned Constitution . With tbe exception of two other MSS . ifc is the parent of all the others , and goes to prove that , as alleged in Masonic
histories , the Craft was actually under one G . M . at York . 4 . Lansdown Constitution . This omits the Euclid Charges in order to develop those of Solomon , and makes Edwin to have been made a Mason at Windsor . It was copied in 1686 by the Lodge of Antiquity . It tends to confirm tbe statement that at this time North and South were divided .
Bro . P . M . Sadler seems well informed on these questions , and I shall be glad to hear what date he gives Nos . 3 and 4 . I feel sure the last , as published by Bro . Hughan , is later even than 1600 . It is very important thafc fche dates of Nos , 3 and 4 shonld be accurately determined . Yours truly and fraternally , JOHN YARKER .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Correspondence.
CORRESPONDENCE .
We do not hold ourselves responsible for the opinions of our Co > : respondents . All Letters mnst bear the name anl address of the Writer , not necessarily for publication , but as a guarantee of good faith . We cannot * undertake to return rejected communications .
CHARITIES AND CANDIDATES . To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —Eeferring to your leader of the 12 th instant , respecting candidates for the benefits of the Royal Masonic Institutions , I am credited with saying that the number of candidates was very large , and that something should be done to inquire what services they had rendered . Permit me to say that observation did
not , nor was it intended to apply to the 126 candidates then on the list for annnities . Although the Committee of Management should have the fullest information as to the circumstances of all applicants for the benefits of the Institution—seeing the small number of vacancies , namely , seventeen only at the next election in Maywhich will leave unsuccessful upwards of one hundred poor old
candidates , to go away with sorrow and grief , only to linger on for another twelve months to meet with a similar disappointment in the future . This is a state of things that must cause some amount of anxiety to the Board of Management , who are at all times actuated by feelings of sympathy in the discharge of the important dnties they are called npon to perform . Therefore , vour fears that many
deserving cases are now but imperfectly considered does not apply to the Benevolent Institntion . With regard to what may have been done in aid of the fnnds of the Institntion by those brethren who are coming forward to seek its benefit ; wonld it not be an improper question to submit—knowing that some of the applicants are only just eligible , by the fact of their being ten years a subscribing mem . >
ber to a Lodge , withont having contributed to the funds of this Institntion , although they may have been in a good social position , and surrounded by friends , while other applicants who have contributed liberally for many years , and outlived their circle of acquaintances , consequently are placed in a less favourable position with regard to the progress of their candidature ? Therefore , upon these grounds it
has been deemed advisable to ventilate the question , and to ascertain the opinions of the subscribers . You also state , if the theory of reciprocity is to be established , it should be adopted in the selection of candidates . In reply I would say , shonld the increase in the nnmber of applicants continne at the same rate it will be absolutely necessary to make some alteration , both as regards the qualification
and eligibility of applicants , with the view of extending to the greater nnmber that help whioh their necessities require , and the funds of the Institution is enabled to sustain . Brother Terry , the Secretary of the Benevolent Institntion , has stated on several occasions that provided the majority of the members of the Craft
contributed the small sum of five shillings per annnm to the Institution there would bo ample fnnds to meet the wants of every distressed brother or widow . This proposition is a grand one , not difficult to realise ; and I do most sincerely hope , for the sake of our aged and deserving brethren or their widows , it will be liberally responded to at the forthcoming Festival . Believe me , Dear Sir and Brother , Faithfully and fraternally yours , CHARLES LACEY P . M . 174 . & c .
To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —I readily admit that the question how best to meet the increasing demands made upon our Charities by the apparently ever-increasing number of candidates is a perplexing one . Thus there are , I will suppose , some forty or fifty candidates at two or three successive elections to the Boys' School , and the number of
vacancies at each election averages about eight or , at the most , ten . The Craft , noting carefully these untoward cirenmstances , makes a supreme effort at one of the Boys' Festivals . An additional £ 2 , 000 or £ 3 , 000 is subscribed , and the nnmber of pupils is forthwith increased by some ten or fifteen . This momentarily relieves the pressure on the resources of the Charity , bat two or three years elapse
and the same state of things is again found to prevail . There are again forty or fifty candidates to fill only eight or ten vacancies , and if tbe list is again to be lightened momentarily , there seems to be no other course possible but to repeat the previous policy of increasing the School . Then , as to the Benevolent Institntion . Notwithstanding that in the last ten or twelve years the number of annuitants has
been increased by some 70 or 75 per cent ., the cry is , still the candidates keep on increasing , and in May next , according to present appearances , there will be less than twenty vacancies , but over 130 candidates . So is it with the remaining Institntion—the Girls ' School j no matter what may be done in the way of extending its sphere of operations , fresh candidates are always forthcoming , and this
alternate increase , first in the number of pupils , and then in the number of candidates , apparently stands a fair chance of being continned , unless resolute measmes are taken to establish something like an equilibrium between the vacancies to be filled and the applicants to fill them . But will this result be accomplished by giving special votes to brethren or the widows or children of brethren who have contributed to the funds of our Institutions ? I for one am
inmclined to think not j but rather , that instead of having fewer , we Hhall havo more candidates offering themselves for acceptance , and for this reason . If once the idea is accepted that benefits conferred on our Institutions must be reciprocated , we shall have ostensibly well-to-do , but really needy brethren , giving donations and subscriptions , not to benefit our Charities , bnt ultimately to prove of service to themselves and their families . Even people in indifferent circumstances will contrive to scrape together £ 50 or £ 100 , and present it
Correspondence.
to an Institution when they know that by so doing they are virtually securing a pension for life , after a certain age , to themselves , and it may be afterwards to their widows , or maintainment and education for one or moro of their children for a term of years . In fact , Free , masonry will descend to tho level of a benefit society , and a large number of its members will give of their substance , not so much to
meet the wants of others , as to lay up a pension for themselves and their widows in their declining years , or for their children in the event of such pension becoming necessary . If we would reduce tho claims that are being made on our Charities , we had better say as little as possible about holding out additional inducements to brethren to support them . I think we are far more likely to succeed in
our object if we follow the advice of the lato Bro . John Hervey , and that is , to exercise additional caution whenever people offer themsolves as candidates to be received into Freemasonry . So long as it is apparently a matter of indifference who become Masons , so long shall wo find the applicants for admission into our different Institutions steadily increasing in numbers . Fraternally yours , M . M .
BRO . YARKER'S HISTORY . To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —In your issue of Saturday , the 12 th instant , I find three shafts directed against me , of which two are some , what envenomed . All this correspondence has come upon me at a time when I am worked almost beyond my strength , but , nevertheless , I mnst ask you to oblige me with space for a few lines on these
three articles . The article , "Let the Mill Grind , " is forwarded to you doubtless with the intention of damaging our A . and P . Bite , and no doubt would do so with those who are ignorant of its details . I would , therefore , inform your readers tbat in the United States there is a spurious and irregular Rite of Memphis , with which we have neither
relation or sympathy . Thero is only one regular Sovereign Sanctuary of the A . and P . Rite in America , viz ., that presided over by Professor Alexander B . Mott 33-95 ° , and it is the only body with which we have established representatives ; Dr . Mott is an honourable gentleman , bnt indolent in Masonio matters , and it is against the spurious Egyptian Rite of Memphis that certain State Grand Lodges have
adopted certain regulations which , in effect , recognises the A . and A . Scottish Rite , and makes the spurious Rite of Memphis penal . This want of toleration has already produced its natural effect in the organisation of spurious Craft Lodges ; and whilst I , for one , regret the existence of this spurious Rite of Memphis . I cannot blame them for adopting one nn-Masonic course wherewith to meet another . Let
the sly fox form himself a lair in the den of the stupid ass j the noble band of brothers will scarcely find imitators in this country , unless it may be in Ireland , where the Masonic World for December alleges that the spurious Rite of Memphis has already established a branch , as well as in Glasgow . The Mill of God grinds slowly , bnt it grinds surely . Let it grind to dust all intolerance , whether in Masonry or
out of it , I certainly deserve all tbe censure that your reviewer has heaped upon me for my carelessness in accepting the accuracy of the list headed " Ancients" without examination . I ought to have remembered that it was shown at the time to be a list of the present Grand Lodge ,
and the description of No . 1 Lodge alone ought to have put me right . For a dozen years I have paid very slight attention to these matters , as they are a species of inquiry which , however necessary for the Masonic historian , do not pay intellectually the great trouble and loss of time which they involve . I hit upon the list accidentally , and accepted it hastily : it is an error into which even the best may fall .
The letter of Bro . P . M . H . Sadler commends itself , and I think he has made good his claim for supposing that Bro . Sayer ' s reprimand was for circumstances occurring within his own Lodge , whatever those may have been . I am at the present moment preparing a lecture upon the Old Craft Constitutions , and it strikes me that it is not unlikely that the thin end of the wedge of this dispute between
the " Ancients and "Moderns was introduced early in the 17 th century . I may here give my views upon these Constitutions shortly , as follows , and will forward you a more lengthy paper when it appears . If your reviewer desires to have another fling at me , he may . 1 . 1350 MS . This informs us thafc the first part of the
document was the original ( or Euclid ) Charges of the Masons of Athelstan ; the second part being a commentary . Here I may observe that this Egyptian tradition is taken from Herodotus , who carried it back to Sesostris ; Euclid's name was attached from his having amended Greek Geometry . 2 . 1500 . This Constitution gives a lengthy introduction to what ,
we are told , are the actual Charges of Euclid . As the writer gives bis authorities , he was evidently the first to embody the introductory matter . 3 . 1532-1583 . Grand Lodge MS . Thia follows the last-mentioned Constitution . With tbe exception of two other MSS . ifc is the parent of all the others , and goes to prove that , as alleged in Masonic
histories , the Craft was actually under one G . M . at York . 4 . Lansdown Constitution . This omits the Euclid Charges in order to develop those of Solomon , and makes Edwin to have been made a Mason at Windsor . It was copied in 1686 by the Lodge of Antiquity . It tends to confirm tbe statement that at this time North and South were divided .
Bro . P . M . Sadler seems well informed on these questions , and I shall be glad to hear what date he gives Nos . 3 and 4 . I feel sure the last , as published by Bro . Hughan , is later even than 1600 . It is very important thafc fche dates of Nos , 3 and 4 shonld be accurately determined . Yours truly and fraternally , JOHN YARKER .