Correspondence.

CORRESPONDENCE .

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

THE LATE COLONEL CREATON . To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —I had hoped thafc some brother with a readier pen than my own would have all tided to a circumstance Which you rightly designated in yonr leading article on the 6 th inst ., as a " conspicuous oversight" on the part of the Grand Lodge , in reference to the death of Bro . Lient .-Col . Creaton , Past

Grand Treasurer . That the demise of one who had rendered snch Signal rervice to the Craffc shonld have been quietly ignored at official headquarters is to me inexplicable , and I havo reason to know it has produced a feeling of at least surprise among a very large section of the brethren . Onr only hope mnst be that the " oversight" was accidental , for even the commonest sense of conrtesy and recognition

of worth precludes ns from the idea that after so many years of nsefnl work on behalf of Freemasonry a distinguished brother shonld pass away nntnentioned and nnthonght of by those who laboured with him in the same effort , and who , consequently , knew the value of the assistance ho gave to it during more than a quarter of a century .

The news of Col . Creaton s death came to us , first , by a graceful obitnary notice in the FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE , and np to that time none of us seemed to be aware thafc onr illustrious Past Grand Treasurer was in failing health . If the brethren were shocked and saddened in the midst of their festivities by the mournful tidings broken to them by Past Grand Chaplain Bro . Simpson , at the City

of Westminster Lodge , I can assure yon there are many besides myself who were equally pained at the receipt of the intelligence throngh the medium of your excellent journal . All who have gone up to London as Stewards at the Festivals , or have been thrown into contact in any way with onr deceased brother , knew well the kindliness of his heart , the depth of his

love for the Craft , and his peculiar solicitude for the children who are cared for in the Masonic Schools . Colonel Creaton never appeared in happier vein than when he was presiding at the annual prize gathering at the Girls' Institution at Battersea Rise , aud I have a vivid recollection of the fatherly love for the " bonnie lasses" he evinced on one occasion when we conversed

together on the splendid character of the Institution and the admirable training the girls received afc the hands of those who are entrusted with their management and care . If ever Colonel Creaton was " in his element" it was on such joyous occasions as thafc to which I refer , when he could look with true parental pride npon such a galaxy of maidenhood as is to be found within the shelter of

that grand asylum at Battersea Rise . Not only here , however , but wherever he could do anything to promote the interests of Freemasonry and its Institntions , there was Col . Creaton , speaking and doing , in season and ont of season , working with a strong disinterested will for the benefit of the Craffc . Surely , then , some sort of recognition is deserved of services so

cordially and spontaneously rendered to our Order ; and where could the graceful tribute of regretful esteem have been more fitly expressed than in the meeting of Grand Lodge ? The sudden removal from amongst us of a Past Grand Deacon and Treasurer , who was personally known and beloved , not only in London , but throughout the Provinces , struck a chord of sympathy amongst all who knew

the man , or had any knowledge of tho work he had done for the Craft ; and I venture to believe thafc thousands of Masons in various parts of the country have been looking for and confidently expecting some last tribute of deserved respect for onr excellent and lamented friend . Would it be too much to ask that a portrait of the distinguished soldier and brother shonld be added to the collection at

Freemasons' Hall , so thafc we who have the hononr and pleasnre of taking a journey to town three or fonr times a yenr for Masonic purposes might be enabled to recal the features of one who in his lifetime was so cordial and genial an associate in the working of the Craft , and who had done so much to advance its interests . I trust tho

matter may nofc be allowed to go to sleep , bnfc that Grand Lodge and the brethren generally may be reminded that they have not done their duty until some graceful tribute is paid to the memory of one whose heart was bound up in the cause of Brotherly Love , Relief , and Truth , and who practically exemplified the cardinal virtues of the Craft .

I remain , Dear Sir and Brother , Fraternally yours , " PALMAM QUI MERUIT FERAT . " York , 16 th December 1884 ..

OLD WARRANTS . To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' CHRONICLE . DEAK SIB AND BBOTHEB , —The present Dumber of the " Lodge of True Friendship , " Calcutta—the warrant of which body you print in yonr last—affords a good example of the hurried manner in which

the so-called "Ancient" and "Modern " Lodges were welded together at the Union ( 1813 ) . In strictness , No . 315 ( Ancients ) , now No . 218—the Lodge of Trne Friendship aforesaid—should rank after No , 314 ( Ancient ) nov >

Correspondence.

No . 228 ( the Lodge of United Strength ) , but tho place assigned to it on the roll of the United Grand Lodge of England at tho timo of the fusion ( 1813 ) was No . 383 , between tho Lodges Nos . 3 . 82 and 384—previously Nos . 300 and 301 " Moderns" respectively—fixed the number st otight to have borne on the list , from which it was carried forward as 301 , and was so entered by Bro . Hughan in tho roll of

" Union Lodges , appended to his well-known - •Memorials . " The irregularity probably arose in this way . Tho " Ancients " numbered their Provincial Grand Lodges , the " Moderns " did not . The number 301 , on the roll of tho former , was borue by the Provincial Grand Lodge of Jamaica , and having been brought forward at the Union as No . 218 , a junior Lodge took its place , when the iuad . vertenoy was discovered . I am of opinion , therefore , that the Lodge

of True Friendship , No . 315 ( " Ancients " ) , was pitchforked into the position originally assigned to No . 301 , to prevent a gap ou tho roll , and because , in all probability , the mistake in allotting a number to tho Provincial Grand Lodge of Jamaica only became apparent when it arrived to the turn of No . 315 to be given a place on the joint list of 1813 . Yours fraternally , It . F . GOULD .

THE GRAND TREASURERSHIP . To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —It may be that my perception has become dim , and my powers of reasoning obtuse , but I confess to an utter inability to reconcile the astounding mass of incongruities contained in the letter of "SVMHOL .. " He starts ofl * with tho admission that Bro . James Willing is a " thoroughly good fellow , " to

which sentiment a host of the brethren will join with mo in responding heartily , " and so say all of us . " Bnt , having thus metaphorically patted the candidate for the Grand Treasurership on the back , he goes on magnanimously to say that Bro . Willing has " not the slightest shadow of the shade of a claim "—good heavens ! what a

sentence—to be placed on an eminence above his brother members of the same standing in Grand Lodge , and winds np wfth the generous hope thafc his candidature " will prove a complete and ignominious failure . " Could anything be more Iago-liko than thia fulsome flattery administered to cover the ill-concealed antagonism to Bro .

Willing which appears in every succeeding line of "SYMBOL _ . ' S " letter ? Well might Bro . Willing be pardoned if he

said"It was all very well to dissemble yonr love , But why did yon kick mo down stairs ?" It is not my desire to impart personalities into a correspondence which is—and perhaps nil the better that it is—anonymous : but the writer of the letter to which I refer is so profuse in his contentions that the candidature of Bro . Willing is a " grave mistake , " unci a

" flagrant violation of a principle so successfully assorted at previous elections , " that I should be glad to receive from him some real nr _ nments , which I fail to discern in his present communication . Having pointed out that " there is no longer attached to the offic' ) any degree or kind of responsibility" —meanin-r , I suppose , that the Grand Treasurer ' s collar and sineenro office are but ornamental and

complimentary decorations—he argues thafc only those aro deserving the distinction who havo done " something exceptional , " or who " possess naturally , " or have acquired after long experience , or in some other way ( sic ) " cert . in attributes or qualifications which are not possessed or havo not b -en acquired by other- ' . " Ho then goes on to nsk whether Bro . Willing has " rendered to Freemasonry any

services of an exceptional character , and whether there are nofc hundreds and thousands who have rendered services of " precisely the same kind and degree as he has ? " Nobody will venture to contest that generality with your correspondent ; but why , if amongst the "hundreds and thousands" Bro . Willing has an equal rank for services rendered , should "SYMI'OL - * " relegate him especially to a

" back seat , " and avow he has " not the slightest shadow of a shade of claim for the office , " and " fervently trust his candidature will end in utter and even disastrous failure ? " It is very evident to any one who can read between the lines that it is " no fault" of " SYMBOL ; t " that Bro . Willing ia " now in a position before the Craft which he has no claim to occupy . " By a little sycophancy and flattery of " a very

good fellow , and all that he endeavours to convince Bro . Willinw that " Codlin ' s yonr friend—not Short ; " but in his heart of heart he devoutly wishes that Bro . Willing mny retire with " disaster " and "ignominy" from his candidature for the " mnch-coveted honour of the purple . " It is very Masonically generous , certainly , and we might well excuse Bro . Willing for crying , " Save me from my friends . "

A brief enumeration of some of the services rendered to fche Craffc by Bro . Willing may be necessary to enable your readers to form an opinion as to whether he has the " slightest shadow of a chance of claim" to the office in which so many of his brethren would be delighted to place him . That he is a thorough "good follow " ibs so apparent to all who know him that they do not need to be reminded

of it by " SYMBOL X . " " Having passed throngh all tho offices , and the chair of his mother Lodge , the Domatic , No . 177 , he became Founder and first W . M . of the Metropolitan Lodge , No . 1507 , and four years later Founder and first W . M . of the Savoy Lodge , No . 1744 . Of both these Lodges he is still esteemed and respected as Treasurer . Last year he assisted in fonnding tho Strand Lodge , No . 1987 , and was designated in the warrant of constitution its first W . M .: and this

year , afc the conclusion of the nsnal term of service , his brethren were so highly impressed with the manner in which he discharged his duties that they unanimously re-elected him to the chair . , He is likewise a joining member of the Asaph Lodge , No . 1319 . Ia ltoyal Arch Masonry Bro . and Comp . Willing has played a similarl y active part . He was exalted in the Victoria Chapter , No . 1056 , iu 1872 j was a Founder and subsequently M . E . Z , of the Priory