Correspondence.

Correspondence .

V ' c do not hold ourselves responsible for the opinions expressed by our correspondents , but we wish , in a spirit of fair play to all , to permit—within certain necessary limitsfree discussion .

THE LODGE CHARTER OR WARRANT . To the Editor of the "Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , If Bro . Last will refer to Rule 125 of the Book of Constitutions he will find that " No iodge . . . ¦ can meet without a Warrant of Constitution from the Grand Master , which is to be specially intrusted to the Master for the time being at his installation , who is responsible tor its safe custody , and shall produce it at every meeting of the lodge . "

Incompliance with this Rule , it was absolutely essential that the warrant of the lodge , in the case he cites , should have been taken from the walls of the room in which the lodge meetings were regularly held , and conveyed to another room in the same building where an emergency meeting of the same Iodge was to be held .

Bro . Last has doubtless often heard in our lectures that a Lodge of Freemasons must be "just , perfect , and regular , " and as it is "the Charter or Warrant of Constitution , " which makes the lodge " regular , " so its absence would imply and involve an exactly opposite condition of things—an " irregularity " not to be seriously contemplated . It is of the essence of " regularity" that the warrant be present at every meeting of the lodge . —Yours fraternally ,

JNO . LANE . Torquay , September 24 th .

To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , Article 125 , "Book of Constitutions , " I think shouldj remove any doubt from Bro . Last ' s mind , as exemplified in your issue of the 24 th ult . The following is an extract :

" No Lodge . . . can meet without a warrant of constitution from the Grand Master , which is to be specially intrusted to the Master for the time being at his installation , who is responsible for its safe custody , and shall produce it at every meeting of the Lodge . " I may add , that in all the provinces with which I am acquainted , as well as in Australia , it would be considered unconstitutional to hold a meeting—regular or emergent—without the warrant being in full view of the brethren .

In Loudon , however , it is different ; indeed , the irregularity , only last year , placed a lodge in a very peculiar predicament . The facts were brought under the notice of the Board of General Purposes . At the installation a folded parchment was presented to the Master as the lodge charter , and for a whole year was never opened . On the installation of a new Master it was for the first time discovered that the parchment was not the lodge warrant , which actually had gone

astray . Practically , therefore , the lodge had been working all that time without a warrant . I ventured at the time to point out Article 125 , as italicised above , and was informed by a member of the Board and a Past Grand Officer , that in London lodges it was merely considered necessary to produce the warrant on the occasion of an initiation only . —Yours fraternally , W . F . LAMONBY . September 20 th . — ¦ .

RORKE OR ROOKE . To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , Following up my note of September 7 th 1 find " Geo . Rooke" also appears as a member of the lodge meeting in 1723 at "The Swan Tavern , Fish Street Hill . "—Yours fraternally , Torquay , September 24 th . JNO . LANE .

Presentations To The Sheriffs-Elect.

PRESENTATIONS TO THE SHERIFFS-ELECT .

MR . ALDERMAN AND SHERIFF-ELECT ALLISTON . The leading inhabitants of the ward of Bread-street assembled on Monday at Cordwainers' Hall , Cannon-street , for the purpose of presenting Mr . Alderman and Sheriff-Elect Alliston with a handsome Shrieval chain and badge of office , a gift which had been readily subscribed to by business men in the ward . Mr . J MACKKELL , a past master of the Cordwainers' Company , and one of the best known men in the ward , presided , the master ( Dr . Marsden ) being unavoidably absent . There was a large attendance of the Alderman ' s friends , whose

name is legion . Among those present were : Mr . Deputy Walford ( the hon . treasurer ) , Sir E . Durning-Lawrence , Bart ., M . P ., Mr . W . * Hawtrey , C . C ., Mr . R . N . Pertin , C . C ., Mr . S . D . Coates , C . C ., Mr . C . J . C . Venning , C . C ., Mr . J . A . Scott , C . C ., Mr . E . D . Ellis , C . C ., Mr . G . H . Steinberg , C . C ., Mr . A . Ritchie , C . C ., J . P ., Mr . W . Mann Cross , C . C ., Mr . W . R . Horncastle , C . C ., Mr . C . A . Body , Mr . W . Boyd , Mr . W . M . Candy , Mr . J . Crocker , Mr . W . Evans , Mr . T . Hall , -Mr . W . Lindsay , Mr . L . J . Maton , Mr . G . Rawlinson , sen ., Mr . J . Scott , Mr . S . White , and Mr . H . Garrard Clarke ( the hon , secretary and the ward clerk ) .

The Shrieval chain and badge , of which a sketch is given , occupied a conspicuous place on the table in front of the chairman . The chain is delightfully simple in design , consisting as it does of four ropes of gold . The initials , in enamel , of the Alderman are on the left-hand sine of the chain , in the centre of which is a medallion , showing an illustration of Cordwainers' Hall . [ Below is a handsomely designed pendant , the centre being filled in with the arms of the recipient . Above are the arms of the City , and below the arms of the Cordwainers' Company , the whole forming a very elegant ornament . It is the work of Messrs . G . Kenning and Son , of Little Britain .

1 he CHAIRMAN , in opening the meeting , said he assumed he had been placed in the chair from the fact that , as the late Master of the company , he presided at the preliminary meeting . He thought they would all agree with him when he said there was no greater pleasure in life than doing honour to one who had won the esteem and regard of his fellow-citizens . Mr . Alderman and Sheriff-Elect Alliston , he reminded those present , entered business in 1858 . He was prudent and industrious , and deserved success followed 20 years afterwards , when he found himself in a position to take upon himself the duties of public life . In

18 78 he became a Common Councilman , filling the vacancy then created by the death of . Mr . Deputy Hawtrey . Mr . Alderman Alliston was the chairman for three years of the Markets Committee ; he hud taken a leading part in the management of the estates of the Bridge House and the City Lands ; and in 188 7 he was elected to the honourable position of Deputy-Governor of the Irish Society . There was little doubt that while occupying that position Mr . Alderman Alliston , by his geniality and bonhomie , strengthened the relations between the Irish Society and ils tenants in Londonderry , Coleraine and elsewhere in Ireland . When their late esteemed Alderman ( Sir William Lawrence ) resigned , Mr . Alliston was , with

Presentations To The Sheriffs-Elect.

the utmost unanimity , elected to the vacant gown . ( Hear , hear . ) The Chairman then alluded to the fact that the Alderman had on two occasions taken a voyage round the world , thereby gaining much information which had proved of great value to him in his business as well as in his corporate life . In the thirteenth century , the speaker continued , two members of the Cordwainers' Company were Sheriffs of the City . Mr . Alderman Alliston would be ( the third member of that guild who had sserved the office during the present century , the other

two being Mr . Cotterell in 1851 and Mr . Wheelton in 18 39 . The Alderman had been for several years a trustee of the company ' s schools at Shooter ' s Hill , where 40 children were carefully educated . He only wished the London School Board would content itself with giving London children the education the Cordwainers ' Company did . ( Applause . ) No sooner did the children leave the company ' s schools than they were caught up . The Chairman next alluded to the fact that the Alderman also filled the position of a trustee of the John Carpenter Charity ,

and then went on to remark that if it should happen that a dignity was conferred upon the Alderman during his shrieval year they would all , he felt sure , be highly pleased . ( Hear , hear . ) He could not help remembering that when he was the Under-Sheriff three persons were condemned at Newgate . One of these was a woman , who , strange to say , escaped on a conviction for manslaughter , but was afterwards tried for murder , it being believed that she poisoned 12 persons whom she had nursed . He trusted that the unpleasant side of the duties of Sheriff would not be too manifest during the coming year . At the same time , he hoped the

Sheriff-Elect would use his influence to get the " cat" inflicted in all cases of violent and unprovoked assault , and in cases where burglars were found in the possession of loaded revolvers . ( Applause . ) They knew that the " cat" had killed garrotting , and he believed it would kill " Hooliganism . " ( Applause . ) Mr . MackreU then asked the Alderman to accept , the chain and badge as tokens of the high regard and esteem in which he was held by the inhabitants of the ward , and as an expression of their grateful thanks for the important services he had rendered to the ward as its representative in the Court of Common Council from 1878 to 1895 , and subsequently as its Alderman . ( Applause . )

Mr . Alderman and Sheriff-Elect ALLISTON , who , on rising to acknowledge the gift was loudly applauded , said he felt that he would be ungrateful indeed if in thanking his kind friends for their beautiful present he detained them too long . At the same time ] he did not wish to treat the occasion as one of great solemnity , or as if it was some State function . ( Hear ,-hear ) . The Chairman had , in his very kind speech , struck the very note which went straight to his ( the speaker ' s ) heart . The presentation had been arranged with much neighbourly

friendliness , and it was not his desire to depart from that tone , while he would not address to those present anything like a formal acknowledgment . Three years ago when their old and lamented friend , Sir William Lawrence , whose name would always be remembered in the ward—( hear , hear)—accepted the gown of the ward of Bridge Without , the inhabitants of Bread-street ward did him ( the speaker ) the honour of electing him to fill the vacant place . He had always felt that a very great honour , and it had been his endeavour to discharge the duties

of that high position to the best of his ability , and to uphold those traditions which his predecessors had so successfully established . As a matter of fact , the office of Sheriff had come to him that year through the illness of Mr . Alderman Vaughan Morgan , and as he knew that the office had not been in the ward for forty years , he determined in his mind to accept it . ( Applause ) . The office of Sheriff was an old one , but it was not so old as the custom of presenting a gold chain as a mark of honour , as that obtained in ancient Egypt , where Pharaoh placed a golden chain round the neck of Joseph . Daniel also received a golden

chain from King Belchazzar . He could not say whether in all of the instances mentioned in the Bible golden chains . were presented to Sheriffs , but in accepting and wearing that chain he ( the speaker ) would give a pledge that , however onerous the duties of the office might prove , he was prepared to carry them through with unfaltering firmness and decision . ( Applause ) . At the same time he thought occasion mi ght arise when he would not be unmindful of that beautiful injunction given by that wise man King Solomon , who said : —

' Let not mercy and truth forsake thee , Bind them as a chain about thy neck . " ( Applause . ) The Sheriff-Elect assured all present that he was deeply grateful to them , and he would never forget their kindness . The chain and badge reflected , in his opinion , credit upon the designer , and the firm that had produced it . ( Hear , hear . ) It was very pleasing to him to find that so excellent a specimen of the

goldsmith s art was produced in the City , and by an English firm . ( Appliuse . ) Mr . Alderman and Sheriff-Elect AUitson , in conclusion , returned his thanks to Mr . Garrard Clarke for the admirable manner in which he , as hon . secretary , had carried out the arrangements in connection with the presentation . ( Hear , hear . ) He trusted that every link of that chain might always be regarded in the light of an old friend , and that one would never be found read y to give place to an enemy . ( Applause . )

Mr . Deputy WALTOKD proposed a vote of thanks to the Cordwainers' Company for the use of the hall , adding that he did not know what the ward would do without it . ( Hear , hear . ) Mr . PERKIN having seconded the vote , it was carried . A vote of thanks to the chairman , proposed by Mr . LINDSAY , and seconded by the ALDERMAN , was carried unanimously . The proceedings terminated with the CHAIRMAN ' acknowledgment of the compliment ,

COLONEL AND SHERIFF-ELECT PROBYN . The old Council Chamber at the Guildhall yesterday was the scene of an enthusiastic gathering of the friends of Colonel and Sheriff-Elect Probyn , who was asked to accept at their hands a shrieval chain and badge , to be worn during his year of ollice . Colonel Probyn possesses a host of civic friends , and , in addition , enjoys a large social connection beyond the " one square mile . " So

spontaneous and generous was the response made to the appeal issued that a large sum of money was immediately forthcoming , the result being that his friends , in their enthusiasm on his behalf , subscribed far more than was needful for the purchase of the shrieval chain and badge . It was , therefore , resolved to devote the balance to an equally useful purpose , and the committee commissioned Mr . Seymour Lucas , R . A ., to paint a portrait of the new Sheriff , and this gift will form the subject of another presentation in the near future .

Mr . Harry S . Foster , M . P ., the Master of the Pattenmakers' Company , presided , and was supported , among others , by Mr . W . H . Pannell , C . C . ( the Hon . Secretary ) , Mr . G . A . Berkeley ( the Hon . Treasurer ) , Mr . Deputy Pearse Morrison , Mr . M . Wallace , C . C , J . P ., Mr . A . Ritchie , C . C , J . P ., Mr . J . Lobb , C . C , the Rev . Dr . Ker Grey , Mr . G . Berridge , C . C , Sir Albert Altman , C . C , Mr . H . H . Bartlett ( Renter Warden of the Pattenmakcrs' Company ) , Mr . W . A . Cumby , Mr-Barrow Emmanuel , J . P ., Mr . W . Emden , J . P ., L . C . C ., Mr . J . Pritchard , Mr . JWelford , Mr . W . Winnctt , J . F ., Mr . W . Woodward , Mr . G . Blake , and Mr . JStephens .

' I he presentation badge and chain are singularly handsome . In the centre shield of the former appear the enamelled arms of the reci pient surmounted with his crest and surrounded . by badges of the Pattenmakers ' , Spcctaclemakers ' , and Loriners' Companies . Upon the reverse side is the following inscription : " Presented to Lieut .-Colonel Probyn , J . P ., L . C . C , V . D ., as a mark of the estee-n in which he is held by his friends , upon his election to the ancient office of Sheriff of the City of London . September 27 th , 1898 . " The chain is embellished in heraldic colours with the arms of the above-mentioned livery guilds , and 01