Correspondence.

Correspondence .

v / e do not bold ourselves responsible for the opinions expressed by our correspondents , hut wc wish , in a spirit ot fair play to all , to permit—within certain necessary limits—free discussion . THE REMOVAL OF THE BOYS' SCHOOL . To the Editor of the "Freemason . " Dear Sir and Biother , I venture to express my entire agreement with the views of " Life Governor" and " Ex-Secretary , P . M ., " in your number of Saturday , 27 th inst . The time has gone by when there was any necessity for erecting a huge school in the nei ghbourhood of London , to which boys from the whole of England

must be compulsorily sent , regardless of distance and expense . There are now good schools affording ample choice in the nature of the education affordedclassical , commercial , or general—in all parts of the country , and a sum representing far less than the cost of-education at the R . M . I . B ., expended in the local education of the boys , would be a much greater relief to those on whom they are dependent , while in a large majority of cases such an arrangement would be far better for the boys themselves .

Call it what you may , the School is a '' Charity School , " and experience has shown , and the fact is everywhere ( except , possibly , amongst the Managers of such Schools ) recognised , that it is far better to keep children amongst their friends in ordinary mixed Schools than to herd them together in a special flock . In the opinion of a large number of the supporters of the [ Charity—by no

means confined to Yorkshire—it would be far better that a much more extensive use should be made of Laws LXXXV ., et . sec , enabling Boys to be educated out of the Institution , and that the contribution—at present limited to a maximum of £ 20 per annum—be extended to a more adequate sum , say . £ 30 to £ 40 . As the average cost of each Boy maintained in the School is now upwards of . £ 50 per annum , even the larger amount cannot be considered excessive .

I have had some experience of the Scholastic Charities , Craft and Mark , and 1 have not the least hesitation in saying that the latter , adopting exclusively the principle advocated , does—proportionately to the amount expended—by far the most good . The arguments used by the Committee are , shortly : the neighbourhood has depreciated ; the soil is clay ; we are cramped for room and cannot extend .

The first may offend the . esthetic tastes of the Visitors , who go down to see Sports , & c , but can hardly , alone , be considered a sufficient reason for removal . The second mi ght be conclusive in the case of the original selection of a site , but hardly for sacrificing the principal portion of our large property , accumulated over so many years . With respect to the third , my answer is— " Do not extend ; keep the building as it is , accommodating a reasonable number of Pupils , and develope the principle of payments towards education and maintenance elsewhere .

In conclusion , let me urge the Council to adopt the suggestion of ascertaining the views of all Governors and Subscribers by means of voting papers . If a substantial majority support the views of the Council they may fairly appeal to , and will , doubtless , obtain , the support of the Craft in general . If they fail in

obtaining such support , they will know how to retire gracefully from their position . But unless some s . uch means is adopted for enabling the Provincial Brethren to express their views—it is absurd to say they can attend in London forthe purpose—there will be very great dissatisfaction , and Piovincial Educational Funds will become general . —Yours fraternally ,

D . P . G . M . AND PAST GRAND OFFICER , ( Life Governor and Past Steward of all the Charities ) . Bristol , 29 th June .

To the Editor of the "Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , I am glad to see that some members of the Craft call attention to the fact that the proposed scheme does not find favour with the provincial orethren , I have ascertained the views of a good many , and would strongly urge

that before anything is done , voting papers should be sent to all the supporters of the Institution . The proposed change means a loss of ^ 60 , 000 to the Craft . May I suggest that a certain number be educated in the present building and the remainder provided for , as in the Mark Degree , by paying fees , & c , the boys remaining with their friends .

The number of candidates for the benefits of the Institution must increase , and can we be sure that , apart from the other Masonic Charities , the Craft can afford to lose the £ 60 , 000 and find , say , £ 100 , 000 for a new building site and fittings , with the largely increased expenditure each year for the larger number of boys .

It would be very serious if some of the larger provinces withdrew their support , and this great and useful Charity failed tor lack of support . —Yours fraternally ,

HENRY LOVEGROVE . Herne Hill , S . E .

To t ' te Editor of the . " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother The doubt expressed by " Ex-Secretary P . M ., " in his letter of your last issue as to the Board of Management of the Boys' School "representing very fairly the opinions of all sections of the Craft , " may easily be removed by a reference to the list ol its members . I find the Board consists of -io elected and five ex-officio members .

Of the 30 elected , 15 are directly nominated by Provincial Grand Lodges end must thus be admitted as '' fairly representing" the provinces . Fifteen are London brethren , but of these I observe the majority are also prominent workers in the provinces , viz ., Bros . Attenborough and Langton ( Surrey ) , Glass ( Essex ) , Stephens and Thomas ( Bucks ) , Scurrah and Pritchard ( Middlesex ) , Spaull ( Shropshire ) , and Hudson ( Sussex ) , leaving only six whose qualifications are from London alone .

In addition , the Chairman of the Board ( Bro . Eve ) , and the Treasurer of the Institution ( Bro . Keyser ) , arc alike rich in qualifications both for London and the provinces . Surely , therefore , with such a representative Board , the Subscribers may have every confidence that a progressive action will be carried through with every regaid for economy ar . d efficiency . —Yours faithfully and fraternally , VICE-PATRON . July ist .

GRAND LODGE HONOURS—DISTRICTS ABROAD . To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , I noticed , in one of your May issues , a lcUer from . 1 " Past D . G . L . Officer , " re the appointments to rank in Grand Loilge . and your remarks thereon . 1 quite agree with you , and am ce-rtain that Grand L'jdffc does not view Colonial trethren with the olT-handed contempt suggested in the letter in question , but am

Correspondence.

inclined to go with the writer to the extent of thinking that an occasional crumb from the rich man ' s table , in the form of periodical gifts of Past Grand Lodge rank would do much to make the Colonial brethren feel that they were held in estimation at head-quarters , and not " out of sight , out of mind . " Strange to say , three or four days before I saw the letter I refer to , I had ventured to mention the matter in a letter to an English brother , and suggested a course which 1 thought would meet the difficulty , and would show that Colonial

brethren , working for the same ends as those in England , but often under far greater difficulties , were equally eligible and able to receive honours at the hands of the M . W . Grand Master . My proposal was roughly this : There are some 32 District Grand Lodges , I believe , but call them 35 for calculating * purposes . These might be broken up into sections of seven , and dealt with in rotation—thus every year seven past honours would be given to Colonial Masonry , and once in every five years each District Grand Lodge vvould have its turn . The appointment , as

to individuals , to be on the recommendation of the District Grand Master , but the actual past rank given to be decided by the home officials , having regard to the past services , status , & c , of the Masons recommended to the M . W . Grand Master for preferment . This would in no way injure Grand Lodge by giving present rank to those unable , by distance , to perform the duties , nor would one appointment ir . each District every five years render the honours cheap or common , and thus remove the high distinction which such appointment now gives . This course

seems to me workable , if there was any desire to reward the hard workers abroad , and I firmly believe that an occasional honour so conferred would give the various jurisdictions deep satisfaction , and more closely bind together the Districts to their Grand Lodge . Unfortunately , when 5000 to 10 , 000 miles away from home , Grand Lodge , though loyally looked up to , is apt to become merely a name to the rank and file of Craftsmen , and anything calculated to make it more tangible should be encouraged . —Fraternally yours , ANOTHER D . G . L . OFFICER . Cape Town , June Gth .

Reviews.

Reviews .

" A PERAMBULATION OF THE ANCIENT AND ROYAL FOREST OF DARTMOOR , & c , bv the late SAMUEL ROWE , M . A . Third Edition , revised and corrected by J . BROOKING ROWE , F . S . A ., F . L . S . Illustrated from Drawings by F . J , WIDGKRY . " ( Exeter : James G . Commin ; London : Gibbings and Co ., Limited , lS , Bury-strejt . )—This is a magnificent volume , published by the enterprising bookseller , Mr . Commin , of High-street , Exeter , and lavishly illustrated by the well-known Devonshire artist , Mr . VV'idgery . It is a thick octavo , of over 500 pages , with an excellent Sketch Map of

the Forest ( with the Border Parishes and Stannary Towns ) , and four long Sectional Maps , on a scale of an inch and a quarter to the mile , enlarged from the O .-dnance Survey , to date . " Rowe ' s Perambulation " has been out of print for several years ; the second edition is nosv as difficult to procure as the first ; the latter , by the Rev . Samuel Ro . ve , M . A ., being published in 1 S 4 S , the second edition following some eight years after . Even when a copy of either edition is secured , it is most unusual that the plates will be found intact , and it is probable a similar fate awaits this sumptuous issue of 1 S 96 .

It is difficult to resist the desire to remove several of these very choice illustrations and have them framed , all ot them , including the most artistic frontispiece , being very charming views of the historic and famous Dartmoor . Mr . J . Brooking Rowe his done his part so admirably and efficiently that even possessors of the earliest editions will feel compelled to subscribe for this one , at the extremely low price of 155 . n ; tt , brinjin ? this most needed work within the reach of all lovers of this most deliriously entrancing Forest and Moor ; described as " a large mountain squeezed down . and in the process split asunder ,

until the whole is one hilly wilderness , showing ever and anon strange half-buried s ' lagss striving to uplift themselves towards the sky . " There are a score of chapters , which divide amongst themselves the whole of the treatment of the subject by the two Rowe 3 , the successor and junior ably following in the steps of the original author , whose name and fame are indissolubly connected with this wild and p icturesque spot . First and foremost , the extent of the moor is noted ; then its early inhabitants—the Druids—their predecessors and successors ; the monumental relics , huts , forts , roads , & :. ; complete

perambulations rendering the pedestrian independent of any other guide , either human or in bouk-form . Then follow a series ot chapters of a most interesting , instructive , and entertaining character on the geology , petrology , mineralogy , soil , agriculture , birds , wild quadrupeds , fishes , botany , & c , of Dartmoor ; the convict prisons , the churches , the literature and historical documents , & c , the whole of these divisions being to date , and thoroughly handled by a real and constant lover of the forest . The

numerous vignettes and woodcuts are little gems , and are all carefully protected with tissue paper cut to size to prevent rubbing . From first to last , this valuable work realises the most sanguine anticipations based on the circular announcing its advent , and historically , typographically , and artistically the volume is a credit to all concerned . Its circulation is bound to be very large , and will doubtless result in many more visitors to this most attractive portion of the lovely county of Devon . Copies may be ordered from the publisher , sixpence extra being forwarded for postage .

THE GREAT EASTERN RAILWAY COMPANY ' TOURIST GUIDE TO THE CONTINENT . Issued by Authority . Edited by Percy Lindley . Illustrated and with Maps . London : 30 , Fleet-street ; 22 , Cockspur-street , W . ; and the Continetal Department , Liverpool-street Station , E . C . —This is the 17 th annual issue of one of the completest and best-informed Tourist Guide Books it has been our privilege to see . It has been specially and , we may add , very ably , compiled for the use of those who visit the Continent via Harwich , or , in other words , under the auspices of the Great

Eastern Railway Company , and within the modest compass of some _ 160 pages , t ' ie Editor has succeeded in compressing a mass of useful and interesting information respecting the countries to be visited . , These are Holland , which has a chapter to itself ; Noith Geimany and South Germany , which are treated in ths sections of the next chapter ; Belgium ; and Switzerland , the last two having each a chapter to itself . A few pages are devoted to the subject cf " Cycling on the Continent , " and there are several

excellent maps , which , indeed , are the special feature of this edition , and which , with the numerous illustrations with which the letter-press is interspersed , very materiillv , in ' crease the value of Ihe Guide . Be it added that the pric ; of this adm ' rible publication is only sixfenee , and that it is of handy size and easily portabb . We may safely siy that of its kind the " Great Eastern Railway Company's Guide Book to the Continent " will not be eisily matched either for the informal ! in it contains or the minncr in which it is described .

Royal Masonic Institution For Girls.

ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR GIRLS .

The " Blue Girls" have bcen exceptionally fortunate in having splendid weather for all their social functions . The Prize Day and Stewards' visit in May was perfect in this respuct , and Ex-Pupils' Day on the last Saturday in June was especially so , the afternoon biinging together a larger gathering of ex-pupils than ever before , induced , no doubt , by the fact that Miss Davis would , as Head Goverr . css , receive them for the last time . On Monday the girls visited the

Crystal Palace , at the expense of the Board of Stewards of the late Festival , and the weather being delightful , and the Palace authorities very kind and libera l , a very happy day was spent . Bros . J . H . Matthews ( Chairman ) , Frank Richardson , Charles Hammcrton , R . Loveland Loveland , and Sir John Monckton , of the House Committee , and Bro . VV . G . Kentish , of the Audit Committee , with Bro . Hedges , the Secretary , were present , and did their bsst to minister lo the enjoyment _ of thc young people .