Bro. Whytehead's Letter.

BRO . WHYTEHEAD'S LETTER .

We do not altogether share in the surprise expressed by Bro . J . MATTHEWMAN in his communication of last week , that the important letter which Bro . T . B . WHYTEHEAD addressed to these columns a few weeks previousl y should have remained so long unnoticed . We know how difficult it is to evoke anything

like an expression of public opinion on questions of Masonic policy . Let something happen in which half-a-dozen or a dozen brethren are directly and personally interested , let some brother be troubled with an imaginary grievance , or let him discover in the report of some lodge meeting he has attended that he has

not been credited with the regulation number of capital letters which he is entitled to have affixed to his name , and the Masonic journal of the day may rely with confidence that for the brief period of two or three weeks , or it may be for even longer , its correspondence columns

will be filled with letters in which every variety of feeling will be expressed with greater or less emphasis , with every appearance of candour , and for the most part quite inconsequentially . In nearly all these cases the man with the fad , with a grievance , or with an imperfect allowance of affixes , persuades himself that

the success of his whole future career in Masonry depends on his asserting himself promptly . Therefore , he writes a letter to his favourite Masonic newspaper , so that the world may know he lives and is a member of li ght and leading in the Craft . But let any one attempt to discuss a grave question of policy which

has a material bearing on the present state and future prospects of our Society , and silence prevails everywhere . No one accepts the challenge and gives an opinion in reply—the faddist because , as the subj * ect is outside the scope of his pet theory or fancy , he knows nothing whatever about it , is not interested in it even

in the slightest degree ; the man with the grievance because the discussion of such a topic will not relieve him of his burden ; and the man with the too few affixes , because the onl y part of Freemasonry on which he is competent to offer an opinion is the identity and number of the capital letters which correctl y describe his title as a Mason . This silence which has followed

Bro . WHYTEHEAD ' S important letter furnishes merely one more instance of Wisdom crying aloud in the streets and no one heeding her , and to this kind of thing we are somewhat more accustomed and regard it more philosophically than our worth y correspondent of last week—Bro . J OSEPH MATTHEWMAN .

However , we are glad he has written , and the more so , because his letter confirms that of Bro . WHYTEHEAD in its essential points . It is , indeed , of the very greatest importance that it should be publicly as well as privately known that there are lodges in this country which are openly touting for candidates , just in

order to establish from year ' s end to year ' s end an equilibrium between their receipts and expenditure . What is the good of the Grand Secretary and other Consecrating Officers addressing words of caution to the founders of new lodges about the persons they should accept as candidates , when there are lodges of many

years' standing which openly disregard these prudent counsels ? What becomes of the proud boast which Masons are never weary of uttering that Freemasonry is not a proselytising body , and that those who join it do so of their own free will and accord , and unsolicited b y those already enrolled under its

banner ? As regards the question of organised Charity—the Board of Benevolence , with its monthly doles of relief , and the Educational and Benevolent Institutions which have been established by the Masons of this country—we should be doing a great injustice to Bros . WHYTEHEAD and

MATTHEWMAN if we suggested that they are opposed to the system of relief as thus administered . We think they will agree with us that as soon as Freemasonry became an organised body , and especially when its organisation was found

to be assuming such vast proportions , something in the nature of an organised system of relief for our poorer members became a necessity . What they take exception to is the undue measure of prominence which is assigned to our Masonic

Bro. Whytehead's Letter.

Institutions , and the attractions they offer to unworthy outsiders to offer themselves as candidates for acceptance into our lodges . Undoubtedly these Charities have enlarged their borders enormously during the last few years , nor do we think it possible that in the case of the Schools , the private brethren who

founded them , or in that of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution , Grand Lodge , which established it as a kind of adjunct to the Board of Benevolence , can ever have anticipated they would have attained their present proportions , much less have engrossed so large a share

of attention from the Masonic body . It is also a fair question to be argued whether this increase in the extent of our Masonic Institutions , to which they allude , is the cause or the effect of the vast increase in the membership of our Society which has taken place during the last 15 or 20 years . There

are those who stoutly maintain that the enlargement of our Institutions has been rendered necessary by the increase in the membership of our Order , while others argue , with equal confidence , that it is the increase in membership which has been brought about by the increased benefits now offered by our

Charities . In either case an effectual remedy is at once to be obtained . Let the governing body of each Institution make its laws relating to the qualifications of candidates still more stringent , and there will at once be a diminution in the number of applicants . ' In support of what may otherwise appear to be

a simple assertion , we point out , firstly , that the governors and subscribers to the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution , finding that in spite of all their efforts the number of applicants was continually increasing , have within the last two years made the

laws which regulate these matters more stringent than ever , with the result that the applicants for the benefits of the Widows' Fund , which was principally affected , has been very appreciably diminished ; while , as regards the Schools , the establishment in each case of a Petitions Committee and the

greater care now taken in examining the petitions , has had the effect of bringing the lists of candidates within manageable compass . Of this , however , we may rest assured , that no efforts to keep the administration of our Charity within due bounds will have the slightest effect while lodges persist in showing

themselves indifferent as to the character of the men they accept as candidates for initiation into our Society . Now that Bro . MATTHEWMAN has set the ball rolling , we shall be glad if other

brethren will follow in his footsteps , and discuss , with something like the power and ability which he has shown , some of the questions so ably set forth in Bro . WHYTEHEAD ' S letter of a few weeks since .

Masonic Bibliography.

MASONIC BIBLIOGRAPHY .

The great catalogue of the "Worcestershire Masonic Library and Museum " is now ready for sale , and is the most remarkable and valuable production of the kind in the English language . In fact it has neither equal nor rival , and as a practical guide to the study of Masonic Bibliography is simply indispensable .

The massive volume extends to some 170 pages , large quarto , and contains the titles and descriptions of exactly 541 lots of books and MSS ., & c , with 3 8 3 medals , duly detailed and arranged under Countries , besides particulars of Masonic portfolios , engravings , prints , aprons , pottery , and sundry curios .

The frontispiece is devoted to the R . W . Bro . Sir E . A . H . Lechmere , Bart ., M . P ., the esteemed Prov . Grand Master of the province , to whom the splendid work has been dedicated by Bro . George Taylor , Prov . Grand Secretary , P . G . Std . Br ., who frankly acknowledges that without Sir Edmund Lechmere ' s

" constant , kindly , and thoughtful interest , not only as regards this catalogue , but in the formation of the collection and its acquisition by the province , the scheme would certainly have

failed . " For this and other reasons Bro . Taylor , the editor , considers there is no brother to whom the volume could be so properly dedicated , as to his own Prov . Grand Master . Unquestionabl y no one else so well deserves the special compliment .