Correspondence.

Correspondence .

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

TRANSVAAL BRETHREN RELIEF FUND . To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , May I once more trespass on your space to confirm the announcement I made in Grand Lodge on Wednesday , the 7 th inst , that I propose to incorporate in the General Fund now about to be raised , the amounts which have been so generously subscribed to my Transvaal Fund by lodges and brethren in England .

This step , which' I am glad to see , coincides with the views you hold , will , I am sure , meet with the cordial approval of each donor to my fund , for thereby we shall avoid any overlapping of funds , prevent any confusion arising in the minds of the brethren , anei generally be better able to carry out the work of distribution .

I would take this opportunity of tendering my grateful thanks to all who have so fraternally given me assistance , and now that the cause of our loyal and distressed brethren in South Africa has been brought to the special notice of our Fraternity by the sympathetic message of our M . W . the Grand Master , I am content , for I feel sure that the magnificent response already made by Grand Lodge will be generously supplemented by the lodges and brethren of our English Constitution .

I thank you also for the valuable assistance of the Freemason , and remain , Yours fraternally , GEORGE RICHARDS , District Grand Master Transvaal . 3 , Kensington Palace Gardens , W ., oth March .

MASONIC CLOTHING , Ac . To the Editor of the "Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , As nobody answers the letter of your correspondent I will

endeavour to do so . The clothing of a Past or Present Grand Officer should be worn at all meetings , and the clothing of a Past or Present Provincial Grand Officer can be worn at all Masonic meetings , but a blue collar should be worn in the Grand Lodge , and in private lodges the brother should wear the collar of his office in that lodge .

I have re ? d the articles referred to with great interest . There is no doubt that the proper expression is "trestle" board , but the word " tracing " has crept in The theory of setting out a building by cubes is not how the late Edmund Sharpe wrote about it years since .

When the writer of the article is describing the design of a building he wrongly uses the word perspective . As all working drawings are geometrical to scale , perspective drawings might be used to illustrate some difficult detail , and in competitions to give a more or less truthful delineation of the building . — Yours fraternally , HENRY LOVEGROVE , P . G . S . B . Heme Hill , S . E .

To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , Having regard to Rule 282 of the Book of Constitutions and to the letter of Sir Albert W . Woods , G . D . C , on the subject of Masonic clothing at the recrnt meeting of Grand Lodge , 1 have always understood that all the members of Grand Lodge who were not cither present or " past" Grand Officers could onlv be admitted into Grand Lodge wearing their Craft lodge clothing , and that

an officer of a Prov . Grand Lodge wearing Provincial Grand Lodge Rank clothing would not be admitted as such . How was it that an exception appears to have been made in this respect at the meetingof Grand Lodge referred to when General Laurie , who presided himself , admitted that he was at the very time wearing the clothing of the Prov . Grand Master of the Province of South Wales . For information , I desire to know how this can be justified , having regard to Rule 282 , and if there arc any exceptions to the Rule V—Yours fraternally , J . T . LAST , P . P . G . Reg .

THE RIGHT OF VISITATION . To thc Editor of thc " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , I have been much interested in the reading of the articles appearing under the heading of " The Lodge Room ; " but I would be glad to have a little

further ir ' ormationas to a statement appearing in the eighth article in your issue of the 10 th instant . The statement is— "The right of visitation is a Masonic privilege not generally understood or taken advantage of as it ought to be . . . It should be understood clearly that , invited or uninvited , every Freemason has an unalienable right to visit any and every lodsje he pleases . "

I should be glad to know if this emphatic statement is quite correct , as , in my judgment , it is hardly borne out by the " Constitutions . " Article 150 says — " No visitor shall be admitted into a lodge unless he be personally known to or , " & c . Under this can a W . M . not refuse on the ground that , although quite able to passa" due examination , " the visitor is unknown to any of the brethren in the lodge '

Again , in 151 , it says— "It is within the power of the Master of every private lodge to refuse admission to any visitor whose presence he has reason to believe will disturb the harmony of the lodge . " Is it not conceivable that this can be used to prevent a visitor exercising what the writer calls his " unalienable right to visit , " even if the visitor is not " of known bad character ?"

The matter is , I think , of considerable importance , and I would bs glad il your correspondent " LexScripta" or other learned brother would give his views . —Yours fraternally , P . M . 124 . March 13 th .

THE MASONIC BANQUET . To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother In a recent number of the Freemason a correspondent called attention

to the fact that tickets for the banijiiet following a recent meeting of one of our Prov . G . Lodges or Chapters were one guinea each , which was very properl y slated to be prohibitive . I was also glad to observe a paragraph in the interesting article on "The Lodge Room" as applied to "The Brethren , " which appeared

Correspondence.

in the Freemason for the 10 th instant , by which you ventured to discourage these costly banquets . 1 am sure from conversations and correspondence I have had with several worthy brethren that there are many Masons , especially in some of the London lodges , who would gladly have an alteration in this respect . I have been told that progress has been , anil is , hindered in many lodges by the exclusiveness mainly caused by the costly banquet . M ; ey I add my experience of a

large province in the North of England , where , repeatedly , the price of tickets for the banquet following Prov . G . Lodge was 3 s . fid . each , the brethren individually ordering and paying for such liquid refreshment as th ey desired to consume . In this way many of , the brethren attend the banquet and support the Prov . G . Master and Prov . G . Officers who would otherwise ob tain refreshment elsewhere if the price of banquet tickets was prohibitive . —Yours fraternally , J . T . LAST , P . P . G . Reg .

Reviews.

Reviews .

"FREEMASONS' MANUAL AND OFFICIAL DIRECTORY FOR KENT , irjoo " ( Rochester : Rochester and Chatham Journal Co ., Ltd . ) . —This most compact and well-arranged Annual has been ably edited by Bro . Frank Hitchens , P . M . No . 77 , & c , who succeeded the lamented Bro . J . T . Warne , who was the originator of the work and the first Editor . The present issue runs to nearly 250 pages , and , undoubtedly , is one of the best of the kind published in this or any other country . Bro . Hitchens asks for corrections of any errors that miy have crept in , but so far our endeavours to meet his wishes have been a failure . The abundant particulars concerning the 55 lodges with members nearl 6

4477 ( y 9 to a lodge ) , 2 < j Royal Arch chapters with 7 6 9 companions ( fully 27 to each chapter ) , 20 Mark lodges , four Royal Ark Mariners , four Rose Croix chapters , three K . T . Preceptories , four Conclaves of the Red Cross of R . and C , and one Council of the Cryptic Degrees , leave nothing to be desired , for even the by-laws are appended of the Prov . G . L ., the Mark Prov . G . L ., and the Prov . G . Chapter , with Abstracts of the Accounts of these three very active and prosperous organisations . The Right Hon . the Earl Amherst , Pro G . M . of England and Pro Grand 7 .., is the Prov . G . M . for the Craft and Grand Superintendent for the Royal Arch , the Right Hon . Lord Dungarvan being the Prov . G . M . of the Mark Prov . G . L ., who is Deputv Grand

Master of England in Mark Masonry . Including the Mark Benevolent , the total of votes held in Kent for the Central Masonic Charities total C 211 , the large sum of £ 14 , 75693 . 6 d . having been contributed by the province during the six years ending iSgS . There is also a carefully compiled Calendar of all the Masonic meetings for 1 9 , involving considerable labour , and all eve can say is that if the brethren in Kent are not very pleased and exceedingly grateful to Bro . Frank Hitchens for his invaluable services as Editor they ought to be . Bro . VV . J . Hughan , of Torquay , as usual , sends a contribution to help the Editor , this one being his oration , delivered at the dedication ot the Masonic temple of No . 1402 in 1899 .

Craft Masonry.

Craft Masonry .

Fortitude and Old Cumberland Lodge , No . 12 . ADDRESS BY BRO . R . F . GOULD , PAST GRAND DEACON . The installation meeting of this lodge was held at the Ship and Turtle , Leadenhallstreet , E . G ., on Monday , the 5 th instant , when the proceedings were of an unusually interesting character . The members present were Bros . S . Stuart Walker W M P iv ?* T reaSey , i- H i- - ! i - W £ ' c Stepi £ V , : J-J- Telfer ' ' - R - ' Coon * ' s ' P . M ., Treas .: A . H . Lilley , P . M .. See ; M . J . Jarvis . S . D . ; O . F . Peall , P . M ., D . of Ci

L .. v . ueacn , . u . ; j . vv . Koy ,, rVM . ; sA . Stanger , P . M . ; J . C . Nicholson , P . M . iV n u X £ WT ; if' - J cIfe . V S c J' W > Rv ' "d , . M .: J . B . ' Adams V . D . Head , C . Rolf e , l . Howard , and K . S . Murray . Visitors : Bros . Hamon Le Strange , Prov . G . M . Norfolk ; R . F . Gould , P . G . D . ; H . Sadler , G . Tyler GW Speth , P . A . G . D . C . ; C . Martin , P . A . G . D . C . j Clement Godson , P . G . D . ; E . J . Hawkins ' 2530 j Baddehn 2530 Saunders

F . , J . D . ; G . , P . P . G . R . Kent ; F . Leaver , P . P . G . I . W A . Watkin PP . G . S . B ; VV . 0 . Church P . M ., Sec . . 365 ; L . Ferguson , ^ iej 97 ; H . G . Harper , P . M . 171 j F . G . W . Wgg ns , 3 ; I . Iorgenson 7 "sw W Scott McDonald PM . 2504 / R . E Stephens , 272 ?; G Leo ^ d . % 7 ; & Cawleyi i ;^ i -I 72 i , J : , - , Ang « s , 2427 ; W . R . G . Emerson , 45 ; W . W . Lee , P . P . G . D Middx . ; II . W . Linery , P . M . 706 ; G . Hudson , P . M . 141 , and others . the ot

After the opening of the lod ^ eand confirmation the minutes , Bro . S . Walter Stephens was presented as W . M . elect , and duly installed into the chair by Bro S . Stuart Walker , who was invested as l . P . M . The other ollicers invested were Bros . l-J' M L i \ ^ i ?\ -I- . - ¦ ' y ^ -I-W -: R - Coombs , P . M ., Treas . ; S . A . Stanger , P . M ., Sec . ; C . k Leach , S . D . ; C . Rolfe , LD . ; K . S . Murray . I G O F ft' !!? f ii ? r , C , i F- P' T f J ' . u ' & % » ¦»« ' El 11 * P . M ., V"S [ ' Bro . ' sYuari Walker , I . I . M ., was presented with a Past Master's ] ewel in recognition of his valuable services as W . M ., and appropriately acknowledged the gift . Bro . A . H . Lilley P M was the recipient of a handsome Tantalus as a mark of esteem from the members upon vacating the office of Secretary , in which capacity he ( has served the lodge for manv years . J The W . M . then called upon Bro . R . F . Gould , P . G . D ., who delivered the following address : ^

Worshipful Master and Brethren , —In the foundation of the Grand Lodge of England—the mother of Grand Lodges—Four Lodges were concerned . One of these is dead , and three survive ; but onl y two are shown in the official Calendar as possessing a higher antii ] uity than the Grand Lodge which they helped to create . The two lodges so described are the Antiquity , No . 2 , and the Royal Somerset House and Inverness , No . 4 . I he third lodge , still existing , which was also a founder of the earliest of Grand Lodges , on St . John ' s Day ( in summer ) , 1717 is composed of the brethren whom

, it is now my privilege to address , and the circumstances under which what is now the tortitudeand Old Cumberland , No . 12 , occupies a position on the roll altogether incompatible with its undoubted anti quity it will be my busidess this evening to relate . L-t me , however , commence by saying that a statement of facts , and by no means a series of conjectures , it is my purpose to lay before you . It may , and no doubt will , occur to your minds , as the narrative is unfolded , that while present No . 12 , during its chequered career , has had on more than one occasion to face

" The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune j " Nevertheless her misfortunes being wholly undeserved , ought not , therefore , to be regarded as irreparable . But , in the first place , I am disposed myself to regard the position of any lodge on the roll as a matter of very minor importance ; and in the second , I am of opinion that an uninterrupted descent from the old lodge which met at the Apple Free Tavern in 1717 , is of itself such a distinction as not onlv to P ™ . i ,,.

balance , but 10 iar outweigh any feelings of mortification you may have inherited from your direct Masonic ancestors , owing to the very arbitrary and unjust manner in which yc-ur lodge was deprived of its precedency in the Engraved Lists . The story 1 have to tell you will not be a long one , and 1 shall now proceed to relate it with all the clearness and conciseness I can command . I have already mentioned that the era of Grand Lodges dates from . 1717- Before that period , whatever lodges there were , met by virtue of what is the fashion to term " Inherent Right . " In 171 O ( or possibly during the first eiuarterof 1717 . ) I'our London lodges met respectively :

Original No . 1 ( now "Antiquity" ) at the Goose and Gridiron Ale-haus ; , in St Paul ' s Churchyard . „ „ 2 ( now extinct ) at thc Crown Ale-house , in Parker ' s Line , near Drurv Lane . J „ 3 ( now Fortitude and O . C . ) at the Apple-Tree Tavern , in Charles Street . Covent Garden . ' „ 4 ( now Rl . Som . House and Inverness ) at the Rummer and Grapes tavern , in Channel-Row . Westminster .