Correspondence.

CORRESPONDENCE .

The " Editor is not responsible for the opinions expressed by Correspondents . THE DEFECTIVE ORGANISATION OF SOME LODGES . TO THE EDITOB Off THE FBEBJTASOXS' MAGAZIlfE AND MASOIfIC MIHBOH . DEAE SIE AND BEOTHEE—Having laid before

, your readers in a former letter some results of a Masonic experience of considerable duration , allow me now to draw some inferences therefrom . First , great care should he taken in the selection of Provincial Grand Masters ; and when the interests of the Craft suffer from their incompetency or

delinquency , no delicacy should prevent their removal , since the eyes of the world are upon us , and will form some judgment of the body from the conduct of those un places of authority . Moreover , it is desirable , nay , imperative , with a view to the unity and harmony of a province , that such appointments should have

the approval of the members , and that they should hold good only for a definite term of years , or at least should he periodicall y revised . Having repeatedly referred to this subject in your pages , I abstain from farther details now . Secondly , perfect uniformity in working should he

maintained and insisted upon , for how otherwise can It be possible to detect impostors ? I have heard W . M . ' s confess that they obtained their knowledge from questionable sources , to which it is not prudent ¦ to make more direct allusion , of which not only many non-Masons avail themselves by endeavouring thus to gain admission , but I have been cognisant of cases in which they have done so , fortunately without

success , owing to intelligence of the examiner far beyond the average . Then comes the question , "How is the requisite knowledge to be obtained ?" In this there is some difficulty . I have on former occasions intimated that where secrecy and uniformity are so important , no considerations of expense ought to stand in the way of their attainment ,

and that £ 1 , 000 a-year would be well spent by Grand ( Lod ge in sending competent inspectors periodically to all the lodges in the country , who should be required to present a formal report as to each . I conceive that it mi ght be feasible , after strict examination , to issue licences to competent men in

different districts to give instruction , to permit them even to receive some pecuniary compensation from their pupils for the sacrifice of their time , and to confer upon them the privilege of wearing a distinctive medal or jewel as a mark of honour and of confidence . In such cases it might be desirableat

, intervals of a few years , to test the continued qualification of such instructors , with a view to renewal of the licence . Until some such measure is adopted , it will he vain to expect uniformity or correctness in working , serious errors will creep in , good and intellinent menwho are disgusted at the wretched

, language and ungrammatical expressions of ignorant W . M . ' s , will withdraw , if not from membership , at least from active co-operation , and the lodge will be brought into contempt . I have seen some instances of this , and believe it to be a fertile source of

disruption and of ultimate loss of warrant . Such matters of vital importance ought not to be left to chance . In London , the Emulation and other

efficient lodges of instruction have no excuse for ignorance , but in remote country districts there is much cause to complain of want of opportunities for obtaining reliable teaching . Then , again , we must not lose sight of the unfavourable impressions produced on the mind of a candidate who for the first time hears qur magnificent rituals mutilated and garbled by

one who is intellectually incapable of appreciating and rendering their beauties , of exhibiting them in a good light by impressive delivery , fluency , and minute observance of emphatic and essential points of administration . I defy any brother for a considerable time after joining the Craft to become acquainted

with its objects , its history , its traditions , its varied observances , with the reasons for them , unless he has opportunities of hearing the lectures on the tracing boards , the fifteen sections of lectures , and of otherwise gaining information . The former of these are rarely given , and the latter scarcely ever ; indeed , I doubt if one "W . M . in a hundred knows of their

existence , of which I have repeatedly had proof when visiting distant districts . When I have presided in a lodge , I have made it a rule to give the explanations of the tracing boards to candidates , and in the absence of ceremonial work to introduce portions of the fifteen sections , when they have always been listened to with interest . On the last fifteen occasions on

which I have attended lodge meetings , on only three has there been the ceremony of either of the three degrees , and yet nothing has been introduced as a substitute , except desultory uninteresting conversation to pass away the time till supper was ready . Can it be a matter of wonderunder such

circum-, stances , that the brethren are careless as to their attendance , aud , if present , that they are anxious to adjourn from the lodge to the banqueting room ? Thirdly , previous to the installation of a Master , he is required to declare that he is well skilled in our artthat he is not only willing but able to undertake

, the management of the work , & c . Yet , how few comparatively are able , when they are placed in the chair of the lodge , to open and close in the three degrees , much less to perform the ceremonies of

initiation , passing , and raising , to deliver the charges and lectures , & e ., and many go through their year of office without acquiring the knowledge ; if they have become tolerably au fait towards the close of their term , some are then anxious to hold the chair for another year , thus retarding the progress of ambitious juniors . For my own partI could not

conscienti-, ously state my ability to carry out the requirements , unless I felt competent immediately after installation to perform any ceremony which may be down for the day . I have known some P . M . ' s who could not utter half-a-dozen words in good English . For this a remedy is urgently required , and an amount of

control not at present existing , since the questions and answers in different Masonic stages ought not to be regarded as mere forms , but sober earnest . Fourthly , the discrepancies between different districts to which I have alluded , make good , accomplishedand energetic men careless as to their

Ma-, sonic honours , when they fiud that others are on a perfect equality with themselves , who have no claim whatever to the distinction ; perhaps wearing the purple , indicating Provincial superiority , when , as I have known to be the case , they have but just been .