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% \ ) t Jltasnttk ^ tar * THURSDAY , l || ft ( gS ||| JULY 11 , 1889 .

Edited by W . BRO . JAMES STEVENS , P . M ., P . Z ., do-, & c .

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Published every Thursday Morning , price ONE PENNY , and may be had from all Newsagents through the Publishers , 123 to 125 , Fleet Street , E . C . Subscribers to THE MASONIC STAR residing in London and the Suburbs will receive their copies by the first post on THURSDAY MORNING . Copies for Country Subscribers will be forwarded by the NIGHT Mail on AA ednesday .

TERMS , including postage , payable m advance : — United Kingdom anil Countries comprised Places not in General comprised in India , Postal Union . Postal Union . i ; l Brindisi . Twelve Months ... 6 s . 6 d . ... 8 s . 8 d . ... 10 s . lOd . Six Months 3 s . 4 d . ... 4 s . 6 d . ... 5 s . 6 d . Three Months ... Is . 9 d . ... 2 s . 4 d . ... 3 s . Od .

Post Office Orders , payable at the General Post Office , London , E . G ., to Messrs . ADAMS BROS ., 59 , Moor Lane , London , E . C . Postal Orders and Cheques should be crossed & Co . and all communications concerning Subscriptions and Advertisements should be addressed to " Manager . "

All other communications , letters , & c , to be addressed " Editor of THE MASONIC STAR , 59 , Moor Lane , Fore Street , London , E . G . " Publishing Offices : 123 to 125 , FLEET STREET , E . G .

VOLUME I * In Masonic Cloth Cover—Now Ready —Price 3 s . 6 d .

Original Correspondence.

Original Correspondence .

Without in any way liolilinpr ourselves responsible for , or even approving of the opinions expressed , we freely throw open our columns for the proper discussion of all matters of a general character relating to Freemasonry . Correspondents must bo as brief as possible , must write plainly , only use one aide of the paper , and cannot expect the return of rejected contributions . Every contribution must be accompanied with the . name of the writer , not necessarily for publication , but as a guarantee of good faith . A QUESTION OF PRECEDENCE .

_ . ' . > the Editor of THE MASONIC STAB . DEAE SIR AND BROTHER , I wish to ask the following question through the MASONIC STAR , of which I am a subscriber , if you will be good enough to answer , as I am a young mason , and want to have the reply from a disinterested brother . There is a little trouble between the W . M .

and other brethren of our lodge . AVe had a pic-nic on July Ith , and it was arranged that all brethren who gave in their names on or before the 24 th , should have the preference in respect of accommodation . Sixty brethren made application , and thirteen others turned up afterwards , one of whom was the immediate Past Master . When we arrived at our destination , the W . M . and Secretary laid tickets on the table bearing the names of the brethren

who had to sit there . The I . P . M . was placed amongst other brethren at one of the side tables ; there was plenty of room at the top next to the W . M . I wish you to understand that our W . M . and Secretary are just , upright and worthy masons ; was it wrong for the W . M . to place the I . P . M . at the side table , or should he have been in his proper place next to the W . M . . ' Yours fraternally , A MASTER MASON .

* % * It is unfortunate that in many -instances no regard is paid to the reasonable request of a W . M . or secretary , that intimation should be given as to intended presence at , or probable absence from , any special gathering of a lodge , ichetlier the same be for business or pleasure . Any JWMV . /« . if precedence lost to a . brother on such occasions should not reflect upon , the executive . It might have been

politic as well as courteous on , the part of the W . M ., if a , re-arrangement of seats teas at the last moment practicable , to place his predecessor at his lift hand , but he lias a justification for not having done so in the discourtesy if the brother in not attending to the ¦ request ich ' teh had been made . This may be considered a small matter vpon which to raise a question , but we are with the poet loho

sags" Think naught a trifle , though it small appear ; Small sands the mountain , moments make the year , And trifles lifer ED . M . S .

THE ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR BOYS .

To the Editor of THE MASONIC STAR . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , In common with the other stewards who attended the Festival on Wednesday last , I received a statement of accounts for the year 1888 , which at first glance would seem to lie more complete than those of previous years , but a closer examination reveals some extraordinary book-keeping and amateur auditing . The balance at the bank , January , 1888 . agrees with the figures

Original Correspondence.

given at the close of the year 1887 , but according to a foot-note on page 2 , a sum of £ 70 has got into the hands of the steward and matron without any entry in the year ' s accounts . How can the auditors account for this ? By a singular coincidence , it would appear that the petty expenditure ( £ 205 5 s . ) is . to a penny , the same as the outlay under

that head last year . Can this be so . ' During the year 1888 , a sum ( I believe ) of £ 75 ] 5 s . was paid to the servants at Wood Green as for beer money , of which no entry whatever appears in the accounts . Where was this money obtained from . ' On page 9 , an analysis is made showing the cost per boy to have

been &¦__! as . { .-: j ..., bufc from that analysis is omitted . ZS 41 9 s . 3 d repairs and renewals , £ 125 18 s . Od . farm and garden produce , £ 75 15 s . beer money , so that if these items are ( as they ought to be ) included , it will bring the cost per head to £ 52 5 s ., irrespective of any charge for interest on the capital of £ 04 . 050 . which if taken at 4 per cent , brings the total cost per boj r to £ t > o 14 s .

On page 2 appears the following item under the head of receipts — "Charles Greenwood memorial prize fund £ 103 13 s ., " which would appear to be a sum of money intended to be invested for a specific object , but like Bro . W . Winn ' s prize gift , and Bro . Edward Cox ' s gift , it has been absorbed into the general funds of the Institution , instead of having been invested as a separate and

distinct fund , thus perpetuating the error of former y ears with respect to money given for a defined object . A careful comparison of the 1888 with the 1887 accounts will show that many of the items of expenditure have increased in an extraordinary manner , totally inexplicable by the variation in the number of boys provided for .

The alteration in the form of accounts shows that the Finance and Audit Committee thought some change needful , and it is to be regretted that they did not make it thorough and effective , so as to present at a glance an accurate statement of affairs . Yours faithfully and fraternally . STEWART ) .

To the Editor of THE MASONIC STAR . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER . I refrain from giving A VICE-PRESIDENT the full reasons why I consider the 5 MUSTS are necessary , because : —1 . I am not sure whether his letter is a covert attack upon the secretary ; or , 2 .

Whether he acts upon the well-known advice , '" When you have no case , & c . " ; or , 3 . Whether he is trying to be sarcastic . At any rate , I fancy he will rejoice with all lovers of the orphan , when he hears of the result of the festival . Yours fraternally , MASTER MASON

BOARD OF INSTALLED MASTERS .

To the Editor of THE MASONIC STAR . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , Referring to my letter to you of the 25 th wit-., in reference to this matter , and which I thank you for inserting , I had hoped that the subject might have been further discussed in your paper of the Ith inst . I trust , however , that the appointment of Instructors

will not be allowed to drop . I would suggest that every Instructor who is for the time being assigned to a Province , should not in any way be connected with such Province or any of the neighbouring provinces , for reasons which I think will be apparent to most masons . Yours fraternally , Cheadle , July 0 . 1880 . W ALTER II . VAUGIIAN , P . M ., 1030 .

R . M . I . B .

POLITICAL LODGES .

To the Editor of THE MASONIC STAR . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , I read in to-dav ' s Morning Advertiser that "Viscount Oxenbridge will be invited to become the first W . 31 . of the ' Whitehall Lodge , ' which it is proposed to form from amongst the Masonic

members of the National Liberal Club . " This is encouraging to myself and many members of a suburban political club who have long desired to be able to connect a Masonic lodge with the other attractions of our capital house and grounds ; and we may yet hope to see our grand old leader ' s name handed down to posterity in connection with the Craft . AVhat do you think I

Yours fraternally , July 0 th , 1880 . SUBURBAN . * .. * We THINK you will be disappointed ; and , to be candid , shall be '' p leased if the encouragement you , anticipate is never afforded . Notwithstanding newspaper rumours we cannot believe our chief head and ruler will ever grant the prayer of the suggested petition _ ED . M . S .

" PRUDENTLY AND AVITH TEMPERANCE .

To the Editor

his " forms of expression . Should a report of a meeting be truthful , or a record of what an individual " considered" it . If the latter , no end of different versions might be published and yet none of them be statements ot absolute fact . I point this out to " Vice-President" for future observance . In a long paragraph , "Vice-President" treats your

readers to a long philological discourse , quite beyond the man question . I think a little application to the rules of composition and a better dictionary would prove of use to him in future literary eirorts . I can recommend Hyde Clarke ' s dictionary of the English language , published by Lockwood and Co . The words " sweep them all away " in no way or sense can be construed into " crucify him