Correspondence.

It is as well to explain how the matter appeared to myself and others . Bro . Smith ' s statement of the reasons for making a grant were strong and conclusive , and he gave a satisfactory account of the measures taken up to this time , though not a satisfactory account of the action of the Craft . Where Bro .

Smith failed in gaining our votes on that occasion was that his ease was too strong and his proposal too small . It is not A'ery likely we are going to be under a cloud Avhen , as he stated , the Odd Fellows , the Foresters , and the schoolchildren , & c , have contributed boats , while we , who have so many seaport

lodges and seafaring brethren , have not contributed a boat . What most of us was convinced of was that one boat at least ought to be provided , and Bro . Smith says that the cost is about £ 600 , and so I understood the M . W . G . M . What did Bro . Smith propose towards this valuable object ? One hundred

guineas , a sum utterly insufficient . Had he proposed two hundred guineas it is possible the vote would have been carried , at all events more hands would have been held up for it . Opinions are not yet all agreed . Many think that , after a full appeal to tho Craft , or to those lod iu which there is a special claimthe

ges , balance , whatever it may be , large or small , should be made up by Grand Lodge . Some think that , besides the general subscription , there should be one boat presented by Grand Lodge direct to the National Lifeboat Institution .

It was quite out of the question to discuss Bro . Smith ' s motion at that late hour ; but , if it had been brought on earlier and when there was a large Grand Lodge , aud many supporters present , we might have agreed on the means of carrying it out . What has to be done now is to make the appeal to the Craft ,

particularly to the seaport lodges in the colonies , and then for Bro . Smith to bring the matter forward . I am glad he failed in his motion as far as tbe one hundred guineas is concerned , but I think that , if he had even carried that , it would have been a considerable stimulus to the moA'ement . He has , however , stirred up a number of persons , as it is , and the Craft is generally indebted to him for his exertions . Yours fraternally , P . M .

MASONIC DISCIPLINE . Br CRUX . To TIIE Simon op THE FREEJUASO . YS' HUGAZIK - E ASH MASOXTC MIRROR . Dear Sir and Brother , —With your permission , I will now redeem my promise , and endeavour to exculpate myself from the imputations cast upon one of my articles on the above subjectbBroRictus iu

, y . your number of the 27 th ultimo . I will , however , premise that I do not intend for one moment to be draAvn into any disquisition respecting the origin of Freemasonry . It will be quite sufficient for me to show that I have good authority for the foundation of any statements that I have madeAvhether

hismay , torical , pseudo-historical , or metaphorical . In the first place , Picfctis observes , — " Imagine the meaning of the words that' Freemasonry is coeval with the creation of the firmament . ' " As 1 have just observed , I decline all controversy respecting the antiquity or oriin of the OrderI

g . take Freemasonry as it exists at present . I am not blind to its defects , nor indifferent to its merits . I know what it is , both in theory and practice ; and that , Avhile the former is beyond all human

amelioration , the latter is not only susceptible of , but imperatively demands considerable modification and improvement . Iu asserting , therefore , that the principles of our ancient and honourable institution were " coeval with the creation of the firmament , " I assert no more than

Avhat I have full warrant for , and in Avhich , moreover , I am amply borne out by our Supreme Authority . Let me ask Pictus , or any other brother Avho cannot comprehend the meaning of the simple sentence I employed , what he considers the signification of the letters A . L . to be . Let him turn to his Grand Lodge

certificate , and he will find that he was admitted into the Order , on such a day of such a month , A . L . . . . » If , then , the supreme authority among the Craft dates the certificate of our initiation from A . L ., I maintain that I more than justified in doing the same . It is not of the slightest consequence whether the

truth of the fact can be demonstrated or not , whether it is intended seriously , or merely pro forma . It is quite plain that the fact is so , and I would submit to any sensible person , that the not very elegant term employed by Bro . Pictus , cannot , with the slightest pretence of truth or propriety , be applied , to any statement or assertion , that is simply a corroboration of a printed fact .

Passing over the presumed antiquity of the Order in the E . A . charge , Avhich is also another support of my incomprehensible sentence , I would mention that many of the great Masonic luminaries , among which , if I do not mistake , may be included that eminent Mason and accomplished divine , the late Dr . Oliver ,,

have maintained in their writing the immemorial origin of ideal Freemasonry . It appears to me that , while anyone is free to use his own option respecting a belief in the sentence Bro . Pictus so strongly condemns ; yet it is absurd for anyone who is acquainted with the facts I have just stated , and every real Mason

ought to be acquainted with them , to ask what is its meaning . I confess I am at a loss to see how the perusing of a sentence , that is nothing more than a corroboration of an assumption made over and over again throughout the whole of the Masonic system can possibly "injure us in the eyes of educated and thinking men . " In dissent in toto from this view , the more especially as I am on my own ground . In the

articles I have Avritten , I have referred to numerous facts , that are unmistakeably calculated to produce the effect , Pictus anticipates from the paragraph in question . I need scarcely pause to refute the charge of any intended blasphemy , for neither Pictus nor any other of your readers will really entertain any such

ridiculus idea . I Avould merely observe that , in the strict sense of the Greek term , B \ aa < Pwea , or its equivalent , though less-used synonym , xoiZopea , the remark of Pictus does not hold good . Let me now pass on to the latter portion of the letter of Pictus , wherein he ridicules the idea of our

Masonic predecessors getting into the saddle . Whether I believe in the tradition that assimilates the Knights Templars Avith the Craft , is nothing to the point . It remains to be proved , as in the former instance , if I have any foundation for my metaphorical statement ; and here it will be seen that Pictus has fallen into a very grievous and flagrant error . He ridicules the idea of a Avorking Mason being ready at any moment to lay by his working tools and take up the weapons