Correspondence.

CORRESPONDENCE .

We do not hold ourselves responsible for ihe opinions of our Correspondents . We cannot undertake to return rejected communications . All Letters must hear the name anl address of the Writer , w > t necessarily for publication , but as a guarantee of good faith .

Military Masonry.

MILITARY MASONRY .

To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —Bro . T . B . Whytehead , in his communication of last week , suggests that the non-appreciation of Yorlc warrants by tho local Militia ( as instanced afc p 31 of "Atholl Lodges " ) was probably due to tho Officers of tho Yorkshire Regiments being " scions of County families , " whilst tho Officers of the " Grand Lodge of All England " ( York ) were drawn from the trading classes . "

This explanation wonld be perfectly satisfactory , if it wore the case that , as a general rule , in Military or Regimental Masonry , the initiative was taken by tho Officers . On the contrary , however , and this mainly accounts for the preference exhibited by military brethren for the "Ancient" or working men ' s Grand Lodge . Regimental Lodges ( of the last century ) , iu

nearly every case which I have been able fully to investigate , originated in the Masonio zeal of the rank and file , and , in the few instances where a Masonio spirit has pervaded an entire regiment , the love for tho Craft has not spread downwards , but upwards , viz , from the soldier ' s barrack-room to the Officers' mess . Nothing is more certain , than that the marvellous success of the

" Ancient or " Atholl Grand Lodge ( enabling it , as wo are aware , to dictate its own terms afc the " Union " ) was chiefly , if not entirely due , to its rigid observance of the principle of equality . It was essentially a Grand Lodge of " Operatives" or " working mon , " ruled by brethren of their own selection ; and the youngest " Atholl" initiate , if he cherished the laudable ambition of becoming

a Grand Officer , knew thafc merit was the surest passport to preferment , and had no reason to fear thafc the practice of the " Moderns , " under whioh rank and wealth had the preference , would bo followed by the " Ancients , " whoso assertion of Masonic independence constituted , indeed , an enduring protest against the dangerous innovations made by the earlier Grand Lodge , upon the liberal and equalising spirit of Masonry .

It is but natural to suppose that tho Masonio " polity" of the "Ancients , " would commend itself to regimental non-commissioned officers , and as a matter of fact it did—for tho Military Lodges of tho " Ancients " at all times vastly outnumbered those of the " Moderns . " Of four Lodges held in the Royal Marines before the " Union , " three were " Ancient" and one " Modern ; " whilst of fifteen ( English ) Lodges warranted afc tho same era in the Royal Artillery all were " Ancient . "

With tho fusion of the two Grand Lodges in 1813 , the decadence of Military Masonry commenced . A " working men ' s" Grand Lodge no longer existed , and the proportion ( under tho UNITED Grand Lodge of England ) of Military to other Lodges , which was one in twelve in 1814 , fell to one in three hundred in 1878 . A record of our Military Lodges , and of the remarkable events in

their history is much called for . Many now stationary Lodges in the United Kingdom , in our garrisons abroad , aud under independent jurisdictions , wero originally warranted in British regiments . Under the first heading comes fcho Royal Somerset House Lodge No . 2 , which enjoys tho unique distinction of representing both a " Sea" and a " Field " Lodge ; tho York Lodgo of Perseverance No .

7 ; the Union Waterloo No . 13 ; the Royal Clarence , Bristol , No . 68 ; St . John ' s , Sunderland , No . 80 ; Unanimity , Preston , No . 113 ; tho Salopian Lodge of Charity , Shrewsbury , No . 117 ; and Fortitude , Truro , No . 131 . * Afc Gibraltar , St . John ' s , No . 115 ( first constitnted in the Royal Artillery ) , is the oldest Lodge " on the Reck ; " whilst under an

independent jurisdiction , viz ., afc Quebec , the senior Lodge , "Antiquity , " was originally warranted ( by tho Grand Lodge of Ireland ) , in the 46 th Regiment in 1752 , ns tho Lodge of " Social and Military Virtues " No . 227 . Tho capture of their warrant by tho French , its return under a military guard , and tho controversy as to General Washington ' s initiation in No . 227 , aro topics that space will

not permit me to linger over . The second Lodge on the roll of the Grand Lodge of Quebec— "Albion , " was constituted in the Royal Artillery at New York as No . 213 ( Ancients ) in 1781 . The oldest existing Military Lodge is No . 128 on the registry of Ireland , which was constitnted in the 39 th Regiment so far back as 1742 , and no doubt was in full working order fifteen years later ,

when the gallant 39 th , for its share in the glorious victory of Plassey ( 1757 ) received the distinctive title of " Primus in India . " Having regard to the special perils besetting a Military charter , from which our "home staying" warrants aro happily exempt , and beating in mind the number of hard fought fields in which the 39 th (

Dorsetshire ) Regiment has been engaged—the continuous existence of this Lodge throughout a period of one hundred and thirty-seven years must be pronounced one of the most remarkable occurrences of which the annals of Freemasonry afford an example . About tiuo hundred Lodges have been warranted in regiments or

* It is curious and noteworthy , that whilst so minute a fraction of the 400 ( more or less ) Military Lodges has survived to this day , two out of the three "Sea" or "Naval" Lodges , established in the last century , arc still represented on the roll of tho G . Lodge of England , viz ., No . 279 ( 17 G 2 ) , " on Board H . M . Ship the Prince at Plymouth , " by No . 2 above ( Somerset House ) , ancl No . 254 ( 1760 ) , " on Board the Vanguard , " by present No . 108 ( the London Lodge ) .

Military Masonry.

gan isons by the Grand Lodgo of Ireland , of which ten only exist ( as ' Military Lodges ) at tho present c ? ay , aud are held ( inclusive of tlio 39 th Foot , above mentioned ) in the -lth Dragoon Guards ( 1758 ) , 29 th Regiment ( 1759 ) , 49 th Re « iment ( 1760 ) , 3 StU Regiment ( 1765 ) , 5 th Dragoon Guards ( 1780 ) , and tho 12 th and 17 th Lancers , together with tho 20 th and 26 th Foot , of moro recent date .

Twenty . six regimental charters have been issued in former times by the Grand Lodge of Scotland , of which none aro now in work . ! As previously stated , the Military Lodges on the English roll havo almost died out ; they exist only in the 1 st , 6 th , 12 th , 14 th , 31 st and 89 th Foot , whilst one only of tho number ( Unity , Peace and Concord ,

No . 316 , in tho 1 st Royals ) ranges back into tho last century . Had tho progress of Military Masonry kept pace with the general prosperity of tho Craft , instead of six there should now bo ( exclusive of the separate jurisdictions of Ireland and Scotland ) at least one hundred and sixty Regimental Lodges on tho registry of England . Yours fraternally , R . F . GOULD .

P . S . —Reverting to the preference shown by the Yorkshire Militia regiments for Grand Lodges out of their native connty , it is but fair to add that tho Militia of the last century , having been called upon to undertake garrison duty throughout tho United Kingdom , their applications for Masonic Warrants of Constitution were probably much influenced by the predominance of particular Grand Lodges in

the towns in which they wero quartered . For example , No . 176 "Ancients , " the note to which Lodgo , in my "Atholl Lodges / Ms allnded to by Bro . Whytehead , was warranted iu tho 1 st Yorkshire Militia whilst stationed at Sheffield—a great stronghold of tho " Ancients . " Tho singular impartiality of tho 6 th ( fnniskilling )

Dragoons , in ranging itself under tho banners of three Grand Lodges of England and one of Ireland , as well as experimenting in Royal Arch Masonry under Grand Chapters of England and Scotland , may also bo cited , as illustrating that tho " Regulars" woro similarly influenced by local causes .

Devon Educational Fund.

DEVON EDUCATIONAL FUND .

To the Editor of the FREEMASON S CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —A letter in your issue of the 27 th ult ., signed "A P . M . AND P . P . G . J . W . or DEVON , " upon the subject of the Devon Educational Fund , recounts that tho . Institution in question " is especially worthy of notice by tho brethren , and thafc it is likely to become a great public good , and an important Institntion . "

I am ono who worked hard on behalf and assisted to found this Institution , at a timo when it was tho fashion to pooh-pooh its claims and throw cold water on our efforts , or at best to " damn them with faint praise , " and this by many who now aro converts to the scheme . Thus far I am fully with , and endorse all the good likely to accrue from this local Institution mentioned bv " A P . M . AND P . P . G . J . W .

OP DEVON . " But when my brother , in a somewhat patronising tone , says : — " Wo have , on former occasions , contributed largely , and shall probably still continue to do so , to the great Institutions of London ; but , finding that our children had to contest for tho benefits of these Institutions with all the other Lodges in the kingdom , and that it

took a great deal of money and a great deal of personal exertion to get ; children elected , wo determined npon the adoption of a system of educating and sustaining our children at home . " Now , tho foregoing is all very buoyant and cheerful , and shows great self-reliance , but unfortunately , afc the samo time , a lamentable want of both truth and knowledge , and makes assertions

strangely at variance with facts . First , " A P . M . AND P . P . G . J . W . OF DEVON , " instead of saying " Wo have on former occasions contributed largely , aud probably shall do so again , " shonld rather have said—We , as a Province , havo received , ancl now are receiving annually , large sums from the great Masonio Institutions in London . Wc have more than our full share of children

in each of the London Masonic Schools , and that , too , after having had to compete with all the Lodges of tho kingdom for these bene , fits . How mnch more fairly would " A P . M . AND P . P . G . J . W . or DEVON" have written , had be bnt added— " Assisted by the sympathy and kindness of other Provinces and distant Lodges , who placed votes at the disposal of our London representative at each election . "

Devon wonld not , from the strength of her own voting power , havo ever been in a position to elect the candidates now on the funds of tho great Charities who have been placed thereon during the last few years . Wonld " A P . M . AND P . P . G . J . W . OF DEVON " consider it a labour of love or an irksome task to quietly analyse the lists of tho great Chanties , so far as they refer to the number of Devon cases on tho

funds , or in each School ? After amusing himself with the Old People , he might take a turn with the Girls ancl Boys . Finding the amount received per annum , he would then be in a position to compare tho "largo contributions" ho mentions with the pasfc and present re . ceipts from the Institntion .

Tho brother , doubtless from the high position he holds in tho Province , is quite familiar with the charity lists or records issued by the London Masonic Institutions , wherein is shown " Who ' s who . " Let me hope—in fact I will not doubt it—he is at least a Life Governor of all tho Institutions , as well as a liberal donor to tho Devon Educational Fund .

But when " A P . M . AND P . P . G . J . W . OF DEVON " says , " Wo deter , mined upon a system of education , and 'sustaining' our children at home , does tho brother make this rash assertion as an individual , or in an official capacity in connection with the Devon Educational Fund ? The latter I cannot believe , for in two of the most important essentials it is so contrary to fact , so misleading , that one would