Freemasonry In Massachusetts.

FREEMASONRY IN MASSACHUSETTS .

WE have been favoured with copy of the Proceedings of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts at several Special Communications , and the regular Quarterly meeting in September last . The first occasion that called the brethren together was the celebration , on the 11 th September , of the Hundredth Anniversary of King Solomon ' s

Lodge . M . W . Samuel Crocker Laurence Grand Master was present , as likewise were Bros . Edwin Wright D . G . M ., Charles M . Avery S . G . W ., Thomas W . Davis J . G . W ., Henry G . Fay as Grand Treasurer , Sereno D . Nickerson Recording Grand Secretary , and other Grand

and Past Grand Officers , together with the Worshipful Masters of sundry Lodges , while Bro . Galen M . Bowditch W . M . of King Solomon presided , and did the honours of the day very effectively and with great spirit . Among the episodes connected with the celebration may be mentioned

the presentation by the junior P . M ., Bro . Franklin W . Hopkins , of a fine crayon portrait of the first W . M . of the Lodge , Bro . Dr . Josiah Bartlett , copied from an oil painting , the property of Grand Lodge , and appropriately and handsomely framed by the liberality of Bro . Edwin

Sibley . In making the presentation , Bro . Hopkins gave a brief sketch of the subject of the drawing , and Bro . Bowditch , on behalf of the Lodge , very handsomely acknowledged the gift . This was followed by an oration , delivered by Bro . Wright , Deputy Grand Master , in the course

of which that worthy and worship ful brother traced the history of the Lodge from its foundation to the present time , the special features connected with it receiving each in its turn a due amount of prominence . Grand Lodge then retired , and was closed in ample form , and Lodge

having been closed , the brethren repaired to the Banquet Hall , where , after ample justice had been done to the supper that was provided , there followed the usual interchange of congratulations on tbe auspicious event which had brought the assembled brethren together .

The regular Quarterly Communication was held the day following , in the Masonic Temple , Boston , under the presidency of Bro . Lawrence Grand Master , who was supported by the Deputy Grand Master , the Grand Wardens , and other Grand Officers Present and Past , as well as by a

numerous gathering of the representatives of tbe subordinate Lodges of the jurisdiction ; Major General Laurie Grand Master of Nova Scotia , and Bro . Babcook Grand Secretary of the Graud Lodge of Oregon , being present as visitors , and receiving , as such , the customary honours accorded to brethren of distinction . The business

transacted , being mostly of local interest , does not need to be described , and Grand Lodge was closed , as it had been opened , in ample form and at a comparatively early hour . The Special Communication of the 20 th of the same month was held at Ashland for the purpose of dedicating

the new Hall of the North Star Lodge ; everything passed off most satisfactorily . On the 1 st October the brethren again assembled in Special Communication in their Hall in

Boston , with a view to celebrate the 150 th anniversary of St . John's Lodge . There was , as may well be imagined , a very numerous gathering of the Craft ; all being anxious to pay particular honour to so interesting an occasion .

Freemasonry In Massachusetts.

The Grand Master presided in Grand Lodge , and when it had been opened in ample form , the brethren were conducted to the Egyptian , where the members of St . John ' s Lodge awaited their coming . A cordial welcome having been extended to the dignitaries of the Craft , and received

due acknowledgment , Bro . Sereno D . Nickerson was introduced , and delivered an eloquent and most exhaustive address in honour of the celebration they had assembled to participate in . At the conclusion of Bro . Nickerson ' s task , the G . Master presented the Lodge with a new Charter ,

and that having been acknowledged , certain bunches of grapes , rudely carved in oak , which had once been suspended from the old Bunch of Grapes Tavern , where the Lodge first met , were presented to the Lodge as relics of the good old days ; after which the other business was

rapidly dismissed , and the brethren separated . The remaining Special Communication was held at Hopkinton , on the 12 th October , when the new Masonic quarters of the Joseph Warren Lodge were solemnly dedicated to Masonry by the Grand Master Bro . Lawrence , assisted by his Grand Officers .

History Of Freemasonry.

HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY .

( Continued from page 83 . ) IN his next Chapter Bro . Gould discusses very exhaustively " the Statutes relating to the Freemasons , " the earliest of which—the " Ordinance of Labourers "—• dates from the year 1349 , and some years later was made

a Statute . In his preliminary inquiries , however , he finds it necessary to discuss certain matters , and among them he notes the distinction between a Statute and an Ordinance , the latter of which wanted " the consent of some one or more of the constituent parts of a parliament , " namely ,

" the king , lords , and commons . " Moreover , " an ordinance could not make new or permanent law , nor repeal any statute ; bnt temporary provisions , consistent with the law in force , might be made by way of ordinance , and one ordinance could be repealed by another without a statute . "

Bro . Gould further suggests that what are referred to in 15 Edw . III . c . vii . as charters and patents " were probably what were called ordinances , being of equal force and validity with statutes , but less solemn and public , because they were only a declaration , and not an alteration of the

law . Ordinances were never proclaimed by the sheriff , as in the case of statutes , but it was sometimes recommended by the king to the commons—probably by a charter or patent—to publish them in their county . A statute was an ordinance and something more ; and , therefore , though

statutes may sometimes be called ordinances , yet no inattention to language would excuse the converse of the proposition . Though an ordinance could be altered by a statute , yet a statute could not be altered by an ordinance .

After all , perhaps , the principal mark of a statute was its being entered on the statute roll . " Having in this and other respects made the way clear , the author deals with the several statutes in their order and collectively . The first , as has been noted , was the Ordinance of Labourers , passed in 1349 , to which by the 3 Rich . II . St . 1

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