Lodge Htstories.

Thus the affairs progressed with little or nothing of moment until 4 th January 1787 , when the question of tho fines once more cropped up in this wise : — " It is this night agreed that every brother who has not paid his fine , and is not agreeable to pay his lines which are now due , bo excluded this Lodge , and treated as a visiting brother . " Evidently in thoso clays our brethren did nofc treat visiting brethren

with tho same courtesy and hospitality common to this era , else the penalty above quoted would not have been any punishment ; . On 1 st February 1787 , Sfc . Hilda ' s Lodgo received as a visitor from St . Bede ' s Lodge , South Shields , Bro . Greathead . After visiting regu . larly three or four months , Henry Greathead—afterwards known as joint claimant with Willie Wouldhave as tho inventor of the

lifeboatbecame a member of St . Hilda s Lodge , and officiated as Officer in various capacities , and notably as Secretary , from Juno 1787 to 19 th May 1789 , when he was appointed J . W . In tho latter year is the first record of St . Hilda ' s interesting itself in tho great Masonic Charities . On 21 st Jnly 1789 is the following minute : — "This night it is agreed that 10 s 6 d shall be paid , on tho 30 th inst ., to tho

Provincial Graud Lodge for the Charity Fund , and that Bro . Lee shall attend the P . G . L . on that clay to represent the S . W . " The affairs of tho Lodge progress during tho subsequent years , with nothing of noto transpiring to mar its prosperity . St . Hilda's Lodgo gradually increased in membership and funds ; aud the fact that tho Officers wero advancing in knowledge of tho working of tho Craft is

made manifest by the minutes of tho general Lodgo night—2 nd Oct . 1788—wherein it is recorded : — " That this night it was agreed that Bro . Wright ( Lecture Master ) , of Sunderland , do cease to attend , except on a night appointed for a Herodian or higher Order . " Up to that time Bro . Wright had been especially engaged to como over fro-n Sunderland on Lodgo nights to deliver tho lectures to tho

brethren . Bro . Joseph Bulmor , tho W . M . at this time , and for four years following , evidently had worked himself up , ancl was ablo to deliver the several lectures in tbe Craft degrees , and did so , according to tho minutes , between 1788 and 1792 . In tho latter year Brother Bulmer was succeeded in tho chair of K . S . by Bro . Paul Lee , who also delivered tho lectures . The brethren , as is to be expected in a

seaport Lodge , were troubled by the non-attendance and irregular attendance of some of the members , in spite of tho elaborate array of fines that were from time to time drawn up . Bro . Bulmer jusfc mentioned obtains an unenviable notoriety in the subjoined minute , dated General Lodge night , 5 th July 1792 : — " It is hereby enacted " —Bro . Thos . Wilson , the then Secretary , adopts a legal mode of

diction— "that all members shall be fined for being behind the hour of opening the Lodgo , for which offence Bro . Bulmer is the first , and has this night paid the sum of 3 d . " Here is a minute entered on 20 th November 1794 , which recalls the stirring history of tho period : — * ' By the motion of the Right W . M . ( Bro . Bulmer ) , Bro . Robinson , a member of this Lodge , and now in the French prison , ifc was

nnanimously agreed thafc one guinea be immediately paid to Mrs . Robinson out of the Pedestal [ the said pedestal being the treasury of tho Lodge in those days ] , ancl also a collection made by tho brethren , when 18 s was given for the benefit of Bro . Robinson ' s family . " Sunderland Bridge was opened in 1796 with Masonic honours , and that tho brethren of St . Hilda ' s took part is

testified by tho subjoined quaint minute , dated the 7 th July 1796 : — " Be ifc remembered , thafc in pursuance of a letter received from the Worshipful Grand Master of the Provincial Grand Lodgo of Durham , it is agreed that tho Worshipfnl Master and Wardens attend at the Sea Captain ' s Lodge ( Sunderland ) , on Thursday next , at 11 in tho forenoon , in order to acquiesce in the forming of the rules of tho

mode of the procession intended to be held at tho opening of the Bridge . " The end of 1797 seems to mark a change in the constitution of St . Hilda ' s , for on the 16 th of November a special meeting of the members was held to consider the best mode of ensuring a good attendance in the Lodge in the future . At this meeting thero seems to have been onlv seven members present . However , the following

important resolutions were agreed to : — " 1 st . That from henceforth every subscribing member to this Lodge shall pay into the hands of the Treasurer for the time being the sum of 10 s per annum , which said sum of 10 s shall be paid in four equal quarterly payments , the firsfc payment to be made on the 7 fch December nexfc . 2 nd . That the fines now due to the Lodge shall be recovered by the

Secretary , but in future no member shall be fined for non-attendance except at the Festival . 3 rd . Thafc every member refusing to pay his quarterage when due shall be expelled . " These resolutions were unanimously agreed to afc the subsequent ; regular meeting , bufc the list of attendances did nofc apparently improve very materially . Under date of 2 nd March 1812 appears , for the first time in the minutes ,

George Potts—a name never to bo forgotten by tho members of St . Hilda ' s Lodge . Bro . Potts officiated as J . W . on that occasion , on subsequent Lodge nights as Deputy Senior Warden , so that ifc may be assumed thafc the venerable brother was already a good Mason when his name first appeared on the books of tho Lodge . On the 13 th of April in the same year we find Bro . Potts proposing Mr .

Wm . Clay—another name connected with Shields history—as a candidate . Afc this period St . Hilda ' s was a flourishing Lodge , the attendances having moro than doubled , ancl the membership havinnlargel y augmented . The average attendances were now over 20 , and the subscribing members numbered 39 . The original number of St .

Hilda ' s Lodge was 521 ; afc the Union of the Grand Lodges Ancient and Modern , on the 27 th December 1813 , this number was changed to 440 ; again , in 1832 , when a general alteration of numbers took place throughout all the Lodges , Sfc . Hilda ' s was further reduced to 292 ; and lastly , in 1863 , when another general alteration took place , the number was placed at 240 , at which it remains at present .

The Installation Meeting of the Burdett Coutts Lodge , No . 1278 , was held on Thursday . Bro . J . G . Defriez was installed by Bro . Lazarus , the outgoing Master . Pull report in our next .

Correspondence.

CORRESPONDENCE .

We do not hold , ourselves responsible for the opinions of our Cor . respondents . We cannot undertake to return rejected communications . All Letters must bear the -name an I address of the Writer , not necessity lb / for publication , but as a guarantee of good faith .

APPLICANTS FOR OUR CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS .

To the Editor oj the FKKKMASON ' S Cin'ONicr , ! -:. DEAR Snt AND BROTHER , —Permit mo through your columns to ask the brethren to examine the dotailed accounts of fcho parents of thoso seeking to bo admitted , and T think that they will lie fairly amazed to find that out of lifty-four applicants I ' or the Girls' School only twelve of the fathers havo done anything afc all for Masonry , while iu the Boys '

list matters aro far worse , for out of seventy-three candidates only ten havo done anything for the Institutions . Now these things ought not to bo . I find the average number of years subscription to thoir Lodges as follow : —for tho girls 9 x 54 =--4 SG , Boys 7 . ^ x 73 = 547 ^ . So that had each of theso Brothers subscribed only £ 1 a year tho Institution would havo benefited by tlio sum of £ 1 , 033 10 s , and nobody

wouldhave begrudged doing mure to assist ; but when , time after time , as tho lists come round those facts stare ono iu tlio face , ifc is enough almost to make one hold one ' s hand , especially when wo find brethren who have been ten , fifteen , twenty , up to thirty years' subscribing members of Lodges , yet havo given no further sign of interest . It wonld bo very hard aud tin-Masonic to turn the cold shoulder to the widows and orphans of brothers , though iu ninety-nine cases out of a

hundred tho mothers are as' much to blame as the fathers , for if thoy used their iuduouco they could always ! make their husbands , if they did not themselves , subscribe to what might at any timo be of ulterior benefit to themselves or their children . LastIy , letussoo what a £ 1 ahead subscription of 1 , 250 Lodges with 25 membera in each would bring iu , viz ., £ 31 , 250 , a fact sufficient to indnce every brother to give at least so much towards the Order of which he is , or ought to bo , proud to be a member . Yours fraternally , V . P .

More Litigation.

MORE LITIGATION .

To the Editor of the FRI-K . UASON ' S CHRONICLE . DEAR Sin AND BROTHER , —I am glad you havo drawn attention to the lifcigation pending between Bro . Wilson and tho Boys' School . I follow yonr good example , and abstain from saying a word about tho merits of the difference , but I think with you that Bro . Wilson has been badly used , and , as you say , has " good-naturedly allowed

himself to be bandied about from pillar to post , in the vain hope thafc fcho House Committee , being afc length actuated hy a souse of reason , as well as by a desire to avoid a trial and tho attendant evils , would agree to accept his account . " Bro . Wilson , as an architect , knows tho etiquette as well aa tho usages of his profession . Can the same bo said of tho House Committee ? What do they know of architecture

and its charges , or tho labour winch justifies thoso charges ? Any one can check a bill of groceries by the price current , or a butcher ' s or baker ' s bill by the contract or market prices . How many among us could tell if an architect ' s prices are legitimate or nofc , aud yet Bro . Wilson has not only submitted his account , with a due sense of responsibility as an honourable man and an architect , but has also

expressed his readiness to abide by tho decision , as to its justice or injustice , of one of the most eminent members of his own profession ? Could any man with an atom of self-respect have offered to do more than this ? Bro . Wilson , I believe , is a Vice-President of the Institution , which he is virtually , if not in so many words , accused of overcharging , and his willingness to abide by any reasonable decision

should have been received with greater consideration than ifc seems to have commanded . It will cost the members of the House Committee , individually or collectively , nothing to fighfc thoir battle with Bro . Wilson , but ifc may cost the Institution some hundreds of pounds , and assuredly it

will be landed , as you suggest , m some expense . Aud all this trouble and annoyance ancl waste of money might havo been avoided with a little management , not on fcho part of Bro . Wilson , who seems to have been ready to do anything reasonable , but on that of tho House Committee who seem to have resisted , if fchey havo not resented , each and all of his friendly advances . Fraternally yours , CORPORAL TRIM .

A Case Of Distress.

A CASE OF DISTRESS .

¦ To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' S CIIRONICLK . DKAU SIR AND BROTH HI ; , —The widow of a Mason who was for natiy years a subscribing member to a Scotch Lodge , now residing in Jroydon , is in very distressed circumstances . She is a person of <» cod : ducation and unexceptionable character . Of lato sho has obtained a

living as ladies' nrirso , but her ago and indifferent ; health arc now obstacles to employment in that or any capacity . The case bavin" - jome under my notice , I inquired as to whether she was eli ^ -iblo for lie Freemasons' Asylum afc Croydon ? and waa informed she was not , by reason of her late husband having belonged only to a Scotch Lodge . Will yon or any of your numerous subscribers inform me if