Multum In Parbo, Or Masonic Notes And Queries.

members of the Fraternity did aught but honorably revive a venerable system allied to the Operative Craft , and I am unable to see any other foundation for this theory without proof than that of empty belief and confident assertion .

The very edifices themselves which adorn our favoured land with their magnificent and hoary grandeur , are imperishable records that the cultivated minds which originated their wondrous beauty must have required some additional

associations than were to be found in exclusive communion with those by whose manual dexterity their refined and glorious conceptions were bequeathed to admiring and grateful generations—a joy for ever . LUPUS .

BRO . E . T . T . AND OLD RECORDS . If Bro . E . T . T . will kindly forward to me the volume of Records ¦ in question , I will gladly

peruse them , and make known their character through the columns of THE FREEMASON . Please address , Truro , Cornwall . W . J AMES HUGHAN .

Seeing that Bro . " E . T . T . " at page 609 has kindly offered Bro . Hughan a perusal of these documents , I would beg . to observe that in common fairness I should also have that privilege before I could fairly , under the

circumstances , be expected to allow them to have much weight with me ; and more especially , seeing it was in answer to me that they were first alluded to . I did not observe any statement as to whether or not this 1708 lodge was one of pure Operative Masons or not . W . P . B .

BRO . C . G . FORSYTH . If Bro . C . G . Forsyth has access to the " Encyclopedia Metropolitana , " he would confer a favour on several of the Fraternity by copying the article therein on Freemasonry ( or Masonry ) .

I have not access to the work myself , as unfortunately it is not in our Town Library . The date of the issue of the work should also be stated , and page where quotation is to be found . I am told the "Sloane MSS ., " in the British

Museum on Masonry , is referred to in the article mentioned . Bro . Forsyth , and indeed all brethren who make known the results of their Masonic

studies and researches , are working , not only for themselves , but for the Craft universal . As for myself , I will gladly receive and communicate all the Light possible . AY . J AMES HUGHAN .

ELECTION or PROV . G . M . ' S IN SCOTLAND . In THE FREEMASON , at page 592 , line 6 r , second column , I read : " In Scotland and other Masonic Jurisdictions , the Provincial Grand Masters even are not appointed by the Chief

Ruler of the Craft , but arc elected by the local bodies . " I may mention that this rule onl y applies to one district in Scotland , namely that of Ayrshire , and that on the election of the Right Worshipful Master of Mother Kilwinning ,

in virtue of his office as Master of Kilwinning Lodge , No . o , he becomes , as such , Provincial Grand Master of Aryshire . This rule , however , does not apply to the other thirty-seven Provincial Grand Masters under Scottish Jurisdiction

they are generally nominated by a lodge or lodges in the district , . sometimes only by a few members in the district , and the election is entirely in the hands of the Grand Lodgo of Scotland , where , should there Inppen to be a

contest as there often is , the majority rules as in all other matters . The difference being in Scotland that the Grand Lodge elect their Provincial Grand Masters , while in England the Grand Master appoints them . CHALMERS I . PATON .

LONDON IN 1717 . So far as I can at present judge , London in 1717 neither saw the " revival" nor the " origin " of our system of Freemasonry ; but its institution and inauguration . XV . P . BUCHAN .

AVhy are notices of Masonic meetings held at Scarbvo' generally announced in THE FREEMASON as " Select Lodges" ? Vide pages 591 and 598 , and previous issues of your valuable paper . TAURUS .

Multum In Parbo, Or Masonic Notes And Queries.

THE INITIATION OF THE BLIND ( p . 611 ) . Bro . " Justitia" asks the question : " Is it competent for a man , who is and has been totally blind from his birth , to be made a Freemason ? " I say , certainly not . Freemasonry , in one of its elements , boasts of equality .

Again , the question is asked , or rather understood , that a lodge in Scotland gives the various degrees to men who have been blackballed in England . I regret to say that Bro . "Justitia ' s " remarks are too true . The truth is , that in many lodges in Scotland the blind and

blackballed m England have been initiated . In fact , in a lodge in Edinburgh , immediately under the eyes of the Grand Lodge of Scotland , a man was initiated who had been blind from the day of his birth , and a present chief office-bearer of the Grand Lodge of Scotland conducted the

ceremony of initiation . Again , in another lodge in Edinburgh , two men who had been blackballed in their own town in England—and the fact was quite well known in Edinburgh—were initiated without any scruples . IS o wonder that the brethren in the north-west of England

complain . However , it is to be hoped that the brethren in Scotland will desist from such practices in future , and that no complaint will be found by the English brethren , with whom it is my wish to live in harmony . A PAST MASTER OF AN EDINBURGH LODGE .

Masonic Miscellanea.

Masonic Miscellanea .

—*— THE " Freemason ' s Calendar and Pocket Book " for the year 1871 is now published , and may be had at Freemasons' Hall . THE tenth annual festival of all the lodges in the

Province of Glasgow will be held , under the patronage of the Grand Lodge of Scotland , in the City Hall , Glasgow , on Friday evening , the 23 rd instant . The Right Hon . the Earl of Rosslyn , Grand Master Mason for Scotland , is expected to preside , and the programme includes a soiree , concert , and assembly .

We are informed that three new conclaves of the Red Cross Order have been established in India , viz .. St . Peters . No . 32 , at Bombay , Sir Knight G . S . Judge , Prov . G . Com . K . T ., as M . P . S . ; St .

Andrew ' s , No . 33 , also at Bombay , Sir Kt . Captain H . Morland , Prov . G . Master for AVestcrn India , S . C , as M . P . S . ; and St . Helena , No . 34 , at Calcutta , Sir Kt . G . II . Dalv , M . D ., D . D . G . Master for Bengal , E . C , as M . P . S ' .

OUR readers will be glad to learn that that ancient seat of Masonic doings , AVarrington is about to be provided with a " home " for the Craft . A dozen years ago , the brethren—scarcely a score in number —were content to meet in a house of public entertainment . Warrington now possesses two Lodges

and a Royal Arch Chapter , all very numerously supported . For some years past the meetings have been held in the Masonic Rooms , but as these may be required for other purposes , it was thought desirable to call a general meeting of the Craft to talk about the matter . The W . M . 's of the lodges

and the M . E . Z . of the chapter readily gave their sanction , and with Bro . Bowes as Hon . Sec . pro tern ., a meeting was called which has been adjourned from time to time . The majority of the shares have already been taken up , and we hope soon to lay before our readers full details of the design .

THEATRICAL . — Bros . Montague , Thome , and James , at the A ' audeville Theatre , continue to be nightly patronised by crowded houses . Mr . Albery's enormously successful comedy , " The Two Roses , " seems to be as popular as ever , and to this the enterprising managers have added a new burlesque ,

written by I * . C . liurnaiid , Esq ., entitled "Elizabeth ; or the Don , the Duck , the Drake , and the Invisible Armada . " It is admirably put on the stage ; the chesses ( supplied by Bro . S . May and Mrs . Dolman ) arc magnificent , the scenery and adjuncts new and

striking . Ihe curtain nightly falls amidst applause of the warmest kind , and the burlesque may now be considered a decided success . The farce of " Chiselling" winds up an evening's entertainment we have great pleasure in commending to all our readers .

ON Saturday morning , the 10 th inst ., a dramatic performance , under distinguished patronage , will take place at the Princess ' s Theatre ( by the kind pjrmUsion of Bro . Benjamin Webster ) , in aid of

the Hinds for the distressed French refugees . Mdlle . DJijazet , Mesdames Lecnide , Leblanc , Duverger , B . irbe , Martin , & c , and Messrs . Lafotit , Hcrv < 5 , Derval , Josset , Georges , & c , arc announced to appear .

Original Correspondence.

Original Correspondence .

The Editor is not responsible for the opinions expressed by Correspondents .

BY-LAAVS OF LODGES . ( To the Editor of The Freemason . ) DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , — Although several brethren have kindly responded to my request for copies of By-laws of Lodges , preparatory to my

compilation of a suggested Code of By-Laws which shall include all regulations of value for the satisfactory working and management of a Craft Lodge , 1 am still short of the number I had hoped to receive , and again beg to make known my request through THE FREEMASON . Yours fraternally , Truro , Cornwall . AV . JAMES HUGHAN .

VALUE OF A DIPLOMA—AVHAT IS IT WORTH ?

( To the Editor of The Freemason . ) DEAR SIR AND BrOTHER , —In a recent case which was tried before the Sheriff Small Debt Court at Glasgow for defamation of character , " Morton v . Wallace , " the following facts were elicited as to the loose manner in which Masonic

diplomas or certificates are frequently grantedmore especially as the case referred to showedby the officials of the Grand Lodge of Scotland . The complainant , George Leopold Morton , stated that he was initiated in the Marine Lodge , Calcutta , No . 232 , on the register of England ; he thereafter

removed to Melbourne , in 1858 , and was raised in the Australasian Kilwinning Lodge , No . 337 on the Constitution of Scotland . In the course of a short period he removed to Monte Video , and while resident in that country received his certificate from the latter lodge , showing that he had been duly

recorded in the books of the Grand Lodge of Scotland , under which , as stated , the Australasian Kilwinning held their warrant . On examining the certificate , however , he found that in place of Norton , he had been registered Martin . He therefore immediately returned it to his lodge at

Melbourne with the request , not only of having the error in his certificate corrected , but the graver one of his name been wrongly entered in the books of the Grand Lodge , by which not only he himself but his family would be debarred from participating , if required , in the Fund of Benevolence to which he

was entitled . Shortly after this the lodge-room at Melbourne , with its paraphernalia , books , & c , as well , it is presumed , of his certificate and letter of complaint , were all consumed and for ever lost , and he and his claims were alike forgotten . Matters remained in statu quo till September , 1 S 70 , when he .

the above-named George Leopold Morton , appeared in Edinburgh , and applied to the Grand Lodge himself for a correct diploma , and on his own statement was supplied with a correct one in due form , even though no such name was found in the Grand Lodge books—but simply on the faith of the statement thus

made by himself of the supposed error in registering his name , and that after a period of twelve years . Armed with this document , he immediately made application to the respective benevolent funds of the Grand Lodge of Scotland and to the local one

of the Province of Glasgow . Both applications were refused , and in the heat of the moment , and incensed at the use made of the diploma thus obtained , AA allace , the defendant in the action , who is a member of Grand Committee , so endorsed the certificate that it became useless . Hence the

action . Such is the plain unvarnished statement as eliminated by the complainant Morton . It may be all true ; but what Grand Officer is there who should dare to tamper with the books of the Graud Lodge and its sacred property on the ipse dixit or story of

an individual not officially recognised as the officer of a subordinate lodge , and having no proof to produce of his even being a Mason . It is high time , indeed , that some guarantee should be given to the Craft that such documents either should be deemed worthy of confidence ( as they hitherto have been ) ,

or only quantum valiat . GEOKGIC LEOPOLD , may have been the brother intended to have been recorded as Morton , not Mirtan as was done—but he may not . There may have been a Brother George Leopold Martin , but he may have been " gathered to his fathers " and his

name assumed by another . It may yet be found all correct , but there is no use in locking the stable after the horse has been stolen . It is impossible , therefore , that too much care can be shown in granting such documents , which serve as passports throughout the known world . They should alone

be granted to the officials of a lodge and none other , and then care should be adopted of seeing the signature of the brother at once appended , as a further guarantee against its improper use . So long , however , as such offices in Grand Lodge are filled by officials whose sole object and intent