Correspondence.

Correspondence .

Wc do not hold ourselves responsible for the opinions expressed by our correspondents , but we I wish , in a spirit of fair play to all , to permit—within certain necessary limits—free discu ssion . J

LODGE OF FRIENDSHIP , No . 44 . To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , Although I am unable to give definite facts which will assist in settling the animated and interesting dispute between Bros . Lane and Heywood , I yet am able to direct attention to certain documents which may aid in unravelling the history of Lodge -39 .

In 1 S 62 , when Eminent Commander ( now termed Preceptor ) of the Jerusalem Encampment , I obtained from the then W . M . of the Lodge of Virtue the restitution of the following documents , upon which I compiled a history of the encampment under the title of " Notes on the Orders of the Temple and St . John , etc ., " which the Freemason reviewed in its first volume . The following documents were then secured by me in a fiat tin box , which I purchased from Bro . Stephen Smith , and saw placed in the muniment room of

Freemasons' Hall : 1 . The Templar warrant issued at York , 17 S 6 ; framed . 2 . The minute book of the encampment from 17 S 6 ; three petitioners to York from Lodge 39 , one John Watson . 3 . The first minute book of Lodge 39 ( clearly in existence 1786 ) . 4 . A collection of old Templar and K . T . Priest certificates , 5 . Four old banners , of which I have photographs . 6 . Several framed plates ( I think four ) of Lambert de Lintot .

7 . An old Templar Priest ritual written by Jesse Lee , and certain books . In the year 1 SS 6 the Jerusalem Preceptory resolved to apply for a centenary jewel , which was granted on the evidence of my printed history . Bro . J . F . Hoffgaard , at that time Danish Consul , sought me up to collect the necessary information . I referred him to these documents , and at a second interview he informed me that Bro . John DufTield had taken them to his office to be overhauled , and having himself collapsed , they could not be found . They were in the muniment room up to 1871 , and I cannot vouch for what became of them after . '

I see that I stated -. " The minute book of this lodge is in possession of the Encampment , and the bye-laws bear the signature of Lawrence Dermott about ' 757 . " I have also added that Lodge 39 united with Fortitude , but I can now give no authority for that . In history the returns to Grand Lodge are not always to be relied upon as showing the facts of the case . 1 have known the following plan to be followed as

a legitimate continuation , and which in fact it is . A Masonic body becomes semidormant , the old members not caring to take the trouble of keeping the warrant afloat . A swarm of Masons from other lodges agree to revive it , and are admitted en bloc and the old members retire , and may not even leave a trace in the next return to Grand Lodge . 1 myself hold that one member is sufficient for a legitimate continuation , others say three . In old Roman law one member could continue a sodality .

Hence it is the minutes of the lodge that must be our final resort , and it would be well in the case of Lodge Friendship if the members would have theirs looked up , and so settle the dispute by evidence . —Fraternally yours ,

JOHN YARKER , P . Z ., P . G . C , Past Grand Constable of England . West Didsbury , November 2 nd .

To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , If I understand Bro . Lane ' s contention correctly it is to the following effect : 1 . That there were three original lodge warrants issued all for the same town ( Manchester ) , all bearing the same number ( 39 ) , but not in any manner connected with each other .

2 . That the third of those lodges had a roll of 74 subscribing brethren ai days after the issue of the warrant . 3 . That it is our " imperative duty as Freemasons " to accept the above two marvellous statements as " facts , " in order that the publication in the Grand Lodge Calendar , the entry in the lodge minute book of 1835 , signed at the time by the Master and Wardens , and the recitals contained in the deed issued ^ under the seal of the United Grand Lodge may be ignored . I still maintain my original assertion with evidence .

Bro . Lane has clearly proved that the lodges warranted in 1755 and 1795 were composed of some of the same brethren ( Bro . Watson and others ) . It , therefore , only remains for me to show that the lodges of 1795 and 1803 had a relationship and all the three Manchester lodges , No . 39 , will be found to follow each other therein . I believe Bro . Lane is correct in asserting that the warrant given up in exchange for that of tSo 3 was not that of 1755 , but that of 1795 , as the lodge minutes of 1 S 35 and the present lodge warrant clearly show that the 1755 warrant was the one in use and exchanged in 18 35 .

I consider liro ., Lane's intention that the 1803 warrant was a new one is untenable as the charge made for it was £ 2 2 s . ( the expense of a confirmation warrant ) . A new warrant would have cost £ 6 6 s . I contend that the 1803 warrant was a confirmation of the warrants issued previously , and that the three Manchester warrants respectively numbered 39 are connected in continuity , and therefore all included in the present 1835 confirmation warrant .

Evidently the deficiency of available extracts at the command of Bro . Lane when he compiled his superb work , may be apt in some instances to lead to wrong conclusions , unless assisted by other documentary evidence , which I have endeavoured to supply . — V ' ours fraternally , NATHAN HEYWOOD . I This correspondence must now cease . —ED . F . M . I

MASONIC VAGRANTS . To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , We hear and read a great deal about the tramping Masons . Perhaps the following may serve as a hint how to deal with them . 1 was waited on by one to-day . I asked the name and number of his lodge and the name of its Secrclaiy . All this information he gave and 1 then told him I would wire the

Secrctiiiy with "reply paid , " and that if the reply was favourable and applicant would attend at the Masonic Hall in Ihe evening—I was to attend a lodge therehe should be relieved . He said " can ' t you give me a trifle to help me till the reply comes . " "No , " I said , " I mini know first that you are worthy of it , " and he left . In an hour or two I had a reply . " is a bad lot . " I . need hardly say the fellow did not tuin up at the lodge in Ihe evening for the assistance 1 had promised him . —Yours fraternally ,

SECRETARY . P . S . —The lodge given was a Brighton one . Southampton , October 21 st .

Masonic Notes And Queries.

Masonic Notes and Queries .

1075 ] AN EXTRAORDINARY WARRANT . In the Museum and Library of Brighton are large cards , duly framed , containing historical Sketches of Lodges in the Province , in brief . . This is a feature peculiar to this excellent Institution , I believe , but one that might well be followed , so as to have handy for reference the chief points of interest concerning the old Lodges , especially in the Provinces . One of . these neatly printed Histories relates to the "South Saxon" Lodge , No . 311 , Lewes , and contains a copy of the

Warrant granted in 1801 ; but the one of 1796 , by which it still works , is not reproduced . The document is very curious , and is the only one of the kind I have met with . Provincial Grand Lodges under the " Ancients " had separate Warrants and numbers , just as with ordinary Lodges , one only having been traced for any English Counties , but none of these contained the clause "to make Masons " as this one does . It was granted on March 7 th , 1801 , by General Samuel Hulse , Prov . G . M . of Sussex , who did thereby " Nominate , Constitute , and Appoint the South Saxon Lodge , held at Lewes , the Provincial Grand Lodge of the County

of Sussex ; to consist of the Grand Officers hereunder named , and twelve Grand Stewards [& c ] with full power to make Masons , constitute Regular Lodges . . also to do and execute all and every such other act or acts , thing or things , as appertain to the duties of a regular constituted Provincial Grand Lodge . " The Ollicers of Provincial Grand Lodge included an acting Prov . G . M . ( P . A . G . M . ) , a " P . G . Orator , " " P . D . G . Secretary , " " P . G . Portrait Painter , " " P . G . Record Keeper , " " P . G . Architect , " and a " P . G . Seal Keeper . " Bro . G . Holman , P . M ., states that " No new Lodges were constituted under this Warrant . " W . J . HUGHAN .

Reviews.

Reviews .

ST . MARK ' S MARK LODGE , No . 1 . London : George Kenning , 16 Great Queen-st ., W . C . Bro . George Kenning ' s " Illustrated History of the St . Mark ' s Mark Lodge , No . 1 , London , " is a remarkable volume , and is a credit to his well-known printing works in Great Queen-street . There is nothing like it else in print in relation to Mark Masonry , as the author , Professor P . L . Simmonds , has done his best to cover the whole of the ground . The " Rise and Progress of Mark Masonry " has a separate chapter to itself , reference being made to the oldest records extant of the Degree which are preserved at Portsmouth , and lately made known by Bro . Alex . Howell in his sumptuous volume , the

first beinsr dated ist September , 1769 . Bro . Simmonds notes Bro . Hughan's opinion that the " Mark Man " being for Fellow Crafts , and the " Mark Master" for Master Masons , has led to the mistaken idea that the Mark is really a portion of the Second Degree , and he also alludes to the early Registers of Marks in the old Masonic minute Books of Scotland . Then follow chapters on the " Origin of St . Mark's Lodge , No . 1 , " and " St . Mark ' s Lodge , No . 1 ( under the Grand Mark Lodge ) , " the next being one on the " Degree of Royal Ark Mariner , " which fully treats of that ceremony in a most interesting manner . The most attractive feature of the work to many , however , will be

Ihe numerous portraits of members of the lodge and Grand Officers , with biographical sketches , which must have involved no little labour to obtain particulars . Those of the Grand Officers include H . R . H . the Prince of Wales , the M . W . Grand Master ; the Earl of Euston , M . W . Pro Grand Master ; Lord Dungarvan , D . G . M ., and Prov . G . M . of Somerset ; the Grand Treasurer , Bro . Percy Wallis ; the Grand Secretary , Bro . C . F . Matier ; Bro . George Kenning , Past Grand Overseer j Bro . Alderman Shepherd , Past J . G . D . ; and Bros . P . L . Simmonds , E . H . Thiellay , and J . J . Thomas , Past Grand Stewards . Q'her portraits that will be appreciated are those of Bros . James Stephens ,

the W . M . of No . 1 j Thomas Cohu , P . M . ; and J . J . Pakes , Secretary . Ihe other full page illustrations are Mark Masons' Hall ( an excellent plate ) , Masons' Marks of Past Masters and members of No . 1 , Warrant of the lodge of A . D . 1867 , and Ark Mariners' Warrant of 1 S 72 . Students of the Degree will be pleased to see that Bro . W . J . Hughan ( Past Grand Warden ) has kindly written an Introduction on Mark Masonry , by desire of the publisher , which gives in a " nutshell" the salient points of its history , both Operative and Speculative , which might well be reprinted in the Freemason . The

information afforded has reference also to the Scottish Mark lodges and to the Degree abroad . He estimates that " there must be about 200 , 000 Mark Masters subscribing to their chapters in America alone , " and prefers the present virtual recognition of the ceremony in England to actual adoption , which would mean absorption . The handsome Book is to be obtained for Gs . 6 d . per copy , though there are so many illustrations , and it is to be hoped Mark Masons will be glad of the privilege thus to possess such a useful Work . .

THE IRISH MASTER MASON ' S HANDBOOK . By Bro . Fred . J . W . Crowe , P . Prov . G . Org . Devon , & c ., with an Introduction by Bro . W . J . Hughan , P . G . D . London : George Kenning , i < 5 & 16 a , Great Queen-street , Lincoln ' s Inn Fields , W . C , 1 S 95 . —Having compiled a Master Mason ' s Handbook for England and Scotland , Bro . Crowe has wisely furnished another illustration of thc Masonic Triad , by compiling a similar work for Ireland . In doing this he has followed precisely the plan observed in his previous publications , and we have much pleasure in adding that on point of merit the Irish stands on precisely the same level with the English and Scotch congeners—if

such a term may properly be applied to a book . A brief description of the contents will demonstrate this . A brief sympathetic chapter by Bro . Hughan , in which that brother recommends the book to the notice of Craftsmen , forms the introduction to the whole . Bro . Crowe's compilation being divided into seven chapters , of which Chapter I . contains an " Historical Sketch of Freemasonry , " leading up to the establishment , in 1729 , of the Grand Lodge of Ireland . In this Bro . Crowe has rightly availed himself of the later discoveries in respect of Irish Masonic History which have been made by Bro . Chetwode Crawley , and other writers of eminence . It also includes , by the courteous permission of

Bro . Hughan , a complete transcript of "The Ancient Stirling MS ., " of the "Ancient Charges . " Chapter II . is occupied with an account of the Grand Lodge of Ireland , its origin and constitution , and contains thc list of Grand Masters as compiled by Bro . Hughan . In this Chapter the system of lodge enumeration , or more properly speaking perhaps , the plan upon which for more than a century past the Grand Lodge has issued warrants for new lodges is fully explained . Care is also taken to explain how and by what Committee the transaction of Grand Lodire business is regulated . In Chapter III . particulars are given of

" Subordinate Lodges , " both " Metropolitan and Provincial . " VVe should have preferred the use of the term "Private" to that of "Subordinate" as applied to thes' : bodies . Their principal officers and Past Masters constitute the bulk of the members of Grand Lodge . It is they which originally constituted the latter and invested it with the powers it is by law entitled to exercise over themselves , an 1 for the reasons we think the term " Private " is unobjectionable , while that of ' * Subordinate , " though it undoubtedly explains the position in which the lodges stand to Grand Lodge , carries with it a certain suspicion of inferiority which cannot De said to exist in our Grand Lodffe organisations .

Chapter IV . deals with Visiting , and Chapter V . with " Titles , their proper Uses and Abbreviations , " while The Great Masonic Institutions " of the country , including both the Central Charities located in Dublin and those established at Belfast for the brethren in the Province of Ulster , as well as other and minor local Charities . It is to be regretted that ttiis chapter is not as complete as it might have been in consequence of Bro . Crowe's request for information having been allowed to pass unnoticed . In Chapter VIII . are described the " * Higher' or ' Additional' Degrees , " and the reader is told how and by means of what qualifications he will be able to obtain them . The whole is

completed as in the English and Scotch Handbooks by a brief account of Quatuor Coronati Lodge , No . 207 G ( i ' . C . ) , and there a carefully prepared Index , which will enable the brother who is in search of information or on mere particular points to find it at once and without difficulty . From this brief sketch it will be seen that Bro . Crowe ' s Irish . English , -and Scotch Handbooks have been compiled on one and the same plan > possess as nearly as possible equal merit , and are aiike necessary to members 01 the three Constitutions . As Bro . Hughan points out in the concluding Paragrap h of his

Introduction— " Bro . Crowe's trio of Handbooks , published by Bro . George Kenning , ate precisely the kind of elementary works required to incite a lust for more elaborate Masonic Histories , and 1 trust they will be most successful in that direction . " v endorse this remark most fully , both as regards the value of this and its compai " . " Handbooks and as to his wish for their success . It only remains to add that the Ins J Handbook has for its frontispiece an excellent portrait of Bro . his Grace the Duke 0 Abcrcorn , M . W . G . Master of Ireland , that it is well printed and neatly bound , that its price thc same as that of its predecessors , namely , one shilling sterling .