Original Correspondence.

with appeal , if necessary , to Grand Lodge . In the case of Provincial Grand Lodges I would extend the membership under qualification as to fees , & c , as above , to all Past Masters and all Past Wardens that have been duly installed and served their offices for the appointed time . At all Quarterly Communications of Grand Lodge not less than six Grand Stewards , and of Provincial Graud Lodges not less than two Provincial Grand Stewards

should be told off to he in waiting at the entrance of Grand Lodge to assist Ihc Grand Tyler in admitting brethren from the provinces , : nul to prove that they arc de facto R . W . M . ' s ., Wardens-, Past Masters , Proxy Masters , and Wardens , who seek entrance , and arc thereby entitled to vote and speak . This could be arranged by a roster for duty being kept by the President of Grand Stewards .

SEC . IV . —PROXY MASTERS AND WARDENS , AND PAST MASTERS . We must always lu > lil in view the great landmark of our Order , " that the three who rule the lodge " are the Master and his two Wardens ; this is the basis on which all Grand Lodges were formed . But in Scotland , when the Grand Lodge there vvns instituted ns the ruling power

ofthe Craft itwas found that distances being leng and locomotion difficult and expensive , few could attend , and that the country lodges were virtually unrepresented , it was therefore enacted that all lodges that could not anel would not attend the regular meetings should send proxies to represent them , but as then arranged , no other qualification vvas required rf these proxies than that they

should bc Master Masons duty registered on Grand Lodge books , so that Grand Lodge had almost got inlo the hands of those who had never been " rulers of the Craft " at all . Often have I known of cases where a candidate was raised on the Saturday evening , and on the Monday the same young brother vvas sitting in Granel Lodge voting and speaking on subjects of which he could know little or

nothing ; this , however , of late years has been greatly ameliorated , but even yet a considerable number of the members have not held offices in daughter lodges , and therefore are not " rulers of the Craft . " By turning back to my first article you will see the qualification I proporc for proxies . This proxy system , I am sorry to say , had got so engrained in lhe

Scottish mind , that a few years ago , when it vvas tried to add Past Masters as a component part of Grand Lodge , the motion failed , but now I see signs that it may not be so impossible a question as it has been . On looking over the Grand Lodee Roll , I see a great number of country lodges elect to send their own R . W . M . and Wardens , and do not grant proxies again , a large portion of the Craft sec that it is high time to put

our house in order , there are signs of our colonies setting up Grand Lodges for themselves , Masonry in the provinces is slowly but really improving , a more healthy grasp is being taken of the aims and intentions of Masonry -, so that while keeping on duly qualified proxies for the benefit of the more distant lodges , I think it will not bc impossible to strengthen our deliberative and Masonic , but also our financial power in Grand Lodge , and throughout Ihe country .

SEC . V . —I ' UND or BENEVOLENCE . I now come to my last question , though it is one of the " chief landmarks" of Freemasonry , Our Fund of Benevolence is supported by the following dues , viz ., is . on each intrant , bringing at the most £ 200 per annum , and fees of Grand Officers and members of Grand Lodge , with

interest on savings that are deposited , 111 all a very little over £ 100 per annum , as per Table II . Allowing for the tithe that is each year invested , very ittle remains for relieving distress . So much is this the case that it is a rare thing to hear of more than £ 10 being given to an individual case .

TABLE II . OLD SCALE . 1 . Grand Officers and Grand Stewards £ 153 13 6 2 . Lodges in Edinburgh , Proxies , R . W . M . ' s , & c , & c 254 13 a 3 . Intrants , say 4000 at is . 200 o o 4 . Interest on deposits 108 o a

£ li 6 6 C PROPOSED SCALE . 1 . Grand Officers and Grand Stewards £ * S 3 > 3 d 2 . Lodges in Edinburgh , Proxies , R . W . M . ' s , & c , & c 26 3 13 o 3 . Intrants , say 4000 at 5 s 1000 o o 4 . Interests on deposits 108 o o 5 . 500 P . M . 's and P . G . Officers at i ; s . each 12 s o o

£ 1630 ( , 6 Note . Addition of £ 934 . r In the latter case eiiher donations of £ 30 could be given ( a real boon , for to any one in deep distress £ 3 or £ 10 can be of little avail ) , or a sum could be given annually to the " Proposed Scottish Masonic Benevolent Institution . " In conclusion , I would simply say , 1 st , the prosperity

of the daughter lodges must influence the prosperity of Grand Lodge in preventing arrears , —the arrears of Grand Lodge are its great stumbling block ; the excess of expenditure over receipts is mainly due to this deadlock of arrears . Until the excess of expenditure can be stopped and matters arranged on a firm financial basis , no hope can be held out of arranging for consolidating the " debt

and floating balance , "—the best executive procurable could not make a real headway against the stream of evil . 2 nd . While changes in the system must be made , we should endeavour to reconstruct our administrative as well as financial department , seeing the two branches arc o intimately connected together . Not only will this be for the good of Grand Lodge

Original Correspondence.

itself , but for the Craft in general throughout Scotland . In fine , it depends on the brethren anel the daughter lodges of Scotland themselves , by 1 rompt returns , ant ] pnvments ° f all dues , to mike the Cratt succeed in the liitisrr . Table III . —PROPOSED SYSTEM .

New Table of Receipts for use of Grand Lodge of Scotland . Sec . I . Annua ! payments . Certificates of 45 S Lodges-. at 5 s Annual Subscription of 45 S

R . W . M . ' s and then- , r _ r > - . r _ t . 4 r > 8 o o Proxies at 5 s R .- * Annual Subscription of 91 C Wardens and their Proxies at ES - *

Liquidation Fund , 45 8 Lodges at is . each per aim 45 8 o o * 500 Past Masters and Past Grand Officers at ; s 12 ; o o

Annual rents of shops anil other properties , about 480 o o sC 15 21 o ° Sec . II . —Variable incomes , t Intrants , say 4000 , at 5 s .... £ 1000 o o Diplomas , say 4000 , at 5 s .... X ' 1000 o o

Charters and Prov . G . Master ' s Commissions at £ 10 ios . 105 o o Rents of Lodges and other Masonic bodies , say 80 o o Rents for Grand Hall , say ... 150 o o Miscellaneous Receipts 50 o o — £ 2383 o o

£ 30 . 0 ( 1 o o ^ Compare with Table 1 in Freemason , Jan . 27 th , 1877 . ¦(• Thus , whether proxies are retained or not , there should be no diminution of income , but rather a substantial increase of £ 223 , without so much chance of arrears . Vide Cemstitutions , cap . xx ., sec . xxxv ., all lodges

holding of Grand Lodge of Scotland , whether represented or not by their Master or Wardens , shall be compelled to pay the fees exigible for representation in Grand Lodge on the 24 th June annually , if not paid by their representatives previously . GEORGE R . HARRIOTT , Prov . G . M . Wigtown and Kirkcudbright .

THE ABDUCTION OF WILLIAM MORGAN . To the Editor iff the " Freemason . " Dear Sir anel Brother , — Your correspondent , Bro . W . Fieldson , in the Freemason for Dec 23 rd ult ., said that " rumour has it that William Morgan was murdered by Freemasons , " and , while questioning the statement himself , he quoted a

circumstantial account , asserting it to be taken from " uassell ' s History of the United States , " by E . Oilier , and asked for authentic informatiein upon the subject . You were pleased to refer the question to me for reply , which I give , as well as I am able , below : — A brief sketch of the whole affair will probably best satisfy your corresponelent and readers generally .

William Morgan vvas born in Virginia in 177 6 . He vvas a stonemason by trade , but afterwards became a brewer , and for a time , about 1812 , he vvas one of Lafitte ' s piratical band , in Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico . Me afterwards lived in Virginia and New York . There is no evidence whatever that he was ever made a Mason . At Rochester , N . Y ., he craftily persuaded his

employer that he vvas a Freemason , and through his influence , without any certificate or demit , succeeded in being admitted as a member of a lodge in that city . He afterwards , emboldened by his success in Rochester , at the town of Le Roy again deceived the fraternity , and pretending that he had received the Masonic degrees up to and including that of " Most Excellent Master Mason , "

vvas admitted in the chapter there , and received regularly the Royal Arch Degree . That vvas the only degree he ever lawfully received . He vvas thus a perjured man throug hout his brief Masonic career . In intellectual character he was naturally bright , but illiterate , and learned only in the dark ways of the world . Addeel to this , he brutalised himself with drink . Outside of his house , in

taverns , he vvas a bar-room oracle ; in his house he vvas an intoxicated tyrant , and treated his wife shamefully , seizing her by the hair of her head and dashing her against the walls and furniture . He soon came , as a result , to want , and vvas the recipient of both common and Masonic charity . Such vvas the man who conceived the scheme of bettering his fortunes by publishing a pretended

expose' of Masonry . An idea of the sum he expected to gain may be learned from the fact that his confreres who were with him in the scheme bound themselves to him in a bonel with the penalty of 500 , 000 dols ., to pay him onefourth part of all sums that should be receiveel from the sales of the book . He owed numerous debts , which were pressed for payment , and led to his imprisonment several

times in gaol . On the last occasion , Sept . 12 , 1826 , he vvas released , upon two persons paying his debt , and accompanied by them he entered a carriage , after some hig h words and persuasion , anel was driven first to Rochester and then to old Fort Niagara , near I . ewiston , on the Niagara river , that being the boundary line between the United States and Canada . There he was kept under lock and key for two or three days . From that time until

a comparatively recent period there vvas no authentic information as to his whereabouts . The enemies of Freemasonry asserteel that he vvas drowned by its brethren in the Niagara river , while dispassionate persons believed that he had been taken to Canaela and liberated . There was certainly no evidence of death . His body was never found , nor any one that saw him killed . Had he possessed any estate no court of probate would have granted letters testamentary upon the evidence of his disappearance .

Original Correspondence.

Now as to the sequel . One account , purporting to have come from Morgan ' s son , is that , instead of having been mysteriously murdered , he lived nearly thirty years after his disappearance from New York , anil finally died in corpulence and contentment at Van Dieman ' s Land , where he was editor of a newspaper called the Advertiser , which still survives him , and in which he used to refer in a

pleasant way to the stories told of his murder in the United States . According to the statement of young Morgan , his father vvas released upon condition that he should leave the country for ever . He accepted the offer , and vvas accompanied by Masons as far as Quebec , where he entered Ihe British navy and sailed for England . He afterwards vvas discharged from that service , and sailed for Van

Dieman ' s Land , where he settled . His son vvas a resident of San Francisco at the time when he communicated this information relating to his father , whom he visited during his lifetime once every two years . Another account , given August 17 , 1851 , by A . P . Rogers , of Anoka , Minnesota , is , that the elder Rogers , his father , who died in 18 57 , knew William Morgan well prior

to 1826 , and met him many years after in the backwoods of Maine . He said that Morgan escaped from those who had charge of him at Fort Niagara , and fearing for his life , if caught , lie fleel to the boundless forests of Northern Maine , where he built a cabin and lived a wild hunter and hermit ' s life . When he was accidentally discovered by Mr . Rogers , and recognised , he decamped , seeking a

new and more secluded home , and vvas never heard of afterwards . The astute reaeter may take his choice of these stories , or , rejecting both , frame one for himself . Probably the Morgan mystery will never be cleared up . Certainly interest in it has ceased in the United States , among anti-Masons as well as the brethren . It vvas a " good enough

Morgan " before the elections ; it gave a class of political tricksters a pretence for elevating themselves into power for a time ; but their rule vvas of short duration , and will never be repeated . There is no home American historian that has had the assurance to gravely charge upon Freemasons the murder of Morgan—that thankless and proofless assertion seems to have been reserved for one who writes three thousand miles away from the scene of the

history -, and distance in this instance does not appear to have lent cither impartiality or enchantment to his view . I am , dear Sir and Brother , courteously and fraternally yours , CLIFFORD P . MACCALLA , P . M . of Concordia Lodge , No . 67 , Philadelphia , U . S . January 17 , 1877 .

MASONIC QUERIES . To the Editor of the "Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — It is a pity that "A . T . " did not say candidly at first that he knew nothing whatever about the subject matter of my inquiry . But surely there are learned and thoughtful brethren among us who care enough for the

Craft to search into the origin of what seems to be a grand blunder , and endeavour to get it reclined . In hopes of this catching the eye of some such reader , I will restate my query . For reasons specified in my last letter the W . M . 's apron symbol is not a level , but a tau . Now is it from ignorance or design that the swan has been changed into a goose ? Were the framers of our Constitutions members

of the " little Latin and less Greek" fraternity ; and did they not know a tau from a level ? Or had they some deep meaning which they wished to convey by turning the Ian upside down , and making it stand upon its head , like an acrobat ? Or , lastly , vvas it simply a bungle of the compositor , who printer ! " perpendiculars upon horizontals , " instead of " horizontals upon perpendiculars ?" I pause for a reply to this , and to my other unanswered query respecting the ritual of Board of I . M . ' s . W . M . C . N .

To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — Will you kindly inform me and other Past Provincial Grand Stewards the reason we are not allowed to wear the apron and collar of our office . The Prov . Grand Secretary does not forget to apply for the fees of honour from us as from the other officers , and as many W . M . ' s have been appointed Stewards , and no chance

appearing of their gaining the purple , we think it but fair that we should be allowed to retain the colour of our office , the duties of Steward being more important than several of the minor ones , who retain the purple . Your kind opinion upon this subject will oblige many who are often called upon to rise when " 'I'he Health of Prov . Grand Officers , Past and Present , " is given . Yours fraternally , PAST PROV . GRAND STEWARD AND P . M .

BRO . BURGESS AND THE MARK DEGREE . To the Editor of the "Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — The General Boird of the Mark Degree have persistently avoided noticing my complaints to them of unfair treatment , on the allegation that they are couched in improper language . If , therefore , you will extend to me the courtesy of addressing the board through the public

medium of the Frctmason , there is a guarantee to them that my language is not improper , and there is also a guarantee to me of some chance of fair play . I desire then to remind the Board of some prim iples of Masonic jurisprudence laid down by a standard writer on such matters , Bro . the Rev . G . Oliver , D . D ., nu . 7 called to the Grand Lodge above . Bro . Oliver has written , " It must be observed , ' in limine , ' that a brother who may be presumed guilty of