The Mother City Of American Freemasonry.

dividual accounts are duly posted , both parts containing the entries that relate to Masonry . The ' earliest and most important piece of the evidence thus adduced in support of Bro . MACCALLA ' view is unquestionabl y

the entry which bears date the 9 th Sept ., 1731 , and is as follows " Blanks for Masons 100 0 . 5 . 0 . " With reference to this , Bro . S . \ CHSE remarks—though on what grounds does not appearthat "there can be no possible doubt that these ' Blanks' were

petitions for initiation and membership . " But whatever they may have been , we consider he is justified in the assumption he malres a few lines further on that the entry " positivel y fixes our date of active life prior to September , 1731 . " The "Blanks "

were needed , and it was the Masons who needed them ; and FRANKLIN , in the ordinary course of his business , supplied them for the sum of . five shillings . Whatever the opponents of Philadel p hia ' s claims to be the Mother-City of American Freemasonry ,

there can be no doubt about this positive contemporary evidence from a trustworth y source—that there were brethren engaged in the active pursuit of Freemasonry in Philadel phia before September , 1731 .

Other interesting evidence , though as it is of later date it cannot be said to bear , except indirectly , on the question of Molhcrship , will be found in the items relating to what FRANKLIN describes as the " Mason Book . " that is "The

Constitutions of the Free Masons , " ccmpiled b y Anderson , and printed in London in 1723 , and " Re-printed in Philndclphiaby Special Order for the Use of the Brethren in NORTH AMERICA , " by FRANKLIN , in the summer of 1734 . The account in which

these appear is headed " Lodge of Masons at B . Hubard ' s Dr ., " the earliest dates being August 31 and September , 1734 , and the latest , " 1737 , Aug . 10 . " These entries are "For a finel y-gilded Constitutions to the Proprietor" ; for " One Do . for the Lodge" ;

" Constitutions by JOHN CARTHERWOOD ; Lane"" - County " ; " One D * •to -MORGAN SEXTON "; eig ht b y REYNELLS to Lancaster —against which is inserted in the margin , "Omitted , 15 s . "and " Constitutions sent to Boston , 70 , Carolina , 25 . " Thc price

per copy is half-a-crown , except for thc gilded one , and that supplied to the lodge , for which the price charged is five shillings . There arc also two items dated respectively , Sept ., 1 734 , ancl Oct ., 173 6 , thc former being " For Tickets , iooo , " and

the latter "For 1100 Tickets . " In addition , there arc other entries , in one of which it is shown that " Six Mason Books " are " sent to" Mr . TlMOTllY , at Charleston , S . C , b y ROBERT STEVENSON , and in the other a similar consignment of the same book

by his brother PF . TF . R to his brother JAMES at Boston , the dates assigned to both being "August , 1 734 . " In respect of the consignment of "Three Constitutions b y JOHN CARTHERWOOD , Lane * - County , " we agree with Bro . SACHSE that the discovery

of this " trace of Masonry in Lancaster , so soon after the organisation of fhe separate County , " is valuable , firstly , because "it shows that the li g ht of Freemasonry was disseminated in Pennsylvania , even to the outlying settlements , in the earl y days

of our history "—it is unlikely that books of the Conslilutions of Masonry would be forwarded to a district where there were no Masons—and secondly , because it "tends to give additional colour to thc statement in the celebrated Cadwalader letter ,

wherein Dr . HENRY BEI . L , of Lancaster , claims to have been one of the orig inators of thc lirst Masons' Lodge set up in Philadel p hia in 1730 . " But in respect of the ' •Three Constitutions " sent to Lancaster , thc 70 to Boston , and the 25 to

Carolina , we do not consider he is justified in his inference that because they were " charged to , and paid for by , thc Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania "—the account is headed " Lodge of Masons at B ** - Hubard ' s , " which mayor may not have been the Grand

Lodge of Pennsylvania—they " were sent by that body to the Lodges outside of Philadelp hia which had been set up in Massachusetts , Carolina , and Pennsylvania , and were either within its jurisdiction or at least subordinate to that Ri ght Worshipful Body . "

" In offering these criticisms we labour under the disadvantage of not having FRANKLIN ' " dail y commercial account-book and first ledger" at hand to guide us in forming an opinion , but onl y the

entries we have quoted from ancl which are reproduced in facsimile in these proceedings , while Bro . SACHSF . may have drawn liis inferences not alone from these particular entries , but also

The Mother City Of American Freemasonry.

from what else is contained in the book . But taking the materials vouchsafed us in fac-simile , we do not , as we have said , consider that Bro . SACHSE has just grounds for inferring that the Books of Constitutions were sent to " thc lodges outside of

Philadelphia which had been set up in Massachusetts , Carolina , and Pennsylvania , " because they were " either within its jurisdiction or at least subordinate to " the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania . In fact , the onl y entries in this newly-discovered book

which possesses , in our estimation , any importance in helping to settle the question as to whether Philadel p hia or Boston was tlie " Mother-City of American Freemasonry " in favour of the former is that " recorded under date of September 9 , 1731 , "

namely , " Blanks for Masons , 100 0 . 5 . 0 . " and this we hold to possess a real value which cannot be exaggerated , because , as Bro . SACHSE remarks , it " positively fixes our date of active life prior to September , 1731 , "

United Grand Lodge Of England.

UNITED GRAND LODGE OF ENGLAND .

The Quarterly Communication of the United Grand Lodgeof Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of England was held on Wednesday evening , at Freemasons' Hall , Great Queen-street , W . C . Earl Amherst , M . W . Pro G . M ., presided . Bro . W . W . H . Beach , M . P ., Prov . G . M . of Hants

and Isle of Wight , acted as Deputy Grand Master , and Bro . Dr . J . Balfour Cockburn , Prov . G . M . of Guernsey , as Past Grand Master , next to whom sat Bro . Hamon Le Strange , Prov . G . M . of Norfolk . Bro . Thomas Fenn , P . G . W ., occupied the chair of S . G . W ., and Bro . Robert Grey , P . G . W ., that of J . G . W .

Among other brethren present were Bros . E . Letchworth , G . Sec ; J . Strachan , Q . C , G . Reg . ; George Everett , P . G . Treas . ; Richard Eve , P . G . Treas . ; W . Lake , Asst . G . Sec ; A . C . Spaull , R . Clowes , H . Lovegrove , Dr . Ralph Gooding , Dr . Lott , P . G . Org . ; John Houlding ( late Lord Mayor of Liverpool ) , W . Russell , A . Lucking , C . E . Keyser , Dr . Mickley , J . M . McLeod , Major Woodall , T . L . Wilkinson , J . H . Matthews , Alderman Vaughan Morgan , P . G . T . ; Dr . Laurence , D . D . Mercer , C . A .

Cottebrune , Rev . R . J . Simpson , Rev . C . J . Martyn , S . Cochrane , P . G . T . ; C . j . R . Tijou , E . M . Money , J . A . Farnfield , H . Garrod , S . Valentine , S . V . Abraham , W . H . Spaull , J . Lewis Thomas , D . P . Cama , P . G . T . ; W . C . Mulvey , and C . H . Kupferschmidt . Nearly 1000 brethren attended , this large number being accounted for by the circumstance that the election for the Board of General Purposes was a part of the agenda .

Bro . Frank Richardson , P . G . D ., in the absence of Sir Albert VV . Woods ( Garter ) , G . D . C , wore the clothing of and acted as G . D . C . Immediately after the Grand Lodge had been opened , the Scrutineers of the ballot were called and obligated . They then collected the ballot cards and retired . The minutes of the meetings of March ist and April 26 th were read by the Grand Secretary , but on being put by Earl Amherst for confirmation ,

Bro . J . E . LE FEUVRE , P . G . D ., rose and asked to suggest that the minutes of the March meeting should more fully describe the resolution passed by Grand Lodge with respect to Grand Lodge ' s action in regard to the Grand Lodge of Peru . It would be remembered that on a previous occasion , by the advice of the M . W . Grand Master , it was ruled that Grand Lodge have no Masonic communication with the Grand Lodge of Peru ,

owing to their having abolished the Volume of the Sacred Law from their lodges . Subsequently they had acted as Grand Lodge would have wished them to do . He understood from the minutes which had been read that the resolution passed in March last was not fully set forward . He would suggest that that should be so . If he listened correctly to the Grand Secretary , the minutes , as he read them in Grand Lodge , merely set

forward that there was a resolution passed by Grand Lodge in March . He reiterated his suggestion that they should express , as he was sure they all did , the brethren ' s satisfaction that the Grand Lodge of Peru had resumed their proper Masonic feeling , and that this Grand Lodge of England agreed to act in Masonic communion with them . His only wish was that Grand Lodge ' s resolution which was adopted in Grand Lodge should be

more fully set forth than it had been , as he understood it as read by Grand Secretary . Bro . J STRACHAN , Q . C , G . Reg ., said , as being the constitutional authority responsible for the records of Grand Lodge , he would say that the Grand Secretary had put in the most ample form in the printed minutes ,

which Bro . Le Feuvre had received some time ago , the whole of the resolution ; but if the Grand Lodge ' s time was to be taken up in reading all the minute . " , the time of Grand Lodge would be wasted . The minutes , as read by the Grand Secretary , if he might say so , fully set out what took place .

Bro . LE FEUVRE said he only wanted it to be understood that on Grand Lodge records it should be fully set out what the resolutions were . Earl AMHERST enquired if Bro . Le Feuvre moved anything . Bro . LE FEUVRE : No . The minutes were then put and confirmed . Earl AMHERST announced that Bro . R . Loveland-Loveland had been appointed President of the Bjard of General Purposes .

Bro . LETCHWORTH informed the Pro Grand Master that Bro . Loveland

was unavoidably prevented from being present . On the motion of Bro . W . J . MASON , V . P . of the Board of General Purposes , seconded by Capt . KNIGHTLEY , Bro . John Smith was re-elected Grand Lodge Auditor . The following brethren were elected members of the Committee of Management ot the Royal Masonic Institution for Aged Freemasons and Widows of Freemasons ; Bros . Chas , A . Cottebrune . P . M . 733 : William