Ad00806

By Eoyal » , - ^ H . ,, To Appointment % «» a KlK - ' to H . E . H . % - £ r * 0 £ k Princess Pri ™ r 4 * WM Lmiso . pQgy G.D.WINER,was.,B 0 TJQTJET , BAYSWATER HILL , LONDON , W „ " „„« , « - INVESTOR OF THE NEW STYLE 1 HE . CJliASUlN O POSY BOUQUET-Tlie Season'sSu xess . SUCCESS . BEIDES' & BRIDESMAIDS' BOUQUETS on the Shortest Notice . Goods delivered , carefully packed , IMMEDIATELY on receipt of Order .

Ad00808

E . DENT & Co ., Cy Inventions Exhibition Gold Medal awarded ^_^ for Improvement in Turret Clocks . Pv * 61 Strand & -1 Royal Exchange , London . Ss , r ^"" CLOCKMslKERS to Ihe QUEEN . /_ LV / iT Makers of the Great H'eslminslcr Clock JT SZ 3 ( ISIG HEX ) . fj ^ \ y Will be happytofurnish ESTIMATES forthe , ^^> Installation or Repair of C HURCH and £ j * other PURLJC CLOCKS . / ~ * " ^ Dent ' s new Illustrated Catalogue of High-^ V Class Watches at Reduced Prices , sent Post Free .

Ad00807

~ ^ - , Before purchasing anv Electric Curative Appliance , write P 7 ~ ^~^~~ ^ ^ " Tthe Pamphlet " EI . KCTRIC LII'K . aiwI How »_ C "_/| T ) 7 >* Z _^~ ^~ __ to f '" ind it , " which contains s nnd , reli-^ r ^ - 4 l / f \ JjV Cfs ~~ ^ ^~ - able information on the employ--^^~ "^ ^ " ^ -t «/ lN . PaT ^ - ""—~~~__ ment Q f electricity for re-GRATIS - ^^ 0 ^ « t ~^^ P ^ . " - and Post Free from '—i- ^ ftrf JIT A / V TT ^— - ^ JEVONS BROsT ^^^^ mi q ' 166 , FLEET ST ., LONDON " , _ ETCT ~~ — ^ C '

To Our Readers.

TO OUR READERS .

THE FREEMASON is published every Friday morning , price 3 d ., and contains the fullest and latest information relating to Freemasonry of every degree . Subscriptions , including Postage : — United States , United Kingdom . Canada , the Continent , India , China , Ceylon , the Colonies & c . Arabia , & c . 13 s . 6 d . 15 s . 6 d . 17 s . 6 d . Remittances may be made in Stamps , but Post Office Orders or cheques arc preferred , the former parable to GEORGE KEXNINO , Chief OUice , London , tlie latter crossed London Joint Stock Bank .

To Correspondents.

To Correspondents .

BOOKS . & c „ RECEIVED . " New York Dispatch . " " Yorkshire Gazette , " " Citizen , " "The Emigrant , " " Court Circular , " " Hull and East Yorkshire Times , " "New Zealand Freemason , " "Jewish Chronicle , " "Voice of Masonry , " "British and Colonial Printer and Stationer , " "Keystone , " " Snndav Times" ( New York ) , " Bye-laws of the Provincial Grand Lod ^ e of Leicestershire and Rutland , " •' Freimaurer-Zeitung , " " Fish Culture , " " P oceedings of thc Provincial Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Freemasonry in Western India , " "Sunday Times " ( London ) , and " Historical Sketch of Music . "

Original Correspondence.

Original Correspondence .

SATURDAY . JUNE 12 , i 8 b 6 . j^fregSg^^

[ We do nut hold ourselves responsible for , or even approving of the opinions expressed by our correspondents , but we wish in a spirit of fair play to all to permit—within certain necessary limits—frte discussion , ! ———PAST MASTERS . To the Editor of the "Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , Kindly permit me once again to refer to a few of the remarks of " Lex Scripta , " in your issue of 29 th ult . and 5 th inst . He says I have not refuted his arguments , but if he is

not yet convinced I fear my poor powers of reasoning by analogy and common sense from both the written law and the unwritten law , or practice and custom , will fall sadly short of that desirable object . "Lex Scripta"assertstnat Past Mastersare lodge officers , and , with the greatest possible magnanimity , refers me to the Book of Constitutions as a -whole to prove his assertion .

I state that P . M . ' s are not lodge officers , but with parsimonious reserve decline to take the Book as a whole for such purpose . I am content with such articles in the Book as bear upon the subject , and desire to shut " Lex Scripta " within the samfc close bounds . He admits that 129 does not desciibe P . M . ' s as officers , but asserts that " omission is not prohibition . " Well , in

my humble opinion , in this particular case , if in no others , it does , for it first describes of whom the regular officers consist , and then proceeds to say what other officers the W . M . may appoint . I would like to be informed how a Past Master can be an officer if neither elected orappointed to an office ? "Lex Scripta" admits he cannot find collars provided for

Past Masters unless as officers ; in this he agrees with meand he also admits that a P . M . is neither a "regular" nor a " necessary" officer ; and yet he asks "Why is an acting I . P . M . appointed at lhe consecration of a new lodge ? " To this I reply , custom only and not law , and ytt even this custom might possibly be impossible . For instance , where would "Lex Scripta" get his first I . P . M . if there did not happen to be a P . M . amongst the founders , petitioners , or

affiliates ? "Lex Scripta" cannot see by Art . 9 , a "distinctive personal right" of membership of Grand Lodge for a P . M . who subscribes continuously apart from his representation of a lodge . Well , I cannot see the " representation . " He is also puz / . lcd about Art . 169 , but it is only because he cannot get it to serve his purpose , and he therefore passes it as unimportant . I do not pass it by so lierhtlv . I aeain ask , who does such a P . M . represent' He

Original Correspondence.

has ceased to subscribe to the lodge in which he served as Master , andtherefore , after twelvemonths' non-subscription to that lodge he loses his Grand Lodge membership , as attained through that lodge , aad consequently , even if he had represented that lodge , his representation does not any longer exist ; but if within the prescribed twelve months he becomes a subscribing member to another lodge , he

retains his Grand Lodge membership , but is he thereby an officer and a representative of the Lodge of Affiliation ? I think my way is the simplest as well as the most reasonable and common sense- one , viz ., he is a past officer of the lodge in which he held office , quite in the same way as a Past Grand Officer may still be spoken of as a Past Grand Officer even if he resigns the Craft altogether ; but a past

officer of a lodge , unless he has served the office of Master , or is serving as Master or Warden , has no rank in or membership of Grand Lodge , but having once served the Office of Master there is a special rule made to constitute him a member of Grand Lodge so long as he continues to subscribe to any lodge , but if he ceases for twelve months to subscribe to any lodge he loses his Grand Lodge rank , and

cannot regain it till he again serves as Master , and yet wherever he goes he is still a P . M ., and may be spoken of as such , whether he subscribe or not . But if he rejoins the lodge in which he served as Master , or if he joins another lodge after the lapse of twelve months , he may , under certain circumstances , even take the chair and rule the Iodge , or even represent the Master in various ways ,

but that does not constitute him an officer ; he is simply acting as an Installed Master in the Craft , although he has forfeited his Grand Lodge membership . ' * Lex Scripta" speaks of a supposed ruling of a Grand Registrar ' . What is the use of a ruVmg of a Grand Registrar when no one knows of it but his correspondent ? To be of any practical utility , he ought to report the

question and his reply to the Board of General Purposes , and they should embody it in their report to Grand Lodge , where alone it can be made of any effect , otherwise it is of no mote value than " Lex Scripta's" opinion or my own . For instance , how many members and officers of Grand Lodge know now , or have any means of knowing , that our Board of General Purposes hold that the word "officers "

in 30 S " was intended to and does include Past Masters ? " If the members of Grand Lodge were made aware of this fact they might possibly ask—by whom was it intended that the word officers should include Past Masters f The answer could not be that Grand Lodge so intended , for the point was not raised in Grand Lodge , and if it was only in the intention of the Board of General Purposes , they should

have made their intention known , and had it confirmed or otherwise ; but when thc Board of General Purposes adds that it does include P . M . ' s , it is high time for P . M . 's to speak out and say whether it is their -will to have it so . " Lex Scripta's" note in your issue of 5 th inst . strongly reminds me of the story of the old woman who , by reason of the waters that overwhelmed her could no longer call

out scissors , held her hand up and imitated the motion of a pair in the operation of cutting ! Nay , more ; he not only persists in his term " officers" as in the inclusive sense , but he claims that 1 have proved his argument Happy brother ! It would be a sin on my part to disturb your equanimity by further scribbling . —With fraternal love and commiseration , I remain , P . M .

MEMBERSHIP OF GRAND LODGE . To the Editor of the "Freemason . " Dear Sir amj . Brother , 1 am disappointed that no brother has ventured to answer Bro . Budden ' s enquiry in your issue of Sth May "At what date were Past Masters admitted as members of Grand Lodge ? " Even Uro . Hughan or Iiro . Gould might not consider it beneath their research and reply .

Bro . Budden's own references go to show that there was even a time when Past Grand Officers were not members of Grand Lodge , not even Past Grand Masters nor Past Deputy Grand Masters nor Past Wardens , but as these are admitted in an official and legal way according to " Ahimon Rezon , " Art . xii ., to which he refers , it may be inferred at least , that their presence and assistance was desirable if

not requisite ; but even yet at that point Past Grand Officers below the rank of Past Grand Wardens were as much outside the rank of membership of Grand Lodge as Past Masters were , At Grand Lodge , December , 1 S 13 , itwas resolved "That the laws and regulations which existed in the two Societies previous to the re-union should be referred to thc Board of General Purposes . " After various amendments , revisions ,

& c , the code was definitely approved and ordered to come into force November ist , 1815 , subject to revision in three years from that date . The laws were revised again in February , 1819 , accordingly , and even in that revision the Grand Stewards of the year were not specially mentioned amongst the " managers" any more than Past Masters , although they as well as Past Masters are granted rank as

members . Possibly it was about that time that Past Masters were admitted as members , for , so far as I can trace , Masters and Wardens were the representatives ol their lodges ever since Grand Lodge was established , and were delegated to attend to the interests of their respective lodges , and were even bound to carry out the instructions of their lodges

but Past Masters were never so unless when representing the Master . But as Past Grand Officers , as well as Past Masters , are now so numerous a section of the membershi p of Grand Lodge , and space so limited , it may be a legitimate enquiry , how to accomodate the members to the space , so that the actual representatives be not crowded

out . But if Past Masters have to be thrown overboard , the time may also arrive when Past Grand Officers may have to go out too , to lighten the ship , for it may be argued that one bas as much right there as the other , whereas , Masters and Wardens must remain , 01 the representative character of Grand Lodge will be destroyed . —Yours , very fraternally , P . M .

INCOXGKUOUS . To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , The interesting discussion in your columns re " Past Masters' Collars " should not be thrown away . Some metropolitan brother should be patriotic enough to bring the subject before Grand Lodge . Extremes often meet . I was at a meeting of a Craft lodge the other day when an installation ceremony was going . on . The mayor of the

Original Correspondence.

town was ushered in with much pomp , clad in an ordinary blue Masonic apron , but with his mayor's badge of office round his neck suspended from a scarlet ribbon . The Director of Ceremonies , with wand in hand , conducted the mayor to a seat to the right of the W . M . and next to a high official of the province . Now this civic dignitary went through his degrees in

Masonry ten years ago , and then resigned , and has only very lately joined a lodge again . His worship has never filled any office in the Craft , nor been of any service to it as 1 can learn , yet all this show simply because he is mayor of the town . A Past Master took exception to the mayor wearing his badge of office in thc lodge , qualifying his objection that the mayor might wear his badge and even his scarlet gown if he liked at the banquet table . But the

mayor was equal to the occasion by replying , " You , Mister Past Master , don ' t know everything , for the Lord Mayor of London wore his badge of office in Grand Lodge to my certain knowledge . " Now I should like to contradict this assertion of the provincial mayor . Can you enlighten me , and can you lay down the law in the matter ? Isa Past Master ' s collar of less importance in a lodge than a mayor's collar and badge of office ?—Yours truly , P . M ., P . Z . June gth , 1 S 86 .

DURHAM MASONIC CALENDAR . To the Editor of the "Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , You are " strictly correct" when you say " We believe the series was inaugurated by Bro . Dr . Hill Drury . " Had you said that I was the first to publish " A Calendar for the Province of Durham " you would not have been

" strictly correct . " I have asked several brethren about Bro . Brignall ' s Calendar , but only one of them ever heard of it , and he states that , as far as he remembers , it was a very much smaller publication and contained very meagre details . A small but very useful Calendar was published by Bro . J . H . Coates , of Sunderland , in 1 S 74 , and continued in 1 S 75 , but whether after that year I cannot say .

The present series is on exactl y the same lines and arrangement as my Calendar , and is in every respect a continuation of mine . The present issue contains rather more information , e . g ., a list of Past Provincial Officers and the particulars of those Mark Lodges and Knight Preceptories which , though not held in the Province of Durham , are

under the direction of Provincial Grand Mark Lodge and Provincial Grand Priory of Northumberland and Durham . I agree with you that a list of the Charitable votes in the province would be a valuable addition to this useful publication , and I would also suggest that the names of those Past Provincial Officers who are dead be printed in italics . —Yours fraternally , C . D . HILL DRUKY , M . D .

Reviews

REVIEWS

The " York College " of the Rosicrucians has started a quarterly journal , as a permanent record of its transactions . Not only is this a step in the right direction , but it is one which ought to be followed by other branches of the Society , and we understand that a similar publication will be issued almost immediately by the Metropolitan College . The Chiefs of the Order , the learned and distinguished Magi , are determined to seize the "golden opportunity "

by utilizing the association to the fullest extent possible , as a means of drawing together and holding assemblies of the numerous intelligent brethren of the Craft , who want but to be thus combined to constitute a grand medium for the critical study of Masonic history and other cognate subjects . Any way , the "York College" has determined to do its duty in the matter , and has set an example for thc several Colleges , scattered over England and elsewhere , to

follow . _ \ Ve may be told that , though there are many Rosicrucians , there is but one Whytehead , and to a certain extent we arc prepared to agree with such a view . On the other hand , a cursory glance over the rolls of country members reveals the fact that there is no lack of suitable and abundant material j the real want being the requisite tact to make the most of the circumstances , which , to say the least , are decidedly favourable to the development of a

scholarly treatment of the critical study of Masonic history . The first number of the Journal of the York Fratres , of Uself , indicates one <& the . stwtts oS tire success of the Northern College , five only out of 59 failing to respond to the summons convening the obligatory meeting held in February last , thus proving the interest taken in the proceedings by the rank and file , as well as by the Chief Adept and the principal officers ; for , whilst it is true that

competent officers are necessary to the success of any Society , it is equally true that , unless they have the moral and material support of the members , their best efforts must fail .- The address by Bro . Whytehead is most suggestive , and aptly illustrates the real object of this Fraternitas-in-Fraternitate ; the search after the grand secret of modern Rosicrucians being the true origin and history of Freemasonry , its relation to the ancient mysteries , its preservation during the

pro-Grand Lodge period , and its continuity especially throughout the century immediately preceding the socalled "Revival of A . D . 1717 . " Bro . Whytehead is generous in his acknowledgment of the services rendered by Bros . Gould and Hughan , of the " Masonry literary activity period ; " but evidently is anxious lest these brethren and their numerous followers , in their desire to disinter facts , should overlook certain theories , which have in them

the germs ot possible clues to the earl y character and the actual original basis of our ancient Society . We inclineto the belief that there is plenty of room for both classes of students , each having their own particular work to do , which the other class is not so competent to perform , and so we are pleased to greet Bro . Whytehead as the born leader of the one , just as the two brethren named are rightly classed as leaders of the other school of Masonic antiquaries .

lhe Prince of Wales , in the absence of thc Master , H . R . H . the Duke of Edinburgh , presided at the annual banquet given by the Brethren of the Trinity House on Saturday evening last , Prince Albert Victor being also one of the guests .