Early Freemasonry In Georgia, U.S.A.

" Encyclopaedia of Freemasonry , quotes the passage we have taken ' , from ANDERSON ' S Constitutions , and states further that in "COLE ' S List of Lodges , 17 6 3 , No . 75 is a Lodge at Savannah in the Province of Georgia founded in 1735 " Lastly , the late

Bro . J LA . XE in Ids "Masonic Records , 1717-1894 , " with reference ( o this lodge—which he speaks of as having been named as "Solomon ' s Lodge" in 177 6 and as being " now No . 1 on Rejr . of G . L . of Georgia "—has the following : "Savannah .

Georgia , U . S . of America , 1 735 ; " having been originall y numbered 139 and having become at successive closings up of the lodges—124 , in 1740 ; 75 , 111 1755 ; 6 3 , in 1770 ; 50 , in 1780 and 17 81 ; and 41 ") , in 1792 . As to its places of meeting , he writes ,

" Stated to have been opened at Augusta Georgia , U . S . A ., I 7 81 ; " then to have been held at a "Tavern kept by Mr . CHILD , Whittaker Street , Savannah , prior 101790 , " and then to have met at the " Masonic Hall , Whittaker Street , Savannah , 1 799 . " He adds that " it made no pavments after 17 81 , but was kept on thc roll until 1 K 1 - ] . ' '

As regards the . person to whom Lord WEYMOUTH granted his Deputation in 1 735 , who is described by ANDERSON as "Mr . ROGER LACY , Merchant , " and in "A Curious Warrant "—which Bro . Sl'E'l'il judges to have been " hand-written , in imitation of copper-plate "—as "the Rig ht Worshi p ful HUGH LACY , " we can

do no more than express our belief that the " hand writer " is at fault , and also that ANDERSON ' "ROGER LACY " is probabl y identical with the " ROGER LACY , " who wc learn from the Grand Lodge minutes was one of the 12 "Stewards that acted

on the 27 March , 1731 , who were all publickly thank d , " and who is probably the same with the " Mr . ROGER LACEY , " who , in 1730 , was a member of Ihe Lodge at the " Swan in Long Acre . " It may be added that prior to this date there was a " Mr . 1 ACEY " who was a member of the King ' s Arms Lodge , St .

Paul ' s present Lodge ol Antiquity . What further we may have to say in respect of " A Curious W-irranl " mnsl be reserved for some future occasion .

Ancient And Accepted Rite.

ANCIENT AND ACCEPTED RITE .

The well-known " Red Book" oi the " Ancient and Accepted Rite for England and Wales and the Dependencies of the British Crown " has just been published , corrected to 31 st July , 1900 . Copies may be had , as usual , from the courteous Secretary , Bro . Capt . W . Portlock-Dadson , 33 , Goldensquare , \ V ., at one shilling each ( fwstage , extra 2 . 1 d . ) .

It is a wonderfully compact volume of nearly 300 pages , admirably arranged , and contains an immense amount of information of great value and interest for members of the Rite . Typographically it is all that could be desired and te . xtually it is apparently quite free from errors , for so far I

have failed to detect even one . Thc Rules and Regulations of the Supreme Council are first of all inserted , * nd then follow a complete set of tables respecting the personnel of all the Degrees from the Rose Croix to the Grand Inspector General , inclusive ; involving considerable labour in their compilation and ol great uti / ity for all concerned . In fact , members of either of these Degrees , or connected with all of them , will find this work indispensable , and of never failing accuracy and interest .

There are now some 120 Rose Croix Chapters on the Roll , but when I had that beautiful Ceremony and Degree conferred on me , in 1 S 65 , there were only some I ' . venty , thus proving how prosperous the Rite has been since its headquarters were removed to the metropolis , and was placed under now rind aWi ? management .

The Table of Membership include ihe names of all those returned b y each Chapter , in order according to position on thc Roll , and then a List of the members o ! all ihe Degrees arranged alphabetically . Besides these elaborate details , there are full particulars of the members of the Supreme Council , of which body liro . Capt . Nathaniel George Philips is the S . Grand Comimndcr , a chronological List of the Grand Inspectors General

from 1 S . 15 , and the Registers of the 32 nd , 31 st , and 30 th Degrees , The Donations by the Supreme Council to the Royal Masonic Institutions and other objrcLs reach nearly £ (>' - "o . The Rite also owns a valuable Library , and other assets bring up their property to fully £ 24000 , so that the older members of ihe Supreme Council may well leel proud of such excellent proof of their wise administration and zealous services for many years P 3 St " W - J- HUGHAN .

Provincial Grand Lodge Of North Wales.

PROVINCIAL GRAND LODGE OF NORTH WALES .

The annual meeiing of this Prov . G . Lodge was held in the Drill Hall , Denbigh , on Friday , the 28 th ult ., under the auspices of the Royal Denbigh Lodge , No . 1143 . Lord Harlech , Prov . G . Master , presided , and there was a g ., od attendance of the Prov . G . Officers , Present and Past , and of ihe lei-rcsenlalives of the private lodges . Prov . G . Lodge having been opened , and the preliminary business dispatched , the I ' rov , G . Secretary , liro . EDWARD ROHERTS , read a report

Provincial Grand Lodge Of North Wales.

of his examination of the minute books of the several lodges , and from th statistics printed as an appendix to the agenda , it appears that the agm-p gate number of subscribing members at the close of 1899 wa ^ 1033 , and a " there are 20 lodges on the roll , the average number per lodge is rather mom than 50 , the strongest in this respect being the St . Cybi , No . 597 , with SS members ; the Madoc Lodge , No . 1509 , Portmadoc , with 86 ; the St David's Lodge , No . 384 , Bangor , with 79 ; and the Segontium Lodge ' No . 606 , Carnarvon , with 71 . s '

Bro . W . PRICE SMITH , I . P . M . No . 3 S 4 , read his report on the Prov . n Treasurer's accounts , which showed a balance in Lloyd ' s Bank , Ltd ' Llandudno , to the credit of Prov . G . Lodge amounting to £ 2 ) 4 75 . gj ' among the items disbursed during the year being £ 31 10 s . and ^ ' 21 voted to the Boys' and Girls' Institutions respectively at the preceding meeting- of Prov . G . Lodge held at Portmadoc on the 27 th September , 18 99 . On this occasion a sum of 50 guineas ( £ " 52 105 . ) was voted to the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution , a representative of which was present in the p » rscm of Bro . John Mason , Past G . Std . Br . Eng .

A vote of thanks to the Prov . G . Treasurer and the Auditor was passed unanimously . Bro . C . K . BENSON , P . P . G . W ., Chairman of the North VVales Masonic Charitable Association , read a report of the excellent work it had done during the past year , and the said report was adopted and ordered to be entered on the minutes ; a vote of thanks to Bro . Benson and his colleagues in office being cordially passed .

Bro . J . G . Tuxford , P . P . G . W ., having been elected Prov . G Treasurer for the ensuing year , the reports concerning the children frorrj the province in the Royal Masonic Institutions having been read , arid sundry other matters settled , the Prov . Grand Master invested the following brethren as Prov . G . Oflicers for 1900-01 , namely :

Bro . Henry Kneeshaw ... ... ... Prov . S . G . W . ,, Charles Logan ... ... ... Prov . J . G . W . ,, the Rev . LI . R . Hughes ... -... ¦) D „ _ . „ the Rev . J . H . Marshall < Prov . G . Chaps . „ J . G . Tuxford ( elected ) ... ... Prov . G . Treas . „ W . M . Preston ... ... ... Prov . G . Reg . ,, Edward Roberts ... ... ... Prov . G . Sec .

„ Kennett McEwen ... ... ... Prov . S . G . D . „ Nathaniel Bunnell ... ... ... Prov . J . G . D . „ Owen Rowland ... ... ... Prov . G . S . of VV „ W . P . Matthews ... ... ... Prov . G . D . C . „ W . H . Lloyd ... ... ... Prov . G . A . D . C . „ John Darrock ... ... ... Prov . G . S . B .

„ Robert Ross ... ... ... ¦••) D « r > ci n „ Thomas E . Jones < Prov . G . Std . Brs . „ Carcdoc Rowland ... ... ... Prov . Asst . G . Sec . „ W . H . Pyemont ... ... ... Prov . G . Org . „ William Wright ... ... ... Prov . G . Purst .

,, W . Mackenzie Williams ... ... Prov . Asst . G . Purst , ,, J . Herbert Rees ... ... .., "" ) „ Newton Fisk ... ... ... | „ Evan Williams ... ... ... { - „ ^ c . J " William Davies f Prov . G . Stewards . ,, Francis J . Gamlin ... ... ... |

„ Tnos . W . Hughes ... ... ... J „ Wm . Williams ... ... ... Prov . G . Tyler . Auditor—Bro . VV . Price Smith , P . M . 3 S 4 . Prov . Grand Lodge having been closed , the brethren adjourned to the Town Hall , where they dined together , and spent . 1 very pleasant evening , the arrangements of the Royal Denbigh Lodge being highly appreciated by those present .

Provincial Grand Lodge Of Shropshire.

PROVINCIAL GRAND LODGE OF SHROPSHIRE .

The annual meeting of the above Provincial Grand Lodge was held at the Victoria Rooms , Oswestry , on Thursday , the 4 th inst . Bro . Sir Ollley Wakeman , Bart ., Prov . G . M ,. presided , supported by Bro . Rowland G , Venables , D . P . G . M .

The accounts of Bro . W . Baxter , Prov . G . Treas . ( who was unanimously re-elected ) , showing an increasing balance , were adopted . The Prov . Grand Master then proceeded to invest his oflicers for the year as follows :

Bro . T . j . Salwey , 611 ( re-appointed ) ... ... Prov . S . G . W . „ J . H . Cooksey , 1621 ( re-appointed ) ... Prov . J . G . W . „ Rev . L . V . Yonge , 601 ( re-appointed ) ... 1 o n n ,, m . I Rev . R . W . Williams , 117 ... . j Prov . G . Chaps . „ W . Baxter , 262 ( re-elected ) ... ... Prov . G . Treas . ,, W . H . Spaull , 1124 ( re-appointed ) ... Prov . G . Sec . „ A . C . Minshall , 1432 ... ... ,.. Prov , S . G . D . ,, C . H . Cowling , 117 ... ... ... Prov . J . G . D . ,, A , T . Davis , 262 ( re-appointed ) ... ... Prov . G . S . of \ V . ,, H . F . Newman , 117 ( re-appointed ) ... Prov . G . D . C . „ J . H . Lockhart , On ... ... ... Prov . A . G . D . C . „ L . J . Rice-Oxley , 117 ... ... ... Prov . G . S . B . „ F . Finnis , 1 S 96 ... ... -r . prn „ r , Std . R « ' „ C . W . Campbell-Hyslop , 262 ... ... ) ' rov # t , # Sl „ H . Byolin , 117 ( re-appointed ) ... ... Prov . G . Org . „ ] . M . Etches , 2311 ... ... ... Prov . A . G . Sec . „ J . V . T . Lander , 601 ... ... ... Prov . G . Purst . „ A . Featherstone , 1 S 1 /) ... ... ... Prov . A . G . I ' " 1 " 51 „ R . A . Nevill , 2 ( 12 „ T . Poole , 21 31 ' 9 ' bb V ! f , 2 t - - - IProvG Stwds . 0

•^ , ,, , .. „ W . B . Walker , 11 7 ... ... ... j" "'" "' „ J . St . Clair Upton , 1575 „ J . H . Cheadle , 1120 ... ... ... J „ H . Goodall , 1621 ( re-appointed ) ... ... Prov . G . Ty ler . The brethren repaired to the Wynnstay Arms Hotel where a luncW was presided over by the Prov . G . M .

BRO . VISCOUNT WOI . SEI . BY has accepted the invitation r . f the City of '' , „( , Schools Committee to a dinner at the City of l . oncbn School on Wednesday ! '" instant ,