Provincial Grand Mark Lodge Of North And East Yorkshire.

After the close of the ceremonies , the brethren gathered at the Beverley Arms , where an excellent banquet was served , at which the W . Master of the Beucrlac Lodge ( Bro . T . Dixon ) presided , both the P . G . Master and his Deputy having been compelled to leave by early trains in order to reach their homes . There was a full table and a merry party .

In proposing "The Health of Bro . Dixon , and prosperity to the Beverlac Lodge , " Bro . T . B . WHYTEHEAD , Prov . G . Secretary , complimented the lodge upon having the largest number of advancements upon its career within the past twelve months , and upon the energy of its members . He said that perhaps a large portion of its success was to be found in the fact that it had apparently the approval of the ladies . Although the good

creatures could not participate in the ceremonies it was undeniable that their opinion was an important factor in the career of any lodge . Over the head of the Worshipful Master hung one of the most beautifully worked lodge banners he had ever seen , and he was informed that this was the gift of certain good ladies dear to leading members of the Beverlac Lodge . It was a healthy symptom , and he congratulated the brethren upon having secured the goodwill of their wives and sisters in their Masonic projects .

Other toasts followed , and songs enlivened the evening , Bro . Green ' s hunting song being a great success , and chiming in with the sporting proclivities of a Yorkshire assemblage of any kind .

Iv. Constitutions Of 1767-69 & 1776.*

IV . CONSTITUTIONS OF 1767-69 & 1776 . *

At the Grand Lodge held on April gth , 1766 , the M . W . Bro . Lord Blayney , G . M ., on the proposition of Col . Salter , D . G . M ., it was resolved that a new edition of the Constitutions be printed , with " such alterations and additions as shall be thought necessary , '' the D . G . M . being empowered

" to appoint such brethren as he shall think proper to revise and alter the same ; and afterwards to appoint a Committee , consisting of Grand Officers , and 2 t Masters of Lodges , " who were to have the alterations and additions submitted to them for approval , the revised work having then to be presented to the " first Quarterly Communication-following . "

On 28 th January , 1767 , the Book of Constitutions as revised was " unanimously approved of , " 500 copies were ordered to be printed " under the direction of the D . G . M . " The Rev . John Entick , M . A ,, does not appear to have had aught to do with this revision . The title page is as follows : — " The Constitutions of the Antient and Honourable Fraternity of Free and

Accepted Masons , containing their History , Charges , Regulations , & c , Collected and Digested , By Order of the Grand Lodge , from their old Records , faithful Traditions , and Lodge Books , for the use of the Lodges , By James Anderson , D . D ., and Carefully Revised , Continued , and Enlarged , By John Entick , M . A . "A new Edition , with Alterations and Additions , By a Committee appointed by the Grand Lodge . " London : Printed for Bro . W . Johnston , in Ludgate-street , MDCCLXVII .

In the vulgar year of Masonry , 5767 . " The Frontispiece ( Boitard delin , B . Cole sculp , et dedit . ) is the same as the 1756 edition , the work being quarto in size as before . Pages III . and IV . contain the inscription to Lord Blayney , as Grand Master ; V . and VI . having "The Sanction " signed by the chief Grand Officers for the time being , as before .

The History begins at page 1 , and is continued to page 310 , the last date being February 9 th , 1767 , when H . R . H . the Duke of Cumberland received the Three Degrees at "an occasional lodge ; " the History of Grand Lodge beginning at page 188 . The "Old Charges" are then printed to p . 318 , after which the " General Regulations" are given to p . 351 ; the songs running on to p . 360 . Pages 351-2 occur twice ( an error as to the pagination ) the subject matter being continuous ; the List of Grand Masters ( pp . 361-2 ) , and one of the Prov . Grand Masters ( pp . -363-6 ) concluding the volume .

A . D . 1776 . An " Appendix to the Constitutions of the Society of Free and Accepted Masons [ 1776 ] " ( being the only title , having on the reverse a certified copy of the resolution of the Grand Lodge , November 24 th , 1775 , signed by James Heseltine , G . S . ) , was issued in 1776 , in consequence of " a considerable numberof the last edition " [ 1767 ] being unsold , and the saleof which

" decreased daily , " as several alterations and additions were not inserted . The Grand Sec . was instructed to annex the appendix to the copies left on hand . If only the original 500 copies were printed , as ordered in 1766 , the sale must have indeed have been slow . There were , however , doubtless , many more sold than remained in the office of Grand Sec , hence appendix 1776 is one of the rarest and most valuable Masonic works ever published .

Page in . commences the narrative , the first date being April 15 th , 1767 , and the account is continued to page Ixx ., the meeting then noted being one held on 3 rd June , 1776 . Pages lxxi . to Ixxv . are devoted to the anthems sung by Mr . Du Bellamy at the dedication of Freemasons' Hall , the reverse of the last printed page being blank .

The work was compiled by the well-known Masonic historian , William Preston , who " was Deputy or Assistant Secretary , " for a short while , during Bro . Heseltine ' s term as Grand Secretary . The particulars afforded of the Grand Lodge meetings 1767-1776 are much more complete and valuable than those covering the same period in the Constitutions of 1784 , especially as to the granting of warrants and the erasures of disobedient lodges .

A . D . 1769 . An octavo edition of the Constitutions was published in 1769 , evidently unofficial and unrecognised . The title down to the name of Dr . Anderson is the same as that of 1767 , the remainder being "A new edition , carefully revised , and continued to the present time . London : Printed for G . Kearsly , in Ludgate-street , M . D . CCLXIX . In the vulgar year of

Masonry 5769 , " There is no frontispiece , the work being the same as the regular quarto edition so far as page 3 84 . Then follows an "Appendix " pages 385 lo 396 , giving from the Quar . Com . of April 1767 , to May 5 th , 1769 . Mention is made ( p . 386 ) of the appointment of the Hon . Ch . Dillon as D . P . G . M ., in 1768 , having caused "some disgust , " because of the supercession of Colonel Sailer and other considerations , which led some of the

Iv. Constitutions Of 1767-69 & 1776.*

brethren to draw up a memorial to the G . M . Eventually better counsels prevailed , and the matter dropt , and the D . G . Master ' s " spirited beliavi-T j-ffi ^ . entI > ' ^ . ted t 0 have healed the sore . Nothing is said of this difficulty in the edition of "Appendix , 1776 . " o „ . t- Pr 01 l 0 Sed "S n 7 Incorporation" is given in full , pp . 580 to o 94 . which however fell through eventually . To have this-nr ntprf and

circulated more widely than was done officially may have been the aim of the promoters of this rival to the quarto volume . At anv rate , we may be certain that until the Appendix was printed and sold with the volume of 1767 the octavo of 1769 ' proved a formidable antagonist , and literally for a time " snuffed out" the authorised " Book of Constitutions" ( which was sold at ios . 6 d . in sheets , the same price being charged when the Appendix ot 1776 was added ) . '

I he octavo edition of 176 9 was also published in Dublin , the type having been utilised for both issues . Which was the first printed I cannot say . 1 he title page of the Irish edition is a very long one . " Constitutions of the Antient and Honorable Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons . Containing the history , from the creation , throughout the known world , with their charges , regulations , & c , & c . Calculated , not onlv fnr thn in . trn . i ™

ot every new made Mason , but also for the information of all who intend to become brethren . Collected and digested by order of the Grand Lodge irom their records , faithful traditions , and lodge books . Embellished with a copper-plate frontispiece , representing the ceremony of a new brother receiving the word from the most resoectable Masterin a f . ill ccmwf

, , „ „ „ thePellow Craft ; an accurate plan of the drawing on the floor of a lodge , and several other curious copper-plates . Dublin ****** Printed for . S ^ OY * -- " " , - - in Wine Tavern Street , the corner of Cook Street . At said Wilkinson s may be had all the sorts of Freemasons'books now extant . " No date [ 1769 ] .

Bro . Carson says , in his "Masonic Bibliography , " that "the sheels were printed in London , and a new title page added by Wilkinson ; " but 1 have not been able to authenticate this very probable account . It is No . 248 in his grand library . I have seen copies , without the Hates tinforout

tunateiy ; not one having those curious prints , which are copies of French plates datingfrom 1745 Bro . John E . Le Feuvre has a copy of the English edition having four of the Dublin prints inserted ; but not the plate having _ an accurate drawing on the floor of a lodge . " noted on the tillna < rp

,, 1 he copper-plates he has are—1 , Third Degree ceremony ; 3 , Lodge of f ; 3 . Initiation ; and , 4 , Lodge of 2 . The edition with the plates complete is therefore exceedingly curious , rare , and valuable . VV . J . HUGHAN .

Truro Cathedral.

TRURO CATHEDRAL .

I have been favoured by Mr . Robert Swain , the courteous Clerk of the Works , with a number of the " Banker Marks " of Masons who have been , or are still working on the Truro Cathedral . Class A were collected by the lamented Mr . James Bubb , the predecessor of the present Clerk of the Woiks , who has obtained those of Class B . _ I have seIected > ome specimens of each serieswhich will doubtless be of

, interest to the many brethren who , like myself , were present on the occasion of the foundation-stone being laid by H . R . H . the Prince of VVales , as our beloved Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of England . Interest attaches also to these specimens , because all the marks , being chiselled on the beds of the stones , cease to be visible from the time thpv arp nl .-ir-pW , * n ih « iV ^;„ N , f „ i

positions in the structure , whereas the marks in many old Cathedrals are exposed to view . Many of these designs will be familiar to students of ancient ecclesiastical and other buildings , at home and abroad . ClASS A .

MASTER BUILDERS . —In the earliest days of Operative Masonry , the great object of the master builders was to erect beautiful and substantial edifices , with foundations so deeply laid , and superstructure so skillfully cemented together , that the ravages of time might be defied , and their magnificent specimens of skill , surviving for ages , should be monuments to future generations of their genius and greatness . When Speculative

succeeded Operative Masonry , the great and good who were its founders , had a nobler end in view . Their ambition was of a loftier and more exalted type—to elevate their race , to render man a wiser and happier being , and to inculcate those Sublime doctrines of Eternal Truth , a knowledge and practice of which would fit them as living stones in that Spiritual Temple , that House not made with hands , eternal in the Heavens . —Freemasons ' Repository .