Masonic History, Antiquifies, And Bibliography.

Masonic History , Antiquifies , and Bibliography .

—*—SPECIMENS FROM A SIASOXIC QUARRY . Br Wst . J AMKS H UQUAN , P . M ., No . 131 , Tauuo , HonoraryManlier " Mother Kilwinning , " Scotland ; Provincial Grand Secretary for Cornwall , die ., < tc . . S PECIMEN NO . 2 . —T HE T ORPHICHEN-KILWINSING LODGE , NO . 13 , BATHGATE .

( Continued from paye 53 ) The Friendly Societies in connection with Craft Lodges form a distinguishing feature in Scottish Freemasonry . Although the lodges in Eng land do not generally adopt the princip le of adding a " Benefit Society" to their other

attractions as Freemasons , we know of instances where the bye-laws provide for brethren on leaving the lodge receiving their share of the capital , proportionate to their age aud length of membership , and in case of their decease , tho widow would receive the sum to which her husband was entitled .

In several Mark Lodges bona fide benefit societies are attached and are well sustained . We do not ourselves believe in any such methods for providing for indigent brethren , especially as the fact of their being such substantial advantages would necessarily tend to draw more candidates

for initiation than desirable . Jn Scotland , however , there are weig hty reasons for retaining such societies in connection with the operative lodges , although we apprehend there would not be a valid argument for permitting ordinary lodges to carry on the same system .

The Lodge of Torphichen-Kilwnniiiig is one that comes under the exceptional clause , and as we before intimated , possesses a , Friendly Society composed exclusively of Freemasons : — "Though the Lodge and Society may in many respects be termed one body , yet the objects of both

are distinct and well defined ; the main object of the Lodge being the practice of the mysteries of Freemasonry , while that of the Friendly Society is purely for providiuj ; a fund to assist its members in the event of sickness , and seem ing a certain allowance

payable to the friends of deceased members , to aid them in performing with decency the last sad rites of interment . The rules for regulating both Lod ge and Society have hitherto been blended together in one code ; they are now separated . " —Bye-laws , . D .

1850 . ¦ We have a copy of tho bye-laws of the lodge before us agreed ou by the members 27 th Deer ., 1849 . There is nothing striking or peculiar about them , and though they appear framed carefully to exclude unworth y men , wc think the

initiation fee is so low that wo should not wonder at some persons considering it as simply " entrance money" to the "friendly society . " The following will g ive an idea of the character of the ; old minutes , and with their reproduction wc must conclude our notice of this lodgo •.

—" At Livingston-Kirk , the 4 th day of January , 1737 . —The Lodge of Torphicain having melt , ami after having unanimously chosen . lames Steile , mason at Bathgate , their senior Warden to preced [ preside ] , the chair at that time being vacant till there should be i Master chosen for the said lodge .

Accordingly he luring taken the chair , proposed yt Mr . Walter Saiid'lands , Advocate , should be their Alaster , which projiosell b ;> ing uinnimously assented to by the whole Lydge , the sd . Air . Walter Sandilands took the cliair as Alaster , and after being cloathed and congratulated as such , he proceeded to

choose his Wardens and Deputy Master ; and accordingl y chose llr . William Dalrymple , advocate , for his Deputy ; James Whitefocr'd , of Dindaff , Senior Warden ; Alexander AlcConochie of Aleadowbank , Junioi Warden ; George Dick , writer in Mid-Calder , Seentary ; AVilliam Tennant , mason in

Howden , Boxmaster ; and John Tweddale , Bailie in Mid-Calder , and Charles Wright ( wright at Livingston-kirk ) , as Stewards to the saiil lodge ; which choice being unanimously gone into , they proceeded to make laws for tlie better regulation of the lodge . And accordingly enacted that in all time coming

the dues to be paid by any Apprentice at his entry should be four poinds Scots [ lis .. 8 d . ] by and besides half a crown [ 2 s . ( il . ] to be paid by them for the use of tho Grand L < dge , aiid at passing four pounds Scots ; all this by aid besides the charge of treating the company that skill happen to enter in passing the said Apprentice , . i Fellow Craft , & c . "

. Respecting the " treating of the members , we have an old set of bye-laws that required the members to spend " niiiepuiiee out of every shilling for the good of the house . " Then , Masonry

Masonic History, Antiquifies, And Bibliography.

must have proved a curse , instead of a blessing , to many . In the present day , although in too many instances lodges may be charged with overfeeding and drinking , a great improvement is manifest , and the "drinking customs" of Masons of the last century are rapidly on the decline .

The next minute states that the following meeting was to be held in the "house of Baillie Tweeddale , at Mid Calder , on Sth March , 1737 . " The lodges in Scotland about this date seemed to have power to move about wherever the majority decidtd , and " make masons , " $ , e . During this

decade , the lodge held medtings in Ldinburgh , and received several members . These doings were signed by the Master , Wardens , Secretary , and twenty-three brethren . The next entry in the minute-book , dated 20 th May , 1752 , referred to a meeting held at Bathgate , at which place all subsequent meetings appear to have been held .

In the list of lodges holding of the Grand Lodge of Scotland A . D . 1804 , the lodge is styled No . 1 G . It however stands the 12 th on the roll , and in the Bye-laws for 1850 it is termed No . 12 . It now ranks as No . 13 , under the date of 1707 . The following is a list of the old lodges ( mostly

from the "British and Irish Masonic Calendar" ) holding of the Grand Lodge ot Scotland , that claim au existence anterior to the institution of thafc Grand Lodge ( 173 G ) , or of Grand Lodge of England ( 1717 ) : — r . 0 . Ancient or Alother Lodge of Kilwinning 1128

1 . St . Alary ' s Chapel , Edinburgh 1518 2 . Canongate Kilwinning , Edinburgh ... 1677 3 . Scoon and Perth , Pei th 1658 3 St . John , Glasgow 1190 5 . Canongate and Leith , Leith 1088

6 . St . John Old Kilwinning , Inverness ... 1709 7 . Hamilton Kilwinning , Hamilton ... IGOo 8 . Journeyman , Edinburgh 1707 9 . St . John , Dunblane . 1 G 9 G 13 . Torphiehen Kilwinning , Bathgate ... 1707 30 . Ancient Kilwinning , Stirling 1708

31 . Aberdeen , Aberdeen loll 37 . St . John Operative , Forbes , 171 G 52 . St . Andrew's , Banff before 1703 57 . St . John Kilwinning , Iladdingt . iii ... 159 !) 118 . St . Bryde , Douglas 17 U Sketches or histories of No . 0 , 2 , 8 , 1 : 3 , and 52 have been written . Bro . Lyon , the Scottish

AIa « onic Historian , is now engaged in writing that of No . 1 ( the records of which have been entrusted to our friend and fellow masonic student for examination and reproduction ) , and we hope soon to hear of others who arc anxious to make known to the world the character of their lodge records .

Multum In Parbo, Or Masonic Notes And Queries.

Multum in Parbo , or Masonic Notes and Queries .

—•—"Domatic" and " Geomatic" Masons . —The following may bc taken as an answer to R . T . ' s query of Jul y 24 : —'' Domatic is derived from the Latin word 'domiis , ' whioh signifies a house . It therefore means of , or belonging to , a house .

Its Masonic meaning is transparent from its usage in former times . When a bod y of Freemasons who were also Operative Masons applied for a charter to found a Lodge , as was the case with the petitioners for Ayr Kilwinning in 17 G 5 ,

they designated themselves ' Domatic Masons . On the other hand , members of Lodges who were not Operative Masons ( nobles , lairds , etc . ) were styled ' Geomatic' Masons—a term derived from the Greek word , ym , the land or soil , and therefore intended to . show that thev were landed

proprietors , or men in some way or other connected with agriculture . This was evidently the idea the word was meant to express at first ; but it by-and-byc was applied to all Freemasons who

where not Operative Masons , and who were in those days styled ' Gentlemen ' Alasons . Both the terms 'domatic' and 'geomatic ' are obsolete . " —D . Murray Lyon ' s ' History of Mother Kilwinning . ' D . MuniiAY LYON

AIKKTIXQS . —Our meetings , when conducted according to the true spirit of the Order , are characterised hy an emulation to excel in wisdom and the knowledge ol ' praetical virtue ; and that the instruction incessantly poured from the Master ' s chair , is delivtrod from an ample and exhaustless mine , stored with the richest gems ot morality and religion , to re form the maimers , and cultivate genial propensities in the mind .

Papers On Masonry.

PAPERS ON MASONRY .

BY A LEWIS . XIX . —MASONRY IN ITS PURE EXPRESSION . "Shalt thou reign , because thou closest thyself in cedar ? did not thy fath r eat ami drink , and do judgment aud justice , and then it was w .-ll with him . He judged the cause of the poor and needy ; tliRii it was well with

him : was not this to know me ? s « it \\ the Lord . . /( . rsHiiVAxxii . 15 . 16 . Throughout nature , the visible token g iven of the Unseen by T . G . A . O . T . U ., one compensating and sufficient system is apparent . It is , so to speak , entirely one edition of God ' s' periodicals , printed at

such vast cost that piration is impossible . In presence of the appalling problem of existence in any sense , men of common intelligence have opposed Sciencethe kind mistress of those who are True , and the dire enemy of Dogma and Falsi ty . A certain fallacious , because unintelligible , theory

has been current about au Eidolon called Progress . If any one could really inform me—well accustomed as I am— from education and inclination , to the Land of Shadows , I should really feel obliged . We wander on from day to day , sometimes a little hopeless about our science , but , if sensible , never

doubting the excellent principle of Goethe—to seize the present moment . I am not going to wander into something about as useful as the great Angelic Doctor , Thomas Aquinas , nor am I a Didymus ; I am much in the position of Gallic , who " cared for none of these things . "

There is no determinate end , at present , of which we , can give any intelligible account . I don ' t wish to be mistaken , but this really is not a political article . Neither my political ideas nor my political sympathies , either can or ought to prevent , the meaning I seek to elicit from the words at tho head of this article : —

" Shalt thou reign because thou closest thyself in cedar ? " Is one mere frail scrap of mortality to monopolize the one half of the world's wealth , because the other half is so cunning as to persuade him that it is not handy . But this is nothing to what might be accomplished by the heartless set of people imported

into Alasonry for the mere sake of its honours , advantages , and titles . To be a true Alason , my friends and readers , you must have studied long and hard . Ceremonies , however august , neither approach the intellect nor divizle . the mind . By slow and patient degrees the true Alason ascends to a position whence he can

espy the sacred edifice of Charity and Freedom . How conies it that it is left for one who imparts Strength , to he the advocate where so many Alasons are laggards ? Because they have , bowed to Dagon , and not Truth . There are four corners to the world ; these are

Chanty , Truth , Science anil Honour . By their equal plane they form one , that one is T . G . A . O . T . U . But the miserable set of initiated idiots who disgrace the cause , rather because " they know not what they do , " than from intention , require diligent looking after . It is of no use to close yourself in cedar , or to hide your light under a bushel .

1 he second expression in the words I have selected now come on for consideration : — " Did not thy father eat and drink , and do judgment and justice , and then it was well with him . " What is human life , unadorned with those feelings that render every heart at case by having not only

meant , or prayed for , bnt accomplished one deed of goodness between dawn and sunset ? It would bo a waste worse than the most awful abyss that the most abject drunkard could imagine in the kismet of stationary delirium tremens , lie ate and drank , and did judgment and justice , and then it was well with him .

Why ? Because he had listened to that still small voice of Charity , tempered by Science , which constitutes the salvation of ourselves , by our self-respect . What , however , following my text closely , was done by the one with whom it was well ? "Ho judged the cause of the poor and needy , " and , with

the iti ' iiition of Hebrew enthusiasm , "then it was well with him , " and the prophet , deeming himself qualified to add the words so impressive to every real ( initiated cr no ! , ) Mason ' s heart , " was not this to know me , saith the l . ord !" And is it not , to us , who bond in awe before the

majestic and persistent powers of Nature ; do not we see that our puny efforts to aid each other " in spirit and in truth , " " doing no works of supererogation , " are the noblest and most efficient thanks wo can offer to the T . G . A . O . T . U . Some people say as to manners , "let each reform

one , " and they mean the person whom they address . 1 would rather propose that each should be such an example to the other that ( he strife should be em illation , and so productive of good to all . The beautiful phrase , " that peace of God which passeth all understanding , " mi g ht thcn , without priests , become patent to every heart , and everyone might

rest in the consciousness of performing , and not merely talking of performing , their duty . Who can doubt , my . Alasonic friends , aud those of my own Order , who read these lines , that Jeremiah was right when ho said : — " lie judged the cause of the poor and need y ; then it w is well with him ; was not this to know »« r , saith the Lord ? " CRYPfONYMUS .