Original Correspondence.

amongst Christians as Maimonides , he was born at Cordova , 1131 . To the above writ ers I shall beg to call your readers' attention , and I may say here that neither of them or the Talmud refer to these legends that W . P . B . quoted from Dr . Smith ' s dictionary . My subject in your next will be " Hiram . " Yours fraternally , D . STOLTZ .

THE FREEMASONS' LIFE BOAT . ( To the Editor of The Freemason . ) DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —I have requested the Freemasons of a lodge which sent a

subscription some three years or so ago to the Secretary of the Freemasons' Life Boat Fund , to furnish me with his name and address . It is as follows , " \ V . Smith , F . M . Magazine Office , 19 , Salisbury-street , Strand . "

Bro . Gotthiel has now an answer to his numerous enquiries as to the " whereabouts" of the committee originally formed for carrying out the above object . I have carefully re-read our correspondence in your columns , and am still at a loss to understand

why a very simple enquiry on my part should have caused Bro . Gotthiel to write the uncalled-for and abusive letter in your paper of April 2 nd . I emphatically deny wishing to " throw cold water" upon thc movement , with which Bro . Gotthiel charges me . I certainly do not wish to see

new committees formed , repudiating tbe efforts of an original committee , if that can be called throwing " cold water , " and I venture to think Bro . Gotthiel will not advance the cause by writing intemperate letters . It is not every one who desires to see their name

figuring away in print , and in using any nom de plume , I am only adopting the usual course observed by others when writing to the public papers ; in this instance I am an unknown quantity to Bro . Gotthiel , and by giving my name , I should perhaps only call downTnore abuse from Bro . Gotthiel , which

for Bro . Gotthiel s sake , as well as my own , I wish to avoid , and I shall take no further notice of what he may say about me . I have furnished Bro . Gotthiel with thc information he professes to desire , and his "shadowy

possibilities " are now converted into tangible realities ; it will be for him to give the results to your readers . I am , dear Sir and Brother , yours fraternally , AV . M .

812 TH ANNIVERSARY HELD AT GLASGOW . ( To the Editor of The Freemason . ) DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —Upon reading the remarks upon this subject at page 175 , last week's FREEMASON the words , " The Report of thc Historical Committee was read , " re-called to my

mind that I had seen said report , and judging it would be interesting to your readers to peruse it , I enclose a copy of it , which perhaps you will find room for . It suggests some curious ideas which I shall not enter into at present , leaving your readers to judge for themselves . It was to have been read

to thc lodge , as stated below , on the 1 st September , but on referring to the reference in your contemporary made at page 175 , wc perceive that owing to the absence of the R . AV . M . then it was postponed to the next meeting , viz ., the 15 th September , 1868 , when it was read , and as I understood ,

afterwards engrossed 111 the minute book of the lodge . From published report of lodge meeting , we perceive Bro . Park , P . M ., observing that "if the charter of this lodge was granted by a King Malcolm , it could not be that of Malcolm HI ., because he had no brother named David . " " Bro . Ramsay , the

R . W . M ., suggested .... the spirit-rappers should be consulted . " A " cordial vote of thanks , " we also perceive , was " passed unanimously to Professor Cosmo Innes , " who , unless he has been recently initiated , is not , as I am informed , a Freemason . I shall only add , that such of your readers as arc

interested in this may read pages 7 and 8 of THE FREEMASON for June 19 th , 186 9 , where some of my own remarks upon this lodge will be found , and in which I admit this pretended Malcolm Charter to be a recent forgery . I append the report above alluded to .

I am , yours fraternally , LEO . Report of the Historical Committee appointed by the Lodge of Glasgow St . John to inquire into Ihe historical evidence and data of thc antiquity of said lodge . Your committee have held several meetings upon this subject , and also deputed Bros . John ISaird and AV . P .

Buchan to go to Edinburgh and Melrose for information . It was rcportctl that thc Masons of the Melrose St . John Ixxlgc held documents of very ancient date , but thc oltlcst they could show to your deputation was an old minute book , beginning at the year 1674 , which is not so old by 74 years as the minute book of the Glasgow

Incorporation of Masons , still extant , which begins at the year 1600 , and into which is copied a lodge minute of date 1613 . In reference also to the tradition current at Melrose , that the Lodge of Melrose St . John built the present Abbey of Melrose about A . D . 1136 , John Murdo being their first Grand Master then . That is a mistake , the

Original Correspondence.

present Abbey being built about the end of fourteenth century and beginning of fifteenth , and John Murdo was living somewhere about that time . When at Edinburgh your deputation called upon Professor Cosmo Innes , and were most kindly and frankly received by him . In reference to the document purporting to be a charter , granted by Malcolm III . or IV . to the Glasgow

Incorporation of Masons and Lodge , Professor Innes said : "It is not a charter , but a document written within the last one hundred and fifty years , or , give me plenty of time and I shall say two hundred , at the utmost , " the style of writing being quite different from that in use in the eleventh and twelfth centuries . Turning to Bro . Braid , Professor Innes remarked : " You , as an architect , know

an old building when you see it by certain signs , so do I know a really old charter when I look at it , and that Malcolm document of yours I know to be a comparatively modern got-up affair , neither were the persons mentioned in it—as witnesses , & c . —all alive at the same time . But what would you have ? " he added , " there is that beautiful charter , granted by William the Lion in 1190 to the

fraternity engaged at the building of Joceline s Cathedral , which is as genuine as can be •that is a sure foundation upon which to build , and certainly , is old enough , if you can connect yourself properly with it . " In writing about these two documents , Professor Innes also says : '' Our first Corporate charters were to burghs , and not till long after came those to the guilds and

corporations within and under burghs , but there are no charters to burghs till AVilliam the Lion ; so you see it did not require much sagacity to stamp the Charter of Malcolm—full of the phraseology and the minute distinctions of a much later day—as a forgery ; but " he adds , "if you can get a photograph of the entry of the William

the Lion Charter from the Registrum Vetus , which is in the hands of the Catholic clergy , and from which source I copied it into the ' Registrum Episcopatus Glasguensis , ' No . 76 , page 66 , you could not have a more ancient or more honourable title to deposit in your handsome charter chest . " We would also draw the attention of the brethren

to the remarkable , almost entire , resemblance between this Malcolm writ and another document said to be a charter from David the First , King of FScots , in 1147 , to the Lodge of Stirling , which Stirling document , however , will not stand close examination either . We can find no evidence of our pretended Malcolm charter before its pretended discovery about sixty years ago ( A . D . 1806 ) . As

the Lodge of Glasgow St . John claims priority over all other lodges in Scotland , and thc " Mother Kilwinning " does the same , the attention of your committee has been drawn to the foundation upon which their separate claims rest . As has been already stated , independent of the Malcolm writ , the Lodge of Glasgow St . John hails from the chartered fraternity engaged at the building of Glasgow

Cathedral in A . D . 1190 , while the Mother Kilwinning Lodge hails from the builders of Kilwinning Abbey , which they say was founded by them in A . D . 1140 , and the present fabric , which they say has now existed for more than 700 years , was built at that time by them ; but upon examination this 1140 date of Kilwinning Abbey edifice proves to be false , thc style of

architecture in which it is built not being 111 existence then . Kilwinning Abbey is built in the pointed style , and was not built until about the beginning of the thirteenth century . An author named Pont , who lived about the year 1600 , and had access to the Earl of Eglinton ' s papers , then says of it " then it is remarkable that this monastery was founded A . D . 1191 , and destroyed A . D . 1591 . " As

Glasgow was the head of the diocese in which Kilwinning is situated , antl the reconstruction of Glasgow Cathedral was going on before Kilwinning Abbey was begun , it is probable that a branch of the Fraternity engaged at Glasgow went to Kilwinning . In " Scotland in the Middle Ages , " Professor Innes also classes Kilwinning Abbey among the 13 th century

buildings . It is therefore probable that " Mother Kilwinning " was a daughter of Glasgow St . John . There arc some oltl sashes belonging to this lodge with the inscription , " Glas St . John's 1600 " on them , which being shown lo Mr . A . D . Robertson , artist , who is a gentleman of considerable antiquarian knowledge , he saidafter comparing the writing with that of the period—he

had no reason to disbelieve it possible that these sashes were made in ihe year 1600 . In the old Incorporation minute books , mentioned above , at thc year 1682 , we have the names of the brethren who signed the Roslyn Charter ini 628 . Between the years 1190 and 1600 there is certainly a large void ; concerning thc doings of thc lodge in that time we as yet know but little , except so far as refers

to the ( act that after the in-come of the Fraternity to build thcCathedr . il in 1190 , there his always been a continuation of work going on iu Glasgow , which always kept a greater or less number of the brethren here . In Catholic times , thc Masons of Glasgow were the Bishop's men or Bishop ' s burgesses , and as has been observed , it is only in the Register of the Bishopric that this 1190 William the

Lion Charter is preserved to us , and although it is preserved , it is hard lo say how much more may have been lost since Archbishop Beaton carried off all documents lie could lay his hands on lo France in 1560 . However , if a proper examination were made , or a translation got , of the "Registrum Episcopatus Glasguensis , " and other documents preserved , we might find mention of thc

Masons in many p laces wc know not of at present , and thus carry out the remark ( or hint ) of Professor Innes , by connecting the Lodge of Glasgow St . John of the year 1 S 6 S back to its connection and origin in the Fraternity , which , being employed by Bishop Joceline to build his Cathedral , was by King William the Lion chartered for

its protection and encouragement A . D . 1190 . The above report being read at the meeting of committee , held on the evening of Saturday , 22 nd August 1868 , was approved of and appointed to be read at the next regular meeting of the lotlge on the 1 st September . AV . P . BUCHAN , Convener .

Constantine The Great.

CONSTANTINE THE GREAT .

( To the Editor of The Freemason . ) DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —When I had read over Bro . Fitzgerald Maticr ' s paper on " The Red Cross of Rome and Constantine , " ( vide , Masonic Mirror , March 19 th 18 70 ) , condemning Bro . Little's hastily put notes for Bro . Macoy ' s " Dictionary of

Freemasonry , I thought it might give me some amusement , as well as information , to see for myself how far Bro . Matier had proved the fallacy of Bro . Little's statement , and I have taken it upon me to send you the result of my investigations , as they may be interesting to you or ( if you print them )

some of your readers . Constantine the Great , first Emperor of the name , was the son of Constan ce I ., alias Constantius Chlorus , and Helena , and was born at Naisse , a town in the province of Dacia , the 24 th July , 272 . Helena , his mother , was born at Colchester , in Essex ( and

died at Rome , in 337 , aged about 85 years ) , " as all our British authors do unanimously report . " Niccphorus , and other Greek authors , assert that she was a Bythynian born , to rob Britain of the honour of having given birth to the first Christian Emperor ; but Baronius is of the former opinion ,

which he grounds on the panegyric pronounced at the wedding of Constantine ; viz .: " That his father had freed Britain from servitude , and that he ( Constantine ) made Britain glorious by his birth . " About the year 326 she visited the Holy places , where it is said she found Christ ' s Cross on Mount Calvary . In

memory of this event , the town of Colchester gives for its arms , a cross engrail'd between four crowns . The father of Constantine was forced to quit his wife Helena , to keep in favour with the Emperor Maximian ; and married his daughter-in-law , Theodora : Maximian conferred the title of Cssar on

him in 291 . In 30411 c and Galenus remained sole Emperors , when Maximian and Diocletian quitted the purple . Constantine married Fausta , another daughter of Maximian ' s ; and Galerius , being afraid that he mi ght succeed him , kept him a prisoner at Rome under the pretence of religion , while his

fathcrwas in England , and designed toruinhim . He , however , found means to escape , killing the posthorses that he should not be followed , and arrived in England in time to see his father die at York , 25 th July , 306 . He was them proclaimed Emperor by the army , but took only the title of Caesar .

Understanding from his wife , that her father had been in league with Galcrius to ruin him , he beseiged him in Marseilles , and strangled him himself in 310 , and attained the imperial crown . He caused his mother to be called Augusta and Impcratrix , both in his court and armies , and gave her the disposal of the

spare treasure at her will . Maxcntius , son of Maximian , on hearing of the election of Constantine , assumed the purple , and was saluted Emperor by the Imperial Guards which were in Italy , in 307 . Constantine , to avoid a civil war , offered to associate him to the

Empire , but in vain . He banished his father from Italy , and strangled Sevcrus Caesar , who had been sent against him , and he became so insufferably cruel , that thc Senate prayed Constantine to deliver them from him . Maxcntius having great forces , placed three or four armies in the Alps to dispute

the passage . But ( as thc story says ) God was on the side of Constantine , and near the town of Autun , showed him a shining cross in the air , round which were the words in Greek letters , " Conquer in this sign . " He not imderstaiidingit , Jesus Christappearcd to him , and bade him make a military sign like

what appeared to him the day before , which he did . This standard or ensign , called " Labarum , " i . e . the end of tail , has been used by the Romans since his time ; it is a long lance , near the top a piece of wood cross-ways and a rich crown above it , with the two first Greek letters of the name of Jesus

Christ joined into a cypher ; from the cross wood is hung a rich flag with the portraits of Constantine and his son ; thc officers appointed to bear it were called Pracpositc and Labarorum . He defeated the troops of Maxcntius , marched direct to Rome , and defeated himself when he came out to meet him

with 172 , 000 foot and 20 , 000 horse , Constantine having only 90 , 000 foot and Sooo horse . Maxcntius making his escape , was drowned in the Tiber , the 24 th September 312 . After this he joined interests with Licinius , who was thc son of a husbandman of Dacia , but being a

great soldier , had risen to thc highest command in the army , and was declared Caisar b y Galerus Maximius in 307 , and the year after was saluted Emperor in Pannonia . He married Constantia , the sister of Constantine , ( in 313 , ) whom he both feared and hated , and not long after he declared war against him , and began to persecute the Christians

with inflexible cruelty . Constantine attacked him and obtained two great victories over him in 314 , one in Hungary and the other in Thrace . He obtained peace , but again took up arms , and suffered another great overthrow near Adrianoplc in 323 . He was again pardoned for his wife ' s sake , but his hatred was so great that he endeavoured to kindle a new war , which caused him to be strangled in 325 ( aged