Grand Lodge.

believed otherwise , we would heartily join J 3 ro . Bennoch in prohibiting , not merely the officials of Grand Lodge , but every member of the Fraternity , from entering into , or

in any way countenancing , the exterior degrees . The experience of many years , however , dispels any such dread of occult influence , even if we fail to count in our

consideration the important fact that the Deputy Grand Master himself , with many Provincial Grand Masters and other high

Masonic functionaries , are active adherents of the "unrecognised" but certainly not " antagonistic , " extraneous orders . It will be observed that we address our- .

selves solely to the " proposition" which has been referred to the Board of General Purposes , and not to the charges brought against the officials ; but we shall be very

much surprised , indeed , if the brethren affected do not demand a full investigation of those charges , and , under such circumstances , comment would be unnecessary

and improper . But we must , in any case , guard against the recurrence of such grave irregularities as have marked the introduction of Bro . Cooke ' s motion , and this can

only be effected by a determination on the partof all to uphold the regulations ofGrand Lodge , which prescribe the proper course to be pursued .

The "Freemason" Life Boat.

THE " FREEMASON" LIFE BOAT .

WE have great pleasure in recording the successful launch of the Masonic Life-boat on Tuesday last , when the ceremony of naming the boat , "The Freemason , " was

performed by Bro . J . Rankin Stebbing , P . G . D ., Dep . Prov . G . M . Hants , in the presence of the President of the Committee , Bro . A . E . Harris , the Secretary , Bro .

Gottheil , Bros . Davis , Boyd , and many other brethren , and a large number of the fair sex . After the launch , which was most satisfactory to all present , the brethren dined

together at Bro . Gosden s , Masons ' -avenue , Basinghall-street , and spent a most agreeable evening . We regret that a prior

engagement prevented our having the pleasure of attending to witness the interesting proceedings .

Multum In Parbo, Or Masonic Notes And Queries.

Multum in Parbo , or Masonic Notes and Queries .

? THE ROYAL ORDER OF SCOTLAND AND ITS ANTIQUITY ( p . 473 ) . I might well decline to take any notice of the letter of " X . Y . Z ., " which appears

in THE FREEMASON of 29 th July . It is certainly not incumbent on me to reply to an anonymous writer , who , for aught I know , may not be a Freemason at all . Moreover , " X . Y . Z . " adduces no proof in

support of his assertions , although he makes assertions in abundance , and was surely bound to adduce some proof of their truth when he ventured to make them . I beg

leave , however , to offer a few remarks on the subject , but having done so , I will refrain from all controversy with " X . Y . Z ., " until , at least , he comes openl y forward ,

Multum In Parbo, Or Masonic Notes And Queries.

giving his name and address , as it is plain that in such a case any man of honourable feeling would consider himself bound to do . Members of the Royal Order of Scotland cannot fairly be called upon by any

oneleast of all by one who withholds his name —to prove its antiquity . If such a demand is made , some reason ought surely to be assigned for making it . But " X . Y . Z . " assigns none whatever . He has come

forward to make an attack , and to make it in the dark , not only calling into question the antiquity of the Order , but the honour and good faith of the members of it , all of whom are certainly responsible to the Masonic

body and to the community at large for the pretensions of antiquity they put forth on behalf of the Order . These pretensions may be well founded or not—I put this question aside for the moment—but it must be assumed that everv member of the Order

believes them to be well founded . It is open to "X . Y . Z ., " as it is to every one else , to inquire into this subject ; but it is not right for him to open the inquiry by assertions which imply a charge of

imposture against all the members'of the Order . They declare their belief in its antiquity , and are surely entitled to credit for honesty in doing so . If "X . Y . Z . " were prosecuted for libel by any of them , he might find

himself in an awkward position . It is not quite a safe thing to bring a public charge against a body of men , although it may be adopted as a method of gratifying spite against some individual of their number ; and it is the

very course which a coward might be supposed to choose who dares not to come forward in his own name and accuse that individual personally . " X . Y . Z . " says , " Were any ' proofs satisfactory' really

extant of the existence of the Royal Order so early as the first quarter of last century , they would have been brought forward long ere now . " The fact is , as I can safely affirm , that there are documents in possession of

the Order , more than two hundred years old , and these documents indicate a much higher antiquity . How high that antiquity is , or what truth there is in the alleged connection of the origin of the Order with King

Robert Bruce and the battle of Bannockburn , are questions open for discussion—if the discussion of them is fairly and honourably conducted . All I intend at present is , by the statement just made , to show that

the assertions of " X . Y . Z . " concerning the recent origin of the Order are unfounded , and this is as completely accomplished by reference to documents two hundred years old , as it would be if they were of the date of the battle of Bannockburn itself .

If " X . Y . Z . " is himself a member of the

Royal Order of Scotland , his conduct in attacking it anonymously through the press is more inexcusable than on the contrary supposition . He ought , in that case , to have endeavoured , within the Order itself , to

rectify any mistake into which he supposed its members to have fallen in the assertion of its antiquity . As a Freemason , if he is a Freemason , he ought also to know that Masonic documents cannot all be publicly

produced , however important their production might be to the settlement of a disputed question . To brethren , however , they would be freely exhibited , and "X . Y . Z ., " if he is a Mason , has only to apply in the proper

quarter , that he may see and examine those belonging to the Royal Order of Scotland . For my own part , I am willing to give him any information in my power or to

assist him in any researches which he may desire to make . But in order to this I must first know who he is , and that he is a Freemason of some standing . I have neither

Multum In Parbo, Or Masonic Notes And Queries.

time nor inclination to enter into further discussion of this subject with one who seems to shrink from giving his name . I am ready to make mine known , to him , whenever his is made known to me .

Meanwhile , I think it enough to repel his accusation against the members of the Royal Order of Scotland , for he has really accused them all of imposture in their pretensions of antiquity—an accusation which no man

of right and honourable feeling could lightly have brought against a body of men , every one of whom is entitled to respect and to have his word received , if not as to the facts of a remote period , at least as to his

belief that they are facts . Such a belief concerning the origin and antiquity of the Royal Order of Scotland , has been

transmitted to the present members from their predecessors , and they ought not to be subjected to railing accusations for putting forth their claim in accordance with it .

The attack made by "X . Y . Z . " upon the Royal Order of Scotland seems to be akin to those which have of late been so frequently made upon Freemasonry itself ,

by writers , some of whom are Freemasons , who maintain that our modern speculative Freemasonry had no existence till the beginning of last century . But I refrain from entering into this subject .

AN EDINBURGH MEMBER OF THE ROYAL ORDER OF SCOTLAND .

JEWISH ANTIQUITIES . Some years ago , the Reverend Claudius Buchanan , D . D ., Vice President of the

College of Fort William , Bengal , devoted a considerable time in enquiring into the origin of an ancient colony of Jews which he found on the coast of Malabar . Some of

the facts which he elucidated are so singular , from their great antiquity , that I have taken the liberty of sending an extract to

THE FREEMASON . Strictly speaking , it is more of an archaeological than a Masonic extract . I quote the following from one of the rev . doctor ' s letters : —

" Cochin , Feb . 4 , 1807 , " I have now been in Cochin , or its vicinity , for upwards of two months , and have got well acquainted with the Jews . They do not live in the city of Cochin , but in a town about a mile

from it , called Mattachery and Jews ' -Town . It is almost wholly inhabited by the Jews , who have two respectable synagogues . Among them are some very intelligent men who are not ignorant of the history of nations . There are also Jews

here from remote parts of Asia , so that this is the fountain of intelligence concerning that people in the East , there being constant communication by ships with the Red Sea , the Persian Gulf , and the mouths of the Indus . The

resident Jews are divided into two classes , called the Jerusalem , or white Jews , and the ancient , or black Jews . The White Jews reside at this place ; the Black Jews have also a synagogue here , but the great body of that people , or rather

tribe , reside in towns in the interior of the province . I have now seen most of both classes . My enquiries refer chiefly to their antiquity , their manuscripts , and their sentiments concerning the present state of the Jewish nation . On my

enquiry into the antiquity of the white Jews , they first delivered me a narrative , in the Hebrew language , of their arrival in India , which has been handed down to them from their fathers , and

then exhibited their ancient brass plate , containing their charter , or freedom of residence , given by a king of Malabar . The following is their account of their first arrival here : —

" After the second Temple was destroyed ( which may God speedily rebuild ) our fathers , dreading the conquerors' wrath , departed from Jerusalem , a numerous body of women , priests , and Levites , and came into this land . There were among them men of repute for learning