Births, Marriages, And Deaths.

Births , Marriages , and Deaths .

BIKTH . WALTKKS . —On the 13 th June , at 372 , New Cross-road , Deptford , the wife of Bro . Frederick Walters of a daughter .

Answers To Correspondents.

Answers to Correspondents .

All communications for T HK FRKEMASOX should be written legibly , on one side of tbe paper only , and , if intended fer insertion in the current number must be received not later than 10 o ' clock a . m . on Thursdays , unless in very special cases . The name and address of every writer must be sent to us in confidence .

A STEWARD . —We believe tbe Inauguration Jewels will be ready in July . P . Z . —We are glad to be able to assure you that brethren serving as Stewards to any two of the Charities , and qualifying as Life Governors , will , in future , be entitled to wear the Charity Jewel . The Grand Master so decided at the last Grand Lodge , although , by some means or other ,

the reporters did not record his remark . ALPHA . —The 43 rd rule of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution reads thus : — "The accounts of receipts and disbursements of the Male Funds and of the Widows' Fund , shall be kept separate and distinct , and a general statement of the finances of the Institution shall be annually prepared ; and , after having been duly audited , shall , together with a report of the proceedings of the Committee of

Management , be presented to tbe Annual General Meeting in May , and to Grand Lodge in June following . " It is , to our judgement , perfectly clear that the objection to the reception of the report , " raised by Bro . Savage at the last Quarterly Communication , was wholly untenable as the rule ( which has been sanctioned by Grand Lodge ) expressly states that the report shall lie presented to tlie Grand Lodge in June , and there is , consequently , no necessity whatever for its prior submission to the Board of Masters .

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NOTICE . Owing to the rapidly-increasing circulation of folic $ vmmxsQ \ x , its columns have now become valuable channels to all who Advertise . For terms and contracts , appl y to Bro . WOLPERT , 3 , BIIICHIN LANE , CORNHILL .

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Cljc Jrcemum , SATURDAY , JUNE 19 , 1 SG 9 .

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TUB KUKKMASON is puhlis-hed on Saturday Mornings in time for the early trains . The prico of Tim Fm * i- _» so-f is Twopence por week ; quarterly subscription ( including postage ) 3 s . 3 d . Annual Subscription , 12 s . Subscriptions payable in advance All communications , totters , _ c , to bo addressed to tho BSITOB , 3 _ 4 , Little Britain , EX ! . Tho Editor will pay careful attention to all MSS . entrusted to him , but cannot undertake to return them unless accompanied by postage stamps .

The London Masonic Season.

THE LONDON MASONIC SEASON .

THE snmmer brings with it , for metropolitan brethren , a cessation from Masonic labors . Lodge after lodge closes , and , until October , as a rule , few meetings are held in London . Master and warden , fellow-craft and apprentice , alike lay

aside the apron and don the tourists suit , in quest of well-earned relaxation by the sea shore or on the breezy hill . At this period of comparative leisure let us take a brief review of the season which has just closed , and which has been

an eventful one in many respects . Not only have we had to record the birth of several new lodges iu the metropolis , but the prosperity of the Craft has been still further evinced by the immense sums contributed to the Masonic

Charities at their annual festivals . We have also seen the completion of our magnificent Masonic tcmjile in Groat Queen-street , and

• witnessed its inauguration under circumstances eminently auspicious and gratifying . Our Grand Master has completed his quarter of a centtiry ' s fiway over the Craft , and has been re-installed as

The London Masonic Season.

the ruler of English Masonry amidst demonstrations of unabated esteem and affection . Moreover , within the last few days , we have welcomed into the ranks of English Freemasonry the Prince of Wales , who , we trust , will emulate the

royal Sussex in true and earnest devotion to the sublime principles of the Order , and prove himself the First Freemason , as well as the first

gentleman in the empire . We have not lost through death any very prominent member of the Craft during the past Masonic season , nor have we had to lament over the extinction of

lodges or the secession of brethren . In a word , the condition of Freemasonry in England at the present time is highly satisfactory , and the Order bids fair to increase both in strength and influence Turning to Scotland , we find that under the

vigorous rule of the Earl Dalhousie , Freemasonry maintains its high prestige in the la . nd of the Gael , while our Irish brethren are progressing in spite of the unscrupulous opposition of Cardinal Cullen and his priesthood .

It is much to be desired , however , that the ties which bind the Craft together should be still more closely drawn , by the adoption of something like uniformity of working in the three kingdoms . We are aware that the establishment

of an orthodox and recognized ritual for the Craft degrees will be a herculean task * and , doubtless , this feeling exercises a deterrent influence against making this attempt . But , surely ,

when the object to be attained is so great and so praiseworthy , qualified brethren willing to devote time ancl attention to the subject will come forward and lend their assistance . Now that the

Masonic London season is over , there is more leisure for conference and discussion , and we hope yet to see the matter dealt with by the authorities of the several Grand Lodges of the United Kingdom .

It is a matter of congratulation that the importance of the Masonic Press is now becoming generally ancl thoroughly realized in England ; our brethren in America , it is well known , have long appreciated its value , ancl we tire proud to

acknowledge that the support which has been extended by thc Craft to our own Journal is a gigantic stride in tho same direction . To all our friends whose Masonic labours in

the metropolis have now temporarily ceased—we earnestly wish the refreshment of renovated health and spirits , to engage again with renewed vigor in the work of beautifying ancl adorning the Masonic edifice .

The Red Cross Of Rome And Constantine.

THE RED CROSS OF ROME AND CONSTANTINE .

THE annual report of the Executive Committee of the Imperial , Ecclesiastical , ancl Military Order of Knights of the Red Cross of Rome and Constantine , for 1 SG 8-9 , contains a record of the proceedings of tho General Grand

Conclave of tho Order on March Gth , 18 G 8 ; a statement of the accounts from date of re-organization in May , 18 G 5 , to March , 18 G 9 , showing a balance in favour of the general fund of £ 79 6 s . 8 d .,

and in the Grand Almoner ' s , or charity fund , . £ 11 lis . Id . We also gather the following statistical information from its pages * . — The Grand Council consists of 12 members .

Thc Grand Senate is also conqioscd of 12 members . There are 20 local Inspectors General in the United Kingdom and foreign parts . Thc Knights of the Grand Cross are 9 in number . There are 15 officers of the Grand College of Viceroys , and 18 representatives of the 18 Con-

The Red Cross Of Rome And Constantine.

claves acting under the Grand Council . The K . H . S . are represented by the Patriarchal Council , which is composed of 18 members . In the aripendix the form of petition for a charter

is given , and two memorial pages are allotted to Sir Knts . Wm . Turner , and Dr . Vincent Westlake Bates , G . Senators , who died during the yeai * .

Brethren who may desire to make themselves acquainted with the progress of this ancient chivalric order , will do well to obtain this Report , which is published by Bro . G . Kenning , 3 and 4 , Little Britain .

We are much pleased to announce that Bro . W . Wither Bramston Beach , M . P ., has been appointed Prov . Grand Master for Hampshire , in succession to the late Admiral of the Fleet

Sir Lucius Curtis , Bart ., K . C . B ., and we are sure that Bro . Beach ' s appointment will give the greatest possible satisfaction to the Hampshire lodges and brethren generally .

Multum In Parbo, Or Masonic Notes And Queries.

Multum in Parbo , or Masonic Notes and Queries .

—?—Philolaus , a native of Crotona , and the scholar of Pythagoras , first taught publicly the diurnal motion of the earth round its axis , and its annual motion round the sun . —ANCIENT YORK LECTURER .

Can the degree of Most Excellent Master be obtained in England ?—The two other intermediate degrees , between M . M . and R . A ., worked in America are given here , but T believe the M . E . M . is not . —X . P . Nehemiah , a Jew , was cup-bearer to Artaxerxes Longimanus . He came to Jerusalem A . M .

3 G 09 , and having finished the temple , at the dedication thereof , the sacred fire , which had been hidden by Jeremiah , was found ; as likewise , they say , the ark of the covenant , and the altar of incense . He returned a second time to Jerusalem .. limit 3 G 2 . 1 . —SON OF SALATHIEL .

The 1722 Constitutions and the High Grades . — Bro . W . J . Hughan very kindly writes to me to say that Bro . Rd . Spencer has the " Old Constitutions " printed in 1722 , and that he ( Bro . Hughan ) had seen them , and taken extracts from them , but that there is no mention of High Grades in thein . 1 presume therefore that the allusions made have been

to some low country reprint of the 172 * 2 Constitutions . The learned Brother Dr . Leeson would confer a great obligation upon the Order , if he would set our minds at ease on this subject and the 1721 Warrant of James III ., by giving full particulars . Bro . Hughan adds that this 1722 pamphlet is very similar to a 1728 one he is reprinting . —JOHN YAUKEH , Manchester .

Red Cross of Constantine . —I had hoped to have seen Bro . Lambert ' s reply to R . W . L . on the Red Cross and the Rite of Bro . Rosa . Following the usual authorities , it is considered that about 17 * 28-9 , the Chevalier Ramsay invented three degrees of Knights of St . Andrew ( which he jn-oposed to

our G . A ) . These were an innovation upon the rite of the Chapter of Arras , and also differed from the York rite , but if the account given by Bro . Dr . Oliver of his three degrees are reliable , they could not have- originated the Royal Arch-Templar rite of York , the traditions of which they rather seem

to follow . About 1754 , Baron Huude ( a member of the High Grades of the Jesuit Chapter of Clermont ) , established his Templar rite of seven degrees , and from this in a very short time branched the rite of Clerks of Relaxed Observance , who beiug all members of the Church of Rome , added three more

degrees , including the Red Cross , which we are informed is found also in the Swedish rite of twelve degrees . Queries . —1 . What is Olivers authority for Ramsay ' s proposal , and was it really so far back as 1728-9 , " and did it contain a Templar Order 7 Oliver

seems to imply that it did not . 2 . Can any of the Jesuit Brothers ( Knights of thc Order of Constantine ) or of the Romish rite of Clerks of Relaxed Observance , be shown to have had Romish authority for the revival of tho Red Cross ? Are auy of the names known ? JOHN YARKKB , Manchester .