The Status Of Deputy Prov. Grand Masters.

brethren , we may also record our conviction that the metropolitan members of the Order are of too generous a disposition to envy the preferment of any man who has laboured

long and zealously in the cause of Freemasonry , and for the support of those noble benevolent institutions which have been aptly described as the bri ghtest gems in the Masonic crown .

Multum In Parbo, Or Masonic Notes And Queries.

Multum in Parbo , or Masonic Notes and Queries .

¦ ¦¦ ' ¦** $ !*¦***¦ I should be glad if some learned Mason would inform me what duties are ( in fact ) performed by the Provincial Grand Registrar which would seem to render it advisable that , as is

the case in many provinces , a brother should be retained in that capacity for a number of years , if not for life ; for I imagine that the greater

part , if not the whole of his duties , as laid down for the Grand Eegistrar in the Book of Constitutions , are actually performed by the Prov . Grand Secretary . ENQUIRER .

THE APRON THE BADGE OF OUR ORDER . The quotation given by me was a literal extract from the source of my information , but possibly by a reference to the Quarterly Review we may find means to get at an inspection of the

original document . Your correspondent " E . T . T . " gives a valuable extract from the minutes of the Alnwicke Lodge in 1708 , which can leave no doubt that

this lodge was " Speculative " as well as Operative , and thus disposes ofthe 1717 assumptions . It clearly shows , too , that the aprons were used on festival days and during the religious

ceremonies . "W . P . B . " says he is "prepared to believe that the same ( aprons and gloves ) were also given to the carpenters , & c . ; " but I think on reflection " VI . P . B . " will be induced to

abandon his often-repeated comparisons of the Masons with other crafts . Can there be any possible doubt that the Masons were differently viewed to the other guilds , when we find upon the Statute Book of England Acts of Parliament

passed specially in relation to the Masons , and not to the other crafts ? Can we believe with " \ V . P . 15 . " that Masons had no description of meetings excepting ' * to mak gude service in the luge , " when we know perfectly well that there

was an Act of Parliament expressly passed to forbid their meeting in " chapitres and congregations " ? Would their oaths and secrets have been forbidden if they had nothing more than an operative tendency ? Can we suppose " that

a true ancl perfect lodge kept at Alnwicke , at the house of Mr . Thomas Davidson , then one of the Wardens , " in 1708 , was the workshop ; and if 1708 ( instead of 1717 ) , why not earlier ? LUPUS .

QUARTERLY REVIEW AND FREEMASONRY . 1 have carefully searched the above Review , according to the information afforded by Bros , the Rev . P . H . Newnham and " Lupus , " but without success . I have tried vol . xxiv . ( Nos .

xlvii anil xlviii ) and No . xxiv . ( vol xii ) , being the t ' . vo copies quoted by these brethren ( both of which could not be correct ) , but , unfortunatel y the quotation is not to be found either in No . xxiv or vol . xxiv . I am sorry for it , as the

curious custom referred to is both interesting and of value , and the sooner wc have the requisite page and volume where it is given the hotter we shall be pleased . W . J AMES HUGHAN .

I beg to enclose copy of another oration delivered by the gifted Bro . L . P . Metham , M . D . P -G . D ., and D . Prov , G . M . Devon . It would

he superfluous for me to do more than simply state the fact , as the excellence of all the Masonic orations by this worthy brother is generally known and appreciated . W . J . HUGHAN .

Multum In Parbo, Or Masonic Notes And Queries.

BRO . THE REV P . H . NEWNHAM AND THE " LODGE . " We are glad to recognise the name of an excellent Mason as a contributor to THE FREEMASON , and hope that the communication

respecting the " Badge of a Mason " is an earnest of many valuable aids to Masonic history . We cannot , however , agree with Bro .-the Rev . P . H . Newnham ' s definition of a " lodge " as a place where Operative Masons assembled " when

not engaged in operative labour , because the term lodge , about Henry the Eighth ' s time , really meant a " suitable place wherein to labour , and to secure secrecy for the operatives when preparing the stones for the building . " In the

Masonic Annual I have given an instance of the term being so used as early as A . D . 1370 : " Yai sail be in ye forsayed loge atte yaire werke atte ye son risyng , " & c . ( " History of Free ' masonrv in York . " ) W . J . HUGHAN . '

" E . T . T ., 1167 , AND RECORDS OF THE WARKWORTH AND ALNWICKE LODGE . " I have been exceedingly interested in perusing the record of this old lodge as quoted by Bro . " E . T . T ., " and beg to express my thanks to

him for the trouble he has taken in copying such for the information of the Craft . May I take the liberty to trouble him still more by asking ( a ) The date when these records commence * ancl end in the first volume preserved ? ( b \ How manv

volumes are there before 1717 ? ( c ) The dates of commencement and end of each of such volumes ? ( d ) Whether there is any reference to Masonic degrees in the minutes of the period mentioned ? and , finally ( e ) , Will he kindly

notice and copy exactly any differences before and after A . D . 1717 which may be apparent in such records , and inform us ofthe same ? I am

certain that the numerous readers of THE FREEMASON would appreciate Bro . " E . T . T . ' s " exertions , and I shall be happy to reciprocate . W . J . HUGHAN .

THE QUERY BY " H . A . " It may not be in our power to give a satisfactory answer to the query propounded by Bro . " H . A . " as to whether— " If three persons have a secret known to them only , and one of them

dies , can the secret be said to he lost whilst either of the survivors live ; " but we present the following as a probahlesolution of the difficulty : — A secret may be said to be virtually lost which is known only to three persons , and can be

communicated lo others only with the consent of all the three , and in the presence of each other , when one of thc three dies , provided such secret has not been previously made known to others during the period the three existed . Actually

however , the secret could not be lost while either ofthe three remained alive , but for all practical purposes the secret would be lost , as respects its communication to others , on the foregoing hypothesis being granted . W . J . HUGHAN .

In reply to " II . A . ' s " question in your last issue : " If three persons have a secret , and one of them dies , can the secret be said to be lost whilst either of the survivors live , " I would say that if the three were under heavy penalty not

to reveal those secrets without the consent and co-operation of the other two , the secret would undoubtedly be lost . As " IL A . " seems to be not only a Mason , but a student of Misonry , I

have no doubt but that he will make still further progress in our Craft , and in a higher position may arrive at an explanation of thc present mystery . J . D . M .

In reply to " H . A ., I would suggest to him the following solution of his apparent difficulty : — A secret is known to A B and C , who bind themselves honorably to each other that it shall be divulged or imparted , if at all , not by one or two

only , but by all three together , and in no other way . A meets with a sudden and untimely death , and if the above binding means anything ,

it means that * B and C must needs die also without either together or separately making known the secret , which consequently dies with them . J . B . M .

Original Correspondence.

Original Correspondence .

. Tlie Editor is not responsible for the opinions expressed b ) Correspondents . JURISDICTION OF GRAND LODGES . ( To the Editor of The Freemason . )

DEAR SIR , —After a silence of several months your correspondent "Delta" seems to have revived , to perpetuate in your columns under the above heading , a few more mistakes . He says in your paper of Oct . Sth , that I beg " the whole question at issue

between us , " and which " was a question of colour only . " I beg to correct him , and say I beg no question whatever . He stated that I am in error when I state that there is not a Grand Lodge in the United States , which in any manner recognises that the

black American can be a Freemason , " but if I insert after " Freemason " in this sentence the words not freeborn , he . quite agrees with me ! Now this style of argument is scarcely worthy a place in your paper , if I may presume to be judge . " Delta " it is who now begs the question indeed . The issue

was his assertion , that there was nothing in the Constitution or Laws of the Grand Lodges of the United States which conflicted with the reception by the Operative Lodges holding under them of black men , and my denial of the truth of this assertion . He now . goes behind the issue by stating , that if I ¦

addyjw bom , thus making ' black men * ' free-born black men , he is with me . There is not a Grand Lodge of white Americans in the United States that recognises any of the lodges or Grand Lodges of black Americans at present extant in the United States , as legitimately made , nor will they ( the

former ) recognise that they ( the latter * can be such , in view of-the fact that they ( the latter ) to any extent have not been chartered by a Grand Lodge of United States white Masons at any time . Will "Delta * " deny this ? It is apparent , I think , to anyone who has read his letters on this subject , that

" Delta" is endeavouring to create the belief that black men are made . Masons in the United States and are recognised freely as such , provided they are free bom . Now this is certainly not true . Black men in the United States do not freely seek admission into white lodges , and there is not but about

the most isolated cases in which black men have been made Masons in our white lodges , and of these not more than one , to my knowledge , and that within six months , wherein , when made , the black man was allowed to become a member of the lodge that made him . That case occurred in

Massachusetts , and thc man was already a Mason made in . 1 black- lodge , or lodge of black or coloured men . And this making in the white lodge ( Parkman ) was not gone into until the Grand . Master of the G . L . of Mass . was consulted upon the subject , and who by the light of recent investigations and a

liberal mind , stated that he knew of no reason way the man might not be made a Mason in Parkman Lodge . It ib probable , thc door being thus opened , that other free-born black men may be made Freemasons in United States lodges of white Masons ; but a generation must pass away before this will

become thc custom as to black Americans . Meantime all lodges oi black man are declared illegitimate , clandestine , and not to be recognised as Masons by white men . Vide decisions of the Grand Lodge of Mass ., Ohio , and every other State in which thc subject has been brought up for the

purpose of eliciting a decision . Two ideas only occasion this condition : One , tha free bom idea , ignored by the Grand Lodge of England since 1 S 47 . 2 . The idea of Supreme State Jurisdiction , and under which a Grand Lodge of Freemasons assumes to be

omnipotent among Masons in a S * - ** e , and to the utmost extremity of its geographical uounds . I remain , fraternally yours , FLETCHER BRUM NAN , Editor ofthe AnfrUwi Freemason . Cincinnati , O ., U . S ., Oct . 26 th , 1 S 70 .

THE ALBANY LODGE , GRAHAM'S TOWN . ( To the . Editor of The Freemason . ) DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —I beg to hand you further correspondence in connection with the Albany Lodge of Graham ' s Town . You will observe that certain members of the

Albany Lodge , after being discountenanced by thc members of the St . John's Lodge , No . ILiS , who repudiated their previous acts , they ( the suspended members ) endeavoured to mislead our youngest lodge , the Colcsberg , 114 . 2 ( situated on the borders ol" the colony , a distance of about 203 miles from Graham's Town ) , by soliciting their signatures to a

recommendation for a charter from tlie Grand Lodge of Scotland , and forwarding the enclosed letter , with a form or resolution already drawn a , ) for their signatures , in which they represent themselves as " Lovers of th : Craft , in whom iv . > have the greatest co : iji : i : ii ; e" when at the same time they were in possession of a charter obtained from tlie Grand Lodge of Scotland under misrepresentation .