Original Correspondence.

They have proved , if their statement be verified , the need of authoritative interference , but they do not touch the question of unity of ritual . Far from it . But have they proved these abuses ? So far they rest en thj sole authority of Bro . Stevens . I have been W . M . of three very distinguished lodges , I have been in many provincial and metropolitan lodges ; I have never even heard

of any such grotesque absurdities . There are in many lodges little ceremonies which have been kept up from time immemorial , and which are in excess somewhat of our recognized ritual , but so long as they elo not contravene it on any positive order of lawful authority I , for one , think they have no harm in them . But I deny that in any respectable bdge any brother

would be guilty of some of the practices so graphically described , I venture to think , with the paedonable exaggeration of " Puff , " in the " Critic . " Indeed , it is an insult to all our Worshipful Masters to say so . I have , indeed , heard of brethren offering books and jewellery and thc like for sale , but though that , no doubt , is disagreeable it is not positively wrong . But , at any

rate , it does not touch really in any way the question of ritual . Unity of ritual at present can only land us eventually in a region ol " cribs and crams , " and w . ll make the fortune of one or two arcommodating brethren , and , therefore , I do most strongly urge on all the educated members of our

Cider , who have its lasting interests at heart , above fictitious sentimentality and excited rhodomontade , to leave things as they are , and put a stop to a foolish agitation , which Ciii lead to no practical result , and may conduce to disastrous controversies and hurtful complications . I am , dear Bro . Kenning , yours fraternally , A . F . A . WOODFORD .

To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — Is Bro . Stevens really correct in claiming Grand Lodge in favour of his resolution ? No doubt he is right in stating , as he does so ceinstantly , in Grand Lodge and out of Grand Lodge , ( and especially in that remarkable and ori g inal book , price , * s . Gil ., in which too , if I

remember right , he quotes from Garble ) , that he got a resolution in his favour , December 4 th , 1869 , with little of discussion , however , as the repoits will show . In March , 1870 , his proposal to appoint a Committee was deferred on amendment to next Quarterly Communication , anel at the next Quarterly Communication , June , 1870 , his re-itc-ratc'l proposal was again negatived on

amendment by a majority . He may , indeed , complain of thc " masterly inactivity " of Grand Lodge , but has it not a sufficient vindication in thc utter usclessness and impracticability of the propositions , in my humble opinion unwise and mischievous in thc highest degree ? Ol course Bro . Stevens may fairly say , why did Grand Lodge pass such a resolution then ?

Simply because , as 1 read the repoits of thc meetingbecause , I repeat it , the subject was not fully discussed . I am not going to contend that something may not be said for the motion , because , no doubt , there can be a good deal advanced , but for my own part , I do not think , despite an accidental majority , that Bro . Stevens can fairly say Grand Lodg « has pronounced itself until last meeting

strongly in favour of his motion . At any rate , whatever was thc decision of December 4 th , 1869 , it was practically reversed in March and June , 1870 , and if thc decision of Grand Lodge ought to bc respected , ( as it ought to be , ) in one case , it ought equally to be respected in the other two cases . The last vote of _ Grand Lodge was taken , in my opinion , on a false issue , for Grand Lodge had forgotten the proceedings in 1870 .

In the recent debate , the mam objection taken by the mover of the amendment , ( with which some did not concur ) , vvas based on thc inadvisability of change , on practical grounds of common seme , judging from the "history of the Ctaft . " A good deal might fairly have been said on the reversal of opinion by Grand Lodge itself and its silence for ten years . But here I pause to-day , as I may recur to thc subject on another occasion , and am , yours faithfully and fraternally ,

ONE WHO WAS IN GRAND LODGE

To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — I have read your excellent article as to this in last week's number , also Bro . Perceval ' s letter , but I cannot agree with him , being convinced you published ( if anything ) , far too much of what was stated on this subject in last Grand Lodge .

It often amuses me vhen I hear brethren advocating " Uniformity of Ritual " in non-essentials . I have never come across a strong advocate of this " myth " but I found he had never travelled , and knew nothing of any ritual save the working of tlie few lodges around where he lived , a Dublin brother lately going even solar as to insist " every lodge all over the world should adopt "

what he called " I rue Irish Ritual , " he being quite ignorant of the facts that one of the Cork lodges boasts of having received its ritual direct from Bro . Oliver , and a Belfast lodge is working nearly a pure Scotcn ritual , and all this after our late V . W . Bro . John Fowler getting on 18 th September , 1817 , an order that "his" ritual , and none other , should " henceforth be observed or used , " and lie » , even in 1822 , offering prizes for the hest worker of it .

One of our greatest safe-guards are these small vauations , as is well known to every one who has really looked into the matter . Will our Br ' s . Steve-its , Perceval , and others come and visit come of our Scotch , Irish , and American lodges , or even our English provincial lodges , before they go further with their useless undertaking ? If they do tbey will go back wise : men , and give up following this 'i W'li-o ' -thv >

Original Correspondence.

Wisp , " and do their duty ( as it is their duty , knowing the facts ) , as to the " farce and mummery " alluded to by Bro . Perceval in his letter , by bringing the members of thc lodges where such is carried on belore their Provincial Grand Master , under page 46 , article 4 , of Grand Lodge Constitutions , or before the Board of General Purposes ,

under page tog , article 8 , when the Board will know how to deal with the lodges guilty ( as they allege ) of such strange , and , surely , most un-Masonic conduct . These brethren not having done so long since is , to say the least of it , rather strange , and cannot be justisfied . Yours fraternally ,

JAMES I-I . NEILSON . 32 , Lecson-street , Lower Dub'in , 16 th Dec , 1879 .

A QUERY . To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — In my lodge we elected our W . M . on thc first Tuesday in this month , and on thc following Tuesday he consulted the Past Masters as to his officers , and they cordially approved his selections , including that of Secretary .

For the latter office a very unpopular brother considered he had a strong claim , but the W . M . elect and thc Past Masters preferred another brother , in consequei . ee whereof , the disappointed brother has publicly stated that he and his friend will blackball every candidate proposed during the coming Mastership . My doubt is this . Will the Past

Masters be doing their duty by quietly permitting this un-Masonic threat to pass , or should they submit a statement of thc facts to Grand Lodge ? As a member of an old lodge in a cathedral city I shall feel much obliged by your publishing this letter in your excellent Freemason , and replying to it in a foot note . I am , dear Sir aud Brother , truly and faithfully yours .

HOMO . idth December . [ We are of opinion that , though the brother complained of acts most improp-rly and un-Masonically , it is very doubtful whether his foolish speech , supposing it was out of lodge , constitutes a . dire ct Masonic offence . Is there any bye-law of thc lodge relative lo balloting , eVe . ?—Ed . F . M . ]

THE BOOK OF CONST ! rUTIONS . To the Editor if the " Frctmcsnn . " Dear Sir and Brother , — In reading your valuable paper week by week I am otten struck by the want of knowledge shown by f om < of your correspondents with regard to tbe Bonk of Constitutions . Had " A Mason " been conversant wilh the laws of our

Institution he would have known that a lodge canno : be removed by the will of the VV . M . without thc consctn uf a majority of the members , and not even then until after the matter has been properly brought before the lodge . Whilst not disputing the facts as mentioned by " A Mason , " I cannot conceive how any W . M . could have forgotten that he promised at his installation to submit to and support all laws laid down in thc Book of

Constitutions . The case appeals one which should 1-c brought before Grand Lodge . Fraternally yours , A . TUCKER , W . M . -, 86 .

Reviews.

Reviews .

BKO . GOULD'S "ATHOLL LODGES . " Without presumption we think facts will warrant us in thanking Bro . Gould for his " History of the Atholl Lodges " ( dedicated to dear Bro . Hervey , G . Sec . ) on behalf of the Craft universal . It is not well for any one or more Masons generally to assume they represent the whole body , but in this case it can be legitimately done by those

who are amongst the first to speak of this dee ply interesting book . Ever since our initiation we have met on all hands expressions and desires for an authentic history of the "Ancients , " anti , indeed , in Bro . Hughan ' s "Mnsonic Register " ( 1879 ) , nc * la'' promised to do his best to supply such a geneially felt want . Happily Bro . Gould has supplied the lack in our historical volumes , and , what is

more , has done it so effectually that now wc are enabled to trace every "Ancient" or "Atholl" lodge from its original constitution , through all its various vicissitudes to the present time . Important and invaluable as we deem the "Four Old Lodges , " the memorial of the "Atholl " Lodges is still more so , for whereas by dint of patient research we , as Masonic students , have from time to lime

been collecting the calendars and Engraved Lists of the " Moderns , " or regular Grand Lodge , vve have all utterly failed to obtain anything like an approximate register of the " Ancients" from 175 . * . True , our friend , Bro . Constable has done good service in his collecting and editing of the "Old Warrants , " and to him Bro . Gould most ftaternally refers , as he does to all sources of indebtedness in

the compilation of his work . All such attempts , however , useful and invaluable as thty are become superseded by the present volume , and though handy for reference , and especially for the preservation of the names of the founders of the original or revived lodges , yet by the side of this most handy and compact account of the " Ancients " they must always prove to be but a tributary stream to this ocean of information . The system Bro . Gould lias adopted

appears to us very easj of identification , and so are the notes appended to the various lodges , when any such are deemed ntccssaty . Those still 011 the roll of the "United Gran I Lodge of England" are immediately recognised by the present numbers being printed in conspicuous figures cm the margin ot each page-, and the " Ancient" numbers follow in smaller iiguies , so that nut only is thc numeration preserved of 1 SG 3 , but under each

Reviews.

number of the "AthoIIs" arc all the lodges which at various times were so distinguished on the roll . This Grand Lodge hacl no renumberings from 1753 to 1813 , as with the " Moderns , " but lapsed numbers were revived by new warrants , about 600 Charters thus issued for different lodges at thc different periods being all exhibited

throughout by the several numbers . Of course , some lodges never changed their numbers up to the " Union , " whereas others by purchase or favour obtained much hi gher numbers than their dates of constitution alone warranted . As Bro . Gould points out , these purchases again left blanks , which were filled in by still younger lodges , their blanks thus created being again used by fresh warrants or for entirely

new lodges . It will be seen , therefore , that to trace all these changes , which can alnne be acmmplished by a most careful scrutiny of the "Ancient" Records preserved in the archives of Grand Lodge , to place the lodges under the special numbers so affected , and to present the whole , from 1 to 359 , arranged in chronological and numerical order , represents months , if not years , of labour , that can

only be thoroughly appreciated by those who have attempted a similar work ancl failed , or have in an efficient manner accomplished ( or a small portion , what Bro . Gould has done so thoroughly ft r the whole . Whenever any military lodges have been chattered by other Grand Lodges —Ireland , Scotland , & c . —as well as by the "Ancients , " these arc also duly noted . In fact , all that can be done ,

or expected t > bc done , has been fully accomplished by Bro . Gould , and throughout all time or , at all events , so long as Freemasonry is studied , his " History of the Atholl Lodges" will endure , ancl prove to be a monument of accurate and well-directed researches , for which the Craft can never prove too ready or too grate : ful to appreciate r nd

admire . The boo !; has been handsomely printed , and , whoever has been the " reader , " evidently the pages have been " proofed " by a master-hand , for vve have failed to detect a single error as yet . In all heartiness and sincerity , for two such works as the " Four Old Lodges " and the " Atholl Lodges , " wc beg to thank our able Bro . R . F . Gould on behalf of our wide-spread Fraternity .

GREENHOUSE FAVOURITES , Part VI . London : Groombridgc iX Sons . This number trials of that truly noble plant the Azalc * , which fittingly finds a leading place among greenhouse favourites ; indeed , fur the decotalitm of the cone -. erv-. tory it is unsurpassed for beauty among all our flowering shrubs , and tdlic-s first rank . The most minute

details aie given ns to its cu ' iivalioi . Tricolour l'elargui innis , however , arc the subjects for illustration , and vve 1 : ii siy tli ; et any thing more gorgeous in the wey of ( lower painting we have never seen . The vvcil-known L'J ' ni ' . er reur nod other tricolour-leaved varieties are shown to the life , ancl , unless greatly overdone , they show that Mis , Pollock has at last been deposed from her sovereignty .

THE FREEMASONS' MONTHLY . Kalamazoo , Michigan . The " Freemasons' Monthly " for November is as usual admirably edited and well worth reading . CANADIAN CRAFTSMAN . The " Canadian Craftsman " continues to bc an able ancl conscientious record of Canadian Misonic sayings and doings .

Masonic Notes And Queries.

Masonic Notes and Queries .

THE INIGO JONES' MS . 1 have been much interested in reading the brief account of the MS . lately obtained by the indefatigable "Masonic Student , " Bro . the Rev . A . F . A . Woodford , my only regret being that the notice vvas such a short one . Undoubtedl y , it is a most valuable discovery , and especiall y because of its omissions or differences from the ordinary MSS . ( from

the " Landsown " down to liinsc of the last century ) . I daresay Bro . Woodford will oblige us with an exact transcript cither in the Freemason or " Masonic Magazine . " In my "Old Charges ot British Freemasons" is a reference to a MS . once in the possession cf Nicholas Stone ' , a " curious sculptor under Inigo Jones , " and the extract is reproduced as given in Dr . Anderson ' s Constitutions of A . D . 1738 . Bro . Woodford has , doubtless , ere

his compared the two , and it will be strange if his MS . tnd Stone's turns out to be the MS . in question , as Stone's ais declared to have been destroyed at the " conflagration c £ 1720 , " of which so much has been made Masonically , but apparently without much cause . I have sent Bro . Vernon ' s excellent transcript of the " Melrose MS ., " No . 2 , for insertion in thc" Masonic Magazine , " and hope to see it in print ere long . WILLIAM J . AME-5 HUGHAN .

The Kidderminster Masonic Hall ancl Club was opened under the auspices of Lodge Hope and Charity , No - 377 . yesterday ( Friday ) by the R . W . the Prov . Grand Master , Sir E . A . Lechmere , Bart ., M . P . We hope to give an account of the proceedings in our next . A weekly edition of the Echo is shortly to be published , price 1 ne penny .

HOI . I . OWAY s OixTMtsxT AND 1 ' it . i . s . —Rheumatism and Neuralgia . —It is sometime * iliilieult in elcler , t , iiic which of these diseases is alllie tir . f ? III-- siill ' erer , but tIlis iifnoranci will not maiter it Holloway's remedies be used . Thev alleviate ami cure Ihe muscular and neirmis pains . Jn licrnJiiarv i-lieninalisin , after bathing thc allected puts with warm . alt water , II- lloway ' s Ointment riionlil be well rubber ! tin

upon : spot , that it in . iv penetrate and exercise its snntliinir and reejitla' . in . u properties ' em the deeper vessels and nerves whirli are nmleily excite-d and cause I olh the |> : i in an . l swelling . II lloway's ' rear , e . et bis the merit of removing the disease without < lt bil lalirL ' tree eon lil-eti n , wleich was llle ineiliable result ol the bleeding , mercuiy , ai d cochicum practice formerly adopted in these complaint * , —[ AnvT . l