Lane's "Masonic Records."*

arrive . There are , it is true , a few cases such as those of Grand Master ' s Lodge , No . t , and the Sun , Square , ancl Compasses Lodge , No . no , in which Bro . LANE has deduced from the facts he has collated opinions to which exception has been , and still may be , taken . They are , nevertheless , opinions in favour of

which , though we differ from him in his conclusions , much may hi ; urged in the way ot commendation . However , these are but small matters , constituting only a very slight proportion of the infinitesimal amount of questionable judgment which has been exhibited by Bro . LANK in the fulfilment of his labours , nor will

they bc allowed even by the most exacting critic to detract one iota from the extraordinary merit which must of necessity pertain to the compilation of such a volume . The " Records " are as complete ancl as trustworthy as they can be , at all events without that further information which the compiler was unsuccessful in obtaining .

Eight years have elapsed since thc publication of the former edition , and during the whole of that period Bro . LANE , as hc tells us in his Preface , has been engaged in collecting information for thc present issue , particulars having been " solicited from all quarters of the world and every available means used in order

that the needed facts might , wherever practicable , be obtained from the original sources . " He did not succeed in all his various inquiries , for " occasionally even repeated applications to officers of existing lodges failed to elicit any reply whatever . " We can well imagine the disappointment which so enthusiastic a worker

must have felt at such discourtesies , yet he persevered in his task , sparing " neither time nor means" in order "to make the work as reliable and complete as the circumstances would permit . " The result is that while the general features and characteristics of the original work have been adhered to , the

errors—such as it is well . nigh impossible to avoid—which had crept into the former edition have been for thc most part corrected , and a mass of additional information incorporated in the text , for which every student of Masonic history will bc sincerely grateful . Two new Indexes have also bcen supplied ,

" the one containing a list of all the Hotels , Taverns , Inns , Halls , or other Buildings , in which lodges in the London District have met ; the other comprising the names of all the Lothjen noted in Ihe text from thc earliest period down to the year 18 94 , " Moreover , " all Foreign and Colonial Lodges that have

appeared on the English Register , and that subsequently joined other Grand Bodies have , as far as possible , been traced and their present positions noted . " In short , the work which has been most thoroughly revised and carefully corrected , and which , by the way , is published by the Grand Lodge of England in

accordance with a resolution adopted on the recommendation of the Board of General Purposes , may for all practical purposes be taken as thc official record of the lodges which at divers times have been warranted b y one or other of our English Grand Lodges .

As showing thc extent to which the revision and enlargement of the original work have been carried , we note , in the first place , that in theiSSG edition the number of lodges contained in the Summary was 3 661 ; in the new edition it is 4095 . As regards the lodges in the several enumerations which constitute these

totals respectively , we find that according to the earlier edition there were 226 " Modern , ; lodges on the roll to 1 739 ; inthe new edition they muster 230 . Those placed on the roll of 1740-1755 were 101 inthe former , and are 102 in the latter ; from 1755 to 1770 , 26 3 in the one , and 26 9 in the other ; from 1770

to 17 80 , 132 in the one , ancl 144 in the other ; from 17 8010 1 792 , in the former 157 , in thc latter 160 ; and from 1792 to 1813 , in the former 146 , in the latter 180 ; the totals of the " Modern " lodges in the two editions being—in the earlier , 1025 , and in the new edition , 1085 . The "Ancient , " or , "Athol" lodges are set down as 510 in the old edition , and 521 in the

new , the number of the "York" and "South of the Trent" being set down in both as 14 . This gives a total to the date of "The Union" of , in the one case

1549 , and in the other of 1620 , The lodges warranted from 1814 to 1832 were 223 in the original work , they are now set down as 224 . Those warranted between 1832 and 1863 muster in both editions 682 , while between 18 ( 13 anil 1 X 94 they are given in the new edition as 1509 , the last lodge contained in the

Lane's "Masonic Records."*

enumeration being the Coolgardie Lodge , No . 2543 , Coolgardie Western Australia , which was warranted on the iSth December , 18 94 . In the former edition the total was I 207 , the highest lod ge in thc enumeration being Unity Lodge , No . 2181 , Knysna , South Africa , the warrant of which bears date thc 20 th October , 1886 .

Turning to the sub-divisions in which the mam body of the work is arranged , wc find that Parts I ., II ., and 111 ., contain the same lists—but with the addenda and corrigenda— -in the new edition as in the old , but Part IV ., which , in thc latter contained the index to the volume—a list of the " places of meeting" arranged in nine

classes or sections—now furnishes a list of the " lodges constituted or warranted abroad , but never registered in the Books of Grand Lodge . " These lodges , of which the number is very considerable , and which , as they were never reported to the supreme authority in England , arc not included in the summary of lodges

we have described , " appear , " according to Bro . LANE , " to have been warranted or constituted during the latter part of the last and the early part of the present century , by , or under the authorit y of Provincial Grand Masters residing abroad . " No traces of their constitution can be found in the Grand Lodge Register and Bro .

LANE considers it " absolutely certain that most , if not all , of those lodges were never reported by the Provincial Grand Masters or their officers to the Grand . Lodge , and that no returns were ever made , or contributions sent , by any of them to thc supreme authority , according to the requirements of the Book of Constitutions . " It is not claimed that the lists here furnished contain

all lodges thus constituted , but only those respecting which sufficient evidence is forthcoming to justify the conclusion that they were of English orig in . It will thus be seen that this Part IV . constitutes a very important addition to the original workan addition which cannot fail to prove of great value to those

who may hereafter take upon themselves to compile histories ol the Craft in thc various countries in which the lodges herein described were warranted . Part V . contains thc Index arranged in eleven instead of in nine sub-divisions , the additional ones being , as already quoted —( 1 ) a list of Hotels , Taverns , Halls ,

& c , at which the lodges in the London District have been or are held ; and ( 2 ) an alphabetical list of the names of all the lodges ; on the importance of these as aids to the student in his examination of the lists included in the volume it is impossible that too "Teat stress can be laid . As for the other features

which are to be found , or have been differently placed in the newedition , we note with extreme pleasure that an excellent portrait of Bro . LANE forms thc Frontispiece , while thc " Reduced Facsimile of PINE ' S Engraved List of 1725 , " which served in ihal

capacity in the original work , now faces the lirst page ol Part III ., to which , indeed , it properly belongs . The Preface to the First Edition is very properly reproduced in the secoiul , ancl so likewise is Bro . HUGHAN ' S Introduction , in ' which a lew lines have been inserted here and there which have the effect of

causing it to read more smoothly . In fine , the former volume , except where it has been amended and corrected , has been reproduced , while some idea may be formed of the extent lo wlucli entirely new matter has been incorporated when we state ( hat whereas the First Edition filled a volume of 24 pages of Prelaee , tlu

& c , & c , and some 320 pages of matter , or 111 all 344 pages , * Second Edition runs to 544 pages . As regards the parts played by the printer—Bros . M . C . PECK and Son , of Hull—and il *« binder respectively , it is only necessary to say that they have both done their duty admirably , and that there is little , if any , difference to be noticed between the two editions , the degree ol

excellence exhibited being the same in both . There is little to add to what we have said . We . have described all the chief points of agreement and difference between the two editions as regards the character and arrangement ol their contents ; we have laid due stress firstly on the exln' ""'

care with which the orig inal work has been overhauled , am * secondly on the mass of new and invaluable matier which li '* ' ** been introduced into its pages ; ancl lastly we have endeavour '; —though we fear we must acknowledge lhat we have done so ¦>"''*

with a very partial measure of success—lo convey to our reau' something like an approximate idea of the extent ancl nature 0 the labours which Bro . LANK has at length accomplished

altercourse of stud y and research extending over so many , * •" •' Beyond this we are unable to go , at all events in the v <* 0 limited space at our disposal , and we must content ourseb' ^ with offering our congratulations to Bro . LANE on the comp el 1 " of his work and the manner in which he has carried it out .