Analysis Of The Returns.

Province of DEVONSHIRE IS credited with £ _ 2 ios ., its representative being Bro . the Hon . Herbert V . Duncombe , and DORSETSHIRE had Bro . S . R . ' . Baskett to represent it , the amount of his list being £ 11 ns . Three of the nine lodges in the Province of EAST ANGLIA figure in the Returns , the Freeman Lodge , No . 105 , gury St . Edmund ' s , having Bro . the Rev . C . J . Martyn , D . P . G . M ., to represent it , while Bro . O . Papworth did duty for the York Lodge , No . 334 , Cambridge , and

Bro . F . P . Sutthery for the Chelmer Lodge , No . 342 , Chelmsford , the sum of their lists , so far as they have been received , being ^ " 29 5 s . GLOUCESTERSHIRE AN H EREFORDSHIRE was represented by its Prov . G . M ., Bro . Vassar-Smith , and Bro . Sir Lionel Darell , Bart ., and Bro . J . D . E . Loveland acted for the Province of HAMPSHIRE AND THE ISLE 01- WIGHT , the amount of his list being £ s 6 5 - One of the five lodges in

HERTFORDSHIRE was represented by five Stewards , of whom four have sent in lists amounting to £ 57 15 s ., and Bro . C . E . Keyser , P . G . D ., acted as Unattached Steward , the total for the Province reaching , £ 63 . This is £ 26 5 s . more than was contributed in 18 91 , when four lodges had a share in the contribution . In 1 S 90 , five Stewards returned £ 26 5 s . Only three out of the 18 lodges in the Province of

KENT took part in Wednesday ' s celebration , and Bro . the Rev . Hayman Cummings , the D . P . G . M ., acted independently . The total subscribed was £ 6 _ 6 s ., of which Rev . Bro . Cummings was responsible for . £ 21 , and Bros . Armstrong , Main , and Miller , representing the Royal Naval College Lodge , No . 294 , Greenwich , for £ 25 4 s ., the balance being contributed by the Robinson and Temple Lodges ,

Nos . 255 and 322 , respectively , Bro . F . W . Wright being Steward for the former , and Bro . Dr . Ernest Wm . White for the latter . This is a very serious falling off as compared with last year , when the Returns furnished by eight out of nine Stewards reached £ 178 3 s ., of which Bro . Cummings , for the Province as a whole , raised £ 94 9 s ., and also , but not to the same extent , as compared with £ 1890 , when u Stewards amongst them raised £ 117 is .

LANCASHIRE sent up a contingent of eight Stewards , four of whom acted independently , and four as representatives of three lodges . The total subscribed was £ 73 10 s ., the principal item being the list of Bro . J . de Bels Adam , Liverpool Lodge , No . 393 , for ^ 3 6 15 s . This is an improvement upon the ^ 57 15 s . raised in 189 1 , but compares unfavourably with the . £ 195 5 s . compiled by 11 Stewards at the Festival of the preceding year . Of the nine lodges in the Province of

LEICESTERSHIRE , DERBYSHIRE , & C , so long and so ably presided over by the veteran , Bro . William Kelly , three sent up Stewards , whose lists amounted to , £ 56 14 s ., and there were six brethren Unattached , the total being £ 82 gs . In 1890 there were six Stewards , who amongst them compiled the excellent total of £ 115 ios ., and in 1891 ten Stewards

obtained a sum of £ 86 15 s . These are very satisfactory figures , and so likewise is the £$ o which stands to the credit of Bro . Jack Sutcliffe , till quite recently Provincial Grand Master of LINCOLNSIRE , which contributed £ 2653 . per Bro . Cousans last year , and £ 43 is . per a band of five Stewards the year preceding . As for the very important Province of

MIDDLESEX AND SURREY it figured in a manner worthy of its reputation . The Province as a whole was represented by Bro . Charles Hammerton , D P . G . M . in charge , while of the 38 lodges on the roll , 14 were represented by 22 brethren , the Grosvenor Lodge , No . 144 , contributing £ 26 5 s . per Bro . E . Y . Jolliffe , and the Menatschim Lodge , No . 224 , £ 21 per Bros . S . Hodgkinson and Sir George D . Harris . The Royal Naval

Lodge , No . 239 , per Bro . W . Shurmur is entered for £ 21 , and Bro . A . H . Bowles , who represented the Onslow Lodge , No . 361 , and the Weyside Lodge , No . 442 , stands credited with £$ o . The Euston Lodge , No . 399 , had eight of its members in the Returns , but as four of these appear elsewhere , the total sum it contributed — £ 23 as . —is comparatively small . There were likewise two Unattached

brethren the total raised by the 24 Stewards amounting to £ 229 is . In 1891 , 25 Stewards raised £ 328 5 s . 6 d ., and in 1 S 90 there were 41 Stewards , who obtained amongst them £ 593 3 s . 6 d ., while in 188 9 , the subscriptions by the hands of 35 Stewards reached £ 411 3 s . There were three Stewards from

NORTHUMBERLAND AND DURHAM , une—Bro . Hans B . Olsen—being Unattached , while Bro . C . D . Hill Drury represented the Province , and Bro . Thomas Purvis the Tristram Lodge , No . 346 . The total raised was £ 114 5 s , of which £ 36 15 s . stands to the credit of Bro . Hill Drury , and £ 77 ios . to that of Bro . Purvis . This shows a very substantial

improvement , the sums contributed in 1890 and 1891 being £ _ j 15 s . and £ 27 6 s . respectively . SllROi'SHlRE , per Bro . Rowland G . Venables , is a contributor of £ 10 ios ., and SOUTH WALES , which gave £ 10 ios , in 1 S 91 , and £ _ 2 ios . in li-igo , will be found entered in Wednesday ' s list for £ __, the Steward who had thc satisfaction of raising this sum being Bro . John Munday .

SOMERSETSHIRE had Bros . Arthur Duckett and A . G . Hayman to represent it , the amount of their joint list being £ 6 _ 10 s . Last year when Bro . Viscount Dungarvan , who is Craft P . G . M . of Somersetshire , occupied the chair at the Mark Benevolent Festival , the total raised in his lordship ' s support was £ 164 17 s ., of which £ 115 ios ., was comprised in Lord Dungarvan ' s own list . But though the difference in the contributions of the two years exceeds £ ioo , we still consider the Province has acquitted itself well .

WARWICKSHIRE had as many as eight representatives , of whom two were Unattached , and six represented the Lodge of Charity , No . 430 , Birmingham , and the sum of their contributions is £ 42 , which is only a few pounds less than last year ' s total of £ 48 6 s . , when the number of its Stewards was nine , of whom five stood for the same Lodge of Charity . In 1890 , the sum contributed was £ i $ 15 s . ihe Province of

WEST YORKSHIRE was represented by Bro . C . L . Mason , P . G . M ., and Bros . l' \ Cleeves and W . Langbrid ge , Stewards for the Britannia , No . 53 , Sheffield , and the Danum , No . 3 y 8 , Doncaster , respectively . The total reached £ 39 18 s ., of which Bro . Cleeves was fortunate enough to obtain £ 24 3 s . The amount in 1891 was £ 71 8 s ., aid in 1800 £ < ,. KS . 6 d . At all three Festivals the Provincial Grand Master

"gurea among the Stewards . As for the rest , WORCESTERSHIRE , with two Rewards , gave £ 18 ios . 6 d . ; NORTH AFRICA , per Bro . Capt . Williams-Freeman , ^•D -G . M ., £ 10 ; the Rose and Lily Rose Croix Chapter , No . 97 , per Bro . Jabez ' - ' lurch , £ 5 js . ; the Allied Masonic Degrees , per Bros . J . J . Green and rt , P . Hni , fr r .. . * nA flin rnn , fnnlm < i Cr \„ r , m' , \ Mn O of R nun 1 ^ nA rf m

O , m "Jt AJO D- " I " . *« ... m ^ - « ,.. « .,,.,. w —mm .. m .. , ,.. — , -.. . . U .. u ° eiect Masters , per Comp . B . R . Bryant , £ 28 7 s . The total , as we have * 5 aid : reached £ 1631 7 s . 6 d ., and taking into account the circumstances set j "" at the outset of this Analysis , we consider the result , though appreciabl y ower than last year's total , is in all respects to be commended . It will suffice to t ^ P the Fund at its present level of efficiency , and for this reason our hearty Hanks are due both to the distinguished brother who presided , and the Stewards nd others who co-operated with him to such excellent purpose .

Valuable Additions To The Grand Lodge Library.

VALUABLE ADDITIONS TO THE GRAND LODGE LIBRARY .

Thanks to Bro . Hughan , P . G . D ., who is ever on the alert for anything rare or curious that may come to the front , the already large collection of Masonic treasures in the Grand Lodge Library has recently been enriched by several most valuable and unique additions .

I he rarest and , to my thinking , the most important of these , from an historical point of view , is a pamphlet , quite new tome , entitled " A Defence of Free-Masonry as Practised in the Regular Lodges , both Foreign and Domestic , under the Constitution of thc English Grand Master . In which is contained a Refutation of Mr . Dermott ' s absurd and ridiculous account

of Free-Masonry in his Book , entitled ' Ahiman Rezon . ' . . . Printed for the Author and sold by W . Flexncy , near Gray ' s Inn Gate , Holborn , and E . Hood , near Stationers Hall Ludgate-street . 1765 . Price One Shilling . " Notwithstanding that the author ' s modesty , or some other reason , prevented the publication of his name , this little book is of great value to

Masonic readers not alone on account of its rarity , but because it contains information which seems to have escaped the notice of all our historians , from Preston downwards . Bro . Hughan casually mentions the pamphlet , and quotes it in his " Origin of the English Rite of Freemasonry , " but even he had not made himself familiar with the whole of its contents , until the present copy came into his possession . As I purpose shortly reprinting this

rarity , I need only state that the substance of its contents tends to confirm my pet theory of the Irish origin of the " Ancient" Grand Lodge as propounded some years back , in the pages of " Masonic Facts and Fictions . " As Bro . Hughan was one of the most formidable opponents to that theory , it is , of course , most gratifying to the author of it that he , with characteritic frankness and generosity , should have brought the book to me , and , after pointing

out the several passages confirmatory of my views , have offered it as a personal present , well knowing that many Masonic collectors would be glad to pay handsomely for its possession . However , finding that there is not a copy of the book in the British Musuem , nor in England , so far as I know , I considered that its proper home would be in the Grand Lodge Library , where it would be accessible to all who might desire to read it .

Possibly some of my collecting friends would consider a copy of the ^ xceedingly scarce lirst edition of Cole ' s engraved Constitutions ( 1728 ) of greater value than the aforementioned pamphlets , and if original cost be taken into account , they would undoubtedly be in the right , but as a second edition was published in 1732 , 11 * 10 book is fairly well-known to Alasonic students . I have , therefore , concluded to give it the second place in the

three rare works under notice . The small volume before me is of especial value apart from its rarity , lt appears to have been printed on extra stout paper , and is in the original binding—rich red morocco , fully gilt , and beautifully tooled on back and sides , in excellent preservation throughout . Hitherto my acquaintance with the lirst edition of this book has been limited to Hughan ' s facsimile ,

published in 1869 , which has a dedicatory address to the Grand Master , officers , Sec , by Benjamin Cole , facing the title page . This appears to have been removed from the present volume , and in its place are two leaves of thinner paper , on which are very carefully and neatly written in red and black , in imitation of copper plate , a title-page with ornamental border , and the following quaint dedication , which will doubtless interest some of our Irish brethren :

To the Right Worshipful David Fitz Gerald , Esqr ., Provincial Deputy Grand Master of Munster , And to the Worshipful the Master , Wardens , and Members of No . 27 Lodge of the Most ancient and Honourable Society of Free and Accepted Masons , held at the Corke Arms Tavern in the City of Corke .

Gentlemen and Brethren , This ancient Tract of the Constitutions of Free Masonry , having by accident fallen into my hands , gives me the greatest pleasure , in hopes of its being acceptable to you to whom with all honour and respect ' tis humbly dedicated , and tho' insignificant the offering yet you will I hope receive a

Brother ' s mite , which his sense of your well-known zeal for the revival and happy establishment of the Royal Art influences him as a small Testimony of his love for the same and gratitude to you , to lay it at your feet , being with the greatest sincerity and respect . —Worthy Sirs , Your obedient humble Servant and Brother , J BAIRD .

The third and last acquisition to which , on this occasion , I shall direct attention is probably almost as rare as those already mentioned , although by the speculative fraternity of thc present day it may be deemed only of minor importance . It consists of two volumes , Svo . in perfect condition , of the scarce work on architecture by Sebastian Le Clerc , London , 1732 , originally published in Paris in 1714 . Volume I . has for a frontispiece an

excellent engraved portrait of the celebrated author . 1 he title page , which is printed in the ordinary Roman type of the period , bears a Bible surmounted by a sun and encircled by a floral garland , doubtless the trade mark or shop-sign of the printer , " Richard Ware , at the Bible and Sun in Amen Corner , near Paternoster-row . " A Mr . Richard Ware , whom Anderson describes as a mathematician , was Junior Grand Warden in

1720 , but whether hc was the printer of the book is uncertain . Volume II consists entirely of architectural engravings including a handsome frontispiece . It has also an engraved title page with a small and well executed representation ot some palatial building with grounds , Sec , and the following elaborate title . " A Treatise of Architecture , with Remarks and Observations

by that excellent Master thereof , Sebastian Le Clerc , Knight of the Empire , Designer and Engraver to the cabinet of the late French king , and member of the Academy of Arts and Sciences , Necessary for Young People who would apply to that Noble Art . Engraven in 181 Copper Plates by John Sturt , Translated by Mr . Chambers . Printed and Sold by Richard Ware at the Bible and Sun on Ludgatc-hill . "

The lirst four pages are occupied by excellent engravings of the arms , with proper heraldic descriptions of the Masons , Bricklayers , Joyners , and Carpenters Companies respectively , with a dedication to each by thc

engraver . As neither of the works herein mentioned are in the British Museum I consider we are greatly indebted to Bro . Hughan lor having secured them for the Grand Lodge L . brary , and , 1 need hardly say that 1 shall be pleased to show them to any brother who will favour me with a call . II . SADLER , Sub-Librarian .