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Article Masonic Nothes and Queries. ← Page 2 of 2 Article Masonic Nothes and Queries. Page 2 of 2 Article REPORTS OF MASONIC MEETINGS. Page 1 of 6 Article REPORTS OF MASONIC MEETINGS. Page 1 of 6 →
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Masonic Nothes And Queries.
de St . Jean de Jerusalem etabh a 1 'Onent de Paris , et Parfaits Grand Maitres du Grand Conseil des Loges regulieres sous la Protection de la Grande et Souveraine Loge , & c . These are not the expressions of the symbolic lodges or the Symbolic Grand Lodge , but of the High Scottish Rite , svith svhich the Grand Lodge had nothing to do . But it is this constant use of Grand Lodge svhich hasmisled Kloss , Findel , and others , ! repeat . It seems clear to me that
neither the Conseil des Empereurs nor of the Chevaliers cle I'Orient had anything to do svith the Patent of Stephen Morin , not that it matters -much svhether they had or not , and it is a point hardly svorth discussion ; but I think Daruty is quite right svhen he claims the Grand Lodge of St . John of Jerusalem as a separate High Grade Body , svhich svas composed no doubt of most of the leading members of the Grand Lodge of France , but svas not the Grand Lodge . ' A . F . A . W .
4 S 7 ] THE THREE DEGREES . The crucial sveakness of our good Bro . Hughan ' s position in this amusing little controversy is tsvo-fold . Firstly , he is explaining English Masonic ritualism by Scottish evidences , in svhich he is clearly svrong . Scottish Masonry may be explained by Scottish evidence ; but English Masonry cannot , as there is no , so far , the slightest
evidence available to shosv any identity betsveen the tsvo systems . All that we do knosv of seventeenth century English Freemasonry seems to point to an entire difference of system in every respect . Therefore , though the evidence is very scarce indeed , there are " scintilla * :, " svhich seem to betoken a different system altogether . But as this point requires special elaboration , 1 leave it "pro tern . " Bro .
Hughan ' s distinction of grades and degrees , though , no doubt , satisfactory to himself , and convenient enough for some purposes , cannot , in my humble opinion , be critically dealt svith or scientifically svorked . out . It is a use of the English language svithout precedent or svarrant . To say , by an arbitrary " user , " that degree is to signify the conferring of a rank , accompanied by a ceremony , and that grade
is a titular distinction , without a ceremony at all , may be expedient , or may be convenient , as I just remarked , but it is not according to the lasvs of interpretation of svords or grammatical explanation . If sve have allosved in common parlance a sort of imaginary difference betsveen degree and grade to creep in , it is , after all , purely imaginary , if eollo quial , and cannot safely be relied on to establish a
proposition or express a conclusion . Degree and grade , after all , mean the same , and if there is any difference in the meaning it is so fine drasvn as to be hardly distinguishable . Bro . Hughan lays too much stress on the value of the evidence of lodge minutes , & c . All lodge minutes are unsatisfactory from their actual carelessness and their avosved reticence . All authoritative references to ritual and
ceremonial are late , and must be taken " cum grano , " even when sve do lighten them . No one has sought for such evidence more carefully than I have , yet none , that 1 am asvare of , can be found of any value before quite late in the ei g hteenth century . If sve may , on Paley ' s well-knosvn argument of the counterfeit and the true , accept the Catechisms of 1724 , and much more the Sloane MS ., as evidences of a
system , then there svas a system in use contemporaneously with 1721 and before 1717 , at any rate ( on the losvest date ) entirely based , not on a monograde , but a bigradal , or trigradal form , according to my ideas . We are none of us , of course , infallible , and , after all , it is only a matter of opinion . THIRD DEGREE . 4 SS ] _ Bro . Hughan ' s note in the last Freemason renders quite
unnecessary any further explanation of mine . It seems that his allusion to the forthcoming fourth volume of Bro . Gould's History svas not intended , as others and myself s apposed , to claim svhat is thus far an " unknosvn quantity" on his side of the question , —but simply to assert that , judging from past expressed opinions , he felt confident the future deliverances svould confirm what Bro . Gould had so
frequently expressed in the Freemason , as regards this vexed question . But , as Bro . Hughan must see , that is not necessarily a case of "sequitur . " Fresh evidence might have altered original opinions , at least . such is often properly and honestly the case ; and 1 knosvthat Bro . Gould has received
much important evidence from Scotland quite recently . I therefore did not see the use or propriety of lugging in the fourth volume , neither can I see it nosv . But Bro . Hughan ' s explanation may well be accepted , and there let the matter rest . My only svish in the matter is to strengthen the cause of Masonic truth , and to advance archaeological research . A . F . A . W .
4 S 9 ] JOHN MACLEAN . In response to the enquiry of " Masonic Student" in the Freemason of the 17 th inst ., I beg to refer him to Hughan ' s " Origin of the English Rite of Freemasonry , " pp . 75 and 76 , svhere a Bro . John Maclean is mentioned as " Father and Promoter of the Society , " and as having received the thanks of the Grand Chapter , together svith a " gold plate "
and a " robe peculiar to the Past M . E . Z . " ( the first vote and presentation of the kind ) . Whether the above is the John Maclean mentioned in the "Handbuch " I cannot at present undertake to say , but having for several years past been trying to learn something of the early Masonic career of a brother svho svas evidently held in high estimation by the Grand Chapter svhen in its infancy , I shall be very glad
if your correspondent can help me , by ascertaining svhether there is any possible means of seeing the signature , or a fac simile of it , of the ] ohn Maclean mentioned as having been Grand Master of French Freemasonry , for , as I am quite familiar svith the autographs of our Maclean , it svould at once settle the question as to their identity . In the Grand Lodge book a John Maclean is registered as having
been admitted a member of the Lodge of Unity , No . 22 S ( nosv the Old Concord Lodge , No . 172 ) , in 1771 . According to the same record he svas made a Mason in 1 740 , at the age of 21 , hut the name of the lodge in svhich he svas made does not appear . I have no doubt svhatever that this is the person svho figured so conspicuously in the early proceedings of the Grand Chapter , for in the Grand Lodge Register he is described as an " Upholder , " and the
minutes of Grand Chapter 9 th October , 1765 , state that Bro . Maclean svas " ordered to provide a stool and a bench six and a half foot long , stuffed , and covered svith crimson moreen , and brass nails . " John Maclean svas one of the founders and first '/ .. of the St . James ' s Chapter , No . Go ( nosv No . 2 ) . In his latter years he seems to have fallen into poverty , for on December 14 th , 1787 , 11 svas " ordered that the sum of
Masonic Nothes And Queries.
£ 10 ios . be paid to Comp . John Maclean , of the Caledonian Chapter , for money disbursed by him for the use of the G . and R . Chapter some years back . " On the nth of April , 17 SS , in response to a petition for assistance , the sum of £ 5 5 s . svas unanimously voted to him from the funds of Grand Chapter . On the 28 th of April , 1791 , another petition svas read ,
and it svas resolved "that Comp . Maclean be relieved at the discietion of Comp . Gallosvay . " On the 24 th January , 1793 , it svas " resolved that £ 2 2 s . be given to Comp . Hannam , to be given to Maclean at his discretion . " The poor old man died before he could receive the last-named sum . On the 10 th of May follosving it svas
ordered that the same be returned to the Treasurer . I may add that havingspoken to the courteous Secretary of the Old Concord Lodge ( Bro . Geo . King ) on the subject of Maclean's membership , he assured me that there are no books nosv in the possession of . the lodge that go anything like so far back as the period of his admission . H . SADLER .
490 J THE COUNTRY STEWARDS LODGE . In the Freemason of Jan . 3 rd , Bro . Hughan asked me if I could inform him of the precise character of the " Country Stesvards Lodge , " which svas founded in 17 S 9 . I am sorry to say that I cannot do so ; but I should like to ask Bro . Hughan in turn svhether this lodge is not identical svith the present No . 270—the Royal Lodge of Faith and Friendship ,
meeting at Berkeley , in Gloucestershire . I can trace the "Country Stesvards Lodge" through Grand Lodge calendars and reports , at first as No . 540 , aftersvards as No . 449 , dosvn to 1 S 02 ; but in 1 S 03 its place as No . 449 is taken by the " Lodge of Faith and Friendship , White-hart , Berkeley , Gloucestershire , " in both thecalendarand Grand Lodge reports . Nosv as this lodge does not appear before
1 S 03 , though its year of constitution is given as 17 S 9 , and as the " Country Stesvards Lodge " disappears simultaneously , I can only conjecture that the tsvo lodges are identical , though the name and place of meeting have been changed . Perhaps some present member of No . 270 svill inform me if it is so , and sve may then discover the character of the "Country Stesvards Lodge . " E . L . HAWKINS .
49 >] SCOTCH MASONRY . The Degrees mentioned by Bro . Speth , at page 27 , as referred to in a correspondence between Bros . Van Lennep and Arnott , in 1841-4 , are evidently a version of those of Adonhiramite Masonry , said to have been concocted by Baron Schondy for the Knights of the East , organised first in 1762 . For the legendary account of this
Order of the East reference must be made to the statutes and ritual of the French Ordre du Temple , svhich alleges that its Degrees ( seven of the foregoing ) svere transmitted from Egypt through the Apostle St . John , and passed into the hands of Hugh de Payens in 1118 , and became Masonry by the , ban placed upon the Scottish Templars in 1327 , as mentioned in the Charter of Transmission .
According to " Regnard ' s Ritual of Adonhiramite Masonry ( 17 S 6 ) , " the Degrees svere then as follosvs : 4 ° , First Elect ; 5 ° , Second Elect ; 6 ° , Third Elect ; 7 , Little Architect ; 8 ° , Grand Architect ; cf , Scotch Master ; 10 ° , Knight of the Orient ; n ° , Knight Rose Croix ; 12 , Noachite , or Prussian Knight . It might be svorth svhile to examine if Van Lennep ' s list is 1762 , and this last about 1766 . I
have never met svith any early traceof this Rite in England , and it is clear that the Scotch Masonry mentioned in old minutes does not allude to it . " L'Etoile Flamboyante " gives , under date 1764 , the letter of " An Ancient Brother , " svho speaks in depreciation of the crowd of then existing Degrees , of svhich he says they ( his friends ) only considered as recognized " the grades of Apprentice , Companion , sanctified in that of Rose Croix , complete and developed in
the only Ecossisme possible , that of St . Andrew of Scotland . " In point of fact this svas the Stuart Rite , and svhat svas knosvn in London in 1743 as the Royal Order of Scotland . It had its counterpart in the English Templar Rite , and the tsvo leading Degrees of Clermont ' s Chapter , and must be considered side by side svith Dermott ' s assertion that Anderson invented the present Master Mason's Degree . Withington . JOHN YARKER .
Reports Of Masonic Meetings.
REPORTS OF MASONIC MEETINGS .
F 'ir - ¦— 1 1 ( Craft J & asonrg . MOUNT LEBANON LODGE ( No . 73 . )—The installation meeting of this lodge svas held on Tuesday , the 20 th inst ., at the Bridge House Hotel . Bro . John W . Marsh , W . M ., presided , and svas supported by his officers , a large number of the lay members of the lodge , and a strong body of visitors . Amongst the latter svere Bros . Frederick Walters , P . P . G . J . D ., Middlesex ; W . R .
Edsvards , 619 ; E . G . Coleman , S . D . 11 ; John Hamlyn , 1622 ; D . Stroud , 55 ; Thos . Pike , P . M . 755 ; W . Butcher , J . W . 898 ; John T . Bolding , gi ; , W . F . Bates , 1597 ; H . Massey , P . M . 619 and 1928 ; F . S . Courtney , S . D . 1731 ; W . Neats , P . M . 25 ; A . Weil , 35 ; Andrew G . Soulier , 65 ; VV . A . Scurrah , J . W . 2048 ; Windeyer Clark , 90 ; Louis Hirsch , P . M . 1815 ; F . G . Willett ,
117 S ; Thos . Cull , P . M . 1446 ; H . T . Rasv , 1320 ; John Murch , W . M . 27 ; Jas . Webster , Caxton , J . B . Oake , and Capper . The P'Ms . present svere Bros . A . L . Dussek , G . F . Grace , Thos . Knott , Edsvard E . Cooper , Henry Moore , Benjamin Isaacs , Robt . Willoughby , W . Klingenstein j John Dixon , Treasurer ; George Free , Secretary ; and David Rose , W . S . The only business on the paper besides motions was the
installation of W . M ., and Bro . F . G . Spencer , the W . M . elect , being presented to Bro . Marsh , svas installed by that brother in excellent style . The brethren appointed to office were Bros . J . W . Marsh , I . P . M . ; A . C . Ansbacher , S . W . ; T . Palmer , I . W .: I . Dixon , P . M ., Treasurer ; G .
Free , P . M ., Secretary ; W . Bull , S . D . ; W . T . Gregory , J . D . ; F . R . Hayes , I . G . ; W . j . Nesvell , Organist ; D . Rose , P . M ., W . S . ; G . J . Grace , P . M ., D . C ; Young , Tyler . After the delivery of the addresses , the brethren , on the motion of Bro . Dr . Dixon , Treas ., seconded by the I . P . M ., voted 10 guineas to the list of the W . M ., a Steward for the
Reports Of Masonic Meetings.
Benevolent Institution . A vote of thanks svas then unanimously accorded to Bro . Marsh for his able execution of the ceremony of installation . *' The brethren then closed the lodge , and adjourned to an admirable binquet . The usual toasts follosved . In proposing "The Health of the VV . M ., " Bro . Marsh said he proposed the toast svith very great pleasure , because the VV . M ., apart from being one of his introductions to the
lodge , svasone of his oldest friends ; and svhen he first took office he promised to do svhat he undertook to the best of his ability . The present W . M . had served every office in the lodge to the satisfaction of every one of the members , and he hoped the VV . M . svould have a very successful year of office , and svould go out of it carrying svith him increased honours to those he had already svon . The VV . M ., in reply , said he not only thanked the
brethren for drinking the toast very cordially , but of electing him unanimously as W . M . of this honoured lodge , svhich svas the highest honour they could confer upon any of its members . He hoped he should be able during the next year to carry out all the expectations of the brethren . That he should be able to do as svell as his predecessors he did not anticipate—they had been simply perfect . All he could do svas to do his best , as he had done in the other offices
he had held . He might fail ; he could not rely on perfection ; but he svould try to attain to that point . He svould nosv propose "The I . P . M ., " svho had been one of his earliest friends . He and the f . P . M . actually made pies in the gutter together , and they did not knosv svhere to put them . He had knosvn the I . P . M . ever since . Many favours the I . P . M . had done him , and oneof those favours svas his introduction by the I . P . M . to the Mount Lebanon Lodge—¦
a very old lodge , nearly 120 years of age . The I . P . M . had also assisted him in giving him instruction in Masonry . He svas glad to have an opportunity of thanking him publicl , y for svhat he had done for him . In conclusion , he had to present the I . P . M . svith a Past Master's jesvel , svhich svas unanimously voted by the lodge ' on the last occasion . Bro . Marsh , I . P . M ., in acknosvledging the toast said he svas afraid they svould be rather tired of Marsh . He svas
much obliged to the W . M . for introducing his name so kindly . Some one near him suggested that he svas a " Masher . " This svas not the fact ; Mashers and Masonry did not get on svell together . He svas a Mason , and as long as he svas in the Order he should be a true Freemason . What he had done during the year he svas afraid svas not so deserving of all the W . M . had said , and svhat he had done that night did not come up to his ideal of
svhat svas right , but it was the first time he had performed the ceremony of installation , and the brethren svould , perhaps , forgive any shortcomings . Nosv that he had reached the position of Past Master , he hoped his usefulness to the lodge svas not ended . He desired to be useful although a P . M ., and he thanked the brethren for the kindness that they had extended to him during his year of office . He hoped the good feeling that existed betsveen the
members of the lodge and himself svould continue until time svas no more . Bro . Louis Hirsch , P . M . 1 S 1 S , responded to the toastof "The Visitors , " and stated that during his long acquaintance svith the lodge , at svhich he had frequently been a visitor , it had never forgotten charity , and he did not knosv any lodge where charity had been so much considered . The W . M . next gave the toast of "The Treasurer . "
In doing so he said the toast svas one that the lodge delighted to honour . Bro . Dr . Dixon , the Treasurer , svas the father of the lodge , but so many of the brethren had knosvn him so much longer than he ( the W . M . ) had , that it svas unnecessary for him to say more of Bro . Dr . Dixon ' s , abilities as a Mason . Bro . Dr . Dixon replying , said that this svas the first occasion on svhich he had had to thank the brethren for
drinking his health as the father of the lodge . It svas not his fault that he was father of the lodge . It was a circumstance , in one sense , to be very proud of , but it svas not unmingled svith many feelings of regret that so many good men and Masons had passed asvay during the time that he had been one of the members . It svas a very important change from the time svhen he svas one of the youngest members . Tsventy-five . years that night he svas installed
Master of the lodge , and it was a very singular thing that the end of a quarter-of-a-century after he had been Master should be the occasion of his appearing before them for the first time as father of the lodge . He had to thank the brethren for kindness and nothing but kindness during those years that he had been one of the members ; he had to thank them for having elected him , over and over again , to the very responsible and honourable position of their
Treasurer . Over and over again in the course of his life had he had reason to be thankful that he had belonged to the Order of Freemasons . He had never in the course of that life had reason to regret - it , and he felt it one of the greatest pleasures of his life to have belonged to the Mount Lebanon Lodge . In that lodge-he had fpund many sincere and good friends in the past , and he had no doubt they svould be his good friends in the future . He
hoped that all the brethren svould live to be members of the lodge as long as he had been , and to have as many friends . He nosv thanked the brethren again most sincerely for all the kindness they had shosvn him . Dr . Dixon then , at the request of the W . M ., proposed the next toast , svhich svas that of "The Secretary , " and was accompanied by the presentation of a valuable silver tea and coffee service . In making the presentation ,
Dr . Dixon said the committee had done him the honour of placing in his hands , as the oldest member of the lodge , svhat svas to him a very agreeable duty , that of representing them and all the members of the lodge , absent as svell as present , on an occasion svhich to every one of them svas one of the greatest interest . The duty svas that of presenting a handsome service of silver plate to their esteemed friend and brother , George Free , a Past Master of the" lodge and
its Secretary . They did this , he might say , in Masonic phraseology , for three especial reasons : ' first , as a mark of their esteem for his personal svorth ; secondly , as a token of their recognition of the efficient svay in svhich he had distcharged his duties of Secretary of the lodge for the past twelve years ; and thirdly , as an earnest of the sincerity of
heir congratulations and good svishes for him on his proposed entrance into the blessed state of matrimony . An event of this kind svas unparalleled in the history of their lodge , but it svas not svithout precedent in the annals of Masonry . Still , he felt assured that in no other lodge , and in no other place , had a testimonial of that kind ever been given svith more hearty congratulations of the givers , and universal approval of the lodge , and he was equally sure
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Masonic Nothes And Queries.
de St . Jean de Jerusalem etabh a 1 'Onent de Paris , et Parfaits Grand Maitres du Grand Conseil des Loges regulieres sous la Protection de la Grande et Souveraine Loge , & c . These are not the expressions of the symbolic lodges or the Symbolic Grand Lodge , but of the High Scottish Rite , svith svhich the Grand Lodge had nothing to do . But it is this constant use of Grand Lodge svhich hasmisled Kloss , Findel , and others , ! repeat . It seems clear to me that
neither the Conseil des Empereurs nor of the Chevaliers cle I'Orient had anything to do svith the Patent of Stephen Morin , not that it matters -much svhether they had or not , and it is a point hardly svorth discussion ; but I think Daruty is quite right svhen he claims the Grand Lodge of St . John of Jerusalem as a separate High Grade Body , svhich svas composed no doubt of most of the leading members of the Grand Lodge of France , but svas not the Grand Lodge . ' A . F . A . W .
4 S 7 ] THE THREE DEGREES . The crucial sveakness of our good Bro . Hughan ' s position in this amusing little controversy is tsvo-fold . Firstly , he is explaining English Masonic ritualism by Scottish evidences , in svhich he is clearly svrong . Scottish Masonry may be explained by Scottish evidence ; but English Masonry cannot , as there is no , so far , the slightest
evidence available to shosv any identity betsveen the tsvo systems . All that we do knosv of seventeenth century English Freemasonry seems to point to an entire difference of system in every respect . Therefore , though the evidence is very scarce indeed , there are " scintilla * :, " svhich seem to betoken a different system altogether . But as this point requires special elaboration , 1 leave it "pro tern . " Bro .
Hughan ' s distinction of grades and degrees , though , no doubt , satisfactory to himself , and convenient enough for some purposes , cannot , in my humble opinion , be critically dealt svith or scientifically svorked . out . It is a use of the English language svithout precedent or svarrant . To say , by an arbitrary " user , " that degree is to signify the conferring of a rank , accompanied by a ceremony , and that grade
is a titular distinction , without a ceremony at all , may be expedient , or may be convenient , as I just remarked , but it is not according to the lasvs of interpretation of svords or grammatical explanation . If sve have allosved in common parlance a sort of imaginary difference betsveen degree and grade to creep in , it is , after all , purely imaginary , if eollo quial , and cannot safely be relied on to establish a
proposition or express a conclusion . Degree and grade , after all , mean the same , and if there is any difference in the meaning it is so fine drasvn as to be hardly distinguishable . Bro . Hughan lays too much stress on the value of the evidence of lodge minutes , & c . All lodge minutes are unsatisfactory from their actual carelessness and their avosved reticence . All authoritative references to ritual and
ceremonial are late , and must be taken " cum grano , " even when sve do lighten them . No one has sought for such evidence more carefully than I have , yet none , that 1 am asvare of , can be found of any value before quite late in the ei g hteenth century . If sve may , on Paley ' s well-knosvn argument of the counterfeit and the true , accept the Catechisms of 1724 , and much more the Sloane MS ., as evidences of a
system , then there svas a system in use contemporaneously with 1721 and before 1717 , at any rate ( on the losvest date ) entirely based , not on a monograde , but a bigradal , or trigradal form , according to my ideas . We are none of us , of course , infallible , and , after all , it is only a matter of opinion . THIRD DEGREE . 4 SS ] _ Bro . Hughan ' s note in the last Freemason renders quite
unnecessary any further explanation of mine . It seems that his allusion to the forthcoming fourth volume of Bro . Gould's History svas not intended , as others and myself s apposed , to claim svhat is thus far an " unknosvn quantity" on his side of the question , —but simply to assert that , judging from past expressed opinions , he felt confident the future deliverances svould confirm what Bro . Gould had so
frequently expressed in the Freemason , as regards this vexed question . But , as Bro . Hughan must see , that is not necessarily a case of "sequitur . " Fresh evidence might have altered original opinions , at least . such is often properly and honestly the case ; and 1 knosvthat Bro . Gould has received
much important evidence from Scotland quite recently . I therefore did not see the use or propriety of lugging in the fourth volume , neither can I see it nosv . But Bro . Hughan ' s explanation may well be accepted , and there let the matter rest . My only svish in the matter is to strengthen the cause of Masonic truth , and to advance archaeological research . A . F . A . W .
4 S 9 ] JOHN MACLEAN . In response to the enquiry of " Masonic Student" in the Freemason of the 17 th inst ., I beg to refer him to Hughan ' s " Origin of the English Rite of Freemasonry , " pp . 75 and 76 , svhere a Bro . John Maclean is mentioned as " Father and Promoter of the Society , " and as having received the thanks of the Grand Chapter , together svith a " gold plate "
and a " robe peculiar to the Past M . E . Z . " ( the first vote and presentation of the kind ) . Whether the above is the John Maclean mentioned in the "Handbuch " I cannot at present undertake to say , but having for several years past been trying to learn something of the early Masonic career of a brother svho svas evidently held in high estimation by the Grand Chapter svhen in its infancy , I shall be very glad
if your correspondent can help me , by ascertaining svhether there is any possible means of seeing the signature , or a fac simile of it , of the ] ohn Maclean mentioned as having been Grand Master of French Freemasonry , for , as I am quite familiar svith the autographs of our Maclean , it svould at once settle the question as to their identity . In the Grand Lodge book a John Maclean is registered as having
been admitted a member of the Lodge of Unity , No . 22 S ( nosv the Old Concord Lodge , No . 172 ) , in 1771 . According to the same record he svas made a Mason in 1 740 , at the age of 21 , hut the name of the lodge in svhich he svas made does not appear . I have no doubt svhatever that this is the person svho figured so conspicuously in the early proceedings of the Grand Chapter , for in the Grand Lodge Register he is described as an " Upholder , " and the
minutes of Grand Chapter 9 th October , 1765 , state that Bro . Maclean svas " ordered to provide a stool and a bench six and a half foot long , stuffed , and covered svith crimson moreen , and brass nails . " John Maclean svas one of the founders and first '/ .. of the St . James ' s Chapter , No . Go ( nosv No . 2 ) . In his latter years he seems to have fallen into poverty , for on December 14 th , 1787 , 11 svas " ordered that the sum of
Masonic Nothes And Queries.
£ 10 ios . be paid to Comp . John Maclean , of the Caledonian Chapter , for money disbursed by him for the use of the G . and R . Chapter some years back . " On the nth of April , 17 SS , in response to a petition for assistance , the sum of £ 5 5 s . svas unanimously voted to him from the funds of Grand Chapter . On the 28 th of April , 1791 , another petition svas read ,
and it svas resolved "that Comp . Maclean be relieved at the discietion of Comp . Gallosvay . " On the 24 th January , 1793 , it svas " resolved that £ 2 2 s . be given to Comp . Hannam , to be given to Maclean at his discretion . " The poor old man died before he could receive the last-named sum . On the 10 th of May follosving it svas
ordered that the same be returned to the Treasurer . I may add that havingspoken to the courteous Secretary of the Old Concord Lodge ( Bro . Geo . King ) on the subject of Maclean's membership , he assured me that there are no books nosv in the possession of . the lodge that go anything like so far back as the period of his admission . H . SADLER .
490 J THE COUNTRY STEWARDS LODGE . In the Freemason of Jan . 3 rd , Bro . Hughan asked me if I could inform him of the precise character of the " Country Stesvards Lodge , " which svas founded in 17 S 9 . I am sorry to say that I cannot do so ; but I should like to ask Bro . Hughan in turn svhether this lodge is not identical svith the present No . 270—the Royal Lodge of Faith and Friendship ,
meeting at Berkeley , in Gloucestershire . I can trace the "Country Stesvards Lodge" through Grand Lodge calendars and reports , at first as No . 540 , aftersvards as No . 449 , dosvn to 1 S 02 ; but in 1 S 03 its place as No . 449 is taken by the " Lodge of Faith and Friendship , White-hart , Berkeley , Gloucestershire , " in both thecalendarand Grand Lodge reports . Nosv as this lodge does not appear before
1 S 03 , though its year of constitution is given as 17 S 9 , and as the " Country Stesvards Lodge " disappears simultaneously , I can only conjecture that the tsvo lodges are identical , though the name and place of meeting have been changed . Perhaps some present member of No . 270 svill inform me if it is so , and sve may then discover the character of the "Country Stesvards Lodge . " E . L . HAWKINS .
49 >] SCOTCH MASONRY . The Degrees mentioned by Bro . Speth , at page 27 , as referred to in a correspondence between Bros . Van Lennep and Arnott , in 1841-4 , are evidently a version of those of Adonhiramite Masonry , said to have been concocted by Baron Schondy for the Knights of the East , organised first in 1762 . For the legendary account of this
Order of the East reference must be made to the statutes and ritual of the French Ordre du Temple , svhich alleges that its Degrees ( seven of the foregoing ) svere transmitted from Egypt through the Apostle St . John , and passed into the hands of Hugh de Payens in 1118 , and became Masonry by the , ban placed upon the Scottish Templars in 1327 , as mentioned in the Charter of Transmission .
According to " Regnard ' s Ritual of Adonhiramite Masonry ( 17 S 6 ) , " the Degrees svere then as follosvs : 4 ° , First Elect ; 5 ° , Second Elect ; 6 ° , Third Elect ; 7 , Little Architect ; 8 ° , Grand Architect ; cf , Scotch Master ; 10 ° , Knight of the Orient ; n ° , Knight Rose Croix ; 12 , Noachite , or Prussian Knight . It might be svorth svhile to examine if Van Lennep ' s list is 1762 , and this last about 1766 . I
have never met svith any early traceof this Rite in England , and it is clear that the Scotch Masonry mentioned in old minutes does not allude to it . " L'Etoile Flamboyante " gives , under date 1764 , the letter of " An Ancient Brother , " svho speaks in depreciation of the crowd of then existing Degrees , of svhich he says they ( his friends ) only considered as recognized " the grades of Apprentice , Companion , sanctified in that of Rose Croix , complete and developed in
the only Ecossisme possible , that of St . Andrew of Scotland . " In point of fact this svas the Stuart Rite , and svhat svas knosvn in London in 1743 as the Royal Order of Scotland . It had its counterpart in the English Templar Rite , and the tsvo leading Degrees of Clermont ' s Chapter , and must be considered side by side svith Dermott ' s assertion that Anderson invented the present Master Mason's Degree . Withington . JOHN YARKER .
Reports Of Masonic Meetings.
REPORTS OF MASONIC MEETINGS .
F 'ir - ¦— 1 1 ( Craft J & asonrg . MOUNT LEBANON LODGE ( No . 73 . )—The installation meeting of this lodge svas held on Tuesday , the 20 th inst ., at the Bridge House Hotel . Bro . John W . Marsh , W . M ., presided , and svas supported by his officers , a large number of the lay members of the lodge , and a strong body of visitors . Amongst the latter svere Bros . Frederick Walters , P . P . G . J . D ., Middlesex ; W . R .
Edsvards , 619 ; E . G . Coleman , S . D . 11 ; John Hamlyn , 1622 ; D . Stroud , 55 ; Thos . Pike , P . M . 755 ; W . Butcher , J . W . 898 ; John T . Bolding , gi ; , W . F . Bates , 1597 ; H . Massey , P . M . 619 and 1928 ; F . S . Courtney , S . D . 1731 ; W . Neats , P . M . 25 ; A . Weil , 35 ; Andrew G . Soulier , 65 ; VV . A . Scurrah , J . W . 2048 ; Windeyer Clark , 90 ; Louis Hirsch , P . M . 1815 ; F . G . Willett ,
117 S ; Thos . Cull , P . M . 1446 ; H . T . Rasv , 1320 ; John Murch , W . M . 27 ; Jas . Webster , Caxton , J . B . Oake , and Capper . The P'Ms . present svere Bros . A . L . Dussek , G . F . Grace , Thos . Knott , Edsvard E . Cooper , Henry Moore , Benjamin Isaacs , Robt . Willoughby , W . Klingenstein j John Dixon , Treasurer ; George Free , Secretary ; and David Rose , W . S . The only business on the paper besides motions was the
installation of W . M ., and Bro . F . G . Spencer , the W . M . elect , being presented to Bro . Marsh , svas installed by that brother in excellent style . The brethren appointed to office were Bros . J . W . Marsh , I . P . M . ; A . C . Ansbacher , S . W . ; T . Palmer , I . W .: I . Dixon , P . M ., Treasurer ; G .
Free , P . M ., Secretary ; W . Bull , S . D . ; W . T . Gregory , J . D . ; F . R . Hayes , I . G . ; W . j . Nesvell , Organist ; D . Rose , P . M ., W . S . ; G . J . Grace , P . M ., D . C ; Young , Tyler . After the delivery of the addresses , the brethren , on the motion of Bro . Dr . Dixon , Treas ., seconded by the I . P . M ., voted 10 guineas to the list of the W . M ., a Steward for the
Reports Of Masonic Meetings.
Benevolent Institution . A vote of thanks svas then unanimously accorded to Bro . Marsh for his able execution of the ceremony of installation . *' The brethren then closed the lodge , and adjourned to an admirable binquet . The usual toasts follosved . In proposing "The Health of the VV . M ., " Bro . Marsh said he proposed the toast svith very great pleasure , because the VV . M ., apart from being one of his introductions to the
lodge , svasone of his oldest friends ; and svhen he first took office he promised to do svhat he undertook to the best of his ability . The present W . M . had served every office in the lodge to the satisfaction of every one of the members , and he hoped the VV . M . svould have a very successful year of office , and svould go out of it carrying svith him increased honours to those he had already svon . The VV . M ., in reply , said he not only thanked the
brethren for drinking the toast very cordially , but of electing him unanimously as W . M . of this honoured lodge , svhich svas the highest honour they could confer upon any of its members . He hoped he should be able during the next year to carry out all the expectations of the brethren . That he should be able to do as svell as his predecessors he did not anticipate—they had been simply perfect . All he could do svas to do his best , as he had done in the other offices
he had held . He might fail ; he could not rely on perfection ; but he svould try to attain to that point . He svould nosv propose "The I . P . M ., " svho had been one of his earliest friends . He and the f . P . M . actually made pies in the gutter together , and they did not knosv svhere to put them . He had knosvn the I . P . M . ever since . Many favours the I . P . M . had done him , and oneof those favours svas his introduction by the I . P . M . to the Mount Lebanon Lodge—¦
a very old lodge , nearly 120 years of age . The I . P . M . had also assisted him in giving him instruction in Masonry . He svas glad to have an opportunity of thanking him publicl , y for svhat he had done for him . In conclusion , he had to present the I . P . M . svith a Past Master's jesvel , svhich svas unanimously voted by the lodge ' on the last occasion . Bro . Marsh , I . P . M ., in acknosvledging the toast said he svas afraid they svould be rather tired of Marsh . He svas
much obliged to the W . M . for introducing his name so kindly . Some one near him suggested that he svas a " Masher . " This svas not the fact ; Mashers and Masonry did not get on svell together . He svas a Mason , and as long as he svas in the Order he should be a true Freemason . What he had done during the year he svas afraid svas not so deserving of all the W . M . had said , and svhat he had done that night did not come up to his ideal of
svhat svas right , but it was the first time he had performed the ceremony of installation , and the brethren svould , perhaps , forgive any shortcomings . Nosv that he had reached the position of Past Master , he hoped his usefulness to the lodge svas not ended . He desired to be useful although a P . M ., and he thanked the brethren for the kindness that they had extended to him during his year of office . He hoped the good feeling that existed betsveen the
members of the lodge and himself svould continue until time svas no more . Bro . Louis Hirsch , P . M . 1 S 1 S , responded to the toastof "The Visitors , " and stated that during his long acquaintance svith the lodge , at svhich he had frequently been a visitor , it had never forgotten charity , and he did not knosv any lodge where charity had been so much considered . The W . M . next gave the toast of "The Treasurer . "
In doing so he said the toast svas one that the lodge delighted to honour . Bro . Dr . Dixon , the Treasurer , svas the father of the lodge , but so many of the brethren had knosvn him so much longer than he ( the W . M . ) had , that it svas unnecessary for him to say more of Bro . Dr . Dixon ' s , abilities as a Mason . Bro . Dr . Dixon replying , said that this svas the first occasion on svhich he had had to thank the brethren for
drinking his health as the father of the lodge . It svas not his fault that he was father of the lodge . It was a circumstance , in one sense , to be very proud of , but it svas not unmingled svith many feelings of regret that so many good men and Masons had passed asvay during the time that he had been one of the members . It svas a very important change from the time svhen he svas one of the youngest members . Tsventy-five . years that night he svas installed
Master of the lodge , and it was a very singular thing that the end of a quarter-of-a-century after he had been Master should be the occasion of his appearing before them for the first time as father of the lodge . He had to thank the brethren for kindness and nothing but kindness during those years that he had been one of the members ; he had to thank them for having elected him , over and over again , to the very responsible and honourable position of their
Treasurer . Over and over again in the course of his life had he had reason to be thankful that he had belonged to the Order of Freemasons . He had never in the course of that life had reason to regret - it , and he felt it one of the greatest pleasures of his life to have belonged to the Mount Lebanon Lodge . In that lodge-he had fpund many sincere and good friends in the past , and he had no doubt they svould be his good friends in the future . He
hoped that all the brethren svould live to be members of the lodge as long as he had been , and to have as many friends . He nosv thanked the brethren again most sincerely for all the kindness they had shosvn him . Dr . Dixon then , at the request of the W . M ., proposed the next toast , svhich svas that of "The Secretary , " and was accompanied by the presentation of a valuable silver tea and coffee service . In making the presentation ,
Dr . Dixon said the committee had done him the honour of placing in his hands , as the oldest member of the lodge , svhat svas to him a very agreeable duty , that of representing them and all the members of the lodge , absent as svell as present , on an occasion svhich to every one of them svas one of the greatest interest . The duty svas that of presenting a handsome service of silver plate to their esteemed friend and brother , George Free , a Past Master of the" lodge and
its Secretary . They did this , he might say , in Masonic phraseology , for three especial reasons : ' first , as a mark of their esteem for his personal svorth ; secondly , as a token of their recognition of the efficient svay in svhich he had distcharged his duties of Secretary of the lodge for the past twelve years ; and thirdly , as an earnest of the sincerity of
heir congratulations and good svishes for him on his proposed entrance into the blessed state of matrimony . An event of this kind svas unparalleled in the history of their lodge , but it svas not svithout precedent in the annals of Masonry . Still , he felt assured that in no other lodge , and in no other place , had a testimonial of that kind ever been given svith more hearty congratulations of the givers , and universal approval of the lodge , and he was equally sure