Freemasonry In France.

information respecting the present condition of French Freemasonry which will interest all readers . The Freemason has a large circulation abroad—continental as well as colonial—and I shall cherish the hope that one or more of its Parisian subscribers , or readers , noticing the foregoing extract , may inform us through

the medium of these columns , whether there is any near prospect of the Grand Orient of France returning to fraternal communion with the vast family of Grand Lodges , by restoring to its Statutes that cardinal article of the Mason ' s Creed—a belief in THE GREAT ARCHITECT or THE UNIVERSE—which was so unhappily discarded from its formularies in 1877 .

Old Warrants.—I.

OLD WARRANTS . —I .

BY BRO . W . J . HUGHAN . So far as I have been able to trace , the oldest original warrant , granted by the Grand Lodge of England , and still in existence , is that of the St . John ' s Lodge , No . 39 , Exeter , of July nth , 1732 . A still older document or Charter was exhibited by Bro . Gould , at Plymouth ( No . 494 ) , in June , 1887 , bearing date " February , 1731 , " being the seventh issued by authority

of the Grand Lodge of Ireland . No . 495 , at the same Exhibition , from the same Library , was not numbered , but bore date , 13 th Nov ., 1733 ; John Pennell , Secretary ; The Grand Master who authorised it was Lord Kingsland , the Grand Wardens being Jas . Brenan and Win . Cobbe . The seal ( defaced ) was suspended from a ribbon of blue and yellow silk . It was re-issued to the "Crimson Lodge , " Newport , as No . 21 , in 1797 , and dul y noted accordingl y on an extra slip of parchment attached .

I should like much to have particulars of any older original warrants , if any there be , especially for England , as such documents are of Special value in many ways . As the first of the series , I append the warrant of No . 7 , Ireland , aforesaid .

By the Ri ^ ht Worshipful and Right Honourable LORD KINGSTON , Grand Master of all the Lodges of Free Masons in the Kingdom of IRELAND , Kingston the Right Honourable the Lord Nettcr-Ml , Deputy Grand Master , the » ' ¦ Honourable William Ponsonby , and Dillon Pollard Hamson , Esquires , Grand Wardens .

" VYTHPREAS Our Right Trusty and Well-beloved Brothers Christopher Seal . V * Stephens , Joseph McClary , and James Netsilan have besought us , that We would be pleas'd to erect a Lodge of Free Masons in S v . the City of Dublin , of such Persons , who by their knowledge and / llnnil \ skill in Masonry , may contribute to the Well Being , and Advance-/'' HS 1 ment thereof . We therefore duly weighing the Premisses , and

1 — j having nothing more at Heivt than the Prosperity and true Ad-\ Tlii ! Crasty yancemer . t of Masonry , and reposing special Trust and Confidence ^ - *— in Our Right Trusty and Well-beloved Brothers , the said [ names as before \ ( if whose Abilities and Knowledge in Masonry We are satislied ; Do by these Presenls , of Our [ erasure of a word ] certain Knowledge and mrer Motion , Nominate , Create , Authorize , and

Cons-titute the said [ names as before ' ] to be Master and Wardens of a Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons , lo he held by them and their Successors , lawfully admitted in the said Lodge for ever . And we do hereby Give and Grant unto the said [ names as before ] and their Successors , full Power and lawful Authority from Time to Time to proceed to Klection of new Master and Wardensand

, to make such Laws , Rules , and Oidcrs as they from Time to Time ——— shall think Proper and Convenient for the Well Being and Ordering of the said Lodge ; reserving to Ourselves and Successors , No . 7 . Grand Masters and Grand Wardens of IRELAND , the sole Right of deciding all Differences which shall be brought bv Appeal before

. Us and Our Successors , Grand Masters or Grand Wardens of IRELAND . In WITNESS whereof , We have hereunto set ' our Hand and Seal (?) Day of February in the Year of our Lord God 1731 , and in the Year of Masonry 5731 . Tho . Griffith , Secretary . Intratur per .

The History Of The Royal Masonic Institution For Girls

THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR GIRLS

FltOJI ITS ORIGIN , 1788 ,. TO ITS CENTENARY , 18 S 8 . The worry caused by Mason ' s bankruptcy , and the lawsuit in ¦ which they found themselves involved as a consequence , does not , however , appear to have had the slightest effect in diminishing the energy and activity of the several Committees . New rules were

passed relating to the admission of Girls , the great object of which was to secure that those received into the School should be in a healthy condition . Thus at the meeting of the House Committee in July , it was settled that in future the medical certificate to be produced by a child on admission should be as follows : " I have

examined E . M ., and find she has had the Small Pox , has no defect in her eyes or limbs , and is not strumous nor afflicted with any disorder or infirmity whatever ; " while at the General Committee the week following it was resolved that candidates should present themselves at the meeting of the General Committee immediately preceding the

election , in order that the members might satisfy themselves that none of the children had contracted any disorder or infirmity since the presentation of their petitions . In the month of August , the same Committee agreed to recommend to the next Quarterly Court for adoption as a standing regulation of the Charity—and the Quarterly in October adopted it Avithout hesitation—the following law , viz .:

—That 111 order to guard against tho admission of any child whose state of Health , either in body or mind , at the time of its being elected into the School , renders it unfit to be received under the Laws of this Institution , Every Child after the Election into the School shall be examined by Two of

tho Medical Gentlemen specially appointed to the Charity , and their certificate of her Health shall bo laid before tho House Committee next after such Election , when every Child shall attend to bo admitted by Order of the said Committee if eligible by the Regulations of the Charity . But when from the appearance of any Child before the House Committee such certificate shall not

be perfectly satisfactory to them , they shall be empowered to suspend her admission , if they see occasion so to do , till further' enquiry bo made—entering on their minutes for the consideration of the next General Committee their reason for such suspension . In October , 1795 , a law Avas passed to the effect that no motion

for the alteration of an old laAv or the introduction of a neAV one should be made either at a General Court or General Committee , unless a Aveelc ' s previous notice had been given to the Secretary , Avho should insert the said notice in the summons for the meeting of the said Court or Committee . In December neAv arrangements Avere drawn

up for the conduct of elections , and a A ote of thanks Avas passed to Bro . Adam Gordon for having brought forward the subject . In January , 1796 , a memorial Avas drawn up , and ordered to be presented to Grand Lodge , in the hope and expectation that that body AA ould be pleased to contribute toAvards the

support of the Institution , and the month following the Secretary had the satisfaction of announcing that on the motion of Bro . Iieseltine , the Grand Treasurer , Grand Lodge had agreed to contribute annually a sum of £ 26 5 s . In March , the mother of one of the candidates having produced her marriage certificate , the

Committee at once took into consideration the propriety of such certificate being ahvays produced Avith the Petition of every Candidate , " and it Avas ordered that in future the Secretary should instruct eA ery one applying for a blank petition that the marriage certificate of the child's parents must be produced ; while later in the year the Secretary

Avas ordered to have the words " in Open Lodge " inserted in the certificate from the lodge recommending the petition . In November , 1796 , Bro . W . Forssteen gave notice of a motion for the next General

Committee to the effect " That all Life Governors , as Avell as Masters of Lodges , Governors in Perpetuity , or Governors for 15 years , be permitted to A ote by Proxy at all Elections , and on all Questions relative to this Charity , " and the motion Avas carried .

In the meantime , during the period in which the foregoing Regulations Avere passed , there happened a feAV other events of sufficient interest to be recorded here . In June , 1795 , a letter Avas leceived from a Mrs . Charlotte Lambert , AVIIO had taken one of the girls into her house as an apprentice , in Avhich the lady spoke in the Avarmest terms of

admiration of the manner in which the School must be conducted , and enclosing draft for 15 guineas , of which 10 guineas Avas to constitute Mr . John Lambert a Life-Governor , and the remainder Avas her OAVII personal donation . In July Bro . Adam Gordon , a most worthy upholder of the Charity , Avas elected Acting Treasurer , Sir Peter

Parker , Bart ., D . G . M . and Treasurer , being absent on duty as Conimandei' -in-Chief at Portsmouth . The same month the portrait of the Chevalier Ruspini , Institutor , by Bro . the Rev . "W . Peters , Avas hung in the Schoolroom , and the question Avas first mooted of erecting tablets with the names of the chief benefactors inscribed thereon . In

September , the death of Lord Macdonald , a Trustee , Avas announced , and shortly afterwards the Earl of Moria , A . G . M ., Avas elected in his stead . In October , the Collector , Bro . Edmonds , AVIIO for some time previously had SIIOAVII great inattention to his duties , Avas dismissed , and his place was filled by a Bro . Whalley , who , after a brief

experience , proved equally objectionable , and Avas treated in the same summary fashion as Edmonds . In November , it Avas proposed to increase the salary of Bro . Cuppage , Secretary , from £ 21 to £ 40 per annum , and arrangements Avere made for instructing the children in Psalmody , the services of a competent tutor being secured at four guineas a year .

In January , 1796 , there being a candidate on the list AVIIO Avas 011 the point of becoming superannuated—that is , no longer eligible to be admitted through having exceeded the maximum limit of age—a Special Court Avas ordered to be held on the 29 th February , and the girl was recommended to the Governors for election ; the result being

that she was chosen and became an inmate of the School . At the same Special Court it Avas announced that the net proceeds of a concert giA r en in aid of the Institution in Freemasons' Hall , under the patronage of the Prince and Princess of Wales , by Drs . Dupuis and Arnold , Mr . Linley , Mr . Cramer , and others , amounted to £ 193 . In

July , the Matron reported that an attempt had been made to break into the School , and measures Avere at once directed to be taken in order to make the premises as secure as possible . In October , a A ote of thanks Avas passed to a Mr . J . H . Durand , the Avinner of " the Queen ' s Guineas " at Chelmsford in 1794 , from Avhom a donation of

£ 105 had just been receiA r ed , a similar compliment having been shortly before paid to G . Smart , executor of the late Dr . Dupuis , Avho hud bequeathed the sum of £ 50 to the School . About the same time , in order " to prevent any partial recommendation of Persons to serve the Charity , " the House Committee resolved that tradesmen should be invited by public advertisement to supply their goods .

As regards the interior arrangements of the School , which as the children were augmented in numbers necessarily became more and more onerous , there Avould seem to have been few grounds of complaint . The cases in AAiiich the Committee were forced to proceed to the extreme penalty of expulsion Avere very rare , Avhile there can he

no doubt as to the care Avith Avhich they were looked after , both ns regards their morals and their health . Indeed , AVC find that Avhenever a girl ' s condition Avas such as to render necessary an extra amount 01 watchfulness , the Committee generally arranged for her being temal

porarily returned to her parents or friends , a Aveekly sum being P for her maintenance . By this means , too , they were able to preven anything of a contagious or infectious character from spreading anionD the other children , the result being that anything approaching to » general outbreak of illness in the School very rarely occurred . To be continued ) .