Original Correspondence.

Original Correspondence .

The Editor is not responsible for the opinions expressed by Correspondents . TEMPLAR COMMANDERIES . —ERRORS IN PRECEDENCE .

( To the Editor of The Freemason . ) DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —I must apologise to your readers for intruding upon your space with a complaint as to errors in precedence , which may possibly interest no one but the writer . In themselves , matters of precedence are simply

contemptible , but they occasionally involve , as in this instance , questions of justice and history which render such a complaint as that which I am now making respectable . Your esteemed correspondent , Bro . W . J . Hughan , called attention some time ago to the fact that

No . s had been given to the Premier Encampment of Lancashire j" whilst in reality it seemed to be the oldest of the " numbered " encampments , having been constituted in 1786 , and ranking therefore , at least , as No . 1 . The history of this , the Jerusalem Encampment , Manchester , has been

gratuitously placed within the reach of every member of the Order , and it is therefore somewhat ungracious of the Executive in London to plead ignorance of its history and status . Yet such is the case in a recent correspondence with the Grand Chancery on this subject . The courteous and

prompt Grand Vice-Chancellor , Sir Knt . Tinkler , has kindly promised that the case of the Jerusalem shall be looked into and put right ; but I have other matters of apparent favouritism with which he cannot be expected to interfere . I must premise , for the information of your readers , that the first London Grand Conclave was

instituted by Bro . Thomas Dunckerley in 1790 or 1791 , and that he had been received in the Baldwin Camp , Bristol ( of seven degrees ) . Turning , therefore , to his official list of 1 794 ( published by Bro . Hughan , page 313 of your journal ) , we findy _ w " time-immemorial" chapters as existing before his Constitution of 1790 . These were :

1 or A . Observance , of seven degrees London . 2 or B . Redemption ... ... York . 3 or C . Eminent , of seven degrees Bristol . 4 or D . Antiquity Bath . But taking the official list of precedence for 1870 to 1871 , we find thc old arrangement altogether

reversed , several new chapters turned " timeimmemorial , " and the Antiquity of Bath degraded to 179 1 ; the list standing as follows : A . Abbey Chapter ... ... ... ... Nottingham . B . Redemption Hull . C . Baldwin Bristol .

D . Mount Calvary ( 1842 ) London . E . Observance ... ... ... ... do . F . Union , or Rougement Exeter . Therefore " A " has usurped the position of the Ob - seroance , London , and " D" of the Antiquity Bath ( termed only No . 1 ) , whilst , so far as evidence

goes , the following are sailing under false colours , and have no right to anything but such a number as the date of their warrant -will give them , pending their production of evidence . The precedence assigned to these is unfair to other chapters , and ought to be discountenanced by every member of the Order . They are :

Abbey Nottingham , called A . Mount Calvary ( warranted 1 S 42 ) London ,, D . Union or Rougement Exeler ,, F . From what I have said it would seem that Grand Conclave knows so little ofthe history of its dependent chapters that none of the numbers given can

be rehedupon , else justice would be met by lettering the Antiquity , Bath , ancl giving No . 1 to the Jerusalem Encampment , Manchester . But that strict justice may be meted to all on the princi ple of lettering the encampments in existence before the

establishment of Grand Conclave , in accordance with thc datcsof their constitution , as proveable by the before-named documents , and numbering all that cannot give /•'(•<>/ " of existence before 1791 . " Fraternally yours , JOHN YARKER .

( To the Editor of The Freemason . ) DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —I am somewhat surprised at reading Bro . Hughan ' s statement in No . 76 respecting the " fees" in Scotland . It is the first instance he has met with of candidates paying £ 8 2 S . 6 d . for the three degrees . In my mother lodge the fees arc . £ 9— . £ 4 for thc

first , £ 2 on being passed , and . £ 3 on being raised . Annual subscription , 15 s . There arc no refreshments , etc ., so that thercare quite sufficient funds in hand to gratify the benevolent impulses of the lod _ e .

I would ask my English brethren is it right , or is it Masonic , to parade tlieir charity to poor Scotch Masons ? At any rate , raising the fees will not raise thc condition of Masons . A MEMBER OF THE ROYAL ALFRED , No , 420 , Simon ' s Town , South Africa .

Original Correspondence.

( To the Editor of The Freemason . ) DEAR StR , —I was in a lodge last week , and in working the first degree only one candle was lighted , in the second two , and in the third three candles were lighted after the candidate was raised . In my lodge we light all candles , with the exception I have

above stated . I am sorry to trouble you , but would feel obliged if you will answer this in THE FREEMASON , if convenient , on Saturday next . Some of our brethren are divided in their opinion as to which is the correct mode .

Yours truly , JAMES J . ARMSTRONG , W . M . 531 , Comp . 954 . Hartlepool , August 16 th , 1870 . [ Answer next week . —ED . F . ~ \

FOREIGN TITLES . ( To the Editor of Thc Freemason . ) DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —Apropos of foreign titles , I extract the following from " Captain Dangerous , " by G . A . Sala : — " When Porrier , the French adventurer , asked King Augustus , the King ,

to make him a count , ' What ? ' said his Majesty of Lunerville and Warsaw ; 'that I cannot do , ' quoth he , but there is nothing under the sun to prevent thee from calling thyself a count , if it so please thee . ' And Count Porrier by self-creation he straightway became . " Yours fraternally ,

RICHARD DE FYDDELSTYKE London , August 17 th , 1 S 70 .

( To the Editor of Thc Freemason . ) SIR , — "J . A . H . " still requires correction . " Major Pateologus " is a misnomer , the officer in question being a Surgeon-Major—a title as distinct from the former as Sergeant-at-laio is from a noncommissioned officer . But Mr . Pateologus's claims

have been exhaustively ventilated already in A otes and Queries ( vide , Nos . for Oct . 28 , 1854 , p . 351 ; Nov . 18 , 1854 , p . 409 ; July 13 , 1867 , p . 30 ; July 20 , 1867 . p . 54 ; Jan . 9 , 186 9 , p . 43 ; & c . ) Surgeon-Major Palceologus , on the dethronement of King Otho , preferred his claim to the

National Assembly of Greece , but it was totally i gnored . The name Paloeologus in Greece is as common as Stuart in Scotland , and does not imply of necessity royal descent . These errors arise from an imperfect knowledge

of such subjects . It is well nigh impossible to enter the lists creditably in such questions without a long preparation , for the points at issue invariably involve complicated evidence both of lau- and genealogy , and are only to be mastered by a long and intimate acquaintance with the specialities of

history . I merely desire , in thc cause of historical accuracy , to render " J . A . H . " assistance , and therefore hope that he will bear in mind that an use of the parental rod isno reproach against the affection of the father . SP .

P . S . — "J . A . H . " would attain his object much better by leaving the debate in the hands of so able and discriminating a controversalist as Bro . Hughan , whose cool judgment and experience enable him to wei gh with accuracy conflicting opinions , and to show the acumen of the bar with the geniality of a fraternal umpire .

( To the Editor of The Freemason . ) DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —While sincerely regretting that your pages should be taken up with a subject of so uncongenial a nature as an enquiry into the merits and demerits ofthe pedigree of one who is not only a gentleman but a distinguished

brother , I must express my surprise at the evident animus which must exist on the part of , at least , one of the controversionalists—I allude to thc gentleman signing himself" J . A . H . " The initials are identical with the signature of a writer in your contemporary , the author of " Chips from Foreign

Ashlar , " a gentleman with whom I have the pleasure of a slight acquaintance , and whom I have ahvays met with a considerable amount of pleasure ; but I am perfectly certain , from what I know of tlie "J . A . H . " I speak of , he could not be guilty of such gross personalities and such petty spite as that

which for some time has been credited to his pseudonym . I therefore trust , to prevent error on the part of anyone , my" J . A . I-I . " will at once disown the lucubrations with which the impostor for some time has been disgusting us . By the way , "J . A . H . 's " last letter is as ludicrous in its way as the story of

the lhree lailors of Tooley-street . " Just imagine Messrs . "J . A . II . " and " G . B . A . " having been appointed a deputation ( by whom ?) to visit the Consulate General of Greece , for the purpose of inquiring into the pretension of the so-called " Prince Rhodocanakis . " These amateur detectives , of a self-constituted Herald ' s College , were informed that no titles of nobility exist in . Greece .

Original Correspondence.

Why , gracious goodness ! the heir presumptive to the throne of Greece is called the Duke of Sparta ; and although I know very little of that country , I have a distinct recollection , when King Otho fled from Athens , the names of a dozen noblemen were mentioned as candidates for the vacant throne ,

and , if my memory does not play me false , the name of this very Prince Rhodocanakis , or his father , was included in the list . I am not in a position to judge of the claims of the Prince , whom I have had the pleasure of meeting in Masonic society , but I have no hesitation in

saying that were a modest and gentlemanly bearing and demeanour a qualification for high rank , I should at once certify him to be a king . Let "J . A . H . " and "G . B . A . " come from behind the shadowy veil of anonymous detraction , and if they have any charge to make against " Mons . " or " Prince " Rhodocanakis , let us judge from their

social calibre how much we can depend on in their at present vague but unpleasant hints . I have chosen to sign this letter by a nom de plume , as I do not attack an individual . When I have occasion to do this , I do not fight behind a mask . I have the honour to be , dear Sir and Brother , Yours fraternally ,

ZANONI . The Douglas Hotel , Edinburgh , August 20 , 1870 .

( To the Editor of The Freemason . ) DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —The clever letters of "J . A . H . " I hope may be continued , as all persons of any research must perceive how completely

he demolishes Sp . 's arguments , for every Herald in the kingdom , and all heraldic F . S . A . ' s , are clearly agreed with him in upholding Sir B . Burke ' s Peerage as the only standard authority of the day . Yours , X . F . S . A .

( To the Editor of The Freemason . ) DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —It is a curious fact in the history of science , that the follies of alchemists have led to some of the most useful inventions ; and this reflection leads me to point out how useful have been the accumulated errors and

misconceptions of your correspondent "J . A . H ., " in affording others a means of eliminating the truth from a mass of ignorance which might otherwise not have been suspected to exist , but must at the same time accord a certain amount of praise to the self-offered scapegoat . We might reasonably attribute such fantastic

miscluevousness to some feelings of a personal nature such as Shakespere puts in the mouth of an outlaw , who excuses his moral obliquity by the observation : " I am one whom Fortune hath cruelly scratched ;" but by far the most probable inference is that J . A . H . is more unselfish and public-spirited than equal to his task .

Turning over thc Times of August nth , 1870 , I found it stated that Sir Edward Thornton , her Majesty ' s Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to America , is the son of the late Right Honourable Sir Edward Thornton , G . C . B ., upon whom the title of Count of Cassilhas , in thc kingdom of Portugal , had been conferred by their King ,

John VI . Not finding the name in the infallible book by Sir Bernard Burke , I was led to carry the enquiry further , and turning over the official list of Naturalised Aliens , by Return of the House of Commons dated I ith June 1868 , 1 find many others in thc same unfortunate plight , whose names I append for the information of your correspondent . They

are—A I . HAN 1 , Rinaldo Carlo Luigi Ferdinando di Lara , Count D' Italy . AKltlVAlil'Ni * , Count Carlo Austria . AircL'sl'K . viitiRC , Prince Christian Germany . BOTIIMKK , Ilyppolyt Victor Alexander ,

Count Von Bavaria . GUICCIARDINI , Count Picro ... Florence . IIoi . sn-iN-Su-. swic ., Prince Christian ... Germany . LEININGI'M , Prince Earnest Leopold Victor

Charles Augustus Enrich .. ... ,, RHODOCANAKIS , Prince Demetrius Scio . S / . EK , Alexander , Count Teleki de ... Transylvania . With such companions ' as these in exclusion from thc Valha'la set up by "J . A . H ., " Prince Rhodocanakis need not be unhappy because the Quixotic "J . A . H . " is in arms . Yours fraternally , PHILALETHES .

( To the Editor of Thc Freemason . ) SIR , —Having watched with considerable interest the controversy respecting " His Imperial Highness Prince Rhodocanakis '" claim to that distinctive title , will you permit mc to suggest that some substantial proof should be adduced to verify his

adoption of the same , and as so much space has been given to the question in your columns , it is there , also , that the question should be settled by being thoroughly sifted . As tbe matter at present stands , the Prince (?) appears to be receiving more notoriety at your hands than he is ever likely to receive from the future historians of Greece . -