Births, Marriages, And Deaths.

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BIRTH . HAWKES . —On August 19 th , at 9 , Garden Row , Bamsgate , the wife of Bro . G . E . Hawkes , S . W . 127 , of a daughter . MARRIAGE . WAY—SELBY . —On the 19 th August , at St Mary ' s , Brooke , by the Rev . J . P . Gage , rector , Broadley Wilson , son of W . W . Way , Esq ., of Newport , to Ellen Anne , youngest daughter of W . Selby , Esq ., of Brooke , Isle of Wight .

DEATHS . CAMr-BELL . —On the 19 th August , at 30 , Eldcrslie-street , Glasgow , Bro . Robert Campbell , of the Star Lodge , No . 219 , ex-champion sculler of Scotland . EDEN . —On the 19 th August , at the Hill Farm , Rickmansworth , Bro . George Manning Eden , P . M . and P . Z . 382 ,

formerly Postmaster of TJxbndge , aged 4 C years . HOTTER . — On August 17 th , at 5 , Marine-terrace , Margate , Jane Benson , the dearly-loved -wife of Bro . W . F . Hunter , M . D ., J . W . Union , Lodge , No . 127 , aged 25 years . NOHTH . —On 20 th August , at Bray , Co . Wicklow , Colonel Charles Napier North , late 60 th Royal Rifles , in his 53 rd year .

Answers To Correspondents.

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? AB INITIO . —The Hon . Secretaries of the London Literary Union are Angelo J . Lewis , Esq ., Erskine Chambers , 36 , Lincoln ' s Inn Fields , and W . R . Woodman , Esq ., M . D ., Vittoria Villa , Stoke Newington Road , N . A . L . B . — In Ireland all the Masonic bodies are under one

head , viz ., the Duke of Leinster , but the higher degrees are little better than close corporations , so that what is gained in one direction is practically lost in the other . HIRAM . —A Freemason cannot be a Fenian , because he is bound to respect the laws of the country iu which he resides . It is an insult to tho Craft to couple treason with its name .

Books Received.

BOOKS RECEIVED .

"The Manchester Unity of Odd Fellows , " by Francis G . P . Neison , Junr ., A . S . A ., Consulting Actuary . "Annals of Iowa Masonry , " edited by T . S . Parvin , Grand Secretary , Iowa . " Proceedings of the Grand Lodge of Louisiana , " James C . Batchelor , M . D ., Grand Secretary .

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Clje jfrecwmu , SATURDAY , AUGUST 28 , 1 SG 9 .

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THK FREBMASOX is published on Saturday Mornings in time for the early trains . The price of TUB FREBMASOX is Twopence per week ; quarterly subscription ( including postage ) 3 s . 3 d . Annual Subscription , 12 s . Subscriptions payablo in advance . All communications , letters . & c , to bo addressod to the EDITOR , 3 & 1 , Initio Britain , E . C . Tho Editor will paycaroful attention to ollMSS . entrusted to him , but cannot undortako to return them unless accompanied by postage stamps .

Business To Be Transacted In Grand Lodge.

BUSINESS TO BE TRANSACTED IN GRAND LODGE .

THIS is a heading which is familiar to a considerable number of our English Masonic readers , and to some it probably suggests ideas of a very dry and prosaic character . Other brethren , however , —and they are , of

course , the great majority , for while a few rule and teach , the many submit and obey—other brethren , we repeat , may take an interest in tho forthcoming deliberations of a body which is associateel in tlieir minds with dim conceptions

of all that is dignified , august or venerable . And a noble legislature it is—this Grand Lodge of England—an aggregation of good and true men , ever anxious to promote the prosperity of our Universal Craft , and to extend as

widely as possible the humanizing influences of knowledge , peace , and fraternity . And a goodly thing it is to sec the long procession of Grand Ollicers as they enter the Tcmplo ; to gaze upon those veterans of the

causo whose services have placctl them in the foremost rank ; to watch the eager looks of the brethren when the statel y Sword-bearer announces the approach of their beloved chief , and to hear the ringing cheers with which the

arrival of the Most Worshi pful Grand Master is greeted . All this , although it may be described , must be seen to be appreciated , and it is not

too much to say that the assemblies of the Grand Lodge of England will bear a favorable comparison with those of any other legislative body in the world , not only for scenic splendour

Business To Be Transacted In Grand Lodge.

and effect , but for the admirable decorum with which the business of the evening is conducted . The Grand Lodge is , of course , opened with prayer , but the other formalities observed are totally dissimilar to those practised in the

opening of subordinate lodges . The object , however , is the same , and the Grand Pursuivant is charged with the duty c > f seeing and vouching not only that all present are members of Grand Lodge , but that they are properly ranged under their respective banners .

Let us now glance at the Agenda paper . The minutes of the last Quarterly Communication , and of an intervening Grand Lodge will be read , and doubtless confirmed .

Then the Grand Master' will make a communication respecting the recently established Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia , and will move a resolution to acknowledge it . -This important announcement we fore-shadowed in our article

in No . 22 , and need only tende * our hearty congratulations to the Grand Master and Grand Lodge , upon the wise and comprehensive spirit of liberality which prompts this graceful act of recognition .

The Grand Master will then distribute the Jewels to the Stewards of the Inauguration Festival , helel on the 14 th April . This Jewel bears upon the obverse an excellent likeness of Lord Zetland , and on the reverse

a representation of Freemasons' Hall , together with the name of the Steward and the lodge which he representeil . We shall not express an opinion as to the general appearance of the Jewel beyond stating that it has not given universal satisfaction .

The next business in Grand Lodge will be the election of the Committee of Management of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution , after which the Report of the Board of Benevolence , comprising six recommendations for grants , to

the extent of . £ 230 , will be considered , and without doubt approved . Then follows the Report of the Board of General Purposes , in which is embodied the sentence passed upon the Worshipful Master of the Union Waterloo

Lodge , No . 13 , Woolwich , for suffering a statement to be circulated that the " new working , approved by tho Board , " would be worked in his

lodge . We miss from the record the name of the real culprit , or any allusion to the graver fact that the pseudo-ritual was really worked , but from the letters we have received on the

subject tho Craft may rest assured that the Worshipful Master , who is personally a most estimable man and Mason , will not be suffered to remain the scapegoat of a gross imposition . The Report of the Committee appointed to

devise a suitable recognition of the services of the Building Committee svill then be taken , and with their recommendations we cordiall y concur . They suggest that a sculptured Tablet , with an appropriate inscription , be placed in a

conspicuous part of the New Buildings ; to be surmounted by a marble bust of Bro . John Havers , the chairman , and surrounded by medallion portraits of his colleagues of the Building Committee .

The sum to be allocated for this purpose , viz ., 300 guineas , is by no means extravagant , and we are certain it will be cheerfully voted by the Grand Lodge .

The Report of the Committee on the Fund ot Benevolence is tho next business on the paper . Our renders will remember that wc opposed from the first any attempt to interfere with the

Business To Be Transacted In Grand Lodge.

natural increment of the Fund , and so far as that portion of the Report is concerned the Committee ' s suggestion was negatived by Grand Lodge . There are , however , many excellent details in the scheme of reform submitted by Bro . Clabon , who has evidently studied the system in all its bearings . We hope , therefore

that the subject will be fully discussed , and the advantages to be derived from many of the recommendations made by the Committee will then be thoroughly understood by the brethren . As it is very improbable that Grand Lodge will be able to transact all the business on the agenda up to this point , we refrain from specifying the various Notices of Motion .

I here is , as all can readily perceive , an ample bill of fare for our Masonic legislators , but with short speeches and business habits a great deal can be done in the time . We presume that the Grand Master ' s proposition , that H . R . H . the Prince of Wales be invested with the rank of

a P . G . M . will be submitted to the brethren at this meeting , and as the Prince has returned from Germany it is not improbable that His Royal Highness may be present in Grand Lodge

to have the distinction conferred upon him . It is supposed by some that the grant of such past rank is an anomaly ; it is not , however , an unusual occurrence—six Princes of the House of Brunswick have received a similar token of

favor , and it is within the Grand Master ' s prerogative to confer past rank upon any worthy brethren . Thus , H . H . the Maharajah Dhuleep Singh , Colonel A . J . Greenlaw , and Colonel F .

Burdett , Representative from the Grand Lodge of Ireland , are Past Grand Wardens , and Bro . H . C . D . Twining , Grand Secretary of the newly-formed Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia , is an Honorary Past Grand Deacon of England .

Mulfunt In Parbo, Or Masonic Notes And Queries.

Mulfunt in Parbo , or Masonic Notes and Queries .

——*—" Uniformity of Work "—The letter concerning the " Uniformity of Work" ( or rather the want of it ) in lodges , by the 111 . Bro . Colonel Francis Burdett , P . G . W ., is a valuable one , as our able Brother ' s experience has been varied

and extensive . I quite coincide with his views respecting the appointment of Grand Lecturers , and feel persuaded that the institution of authoritative instructors in Freemasonry would be of the greatest benefit to the Fraternity . The

system has been found to work well in the United States , and it is the opinion of many who are familiar with European Masonry that the same plan would , if adopted generally in the Grand Lodges , consummate the " uniformity " that is desired . W . J . HuGIIAN .

Freemasonry in Ireland . —I am glad to see your notice of the Book of Constitutions publishetl by the Grand Lodge of Ireland A . D . 1730 , and hope you will continue the same until the whole has been reproduced in your columns . I have not the first edition of the Irish Constitutions , although I have those of England from A . D .

1723 to the present time . There is , however , in my library the Irish Constitutions for 1741 , "Approved of and agreed upon by the Grand Lodge in Dublin , on the 24 th June , 1741 , —Tuir LAJioni :, Grand Master" ; and also the next , or 1751 edition , compiled by Edward Spratt , of Dublin . The Book of Constitutions of Ireland

for 1 * 30 is to be found m Bro . R . bpencers Catalogue ( No . S 5 ) , anel in a note it is stated that " this book is rarely met with ; it was compiled a few years after the removal of the Grand Lodge of Ireland from Cork ( where it was anciently helel ) to Dublin . " Bro . J . G . Findel ,

of Leipzig , wrote me some time since respecting the " Grand Lodge of Munster , " and stated thero were some valuable papers , consisting of records of its transactions , iu the possession of a brother in Ireland , of about 1720 to 1729 . Any information on this point would be welcomed by him ,

and others as well who are much interested in the early history of Freemasonry anywhere . What was the origin of the Craft in Ireland has never yet been solved . Any authoritative facts on the subject are therefore of importance . W . J . HUGIIAN .