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NOW READY . VOL . II , OF THE FREEMASON , Price 7 / 6 .

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To ADVERTISERS . THE Circulation of THE FREEMASON being now at the rate of nearly IMf-a-inillion . per annum , it offers peculiar facilities to all who advertise . It is well known that the Fraternity of Freemasons is a large and constantly increasing body , mainly composed of the influential and educated classes of society ; and us The Freemason is now the accepted organ of the Brotherhood in the United Kingdom , and also enjoys an extensive sale in the colonies and foreign parts , its advantages as an advertising medium can scarcely be overrated . For terms apply to GEORGE KENNING , 2 , 3 , & 4 , LITTLE BRITAIX , LOXDON , E . C .

Foreign And Colonial Agents.

Foreign and Colonial Agents .

—<• , AMERICA : Bro . J . 1 ' LETCHER BRKNNAN , 114 , Mainstreet , Cincinnati , Ohio . ,, Messrs . WOODRUFF ec BLOCIIER , Little Rock , Arkansas , U . S .

CANADA : Messrs . DEVRIE & SON , Ottawa . CAPE OF GOOD HOPE : Bro . GEORGE BRITTAI . V , Cape Town . CEYLON : . Messrs . W . L . SKEENE & Co ., Colombo . CONSTANTINOPLE : Br . l . L . MANLY , Levant Times .

EAST INDIES : Allahabad : Messrs . WV . MA . V BROS . Byculla : Bro . GEO . BEASE . Central Prm'hiccs : Bro . F . J . JORDAN . Kurrachee : Bro . G . C . BRAYSON . Madras : Mr . CALKU FOSTER .

M / ioro : Bro . COWASJEE NUSSERWANJEE . Poona : Bro . W . WELLIS . GALATA : Irsictc KHAN , Perche-Bajar . LIBERIA : Bro . HENRY D . BROWN , Monrovia . PARIS : M . DECIIEVAUX-DUMESNIL , Rue de Ilarlaydu-Palais , 20 , near the Pont Ncuf ; Editor Le Franc-Mafou . And all Booksellers and Newsagents in England , Ireland , and Scotland .

Births, Marriages, And Deaths.

Births , Marriages , and Deaths .

DBA TILS . DAVIES . —On the 21 st January , at his residence , 99 , Bhythian-slreel , Liverpool , liro . Owen Davies , Tyler for Lodges 724 , 1035 West Lancashire , and O 05 Cheshire . WHITE . —On 22 nd inst ., at Sheffield , liro . William White , 31 " , P . P . G . D . C . of West Yorkshire , & c , & e .

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"MASONIC H ISTORIANS / ' by Bro . W . J . Hughan . — The concluding article on liro . J . G . Findel , is unavoidably postponed until the first number in February , owing to the numerous engagements of ihe author . Several oilier valuable communication : -, stand over till next week .

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TheFreemason, SATURDAY , JANUARY 29 , 1870 .

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Till-: FKKKMASON- is published on Saturday Murmurs in time for ihe early trains . The price of Tint Kul'liM ASON is Twopence per weel : : ( Jllnrtcrly subscription ( including postage ) is . -, d . Annual Subscription , 12 s . Subsct-iplinns payable iu advar . ee . All communications , letter * , fee ., to be adui'esscd to the Ennui .- , 2 , s , and j , Little Jinlain , ICC The Editor uill pay careful altemion toall MSS . entrusted to him , t ) ut cannut tindcrtake to return litem uule .. s accompanied by postage . stamps .

A New Masonc Province.

A NEW MASONC PROVINCE .

THE successful inauguration of a now Masonic Province in England , and especially one which comprises the lodges of the metropolitan count ) -, is an event which

cannot be viewed with indifference by the Craft at large , while we are satisfied that its formation is regarded with peculiar interest and gratification by the brethren

more immediately concerned . The history of Freemasonry in Middlesex—apart from the London district—does not , we are well aware , extend back to the dark ages , and the new province cannot boast of a long roll of

A New Masonc Province.

worthies connected with the Craft . However , this is to be accounted for by the fact that a century ago there were few hamlets in Middlesex capable of supporting a lodge ,

or of sufficient importance to tempt city men to encounter the dangers of the road when footpads infested every lane , and highwaymen held high revel on every heath . A

j ' ourney to Hounslow in those clays was usually prefaced by the not enlivening process of making one ' s will , as encounters with the bold " minions of the moon " were .

not always bloodless , the chivalry of Claud Duval ' s successors being somewhat of a questionable character , and dancing minuets by moonlight with fair maidens having

somehow gone out of fashion . Fancy an announcement in the Morning Chronicle of the period reading thus , " On Monday last , Mr . Wellbelovcd , Master of a Freemasons '

Lodge at High Valley , when riding home in company with Mr . Dolittle from the lodge , was attacked on Lonely Heath by three masked highwaymen , whose

watchword evidently was not Masonic , as they hailed the two travellers in the usual jargon of those bold villains , 'Your money or your life , ' at the same time presenting

their pistols at the heads of Mr . Wellbeloved and Mr . Dolittle . We regret to add that the thieves succeeded in carrying off a handsome silver punch-bowl , just presented to

Mr . Wellbeloved by his friends , and also despoiled the unfortunate gentlemen of their outer garments , even to their shoebuckles , and up to the present time the

miscreants have evaded capture . " This is a sample of the records which abounded in the " good old times , when George III . was King , " and the rarity of lodges inrural

Middlesex is thus explained . However , in 17 S 5 , the celebrated Bro . Thomas Dunckerley , of Hampton Court Palace , broke the Masonic ice in Middlesex by

establishing the Lodge of Harmony , now No . 255 , at Hampton Court , where it continued until removed to Richmond in iti 2 S . This

lodge has ever held the highest character in the Craft , and apart from the mere social standing of its members , it can point to such names on its roll as the lie v . S . Hemming ,

D . D ., renowned in connection with the Masonic Union of 1813 ; the talented Henry O'Brien , author ofthe " Round Towersof

Ireland ; " and the brave General , Sir Joseph Thackwell , of Indian warlike fame . Most appropriately , the first Provincial Grand Master of Middlesex has been selected from

the members of this lodge , in the person of Col . Francis Burdett . The next assemblage of " brethren met to expatiate on the mysteries of the Craft , " was held at Uxbridge

in 1796 ; this lodge had previously existed in London for many years , and was called "St . James . " The lodge flourished for a brief period , yet during that time man )* of the

leading gentry in the neighbourhood became members , and from its proximity to Hounslow—then a greater military station than it

is now—many men of the . sword likewise joined the Order , and doubtless afterwards assisted in disseminating its principles in

A New Masonc Province.

other spheres of action . There was one remarkable feature about this Uxbridge lodge which deserves to be borne in remeraberance—the brethren actually held a lodge

of instruction regularly at the Green Dragon , then a noted hostelry on the outskirts of the town , and which still exists , though

shorn to some extentofitspristinelustre , like the ancient Crown Tavern in the same town , where the famous abortive treaty between Charles I . and his victorious Parliament

was ncgociated . Lodges of Instruction in 17 S 0 or 1 790 ! what a suggestive subject for contemplation . Did the Preceptor smoke a long clay pipe , and evolve from

spiral wreaths of mist his ideas of Masonic precepts , and his interpretations of Masonic duty ? Did he indulge in potations long and deep , interspersing the edifying

performance with profound allusions to the wisdom of King Solomon , or the might of King Hiram ? or did he eschew all these things , and go in for Freemasonry pure and "

undiluted " ? Haply , these queries cannot now be resolved ; the impenetrable silence ofthe grave covers the past , but we are inclined to believe that some of the objectionable

practices of the present day in English Lodges of Instruction are derived from that not very remote era when roysterers ruled the roast in every grade of society , and

when even prelates were more renowned for the exquisite flavour of their port and claret , than for the soundness or orthodoxy of their divinity . This , however , is not a

characteristic of the nineteenth century , and we may congratulate ourselves upon the fact , although , as above intimated , there is still room for improvement in the conduct

of our Masonic seminaries . From the Green Dragon at Uxbridge , where "St . James " was held in veneration , tothe King ' s Arms Inn at the same place , wc must now

journey in pursuit of Middlesex Masonry . " St . James" retired in favour ofthe " Royal Union , " so named in honour of the late princely dukes of Kent and Sussex , under

whose auspices the two Grand Lodges of England were happily united . The "Royal Union , No . 382 " is now the oldest lodge in the Metropolitan province , and with the

exception of the " Salisbury " Lodge , No . 434 , first formed at Waltham Cross , and soon afterwards removed to Enfield , " 3 S 2 " enjoyed the distinction of being the

only lodge in Middlesex for a dozen years . Nine years ago , when the brethren first agitated the question of the establishment of a Grand Lodge for the province , there

were but three lodges , and the Grand Master very naturally doubted the propriety of granting their request . Since then , six new lodges have been added , and under

peculiarly auspicious auguries the Provincial Grand Lodge of Middlesex was inaugurated on Saturday last by a Mason no less distinguished than Bro . John Hervey , Grand

Secretary ofthe Grand Lodge of England , who , upon this occasion , as upon many previous ones , evinced his thorough mastery of every point which can render Masonic ceremonies effective and sublime . The asscm-