Multum In Parbo, Or Masonic Notes And Queries.

Multum in Parbo , or Masonic Notes and Queries .

—*—From what history does C . I . Paton ( p . 175 ) quote that the office "Grand Master Mason of Scotland" was granted by James the Second of Scotland to William , Earl of Orkney (?) and

Caithness , & c . ? I read that James III . married Margaret , daughter of the King of Denmark , in July , 1470 , and received for her dowry the Islands of Orkney , Shetland , and all others about Scotland belonging to him . Question , then , was he Earl of Orkney and Caithness in James II . time ? W . G . DORIC .

QUERIST AND FINDEL ' S WORKS . The " History of Freemasonry , " by Bro . J . G . Findel , 2 nd edition , can be had of Messrs . Asher and Co ., Bedford-street , Covent-garden ,

London , the publishers , or may be ordered through all booksellers . The price is 10 s . 6 d ., and all Masonic students should carefully penise so valuable and interesting a work . W . J . HUGHAN .

W . G . D . AND ROSICRUCIANISM . If Bro . AV . G . D . will turn to my short letter , respecting which he now solicits more information , he will find that my remarks had simply reference to the " Rosicrucian Society of

England , " and not in any general sense . The old Rosicrucians did not , of course , choose their members from the Masonic body any more than from other organisations . There exists a branch

now of the " Rosicrucians " ( of what antiquity I do not know ) , which selects its members without reference to Freemasonry . I hope ere long to refer more particularly and fully to the ancient Order . AV . J . HUGHAN .

GR ' AND MASTERS PRIOR T 01717 ( p . p . 187 and 199 ) . Nothing like telling a good big story when one is at it , therefore , instead of fifty-one , say England can boast of one thousand and fifty-one

Grand Masters prior to A . D . 1717 , including Pythagoras . The names of Grand Masters sent up by Bro . " H . " as having existed in Ireland before 1717 are purely imaginary . To fill up the list he

might as well give us the names of every nobleman who happened to build a castle . Even his Colonel O'Brien in . 1726 I doubt . Lord Kingston , in 1730 , if I am not mistaken being the first Irish Grand Master . LEO .

MASONIC MARKS ON ANCIENT BUILDINGS ( page 187 ) . AAHiat proof is there that " Freemasons" or Masons from the twelfth to the sixteenth centuries were anything else than " bands of

operatives , " or simply common craftsmen , just as the carpenters , & c . ? They might be presided over by learned Bishops and Priests , but as for the Masons themselves , they had no means of

getting , nor am I aware that they possessed any more knowledge than an Operative Mason ( who is not a speculative free-mason ) of the present day may acquire by attention to his business . LEO .

GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE AND THE FREEMASONS . To whom are we indebted for the rise and progress of Gothic Architecture during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries ? Not , I believe , to the Operative Masons , or

any Freemasons (?) real or supposed of the period , but to the clergy of the Roman Catholic Church . Further , said clergy were not Speculative Masons in any such sense as we understand and use the term . AA . P . BUCIIAN .

THE 1717 THEORY ( p . p . l 88 ailCl 199 . ) Bro . Chalmers I . Paton is backing out of his remarks , and at page 199 we see him striving to

throw up a little dust to cover his retreat . No use attempting to deny having used the words , " present method , " for at page no , forty-first line from top , they occur ; in an " article " too ,

Multum In Parbo, Or Masonic Notes And Queries.

not in an after-dinner speech . And although we both admit there were , " Operative Freemasons long before A . D . 1717 , " what of that ? The question is , did these old operative societies know , or practise our Speculative Freemasonry ?

To which I answer no ; for said system was not in existence before last century . Bro . Paton now admits this , so far , by virtually resigning his hold of the M . M . degree ; he , however , is only out of the fire into the frying-pan , for the states , " I am

satisfied , however , that Freemasonry , ' somewhat similar' ( where did lie get this ' somewhat similar ' ?) to the first and second degrees , has been in Scotland for hundreds of . years . " Now , I deny this also , and defy him to prove it : our " first

and second degrees are part of the system manufactured about A . D . 1717 , and said "first and second degrees , " with their accompanying ceremonies , rituals and secrets , were not , so far as I am aware , in existence or practised before 1717 ,

and I defy proof . Further , while there were apprentices and fellows in existence before last century , I am not aware of said "fellows" having

any secrets which were unknown to the apprentices , although I admit that fellows might have extra privileges . Lastly , the institution of Speculative Masonry in 1717 was not a " revival . "

Speaking of lodges said to have existed before 1717 , Bro . "Edinburgh" says , "I am a member of one of them , and their working is different to all lodges that I have visited . " AVell , what of that ? said " working " may be less than a

hundred years old , for all we know to the contrary . And I boldly assert , that if " the main points " are the same as those in general use , then those " main points " were quite unknown to any Scottish Lodge before 1717 . AA e are not to be

misled by any Scottish " soft sawder , " for it will take more than I have yet seen to prove the 1717 theory " a mistake . " AVhat proof is there that so far as

non-operatives were concerned , Freemasonry in London before A . D . 1717 was anything more than a convivial club , with customs merely similar to the other convivial clubs of the same era ? As yet , I know of nothing to prove it to have been otherwise .

AVhat proof is there that our system of Speculative Freemasonry with its three degrees and accompanying ceremonies , which was first

anathematised by Pope Clement XII . in 173 8 , was in existence before 1717 . I know of none . What proof is there that our Master Mason degree was in existence before 1717 ? I know of none . AV . P . B .

" AFFILIATION AND " 11 R 0 . HUGHAN . " Bro . Hughan ' s remarks on affiliation I agree with , but in order that no brother should gain admittance into a lodge unless he deserves it ,

would it not be a good plan for the Grand Lodge , of whatever jurisdiction lie belongs to , to recall his diploma , and write on the back of it the exact nature of the offence he had been

guilty of , and the sentence of punishment ; at the same time being careful to write a true copy of the charge preferred against him on the diploma . This would enable all lodges which he might visit to know the exact truth .

However , there are often unjust suspensions and expulsions which no strange lodge under another jurisdiction would confirm . I shall quote two as examples : —A member of a lodge in which there had been no statement of cash accounts

given to the members for some years , stood up in the midst of the brethren , at a regular meeting of the lodge , and proposed thata printed statement should be made up , showing the amount of expenditure in the various ways , and also the

amount of income . 'Tlie Master of the lodge at once , on the very moment , proposed that this brother should be suspended , another seconded the motion , and this was agreed to by the brethren present . The brother suspended not

understanding Masonic formula in tlie way of appealing , lias had to undergo this for nearly two years . Again , a brother who

would not pay a sum of eight shillings for expenses incurred by the lodge to which lie gave no sanction , was expelled from the Order . From these facts it shows that often unjust sentences

Multum In Parbo, Or Masonic Notes And Queries.

are come to by lodges ; but if a proper method was adopted of interchange with each Grand Lodge of the various nations of sending a copy of all the pleadings and proofs on each side in

cases of suspension or expulsion , each Grand Lodge could then arrive at whether they would confirm the judgment of the other or not . CHALMERS I . PATON .

AVill Bro . Hughan enlighten a young member of the Craft on the points mentioned in his letter ontheabove subject , in last week ' s number ofTHE

FREEMASON , viz ., does thefactof a brother ceasing to become a subscribing member to any lodge through sudden poverty , incapacitate him from any more enjoying the benefits of visiting a lodge , and thereby of receiving relief , should his necessities require it , from his former lodge ,

notwithstanding that he may have been a subscribing member for many years ; the wording of the letter certainly infers that there is such a rule , but if so , it seems a decidedly very harsh and unjust one . A . M . No . 292 .

MODERN CASSANDRAS . Sir AA'illiam AVilliams , of Tregullow , whose death has been recently announced , was the son of a gentleman who is said to have enjoyed the gift of second sight in a very remarkable degree .

Shortly before the assassination of Mr . Percival in 1812 , Mr . AVilliams saw the tragedy enacted before his eyes in a dream , and narrated it to his family forty-eight hours before the intelligence of the event reached his residence .

ANOTHER DISCOVERY IN PALESTINE . An important discovery is said , by the North German Correspondent , to have been made at Jerusalem . It is an old stone bearing the figure of a god sitting on a throne with priests

on both sides , and a Hunyaritish inscription two lines in length , which had been brought from Yeman , and was offered for sale . Dr . Oscar Meyer , the Chancellor of the North German

Confederate Consulate , succeeded in obtaining an impression which is at present in the hands of the Confederate Consul , Dr . Blau , who is residing for a time at Berlin . The inscription is said to contain the name of Athtar ( Astarte . )

Rosicrucian Society Of England.

ROSICRUCIAN SOCIETY of ENGLAND .

The annual banquet of this society was held at Freemasons' Tavern , Great Queen-street , on Thursday , the 14 th inst ., under the presidency of IN . Frater Colonel Burdett , Hon . Vice-President , who was supported by the Master Gen . Frater AV . H . Hubbard ; Frater R . AVentworth Little , P . M . G . ;

J . Brett , D . M . G . ; Dr . AV . R . AVoodman , S . G .. ; Dr . C . II . R . Harrison , AV . F . N . Quilty , H . C . Levander , M . A ., J . AA ' eavcr , Ancients ; AA . Carpenter , Precentor ; Rev . AV . 13 . Church , M . A ., C . of N . ; Angelo J . Lewis , M . A ., T . B . ; G . Kenning , Medallist ; D . R . Hill , Assist . Sec . ; G . Butler , M . Edwards , ancl T . Cubitt , amongst others .

A very pleasant evening was spent by the r ratres , and capital addresses on the objects of the society were delivered by Fratres Hubbard , Harrison . AVoodman , and Carpenter . There are now some vacancies in the ranks of the fraternity , the names of several non-paying members having been erased from thc roll .

AVE arc informed that the subscriptions to the Zetland Commemoration Fund amount to , £ 2 , 700 , exclusive of a very large sum collected in the Australian Colonics , ancl which is permitted to be devoted to a colonial commemoration of tiie illustrious Earl . A silver inkstand of an unique

design is thc only souvenir which Lord Zetland will personally accept from the brethren over whom he has so long ancl so ably presided . This will be presented with an address on vellum . ROVAL ALBERT LOOGE , No . 907 . — AVe should have been pleased to have inserted the report of

this lodge , but the copy sent us was quite illegible . In future wc will not insert press copies . Thc New Vadc Mccum ( invented and manufactured by Charles II . Vincent , optician , of 23 , Windsorstreet , Liverpool ) consists of a telescope well adapted for

tourists , & c , to which is added an excellent microscope of great power and first-class definition , quite equal to others sold at ten times the price . Wonderful as it may seem , the price of this ingenious combination is only 3 s . 6 d ., and Mr . Vincent sends it ( carriage free ) anywhere , with printed directions , upon receipt of post-oflicc order or stamps t » the amount of 38 , iod , — [ Advt . ]