Original Correspondence.

Original Correspondence .

' [ We do not hold ourselves responsible for , or even as approving of iheopinions expressed by our correspondents , but we -wish , ' . a spirit of fair play to all , to permit—within certain necessary limits—free discussion . —ED . 1

MASONIC DECORATIONS . ' To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — I have been somewhat surprised , and at the same time amused , at a resolution which , from a report in the Freemason of the 23 rd of December , appears to have been passed at a meeting of the Carnarvon Lodge , No . 1642 ,

by which it was determined , on the part of the lodge , to beg the Pro Grand Master ( the Earl of Carnarvon ) to grant a dispensation for a jewel to be struck to commemorate the consecration of Lodge 1641 , to be worn by the founders . No * -. * - * 1 , Sir , as an old member and Past Master of a lodge , I am entirely at a loss to understand upon what ground this extraordinary application is based , as I am

not aware that the ushering into existence of Lodge 1642 was anything of more importance to the Order than any similar event which has taken place for the last 50 years , or that there is any peculiar benefit likely to accrue from the name of " Carnarvon " that it has assumed . My Masonic experience has led me to believe that all promotion shall be thc reward of merit , and those only shall

wear our complimentary jewels who have done good suit and service in our lodges , and have really earned the honours they enjoy ; but what suit and service have the " founders " of the Carnarvon Lodge ( an institution only a few months old ) ever performed to entitle them to have a jewel specially struck and worn by them to perpetuate the knowledge of that important event ? It is common

in all lodges to reward the W . M . with a complimentary jewel on his retirement , but then generally he has worked for it step by step , filling the different offices from I . G . to W . M . ; but with respect to the Carnarvon Lodge , no such merit attaches to the " founders , " for they have leaped into office without any trouble at all . If the mere fact of calling a lodge alter some high officer cf the Order is to bc the groundwork of a claim to have a jewel specially

struck to decorate the "founders , " we shall soon have them ad nauseam , and it is to be hoped that the Earl of Carnarvon has ton sound a knowledge of his duties as Pro Grand Master to yield to such an absurd request . I am , deal Sir and Brother , yours fraternally , AN OLD P . M . P . S . —If there is to bc a Carnarvon dispensation , of course Lodges 70 S , S 04 , 1572 , and O 06 will each put in a prior claim .

BRO ; BURGESS AND THE MARK GRAND LODGE . To the Editor if Ihe " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — The continued injustice of Mark Grand Lodge authorities induces me again to ask your permission to call public attention to my case . It will be remembered that at thc dictation of " the

Order of thc Temple , " ( a society which repudiated its Masonic title ) the Mark Grand Lodge ( a Masonic boely ) eighteen months ago expelled me from the Mark Degree , and that this was done without previously summoning me to appear before the Mark Grand Lodge to answer any charge , and therefore in direct defiance of the Constitutions , which are supposed to be a safeguard against oppression

and injustice ; and that to this day I have failed in my endeavours to obtain from the Mark authorities any statement of the nature of the Masonic offence which by expelling mc they induce people to suppose that I have committed . On thc 6 th June last the General Board reported to the Mark Grand Lodge lhat they were quite unable to do

anything further in my case in consequence of my having , as they allege , used strong language . I do not think that any terms can bc too strong to apply to their conduct . If their report made on the fith June last is correct , how is it that they summoned me on thc 5 th June to attend on thc 6 th before Mark Grand Lodge , "to show cause why sentence of expulsion should not be recorded and enforced

against me r" They could not evade the home-truth of my reply , dated the 5 U 1 June , that , having been already expelled a year before , and the expulsion having been recorded and enforced by its publication by their agent , " a Mark Master , " it was a little late to ask me a year afterwards to show cause why I should not be expelled , and that it was clearly for them in common honesty to shou : me

cause why they have violated the Constitutions , and expelled mc . So they carefully omitted all mention to Grand Lodge of their summons and my answer . There can bc no doubt about the strength of my argument , in whatever language it may be couched . Nor can there be any doubt that their report was a deliberate misrepresentation .

On the 4 th of December , 1876 , finding that Mark Grand Lodge was to meet on the 6 th , I again aeldrcsscd the Mark Grand Secretary , pointing out to him that misrepresentation had been made by the General Board to Mark Grand Lodge on 6 lh June last ; and asking if any members who may have availed themselves of the published permission to peruse thc correspondence would be

so good as to inform me from it what Masonic offence committed justifying my expulsion by Lord Lime rick and Ihe Rev . Mr . P 01 t . 1 l in June , 1 S 75 , nnd why I had not been duly summoned to answer before Mark Grand Lodge a charge by my enemies of such offence , instead of being condemned and stntcned without trial ; and stating

that thc real cause of the expulsion was personal spite on the pa it of certain " Knights , " whose repudiation of the title Masonic I had as a Mason , and as an enemy to impnstuic , objected to . 1 also said lhat I should be happy to show , to any gentleman who might apply to mc , thc reasons of my withdrawal on the 8 th August , 1874 , from

Original Correspondence.

membership of the Masonic Order of the Temple . Why does Bro . Binckes suppress all this from Mark Grand Lodge under the pretence that it is merely " an attack upon brethren of distinguished position ? " It is clear that the authorities of the Mark Degree do not wish the truth to come out . It is also , I think , a novelty in Masonic morality to accuse a man of attacking "brethren of

distinguished position " because he wishes to defend his own character from their malicious aspersions . Again , in as public a manner as possible , I ask Lord Limerick and the Rev . Mr . Portal , what Masonic offence am I alleged to have committed against the Mark Constitutions ? and why did they expel me , or procure my expulsion , without first summoning me before Grand Lodge

and giving me an opportunity of facing them ? Were they afraid to face me ? I have told the Rev . Mr . Portal plainly that the truth shall comeout . no matter how much he and Lord Limerick try to suppress it . I have stated , and I again state , that the Mark Constitutions have been ridden over rough-shod by the rulers of that Degree , and all the arguments in the world cannot disprove this statement

of fact . It is no discredit to have been expelled on account of the personal dislike of " brethren of distinguished position " to a man who forms his own opinion without consulting them and their personal likes and dislikes ; but as a Mason I cannot help feeling that great discredit is thrown upon Freemasonry by the fact that personal animosity , and

not right , or truth , or justice , is now the guiding mle of a Masonic body . Faithfully yours , CHAS . J . BURGESS . P . S . —Since writing the above , I have heard that the cause for supporting which as a Mason I have been persecuted by " distinguished" Mark Masons has been

gained . The anti-Masonic Masons arc defeated . The prefix " Masonic" is at last recognised as the proper title of the would-be " Knights of the Order of the Temple . " The travestie of justice called the "Tripartite Treaty" is at an end . An " Encampment " is to be called an " Encampment . " Perhaps some day a " spade " will actually

bc called a " spade " in the Masomc Order of thc 1 ernple . It is now a matter of indifference to me whether the "brethren of distinguished position" ( who have been beaten ) continue their persecution . Right has won thc day against them , and I am well satisfied with having suffered for the cause of right .

IRISH U . K . TEMPLARY . To thc Editor if the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — It is with extreme pleasure and instruction I have perused Sir Knt . Col . W . B . McLeod Moore ' s address in this month ' s Masonic Magazine . At page 345 he states , " It appears to me lhat the 01 igin and progress of

Templary in Ireland has never bcenf ully looked into . " Annexed I send you a copy of a printed circular issued on 30 th January , 1806 , which , gives shoitly the information required . Thc warrant referred to is daleel 27 th October , 1779 , and is at present in thc custody of the Irish Chancellor , From the original lodge minute book ( in my possession )

it appears that the first time the ILK . Templar Degree was conferred was on ist May , 17 80 . The only known copy of the Book of Constitutions of the early Grand Knight Templars' Encampment is in possession of Bro . Commander Charles Scclt , R . N ., J . P ., Strathroy , Omagh . " The Most Excellent Sublime Commander Bro . John Fowler" referred to was a member of the First Volunteer Lodge of Ireland , No . 620 , having

joined that lodge on thc 27 U 1 February , X 792 , and continued a subscribing member of it until his death , on the 25 th day of January , 1856 . He was D . G . Master of Ireland from 1814 to 1825 , and on his ceasing to bc D . G . M . was appointed D . G . Sec , which office he held until shortly before his death . Yours fraternally , J AMES H . NEILSON . 5 , Upper Mount-street , Dublin , 22 nd Dec , 18 7 6

" At a meeting of the Grand Kilwinning Chapter of High Knights Templars of Ireland , thc Most Excellent Sublime Commander , Bro . John Fowler , on the throne , the following address was unanimously agreed to , and ordered to be printed and transmitted to all the Masonic lodges in Ireland : — " Brother , —The Grand Kilwinning Chapter of High

Knights Templars have seen a printed paper issued by the Grand Lodge of Ireland , containing sundry statements of accounts and resolutions , with which wc interfere not ; but we cannot avoid expressing our surprise and astonishment at some observations used in allusion to the degree on which we meet , wherein it is assertcel , that Knights Templars' Encampments were hitherto held in this

kingdom without any ' authority to appeal to in matters of regulation , or power to redress in cases of complaint and grievance ; ' and again , lhat the Grand Knights Templars Encampment shall bc invested with as full power and authority over Encampments of Kni ghts Templars and Masons of that degiee as is exercised by the Grand Lodge of Ireland over the warranted blue

lodges , & c " Wc are the more astonished at these assertions and resolutions , coming from the quarter from which they emanate , when we reflect that , almost to a man , every one of the persons concerned in said publication were raised to thc Degree of High Knight Templar in our

Encampment , and under our warrant , granted by and holden from the Royal Mother Lodge of Kilwinning of Scotland , the true source from which any legal authority could be obtained , as every one the least conversant in thc Masonic history of these kingdoms and Knights Templars' Masonry must know . This warrant is signed by the Earl of Eglintown , the then Grand Master , and the rest of the

Original Correspondence.

Grand Officers * , in the year 1779 , and was always acknowledged and acted under by the said persons since their admission until June last , when disappointment in the events of the annual election * of officers determined a few of those brethren to send in their resignation , and on the very next meeting of the Grand Lod ge the very seceders from our chapter send in a petition to the Grand Lodge to

take under their superintendence the whole Order throughout Ireland , without any other authority than what they themselves might assume , which petition was referred to a committee consisting for the most part of the petitioners themselves ! " Wc state facts . We enter into no controversywe attribute no motives—we issue not our mandates with

domineering authority ; but , in the true spirit of brotherly affection we endeavour to guard against error , to promulgate truth , and thereby to open the eyes and enlighten the understanding , feeling ourselves imperiously calleel upon to support our unalienable , rights , and the dignity of our sublime Grand Chapter . "We agree with the writers of said paper , that the

poison of misrepresentation works most at a distance , to prevent which , therefore , we trouble our country brethren with this statement . In thc metropolis , where we are known , and our conduct as a chapter can be best appreciated , we arc respected , as is best proved when , with every exertion used by the disappointed , not a dozen could be drawn off , out of between seventy and eighty members

registered on our books . " Our Grand Chapter is held by virtue of the full powers granted us by the Royal Mother Lodge of Kilwinning , as expressed in thc body of our warrant , under which authority warrants have been issued by us , and acted upon in various parts of thc kingdom . And as a proof that the superintending and controuling power has been always

exercised by us , we must bring to the recollection of certain of these seceding brethren a dispute in the adjustment of which they themselves assisted ( thank God , the only one hitherto ) between two Knights Templars , and to the adjudication of which thc brothers concerned paid implicit obedience . " We deprecate , as much as men can do , anonymous or

violent publications ; they are unbecoming honest men , much more good brethren , but we cannot compromise our dignity , or succumb to assertion , which we trust we have proved * to be unfounded . But for these reasons we would be silent , as we have been for a series of years past ( our conduct thc best comment on our actions ) , nor would we now obtrude ourselves on our brethren but that the

interests of our Order are struck at by sidewind insinuations , generally worse than open attack . We , therefore , conceive it a duty , not to be overlooked , to transmit to our successors and to posterity unimpaired , those rights , immunities , and powers , which have been from undoubted and authentic sources entrusted to our care . " We want not to make proselytes , we interfere not with

any brother's opinion , we leave to their own good sense the examination and consideration of these facts , always happy in the friendly intercourse of our brethren , and ever ready to confer on those who prove themselves worthy a pa-. ticipation ot those rirrhts we are empowered by proper authority to grant , to enable them to obtain admission into all regular Knights Templars Chapters and Encampments ,

wheresoever situate ; the uniform ily of whose proceeelings and exact correspondence with the fundamentals of our Grand Kilwinning Chapter are best exemplified by the facility with which our certificates are received , not only in Europe and the East and West Indie ? , bul 011 the continent of America , where precision and particularity with respect to thc true principles ^! the Order are carried to thc highest degree of perfection .

"Signed by order , "A . NIOENT , " Secretary and Register . "Applications for warrants and all other communications respecting thc Order arc to be addressed to the Secretary and Register , 49 , Mecklciiburgh-strect . * " 'Ihe documents to support this statcmei t are in thc archives of the chapter , ready for the inspection of such Knights Templars as choose to examine them . " " Kine , printer , No . 2 , We-stmorelanel-sirc-cl . "

MA . S 0 N 1 C QUERIES . To the Editor of Ihe " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — I shall feel greatly obliged to any brother who will answer the following questions : — 1 . Why is no provision made in the Constitutions for filling the vacant chair , when any officer , from S . W ,

downwards , dies , &* c , during his year of office ? 2 . What is the usual practice in the oldest lodges under such circumstances ? 3 . " The Tyler may be removed at any time by a majority , & c' * ' Can a successor bc appointed in the same way ?

4 . Thc W . M . is entitled to three Taus on his apron , ls it ignorance or design that constantly attaches ( hem upside down , so as to look like three Levels ? 5 . What is thc origin and date of the Ritual employed in opening a Board of Installed Masters ? W . M . C . N .

CARTHAGE . To Ihe Editor of Ihe " Tunes . " Sir , —Your correspondents in their letters published on the 7 th and 14 th iiift . cn the subject of Carthage appear to have fallen into the rhiitake of confusing the Roman wilh the Phoenician colony , Nova Carthago wilh the city

of Dido and Hannibal . It seems probable lhat the sites were not identical . Appian , I believe , slates that the Romans look care to avoid ihe ancient site ; and even without his testimony wc mig ht have supposed it to be so . Thc curse of Scipio , and the failure of thc colony under C . Gracchus ( a failure attributed to the effects of that