History Of Freemasonry In Cornwall.

HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY IN CORNWALL .

LONDON , SATURDAY , MARCS 9 , 1867 .

By ?_< Bro . "WILLIAM JAJIES HUSHA : * -, 18 ° , & c ( Continued from page 163 . ) We "find that the limits of this historical sketch of the Craft in Cornwall are considerably extending ' beyond our anticipations and first intentions ,

so we must endeavour to curtail wherever possible , as the minute books of other lodges are placed at our disposal , containing , no doubt , much interesting information , and requiring much of our time in examining and arranging such accounts as we

hope will prove suitable for these pages . There are still two volumes of the records of the Falmouth Lodge , as yet untouched , so we will hasten on our work . It was proposed on the 5 th August , 1 S 06 , that

the initiation fee be raised to five guineas , and the joining fee to two guineas , and unanimously agreed to . It was also proposed " that no wine or lemonade shall be brought into the lodge . " One of the members liavinor become "involved

financially / ' the E . W . M . suggested that " such brethren who were inclined should lend him a £ 1 note each , but that proposition not being favourably entertained , it was ultimately agreed that the lodge make the brother a present of £ 5 . " A

lodo-e of emergency was held 19 th September , 1807 , Bro . Eobert Snell , E . W . M ., in the chair . Mr . James Renshaw and Mr . John Byng Nicholson ( first and second lieutenant of the United States ' schooner Revenge ) , were considered proper persons

to be initiated into the mysteries of Masonry , and on an approved ballot , they were made Entered Apprentices , and passed Fellow Crafts the same evening . It was proposed and unanimously resolved that , " Any member of the lodge

proposing a person to be made a Mason , should not only deposit a guinea when proposed , but also be answerable ( if he should be accepted ) for the initiation fee . " Rather hard lines , and certainly not very favourable for members proposing candidates .

A singular proposition was made at the regular meeting held 1 st March , 1808 . The Secretary proposed , and the I . P . M . seconded , that the R . W . M . should be provided with a black surplice . " The R . W . M . requested that the subject may be deferred until next lodge night , but no further record is made of the transaction , so that

likely enough the Grand Secretary or the P . G . M . had forbidden it . One is reminded of a somewhat similar proposition which was favourably received , at first by Grand Lodge , but ultimately disapproved of , viz ., " That the Grand Master and his officers

should be distinguished in future at all public meetings hy robes , to he provided at their own expense ; and that Past Grand officers should have the privilege of being distinguished in a similar manner . " ( Grand Lodge of England , 8 th April ,

1778 ) . A letter was read from Francis Freeling , Esq ., at the lodge , 22 nd June , 180 S , respecting the situation of the prisoners in France , and it was " unanimously agreed by every brother present that the sum of five guineas should be remitted to the Secretary for their relief , and the same sum to the children of the United Kine-dom also . "

A committee for the revision of the by-laws was formed 17 th February , 1809 , and a report was made as to their amendments and alterations , April 4 th , when the lodge finally adopted eighteen laws . They were subsequently printed and a

copy of that edition now lies before us . It is the earliest preserved by the members , and certainly well arranged and carefully compiled . It will be remembered that the first set of by-laws were issued June , 1751 , and that they were given in

their entirety in No . 378 of the FREEMASONS 3 MAGAZINE AND MASONIC MIEEOE , to which the reader is referred . There is nothing in the edition of 1809 requiring reproduction in these pages , as in general it is of a similar character to those

issued in 1751 . The Secretary correctly styles ISTo . 87 to be the " mother lodge of the county . " A lodge of emergency was duly opened June 2 nd ,, 1809 , when Mr . Jacob Beil , a native of Hamburgh , was proposed by the R . W . M ., for the benefit of

initiation , and being duly seconded , was unanimously accepted . In consequence of his daily expecting to sail , he was ( at the same lodge ) made an Entered Apprentice , passed Fellow Craft , and raised to the sublime degree of a Master Mason , after which the R . W . M . delivered to him a most

admirable charge . A Past Warden ' s jewel was ordered for the use of the lodge , and the list of members at the half-yearly meeting numbered over fifty , which was a respectable numerical position for the lodge . A committee was appointed

at the next lodge to make a selection of new Masonic songs , and their duty was soon completed , as their report was presented at the following meeting .