Common Origin Of Freemasons And Gipsies.

COMMON ORIGIN OF FREEMASONS AND GIPSIES .

TO THE EDITOR OF THE PREE _ IASO _ . S' _ JAGAZI _ . E A-. D MASONIC MIRROR . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —In your last impression I see nearly two columns of your truly valuable space devoted to a reprint from the notes of Dr . Dalcho , appended to the second edition of his Ahiman Meson , 1822 , in which Freemasons and Gipsies are

classed together . It would have been better had the writer acknowledged the source of his information , instead of leading your readers to suppose that he had searched the works of the different authors quoted by him . In all probability the " Note" in the FREEMASONS' MAGAZINE was copied bodily from a

work entitled " The Mysteries of Freemasonry , " by John Fellowes , A . M ., a Holywell-streefc publication , which I remember to have seen some . years since , and which , if I remember right , touches upon this point amidst a mass of other rubbish couuected with profitless speculations upon the origin of our fraternity . I have been very much struck with the great value

of your columns of " Masonic Notes and Queries , " and am surprised that more use is not made of them , as the means of bringing the antiquities aud curiosities of the Craft before the notice of the younger brethren . With this view I have ventured to transmit you a copy of a paper [ this paper , entitled " The

Secret of the Order of Freemasons , & c , " will be found underthehead of " Notes and Queries" ] which appeared in the Gentleman ' s Magazine , 173 S . I do uot kuow whether or not it took a place in the " Masonic Antiquities" which you published in the FREEMASONS ' MAGAZINE some time agobut I am sure thatif it

, , has not already appeared , you will find it quite as great a curiosity as Richards' "Dissector . " The early volumes of the Gentleman ' s Magazine are becoming every year more rare , aud I do uot think that the paper in question has been reprinted , unless in your columns . I enclose my card , and

am—Yours fraternally , A . W . Derby , Sept . 7 , 1864

The Grand Lodge Of England And Canada.

THE GRAND LODGE OF ENGLAND AND CANADA .

TO THE EDITOR OE THE FREEMASONS' MAGAZINE AND MASONIC MIRROR . SIR , —Cau you or any of your readers inform ' me what were the differences between our Grand Lodge and the Grand Lodge of Canada , ivhich appear to have been so hard to reconcile , although now happily accomplished ? Why are there are auy lodges in Canada still hailing under our Grand Lodgeand

, are there still any Provincial Grand Masters and a Provincial . Grand Lodge in that province ? Surely a divided Masonic jurisdiction is not desirable . Yours , & c , MASONICUS .

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_ ; 3 said th at negotiations are already in progress between th ^ rectors of the Crystal Palace Company and the committee of the Sacred Harmonic Society for holding another great Triennial Handel Festival in the summer of 1865 . Several important improvements and modifications of the arrangements are in contemplation which are likely to result in still further extending tbe ¦ prestige and influence of these great musical gatherings .

The Masonic Mirror.

THE MASONIC MIRROR .

GRAND LODGE . QCARTEEEY Co _ ltJITCvICAIIO _ s . The quarterly communication was held on Wednesday last , Bro . Bagsluw , Prov . G . M ., of Essex as G . M . ; Bro . Dundas , P . G . W . as D . G . M ; Bro . Col . Brownrigg , P . G . W . as S . G . W . ; Bro . Havers , P . G . W . as J . G . W . ; Bros , the Revs . A . P . A .

Woodford and J . Huyshe , G . Chaps . ; Bro . Mclntyre , G . Reg . ; Bro . Evans , President of the Board of General Purposes ; Bro . Clarke , G . Sec . ; Bros . Stebbing and Plueknett , S . G . D . 's ; Bro . Mausdsley , J . G . D . ; Bro . Wood , G . Dir . of Cers . ; Bro . Fenn , Assist . G . Dir . of Cers . ; Bro . Young , G . S . B . ; Bro . Farnfield , Assist . G . Sec ; Bros . Dickie aud Emmens , G . Pursts . There

were also present : —Bros , the Rev . Sir J . W . Hayes , P . G . Chap . ; Bros . Udall , S . B . Wilson , Hopv .-ood , Gregory , Scott , Creaton ,. Head , Hervey , and Phillips , P . G . S . B . 's ; Bros . Empson , and Nutfc , P . G . Dir . of Cers . ; Bros . Bridges and Patten , P . G . S . B . 's ; Bros . Smith and Adams , P . G . Pursts . ; and various other brethren , the Masters , Past Masters , and Wardens of different lodges .

The Grand Lodge having been opened in ample form and with solemn prayer , The G . SECUETAIIY . announced that he liad received a communication from the Grand Master , stating his inability to attend in consequence of illness in his family . The G . SECRETARY then read thc minutes of the quarterly

communication of the last of June . On the question being put that the minutes be confirmed , Bro . J . GEOKGE , W . M . 780 , said , before the motion was put , he should move an amendment that so much of the minutes as related to the report of the committee on the new buildings be not confirmed . He wished to have the opinion of Grand Lodge as to the powers that were delegated to the Building

Committee ; and if they passed this motion , the Grand Lodge would have lost all power over any arrangements that were made . He thought , at any rate , that the Grand Lodge ought to know whether the coinmittee had made the most advantageous terms , and to know what those terms were before the minutes were confirmed . The Building Committee had left Grand Lodge in total ignorance as to what they were about to

do , and the members of it made no sign . He should like toknow from the members of the Building Committee what measures they had taken to select a proper person to be their tenant . Tlie chairman of that committee ( Bro . Havers ) bad said at the last meeting of Grand Lodge , tbat all things

being equal in any offer that was made , that the old tenants ought to have tlie preference , but he should like to know if any - other persons had been consulted as to the leasing of the building besides the present tenants ; for if they had not , then ifc showed that the Building Committee had come to a foregone conclusion in their favour . He wanted to know upon what

terms tlie building was to be leased , but be bad heard and lie believed it was tolerably well understood that a premium of £ 5 , 000 was to be given for the lease . He wanted to know inwhat way the committee had arrived at the conclusion that £ 5 , 000 was the proper sum to be given for the lease of their buildings , after the large sums of money that the Craft would

spend upon them . Therefore , lie repeated lie wanted to know how the committee had arrived at it that £ 5 , 000 was the proper sum to be given for the lease . He came next to another point , which was whether they were going to place their x'roperty in the bands of a joint-stock company , who promised large dividends ; hut be had heard of dividends being paid out of capital . But he wished to ask the committee whether they