Mother Kilwinning.

" Item . That all prenteissis to be admitted , be not admitted quhill [ thai ] first pay to the commoun bankat foirsaid , the souwrae of sex poundis more ; wtherwyes to pay to the bankat for the haill [ memberis ] of Craft within the said luge ancl preriteissis ' -hairof . "Item . It is ordanit that the warden and deacons of the secund luge of Scotland , present of Kilwynning , sail tak the tefidelitie and trewthe of all maisteris ancl fallowis of Craft

ay , within the haill bounclis connnittit to thair charge , zeirlie , that thai sail not aceumpanie with cowans , nor work with thame , nor any of their servandis or prenteisis ; windir the pain of the penaltie contenie in the foirmuir actis ancl peying thairof . "Item . It is ordanitt be the generall warden , that the \ A arden of the luge of Kilwynning , being the second luge in Scotland , tak tryall of the art of memorie ancl science thairof , of everie

fallowe of Craft and everie pronteiss , according to ather of thair vocations , and in cais that thai have lost ony point thairof everie of thame to pay the penaltie as followis , for thair s lowthfulness , viz ., ilk fallow of Craft , XXS ., ilk prentesse , XIS ., and that to be pay it to the box for the commoun weill zeirlie ; aud that conforme to the commoun vse and pratik of the commoun luges of this realm . "And for the fulfillingobseruingeand keeping of their

, , statuttis , and all thair actis and statuttis maid of before and to be maid , be the warden , deaconis , and quarter maisteris of the lugis foirsaid , is for guid ordour keeping , conforme to equitie , justice , and ancient ordour , to the makinge and setting doun quhair of , the generall warden hes gevin his powar and

commissioun to the said warden and otheris abovewritten , to set doun and male actis conforme , as accordis to the office and law : and in signe and taking thairof , I , the generall warden of Scotland , hers sett doun ancl causit pen tliir actis and statutis , ar . d hes subscrynit the samynis with my hand efter the fcestimoniale . " Be it kend to the warden , dekyn , and to the maisteris of the ludge of Kilwynning , that Archibald Bnrklay , being directit commissioner for the said ludgecomperit in Edinburghthe

, , twentie-sevin and twentie-awcht of December instant , quhair the said Archibald , in prensens of the warden generall , and the maisteris of the ludge of Edinburgh , producit his commissioun , ancl behaight himself very lion estlie and cairfullie for the discharge of sik things as was committit into him , but be ] ressone of the absence of his maiestie out of toun , and that thair was na maisteris but the ludge of Edinburgh couvenit of tyme . we

could nocht get sik ane saltat ordour [ as the privileges of the Craft requiyris ] , tune at this tyme ; hot hoirofter , quhan occasion salbe ofFerit , we sail get his maiesties warrant , baith for the authorizing of the [ ludgies ] privileges , and ane penaltie sett doune for the dissobedient persones and p [ ertur ] beris of all guid ordour . " Thus far I thoct guid to signifie unto the b [ ailll brether of the ludgevnto the neist commoditie . In witness heirefI haif

, , subscriuit this present with my hand , at Halyrud Hous , the twentie awebfc day of December , the zeir of God I >« V" four scoir , nynetene zeiars . "WILMAM ; SCIIAW , Master of AVark , AVairden of ye . liaisons .

Masonic Notes And Queries.

MASONIC NOTES AND QUERIES .

OPERATIVE _ 'REE 3 _ ASO __ RY . In answer to " Delta ' s " query , I would beg to say , that the regulation he alludes to implies , as I understand it , that Masonry , henceforth , was to be under one head . Whatever be the real date of that regulation there can be little doubt , that then , as before and after , the old rivalry between north and south continued , and Vork never

ceased to claim , and probably to be , the seat of a Grand Lodge . Unfortunately we have no York records forthcorning , though they still probably exist , to throw light upon this matter . Should they ever turn up they will enable us , I fancy , to explain much which now must remain doubtful and more which seems obscure in our history . The regulation was clearly a healing regulation

intended to bring the Order , after the convulsions and distraction of proceeding years , into active harmony and outward unity . Whether it had that effect may be a matter of question , but as to its real meaning I think there can be little doubt . I do not see the slightest

reference , in these words , to the " Master of the London company or guild , " nor does the context snpport it , nor , in fact , does any such reference exist in any of the constitutions that I have seen , and I have seen all in the British Museum and one or two others . But the history of the London Company deserves close study , as I am persuaded that many interesting facts would thus be

brought to light . The regulation respecting admission appears , to me , to be a great proof of the gradual breaking up of the purely operative guilds , while , at the same time , it affords also decisive evidence , as I read it , not only of the actual admission but of the gradual prepouder ance of the speculative element- Henceforth , at the admission of a brother , only two operative Masons need be

present . There are several regulations extant , which I will gladly give " Delta , " in another note if he wishes , which serve to show that the Craft was settling down , about the middle of the 17 th century , after considerable confusion and probably partial abeyance . I confess that I do not understand " Delta ' s " last question . The only possible solution I can give to it is tantamount to a material admission of the main point of my argument , that the framework of speculative Masonry is long anterior to 1717 . —EBOB .

TKEE-tfASOSS 01 ? CHESTETt . At page 4-2 , of Mr . Halli well's Early History of Freemasonry in England , in a foot-note , occur these words : — " Mr . Black possesses a minute-book of the Freemasons of Chester of the commencement of the eighteenth century . " Is there any possibility of obtaining access to this minute-book ? Is anything more known about it ? —A . P . A . WOODFORD .

THE OHDEK 03 ? ST . JOUIf OF JERUSALEM . The following is from our contemporary , Notes and Queries : — Iu Notes and Queries ( 2 nd S . x . 460 ) . a correspondent refers to a publication called the Synoptical Sketch , which he says " is the best book on the present condition of tho EnglishLangue of the sovereign Order of St . John . of

Jerusalem . " I have met with a copy , and have carefully perused it ; but only to find how little reliance is to be placed upon its statements . Thus , I read : —

" • the admission of Knights into the Order was an act performed in the various langues and priories by their respective priors and- executive Councils . " —F . IS . This assertion is directly at variance with the statutes to which I referred in my last , After the surrender of Malta , the Grand Master Hompesch sailed for Trieste with a few Knights ; and I find

the following puzzling observation respecting him - . — " There ( at Trieste ) the same reasons which prevented the members of the Order from going thither , led De Hompesch immediately to vacate his office , ancl retire into the seclusion of private life . "—P . 21 . What can this mean ? Then the writer carefully passes over the interval of the seventeen years between the loss of Malta and the General Peace : —

" It is unnecessary to trace minutely the state of the Order the uncertain politics of the seventeen years which elapsed , between the seizure of Malta and the General Peace . During this transition period , the component langues remained disintegrated . But the formality of electing a brother chief to discharge the office of Grand Master , and thus to preserve the vitality ofthe Sovereign Institute was duly attended to ; and since the death of the Emperor Paul in 1801 , the office of Lieutenant of the

ilagistery , or Grand Master ad interim ( sic ) , has been successively filled by the Grand Baillies Field Marshal Count Solfcikoff , Giovanni Tommasi , De Gaevera , Giovanni y Centelles , De Candida , ancl the Count Colloredo , the reigning Chief . " —P . 22 . [ Throughout this communication the italics are mine , except where otherwise mentioned . ] Here there is a statement that there actually is a reigning chief , elected to 'preserve the vitality of the Sovereign Institute . This is an ' important fact , and implies that the