Correspondence.

CORRESPONDENCE .

The Editor is not responsible for the opinions expressed by Correspondents , THE LODGE OF GLASGOW St . JOHN .

10 THE EDITOE OE TIIE HtEEJIASOtfS' KAGAZIJCE AND MASONIC JIIBIiOII "Enthusiasm ' s past redemption ! Gaen in a galloping consumption . Not a' the quacks , wi' a' their gumption , Will ever mend her ; Her feeble pulse gies strong presumption

Death soon will end her ! " —BUEUS . It is just nine years since " One Perplexed , " in referring to the rival claims to priority of the Mother Kilwinning and the Lodge of Glasgow St . John , questioned through the medium of THE FREEMASONS ' MAGAZINE " ( vol . 1 new seriesp . . 132 ) the

genuine-, , , ness of the now notorious Malcolm Charter . " One Perplexed '' asked the question in very plain , unvarnished Anglo-Saxon , whether the said Charter was to be considered a forgery ? In searching the back volumes of the MAGAZINE for information upon another subjectI came across the above query ; aud

, , being like Bro . Buchan a lover of " research , " I was induced to search the following numbers of tho MAGAZINE to ascertain if any of your correspondents had replied to the query ; the matter does not appear , however , to have been taken up or considered necessary to be again mooted until early in the present

year , when the appearance iu the MAGAZIHE of the report of , or , rather , critique upon the proceedings at the annual festival of the Glasgow St . John ' s Dodge—evidencing as it did a desire for more li ght to be thrown upon the subject , instead of tacitly allowing the claim to such extraordinary antiquity to go

forth unchallenged—served to usher in the " Battle of the Charters , " the indefatigable , yet somewhat plastic , Bro . Buchan , rushing forward with arduous impetuosity to the front , in defence of his lodge and her charter ; right fiercely has the contest been iought out , as displayed upon the arena of the pages of the MAGAZINE , the readers of which are familiar with all that has followed , the various phases the question has assumed , and how Bro .

Buchan—Sometimes by foes lie was o ' erpower'd , Sometimes by friends forsaken 0 Ancl when his hope was at the top , He still was worst mistaken 0 . " and how at last he accepted defeat at the hands of his heavily-armed and formidable antagonist R . Y . ; however , ' tis not my intention to enter here into the

arguments brought forward ou both sides , but I have been caused to reflect upon its being alike interesting and surprising that a question of so much importance to the Scottish Craft should have remained unnoticed and unanswered for so many years , ancl that tho solution should at last arise in the purely accidental

manner I have pointed out . Yours fraternally , S . Z .

The High Degrees And Bro. Manningham.

THE HIGH DEGREES AND BRO . MANNINGHAM .

TO THE EDITOE OU THE EKEEHASOirs' MAGAZINE AJfD MASOHIO MIEItOIi . Dear Sir and Brother , —The letter attributed to Bro . Manningham is of interest , if genuine ; but tho

The High Degrees And Bro. Manningham.

zeal and ingenuity of brethren have been so great that we never know when we get a true document in . Masonry . It is possible that Bro . Hertzveld has , in tho Yi'ijmetselelaars Jaarboekje ( "Freemasons ' Annual" ) given full particulars of the way in which this letter has been found , as also a correct copy of the letterfor the spelling appears to be altered in this

, version . For anyone wanting to attack Scotch Masonry the find is a lucky one , just at the period when a Lite Scotch G . M . was elected as G . M . of England , thus enabling Lord Aberdour to appeal both to his Scotch and his English experience that it naturally challenges inquiry .

It wanted no one in this clay to discover that ' 'Scotch ' ' Masonry in . 1757 was a French and not a Scotch invention- but this does not affect another question—the relative antiquity of some high degrees which are certainly named in the beginning of the last century .

A communication from Bro . Hertzveld in the Freemasons' Maga'ine is very desirable , so that an English document may be examined by English experts . Yours fraternally , E . Y .

Notable Masonic Works.

NOTABLE MASONIC WORKS .

10 THE EDITOR 01 ? THE " FltEEJIASOHS * MAGAZINE AUD 3 IAS 0 XIC JIIEROK . " Dear Sir and Brother , —Bro . Hughan is doing good service to Masonic inquiry and study by his valuable notices of "Notable Works . " "The ' Blue Blanket , " though known to Masonic collectors , is not now easy to be found—at any rate in Englandthough occasionally a copy is to be met withas the

, one I , have , purchased some -years back . It is , as Bro . Hughan points out , most interesting in respect of its illustration of the Guild system generally . Bro . Hughan alludes to the early copies of the Constitutions . I am iu possession of a very interesting copy of the Constitutions of 1723 which belonged to

, "John Higley , " ancl which was "printed by Wm . Hunter for John Senex at the Globe , and John Hooke at the Fleur de Luce , over against St . Dunstan ' s Church , in Fleet Street . " Like Bro . Hughan , I have not been able to find another copy of the Constitutions of 1722 aud am inclined to think that

, the copy possessed- by Bro . M . Spencer is unique . Other copies may exist , but I have not yet beau so fortunate as to meet with them . I have lately obtained a MS . relating to R . A . Masonry of date 13 . 14 . I meant to have alluded to it to-day , but , as 1 propose to call attention to Bro . Findel's kind

communication ancl Bro . Mamiingham ' s interesting letter next week , I wil ^ reserve what I have to say until then . Yours fraternally , A MASONIC STUDENT .

Masonic Charities.

MASONIC CHARITIES .

[ We have been requested to publish the followingletter , in reply to Bro . Hewitt ' s communication iu our last week ' s issue . ] Dear Sir and Brother , —I am glad you have called attention in the Magazine to an error ou my part iu the tabular statement published in that paper of the