Lodge Minutes, Etc.—No. 8.

tion . No toast was given that could be offensive to either Whig or Torry , and consequently the grand design of Masonry was strictly adhered to . Though a vast number of brethren were present , yet they were all united by that secret cement of which the neutral world can form no idea . Social

harmony cround the night and the lodge was regularly shut with the Hidden Ceremonies of the Craft . " " St . John s Day , 1788 , deputations to and from the following Lodges ; Argyle , " came at 5

past 10 "—St . Mark , " came at 9 o'clock "Union and Crown , " came at - | past 7 "—St . David s , " came at % past 8 . " Willm . Buchanan , Past Master , in the chair , after the list of officers it goes on to say , ' This is the day which the

Lord hath made , we will rejoice and be glad in it , 118 psalm , ver . 24 / The same stone which the [ Builders refused , is become the head-stone of the corner , 118 psalm , ver . 22 . This day being the anniversary of the Festival of St . John the Evangelist , a considerable number of the members of this

Right Worshipful Lodge assembled , and dined at the house of Bro . Dunbar , where an excellent dinner was prepared for ! the occasion , from thence at six in the evening they proceeded in a Masonic manner to their lodge room , Fraser ' s Hall , where

the attention of the Worshipful Master , Senior Warden , and other office bearers , joined with the general happy disposition of all members present , conspired to produce that mirth and good humour , which is the life of social meetings , and the day

has been spent in a stile of harmony becoming men and Masons . And further , as time approaches so near the Lord ' s day , the Right Worshipful Master recommends that after he is pleased to ¦ close his lodgethat for the honour of the Craft

, each member retire to his respective place of rest in peace and quietness , for by acting otherwise , which is generally the case , the honour and credit of the fraternity is but too often exposed to the

ridicule and just censure of the public , whose eyes are more watchful on this annual occasion , than any common meeting . To close the evening the Senior Warden is requested to read over the 10 th verse of the 1 st chap , of St . Paul ' s Epis . to the Cor ., and then to close the lodge by a short prayer . J . Campbell , Sec . "

On 12 th Feby ., 1789 , "An emergency being called at Bro . Fife ' s , when Bros . John Lindsay and John Spiers were accepted as Enter . Apprentices , & c . Bro . Spiers granted his bill on demand

Lodge Minutes, Etc.—No. 8.

£ 1 Is . Bro . John Lindsay paid in cash £ 1 Is . On 20 th October , 1789 , the band of the 7 th regiment—who seem to have been attending the meetings for some time back—are made honorary members , there are six names , they attend often

after this . At initiations for some time now the custom seems to have been to give bills payable on demand , while one party gives a six months ' bill . The meetings seem to have been often

enlivened by " a great many exceeding good songs " which custom as I can vouch for is still kept up . On 7 th Sept ., 1791 , " A motion was made to the Right Worshipful that he should call a committee of the Masters of the different lodges in this

city , to consider of their lodges joining the procession of the trades to lay the foundation-stone of their new hall , which was unanimously agreed to . ' On 2 nd , Nov ., 1791 , " The lodge was shut a little past eleven o ' clock , on account of the Fast

day commencing at 12 . " On 7 th Deer ., 1791 , "Gilchrist Paterson ' of the Glasgow Operative Masons ' was admitted an honorary member . " ( To ie continued . )

History Of Voting By Ballot.

HISTORY OF VOTING BY BALLOT .

The subject of the introduction of voting by ballot into England was recently treated by Bro . W . Hepworth Dixon , the historian , in the Athenceum , and it may be pertinently asked , when was vote by ballot introduced in Masonic proceedings ? " April S 1868 .

, " Few subjects in our political history are involved in so much doubt as the modern revival of voting by the ballot-box . Materials for a true account of how we came to use this method must exist in books and manuscripts ; hut they have not yet been brought together ; and it is with the hope of engaging better

scholars and antiquaries than myself in the quest , that I venture to print the following notes . " We all know that the men who either invented or perfected all our noblest arts—the Greeks—invented this method of Free Voting . These Greeks were a great people ; they wanted in their leaders

something better than hard fists and broad acres ; genius , virtue , heroism , sacrifice ; and , to get what they wanted , they contrived a method of voting , over which fellows with hard fists and big estates could exercise little or no control . This contrivance was the ballot-box—the happy product of the highest

civilization . From Greece it came to Rome , and from Rome it descended to the modern world—not in a right line , however . It was lost , like other good things , in the dark ages . In those dark ages , the hard fists got their own again ; the barbarians swept away the ballot ; and they restored , under the feudal