Lodge Of Glasgow St. John.

of our law , and all good men of the nation , both " Clergy , Laicks , or common people , and to all where -these presents shall come , greeting . Whereas our "" -trusty and well-beloved friends , the operative Masons in the city of Glasgow hath , by their petition humbly represented to us that the inhabitants of this city has

been imposed upon by a number of unskilled and in--. sufficient workmen , that has come to work at our Cathedral , and other parts of the city , and also has erected lodges contrary to the rules of Masonry : and being desirous of putting a stop to such unskilled and irregular brothers , most humbly pray us to grant

; ilieui our royal licence and protection for stopping such irregular disorders ; and we , being willing to ¦ g ive all due encouragement to so reasonable a petition are graciously pleased to condescend to their request , and we do by these presents ordain and grant to our petitioners to incorporate themselves together in one

Incorporation , and we strictly discharge any Mason ¦ within the foresaid city to work in it , until he serves liia time as an apprentice for the space of seven years ,

or be married to a freeman't daughter , and he or they shall be examined anent their skill and knowledge on the Mason craft by three of the ablest of the Mason trade , and if he or they be found of cunning or ¦ knowledge , to be received into the incorporation . Each -shall pay twenty pounds Scots to the common funds ,

¦ an d three pouuds to the Altar , and Clerk ' s and Officer ' s dues , whicli the foresaid incorporation shall always be allowed to be the judges of that and other laws made for behoof of the foresaid Incorporation . Item , that the free Incorporate Masons of Glasgow shall have a lodge for ever at the City of Glasgow

, none in my dominions shall erect a lodge until they make application to the St . John ' s Lodge , Glasgow , and they considering their petition , and examining ' ¦ •' ¦ their character and behaviour , grant them a charter ¦ conform to their regulations . Item , that all the _ members of said Incorporation shall have libertto

y quarry stones , lime , sand , and other materials from ¦ the ground of persons , for paying the damages of what they occupy , or damage for building of the foresaid Cathedral . But if the owners of the said lands and

. the foresaid workmen do not agree , each party is to - choose , an honest man , to value the expense of the foresaid damages . Item , and that any having power ¦ from me , maintain my peace firm and stable against : all other pretenders and usurpers who encroach on me or my subjects , to disturb our peace . Item , and

: ifcliat you and all my subjects in this obey the magistrates in all things relating to my peace and the good ef the city . Item , and that you instruct and teach . apprentices , and that none take or employ any man ' s apprentice , when their time of apprenticeshi p is not . completed , under the pain of ing twenty pounds

pay , the one-half to the Incorporation , one-fourth to the T-iodge , and one-fourth to Saint Thomas ' s Altar to . say mass for their souls . Item , and I strictly charge . and command that none take in hand to dioturb the free operative Masons from being incorporated freemenor to have a free lodgeto take away their good

, , name or possession , or harass or do any injury to my -Freemasons and petitioners under the peril of my highest displeasure , and we order that notice be taken that due obedience may be rendered to our pleasure herein declared . Given at our court at Fordie , the ¦ Oth day of October , 1057 years , before these

witnesses : Eari David my brother , Earl Duncan , Earl Gilbert of Monteith , Sir Robert of Velen , Adam of Stenhouse , and Andrew Hamilton , Bishop of Glasgow . "

Bro. Speir's On The Antiquity Of Scots Lodges.

BRO . SPEIR'S ON THE ANTIQUITY OF SCOTS LODGES .

TO THE EDITOK 01 ? TEE V- __ . E ____ . 0-f 5 MAGAZINE AND _ fASO _ fIC StEttKOn . Dear Sir and Brother , —Ihe extraordinary speech of the newly-appointed Grand Master of the Province of Glasgow merits some little attention . I refer to his speech in the Lodge 3- of Glasgow , reported in the Magazine o ? the 11 th inst . I advise him ( supplementing your advice as to the brief , before becoming the

champion of 3 ) , to look at the existing minute-books of the Canongate Kilwinning , when he will find minutes rather earlier than 1736 , aud reasons why the charter of 1677 is not at present in existence . Bro . Cruiekshank ' s interesting sketch of 3 " is a very interesting sketch ; bub that style of production is not generally received , without dispute , in a court of law . We have many disputed

documents in Masonry . When Bro . Speir's brings up , in Grand Lodge , tho claims of 3- to be the oldest lodge of Scotland , the Charter of Malcolm will appear fis another . When 3 ° was received into Grand Lodge in 1850 , it was with great difficulty she received her present number . Lodges , 300 odd , many oH them having paid thousands of pounds to the Masonic exchequer , allowed this lodge to take precedence of them , for no other reason than to get all the so-called old lodges of Scotland

enrolled under one banner . The Melrose Lodge is now the only one independent of General Lodge of Scotland . When she comes in , there will be a question of her number with Mary ' s Chapel , and it strikes me , under the then discussion the numbers of the old lodges , judging from the proofs which I hold in my hand , will be—Mother Kilwinning , 1 ; Canongate Kilwinning , 2 ;

Melrose St . John , 3 ; Mary's Chapel , 4 ; and the Lodge of Glasgow will find her number half a hundred down the roll . Numbers , except as a means of identification of lodges , is a very silly pride . If the members of a lodge have no higher boast than the effete dignity of antiquity , theg had better sink their age . The Lodge Canongate Kilwinning , the alter ego of tho Mother Kilwinning , has

never founded upon her age , but upon her documents ; and ( for honourable sons she depends upon such unknown names as Burns , Kit North , Lockhart , Aytoun , Brougham , Nicholas , Emperor of Russia , Marquis of Dalhousie , Sinclair of Eoshn , & c . If Bro- Speir ' s wishes to follow in the footsteps of Alison , let him look to historical facts , not to age or tradition , in his study . He

will find many to support him in Glasgow who do not belong to 3 ' -. Yours fraternally , " P . L ., C . K . L .

MESH IN ADVERSITY . —The sight of good men struggling with adversity has ever been accounted one of the most touching and edifying of spectacles . It is one of the rewards of virtue to gain in its struggles with fortune the sympathy and respect of the worthy who behold them . Indeed without this incentive there would be even less of virtue in the world than in fact there is . To cleave to virtue simply for virtue ' s sake and with utter disregard of the inions of one ' s fellow-men is a rarer

op achievement than most of us are apt to suppose . Those who have the credit of it are pretty sure to be aware of the fact and are comforted and strengthened by their appreciation of its . value . Human nature being what it is , and temptation so difficult to resist , it is our bounden duty to sustain virtue in misfortune by every plaudit , every recognition of the unmerited calamity which we can devise or which truth can justify . It

is a base fault in a community when , its good men being overtaken by undeserved disaster , it does not hasten to condole with , to encourage and to support them with the sweets o £ generous approbation . — Bound Table .