Priority Of The Lodge Of Glasgow St. John.

was hardly then introduced into Germany , and but very little understood when practised . Distance lends enchantmeut to the view , but I look nearer home , and without saying how they arose , or where they came from into England . From England I believe they came to us in the twelfth century , and for some time after , until the " disputed succession nt the

end of the thirteenth century , interrupted the old friendly communication between the sister nations . " Elgin Cathedral , founded 1224 , is said to have been exactly a model of Lichfield . If truly so , it goes a little way to show the connection existing then between Scotland and England . At page 22 of the Magazine , Bro . D . Murray Lyon in the most honourable manner fairly disposes of all "Grand" ideas in connection with the " ancient

Grand Lodge of Kilwinning , " which "is said to have been governed by Robert Bruce as Grand Master . " Referring to a paragraph in the Masonic Ordinance , said to have been granted by Schaw in 1590 , Bro . Lyon says , " Aspirants to the honour of priorit y over Mother Kilwinning must not shut their eyes to the fact that even when called upon to occupy a

secondary position , that lodge had under its jurisdiction the Masons of Glasgow , the possessors , we presume , of those so-called ancient royal charters . " In regard to which I observelstly . I am not sure ( taking the 1599 ordinance in connection with the 1598 one ) that this 1599 document is genuine , and would desire to . know when , where , and under what circumstances it was discovered ?

2 ndly . Allowing it to be genuine , and that Schaw , in 1599 , really put Glasgow under the jurisdiction of Kilwinning , that is a proof of Schaw's power—not of Kilwinning ' s priority . In 1560 the Catholic Archbishop of Glasgow had fled from his diocese to France , carrying with him all the documentscharters & c & cbelonging to the

, , , , bishopric , in which , and under whom , as head of the diocese , Kilwinning had for centuries before existed . Besides Catholic Glasgow belonged to its bishops , and the Masons therein were the "bishop ' s men , " or "bishop ' s burgesses ; " so that it is not likely that the Bishop of Glasgow would allow operatives from

the district of one of his underlings to come into Glasgow and oversee or intermeddle with his own men ; but things were altered with the Catholic power in the sixteenth century , and this ordinance of Schaw ' s shows the revolution that took place in Scotland then .

ardly . Ihe Glasgow Masons neither are , nor were , the possessors of the Uoyal charter granted by "William the Lion in 1190 . It was given to , and held by the bishop , being granted for the protection and encouragement of the fraternity which he had appointed or employed to build his cathedral , and it was from the " istrum Vetus" which is still in

Reg , ' the hands of the Catholic clergy , that Professor Innes was allowed to take the copy of the said charter , to publish for the Bannatyne aud Maitland Clubs 20 years ago . It is INo . 76 , page 66 , of "Registrum Glasgueusis Episeopis , " where "R . Y . " or anyone else can read it for themselvesas well asor better

, , , , perhaps , than I can . The following is a translation of it : — _ " "William , by the grace of God King of Scots , to

Priority Of The Lodge Of Glasgow St. John.

all good men of his whole realm , both clergy and laicks , greeting : Sympathising with the necessity of the Glasgow Cathedral , and entertaining for it a devout affection , both out of regard to its Supreme King -and his most holy confessor , Kentigern . We will to take upon ourselves the care of administering comfort to its desolationand to cherish it as far . as in us

, lies , with the support of our Royal protection . But seeing that this Mother of many nations , heretofore in pinched and straitened circumstances , desires to be amplified for the glory of God , and moreover in these our days has been consumed by fire , requiring the most ample expenditures for its repairing , and demands

both our aid and that of more good men . The fraternity which , to its construction , the venerable J ocelyn , Bishop of this same cathedral , wifch consent of the abbots , priors , . and other clergy of his diocese , has appointed ( or employed ) , we devoutly receive and encourage with the support of our Royal protectionuntil the completion of the cathedral itself ; also

, all the collectors of this same fraternity ; likewise all those who by the authority of the Bishop and the heads of the cathedral request aid for its building we take under our sure protection and peace , strictly charging all our bailiffs and ministers that they protect and take them by the handevery where throughout our

kingdom , and forbidding that anyone should offer injury , violence , or insult to them , under pain of our hig hest ; displeasure . Before these witnesses , Hugh , our Chancellor ; Archibald , Abbot of Dumfermline ; William cle Lindsay , Justiciar ; and Philip de Valen , at Rokesburgh . Yours fraternally , W . P . BucnA-tT .

Theism And Deism.

THEISM AND DEISM .

TO THE EDITOR OF THE FREEMASONS' MAGAZINE AND MASONIC MIRROR . "What can he Bro . Purton Cooper ' s object iu continually bringing before the notice of your readers this unpleasant subject ? All Masons know the religion of the Craft is , and must always remain , pure Judaism , the scene of the drama being laid in King Soloman ' s Temple and the vaults below itand the

, period about the time of its dedication , and it is for this reason that Grand Lodge very properly refuses to allow the brethren to wear the symbolic jewels of the high grades , so called , not from any disrespect to the Craft , but from their position on the Masonic ladder , of which the four first degrees necessarily

form its four lowest and most ancient rounds ; but nobody has yet questioned the Christianity of Freemasons , and certainly Grancl Lodge always endeavours to carry out its precepts . Ereemasonry professes only to be a peculiar system of morality , and interferes with no man ' s religion so long as he

professes to believe in the existence of one Supreme Being . Upon this condition Freemasonry opens its arms to all good men , of whatever creed thoy belong to , and long , 1 trust , it will continue to do so . Those who wish to fight against the opponents of the Gospel of our Lord , under the banner ofthe Cross , may join the Order of The Templewhich admits only believers

, in the Holy Trinity . If Bro . Cooper wishes to justify the conduct of the Papal authorities in condemning Ereemasonry , he cannot do better than pursue his present course . Yours fraternally , ROSA CETJCIS .