Correspondence.

CORRESPONDENCE .

All Letters must bear the name ani address of the Writer , not necessarily for publication , but as a guarantee of good faith . We do not hold ourselves responsible for the opinions of our Cor . respondents . We cannot undertake to return rejected communications .

ORIGIN OF THE ROYAL ARCH . To the Editor of the FBEF , S [ ASON ' S CHRONICLE . DEAR S IB AND BROTHER , —I thank yon and Bro . Q . for the comp limentary notices of my letter under the above heading . With regard to my not having proved every thing from records , this I admitted , by stating that " this is but a theory of my own" subject to disproval . I maintain , however , that it is the most logical conclusion I could

come to , and whenever any one shall produce a bettor theory or ex . p lanation , I shall cheerfully acknowledge it . It is certain that William Leslie , and other Scotch brethren , obtained from the Ancients a Dispensation in the month of March 1763 , and that the said organisation was constituted on the 20 th April ensuing . There is a list of the names of the members of that Lodge ,

headed by William Leslie . Preston ' s name 13 the twelfth on the list , and as Preston was the second person initiated in that Lodge , the original founders consisted of ten brethren . About twenty ou the list paid one shilling each to the G . L . ; abont twenty remaining members are marked on the list as having paid two and sixpence , or five shillings . I suggested to Bro . Buss that the difference in the fee to

the G . L . may have been owing to those who joined tbe Lodge , while , under dispensation having paid one shilling , while , after the constitution of the Lodge , its candidates paid a higher fee ; this theory may be confirmed or disproved , but any how , there are abont ( as far as I can jndge ) forty names on the said list . The Ancients observed tbe Evangelist's day , 27 th December , as their annual feast , when the

Masters or Secretaries of Lodges had to furnish the G . S . with lists of the members of their respective Lodges ; and as No . Ill was a new Lodge , it was probably prompt npon that occasion in furnishing its list of members , & c . It may seem incredible for the membership of the Lodge to have increased fourfold in less than ten months . This , however , is confirmed by Bro . Stephen Jones in 1795 , who says , " The

Lodge was soon after " [ after it had received a Dispensation ] " regularly constituted by the Officers of the Ancient G . L Having increased considerably in numbers , it was found necessary to remove to the Horn Tavern , Fleet-street , " & c . How many members joined the Lodge before the November following , when it seceded from the

Ancients , I know not . I know that Preston left it in the interim , and joined a modern Lodge ; probably others may have seceded with Preston , but supposing that the new initiations eqnalled in number those who seceded , the Caledonian Lodge must have numbered forty brethren when it was re-constituted by the Moderns in November 1764 , a number of whom were doubtless R . A . Masons . And if this was the

first Ancient Lodge converted into a Modern , then it must have been the first time when the Modern G . L . dignitaries held social and fraternal communion with a number of Chapter Masons . If so , wo may readily suppose that curiosity prompted the Grand Officers to learn about tbe Lodge work of the Ancients , and more especially about the R . A . degree . Finally , some of the G . L . dignitaries probably

ventured to receive the degree in the "Caledonian Chapter , " and reported favourably upon the sublimity of the ceremony , & c . But as the social position of the Caledonians may not have come np to the standard of the Grand Lodge dignitaries , the said dignitaries , there , fore , decided to form a Chapter of their own . Hence , in January 1765 , the R . A . Chapter of Jerusalem was inaugurated , and its membership

was kept sufficiently select , so that even the Grand Master , and other noblemen , were induced to join it . I again admit that this is but a theory , which I cannot prove from records ; but my friends here are of my opinion , that it is the best conclusion I could come to . Bro . Charles L . Woodbury ( whose theory on Egyptian Masonry I assailed in your journal some two years ago ) , after carefully reading my

communication to you on " The Origin of the R . A ., " said , "Well ! leannot see how you could come to any other conclusion . " I must not , however , omifc to inform you that , at the suggestion of the R . W . G . Sec . of England , I inquired of Bro . J . Nunn , a prominent member of the Caledonian Lodge , regarding the old records of his Lod ge and Chapter , who replied , that the oldest Lodge records were

destroyed some years ago in a fire , and that the Caledonian Chapter was of recent formation . Subsequently , upon further inquiry of my friend in the G . S . 's office , I was informed that the old Caledonian Chapter ceased to meet soon after 1813 . I am always ready and willing to acknowledge an error ; and I shall now take the opportunity of acknowledging a very curious

oversight of mine . About a year ago I came across the Freemason's Magazine 1795 , wherein I found the memoir of Preston by Stephen Jones , which furnished mo with a cine to the history of tho Caledonian Lodge , and of Preston ' s initiation therein . As Bro . Jones received his information from Preston verbally , ho made a muddle about the period of the Lodge ' s Constitution under the Ancionts , and its

subsequent Constitution by the Moderns . Thus much , however , I learned . 1 st . That tho Lodge was first constituted in , or soon after , ^ 760 , and 2 nd . That it met at the White Hart iu the Strand . To ascertain the exact date , I scanned over the Lodges in Bro . Gould ' s Atholl Lodges " from 1760 , till 1 came to No . Ill , which met at toe While Hart , Strand . Having identified the Lodge , I put the book

' ,,, wltnout perusing the comments thereon . Bro . Buss first called my attention to that part of the note where it is stated that reston was the second person initiated in the said Lodge . I naturall y assured him that I had not read the note , & c . I then merely noticed that fact , without troubling myself to read the remaar of the note . Last week I had again occasion bo hunt up . 1 ^ Uge in the "Atholl Lodges , " when I came to Lodge No . 111 . * I

thought that I would just read the whole note , and to my surprise I found therein all the facts about the Caledonian Lodgo , which I took so mnch pains last year to hunt up . True , Bro . Gould furnishes no authorities for his statements , but the facts are there . And now I will give you some information , which caused me to re-esramino Bro . Gould ' s work last week .

During a visit to New York , about six weeks ago , I stumbled upon a ritual of the Royal Arch , said to have been sent to Hayti in 1802 , for a Chapter that worked there under the jurisdiction of the Grand Chapter of England . The said ritual was either originally written in English or in French . But be that as it may , in 1833 it found its way to New York , where Bro . Marconnay copied it . It is the same

Bro . Marconnay who made a great stir among the A . and A . Riters in 1833 , by asking the Three Globes G . L . at Berlin , about whether Frederic the Great was a high degreer , and whether he sent a Charter for 33 degrees to Charleston , South Carolina , & c , to which the Three Globes Grand Lodge replied , that Frederic the Great was not a high

degree ); and that the Charleston Charter was a fraud . Well , to be brief . Last week I was again in New York , and the owner of the document kindly allowed me to take it with me to Boston . Brother S . D . Nickerson P . G . M ., now Grand Seoretary , of Massachusetts , will translate it into English in a few weeks , but in the meantime I Bend you the introduction , as translated by Bro . Nickerson .

ROYAL ARCH . " 7 fch Degree of the ancient York Rite , as it is worked in England and the Chapters under the jurisdiction of the Grand Chapter of England . Copied from the original and official ritual deposited with the Sovereign Chapter of Henrense Union of Aux Cayes , [ Hayti ] . Constituted by the Grand Chapter of England in 1802 .

This copy was made by the undersigned , at New York , in 1833 , from the copy of Brother the Count de Saint Lawrent , Leblanc de Marconnay 33 " . " It must seem strange to English Masons to see the R . A . de » ee styled " seventh degree of the York Rite . " The R . A . degree was made into a seventh degree by Thomas Smith Webb , the great

American tinker of rituals and degrees ; and then , again , our profound American Masonic luminaries have somehow taken a notion into their wise heads , that the Blue degrees , the R . A . degrees , and the K . T . degrees , a baker ' s dozen in all , ought to be called "York Rite , " hence Bro . Marconnay styled the R . A . the " 7 th degree of the York Rite . "

After perusing Marconnay ' s introduction , doubts suggested themselves to my mind . 1 st . Whether there was ever any Chapter at all in Hayti ? 4 nd 2 nd . As there were two Grand Chapters in England in 1802 , to which of these Chapters did the Hayti Chapter belong ? To find this out , I had to wade again through Bro . Gould ' s Lodge lists ( for I have no Chapter lists to consult ) . First I went , one by one

through the "Atholl Lodges , ' but found no Hayti there . Next I went through the lists of tho Lodges of the Moderns up to 1802 , but still could not find a Lodge at Hayti . I was about to give up the hunt ; but thinking that persons are apt to make mistakes in copying , I went on from Lodgo to Lodge , until I came to page 81 , where I found— " 60-1 . La Logo de La Heureuse Reunion aux Cayes , Hayti . "

This Lodge was not granted in 1802 , but in 1809 . I have , however , no doubt { though I have no record evidence to prove it ) that the Union Chapter , to whom the ritual belonged , was a branch of No . 604 Lodge at Hayti . I shall only add , that as soon as the ritual is translated into English , a copy will be sent to the Grand Secretary of England , when there will be an opportunity of comparing it with another old ritual recently discovered in London , as well as with the present one .

Fraternally yours , JACOB NORTOIV . Boston , U . S ., 6 th June 1832 .

A DAY IN THE COUNTRY .

To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . SIR , —Last year some of your readers were generously led to help us provide a Day's Excursion into the country for 500 poor girls and bovs who attend the Hackney Juvenile Mission . Tbe manager hopes

to be able to take at least as many children this summer , and I should be glad if yonr readers will assist him practically , by sending donations towards this Tenth Annual Excursion to either the Hon . Manager , Mr . J . Newman , 117 Cheapside , E . C , Mr . H . M . Heath , 4 St . Tbomas-road , or to ,

Yours faithfully , ATIIRO A . KNIGHT Earlswood House , King Edward's-road , Hackney , E .

ELECTRICITY v . GAS .

To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . DKAR SIR AND BROTHER , —Of all the letters written to bolster up rlie electric light , I think few can compare with that published in the Twites of Friday , signed " C . M'L . M'Hardy . " The writer begins by stating that au incandescent lamp gives a light of from 16 to 20

candle power ; and afterwards , to compare it with gas , he states that in ordinary burner consuming from 5 to 8 feet oF gas per hour gives from 6 to 8 candle power . Now this is simply reversing the caudle power of the two lights . Five feet of London gas will give from 15 to 17 caudle power , and this is periodically stated in tbe JOURNAL