Masonic Benevolence In 1893.

sum stated at the Festival . The excess in respect of the R . M . B . I . is to be accounted for by the receipt of moneys outstanding upon its Jubilee Festival , while the shortcoming in respect of the Boys' School will no doubt be set straight during the present year . The following are the statements of receipts we have been referring to : —

ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR BOYS . "Donations and Subscriptions ... ... ... ... £ 19 , 892 2 3 Grand Lodge ... ... ... ... ... 150 o 0 Grand Chapter ... ... ... ... ... 10 to 0 Dividends and Interest on Caih at Call ... ... ... 1063 15 3

Income Tax returned ... ... ... ... 83 14 n Legacies ... ... ... ... ... 190 o o Music Fees ... ... ... ... ... 67 o o Prize Funds ... ... ... ... ... 20 1 6 Science and Art Department , Grant earned ... ... 30 10 o Sundry Receipts ... ... ... ... ... 55 15 0

£ 31 , 563 8 n ROYAL MASONIC BENEVOLENT INSTITUTION . Donations , & c . ... ... ... ... ... £ 12 , 989 10 10 Grand Lodge ... ... ... ... ... 1600 o o

Grand Chapter ... ... ... ... ... 150 o 0 Dividends ... ... ... ... ... 52 S 3 3 4 Interest on cash at call ... ... ... ... 103 8 6 Lecacy ... ... ... ... ... 90 0 o Balance Steward's Fae Fund , 1 S 93 ... ... ... 220 o o

£ 20 , 436 2 8 ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR GIRLS . Donations and Subscriptions ... ... ... £ 14 , 643 11 1 Grand "Lodge ... ... ... ... ... 150 o o Grand Chapter ... ... ... ... ... to 10 o

Dividends ... ... ... ... ... 1936 17 3 Interest on Deposit ... ... ... ... 29 19 ' Receipts for Musical Instruction ... ... ... 152 5 o Legacy ... ... ... ... ... 90 0 0 Centenary Memorial Windows ... ... ... 39 o o

£ 17 , 052 3 2 R . M . B . I . R . M . I . G . . R . M . I . B . Total . 1887 £ 28 , 968 4 4 £ 16 , 429 o 6 £ 15 , 661 16 1 £ 61 . 059 o 11 1888 21 , 361 15 1 40 , 250 4 4 12 , 283 2 5 82 , 904 1 10

1889 18 , 729 18 7 14 , 986 g 6 14 , 727 10 2 48 , 443 iS 3 1890 21 . 305 13 4 21 , 763 19 1 12 , 472 6 9 55 . 541 19 - 1891 22 , 238 14 5 13 , 190 ' 8 2 27 . 333 " 3 62 , 763 3 10 .. 1892 61 , 849 2 6 12 , 778 2 1 15 , 837 18 o 90 , 465 2 7 1893 20 , 436 2 8 17 , 052 3 2 21 , 56 3 8 11 59 . 05 ' 14 9 the ^ years . } £ I 94 , 8 S 9 I 0 » £ ' 45 , 459 " 5 10 £ " 9 , 879 ' 3 7 £ 4 * 50 , 229 ' 4

tneTyears ' } £ 2 ' ^ 7 3 £ 20 ><™ , Q 6 £ " 7 . 5 ' 3 4 £ 65 . 747 o 2 Average per Institution ... ... ... ... £ 21 , 315 13 5 The following is a statement , month by month , of the cases relieved , and the sums expended in relieving them , by the Board of Benevolence : CASES RELIEVED . AMOUNT . January ... ... 19 ... ... £ 595 February ... ... 25 ... ... 610 March ... ... 51 ... ... 1225

Apr il ... ... 32 ... ... 965 May ... ... 43 ... ... 101 5 June ... ... 2 7 ... ... 760 uly ... ... 22 ... ... 565 August ... ... 20 ... ... 510 September ... ... 15 ... ... 430 October ... ... 2 5 ... ... 730 November ... ... 51 ... ... 1210 December ... ... 43 ... ... 910

373 £ 9525 These figures show a considerable increase both in the total number of cases relieved and the amounts distributed as compared with 1892 , in which year there were 334 cases relieved with £ 8320 , the excess for 1893 being 39 cases and £ 1205 . This is , no doubt , to be accounted for , as we suggested in

our review of "Freemasonry in 18 93 , " by the greater depression in trade and the less favourable condition of things in the political world . But the Board must have the satisfaction of feeling that they have administered the funds at their disposal with a due regard to the necessities of those who have sought their help , and that in doing so , they have not greatly , if at all , exceeded their income .

Notes On Three Trisii Military Lodges.

NOTES ON THREE TRISII MILITARY LODGES .

By W . J . CHETWODE CRAWLEY ; LL D ., D . C . L ., Senior Grand Deacon Grand Lodge of Ireland ; Grand PecreUry of Grand Lodge of Instruction , Ireland ; Quatuor Coronati Lodge , No . 2076 ( E . C ) . Interesting to the Fraternity at large as are the contributions to Masonic history of our Worshipful Brethren , Captain Hugh Colvill and C . H . Maiden ,

they are still more interesting to I'reemasons of the Irish Constitution , inasmuch as they deal with lodges holding warrants from the Grand Lodge of Ireland . As an Irish Freemason , then , I shall try to supplement lrom little-known sources , which I have myself verified , the information so kindly forwarded to your columns by those Worshipful Brethren .

I must premise that I cannot reconcile in some particulars my reading of such archives as are preserved by the Grand Lodge of Ireland with the version of the facts presented by Bro . Maiden . I am sure that this arises from the insufficiency of the information within my pen . I hasten therefore to place what I have gathered at his disposal .

The earliest notice I can find of Lodge No . 86 3 ( I . C ) , is that the warrant was granted to the 89 th Regiment on April 5 th , 1798 . But this is not an assured date , for thc record from which I quote is itself only a copy made circa 1813 , and thc copyist has subjoined the following curious note :

" A . S . says March , 1802 . " Brethren acquainted with our Masonic history will agree with me , I think , in identifying this " A . S . " as the famous , or rather the notorious , Alexander Seaton , who led the schismatic Grand Lodge of Ulster in the

Notes On Three Trisii Military Lodges.

first decade of the present century . At any rate , the first entries on our Grand Registry on behalf of this lodge are made in March , 1802 . The entries go on till June 181 I 1 , 1 S 04 , by which date 23 members in all have been registered . Then the following entry is made , not as an interpolation , but as a heading to the subsequent entries :

" A duplicate of the warrant issued in 1806 , the original having been lost . "

Then Nos . 24 to 40 are entered in 1 S 08 , all being evidently written at the one time . To this is appended an authoritative and perfectly legible note : " Warrant cancell'd 2 July , 1818 . " Bro . Maiden , from the records of the P . G . Lodge of Madras , deduces

that Major Bowen , Lieutenant R . Simpson , and Capt . C . Hall seceded from the Irish Lodge , No . S 6 3 in 1812 to form Lodge No . V . under the P . G . Lodge of Madras . But not one of these names occurs in our Irish Registry as having belonged to Lodge No . 863 , nor do they seem to have belonged to the 89 th Regiment .

Following up the history of Lodge No . 863 , Bro . Maiden finds reason for stating that " in 1821 " the lodge itself " seceded from the Irish Constitution and became Lodge Hibernia and Union , No . XI . " From our records this would seem impossible , the warrant being noted as cancelled as far back as 2 nd July , 1818 .

The history of Lodge No . 322 ( I . C ) , to which Bro . Captain Colvill originally called attention , is an admirable example of the resuscitation of a lodge by brethren hailing from other jurisdictions . The lodge seems to have worked continuously from 3 rd May , 1759 , to 26 th May , 1831 , in the regiment to which the warrant had been granted—a period of nearly

threequarters of a century . During these years their list of members includes 190 names . The lodge then lay dormant for 23 years , when the entry is made : "The warrant was renewed 13 th November , 1854 . " The three brethren to whom the Grand Lodge of Ireland re-issued the

warrant were : Colonel George Congreve , C . B ., of Lodge No . 596 , ( E . C . ) ; Captain Hugh G . Colvill , of Lodge No . 609 ( E . C . ); and Captain Aug . Dick , of Lodge No . I ( S . C ) . And from that happy date the lodge has worked with continuous prosperity . With regard to Lodge No . 227 ( I . C ) , I have ascertained that the vicissitudes chronicled b y Bro . Maiden form but a brief interlude in its

exceptionally interesting history . The warrant No . 227 was issued to the 46 th Regiment by the Grand Lodge of Ireland as far back as March 4 th , 175 2 , but became dormant towards the close of last century . It was revived in 1801 , and work was carried on till 1818 . An entry on April 6 th , 1818 , shows that 84 members of the lodge had been registered since the revival of the warrant in 1801 .

The lodge then becomes dormant again for 16 years , when the following note appears on the record : " Old warrant being defaced , sent in , and new warrant on 7 th August , 1834 . " The regiment took the warrant with them to Canada , where it became extinct as a military lodge , as is shown by the following extract :

"Warrant returned 30 June , 1847—from Montreal—by Bro . Capt . William Child & new warrant—same No . —issued as under the 2 July 1847 . " Thus No . 227 ( I . C . ) ceased its peregrinations and became located at Montreal , where it had a prosperous career till its absorption by the newlvformed Grand Lodge of Canada as recorded in the following words : "Warrant sent in 30 th December , 1858 ; the members having taken out

warrant from Grand Lodge of Canada . " In accordance with the practice of the Grand Lodge of Ireland , the number has again been issued when occasion arose , and No . 227 now belongs to a flourishing . Dublin lodge , known , I am sure , to many Freemasons of other jurisdictions as the mother lodge of a leading Irish Freemason—the late R . W . Bro . Thomas Fitzgerald , for many years Honorary Secretary of the Masonic Orphan Boys' School of Ireland .

One point of fraternal courtesy is brought out prominentl y in Bro . Maiden ' s communication . When the brethren seceded , as he holds , from the Irish Constitution , ihe Provincial Grand Lodge of Madras insisted on formal notification of their intention being given to the Grand Lodge of Ireland , and , no doubt , full enquiry was made as to the Masonic standing of the petitioners for the warrant . Similarly , when the warrant of No . 863 was re-issued in favour of three distinguished brethren , hailing from the

English and Scottish jurisdictions , our invariable Irish practice caused notification to be made , and the usual Masonic enquiries as to good standing to be addressed to their respective Grand Lodges . In the case of such distinguished brethren the enquiry would be a mere formality , but I lay stress on our practice , in the hope that it may be followed by the Grand Lodge of Scotland . Speaking from my personal experience , I make bold to say that more friction is engendered by laxity of procedure in respecting concurrent Masonic jurisdiction than by all other causes combined .

I feel some scruple in t > espassing further on your space , but the communication in the same number of the Freemason , bearing the honoured name of Bro . W . J . Hughan , deserves more than passing note . We have been made aware , by the researches of our Irish historian , V . W . Bro . Crossle , that the R . A . and H . K . T . Degrees were habitually conferred in our Northern Masonic provinces by Craft lodges on their

members without any further authorisation than custom and usage . But I have long since come to the conclusion that they did not confine the exaltation to their own members . This opinion is confirmed in the present case , for I cannot find the name of " the Worshipful Sir James Saunders" on the roll of the lodge , though the body of the certificate assures us that he had "duly passed the chair of the aforesaid lodge . "

Nor can I find on the Craft roll the name of the six subscribing officers , except those of Bro Charles Davis , High Priest , and Bro . John Patrick , Secretary . The lodge itself , No . 484 ( LC ) , was originally held in " Feathard , County of Tipperary , " under warrant dated October 4 th , 1770 , and at Fethard it worked for two years , admitting 16 members

during that time . After a dormant period it was " Removed in Belfast by the Grand Lodge , 5 Se ( , t ., 1799 . " The warrant itself was marked " cancelled , 1835 , " and after a disappearance of nearl y 30 years , the parchment was recovered by the exertions ol the R . W . W . S . Tracy , Provincial Grand Master of Down , in the year 1864 , and restored by him to the archives of the Grand Lodge of Ireland ^