The New Grand Secretary.

THE NEW GRAND SECRETARY .

The vacant office is at length filled , and the post which was occupied for nearly a dozen years by the lamented Bro . Col . Shadwell H . Clerke with so much credit to himself and such advantage to the Craft , is now held by Bro . Edward Letchworth , who , by special desire of his Royal Highness the M . W . Grand Master , was privately invested with the insignia of his office on

Monday by Bro . the Right Hon . the Earl of Lathom , Pro Grand Master . The appointment , so far as we have had the opportunity of judging , will rive general satisfaction to the brethren . Bro . Letchworth is a Mason of high standing , who has seen much service . He was initiated in 1875 in one of the Red Apron lodges—the Jerusalem , No . 197—and is one of its

Past Masters and Treasurer . He is also a Past Master of the Lodge of Antiquity , No . 2 , and of the St . James ' s Lodge , No . 1579 , Enfield , as well as a subscribing member of the Bard of Avon and Earl of Sussex Lodges . In 1877 he was appointed Prov . Grand Registrar of Middlesex , and in 1884 a J . G . Deacon of England . In the Royal Arch ,

he has twice occupied the chair of First Principal in the St . James ' s Chapter , i ^! o . 2 , and is also a P . Z . of the Enfield Chapter , No . 1237 , and the Bard of Avon Chapter , No . 778 , and Past Grand Std . Br . of Supreme Grand Chapter . In the Mark Degree he is a P . M . of the Ruspini Lodge , a subscribing member of the Carnarvon Lodge , and a Past Grand Treasurer of Grand Lodge , as well as a past member of the Grand Master's Royal Ark

Mariner Council . In the Order of the Temple , he is a Past E . P . of the St . George's Preceptory , No . 6 , a Past Prior of Malta , and a Past Officer of Great Prior )' , while in the Ancient and Accepted Rite he is a Past M . W . S . of the Bard of Avon Rose Croix Chapter , a subscribing member of the Grand Metropolitan Chapter , and has taken the 32 of the Rite . He is likewise a Past M . P . S . of the Order of Rome and the Red Cross of

Constantine , a Past Captain of the Guard in the Grand Council of the Royal and Select Masters , a Past Grand Officer of the Provincial Grand Lodge and Chapter of the Royal Order of Scotland for London and the

Metropolitan Counties , and a member and Past Supreme Ruler of the Order of the Secret Monitor . . These constitute a sufficient array of claims upon our respect , and clearly demonstrate that the new Grand

Secretary has not only exhibited a deep interest in all , or nearly all , of the various branches of our modern system of Masonry , but has also attained to a position of eminence in each of them . But his chief claim

upon our respect will be found in the important services he has rendered as a member for six years of the Board of General Purposes , of the Colonial Board for two or three years , and of the General Committee

of Grand Chapter for 11 years , while as regards our Charitable Institutions he is not only a Life Governor of the Boys' School and Benevolent Institution and a Vice-Patron of the Girls' School , but he has

also served very many Stewardships on their behalf , and , above all , has been for ) 1 years and upwards a member of the House Committee of thelast-namcd Institution , and is , therefore , familiar with all the

details of its administration . In short , though it is only about 17 years since Bro . Letchworth became a member of our Society , he has within that period of time discharged so many and such various

im-MllO . umVABD LETCHWORTH , lMl . D ., G 11 . IM 0 , SO : I'HI : T . 1 ] IY .

portant duties that the news of his appointment will be received everywhere with satisfaction . The post on which he has just entered is both an onerous and responsible one , but it will be recognised on all sides that in Bro . Letchworth the M . W . Grand Master has found one who in the matter of Masonic experience and general business capacity is in every way well qualified for the office .

Records Of The Old Grand Lodge Of York.

RECORDS OF THE OLD GRAND LODGE OF YORK .

( Continuedfrom page uo ) . Several warrants of constitution were granted by the Grand Lodge for the holding of subordinate lodges , the first recorded ( which is of an interest"ig character ) being granted on the 10 th June , 1762 , to certain brethren

who were French prisoners of war on their parole , to enable them and others to open and continue a lodge at the Punch Bowl , Stoncgate , but prohibiting them and their successors from making any one a brother who should be a subject of Great Britain or Ireland .

Constitutions were also subsequently granted to hold lodges at the Royal yak , in Ripon ; the Crown , Knaresbrough ; at Macclesfield , in Cheshire , at jl'e sign of the Duke of Devonshire ; at Hovingham , near Malton ; otherham , and other places , all of which have , of course , long ceased to

_ x'st , and there was also one granted for a lodge to be holden at the " Sun " | " Hollingwood , in the County of Lancaster , dated 27 th November , 1790 , e ori ginal of which was for many years in the custody of the Grand ge of London and was in 1886 transmitted to this lodge by the Grand

Records Of The Old Grand Lodge Of York.

Secretary , and now adorns the wall of our lodge , and is a valuable addition to the records in our possession . On the 23 rd October , 1766 , it is stated that the Grand Master offered an elegant medal as a prize for the brother who should best acquit himself in giving the three Lectures on the third Monday in December , but there does not appear to have been any competition for its possession , cither at the lodge in December or at any other time , so far as I can discover .

I he Festivals of St . John appear to have been kept with great regularity , the Grand Master and his officers being usually installed at that of St . John the Evangelist on the 27 th December . Advertisements of this Festival generally appeared in the York newspapers , inviting the attendances of

members and those belonging to other lodges in the city . There was a notable celebration in December , 1770 , with a procession to St . John's Church , Micklegate , when Sir Thos . Gascoigne was installed Grand Master , and a large number of members and visitors attended .

In 1774 the Grand Lodge appears to have had some difficulty with the Grand Treasurer , who had absented himself for some time from the meetings , and no satisfactory statement of his accounts could be obtained from him . Ultimately , however , the Grand Treasurer found himself compelled to make an assignment to his creditors , and the Grand Lodge received from his assignees 10 s . in the £ on the debt of ^ 101 15 s . 6 d . due from him .

After this ( in December , 1774 ) it was ordered that the business of the Treasurer and Secretary be for the future done by the same person , and Bro . Atkinson accepted the said office gratis . This arrangement , however , was altered the following month , when Bro . Kitson was appointed Grand Treasurer , and continued in the office for several years .

The minute book commencing 27 th December , 1774 , and ending 31 st July , 1780 , was discovered by Bro . Hughan in the archives of the Grand Lodge of London , along with a minute book of the Grand Chapter of York , and these valuable records were mainly through his exertions transmitted to

this lodge on the 15 th March , 1872 . I have before referred to the ancient Constitutions which have been discovered , and it appears from the inventor )' of 1779 that at that date the archives of the York

Grand Lodge contained six of these valuable documents . Of these five are now in the possession of the York Lodge . The first , which is numbered 1 , is supposed to be of the date of 1600 or thereabouts , and

is unquestionably the most interesting , as well as the oldest of all the documents . It is written on parchment , and endorsed " Found in Pontefract Castle at the demolition and given to the lodge by Francis

Drake , A . D . 1736 . " The demolition of Pontefract Castle commenced in April , 1649 , but how this document found its way there , and how long it had remained in that fortress it is impossible to ascertain .

It was not , however , destined to remain at York after its presentation to the ' > rand Lodge , and it was , in fact , lost sight of for a long period until discovered about 15 years ago by Bro . Hughan in the Grand Lodge

of London , along with another of the York MSS ., and both were restored to the custody of this lodge in 1 S 77 . The Roll No . 2 is the most modern of the

York MSS ., and is also written on parchment , and is headed " The Constitutions of Masonry , 1704 . " It is , I believe , the only one of the York Constitutions in which the

word " Freemason " is made use of , the word " Mason " generally occurring . Both the MSS ., 1 and 2 , contain an anagram on Masonry of a similar character . The Manuscript No . 3 is unfortunately missing , and up to the present time has not been traced . It is referred to in the inventory of 1779 as " A parchment roll of charges on Masonry , 1630 . "

No . 4 MS ., dated 1 C 93 , I have before alluded to as an early evidence of the existence of a lodge in York . It is written on a roll of paper , and was given to the Grand Lodge by Bro . George Walker , of Wetherby , in 1777 . There is a peculiar clause in this MS ., providing for the admission of females ,

which is as follows : "The one of the elders takeing the Booke , and that lice or slice that is to be made Mason shall lay their hands thereon , and the charge shall be given . " The MS . also contains a special charge to apprentices .

The MS . No . 5 is a long roll of paper containing neither date nor signature , but its date is supposed to be about the year 1 O 70 . It is evidently a copy of MS . No . 1 , except that it indicates the Book on which apprentices were sworn to secrecy to be " Ye Holy Scripture . " This also occurs in the MS . of 1704 .

No . 0 , the last of the MSS . ( which was discovered in the Grand Lodge of London along with No . 1 ) , is mentioned in the York inventory as "A parchment roll of charges whereof the bottom part is a-wanting . " The date

of it is about 1680 , and its contents are similar to the earlier roll , but the conclusion is certainly different to all the known Masonic MSS . It is as follows : " Doc all as you would be done unto , and I beseech you at every meeting and assembly you pray heartily for all Christians , Farewell . "