History Of The Emulation Lod Ge Of Improvement, No . 256.——(Continued).

number of so-called " Moderns" and " Ancients" under the presidency of Bro . Rev . Dr . Samuel Hemming . The duty assigned to this Lodge was to construct from the elements of both systems a ritual which should receive the sanction and authority ot the United Grand Lodge . Bro . Stephen Barton Wilson , as many of you doubtless

recollect , used to relate that the work was interrupted by Dr . Hemming becoming afflicted with mental incapacity , that it was left by him uncompleted ; that the Dvke of Sussex appointed Bro . Williams ( the compiler of the new Book of Constitutions adopted at the Union ) to carry on the work ;

that Bro . Williams undertook to do so , on the condition of his being permitted to start de novo from the same elements ; that the work thus completed by Bro . Williams , was approved by Grand Lodge ; and that Bro . Peter Gilkes became the acknowledged teacher of this work . Now comes my retractation . I have frequently repeated this narrative on Bro . Wilson ' s authority , but I have now good

reason to doubt its authenticity , so far at least as relates to the ceremonies . The minutes of the Lodge of Reconciliation tell us very little , not one word of the ritual agreed upon being permitted to be written ; but there is a record of the names of the members , and of those who attended , and also of its labours having been completed in 1816 . And we

find in the written minutes of Grand Lodge of that year that the ceremonies were rehearsed by members of the Lodge of Reconciliation at two special meetings of Grand Lodge , presided over by the Duke of Sussex , and were , after some few alterations , approved and

adopted , and that a vote of thanks was given to Bro . Hemming , so that there can be no doubt that it was Dr . Hemming ' s work that was adopted , and not Bro . Williams's . It is also on record that Dr . Hemming constantly attended Grand Lodge until 1821 , frequently acting as S . W ., so that his mental incapacity must have occurred long after the ritual was settled .

Some light has been thrown on the story by a letter from Bro . Broadfoot , which our indefatigable Sub-Librarian , Bro . Henry Sadler , has brought to light , a copy of which he was good enough to send me two days ago . Bro . Broadfoot was one of the members of the Lodge of Reconciliation , and the founder of the Stability Lodge of

Instruction , and it is clear from this letter that the story must have referred to the lectures which were not settled for some time afterwards , for he says Bro . Hemming , after arranging the first lecture , could not be induced to go on with the second and third , and his mind after some time becoming

enfeebled , he ( Bro . Broadfoot ) was obliged to arrange them himself . These were not our lectures , but those practised at the Lodge of Stability . This is corroborated by the fact that Bro . Peter Gilkes , in 1819 , brought a complaint before the Board of General Purposes against Philip Broadfoot and

others for working unauthorised lectures . The Emulation Lodge of Improvement was founded in 1823 , and was shortly after joined by many eminent

working Masons who had been members of the Lodge of Reconciliation or had attended its meetings , notably Bro . Edwards Harper , Grand Secretary , who had acted as Secretary to the Lodge of Reconciliation , and Bro . Peter Gilkes , who had attained the highest eminence as an instructor , and who afterwards became Preceptor of this

Lodge , and continued to hold that office until his death in 18 33 . He was succeeded by his friend and pupil , Bro . Stephen Barton Wilson , who presided over the Lodge until his death in 1866 . It was from him many now living received their instruction in Masonry , and we have frequently heard

him say , and he has repeated it from ( his place , that while admitting having made a few additions to the lectures , he had made no alteration whatever in the ritual taught him by Bro . Gilkes , which he always told him was the exact work of the Lodge of Reconciliation which he had been authorized by

that Lodge to teach . That Bro . Gilkes was so authorized , I can now give you the further proofs with which I have recently become acquainted . They consist of two letters only , but they appear to me to settle the question without a

doubt . I must tell you that at the Union two Grand Secretaries were appointed , one of whom had been Grand Secretary of the "Modern , " and the other of the " Ancient " Grand Lodge . Bro . W . H . White was one , and Bro . Edwards Harper the other , the former acted as Treasurer , and the latter as Secretary of the Lodge of Reconciliation ,

and attended all its meetings . The first letter is to be found in Bro . Sadler ' s " Notes on the Ceremony of Installation , " ' a book which specially commends itself to all who are interested in this Lodge . It is from Bro . White , and is dated in 18 43 .

He says , " In reply to your letter enquiring whether any alterations have been made in the ceremonies of initiation , & c , since the late Peter Gilkes was in the country , I beg to say ( without knowing at what period

that visit took place ) that no alterations have been made since the Grand Lodge formally approved and decided on them in the year 1816 . Bro . Gilkes was fully Master of all the ceremonies , and , I believe , most strictly observed them . " The next letter I found in an interesting history of Freemasonry in Shropshire by Bro . Graham , and

it is , perhaps , more conclusive than Bro . White ' s , having been written as far back as 1818 , two years after the Lodge of Reconciliation had completed its labours . It is from Bro . Edwards Harper , who was , you will bear in mind , not only Grand Secretary , but Secretary of the Lodge of Reconciliation ; .

he says . . . . "In referring you to Bro . Gilkes , I mentioned he would instruct you in the correct method adopted since the Union . It is quite useless to enquire of me ' which is correct ?'; more I cannot say by this mode of communication . "

You will observe that the oral tradition by which the ritual reaches the present generation from the Lodge of Reconciliation comes through only Bro . Gilkes and Bro . Wilson , many of Bro . Wilson ' s pupils being still alive . It is important to bear in mind that these two brethren were both possessed of a remarkably retentive memory ; that they

were in constant communication with each other , and were continuously engaged in working and teaching in the same Lodge and in the presence of each other , so that it is impossible to believe they could have varied the work by inadvertence . Having therefore established the authority of Bro . Peter

Gilkes , I submit we have proved our case . It is a characteristic of Freemasonry which is perhaps worthy of note , because it does not seem to exist , at least to the same extent , in any other institution that at all times and in regular succession men have been found who , without unseemly canvas ,

havebeen noiselessly selected by their fellows , and as if by general consent recognised as leaders- —men who , in this Lodge week after week and year after year , out of pure love of Masonry ,, give up their time to its teaching without remuneration or the expectation of reward , save only that of the approval at these annual gatherings of the distinguished Grand Officers and eminent leaders in the Craft who are wont to honour us with

their presence and support . For myself , I have no longer the right to pose as one of the Committee , having for some years ceased by reason of my many Masonic engagements and my increasing years to take any other part than that of a consulting member , but in returning you thanks in the name

of the Committee for your cordial reception of this toast , I may , I am sure , say that they feel greatly gratified at seeing themselves supported by so large a number of Grand Officers this evening , and their gratification is enhanced by being presided over by one of the oldest , of the ablest , of the most

popular , aye ! I will add with a certainty of an echo from the hearts of you all , one of the most beloved of our Provincial Grand Masters . I am sure that Bro . Sudlow and the other

active members of the Committee are fully sensible of their responsibility for the maintenance in its integrity of the great , trust to which they have succeeded , and that they highly appreciate your good wishes as a recognition of their past , and as an incentive to future exertions . " ( To be Continued ) .