Records Of Old Lodges.

It also says that before the Society was founded "a lodge was held consisting of Masters sufficient for the purpose . " The members of the Society had all to be Freemasons , and the register of its doings is valuable , because of the proof it affords of the Master Mason ' s degree being worked by an individual lodge as early as 1724 . That " pass'd Master " sometimes meant , 1720—50 , what has since been termed "liaised Master" is evident from the fact that the 6 th by-law of a lodge of date

A . l ) . 1731 provides : — " That all & every Person or Persons recommended & accepted as above , shall pay for his or their making the sum of Three pounds three shillings , ancl for their admittance the sum of five shillings , ancl every Brother who shall pass the Degrees of F . C . & M . shall pay the further sum of seven shillings ancl six pence . " —Freemason , Loudon , April 27 th , 1872 . The 15 th by-law of the Lodge of Bath is especially clear on this point of A . n . 1746 : —

" Every Fellow Craft who is found able & cunning in the Judgment of the Officers , and desirous to pass Master shall pay Five shillings into the Treasurer ' s hands for the Benefit of the Lodge . " It is clear , however , "Masters" in the minute of the Lodge at Bath of date 18 th May , 1733 , really represented the " Master Masons , " as we now term them , or in other words , those who had been raised to the " Third Degree . "

That being the case it seems equally clear to us that the four brethren who were present at the same meeting ancl designated " Pass'd Masters , " must either describe those who had served in the chair of a lodge for the legal time , ancl thus ,. actually Past Masters of lodges , as we describe them in England , or they were the Masters of four other lodges present . The latter is most unlikely to have occurred in Bath as early as 1733 and woidd rarely ocurr nowand so we must hold to the belief that

, , the minute under consideration is illustrative of the fact that the "Pass'd Masters " mentioned , described Past Masters , and that "Masters" alluded to Master Masons ; " Pass'd " being intended sometimes to describe the modern term of " Raising , " as well as the still earlier one of Past Master .

Similar minutes are to be found in the records of a lodge held at London , and dated December 5 th , 1732 , when ten shillings and six shillings were charged for being Pass'd Master , and on December 3 rd , 1734 , the Secretary speaks of it as the " Degree of Master , " but the term " Raising " does not occur . Since writing the former part of this " Spark" and whilst our " masonic anvil " was enjoying rest , we obtained a copy of the warrant of the lodge which is the subject of our sketch . We had well-nigh despaired of securing tbe transcript , for

apparently insuperable difficulties stood in tbe way , and the warrant itself was in a most awkward part of the lodge , up high , in an old cumbersome frame , and covered with dust and cobwebs . Thanks , however , to Bro . Ashley , and the assistance of some men as operatives , tbe original has been exactly copied , and we append a faithful reproduction , which , for the first time , will now be seen in print since the origin of the lodge , and is , moreover , the earliest copy of a warrant we ever remember seeing in England .

MoJTTAora ; ( L . S . ) G . MB . "Whereas , A Petition has been presented unto us and signed by several Brethrei residing at present in and about the city of Bath , humbly praying that they may be constituted into a regular lodge . These are , therefore , to ' Impower and Authorise our Worshipful and well-beloved BrotherMr . Hugh Kennedyto convene our Brethren at Bath aforesaid who have

, , signed the said petition , and that he do in our place and stead , constitute them into a regular lodge in clue form ( He , the said Mr . Hugh Kennedy , taking special care that they ancl every of them have been regularly made Masons ) with like privdeges as all other regular lodges do enjoy , ancl that they be required to conform themselves to all and every the Regulations contained in the printed Book of Constitutions , and observe