Colonial.

ful Bro . Harb , appointed by the M . AV . Grand Master the Earl of Zetland , Prov . Grand Master of the Lodges comprised in the district of Trinidad , Grenada , and St . Vincent . On Saturday evening , the Prov . Grand Master met the brethren of " Victoria Lodge , No . 755 , " now , by virtue of the powers in bim vested , designated by the honourable title of " The Royal Victoria Lodge , " and , after some time occupied iu the examination of the record , and other necessary business , he delivered to the brethren an address . On AVednesday evening , the brethren of the

Royal Victoria Lodge entertained the Prov . Grand Master at dinner , at Miss Amiel ' s hotel . At seven o ' clock , twenty-two members of the Craft sat down to a very excellent repast , to which Ave have no doubt , as good workmen , ample justice was done . The usual loyal aucl Masonic toasts folloived , and at eleven the party separated , after a pleasing reunion , throughout which harmony aud good fellowship prevailed . AVe cannot close this brief notice without observing , that ive have heard the Prov . Grancl Master spoken of in high terms of commendation bthe brethren

y —they seem to regard him as an ornament to their Order . He has been pleased , ive are further informed , to appoint one of the brethren , J . H . Brown , Assistant Prov . Grand Secretary . —From the Guardian Newspaper of the 21 st July , 1859 . GAPE OF GOOD HOPE . BRITISH LODGE ( NO . 419 ) . —On StJohn ' s claythe 21 th of Junethe

. , , brethren of this Lodge presented the retiring AVorshipful Master , Bro . J . S . Rowe , with a Past Master ' s jewel , as a mark of their appreciation of the manner in which he fulfilled the duties of the office occupied by him during the past year . On the evening of the same day , upwards of fifty members of the Craft dined together at the Masonic Hotel . —Cccjic Argus .

America.

AMERICA .

VERMONT . THE LECTURES OP PRESTOM IN TIIE UNITED STATES . THE M . AV . Bro . Philip C . Tucker , at the last Grand Lodge , held in January , gave an interesting address ; part of which , on thc subject of uniformity of working , Ave quote : ¦—" Much has been said and Avritten about tho lectures ofthe Order , and uniformit y of Avork has been the subject of free discussion for several

years past , in most of . the Grancl Loelge jurisdictions of . tho United States . The Grand Lecturer of New A ork informs us , notwithstanding all this discussion , that he found , during the last year , no less than five different systems of ivork and lectures existing in thai , State , and that four of them prevailed in a single Lodge—so that , until the labour began , the brethren did not know which particular system ivas to be thc order of the evening . Some Masons are apt to be so prejudiced in favour of tho particular mode of workand the lectures in ivhich thoy AA-ere taughtas

, , to turn from all investigation , even as to their correctness . I have known some brethren so perfectly carried away with some petty passages , gaudily ornamented with stuff ofthe slightest tinsel , as to stop their ears against reason and argument , and stick to their fancies through life , at the expense of ' leaving truth and common sense behind . ' " It is my purpose to say a few words to you as to the work and lectures—and those only—ivhich are authorized to be taught in this jurisdiction .

" Several years previous to 17 SS , AAllliain Preston was Master of the Lodge of Antiquity iu London , that Lodge being one of the four old Lodges which met at the Apple Tree Tavern in Charles-street , Coventgarden , in Feb . 1717 , and constituted themselves into a Grancl Lodge ,

tlie first regularly organized Graucl Lodge of which ive have any knowledge . Bro . Preston gives us the folloiving account of his action while Master of this old Loelge of Antiquity . " 'AVhen , ' says he , 'I first had the honour to be elected Master of a Lodge , I thought it proper to inform myself fully of the general rules of the society , that I might be able to fulfil my oivn duty and officially enforce a clue obedience in others . The methods which I adopted ivith this vieAv , excited in some of superficial knowledge , an absolute dislike

of what they considered as innovations ; and in others , who ivere better informed , a jealousy of pre-eminence which , the principles of Alasonry ought to have checked . Notwithstanding these discouragements , IIOAVevcr , 1 persevered in my intention of supporting thc dignity of the society , and of discharging with fidelity the trust reposed in me . As candour and integrity , uninfluenced by interest or favour , will ever support a good cause , many of my opponents began to discover their error , and not only applauded , but cheerfully concurred in the execution ot

my measures ; ivhile others of less liberality , tacitly approved ivhat their former declared opinions forbade them publicly to adopt . " ' This success exceeding my most sanguine wishes ; I was encouraged to examine with more attention thc contents of our various lectures . The rude and imperfect state iu which I found them , the variety of modes established in our meetings , and the difficulties which I encountered in my researches , rather discouraged my first attempt ,- persevering , hoivever , in the design , I continued the pursuit ; and assisted by a feAv brethren , who had carefully pursued what ignorance and degeneracy had rejected as unintelligible and absurd , 1 diligently sought for , and at length happil y acquired , some of the ancient and venerable landmarks of the Order .

" ' Fully determined to pursue thc design of effecting a general reformation , and fortunate in the acquisition of the friends thafc I had made , I continued my industry till I had prevailed on a sufficient number to join in au attempt to correct the irregularities ivhich had crept into our assemblies , and exemplify the beauty and utility of the Masonic system . "' AA'e commenced our plan by enforcing the value of the ancient charges and regulations of the Oreler , which inattention had suffered to sink into oblivion , and we established these charges as the basis of our

work . To imprint on the memory the faithful discharge of our duty , ive reduced the most material parts of our system into practice ; and to encourage others in promoting the plan , we observed a general rule of reading one or more of these charges at every regular meeting , and of elucidating such passages as seeinecl obscure . The useful hiuts afforded by these means enabled us generally to improve our plan , till we at last succeeded in bringing into a corrected form , the sections which noiv compose the three lectures of Masonry . '

" This bears the date of January 1 st , 17 SS , and shows who had arranged the lectures afc that time , and upon AA'hat principles they were put into form . Bro . Chase , of New Hampshire , however , tells us that Preston did this work as early as 1772 . I have not at hand tho means of verifying that statement , but I presume it to be correct . "About the year 1800—twelve years after the publication of Preston ' s ' Illustrations '—an English brother , AA-hose name I have been unable to obtaincame [ to Bostonand taught the English lectures as they had

, , been arranged by Preston . The Grand Lodge of Massachusetts approved them , and they ivere taught to Thomas S . AA ebb , aud Henry Fowlo , of Boston , and Bro . Suoiv , of Rhode Island , about the year 1 S 0 I . Bro . Benjamin Gleason , ii'ho ivas a student of Bro . AA ' ohb , received them from him , and embodied them in a private key of his own . About the year 1805 , Bro . Gleason ivas employed by the Grancl Lodge of Massachusetts to teach them to all the subordinate Lodges of that jurisdictionand was paid for that service fifteen hundred dollars . To those

, lectures the Grancl Lodge of Massachusetts still adheres , with a very slight variation in tho Fellow Craft and Master ' s degrees . "Bro . Snow afterwards modified and changed the lectures he had received—mingling ivith them some changes from other sources—so that thc system of lectures descending through him is not reliable .

Bro . Gleason Avas appointed Grand Lecturer ol the Grand Lodge ot Massachusetts in 1805 , and that Grand Lodge appointed no other Grand Lecturer until 1842 . Ho was a liberally educated man , graduated afc Brown University in 1802 , and was a public lecturer on Geography and Astronomy . He ivas a member of Mount Lebanon Lodge iu Massachusetts , in 1807 , and died at Concord , in that State in 1 S 47 , at the ago of 70 years . He visited England , and exemplified the Preston Lectures , as ho ' had received them from Bro . AA'ebb , before the Grancl Lodge of

England , and the Masonic authorities of that Grand body pronounced them correct . "In the year 1817 , Bro . John Barney , formerly ' of Charlotte , A ' crrnont , went to Boston , aucl received thc Preston Lectures there , as taught by Gleason , and as they ivere approved by tho Grand Lodge ni . Massachusetts . I am unable to say whether' he received , them from Bro . Gleason himself , or from Bro . iienry Fowlo . My impression is that he received them from Bro . Fowle . In possession of these lectures he

returned to A-ermont , and at the Annual Communication of our Grand Lodge , in October , 1817 , visited that Grand body and made known the fact . The subject was submitted toacommittee for examination , which reported that these lectures 'were according to the most approved method of work in the United States , ' and proposed to give Bro . Bail icy letters of recommendation' fco all Lodges and brethren , wherever he may wish to travel , as a brother well qualified to give useful Masonic information to any ivho may wish his services . ' The Grand Lodge accepted and adopted the report of its committee , and Bro . Barney , under the recommendation thus given , visited many of the then existing Lodges of

this State , anil imparted to them a knowledge of these lectures . Among others , in the year 181 S , he visited Dorchester Lodge in Vergermes , and imparted full instruction in them to R . AV . Samuel AAilson , now and for several years pasfc , Grand Lecturer- of this State . Upon this occasion Bro . Barney wrote out a portion of . them in private key , aucl Bro . AVillson wrote out the remainder . Both ivere Avritten in the same book , and that part written by Bro . AVillson was examined carefully and approved by Bro . Barney . That original man vscri . pl . is still in existence

and is noiv iu possession of my son , Bro . Philip C . Tucker , jun ., of Galveston , Texas , to ivhom Bro . AVillson presented it a few years ago . Bro . AA . has a perfect copy of it , and refers to it as authorit y in all ease . ; of doubt . Pro . Gallup , of Liberty Lodge , at Franklin , was one of the original Grand Lodge Committee , aucl is still living to attest the correctness and identity of these lectures , as taught by Barney in 1817 . " These are the only lectures which havo been sanctioned in this jurisdiction from October , 1817 , to tbe present day . The Grancl Lodge

has sanctioned no others . My predecessors , Grand Masters Robinson , AVhitney , AVhite , AVales and Haswell , sustained them against all innovation , and to thc extent of ruy power I have done thc same . ' ' I think , upon these facts , I am justified in saying , that the lectures Ave use arc . the true lectures of Preston . AVebb changed the arrangement of thc sections as fixed by Preston for one which he thought more simp le and convenient , but , as I understand , left the body of thc lectures themselves as Preston had established them . Subsequently to ISIS , Bro . Barney went to the AVestern and South AVestern States . He ivas a man in feeble health at the time , and pursued Masonic lecturing as a