Correspondence.

CORRESPONDENCE .

The Editor is not responsible for the opinions expressed hi ] Correspondents . THE "HIGHER GRADES . " 10 THZ EDITOIt or THE Er . EEMASONS JIAG 1 ZINE AXD MASONIC 1 IIEROR . DEAR SIB AXD BROTHER , —Charity is a Masonic virtue , and I should be sorry to be found deficient in it to those who differ with mc in opinion . I am quite willing for my and

brother Masons to play at being Sir Knights Most Wise Sovereigns , if it pleases them ; but Icannot allow them to under-rato our ancient and beautiful Craft , to which they still owe fealty , whatever other degrees they may choose to take . Your correspondent , " P . M ., P . Z ., & c , " aud myself must " agree to differ " on the antiquity of the "hiher degrees . " I do not wish to force inions

g my op either upon him or others , and I thank him truly for the courtesy of his reply , notwithstanding that he has rather too hastily set me down as uncharitable . But my own opinion is , that the Craft and some portions of the Mark are tho only degrees that are really and truly ancient . Of course , from time to time , there has been much variation in what we call non-essentials in those andthough I

may ; , have no wish , even if it were possible , to pen up operative Masonry iu tyled lodges , yet I think the divorce has been carried to far , and that architecture ought yet to be a necessary teaching in tho Craft . I am , Dear Sir and Brother ,- yours fraternally , BBOTHEE , PETER . Never-Mind-Where , June 1 st , 1861 .

The Late Bro. Evans.

THE LATE BRO . EVANS .

TO THE EDITOK 07 THE PEEEMASONS MAGAZINE AND MASONIC JIIBB 0 H . SIK AXD BHOIIIEK , —On behalf of Mrs . Evans I beg and acknowledge the following addition to the subscriptions on her behalf . Amount acknowledged in THE MAGAZIXE for May 25 th £ 28 1 0 Bro . A . Perrier , Lota , Cork 1 0 o BroGHaward 110

. . Bro . H . A . Isaacs 5 0 Total ... £ 30 7 0 _ With many thanks to yourself , Mr . Editor , for your consideration in allowing these weekly communications of mine , I remain , faithfully yours , JoHX MOTT TlIEABLE .

Burns's Mother Lodge.

BURNS'S MOTHER LODGE .

"The brethren o' the mystic level May lvrng their head in woefu' bevel , While by their nose the tears will revel , Like ony bead ; GTEIED ' S gi ' en the lodge an unco ( level—ST . DAVID ' S dead . " TO ME EDITOI ! OE THE PHEEMASONS MAGAZINE AND MASONIC MIEKOB .

SIR , —The indignation of the Craft has been justly excited by the appearance in the columns of that widely-circulated journal , the Ayr Adoertiser , of a Masonic advertisement of a novel and unusual character . Most unfortunatel y for the credit of Masonry , the charter and minute-books of Tarbolton St . David ' s have been allowed to fall into the hands of some two or three individuals in the village of Tarbolton

, who , so far from preserving , inviolate their sacred trust , have wounded the feelings of the Craft universal , and the Scottish brethren in particular , by offering for public sale Masonic documents which were never intended to meet the eye of the uninitiated . St . David ' s was instituted in 1773 , and is well known as Burns ' s Mother Lodge—being that in which Barns was " entered , " and under whose charter the immortal

poet was " raised" to the summit of ancient Craft Masonry . The career of this lodge has indeed been a chequered one , and its past history could afford rich and ample material for one of Rob Morris ' s best Masonic tales : but the present episode iu its existence eclipses all its predecessors , inasmuch as the contemplated act of spoliation

Burns's Mother Lodge.

( viz ., the sale of the charter and books ) , if allowed to be perpetrated , would by every zealous and intelligent brother be looked upon as nothing short of a desecration of Masonry , and a repudiation of the most solemn of all Masonic covenants . We believe the persons implicated in this business think they are doing nothing amiss , but in this they prove themselves to have been superficiallinstructed in the

very y laws and constitution of Ereemasonry , and lay themselves open to the charge of being too intent on their own personal aggrandisement to care much for the interest of the Order ,. of which they are , nominally at least , members . Could the poet have foreseen the fate to which a few mercenary and unmasonic spirits should consign the charter of his mother lod one of his stinging satirical epitaphs would have

imge , mortalised the trio in a way different to that in which he has rendered famous the sister lodge of Tarbolton—Kilwinning St . James . But apart altogether from the impropriety of offering for sale the charter and books of a Masonic body , the gentlemen holding possession of these documents have no special right of property in this case over any other Mason who may have been made in St . David ' s Lodge at

any period prior to its becoming dormant in 1843 . There are many such alive—some within a tolerably moderate " cable-tow ' s" length of the village of Tarbolton , and whom we are glad to know are bestirring themselves for the protection of the honour of their mother lodge . They have an undoubted right to interfere—nay , it is their bounden duty •—to prevent the alienation of the charter and minutes to other than Masonic purposes ; and any arrangement that both parties might agree upon , as to removal or transfer of

the charter , must meet tho approval of , and be ratified by the Grand Lodge of Scotland . A Masonic charter is not a piece of merchandise , and can never be held as private property : it is granted to the brethren named in it , and to their successors in office- —to be worked by them in connection with , and under the government of , the Supreme Body of Ereemasons granting tho charter , and can be cancelled or

taken possession of by them at any time . If the would-be sellers of the property of St . David ' s , or the other members of the lodge opposed to such a step , have no wish to work the lodge , then let them return the charter to the Grand Lodge , or what would bo to my mind a more graceful and appropriate compliment to the memory of the Ayrshire Bard and Brotherhand the charterbooksand paraphernalia

, , , over to the Master and Wardens of Tarbolton Kilwinning St . James ' s , for preservation , along with the other relics of the poet , in the archives of the lodge to which his " heartwarm fond adieu" was addressed , and in which his "last request" is still most religiously complied with . The brethren in the county should remain no longer quiescent in this important matter : every lodge should raise its voice

in protest against the act , and petition Bro . Sir James Eergusson to summon a meeting of the Provincial Grand Lodge , to authorise tho interdict of further proceedings on the part of those attempting to traffic in Masonry . The Southern taunts the Scot with having sold his king : let it never bo recorded to the disgrace of the cradle-land of Scottish Masonry , that the fraternity in Ayrshire permitted the

sale of Burns's Mother Lodge . Yours fraternally , D . MUBEAY LYOX , J . W . Mother Kilwinning . Ayr , May 30 th , 1861 . P . S . —Can any of your correspondents inform the Craft as to how the symbols of the 3 G . LL . of Masonry , with the flag , and the funds belonging to the Lodge St . David , have been disposed of ? A +

Province Of West Yorkshire.

PROVINCE OF WEST YORKSHIRE .

TO THE EDITOR OJ ? THE EEEEMAS 0 N 3 MAGAZINE AND MASONIC MIP . HOR . In yonr account of the installation proceedings at Leeds , on the 23 rd ult ., I find no mention made of the presence of our R . W . Bro . AVm . Thos . Greaves , D . Prov . G . Master for Cumberland , and two other brethren representing the Senior and Junior Wardens of that province . It is considered a point of the highest pride and gratification amongst West Yorkshire Masons to show courtesy to , and

suitably acknowledge the presence of , visiting brethren from other provinces , whatsoever may be their rank or standing . Our esteemed Bro . Greaves was with us during the whole-