The Province Of Durham.

minutes , though several are so curious . and interesting as to necessitate a feAV extracts . A line Avas inflicted if any brother appeared " in the assembly without gloves and aprons , " and also if a member failed to appear when residing

BRO . AVILLIAM LOGAN , PAST PHOV . DEPUTY GRAND REGISTRAR . " within two miles of the place , " or " . abuse the Sabbath Day by disguising himself in liquor , " and no cash Avas permitted to " be lent to any member of the Society . " The " Orders of

Antiquity , " "Apprentices' Orders , " "General Orders , " and "Penal Orders" are all more or less referable to the operative regulations known as the " Old Charges , " original copies of which can be seen in the province by communication with Bro . G . W . Bain , of Sunderland , who has in his very valuable

library the celebrated " Bain MS . " ( D . 39 ) of 1650 circa , in book form ; the " Langdale M . S . " ( D . 40 , a roll of late 17 th ¦ century ); the " John Strachan M . S . " ( E . 17 , a roll of 1700 ¦ circa ) ; a complete set of "Cole ' s Constitutions , " 172 c ; , 1731 , 1751 and 1762 ; the collection of Masonic works , MSS ., & c ,

being one of the most important of the kind in the world . When constituted at the " TAVO Fencers , " Swalwell , on 24 th June , 1735 , the lodge Avas numbered 132 , and after three more changes in the enumeration it became 4 8 in 1781 , being . again altered to 44 in 1792 , and 6 4 at the " Union" of

December 1813 , becoming 4 8 once more in 1863 . The name ¦ " Industry" Avas selected in 1776 , and the meetings have been held in Gateshead since 1845 , the Masonic Hall , Jackson Street , being the home of the members from 1882 . The third Jubilee Avas celebrated 28 th December , 1885 , and a centenary jeAvel warrant of the ordinary pattern was granted in 1867 .

Bro . R . B . Reed , P . M ., & c , the historian of the lodge , at the 150 th anniversary celebration , in his able address , mentions a claim made by the early members , that the ¦ charter granted the lodge included the privilege of electing the Provincial Grand Master for the county . That could not be , however , as the first Provincial Grand Master Avas Bro .

J . Laycock , their own Senior Warden when not registered , who constituted the lodge at Swahvell in 1 735 ; and , moreover , at that period there Avere no warrants issued , such as from some twenty years later , but simply warrants to constitute , the brother deputed for that purpose being usually noted on the official document , or the Provincial Grand Master

acted on his own authority-. At that time there Avas not a " regular " lodge in the county . Whatever the members considered as their justification for electing a Provincial Grand Master annually , of the fact of such a custom there is no doubt , its exercise dating

probably from 174 6 , and continued for many years , the last elected being in 1781 . From 1746 to 176 3 the names of such brethren , clothed Avith " brief authority , " are duly noted . It is also clear that this action of the Lodge of Industry Avas mainly for local purposes , and apparently Avas not acknowledged by the province as a Avhole ; besides Avhich

their Provincial Grand Masters were not noticed at headquarters , there being no register of any such dignitaries ( 1746 to 1781 ) . Industry , No . 48 , Gateshead , has such an extraordinary history that it deserves special treatment , particularly in relation to its career prior to its regular constitution ; the

" Highrodiam " ceremony , lirst referred to in 1746 , and the position of the lodge < as a kind of friendly society , pointing to a very early origin . In an interesting article in the Transactions of the Quatuor Coronati Lodge ( 1902 ) , Bro . John Yarker alludes to the subject at considerable length , and

though he is inclined to date the " Order " farther back than I think the facts justify , his long study of the subject entitles him to serious consideration ; and , moreover , the Masonic historian , Bro . R . F . Gould , having also referred to the question , the IAVO authorities should be consulted side by side Avith the existing evidence .

The Marquis of Granby , No . 124 , Durham , is the second lodge previously mentioned , and one that also has a note-Avorthy history . Though not so long on the roll of Grand Lodge as a few other lodges in the province , it is really much older than any , excepting the venerable No . 4 8 , Gateshead

, as it Avas at work long before its warrant Avas granted in 1763 , and probably even years prior to the date of its earliest preserved minute . Its most interesting history has been Avritten by Bro . William Logan , J . P ., P . M ., & c , who is the

WW . IWBKItT HUDSON , PROVINCIAL GRAXD SECRETARY . Masonic historian of the province . In his valuable Avork ( 1886 ) many particulars are given of the old lodge , and numerous excerpts from the minutes of 173 8 to the year of publication . The first record is dated June 24 th , 1738 , when