History Of The Airedale Lodge, No. 387,

week ; widows , 4 s . per week ; ancl 2 s . per week additional for every child under twelve until he or she attains that age . In 1802 the society paid to sick , aged , and imprisoned brethren , £ 625 Is . ; and to widows ancl children , £ 492 10 s . 7 d . The principal expense , including salary to the actuary for clerk , messenger , etc ., only amounted to £ 1 . 50 ; whilst in the metropolis there were several medical brethren who volunteered their professional services to its sick members .

In 1801 the Lodge Honour and Perseverance , Oockermouth , No . 436 , was removed to Batley . From an old Grand Lodge circular in my possession , of January , 1803 , I copy the following , the substance of which had probably much to do with the general lifelessness of Freemasonry in Yorkshire at this time , as schisms of any kind invariably affect well-disposed , besides the disaffected ; ancl no doubt all | the North of England Lodges then were , to a more or less extent , influenced detrimentally by the disaffected Athol Masons :

In consequence of the late resolutions passed at the Grand Lodge , the following extracts are taken from the Book of Constitutions for the information and guidance of the brethren : That no Lodge can assemble without a Warrant from the Grand Master ; and that the persons who have assembled , and still continue to assemble , as Masons , by virtue of a power from a Pretended Grand Lodge established in London a few years since , and which is now said to exist under the patronage of the Duke of Athol , are not to be countenanced or acknowledged by any regular Mason under the Constitution of England , on pain of

forfeiting tbe privileges of the society ; tlie sakl Conuent-ion , being a gross insult to the Grand Master and to every Lodge under his a / usptces ,- and tbe more effectually to discourage these illegal conventions , that no regular Mason shall be present at them or give any sanction to their proceedings . That it is the opinion of the Ancient Brand Lodge of all England that the persons calling themselves Ancient Masons , and now assembling in England or elsewhere , under the sanction of the Duke of Athol , are not to be considered as Masons , nor are their meetings to be countenanced or acknowledged by any regular Lodge or Mason acting under our authority , nor shall any of them be admitted into our regular Lodges without being re-made .

In Yorkshire , at any rate , much uncertainty must have existed in the lodges , and no doubt widely different opinions were held amongst the members as to the relative merits of "Ancient" and "Modern" Freemasonry , causing shyness between the brethren , and ultimately a groiving neglect of the lodge itself . In the Duke of York's Lodge most of the brethren happily had little , if any , interest in the matter beyond their allegiance to the Grand Lodge ( London ) as constituting their authority to meet ; but I am inclined to think

a few of the less infliieiitial members , perhaps dissatisfied also with their position in the lodge , entertained views at variance with such allegiance . However , the effect of the non-attendance of the brethren , and the great difficulty of one individual keeping them in unity and working together , must have been deep and lasting upon , our excellent Bro . Hawley , and is no less marked on the lodge , the minutes of which at this period foreshadow too

surely its inevitable decay . These are written in various bad styles of oaligraphy , are full of grammatical and orthographical errors , most indistinct in some cases , and careless . in the extreme—a sad contrast to the former minutes , which may be accepted as being of the highest class of their time . Only another extract need be given from minutes during Bro . Hawley ' s membership , and it was the last St . John ' s he attended , acting , as before , as W . M . Independently of this circumstance , this extract is inserted on account of an amusing clause respecting the tenure of office of the Wardens and Secretary :

Feb . 7 th , 1803 ( St . John ' s . ) The Master then appointed Bro . Wm . Sleeford his senior warden and Bro . John Bennett his junior warden , and Bro . Thomas Ainley his secretary , for the ensuing twelve months , or during their good behaviour , which shall be determined by a majority of the members then present . 2 c 2