Lodge is permitted to possess any written documents, and every six months a new pass-word is selected, and communicated by the Grand Orient; brethren who are strangers are only admitted if personally known to the W. M.

SWEDEN. Freemasonry was introduced into this country in 1735, by charter from the Grand Orient of France, granted to the Governor, Count Sparre. But little is known of this Lodge, as its operations were closed in 1738 by royal decree, forbidding Masons to meet on pain of death. This prohibition was rescinded in 1740, when the Order spread and flourished. It soon enjoyed a position that the brethren did not hesitate to publicly acknowledge their association with the institution. In 1762 King Adolphus Frederick declared himself the protector of the Swedish lodges, and desired to participate in the labors and expenses of the Fraternity. In 1765 Lord Blaney, Grand Master of England, granted a deputation to Brother Charles Fullman, secretary to the English embassy at Stockholm, to establish a Provincial Grand Lodge for Sweden. In 1799 a union of the Grand Lodges of Sweden and England was effected, which was the cause of great rejoicing among the Fraternity. In 1809 Charles XIII. ascended the throne of Sweden, who, May 27, 1811, founded an order of knighthood under the title of "Charles the Thirteenth," for the purpose, as is stated in the manifesto establishing the Order, to do honor to those virtues which are not prescribed by law, and which are seldom offered to the notice of the public. The statutes exacted that this Order, the distinctive badges of which were to be worn openly, should only be communicated to Freemasons; it, therefore, formed the highest degree of Swedish Freemasonry. The reigning king was always to be Grand Master of the Order, and beside the princes of the royal house, the Order could only consist of twenty-seven secular and three ecclesiastical members. Charles XIII. remained an active

and zealous member of the Order during his life time. Freemasonry is still protected by the crown, and is, therefore, one of the most respectable institutions in the country.

SWITZERLAND. The introduction of the Order into Switzerland began in 1737, by warrant from the Grand Lodge of England, to Sir George Hamilton, as Provincial Grand Master, by authority of which he established a Provincial Grand Lodge at Geneva. In 1739 the Duke of Montacute, Grand Master of England, granted a warrant to a number of English nobleman to establish a Lodge at Lausanne. Masonry flourished for a short time, when it was prohibited by the civil authorities of Berne. The lodges remained closed for nearly twenty years, when the old Lodge at Lausanne was revived, and flourished for a short period. But soon the old prohibition was again issued against the Order. Internal dissensions also entered the bodies, which, for a time, threatened its total destruction. Four distinct organizations, in spirited opposition to each other, existed at the same time in the republic. During the stormy political events between 1793 and 1803 the lodges remained closed. When Neuenburg and Geneva were ceded to France, the Grand Lodge of Geneva ceased to exist, and all the lodges placed themselves under the Grand Orient of France, which immediately founded new lodges in various parts of the country. Peace, with its harmonious influences, was restored, and Masonry immediately revived. In 1822 a treaty of union was agreed upon between the Grand Orient and the English Provincial Grand Lodge, which assumed the name of the Grand Lodge of Switzerland. In 1844, through the efforts of the powerful and influential Masons of Switzerland, delegates from all the lodges met at Zurich, when the treaty of union was ratified for the newlyfounded Grand Lodge under the name of "Alpina.' Switzerland displays in the present day great Masonic activity, and the Fraternity therein is much esteemed.

TURKEY. Freemasonry was introduced into the Ottoman Empire about 1830; but it soon ceased to exist. More recently several lodges have been established at Constantinople, Smyrna, and Aleppo, and particularly among the English settlements. The lodges are prosperous, and an English Provincial Grand Lodge for Turkey has been established recently, with Sir Henry Bulwer as Grand Master.

URUGUAY. The first Lodge was established in this republic in the year 1827, by the Grand Orient of France, under the name of "The Children of the New World." This Lodge is still in existence, having, however, changed its name to that of "The Friends of the Country." There are several Spanish lodges in the republic, governed by the Supreme Council and the Grand Orient of Uruguay, which were established in the year 1855. The lodges under this authority, and the solitary one which retains its allegiance to the Grand Orient of France, are working together in the utmost harmony. Notwithstanding the opposition of the priesthood here, Masonry is fully carrying out its great mission of love.

VERMONT. Of the first introduction of Freemasonry into this State we have, at present, no immediate knowledge, unless the first Lodge is that mentioned in the following statement: "A petition from several brethren, dated at Cornish, (then claimed by Vermont, but now in New Hampshire,) was read in the Massachusetts Grand Lodge, Nov. 8, 1781, praying for the establishment of a Lodge in that place; whereupon, voted that a charter be issued Accordingly. This Lodge met a few times at Cornish, but when that town was claimed by New Hampshire the Lodge removed to Windsor, Vt., on the opposite side of Connecticut river, and took the name of Vermont Lodge, No. 1.'" Jan. 17, 1785, the Massachusetts Grand Lodge granted a charter to a proper number of Master Masons, residing at Manchester, Vermont, to establish a Lodge at that place. The Grand 1 odge was organized Oct. 19, 1794.

The GRAND CHAPTER was organ. ized Dec. 20, 1804. Jonathan Wells was elected the first Grand HighPriest. Reorganized July 18, 1849.

The GRAND COUNCIL of Royal and Select Masters was organized 1854. Nathan B. Haswell was elected the first Grand Master.

The GRAND COMMANDERY, Knights Templar, was organized 1825-was dormant for several years—reorganized Jan. 14, 1852.

VIRGINIA. Writers on the early history of Freemasonry in the United States, particularly of the time when they were colonies of the British government, are often embarrassed in their researches, and are unable to furnish the "tangible proof" of the first introduction of the Order into certain well-established localities among the early settlements of this country. The historian is often sorely perplexed from the fact that the materials within his reach are in many instances only speculations, presumptions, or the-too frequently questionable-statements of "the oldest inhabitant." The difficulty, therefore, of preparing a continuous history of Freemasonry in America lies mainly in the presumptive character of much of the evidence that makes up its record. That there is some cause for this lack of reliable evidence is beyond dispute. The many difficulties that surrounded the habitations of the first emigrants; the wild and unsettled condition of the country; the war of the Revolution, when the merciless foe burned and destroyed every kind of property within his reach; the frequent ecclesiastical and political persecutions which have from time to time been brought against the Order, and the slight interest taken by our predecessors in the preservation of Masonic records-these, with other causes, will, in some measure, account for the scarcity of reliable Masonic data, at the present time. We are led to these reflections after examining the scanty materials which we find for the subject under discussion as well as of that already disposed of. For the matter of this sketch I am indebted to a very

able and interesting address on the | liamsburg, and Cabin Point Royal "History of the Grand Lodge of Virginia, by R. W. JOHN Dove, M. D." Bro. Dove has been an active member of the Grand Lodge of Virginia for fifty, and its Grand Secretary for more than thirty, years. He says: "The first Lodge of Ancient York Masons was chartered Dec. 22, 1733, in the village of Norfolk, by the title of Royal Exchange Lodge, No. 172. The second Lodge was chartered by the Grand Lodge of Scotland for Port Royal, by the name of Kilwinning Cross, in 1755. The third was chartered by the same Grand Lodge for Petersburg, by the name of Blandford Lodge No. 83, in 1757. The fourth was chartered by the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts for Fredericksburg, July 21, 1758, having some years before obtained a dispensation. The fifth was chartered by the Grand Lodge of England for Hampton, Nov. 6, 1773, by the name of St. Tamany; and, on the same day, by the same grand body, the sixth Lodge was chartered for Williamsburg, by the name of Williamsburg. The seventh was chartered by the same for Gloucester, Nov. 6, 1773, by the name of Botetourt. The eighth was chartered by the Grand Lodge of Scotland for Cabin Point, April 5, 1775, by the name of Cabin Point Royal Arch. Beside these are found on the registry of the Grand Lodge of Scotland that St. John's Lodge No. 111 was constituted at Norfolk in 1741; also there was a Lodge at Falmouth, and one chartered for Yorktown, Aug. 1, 1755, by the Grand Lodge of England. That there were others in the State (military lodges no doubt) is proven by a letter written in 1843, by R. W. John Barney, the Grand Lecturer of Ohio, in which he says: 'Capt. Hugh Maloy, aged ninety-three, is now living in or near Bethel, Clermont Co., who was initiated in 1782, in Gen. Washington's Marquee; Gen. Washington presided in person, and performed the initiatory ceremonies. At a convention of delegates from Norfolk, Kilwinning Port Royal Cross, Blandford, Wil

Arch lodges, met at Williamsburg, Va., May 6, 1777, for the purpose of choosing a Grand Master for the State of Virginia. The convention decided, by unanimous vote, that a Grand Master ought to be chosen to preside over the Craft in Virginia, and a committee was appointed to present, to the Fraternity at large, the reasons for this step. May 13, following, the convention received the committee's report, which presented four reasons for the course contemplated, viz: 1. That the lodges in Virginia were working under five distinct and separate authorities, viz: the Grand Masters of England, Scotland, Ireland, Pennsylvania, and America, the last at second hand; consequently, they could not assemble in annual communication to manifest the distinguishing characteristics of Masonry, or settle whatever differences might arise among the respective lodges for want of a common tribunal. 2. No precedent could be found by the committee where Masonry had ever derived any benefit from the foreign appointment of a Grand Master in this country, those officers being but little known and slightly regarded. 3. There was no tribunal for the correction of abuses, and no settled authority for the establishment of new lodges. 4. The Grand Lodges of England, Scotland, and Ireland, having established their own right of election upon the inherent privilege of Masons, distinct from all foreign power whatever, the committee conceive that the Masons of Virginia have the same rights and privileges which Masons in other lands, in all times, heretofore had confessedly enjoyed. After the discussion of this able paper, the convention then adjourned to meet at Williamsburg, June 23, ensuing. Upon that day, the delegates of five lodges assembled, agreeably to adjournment, and declared themselves unanimously of opinion that a Grand Master of Virginia is essential to the prosperity and dignity of Masonry in general; but, there not being a majority of the Virginia lodges represented,

they declined proceeding at that time to an election. The convention recommended, however, that each lodge petition its own Grand Master (in England, Scotland, etc., as the case might be,) to appoint some one worthy Mason, resident in this State, as Grand Master thereof, with power to resign such authority to a convention of all the lodges when they should meet and elect a Grand Master. And for this purpose the convention recommended that GENERAL GEORGE WASHINGTON, Commander-in-chief of the revolutionary army, should be the individual to whom the charter of appointment should be made, but he declined. The convention reassembled, Oct. 13, 1778, four lodges being represented, and adopted a resolution, unanimously, that there was a sufficient number of lodges present to proceed to business. Decided that the power and authority of Cornelius Harnet, as Deputy Grand Master of America, had ceased to exist. John Blair, of Williamsburg, was then unanimously elected Grand Master. He was installed Oct. 30, ensuing, and thus the long-desired object of an Independent Grand Lodge was accomplished.

WASHINGTON, TERRITORY OP. A convention of delegates from Olympia Lodge No. 5; Steilacoom Lodge No. 8; Grand Mound Lodge No. 21, and Washington Lodge No. 22, all having received charters from the Grand Lodge of Oregon, met in Olympia, territory of Washington, Dec. 6, 1858, for the purpose of considering the propriety of estab lishing a Grand Lodge for said territory. The convention appointed the usual officers, and committees, and on the 7th regularly organized a Grand Lodge, adopted a constitution, elected and installed Grand Officers. T. F. McElroy was elected the first Grand Master.

WEST VIRGINIA. A convention of delegates from nine lodges of West Virginia met at Fairmount, on Wednesday, April 12, 1865, when, after the transaction of other business, the convention elected Grand Officers. W. J. Bates was elected Grand Master, and T. H. Logan Grand Secretary. The convention adjourned to meet again May 10, of the same year, when the Grand Officers were installed in ample form, and the Grand Lodge of West Virginia regularly established.

WISCONSIN. The introduction of Freemasonry into this territory Royal Arch Masonry was intro-began in January, 1843, by dispenduced into Virginia under the sations granted to Mineral Point auspices of Joseph Myers, one of Lodge, at Mineral Point; Melody the Inspectors General of the An- Lodge, at Platteville, and Milcient and Accepted rite, of the waukee Lodge, at Milwaukee, by southern jurisdiction, at Charleston, the Grand Lodge of Missouri. A S. C. The SUPREME GRAND ROYAL convention of the delegates from ARCH CHAPTER was organized at the lodges just named assembled at Norfolk, May 1, 1808. This grand the city of Madison, on Monday, body is not in affiliation with the Dec. 18, 1843, when the convention General Grand Chapter of the adopted the resolution that it was United States. expedient to form a Grand Lodge in the territory of Wisconsin. constitution was adopted, officers elected and installed. Rev. B. T. Kavanaugh was elected the first Grand Master.

The GRAND ENCAMPMENT was organized about 1823; was represented in the Grand Encampment of the United States in 1826; soon became dormant. Organized new Grand Encampment in 1845, without approval of the Grand Encampment of the United States. In 1851 united again with the Grand Encampment of the United States; seceded again in 1861; renewed her allegiance to the Grand Encampment of the United States in 1866.

A

The GRAND CHAPTER of Royal Arch Masons was founded Feb. 13, 1850. Dwight F. Lawton was elected the first Grand High-Priest.

The GRAND COUNCIL of Royal and Select Masters was organized in 1857. James Collins was elected the first Grand Master.