WILLIAM PRESTON AND TEE " ANCIENT" MASONS. their framing a proper Answer to be transmitted to the R.W.G.I., of Scot- It is difficult to suggest a reason for the conduct of W ILLIAM PRESTON , land , and when done to be presented to His Grace for his approbation. " author of the well-known " Illustrations of Masonry," in almost entirely The " Pecquet " referred to contained firstly a letter from W ILLIAM M ASON ignoring the existence of that section of English Freemasonry which stjkd dattd " Edinr. 17th Augt. 1775, " to " W M . D ICKEY Esq. Bow St. Covent itself during the latter half of last, and the early years of the present , Garden , Londn.," in which he describes the purport of PRESTON 'S letter, century as the " Antient and Honourable Society of Free and Accepted and adds, by way of postscript , " I have given no Answer to Mr. Masons according to the old Institutions," or more familiarly, as the PRESTON 'S Letter, nor will not, until I hear fro m you, therefore shal " Ancient " or " Athol " Masons. According to the extract we published expect you will be speedy in your Return to this, that I may have in our issue of the 29th ult., from K ENNING 'S Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, an opportunity to do it." PRESTON , in his letter to M ASON , applied it is not clear when this distinguished member of our Order was initiated " for a Correct List of the present Officers of the Grand Lodtre of into its mysteries, but " it has been said at a lodge, which met at the White Scotland and of the severa l Lodges under your Constitution. As it is Hart, in the Strand , in 17 60, under an Athol Warrant." Bro. GOULD , in intended for an Annual Publication which goes to Press about his " Atholl Lodges," in the note appended to No. m , points out that a month hence, I shall be greatly obliged if favoured with an answer from PRESTON was a member of the lodge at the White Hart , having been you by return of Post." In a poslscri pt PRESTON adds : " I should be extreamly initiated under the dispensation granted by the " Ancient " Grand Lodge happy to be Instrumental in introducing a Correspondence between the to make Masons at the said White Hart to Bro. R OBERT LOCKIIEAD Grand Lodge of Scotland, the place of my nativity, and the Grand Lodge on the 2nd March , 1763, while the lodge itself was constituted of England. My Interest and Connexions in Masonry are at present very &* " on or about 20th April , 1763 " ; and he further states that extensive here, it would give me a sensible pleasure to have the satisfac- " after meeting successively at the Horn Tavern , Fleet-street, the tion of recommending English Brethren to your favour & the Brethren Scots' Hall , Blackfriars, and the Half Moon, Cheapside, the members of Initiated by you to the Regular Lodges of this Metropolis." Secondly, No. in (at the instance of W ILLIAM PRESTON ) petitioned for a ' Modern ' there is a letter from Bro. M ASON to Bro. D ICKEV, in reply to one from the Constitution , and the Iodge was soon afterwards constituted a second time, in latter of the 28th August, in which he forwards copy of a letter which he had ample form , by the name of the ' Caledonian ' Lodge, under which name it writlen to Bro. PRESTON on the 7th September, and which wns to the follow- still exists (now No. 134) ." It is also clear, from the letter which appeared ing effect : " Sir— I duly reed, your Letter of the 7th ulto. & would have in our columns last week from Bro. R OBERT BERRIDGE , that it was not long returned an immediate answer but that your request was somewhat singular before Bro. PRESTON attained to a position of eminence in the ranks of the and therefore as the Grand Lodge of Scotland have an Establish'd Corres- " Modern ," or " Regular," Fraternity. Therefore, as an ex-member of the pondence with the Grand Lodges of England & Ireland &* they the same " Ancient " Society, and a prominent member of its more aristocratic rival, with us, whatever new matter happens with the one is made known to all. PRESTON was in a better position than yo. out of every hundred Masons of So I made this known to my worthy Brother D ICKEV , Secretary to the Grand his time to know of the schism which existed amongst the Freemasons in Lodge of England & of him in Bow Street, Covent Garden , you will get any Eng land. Yet no one who has read the l'ourth Book of his " Illustrations ," Information you may want to publish with regard to Masonry." The next in which is traced " the History of Masonry in England to the great Masonic letter is also from Bro. M ASON , bearing date " Edinburgh, 9 October, 1775, " Re-union in 1S13, " can have failed to remark that, as we have before said , and enclosing copy of a letter received from PRESTON in the interim. PRESTON with the exception of a few scant references to the " Ancients " and— in this letter, after politely declining to avail himself of Bro. M ASON 'S what could not be dealt with in a few lines—the account in refere nce to Bro. D ICKEV , on the ground that he has not "the pleasure of detail, as it appeared in the last edition published during his lifetime, of knowing that gentleman , neither do I wish to correspond with him in the " The Great Masonic Re-union in 1813, " what purports to be a " History of characlcr you give him , proceeds as follows : "It is with regret I under- Masonry in England" is merely a narrative of the proceedings of the stand by your Letter that the Grand Lodge of Scotland has been so grossly " Modern " or " Regular " Grand Lodge. As a pervert to this latter imposed upon as to have established a correspondence with an irregular section of the Craft in England , PRESTON , perhaps, was justified in the body of men who falsely assume the appellation of Antient Masons. And adoption of this course j but as the self-constituted historian of English I still more sensibly lament that this imposition has likewise received the Masonry, it was his duty to have described, as far as lay in his power, and countenance of the Grand Lodge of Ireland." Hc refers Bro. MASON to an with complete impartiality, the proceedings of both sections, and his omission enclosed exceript from his " History of Masonry in England from the revival to do this is a reproach to his fame which cannot be overlooked or condoned. of the Grand Lodge in 1717 " for the alleged " Origin of those Irregular When he was initiated , the " Ancient " Grand Lodge had 111 lodges on ils Masons with whom you correspond " and forward s a list of the Grand roll ; when he published the first edition of his history, this number had Masters of his Society from 1717. He adds—" I am sorry to find that the increased to about 180 ; and when the Union was effected in 1813, there were Duke of ATHOL , Gen. O UGHTON , Lord K ELLY , and some other respectable upwards of 300 of them. Moreover, this Union, as he well knew, or personages have at different times been prevailed upon to give a sanction to could without difficulty have ascertained , was effected on terms that were these assemblies. I am convinced no nobleman apprised of the deception equally honourable to both Societies, so that, though, as we have before sug- would give their countenance or wish to Intrude upon the rights of other gested, it may have been sound policy on the part of the " Moderns "—a Noblemen who ever smce.theyear 1721 have been regularly 'elected to preside policy enjoined on them by their Grand Lodge under the severest pains and as Grand Masters agreeable to the Antient Laws of the Society. You will penalties—to ignore their " Ancient " brethren , the conduct of Preston in find by the list that the greater part of our patrons have been noblemen framing his history in accordance wilh that policy seems all the more inex- of Scotch extraction , who have regularly attained the direction of the cusable, especially when we find from a perusal of the minutes of the Fraternity. Under our patronage 480 lodges are established at home " Ancient " Grand Lodge, that when it suited his purpose, he was able, or and abroad, and some of thc first Princes in Europe do not disdain our professed to able, to explain , as indeed he does in partisan fashion , the differ- Alliance." In commenting on this letter, Bro. M ASON writes : " As this ences that existed between the two Societies. seems to be new and serious matter, I shall expect with your first In the minutes of the " Ancient " Grand Lodge of the ist Nov. 1775— conveniency that you will favour me with an answer, and you will please at which time there existed a friendly intercouse between it and the Grand also return the papers, as I intend laying the whole before our next Lodges of Ireland and Scotland—it is recorded that Bro. DERMOTT, Deputy Quarterly Communication , which happens on the 13th proxo." The Grand Master, -who presided on the occassion, " reported that the Grand " Ancient " Grand Lodge was fully equal to the occasion. A reply, in Secretary had (upon y 16th last month) received a Pacquet from W.M. which is traceable the bold hand of Bro. DERMOTT , was at once prepared MASON , Esq., Grand Secretary of Scotland, containing sundry printed Papers and Grand Secretary D ICKEY was instructed to submit it for the approval composed by one W M .