The Girls' School.

THE GIRLS' SCHOOL .

' . LONDON , SATURDAY , MAT 1 C , 1863 .

The last of our charities , —so far as the date of its [ Festival is concerned , though the first in point of establishment , —the Girls' School , held its anniversary on AVednesday , and was , we are happy to state , the most successful ever held for that , the generally considered pet charity of the order—the subscriptions

amounting to £ 3500— -making the subscriptions announced at the Festivals of the Eoyal Benevolent Institution for Aged Masons and their Widows , the Boys' School , and the Girls' School , conjointly , to amount to no less than £ 10 , 500 ; and that in a year

when every person—Masons and non-Masons—have had especial calls on their charity from , the distress in the North . On this occasion , our noble brother , the Duke of St . Alban's , made his debut before the brethren in the

graceful character of an advocate of the charities ; and if we have had better chairmen , we have certainly had worse , his Grace performing his duties in a quiet , modest manner , which must have gained the respect of all who heard him ; and showing that by the time

he has gone the round of the charities , and obtained experience in the duties of the chair , he will have attained no little popularity . We congratulate the Chairman , tbe Stewards , and Bro . Patten ( the most excellent Secretary ) , on the

result of the [ Festival , trusting that that of 1864 may be as much in advance of 1863 as 1 S 63 is in advance of 1862 .

Grand Lodge Property.

GRAND LODGE PROPERTY .

In our impression last week we stated , in error , that there were but four days prior to Grand Lodge in which the hall was at liberty for tho exhibition of the plans of the intended new buildings . So far from this being the fact , we are informed by the proprietor of the Tavern that the hall was at liberty

from the 15 th instant to the 27 th inclusive , giving eleven clear days iu which the plans might be viewed by the Craft ; and , moreover , that the only communication made to the lessees , on the subject , was by letter from the Grand -Secretary stating that the Hall

would he required for four days , he having the "book of engagements before him at the time , showing how and when the Hall was required . The Derby Day falling next week , when a large number of country brethren will be in town , a good

opportunity affords itself for their inspection of the plans , if iu the Hall , a central situation , which every body knows . How the mistake originated it is not for us to de -

Grand Lodge Property.

termine , but in the meantime we understand that the Committee have arranged for the exhibition in a vacant ward of the Eoyal [ Free Hospital , Gray's-innlane , a most inconvenient ancl inappropriate localit } -.

The Constitutions Of The Masons Of Strasburg. *

THE CONSTITUTIONS OF THE MASONS OF STRASBURG . *

Authentic records relative to the Constitutions of the Masons of Strasburg , during the time when they most flourished , do not exist . It was only when the old forms began to decay , when the increasing degeneration of moralsweakenedthe desire of forming associations , when the understanding of the old rites and

discipline was more and more lost , that the want was felt to fix the statutes , in order to put a bound to further deterioration , by purging the association of the Masons from all heterogeneous elements , and by obliging all stonemasons to enter into the Corporation . Eor this purpose the Masters of nineteen

lodges of southern and middle Germany , assembled in the year 1459 , at Eegensburg , in' the manner of a chapter , and drew up these revised statutes or constitutions ( Ordungeii ) . It cannot be denied , however , that the tendency of these statutes Avas rather aggressive , trying to invest the Masonic association

with more or lesss political rights and power . Though the first of these assemblies had been held at Eegensburg , on the 25 th of April , 1459 , it was at Strasburg that the newly-revised statutes were solemnly adopted and confirmed . They in so far breathe the spirit of the constitution of the empire ,

as they are defending the isolated independence ofthe individual , be it even at the expense of the fellowcreature , and are grounded , at all events , on former charges . The expression " after the manner of a chapter " ( Kapiteliceisc ) , being used in no other corporation , must evidently remind us of the meetings of the convents , the yearly assemblies of the monks being termed " capitula . "

All the instructions contained in the statutes were kept secret before strangers , and read probably once a year , at the principal quarterly assembly in the lodge . They relate chiefly to the moral conduct of the members between themselves and towards strangers , and breathe a spirit of brotherly love , strict honesty ,

and morality . -Erst of all , these statutes have been published from a certified manuscript copy of the " Ilaupt Siitie , " or Grand Lodge of Strasburg , in Heldmann's Drel dltesten gescldelttlielien Deiikmalen der deutscheii dPreimaureruruderscliafb ( Aarau 1 S 19 ) . Thej' were

again published by Krause , in his Drei dltesten Kunsturhunden der Frcimaurerbruderscliaft , ( Leipzig , 1821 ) ; by Heidelhoff , in his BauMitten des Mittelalters in Deutschlancl ( Nuremberg , 1844 ) ; by Kloss , in his Freimaurerei in Hirer waliren Bedeutung , where they have been compared with the statutes oi' the English

guilds ( p . 108 if . ) , and lastly they were published as a fragment only , by Eallon and by W . lieller , in his brief General History of Freemasonry-