176 PAST AND PRESENT OF gowan, Alexander Gordon , Alexander Smith , John Webster , James Curtis , Thomas Des- Brisay , John Clark , Thomas Alexander and lastly, Alexander Richardson , at whose house, known as the "Cross Keys," situate on the corner of Queen and Dorchester streets. The lodge met until 1811, when ac¬ commodation was provided by Alexander Rob ¬ inson, Queen street, in his room known as Mr. Thomas Robinson 's "Long Room," and continued therein to 1827, when the members decided to move to the house of Mr. John Robinson , on Kent street, between Queen and Pownal streets, just below the present city hall, and afterward occupied as a dwelling by Mr. Henry Palmer . From 1834 to Octo¬ ber, 1893, when the Masonic Temple was completed the lodge moved from place to place. In 1827 a second lodge was organ¬ ized under a warrant received from the (Irand Lodge of England , named "Sussex." It continued to work for about ten years. A third lodge appeared in 1857, under the jur¬ isdiction of the Grand Lodge of Scotland , named -'Victoria." By an imperial act the name of St. John's Island was changed to that of Prince Edward on the 20th of November, 1798, and re¬ ceived the royal allowance February 1, 1799, in grateful remembrance of that period when the Island was under the command of Lieutenant General, His Royal Highness , Prince Edward , Duke of Kent, the father of Her Most Gracious Majesty, Queen Vic ¬ toria. The Prince was a distinguished Ma¬ son, and took a deep interest in the craft. Victoria Lodge, at Charlottetown , was char¬ tered under the Scottish jurisdiction in 1857, Sixteenth Communication, June 24, 1891. M. W. John W. Morrison , grand master, the representative of twelve lodges, and New York by W. John J. O. Weldon . The grand master reports a favorable condl- tion of the craft, and offers some wise recommen¬ dations. Having been contemporary with Ma - Bonry for the past fifty years, he furnishes the following Interesting item of Masonic history in this province: "Brethren, you are aware that this Grand Lodge was organised on the 24th of June, 1876, and that we have no account on the records of the first lodge chartered in this province. I think it advisable to do so on this occasion. On the 9th day of October, 1797, St. John's'Lodge, now No. 1 in this jurisdiction, received a charter or war¬ rant from the English Provincial Grand Lodge of N 'ova Scotia under No. 26, subsequently from the Grand Lodge in England , the then governor of this Island, General Edmund Fanning , being a charter member. At that time this province was called St John's Island, and in consequence of many mistakes of letters and merchandise ad¬ dressed to persons in the Island by being carried by mistake to St John's, Newfoundland , or St John's, Now , or St John's on the Lab¬ rador coast, or elsewhere, by act of Parliament the name was changed to that of Prince Edward Island on the 20th day of November, 1798, and received the royal allowance February 1, 1799, in grateful remembrance of that peculiarly auspi¬ cious and happy period when this Island was un¬ der the command of Lieutenant General, His Royal Highness Prince Edward , Puke of Kent. commander-in-chief of His Majesty's forces in . Nova Scotia , Island St. John. and Newfoundland , and the father of Her Most Grac¬ ious Majesty the Queen. St John's lodge is now nearly a century old, Is one of our most prosper ous lodges, and without a link being missing has come down to the present time, through the anti- Masonic persecution of 1826 to 1836, when many- lodges On this continent went down, the total num¬ ber of affiliated Masons then on the Island being eighteen, and the funds in a low condition. For sixty years, save a few years of the existence of Sussex Lodge, St John's Lodge was the only lodge on the Island, Victoria No. 2 being organ¬ ized In 1867." The Grand Lodge of Prince Edward Is ¬ land was organized on the 24th of June, 1875, with Hon . John Yeo (now senator) as grand master and B. Wilson Higgs as grand secretary. At that date there were eight lodges in this jurisdiction. Now there are fourteen, with a membership of six hun¬ dred and five.