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The History Of Freemasonry
By
Albert G. Mackey 33°
VOLUME SEVEN
PART 4. - SYMBOLISM OF
FREEMASONRY
CHAPTER
PAGE
[Original Volumes / This Copy]
3.
- Symbolism of Numbers
............................................................ 1733
/
7
4.
- Legends and Symbols of Freemasonry .................................. 1755
/
30
PART 5. - ANCIENT AND ACCEPTED
SCOTTISH RITE AND ROYAL ORDER OF SCOTLAND
1.
- The Early History of the Scottish Rite ....................................
1803 /
69
2.
- The Original Supreme Council ..............................................
1820 /
84
3.
- The Scottish Rite in the United States ..................................
1843 /
97
4.
- The Royal Order. of Scotland
................................................ 1908
/
181
PART 6. - FREEMASONRY IN OTHER
COUNTRIES
1.
- British America
...................................................................... 1929
/
214
2.
- Mexico
....................................................................................
1942 /
227
3.
- Cuba and Porto Rico
............................................................ 1961
/
241
4.
- Asia and Cape Colony
.......................................................... 1968
/
246
5.
- Australasia
...........................................................................
1990 /
266
SUPPLEMENT TO DR. MACKEY'S TEXT
BY
WILLIAM JAMES HUGHAN ................................................. 2001
/
275
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
VOLUME SEVEN
PAGE
Theodore S. Parvin
.
. 1744
/
19
York Cathedral
..
..
. 1776
/
48
Apprentice's Pillar, Roslyn Chapel, Edinburgh
.....
. 1808
/
75
H.
R. H., the Prince of Wales
. 1840
/
94
Plate of Symbols
.
. 1872
/
142
Fac-simile
of Agreement of Union
of A\A\S\R\ Bodies in U. S. A.
. 1880
/
151
Green Dragon Tavern, Boston, Mass
. 1904
/
176
The
Oldest Masonic Minute in Existence
. 1926
/
211
Charles T. McClenachan 1936 Knights Templar-
Columbian Commandery, No. 1,
New York City
.... 1968
/
224
Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth
..
. 2000
/
273
P.
1733
Chapter III
SYMBOLISM OF NUMBERS
THE
best way, says Lawrie in his preface, "of refuting the calumnies which have
been brought against the fraternity of Freemasons is to lay before the public
a correct and rational account of the nature, origin, and progress of the
institution, that they may be enabled to determine whether or not its
principles are, in any shape, connected with the principles of revolutionary
anarchy, and whether or not the conduct of its members has ever been similar
to the conduct of traitors." And from the publication of such sentiments it
must be evident to every Brother's experience that the feeling against
Freemasonry, which displayed itself so openly only a few years ago, has
assumed a much milder form, if it be not entirely removed.
It
will not, however, be difficult to account for the dearth of Masonic writers
in a preceding age.
Before
the 18th century symbolical masonry, being limited to the simple ceremonial,
needed few illustrations; because, as the science was chiefly operative, the
most valuable secrets would be those which had a reference to building, to the
scientific ornaments and decorations of each particular style of architecture
as it flourished in its own exclusive period; and these mysteries were
communicated gradually, as the candidate rose through the different stages of
his order or profession.
There
appears to have been one general principle, which extended itself over every
style from the early English to the florid, decorated, and perpendicular, and
constituted one of the most ineffable secrets of the Masonic lodges.
It is
now known to have been the hieroglyphical device styled Vesica Piscis; "which
may be traced from the Church of St. John Lateran, and the old St. Peter's at
Rome, to the Abbey Church at Bath, which is one of the latest Gothic buildings
of any consequence in England.
It was
formed 1733 by two equal circles cutting each other in the centers, and was
held in high veneration, having been invariably adopted by Master Masons in
all countries.
In
bas‑reliefs, which are seen in the most ancient churches, over doorways, it
usually circumscribes the figure of our Saviour.
It was
indeed a principle which pervaded every building dedicated to the Christi6an
religion, and has been exclusively attributed to the scientific acquirements
of Euclid." (1)
Oliver, in Pythagorean Triangle, says: "The secret meetings of master masons,
within any particular district, were confined to consultations with each
other, which mainly tended to the communication of science, and of improvement
in their art.
An
evident result was seen in the general uniformity of their designs in
architecture, with respect both to plan and ornament, yet not without
deviations.
We may
conclude that the craft or mystery of architects and operative masons was
involved in secrecy, by which a knowledge of their practice was carefully
excluded from the acquirement of all who were not enrolled in their
fraternity.
Still,
it was absolutely necessary, that when they engaged in contracts with bishops
or patrons of ecclesiastical buildings, a specification should be made of the
component parts, and of the terms by which either contracting party should be
rendered conversant with them.
A
certain nomenclature was then divulged by the master masons for such a
purpose, and became in general acceptation in the middle ages." (2)
The
abstruse calculations which accompanied the sciences of geometry and
arithmetic are no longer necessary to Freemasonry as an institution purely
speculative; and they were accordingly omitted in the revised system, as it
was recommended to the notice of the Fraternity by the Grand Lodge in 1717,
and we retain only the beautiful theory of these sciences, with their
application to the practice of morality, founded on the power and goodness of
T.G.A.O.T.U.
It
would be an injustice to our Brethren of the last century to believe that they
did not entertain a profound veneration for the principles of the Masonic
order.
But
the customs and habits of the people of England, living in that day, differed
materially from our own.
There
were times when conviviality and a love of social harmony prevailed over the
more sedate pursuits and investigations of
(1)
Kerrich in "Archaeol.," vol. vxi., P. 292.
(2)
Dallaway, "Archit.," p. 410
science, in which such an astonishing progress distinguishes the present
times.
In the
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries London was an atmosphere of clubs, and a
society of this kind existed in every street for the peculiar use of its
inhabitants, besides those which were exclusively frequented by persons
possessing similar tastes or habits of amusement.
And it
will be no disparagement to masonry if we believe that its private Lodges did
not sustain a much higher rank than some of these celebrated meetings, for the
Kit‑Cat, the Beefsteak, and other clubs were frequented by the nobility and
most celebrated characters of that polished era.
It was
the organization of Freemasonry that gave it the distinctive character which
elevated its pretensions above the common routine of club‑life, and although
it is admitted that the members of the latter entertained a strong attachment
to their several institutions, yet none were so enthusiastic as those who had
enlisted in the pause cause of masonry as we may learn from the few
testimonies which remain.
A
mason of high standing, more than a century ago, thus expresses his feelings
respecting the order: "Masonry is the daughter of heaven, and happy are those
who embrace her.
By it
youth is passed over without agitation, the middle age without anxiety, and
old age without remorse. Masonry teaches the way to content, a thing almost
unknown to the greater part of mankind.
In
short, its ultimate resort is to enjoy in security the things that are, to
reject all meddlers in state affairs or religion, or of a trifling nature; to
embrace those of real moment and worthy tendency with fervency and zeal
unfeigned, as sure of being unchangeable as ending in happiness.
They
are rich without riches, intrinsically possessing all desirable good, and have
the less to wish for by enjoyment of what they have.
Liberty, peace, and tranquillity are the only objects worthy of their
diligence and trouble."' (1)
"But
this, as well as almost all the testimonies of that period to its superior
excellence, is confined exclusively to the practice and rewards of Christian
morality.
"Modern revision has, however, extended the limits of scientific investigation
in the order of Freemasonry beyond what was intended by those who decreed that
'the privileges of masonry should no longer be restricted to operative masons,
but extend to men of
(1)
"Pocket Companion," P. 296
various professions, provided they were regularly approved and initiated into
the order.' And Dr. Hemming and his associates, in the year 1814, thought it
expedient to introduce some peculiar disquisitions from the system of
Pythagoras on the combinations of the point, the line, the superfice, and the
solid, to form rectangular, trilateral, quadrilateral, multilateral figures
and the regular bodies, the latter of which, on account of their singularity
and the mysterious nature usually ascribed to them, were formerly known by the
name of the five Platonic bodies; and they were so highly regarded by the
ancient Geometricians that Euclid is said to have composed his celebrated work
on the Elements, chiefly for the purpose of displaying some of their most
remarkable properties.
These
disquisitions usually conclude with an explanation of the forty‑seventh
problem of Euclid, which is called the Eureka of Pythagoras.
"That
great philosopher, Pythagoras, who, by the superiority of his mind, infused a
new spirit into the science and learning of Greece, and founded the Italic
sect, taught his disciples Geometry that they might be able to deduce a reason
for all their thoughts and action, and to ascertain correctly the truth or
falsehood of any proposition by the unerring process of mathematical
demonstration.
Thus
being enabled to contemplate the reality of things and to detect imposture and
deceit, they were pronounced to be on the road to perfect happiness.
Such
was the discipline and teaching of the Pythagorean Lodges.
It is
related that when Justin Martyr applied to a learned Pythagorean to be
admitted as a candidate for the mysterious dogmata of his philosophy, he was
asked whether, as a preliminary step, he had already studied the sciences of
Arithmetic, Music, Astronomy, and Geometry, which were esteemed the four
divisions of the mathematics; and he was told that it was impossible to
understand the perfection of beatitude without them, because they alone are
able to abstract the soul from sensibles, and to prepare it for intelligibles.
He was
further told that in the absence of these sciences no man is able to
contemplate what is good.
And
because the candidate acknowledged his ignorance of them he was refused
admission into the society.
"Above
all other sciences or parts of the mathematics, however, the followers of
Pythagoras esteemed the doctrine of Numbers, which they believe to have been
revealed to man by the celestial deities.
And
they pronounced Arithmetic to be the most ancient of all the sciences,
because, being naturally first generated, it takes away the rest with itself,
but it is not taken away with them.
For
instance, animal is first in nature before man; for by taking away animal we
take away man; but by taking away man we do not take away animal.
They
considered numbers extending to the decad, to be the cause of the essence of
all other things; and therefore esteemed the creation of the world as nothing
more than the harmonious enect of a pure arrangement of number.
This
idea was adopted by Dryden:
'From
harmony, from heavenly harmony, This universal frame began; From harmony to
harmony, Through all the compass of the notes it ran, The diapason closing
full in man.'
Pythagoras had another idea, as we are informed by Censorinus, respecting the
creation of the world, and taught that it was fashioned according to the
principles of musical proportion; that the seven planets which govern the
nativity of mortals have a harmonious motion, and intervals corresponding to
musical diastemes, and render various sounds, according to their several
distances, so perfectly consonant that they make the sweetest melody, but
inaudible to us by reason of the greatness of the noise, which the narrow
pasage of our ears is incapable of receiving.'
"And
further, he esteemed the monad to represent the great and good Creator, under
the name of Dis, or Zeus, or Zau; and the duad he referred to as the evil and
counteracting principle or daemon, 'surrounded,' as Plutarch expresses it,
'with a mass of matter.' And Porphyry adds, that the monad and duad of
Pythagoras seem to have been the same with Plato's peras and apeiron, his
finite and infinite in his Philebus; the former of which two only is
substantial, that first most simple Being, the cause of unity and the measure
of all things.
"According to the above doctrine, the monad was esteemed the father of Number,
and the duad its mother; whence the universal prejudice in favour of odd
numbers, the father being had in greater honour than the mother.
Odd
numbers being masculine, were conidued perfect, and appicable to the celestial
gods, while even numbeers, being female, were considered imperfect, and given
to the terrestrial and infernal deities.
Virgil
has recorded several instances of this predilection in favour of odd numbers.
In his eighth Eclogue, he says (thus translated by Dryden):
'Around his waxen image first I wind Three woollen fillets of three colours
join'd; Thrice bind about his thrice‑devoted head, Which round the sacred
altar thrice is led.
Unequal numbers please the gods.'
"The
Eastern nations of the present day appear to reverse this principle.
When
two young persons are betrothed, the number of letters in each of their names
is subtracted the one from the other, and if the remainder be an even number,
it is considered a favourable omen, but if it be odd, the inference is that
the marriage will be unfortunate.
"Every
tyro knows that odd numbers are masonic; and if he be ignorant of the reason
why 3, 5, 7, and 11, have been adopted as landmarks, let him apply to the
Master of his Lodge for information, and he will then be satisfied of the
wisdom of the appropriation, because number forms one of the pillars which
contribute to the support of scientific masonry, and constitutes an elementary
principle of Geometry.
Thus,
in the celebrated Pythagorean triangle, consisting of ten points, the upper
single dot or jod is monad or unity, and represents a point, for Pythagoras
considered a point to correspond in proportion to unity; a line to 2; a
superfice to 3; a solid to 4; and he deened a point as a monad having
position, and the beginning, of all things; a line was thought to correspond
with duality, because it was produced by the first motion from indivisible
nature, and formed the junction of two points.
A
superfice was compared to the number three, because it is the first of all
causes that are found in figures; for a circle, which is the principal of all
round figures, comprises a triad, in centre, space, circumference.
But a
triangle, which is the first of all rectilineal figures, is included in a
ternary, and receives its form according to that number; and was considered by
the Pythagoreans to be the author of all sublunary things.
The
four points at the base of the Pythagorean triangle correspond with a solid or
cube, which combines the principles of length, breadth, and thickness, for no
solid can have less than four extreme boundary points.
"Thus
it appears that in applying number to physical things, the system of
Pythagoras terminated in a tetrad, while that of Aristotle, by omitting the
point, limited the doctrine of magnitude to a triad, viz., line ‑ surface ‑
body.
In
divine things, however the former philosopher profusely used the number three,
because it represented the three principal attributes of the Deity.
The
first whereof, as we are informed by Cudworth, is infinite with fecundity; the
second infinite knowledge and wisdom; and the last active and perceptive
power.
From
which divine attributes the Pythagoreans and Platonists seem to have framed
their trinity of archical hypostases, such as have the nature of principles in
the universe, and which, though they be apprehended as several distinct
substances gradually subordinate to one another yet they many times extend the
to Theion so far as to comprehend them all within it.
While
employed in investigating the curious and unique properties which distinguish
many of the digits, we no longer wonder that the inhabitants of the ancient
world, in their ignorance of the mysterious secrets of science, and the
abstruse doctrine of causes and effects, should have ascribed to the immediate
interposition of the Deity those miraculous results which may be produced by
an artful combination of particular numbers.
Even
philosophy was staggered; and the most refined theorists entertained singular
fancies, which they were unable to solve without having recourse to
supernatural agency.
Hence
the pseudo‑science of Arithomancy, or divination by numbers, became very
prevalent in the ancient world; and was used by Pythagoras as an actual
emanation of the Deity.
By
this means, according to Tzetzes, he not only was able to foretell future
events, but reduced the doctrine to a science, governed by specific rules,
which he transmitted to posterity in his Book of Prognostics.
"The
ancients had a kind of onomantic arithmetic, the invention of which was in
like manner ascribed to Pythagoras, whether truly or not is of no importance
here, in which the letters of the alphabet, the planets, the day of the week,
and the twelve zodiacal signs, were assimilated with certain numbers; and
thus, by the use of prescribed tables, constructed astrologically according to
the aspects, qualities, dignities, and debilities of the planets relatively
towards the tweve signs, etc., the adept would authoritatively pronounce an
opinion on questions affecting life and death, good and evil fortune,
journeys, detection of theft, or the success of an enterprise.
It
must be confessed, however, that these predictions were not always correct;
for the rules laid down in different systems varied so essentially that the
wisest magician was frequently puzzled to select an appropiate interpretation.
The
numeral system has been introduced into the modern practice of astrology, and
very important results appear to depend on the trine, quartile, and sextile
aspect of the planets in the horoscope.
"Something of this sort was used by the Jewish cabalists; and hence one of the
rules of their cabala was called gemetria, or numeration, which was chiefly
confined to the interpretation of their sacred writings.
The
letters of the Hebrew language being numerals, and the whole Bible being
composed of different combinations of those letters, it was supposed that the
correct meaning of difficult passages could only be ascertained by resorting
to their numerical value.
The
Talmudists entertained an opinion that the mystery of numbers was actually
taught in their scriptures; because after the idolatrous priests of Baal had
accepted the challenge of Elijah, that prophet constructed his altar of twelve
stones, corresponding with the twelve tribes of Israel; but they say that when
he took this number for the special purpose of conciliating the favor of
Jehovah, it was not merely because the sons of Jacob were twelve in number,
but because that particular number was supposed to contain a profound and
unfathomable mystery.
"Divination by numbers was not confined to Jewish or heathen nations, but
occupied much attention at different periods of Christianity; and
superstitious properties, I am afraid, are still attached to particular
numbers, as forming climacterics, or grand climacterics; for the days of a
man's life are usually considered to be affected by the septenary year, which,
as it is frequently believed, produces considerable changes in both body and
mind.
But
the most remarkable change in a person's life is at the climacteric, or 7 x 7,
49 years; or the grand climacteric, 7 x 9, 63 years; or 9 x 9, 81 years; each
of which is conceived to be fraught with a peculiar fatality.
And
there are numbers of persons, even in the nineteenth century, who contemplate
these periods with some degree of terror, and esteem it a relief when they
have passed away.
"The
exalted ideas which were entertained by the ancient poets and philosophers
respecting the mysterious properties of numbers,
may be
estimated from the superstitious uses to which they were made subservient in
all countries, whether inhabitants were savages or refined. The former saw
that the number of his fingers ended at ten; and this constituted the amount
of his knowledge. It formed the standard of all his computations.
When a
savage, on his warpath, was asked the number of his enemies, if few, he would
hold one or more of his fingers; if many, them all.
And in
whatever manner his ideas of units might be designated, the calculation would
always end in ten.
Thus,
in Homer, Proteus counts his sea‑calves by fives, or in other words by the
number of fingers on his hand. Several nations in the wilds of America have to
this day no other instruments of calculation. It is another strong presumption
of the truth of what I now advance, that all civilized nations count by tens;
tens of tens, or hundreds; tens of hundeds, or thousands; and so on, but
always from ten to ten.
We can
discover no reason why this number should be chosen rather than any other for
the term of numeration, except the primitive practice of counting by the
fingers." (1)
"Arithmetical operations," says the Abbe Pluche, "were facilitated and
shortened first by the use of counters, and afterwards by figures or chalked
letters.
Thus
the Romans, when they had a mind to express unity, either held up, one finger
or chalked the figure I.
To
express the succeeding numbers they drew II, III, IIII. For the number five
they depressed the three middle fingers, and extended the thumb and little
finger only, which formed the V. They signified ten by putting two V's, one
upon the other, thus X, or by joining them together, which formed X. Then they
combined the X, the V, and the I, till they came up to fifty, or five tens,
which they expressed by laying the five upon its side. The figure in this
posture assumed the form of an L. A hundred was marked with two L's put one
upon the other which was subsequently rounded into a C. Five hundred was
expressed by LC, and a thousand by CLO.
These
figures were afterwards changed, the one into D, and the other into CLO, or M.
The Greeks and Hebrews employed the letters of the alphabet ranged in order,
to express all imaginable numbers.
Amongst these sages, the Monad represented the throne of
(1)
Goguet, "Origin of Laws," vol. iv., P. 216
the
Omnipotent Deity, placed in the centre of the empyrean, to indicate
T.G.A.O.T.U., by whom all things were made and preserved.
This
disposition was symbolised by the hierogram of a point within a circle or
equilateral triangle, to exemplify equally the unity of the divine essence,
and His eternity, having neither beginning of years nor end of days.
And
this deduction appears perfectly reasonable, because the Monad or Point is the
original and cause of the entire numeral system, as God is the cause of all
things, being the only and great Creator on whom everything depends: for, if
there were more all‑powerful Beings than one, none would be independent, nor
would all perfection be centred in one individual, 'neither formally by reason
of their distinction, nor eminently and virtually, for then one should have
power to produce the other, and that nature which is producible is not divine.
But all acknomledge God to be absolutely and infinitely perfect, in whom all
perfections imaginable, which are simply such, must be contained formally, and
all others which imply any mixture of perfection, virtually.' " (1)
Sthenidas the Locrian says, "The first god is conceived to be the father both
of gods and men, because he is mild to everything which is in subjection to
him, and never ceases to govern with providential regard.
Nor is
he alone satisfied with being the maker of all things, but he is the nourisher,
the preceptor of everything beautiful, and the legislator to all things
equally.
"The
universal symbol by which this great Being was designated, viz., the point
within a circle, it may be necessary to explain with some degree of
minuteness, because it constitutes one of the most important emblems of
masonry.
One of
the earliest heathen philosophers of whom history gives any account was Hermes
Trismegistus, and he describes the Maker of the universe as 'an intelligible
sphere whose centre is everywhere, and whose circumference cannot be defined,'
because the universe is boundless, and He existed from all eternity.
David
expressed a similar sentiment when he said, 'Thou art the same, and Thy years
will have no end.' We are told that the Persians, when they wished to pay a
high respect to the Diety, ascended to the top of a high mountain, and
expanding both hands, they prayed to Him in the name of the circle of heaven.
(1)
Pearson on the Creed, Art. i
In
like manner, the Jews entertained a belief that 'the heaven of heavens could
not contain Him.' The Romans placed a circular target as a symbol of the
Deity, because, as in the circumference there is but one point at its centre,
and can be no more, so in the whole circumference of the universe there can be
only one perfect and powerful God; nor is it possible there should be another.
"I
have received a suggestion from a very intelligent brother respecting this
symbol, which merits consideration.
He
says: When the W.M. elect enters into the obligation of an Installed Master,
the brethren form a circle round him, he being in the centre; and in this
situation he is said to be the representative of Solomon, the son of David.
Now,
as this is unquestionably a Christian degree, I understand this son David to
be a figurative expression for the Redeemer of mankind.
The W.
M. is then specially intrusted with the Holy Scriptures and invested with a
jewel which is emblematical thereof, and it then becomes his duty to exhort
his brethren to search those Scriptures, because they contain the words of
eternal life, and testify to the divinity of Christ.
Searching implies something lost; and our ancient brethren, the early
Christians, after they had lost, by an untimely death, their Lord and Master,
remembered that while assembled together in Lodge here below, He promised,
that when two or three were gathered together in His name, He would be in the
midst of them; and cheered by the recollection, they were naturally led to
hope that He would always be found in the centre of their circle, whenever
regularly assembled together in a just and perfect Lodge dedicated to God and
holy St. John.
In
like manner, we are reminded by that sacred symbol that He is always in the
midst of us ‑ that His all‑seeing eye is always upon us, and therefore
exhorted to discharge our duty towards Him and our fellow‑creatures with
freedom, fervency, and zeal. (1)
"The
Monad, amongst the Grecian philosophers, was a symbol of the hermaphrodite
deity, or junction of the sexes, because it partakes of two natures.
In a
mysterious passage of the Yajur Veda, Brahma is spoken of, after his emanation
from the golden egg, as experiencing fear at being alone in the universe; he
therefore willed the existence of another and instantly became masculo‑feminine.
(1)
This refers to the Ancient Method of installing a worshipful Master. (W.R.S.)
The
two sexes thus existing in one god mere immediately, by another act of
volition, divided in twain, and became man and wife.
This
tradition seems to bave found its way into Greece; for the Androgyne of Plato
is but another version of this Oriental myth.
If the
Monad be added to an odd number, it makes it even, and if to an even number,
it makes it odd.
Hence
it was called Jupiter, because it stands at the head of gods and men; and also
Vesta or Fire, because like the point within a circle, it is seated in the
midst of the world.
It was
also cadled the Throne of Jupiter, from the great power which the centre has
in the universe being able to restrain its general circular motion, as if the
custody of the Maker of all things were constituted therein
"Plutarch tells us that Numa built a temple in an orbicular form for the
preservation of the sacred fire; intending by the fashion of the edifice to
shadow out, not so much the earth as the whole universe; in the centre of
which the Pythagoreans placed Fire, which they called Vesta and Unity.
The
Persians worshipped the circumference, but it could only refer to the apparent
course of the sun in the firmament, which is the boundary of common
observation; for the real circumference is far beyond the comprehension of
finite man.
And
the sun, under the symbol of a point within a circle, was the great object of
worship amongst the Dionysian artists who built the Temple of Solomon.
"The
Monad further signified Chaos, the father of life, substance, the cause of
Truth, reason, and the receptacle of all things.
Also
in greater and lesser it signified equal; in intention and remission, middle;
in multitude, mean; in time, now, the present, because it consists in one part
of time which is always present. (1) The cabalists considered that the first
eternal principle is magical, and like a hidden fire, is eternally known in
its colours, in the figure, in the wisdom of God, as in a looking‑glass.
The
magical centre of the first principle is fire, which is as a spirit, without
palpable substance."
"The
learned Aben Ezra, on the 11th chapter of Daniel, says that the number one is
in a manner the cause of all numbers, and it is besides a complete number; it
causes multiplication and remainder, but does not admit of either itself.
And in
another place he says,
(1) "Macrob.
in somn.," 1. i., s. 6
THEODORE S. PARVIN
'Numbers are founded on the unit one.' The sage Latif observes the same.
According to Euclid, in his second definition of the seventh book, numbers are
formed of many units; but unity being indivisible, has no composition, nor is
it a number, but the fountain and mother of all numbers.
Being
the cause of all numbers, they are formed by a plurality of units.
Thus 2
is twice 1; 3 is three units, etc.; so that all numbers require the Monad,
where it exists by itself without requiring any other.
All
which is to be considered of the first cause; for as one is no number, but the
cause and beginning of number, so the First Cause has no affinity to
creatures, but is the cause and beginning of them; they all stand in need of
Him, and He requires assistance from none. He is all in all, and all are
included in Him in the most simple unity.
The
Jewish Rabbins agree that He is One, and there is no unity like His in the
universe; the nearest idea that we can form of Him is symbolized by the unit
or figure one. (1)
The
Pythagoreans say, 'the Monad is the principle of all things.
From
the Monad came the indeterminate duad, as matters subjected to the cause.
Monad, from the Monad and indeterminate duad; Numbers, from numbers; Points,
points; Lines, from lines; Superfices, from superfices; Solids, from these
solid Bodies, whose elements are four, Fire, Water, Air, Earth; of all which,
transmuted, and totally changed, the World consists.' (2)
But
Freemasonry has a peculiar preference for the monad, which produces some very
striking and remarkable coincidences in every nation under the sun.
In an
old ritual of the Fellow‑Craft's degree, used about the middle of the last
century, we find the following passage in reference equally to the first step
of the winding staircase, the Point, and the letter G: 'God, the great
Architect of the Universe, whom it is at all times our duty to worship and
obey.' In a ritual still more ancient, the same meaning is rather differently
expressed, viz., 'the Grand Architect and Contriver of the Universe ; or He
that was taken up to the topmost pinnacle of the Holy Temple.' (3)
"This
acknowledgment of the divine unity, or point within either a circle or a
triangle, was common to all the systems of Spurious Freemasonry that ever
existed, from India and Japan to the extremest
(1)
Manasseh ben Israel, "Concil.," vol., P. 105.
(2) "Laert
in vit Pyth.
(3)
Oliver
West,
including the Goths, the Celts, and the aborigines of America.
All
acknowledge the unity of T.G.A.O.T.U., whether involved in the deepest
ignorance, or refined by civilization and a knowledge of philosophy and
science.
The
sages of Greece, through a series of wire‑drawn reasoning, came to the same
conclusion as the uninformed savages of Britain, Scandinavia, Mexico, or Peru.
(1)
"Zoroaster is sublime in his description of the Deity; but he had enjoyed the
advantage of associating with the learned Jews at Babylon and from them,
doubtless, he had acquired his knowledge. He taught that 'God is the first:
incorruptible, eternal, unmade, indivisible, not like anything, the author of
all good, the wisest of the wise, the father of justice, self‑taught and
absolutely perfect.' An‑aximenes, the follower of Thales, like his master, was
a bold and subtle reasoner, and called everything by its proper name.
He
denominated the one God Zeus, by which he intended to intimate that, like the
air we breathe, He is infinite, omnipresent, and eternal.
The
Emperor Trajan, in a conversation with the Rabbi Joshua, hearing the latter
say, that 'God is everywhere present,' observed, 'I should like to see Him.'
'God's presence is indeed everywhere,' replied Joshua, 'but He cannot be seen;
no mortal eye can behold His glory.' The Emperor insisted.
'Well,' said Joshua, 'suppose we try first to look at one of His ambassadors.'
The Emperor consented.
The
Rabbi took him into the open at noonday, and bid him look at the sun in his
meridian splendor.
'I
cannot ‑ the light dazzles me.' 'Thou art unable,' said Joshua, 'to endure the
light of His creatures, and canst thou expect to behold the resplendent glory
of the Creator? Would not such a sight annihilate you ?' (2)
"Xenophanes,
the principal leader of the Aleatic sect, entertained the same belief; and
described that Great Being, whom they all admitted to be incomprehensible, as
'incorporeal, in substance, and figure globular; and in no respect similar to
man.
That
He is all sight and hearing, but does not breathe.
That
He is all things; the mind and wisdom; not generate, but eternal, impassible,
and immutable.' Parmenides held that 'the principle of all things is one; but
that it is immovable.' Sophocles assures us that in his time, the belief in
one God, who made heaven and earth, was prevalent among those who had been
initiated into the Greater mysteries.
(1)
Oliver.
(2)
Goodhugh's "Lectures on Bibliographical Literature."
"Socrates and his pupil Plato maintained the same opinion.
By the
name of God,' said they, 'we mean the parent of the world; the builder of the
soul; the maker of heaven and earth; whom it is difficult to know by reason of
His incredible power; and if known, it is impossible to clothe our knowledge
in words.' Anaxagoras contended for the supreme government of one God, but
acknowledged that he was unable to comprehend his nature.
His
pupil, Euripides, however, was more fortunate, for he discovered the
omnipresence of the Deity; and confessed it by asking whether it is possible
to confine Him within the wall of a temple built with hands? Protagoras was
banished by the Athenians for impiety in declaring that 'he knew nothing of
the gods, because in so short a life it was impossible to acquire a knowledge
of them.'
"Zeno
taught the unity and eternity, of the Deity.
Plutarch, learned in all the rites and doctrines of the Spurious Freemasonry
of Egypt and Greece, expresses himself plainly on this point in his treatise
of Isis and Osiris.
Atistides believed and taught his disciples that 'Jove made all existing
things, in the earth, the heavens, or the sea."'
Thus
was the doctrine of the Monad or unity, the first point in the Pythagorean
Triangle, carried out in these early ages, and among an idolatrous people; for
however they might worship an indefinite number of intelligences, they had
discrimination enough to perceive that there could be only one Being of
unbounded power, because a duplication of such beings would circumscribe the
potency of each individual, and destroy his omnipotence and immutability. "It
was idle," says Bryant, "in the ancients to make a disquisition about the
identity of any god, as compared with another; and to adjudge him to Jupiter
rather than to Mars, to Venus rather than Diana.
According to Diodorus, some think that Osiris is Serapis; others that he is
Dionysus; others still, that he is Pluto; many take him for Zeus or Jupiter,
and not a few for Pan."
"The
twofold reason of diversity and inequality, and of everything that is
divisible in mutation, and exists sometimes one way, sometimes another, the
Pythagoreans called Duad, for the nature of the Duad in particular things is
such.
These
reasons were not confined to the Italic sect, but other philosophers also have
left certain unitive powers which comprise all things in the universe; and
amongst them there are certain reasons of quality, dissimilitude, and
diversity.
Now
these reasons, that the way of teaching might be more perspicuous, they called
by the names of Monad and Duad, but it is all one amongst them if they be
called biform, or equaliform, or diversiform." (1)
From
such definitions and principles it will not be difficult to see that the Duad
was sufficiently comprehensive to admit of a vast number of references; and
therefore the prolific fancy of poets and philosophers assigned to it a
variety of remarkable qualities.
Being
even it was esteemed an unlucky number, and dedicated to the malignant genii
and the infernal deities, because it conveyed to the mind ideas of darkness,
delusion, versatility, and unsteady conduct." (2) For this reason, the
Pythagoreans spoke of two kinds of pleasure, "whereof that which indulgeth to
the belly and to lasciviousness, by profusion of wealth, they compared to the
murderous songs of the Syrens; the other, which consists in things honest and
just, comprising all the necessary indulgences of life, is quite as attractive
as the former, and does not bring repentance in its train." (3) The Duad was
considered indefinite and indeterminate, because no perfect figure can be made
from two points only, which, if united, would merely become a right line;
whence a notion was originated that it is defective in its principles, and
superfluous in its application to the sciences.
It
signified also misfortune, from a general belief in its unpropitious
qualities; and discord, because in music that which renders dissonances
grating, is, that the sounds which form them, instead of uniting to produce
harmony, are heard each by itself as two distinct sounds, though produced at
one and the same time.
Brand
tells us (4) that there is a little history extant of the unfortunate reigns
of William II., Henry II., Edward II., Richard II., Charles II., and James
II., entitled "Numerus Infaustus in the preface to which the author says,
"Such of the kings of Enghnd as were the Second of any name, proved very
unfortunate princes."
"The
number two was referred to Juno, because she was the sister and wife of Jove;
(5) and hence the Duad became a symbol of marriage. On this subject Hierocles
says two things are necessary to all men in order to pass through life in a
becoming manner, viz., the aid of kindred, and synmpathetic benevolence.
But we
cannot
(1)
Porp., "Hist. Phil.," p. 32 (2) Porph., "Vit. Pyth.," p. 84 (3) Ibid., p. 25
(4) "Pop. Ant,," vol. iii., p. 145 (5) Mart. Capel., "Eulog. in somn. Scrip."
find
anything more sympathetic than a wife, nor anything more kindred than
children, both of which are afforded by marriage.
And to
produce these two beneficial effects, Callicratides gives the following
excellent advice: 'Wedlock should be coadapted to the peculiar tone of the
soul, so that the husband and wife may not only accord with each other in
prosperous, but also in adverse, fortune.
It is
requisite, therefore, that the husband should be the regulator, master, and
preceptor of his wife.
The
regulator, indeed, in paying diligent attention to her affairs; but the
master, in governing and exercising authority over her; and the preceptor in
teaching her such things as are fit for her to know.'
"But
how unfortunate soever the Duad may have been esteemed as a general principle,
it was not devoid of its share of beneficent properties to balance against
those that were malignant or forbidding. 'The two principles,' said the
Paracelsic Lectures of Continental Masonry, 'are not always at strife, but
sometimes in league with each other, to produce good.
Thus
death and anguish are the cause of Fire, but fire is the cause of Life.
To the
abyss it gives song and fierceness, else there would be no mobility.
To the
Light ‑ World, essence, else there would be no production but an eternal
Arcanum.
To the
world it gives both essence and springing, whence it becomes the cause of all
things.' The Duad was defined by the Pythagoreans, 'the only principle of
purity; yet not even, nor evenly even, nor unevenly even, nor evenly uneven.'
It was an emblem of fortitude and courage, and taught that as a man ought to
do no wrong, neither ought he to suffer any, without due sense and modest
resentment of it; and therefore, according to Plutarch, the 'Ephori laid a
mulct upon Sciraphidas, because he tamely submitted to many injuries and
affronts, concluding him perfectly insensible to his own interest, as he did
not boldly and honestly vindicate his reputation from the wrongs and aspersion
which had been cast upon it; under the impression that he would be equally
dull and listless in the defence of his country, if it should be attacked by a
hostile invader.'
"The
Duad was elevated by the ancient philosophers of the Italic sect into a symbol
of justice, because of its two equal parts.
Hence
Archytas, who was a follower of Pythagoras, says, 'The manners and pursuits of
the citizens should be deeply tinctured with justice; for this will cause them
to be sufficient to themselves,
and
will be the means of distributing to each of them that which is due to him
according to his desert.
For
thus also the sun, moving in a circle through the zodiac, distributes to
everything on the earth, generation, nutriment, and an appropriate portion of
life: administering, as if it were a just and equitable legislation, the
excellent temperature of the seasons.' (1)
"It
signified also science, because the demonstration of an unknown number or fact
is produced from syllogistic reasonings on some other number or fact which is
known; and this is deducible by the aid of science.
It was
further considered as a symbol of the soul, which is said to be divided into
two parts, the rational and the irrational; the latter being subdivided into
the irascible and the appetitive.
The
rational part enables us to arrive at the truth by contemplation and judgment;
while the irrational uniformly impels the soul to evil.
And it
signifies Opinion, which must be either true or false; and Harmony, whence the
ancients introduced music at their banquets along with wine; that by its
harmonious order and soothing effect it might prove an antidote to the latter,
which being drank intemperately, renders both mind and body imbecile."
"The
Pythagorean philosophy," says Reuchlin, (2) "taught that the Monad and Duad
were a symbol of the principles of the universe for when we make inquiry into
the causes and origin of all things what sooner occurs than one or two ? That
which we first behold with our eyes is the same, and not another; that which
we first conceive in our mind is Identity and Alterity ‑ one and two.
Alcmaeon affirmed two to be many, which, he said, were contrarieties, yet
unconfined and indefinite, as white and black, sweet and bitter, good and
evil, great and small.
These
multiplicitous diversities the Pythagoreans designed by the number Ten, as
proceeding from the Duad; viz, finite and infinite, even and odd, one and
many, right and left, male and female, steadfast and moved, straight and
crooked, light and darkness, square and oblong.
These
pairs are two, and therefore contrary; they are reduced all into ten, that
being the most perfect number, as containing more kinds of numeration than the
rest; even, odd; square, cube; long, plain ; the first uncompounded, and first
cornpounded, than which nothing is more absolute,
(1)
"Fragments" of Archytas, p. 16.
(2)
"A. Cabal.," I., ii., P. 2.
since
in ten proportions four cubic numbers are consummated, of which all things
consist."
"Categories, reducible in two, Substance and Accident, both springing from one
essence; for ten so loves two, that from one it proceeds to two, and by it
reverts into one.
The
first Ternary is of one and two, not compounded but consistent; one having no
position, makes no composition; an unit, whilst an unit, hath no position, nor
a point whilst a point.
There
being nothing before on, we rightly say, one is first; two is not compounded
of numbers, but a coordination of units only.
It is
therefore the first number, being the first multitude; not commensurable by
any number, but by a unit, the common measure of all number; for one, two, is
nothing but two; so that the multitude which is called Triad, arithmeticians
term the first number uncompounded, the Duad being not an uncompounded number,
but rather not compounded." (1)
"The
Chinese philosophers entertained similar fancies about the color of blue,
which is formed by a mixture of red and black.
This
color, they say, 'being the color of heaven, represents the active and passive
principle reunited in one; the male and female, the obscure and brilliant.
All
corporeal beings are produced by inapprehensible nature, emanating from blue,
which forms the origin of all subtile natures.' In the science of astrology,
which was very prevalent half a century ago, the signs were invested with
significant colors.
Thus
it was said that Taurus was designated by white mixed with citron; Aries and
Gemini, by white and red; Cancer, green and russet ; Leo, red and green;
Virgo, black speckled with blue; Libra, black or dark crimson; Scorpio, brown
; Sagittarius, yellow or green; Capricorn, black or russet; Aquarius, a sky
color or blue; and Pisces by a brilliant white."
"Nor
were the Jews destitute of a respect for the number two which was indeed
inculcated in the Mosaical writings.
Thus
while the clean beasts were admitted into the ark of Noah by sevens, the
unclean ones were allowed to enter by pairs.
The
angels that were deputed to destroy Sodom were two; Lot had two daughters; the
sons of Isaac and the daughters of Laban were each two in, number, as were
also the sons of Joseph.
Moses
was directed to make two
(1)
Colebrook, "Philosophy of the Hindus," p. 21
cherubim; the Onyx‑stones of remembrance on the high‑priest's shoulders were
two, to symbolize the Sun and Moon, as Josephus says; but Beda thinks they
were emblematical of the faith and practice of the patriarchs and prophets,
while others suppose, with greater probability, that the high‑priest bore them
on his shoulders to prefigure the manner in which Christ was to bear the sins
of His people.
The
Jewish offerings were frequently directed to be by pairs; as two lambs, two
pigeons, two turtles, two kids, etc.
The
wawe loaves were two; and the shewbread was placed on the table in two rows;
the sliver trumpets to direct the march of the Israelites in the wilderness
were the same number."
"Again, Joshua erected two monuments on passing the river Jordan, one in the
bed of the river, and the other on its banks; the temples of Solomon and of
Gaza were each supported on two pillars; Jeroboam made two golden calves, and
set them up at Dan and Bethel; there were two witnesses against Naboth, as the
Mosaic law required in cases affecting human life; and two bears were sent to
vindicate the character of Elisha.
In the
case of Naaman the Syrian, we find the use of this number fully exemplified in
the two mules' burden of earth ‑ two young men of the sons of the prophets ‑
two talents ‑ two changes of garments ‑ two servants, etc.
In the
visions of Daniel the ram had two horns; and in Zachariah we have two
olive‑trees, two anointed ones, and two staves called Beauty and Bands, an
emblem of brotherhood.
Similar coincidences might be found in the Gospels, but the detail would be
tedious, and the result without utility, as far as regards Freemasonry." (1)
"In
our system, the principle of the duad is plainly enunciated (although two is
not esteemed a masonic number) in the two Pillars of the porch of Solomon's
Temple, which were placed in that situation by the wise and judicious monarch,
to commemorate the remarkable pillar of a cloud and of fire; the former of
which proved a light and guide to the Israelites in their escape from their
Egyptian oppression; the other represents the cloud which proved the
destruction of Pharaoh and his host in their attempt to follow them through
the depths of the Red Sea.
Our
noble and illustrious Grand Master placed them in this conspicuous situation,
that
(1)
Oliver
the
Jews might have that memorable event in their recollection, both in going in
and coming out from divine worship."
In the
spurious Freemasonry of some ancient nations, this principle of duality was
extended to support the doctrine of a good and evil power, who possessed
almost equal government in this lower world; and the prospeity or decadence of
a nation was supposed to be produced by the superiority of one or other of
these beings, which, however, was esteemed, in most cases, accidental.
In
Persia the doctrine attained its climax.
Oromases was Light, and Ahriman, Darkness.
Hyde
says, "The Magi did not look upon the two principles as co‑eternal, but
believed that light was eternal, and that darkness was produced in time; (1)
and the origin of this evil principle they account for in this manner: Light
can produce nothing but light, and can never be the origin of evil; how then
was evil produced ? Light, they say, produced several beings, all of them
spiritual, luminous, and powerful; but their chief, whose name was Ahriman,
had an evil thought contrary to the light.
He
doubted, and by that doubting he became dark.
From
hence proceeded all evils, dissension, malice, and everything also of a
contrary nature to the light.
These
two principles made war upon one another, till at last peace was concluded,
upon condition that the lower world should be in subjection to Ahriman for
seven thousand years; after which space of time, he is to surrender back the
world to the Light."
(2)
In
countries where the two principles were represented by two serpents, the
solstitial colures were described under these symbols. Thus in the Egyptian
hieroglyphics, two serpents intersecting each other at right angles, upon a
globe, denoted the earth.
These
rectangular intersections were at the solstitial points. (3) The Teutonic
Masonry of the last century thus explained the two principles of Light and
Darkness: "From the eternal centre is made the eternal substantiality as a
body or weakness, being a sinking down, and the spirit is a springing up,
whence comes motion, penetration, and multiplication; and when the spirit
created the substantiality into an image, breathing the spirit of the Trinity
into it, the whole essences, even all forms of nature, the power of Light and
Darkness.,
(1)
Darkness is the absence of light, cold is the absence of heat. ‑ EDITOR. (2)
Hyde, " Rel. Ant. Pers.," c. ix., p. 163 (2) Jablonski, "Panth. Eg.," I., i.,
c. 4, cited by Deane, p. 73.
and
the whole eternity, it instantly blossomed and became the paradise or
angelical world.
In the
Darkness is the genetrix, in the Light is the wisdom: the first imaged by
devils, the other by angels, as a similitude of the whole eternal being, to
speak as a creature.
And
Lucifer, imaging beyond the meekness of the Trinity, kindled in himself the
matrix of Fire, and that of nature becoming corporeal, then was the second
form of the matrix, viz., the meekness of the substantiality enkindled, whence
water originated, out of which was made an heaven to captivate the fire, and
of that Fire and Water came the Stars."
P.
1754
Chapter IV
LEGENDS AND SYMBOLS IN THE SEVERAL DEGREES OF MASONRY
MOST
Masonic writers of recent date have assumed that Speculative Masonry was
founded upon the legends and symbols of antiquity.
Dr.
A.G. Mackey, in the preface to his valuable work on Symbolism of Freemasonry,
says: "Of the various modes of communicating instruction to the uninformed,
the Masonic student is particularly interested in two; namely, the instruction
by legends, and that by symbols.
It is
to these two, almost exclusively, that he is indebted for all that he knows,
and for all that he can know, of the philosophic system which is taught in the
institution.
All
its mysteries and is dogmas, which constitute its philosophy, are intrusted,
for communication, to the neophyte, sometimes to one, sometimes to the other
of these two methods of instruction, and sometimes to both of them combined.
The
Freemason has no way of reaching any of the esoteric teachings of the Order
except through the medium of a legend or a symbol."
It is
greatly to be regretted that the most important legends of Masonry are so
communicated and represented, when the degrees are conferred, as to impress
upon the minds of the candidates the realisms, rather than the "allegories,"
which were originally designed as "veils" to conceal the "moral principles" of
the system, and which are also "illustrated by symbols."
Legends have no documentary evidence of the truthfulness of the narrative or
any authenticity.
Such
are the legends in the Masonic degrees.
There
is no authenticity whatever for the statements or representations.
In
fact, strict adherence to authentic history as contained in the "Great Light"
of Masonry itself, contradicts the details of all the Masonic legends; hence
we arrive at the truthfulness of the allegorical system, which was originally
designed to teach the morality contained in the Institution.
The
first three degrees of Freemasonry are in themselves allegorical, representing
certain important principles in their enumeration.
First,
the introduction into Masonic Life and Light.
Secondly, the progress during life in instruction ‑ the life‑work ‑ education
in all branches of useful knowledge.
Thirdly, the decadence, death, and final disposition of the body, its
resurrection, and the immortality of the soul.
In
each of these degrees symbolisms are introduced, teaching important truths,
which are calculated to impress upon the mind the value of the great moral
principles thus visibly represented.
Step
by step, as the candidate advances in each degree, he learns the value of the
gradation in moral lessons, by which his future life is to be guided.
All of
these are primarily referable to his first declaration of "Faith in God,"
"Hope in Immortality," and "Charity or Love to all Mankind."
In
these we recognize the several "duties" incumbent upon all men, which were
inculcated in every system of morality taught by the ancient patriarchs and
philosophers ‑ our duty to God, our duty to ourselves, and our duty to all
men.
In
these are found the realisms of Masonry, and not in our legends and allegoies,
by which they are veiled and concealed.
Of
what value to us, at the present day, are the representations of the manner in
which the Craftsmen and Apprentices were distributed when the Temple of
Solomon was under construction ? Or when and how they recoved their wages?
Every step, from the first admission of a candidate to the ante‑room of a
regularly constituted lodge, until he has become an obligated Mason, has its
moral lesson.
His
preparation, admission, and subsequent progress is marked by a lesson, which
it is intended shall be carefully studied by the candidate for his future
guidance in life.
The
following sections of that degree are lessons, explanatory and instructive, in
the art of Masonry.
The
first section of the second and third degrees are similar to that of the
first; and the following sections are strictly instructive and allegorical.
The
instructions in all three of these degrees is by symbols and emblematical
representations.
The
science of symbolism is perhaps as old as any other science ‑ the learning of
the ancient world was originally conveyed by symbolism.
At the
present day philosophy treats only on abstract propositions.
Freemasonry, however, retaining its traditions, continues the ancient method
as the best means of imparting its moral lessons ‑ by symbols ‑ which word,
derived from the Greek; means to compare one thing by another.
This
method of instruction, or "object teaching," is employed in schools at the
present day.
It is
the language of poetry.
The
"legend" is a spoken symbol and is employed in Masonic teaching, in some
countries is an acted drama, in others it is merely recited or react; in both,
it is designed to convey to the mind important moral truths.
It is
the province of the initiated candidate to investigate these symbols and
allegories to draw out from them the philosophies and moral lesson concealed
by them.
It has
been well said that "Freemasonry is the Science of Morality, veiled in
Allegory, and illustrated by Symbols." We personally do not claim for
Freemasonry the title of a science, but we do insist that it comprehends all
true philosophy.
Its
fundamental principle is a belief in God, without which there can be neither
morality or philosophy.
The
second principle taught in Masonry is the immortality of the soul; and the
third principle is the resurrection of the body.
These
constitute the philosophy of Freemasonry.
It is
upon these principles that all the ancient religions were founded.
In the
belief of all the ancients in a Deity, we find a multiplicity of gods; yet, in
all of them, there was a chief god, who was so far above all the others as to
constitute a distinct Deity.
Most
of these ancient religions contemplated a Triune God.
"The
rites of that science which is now received under the appellation of
Freemasonry, were exercised in the Antediluvian World; revived by Noah after
the flood; practised by mankind at the building of Babel, conveniences for
which were undoubtedly contrived in the interior of that celebrated edifice;
and at the dispersion spread with every settlement, already deteriorated by
the gradual innovations of the Cabiric Priests and modelled into a form, the
great outlines of which are distinctly to be traced in the mysteries of every
heathen Nation, exhibiting the shattered remains of one true system whence
they were all derived.
The
rites of idolatry were indeed strikingly similar and generally deduced from
parallel practices, previously used by the true Masons; for idolatry was an
imitative system, and all its ceremonies and doctrines were founded on the
general principles of the patriarchal religion.
If the
patriarch united in his own person the three offices of king, priest, and
prophet, the secret assemblies of idolatry were also governed by a Triad,
consisting of three supreme offices; if primitive Masonry was a system of
Light, the initiated heathen equally paid divine honors to the Sun, as the
source of light, by circumambulating in the course of that Sutninary, during
the ceremony of initiation." (1)
Sammes,
in his Britannia, (2) says: "The Mysteries of the Cabiric rites were accounted
so sacred and powerful that whosoever was initiated in them, immediately
secured, as they thought, some extraordinary gifts of holiness, and that in
all their dangers they had a present remedy and expedient about them to
deliver and rescue them; but that which most affected the Pnwnicians was a
confidence they had that those religious ceremonies preserved them from
dangers by sea; therefore it is no wonder that, arriving in Britain, they
taught the inhabitants that worship to which they held themselves most obliged
for their safety."
In the
above extract from Oliver reference is made to the rite of circumambulation.
Every
Mason will recognize that rite as an essential one in every degree of Masonry,
both ancient and those degrees invented since 1717. Pythagoras required his
initiates to pass three years in silence and darkness before admission to the
mysteries. In all the ancient rites of the Orient the candidate was conducted
by devious ways over many rough and rugged paths, and encountered various
obstacles, and had to pass through the cold air, and water, the fire, and at
last the earth, which four elements were symbols of purification, and
lustrations by these were requisite before the postulant could receive the
higher mysteries and become an epopt.
"The
uniformity of practice which attended the progress of error in different
nations is truly astonishing. They equally used the Ambrosice Petrae as
vehicles of regeneration; they shrouded their rites under the impenetrable
mask of secresy; they possessed the same mode of instruction by symbols,
allegory, and fable; the same repugnance to committing their abstruse secrets
to writing; the same system of morality; the same attachment to amulets,
telesmans, and perhaps Magic; and equally inculcated the immortality of the
soul, and a future state of rewards and punishments, which were alike
pantomimically exhibited during the initiations."(3)
(1)
Oliver's "Signs and Symbols," pp. 4, 5.
(2)
Ibid., p. 55.
(3)
Ibid., p. 5
"The
old Asiatic style, so highly figurative, seems, by what we find of its remains
in the prophetic language of the sacred writers, to have been evidently
fashioned to the mode of the ancient hieroglyphics; for, as in hieroglyphic
writing, the sun, moon, and stars were used to represent States and empires,
kings, queens, and nobility, their eclipse and extinction, temporary
disasters, or entire overthrow, fire and flood, desolation by war and famine,
plants or animals, the qualities of particular persons, etc.; so, in like
manner, the holy prophets call kings and empires by the names of the neavenly
luminaries; their misfortunes and overthrow are represented by eclipses and
extinction; stars falling from the firmament are employed to denote the
destruction of the nobility; thunder and tempestuous winds, hostile invasions;
lions, bears, leopards, goats, or high trees, leaders of armies, conquerors,
and founders of empires; royal dignity is described by purple or a crown;
iniquity by spotted garments; error and misery by an intoxicating draught; a
warrior by a sword or bow; a powerful man by a gigantic stature; and a judge
by balance, weights, and measures. In a word the prophetic style seems to be a
speaking hieroglyphic." (1)
Pythagoras expressed his mystical system by symbols which were explained to
the initiated and were not comprehended by the rest of the world. His secrets
were forbidden to be committed to writing and were communicated orally as
ineffable mysteries. The Pythagoreans conversed with each other mostly by the
sign language; instruction by symbols was found useful in impressing on the
mind the most comprehensive truths, and it is said was adopted from Masonry
into all the mystic associations: " The most ancient and such as were
contemporary with, and disciples of Pythagoras, did not compose their writings
intelligibly, in a common vulgar style, familiar to every one, as if they
endeavored to dictate things readily perceptible by the hearer, but consonant
to the silence decreed by Pythagoras, concerning divine mysteries, which it is
not lawful to speak of before those who were not initiated; and therefore
clouded both their mutual discourses and writings by symbols; which, if not
expounded by those that proposed them, by a regular interpretation appear to
the hearers like old wives' proverbs, trivial and foolish; but, being rightly
explained, and instead
(1)
Warburton's "Divine Legation," B. IV., s. iv
of
dark rendered lucid and conspicuous to the vulgar, they discovered an
admirable sense, no less than the divine oracles of Pythian Apollo; and give a
divine inspiration to the Philologists that understand them." (1)
The
Druids used hieroglyphics which, with much reluctance, were communicated even
to their initiates themselves. These symbols were imitated from natural
objects. Of a man of enlarged mind it was said, "he is an oak," an irresolute
and wavering person was an " Aspen‑leaf," one who was deceitful was a " Reed."
(2) The Druids used geometrical figures as lines, angles, squares, and
perpendiculars as symbols. They did not use enclosed temples, as being thought
by them inconsistent with the dignity and majesty of the gods; they did not
employ carved images to represent deities, but employed the rude undressed
stones, such as they found in the hills or on sides of mountains, which were
erected in their circles for worship, which were marked out by rudse stone
pillars surrounding an altar placed in the centre. They also constructed of
similar stones long passages between two rows of such stones. Some of these
passages were miles in extent.
In
Egypt, in all probability, originated those passages, where we find the
remains of them as sphinxes, obelisks, and catacombs, all of which no doubt
were erected for the observance of their mystic rites. Clement of Alexandria
says: " Sphynxes were erected in front of temples and places of initiation, to
denote that all sacred truth is enfolded in enigmatical fables and
allegories." (3)
In the
Egyptian mysteries the candidate was instructed in this as an ineffable
secret, that the mysteries were received from Adam, Seth, Enoch; and in the
last degree the postulant, after the completion of his initiation, was called,
from the name of the Deity, AL‑OM‑JAH; pronounced Allhawmiyah. In India, the
completed initiate was instructed in the great word, A.U.M., pronounced OME (o
long); we thus see that the same word was used in Egypt as the second word. It
has been supposed by some that these were initials of three certain names of
Deity, viz. .‑ Agni, Fire; Ushas, Dawn; and Mitra, Mid‑ day Sun, all of them
referring to " Light" in its different degrees of intensity. In the higher
degrees in Freemasonry these letters appear, having a deep significance, which
we
(1)
Stanley's "Life of Pythagoras," B. IV., ch. i.
(2)
Davis. "Celt. Res.," p. 207.
(3)
Clement of Alexandria, Lib. V., ch. iv
are
not at liberty here to say more of. We may here quote from Dr. Oliver: "It is
an extraordinary fact that there is scarcely a single ceremony in Freemasonry
but we find its corresponding rite in one or other of the idolatrous
mysteries; and the coincidence can only be accounted for by supposing that
these mysteries were derived from Masonry. Yet, however they might assimilate
in ceremonial observances, an essential difference existed in the fundamental
principles of the respective institutions. The primitive veneration for Light
accompanied the career of Masonry from the creation to the present day, and
will attend its course until time expires in eternity; but in the mysteries of
idolatry this veneration soon yielded its empire over men's minds, and fell
before the claims of darkness; for a false worship would naturally be
productive of impure feelings and vicious propensities." It is true, indeed,
that the first Egyptians worshipped ON (A. U. N. in Hebrew, but pronounced
Own) as the chief deity, who was supposed to be the eternal Light; and hence
he was referred to the Sun as its great source and emanation. Thus it was said
that God dwelt in the Light, his Virtue in the Sun, and his Wisdom in the
Moon. But this worship was soon debased by superstitious practices. The
idolaters degenerated into an adoration of Serpents and Scorpions, and other
representatives of the evil spirit; and, amidst the same profession of a
profound reverence for Light, became most unaccountably enamoured of Darkness;
and a Temple near Memphis was dedicated to Hecate Scotia, (1) which was styled
the Lord of the Creation, and in some respects deemed oracular. The
superstition of Egypt which gave divine honors to Darkness spread throughout
the world of idolatry, upon the principle that Darkness of Night, which
existed in Chaos before the Creation of Light, was of superior antiquity. They
therefore gave precedence to Night; and hence to signify the revolving of the
earth they said a night and a day. Even the Jews began their time with the
evening or commencement of darkness, as in Genesis i. 2, 3. Moses said God
created Light out of Darkness. (I Kings viii. 1 2, 2; Chron. vi. I; Psalms
xviii.
9.)
Darkness was considered the incomprehensible Veil of Deity.
In the
Orphic Fragments Night is celebrated as the parent of
(1) "Diod.
Sic. ," B.I., ch. vii
gods
and men and the origin of all things. In all the rites of initiation. Darkness
was saluted with three distinct acclamations; hence we may see that before the
Aspirant could participate in the "higher mysteries" he was placed in a
coffin, bed or pastos, or was subjected to confinement for a period of time,
in seclusion and darkness for reflection, which custom is still employed in
some secret societies. This was a representation of the symbolic death of the
mysteries; when he was released from that ceremony, it was to indicate his
deliverance, and represented the act of regeneration or being born again, or
bezels raised from the dead.
We
learn from Clement of Alexandria that in the formulary of one who had been
initiated he was taught to say, "I have descended into the bed‑chamber." Dr.
Oliver says: "The ceremony here alluded to was, doubtless, the same as the
descent into Hades; and I am inclined to think that when the Aspirant entered
into the Mystic Cell, he was directed to lay himself down upon the bed, which
shadowed out the tomb or coffin of the Great Father. This process was
equivalent to his entering into the infernal ship; and while stretched upon
the holy couch, in imitation of his figurative deceased prototype, he was said
to be wrapped in the deep sleep of death. His resurrection from the bed was
his restoraztion to life, or his regeneration into a new world; and it was
virtually the same as his return from Hades, or his emergence from the gloomy
cavern, or his liberation from the womb of the ship‑goddess." (1)
The
time required for this ceremony or imitation of death was generally for the
space of three days and nights; but was varied in different localities. Nine
days in Great Britain were required for the solitary confinement. In Greece
three times nine days. In Persia it extended to fifty days and nights of
darkness, want of rest and fasting. The remains in Great Britain of the places
where the ceremonies were observed by the Ancient Druids are very numerous and
well known at the present day, and have been referred to in a former part of
this sketch. Among these are the remains of the celebrated Kit's Cotti House,
near Maidstone. "This was a dark chamber of probation, for Kit is no other
than Ked, or Ceridwen, the British Ceres; and Cotti or Cetti meant an Ark or
Chest; and hence the compound word referred to the Ark of the diluvian god
(1)
Fab. Paz. Idol in Oliver's "Signs and Symbols," p. 79
Noah,
whose mysterious Rites were celebrated in Britain; and Ceridwen was either the
consort of Noah, or the Ark itself symbolically the great Mother of Mankind.
The peculiar names which these monuments still retain throughout the kingdom,
are a decisive proof that they were appropriated, almost exclusively, to this
purpose." (1)
Near a
village in Somersetshire called Stanton Drew, or Druid Stones, there are the
evidences of a rude structure which originally consisted of three circles of
stones and an Adytune or a Pastos. There were various other similar structures
in different parts of Britain, evidences of the prevalence of these
ceremonies, religious in their character.
The
initiation into the mysteries was a most important part of the religious
worship; and all those who held any important place as priest or legislator,
must pass through all their religious ceremonies, as indispensable
preliminaries to their advancement, by the solitary confinement in the
darkened Pastas. "The religionists of those days considered initiation as
necessary as the Christians do baptism." (2)
We
have referred, in a former page, to the several steps in the progress of
initiation in the mysteries of the several degrees in Freemasonry, and that
all of these were symbols by which the various principles sought to be
inculcated were thus illustrated.
Each
individual item was emphasized as the candidate progressed; when he was
prepared in the ante‑room, viz., his raiment, which should always be pure
white, to represent that he was a candidate, from the Latin candidus, which
means white. The peculiar arrangement of this raiment, in each degree, is
explained in the lecture appertaining to each, as also the Zennaar (3) which
accompanies the raiment of each degree, which is in Freemasonry denominated a
Cable‑tow. The different degrees require a different disposal of this
cable‑tow; in each there is a distinct symbolism, known only to the initiated.
The candidate thus prepared is in darkness as to what he is to encounter,
ignorant of what will be revealed to him in his progress in
(1)
Oliver, "Signs and Symbols," p. 80.
(2)
Warburton, "Divine Legation," B. II., s. iv.
(3)
The Zennaar in Hindostan was a cord composed of nine threads twisted into a
knot at the end, and hanging from the left shoulder to the right hip. The
Masonic scarf takes the place of the Zennaar
the
various steps of his initiation; he is to be regenerated, born again into a
new world of mysteries; as he was originally born into the world of physical
light, so now he is to be born again into the moral and intellectual Light of
Freemasonry. The following preliminary steps are purely ritualistic, and each
Mason who has passed through them can for himself apply the symbols to their
appropriate significations. It would be well for us just here to call to mind
what has been said by others on this method of instruction in the Church. In
the Explanation of the Symbolism of the Mass, Bishop England said that in
every ceremony we must look for three meanings. " The first, the literal,
natural, and it may be said, the original meaning; the second, the figurative
or emblematic signification; and thirdly, the pious or religious meaning;
frequently the last two will be found the same; sometimes all three will be
found combined." Bro. A. G. Mackey, in quoting the above extract from the "
Churchman," makes the following just comment: "The Roman Catholic Church is,
perhaps, the only contemporaneous institution which continues to cultivate, in
any degree, the beautiful system of symbolism. But that which, in the Catholic
Church, is, in a great measure, incidental, and the fruit of development, is,
in Freemasonry, the very life‑blood and soul of the institution, born with it
at its birth, or rather, the germ from which the tree has sprung, and still
giving it support, nourishment, and even existence. Withdraw from Freemasonry
its symbolism, and you take from the body its soul, leaving behind nothing but
a lifeless mass of effete matter, fitted only for a rapid decay." (1)
The
candidate, after his admission to the lodge‑room, follows the ancient custom
of all the mysteries in a perambulation, which is a symbol of the Sun in his
annual course through the twelve signs of the Zodiac, as also his diurnal
course from east to west by way of the south. The candidates in the mysteries
were said to as imitate the Sun and follow his beneficent example." This
symbolism referred to the custom of Pythagoras, who required his candidates to
pass three years in silence and in darkness. The various obstructions met with
in this "circumambulation" were in imitation of those encountered in the
Ancient Mysteries, but of quite a different character, as in the Ancient
Mysteries these obstructions were
(1)
Mackey, "Symbolism of Freemasonry," p. 74
to
severely test the courage and persistence of the candidate, and often resulted
in the death of the individual; and in some of their underground passages
which have been explored in modern times, evidences have been discovered that
many persons thus lost their lives.
After
the most solemn and impressive ceremonies, whereby the postulant becomes a
Mason, he is brought to Light in Masonry by a symbolism, faint indeed, but
highly significant of a great event in the history of creation. All that
follows is instruction in the science and morals of Masonry. Each degree in
Masonry is divided into "Sections"
‑ the
first section is always the Rite of Initiation. The other sections are for the
instruction of the Neophyte, the second section being a rehearsal of the
various steps in the first section, and exoteric reasons for these. The
following sections contain the morals and dogmas in the several different
degrees appertaining to each. In the Fellow‑Craft's degree the second section
is a pure allegorical representation; no Intelligent Mason can for a moment
accept it other than an Allegory. As such there is nothing more impressive
than the important lessons in each part of the representations. The American
Rite differs from all others in the arrangement and number of the steps, and
in some particulars there are other differences along the whole line. That
this legend of the second degree is an allegory we have simply to consult the
only history of King Solomon's Temple as found in the "Great Light" and we
will find that there was no possibility of adapting our Masonic ritual to that
structure. In the sixth chapter of the First Book of Kings we read: "The door
for the Middle Chamber was in the right side of the house; and they went up
with winding stairs into the Middle Chamber and out of the Middle Chamber into
the third." Dr. Mackey, in commenting on this passage, says: (1) "Out of this
slender Material has been constructed an Allegory, which if properly
considered, in its symbolical relations, will be found to be of surpassing
beauty. But it is only as a symbol that we can regard this whole tradition;
for the historical facts alike forbid us for a moment to suppose that the
legend as it is rehearsed in the second degree of Masonry is anything more
than a magnificent philosophical myth."
(1)
"Symbolism of Freemasonry," p. 215
In
addition to what Dr. Mackey has said, we would say that the middle and third
chamber mentioned in the text referred to were the chambers on the north and
south sides of the Temple mentioned in the same chapter of First Kings and
fifth and sixth verses: Fifth, "And against the wall of the house, he built
chambers round about, the walls of the house about, of the temple and the
oracle; (1) and made chambers round about." Sixth, "The nethermost chamber
five cubits broad, and the middle six cubits broad, and the third seven cubits
broad: for without of the house he made narrowed rests round about that ghe
beams should not be fastened in the walls of the house."
Then
followed in the eighth verse, same chapter, as to where the door was to these
three tiers of chambers, in the "right side of the house," viz., at the east
end, inside of the porch or vestibule. We take occasion at this place to say
that in all of our rituals our lodge‑rooms are diametrically opposite in their
Orientation" to that of the Temple, which it is supposed we copy, viz.: the
east of a Masonic lodge‑room is at the end opposite to the "entrance." Now the
entrance to the Temple was at the east end, and the if "Oracle," or Holy of
Holies, was at the west end, where we now place the presiding officer, and all
Masonic bodies claim it to be the "East" or "Orient."
The
situation of Solomon's Temple, on Mount Moriah, on the eastern side of the
City of Jerusalem, now occupied by several mosques of the Mohammedan worship,
the central building being the mosque of Omar; the topography of that part of
the city militates against every legend and myth in our Masonic rituals in all
the various rites, and thus is destroyed any attempt at realism in our
degrees, which many very excellent Brethren still adhere to in their firm
belief in the "Masonry of the Temple." We again refer to Dr.
Mackey
for his comments on this point: "Let us inquire into the true design of this
legend and learn the lesson of symbolism which it is intended to teach. In the
investigation of the true meaning of every Masonic symbol and allegory, we
must be governed by the single principle that the whole design of Freemasonry
as a speculative science, is the investigation of divine truth. To this great
object everything is subsidiary The Mason is from the moment
(1)
Sanctum Sanctorum.
of his
initiation as an Entered Apprentice, to the time at which he receives the full
fruition of Masonic light, an investigator
‑ a
laborer in the quarry and the temple ‑ whose reward is the Truth. All the
ceremonies and traditions of the order tend to this ultimate design. Is there
light to be asked for? It is the intellectual light of wisdom and truth. Is
there a word to be sought ? That word is the symbol of Truth. Is there a loss
of something that has been promised ? That loss is typical of the failure of
Man, in the infirmity of his nature, to discover divine truth. Is there a
substitute to be appointed for that loss ? It is an allegory, which teaches us
that in this world, man can only approximate to the full conception of truth."
(1)
The
proper lesson in the Allegory of the Fellow‑Craft's degree is to teach the
Seeker after Truth that the intellectual faculties must be cultivated and
educated by a regular course of instruction in the liberal arts and sciences.
In the Entered Apprentice degree the candidate has been instructed in the
moral and fundamental principles so essentially necessary for the proper and
due performance of his several duties in life, to God, his neighbor, and
himself.
All
Speculative Masonry must be philosophical. No man can become truly a
Speculative Mason without a knowledge of the liberal arts and sciences. It is
in the second degree that the postulant learns of Operative and Speculative
Masonry, and these two divisions are simply described in the lecture. The
candidate must apply himself diligently to those seven arts and sciences
enumerated and symbolized by the seven steps in order to appreciate
Speculative Freemasonry. Does anyone imagine that the eighty thousand
craftsmen at the building of the Temple were instructed in those seven liberal
arts and sciences? That there was among them all, or in that day anyone, who
understood the mechanics of the heavens or who did believe that the Sun was
the center of the solar system, and that the Earth was in annual revolution
around the sun, and diurnal rotation on its own axis? And yet these two
principles are the foundation of astronomy.
In our
rituals of the United States, the winding stairs are divided into three sets
of odd numbers. The ancient temples were all approached by steps, odd in
number; and Vitruvius, the most ancient
(1)
Mackey, "Symbolism of Freemasonry," p. 216.
writer
on architecture, assigns the reason to be that, commencing with the right foot
at the bottom, the worshipper would find the same foot foremost when he
entered the temple, which was considered a fortunate omen. Dr. Mackey thinks,
however, that Masonry derives the use of odd numbers from Pythagoras, in whose
system of philosophy it plays an important part, and in which odd numbers were
considered as more perfect than even ones. Tracing boards of the 18th century
show only five steps, delineated, and in some there are seven. The lectures
used in England in the commencement of the present century, according to
Preston, make as many as thirtyeight, in sums of one, three, five, seven,
nine, and eleven.
After
the union of the two Grand Lodges in 1813, Dr. Hemming, the Senior Grand
Warden, in his new lectures corrected the error in having an even number (38),
by striking out the eleven. In the United States these numbers were changed to
three, five, and seven, making fifteen. Like all intellectual acquirements
there must be a gradual increase in knowledge. The postulant at his approach
to the ascending scale of knowledge is primarily instructed in the lessons of
the three steps; having acquired these, he advances to the next ascent of
five, wherein he is instructed in the human senses, so essentially necessary
for the apprehension of all physical knowledge of the objective world. Now,
inasmuch as the comfort and happiness of mankind is greatly added to in the
best methods of construction of our dwellings, as also all public structures,
the science of building is taught by showing the fundamental principles of
architecture as illustrated in the five Orders derived from the three original
Orders of the Greeks. In the next steps the candidate rises to the highest
position of intellectual cultivation in the liberal arts and sciences. Having
attained to this elevation, he is entitled to his reward, which is denominated
"wages." Here is introduced another allegory, which is derived from a
scriptural passage, and is designed to prove the value of a secret pass‑word,
all of our Masonic degrees, which is to distinguish a friend from a foe, and
by which is proved the right of a member to admission to the lodge, and should
always be given before opening the lodge, and by every member or visitor
before admission. This is often entirely neglected in some jurisdictions
King
Solomon's Temple as a Masonic Symbol.
Prior
to 1860 ‑ many writers on Masonry held to the opinion that Speculative Masonry
dates its origin from the building of King Solomon's temple by Jewish and
Tyrian artisans, and, no doubt, general assent was given to the proposition;
but subsequent authorities in Masonic history do not now concur therein.
Speculative philosophy existed prior to the construction of the Temple, but we
may conjecture that in the formation of the rituals of the three degrees of
Symbolic Masonry, the authors took the Temple and its construction as symbols,
whereby the instructions in the moral principles, which formed the foundation
of Speculative Masonry, were conveyed to the initiates. The very spirit of all
of our lectures proves conclusively that when they were formulated they were
designed to teach pure trinitarian Christianity, and while the Jewish
scriptures did forecast the intermediary of a Christos, as all the ancient
heathen mysteries did also, yet Jesus Christ as shown and demonstrated in the
writings of the New Testament, was not understood by the Jewish writers of the
Old Testament, nor by but very few of that faith since. The first three
degrees taken in connection with the Holy Royal Arch, as they have always been
with our Brethren of England, certainly show pure Christianity, as taught
throughout the writings of the New Testament scriptures. It is possible that
the investigations which for many years have engaged the earnest and serious
attention of students of the Quatuor Coronati Lodge of London, may result in
determining the period when our Masonic lectures were definitely formulated.
We know historically that, commencing with the formation v the Grand Lodge, of
England in 1717, the separation of Masonic "Work" into distinct degrees did
not occur earlier than 1719.(1) From that date, those who aided in the
progressive movement were, first, Dr. Anderson and Dr. Desaguliers; by whom,
principally, the "work" was divided into the three degrees of Apprentice,
Fellow of the Craft, and Master; second, Entick, by whom, perhaps, the
lectures of the degrees were first clearly divided; the third one who made
important and valuable improvements in the lectures was Hutchinson; and about
the same period Dunckerly made many additions and subsequently
(1)
Chaps. xxxiii.‑xxxvi., Part II. of this work
united
with Hutchinson, in the improvement of the work and lectures of the three
degrees. The fourth attempt to improve the lectures was by William Preston. He
entered the door of Masonry in a Lodge of the Ancients, but subsequently
became a member of a Lodge of the Moderns. Preston's lectures recommended
themselves at once to the more literary class of Masons, and toward the close
of the 18th century were the prevailing lectures, and were introduced into all
the English working lodges in the Colonies except in Pennsylvania, where we
have understood the work and lectures of the ancients continued to prevail and
are more or less the work and lectures of the present day.
When
the two rival Grand Lodges of England united in 1813 and became the "United
Grand Lodge," Dr. Hemming, the Senior Grand Warden of the new Grand Lodge, was
intrusted with the work of preparing a new set of lectures and arranging the
floor work of the three degrees and reconciling any discrepancies. This was
the last change in the English work and lectures in England. About the close
of the 18th century in the last decade Thomas Smith Webb, who became very
conspicuous as a Masonic scholar in the northern part of the United States,
made many changes in the work and lectures of all the several degrees in
Masonry as far as they had been introduced into the country.
Jeremy
L. Cross, of Vermont, became his scholar, and about 1816 he too " took a hand"
at the lectures and made changes in Webb's work; so that now, in all the
States of the Union except, as before said, in Pennsylvania, the Webb‑Preston
work and lectures prevail.
The
first section in all the degrees in Masonry is the initiatory rite. So soon as
the candidate in any degree has been obligated he is essentially a Mason of
that degree, and as such is entitled to all the secrets and mysteries
appertaining to that degree; hence every following section in any degree
comprises instructions and explanations of the several steps in the initiatory
section of the degree.
In the
third degree, the second section is a dramatical representation of the
"Legend." To ordinary minds, unaccustomed to allegorical representations, it
is received as a true representation of a real occurrence. Scholars who have
critically examined and compared all the circumstances of the allegorical
representation, are well satisfied that such an occurrence could not have
happened in the locality represented. The situation of the Temple and the
surrounding topographical features all forbid any such circunistances as are
related in the Legend. Hence we must assume that our authors of the legend
intended it to be the culminating Symbol of Ancient Craft Masonry. In that
legend is carried out to its ultimate extent the grand idea which prevailed
and dominated every one of the Ancient Mysteries of the Oriental religious
rites, and when we carefully "read between the lines" we learn how very near
to the fundamental principles of "Christianity" all of those religious rites
approached, even in their ignorance of what Dr. Oliver and Dr. Mackey have
denominated "true Masonry." True Masonry, as originally designed, was intended
to be strictly "Trinitarian Christianity," and every step taken in Masonry
prior to the organization of the Grand Lodge of England, in 1717, was
Christian, and no one could be a Mason who was not such, and was true to
"Mother Church," as all the Ancient Manuscripts prove, and in some Grand
Lodges in Europe this test is still required and a Jew or an infidel is
excluded. Perhaps the change made in this direction, after 1717, admitting
only those who professed a belief in God as being the only test of
eligibility, has done good, by spreading abroad all the valuable principles
involved in our several lectures, founded, as they all are, upon Faith in God,
and having no other dogma. To this end was the legend of the third degree
invented, and the secret mysteries of the whole of Masonry are concealed in
the substitute when properly interpreted, as that should be, and not as now
generally explained, which has no meaning whatever. When properly explained,
it agrees precisely with that for which it was substituted. (1)
Notwithstanding the conclusion reached by Dr. Mackey in the Chapter XXXI.
referred to, we do not fully agree with him, but believe that the origin of
the Mysteries involved in the third degree were invented some time subsequent
to the organization in 1717; and that, perhaps, Chevalier Ramsay may have been
the author, or, with the priests in the College at Clermont, have concocted
those secrets, and invented the Royal Arch degree, which he brought with him
into England, and endeavored to introduce into the work of the Grand Lodge of
England. We know that the degree was finally introduced into the work of the
"Ancients" of
(1)
See in this work ch. xxxi., p. 290 et sequiter
Dermott, and subsequently, by Dunckerly, into the old Grand Lodge of England,
of which he was a very conspicuous and distinguished member. Through him the
third degree was so altered that to obtain the original essential secrets of
that degree it became requisite to take the Royal Arch degree. Now, in the
Ancient and Accepted Rite the degree of "Mason of the Royal Arch," which is
essentially the same as the Ramsay degree, is so nearly like the English Royal
Arch degree that we may say they are both from the same original source.
Everyone who is familiar with these several degrees must confess there is a
family likeness, and they all concur, in their essential features, in
demonstrating that the religious elements are the same. (1)
In
reference to the occult science in India, we take the following extract from
Louis Jacolliot, as translated by Willard L. Felt:
"Remember my Son, that there is only one God, the Sovereign Master and
Principal of all things, and that the Brahmins should worship him in secret;
but learn also that this is a mystery, which should never be revealed to the
vulgar herd: ‑ otherwise great harm may befall you. [Words spoken by the
Brahmins upon receiving a candidate for initiation according to Vrihaspati.]
This
triangular arrangement of the great name, AUM, recognized as the WORD in the
higher Mysteries in India, as the One God referred to in the above extract,
represents the Triune God of all the Ancient Mysteries of the Oriental
religions.
Under
the head of Freemasonry, Chapter II., page 484, Dr. Mackay says:
"Krause gives ample proof that the Colleges of Artificers made use of symbols
derived from the implements and usages of their craft. We need not be
surprised at this, for the symbolic idea was, as we know, largely cultivated
by the ancients. Their mythology, which was their religion, was made up out of
a great system of symbolism. Sabaism, their first worship, was altogether
symbolic,
(1)
See in this work ch. xxii., pp. 135 to 139; also ch. xxxvi., p. 178
and
out of their primitive adoration of the simple forces of nature, by degrees
and with the advancement of civilization, was developed a multiplicity of
deities, every one of which could be traced for his origin to the
impersonation of a symbol. It would, indeed, be strange if, with such an
education, the various craftsmen had failed to have imbued their trades with
that same symbolic spirit which was infused into all their religious rites and
their public and private acts."
In
plates 1 and 2 (pages 1718 and 1720) we have shown a very few of the symbols
used by the Ancients in their mythologies, and which are copied from Calmet,
and herewith is a short description of each.
Figure
1, plate 1, is an Indian representation of Vishnu, the second person of the
Trimurti ‑ the semblance of the God, is seated on a lotus‑plant having four
arms, and in each hand a peculiar emblem is displayed. The stem is supported
by Vishnu, represented as an immense turtle. A huge serpent encircles the
pillar; the gods hold the tail part and the daityas or demons hold the
opposite end. By pulling the serpent alternately the sea was converted into
milk, and then into butter, and from this was obtained the Amrita or water of
life which was drank by the Immortals.
Figure
2 represents Brahma seated on a lotus flower after the deluge. Calmet supposes
it to represent Noah and his three sons. The connection between numbers one
and two may be seen in the conch shells shown in the hands, and the chains of
pearls around the necks.
Figure
4 represents the Sun‑God and Deus Lunus.
Figures 3, 5, and 6 are different forms of Nergal. The word Ner‑Gal divides
into two parts: Ner signifies light, or luminary, etc., and gal signifies to
roll, revolve, a revolution, a circuit, the two together implies the revolving
or returning light. If this be truly descriptive of Nergal, there is nothing
improbable in considering the cock as allusive to it, since the vigilance of
the cock is well known, and that he gives due notice of the very earliest
reappearance of light morning after morning. There are different senses in
which lightt may be taken, besides its reference to natural light.
"1st.
Deliverance from any singular danger, or distress. Esth. Viii. 16.
"
2dly. Posterity; a son, or successor. I Kings xi. 36; 2 Chron. cxi. 7.
"
3dly. Resurrection, or something very like it. Job xxxiii. 28, 30; Psalm xcvii.
II."
In the
figures 3, 5, and 6 there is no allusion to the first of these principles, but
they have a strong reference to the second, Posterity, and the idea of
fecundity is expressed in the adaptation of the figure of a cock, which
signifies the returning of light. In figure 5, which is taken from a gem in
the Gallery at Florence, Italy, two cocks are yoked to the car of Cupid, and
driven by one Cupid and led by another; and not merely as if harnessed to a
common car, but as if they had been in a race and had come off victorious; as
the driving Cupid carries a palm‑branch, which is the reward of victory,
obtained by these his emblematical coursers.
In
figure 3 we have a car with a cock standing in the attitude of crowing and
flapping his wings; which is the custom of this bird on certain occasions. The
star shown is the Star of Venus, and distinguishes this equipage as the
consecrated vehicle of that supreme goddess of love and beauty. At a short
distance in the background sits Hymen, the god of marriage and conjugality;
his torch brightly blazing; at his feet is a cock crowing, etc., in a manner
and attitude very like the other; and with precisely the same allusions. The
indication of this allegory is the influence of Venus and Hymen, the genial
powers of vitality, on the renovation of life, in human posterity.
As the
extinction of lamps, or torches, indicated utter desolation, deprivation of
children and misery, so on the contrary we are led to imply the joy of
connubial engagements.
The
figure 6 represents a cock holding in his bill two ears of corn; he is
attended by Mercury, having a Caduceus in one hand, and a bag of money tithe
other. This gem has puzzled the learned. Montfaucon (1) E says: "To see
Mercury with a cock is common enough; but to see him walking before a cock
larger than himself, is what I have never noticed, except in this
representation. It may denote that the greatest of the qualities of Mercury is
vigilance. The cock holding the corn in his bill, may, perhaps, mean
(1)
Vol. i.. pp. 123, 128
that
vigilance only can produce plenty of the productions necessary to the support
of life." Ancient Mythology adopted various representations of the human form.
Figure
7 is an Abraxas, taken from Montfaucon. It represents a man with two faces
having on his head the bushel or sacred Calathus, two wings are on his
shoulders and two wings on his hips, and a scorpion's tail and a staff in each
hand.
Figure
8 evidently represents Neptune.
Figure
9 represents Ashtaroth or Astarte, which is the same as Venus. She holds a
long cross in her hand and has the sacred Calathus on her head. This is a
Medal of Zidon, which was a city of great antiquity; St. Ambrose, in writing
to Symmachus, implies that Venus is the Metrane of Persia, and though
worshipped under different names yet is constantly the same power. In this
connection we must enlarge somewhat upon the names of Ashtaroth, Astarte, and
Venus, as in the description of several of the following figures the subject
will be better understood.
Venus
represented with a dove is referred to Askelon, and yet we know that Egypt had
her Venus and dove, as shown in a medal when she stands with a staff in one
hand and a dove supported by the other hand extended. This medal was struck in
Tentyra, a city of Egypt. This shows that the worship of the dove was very
prevalent in these countries. The etymology of Askelon is derived from weight,
or balance, shekel.
Another origin is suggested; Ash in Hebrew denotes fire; Kel denotes activity,
briskness, and heat, even to wasting; lun denotes to reside, to stay, to
remain. These ideas combined, mean, "the residence, or station, of fire, in
activity or heating." To explain this the following Hindoo story is found in
Aszatic Researches, vol. iv., p. 168, which agrees with this etymology. "The
Puranas relate that, Sami Rami, in the shape of a dove, came and abode at
Asc'halanorthan, which is obviously Askelon; here Samiramis was born,
according to Diodorus Siculus, and here she was nursed by doves. She was, says
he, the daughter of Derketos. Here, say the Indian Puranas, she made her first
appearance. Now, by doves, we are to understand priestesses; by her birth, the
institution or establishment of her worship, as daughter, i.e., immediate
successor or offspring of Derketas. Sami is the Hindoo word for fire, and Rama
signifies the fir‑tree; 'Sthan is station, residence, dwelling. By uniting
these ideas, we find they also signify 'the residences,' 'Sthan, of fire, Sami,
in perfect conformity to the Hebrew name, as above explained." (1)
Figure
10 represents Dagon, properly Dag‑Aun. We must anticipate the description of
this figure by reference to another figure, not shown, viz.. There is a gem in
the Florentine Gallery which is probably of Grecian workmanship; it shows the
progress of those variations by which in process of time Art relinquished the
truly ancient representation of Dagon. This figure exhibits a union of the
human and fishy parts; but this union is contrary to the original idea of the
emblem, which was that of a person coming out of a fish, not making a part of
the fish, but issuing from it. (As will be seen in figure 10.) Shall I be
thought fanciful in referring the figures of this plate to traditional
memorials of Noah, his wife, and three sons? All of them having human upper
parts, but piscine lower parts; i.e., all of them originally considered as
having issued from a fish; though by lapse of time the import of that
allegorical representation was forgot.
N.B.
The original Merman and Mermaid of our heraldry supporters. (2) In figure 10,
instead of the male and female, and three children, all having piscine lower
parts, there is one person allied to a fish; but this one person has four
arms, or governing powers.
Now I
take the fact to be this: when the male personage was used as a type of the
event commemorated in this emblem, then the original allusion was to Noah and
his three sons; but when a female personage was used, as an emblem of the very
same event, then the allusion was to the wife of Noah. On the same principle
genealogies were reckoned, and are still in the East, only by the male sex; we
have no genealogy by women in Scripture; but this rule was departed from,
speciali gratia, when the universal mother of the second race of mankind was
to be commemorated. Vide figure 2 for the picture of a man with four heads and
four arms, that is, four governing powers, Mental and Corporal; or in this
Indian emblem, the four states and conditions of life, or the four castes and
distinctions among the inhabitants, which castes are, on the Indian system,
equally attributable to Noah as the father, or to his wife as the mother of
succeeding generations. The four bearded heads may be those of the four
fathers of mankind united into one; signifying legislative government,
(1)
Calmet, Fragment 269, p. 373.
(2)
Ibid., p.133
YORK CATHEDRAL
morals, etc. The four arms to the female figure, No. 10, may signify executive
government. Still they represent government in some manner or other; and
wherefore four? unless four persons had originally their respective
departments in conducting the general welfare of the community, their
descendants.
Figure
10, plate 2, is from Maurice's History of India. (1) It represents a female,
crowned, having four arms, each holding its proper symbol, coming out of a
great fish; as if this great fish was casting forth this personage, after the
tempestuous ocean was calmed, the evil demon destroyed, and the verdant
meadows were again clothed with cheerful herbage, as appears in the background
of the original.
This
emblem is called in Indian one of the appearances of Avartas of Vishnu.
There
is an ancient fable that Oannes, who was said to be half a man and half a
fish, came to Babylon and taught several Arts; and afterward returned to the
sea . . . there were several of these Oannes . . . the namer of one was Odacon,
i.e., o Dagon [the Dagon]. Berosus, speaking of Oannes, says he had the body
and head of a fish; and above the head of the fish he had a human head, and
below the tail of the fish he had human feet. This is the true figure of
Dagon, who was the God of the Philistines, i.e., the most of the inhabitants
of Palestine, long prior to the time when Joshua led the children of Israel
across the river Jordan and took possession of the whole country and divided
it among the twelve tribes. Etymologists say that Dagon was Saturn; others say
he was Jupiter; others say Venus, whom the Egyptians worshipped under the form
of a fish; because in Typhon's war against the gods, Venus concealed herself
under this shape. (2) Diodorus Siculus says, (3) that at Askelon the goddess
Derceto, or Atagatis, was worshipped under the figure of a woman, with the
lower parts of a fish (see figure 18, plate 2), and Lucian, de Dea Syr:
describes that goddess, or Venus, as being adored under this form.
There
is an ancient fable, that Oannes, a creature half man, half fish, rose out of
the Red Sea, and came to Babylon, where he taught men several arts, and then
returned again to the sea. Apollodorus reports that four such Oannes, in
several ages, had arisen out of the Red Sea, and that the name of one of them
was Odacon: whence the
(1)
Plate VII., p. 507, per Calmet, vol. iii., p. 183.
(2)
Ovid, " Met.," lib. v., fab. 5 (3) Lib. ii., p. 65
learned Selden derives Dagon. (1) The worship of Dagon continued in Palestine
until the change in the mythology of early days to the Greek nomenclature,
after the days of Alexander the Great. The temple of Dagon was pulled down by
Sampson at Gaza. The Philistines deposited the ark in the temple of Dagon at
Azoth.
Figure
II, plate II, represents Succoth Benoth, and is a companion to the Deity
Nergal; which the Babylonians selected as their favorite object of worship (2
Kings xvii. 30).
This
representation is evidently Venus rising from the sea, attended by Tritons,
who regard her with veneration and triumph united; but this is not the
original Venus; it is the story poetically treated, varied by the looser
imagination of the Greeks, from the ancient emblem; retaining the idea, but
changing the figures, etc., as seen they did in Dagon, and as they were
accustomed to do in all their Deities; from whence the Egyptians, etc.,
thought them impious; and indeed their images became hereby altogether
desecrated. To this incident of Venus rising from the Sea ought to be referred
all that the poets have written on the birth of the goddess of beauty from the
briny wave, from the froth or foam of the sea, etc., of which enough may
easily be met with among the classic writers, Greek or Latin.
The
Hebrew word Succoth is usually rendered booths, i.e., temporary residences, as
tents, etc. The Rabbins translate it "tents of the young women": it is
literally "the tabernacles of the daughters, or young women," that is, "if
benoth be taken as the name of a female idol, from Bench to build up,
procreate children, then the words will express, The tabernacles sacred to the
productive powers feminine."
The
dove, when used as an insignia or as a token, referred primarily to the dove
at the deluge; and the double‑faced Jason referred primarily to Noah; who
looked backward on one world, ended, and forward on another, beginning. In the
illustrations connected with Succoth Benoth the head of Venus on one side of a
medal with a dove for its reverse, and a head of Janus with a dove also for
its reverse, must originally have referred to the same event; and this event
was what the figure of Derketos, who was the Syrian goddess, commemorated; in
other words, Venus rising from the Sea.
(1)
Calmet's Dictionary Dagon
Derketos issuing from a fish; 1st, Noah, as the great progenitor of mankind,
restored to light and life; 2dly, the prolific powers again in exercise, to
3dly, the revival of human posterity, etc., after a temporary residence in
that floating womb of mankind, the ark of preservatlon. (1)
The
composition of a woman with the form of a fish is seen in a medal of
Marseilles representing Atergatis, Derketos, the Syrian goddess Venus.
Marseilles was settled by a colony of Phoenicians from Syria. They, like the
Men of Babylon, carried their country worship and gods with them to their
distant settlement. (2)
In
figure 12 is a representation of the eighth Avatar of Vishnu, in which he
represents the Good Black Shepherd treading upon the head of the Serpent
Calanach. The promise made to Adam and Eve when they were turned out of the
garden of Eden, was that their seed should bruise the head of the Serpent.
Now, this figure of Vishnu, the second person of the Indian Trimurti, was
called Krishna ‑ the Anointed one ‑ and some have thought that this myth was
to illustrate the promise made to Adam and Eve, as above stated.
Figure
13 is a representation of Ashtaroth, the same as Astarte or Venus. The horns
are not united to form a crescent as in other pictures but are more natural;
around the beautiful head are the Seven stars by three and four, and two
figures of lightning to show her authority as regent of night. (3)
Figure
14 represents another form of Abraxas which has more emblems than figure 7.
This
figure has on its head the lotos; it has four wings; and connected with each
wing an arm; and in each of its four hands different destructive emblems. It
has on its feet what might be taken for a third pair of wings; but these are
very imperfect, if they be wings.
Figure
15 is Dea Luna or Deus Lunus. This represents a man with a Phrygian bonnet on
his head, clothed in a short dress, a sword in his right hand, in his left a
man's head, which he has recently cut off from the body lying by him, whose
flowing blood spirts upward. Marcrobius says "the Moon was both male and
female;" and adds one particular from Philocorus, that the male sex sacrificed
to him in the female habit, and the female sex in the
(1)
Calmet, vol. ii., p. 283.
(2)
Ibid p. 234.
(3)
Ibid., p. 375
male
habit. Though Spartian speaks of Carhoe as a place famous for the worship of
Lunus, the reader must not think this worship was confined to that place and
to Mesopotamia; for it was spread all over the East. This worship was
established in Phoenicia long before the empire of Caracalla; a medal
published by Vaillant hath Antoninus Pius on one side and the god Lunus on the
others with his Syrian cap on, and holding a spear with a great star on one
side of him, and a crescent, which signifies the moon, on the other. The medal
was struck at Gaba, near Caesarea in Palestine, by the borders of Phoenicia.
(1)
Figure
16 represents the Egyptian Venus. This medal was struck in Tentyra, a city of
Egypt, as appears by the legend upon it. Strabo mentions a temple of Venus at
Tentyra. This is a reverse of a medal of Adrian; it represents Venus holding
her dove in one hand, in the other a staff. On the whole, this has a strong
similitude to medals of Askelon, and shows that the worship of the dove was
very prevalent in these countries, and in their respective adjacencies. (2)
Figure
17 is a representation of a four‑horned goat, which is said to be from Spain,
with two upright and two lateral horns. This animal was alive in London about
1769. It is a symbol of the goat of Mendes.
Figure
18 represents the figure of a woman united to the form of a fish, and is
similar in composition and shape of Atergatis‑Derketos, the Syrian goddess.
Figures 19 and 20 represent two appearances of Baal. They are human heads with
symbols of an ox added to them.
Observe in No. 19 the stars which accompany the head; if these stars, or if a
single star, be referred to the Deity it accompanies, then we see how easily
the Israelites might "take up the Star of their God" (Amos v. 26), i.e.,
portrayed on medals, or small figures, whether images or coins, etc., carried
about them; and secured from detection by their smallness and readiness of
concealment. This figure has the bull's or cow's horns and ears on its head.
No. 20
has only the ears of a bull or cow; but has on its head a garland of
vine‑leaves and grapes, whereby it is allied to Bacchus; with two apples on
the front of the head, whereby it is allied to
(1)
Calmet, vol. ii., p. 375.
(2)
Ibid., P 374
Ceres,
or to Pomona, i.e., it indicates a fruit‑bearing divinity, perhaps Isis
fructifera (1)
We
have selected the foregoing examples of the very earliest symbols employed by
the Ancient Nations to express their ideas of the Deities whom they
worshipped; these all coalesce at last in the Sun and Moon. What was Fortune ?
Baal Gad, the Luna Dea which presided over favorable times; where then is the
wonder that the Israelites should be tempted to solicit favorable seasons from
this goddess, instead of entreating them from the Lord ? as he
complains; or that they should offer propitiatory incense to the queen of
heaven? (Jer. xliv. 17) or that the question be asked,
Can
any of the deities of the heathen give rain? which is so necessary to
fertility; and an act of true divinity alone. We see, too, how Gad and Meni
terminate in the Sun and Moon. (2)
We now
revert to quite a different class of symbols, which we find prevailed in
Egypt, Persia, Assyria, and was employed by the Almighty himself when he
revealed his worship to the children of Israel. We allude to the Cherubim. The
first authentic reference which we have in history we find in Genesis, ch.
iii., v. 24, and in Exodus, ch.
xxv.,
vs. 18, 19, and 20, which we quote, viz.: "And thou shalt make two Cherubims
of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, on the two ends of the Mercy
Seat. And make one Cherub on the one end, and the other Cherub on the other
end; even of the Mercy Seat (3) shall ye make the Cherubims on the two ends
thereof. And the Cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering
the Mercy Seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another;
toward the Mercy Seat shall the faces of the Cherubim be."
It
would seem from the directions here given by the Almighty to Moses, that the
cherubic form was well known to him, from his familiarity with the Cherubim so
common in Egypt. We must therefore look to the Cherubim of Egypt to understand
the subject and appreciate the Cherubim of the first Ark of the Covenant
carried by the children of Israel in their forty years of "Wanderings in the
Wilderness," and into the "land of Promise" and the great Miracle wrought by
it in the midst of the river Jordan. (Joshua, ch. iii., vs. 15, 16, 17.)
(1)
Calmet, vol. ii., p. 122. 2 (2) Ibid., p. 124 (3) Another rendering may be,
"of the matter of the Mercy Seat."
In all
the different nations, where the cherubic forms were employed, they were
compound animals. The various authors on this subject have employed many
articles.
Mr.
Parkhurst, in his Dictionary, uses no less than sixty; and M. Calmet has many
pages and numerous illustrations, some of which we will use. In these articles
Calmet proceeds by giving a description of the various parts, separately
entering into the compound animal.
1. He
first takes the Cherubim described in the Bible, of their heads or
countenances.
Each
Cherub has four: 1st, that of a man; 2d, that of a lion; 3d, that of an ox;
4th, that of an eagle. In what manner were they placed ? Were they four heads
attached to four necks rising from the trunk of the body; or four faces
attached to one head ? He thinks they were four faces attached to one head.
II. Of
their bodies, i.e., from the neck downward. This was human., the "likeness of
a man," which extended below the navel and to the lower rim of the stomach.
III.
Of their wizzgs. Ezekiel describes them as having four wings; Isaiah describes
the Seraph as having six wings, viz.: two on the head, two on the shoulders,
and two on the flanks.
IV. Of
their arms. The translations say hands, but certainly imply arms at length;
their number was four, one on each side.
V. The
lower part. It must have been 1st, either human thighs, legs, and feet to
which was appended at the posteriors the body and hind legs of an ox; or,
rather, 2d, the body and four legs of an ox, out of which the human part
seemed to rise, so that all below the rim of the belly was in the form of an
ox, and all above that was human.
VI.
Their services, or, what they appeared to do. The vision seen by Ezekiel, and
also by Isaiah, was the resemblance of a movable throne or chariot, of
prodigious dimensions, on which the sovereign was supposed to sit; that the
wheels were annexed to it in much the same manner as to the royal traveling or
military thrones of the Persian Kings; and that the four Cherubims occupied
the places of four horses to draw this capacious machine.
Did
our limits permit, we could extend this examination into the subject of the
Cherubim with great profit; but our object will have been obtained if we can
succeed in showing how almost universal was the idea of compounding different
animals into one for the purpose of illustrating the general ideas of the
different attributes of their deities among all the nations of antiquity.
We
copy from Calmet's Dictionary the following description of the Cherub.
CHERUB
‑ derived from the Chaldee, signifies as a child, from the adverb ki; as, and
rabia, a young man, a child; otherwise, as multiplying, or as combating, from
rahab, or abundance, or multitude of knowledge; from tab, a multitude, and
Nacar, to know, otherwise, in Hebrew, rahar signifies to grow great, to
nourish, to bring up; in Syriac, to labour.
This
term in Hebrew is sometimes taken for a calf or an ox. Ezekiel i. 10 mentions
the face of a Cherub, as synonymous to the face of ar ox. The word Cherub in
Syriac and in Chaldee signifies to till or plough, which is the work of oxen.
Cherub also signifies strong and powerful, possessing the strength of an ox.
Grotius says the Cherubim were figures like a calf. Bochart thinks they were
nearly the figure of an ox. So does Spencer. Josephus says they were
extraordinary creatures of a figure unknown to mankind. Clemens of Alexandria
believes that the Egyptians imitated the Cherubim of the Hebrews in their
Sphinxes and hieroglyphical Animals. (1)
The
descriptions, in various parts of Scripture, of the Cherubim differ, but agree
in a figure composed of various creatures except in the first description in
Exodus. The others an ox, a lion, a man, and an eagle, as in Ezekiel i. 5, and
x. 2. Those placed in the Temple by Solomon were probably similar to these. (I
Kings vi. 23.) We can readily see that those on the Original Ark could not
have been like those in the Temple, for there evidently was but one head on
each one from the expression "and their faces shall look one to another;
toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the Cherubim be." (Ex. xxv. 20.)
There could only be one head and face to each of the two Cherubim.
Calmet's own conclusion on this difficult question is as follows:
"So
great obscurity has hitherto overwhelmed this figurative representation,
notwithstanding it has been the theme of many very learned men, that I cannot
flatter myself with succeeding at once in explaining it. I think, however,
that this opens a new way for
(1)
Calmet Dictionary, Cherub
attaining some conception of its real forms; and I feel some satisfaction in
the idea that these symbols were not unknown in kingdoms and countries
independent of Judea."
The
Cherubic or compound form was common to most of the nations of the Orient. In
Egypt, the sphynx and other examples are extant at the present day; in
Assyria, all the Temples had such compound figures at their entrances, and we
show some of these in figures 21, 22, 23, 24.
If In
regard to these Cherubic forms, there were two extreme opinions: 1st. That it
pleased God to compose the Jewish religious rites, ceremonies, and symbols, of
materials as unlike as possible to those of the countries around them,
especially of Egypt, in order to establish a total dissimilarity, and to
exclude idolatry. 2d. That a close resemblance, especially to Egyptian
manners, was established, in order to accommodate the services to the temper
and habits of a people who had been used to such in Egypt. This was the
hypothesis of the learned Spencer. The truth, I apprehend, lies between these
opinions.
"The
Jews considered the Cherubim as of the utmost important under the Levitical
priesthood; yet they have lost their true representation. If the flame placed
to keep the way to the tree of life was a Cherub, then this emblem is
extremely ancient. Mr.
Parkhurst finds resemblance to this symbol in the West Indies; in the Temple
of Elephanta, in the East Indies; in Diana; in Proserpine; in Rhadigust, an
ancient German idol; in Mithras, a Persian Deity; in the gryphon, or griffion,
of Cochin‑China; in Yahuthana Nasr, Arabian idols resembling a lion and an
eagle; and in many other parts of the world. The opinion of this writer seems
to be sufficiently established to warrant the inference, that this emblem was
not borrowed by the Jewish ritual from Egypt only, but was known among many
other nations in its principle at least." (1)
When
we reflect that at the very earliest ages, when religious rites were new among
all the nations of the earth, it does seem probable that they all derived
their ideas from one original stock; and in time the varieties of manners and
customs, and also following these, the methods of worshipping their gods with
the same central and general ideas; the variations were like branches of an
original
(1)
Calmet.
stock.
The fact that in the vast number of cherubic forms, found in any part of the
original heathen and idolatrous world, the common symbols have a great
likeness to those symbols used by the Jewish people and described in the
Jewish sacred books.
The
Cross.
When
the Cross became a symbol is lost in the remotest antiquity, and there is no
mention of it, historically, at any period, or to the country, or the people
who were the first to make use of it as a symbol; nevertheless, it is found at
a very early period, by which certain forms have been recognized by certain
names having specific meanings.
There
are principal forms of the cross which are used as symbols, and others
frequently employed in ornamentation having no special signification There are
a great many forms of the cross. Among these we call attention to the Swastika
which is the usual form of the Swastika, or Svastika, a symbol which has
recently excited very much attention among archaeologists. In 1894, the
Smithsonian publication contained a very lengthy paper of 221 pages, giving
the most complete history with full illustrations and examples of this symbol
by Professor Thomas Wilson, Curator Department of Prehistoric Anthropology,
U.S. National Museum. He says: "The swastica has been called by different
names in different countries, though nearly all countries have in later years
accepted the ancient Sanskrit name of Swastika; and this name is recommended
as the most definite and certain, being now the most general and, indeed,
almost universal. It was formerly spelled s‑u‑a‑s‑t‑i‑c‑a and s‑w‑a‑s‑t‑i‑k‑a,
but the later spelling, both English and French, is s‑w‑a‑s‑t‑i‑k‑a. The
definition and etymology of the word is thus given in Littre's French
Dictionary:
"'
Svastica, or Swastika, a mystic figure used by several (East) Indian sects.'
"It
was equally well known to the Brahmans as to the Buddhists. Most of the rock
inscriptions in the Buddhist caverns in the West of India are preceded or
followed by the holy (sarramentelle) sign of the Swastika. (Eugene Burnouf, Me
Lotus de la tonne loi; Paris, 1852, p. 625.) It was seen on the vases and
pottery of Rhodes (Cyprus) and Etruria.
"Etymology: A Sanskrit word signifying happiness, pleasure, good luck. It is
composed of Sa (equivalent of Greek ev), 'good,' and asti, 'being,' 'good
being,' with the suffix ka (Greek Ka, Latin co)."
In the
Revue a'Ethnographie (IV., 1885, p. 329), Mr. Dumoution gives the following
analysis of the Sanskrit swastika:
"Su,
radical, signifying goad, well, excellent, or suvidas, prosperity.
"Asti,
third person, singular, indicative present of the verb as, to be, which is sum
in Latin.
"Ha,
suffix forming the substantive."
The
Century Dictionary says, Swastika ‑ [Sanskrit, lit., "of good fortune." Svasti
(su,, well, + astz; being), welfare], Same as fylfot.
Compare crux ansata and gammadion. (1)
In
Ilizos (p. 347), Max Muller says:
"Ethnologically, svastika is derived from svasti and svasti from su, 'well,'
and as, 'to be.' Svasti occurs frequently in the Veda, both as a noun in a
sense of happiness, and as an adverb in the sense of 'well' or 'hail!' It
corresponds to the Greek xxxxx. The derivation swastika is of later date, and
it always means an auspicious sign, such as are found most frequently among
Buddhists and Jainas
(1)
Smithsonian Report, 1894, p. 769
M.
Eugene Burnouf defines the Mark Swastika as follows:
"A
monogrammatic sign of four branches, of which the ends are curved (or bent) at
right angles, the name signifying, literally, the sign of benediction, or good
augury."
The
foregoing explanations relate only to the present accepted name "Swastika."
The
sign Swastika must have existed long before the name was given to it. It must
have been in existence long before the Buddhist religion or the Sanskrit
language.
In
Great Britain the common name given to the Swastika from Anglo‑Saxon times by
those who had no knowledge whence it came, or that it came from any other than
their own country, was Fylfot, said to have been derived from the Anglo‑Saxon
fower fot meaning four‑footed, or many‑footed. (1)
"Many
theories have been presented concerning the symbolism of the Swastika, its
relation to ancient deities and its representation of certain qualities. In
the estimation of certain writers it has been respectively the emblem of Zeus,
of Baal, of the Sun, of the sungod, of the sun‑chariot, of Agni the fire‑god,
of Indra the rain‑god, of the Sky, of the sky‑god, and finally the deity of
all deities, the Great God, the Maker and Ruler of the Universe. It has
also/been held to symbolize light or the god of light, of the forked
lightning, and of water. It is believed by some to have been the oldest Aryan
symbol. In the estimation of others it represents Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva,
Creator, Preserver, Destroyer. It appears in the footprints of Buddha,
engraved upon the solid rock on the Mountains of India. It stood for the
Jupiter Tonans and Pluvius of the Latins, and the Thor of the Scandinavians.
In the latter case it has been considered ‑ erroneously, however ‑ a variety
of the Thor hammer. In the opinion of at least one author it had an intimate
relation to the Lotus sign of Egypt and Persia. Some authors have attributed a
phallic meaning to it; others have recognized it as representing the
generative principle of mankind, making it the symbol of the female. Its
appearance on the person of certain goddesses, Artemis, Hera, Demeter, Astarte,
and the Chaldean Nana, the leaden goddess from Hissarlik, has caused it to be
claimed as a sign of fecundity." (2)
(1) R.
P. Greg per Smithsonian Report, 1894, p. 769.
(2)
Smithsonian Report, 1894, p. 771.
Commenting upon the theories of the various writers quoted, Professor Wilson
says:
"In
forming the foregoing theories their authors have been largely controlled by
the alleged fact of the substitution and permutation of the Swastika sign on
various objects with recognized symbols of these different deities. The claims
of these theorists are somewhat clouded in obscurity and lost in the antiquity
of the subject. What seems to have been at all times an attribute of the
Swastika is its character as a charm or amulet, as a sign of benediction,
blessing, long life, good fortune, good luck. This character has continued
into modern times, and while the Swastika is recognized as a holy and sacred
symbol by at least one Buddhistic religious sect, it is still used by the
common people of India, China, and Japan as a sign of long life, good wishes,
and good fortune.
"
Whatever else the sign Swastika may have stood for, and however many meanings
it may have had, it was always oSamental. It may have been used with any or
all of the above significations, but it was always ornamental as well.
"Dr.
Schliemann found many specimens of Swastika in his excavation at the site of
ancient Troy on the hill of Hissarlik. They were mostly on spindle whorls. . .
. He appealed to Professor Max Muller for an explanation, who, in reply, wrote
an elaborate description, which Dr. Schliemann published in Ilios."
He
commences with a protest against the word Swastika being applied generally to
the sign Swastika, because it may prejudice the reader or the public in favor
of its Indian origin. He says:
"I do
not like the use of the word Swastika outside of India. It is a word of Indian
origin and has its history and definite meaning in India. . . . The occurrence
of such crosses in different parts of the world may or may not point to a
common origin, but if they are once called Swastika the vulgas profanum will
at once jump to the conclusion that they all come from India, and it will take
some time to weed out such prejudice.
"Very
little is known of Indian art before the third century B.C., the period when
the Buddhist sovereigns began their public buildings.
"The
name Svastika, however, can be traced (in India) a little farther back. It
occurs as the name of a particular sign in the old grammar of Panani, about a
century earlier.
Certain compounds are mentioned there in which the last word is karma, 'ear.'
one of the signs for marking cattle was the Svastika, and what Pinani teaches
in his grammar is that when the compound is formed, saastika‑karna, i.e.,
having the ear marked with a sign of a Svastika, the final a of Svastika is
not to be lengthened, while it is lengthened in other compounds, such as datra‑karna,
i.e., having the ear marked with the sign of a sickle."
"It
(the Swastika) occurs often at the beginning of Buddhist inscriptions, on
Buddhist coins, and in Buddhist manuscripts. Historically, the Svastika is
first attested on a coin of Krananda, supposing Krananda to be the same king
as Xandrames, the predecessor of Sandrokyptos, whose reign came to an end in
315 B.C. (See Thomas on the identity of Xandrames and Krananda.) The
paleographic evidence, however, seems rather against so early a date.
"In
the foot‑prints of Buddha the Buddhists recognize no less than sixty‑five
auspicious signs, the first of them being the Svastika; the fourth is the
Suavastzka, or that with the arms turned to the left; the third, the
Nandydvarta, is a mere development of the Svastika. Among the Jainas the
Svastzka was the sign of their Seventh Jina, Suparsva."
"In
the later Sanskrit literature, Svastika retains the meaning of an auspicious
mark; thus we see in the Ramayana, that Bharata selects a ship marked with the
sign of the Svastika. Varapamihira in the Brihat‑samhita mentions certain
buildings called Savastika and Nandyavarta, but their outline does not
correspond very
exactly with the form of the sign. Some Sthupas, however, are said to have
been built on the plan of the Svastika.... Originally, Svastika may have been
intended for no more than two lines crossing each other, or a cross. Thus we
find it used in later times referring to a woman covering her breast with
crossed arms, Svahastasvastika‑stanti, and likewise with reference to persons
sitting cross‑legged." (1)
Max
Muller continues:
"Quite
another question is, why the sign should have an auspicious meaning, and why
in Sanscrit it should have been called Svastika. The similarity between the
group of letters sv in the ancient Indian alphabet, and the sign of Svastika
is not very striking, and seems purely accidental.
"A
remark of yours [Schliemann] (Troy, p. 38) that the Svastika resembles a wheel
in motion, the direction of the motion being indicated by the crampons,
contains a useful hint, which has been confirmed by some important
observations of Mr. Thomas, the distinguished Oriental numismatist, who has
called attention to the fact that in the long list of the recognized devices
of the twenty four Jaina Tirthankaras the sun is absent, but that while the
eighth Tirthankara has the sign of the half‑moon, the seventh Tirthankara is
marked with the
(1)
Smithsonian Report, 1894, p. 772
Svastika, i.e., the sun. Here, then, we have clear indications that the
Svastika, with the hands pointing in the right direction, was originally a
symbol of the sun, perhaps of the vernal sun as opposed to the autumnal sun,
Suavastika, and, therefore, a natural symbol of light, life, health, and
wealth.
"But,
while from these indications we are justified in supposing that among the
Aryan nations the Svastika may have been an old emblem of the sun, there are
other indications to show that in other parts of the world the same or a
similar emblem was used to indicate the earth. Mr. Beal . . . has shown . . .
that the simple (+) occurs as a sign for earth in certain ideographic groups.
It was probably intended to indicate the four quarters ‑ north, south, east,
west ‑
or, it
may be, more generally, extension in length and breadth.
"That
the cross is used as a sign for 'four' in the Bactro‑Pali inscriptions (Max
Muller, Chips fram a German workshop, Vol. II., p. 298) is well known; but the
fact that the same sign has the same power elsewhere, as, for instance, in the
Hieratic numerals, does not prove by any means that the one figure was derived
from the other. We forget too easily that what was possible in one place was
possible also in the other places; and the morale we extend our researches,
the more we shall learn that the chapter of accidents is larger than we
imagine." (1)
In the
Smithsonian Report (Annual) for 1897 we find an article by Marquis De
Nadaillac on the "Unity of the Human Species," who, in concluding one part of
the subject, says: (2)
"The
accumulated proof renders it incontestable that the funeral rite of cleaning
the bones and coloring them red was practised in different countries widely
separated by sea or desert. Thucydides says the history of a people is to be
sought in their tombs. In the cases cited, the tomb has responded and has
thrown a clear light on the earliest origin of the rite, and at the same time
on the common origin of man. A question arising from these facts is, whether
they relate to religious or funeral rites. But this is comparatively of small
importance. It was surely a custom of the unknown ancestors of these peoples,
transmitted from generation to generation. These facts do not allow us to say
that primitive life was everywhere the same, nor that if the productions of
men are everywhere the same, they are always to satisfy the same needs. In the
strange rite that we have recounted, a rite which has required much thought
and multiplied cares and which one can believe was strange to barbarous and
nomadic races, it is not a question of similar needs growing out of similar
creations. In order to find a solution it is necessary to
(1)
Smithsonian Report, 1894, p. 773.
(2)
Ibid., 1898, pp. 563 to 569
seek
higher and farther; it is the identity of the genius of man in all times and
in all regions that should be inquired of, and it is only there that it can be
found. (1)
"The
mysterious Swastika sign born in undefined regions and rapidly extended over
the entire world, goes to support this hypothesis. We will seek the lessons it
teaches.
"For a
long time the Swastika (the croix gammee, a Greek cross, with arms bent to the
right at right angles) has been regarded as an Aryan sign, even the Aryan sign
par excellence. From this, or from its apparent place of origin, the name
Indian (East Indian) has been given it; a name difficult at present to
maintain because of the daily discoveries of its diffusion or spread among
absolute strangers to the Aryan race. (2)
"It
appears from the researches made during late years that the origin even of the
Swastika sign appears to be contested. Thus we read in the work of Count
Goblet d'Alviella, (3) one of those who has best studied the question:
"'The
croix gammee (Swastika) appears from prehistoric times among the peoples
originating in the valley of the Danube, who have respectively colonized the
Troad and the north of Italy. It extends with the products of this antique
culture, on one side, among the Greeks, Etruscans, Latins, Gauls, Germans,
British, and Scandinavians; on the other side, to Asia Minor, Persia, the
Indies, and to China and Japan.'
"Such
is also the opinion of M. Salomon Reinach. (4) According to him the sign of
the Swastika already represented in the city of Hissarlik, prior, according to
all probabilities, to the thirteenth century
(1) J.
McGuire, Classification and Development of Primitive Implements. "Amer.
Anthrop.," July, 1896.
(2)
The literature upon the Swastika has increased in late years until it has
become a library. In 1889 Count Goblet d'Alviella made a communication to the
Royal Academy of Belgium entitled "La croix gammee, or Swastika." It has since
been enlarged and published under the title "La migration des Symboles,"
Paris, 1891. An English translation appeared with an introduction and note by
Sir G. Birdwood. Among recent publications were those of Michael Zmigrodzki. "Zur
Geschichte der Swatika," Brunswick, 1890, and Thomas Wilson, "The Swastika,"
Washington, 1896. Eminent savants in all countries have been occupied with the
question of its origin and signification, but it appears, nevertheless, that
it is not yet entirely cleared, for Dr.
Brinton writes: "It is easy to read into barbaric scratches the thoughts of
later times, and we must acknowledge that something more than the figure
itself is needed to prove its symbolic sense." (3) La migration des Symboles.
"Revue des deux Mondes," May 12, 1889.
(4) Le
mirage oriental. " L'Anthropologie," 1895
B.C.,
did not penetrate the Indies until after that period.(1) He continues that one
does not find the symbol in Egypt, (2) nor in Phoenicia, nor Assyria; while,
on the other hand, it is frequent in northern Italy, in the valley of the
Danube, in Thrace, in Greece, and on the western shores of Asia Minor. Thence
comes his conclusions that we should seek in Europe for its origin. (3)
"I do
not pretend to contradict this, but the first discovery of the Swastika on the
hill of Hissarlik determines that this was not its place of origin. When came
this mysterious sign which we see at Troy ? To what rite does it belong ?
Where did it originate ? These are questions we would like to have answered.
In the present state of our knowledge, the question is insoluble. One point
excites my interest, that is the long persistence of the Swastika and its
rapid diffusion throughout such different regions. I see in this an important
argument in favor of the unity of the human species. This argument should be
further presented and such facts produced as justify it.
"An
infant, the child of a savage, might amuse himself by tracing in the sand or
on stone, or on the first object that came under his hand, squares and circles
and crosses, and lines, making all imaginable angles; with progress the child
can reproduce the images of his mind, the scenes that strike him most, even to
bizarre figures which are due only to his imagination. He will not produce a
sign as complicated as the Swastika unless he has it or has had it before his
eye, or unless it shall have been transmitted to him by his ancestors. It is
puerile to explain its presence in so many and such widely separated regions
by the theory of the identity of the psychologic state among human races which
have the same rudimentary culture
(1) M.
Reinach afterward recognized that the Swastika mentioned by Goblet d'Alviella
on certain ingots of silver in the form of dominoes, serving as money, and
also those with inscriptions in honor of Acoka, belonged to the third century
B.C. ‑ "L'Anthropologie," 894, p. 248.
(2)
Flinders Petrie has found at Naukratis certain vases ornamented with the
Swastika (Third Memoir Egyptian Exploration Fund), but this pottery appears to
have been imported from Caria or from Cyprus. Stuffs ornamented with the same
sign have also been discovered at Panopolis, Upper Egypt, but these have been
attributed to Greek workmen who were numerous at Coptos, a neighboring village
where Clermont Ganneau has recently discovered a Greek inscription. ‑ "Acad.
des Inscriptions," March 5, 1897 (Forrer, "Die Graber und Textilfunde von
Achmin Panopolis ").
(3)
"As for India, everything induces the belief that the Swastika was there
introduced from Greece, from the Caucasus, or from Asia Minor, by routes as
yet unknown." ‑ Goblet d'Alviella. " La migration des symboles," p. 107
"The
mysterious Swastika (1) figured on the idols and spindle whorls (2) of the
ancient Dardania, on the diadem of the daughters of Priam, and on the
numberless objects from the early cities on the hill of Hissarlik, (3) in the
sacred temples of India as on the bas relief of Ibriz, attributed to the
Hittites, (4) on Celtic funeral urns, and on the hut urns of Albano or Corneto,
a curious imitation of the habitations of the living wherein they have piously
deposited the ashes of the dead. (5)
"We
see the Swastika on the balustrades of the porticos of the temple of Athena at
Pergamos, on the sculptured ceiling of the Treasury at Orchomenos, on the
vases of Milo and Athena, those of Bologna, the ancient Felsina of the
Etruscans, (6) of Caere (Cervetri), (7) Cumes, (8) Cyprus, (9) and on the
pottery gathered at Konigswalde on the Oder; on a golden fibula of the Museum
of the Vatican, and a copper fibula of the Royal Museum of Copenhagen.
"It is
encountered in the most ancient paintings of the catacombs of Rome, on the
tunic of the Bon Pasteur, (10) and on the archbishop's chair of St. Ambrose at
Milan, where it is associated with
(1)
Sometimes the arms of the Swastika turn to the left, to which Professor Max
Muller says has been given the name Suavastika. (Mr. Virchand R. Gandhi
reports that while studying an ancient Sanscrit philosophy, in the British
Museum library, he found the word Suavastika in connection with Swastika ‑ T.
W.) (2) The number of these objects casts a doubt upon their use as spindle
whorls only.
They
have been religious objects, a sort of ex‑voto, for example.
(3)
Schliemann, "Ilios," Figs. 1873, 1911, and others.
(4) S.
Reinach, Le mirage oriental. "Anthropologie," 1893.
(5)
Dennis, "Cities and Cemeteries of Etruria," vol. i., p. 69; vol. ii., p. 457.
Dennis regards these urns as anterior to the Etruscan civilization. See also "
Annali Dell' Inst.
Romano," 1871, pp. 239, 279. Professor H. W. Haynes, of Boston, is of opinion
that these belong to the " Iron Age " (Nation, January 24, 1889). Professor
Heilbig, " Guide to the Collection of Classic Antiquities in Rome," vol. ii.,
p. 267; Pigorini, "Bulletino Ethnologia Italiana," vol. xii., p. 262; Chantre,
"Necropoles Halstattiennes de Italie et de l'Autriche, Materiaux," vol.
xviii., pp. 3, 4.
(6)
Gozzadini, " Scavi Archaeologici," Plate IV.
(7) In
a tomb at Caere there has been found a golden fibula with engraved Swastika
Greffi, "Monumenti di Caere," Plate VI., No. 1.
(8) At
Cumes has been found the sign (Swastika) on pottery, buried at great depth,
which mark the establishment of sepulchres at the most ancient periods,
beneath the tombs of the Hellenic epoch, they in turn being under those of the
Roman epoch. Alex Bertrand ("Arch. celtique et gauloise," p. 45).
(9) "Cesnola,
Cyprus, its Ancient Cities, Tombs and Temples," Plates XLIV. and XLVII.
(10)
Roller, "Les Catacombes de Rome," Plates Vl., X.. XXXII., XXXIX., LIV.,
LXXXVII., XCIV
the
Latin cross and the monogram of Christ; on the ancient sacred books of Persia,
as well as on the coins of Arsacides and the Sassanides; on the most ancient
Christian monuments of Scotland and Ireland, often accompanied with Ogam
inscriptions; (1) on the Scandinavian runic books; in the Halstattien
sepulchres of San Margarether or de Rovische, (2) and in the necropolis of
Koban.(3)
"Schliemann found it at Tiryns and at Mycenae; (4) Cartailhac in the citanias,
those strange fortified towns of Portugal, some of which date from Neolithic
times; (5) Chantre in the tombs in Caucasus, (6) and the Russian
archaeologists on the bronze objects from their country in the Museum of
Moscow.
"The
Swastika has been found in France, in the Tumuli (mounds) of Haguenau,
engraved on the cinctures of bronze. (7) It is perpetuated on objects
posterior or strange to the Roman domination. For example, on those taken in
the Frankish tombs opened at Colombe (Loire‑et‑Cher), on a funeral stele at
the Museum of Toulouse, on a vase at the Museum of Rouen, (8) on the
tinctures, Gallo‑Roman or Merovingian, near La Fere. (9) The Swastika also is
found on a Celto‑Roman altar erected at Ambloganna, in England by a Dacian
legion in honor of Zeus or Jupiter. (10) on the right and left are two
circles, rayed after the fashion of stars, which Gaidoz believes to be a
representation of the sun. (11) The Laplanders still engrave the Swastika on
their drums intended to be used in Magic rites.
"The
Chinese decorate with it their standards, instruments of music, and their
cannon.
(12)
"The
Japanese employ it as a mark on their pottery, and the
(1)
Dr. Graves, Bishop of Limerick, "Proceedings Roy. Irish Acad." Ludvig Muller
reports the same.
(2) "Materiaux,"
1884, pp. 137, 139, 466, and Fig. 84.
(3)
Ibid., 1888, p. 352.
(4) "Mycene,"
p. 193.
(5) "L'Espagne
et le Portugal prehistoriques," Figs. 410‑412. Recently M. da Veiga has
recognized the Swastika in the compartments of a mosaic found in Algarve. "
L'Anthropologie," 1891, p. 222.
(6) M.
Chantre assimilates these burials to those of Villanoba, Halstatt, and Bismen
tovia in upper Italy. " Materiaux," 1881, pp. 164, 165.
(7) De
Mortillet, " Album prehistorique," pp. 98, 99, 100.
(8)
Ibid., Figs. 1247, 1257.
(9)
Moreau, "Album de Caranada." (10) Goblet d'Alviella, " La migration des
symboles," p. 65.
(11)
"Le dieu gaulois du soleil et la migration des symboles." (12) The Letter of
Gordon to Schliemann. " Ilios," p. 352.
Hindus
paint it in red on their houses at the beginning of the New Year, and make it
with flour or sacred rice upon a table or stand when entering a house or
church as a sign of good luck or good wishes, or the occasion of a Wedding or
fete. (1)
"The
diffusion of a sign so complicated as the Swastika throughout all time and in
all countries is something to be remarked, and of which we should recognize
the importance. Our astonishment is doubled when we find the same symbol among
the Ashantes on the Western coast of Africa, (2) and see it figured in America
among the most ancient civilization of which we have any knowledge. By what
migration has it crossed the Atlantic, by what migrations has it penetrated
such distant countries and appeared among races of men so different ? And if,
as we believe, all these representations are due to an indigenous art, either
Indian or African, where did they obtain their model ? Our ignorance on these
points is complete, and the most we can do is to give a resume of the
principal known facts.
"The
Swastika has been found engraved on a shell from a mound in Tennessee which
contained thirty‑two human burials, (3) on plates (five) of copper from the
mounds of Chillicothe, Ohio, (4) a stone hatchet from Pemberton, N. J., on an
Arkansas vase in the National Museum, on a silver ornament, the authenticity
of which appears incontestable, and which was shown in 1887 at the reunion at
the Association Fransaise at Toulouse. (5)
"Nordenskiold
cites numerous examples of the Swastika, now engraved in straight lines, other
times indicated by dots, among the
(1) It
has been contended by some persons that the triskelion was an evolution from
or to the Swastika ‑ the triskelion of three human legs bent at the knee and
joined at the thigh. It is found on the Lycian coins about 480 B.C., and
thence was carried by Agathocles to Sicily. (Barclay Head, "Coins of the
Ancients," Plate XXXV.) It is also found on a vase from Agrigentum. (Waring,
"Ceramic Art in Remote Ages," Plate XLII.) Newton explains how the symbol (triskelion)
is found on the arms of Sicily, and also those of the Isle of Man.
("Athenaeum," September, 1892.) The Duke of Athol, proprietary of the Isle of
Man, sold in 1765 his right to the Crown of England, but because he had been
its sovereign he kept the triskelion in his coat of arms.
(2)
"It is not possible to admit," says Count Goblet d'Alviella ("Migration des
symboles," p. 108), "that this has been spontaneously conceived and executed.
Of all a priori hypotheses, this is certainly the most difficult to accept."
(3) "Third Annual Report," Bureau of Ethnology, Fig. 140.
(4)
"Twelfth Annual Report," Bureau of Ethnology. Other similar discoveries have
been made in Ohio.
(5) "Comptes
rendus," i., p. 284
cave
dwellers of Mesa Verde, and the same is done by Max Mullet in Yucatan and
Paraguay, while other savants have found it among the Huacas of Peru and among
savage tribes of Brazil, where the triangular pieces of pottery, sometimes
bearing the mysterious Swastika sign, often form the only dress of the women.
(1)
"We
find it in the paintings of the Navajos (2) and on the ornaments of the Pueblo
Indians, while the Sac Indians of the Southwest wear it on their collars and
garters on occasion of their religious fetes, although it is not possible that
they should know the sense which is attached to it, (3) and the Wolpis paint
it on their dance rattles. (4)
"I
have omitted to treat of numerous figurines ornamented with the Swastika in
the hope to find an explanation of this mysterious symbol. We find it engraved
on a figure of Buddha in the United States National Museum, (5) on the base of
a bronze Buddha from Japan, and on a vase in the Kunsthistorische Museum of
Vienna where it figures on the breast of Apollo. (6) Astarte bears it on her
arms and shoulders, (7) Adonis on his arms, a follower of Aphrodite, on her
robe, (8) a centaur from Cyprus on his right shoulder. (9) In a rude
representation of Apollo directing the car of the sun it is found on the
wheels of the chariot. (10) A female statue in lead found at Troy wears a
triangular covering over the ulva, the center of which bears a Swastikas
Numerous cinctures or girdles worn by women bore this same Swastika sign. Does
this not indicate that it may have been regarded as an emblem of the
generative forces of nature ?
"But
we will not venture further in our researches for the signification of a sign
so obscure as is the Swastika. Probably (and the figurines just mentioned give
this hypothesis a semblance of
(1)
Wilson, Swastika, "Report U. S. Nat. Mus.," 1894, Plate XVIII.
(2)
Ibid., Plate XVII.
(3)
Ibid., Plates XV. and XVI. (Nevertheless these Indians recognize it as a sign
of good luck and give it a corresponding name. ‑ T. W.) (4) "Rev.
d'Ethnographie," 1885, No. 1.
(5)
Wilson, 1. c., Plate 1.
(6)
Goblet d'Alviella, 1. c., Plate 1.
(7) "Bul.
Soc. d'Anth.," 1888, p. 676.
(8)
This statuette was found in 1887 in a Greek tomb. "Bul. Soc. d'Anth.," 1888,
p. 677 (9) Cesnola, "Salaminia," p. 243.
(10)
Ibid.
(11)
Schliemann, "Ilios," Fig. 226.
truth)
it was a religious emblem, an amulet consecrated by the varied superstitions
of man, as is the hand with the fingers raised a survival of an ancient
Chaldean symbol which is worn to‑day by the Italians, as is the little pig by
the Parisians. (1) Was it dedicated to the living sun; to Zeus or Baal; to
Astarte or to Aphrodite; to Agni, the god of fire; or to Indra, the god of
rain; or, still further, to Vishnu or to Siva, the Hindu representatives of
creation and destruction ? All these hypotheses are possible; more than this,
all of them are probable, for the signification of Swastika has singularly
varied according to the time and to tradition. (2) Those persons who in the
actual state of our knowledge pretend to formulate general conclusions are
sadly in error.
"I
approach the end of my task. By the side of the similarity of the anatomic
structure of man in all times and of all races, I have sought to place the
similarity of his genius, as proved by the identity of his conceptions. The
ossuaries which contain the remains of his predecessors, the custom of
coloring his bones red after they had been denuded of their flesh, the
mysterious sign to which we have given the name Swastika, and other
conceptions, other almost universal creations, which it would be easy to add,
all tend toward the confirmation of the knowledge given to us by the earliest
arms, the first tools and implements of flint, and the most ancient pottery.
We believe it impossible to misapprehend or mistake the multiplied proofs that
flow from modern researches, all of which affirm with an irrefutable eloquence
the unity of the human species."
Among
the very ancient symbols of the Orient we find the Pentalpha, or five‑pointed
star. In one of the illustrations in the Iconographic Encycpoedia of the late
Professor Baird, President of the Smithsonian Institution, who succeeded
Professor Henry, we observe that the Pentalpha occupies the most conspicuous
place. That picture represents the universe, viz., the great celestial serpent
forms a circle having the tail in its mouth, at the top; diametrically
opposite, at the bottom the serpent twists the body in a large coil; upon this
coil is a huge tortoise; on the back of the tortoise stand
(1) W.
W. Rockhill ("Diary of a Journey through Mongolia and Tibet," 1891‑92) cites
the Tibetan who had a Swastika tattooed on his hand.
(2)
Sewell ("Indian Antiquary," July, 1881) presents innumerable hypotheses to
which the Swastika has given rise. To cite but one: Mr. Cunningham, a
distinguished savant, believes the Swastika to have been a monogram.
four
elephants occupying the four cardinal points; on these elephants rests the
earth, which is flat on the bottom and hemispherical on the top; above the
earth are represented concentrically the seven heavenly spheres; immediately
above the uppermost sphere, and suspended from the junction of the tail and
mouth of the serpent, is the Pentalpha.
The
Pentalpha has been so called, because the five (pence) points each represented
the Greek letter Alpha (A). It was called Hygeia or symbol of health by
Pythagoras.
We
refer our readers to Book IV., Chapter IV., pages 1755 to 1783 ‑ and
especially on pages 1781 to 1783 ‑ wherein we have shown the connection
between some of the symbols now employed in our modern Masonic system, with
those of the remotest antiquity, and have made frequent references to Dr.
Mackey and to his predecessor, Dr. Oliver, from whose works on symbolism we
have freely quoted such passages as would demonstrate our subject.
The
writer of this treatise on Symbolism has endeavored to place before the reader
the intimate relation between all the forms of language, as displayed by man,
from the earliest ages, in the crudest efforts to convey his ideas to others,
down to the perfected forms of animal life, as displayed in the unnatural
compositions in the cherubim, which was shown first to Moses, and subsequently
to the prophets Ezekiel and Isaiah, as described in the text.
We can
give no further explanations than those taken from ancient writers, as, down
to the present day, they are as mysterious as they have always been in every
age of the world, like the image of the veiled Isis in her temple on the
island Philae in Egypt, with the following inscription: " I am that which was,
which is, and which is to come, and no mortal hath lifted my veil."
P.
1802
PART
FIVE
ANCIENT AND ACCEPTED SCOTTISH RITE
ROYAL
ORDER OF SCOTLAND
ANCIENT AND ACCEPTED SCOTTISH RITE
THE
EARLY HISTORY OF THE SCOTTISH RITE
IN
Chapter LI of this work will be found a "History of Christian Knighthood," and
in the following chapter, LII, "Knight Templarism in America." In pages 1332
to 1336, Chapter LI, is given the history of the suppression of the "Templar
Order," the death of the last Grand Master, Jacques De Molay, and the
dispersion of the "Order."
There
is no need to repeat in this place the account of the destruction of the
greatest of the three great military orders, the "Poor Fellow‑soldiers of
Christ and Solomon's Temple" as they officially described themselves. On March
11, 1314, the Grand Master, Jacques de Molay, was burned to death in Paris,
declaring with his last breath that the confessions wrung from him and other
knights by torture were untrue, and that the order was innocent. The Papal
Bull, issued by Clement V. the year before, had suppressed the order and
transferred its estates to the Knights Hospitallers, or Knights of St. John of
Jerusalem, for centuries the bitter foes of the Templars. The Templars who
escaped the cruelty of the French King, Philip the Fair, fled to other
countries.
From
this period until the invention of printing there was a slow but gradual
increase in learning, which was mostly confined to the priesthood; very few,
even of the nobility, could read or write; hence they employed as chaplains
the learned class of the clergy, who conducted all of their business affairs,
and became domesticated in their families.
After
the invention of movable type and the increase of books, "learning" became
more popular, and by the political changes in the kingdoms of Europe there
were important improvements in science and the arts brought about, so that
from the close of the 14th century to the death of Charles II. of England,
very important events had taken place and an entire revolution of society had
occurred, growing out of the "Reformation" in religion. The great fire in
London ‑ although a local affair ‑ had its effects upon other parts of Europe.
The reconstruction of the city of London ‑ and particularly of the religious
edifices ‑ produced a revolution in architecture under the supervision of Sir
Christopher Wren, who was appointed by Charles II. as superintendent of all
the public buildings after the great fire. Under the sanction of the King,
Wren visited the continent and became familiar with the classic orders of
architecture, of which there were few examples in England. There is no doubt
that the great cathedral of St. Paul's in London, in its order of
architecture, was a copy of St. Peter's in Rome.
Sir
Christopher Wren has often been called by Masonic writers a Grand Master of
Masons, but there is no evidence whatever that he was even an Apprentice Mason
when he became the government architect or " Superintendent."
Lessing, the German critic, goes so far as to describe Wren as the inventor of
Speculative Masonry, but later investigators affirm that while Inigo Jones,
the great architect of so many noble buildings in England, is claimed to have
held a place in the Masonic order, yet Sir Christopher Wren is only mentioned
in a professional capacity.
As the
first code of Masonic laws and the first items of Masonic history were
published by authority, it may justly be inferred that the triumvirate of
compilers had no knowledge of his having ever been a member of the Society.
The English Freemasons of the period of the so‑called revival of 1717 seemed
to have found no reason to believe in Wren's connection with the Society. Wren
was one of the most eminent men of the time, "a prodigy of universal science,"
President of the Royal Society, the builder of the new cathedral of St.
Paul's, London, and numerous colleges and other buildings, and, more than all,
the rebuilder of London after the Great Fire, and it would be strange that the
initiation or affiliation of such a distinguished man as the King's Architect
should have been forgotten by the lodges of Masons subsisting when the revival
of 1717 took place.
The
invention of new degrees was continuous, in the countries of Europej during
the middle portion of the 18th century, but most of them were worked to a
limited extent only and soon passed into oblivion. The three degrees of
Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft, and Master Mason were the source from whence
this prolific development of degrees sprang, and these three degrees were
selected, with twenty‑two others, to compose a Rite which was destined to
retain its vitality, and to spread its influence, throughout the world. This
Rite was known as the "Ancient and Accepted Rite."
There
have been various accounts of the manner in which these degrees were selected
and arranged in the so‑called "Rite of Perfection." The most reasonable
statement is as follows:
The
Chevalier de Bonneville established a chapter of twenty‑five degrees of the
so‑ called High Degrees in the College of Jesuits of Clermont, in Paris, in
1754. The adherents and followers of the House of the Stuarts had made the
College of Clermont their asylum, they being mostly Scotchmen. One of these
degrees being the "Scottish Master," the new Body organized in Charleston,
S.C., in 1801, gave the name of "Scottish Rite" to these degrees, which name
ever since that time has characterized the Rite all over the world, of which
more anon. The name previously given to these degrees was the "Rite of
Perfection," or the Ancient and Accepted Rite.
The
Marquis de Lernais carried these degrees to Berlin in 1758 and they were
introduced into and adopted by the Grand Lodge of the Three Globes. The Rite
was revived in Paris that year under the authority of the "Council of Emperors
of the East and West." In consequence of the interference of the Jesuits, who,
finding that their former efforts had not succeeded in finally suppressing the
Rite, again forced themselves into the Rite and "sowed seeds of dissension,"
the result was that a new organization was formed called the "Council of the
Knights of the East;" and as a consequence a rivalry sprung up between these
two bodies and the Grand Orient of France. In 1781, however, both of these
bodies became incorporated with that Grand Body which held the Rite of
Perfection within itself.
In
1762 it is asserted that Frederick the Great, who had taken under his
patronage all of Masonry in Germany, formed and promulgated what have been
known ever since then as the Grand Constitutions of 1762.
The
"Rite of Perfection," which for a quarter of a century, with many struggles,
had not fully accomplished the work proposed for it by its authors, was
improved, it is said, by Frederick himself, by a reorganization and
reconstruction which placed it on a higher standard in its philosophy and in
its teachings; that eight other degrees were added to it, and the name was
changed to "The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry," and that
the Grand Constitutions of 1786 were ratified and signed by Frederick in
Berlin, in May of that year.
By
these Constitutions of 1786, Frederick the Great resigned the authority he had
held from 1762 as Grand Commander of the Order of Princes of the Royal Secret,
and Supreme Chief of the Scottish Rite or of Perfection. His Masonic
prerogatives were by the same document deposited with a council for each
nation, to be composed of Sovereign Grand Inspectors‑General of the
Thirty‑Third and last degree of legitimate Freemasonry, limited in numbers to
that of the years of Christ on earth.
The
Grand Constitutions formed in 1762 were ratified in Bordeaux, October 25th of
that year, and were proclaimed as the governing laws for all the several
Bodies of the "Rite of Perfection" over the two Hemispheres.
Prior
to this, in 1761, Stephen Morin was invested with power by the Grand
Consistory of Sublime Princes of the Royal Secret in Paris, on the 27th of
August, 1761, to carry the "Rite of Perfection" to America. He received a
Patent, as his credential, of which the following is a copy:
Morin's Patent.
To the
glory of the G. A. O. T. U., etc., and by the good will of H. S. H. the very
illustrious Brother Louis de Bourbon, Count de Clermont, Prince of the Blood
Royal, Grand Master and Protector of all Lodges.
At the
Orient of a most enlightened place where reign Peace, Silence, and Concord,
Anno Lucis 5761, and according to the common style, 27th August, 1761.
Lux ex tenebris. Unitas, concordia fratrum.
We the
undersigned, Substitutes General of the Royal Art, Grand Wardens and Officers
of the Grand and Sovereign Lodge of St. John of Jerusalem, established at the
Orient of Paris; and we, Sovereign Grand Masters of the Grand Council of the
Lodges of France, under the sacred and mysterious numbers, declare, certify,
and decree to all the very dear Bros., Knights, and Princes scattered
throughout the two hemispheres, that being assembled by order of the
Substitute General, President of the Grand Council, a request was communicated
to us by the worshipful Bro. Lacorne, Substitute of our very illustrious G.
M., Knight and Prince Mason, and was read in due form.
Whereas our dear Bro. Stephen Morin, Grand Perfect Elect (G. elu parfait) and
Past Sublime Master, Prince Mason, Knight and Sublime Prince of all orders of
the Masonry of Perfection, member of the Royal Lodge of the "Trinity," etc.,
being about to depart for America, desires to be able to work with regularity
for the advantage and aggrandisement of the Royal Art in all its perfection,
may it please the Sovereign Grand Council and Grand Lodge to grant him letters
of constitution. On the report which has been made to us, and knowing the
eminent qualifications of Bro. S. Morin, we have, without hesitation, accorded
him this slight gratification in return for the services which he has always
rendered this Order, and the continuation of which is guaranteed to us by his
zeal.
For
this cause and for other good reasons, whilst approving and confirming the
very dear Brother Morin in his designs, and wishing to confer on him some mark
of our gratitude, we have, by consent, constituted and invested him, and do by
these presents constitute and invest him, and give full and entire power to
the said Bro. Stephen Morin, whose signature is in the margin of these
presents, to form and establish a Lodge in order to admit to and multiply the
Royal Order of Masons in all the perfect and sublime degrees; to take measures
that the statutes and regulations of the Grand and Sovereign Lodge, general or
special, be kept and observed, and to never admit therein any but true and
legitimate brothers of sublime Masonry.
To
rule and govern all the members who shall compose his said Lodge, which he may
establish in the four quarters of the world wherever he may arrive or shall
sojourn, under the title of Lodge of St. John, and surnamed In Perfect
Harmony; "we give him power to choose such officers as he may please to aid
him in ruling his Lodge, whom we command and enjoin to obey and respect him;
do ordain and command all Masters of regular Lodges of whatsoever dignity,
scattered over the surface of land and sea, do pray and enjoin them in the
name of the Royal Order, and in the presence of our very illustrious G. M., to
acknowledge in like manner as we recognise our very dear Bro.
Stephen Morin as Worshipful Master of the Lodge of Perfect Harmony, and we
depute him in his quality of our Grand Inspector in all parts of the New World
to reform the observance of our laws in general, etc., and by these presents
do constitute our very dear Bro. Stephen Morin our G. M. Inspector,
authorising and empowering him to establish perfect and sublime Masonry in all
parts of the world, etc., etc.
We
pray, consequently, all brothers in general to render to the said Stephen
Morin such assistance and succour as may be in their power, requiring them to
do the same to all the brothers who shall be members of his Lodge, and whom he
has admitted and constituted, shall admit or constitute in future to the
sublime degree of perfection which we grant him, with full and entire power to
create Inspectors in all places where the sublime degrees shall not already be
established, knowing well his great acquirement and capacity.
In
witness whereof we have given him these presents, signed by the Substitute‑
General of the Order, Grand Commander of the Black and White Eagle, Sovereign
Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret, and Chief of the Eminent Degree of the
Royal Art, and by us, Grand Inspectors, Sublime Officers of the Grand Council
and of the Grand Lodge established in this capital, and have sealed them with
the Grand Seal of our illustrious G. M. His Serene Highness, and with that of
our Grand Lodge and Sovereign Grand Council. Given at the G. O. of Paris, in
the year of light, 5761, or according to the Vulgar Era, 27th August, 1761.
(Signed) Chaillon de Jonville, Substitute‑General, W. M. of the first lodge in
France called "St. Thomas," Chief of the Eminent Degrees, Commander and
Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret. Bro. the Prince de Rohan, Master of the
Grand Lodge "Intelligence," Sovereign Prince of Masonry. Lacorne, Substitute
of the Grand Master, W. Dep. M. of Lodge "Trinity," Grand Perfect Elect,
Knight and Prince Mason. Savalette de Bucheley, Grand Keeper of the Seals,
Grand Elect, Grand Knight and Prince Mason. Taupin, etc., Prince Mason, Brest‑dela‑Chaussee,
etc., W.
M. of
the Lodge "Exactitude," Grand Elect Perfect Master, Knight Prince Mason. Count
de Choiseul, etc., Prince Mason Boucher de Lenoncourt, etc., W. M. of the
Lodge "Virtue," Prince Mason.
By
order of the Grand Lodge. Daubertin, Grand Elect Perfect Master and Knight
Prince Mason, W. M. of the Lodge "Saint Alphonse," Grand Secretary of the
Grand Lodge and of the Sublime Council of Prince Masons in France, etc.
APPRENTICES PILLAR
Roslyn Chapel, Edinburgh
The
first soil which Morin touched on his mission to America was San Domingo, and
afterward, on his arrival at Kingston, Jamaica, he appointed Henry Francken a
Deputy Inspector‑General Later on other appointments were made by him to this
office, and these Deputies he supplied with copies of the Grand Constitutions,
which had been adopted in 1762. Soon after his appointment Francken visited
the North American Colonies, where he gave an appointment of Deputy
Inspector‑General to Moses M.
Hayes, at Boston, Mass.
Francken established under his commission from Morin a lodge at Albany, N. Y.
This was a Lodge of Perfection of the 14th Degree. On December 20, 1767, he
conferred the degree of Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret, the 25th Degree of
the Rite, on several Brethren of the order. This lodge seems not to have
prospered, and was nearly forgotten when in 1822 Giles Fonda Gates, one of the
most active Brethren of the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, discovered the
original Warrant, together with some patents of the Brethren of the body, and
its books of record.
This
was, no doubt, the very first body of the "Rite of Perfection" ever planted on
the Continent of North America, and there were, doubtless, several such bodies
in the Islands of the West Indies.
Those
Masons who have progressed beyond the Blue Lodge degrees, and are familiar
with the Capitular and Cryptic Rites, as also the degrees of the Commandery
and those of the A.'. A.'. A.'. S.'. R.'. can readily perceive how Thomas
Smith Webb was able to manufacture the degrees attributed to him, after his
residence in Albany, and his connection with the Masons of that city
(1)
The date is not known, but it must have been between 1762 and 1767
Brother Da Costa was made Deputy Inspector‑General for South Carolina by Hayes
in 1781; he also appointed Solomon Bush Deputy for Pennsylvania, and B. M.
Spitzer Deputy for Georgia.
Da
Costa established in Charleston in 1783 a Sublime Grand Lodge of Perfection.
A
Council of Princes of Jerusalem was duly constituted in Charleston, and
Meyers, Spitzer, and Frost were present and installed the Officers. The
Council of Knights Kadosh was organized in Philadelphia in 1796 by refugees
from San Domingo. When France again assumed authority over San Domingo, these
Brethren returned home and the council became dormant if not entirely extinct.
In New
York City a chapter of Rose Croix (18th Degree) was established in 1797, the
Grand Constitution of 1786 and the ritual of the eight added degrees having
been received in Charleston at that time. The bodies already established in
Charleston accepted the new regime and adopted the new degrees, and in 1801 a
convention was held and preliminary steps inaugurated to form a Supreme
Council of the 33d and Last Degree of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite
of Freemasonry.
The
name of this new body was "The Supreme Council of Sovereign Grand Inspectors‑
General of the Thirty‑third and Last Degree for the United States of America."
It was formed and organized by John Mitchell and Frederic Dalcho, and during
the year the full number of members, nine, was admitted.
This
new body recognized the Constitutions of 1762, the Secret Constitutions, and
the much‑discussed Constitutions of 1786.
These
latter constitutions are believed to have been approved and ratified by
Frederick the Great of Prussia, as Supreme Head and Governor of the Rite, and,
as already stated, provide for the government of the Rite, after his death, by
a council in each nation. Although these constitutions claim to have been
recognized as the Supreme Law of the Rite in 1786, they were not published
till 1832, when a French version appeared. A Latin text was published two
years afterward which, while agreeing with the French book in essentials,
differs in many of the details. It may be broadly stated that the Latin
version is more precise, more complete, more in legal form, and, hence, some
students have arrived at the conclusion that the Latin constitutions, thus
written in a language universally understood, were the original, while the
French version was really an adaptation for the use of the Brethren in France.
But
the question whether the French or Latin text is the original is a mere trifle
of little importance compared with another vital one, namely: "Were the
Constitutions of 1786 ever seen or sanctioned by Frederick the Great? Were
they not forged in Charleston ? Those who asserted the falseness of the
constitutions made no attempt to demonstrate the commission of forgery at
Charleston, but confined themselves to denying that they were ever sanctioned
Dy Frederick. The reasons alleged for this opinion were that in 1786 Frederick
was mentally and physically incapacitated for business, and, furthermore, that
the names subscribed to the Latin version were fictitious. The injurious
suspicions as to the veracity of numerous Masonic statements, caused by the
injudicious zeal and the uncritical methods of many Masonic writers, led to
the general acceptance of the belief that the constitutions as contained in
the Latin version were like many of the stories invented by the arch‑impostor,
Cagliostro, and others, simply stupid forgeries by men ignorant or careless of
historical facts and historical probahilities. This belief, it may be
repeated, was held not only by men not affiliated to any Masonic order, but by
many Masons of good standing. It was reserved for an American Mason, of the
highest degree, Brother Albert Pike, to refute this theory. That eminent
Mason, in his Historical Inquiry, showed from documents of the period that in
1786 Frederick the Great, while undoubtedly suffering from physical ailments,
was still in the habit of attending to business. Brother Pike likewise showed
that the names appended to the Constitution of 1786 were those of men who were
connected with the Court of Berlin. The result of his investigations, after an
extensive and impartial study of all accessible sources of information, was to
the effect that the aforesaid constitutions were drawn up at Berlin and duly
ratified by Frederick in the year assigned to them. As such they were
recognized by the Southern Supreme Council. This refers to the Latin version
of the constitutions. Another student of the history of the Rite considers the
French version the original, and this is the version which is recognized by
the Northern Supreme Council.
Without quoting at length from Bro. Pike's Historical Inquiry, it may be
advisable to give some of his conclusions. He shows that when Francken in 1767
introduced the Rite into the American Colonies it was generally understood
that the supreme governing power was in Berlin, and that in 1770 the Lodge of
Perfection at Albany was directed to transmit reports to Berlin, while, still
earlier, a tracing‑board made by one of its members displays the double eagle
of Prussia as a symbol of the head of the order.
Moreover, in 1785, the Lodge of Perfection at Philadelphia drew up an address
to be presented to Frederick as head of the order.
The
Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of 33d, the title of which heads this
chapter, like all the so‑called Scottish Masonry, has nothing whatever to do
with the Grand Lodge of Scotland. No portion of it, except perhaps the Royal
Order of Scotland, ever originated in Scotland, nor were any of these
so‑called Scottish degrees at any time practiced in Scotland. Gould, in his
history, applies the word Scots as distinguished from Scottish to show these
additions to Freemasonry made on the Continent. These so‑called Scottish or
Scots degrees seem to have originated about the year 1740 in France. The
statement that Irish chapters existed in Paris from 1739, holding their
constitutions from the Grand Chapter of Dublin, cannot be accepted. There is
no evidence to support it, and Masonic authorities reject it, holding that a
much later date must be assigned to all these Irish degrees. Nor must we
confuse the "Orient de Bouillon" with these so‑called Scots Masons, for that
was simply a Grand Lodge established in Luxemburg, years afterward.
What
these Scots lodges taught nobody knows and nobody need care. Rituals exist in
lamentable profusion, but unfortunately they do not agree. They are, however,
all permeated with one notion, the absurdity of which will show the absurdity
of the system.
They
state that some Scottish crusaders found in a vault the long‑lost ineffable
word, and that in their search they worked "with the sword in one hand and the
trowel in the other." This expression is taken from the Hebrew account of the
building of the Second Temple of Zerubbabel, and while natural enough as
applied to builders; is quite out of place in the case of men rummaging in
some subterranean passage. The story of the "long lost, ineffable word" we
meet with in the Arabian Nights, where we learn that the knowledge of it made
Solomon, the King of Genii, able to perform all kinds of marvels.
The
Arabian Nighfs is the fit place for the story. It must be remembered, too,
that the temple that the Crusaders saw was not Solomon's nor Zerubbabel's, but
Herod's, erected a little before the birth of Christ.
At any
rate, relying on this fable, the Scots Master claimed to be in possession of
the true secrets of Freemasonry, the true history and the real designs of the
order. He claimed also to be in every way superior to the Master Mason, and to
hold various peculiar privileges.
In
utter contempt for the great principle on which Freemasonry is founded, the
perfect equality of all its members with a governing body elective and
representative, the Scots Masters claimed to rank before the W.M. of any lodge
even when they were only present as visitors. They claimed the right to wear a
distinctive dress and to remain covered even in a Master's Lodge. They claimed
to impart the secrets of the E.A., F.C., and W. M. degrees, personally and
either with or without ceremony as the whim seized them. They would not, if
they were members of a lodge, permit anyone but other Scots Masons to sit in
judgment upon them. Matters became still worse when the Scots Lodges were
"grafted on the ordinary Lodges," and increased in number and in arrogance. In
these cases the W.M., instead of being elected by the lodge, was nominated by
the Scots Lodge, and as was inevitable, he was almost always one of
themselves. All questions of ritual and doctrine were decided by the Scots
Lodge, all the finances were managed by the Scots Lodge, in fact all the
governing powers were usurped by the Scots Lodge. Nay, the Scots Lodge went so
far as to arrogate to itself all the powers of a Grand Lodge, and as such to
issue Warrants of Constitution. From the exercise of these powers arose the
so‑called Scots Mother Lodges which became so numerous in France, each Mother
Lodge claiming and exercising the right of granting constitutions and warrants
to other lodges, and of developing systems of degrees peculiar to themselves,
and worked in chapters all independent of each other.
France, it has been said, was the inventor of all these novelties, and the
most important of its Scots Mother Lodges was the one established in
Marseilles in 1751 under the title of St. John of Scotland. To give it some
ground for calling itself Scots, it professed to he founded by a traveling
Scotsman, and proceeded to grant warrants to a large number of lodges in
France and elsewhere. From it descended another so‑called Mother Lodge, the
Mother Lodge of the county of Venaissin, with its seat at Avignon, which in
turn became the mother of the Scottish Philosophic Rite. In all these new
systems not only was the true original and beautiful simplicity of the Craft
overlaid and disfigured by foolish legends and childish ceremonies, but to
quote Br. Gould, "the governing power is autocratic and irresponsible, a
hierarchy is formed, the highest class rules all the others, and directs the
lower classes without appeal from those below it." France, we have seen, may
be considered as the inventor of what a German historian of Masonry calls "the
lying fictions" of the so‑called High Degrees, and in the 18th century, as in
the present, set the fashion to Europe. The arch impostor Balsamo, who called
himself the Count Cagliostro, was in the height of his reputation, preaching
the doctrines of his Egyptian Masonry, of which he made himself the Grand
Cophta; his dupes were persons of the highest rank, and speedily a flood of
imbecile mysticism overwhelmed most of the lodges on the Continent of Europe.
From France it spread to Germany, and the name of its introducer into the
Empire is given as a Count von Schmettau. In Berlin the members of the lodge
entitled the Three Globes erected a Scots Lodge in 1741, Hamburg followed with
a Scots Lodge or two in 1744, and the Saxon city of Leipzig in 1747, and the
Free City of Frankfort followed suit in 1753. It is stated that between 1742
and 1764 no fewer than forty‑seven such lodges were erected in Germany. These
Scots Lodges, however, were soon absorbed by the Clermont system with its low
chapter degrees, which system in its turn was absorbed by the Templar system
of "Strict Observance." Even now, some of these Scots Lodges, according to Mr.
Gould, form the basis of the German Grand Lodge Systems, styled the "Inner
Orient."
To
France and to the Scots Lodges in France must be assigned the manufacture of
those new degrees which connected the Scots Masons with the Knights Templars
and thus gave life to the whole system of Templarism. It was an age of
disbelief and credulity, of sensuality and mysticism, of the hardest
common‑sense and the wildest tomfoolery. It was an age of unrest, of decay,
and a longing for a new birth, and the teachings of history were scorned, and
every fable ‑ the more improbable the better ‑ was eagerly accepted, till men
really believed that there was some foundation for the legend that the
Military and Religious Order of the Temple, in spite of its having perished in
fire and blood, had in some unknown way, preserved a germ of vitality for some
four hundred years. In 1741 a degree called the Kadosh degree, representing
the Vengeance of the Templars, was invented by the Masons of Lyons, and
henceforth all the new rites of French origin contain Knightly and almost all
Templar degrees, the connection being in all instances formed by some of the
Scots degrees. The German Handbook enumerates over sixty‑eight such degrees in
various rites, and it is probable this list could be extended. The name
Scottish, too, is assumed by many rites to designate the whole system, for
instance the Scottish Philosophic Rite. The above‑ mentioned system of the
chapters of Clermont was a Templar continuation of the Scots degrees, and grew
into the so‑called Emperors of the East and West, and finally developed into
the "Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite 33d."
It was
on the Continent of Europe that these innovations on the simple ceremonies and
beneficial doctrines of the Craft spread out most luxuriantly. Under the
assumption that the Scots lodges could issue warrants of constitutions, whole
swarms of irresponsible lodges were formed, in which the principles of the
Craft were little considered. From this period may be dated the enmity of the
Church and the Kings of Europe to any association that bore the name or
claimed any affiliation with the Freemasons. There is no doubt that most of
these lodges became political centers of social and political conspirators. In
the hierarchy of these rites, each class is self‑elected, and thus admits only
those it pleases, while the lower classes have no voice in the management of
their affairs or in the election of their rulers.
Our
limits will not permit any very extended reference to the varied changes in
these so‑called is High Degrees "prior to the full establishment of the
Ancient and Accepted Rite; but we must mention the most important events, that
the reader may appreciate the subsequent and final establishment of the
Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, which took its origin, as such, in
Charleston, S.C., in 1801, and the formation of the very first "Supreme
Council of Grand Inspectors General of the 33d degree, in South Carolina,"
with Colonel John Mitchell Sov. Grand Commander.
From
all the authorities which have been examined, in respect to the Chapter of
Clermont, the system of Masonry therein practiced gives no definite
information. Thory, who wrote sixty years subsequently, states that Chevalier
de Bonneville founded a chapter on November 24, 1754. Brother Gould, in his
history of this chapter, denies the statement of Thory, that Von Hund took the
Templar degrees in that chapter, as he had left France for the last time in
1743, or eleven years previously, and erected his first Templar Chapter in
Unwurde in 1751.
Thory
also says: "The Chapter was based on the three degrees of Freemasonry, and the
Scots or St. Andrew degree, and worked three higher, 5d, the Knight of the
Eagle or Select Master; 6d, the Illustrious Knight or Templar; 7d, the Sublime
Illustrious Knight."
The
Chevalier de Bonneville, mentioned above, is probably the same person as the
Count de Bonneville who founded in 1760 a lodge in the Nouvelle France, near
Paris, which is described as being brilliantly conducted and frequented by
persons of high rank. The difference in the titles given to Bonneville can be
explained by the old French system by which a younger son was styled Chevalier
until by the death of older members of the family he attained the higher rank
of Count, and such deaths may have occurred between the two dates of 1754 and
1760. Not much information can be found respecting the doings of this lodge
created by M. de Bonneville, and it is probable that Kloss's opinion of it
referring to the "Emperors of the East and West" is the nearest to the truth.
As to the "Emperors of the East and West," an account will be given later.
While
the history of the Rite, as far as France is concerned, is obscure, its
history in Germany is more important.
We
will now briefly state the Masonic affairs of Germany in connection with this
"Chapter of Clermont." In 1742 the members of the "Three Globes" erected the
Scots Lodge "Union" to work the fourth or Scots degree. The Baron Von Printzen
was, in 1750‑54 and 1757‑61, W.M. of the Mother‑Lodge "Three Globes" of
Berlin; i.e., he was ex‑officio Grand Master of all the lodges of is "Three
Globes." In 1757 the French Marquis Gabriel Tilly de Lernais came to Berlin as
a prisoner of war, and in 1758, with Printzen, founded a chapter of the three
Clermont degrees, grafted upon the Mother‑ Lodge of the "Three Globes," and
the Scots Lodge "Union." On June 10, 1760, this chapter constituted the
chapter "Sun" at Rostock; and on July 19, 1760, took the title of "Premier
Grand Chapter of Clermont in Germany." Philip Samuel Rosa was appointed to
travel over the north of Germany, to bring the lodges under the control of the
"Three Globes" and to institute chapters. A fourth chapter was constituted by
Rosa at Stettin, March, 1762; he then, subsequently, instituted eight others,
in different cities, until in June, 1763, his career was terminated by being
expelled from the Craft; his successor, Schubart, instituted the last and
fifteenth German chapter of Clermont, at Magdeburg, November 27, 1763.
It has
been thought by some writers that the name of Clermont was derived from the
College of Jesuits of that name. Brother Gould, however, does not concur
therewith, and says: "I am unable to believe that the Jesuits could have
consented to glorify the Knights Templars, nor can I see anything new in these
degrees, being, as they were, merely amplifications and rearrangements of
previous ones. I prefer to consider the title a delicate compliment to the
Duke of Clermont. Grand Master of French Masonry from 1743 to 1770. (1)
Inasmuch as the "Knights of the East" was a body of "improved" Masonry about
that period, it becomes proper to give some account of that organization, and
we are again indebted to Brother Gould above all other authors for his very
impartial examination into the history of not only this particular body, but
also in that connection all of those systems which flooded the Continent about
the middle of the 18th century and toward the close of it.
The
only real attempt to arrive at the facts, in regard to this early system, was
made by Dr. Kloss. Other writers had overlooked the separate existence of
Masons, who were called "Sovereign Princes of Masonry," "either confusing them
with certain special degrees of other systems, or treating them as an offshoot
of the Emperors of the East and West." Even the usually diffuse Handbuch is
excessively meager in the information which it supplies. Yet if Kloss's
extensive and minute researches are to be given their just weight, it is to
the rivalry between the Knights and the Emperors that must be attributed the
sorrowful picture of discord presented by the Grand Lodge of France, 1760‑80.
(1)
Gould, vol v., p. 95
In
1754 the Grand Lodge of the members of the Chapter of Clermont had been
founded, and in the following year the Grand Lodge of France acknowledged the
privileges which were claimed to be possessed by the so‑called Scottish
Masons. This action may probably have been with a desire to counterbalance the
influence of the Chapter of Clermont. This chapter seems to have been
decidedly of an aristocratic order, and to have enrolled as its members only
the high nobility, members of the Court circle, high officers in the military
and other professions reserved to nobles, while all less favored individuals
were refused admission to it. It was a period in French history when the lower
noblesse, and the noblesse of the robe, as the highest lawyers or judges were
entitled, as distinguished from the noblesse of the sword, the designation of
the old feudal nobility, with its military traditions, were striving to obtain
great influence and higher recognition in the social hierarchy. It was from
this class of the lower nobility and less highly placed officials that the
association of "Knights of the East, Princes and Sovereigns of Masonry" was
formed in 1756. Its separate subdivision took the name of colleges, each of
which bore the name of its president. The chief college was that of Valois of
Paris. If this college followed the usage of its fellow colleges, Valois must
have been a man who as yet remains undiscovered. Under these circumstances, it
is more probable that the name is taken from the province of the Valois,
adjoining the Isle of France, in which Paris is situated, and which gave its
name to the royal family that sat on the throne of France from Francis I. to
Henry III. Be this as it may, some names of these Knights of the East survive,
and they clearly show that the association was recruited mainly from the lower
nobility and the upper middle class.
The
occurrence of a name like Baron Tschadi is no objection to this view. In the
first place, the name shows he was not a Frenchman, and in the second place
the title baron was that reserved to the richer members of the mercantile or
financial class.
The
statutes of the Rite are elaborate; one article provides that the position of
Sovereign shall be held for the space of one year by each member in turn.
Another article, No. 7, decrees that the Knights of the East are the born
princes of the complete order, just as the Scottish Masters are the Grand
Superiors of the Masonic Order. The next article lays down the doctrine that
if a Knight of the East comes in his travels to a place where no lodge of the
Rite exists, he may dispense the light of the first six degrees to a Master
Mason. The term "first six degrees" implies that the degrees were more than
that number, and that therefore there were at least seven degrees beyond that
of Master, or ten degrees in all, thus working three degrees higher than the
Chapter of Clermont.
The
dominant position of the College of Valois in the Knights of the East was lost
in 1762, as the result of an intestine quarrel. Its place evas taken by a
Sovereign Council of the Knights of the East, of which the following officers
of the Grand Lodge of France were members: The Grand Keeper of the Seal, Brest
de la Chaussee; the President, one of the Wardens; the Grand Orator, the
Secretary General and the Grand Secretary. The prime mover of this resolution
is said to have been a Parisian tailor named Poilet, but this is improbable,
as in 1764 we find a Poilet acting as a leading member of the rival Emperors,
and his humble profession would certainly have excluded a tailor from the
aristocratic Emperors. There is reason, however, to believe that from this
period the aristocratic Emperors of the East and West lost much of their
influence in Grand Lodge, while the lower class Knights gained power. The old
rivalry still went on and in 1766 the Knights sustained a defeat from the
Emperors and many of their members were expelled. The Sovereign Council of the
Knights of the East retaliated by a circular in which it requested all lodges
to cease working Templar degrees. The Knights evidently did not do so. The
Emperors of the East and West, as they were an offshoot and continuation of
the Chapter of Clermont, certainly did so.
The
quarrels of the Emperors and the Knights continued and grew more bitter, till
it became necessary in 1767 for the Government to issue an edict dissolving
the Grand Lodge. From that the Knights of the East, as a body, sank into
insignificance.
P.
1819
CHAPTER II
THE
ORIGINAL SUPREME COUNCIL
THE
very first Supreme Council of which we have any knowledge whatever, either by
tradition or history, was the one organized by John Mitchell, Frederic Dalcho,
Emanuel De La Motta, Abraham Alexander, Major T. B. Bowen, and Israel Delieben,
at Charleston, S. C., May 31, 1801. This was a transformation of the former in
"Rite of Perfection," or Ancient and Accepted Rite.
The
Brethren who constituted this new Rite were all members of the several
Constituent Bodies, which derived their Masonic life, and constituted
authority from Morin through his Deputies duly appointed by him to propagate
the Rite on the American Continent, or more extensively the Western
Hemisphere.
The
pedigree is as follows: Morin commissioned Francken, and Francken commissioned
Moses M. Hayes; Moses M. Hayes commissioned Barend M. Spitzer, and the latter,
on April 2, 1795, commissioned John Mitchell as Deputy Inspector‑ General,
reciting in his patent of commission that he does so by authority of the
Convention of Inspectors held in Philadelphia, June 5, 1781. This new Rite,
which came into the world apparently fully developed, was really a
transformation of the Rite of Perfection.
To
show conclusively as to when the Supreme Council of the 33d and last degree
was organized, we are permitted to furnish herewith a fac‑simile copy of the
"Register" of the several bodies of the A.'. A.'. A.'. S.'. R.'. which met in
the city of Charleston, S. C., in 1802. The original is in the Archives of the
Supreme Council of the Southern Jurisdiction in Washington, D. C
ANNUAL
REGISTER OF THE BRETHREH WHO COMPOSE THE SUBLIME GRAND LODGE OF PERFECTIONW OF
SOUTH‑CAROLINA,
ESTABLISHED AT CHARLESTON, ANNO LUCIS 5783 ALSO, THE LIST OF THE OFFICERS OF
THE GRAND COUNCIL OF PRINCES OF JERUSALEM: OFFICERS OF THE SOVEREIGN CHAPTER
OF ROSE CROIX DE HERODEN; OFFICERS AND MEMBERS OF THE GRAND CONSISTORY,
AND
GRAND INSPECTORS GENERAL OF THE 33d DEGREE,
Hoc
maxime officii, ut quisque masume opis indigeat, ita ei potissumum opitulari.
TULL
REGISTER FOR THE YEAR 5802.
CHARLESTON (SOUTH CAROLINA) PRINTED BY T.B. BOWEN, NO 3, BROAD‑STREET
BY THE
GLORY OF THE GRAND ARCHITECT OF THE UNIVERSE
Officers of the SUBLIME GRAND LODGE of PERFECTION of South Carolina
Sublime Grand Master
FREDERICH DALCHO, native of Maryland, Doctor of Medicine, Member of the
Medical Society of South Carolina, Honoury Member of the Chemical and Medical
Societies of Philadelphia, and one of the Physicians of the Charleton
Dispensary, &c. &c. aged 32 years,
R.'
*.'. K.H. ‑ P. R. S. Sov. Grand Inspector General of the 33d degree, and
Lieutenant Grand Commander for the United States.
(4)
Sublime Deputy Grand Master.
JOSEPH
JAPAN, native of Montargisa en Gatinois, Planter of Saint Domingo, aged 43
years, Master of the Lodge la Candeur, N. 12, Past Sublime Grand Master, R.'
*.'. K.H.
‑ P.
R. S.
Sublime Senior Grand Warden.
ISAAC
AULD, native of Pennsylvania, Doctor of Medicine, Member of the Medical
Society of South‑Carolina, Honorary Member of the Medical and Chemical
Societies of Philadelphia. and one of the Physicians of the Charlston
Dispensary. &c. aged 32 years, R.' *.'. K.H. ‑ P. R. S. Sov. Grand Inspector
General of the 33d degree.
Sublime Junior Grand Warden
WILLIAM PORTER, native of Ireland, Commission Merchant, aged 37 years, Prince
of Jerusalem.
(5)
Grand
Orator and Keeper of Seals.
JAMES
MOULTRIE, native of South Carolina. Doctor of Medicine Port Physician, Vice‑
President of the Medical Society of South‑Carolina, and one of the Physicians
of the Charleston Dispensary, &c. aged 38 years, R.' *.'. K.H. ‑ P. R. S. Sov.
Grand Inspector General of the 33d degree.
Sublime Grand Treasurer.
JAMES
ALLISON native of North Britain, Cooper, aged 46 years, R.' *.'.
Sublime Grand Secretary.
JOHN
PETER PROYS, native of Hanovser. Accountant, aged 33 years, Prince of
Jerusalem.
Grand
Master of Ceremonies.
ALEXANDER PLACIDE, native of Bourdeaux, Manager of the Charleston Theatre,
agent 45 years, R.' *.'. K.H. ‑ P. R. S.
(6)
Captain of the Guards
PlERRE
RIGAUD, native of Nantz, Planter of Saint‑Domingo, aged 31 years, R.' *.'.
K.H. ‑
P. R. S.
Grand
Tyler.
DAVID
LABAT, native of Hamburgh, Storekeeper, aged 42 years, Perfection.
Members
JOHN
MITCHELL, native of Ireland, Justice of the Quorum and Notary Public, late a
Lieutenant‑Colonel in the American Army, Member of the Cincinnati; and Past
Sublime Grand, Master, aged 60 years. R.' *.'. K.H. ‑ P. R. S. Sov. Grand
Inspector General of the 33d Degree and Grand Commander for the United States.
THOMAS
BARTHOLOMEW BOWEN, native of Ireland, Printer, late a Major in the American
Army and Member of the Cincinnati; Past Sublime Grand‑Master, aged 60
(7)
years,
R.' *.'. K.H. ‑ P. R. S. Sov. Grand Inspector General of the 33d Degree and
Ill.
Grand
Master of Cereomies.
ARAHAM
SASPORTAR, native of Bourdeaux, Merchant, ageds 56years, R.' *.'. Knight of
the Sun.
PIERRE
BOUYSSOU, native of Cape Francois, Plantet, late Captain of Gendarmerie, and
Orator of the Lodge la Candeur, aged 48 years. R.' *.'. K.H. ‑ P. R. S
ISRAEL
DELIEBEN, native of Bohema, Commission Merchant, aged 61 years, R.' *.'.
K.H. ‑
P. R. S. Sov. Grand Inspector General of the 33d degree.
MICHEL
FRONTY, native of Saint‑ Martial, en Limodn, Doctor of Medicine, aged 50
years.
R.'
*.'. K.H. ‑ P. R. S.
EMANUEL DE LA MOTTA, Native of Santa Croix, Commission Merchant and Auctioner,
aged 42 years, R.' *.'. K.H. ‑ P. R. S. Sov. Grand Inspector General of the B.
Empire
(8)
ROBERT
L'ALLEMAND, native of Post Republican, Planter of St Domingo, aged 53 years
R.' *.'. K.H. ‑ P. R. S.
JOSEPH
BEE, native of South Carolina, Planter, aged 56 years R.' *.'. ‑ Grand
Pontiff.
ETIENNE DUBARRY, native of Jarbes, en Bigore, Planter of St Domingo, aged 49
years, R.' *.'. K.H. ‑ P. R. S..
PETER
SMITH, native of South‑Carolina, Factor, aged 53 years, Prince of Jerusalem.
JOSEPH
CLARET, native of Narbonne, Master of Lodge No. 45, aged 36 years, R.' *.'.
SOLOMON HARBY, native of London, Commission merchant and Auctioneer, aged 40
years, R.' *.'. K.H. ‑ P. R. S..
JEAN
ANDRE PELLETANT, native of Planter of St. Domingo aged years, R.' *.'.
THOMAS
BAKER, native of England Insurance
(9)
Broker, aged 27 years, Secret Master.
JEAN
REIGNE, native of Castillon, near Bourdeaux, aged 30 years . R.' *.'.
JOSEPH
DICKINSON, native of South Carolina, Inspector of Exports, late a Captain of
Infantry, aged 33 years, Intimate Secretary.
JEAN
JACQUES THOMAS, native of London,. Merchant, aged 42 years, R.' *.'.
JACOB
DELEON, native of Jamaica, Commission Merchant and Auctioneer, aged 38 years,
Intendant of the Building.
JEAN
DESBEAUX, native of Buzet, Cooper, aged 37 years, R.' *.'.
FRANCIS LOUVRIER SAINT MARY, native of Nevers, aged 39 years, Intimate
Secretary.
PIERRE
JOSEPH MORE, native of Fonttaine, en Franche Comte, Surgeon, aged 50 years,
Knight of the East and West
(10)
JEREMIAH WILCOX, native of Rhodes Island, Painter; aged 33 years, Provost and
Judge.
GEORGE
ESTILLET, native of New Orleans, aged 28 years, Intimate Secretary.
ISAAC
CANTER, naiive of Santa Croix, Auctioneer, aged 33 years, Knight of the East.
JOHN
HINCKLEY MITCHEL, native of South Carolina, Justice of the Peace, and Notary
Public, aged 33 years, Secret Master.
WILLIAM ALEXANDER, native of South‑Carolina, Factor, aged 26 years, Secret
Master.
LEWIS
T. RAYNAL, native of South Carolina, Accountant, aged 24 years, Elected of
Nine.
JOHN
BANKS, native of England, Accountant, aged 30 years, Intimate Secretary.
MORRIS
GOLDSMITH, native of
(11)
London. Merchant, aged 21 years, Secret Master.
JOHN
BILLEAUD, native of Saint Sezaire, en Xaintonge, aged 30 years, Elected of
Fifteen.
THOMAS
NAPIER, native of North‑Britain, Merchant aged 30 years, Knight of the East.
EMANUEL CANTOR, native of Santa Croix, Merchant, aged 30 years, Intimate
Secretary.
Honorary Members
His
Royal Highness CHARLES, Hereditary Prince of the Swedes, Goths and Vandals,
Duke of Sudermania, Heir of Norway, Duke of Sleswick, Holitein, Stormarric and
Dittmarche, Count of Oldenburg and Delmeahorst. Grand Admiral of Sweden, Vicar
of Solomon of the 7th and 9th Province, and National Grand Master of the
Kingdom of Sweden,
R.'
*.'. K.H. ‑ P. R. S.
(12)
Count
ALEXANDER FRANCOIS AUGUSTE DE GRASSE, native of Verfailles, Planter of Saint
Domingo, aged 36 years, R.' *.'. K.H. ‑ P. R. S.. Sov. Grand Inspector General
of the 33d degree, Grand Commander for the French West Indies, and
Representative of the Sublime Grand Lodge of South‑Carolina in and to the
Sublime Lodge in Saint Domingo.
JEAN
BAPTISTE MARIE DELAHQGUE, native of Paris, Planer of Saint Domingo, aged 58
years, R.' *.'. K.H. ‑ P. R. S..Sov. Grand Inspector General of the 33d
degree, and Lieutenant Grand Commander for the French West Indies.
JOHN
SUCKLEY, native of London, Merchant of Saint Domingo, aged 24 years, R.' *.'.
K.H. ‑
P. R. S.
NICOLAS SAMSON PANEL, native of Normandy, Merchant of Porto Rico, aged 28
years, R.' *.'.
JONATHAN BAYARD SMITH, native
(13)
of
Pennsylvania, aged 50 years, late Grand Master of the State of Pennsylvania,
R.' *.'.
K.H. ‑
P. R. S.
SAMUEL
MYERS, native of New York, Merchant of Virginia, aged 43 years, R.' *.'. K.H.
‑ P.
R. S..
MOSES
MICHAEL HAYES, native of Merchant, of Boston R.' *.'. K.H. ‑ P. R. S.
ADDRESS:
TO
DOCTOR FREDERICK DALCHO,
East‑
Bay
Charleston, (South Carolina)
The
Sublime Grand Lodge, meets at the Ineffable Lodge Room, Meeting‑Street, every
other Saturday evening at six o'clock, from the Autumnal to the Vernal
Equinox, and on the first Saturday in every month at Seven o'clock, in the
evening, from the Vernal to the Autumnal Equinox.
(15)
(XV ‑ & XVI)
BY THE
GLORY OF THE GRAND ARCHITECT OF THE UNlVERSE.
LUX E
TENEBRUS
HEALTH, STABILlTY AND POWER,
Officers of the Grand Council of Princes of Jersalem, in South Carolina A.L.
5802.
ILL.
Bro.: Col~ JOHN MITCHELL ‑ Most Equitable
DR.
FREDERlCK DALCHO ‑ Senior Most Enlightened
DR.
ISAAC AULD ‑ Junior Most Enlightened
ABRAHAM ALEXANDER ‑ K.D.
SOLOMON HARBY ‑ Grand Orator and Keeper of the Seals
ISRAEL
DELlEBIN ‑ Grand Treasurer
JOSEPH
BEE ‑ Grand Secretary.
ALEXANDER PLACIDE ‑ Master of Ceremonies
(16)
Representative in St Domingo
AUGUSTUS DE GRASSE ‑ K. H ‑ P. R. S. Sov. Grand Inspector General of the 33d
Degree.
Conventions are held on the first Sundays of February, May, August and
November, at 12 oclock, M. at the Ineffable Lodge Room.
(17)
XVIII.
IN THE
NAME OF THE MOST HOLY AND UNDIVIDED TRINITY.
SS.
SS.
SS.
Officers of the Sovereign Chapter of Rose Croix de Hereden, in South Carolina,
A.D.
1802
BRO.
COL . JOHN MITCHELL ‑ E. M. Perfect Soverign.
Dr.
FREDERICK DALCHO ‑ M.E.P. Senior Warden
DR.
ISAAC AULD ‑ M.E.P. Junior Warden
EMANUEL DE LA MOTTA Grand Treasurer
ABRAHAM ALEXANDER Grand Secretary
Major
T.B. BOWEN Grand Master of Ceremonies.
Grant
Tyler (vacant)
(18)
Assemblages of the Knights are held in the Ineffable Lodge Room at Meridian,
on the day of the Annual Feast,
Shrove
Tuesday, Tuesday after Easter, the day of Ascension, the day of Penticost, all
Saints day and the two festivals of St John.
(19)
AD
GLORIAM DEI
Knights of K. H. and Members of the Grand Consistory of Princes of the Royal
Secret in South Carolina, A. L. 5802.
COL.
JOHN MITCHELL ‑ T. Ill. Grand Commader.
DR.
FREDERICK DALCHO ‑ T. E Lieutenant Grand Commander.
JOSEPH
JAHAN ‑ T. L Lieutenant Grand Commander.
DR.
JAMES MOULTRIE ‑ Minister of State and Grand Orator
DR.
MICHAEL FRONTY ‑ Grand Chancellor
EMANUEL DE LA MOTTA ‑ Grand Treasurer
ABRAHAM ALEXANDER ‑ Grand Secretary
PIERRE
BOUYSSOU ‑ Grand Master Architect and Engineer
DR.
ISAAC AULD ‑ Physician General
ISRAEL
DELIEBEN ‑ Keeper of the Seals and Archives
MAJOR
T. B. BOWEN ‑ Grand Master of Ceremonies
PIERRE
RIGAUD ‑ Captain of the Guards
(20)
(S.
Tyler vacant)
(J.
Tyler vacant)
SOLOMON HARBY ETIENE DUBARRY ROBERT L ALLEMAND.
ALEXANDER PLACIDE MOSES C. LEVY
Representative in St. Domingo.
AUGUSTUS DE GRASSE ‑ K. H ‑ P. R. S.
Sov.
Grand Inspector General of the 33d Degree.
Consistories are held at M. at the Ineffable Lodge Room, on the 21st March,
25th June.
21st
September and 27th December
( 21)
(XVII
‑
to ‑
XXXIII inc) Universi Terrarum Orbis Architectonis gloris ab ingentis.
DEUS
MEUMQUE JUS.
ORDO
AB CHAO.
Supreme Council of Grand Inspectors General of the 33d degree, in
South‑Carolina.
COLONEL JOHN MITCHEL ‑ Sov. Grand Commander.
DR.
FREDERICK DALCHO ‑ Lieutenant Grand Commander.
EMANUEL DE LA MOTTA ‑ Ill. Treasurer General of the the H. Empire.
HIS
MAJESTY, KING EDWARD VII.
P.G.M. And Protector of Masons of England
ABRAHAM ALEXANDER ‑ Ill. Secretary General of the H. Empire.
MAJOR
T. B. BOWEN ‑ Ill Grand Master of Ceremonies.
ISRAEL
DELIEBEN ‑ Sov. Grand Inspector General.
(22)
DR.
ISAAC AULD ‑ Sov; Grand Inspector General
MOSES
C LEVY ‑ Sov. Grand Inspector General.
DR.
JAMES MOULTRIE ‑ Sov. Grand Inspector General.
Ill.
Capt. of the Life Guards (vacant)
(23)
Representative in Saint Domingo
AUGUSTUS DE GRASSE ‑ Sov. Grand Commander for the French West Indies
Councils are held at the house of the Grand Commander at Meridian, every third
new Moon, reckoning from the new Moon in May.
P.
1842
CHAPTER III
THE
SCOTTISH RITE IN THE UNITED STATES
COUNCIL of Princes of Jerusalem was duly constituted in Charleston, February
20, 1788, and Brothers Joseph Meyers, Behrend M. Spitzer, and A. Forst
installed the Officers.
Notwithstanding that in planting the Scottish Rite, or, as it was then known,
the "Rite of Perfection," in many States, by the appointment of Inspectors,
who had only received what was at that early date recognized as the 25th
Degree or "Prince of the Royal Secret," the Rite was only worked in
Charleston. In consequence of the zeal of the Brethren in that city and their
devotion to the Rite, we owe the foundation of the first bodies, as shown in
the fac‑similes given, the last one being the "Supreme Council of the 33d and
last degree of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, Mother‑Supreme Council
of the World." A council of Knights Kadosh was organized in Philadelphia in
1796, by Masons who were refugees from San Domingo, during the negro
insurrection on that island. This body soon ceased to exist, in consequence of
the return of the Brethren to that island very soon after its organization
In New
York, in 1797, a chapter of Rose Croix was instituted.
In
1792 it is said a Lodge of Perfection was formed at Baltimore, Md., by Henry
Wilmans. (1) There is no certainty as to his authority for such establishment.
Brother Edward T. Schultz gives a list of seventy‑six members. There was also
a Lodge of Perfection at Albany, N.Y., which was in accord with the symbolic
lodge, and at one time had the same Brother for Master; and we notice also
that the symbolic lodges in Philadelphia were in union with the Lodge of
Perfection in that city. (2)
(1)
"History of Masonry," by Edw. T. Schultz, vol. vi., p. 1555.
(2)
There is an old volume in the archives of the Supreme Council of the Southern
Jurisdiction, which contains the history of "Sublime Free‑Masonry in the
United States of America. Being a Collection of all the Official Documents
which have appeared on both sides of the question with Notes and an Appendix.
By Joseph McCosh, Charleston, S. C., 1823."
A
circular, which we give in part below, was issued by the Supreme Council at
Charleston (adopted October 10, 1802), under date of December 4, 1802, and
copies were sent to every Grand Lodge then in existence in the United States
and also in other countries.
"Circular"
"As
Society improved, and as discoveries of old records were made, the numbers of
our degrees were increased, until, in progress of time, the system became
complete.
"From
such of our records as are authentic, we are informed of the establishment of
the Sublime and Ineffable degrees of Masonry in Scotland, France, and Prussia,
immediately after the crusades. But from some circumstances, which to us are
unknown, after the year 4658 they fell into neglect until the year 5744, when
a nobleman from Scotland visited France and re‑established the Lodge of
Perfection in Bordeaux.
"In
5761 the Lodges and Councils of the Supreme degrees being extended throughout
the Continent of Europe, his Majesty the King of Prussia, as Grand Commander
of the Order of Prince of the Royal Secret, was acknowledged by all the Craft
as the head of the Sublime and Ineffable degrees of Masonry throughout the two
hemispheres. His Royal Highness Charles, Hereditary Prince of the Swedes,
Goths, and Vandals, Duke of Sudermania, Heir of Norway, was, and still
continues the Grand Commander and protector of the Sublime Masons in Sweden;
and his Royal Highness Louis of Bourbon, Prince of the Blood, Duke de Chartres,
and the Cardinal Prince and Bishop of Rouen, were at the head of these degrees
in France.
"On
the 25th of October, 5762, the Grand Masonic Constitutions were finally
ratified in Berlin and proclaimed for the government of all the Lodges of
Sublime and Perfect Masons, Chapters, Councils, Colleges, and Consistories of
the Royal and Military art of Free‑Masonry, over the surface of the two
hemispheres. There are Secret Constitutions, which have existed from time
immemorial, and are alluded to in these instruments.
"In
the same year the Constitutions were transmitted to our illustrious Brother,
Stephen Morin, who had been Appointed (1) on the 27th of August, 5761,
Inspector‑General over all Lodges in the new World, by the Grand Consistory of
Princes of the Royal Secret convened in Paris, at which presided the King of
Prussia Deputy, 'Chaillon de Joinville, substitute General of the Order, Right
Worshipful Master of the first Lodge in France, called St. Anthony's, Chief of
the Eminent degrees, Commander and Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret,' etc.
"The
following Illustrious Brethren were also present: The Brother Prince of Rouen,
Master of the Grand Intelligence Lodge and Sovereign Prince of Masonry, etc.
"La
Coine, substitute of the Grand Master, Rignt Worshipful Master of the Trinity
Lodge, Grand Elect, Perfect, Knight and Prince of Masons.
"Maximillian
de St. Simon, Senior Grand Warden, Grand Elect, Perfect and Knight and Prince
of Masons.
"Savalette
de Buchelay, Grand Keeper of the Seals, Grand Elect, Perfect Knight and Prince
of Masons.
"Duke
de Choiseuil, Right Worshipful Master of the Lodge of the Children of Glory,
Grand, Elect, Perfect Master, Knight and Prince of Masons.
"Topin,
Grand Embassador from his Serene Highness, Grand, Elect, Perfect Master,
Knight and Prince of Masons.
"Boucher de Lenoncour, Right Worshipful Master of the Lodge of Virtue, Grand,
Elect, Perfect Master, Knight and Prince of Masons.
"Brest
de la Chausee, Right Worshipful Master of the Exactitude Lodge, Grand, Elect,
Perfect Master, Knight and Prince of Masons. The Seals of the Order were
affixed and the Patent countersigned by
"Daubertiny,
Grand, Elect, Perfect Master, Knight and Prince of Masons, Right Worshipful
Master of the Lodge of St. Alphonso, Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge and
Sublime Council of Princes of Masons, etc.
"When
Brother Morin arrived in St. Domingo, he, agreeably to his patent, appointed a
Deputy Inspector General for North
(1) A
copy of his commission is in the archives of the Supreme Council, Southern
Jurisdiction, and is given in chapter i of A.A.S.R
America. This high Honor was conferred on Brother M. M. Hayes, with the power
of appointing others, where necessary. Brother Morin also appointed Brother
Frankin Deputy Inspector‑General of Jamaica and the British Leeward Islands,
and Brother Colonel Provest for the Windward Islands and the British Army.
"Brother Hayes appointed Brother Isaac Da Costa Deputy Inspector General for
the State of South Carolina, who, in the year 5783, established the Sublime
Grand Lodge of Perfection in Charleston. After Brother Da Costa's death,
Brother Joseph Myers was appointed Deputy Inspector‑General for his State, by
Bro. Hayes, who, also, had previously appointed Brother Colonel Solomon Bush
Dep. Insp. Gen. for the State of Pennsylvania, and Bro. Barend M. Spitzer to
the same rank for Georgia, which was confirmed by a Convention of Inspectors
when convened in Philadelphia, on the 15th of June, 5781.
"On
the 1st of May, 5786, the Grand Constitutions of the Thirty‑Third Degree,
called the Supreme Council of Sovereign Grand Inspectors General, was ratified
by his Majesty the King of Prussia, who as Grand Commander of the Order of
Prince of the Royal Secret, possessed the Sovereign Masonic power over all the
Craft. In the New Constitution this Power was conferred on a Supreme Council
of Nine Brethren in each nation, who possess all the Masonic prerogatives in
their own district that his Majesty individually possessed, and are Sovereigns
of Masonry.
"On
the 20th of Feb., 5788, the Grand Council of Princes of Jerusalem was opened
in this City (Charleston, S. C.), at which were present Bros. J;. Myers, D.I.G.
for South Carolina, B.M. Spitzer, D.I.G. for Georgia, and A. Forst, D.I.G. for
Virginia. Soon after the opening of the Council, a letter was addressed to his
Royal Highness, the Duke of Orleans, on the subject, requesting certain
records from the Archives of the Society in France, which in his answer
through Col. Shee, his Secretary, he very politely promised to transmit, but
which the commencement of the French Revolution most unfortunately prevented.
"On
the 2d of Aug., 5795, Brother Colonel John Mitchell, late Dep. Quarter Master
Genl. in the Armies of the United States, was made a Dep. Ins. Genl. for this
State by Bro. Spitzer, who acted in consequence of Bro. Myers' removal out of
the Country.
"Bro.
Mitchell was restricted from acting until after Bro. Spitzer's death, which
took place in the succeeding year.
"As
many Brethren of eminent degrees had arrived from Foreign parts, consistories
of Princes of the R. S. were occasionally held, for initiations and other
purposes.
"On
the 31st of May, 5801, the Supreme Council of the Thirty‑third degree for the
United States of America was opened with the high honors of Masonry, by
Brothers John Mitchell and Frederick Dalcho, Sov: Gr: Insp: Genl:; and in the
course of the present year the whole number of Grand Inspectors General was
completed, agreeably to the Grand Constitutions.
"On
the 21st of January, 5802, a Warrant of Constitution passed the Seal of the
Grand Council of Princes of Jerusalem for the establishment of a Master Mark
Mason's Lodge in this City (Charleston, S. C.).
"On
the 21st of February, 5802, Our Illustrious Brother, Count Alexandre Francois
Auguste Degrasse, Deputy Inspector General, was appointed by the Supreme
Council a Grand Inspector General, and Grand Commander of the French
West‑Indies; and our Illustrious Brother, Jean Baptiste Marie De La Hougue,
Dep. Insp. Genl., was also received as an Insp. Genl. and appointed Lieut.
Grand Commander of the same Islands.
"Oon
the 4th of December, 5802, a Warrant of Constitution passed the seal of the
Grand Council of Princes of Jerusalem, for the establishment of a Sublime
Grand Lodge in Savannah, Georgia
THE
NAMES OF THE MASONIC DEGREES ARE AS FOLLOWS, VIZ.:
1st
degree, called Entered Apprentice.
2nd
Fellow Craft
3rd
Master Mason
4th
"
Secret
Master 5th
"
"
Perfect Master 6th
"
"
Intimate Secretary 7th
"
"
Provost and Judge 8th
"
"
Intendent of the Building 9th
"
"
Elected Knights of 9 10th "
"
Illustrious Elected of 15 11th "
"
Sublime Knight elected 12th "
"
Grand
Master Architect 13th "
"
Royal
Arch 14th "
"
Perfection 15th degree, called Knights of the East.
16th
"
"
Prince
of Jerusalem.
17th
"
"
Knight
of the East and West 18th
"
"
Sovereign Prince of Rose Croix de Heredom.
19th
"
"
Grand
Pontiff.
20th
"
"
Grand
Master of all Symbolic Lodges.
21st
"
"
Patriarch Noachite, or Chevalier Prussian.
22d
"
"
Prince
of Libanus.
23d
"
"
Chief
of the Tabernacle.
24th
"
"
Prince
of the Tabernacle.
25th
"
"
Prince
of Mercy.
26th
"
"
Knight
of the Brazen Serpent.
27th
"
"
Commander of the Temple.
28th
"
"
Knight
of the Sun.
29th
"
"
Knight
of St. Andrew.
30th
"
"
K‑H.
31st
"
"
Grand
Inquisitor Commander.
32d
"
"
Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret Prince of Masons.
33d
"
"
Sovereign Grand Inspectors General. Officers
appointed for life
"Besides the degrees, which are in regular succession, most of the inspectors
are in possession of a number of detached degrees, given in different parts of
the world, and which they generally communicate, free of expense, to those
brethren who are high enough to understand them. Such as Select Masons of 27
and the Royal Arch as given under the Constitution of Dublin. Six degrees of
Maconnerie D'Adoption, Compagnon Ecossais, Le Maitre Ecossais and Le Grand
Maitre Ecossais, making in the aggregate 52 degrees.
"The
Committee respectfully submit to the consideration of the Council the above
report on the principles and establishment of the Sublime degrees in South
Carolina extracted from the Archives of the Society. They cannot, however,
conclude without expressing their ardent wishes for the prosperity and dignity
of the institution over which this Supreme Council preside; and they flatter
themselves that if any unfavorable impressions have existed among the Brethern
of the Blue degrees, from a want of a knowledge of the principles and
practices of Sublime Masonry, it will be done away, and that harmony and
affection will be the happy cement of the Universal Society of Free and
Accepted Masons. That as all aim at the improvement of the general condition
of Man‑kind by the practice of Virtue, and the exercise of benevolence, so
they sincerely wish that any little differences which may have arisen, in
unimportant ceremonies of Ancient and Modern, may be reconciled, and given
away to the original principles of the order, those great bulwarks of Society,
universal benevolence and brotherly love, and that the extensive fraternity of
Free‑Masons, throughout the two Hemispheres, may form but one band of
Brotherhood. ' Behold how good and how pleasant it is for Brethren to dwell
together in Unity.'
"They
respectfully Salute your Supreme Council by the Sacred Numbers. Charleston,
South Carolina, the 10th day of the 8th Month, called Chisleu 5553, A.L. 5802,
and of the Christian Era, this 4th day of December, 1802.
"FREDERICK DALCHO.
" K‑H.P.R.S.,
Sovereign Grand Inspector General of the 33d, and Lieutenant Grand Commander
in the United States of America.
"ISAAC
AULD
"K‑H.
P.R.S., Sovereign Grand Inspector General of the 33d.
"E. DE
LA MOTTA.
"K‑H.P.R.S.,
Sovereign Grand Inspector General of the 33d, and Illustrious Treasurer
General of the H. Empire.
"The
above report was taken into consideration, and the Council was pleased to
express the highest approbation of the same.
"Whereupon, Resolved, That the foregoing report be printed and transmitted to
all the Sublime and Symbolic Grand Lodges, throughout the two Hemispheres.
"JNO.
MITCHELL
"K‑H .
P. R. S., Sovereign Grand Inspector General of the 33d. and Illustrious
Secretary General of the H. Empire."
The
major part of this circular recites the history of Masonry, as generally
understood at that early day, and which we omit, confining our extracts to
that part which refers only to the A:A:A:S:R.
The
Supreme Council, having been thus established and made known to the whole
world of Masonry, is the mother of all the other regular Supreme Councils
which have since been organized either immediately or mediately by her
authority.
The
council in Charleston conferred the 33d Degree on Count de Grasse Tilley,
Hacquet, and de la Hogue; and through these Brethren by the authority of
letters patent dated February 21, 1802, were established the Supreme Councils
of France and also of the French and English West India colonies. Illustrious
de Grasse Tilley installed the Supreme Council of France on December 22, 1804,
at Paris. This was the first and only Supreme Council established in France;
many years subsequently it was divided into two branches, in consequence of
the dissension heretofore mentioned; one was called the Supreme Council of
France, and the other the Supreme Council of the Grand Orient of France. Both
of these bodies are still in existence; the former only, however, is in
relations of comity with the Mother Supreme Council, and all the other regular
Supreme Councils of the world. The Supreme Council of the Grand Orient is not
so.
The
Supreme Councils of Italy, Naples, Spain, and the Netherlands were also
established by de Grasse Tilley.
Only
one Supreme Council of the 33d Degree can exist in each nation or kingdom (by
Article V. of the Grand Constitution of 1786); two in the United States of
America, as far as possible one from the other; one in the British Islands of
America, and one also in the French colonies.
The
first Supreme Council at Charleston, S. C., began its labors on May 31, 1801,
as hereinbefore stated, and its jurisdiction covered all of the United States
of America, until August 5, 1813, at which date the " Supreme Council of the
Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry for the Northern
Jurisdiction of the United States" was established by special Deputy Emmanuel
de la Motta at New York. This Supreme Council was substituted for the Grand
Consistory of Sublime Princes of the Royal Secret, 32d Degree. Brother D.D.
Tompkins, Vice‑President of the United States of America, was M.P.S. Grand
Commander.
At a
later period the seat of the Northern Supreme Council was changed to Boston.
The jurisdiction of the Northern Supreme Council included all the northern and
northeastern States east of the Mississippi River, viz.: Maine, New Hampshire,
Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey,
Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin. The other
States and Territories were reserved for itself by the Supreme Council for the
Southern Jurisdiction of the United States.
The
Supreme Council of England and Wales was created by the Northern Supreme
Council in March, 1846, and that body created the Supreme Councils of Scotland
and of the Canadian Dominion. The Supreme Council for Ireland was established
by the Supreme Council of the Southern Jurisdiction.
From
August 5, 1813, Article V. of the Constitutions of 1786 has been complied
with, and there have been consequently in the United States of America but two
legitimate Supreme Councils, which have ever endeavored to preserve and
enforce their authority: and they have always discountenanced all attempts
against that authority which rightfully, according to the Grand Constitutions,
belongs to them.
A
third Supreme Council could not be established in the United States of
America, without a violation of the Constitutions of 1786. Neither the 33d
Degree nor a Supreme Council can exist without a compliance with that
constitution. The establishment of a second Supreme Council in the United
States was not a wise measure, although the constitutions provided for it, as
subsequent events demonstrated. It was a remarkable coincidence that in the
very year when the two Grand Lodges of Blue Masonry in England were
consolidated into one, Scottish Masonry in the United States was amicably
divided into two organizations, in consequence of which each Supreme Council
altered and amended its own constitutions and statutes, and changed and made
material alterations in the rituals, and thereby destroyed the harmony and
uniformity of the work.
The
injurious and pernicious consequences of this division were soon manifested
and both Supreme Councils were called upon to make their defense against the
invasion of illegitimate bodies, which not only affected Scottish Rite
Masonry, but also all the other Grand Bodies of Masonry, from the Grand Lodges
to the Grand Commanderies of Knights Templars, illegitimate bodies of which
were soon established, as well as of the Scottish Rite, by these unauthorized
parties.
On
October 7, 1856, Foulhouze formed a new Supreme Council and commenced making
Masons at sight, and manufacturing Thirty‑thirds. Pursuing the same system of
misrepresentation as in 1850‑51, he succeeded in causing two lodges to
withdraw their allegiance from the Grand Lodge of Louisiana. This rebellion
was short‑lived; in 1858‑ 59 these lodges memorialized the Grand Lodge to be
reinstated on its register, and with difficulty obtained their request. On
February 4, 1859, the Grand Orient of France expelled Foulhouze, and his
so‑called Supreme Council soon became dormant. In the early part of 1867 an
attempt was made to revive it, and it obtained recognition from the Grand
Orient of France; that recognition, however, failed to give it vitality, and
in a short time it either became dormant or ceased to exist.
It
would be useless to waste valuable time in tracing out all these irregular
bodies; yet it would be unwise not to acknowledge that they have had an
existence, and that some still continue to the detriment of Freemasonry.
We
quote from a letter of the late Ill. Bro. Dr. Henry Beaumont Leeson, the
Sovereign Grand Commander of the Supreme Council of England and Wales and
their Dependencies, to the Grand Commander of the Southern Supreme Council of
the United States, written at London in 1860, in which he says: "Our own
Council is now in a flourishing condition, nearly all of the elite of Masonry
in England being ranged under our banners; although we are distinct from Grand
Lodge, who acknowledge only the first three degrees, and the Royal Arch, and
Grand Conclave, governing the Knights Templars. These two last degrees are in
this country, perfectly different and distinct from any of the Ancient and
Accepted Degrees, and of very modern origin, neither having existed previous
to the middle of the last century. The Knight Templar Degree was concocted in
France AND I POSSESS THE ACTUAL MINUTES AND OTHER RECORDS OF THE FRENCH
CONVENT. The Royal Arch (Dermott's) was concocted by Ramsay, and modernized by
a Chaplain (G. Brown) of the late Duke of Sussex." (Grand Master.)
This
spurious French Knight Templar Degree differed from the Webb Templar Degree;
it was carried to England and established there; it was also brought to the
United States by Joseph Cerneau, who made Templars of New Orleans Masons (1)
as well as he did those in New York, where he and his coadjutors also
established bodies of Templars, and of the Rite of Perfection with twenty‑five
degrees, in New Orleans and New York, changed the names of his bodies as
suited his pleasure, and declared himself and his coadjutors Sovereign Grand
Inspectors‑General of the 33d Degree.
There
is no evidence that Cerneau ever had received the 33d Degree. We give below a
copy of the only document he ever had to showv his status as a Mason.
[Translation.] TO THE GLORY OF THE [Gr.'. ARCH.'. OF THE UNIV:]
Lux en
Tenebris.
From
the Orient of the Very Great and Very Puissant Council of the Sublime Princes
[of the Royal Secret], Chiefs of Masonry, under the C: C: of the Zenith [which
responds] to the 20d 25' N: Lat.:
To our
Ill: and Very Valiant Knights and Princes, Masons of all the Degrees, over the
surface of the two Hemispheres:
HEALTH
!
We,
ANTOINE MATHIEU DUPOTET, Grand Master of all the Lodges, Colleges, Chapters,
Councils, Chapters and Consistories, of the higher degrees of Masonry, Deputy
Grand Master of the Grand Orient of Pennsylvania, in the United States of
America; and of the Grand Lodge and Sovereign Provincial Grand Chapter of
Heredom of Kilwinning, of Edinburgh, for America, under the distinctive title
of the Holy Ghost, Grand Provincial of San Domingo in the Ancient Rite, Grand
Commander or Sovereign President of the Th: Puissant Grand Council of the
Sublime Princes of the Royal Secret, established at Port au Prince, Island of
San
(1)
See chapter liii., pp. 1390, 1391, of this work; also chapter lviii., p. 1624
Domingo, by constitutive patent of 16 January and 19 April, 1801, under the
distinctive title of The Triple Unity; transferred to Baracoa, Island of Cuba,
on account of the events of war,
Do
declare, in the name of the Sublime and Th: Puissant Grand Council, do certify
and attest, that the Very Resp: Gr: Elect Knight of the White and Black Eagle,
Joseph Cerneau, Ancient Dignitary of the Lodge No. 47, Orient of Port au
Prince, Grand Warden of the Provincial Lodge, same Orient, Venerable founder
of the Lodge of the Ancient Constitution of York, No. 103, under the
distinctive title of The Theological Virtues, Orient of the Habana, Island of
Cuba, has been regularly initiated in all the Degrees of the Sublime Masonry,
from that of Secret Master to and including that of Grand Elect Knight of the
White and Black Eagle; and wishing to give the strongest proofs of our sincere
friendship for our said Very Dear Bro: Joseph Cerneau, in recognition of the
services which he has rendered to the Royal Art, and which he is rendering
daily, we have initiated him in the highest, in the most eminent and final
Degree of Masonry; we create him our Deputy Grand Inspector, for the Northern
part of the Island of Cuba, with all the powers that are attached thereto,
giving him full and entire power to initiate the Bros: Masons, whom he may
judge [worthy ?], to promote them to the Sublime Degrees, from the 4th up to
and including the 24th; provided, however, that these Masons shall have been
officers of a Lodge regularly constituted and recognized, and in places only
where there may not be found Sacred and Sublime and regularly constituted
Asyla; from which Bros: he will receive the obligation required and the
authentic submission to the Decrees of the Sublime Princes; consulting,
however, and calling to his aid the BB: whom he shall know to be decorated
with the Sublime Degrees; we give him full and entire power to confer in the
name of our aforesaid Grand Council the highest Degrees of Masonry on a Kt:
Prince Mason, one only each year, whose virtues he shall recognize, and the
qualities required to deserve this favor; and to the end that our dear Bro:
Joseph Cerneau, so decorated, may enjoy, in this quality, the honours, rights,
and prerogatives which he has justly deserved, by his arduous labors in the
Royal Art, we have delivered to him these presents, in the margin whereof he
has placed his signature, that it may avail him everywhere, and he useful to
him alone.
We
pray our Resp: BB: regularly constituted, spread over the two Hemispheres,
with whatever Degree they may be decorated, whether in Lodge, Ch:, Col:,
Sovereign Council . . . Sublime, to recognize and receive our dear Bro:, the
Very Illustrious Sov: and Subl: Prince, Joseph Cerneau, in all the Degrees
above mentioned; promising to pay the same attention to those who in our
Orients shall present themselves at the doors of our Sacred Asyla furnished
with like authentic titles.
Given
by us, S: Sublime Princes, G: C: G: I: G'al: of our aforesaid Grand and
Perfect Council, under our Mysterious Seal, and the Grand Seal of the Princes
of Masonry, in a place where are deposited the greatest treasures, the sight
whereof fills us with consolation, joy, and gratitude for all that is great
and good.
At
Baracoa, Island of Cuba, anno 5806, under the sign of the Lion, the 15th day
of the 5th month called Ab, 7806, of the Creation 5566, and according to the
Common Style the 15th July, 1806.
Signed, MATHIEU DUPOTET, President, Sov: ...... G'al:
A true
copy: Signed, MATHIEU DUPOTET, President, S:G:I: G'al:
I
certify that what is transmitted above and the other portions are conformable
to my Register.
TIPHAINE,
S:P:R:S:D:I:G'al:G: Comm:
The
foregoing translation of the ancient copy in French has been correctly and
faithfully made by me.
March
20, 1 882.
ALBERT
PIKE
The
Northern Supreme Council for a few years was divided into two factions and one
of them compromised with and affiliated some of these irregular Masons and
took them in, which resulted in a very unfavorable condition of the Northern
Supreme Council, which for a time was infected with an unhealthy absorption of
bad material, by this unwise compromise, which was made, as was supposed, for
the good of Freemasonry.
Some
of these irregular Masons had caused a division even in the Grand Lodge of New
York, and the original chief of them, Joseph Cerneau, had previously
represented the irregular Knights Templars of New Orleans and the irregular
council of the Rite of Perfection of Louisiana in the Grand Encampment of
Knights Templar of New York, as is found in the records, viz.: " on the 4th
day of May, 1816, a meeting of the Grand Encampment of Knights Templar of New
York was called to act upon an application by a collected body of Sir Knights
Templar, Royal Arch Masons and members of the Sov.
Grand
Council of Sublime Princes of the Royal Secret for the State of Louisiana,
sitting at New Orleans, praying that a constitutional charter be granted them,
etc. They had previous to this application elected and installed their
officers. The charter, by resolution, was granted them. and it was also
"Resolved, That the Ill. Bro. Joseph Cerneau, having been designated by the
Louisiana Encampment to be their representative and proxy near this Grand
Encampment, be and is hereby acknowledged and accredited as such."
In
this manner the irregular French Templar Degree that was carried from France
to England got into the United States at New Orleans, and allied with an
irregular rite and body, became amalgamated with the American Webb Templar
Degree at New York.
These
evils which have beset the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry,
have not prevented its great advancement and prosperity; and during the past
decade, in the Northern Jurisdiction alone, it has increased over fifty per
cent in numbers.
The
Southern Supreme Council did not meet from February, 1862, until November 17,
1865, which was in Charleston, S. C. Six members only were present, and all of
them are now dead.
There
were no bodies of the Rite working anywhere except in New Orleans.
With
indomitable energy and zeal the Illustrious Sovereign Grand Commander, Albert
Pike, 33d Degree, who during the last two years and a half of the war had been
engaged in rewriting and restoring the rituals of the degrees, and whose
scholarship and knowledge of the Ancient Mysteries and their philosophy,
assisted by Albert Gallatin Mackay, 33d Degree, the late Secretary General of
the Southern Supreme Council, reconstructed the Rite at Charleston, S.C.
The
Supreme Council of the Southern Jurisdiction has now its headquarters in
Washington, D.C. Its library of nearly fifty thousand volumes is not surpassed
by any other in the country in rare and valuable works.
The
constituency is constantly increasing, with five hundred and twenty‑five
organized bodies of the Rite over its extended territory, and nearly
approaching in numbers that of its more prosperous sister council of the
Northern Jurisdiction, which was exempt from the calamities of war, as a
reference to the tabular statements following this chapter will show.
The
legitimate Supreme Councils duly recognized by each other around the globe are
the following:
Southern Jurisdiction, U.S.A
Constituted
May
31, 1801 France (Supreme Council)
Sept.
22, 1804 Northern Jurisdiction, U.S.A
Aug.
5, 1813 Belgium
Mar.
11, 1817 Ireland
June
11, 1825 Brazil
Nov.
2, 1830 New Granada
1833
England, Wales and Dependencies
Mar.
1846 Scotland
1846
Uruguay
1856
Argentine Republic
Sept.
13, 1858 Turin, of Italy
1848
Colon (Cuba)
1855
Venezuela
1864
Mexico
April
28, 1868 Portugal
1842
Chili
May
24, 1862 Central America
May
27, 1870 Hungary
Nov.
25, 1871 Greece
June
24, 1872 Switzerland
Mar.
30, 1873 Canada
Oct.
1874 Rome, of Italy
Jan.
14, 1877 Egypt
‑‑‑‑‑‑‑
1878
Spain
‑‑‑‑‑‑‑
1879
Tunis
May
11, 1880 Canada
‑‑‑‑‑‑
"The
following Supreme Councils have been formed, but have not received formal
recognition and the courtesy of an exchange of representation: Naples, of
Italy, Dominican Republic, Turkey, Palermo, of Italy, Florence, of Italy, and
Luxemburg."
The
rituals of the degrees differ very much in their dramatic representations. In
the Northern Jurisdiction they apply more directly to the history and scenes
of the Crusades; in the Southern Jurisdiction they are very much more
intellectual, philosophical, and historic.
Councils of Deliberation are held in each State in the Northern Jurisdiction
of all the bodies from the 14th to the 32d degrees inclusive, which are
presided over by the deputies for the States. In these are presented all
matters of local legislation, action upon which must subsequently be approved,
or otherwise, by the Supreme Council.
The
Supreme Council of the Rite is the governing body over all, and as such it
makes and promulgates laws and statutes for the various divisions of the
organized body. This Supreme Council confers the Governing Degree, namely, 33d
Degree, Grand Master of the Kadosh or Sovereign Grand Inspector‑General. The
active members, according to the Statutes of the Southern Supreme Council, are
limited to thirty‑three active members of the 33d Degree and no more, but in
the Northern Supreme Council this number is doubled, so that the active
members of the 33d Degree are sixty‑six. These active members are for their
respective States relatively the Grand Masters of the Rite.
The
title of Honorary Inspectors‑General is given to those who are elevated to the
degree with specifically delegated powers and no others, or they are sent as
special delegates to establish new bodies or propagate the Rite by
communicating the degrees. These special delegates have a voice in council but
no vote.
In the
Southern Supreme Council, with its number of active members of the 33d Degree
limited to thirty‑three, there is a "Court of Honor," which may be called the
vestibule to the 33d Degree. This Court of Honor comprises two grades or
ranks, both of which are carefully reserved and can only be conferred as a
free
NOTE.
‑ In the Southern Supreme Council, the council or preceptory of the Knights
Kadosh or 30th degree is separate from the consistory of 31st and 32d degrees,
but in the Northern Supreme Council it is within the consistory
gift,
and a mark of appreciation for services rendered. Each active member and each
Emeritus member of the Southern Supreme Council is ex‑officio a member of both
grades. These grades are, first, that of Knight Commander. This is conferred
upon Brethren of the 32d Degree for general meritorious service rendered to
the Rite, and only upon the recommendation of the Grand Consistories or by the
Active Inspectors‑ General of the respective States. The second grade, which
is higher than the grade of Knight Commander, is that of Knight Grand Cross.
It is conferred with the jewel upon Brethren of the 32d Degree for
extraordinary services to the Rite. Neither of these grades can be given to
anyone who solicits for them; it must be repeated that they are special marks
of honor, gratuitously conferred. According to the Statutes of the Southern
Jurisdiction the possession of at least the first of these grades is a
condition precedent of eligibility for the reception of the 33d Degree.
The
difference in the working of the degrees in the rituals of the Rite, between
the ritual of the Southern and that of the Northern Jurisdiction, may require
some explanation, which likewise will explain why the changes were necessarily
made in working the degrees. The late Ill. Brother Azariah T. Pearson, 33d
Degree, Active Inspector‑ General for the State of Minnesota in the Southern
Jurisdiction, a little while before his death, made the following statement: "
That the late Masonic firm of Macoy and Sickles of New York City, both of whom
are 33d degree, and belong to the Northern Supreme Council, printed in the
rituals for the supreme Council of the Southern Jurisdiction as well, but who
unfortunately failed in business, and that the stereotype plates which
belonged to either or both regular Supreme Councils, were surreptitiously
seized upon and taken by persons connected with the Cerneau fraud, who had
claimed that they had bought them with the rest of the property of Macoy and
Sickles, which was sold for the benefit of their creditors; and that it was
with these stereotype plates of the rituals thus surreptitiously obtained that
the fraudulent Cerneau Supreme Council was thus enabled to improve its own
meagre skeleton, and give its subordinate bodies a semblance of the true work
conferred under the authority of the regular Supreme Councils, which for
self‑protection against impostors and clandestine Scottish Rite Masons, had to
call in all the rituals then out, and to issue new ones in lieu thereof."
It
must be again repeated, with a degree of reiteration which may be tiresome but
is necessary, that the Scottish Rite confers no degrees but those of its own
Rite, and also that while many of its members belong to legitimate bodies of
other rites of Masonry, it has no conflict with any such. The Scottish Rite
has doubled its members in the last few years, and year by vear gains new
accessions.
Antoine Bideaud, who had been created a Deputy Grand Inspector‑General and a
Sovereign Grand Inspector‑General, September 10, 1802, by De Grasse Tilley, at
Cape Francois, in San Domingo, so soon as he had opened his Supreme Council,
after the return of the French to that island, was in New York and on August
4th conferred upon J. J. Gourgas, John B. Tardy, Lewis de Soulles, John B.
Desdoity, and Pierre Du Peyrot all the degrees of the A: A: S: Rite to the
32d. Two days thereafter a consistory was opened, which although exceeding his
patent, was afterward confirmed by proper authority. John B. Tardy was
subsequently appointed Deputy Inspector‑General by Du Plessis, of
Philadelphia, who had received his appointment in 1790 from Augustine Prevost,
who derived his authority directly from Francken in 1774, at Jamaica.
Abraham Jacobs, who claimed to be a Grand Inspector‑General, made such by
Moses Cohen in 1790, came to New York in 1804, and began his work of
conferring degrees.
He
states, in his register, that by the wishes of J. B. Tardy there was opened a
council of Princes of Jerusalem November 6, 1808, there being present J. J.
Gourgas, John B.
Desdoity, Maduro Peixotto, Moses Levy, John B. Tardy, and Abraham Jacobs. At
this time Richard Riker received the degrees. It appears from a statement by
Gourgas that Jacobs had exceeded his authority by interlining words in his
patent, for which he was afterward expelled. Gourgas also says that on
November 8, 1808, Daniel D. Tompkins, Richard Riker, and Sampson Simpson
received the degrees, including the 32d Degree, in the consistory which was
formed August 6, 1806, and that he was made a Deputy Inspector‑General on
November 12, 1808, Desdoityon the 8th, and Peixotto on the 16th.
In
consequence of a rumor of the irregularities which had occurred in the bodies
in New York having reached the Supreme Council in Charleston, De la Motta, who
was an officer in that body, was sent to New York with authority from the
Supreme Council to investigate the whole matter, in 1813. August 5th he
conferred the 33d Degree upon J.J. Gourgas and Sampson Simpson; these three
then opened a Supreme Council and conferred the degree on Richard Riker, John
B. Tardy, Daniel D. Tompkins, and Maduro Peixotto. On the same day, De la
Motta, by authority of the Mother Supreme Council at Charleston, regularly and
constitutionally organized what was then called the "Second Grand and Supreme
Council" for the United States. Daniel D. Tompkins was installed Grand
Commander; the other Officers were appointed and installed. At the next
meeting of the "Mother Supreme Council," at Charleston, the following
December, these proceedings were duly confirmed.
As
heretofore stated, a treaty was entered into by and between the two Supreme
Councils, and the jurisdiction over the various States and Territories of the
United States was determined for each of these.
Like
all human voluntary institutions, the histories of both the Northern and
Southern Supreme Councils are records of bitter controversies growing out of
rival bodies which were irregularly started in opposition to each of these
duly constituted Supreme Councils, and which greatly retarded the advancement
of this valuable Rite.
In the
Southern Jurisdiction these controversies continued to keep the Scottish Rite
entirely in the shade, as it were, until General Albert Pike received the
several degrees and was elected the Grand Commander. Since the close of the
war in 1865 the progress has been onward and upward, as has been shown in the
preceding pages of this chapter.
In the
Northern Supreme Council the Rite encountered a more bitter and relentless
opposition in the bodies organized by Joseph Cerneau, originally in 1807, and
although that body repeatedly declined, until it would appear to be utterly
extinguished, yet it would quite unexpectedly arise again, deceive the unwary,
and so soon as the sunlight of Truth was poured upon it would again decline,
wither, and disappear.
The
opposition to which the Northern Supreme Council was subjected was of such a
character that it is incumbent on us to take some notice thereof to
demonstrate what the Scottish Rite of the Northern Supreme Council had to
contend against in defense of the truth.
Giles
Fonda Yates, of Albany, became, at an early date (1822), interested in the
study of Masonry. He discovered the Warrant of the Lodge of Perfection granted
by Francken at Albany and a copy of the Constitutions of 1762; he then
succeeded in resuscitating the old lodge. After this a Grand Council of
Princes of Jerusalem was organized at Albany, and several lodges of Perfection
were constituted in other places. A consistory was instituted in 1824 at
Albany, and several bodies were established in Boston. These were under
patents of the Supreme Council at Charleston. Yates received the 33d Degree
from McCosh, who was the special Deputy of this council. Afterward, in 1828,
Yates became a member of the Northern Supreme Council. Just at this period,
from 1826, the Morgan affair having occurred, nearly all the Masonic bodies at
the North became extinct, as recited in the chapter devoted to that subject.
In 1832 Gourgas suspended all efforts in the affairs of the Scottish Rite. In
1842, however, the great excitement had mostly died out and the fire of
persecution, bigotry, and fanaticism having had no fuel for many years, waned,
and all efforts against the Institution ceased.
Yates
having conferred with Gourgas and other Brethren who had not succumbed under
their severe ordeal, they determined to resume their labors. June 15, 1844, a
meeting was held; Gourgas was then Grand Commander, and Yates Lieutenant Grand
Commander. These two, by a law of the Rite, that if only one member of a
Supreme Council survives, that council does not cease to exist, opened the
Supreme Council.
At
this meeting, November 13, 1844, applications were received from Edward A.
Raymond, Ruel Baker, and Charles W. Moore (all of Massachusetts), who, having
received the 32d Degree, were crowned Sovereign Grand Inspectors‑General.
At the
meeting held April 3‑5, 1845, Gourgas declared that the recent publication by
Clavel, relating to the Ancient and Accepted Rite, was utterly incorrect, and
stated that Cerneau's name was struck from the Tableau of the Grand Orient of
France in 1830, the Grand Orient having written to him that it was a matter
quite inexplicable to them that it should have remained there so long.
At
this meeting Gourgas reorganized the Supreme Council, the officers being
appointed by the constitutional provisions. From this time the Supreme Council
became very industrious in establishing bodies in many cities; harmony
prevailed over this jurisdiction, and the Rite, although slowly, was steadily
extended.
At an
important meeting held September 4, 1851, Gourgas's resignation as Grand
Commander and his appointment of Yates as his successor were received. Yates
presided at this meeting, the Sovereign Grand Consistory was organized, and
the degrees in the various bodies were conferred. At the close of the meeting
Yates resigned as Grand Commander and appointed Raymond to that position. In
his address Yates gave a forcible exposition of the laws, the objects, and the
history of the Rite, and it contains so much information, of interest and
value to its members, that we give it in full:
ADDRESS OF M.P. BRO. GILES FONDA YATES
Respected and Beloved Associates: You have been listening to the valedictory
address of our honored friend, long trieds true, and trusty. His sentiments, I
am well assured, are reciprocated. He has been called by our transatlantic
Brethren " the patriarch of our 'Illustrious Order,"' and not without
appropriateness. John James J. Gourgas ‑ clarum et venerabile nomen!
He has
been pleased to allude to my own participation in some of the works and
administrative duties of our order, but such participation, as you are well
aware, has been at a later day and for a shorter period. Under the
circumstances in which I now appear before you, it can hardly be deemed
egotistic in me if I advert briefly to a few of the humble contributions to
the cause of " Sublime Freemasonry" previous to 1840, which it fell to my lot
to render. These, with the " sublime works " performed by other Brethren of
our order before and since, in Massachusetts, New York, New Hampshire,
Connecticut, and Rhode Island, furnish altogether evidence supplemental to
that given by my predecessor, in complete confutation of the preposterous
charge that " Sublime Freemasonry" has been dormant in our jurisdiction since
its establishment among us. A charge of this kind has been the stereotype
apology of surreptitious Masons for their occasional attempts to foist their
spurious creations upon our "Sublime System" within our Masonic territory. The
abundant parole testimony which can be adduced to show how untrue is this
charge, can be corroborated by our archives, and will be found iterated in
manifestoes issued by our own and our sister council for the Southern
Jurisdiction of the United States.
I
turned my attention to the history of the "Sublime Degrees" very soon after my
initiation as a Mason. My intercourse in 1822 with several old Masons in the
city of Albany, led to the discovery that an " Ineffable Lodge of Perfection"
had been established in that ancient city on December 20, 1767. I also
discovered that not only the Ineffable, but the Superior Degrees of our Rite,
had been conferred at the same time on a chosen few, by the founder of the
lodge, Henry A. Francken, one of the Deputies of Stephen Morin (1) of
illustrious memory. It was not long, moreover, before I found the original
Warrant of this lodge, its book of minutes, the patents of Ill. Brother Samuel
Stringer, M.D., Jeremiah Van Rensselaer and Peter W. Yates, Esquires, Dep.
Inspectors‑General, under the old system; also "the regulations and
contributions of the nine commissioners," etc., 1761, and other documents that
had been left by Bro.
Francken with the Albany Brethren when he founded their lodge. With the
concurrence of the surviving members of said lodge residing in Albany, Dr.
Jonathan Eights and the Hon. and R. W. Stephen Van Rensselaer, P.G.M. of the
Grand Lodge of New York, I aided in effecting its revival. The necessary
proceedings were thereupon instituted to place the same under the
superintendence of a Grand Council of Princes of Jerusalem, as required by the
old constitutions; and such Grand Council was subsequently opened in due form
in said city.
Having
been made aware of "the new Constitution of the Thirty‑third degree," ratified
on the first of play, 1786, conferring the Supreme Power over our Rite on
"Councils of Nine Brethren," I hastened to place myself in correspondence with
Moses Holbrook, M.D., at the time S.G. Commander of the Supreme Council at
Charleston, and with my esteemed friends, Joseph M'Cosh, Ill. Gr. Sec. Gen. of
the last‑named council, and Bro.
Gourgas, at that
(1)
Stephen Morin was on the 27th day of August, 1761, appointed "Inspector
General over all Lodges, &c., &c., &c., in the new world by the Grand
Consistory of Princes of the Royal Secret convened in Paris, at which presided
the King of Prussia's Deputy, Chaillon De Joinville, Substitute General of the
Order." See circular issued by the Supreme Council at Charleston, S. C.,
December 4, 1802
time
III. Gr. Sec. Gen. of the H.E. for this Northern Jurisdiction. Lodges of
Perfection in the counties of Montgomery, Onondaga, Saratoga, and Monroe in
the State of New York, were successively organized, and placed agreeably to
the constitutions under the superintendence of the Grand Council before named.
The establishment of this last‑ named body was confirmed, and all our
proceedings in "Sublime Freemasonry" were legalized and sanctioned by the only
lawful authorities in the United States, the aforesaid Supreme Councils.
On the
16th day of November, 1824, I received a patent, appointing me S. of S. of a
consistory of S.P.R.S., established in the city of Albany. I would here also
state that on the 13th day of February, 1825, a Charter was granted to III.
Bro. Edward A. Raymond, of Boston, Mass., and eight associates, constituting
them a Grand Council of Princes of Jerusalem; a Charter was also granted them
for a consistory of S.P.R.S., both bodies to be holden in the city of Boston.
All these several bodies named, as well as the Albany Grand Council and
Consistory, have since their establishment paid due faith and allegiance to
our Northern Supreme Council.
In the
organization of the New York State Grand Council, and of the different lodges
of Perfection under its superintendence, I received the most effective aid and
co‑ operation of several dear companions whom "it delights me to remember."
These lodges numbered on their lists of initiates some of the brightest and
worthiest Masons that State produced, and enjoyed for a series of years a good
share of prosperity, until the persecuting fires of anti‑Masonry swept over
the land. Their labors were then intermitted for awhile, in common with those
of other departments of the Masonic Institution, from the same cause. But the
consequences were not in the main inauspicious. The legitimate effect was to
purify and cement more closely the materials subjected to the fiery ordeal.
In
1825 I took my vows as a "Sovereign Grand Inspector General" "between the
hands" of our Brother Joseph M'Cosh, he having been specially deputized for
that purpose. I was shortly after constituted and accredited the
"Representative" of the Southern Supreme Grand Council near this Northern
Supreme Grand Council, of which last I was made, and have ever since been a
member.
I
would fain have you to believe, my dear Brethren, that, as a member of the
Masonic Institution, if I have had my ambition, it has been to study its
science, and to discharge my duties as a faithful Mason, rather than to obtain
its official honors or personal benefits of any kind. Self‑aggrandizement has
never formed any part of my Masonic creed, and all who know me can bear
witness that it never has of my practise. I accordingly shall never shirk any
just responsibility imposed upon me by my obligations as a "Sublime
Freemason," but continue to prefer, as I have ever done, since it is most
congenial to my own taste, those i' works " and labors of the Craft not
necessarily connected with its administrative duties.
As
Sovereign Grand Inspectors‑General, it cannot be bootless to inquire what is
the charge committed to our keeping ‑ what the trust reposed in us? Is it true
that the degrees and orders of our Rite are, as our enemies allege, only
superfetation? Are they naught but excrescences on the great pyramid of
Freemasonry ? Have they no antiquity ? Are they of an irreligious character?
Allow me to deliver a few of my own views on this subject ‑ views, as you are
well assured, I have not arrived at hastily.
As
Brother Gourgas has well observed, our degrees and orders constitute of
themselves a perfect system and Rite, which we denominate the " Sublime
system," and the 'is Ancient and Accepted Rite." They have been called
"Honorary." Such they are, in the true sense of the term, but not in the sense
generally used, which is construed as synonymous with "side," or "detached
degrees." We, however, possess, in addition to our regular series of degrees,
" detached degrees," of more or less value, subsidiary to our regular degrees.
But none of our degrees are, per se, subordinate or subsidiary to any other
system or Rite, much less to any system or Rite which had no existence when
our Rite was reorganized at the beginning of the last century. All attempts to
make them so, we, as faithful conservators and guardians of our Rites, are
bound to resist. Ours are not, as many have represented them, "loose,"
"floating," or "side degrees," nor yet are they "waifs of Masonic stragglers."
(1) If the star of "Sublime Freemasonry" is never permitted
(1) We
are indebted to our Worthy Brother Philip C. Tucker, of Vermont, for this
appropriate designation of Masonic pretenders of a certain description. We
refer to those who occasionally spring up in this country and elsewhere, and
engage in "peddling" Masonic Degrees ("Marchands de Maconnere"), and who
assume prerogatives which they do not possess; and over degrees which most
probably they never received in a
to
culminate in the zenith it deserves a better fate than to become a satellite
to any other orbs, albeit these may shine with more distinguished luster. If
it ever becomes depressed to the nadir of the Masonic horizon, it will not be
because of its want of value or merit.
Our
"Sublime Brother" Dalcho remarks in one of his orations (1) that our degrees
imparted to him knowledge, which he had vainly sought for in the lower degrees
‑ that they elucidated the origin and principles of the Masonic Institution
and its connection with science and religion more intimately than the symbolic
degrees. I have myself noticed that in the latter general ideas only are
communicated and these obscurely, while in the "Sublime Degrees" these ideas
become clear as particular truths; though still, like all truths regarding the
mind and heart, which are invisible, they can be expressed only by figurative
terms and external symbols.
By
imagery, and through a veil (2) of metaphor, the light of truth and the most
sublime allusions are disclosed. We may be well versed in the ceremonials of
our order and yet not understand their true import; we may correctly read "the
letter" of our traditions and legends, and yet remain blind to their "spirit,"
and ignorant of the principles and inferences they involve. By study alone can
we solve the enigma, " de duo fabula narratur?" Many of the characteristic
allegories, legends, symbols, and ceremonies of "Sublime Freemasonry" are
counted as insignificant and valueless, because they are not palpable to the
senses, and fully comprehended at the first blush. Some of our most sacred
mysteries are lightly esteemed, because they furnish no disclosures that
strike dumb with amazement our "hidden treasures," and spiritual "riches of
secret places" are unappreciated; and no "Royal Secret" which humbly professes
to have a relation only to the life of the heart seems to be cared for; nor
yet any "precious stone" in our mystic edifice, if the "philosopher's
lawful
manner. These men, perchance too, may have surreptitiously obtained some
partial information from garbled MSS.; or if they have obtained any degrees
lawfully, are guilty of a violation of a fundamental Masonic law in regard to
" allegiance " by using and transmitting to others Masonic knowledge under
assumed authority, in a manner different from that in which they received it.
(1)
See his oration delivered before the Sublime Grand Lodge, at Charleston, S.
C., March 21, 1803.
(2)
This idea is beautifully symbolized in one of the "high degrees" by a figure
of truth covered with a semi‑transparent veil
stone"
be wanting! For men of this stamp, our degrees, or indeed any Masonic degrees,
will ever fail to present attractions.
"Upon
the arts of building and architecture the Order of Free and Accepted Masonry
rises like a fair stupendous pyramid from a broad, square basis, tending
regularly up to a summit of attainments, ever concealed by intervening clouds
from the promiscuous multitude of common observers below." (1) The first
fourteen degrees of our Rite are in a part an amplification of "Ancient Craft"
Masonry; while the "superior degrees" are founded on those Christian and
"religious and military Orders" which are declared by the oldest book of York
Constitutions to be cognate to the Craft degrees of Freemasonry.
The
proofs are undeniable that the learning contained in the "Sublime Degrees" was
taught long previous to the last century; our M. P. Brother Dalcho thinks
shortly after the first crusade. In Prussia, France, and Scotland the
principal degrees of our Rite appeared in an organized form in 1713. The
unfortunate Lord Der Wentwater and his associate English Brethren were working
in lodges of Harodim, in 1725, at Paris, when the Grand Lodge of England
transmitted to France the Ancient York Constitutions.
Many
Scotch Brethren (adherents of Charles Edward Stuart) being in France about
this time, also cultivated some of the high degrees of our Rite. Some of the
important mysteries celebrated in the superior degrees were instituted by the
successors of Jacques de Molay, and others derive their origin from the
renowned Robert Bruce. The former gave the military, the latter the Christian,
character to the degrees and orders of our Rite; and from what has been
alluded to relative to the connection of our Scotch Brethren with our degrees
and orders, I think we may readily account for the terms Ecossazs, or Scotch
as applied to them.
No
person can pretend that any one department or system of Freemasonry or any
particular Masonic Rite, however unexceptionable, has from time immemorial
existed in the same form in which it appears at the present day. But we
contend that the (historical epoch) traditions and grades of knowledge
embodied in the degrees and orders of the Rite we profess, have descended to
us from remote antiquity. This fact can be proved to the reasonable
satisfaction
(1)
Quoted from an old edition of the York Constitution
of the
most skeptical, by the writings of learned Brethren who have spent years in
investigating the subject. To the same effect, too, we have the incidental
testimony of writers who never belonged to the Fraternity, as well as the
unwilling admission of those opposed to us. Even a brief recapitulation of
such proofs is not demanded by present occasion. My referring to this topic at
this time is merely to remind my Brethren that our "Ancient and Accepted Rite"
is incorrectly designated as a "modern Rite." (1) When we use the term
"modern" as applicable to any of our orders or degrees, it is to be taken in a
comparative sense, and not in its vulgar acceptation. It refers to ours
"religious and military orders" instituted since the commencement of the
Christian era, and after that of "the holy wars!" of a verity, our Rite is not
born of yesterday.
Many
of our degrees imply prerequisites in candidates peculiarly stringent, and
unknown in other departments of Freemasonry; and not a few partake of the
character of official degrees. Even the lowest degrees of our Rite, the eleven
"Ineffable," are designed for the "Select few" only. This is especially the
case with our principal superior degrees, Prince of Jerusalem, Sov.'. Prince
of Rose Cross, elected Knight K.
H.
Grand Inquisitor Commander, and Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret, which are
virtually orders of Harodim. Some of our superior degrees confer the titles of
"Commander," "Patriarch," "Grand Master," if "Prince," and "Sovereign." But it
behoves me to observe that the Masonic titles in our "Inner Easts," like the
jewels on our breasts, are not cherished and worn by us for show or
aggrandizement; they are suggestive of holy truths and self‑perfecting duties,
which every conscientious "Sublime Freemason" will strive to learn and
perform.
Some
persons who have written and discoursed about our degrees, have obtained what
little knowledge they possess of them from spurious and corrupted sources. I
do not speak unadvisedly on this subject; for I have critically examined
rituals identical with those in use among the clandestine and "soi‑disant"
Supreme
(1) It
is doubtless the case that some persons confound our Rite with "the French or
Modern Rite," which is confessedly modern and was invented within the last
half century. It embraces the three symbolic degrees and forms the basis, and
is part, of the spurious "Scotch Rite," which aims at supplanting us. It is
the same cultivated in some French lodges in this country, and by the
Louisiana and other spurious Supreme Councils
Councils, and usurping propagandists of "Sublime Freemasonry." Now and then an
orthodox hieroglyphic symbol or allegory is surreptitiously obtained, but its
true solution is not attained to, by the vulgar interpretations of
superficialness, or it is purposely perverted by the infidel, or bigot, or
sectarian, to suit his narrow purposes or by intriguers, who
"Like
scurvy politicians, seem to see The things they do not."
Such
rituals, too, often penned by blundering copyists, may not inaptly be likened
to human skeletons, stripped of all the arteries, nerves, and muscles of the
living man, deprived of soul, life‑blood, and spirit.
There
are some writers, who, while they may not deny antiquity to the doctrines and
traditions on which some of the " high degrees" are founded, yet with a
Barruel and Robison purposely confound our "Ineffable" and "philosophical
degrees" with those of the political society of the Illuminati and certain
infidel systems of philosophy. A learned philosophers has well observed that
philosophy is not possible, unless it be founded on, and guarded by,
Christianity. Christianity is the basis, and philosophy the superstructure of
the edifice." It is with philosophy such as this that true Freemasonry has to
do. It is worthy of note in this connection that speculative science as well
as practical wisdom once ranked among the virtues. The knowledge of the
Eternal Being, as understood by philosophy, reason, and religious revelation,
is the basis and apex, as well of the Masonic as the scientific pyramid.
" No
art or learning serveth useful ends, But as the heart it guides, and life
amends."
However great the acquisitions of the most successful cultivator of "the Royal
art " and science, all will be vain without a practical application of the
knowledge acquired. The understanding should be strengthened that the conduct
may be directed and truth discovered, that it may be used "for the better
endowment and help of man's life." One of the cardinal ends designed to be
answered by Freemasonry, in any of its departments, is to make men better as
(1)
Geoberti
well
as wiser. The eulogy pronounced by Bro. T. S. Webb (1) on "the eleven
ineffable degrees," is applicable to the whole system of "Sublime
Freemasonry," that it is "intended for the glory of the Deity, and the good of
mankind."
Those
who bring the charge of irreligion against our Rite would do well to bear in
mind that learned authors (2) unfriendly to our Institution have expressed
their conviction that the pure doctrines of the Zabians, which are incorrectly
stigmatized as astrological and idolatrous, (3) and the doctrines of St. John
the Baptist, were essentially identical; while Brethren learned in the secrets
of "Ineffable Masonry," delivered only "behind the veil," and versed in the
doctrines of "Sublime Freemasonry," have become penetrated with the conviction
that these secrets and doctrines are in essence the same with those which were
taught by the Pythagorean and Essenean rituals.
After
the French revolution of 1793, Christianity in France was ridiculed into
obsoleteness. Among the mass of the people who became atheists were the mass
of the Masons. Numerous copies of that holy book, which we esteem as the first
great light in Masonry, were committed to the flames. Under this state of
things, "Sublime Freemasonry" fell into desuetude; and it was not until after
the establishment of the Supreme Council at Charleston, S. C., on the 31st day
of May, 1801, that the "Sublime System" was revived in France by the
establishment of a Supreme Council at Paris, to wit, in 1804, by Count De
Grasse, Grand InspectorGeneral, under authority from the Charleston Supreme
Council. The Paris Supreme Council has been in continuous operation ever
(1)
Bro. Webb did not pretend to be a professor of those degrees, or of any other
in "Sublime Freemasonry." See his preface to his illustrations of those
degrees.
(2)
E.g., Cardinal Wiseman ‑ Syriac version of the Vatican code used by Adler in
his "Druses Montis Libani." (3) I here quote the words of Dr. Dewey in
corroboration of the idea I have advanced in the text, because he expresses
this idea clearly and briefly. It is, however, far from being a singular one,
or original with him. It has been the persuasion of every philosopher and
divine of celebrity who has bestowed more than a superficial examination upon
the subject, both before and since Lord Bacon's day; who proves its truth in
detail. "The idea that images set up as gods were worshipped, is erroneous.
They
were esteemed as symbols of a higher power and as 'symbols' only. A species of
images (as for example the four‑faced Cherubim) was recognized even in the
early worship of the Hebrews when under the immediate government of God
himself I would not be understood to say: that the pure doctrines alluded to
were not perverted, or that there were no persons obnoxious to the charge made
by St. Paul in Rom. i. 23
since.
And here truth compels me to advert to the fact that the "Grand Orient" of
France, which had a legal existence only as a "Symbolic" Grand Lodge of Master
Masons, now commenced her assumption of jurisdiction over all the degrees of
the "Ancient and Accepted Rite." Disputes hereupon ensued between the French
Supreme Council and Grand Orient, which have never been fully settled up to
the present day.
Every
lover of Masonic order and constitutional authority cannot but regret this
unhappy occurrence; and none the less the conduct of the Parisian Brethren on
sundry occasions during the last half century, in extending their jurisdiction
in both the Symbolic and Sublime degrees over territory on this continent,
already lawfully occupied. Their example in this last respect has been
repeatedly followed and is at this present moment producing consequences
deleterious to the Craft at large. The present occasion is not the most
appropriate one for descending to particularities on this head.
It is
unnecessary for me to make more than a passing allusion to the troubles that
have been experienced from analogous causes by our sister council at
Charleston and our own Supreme Council, from 1806 to the present time. In
assaulting our Supreme Councils our enemies tried to shift the issue from
principals to individuals, and resorted to wilful perversions of facts; and
failing to find legitimate and real subjects to attack, they for the nonce
fabricated them. As "the droppings of their lips" were anything but
"sweet‑smelling myrrh," or the "perfume of hearty counsel," as true gentlemen
and Masons we could not meet them on their own ground, or do aught else than
simply pronounce their allegations false and unfounded.
A word
or two with regard to the charge of interference on the part of the two only
lawful Supreme Councils in this country, with the prerogatives of other
departments of Freemasonry. No Supreme Councils of Sovereign Grand
Inspectors‑General were established anywhere in the world till after 1786. (1)
Previously, Inspectors
(1)
"On May 1, 1786, the Grand Constitution of the Thirty‑third Degree, called the
Supreme Council of Sovereign Grand Inspector‑General, was finally ratified by
his Majesty, the King of Prussia, who, as Grand Commander of the Order of
Prince of the Royal Secret, possessed the Sovereign Masonic power over the
Craft. In the New Constitution this high power was conferred on a Supreme
Council of nine Brethren in each nation, who possess all the Masonic
prerogatives in their own district that his Majesty individually possessed,
and are Sovereigns of Masonry." Extracts from the circular letter of the
Charleston Supreme Council issued December 4, 1802.
General under the enlightened Frederick of Prussia were charged with the
powers and duties now vested in such Supreme Councils and the Grand Bodies
under them. By them the degrees and orders of our Rite were conserved and
propagated in the constitutional manner. It was not the Grand Orient of
France, as is by many erroneously supposed, nor any other Grand Body on the
Continent of Europe, except the Grand Consistory, over which presided
Frederick's "Substitute General" before named, that had any authority to act
in the premises. For the authors of the numerous new rites and innovations
committed on the old system of Freemasonry, which were erst so rife on the
European Continent, we must look elsewhere than to the lawful Deputies
Inspectors‑General under the old system.
The
original minutes and documents left by Ill. Brother Francken, who established
the Albany Lodge of Perfection in 1767, evince the most scrupulous avoidance
of interference with the Master's Lodge in that city or the Symbolic Degree.
As there were no R. A. Chapters or Encampments of Knights Templars established
in this country till thirty years afterward, to speak of interference with
them would be an anachronismic absurdity, akin to those recently spawned by
ignorance or design to mislead uninformed Brethren, or for other unworthy
purposes.
The
first Supreme Council ever established under the new Constitution of 1786 was
that at Charleston, (1) whose jurisdiction extended constitutionally over the
whole of the United States, until they constituted, by their Special Deputy,
E. De La Motta, III. Treas.
Gen.
H.E., this Northern Supreme Council in 1813. (2) Then
(1) on
May 31, 1801, the Supreme Council of the 33d Degree for the United States of
America was opened with the high honors of Masonry by Bros. John Mitchell and
Frederick Dalcho, Sovereign Grand Inspectors‑General; and in the course of the
year the whole number of Grand Inspectors‑General was completed agreeably to
the Grand Constitutions. The other members of this Grand Council admitted in
1801 were Emanuel De La Motta, Dr. J. Auld, Dr. James Moultrie, Abraham
Alexander, M. C. Livy, Thomas B. Bowen, and J. De Lieban.
(2)
The Supreme Grand Council for the Northern Jurisdiction of the United States
was founded on August 5, 1813, by the M. Ill. Brothers E. De La Motta,
"Special Deputy‑ Representative" from the said Supreme Grand Council at
Charleston, Daniel D.
Tompkins, S. Simson, John J. J. Gourgas, Richard Riker, J. G. Tardy, and M. L.
M.
Peixotto. In the words of a manifesto issued by the last‑named council, dated
August 2, 1845, the establishment of our Northern Supreme Council is shown "
by authenticated documents in the possession of this (the Charleston) Council,
in accordance with the Secret Constitutions, by Emanuel De La Motta as the
Representative and under the Northern and Southern Jurisdictions were defined
and regulated. A candid review of all the acts of the constitutional
regulators and governors of our Rite in these United States cannot fail to
establish the falsity ot this charge of interference on their part. If I am
not much mistaken, they have been "more sinned against than sinning." If we
have not claimed the benefit of the legal maxims, Quad prius est, verius est,
et quod prius est tempore, potious est jure, it has not been because we were
not entitled to this benefit.
On
December 4, 1802, our Southern Supreme Council published a report from which I
make the following extracts. They speak for themselves:
"Although many of the Sublime degrees are in fact a continuation of the Blue
degrees, yet there is no interference (1) between the two bodies. Throughout
the continent of Europe and the West Indies, where they are very generally
known, they are acknowledged and encouraged. The Sublime Masons never initiate
any into the Blue degrees, without a legal warrant obtained for that purpose
from a Symbolic Grand Lodge; but they communicate the secrets of the chair to
such applicants as have not already received them, previous to their
initiation into the Sublime Lodge; yet they are at the same time informed that
it does not give them rank as
sanction and authority of the Council at Charleston. The Masonic Jurisdiction
of the Northern Council is distributed over the Northern, North‑western, and
North‑eastern parts of the United States. And this, with the Council at
Charleston, are the only recognized Councils which exist or can exist,
according to the Secret Constitutions, in the United States. Their labors have
never been suspended, though withdrawn for a time from the public eye ‑ their
authority has never been, and cannot be, abrogated.
They
hold in their archives certified copies of the Secret Constitutions, derived
from the Grand Consistory held at Paris in 1761. Their succession of officers
and members has been regularly and duly continued, and the Great Light of
'Sublime Masonry,' which has been confided to their keeping, like the sacred
fire of the Vestals, has been preserved unextinguished on their altars."
(1)
"In deference to the Constitution of the York Rite practiced in this country,
it waves its rights and privileges, so far as they relate to the first three
degrees of Ancient Craft Masonry, which long before the establishment of any
Supreme Council in this hemisphere, were under the control of Symbolic Grand
Lodges " See circular letters of both Northern and Southern Supreme Councils,
1845. "The object of the Supreme Council is not to interfere with the rights
of any other bodies, but simply to preserve from decay or innovation those
Sublime truths and ineffable mysteries which, while they throw a brighter
light upon the pure system of Ancient Craft Masonry, can be attained only by
those who have sought for light in the deepest recesses of the Masonic Temple.
They ask, therefore, as the legal guardians of these invaluable treasures, the
sympathy and fraternal kindness of their Brethren, to whom they take this
occasion of offering the right hand of brotherly love and affection." ‑
Charleston Circular, 1845
Past
Masters in the Grand Lodge." (1) "On January 21, 1802, a warrant of
constitution passed the seal of the Grand Council of Princes of Jerusalem for
the establishment of a Master Mark Mason's Lodge in the City of Charleston,
S.C." " Besides those degrees, which are in regular succession, most of the
Inspectors are in possession of a number of detached degrees given in
different parts of the world; and which they generally communicate free of
expense, to those Brethren who are high enough to understand them. Such as
select Masons of 27, etc., making in the aggregate fifty‑three degrees." As to
the Mark and Past Master's Degrees, all authority over them was surrendered to
the R.A. Chapters, at that time springing into existence. Independent lodges
of Mark Master Masons having no governing head were afterward established in
this country, and continued in operation for a series of years; until the Gen.
Grand Chapter assumed jurisdiction over both the Mark and Past Master's
Degrees as "honorary grades," and incorporated them into their system.
No!
Brethren, the intermeddling complained of, lies at the door of the spurious
bodies established by the impostor Joseph Cerneau, et id omne genus,
progeniesque, whose illegitimate works are ever and anon exhumed and revamped
for sinister purposes. It ought, methinks, to be a sufficient refutation of
the charge of our intermeddling with other departments of Masonry, that the
leading Brethren of both our Northern and Southern Supreme Councils, ever
since their establishment, have been active leaders in Symbolic Grand Lodges,
Grand Chapters of R.A. Masons, and Grand Encampments of Knights Templar, the
only other departments of Freemasonry in our land which we recognize and
acknowledge.
"No
Masonic power professing our Rite, or any of its dependent associations, can,
under any pretense whatever, amalgamate or associate by representation or
otherwise, with any other power, or with any association depending on any
other Rite, nor consent to become a section or dependence thereof, without
renouncing the object of its institution, and losing de facto its sovereign
attributes." This fundamental law applicable to any department of Freemasonry
is a truism, and surely needs no argument to support it
(1)
This practice was never adopted by the regular "Sublime Freemasons" in this
Northern Jurisdiction.
I a
well persuaded that our Supreme Grand Council will ever continue, as it has
heretofore done, to illustrate the truth of one of its own sentiments, that "
Sublime Freemasonry is unobtrusive, a divine manna for the clear‑sighted to
gather ‑ everyone according to his own taste and ability." We claim not to
keep the vineyards of others, and we challenge to the proof that we have ever
trenched upon them. And while we guard, as we are bound to do, our own
possessions, we hope to be permitted to sit peaceful and undisturbed if under
our own vine and fig‑tree"!
The
institution of the official dignity of Sovereign Grand Inspector‑General, in
1786, and the adoption of the constitutional provisions, by which, on the
decease of the great Frederick, his authority and duties over our order in
both hemispheres were transferred to a limited number of Brethren in each
nation, operated practically as a distribution among many Brethren of the high
Masonic powers and prerogatives, originally possessed by one Grand Master.
Notwithstanding the numerous efforts made to enlighten Brethren as to the true
nature of the 33d Degree "governing itself and all others" of our said Rite,
and conferring rights and powers, and imposing duties "agreeably to the Grand
Constitutions" of our order, of an executive character, (1) it is still
generally
(1) I
will fortify my statement with that of our M. Puis. Bro. Dalcho, whose
authority in a matter of this kind cannot be gainsaid. I quote from page 116,
appendix to his oration delivered before the Sublime Grand Lodge of
Charleston, S.C., March 21, 1803. "By the Constitution of the Order, which was
ratified on October 25, 1762, the King of Prussia was proclaimed as the chief
of the Eminent Degrees, with the rank of Sovereign Grand Inspector‑General and
Grand Commander. The higher Councils and Chapters could not be opened without
his presence or that of his substitute, whom he must appoint. All the
transactions of the Consistory of the thirty‑second degree required his
sanction, or that of his substitute, to establish their legality; and many
other prerogatives were attached to his Masonic rank. No provision, however,
had been made in the Constitutions for the appointment of his successor; and,
as it was an office of the highest importance, the utmost caution was
necessary to prevent an improper person from obtaining it. The King, being
conscious of this, established the thirty‑third degree. Nine Brethren in each
nation, from the Supreme Council of Grand Inspectors‑ General, after his
decease possessed all his Masonic prerogatives and power over the Craft. They
are the Executive Body of the Masonic Fraternity, and their approval is now
necessary to the acts of the Consistory, before they can become laws; and from
their decision there can be no appeal."
In
1825 I received from Moses Holbrook, M.D., at that time Sov. Grand Commander
of the Charleston Supreme Council, a letter in answer to some inquiries
relative to the subject in question, from which letter I make the following
extracts: "All the transactions of S.P.R.S. required the sanction of Frederick
William II. (who had for many years been the head and patron of the Order), or
that of his substitute, to establish their
but
most erroneously considered as an "honorary" distinction merely, and as an
ordinary degree in Freemasonry; and one to which all Brethren having the usual
qualifications required for initiation into most of the lower degrees have a
right to aspire.
The
tenure of office in a Supreme Grand Council being for life, a seat in such a
body can be vacated only by death, resignation, or removal from its
jurisdiction. This is a fundamental law, and may not be changed, though its
inevitable tendency is to exclude from our little circle some good, true, and
worthy Brethren, who would, no doubt, adorn our assemblies, and prove faithful
conservators, regulators, and governors of our Rite.
By
being tenacious of official station, I may be the means of excluding Brethren
whose councils are needed; and I may also stand in the way of the just
preferment of my compeers. Moved by reasons like these I have named, and
desirous of setting an example, which if discreetly followed may, without
violation of our organic laws, serve in a degree to modify what is, albeit
without good reason, deemed too exclusive a feature in our "sublime system," I
have concluded to resign the official station I now hold in this council.
There are other considerations also which induce me to adopt this course.
By a
constitutional regulation of our order, the office of chief custodian of our
archives devolves upon the Sov. Grand Commander, who should, for this and
analogous reasons well understood by us, be a resident of one of the Easts in
our jurisdiction.
Living
as
legality. Many other prerogatives were attached to his Masonic rank; and not
least in the consideration of the day, it was thought that in the United
States, just emerged from the thraldom of the mother country, after a long and
arduous struggle for their liberty, it would be highly improper to have the
Masonic head and jurisdiction over the Ineffable and Sublime degrees in
another country, and to pay allegiance of any kind to a foreign potentate.
These difficulties, added to the importance attached to the highest office in
Freemasonry, and the very great caution necessary to prevent an unsuitable
person from obtaining an office so respectable, influential, and important,
weighed with the King and the high Consistory over which he presided. Upon
reading the respectful petitions and statements made to them during the years
1784 and 1785, the subject was referred to a highly learned and able
committee, who reported this degree (thirty‑ third) to constitute nine S.P.R.S.
in each nation, a Streme Council of Sovereign Grand Inspectors‑General; and
they being duly organized, accredited, and approved, should at his decease
possess all his Masonic prerogatives over the concerns of the Craft within the
country or territory over which their jurisdiction extended; and their
appointment was ad vitam. They became the Executive Body of the Masonic
Fraternity within their territory. This arrangement annulled all former powers
granted to individuals (Dep. Ins.‑Gen.) in different parts of the world."
I do
in the interior of my native State, it is not meet for me to become such
custodian.
Our
archives, valuable and voluminous, should have a fixed and permanent
depository, under the charge of their constitutional guardian.
My
association for a quarter of a century with this Supreme Grand Council, and my
active participation in its works and administrative duties, I have spoken of
in my antecedent remarks. I avert to the fact again, and in this connection,
to remind you, that it places me before you in such a position as to render,
in a measure applicable to my own case, the reason for abdication advanced by
my venerable predecessor, deducible from his long term of service.
My
much esteemed compeer, your "Most Illustrious Inspector Lieutenant Grand
Commander," Edward A. Raymond, in the event of my abdication of the presidency
of this council, is pointed out by the constitutions as my successor. It
gratifies me to reflect that such is the case. If there were no constitutional
provision restricting my duty in the emergency named, and the selection of my
successor were left to my own free choice, I could not make a selection more
congenial to my feelings, or more in accordance with my convictions of duty. I
have known him for three times three years twice told as a "Brother of the
mystic tie," and a possessor of "the high degrees." His Masonic age and
experience, derived from long and repeated services as a ruler in other
departments of Masonry,' and the satisfaction he has given to his companions
in the discharge of his administerial duties, afford an earnest that he will
not be found wanting as a chief administrator in our ancient and Accepted
Rite." I am assured that he has the requirements demanded by our Book of
Constitutions, that he "can be entirely depended on, that his discretion is
proof against all trials, his capacity acknowledged, and his probity
untouched."
In
1859 the ambition of one man caused some trouble in this Supreme Council.
Grand Commander Raymond contended that "the powers of Frederick were vested in
him as Grand Commander and not in the Council as a body." He had conferred the
33d Degree upon Paul Dean, and the Supreme Council had
(1)
Bro. Raymond is the present Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts,
and has been at the head of the Grand Chapter Encampment of Massachusetts
(1851)
tacitly recognized him as a member. In 1860 an extra session was held, and the
controversy with the Grand Commander reached the climax.
The
Grand Commander refused to put certain motions. A motion was made to close the
council, to be opened at four o'clock; this he refused to put, and declared
the council closed until ten o'clock on the following morning.
At
that hour the council was opened and the minutes read, whereupon the Grand
Commander declared the council closed sine die.
Some
of the members (five) conferred together, and being advised by Gourgas,
reopened the council and proceeded with the business.
Upon
the report of a committee on rules, etc., previously appointed, the council
adopted the Constitutions of 1860.
The
record of this session was signed by Van Rensselaer, who was elected
Lieutenant Grand Commander, Starkweather, Moore, Christie, Case, and Young. A
preamble and resolution were adopted, deposing the Grand Commander in effect.
Gourgas, Turner, Bull, and Hubbard formally approved the proceedings; Carson
also did so with some qualifications.
The
Grand Commander, Raymond, disregarded the action of these members after he had
left the council. Both parties published the proceedings of 1860, those for
the regular session being alike Raymond's being a record of his action in
conferring the 33d Degree upon Lawson, Starkweather, and Field, who, it is
alleged, by him were elected in 1857. It is said, however, that the records of
1857 show only the election of Starkweather.
Both
of these factions continued to operate; we shall not, however, dwell upon the
minutiae, but state that the Van Rensselaer body grew in numbers and
importance.
There
was a large accession in 1862 of very distinguished and prominent Masons;
among these were Josiah H. Drummond, of Maine, and Benjamin Dean, of
Massachusetts, both of whom subsequently became Grand Commanders; Hubbard, who
had been elected Grand Commander, having positively declined to serve, Van
Rensselaer was chosen. Raymond and Robinson having been summoned to attend,
and failing to appear, were tried and expelled.
Notwithstanding the controversies between these two bodies, the Van Rensselaer
body continued to prosper until 1867. With
Fac-simile of Agreement of
Union
of A\A\S\R\
Bodies in U. S. A.
UNIVERSI TERRARUM ORBIS ARCHITECTONIS PER GLORIAM INGENTIS.
Dues
Meumque Jus. Ordo ab Chao.
From
the Orient of the Supreme Grand Council of Sovereign Grand Inspectors General
of the 33d and last Degree of the Ancient and Accepted Rite, for the United
States of America, their Territories and Dependencies, whose Sacred Asylum is
beneath the C.'.
C.'.,
at the V.'. P.'. of the Z.'., near the B.'. B.'., corresponding with 40d 42'
40" N. Lat., and 2d 0' 57" E. Lon.
To ALL
TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, GREETING:
Be it
Known, That on the 17th day of the Hebrew month Shebat, Anno Mundi 5623,
answering to the 7th day of February, 1863 (E.V.), by solemn articles, the
Supreme Council of Sovereign Grand Inspectors General of the 33d and last
Degree of the Ancient and Accepted Rite for the Northern Jurisdiction of the
United States of America, sitting at Boston, was duly consolidated with the
Supreme Grand Council of Sovereign Grand Inspectors General of the 33d and
last Degree of the A. and A. Rite for the United States of America, their
Territories and Dependencies, sitting at New York, upon terms honorable and
just alike to all parties interested therein.
Be it
further Known, That the following Sovereign Grand Inspectors General, in
pursuance of such consolidation, comprise the Officers of the Supreme Grand
Council for the United States of America, their Territories and Dependencies.
They will be recognized and respected accordingly.
III.'.
EDMUND B. HAYS ‑ M.'.P.'. Sov.'. Gr.'. Commander.
"
EDWARD
A. RAYMOND ‑ Asst.'.Sov.'.Gr.'.Com.'.
"
SIMON
W. ROBINSON ‑ 1st Lieut.'.Gr.'. Com.'.
"
HOPKINS THOMPSON ‑ 2d Lieut.'.Gr.'. Com.'.
"
BENJAMIN C. LEVERIDGE ‑ Gr.'. Orater.
"
GEORGE
M. RANDALL ‑ Gr.'. Minister of State.
"
LUCUS
R. PAIGE ‑ Gr.'. Chancellor.
"
DANIEL
SICKELS ‑ Gr.'. Sec.'. General H.'.E.'.
"
ROBERT
E. ROBERTS ‑ Gr.'. Treas.'. Gen.'. H.'.E.'.
"
HENRY
C. BANKS ‑ Gr.'. Marshal General.
"
AARON
P. HUGHES ‑ Gr.'. Sword Bearer.
"
H. J.
SEYMOUR ‑ 1st Gr.'. Mas.'. of Cer.'.
"
CHARLES T. McCLENACHAN ‑ 2d Gr.'. Mas.'. of Cer.'.
"
PETER
LAWSON ‑ Gr.'. Ex.'. Introductor.
"
JOHN
INNES ‑ Gr.'. Standard Bearer.
"
WM.
FIELD ‑ 1st Gr.'. Capt.'. of the Guard.
"
WILLIAM H. JARVIS ‑ 2d Gr.'. Capt.'. of the Guard.
All
which is promulgated, and ordered to be transmitted to whom it may concern.
Done
at the Grand East, New York city, this 8th day of the Hebrew month Adar, A.'.
M.'.
5623,
answering to March 1st, 1863 (E.'. V.'.)
In
Testimony of all which I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the Seal of the
Supreme Grand Council to be affixed.
[SEAL.] EDMUND B. HAYS 33.'.
Attest, M.'. P.'. Sov.'. G.'. Commander.
DANIEL
SICKELS 33.'.
Gr.'.Sec.'.Gen.'. H.'. E.'. [SEAL.]
the
exception of four bodies in the city of New York, which had been organized
prior to the schism, all others continued in their allegiance to this body. In
1867 there were twenty‑eight active members on the roll.
In
1862 three Supreme Councils claimed jurisdiction over the Northern section of
the United States. In April, 1862, by the records of Raymond Council, the
Cerneau body, presided over by Hays, had made overtures to the Raymond faction
for a union of the two, and committees were appointed to meet for the purpose
of organizing for such union. January 23, 1863, it was reported to the Raymond
body that there was a reasonable prospect of effecting the union, and the
committee was granted full power to act. January 19, 1863, in the Hays body
similar action ensued.
Under
date of February 7, 1863, Articles of Union were agreed upon by which the two
councils were consolidated. The number of members was increased to seventeen,
and each member, and body, was required to take the oath of allegiance to the
new body when they had the same status as they respectively had under the
original bodies.
Raymond, Randall, Paige, Hughes, Robinson, Lawson, Field, and McClenachan of
the Raymond body; and Hays, Thompson, Sickles, Roberts, Leveridge, Seymour,
Banks, Jarvis, and Innis of the Hays body, constituted the membership of the
united body. On the preceding page is shown the copy of the " Article of
Consolidation."
April
15, 1863, Hays, having been agreed upon as Grand Commander, installed the
Officers. All the members of both the former bodies were required to take the
oath of fealty to the newly united body, hence the claim, set up a few years
subsequently, that the Raymond body was merged in the Hays Council is entirely
without foundation; moreover, when a few of the old Hays Council withdrew from
the united body, the large majority, and the most eminent Brethren, remained
true in their allegiance to that body.
A
change was made in the constitution by which the active membership was
increased to twenty‑four, besides the nine officers.
The
members of this united body became very active; a very large number received
the 33d Degree; many new bodies were instituted, particularly in States where
the Scottish Rite had not heretofore been worked, all in the Northern
Jurisdiction.
Until
1864 the tenure of office had always been ad vitas but at the meeting this
year, amendments were passed for the triennial election of the officers and
for a reduction to nine.
September 11, 1865, a session was held. Communication had been resumed with
the officials of the Southern Supreme Council, but the Hays Council having
declared itself as having jurisdiction over the United States, this body was
not in a condition to ask the recognition of the Southern Supreme Council, as
it had denounced as spurious all the various bodies which had originated in
New York.
At
this meeting charges were presented against Harry J. Seymour, who was Asst.
Grand
Master of Ceremonies. A committee of his friends of the old Hays body was
appointed to try these charges. At a subsequent date the committee reported.
Seymour had been duly notified to appear, but he refused to do so, and he was
expelled, as will be seen by the following:
SUPREME COUNCIL, 33d NORTHERN MASONIC JURISDICTION U.S.A.
Gr.'.
Orient, Boston. Massachusetts, OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY GEN.'.H.'.B.'.
New
York, 27 A.'.M.'., 5631
At a
session of the Supreme Council 33d. for the Northern Jurisdiction U. S., held
on the 10th day of the Hebrew month Elul, Anno Heb. 5625, answering to the
11th day of September, 1865, V.E., the following action was had:
III.'.
Bro.'.C.T. McClenachan, Rose +.'. 33.'. preferred a charge with three
specifications of the violation of sundry obligations by Henry or Harry J.
Seymour Rose+.'. 33d, said obligations being those of the 14d. ‑ 16d ‑ 17d ‑
18d. ‑ 32d and 33d. degrees of the A.'.A.'. Scottish Rite, as set forth in the
Ritual of the degrees.
The
charge and specifications were read in the presence of the Gr.'. Commander,
and the Inspectors General present.
III.'.
Bro.'. Henry C. Banks, Rose+.'. 33d., moved that the charge and specifications
be referred to a Commission, which was carried, and the Gr.'. Commander
announced
Ill.'.
Bros.'. Henry C. Banks, 33.d, John Innes, 33d., Hopkins Thompson, 33d.
said
commission for the trial.
At an
adjourned session of the Sup.'. Council for the Northern Jurisdiction of the
U. S., held December 14, 1865, the Commission rendered the following report:
Ill.'.
Bro.'. Banks, chairman of the commission appointed to investigate certain
charges and specifications presented to this Supreme Council against Harry J.
Seymour, a past officer of this Supreme Council, reported that they had
carefully examined the said charges and specifications, and the proofs
thereof; that the aforesaid Harry J. Seymour had been duly notified to attend
the meetings of the commission; had been served with a copy of the charges and
specifications; that in all cases he had refused or neglected to pay any
attention to such notices; and that your commission have arrived at the
conclusion that the charges and specifications have been fully sustained, and
offer the following resolution:
Resolved, " That the said Harry J. Seymour be, and he is hereby, expelled from
all the rights and privileges of Masonry in every branch of the A.'.A.'.
Scottish Rite."
Signed, HENRY C. BANKS, 33d, JOHN INNES, 33d, HOPKINS THOMPSON, 33d,
On
motion the report was received, and the resolution unanimously adopted, the
members voting "viva voce" by roll‑call, beginning with the Junior Member.
A true
copy from the records,
Attest: DANIEL SICKELS, 33d [GREAT SEAL] Gr.'.Sec.'.Gen.'.H. E.
A
committee was appointed to take into consideration the propriety of resuming
the old name, viz.: the Supreme Council of the Northern Jurisdiction of the
United States of America "in lieu of the one at present adopted." Also it was
resolved "that the Grand Commander appoint one or more delegates to repair to
Charleston, South Carolina, at the meeting of the Southern Supreme Council."
The report of the committee was unanimously adopted in favor of resuming the
old name of the " Supreme Council of the Northern Jurisdiction of the United
States." Thus it appears that this Supreme Council, composed of the most
distinguished Masons among the old members of the two councils, fully
recognized the Supreme Council of the Southern Jurisdiction.
Brothers Paige and McClenachan had visited the council at Charleston and an
oral report was made to the Supreme Council, December 14, 1865, but it does
not appear on record. Hays resigned his office of Grand Commander, and
Robinson was elected. It is generally inferred that the Southern Supreme
Council did not agree that they would enter into recognition with a council
whose chief officer was not considered a regular member of the Scottish Rite,
and had denied the regularity of the union, and Raymond being dead, Robinson
was his successor. As above shown, the election of Robinson followed, so that
both by election and succession his title would be perfect. The record says:
"A majority of all the officers and active members of the Supreme Council were
present." Lucius R. Paige was appointed to visit the Southern Supreme Council
at their meeting held April 16, 1866.
At the
meeting of the council held in New York June 5, 1866, in the address of
Robinson, Grand Commander, he stated that the Raymond Council was forced into
the union with the Hays Council for self‑preservation, and referred to the
Brethren the question of securing friendly relations with the Southern Supreme
Council.
At the
Southern Supreme Council meeting held April 6, 1866, the Grand Commander
entered at some length upon the occurrences in the Northern Jurisdiction,
which was placed in the hands of a committee, whose report was in consonance
with the views of the Grand Commander.
The
report of the committee was to the following effect, namely, that Robinson had
been duly appointed Lieutenant Grand Commander by Raymond before tne
deposition of the latter; and hence if Raymond had been legally deposed,
Robinson, on his depositions would naturally succeed him as Grand Commander,
and if Raymond had not been legally deposed, still Robinson, now that Raymond
was dead, would be his legitimate successor. The report added that the only
legitimate members of the council at the time, after the death of Hubbard,
were Moore, Case, Young, and Starkweather, that both of the factions had acted
in a manner that was illegal and neither of them could be recognized. This
decision did not find general acceptance and was challenged on the allegation
that the assumption that the Northern Supreme Council could have only nine
members was erroneous in point of law. Whether this assumption by the
committee was or was not erroneous is a matter of no moment at this time, as
it is generally admitted that the Northern Supreme Council had the right to
increase at pleasure the number of its active members.
The
Northern Supreme Council, upon a summons from the Grand Commander, Robinson,
met in Boston December 11, 1866. Moore, Case, Starkweather, and Young,
although included in the summons, did not appear, and Robinson declared their
seats vacant; thereupon, being himself as the only member, he then proceeded
to fill the vacancies according to the provisions of the Constitution of 1786.
There were then present twelve of the active and ten of the honorary members
of the united council. The Grand Commander said that he was acting "with the
unanimous consent of every member of that council."
The
legal effect of these proceedings was a reorganization of the United Council,
just as if the officers and members had elected themselves again. In form, no
doubt, there was a dissolution of the United Council, and the organization of
a new council, but the substance was as stated above. All members had the same
status, no new oath was required, everyone was recognized as Grand
Inspector‑General, all the acts of the United Council were confirmed, and its
actions of every kind recognized as still in full force. In every way the
proceedings were nothing more or less than a formal reorganization of an
existing body in deference to the requirements of the Southern Supreme
Council. But although the action of the committee was intended to meet the
wishes of the Southern Supreme Council, it did not satisfy the latter body,
which desired to effect a perfect union, and had hoped to see the five members
whom it had decided to be active members uniting in the action to be taken.
The position of the New York Council was therefore still in doubt. In
December, 1866, it published a full report of its proceedings; and it had
already adopted a resolution, with a view to securing a union with the Boston
Council,which was a copy of the one previously adopted with the same view to
union, by the Boston body.
The
committees appointed were as follows: Boston Council, Evans, of New York,
Woodbury, of Massachusetts, Drummond, of Maine, Ely, of Ohio, Foss, of
Illinois, Harmon G. Reynolds, of Illinois, an Honorary Member, and later
Gardner, of Massachusetts. New York Council, Lewis Paige, McClenachan, and
Sickles, of New York, Paige, of Massachusetts, Palmer, of Wisconsin, and
Barrett, of New Hampshire.
These
two committees met in May, 1867, a short time before the annual session of the
Boston Council. There was considerable discussion as to the details of the
union, although the general terms were soon settled. Local interests as well
as personal considerations created such difficulties that at one moment it
seemed as if the negotiations would have to be broken off; indeed so hopeless
was the outlook that several members left their seats, prepared to quit the
room. Then, to quote Drummond's account, "a brother invited all to 'break
bread together,' and insisted that all should accept the invitation." Before
they returned to the committee‑room everything had been satisfactorily
arranged. The report was signed by all the members of the two committees, and
adopted by the unanimous vote of each body, and the approval of the honorary
members. The two councils met as equals, and all their previous actions were
held to be valid, " except expulsions on account of former differences," which
were rescinded. Each council consisted of twentyeight active members, the New
York Council consenting to the admission of Charles Levi Woodbury, of
Massachusetts, "in recognition of his services in bringing about the union."
The
two bodies by a concurrent vote met as one council. The two great commanders,
Killian H. van Rensselaer, of the New York, and John L. Lewis, of the Boston
Council, then conducted the Grand Commander elect of the united body to the
altar, and administered to him the oath of fealty in the presence of the
members of the Supreme Council. In his turn the Grand Commander administered
the oath to all the members present. Other officers were then elected and
installed, and a constitution was adopted, and the Northern Supreme Council
was fully organized.
Until
1872 harmony prevailed in the Northern Jurisdiction. In that year H. J.
Seymour, who had been expelled in 186 ‑ , put forsward a claim that Hays, when
Grand Commander of the "rump Council" of the Cerneanites, had given him a
patent empowering him to create 33d Degree Masons and to institute a Supreme
Council. He had previously, however, authorized an application to Grand
Commander Drummond to be reinstated in all his rights as a member of the
Supreme Council, on condition of his surrendering all his papers to the
Supreme Council. It was after the rejection of this application that Seymour
began his active work, and the success of his efforts, limited as it was,
encouraged others who had been members of the old Hays Council, before the
union with the Northern Council, to start an annexation, styled "Cernean
Supreme Council revived." These men, Hopkins Thompson, Robert Folger and
others, had been members of the United Council reorganized in 1867 and had
remained therein till 1881, and now set the claim that in December, 1866, the
Union Council was, and that all the members were, released from their
allegiance to it. They did not deny that they had taken the oath of fealty to
the reorganized United Council, and had been loyal members for fourteen years,
but they pleaded that their conduct arose from their ignorance of the
proceedings of the council in 1866, and therefore they claimed to be a revival
of the old Hays Council. As such they claimed also jurisdiction over the
Southern territory, a claim which Thompson and Folger and others had
unanimously surrendered in 1867. They deny also the loyalty of the Southern
Supreme Council, which is everywhere accepted as the "Mother Council of the
World," and the source from which came the 33d and last degree.
No
regular Supreme Council has ever been acknowledged as either the Cernean
Supreme Council revived or the Seymour association.
GREEN
DRAGON TAVERN
Boston, Mass
P.
1907
CHAPTER IV
ROYAL
ORDER OF SCOTLAND
SCOTLAND is a country which possesses a romantic history, and is rich in
legendary lore, and both romance and legend are found in the story of the
ROYAL ORDER OF SCOTLAND, the most popular of the added degrees worked by the
Craft. It was difficult to obtain any reliable information as to its true
history till D. Murray Lyon, Grand Secretary of Scotland, in his History of
the Lodge of Edinburgh, gave, in 1873, a sketch of the order. It embraces two
degrees, one the "Heredom of Kilwinning," which, according to one fable, was
founded in the time of David I. of Scotland; the other, "The Rosy Cross,"
which, according to another fable, was instituted by King Robert Bruce as a
reward for the aid given to him by some Templars who fought on his side at
Bannockburn. As the Order of the Templars had been suppressed by Papal Bulls
in 1312, some late members may have been present in Bruce's army in 1314, but
we must always remember that, to quote Lyon's remark, "the fabulous stories
about the early origin and royal patronage of the Royal Order must be taken
for what they are worth, which, to those who value accuracy, means notating."
The fable that the Hautes Grades had their source in the "Mother Lodge,
Kilwinning, is totally erroneous and based on ignorance or fraud, for that
ancient lodge, as is shown by its records, never warranted or worked any
degrees beyond the well‑known " three degrees." It is true that the "Mother
Kilwinning" did, in 1779, grant to some Masons in Dublin authority to form a
regular lodge or society, and that the lodge so formed assumed the title of
"High Knights Templars of Ireland, Kilwinning Lodge;" but all the evidence
collected by Lyon and the Masonic historian, W.J. Hughan, proves that the
Mother Kilwinning never claimed any authority beyond the three degrees, and is
neither more nor less than a regular Masonic lodge, and that the ceremony was
unknown prior to the last century. In fact, when the Dublin Brethren, after
conferring, in 1782, Royal Arch, Knight Templar, and Rose Croix degrees,
petitioned the Mother Lodge for documents to establish beyond doubt the
"authority and regularity of their warrant as High Knights Templars," the
request was never granted, because impossible. Moreover, the Grand Lodge of
Scotland, instituted in 1736, never officially countenanced any degrees beyond
that of Master Mason, and has repeatedly objected to lending any support to
ceremonies worked by authority of the Supreme Grand Royal Arch Chapter of
Scotland. The Grand Lodge, although toleration has succeeded to opposition,
still recognizes only three degrees, the only change being the adoption of the
Mark as a portion of the Fellow‑ Craft degree. As regards the claim that the
"Mother Kilwinning" possessed other degrees of Masonry, careful examination
shows that it is utterly baseless, and devoid of any corroborative evidence.
There
is no authority for the statement of Dr. Arnot that the Royal Order is so
called because it is "the highest and most sublime degree in Masonry." He
likewise stated that the "Rose Croix was got up by the adherents of Prince
Charles Edward Stuart, and only received the name of Rose Croix (a translation
of the R.S.Y.C.S. Of the Royal Order) in 1746 or 1747. It was intended to be a
Roman Catholic version, or rather perversion, of the Royal Order, this last
being deemed for the French too bigoted; in other words, it was too purely
religious and Protestant, although it is Christianity which it really
promulgates." The Royal Order in France is said to have been established by
the Pretender Charles Edward Stuart, and to be sanctioned by the Grand Orient
under the title of Rose Croix de Heredom de Kilwinning, and Dr. Arnot states
that the Lodge of Constance at Arras preserves the original Charter signed by
the Prince in 1747. Bro.
Hughan,
in his valuable history, informs us that he possesses a catalogue of books
advertised for sale in Paris in 1860, in which the following extract occurs.
" 9.
Charles Edward Stuart, roy d'Angleterre, de France, d'Ecosse et d'Irlande . .
.
voulant temoigner aux macons artesiens combien nous sommes reconnaissant
envers eux des preuves de bienfaisance qu'ils nous ont prodigues, etc., creons
et erigeons par la presente bulle en la dite ville d'Arras un souv. chap.
primatial de R.C.X., sous le titre distinctif d' Ecosse Jacobite, qui serra
regi par les chevaliers Lagneau, de Robespierre, avocats. An de l'incarnation
5745."
A note
is appended that "Le document authentique, sur VELIN, est revetu du grand
sceau, de sept timbres et d'un grand nombre de signatures. C'est l'expedition
originale pour le chapitre metropolitan de Paris."
The
date, 5745, on this authentic document must be wrong, as that year, the era of
the Incarnation, is still some four thousand years away, and if it is an error
for Anno Mundi, it may be remarked that Charles Edward Stuart did not succeed
to the empty titles enumerated above till the death of his father in 1766. All
trace, however, of these documents escaped the research of such a diligent
inquirer as Bro. Hughan, who comes to the conclusion that it is an error to
connect the Royal Order with the Rose Croix, as the ceremonies differ
essentially, the former possessing a very peculiar and quaintly rhythmic
ritual.
With
regard to the name Heredom of Kilwinning, many derivations of the word have
been given. Some give it a Greek origin and interpret it as Holy House, others
go to the Hebrew, and, as it is plural in form, translate it by "Rulers,"
others derive it from "Heroden, a mountain in Scotland," without assigning any
reason; Bro. Hughan takes the safe course of concluding that as the rituals of
both degrees do not reveal the secret, the subject can not be definitely
decided one way or another. The word occurs under the form Harodim as well as
Heredom, the latter seeming to be a Saxon term of the same form as Kingdom,
which might be represented in modern German by Herrthum or Heerthum.
The
earliest records, strangely enough, relate to England, not to Scotland, as may
be seen from the following list of regular chapo ters, according to seniority:
Decree
of Seniority.
List,
etc.
Date.
1.
Grand
Lodge at the Thistle and Crown,Chandos Street. . Time Immemorial.
2.
Grand
Chapter at the Thistle and Crown, Chandos Street.
" 3.
Coach
and Horses, Welbeck Street
" 4.
White
Boar's Head, Exeter Road
" 5.
Golden
Horse Shoe, in Cannon Street, Southwark
December 11, 1743.
6.
The
Griffin, in Deptford, in Kent
December 20, 1774; 7.
Grand
Chapter at The Hague, empowered to act as
Grand
Lodge
July
22, 1750.
8.
October 12,1752 9. (1) Grand Chapter at Rouen in Normandy, empowered
to act
as a Grand Lodge
May 1,
1782.
10.
(2) Choix A Paris
October 4, 1786.
11.
(3) Strasburg
January 4,1787.
12.
(4) L'Union Lavall
January 4, 1787.
13.
(5)
October 4, 1787.
14.
(6) Grand Lodge, Chambery
April
4,1788.
15.
(7) Grand Chapter at Chambery in Saxony, empowered
to act
as a Grand Lodge in the Dominion of
King
of Sardinia
April
4,1788.
16.
(8) At Martinique (?)
July
4, __ 17. (9) At St. Domingo
July
4, __ 18. (10) At Brest
July
4,
__
Here
we find in London a Grand Lodge and a Grand Chapter, evidently the governing
body of the order; two other subordinate bodies also described as "
immemorial." and two, Nos. 5 and 6, of an earlier date than the Scottish Grand
Ledge of Edinburgh which was originally No. 7 on the above list, the Grand
Chapter at The Hague. The record‑ book gotten up for "The Brethren of H.R.D.M.,
belonging to the Hague," is stated to belong to the Grand Chapter termed the
"Grand Lodge of the Royal Order at Edinburgh constituted July 22, 1750." Other
records show that the Royal Order of Scotland (in England) existed much
earlier than any of the other degrees in the United Kingdom except the "first
three." The Royal Arch is alluded to in print in 1744, but is not again
mentioned till 1752, and the minutes do not begin till ten years later. In
both, the evidence of the existence and activity of the Royal Order during the
early part of the last century gives it a position superior to ail additional
degrees, and thus it can claim a very respectable antiquity. The notion that
it was fabricated by the Chevalier Ramsey has been perfectly refuted by Bro.
Gould in his history, and may be dismissed from consideration. Bro. Lyon seems
to incline to the opinion that it is not of Scotch origin, alleging the fact
that certain privileges were allowed to No. 7 in the list of chapters "on an
acknowledgment once a year to the Grand Lodge from whom it derived its title
at a quarterly Grand Lodge meeting which is always held at London on the fifth
Sunday in the months having so many," and arguing therefrom that a body of
Scotch origin would not so far desert its religious principles as to hold
constitutional meetings on the Sunday. There is evidence, however, that in
England "Masters' " lodges did meet on Sunday. To sum up the whole matter in
the words of Brother Hughan, "we cannot get farther back than the Grand Lodge
and Grand Chapter in London with three subordinates of 'time immemorial
antiquity (so called), and the first dated constitution of December 11, 1743."
With
regard to the first offshoot of the London Grand Lodge (No. 7 in the list of
chapters given above), doubts arose respecting the meaning of the contraction
is Prov." in the signature of the Charter constituting the new lodge. Scotland
had for a long series of years been in very close relation with the United
Provinces of the Netherlands. In 1444 a contract was made between the royal
burghers of Scotland and the latter power by which Scotch traders were freed
from several duties and governed by the law of Scotland. Among the Scots
residing in Holland at the beginning of the 18th century was William Mitchell,
a teacher of languages. It is stated that he had been admitted to the Royal
Order in France in 1749, and in London in 1750. In this latter year Mitchell
and a Brother, Jonas Kluck, of the Netherlands, presented a petition to the
Pro. G. M. in South Britain, asking the London Grand Lodge for authority to
enable them and other residents at The Hague to found a Prov. Grand Lodge
there. The petition was duly granted, and Brother William Mitchell was
appointed Prov. G. M., and the Prov. Grand Lodge was duly constituted at
London, July 22, 1750. The official register is as follows:
"I did
this day attend at the house of Brother Louis, S.N.C.R.T.Y., the sign of the
Golden Horse Shoe, in Cannon Street, in Southwark, and did then and there
constitute the following brethren residing at The Hague into a regular Chapter
in full form, and did constitute and appoint our Right Worshipful and highly
honored Brother William M itchell, known and distinguished among the Brethren
of the Order by the sublime title and characteristic F.D.L.T.Y., and Knight of
the R.Y.C.S., etc., T.R.S.T.A., by delivering the patent, etc., in due form,
as usual, for the constitution of Chapters in foreign parts, and did, by
virtue of my authority, exchange his characteristic, etc., for that of R.L.F."
The
place mentioned, the Golden Horse Shoe, was the house where the No. 5 chapters
and lodges were accustomed to assemble. The seal on the diploma appointing
Brother Mitchell Prov. G. M. has been destroyed, but that on the Charter of
the Prov. Grand Lodge and Chapter exists. The design represents a bridge of
five arches, and above it is displayed the letter Z. and recalls to mind the
bridge with the letters L.O.P., well known to members of the 16th Degree of
the Ancient and Accepted Rite." The difficulty, as we have said, is connected
with the signature. The presiding officer signed by his characteristic, and as
may be seen in the fac‑simile in Lyon's history the words " Provl.
Grad.
Masr." stand above, and the words
"In.
So. B." below, the seal. Does the contraction Provl. mean "Provincial" or
"Provisional?" If the former meaning is assigned to it, it is difficult to see
how it could be applied to the President of the original Grand Lodge and Grand
Chapter, and therefore it is safer to assume that it means "Provisional" and
that the President for the time being was Grand Master pro tempore.
The
Royal Order, it may here be added, has always been and still is Christian in
character, and the following prayer resembles, in its opening lines, the Old
Charges of the Freemasons of the 16th century before they were changed and
adopted as the Universal Freemasonry.
"The
might of the Blessed Father of Heaven, the wisdom of His Glorious Son, and the
fellowship of the Holy Ghost, being the glorious and undivided Trinity, three
persons in one God, be with us at this our beginning, and so guide and govern
our actions in this life, that at the final conflagration, when the world, and
all things therein, shall be destroyed, we may be received with joy and
gladness into eternal happiness, in that Glorious, Everlasting, Heavenly
Kingdom, which shall never have an end."
The
regular minutes of the Royal Order at Edinburgh date from October 31, 1766.
Down
to 1763 the register contains only fifteen names, including Brother Mitchell,
but between that date and the commencement of the regular minutes fifty were
admitted, and it is recorded in the minutes of July 28, 1769, that "after much
trouble and a great deal of expense they had been able to revive and establish
the Ancient Order of Scots Masonry in the metropolis of their native country,
which would be attested by several members of the Honorable Council." In the
same year by permission of the Provost and Baillies of the city, a room was
fitted up at the expense of the Grand Lodge, in a "centrical" situation. From
the commencement of those regular minutes the sequence of the high officials
can be traced. Down to July 4, 1776, Brother William Mitchell was the Grand
Master or Governor of the "Royal Order." He was succeeded by Brother Jas.
"Secresy
" Kerr. He resigned in 1776, and was succeeded by Brother William "Honor"
Baillie, Advocate (afterward Lord Polkemmet). When he resigned in 1778,
Brother William Charles "Eloquence" Little, Advocate, succeeded him. The chair
of Deputy Grand Master was filled in 1786 by Brother William "Worship" Mason,
who was admitted to the degree at Edinburgh A.D. 1754. When he resigned in
1789 there was elected Dr. Thomas "Activity" Hay, who died in 1816. In 1805 he
was Grand Master, but there does not appear to have been any minutes recorded
from that date to 1813.
During
the period from 1770 to 1780 the office of Deputy Grand Master was filled by
General Oughton, Brother Little, the Earl of Leven, and Lord Westhall. Of the
four of these high officials, three were Grand Masters of Scotland, showing
that at this period the Craft showed great favor to the Royal Order. But as
may be seen from the fact that no minutes were made between 1805 and 1813, the
order was becoming dormant, and it continued so in Scotland till the revival
in 1839.
Abroad, the Royal Order spread and flourished. In Brother Hughan's catalogue
of books mentioned in the preceding page, there is the entry: "No. 945, of the
year 1808, is entitled
"Tableau general des officiers et membres, composant le R. chapitre du grand
et sublime ordre de H‑d‑m de Kilwinning, sous le titre distinctif du Chozx,
constitute par la grande loge de l'ordre seante a Edinbourg, le 4 Octobre,
1786. Sous les auspices de Mgr. Ie Prince de Cambaceres, grand maltre
d'honneur en France."
Nos.
946 and 953 contain "tableaux" of the officers of the foregoing, of November
30, 1808, and A.D. 1810, the latter having another list " du meme ordre seant
a Rouen," 1810, in the same volume.
Prince
Cambaceres, Arch Chancellor of the French Empire, was succeeded in his office
of Provincial Grand Master by the head of the Ducal house of Choiseul.
The
above‑mentioned Charter, for the Chapter de Choix, from the Grand Lodge of
Edinburgh in 1786, was addressed to Nicholas Chadouille, Avocat en Parlament,
and other Brethren. A few months previously a Charter dated Edinburgh, May 1,
1786, had established a Provincial Grand Lodge of Heredom of Kilwinning,
constituting John Matthews, a merchant of Rouen, Provincial Chief, with powers
to disseminate the order.
Both
these documents are signed by William Charles Little, Deputy Grand Master,
William Mason, and William Gibb. To commemorate the event the Chapter du Choix
struck a medal which is engraved in the Tresor Numismatique Napoldon. It
represents between a draw‑bridge open, sinister and a ladder dexter, a tower
enbattled supporting a pillar on which is an open book. On the front of the
tower are two square stones, one exhibiting the square and compasses, the
other the letter R. The medal is inscribed with the following legend:
Obverse, L ORDRE DE H‑D‑M. INTRODUIT EN FR. PAR J. MATHEUS, G. M. P., 1786.
"
Reverse, in eleven lines, (1) T‑R‑S‑T‑A. N. CHADOUILLE, 1786. (2) T‑R‑S‑T‑A.
L.T.
DORBAN,
1789. (3) T‑R‑S‑T‑A.
A.C.
DURIN, 1806. (4) T‑R‑S‑T‑A. C. A. THORY, 1807. DEPUTE T‑R‑S‑T‑A. J. P. ROUYER.
In
exergue, in three lines, the last curving, CHAP.'. DE H‑D‑M. Du CHOIX A PARIS,
1809, JALEY FECIT L.'. A‑P‑HT‑N."
Jaley
being the artist's name. The Medal is of copper.
A
short time after the establishment of the order in France, a Provincial Grand
Master was appointed for Spain, Mr. James Gordon, a merchant of Xeres de la
Frontera, whose commission was signed by Deputy Grand Master Dr. Thomas Hay,
and Messrs.
Charles Moor and John Brown. The Provincial Grand Lodge in France had
jurisdiction over twenty‑six Chapters of Heredom, including some in Belgium
and Italy, but as fourteen of these chapters were not ratified by the Grand
Lodge of Edinburgh from January 10, 1809, to October 4, 1811, they may have
been irregular.
Coming
down to our own times, we find that the following Provincial Grand Lodges and
Chapters have been authorized during the last half century. Those in italics
are dormant.
The
Netherlands, at Amsterdam
July
4, 1843.
Eastern Provinces, at Calcutta, India
July
4,
1845.
North
of France
1847.
Sweden
and Norway
Jan.
5,
1852.
Sardinia
? New
Brunswick, at St. John
?
Province of Quebec
?
Glasgow and Neighboring Counties or Isles
Jan.
4, 1859.
London
(and "Royal Bruce" Chapter)
1872.
Western India, at Bombay
?
China, at Shanghai
?
United States, at Washington, D. C.
Oct.
4, 1877.
Lancashire and Cheshire, at Manchester
?
Aberdeen
?
County of Yorkshire, at York
1886.
South‑east Africa, at Durban
?
ROYAL
ORDER IN THE UNITED STATES.
As
early as 1752 a chapter was formed in Virginia, but seems soon to have ceased
all activity. We must come down to the year 1877 for the foundation of the
Provincial Grand Lodge in the United States. The Warrant signed at Edinburgh
October 4, 1877, is as follows:
CHARTER FOR ROYAL ORDER IN THE UNITED STATES.
IN THE
NAME OF THE HOLY AND UNDIVIDED TRINITY.
We,
Sir John Whyte, W. D. M., President of the Judges and Council of the Great
S.N.D.R.M.: Warder of the T.W.R. of R.F.R.S.M.N.T.: Deputy Grand Master and
Governor of the High and Honourable Orders of H.R.M. of K.L.W.N.G. and the
R.S.Y.C.S.: Sir Alexander, S.T.N.T.H., Senior Grand Warden, Sir William, B.T.Y.,
Junior Grand Warden, and the Remanent Knights Companions of the Royal Order of
R.S.Y.C.S. in Grand Lodge assembled ‑
{SEAL}
{R.S.Y.C.S.}
TO
Sir
Albert V.G.R. (Pike), Knight of the Order of the R.S.Y.C.S., send greeting in
God Everlasting.
By
virtue of the authority vested in US from time immemorial WE do hereby grant
unto you and the rest of the Right Worthy and Worshipful Brethren of the Royal
Order of H.R.M. and of the R.S.Y.C.S. in the United States of America, full
power, warrant and authority to hold a Chapter of the order of H.R.M. in
WASHINTON, or elsewhere within the United States of America, so long as you
and they shall behave becometh as Worthy Brethren of the said Order, or until
the powers hereby conferred shall be withdrawn, which the Grand Lodge of our
Order reserves full power and authority to do when they consider proper, with
full power to you to remove the same from place to place, but always within
the United States of America, as occasion shall offer for the good and glory
of the Order, you and they conforming to the laws and regulations of the Grand
Lodge transmitted to you now or afterwards, and we do hereby appoint you
T.R.S.T.A. of the said Chapter and grant you full power, warrant and authority
to appoint proper officers to assist you therein, viz.: a Deputy T.R.S.T.A., a
Senior Guardian, a Junior Guardian, a Secretary, a Treasurer, a Marischal, a
Deputy Marischal, and a Guarder, who shall act as Examiner and Introducer.
AND
FURTHER, know you that for the good and promotion of the Order of H.R.M. in
general we do hereby empower you to form a PROVINCIAL GRAND LODGE of the said
Order, and to nominate, constitute and appoint you, the said Sir Albert V.G.R.,
to preside and rule over and govern the same and the Brethren thereunto
belonging, so long as you shall act conformably to the Laws and Rules of our
Grand Lodge, and so long as this Charter and the powers therein conferred
shall continue unrecalled, and we do hereby authorize, empower and charge you
to take upon yourself, the title of PROVINCIAL GRAND MASTER of the Order of
H.R.M. for the United States of America, being the Province hereby placed
under your superintendence; and we do hereby grant you full power, warrant and
authority to appoint proper officers to assist you in the high office hereby
on you conferred, to consist of the following number and denominations: one
Deputy Provincial Grand Master, a Senior Provincial Grand Warden, a Junior
Provincial Grand Warden, a Provincial Grand Sword‑bearer, a Provincial Grand
Secretary, a Provincial Grand Treasurer, two Provincial Grand Marischals, a
Senior Provincial Grand Steward, and three other Provincial Grand Stewards,
and a Provincial Grand Guarder.
AND
FURTHER BE IT KNOWN to all and every one of the Brethren that we hereby invest
you with full power, warrant and authority to appoint such persons to be your
officers as you shall think are most proper and fit for each respective post
either in your Chapter or Provincial Grand Lodge, without consulting or asking
the consent or approbation of any Brother of the Order whatsoever, unless of
your own free will you shall think proper to pay such compliment, which we
deem expedient and therefore recommend.
AND
FURTHER, we hereby invest you with full power, warrant and authority to depose
or displace from his or their offices any officer or officers, who have been
guilty of improper conduct or dignity to your Worship, or to fine, mulct or
amerce them, or any of them, for the same, without being obliged to bring them
to a formal trial, or asking the consent or approbation of the Brethren for so
doing, unless you shall of your own free will think proper so to do. But be it
also known that if it shall appear to your Provincial Grand Lodge to be for
the good of the Order in your Province that you should relinquish, or restrict
your privilege of appointing or displacing your office‑bearers, either in your
Chapter or Provincial Grand Lodge, or in both, and if you see proper to
consent to the same, it shall be in your power so to do, notwithstanding any
existing general law of our Grand Lodge appearing to the contrary, and to
cause a resolution or law to that effect specifying how and Where the
elections are to be in future conducted, to be endorsed upon or annexed to
this Charter, and which when signed by you and registered in the Minute Book
of your Provincial Grand Lodge, and a copy thereof, certified by your
Provincial Grand Secretary, transmitted to and approved by our Grand Lodge,
shall thereafter be as good and valid a law, so far as regards your Chapter
and Provincial Grand Lodge, as if it had been made by our Grand Lodge of the
R.S.Y.C.S.; and being entered in our Record Book shall be irrevocable by you
and your successors in office unless by application to and with the approval
of our Grand Lodge; it being, however, declared that nothing shall affect your
right as Provincial Grand Master or the rights of your successors in office to
appoint your or their Deputy.
AND WE
FURTHER strictly require of the Brethren in general, your Provincial Grand
Officers as well as others, to respect, acknowledge and obey you, the said Sir
Albert V.G.R., and pay you due respect as HEAD RULER and GOVERNOR over them
and their Chapter or Chapters in your said Province: And we do hereby appoint
you to hold quarterly meetings of your Provincial Grand Lodge for regulating
the affairs of the Order of H.R.M. in your Province.
AND
FURTHER, we hereby empower you and your Chapter to advance to the Royal Order
of H.R.M. (on paying a fee not less than two guineas, of which ten shillings
and sixpence shall be transmitted to our Grand Lodge), such Master Masons as
are companions of the Royal Arch Chapter and as are well‑known to you and your
Brethren to be worthy of that High Honor, but with this proviso, that you
shall not have it in your power within your Provincial Grand Lodge or
elsewhere to promote any Brethren of H.R.M. to the Sublime Order of the
R.S.Y.C.S., without special authority obtained from our Grand Lodge for that
purpose, nor even then, unless on payment of a fee of at least one guinea (of
which ten shillings and sixpence shall be transmitted to our Grand Lodge).
AND
FURTHER, be it known to you that we prohibit and discharge you and your
Provincial Grand Lodge or Chapter from granting any PATENTS or LETTERS OF
CONSTITUTION to Chapters, or Diplomas to the Brethren or Knights, under any
pretence whatever, all such things being issued by us alone, and diplomas
being so issued free of charge, on payment of the fees above mentioned,
payable to us on advancement to the Order of H.R.M. and promotion to the
Sublime Order of R.S.Y.C.S.
AND
FURTHER, be itknown to the Brethren in general that it is not, nor can it be,
in their power to depose or displace you or your successors in office from the
high office hereby on you conferred, except for high or enormous crimes
tending to the scandal and detriment of the Order, and not then without
bringing you to a regular trial, and an account of the proceedings therein,
with the crime and sentence of the Council, being first sent to and approved
by our Grand Lodge at Edinburgh.
AND
FURTHER, we empower you to relinquish, give up, or resign your said office
with the powers and privileges attached thereto as aforesaid, in case you
shall think proper or be desirous so to do, to any worthy qualified Knight of
the Order of the R.S.Y.C.S., and to no person whatsoever, under that degree,
but your successor or successors, in office, before he or they shall exercise
any of the powers connected with said office must be approved by our Grand
Lodge.
AND
FURTHER, be it known to you, that if you or your successors in office are
guilty of acting contrary to our will and pleasure or any of the Laws, Rules
and Regulations now appointed by us, or which may hereafter be appointed for
your observance by authority of our Grand Lodge, from which you hold this
Constitution or Charter, These Presents and all power thereunder shall
forthwith cease and determine without any formal revocation on our part, and
you and they shall be rendered incapable of holding any Grand Office or
authority in the Royal Order, and also be liable to be extruded for contempt
and disobedience.
That
all companions of the Royal Order admitted in your Provincial Grand Lodge or
Chapter may be duly enrolled in our Record Book, we do particularly direct
your attention to the Twenty‑sixth Article of our Constitution and Laws as
revised and approved on Sixth January, one thousand eight hundred and
sixty‑two.
And
for every Authority, Power and Privilege herein above mentioned, this shall be
your sufficient Warrant, Patent and Charter.
In
testimony whereof, this, our Charter, written by Alexander Blues Wyllie, clerk
to our Grand Secretary, is subscribed by JOHN WHYTE‑MELVILLE, of Bennochie and
Strathkinnes, our Deputy Grand Master and Governor; ALEXANDER HAY, our Senior
Grand Warden; WILLIAM MANN, our Junior Grand Warden; GEORGE MURRAY, our Grand
Treasurer, and JOHN BROWN DOUGLAS, our Grand Secretary; all Knights of the
R.S.Y.C.S., duly sealed and thereupon approved and issued by our Grand Lodge
of the Royal Order, at Edinburgh, this fourth day of October, in the year of
our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy‑seven, and of the Restoration
of the Order 564.
J.
WHYTE‑MELVILLE, W.D.M.
ALEX.
HAY, S.T.N.T.H.
W.
MANN, B.T.Y.
GEORGE
MURRAY, G.T.
J. B.
DOUGLAS, G.S.
The
"charter members" were thirteen in number, including several well‑known and
eminent Brethren (whose labors for the Craft and deep interest in its welfare
are as familiar to English Masonic students as to those in America), all of
whom became members of the Grand Lodge at Edinburgh.
FOUNDERS NAMES, A.D. 1877.
Brother Albert Pike, Washington, D. C
"
John
Robin McDaniel, Lynchburg, Va
"
Henry
L. Palmer, Milwaukee, Wis
"
Brother Jas. C. Bachelor, New Orleans, La
"
Vincent L. Hurlbut, Chicago, Ill
"
Josiah
H. Drummond, Portland, Maine
"
William M. Ireland, Washington, D. C
"
Robert
McC. Graham, New York, N. Y
"
Albert
G. Mackey, Washington, D. C
"
Enoch
Terry Carson, Cincinnati, Ohio
"
Charles Roome, New York, N. Y
"
Charles Eugene Meyer, Philadelphia, Pa
"
Samuel
C. Lawrence, Boston, Mass.
The
number of members in the order was divided equally between the Southern and
Northern Masonic Jurisdictions of the United States; the total number was
fixed at one hundred and fifty, with a margin of twenty‑five. (1) Election is
by ballot, which must be unanimous. At present, September, 1900, there are two
hundred and fifty‑seven members. There are no by‑laws for the regulation of
proceedings in the United States except the rules of the order, and the series
of standing resolutions.
The
Provincial Grand Lodge meets alternately at Washington, in the District of
Columbia, and in New York, holding their annual meetings "on the Monday
nearest the day fixed for the meetings of the Supreme Council." The only
special regalia worn on these occasions are the "star and garter," the aprons
and cordons not being obligatory.
The
archives of the Provincial Grand Lodge preserve sketches and portraits of each
member. Since 1883 the ladies of the Knights Companions have been admitted to
their annual gatherings and banquets.
The
proceedings on these occasions include an "allocution" delivered by the
Provincial Grand Master. The addresses of the first Provincial Grand Master,
the late General Albert Pike, have been printed in published proceedings, and
from them the following extracts are taken:
Antiquity of the Royal Order. ‑ "I value the Ancient Order, for it is
eminently Masonic. It has close kinship with the three degrees of Ancient
Craft Masonry. Its quaint old Ritual has throughout the old‑fashioned
simplicity of the Masonry of the
(1)
Several years ago the Constitution was changed and the number is no longer
limited
seventeenth century, when it and those degrees were all the Freemasonry that
existed in the world. We read it and breathe the air of the old days. After
having been long conversant with the elaborate ones of the present day, it is
like going from the pomp and show of cities into the forest and prairie, to
live among the frank hunters and sturdy husbandmen who have been the builders
of the States, to enjoy the long days of October in the woods, and sleep at
night under the protecting stars." (October 16, 1882.)
Primary Aim of the Rite. ‑ "We represent, not altogether unworthily, I hope,
the intellect and the scholarship of the Freemasonry of the United States: Our
Father who is in Heaven has given us the opportunity to serve Masonry
worthily, and make it the debtor of the Royal Order, by leading the Masons of
the 'Blue' Lodges to the living springs of truth, making known to them the
true meaning and profound significance of their most ancient symbols, and
teaching them to set a higher value upon their Freemasonry, and to elevate it,
in the estimation of the world." (September 24, 1883.)
"To
see united into a Provincial Grand Lodge of our old and venerable Order a
certain limited number of good men and Masons, residing in all our States and
Territories, between whom the new ties of a more perfect Brotherhood might be
created, and year by year grow stronger and more enduring." (October 20,
1884.)
Historical Bases of the Order. ‑ "It was established, our Ritual declares, 'to
correct the errors and reform the abuses which had crept in among the three
degrees of St. John's Masonry.' It is ' for the preservation in its purity of
St. John's Masonry.' One who comes to seek admission here declares that he is
'a Mason from a Lodge dedicated to St.
John;'
and he comes to seek a word which was lost, and which by our assistance he
hopes to find.
"The
Royal Order has also the early symbolism of the 'Blue' degrees, and not that
borrowed from the Alchemical and Hermetic books. The column of the Tower of
Refreshment has a square base of pedestal, intended to be a cube or perfect
ashlar.
The
shaft of the column has nine windows looking East, one for each flight of
seven (7) steps. On the column is a triangular entablature; on this a book and
under the letters upon its face a square, a level, and a plumb rule; over
these a pair of compasses extended to a right angle. The stairway has three
landing‑places and the lowest flight of stairs is of seven steps, the second
of five, and the 'apex' of three."
"It
was an innovation to make the possession of the Degree of the Royal Arch a
necessary qualification for admission into the Order; for it was at first open
to Master Masons." (October 15, 1888.)
The
present Provincial Grand Master is Brother Josiah H. Drummond, of Maine;
nominated to succeed General Albert Pike. The Deputy Provincial Grand Master
is Thomas H. Caswell of California.
The
remaining officers duly appointed forming the tableau to date are:
Prov.
Senior Grand Warden ‑ George M. Moulton, of Illinois.
Prov.
Junior Grand Warden ‑ Charles H. Fisk, of Kentucky.
Prov.
Grand Secretary ‑ W. Oscar Roome, of District of Columbia.
Prov.
Grand Treasurer ‑ Thomas J. Shyrock, of Maryland.
Prov.
Grand Sword Bearer ‑ F. M. Highley, of Pennsylvania.
Prov.
Grand Banner Bearer ‑ Nicholas Coulson, of Michigan.
Prov.
Grand Chaplain ‑ Rev. M. Carmichael, of Virginia.
Prov.
First Grand Marischal
‑ G.
E. Corson, of District of Columbia.
Prov.
Second Grand Marischal ‑ J. H. Olcott, of District of Columbia.
Prov.
Grand Guarder ‑ James Hays Trimble, of District of Columbia.
Prov.
Grand Stewards ‑ Allison Nailor, Jr., of District of Columbia; William
Bromwell Melish, of Ohio; Harrison Dingman; H. H. Williams, of Hawaii.
The
constitutions and laws of the Royal Order, as drawn up in London at the
foundation of the order in 1742, remained unchanged till January 5, 1767. By
one of these laws, Rule 19, fees are to be paid to the Grand Lodge of
Edinburgh by members in England, and the Constitution declares that the King
of Scotland is Perpetual Grand Master, and therefor not an elective officer.
By the
statutes, the Grand Lodge of R.S.Y.C.S. and Grand Chapter of H.R.M. can only
be held in Scotland, and the former reserves to itself the right to promote to
the honor of Knighthood of the R.S.Y.C.S., but usually delegates the power to
that effect to the Provincial Grand Masters, by personal patents.
The
Grand Lodge officers are similar to those already noted for the Provincial
Grand Lodge, only the Brother who rules that body, until a king of Scotland
(called of Great Britain and Ireland) is able to become Grand Master, is
termed "Deputy Grand Master and Governor," a Deputy Governor being also
appointed, all having corresponding rank in the Grand Chapter of H.D.M. The
D.G.M. (and Governor) and Deputy Governor of the Grand Lodge are ex‑officiis
Warder and Deputy Grand Warder of the T.W.R. of R.F.R.S.M.N.T., and the
Provincial Grand Master enjoys a similar status in his Province; as also
T.R.S.T.A. of his own chapter.
The
4th of July is election‑day for the Grand Officers and also for subordinate
chapters out of Scotland, or first following lawful day, if the 4th shall be a
Saturday or Sunday.
The
other stated meetings of Grand Lodge and Provincial Grand Lodges are October
4th, January 4th, and April 4th, with the same exceptions.
Members acting as Grand Officers pro fem. have power to sign diplomas,
charters, patents, etc. A copy of a certificate issued to William James Hughan,
the historian, under the seal of the Royal Order at Edinburgh, dated March 6,
1867, is annexed:
COPY
OF THE ROYAL ORDER CERTIFICATE, A.O. 553.
IN THE
NAME OF THE HOLY AND UNDIVIDED TRINITY.
We,
Sir John Whyte, W.D.M., President of the Judges and Council of the Great
S.N.D.R.M., and Warder of the T.W.R. of R.F.R.S.M.N.T., Deputy Grand Master
and Governor of the High and Honourable Order of H.R.M. of K.L.W.N.G. and the
R.S.Y.C.S.; Sir Alexander, S.T.N.T.H., Senior Grand Warden, and Sir William,
B.T.Y., Junior Grand Warden, and the remanent Knights Companions of the ROYAL
ORDER of the R.S.Y.C.S. in Grand Lodge assembled.
We do
hereby certify and declare that our Trusty and well Beloved Brother William
James Hughan,
{L.S.}
GREEN
Master
Mason of the Lodge Number 594, holding of the Grand Lodge of England, and
Companion Royal Arch Chapter, Number 50 in Scotland, whose signature is on the
margin, having been advanced to the Order of H.R.M. of K.L.W.N.G. at Glasgow,
in the Chapter of the Provincial Grand Master for the County of Lanark, and
others, on the twenty‑eighth day of February, one thousand and eight hundred
and sixty‑seven, by the characteristic of Geometry, and promoted on the said
twenty‑fifth day of February, one thousand eight hundred and sixty‑seven, to
the Honourable Order of the R.S.Y.C.S. in the Provincial Grand Lodge for the
County of Lanark, and others, has been recorded in the Books of our Grand
Lodge here, and therefore we recommend him as a lawful member of the ROYAL
ORDER, Brother of H.R.M. and Knight of the R.S.Y.C.S., to all Knights and
Brethren of the Order wherever found and established.
Given
under our hands and seals of the Royal Order at Edinbzgrgh, this sixth day of
March, A.D. One thousand eight hundred and sixty‑seven, and of the Restoration
of the Order 553.
Gustavus K. Flindt, P.T.W.D.M.
T.D.
Porteous, Prov. Grand Sy. David Sutherland, P.T., S.T.N.F.H.
J. B.
Douglas, Grand Sec'y, G. L. Brodie, P.T., B.T.Y.
The
minimum fee for the H.D.M. and Knighthood is three guineas; subject in all
cases to the approval of the presiding oflicer as respects promotion to the "
R.S.Y.C.S." Conviction of crime by any court of justice involves permanent
extrusion.
On the
4th of April, 1855, the Supreme Council 33d Degree of Scotland, and on the
11th of May following, the Grand Lodge of the Royal Order agreed to a
reciprocal treaty, by which only members of the Royal Order can be admitted to
the 18th Degree, and all Knights of the Royal Order, provided they are Royal
Arch Masons, have special privileges as to fees in joining the A.'.A.'.S.'.
Rite.
M. W.
Brother John Whyte‑Melville was the Deputy Grand Master and Governor for many
years, and on his decease was succeeded by the Right Honorable, the Earl of
Rosslyn, in 1885, who died September 6, 1890, and was succeeded by _____ The
Grand Secretary is the Scottish Masonic historian, Brother D. Murray Lyon.
The
Year of the Restoration of the Order" dates from 1314, so that A.D. 1900 or
A.L.
4900
would be "Anno Ordinis 576 to St. John the Baptist Day; but after that
festival it would be 577. A similar mode had long been followed by the Knights
Templars (which, doubtless, refers to De Molay's martyrdom), in relation to
the same year, only termed "Anno Caedis," thus suggesting an intimate
connection between the two bodies.
P.
THE
OLDEST MASONIC MINUTE IN EXISTENCE.
(MARY'S CHAPEL)
P.
1927
THE
OLDEST MASONIC MINUTE IN EXISTENCE.
TRANSCRIPTION VLTIMO JULY 1599.
The
qlk day George Patoun maissoun grenttit & confessit that he had offendit agane
the dekin & mrs for placeing of ane cox ane to wirk at ane chymnay heid for
tua dayis and ane half day, for the qlk offenss he submittit him self in the
dekin & mrs guds willis for qt vnlaw they pless to lay to his charge, and thay
having respect to the said Georges humill submissioun & of his estait, they
remittit him the said offenss, Providing alwayis that gif ather he [or] ony
vther brother comitt the Iyke offenss heirefter that the law sall stryke vpoun
thame indiscreta wtout exceptioun of personis. This wes done in prcs of Paull
Maissoun dekin, Thoas Weir warden, Thoas Watt, Johne Broun, Henrie Tailzefeir,
the said George Patoun, & Adanz Walkar
Ita
est Adamus Gibsone norius Paull Maissottn dekin
P.
1928
Part
Six
FREEMASONRY IN OTHER COUNTRIES
FREEMASONRY IN CANADA
BY
WILL H. WHYTE, P.G.M\:
K.T. OF CANADA
THE
history of Freemasonry in British North America, or that part of the continent
now better known as the "Dominion of Canada," is a most interesting one. Upon
the advent of Confederation, July 1, 1867, local control in each Province for
the government of the Masonic Fraternity of the Dominion took a strong hold as
a predominant idea, and prevailed. Each Province has now a Grand Lodge, and in
order of their organization are as follows: Canada, having jurisdiction only
in Ontario, 1855; Nova Scotia, 1866; New Brunswick, 1867; Quebec, 1869;
British Columbia, 1871; Manitoba, 1875; Prince Edward Island, 1875; Alberta,
1905; Saskatchewan, 1906. The first marks of the Ancient Craftsman have been
found in Nova Scotia. A mineralogical survey in 1827 found on the shore of
Goat Island in the Annapolis Basin, partly covered with sand, a slab of rock 2
1/2 X 2 feet, bearing on it those well‑known Masonic emblems, "the Square and
Compasses," and the date 1606. Who were the Craftsmen, and how the stone came
there, must be left to conjecture.
Nova
Scotia.
The
records of the Craft in Boston, Mass., state that Bro. Henry Price was
appointed Provincial Grand Master of New England by Viscount Montague, Grand
Master of the Premier Grand Lodge of England (Moderns), and that his authority
was subsequently extended to all North America.
On the
13th of November, 1737, Erasmus James Phillips, an officer of the Fortieth
Regiment, then stationed at Annapolis Royal, visited Boston and was made a
Mason in the "First Lodge in Boston." This Bro. Phillips was a nephew of Col.
Richard Phillips, the first governor of Nova Scotia and the secretary of the
governor's council, and evidently obtained an appointment as Deputy from Bro.
Price, the Provincial Grand Master at Boston.
The
first lodge established in Nova Scotia was at Annapolis and under authority
from Boston by the St. Johns Grand Lodge of Massachusetts. Under date 1740 the
minutes read:
'The
Rt. Worshl Grand Master granted a Deputation at the Petition of sundry
Brethren for holding a lodge at Annapolis in Nova Scotia, and appointed the
Right Worshipful Erasmus James Phillips, D.G.M., there, who afterward erected
a Lodge at Halifax and appointed His Excellency Edward Cornwallis their first
Master."
Bro.
Phillips, having organized this lodge at Annapolis as stated, later on ‑ on
the petition of the Brethren at Halifax in 1750
‑
granted a Warrant for a lodge and appointed Bro. Edward Cornwallis, the
founder of Halifax, 1749, and first governor of Nova Scotia (and an uncle of
the Lord Cornwallis who figured in Revolutionary times in the United States),
as its first Master. This lodge was instituted at Halifax July 19, 1750.
Bro.
Phillips held the position of Provincial Grand Master until 1758, and in the
minutes of the First Lodge at Boston in 1739 is entered as Grand Master of
Nova Scotia.
In
1756 lodge meetings were held in Halifax, by the Lodge of "Social and Military
Virtues," No. 227, Irish Registry, then attached to the Forty‑sixth Regiment
of Light Infantry. This lodge is now "Antiquity Lodge," No. 1, Montreal, on
the Registry of the Grand Lodge of Quebec.
The
Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia is in possession of a large amount of valuable and
interesting Masonic documents, among them a Charter to form a Provincial Grand
Lodge, dated December 27, 1757, from the Grand Lodge of the "Ancients," signed
Blesington, Grand Master, and Laurence Dermott, Grand Secretary.
On the
2d day of June, 1784, a Warrant (apparently a renewal of the 1757) was granted
by authority of Grand Master Antrim, Deputy Grand Master Laurence Dermott, and
Robert Leslie, Grand Secretary. Under this Warrant, a Provincial Grand Lodge
was formed on September 24, 1784 ‑ Bro. John George Pyke, Provincial Grand
Master. By this Warrant, the officers "together with their lawful assistants,
that is to say the regular Masters, Wardens and Past Masters only," were
authorized to " nominate, choose, and install their successors upon or near
every St. John the Evangelist day forever."
From
1786‑1791, His Excellency, John Parr, Governor‑in‑Chief of Nova Scotia, was
Provincial Grand Master, followed by the Hon. Richard Bulkeley, 1791‑1800;
Duncan Clark, 1800‑1; Hon. John Wentworth, LL.D., 1801‑10; and John Geo. Pyke,
1810‑20. At this time, after thirty‑six years, there were thirty‑one lodges on
the Provincial Registry.
Trouble then arose over a successor to Bro. Pyke and he continued in office
another year, followed by John Albro from 1821 to 1829. At this period the
number of lodges had been reduced to sixteen. For another forty years this
Provincial Grand Lodge continued its work until, after an existence of
eighty‑five years, its lodges united with the new Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia
in 1869.
The
subject of an independent Grand Lodge had been agitated for five years, for
the Grand Lodges of England, Ireland, and Scotland had lodges chartered under
their authority in this Province.
In
1861 a committee was appointed from the Provincial Grand Lodge of Scotland to
act in conjunction with a similar committee from the Provincial Grand Lodge of
England regarding the practicability of forming a Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia.
Upon reference to the parent Grand Lodges, England refused permission.
Scotland never answered.
On the
16th January, 1866, a meeting of delegates from all the Scottish lodges was
held, twelve out of thirteen being represented. It was decided to call a
convention of all the lodges in the Province at Halifax on the 20th February,
and at this meeting the Grand Lodge was duly formed and M.W. Bro. W. H. Davies
elected Grand Master.
From
1866 to 1869 the Grand Lodge increased to twenty‑five lodges. In this latter
year, the District Grand Lodge under the English Registry decided to
affiliate, as did also the remaining lodge under Scotland. On the 23d June,
1869, the amalgamation took place, the twenty‑five English and one Scotch
Lodge uniting with the twenty‑five Nova Scotia lodges under the designation of
"The Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Nova Scotia." The
three oldest lodges now working under this jurisdiction are in Halifax and are
"St. Andrew's," chartered March 28, 1768, London, Laurence Dermott, Grand
Secretary; "St. John's," chartered June 30, 1780, London, and "Virgin" Lodge,
February 18, 1782.
1906.
Nova Scotia has sixty‑six lodges on the roll and a membership of 4,500.
New
Brunswick.
The
Province of New Brunswick previous to the year 1786 formed a part of Nova
Scotia. On March 6, 1784, application was made to John George Pyke, Esq.,
Provincial Grand Master elect, at Halifax, by Elias Hardy, Master of Lodge
169, for a dispensation to establish a lodge of "Ancient York Masons" at Parr
Town. Parr Town, now the City of St. John, was named after His Excellency John
Parr, Captain General and Governor‑in‑ Chief, and who had been elected
Provincial Grand Master of the "Ancient" Masons of Nova Scotia 1786‑91.
On
August 22, 1792, a Warrant was granted by the Provincial Grand Lodge at
Halifax for Solomons Lodge, No. 22 (now No. 6 on the Registry of New
Brunswick), to be located at "St. Anns," now Fredericton, the capital of New
Brunswick. On June 7, 1826, J. Albro, Provincial Grand Master at Halifax,
appointed Benjamin L. Peters Deputy Grand Master for the city of St. John and
the town of St. Andrews in New Brunswick.
On
March 10, 1829, a Warrant, No. 52, was made out by the Provincial Grand Lodge
at Halifax for Albion, No. 841, St. John. This lodge, formerly also under the
English Registry as No. 400, is now No. 1 on the Registry of New Brunswick.
The
Act confederating the Provinces into the "Dominion of Canada" came into force
July 1, 1867. This new state of political existence brought prominently to the
front the Masonic status in each Province, and the formation of an Independent
Grand Lodge for the Province of New Brunswick was agitated. On the 16th of
August, 1867, a meeting of the Masters and Past Masters in the city of St.
John was held and it was resolved to address a circular to every lodge in the
Province. On the 10th day of October, 1867, the Grand Lodge of Ancient Free
and Accepted Masons of New Brunswick was formed by representatives of fourteen
lodges. There were nineteen lodges represented, but the delegates from St.
Andrews Lodge, 364 R.S. retired from the convention, while those from Howard,
668 and Zetland, 886 E.R., though favoring the movement, stated they had no
authority to vote for a new Grand Lodge. The representatives of two others
were not present when the vote was taken. V.W. Bro. Robert T. Clinch, District
Grand Master, E.R., was elected Grand Master but declined, as he had not
resigned his office under the English Registry. Bro. B. Lester Peters was then
unanimously elected Grand Master, the installation taking place on the 22d of
January, 1868. During the year 1867‑ 68 ten lodges holding under the English
Registry became of allegiance to the Grand Lodge of New Brunswick, and in
September, 1872, St. Andrews Lodge, at Fredericton, also affiliated, rendering
the jurisdiction of this Grand Lodge complete. 1906. There are thirty‑five
lodges on the roll, with a membership of 2,200.
Quebec.
Although it has been affirmed by French and other writers that a lodge of
Freemasons existed in the city of Quebec in the year 1755, no records or other
evidences are known to be in existence, and Masonry in the Province only dates
its existence from the time of "Wolfe," when the "Lily" flag of the Bourbon
was replaced by the "Union Jack" over the citadel of Quebec.
Quebec
capitulated in September, 1759, and among the regiments taking part in the
capture the following seven held travelling warrants for lodges, as follows:
No. 245, I.R., warranted 1754, in the Fifteenth Regiment; No. 35, I.R.,
warranted 1734, in the Twenty‑eighth Regiment; a lodge in the Twenty‑eighth,
"Louisburg," Boston warranted 1758; No. 205, I.R., warranted 1749, in the
Thirty‑fifth Regiment; No. 42, E.R.
"Ancient," warranted 1755, in the Fortieth Regiment; No. 192, I.R.,warranted
1748, in the Forty‑seventh Regiment, and No. 218, I. R., warranted 1750, in
the Forty‑eighth Regiment. There were likewise lodges in seven or more
regiments taking part in the capitulation of Montreal, September 9, 1760,
holding under English, Irish, Scotch, and Colonial charters.
The
following extracts from a document in possession of the Grand Librarian of
England succinctly tell the story of the formation of the first "Lower Canada"
Grand Lodge on December 27, 1759, in the city of Quebec.
"In
the winter of 1759 the Masters and Wardens of all the Warranted Lodges held in
the Regiments garrisoned there, assembled together and unanimously agreed to
choose an acting Grand Master to preside over them. Agreeable thereto they
made choice of Bro. Guinnett, Lieutenant in the Forty‑seventh Regiment, and
drew out, signed and sealed, a Warrant empowering him and his successors
elected, to congregate them together as a Grand Lodge for the intent before
mentioned, they having the Constitution as their chief guide."
"The
24th June, 1760, Brother Simon Fraser, Colonel of the Highland Regiment, was
elected to preside over the Lodges, and Brother T. Dunckerley of His Majesty's
Ship the 'Vanguard,' who was possessed with a power from the Grand Lodge of
England to inspect into the state of the Craft wheresoever he might go,
installed Brother Fraser in his high office."
This
Provincial Grand Lodge for the "Province of Quebec," annually elected a Grand
Master and officers, and was in existence for thirty‑two years, 1759‑91. Among
the Grand Masters following the Hon. Simon Fraser were, Capt. Milborne West,
1761; Lieutenant Turner, 1763; Hon. John Collins, 1765; Sir Guy Carleton (Lord
Dorchester), 1786, and Sir John Johnson, Bart., who resided at Montreal, 1788.
According to M.W. Bro. John Hamilton Graham, LL.D., who compiled that valuable
work The History of Freemasonry in Quebec, there has been traced some forty
lodges holding under or emanating from this Grand Lodge. The first lodges it
chartered were in the city of Quebec: "Merchants," No. 1, "St. Andrews," No.
2, "St. Patrick's," No. 3, and Select, No. 0 1759‑61. The next warranted was
No. 4, St. Peter's, Montreal, instituted 1761, and lapsed about 1792. The next
Montreal charter was St. Paul's, No. 10, and of date November 8, 1770, which
had an existence up to 1796. Among other lodges warranted was one at
Vergennes, Vt., U.S.A., named "Dorchester," and of date May 5, 1791, granted
by Sir John Johnson, Bart., Prov. G.M., and still in existence as No. 1,
Vermont.
In
1752 the schism occurred in the Grand Lodge of England which caused the
formation of a rival Grand Lodge under the cognomen of the "Ancients." The
rivalry between these two Grand Lodges was at its height in 1791, when "Prince
Edward," grand‑father of His Majesty King Edward VII, arrived in Quebec as
Colonel of the Seventh Royal Fusiliers, and with the advent of the "Prince"
came a new era in Masonry in the Province.
On
March 7, 1792, the Grand Lodge of the "Ancients" in England issued a patent
deputing Prince Edward "Provincial Grand Master" of "Lower Canada," and on
June 22, 1792, His Royal Highness was installed with great eclat, a religious
service and procession to the "Recollect Church" (R.C.) Quebec, forming part
of the ceremony. In 1799 H.R.H. was created "Duke of Kent," and remained Grand
Master until 1813, when he resigned to accept the Grand Mastership of the
"Ancients" in England, being succeeded in Quebec by the Hon. Claude Denechau,
M.P.P., who filled that important post until 1822. This new Provincial Grand
Lodge in a period of over thirty years, 1791‑ 1823, warranted some twenty‑six
lodges, five of them still in existence, under the present Grand Lodge of
Quebec, viz.: "Dorchester" at St. Johns; "Select Surveyors" now "Prevost," at
Dunham; "Nelson," now at St. Armand Station; "Golden Rule," at Stanstead; and
"Sussex" now St. Andrews," at Quebec. It also warranted among others "Zion,"
No. 10, now No. 1 at Detroit, of date September 7, 1794, and St. Paul's, No.
12, May 1, 1797, which was apparently formed from among some of the late
members of St. Paul's, No. 1O, under the former Provincial Grand Lodge, and
again lapsed as a provincial Lodge about 1824.
April
2, 1823, marked another era in the history of the Craft in the Province of
Quebec.
The
lodges in Montreal as well as others in the Province forwarded their
provincial or Canadian Charters to the "United Grand Lodge of England," and
exchanged them for Warrants under that body. They then petitioned said Grand
Lodge to establish a Provincial Grand Lodge for Montreal and the Borough of
William Henry, now Sorel; and the Grand Lodge across the ocean saw fit to
grant the request, and the Hon. William McGillivray was appointed Provincial
Grand Master. The lodges in the cities of Quebec and Three Rivers being also
formed into another Provincial Grand Lodge under the Hon. Claude Denechau.
On the
5th September, 1826, John Molson, Esq., was installed as Provincial Grand
Master at Montreal. In 1836 the Hon. John Molson died, and the Provincial
Grand Lodge did not meet again for over ten years.
On May
20, 1846, the Provincial Grand Lodge at Montreal was revived to install the
Hon. Peter McGill as Grand Master. In 1849 the Hon. Peter McGill resigned his
office and was succeeded by the Hon. William Badgley until his decease in
1888.
In
"Quebec," the Hon. Ciaude Denechau, deceased, was succeeded by Thomas
Harington, Esq., 1852, and he in turn by James Dean, 1857.
The
Provincial Grand Lodge at Quebec finally dissolving in 1870, the members
joined the then new "Grand Lodge of Quebec." That of "Montreal and William
Henry" with three lodges had no active existence after the formation of the
Grand Lodge of Canada, and in the later years of the late Judge Badgley, never
met.
A
third period of thirty years had thus elapsed when in October, 1855, the
representatives of forty‑one lodges in Canada West (now Ontario) and thirteen
in Canada East (now Quebec) met in Hamilton and formed the "Grand Lodge of
Canada," holding jurisdiction over the two Provinces.
From
1855 to 1869 the Grand Lodge of Canada was the controlling Masonic power in
the Province of Quebec, but with the birth of the Dominion came also the
agitation for separate Grand Lodges. Several meetings were held, and finally,
on the 20th October, 1869, the Grand Lodge of Quebec was formed by
twenty‑eight of the Warranted Lodges then in the Province, with M.W. Bro. John
Hamilton Graham, LL.D., as Grand Master.
A
number of the lodges did not at once join in this movement, but gradually were
absorbed. Those remaining under the Grand Lodge of Canada (which Grand Lodge
vigorously and strenuously opposed the formation of the new Grand Lodge)
continued until September 23, 1874, when "Canada" withdrew, and its lodges
affiliated with Quebec.
On the
27th of January, 1881, three lodges holding under warrants
from
Scotland also affiliated, leaving three claiming allegiance to the Grand Lodge
of England.
1906.
The Grand Lodge of Quebec has now on the roll fifty‑eight lodges and a
membership of 5,000.
Canada
(in Ontario).
The
history of the Craft in the Province of Ontario has been exhaustively compiled
by Most Wor. Bro. John Ross Robertson in his admirable work, The History of
Masonry in Canada. Lodge No. 156 in the Eighth Regiment of Foot appears to
have been the first lodge to hold meetings in this Province, at Fort Niagara,
about 1755‑80. From 1780 to 1792 some ten lodges appear to have worked in what
was called "Upper Canada." Some chartered by England, others by the Provincial
Grand Lodge at Quebec, among them St. James in the King's Rangers, No. 14, at
Cataraqui (Rintrston), 1781; St.
John's, No. 15, at Michilimakinac (Michigan), then part of Canada; St. John's,
No. 19, at Niagara, and Oswegatchie Lodge, 1786, at Elizabethtown
(Brockville).
On
March 7, 1792, Bro. William Jarvis was appointed Provincial Grand Master of
Upper Canada by the "Ancient" or "Athol" Grand Lodge of England. Bro. Jarvis
resided at Newark (Niagara), the then capital of the Province. During his
Grand Mastership, 1792 to 1804, twenty warrants for lodges were issued for
various parts of the Province.
In
1797 Bro. Jarvis removed from Newark to York (now Toronto), when the capital
was transferred to the latter place.
The
Brethren at Niagara continued to be active and enthusiastic, and urged Bro.
Jarvis to assemble Grand Lodge there, but he refused. This refusal caused much
dissatisfaction, and the Brethren of Niagara District met in 1803 and elected
Bro. Geo.
Forsyth as Provincial Grand Master, and trouble and friction ensued.
In
1817, at Kingston, a Grand Convention was called by the Lodges in the Midland
District under R.W. Bro. Ziba M. Phillips. All the lodges attended excepting
those in the Niagara District. This convention was held annually during the
years 1817, 1818, 1820, 1821, 1822.
After
repeated entreaty to England during these years, R. W. Bro. Simon McGillivray
came to Canada in September, 1822, with authority from the Duke of Sussex to
reorganize the Craft in Upper Canada. The Second Provincial Grand Lodge was
thus formed at York in 1822, with R. W. Bro. Simon McGillivray as Provincial
Grand Master, and met regularly up to 1830; but the Morgan excitement in the
United States also told somewhat on the Fraternity in Canada, and while a
number of the lodges remained active, the Provincial Grand Lodge became
dormant and remained so until 1845.
In
1845 Masonic enthusiasm once more gained the ascendency, an urgent appeal was
sent out, and a Third Provincial Grand Lodge organized in Hamilton with Bro.
Sir Allan MacNab Provincial Grand Master of "Canada West," appointed by the
Earl of Zetland.
This
body was an energetic one, and continued work until 1858.
In
1853 a number of the lodges holding Irish Warrants organized a Grand Lodge,
but it was not very successful. They then endeavored to secure the cooperation
of the Provincial Grand Lodge in forming a Grand Lodge for Canada, but the
Provincial Grand Body declined. But Home Rule and a self‑governing body for
Canada was the idea uppermost and would not down, and finally on October 10,
1855, a convention of all the lodges in the two Provinces was called at
Hamilton and the Grand Lodge of Canada was formed. Forty‑one lodges were
represented, twenty‑eight in Canada West (Ontario) and thirteen in Canada East
(Quebec), and M. W. Bro. William Mercer Wilson was elected Grand Master.
In
September, 1857, the Provincial Grand Lodge under England met and resolved
itself into an independent Grand Lodge under the name of "Ancient Grand Lodge
of Canada," but the next year in July, 1858, they united with the Grand Lodge
of Canada.
In
October, 1869, the majority of the lodges in the Province of Quebec held a
convention and decided to form a Grand Lodge for that Province. The Grand
Lodge of Canada strenuously opposed this new body, and an edict of suspension
covering all the lodges and Brethren taking part was issued. The Grand Lodge
of Quebec, however, becoming duly recognized by all the leading Grand Lodges
of the world, the Grand Lodge of Canada, in 1874, likewise decided to do the
same and withdrew from the Province; all the lodges of her obedience joining
the Quebec Grand Body. In 1875 a schism occurred and a number of Brethren
organized a "Grand Lodge of Ontario." This breach was finally healed and the
Brethren and lodges became of allegiance to the Grand Lodge of Canada in 1896.
In
1886 the words "in the Province of Ontario" were added to the title of the
"Grand Lodge of Canada," owing to the representations of other Grand Lodges
that the title did not represent the jurisdiction of that Grand Body.
1906.
The Grand Lodge of Canada has now 395 lodges and a membership of 37,628.
British Columbia.
The
first lodge established in this Province was Victoria, No. 783, by the Grand
Lodge of England, March 19, 1859, and the first chartered by the Grand Lodge
of Scotland was Vancouver Lodge in 1862.
In
1871 the Grand Lodge of England had three lodges in the Province, and the
Grand Lodge of Scotland six lodges. A convention was held on the 21st day of
October, 1871, and the Grand Lodge of British Columbia duly organized. Eight
out of the nine lodges in the Province were represented. The Provincial Grand
Master of Scotland and the District Grand Master of England both took an
active interest in the formation of the new Grand Body, and M.W. Bro. Israel
Wood Powell, M. D., was unanimously elected Grand Master.
In
1872 the only lodge not represented at the formation of the Grand Lodge, viz.,
"Union Lodge" of New Westminster, late 899 E.R., affiliated with twenty‑three
members.
In
1875 two of the lodges in Nanaimo, "Caledonia" and "Nanaimo," amalgamated
under the name of "Ashlar."
In
1878 Victoria, No. 1, and British Columbia, No. 5, of Victoria, united as
Victoria Columbia Lodge, and Vancouver and Quadra Lodges, also at Victoria,
united as Vancouver Quadra Lodge.
1906.
Grand Lodge has now thirty‑nine lodges and a membership of 2,859.
CHARLES T. McCLENACHAN
Manitoba.
In
1864 a dispensation was issued over the signature of M.W. Bro. A.T. Pierson,
then Grand Master of Masons in Minnesota, and "Northern Light" Lodge was
organized at Fort Garry (Winnipeg), with Bro. Dr. John Schultz, Worshipful
Master, A.G.B.
Bannatyne, S.W., and Wm. Inkster, J.W.
In
1867 Bro. Bannatyne was elected W.M. and the lodge went out of existence,
shortly before the Red River insurrection. At this time, the country was
claimed by the "Hon.
Hudson
Bay Co."; but when the transfer was made to Canada in 1870 and the Red River
Settlement, as it was then known, became the Province of Manitoba, the Grand
Lodge of Canada assumed jurisdiction and shortly afterward issued Charters to
"Prince Rupert's" Lodge, Winnipeg, December, 1870, and Lisgar Lodge, Selkirk.
On May
12, 1875, the three lodges then existing, viz., "is Prince Rupert," "Lisgar"
and "Ancient Landmark," held a convention and formed the "Grand Lodge of
Manitoba," electing M.W. Bro. the Rev. Dr. W. C. Clarke as Grand Master.
Unfortunately he removed from the Province before his year of office expired.
In
1878 the question of Ritual created considerable trouble, and a number of the
Brethren endeavored to form another Grand Lodge, but happily peace was
restored the following year.
On the
28th July, 1881, a Warrant was ordered issued to "Al Moghreb Al Asku," No. 28,
to be opened at Gibraltar, but protests from the Grand Lodges of Scotland and
England following, it was shortly afterward transferred to Tangiers in
Morocco.
This
Grand Lodge held jurisdiction over the Northwest Territories and the Yukon
Territory as well as Manitoba until 1905, when the Provinces of Alberta and
Saskatchewan were formed, followed by the organization of Grand Lodges for
these two new divisions, upon which the Grand Lodge of Manitoba withdrew.
1906.
Grand Lodge of Manitoba has now eighty chartered lodges and six U.D., with a
membership of 4,410.
Prince
Edward Island.
Previous to November, 1798, Prince Edward Island was called St. Johns Island,
the name being changed by Imperial Act on that date.
On the
9th October, 1797, St. John's Lodge, now No. 1 on the Registry of that
Province, was established by Warrant at Charlottetown by the Grand Lodge of
England. The then Lieutenant‑Governor, General Edward Fanning, was one of the
Charter members. In 1857 Victoria Lodge at Charlottetown was chartered by
Scotland.
In
1875 there were seven lodges in this Province working under English Warrants,
viz., St. John's, King Hiram, St. George, Alexandra, Mount Lebanon, and True
Brothers, and one under the Scottish Register, " Victoria."
On the
23d day of June, 1875, these eight lodges met and formed the Grand Lodge of
Prince Edward Island. The Hon. John Yeo was elected Grand Master and was
installed, together with his officers, the following day by M. Wor. Bro. John
V. Ellis, Grand Master of New Brunswick.
1906.
There are fourteen lodges, with a membership of 635 on the roll.
Alberta.
Previous to October, 1905, the lodges in the "Northwest Territories" of Canada
were under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Manitoba.
The
political changes which culminated in the division of these Territories into
the Provinces of "Alberta" and "Saskatchewan" on the 1st of September, 1905,
brought forward the question of Provincial Autonomy for the Craft; accordingly
"Medicine Hat" Lodge, No. 31, took the initiative and requested the Senior
Lodge in the Province, "Bow River Lodge," No. 28, to call a convention at
Calgary. This convention was held on the 25th day of May, 1905, and
arrangements were made for a formal meeting on the 12th day of October, 1905.
Seventeen lodges out of eighteen in the jurisdiction were represented by
seventy‑nine delegates, and the "Grand Lodge of Alberta" was duly formed, with
M. W. Bro. Dr. George MacDonald elected as Grand Master. The Most Wor. the
Grand Master of Manitoba, M.W. Bro. W.G. Scott, was present at this convention
and installed the officers.
1906
Twenty lodges, with a membership of 1,206.
Saskatchewan.
The
Brethren of the Province of Saskatchewan assembled at Regina on the 10th day
of August, 1906, and formally resolved themselves into the "Grand Lodge of
Saskatchewan." Twentyfive lodges out of twenty‑eight located in the Province
were represented. M. W. Bro. H. H. Campkin was elected Grand Master and was
installed by M. W. Bro. McKenzie, Grand Master of Manitoba.
Newfoundland.
The
Ancient Colony of Newfoundland still remains without the Confederation of the
Canadian Provinces.
Masonry in this island dates back to 1746, the first Warrant being granted by
the Provincial Grand Lodge at Boston. Bro. J. Lane's list gives six lodges
warranted in the eighteenth century The Grand Lodge of the Ancients (England)
is credited with four ‑ one in 1774 and three in 1788 ‑ and the Grand Lodge of
England (Moderns) with two ‑ one each in 1784 and 1785. Nine others were
chartered by the present Grand Lodge of England up to 1881, a number still
remaining active.
MEXICO
WE
learn from several writers that about the year 1810 Civil and Military
officers of the Monarchy introduced the "Scottish Rite" into Mexico ‑ then the
principal colony of Spain. The Grand Lodge of Louisiana after this erected
lodges in 1816 and 1817, respectively at Vera Cruz and Campeachy. The Grand
Lodge of Pennsylvania also established a lodge in 1824 at Alvarado;
subsequently confusion ensued, Masonry and politics being so closely
interwoven that any attempt at separate treatment is quite hopeless.
The
Escoceses and the Yorkinos divided the country into two factions, moderate
measures being in favor with the former under a constitutional monarchy, and
republican institutions being advocated by the latter with the expulsion of
the "old" or native Spaniards.
Among
the Escoceses, or "Scots Masons," were persons having titles of nobility; all
the Catholic clergy; many military officers; and all classes of native
Spaniards.
The
republicans appreciating the progress of their opponents, resolved "to fight
the devil with his own fire," and thereupon a revival faction was organized
with the title of Yorkinos, whose members were thought to be of the York Rite.
Mackey is authority for the statement that the Grand Lodge of New York
established three lodges in the city of Mexico in 1825.
These
lodges were formed into a Grand Lodge of the York Rite by Mr. Joel R. Poinsett
(American Minister), a former G.M. of South Carolina. There is no record that
since the year 1815 any foreign lodges have been warranted by the Grand Lodge
of New York.
But
however established, the so‑called York Rite, or, in other words, pure English
Masonry, flourished, and toward the end of 1826 there were twenty‑five lodges,
with a membership of about seven hundred." The Escoceses, or 'Scots Masons,'
finding their lodges deserted, regarded the Yorkinos as renegades and
traitors, and with a view to counterbalance the fast increasing power of the
latter, they formed the Novenarios, a kind of militia, which derived its name
from a regulation requiring each member to enlist nine additional adherents.
These ingratiated themselves with the clergy, who, after having been the most
embittered enemies of the Craft in past years, now joined the Escoceses almost
in a body.
"The
Yorkinos, becoming aware of these proceedings, tried to outdo their rivals by
recruiting their own lodges upon the plan of receiving all applicants without
distinction, provided they belong to the federal, zip., the patriotic party.
Thus, the system of Masonry very soon degenerated into a mere party question,
and at last all the adherents of one side styled themselves Escoceses, and of
the other side, Yorkinos. In 1828 the two parties resorted to open warfare,
with a view to deciding the question at issue by the sword, and the civil war
then commenced lasted for more than a generation.
"Somewhere about this time, while Dr. Vincente Guerrero ‑ G. M. under the York
Rite ‑ was President of the Republic, a law was enacted by which all Masonic
lodges were closed. The Yorkinos obeyed their Grand Master, and discontinued
their meetings. The Escoceses went on working, but some of their most
influential lodges were suppressed, and the members vanished. Subsequently,
all native Spaniards were expelled from Mexican territory.
"This
internecine strife seriously affected the Fraternity in general, and gave
birth, during the darkest hours of the struggle for supremacy, to an
organization called the National Mexican Rites formed by Masons, and composed
of distinguished men, but containing innovations and principles so
antagonistic to Masonic usage and doctrine, that it was never accorded
recognition, even in Mexico, by any Masonic body of acknowledged legality.
"This
new school of Masonry was established by nine Brethren of both rites, and who
had belonged to the highest grade of either system, in 1830. To guard against
the intrusion of unworthy members and the revival of political antagonism,
they resolved to create a rite which should be national, in the sense of not
depending upon any foreign Grand Lodge for its Constitution, and to obviate by
safeguards and precautions of an elaborate character, the dangers to be
apprehended from the reception of either Escoceses or Yorkinos.
"The
National Mexican Rite consisted of nine degrees, which, omitting the first
three, were 4d, Approved Master (equal to the 15d, 'Scots'); 5d, Knight of the
Secret (equal to the 18d, 'Scots'); 6d, Knight of the Mexican Eagle; 7d,
Perfect Architect or Templar; 8d, Grand Judge, and 9d, Grand Inspector
General. All of these degrees had their equivalents in the grades of the A.
and A. S. R. 33. With the 'St. John's' (or purely Craft) degrees certain
special signs were associated, which, however, were not required from
foreigners unless they had acted as auxiliaries in any of the party contests.
"A
Grand Orient, composed of members of the 9d, was supreme in matters of dogma
or ritual. There was also an administrative body or National Grand Lodge,
whose members were elective and met in the metropolis. The Provincial Grand
Lodges had their seats in the State capitals, and were formed by the 'three
lights' of at least five St.
John's
lodges.
"But
although still preserving a nominal existence, the several Grand Bodies, owing
to political convulsions, were virtually dormant for many years after 1833. A
lodge ‑ St.
Jean
d'Ulloa ‑ was constituted at Vera Cruz, by the Supreme Council of France, in
1843; and another ‑ Les Ecossais des Deux Mondes ‑ at the City of Mexico, by
the Grand Orient of the same country, in 1845.
"The
National Mexican Rite appears to have somewhat recovered from its torpor in
1863. At that date we find in the Metropolis a National Grand Lodge with six
working lodges, though of these one ‑ belonging to the A. and A. S. R. ‑ was
constituted by the Grand Lodge of New Granada, and consisted chiefly of
foreigners; in Toluca a Prov.
Grand
Lodge with five lodges; in Vera Cruz and Guadalajara two lodges each; and in
five other cities single lodges. (1)
"In
the year 1858 or 1859," according to the official report," Bro. Lafon de
Ladebat went to Mexico, with authority from Bro. Albert Pike (of Washington,
D. C.) to organize and establish Masonry on a sound basis in that country. (2)
However, Bro. Ladebat did not organize a Grand Lodge of Symbolic Masonry
first, as instructed, but constituted the Supreme Council with jurisdiction
over the three degrees of E.A., F.C., and M.M." (3)
The
Grand Lodge of Yorkinos ceased to exist, and the " Scots
(1)
Gould, vol. vi.
(2)
Proceedings of the Grand Lodge of Louisiana, 1884.
(3)
This was entirely in opposition to Brother Pike's wishes
Rite,"
divested of all political coloring, erected ‑ December 27, 1865
‑ a
Supreme Council 33d, this being done after the overthrow of the Maximilian
Empire. This Supreme Council and the Supreme Council of 1858‑59 were joined in
1868 and both were fused with the National Grand Lodge, the President of the
Republic, Benito Juarez, being one of the highest officials. However, this
union was more of a friendly pact than of a thorough nature, as each rite was
independent of the other with regard to its own ritual and internal
government. The National Rite numbered thirty‑two, and the A. and A. S. R.
twenty‑four, lodges in 1870.
"It
would seem as if the authority of Juarez alone held these rites together,
since at his death in 1872 ‑ although he was succeeded as President by his
chief follower, Sebastian Lerdo de Tejeda, also a prominent Freemason ‑
dissensions arose, and they fell asunder, Alfredo Chavero becoming G. M. of
the Grand Orient, and Jose Maria Mateos of the National Grand Lodge. In 1876 a
Lodge of Germans left the G.O. and joined the National Grand Lodge, but in the
following year, with the consent of the latter, affiliated with the Grand
Lodge of Hamburg ‑ under which body there is also (1886) another lodge at work
in Vera Cruz." (1)
About
182 the two rites probably seem to have been again united, though information
is so meager that this is not definite. however, it is quite possible that the
National Mexican Rite continued to exist though its proceedings are not
recorded. As far as there is any evidence, it appears that Grand Lodges were
organized by the lodges which were under the jurisdiction of the Supreme
Council. (2) the capital a Central Grand Lodge was formed, having jurisdiction
over the subordinate lodges, and there was very little interference upon the
subject of Symbolism except by the Central Grand Lodge, though the Supreme
Council did not formally waive its authority thereover.
"In
I883 there were the following State Grand Lodges: Vera Crux and Jalisco, each
with seven lodges; Puebla, Yucatan, and Guanajuato, with six; and Morelos and
Tlaxcala, with five; thus making a total of seven Grand and forty‑two
subordinate lodges, exclusive of the Central Grand Lodge and the metropolitan
lodges.
"It
will be seen that at this period there existed at Vera Cruz a
(1)
Gould, vol. vi.
(2)
Recommended by General Pike
State
Grand Lodge, but from the fact that it was subordinate to the Central Grand
Lodge, it was not deemed by the Grand Lodge of Colon to exercise legitimate
authority over Symbolism in that State. Indeed, the whole of Mexico was
regarded by the lastnamed body as 'unoccupied territory,' and it therefore
proceeded to charter three lodges, which in January, 1883, formed themselves,
at the City of Vera Cruz, into the 'Mexican Independent Symbolic Grand
Lodge.'"
"Two
of the lodges taking part in this movement had originally held Mexican
warrants, but having quarreled with their superiors, solicited and obtained
charters from the G. L.
of
Colon (now Colon and Cuba), shortly after which the third lodge was formed,
and then, finally, the Grand Lodge, although the Supreme Council of Mexico had
formerly protested against the invasion of its territory. Indeed the step thus
taken by their former superiors appears rather to have accelerated the action
of the three lodges, as in the record of their proceedings it is stated, 'that
they hasten to constitute themselves into an Independent Grand Lodge, pending
the protest of the Supreme Council of Mexico, to relieve their friend and
mother, the Grand Lodge of Colon, from any further unpleasant complications.'
'The
Supreme Council of Mexico, in a Balustre numbered XXX., and dated April 25,
1883, renounced its jurisdiction over the symbolical degrees, and promulgated
a variety of relations with regard to Grand and subordinate lodges. This threw
the Craft into the utmost confusion, and might have ended in the destruction
of the greater number of Mexican lodges, or at least in the establishment of
some half dozen Grand Bodies, all claiming supremacy, had it not been for the
skill and address of Carlos Pacheco, who succeeded Alfredo Chavero as Sov. G.
Com. 33d.
"The
former Balustre was revoked, and by a new one (XXXII.), dated May 27, 1883,
the Supreme Council renounced, in favor of the State Grand Lodges then
existing or which might afterward be formed, the jurisdiction over Symbolism
conferred upon it by the Constitutions of the A. and A. S. R. 33d. The
transmission of powers was to take effect from June 24th them ensuing. The
lodges having no Grand Lodge were to remain under the jurisdiction of the
Grand Lodge nearest to them, or the oldest if two were equidistant, until they
organized their own in accordance with Masonic usage and precedent. The lodges
of the Federal District, however, were directed to form and inaugurate their
Grand Lodge on June 15th then following. Balustre XXXII. was signed (inter
alias) by Carlos Pacheco, Mariano Escobedo, Alfredo Chavero, and Porfirio
Diaz.
"On
June 25, 1883, twelve lodges at the capital met and established the Grand
Lodge of the Federal District (or city) of Mexico, with Porfirio Diaz as the
first G. M. The event was announced to the Masonic world in two circulars, the
first of which is in Spanish
‑ an
immense document of one hundred and eighty pages! The second is in English,
and its only noticeable feature is a declaration that the American system of
State Grand Lodges, each with exclusive jurisdiction, has been adopted. Grand
Lodges have since been established on the same plan ‑ i.e., in conformity with
the edict of the Supreme Council, as promulgated in Balustre XXXII. ‑ in the
States of Vera Cruz, Tlaxcala, Morelos, Puebla, Campeachy, and Lower
California. The complications, however, already existing in the Republic, were
still further increased in 1883, by the action of the Grand Lodge of Missouri,
in granting a Charter to the Toltec Lodge, in the City of Mexico, which had
been provisionally established at the close of the previous year under a
dispensation from the Grand Master."(1)
"The
recognition of the Grand Lodge of which Porfirio Diaz became the head, by the
Grand Lodges of Louisiana and Florida, was duly protested against by Carlos
Pacheco, Sov. G. Com. 33d, and Carlos K. Ruiz, the latter of whom claimed to
be himself the legitimate G. M. It would appear from ' La Gran Logia,' a
bulletin published by some members of the Ruiz Grand Lodge, and denominated
their official organ, that on the same day, at the same hour, and in the same
hall, when and where the Diaz Grand Lodge was organized and installed, the
other body was organized also. There was this difference, however, that
whereas the Diaz party transacted their affairs within the body of the lodge,
the supporters of Ruiz were reduced to the necessity of attending to theirs in
the anteroom ‑ the latter Brethren having withdrawn from the original
convention while it was being organized, but not leaving the building, in the
vestibule of which they afterward conducted their own proceedings." (2)
(1)
Gould, vol. vi.
(2)
Ibid
Extract from Proceedings of Grand Lodge of Iowa.
Report
on Foreign Correspondence, Theo. S. Parvin, Chairman, 1896.
"The
year 1890 opens before us the new, and present era of Mexican Masonry. The
functions of the Supreme Council being limited and confined to the legitimate
Scottish Rite degrees 4th and 33d, inclusive, with no organized jurisdictions
of Masonry of the symbolic degrees except the Grand Lodges of the State of
Vera Cruz and the Federal District (city of Mexico), both of which had been
recognized by the Grand Lodge of Iowa as well as many other Grand Lodges, the
Lodges, to the number of one hundred and twenty‑two of the one hundred and
twenty‑five, met in convention, and after a session of ten days, on the 20th
of July, 1890, unanimously created and organized a new and governing body of
Masonry, styled 'The Gran Dieta Symbolical or the Grand Diet of Symbolic
Masonry for the Republic of Mexico. It elected for its Grand Master, and who
has since by annual re‑election been continued in office, Bro. Porfirio Diaz,
the distinguished and illustrious President of the Republic; and for its Grand
Secretary another distinguished citizen and Mason, Ermilo G. Canton, the Clerk
of the Supreme Court of the United States of Mexico, who also, by annual
reelection, still continues in office.
"The
Gran Dieta promulgated a Constitution of forty‑seven pages, consisting of
eleven titles and one hundred and forty‑five articles. The three sections of
this Constitution relating to Masonic power and authority, read as follows (we
give the translation):
"'ARTICLE 30. The powers of Symbolic Masonry in this Republic are constituted
in the governing Grand Lodge, which goes by the name of the "Grand Symbolic
Diet of the United States of Mexico," whose duty it shall be to watch over the
welfare, absolute liberty and independence of the three blue degrees, or
Symbolic Lodges, under the Grand Lodges of the different States.'
"'ART.
31. The Sovereign Masonic Power resides essentially and originally in the
great body of Masons, who deposit their obedience for its exercise in the
Grand Diet.'
"'ART.
32. The Supreme Authority of Symbolic Masonry shall have the title, 'Grand
Symbolic Diet of the United States of Mexico.'"
"All
of the Grand Lodges save three that of the State of Vera Cruz, the Federal
District, and one other ‑ together with the subordinate Lodges that had not
participated in its organization, transferred their allegiance to the Gran
Dieta. These constituent Lodges now number about two hundred, and the
membership exceeds ten thousand; the reporter for the Grand Lodge of Texas
makes the former two hundred and fifty, and the latter twenty thousand ‑ too
high, I think ‑ among whom I found, during my visit, were enrolled among its
members not only the President of the Republic, but the Governors of all the
principal States (some sixteen of which I visited), the Mayors of the cities,
and the Judges of the Supreme Court. The Gran Dieta is, therefore, a sovereign
and independent body, organized after the manner of the Grand Masonic Bodies
of the United States. It, and it alone, exercises supreme authority and
control over 'the three symbolic degrees of masonry' in Mexico.
"The
constituent elements in the Gran Dieta of Grand and Subordinate Lodges and in
the membership consists of Masons both of the York and Scottish Rite. We have
learned from the general history presented, that there was at one time some
twenty Lodges, with a membership of near eight hundred, that had obtained
their charters from Grand Lodges in the United States, and that the old York
element has existed in Mexico ever since, and, like the leaven of old, will
yet under fostering care more and more each year permeate the system of
Masonry now established upon a new basis.
The
ritual, however, used in a majority of these Lodges and Grand Lodges is that
of the three degrees of the Scottish Rite as practiced in Lodges created by
the Supreme Council, the exceptions being the Lodges composed exclusively or
principally of American citizens resident in the various cities of the
Republic, in which the American ritual is used. There are now some half dozen
so‑called American Lodges ‑ that is, Lodges composed of American citizens
resident in Mexico and other cities of the Republic. These Lodges all hold
their charters from the Grand Dieta, which is and must continue to be the only
governing body of Symbolic Masonry in Mexico. The last effort of the Grand
Lodges in the United States to establish a Lodge in Mexico, was that of the
Grand Lodge of Missouri which chartered Toltec Lodge some ten or more years
ago, but which, upon the organization of Gran Dieta, surrendered its charter
and took out one from the Gran Dieta, under which it now works.
"There
are thousands of American citizens, hundreds of them being Masons, residing in
the various cities in Mexico, many of whom are affiliated with the so‑called
American Lodges, while others yet hold membership in the Mexican Lodges, and
this number is increasing each year.
"Upon
the organization of the Gran Dieta it made no special effort to secure
recognition of American Grand Lodges, and it was some two or three years later
that the Grand Lodges of Texas and New York recognized it, as they do still,
and then the subject of its recognition was presented to other Grand Lodges,
which deferred action for further information, as it had been currently
reported, especially through a publication issued by an American resident of
the city of Mexico, that the Gran Dieta by its constitution authorized the
making of women Masons, and prohibited the use of the Great Light in their
lodges. These statements I had heard and read while I was yet writing the
Reports on Correspondence for this Grand Lodge, and so declined to present the
subject of recognition of the Gran Dieta to the Grand Lodge of Iowa until I
could satisfy myself more fully in relation to these rumors developing into
published statements. I examined the Constitution of the Gran Dieta, to which
I have referred, and could find nowhere within it any provision prohibiting
the use of the Great Light in their Lodges, or authorizing the making of women
Masons; the Constitution is entirely silent upon both subjects. During my
visit to the ltepublic of Mexico in February and March of 1895, I had an
opportunity to satisfy myself upon these subjects. I found that the Gran Dieta
did not, by any law, much less constitutional provision, prohibit or exclude
the Great Light from its altars ‑ it did and does permit its use; it does,
however, require by law the use of the Book of Constitutions upon its altars.
I found during my visit to Lodges and Grand Lodges in some, and especially all
of the American Lodges, the Great Light open upon the altar; in other Lodges
the Book of Constitutions only; and notwithstanding the requirement that the
Book of Constitutions should be used, I found in some Lodges that it was laid
aside in open view, and the Great Light substituted, and the action was not
called in question by any authority. It is not true, therefore, as has been
stated, that the Bible is excluded; its use, while permitted, is not required.
"In
reference to this subject, I fail to find any warrant or requirement in the
'Book of Constitutions,' the Constitution or Code of Iowa, or any other Grand
Lodge I have examined, requiring the use of the Great Light in our American
Lodges. The Constitution of the United States has no reference to God or a
Supreme Being, and many of our Presidents, in their annual messages, have
omitted all reference to a Supreme Being, so that a class of Christians are
year after year clamoring for an amendment to that National Charter, as if we
would become more a Christian nation by its insertion. The 'Book of
Constitutions' not only does not, any more than the Constitution of the Gran
Dieta, require the use of the Bible in Lodges, but, on the contrary, we learn
from it that it 'charges the Masons of every country to be of the religion of
that country or nation,' and so, of course, authorizes the use of the book of
the religion of the people of such country and nation. It has been well said
by high authority that 'he that is without sin among you, let him first cast a
stone.' Until the Grand Lodge of Iowa and other Grand Lodges, by
constitutional or legal enactment, shall first require the use of the Great
Light in their Lodges, let them be sparing of their criticisms and censure of
another supreme and independent Grand Lodge possessing all the rights and
privileges they claim. Without the exercise and practice of this Christian and
Masonic charity, Masonry can never become, as the Constitutions affirm it is,
'the center of union and the means of conciliating true friendship among
persons that must otherwise have remained at a perpetual distance.' Our people
and Masons are fast becoming important factors in the business and social
relations (even marrying and being given in marriage) of the cities of the
Mexican Republic; they are already in large numbers enrolled as members of
their Lodges; and if given a Chance, will yet bring the Masonry of that
country more in harmony with ours.
"
Another of the objections urged heretofore against the recognition of the Gran
Dieta is, that it made Masons of women. From a thorough examination of the
Constitution, I learn that this was not authorized or warranted by any
constitutional provision; it was not, indeed, until a year later, in 1891,
that the Gran Dieta, by a law provided for the initiation of women, and also
for the issuing to them of charters for Lodges. From what I saw and the best
information l could obtain, there were some two or three only of the Grand
Lodges that had sanctioned this practice, and about the same number of Lodges
that had acted under the permission thus given. I found both in the city of
Mexico and the city of San Luis Potosi, which is the capital of the State of
the same name, and a city of about the size of our State capital, Des Moines ‑
a woman's Lodge; that is, I saw the charters hanging upon the wall of the
ante‑room side by side with the charters of some four or five men's Lodges
occupying the same hall; the charters were filled out upon the same blanks, in
the same manner, signed by the same Grand Officers, and with the great seal of
the Gran Dieta ‑ the only difference being the insertion in one, of the names
of women rather than of men. Moreover, I find from an examination of the
Masonic Bulletin, the official organ of the Gran Dieta for 1891‑94, edited by
the Gran Dieta, and especially in the number for February, 1893, which
contains the official list of a hundred and more Lodges all owing obedience to
the Gran Dieta, among them one or two Lodges of women, chartered by the Gran
Dieta and organized by the Grand Secretary himself, as I was informed by the
brethren. In the official Bulletin for February, 1892, pages 175‑201, there is
a list of the officers and members, of some twenty Lodges, all of them
constituent members, of the Gran Dieta, and among them I find that of Martha
Washington Lodge, No. 156, with a list of the names of its officers and
members, and the name of the Master is Maria C. Beall, the Secretary Josefina
S.
Rivera. These ladies I know very well ‑ have known the former from her
childhood ‑ Mrs. Beall is a native of Iowa City, was educated in our State
University (where for years, I was a professor), was graduated in 1876, and
went to Mexico as a missionary, where she met and married her husband, who was
a member at that time and later Master of a Mexican Lodge in the same city, as
his name appears in the published record to which we have referred. The father
of this lady is and has been for many years a leading physician of Iowa city,
and a prominent Mason for half a century. The Secretary is the niece of the
Governor of the State, the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge, and the daughter
of Gen. Rivera, one of the leading citizens of the Republic, and the second
officer in a Lodge that has in its membership several prominent Americans,
among them the Rev. Mr. Winton, who has long been a resident of the city, and
thoroughly informed as to Mexican Masonry. From them I learned, as also from
the Masters and other officers of Mexican Lodges I visited in the city of
Mexico, that the women were accustomed to visit the men's Lodges at pleasure.
"Wherever I went and visited, either Grand or subordinate Lodges, being
received with the greatest courtesy and welcomed by eloquent addresses
delivered by the Grand Orator, an officer attached to every Lodge for the
purpose of welcoming visitors, I took occasion in my responsive addresses,
which I delivered upon every occasion and at considerable length, to cite
attention to this practice, which I found had obtained in a few cases, and
which was very objectionable to American Masons; and I assured them that while
it continued, many of our Grand Lodges would not recognize the Gran Dieta,
under whose jurisdiction they worked. I was everywhere informed, in public and
in private, that an overwhelming majority of the Lodges and members were
opposed to the practice, and were very anxious to be brought into closer and
more intimate relations with American Masons and Masonry. This sentiment was
communicated to me by President Diaz, who honored me with two very interesting
interviews, as also by his Deputy, both in the Supreme Council and Gran Dieta,
and other prominent Masons.
"A few
months after my return home I learned that the Gran Dieta had repealed the law
under which women were authorized to be made Masons, and upon receiving this
information, I replied that that would not satisfy American Masons; they must
go further, and provide by law for the revocation of charters issued to women,
and still more, deny to them the right of visitation to men's Lodges, both of
which the Gran Dieta has since done, as I am informed. Further than this I do
not see what they could do. They cannot unmake the women who are made Masons
any more than we can by expulsion declare that a man is no longer a Mason. We
only do as they have done, deny them all the rights and privileges of Masonry.
"The
making of women Masons is not a new departure in Masonry; its has only been
more recent, upon a larger scale, and brought nearer home. Every well‑read
Mason knows full well that in the last century a Lodge in Ireland, Num. 44, at
Doneraile, initiated a woman, Miss Elizabeth St. Leger, daughter of the Right
Honorable St. Leger, Viscount Deneraile, whose son and successor was Master of
the Lodge at the time.
She
afterwards married Hon. Richard Aldworth, of the County of Cork, and has left
a most honorable record as a woman and a woman Mason. Moreover, the Masonic
student may learn that during the reign of Napoleon, the First Emperor, a
woman was made a Mason, he being Grand Master at the time. she was a colonel,
and a very brave and distinguished officer in his army; served with
distinction for many years, and her sex was not discovered until she was
severely wounded, when, upon her recovery, the Masons, prompted by a spirit of
gallantry, conferred upon her the three symbolic degrees. Within the past
decade the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Hungary, a Symbolic Grand Lodge,
which takes a prominent part the present year with the officials and people of
Hungary in the celebration of their Millenium Festival, a thousand years of
honorable history, conferred, himself, the degrees of Masonry upon his own
wife.
While
the Masonic press commented upon this last case as Masonic historians have
upon the former, I have yet to learn that any Masonic Grand Body ever
withdrew, or even withheld, their recognition from those Grand Lodges of
Ireland, France, and Hungary. They were all recognized by the Grand Lodge of
Iowa as independent Grand Masonic Bodies; and it was only when the Grand Lodge
of France eliminated from its ritual the requirement of 'a belief in a Supreme
Being,' that the Grand Lodge of Iowa, following the example of the Grand Lodge
of England, and later followed by American Grand Lodges other than our own,
withdrew its recognition, or rather, refused to hold further Masonic
intercourse with that Grand Body.
"Another, and the third, objection has been very recently urged against the
recognition of the Gran Dieta as a lawfully constituted Masonic body, and the
very sweeping charge has been made, not only against the Gran Dieta, but
against very many of the Grand Lodges of the world, especially those of
Europe, Asia, Africa and South America, nearly all of which owe their origin
to Supreme Councils of Scottish Rite Freemasonry.
It has
been published that 'there is no lawful Masonry anywhere that is not descended
from the Free and Accepted Masonry of the British Isles, the Masonry of the
Charges of a Freemason;' and it is declared by the same writer that this is
'an indisputable fact.' He further says that the Lodges in Mexico are
'clandestine;' that 'their members are impostors and dissenters from the
original plan of Masonry,' and that 'whoever visits them violates his Masonic
vows.' If these statements be true, then all the Grand Lodges to which we have
referred are clandestine, and their members are impostors and dissenters, and
all who visit them, as and thousands of other American Masons have done, are
guilty, as charged, of violating our vows. The writer affirms that the
statements made by him are 'indisputable facts.' They are not only disputed
now, but have been through the whole history of Freemasonry in the United
States. In the Reports on Correspondence of the past year, Past Grand Masters
Drummond, of Maine, and Anthony, of New York, two among the ablest Masonic
writers of the day, and certainly the peers in Masonic knowledge of any other
two in the country, not only deny the statement, but affirm, to which an
overwhelming majority of Grand Lodges and Masonic writers give their adherence
quite as 'indisputably,' that 'a Lodge created by a Supreme Council in a
country where, by the Masonic law then prevailing, it may be done, is just as
lawful a Lodge, and its Masons as regular Masons, as any to be found outside
of those which can trace their origin back to the British Grand Lodges. The
bodies of the York Rite do not,' they say, 'embrace the whole of pure and
accepted Masonry.' To this I give my unwavering adherence.
"One
of the so‑called landmarks of Masonry, and quite as essential and important in
its character, and which has received the assent of quite a large number of
Masonic writers, affirms and declares that 'Masonry is cosmopolitan,' and is
universal, in which statement they are borne out by the Book of Constitutions
itself.
"Let
us refer briefly to the history of the English Grand Lodge. The first Grand
Lodge of which Masonic history gives any record, is that of England, organized
by the 'four old Lodges of London' in 1717. The Constitution (Charges and
Regulations) for its government was presented by Dr. Anderson (and since known
by his name), and adopted in 1823. This Grand Lodge, we all know, was
constituted by only four Lodges, leaving a larger number out in the cold,
while the Gran Dieta was constituted by one hundred and twenty‑two of the one
hundred and twenty‑five Lodges in the Republic.
While
there had never been an earlier Grand Lodge, there had been and were at that
time other Lodges constituted in the same way as those four ‑ by voluntary
action and without any warrant or authority save the brothers' common consent.
Now, the Constitution of the Grand Lodge of England, then and there adopted
for its government and it alone ‑ for it was not and is not binding upon any
Lodge or Grand Lodge till accepted as such ‑ is either a truth or a lie. It
reads, Head. VI, Division 2, that 'we are also Masons of all nations, tongues,
kindreds, and languages,' which is corroborated by all history; that there was
at that time other and 'lawful Masonry' elsewhere than in England. England,
while her political flag floats on every sea, has no 'monopoly' of Masonry,
outside of her own dominions. There was and is 'lawful Masonry' in other parts
of the globe, and so recognized by the Grand Lodge of England itself, by
Scotland, Ireland, Canada, and all English colonies, as by a majority of the
Grand Lodges of the United States, including Iowa. It cannot be said, as some
have asserted, that the Lodges in other nations sprung from the loins of the
English Grand Lodge, because at that date, 1723, the Grand Lodge of England
had not warranted a single Lodge beyond England and it was several years
before she constituted one beyond the 'British Isles.'
"Not
only has the Grand Lodge of Iowa, but a majority of the Grand Lodges of this
country as well as those of England and Europe have recognized the Grand
Lodges of Cuba, Veracruz, and the Federal District in Mexico, together with
those of Chili, Peru, Brazil, Argentine Republic, and others in the Western
Hemisphere, and in the Eastern, those of Spain, Portugal, Italy, Roumania,
Hungary, and others, all of which, as we have stated, were created by supreme
Councils. We have not had time to look into many of the proceedings of Grand
Lodges, but those which we have at hand, and into which we have looked, are
those of California, Canada, Louisiana, New York, as well as Iowa, all of
which have recognized the aforesaid Grand Lodges as lawfully constituted Grand
Lodges of Masons. It will never do for us or others to assert that all
knowledge, all wisdom, and all Masonic intelligence reside either in Illinois
or Iowa, or any other American Grand Lodge, or even in the Grand Lodge of
England, which has always acknowledged and recognized a majority, if not all,
of the several Grand Lodges we have named. Moreover, the Grand Master of the
Grand Lodge of England, the Prince of Wales, who has served his Grand Lodge
and Freemasonry now for twenty‑ one years, was made a Mason in a Lodge under
the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Sweden; and the Grand Lodge of Norway,
which is now seeking recognition at our hands, has been recognized recently by
some of the American Grand Lodges, as well as in former years by others.
"These
statements and averments prove that Masonry is universal, wide spread and
cosmopolitan in its character; it embraces, as the Constitutions say, 'Masons
of all nations, tongues, kindreds, and languages,' Mohammedan, Hindoos, and
even Pagans have Lodges and Grand Lodges, using the Koran, the Vedas, and
other sacred books of their religion, instead of the Bible. I have myself sat
in Lodges and Grand Lodges with native aboriginal Americans, full‑blooded
Indians. One of the Presidents of the United States, a former Grand Master of
a Grand Lodge, ordered the degrees of Masonry conferred upon Indian chiefs
visiting the Secretary of War at the National capital on business pertaining
to their nation, and those men had very little knowledge of the Great Light in
Masonry, or of any other sacred book, except the great volume of nature, and
as little, also, of the Book of the Constitutions, or the laws of the Grand
Lodge under whose jurisdiction they were made.
"Let
us inquire what is a 'clandestine Lodge' and see whether Lodges I visited in
Mexico were 'clandestine.' What is a 'clandestine Lodge,' and an impostor and
dissenter or 'clandestine Mason?' The (Anderson) Constitutions declare,
Section 8, that where a number of Masons shall take upon themselves to form a
Lodge without the Grand Master's warrant, the regular Lodges are not to
countenance them nor own them as fair brethren, and duly formed.' In other
words, a Lodge formed without a warrant from the Grand Master (we now say
Grand Lodge) is s clandestine,' and so a 'clandestine Mason' is one made in a
Lodge without a warrant. The Gran Dieta Symbolica of Mexico, and the Lodges
under its obedience, are as regular and legal bodies of Masons as is the Grand
Lodge of Illinois, Iowa, England, or any other Grand Lodge in the world. The
Gran Dieta is composed of Grand and subordinate Lodges that obtained their
charters from both Supreme Councils of the Scottish Rite and Grand Lodges of
the York Rite, but that does not militate, there more than here, against its
lawful character.
"So,
too, a lawfully‑constituted (warranted) Lodge cannot make 'clandestine
Masons.' There is a great difference between an 'irregularly‑made' and a
'clandestinely‑made' Mason. The making of a person who is not a 'good and true
man;' one who is not 'freeborn;' one who is not of 'mature and discreet
(legal) age;' or a 'bondman,' a 'woman,' or an 'immoral or scandalous man,'
and not of 'good repute,' is declared by Anderson's Constitutions to be
irregular and not permissible ‑ but that irregularity does not make them
'clandestine.' There are few, not any among all my brethren of many years'
standing in Masonry, who have not visited Lodges which had violated one or
more of these six commandments, called by some 'landmarks.' The violation of a
'landmark' by a Lodge or Grand Lodge does not make it or its members
clandestine.
Were
this so, the Grand Lodge of England itself, the oldest of Grand Lodges, would
be declared clandestine by all English‑speaking Grand Lodges in the world, for
there is no fact more notorious than that the Grand Lodge of England, very
many years ago, upon the manumission of slaves in its colonies, changed one of
the fundamental landmarks, so recognized, from 'free born'into 'free man,' and
thereby authorized the making of, and did make, Masons of those who were born
in slavery. Moreover, the Grand Lodges of England, of Pennsylvania, and
several other Grand Lodges in the United States ‑ even our neighboring Grand
Lodge of Missouri ‑
knowingly, and I may say willfully, made Masons of those of nonage. We have
residing in the State of Iowa to‑day a Mason made a Mason in his eighteenth
year in a Lodge in Missouri, and the Lodge so making him was fully cognizant
of the fact. These are irregularities, and no irregularity, however great, can
vitiate the charter or the legal existence of the body performing the act,
however offensive it may be in the eyes of the brethren.
"Any
and all Masons may visit any and all Lodges in Mexico without violating, as
charged by the ignorant or malicious, any O.B. of which I have any knowledge,
or known to the rituals here or elsewhere from the first to the thirty‑third
and last degree in Masonry.
"The
Grand Lodge of England was the first Grand Lodge and it was not created till
1717, nor its Constitution adopted till 1723; (1) yet within twenty years
there was a schism and a secession of a number of brethren, who constituted
another Grand Lodge, calling themselves the 'Ancients,' and by some strange
hocus pocus their mother Grand Lodge the 'Moderns' ‑ all this about the middle
of the last century. This new schismatic, Clandestine Grand Lodge, engineered
by a more intelligent, active and energetic Grand Secretary,
(1)
Constitution was adopted 1721, and first edition printed 1723. ‑ EDITOR
Laurence Dermott, grew rapidly, and soon assumed large and permanent
proportions.
It,
too, published a Book of Constitutions, called by its author, the Grand
Secretary, the 'Ahiman Rezon,' and planted its Lodges 'at home' and abroad,
especially in America, for Bro. Hughan, the great Masonic antiquarian and
historian, says that it secured the 'almost unanimous support of the Grand
Lodges of America.' That 'a stream cannot rise above its fountain,' 'nor can a
pure stream flow from an impure fountain,' are unquestionably axioms in nature
and in Masonry. Now, there are a few Grand Lodges in the United States in
whose veins the blood of the 'Ancients,' the 'rebel Dermott,' and his
clandestine Grand Lodge, so declared from 1750 to 1813, when the mother Grand
Lodge condoned all offenses and gave her the 'kiss of peace,' better by far
than that of the 'betrayal.' If there is no Dermott blood in Iowa and
Illinois, the veins of the Grand Lodge of Pensylvania are full of it, and they
still glory in their 'Ahiman Rezon,' and reject and 'cast over among the
rubbish' the Anderson's Constitutions. Nor is the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania
alone in this, but she has illustrious associates; and yet who ever heard of
an Illinois or Iowa Mason, or one from any other jurisdiction, calling those
Grand Lodges clandestine, or refuse, Masonically, to visit their Lodges or
hold Masonic intercourse with their members, charging them with being
'impostors and dissenters from the original plan of Masonry?'
"The
difference between the Masonry of Mexico and the United States is just here:
Their origin and pedigree is more pure and lawful than ours, while their
practices were not only objectionable to us but to others, and to even a
majority of their own membership, as they have repealed and abrogated the law
under which such objectionable practices had obtained by only two of the
twenty or more Grand Lodges, and the same number out of more than two hundred
subordinate Lodges.
"It
has been publicly proclaimed that the Gran Dieta has not only repealed the law
under and by which women were made Masons, but revoked and recalled the
charters (only three, and that is three too many) granted to women Lodges, but
gone further ‑ further they could not go ‑ and forbidden Lodges to admit women
Masons as visitors or to recognize them (though they be as lawful Masons as
the men).
"The
Gran Dieta being a lawfully constituted Masonic Body, with some two hundred
Lodges and (it is stated) twenty thousand members, with several American
Lodges and many of our citizens affiliated therein, and having not only proved
that it did not forbid or exclude, but permits, as she has always, the use of
the Great Light and moreover settled the question of the past woman, she
knocks at the door of the American Grand Lodges for recognition. Let it be
borne in mind that recognition is not essential, or even necessary to
legality. It only bears in its train a more enlarged and fraternal intercourse
among and between their members.
P.
1960
CHAPTER III
CUBA
AND PORTO RICO
Cuba.
On
December 17, 1804, the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania chartered at Havana Le
Temple des Vertus Theologales, No. 103, Joseph Cerneau being the first Master.
Under
the same sanction other lodges were erected ‑ in 1818, Nos. = 157, 161; in
1819, Nos. 166, 167; in 1820, No. 175 (at Santiago de Cuba), and in 1822, No.
181.
They
existed up to 1826, at which time the charters of Nos. 175 and 181 had been
revoked for failure of meeting for more than a year, and the others had died
out. The Grand Lodges of Louisiana and South Carolina next assumed the
warranting of lodges on the island. Under the former Grand Lodge, bodies
sprang up, in 1815, No. 7, in 1818, Nos. 11 and 14, and under the latter in
1818, No. 50, and in 1819, No. 52. The Grand Orient of France in 1819
established a lodge and consistory (32), and two further lodges in 1821. The
Grand Lodge of South Carolina received from the G.L. of Ancient Freemasons in
Havana in 1821, a communication stating that a Grand Lodge had been organized
there, to which the Lodge La Amenidad, No. 52, desired permission to transfer
its allegiance. A favorable answer was returned, but La Constancia, No. 50,
was retained on the roll of the G. L. of South Carolina for some years, after
which the Warrant was surrendered by the members "in consequence of the
religious and political persecutions to which they were subjected."
For
many years Masonry languished in the is Pearl of the Antilles," its votaries
practicing their rites in secret, but not daring to indulge in any overt acts,
which might entail not only expulsion from the country, but also confiscation
of their property. At length, however, a faint revival set in, and a Warrant
was granted, November 17, 1859, by the Grand Lodge of South Carolina to St.
Andrew's Lodge, No. 93, "for the purpose of establishing, with the
co‑operation of two other Lodges (1) already existing on the island, a Grand
Lodge," which was accomplished on December 5th of the same year.
An
independent "Grand Lodge of Colon" was thus established at Santiago de Cuba,
and ‑ December 27, 1859 ‑ a Supreme Council of the A. and A. S. R. 33d was
founded in the same city by Andres Cassard. (2)
At
this time, it must be recollected, the practice of assembling as Freemasons
was forbidden by the Spanish laws, which laws, moreover, though destined to
become ‑ after the dethronement of Queen Isabella (1868) ‑ innocuous in the
Peninsula, remained for a long time in full force in Cuba.
Several, indeed, of the Captains General and other officers who ruled the
islands were Masons, and therefore from time to time the Craft was tolerated,
but its members being always compelled to work to a great extent in the dark,
found it necessary to observe the most inviolable secrecy, and even to shield
themselves under "Masonic names," lest by the discovery of their own, they
might incur the most grievous penalties.
For
the same reason the Supreme Council and the Grand Lodge, which soon after
united in forming a Grand Orient, found a convenient title for the amalgamated
body in the name of Colon ‑ the Spanish for Columbus ‑ it being desired above
all things to conceal from the public ken the seat of the "Grand East" of the
Society.
At the
formation of the Grand Orient of Colon, a constitution published at Naples in
1820 was adopted as that of the new organization. By this the Supreme Council
necessarily became a section of the Grand Orient. In 1865 a new constitution
was promulgated. The Sov. G. Com. of the Supreme Council became ‑ ex officio ‑
G.M. of the Grand Orient, but the G.M. of the Grand Lodge was still required
to submit himself for election. All charters for lodges were issued by the
Grand Lodge, but had to be confirmed and vised by the Supreme Council.
In
1867 the Grand Lodge promulgated a constitution of its own, in which, while
recognizing its continued membership of the Grand
(1)
Brothers Albert Pike and Josiah H. Drummond agree that these were Spanish
lodges, having warrants from Spain.
(2)
Sanctioned by S. C. 33d Southern Jurisdiction
Orient, it claimed the exclusive power to enact its own by‑laws, issue
charters, constitute and regulate lodges. Their right to do this was denied by
the Supreme Council. In 1868, September 30th, the Grand Lodge suspended its
constitution until a meeting took place of the Grand Orient, convoked for
November 30th. But before that time the revolution broke out, and Freemasons,
being regarded by the Spanish Government as revolutionists, the G. O. could
not meet. The Grand Lodge, so far as it was possible, resumed labor. But the
times were unpropitious. In the winter of 1869, at Santiago de Cuba, by order
of Gonzales Bret, an officer of the Government, eighteen persons were seized
without warrant, and immediately shot, without trial, for being Freemasons ‑
one of them the M.W.G.M. of Colon ‑ and many others were arrested and
committed to prison for the same offence.
The
number of Cuban lodges, which in 1868 amounted to about thirty, had fallen in
1870 to about seven, and in the latter year the S. C. organized a Provincial
Mother Lodge at Havana, against which the Grand Lodge very naturally
protested. The Warrant to this if "Mother Lodge" was soon after recalled, but
the dispute between the S. C. and the Grand Lodge continued. In 1873
‑
April 11th ‑ the Grand Lodge resumed work openly, and in the following year
entered into a compact with the Supreme Council, whereby it was agreed that
the former should have exclusive jurisdiction over Symbolic Masonry, with the
sole right of chartering lodges, and that it should establish a Provincial
Mother Lodge in the western section of the island to govern the lodges there,
but in submission to the laws of the Grand Lodge. After this compact it was
intended that the Grand Lodge, though still nominally a section in the Grand
Orient, should have full jurisdiction over the Symbolic Masonry. Nevertheless,
it is quite clear that there was a divided authority, and apparently great
Masonic confusion on the island.
The
Grand Lodge of Colon held five meetings in August, 1876, at the last of which
‑ August 26th ‑ it declared itself free from all other authority, a sovereign
body, with full and unlimited powers over its subordinates.
This
action, however, was accelerated by an event which had taken place on August
1st, when the representatives of nine chartered lodges, and of four under
dispensation, met at Havana, and formed the Grand Lodge of Cuba. This body
from the very first kept itself free from the blighting influence of the
(so‑called) high degrees, which it willingly consented ‑ December 31, 1876 ‑
should be ruled in Cuba by the Grand Orient of Spain. In a circular of
September 4, 1876, the Grand Lodge of Colon claimed to have on its register
thirty‑six lodges and 8,000 members; while its newly formed rival, the Grand
Lodge of Cuba, in 1877, possessed an apparent following of seventeen lodges.
In the
latter year ‑ June 3d
‑ a
second Grand Lodge of Colon (or Columbus) at Havana was added to the two
existing Craft Grand Bodies.
Thus
we find three organizations, each claiming to be the regular Grand Lodge. From
a circular of the Grand Lodge of Cuba, we learn that in 1879 the three lodges
which formed the Grand Lodge of Colon, at Santiago de Cuba in 1859, and four
others, adhered to that body; but that the remaining lodges, excepting those
under the Grand Lodge of Cuba, were subject to the control of the Grand Lodge
of Colon at Havana. To local jealousies must be attributed this multiplication
of Grand Lodges. The representatives of some of the Havana lodges who seceded
from the old (or original) Grand Lodge of Colon at Santiago de Cuba, met as
the Grand Lodge, and decreed its removal to Havana.
Eventually, however, the Grand Lodges of Colon (at Havana) and Cuba formally
united, and March 28, 1880, the G. M. of one body became Grand Master, and the
G. M. of the other body Deputy Grand Master. The title assumed by the new
organization was the United Grand Lodge of Colon and the Island of Cuba, and
it entered upon its career with a roll of fifty‑seven lodges, and between
5,000 and 6,000 Masons. The lodges under the original Grand Lodge of Colon at
Santiago de Cuba remained true to their allegiance.
In
1885 the number of lodges under the "United Grand Lodge" had apparently
increased to eighty‑two, with Provincial Grand Lodges at Santiago de Cuba and
Porto Rico; but on the official list there were only fifty‑eight lodges in all
upon the roll. Of these, thirty are in the capital, or in its vicinity, and
twenty‑eight in other parts. It is possible that further schisms may have
disturbed the peace of Cuban Masonry; and it is somewhat remarkable that the
Provincial Grand Lodge of Porto Rico ‑ with the fourteen subordinate lodges on
that island, shown in sundry calendars for 1886 ‑ have wholly disappeared in
the official list of current date.
It
only remains to be stated, that, from the statistics before me, there would
appear to have been in existence on the island thirteen lodges under the
National Grand Orient, and twenty‑seven under the Grand Lodge of Spain. The
latter were subject to a Prov.
G. M.,
whose jurisdiction also extends to Porto Rico.
Since
the suppression of Masonry in Cuba by Spanish authority, and the murder of
Masons at Santiago de Cuba, no authentic information of the status of the
Institution in the island has been attainable. No official documents have been
issued, but after the war of the United States with Spain ended, a notice
announcing that several bodies of the Fraternity in the island had resumed
their labors was issued, and under the new regime there is no doubt that
Masonry will flourish there, and its prosperity spread into other parts of the
Antilles.
Porto
Rico.
The
early Masonic history of this island is very vague and conjectural, as are all
questions relating to the problem of Spanish Masonry. In 1860, at Mayaguez,
there was in existence a Lodge Restauracion under the G. O. of Colon, but the
changes which took place in Cuba during the struggle for existence of the
Grand Lodges there, had their influence throughout all of the Spanish islands.
The
lists show that the Provincial Superintendent of Cuba and Porto Rico under the
Grand Lodge of Spain (of which Becera was the G. M.) was Don Manuel Romeno.
The lodges are not enumerated in the list, but five are on the roll of the
Grand Orient of Spain, however, without a Provincial Superintendent named. Le
Phenix, No. 230, constituted in 1874, was the only lodge representing the S.
C. of France. At one time the United Grand Lodge of Colon in Cuba had under
its jurisdiction fourteen lodges in the island. However, these were formed
into an Independent Grand Lodge, September 20, 1885. The greatest centres of
Masonic activity have been San Juan, Ponce, and Mayaguez, the last‑named toxvn
not only having two lodges, but also a consistory of 32d, a council of 30d,
and a chapter of 18d.
While
the lodges of Porto Rico severed their connection with the "United Grand
Lodge" of Colon in the island of Cuba, the chapters and other associations of
Masons in this Spanish dependency retained their allegiance to the Supreme
Council of the same title.
Upon
this a little light is thrown by the action of Don Antonio Romero Ortiz (at
the same time presiding over the Grand Lodge of Spain), who, in a decree,
dated March 13, 1883, "denounced the Grand Lodge of Colon and Cuba, and the
Masons of its obedience as traitors to the Government and to the Mother
Country," simply because they declined to recognize his authority to govern or
interfere in the affairs of "Symbolical Masonry" in Cuba. In the same year the
United Grand Lodge of Colon and Cuba announced by circular that there being in
all three Supreme Councils and three Grand Lodges in Spain, it had recognized
the Grand Lodge of Seville as being "the only really independent organization
of Craft Masonry" then existing in that country.
This,
of course, was dealing very summarily with the pretensions of the Grand Lodge
(or Orient) under Ortiz, which Mr. Albert Pike pronounced to be the only Grand
Body in Spain legitimately entitled to recognition as a regular Masonic body.
The name last quoted being, as many will be aware, that of the Sov. G. Com. of
the S. C. 33d for the U. S. A., Southern Jurisdiction ‑ the body of which he
is the head being to other Supreme Councils what the Grand Lodge of England is
to other Grand Lodges, and his own personal authority perhaps ranking higher
than that of any other Mason either in the Old World or the New.
The
Grand Lodge and Supreme Council of Colon and Cuba have therefore followed
different roads, the latter treading in the beaten track traversed by Supreme
Councils in amity with that presided over by the patriarch and law‑giver of
the rite, and the former boldly striking out a path of its own.
Owing
to the state of political affairs in the island, and from the influential
position held by Ortiz in Spain, the charges he made were calculated to
subject the Cuban Masons both to surveillance and persecution on the part of
the authorities. At Porto Rico the circumstances were somewhat different. Out
of Cuba itself the S. C. of Colon was long regarded ‑ and not alone by
votaries of the A. and A. S. R. 33d ‑ as a more stable institution than any
other of the numerous Grand Bodies which sprang up like mushrooms in the
island. When, therefore, the two governing bodies at Havana, each in its own
way, attempted to solve the problem of Craft sovereignty in Spain, it is not
to be wondered at that the confusion existing in the peninsula was reproduced
with more or less fidelity in the Spanish Antilles. In Porto Rico there were
no less than five chapters of 18d, besides a council of 30d, and a consistory
of 32d. These, as already related, adhered to their allegiance; but the lodges
on the island set up a Grand Lodge of Porto Rico at the city of Mayaguez in
1885, and it is satisfactory to state that the Grand Lodge of Colon and Cuba
subsequently established fraternal relations with the new body.
P.
1967
CHAPTER IV
FREEMASONRY IN ASIA AND CAPE COLONY
We are
greatly indebted to Gould's "History of Freemasonry" for the following
sketches of Masonry in Asia and other countries in the Eastern Hemisphere. He
says: "It has been the practice of Masonic writers to pass lightly over the
history of Free Masonry in non‑European countries and to exclude almost from
mention the condition or progress of the Craft, in even the largest Colonies
or Dependencies within the sovereignty of an Old World Power."
Information on this point must be sought amid the records of the countries
discussed.
Too
little emphasis has been laid by writers upon other than European countries,
and slight attention given to their dependencies. Of these latter Findel says:
" The lodges existing in these quarters of the globe were one and all under
the Grand Lodges of England, Scotland, Holland or France, and therefore their
history forms an inseparable part of that of the countries in question." This
statement, to say the least, is inexact.
Owing
to the varied admixture of peoples found in the Asiatic countries into which
Europeans have entered, the practice of the craft emanates from many different
sources.
While
in the Greater Antilles arose Masonic Innovations claiming equality with or
superiority over the Grand Authority of the Craft, in the Lesser Antilles,
lodges connected with different European Grand Bodies existed in the same
localities. This state of affairs necessarily induced a convict of
jurisdiction. Rebold says:
"After
Holland had become incorporated with the French Empire (July, 1810), the Grand
Orient of France assumed the control of all the Dutch Lodges which then
existed, with the exception of those of the Indies. which remained under the
obedience which had created them, and which carried on the title of Grand
Lodge of the United Provinces of the Low Countries."
Likewise the Provincial Grand Lodge of Bengal, in British India, was more than
once independent in fact, if not in name, and its archives must be examined
for Hindostanee Freemasonry or else nothing would be known of lodges the names
of which do not appear upon the rolls of those European Grand Bodies under
which Findel avers they came.
India.
George
Pomfret was authorized in 1728 by the Grand Lodge of England "to open a new
Lodge in Bengal." This lodge was established in 1730 by Captain Ralph
Farwinter, the successor of Pomfret, as "Provincial Grand Master of India."
This lodge is described as No. 72, Bengal, and is distinguished by the arms of
the Company in the Engraved Lists.
James
Dawson, Zech Gee, and Roger Drake, in order, succeeded Captain Farwinter.
Drake
was Governor of Calcutta, but escaped the horrors of the Black Hole in 1756 by
flying to the ships. He returned with Clive, but does not appear to have
resumed his Masonic office.
At the
period in question it was the custom in Bengal "to elect the Prov. G. M.
annually by the majority of the voices of the members then present, from among
those who had passed through the different offices of the (Prov.) Grand Lodge,
who had served as Dep. Prov. G. M."
Under
this practice Samuel Middleton was elected in 1767 and confirmed October 31,
1768. But a few years previously Earl Ferrers had granted a roving commission
to "John Bluvitt, commander of the Admiral Watson Indiaman for East India,
where no other Provincial is to be found." The annual election referred to was
confirmed by the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of England without its being
thought an infringement upon his prerogative. But the dispensation confirming
Middleton's election was regarded as abrogating annual elections. He held
office until his death in 1775.
The
records of the Bengal Grand Lodge only extend back to 1774. But prior to this
date other lodges were formed. A second one, of whom nothing, save its
existence, is known, arose and seven members of this organized a lodge April
16, 1740, and on petition the Grand Lodge of England ordered "the said Lodge
to be enrolled (as requested) in the lists of regular lodges, agreeable to the
date of their Constitution."
Other
lodges were formed at Chandernagore, Calcutta, Patna, and Burdwan, the names
of only some of which are preserved, but the numbers given them show that
others must have existed.
In
1774 there were only three lodges in Calcutta. Besides these and the lodges at
the other places mentioned, there were lodges at Dacca, Moorshedabad, and "at
some military stations or with army brigades."
"The
Grand Lodge of Solomon at Chinsura," which was under Holland, worked in
harmony with the Provincial Grand Lodge under England, visits being
interchanged and officials of both engaging in the same ceremonies.
"In
1775, February 15, the Prov. Grand Lodge, 'taking into consideration the
propriety of preserving concord and unanimity, recommend it to the Brethren
who call themselves "Scott and Elect" that they do lay aside the wearing of
red ribbons, or any other marks of distinction, but such as are proper to the
Three Degrees, or to the Grand Lodge as such, 'a request, we are told, which
was cheerfully complied with."
Upon
the death of Middleton in 1776, Charles Stafford Pleydell was elected in his
stead. Under Philip Milner Dacres, the successor of Stafford, the Prov. Grand
Lodge of Bengal assembled for the last time January 25, 1781.
The
war in the Carnatic, which nearly swept Masonry out of India, had much to do
with this dissolution.
"Industry and Perseverance" of the lodges in Calcutta, "where alone in Bengal
Masonry may be said to have existed," may be said to be the only one which
survived with a feeble light.
However, the Provincial Grand Lodge was re‑opened July 18, 1785, under George
Williamson, a former Deputy P.G.M., under a patent from England appointing him
Acting P.G.M., and authorizing a meeting for election of Grand Master.
Upon
an election November 14th, Edward Fenwick, former Grand Warden, was elected,
receiving six votes, while Williamson received four. The former was installed
March 17, 1786, though under his patent Williamson was clearly entitled to
hold his acting appointment until the confirmation from London of the election
of Fenwick.
This
led to trouble. Williamson was sustained by the Grand Lodge of England, but
the Prov. Grand Lodge maintained its position and, despite protests, Fenwick
continued in the duties of his office and his election was confirmed May 5,
1788.
A
letter of February 6, 1788, from the Prov. Grand Lodge to Grand Secretary
White contains the following:
"An
interesting account of the state of Masonry in Bengal appears in a letter of
February 6, 1788, from the Prov. Grand Lodge to Grand Secretary White, from
which I extract the following:
"'We
earnestly wish to see the whole number of Lodges which existed in 1773 or 1774
reestablished. But the Subordinates at Patna, Burdwan, Dacca, and Moorshedabad
now consist of such small societies, and these so liable to change, that we
must confess it rather to be our wish than our hope to see Lodges established
at any of these places.'
"At
this assembly, the Wardens of Lodge 'Star in the East' said their meetings had
been interrupted, because, in the absence of the Prov. Grand Lodge, no new
Master could be installed. Williamson, however, ordered them to proceed with
the election of a new Master, and engaged to convene a Prov. Grand Lodge for
his installation.
"A
letter from G. Sec. White, dated March 24, 1787 ‑ continuing to Williamson the
powers specified in his patent of 1784 ‑ was read in the Prov. Grand Lodge on
August 27 of that year. In the discussion which ensued, the Master of Lodge
Star in the East observed: . . . 'Mr. Williamson, whose affairs have long been
in a most anxious situation ‑ who has been obliged, for a long time past, to
live under a foreign jurisdiction ‑ who now cannot come to Calcutta, but on a
Sunday, or, if he comes on any other day, is obliged to conceal himself during
the day time, and to be extremely cautious how he goes even when it is dark!'
"The
patent, however, did not arrive in India until March 4, 1789.
"'With
respect to the Brigades, they have been divided into six of Infantry and three
of Artillery. This regulation has lessened the number of officers in each, and
they will be more liable to removals than formerly. The first circumstance
must be a great discouragement to the formation of Lodges in the Brigades, and
the second would sometimes expose such Lodges to the risk of being
annihilated. However, we shall give all encouragement to the making of
applications, and all the support we possibly can to such Lodges as may be
constituted.'
"A
grand ball and supper was given by the Prov. Grand Lodge, January 14, 1789, to
which invitations were sent, not only to residents in Calcutta, but also to
'Bro. Titsingh, Governor of Chinsurah, and other Masons of that Colony; to
Bro. Bretel, and the other Masons of Chandernagore; and also to the Masons of
Serampore, and to the Sisters of these Colonies, according to what has been
customary on such occasions formerly.'
"In
1790 ‑ December 27 ‑ Fenwick resigned; and on the same day the Hon. Charles
Stuart was elected and installed as his successor. The latter, however ‑ owing
to the government of the country devolving upon him in consequence of the
absence of Lord Cornwallis from Calcutta ‑ appointed Richard Comyns Birch
'Acting Prov. G. M. of Bengal.'
"The
Lodges in the Presidency are thus described in the Freemasons' Calendar for
1794:
Star
in the East, Calcutta, 1st Lodge of Bengal
1740
Lodge of Industry and Perseverance, Calcutta,
2d
Lodge of Bengal
1761
Lodge of Unanimity, Calcutta, 3d Lodge of Bengal
1772
Anchor and Hope, Calcutta, 6th Lodge of Bengal
1773
Lodge of Humility with Fortitude, Calcutta,
5th
Lodge of Bengal
1773
Lodge of True Friendship, with the 3d Brigade,
4th
Lodge of Bengal
1775
At Futty Ghur, Bengal
1786
Lodge of the North Star, Fredericksnagore,
7th
Lodge of Bengal
1789
At Chunar, in the East Indies, 8th Lodge of Bengal
1793
Lodge of Mars, Cawnpore, 9th Lodge of Bengal
1793"
There
was also another lodge, the Marine Lodge, Calcutta, and a Stewards' Lodge
under the Grand Lodge of England.
From
the first two lodges of the above list the officers of the Prov. Grand Lodge
had always been selected, which induced resentment upon the part of the other
lodges.
This
feeling brought about a general defection from the Prov. Grand Lodge of Bengal
and by consequence from the Grand Lodge of England. An ephemeral lodge ‑ No.
146 ‑ under the Atholl (or Ancient) Grand Lodge was established at Calcutta in
1767, but no others were founded until later.
"The
Lodges 'True Friendship' and 'Humility with Fortitude' were the first who
transferred their allegiance, the former becoming No. 315, or No. 1 of Bengal,
Dec. 27, 1797; and the latter, No. 317, or No. 2 of Bengal, April 11, 1798.
The 'Marine Lodge' followed their example, and obtained a similar warrant ‑
No.
323 ‑ March 4, 1801.
Meanwhile, Lodge 'Star in the East' fell into abeyance, and 'Industry and
Perseverance' was on the point of closing also. One meeting only was held in
each of the years 1802, 1803, and 1804, after which, for a long period, there
were no more. Lodge 'Anchor and Hope' obtained an Atholl warrant as No. 325 ‑
Oct. 11, 1801. Little is known of Lodge 'Unanimity,' which, though carried
forward at the union (1813), must have died out at least several years before.
"During the ten or eleven years that intervened between the obliteration of
the Prov.
Grand
Lodge and its re‑establishment in 1813, Masonry in Calcutta was represented
almost exclusively by the Lodges which had seceded from the (older) Grand
Lodge of England.
"On
St. John's Day (in Christmas), 1809, the Lodges, True Friendship, Humility
with Fortitude, Marine, No. 338 (Ancients) in the 14th Foot, and the
'Dispensation Lodge,' working under a warrant granted by No. 338, walked in
procession to St. John's Church, where a Masonic sermon was delivered by the
Rev. Dr. James Ward.
"Happily, Lodges Star in the East, and Industry and Perseverance, were revived
in 1812, and on December 22 of that yeas; accompanied by the 'Officers'
Lodge,' No. 347 in the 14th Foot, and Humility with Fortitude, also walked in
procession to the same church, and benefited by a like sermon from Dr. Ward.
"On
October 4, 1813, the Earl of Moira ‑ who had been appointed Acting Grand
Master of India ‑ arrived in Calcutta. The first Masonic act of the
Governor‑General was to constitute a new Lodge in that city ‑ the Moira,
Freedom and Fidelity ‑ November 8, and his second, to re‑establish the Prov.
Grand Lodge of Bengal under the Hon. Archibald Seton."
Upon
the union of the two Grand Lodges, the "Atholl" lodges, three in number, at
Calcutta came under the jurisdiction of the Prov. Grand Lodge.
Two
others of the secession are not mentioned in the records of the Province,
1814‑40.
"At
the period of this fusion, there were the following Lodges under the old
sanction: The Stewards, Star in the East, Industry and Perseverance, and
Sincere Friendship (Chunar). Of these Lodges, the first never held a London
warrant, and the last was struck off the roll inadvertently at the Union.
There were also then in existence the Moira Lodge, and three others,
constituted since the revival of the Prov. Grand Lodge, the names of which
head the following table of Lodges erected during the period 813 ‑ 26:
Moira,
Calcutta, November 13, 1813, Oriental Star, Noacollee, April 21, 1814.
Aurora, Calcutta, June 23, 1814.
Courage with Humanity, Dum Dum, July 12, 1814.
Northern Star, Barrackpore, July 18, 1816.
Sincerity, Cawnpore, January 8, 1819.
Hasting Lodge of Amity and Independence, Allahabad, April 9, 1821.
United
Lodge of Friendship, Cawnpore, June 13, 1821.
Humanity with Courage, Prince of Wales' Island, July, 1822.
Amity,
St. John's, Poona (Deccan), January 30, 1824.
Kilwinning in the West, Nusseerabed, October 20, 1824.
Larkins' Lodge of Union and Brotherly Love, Dinapore, October 20, 1824
lndependence with Philanthropy, Allahabad, October 26, 1825.
South‑Eastern Star of Light and Victory, Arracan, October 26, 1825.
Tuscan, Malacca, October 26, 1825.
Royal
George, Bombay, December 9, 1825.
Union
and Perseverance, Agra, October 23, 1826.
Kilwinning in the East, Calcutta, December 23, 1826.
"Out
of these eighteen Lodges, however, only seven ‑ Nos. 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 13, and 18
above ‑ secured a footing on the roll of the Grand Lodge of England, and it is
not a little curious that of the two now alone surviving, Courage with
Humanity (1814), and Independence with Philanthropy (1825), which were placed
on the general list in the same year (1828) in juxtaposition, the latter bears
the earlier number, and has the higher precedence!"
The
Duke of Sussex empowered Earl Moira, whose sway extended over India, to
appoint Provincial Grand Masters, as if appointed by himself.
Acting
Prov. G. M. Seton, leaving India in 1817, the Governor General, Marquis of
Hastings, selected Hon. C. Stuart to succeed him, but he does not appear to
have qualified. So Hon. C. R Lindsay was appointed by Marquis of Hastings,
Prov. G. M.
January 17, 1818, and by the Deputy G. M. of India January 13, 1819.
November 30, 1818, request was made to the Grand Master of India by eight
persons for permission to meet as a lodge at St. Andrew, to make the Hon.
Mountstuart Elphinstone a Mason and also to install him, when made, as deacon.
No record of any reply has been kept.
John
Pascal Larkins succeeded Lindsay as D.G.M. of India and Prov. G. M. of Bengal
December 24, 1819. He returned to Europe in 1826, and until 1840 the Craft in
Bengal was ruled by a Deputy in Calcutta. From this resulted the overthrow of
all order and constitutional authority.
"The
Lodges in Bengal made their returns regularly, and forwarded their dues
punctually, to the Prov. Grand Lodge; but as no steps were taken for the
transmission of these returns and dues to their destination, the Grand Lodge
of England ceased to notice or regard the tributary Lodges of Bengal. On the
submission of a motion for inquiry ‑ March 22, 1828 ‑ the Deputy Prov. G.M.
'felt himself constrained to resign his chair on the spot, and the Grand
Wardens also tendered their resignations.'
"This
led, at the instance of Lodge Aurora, to the formation of a representative
body, styled the Lodge of Delegates, who were charged with the duty of
preparing a memorial to the Grand Lodge of England, which, bearing date August
22, 1828, was sent to the Duke of Sussex, signed by the Masters and Wardens of
the following Lodges: True Friendship, Humility with Fortitude, Marine,
Aurora, Courage with Humanity, and Kilwinning in the East.
"To
this no reply was vouchsafed. The letters of the Lodges in Bengal remained
unanswered, and their requests unheeded. The usual certificates for brethren
made in the country were withheld, notwithstanding that the established dues
were regularly remitted; and applications for warrants were also unnoticed,
though they were accompanied by the proper fees. This state of affairs
continued antil 1834, when the question of separation from the Grand Lodge of
England was gravely and formally mooted in the Lodges. Overtures for a
reconciliation at length came in the shape of certificates for brethren who
had by this time grown gray in Masonry. Answers to letters written long ago
were also received; but the most important concession made by the Grand Lodge
of England was the constitution of the first District Grand Lodge of Bengal ‑
under Dr. John Grant ‑ which held its first meeting, February 28, 1840."
"In
1834 some Masons at Delhi applied to their brethren at Meerut for an acting
constitution of this kind, which might serve their purpose until the receipt
of a warrant from the Grand Lodge of England. At the latter station there were
two Lodges, one of which, however, was itself working under dispensation, and
could not therefore dispense grace to another. The other belonged to the 26th
Foot, No. 26, under the Grand Lodge of Ireland. This Lodge declined giving a
dispensation, for the somewhat Irish reason that the Cameronian Lodge had
already granted one to another Lodge, of the propriety of which act they had
great doubt; and that until an answer had been received from Ireland they
could not commit a second act of doubtful legality! The custom, however, was a
very old one. In 1759, Lodge No. 74, I.R., in the 1st Foot (2d Batt.), granted
an exact copy of its warrant ‑ dated October 26, 1737 ‑ to some brethren at
Albany, to work under until they received a separate charter from Ireland.
This was changed ‑ February 21, 1765
‑ for
a warrant from George Harrison, English Prov. G.M.
of New
York; and the Lodge ‑ Mount Vernon ‑ is now No. 3 on the roll of the Grand
Lodge of that State."
(1)
In the
British Army the Grand Lodge of Ireland has been the favorite of Grand Bodies,
and yet only one stationary lodge has been erected in India under its
jurisdiction. This was in 1837 at Kurnaul, but it seems to have lived only one
year. At Bombay, in 1862, an attempt was made to organize another lodge. But
the attempt failed, as the Grand Lodge of Ireland refused a warrant on the
ground that there were already two jurisdictions in India, the English and
Scotch
(1) Cf
Barker. "Early Hist. of the Grand Lodge of New York," preface, p. xviii
"In
the decennial periods 1840 ‑ 50 and 1850 ‑ 60 there were in each instance 12
additions to the roll. In 1860 ‑ 70 the new Lodges amounted to 19, and in 1870
‑ 85 to 38. These figures are confined to the English Lodges, but extend over
the area now occupied in part by the District Grand Lodges of Burmah and the
Punjaub, both of which were carved out of the territory previously comprised
within the Province of Bengal in 1868. The following statistics show the
number of Lodges existing ‑ January 1, 1886 ‑ in the various states and
districts which until 1868 were subject to the Masonic government of Bengal:
under the Grand Lodge of England ‑ Bengal (D.G.L.), 39; British Burmah (D.G.L.),
7; and Punjaub (D.G.L.), 24. Under the Grand Lodge of Scotland, II ‑ the
earliest of which, St. David (originally Kilwinning) in the East, No. 371,
Calcutta, was constituted February 5, 1849.
"The
Dutch Lodges in Hindostan have passed out of existence, but with regard to
these, and also to certain other Lodges established by the Grand Lodge of
Holland in various places beyond the seas, the materials for an exhaustive
list are not available to the historian."
Madras.
At
this place in 1752 was established the earliest lodge in Southern India. In
1765 three others were formed at the same station. Captain Edmund Pascal was
appointed Provincial Grand Master for Madras and its Dependencies, about 1756.
In the following year a fifth lodge was erected at Fort St. George. The other
English settlements in India were dominated by this presidency for a short
period, and the Carnatic figures largely in Indian Masonic history during the
latter half of the 18th century owing to the continuous wars with the French,
and afterward with Hyder Ali and his son.
"In
1768 a lodge ‑ No. 152 ‑ was established by the Atholl (or Ancient) Grand
Lodge of England at Fort St. George; and in 1773 one by the Grand Lodge of
Holland at Negapatam. The next event of importance was the initiation, in
1776, of Umdat‑Umara, eldest son of the Nabob of Arcot, at Trichinopoly, who
in his reply to the congratulations of the Grand Lodge of England, stated 'he
considered the title of an English Mason as one of the most honorable he
possessed."'
A
Provincial Grand Lodge under the Atholl sanction was established at Fort St.
George in 1781, " but the dissensions in the settlements had so rent asunder
every link of social life, that even the fraternal bond of Masonry has been
annihilated in the general wreck."
Under
Brigadier‑General Horn, "Prov. G.M. for the Coast of Coromandel, the
Presidency of Madras and parts adjacent," the union of the Brethren in
Southern India was effected.
All
the older lodges at this time seem to have been extinct; but there was
established at Arcot in 1786 the C.M.L. The following year Lodge No. 152
tendered its allegiance to General Horn and joined one of the lodges under
that officer.
Of
these, four were added to the roll in 1787. Nos. 510 ‑ 513 ‑
Perfect Harmony, St.
Thomas
Mount; Social Friendship, Madras; Trichinopoly; and Social Friendship, St.
Thomas
Mount ‑ and styled Nos. 3, 4, 5, and 6, Coast of Coromandel. Two other lodges
were also established in the same year, the Stewards and Perfect Unanimity,
which, according to the loose practice of those days, were given the places on
the list of the two earliest Madras lodges, and became (in 1790) Nos. 102 and
233 respectively.
A
lodge of happy nomenclature ‑ La Fraternite Cosmopolite ‑
was
constituted at Pondicherry in 1786 by the Grand Orient of France, and a second
‑ Les Navigateurs Reunis ‑ 1790.
In the
latter year ‑ July 5th ‑ John Chamier received a similar patent, as Prov. G.M.,
to that previously held by General Horn, and was succeeded by Terence Gahagan,
1806, and Herbert Compton, 1812. During this period four lodges were added to
the roll ‑ Solid Friendship, Trichinopoly, 1790; Unity, Peace and Concord,
1798; St. Andrew's Union, 19th Foot, 1802; and Philanthropists, in the Scotch
Brigade (94th Foot), 1802, at Madras. These lodges were numbered 572, 574,
590, and 591 on the general, and 7, 9, 10, and 11 (Coast of Coromandel) on the
local, lists respectively.
After
the union the Province was ruled by Dr. Richard Jebb, 1814; George Lys, 1820;
and in 1825 by Compton once more. The name of this worthy only disappears from
the Freemasons' Calendar in 1842, and with it the provincial title, "Coast of
Coromandel" ‑ exchanged for "Madras," over which Lord Elphinstone had been
appointed Prov. G.M.
in
1840.
Within
this period ‑ 1814 ‑ 42 ‑ numerous Lodges were warranted locally, as in
Bengal; but thirteen only ‑ of which seven were in Madras itself ‑ secured
places on the London Register.
Eighteen English lodges have since been established in the Presidency, and
there are at present in existence twenty lodges on the register of England and
two on that of Scotland ‑ both erected in 1875 ‑ but the introduction of
Scottish lodges into India will be referred to in the ensuing section.
The
French lodge of Pondicherry ‑ La Fraternite Cosmopolite
‑ was
revived (or a new one established under the old title) in 1821. Another ‑
L'Union Indienne ‑ was erected at the same station in 1851. At the present
date, however, there exist throughout India and its dependencies no other
lodges than those under the Grand Lodges of England and Scotland respectively.
Bombay.
During
the 18th century there were established in this Presidency a lodge at Bombay
in 1758, and one at Surat in 1798, which were carried on in the lists until
1813, but disappear at the union. Jas. Todd was appointed in 1763 Provincial
Grand Master, and his name only drops out of the Freemasons' Calendar in 1799.
The 78th foot, a regiment under Sir Arthur Wellesley in Mahratta war, and
which took part in the decisive victory of Assaye, received an Atholl Warrant
in 1801. A lodge at Poona was established in 1818. No more were established in
the Presidency until 1822, when the Benevolent Lodge, Bombay, was placed on
the lists. In the Bombay Artillery in 1823 there was "installed" at Poona a
military lodge as No. 15 ‑ Orion in the West ‑ Coast of Coromandel, November
15th. The Proceedings of this lodge show that members "were examined in the
Third Degree T.D. and passed into the chair of the Fourth Degree" ‑ paying a
fee of three gold mohurs.
"Among
the Masons about this time in Bombay were thirteen non‑commissioned officers
who were too poor to establish a lodge of their own, and too modest to seek
admittance in what was considered an aristocratic lodge. They met, however,
monthly in the guard‑room over the Apollo Gate, for mutual instruction in
Masonry. This coming to the knowledge of the Benevolent Lodge, the thirteen
were elected honorary members of No. 746, for which they returned heartfelt
thanks. At their first attendance, when the lodge work was over, and the
Brethren adjourned to the banquet, the thirteen were informed that
refreshments awaited them downstairs. Revolting at the distinction thus made
among Masons, they one and all left the place. The next morning they were sent
for by their commanding officer, who was also one of the officers of the
lodge, and asked to explain their conduct. One of the party ‑ Mr. W. Willis
(by whom this anecdote was first related to me) ‑ told him that as Masons they
were bound to meet on the level and part on the square, but as this
fundamental principle was not practiced in No. 746, of which they had been
elected honorary mernbers, they could not partake of their hospitality. The
astonished Colonel uttered not a word, but waived his hand for them to retire.
Ever after this, the Benevolent Lodge ‑ including the thirteen ‑ met on the
level, both in lodge and at the banquet‑table."
(1)
Burnes,
in 1836, may be best described, in ecclesiastical phrase, as a Prov. G.M. "in
partibus infidelium," for whatever lodges then existed throughout the length
and breadth of India were strangers to Scottish Masonry. But the times were
propitious.
There
was no English Provincial Grand Lodge of Bombay; and under the Chevalier
Burnes, who had been bountifully endowed by nature with the qualities
requisite for Masonic administration. " Scottish Masonry presented such
attractions, that the strange sight was witnessed of English Masons deserting
their Mother Lodges to such an extent that these fell into abeyance, in order
that they might give their support to lodges newly constituted by the Grand
Lodge of Scotland. In one case, indeed, a lodge ‑ Perseverance ‑ under England
went over bodily to the enemy, with its name, jewels, furniture, and
belongings, and the charge was accepted by Scotland."
"From
this period, therefore, Scottish Masonry flourished, and English Masonry
declined, the latter finally becoming quite dormant until the year 1848, when
a lodge, St. George, No. 807 on the roll of the Grand Lodge of England, was
again formed at Bombay, and for some years was the solitary representative of
English Masonry in the Province." (2)
Rising
Star, No. 413, was established by Burnes at Bombay, for the admission of
natives ‑ a beautiful medal, cut by Wyon, was
(1)
Gould's "Hist" vol. vi p. 354, note 2.
(2)
Ibid., vol. vi., p. 335
struck
in consequence ‑ No. 414, St. Andrew in the East, at Poona was formed by him.
Nos.
421, Hope, Kurrachee, and 422, Perseverance, Bombay, 1847, followed.
In
1824 there was established at Poona a second lodge which, however, has passed
out of existence and left no trace thereof. The civilian element of the
military lodge at Poona, No. 15, seceded in 1825 and, also at Poona, formed a
lodge, 802, the Lodge of Hope. At this point Lodge 15, unrecognized at home,
aided in the secession of some of its members who obtained a Warrant, on the
recommendation of the parent lodge, from the Grand Lodge of England.
In
1828, Perseverance, No. 818, was erected at Bombay. No notification of the
existence of Orion in the west had been received by the Grand Lodge of
England, nor had any fees been paid, though regularly paid to the Provincial
Grand Lodge of the Coast of Coromandel, though this was not ascertained until
1830. Also it was ascertained that the Prov. G.M. of the Coast of Coromandel
had gone beyond his powers in permitting the erection of a lodge at Bombay,
though ultimately there was granted from England July 19, 1833, a new Warrant,
No. 598.
As yet
there had been no invasion of the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of England;
but the Grand Lodge of Scotland, in 1836, appointed Dr. Jas. Burnes Prov. G.
M. of Western India and its Dependencies. But not until January 1, 1838, was a
Prov. Grand Lodge formed. Subsequently there was erected in Eastern India a
second Scottish Province. This was absorbed within the jurisdiction of Dr.
Burnes on the retirement of the Marquis of Tweeddale, who became Prov. G.M.
for all India, in 1846, with the proviso, however, that any future
subdivisionof the Presidencies was not to be restrained by this appointment.
After
this, in Bengal, Scottish lodges were established ‑ Kilwinning in the East,
Calcutta, 1849; and in Arabia Felix, Aden, 1850. At the beginning of 1886,
from the Grand Lodge of Scotland, there had been received charters by nineteen
lodges under Bombay, eleven under Bengal, two under Madras, and one in
Afghanistan ‑ thirtythree lodges in all.
In
1849, Burnes, leaving India, was succeeded in Western India only by a Prov. G.
M.
However, Captain Henry Morland became Prov. G. M. of Hindustan in 1874, and
subsequently became Grand Master of All Scottish Freemasonry in India.
Of the
lodges under the Grand Lodge of England, St. George, erected in 1848, was the
only representative of its class for ten years. However, "Concord" and "Union"
were established at Bombay and Currachee respectively, in 1858. From its
dormancy, "Orion in the West " aroused a year later. A Provincial Grand Lodge
was established in 1861, and other subordinate lodges were subsequently
chartered.
At
first Freemasonry did not take any real root among the native population of
India.
"Umdat‑ul‑Umara,
son of the Nabob of Arcot, was admitted a member of the Society, in 1776. The
princess Keyralla Khan (of the Mysore family) and Shadad Khan (ex‑Ameer of
Scinde) joined, or were made Masons in, the lodge of "True Friendship" in 1842
and 1850 respectively; and in 1861 the Maharajahs Duleep and Kundeer Sing were
initiated in lodges "Star of the East" and "Hope and Perseverance" ‑ the
last‑named personage at Lahore, and the other three in Calcutta.
A
By‑law of the Prov. Grand Lodge of Bengal, forbidding the entry of Asiatics
without the permission of the P.G.M., was in force until May 12, 1871; and
there was at least a popular belief in existence so late as 1860, that Hindus
were ineligible for initiation.
The
Parsees of Western India were the first of the native races who evinced any
real interest in the institution, and are to be congratulated on the recent
election (1886) of one of their number ‑
Mr.
Cama ‑ to the high position of Treasurer of the Grand Lodge of England.
In
1876 a Scottish lodge, No. 587, "Islam" ‑ presumably for the association of
Mohammedans ‑ was erected at Bombay. The extent to which Freemasonry is now
practiced by the Hindus ‑ who form 73 1/2 per cent. of the total population of
India ‑ I am unable to determine. The first of this class of religionists to
fill the chair of a lodge was Mr. Dutt, whose election in 1874 may not have
been without influence in the diffusion of Masonic light.
The
Indian Freemasons' friend, a publication of rare merit, was set on foot at
Calcutta in 1855, but was short‑lived. A new or second series was commenced in
May, 1861, and lasted to the end of 1867. In Bombay, the Masonic Record of
Western India enjoys an extensive circulation, and is very ably conducted.
East
India Islands.
Ceylon. ‑ This, for convenience, is grouped under the heading "East India" and
in these islands the Grand Lodge of Orient established Masonry. In 1771
Fidelity was erected at Colombo; in 1773 Sincerity at Point de Galle; in 1794
Union, another at Colombo.
When
the British possessed themselves of the Dutch settlements on the Island, it
was annexed to the Presidency of Madras, but in 1801 was formed into a
separate crown colony. The Grand Lodge of Scotland granted a Charter February
9, 1801, to the 51st Regiment, stationed at Colombo, for the Orient Lodge.
There were also formed on the islands two other lodges under Atholl (or
Ancient). In 1810 Sir AlexanderJohnston was appointed Prov. G.M. by the Grand
Lodge of England, though his name disappears from the lists before 1838.
However, greater activity was displayed under other jurisdictions. At Colombo,
in 1821, an Irish lodge was erected, and in 1822, a French one under the G.O.
In 1832 there was revived the latter, or there was formed a new lodge of the
same name.
Sumatra.
There
was established at Bencoolen, in 1765, an English lodge, and in 1772 and 1796,
at Fort Marlborough, two others. Until 1813 these appeared in the lists, but
the "Marlboro," which ultimately became No. 242, was carried forward at the
union but was erased March 5, 1862, having omitted to make any returns for
several years. Under John Macdonald, in 1793, Sumatra was erected into an
English Province, and he was succeeded by H.R. Lewis, as Prov. G. M., December
10, 1821, but continued to hold office until his death in 1877, there having
been in existence at the date of his original appointment one lodge, and none
at all for fifteen years preceding his decease.
Java.
The
Grand Lodge of Holland constituted a lodge ‑ Star in the East ‑ into this
island in 1769. There are no precise records, but it is known that others
sprung up in the Capitol and larger towns. In 1771 there was erected at
Batavia a second lodge, and at Sama rang in 1801, and at Sourabaya, 1809,
charters were granted. In 1886 there were eight lodges in Java.
Celebes.
There
was erected at Macassar, in 1883, under the Grand Lodge of Holland, one lodge
‑ Arbeid Adelt.
Borneo.
An
English lodge ‑ Elopura ‑ was established in North Borneo, in 1885, at the
station of the same name.
The
Philippines.
In
1886 there were four lodges in existence in these islands, one under the
National Grand Orient, and three under the Grand Lodge of Spain. The latter
form a Province, and are subject to a Provincial Superintendent.
Persia.
"Thory
informs us that Askeri‑Khan, ambassador of the Shah at Paris, and who was
himself admitted into Masonry in that city ‑
November 24, 1808 ‑ took counsel with his French Brethren respecting the
foundation of a lodge at Ispahan. Whether this project was ever carried into
effect it is impossible to say, but two years later we find another Persian ‑
also an ambassador ‑ figuring in Masonic history. On June 15, 1810, " His
Excellency Mirza Abul Hassan Khan" was granted the rank of Past Grand Master
of the Grand Lodge of England. This personage ‑ the Minister accredited from
the Court of Persia to that of Great Britain ‑ in addition to having been a
great traveler both in Hindustan and Arabia, had also performed his devotions
at Mecca. In the course of his journey from Teheran he passed through Georgia,
Armenia, and Antolia. At Constantinople he embarked in a British man‑of‑war,
and reached England in December, 1809.
"Sir
Gore Ousely, Bart., whowas selected to attend upon the Mirza 'as Mehmander ‑
an officer of distinction, whose duty it is to receive and entertain foreign
princes and other illustrious personages' ‑ in the following year (1810)
received the appointment of ambassador to the Shah of Persia, and was also
granted an English patent as Provincial G.M. for that country. No lodges,
however, were established in Persia at any time by the Grand Lodge of England,
nor ‑ so far as the evidence extends ‑ by any other external authority. The
Mirza Abul Hassan Khan was made a Mason by Lord Moira in 1810. The extent of
his services to the Craft we must leave undecided; but it was stated somewhat
recently in the Masonic journals, on the authority of a Persian military
officer then pursuing his studies in Berlin, that nearly all the members of
the Court of Teheran are Brethren of our Society."
The
Straits Settlements.
The
Duke of Atholl established Neptune Lodge, No. 344, at Penang (or Prince of
Wales Island) by Warrant September 6, 1809, which became extinct in 1819.
Three years subsequently a military lodge ‑ Humanity with Courage ‑ was
warranted from Bengal.
This
body, however, having become irregular by the initiation of civilians, the
Duke of Sussex renewed the Charter of the Atholl Lodge, which, having
flourished for a time, eventually fell into decay, and was erased, together
with another lodge "Neptune" also at Penang ‑ erected in 1850 ‑ No. 846 on the
English roll, March 5, 1862. The only lodge now existing in this settlement is
No. 1555, warranted by the Grand Lodge of England in 1875.
In
Malacca, a lodge was formed under the Prov. Grand Lodge of Bengal in 1825,
which never secured a place on the general list. In Singapore, English lodges
were established in 1845, 1858, and 1867, named Zetland in the East, Fidelity,
and St.
George, Nos. 748, 1042, and 1152 respectively. Of these the first and last
survive, and, together with the lodge at Penang, compose the province of the
Eastern Archipelago, of which Mr. W. H. Read was appointed the first Prov. G.
M. in 1858.
Cochin‑China.
In
this French dependency, a lodge ‑ Le Reveil de Orient ‑
was
established by Warrant of the Grand Orient of France, October 22, 1868.
China.
During
the last century two lodges of foreign origin were constituted in the
Celestial Empire ‑ the lodge of 'Amity," No. 407, under an English, and
"Elizabeth" under a Swedish, Warrant. The former was erected in 1767, the
latter in 1788; and in each case the place of assembly was Canton. The English
lodge was not carried forward at the union (1813), and " Elizabeth," as we are
informed by the Grand Secretary of Sweden, came to an end in 1812.
The
next lodge erected on Chinese soil was the Royal Sussex, No. 735, at Canton,
for which a Warrant was granted by the United G.L. of England in 1844. A
second Zetland, No. 768 ‑
was
established at Hong‑Kong under the same sanction, in 1846; and a third ‑
Northern Lodge of China ‑ at Shanghai, in 1849. No further increase of Lodges
took place until 1864, in which year two were added to the English roll, at
Hong‑Kong and Shanghai respectively; and one each at the latter port under the
Grand Lodges of Scotland and Massachusetts. The progress of the craft in the
"Middle Kingdom" has since been marked, but uneventful, though as yet
Freemasonry has failed to diffuse its light beyond the British Colony of
Hong‑Kong, and the various ports of the mainland opened up by treaty to the
merchants of foreign powers. Mr. Samuel Rawson was appointed by Lord Zetland
Prov. G.M. for China in 1847; and a second Province was carved out of the old
one in 1877, by the appointment of Mr. Cornelius Thorne as District G.M. for
northern China.
In
1886 there were in existence at Victoria (Hong‑Kong) and the Chinese
treaty‑ports thirteen English, one American, and four Scottish Lodges; and
with a solitary exception‑ ‑ No. 1217, at Ningpo, formed in 1868, under the
Grand Lodge of England, but now extinct ‑ all the lodges erected in China or
Hong‑Kong since the revival of Masonry in the Far East (1844) were still
active, and can therefore be traced in the calendars of current date by those
desirous of further information respecting them.
Japan.
"English Lodges bearing the following numbers were erected at Yokohama ‑ 1092
and 1263 ‑ in 1866 and 1869; at Yedo (now extinct) ‑ 1344‑ in 1870; at Kobe ‑
140I ‑ in 1872; and at Tokio
‑ 2015
‑ in 1883. These are subject to a Prov. G.M., who was appointed in 1873.
"There
are also three lodges under the Grand Lodge of Scotland
‑ Nos.
498, 640, and 7I0 ‑ at Kobe, Yokohama, and Nagasaki."
Cape Colony.
Prior
to the acquisition of this colony by Great Britain, two Dutch lodges had been
erected at Cape Town, in 1772 and 1802, respectively. While these survived,
several other lodges under the same jurisdiction passed away without leaving
any trace of their existence.
Afterward the Grand Lodge of England, established at the capital lodges in
1811 and 1812 ‑ the "British," No. 629 under the old sanction, in the former
year; and the "Cape of Good Hope" Lodge under an Atholl Warrant in the Tenth
Battalion of the Royal Artillery.
The
first band of English settlers arrived in 1820, and in the following year a
second stationary lodge, under the United Grand Lodge of England ‑ Hope, No.
727 ‑ was erected at Cape Town, where, also, a lodge bearing the same name,
under the G.O. of France, sprang up, November 10, 1824. A third English lodge,
Albany, No. 817, was established at Grahamstown in 1828. "The Dutch lodges
received the English Brethren with open arms, and with great satisfaction.
When English Masonry had increased, and it was considered right to form a
Provincial Grand Lodge, the Brother selected for the office of Prov. G.M. was
the Deputy G.M. Of the Netherlands, who continued till his death to hold the
two appointments." This must have been Sir John Truter, who received an
English patent in 1829; for although an earlier Prov. G.M. under England,
Richard Blake, had been appointed in 1801, the words quoted above will not
apply to the latter. Between 1828 and 1850 there was no augmentation of the
lodges; but in the latter year a revival set in, and during the decade
immediately ensuing, 1851‑60, six were warranted by the Grand Lodge of
England.
In
1860, to the jurisdictions already existing (those of Holland and England),
was added that of Scotland, under the Grand Lodge of which country a lodge,
Southern Cross, No.
398,
was erected at Cape Town. Shortly afterward, in a single year (1863), two
Dutch lodges were established in Cape Colony, and one at Bloemfontein, in the
Orange Free State. This period coincides with the appointment, after an
interregnum, of the Hon.
Richard Southy as Prov. G.M. under the G.L. of England; and it will be
convenient if I here proceed to describe seriatim the progress of Masonry
under the three competing jurisdictions. Commencing with that of England
between the date to which the statistics were last given (1860) down to the
close of 1885, sixty‑two lodges were added to the roll. The number at present
existing in South Africa, as shown by the official calendar of current date,
is fifty‑four, viz.: Eastern Division, twenty‑four; Western Division, eight;
Natal, eleven; and eleven not subject to any provincial authority, some of
which were formerly under the District Grand Lodge of Griqualand (now
abolished), and two, No.
1022,
at Bloemfontein (Orange Free State), and 1747, at Pretoria (Transvaal), are
situate in foreign territory. Within the same period (1860‑85) twelve lodges
have been established under the Grand Lodge of Scotland, and now compose a
Masonic District (or Province). The Dutch Masonic Calendar for 1886 shows
twenty four lodges as existing in South Africa. Of these, as already related,
two were erected before 1803, and three in 1863. The latest on the present
list dates from 1884. These lodges are distributed throughout the British
possessions, and the different Boer Republics, as follows, viz. .‑ In British
South Africa, sixteen; in the Orange Free State, four; and in the Transvaal,
four; and at the head of all is a Deputy National G.M., Mr. J.H. Hofmeisr, at
Cape Town.
Between the English and Dutch Masons at the Cape, there have always been the
most friendly relations. In 1863 the D.G.L. under England was re‑erected, and
there assisted at its re‑inauguration the Deputy G.M. under the Grand Lodge of
the Netherlands. And the Dutch Fraternity placed their Masonic Hall at the
disposal of the English Brethren.
For a
long time it was the custom on St. John's Day for the English and Dutch Masons
to assemble at different hours of the day so that the Brethren might be
present at both meetings. On June 5, 1867, there was stated at a communication
of the Grand Lodge of England that "recently an objection has been raised by
some of the younger English Masons against the establishment of some new
Lodges lately formed by the Dutch, on the ground that the Convention of 1770
prohibits their doing so, the Cape now being an English possession, and having
been so since the early part of the present century. In this view, the
District Grand Lodge does not seem to participate. That body is anxious that
the amicable relations that have so long subsisted between the English and
Dutch Masons should continue. After setting the foregoing facts before the
Grand Lodge, the Grand Registrar expressed an opinion that whatever might have
been the intention of the Convention of 1770, it had not been acted on in the
Cape Colony, but that the G.M.
of
England, by appointing the Deputy G.M. of the Netherlands to be his Prov. G.M.
Over
English Lodges, virtually recognized the Dutch Lodges. It must be taken for
granted that both the contracting parties have tacitly consented that it
should not apply to the Cape. He was of opinion that as both parties seem to
have considered that the Cape was neutral ground, and the existence of two
Grand Lodges having been allowed to continue side by side, it would be for the
benefit of the Brethren in that Colony, that as they have gone on working as
friends and brothers, they should continue to do so." A resolution embodying
the foregoing was then put and unanimously adopted.
P.
1989
CHAPTER V
AUSTRALASIA
New South Wales.
The
Lodge of Social and Military Virtues ‑ No. 227 on the roll of the Grand Lodge
of Ireland ‑ attached to the 46th Foot in 1752, after undergoing many
vicissitudes, was at work in the same regiment at Sydney in 1816. This paved
the way for the establishment of stationary lodges, and Irish warrants were
issued to Nos. 260, Australian Social, in 1820, and 266, Leinster, in 1824.
The third (strictly colonial) lodge, No. 820, Australia, was erected by the
Grand Lodge of England in 1828. The last named, as well as the Irish lodges,
met at Sydney, the capital. The first established in any other part of the
Colony was No. 668, St. John, constituted at Paramatta in 1838, and the
second, No. 697, the Lodge of Australia Felix, at Melbourne ‑ then included in
the government of New South Wales ‑ 1841. An Irish lodge ‑ No. 275 ‑ was
erected at Windsor in 1843, and in the same year, No. 408, Australasian
Kilwinning, at Melbourne, received a Charter from the Grand Lodge of Scotland.
During
the two decennial periods ensuing, there were issued in the Colony twenty‑one
English, eight Scottish, and two Irish lodges. Between 1864‑85 there were
added forty‑ seven English, forty‑one Scottish, and four Irish lodges. Up to
1886 there were seventy‑ four English, one Irish, and fifty Scottish active
lodges. In 1839 an English Provincial Grand Master was appointed, and one for
the Grand Lodge of Scotland in 1855, and that of Ireland in 1858.
"While
the question of separation from the Mother Grand Lodges was first formerly
mooted in Victoria, still for some years, at least, there had existed in
Sydney a body styling itself 'the Grand Lodge of New South Wales,' formed from
the great majority of a regular lodge ‑ St. Andrew's. It affected to make,
pass, and raise Masons, grant charters, and issue certificates.'
"On
December 3d, 1877, the representatives of twelve or (at most) thirteen
Scottish and Irish lodges met at Sydney, and established another Grand Lodge
of New South Wales, to which, however, the preexisting body of the same name
eventually made submission, and accepted an ordinary Lodge Warrant at its
hands. At this time (1877) there were eighty‑six regular Lodges in the Colony;
English, forty‑seven; Scottish, thirty; and Irish, nine. The thirteen lodges
which thus assumed to control the dissenting majority of seventy‑three,
sheltered themselves under a perverted principle of Masonic law ‑ applied to a
wholly illusory state of facts. This was, that any three lodges in a territory
'Masonically unoccupied' ‑ the three jurisdictions already existing being thus
coolly and quietly ignored ‑ could form themselves into a Grand Lodge, and
that when so formed, the remaining lodges ‑ averse to the movement ‑ were they
one hundred or one thousand in number, would be irregular!"
Mr.
Jas. F. Farnell, appointed Prov. G.M. under the Grand Lodge of Ireland, 1869,
was a leader in this movement. The flag of independence was first raised by
the Irish lodges. While there were great disadvantages in having the
Australian lodges working under warrants from distant Grand Lodges, still
there were reasons not entirely sentimental, which raised an opposition to
separation from the earlier existing Grand Lodges. Whenever matters are in
proper condition for the erection of an Independent Grand Lodge, the matter
will happily culminate, and a large majority of the lodges and brethren
interested will unite therewith. Should, however, the movement be premature,
the outcome of the agitation will largely depend upon the character and
influence of the leaders, or what is the same thing, upon the extent of the
following.
Mr.
Farnell for twenty years was a member of the parliament of New South Wales,
and was also Prime Minister, but does not seem to have had great influence as
a Mason.
The
Irish Province of New South Wales had its affairs in great confusion when he
was elected Grand Master. And not the smallest of the motives which weighed
with his supporters ‑ Scotch as well as Irish ‑ seems to have been the
disinclination to be taxed by (or remit fees to) the mother countries.
The
new organization, at the close of 1885, had been recognized as the only
regular governing Masonic body in the Colony of thirty‑eight Grand Lodges,
chiefly, however, American. There seems, indeed, in the United States a
decided inclination to regard each uprising of the lodges in a British colony
as a tribute to the efficacy of a certain doctrine which has been laid down by
Dr. Mackey with regard to the formation of Grand Lodges. But those American
jurisdictions which have lent a willing ear to the specious representations of
the Grand Lodge of New South Wales are now running the gauntlet of intelligent
criticism, and the several committees by whom they have been hoodwinked or
misled, may read with profit some of the reports on correspondence in the
larger States, notably, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and New York, where the
unaccountable delusion into which so many Grand Lodges have fallen is
discussed with equal candor and ability. It is almost needless to say that a
Grand Lodge thus constituted by a small minority of the lodges in New South
Wales, has been refused recognition by the Grand Lodges of the British
Islands.
Victoria.
The
lodges of Australia Felix and of Australasia (now Nos. 474 and 530) were
established at Melbourne by the Grand Lodge of England in 1841 and 1846
respectively. Scottish Masonry obtained a footing in the same city ‑ with
"Australasian Kilwinning"‑‑in 1843; and an Irish lodge ‑ Hiram, No. 349 ‑ was
also chartered there in 1847. In the same year a third English, apparently the
fifth Victorian, lodge ‑ Unity and Prudence, No. 801 ‑ was constituted at
Geelong. After this the Craft advanced in prosperity by leaps and bounds.
Thirty‑six English lodges were added to the list between 1847 and the close of
1862; twenty‑eight during the ensuing thirteen years, and twenty within the
decennial period commencing January 1, 1876. During corresponding intervals of
time, the Irish warrants granted in the colony were respectively twelve,
seven, and three; and the Scottish, three each in the first two periods, and
two in the last.
The
first Provincial G. M. of Victoria (or Australia Felix) was the Hon. J. E.
Murray. The date of his appointment by the Grand Lodge of Scotland has not
been recorded, but he was succeeded by Mr. J. H. Ross, August 3, 1846. The
present District G.M. is Sir W.J.
Clarke, who received his Scottish patent in 1883 English and Irish Provinces
were established in 1855 and 1856 respectively, and the following has been the
succession of English Provincial (now District) Grand Masters: Captain (now
Major General Sir Andrew) Clarke, 1855; Captain F.C. Standish, 1861; and Sir
W.J. Clarke, 1883. The rulers of the Irish Province have been Mr. J.T. Smith,
1856‑79; and from 1880, Sir W.J.
Clarke.
The
lodges now at work under the three jurisdictions, all of which, however, are
in a manner united under a single Provincial G.M., are: English, ninety‑one;
Irish, seventeen; and Scottish, twelve (including one in Levuka, Fiji).
The
idea of forming an independent Grand Lodge of Victoria seems to have been
first launched in 1863, and after encountering the opposition of the Earl of
Zetland, was debated ‑ March 2, 1864
‑ in
the Grand Lodge of England, by which body a resolution was passed declaring
its "strong disapprobation" of the contemplated secession. It was observed in
priecient terms by the late John Havers, that "every new Grand Lodge was the
forerunner of new and conflicting degrees. It was a stone pulled away from the
foundations of Masonry, and opened another door for inroads and innovations; "
and he exhorted the Brethren in Victoria to "remember that union was strength,
and universality one of the watchwords of Masonry."
In
1876 the agitation for a local Grand Lodge was renewed, but again slumbered
until 1883, when the scheme was fairly carried into effect by an insignificant
minority of the lodges.
In the
latter year a meeting was held, and a Masonic Union of Victoria formed, April
27.
At
this time there were seventy English, fifteen Irish, and ten Scottish lodges
in the colony ‑ total, ninety‑five. On June 19th certain delegates met, and
the adhesion of eighteen lodges ‑ twelve Irish, five Scottish, and one
English, to the cause was announced. But the number has since been reduced by
the subtraction of the English lodge and one other, which were erroneously
named in the proceedings. By this invention it was resolved "that the date of
founding the Grand Lodge of Victoria should be July 2, 1883." Thus we find
sixteen lodges, with an estimated membership of about eight hundred and forty,
calmly transforming themselves into the governing body of a territory
containing ninety‑five lodges, and a membership of five thousand!
This
organization has a following of about twenty subordinate lodges; and as the
proceedings of some Grand Lodges baffle all reasonable conjecture, it will
occasion no surprise to learn that by seventeen of these bodies the titular
"Grand Lodge of Victoria" had been duly recognized at the close of 1885, as
the supreme Masonic authority in this Australian colony. At the same date Mr.
Coppin entered upon the second year of his Grand Mastership, having been
installed ‑ November 4th ‑ in the presence of the Grand Masters of New South
Wales and South Australia.
Meanwhile, however, the English, Irish, and Scottish lodges, which have
remained true to their former allegiance, are united in a solid phalanx under
a single Provincial (or District) G.M. ‑ Sir W. J. Clarke; and should the day
arrive when independence is constitutionally asserted by the century and more
of lodges which obey this common chief, those bodies by whom the soi‑disant
Grand Lodge has been accorded recognition, will find themselves confronted by
an interesting problem, not unlike that propounded with so much dramatic
effect by the late Mr. Sothern in the role of Lord Dundreary, viz., "Whether
it is the dog that wags its tail, or the tail that wags the dog?"
Sough
Australia.
The
South Australian Lodge of Friendship, Adelaide, No. 613 (and later, No. 423),
on the roll of the Grand Lodge of England, was constituted at the British
metropolis in 1834. The founders were all in London at the time, and two
persons ‑ afterward Sir John Morphett, President of the Legislative Council,
and Sir D. R. Hansen, Chief Justice of the colony, were initiated. A second
English lodge was established at Adelaide in 1844, and in the same year, also
at the capital, a Scottish one.
In
1855 the first Irish Charter was received in the colony, and in 1883 the total
number of lodges formed in South Australia was as follows: English, twenty
active, one extinct; Irish, seven active, three extinct; and Scottish, six,
all active.
The
initiative in forming a Province was taken by Scotland in 1846, a step
followed by England in 1848, and Ireland in 1860.
In
1883 there were premonitory symptoms that the lamentable examples set by a
minority of the lodges in the adjacent colonies of New South Wales and
Victoria, in usurping the authority and honor which should belong to the
majority, would be followed in South Australia. The imminence of this danger
induced Mr. H. M. Addison to form a Masonic Union, whose labors resulted ‑
April 16, 1884 ‑ in a convention of eighty‑five delegates, representing
twenty‑eight lodges, by whom the Grand Lodge of South Australia was
established. The proceedings of the executive committee of the Masonic Union,
which were characterized throughout by the most scrupulous regularity, were
crowned by an unprecedented unanimity of feeling on the part of the lodges. A
resolution in favor of independence was carried nem. con. in eighteen English,
four Irish, and six Scottish lodges, and with a single dissentient in one
English, and with two dissentients in one Irish, lodge; while in the sole
remaining lodge under England, and in the "Mostyn" under Ireland, a majority
of the members joined the Union. Thus, in effect, out of a grand total of
thirty‑three lodges under the three British jurisdictions, only a single lodge
‑ No. 363 ‑ Duke of Leinster (I.), has adhered to its former allegiance. The
new Grand Lodge (besides the usual indiscriminate recognition of American
Grand Bodies) has been admitted to fraternal relations with the Grand Lodges
of England, Ireland, and Scotland. The privilege, however, accorded by the
last named in August, 1885, was cancelled in the November following; a
proceeding, there is every reason to believe, arising out of the inconsistent
action of the colonial Grand Lodge in recognizing the authority of the Grand
Lodge of New South Wales the irregular establishment of which, it was declared
by Mr. Addison, at the formation of the Masonic Union in Adelaide, July 30,
1883, would, if initiated, " bring Masonry in South Australia into disrepute
throughout the world."
The
Hon. S. J. Way, Chief Justice of the Colony, and Mr. J. H. Cunningham,
formerly District Grand Secretary (E.), have been Grand Master and Grand
Secretary respectively, since the foundation of the Grand Lodge. The
subordinate lodges are thirty‑six in number, with a total membership of two
thousand two hundred and seventy‑ seven.
Queensland.
The
North Australian Lodge was established at Brisbane by the Grand Lodge of
England in 1859, and two others under Irish and Scottish warrants
respectively, were constituted at the same town in 1864.
Each
jurisdiction is represented by a Provincial (or District) G. M., and the
number of lodges is as follows: English, twenty‑six active, two extinct;
Irish, eleven active, three extinct; and Scottish, twelve, all active.
West
Australia.
Eight
lodges in all have been formed in this colony, the first of which ‑ St. John,
No. 712 ‑ was erected at Perth in 1842. Seven of these survive, and being
included in no Province, report direct to the Grand Lodge of England, which in
this solitary instance has not suffered from the exercise of concurrent
jurisdiction by other Grand Bodies.
Tasmania.
Lodges
under the Grand Lodge of Ireland were established at Hobart Town in 1823,
1829, 1833, and 1834, but the three earliest of the series are now extinct. A
fourth lodge under the same sanction was constituted at Launceston in 1843,
and it was not until 1846 that English Masonry obtained a footing on the
island. In that year Tasmanian Union, No. 781, was formed at Hobart Town, and
a second English lodge ‑ Hope ‑ sprang up (in the first instance under a
dispensation from Sydney) in 1852. In the following year the Rev. R. K. Ewing
became the Master of the latter, and in 1856 the lodges of Faith and Charity
were carved out of it ‑ Mr. Ewing then becoming, on their joint petition, Prov.
G.M. The other English lodge ‑ Tasmanian Union ‑ objecting to these
proceedings, as having been carried on clandestinely, was suspended by the
Prov. G.M., and remained closed for nine months. The strife thus engendered
nearly put an end to English Masonry in Launceston. Lodge faith became
dormant, Charity was voluntarily wound up, and even in Hope the light almost
went out. Soon, however, there was a revival, and in 1876 the Grand Lodge of
Scotland also began to charter lodges on the island, where there are now four
in existence under its jurisdiction. These are included in the Province of New
South Wales. The Grand Lodges of England and Ireland have each a roll of seven
lodges on the island, one under the former body, and four under the latter,
having surrendered their charters. The English Prov. Grand Lodge died a
natural death on the removal of Mr. Ewing to Victoria, but a new one was
established under Mr. W.S. Hammond in 1875. The Irish lodges were constituted
into a Province in 1884.
New
Zealand.
The
first lodge in the Colony ‑ Francaise Primitive Antipodienne ‑ was founded at
Akaroa bythe Supreme Council of France, August 29, 1843; the second ‑ Ara ‑ at
Auckland, by the Grand Lodge of Ireland in 1844; and the third ‑ New Zealand
Pacific ‑ by the Grand Lodge of England in 1845. No further charters were
issued until 1852, when English lodges were established in Lyttelton, and
Christchurch, whilst others sprang up at New Plymouth and Auckland in 1856, at
Wanganui in 1857, and at Nelson and Kaiapoi in 1858. In the latter year an
Irish lodge (the second in the Colony) was formed at Napier, and in 1860 an
English one at Dunedin ‑ where also the first Scottish lodge was erected in
1861. After this the diffusion of Masonry throughout New Zealand became so
general, that I must content myself with giving the barest statistics, which,
for convenience sake, will be classified so as to harmonize as far as possible
with the Provincial systems of the three competing jurisdictions. Between 1860
and 1875 there were warranted in the Colony twenty‑five English, eight Irish,
and twenty‑one Scottish lodges; while in the ten years ending January 1, 1886,
the numbers were respectively forty‑seven, seven, and thirty‑two.
The
lodges in New Zealand are usually classified according to the Masonic
Provinces of which they form a part. Of the latter there are five English and
three Scottish, of late years dominated Districts, in order to distinguish
them from bodies of a like character in Great Britain; and one Irish, to which
the more familiar title of Provincial Grand Lodge is still applied. These
preliminaries it will be necessary to bear in mind, because the arrangement
which seems to me the simplest and best, is to group the lodges according to
their positions on the map, which in the present case will correspond very
closely with the territorial classification, or division into Districts, by
the Grand Lodge of England.
North
Island.
Auckland District. ‑ The District (or Provincial) Grand Masters are Mr. G.S.
Graham (E.), Sir F. Whitaker (S.), and Mr. G.P. Pierce (I.); whilst the number
of lodges under the several jurisdictions is eighteen under the G.L. of
England, and six each under those of Scotland and Ireland, that is, if taken
according to locality, for all the Scottish lodges on the North Island are
comprised within the Auckland District, and the whole of the Irish lodges in
both islands within the Auckland Province.
Wellington District. ‑ The only D.G.M. is Mr. C.J. Toxward (E.); and the
number of lodges is respectively eighteen (E.), eight (S.), and four (I).
Middle, or South, Island.
Canterbury District. ‑ The D.G.M.'s are Mr. Henry Thomson (E.) and the Rev.
James Hill (S.), who rule over nineteen and nine lodges respectively. The seat
of government is at Christchurch, where there is also an Irish lodge, the only
one in the District.
Otovgo
and Southland District. ‑ Mr. T.S. Graham presides over one D.G.L. (E.), and
Mr. G.W. Harvey over the other (S.). There are fourteen lodges in each
District, i.e., according to the local arrangement, for the Scottish D.G.L.
(of which there are only two in the South Island) exercises authority beyond
the territorial limits of Otago and Southland. The total number of lodges on
its roll is twenty‑one, and doubtless Otago has derived much of its importance
as a Scottish Masonic center, from the fact of having been originally founded
by an association connected with the Free Church of Scotland. At Dunedin and
Invercargill there is in each case an Irish lodge.
Westland District. ‑ The only D.G.M. is Mr. John Bevan (E.), who rules over
six lodges; and there are three others (S.) which are comprised within the
D.G.L. of Otago and Southland at Dunedin.
Marlborough and Nelson District. ‑ These provinces of the Colony are exempt
from any local Masonic jurisdiction, under the Grand Lodge of England, which
is represented by five lodges. There is also a Scottish lodge (at Blenheim),
which is subject to the D.G.L.
of
Otago and Southland.
Oceania.
Although the various islands and archipelagoes have been treated as far as
possible in connection with the continents with which they are ordinarily
associated, there are some few of these, lying as it were in mid‑ocean, that
must be separately dealt with, and their consideration will bring this chapter
to a close.
New
Caledonia. ‑ This island was taken possession of by France in 1854, and has
been used for some years as a penal settlement. At Noumea, the chief town and
the seat of government, there are two lodges, L'Union Caledonienne, and No.
1864, Western Polynesia. The former was established by the Grand Orient of
France in 1868, and the latter (which is included in the Masonic Province of
New South Wales) by the Grand Lodge of England in 1880.
Fiji
Islands. ‑ The formation of a lodge ‑ Polynesia ‑ at Levuka, with the assent
of the native king, was announced to the Masonic world in a circular dated
March 12, 1872.
The
Islands were annexed to Britain in 1874, and on February 1, 1875, a Scottish
Charter ‑ No. 562 ‑ was granted to a lodge bearing the same name and meeting
at the same place as the self‑constituted body of 1872. This is comprised in
the Masonic Province of Victoria. A second British lodge ‑ No. 1931, Suva na
Viti Levu ‑ was established in the archipelago by the Grand Lodge of England
in 1881.
Society Islands. ‑ Masonry was introduced into Papeete, the chief town of
Tahiti (or Otaheiti), the largest of the Society group, by the Grand Orient of
France in 1834. A Chapter ‑ L'Oceanie Francaise ‑ was established in that
year, and a lodge of the same name in 1842.
The
labors of these bodies were intermittent, the latter having been galvanized
into fresh life in 1850, and the former in 1857. Both lodge and chapter are
now extinct.
Marquesas Islands. ‑ A lodge, which has long since ceased to exist ‑ L'Amitie
‑ was established at Nukahiva by the Grand Orient of France in 1850.
Sandwich or Hawaiian Islands. ‑ In 1875 there were three lodges in this group,
and more recent statistics show no increase in the number: Le Progres de
l'Oceanie, erected by Warrant of the Supreme Council of France in 1850; and
the Hawaiian and Wailukee lodges, under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of
California. The last named is Maui; the others meet at Honolulu, the capital,
where they occupy a hall in common. The earliest of the two American lodges
(Hawaiian) was formed in 1852.
These
three lodges are composed of natives, Americans, Englishmen, and Germans,
between whom the most friendly relations subsist. King Kalakaua was an active
member of Le Progres de l'Oceanie, and also his brother, William Pitt
Leleihoku, of the Hawaiian Lodge. The former, who has visited many foreign
countries, also evinced the same interest in Masonry while on his travels. On
January 7, 1874, he was entertained by lodge Columbian of Boston (U.S.A.), and
on May 22, 1881, by the National Grand Lodge of Egypt. By the latter body the
king was elected an Honorary Grand Master, and afterward delivered a lengthy
oration, in which he expressed his belief in Egypt being the cradle both of
Operative and Speculative masonry, and thus may be said to have fully
reciprocated the compliment which had been paid him by the meeting.
P.
2000
BROTHERLY LOVE, RELIEF AND TRUTH
SUPPLEMENT TO DR. MACKEY'S
TEXT
By W. BRO. WILLIAM JAMES
HUGHAN
P.S.G.D. of England, P. S. G.
W. of Egypt, Iowa, etc.
DR.
MACKEY and I had long been regular correspondents and fellow Masonic students,
when his lamented decease ended our happy collaboration, which had been
mutually helpful and stimulating.
My
residence in England obtained for me numerous facilities for the examination
of old and original MSS. concerning the Craft. Hence my esteemed friend was
often glad to avail himself of my services accordingly, which he always warmly
appreciated.
Since
Dr. Mackey's regretted death in 1881, several important works have been
published and valuable discoveries have been made of ancient records, which,
as they concern and in part affect the preceding pages, require to be
carefully considered and duly explained. Of these, mention may be made of Bro.
R. F. Gould's History of Freemasonry; the Transactions and Reprints of the
Quatuor Coronati Lodge (London) ; Bro. E. Conder's History of the Masons'
Company (London) ; my Old Charges of the British Freemasons, 2d Series, and
others.
In
loving memory of my dear friend, and in fulfilment of an offer of literary aid
made some time ago, I have gone through his comprehensive history, and noted
the corrections and additions needful to make it as complete and accurate to
date as he would have liked it to be.
His
support of what he terms the " Iconoclastic School" can not fail to help us
throughout the United States; as we seek to be as constructive as possible,
our own desire is that the legends should be kept distinct from authenticated
facts, so that the Fraternity may possess a complete history, perfect in all
its parts and worthy of
126
the
Free and Accepted Masons throughout the world. His words on the subject at p.
8 are worth reproduction:
"To
this school I have for years been strongly attached, and in the composition of
this work I shall adopt its principles. I do not fear that the claims of
Freemasonry to a time-honoured existence will be injured by any historical
criticism, although the era in which it had its birth may not be admitted to
be as remote as that assigned to it by Anderson or Oliver."
Book I. - The Old MSS., Etc.
Since
the publication of my Old Charges of British Freemasons, in 1872, many copies
of these manuscript constitutions have been traced, some of considerable value
having been discovered during the last decade. There are now some threescore
and ten rolls or books of these "Charges" in existence, the text of certain
scrolls being of great importance. The dates of some of the older MSS. have
also had to be revised, such as a few noted at p. 15. The date of the "
Halliwell " or "Regius MS." has been placed a little later, by a few critics,
and that of the " Cooke MS." has been put back to 1450 or earlier.
An
unfortunate error was made by the Editor of the " Cooke MS." by reading the
final word in the line "And in policronico a cronycle p'uyd," as printed,
instead of preuyd or proved, as pointed out by Bro. G. W. Speth in his
commentary on that noted little gem of a Book.
The "Harleian
No. 2054" (British Museum) is not likely to have been written before 1660 (not
1625, p. 15), and a still older copy of its text was found in 1899, viz., the
"John T. Thorp MS." Of A.D. 1629, which is probably the original of both it
and the "Sloane" of 1646.
The
"Grand Lodge MS. No. 1," erroneously placed by me at 1632 (pp. 15, 69, etc.),
is really of 1583, and the numbers of the two York MSS. 2 and 4 should be
reversed, the first mentioned being the junior. These points are all detailed
in my second volume on the "Old Charges" (of 1895), and in subsequent
additions to 1899.
Since
Dr. Mackey wrote his history, additional information has been obtained
relative to the " Four Crowned Martyrs " referred to in the " Halliwell MS."
and elsewhere, which has considerably modified the statements thereon at pp.
16, 27, 34, etc. The legend, so far from being of German origin, is mentioned
in England many centuries before there is historic proof of its having
acquired currency in Germany. On this subject Bro. Gould's history should be
consulted, both in relation to the Steinmetzen and the Masonic MSS. of Great
Britain. The fact of the legend having been known in England for so many
centuries led the late Bro. the Rev. A. F. A. Woodford to suggest that our
Students' Lodge No. 2076, London, should be called the "Quatuor Coronati,"
and, though rather a singular title for such an organization, we agreed
thereto.
The
curious name of "Noζchidζ" for Masons, referred to at p. 60, may be traced
back to Dr. Anderson's Book of Constitutions, 1738. It was, however, dropped
in later editions, but continued by Laurence Dermott in his Ahiman Rezon,
which was a pity, the term being so absurd.
The
St. Amphibalus legend is not peculiar to the "Cooke" text as the "William
Watson" Roll of 1687, first noted in 1890, contains a reference to that
ancient celebrity, and I believe that the "Henery Heade" MS. of 1675, in the
Library of the Temple, London, also does; but its recent discovery has not
allowed time enough for its complete transcription.
There
are several MSS. that call Edwin the King's brother, instead of son, as in
most MSS. (p. 103), but they are not of much value or antiquity, and belong to
the "Spencer" family as respects the text. Dr. Anderson probably had a copy
of the "Spencer" or "Cole MS." before him in 1738, as it was printed in 1729.
As to
Prince Edwin having been made a Mason at Windsor (p. 98), one or two lately
discovered Scrolls contain the same statement as the "Lansdowne" and
"Antiquity MSS.," but evidently it was but a local tradition.
Dr.
Mackey observes (p. 163) that the reason "why the Temple of Solomon was
exclusively selected by the Modern Masons as the incunabulum of their Order
can be only conjecturally accounted for." That is so, but on the other hand
the extraordinary popularity of works on the Temple of Solomon, and the
numerous models made and exhibited, in the latter part of the 17th century,
and early in the 18th century, may have led to its incorporation in the
Masonic Ritual during the Revival period, 1717 - 23. It can not be said that
the "Old Charges" make a prominent feature of that great historic building,
and neither are the Biblical worthies familiar to the modern Freemasons
conspicuous figures in the ancient MSS. of the Fraternity. The Transactions of
the "Quatuor Coronati" Lodge for 1899 are worth a careful study on this point.
Early Records.
Of the
most valuable entries concerning Freemasonry in the 17th century may be
mentioned those by Elias Ashmole in his famous diary. It is to be
regretted, however, that the two editions of the typographical reproduction of
that MS. book (1717 and 1774) contain serious errors in the portion relating
to his admission into the Craft, and his visitation of a lodge, in 1646 and
1682 respectively. Unfortunately, Dr. Mackey had not facsimiles of these
entries, and hence his adoption of the faulty transcripts (pp. 322, 620-21,
etc.). The following may be relied on as being an exact copy of the two
entries of A.D. 1682.
March 1682.
10: About 5. p.m. I recd a
sumons to appr. at a Lodge to be held the next day, at Masons Hall London.
11. Accordingly I went, &
about noone were admitted into the Fellowship of Free Masons, Sr. William
Wilson Knight, Capt. Rich: Boothwick, Mr. Will: Woodman, Mr. Wm. Grey, Mr.
Samuell Taylour & Mr. William Wise.
I was the Senior Fellow among
them (it being 35 yeares since I was admitted) There were prsent
beside myselfe the Fellowes after named.
Mr. Tho: Wise Mr. of the
Masons Company this prsent yeare. Mr. Thomas Shorthose, Mr. Thomas Shadbolt, .
. . Waindsford Esqr. Mr. Rich Young Mr. John Shorthose, Mr. William Hamon, Mr.
John Thompson, & Mr. Will: Stanton.
Wee all dyned at the halfe
Moone Taverne in Cheapeside, at a Noble Dinner psepaired at the charge of the
New-accepted Masons."
On
comparing the foregoing excerpt with the one printed at pp. 621-22 of the
history, it will at once be seen that Ashmole was not reinitiated, or
readmitted into the fellowship, A.D. 1682, by Sir William Wilson and others;
but that Wilson and the others named were themselves "accepted," and
subsequently paid for the dinner, which was served at the Half Moon Taverrn,
in Cheapside, according to custom.
That
being so, the elaborate and most ingenious arguments in explanation of the
interpolated word "by" are wholly unnecessary, because due to a very faulty
transcript. Neither can it be said that the lodge in which Ashmole was
initiated in 1646 was of an operative character, because Bro. W. H. Rylands
has demonstrated most fully that it was a speculative assembly. See his
Freemasonry in the 17th Century ("Mas. Mag.," London, Dec., 1881). So far from
the celebrated antiquary having been made an "Honorary Member," it is quite
clear that he was admitted to the full privileges enjoyed by the Brethren who
elected him.
A very
valuable work which was originally published in 1730 (but no copy has been
preserved), and a 2d edition was printed as an appendix to the Book of
Constitutions, 1738, was not by James Anderson (p. 364) (as generally accepted
until recent years), but by Bro. Martin Clare, F.R.S., who became D. G. M. in
1741. It was entitled A Defence of Masonry, published A.D. 1730, Occasion'd by
a Pamphlet call'd Masonry Dissected. In a paper on " The Old Lodge at
Lincoln," by Bro. Wm. Dixon (Quatuor Coronatorum, 1891), information is
afforded as to this Brother, and copies of minutes given in relation to his
authorship of the Defence. So also in another paper of the same year read to
the members of the "Quatuor C. Lodge," London, by Bro. R. F. Gould, the
Masonic historian, on " Martin Clare, A.M. &. F.RS.," with
facsimiles. One minute reads thus: Oct. 2, 1733. " When Brother
Clare's Discourse concerning Pritchard, as also some of our Regulations and By
Laws were read."
Book II - Masonic History
It was
impossible, as Dr. Mackey states at p. 598, "to obtain any continuous
narrative of the transactions of the Masons' Company," but happily that
condition is now altered by the publication of the Records of the Hole Crafte
and Fellowship of Masons, with a Chronicle of the History of the Worshipful
Company of Masons in the City of London, by Bro. Edward Conder, Jr., Master of
the Company, 1894.
In
this important volume the records of the Company are interestingly described,
and many are of a very remarkable character. It appears that there were two
separate Masonic organizations meeting in the Masons' Hall. The one known as
the Masons' Company proper, and the other a Lodge, termed the "Acception." In
the first named, the members were "admitted," but in the latter they were
"accepted." The Company of Free Masons was so termed, about the middle of the
16th century, the fellowship before being of the Masons only. The prefix was
dropped officially after 1653.
There
were thus the Free Masons of the Company, and the Accepted Masons of the
Lodge, until the former ceased to use the term "Free." Eventually the two
prefixes were united as "Free and Accepted Masons," but precisely when we can
not say; probably toward the end of the 17th century.
The
speculative Lodge of the Acception is noted in the records of the company from
about the year 1620, and it was this body that was visited by Elias Ashmole in
1682. The grant of arms was made to the Company of Masons in 1472, and is now
preserved in the British Museum, but the copy of the "Old Charges," so often
noted in the inventories, has been missing for fifty or more years. This is a
great pity, as we are unable to decide for certain what the text was, or how
near it agreed with those still preserved.
The "Phillipp's
MSS." Nos. 1 and 2 may be copies of the missing Masons' Company MS., of 1650
circa, and so may the "G. W. Bain MS." of the same period, but beyond
indicating the probability of such relationship, nothing can be said.
Of the
"Harleian No. 1942" text (p. 616, etc.) we have now several copies, so it no
longer enjoys the solitary position it once had. Though it and the other
similar documents seem to have been written for and used by a company, neither
of them can be the missing " Masons' Company MS.," nor can they be copies if
the MSS. previously mentioned represent the original Scroll or book which
belonged in the Accepted Masons' Hall. They are, however, suggestive of the
use of the term accepted, and are thus especially valuable in illustration of
the minutes of the "Acception."
I do
not consider that the "Sloane MS. No. 3329," British Museum, dates from
"between 1640 and 1700," now that the matter has been thoroughly sifted; but
more likely to have been written soon after the "Revival of 1717." There is no
evidence that it was ever known to Dr. Plot (not "Plott"), the historian of
Staffordshire, 1686, and I agree that it is unlikely that separate ceremonies
or degrees were worked prior to the 18th century, as Dr. Mackey emphatically
states.
My
friend declares that the word Free Mason is not to be found in the "Masonic
Constitutions," i.e., the "Old Charges," of the operative body, but this is
not correct. It does not appear in the very early copies, but the term is met
with in several of the rolls of the 17th century.
The
mark degree is modern, comparatively speaking, but the selection of marks by
the operative and speculative Masons is a very old custom. Even apprentices
chose their marks, as evidenced in the "Mark Book" of the Lodge of Aberdeen,
of A.D. 1670 onward. As a degree, I had traced it back to 1778 in Dr. Mackey's
time, but later on it has been found noted in Lodge Minutes of 1777, London;
'1773,' Durham; and 1769, Portsmouth. The last mentioned is in cypher, and has
only recently been read. The first entry is as follows:
"At a Royal Arch Chapter held
at the George Tavern in Portsmouth on First Septr., Seventeen hundred and
sixty nine, Present:
"Thomas Dunckerley, Esq.,
William Cook Z, Samuel Palmer H, Thomas Scanville J., Henry Dean, Philip Joyes,
and Thomas Webb.
"Pro. G. M. Thomas Dunckerley
bro't the Warrant of the Chapter, and having lately rec'd the mark he made the
bre'n Mark Masons and Mark Masters, and each chuse their mark, via., W. Cook
Z, S. Palmer H, T. Scanville J., Philip Joyes, T. Webb. He also told
us of this mann'r of working which is to be used in the degree w'ch we may
give to others so they be F. C. for Mark Masons and Master M. for Mark
Masters."
Full
particulars of this chapter are given in the history of the Phoenix Lodge, No.
257, Portsmouth, by Bro. Alexander Howell, 1894. The Royal Arch was started in
that town under the regular or "Modern Masons" in 1769.
Bro.
Dunckerly received the Royal Arch Degree in Portsmouth in 1754, but at that
time, though worked by the " Moderns," there was no governing body. The
ceremony was known in England, Ireland, and Scotland in the 5th decade of the
17th century, and was thus patronized before the advent of the " Ancients " or
" Atholl Masons" in 1751. It is well to remember this fact, as Bro. L. Dermott
has erroneously been credited, or his Grand Lodge, with having arranged and
started the degree. Royal Arch Masonry is referred to in print (A.D. 1743-44)
two years before Dermott obtained
1 The degree is noted in the
records of St. Thomas's Lodge, London (not "Lancashire," vide p. 822), and is
duly referred to on p. 821.
the
degree (1746), and undoubtedly the ceremony was worked in America as soon as
it was worked by the "Ancients" in England. Bro. Dermott was initiated in
Ireland, 1740 - 41, and in 1752 was a member of Nos. 9 and 10, London
(England), when he was elected Grand Secretary. At that time No. 1 was kept
vacant.
It was
the usage, certainly, for lodges generally to be known by the taverns or
hotels in which they assembled, until it happily became the custom to have
halls built for Masonic meetings. Lodges, however, had special names long
before the year 1767, as recorded at p. 885. In Masonic Records, 1717 - 1894,
by my lamented friend and Bro. John Lane, will be found several instances of
lodges having adopted distinctive titles, the first to do so according to this
excellent authority being the "University Lodge," No. 74, in A.D. 1730, and
there was a "French Lodge," also held in London, and so named in 1737, or
earlier. It is not a matter of much importance, but it is as well to remember
that lodge nomenclature began some one hundred and seventy years ago as
respects England, and probably much earlier in Scotland. Neither is it sure
that there were only four operative lodges in the city of London in 1716 (p.
879). The immortal quartette of 1717 may have been mainly operative, but even
that is not certain, as we are not informed as to their members until the next
decade, when assuredly they were severally of a speculative character. We are
wholly in ignorance when Dr. Desaguliers and Dr. Anderson were initiated, or
in what lodges, all particulars as to such being mere guesswork.
Concerning warrants (p. 924), it should be stated that these charters, so well
known to the Fraternity since 1750 in England (but much earlier in Ireland),
were not issued originally by the premier Grand Lodge of England, but Brethren
who wished to be constituted into a lodge petitioned the Grand Master, and on
his approval of their prayer a day would be fixed for its constitution, and
certified accordingly. In the provinces, a Brother would be deputed to
constitute such a lodge by a document signed by the requisite authority; which
was a kind of Warrant, but did not nominate the W. M. and Wardens, as since
the period mentioned. The fact of constitution made the lodge regular, but
there were numerous lodges who did not avail themselves of that favor, and so
were irregular, from the Grand Lodge point of view, though as much entitled
then to continue their meetings as they were before the Grand Lodge was
formed. It is impossible now to decide what lodges joined the new organization
between 1717 and 1721; hence my remark, which is referred to in the note at
p.
924.
A mass
of information had been obtained in 1894 and printed in the volume by Bro.
John Lane aforesaid, respecting the old lodges noted by Dr. Mackey at pp.
886-88. The "Lodge of Antiquity" assembled in other places besides those
stated, and so as to several of the other lodges; but they need not be
recapitulated now. The original No. 2 was erased in 1736. Dr. Mackey (p. 888)
assumes that the original No. 3 continued to work from 1723, but as a matter
of fact the members gave up their distinctive position, and were constituted
into a new lodge, February 27, 1723, taking the No. 11 in 1729. From
successive changes it is now 12, and from 1768 was named the "Fortitude," and
from 1818 "The Lodge of Fortitude and Old Cumberland." Dr. Anderson puts the
matter quite clearly in his- Book of Constitutions, 1738, p. 185, when it was
No. 1o on the list of London lodges only.
"This
was one of the four Lodges mentioned, Page 109, viz., the Apple-Tree Tavern in
Charles Street, Covent Garden, whose Constitution is immemorial: But after
they removed to the Queen's Head upon some Difference, the members that met
there came under a new Constitution, tho' they wanted it not, and it is
therefore placed at this number." It is, however, of Time Immemorial
continuity.
As to
the age of the Master Masons' Degree, no later discovery, subsequent to Dr.
Mackey's period, at all serves to make the matter any clearer, save to
indicate that the ceremony was not generally worked until fairly on in the
18th century. I published a long account of the minutes of a London lodge from
1725, which mentions the Third Degree in 1727. This is the oldest of the kind
known, appertaining to a regular lodge in London, and is of great value. The
musical and architectural lodge, quoted pp. 1000 - 1001, was never on the
register of the Grand Lodge of England, but its records afford evidence of the
ceremony being worked as early as 1725. Minutes published in facsimile by the
Q. C. Lo. in 1900.
The
lodge opened in Paris as No. 90 (p. 1029) was not constituted until April 3,
1732. The list Dr. Mackey quotes from, though begun in 1730, was continued for
two years later. There is no engraved list preserved of 1733; and there was no
regular lodge in France until the year I name, i.e., 1732.
The
rival Grand Lodge of the "Ancients" was inaugurated in 1751 (not 1753), but
Laurence Dermott was not a founder (p. 1105), he having joined in the year
1752, when he became Grand Secretary. Bro. Henry Sadler, in his Masonic Facts
and Fictions (1887), objects to these "Ancients" being termed Schismatics, and
ably defends them in that well-known work. He considers they were mostly Irish
Masons, from whom Grand Secretary Dermott also came, and certainly many of the
facts he presents indicate their fondness for that organization. There is no
doubt that the date given at p. 1109, viz., July 17, 1751, was the day on
which this body was established, but no Grand Master was elected until 1753.
The
Royal Arch Degree was not started by these "Ancients" (p. 1108), but only
adopted by them as an authorized ceremony. In self-defence the "Moderns," who
had worked it before the origin of the "Atholl Masons," but not officially,
gradually gave it more prominence. In 1767 they formed a Grand Chapter of
Royal Arch Masons and issued warrants for chapters, pushing the degree more
even than the "Ancients," though not recognized by their Grand Lodge; so at
the union of the two Grand Lodges in December, 1813, the way was prepared for
the inauguration of the " United Grand Chapter" in 1817, the ceremony being
adopted as the completion of the Master Mason's ceremony, not as a separate
and independent degree.
The
York Masons who revived their Grand Lodge in 1761 had never any dealings with
the "Ancients," and consequently the latter had no right to style themselves
"Ancient York Masons." The York Grand Lodge never warranted any lodges out of
England, and so the lodges chartered in the United States by the " Atholl
Masons" were not "A. Y. M." (Ancient York Masons), but "Ancient " or "Atholl
Masons."
I
should find it simply impossible to treat of the Introduction of Freemasonry
into the North American Colonies in brief, and so shall not attempt it, and
must leave Dr. Mackey's interesting Chapter XLVI. untouched. I may,
however, just state that, bearing in mind the distinction already noted
between regular and irregular lodges; the one duly constituted by authority of
a Grand Lodge, and the other not constituted. Let me say that the "St.
John's," Boston, A.D. 1733, was the first regular Masonic lodge in North
America. There were before then several lodges assembling in
Philadelphia, and evidently elsewhere by "time immemorial" usage, and these
had as good a right to meet Masonically as any other organization. Everywhere,
however, outside the pale of regular Grand Lodge Masonry, and unless such
Brethren joined under the new regime, they were accounted irregular. Strange
to say, the "Modern" Grand Lodge of England - the premier of the world never
had a Pennsylvania lodge on its register. I once thought that a lodge
assembling in Philadelphia, Penn. (1730, etc.), had been granted by its
constitutional authority, but there is not sufficient evidence to warrant the
conclusion. There were regular "Ancient" warrants issued for Philadelphia
during the 6th decade of the 18th century and a Provincial Grand Lodge formed.
As a matter of fact, singular as it reads, the lodge of 1730, and subsequent
lodges of the kind, were never recognized as of English origin, though a
Provincial Grand Master was appointed by the "Moderns" for the "Keystone
State" in 1730, etc. This was done, though there was not a lodge on its
English register from Pennsylvania. An unusual experience assuredly, but not
unique as respects some Provincial Grand Masters appointed in England.
I am
not aware of any authority for the statement at p. 1252, that the esteemed
Bro. E. T. Carson (deceased) had a copy of Dr. Dassigny's celebrated Enquiry
of 1744 in his collection, which has lately been acquired by General J. C.
Lawrence (P. G. M., Mass.), who is believed to have the largest Masonic
library in America, if not in the world. The only copy in the United States is
the one I let Bro. R. F. Bower have, who was a distinguished collector and
ardent Masonic student. On his regretted decease, his library was purchased by
the Grand Lodge of Iowa, which has a great collection of Masonic books, MSS.,
and curios of immense value. Since my discovery of that volume of 1744,
another, and almost perfect, copy has been traced and is now in the important
Masonic library of the province of West Yorkshire; and a third has been
recognized in the collection of Masonic works in Newcastle on Tyne; so that at
the present time, three copies are known, all, however, lacking the
frontispiece, and only one of the trio is complete else.
The
references in the history of Freemasonry at York, and especially in relation
to the additional degrees, i.e., those after the Third, require, occasionally,
qualification, in the light of discoveries of late years. It is necessary also
to carefully study both portions of my Masonic Sketches and Reprints, as the
second part was written after the first was printed, and contains particulars
of MS. books discovered whilst the work was in the press. There is an
excellent American edition to be had of the same year as the original issue in
England.
Chapter XLVIII. is an important one, and deserves particular consideration,
for many of the statements are of a very suggestive, not to say startling,
character, and advanced by a Brother of great eminence and research. I am not
aware of the existence of any evidence in favor of the assertion that Ramsay
(not Ramsey) ever sought to introduce any of the additional degrees to the
Grand Lodge of England early last century. For that matter, beyond statements
of fanciful historians, it has not been proved that he arranged the ceremonies
so long connected with his name; and all the declarations concerning the
Stuarts and the Craft must be received with caution. Beyond reiterated
assertions, the initiation of any of the unfortunate royal family has not at
all been clearly established.
Chapter XXX. is of very great interest, but how far it is supported by cold
and hard facts it is not for me to say, unless time and space were ample. At
all events, it should be read side by side with Chapter XXX. of Bro. Gould's
history; so that the reliability or otherwise of some of the sources depended
upon should be tested. At p. 280 Dr. Mackey cites the Charter of Arras (Rose
Croix), said to have been granted by Charles Edward Stuart. Now, is it likely,
is it even possible, that in his father's lifetime he would describe himself
as "We, Charles Edward, King of England, France, Scotland, and Ireland?"
Surely, in the face of such a declaration, there is no authority to say as to
the authenticity of this Warrant "There appears to be no doubt." It could not
be authentic if the document contained any such title.
Another subject has also been more thoroughly elucidated of late years, and in
consequence thereof some of the authorities quoted in Chapter XVIII. have been
found to be unreliable at times, and rather inclined to treat the question as
fiction, instead of as history. The Steinmetzen of Germany are not always safe
in the hands of such authors as Fallou (not "Fallon") and Winzer. Gould is
much safer than either to follow, and the reader may be confident that
existing documents will verify all his statements thereon. Considering the
paucity of really critical works on the subject, Dr. Mackey has done wonders.
Kloss is nearly always to be trusted, either as respects Germany or France,
but in respect to the latter country all mere statements as to the
introduction of Freemasonry must be treated with suspicion; for prior to 1732
we have actually as yet no evidence.
Some
parts of Dr. Mackey's massive work are indications as much of his valued
opinions as of matters of fact, and these, of course, are left alone, and can
not well be questioned, now their author is no more. They are, however, of
considerable worth, and, whilst the opinions of some other students may not
always coincide, so long as they are accepted as inferences, rather than
evidences, they are of special interest and importance, and can not fail to
throw light on points needing elucidation, because of their suggestiveness.
The
foregoing does not aim at being a microscopic examination of Dr. Mackey's
history, but simply a fraternal attempt to read it in the light and by the
assistance of valuable discoveries made since the year of his lamented
decease.
2013
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